Esta reforma busca “reordenar, redimensionar y perfeccionar la organización de la Administración Central del Estado, con el propósito de lograr mayor eficacia en la función administrativa”, sostiene la iniciativa publicada en el sitio oficial de la sede legislativa.

El proyecto se presentó en el contexto de un cerco petrolero estadounidense que sumado a la crisis que padece la isla desde hace un lustro ha provocado apagones de más de 20 horas diarias, recortes de la jornada laboral y desabastecimiento de alimentos y medicinas.

En el nuevo esquema de gobierno habrá 20 ministerios más el Banco Central, que conservará su rango ministerial.

Algunos ministerios se unirán, como el de Educación Superior que incorporará al de Ciencia y Tecnología. Otros serán nuevos como el de Deporte y Recreación y uno de Información y Comunicación Social.

La norma establece que la administración del Estado estará subordinada al Consejo de Ministros, como establece la Constitución.

Se desconoce la implicación que la reestructuración tendrá en las plazas de trabajo.

One man was wearing red shoes, a black Nike T-shirt, and a boonie hat, and the other had tattoos on his arms, dreadlocks, and wore a white tank top and dark pants, according to a BSO statement.

“The surveillance footage shows the subject pulling a blue foldable wagon and breaking the back door handle of the work van,” Claudinne Caro, a BSO spokeswoman, wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

BSO deputies estimated the value of the tools stolen on May 19 at 2050 NW 29th St. at about $8,000, according to Caro.

Perez asked anyone with information about the case to call him at 954-202-3113 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 to remain anonymous.

The outbreak, reported in 14 of Borno state’s 27 local governments, is unfolding in communities with health systems made fragile by nearly two decades of violent extremism from the Boko Haram insurgent group.

The illness is endemic and seasonal in the country, where only 14% of Nigeria's population of more than 200 million have access to safely managed drinking water supply services, according to government data from 2020.

The situation is sometimes worse in Borno, both in Maiduguri, the state's capital, which is densely populated, and in remote communities with poor sanitation and hygiene due in part to being out of the close reach of health authorities.

The medical group said that it has treated 7,439 cholera patients at its facilities, representing an average of 185 admissions per day. It said that it recorded 500 patients last week on Friday, a single-day record in the outbreak.

“Open defecation is making it worse also, and there is less partners (on the ground),” said Jessie Kurnurkar, a project coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF.

“By the time we know the cases in the community, the local transmission has happened, and it is difficult to respond, because the spread has become more,” Kurnurkar said.

Patients at an MSF treatment center in Maiduguri spoke to The Associated Press about their experiences in the outbreak.

Aisha Ibrahim, a cholera patient at the facility, said that she has been defecating nonstop since she became ill with cholera and had been in admission for more than four days.

“When they discharged me, the vomiting stopped, and when I got home, I started stooling again, and it became severe (so) I was rushed back to the center,” Ibrahim said.

Los abogados no pudieron concluir sus alegatos iniciales el lunes, ya que el hombre de 55 años rompió en llanto repetidamente en la sala, lo que provocó un receso por el resto del día.

Pino enfrenta cargos por la muerte de Lucy Fernández, de 17 años, tras un accidente de bote ocurrido durante el fin de semana del Día del Trabajo de 2022.

Las autoridades indicaron que Pino, entonces de 52 años, estaba al mando de una embarcación Robalo de 29 pies durante las primeras horas de la noche del 4 de septiembre de 2022 cuando perdió el control y chocó contra una baliza de canal cerca de Boca Chita Key, causando la muerte de Fernández. Otras dos jóvenes resultaron gravemente heridas, incluida Katerina Puig, de 17 años.

La selección del jurado concluyó el viernes, luego de que los posibles jurados fueran interrogados sobre sus trabajos, experiencias de vida, posibles prejuicios y lo que sabían sobre el caso.

La jueza de Miami-Dade Marisa Tinkler Méndez rechazó las solicitudes para aplazar el juicio.

La fiscal Laura Adams pudo completar su alegato inicial mientras Pino se mostraba visiblemente afectado en la corte.

“Después de causar la muerte de Lucy, este acusado evitó asumir responsabilidad al contarle a la policía una versión inventada de cómo ocurrió este accidente de navegación, y mantuvo esa falsedad mucho tiempo después del día de esta tragedia”, dijo a los jurados. “La evidencia en este caso, señoras y señores, les mostrará que esto no fue un simple accidente ni un error momentáneo de juicio. La evidencia demostrará que Lucy murió porque el acusado no cumplió con las obligaciones más básicas que exigen las reglas de navegación”.

Sin embargo, durante el alegato inicial del abogado defensor Howard Srebnick, el visible colapso emocional de Pino llegó a un punto en que Adams solicitó una suspensión, argumentando que su comportamiento era “inapropiado” para que el jurado lo presenciara.

“El señor Pino va a tener que ser capaz de controlarse”, dijo Tinkler Méndez, quien más tarde añadió que “no es apropiado en absoluto que el jurado esté presenciando estos comportamientos emocionales”.

Srebnick había logrado presentar una parte de su alegato inicial. Argumentó que el accidente fue simplemente una tragedia.

“El estado admite que esta no era la intención de George”, dijo Srebnick. “No tenía la intención de chocar contra una baliza. No tenía la intención de que nadie resultara herido. Su propia hija, su propia esposa y él mismo estaban en ese bote. La señora Pino testificará que George, su esposo, no estaba bajo los efectos de ninguna sustancia. Ella no habría puesto en riesgo su propia vida”.

Tras el receso, equipos de Miami Fire Rescue evaluaron a Pino y finalmente el proceso fue aplazado hasta el martes.

La ajustada ventaja que Fujimori mostraba al inicio se revirtió el lunes y Sánchez comenzó a liderar con una ligera ventaja. El candidato de Juntos por el Perú lograba hasta ahora 50,057% de los sufragios mientras que la líder de Fuerza Popular sumaba 49,943%, según el conteo preliminar de la Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE), la organizadora de los comicios.

Pero durante la mañana del martes Fujimori comenzó a acercarse a Sánchez y la diferencia que el progresista mostraba la noche del lunes, con casi 50.000 votos sobre la conservadora, cayó a poco más de 20.000.

Quien gane los comicios del domingo se convertirá en el noveno presidente del país sudamericano en 10 años.

Ambos candidatos han prometido que respetarán los resultados.

Fujimori, quien postula por cuarta vez, dijo el martes a la prensa que tiene “mucha esperanza” en el voto desde el extranjero y también en un grupo de actas electorales de Lima que han sido observadas por lo que aún no han sido contabilizadas. “Corresponde esperar”, subrayó.

Sánchez no se ha manifestado el martes, pero uno de sus voceros, Ernesto Zunini, indicó en una conferencia que el partido “respetará los resultados” del proceso electoral y estaban aguardando “el fin de la contabilidad”.

La conservadora, hija del fallecido expresidente Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), y Sánchez se impusieron a 33 candidatos en la primera vuelta de abril, pero entre ambos no obtuvieron ni el 20% de los votos. Las autoridades electorales tardaron más de un mes en declararlos ganadores de esta etapa.

El Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, la máxima autoridad electoral, ha indicado que los resultados del balotaje se podrán conocer en un mes.

La demora en anunciar los resultados finales se debe a una ley electoral que exige que cada cédula de votación y cada acta —que resume los votos de cada mesa— debe ser transportada hasta más de un centenar de oficinas para su conteo. También deben llegar a Lima, desde 63 países, las cédulas y actas de quienes votaron en el exterior. A eso se suma el reconteo de votos y la resolución de impugnaciones.

El aumento de la delincuencia, en particular la extorsión, fue la principal preocupación de los votantes. Los expertos atribuyen el creciente poder del crimen organizado a los beneficios cada vez mayores que genera la extracción ilegal de oro en los Andes y la Amazonía.

El ganador de la segunda vuelta tomará posesión de su cargo el 28 de julio para un mandato de cinco años.

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Deandre Pressley is “a documented” member of the 700, a violent gang associated with the Gangster Disciples, a highly organized gang founded in the 1960s in Chicago, according to the report.

Last year, a victim in California reported speaking to a woman and a man who had lied over the phone to persuade her to give more than $30,000 to Pressley, according to the report.

The victim said the scammers called her on May 1, 2025, pretending to be Bank of America employees who were protecting her from scammers who could include bank tellers, according to the report.

“The victim said she was given an account number which she does not remember and provisioned it on her digital Apple wallet,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.

The victim made in-person withdrawals and deposits and digital transfers before Pressley transferred it all again to separate accounts, according to the deputy’s report.

A MDSO deputy arrested Pressley at 6:45 p.m. on June 5 at Fifth Avenue and Davis Parkway in Florida City, and corrections booked him shortly after 2:25 a.m. on June 6 at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Pressley, who was at the Metrowest Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon, faced nine charges in two pending cases in Miami-Dade County, according to inmate and court records.

In one case, Pressley faced four charges: Organized scheme to defraud, organized scheme to defraud conspiracy, money laundering, and unlawful use of a communications device. His bond was $10,000.

In the other case, Pressley faced five charges: Third-degree grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, organized scheme to defraud conspiracy, money laundering, and unlawful use of a communications device. His bond was $12,500.

A judge ordered Pressley to show that the $22,500 he used for bail was not from the proceeds of a crime.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

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Deputies arrested Daniel Cancio shortly after 3:45 p.m. on Monday at 10855 SW 72 St. in Kendall after the victims reported a shooting, according to the MDSO deputy’s arrest report.

A driver reported stopping at the red light at Sunset Drive at Southwest 97 Avenue and talking to Cancio about witnessing him speeding through a school zone, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

The driver “observed [Cancio] reach into the rear area of his vehicle and retrieve what appeared to be a firearm,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.

Cancio confessed to using a pellet gun that deputies found in his car to shatter the driver’s back passenger side window, according to the deputy’s report. The victims took a photo of Cancio’s tag.

Miami-Dade County corrections booked Cancio shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral, according to inmate records.

Cancio faced charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief. His bond was $5,500.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

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On Monday, police officers arrested Johnson, and Broward Sheriff’s Office corrections booked him at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, according to inmate records.

When Johnson appeared in bond court on Tuesday in Broward County, Attorney Joshua Rydell was representing him, and his mother, Cora Johnson, told the judge her son was ”a good" person.

“If bullying is prevented, this could have been prevented also,” Johnson’s mother said during the hearing.

Johnson faced a first-degree murder charge. Broward County Circuit Judge Corey Friedman denied bond.

Before the shooting, Johnson told the 911 dispatcher that Merisma “was threatening people,” and surveillance video shows Johnson armed with a gun when Merisma raised his arms and hid behind a trash can, Lt. Antonio Gonzalez, a spokesman for the LPD, said on Monday.

“BSO dispatch heard a loud banging over the open line” during Johnson’s 911 call before Johnson confessed, “I just shot him,” according to Gonzalez.

A relative said Merisma had made threats before, and the shooting was in self-defense. Attorney Jack Palmeri, a former prosecutor not connected to the case, said a Stand Your Ground defense was likely.

The shooting was outside of Johnson’s home, in a driveway near Northwest 34 Terrace and Ninth Street, records show.

Gonzalez reported that Johnson first shot Mersima when he was raising his arms and later once in the head when he was hiding behind his garbage can.

“You have lost sight,” Palmeri said about Johnson’s decision to fire. “You don’t know what that harm is doing behind the garbage can.”

Broward County Circuit Judge Thomas Coleman was set to preside over the capital homicide case.

Johnson’s bond court hearing

Related reports

• Arrest made in fatal Lauderhill shooting
• Man found fatally shot in driveway in Lauderhill neighborhood, police say

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Lawyers originally couldn’t finish their opening statements Monday, as the 55-year-old continually broke down in court, prompting a recess for the day.

Pino is charged in the death of Lucy Fernandez, 17, after a boat crash on 2022’s Labor Day weekend. Her father, Andy Fernandez, was the state’s first witness on Tuesday. He testified about the last time he hugged his daughter and the frantic search for her after the crash. He also testified to identifying her body at the hospital and his daughter’s relationship with the Pino family.

Authorities said Pino, then 52, was behind the wheel of a 29-foot Robalo boat in the early evening hours of Sept. 4, 2022 when he lost control and slammed it into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, killing Fernandez. Two other girls were seriously hurt, including 17-year-old Katerina Puig.

Jury selection in the case concluded on Friday, with potential jurors quizzed on their jobs, life experiences and any biases they may be coming in with and what they knew about the case.

Miami-Dade Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez denied requests to delay the trial.

Prosecutor Laura Adams was able to get through her opening statement as Pino appeared emotional in court.

“In the aftermath of causing Lucy’s death, this defendant avoided accountability by telling the police a fabrication of how this boating crash occurred, and he maintained that falsehood long after the day of this tragedy,” she told jurors. “The evidence in this case, ladies and gentlemen, will show you this was not a mere accident or a momentary lapse in judgment. The evidence will show that Lucy is dead because the defendant failed to do the most basic things that rules of the water require.”

But during defense attorney Howard Srebnick’s opening statement, Pino’s visible breakdown eventually became too much and Adams called for a delay, saying Pino’s behavior was “inappropriate” for jurors to witness.

“Mr. Pino’s going to need to be able to control himself,” Tinkler Mendez said, later saying “it’s not proper at all for the jury to be witnessing the emotional behaviors.”

Srebnick had been able to get through a portion of his opening statement. He argued that the crash was merely a tragic accident.

“The state admits this was not George’s intention for this to happen,” Srebnick said. “He did not intend to crash into a marker. He did not intend for anybody to be hurt. His own daughter, his own wife, his own body was on that boat. Mrs. Pino will testify (that) George, her husband, was not impaired. She wouldn’t have risked her own life.”

After the recess, Miami Fire Rescue crews checked out Pino and proceedings were ultimately pushed back until Tuesday.

Or rather, a new Doug in town.

Thousands already have flocked to the Toronto park to catch a glimpse of a beaver sculpture, nicknamed Doug, that is part of a World Cup-themed contest. The Great Beaver Quest challenges participants to find 51 beaver statues on display in the city’s Old Town Toronto neighborhood.

“We expect that it’s going to be something that people who are coming in from out of town and looking for something to do and keep their kids busy will love to do. It’s easy to participate,” said Robyn Posner with the neighborhood’s Business Improvement Area.

Old Town is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from Toronto Stadium, which will host six World Cup matches, starting Friday when Canada — one of three host nations — takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With city officials expecting 300,000 visitors to descend on Toronto over the course of three weeks, Posner said the Beaver hunt is intended as an enjoyable diversion and will encourage tourists to get to know the neighborhood and its businesses.

“The goal was to draw people to this area, to come and experience what it’s like being in Old Town and to meet up with some like-minded people,” she said.

Forty-nine of the nearly 4-feet-high (1.2-meter-high) resin fiberglass beavers represent the nations competing in the World Cup — including a pair for Canada — and the remaining two represent FIFA and all the nations combined. Each has been hand-painted by a different local artist.

One of the Canadian beavers is Doug, who sports a Canada-influenced soccer uniform layered beneath a red flannel shirt.

The other 50 beavers have been placed throughout the neighborhood, in parks, along sidewalks and even indoors. Norway’s beaver stares through a window from inside an office building lobby.

Each beaver is accompanied by a QR code that takes participants to a free digital scavenger hunt. Weekly prizes will be awarded to the competitors with the highest scores as well as the winner of a random drawing.

The contest runs until Aug. 16, and then the beavers will be auctioned off for charity. It officially went live June 1 and, as of Tuesday, 4,500 people had participated.

Still, why exactly did Old Town Toronto officials decide to center their contest around the dam-building rodents?

“Because it’s Canada’s national animal, and we thought they were super cute,” Posner said. “And they’re small enough. And so, we went with the beaver.”

Wemby likes it like that.

Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs thrived in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden and are undaunted by the hostile environment and the series deficit they face against the New York Knicks.

“I like lively crowds, active crowds,” Wembanyama said Tuesday, roughly 13 hours after his 32-point, eight-rebound, six-assist dominance to pick up his first career win in the finals. “At home, it’s an extra motivation because you want to give the people who support you a good show. On the road, you want to do the opposite.”

Fresh off silencing a sellout crowd of nearly 20,000, San Antonio now gets the chance to even things up in Game 4 on Wednesday night back at the Garden in what could be an even more intense situation as fans try to will their team to the verge of its first championship since 1973.

“We find a comfort playing on the road, knowing when you’re in this environment, it’s us versus them, and obviously everybody in the crowd,” Guard De'Aaron Fox said. “When you know that — everybody behind you has your back — it allows you to settle into these games.”

Backcourt mate Stephon Castle said he and the Spurs knew their season was on the line after falling behind 2-0 in the series and credited their connectivity for being 7-3 on the road in these playoffs. If Monday was a must-win game, Wednesday is nearly that because only one of 38 teams to fall behind 3-1 in the finals came back to win it.

“It’s something you can’t shy away from, especially with the goals and aspirations that we have,” Castle said. “Just focus on the things that matter throughout the game and not really paying too close attention to the crowd. They’re going to be there regardless, especially cheering on their team. You should want to play in those environments. I feel like that’s when we play at our best.”

Wembanyama certainly was, shaking off his buzzer-beating miss to turn in a performance fit for the bright spotlight at a place known as the world's most famous arena. But the 22-year-old big man from France did not do it alone.

Castle, who's 21, scored 23 points and did not look bothered by the ankle he injured in Game 2 on Friday night. Devin Vassell, who's 25, and Julian Champagnie, weeks away from his 25th birthday, each hit some big shots and got into double figures. Rookie Dylan Harper, who is 20, scored 13 off the bench.

Fox, who at 28 is among the elder statesmen, points to those young players' demeanor to explain why they don't shrink under pressure.

“They just don’t have the personalities that you would think that are just going to be overwhelmed by something,” Fox said. “I don’t know what they’re feeling on the inside, obviously. What you see out there on the court with them, just when you see it on their faces when New York is going on a run, you don’t see them panic.”

There does not seem to be any panic in the Spurs, no matter how inexperienced some of their core players are. Coach Mitch Johnson understands why there is so much talk about youth and age, but like Fox he thinks it's more about the makeup of guys like Wembanyama, Castle and Harper than how many years they've been alive and playing basketball.

Perhaps being a little naive helps. Harper said this is the first time he has been booed on the street walking out of a hotel in New York, though it only served to fire him and his teammates up — and could continue to do so.

"We just stay together in environments like this,” Harper said. “When we come to away games in the playoffs, for us at least, it’s been just staying together and holding each other accountable. I feel like with the level of desperation and desire that we played with (in Game 3), I feel like we’re pretty hard to beat when we do that.”

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

Club president Florentino Pérez had vowed to bring Mourinho back as part of his campaign promises that led to his re-election on Sunday.

Mourinho, who was featured in promotional material for Pérez during the campaign, would be back for a second stint at Madrid. He coached the club from 2010-2013.

Arbeloa’s departure was already expected and he had talked about it at the end of the season.

Madrid said it was “deeply grateful” to Arbeloa, “who throughout his career at the club, from the time he joined our academy, has always demonstrated loyalty, commitment, and professionalism.”

Arbeloa took over the helm in January to replace Xabi Alonso amid the team's struggles and conflicts with players.

Arbeloa was not able to put Madrid back on track and the club endured a second straight season without a major trophy.

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

His back hurt.

Not bad. Not enough to keep him out of the lineup. But it was one of those inexplicable moments that comes with being an aging Major League Baseball player — threatening to derail a hot streak for an eight-time All-Star who just turned 35.

“There's more aches and pains,” Arenado said. “There's just a little more work in the gym, getting prepared for the game, than there used to be. That's a learning curve.

"I've always been in the gym, always did that stuff, but there's definitely more maintenance.”

Arenado got past the minor back issue and is continuing a bounce-back season in the desert, batting .256 with eight homers and 30 RBIs through Monday's games. He's among a group of the 35-and-older crowd getting solid results at the plate, joining Los Angeles Dodgers veterans Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, along with Houston's Christian Walker.

But it's a small club that's become smaller over the past decade.

MLB hitters who are 35 or older have combined to provide just 5.6 WAR (Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs) through roughly the first 1/3 of the season, continuing a trend that's accelerated over the past decade.

In the early 2000s, older stars were the norm in the big leagues. It peaked in 2003 when older hitters combined for 71.3 WAR, with a group highlighted by Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas, Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez and Jeff Bagwell.

So what's changed?

Let's look at some of the reasons why MLB is skewing younger this days:

Analytics like younger players

Baseball's analytical era can be traced back to the work of Bill James in the 1970s and 1980s, but terms like WAR, wOBA, BABIP, and OPS+ didn't start to become widespread in the big leagues until at least the late 2000s.

Suddenly, the eye test wasn't enough for MLB general managers. Cold, hard numbers were in.

And — overwhelmingly — those numbers showed that the best years for a big league hitter usually come from their mid-20s to early 30s.

That's directly correlated to MLB teams locking up young players to long-term contracts. Arizona's Corbin Carroll, Detroit's Kevin McGonigle, Pittsburgh's Konnor Griffin, Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. and Seattle's Julio Rodriguez are among dozens of promising players who were signed to lucrative deals well before they reach free agency.

Spending on veterans is no longer in vogue. Walker — a three-time Gold Glove first baseman who has hit nearly 200 career homers — signed with the Astros for a relatively modest $60 million, three-year deal after the 2024 season when he was 33 years old.

“I think it has a lot to do with the ability to measure guys’ value on the field,” Walker said. “For a long time, WAR didn’t exist, wRC+ wasn’t a stat, right? So, you went off of the optics or this guy’s a good clubhouse guy or he’s got experience, he’s been to a World Series.”

Velocity has exploded during their careers

Today's young stars have come of age in a game where velocity is king, but it wasn't that way when Freeman and others broke through. The average MLB fastball in 2026 is north of 94 mph, with 18 qualified pitchers averaging at least 96. When Freeman debuted 17 years ago, the league-wide average was under 92 and no qualified pitchers averaged at least 96.

Arenado said that one of the first things that becomes tougher for MLB veterans is the ability to handle really good fastballs — particularly inside. It makes for tough matchups against pitchers like Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski, who routinely throws 100 mph.

“I feel like just the general age of the levels and the development is trending younger and younger,” Walker said. “And there might be something to that — like your best bullets might be when you’re 27 years old.”

Big league teams value flexibility more now, too

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has Freeman and Muncy in his lineup on nearly a daily basis. He also played in the big leagues until he was 36 years old, retiring in 2008, giving him some personal experience on the aging process.

“The hardest part is to expect and want the same output you've always had, but not be willing to change the equation,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the process is different for every player. Some need to work out more. Some less. Others need more sleep. Diet becomes more important. The tricky part is that the habits that brought you to the big leagues might not be the same ones that will keep you there in your mid-to-late 30s.

Walker, who didn't become a starter in the big leagues until he was 28, said he's embraced getting older and enjoys analyzing his blood tests that might signal what's causing vitamin deficiencies or inflammation. The tests also show how much alcohol might affect his body or the importance of a good night's sleep.

“For myself, no real magic recipe, just chalk it up to being a late bloomer,” Walker said. “My age is older than most guys, but service time isn’t. I haven’t been in the big leagues for 20 years or anything like that. Just fortunate that I still can help the team.”

Arenado embraces change

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he believed there were two main reasons Arenado was still having success in his 14th big league season. First, he gave credit to the D-backs' hitting coaches.

But maybe most importantly, Arenado has listened to those coaches, embraced change and found new ways to have success.

“There's an adjustment to work habits and mindset once you get to that level where things aren't as easy as they used to be,” Lovullo said. “Some say ‘I’ve had my career, it's not as easy as it once was, and I want to shut it down.'”

Later he added: "It's fun to watch Nolan Arenado have all this success, but he's worked his butt off. He's working as hard as any 22 or 23 year old we have on this team."

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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this story.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Shea Langeliers sent a shot 483 feet in the first sign of the madness to come in a 15-14, 12-inning game that introduced the city to its eventual MLB club.

The Milwaukee Brewers were the winners, but so too were the fans.

“It's the most bizarre game I've ever had in Major League Baseball in 11 years,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I never saw anything like it. So many things happened. There were 16 challenges in the game. Sixteen challenges in the game. I've never seen anything like it.”

Oh, yes, the challenges.

It wasn't just the pitchers who had a rough night. Home plate umpire Clint Vondrak had 11 of 16 challenges for ball and strikes overturned and, according to Umpire Scorecards, he missed three other calls that potentially impacted the game.

This series is being played at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the A's Triple-A affiliate. The A's play the Brewers again Tuesday and Wednesday and will host the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series beginning Friday as they begin to introduce themselves to the Las Vegas fan base. The club is scheduled to move to Las Vegas in 2028 and play in a $2 billion, 33,000-person capacity domed stadium on the Strip.

Team jerseys with VEGAS on the back and the No. 28 were given out to fans.

It's doubtful that new stadium will be the launching pad the minor league facility was in the opening game, a four-hour, 14-minute offensive onslaught. The teams combined for 34 hits and 11 home runs.

“Just an all-around crazy game,” Langeliers said. “Both teams battled all night. It was a great baseball game.”

This was the Brewers' second-ever victory after allowing at least 14 runs. Milwaukee defeated Washington by the same score on Aug. 17, 2019. The Brewers now are 2-88 in such games.

For the A's, this was the first time they have been in a game in which both sides scored at least 14 runs since a 17-16 loss at Texas on May 5, 2000.

There was not only a lot of scoring, but plenty of drama as well.

The A's took a two-run lead into the ninth inning, but Andrew Vaughn's two-run double with no outs sent the game to extras.

Milwaukee then scored four runs in the 10th before the A's answered with four of their own, including two-out homers by Nick Kurtz and Jonah Heim.

Brice Turang's fielder's choice grounder with one out in the 12th inning scored Christian Yelich for what turned out to be the winning run, and soon after perhaps the wildest game of the season was over.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Según la policía de Miami Gardens, el intento de robo y la balacera fueron reportados alrededor de la 1:35 a.m. en el área de Northwest 173rd Street y la 36th Avenue.

La policía indicó que un residente de la vivienda abrió la puerta principal al presunto ladrón y ambos se involucraron en un altercado físico.

La novia del residente luego corrió a buscar ayuda de los vecinos, dijeron las autoridades.

Uno de los vecinos escuchó entonces detonaciones, que según la policía provinieron del arma del presunto ladrón.

Ese vecino se dirigió al lugar donde ocurría la pelea y le disparó al sospechoso en la cabeza, informó la policía.

Funcionarios de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladaron al sospechoso al HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, donde posteriormente murió.

“Cuarenta y cinco años en esta cuadra, y nunca habíamos visto una escena del crimen ni nada parecido aquí”, dijo la vecina Katara Bloom.

Mientras la policía afirma que ya no existe una amenaza para esta comunidad, los vecinos aseguran que seguirán unidos.

“Este no es un mal vecindario, es un vecindario bastante bueno”, dijo Bloom. “Realmente nadie tiene problemas. Somos como una familia en esta comunidad; cada uno de nosotros se conoce”.

No está claro si la persona que vive en la vivienda fue atacada al azar, ya que la policía indicó que el motivo aún no está claro.

La investigación continúa en curso.

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During a hearing in Miami-Dade County Children’s Court, the judge found probable cause in the case involving Naseline Timouche and said the mother must undergo evaluations before any future contact with her daughter can be considered.

The court also ordered therapy and evaluations to assess the child’s needs.

Timouche, who lives in the Sunshine Lakes community in northwest Miami-Dade, was arrested Saturday on charges of child abuse and child neglect following an investigation by Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies.

According to an arrest report, deputies responded to Timouche’s home Saturday to conduct a welfare check and found Timouche’s daughter with numerous scars and marks on her body.

Deputies said the girl told them she was frequently left home alone for extended periods of time, including overnight.

According to the report, the victim said she had also been hit numerous times with a cord, frying pan and a spatula and does not often get fed at home by her mother.

The report states that the victim said Timouche does not allow her to eat the food in her home because the food is for “guests,” and forces her to eat expired food instead or food from the trash.

According to the report, the victim claimed that her mother would sometimes wake her up at night and strike her with items for no apparent reason, including one time where she was struck in the face with a charging cable.

Police said the victim had numerous scars on her body that were consistent with her claims.

According to the report, a neighbor told police that she was first introduced to the girl two months ago from another neighbor and has allowed her to stay in her house and has provided her with food and shelter when she is left alone.

The neighbor told officers that she saw the victim walking around alone on Friday and once again provided her with food and clean clothing, authorities said.

Neighbors expressed shock at the allegations.

“You would never suspect that,” neighbor Simone Haritos said.

Haritos said she occasionally tried to help the girl when she saw her alone.

“I would try to help her, little things like cookies and water because I didn’t want to get into it with the parent,” she said.

While describing the allegations as heartbreaking, Haritos said she believed the family may have been struggling.

“I think it is really sad. I think they were probably under a lot of stress,” she said. “It is not cheap over here and they are not from here from what I understand. So I am sure they probably had a lot of uphill battles.”

Timouche remains in custody and is being held without bond.

The child has been placed in foster care, according to court proceedings. Records indicate the girl was born in Chile and that her father remains in that country.

Durante una audiencia en el Tribunal de Menores del condado Miami-Dade, el juez determinó que existe causa probable en el caso contra Naseline Timouche y ordenó que la madre se someta a evaluaciones antes de que pueda considerarse cualquier contacto futuro con su hija.

El tribunal también ordenó terapia y evaluaciones para determinar las necesidades de la menor.

Timouche, residente de la comunidad Sunshine Lakes, en el noroeste de Miami-Dade, fue arrestada el sábado por cargos de abuso infantil y negligencia infantil tras una investigación de agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO).

Según el informe de arresto, los agentes acudieron a la vivienda de Timouche el sábado para realizar una verificación de bienestar y encontraron a la hija de Timouche con numerosas cicatrices y marcas en su cuerpo.

Los agentes dijeron que la niña les contó que con frecuencia era dejada sola en casa durante largos períodos de tiempo, incluso durante la noche.

Según el informe, la víctima también afirmó que había sido golpeada en numerosas ocasiones con un cable, una sartén y una espátula, y que su madre no la alimentaba con frecuencia.

El informe señala que la víctima dijo que Timouche no le permitía comer los alimentos de la casa porque eran para los “invitados” y que la obligaba a comer alimentos vencidos o incluso comida sacada de la basura.

Según el informe, la menor afirmó que su madre a veces la despertaba durante la noche para golpearla sin motivo aparente, incluida una ocasión en la que le golpeó el rostro con un cable de cargador.

La policía indicó que la menor presentaba numerosas cicatrices compatibles con las acusaciones que relató.

Según el informe, una vecina dijo a la policía que conoció a la niña hace dos meses por medio de otro vecino y que le había permitido quedarse en su casa, además de proporcionarle comida y refugio cuando era dejada sola.

La vecina contó a los agentes que vio a la menor caminando sola el viernes y nuevamente le proporcionó comida y ropa limpia, informaron las autoridades.

Los vecinos expresaron su sorpresa por las acusaciones.

“Nunca lo habría sospechado”, dijo la vecina Simone Haritos.

Haritos dijo que ocasionalmente trataba de ayudar a la niña cuando la veía sola.

“Trataba de ayudarla con pequeñas cosas, como galletas y agua, porque no quería tener problemas con la madre”, dijo.

Aunque calificó las acusaciones como desgarradoras, Haritos dijo que cree que la familia podría haber estado enfrentando dificultades.

“Creo que es realmente triste. Pienso que probablemente estaban bajo mucho estrés”, dijo. “No es barato vivir aquí y, por lo que entiendo, no son de aquí. Estoy segura de que probablemente enfrentaban muchas dificultades”.

Timouche permanece detenida sin derecho a fianza.

La menor fue colocada bajo cuidado temporal de crianza, según los procedimientos judiciales. Los registros indican que la niña nació en Chile y que su padre permanece en ese país.

Un video de vigilancia en el área de la vivienda de Johnson, ubicada en Northwest 34 Terrace y Ninth Street, muestra a Merisma buscando refugio detrás de un contenedor de basura, informó el lunes el teniente Antonio González, portavoz de la policía de Lauderhill.

“El centro de despacho de la BSO escuchó un fuerte golpe a través de la línea abierta” durante la llamada al 911 realizada por Johnson antes de que este confesara: “Acabo de dispararle”, según González.

Los agentes de la policía de Lauderhill arrestaron a Johnson y el Departamento Correccional de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward lo ingresó el lunes en la cárcel principal del condado Broward, en Fort Lauderdale.

Johnson compareció el martes ante un tribunal de fianzas en el condado Broward. El abogado Joshua Rydell lo representó. Su madre, Cora Johnson, habló en su defensa.

“Si se hubiera evitado el acoso, esto también se pudo haber evitado”, dijo la madre de Johnson durante la audiencia.

Johnson enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en primer grado. El juez de circuito del condado Broward Corey Friedman le negó el derecho a fianza. El juez Thomas Coleman fue asignado para presidir el caso de homicidio capital.

El abogado Jack Palmeri, ex fiscal que no está vinculado al caso, dijo que es probable que la defensa invoque la ley de legítima defensa “Stand Your Ground”.

“Usted perdió de vista lo que estaba ocurriendo. No sabe qué daño podía causar esa persona detrás del contenedor de basura”, dijo Palmeri sobre la decisión de Johnson de disparar.

Está previsto que más de 100.000 soldados, marinos, guardias nacionales y policías sean desplegados en la capital, Guadalajara, Monterrey y los principales destinos turísticos; pero el martes su presencia era todavía discreta, incluso en los aeropuertos.

Lo que sí era evidente era la sucesión de vallas metálicas que protegen comercios y edificios y el desafío que supone caminar por calles bloqueadas por tiendas de campaña de manifestantes o por policías antidisturbios que controlan gran parte de los accesos al Zócalo, la plaza donde está el palacio presidencial y que desde el jueves alojará el festival futbolero más grande del país frente a una inmensa pantalla, así como los alrededores del Estadio Azteca.

La policía capitalina intensificó los controles en las principales vías de entrada a la ciudad y decomisó pequeños explosivos caseros en autobuses de manifestantes mientras las protestas, desde las sindicales a las de familiares de desaparecidos, amenazan con bloquear la ciudad.

“La inauguración está garantizada, no hay problema“, dijo el martes la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum. “El Mundial se va a disfrutar”.

El evento supone un desafío de seguridad sin precedentes para la FIFA y los tres países coanfitriones —Estados Unidos, México y Canadá—, pero México tiene un reto añadido: demostrar que puede evitar que se repitan situaciones de violencia como la que siguió a la muerte del líder del Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación en febrero o el inusual tiroteo en las pirámides de Teotihuacán de abril.

“Tiene que haber una estrategia muy puntual para no dejar de proteger algunas zonas (de alta actividad del crimen organizado)... y que haya seguridad en el entorno de la fiesta futbolera”, dijo Rogelio Barba, académico de la Universidad de Guadalajara.

Tanto el gobierno federal como los estatales aseguran que ese equilibrio se va a conseguir con el despliegue de efectivos y el uso de avanzada tecnología.

Pero algunos pobladores no lo ven así. “Para los turistas no es tan inseguro porque a ellos sí los están blindando, es más (peligroso) para los locales, que andamos por zonas de riesgo”, se lamentó Karina Rabago, vecina de la capital de Jalisco.

¿Tregua de los cárteles?

Los cárteles podrían ser un riesgo mucho menor del imaginado desde fuera de México.

En los últimos días han corrido mensajes en redes sociales en los que supuestos criminales piden no afectar el Mundial. Estos pronunciamientos no pueden verificarse, pero según Francisco Rivas, director del Observatorio Nacional Ciudadano —una ONG mexicana que aborda temas de seguridad—, tienen una lógica criminal: si un extranjero es secuestrado o desaparecido “el Estado mexicano estaría obligado por la presión internacional a hacer algo y hacer algo es poner en riesgo la estabilidad de un grupo delictivo”.

Sin embargo, Rivas enfatizó que hacer creer que la situación con los cárteles está bajo control puede generar una falsa sensación de seguridad y que algunos visitantes tomen riesgos evitables, como adentrarse en barrios o ciudades peligrosos, comprar droga o contratar servicios sexuales gestionados por criminales.

La fiscalía federal abrió un micrositio que indica cómo y dónde denunciar delitos y las prohibiciones que rigen en el país — como la de portar armas—, pero a juicio de Rivas falta informar, por ejemplo, de prácticas con la que se puede encontrar un turista como los secuestros virtuales o la corrupción policial.

Tecnología y entrenamiento

Equipos anti-drones, redes de cámaras de vigilancia, grupos especiales de gestión de multitudes y patrullas militares y policiales operarán durante los 39 días del Mundial en los estadios, festivales de aficionados, aeropuertos, sedes de las selecciones nacionales y otras instalaciones estratégicas en coordinación con FIFA, que es la que se hace cargo de la seguridad dentro de los estadios. Su presidente, Gianni Infantino, dijo en febrero tener “absoluta confianza” en México.

Parte de ese despliegue ya se vio en Tijuana, la violenta ciudad fronteriza con California reconvertida en lugar de acogida de la selección de Irán, cuya participación en el Mundial se complicó por la guerra con Estados Unidos. Sus futbolistas firmaban estos días autógrafos custodiados por la Guardia Nacional.

Desde la ciudad de Monterrey —la sede más cercana a la frontera estadounidense— el gobernador de Nuevo León, Samuel García, se jactó del entrenamiento que brindó el servicio secreto estadounidense, Israel y la policía británica.

El de Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, presumió vehículos tácticos blindados de última generación y ambos estados dijeron que cuentan con perros-robot con reconocimiento facial de personas buscadas y que pueden desactivar explosivos, entre otras capacidades.

Mientras tanto en Ciudad de México —una zona con el riesgo añadido de los sismos— la alcaldesa Clara Brugada intenta garantizar la movilidad mientras el gobierno federal suspendió por decreto todas la actividades administrativas públicas y privadas no esenciales durante el día de la inauguración.

Además, alentó el uso del transporte público y de bicicletas para evitar que los aficionados queden varados por las protestas, los bloqueos o incluso las lluvias.

Los simpatizantes no parecen preocupados y muchos visitan el emblemático estadio Azteca para sacarse fotos con la camiseta de su selección pese a los enormes charcos en algunas de sus puertas.

“Es una locura”, dijo Natividad Membrillo, una trabajadora que vive junto al estadio. “Toda la movilidad está afectada", indicó. "Y sí hay más seguridad, pero no se dan abasto".

—-

La periodista Diana de la Mora colaboró con esta nota desde Guadalajara.

The Los Angeles Police Department says Jackson was arrested after officers were called to his home in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. NBC4 reported that Jackson allegedly attempted to take a phone away from a woman when he thought he was being recorded, and the woman had scratches on her arm.

Jackson has been the Rams' starting left tackle for the past three seasons, starting 45 regular-season games and six playoff games. The former undrafted free agent re-signed with the Rams on a three-year, $57 million deal in February 2025.

“We are aware of the incident regarding Alaric Jackson, and we take these matters very seriously,” the Rams said in a statement. “Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

Jackson's bail was set at $50,000, and he was released on bond early Tuesday morning, according to Los Angeles jail records. The case will be submitted to the district attorney's office to consider charges.

The 27-year-old Jackson has been in trouble with the law before during his five-year career with the Rams. The Canadian-American dual citizen began his tenure as a backup on the Rams' Super Bowl-winning team in the 2021-22 season.

Jackson was sued last year by a woman who alleged he recorded sexual acts with her on his phone without her consent. The incident led to Jackson being suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for an undisclosed violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, but the reason for the suspension was not publicly revealed until the unnamed woman filed her lawsuit.

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in April.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

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According to Miami Gardens police, the attempted robbery and shooting were reported at about 1:35 a.m. in the area of Northwest 173rd Street and 36th Avenue.

Police said a male resident at the home opened the front door to the would-be robber and the two got into a physical altercation.

The resident’s girlfriend then ran to neighbors for help, authorities said.

One of the neighbors then heard the sound of gunshots, which police say came from the alleged robber’s gun.

That neighbor then went over to where the fight was happening and shot the suspect in the head, police said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials transported the suspect to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he later died.

“Forty five years on this block, and we ain’t never seen a crime scene or anything out here,” neighbor Katara Bloom said.

As police say there’s no longer a threat to this community, neighbors say they’ll continue to stick together.

“This is not a bad neighborhood -- this is a pretty good neighborhood,” Bloom said. “Nobody really has any problems. We’re like family in this community; each one of us knows each other.”

It’s unclear whether the person who lives at the house was randomly targeted as police say the motive is still unclear.

The investigation remains ongoing.

The Food and Drug Administration says the ingredient, bemotrizinol, met the agency’s standards for protecting from dangerous ultraviolet rays while causing little irritation or absorption into the skin. The ingredient is safe for adults and children 6 months and older, the agency stated in a release.

Bemotrizinol will initially be sold in the U.S. by the Dutch manufacturer DSM Nutritional Products under the brand name Parsol Shield, which is expected to launch later in the year. After an 18-month exclusivity period, the ingredient will be available for use by other manufacturers.

Efforts to introduce new sunscreen products have been bogged down for decades by the FDA’s bureaucratic system for updating its lists of safe nonprescription drug ingredients. Bemotrizinol is the first ingredient to go through a streamlined process authorized by Congress in 2020.

Experts say bemotrizinol will fill an important niche in the U.S. market: protecting against both ultraviolet A and B rays while not leaving white streaks associated with mineral-based sunscreens.

"For decades, Americans have used outdated sunscreen tech while the rest of the world moved forward,” said David Andrews of the Environmental Working Group. “The approval of bemotrizinol will help change that.”

Andrews’ group has long pushed the FDA to tighten sunscreen standards and allow new ingredients on the market.

Under FDA rules, all sunscreens must protect against UVB rays, which cause most sunburn, as well as UVA rays that pose the greatest risk of skin cancer and wrinkles.

Currently available chemical-blocking ingredients only protect against one or the other. Companies generally mix the chemicals in combination to achieve “broad spectrum protection.”

Mineral-based ingredients, including zinc oxide, block both UVA and UVB but leave a chalky white residue.

Bemotrizinol was authorized by European authorities in 1999 and first filed with the FDA for review in 2005.

“The FDA is committed to ensuring the American consumer has access to the most effective and safe therapies, including over-the-counter products like sunscreens,” said Dr. Mike Davis, acting director of FDA’s drug center.

The FDA has been gradually updating its standards for sunscreens. In 2011, the agency banned terms like “waterproof,” which regulators said was misleading, and required that all sunscreens filter out UVA and UVB rays. Previously some formulas only protected against UVB.

In 2021, the FDA proposed additional measures — including capping SPF numbers and requiring stronger UVA protection — but those have not been completed.

___

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The 44-year-old Williams showed she still has plenty of her trademark power, hitting service winners of up to 120 mph as she teamed up with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko to win their opening doubles match at the grass-court tournament.

Williams and Mboko beat third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 6-2 in Williams’ first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open. She served out the match with two aces followed by a service winner.

The American last week announced her return to doubles, but has yet to decide whether to target a comeback in singles as well.

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

“El denominado ´voto fusil´ describe una práctica incompatible con cualquier democracia: obligar a los ciudadanos a votar bajo amenaza, presión armada o sometimiento territorial”, indicó De la Espriella en un comunicado.

La denuncia penal se basa en una revisión de 109 municipios de los convulsos departamentos de Cauca y Nariño, en el suroeste del país, y de Chocó, en el oeste, donde Cepeda superó el 70% de la votación y que, en su mayoría, coinciden con territorios clasificados en riesgo electoral por la estatal Defensoría del Pueblo, detalló De la Espriella.

Consultados por The Associated Press, Cepeda y su campaña no respondieron de inmediato sobre si tienen conocimiento de que los grupos armados ilegales hayan presionado para votar a su favor.

En la primera vuelta De la Espriella, del movimiento Defensores de la Patria, obtuvo el 43,73% de los votos, seguido de Cepeda, del oficialista Pacto Histórico, con el 40,91 %, tras concluir el escrutinio. Ambos se disputarán la presidencia en un balotaje el 21 de junio.

En medio de la puja política, los candidatos han acusado a su contrincante de irregularidades, incluyendo presunta compra de votos. Además, Cepeda denunció que De la Espriella “estaría fraguando un montaje para realizar un autoatentado” para “incidir en los resultados de la elección".

La campaña de De la Espriella admitió en el comunicado que las cifras por sí solas no son una “prueba definitiva de responsabilidad penal”, pero instó a que se investigue por su coincidencia con territorios sometidos a la influencia de los grupos armados ilegales.

El riesgo de violencia por parte de grupos ilegales en decenas de municipios del país fue advertido a lo largo de la campaña electoral tanto por la Defensoría del Pueblo como por la Misión de Observación Electoral, una organización no gubernamental dedicada a este tipo de veeduría hace dos décadas.

Durante la jornada las autoridades informaron que las votaciones transcurrieron de forma pacífica, aunque advirtieron de casos de presunta compra de votos y abrieron una investigación por presunta presión de armados en Nariño.

La Misión de Observación Electoral de la Unión Europea reportó denuncias de coacción a los votantes por parte de “autoridades y grupos armados ilegales, así como indicios de uso indebido de recursos públicos”, pero no lo relacionó con el favorecimiento a un candidato particular.

He joined host Glenna Milberg on the latest episode of “This Week in South Florida”, and their conversation can be seen at the top of this page.

Deandre Pressley es un miembro “documentado” de la pandilla 700, una organización violenta asociada con los Gangster Disciples, una pandilla altamente organizada fundada en la década de 1960 en Chicago, según el informe.

El año pasado, una víctima en California reportó haber hablado por teléfono con una mujer y un hombre que le mintieron para convencerla de entregar más de $30,000 USD a Pressley, de acuerdo con el informe.

La víctima dijo que los estafadores la llamaron el 1 de mayo de 2025 haciéndose pasar por empleados de Bank of America que supuestamente la protegían de estafadores que podían incluir incluso a cajeros bancarios, según el informe.

“La víctima indicó que le proporcionaron un número de cuenta que no recuerda y que lo agregó a su billetera digital de Apple”, escribió un agente en el informe.

La víctima realizó retiros y depósitos en persona, además de transferencias digitales, antes de que Pressley transfiriera todo el dinero nuevamente a cuentas separadas, según el informe del agente.

Un agente de la MDSO arrestó a Pressley a las 6:45 p.m. del 5 de junio en Fifth Avenue y Davis Parkway, en Florida City. Posteriormente, fue ingresado poco después de las 2:25 a.m. del 6 de junio en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Pressley, quien permanecía en el Centro de Detención Metrowest la tarde del martes, enfrenta nueve cargos en dos casos pendientes en el condado Miami-Dade, según registros judiciales y de reclusos.

En uno de los casos, Pressley enfrenta cuatro cargos: esquema organizado para defraudar, conspiración para cometer un esquema organizado para defraudar, lavado de dinero y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación. Su fianza fue fijada en $10,000 USD.

En el otro caso, Pressley enfrenta cinco cargos: robo mayor en tercer grado, esquema organizado para defraudar, conspiración para cometer un esquema organizado para defraudar, lavado de dinero y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación. Su fianza fue fijada en $12,500 USD.

Un juez ordenó a Pressley demostrar que los $22,500 USD utilizados para pagar su fianza no provenían de actividades delictivas.

Los agentes arrestaron a Daniel Cancio poco después de las 3:45 p.m. del lunes en 10855 SW 72 St., en Kendall, después de que las víctimas reportaran una balacera, según el informe de arresto de la MDSO.

Un conductor informó que se detuvo en un semáforo en rojo en Sunset Drive y Southwest 97 Avenue y habló con Cancio sobre haberlo visto conducir a exceso de velocidad en una zona escolar, según el informe.

El conductor “observó que [Cancio] se inclinó hacia la parte trasera de su vehículo y sacó lo que parecía ser un arma de fuego”, escribió un agente en el informe.

Según el informe, Cancio confesó haber utilizado una pistola de perdigones que los agentes encontraron en su vehículo para romper la ventana trasera del lado del pasajero del automóvil de la víctima. Las víctimas tomaron una fotografía de la placa de Cancio.

El Departamento Correccional de Miami-Dade ingresó a Cancio poco antes de las 9 p.m. del lunes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, cerca de Doral, según los registros de reclusos.

Cancio enfrenta cargos de agresión agravada con arma mortal y daños criminales a la propiedad. Su fianza fue fijada en $5,500 USD.

Rising healthcare costs and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Last year, Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund go-broke date was pushed to 2033 from 2036 the year before that, according to the report from the programs’ trustees.

Meanwhile, Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, unchanged from the 2025 report. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said the Trump administration is “committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security” and “eliminating waste, fraud, abuse and ensuring program integrity.”

The trustees, who include the treasury secretary, labor secretary, health and human services secretary and the Social Security commissioner, say the latest findings show the urgency of needed changes to the programs, which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare’s troubling math to the next generation.

AARP's CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement that the latest numbers “should be a wake-up call. Congress needs to act."

“Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “No family should see any cuts to what they’ve earned in Social Security. ”

About 70.1 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses.

Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age of 65 has never changed for Medicare.

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The earthquake happened around 2 p.m. Monday about 65 miles west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, according to the USGS. Shaking reports came in from several parts of Florida, including South Florida, Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville and parts of the Panhandle.

The National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat for Florida or the Gulf Coast.

While the main earthquake is over, the USGS says aftershocks remain possible near the source region west of Cuba. If strong enough, another tremor could potentially be felt again in South Florida, especially in taller buildings.

According to the latest USGS aftershock forecast, there is a 98% chance of at least one magnitude 3 or greater aftershock over the next seven days. The chance of at least one magnitude 4 or greater aftershock is 67%, while the chance of at least one magnitude 5 or greater aftershock is 15%.

Over the next 30 days, the USGS forecast shows a greater than 99% chance of at least one magnitude 3 or greater aftershock, a 77% chance of at least one magnitude 4 or greater aftershock and a 22% chance of at least one magnitude 5 or greater aftershock.

The chance of at least one magnitude 6 or greater earthquake over the next month is 3%. The chance of a magnitude 7 or greater earthquake remains less than 1%.

Those higher 30-day probabilities do not mean the aftershock sequence is expected to get worse. In general, aftershock activity tends to decrease over time, but longer time periods naturally carry higher odds because there is more time for aftershocks to occur.

The USGS says aftershock forecasts are not earthquake predictions. Scientists cannot predict the exact time, location or magnitude of the next earthquake. Instead, the agency uses statistical models based on past aftershock sequences and updates the forecast as new earthquakes are detected.

The announcement came two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip around the moon that surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.

NASA's Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano won't fly to the moon or land on the surface. Instead, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week demo is targeted for 2027. Blue Origin suffered a recent setback when its massive rocket exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in Florida, shaking nearby homes and illuminating the sky with an orange fireball.

NASA's Jeremy Parsons said the setback is a learning opportunity and that the space agency is confident Blue Origin's rocket will be ready in time.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. A recent revamp of the program announced by Isaacman aims to fast-track it similarly to the Apollo era, adding the upcoming spaceflight around Earth before eyeing a lunar landing in 2028.

“We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” said Bresnik, Artemis III commander.

Added Douglas, mission specialist: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full."

In May, NASA awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four companies, including Blue Origin, to build landers, rovers and drones for a future moon base. Isaacman said the goal of the moon base is to lay the foundation for a Mars expedition.

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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.

El terremoto ocurrió alrededor de las 2 p.m. del lunes, a unas 65 millas al oeste-noroeste de Mantua, Cuba, de acuerdo con el USGS. Se recibieron reportes de temblores en varias partes de Florida, incluido el sur de Florida, el suroeste del estado, el área de Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville y sectores del Panhandle.

El Centro Nacional de Alerta de Tsunamis informó que no existe amenaza de tsunami para Florida ni para la costa del Golfo.

Aunque el terremoto principal ya pasó, el USGS indica que siguen siendo posibles réplicas cerca de la región donde se originó el sismo, al oeste de Cuba. Si alguna es lo suficientemente fuerte, otro temblor podría volver a sentirse en el sur de Florida, especialmente en edificios altos.

Según el más reciente pronóstico de réplicas del USGS, existe un 98% de probabilidad de que ocurra al menos una réplica de magnitud 3 o superior durante los próximos siete días. La probabilidad de al menos una réplica de magnitud 4 o superior es del 67%, mientras que la de una réplica de magnitud 5 o superior es del 15%.

Durante los próximos 30 días, el pronóstico del USGS muestra una probabilidad superior al 99% de que ocurra al menos una réplica de magnitud 3 o superior, una probabilidad del 77% de al menos una réplica de magnitud 4 o superior y una probabilidad del 22% de al menos una réplica de magnitud 5 o superior.

La probabilidad de que ocurra al menos un terremoto de magnitud 6 o superior durante el próximo mes es del 3%. La probabilidad de un terremoto de magnitud 7 o superior sigue siendo inferior al 1%.

Estas probabilidades más altas para el período de 30 días no significan que la secuencia de réplicas vaya a empeorar. En general, la actividad de réplicas tiende a disminuir con el tiempo, pero los períodos más largos naturalmente presentan mayores probabilidades porque hay más tiempo para que ocurran.

El USGS señala que los pronósticos de réplicas no son predicciones de terremotos. Los científicos no pueden predecir el momento exacto, la ubicación ni la magnitud del próximo sismo. En cambio, la agencia utiliza modelos estadísticos basados en secuencias de réplicas anteriores y actualiza el pronóstico a medida que se detectan nuevos terremotos.

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The traveler, who was not named by CBP, arrived Saturday on a flight from Istanbul International Airport and was referred for additional inspection, a routine process used by CBP officers to verify information and determine whether a person is admissible to the United States, authorities said.

After the inspection, CBP officers determined the individual was inadmissible and he was denied entry due to what the agency described as “vetting concerns.”

CBP officers did not provide additional details about the nature of those concerns.

The agency emphasized that all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including athletes, coaches and sports officials — are subject to inspection and screening upon arrival.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” CBP officials said in a statement.

Under U.S. law, CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections and determine whether an individual is permitted to enter the country.

El viajero, cuya identidad no fue revelada por la CBP, llegó el sábado en un vuelo procedente del Aeropuerto Internacional de Estambul y fue remitido a una inspección adicional, un proceso rutinario que utilizan los agentes de la CBP para verificar información y determinar si una persona es admisible en Estados Unidos, informaron las autoridades.

Tras la inspección, los agentes de la CBP determinaron que el individuo era inadmisible y le negaron la entrada debido a lo que la agencia describió como “preocupaciones durante el proceso de verificación”.

Los agentes de la CBP no proporcionaron detalles adicionales sobre la naturaleza de esas preocupaciones.

La agencia enfatizó que todos los viajeros que buscan ingresar a Estados Unidos —incluidos atletas, entrenadores y oficiales deportivos— están sujetos a inspección y revisión al llegar al país.

“Las determinaciones de admisibilidad se realizan caso por caso utilizando información de las fuerzas del orden, seguridad nacional e inmigración disponible al momento de la inspección”, indicaron funcionarios de la CBP en un comunicado.

Según la ley estadounidense, los agentes de la CBP tienen la autoridad para interrogar a los viajeros, realizar inspecciones y determinar si una persona puede ingresar al país.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Rama dismissed environmental objections as the result of misinformation and said the development was turning Albania from a country once ignored by investors into one “where the big capital wants to come and the big investors want to come."

The government says the development would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.

But thousands of demonstrators have joined daily protests outside Rama's office in the capital, Tirana — including on Tuesday — against the planned project that includes hotels, apartments, villas and a marina for yachts.

The prime minister said a formal environmental impact assessment has not started, even though work has begun to clear land inside a nature reserve.

Asked if he might step back from the project, Rama refused, adding, “Step back from what?”

Albania’s anti-corruption agency has opened an investigation related to the project. The government says the land is privately owned, but rival claims over its privatization have emerged.

‘Your country’s absolutely stunning’

Rama said Kushner’s proposal began by chance. He recalled a dinner in southern Albania with Kushner, his wife, Ivanka Trump, and friends who had stopped in the port of Durres to refuel their boat on the way to Montenegro.

Months later, Kushner approached him at a gathering of world leaders and business executives in Davos, Switzerland, and expressed interest in investing in Albania, Rama said.

“Your country’s absolutely stunning, and we would like to look for a chance to invest,” Rama recalled Kushner telling him.

An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.

The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.

‘This is still a planning process’

Work has already begun to clear land inside a nature reserve used by migratory birds, prompting environmental groups to warn of the destruction of long-preserved habitats. Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.

Rama said a formal environmental impact assessment has not started because the plan for the development has not been finalized. He said international architects and environmental specialists are still shaping the proposal.

“When it comes to the environment, there is no project yet, there is no environmental impact assessment yet, because this is still a planning process,” he said.

He argued that Albania has a strong conservation record, pointing to bans on hunting and logging that he said helped flamingo populations recover.

“We have fantastic documentation of how the wildlife in Albania came back thanks to the 10 years moratorium of hunting,” Rama said.

Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the planned development area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing.

Rama says criticism is full of ‘half-truths’

The prime minister suggested that some of the backlash to the project was being amplified by outside interference, citing what he described as a long-running Iranian cyber campaign against Albania.

Albania has long accused Iran of backing hackers who attack the country’s cyber infrastructure, after Albania sheltered members of an Iranian opposition group. Tehran has denied the allegations.

“There is a lot of manipulation. There is a lot of half-truths that become bigger and bigger lies by the hour,” he said.

He emphasized that he was not accusing individual protesters of acting as foreign agents.

Los agentes dijeron que recibieron una llamada de la mujer, quien afirmó que “temía por su vida” después de que él “amenazara con matarla”.

El teniente Alex Camacho, portavoz de la FHP, indicó que la víctima condujo hasta la estación de la agencia en Snapper Creek Turnpike y que el sospechoso huyó al ver a los agentes estatales.

Camacho dijo que el hombre salió de la autopista en Southwest Eighth Street y chocó cerca de la 127th Avenue. Agregó que los agentes detuvieron a dos ocupantes y que el sospechoso escapó corriendo. Camacho señaló que fue detenido poco tiempo después y que los agentes incautaron un rifle AR-15 de su vehículo.

Las autoridades no habían divulgado el nombre del hombre hasta la mañana del martes.

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Troopers said they received a call from the woman who said she “feared for her life” after Reshawd Pond Jr. “threatened to kill her.”

Lt. Alex Camacho, an FHP spokesperson, said the victim drove to the agency’s Snapper Creek Turnpike station and Pond, of Opa-locka, fled after seeing state troopers.

Camacho said Pond got off at Southwest Eighth Street and crashed near 127th Avenue. He said troopers took two occupants into custody and the suspect ran. Camacho said Pond was taken into custody a short time later and troopers seized an AR-15 from his vehicle.

Mientras la selección masculina de Haití avanza en busca de su primera participación en una Copa Mundial en más de cinco décadas, la emoción se extiende mucho más allá de los estadios y las pantallas de televisión. En vecindarios de todo el condado Miami-Dade, el éxito del equipo está inspirando a una nueva generación de jóvenes jugadores que se ven reflejados en los uniformes azul y rojo de sus héroes nacionales.

En Little Haiti FC, en North Miami, cientos de niños y adolescentes se reúnen varios días a la semana para entrenar, competir y soñar. La mayoría son inmigrantes haitianos o hijos de inmigrantes haitianos. Para muchos, el ascenso de la selección nacional ha transformado esos sueños en algo que ahora parece alcanzable.

“Algún día me verán en televisión jugando fútbol para Haití”, dijo con confianza un joven jugador después de una práctica.

Otro, Christmael Previlus, espera que el fútbol le ayude a obtener una beca universitaria. Cuando le preguntaron qué ve al observar a la selección nacional de Haití, su respuesta fue sencilla.

“A mi yo del futuro”, respondió.

El entusiasmo que rodea la clasificación de Haití al Mundial llega después de una larga espera. El país no participa en el escenario más importante del fútbol desde 1974, lo que hace que este momento sea especialmente significativo para los haitianos en todo el mundo.

En Little Haiti FC, ese orgullo es evidente en cada sesión de entrenamiento.

El programa gratuito de fútbol sirve como mucho más que una actividad deportiva. Fundado para brindar oportunidades a los jóvenes de la comunidad, el club se ha convertido en una fuente de mentoría, apoyo comunitario y estabilidad para familias que enfrentan los desafíos de la inmigración.

“Ahora mismo tenemos aquí a todo tipo de inmigrantes en este campo”, dijo Pat Santanglo, vicepresidente y cofundador del club.

Muchos de los niños llegan a Estados Unidos enfrentando obstáculos importantes, incluidos problemas de vivienda, barreras lingüísticas y dificultades para matricularse en la escuela. Santanglo dijo que el programa fue creado, en parte, para mantener a los jóvenes alejados de las drogas, las pandillas y otros peligros que pueden afectar a las comunidades vulnerables.

“Cuando llegan aquí, muchas veces no tienen familiares”, dijo Santanglo. “Muchas veces no tienen dónde vivir. Incluso tienen dificultades para ingresar a la escuela”.

Durante unas horas cada semana, esos desafíos pasan a un segundo plano.

En el campo, los jugadores se concentran en los ejercicios, los partidos de práctica y el trabajo en equipo. Fuera del terreno de juego, tienen acceso a modelos a seguir y sistemas de apoyo que pueden ayudar a moldear su futuro.

“Ese es un camino para salir de la pobreza”, afirmó Santanglo.

Durante años, ese camino se ha construido sobre la posibilidad. Ahora está respaldado por algo tangible: una selección haitiana que compite en el escenario internacional y les muestra a los jóvenes atletas lo que es posible.

“Que los niños aquí tengan un equipo en el Mundial y puedan identificarse con él demuestra que Haití es capaz de cualquier cosa”, dijo Santanglo.

El entrenador Ernst Baptiste cree que el éxito del equipo también está ayudando a cambiar la percepción sobre Haití.

“Cuando la gente ve a Haití, no siempre ve las cosas malas”, dijo Baptiste. “Pueden ver lo que podemos hacer con un balón de fútbol, lo que podemos aportar como equipo, y hacer que la gente hable de Haití de una manera más positiva”.

Para un país que a menudo es definido internacionalmente por la inestabilidad política, los desastres naturales y las dificultades económicas, los logros de la selección nacional ofrecen una narrativa diferente, centrada en la resiliencia, el talento y el orgullo.

“Me sentí orgulloso de mi país”, dijo Previlus.

La conexión entre los jugadores profesionales y la próxima generación ya está creciendo. Después de ver un video de los jóvenes atletas apoyando a la selección nacional, el jugador haitiano Derrick Etienne dijo que su entusiasmo fue profundamente significativo.

“Sonreí cuando lo vi”, dijo Etienne. “Hacer algo que impacte a más personas que a uno mismo es increíble. Ver que están emocionados por esto me hace feliz, y muchos jugadores verían eso y se sentirían motivados a dar lo mejor de sí”.

Mientras Haití continúa su búsqueda de la gloria mundialista, los jugadores de Little Haiti FC seguirán cada paso de cerca.

Para ellos, cada partido representa mucho más que una oportunidad para apoyar a su país. Es un recordatorio de que sus propios sueños —ya sea una beca universitaria, una carrera profesional o un lugar en la selección nacional de Haití— pueden estar más cerca de lo que alguna vez imaginaron.

Y cuando los Grenadiers salten al campo, cientos de jóvenes aficionados en el sur de Florida los estarán alentando, convencidos de que algún día ellos también podrían ser quienes vistan los colores de Haití.

The bloc's executive Commission, which is the 27-nation EU's top antitrust and competition enforcer, said it was taking action to prevent harm to competition in the growing market for AI assistants before it's too late.

The commission said it was imposing “interim measures” while it continues its investigation into WhatsApp’s artificial intelligence policy over concerns the company is breaching EU law by blocking competitors from offering their AI assistants on the platform.

Meta said it would appeal.

“The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free," the company said in a statement. “This is regulatory overreach subsidized by the many European companies that pay.”

Brussels has occasionally resorted to temporary orders after facing criticism that previous years-long antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies were too slow to rein in their market power.

“AI markets are developing exceptionally fast, and AI assistants are expected to become an important way for consumers all across Europe to access and use AI,” the commission’s executive vice-president overseeing competition, Teresa Ribera, told reporters in Brussels.

“Therefore, when the damage can happen quickly and there is a risk of companies being forced to leave the market, we need to use our tools.”

EU regulators last year began scrutinizing updated terms and conditions for Meta's business customers using AI assistants to communicate with customers over WhatsApp.

They were concerned that the agreement prevented third-party AI companies from offering their assistants on the platform, leaving only Meta’s chatbot service available to users.

Meta attempted to resolve the probe by charging rivals for access, but that didn't satisfy regulators, who threatened in April to force the company to reinstate access for free.

Riber said Meta's fee was so high it was “not economically sustainable for competitors,” without providing more details. The commission's order would remain in place until June 2029 or until the end of the investigation, which has no deadline.

If Meta doesn't comply with the order, it could face fines of up to 10% of annual revenue.

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As Haiti’s men’s national team pushes toward its first World Cup appearance in more than five decades, the excitement is reaching far beyond stadiums and television screens. In neighborhoods across Miami-Dade County, the team’s success is inspiring a new generation of young players who see themselves reflected in the blue and red jerseys of their national heroes.

At Little Haiti FC in North Miami, hundreds of children and teenagers gather several days a week to train, compete and dream. Most are Haitian immigrants or children of Haitian immigrants. For many, the national team’s rise has transformed those dreams into something that feels attainable.

“One day you will see me on TV playing soccer for Haiti,” one young player said confidently after practice.

Another, Christmael Previlus, hopes soccer will help him earn a college scholarship. Asked what he sees when he watches Haiti’s national team, his answer was simple.

“My future self,” he said.

The enthusiasm surrounding Haiti’s World Cup run comes after a long wait. The nation has not appeared on soccer’s biggest stage since 1974, making the current moment especially meaningful for Haitians around the world.

At Little Haiti FC, that pride is evident during every training session.

The free soccer program serves as more than just an athletic outlet. Founded to provide opportunities for local youth, the club has become a source of mentorship, community and stability for families navigating the challenges of immigration.

“You have every single category of immigrant on this field right now,” said Pat Santanglo, the club’s vice president and co-founder.

Many of the children arrive in the United States facing significant obstacles, including housing insecurity, language barriers and difficulties enrolling in school. Santanglo said the program was created in part to keep young people away from drugs, gangs and other dangers that can affect vulnerable communities.

“When they get here, they don’t have a lot of relatives sometimes,” Santanglo said. “They don’t have a place to live a lot of times. They have a problem even getting into school.”

For a few hours each week, those challenges fade into the background.

On the field, players focus on drills, scrimmages and teamwork. Off the field, they gain access to role models and support systems that can help shape their futures.

“That’s a pathway out of poverty,” Santanglo said.

For years, that pathway has been built on possibility. Now, it is reinforced by something tangible: a Haitian national team that is competing on the international stage and showing young athletes what is possible.

“To have the kids here have a team in the World Cup, identify with that — this is something that shows Haiti is capable of anything,” Santanglo said.

Coach Ernst Baptiste believes the team’s success is also helping reshape perceptions of Haiti itself.

“When people see Haiti, they don’t always see the bad stuff,” Baptiste said. “They can see what we can do with a soccer ball, what we can bring as a team, and make it so people can talk about Haiti in a better way.”

For a country often defined internationally by political turmoil, natural disasters and economic hardship, the national team’s achievements offer a different narrative — one centered on resilience, talent and pride.

“I was proud of my country,” Previlus said.

The connection between the professional players and the next generation is already growing. After seeing a video of the young athletes supporting the national team, Haiti national team player Derrick Etienne said their enthusiasm was deeply meaningful.

“I smiled when I watched it,” Etienne said. “To do something that impacts more than just yourself is amazing. To see they’re excited for it makes me happy, and a lot of guys would see that and be motivated to do their best.”

As Haiti continues its pursuit of World Cup glory, the players at Little Haiti FC will be watching closely.

For them, every match represents more than a chance to cheer for their country. It is a reminder that their own dreams — whether a college scholarship, a professional career or a place on Haiti’s national team — may be closer than they once seemed.

And when the Grenadiers take the field, hundreds of young fans in South Florida will be cheering them on, believing that one day they could be the ones wearing Haiti’s colors.

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Overall hurricane activity across the Gulf, Caribbean, and tropical Atlantic is typically softened during El Niño events – particularly during moderate to strong El Niños like the one that’s gearing up and expected to peak later this year. The warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific that defines El Niño shifts large-scale atmospheric circulations, which in turn ramps up storm-busting wind shear and dries out parts of the tropical Atlantic.

Not only are the number of Atlantic storms reduced during El Niño years but the risk of a U.S. hurricane strike typically falls in tandem. But a reduced risk isn’t zero risk, and when a hurricane threatens the U.S. during an El Niño year, some states see their relative risk increase.

Florida still the undisputed hurricane heavyweight, but Louisiana and South Carolina see shifting risks

In terms of hurricane strikes in the U.S., Florida has recorded more than any other state. In any given year, the highest odds of a hurricane strike on the U.S. is in Florida (typically about 50-60% odds of a Florida hurricane strike in any given year). While the overall odds of a U.S. hurricane strike may fall during El Niño years like 2026, it’s still Florida that holds the highest risk.

But for other states, the relative risk changes when El Niño comes to town. For example, Texas is the second most likely state for a hurricane strike during any given year, but when considering only El Niño years, Texas falls behind Louisiana in terms of hurricane strikes. Additionally, South Carolina jumps from the 6^th most at-risk state to tied with Texas for 3^rd most at-risk state when El Niño conditions are present.

It’s worth noting that a hurricane landfall on the U.S. only happens once to twice a year on average. Years like 2004, 2005 and 2024 – which each saw 5 U.S. mainland hurricane landfalls – are the exception rather than the rule (the most hurricanes to hit the U.S. in a single season is 6, which happened in 1886, 1985, and 2020). So when we say the odds of a U.S. hurricane strike are reduced during El Niño years, it means we might expect one hurricane hit rather than two for an average year. While one less hurricane strike on the U.S. is meaningful, El Niño certainly doesn’t eliminate the risk.

No major hurricane landfalls recorded from Georgia to Maine during El Nino years

Although so-called “major” (Category 3 or stronger) hurricanes have struck the U.S. during El Niño years – including infamous hurricanes like Betsy in 1965 which hit during a strong El Niño – no Category 3 or stronger hurricane landfall has been recorded north of Florida and along the east coast from Georgia to Maine during an El Niño year.

In addition to a reduction in major hurricane activity during El Niño years, the North Atlantic subtropical high pressure (also known as the Bermuda or Azores High) that steers Atlantic hurricanes is also weaker, which leads to more recurving storms over the open ocean and before reaching the U.S. east coast, a factor also contributing to the dearth of major landfalls north of Florida.

No development expected this week in the Atlantic

As we discussed in yesterday’s newsletter, the remnants of now Tropical Storm Cristina in the eastern Pacific will slip into the southern reaches of the Gulf by late this week. Forecast models last week that hinted at a small development window by the weekend have backed off due to the proximity to land of the disturbance and less conducive upper-level conditions.

The Atlantic basin will remain dormant through the second full week of the hurricane season.

La actividad de huracanes en el Golfo de México, el Caribe y el Atlántico tropical suele disminuir durante los eventos de El Niño, especialmente durante los episodios de El Niño de intensidad moderada a fuerte, como el que se está gestando y que se espera alcance su punto máximo a finales de este año. El calentamiento del Pacífico ecuatorial oriental, característico de El Niño, modifica las circulaciones atmosféricas a gran escala, lo que a su vez intensifica la cizalladura del viento que disipa las tormentas y reseca algunas zonas del Atlántico tropical.

Durante los años de El Niño, no solo disminuye el número de tormentas atlánticas, sino que también suele reducirse el riesgo de que un huracán azote Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, un riesgo reducido no significa un riesgo nulo, y cuando un huracán amenaza a Estados Unidos durante un año de El Niño, algunos estados experimentan un aumento en su riesgo relativo.

Florida sigue siendo el indiscutible peso pesado en huracanes, pero Luisiana y Carolina del Sur ven cambios en los riesgos.

En cuanto a huracanes en Estados Unidos, Florida ha registrado más que ningún otro estado. En un año cualquiera, la mayor probabilidad de que un huracán azote Estados Unidos se da en Florida (normalmente entre un 50 % y un 60 %). Si bien la probabilidad general de que un huracán impacte en Estados Unidos puede disminuir durante años de El Niño, como 2026, Florida sigue siendo el estado con mayor riesgo.

Pero para otros estados, el riesgo relativo cambia cuando llega El Niño. Por ejemplo, Texas es el segundo estado con mayor probabilidad de sufrir un huracán en un año cualquiera, pero si solo se consideran los años con El Niño, Texas queda por detrás de Luisiana en cuanto a la frecuencia de huracanes. Además, Carolina del Sur pasa del sexto ^lugar entre los estados con mayor riesgo a empatar con Texas en el tercer ^lugar cuando se presentan las condiciones de El Niño.

Cabe destacar que, en promedio, un huracán toca tierra en Estados Unidos solo una o dos veces al año. Años como 2004, 2005 y 2024 —en los que se registraron 5 huracanes en la parte continental de Estados Unidos— son la excepción y no la regla (el mayor número de huracanes que han azotado Estados Unidos en una sola temporada es de 6, lo que ocurrió en 1886, 1985 y 2020). Por lo tanto, cuando decimos que la probabilidad de que un huracán azote Estados Unidos se reduce durante los años de El Niño, significa que podríamos esperar un huracán en lugar de dos en un año promedio. Si bien un huracán menos en Estados Unidos es significativo, El Niño ciertamente no elimina el riesgo.

No se registraron grandes huracanes que tocaran tierra desde Georgia hasta Maine durante los años de El Niño.

Aunque los llamados huracanes “importantes” (de categoría 3 o superior) han azotado Estados Unidos durante los años de El Niño, incluidos huracanes tristemente célebres como Betsy en 1965, que impactó durante un fuerte El Niño, no se ha registrado ningún huracán de categoría 3 o superior que haya tocado tierra al norte de Florida y a lo largo de la costa este, desde Georgia hasta Maine, durante un año de El Niño.

Además de una reducción en la actividad de huracanes importantes durante los años de El Niño, la alta presión subtropical del Atlántico Norte (también conocida como el anticiclón de las Bermudas o de las Azores) que dirige los huracanes del Atlántico también se debilita, lo que provoca que las tormentas cambien de rumbo con mayor frecuencia sobre el océano abierto antes de llegar a la costa este de los Estados Unidos, un factor que también contribuye a la escasez de grandes huracanes que tocan tierra al norte de Florida.

No se esperan novedades esta semana en el Atlántico.

Como comentamos en el boletín de ayer, los remanentes de la ahora tormenta tropical Cristina en el Pacífico oriental se desplazarán hacia el sur del Golfo a finales de esta semana. Los modelos de pronóstico de la semana pasada, que indicaban una breve ventana de desarrollo para el fin de semana, han rectificado debido a la proximidad de la perturbación a tierra y a las condiciones menos favorables en las capas altas de la atmósfera.

La cuenca del Atlántico permanecerá inactiva durante la segunda semana completa de la temporada de huracanes.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, is the latest brought by local officials around the country who were not consulted before DHS purchased industrial warehouses that it planned to convert into regional immigrant processing and detention centers.

The lawsuit targets the most expensive property purchased by DHS for the initiative: $145.4 million for a 833,000-square-foot (77,388-square-meter) warehouse that is roughly the size of 15 football fields. The March purchase, from a real estate development group partially owned by Deutsche Bank, cost nearly 50% more than the property's 2025 assessed market value, records show.

In all, DHS purchased 11 warehouses for more than $1 billion between January and March in the final weeks of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure under her $38.3 billion plan for a new detention model to increase bed capacity and make deportations more efficient. The DHS Office of Inspector General has opened an investigation into whether the plan was wasteful, and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has put it on hold.

Like others filed around the country, the lawsuit in Utah alleges DHS violated federal law by failing to conduct required environmental reviews or get input from state and local officials before the purchase.

“This kind of facility has no place in Salt Lake City, not only due to its inhumane nature but also because of our limited water supply, the increased strain on public utilities systems, and the potentially drastic public health and safety impacts it would have on our residents,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement.

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the plan “is a dire threat to the very essence of our community values," adding it would overwhelm infrastructure, harm businesses, and undermine public health and safety.

A newly formed advocacy group, Uproar Utah, also planned a news conference Tuesday to discuss litigation against the warehouse plan.

“As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals,” DHS said in a statement Tuesday, adding that Mullin has pledged to work with community leaders and be “good partners.”

Legal actions elsewhere have had some initial success.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has issued administrative orders blocking the operation of two planned detention centers until DHS can show they are complying with state and federal environmental regulations. DHS is appealing the orders.

In Maryland, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction halting construction activities at a Williamsport warehouse while a lawsuit is heard. In New Jersey, ICE is preparing a new environmental assessment and decision after a lawsuit was filed against its plan for a detention center in Roxbury Township. Other cases are pending in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe cases, requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Failing to comply with the warnings comes with penalties as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that doesn't create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem that patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

A senior administration official who requested anonymity to provide the list said that President Donald Trump plans to tighten enforcement of price transparency standards made possible by a 2019 executive order signed by Trump. More hospitals are likely to receive letters regarding the absence of pricing data, the official said.

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of healthcare expenses that can drain a family budget. It's a calculated pitch ahead of the November midterms at a time when affordability is a top concern for voters. But Trump is also vulnerable on this particular issue, as his administration allowed subsidies to lapse for people buying insurance through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump's healthcare policies according to the most recent survey on the issue by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The president fared slightly worse on that issue in the December survey than on the economy, immigration or his management of the federal government.

Gary Claxton, senior vice president and the director of the program on the healthcare marketplace at KFF, said that the pricing data is more useful for benefit consultants and others in the sector with access to additional information than it would be for consumers. But he said that the standards in reporting pricing data can still create difficulty in making accurate comparisons about the costs and quality of the services being provided.

“There’s a pretty widespread belief that prices are more divergent than they should be in a competitive market — and this is one way of trying to understand that more," Claxton said. “It’s moving in the right direction, but that doesn’t mean it has gotten to where it needs to be.”

The push for price transparency could have a particular impact on Republican strongholds like Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which are among the states with the highest count of hospitals that have not provided adequate information on the costs of medical services.

Texas had 42 hospitals that received warnings, more than any other state. Baptist Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, among the state's largest hospitals with 1,585 beds, received a letter, as did the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Missouri-based Ascension, one of the country’s largest hospital systems, had 13 hospitals in multiple states that received letters. The Republican state of Indiana had 34 hospitals that received letters, nearly as many as the 38 in Democratic-led California, even though California has five times more people than Indiana.

Administration officials interviewed for this article noted that Christiana Hospital in Biden's home state of Delaware also received a warning letter.

The letters reflect two competing philosophies between Republicans and Democrats over how to handle the ballooning expense of healthcare, which is also a growing risk for the federal government's own balance sheet.

Biden's team put more emphasis on record enrollment in Obamacare programs that increased the percentage of people with health insurance. Biden also signed a bill that allowed the government to begin negotiating prices for some Medicare drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies. That program, which has continued into Trump’s second administration, has helped knock down the list prices of some of Medicare’s costliest drugs.

The Trump administration, by contrast, has focused more on trying to find ways to provide details on pricing — such as promoting the TrumpRx site for prescription drugs — betting that doing so will lead to better and more efficient spending on healthcare as the data gets crunched.

Critics have said Trump's negotiated prices on prescription drugs might not produce genuine savings for many Americans with insurance, while the administration has estimated savings in excess of $500 billion over 10 years.

With the various lists of hospital prices, the administration wants providers to make it easier to access the files and to ensure the information in them is legitimate, instead of being based on estimates or omitting numbers for key procedures.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has a hearing planned for Wednesday on price transparency.

“Transparency is the foundation of a healthcare system that rewards competition based on cost and quality,” Shawn Gremminger, CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, plans to say in his prepared remarks.

Vance, who has been tapped to lead the Trump administration's anti-fraud efforts as he seeks to raise his political profile as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, cited in a letter to the Justice Department a report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that alleges Walz and Ellison were aware of pervasive abuse of government programs for years and let it flourish.

The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to questions Tuesday about whether it would open an investigation. It was unclear what, if any, potential violations of federal law could support a probe into the Democratic Minnesota officials, who have defended their efforts to combat fraud and have characterized a separate Justice Department investigation involving state leaders as politically motivated.

Minnesota has long been under a microscope for staggering amounts of fraud in programs for children and other social services, with dozens of defendants charged under the administrations of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and President Donald Trump, a Republican. Vance’s referral for an investigation into state leaders, however, marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s stated “war on fraud” that officials have said would not be political or partisan.

Vance is seeking an investigation by a new Justice Department division that has drawn intense scrutiny over the potential for political influence given its close relationship with Trump’s White House. The White House announced the division's formation in January and initially said its leader would answer directly to the president instead of the typical Justice Department command.

Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann derided the House committee as “nothing more than a joke” that continues to “re-hash COVID-era fraud.”

“Governor Walz is glad to see fraudsters are going to prison,” Tschann said in an email. “If the committee is concerned about corruption, they should investigate why President Trump continues to let fraudsters out of prison.” Trump has granted clemency to numerous defendants convicted of financial crimes, including a man sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a more than $200 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Ellison called the allegations unfounded and dismissed Vance’s referral as “a political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.”

“It is deeply troubling to see official powers and public resources diverted away from serving the people and instead aimed at pursuing political adversaries,” Ellison said in a statement. “That is not what government is for, and it diminishes public trust in our institutions.”

The House committee alleges that “fraud warnings were elevated to the most senior levels of the Minnesota state government" and payments continued “long after credible signs of fraud emerged.” In his referral, Vance wrote that officials in Minnesota or anywhere else in the country “must be held accountable” if they facilitated fraud, prevented officials from stopping it or retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to report it.

“Minnesota state officials are not above the law,” Vance wrote in a post on X.

The Trump administration has clashed repeatedly with Minnesota officials not only about fraud but also the massive federal immigration crackdown that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other communities and led to widespread protests.

The Justice Department in January served grand jury subpoenas to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded federal law enforcement through public statements they made. The status of that investigation is unclear.

The Trump administration has touted the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division as a crucial step in its efforts to prevent the misuse of taxpayer dollars. The division's leader, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, is a veteran prosecutor who has vowed to pursue cases “without fear or favor."

Critics, however, have questioned the administration's motives behind the new division given that fraud was already prosecuted by the agency's Criminal Division, which last year announced the largest coordinated takedown of healthcare fraud schemes in Justice Department history.

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Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, jointly owned by Canada and the U.S. state of Michigan, is set to take place on Friday, while the bridge itself is expected to open to traffic later this month.

In February, Trump demanded that Canada turn over at least half the ownership of the bridge to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over cross-border trade issues.

The bridge, which would connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, and would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States, had been expected to open early this year, according to information on the project’s website.

The bridge is named after Howe, the late Canadian hockey great who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — a Republican — and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

“Obviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of cooperation between our countries,” Carney told reporters as he walked into Parliament.

“Great for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,” he said, calling it “positive news.”

Trump threatened the bridge as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position before those talks, including by issuing new tariff threats.

Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out on the world stage against economic coercion by the United States.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has said that the Canadian-funded project is a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future.

Michigan is a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024.

Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News earlier this year that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the Gordie Howe bridge.

“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,” Snyder wrote. “Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.”

The Gordie Howe bridge will join the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The rival Ambassador Bridge is considered the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.

Companies controlled by the Moroun family, owners of the rival Ambassador Bridge, previously sued to prevent the Howe bridge from being built.

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Pino is charged in the death of 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez after a boat crash on 2022’s Labor Day weekend.

Authorities said Pino, then 52, was behind the wheel of a 29-foot Robalo boat in the early evening hours of Sept. 4, 2022 when he lost control and slammed it into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, killing Fernandez. Two other girls were seriously hurt, including 17-year-old Katerina Puig.

Jury selection in the case concluded on Friday, with potential jurors quizzed on their jobs, life experiences and any biases they may be coming in with and what they knew about the case.

Miami-Dade Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez denied requests to delay the trial.

Prosecutor Laura Adams was able to get through her opening statement as Pino appeared emotional in court.

“In the aftermath of causing Lucy’s death, this defendant avoided accountability by telling the police a fabrication of how this boating crash occurred, and he maintained that falsehood long after the day of this tragedy,” she told jurors. “The evidence in this case, ladies and gentlemen, will show you this was not a mere accident or a momentary lapse in judgment. The evidence will show that Lucy is dead because the defendant failed to do the most basic things that rules of the water require.”

But during defense attorney Howard Srebnick’s opening statement, Pino’s visible breakdown eventually became too much and Adams called for a delay, saying Pino’s behavior was “inappropriate” for jurors to witness.

“Mr. Pino’s going to need to be able to control himself,” Tinkler Mendez said, later saying “it’s not proper at all for the jury to be witnessing the emotional behaviors.”

Srebnick had been able to get through a portion of his opening statement. He argued that the crash was merely a tragic accident.

“The state admits this was not George’s intention for this to happen,” Srebnick said. “He did not intend to crash into a marker. He did not intend for anybody to be hurt. His own daughter, his own wife, his own body was on that boat. Mrs. Pino will testify (that) George, her husband, was not impaired. She wouldn’t have risked her own life.”

After the recess, Miami Fire Rescue crews checked out Pino and proceedings were ultimately pushed back until Tuesday.

Pino enfrenta cargos por la muerte de Lucy Fernández, de 17 años, tras un accidente de bote ocurrido durante el fin de semana del Día del Trabajo de 2022.

Las autoridades indicaron que Pino, entonces de 52 años, estaba al mando de una embarcación Robalo de 29 pies durante las primeras horas de la noche del 4 de septiembre de 2022 cuando perdió el control y chocó contra una baliza de canal cerca de Boca Chita Key, causando la muerte de Fernández. Otras dos jóvenes resultaron gravemente heridas, incluida Katerina Puig, de 17 años.

La selección del jurado concluyó el viernes, luego de que los posibles jurados fueran interrogados sobre sus trabajos, experiencias de vida, posibles prejuicios y lo que sabían sobre el caso.

La jueza de Miami-Dade Marisa Tinkler Méndez rechazó las solicitudes para aplazar el juicio.

La fiscal Laura Adams pudo completar su alegato inicial mientras Pino se mostraba visiblemente afectado en la corte.

“Después de causar la muerte de Lucy, este acusado evitó asumir responsabilidad al contarle a la policía una versión inventada de cómo ocurrió este accidente de navegación, y mantuvo esa falsedad mucho tiempo después del día de esta tragedia”, dijo a los jurados. “La evidencia en este caso, señoras y señores, les mostrará que esto no fue un simple accidente ni un error momentáneo de juicio. La evidencia demostrará que Lucy murió porque el acusado no cumplió con las obligaciones más básicas que exigen las reglas de navegación”.

Sin embargo, durante el alegato inicial del abogado defensor Howard Srebnick, el visible colapso emocional de Pino llegó a un punto en que Adams solicitó una suspensión, argumentando que su comportamiento era “inapropiado” para que el jurado lo presenciara.

“El señor Pino va a tener que ser capaz de controlarse”, dijo Tinkler Méndez, quien más tarde añadió que “no es apropiado en absoluto que el jurado esté presenciando estos comportamientos emocionales”.

Srebnick había logrado presentar una parte de su alegato inicial. Argumentó que el accidente fue simplemente una tragedia.

“El estado admite que esta no era la intención de George”, dijo Srebnick. “No tenía la intención de chocar contra una baliza. No tenía la intención de que nadie resultara herido. Su propia hija, su propia esposa y él mismo estaban en ese bote. La señora Pino testificará que George, su esposo, no estaba bajo los efectos de ninguna sustancia. Ella no habría puesto en riesgo su propia vida”.

Tras el receso, equipos de Miami Fire Rescue evaluaron a Pino y finalmente el proceso fue aplazado hasta el martes.

Existing home sales rose 3.2% in May from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales also rose 3.2% compared with May last year.

Home sales increased from a year earlier in the Midwest, South and West, but fell in the Northeast, NAR said.

The latest sales figure topped the roughly 4.07 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million.

Sales rose last month even as mortgage rates have continued to mostly trend higher this spring, although they remain below where they were a year ago.

Home prices continued to rise nationally last month. The U.S. median sales price increased 1.3% in May from a year earlier to $429,300, an all-time high for any May on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 35 months in a row.

Even so, home price growth is now lagging income growth in many areas. That, plus mortgage rates holding below where they were this time last year, is helping to improve affordability, giving the housing market momentum, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“I cannot definitively say if home sales are truly coming out of the slump, because we know that there’s still uncertainty related to the oil prices or how the mortgage rates will move,” Yun said, adding that he expects home sales will emerge from their multi-year slump if the average rate on a 30-year mortgage drops back closer to 6%.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. They have remained sluggish so far this year. They were flat in April after declining from a year earlier through the first three months of this year.

Years of soaring home prices, especially in the early part of this decade when rock-bottom mortgage rates fueled a buying frenzy, have left many would-be homebuyers frozen out of the market. And a chronic shortage of homes for sale nationally, due partly to years of below-average new home construction, has helped prop up home prices even in a multiyear sales slump.

Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in March and April, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6% — close to its lowest level in three and a half years — to 6.46%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The average rate was at 6.48% last week, down from 6.85% a year earlier.

While the average rate has remained below where it was a year ago, it has been mostly trending higher since the war with Iran began, disrupting the passage of tankers ferrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide and driving oil prices sharply higher. Expectations of high oil prices as the war continues have pushed up the long-term bond yields that lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans, causing mortgage rates to climb.

“If not for the war-related spike in inflation, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate could well be in the mid-to-upper 5’s,” said Ted Rossman, principal analyst at Bankrate.

Despite the uncertainty over mortgage rates, first-time buyers accounted for 35% of home purchases last month, the highest share going back to June 2020, Yun said. Historically, they made up 40% of home sales.

Those who can afford to buy at current rates are likely benefitting from buyer-friendly trends in many markets. In May, median list prices were down 2.4% from a year earlier, the steepest drop on data going back to 2017, according to Realtor.com.

They also have more homes on the market to choose from, although home inventory levels remain well below historical norms.

There were 1.55 million unsold homes at the end of May, up 3.3% from April and up 0.6% from May last year, NAR said. That’s still short of the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the COVID-19 pandemic.

May’s month-end inventory translates to a 4.5-month supply at the current sales pace. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

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The suspect, identified as Anthony Johnson, remains behind bars after police said he shot and killed a man outside a home along the 900 block of Northwest 34th Terrace.

On Monday, officers revealed new details about the investigation but did not release a video they said shows everything unfolding.

“As he’s approaching them, the victim is observed with his hands up in the air,” said Lauderhill Police Lt. Antonio Gonzalez, who added that Johnson fired his gun but initially did not strike anything.

“The victim proceeds to find cover near a trash can, and Anthony Johnson approaches him again and shoots him one time in the head,” said Gonzalez.

Police said it was Johnson who called 911.

“BSO dispatch heard a loud banging over the open line and the caller stated, ‘I just shot him,’” said Gonzalez.

The victim has been identified by police as 35-year-old Reginald Merisma.

Police said the shooting was targeted, but it’s not clear how the two know each other.

Investigators are also working to figure out what Johnson’s motive may have been for the shooting.

“There was sufficient probable cause to arrest him for first degree premeditated murder,” said Gonzalez.

The shooting is the second in less than 24 hours that was being investigated by the Lauderhill Police Department.

The other shooting happened at the Calypso Cay apartment complex off Northwest 21st Street.

The victim in that shooting remains in the hospital in stable but critical condition.

Detectives have yet to identify a suspect in that case.

El sospechoso, identificado como Anthony Johnson, permanece tras las rejas luego de que la policía indicara que le disparó y mató a un hombre afuera de una vivienda ubicada en la cuadra 900 de Northwest 34th Terrace.

El lunes, los agentes revelaron nuevos detalles de la investigación, pero no divulgaron un video que, según dijeron, muestra todo lo ocurrido.

“Mientras se acerca a ellos, se observa a la víctima con las manos en alto”, dijo el teniente de la policía de Lauderhill Antonio González, quien agregó que Johnson disparó su arma, pero inicialmente no impactó nada.

“La víctima procede a buscar refugio cerca de un contenedor de basura y Anthony Johnson se acerca nuevamente y le dispara una vez en la cabeza”, dijo González.

La policía indicó que fue Johnson quien llamó al 911.

“El centro de despacho de la BSO escuchó un fuerte golpe a través de la línea abierta y el llamante dijo: ‘Acabo de dispararle’”, señaló González.

La víctima fue identificada por la policía como Reginald Merisma, de 35 años.

La policía indicó que la balacera fue dirigida específicamente contra la víctima, pero no está claro cómo se conocían ambos hombres.

Los investigadores también trabajan para determinar cuál pudo haber sido el motivo de Johnson para cometer la balacera.

“Había causa probable suficiente para arrestarlo por asesinato premeditado en primer grado”, dijo González.

La balacera es la segunda en menos de 24 horas que estaba siendo investigada por el Departamento de Policía de Lauderhill.

La otra balacera ocurrió en el complejo de apartamentos Calypso Cay, cerca de Northwest 21st Street.

La víctima de esa balacera permanece hospitalizada en condición estable, pero crítica.

Los detectives aún no han identificado a un sospechoso en ese caso.

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It happened at approximately 8:30 p.m. along the 1700 block of North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

According to Fort Lauderdale police, a woman was struck by a vehicle and rushed by rescue crews to Broward Health Medical Center as a trauma alert.

Upon arrival at the hospital, officials said she was pronounced dead.

Police said the driver who struck the woman remained at the scene.

Witnesses at the scene told Local 10 News’ Samiar Nefzi that the woman was wearing all black when she was struck by a Hummer, which could be seen with damage to its passenger side.

“I guess the lady, she pulled out her phone, tried to use her flashlight to shine, flash a few times at the driver of the Hummer to kind of let them know, (but) they didn’t see,” said witness Luke Atkins. “I heard someone say to police the Hummer started braking a split second before the hit.”

Homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances that led up to the crash.

On Tuesday, it was time for the offensive lineman to make it official.

“This place is so special that it was hard to truly say goodbye. I’m so glad I got to learn and be a Cleveland Brown my entire career,” Bitonio said during a news conference after he announced his retirement via the team website earlier in the day.

The 34-year-old Bitonio reminisced about his career and future plans while his wife, Courtney, and three children looked on. The announcement also came on the day the Browns opened their three-day mandatory minicamp.

Bitonio played his entire career in Cleveland after he was selected in the second round (35th) of the 2014 draft. He was a stalwart at left guard and emerged as the leader of the offensive line when Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas retired after the 2017 season.

Bitonio’s 178 games — all starts — are ninth in franchise history. He has made the most starts in orange and brown since the franchise’s return to Cleveland in 1999.

“He was a model of consistency. I hardly ever remember Joel having a bad game,” owner Jimmy Haslam said. “He did what I think you ask everybody to do in any organization, and that is come to work, work hard, do your job, be a good team player, go home, spend time with your family, and come back and do it again, and he did that for 12 years.”

Even though Bitonio was still coming into the facility to rehab from offseason elbow surgery, there wasn’t any rush to make the retirement announcement until Bitonio felt like the time was right.

“We signed like three interior linemen on the first day of free agency, so that was kind of like me and AB (general manager Andrew Berry) had already discussed that I was going to retire and I was finishing up my career,” said Bitonio, a two-time All-Pro pick and selected seven times for the Pro Bowl. “I know my agent talked to a bunch of teams during the combine, and people asked if I was interested in continuing to play, but there never got anything where I was telling people I wanted to play for another team.”

The highlights of Bitonio’s career were being part of two playoff squads in 2020 and ’23. He missed the AFC wild-card game in Pittsburgh in January 2021 due to COVID-19. Cleveland’s 48-37 victory over the Steelers was their first playoff win since the 1994 season.

Bitonio had to watch the game at home.

“My neighborhood knew I was at home, and they started lighting off fireworks after the game, and they threw a little parade down the street. So it was an unbelievable experience because we got the win. I think it would have been heart-wrenching if you’re sitting there and the team loses,” he said.

Bitonio also had a front-row seat to the Browns’ fruitless quest to find a franchise quarterback. He was on the offensive line for 23 different quarterbacks, including 22 who made at least one start.

He was also the only Browns’ lineman to start and play all 17 games last season. Cleveland started 10 different line combinations last season because of injuries.

The Browns have made steady progress in rebuilding the offensive line. They drafted left tackle Spencer Fano with the ninth pick. They also signed left guard Zion Johnson and center/guard Elgton Jenkins while acquiring right tackle Tytus Howard from Houston.

The lone holdover from last season might be Teven Jenkins, who played all 17 games, including four starts at right guard.

“I think I was telling my wife the other day, it still kind of feels like an offseason right now. I’ve still been working out. I’m obviously not training as much, not at minicamp right now, but I think when training camp starts is going to be the real moment like, ‘OK, I’m retired from this,’ because that’s when everything really cranks up,” Bitonio said.

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El incidente ocurrió aproximadamente a las 8:30 p.m. en la cuadra 1700 de North Federal Highway, en Fort Lauderdale.

Según la policía de Fort Lauderdale, una mujer fue atropellada por un vehículo y trasladada por equipos de rescate al Broward Health Medical Center como paciente de trauma.

Al llegar al hospital, las autoridades informaron que fue declarada muerta.

La policía indicó que el conductor que atropelló a la mujer permaneció en el lugar.

Testigos en la escena dijeron a Samiar Nefzi, de Local 10 News, que la mujer vestía completamente de negro cuando fue atropellada por un Hummer, que presentaba daños en el lado del pasajero.

“Creo que la señora sacó su teléfono e intentó usar la linterna para hacer señales al conductor del Hummer, para que se diera cuenta, pero no la vio”, dijo el testigo Luke Atkins. “Escuché que alguien le dijo a la policía que el Hummer comenzó a frenar una fracción de segundo antes del impacto”.

Detectives de homicidios investigan las circunstancias que llevaron al accidente.

Now 72 and in her 14th year teaching at the YMCA of Greater Seattle, Santos has an almost cult-like following of older adults — many in their 80s and 90s — who come to stretch, dance and lift weights multiple times a week.

From Doris Day singalongs to hip-hop routines and country line dances, the classes get people kicking, popping and spinning.

Some of Santos' students say younger instructors — however great — don’t quite “get them” in the same way.

And Y organizers and other experts say many older instructors can be role models, speaking their peers' language in a way that makes exercise more fun.

Exercise can build social connections

Sharon Ruff, 81, was attracted to Santos’ classes by the eclectic mix of music, and loves the instructor’s energy and enthusiasm. Before she retired from her job as a teacher, she had never exercised regularly. “I didn’t really like it, because it wasn’t fun,” she says.

Her friend Ann Kashiwa, 91, often stays for two hour-long classes in a row. She started taking Santos’ classes during the pandemic, and has stuck with them through treatment for pancreatic cancer.

“She is not only a fantastic teacher, but she gets people together,” says Kashiwa, whose Y friendships have helped her through tough times.

Santos says inspiration flows both ways. Her students inspire her to keep going, she says, and “I’m hoping I inspire them to keep going.”

What older instructors can offer

Exercise and being with people are crucial for healthy aging, so finding incentives to do that is important.

“Everybody has to figure out what their barriers are” and come up with strategies to make physical activity rewarding, says Daniel E. Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard and author of several books, including “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.”

Finding someone to get you moving, whether an instructor or a friend, can help overcome that natural resistance.

“People who stay active as they get older are important role models for everyone,” Lieberman says.

Harry King, an 83-year-old personal trainer in Greenville, South Carolina, agrees that motivation to take that first step is tough for many people, and becomes even harder as their mobility weakens.

King had always been active – kayaking, hiking and playing basketball – but when he retired from his job as an insurance executive and business coach, he felt a pull toward a comfortable chair in front of the TV. But that got boring fast, so when he saw a Help Wanted sign at Planet Fitness, he applied and worked his way up to become a trainer.

Most of his clients are 50 or older.

“I’ve heard people say I set a good example and I try to,” he says. “At my age, if I can exercise, why can’t other people too?”

Recruiting older instructors

The YMCA in Seattle is mindful of the value of having an older instructor leading a senior class.

“We don’t put an age limit on our applicants,” says program executive Kerry Ashby, who started there as a younger instructor for the Active Older Adults program. The Y does recruit from within the older adult classes, and a lot of instructors are former participants.

“We know it’s more than just fitness for the majority of our active older adults,” Ashby says. “It’s also the mental and emotional aspect.”

Tom Kleinecke, 67, has been a member of the Y for 18 years and has sampled many different classes. Younger instructors, he says, tend to teach their classes, while Santos leads and inspires.

Kleinecke says his fitness and endurance have improved noticeably since he started taking three of Santos’ classes a week. Although he’s fit, he says, it’s challenging to keep up with her.

One of the classes includes a faster-paced dance class not designed for older students. At first, parts were tough to follow, he said, but before long, he knew all the steps, from mambo to moonwalk.

“If you’re worried about being out of sync and uncoordinated, don’t worry about it because nobody is paying attention to you,” Kleinecke says. They’re all watching the instructor.

Now, he and his wife go out dancing on the weekends.

Looking forward to working out

Santos says she considers the ages and backgrounds of her students when choosing the exercise class soundtrack.

“I always tell other instructors it isn’t your class, it’s their class,” she says.

She also teaches smaller classes in three senior living facilities. Those students range from 80 to 102.

“The caregivers wheel them out. I play their music. It triggers their memory,” from Judy Garland to Louie Armstrong, Santos says. “When they see me they think they’re going to party.”

Some even waltz in their chairs.

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According to an arrest report from the Margate Police Department, Joel Ern Pizarro, of Pompano Beach, was arrested on a lewd and lascivious charge following the May 27 incident that occurred in the 6600 block of West Atlantic Boulevard.

Police said Pizarro and the victim, who was on the way to school, were riding the bus when the girl noticed that Pizarro moved to the empty seat directly across the aisle from her and then began masturbating while looking at her.

The victim tried to discreetly record Pizarro with her phone before looking away, authorities said.

According to the report, when the bus arrived at the victim’s stop she spoke to the bus driver about what occurred as Pizarro exited the bus.

Police said the victim provided a description of the suspect to officers before they escorted her to school.

According to the report, she later identified Pizarro to police in a photo lineup.

Authorities noted in the report that in November 2025, Pizarro was arrested at the Broward County Tri-Rail Station on Northwest 33^rd Street in Pompano Beach after employees saw him masturbating in a public stairwell.

As of Tuesday morning, Pizarro was being held at the Broward County Main Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Margate, Joel Ern Pizarro, de Pompano Beach, fue arrestado por un cargo de actos lascivos e indecentes tras el incidente ocurrido el 27 de mayo en la cuadra 6600 de West Atlantic Boulevard.

Según la policía, Pizarro y la víctima, que se dirigía a la escuela, viajaban en el autobús cuando la niña notó que Pizarro se movió al asiento vacío que estaba justo enfrente de ella, al otro lado del pasillo, y luego comenzó a masturbarse mientras la miraba.

Según las autoridades, la víctima intentó grabar discretamente a Pizarro con su teléfono antes de apartar la mirada.

Según el informe, cuando el autobús llegó a la parada de la víctima, ella habló con el conductor sobre lo ocurrido cuando Pizarro bajó del autobús.

La policía informó que la víctima proporcionó una descripción del sospechoso a los agentes antes de que la acompañaran a la escuela.

Según el informe, posteriormente ella identificó a Pizarro ante la policía en una rueda de reconocimiento fotográfica.

Las autoridades señalaron en el informe que, en noviembre de 2025, Pizarro fue arrestado en la estación Tri-Rail del condado de Broward, en la calle Northwest 33rd ^de Pompano Beach, después de que los empleados lo vieran masturbándose en una escalera pública.

Hasta el martes por la mañana, Pizarro permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal del condado de Broward bajo una fianza de $50,000 USD.

The chance of rain will steadily increase through the week as thunderstorms develop closer to the coastline, especially Friday into the weekend. So far it looks like typical rainy season thunderstorms so rainfall totals don’t look extreme and it doesn’t look like a washout.

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The Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the couple as Jeyson Javier, 32, of Opa-locka, and Daniela Alfonso Dominguez, 25.

According to Javier’s arrest report, BSO detectives from the agency’s Burglary Apprehension Team were following a Honda Civic Friday when they spotted Javier exiting the driver’s side door of the car with a skateboard in hand and then going over to a parking lot at 2200 S. Ocean Drive in Hollywood.

Detectives said Javier forcefully entered a 2025 Honda CR-V, re-programmed the vehicle and then took off in it as the Civic followed it back to Miami-Dade.

According to the report, Javier stopped the SUV in Miami Gardens where he appeared to rip off the vehicle’s GPS and then drove it to an apartment complex at 20401 NW 17^th Avenue in Miami Gardens.

“This is consistent with (the) suspect utilizing an apartment complex as a cool down location for the stolen vehicle,” the report stated.

Detectives said Javier then re-entered the Civic and drove away before he was stopped by authorities in the area of Northwest 27^th Avenue and 183^rd Street.

Deputies said both Javier and Dominguez were taken into custody, and their daughter was found sleeping in the back seat of the Civic.

According to the report, multiple items were found in the car that were believed to be used to steal vehicles.

Both Javier and Dominguez declined to speak with detectives, the report stated.

They both face charges of grand theft auto, possessing burglary tools with intent to use and child neglect without great bodily harm. Javier also has an out of county hold for grand theft of a motor vehicle, online jail records show.

As of Tuesday morning, Javier was being held at the Broward County Main Jail without bond and Dominguez was no longer appearing in the online jail database.

La Oficina del Sheriff de Broward (BSO) identificó a la pareja como Jeyson Javier, de 32 años y residente de Opa-locka, y Daniela Alfonso Domínguez, de 25 años.

Según el informe de arresto de Javier, detectives de la Unidad de Captura de Ladrones de la BSO seguían un Honda Civic el viernes cuando observaron a Javier salir por la puerta del conductor con una patineta en la mano y dirigirse a un estacionamiento ubicado en 2200 S. Ocean Drive, en Hollywood.

Los detectives indicaron que Javier ingresó por la fuerza a una Honda CR-V 2025, reprogramó el vehículo y luego se marchó en él mientras el Civic lo seguía de regreso a Miami-Dade.

Según el informe, Javier detuvo el SUV en Miami Gardens, donde aparentemente arrancó el sistema GPS del vehículo, y luego lo condujo hasta un complejo de apartamentos ubicado en 20401 NW 17th Avenue, en Miami Gardens.

“Esto es consistente con que el sospechoso utilice un complejo de apartamentos como lugar de enfriamiento para el vehículo robado”, señala el informe.

Los detectives dijeron que Javier volvió a subir al Civic y se marchó antes de ser detenido por las autoridades en el área de Northwest 27th Avenue y 183rd Street.

Los agentes informaron que tanto Javier como Domínguez fueron detenidos y que su hija fue encontrada dormida en el asiento trasero del Civic.

Según el informe, en el vehículo fueron encontrados varios objetos que se cree eran utilizados para robar vehículos.

Tanto Javier como Domínguez se negaron a hablar con los detectives, indica el informe.

Ambos enfrentan cargos de robo mayor de vehículo, posesión de herramientas de robo con intención de utilizarlas y negligencia infantil sin causar daño corporal grave. Los registros de la cárcel muestran además que Javier tiene una retención de otro condado por robo mayor de vehículo de motor.

Hasta la mañana del martes, Javier permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal del condado Broward sin derecho a fianza y Domínguez ya no aparecía en la base de datos de la cárcel en línea.

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“We are the family of Melanie Lauren Hyer — her mother and her sister, and Alvin Jaramillo, the man who had the privilege of being her husband, and who remained one of her closest and most devoted friends until the day she was taken from us,” the statement read. “We speak together because Melanie deserves to have her story told accurately, and because her daughters — Savannah and Sienna — deserve the same.”

According to investigators, Doral police officers responded to the victims’ home in the gated Doral Isles community on the night of June 2 after a concerned family friend requested a welfare check.

Authorities said officers entered the home and found the victims dead, along with the girls’ father, 42-year-old Ryan Whiten. Police confirmed they all had stab wounds on their bodies.

“Ryan Whiten’s actions have shattered our family in ways that words cannot express,” Hyer’s family said. “Melanie was a woman of extraordinary warmth and fierce devotion to her daughters. Savannah and Sienna were joyful, bright, beloved girls who had their entire lives ahead of them. The loss of all three of them — violently, without warning — is a wound that will never heal.”

“We would like to clarify any confusion regarding the perpetrator of this heinous act,” the statement continued. “Ryan was the biological father of Savannah and Sienna. He and Melanie were never married, and he had a history of drug abuse. Melanie had full custody of the children with visitation by Ryan, who for a time lived in the same development. After Ryan viciously murdered Melanie and their two daughters, he took his own life.”

The statement identified Jaramillo as Melanie’s ex-husband, who the family said “remains a loving part of the Hyer family.”

Friends of Hyer told Local 10 News that she was a loving mother and a real estate agent, who also supported South Florida nonprofit efforts, including literacy programs for children through The Lucy Project.

Hyer’s daughters, Savannah, 11, and Sienna, 8, were both students at Downtown Doral Academy.

“We are grateful for the outpouring of love from the Doral community, from Melanie’s wide network of colleagues and clients, from the families at Downtown Doral Academy and from the countless people whose lives she touched,” the family’s statement read. “Please hold the memory of Melanie, Savannah and Sienna gently in your hearts.”

The statement was signed, “With profound grief, Jill Hyer, Corry Hyer and Alvin Jaramillo.”

Hyer’s obituary can be read in full below:

Melanie Lauren Hyer

46 years old — Devoted Mother, Daughter, Sister and Friend

Melanie Lauren Hyer, 46, was a devoted mother, a cherished daughter and sister, and one of South Florida’s most respected real estate professionals. Born and raised in Manhasset, New York, Melanie grew up with a deep sense of community, forming friendships that would span a lifetime. She was especially close to her older sister Corry, who was both her confidante and her companion through all of life’s adventures.

Melanie’s parents — her mother, Jill, and her father, Douglas Hyer — provided a loving and steadfast foundation on which she built her life. Jill was a constant and guiding presence from Melanie’s earliest days, a closeness that never dimmed and that extended warmly to Savannah and Sienna as they grew. A Spanish teacher while Melanie was growing up, Jill instilled in Melanie an excitement for foreign languages and an early passion for becoming fluent in several of them. Doug, who predeceased her, instilled in Melanie the values of hard work and excellence that would define everything she touched. Doug’s wanderlust for travel planted Melanie’s life-long pursuit of new countries and friends across the world.

Melanie attended Tulane University and studied in Madrid and Buenos Aires, which deepened her love of Latin culture and language. This became an asset when she decided at the age of 23 to relocate from New York to the warmth of Florida, settling in Miami. She was a woman with a fierce internal compass, one who charted her own course and held it. So, it comes as no surprise that she was in fact a captain at sea. A spirited and familiar presence on South Florida’s waterways, Melanie could be found standing at the helm with her daughters by her side, or on a boat entertaining groups of her many friends.

She built her career over more than two decades, beginning at Keller Williams Realty before co-founding Pro Estate Realty in 2022. In that time she sold over 1,000 properties across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, launched a development company of her own — buying and renovating properties as far north as Jupiter — and was a trusted voice in the industry and a frequent expert commentator in the media.

But what set Melanie apart was not the breadth of her work — it was the depth of her heart. She built her professional identity around probate real estate, a specialized field that guides families through one of the most difficult transitions imaginable: the transfer of a loved one’s home and assets after death. It takes a certain kind of person to choose this work — someone with patience, compassion and the rare ability to make people feel genuinely cared for at their most vulnerable. That was Melanie. Her warmth allowed her to excel in ways that numbers alone cannot capture.

Away from work, Melanie lived with equal passion. She was an avid traveler. Like her father, she put pins in the world map on her wall, illustrating the more than 20 countries she visited. Most recently, she went with Corry and friends to Greece on a “Sister’s Trip” where laughs, shopping and plenty of great wine and food ensued.

Closer to home, she was a vibrant presence in the Doral community. Doral Mayor Christi Fraga remembered her as “a light of sunshine,” and her longtime friend, journalist, attorney and war veteran Willard Shepard, described her as “extremely friendly and meticulous in everything she did.”

Above all else, Melanie was a mother. Savannah, 11, and Sienna, 8 — joyful, bright, beloved girls who had their entire lives ahead of them — were her greatest joy and her deepest purpose. Savannah is described as having a constant smile and the best heart. Sienna was a charismatic force who lit up every room she entered. They are also gone too soon.

Melanie is survived by her mother, Jill Hyer; her sister, Corry Hyer; her nephew, Archer Hyer, 13; her niece, Lexie Hyer, 12; and her beloved former husband and devoted, treasured friend, Alvin Jaramillo. She was predeceased by her father, Douglas Hyer. In her final journey, Melanie will be laid to rest alongside her daughters Savannah, 11 and Sienna, 8.

“Somos la familia de Melanie Lauren Hyer: su madre y su hermana, y Alvin Jaramillo, el hombre que tuvo el privilegio de ser su esposo y que siguió siendo uno de sus amigos más cercanos y dedicados hasta el día en que nos fue arrebatada”, indica el comunicado. “Hablamos juntos porque Melanie merece que su historia sea contada con precisión y porque sus hijas, Savannah y Sienna, merecen lo mismo”.

Según los investigadores, agentes de la policía de Doral respondieron a la vivienda de las víctimas en la comunidad cerrada Doral Isles la noche del 2 de junio después de que un amigo de la familia solicitara una verificación de bienestar.

Las autoridades informaron que los agentes ingresaron a la vivienda y encontraron a las víctimas muertas, junto con el padre de las niñas, Ryan Whiten, de 42 años. La policía confirmó que todos presentaban heridas de arma blanca en sus cuerpos.

“Las acciones de Ryan Whiten han destrozado a nuestra familia de maneras que las palabras no pueden expresar”, dijo la familia de Hyer. “Melanie era una mujer de extraordinaria calidez y una madre ferozmente dedicada a sus hijas. Savannah y Sienna eran niñas alegres, brillantes y muy queridas que tenían toda la vida por delante. La pérdida de las tres, de forma violenta y sin previo aviso, es una herida que nunca sanará”.

“Nos gustaría aclarar cualquier confusión respecto al responsable de este acto atroz”, continúa el comunicado. “Ryan era el padre biológico de Savannah y Sienna. Él y Melanie nunca estuvieron casados y tenía antecedentes de abuso de drogas. Melanie tenía la custodia total de las niñas, con visitas de Ryan, quien durante un tiempo vivió en la misma urbanización. Después de que Ryan asesinó brutalmente a Melanie y a sus dos hijas, se quitó la vida”.

El comunicado identificó a Jaramillo como el ex esposo de Melanie, quien, según la familia, “sigue siendo una parte amorosa de la familia Hyer”.

Amigos de Hyer dijeron a Local 10 News que era una madre amorosa y agente de bienes raíces, que además apoyaba iniciativas sin fines de lucro en el sur de Florida, incluidos programas de alfabetización infantil a través de The Lucy Project.

Las hijas de Hyer, Savannah, de 11 años, y Sienna, de 8, eran estudiantes de Downtown Doral Academy.

“Estamos agradecidos por la enorme muestra de cariño de la comunidad de Doral, de la amplia red de colegas y clientes de Melanie, de las familias de Downtown Doral Academy y de las innumerables personas cuyas vidas tocó”, señala el comunicado de la familia. “Por favor, mantengan el recuerdo de Melanie, Savannah y Sienna con cariño en sus corazones”.

El comunicado fue firmado: “Con profundo dolor, Jill Hyer, Corry Hyer y Alvin Jaramillo”.

A continuación, el obituario completo de Hyer:

Melanie Lauren Hyer

46 años — Madre, hija, hermana y amiga dedicada

Melanie Lauren Hyer, de 46 años, fue una madre dedicada, una hija y hermana muy querida, y una de las profesionales de bienes raíces más respetadas del sur de Florida. Nacida y criada en Manhasset, Nueva York, Melanie creció con un profundo sentido de comunidad, formando amistades que durarían toda la vida. Era especialmente cercana a su hermana mayor Corry, quien fue tanto su confidente como su compañera en todas las aventuras de la vida.

Los padres de Melanie, su madre Jill y su padre Douglas Hyer, le brindaron una base amorosa y firme sobre la que construyó su vida. Jill fue una presencia constante y orientadora desde los primeros días de Melanie, una cercanía que nunca disminuyó y que también se extendió cálidamente a Savannah y Sienna mientras crecían. Maestra de español cuando Melanie era niña, Jill le inculcó entusiasmo por los idiomas extranjeros y una pasión temprana por dominar varios de ellos. Douglas, quien falleció antes que ella, le inculcó los valores del trabajo duro y la excelencia que definirían todo lo que hacía. Su pasión por los viajes sembró en Melanie una búsqueda permanente por conocer nuevos países y hacer amistades en todo el mundo.

Melanie asistió a Tulane University y estudió en Madrid y Buenos Aires, lo que profundizó su amor por la cultura y el idioma latino. Esto se convirtió en una ventaja cuando decidió, a los 23 años, mudarse de Nueva York al clima cálido de Florida y establecerse en Miami. Era una mujer con una brújula interna firme, que trazaba su propio camino y lo seguía. Por eso no sorprende que también fuera capitana marítima. Figura conocida y enérgica en las vías navegables del sur de Florida, Melanie podía ser vista al timón con sus hijas a su lado o en un bote entreteniendo a grupos de sus numerosos amigos.

Construyó su carrera durante más de dos décadas, comenzando en Keller Williams Realty antes de cofundar Pro Estate Realty en 2022. Durante ese tiempo vendió más de 1,000 propiedades en los condados de Miami-Dade, Broward y Palm Beach, lanzó su propia empresa de desarrollo inmobiliario —comprando y renovando propiedades hasta Jupiter— y se convirtió en una voz de confianza en la industria y comentarista frecuente en los medios.

Pero lo que distinguía a Melanie no era la amplitud de su trabajo, sino la profundidad de su corazón. Construyó su identidad profesional alrededor de los bienes raíces sucesorios, un campo especializado que ayuda a las familias durante una de las transiciones más difíciles imaginables: la transferencia de la vivienda y los bienes de un ser querido después de su muerte. Se necesita un tipo especial de persona para elegir este trabajo: alguien con paciencia, compasión y la rara capacidad de hacer que otros se sientan genuinamente acompañados en sus momentos más vulnerables. Esa era Melanie. Su calidez le permitió sobresalir de formas que los números por sí solos no pueden medir.

Lejos del trabajo, Melanie vivía con la misma pasión. Era una viajera entusiasta. Al igual que su padre, colocaba alfileres en un mapa del mundo en la pared, marcando los más de 20 países que visitó. Más recientemente, viajó con Corry y amigos a Grecia en un “Viaje de Hermanas”, donde compartieron risas, compras y abundante vino y buena comida.

Más cerca de casa, era una presencia vibrante en la comunidad de Doral. La alcaldesa de Doral, Christi Fraga, la recordó como “un rayo de sol”, y su amigo de muchos años, periodista, abogado y veterano de guerra Willard Shepard, la describió como “extremadamente amigable y meticulosa en todo lo que hacía”.

Por encima de todo, Melanie era madre. Savannah, de 11 años, y Sienna, de 8 —niñas alegres, brillantes y muy queridas que tenían toda la vida por delante— eran su mayor alegría y su propósito más profundo. Savannah era descrita como una niña de sonrisa permanente y gran corazón. Sienna era una fuerza carismática que iluminaba cada habitación a la que entraba. Ellas también se fueron demasiado pronto.

A Melanie le sobreviven su madre, Jill Hyer; su hermana, Corry Hyer; su sobrino Archer Hyer, de 13 años; su sobrina Lexie Hyer, de 12 años; y su querido ex esposo y amigo devoto y apreciado, Alvin Jaramillo. Le precedió en la muerte su padre, Douglas Hyer. En su último viaje, Melanie será sepultada junto a sus hijas Savannah, de 11 años, y Sienna, de 8.

El Sichuan Fish Restaurant, ubicado en el 1242 NE 163rd St. de North Miami Beach, fue clausurado el 2 de junio con 23 violaciones.

Los inspectores documentaron excrementos de roedores en múltiples áreas de la cocina, incluyendo el piso, debajo del lavaplatos y sobre cajas de bolsas de basura en el mostrador.

También hallaron tres cajas de caldo Spicy Mala Soup Base con Tallow de res con crecimiento de moho en el refrigerador, superficies de contacto con alimentos sucias y carne cruda almacenada sobre fideos cocidos.

Una inspección de seguimiento al día siguiente encontró siete excrementos adicionales de roedor en el área de almacenamiento seco. Desde julio de 2024, el local ha sido inspeccionado nueve veces, con cinco inspecciones de seguimiento requeridas.

El Elvis Italian Grille, en el 4261 Griffin Road de Dania Beach, fue cerrado el 5 de junio con 18 violaciones, luego de una inspección motivada por una queja.

Los inspectores encontraron al menos diez cucarachas vivas en la cocina —cerca de las estufas, los enfriadores y detrás de la máquina de hielo— así como cucarachas muertas en la estación de lavado, el área del bar y bajo el fregadero.

También detectaron moho en el interior del dispensador de hielo, residuos de leche en la máquina de espresso del bar e insectos voladores vivos en esa misma área.

Ambos establecimientos recibieron autorización para reabrir tras completar una limpieza y pasar una inspección de seguimiento.

De acuerdo con el reporte de arresto obtenido el lunes por Local 10 News, Naseline Timouche, de 27 años y residente del noroeste de Miami-Dade, fue arrestada el sábado y enfrenta cargos de abuso infantil agravado con daño corporal grave y negligencia infantil sin daño corporal grave.

Agentes del Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office dijeron que respondieron el sábado al domicilio de Timouche para realizar una verificación de bienestar y encontraron a la hija de la acusada con numerosas cicatrices y marcas en el cuerpo.

Los agentes indicaron que la niña les dijo que con frecuencia la dejaban sola en casa por períodos prolongados, incluso durante la noche.

Según el reporte, la víctima también declaró que había sido golpeada en múltiples ocasiones con un cable, una sartén y una espátula, y que su madre raramente le daba de comer en el hogar.

El reporte indica que la víctima señaló que Timouche no le permitía comer la comida de la casa porque era para “los invitados”, y la obligaba a consumir alimentos vencidos o sacados de la basura.

Según el reporte, la víctima aseguró que su madre a veces la despertaba de noche para golpearla con objetos sin motivo aparente, incluida una ocasión en que la golpeó en la cara con un cable cargador.

La policía indicó que las numerosas cicatrices en el cuerpo de la niña eran consistentes con sus declaraciones.

De acuerdo con el reporte, una vecina le dijo a la policía que conoció a la niña hace dos meses a través de otra vecina, y que desde entonces la ha dejado quedarse en su casa y le ha dado comida y refugio cuando la dejan sola.

La vecina declaró ante los agentes que el viernes vio a la niña caminando sola y que, una vez más, le proporcionó comida y ropa limpia, según las autoridades.

Según el reporte, Timouche hizo algún tipo de admisión ante los detectives; sin embargo, su declaración exacta fue redactada del reporte divulgado públicamente.

Hasta el lunes por la mañana, Timouche permanecía detenida en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Los registros de la cárcel en línea indicaban que su fianza estaba pendiente de fijación.

El ataque ocurrió poco antes de las 6 p.m. del martes en el Sleep Inn ubicado en el 105 de Fairway Drive. La sospechosa, identificada como Natasha Ethel Bagley, de 49 años en el momento del incidente y residente de Hialeah, fue arrestada al día siguiente y cumplió 50 años estando detenida.

Según la policía, una Bagley “furiosa” dañó el limpiaparabrisas, el señalizador de giro y el sellado del vehículo mientras el conductor intentaba, sin éxito, impedir que le robara el Kia EV9.

El jefe de la Policía de Miami Springs, Albert Sandoval, quien no asume oficialmente el cargo hasta el sábado, reaccionó al video.

“El señalizador de giro es probablemente una de las primeras cosas que llamó la atención en este arresto y es muy particular del caso”, dijo Sandoval.

Bagley tiene un extenso historial criminal en el condado Miami-Dade. Según los registros, se declaró culpable por participar junto a otra mujer en un ataque contra el gerente de un Burger King en el suroeste de Miami-Dade, en una disputa porque un empleado se negó a darles papas fritas gratis. Ahora enfrenta una serie de nuevos cargos.

“Hacemos responsable a cada persona por cada acción que tome dentro de nuestra ciudad”, dijo Sandoval.

Hasta el lunes por la mañana, Bagley permanecía detenida sin fianza en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

El incidente ocurrió poco después de las 4 p.m. del 24 de mayo en el Plunge Beach Resort en Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Cuando alguien en la piscina se percató de que un niño pequeño se estaba ahogando y no tenía pulso, el bombero del BSO Broderick Espinoza comenzó de inmediato a practicarle RCP.

Con la ayuda del teniente Jesus Fuentes, de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, el pequeño Tyler Nelson, de 5 años, recuperó el pulso y expulsó agua. Minutos después llegaron equipos de rescate del BSO y de Pompano Beach. Espinoza cargó a Tyler hasta los paramédicos, quienes lo trasladaron de urgencia a un hospital cercano. Fue dado de alta al día siguiente tras pasar la noche en observación y se espera que se recupere por completo. El lunes pasado pudo celebrar su graduación de kínder.

Dos enfermeras también fuera de servicio colaboraron en el rescate. Los cuatro son considerados héroes.

El BSO aprovechó el incidente para exhortar a los padres a supervisar de cerca y de manera constante a los niños pequeños cerca del agua, mantenerlos al alcance del brazo, evitar distracciones y instalar cercas, cerraduras y alarmas a prueba de niños en las áreas de piscina.

Según un reporte de arresto obtenido el lunes por Local 10 News, Quayshawn Akeem West, de 41 años y residente de Miami Beach, fue arrestado el viernes y enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en segundo grado.

La policía de Miami Beach indicó que el tiroteo fue reportado poco antes de las 5 a.m. del viernes afuera del Sandbar sports bar, ubicado en el 6752 de Collins Ave.

La víctima fue trasladada por rescate al Centro de Trauma Ryder del Jackson Memorial Hospital en estado crítico, pero falleció horas después a causa de sus heridas, según la policía.

De acuerdo con el reporte de arresto, testigos les proporcionaron a los agentes una descripción del sospechoso y declararon que la víctima y el acusado habían tenido una pelea física dentro del bar y que ambos fueron obligados a salir del establecimiento.

“En un esfuerzo por calmar la situación, los empleados del bar le indicaron al sujeto que se dirigiera a la parte trasera del local, que es un área de patio cerrado”, señala el reporte. “A la víctima se le pidió que saliera por la puerta principal. Ambas partes cumplieron con estas instrucciones.”

Testigos dijeron a la policía que minutos después escucharon disparos y luego encontraron a la víctima tendida en el suelo, sangrando de la cabeza.

Según el reporte, los testigos indicaron que la única persona en el área del patio en el momento del tiroteo era el sospechoso.

La policía señaló que las cámaras de vigilancia captaron la pelea dentro del Sandbar y también muestran a la víctima entrando al patio trasero por una puerta en el callejón.

“Se escucha un disparo y luego se ve a la víctima corriendo de regreso hacia la puerta del patio”, indica el reporte. “Cuando la víctima llega a la puerta, se ve al sujeto persiguiéndola. El sujeto es visto disparándole a la víctima en la parte trasera de la cabeza. La víctima cae inmediatamente al suelo, sin vida en el callejón.”

La policía indicó que West huyó de la escena tras el tiroteo, pero fue arrestado poco tiempo después.

La periodista de Local 10 News Sanela Sabovic habló con un hombre que dijo ser amigo de West y que se mostró sorprendido por lo ocurrido.

“Es buena persona, nunca molesta a nadie”, dijo el hombre, quien pidió no ser identificado. “Es un tipo tranquilo.”

Hasta el lunes por la mañana, West permanecía detenido en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center sin fianza.

El movimiento telúrico también llevó a la agencia de transporte del condado a cerrar las estaciones de Metrorail y Metromover adyacentes al edificio, con los trenes desviándose posteriormente para no detenerse en ellas. Agentes del Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office acordonaron el edificio y las estaciones.

Los pasajeros que se encontraban afuera del edificio expresaron su frustración por los cierres.

“Intentamos subirnos y no pudimos”, dijo la pasajera Zoyla Edwards, refiriéndose al Metromover. “Entonces tomé un Uber hasta el Government Center y está completamente cerrado.”

Funcionarios de la ciudad indicaron que el temblor se sintió en toda Miami, pero no se reportaron heridos de gravedad ni daños materiales significativos.

American Bridge 21st Century’s $50 million effort adds financial firepower to Democrats’ attempt to flip control of Congress in the midterm elections. The party has struggled to match Republicans’ fundraising, and it has lost ground in a nationwide redistricting battle that President Donald Trump initiated last year.

“We really have to maximize our wins and gains this year, particularly in Republican territory,” American Bridge co-founder Bradley Beychok said. “We are going all in.”

American Bridge, known for its opposition research, has been escalating its own advertising efforts. During the last presidential election, it announced plans to spend $140 million in an attempt to siphon away Trump’s support among rural voters.

Beychok said the idea for the midterms campaign was seeded last year, when he attended an inauguration rally and saw the slogan “Trump will fix it.”

“Trump made a big promise to these working-class voters that he was gonna bring down costs,” Beychok said. Now it’s clear, he said, “that Trump and Republicans really broke that covenant.”

The House seats American Bridge is targeting are in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. On the Senate side, they’re getting involved in races in Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and Mississippi.

The group passed on Senate races in states like Maine, North Carolina and Texas because it doesn’t expect those to lack resources.

The campaign will involve digital ads, streaming audio and television, social media, direct mail and radio.

Beychok said the organization is learning to focus on issues at a “visceral level,” and featuring specific voters so they can offer firsthand accounts of their experiences with the economy.

Making the pitch in American Bridge ads will be voters like Brad Singleton, a 50-year-old personal trainer from Walford, Iowa. Singleton said he was a Republican for 32 years until recently when dissatisfaction with the president led him to change registrations to Democratic.

For Singleton, the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot was the start of his changing view of the president, who he said “threw a fit like a toddler” over the 2020 election results. But by 2024, he voted for Trump again, persuaded by the Make American Healthy Again movement.

“I immediately regretted it,” Singleton said. “Because of the economy, because of this war with Iran, because so many things that have happened.”

“I feel like Donald Trump cares about himself and his millionaire buddies,” he added. “He does not care about me.”

Jill Kordick, 64, a retired health care administrator from Norwalk, Iowa, is another voter featured in the group’s ads.

A registered independent, she described her political views as moderate to progressive. She said Trump’s second term has spurred her to get more involved in politics, such as attending No Kings rallies and speaking up at meetings with lawmakers.

Kordick said she’s aware how challenging it could be to flip Republican-leaning districts, and she’s asking herself how best to bring people who feel like the president let them down to the Democrats’ side.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be easy,” she said. “I think there has to be some way to invite people to the table so that they can feel better about how they vote and not feel so stuck or embarrassed by what they voted for in the past.”

___

Catalini reported from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Frank Bisignano is expected to face pointed questions from lawmakers at a hearing on his agency’s customer service performance, its ability to pay Americans their benefits, protect their privacy, and other questions about the inner workings of the SSA.

He plans to tout shorter wait times and other customer service metrics to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing slated for Wednesday, and slam his predecessor for requiring appointments for field office visits, in a letter to lawmakers viewed by The Associated Press.

In the letter, Bisignano states that the SSA has cut phone wait times by 75% under his leadership, fixed frustrating website issues, and served 50% more people.

“I’ve been very clear. We will meet clients where they want to be met. You want to call us on a phone, we’ll have technology on the phone, or you can talk to somebody on the phone. You want to come to a field office, you can come with an appointment, or without,” Bisignano told The Associated Press in an interview.

Critics argue those gains are being achieved through temporary staffing shifts, increased reliance on online services, and workforce reductions that have created longer-term service risks, shifting bottlenecks around rather than solving staffing problems.

Bisignano dismisses the criticism. “People boo at Yankee Stadium, even when they’re winning,” he said.

Bisignano took over the agency after a series of chaotic customer service changes, leadership exits, and false allegations made by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — who ran the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting program — that millions of dead people were receiving benefits.

The SSA cut 7,000 workers at the start of the Trump administration. Roughly 2,000 employees were reassigned last year into direct-service positions, including staff whose jobs don't normally involve answering calls.

The SSA's Inspector General — its internal watchdog — has identified ongoing errors in benefit administration and claims processing. But its latest semiannual report to Congress also shows the agency has made measurable progress in improving telephone service and deploying technology to speed disability claims processing.

The union representing SSA employees and field office workers says some offices are severely understaffed. That includes Ironwood, Michigan; Decorah, Iowa; Havre, Montana; Big Spring, Texas; Sheridan, Wyoming; Glasgow, Montana; Pierre, South Dakota; Cedar City, Utah; and Cody, Wyoming, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220.

But Bisignano said no field offices have been closed and noted that the agency is committed to meeting clients where they prefer.

“What I’m trying to achieve is to have a better way for the American public to interact with the Social Security Administration,” Bisignano said.

Bisignano also serves as chief executive of the IRS, in a role that was created by the Trump administration. Asked about a new tax audit immunity deal for Trump and his family that was part of the controversial settlement crafted to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Bisignano referred The Associated Press to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comments to a congressional committee, where he refused comment on ongoing litigation.

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning for the port city, including the Christian quarter, which has been spared so far.

The statement by the Christian leaders was from George Iskandar, the metropolitan archbishop of Tyre for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and Dependencies; and Charbel Abdullah, the archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre.

The warning from Israel's military prompted hundreds of people to flee the Christian district along the Mediterranean coast, while members of the Civil Defense evacuated older people to safer areas, the state-run National News Agency said.

Cars packed with mattresses, luggage and household belongings stretched for kilometers along Lebanon’s coastal highway, as residents fled Tyre following the latest Israeli warning. Traffic ground to a halt as families crammed whatever they could into vehicles, with carpets protruding from rooftops, and trunks were left partially open to accommodate furniture and personal belongings.

“After the warnings in Tyre, we left. We picked up and left,” said Ali Bahar, who was traveling with his wife and three children in a car loaded with possessions.

“Where should we go? There is nowhere to go,” Bahar said. “We will end up in the streets. We are heading to Sidon.”

Nearby, Hussein Darwish sat in the gridlock after packing his vehicle with what he could carry.

“We left to be reassured and safe,” he said.

An Israeli airstrike Tuesday in another neighborhood in Tyre killed eight people and wounded 32 others, according to the Health Ministry.

The three Christian leaders called on the international community and Lebanese leaders to “take immediate and serious action to spare the old quarter of Tyre from destruction and human tragedies.”

The Israeli warning to Tyre came after Israel and Iran traded fire following Israel's targeting of Hezbollah in Beirut on Sunday, triggering heightened tensions in the Middle East and fears that the conflict could spread further.

Over the past few weeks, Israel’s airstrikes have caused wide destruction in Tyre, the fourth-largest city in the country.

Considered one of the oldest metropolises of the world, Tyre has several archaeological sites, some of them submerged. The city was officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

“The old city is not merely a residential area,” the clergy said in their statement. “It is the historical and human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families, children, and the elderly.”

They said that the old quarter also holds a rich cultural, religious and civilizational heritage dating back centuries.

“Any targeting or destruction of this neighborhood would constitute a humanitarian and national catastrophe with irreversible consequences,” they warned.

Kfoury said that the ongoing conflict isn't only a war on Hezbollah.

“The war is against all of Lebanon, not just one particular group within Lebanon,” he said.

“They are destroying Lebanon. Period,” Kfoury said about the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28.

He said that the fighting should stop because it's a “destructive war.”

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas over the past two weeks, because they were spared from the aerial bombardment along the Mediterranean coast.

After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted on X that as the military warned days ago that Hezbollah members were working inside the Christian district, the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”

Adraee said that any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes “may be subject to targeting.”

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon has killed around 3,500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million.

___

Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut.

A spokesman for the 27-nation EU’s executive arm on Tuesday disputed Apple’s explanation for why the company can't include European users when the app launches later this year.

“We indeed need to set the record straight,” European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said. “The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only because absolutely nothing in the DMA prohibits Apple from introducing new products in the EU."

Regnier was referring to the Digital Markets Act, a tough EU rule book that aims to stop Big Tech "gatekeepers" from locking out rivals.

Apple had blamed the DMA after unveiling its upgraded artificial intelligence assistant a day earlier at its annual developers conference. It said in a statement Monday that it wouldn't be available for iPhone and iPad users in the EU, and did not provide any timetable.

The DMA requires the biggest tech platforms to give access to rivals on equal terms. But Apple complained that under Brussels' “extreme interpretation” of the rule book, the company would have to give any virtual assistant “direct access" to user data without “essential protections." Apple said it designed a solution and a plan to roll it out gradually over 18 months, but the commission rejected its proposals.

Regnier had a different version.

“Instead of trying to find a suitable, compliant solution," Apple merely asked the commission for a 18-month exemption, he told reporters at a regular briefing in Brussels.

“Guess what? That’s not an option, because it would mean that no AI agent other than Siri AI, by the way, powered by Google, would have an equal chance to be chosen by iPhone users."

EU law is “non-negotiable," Regnier said. “The commission won’t give any exemptions, just like a police officer would not exempt a driver from respecting the speed limit.”

__

AP writer Sam McNeil contributed to this report

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The incident occurred just after 4 p.m. on May 24 at the Plunge Beach Resort in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

When someone at the pool realized a young child was drowning and did not have a pulse, BSO firefighter Broderick Espinoza immediately started CPR on the boy.

With assistance from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Jesus Fuentes, 5-year-old Tyler Nelson regained a pulse and coughed up water.

Minutes later, rescue crews from BSO and Pompano Beach arrived.

Espinosa then carried Tyler to paramedics, who rushed him to a nearby hospital for treatment.

He was checked out by staff and released after spending the night at the hospital.

Tyler is expected to make a full recovery and was able to celebrate his kindergarten graduation last Monday.

BSO is now urging all parents to closely and constantly supervise young children near water, to keep small children within arms’ reach, to avoid all distractions when watching your kids and to install child-proof fencing, locks and alarms to keep kids from entering pool areas.

Two off-duty nurses also helped assist in Tyler’s rescue.

All four are being hailed heroes.

The results aren't in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faces serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday marks an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who's fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party will be tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he’s endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hope to build momentum in Nevada in their broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.

Here's the latest:

What to expect in North Dakota’s state primary

North Dakota’s lone U.S. House member faces a partial rematch of her 2024 nomination race in a state primary Tuesday. Also on the ballot is a proposed amendment to the state constitution, while residents of Fargo will elect a new mayor.

Republican U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak seeks a second term. She faces another primary challenge from former foreign service officer Alex Balazs, who placed fourth in the 2024 contest with 4% of the vote behind her and others. Fedorchak went on to win the general election with 69% of the vote against Democrat Trygve Hammer, who also is running again and will face the winner of this year’s Republican primary.

Voters will also choose nominees for several top statewide offices, although candidates for most of those offices, such as secretary of state, state attorney general and state agriculture commissioner, are running unopposed.

Many of the state’s top elected offices, such governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and both U.S. Senate seats, won’t be up for election until 2028 or later.

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Lindsey Graham’s reelection campaign started with a show of force

More than a year before filing even opened for this year’s contests, Graham’s campaign said Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Henry McMaster would chair his 2026 run.

Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

McMaster is the state’s longest-serving governor, having been elected twice after serving the remaining two years of Nikki Haley’s term after she became Trump’s first ambassador to the United Nations.

Busy primaries for Maine governor as Janet Mills prepares to leave office

Democrats and Republicans will pick nominees for governor to replace Mills as the Democrat’s time in office is winding to a close.

It’s a crowded field. Democrats are choosing between Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree; energy executive Angus King III; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.

Republicans will choose between former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles; healthcare executive Jonathan Bush; former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and businessmen David Jones and Ben Midgley.

Mills is termed out and will appear on the Democratic ballot for U.S. Senate, although she suspended her campaign weeks ago.

Nevada Democrats seek to tie Gov. Lombardo to Trump

As Nevada voters participate in primary elections Tuesday, the state Democratic Party has launched a website — www.thelombardotrumpway.com/ — to highlight GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo’s connections to the White House.

The site is an effort to connect the governor to the economic fallout from Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war. Lombardo is considered one of the most vulnerable governors in the country.

The Democrats vying to challenge Lombardo include state Attorney General Aaron Ford, who has the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He would be the first Black man elected governor of Nevada. He’s facing Democrat Alexis Hill, a county commissioner in northern Nevada who campaigned as a candidate willing to shake things up.

In GOP-heavy South Carolina, Democrats facing off in top races, too

Republicans have held all statewide-elected positions in South Carolina for more than a decade, but several Democrats are competing in primaries Tuesday for some of the state’s top posts.

Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, is vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham. Also in that contest is Brandon Brown, a former HBCU vice president and owner of funeral homes in Greenville.

In the governor’s race, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson and Greenville businessman Billy Webster are running in the Democratic primary. They’re joined by Mullins McLeod, an attorney who withstood calls from party leaders that he quit the race following an arrest last year for disorderly conduct.

Lindsey Graham’s reelection campaign coincides with the Iran war he’s pushed

The South Carolina senator’s bid for a fifth term coincides with the war he’s pushed for years. Graham has a close relationship with Trump and they speak regularly about the conflict.

But as voters mull whether to send Graham back to Washington, they’re also reckoning with the ongoing war, which has caused fissures among some of Trump’s most vocal supporters.

Graham frequently pushes Trump to take even more aggressive action, at one point suggesting that the U.S. military seize Kharg Island, which is critical for Iran’s oil industry.

Mace calls Evette a ‘disgrace’ after an altercation between their supporters

Rep. Nancy Mace says one of her supporters was assaulted at a Monday event with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, one of her rivals in South Carolina’s governor’s race.

The man was escorted from Evette’s rally, then walked the sidewalk speaking into a megaphone. Then another man wearing an Evette campaign hat is seen on video grabbing the device from his hands.

Court records show the Evette supporter, Blake Garrison Kirsch, was charged with third-degree assault and battery Tuesday. No attorney was listed. Evette’s campaign said Kirsch was not a staffer and had been removed from the campaign’s finance committee since the altercation.

Asked about the incident Tuesday, Evette told reporters after voting in Taylors she was “saddened” by the situation and doesn’t “tolerate violence on any level.”

Democratic dark horse candidate faces uphill battle for Nevada governor

Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill faces state Attorney General Aaron Ford, whose fundraising has dwarfed hers —$2.3 million compared to Hill’s $100,000. He also has the support of the entire Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Hill, a local official in the county that includes Reno, has run a grassroots campaign, promising to shake up the status quo in the Democratic Party. Ford has largely ignored her, fixing his sights on the November election.

The winner will most likely face Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, who's running for reelection.

Voter voices from Graham Platner’s hometown of Sullivan, Maine

Brenda Wood said she voted for Republicans in the primary because she doesn’t believe Platner’s campaign promises and expressed dissatisfaction with his party generally.

“I think the Democrats have been a disgrace to Maine for years,” she said.

Annette Babcock, also from Sullivan, said she supported Platner, whom she said she’s met a few times and likes because he’s not an established politician.

She did not sound concerned over recent controversies surrounding his campaign.

“The Republicans don’t have much moral high ground to stand on when they’re criticizing him for what he’s done when Trump is a convicted felon,” she said.

What’s at stake in Maine’s US Senate race

The road for the Democrats to take back the U.S. Senate goes through Maine. That road starts today.

The Democratic Party needs to net four seats to retake the Senate majority, and thinks some of its best chances are in states like Maine, North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio. The party is set to officially pick its nominee in Maine on Tuesday.

Oyster farmer and combat veteran Graham Platner is the party’s presumptive nominee because his main rival, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign weeks ago. Mills remains on the ballot. David Costello, who hasn't campaigned aggressively, is also on the ballot.

Evette calls Trump endorsement ‘golden ticket’ in her South Carolina gubernatorial campaign

After voting at her precinct in Taylors on Tuesday, South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette said she was confident about how her campaign for governor had gone.

But if she doesn’t win the primary outright and has to campaign for two more weeks in a runoff, the Republican said she’d work hard to win over voters who didn’t initially support her.

President Donald Trump is backing Evette’s bid and the candidate said that, while she thinks that will help her in this “proud Trump state,” she’ll focus primarily on her own stances, like cutting taxes and regulations.

Graham Platner’s tattoo and social media controversies, explained

Platner’s campaign has spent months navigating controversies about a tattoo of a Nazi symbol that he had covered up and his history of inflammatory online postings.

Platner has said he was drunk on leave with some fellow Marines many years ago when he got a skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest. He had it covered up last year after saying he learned that it was a Nazi image.

There has also been much attention on his former social media and Reddit posts, which were dismissive of military sexual assaults, insulting of police and rural residents and used homophobic slurs, for which he's apologized.

Trump’s hold on Nevada GOP to be tested

Nevada’s primary will give an indication of the influence the president maintains in the battleground state.

In 2024, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate in 20 years to win Nevada. For Tuesday’s primary, he's backed candidates in three of the state’s four congressional races:

1. State Sen. Carrie Buck in the 1st District, a seat long held by Democratic Rep. Dina Titus. 2. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. David Flippo in the 2nd District, which opened after Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement. 3. And “Halo” composer Marty O’Donnell in the 3rd District, the state’s most competitive seat. Trump narrowly won the district in 2024.

Trump has a string of victories for his endorsed candidates so far this primary season. That includes those he endorsed in an effort to take down Republicans he deemed insufficiently loyal.

The GOP primary for the 2nd District appears to be the most contentious. Trump’s endorsed candidate faces James Settelmeyer, a rancher with a long political resume who has the backing of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and the retiring incumbent.

South Carolina’s Republican governor primary was all about Trump’s support

Trump’s endorsement is a powerful factor in a state where Republicans dominate politics.

U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette all showcased their proximity to the president. Mace worked for his 2016 campaign, Norman votes with him in the House, Wilson traveled to New York City when Trump was on trial, and Evette hired one of his advisers for her campaign.

In the end, Trump endorsed Evette in the primary’s closing days, also saying on social media that “A BIG added plus” was that Henry McMaster Jr. — the sitting governor’s son — could be Evette’s running mate.

McMaster is close to Trump, backing him in 2016 when much of the Republican establishment was hesitant to embrace the New York businessman and reality television star. So when McMaster endorsed Evette in February, it was a sign that Trump’s support could be on the way.

4 Democrats running for crucial Maine congressional seat

Many Maine Democrats are voting to pick a candidate for the 2nd District, which Republicans see as a key chance to pick up a seat in the narrowly divided chamber.

Incumbent Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection. The 2nd District includes much of rural Maine and Trump has had great success there at the top of the ticket in the last three presidential elections.

The Republicans’ presumptive nominee is former Gov. Paul LePage. Democrats will choose between former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap; state Sen. Joe Baldacci; former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood; and social worker Paige Loud.

Nevada website shows the status of mail ballots

The Nevada Secretary of State’s Office has launched a website designed to provide transparency around mail ballots.

The website shows how many were mailed, returned and accepted. It also notes the number requiring fixes by voters. Nevada mails a ballot to every registered voter unless a voter opts out.

It’s one of several swing states where Trump disputed his loss in 2020 with false claims of fraud. The secretary of state at the time, a Republican, investigated various claims and found no evidence of any widespread fraud. Trump also has repeatedly attacked the use of mail ballots generally.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he created the website to increase transparency around Nevada’s elections and provide a way for voters to see in real-time how many ballots are outstanding.

Spaniards don’t argue that much about issues like abortion or guns, but they do debate tirelessly about language and their favorite sport, whose significance transcends fandom.

The U.S.-born pontiff had rubbed Barcelona’s soccer fans the wrong way by saying he roots for Real Madrid instead of their beloved Barça. Barcelona’s residents had already been speculating that he might make minimal use of their native Catalan during his trip to Barcelona instead of Spanish, which he speaks fluently.

The pope sought to disabuse them of the latter assumption soon after his arrival by speaking first in Catalan. The languages and teams have been longtime wedges between Spain’s two biggest cities.

The pope visited Real Madrid’s museum

“The pope is for all teams, but Prevost is for Real Madrid" were the words that sealed Leo's sporting fate with many a Barça fan when he responded to a question on the papal plane en route to Spain.

Real Madrid proudly posted the video of the moment, and social media filled with comments about how the club is “the team of God.”

Tomás Roncero, a popular sports commentator for the widely read Spanish sports daily AS, said in a video that “the pope can’t be for Barça, because it is a sinful club ... in his heart he is of a pure and clean club like Madrid."

The Real Madrid-Barcelona divide is one of the biggest rivalries in club football.

For many non-Madrid fans, especially those in Spain’s regions with different languages and strong local identities like Catalonia, Real Madrid is associated with strong central power. Many consider it almost a pillar of the state, along with the central government and the Catholic Church. Barça, meanwhile, is closely aligned with Catalan nationalism, and was famously called "Catalonia's unarmed army."

The pope, who preached unity to Spain's capital, aligned himself closely with Real Madrid during events in the city.

On Monday, thousands of Catholics packed the stadium of Real Madrid for a rally with the pope featuring dancers kicking soccer balls, while dressed in the white and yellow colors of the Holy See.

“Today the Church in Madrid has scored a great goal to always be remembered!” Leo said at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, where he also met privately on the sidelines with Puerto Rican musical sensation Bad Bunny.

The pope even visited the club’s museum to peruse its packed trophy case with Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who gave him a Madrid shirt with “Robert F. Prevost” on the back.

Folks in Barcelona noticed.

“A figure as important as he is shouldn’t take sides. Now that he has said that he supports Real Madrid, well, I am sorry, he has messed it up," said Eduard Modroño, an office worker and Barcelona fan. He noted that Leo and Madrid players, whose uniforms are pristine white, also dress similarly.

“He wears all white, doesn’t he? Enough said,” said Modroño, as he spoke outside the Sagrada Familia basilica, where the pope on Wednesday will celebrate a Mass in the major event of his stop in Spain’s second city.

Pope begins his homily in Barcelona with Catalan

Leo began his homily at Barcelona’s cathedral with a few words in Catalan and switched between it and Spanish in his first public address in the city.

“Beloved brothers and sisters, it is with great pleasure that I start my visit holding the midday prayer at this cathedral,” he said in Catalan.

Catalan and Spanish are spoken side-by-side in Catalonia, but are often weaponized politically.

Catalan, spoken by around 10 million people, was suppressed by Spain's 20th-century dictatorship under Gen. Francisco Franco, according to Catalans, who remain protective of their tongue. Its survival was an important driver of separatist sentiment during a recent push for independence that reached its peak in a failed breakaway bid in 2017.

The pope squeezed in a visit with Catalonia’s regional president, Salvador Illa, on Tuesday before a prayer vigil at the city's Olympic Stadium. Among other gifts related to the history of the Church in Catalonia, Illa gave him a reproduction of the 12th-century “Homilies d’Organyà,” a collection of sermons that is among the oldest examples of a Catalan literary text.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI used some Catalan when they visited Barcelona in 1982 and 2010, respectively. Spain’s king speaks Catalan when he's in Catalonia, but it's rare for Spanish politicians from non-Catalan speaking regions to do so.

The pope speaking a few words in Catalan may not be enough for many residents. But some were appreciative of the gesture.

“Speaking the language of the land that welcomes you is a wonderful act of love and respect. I hope you enjoy your visit to Catalonia, my nation,” Míriam Noqueras’ political party, Junts, said she told the pontiff — in English — when they briefly spoke at Spain’s parliament on Monday.

The archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella, has tried to downplay the issue.

“The pope knew beforehand that he is coming to a country (Catalonia) where people speak a very old language that has never been lost through the centuries,” Omella told reporters. “He knows this and has prepared his speeches and his homily, while keeping in mind that he can only do so much and doesn’t want to end up looking silly in a language he doesn’t speak.”

For Modroño, the soccer fan, speaking in Catalan is more important than anything related to sports.

“It is a lack of respect not to speak entirely in Catalan," he said.

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AP writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report.

A drone boat rescued two Army aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the waterway that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel. Trump said in a social media post that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”

House Republicans hope to approve nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement on Tuesday, which would fund Homeland Security throughout President Donald Trump’s time in office. Democrats call it a blank check that imposes no limits on agents despite the deaths of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

The Trump administration is vowing to appeal a federal judge’s rejection of its $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, saying the much-higher fee aims to prevent foreign workers from taking American jobs. Schools and states say filling teacher and doctor jobs was already hard enough before the fee hike.

Trump says he’ll nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the full-time job, setting up a Senate test of his use of the Justice Department to pursue his foes and give himself immunity from potential tax crimes. And as he looks forward to celebrating his 80th birthday party Sunday with a UFC cage match, Trump has begun suggesting that the eight-sided, wire-mesh cage could become a permanent South Lawn fixture.

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US tells Europe to step up measures to prevent spread of Ebola virus from Africa

The Trump administration is telling European nations that they need to step up their travel restrictions for people entering the continent from Ebola virus-hit countries in Africa, warning that failure to do so may result in increased U.S. regulations regarding travel from Europe, including for the World Cup football tournament.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called European Commission President Ursala von der Leyen to convey the concerns, “to discuss U.S. and European coordination and response efforts to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,” the State Department said in a statement.

“The department’s highest priority and focus remain protecting the health of the American people and preventing this Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores,” it said.

There are relatively few direct flights between Africa and the United State per day but more than 300 direct daily flights between Europe and the United States.

Trump says US ‘must’ respond after Iran downed US Army helicopter near Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing a U.S. Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and said the United States must respond to the attack.

A drone boat rescued two Army aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the waterway that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel. Trump said in a social media post that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.

The helicopter went down as the Middle East was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the strained ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

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Melania Trump tells students to ‘keep using artificial intelligence as a muse’

The first lady spoke at the White House while recognizing the winners of a nationwide contest in which students were asked to complete a project using an AI method or tool to address a challenge in their communities.

“Today is about opening doors,” she said. “When new doors open, passions flow, courage blossoms and dreams are realized. AI inspires.”

More than 20,000 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and more than four dozen Defense Department schools in 10 countries participated in the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge.

Melania Trump recognized six elementary, middle and high school champion teams, along with about 120 finalists.

The first lady is a proponent of using artificial intelligence in education and also has warned of the risks posed by the technology.

Trump’s push for healthcare price transparency aims to address a major concern for voters

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of healthcare expenses that can drain a family budget. It’s a calculated pitch ahead of the November midterms at a time when affordability is a top concern, and Trump is vulnerable on this after allowing subsidies to lapse for Affordable Care Act insurance, widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s healthcare policies in the most recent survey on the issue by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Price transparency could have a particular impact in the Republican strongholds of Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which have among the most hospitals warned about inadequate price information.

Trump administration warns more than 500 hospitals to provide more price information or face fines

The administration argues that the lack of basic pricing information for consumers to access is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be.

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Penalties range up to $2 million annually for each hospital that doesn’t create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem: Patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

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House GOP leader says they’re ‘moving forward’ on passing $70 billion immigration enforcement funds

Pressed if the Republicans would be able to approve the package during afternoon votes, Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared confident, despite their already slim advantage potentially being narrowed as lawmakers from several states dash home to campaign on primary election day.

“We always have to deal with absences, a narrow majority, that’s life in the big city,” Scalise, the Republican from Louisiana, told reporters.

Democrats oppose the package, which would fuel Trump’s immigration enforcement and deportation agenda through the rest of his time in the White House.

“We’re just going keep working through but, you know, we’re going to get our work done,” he said.

Thune says White House ‘weighing seriously’ a long-term DNI pick

Lawmakers in both parties are pressing the White House to reconsider its decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday he does not believe the administration is considering replacing Pulte in the acting role, and is instead weighing a permanent nominee to lead the intelligence community.

“I think they’re weighing seriously making a long-term pick,” Thune told reporters.

Thune added that it’s his “hope” the decision would come sooner rather than later.

Salt Lake City lawsuit is latest against DHS plan to use giant warehouses to detain immigrants

Salt Lake City and its county are suing to block a giant warehouse where Homeland Security plans to detain as many as 10,000 immigrants. Their federal lawsuit is the latest brought by local officials around the country who were not consulted before DHS purchased industrial warehouses to convert into regional immigrant processing and detention centers.

The lawsuit targets the most expensive yet: $145.4 million for a warehouse roughly the size of 15 football fields. The March purchase, from a real estate group partially owned by Deutsche Bank, cost nearly 50% more than the property’s 2025 assessed market value, records show.

In all, DHS purchased 11 warehouses for more than $1 billion in the final weeks of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure. The DHS Office of Inspector General is investigating whether that was wasteful, and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has put it on hold.

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US military says a drone boat brought the 2 helicopter crew members to shore

A U.S. Navy drone boat rescued two Army aviators after their Apache helicopter went down near the coast of Oman, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said a 24-foot unmanned boat located the crew members, who had spent two hours in the water, and brought them to shore.

Military officials have not said what caused the helicopter to go down. The military said the incident is under investigation.

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House Speaker Johnson at White House as US surveillance tool risks a lapse

Rep. Mike Johnson is meeting with Trump now that the president’s choice of Bill Pulte for director of national intelligence has upended debate over extending an expiring foreign surveillance program.

Lawmakers in both parties are pushing the White House to drop Pulte, saying he lacks the congressionally mandated national security expertise.

Johnson expects the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, will be part of the talks.

FISA is set to expire Friday, risking an interruption of the surveillance tool if Congress fails to extend it.

Trump says pilots are fine after US helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz

Trump says two U.S. Army members were not injured when their Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The pilots are fine,” Trump said after watching the NBA finals in New York Monday night. “Nobody injured.”

What caused the crash remains unclear in a Middle East still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the straining ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of Iran’s defense units.

A statement from the U.S. military’s Central Command said the crew were rescued within two hours and were in stable condition.

Trump insists, again, that an Iran deal is coming

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said Monday night, without providing any detailed reason for new optimism.

Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near over the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, however, said Monday that Trump’s remarks have “contradicted the agreed-upon sections, showing that (the U.S. is) neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said. “If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won’t have the strait open for months.”

He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”

Trump’s enforcers are poised to ramp up deportations

The Senate completed its work last week, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it. If the House approves, Trump’s signature would all but assure an essentially uninterrupted flow of funds for his immigration enforcement and deportation agenda into 2029.

The Department of Homeland Security is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, but the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at enforcement in New York, the nation’s biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.

House Majority leader says ICE funding is long overdue. Top Democrat calls it a blank check

“We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own,” Johnson said.

The Republican-controlled Congress already provided nearly $140 billion for ICE and Customs and Border Protection as part of Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats wanted significant changes after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis — insisting for example that agents be required to display their ID badges and get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

“We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people – not give ICE another $70 billion blank check so that they can unleash brutality on American citizens and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

House set to fund Trump’s immigration actions for rest of his term

House Republicans hope to get nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement over the finish line Tuesday, enough to fund a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the rest of President Donald Trump’s time in office.

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and GOP unity for the final votes. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced White House security amid Trump’s new ballroom construction, and a $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump’s allies. Both proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on fueling Trump’s deportation agenda, a topic Republicans hope will carry them to victory in this year’s midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs.

House set to fund Trump’s immigration actions for rest of his term

House Republicans hope to get nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement over the finish line Tuesday, enough to fund a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the rest of President Donald Trump’s time in office.

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and GOP unity for the final votes. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced White House security amid Trump’s new ballroom construction, and a $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump’s allies. Both proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on fueling Trump’s deportation agenda, a topic Republicans hope will carry them to victory in this year’s midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs.

Maine primary tests Platner’s support following mounting scandals

Voters across Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota are casting ballots in another day of primary elections in America, but much of the political world will be focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest.

Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faces serious opposition for their party’s nomination, but the vote will test Platner’s credibility after his progressive campaign has been rocked by controversy over his past behavior.

Elsewhere, Trump’s clout within the GOP will be tested anew in states where he’s endorsed primary candidates.

▶ Follow the latest election-related developments

With jet fuel costs soaring 78% higher, airlines profits could drop by half

Oil and jet fuel costs have soared since the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. airlines spent more than $6 billion on jet fuel in April, up 78% from a year earlier, according to government data.

Delta, American and United all gained between 1% and 2% overnight, but the airline industry’s top global trade group warned that soaring energy costs could nearly halve this year’s profits for major carriers, even as they raise airfares, cancel flights and trim schedules.

Elevated oil prices have sent broader inflation higher, increasing household bills. They’ve also hiked bond market yields worldwide, which threatens to slow economies and undercut all kinds of investments. The 10-year Treasury yield was holding around 4.55% early Tuesday, up from 4.01% before the Iran war.

The U.S. government will issue its wholesale prices data on Tuesday and consumer prices on Wednesday.

From tennis to T-ball, the White House’s South Lawn is no stranger to sports. But not like the UFC

The White House and its storied South Lawn are no strangers to sporting events. But they’ve never seen anything like the UFC bout President Donald Trump is hosting to celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday or the eight-sided, wire-mesh cage complete with an open overhead dome featuring large screens that are surrounded by thousands of arena seats.

Sometimes called America’s backyard, the South Lawn was until now known for low-contact sports and joyful events geared toward children or bipartisanship, like the annual Easter Egg Roll or the congressional picnic.

The same space being used for blood sport, feting a president who relishes it and playing out in a hulking structure featuring a complicated overhead lighting scheme known as The Claw, illustrates yet another of the White House norms that Trump is gleefully laying to rest — or, in UFC parlance, forcing to tap out.

That the president has begun suggesting that he could make the cage-fighting venue a permanent South Lawn fixture further underscores just how far from T-ball the White House has come.

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Donald Trump booed by the crowd during the anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Trump was booed loudly by fans inside MSG when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem as he became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” echoed through the arena as Avery Wilson sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but they gave way to boos moments later as Trump was displayed on the jumbo screens giving a military salute. The jeers ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited vociferous boos.

The president was unfazed. “It was, I think, mostly cheers,” he told reporters after the game before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. “It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.”

Trump watched Game 3 from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He sat next to Dolan for the first quarter and spent part of the second talking to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman.

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Church representatives in the nation's largest Protestant denomination are also slated to elect a new leader and vote on a raft of resolutions ranging from immigration to antisemitism.

This will be the fourth year in a row that messengers, as the church delegates are known, are voting on an amendment regarding women pastors. The Southern Baptist Convention's statement of belief, the Baptist Faith and Message, opposes women pastors. But its churches are independent and the denomination can't tell them what to do.

But the denomination can exclude a church from its ranks, and it has already expelled some churches with women in senior pastoral positions. Opinions have been more mixed on the status of churches with women in associate pastoral roles. The currently proposed amendment would specifically ban churches where women have the office of pastor or are functioning as one, including “preaching to the assembled congregation.”

Such an amendment would require a two-thirds vote in two consecutive years, which it has failed to attain over the previous three years despite getting a majority of votes.

The latest version of the amendment is being proposed by Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky. He has said a constitutional amendment would provide clarity and prevent the long and time-consuming debates that the issue has drawn in recent years.

Mohler was also a lead author of the revision to the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000, which incorporated the opposition to women pastors. That statement was adopted in the the Orange County Convention Center, the same Orlando convention hall where this week's meeting is taking place.

Southern Baptist leaders cite biblical passages they say clearly limit the role of pastor to men.

While that view has predominated within the SBC, advocates for women in pastoral roles have cited biblical passages where women are empowered to share the gospel. “God calls women to pastor, preach and minister” proclaims a billboard near the convention center. The billboard is sponsored by Baptist Women in Ministry, an advocacy group working in a variety of Baptist denominations.

The messengers are also expected to vote Wednesday on resolutions that condemn antisemitism and call for humane treatment of migrants while affirming the legitimacy of immigration enforcement.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

About 100-150 people were participating in the protest in the western city of Herat, witnesses said.

Protests are rare in Afghanistan, which has been run by the Taliban since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. The government has since imposed rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Shariah, law. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government decisions are illegal.

The regulations include draconian restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education beyond primary school and what women can wear.

The rules stipulate that women can only go out in public when wearing full hijab — which includes a headscarf and long robe covering the entire body — as well as a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible. The regulations are policed by the feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

One witness said he was driving by the site of the protest when he saw police cars arriving and the police firing shots in the air.

“After several shots, we got scared and got out of the car, so as not to be injured,” said Kakar, who asked that only his one name be used for fear of reprisals for speaking with the media. Shortly afterward, the police clashed with the protesters “and the police opened fire again, and some people were injured. I saw blood on the road.” Kakar said he couldn’t be sure exactly how many people had been injured.

Another eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said he saw three people injured.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ investigator on human rights in Afghanistan, said he was “alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today.”

In a post on X, he said those responsible for the violence should be held accountable. “It’s time to defuse the tension, respect citizens’ freedom of expression, especially women and girls, and avoid further harm,” Bennett said.

A human rights monitor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to the media, said Monday that monitors had verified at least 16 arrests and detentions, including of a pregnant woman, in Herat since Friday over alleged non-compliance with dress requirements.

Afghanistan’s vice and virtue ministry dismissed the reports of arrests and detentions of women.

“The issues being spread about women being arrested in Herat are all rumors,” it said in a statement, adding that wearing the “hijab is a divine command, a law that we are obliged to implement.”

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher for the rights organization Human Rights Watch, said: “The Taliban's apparent use of lethal force ... is very concerning.”

The organization called on authorities ”to immediately release all those detained for peaceful protest and provide health services to the injured ones," Abbasi said, adding that Human Rights Watch was also concerned about the “arbitrary detention of women for so-called inappropriate clothing.”

On Sunday, the U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a post on X that the arrests and detentions of women in Herat over alleged dress code violations raised “serious human rights concerns.” It had expressed concern over similar arrests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, last year.

During last week's Friday prayers, imams in mosques in Herat issued announcements on behalf of the vice and virtue ministry that women were not allowed to leave their homes without wearing the hijab. The human rights monitor said the arrests and detentions began shortly after that.

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action on the bill. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced security on the White House grounds, including for Trump's new ballroom, and the Trump administration tried to create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the president who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one they hope will carry them to victory in this year's midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs, fueling Trump's deportation agenda.

“It's long overdue,” said Johnson, R-La., of the bill. “We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it's sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.”

Funding accelerates Trump's deportation agenda

The funding comes on top of the nearly $140 billion that the Republican-controlled Congress gave ICE and Customs and Border Protection last year as part of Trump's tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats objected to giving the agencies more money without significant changes in the way they operate after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. For example, Democrats insisted that agents be required to display their ID badges during enforcement operations and that they get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed his party would oppose the package.

“We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people – not give ICE another $70 billion blank check so that they can unleash brutality on American citizens and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities,” said Jeffries of New York.

Homeland Security faced longest shutdown in history

The package is the result of a monthslong standoff in Congress after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and other American cities, leading to the longest shutdown in agency history.

Negotiations had been underway with the White House to alter ICE operations as Democrats were demanding. When those negotiations failed, Republicans turned to a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and pass the immigration funding with no Democratic votes.

If approved, the package would next go to Trump for his signature, all but assuring an essentially uninterrupted flow of funds for his immigration enforcement and deportation agenda into 2029.

The Senate completed its work on the legislation last week during an all-night session that extended into the early morning hours Friday. The final 52-47 vote on the bill was nearly party line, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it.

Money comes at pivotal time for immigration agenda

The money will come at a pivotal time for the Department of Homeland Security, which is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin in March.

While Mullin has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at immigration enforcement actions in New York, the nation's biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.

At the same time, the administration is making it more difficult for legal immigrants to remain in the U.S. by working to end Temporary Protective Status, changing the processes for obtaining green cards and leaving some Dreamers — the young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children — reporting delays in renewing their status, which allows them to stay and work.

Tight vote ahead

On the House side, Johnson has little margin for error. Republicans can afford to lose only a couple of votes if every lawmaker is present. GOP leadership opted to avoid any hiccups and sent lawmakers home last week rather than take up the bill early Friday once the Senate had completed its all-nighter.

The bill is just a slim package, without the hundreds of pages of details and directives that typically come from Congress when it provides funding for agencies.

Leading up to the vote, Democrats portrayed DHS as an agency that has used its new resources to buy private jets for its leadership, warehouse immigrants in deplorable conditions and attack U.S. citizens.

“To give these rogue agencies another $70 billion now when they still have $100 billion in the bank from last year would implicate all of us in the escalating corruption and shameful actions of this department," said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democratic member on the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans countered that they were fulfilling their duty to safeguard the nation and support the men and women charged with enforcing the law.

“Democrats can say whatever they want, but what it’s about is public safety. What’s it about is keeping Americans safe,” said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

Maybe it’s sitting in a closet. Maybe it’s tucked away in a garage. Wherever it is, whatever it is, the team at Wolfson Archives wants to find it — preserving history while adding to it.

“A lot of those home movies chronicle places that no longer exist,” said Lou Kramer, archives manager at the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives. “You see people on vacation. You see family events. You see the crazy things that families do when a camera is pointed at them.”

The archives, a division of Miami Dade College, houses one of the largest collections of moving images of South Florida. They want to digitize it all and make it accessible to the public. Inside its temperature controlled vault is millions of feet of local film and thousands of hours of tape already.

“It’s a project that you want to be a part of,” Kramer said. “We are safeguarding history. We are safeguarding the past,” she continued.

Many of those recordings came from ordinary families, documenting milestones and moments of shared tradition and social life. From pool days at the Venetian in the 1920s in Coral Gables, to quinceañeras in Miami, circa 1966, and big birthdays decades later — it’s all restored and saved online.

The team at Wolfson Archives carefully cleans and digitizes aging film reels and videotapes that are donated by families and local news organizations. Local 10’s archival footage makes up a massive part of this collection used by researchers, students, historians, filmmakers, and the public to experience and learn from.

WATCH: Major videotape donation by WPLG to Wolfson Archives 2007

CLICK HERE to search the Wolfson archives.

For family films, search “home movies” — then enter a year and a keyword —i.e “1940, birthday.”

Together, the footage creates a visual timeline of the region — from major headlines to everyday moments that reveal how communities lived, celebrated and evolved.

To donate your film to the archive or to request help with old reels, click here.

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

The findings of the study, in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, were in line with years of research, saying that health risks go up with just one drink a day and no level of alcohol has a protective effect on mortality. Even levels considered “moderate” raise the risk of premature death and more than 200 diseases, including heart disease and cancer, researchers found.

The new study was one of two government reviews meant to help inform the new dietary guidelines. Released earlier this year, the guidelines advised consuming “less alcohol for better overall health.” The authors of the independently released study say that didn’t provide detailed practical advice about the risks of drinking.

One of the officials involved in the study commissioned by Biden's Democratic administration accused Trump's Republican administration of “sidelining” the research — an allegation the Trump administration denies.

Robert Vincent, a former Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration alcohol policy official who led the yearslong effort, made the accusations in an editorial published alongside the study. Vincent was laid off last year as part of a government reduction in force.

“The challenges confronting alcohol policy today are not rooted in scientific uncertainty,” Vincent wrote. “What remains contested is whether evidence will meaningfully inform policy when it conflicts with commercial interests.”

The dispute over the study underscored the increasingly tense relations between the medical and scientific community and the Trump administration, which has questioned or ignored longstanding science in its policymaking, fired a slew of veteran scientists from the federal workforce and cut scientific grants that proponents say help keep the U.S. at the forefront of medical innovation.

Industry and congressional Republicans pushed back on the study

After the study's researchers released a draft report last year, the alcohol industry mobilized against it, launching campaigns to discredit its work. The House oversight committee also criticized the study, releasing a report earlier this year that called it “fraught with bias” and accused the study authors of having predetermined conclusions based on their past research and affiliations.

Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, denied any notion that the study wasn’t considered.

HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture "reviewed the study alongside the broader body of available scientific evidence and followed the established process for developing the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” she said. “The Guidelines are informed by the totality of the scientific record, not any single report or analysis.”

Vincent told The Associated Press in an interview that the researchers were thoroughly vetted for conflicts and the findings were scientifically sound. He said that while he was in the Trump administration, he was “asked to kill the study” but did not. HHS didn’t immediately respond to that claim. The department said the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration wasn't involved in the review or the clearance of the study for publication.

Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research for the alcohol trade association the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in an email to the AP that the congressional committee's findings showed the study was “irretrievably flawed."

Findings support more forceful alcohol intake recommendation

The Trump administration earlier this year released new dietary guidelines that advised consuming “less alcohol for better overall health.” The researchers said that they don't dispute that advice but that their findings support a more detailed and forceful recommendation that current adult drinkers consume one drink or fewer a day.

“I’m glad that they had a message that corresponds with our science, and that is that less is best,” said Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and one of the study’s authors. “But giving people quantity information is necessary to make a truly informative guideline.”

The study differed from the other research commissioned by the government to help inform the dietary guidelines on the issue, which said moderate alcohol use was associated with a decreased risk of mortality from all causes but also an increased risk of some diseases.

Priscilla Martinez-Matyszczyk, one of the authors of the new study and a deputy scientific director at the Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group, said their study didn’t look at mortality from all causes but instead examined mortality specifically attributed to alcohol to avoid confounding factors.

Martinez-Matyszczyk also addressed an issue raised by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in his explanations of the new guidelines: that drinking is “a social lubricant that brings people together” and that even though not drinking is preferred, being social has health benefits.

“I don’t know of any studies that have teased out the social effect from the health effect,” she said.

Research aligns with other recent findings

The new findings are “in line with the latest science that basically shows less is better when it comes to health,” Naimi said.

For example, a 2019 study in Lancet found that moderate drinking slightly raised the risk of stroke and high blood pressure and offered no protective effects on health.

Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that idea. Older studies compared groups of people by how much they drink instead of randomly assigning people to drink or not, so they couldn’t prove cause and effect. When researchers adjusted for things like education levels, income and health care access, the benefits tended to disappear.

About half of Americans age 12 or older had a drink in the past month, researchers said, making it the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S. One drink is the equivalent of about one 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or a shot of liquor.

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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.

In its place rose Madison Square Garden — home of NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers — while train commuters were forced underground into gloomy, claustrophobic, low-ceilinged corridors when the redesign was completed in 1968.

“Through Pennsylvania Station one entered the city like a god,” the architectural historian Vincent Scully famously lamented. “One scuttles in now like a rat.”

But a dramatic new vision for the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere calls for a return to the original station's grandeur from 1910.

Renderings released Monday feature a rectangular stone facade lined with imposing columns along a grand entryway. Inside, a sunlight-drenched concourse boasts soaring ceilings more than 50 feet (15 meters) high in places. There are bronze finishes and other ornamental details, like a bas-relief of the city’s famous skyline and a large station clock.

Inside one entryway, an inside wall bears the seal and name of President Donald Trump, who had Amtrak assume control of the project last year after decades of political infighting among transit agencies and opposition to moving MSG from billionaire owner James Dolan.

Trump has floated renaming his hometown station in his honor as he’s sought to burnish his legacy through public works projects, from a massive new White House ballroom to a triumphal arch.

For now, though, the name etched across the proposed grand facade would still read “Pennsylvania Station,” according to the renderings. They were released by Amtrak, which owns the terminal, and Penn Transformation Partners, the design and development consortium picked for the project.

Proposal aims to make Penn Station an icon again

The proposed design draws from the ornate, Beaux-Arts design of Grand Central Terminal, the city’s other major rail hub, as well as Art Deco landmarks like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, according to lead design architect Vishaan Chakrabarti.

The vision, he said, is to restore Penn Station’s place among the pantheon of the city’s greatest landmarks.

“There was this fearless embrace of ornament and decoration that in some ways we’ve lost,” Chakrabarti said. “We want to bring some of that sense of craftsmanship back.”

The redesign is projected to cost roughly $8 billion, and construction is targeted to begin before the end of 2027, officials said Monday. Penn Station would remain in operation throughout as the project progresses in phases over about six years.

More than 600,000 commuters traverse the rail hub on any given workday, or more than the three major international airports that serve greater New York City — John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty — combined.

Knicks and Rangers home arena would remain at the site

Plans floated over the decades have called for relocating MSG, but the plan is for the “World’s Most Famous Arena” to remain in place. A theater owned by MSG and built directly above the tracks, however, would have to be razed.

The developers and MSG's owner have reached an agreement on this critical point, but the final terms — including payment — are still being negotiated. That's according to Andy Byford, a former New York City subway chief who Amtrak named as a special adviser to oversee the redevelopment.

Transit advocates complain the process has been shrouded in secrecy.

“It’s really important that there be public input and involvement,” said Lisa Daglian, who heads a group that advises the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates New York’s subway and two commuter rail systems.

“We don’t need another megamall or monument and certainly not at the cost of billions in local revenue or by putting existing services at risk,” added Danny Pearlstein of the transit advocacy group Riders Alliance.

Byford said more details will be revealed in the months ahead, including a more detailed breakdown of costs, as the developers refine the preliminary designs and the project goes through the extensive federal environmental review process.

But he vowed no fare hikes to cover project costs and no plans for the government to condemn and take surrounding properties to expand the station, as some have suggested.

At Penn Station on Tuesday, John Schoen was among the regular riders who welcomed the prospect of a more inviting commute.

“The city needs new looks. This is old,” the 55-year-old Long Island resident said. “Let’s do it. Move forward.”

Others, though, wondered how construction might worsen their commutes. James Culhane, another Long Island rider, noted parts of the station received a significant face-lift in recent years that brought in new eateries, more natural light and other improvements.

“Things are operating as well as they can be,” said the 24-year-old opera stagehand. “Just use the money elsewhere.”

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

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Those killed have since been identified by MDSO as Ryan Charles Whiten, 42; Melanie Lauren Hyer, 46; and their biological daughters, Savannah Whiten, 11, and Sienna Whiten, 8.

According to investigators, detectives determined that Ryan Whiten co-parented the children with Hyer. Authorities said their investigation revealed that he killed the three family members before taking his own life.

Friends of Ryan Whiten and Hyer told Local 10 News that they had been apart for years.

According to investigators, Doral police officers responded to a home in the gated Doral Isles community Tuesday night after a concerned family friend requested a welfare check.

Authorities said officers entered the home and found all four dead. Police confirmed they all had stab wounds on their bodies.

As the investigation continues, neighbors and parents in the community are struggling to come to terms with the killings.

“That is a tragedy,” said Anderina Zerpa, who lives nearby. “That is a worst nightmare for a parent.”

Zerpa said she was stunned to learn what happened so close to home.

“I live super close to their house and I didn’t even know,” she added.

Among those grieving is Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, who said she knew Hyer personally through their children’s school community.

“I said hi to her almost every morning (while) dropping off my child, my son,” Fraga said.

Fraga described Hyer as a parent who worked to bring families together.

“She’s the one that created the chat of all the moms to kind of go have lunches and stuff, and get together and build a community around our kids,” she added.

Fraga said she hopes the family is remembered for the positive impact they had on those around them rather than the circumstances of their deaths.

“We want to remember them by their bubbly personalities, their beautiful smiles and pray for their souls, pray for their families and for everyone that surrounded them that this will impact,” she added.

A representative for Downtown Doral Charter Schools previously confirmed that Savannah and Sienna were students at the school, where grief counselors have been made available to students and staff.

Loved ones are also focusing on remembering the victims’ lives.

Sandra Bermudez, CEO and founder of The Lucy Project, remembered Hyer as a dedicated mother who gave her time and energy to helping others.

“She fundraised and brought her energy,” Bermudez said of Hyde. “(She was) a mom that cared.”

Bermudez said Hyer was a real estate agent and supported South Florida nonprofit efforts, including literacy programs for children through The Lucy Project.

Her daughter Savannah also participated in the program and had dyslexia, according to those familiar with her involvement.

Virginia Talieh, a learning specialist who worked with Savannah and Sienna, told Local 10 News that she was expecting to work with both sisters in the summer.

“They had a wonderful contagious smile,” Talieh said. “Sienna was like a little Tasmanian devil, like all around all the places. Savannah was like a ray of sunshine. No child deserves anything like that.”

“I’ll miss them,” she added. “ I’ll miss them very much. I haven’t been able to delete them from my calendar for next week.”

Talieh says working with spelling tiles were one of Savannah’s favorite activities.

“She got a 100 percent on that spelling test after discovering the tiles,” Talieh added. “She came back with the tiles and I said, ‘You keep them. My present.’”

In the Doral neighborhood where the family lived, residents said they are grieving and planning to cancel a community event, choosing instead to gather in solidarity and reflection.

Fraga has also encouraged anyone experiencing domestic violence or mental health challenges to seek help.

Resources are available through the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office’s domestic violence services program and the city of Doral’s mental health resources webpage.

MDSO Homicide Bureau detectives have taken over the investigation.

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Some people in Miami-Dade County reported feeling light shaking in their office buildings. The Miami-Dade Government Center, Miami Beach City Hall and Mount Sinai Medical Center were among the places where shaking was felt.

There were also minor reports of buildings shaking as far north as Tampa and Orlando.

The earthquake reportedly struck the waters near Cuba and there were no initial reports of damage on the island.

Local 10 meteorologist Brandon Orr said there is not a tsunami threat from the earthquake.

Temperatures will remain hot and humid, with afternoon highs in the upper 80s to low 90s and heat index values reaching the upper 90s to near 100 degrees. Looking ahead, rain chances are expected to increase this weekend as winds gradually shift more southerly and deeper tropical moisture moves into the region. This could lead to scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms across all of South Florida from the weekend into early next week.

A petition filed by the 32-year-old Nick Reiner's civil attorneys in a Los Angeles County court on Monday says that trustees overseeing the funds have denied them to him without legal justification, and he needs and should get them now.

“Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths. But the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation,” the petition says. “Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defense with the resources that are lawfully his own.”

The director and Hollywood luminary Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer and producer Michele Singer Reiner, were stabbed to death in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles on Dec. 14. Nick Reiner was arrested hours later and has since pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder.

Reiner retained high-profile private lawyer Alan Jackson to represent him, but less than a month later Jackson left the case for reasons he said he couldn't share. The new filing reveals that Reiner's siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, had initially agreed to pay for Jackson, but reversed course.

In a declaration included with the petition, Jackson said “my firm stands ready, willing, and able to resume representation of Mr. Reiner” if the funds become available.

The filing says that apart from the larger Reiner family trust, which is not at issue, Rob and Michele Reiner established smaller individual trusts for Nick Reiner and his siblings. It says they left “unambiguous instructions” in Nick Reiner's trust, established in 1993, that he was to receive half its money when he turned 30 and the rest at 35.

But, the filing says, Reiner never received the funds he was entitled to at 30, and that the trustee overseeing them since February — attorney Paul R. Kanin — has given “a shifting series of excuses and justifications” to deny Reiner the money, including concerns about Reiner's competence that have no bearing on a payout that is mandatory.

Reiner says he should also get the money he was to receive at 35 immediately because his defense and his need for basic necessities in jail require it.

The petition says the trust has at least $1.5 million in assets, but that Kanin will not share the exact amount of its value.

Kanin did not immediately respond to an after-hours email seeking comment.

Proceedings in Reiner’s murder case are moving slowly. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing in September. He is eligible for the death penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said his office has not yet decided whether to seek it.

Authorities have said nothing about possible motives, and leaks in the case have been virtually nonexistent on both sides. A court order has kept most details of the autopsy secret. Many of the most basic questions about the killing remain unanswered publicly.

On the day he left the case, Jackson, speaking outside court, declared adamantly that “pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.”

In April, Jake Reiner gave his first detailed account of the experience of losing his parents and having his brother at the center of it, calling it “a living nightmare” that is “too devastating to comprehend.”

Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally… ,” during the production of which he met photographer Michele Singer. They wed soon after and were married for 36 years.

Dwight D. Eisenhower put in a putting green. George H.W. Bush added a horseshoe pit. Herbert Hoover played a game named for himself to get more exercise, while George W. Bush threw open the space for youth T-ball.

The White House and its storied South Lawn are no strangers to sporting events. But they've never seen anything like the UFC show President Donald Trump is hosting to celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday or the eight-sided, wire-mesh cage complete with an open overhead dome featuring large screens that are surrounded by thousands of arena seats.

Sometimes called America’s backyard, the South Lawn was until now known for low-contact sports and joyful events geared toward children or bipartisanship, like the annual Easter Egg Roll or the congressional picnic.

The same space being used for blood sport, feting a president who relishes it and playing out in a hulking structure featuring a complicated overhead lighting scheme known as The Claw, illustrates yet another of the White House norms that Trump is gleefully laying to rest — or, in UFC parlance, forcing to tap out.

That the president has begun suggesting that he could make the cage-fighting venue a permanent South Lawn fixture further underscores just how far from T-ball the White House has come.

“Sports has been central to presidents. I don’t know that it’s been quite the spectacle that it is with the Trump administration,” said Michael Patrick Cullinane, senior historian at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Teddy Roosevelt pioneered sports at the White House

Many early presidents were talented athletes before taking office. Abraham Lincoln and William Howard Taft were celebrated young wrestlers. John Quincy Adams was fit enough to take daily naked swims in the Potomac River while in office.

But Teddy Roosevelt was the first to make sports a large part of White House life, installing a tennis court on the lawn. His wife, Edith, was concerned about his workload, and the grass court outside his office was meant to force more relaxation.

Cullinane, who is the author of “Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet" and is a history professor at Dickinson State University, said Roosevelt loved tennis and, though he didn't play well, he did so “long and vigorously."

Roosevelt would take the court daily at 3 p.m., rain or shine, for seemingly endless six-game sets against top aides. He also boxed, holding bouts in the White House that were far more intimate affairs than Sunday's UFC fight. While sparring with his military aide Col. Daniel T. Moore in 1905, Roosevelt detached the retina of his left eye.

During a recent New York Post interview, Trump was asked about Roosevelt and replied that he “had a lot of energy, loved the outdoors.” He indicated that he knew about Roosevelt's having boxed at the White House but didn't comment on how the UFC event might compare.

Other presidents brought more sports with them

Hoover used the lawn to play a combination of tennis and volleyball involving 6-pound (2.7-kilogram) medicine balls that White House physician Adm. Joel T. Boone was credited with inventing to improve his fitness. The game eventually became known as Hoover-ball.

His successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had an indoor pool built for polio therapy. Harry S. Truman ordered an old horseshoe pit removed from the White House grounds, but the first President Bush reinstalled it in 1989.

His son hosted T-ball on the South Lawn beginning in 2001 and presided over 20 games, with his last featuring Little Leaguers who were the children of active-duty military personnel.

Eisenhower used the putting green outside the Oval Office frequently enough to leave golf-spike marks on the floors inside. Barack Obama had White House tennis facilities repainted as a basketball court, though they were converted back as part of a pavilion improvement project overseen by first lady Melania Trump during her husband’s opening term.

Presidents often mixed sports and politics

Playing, or at least being avid fans of, sports has long given presidents ways to connect to everyday voters while also projecting vitality.

John F. Kennedy largely hid his skill as a golfer because he was afraid of bad political optics. But he promoted footage of himself and his family playing touch football and frolicking in the surf, seeking to convey his youth and energy.

Nixon had a single-lane bowling alley built in the White House yet spoke much more frequently in public about his love of football, trying to appeal to sports fans in ways that his advisers initially feared might alienate some. Obama made an event of filling out NCAA brackets with his predicted tournament winner each year.

Trump has attended a series of major sporting events, including Monday's trip to the NBA finals in New York. The UFC coming to him, however, is unlike anything the presidency has seen.

“There’s definitely precedence for athletic events, but this is a combination of athletic event and a celebrity event,” said Tevi Troy, a presidential historian and senior fellow at the Reagan Institute.

Troy noted that, as the bevy of musical acts pulling out of the Trump-led celebration to mark America's 250th birthday illustrates, “The entertainment world is just hostile to Republicans and Trump. So he goes to find his celebrities where he can."

Trump has been a UFC fan for decades. His 2024 presidential campaign showcased his friendship with the league's chief, Dana White, and Trump also attended bouts around the country, hoping to energize voters not usually interested in politics.

UFC’s cage matches mirror Trump’s bare-knuckled approach to politics and sometimes can overlap with his policy initiatives. In making the case for his immigration crackdown, Trump once told White to consider setting up a league in which migrants could fight one another — with the winner then squaring off against the UFC champion. He suggested the “migrant guy might win.”

Cullinane noted that the “UFC is dominated by men and this idea of masculinity,” which means “whenever you aim for a certain demographic, you are almost naturally politicizing the sport.”

‘Maybe we’ll never take it down'

The South Lawn's octagon was built in a matter of weeks and designed to be temporary, unlikely to survive prolonged exposure to the elements. But that hasn't stopped Trump from musing about leaving it up permanently.

The president has likened his birthday party to an international celebration of yore and The Claw to an architectural marvel in France. He noted on TikTok that Paris’ Eiffel Tower was built to be a temporary structure for the 1889 World’s Fair but then, “They said, ‘You know we sort of like it,’" and eventually, “They never took it down.”

“You know, we’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people,” Trump said before adding, "And I’m looking at it, and maybe we’ll never, ever take it down.”

Troy said that, 20 years from now, the spectacle that is the UFC on the White House lawn may feel normal as accepted traditions on celebrity and sports shift. If so, Trump's tradition-busting will have played a role.

“Trump, I think, is more willing than other presidents to be asked that question: ‘Why aren’t you doing it the way the previous presidents did?’” Troy said. “Breaking the precedent doesn't bother him.”

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Omar Artan was going to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament, which was announced two months ago. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns. Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it.

The move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country is highly unusual. Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subjected to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s strict crackdown on immigration. That raised concerns that fans, players and officials from those countries — most of which are African — might be caught up in the crackdown and denied entry for the World Cup despite having valid visas.

Questioned for hours at airport

Artan told The New York Times he was interviewed at Miami airport for 11 hours by border officials, who asked him why he'd traveled to the U.S. and questioned him about Somali politics and the al-Shabab militant group that is fighting an insurgency against the government there. He showed them FIFA documentation and photos from his refereeing career, he said.

After the questioning, he was put in a holding cell and sent back on a plane to Istanbul, Turkey, from where he'd taken his connecting flight to the U.S.

“I think that they have a problem with my country,” Artan told The New York Times, adding he had the correct documents and visa. He said he wasn't told why he was refused entry, according to the Times.

The Somalia Youth and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday that its embassy in the U.S. was trying to resolve the problem to allow Artan to referee at the World Cup, which opens on Thursday.

The refusal to allow him into the U.S. might be related to the larger travel restrictions on Somalia "rather than any specific allegation against him,” Isse Aden Abshir, a senior adviser at the Somalia sports ministry, told The Associated Press.

Artan subjected to ‘additional inspection’

Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday that Artan “underwent additional inspection" on arrival and called it “a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility.”

“Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” CBP said.

CBP said all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including World Cup players, coaches and staff — were subject to CBP inspection and vetting.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” the CBP statement said. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”

FIFA drops ref from World Cup

FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and was informed by U.S. authorities that Artan’s “status will not be changed at present.” It said Artan wouldn’t be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.

“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” FIFA said.

Still, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino built close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s government as the U.S. prepared to co-host with Mexico and Canada and had publicly stressed how that would help the World Cup run smoothly.

Infantino did not immediately comment on the issue, while FIFA released a statement on behalf of Artan.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in the statement.

He was to make history for Somalia

Artan was praised as one of Africa's best referees and was the ref for the decisive leg of the African Champions League final last month — Africa's biggest club soccer game.

He spoke in a recent interview with the Al Jazeera TV network about how he was honored to be selected as the first Somali to referee at the World Cup and how he faced challenges in his conflict-torn country in East Africa, including sometimes having to change his route to training because of explosions in the streets of the capital, Mogadishu.

"You cannot give up as a referee," Artan said in the interview. This (going to the World Cup) was my big, big target and I'm really excited."

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the tool to collect data of human hand motion that could eventually help robots achieve the dexterity that has been difficult for machines to master.

“Imagine people doing housework,” said Xuanhe Zhao, an MIT professor of mechanical engineering. “We can use the data obtained by our system to train a robot to do exactly (that) housework with this dexterous hand motion.”

As much of the tech world is still captivated with artificial intelligence assistants that are taking on computer-based tasks, Zhao is among the scientists trying to imbue AI with more sensory data from the physical world.

Beyond housework, the technology could help with other tasks that require flexing fingers and hands, such as surgery.

The wristband uses high-frequency sound waves to “see” through its wearer's skin. It relays images of the muscle and tendon movements to a computer that uses AI to enable a nearby robotic hand to mimic the gestures.

An AI algorithm is trained to decode images generated by the device into what engineers call degrees of freedom – specific ways a joint can bend or rotate. The human hand has 22 of them.

In earlier systems, tracking even a fraction of those movements was a significant challenge.

In laboratory demonstrations with eight volunteers, developers showed the wristband could precisely mirror hand gestures – including all 26 letters in American Sign Language – within 120 milliseconds.

The wristband can operate wirelessly, meaning the controlling person and the receiving robot need not be in the same room.

Beyond remote control, the team sees a path toward using the wristband to build huge datasets of human motion that could eventually enable humanoids to learn dexterous tasks without human guidance.

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AP Technology Writer Matt O'Brien contributed to this report.

Some slept in sleeping bags, face masks over their eyes to block out the afternoon sun. Others sat on the sidewalk eating from cereal boxes. Shoes lay scattered alongside empty mini-liquor bottles. A boom box blasted a Jay-Z song: “This can’t be right, there’s gotta be more.”

Atlanta announced an ambitious plan last summer to end encampments and other street sleeping downtown ahead of the 39-day soccer spectacular that begins Thursday. Called Downtown Rising, the program said it has housed nearly 500 people. But the scene on a recent afternoon outside this shelter on Pryor Street was a visceral reminder that Atlanta has not reached everyone.

Atlanta is one of several of the cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico using the attention that comes with hosting the world's premier soccer tournament to address homelessness. Seattle announced a housing push and said it was using the World Cup to gauge its progress. Dallas said it was expanding a successful effort to house homeless people living downtown.

A survey by The Associated Press found, however, that most of the 16 venues, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are relying on existing programs — most without any new funding tied to the World Cup — to address homelessness.

Growing tent encampments have bedeviled urban leaders for years. Federal data showed a double-digit percentage increase in homelessness nationwide from 2023 to 2024, when 770,000 people were counted as homeless — a number acknowledged as an undercount. That was followed by a slight decrease last year to 745,652.

In the past, many cities have treated the homeless as an eyesore to be removed ahead of big sporting and political events.

During last year's Super Bowl, New Orleans spent millions of dollars clearing away tent encampments near the Superdome and moving the homeless into a temporary warehouse. Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, migrants were bused out of the city until the Games ended. Chicago removed one of its biggest encampments ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

“These events provide a choice for communities,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “They can do the easy thing and sweep people out of encampments and into jails or other neighborhoods, or they can do the harder work that will benefit everyone in the community — housed or unhoused.”

Atlanta seeks to house downtown homeless

As host of the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta removed some 9,000 homeless people to a newly built detention center. It gave others one-way bus tickets out of town and launched “Operation Olympus,” detaining hundreds of people to reduce crime.

But this time around, the city was determined to do things differently.

It has raised $185 million in state and city funding, as well as corporate grants and other donations, toward a goal of $235 million, with the aim of housing 3,900 people citywide by next year. The latest city count last year showed there were some 2,900 homeless people citywide, about a third living in encampments or on the street.

“There will always be homeless people on our streets, more than likely, unfortunately,” said Cathryn Vassell, the CEO of Partners for HOME, the organization tasked with creating and executing Atlanta’s homelessness strategy. The goal is “to be able to identify them and quickly exit them into shelter, resources, services, and then ultimately housing.”

Downtown Rising has helped Michael Sutton turn his life around. In foster care since he was an infant, he bounced from family to family. For most of the past decade, the 31-year-old slept in train stations, parks, abandoned buildings and homeless shelters.

Since September, Sutton has had a one-bedroom apartment in an Atlanta suburb and a case worker.

“Everyone has rough days, and being able to go home or vent to yourself about it, relaxing in your own home … is priceless,” Sutton said.

But not everyone can be helped.

Some homeless people recoil at shelter rules, lack the documents to quickly move into permanent housing or have complicated drug and mental health challenges, or nomadic lifestyles that make them difficult to reach.

Tommy Elam said he's been on numerous housing lists, but nothing has happened — though he's hard to find. His phone was stolen countless times and he doesn’t currently have one.

“They don’t know where I’m at,” said Elam, who's been homeless since early 2020 and spent the last three months sleeping on the sidewalk near the Pryor Street homeless shelter, his latest spot since a crackdown on the encampment where he lived near the Georgia State Capitol building.

Standing outside the downtown supportive housing center where he now lives, Willie Jackson, who spent years on the streets, said he knows people who’ve been helped by the Downtown Rising initiative. But he's skeptical it will lead to lasting change after the World Cup — or that it’s made a significant impact on downtown’s homelessness problem.

“Just look around,” he said.

No more tents in Dallas

Two years ago, it was hard to miss the hundreds of tents around Dallas City Hall.

But ahead of the World Cup, there were no tent encampments downtown, where FIFA’s broadcast center is set up, or at the nearby fan zone. The matches will be played at Dallas' stadium in suburban Arlington.

Sarah Kahn, president and CEO of Housing Forward, which leads the homelessness response for Dallas and nearby Collin counties, said a $30 million campaign since 2024 reduced the number of people sleeping on downtown streets by 87% and placed some 2,000 into permanent housing.

In March, an additional $28 million was allocated to expand countywide, with a goal of providing 1,100 people housing, the agency said. Outreach workers deploy daily within a quarter-mile of transit hubs, the fan zone and the FIFA broadcast center to find anyone sleeping outside and offer services, it said.

Elisabeth Jordan, founder of The Human Impact, which helps the chronically homeless, praised the initiative as “the single greatest change ... in homeless response in Dallas.”

But she criticized Dallas police tactics that included zip-tying and removing people who remained after their encampments were cleared. Dozens of people from one encampment were housed in May, but about 20 who remained were detained, she said. In a statement, the Dallas police department called such detentions “standard practice” for people “violating the prohibited camping law” and who refuse housing.

Kacey Coker, who spent years on the streets or in jail, described a dramatic improvement in how the homeless are treated. Authorities used to “come through with a bulldozer and take our stuff and throw it away,” said the 51-year-old, who lost her birth certificate and social security card in those sweeps.

In May, she was offered a subsidized one-bedroom apartment for a few hundred dollars a month. For the first time, Coker feels safe.

“I can actually build something,” she said.

Tiny homes emerge in Seattle

At a vacant lot several miles from Seattle's stadium, workers were putting the final touches last week on 75 tiny homes.

The 70-square-foot units with a bed, space heater and air conditioner are part of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's ambitious plan to open 500 units of new shelter by the start of the World Cup.

It's a goal she acknowledges she has missed — by 425 units.

“The World Cup .... provided just kind of a good goal post,” Wilson told the AP in an interview, saying the city will open an additional 228 beds by the end of the summer.

“When you put a number out there, that has the advantage of galvanizing people,” but it can also be framed as a failure if you miss it, Wilson said. “So, I really hope that the message ... is look, we are making progress.”

Homelessness advocates said they weren't surprised Wilson didn't meet such a lofty goal within six months of election. The World Cup isn't what's important; getting people housed is, they added.

“I’m just happy that anything has happened so far,” said Bruce Drager of Ballard Community Task Force on Homeless and Hunger near where the tiny homes were built.

Camped out with his wife between a sidewalk and train tracks just blocks from the stadium, Chris Moore said he hasn't heard about the city's housing plans.

A large encampment nearby has been cleared twice in the five months since he's been there, said Moore, who's been homeless for eight years. But dozens of tents were back again a week before the first game.

“I guess because the World Cup’s coming, you don’t want homeless people around,” he said.

Inglewood spruces up the stadium area

In Inglewood, California, site of the Los Angeles area stadium, roads were squeaky clean and paved with fresh asphalt. Bright flowers filled planters downtown and near the stadium.

“There’s no homeless in Inglewood,” Mayor James Butts told the AP when asked about the city's plans for housing people living on the streets ahead of the World Cup. “Just look at the numbers.”

Indeed, Inglewood's' homeless count last year was small — just under 400, about a third of whom were living on the street in the city of 100,000 people — compared to LA, where 43,695 homeless were counted in the city of 3.8 million-plus.

But less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the stadium and just outside Inglewood city limits, the nonprofit St. Margaret’s Center was handing out dozens of sack lunches for the homeless on a recent morning.

Carter Hewgley, who oversees strategic partnerships at LA County’s Homeless Services and Housing Department, said it has secured three motel sites ahead of the World Cup — “not because there's games, but because there's homeless.” The sites, including in Inglewood, range from 54 to 104 rooms. The agency also maintains tens of thousands of shelter beds, he said.

In Toronto and Vancouver, business as usual

In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver said they were relying on their already extensive services to provide thousands of shelter beds and temporary housing rooms, as well as outreach to those living on the streets. Vancouver has also set up centers where matches will be shown. Both said there were no plans to relocate homeless people ahead of the games.

Still, there were sporadic reports by advocates of crackdowns targeting homeless people.

In Toronto, where Canada's largest shelter system supports more than 8,500 people each night, advocates held a rally last month denouncing what they said were transit police tactics aggressively targeting the homeless at the city’s main train station.

Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union said its survey of dozens of homeless people found some forcibly removed from lavatories and elsewhere, and subjected to verbal abuse by transit police. In a statement to the AP, the city did not directly address the complaints but said it doesn't “tolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment.”

In Vancouver, hundreds of activists held a protest in April over increased security ahead of the World Cup. A 2025 count showed 2,715 homeless people, some in Vancouver's Downtown East Side area near the stadium.

Last month, at a downtown park where homeless people are allowed to stay overnight, Harley Ransom was resting in his tent and said he's seen aggressive tactics.

Nearby, Francesca Crane, who said the van she lived in with her pet rabbits had been towed away, accused the city of “sweeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA to make it look like a clean city, no homelessness.”

“They are catering to people from other countries but stepping on the people of their own city and province,” she said. “What they’re doing is wrong.”

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Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Manuel Valdes in Seattle; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia; Robert Gillies in Toronto; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.

Each federation for the 48 teams taking part is entitled to receive and distribute 8% of stadium capacity for each of its games at the World Cup, adding up to several thousands of tickets.

Just days before Iran opens its World Cup — on June 15 at the 70,000-seat Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood against New Zealand — the federation claimed in a statement reported by semi-official state media that it was now unable to provide any tickets to its supporters.

The claim adds to the turmoil between Iranian soccer, FIFA and tournament co-host the U.S., which began military attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

FIFA has total authority over ticketing operations at the World Cup, yet the Iranian soccer body suggested “the United States has now taken steps to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums.”

“This incident raises serious questions about the influence of non-sporting and political considerations on the organization of the world’s biggest football event,” the Iranian soccer federation said.

FIFA was approached for comment.

Iran's bumpy ride to World Cup

Iran’s team is now based in the Mexican border city of Tijuana instead of its pre-war plan to train in Tucson, Arizona. It is the team's seventh appearance at a men's World Cup.

Some federation officials also have been denied visas to enter the U.S., where Iran also plays Belgium in Inglewood on June 21 and then Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Federations of World Cup teams typically sell their ticket allocation to the most loyal fans who attend games at home and away.

“However, in an unexpected move, the allocation granted to Iran’s football federation has been withdrawn, and under the current circumstances the federation is unable to offer even a single ticket to national team supporters,” the federation said.

Iran residents were subject to a travel ban by the U.S. government since last year and were unlikely to get entry visas for the World Cup. It was unclear how many tickets in Iran’s allocation were sold since the tournament draw was made in December to the country's diaspora including in the U.S.

If Iranian tickets have been revoked, FIFA would have just days to sell about 5,600 tickets for the Iran-New Zealand game on Monday. The FIFA sales site on Tuesday showed rows of field-level seats available at $450 each though numbered in dozens rather than hundreds.

Still, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated in 2017 — when U.S. soccer officials were preparing a co-hosting bid with Canada and Mexico they won the following year — that fans must have access to the tournament.

“It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions as well (that) any team, including the supporters and the officials of that team, who would qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” Infantino said nine years ago. “That is obvious.”

Hostile welcomes

U.S. policy toward World Cup visitors is becoming a strong theme before the games begin on Thursday.

A FIFA-appointed match referee from Somalia was denied entry to the U.S. in Miami at the weekend and on Monday he was cut from the 104-game tournament that starts in Mexico City.

An Iraq player was detained for several hours on arriving in Chicago and a photographer traveling with the delegation was denied entry.

“The disruption is such that one has to ask who is running the World Cup. Is it FIFA or is it the U.S. government with its racially charged immigration policies?” Piara Powar, the head of FIFA's anti-discrimination monitoring partner, said on Tuesday in a statement.

“Before a ball has been kicked,” said Powar, executive director of the Fare Network, “the sense that this World Cup is anything but the celebration of global humanity a World Cup should be is beginning to take over.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The drones have crashed into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, hit empty fuel tanks in Latvia and been shot down by Romanian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania. Ukrainian officials apologized, saying the drones had been aimed at military targets in Russia but were sent off course by Russian electronic interference.

Estonia hosted the summit in its capital of Tallinn amid Russia's 4-year-old, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Estonia holds the rotating presidency of the NB8, a regional grouping of the five Nordic and three Baltic countries, and brought together the bloc’s prime ministers, along with Zelenskyy.

Sharing Ukraine's drone expertise

Zelenskyy and Estonian President Alar Karis agreed to work on cheaper ways to shoot down drones that have flown over Estonia, including one that a NATO fighter jet shot down over the south of the country in May.

“We have shown that we can shoot the drones down with the planes,” Karis said at a news conference. Using fighter jets to shoot down the drones is expensive, he added, so he hopes to partner with Ukraine for its technology and expertise to do it more cheaply.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to do so, drawing on its experience with helping countries in the Middle East shoot down drones, where it had sent experts to train local forces. “We did this in the Middle East, and it worked,” he said.

He said Ukraine could offer the low-cost interceptor drones it has deployed at home to build an inexpensive shield against Russian drone attacks, and that Kyiv could send experts to its European partners “at any moment.”

Karis said he expects drones to cross into Baltic airspace as the war continues and urged the public to remain calm. Estonia and the other Baltic nations are among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in its war against Russia.

Ukraine's bid for EU membership

Zelenskyy said his talks with the leaders had focused on advancing diplomacy, strengthening air defenses and Ukraine’s path to European Union membership. He said Kyiv had met the conditions to open its accession negotiations and urged the bloc to approve them this summer.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels that Ukraine is “making extraordinary progress” on reforms to allow it to join the EU and that “it’s high time for us also now to deliver.”

Prospective members must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, ranging from agriculture to trade in a process that can take years.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine and Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs signed a drone deal to deepen joint defense and co-production.

Russia's deadly strikes on Ukraine

Russia, meanwhile, kept up its strikes across Ukraine. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, three people were killed and 25 others, including three children, were wounded in attacks in the past 24 hours, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional administration.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, three people were wounded when several districts came under attack overnight, said regional administration head Oleksandr Hanzha.

Russia launched 166 long-range strike drones and two guided missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, with air defenses shooting down 146 of the drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses downed 140 drones overnight. A woman was killed when a Ukrainian drone hit an apartment building in the Belgorod region neighboring Ukraine, regional emergency officials said.In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine is “making extraordinary progress” on reforms to allow it to join the EU and that “it’s high time for us also now to deliver.”

Seeking more sanctions on Russia

Zelenskyy said he had pressed for tougher sanctions on Russia, including its shadow fleet. He also held talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses.

“All of our partners now note that Ukraine’s positions on the front are significantly stronger, and so our diplomacy, which we are working to step up, must proceed from that,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, Russia is trying to make up for its enormous battlefield losses with strikes on our cities and communities, and on civilian infrastructure.”

In Brussels, Von der Leyen announced proposals for new sanctions against Russia targeting its energy, financial and trade sectors, including fisheries for the first time with a ban on cod, among other measures.

She also proposed banning EU entry for “anyone who has served in the Russian armed forces since the beginning of the war” to ensure that Europe stays off-limits "for anyone who has participated in the invasion of Ukraine.”

The sanctions must be endorsed by the 27 EU member countries before they can come into force.

On Monday, Zelenskyy said he had held positive talks with U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during a stopover at an airport in Moldova’s capital, describing them as focused on ending the war. In a social media post, he said the two sides discussed diplomatic prospects ahead of this month’s Group of Seven summit, and that he had briefed the U.S. side on Ukraine’s assessment of Russia’s intentions.

The onetime Democratic congressman, White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan hasn't formally announced his ambition to return to power in Washington. But his weekend trip through the state that typically holds the first presidential primary was hardly subtle.

There were the union hall visits and intimate house parties, staples of New Hampshire political rituals. At one event in the backyard of a handsome home in Concord, Emanuel greeted voters and practiced a stump speech that highlighted strains on the middle class and the excesses of the tax system.

And then there was the bike tour.

Over the course of three days, Emanuel pedaled more than 117 miles (188 kilometers) across New Hampshire from Portsmouth on the coast to Hanover on the Vermont border in what he dubbed the “Spin-Free Tour,” a nod to his blunt demeanor that he sees as an asset for a Democratic Party trying to move beyond its devastating losses in 2024.

“Tough times require a tough leader,” Emanuel told The Associated Press during a break at a coffee shop in Warner. “I don't think this is just about learning the words to ‘Kumbaya.’”

For someone who has spent the better part of three decades in the highest orbits of political power, the 66-year-old Emanuel is in the unusual position of lacking a natural platform. His likely rivals in a Democratic presidential contest are mostly younger and, as governors, senators or a recently departed vice president, can more easily attract attention.

And despite his thick resume, Emanuel isn't especially well known outside political circles, as demonstrated by a woman who asked who he was after he left the coffee shop. When informed that it was Emanuel and that he was considering a campaign, she responded, “A campaign for what?”

How Emanuel taps into tenacity to overcome hurdles

Emanuel is tapping into his hard-wired tenacity in hopes of overcoming such challenges.

As many prominent Democrats focus on castigating President Donald Trump, Emanuel has released a flurry of policy proposals addressing everything from social media bans for children to prediction markets and a mandatory retirement age of 75 for those in public office. That would prevent him from seeking a second term if he were elected.

Emanuel is often on the road, talking education in Mississippi and Michigan. He'll travel to Israel next month to address the U.S.-Israeli relationship as the war in Gaza has spurred new divisions in both political parties, especially among younger voters.

He is a regular guest on podcasts ranging from those hosted by Katie Couric and Kara Swisher to shows focused on fly fishing. He often uses the appearances to knock his own party for overreaching in cultural debates, particularly those involving the rights of transgender people. It’s a message of centrism that has echoes of that of the first president he served, Bill Clinton.

“We did things that were really ridiculous,” he said of Democrats on an episode of Couric's podcast that posted last week. “Rather than worry about classroom excellence, we were worried about bathroom and locker room access.”

And he hops on the bike.

The tour gives him a chance to both demonstrate his physical fitness at a time of heightened awareness of the nation's aging political leaders and to introduce himself to the state's notoriously picky voters before the rest of the field swoops in after the November midterms.

“It is early,” said Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., who appeared alongside Emanuel at the Concord house party. “But what I'd say is the people in New Hampshire know how to vet candidates and they're the most engaged electorate in the country.”

Martha Kruse, a 76-year-old retired special education teacher from Laconia, New Hampshire, is just that type of voter. Active in her local Democratic Party, she traveled to the Concord event to see Emanuel after hearing him in interviews.

“I'm going away really enthused about him,” she said, adding that he was “right on” to prepare a campaign so early.

Riding through the hills of rural New Hampshire

The future of the presidency seemed a world away during a hilly 20-mile stretch of the ride on Saturday, which included an elevation gain of more than 1,300 feet (395 meters). Along with a cadre of friends and aides, Emanuel cycled past homes where residents were tending to their yards or celebrating a recent graduation on their front patio. He was chatty at times as he rode with the pack and cycled alone at other points, showing little strain in navigating the steep hills.

With summer finally creeping into New England, the humidity was high and the rain was occasionally intense. The group stopped for water and snacks every 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers), huddling under a barn during one rainy stretch. A small group of local activists met up with Emanuel at the coffee shop in Warner, where he held court from a rocking chair.

But the realities of modern politics occasionally asserted themselves. The group cycled past signs praising Trump and denigrating his predecessor, Joe Biden. As the miles dragged on, a chase vehicle crept by periodically with cameras poking out the window to capture scenes that could later be shared on social media, where Emanuel now has an almost daily presence.

And the whir of the midterms wasn't far away. In neighboring Maine, Graham Platner was contending with a drumbeat of reports about his history with women that has left some Democrats worried that the party's path to a Senate majority is suddenly imperiled. Emanuel, who helped power Democrats to their sweeping 2006 victories in the U.S. House, said the “jury is still out” on whether Platner can win the Senate race.

“Everybody is holding their breath whether this is the start of something or the end of something,” he said.

Emanuel hopes voices of moderation are prevailing

But as the broader debate over the Democratic Party's ideological future unfolds, Emanuel said he thought voices of moderation were prevailing. He noted recent wins by Rebecca Bennett, who emerged from a crowded Democratic primary in New Jersey with the nomination for a competitive House seat, along with Josh Turek, the new Democratic Senate nominee in Iowa.

“There's a bigger character piece to this than ideological,” Emanuel said. “There's radical moderates and their profile and character speak to kind of fighting a system, which is what's needed right now.”

The bike tour was certainly not John McCain's “Straight Talk Express,” the 2000 campaign bus from which the Arizona Republican senator opined on any question that came his way to seize attention and mount a surprise New Hampshire win over front-runner George W. Bush. But some voters said they were open to Emanuel.

Don Daley, a 60-year-old state employee from Concord, watched Emanuel talk from a bench in the backyard of the house party. He said that Emanuel probably “steps on a few toes.”

“But I think that's what we need right now,” he said. “Some of our Democratic leaders haven't been strong enough.”

There certainly is plenty at stake.

Should the Golden Knights win and take a 3-1 series lead, they will be in an almost unbeatable position. Teams with such an advantage in the final are 38-1, the one defeat occurring 84 years ago when Detroit lost a 3-0 lead and fell to Toronto.

A Hurricanes victory would not only even the best-of-seven series, but regain home-ice advantage with potentially two of the three remaining games in Carolina.

Good luck trying to predict where this series will go. What was largely expected to be a high-checking, low-scoring championship round has been wide open at times, with each team capitalizing on the other's mistakes. The teams have combined to score 25 goals, the highest total through three games in the final since the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars had 30 in 1981.

There have been blown leads of at least two goals in each game. Vegas rallied from such a deficit in Game 1 and Carolina did it in Game 2.

Then came the real doozy in Saturday night's Game 3 when the Golden Knights led 4-0 well into the third period before the Hurricanes scored three goals in a record 39 seconds. Carolina eventually forced overtime, but the Golden Knights won in double OT when Shea Theodore bounced a puck off the boards that caromed off goalie Brandon Bussi's skate.

Because of course it did.

Bussi, who hadn't played in two months, entered in the third period after coach Rod Brind'Amour had seen enough of Frederik Andersen. The Golden Knights couldn't figure out Bussi until that final wacky shot, so he might start Tuesday. Brind'Amour said he knows who will start, but isn't letting on.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Automatic runner Christian Yelich scored the decisive run from third when Athletics second baseman Jeff McNeil threw wide to home plate on a grounder by Brice Turang in the top of the 12th.

Abner Uribe (4-2) got four outs for the win and Chad Patrick struck out McNeil with runners at the corners for his third save.

José Suarez (0-2) took the loss despite striking out four batters in two hitless innings.

The teams totaled 34 hits, and 14 pitchers combined to throw 444 pitches. It was the fourth game in major league history with at least 29 runs and 11 homers.

Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz each homered twice for the Athletics, who went deep seven times at the site of their Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators. The team normally plays at its temporary home in West Sacramento, California, but is playing six games in Las Vegas this week ahead of a scheduled move into a new stadium in the city in 2028.

Shea Langeliers hit the first pitch from Brewers starter Kyle Harrison 483 feet to left-center field for his 17th home run. It was the longest home run of Langeliers’ career and the fourth-longest in the majors this season.

Both teams scored four times in the 10th.

William Contreras gave Milwaukee a 14-10 lead with a three-run homer off Scott Barlow projected at 463 feet, but the A's answered with an RBI single by Langeliers, a two-run shot by Kurtz and a tying homer from pinch-hitter Jonah Heim.

Zack Gelof also went deep for the Athletics, giving them an 8-4 lead in the third.

In addition to Contreras, the Brewers got home runs from Turang, Vaughn and Jake Bauers. Contreras had three of Milwaukee's 18 hits. Turang and Bauers each knocked in three runs. Jackson Chourio went 3 for 5 and scored three times.

Harrison gave up eight runs, eight hits and three homers in 2 1/3 innings after not allowing more than two runs in any of his first 11 outings. His ERA climbed from 1.57 to 2.72.

Up next

Brewers LHP Robert Gasser (0-2, 4.73 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (3-3, 2.74).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Attacks on health workers from angry residents, skepticism among some locals and armed conflict in hot spots continue to challenge efforts to stop the Ebola outbreak declared on May 15, caused by a severe form of the disease.

Out of the 550 cases confirmed as of Sunday, there have been 101 deaths and 19 recoveries, the latest situation report said late Monday. The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and has spread across the border to Uganda.

However, the number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late and the contact tracing coverage rate, which has improved in recent days, is still at 64%.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that over the last 24 hours, only 137 samples have been tested, with 35 coming back positive.

The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which does not have an approved vaccine or treatment unlike the “Zaire virus,” another name for the Ebola virus, responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

The rapid increase in the number of cases is partly due to the scale up of diagnostic capacities, enabling testing of the backlog of previously collected samples, authorities said.

The outbreak disrupts a provincial capital

Health measures put in place to limit the spread of Ebola have disrupted daily life in Bunia, the bustling capital of Ituri province.

Justin Abekani, who ferries customers on his motorcycle, said they are "now only allowed to carry one customer per motorbike.”

There is still widespread skepticism and disregard for health protocols in some parts of the province. Survivors of Congo's 2018 Ebola outbreak, the second-biggest in history, have warned that a repeat of past mistakes could lead to a high number of preventable deaths.

Front-line health workers, who labor with little pay or rest, have been attacked multiple times by angry residents, and have been unable to reach some communities cut off by conflict involving armed rebels.

Eastern Congo has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to foreign countries or the extremist Islamic State group.

Since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, more than 520 incidents impacting the work of health professionals have been reported, according to Marie Roseline Darnycka Belizaire, WHO’s emergency director for Africa. She did not elaborate on the incidents or say whether anyone was hurt.

Conflict and movement complicate disease tracing

The fighting is "disrupting surveillance and response activities, and increasing the risk of undetected transmission,” WHO said Monday. “Such incidents underline the challenges of the context and the importance of working closely with local leaders and communities.”

Nearly a million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.

Tracing also is difficult among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.

WHO currently assesses the risk of spread for the rest of Africa and at the global level as low.

“(Ebola) patients can recover if they get the medical support they need,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday during a visit to Uganda.

Protests in Kenya over US plans for Ebola quarantine

On Tuesday, Kenyan police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the town of Nanyuki, near a military air base where the United States plans to build an Ebola quarantine center, a project that has since drawn protests but was later halted by the courts.

A heavy deployment of riot and regular police prevented the protesters from marching toward the base.

Last month, U.S. officials said Washington intends to send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya rather than flying them back home. They said the center would be located at Laikipia Air Base with a capacity of 50 quarantine beds.

A Kenyan court later suspended construction of the facility and barred the arrival of any foreign patients, pending the outcome of a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog group. The petitioners cited concerns about Kenya’s fragile health system and the lack of transparency surrounding the bilateral agreement.

Kenya has not recorded any Ebola cases but neighboring Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases.

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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal, and Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The 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.

Called “Leonardo’s Ferry,’’ the mechanism of the so-called reaction ferry was designed five centuries ago and immortalized by the Renaissance genius himself in a drawing preserved in Windsor Castle's Royal Collection outside of London.

It is the last remaining of its kind along the Adda River, which extends from the Alps to the Po River in the Lombardy region.

“This is a mean of transport that has been here for 500 years and has always connected the two banks of the Adda,” said Massimo Zoia, one of the volunteer ferrymen who operates the vessel. “And now it has returned to its original purpose: connecting two populations living on different banks of a river."

Despite its name, it remains unclear whether Leonardo himself actually designed the ferry. What is certain, however, is that he sketched it in 1513, as part of his famed studies of waterways, including Milan's canal system. Leonardo was one of history’s greatest polymaths, filling notebooks with designs across a range of disciplines, including flying machines that wouldn't be realized for centuries.

The ferry’s operating principle is as simple as it is ingenious, and entirely environmentally friendly.

“The river pushes us downstream. We have a cable that binds us, and by breaking down the forces, according to the parallelogram rule, which we study in high school, the force is broken down and one part becomes resistance and the other we use for lateral movement,” Zoia said.

“The rudder is used to adjust the inclination of the ferry so that it better absorbs the stream that hits us and makes us move,” he said.

The ferry is run by the town of Imbersago, and runs to the town of Villa d’Adda on the other side. It came close to disappearing in 2023, when its operator gave up the concession. Determined to save it, Imbersago Mayor Fabio Vergani obtained a ferryman’s license himself and, together with the local tourism association, assembled a team of volunteers.

Since 2024, they have primarily transported weekend visitors from one bank of the Adda to the other.

But they added commuter service this spring after a nearby bridge was closed for maintenance to help ease traffic congestion. It now runs from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., with a two hour lunch break at noon. Passengers pay 1.50 euros (about $1.75) if they are on foot, 2 euros ($2.30) with a bicycle, 2.50 euros ($2.88) with a motorbike and 3.50 (around $4) for a car.

Gianpaolo Graffagnino lives in Villa d’Adda and works on the other side of the river. He has started biking to work, using the ferry as a shortcut.

“Right now this is the fastest system, but above all the nicest because you get three minutes of peace,” he said.

Mauro Carnati drove his Maserati onto the ferry to bring his daughter to school on the other side, avoiding a long detour caused by the bridge closure.

“It’s true that we spend a little money, and it’s not possible every day, but the romance and added value of the Adda and the ferry are truly amazing. It makes for a better start to the day,” he said.

He remembers the pain and fear in his community in the eastern Congo city of Beni during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak, history's second-biggest with more than 3,400 reported cases and over 2,200 deaths. It was stopped with the aid of vaccines.

Kombi also remembers the broad skepticism over the disease, attacks on health workers and inaction from patients that he blames for the speed in which the disease spread.

“We thought it was witchcraft,” said Kombi. “The community had not accepted that this disease existed and it had not accepted that we could recover from it.”

In Beni, a bustling commercial hub near the borders with Uganda and Rwanda, some fear that a repeat of mistakes made during Congo’s past outbreaks and the lack of an approved vaccine this time around might make the response to the latest outbreak more challenging.

A total of 550 cases of the disease were confirmed as of Sunday in the current outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which can cause Ebola disease, including 101 deaths and 19 recoveries.

Suspicions of a conspiracy

Kombi recalled how he contracted the virus after being exposed to others who had it. He said they had little information about the disease at the time, and that while many thought it was witchcraft, others described it as a “Western conspiracy for funding reasons.”

“The community had not accepted that we could recover from this disease, that’s why reintegrating into the community at first was a bit difficult,” he said.

“When a pandemic hits here in Congo, we initially think it’s a political issue,” said Bienfait Wanzire, who also recovered after contracting Ebola during the 2018 outbreak.

“At first, we thought it was a spiritual illness,” he said. “Then because there were election campaigns, we believed it was political.”

Doctor recalls losing his uncle and colleagues

Dr. Babah Mutuza Lusungu, a physician at “Dieu Est Grand” Medical Center in Beni, remembered losing his uncle and two colleagues even as he tried to convince people the outbreak was real.

“There was very strong resistance,” said Lusungu. “And so there was a climate of mistrust that took place between the population, the authorities, the partners too, right, and the health workers.”

Youths at the time were not directly involved in response efforts, he said, urging local authorities to work more closely with youth leaders to enlighten people about the disease.

“If we wait until they have so many declared cases to start making an effective response, we will have totally missed the target,” he said.

Vaccines saved his family

Esperance Masinda, who was working for the U.N. children’s agency in Beni during the 2018 outbreak, said it was particularly difficult caring for children who had lost their parents to Ebola.

She contracted the disease while looking after her husband who was working as a medical doctor. Although they both later recovered, the vaccine that helped save them distanced them from family and neighbors.

“When we were in the community, we were told that you’re not going to make it even five years, you’re going to die with that medication that you took there,” Masinda said.

“And today, when they see us, these people no longer stigmatize us,” she said. “We are all humans, even though we have been victims of Ebola, all of us are humans.”

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Montserrat, a healthy drive from the city followed by a steep ascent, is dear to many of the Catalan people in northeastern Spain. Annually, 2 million people travel to the complex that includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey as well as a 16th-century basilica. Its Black Madonna statue, which studies show originally was white but turned dark by centuries of smoke and incense before being painted black, is widely revered.

But for many Catholics watching from afar — and especially non-Catholics — the highlight of the Chicago-born pope's seven-day trip to Spain will be his evening Mass at the Sagrada Familia — the Basilica of the Holy Family — commemorating the centennial of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí. Leo will speak almost exclusively Spanish on the trip, with some comments in Catalan.

The visit illustrates his balancing act of upholding centuries-old religious traditions in a country where faith is waning while reaching a global audience from a basilica that is more a magnet for tourists than believers. Yet the two sites share a connection even some locals don't know.

A pulpit for the world

The Sagrada Familia fuses the universal language of nature — trees, birds, reptiles, cornucopias of fruit — with scenes from Christ's life. Beyond that unique aesthetic, its allure stems from allowing visitors to bear witness to a great church's ongoing construction.

That began 144 years ago, with the first cornerstone laid in 1882 during the pontificate of Leo's namesake, Pope Leo XIII.

Its claim to “the new” is what sets Gaudí’s masterpiece apart from Europe's other cathedrals and why it has captivated millions. Leo’s Mass is an opportunity to link him with this breathtaking place of worship.

"Its stones and stained glass speak of the possibility of conjuring up 2,000 years of Christian history from a modern and even postmodern view," Ferran Sáez, professor of humanities at Barcelona’s University of Ramón Llull, told The Associated Press. "It is a building that expresses very complex ideas while coming across as comprehensible for anyone who is receptive, whether they are Christian or not.”

The Sagrada Familia is an international sensation, featuring on virtually any self-respecting globetrotter's bucket list. Foreigners account for 90% of its visitors, whose entrance fees fund its construction, and more Americans visit than Spaniards, according to the basilica.

While there aren't statistics on visitors' average age, it is hugely popular among adolescents and twentysomethings. That's in stark contrast to the graying parishioners at most Spanish churches at a moment the Catholic Church strives to engage with and remain relevant to youth.

The basilica's latest superlative — world’s tallest church, with its recently raised Tower of Jesus Christ — has made it an even greater beacon.

Catalans see Montserrat as a spiritual home

The Sagrada Familia is a global pulpit, but it's set in a country where Christianity is receding. Spain underwent a religious crisis in the late 20th century during its return to democracy. Just over half of Spaniards polled by the state opinion agency in 2024 self-identified as Catholics, but only about 1 in 5 called themselves practicing Catholics.

And Catalonia is one of Spain's most secular provinces, Sáez said.

Catalonia’s Catholics are reserved in their practice, without flamboyant Easter Week processions like those in Seville and other Spanish cities.

The force of their faith rests in its holy places: the Sagrada Familia, the Poblet monastery and the Romanesque churches dotting the foothills of the Pyrenees. And, above all, in Montserrat, where pilgrims arrive by bus, cable car, cog railway and strenuous trails.

“It is home to our most beloved representation of Mary, the Black Madonna,” Catalan theologian Francesc Torralba told AP. “Many Catalans pray to her and feel close to her in times of need. Montserrat is a key to our culture, as well as our efforts to maintain our language and our traditions.”

While Montserrat is the region's religious epicenter, its faith is “culturally expressed in its artistic creations” like the Sagrada Familia, he added.

Throngs of tourists

And it's that unbridled and unique artistry that draws so many visitors. Many Barcelona residents feel the Sagrada Familia's fame has driven some of overtourism's worst ills. Tour buses flood the area with day-trippers from cruise ships, and streets facing the church are full of fast food restaurants and souvenir shops. Protesters who squirted tourists with water guns last year were planning to reach the Sagrada Familia until police stopped them.

“Where there are two people (tourists and locals), there can be friction, and that happens in the best marriages,” the Sagrada Familia’s rector, the Rev. Josep Turull, told AP. “So we try, just like with a marriage, for these small crises to be growing pains, and that’s why we try to not just welcome pilgrims and tourists but also make sure that our parishioners feel that this is their basilica.”

Leo could bring even more tourists. Pope Benedict XVI's consecration to make it an operating basilica in 2010 boosted visits from about 3 million a year to nearly 5 million in 2025, according to Xavier Martínez, the CEO of the Sagrada Familia’s construction project.

“I believe that on June 10 we will experience something similar to what we saw in 2010," Martínez said. "At that time, the world discovered the interior of the Sagrada Familia. Now the world will discover the towers of the Sagrada Familia.”

Tour guide and historian Mònica Santín has seen the Sagrada Familia's stunning power for believers and nonbelievers alike; some even weep upon crossing the church's threshold. As personally fulfilling as it is to help tourists achieve these life-changing moments, she is concerned Leo's Mass could drive tourism to levels that are unsustainable for the community.

The sacred sites share a connection

Santín has reserved her spot to see Leo in person, but it won't be at the basilica. She will instead make the journey to the Montserrat monastery.

Santín’s grandmother made the same pilgrimage, walking barefoot to a mountainside cave where legend has it shepherds discovered the Black Madonna statue and prayed for protection for her husband during the Spanish Civil War. Today, Santín wears the ring her grandmother gave her.

“I don’t know how it doesn’t fall apart,” Santín said, gently touching her ring, with its profile of the Virgin of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia, barely visible after so many years.

And she notes that Montserrat and the Sagrada Familia have a shared, but little-known, connection.

A young Gaudí apprenticed with an architect building the mountaintop chapel for the Virgin of Montserrat, according to Santín, who is researching her doctoral thesis on the architect at Barcelona's ISCREB theology school. That same architect was originally hired to build the Sagrada Familia, but material costs made his neo-Gothic proposal inviable and the commission went to Gaudí. As part of his radical design, he introduced elements of the mountain.

Even the basilica's sandcastle-like towers resemble the spirelike rock formations that every Catalan can identify as jutting from Montserrat.

“Montserrat is our holy mountain,” Santín said. “The Sagrada Familia is like a Montserrat in the middle of the city."

Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman has been the animated face of its campaigns and the main source of warnings ahead of strikes and major offensives. That has made him one of the most recognizable Israelis in the Arab world — a focus of fury as well as some fascination.

In social media videos shared to his 2.5 million followers across platforms, the colonel appears in military fatigues, gesticulating as he delivers official statements and mocks Israel’s enemies, often using satire or pop culture references, all in fluent Arabic.

In the wars sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, his social media accounts have carried warnings for civilians to leave — sometimes at a moment's notice — areas shaded in red on maps of Gaza and Lebanon. Millions have paid heed, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in squalid tent camps.

Adraee, who is retiring this year, takes pride in his work. Asked to respond to the fact that many associate him with death and displacement, he said he has helped Arabs to better understand Israel's military operations.

“Because of these evacuation orders, many millions were saved,” he told The Associated Press. “There's no other army in the world that acts this way.”

The ‘face of evil’ for many Palestinians and Lebanese

Israel’s offensive in Gaza killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced most of the population of some 2 million, often multiple times, before a fragile ceasefire took hold in October. Its latest war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has killed some 3,500 people and displaced over 1.2 million.

Both campaigns have drawn allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Israel has adamantly denied, often through spokespeople like Adraee.

The grim warnings also have made him something of a celebrity. In Lebanon, a look-alike delivery driver posts satirical videos and pranks unsuspecting residents, showing the fear Adraee inspires.

“Avichay Adraee is the face of evil, to me and to the people of Gaza,” said Ayman Ahmad, a resident of Khan Younis in southern Gaza who has been displaced twice during the war. Few people in Gaza had heard of Adraee before the war, he said, but now everyone closely monitors his social media accounts.

“Once we see a new post from him, we know that a disaster is about to happen,” he said.

Adraee's family has deep roots in the region

Adraee, 43, grew up in the mixed Jewish and Arab city of Haifa in northern Israel.

His father's family is part of the Jewish community that lived in the area for generations before Israel's establishment in 1948. His mother's family came to Israel from Iraq, among hundreds of thousands of Jews from centuries-old communities across the Middle East who emigrated to Israel to escape violence and persecution.

Adraee said he loved watching Egyptian soap operas on Israeli TV as a kid and that studying Arabic was “love at first sight.” He picked up some Arabic at home before studying the language in school and during a stint in military intelligence.

“My ability to speak and absorb Arabic is connected to my roots,” he said. “My grandmother and father were very proud when they saw me on TV speaking in Arabic.”

From talking head to social media influencer

Adraee became the military’s first Arabic-language spokesperson in 2005, doing interviews with TV outlets, including regular appearances on the increasingly influential Al Jazeera.

He said 2011 marked a turning point with the rise of social media, which was used to great effect during the Arab Spring uprisings that year.

“People know me, we’ve been through so many wars,” he said. “But the revolution of social networks in 2011 allowed us to lean on the persona of Avichay.”

Adraee wants his videos to go viral, leaning on the casual nature of social media to get his message across.

The military's claim to have found Hamas infrastructure under a luxury hotel in Gaza made little impact, but Adraee said his satirical video of a Hamas leader leaving a Trip Advisor review for the tunnels was widely shared. He has sent birthday messages to singers and holiday greetings to Arab influencers, even exchanging public messages with Lebanese journalists who work for Hezbollah-linked outlets.

“We want people to be exposed to the really important and serious messages, the information we’re trying to convince them of, but if you want them to remember you, you have to be more creative,” he said. Social media, he said, allows him to “talk directly to the people, above the heads of the government.”

A race to draw attention to war narratives

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of Economics who was born in Lebanon, said Adraee's posts are “dreaded and feared because they really carry life and death implications for hundreds of thousands of people.”

Still, “you have some people basically who are fascinated by his personality because he’s now almost an official influencer for Israel,” he said.

Israel’s military has spokespeople in several languages, but only Adraee is famous enough to be known by his first name.

Gerges said it's part of a wider trend in which official spokespeople try to make their messages go viral.

The Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida was widely known for delivering fiery statements, sometimes cut with footage of attacks or Israeli hostages, before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas and Hezbollah have released videos showing their attacks, cut with music and graphics.

Supporters of Iran's government have released AI-generated music videos with Lego characters mocking U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has released its own videos celebrating strikes on Iran, featuring video game screenshots and movie clips.

Accusations of incitement after the killing of journalists

It's not unusual for military spokespeople to have adversarial, if professional, relations with reporters. But Adraee has been accused of justifying the killing of some journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says there is a “repeated pattern” in which Adraee “publicly labels Palestinian and Lebanese journalists as militants or terrorists — often without presenting verifiable evidence — before or after they are killed in Israeli strikes.”

After a strike in March killed three journalists in Lebanon, Adraee’s account published a photo of one of them, Ali Shoeib, in military fatigues. The image was later determined to be computer generated.

Adraee said it was a mistake not to label the photo as “illustrative,” but insisted Shoeib was a known Hezbollah operative who spied on Israeli positions while working as a reporter for a Hezbollah-linked outlet. Adraee presented no evidence he was involved in fighting. Israel says it does not target journalists.

At least 207 journalists have been killed in Gaza and 16 in Lebanon since 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Someone you can reach on Instagram

After 20 years in the role, Adraee is retiring and will be replaced by Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the military’s highest-ranking Muslim woman.

Last month, Adraee received one of the strangest messages of his long career.

A teenager in a Beirut suburb reached out on Instagram and told Adraee that her school was hiding weapons. Israel regularly bombs buildings it says are used by militants, so the message prompted panic, vehement denials by school officials and a search by the Lebanese military, which turned up nothing.

It was later revealed the girl was playing a joke with a friend and likely wanted to avoid going to class.

Adraee chalked up the whole situation as a win.

“The fact that the (Israeli military) spokesperson is someone you can write to on Instagram, that’s the whole story,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed.

“I never thought I’d see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight,” Brown said.

The Spurs won 115-111 on Monday night to cut the Knicks' lead in the series to 2-1. It was New York's first loss in 46 days, ending a 13-game postseason winning streak.

Brown credited the Spurs for their performance and listed some things the Knicks did poorly. But he said the officiating made a difference in the game.

“San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, OK. It’s going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4 and in the second half, they get 24 free-throw attempts to our eight. Maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too.

“There were a lot of things that we didn’t do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2,” Brown added. “But to go 24 free-throw attempts in the second half, that’s 48 for the game, if you think about the way they called that second half, compared to eight. All the shots we took, we got fouled four times, roughly, for eight free-throw attempts.”

Mikal Bridges had to go to the bench early after picking up two quick fouls and Jalen Brunson had to do the same in the third quarter when he picked up his fourth. The Spurs shot 14 free throws in the third quarter to the Knicks' three.

“There are a lot of things we can do better and we are going to have to do better, but the same breath, like I said, hopefully they will see some more fouls called against them, so it’s not 24-8,” Brown said. “This is a four-point ballgame. Four-point ballgame. One-possession ballgame going down the stretch. It’s tough to overcome.”

The Spurs finished 25 for 32 for the game, while the Knicks were 18 for 22. Told about Brown's comments, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said the referees weren't the problem.

“That didn’t cost us the game,” he said. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game.”

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