The county’s eighth district encompasses a big portion of southern Miami-Dade, including Homestead and Palmetto Bay.

Incumbent Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins is running against nonprofit CEO Martha Vega Hero and former Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor John Dubois.

“The top three issues facing South Dade and District 8 are traffic and transportation, and continuing to provide real traffic solutions for the residents of South Dade and District 8,” said Cohen Higgins. “Additionally, affordability is top of mind for a lot of our residents.”

Cohen Higgins, who is a trial lawyer by trade, says her experience looking at details makes her an effective leader, especially when it comes to the budget.

“I am constantly sounding that alarm on the dais,” said Cohen Higgins. “On behalf of my district and all of the residents of Miami-Dade County, I’m making sure that our tax dollars are being spent wisely, whether that’s scrutinizing contracts, (or answering the question of) why are we overpaying for properties.”

Hero believes government and organizations working together is key, as well as transparency in balancing a budget.

“I’m going to fight to protect that UDP. I’m going to fight to protect my agriculture, my agritourism people, the venues, affordability, job opportunity,” said Hero. “We need to work with ethics. If we have a budget, we have to give you priorities for our families. We need to open a community center.”

Dubois declined to participate in Local 10 News’ story, but pledged that he would if he makes it to a runoff.

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According to authorities, Samuel Lackey was found Sunday sleeping on board a JetBlue 2012 AirBus A320 that was at Jetscape Services in Fort Lauderdale for maintenance.

Broward Sheriff’s Office officials said the suspect’s actions were all caught on camera.

Deputies said it was easy for Lackey to get onto the plane because there were portable steps he could use, and maintenance was being done on the plane.

According to law enforcement, Lackey climbed a fence to gain access to the airplane and snuck onto the aircraft on Saturday night.

As a result, there was a service interruption as the plane was scheduled for a flight.

Deputies said the doors to the plane were locked and the aircraft was pushed back to a parking space, and that’s when the alleged snooze took place until 5:39 a.m. Sunday, when JetBlue employees arrived and gave Lackey a startling wake-up call.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Lackey was being held at the Broward Main Jail on charges of unarmed burglary of an occupied conveyance, criminal mischief over $1,000 and interrupting or impairing critical infrastructure. His total bond was set at $10,000.

Haitian-Bahamian Chef Wilkinson “Ken” Sejour said ICE agents detained the scooter rider steps away from his restaurant, Chef Creole, at 200 NW 54th St., and his customers were staying away.

Sejour, whose celebrity guests included the late Anthony Bourdain, said the witness’s video recorded near the drive-thru area prompted false rumors that ICE had raided his restaurant.

“You are taking key people, and now you are giving people the impression that it’s not even safe to come to my business,” Sejour said about the impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Sejour said the expiration of TPS work permits for Haitians hurt his workforce. His labor expenses had increased before the recent ICE detention nearby scared away customers.

On Wednesday night, the lines at an annual back to school supply event in Little Haiti weren’t as long as they’ve been in the past.

“The community is shook. This is a prime example,” said event organizer Success St. Fleur Jr. “Before I get here there’s usually a long line of families waiting. That’s why this year we wanted to have more of an attraction, because of the past with so many people.”

St. Fleur said the difference is apparent, and so is the reason why.

“What’s sad is TPS isn’t only affecting Haitians and it’s not only affecting the people who are from Haiti,” said St. Fleur. “Because me, who’s Haitian-American, born here, I have friends, family, colleagues, and now so many people who don’t know what to do.”

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 25 allowed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to end Temporary Protected Status for about 300,000 Haitians on July 27.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been supportive of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and has expanded state-federal partnerships in Florida.

Sejour is among the entrepreneurs in South Florida who say the push for deportations has been having a chilling effect on their businesses. Sejour called for a strategic reassessment.

“Let’s take a little bit more time, let’s try to figure out how we can fix this without it hurting our economy as a whole,” Sejour said.

Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times at the hearing.

Also, Iran said Wednesday it's in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said a deal could be announced this week. The agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.

Here's the latest:

Iran says a deal with Oman is close

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has said an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, which lies on the other side of the waterway, is in the “final stage” of drafting. Speaking Wednesday, he said a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the U.S.

The agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.

The strait is crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Before the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, around one fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

On Thursday, all eyes were on the U.S. for the next development.

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Senate panel to vote on holding Fauci in contempt for refusing to answer questions

The Senate committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer him to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his refusal to answer questions at a hearing last week focused on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the Republican committee chairman, has said that constitutional protection didn’t apply since Fauci last year received a pardon from President Joe Biden and thus did not have to worry about the threat of prosecution.

But Fauci, in a statement issued before the hearing, said he had good reason to fear the possibility of criminal charges given what he said was Paul’s determination “to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote.”

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According to deputies, Jacques Voltaire was last seen around 11 a.m. Wednesday, in the 7600 block of Kimberly Boulevard in North Lauderdale.

Deputies said Voltaire is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds.

“He is bald with brown eyes and was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black pants and dress shoes,” a BSO news release stated. “According to this family, Voltaire suffers from dementia.”

Anyone with information about Voltaire’s whereabouts is asked to call BSO Detective Leonard Charla at 954-321-4274 or the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-HELP (4357).

According to an arrest report from the Homestead Police Department, Sarahi Azucena Gonzalez was initially arrested Tuesday on charges of child abuse without great bodily harm and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Investigators said a doctor at Baptist Health Homestead Hospital told them that the victim “was brought to the emergency department with various injuries” from the abuse, prompting police involvement. An arrest report doesn’t state who brought the boy there.

“The injuries appeared to be in various stages of healing and included the following: linear looped markings, abrasions and facial trauma with both of the victim’s eyes swollen and bruised,” the report states.

Police said Gonzalez, the boy’s father, Maurice Timothy Dukes, 36, and the victim’s 12-year-old cousin inflicted the injuries on him.

The victim’s aunt, Kiemaya Jackson, told Local 10 News through tears that the boy “had gashes, like he was whooped like a slave.”

“He had two big black eyes, his eyes were really swollen,” Jackson said. “The baby had bruises wrapped around his body from his neck all the way down to his feet, from the inner thighs.”

Authorities said both Dukes and Gonzalez admitted to beating the boy and admitted to not seeking medical attention.

Jackson said the boy had been in Dukes’ care since his mother, her niece, died several months ago.

“Every time we tried to hug him, he would flex like he was nervous,” Jackson said. “Paramedics, police, everybody cried. That baby went through a lot. He went through a lot.”

According to a separate arrest report obtained Thursday by Local 10 News, Gonzalez is facing additional charges of child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor because she ordered the 12-year-old boy to beat his little cousin with a belt after the younger child urinated on the floor.

Police said Gonzalez beat the 5-year-old boy with a broom and her fists before telling him to stand on the bed and face the wall.

Gonzalez then handed the 12-year-old boy a belt and ordered him to strike his cousin on the buttocks with it, authorities said.

According to the arrest report, the elder boy told police that he followed Gonzalez’s orders out of fear and claimed that she ordered him to “whoop him harder,” because she didn’t believe he was hitting the boy hard enough.

The 12-year-old said once Gonzalez was satisfied by the beating she instructed his cousin to shower and stand in the corner, the report stated.

Authorities said the elder boy told detectives he was too scared to call police or his parents after the abuse.

As of Thursday morning, Gonzalez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed her total bond as “to bet set.” Dukes was no longer appearing in the online jail database.

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Maurice Timothy Dukes, 36, and his girlfriend, Sarahi Azucena Gonzalez, 22, are facing aggravated child abuse and child neglect charges.

Investigators said a doctor at Baptist Health Homestead Hospital told them that the boy, Dukes’ son, “was brought to the emergency department with various injuries” from the abuse, prompting police involvement. An arrest report doesn’t state who brought the boy there.

“The injuries appeared to be in various stages of healing and included the following: linear looped markings, abrasions and facial trauma with both of the victim’s eyes swollen and bruised,” the report states.

Police said Dukes, Gonzalez and the victim’s 12-year-old cousin inflicted the injuries.

The child’s aunt, Kiemaya Jackson, told Local 10 News through tears that the boy “had gashes, like he was whooped like a slave.”

“He had two big black eyes, his eyes were really swollen,” Jackson said. “The baby had bruises wrapped around his body from his neck all the way down to his feet, from the inner thighs.”

Authorities said both Dukes and Gonzalez admitted to beating the boy and admitted to not seeking medical attention.

Jackson said the boy had been in Dukes’ care since his mother, her niece, died several months ago.

“Every time we tried to hug him, he would flex like he was nervous,” Jackson said. “Paramedics, police, everybody cried. That baby went through a lot. He went through a lot.”

Gonzalez said she hit the child “with a belt and ‘chancleta’” because “no one would help her when she asked for help with caretaking,” according to the arrest report.

“I am hurt, because that is my nephew and if you were stressed I feel like you could’ve reached out for help,” Jackson said. “The damage that was done to my nephew, it really hurts. And we need answers to it.”

Police said Gonzalez additionally admitted that the boy’s cousin “struck the victim on the face multiple times after (he) bit him.”

Both adults were arrested while the 12-year-old was listed as being “at large” in the arrest report.

As of Wednesday, both adults were being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center: Dukes on a $6,000 bond and Gonzalez on a $4,000 bond.

The event is expected to boost tourism to Spain as eclipse enthusiasts flock to a swath of the country's north that will be in the path of total darkness on Aug. 12. Parts of Greenland, western Iceland and a corner of Portugal are also in the shadow's path.

Eclipse chasers may also join eclipse cruises in the north Atlantic. Much of the rest of the northern hemisphere will see a partial eclipse.

Interest surged for 2024 's total eclipse over North America, with many people using their smartphones to document it. This year's event is expected to be no different.

But an eclipse poses unique challenges for photos, such as drastic changes in lighting. Here are pointers on how smartphone shooters can get the best shot.

Find the best place to view and capture the eclipse

Location is key. If you're travelling to view the eclipse, you’ll want to be as close as possible to the path of totality.

The European Space Agency has posted a map of Spain on its website showing how many minutes of totality there will be for different parts of the country.

For more detail, eclipse expert Xavier Jubier’s website overlays the eclipse’s path on Google Maps, which allows zooming down to the street level.

Be aware that for most places in Europe the eclipse won’t happen until close to sunset, and the sun and moon will get closer to the horizon as it continues. So try to find a high point with clear views of the western horizon.

Use apps to help with advance planning

Weather conditions can change so consult forecast and cloud coverage apps like Astrospheric ahead of time to find locations with clearer skies.

The American Astronomical Society has a list of recommended iOS and Android apps, which can do helpful things like play an audio countdown to the moment of totality, and simulate how the eclipse will look from your position so you can set up a shot in advance.

You can take a good photo even if you don't have a manual camera

A digital SLR camera is your best bet for dramatic close-up photos of the moon passing in front of the sun.

But you can still take a good photo with a smartphone.

Be aware that iPhones and Android devices aren't really designed for photographing objects in the sky. Their lenses are great for wide-angle shots but not so good for capturing close-up detail from faraway.

But newer phones have sophisticated sensors, multiple lenses and image stabilization software that give you a better chance. Many also have exposure controls, so you can darken or lighten the image amid tricky eclipse lighting.

“The main challenge with using smartphone cameras for astronomical photography is that they tend to overexpose bright objects” such as the moon or the inner solar corona, the American Astronomical Society says in its online guide to photographing eclipses. At the same time, smartphones have trouble focusing on dim objects, which is “almost everything else in the sky,” the group says.

“Zooming in to make the subject bigger often helps.”

Just don’t use flash. It won't be effective and can spoil the moment for anyone around you whose eyes have adapted to darkness.

And don't just focus on the sky. Look at the scene around you. As the moon passes in front of the sun, the landscape will be “bathed in eerie lighting and shadows," NASA says in photo tips it posted for the 2024 eclipse.

“As light filters through the overlapping leaves of trees, it creates natural pinholes that project miniature eclipse replicas on the ground,” NASA says. “Anywhere you can point your camera can yield exceptional imagery, so be sure to compose some wide-angle photos that can capture your eclipse experience.”

Protect your eyes and your lens

If you're photographing the sun during the partial phases of the eclipse, the lens must be protected by a special-purpose solar filter, said Antonio Garcia Fernandez of Volunteer Astronomy Observers of Spain, a group of astronomers and professors that set up a website, Eclipse Seguro, to share safety information ahead of this year's eclipse.

The group recommends the Solar Snap filter, the only one designed for smartphones that's certified to the international ISO 12312-2 standard for solar filters.

Or just use a pair of eclipse glasses, which are more widely available, over the lens.

“This makeshift method is a great low-cost DIY alternative and was widely and successfully practiced by millions of observers during the recent 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses in the Americas,” Garcia Fernandez said.

Don't forget to also wear a pair of eclipse glasses if you're looking at the sun while lining up a shot.

Watch out for fake glasses. Eclipse Seguro and the American Astronomical Society list models that they've vetted for compliance with the ISO standard.

“Online marketplaces are currently flooded with uncertified or counterfeit glasses” with fake ISO labels, which can cause permanent blind spots in seconds, Garcia Fernandez said.

Steady your shot

Use a tripod for steady shots or if you plan to shoot for an extended time. To keep your gear from overheating as you wait for the big moment, grab a white towel to cover it up.

To prevent jostling your device when hitting the shutter, use a smartwatch shutter button app or set a timer to take the photo.

Can I take a selfie with the eclipse?

It’s tempting to make a TikTok or Instagram-friendly eclipse video. Perhaps you want a selfie video, narrating into the camera while the cosmic ballet between sun and moon plays out over your shoulder.

While you might think your vision isn’t at risk because you’re not looking at the sun, your phone’s screen could reflect harmful ultraviolet light, eye experts have warned.

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Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

“Our family wants to once again thank everyone who has reached out with prayers, kind messages, and support for Perez. Your compassionate humanity during this heartbreaking time has meant more than words can express,” the statement read. “This has been incredibly difficult and emotional for us, made even harder because very little information has been made available to our family. While we continue to wait for further updates, we remain hopeful.”

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies received multiple calls Tuesday night from people reporting that Hilton appeared to be harming himself with a knife during a TikTok livestream.

In the video, Hilton was heard saying things like, “This is what you all wanted” and “It will be interesting to see what happens after you die.”

Deputies said they confirmed with family members that Hilton was alone inside and worked to safely de-escalate the situation. Authorities said he was transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital to be treated for his injuries and was then Baker Acted.

Hilton’s family said the celebrity, who was born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is able to communicate, which has “given our family hope.”

“We respectfully ask for your continued prayers, understanding, and grace as Perez continues to recover,” the statement continued. “We will share additional updates as we receive confirmed information and are able to do so. For now, we’re taking things one step at a time and keeping our focus where it belongs, on Perez and his recovery.

“Again, thank you, truly, for all your support and compassion. We are so grateful.”

Hilton, a Cuban-American, rose to prominence through his celebrity gossip website before expanding into fashion and music coverage and becoming a familiar television personality. Hilton has three children, Mario, Mia and Mayte.

If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

The extreme weather has pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several countries, prompting health warnings for millions of people.

Across Europe, authorities are grappling with the consequences of extreme heat: health alerts for millions in Italy, record temperatures in Austria, drought-related disruptions to energy and shipping in Central Europe, and wildfires stretching from France to the Balkans.

Scientists and officials warn that such events are becoming more frequent and intense as the climate warms.

Climate change drives more extreme summers

From the Mediterranean to Central Europe, prolonged heat, drought and wildfire conditions are increasingly becoming defining features of summer. The current heat wave has exposed vulnerabilities in public health systems, power generation, transportation networks and tourism infrastructure, forcing governments and businesses to adapt to more frequent periods of extreme weather.

Italy’s Health Ministry placed all 27 cities monitored under its national heat surveillance system on red alert Thursday — the first time this year the entire network has been under the highest warning level simultaneously.

The alerts stretch from Trieste in the northeast to Palermo in Sicily and signal a health risk for the entire population, not only vulnerable groups such as older adults and people with chronic illnesses.

Authorities urged residents and tourists to avoid direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day, remain indoors where possible and drink plenty of water as temperatures in some areas approached 40 C (104 F).

The heat has also forced adjustments at major tourist attractions. The ministries of tourism and culture extended evening opening hours at landmarks including Rome’s Colosseum and Pantheon.

Cooling mist fans have been installed at the Colosseum’s entrances and additional medical stations have been made available.

Austria breaks national temperature record

The most intense temperatures were recorded in Austria, where the mercury reached 41.2 C (106.2 F) on Wednesday in the village of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg near the Slovak border, according to GeoSphere Austria. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in the country.

Austria is also facing severe drought. Rainfall from Jan. 1 through June 30 was 27% below the long-term average nationwide, while some eastern regions received only half their normal precipitation.

Climatologist Alexander Orlik said some parts of the country had not experienced such dry conditions since 1885.

Hungary cuts power use as drought hits nuclear plant

In Hungary, prolonged drought and record-low water levels on the Danube River have severely affected the country’s only nuclear power plant, which relies on river water to cool its reactors.

Plant operators have reduced output to about 10% of normal production, prompting the government to introduce emergency conservation measures as a record-breaking heat wave grips the country.

Authorities have asked major industrial users and households to cut electricity consumption, particularly during peak demand hours between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Freight trains have been barred from operating during those hours, while decorative lighting on landmarks in Budapest has been switched off.

Several major companies, including energy company Mol, pharmaceutical maker Gedeon Richter and automakers Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW have announced plans to curb electricity use.

The government also canceled parliamentary sessions this week in an effort to conserve power.

The heat wave has shattered temperature records across the country. On Wednesday night, Budapest recorded its warmest overnight low temperature on record, with temperatures falling only to 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), underscoring the persistence of the extreme heat.

Germany worries about shrinking rivers

Germany faced growing concerns over the impact of drought on transportation and industry as water levels on the Rhine and other rivers continued to fall.

Transport Minister Steffen Bilger met affected organizations Thursday and warned that low water levels posed major challenges for inland waterway shipping, industry and the broader logistics chain.

Environmental group BUND urged authorities to focus not only on the economic impacts but also on making rivers more resilient to climate change by retaining more water in landscapes and reducing withdrawals during periods of drought.

France remains on high wildfire alert

In southeastern France, firefighters maintained a large presence in the Var region after authorities said a major wildfire there was no longer spreading but remained capable of reigniting.

The blaze, which began July 20, has burned more than 60 square kilometers (23 square miles), making it the largest recorded in the region in recent decades.

Authorities warned that strong winds and extremely dry conditions left southeastern France at very high risk for additional wildfires.

Balkans battle fires and drought

The heat wave reached its peak across the Balkans on Thursday as temperatures neared 40 C (104 F) and authorities battled drought and wildfires.

In Serbia, firefighters struggled to contain several blazes after days of dry weather. One major fire burned through pine forests west of Belgrade, while another spread near the central town of Kraljevo, where difficult terrain complicated firefighting efforts.

In neighboring Croatia, tourists in Dubrovnik sought refuge in shade and avoided beaches during the hottest hours of the day as temperatures soared along the Adriatic coast.

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Associated Press journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

The famed director of seminal horror films like “The Thing” and “Halloween” says the movie business is all “corporate” nowadays. So the 78-year-old prefers to find alternative, less expensive ways to stay creatively fulfilled.

After a dream about an abandoned downtown Los Angeles church with an elevator that goes to hell, Carpenter, who is also a prolific composer, enlisted his godson, Daniel Davies, and his son, Cody, to collaborate on the album. It’s comprised of spooky instrumental tracks evocative of some of his iconic classics, like the theme from “Halloween.” He then turned to his wife, Sandy King, who is a comic book publisher, for help with the graphic novel.

Carpenter, his son and Davies spoke with The Associated Press about their artistic process, concerns over artificial intelligence and having nightmares about Boston Celtics great Larry Bird. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Tell me where the idea for this project came from?

JOHN CARPENTER: I thought, I’m a movie director by profession in the old days, and this album would be a great score for a movie. However, this movie would cost several hundred million dollars, so why not do a graphic novel? My wife owns a comic book company, so let’s write the novel and illustrate it, and we can score that.

AP: Has that been your process in the past? To come up with the music first and then the film?

JOHN CARPENTER: No, the other way around. I direct the movie, cut it together the way I want it, and then I look at it for music. So, the music is simply functional. It supports the story and the characters and so forth.

The movie business has changed since I was in it full-time. It’s all corporate now. I came from student filmmaking, where we didn’t have any money, so we couldn’t hire a composer. I had to do it myself. But now I got these bums to do it with me, and so I don’t have to work as hard.

AP: The idea for this came to you in a dream. Do you often draw inspiration from dreams?

JOHN CARPENTER: Never. This is the first time. Most of my dreams are pretty similar, and they’re not made for movies. They’re always about me being lost in a city and trying to find my way home, but the streets change on me, and I can’t find my way home. Or I’m looking for the movie theater district, and when I get there, they’re all closed.

CODY CARPENTER: I’ve been keeping a dream journal since college. I have these psychotic dreams. I just like to remember them, you know?

JOHN CARPENTER: The basketball dream? Didn’t you see somebody start dribbling?

CODY CARPENTER: It was Larry Bird. But it turned out that he was dead and I was interacting with his ghost.

AP: John, as someone who has worked with low budgets and who likes to experiment, have you played around with AI at all?

JOHN CARPENTER: Well, people tell me it’s dangerous. I don’t — what does that mean? Does that mean it’s starting to learn on its own?

AP: I think it depends on who you talk to.

DAVIES: We like to make music. I would like it to help do more task-kind of things, like predict new tracks and know my workflow. But we like to make stuff, so why would we use it?

CODY CARPENTER: I don’t know. I know someone who does AI music stuff a lot, and he sends me all this stuff that he does and, I mean, I think at some point we won’t have a job anymore. I really think it’s amazing, just how fast it’s progressing. But I don’t know. Nobody knows.

JOHN CARPENTER: Music, I think, is the greatest art form. I hate to say it. But it doesn’t require anything. We can all listen to it in different countries. Great music moves us. And you’re telling me a machine can do that? I don’t believe it. That bothers me. This is a human thing. I want it to come from us. I really do.

AP: I recently watched “Prince of Darkness” for the first time. I really liked it. It seems under-appreciated.

JOHN CARPENTER: Why is it that you just saw it?

AP: You're right. I wish I had seen it sooner. Are there films of yours that you feel like maybe have been under-appreciated?

JOHN CARPENTER: I’m glad you liked it. I am happy with almost every movie I made.

AP: What are you not happy with?

JOHN CARPENTER: I'm not going to tell you.

The Houston doctor is among an estimated 1 million Americans who have Lynch syndrome, a faulty gene passed from a parent that puts them at extremely high risk of colorectal cancer and more vulnerable to certain other cancers, too. They’re often urged to get yearly colonoscopies — far more often than usual — that can spot and remove precancerous growths called polyps.

Now scientists are creating vaccines that aim to go further, teaching the immune system to intercept this type of brewing colon cancer before it turns into a full-fledged tumor. At least three potential Lynch syndrome vaccines are in development, including two in early clinical trials in the U.S. and a third beginning in Britain.

The shot that Norton helped test appears promising enough that its lead researcher, Dr. Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, expects a larger study to begin early next year.

“It gives me hope,” said Norton, 59, of Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. She had already survived a different Lynch-caused cancer and has two children in their 20s who inherited her mutation. If a vaccine pans out, “perhaps they won’t have to have a colonoscopy every single year for the rest of their lives.”

Lynch syndrome is caused by an inherited genetic mutation

Everyone has what are called mismatch-repair genes, which are essentially spellcheckers to help fix DNA mistakes that can occur when our cells multiply. With Lynch syndrome, one of those genes can’t do its job properly, making it harder for the body to stop a buildup of abnormalities that can lead to tumors, often before age 50.

Colorectal cancer is the most common consequence. The average person has a 5% risk of developing it during their lifetime. A Lynch carrier’s risk can reach as high as 80% depending on which faulty gene they inherit, Vilar-Sanchez said.

Another big risk is endometrial, or uterine, cancer. Lynch carriers also are more likely to get other cancers including pancreatic, stomach, ovarian and certain skin cancers — and a kind of brain tumor that killed Norton’s sister at age 25.

Norton knew some of her mother’s relatives had also experienced colon cancer, but she was in her 40s before a gene test confirmed she has Lynch syndrome. She switched from every-so-often to yearly colonoscopies. As an obstetrician/gynecologist familiar with other Lynch risks, Norton also decided to have a precautionary hysterectomy. Surgeons discovered early-stage cancer in her removed uterus.

Possible vaccines to stop gene-caused cancer

Today there are two cancer-preventing vaccines, the HPV and hepatitis B shots that block infection from those tumor-causing viruses. But developing vaccines to prevent gene-caused cancer is more challenging than alerting the body to foreign intruders like a virus.

Lynch-fueled growths “tend to accumulate hundreds of mutations that are going to generate proteins that are novel, not made by our normal cells,” Vilar-Sanchez said. “You can train the immune system to recognize those proteins.”

In a first-step study, Norton and 44 other Lynch carriers tested a vaccine made by Swiss biotech Nouscom that teaches the immune system to spot 209 of those abnormalities in Lynch-caused precancers. That revved up tumor-eliminating T cells and a year later, colonoscopies showed fewer precancerous growths and no advanced polyps, the MD Anderson team reported in Nature Medicine.

“Can we even further stimulate the immune system” to keep up with Lynch syndrome-spurred tumor formation, asked Dr. John Marshall, a Georgetown University oncologist and adviser to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance who wasn’t involved with the study. “This early paper suggests that yeah, maybe we can.”

For the first time since 2014, Norton’s own colonoscopies one and two years after vaccination were polyp-free. She’s also part of a subset of study participants given a booster shot a year later; more data on that is expected this fall.

Oxford University researchers are beginning initial testing of a similar approach to attack Lynch-spurred precancers, a vaccine made by Massachusetts-based Moderna using the mRNA technology behind its COVID-19 shot.

And scientists are awaiting results from a slightly larger study comparing California-based ImmunityBio’s Tri-Ad5 vaccine, which flags some different cancer markers, to a placebo.

Is Lynch syndrome tied to the rise in young adult colon cancer?

About 158,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the U.S. each year, most of them over 50. Cases in younger adults are increasing, though it isn't clear why.

Lynch syndrome affects about 1 in 279 people. While most don’t know it, more may be learning they have the inherited disorder, Vilar-Sanchez said, as genetic testing is increasingly discussed with people with Lynch-related cancer in the family or who get certain tumors at young ages. That in turn can show if close relatives might also be at risk.

For the average person, U.S. guidelines call for routine colorectal cancer screening — with a colonoscopy or other kinds of tests — to begin at age 45. But at any age, get a checkup for symptoms such as blood in stool or rectal bleeding; changes in bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of stool that lasts more than a few days; unintended weight loss; and cramps or abdominal pain.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

When a roadside bomb struck his Humvee convoy months later, the explosion’s shock wave swept through his body before headaches and sleeplessness set in for days.

“As long as you got back up and could go back on patrol, that’s kind of what you did,” he said.

Shearer, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, links both events in 2005 to traumatic brain injuries, which were only recently diagnosed. He's still plagued with symptoms ranging from dizziness and migraines to forgetting daily tasks and responsibilities to his wife and children.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

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The lasting effects of traumatic brain injuries are raising fresh concerns about the toll of the Iran war on American troops who are suffering those wounds during a conflict without a clear end. Nearly 700 U.S. service members have been wounded by drone and missile attacks on bases in the Middle East and other fighting. Most have experienced traumatic brain injuries and returned to duty, according to public statements from military officials.

The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, last month called the vast majority of injuries over a two-week period "minor concussions.”

Doctors can't predict who may have lasting effects from a TBI

Concussions often are termed “mild” TBIs, and many people recover within weeks. But sometimes those with seemingly mild initial symptoms go on to have problems persisting for months or years, such as headaches, dizziness or difficulties with memory or attention that's sometimes called “brain fog.”

Doctors have no way to predict who will suffer lasting problems, a vexing enough question that there’s medical debate over whether to retire the term “mild TBI.” Repeated blows are known to increase the chances of lasting problems, including a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It has gained attention for links to deaths in the National Football League and other sports.

It’s imperative that people recover from a concussion before doing activities that put them at increased risk of another, said Dr. David Okonkwo, a University of Pittsburgh brain trauma specialist.

Doctors also are still learning how explosive blasts injure the brain versus a physical blow.

“The blast wave itself can be injurious,” said Dr. James Kelly, an emeritus professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and chief medical scientist at the Invisible Wounds Foundation, which is focused on military brain injuries. “It’s a different cellular injury. Blast is a different thing than a blunt injury to the head.”

Troops have been facing a new type of warfare with Iran in which drones may explode closer to their heads, as opposed to the ground-level roadside bombs and improvised explosives that were more common in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the care that wounded troops received following an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait that killed six U.S. soldiers early in the war. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin pressed the military in a letter on Wednesday to release the findings of its investigation into the March 1 attack.

“I spoke directly with Wisconsinites who sustained traumatic brain injuries from (President Donald) Trump’s war in Iran and went weeks without so much as a screening, let alone specialized care, for their injuries,” Baldwin said in a statement.

Defense Health Agency spokesman Peter Graves said in an email that “it is policy that service members are screened for TBI.”

Experts say the military has made strides in screening and treating TBIs, a signature injury in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 500,000 service members were diagnosed between 2000 and 2025, with 82% of cases considered mild and not all of them related to combat. But advocates say the injuries could still be undercounted because symptoms often overlap with post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions.

A TBI diagnosis can emerge years later

Neither of the two blasts Shearer experienced in Iraq produced obvious injuries, and medics prioritized Marines who were more badly hurt.

“You don’t want to be the guy who goes to sick call or says, ‘Oh, I’m hurt,’ because you’re away from your team,” Shearer said. “There’s this culture of you don’t want to be seen as lesser or weak, so you hide injuries inherently.”

When he came home at age 19, he denied he had PTSD and didn't know what a TBI was. Plagued by nightmares, sleeplessness and headaches, he initially turned to drugs to self-medicate and considered suicide.

Shearer eventually got help for PTSD, but it took years for him to consider that he suffered traumatic brain injuries. He was working for the Wounded Warrior Project and screening fellow vets for TBIs when he realized he checked many of the same boxes.

He's since been diagnosed and received treatment. But challenges remain, including vertigo and light sensitivity. He also forgets important conversations with his family.

“I know that some of that stuff is stereotypical, but for me, it's got a different ring to it,” Shearer said. “There will be no memory of the conversation happening.”

The brain can adapt with treatments and therapies

Memory loss is something Army veteran Frank Sonntag also experienced following a TBI from a mortar blast in Iraq in 2004.

He was in his 50s and training reservists when he felt a blast of wind against his ear from an explosion 70 feet (21 meters) away. He didn’t know he was hurt and didn't seek treatment for two years, ignoring intensifying headaches and brain fog.

It got to the point where it took 30 minutes to write an email, while colleagues told him he spoke one word every 10 seconds. He considered suicide and was diagnosed only after he got lost driving home. Neurologists prescribed medication for his migraines, among other treatments.

“Speech therapy was one of the greatest things I had,” added Sonntag, 75, of Queen Creek, Arizona. “They taught me how to practice the words I was speaking and how to put sentences together again.”

Kelly Parker, director of independent services at the Wounded Warrior Project, said it's hard to predict an injury's trajectory.

“If you've seen one TBI, you've seen one TBI," she said.

Screening, early treatment and support can be crucial to returning to a more normal life. Physical, speech and art therapies can lead to improvements, she said.

“There’s still so much we don’t know about the brain, but one thing that we do know is it can heal itself,” Parker said. “We know that new neural pathways can be created, and we absolutely believe that the brain can adapt. We've seen it happen.”

Army veteran Spencer Milo said some people struggle to understand why he's still dealing with migraines, seizures and forgetfulness after so many years out of uniform.

His first TBI occurred in Iraq in 2008, when his Humvee smashed into a wall to evade fire. His second came from the blast of a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2011.

“I’ve had fellow service members that were even with me on those days, and they’re like, ‘Dude, why can’t you just kick it?’” said Milo, 41, of Parker, Colorado. “I really wish it was that simple. It’s tough because when you can’t see something, it’s hard to believe that it’s really there.”

In the document, prosecutors accuse Yinon Levi, who lives in the south of the West Bank, of reckless manslaughter in the death of prominent Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in July 2025. The charge holds a lesser punishment than murder under Israeli law. The indictment also charges Levi with armed trespassing and malicious property damage.

It is extremely rare for Israel to charge settlers with violence against Palestinians. Israeli rights group B’Tselem said that the charges against Levi mark the first time since Oct. 7, 2023, that an Israeli has been indicted for the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank. In that time, the group said, Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the territory.

A lawyer for Levi, Avichay Hajbi, did not confirm whether an indictment was handed down, but told The Associated Press that the prosecution had made a “mistaken decision.” He said the defense would respond to the accusations in court.

Levi was shown in video footage shooting at crowds of Palestinians in Hathaleen’s village, Umm al-Khair, on the day the activist was killed. Witnesses said one of the shots Levi fired struck Hathaleen, who was standing meters away.

One video showed Levi firing two shots, while another, which family members say was taken by Hathaleen himself, showed Levi firing toward the person holding the camera. The footage cuts, but the person can still be heard moaning in pain.

Hathaleen was a prominent voice advocating against settler violence and was involved in the 2025 Oscar-winning film “No Other Land,” which chronicled the fight by Palestinian residents to protect their homes and villages. A teacher and father of three, he often hosted international activists and dignitaries in his home.

His public profile and the videos capturing the moment of the alleged shooting ignited global calls for Levi’s prosecution.

Levi was among the Israeli settlers sanctioned by the United States and other Western countries over allegations of violence toward Palestinians in 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump lifted the U.S. sanctions after taking office the following year.

Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge professor in 2023, announced his decision late Wednesday following weeks of allegations about plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments.

“While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement,” Arday said in a statement. “The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.”

The statement was distributed by the Good Law Project, a campaign group that has supported Arday since the criticism spilled into the media last month. An earlier letter circulated by the group and signed by more than two dozen academics and politicians described the plagiarism allegations as a “smear campaign” designed to undermine Arday and other Black people who hold “positions of influence.”

Arday’s appointment at Cambridge highlighted his personal story of overcoming dyslexia, developmental delays and autism that he said left him non-verbal until the age of 11 and illiterate until his late teens.

Questions about his qualifications were raised publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs sparked widespread protests.

On July 24, the Times of London published an analysis of Arday’s 2015 Ph.D. thesis highlighting what it said were multiple examples of passages that were “identical or near-identical” to an earlier paper written by another researcher.

The British media also raised questions about Arday’s claims that he had raised 5.5 million pounds ($7.4 million) for charity through feats such as running 30 marathons in 35 days and 600 miles in six days.

Arday told the Guardian news website that the money was raised with the help of others over a 20-year period. He said non-disclosure agreements prevented him from naming the others.

Cambridge initially stood by Arday, saying that the plagiarism allegations had been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday’s doctorate.

That changed Wednesday when Cambridge opened its inquiry.

“The University of Cambridge has begun an investigation following new information about Professor Arday’s qualifications and honorary appointments,” the university said in a statement. “In order to ensure a fair process, we will not comment further until this has concluded.”

The Times of London said Cambridge decided to investigate after it presented new evidence that some of Arday’s research was “fabricated” and contained “impossible” evidence.

In an interview with the newspaper published last week, Arday denied plagiarism but admitted to some mistakes that he said were partly due to a lack of supervision when he was working on his doctorate.

Arday continued to defend himself in his resignation statement, saying his decision “should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship.”

“Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me’” he said. “It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.”

The annual Huang Kuang drills kicked off on Wednesday and are set to extend through Aug. 14 in various locations around the island. The live-fire exercises will test the Taiwanese army’s ability to sustain 24-hour defense operations as well as counter China’s “gray-zone tactics,” which stop just short of open warfare.

China claims the self-ruled democracy as its own territory, and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan dismisses China’s claims and insists it is a sovereign state.

The United States, while not recognizing Taiwan as a country, sees all threats to the island as a matter of great concern. Washington is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

The drills show closer ties with the U.S. military

While there has long been speculation that the U.S. military has been quietly training Taiwanese troops, the collaboration between the two sides has been more visible in recent weeks. A key component of the Han Kuang drills, for example, is the practice of a U.S.-inspired military communications method called backbriefing, where subordinates explain to commanders how they plan to carry out assigned missions.

The communication drills are intended to encourage first-line fighters to be more self-reliant and effective in battle, experts say.

“The most important new development in this year’s Han Kuang is the incorporation of American-style military training methods, which are aimed at enhancing the coordination and combat readiness of the Taiwanese military,” said William Yang, a senior Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group.

The drills thus “stay away from the mostly performative tasks of firepower display” of past years and instead focus on building real combat capabilities, Yang added.

Emphasis on reservists and urban resilience

Another focus of this year’s drills is that they will mobilize one of the largest numbers yet of reservists, of around 20,000 personnel, according to local media. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry did not say how many reservists will be involved in the drills.

The emphasis on reserves illustrates Taiwan’s efforts to address the military power asymmetry between itself and China, Yang said. China maintains the world’s largest army, of more than 2 million active-duty personnel, almost nine times the size of Taiwan’s active-duty armed forces.

Another focus of the military drills, reflecting Taiwan’s longstanding emphasis on civil defense, are urban resilience drills. These will take place on different days in the major cities of Kaohsiung, Taichung and the capital, Taipei. During the drills, mobile internet speed will be reduced for about 30 minutes to simulate telecommunications interference in case of an attack.

The emphasis on combat readiness and civilian preparedness reflect Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s priorities amid political constraints, said Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. Lai has sought to pass a $40 billion special defense budget for U.S. arms purchases and local defense manufacturing. A much smaller version of the budget, of $24.8 billion, was eventually approved by the opposition-controlled parliament.

“Given that Lai has been constrained on his ability to pass a budget that could even supply the kinds of weapons he would want to test, he has had to look to what he is able to do given the domestic political gridlock,” Nachman said.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan remain in question

Despite closer informal ties between the U.S. and Taiwan militaries, questions remain around a massive $14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan that U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve. After traveling to China in May, Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with Beijing, raising anxieties on the island about continued U.S. support.

Trump also said after his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he does not want to “travel 9,500 miles (15,300 kilometers) to fight a war” over Taiwan.

In that context, seeing the U.S. influence on Taiwan’s military drills offers a “silver lining” in terms of Washington's commitment to Taiwan, Nachman said.

“Even though Trump and those close to him have flip-flopped on supporting Taiwan, the connection between the two militaries remains strong, enough to at least ensure that Taiwan is still able to learn at a high level from the U.S.,” he said.

But when he arrived Tuesday at a mobile clinic in the West Bank village of Iktaba, pulling the tattered prescription from his pocket, a local aid group finally gave him the medication he needs.

Musleh, who has a pacemaker, is one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians struggling to get healthcare in the West Bank, where a report released Thursday by Physicians for Human Rights Israel warns that Israeli policies have pushed the territory's health system to the brink of collapse.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began nearly three years ago, Israel has withheld billions of dollars of tax and customs revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, the government body that administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Without those funds, the PA has struggled to pay health workers, buy medications and support public hospitals, pharmacies and clinics, 75% of which have reduced operations and are functioning just once or twice a week.

At the same time, Israeli military raids and a surge in new checkpoints are also impeding the ability of Palestinians to get adequate medical care, with life-threatening consequences.

“If this continues, it is patients — not institutions — who will pay the price,” said Milena Ansari, PHRI's director of the Occupied Palestinian Territory Department, who wrote the report.

Israel has withheld at least $2.5 billion in revenues from the West Bank

Because Palestinians don't control their own borders, the PA relies on Israel to collect taxes on goods that enter the West Bank through Israeli ports. But rights groups for decades have accused Israel of weaponizing the funds as a means of political pressure.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stopped sending monthly clearance revenues to the PA last year and, as of June, Israel had cumulatively withheld at least $2.5 billion from the PA since 2023, according to the International Crisis Group.

Smotrich's office and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press.

In an interview with the AP, Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan said that unpaid staff aren't showing up to work, creating a backlog of cases and delaying routine surgeries. Earlier this year, Palestinian doctors went on strike and some primary healthcare centers closed.

Some of the most impacted are those with cancer, kidney and heart problems, older people and those who have been displaced, health officials said.

At PHRI's mobile clinic in Iktaba, hundreds of people streamed in seeking treatment.

Mohammed Sarris said it's been weeks since he's been able to get the eye drops he needs for irritation caused by his diabetes.

The 64-year-old has been relying on the mobile clinic since he was forced from his home last year in the Nur Shams refugee camp, where he had easier access to healthcare provided by UNRWA, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees.

A retired government worker, he earns a meager pension, often rationing medicine so he can afford food.

"It's degrading. ... All of this has affected us a lot,” he said.

The UN and other aid agencies say more patients are coming to their clinics

Physicians for Human Rights Israel said the number of patients at its mobile clinics has doubled in the last two years, from about 250 a day to around 500.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA's West Bank director, said there's been a marked increase in patients at its health centers across the territory. The agency is trying to bridge the gap, but lacks funds to scale up health services and faces Israeli restrictions on imports of medications, he said.

Earlier this year, Israel revoked the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations, among them Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF.

Last year, MSF had 12 mobile clinics operating in the South Hebron Hills. But because they could no longer coordinate their movements with the Israeli military, the group reduced the number of clinics it runs by half, impacting more than 40,000 people, said Joan Tubau, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

More Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks prevent Palestinians from accessing care

The lack of medicine, staff shortages and reduced services are being compounded by harsher Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank.

In recent years, the military has erected new barriers, checkpoints and roadblocks, closing off towns and cities, sometimes with little warning.

In July, at least two women gave birth in ambulances because checkpoints were closed, said Aseel Baidoun, deputy director of advocacy and campaigns for Medical Aid for Palestinians, or MAP, an international organization. One of the babies was stillborn.

She said three others also died trying to get to hospitals this year, including two more infants and a 30-year-old woman who died of a heart attack after an ambulance was stopped at a checkpoint near Sinjil, outside Ramallah.

The Israeli military has denied that it prevents medical treatment for civilians and said there is no intention to delay treatment or medical evacuations.

In response to questions about the stillborn infant, who was delivered in an ambulance near Nablus, the army said the emergency vehicle hadn’t completed “required coordination” prior to arriving at the checkpoint. It said the military conducted a security check, which only lasted a few minutes.

Dr. Leen Ibrahim, who works with MAP, said one of the consequences of this crisis is the impact on mental health.

“People here feel suffocated by everything they’re going through," she said.

At the clinic Tuesday, some Palestinians broke down waiting for hours to be seen.

“The line is so long,” said Asala Wawi, 65, wiping tears from her face as she got her eyes checked. “I'm tired."

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Associated Press journalists Jalal Bwaitel in Ramallah, West Bank, and Koral Saeed in Herzliya, Israel, contributed.

Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said the remains of the climbers killed in the July 31 avalanche were being transferred to a military hospital in the northern city of Skardu.

Three bodies were brought off the mountain on Aug. 1. Thursday's airlift raised the number of recovered bodies to eight, including renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja. Two climbers remain missing and the search is ongoing following what the Alpine Club described as one of Pakistan’s deadliest mountaineering disasters.

The bodies of Purja, Chinese climber Zhong Wang, Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa were flown from the base camp of Broad Peak to the air base in Skardu before being transported to the hospital, regional authorities said.

The international team of climbers came from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain and the United States. The bodies will be flown to Pakistan's capital Islamabad after coordination with the embassies of the climbers’ home countries, officials said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar this week expressed condolences to the victims’ families, saying he was deeply saddened by the tragedy and that Pakistan remained committed to the recovery operation in coordination with the Nepal, Oman, U.K. and U.S. embassies.

Mountaineering accidents are common in northern Pakistan, where climbers face hazards including avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather.

A Chinese climber died last year after being struck by falling rocks while descending K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.

The bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit Pakistan’s mountains are typically recovered only at the request of their families and governments. If relatives decline recovery efforts, the remains are usually left on the mountain where the climbers died.

On Wednesday, the Alpine Club thanked the Pakistani and Nepali recovery teams, including Pakistani mountaineers Sirbaz Khan, Abid Beg and Sherzad and Nepali climbers Dipen Gurung and Pemba Chhewang Sherpa for their roles in the difficult recovery operation.

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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan.

The repeated strikes have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians. Ukrainians, meanwhile, are enduring regular barrages that Kyiv's depleted air defenses are struggling to counter amid Moscow's 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

The Kyiv region observed an official day of mourning Thursday after a Russian missile and drone blitz killed 17 people the previous day, prompting an increasingly urgent scramble by Ukraine and its partner countries to find new air defense supplies.

In the first six months of this year, 1,396 civilians were killed and 7,978 injured in Ukraine, the United Nations office in Kyiv said Wednesday. That was a 37% increase from the same period last year and a 114% jump over 2024, it said, attributing the rise to more long-range aerial attacks by Russia.

Ukraine says it hit Russian refineries and vessels at sea

Ukrainian forces hit a refinery in Russia's Bashkortostan region, more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the front line, as well as a refinery in the Yaroslavl region, almost 700 kilometers (400 miles) from the border, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Yaroslavl Gov. Mikhail Yevrayev confirmed an attack on a refinery, saying in a Telegram post that drone debris hit the facility’s oil reservoirs, sparking a fire. Three private houses also caught fire, and several residential buildings were damaged, he added.

Ukrainian forces hit two Russian military patrol boats in the Black Sea, Zelenskyy said, along with vessels belonging to Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, which Russia uses to evade Western restrictions on its oil exports. He did not give any details.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight shot down 605 Ukrainian drones over its territory.

Ukraine seeks more interceptor missiles to bolster air defenses

Drone and glide bomb attacks across Ukraine overnight killed at least three civilians and wounded 22 others, authorities said Thursday, as countries helping Kyiv resist the invasion scrambled to find more vital air defenses for its fight.

Moscow’s forces have in recent weeks pummeled Ukraine with ballistic missiles that Kyiv officials say only the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system can stop. But the Iran war has drained stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles, leaving Ukraine at the mercy of Russian bombardments that seek to exploit the weakened air defenses.

“We are working as hard as possible with all partners who can assist with the supply of interceptor missiles to protect against such insane Russian strikes targeting life, people, and civilian facilities,” Zelenskyy said on social media late Wednesday.

He said he had spoken to NATO chief Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb about urgently procuring interceptors from stockpiles. Zelenskyy said he and Rutte “coordinated our efforts regarding countries that have the necessary missiles and the capacity to help.”

Rutte said on X that he was discussing with allies "how we can continue to get Ukraine the air defenses they urgently need.”

Russian glide bombs wound 12 in Sumy region

Russia appears determined to exhaust Ukraine through sheer weight of numbers in terms of soldiers, armor and weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes time is on his side, that Western support will fade and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse under pressure, Western analysts and officials say.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired four missiles and 101 long-range strike drones overnight, with air defenses shooting down or jamming 66 drones.

Three people were killed in Balakliia in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, said Vitalii Karabanov, head of the city’s military administration.

In the neighboring Sumy region, Russian glide bombs wounded 12 people, the National Police said. Apartment buildings and infrastructure were damaged, with hundreds of windows shattered, said regional military administration chief Oleh Hryhorov.

In the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, a Russian drone struck a bus carrying farmworkers, injuring six people, regional authorities said.

A Russian drone also struck a residential area in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring four, said regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

But the 74-year-old retired nurse from Tucson said she feels the heat has been impacting more of her day-to-day: summer plans with family members across the region, meetups with friends, road trips and her daily morning walk routine.

"I’ve noticed at least a 10 degree difference in the weather," Bracamonte said. “Every summer, it seems to be getting hotter and hotter.”

Like Bracamonte, Americans are increasingly feeling a personal impact from extreme heat, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

According to the survey, U.S. adults are more likely to say extreme heat has had either a “major impact” or “minor impact” on their travel or vacation plans, electricity bills, their sleep, their family’s outdoor activities and more parts of their day-to-day life than in July 2024.

Much of that shift was among people who live in the West or Midwest.

Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say that extreme heat has had a “major” impact on each item asked about.

Warming has endangered the globe especially in recent years; scientists calculated that Earth’s average temperature in 2025 hovered among one of the three hottest on record, along with 2024 and 2023. The U.S. has sweltered under dangerous heat domes over the past few years, and unusually high temperatures even early in the year.

The recent scorching weather has played a role in thousands of heat-related deaths — killing more people every year than all other weather-related events. It impacts wildfire risk, strains public infrastructure, devastates agriculture and wreaks havoc on gatherings such as sporting events.

Now, the poll shows how extreme heat is reshaping Americans' daily lives.

“I have to get up at 5 in the morning to walk before 6, because by 7 it’s already in the 80s ... I lose a couple hours of sleep because I’m having to wake up earlier,” added Bracamonte, who said she identifies as a very liberal Democrat. “You can’t stay outside without being sick unless you’re guzzling water the whole time — it’s just so, so hot.”

Electricity bills going up

About 8 in 10 Americans say their electricity bills have seen a “major” or “minor” impact from extreme heat over the last year, compared with 69% in July 2024, according to the survey.

Just under half of Americans living in the Midwest, 44%, say extreme heat has had a “major” impact on their electricity bills, up from 29% two years ago.

Rising household electricity prices have turned into an increasingly prominent political issue over the past few years. Extreme weather is just one factor that affects electricity bills, but it means that people are using more energy for air conditioning — or in the colder months, heat.

“I feel like my utility costs probably doubled in the last three or four years,” said Daemien Williams, a 50-year-old bridge inspector living in Cahokia Heights, Illinois, who identifies as a Democrat. “I do look at my bills pretty in detail and see that the kilowatts and the usage is actually up, not just the price that they’re charging for it."

Travel and vacation plans impacted, along with family outdoor activities

Extreme heat is affecting Americans' lives in other ways, the survey found.

Around 4 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had either a major impact or a minor impact on their travel or vacation plans, up from about one-quarter in 2024.

“It has affected my entire family because we usually get together a lot during the summer," Bracamonte said. "We have family in Texas and we have family in upper Arizona. And we’ve seen that there’s been a lot more fires, a lot of more flooding, all that. So that kind of inhibits our plans to travel.”

Extreme heat waves increase wildfire risk, and a warmer world supercharges storms that could ultimately send more rainfall.

Around 7 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had either a major impact or a minor impact on their family's outdoor activities, compared with about 6 in 10 in 2024.

Sean Conway, a 41-year-old direct marketer in North Shore, Massachusetts, said his kids' soccer practice might either be postponed or canceled due to extreme temperatures, for example.

But to Conway, who considers himself a moderate independent, leaning Republican, this is minor. “Sometimes, you’ve got to just be out in the bad weather.”

It’s not surprising many Americans say they are feeling the impacts, said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center who was not involved with the polling.

“Brutal, life-threatening heat waves have become more frequent, more intense, and more persistent in many parts of the globe, including our western and midwestern states," Francis said. "Extreme heat compounded with long dry spells have affected our health directly, along with indirect effects on our wallets.”

Climate change belief remains largely stable

Even as more Americans say they feel a personal impact from extreme heat, that does not mean an increasing number believe in climate change.

About two-thirds, 66%, of Americans believe climate change is happening, a slight decline from 73% in September 2025. About 17% say they are not sure if climate change is happening, and about 15% say it is not happening.

Williams, the Illinois resident, attributes his belief in climate change in part to extreme shifts in weather including very high and very cold temperatures.

“My biggest indicator of the change in the climate is just the flooding is a lot more often," Williams said, noting that he believes in both natural and human causes.

John Hazel, a 33-year-old in Waco, Texas, says he’s noticed changes from when he was younger.

“When I was a kid, that seemed like a very rare thing when it did hit 100, everybody was like, whoa. And now it’s just every day,” said Hazel, a crime scene investigator. “Seasons felt a little more balanced. Now it feels like summer’s a bit lingering, it starts earlier and lasts longer.”

Hazel, who identifies as a conservative Republican and believes in climate change, said he plans around the heat.

“As soon as you walk outside, you’re already sweating even if you’re not doing much of anything. I’ve definitely noticed you’re having to take breaks from being outside, you have to bathe, shower more often,” Hazel said. “It’s definitely a bigger consideration.”

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The poll of 1,165 adults was conducted July 23-27, 2026, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

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Confirmed cases in the outbreak, meanwhile, reached 3,973, including 1,801 deaths, according to the government data as of Tuesday published on Thursday. It is the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, behind the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that recorded more than 28,000 cases, including over 11,000 deaths.

The health workers are protesting at the governor’s office in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of the Ebola cases in the country. They are the latest group to walk off their jobs since protests over pay issues began weeks ago.

The health workers, including nurses providing critical care to Ebola patients, said they haven't received wages and bonuses for their work fighting Ebola since the outbreak was declared in mid-May in one of Congo’s most remote and vulnerable areas ravaged by rebel conflict.

“With this way of managing things, Ebola will not end in this province. We ask the authorities to get involved at all levels so that a solution is found quickly,” said Edouige Makosi, one of the protesters.

Officials have in the past blamed logistical issues for the payment delays. Congolese authorities did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comments on Thursday.

Poor welfare for frontline workers has been a key source of concern in the outbreak. Apart from the payment issues, many health workers and facilities have been attacked by rebels and angry mobs.

During his visit to Congo on Wednesday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged authorities to prioritize care and support for the responders.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said this week that the outbreak is still “spreading at an alarming and unprecedented rate” and that the response which has been expanding with more steps “is still not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains.”

Government data shows 674 patients are currently in isolation, most of them in Ituri.

At least 75% of contacts being traced after their exposure to patients, the data showed. A bigger concern, though, according to officials, is that 60-70% of the new cases are coming from outside of those contacts, and are mostly from remote localities where rebel conflict and mining-related movements are limiting access.

Those rescued include 163 people abducted from Woro community in Kaiama area of Kwara state in February, and 145 people kidnapped mostly from Niger state, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said in a statement. Details of the operation that freed the more than 300 people who spent months in captivity were not disclosed, with the statement only saying they were rescued from a forest and are now receiving medical attention.

It was described as the “largest rescue operation ever” undertaken in the country on a single day by security forces, according to Tinubu.

​“The successful execution of this intelligence-led operation demonstrates the growing efficiency and collaboration among our security services,” the president said. “I commend our gallant men and women in uniform for their bravery and unwavering commitment to safeguarding Nigerian lives.”

Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target them to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.

Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country. Authorities have said the bandit groups include mostly former herders who took up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over increasingly strained resources.

There is also an insurgency in the country’s northeast that has lasted more than a decade.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage can be found here.

Iran says a deal with Oman is close

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has said an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, which lies on the other side of the waterway, is in the “final stage” of drafting. Speaking Wednesday, he said a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the U.S.

The agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.

The strait is crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Before the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, around one fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

On Thursday, all eyes were on the U.S. for the next development.

Ships struck over the past week in the Strait of Hormuz

At least two Greek-controlled ships were hit in the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, while several others reported near misses or warnings from entities claiming to represent Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, according to maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

The company added that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels continued to claim attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The claims could not be independently verified.

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz increased to 84 transits during the week of July 27 to Aug. 2, up from 45 the previous week. But traffic is still far below the more than 700 transits seen in a typical week before the crisis, Lloyd's List said.

“This is one data point. It’s not indicative that owners are more confident in the situation,” said Bridget Diakun, Maritime Intelligence & Research Director at Lloyd’s List Intelligence

Traffic by ships not linked to Iran also increased, rising from 28 transits to 52, driven mainly by the return of gas carriers and container ships, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon as negotiators meet in Rome

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and another four were seriously wounded in an explosion in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said Thursday. The deaths are Israel's first since a shaky truce was implemented in June between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Israeli army launched strikes Wednesday in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire and issued a call for residents of another village to flee — the first such warning Israel has issued in Lebanon for weeks.

The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss implementation of the June deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon, in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Israeli settler charged in West Bank killing of Palestinian activist

Israeli prosecutors have charged a settler with the killing of a Palestinian community leader last year in the occupied West Bank.

In an indictment filed in district court, prosecutors accuse Yinon Levi of reckless manslaughter in the death of prominent Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in July 2025. The charge holds a lesser punishment than murder under Israeli law.

The indictment also charges Levi, who lives in the south of the West Bank, with armed trespassing and malicious property damage.

It is extremely rare for Israel to charge settlers with violence against Palestinians. Israeli rights group B’Tselem said the charges against Levi mark the first time since Oct. 7, 2023, that an Israeli has been indicted for the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank.

In that time, the group said, Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the territory.

Iraq moves to crack down on armed militia groups

A body of Iraq’s top leadership said Thursday that any armed activity outside of state authority after Sept. 30 will be prosecuted under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Law, the latest move in a push to bring all weapons under government control.

The statement by the State Administration Coalition comes as several powerful, Iran-backed armed factions, including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, have rejected calls to surrender weapons or dissolve their organizations, saying they remain committed to the “option of resistance.”

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. launched strikes on Iraq last week after Riyadh accused Iraqi militias of using drones to attack its oil facilities.

The retaliatory strikes in Iraq hit bases of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a collection of armed groups close to Iran that are officially part of Iraq’s security forces but often operate outside of state control.

UNESCO World Heritage site in Sudan threatened by war and sand

The war in Sudan is threatening the ancient Meroe pyramids, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its unique and angular architecture, as preservation efforts have completely halted.

Sudan’s deadly conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has destroyed many of the country’s historical sites and museums. UNESCO warned in April that cultural and historical sites are under growing threat.

Located about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital Khartoum, Meroe comprises over 200 pyramids built between 800 B.C. and 350 A.D. as royal tombs for the Kingdom of Kush. Archaeologist Mahmoud Suleiman warned that collapses are possible at the site.

The U.S. request for Apollo Carreon Quiboloy's extradition was sent to the Department of Justice in Manila through the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department in July.

The request needs the approval of two Philippine courts, which have been trying the detained former televangelist for human trafficking and child abuse charges, according to two high-ranking officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to publicly discuss the issues.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Criminal suspects in the Philippines must finish their trials and serve their sentences if convicted prior to extradition. Philippine justice officials, however, can ask a domestic court to allow the temporary surrender of a suspect to a foreign court to face trial prior to the resolution of their Philippine cases under the 1994 extradition treaty of Washington and Manila.

Quiboloy, 76, leads the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, which was founded in 1985 in southern Davao city and claims to have a wide following in the Philippines and abroad, including in the U.S.

In his heyday, Quiboloy was one of the most influential religious leaders in the Philippines and regarded as a political kingmaker. He served as spiritual adviser to the equally controversial Duterte, who took office in June 2016.

Duterte was arrested in Manila last year under a warrant from the International Criminal Court and has since been detained in the Netherlands, where he will face trial for alleged crimes against humanity. The charges stem from the killings of large numbers of mostly poor drug suspects under his anti-drugs crackdowns, which alarmed Western governments and rights groups.

Quiboloy claims to be “the appointed son of God” and has made outrageous claims that sparked questions about his character but endeared him to his followers. He once claimed to have stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.

In 2024, Quiboloy went into hiding after a Philippine court ordered his arrest along with several others for alleged child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, police said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered Quiboloy’s arrest at the time for refusing to appear in public hearings about his alleged crimes.

The preacher denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from his religious group.

Quiboloy and four others facing accusations surrendered in September 2024 after about 2,000 police raided a 30-hectare (75-acre) compound of his religious group, which included a cathedral, stadium, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao's international airport. He has been jailed since then.

U.S. federal prosecutors in 2021 separately announced an indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”

Quiboloy was among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a U.S. federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.

After that indictment he was placed on the list of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives.

The launch from North Korea's eastern coastal Wonsan area was detected around 5 p.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, explaining that South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the U.S. and Japan.

Japan’s Defense Ministry also said North Korea fired a possible ballistic missile but there was no impact in or around Japan, where the coast guard urged ships around the coast to use caution and notify authorities if any fallen objects were found.

The ballistic missile launch was North Korea’s first since late June, when it tested a tactical ballistic missile with a “special mission” warhead and other weapons. After watching the testing activities, leader Kim Jong Un underscored the need to bolster the military’s “deadly and destructive offensive posture.”

Thursday's launch also came ahead of large-scale, annual exercises to be conducted by the U.S. and South Korean militaries later this month. U.S. and South Korean officials say the training is defensive in nature, but North Korea says the maneuvers are a practice invasion and often responds with its own missile tests and warlike rhetoric.

South Korean and U.S. officials haven't formally released details about this year's joint exercise, but the drills are typically held in the latter half of August.

Kim has been focusing on enlarging its nuclear and missile arsenals since his high-stakes diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Experts say Kim wants international recognition as a nuclear state so that he can demand the lifting of international economic sanctions on North Korea.

U.N. Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from launches involving its huge stockpile of ballistic missiles. Tests of other weapons including cruise missiles and artillery systems are not banned, but experts say they still pose a threat to South Korea and the U.S.

In early July, Kim supervised tests of a nuclear-capable cruise missile aboard a new 5,000-ton destroyer. After years of prioritizing ballistic missile development, Kim has increasingly turned his focus to naval capabilities, including the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine.

In recent years, Kim has boosted his diplomatic credentials by expanding ties with Russia. North Korea has supplied conventional weapons and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Kim also has pushed to deepen cooperation with China, the North's economic pipeline. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the North Korean capital Pyongyang in June for the first time in seven years.

In response to Trump’s repeated outreach to restart diplomacy, Kim has suggested talks can resume if the U.S. drops its demand for North Korean denuclearization as a precondition.

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Investigators searched the Starbucks headquarters in southern Seoul on Tuesday, police said Wednesday.

Police gave no further details, but South Korean media reported investigators also were sent to the residences of Starbucks executives.

The coffee chain triggered a public uproar when it attempted to promote a series of stainless-steel tumblers it called “SS Tank” by declaring May 18 to be “Tank Day.” The date marks the anniversary of a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju that was brutally oppressed by South Korea's then military-backed rulers.

The campaign also used the slogan “Thwack it on the table!” which many read as a reference to a notorious 1987 police statement that attempted to cover up the torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. Authorities had falsely said Park died after investigators “hit the desk with a thwack.”

The public outrage prompted Shinsegae Group, which owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea, to cancel the campaign within hours. It also fired the chief executive of Starbucks Korea. Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin later issued a televised apology. Starbucks Korea closed all of its stores nationwide early on June 22 for mandatory history and social sensitivity training.

The police investigation was launched following complaints from relatives of the victims of the Gwangju crackdown, which official records say left about 200 people dead.

South Korea achieved a genuine democracy in 1987 when then authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan, who led the Gwangju crackdown, was forced to accept a constitutional revision introducing direct presidential elections in the face of massive pro-democracy demonstrations.

Oil prices held steady, with Brent crude trading near $79 a barrel. Uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. war with Iran is still overhanging markets despite hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%.

Markets will get an update Friday on U.S. jobs with the monthly employment report for July, and analysts say investors appear to be bracing for its potential impact.

“Asia's chip selloff looks like a combination of profit-taking and risk reduction ahead of Friday's nonfarm payroll report,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Strong corporate profits and expectations for more growth ahead generally have been steering U.S. stocks higher. But Asian benchmarks have been hit by bouts of selling of computer chipmakers and other companies related to the boom in artificial intelligence.

SK Hynix plunged 10.4% after dropping 30% ahead of the open in Seoul, while its larger rival Samsung Electronics lost 6.3% in the latest rout for shares linked to the AI boom.

The Kospi lost 4.6% to 6,296.38.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX picked up 0.3% to 26,194.59, while the CAC 40 in Paris surged 0.7% to 8,726.92. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 10,923.34.

Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.9% to 65,683.26.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng declined 1.5% to 25,530.28, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.6% to 3,900.35.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 9,271.60.

U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was coming soon. But there have been many stops and starts during the five-month-old conflict that has stifled the global supply of oil and rattled energy markets.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, edged less than 0.1% higher to $79.50 a barrel. Oil prices have been swinging for months and were as high as $102 per barrel at one point during the conflict, jolting already stubbornly high inflation. Higher oil prices pushed gasoline prices higher and increased shipping costs for a wide range of products.

U.S. benchmark crude oil was almost unchanged at $75.21 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from an all-time high and the Dow industrials rose 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.8%.

Among big technology companies losing ground, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, fell 4% and Microsoft lost 1.1%.

Overall, the market has been rising as companies head into the closing stretch of their latest round of earnings reports with sharp overall gains. Three-quarters of the companies within the S&P 500 have reported results so far, and Wall Street expects profit growth of 50% when they are all finished.

The Walt Disney Co. rose 3.6% after easily beating Wall Street’s profit forecasts, helped by a $1 billion box office haul from “Toy Story 5” and theme park revenue.

Elon Musk's SpaceX fell 13.6% following the release late Tuesday of its first quarterly report as a public company, which showed that it sharply boosted spending on artificial intelligence. The company did help give semiconductor giant Nvidia a 3.4% boost after announcing it would exclusively use that company’s chips for its artificial intelligence technology.

Musk had said earlier he would use chips from both Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices for SpaceX and his electric vehicle company, Tesla.

Inflation concerns have been hanging over markets and the Federal Reserve. The central bank has been holding its key benchmark rate steady as it monitors the costs and the impact on the economy.

In other dealings early Thursday, the dollar rose to 157.85 Japanese yen from 157.77 yen. The euro fell to $1.1545 from $1.1555.

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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Científicos del fuego y del clima señalaron que Trump, quien ha hablado de castigar a Canadá por una mala gestión de los incendios y por generar humo asfixiante durante días que cruzó la frontera, debería mirarse más al espejo que hacia el norte a la hora de buscar culpables. Apuntan a las enormes emisiones históricas de gases en Estados Unidos que atrapan el calor, procedentes de la quema de carbón, petróleo y gas.

El estudio del jueves, elaborado por World Weather Attribution —un grupo de científicos internacionales que examina condiciones meteorológicas extremas para ver si hay huellas del cambio climático—, indicó que las condiciones meteorológicas propicias para incendios en los Territorios del Noroeste y el noroeste de Ontario, aunque inusuales pero no tan raras, aun así se volvieron el doble de probables debido al calentamiento global. Es aproximadamente lo mismo que el equipo halló para los incendios de verano en Francia, pero no una huella climática ni de lejos tan clara como la que calcularon en los incendios en España, que, según los científicos, tuvieron una probabilidad 20 veces mayor de ocurrir debido al cambio climático.

El estudio, realizado con tanta rapidez que aún no ha sido revisado por pares, analizó las condiciones meteorológicas vinculadas a grandes incendios forestales y el índice canadiense para esas condiciones, que son el calor, la falta de lluvia, la humedad y el viento. Los investigadores hallaron esa duplicación de la frecuencia cuando —mediante técnicas científicamente aceptadas para buscar huellas climáticas— compararon las condiciones actuales con un mundo sin los 1,4 grados Celsius (2,5 grados Fahrenheit) de calentamiento que se han producido desde la era industrial y desde que comenzó la quema de combustibles fósiles. El informe indicó que las condiciones meteorológicas de una semana que llevaron a los incendios en Ontario ahora son del tipo que puede ocurrir cada seis años aproximadamente.

“En un clima preindustrial esto habría sido mucho menos probable que ocurriera, quizá una vez en toda una vida. Así que el cambio climático ha hecho que esos eventos sean más probables”, expuso Jonathan Boucher, coautor del estudio y científico especializado en incendios del Servicio Forestal de Canadá.

Condiciones más cálidas y secas vinculadas a la quema

Científicos externos del clima y de incendios dijeron que el estudio relámpago suena lógico y refleja un mundo en el que condiciones más cálidas y secas están haciendo que los incendios ardan con más frecuencia y mayor intensidad.

“La Madre Naturaleza ha estado ardiendo. Ahora está bajo los efectos de las anfetaminas y arde cada vez más”, comentó Mike Flannigan, científico del fuego de la Universidad Thompson Rivers y experto canadiense que no participó en el estudio.

Humo peligroso se extendió por Estados Unidos y Canadá, generando pésima calidad del aire en ciudades grandes como Nueva York.

Al quemar más y más combustibles fósiles, “estamos clavando clavos en nuestros ataúdes”, expresó Flannigan.

En los incendios más grandes y remotos de los Territorios del Noroeste, donde ardieron más de 12.950 kilómetros cuadrados (5.000 millas cuadradas), está claro que la chispa provino de un rayo, pero fueron las condiciones climáticas las que, a partir de esa ignición inicial, hicieron que el fuego ardiera con intensidad y se propagara con demasiada rapidez para poder controlarlo, dijeron Boucher y el autor principal del informe, Theodore Keeping, científico climático del Imperial College de Londres.

Aunque aproximadamente la mitad de los incendios forestales en Canadá son iniciados por personas —por accidente o a propósito—, los incendios provocados por rayos son responsables de más del 90% de la superficie quemada en Canadá, señaló Flannigan.

“A lo que nos enfrentamos aquí es más a un problema relacionado con el clima que a un problema de gestión forestal”, sostuvo Boucher.

Trump no lo ve así.

Trump culpa a la mala gestión, pero los científicos dicen que se debe al carbono

“Se ha hecho mucho daño. No están gestionando sus bosques adecuadamente", manifestó Trump el 21 de julio. "Y el viento tiende a soplar justo sobre la ciudad de Nueva York, justo por encima; vieron Detroit, tuvieron que cerrar todo el lugar. Michigan se vio realmente afectado. Tuvieron que cerrar negocios durante cuatro días. Es muy serio lo que están haciendo, y no parecen ser capaces de hacer nada al respecto. Si gestionaran sus bosques, no tendrían los incendios”.

Al ser consultado el domingo sobre castigar a Canadá, Trump dijo a los periodistas a bordo del Air Force One que ya decidió una medida, y añadió: “Pronto se enterarán”.

Científicos canadienses del clima y de incendios dijeron que Trump no entiende las causas de fondo.

“El humo no lleva pasaporte, pero la contaminación por carbono sí tiene una historia. Esa historia muestra que Estados Unidos contribuyó más que cualquier otro país", manifestó Andrew Weaver, científico climático de la Universidad de Victoria. "El presidente Trump está señalando el humo, y a la vez ignora las huellas de Estados Unidos en las condiciones climáticas que hay detrás”.

Friederike Otto, coautora del estudio y climatóloga del Imperial College de Londres, señaló: “Si te importa alguien más que los ultrarricos, tienes que dejar de quemar combustibles fósiles porque los impactos ya están aquí, ocurren ahora y tienen enormes consecuencias”.

Canadá se ha calentado un 65% más que Estados Unidos en las décadas recientes. En los últimos 30 años, la cantidad de terreno que se quema anualmente por incendios forestales en Canadá ha aumentado aproximadamente 50%, mientras que en Estados Unidos la cifra se ha más que duplicado.

Un gran problema que Trump no parece entender es que gran parte de los bosques de Canadá son remotos, septentrionales y están llenos de abetos y pinos que arden con fuerza y rapidez, lo que dificulta controlarlos, dijeron Boucher y Flannigan.

“En Canadá, cuando las cosas son extremas, cuentas con unos 30 minutos para apagar ese incendio", explicó Flannigan. "Si no llegas en 30 minutos, no tienes suerte. Y muchos de los incendios que comienzan en Canadá están en zonas remotas del norte que están a más de 30 minutos de un aeropuerto. Así que incluso con sistemas de detección perfectos, llegaríamos demasiado tarde y estos incendios van a arder”.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

Four other soldiers were seriously wounded, the military said. An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the army's policy, said that “an explosion was detonated” when the soldiers entered a site in the village of Majdal Zoun and that the nature of the explosive was under review.

Israeli media reported the two deaths a day earlier.

The Israeli army launched strikes Wednesday in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire and called on residents of the village of Mansouri to flee — the first such warning Israel has issued in Lebanon for weeks.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said one person was killed and 12 wounded in an Israeli strike in the town of Tebnine Wednesday and another eight wounded in overnight strikes on the village of Burj al-Shemali. Artillery shelling also targeted the areas of Mansouri and Majdal Zoun, the state-run National News Agency said.

There was no immediate statement from the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets across the border two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran. More than 4,000 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since then, including hundreds of civilians. About 40 soldiers and three civilians - including a military contractor - have been killed on the Israeli side.

A precarious truce between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held since June 20, but Israeli forces have continued to occupy swaths of southern Lebanon and to carry out periodic airstrikes and shelling.

The latest escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss implementation of a June 26 deal reached between Israel and the Lebanese government under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon and allow the Lebanese army to take control, in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Hezbollah has refused to disarm and opposed the direct Lebanon-Israel talks. It was not a party to the deal. The group has accused the Lebanese government of making too many concessions without guaranteeing an Israeli withdrawal.

Wednesday’s talks ended early due to the escalation on the ground, but were set to resume Thursday.

The talks in Rome have focused on implementation of “pilot zones” where Israeli forces would withdraw and the Lebanese army would take control. Implementation began last month with an initial pilot zone in an area that wasn’t occupied by Israeli forces but had previously sustained Israeli fire.

The Lebanese army entered the town of Zawtar al-Gharbieh and some civilians returned, although many came only to find their homes destroyed and left again.

A diplomat familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly said earlier this week that Lebanon had asked for the next pilot zone to be either in the town of Khiam or Bint Jbeil. Both areas saw heavy fighting in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war and are currently occupied by Israeli forces.

But U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa suggested ahead of the three-day talks that no new pilot zones would be immediately implemented, saying that “moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect.”

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Saeed reported from Herzliya, Israel. Associated Press writer Maria Grazia Murru in Rome contributed to this report.

It was an emphatic celebration for the 29-year-old left-hander after striking out the first batter he faced in his major league debut during the Mets' 6-5 win in Cleveland on Wednesday night.

“Honestly, I was really excited. I was also a little nervous,” Yan said through a translator.

Yan's viral moment came after pinch-hitter Angel Martínez took an 88.7 mph slider for a called third strike to open the Guardians sixth. After the leap and slap, Yan stood straight up with his feet together and lifted both arms over his head.

“Once I had him with two strikes I said, you know what, I'm going to throw that slider,” he said. “And if I freeze him, which is exactly what I did, I celebrated accordingly.”

That was already a signature celebration for Yan, who did the same after striking out a batter in a Mets spring training game earlier this year.

After Martínez struck out, the Guardians loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. But Yan escaped without giving up a run with his second strikeout and an inning-ending grounder.

“Once I was able to get out of the inning, I said, you know, I can finally breathe right here," he said.

Mets interim manager Andy Green added: “It’s real stuff. It’s really impressive. To get out of a bases-loaded jam, get your first punchout, just excited for him. He deserves that.”

Yan bounded off the mound, slapping his hand against his glove several times, after the inning ended. Cleveland fans booed as Yan went to the dugout with the Mets ahead 4-3.

“If they want to yell at me, if they want to boo me, they can do whatever they want,” Yan said. “I’m in my zone. And yeah, I’m going to enjoy my game any way that I want to.”

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That's why Miller said she is voting in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary for David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive endorsed by two-term Gov. Tony Evers. He faces democratic socialist Francesca Hong in a contest that will be the latest test nationally of how far Democrats are willing to swing to the political left.

Wisconsin's primary comes a week after progressive Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary, setting up a crucial test for progressives in November in a key battleground state. Also on Tuesday, voters in Minnesota will decide another U.S. Senate contest featuring a centrist and a progressive.

In a year where voters upset with the Democratic Party mainstream have propelled outsider candidates to victory across the country, Crowley is hoping to buck the trend in Wisconsin. He's banking on the support of Evers, one of the state's most popular elected officials, to make up ground in the waning days of the chaotic primary.

Crowley said that El-Sayed’s slim margin of victory “does give me a little bit of hope.”

“We’re going to focus on those undecided voters,” Crowley said.

Wisconsin Democratic voters grapple with electability, chaotic primary

“The divide is real,” Miller, 49, said of the struggle between progressives and more mainstream Democrats. But her focus remains on November, when the winner of the primary will face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and one of the most conservative members of Congress.

Miller, who described herself as a progressive, called Hong a “very, very weak candidate" and described her popularity as “a little bit of a mirage.”

“I don't think she can win,” Miller said at a Crowley campaign stop a week before election day at a winery in the rolling hills of New Glarus.

Crowley is banking on more voters feeling that way. A Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin Democratic primary voters conducted in late July, before former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out, showed Hong with a significant lead over the other candidates. More than 112,000 absentee ballots had already been returned by the day the poll was released.

Complicating the path for Crowley is the fact that he withdrew from the race on July 8 and only got back in 10 days later, with the backing of Evers, after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her candidacy. Then, 12 days later, Barnes also ended his campaign amid allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Barnes and Rodriguez, who were both seen as potential front-runners, remain on the ballot and votes already cast for them can't be undone.

“We've created a mess,” said Michael Gebben, a 64-year-old Democrat who voted absentee for Rodriguez before she dropped out. “Hopefully we can get out of it.”

Hong bats down controversies as Crowley makes a final sprint

As Crowley sprinted across the state to capture undecided voters, Hong was batting down controversies.

Hong, a single mom and former restaurant cook, faced questions about past social media posts where she called for canceling Thanksgiving because “we should stop celebrating colonialism,” disparaged Valentine’s Day as “another day capitalism tells you how to show love” and repeatedly called for defunding the police.

She has backtracked or clarified many of those past statements in recent days, now saying that she does not support abolishing the police.

Tiffany pointed to Hong’s comments on Thanksgiving and said she wants “to destroy the traditions and culture that unite us.” Tiffany, who had 10-times more cash on hand than either Hong or Crowley did entering August, has portrayed the race as a contest between chaos and common sense.

“Wisconsinites can’t afford for November to come down to the most extreme things Tom Tiffany and Francesca Hong have said online,” Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said this week in a social media post explaining why the governor endorsed Crowley.

Crowley's mention of the Evers endorsement drew a round of applause at both of his campaign stops in New Glarus and Madison this week, but similar votes of confidence haven't always been decisive in other primaries. In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed the moderate Stevens who came up short.

Even with Evers' backing, Crowley insists he is not an establishment Democrat despite having served more than three years in the Legislature and as the top elected official in Milwaukee County, the state's largest, since 2020.

“When people try to call me the establishment, I look at that as a slur, particularly as an African American candidate,” said Crowley, who is looking to become Wisconsin's first Black governor. “I have never run for office to protect the establishment. I’ve always been here to protect people.”

Voters say message from progressive candidates resonates

Hong supporter Chris Vestin has heard the concerns about electability before.

To him, the fears about Hong's chances against Tiffany in November sound like a repeat of those who pushed Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential race. Sanders defeated Clinton in the Wisconsin primary by 13 points that year, before losing the presidency to Trump. Trump carried Wisconsin in 2016, lost it in 2020 and then won it again in 2024.

“It frustrates me when they say that person is unelectable,” Vestin said of Hong, who is vying to become Wisconsin’s first woman governor and first Asian American governor. “A lot of times it’s racist, it’s sexist.”

Vestin, 54, called Evers' endorsement of Crowley “counterproductive.”

“Establishment Democrats want to take the choice away,” Vestin said.

On Tuesday in Minnesota, voters will choose between moderate U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate that's playing out in the aftermath of Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement surge in the state.

But the stakes are even higher in Wisconsin.

Democrats are trying to hold onto the governor's office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to have full control for the first time since 2010.

Republicans transformed Wisconsin by enacting a wide array of conservative priorities, including effectively doing away with public worker collective bargaining, when they had full control from 2011 to 2018.

“We need a trifecta,” Crowley told his supporters at the New Glarus rally. “And who is at the top of the ticket matters."

Crowley supporter Lindsey Lee, 61, of Madison said before the rally there that he believed previously undecided Democrats were coalescing around Crowley.

“It’s like the last 50 yards of a horse race," Lee said. "Hong is obviously in the lead but Crowley is coming up on a side lane. I think it will be a photo finish.”

Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the Republican committee chairman, has said that constitutional protection did not apply since Fauci last year received a pardon from President Joe Biden and thus did not have to worry about the threat of prosecution.

But Fauci, in a statement issued before the hearing, said he had good reason to fear the possibility of criminal charges given what he said was Paul's determination “to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote."

The pardon from Biden covered acts from 2014 through the January 2025 day it was issued but does not shield Fauci from state-level prosecutions or from investigations into any testimony that he did give that lawmakers thought was false.

The Republican-led panel is set to vote Thursday morning on whether to refer Fauci to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, which would make a decision on whether or not to investigate or potentially attempt to prosecute the doctor for contempt.

Paul, who has previously sent referrals on Fauci on his own, acknowledged Wednesday that contempt resolutions have often gone through the full Senate but said he did not “want to waste time” moving the matter to a vote of the full Senate, where it would be unlikely to muster the required 60 votes needed to advance.

“We still might come to the floor,” he said, “but at this point, the first thing we will do is we will send it over as a recommendation from our committee, if it passes.”

No matter what happens, the episode raises fresh and complicated questions about lawmakers' ability to compel testimony from previously pardoned witnesses — and the outcome could resonate beyond Fauci given the possibility that Trump may also grant clemency to his own aides before leaving the White House.

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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

The primaries were upended just three months before the vote when the Republican-led Legislature redrew congressional districts following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protection for minorities. President Donald Trump cheered the redistricting as part of a national plan to try to help Republicans hold on to their slim House majority.

Trump has endorsed state Sen. Brent Taylor in the four-person Republican primary for the significantly reshaped 9th Congressional District, which now stretches about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east from Memphis before reaching north toward the Nashville area. The district, which previously favored Democrats, now tilts toward Republicans, and some Memphis voters have raised concerns that their representation has been diminished.

After the redistricting, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced that he would no longer seek reelection in the 9th District. Cohen's primary challenger, Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson, then was joined by state Sen. London Lamar in what became a four-person contest.

Pearson gained national attention in 2023 when he was expelled by the Republican-led state House for protesting in support of gun control measures following a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Memphis voters later reelected him.

Republicans currently hold eight of the state's nine congressional seats.

Memphis voters voice dismay over redistricting

For decades Memphis, the most populous city in Shelby County, formed the base of its own congressional district. Now the county is split among three districts that extend outward like spokes into rural areas.

Lonzo Taylor, a retired postal worker and military veteran, said Black voters like himself have had their voices diluted.

“We only had one district in the whole state of Tennessee, and you don’t even want that to be fair? It’s just terrible,” said Taylor, 72. “I love this state, but I am very disappointed in our governor,” who called lawmakers into a special session for the redistricting.

Milla Meiman, 23, who voted early in the Democratic primary, said she did not realize the congressional map had changed until receiving a letter about it in the mail.

“It’s a drastic change to have your district sort of switched around like that,” said Meiman, who works part time at an ice cream shop and public library. Meiman added: “I think it’s a voter suppression tactic.”

Terrice Thomas, 45, an educator who votes for Democrats, had to learn a lot more about the candidates when she got switched from District 9 to District 8. She is concerned Memphis constituents could get overlooked.

“Is everybody going to have an equal say on what’s happening in their communities or even the people that you’re voting for?” Thomas said. “Are they going to really take into account the different areas and what makes us unique?”

Congressman Ogles facing a GOP challenger in the 5th District

The cracking apart of Memphis sent ripples throughout the state, also significantly reshaping the 5th Congressional District held by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, a conservative Freedom Caucus member who is seeking reelection and was endorsed by Trump.

He faces a primary challenge from Charlie Hatcher, a former state agriculture commissioner under Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has endorsed Hatcher for Congress.

Previously centered on Nashville and central Tennessee, the district now extends to the northwest corner of the state before snaking south along the Mississippi River to Memphis. Along the way it touches the borders of Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Ogles has faced controversy. His cellphone was seized by the FBI in 2024 as part of an investigation into his campaign finance reporting. But the Justice Department recently agreed to return the device, signaling that it was abandoning the probe, which began under the Biden administration.

On the Democratic side, the five-way primary features Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, who has continued to run in the reshaped district despite being drawn out of it.

Candidates vie for an open Republican House seat in the 6th District

Republican U.S. Rep. John Rose is forgoing reelection in the 6th District to run for governor instead. That created a contentious primary for the Republican-leaning district, which stretches east from Nashville.

The four Republican candidates include state Rep. Johnny Garrett and Rose’s recent chief of staff, former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, who served eight years in Congress before losing a gubernatorial bid in 2002. Five Democrats also are seeking the seat.

Voters also pick candidates for governor and Senate

Rose and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn are among three Republicans and five Democrats running to succeed Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Blackburn, who won her second six-year Senate term in 2024, would have to give the seat up if elected.

Republicans have held the governor's office since 2011 and won every U.S. Senate election since 1994. Sen. Bill Hagerty is unopposed in this year's Republican primary, though numerous Democrats and independents are battling for the chance to challenge him.

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The story has been updated to correct the day of the primary election to Thursday, from Tuesday.

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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.

And fire and climate scientists said Trump, who has talked about punishing Canada for poor fire management and sending days of choking smoke across the border, should look more in the mirror than up north when it comes to blame. They point to the United States' huge historical emissions of heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

The fire weather conditions in Northwest Territories and northwestern Ontario, while unusual but not that rare, were still made twice as likely by global warming, said Thursday's study by World Weather Attribution, a group of international scientists who examine extreme weather conditions to see if there are climate change fingerprints. It's about the same as the team found for summer fires in France, but not nearly as clear a climate fingerprint as they calculated in Spanish fires, which the scientists said were 20 times more likely because of climate change.

The study, which was done so quickly it has not been peer reviewed yet, looked at the weather conditions that are connected to large wildfires and the Canadian index for those conditions, which are heat, lack of rain, humidity and wind. The researchers found the doubling of frequency when — using scientifically accepted techniques to search for climate fingerprints — they compared current conditions to a world without the 2.5 degrees (1.4 degrees Celsius) of warming that's occurred since the industrial age and burning of fossil fuels started. The weeklong weather conditions that led to the fires in Ontario are now the type that can happen every six years or so, the report said.

“In a pre-industrial climate this would have been much less likely to occur, maybe once in a lifespan. So climate change has made those events more likely,” said study co-author Jonathan Boucher, a fire scientist at Canada's Forest Service.

Hotter, drier conditions connected to burning

Outside climate and fire scientists said the flash study made sense and reflects a world where hotter and drier conditions are making fires burn more often and more intensely.

“Mother Nature's been burning. Now she's on amphetamines and she burns more and more,” said Thompson Rivers University fire scientist Mike Flannigan, a Canadian expert who wasn't part of the study.

Hazardous smoke spread across both the United States and Canada, choking large cities such as New York.

By burning more and fossil fuels, “we're putting nails in our coffins,” Flannigan said.

In the larger and remote Northwest Territories fires, where more than 5,000 square miles (12,950 square kilometers) burned, it's clear the spark was from lightning but it was the climate conditions that took that initial ignition and made the fire burn intensely and spread too fast to control, said Boucher and report lead author Theodore Keeping, a climate scientist at Imperial College in London.

While people start about half of Canada's wildfires — accidentally or on purpose — fires sparked by lightning are responsible for more than 90% of the land area burned in Canada, Flannigan said.

“What we're facing here is more of a climate related problem than a forest management problem," Boucher said.

That's not how Trump sees it.

Trump blames mismanagement, but scientists point to carbon

“A lot of damage has been done. They’re not managing their forests properly," Trump said July 21. “And the wind has a tendency to blow right over New York City, right over, you saw Detroit, they had to close the whole place. Michigan was really affected. They had to close businesses for four days. It’s very serious what they’re doing, and they don’t seem to be able to do anything about it. If they managed their forests, they wouldn’t have the fires.”

When asked Sunday about punishing Canada, Trump on Air Force One told reporters he has decided one, adding “you'll find out about it soon.”

Canadian climate and fire scientists said Trump doesn't understand the root causes.

“Smoke does not carry a passport, but carbon pollution does have a history. That history shows that the United States contributed more than any other country,” said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver. “President Trump is pointing at the smoke while ignoring America's fingerprints on the climate conditions behind it.”

Study co-author Friederike Otto, an Imperial College London climate scientist, said, “if you care about anyone but the super rich, you have to stop burning fossil fuels because the impacts are here and they’re now and have huge consequences.”

Canada has warmed 65% more than the United States in recent decades. In the past 30 years, the amount of land annually burned by Canadian wildfires has gone up by about 50% while the amount in the United States has more than doubled.

A big problem that Trump doesn't appear to understand is that much of Canada's forests are remote, northerly and full of spruce and pine that burns hard and fast, all making it difficult to get a handle on, Boucher and Flannigan said.

“In Canada, when things are extreme, you have about a 30-minute window to put that fire out,” Flannigan said. "If you don't get there in 30 minutes, you're out of luck. And many of the fires that start in Canada are northern remote areas that are more than 30 minutes away from an airport. So even with perfect detection systems, we would get there too late and these fires are going to burn.''

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

But the open-wheel race cars roaring through the longest straightaway of the upcoming Washington IndyCar race organized by President Donald Trump could be going nearly eight times that fast.

“If we did that during the regular day, I think people would be put in jail, perhaps for the rest of their lives,” Trump joked recently while hosting an IndyCar pit crew at the White House to hype the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

The race, scheduled for Aug. 22 and 23, features vehicles that typically reach street-course speeds approaching 200 mph and have enough torque to tear off manhole covers. It is the latest — and the fastest — of the major events Trump has hosted against the backdrop of America's 250th birthday, a larger celebration he has made as much about himself as possible.

The president staged a UFC fight on the White House’s South Lawn for his 80th birthday in June and held a rally to kick off the Great American State Fair on the National Mall after most of the event’s scheduled musical acts pulled out. He headlined another rally for July Fourth on the National Mall, ahead of a massive fireworks display marking the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.

Historian Michael D. Hattem said Trump's events have put little focus on “addressing the specific history of the founding of the country or the 250th.” White House spokesman Davis Ingle countered that Trump “is focused on saving our country — not garnering recognition.”

Trump is "ensuring that America gets the spectacular 250th birthday it deserves," Ingle said in a statement, adding that the series of events Trump has helped organize shows that “2026 is sparking a renewal of patriotism and national pride” under the president's leadership.

Race preparations include securing manhole covers

The IndyCar event will be 250 miles (400 kilometers) over 147 laps on a 1.66-mile (2.67-kilometer) track featuring seven turns. Series owner Roger Penske, whom Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, led the effort to make the race happen in the District of Columbia. He gave the president a racing helmet, urging him to wear it "when you’re riding around in The Beast, leading the field to the green flag” — a traditional prerace kickoff that may feature the presidential limo.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser suggested that the event was the "first, to be followed by second and third," and Trump says he'd like more Washington races in future years. But Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and the race's chair, isn't committing.

“It is the first ever," he said. “It might be the only.”

Denker said Penske is paying for the “vast majority” of the race, including road construction and improvements, while the city handles some “very limited” repaving. The District of Columbia referred questions about repaving costs to Penske.

About a third of the track needs road improvement, a cost that should come in at under $3 million, Denker said. That's less than is often spent on road fixes ahead of other races, including in Markham, Ontario, where up to $9 million is being doled out on improvements for the IndyCar race being held the week before Washington's event, he said.

“The roads here are in pretty good shape," Denker said, noting that area residents are surprised when they hear him say that.

But that reflects the nature of the nation's capital: The stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the U.S. Capitol is repaved every four years for presidential inaugurations. Another key area along Constitution Avenue was resurfaced after tanks rolled down it for Trump's military parade marking July 4 last year.

One issue, Denker said, is the 220-plus manhole covers on the race circuit that had to be welded to ensure the race cars don't suck them off the road. About 50 of those need to be fitted with silicone because they are set too deep into the road, creating a bump, he said.

Organizers also are paying to build 1,800 walls weighing 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) each to ring the track and metal detectors that will be manned by the Secret Service.

Penske is relying on the federal departments of Interior and Transportation, Denker said, not for funding but for help with issues such as permitting, allowing Chevrolet to set up a car display and vendors to sell merchandise and beer on the National Mall — activities that aren't normally allowed.

The route features monuments and landmarks

The race will go in the rain, except in the event of lightning or if major puddling makes the track slippery. Denker said that 288,000 free tickets were requested through a lottery system — exceeding the 130,000 spectators whom organizers plan to host on each of the event's two days.

“It’s just going to be something we’ve never seen before,” said Denker, who said there will be 90 minutes of prerace show that Sunday and military flyovers like those that thundered over the National Mall for July 4.

Bob Varsha, a veteran sports announcer who long specialized in motorsports, said that a track running less than 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) is shorter than most street race courses and that Washington's design may feature 90-degree corners. That means cars likely won’t be able to maintain top speeds. “It’s going to be a lot of speed up, slow down,” he said.

“It’s a huge idea,” Varsha said. "And I hope it goes as well as it possibly can.”

The track heads down Pennsylvania Avenue from 3rd Street to 9th Street NW, then doubles back to 7th Street, then goes south to Independence Avenue alongside the National Mall before looping back to 3rd Street.

Turn 1 has the U.S. Capitol's west façade as its backdrop, while the pit lane is on the straightaway between Turn 1 and Turn 2, along Pennsylvania Avenue. Other sections feature views of the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.

The race has been likened to 1801, but the historical record is spotty

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Washington hasn’t seen a race like this since Thomas Jefferson helped mark America’s 25th birthday on July 4, 1801.

That’s when the north grounds of President's Park were thronged with booths, and attending crowds watched horse racing and cockfighting, according to the White House Historical Association. Jefferson eventually opened the White House and “invited everyone in to partake of his hospitality,” with ordinary people joining military officers and visiting Cherokee chiefs inside, the association said.

But Hattem, who has written extensively on how the U.S. has celebrated its independence, said that, the association's account aside, contemporary descriptions of that celebration didn’t mention horse racing. He also said that Washington then was a sparsely populated swamp with the White House but very little actual city, meaning there wasn't much infrastructure for such races.

Instead, Hattem said, accounts from 1801 focused on how Jefferson — the first president from the Democratic-Republican Party — handled July 4 celebrations differently than his predecessors, George Washington and John Adams, who favored the Federalist Party's backing of a strong central government and close ties to Great Britain.

Jefferson's festivities were more utilitarian and, according to the National Intelligencer newspaper, offered “no ostentatious homage to power.”

“That is a strong contrast between then and the present,” Hattem said.

President Min Aung Hlaing's two-day visit with members of his Cabinet included meetings with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and other officials at Government House, where several memorandums of understanding were signed covering Myanmar migrant workers, water quality management in rivers shared by the two countries and space technology for Earth observation.

At the meeting with Anutin, Min Aung Hlaing sought to reassure Thailand that his government was restoring stability and steering Myanmar toward democracy.

“Myanmar has now reestablished itself on the path to democracy and is moving toward a better future,” Min Aung Hlaing said. “As the new government, we have now begun working on national stability, peace, and national reconciliation.”

Following the meetings, the two leaders delivered speeches at a Thailand-Myanmar Business Forum.

Anutin said Thailand and Myanmar are ready to “step into the new chapter of economic cooperation that is built upon mutual trust and benefit for the people of the two countries.”

Min Aung Hlaing told attendees they could “invest with confidence” in Myanmar’s energy, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, technology and other sectors

The visit has drawn criticism from activist groups such as Justice For Myanmar, which stated that the trip lends “false legitimacy” to Min Aung Hlaing and the ruling generals.

Min Aung Hlaing took a significant step toward would-be political rehabilitation in April when he was sworn in as president following an election held in phases in December and January. Critics dismissed the polls as a sham designed to consolidate the military’s grip on power while ostensibly restoring civilian rule.

The diplomatic outreach is the latest in a series of moves to reengage with countries in the region and the international community after relations became frayed or frosty following Min Aung Hlaing's ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021 while serving as army chief.

Western nations have shunned Myanmar's ruling generals

Western governments have shunned and sanctioned Min Aung Hlaing and his associates for overthrowing Suu Kyi's government. Subsequent serious rights violations followed a deadly military crackdown on protests, which subsequently triggered a nationwide armed resistance movement and a bloody civil war.

The visit is among Min Aung Hlaing’s most significant diplomatic engagements and the latest in a series of trips to neighboring countries, including China, India and Laos, as he seeks to strengthen regional ties since assuming the presidency in April. Despite visits to those countries and close relations with Russia, he has remained largely isolated internationally.

While he attempts to refurbish his image, Myanmar's military continues to wage a brutal war across much of the country against pro-democracy resistance fighters and armed ethnic minority groups seeking greater autonomy.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the civil war, more than 8,200 civilians have been killed and 31,645 arrested by Myanmar's security forces as of Wednesday.

Chit Seng, a senior human rights specialist at Fortify Rights, argued last month that changing from a military uniform into a “presidential robe” after fake elections does not alter the fundamental nature of the military government. She described it as a “brutal regime” that kills its own people and should not be legitimized.

Only about a dozen people turned up for a protest of the visit outside the U.N.’s regional headquarters in Bangkok, where they chanted in support of the resistance forces in Myanmar and to wish for Min Aung Hlaing’s downfall.

Ousted leader Suu Kyi was allowed a rare visitor

In another effort to placate critics, the regime allowed a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit 81-year-old Suu Kyi this week, the first known contact with an outside international independent humanitarian organization since her detention. The ICRC confirmed the visit but disclosed no details about her health or the contents of the meeting.

She was originally sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022, on what her supporters and rights groups said were bogus charges intended to prevent her return to politics.

On April 30, she was moved from prison to house arrest and her sentence was reduced to 18 years, with more than 13 years left to serve. The United Nations, Western governments and international human rights organizations have repeatedly called for her immediate release.

Min Aung Hlaing's visit to Thailand is part of a broader series of trips to neighboring countries as the 70-year-old Min Aung Hlaing seeks to restore his standing within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He faced years of diplomatic isolation following his 2021 takeover and was barred from top-level ASEAN meetings for failing to comply with a peace plan agreed upon in April 2021.

Thai leader says stable Myanmar is crucial for region

Bangkok has maintained close ties with Myanmar’s military leadership and has emerged as the strongest advocate within ASEAN for renewed engagement with Naypyitaw.

Although the visit officially concerns bilateral relations, Anutin declared during a visit to Indonesia on Tuesday that a peaceful and stable Myanmar is essential to ASEAN unity and regional stability. He acknowledged Thailand has advocated for a “calibrated re-engagement approach” that keeps dialogue open and responds to “realities on the ground,” and suggested that the recent ICRC visit to Suu Kyi validated this position.

Thanida Piyachot, another human rights specialist at Fortify Rights, disagreed, saying that recognizing Min Aung Hlaing as a legitimate leader and “shaking the bloodied hands of a war criminal” sends the wrong message to civilians suffering under an “illegitimate military dictatorship.”

She urged Thailand and ASEAN to stop hiding behind non-interference policies and to take proactive roles in promoting human rights in Myanmar.

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According to the sheriff’s office, deputies received multiple calls Tuesday night that Hilton appeared to be harming himself with a knife during a TikTok livestream.

In the video, Hilton was heard saying things like, “This is what you all wanted” and “It will be interesting to see what happens after you die.”

“Mario, Mario! Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office! Step out of the house!” a deputy is heard in surveillance video yelling outside Hilton’s home in Westchester as they responded to the scene.

Deputies said they confirmed with family members that Hilton was alone inside and worked to safely de-escalate the situation. Authorities said he was transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital to be treated for his injuries and was then Baker Acted.

Family members confirmed late Wednesday night that Perez is able to communicate, which they said gives them hope.

A heavy police presence remained outside Hilton’s home from Wednesday morning through the evening.

Hilton’s neighbor, Dr. Maria Granadillo, told Local 10 News that she’s sad and scared for him.

“Obviously, you have a little bit of fear because, you know, as a medical health professional, if someone can do that to themselves, they can do that to others,” she said. “So, of course, I was a little bit scared, and then I was mostly concerned about him and the kids because I know there’s three kids in there.”

“We had no idea at all. I mean, they’re quiet people,” another neighbor, Raisa Gonzalez said. “I heard recently that he became a Christian, so we would love to speak with him if he sees this.”

The incident comes after Hilton shared publicly that he had experienced a serious medical scare earlier this year that left him hospitalized with an ulcer and sepsis for several weeks. In June, he also announced that he had relocated from Las Vegas to Miami with his three children to live with his mother.

“I was in a bit of a spiral, because I was overwhelmed with our move to Miami and I didn’t do these things that I know are good for me,” Hilton said in the June video, titled I Fell Off The Wagon – In Every Sense! BUT.

In a statement, Hilton’s representative, Golden Artists Entertainment, said:

“We are aware of the concerning content circulating online involving our client, Perez Hilton. At this time, we have not been able to make direct contact with him, despite our ongoing efforts to reach him. Our primary concern is Perez’s health and well-being, as well as the well-being of his family. Until we have confirmed information, we will not speculate or comment further.”

Hilton’s family also released a statement on Wednesday, saying:

“We can confirm that Perez is receiving medical care, and our family’s focus right now is on his well-being.”

Wednesday evening, Hilton’s podcast co-host Chris Booker called the situation unimaginable, writing, “The support from our listeners has been resounding. He is very loved. I can only hope he feels it. Heal up friend.”

TikTok has since taken down Hilton’s social media account following the incident, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is using the incident as an opportunity to remind the public that mental health resources are available for anyone experiencing a crisis and encouraged people to seek help if they or someone they know is struggling.

Hilton, a Cuban-American, rose to prominence through his celebrity gossip website before expanding into fashion and music coverage and becoming a familiar television personality.

No additional information about Hilton’s condition has been released.

If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

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Leon Health System was commemorating three decades of exemplary care and community involvement.

The event was an elegant soiree flanked by mementos of a journey from humble beginnings to becoming a leading South Florida medical powerhouse that is looking forward to the future.

Miami icon Grammy winner and Leon Medical Centers spokesman Willy Chirino was on hand for a special performance, which was a family affair as he was joined by his daughters on stage.

With the champagne flowing, the guests traversed outside to experience the crown jewel of the evening, a drone show blanketing the downtown Miami skyline in 500 lights.

Thirty years of vision, hard work and opportunity were celebrated while laying the foundation for thirty more.

Utah has been on the front lines of a battle between states and the federal government over who regulates the markets and whether they should be considered finance or gambling. The legal landscape is fragmented, with state and federal courts blocking restrictions in several states and allowing them in others.

Kalshi sued Utah in February, asking a federal judge to prevent the state from enforcing its gambling restrictions on the platform. The lawsuit came as Utah was on the verge of enacting legislation intended to undercut prediction markets from doing business in the state.

State law now bans proposition betting in sports — wagers on certain events happening in a game, rather than the game’s outcome — which is a significant source of revenue for the leading prediction markets.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby rejected Kalshi’s request to block the Utah restrictions Tuesday, saying the federal law that Kalshi cited in its argument does not prevent the state from enforcing its laws.

For now, Utah residents can still place bets on the platforms. The state’s attorney general, Derek Brown, said he will enforce state laws on Kalshi, but he was still exploring options.

“Gambling is gambling, no matter what any company calls it,” Brown said.

Kalshi said in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal.

The company maintains that prediction markets fall exclusively under federal jurisdiction and are not governed by a patchwork of state gambling laws. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency responsible for regulating financial markets, agrees and has defended prediction markets in court.

Courts in Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, New York and Wisconsin have ruled against Kalshi in similar lawsuits, while judges in New Jersey, Tennessee, Arizona and Minnesota have sided with the company. Other states have been allowed to restrict certain aspects of Kalshi's operations without banning them entirely.

The Trump Administration has been supportive of prediction markets, which allow anyone with a smartphone to wager on just about anything. The president's eldest son is an adviser for both Kalshi and Polymarket, and an investor in the latter through his venture capital firm. Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is also launching its own cryptocurrency-based prediction market called Truth Predict.

Utah leaders such as Gov. Spencer Cox have treated their fight to keep out anything they deem gambling as a moral crusade. The culture is rooted in the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church, which views gambling as a vice that leads to selfishness and addiction.

Prediction markets are “causing tremendous harm to countless American families,” Cox said in celebrating the ruling.

The county unveiled its Zero Waste master plan, a roadmap to help all of Miami-Dade dramatically reduce and divert the enormous amount of trash it sends to landfills.

“We have to reduce our waste,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We have to divert, we have to reuse, compost, recycle, all of the above, because it’s not sustainable.”

Right now, Miami-Dade generates 5 million tons of garbage a year — about twice the national average. And with remaining landfill space expected to run out in the next five years, the clock is ticking.

Miami-Dade’s Zero Waste master plan aims to tackle the crisis head-on. Four years in the making, the plan calls for more than 30 strategies that will more than double the recycling rate from 36% to 77% over the next 13 years.

“We have already improved our contamination rate of recycling substantially, from 50% to 36% that’s being diverted,” said Levine Cava. “With this plan, we’ll reach almost 80%. We’ve already aligned our municipalities, now 80% of people in Miami-Dade County are using the same the same guidelines for recycling.”

Composting is a critical tool to help the county achieve its goal.

Randy Russell, a zero waste planner with WSP, said, “When you look at 30% of what’s going into the landfill is organic material, yard debris, food scraps that doesn’t need to be buried and has embodied energy and resources. No, you need to have compost.”

Right now, composting in Miami-Dade is largely limited to pilot programs testing whether it can be expanded countywide. Meantime, other strategies include turning yard waste into biochar — a charcoal-like material that enriches soil, retains moisture and locks away carbon instead of it ending up in a landfill. All of this is helping propel Miami-Dade into a greener tomorrow.

“It will also reduce approximately 1.74 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Levine Cava. “Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t care what they say; that matters.”

Aneisha Daniel, director for Miami-Dade County Solid Waste, said, “It’s important that we look for alternative technologies so that we can actually make sure that we have a sustainable future.”

A key piece of the plan relies on Miami-Dade’s travel and tourism industry. As one of the largest economic drivers, it’s also one of the biggest waste generators, making hotels, restaurants and meeting spaces essential partners in achieving zero waste.

“We have about 21 million visitors,” said Rolando Aedo, COO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “So if you do the math, that’s approximately 60,000 visitors on any given day. That’s practically larger than 24 of our 34 cities in Miami-Dade County.”

The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau is mobilizing area hotels to earn Green Key certification, helping the industry reduce waste, conserve resources and operate more sustainably.

“So we understand the responsibility that we have as an industry to be part of this plan and to lead the way, and that’s why we launched that partnership with Green Key Global,” said Aedo.

The zero waste strategy aligns with what environmental and conservation groups have championed for years to reduce the massive amount of trash polluting our natural spaces.

“And so this really is going to require an effort by everyone, because if we don’t manage our waste properly, it’s going to end up in our oceans,” said Dave Doebler, co-founder of VolunteerCleanup.org.

That’s right, South Florida. The plan only works if all of us get on board. This is on all of us.

“The EPA sets it at a 90% diversion rate; is considered zero waste,” said Russell.

Said Levine Cava: “This is only one planet, no planet B. We have to take care of her.”

County officials say reaching these goals will require more than new programs, it will require changing habits.

The county plans an aggressive public education campaign, but if residents repeatedly contaminate their recycling, officials say they could lose their recycling carts or even face fines.

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Link, 31, of Homestead, has been in Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center since 2022. In 2025, she was convicted of killing her longtime partner ― but that was later overturned and she awaits a new murder trial.

Her alleged crime isn’t what made international headlines, though: Instead, it was the fact that she managed to get pregnant by a fellow inmate while locked up at TGK. The two had hatched a plan to pass encased semen through an air vent.

Gupta, 37, of Oklahoma City, has been locked up at TGK since July 2025. She’s accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter and staging her drowning at a vacation rental home in El Portal the month prior while visiting from the Sooner State. She faces a second-degree murder charge.

In January, authorities said Link attacked Gupta, punching her multiple times in the head and face and pulling her hair.

Gupta appeared in a Miami courtroom on Wednesday after her attorneys filed an emergency motion for separation order.

Her attorneys said Link had been moved from their shared TGK housing unit but was later returned to it in June.

In July, Link approached Gupta’s cell door and “began banging aggressively and yelling ‘I am going to kill you,’” according to the filing.

On July 20, there was “another incident” involving the two, according to the court filing, and four days later an associate of Link attacked Gupta.

A Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation official testified that Link “is on the bottom tier of the unit” and “is not allowed out of her cell at the same time as” Gupta.

“So this is the best we can do at this time,” the official testified.

On Wednesday, the judge stopped short of demanding any action.

“The court does not have the authority to grant the motion at this time for a keep separate order,” Judge Zachary James said. “I would again recommend that (the) corrections (department) stay on top of this issue, which they have been doing, to ensure that they are separated.”

Miami was without star striker Luis Suarez, who is serving a six-game suspension after spitting on a Seattle Sounders staff member during the 2025 Leagues Cup final.

The Herons, champions of the 2023 Leagues Cup, are aiming to reach their third final in four years after falling to Seattle in last season’s championship match.

Wednesday also marked the first time Messi and Brazilian midfielder Casemiro started together for Miami.

The night could not have started much worse for the Herons.

San Luis stunned the home crowd by opening the scoring just three minutes into the match, exposing Miami’s defense before the hosts had a chance to settle into the game.

Rather than panic, Miami responded immediately.

Just five minutes later, Messi brought the match level. Allen whipped a cross into the penalty area, where the Argentine star met it with a composed left-footed volley that beat the San Luis goalkeeper for his first goal since returning from the World Cup break.

The equalizer transformed the atmosphere inside Nu Stadium.

With the crowd fully behind them, Miami seized control of possession and dictated the pace for the remainder of the first half.

Miami briefly thought it had taken the lead through Pinter, but VAR ruled the goal offside.

The disappointment lasted only moments.

Venezuelan winger Telasco Segovia restored Miami’s momentum by finishing off another attacking move, giving the Herons a 2-1 advantage just before the first-half hydration break. Allen collected his second assist of the evening.

San Luis appeared to have a golden opportunity to pull level after being awarded a penalty, but VAR intervened once again. Following a review, officials overturned the decision, ruling the San Luis attacker had dived and awarding Miami a free kick instead.

The reversal proved costly.

Moments before halftime, Miami produced one of its best team goals of the season. Allen delivered another dangerous cross from the left, and midfielder Yannick Bright cleverly allowed the ball to run through his legs, leaving Messi unmarked inside the box. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner made no mistake, finishing comfortably for his second goal of the night.

Allen’s third assist completed an assist hat trick.

Miami added one more before the break.

On the final corner kick of the half, Messi curled a dangerous ball into the area, where center back Micael rose highest to head home and extend the lead to 4-1. Messi earned his first assist of the night as Miami headed into halftime firmly in control.

San Luis refused to disappear quietly.

The visitors opened the second half with a spectacular long-range strike to trim the deficit to 4-2 and briefly swung the momentum in their favor. They controlled much of the possession after the goal, forcing Miami to defend for extended stretches.

Still, the Herons remained composed, protecting their two-goal cushion without allowing San Luis to mount another serious comeback.

Play was halted in the 68th minute because of lightning in the area, sending both teams to the locker room during a 30-minute weather delay.

When play resumed, the match never regained its earlier intensity.

Miami was content to manage the clock, limiting San Luis’s opportunities while comfortably seeing out the result.

The final whistle secured Inter Miami’s first victory of the 2026 Leagues Cup, powered by another brilliant performance from Messi and a breakout playmaking display from Allen.

The Herons return to action Saturday when they face Monterrey at 8 p.m.

The match at Nu Stadium was delayed 30 minutes in the second half because of lightning in the area.

Messi scored in the 11th and the 44th minutes. He has 14 goals in 12 Leagues Cup matches — one ahead of Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga for most in the tournament's four-year history.

Telasco Segovia and defender Micael also scored, and Noah Allen had three assists as Inter Miami extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches.

Messi returned to Miami's starting lineup in his second match since the World Cup, where he led Argentina to its second straight final appearance before La Albiceleste lost 1-0 to Spain. The 39-year-old played 37 minutes as a substitute in a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew on Saturday.

After being held off the scoresheet against Columbus, it didn't take Messi long to make an impact on Wednesday. He fired a long cross from Allen past Andrés Sánchez to equalize after David Rodríguez put San Luis ahead with a header four minutes into the match. Messi finished from close range later in the first half and assisted on Micael's header in stoppage time.

Rafa Llorente also scored for San Luis.

Messi led Miami to the Leagues Cup title in 2023 shortly after his arrival with the club. Inter Miami reached the final again last year, losing 3-0 to Seattle in a match that ended with a brawl involving Luis Suárez. The veteran forward appeared to spit toward a member of the Sounders’ staff and grabbed at least one Seattle player by the neck during the melee, resulting in a six-match tournament suspension.

That means Suárez, who has seven goals in the past four matches, was not available Wednesday and will not play in this year's tournament.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been announced.

The 30-year-old Brooks averaged a career-high 20.2 points last season, his first with the Suns. He provided scoring and a hard-nosed defensive personality that helped the team make a surprise run to the playoffs.

Brooks is entering the final season of an $86 million, four-year deal he signed with the Houston Rockets in 2023.

The Suns have spent much of the offseason locking up the core of last season's team to long-term deals, including guards Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, along with center Mark Williams. Phoenix also traded for forward Miles Bridges, sending Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale to Charlotte.

ESPN first reported the deal, citing Brooks' agent.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

While the U.S. Embassy did not specify the nature of the threat in its security alert, Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said on social media that the temporary halt to inspections was intended to safeguard workers following recent arrests linked to extortion. The inspections are necessary for avocados to be shipped to the United States and their suspension could disrupt exports.

The western state of Michoacan is the leading exporter of avocados to the U.S. and has a high level of organized crime activity with at least four cartels — designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration — operating in the region. Besides trafficking drugs, cartels also make money through extortion, including of the avocado industry.

Michoacan State Security Secretary Antonio Cruz told The Associated Press that one of the arrests mentioned by the governor was of “El Poncho,” the alias of Alfonso Fernández Magallón, leader of a local cartel operating in the avocado-growing region around Los Reyes.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the arrest, which came over the weekend. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for Fernández Magallón’s arrest.

Cruz said his department was unaware of any direct incidents involving the avocado inspectors. Nevertheless, 300 security personnel were deployed to the Los Reyes area as a preventive measure.

The governor said the priority was to “ensure the security conditions necessary for these operations to resume normally,” as has happened in the past.

Mexico supplies approximately 80% of U.S. avocado imports - a product known in the region as “green gold.” Its cultivation generates around 200,000 jobs in Michoacán alone.

In 2025, Mexico sold $3.65 billion worth of avocados to the United States, and in the first four months of this year, those exports rose by 35% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sends inspectors in Mexico to monitor plantations and packing houses to ensure that exported produce is free of pests. Threats and violence against the inspectors have caused the U.S. to suspend inspections in the past.

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According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, a man identified as Michael Simpson, 51, of Miami Beach, turned off an 18-year-old diver’s air supply while the victim was in the water searching for lobsters.

It happened at approximately 7:04 a.m. on July 29, approximately a half mile east of Fisher Island.

Deputies said the incident began with a fight over a diving spot.

According to investigators, the victim was under the water when the owner of the boat he arrived with observed another boat approaching at a high rate of speed.

The boat owner told deputies that when the boat eventually stopped and anchored nearby, the captain, later identified as Simpson, started a verbal dispute, claiming that they were in his spot.

Deputies said at one point, Simpson became irate and threatened to turn off the breathing system that was supplying air to Hunter Cofer, the diver in the water. He then made good on his threat, jumping in the water and turning it off, authorities said.

The boat owner then immediately jumped into the water and pulled Cofer to the surface, according to MDSO.

After being brought to safety, Cofer was observed “gasping for air, appeared disoriented, and did not understand what had occurred,” an arrest form stated.

Deputies said Simpson fled the area after turning the machine off.

No injures were reported in the incident.

Detectives said Simpson voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Tuesday.

Simpson’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, said his client will plead not guilty and denied the allegations.

“He never touched the tank, and so this claim that he had something to do with the tank turning off is just false,” Srebnick said. “We have eyewitnesses that can confirm that Mr. Simpson never touched the tank.”

Cofer’s family told Local 10 News that he is studying to become a paramedic and is still processing what happened. He has not made a return to the water since the incident occurred.

Simpson posted a $10,000 bond on Wednesday.

He exited the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Wednesday evening, telling media members, “Please allow both sides to come out.”

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Durian lovers prize the Malaysian premium varieties such as Musang King and Black Thorn, but their growers face a harsher reality. Climate change, caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal, is making it costlier for growers like Chow to produce quality durians, adding pressure as they compete with Thailand and Vietnam, which dominate a booming export market to China.

Extreme weather has dealt repeated blows to Chow’s orchard, which is in Karak, a small town about an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. In 2021, heavy rainfall triggered flooding that damaged about 100 of his durian trees and his machinery. Over the following three years, persistent rain during flowering season caused pollination failure, cutting into his yield. And now, Chow is facing other challenges.

“Breaking even would already be very good. Most likely there’ll be a loss this year,” Chow said.

Between February and April, afternoon temperatures hit 33 to 35 degrees Celsius (91 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit), and rain fell mostly at night, he said. Such weather favored flowering, and Chow responded by pruning to prevent deformed or small fruit while stepping up watering and fertilization because of the heat. A rise in fuel and fertilizer prices because of the Iran war, however, meant those extra efforts came at a higher cost.

An oversupply of durians in Malaysia — driven by hot and dry weather and more orchards reaching maturity — also pushed prices down. Grade A Musang King durians from his orchard sold for the equivalent of $8.6 per kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) in local currency in early July, about half compared to the same period last year and roughly one-third of the peak price in 2024.

China's love for durians fueled boom

Durians' overpowering smell is fragrant to those who love it and foul to those who don't. Beneath a spiky shell, their flesh offers a rich, creamy texture with varying flavors. Some taste like sweet custard with fruity flourishes, others carry a hint of bitterness, an alcohol tinge or even a peanut butter-like flavor.

Official data showed Malaysia's durian crop covered 92,100 hectares (227,600 acres) in 2024, up almost 40% from 2016, a size even larger than the total land area of Singapore, the city-state island just south of Malaysia. During that period, Malaysia's production grew nearly 90% to 568,800 tonnes.

The boom was fueled by China beginning to import whole frozen Malaysian durians in 2019. Fresh durians followed in 2024, as Beijing expanded what has been dubbed “durian diplomacy” by welcoming more Southeast Asian countries to export the fruit.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said China procured about 95% of global durian exports between 2020 and 2022. It imported 1.87 million tonnes of fresh durians worth $7.5 billion in 2025, with the volume jumping six times in the past decade, according to China's customs data.

Consumers there can find the fruit in supermarkets, grocery stores and durian specialty shops. Shanghai resident Song Xiaohua, in her 30s, said she would eat durians once a week instead of once a month if it weren’t for its high calorie count. To her, durians taste creamy and are like both fruit and dessert.

“It feels like celebrating Lunar New Year every time I have a durian,” Song said.

Malaysia lags far behind Thailand and Vietnam in exports to China. But the Malaysian industry touts its durians as higher quality. Unlike their counterparts, Malaysian growers typically do not harvest early, instead collecting only naturally ripened fruit.

Delivering quality durians requires resilience

As global average temperatures rise, extreme weather events like heat waves, floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide, often forcing farmers to scramble to adapt.

Peninsular Malaysia recorded a significant jump in average temperature from 1969 to 2025, with an increase of 0.24 degrees Celsius (about 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, according to the country's meteorological department.

Ooi Teik Hock, whose orchard in Perak state is near the border with Thailand, said there were fewer fruit quality problems when temperatures were lower two decades ago. Concerned about the heat, he moved his orchard from the plains to the highlands about 10 years ago, where nights are cooler and air is more humid.

Still, global warming remains a threat, fueling the proliferation of once-rare pests and forcing Ooi to use pesticides more frequently, which he said have jumped some 30% in price from three years ago.

For the first time, Ooi didn't see fruit bats, a main pollinator, at his orchard during this year's flowering season. He said it could be a result of extreme heat or the widespread use of pesticides for pest and disease control.

The weather changes also affect overall quality, especially for the Musang King variety, which is sensitive to weather conditions, said Lim Chin Khee, an adviser to the Durian Academy, which trains durian growers in Malaysia.

Too much rain during the fruit's rapid development period can cause white and grayish patches on golden yellow flesh, while water shortages during that time can cause some black spots around the flesh, he said.

Some growers turn to technology

With expectations that El Nino, a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean that leads to warmer temperatures, could bring Malaysia record-high temperatures between March and May, Lim advised farmers to expand water reservoirs or prepare to install tube wells as a backup if their ponds dried up.

He said producing good fruit depends equally on the weather and the farmer’s effort. And that extreme weather events would reduce supply while simultaneously driving up prices, he said.

“So for those farmers (who) are well prepared, actually when any disaster strikes, that is an opportunity,” he said.

Grower Kie Kim Hwa learned how to farm durians from his grandfather at a young age. When he took charge of the orchard in Penang Island off Malaysia's western coast, he chose to do things slightly differently than previous generations.

He installed sensors and instruments to track rainfall, humidity and wind speed, among other data, which was sent to a cloud drive for him to review anywhere and keep a record. Some were placed among the trees and grass, and others deep in the soil. Not everything required high technology: he also checked the surface of a bucket of water for insects to gauge pest levels.

The data allowed Kie to intervene early before problems arose and ultimately control fruit quality and quantity to match market demand.

“We live and die by the weather,” he said. “But we can still prepare.”

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Associated Press writer Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

He shouted in Spanish at Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer during a plea hearing on Wednesday at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Allapattah.

“I am asking you not to interrupt me, Sir,” Venzer told Castro-Arroyo during the hearing.

A Spanish to English translator helped Castro-Arroyo, 58, who stands accused of stabbing his 45-year-old estranged wife 16 times in front of their 7-year-old daughter in 2019 in Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detectives reported the girl, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, saw her father fatally stabbing her mother, Yanelis González, inside a parked car at the Country Club Villas Park north of Miami Lakes.

“This judge wants to convict me by force,” Castro-Arroyo told Venzel in court.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Castro-Arroyo on May 21, 2019. Prosecutors filed a case against him a day later on charges of second-degree murder with a weapon and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors dropped the charge of tampering with evidence. On Wednesday, Venzel asked Castro-Arroyo if he was accepting a plea deal from the prosecution on the murder charge.

“I am not going to accept anything,” Castro-Arroyo told Venzel.

While in handcuffs, Castro-Arroyo slammed his hand on a wooden divider’s flat surface. He was behind the attorneys who stood before Venzel.

“I’m in no rush at all,” Castro-Arroyo, a convicted felon serving a prison sentence, told Venzel.

The Florida Department of Corrections has had custody of Castro-Arroyo off and on since Nov. 30, 2015, and his scheduled release from prison isn’t until Dec. 10, 2028, according to state records.

Castro-Arroyo has five convictions, going back to 2014 in Miami-Dade: Arson, possession of illegal vehicle fuel transport, criminal mischief, grand theft, and driving with a suspended license.

A camera filmed Castro-Arroyo displaying disruptive behavior in court before. On Wednesday, he faced the cameras.

“It’s a good thing the cameras are here today so they can see this, and so our people know what you are doing here,” Castro-Arroyo told Venzer.

His next trial hearing is at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 19.

The New York Times has reported the creation of a CIA Task Force on Cuba with the purpose of putting additional pressure on the Cuban government to make political and economic changes to their system.

This news will probably be received by Cuba as an additional threat by the U.S.

Aug. 5: Cuban president confirms ongoing conservations between Havana, US

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed today that there are ongoing conversations between Havana and DC for the purpose of avoiding a military confrontation and trying to find solutions to the issues between both nations.

The Cuban government understands that they are running out of options and most likely will need to reach an agreement with the U.S. Will it include regime change?

Aug. 3 update: Rubio speaks about Cuba’s ongoing espionage activities in the US

This past weekend, in an interview with Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio spoke about Cuba’s ongoing espionage activities in the U.S.

Rubio went on to say that Cuban spies continue to infiltrate the U.S. government, financial institutions, organizations, and academic institutions. Rubio claimed that Cuba continues to be a national security threat to the U.S.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez is Local 10’s Cuba Analyst. Gomez is considered one of the leading scholars on Cuba. He worked in higher education for 32 years before retiring from the University of Miami in 2012.

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The group continues to call for “well below-average” hurricane activity across the Gulf, Caribbean, and wider Atlantic this year, with increasing confidence that a powerful El Niño in the waters of the eastern Pacific will significantly reduce overall storm activity across the Atlantic basin and lower the odds of a major hurricane hit on the U.S. and coastlines bordering the Caribbean.

CSU’s bottom-line numbers remain unchanged from its July forecast, predicting 9 named storms this season (including the two named storms that have already formed), four hurricanes, and one hurricane reaching Category 3, 4, or 5 strength. The 30-year average is 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three Category 3 or stronger hurricanes.

As we’ve covered in this newsletter, wind shear in the western Atlantic and Caribbean region has been running as high as we’ve ever observed in the satellite record (since 1979) and seasonal forecast models like the famed Euro ensemble are forecasting the highest wind shear on record for their hindcast period (since 1981) for September.

The hostile wind shear is being powered by the ongoing El Niño in the Pacific, which continues to outpace our strongest El Niños like 1997, even after adjusting for Wednesday’s warmer water temperatures due to global warming.

It’s a near certainty that this El Niño will be one of if not the strongest on record, even after accounting for climate change.

Though strong El Niño years like this one almost universally dampen hurricane activity in the Atlantic, it’s worth reiterating that it doesn’t reduce hurricanes altogether.

Strong and impactful hurricanes still happen, even during down years (see Joaquin in 2015 which sunk the American cargo ship El Faro, claiming the 33 lives of her crew, and tangentially led to catastrophic flooding in South Carolina), and even if the odds are reduced, lighter years activity-wise don’t give us a seasonal pass.

Nevertheless, this is about as encouraging of an outlook as we could ask for in August. Tropical Atlantic waters are tepid, especially compared to recent hurricane seasons and especially compared to the global tropics, which matters most in terms of sinking air dominating the basin and deterring storm growth.

AI models perk up for mid-August

Since last Thursday, we’ve touched on a disturbance the AI camp of models has been sniffing out over the main development region of the tropical Atlantic (between Africa and the Caribbean) for mid-month.

The signal has stayed relatively consistent since last week, but in recent model runs we’re noticing a subtle uptick in model interest.

The odds remain low (only around 10% of ensembles members show development) and we’re still a week away from any coherent disturbance we might begin tracking, but the persistence of models along with the subtle uptick means it’s something we’ll be checking back on.

Additionally, the traditional physics-based models and their ensembles, which have been largely quiet, have perked up some in recent runs.

As we’ve stressed before (and an evergreen statement for all potential disturbances more than a week out), this isn’t anything that we need to worry about, but we’ll keep you posted on the trends into next week.

The message was clear: This is a a celebration of community, culture, music and art.

“The crowd was captivated,” Hill said.

“It was surreal,” Jean jumped in. “The love was felt. It was amazing.”

It was a tease of what's to come. On Friday, Hill will bring her Diaspora Calling! festival to the U.K. for the first time, marking 10 years since its inaugural edition in Brooklyn.

The event, hosted by Dave Chappelle and featuring performances by Erykah Badu, YG Marley, Zion Marley, Giggs, Fireboy DML and other artists, will be held at The National Bowl in nearby Milton Keynes. And its center: Hill and Jean, two-thirds of the Fugees, will perform their landmark album “The Score” in its entirety.

Below, Hill — joined briefly by Jean — discuss their festival, the 30th anniversary of “The Score” and the legacy of the late D'Angelo. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Why bring Diaspora Calling! to the UK?

HILL: We were given an opportunity by the promoters — the same promoters that do Reggae Land.

He gave me the venue. And I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ We’re basically blessed to have the opportunity. And, you know, 'tis the season to bring people together in the name of growth, healing and pushing forward.

AP: The African diaspora is everywhere — are you hoping to do other international editions?

HILL: Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.

AP: How has the concept evolved since the first event in 2016?

HILL: First of all, it started when I did a show in Ghana. There was a gentleman who brought me out to Ghana. And as I was talking to him, I realized that our conversation was not just about the immediate subject matter. I knew that we made a connection for a reason. And I know myself and Wyclef have community over the years — even when we weren’t necessarily doing the Fugees thing anymore, we built community all over the diaspora. And now it’s the time to bring them together.

AP: The lineup is dynamic. How do you go about selecting artists?

HILL: We put a call out to the people that we know, love and respect. And I’ve gotten so much positivity — an abundance of responses, in terms of the creative community out here wanting to participate. So that’s huge.

AP: You and Wyclef Jean will perform all of “The Score” on Friday, in celebration of its 30th anniversary. Has your relationship to that album changed in that time?

HILL: Absolutely. Absolutely. That’s a timeless piece of work for us as well. Timeless. How do you feel about it, Wyclef?

JEAN: You hit it on the dot. You know, I remember when I was coming up, listening to like Bob Marley's “Exodus”; a lot of the early Dylan, Bob Dylan records; Pink Floyd's “The Wall”; The Police's “Synchronicity” and we got “The Score.” So that’s forever.

AP: It is interesting to hear that you have been transformed by it the way your listeners have.

HILL: I think what is powerful about the album was that, you know, I’m a big fan of what Wyclef does. And I think he’s appreciative of what I do. So, we engage with each other’s art. And every time we perform it, even though (it's) singing older lyrics, there’s a new energy, a new spirit. There's a timelessness. I almost feel like we’re reclaiming timelines, healing timelines, so to speak, every time we’re performing.

JEAN: A hundred percent. Every time I perform “The Score” now, I feel like it's the first time.

HILL: Yeah. It doesn't feel old.

AP: How does performing that at Diaspora Calling! differ from another kind of concert?

HILL: It's kind of the pinnacle of what the Fugees were all about. Our makeup is diaspora calls. I think we were a call to a particular unity, a particular kind of reflection and a particular kind of resistance to certain ideas that we knew better than. And we wanted to channel that outside and have other people feel what we were certain about, which is that there was being and resourcefulness and incredible brilliance throughout diaspora. And that division was not really an option.

AP: That is beautifully put. That spirit reminds me of your performance at the Grammys earlier this year, where you paid tribute to the late Roberta Flack and D'Angelo. We're approaching the one-year anniversary of D'Angelo's passing. How do you hope he continues to be remembered?

HILL: We lost another timeless soul who made timeless music. We obviously want to protect his family and just keep holding up that brilliance.

He was good — without question.

The 35-year-old Donald participated in a hosted workout with the Rams, according to the league's official transactions wire, which records such workouts with free agents before their possible signings to NFL rosters. Defensive line coach Giff Smith attended the workout at the Rams' complex in Woodland Hills, defensive coordinator Chris Shula said at training camp.

“I heard it was good,” Shula said with a smile. “It was more (about) how he felt. ... Obviously, we'd be really excited about that. You're getting one of the best players of all time. I have a great history with him. We know what a great guy he is, what a hard worker he is and what he would mean to this defense. We're going to coach the guys that are here, and if he decides to come back, that would be great.”

Donald has been working out at the Rams' Woodland Hills facility and at home for several weeks in his attempt to return to NFL shape. While the Rams have emphasized their willingness to wait indefinitely for Donald to decide, coach Sean McVay has expressed cautious optimism in the past week about the prospect of lining up Donald and Myles Garrett together this season on a remarkable defensive line.

Garrett returned to practice with the Rams on Monday after sitting out the previous four workouts with lower-body soreness. The reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year said he still hasn't spoken to Donald about the comeback bid, but that might change soon.

“Hopefully we'll link up here soon and I'll see where his head is at, and just break bread with him as well,” Garrett said. “I don't know how he's feeling. I don't know where he is in this process, but it is a process, coming back from so much time off. I'm not going to push him either way. Just get a feel of it.”

While McVay has indicated increasing optimism about Donald's return as camp progresses, the head coach said last week that the Rams didn't expect a decision until after they wrap up training camp at Loyola Marymount University this week. The Rams are planning to reconvene in Woodland Hills on Saturday for their first post-camp practice, followed by four more practices in Woodland Hills next week ahead of their preseason opener at Kansas City.

Donald retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024 following a decorated 10-year career spent entirely with the Rams. He won the AP's Defensive Player of the Year award three times while earning eight All-Pro selections, 10 Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl championship ring.

Donald apparently began to entertain the idea of a comeback early last month after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of Donald's few contemporary peers. The 30-year-old Garrett won two of the last three Defensive Player of the Year awards in Cleveland, where he received five All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections, along with setting the NFL's single-season sacks record last year.

Garrett entered the NFL in 2017, the same season in which Donald won his first Defensive Player of the Year trophy. While Garrett and Donald have decidedly different roles on a defense, Garrett said he has admired Donald for his entire career.

“Just the way he practiced his craft,” Garrett said. “You've seen the videos in which he's going 100 percent. His footwork is impeccable, but he also has get-off that's similar to an end. ... He just has an outstanding feel for the game as well as being a freak athletically.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

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Stephon L. Perry confessed to burglarizing the police officer’s assigned unmarked pickup truck before sunrise on July 22 in the West Little River neighborhood, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy’s arrest report.

“The victim’s vehicle had been unlocked, allowing him to gain entry without force,” Perry told the deputies, according to the arrest report.

The police officer told deputies that two guns — a “personally-owned Glock 48 handgun” and his police department-issued “Glock 17 handgun” — had been stolen, according to the report.

“A personally-owned 10-karat gold Cuban link bracelet, valued at approximately $3,000 ... had also been stolen from the front center console cup holder,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.

Three shield external T7 hard drives vanished, including two from the FBI and one from the MPD, according to the deputy’s report.

Detectives used surveillance videos to track Perry, who was wearing a “distinctive afro hairstyle,” a dark-colored jacket, and blue shorts, to a house in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, according to the report.

“While searching the kitchen area, I located a white styrofoam food container concealed inside the storage compartment beneath the oven,” a deputy wrote, adding that the container had the officer’s Glock and a Springfield Armory 9mm Hellcat, which had been reported stolen in another case.

After a pursuit that included a perimeter, Perry returned to his home in Liberty City, and a deputy arrested him shortly before 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday, near Northwest Eighth Avenue and 70th Street, according to the deputy’s report.

Detectives questioned Perry at the nearby Northside District Station, and he confessed to throwing away the backpack and the hard drives in a dumpster in Liberty City, and selling the bracelet and the MPD-issued Glock 17, according to the report.

A detective reported using a database to track the police officer’s stolen bracelet to the King Cash Pawn & Jewelry in West Little River, according to the report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Perry shortly before 5:15 a.m. on Wednesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Perry, who had been arrested for burglary twice earlier this year in Miami-Dade, faced nine charges in two new cases filed by prosecutors on Wednesday, according to Miami-Dade court records.

For the police vehicle burglary, Perry faced eight charges: Armed burglary, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, two counts of third-degree grand theft of a firearm, two counts of dealing in stolen property, third-degree grand theft while armed, and resisting arrest without violence.

For the stolen Springfield Armory Hellcat, Perry faced an additional charge of third-degree grand theft of a firearm, according to court records.

A judge denied him bond on the armed burglary charge. Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Richard Hersch was set to preside over both cases.

Read the arrest report’s narrative:

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.

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Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel responded shortly after 6:20 a.m. on Wednesday to the area of Southwest 157th Avenue and 160 Street, also known as Colonial Drive.

A marked Doral Police Department Ford Police Interceptor Utility patrol vehicle was parked on a gravel road between farms in Redland, near the Richmond West neighborhood.

“Detectives can confirm that there is no foul play suspected,” Detective Daniel D. Castillo, a spokesman for MDSO, wrote in a statement.

A group of motormen escorted a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue freightliner ambulance through the Richmond Heights-Redland area.

The convoy traveled northbound on the Florida Turnpike and the Palmetto Expressway, and eastbound on the Dolphin Expressway.

A large U.S. flag was flying from a fire truck’s elevated ladder over Northwest 10th Avenue, near 20th Street in Allapattah.

Dozens of police officers lined the path. Some were standing at attention to salute as the ambulance passed.

A U.S. flag was draped over the police officer’s body upon arrival at the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava released a statement on Wednesday evening reacting to the news of the officer’s death.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of a member of the City of Doral Police Department. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and every member of the Doral Police family during this incredibly difficult time,” Levine Cava wrote. “We stand with our law enforcement community.”

Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of a member of the @Cityofdoral Police Department. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and every member of the Doral Police family during this incredibly difficult time. We stand with our law enforcement…

— Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) August 5, 2026

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

Location

Stephon L. Perry confesó haber robado la camioneta sin distintivos oficiales asignada al oficial de Policía antes del amanecer del 22 de julio en el vecindario West Little River, según el informe de arresto de un agente de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO).

“El vehículo de la víctima estaba sin seguro, lo que le permitió ingresar sin usar la fuerza”, dijo Perry a los agentes, según el informe de arresto.

El oficial informó a los agentes que dos armas de fuego, una pistola Glock 48 de su propiedad y una pistola Glock 17 asignada por el Departamento de Policía, habían sido robadas, según el informe.

“Un brazalete cubano de oro de 10 quilates, de propiedad personal y valorado en aproximadamente $3,000 USD, también fue robado del portavasos de la consola central delantera”, escribió un agente, según el informe.

También desaparecieron tres discos duros externos Shield T7, incluidos dos pertenecientes al FBI y uno al Departamento de Policía de Miami (MPD), según el informe del agente.

Los detectives utilizaron videos de vigilancia para rastrear a Perry, quien vestía una chaqueta oscura, pantalones cortos azules y llevaba un “distintivo peinado afro”, hasta una vivienda en el vecindario Liberty City de Miami, según el informe.

“Mientras registraba el área de la cocina, encontré un recipiente blanco de espuma para alimentos oculto dentro del compartimiento de almacenamiento debajo del horno”, escribió un agente, y añadió que el recipiente contenía la Glock del oficial y una Springfield Armory Hellcat de 9 mm, que había sido reportada como robada en otro caso.

Tras una persecución que incluyó el establecimiento de un perímetro, Perry regresó a su vivienda en Liberty City y un agente lo arrestó poco antes de las 7:50 p.m. del martes, cerca de Northwest Eighth Avenue y 70th Street, según el informe.

Los detectives interrogaron a Perry en la cercana estación del Distrito Northside, donde confesó haber arrojado la mochila y los discos duros a un contenedor de basura en Liberty City, además de vender el brazalete y la Glock 17 asignada por el MPD, según el informe.

Un detective informó que utilizó una base de datos para rastrear el brazalete robado del oficial hasta King Cash Pawn & Jewelry, en West Little River, según el informe.

El Departamento de Correcciones de Miami-Dade ingresó a Perry en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight poco antes de las 5:15 a.m. del miércoles, según los registros de reclusos.

Perry, quien ya había sido arrestado dos veces este año por robo en Miami-Dade, enfrentaba nueve cargos en dos nuevos casos presentados por la fiscalía el miércoles, según los registros judiciales del condado Miami-Dade.

Por el robo de la camioneta policial, Perry enfrentaba ocho cargos: robo a mano armada, robo de un vehículo desocupado, dos cargos de hurto mayor de un arma de fuego en tercer grado, dos cargos de tráfico de propiedad robada, hurto mayor en tercer grado estando armado y resistencia al arresto sin violencia.

Por la Springfield Armory Hellcat robada, Perry enfrentaba un cargo adicional de hurto mayor de un arma de fuego en tercer grado, según los registros judiciales.

Un juez le negó el derecho a fianza por el cargo de robo a mano armada. El juez del Tribunal de Circuito del condado Miami-Dade, Richard Hersch, tenía previsto presidir ambos casos.

Lea la narrativa del informe de arresto:

La editora de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Mercedes Cevallos, contribuyó a este informe.

Los casos fueron confirmados por la Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios de México (Cofepris) que indicó en un comunicado que mantiene una vigilancia epidemiológica activa del Cyclospora cayetanensis y seguimiento de los 33 contagios detectados en diferentes estados.

El anuncio se da un día después de que las autoridades sanitarias del estado occidental de Jalisco informaran sobre dos contagios con el parásito que ocasiona evacuaciones intestinales frecuentes.

El secretario de Salud de Jalisco, Héctor Pérez Gómez, dijo la víspera a la prensa que los dos casos reportados en ese estado corresponden a dos adultos que estuvieron en Canadá y en Estados Unidos. “Creemos que incubaron la enfermedad allá y presentaron manifestaciones clínicas aquí", añadió.

El parásito infecta los intestinos y se propaga a través de las heces. Los especialistas han identificado que las personas se infectan al consumir frutas o verduras que estuvieron expuestas a agua de riego contaminada con heces.

Sobre los casos confirmados en México, Pérez Gómez indicó que son “aislados" y aseguró que “no es un patógeno nuevo” en el país.

El reporte de los casos mexicanos se da en medio de las investigaciones en Estados Unidos sobre el origen del brote que ha ocasionado más de 25.000 casos confirmados.

Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de Estados Unidos (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés) informaron el miércoles que el número de estados vinculados al brote había aumentado de nueve a 15.

Los investigadores inicialmente centraron su atención en la lechuga servida por la cadena de restaurantes Taco Bell, pero posteriormente se enfocaron en la lechuga de la empresa Taylor Farms que se cultivada en su planta del estado de Guanajuato, en el centro de México. Un estudio de Cofepris descartó la presencia del parásito en la planta mexicana.

Investigación en el Caribe mexicano

Cofepris indicó que también se realizó una investigación en 16 hoteles del estado de Quintana Roo, en el Caribe mexicano, donde se tomaron muestras de frutas, verduras y agua para análisis especializados tras un reporte de las autoridades sanitarias del Reino Unido sobre viajeros que se habrían contagiado con cyclospora durante su estancia en la Riviera Maya.

El estudio de campo en Quintana Roo —una de las joyas del turismo mexicano que recibe anualmente decenas de miles de visitantes de todas partes del mundo— finalizó el 4 de agosto y actualmente los laboratorios realizan el procesamiento de las muestras recolectadas, refirió el comunicado.

A inicios de esta semana las autoridades sanitarias del estado de Michigan confirmaron el deceso de dos personas por el brote de ciclosporiasis, que se convirtieron en las dos primeras muertes confirmadas en Estados Unidos relacionadas con el parásito.

El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Michigan indicó que ambas personas tenían afecciones de salud subyacentes que podrían haberse visto afectadas por la enfermedad intestinal y la deshidratación.

Link, de 31 años y residente de Homestead, ha permanecido recluida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight del condado Miami-Dade desde 2022. En 2025 fue declarada culpable de matar a su pareja de muchos años, pero esa condena fue revocada posteriormente y ahora espera un nuevo juicio por asesinato.

Sin embargo, el presunto crimen no fue lo que acaparó los titulares internacionales. Lo que llamó la atención fue que logró quedar embarazada de otro recluso mientras estaba encarcelada en TGK. Ambos habían ideado un plan para pasar semen encapsulado a través de un conducto de ventilación.

Gupta, de 37 años y residente de Oklahoma City, permanece recluida en TGK desde julio de 2025. Está acusada de matar a su hija de 4 años y de simular que murió ahogada en una casa de alquiler vacacional en El Portal el mes anterior, mientras visitaba el sur de Florida desde Oklahoma. Enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en segundo grado.

En enero, las autoridades informaron que Link atacó a Gupta, golpeándola múltiples veces en la cabeza y el rostro, además de halarle el cabello.

Gupta compareció el miércoles ante un tribunal de Miami después de que sus abogados presentaran una moción de emergencia para solicitar una orden de separación.

Sus abogados indicaron que Link había sido trasladada de la unidad de alojamiento que ambas compartían en TGK, pero que posteriormente fue regresada a esa misma unidad en junio.

En julio, Link se acercó a la puerta de la celda de Gupta y “comenzó a golpearla agresivamente y a gritar: “Te voy a matar””, según el documento judicial.

El 20 de julio ocurrió “otro incidente” entre ambas, según el documento judicial, y cuatro días después una asociada de Link atacó a Gupta.

Un funcionario del Departamento de Correccionales y Rehabilitación de Miami-Dade declaró que Link “está en el nivel inferior de la unidad” y “no puede salir de su celda al mismo tiempo que” Gupta.

“Esto es lo mejor que podemos hacer en este momento”, declaró el funcionario.

El miércoles, el juez no llegó a ordenar ninguna medida.

“El tribunal no tiene autoridad en este momento para conceder la solicitud de una orden de separación”, dijo el juez Zachary James. “Nuevamente recomendaría que el Departamento de Correcciones continúe atento a este asunto, como lo ha estado haciendo, para garantizar que permanezcan separadas”.

Miller is facing a congressional ethics investigation related to domestic abuse allegations leveled against him by his ex-wife but is insisting he won't withdraw. “I’m not going anywhere,” he told CNN on Wednesday.

The second-term congressman's actions in a parade of public appearances — beginning with a livestream from his X account Sunday — are heightening concerns among Republicans, who have only until Monday to replace Miller on the November ballot if he were to change his mind and withdraw.

Some senior House Republican campaign strategists worry that Miller’s chances of reelection in the competitive Cleveland-area district have vanished in light of the renewed attention on the allegations and his attempts to defend himself, according to a source familiar with the strategists' thinking who requested anonymity to discuss internal party deliberations.

Messages left for Miller were not returned.

Miller said in a CNN interview earlier this week that he had spoken about his reelection prospects with President Donald Trump, who told him, “I don’t know if you’re going to be able to, you know, pull this one out."

Miller, a senior adviser to Trump during his first term, said he believes he retains strong support within his district and can raise the money needed for a winning campaign. Miller has so far raised about $2.1 million, compared to his opponent's $603,000, according to federal filings.

“There’s no chance that I’m removing myself from this race,” even if Trump were to ask him to step aside, Miller said in a Newsmax interview Tuesday evening.

He had previewed his decision to stay the course over the weekend when he went live on the social platform X and posted a huge cache of documents related to the divorce and custody cases involving him and his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.

Democrats view the fresh scrutiny on the long-running custody battle and Miller's public attempts to defend himself as a potential opening to flip a seat as they seek to retake control of the U.S. House in this year's midterms.

Miller's Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, capitalized on the controversy in a pitch to potential donors Wednesday. He accused Miller of “moral bankruptcy.”

“His own party won't stand behind him. His own family has said he's not fit to serve,” he said, referring to comments by Sen. Moreno, who said the congressman lacks “the basic standards of character required to hold elected office.”

To allow his party to name a replacement by a 4 p.m. Monday deadline, Miller would have to formally withdraw by sometime Saturday. That's to give enough time for the required 48-hour notice of a meeting of the Republican Party chairs from the four Ohio counties in his district who would name his replacement.

On Tuesday, the House Ethics Committee announced it had opened an investigation into whether he “may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use.” A group of Democratic lawmakers had also said they wanted an investigation into Miller's conduct. Earlier, Miller himself called for review by the House panel.

The committee's announcement came a day after it recommended another lawmaker be censured after finding he had engaged in inappropriate behavior with young female aides.

The accusations against Miller by Emily Moreno and by a former girlfriend, one-time White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, have been public for years but have drawn increased scrutiny in recent weeks. Emily Moreno has said Miller scalded, hit and threatened her while they were married, allegations Miller has denied.

Miller also said he had nothing to do with a recent broken collarbone on their 2-year-old daughter that led Emily Moreno to contact authorities.

Thursday will feature a sun/cloud mix with the possibility for “here/there” showers and storms, particularly during the morning and early afternoon for Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Near seasonable temperatures are forecast, lows in the upper 70s and highs around 90°F.

“Oh, I’ll be back this season. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be,” the three-time AL MVP said Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. “That was always the plan to come back — sooner than later, definitely. But I never had a thought of not playing this year.”

Judge was on the field in baseball gear Wednesday afternoon, stretching, jogging and doing shuffle slides with a resistance band. He was given the green light to take a step forward in his recovery progression after undergoing his latest scan Tuesday.

“Better news. Healing up. So, you get a chance to progress a little bit, do some running, do some more upper-body stuff, and kind of progress towards getting back out on the field and swinging it,” he said. “I wish it was completely healed and the fracture was gone and start playing tomorrow, but that’s not the case. But, great step forward.”

It will still be a while before Judge is back in the lineup. He must first advance to taking swings, and it remains unclear when that could occur.

“I think that’s going to be the ultimate test, is hitting,” Judge said. “That’s the most violent of it all, I think, more than running or lifting and stuff like that. So, once we keep progressing, everything’s feeling great, then we take another scan, see where it’s at and hopefully add in hitting and throwing and all that down the road.”

Neither he nor Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered a target date for the outfielder's return.

“I’ve got nothing for you on that yet. I just got the scan yesterday and the minute they said all right, we’re going to start running, I said, ‘OK, I’ll see you outside.’ So, I kind of forced them on that one,” Judge said.

“But, no, hopefully whenever we get a game plan, you guys will be somewhere on the list,” the slugger added, drawing laughs from reporters. “Not the top.”

The 34-year-old Judge said he's been telling the medical staff he’s “feeling great” and wants to “kind of get this thing moving.”

Boone, however, said the eight-time All-Star is keeping the big picture in mind, too.

“I think he understands what’s at stake and his obviously importance to this club and wanting to get back out there — but he’s got to be whole, too," Boone said. "So, I think he certainly wants to push the envelope as much as he possibly can, but also understands that healing needs to happen with this.

“We're at that portion of the show now where he gets to start progressing,” the manager explained. "It's good to see him with his pinstripes on, in cleats, and heading out onto the field in the afternoon.”

Judge is on the 60-day injured list with a stress fracture of his right rib. He is hitting .248 with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs and a .907 OPS this year, but he had just one homer in his last 18 games before going on the IL.

“It was great being on the field, great being back out there,” he said. “I’ve been with the guys as much as I can, especially on the road or here in the dugout. But to actually feel like a little bit of a player felt great.”

Going into Wednesday night's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees (64-50) were 28-27 since Judge last played on May 31 — although their offense has been one of the worst in the majors during that stretch.

New York also has been without designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton since April 25 because of a right calf strain and All-Star left fielder Cody Bellinger since July 26 due to a left hamstring strain. Bellinger, expected to miss four to six weeks, took batting practice on the field Wednesday.

Looking to boost their lineup, the Yankees acquired first baseman Luis García Jr. and outfielder Heliot Ramos ahead of Monday's trade deadline. They entered Wednesday night trailing first-place Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East and holding the league's top wild card.

“I’ve got a broken rib, so you’re going to feel it. But it’s healing up. So that’s the progress we want to see so we can start doing some more and kind of testing and see where we’re at,” Judge said. “Because we’re running out of days. I know we’ve got 52 days left, 53 days left, so, got to get back out there.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

While those surgeries were canceled, the cases made headlines several years ago, prompting a spike in people around the country revoking their organ donor registrations.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the nonprofit Network for Hope “a bad apple” and accused it of “persistent safety failures” in announcing the government was starting the process to decertify it.

Network for Hope is one of about 55 organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, that coordinate the recovery of organs from deceased donors and help match them to patients on the nation’s transplant list. In a statement, Network for Hope said it “strongly disagrees” with Kennedy’s decision and will appeal.

Among the allegations is that in 2021, Network for Hope’s predecessor organization pressured a local hospital to proceed with plans to withdraw life support and retrieve organs from a man despite signs that he was waking up from a drug overdose. The man survived and his sister joined Kennedy at a press briefing Wednesday, thanking him.

OPOs cannot declare if someone is dead — only a doctor at the hospital treating the person can do that. Only after that declaration can a donor agency assume responsibility for the deceased, looking for potential recipients and scheduling surgeons to come in to retrieve the organs. Most donations come from people declared brain-dead. But sometimes doctors say a patient has a nonsurvivable injury and the family decides to withdraw life support — and in certain circumstances, that also can allow for donation.

In its statement, Network for Hope said it complies with all federal organ policies. It said that over a year ago it implemented a “first-of-its-kind” new safeguard allowing anyone — including health professionals or family members — to call a pause in donation planning if there’s any concern the patient won’t be appropriate.

Kentucky recently passed a law mandating that pause and the federal Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network is working on new rules that also would require all the nation’s OPOs to implement it.

More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, the vast majority seeking a kidney, and thousands will die waiting for a new organ. There were more than 49,000 transplants last year, a record despite a small drop in donations from the deceased — the first such dip in a decade.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The contract to the Houston-based Burke Law Group comes as the Trump administration ramps up its mass deportation campaign across the country and after the administration last week let a key contract with a network of legal groups working with immigrant children around the country expire with no replacement. The providers have increasingly raised worries that children won't have the experienced legal help they need at a time when the administration is intensifying efforts to remove people from the country.

Michael Lukens, who heads the Amica Center, called the idea that the administration had given the sole-source contract to the Texas firm “upsetting and shocking."

“It really does forebode a situation where children are going to get no meaningful due process, no meaningful day in court. We cannot have a random law firm entrusted to take care of children,” Lukens said.

The groups said the contract announced Tuesday only applies to the children currently held in government-run shelters and that the government would need to issue another contract covering services for migrant children outside the shelter system. Lukens said that there are currently about 1,800 children living in shelters, and roughly 22,000 living outside with sponsors, such as family members.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the government agency responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children, did not respond to requests for comment.

Contract goes to firm with Trump administration ties

The Trump administration announced late Tuesday that they were hiring the Houston-based Burke to provide legal services to unaccompanied children. The year-long contract starts August 15.

Only two of the 25 lawyers listed on the firm’s website on Wednesday morning claim relevant experience in immigration law in their biographies.

Many of the others at the firm are corporate lawyers with ties to conservative causes and to President Trump. The firm’s founder, Marcella Burke, served in Trump’s first administration as a lawyer in the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior.

Others on its roster include Justin Shubow, the leading supporter of Trump’s efforts to require federal buildings to adhere to classical and traditional architectural styles, and a former Trump appointee to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. Prominent conservative legal scholar Ilya Shapiro is listed as a “senior counsel.”

The firm and the founder didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

The notice says Burke’s contract is a “single source cooperative agreement,” which means the administration picked the firm without a competitive bidding process. It did not offer a justification for bypassing standard bidding rules.

Government required to facilitate legal representation

Migrant children alone are viewed as especially vulnerable because of their age and are usually entrusted to U.S. government care. There are various legal protections that apply to them once they’re in the U.S., including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which requires the government to facilitate legal representation for children put into deportation proceedings.

That representation, until recently, was carried out by a network of nearly 100 legal aid providers across the country that provided know-your-rights trainings to children in shelters and directly represented them in court proceedings.

But last Friday marked the last day of that contract and, until late Tuesday, it wasn't clear if a new contract would be put in place and, if it was, who would do the work.

On top of the contract uncertainty, the legal aid providers say they've been struggling to get repaid for work they have already done since last November. The groups say the administration is asking for detailed information about their clients that they say they're not ethically able to provide.

Legal advocates say they've seen other trends that worry them. Since April, the courts started to call dozens of cases at once in so-called “rocket dockets" and immigrant children have had their hearings moved up and given less time to prepare.

Emails to providers, multiple lawyers at courts cause confusion

Other recent occurrences have raised questions about the administration’s intentions regarding the children’s legal representation and caused confusion.

The Associated Press obtained emails sent by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the federal agency responsible for overseeing unaccompanied migrant children, to lawyers representing migrant children in federal custody. The emails, sent late Tuesday, asked for their clients’ personal identification numbers and requested the lawyers respond within four hours confirming they would be appearing to represent their clients in upcoming hearings.

It was not immediately clear why the administration was making such requests of the children’s lawyers.

Separately, attorneys in courtrooms across the country said their hearings were interrupted by lawyers claiming they had been asked by the Trump administration to take over the children’s cases, without having given prior notice.

At a hearing in Chicago Wednesday morning for unaccompanied detained immigrant children, an attorney who did not represent any of the children suddenly appeared via video stream, in an exchange witnessed by an Associated Press reporter.

The attorney said she was with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a legal aid group, and that the organization had been contacted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to “appear on behalf” of children without legal representation due to a “gap in legal services.” She said her organization had received the children’s private information, including their names and identifying numbers, from the federal government.

The judge said that since all the children already had lawyers, he wasn’t going to allow anyone to watch on the video stream, and the outside attorney dropped off.

Laura Smith, an attorney representing some of the children, expressed confusion about why the person was there: “It sounds like this is a person who has my client’s information.”

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants referred questions from The Associated Press to HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Alexa Sendukas, the managing attorney at the Galveston Houston Immigrant Representation Project, said one of her organization’s attorneys witnessed a similar confusion play out in court Wednesday morning in Houston and that her organization had heard of similar situations in other courtrooms across the country.

__

Santana reported from Sacramento, Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas, and Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.

Nico Hoerner added three hits as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. The Cubs also improved to 32-15 since June 11, strengthening their hold on the top spot in the NL wild-card standings.

Los Angeles was swept for the second straight series. The two-time defending World Series champions have dropped six in a row for the first time since a seven-game skid in July 2025.

Ohtani went deep twice for the NL West-leading Dodgers, and Max Muncy connected for a three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning. Mookie Betts had four hits after he batted just .167 (15 for 90) in his previous 25 games.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was replaced in the fifth after a pitch hit the side of his right hand on a foul ball. X-rays were negative, and Freeman said he was OK.

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong exchanged leadoff homers in the first, continuing what has become a two-man race for NL MVP.

Chicago added two more in the second on RBI doubles by Dansby Swanson and Crow-Armstrong off Eric Lauer (6-6). Crow-Armstrong made it 5-1 with a two-run shot in the fourth that went off the videoboard in right field, his 26th of the season.

Chicago left-hander Shota Imanaga (8-9) scattered eight hits while working five innings of one-run ball. He struck out six and walked none.

Los Angeles rallied in the eighth. Ohtani's two-run homer off Ryan Zeferjahn, his 26th, trimmed Chicago's lead to one. The Dodgers had a runner on second when Kiké Hernández struck out swinging, ending the inning.

Jacob Webb worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Up next

Dodgers: RHP Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.64 ERA) starts Friday night in the opener of a series at Arizona.

Cubs: LHP David Peterson (6-7, 5.52 ERA) starts on Thursday against Toronto in the makeup of a June 21 rainout. RHP Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.41) takes the mound for the Blue Jays.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

El influencer César Gastélum fue asesinado la noche del martes en Culiacán, capital del estado de Sinaloa, indicaron las autoridades, las cuales dieron a entender que su muerte estaba relacionada a la violencia de los cárteles del narcotráfico, pero no responsabilizaron a algún grupo en particular.

Un video del ataque, el cual fue visto por The Associated Press, muestra a Gastélum riendo junto a otros dos hombres en el estacionamiento de un Kentucky Fried Chicken cuando aparecen otras dos personas que bajan de una motocicleta. Una de ellas saca un arma y le dispara a Gastélum antes de escapar del lugar.

El ataque se perpetró a pocas cuadras de la fiscalía local en plena hora pico.

El Gabinete de Seguridad de México y elementos de la fiscalía local aseguraron que la investigación sigue en curso y que, al parecer, Gastélum había publicado algunos videos en los que “hacía alusión a una facción de un grupo delictivo”.

La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, dijo el miércoles en su conferencia de prensa matutina que "tiene que detenerse a los autores materiales y, en todo caso, al autor intelectual, y conocer la razón de por qué se da este lamentable homicidio".

Gastélum tenía más de 650.000 seguidores en TikTok, e incluso más en Instagram y otras plataformas de redes sociales. Publicaba videos de comedia y contenido acompañado de música regional mexicana. En ocasiones se refería a sí mismo en sus videos como “bélico”, un término utilizado frecuentemente en las subculturas del país para insinuar una conexión con los cárteles.

En las cuentas de redes sociales de Gastélum se publicaron el miércoles mensajes de “descansa en paz”.

Sinaloa se ha visto devastado en los últimos años por la guerra entre dos facciones del Cártel de Sinaloa. En el punto más álgido de los enfrentamientos, aparecían cadáveres por toda la ciudad marcados con la firma de una facción o la otra.

Una de ellas, Los Chapitos, solía dejar una pizza o una caja de pizza sobre un cuerpo. La otra, Los Mayos, dejaba un sombrero, por lo que se volvió peligroso usar ese tipo de sombreros en la ciudad, ya que podía interpretarse como lealtad a uno de los grupos.

Gastélum fue grabado la noche del martes usando un sombrero blanco.

El miércoles se encendieron veladoras en el lugar donde fue asesinado. Fue la segunda vez en poco más de un año que un influencer fue abatido a tiros por hombres armados durante una transmisión en vivo.

La influencer de belleza Valeria Márquez, de 23 años, fue asesinada a balazos en mayo de 2025 mientras transmitía en vivo por TikTok desde un salón de belleza del estado occidental de Jalisco.

El asesinato de Gastélum se produjo en momentos en que el gobierno de México enfrenta cada vez más presión de Washington para tomar medidas enérgicas contra la violencia del crimen organizado.

También es parte de una tendencia más amplia de grupos criminales que atacan a influencers, especialmente en regiones como Sinaloa y Jalisco, dos regiones dominadas por el crimen organizado.

El analista de seguridad, David Saucedo, explicó que los influencers son asesinados o amenazados por una amplia variedad de motivos. En algunos caso podrían haber tenido vínculos con una facción criminal en una región en disputa, produciendo contenido para ellos en redes sociales o manteniendo relaciones sentimentales con integrantes de cárteles. En otros, los influencers lavan dinero para los cárteles o difunden información de manera similar a la de un periodista.

"A los carteles les interesa dictar la línea editorial dictar y controlar la línea editorial de las regiones en donde operan", explicó Saucedo. "Es por eso que varios influencers son atacados y amenazados con el objeto de convertirse en el canal de difusión de mensajes criminales".

___

El periodista de The Associated Press Aarón Ibarra en Culiacán, México, contribuyó con este despacho.

___ Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

“Dillinger. I think it was Daniel,” Fuqua replied Tuesday afternoon outside Henry Ford High School on the city's northwest side. But Fuqua was much clearer about who didn't get his vote. “Not Shri, definitely not him.”

The candidate that Fuqua chose was state Rep. Donavan McKinney, and he defeated Shri Thanedar, an incumbent who was seeking his third consecutive term representing the 13th Congressional District.

McKinney's win almost assures that Detroit, a majority Black city, will have its first Black representative in Congress since 2022. He will face Republican Taras Nykoriak in the November general election in a district that votes overwhelming Democrat.

“This is a very diverse district, but it encompasses the Blackest major city in all of America,” McKinney told reporters Wednesday. “We cannot forget what Detroit means, not only to our city and our state, but to the world.”

McKinney is positioning himself as a candidate who can bridge divides between different communities.

“It’s not just about restoring Black leadership, this is about restoring the right leadership,” he said.

Fuqua said he voted for McKinney because Thanedar “has no idea what Black people have been dealing with.”

“He’s probably a good guy, but he has not had the Black experience,” Fuqua said.

Bernie Henderix, 58, has never voted for Thanedar and also cast his ballot Tuesday for McKinney who he's been “hearing some good things” about.

Henderix said having Black representation in Congress is important “but I want the best person I think is going to represent us the right way.”

Thanedar said on X that he congratulated McKinney and offered him “full cooperation and a smooth transition.”

Seen by some on Capitol Hill as a bit unconventional, Thanedar introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in April 2025 — years after Trump was twice impeached in the House during his first term only to acquitted by the U.S. Senate.

Thanedar started and sold a chemical-testing lab for $20 million. He spent millions on an unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial primary before being elected in 2020 to the state Legislature. The following year he announced plans to run for Congress, eyeing the 13th District that covers a good chunk of the Motor City.

Thanedar took the 2022 Democratic primary in a crowded field which split the vote. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American who previously represented the 13th district, shifted to the 12th after the state redrew its congressional map.

Before Thanedar and Tlaib won their races that year, Detroit had not been without a Black representative in Congress since before Charles Diggs Jr. took office in 1955. Diggs was joined in Congress in 1965 by Democrat John Conyers, who retained his congressional seat for more than 50 years.

Thanedar also would win the 2024 Democratic primary after an elections official ruled that a top challenger's name could not appear on the ballot because too few valid signatures had been submitted.

McKinney, who was endorsed by influential progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and several Detroit-area state lawmakers, has argued that the city should once again have a Black representative in Congress.

In a campaign ad for the just concluded primary, McKinney said Thanedar “spent millions to buy a seat in Congress” and “has more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk than people like us,” while pointing to himself.

“Shri came down to Earth,” said Adolph Mongo, a Detroit-based political commentator and former political consultant. Mongo said Thanedar did little for Black people in Detroit during his four years in Congress.

“He didn't even have an agenda,” Mongo said.

___

Associated Press writer Jacqueline GaNun contributed to this report.

Según la oficina del sheriff, agentes recibieron múltiples llamadas el martes por la noche informando que Hilton aparentemente se estaba autolesionando durante una transmisión en vivo por TikTok.

“¡Mario, Mario! ¡Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade! ¡Sal de la casa!”, se escucha gritar a un agente en un video de vigilancia afuera de la casa de Hilton en el suroeste de Miami-Dade.

Los agentes informaron que acudieron a la vivienda, confirmaron con familiares que Hilton estaba solo en el interior y trabajaron para reducir la tensión de la situación de manera segura. Las autoridades indicaron que ahora está recibiendo la atención que necesita.

El incidente ocurre después de que Hilton compartiera públicamente que a principios de este año sufrió una grave emergencia médica que lo mantuvo hospitalizado durante varias semanas debido a una úlcera y sepsis. En junio, también anunció que se había mudado de Las Vegas a Miami junto con sus hijos.

En un comunicado, el representante de Hilton, Golden Artists Entertainment, dijo:

“Estamos al tanto del preocupante contenido que circula en internet relacionado con nuestro cliente, Pérez Hilton. En este momento, no hemos podido establecer contacto directo con él, a pesar de nuestros continuos esfuerzos por comunicarnos. Nuestra principal preocupación es la salud y el bienestar de Pérez, así como el bienestar de su familia. Hasta que contemos con información confirmada, no haremos especulaciones ni comentarios adicionales”.

La Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade está utilizando este incidente como una oportunidad para recordar al público que existen recursos de salud mental disponibles para cualquier persona que esté atravesando una crisis e instó a las personas a buscar ayuda si ellas o alguien que conocen está teniendo dificultades.

Hilton, cubano-estadounidense, alcanzó notoriedad a través de su sitio web de chismes de celebridades antes de ampliar su cobertura a la moda y la música y convertirse en una personalidad conocida de la televisión.

No se ha divulgado información adicional sobre el estado de salud de Hilton.

Si usted o alguien que conoce enfrenta una crisis de salud mental, llame o envíe un mensaje de texto al 988 para comunicarse con la Línea de Ayuda para Suicidio y Crisis 988.

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Investigators said Matthew Holloway surrendered to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Monticello, Florida, on Sunday. They said he is expected to be extradited to Broward County in the coming days.

Holloway faces one count of first-degree murder and multiple counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the May 8 shooting near the 7900 block of Southwest Seventh Court, according to BSO officials.

Deputies said they responded to reports of a shooting around 1 a.m. and found 19-year-old O’Mari Doe inside a 2020 Ford Mustang suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

They said he was airlifted to Broward Health North, where he later died. Authorities said 20-year-old Maurice Vorroto was found outside the vehicle with a gunshot wound. His injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Detectives said Doe, Vorroto and two other people were sitting inside the Mustang when five suspects arrived in a black Honda Accord. Witnesses told investigators the suspects got out armed with handguns and fired multiple shots into the Mustang before fleeing, according to deputies.

Deputies said a Fort Lauderdale police officer later spotted the Honda Accord, prompting a pursuit that ended after the suspects abandoned the vehicle near the 900 block of Southwest 13th Street in Fort Lauderdale.

Authorities said they previously arrested Aamir Dennard Adams, 19, Anthony Adams, 18, Amari Adams, 16, Romayne Smith, 17, in connection with the shooting. Detectives later identified Holloway as the fifth suspect.

Before Holloway’s arrest, Broward Sheriff’s Office had sought the public’s help locating him and offered a reward through Broward Crime Stoppers. With Holloway now in custody, all five suspects identified in the case have been apprehended.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Aamir Adams and Anthony Adams were being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.

Los investigadores informaron que Matthew Holloway se entregó el domingo a la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado Jefferson, en Monticello, Florida. Indicaron que se espera que sea extraditado al condado Broward en los próximos días.

Holloway enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en primer grado y múltiples cargos de intento de asesinato en primer grado en relación con la balacera del 8 de mayo cerca de la cuadra 7900 de Southwest Seventh Court, según funcionarios de la BSO.

Los agentes dijeron que respondieron a reportes de una balacera alrededor de la 1 a.m. y encontraron a O’Mari Doe, de 19 años, dentro de un Ford Mustang 2020 con múltiples heridas de bala.

Indicaron que fue trasladado en helicóptero a Broward Health North, donde posteriormente murió. Las autoridades dijeron que Maurice Vorroto, de 20 años, fue encontrado fuera del vehículo con una herida de bala. Sus lesiones no fueron consideradas de gravedad.

Los detectives dijeron que Doe, Vorroto y otras dos personas estaban sentados dentro del Mustang cuando cinco sospechosos llegaron en un Honda Accord negro. Testigos dijeron a los investigadores que los sospechosos bajaron del vehículo armados con pistolas y dispararon múltiples veces contra el Mustang antes de huir, según los agentes.

Los agentes indicaron que posteriormente un oficial de la Policía de Fort Lauderdale localizó el Honda Accord, lo que dio inicio a una persecución que terminó cuando los sospechosos abandonaron el vehículo cerca de la cuadra 900 de Southwest 13th Street, en Fort Lauderdale.

Las autoridades informaron que previamente arrestaron a Aamir Dennard Adams, de 19 años; Anthony Adams, de 18; Amari Adams, de 16; y Romayne Smith, de 17, en relación con la balacera. Posteriormente, los detectives identificaron a Holloway como el quinto sospechoso.

Antes del arresto de Holloway, la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward había solicitado la ayuda del público para localizarlo y ofrecía una recompensa a través de Broward Crime Stoppers. Con Holloway ya bajo custodia, los cinco sospechosos identificados en el caso han sido arrestados.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Aamir Adams y Anthony Adams permanecían detenidos sin derecho a fianza en la cárcel principal del condado Broward.

Según las autoridades, Samuel Lackey fue encontrado el domingo durmiendo a bordo de un Airbus A320 modelo 2012 de JetBlue que se encontraba en Jetscape Services, en Fort Lauderdale, para recibir servicio de mantenimiento.

Funcionarios de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward (BSO) dijeron que las acciones del acusado quedaron captadas por las cámaras de seguridad.

Los agentes indicaron que a Lackey le resultó fácil subir al avión porque había una escalera portátil que pudo utilizar y se estaban realizando trabajos de mantenimiento en la aeronave.

Según las autoridades, Lackey escaló una cerca para acceder al avión y se coló en la aeronave la noche del sábado.

Como resultado, hubo una interrupción del servicio, ya que el avión estaba programado para realizar un vuelo.

Los agentes dijeron que las puertas del avión fueron cerradas con llave y la aeronave fue remolcada de regreso a un espacio de estacionamiento, momento en el que el presunto sueño se prolongó hasta las 5:39 a.m. del domingo, cuando empleados de JetBlue llegaron y despertaron a Lackey.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Lackey permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal del condado Broward acusado de robo a una propiedad ocupada sin portar armas, daños criminales por más de $1,000 USD e interrupción o afectación de infraestructura crítica, con una fianza total de $10,000 USD.

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Miami’s offense features several high-profile players, including new quarterback Darian Mensah, running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and Toney, all of whom were named to the Maxwell Award watch list, which honors college football’s most outstanding player.

But when Toney met with reporters Wednesday, his focus was on the challenge of facing Miami’s defense every day in practice.

“The entire DB (defensive back) room is great,” Toney said. “You got guys that, they’re in the process of mastering their craft, so I feel like we got the best DB room in the country. So just going up against those guys make it easy for us on Saturday.”

Miami’s defensive backfield is led by cornerbacks OJ Frederique and Omar Thornton, along with safety Bryce Fitzgerald, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC team.

Toney said competing against a talented defensive back group helps the Hurricanes’ offense improve before game day, a reflection of the team’s belief that strong competition in practice leads to better performances on Saturdays.

Head coach Mario Cristobal has emphasized building a balanced team, and the Hurricanes’ players believe the daily battles between the offense and defense are helping both units grow.

Toney, who has quickly emerged as one of college football’s rising young receivers, will be a key piece of Miami’s offense as the Hurricanes look to turn their talent into results this season.

Click here to view the Canes’ regular season schedule.

La ofensiva de Miami cuenta con varios jugadores destacados, incluidos el nuevo mariscal de campo Darian Mensah, el corredor Mark Fletcher Jr. y Toney, quienes fueron incluidos en la lista de vigilancia del Premio Maxwell, que reconoce al jugador más destacado del fútbol americano universitario.

Pero cuando Toney habló con los reporteros el miércoles, su atención estuvo centrada en el desafío de enfrentar todos los días en los entrenamientos a la defensa de Miami.

“Toda la sala de backs defensivos (DB) es excelente”, dijo Toney. “Tienes jugadores que están en el proceso de perfeccionar su juego, así que siento que tenemos la mejor sala de DB del país. Enfrentarlos hace que todo sea más fácil para nosotros los sábados”.

La secundaria defensiva de Miami está encabezada por los esquineros OJ Frederique y Omar Thornton, junto con el profundo Bryce Fitzgerald, quien fue incluido en el Equipo Pretemporada All-ACC.

Toney dijo que competir contra un grupo tan talentoso de backs defensivos ayuda a que la ofensiva de los Hurricanes mejore antes de cada partido, reflejando la creencia del equipo de que una fuerte competencia en los entrenamientos conduce a un mejor desempeño los sábados.

El entrenador en jefe Mario Cristobal ha enfatizado la construcción de un equipo equilibrado, y los jugadores de los Hurricanes creen que las batallas diarias entre la ofensiva y la defensa están ayudando a ambas unidades a crecer.

Toney, quien rápidamente se ha consolidado como uno de los jóvenes receptores con mayor proyección del fútbol americano universitario, será una pieza clave de la ofensiva de Miami mientras los Hurricanes buscan convertir su talento en resultados esta temporada.

Haga clic aquí para ver el calendario de la temporada regular de los Canes.

None of the three appear to know Wells, his family or the boating group, or be part of the investigation. The threats came amid rampant speculation and scrutiny of the investigation, deepened in part by uncertainty surrounding Wells' final hours, distrust of law enforcement and the state's long history of racist violence.

The teenager, who was Black, had traveled to the uninhabited island with a group of friends from high school, all of whom were white. He did not return with his friends to the mainland that evening. His body was found two days later off the island’s coast.

Authorities have not made any arrests or named any suspects. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family found the 18-year-old’s cause of death to be “undetermined” pending further investigation.

Attempts to reach the defendants for comment were unsuccessful. Phone numbers listed for some of the defendants in affidavits weren't active and a call to another number went unanswered. Emails sent to addresses listed in an affidavit for one of the defendants went unanswered. It is unclear if they have attorneys.

One of the defendants, Edward James Porter of Illinois, allegedly called an unnamed witness on July 31 and threatened to kill them and their family, according to an affidavit. Porter also allegedly told another person in Mississippi in a phone call that he would cut them up and put them “into a suitcase.” Porter was charged on July 31 in federal court for the Southern District of Mississippi for the threat.

Porter threatened two members of the family of Bart Edminston Jr., a 21-year-old who knew Wells and provided aid to the boat the group used on July Fourth, said family attorney Russell Latino. Latino said that one of the family members who Porter threatened is a witness in the investigation into Wells’ death.

An Ohio woman was also charged with allegedly placing bomb threats at the George County Chancery Clerk's Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on July 23. The woman, Michelle Francine Edwards, allegedly called the clerk's office 21 times and said, “the clock is ticking,” according to an affidavit.

A California man, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, was charged on July 14 for allegedly sending a threatening Facebook message to a Jackson County Chancery Court judge with ties to the Wells investigation. According to an affidavit, a Facebook user believed to be Dumarce sent a message to the judge's account that constituted a “threat that a bomb would be mailed to the judge's office."

Judge Ashlee Cole posted a screenshot of Dumarce's threatening message on Facebook on July 9. Cole wrote in an earlier Facebook post that her son last saw Wells on July Fourth around 3 p.m. and decided to “stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.” Cole wrote that she deactivated her Facebook and that she fears for the safety of her children.

“No one in our family is trying in any way to impede with the investigation by law enforcement or to otherwise hamper the family and law enforcement’s quest for answers,” Cole wrote, adding that her son “cooperated fully” with the sheriff's investigation. ___ Kelety reported from Phoenix. Associated Press journalist Sophie Bates in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed.

Cyclospora cases have been reported in at least 47 states this year, and investigators have continued to probe how many could be linked to a common contaminated source.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of states tied to the deadly outbreak had grown from nine to 15. Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina were added to a list that previously included Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Investigators initially narrowed in on lettuce served at Taco Bell. Federal officials subsequently said they are focused on Taylor Farms as the source of the lettuce in the outbreak, and the company has recalled iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

There are several reasons cyclospora outbreaks can be hard to investigate and contain, said Dr. Juan Luis Marquez, medical director of the Washtenaw County and Livingston County health departments in Michigan.

It can take weeks between when someone is exposed to the parasite and when they come down with symptoms; it's harder to analyze the parasite in laboratories; and it's a lot of work to interview everyone who is sick and clearly identify common exposures, said Marquez, an adjunct public health professor at the University of Michigan.

Also, “there have been staffing cuts at all levels of public health — federal, local, state — so there are less resources and capacity generally available,” Marquez said in a statement.

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cyclospora cases are never linked to a specific food or other source.

The worst year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported nationally. This year has far surpassed that. Michigan alone has reported more than 12,000 — including two deaths. Adding in the other states that have reported cases, the national total stands at over 25,000.

The FDA says it is tracking five separate ongoing cyclospora outbreaks. The 15-state outbreak is by far the largest. No products have been linked to the other outbreaks, including one that has sickened 115 people.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Investigators said the robbery occurred at about 11:15 a.m. on July 30 at the Bank of America branch located at 8585 Coral Way.

They said the suspect entered the bank, implied he had a gun and demanded money before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash.

No injuries were reported.

The FBI said investigators believe the suspect has ties to Miami-Dade County and may be known in the area. Authorities warned the public not to approach the man if he is spotted and instead to contact law enforcement immediately.

Investigators said the suspect has a distinctive hairstyle that could help identify him. The back of his head is completely shaved, while the remaining hair is styled forward over the top of his head, according to FBI officials.

Authorities said the investigation is being conducted by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the FBI Miami Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force and the FBI.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the suspect is urged to call 1-800-225-5324 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Now, he's back.

Four days after a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado ruled high school players from the 2022 graduating class could play their fifth college season, Daley returned to the practice field for the defending national champions. He'll be limited in early workouts, but coach Curt Cignetti remains hopeful it won't take one of the nation's most disruptive defensive linemen in 2025 long to get back to full speed.

“He looks pretty good. He’s on a modified program where he’ll dress out for practice, participate in some individual right now, no 11-on-11, and then get with the strength and conditioning staff, who will bring him along until they feel confident he’s ready to go,” Cignetti said Wednesday after the team's first summer practice. “I don’t think it’s going to be real, real long because he was training to be ready for next year in the (National Football) League, so it looks like he’s in pretty good shape.”

Daley's return solidifies what was already expected to be a deep, experienced, talented group of defensive linemen.

After transferring to Indiana, Daley became a key cog in the Hoosiers' historic title run. He recorded 5 1/2 sacks, forced two fumbles, knocked down a pass and led the Big Ten with 19 tackles for loss while earning honorable mention all-conference honors. He played three seasons at Kent State, starting all 24 games in his final two seasons with the Golden Flashes.

But the injury following the 13-10 victory over then No. 1 Ohio State forced Daley to sit out all three playoff games as Indiana became the first team since the 1890s to finish with a 16-0 record.

Daley's return marks the second straight year the Hoosiers may get a starter back thanks to a legal ruling.

Last August, a Texas judge initially granted an injunction that allowed safety Louis Moore to play in Indiana's first two games. In September, a second ruling in the waiver eligibility fight with the NCAA resulted in a ruling allowing Moore to play the rest of the season after he transferred back to Indiana, where he played two previous seasons, before going to Mississippi for one year.

Moore wound up on The Associated Press' All-American second team and signed as an undrafted rookie with the NFL's Miami Dolphins in May.

Daley also had pro aspirations but when he was not drafted in April, it opened the door for a possible return. That became a reality Friday, though the NCAA has filed its intention to appeal the decision.

For now, the Hoosiers plan to proceed the same way they did with Moore.

“If it works out for him long term, I think it’s a great thing because here’s a guy, you talk about helping people and opportunities, here’s a guy that played at Kent State and then came to us last fall,” Cignetti said. “It really took him three to four games before he started to get the hang of it, wasn’t playing a key role, then became the most dominant defensive lineman in the Big Ten, led the Big Ten with TFLs, suffers the injury, ends up not getting drafted and so on and so forth.”

The addition of an experienced contributor such as Daley, a Virginia native, could make the Hoosiers front seven even better.

Cignetti opened camp with a defensive line depth chart that included Tobi Osunsanmi and Chiddi Obiazor, who transferred from Kansas State; Josh Burnham, a transfer from Notre Dame and incumbent starters Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino. Now they can add Daley, too.

The question is will Daley be ready for Indiana's season opener Sept. 5 against North Texas?

“I haven’t even thought of that,” Cignetti said. “I’m really focused on developing this team and getting up there and watching today’s tape and putting tomorrow’s practice schedule together and taking this team as far as we can in fall camp.”

Solid start

Cignetti also gave a brief update on what he saw from new quarterback Josh Hoover, the transfer from TCU who replaces Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza.

Hoover has thrown for 9,629 yards in his career, the most of any returning FBS quarterback, but drew criticism because of his propensity for turnovers. But Cignetti gave Hoover good marks in the spring and again Wednesday.

“It appeared that he finished practice well,” Cignetti said. “I saw him make a few nice throws at the end. I saw (receiver Nick) Marsh make a couple plays too.”

Marsh transferred to Indiana from Michigan State this year.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

It was quite a day in an increasingly compelling race for the NL MVP award.

Crow-Armstrong homered twice and drove in four runs to help the Chicago Cubs beat Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 on Wednesday for a sweep of their three-game series. But Ohtani also went deep twice and finished with three hits.

“I do think they were going toe to toe,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You know, obviously, there’s a lot of talk about those two guys being the front-runner for the MVP. They both showed up, and you can see that they hear what's being said about them, and that was fun for the fans certainly.”

Crow-Armstrong, 24, is Chicago's regular center fielder, but he served as the designated hitter for the series finale against LA. That gave him an opportunity to take a closer look at Ohtani's brilliance at the plate.

“I just enjoy watching him play baseball,” Crow-Armstrong said. “So I guess today for me what was cool was just getting to watch him from a different angle and not worrying about going and trying to catch balls that are hit at 1,000 miles an hour.”

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong exchanged leadoff shots in the first inning. It was Ohtani's 11th leadoff homer this season and No. 35 for his career. It was Crow-Armstrong's fourth career leadoff drive — all this season.

Crow-Armstrong added an RBI double in the second and a two-run shot in the fourth, a 405-foot laser that went off the videoboard in right field. It was the 31st homer to hit that videoboard since it was installed in 2015.

Ohtani capped the Dodgers' five-run eighth inning with a two-run drive to left-center. It was his first multihomer game of the season and No. 24 for his career.

“That’s two great players,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Yeah, they were kind of doing everything offensively for their teams, for sure. Pretty impressive.”

Ohtani won his second straight NL MVP award in 2025, smacking 55 homers and recording a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts on the mound for the Dodgers. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts this year, but he hasn't been able to pitch since July 3 because of left knee soreness and a right biceps injury.

While Ohtani has been limited to DH duties of late, Crow-Armstrong has become an offensive force while playing his usual stellar defense in center. The two-time All-Star is batting .288 with 26 homers, 28 steals and 69 RBIs in 115 games. He went 6 for 13 in the series against LA with two homers and five RBIs.

At the very least, he has turned the NL MVP race into an intriguing competition.

“He’s a great player but I’m really focused on myself right now on the hitting side of things and I’m really working towards hopefully getting back on the mound and just working on that side of the side of game as well,” Ohtani said through a translator.

Ohtani, 32, said his knee is feeling better, but it's hard to tell what the schedule is going to look like in terms of returning to pitching. Asked if the Dodgers' trade for Tarik Skubal affects his urgency level for getting back on the mound, he said he lets the front office decide the tempo of his progression.

“But at the same time it’s really nice to see Tarik on our side and being able to see him pitch live,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani, a four-time MVP and six-time All-Star, certainly isn't having any trouble at the plate. He is batting .457 (16 for 35) with four homers and nine RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak. He is hitting .297 with 26 homers, 70 RBIs and a .953 OPS in 109 games on the year.

“I think if you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching,” Crow-Armstrong cracked. “I really should."

Crow-Armstrong said he is more focused on the team's success than the MVP race, but he was honored to be mentioned alongside Ohtani.

“Simply put, just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as he feels, it’s awesome and it’s a nice nod,” he said.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Officials reported Wednesday that firefighters had established containment lines around the perimeters of all three fires affecting Spokane and that they were focused on reinforcing those lines. Temperatures were expected to climb from the 80s the past two days into the upper 90s (36-37 degrees Celsius), with less humidity, late this week.

The fires — one of which authorities say was deliberately set by a man who was arrested and charged with arson — have destroyed about 850 buildings and forced the evacuation of around 67,000 people since they erupted last weekend. Damage assessment crews have yet to tally exactly how many houses have been lost or damaged. No deaths have been reported.

The other two fires were also started by people, though not necessarily deliberately, investigators have said. They remain under investigation. Those fires, the Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, started independently of the arson-caused Old Trails Fire, they said.

Unclear how long evacuations will last

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said during a Wednesday news conference that the evacuation zones will remain in place due to incoming weather and fire danger.

“We are not going to be downgrading these zones in any large way for many, many more days to come," he said. “If we let people back in and we don’t have a high degree of certainty the fire lines will hold, we will put people in danger.”

Many evacuees remained in a shelter set up in a Spokane convention center, at hotels or rentals, or at the homes of friends or relatives, with no idea of how soon they might go back — if they have a house to return to.

“We figured it would be a day or two, not four or five. It’s not the best situation,” said Debra Curran, who has been staying at the convention center since Saturday with her husband, who has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Their house survived, but her husband would need to be transported by ambulance, which officials won't do until the fire risk in their neighborhood drops.

Among those under evacuation orders are patients and staff from the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane. When the fire approached on Saturday, the staff moved 27 patients to local hospitals and temporary shelters, said Bret Bowers, a spokesperson for the center. The medical center was not burned in the fire but several staff lost their homes.

Adam Wilson, a communications officer at the Washington State Auditor's Office, fled Saturday with his wife and three children, ages 9, 14 and 16. They had moved into their Spokane home a little over a month earlier and were still unpacking, he said.

Since then, they've stayed at a hotel 90 minutes to the south and with his father in Idaho. This weekend, they'll move again, to a rental home in Spokane that their insurance is covering.

Their house is fine, Wilson said, despite flames that leveled an entire cul-de-sac just two blocks away, leaving only chimneys standing in some cases. The neighborhood remains under an evacuation order. Even if they could return, there's no power and no internet service, and no information about how soon either will be restored.

“What you really want to hear, nobody can tell you,” Wilson said. “It is oddly emotional and disorienting. We did not lose any property. From the outside it looks like a family trip — ‘Hey, kids, we’re going to go visit Papa for a week, pack your bags.' ... And yet you feel like something isn't right.”

Bad fire season strains resources

The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. that have stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. In Washington, there are 16 uncontained wildfires burning more than 672 square miles (1,740 square km) and being fought by more than 7,000 fire personnel, said Thomas Kyle-Milward, a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

“We’re looking down the barrel at one of the worst fire seasons in state history,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington said Wednesday that senators had received a briefing from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Wildland Fire Service Director Brian Fennessy, who assured them that keeping firefighting assets, including ground crews and aircraft, in the Northwest is a priority.

“We are still at the highest risk in the nation and appreciate being the highest resourced,” Cantwell said in a written statement.

The man charged with starting the Old Trails Fire, Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was expected to be arraigned Thursday. According to court documents, he was arrested after a resident reported him being in the area where the fire began. He denied having started it when questioned by deputies.

Authorities said they previously contacted him during two fire investigations last year, including one in a state park that prompted evacuation notices, though he wasn’t charged in either.

In California, authorities said Wednesday that they arrested a 65-year-old man on suspicion of sparking a major wildfire by recklessly operating equipment without complying with state fire prevention requirements. Prosecutors will determine whether to file criminal charges. The blaze that erupted Monday had scorched nearly 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) of forest in Calaveras County southeast of Sacramento.

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This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the VA medical center spokesperson is Bowers, not Bower.

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Johnson and Bellisle reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Ed White contributed from Detroit.

Unos “18.000 estudiantes pueden quedar afectados, sin clases, si no logramos reparar esos centros educativos”, dijo el miércoles en una rueda de prensa el sacerdote jesuita José Gregorio Terán, director general de Fe y Alegría Venezuela, citado en un comunicado.

La jesuita es una de las órdenes religiosas más prominentes de la Iglesia católica y tiene presencia en más de un centenar de países. Fe y Alegría fue fundada en 1955 y dirige unos 1.500 centros educativos en Venezuela ubicados en barrios pobres y carentes de escuelas cercanas.

“Ninguna de nuestras escuelas se derrumbó, sin embargo, hemos tenido afectaciones en 73” y de ellas “hemos priorizado 31 espacios que tenemos que buscarle arreglo antes de octubre” cuando empieza el nuevo año escolar, acotó Terán.

Luego de las inspecciones técnicas realizadas el acceso fue “restringido” dado que esas edificaciones muestran “afectaciones moderadas o daños no estructurales que requieren reparaciones antes de normalizar su uso”, destacó.

Según el más reciente reporte oficial divulgado el lunes, al menos 6.125 fallecieron a causa de los terremotos de 7,2 y 7,5 de magnitud que sacudieron el norte de Venezuela el 24 de junio. La localización de cuerpos entre los escombros continúa a cuenta gotas.

La mayoría de las muertes ocurrieron en el estado costanero de La Guaira, la zona más afectada por los sismos y que está ubicada a unos 20 kilómetros al norte de Caracas.

El número de heridos, en tanto, se mantiene en 16.740 desde el 1 de julio e informes previos reportaron 17.900 ciudadanos sin vivienda por el colapso de 190 edificios.

Terán informó que Fe y Alegría apenas cuenta con fondos para reparar 14 de los 31 espacios con más daños, por lo que exhortó a los venezolanos y a la comunidad internacional a colaborar para recaudar el dinero requerido.

El comunicado recordó que en la escuela Simón Bolívar de ese movimiento, ubicada en la localidad costera de Caraballeda en el estado La Guaira, murieron 30 estudiantes.

En un acto de gobierno televisado el miércoles la presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez señaló que tras la ejecución de más de 47.000 inspecciones a viviendas, infraestructuras y avenidas para evaluar los daños, 58% de las estructuras fueron certificadas como habitables, 23% quedaron temporalmente con acceso restringido y el 19% restante tienen la condición de no habitable.

The influencer, César Gastélum, was killed on Tuesday night in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan, officials said. Mexican authorities implied the killing of the young man was linked to cartel violence but did not blame any particular group.

A video of the moment of his death, which was viewed by The Associated Press, shows him laughing with two other men in the parking lot of a Kentucky Fried Chicken when two men pull up on a motorcycle. One is seen pulling out a gun and shooting Gastélum. The attackers then flee the scene.

The attack was carried out just blocks away from the local prosecutor's office during rush hour.

Mexico’s Security Cabinet and local prosecutors said an investigation was ongoing, and that it appeared Gastélum had released some videos in which he “alluded to a faction of a criminal group.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told journalists during her morning news conference on Wednesday that the “perpetrators must be arrested.”

“We must find out why this deplorable homicide occurred,” she said.

Gastélum had more than 650,000 followers on TikTok, and more on Instagram and other social media platforms and would regularly post comedy videos and content layered over Mexican regional music. He at times referred to himself in his videos as “bélico,” a term often used in subcultures in Mexico to imply a connection to cartel culture.

Messages of “rest in peace” were posted on Gastélum's social media accounts on Wednesday.

Sinaloa has in recent years been ravaged by warring between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. At the height of the fighting, dead bodies would be left across the city marked with a faction's signature. One of them, Los Chapitos, would regularly leave a pizza or a pizza box on a dead body. The other, Los Mayos, would leave behind a sombrero, and it soon became dangerous to wear the hats in Culiacan as it could signify allegiance to one group.

On Tuesday night, Gastélum was filmed wearing a white sombrero.

On Wednesday, candles were lit on the pavement where he was killed. It was the second time in little more than a year that a content creator was fatally shot by gunmen on a live stream.

In May 2025, 23-year-old beauty influencer Valeria Márquez was shot and killed while doing a TikTok livestream at a beauty salon in the central Mexican state of Jalisco.

The killing comes at a time when Mexico’s government is under mounting pressure by the Trump administration to crack down on cartel violence.

Gastélum's death is part of a larger trend by criminal groups targeting influencers, especially in regions like Sinaloa and Jalisco dominated by organized crime.

Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said influencers are killed or threatened for a wide range of reasons. In some cases, the targeted influencers may have had ties to one criminal faction in a disputed region, producing social media content for them or having romantic relationships with cartel members. In others, influencers launder money for cartels or disseminate information similar to a journalist.

“Cartels are interested in dictating and controlling … the regions where they operate,” Saucedo said. The aim is to turn them “into channels for disseminating criminal messages.”

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Associated Press journalist Aarón Ibarra in Culiacan, Mexico, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

She still couldn't completely avoid the latest off-court firestorm — her belief that trans women should not be competing in women's sports.

While Cunningham declined to directly address the issue that's created another circus-like environment for the WNBA's most visible team, the former Missouri star did talk about her pregame conversation with the league's winningest coach, Cheryl Reeve, and challenged media members to find better stories than just the latest controversy.

“There's just so much distraction," she said before practice, noting the ESPN interview that started the debate was filmed in February. “I think the WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball. It's like, what are we doing? There's so much, like you can talk about other things. I think those are great stories. I think it shows fans, you know, who people are outside of the court. But I also think we've got to keep the main thing, the main thing.”

Avoiding the traps

Despite the continually swirling storms, nobody has played better basketball than the Fever.

Indiana is 9-3 since July 1, including a 5-2 record on two recent road trips. It beat defending league champ Las Vegas by 16 and 34 points during the first Western swing and can sweep the season series Thursday when the Aces make this season's only trip to Indianapolis. Las Vegas eliminated injury-depleted Indiana in last year's conference semifinals.

The Fever's five-game winning streak, which ended with Sunday's 108-100 loss at Minnesota, matched the fourth-longest in franchise history. Indiana will try to extend its league record for consecutive 100-point games to seven on Thursday.

Not enough?

Indiana's per game scoring average of 96.5 points is on pace to shatter the Phoenix Mercury's previous single-season league record of 93.9 points in 2010.

And as All-Star guards Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell and All-Star center Aliyah Boston produce career-best seasons. Cunningham thinks all three should be MVP candidates, even as she shoots 48.2% from the field and 45.2% on 3-pointers, both career bests amid all this new attention.

The key to their success is no secret — experience.

“My first six years (in the WNBA), I was with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner and so that causes a lot of buzz on your team as well and so you just have to protect the locker room,” Cunningham said. “And then you come here and it was like 100 times more. So last year, you know, I think we had a lot of preparation for what distractions and outside forces could do to a locker room. So this year, we're used to it. We're tight in the locker room. We try to protect those walls like no other. We try to protect each other like no other.”

Challenging course

A year ago, the leaguewide focus was on a new collective bargaining agreement and whether Clark would play a key role in pushing for changes. But in Indiana, the central theme was the daily updates on Clark's soft-tissue injuries and others including Cunningham's season-ending right knee injury.

This year, a May sideline spat between Clark and coach Stephanie White raised questions about their relationship and led to speculation about White's potential firing. That was followed by Cunningham's 22-second pointing video that went viral and the still image of Alyssa Thomas hitting Clark in the throat with a fist. The latter led to questions about whether Clark was being targeted with overly aggressive contact. The U.S. Congress even sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert about the incident.

Now it's the rallies — in support and opposition — to Cunnigham's position at recent games, which also led to the discussion between Reeve and Cunningham.

“She just came up and, you know I respect her for coming up in person because I think a lot of people behind the screens love that type of thing,” Cunningham said, gesturing as if she were typing a message. “She (Reeve) had stories about her point of view, and I had stories about my point of view, and we left with love and respect, and I think that's what it's all about."

Staying together

One potential benefit of Cunningham's sudden celebrity is that Clark can spend more time working behind the scenes on her craft.

But White believes the constant wave of storms also has steeled Indiana's locker room from the outside noise and forced players to focus more on winning games and playing better defense.

“Any time we have an opportunity to navigate challenges together, you know, it reveals I think the character of who you are, and I think our group continues to stay together, continues to pull together,” White said, one day before she was named the league's Coach of the Month for July. “When you have opportunities to be on the road for as long as we were last week, that also helps. I think we just have a really good group when it comes to really understanding one another and understanding the situation we're in.”

Even when the glare of the white-hot spotlight goes far deeper than basketball.

“I just think when you have this platform and everything you do is magnified by 10,000, you kind of get used to it,” Cunningham said. “So this team, everywhere we go, everywhere we play it's their Super Bowl. It's nothing new for us and when you join this team, it's something you have to expect and something you have to know going forward — like all eyes are on you 24-7.

”I want to get back to basketball,” she added. “It’s always been about basketball.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

In an increasingly connected world, there's no shortage of hot takes and judgment. That is evident yet again in recent days in the wake of a new music video from singer Ariana Grande and the release last week of her new album, “Petal,” which reignited commentary about her thin appearance.

It also raised the question: Just because we can say anything, does that mean we should? Some saw yet more body-shaming being aimed, no surprise, at a woman in a society that constantly judges them; others said it was simply concern. Some called for respecting her privacy, while others said the influence of celebrities on young fans made it a valid topic.

Grande, 33, has faced attention and commentary throughout her career around her appearance, with the current focus being on the increasing visibility of her body’s bone structure, including her sternum and rib cage.

She has pushed back against discourse that she’s anything other than healthy, and repeatedly insisted that she doesn’t think commenting on people’s bodies is acceptable. Her representative told People magazine that she would be stepping back from public life after her current tour finishes due to the “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”

Even in the video, a nearly seven-minute indictment of the harsh process of assessment and judgment that leads to fame and celebrity, Grande hits on the subject of being constantly sized up. “I don't need someone to save me,” she sings. “I'm not a victim.”

The way we talk in situations about body image matters because the impact can transcend a one-off comment or snap judgment about celebrities we’ll never meet, says Johanna Kandel, founder and CEO of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.

“I would just check our intentions behind it,” Kandel said. “What is the purpose of it? ... What is the intent versus the impact of it?”

Judging famous women by appearances is nothing new

Aggressive scrutiny of people in the spotlight is nothing new, nor is the reality that women’s appearances are heavily judged — even though the past decade has brought concerted efforts to promote ideas of body acceptance at all sizes.

These days, effective weight loss-inducing medications — their use driven by celebrities — have joined the larger cultural conversation. They’re shifting the ground once again around ideas of thinness, beauty and health, with some concerned that a slew of images of noticeably skinnier famous faces could have a troubling impact on those struggling with body image issues or eating disorders.

Judgment and criticism on one side, coupled with calls to stop saying anything about Grande’s body on the other, can make nuanced conversations about beauty and health difficult, says Allison Butler, a senior lecturer in communication at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

“We limit both the complexity of the folks that we are directing our attention to, as well as our own complex understandings of ourselves,” said Butler, author of “The Judgment of Gender: How Women are Centered and Silenced in Pop Culture.”

Fundamentally, many experts say, it's no one's place to pass judgment on someone's body, celebrity or otherwise.

“With celebrities, I encourage people to resist the urge to speculate altogether. Public conversations about celebrity bodies often reinforce the idea that our bodies are open for public discussion, and that’s a message young people are listening to,” Rachel Goldman, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine, said via email.

“We also have to remember that comments about someone’s appearance (whether they’re meant as compliments or criticisms) can reinforce the idea that our value is tied to how we look,” she said.

That doesn't mean ignoring the reality that people struggle with disordered eating in varied ways. Kandel references her own experience.

“When I was first approached about my eating disorder, it was (from) a place of concern, but it was like, ”You look like Skeletor,'" she said, and not “'Hey, what's going on? I'm really worried about you.'”

To Kandel, ignoring such issues is less effective than thinking hard about how we address them. “It can’t be a conversation that we evade,” she said, “but it’s more of bringing it to the curiosity and the compassion as opposed to the criticism.”

It can be difficult to talk to children about these issues

For parents talking with children, Goldman suggests shifting the conversation away from judging bodies to talking about the messages society is sending. Also crucial: reminding them that appearance isn't an indicator of health and well-being.

“Ultimately, we want young people to understand that their body is just one part of who they are. Their worth isn’t determined by their size or shape, and neither is anyone else’s,” she said.

That's what Jennifer Hill tries to do. The 56-year-old pediatric nurse from Broomall, Pennsylvania, says her 16-year-old daughter, a cheerleader and runner, hates when she gets comments on her body.

“I will talk to her and if someone has mentioned something to her, I’m like, ‘You know what? Everybody’s different, everybody’s born different, their bodies are created different,’” Hill said.

Though she says things have improved since her youth in the 1980s, when she recalls people being unafraid to offer the harshest comments, she still sees it as a struggle. Plus, she said, social media has added pressure. She also sees it in her work life, where she has worked with young people with emotional struggles or eating disorders. Her advice: Listen.

“You don’t want to come out and say, ‘You know, you’re really overweight,’” she said. “You have to tread lightly.”

It's about guiding them and their thinking, not just telling them what to do, Hill said. “Communication is key ... I think having open conversation and letting them do a lot of the talking and not so much you.”

As for Grande, she spoke to fans in recent days, making a statement from the stage Monday night that she read from her phone. She said she knows fans are worried that “negativity was ruining things” for her, but said the opposite is true.

“Multiple things can be true at the same time. Boundaries need to be set," she said. “Human beings can need a break sometimes. And also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life.”

Her fans — many of them young women — erupted in cheers.

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If you or someone you know have body image or eating concerns, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders has a helpline at (866) 662-1235. It is available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST.

La denuncia interpuesta ante un tribunal federal en Washington, D.C. asegura que el Departamento de Justicia y el secretario interino Todd Blanche pusieron trabas a la investigación penal del fiscal general de Nuevo México, Raúl Torrez, sobre Epstein y otras personas, tomando medidas que “perjudican activamente a las víctimas y socavan el interés público”.

La demanda, que busca intervención judicial para obligar al gobierno federal a entregar material a los investigadores de Nuevo México, se presentó el mismo día en que la Cámara de Representantes del estado dio a conocer un informe en el que afirmó que “aquellos que eran directamente responsables de proteger a los habitantes de Nuevo México confiaron en otros para hacer su trabajo”, incluidos fiscales federales en Nueva York.

Epstein se quitó la vida en una cárcel federal de la ciudad de Nueva York en agosto de 2019, después de que se le negó libertad bajo fianza por cargos de tráfico sexual.

La exnovia y estrecha colaboradora de Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, cumple una condena de 20 años en prisión después de ser declarada culpable de cargos de tráfico sexual en Nueva York en 2021. Durante su juicio, testigos declararon que ella y Epstein habían abusado sexualmente de mujeres en su rancho de Nuevo México.

Departamento de Justicia asegura que cumple con órdenes judiciales

Los fiscales del estado “han enfrentado una resistencia sostenida” al tipo de intercambio de información que en el pasado se había dado entre investigadores estatales y federales, según la demanda.

El Departamento de Justicia indicó en un comunicado que no divulgó parte de la información solicitada por el estado debido a que existen órdenes de tribunales federales que prohíben revelar información que identifique a las víctimas.

“Nuevo México no ha aportado ninguna base legal para justificar divulgaciones tan amplias”, señaló la agencia. Añadió que proteger la privacidad de las víctimas sigue siendo una prioridad máxima, y que el Departamento de Justicia “sigue disponible para ayudar a la investigación de Nuevo México en conformidad con la ley y las órdenes judiciales vinculantes”.

La demanda afirma que Blanche y el Departamento de Justicia ocultan información sobre Epstein y sus cómplices cuando Nuevo México es una de las pocas jurisdicciones que aún puede responsabilizar a los cómplices de Epstein o “brindar algún sentido de justicia a los sobrevivientes”.

El fiscal general de Nuevo México afirmó que su oficina ha presentado 10 solicitudes de información, las cuales han sido ignoradas o rechazadas.

“Hemos escuchado en repetidas ocasiones que cooperarán y lo que nuestro equipo ha experimentado es todo menos cooperación”, declaró Torrez.

El estado pide a Blanche que arregle las cosas de “un plumazo”

“Al día de hoy, de un plumazo, Todd Blanche podría concedernos el acceso que dijo que nos daría”, señaló Torrez. “En cambio, han decidido bloquear, obstruir y, francamente, ocultar por la razón que sea”.

El informe provisional difundido por la Comisión de la Verdad de los Sobrevivientes de Nuevo México culpó en parte a la fiscalía federal en Manhattan por la falta de información sobre las actividades de Epstein en Nuevo México. La comisión, establecida en febrero por legisladores estatales, señaló que las autoridades federales se enfocaron en los delitos de Epstein en Nueva York, Palm Beach, Florida, y las Islas Vírgenes, mientras dejaban sin examinar los casos en Nuevo México.

Pero la comisión también se refirió a la evidencia reunida por fiscales federales en Nueva York para describir a mujeres que aseguraron que fueron víctimas de abuso sexual a manos de Epstein en Zorro Ranch.

En el juicio contra Maxwell, Annie Farmer, ahora psicóloga, testificó que tenía 16 años cuando aceptó ir al rancho, donde Maxwell le tocó el pecho durante un masaje y que Epstein se metió a la cama con ella de forma inesperada.

En respuesta a una solicitud de comentarios, un portavoz de la fiscalía federal en Nueva York envió el comunicado del Departamento de Justicia sobre Epstein.

Coincidiendo con la publicación del informe, unos 50 miembros de los medios de comunicación y la comunidad se reunieron el miércoles en una sala de audiencias legislativas del capitolio estatal de Nuevo México para escuchar los hallazgos preliminares de la comisión.

Una acusadora de Epstein da su relato ante la comisión

Rachel Benavidez, la única oradora en la parte de “testimonio de sobrevivientes”, afirmó en la reunión que Epstein abusó sexualmente de ella en Zorro Ranch. Aseguró que las conexiones de Epstein con personas en los círculos más altos del estado le permitieron “deambular en libertad aquí en Nuevo México sin control” después de que fue condenado por delitos sexuales en otros lugares.

“No necesitamos más archivos de papel que sirvan como artefactos”, dijo Benavidez, instando a que la comisión interrogue a “cómplices” que ayudaron a Epstein a evadir a la justicia en el estado.

Benavidez ha dicho en entrevistas que fue llevada al rancho para trabajar como masajista a finales de la década de 1990. El miércoles relató que Epstein explotó “la única cosa que significaba todo para mí en ese momento, mi carrera”.

Un grupo de víctimas y familiares de las víctimas de Epstein acusó a Blanche en un comunicado de “seguir protegiendo a los abusadores” al retener la información que solicita Nuevo México.

“El argumento del DOJ de que no entregará archivos para proteger la identidad de los sobrevivientes es risible cuando el DOJ ya ha revelado sus nombres e información personal”, dijeron, refiriéndose a la agencia por sus iniciales en inglés.

Epstein compró la propiedad en Stanley, Nuevo México, una comunidad ganadera escasamente poblada a unos 48 kilómetros (30 millas) al sur de Santa Fe, en 1993 al exgobernador Bruce King, y construyó una mansión con una pista de aterrizaje privada y un helipuerto.

El rancho de Epstein fue rebautizado como “San Rafael Ranch”

La propiedad fue vendida por el patrimonio de Epstein en 2023 a la familia de Don Huffines, un republicano que recientemente fue nombrado contralor estatal en Texas. Huffines señaló en febrero pasado en redes sociales que la propiedad fue rebautizada como San Rafael Ranch, en honor a un santo asociado con la sanación, y que su familia planea operar un retiro cristiano en el lugar.

El Departamento de Justicia comenzó a divulgar en diciembre documentos relacionados con Epstein y Maxwell, de conformidad con la Ley de Transparencia de los Archivos de Epstein.

Rápidamente surgieron quejas, tanto de acusadores como de miembros del Congreso que lucharon por aprobar la ley de transparencia, debido a tachaduras deficientes y por la cantidad excesiva de material censurado. Los archivos publicados —incluidas fotografías, transcripciones de entrevistas, registros de llamadas, expedientes judiciales y otros documentos— ya eran públicos o estaban sumamente censurados, y muchos carecían del contexto necesario.

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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Larry Neumeister en Nueva York y Jeffrey Collins en Columbia, Carolina del Sur, contribuyeron con este despacho.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

The club made the move following a nightmarish stretch in which the three-time All-Star could never seem to get on track.

The Pirates, who entered Wednesday 3 1/2 games behind Arizona for the third NL wild-card spot, promoted outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Ozuna’s roster spot.

Pittsburgh signed Ozuna to a one-year deal worth $12 million in February, a rare free agency splurge for the budget-conscious club. The team hoped the right-handed Ozuna would help balance out a left-handed-heavy lineup.

Instead, Ozuna started slowly and never found the form that helped him hit 296 homers during previous stints with Miami, Atlanta and St. Louis.

Ozuna hit just .203 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 70 games with Pittsburgh and had seen his playing opportunities cut significantly in recent weeks thanks to the emergence of rookie Esmerlyn Valdez.

“Didn’t have a season that he would like,” manager Don Kelly said Wednesday in Milwaukee before the Pirates faced the Brewers. “Just got to a point where we felt like we needed to make a move and open up the DH spot to be able to rotate.”

Ozuna has a $10.5 million salary this year. He had a mutual option of $16 million in 2027 with a $1.5 million buyout.

The decision comes on the heels of a trade deadline in which Pittsburgh, seeking to end a decade-long playoff drought, fortified its leaky bullpen with a series of moves, including acquiring reliever Luke Weaver from the New York Mets.

Kelly and general manager Ben Cherington defended Ozuna repeatedly, with Cherington expressing confidence the underlying metrics showed Ozuna was close to turning it around and Kelly praising Ozuna’s influence on the club’s Latin American players. But with a chance to play meaningful baseball into September on the line, the team opted to move on.

“It’s a tough spot, and hate to go through it,” Kelly said.

Pittsburgh also activated left-handed reliever Evan Sisk off the injured list and optioned reliever Wilber Dotel to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.

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Schwartz was confirmed in a 51-44 vote. The 54-year-old becomes the 22nd leader of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats, and the agency's first confirmed director in nearly a year. Her resume includes medical and law degrees, a stint as deputy surgeon general, and a leadership position at the U.S. Coast Guard.

Schwartz's nomination appeared to be on shaky ground after a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month. The chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and others questioned whether she would be willing to stand up to Republican President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., if he ordered CDC to do something unsupported by science and good public health practice.

But weeks later, Cassidy said he had spoken with Schwartz after that hearing and with others who knew her, and said he had gained confidence in her.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately respond to questions about when Schwartz will start the job or her salary.

The CDC has been in turmoil since Trump returned to office last year.

Largely due to layoffs and resignations, the agency has lost 3,000-plus employees, more than one-quarter of its workforce. Morale has plummeted as a succession of mostly temporary leaders has come and gone. The front office has been staffed by political appointees with little or no training in medicine or public health.

“Now, Dr. Schwartz needs to prove that her leadership will serve science and not the whims of politicians. CDC needs a Director who will protect public health workers, defend evidence-based guidance, and refuse any directive that would undermine public safety,” said the National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers, in a statement Wednesday.

When Schwartz was nominated in April, public health experts were cautiously optimistic, citing her background. They also noted that Schwartz was the choice of Trump and not Kennedy, who is a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before he was tapped to oversee the CDC and other federal health agencies.

Schwartz was the third Trump nominee for CDC director in the past 18 months.

The first was a former Florida congressman, Dr. David Weldon. His Senate hearing in March 2025 was canceled an hour before it was to begin. Weldon said at the time that he had been told not enough senators were willing to vote for him.

The White House then moved on to Susan Monarez, who had been serving as the CDC’s acting director. Monarez was confirmed by the Senate, but ousted from the job in less than a month. Trump administration officials said she was not aligned with the president’s agenda, so they terminated her.

Since then, there have been a series of HHS officials as acting CDC directors.

“With all the turmoil of the past two years, the CDC desperately needs stability, experienced leadership and a steadfast commitment to science,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association, in a statement Wednesday.

The CDC position was one of several leadership vacancies among federal health agencies, including the U.S. surgeon general and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

After all, Poles not only had just signed Wright to his four-year, $116 million extension, but it was the Bears GM who picked Wright 10th in the 2023 NFL Draft after swapping the No. 9 pick with the Philadelphia Eagles, who took All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Wright said his gratitude had more to do with the GM's time investment rather than the hefty contract.

“Poles really invests in us besides the financial investment,” Wright said. “He really invested in me, helping me get more one-on-one time with the coaches, one-on-one time more with the strength staff, one-on-one time more with (strength assistant) Mark (Philippi) in there doing core strength. He’s helping me set it up.”

Poles took a special interest in Wright, his initial Bears first-round draft pick, and talked to coaches about making extra time to develop someone he saw with huge potential. It worked out, with Wright becoming the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle ever just days before his 25th birthday.

“They have all that stuff they are handling, but he’s really invested in me, even from a long time ago, so I really appreciate that,” Wright said.

The second-team All-Pro tackle received the richest Bears contract ever based on average annual salary and signing bonus. ESPN cited the bonus money at $93 million, the most the Bears have ever awarded on a four-year deal.

“It’s just money,” Wright said. “It doesn’t get me into heaven.”

Wright credited others within the organization for making his success possible, in particular offensive coach Dan Roushar and coach Ben Johnson.

“After practice (Wednesday), Ben said something,” Wright said. “He said I owed Dan a loan or something, which I probably do. That guy has helped me a tremendous amount. So, big shout out to him as well.

“I think first, he’s consistent every day in what he does and what he says. He’s consistent in what he’s telling you. He’s honest and, you know, some coaches I’ve had in the past or some coaches in the league, they’re not very good teachers.”

As for Johnson, the scheme the Bears coach brought from Detroit when he took over in Chicago last year helped to free up Wright to put his blocking skills on display. The Bears went from 25th in the league in rushing to third last season and gave up just 24 sacks after allowing a league-worst 68 the season before.

“Ben has the scheme and I think Ben, he premieres you in plays,” Wright said. “The biggest thing, and I’ve said it before — when he first got here, like, he instilled the confidence into me that I was going to be a part of the offense. I’ve never had a coach really come up to me and be like, ‘We’re depending on you.’

“Obviously you do your job. But ‘We’re depending on you to complete this play, and this is pretty much your play.’ Obviously you’re not getting the ball. To see a coach come in, a coach like Ben Johnson, and he has that confidence in you already, it gives you a little bit of confidence in yourself."

The Bears have a few other contract extensions to address before next year, including defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and running back D'Andre Swift. However, the really big upcoming extension would be quarterback Caleb Williams, who becomes eligible after the 2026 season.

NOTES

The Bears have become more whole on both sides of the ball after a few early injury concerns. Starting linebacker T.J. Edwards was taken off the non-football injury list and practiced Wednesday for the first time, while backup running back Kyle Monangai has returned from a soft tissue injury and was involved in a full practice.

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La embajada no especificó en su alerta de seguridad cuál era esa amenaza, pero el gobernador Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla dijo en un vídeo difundido en sus redes que la paralización temporal de las inspecciones estadounidenses fue para salvaguardar la integridad de sus trabajadores después de recientes detenciones vinculadas a la extorsión.

Michoacán es el principal exportador de aguacates a Estados Unidos y también una región de alta actividad del crimen organizado. Ahí operan al menos cuatro cárteles declarados como organizaciones terroristas por la administración de Donald Trump y la mayoría de ellos, además de dedicarse a la producción o tráfico de drogas, se financian a través de extorsiones a todo tipo de sectores económicos, incluidos los aguacateros.

Según explicó a The Associated Press el secretario de Seguridad del estado, Antonio Cruz, una de las detenciones a las que se refirió el gobernador fue la de “El Poncho”, apodo de Alfonso Fernández Magallón, el líder de un cártel local que opera en una zona aguacatera en torno a la localidad de Los Reyes, 460 km al oeste de Ciudad de México.

El embajador de Estados Unidos, Ronald Johnson, celebró en redes la captura, que tuvo lugar durante el fin de semana, por la que su gobierno había ofrecido una recompensa de cinco millones de dólares.

Después del alerta, Cruz mantuvo un encuentro en Michoacán con el representante del Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos (USDA, por sus siglas en inglés). En declaraciones a AP dijo que no tenía conocimiento de ningún incidente directo vinculado a los inspectores pero, no obstante, ordenó el despliegue de 300 efectivos en la zona de Los Reyes de forma preventiva.

El gobernador agregó que lo importante en estos momentos era “brindar las condiciones de seguridad para que estos trabajos se recuperen de manera normal” como ha ocurrido en el pasado.

El negocio millonario del “oro verde”

México suministra en torno del 80% de las importaciones estadounidenses de aguacate, conocido en la región como “oro verde”. Su cultivo genera en torno a 200.000 empleos sólo en Michoacán, cuya economía depende de esta industria.

En 2025 México vendió a Estados Unidos aguacates por 3.653 millones de dólares y en el primer cuatrimestre de este año esas exportaciones aumentaron un 35% con respecto al mismo periodo del año anterior.

Como el país vecino también cultiva aguacates USDA envía a inspectores que vigilan las plantaciones y empacadoras en México para garantizar que el producto exportado no entre con plagas.

Pero el lucrativo sector también es un atractivo para los grupos del crimen organizado que extorsionan a productores y empacadores de esta fruta, que incluyen el pago a los criminales como un costo más de todas sus operaciones, contó a AP un productor de la zona de Los Reyes que pidió el anonimato por miedo a represalias.

Según dijo el empresario, debe pagar al crimen organizado un peso por cada kilo que exporta. Cada día manda a Estados Unidos unas 90 toneladas de sus huertas o de aguacates que compra a otros productores, lo que le supone pagos de más de 5.000 dólares diarios.

Si paran las verificaciones, para la exportación

Los inspectores de Estados Unidos se han visto involucrados a lo largo de los años en amenazas o incidentes que provocaron que las verificaciones se pararan en distintos momentos y con ellas las exportaciones, provocando pérdidas notables al sector.

En 2024 Estados Unidos anunció que dejaría las inspecciones en manos del gobierno mexicano despues de algunas agresiones a sus trabajadores.

Lo que ocurre desde entonces, explicó el empresario de Los Reyes, es que USDA envía a sus trabajadores mexicanos a las empacadoras escoltados por autoridades mexicanas. Agregó que el miércoles ningún inspector se presentó y por eso la mayor parte de sus empleados tuvieron que dejar de trabajar.

El gobernador de Michoacán aseguró que las autoridades mexicanas ya trabajan en coordinación con el área de seguridad de la embajada para resolver “cualquier inquietud” de los estadounidenses por lo que confió en que las inspecciones se reanuden a la mayor brevedad.

But the nanny never worried the Massachusetts mother might be a danger to her children or to herself.

“I observed a wonderful mom who loved her kids,” Elaine Rossi told the jury on the seventh day of the trial in Plymouth. “She was concerned about their safety, and Callan eating and sleeping. She was a wonderful mother.”

Clancy’s defense says she was a loving mother who was overmastered by postpartum psychosis, a dangerous psychiatric condition that afflicts a small proportion of women after childbirth and affects their hold on reality.

Prosecutors contend that she acted intentionally on Jan. 24, 2023, and should be held criminally responsible for the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged in age from 8 months to 5 years.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Rossi was hired in September 2022, a few months after Callan was born. She was let go in December after Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, decided not to return to work. Rossi said she wasn’t told why Clancy chose to remain at home.

She testified Wednesday about her time with the family, describing Cora as a “girly-girl” who loved arts and crafts. Three-year-old Dawson was “full of energy, rambunctious, funny, silly.” Callan was the “sweetest, happiest baby.”

The defense sought to portray Clancy, 35, as a doting mother who acknowledged her mental health difficulties. Prosecutors likely hope the jury will see a mom who wasn't impaired by her mental health.

Rossi testified that she saw prescription medicine bottles in the house, and that Clancy "shared with me she had postpartum and couldn’t sleep,” and had taken to sleeping in the basement.

In her journals during that time, Clancy indicated she was struggling with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by motherhood.

Both the prosecution and defense read excerpts from her diary to the jury Monday, where she catalogued an ever-shifting lineup of psychiatric prescriptions, as well as thoughts of suicide. Clancy remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from her home's second-story window on the night of the killings.

Clancy wrote about her struggles to get newborn Callan to sleep, and constant worries of his being sick. She also expressed concerns about going back to work, not being able to breastfeed, and feeling disconnected from her children and her then-husband.

“I’m so desperate to get a mental break from taking care of everyone that my mind is trying to find something physically wrong with me,” she wrote in a Nov. 18, 2022, entry.

“I have crazy brain fog. I feel like I can’t make a plan,” she wrote in another, undated entry. “I live moment to moment waiting for the next nap time.”

Clancy’s lawyers don’t dispute that she killed the children. But in the criminal trial and a medical malpractice lawsuit, her attorneys say she had bipolar disorder that wasn’t fully diagnosed until after the killings. Her attorneys say her condition seemed to worsen on the psychiatric medications, some of them problematic for bipolar patients.

Several officials with the state police crime lab testified this week that Clancy had multiple prescription medications in her blood after the killings, including antipsychotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines.

If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

“Esta reforma es uno de los cuerpos legislativos más importantes que se haya aprobado en los últimos 30 años. Abre una nueva etapa para el progreso de Chile que traerá más inversión, más crecimiento y más trabajo para los chilenos”, auguró en una cadena nacional.

El Senado aprobó la noche del martes, por 27 votos a favor y 22 en contra, el único punto que todavía estaba pendiente del proyecto de Reconstrucción Nacional, considerado uno de los buques insignia del gobierno Kast y que implementará una serie de medidas para fomentar las inversiones, reducir los impuestos a grandes empresas y generar empleo.

Los parlamentarios llegaron a un consenso y dieron su visto bueno para la adopción de un mecanismo de compensación fiscal que tendrán los municipios debido a exención de impuestos para las personas mayores de 65 años que compren su primera vivienda.

La aprobación del texto final, que ahora deberá ser ratificado por el presidente, es el primer paso para poner en marcha “la reconstrucción material, la reconstrucción institucional, la certeza jurídica, la competitividad tributaria, la facilitación regulatoria, que le da curso a grandes proyectos de inversión que dan empleo”, afirmó Kast el mismo miércoles por la tarde durante un evento con empresarios.

"Haciendo las cosas bien, cuidando el medio ambiente, se pueden lograr las dos cosas, que es un crecimiento sustentable en el tiempo”, agregó.

Esta es la mayor victoria legislativa en los primeros cinco meses de gobierno de Kast, el mandatario más conservador en la historia de Chile desde el fin de la dictadura militar en 1990. Desde que asumió el poder en marzo, Kast ha defendido una significativa reducción del tamaño del Estado y una mayor autonomía a la iniciativa privada.

La reforma aprobada incluye la rebaja de los impuestos a las grandes empresas del 27% al 23%; elimina la doble tributación para incentivar la inversión privada, libera del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) durante 12 meses a la compra de viviendas nuevas y exime del pago de contribuciones de bienes raíces a las personas mayores de 65 años sobre su primera vivienda.

Tras el aval del Parlamento el texto final ahora deberá ser ratificado y promulgado por Kast, un proceso que aún podría extenderse por varias semanas. Ello porque el equipo económico del gobierno ya anunció que presentará al menos tres vetos al proyecto referentes a cambios incorporados por los legisladores al documento original.

De confirmarse las observaciones gubernamentales, el Congreso deberá volver a debatir dichas modificaciones y podrá aceptarlas, rechazarlas o insistir en el texto que ya había despachado.

El gobierno se opone a tres artículos del proyecto: el denominado derecho al olvido financiero, que busca limitar la consideración de ciertas deudas antiguas en las evaluaciones crediticias; la prohibición del anatocismo —el cobro de intereses sobre intereses— y las disposiciones destinadas a garantizar el pago a las pequeñas y medianas empresas en un plazo máximo de 30 días.

Asimismo, antes de que el proyecto se convierta en ley el Tribunal Constitucional debe pronunciarse sobre al menos tres recursos ingresados por la oposición, que acusó diversas "irregularidades" en el proyecto y busca impugnar algunos de sus aspectos tributarios y medioambientales.

Entre los puntos más controvertidos destacan la invariabilidad tributaria y las compensaciones económicas destinadas a empresas que tengan proyectos negados por preocupaciones ambientales.

En otro orden, Kast celebró estadísticas en torno a la seguridad pública y anunció la extensión del plazo de flagrancia de 12 a 24 horas “para que la policía tenga el tiempo que necesita para detener a los culpables”.

También la ampliación de la retención migratoria ilegal y la capacidad de expulsión efectiva “de quien no tiene derecho a estar en Chile”.

The Commanders agreed with Diggs on a contract for this season, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal had not been announced.

Diggs, a native of nearby Gaithersburg, Maryland, joins Washington for a 12th year in the league and reportedly can make up to $12 million. He spent last season with New England, making 99 catches for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns in 21 games, including the Patriots’ playoff run to the Super Bowl.

New England released him in March, and the 32-year-old went unsigned in free agency while facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with a dispute with his former private chef. Diggs was found not guilty in May, and the NFL said in June that he wouldn't face any discipline after a review determined there was not enough evidence to punish him under its personal conduct policy.

The Commanders had a hole at the position, and they are banking on Diggs filling it. The in-house options of Treylon Burks and Luke McCaffrey would have put Daniels in a tough spot and likely made No. 1 receiver McLaurin deal with plenty of double teams this coming season.

Signing Diggs could rule out going after Brandon Aiyuk, a friend of Daniels' who is still under contract with San Francisco. Aiyuk said on social media in June that he would join Washington immediately if the 49ers released him.

Aiyuk remains on the reserve/left squad list out West, while Diggs is now in an NFC East that features receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens with Dallas, DeVonta Smith with Philadelphia and Malik Nabers with the New York Giants.

Diggs previously played for Minnesota, Buffalo and Houston during a career that included him being an All-Pro selection in 2020, when he led all players with 127 catches and 1,535 yards. Since making his debut in 2015 after the Vikings took him in the fifth round of the draft that year, Diggs has 1,025 catches for 12,523 yards and 79 TDs in the regular season and playoffs combined.

That included the “Minneapolis Miracle” catch for Minnesota in the divisional round in January 2018. With 10 seconds left, Diggs leapt and evaded a tackle to score a 61-yard touchdown and beat New Orleans 29-24.

Off the field, it has been a more tumultuous ride, including getting fined more than $200,000 by the Vikings during his final season with them in 2019 for unexcused practice absences. Diggs was traded to Buffalo in March 2020.

Diggs led the Bills in receiving four seasons in a row, but sideline outbursts and cryptic social media messages were also part of his tenure before being traded to Houston in April 2024. A torn ACL ended his time with the Texans, and skipping a voluntary offseason workout got him off to a bumpy start with the Patriots before he turned out to be a reliable option for QB Drake Maye.

Cut in part because he was owed $20.6 million, Diggs now is teaming up with Daniels, who was taken one spot ahead of Maye when they went Nos. 2 and 3 in the 2024 draft.

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According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Mohit Mohit, 21, of Jacksonville, was arrested Monday after detectives identified him as a participant in the scheme.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began last month after a 75-year-old Tamarac woman reported being defrauded of thousands of dollars by a person claiming to be a U.S. Marshal.

Authorities said the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to work with Walmart’s fraud department regarding a fraudulent $1,400 Apple laptop purchase made in her name.

They said after the woman denied making the purchase, she was “transferred to several individuals before ultimately speaking with a suspect who identified himself as U.S. Marshal Adam Peterson.”

Investigators said Mohit allegedly told the victim that her identity had been linked to an abandoned vehicle in Texas containing narcotics, cash and evidence of human trafficking.

They said Mohit also told the woman that a federal arrest warrant had been issued for her and that she could either hire an attorney for $100,000 or cooperate with a federal investigation to clear her name.

Investigators said the suspects used fake badge numbers, case numbers, phone numbers and names of fictitious government employees to make the scam appear legitimate.

They said the victim was then instructed to liquidate her financial assets and convert the money into gold, which the suspects claimed would be secured while the investigation was ongoing.

The victim followed the instructions, packaged the gold as directed and handed it over to a courier at a gas station after receiving a code from the suspects, according to deputies.

The victim later realized she had been scammed and lost family savings accumulated over about 33 years, investigators said.

Detectives identified Mohit as the person who allegedly conducted the exchanges. Authorities said two vehicles — a red Honda Accord and a gray Jeep SUV — were used in the scheme.

Investigators said they developed probable cause to arrest Mohit, describing him as an “active and willing participant in a large-scale nationwide organized fraud scheme.”

They said Mohit was arrested in Bradford County on a warrant out of Broward County.

Jail records show Mohit faces charges including scheme to defraud, grand theft of a person 65 or older, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

His bond amount has not been set at this time.

BSO is urging residents who believe they may have been targeted in a similar scam to contact Detective Steven Lees at 954-720-2225 or call the agency’s non-emergency number at 954-764-4357.

Authorities also reminded the public that law enforcement agencies will never call demanding money or requesting personal banking information.

They offered the following tips to help the public avoid similar scams:

• Never send money in response to an unexpected phone call, text message or email.
• Never provide personal, financial or banking information to unsolicited callers.
• Verify requests by contacting the organization directly through an official phone number or website.
• Report suspicious activity to local authorities.

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Celia Penichet Lopez, 41, is facing an aggravated battery charge. Miami police said the shooting happened at around 9:30 p.m. near her home in the 1100 block of Northwest 57th Street in the city’s Liberty City neighborhood.

Authorities said the victim and two witnesses met with a group of women to fight over the online dispute at Miller J. Dawkins Mini Park and then walked back to the victim’s home.

One witness said she believed that the group was being followed. A few minutes before the shooting, another witness “was called/texted by an unknown number to come outside the house to continue fighting,” according to police.

“Upon going outside, (the first witness) stated that they got into a verbal argument with the group that arrived,” an arrest report states. “A Black male wearing all black and a black mask from the offending group then began to reach into his waistband. (The witness) stated she believed the offender was about to brandish a firearm and she began to run.”

The witness then heard multiple shots being fired and “found the victim screaming,” having been shot in the leg, police said.

Police said after reviewing videos, it turned out that the victim had been caught in the crossfire: They said the clips showed the man taking the gun out and pointing it at the group, but putting it back, turning his back and walking away before Penichet, whose stepdaughter had been involved in the altercation, began firing at him.

They said the victim was shot after the man fired eight shots back at Penichet.

Authorities said she claimed that she only fired at the man when fired upon, but later admitted, after being shown surveillance video, that she opened fire first.

Police concluded: “After reviewing the surveillance footage and (Penichet’s) statement, it was determined that the male was not a threat and was actively removing himself from the area when the defendant decided to discharge her firearm at him. The male only returned fire after (Penichet) shot first.”

Penichet’s actions, they said, “initiated the chain of events that ultimately led to the victim’s injuries.”

Records show Penichet was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond following her arrest.

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, Mohit Mohit, de 21 años y residente de Jacksonville, fue arrestado el lunes después de que los detectives lo identificaran como participante en el esquema.

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, la investigación comenzó el mes pasado después de que una mujer de 75 años de Tamarac denunciara haber sido víctima de un fraude por miles de dólares por parte de una persona que afirmaba ser un alguacil federal de Estados Unidos.

Las autoridades informaron que la víctima recibió una llamada telefónica de alguien que afirmaba trabajar en el departamento de fraude de Walmart en relación con una compra fraudulenta de una computadora portátil Apple por $1,400 USD realizada a su nombre.

Indicaron que, después de que la mujer negara haber realizado la compra, fue “transferida a varias personas antes de hablar finalmente con un sospechoso que se identificó como el alguacil federal Adam Peterson”.

Los investigadores informaron que Mohit presuntamente le dijo a la víctima que su identidad había sido vinculada a un vehículo abandonado en Texas que contenía narcóticos, dinero en efectivo y evidencia de trata de personas.

También le dijo a la mujer que existía una orden federal de arresto en su contra y que podía contratar a un abogado por $100,000 USD o cooperar con una investigación federal para limpiar su nombre.

Los investigadores informaron que los sospechosos utilizaron números de placa falsos, números de caso falsos, números telefónicos y nombres de supuestos empleados del gobierno para hacer que el fraude pareciera legítimo.

Indicaron que luego se le ordenó a la víctima liquidar sus activos financieros y convertir el dinero en oro, el cual, según los sospechosos, sería resguardado mientras la investigación estuviera en curso.

Según los agentes, la víctima siguió las instrucciones, empacó el oro como se le indicó y lo entregó a un mensajero en una gasolinera después de recibir un código por parte de los sospechosos.

Los investigadores informaron que posteriormente la víctima se dio cuenta de que había sido estafada y perdió los ahorros familiares acumulados durante aproximadamente 33 años.

Los detectives identificaron a Mohit como la persona que presuntamente realizó los intercambios. Las autoridades informaron que en el esquema se utilizaron dos vehículos: un Honda Accord rojo y una SUV Jeep gris.

Los investigadores indicaron que desarrollaron causa probable para arrestar a Mohit, a quien describieron como un “participante activo y voluntario en un esquema organizado de fraude a gran escala a nivel nacional”.

Indicaron que Mohit fue arrestado en el condado Bradford mediante una orden de arresto emitida en el condado Broward.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Mohit enfrenta cargos que incluyen esquema para defraudar, hurto mayor contra una persona de 65 años o más y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación bidireccional.

Hasta el momento no se le ha fijado una fianza.

La BSO insta a los residentes que crean haber sido blanco de un fraude similar a comunicarse con el detective Steven Lees al 954-720-2225 o llamar al número de no emergencias de la agencia al 954-764-4357.

Las autoridades también recordaron al público que las agencias del orden nunca llaman para exigir dinero ni solicitar información bancaria personal.

Ofrecieron los siguientes consejos para ayudar al público a evitar fraudes similares:

• Nunca envíe dinero en respuesta a una llamada telefónica, mensaje de texto o correo electrónico inesperado.
• Nunca proporcione información personal, financiera o bancaria a personas que lo contacten sin haberlo solicitado.
• Verifique cualquier solicitud comunicándose directamente con la organización a través de un número telefónico o sitio web oficial.
• Reporte cualquier actividad sospechosa a las autoridades locales.

However, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, or CONRED, urged the population to remain cautious because rainfall from a tropical wave from the east could trigger potentially deadly volcanic mudflows known as lahars.

CONRED also confirmed that some people who were evacuated between Monday and Tuesday returned voluntarily to their homes.

“But the eruptive activity continues, and it is recommended to follow the authorities’ instructions regarding preventive evacuation,” the agency said.

Approximately 1,700 people have been evacuated from at least 18 communities on the slopes of Fuego, or the Volcano of Fire, after the eruption that began on Monday. No deaths or damage have been reported.

Live broadcasts of the volcano’s activity show periods of complete clarity interspersed with ash emissions. Early Tuesday morning, the volcano spewed lava that reached a height of about 300 meters (984 feet), triggering red alerts, evacuations, a highway’s closure, and the suspension of classes in three departments.

Fuego volcano, one of Guatemala’s most active, has an elevation of 3,768 meters (12,300 feet) and is considered a stratovolcano: a tall, cone-shaped volcano formed by layers of hard lava, ash and rock. It is located between the departments of Escuintla, Chimaltenango and Sacatepéquez in the southern and central regions of the country and is 53 kilometers (33 miles) from Guatemala’s capital.

A volcanic eruption on Sunday, June 3, 2018, killed hundreds of people, wiped out an entire community and impacted up to 1.7 million people. Another eruption last year spurred preventive evacuations.

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Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Celia Penichet Lopez, de 41 años, enfrenta un cargo de agresión agravada. La Policía de Miami informó que la balacera ocurrió alrededor de las 9:30 p.m. cerca de su casa, en la cuadra 1100 de Northwest 57th Street, en el vecindario Liberty City.

Las autoridades informaron que la víctima y dos testigos se reunieron con un grupo de mujeres para pelear por la disputa en línea en el Miller J. Dawkins Mini Park y luego caminaron de regreso a la casa de la víctima.

Una testigo dijo que creía que el grupo estaba siendo seguido. Según la policía, pocos minutos antes de la balacera, otra testigo “recibió una llamada o mensaje de texto de un número desconocido para que saliera de la casa y continuara la pelea”.

“Al salir, (la primera testigo) dijo que comenzaron una discusión verbal con el grupo que había llegado”, señala el informe de arresto. “Un hombre afroamericano vestido completamente de negro y con una máscara negra, perteneciente al grupo contrario, comenzó a llevar la mano hacia la cintura. (La testigo) dijo que creyó que el individuo iba a sacar un arma de fuego y comenzó a correr”.

La testigo luego escuchó múltiples disparos y “encontró a la víctima gritando”, después de haber recibido un disparo en la pierna, informó la policía.

La policía indicó que, tras revisar los videos, determinó que la víctima quedó atrapada en el fuego cruzado. Según las autoridades, las imágenes muestran al hombre sacando un arma de fuego y apuntando hacia el grupo, pero luego guardándola, dándose la vuelta y alejándose antes de que Penichet, cuya hijastra había estado involucrada en el altercado, comenzara a dispararle.

Las autoridades informaron que la víctima recibió un disparo después de que el hombre respondiera con ocho disparos contra Penichet.

Las autoridades indicaron que Penichet afirmó que solo disparó contra el hombre después de que él le disparara, pero posteriormente admitió, tras ver el video de vigilancia, que ella abrió fuego primero.

La policía concluyó: “Después de revisar las imágenes de vigilancia y la declaración de (Penichet), se determinó que el hombre no representaba una amenaza y estaba alejándose activamente del área cuando la acusada decidió dispararle. El hombre solo respondió al fuego después de que (Penichet) disparó primero”.

Según la policía, las acciones de Penichet “iniciaron la cadena de acontecimientos que finalmente provocó las lesiones de la víctima”.

Los registros muestran que Penichet permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $5,000 USD tras su arresto.

Photos captured by The Associated Press on Wednesday show construction workers using a jackhammer on the helipad, which no longer carries the dark gray trim of a presidential seal that was visible last week. It was unclear why the seal was being removed.

The White House said it's continuing to make improvements as part of efforts to best match the needs of the building and its grounds. Trump has said the helipad is needed because new helicopters in the fleet used for Marine One are so powerful they rip out the South Lawn grass.

“For years, the White House has desperately needed a proper helipad on White House grounds that will allow the president to land safely and also protect the beautiful South Lawn grass from the fierce exhaust fumes of the incredible Marine One," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said on Wednesday. "Thanks to President Trump, the White House has never looked better, and it will only continue to get better under his leadership.”

The helipad is part of a long list of renovations that Trump has undertaken in his second term. His projects include a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) ballroom; a Rose Garden paved over with stone; a new marbled interior in the Palm Room, a lobby-like room that leads out to the West Colonnade and Rose Garden; and an Oval Office that continues to add gilded decorations.

Trump described the helipad at length during an Oval Office appearance last month, saying it would be made of carved granite and calling it a “beautiful thing.” The president also said Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, would be paying for the project, which he estimated would cost up to $6 million. Lockheed referred comment on the helipad construction to the White House.

The new helicopters used for Marine One are manufactured by Sikorsky and made their debut under then-President Joe Biden in 2024. But their use has been limited because their exhaust vents aim heat downward, posing a risk to the South Lawn grass.

Trump has said that using granite rather than concrete for the helipad was his suggestion. He has also noted that the landing pad could be used for other White House events, such as press conferences.

The removal of the seal was first reported by The Washington Post.

Welcome to the NFL preseason. If you want to see starters play, wait until next month when the games count in the standings. Or watch joint practices.

The exhibition schedule kicks off Thursday night with Beck and the Arizona Cardinals facing Pickett and the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

The preseason is an opportunity for rookies, backups and players fighting for roster spots to get snaps and showcase what they can do. Most first-round picks won’t play much. Cardinals running back Jerimiyah Love (No. 3 pick) and Panthers tackle Monroe Freeling (No. 19) are sitting out the opener.

Beck, a third-round pick from Miami, will be under center for new Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur. Veteran Jacoby Brissett is Arizona’s starter and Gardner Minshew is the backup.

“I had no clue I was going to start,” Beck said. “Obviously, I thought I was going to play but I really didn’t have any expectations going into any of this. Obviously, our schedule is absolutely crazy right now, practice, meetings. But I’m looking forward to it.”

Beck, who led the Hurricanes to a national championship matchup against Indiana, said he won’t have any butterflies before the game.

“I think the last time I was nervous was maybe when I was 8 years old for our city championship in Pop Warner,” Beck said. “It’s a game at the end of the day. It’s an opportunity to go out there, have fun with your teammates and play the game that I love. It’s what I love doing.”

Pickett, a first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022 who led Pittsburgh to a 14-10 record in two seasons, has bounced around the league.

He spent the 2024 season with the Eagles before Philadelphia traded him to Cleveland last year. The Browns sent him to the Raiders during training camp and he started two games for Las Vegas. The Panthers signed Pickett to back up Bryce Young.

“Just want to go out there and operate a high level,” Pickett said. “All the hard work that we’re putting in practice you want to see come to life on game day and that’s everyone just doing their job and executing.”

Carolina won the NFC South last season with an 8-9 record. But the Panthers led the 12-win Rams in the final minute of their wild-card playoff game before NFL MVP Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds left for a 34-31 victory.

The Panthers have been getting after each other in practice, so coach Dave Canales is looking forward to seeing his team hit an opponent.

“Tempers are flaring a little bit and I just have to remind them none of that helps us. It throws us out of the rhythm of practice,” Canales said.

Practice is everything for coaches in training camp.

Fewer teams play their starters in preseason games so they have to get them ready for the regular season in practice. Joint practices — teams facing opponents ahead of their exhibition game — are a growing trend in the NFL.

A total of 28 teams have scheduled joint practices which begin next week.

The Rams have joint practices with the Cowboys and Saints coming up.

“That’ll be basically their preseason,” Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said. “We’ll get an opportunity to see a lot of the younger guys play in the preseason and those are great opportunities to play real football. When we put the pads on, it’s close, but you’re still not playing tackle football. And there are a couple spots. There are always important things that you want to be able to see unfold and be able to establish some depth if, God forbid, we have the inevitable injuries that do occur. But we’ll take it a day at a time and there’s so many things.”

The Detroit Lions are one of the four teams that won’t have any joint practices so some of their starters could see action in the preseason games.

“We have got to get these guys ready for a season,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “There’s a chance we play some of these guys in the preseason without the joint practices, and so I’m going to do what I think is best to prepare these guys for 17 weeks, but also understand that we have got to be smart about it and we can’t break them in training camp, and so the approach will stay the same, it will, and you have got to get ready, and you can’t let fear of injury scare you away from what you believe in.”

Several key players already have been hurt in practices over the past week. The Panthers lost second-year edge rusher Nic Scourton to a torn ACL on the first day of camp. They also saw wide receiver Chris Brazzell II go down with a torn LCL.

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee tore his ACL last week. Atlanta Falcons edge rusher Jalon Walker was carted off the field with a knee injury on Tuesday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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The buses may not be carrying students yet, but drivers are making sure they are ready for the first morning pickup — learning their routes, checking bus stops and preparing for the daily responsibility of getting children to school safely and on time.

For many students, the bus driver is the first school employee they see each day.

“We have to be super uplifting and upbeat because many kids are very sleepy and because they are the first person that they see from Broward Schools, it’s very important that we are nice to them,” said Susana Oyola, a Broward County school bus driver.

Drivers say safety begins before the bus leaves the yard.

“When we go to our bus, we make sure we walk around, inspect our bus, make sure that no scratches, no damage, maybe occur in the wrong summertime,” said bus driver Ricardo Laspome. “We walk around, make sure the tires are OK, and the windshield is clean, check our fuel and stuff like that.”

This school year, drivers will also have new technology assisting them on the road.

Automated cameras have been installed on school buses to identify drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus with its stop arm extended — a violation that can put children in danger.

“That is so dangerous, and we try our best,” said bus driver Maria Clark. “A lot of times we’re making our stop to make sure that we give proper warning so that this doesn’t happen, but at times it happens, but it’s very dangerous.”

While students enjoy the final days of summer break, bus drivers are already putting in the work to prepare for the first day.

When the first bell rings, they say they’ll be ready to roll.

Aunque los autobuses todavía no transportan estudiantes, los conductores se están asegurando de estar listos para la primera recogida de la mañana, aprendiendo sus rutas, revisando las paradas y preparándose para la responsabilidad diaria de llevar a los niños a la escuela de manera segura y puntual.

Para muchos estudiantes, el conductor del autobús es el primer empleado escolar que ven cada día.

“Tenemos que ser muy positivos y alegres porque muchos niños tienen mucho sueño y, como somos la primera persona que ven de las Escuelas Públicas de Broward, es muy importante que seamos amables con ellos”, dijo Susana Oyola, conductora de autobús escolar del condado Broward.

Los conductores aseguran que la seguridad comienza antes de que el autobús salga del patio.

“Cuando vamos a nuestro autobús, nos aseguramos de darle la vuelta, inspeccionarlo, verificar que no tenga rayones ni daños que hayan podido ocurrir durante el verano. Revisamos las llantas, nos aseguramos de que el parabrisas esté limpio, verificamos el combustible y cosas así”, dijo el conductor Ricardo Laspome.

Este año escolar, los conductores también contarán con nueva tecnología para ayudarlos en la carretera.

Se han instalado cámaras automatizadas en los autobuses escolares para identificar a los conductores que ilegalmente rebasan un autobús escolar detenido con el brazo de alto extendido, una infracción que puede poner en peligro a los niños.

“Eso es muy peligroso y hacemos todo lo posible”, dijo la conductora Maria Clark. “Muchas veces hacemos nuestra parada asegurándonos de dar la advertencia adecuada para que esto no ocurra, pero a veces sucede, y es muy peligroso”.

Mientras los estudiantes disfrutan los últimos días de las vacaciones de verano, los conductores de autobuses ya están trabajando para prepararse para el primer día de clases.

Cuando suene el primer timbre, aseguran que estarán listos para salir.

Ana Linares pleaded guilty to a federal charge of falsely impersonating a federal officer or employee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida announced on Monday.

In court filings, Linares, 45, “pretended” to be a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official “to obtain the unlawful dismissal of removal proceedings,” according to U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones.

“This was a brazen effort to corrupt lawful removal proceedings, and our Office will prosecute those who use fraud to undermine the integrity of our immigration system,” Reding Quiñones said in a statement.

In 2024, Linares signed four DHS motions as a “Legal Administrative Specialist, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement” seeking “to invoke prosecutorial discretion authority reserved by Department attorneys and employees,” according to prosecutors.

Linares faced a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Homeland Security Investigations special agents worked on the case.