Authorities announced the arrest of Roberto Mazzarella, 48, following a raid Friday on a villa on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy after allegedly using false documents to rent the luxury coastal property.

Meloni, who is on a tour of Gulf states, described Mazzarella’s arrest as an “an important blow against the Camorra,” referring to the notorious criminal organization that originated in Naples.

“This sends a clear message that the state will not back down” Meloni said in an online post.

Mazzarella is wanted in connection with a 2000 fatal shooting at a delicatessen in central Naples.

The bearded 41-year-old was recognized on the video board by the Stars early in the game, and plenty of Dallas fans joined a vocal Avs contingent in cheering for Burns.

The all-time ironman streak belongs to forward Phil Kessel, who played in 1,064 consecutive regular-season games from Nov. 3, 2009, to April 13, 2023. He appeared with Toronto, Pittsburgh, Arizona and Vegas.

Burns, who appeared in his 1,500th game in October against the Stars, has been in the lineup for every game since Nov. 21, 2013, with San Jose. He also has played for Minnesota and Carolina.

Burns is in his first season with the Avalanche and has 11 goals. He and Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom are the only defensemen in league history to score double-digit goals at 40 or older.

The meeting with the Stars is Burns' 1,572nd career regular-season game. He entered the game with 941 points (272 goals, 669 assists). Burns spent 11 of his 22 seasons with the Sharks.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

“It means the world to me,” said Marin, who was crushed when she failed to make the 36-hole cut last year to play a final round at Augusta National.

Marin, a junior at Arkansas, becomes the third NCAA champion to win at the home of the Masters, following Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, and this one featured a shocker on the back nine.

Talley, who led by as many as three shots early, made her first bogey of the tournament on the tough par-4 11th, falling into a share of the lead with Marin.

And then it all came undone. Talley went long into a back bunker on the par-3 12th. She went at the right pin with a shot too strong, and the ball rolled off the front, down a slope and into the water. Talley decided to drop in the bunker, and did the same thing again.

Stunned, the California teenager took her next penalty drop on the other side of the water, pitched to about 8 feet and holed that for a quadruple-bogey 7.

In the group ahead, Marin reached the par-5 13th and two-putted for birdie to get to 14-under par, suddenly five shots ahead as Talley tried to regain her composure.

The last challenge for Marin came from Andrea Revuelta, who birdied Amen Corner to stay on the fringes of contention. On the par-5 15th, Marin chose to lay up with a four-shot lead, but her third was well long, and her fourth shot up the slope went to the front of the green. She had 5 feet for bogey, while Revuelta had 8 feet for birdie.

Revuelta, who had reached the back collar of the green in two, missed and had to settle for par. Marin made her bogey putt to stay three ahead, and the 19-year-old Colombian hit her tee shot to about 6 feet for birdie on the 16th to put it away.

Revuelta closed with a 68 and was runner-up.

Talley took a double bogey on the 16th — she played par 3s in 6 over on the back nine — and wound up with a 75 to tie for fourth, six shots behind. Meja Örtengren of Sweden, who played in the final group with Talley, shot 74.

Marin set an Augusta National Women's Amateur record at 14-under 202. The smile never left her face as she walked up the 18th green, raising her right hand when she tapped in for par. Among those who celebrated with her was Maria Fassi of Mexico, another Arkansas star who was runner-up in the inaugural tournament. Marin has called that moment a big inspiration.

Masters chairman Fred Ridley presented the trophy to her in Butler Cabin, and Marin held it aloft, smiled wide and said, “It's so pretty.”

Marin, who started the final round one shot behind, fell three back with a bogey on third hole. That was her last big mistake until the tournament was in hand. She made a series of big par putts that kept her in range until Talley fell apart.

Along with winning the NCAA last year, Marin won the Women's Amateur Latin America. That puts her into three of the LPGA Tour's majors this year.

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

El inicio del partido está previsto para las 7:30 p.m., con más de 20,000 aficionados esperados en el juego inaugural en Miami Freedom Park.

Equipos trabajan para garantizar que el partido se desarrolle lo mejor posible.

Funcionarios de la ciudad dijeron que aún están trabajando para emitir un certificado temporal de ocupación (TCO) antes del partido.

En un comunicado, la ciudad indicó que está “trabajando diligentemente con los representantes del estadio Nu para emitir el TCO antes del juego inaugural del 4 de abril”.

Los funcionarios añadieron que, si el TCO no se emite a tiempo, el evento aún podría llevarse a cabo bajo un permiso de evento limitado, “el cual se limita a ese día, con horarios específicos, restricciones y precauciones adicionales”, señalando que es “un recurso que se utiliza con frecuencia en estas situaciones”.

A pesar de esa incertidumbre, se espera que el partido se realice según lo previsto.

Durante un recorrido por el estadio, el copropietario de Inter Miami, Jorge Mas, reconoció que la construcción continúa fuera del recinto.

“Fuera del estadio es una zona en construcción mientras avanzamos con las obras, pero creo que será una caminata muy bonita”, dijo Mas. “Habrá actividades muy agradables, así que hay mucho por hacer en las próximas 48 horas, pero todo se está haciendo para brindar una gran experiencia a los aficionados el sábado”.

Añadió que la experiencia para los aficionados mejorará con el tiempo.

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Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with more than 20,000 fans expected to attend the inaugural match at Miami Freedom Park.

Crews are doing everything they can to ensure the game goes smooth as possible.

City officials said they are still working to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) ahead of the game.

In a statement, the city said it is “working diligently with the representatives of Nu Stadium to issue the TCO by April 4th’s inaugural game.”

Officials added that if the TCO is not issued in time, the event could still proceed under a limited event permit, “which is limited to that day, with specific hours, restrictions, and additional precautions,” noting it is “a recourse often used in these situations.”

Despite that uncertainty, the match is still expected to go on as planned.

During a walkthrough of the stadium, Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas acknowledged that construction remains ongoing outside the venue.

“Outside of the stadium it’s a construction site as we prepare construction, but I think it’ll be a beautiful walk up,” Mas said. “We’ll have really nice activities, so there’s a lot to do in the next 48 hours, but it’s all being done to make this a great fan experience on Saturday.”

He added that the fan experience will improve over time.

“Obviously the second game will be better, the third, the fourth, as you grow into it into any new facility, the experiences will get smoother, they’ll get better, but I’m very, very happy with what’s happened and the time period that we’ve been able to complete the stadium,” he said.

Meanwhile, a traffic alert has been issued by the Miami Police Department for Saturday, with major congestion expected before and after the match.

Traffic congestion expected times:

• Pre-match: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Post-match: 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Residential streets around Miami Freedom Park will be restricted to residents only, and drivers are urged not to cut through neighborhoods as police will enforce closures.

Fans driving to the stadium are advised to use only designated entrances:

• Northwest 37th Avenue (Douglas Road)
• Northwest 14th Street (between Northwest 37th and Northwest 42nd avenues)

Drivers should follow variable message signs along the Dolphin Expressway and Le Jeune Road for routing.

Those using public transit or parking at the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) should follow the designated pedestrian route to Northwest 21st Street and Northwest 38th Court, then continue along the Sheraton access road to the pedestrian bridge leading into Nu Stadium. ADA shuttles will be available from the MIC to stadium entrances.

Officials urge fans to plan ahead, expect delays and follow directions from law enforcement directing traffic.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said Saturday that he and his Artemis II crewmates got to watch the film with their families before launching on the lunar fly-around. He said it was “a real treat” to view the movie while getting ready for his own space adventure.

Gosling, a fellow Canadian, sent best wishes to the four astronauts ahead of Wednesday's liftoff.

“Art imitates science and vice versa,” Hansen said during a live televised event arranged by the Canadian Space Agency. “I thought it was just such an inspirational example — somebody who goes out there and just gets what was done to save humanity. It’s a pretty extraordinary example that we can all follow.”

Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.

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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.

Following an NHL-record 14 seasons of futility, during which the team finished no better than 19th in the league standings, the Sabres clinched a berth on Saturday when the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings in regulation. Buffalo's playoff drought was among the four North American major sports’ longest active streaks, ranking second behind the NFL's New York Jets, who last qualified in 2010.

The Sabres clinched with six games left in their season, before playing at Washington on Saturday night, and are in contention to earn the Eastern Conference's top seed. At 46-22-8, Buffalo is riding a 35-8-4 surge that has vaulted the team after sitting last in the East in early December.

The turnaround has been remarkable for a franchise that through Saturday has gone 5,458 days since the Lindy Ruff-coached team lost Game 7 of a first-round series to Philadelphia on April 26, 2011.

In the ensuing years, the Sabres have finished last overall four times and are on their seventh coach, with Ruff back for a second stint, and their fourth general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen.

Buffalo’s run up the standings coincided with Kekalainen being promoted from his position as senior adviser on Dec. 15, replacing Kevyn Adams, who was fired after five-plus seasons.

The Sabres already had won three straight when the change occurred and proceeded to go on a franchise record-matching 10-0 run. They’ve not looked back since. Buffalo is 14-3-2 since returning from the Olympic break, and the team’s worst stretch since December has been a 0-1-2 skid.

Though Adams’ firing played a role in spurring the team, so did Buffalo getting healthier.

The Sabres’ top two lines were replenished with the return of Josh Norris and Jason Zucker, and their goaltending got a boost with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shaking off an early season injury to resume sharing the starting duties with Alex Lyon. After opening the season 4-5-1, Luukkonen has gone 15-4-2 since Dec. 21.

Kekalainen also added depth at the trade deadline last month by acquiring center Sam Carrick, forward Tanner Pearson and defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn.

The team is led by two of its longest-tenured players: captain Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, and forward Tage Thompson, who was acquired in a trade that sent Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis in the summer of 2018.

Dahlin entered Saturday ranking sixth among NHL defensemen with 67 points, while Thompson was tied for 11th among all skaters with 38 goals.

The next test for Buffalo is winning a playoff series, something the team hasn’t done since beating the Rangers in six games in the second round in 2007.

The turnaround has revived a fanbase that had grown weary with losing, various rebuilding plans that failed to generate a winner and a revolving door of talent being shuffled in and out of Buffalo — from O’Reilly’s departure to Jack Eichel being dealt to Vegas in November 2021 following a lengthy standoff over how to repair a neck injury. Each went on to win the Stanley Cup with his new team.

The Sabres have not hoisted the Cup through their first 54 seasons of existence.

Buffalo has had 21 home sellouts this season, including 15 in a row, a year after selling out just five games.

This season, the Sabres have shown resolve in rallying back from deficits. Buffalo entered Saturday with 19 come-from-behind wins, tied for seventh in the NHL. That included defeating Tampa Bay 8-7 last month after trailing 7-5 with nine minutes left in regulation.

The Lightning also clinched Saturday before playing.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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At The Berry Farm in southwest Miami-Dade, children and parents spread out across 40 acres Saturday for the farm’s annual Eggstravaganza.

Kids of all ages raced through egg hunts, played on playgrounds, visited baby animals and posed for photos with the Easter Bunny.

“We actually live in Chicago,” said Christine Burger, a grandmother attending the event. “And the weather is better than Chicago. It’s a whole lot of outdoor activities for us to do today too.”

Karl Wiegandt of The Berry Farm said the event has grown over the years and has become a tradition for many families.

“This is the sixth year we’ve done the egg hunts here at the berry farm and we’ve really learned a lot,” Wiegandt said. “We do 39 egg hunts to keep organization, enough eggs for all the kids, and really for parents to be able to get those pictures where it’s not a congestion of kid running at the same time.”

“We always say we try to create that forever moment and picture and those memories. I think we’ve done a great job of it,” he added.

The event continues on Easter Sunday.

In Broward County, families gathered in Plantation for the city’s annual Royal Easter Egg Hunt at Pop Travers Park.

Children from toddlers to 10 years old were split into age groups, each taking turns running across the field to collect eggs.

“It was very nice to come out on a Saturday. I got up really early to do it. I wasn’t expecting this but it was really good. The kids enjoyed it,” said Ambria Butts.

After the hunt, families stayed to enjoy inflatables, games and a visit from the Royal Easter Bunny.

En The Berry Farm, al suroeste de Miami-Dade, niños y padres se distribuyeron el sábado en 40 acres para la “Eggstravaganza” anual de la granja.

Niños de todas las edades participaron en las búsquedas de huevos, jugaron en áreas recreativas, visitaron animales bebés y se tomaron fotos con el Conejo de Pascua.

“De hecho vivimos en Chicago”, dijo Christine Burger, una abuela que asistió al evento. “Y el clima es mejor que en Chicago. Hay muchas actividades al aire libre para hacer hoy”.

Karl Wiegandt, de The Berry Farm, dijo que el evento ha crecido con los años y se ha convertido en una tradición para muchas familias.

“Este es el sexto año que hacemos búsquedas de huevos aquí en la granja y hemos aprendido mucho”, dijo Wiegandt. “Realizamos 39 búsquedas para mantener la organización, suficientes huevos para todos los niños y para que los padres puedan tomar fotos sin aglomeraciones de niños corriendo al mismo tiempo”.

“Siempre decimos que tratamos de crear ese momento y esa foto para siempre, esos recuerdos. Creo que hemos hecho un gran trabajo”, añadió.

El evento continúa el domingo de Pascua.

En el condado Broward, familias se reunieron en Plantation para la búsqueda anual Royal Easter Egg Hunt en el parque Pop Travers.

Niños desde pequeños hasta los 10 años fueron divididos por grupos de edad, cada uno tomando turnos para correr por el campo y recolectar huevos.

“Fue muy agradable salir un sábado. Me levanté muy temprano para hacerlo. No lo esperaba, pero estuvo muy bien. Los niños lo disfrutaron”, dijo Ambria Butts.

Después de la búsqueda, las familias permanecieron para disfrutar de inflables, juegos y una visita del Conejo de Pascua Real.

Miami; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE:

Washington will try to stop its three-game road slide when the Wizards face Miami.

The Heat are 24-23 in Eastern Conference games. Miami is fifth in the Eastern Conference with 12.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Kel’el Ware averaging 2.9.

The Wizards are 11-35 in conference matchups. Washington is 2-2 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Heat score 120.4 points per game, 3.9 fewer points than the 124.3 the Wizards give up. The Heat average 112.7 points per game, 5.5 fewer points than the 118.2 the Heat allow to opponents.

The teams square off for the third time this season. The Heat won the last matchup 150-129 on March 10, with Bam Adebayo scoring 83 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Adebayo is scoring 20.3 points per game with 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Heat. Tyler Herro is averaging 20.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 44.4% over the past 10 games.

Bub Carrington is averaging 10.2 points and 4.6 assists for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 17.0 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Heat: 2-8, averaging 119.6 points, 41.6 rebounds, 27.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 129.3 points per game.

Wizards: 1-9, averaging 113.2 points, 36.6 rebounds, 24.6 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 128.6 points.

INJURIES:

Heat: Norman Powell: day to day (illness).

Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Kyshawn George: out for season (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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April is National Stress Awareness Month, and with gas prices rising, along with the cost of living and fluctuating inflation, many people are feeling the pressure.

According to a Harris Poll of more than 3,000 adults, 62% report living with stress. While stress can be caused by a variety of factors, including anxiety and burnout, it can also take a toll physically and mentally.

However, not everyone views stress negatively. Some say it can serve as a motivator, helping people push through challenges, meet deadlines and achieve goals.

It often depends on the source and severity of the stress. Everyday pressures may encourage productivity, but more serious stress — such as concerns about health or loved ones — can weigh heavily on individuals.

How do you view stress and how do you manage it? Let us know in the comment section below.

A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina.

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement on Saturday. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”

Staley said Saturday morning she was focused on the title game against UCLA on Sunday and not what happened a night earlier.

“For me, no distractions at this time. I'm concentrating on winning a national championship, that’s it,” Staley said. “That’s a little disheartening. This is sports, sometimes things like this happen. Continue to focus on my team and ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”

Staley later said that she would address it at a later point.

After the loss, Auriemma said the exchange was about the lack of a traditional pregame handshake between the coaches. Staley said she was confused Friday night.

“I have no idea,” the South Carolina coach said after the game. “But I’m going to let you know this: I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand.

“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

South Carolina advanced to play UCLA in the title game on Sunday. The Gamecocks are looking for their third championship in five seasons.

UConn and South Carolina are set to play each other the next two years with the first game in Connecticut.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Abril es el Mes Nacional de la Concienciación sobre el Estrés y, con el aumento en los precios de la gasolina, el costo de vida y la inflación fluctuante, muchas personas sienten la presión.

Según una encuesta de Harris Poll a más de 3,000 adultos, el 62% reporta vivir con estrés. Aunque puede ser causado por diversos factores, incluyendo la ansiedad y el agotamiento, también puede afectar física y mentalmente.

Sin embargo, no todos ven el estrés de forma negativa. Algunos dicen que puede servir como motivador, ayudando a las personas a superar desafíos, cumplir plazos y alcanzar metas.

A menudo depende de la fuente y la intensidad del estrés. Las presiones cotidianas pueden fomentar la productividad, pero el estrés más serio —como preocupaciones por la salud o seres queridos— puede pesar mucho sobre las personas.

¿Cómo ves el estrés y cómo lo manejas? Cuéntanos en la sección de comentarios.

El avión de combate estadounidense, identificado por Irán como un F-15E Strike Eagle, fue uno de los dos atacados el viernes. Un tripulante militar fue rescatado. Irán ha prometido una recompensa para quien entregue al piloto desaparecido. Era la primera vez que Washington perdía aeronaves en territorio iraní durante una guerra que ya lleva seis semana, lo que podría aumentar la presión sobre Trump para poner fin a los combates.

El mando militar conjunto de Irán afirmó el sábado que también impactó dos helicópteros Black Hawk de Estados Unidos el día anterior, pero The Associated Press no pudo verificarlo de forma independiente.

El conflicto, iniciado por Estados Unidos e Israel el 28 de febrero, se ha extendido por Oriente Medio. Hasta el momento ha causado miles de muertos, sacudió las bolsas de todo el mundo, interrumpió rutas marítimas clave, disparó los precios del combustible y no muestra señales de calmarse, al tiempo que Irán responde con ataques en toda la región.

Trump afirmó a principios de la semana en un discurso a la nación que el país había “vencido y diezmado por completo a Irán”. Washington e Israel se habían jactado de que las defensas antiaéreas de la República Islámica habían quedado diezmadas.

Pero el sábado, un supuesto dron iraní causó daños en la sede del gigante tecnológico estadounidense Oracle en Dubái, Emiratos Árabes Unidos. Ambas partes han amenazado, y atacado, objetivos civiles e infraestructura en la guerra.

También el sábado, la Organización de Energía Atómica de Irán señaló que un ataque aéreo alcanzó las inmediaciones de su instalación nuclear de Bushehr, mató a un guardia de seguridad y dañó un edificio de apoyo. Es la cuarta vez que la instalación es atacada durante la guerra. El jefe de la corporación nuclear estatal rusa, Rosatom, dijo que se estaba evacuando a 198 trabajadores.

Irán señala disposición al diálogo

El portavoz del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Pakistán, Tahir Andrabi, dijo a la AP que los esfuerzos de su gobierno para negociar un alto el fuego están “en el camino correcto”. La semana pasada, Pakistán anunció que pronto será sede de conversaciones entre Estados Unidos e Irán.

El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Irán, Abbas Araghchi, dijo que “nunca nos hemos negado a ir a Islamabad”.

Mediadores de Pakistán, Turquía y Egipto están trabajando para llevar a Estados Unidos e Irán a la mesa de negociaciones, según dos funcionarios regionales. Indicaron que estaban trabajando para acortar la brecha entre las exigencias de ambas partes a fin de detener la guerra y reabrir el crucial estrecho de Ormuz.

El compromiso propuesto incluye un cese de hostilidades para permitir un acuerdo diplomático, según un funcionario regional involucrado en los esfuerzos y un diplomático del Golfo informado sobre el asunto. Ambos hablaron bajo condición de anonimato para tratar una diplomacia a puerta cerrada.

Irán busca a “piloto enemigo”

La búsqueda del piloto estadounidense se centró en una región montañosa en la provincia suroccidental iraní de Kohgiluyeh y Boyer-Ahmad.

Ni la Casa Blanca ni el Pentágono hicieron pública información, pero en un correo electrónico del Pentágono obtenido por The Associated Press, el ejército señaló que recibió la notificación de “un avión derribado” en Oriente Medio, sin aportar más detalles.

Un miembro de la tripulación de esa aeronave fue rescatado. Pero el Pentágono notificó al Comité de Servicios Armados de la Cámara de Representantes que se desconocía el estado de un segundo militar.

En una entrevista telefónica con NBC News, Trump dijo que lo ocurrido no afectará las negociaciones con Irán.

Por separado, la prensa estatal iraní reportó que una aeronave de ataque A-10 de Estados Unidos se estrelló en el golfo Pérsico tras ser alcanzada por fuerzas de defensa iraníes. Un funcionario estadounidense, que habló bajo condición de anonimato para tratar una situación militar delicada, apuntó que no estaba claro si el aparato se estrelló o fue derribado. De momento se desconoce el estado de la tripulación.

El conductor de una televisora afiliada a la cadena estatal iraní instó a los residentes a entregar a la policía a cualquier “piloto enemigo”, algo inédito en la guerra. Irán ha hecho anteriormente afirmaciones sobre el derribo de aeronaves tripuladas que resultaron no ser ciertas.

Atacan oficinas de Oracle en Dubái

La sede en Dubái de Oracle fue impactada luego que la Guardia Revolucionaria, la fuerza paramilitar iraní, amenazó a la empresa. Imágenes verificadas por la AP fuera de Emiratos mostraron un gran agujero en la esquina suroeste del edificio.

La oficina de prensa de Dubái, que habla en nombre del gobierno del emirato, señaló un “incidente menor causado por escombros de una interceptación aérea que cayeron sobre la fachada”, y agregó que no hubo heridos.

Oracle Corp., con sede en Austin, Texas, no ha dado respuesta a una solicitud de comentarios.

La Guardia Revolucionaria ha acusado a algunas de las principales compañías tecnológicas estadounidenses de participar en operaciones de “espionaje terrorista” contra la República Islámica y afirmó que eran objetivos legítimos. Antes, ataques con drones habían alcanzado instalaciones de Amazon Web Services tanto en Emiratos Árabes Unidos como en Baréin.

Amenaza velada de Irán de interrumpir otra vía marítima

El presidente del Parlamento iraní, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, lanzó una amenaza velada el viernes por la noche de interrumpir el tráfico a través de una segunda vía marítima estratégica en la región, el estrecho de Bab el-Mandeb.

El estrecho, de 32 kilómetros (20 millas) de ancho, conecta el mar Rojo con el golfo de Adén y el océano Índico. Por él pasa más de una 10ma parte del petróleo mundial transportado por mar y una cuarta parte de los buques portacontenedores.

“¿Qué parte del petróleo mundial, GNL, trigo, arroz y envíos de fertilizantes transita por el estrecho de Bab el-Mandeb?”, escribió Qalibaf, en referencia al gas natural licuado. “¿Qué países y empresas representan los mayores volúmenes de tránsito por el estrecho?”.

Más de 1,900 personas han muerto en Irán desde el inicio del conflicto.

Más de dos docenas de personas han muerto en Estados árabes del Golfo y en la Cisjordania ocupada. Israel ha reportado 19 decesos y 13 soldados estadounidenses han fallecido. En Líbano, más de 1,400 personas han muerto y más de un millón están desplazadas. Allí han muerto también 10 soldados israelíes.

Verlander, the major league's oldest active player at 43, was placed on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation. On Sunday night, Verlander was scheduled to make his first start in a Tigers uniform at Detroit's home park since Aug. 20, 2017.

Verlander was dealt to Houston at the trade deadline that season. He re-signed with Detroit on a one-year, $13 million contract in February after spending last season with San Francisco.

Verlander made 380 starts for Detroit from 2005-17. In his first start this season, Verlander gave up five runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings against Arizona on Monday and took the loss.

RHP Keider Montero was recalled from Triple-A Toledo and is expected to start the finale of a three-game series against St. Louis.

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

Ahem, tortoise.

This all probably needs an explanation.

During a game last August, Brewers manager Pat Murphy was caught taking a pancake from the pocket of his hoodie for a midgame bite, right in the middle of a dugout interview during a game against the Nationals. It wasn't necessarily new for Murphy, who's been known to have everything from waffles to eggs rolls close at hand should he get the munchies.

But given the game was nationally televised, the moment immediately went viral. And the Brewers even latched onto the momentum, introducing “Murph's Pocket Pancakes” as concession items for Sunday home games at American Family Field.

Back to the turtle — er, tortoise.

The Brewers were supposed to play the Royals on Friday night on Apple TV, though the game was called 90 minutes before first pitch because of the rain. During a pregame interview with Apple's reporter, Tricia Whitaker, Murphy said he was informed “under no uncertain circumstances, no pocket pancakes” during their talk, so he pulled out what was supposed to be a pocket turtle.

“This is Bobby Jr.,” Murphy said in presenting it to her, having named the creature after his longtime friend, Bobby Witt, and his son, Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. “I didn't want to pull out pancakes so here we are.”

Whitaker posted the moment on social media, and fans immediately informed her that the reptile was not, in fact, a pocket turtle — or any turtle. It was a tortoise, or more specifically a Sulcata tortoise, which can live 70 years and grow to 100 pounds.

“How am I supposed to fly this home?” Whitaker asked.

Good question.

Turns out, as Whitaker later posted on social media, American Airlines has “a strict no reptiles policy,” so Bobby Jr. had to stay behind in Kansas City. The agreement, she wrote, is that the club would keep the tortoise for the time being.

Indeed, the reptile was happily living under a heat lamp in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, though the plan is to find Bobby Jr. a good home soon. He won't be traveling with the club all season.

“It was suggested by one player,” Whitaker said, “that they get to keep the ‘rally turtle' if they win today. If they lose, I am hoping, consideration will be given to send me the tortoise.”

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

In a motion filed Friday, National Park Service lawyers say that the federal judge's order to suspend construction of the new facility is “threatening grave national-security harms to the White House, the President and his family, and the President’s staff.”

“Time is of the essence!” the lawyers write, citing materials that will be installed to make a “heavily fortified” facility. The ballroom construction also includes bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility, according to the filing. The ballroom is part of President Donald Trump's plans to quickly remake Washington.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington on Tuesday ordered the temporary pause of the construction project that has included demolishing the East Wing of the White House. He concluded that unless Congress approves the project, the preservationist group suing to stop it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”

The judge suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days acknowledging that the administration would appeal his decision.

Leon's ruling and the appeal come the same week a key agency tasked with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region gave final approval to the project.

In his ruling Leon, who was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, suspended enforcement of his order recognizing that "halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues.”

Leon also addressed national security in his ruling, saying that he reviewed information that the government privately submitted to him and concluded that halting construction wouldn't jeopardize national security. He exempted any construction work that is necessary for the safety and security of the White House from the scope of the injunction.

Trump lashed out at the ruling, but also noted that it would allow work on underground bunkers and other security measures around the White House grounds to continue — even though those will be paid for by taxpayers. Trump has pledged that he, along with private donors, will cover the costs for the ballroom construction.

But the National Park Service argues in its motion that the president has “complete authority to renovate the White House” and the current state of the grounds, which is an open construction site, make it harder to protect the White House.

“Canvas tents, which are necessary without a ballroom, are significantly more vulnerable to missiles, drones, and other threats than a hardened national security facility,” the motion says.

The Trump administration is asking the appeals court to make a decision on its request by Friday. It also asked that the 14-day suspension of Leon's order be extended by another two weeks so that the case can be taken to the Supreme Court.

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City of Lauderhill commissioner Melissa P. Dunn said in a news release that the effort reflects a growing awareness of the importance of personal health.

“I believe that people care about their health now more than ever because life is short and we really have to make every single second count and this body is the only body we have,” she said.

She also pointed to ongoing health challenges in the community and the need for continued focus on wellness.

“Unfortunately in the city of Lauderhill, we have a high incidence of diabetes and other chronic disease and so for me it’s critical that our residents eat better, move more and really take care of their health and well-being including their mental wellness and their financial wellness,”Dunn said.

The Get Active Lauderhill campaign, led by Dunn, launched Jan. 31 and encouraged participants to take simple, consistent steps toward improving their physical, emotional and overall well-being.

Organizers said the initiative emphasized accessibility, community engagement and sustainable habits for residents of all ages and fitness levels.

The event concluded with the community-wide 5K Run/Walk event Saturday at Lauderhill Sports Park at 7500 W. Oakland Park Blvd.

La comisionada de la ciudad de Lauderhill, Melissa P. Dunn, dijo en un comunicado de prensa que el esfuerzo refleja una creciente conciencia sobre la importancia de la salud personal.

“Creo que a la gente le importa su salud ahora más que nunca porque la vida es corta y realmente tenemos que hacer que cada segundo cuente y este cuerpo es el único que tenemos”, dijo.

También señaló los desafíos de salud persistentes en la comunidad y la necesidad de mantener el enfoque en el bienestar.

“Desafortunadamente, en la ciudad de Lauderhill, tenemos una alta incidencia de diabetes y otras enfermedades crónicas, por lo que para mí es fundamental que nuestros residentes coman mejor, se muevan más y realmente cuiden su salud y bienestar, incluyendo su bienestar mental y financiero”, dijo Dunn.

La campaña Get Active Lauderhill, liderada por Dunn, se lanzó el 31 de enero y alentó a los participantes a dar pasos simples y constantes para mejorar su bienestar físico, emocional y general.

Los organizadores dijeron que la iniciativa enfatizó la accesibilidad, la participación comunitaria y hábitos sostenibles para residentes de todas las edades y niveles de condición física.

El evento concluyó con la carrera/caminata 5K comunitaria el sábado en Lauderhill Sports Park, ubicado en 7500 W. Oakland Park Blvd.

El accidente inicial ocurrió alrededor de las 11:55 p.m. cerca de Northwest 135th Street y Northwest 57th Avenue, según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade.

Los investigadores dijeron que un vehículo se estrelló contra un árbol y se incendió.

Indicaron que equipos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue extinguieron las llamas y declararon muerto en el lugar al conductor, un hombre cuya identidad no ha sido revelada.

Alrededor de las 2:44 a.m., un vehículo de la MDSO estaba estacionado bloqueando una intersección debido al choque previo en el área de Northwest 135th Street y Northwest 47th Avenue, informaron las autoridades.

Un vehículo distinto atravesó la intersección y chocó contra el lado derecho del vehículo del agente, causando daños, dijeron las autoridades. El agente sufrió heridas leves y fue atendido en el lugar, confirmaron las autoridades el sábado por la mañana.

Las autoridades dijeron que el conductor del vehículo que impactó la patrulla fue detenido.

No se divulgaron de inmediato más detalles sobre ninguno de los dos choques.

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The initial crash occurred around 11:55 p.m. near Northwest 135th Street and Northwest 57th Avenue, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said a vehicle struck a tree and caught fire.

They said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews extinguished the flames and pronounced the male driver, who has not been identified, dead at the scene.

At about 2:44 a.m., a MDSO vehicle was parked while blocking an intersection because of the earlier crash in the area of Northwest 135th Street and Northwest 47th Avenue, authorities said.

They said a separate vehicle drove through the intersection and struck the deputy’s vehicle on the right side, causing damage. The deputy sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene, authorities confirmed Saturday morning.

Authorities said the driver of the vehicle who struck the deputy’s vehicle was detained.

No other information about either crash was immediately released.

El evento principal recaudó fondos para apoyar la misión de la organización sin fines de lucro de proporcionar alimentos y recursos a familias en los condados de Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade y Monroe. Una ceremonia de premiación se llevó a cabo tras la caminata/carrera.

Paco Velez, presidente y director ejecutivo de Feeding South Florida, dijo que la organización sigue enfocada en abordar la creciente inseguridad alimentaria en la región.

Señaló que el evento ayuda a financiar programas que brindan acceso inmediato a alimentos nutritivos y apoyan esfuerzos de defensa y educación. También destacó que por cada dólar donado, la organización puede proporcionar aproximadamente cuatro comidas.

“Todos estaban felices. Estaban emocionados. Estaban motivados. Tenían ganas de correr, y se reflejó en los tiempos”, dijo Velez. “Pero lo más importante es que podemos ayudar a muchas familias aquí hoy”.

También enfatizó el papel de los voluntarios, señalando que más de 36,000 personas colaboran con la organización cada año en la distribución de alimentos y eventos.

“Nuestros voluntarios son la esencia de nuestra organización”, dijo Velez.

Los organizadores dijeron que más de 1.2 millones de personas en el sur de Florida enfrentan inseguridad alimentaria, con uno de cada nueve residentes sin certeza de dónde provendrá su próxima comida debido al aumento de costos de vivienda, alimentos, combustible y otros gastos.

La organización también destacó donaciones recientes, incluidos huevos de socios como Cal-Maine y Morningstar Farms, que Velez dijo son una fuente de proteína de alta demanda para las familias.

Los participantes podían inscribirse de forma individual o en equipos, y quienes no corrieron fueron alentados a apoyar el esfuerzo mediante páginas personalizadas de recaudación de fondos haciendo clic aquí.

La inscripción está abierta en los cuatro condados a los que sirve Feeding South Florida: Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade y Monroe.

Según Hollywood Fire Rescue, el incendio fue reportado a las 2:12 a.m. en el Hollywood Gateway Inn, ubicado en la cuadra 2900 de Polk Street.

“Al llegar, las unidades encontraron un incendio activo en el lado este del edificio, que fue controlado rápidamente”, indicó HFR en un correo electrónico a Local 10. “La mayoría de los ocupantes ya se habían autoevacuado”.

Wilson Rodriguez, quien se hospedaba en el hotel, dijo a Local 10 que se despertó al escuchar a alguien gritar “¡fuego!”

“Cuando abrimos la puerta, lo único que vimos fue fuego y mucho humo”, dijo Rodriguez. “Había personas saltando desde el balcón. Salvamos a una señora con su hija”.

Los bomberos confirmaron que dos personas fueron asistidas desde un balcón del segundo piso y fueron evaluadas por inhalación de humo, pero ambas rechazaron ser trasladadas al hospital.

Indicaron que otros dos ocupantes fueron trasladados a un hospital local por lesiones sufridas mientras evacuaban el edificio.

En total, más de 60 personas fueron evacuadas del edificio.

Los bomberos informaron que el incendio fue extinguido y que las unidades pasaron aproximadamente una hora “realizando labores de remoción de escombros”.

Los bomberos creen que el incendio comenzó en el segundo piso, dentro de una de las habitaciones, y señalaron que parece haber sido accidental y de origen eléctrico.

Un portavoz de HFR señaló que las alarmas de humo del edificio “funcionaron exactamente como debían”, atribuyendo a estas el haber ayudado a salvar vidas.

“Hollywood Fire Rescue recuerda a la comunidad que las alarmas de humo que funcionan salvan vidas”, dijo el portavoz. “Recomendamos a todos probar sus alarmas regularmente, reemplazar las baterías cuando sea necesario y asegurarse de que cada hogar tenga alarmas funcionando en cada nivel”.

Rodriguez dijo a Local 10 que está feliz de ver un nuevo día.

“Cualquier cosa puede pasar en cualquier momento”, dijo. “Te despiertas en la mañana con una expectativa de cómo podría terminar el día, pero nunca sabes realmente qué puede pasar”.

No está claro cuándo se permitirá a las personas regresar al hotel.

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The signature event raised funds to support the nonprofit’s mission of providing food and resources to families across Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. An awards ceremony followed the walk/run.

Paco Velez, president and CEO of Feeding South Florida, said the organization remains focused on addressing growing food insecurity in the region.

He said the event helps fund programs that provide immediate access to nutritious food and support advocacy and education efforts. He also noted that for every $1 donated, the organization can provide about four meals.

“Everybody was happy. They were excited. They were motivated. They were eager to run, and it showed in the times,” Velez said. “But the most important part is that we are able to help a lot of families here today.”

He also emphasized the role of volunteers, saying more than 36,000 people assist the organization each year across food distribution and events.

“Our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization,” Velez said.

Organizers said more than 1.2 million people in South Florida are food insecure, with one in nine residents unsure where their next meal will come from due to rising costs for housing, groceries, fuel and other expenses.

The organization also highlighted recent donations, including eggs from partners Cal-Maine and Morningstar Farms, which Velez said are a high-demand protein source for families.

Participants could register as individuals or teams, and those not running were encouraged to support the effort through personalized fundraising pages by clicking here.

Registration is currently open to all four counties that Feeding South Florida serves, including Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

The latest actions were taken just this week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined they were no longer eligible for either lawful permanent resident status, or to enter the United States. The steps follow a move late last year in which the visas of several diplomats and staffers at Iran’s mission to the United Nations were also revoked.

In a statement on Saturday, the State Department said the niece and grand-niece of former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike near the Baghdad airport in 2020, had been arrested late Friday by immigration agents after Rubio revoked their green cards.

“Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the statement said, adding that Afshar’s husband has also been banned from entering the United States.

Afshar and her daughter had been living a “lavish lifestyle” in Los Angeles for many years while publicly supporting the Iranian government and anti-American attacks, according to the statement.

She is “an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the “Great Satan,” Rubio said in a post on X. “The Trump administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

The Iranian mission to the U.N. had no comment Saturday.

Afshar and her daughter are just the latest Iranians to have their legal status in the U.S. rescinded by Rubio, who recently revoked the visas of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, an academic and the daughter of Iran’s former national security adviser Ali Larijani who was killed in a U.S.-Israel airstrike last month. Her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, also had his visa revoked, the State Department said. Neither are still in the U.S.

In early December, well before the surge of anti-government protests in Iran and the start of the war, the State Department revoked or declined to renew visas of several Iranian diplomats, including the deputy ambassador, and staffers at Iran’s mission to the United Nations.

The department said Friday that action had been taken on Dec. 4 but declined to comment further “for privacy and security reasons” except to note that it was unrelated to either the protests or the war.

___

AP reporter Farnoush Amiri contributed to this story.

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Officers with the Hollywood Police Department said they conducted a traffic stop just before 8 p.m. near North 19th Avenue and Tyler Street.

During the stop, an officer observed a large amount of cash, a gun and “illicit drugs” inside the vehicle, police said. They said Brandon Cleve Dawkins, who was in the vehicle, was on federal probation for an offense out of Georgia.

Investigators said Dawkins was asked to step out of the vehicle but instead jumped back inside and sped away.

They said he eventually crashed into an electrical control box and continued fleeing before abandoning the vehicle. Officers later located him at ArtsPark at Young Circle in Hollywood, where he was taken into custody by members of HPD’s ACE Unit, according to police.

Jail records show Dawkins is facing multiple charges, including aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of oxycodone, possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer without violence and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

As of Saturday morning, he was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.

Según un informe de arresto, agentes de la policía de Miami Beach fueron enviados poco antes de las 2 p.m. a Stillwater Park, ubicado en 8440 Hawthorne Ave., en referencia a un altercado que involucraba un arma.

La policía de Miami Beach dijo que se realizaron varias llamadas por las partes involucradas en la disputa, incluida una del sospechoso, Ahmad Zeeshan, quien le dijo al 911 que “un hombre acompañado por niños le apuntó con un arma de fuego” después de preguntarle si eran judíos.

El informe indica que la víctima también realizó una llamada, en la que reportó que Zeeshan utilizó insultos antisemitas contra él y sus hijos.

Los agentes respondieron y localizaron a ambas partes después de que habían sido separadas.

La víctima dijo a los investigadores que estaba en el parque con su familia cuando fueron abordados por Zeeshan mientras se retiraban.

Según el informe, Zeeshan preguntó a las víctimas: “¿Ustedes son judíos?”

Después de que la víctima confirmó que lo eran, Zeeshan presuntamente comenzó a agredirlos verbalmente, diciendo: “Lárguense de aquí, malditas personas sucias”, según el informe.

La policía dijo que Zeeshan continuó usando lenguaje vulgar e insultos con carga racial, y luego le dijo a la víctima que iba a atacarlo y “golpearlo”.

Indicaron que la víctima le advirtió a Zeeshan que se detuviera y que se mantuviera alejado, pero este continuó presionándolo, lo que provocó que la víctima temiera por su seguridad y la de sus hijos. La víctima, que estaba con sus dos hijos de 7 y 5 años, sacó entonces un arma que porta para protección después de suplicarle a Zeeshan que desescalara la situación, dijeron los agentes.

Según el informe, la presencia del arma hizo que Zeeshan retrocediera brevemente, pero luego volvió a acercarse a la familia y continuó haciendo amenazas verbales.

La policía dijo que una testigo cercana le pidió a la víctima que se colocara detrás de ella porque también estaba asustada por el comportamiento de Zeeshan. La víctima le pidió a la testigo que llamara a la policía y grabara el incidente.

Indicaron que Zeeshan también comenzó a grabar y abandonó el parque en su vehículo. Posteriormente fue detenido en la cuadra 900 de Stillwater Drive en un Kia K4 gris 2025 con placa de Virginia “TAJ8641”.

Mientras estaba bajo custodia, el informe señala que Zeeshan dijo en múltiples ocasiones que “solo estaba ejerciendo sus derechos de la Primera Enmienda”. Los investigadores dijeron que también afirmó que es musulmán y que “no le gustan los judíos”.

La policía escribió que Zeeshan atacó a la víctima y a su familia debido a su religión y que sus acciones pusieron en peligro a otras personas en el parque y sus alrededores.

“El acusado se le abalanzó. Él temió por su vida, percibió que él y sus hijos estaban en peligro, y testigos intentaron intervenir”, dijo el oficial de la policía de Miami Beach Christopher Bess.

El informe añade que Zeeshan “parece mentalmente inestable” y expresó que “probablemente no estaría vivo en unos meses”, señalando que tiene cáncer en etapa 4 y está en tratamiento. Los agentes indicaron que la víctima y sus hijos parecían visiblemente afectados tras el incidente, mientras que Zeeshan no mostró remordimiento y sostuvo que sus acciones estaban justificadas.

Los fiscales dijeron que Ahmad Zeeshan compareció el viernes ante el tribunal de fianza, donde solicitaron al juez imponer una fianza más alta, argumentando que las acusaciones implican conducta motivada por prejuicio y la presencia de menores. La defensa pidió una fianza estándar, señalando que no tiene antecedentes penales.

El juez rechazó la solicitud de la defensa, calificando el presunto comportamiento de Zeeshan como “repugnante” y enfatizando la participación de un arma y la presencia de niños.

El juez encontró causa probable para un cargo de agresión con prejuicio basado en la religión y ordenó que Zeeshan se mantenga alejado y no tenga contacto con las víctimas.

Hasta la tarde del viernes, permanecía detenido con una fianza de $5,000 USD en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Agentes del Departamento de Policía de Hollywood dijeron que realizaron una parada poco antes de las 8 p.m. cerca de North 19th Avenue y Tyler Street.

Durante la detención, un oficial observó una gran cantidad de efectivo, un arma y “drogas ilícitas” dentro del vehículo, según la policía. Indicaron que Brandon Cleve Dawkins, quien se encontraba en el vehículo, estaba en libertad condicional federal por un delito en Georgia.

Los investigadores dijeron que se le pidió a Dawkins que saliera del vehículo, pero en su lugar volvió a subirse y huyó a toda velocidad.

Señalaron que finalmente chocó contra una caja de control eléctrico y continuó huyendo antes de abandonar el vehículo. Posteriormente, los agentes lo localizaron en ArtsPark at Young Circle en Hollywood, donde fue detenido por miembros de la Unidad ACE del HPD, según la policía.

Los registros carcelarios muestran que Dawkins enfrenta múltiples cargos, incluidos agresión agravada contra un agente del orden, posesión de oxicodona, posesión de un arma o municiones por un delincuente convicto, huir y evadir a la policía, resistirse a un oficial sin violencia y conducir con una licencia suspendida o revocada.

Hasta la mañana del sábado, permanecía detenido sin derecho a fianza en la cárcel principal del condado Broward.

The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston on Friday granting the preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit filed last month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs.

The federal judge said the federal government likely has the authority to collect the data, but the demand was rolled out to universities in a “rushed and chaotic” manner.

“The 120-day deadline imposed by the President led directly to the failure of NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) to engage meaningfully with the institutions during the notice-and-comment process to address the multitude of problems presented by the new requirements,” Saylor wrote.

President Donald Trump ordered the data collection in August after he raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he views as illegal discrimination.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.

The states argue the data collection risks invading student privacy and leading to baseless investigations of colleges and universities. They also argued that universities have not been given enough time to collect the data.

“The data has been sought in such a hasty and irresponsible way that it will create problems for universities,” a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Michelle Pascucci, told the court, adding that the effort seem was aimed at uncovering unlawful practices.

The Education Department has defended the effort, arguing taxpayers deserve transparency on how money is spent at institutions that receive federal funding.

The administration's policy echoes settlement agreements the government negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, restoring their federal research money. The universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade-point average and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to be audited by the government and to release admissions statistics to the public.

The National Center for Education Statistics is to collect the new data, including the race and sex of colleges’ applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said the data, which was originally due by March 18, must be disaggregated by race and sex and retroactively reported for the past seven years.

If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, the administration has said McMahon can take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which outlines requirements for colleges receiving federal financial aid for students.

The Trump administration separately has sued Harvard University over similar data, saying it refused to provide admissions records the Justice Department demanded to ensure the school stopped using affirmative action. Harvard has said the university has been responding to the government’s requests and is in compliance with the high court ruling against affirmative action. On Monday, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights directed Harvard to comply with the data requests within 20 days for face referral to the U.S. Justice Department.

Encompassing roughly 6.3 square miles (about 16 square kilometers) in Riverside County, about 64 miles (103 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, the Springs Fire was at least 45% percent contained on Saturday, a fire department spokesperson said. It was 25% contained on Friday.

While gusts up to 45 mph (72 kph) were predicted Saturday, Terra Fernandez, public safety information specialist for the Riverside County Fire Department, said winds had “dissipated a bit” since Friday, helping the efforts of fire crews.

“We’re feeling confident. The winds have died down so it’s assisting us in making more progress," she said. Fernandez also credited efforts to build and strengthen containment lines around the fire perimeter.

“We have natural equestrian trails around where a lot of the structures are and so that helps our firefighters make access.” she said. “And the humidity increasing this evening will also help.”

So far, no structures have been damaged or destroyed, Fernandez said.

Crews began early Saturday dropping water and retardant all around the fire by air. About 260 personnel are battling the blaze, including crews from around the region who are building and strengthening the containment lines and laying hose, she said.

Less than a dozen zones in the county remained under mandatory evacuation orders, while evacuation warnings in other parts of the county were lifted. It was not immediately known how many households were affected by the orders.

The fire is located in a populated unincorporated part of Riverside County that's a recreational area near the city of Moreno Valley, which has a population of roughly 200,000.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Levi is described as smart, friendly and active — traits typical of cattle dog breeds.

He weighs about 41 pounds, is potty trained, good in the car and gets along well with kids, cats and other dogs. He would do best with an active family, especially one with another dog or a yard where he can run and play.

At the Humane Society of Broward County, Cherie Wachter said exercise is key for a dog like Levi, noting that without it, pets can become bored and develop unwanted behaviors.

She added that Levi would likely thrive with regular activity, whether it’s walks, runs or time at a dog park.

Meanwhile, Wachter also confirmed that a hedgehog named Shadow that was recently featured on Local 10 has been adopted.

Click here for more information on how you can adopt a pet.

Levi es descrito como inteligente, amigable y activo — rasgos típicos de las razas de perros de ganado.

Pesa alrededor de 41 libras, está entrenado para hacer sus necesidades, se comporta bien en el auto y se lleva bien con niños, gatos y otros perros. Le iría mejor con una familia activa, especialmente una con otro perro o un patio donde pueda correr y jugar.

En la Sociedad Protectora de Animales del condado Broward, Cherie Wachter dijo que el ejercicio es clave para un perro como Levi, señalando que sin él, las mascotas pueden aburrirse y desarrollar comportamientos no deseados.

Agregó que Levi probablemente prosperará con actividad regular, ya sea caminatas, carreras o tiempo en un parque para perros.

Mientras tanto, Wachter también confirmó que un erizo llamado Shadow que fue presentado recientemente en Local 10 ha sido adoptado.

Haga clic aquí para más información sobre cómo puede adoptar una mascota.

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Police say it happened Thursday evening after the dog jumped into the water. The woman went in moments later trying to save it.

Dimitry Shaposhnikov and his wife witnessed the incident from across the water.

“I don’t know what’s going on. She goes, ‘No, no, no, there’s someone in the water,’” Shaposhnikov said.

They watched as first responders worked to pull both the woman and her large dog out, using ladders and floating devices during the rescue.

Shaposhnikov said low tide made it difficult for the woman to get out on her own.

“I guess she jumped in because the dog was trying to come out. It was low tide, so at that point for her to even get somewhere was almost impossible. I didn’t even see a ladder or anything to come up, so she was stuck,” he said.

Once back on land, the dog shook off the water and wagged its tail while the woman climbed up a ladder to safety.

Shaposhnikov praised first responders for how they handled the situation.

“It wasn’t chaotic at all. Law enforcement and first responders handled it extremely professionally. You could see everyone was super calm,” he said.

No one was hurt.

Hallandale Beach police say the incident is a reminder to keep pets on leashes, especially near waterways.

La policía dijo que ocurrió la noche del jueves después de que el perro saltara al agua. La mujer entró momentos después intentando salvarlo.

Dimitry Shaposhnikov y su esposa presenciaron el incidente desde el otro lado del agua.

“No sé qué está pasando. Ella dice: ‘No, no, no, hay alguien en el agua’”, dijo Shaposhnikov.

Observaron cómo los equipos de emergencia trabajaban para sacar tanto a la mujer como a su perro grande, utilizando escaleras y dispositivos flotantes durante el rescate.

Shaposhnikov dijo que la marea baja dificultó que la mujer pudiera salir por sí sola.

“Supongo que saltó porque el perro intentaba salir. Era marea baja, así que en ese momento para ella llegar a algún lugar era casi imposible. Ni siquiera vi una escalera o algo para subir, así que estaba atrapada”, dijo.

Una vez en tierra, el perro se sacudió el agua y movió la cola mientras la mujer subía por una escalera hasta ponerse a salvo.

Shaposhnikov elogió a los equipos de emergencia por cómo manejaron la situación.

“No fue caótico en absoluto. Las autoridades y los equipos de emergencia lo manejaron de manera extremadamente profesional. Se podía ver que todos estaban muy calmados”, dijo.

Nadie resultó herido.

La policía de Hallandale Beach dijo que el incidente es un recordatorio de mantener a las mascotas con correa, especialmente cerca de vías acuáticas.

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The lakeside memorial includes a fairy garden created by Jasmine Kessler in honor of her daughter, Kallie.

“It’s bringing me more peace of mind outside with the breeze,” Kessler said.

Kallie, who was nonverbal and autistic, wandered off in October and ended up in the lake. Her father found her after a frantic search.

“This is the last spot I personally seen her, but not where she took her last breath,” he said.

Family members gathered at the site to sing one of Kallie’s favorite songs from the musical “Wicked.”

“She loved the song ‘Defying Gravity’ and she would act out Elphaba’s part,” a relative said.

Since her death, the family has worked to honor her memory by turning their grief into action.

They’ve created a nonprofit aimed at helping families in low-income neighborhoods, including providing resources and raising awareness about autism.

“Kids who are on the spectrum are drawn to water. Kids with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers,” said Lailah Stukes, Kallie’s sister.

The family says they’re determined to keep moving forward.

Kallie’s parents have also launched a GoFundMe to help install fences around residential lakes, hoping to prevent similar tragedies.

El homenaje junto al lago incluye un jardín de hadas creado por Jasmine Kessler en honor a su hija, Kallie.

“Me da más paz estar afuera con la brisa”, dijo Kessler.

Kallie, quien era no verbal y tenía autismo, se alejó en octubre y terminó en el lago. Su padre la encontró tras una búsqueda desesperada.

“Este es el último lugar donde yo la vi, pero no donde dio su último aliento”, dijo.

Familiares se reunieron en el sitio para cantar una de las canciones favoritas de Kallie del musical “Wicked”.

“Le encantaba la canción ‘Defying Gravity’ y representaba la parte de Elphaba”, dijo un familiar.

Desde su muerte, la familia ha trabajado para honrar su memoria convirtiendo el dolor en acción.

Han creado una organización sin fines de lucro destinada a ayudar a familias en comunidades de bajos ingresos, incluyendo la provisión de recursos y la concienciación sobre el autismo.

“Los niños en el espectro se sienten atraídos por el agua. Los niños con autismo tienen 160 veces más probabilidades de ahogarse que sus pares neurotípicos”, dijo Lailah Stukes, hermana de Kallie.

La familia dice que está decidida a seguir adelante.

Los padres de Kallie también han lanzado una campaña en GoFundMe para ayudar a instalar cercas alrededor de lagos residenciales, con la esperanza de prevenir tragedias similares.

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Lopez, 46, was the captain of the 25-foot “Wood Chuck” tugboat that was involved in a fatal crash on July 28, 2025, in Biscayne Bay.

“We intend to accept responsibility for his conduct, and out of respect for the victims’ families and the pending court process at this time, we are not going to have any other comments,” Attorney Walter A. Reynoso, who was representing Lopez, said on Friday.

The collision killed 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Buchman, and 13-year-old Erin Ko Han, who were in a Hobie Getaway sailboat, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“He feels awful. He hasn’t slept since the incident,” Reynoso said of his client to Local 10 News.

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the case against Lopez on Tuesday. Investigators accused Lopez of getting distracted with his phone while shopping online when he struck the Miami Yacht Club sailboat.

Mila, Arielle, and Erin were sailing with 7-year-old Calena Areyan Gruber, another girl, and their 19-year-old Miami Yacht Club sailboat camp counselor, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A judge set Lopez’s bond at $100,000. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison. He is also prohibited from operating a vessel while out on bond.

He was also ordered to surrender his travel documents, including his U.S. and Cuban passports.

He was released from jail Friday night after posting bond.

Lopez, de 46 años, era el capitán del remolcador “Wood Chuck”, de 25 pies, involucrado en un choque fatal el 28 de julio de 2025 en Biscayne Bay.

“Tenemos la intención de asumir responsabilidad por su conducta y, por respeto a las familias de las víctimas y al proceso judicial en curso, no haremos más comentarios en este momento”, dijo el abogado Walter A. Reynoso, quien representa a Lopez.

El choque dejó muertas a Mila Yankelevich, de 7 años, Arielle Buchman, de 10, y Erin Ko Han, de 13, quienes se encontraban en un velero Hobie Getaway, según la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos.

“Se siente terrible. No ha dormido desde el incidente”, dijo Reynoso sobre su cliente a Local 10 News.

La Fiscalía de Estados Unidos para el Distrito Sur de Florida anunció el caso contra Lopez el martes. Los investigadores acusaron a Lopez de distraerse con su teléfono mientras compraba en línea cuando impactó el velero del Miami Yacht Club.

Mila, Arielle y Erin navegaban junto a Calena Areyan Gruber, otra niña de 7 años, y su consejera de campamento de vela del Miami Yacht Club, de 19 años, según la Guardia Costera.

Un juez fijó la fianza de Lopez en $100,000 USD. De ser declarado culpable, enfrenta hasta 10 años en una prisión federal. También tiene prohibido operar embarcaciones mientras esté en libertad bajo fianza.

Además, se le ordenó entregar sus documentos de viaje, incluidos sus pasaportes de Estados Unidos y Cuba.

Fue liberado de la cárcel el viernes por la noche tras pagar la fianza.

Se han pronosticado más lluvias para los próximos días en todo Afganistán, y la autoridad advirtió a la población que se mantenga alejada de las riberas de los ríos y de las zonas propensas a inundaciones.

En lo que va de año, decenas de personas han muerto debido al clima extremo en Afganistán, un país empobrecido que es altamente vulnerable a los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos. A principios de este año, las fuertes nevadas y las inundaciones repentinas dejaron decenas de muertos en todo el país.

El saldo reciente incluye 26 personas fallecidas en las últimas 48 horas, indicó la autoridad de desastres. En total, 793 viviendas han quedado completamente destruidas y otras 2.673 han resultado dañadas, y las inundaciones y los deslizamientos han destruido 337 kilómetros (unos 210 millas) de carreteras, añadió.

También han resultado dañados negocios, tierras agrícolas, pozos de agua y canales de riego, y en conjunto más de 5.800 familias se han visto afectadas, señaló la autoridad.

Varias autopistas que conectan la capital del país con las provincias también han sido dañadas por inundaciones y deslizamientos, lo que ha obligado a los viajeros a tomar rutas largas y sinuosas para llegar a Kabul, manifestó el sábado Ashraf Haqshinas, portavoz del Ministerio de Obras Públicas.

Entre ellas está la autopista Kabul-Jalalabad, que es la principal vía que enlaza la capital con la frontera con Pakistán y las provincias del este de Afganistán. Un deslizamiento de tierra y desprendimientos de rocas, además de inundaciones, cerraron la autopista el jueves por la mañana, y Haqshinas indicó que los equipos trabajaban para reabrir la carretera.

El Ministerio de Obras Públicas advirtió a los viajeros que tengan precaución al utilizar las carreteras en las zonas afectadas.

Las inundaciones también han cerrado el camino de Salang, un paso de alta montaña en la cordillera del Hindu Kush que conecta Kabul con el norte del país, incluidas las principales ciudades de Kunduz y Mazar-e-Sharif.

La nieve y las fuertes lluvias a menudo desencadenan inundaciones repentinas que matan a decenas, o incluso a cientos, de personas de una sola vez en Afganistán. En 2024, más de 300 personas murieron en inundaciones repentinas de primavera.

___

Elena Becatoros colaboró a este despacho desde Kabul, Afganistán. ___

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

On the downside, their toilet was on the blink again.

The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It's the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo program left off.

“The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Victor Glover reported.

Until the Orion capsule's bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday’s liftoff and has been hit-and-miss ever since.

Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, traveling more than 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. The record is currently held by Apollo 13.

The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country’s role in the mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.

“Today he is making history for Canada,” Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell said. “As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is written by those who dare to reach for more.”

In the live televised linkup, Hansen said he's already witnessed “extraordinary” views from NASA's Orion capsule.

Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch are the world's first lunar astronauts since Apollo 17's crew of three in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts to the moon, respectively.

Their nearly 10-day mission — ending with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 — is the first step in NASA's bold plans for a sustainable moon base. The space agency is aiming for a landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028.

___

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

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That included her mentee, Christel Luidor.

“She was always there for everybody, every day,” Luidor said. “Every time I talked to her, it was always, ‘What are we gonna do to help the people?’ She was always a selfless person.”

On Wednesday, relatives rushed over to Metayer Bowen’s Coral Springs home after she failed to show up to several scheduled meetings. The urgency escalated on voices in the 911 call released Friday.

“Tell them to break down the door by whatever means,” a relative is heard saying.

Her lifeless body was found inside of a bedroom, wrapped in a blanket and garbage bags. Detectives believe Stephen Bowen, Metayer Bowen’s husband, used a rifle to shoot his spouse three times on the night before she was discovered and slept downstairs afterwards.

It’s crime Stephen Bowen allegedly admitted to his own uncle.

“My nephew, her husband, came to my house this morning and told me that he did something to her,” Bowen’s uncle is heard saying on the 911 call.

Stephen Bowen is now in jail on premeditated murder and tampering with evidence charges.

Over the years, the 40-year-old has documented his fascination with guns on social media. More recently, his name is tied to a Broward faith-based non-profit called “Men of St. Luke.”

The arrest document lists his place of employment as Delray Medical Center and he holds an active license as a radiology technician.

Metayer Bowen’s loss is drawing people from near and far for a planned candlelight vigil Friday evening on the steps of the place she served diligently.

“We’re doing our best to honor this incredible woman, incredible leader, incredible human being,” Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook said. “She was so committed to so many, including our youth.”

Friday’s vigil, scheduled for 7 p.m., is not a city organized event, but city officials are expected to attend.

Organizers asked the community to bring white candles and to either wear or bring orange all to honor Metayer Bowen’s life.

“Nadie puede reemplazarla”, dijo una de sus aprendices.

Seres queridos, colegas y residentes se reunieron en una vigilia para honrar el compromiso de la mujer de 38 años con su comunidad.

“No era una política común”, dijo una amiga. “Organizaba desde el corazón”.

Tras una semana difícil, muchos vistieron de naranja y verde —los colores favoritos de Metayer— aportando algo de luz a una velada por lo demás sombría.

“El naranja y el verde representan a FAMU”, dijo otra amiga. “Pedimos a la gente que vistiera de verde para honrar su alma mater”.

La policía encontró a Metayer Bowen muerta dentro de su vivienda el miércoles, envuelta en una manta y bolsas de basura. Llamadas al 911 captaron el pánico cuando alguien reportó que intentaban derribar una puerta.

Su esposo, Stephen Bowen, de 40 años, fue arrestado y enfrenta cargos de asesinato premeditado y manipulación o fabricación de evidencia física.

Aun así, los presentes dijeron que querían mantener el enfoque en su vida, no en la forma en que terminó.

“Para una persona joven morir así es muy doloroso”, dijo una amiga de un centro para adultos mayores. “¿Se imaginan por lo que están pasando sus padres ahora mismo?”

Con flores en mano y apoyándose unos a otros, líderes políticos, amigos y miembros de la comunidad recordaron a Metayer como una servidora pública dedicada cuyo impacto no será olvidado.

Entre ellas estaba su aprendiz, Christel Luidor.

“Siempre estaba para todos, todos los días”, dijo Luidor. “Cada vez que hablaba con ella, siempre era: ‘¿Qué vamos a hacer para ayudar a la gente?’ Siempre fue una persona desinteresada”.

El miércoles, familiares acudieron a la casa de Metayer Bowen en Coral Springs después de que no se presentara a varias reuniones programadas. La urgencia quedó reflejada en las voces de la llamada al 911 divulgada el viernes.

“Díganles que derriben la puerta como sea”, se escucha decir a un familiar.

Su cuerpo sin vida fue encontrado dentro de un dormitorio, envuelto en una manta y bolsas de basura. Detectives creen que Stephen Bowen, esposo de Metayer Bowen, utilizó un rifle para dispararle tres veces la noche anterior a que fuera encontrada y luego durmió en la planta baja.

Es un crimen que, según se alega, Stephen Bowen admitió a su propio tío.

“Mi sobrino, su esposo, vino a mi casa esta mañana y me dijo que le hizo algo”, se escucha decir al tío de Bowen en la llamada al 911.

Stephen Bowen se encuentra ahora en la cárcel enfrentando cargos de asesinato premeditado y manipulación de evidencia.

A lo largo de los años, el hombre de 40 años ha documentado su fascinación por las armas en redes sociales. Más recientemente, su nombre está vinculado a una organización sin fines de lucro basada en la fe en Broward llamada “Men of St. Luke”.

El documento de arresto indica que su lugar de trabajo es el Delray Medical Center y cuenta con una licencia activa como técnico en radiología.

La muerte de Metayer Bowen está atrayendo a personas de distintos lugares para una vigilia con velas programada para la noche del viernes en las escalinatas del lugar donde sirvió con dedicación.

“Estamos haciendo todo lo posible para honrar a esta increíble mujer, increíble líder, increíble ser humano”, dijo el alcalde de Coral Springs, Scott Brook. “Estaba muy comprometida con muchos, incluidos nuestros jóvenes”.

La vigilia del viernes, programada para las 7 p.m., no es un evento organizado por la ciudad, pero se espera la asistencia de funcionarios municipales.

Los organizadores pidieron a la comunidad llevar velas blancas y vestir o llevar algo naranja para honrar la vida de Metayer Bowen.

Fresh off losing the English League Cup final to City before the international break, Arsenal saw another potential trophy slip from its grasp when conceding in the 85th minute to lose 2-1 at Southampton — a team in seventh place in the Championship.

It left City as the big favorite to clinch a cup double this season, with the thrashing of Liverpool securing a place in the FA Cup semifinals for a record eighth straight season.

Mohamed Salah’s failure from the penalty spot added to the woes of Liverpool, whose meltdown at Etihad Stadium will put more heat on under-pressure manager Arne Slot.

Chelsea also advanced, routing third-tier Port Vale 7-0. The semifinal line-up will be completed Sunday when West Ham hosts Leeds, after which the last-four draw will be made.

Haaland's 12th hat trick for City

Haaland's 18-minute hat trick started with a penalty in the 39th minute, heading home a cross from Antoine Semenyo in first-half stoppage time, and sweeping in a finish off the crossbar in the 57th. His first hat trick of the season for City was his 12th since he joined the club in 2022.

Semenyo scored the other goal in the 50th for City. which sealed a return to Wembley Stadium two weeks after beating Arsenal there in the League Cup final.

“This club has to win trophies,” said Haaland, who was described after the game as a “machine” by City assistant coach Pep Lijnders — the former Liverpool No. 2 who was deputizing in the dugout while Pep Guardiola served a touchline suspension.

Salah, who announced during the international break he’s leaving Liverpool after nine trophy-filled seasons, was beginning his long goodbye to the Reds but couldn’t mark it with a goal. The best of the many chances he spurned came from a penalty, which City goalkeeper James Trafford palmed away in the 64th.

It was a record 18th straight home win for City in the FA Cup, dating to 2017. Guardiola's team shared a record with Clapham Rovers for reaching seven consecutive FA Cup finals but now holds it outright.

Many Liverpool fans were seen leaving the stadium after the fourth City goal.

“The fighting spirit wasn’t there enough, the mentality wasn’t there enough," Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai said. "None of us were there to be honest as much as we could.

“It’s a hard time but we have to stick together."

Chelsea overwhelms Port Vale

Like City, Chelsea romped to a big win — though this one was expected.

Playing without Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for disciplinary reasons, Chelsea still had more than enough to dispatch Port Vale at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals by Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho. There was also an own-goal.

Chelsea has won the FA Cup eight times, most recently in 2018.

___

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

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“No one can replace her,” one mentee said.

Loved ones, colleagues and constituents gathered for a vigil honoring the 38-year-old’s commitment to her community.

“She was not a regular politician,” a friend said. “She organized from the heart.”

After a difficult week, many wore orange and green -- Metayer’s favorite colors -- bringing brightness to an otherwise somber evening.

“Orange and green signify FAMU,” another friend said. “We asked people to wear green to honor her alma mater.”

Police found Metayer Bowen dead inside her home Wednesday, wrapped in a blanket and garbage bags. 911 calls captured the panic as someone reported trying to break down a door.

Her husband, Stephen Bowen, 40, has been arrested and is facing charges of premediated murder and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

Still, those gathered said they wanted the focus to remain on her life, not the way it ended.

“For a young person to go like this, it’s very upsetting,” a friend from a senior center said. “Can you imagine what her parents are going through right now?”

Holding flowers and each other, political leaders, friends and community members remembered Metayer as a dedicated public servant whose impact won’t be forgotten.

The blaze broke out in the Kadamtali area of Keraniganj near Dhaka, according to the fire service and civil defense.

Seven firefighting units were deployed to extinguish the blaze, which started in the afternoon, the fire department said. It took several hours to bring it under control.

Firefighters recovered five bodies by the evening and they couldn't immediately be identified.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, un supervisor de la oficina notificó a los investigadores sobre la actividad ilegal el 25 de marzo.

Los agentes indicaron que se revisó video de vigilancia que mostraba al empleado, Waldersee Oge, de 46 años y residente de North Miami, emitiendo permisos de conducir temporales el mes pasado a al menos cuatro personas que no estaban presentes en la oficina.

En un incidente, Oge fue visto en video hablando por su teléfono celular con uno de los clientes, recopilando su información personal y luego ingresándola en la base de datos Orion.

Según el informe, el supervisor comenzó a sospechar la semana pasada tras observar a Oge revisando documentos escaneados dentro del sistema de mantenimiento de clientes utilizando la base de datos Orion, a pesar de que no había clientes en el mostrador de servicio en ese momento.

Los detectives dijeron que Oge fue detenido en su lugar de trabajo el jueves y confesó haber realizado múltiples transacciones a cambio de pagos a través de Zelle.

Los investigadores dijeron que también están analizando si los beneficiarios siquiera tenían estatus legal en Estados Unidos.

“Es posible que no lo tengan”, dijo el recaudador de impuestos de Miami-Dade, Dariel Fernandez. “Este tema es un asunto de seguridad nacional para Estados Unidos. Por eso lo tomamos en serio”.

Enfrenta múltiples cargos, incluidos mala conducta oficial de un servidor público, compensación o recompensa ilegal por conducta oficial, delitos contra usuarios de computadoras, uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación, emisión ilegal de una licencia de conducir y falsificación de registros públicos.

Hasta la mañana del viernes, Oge permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Los registros carcelarios en línea indicaban que su fianza total estaba “por determinar”.

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According to an arrest report, Miami Beach police officers were dispatched just before 2 p.m. to Stillwater Park, located at 8440 Hawthorne Ave., in reference to a disturbance involving a gun.

Miami Beach police said several calls were placed by parties involved in the dispute, including one from the suspect, Ahmad Zeeshan, who told 911 that “a male accompanied by children pointed a firearm at him” after asking whether they were Jewish.

The report states that a call was also placed by the victim, who reported that Zeeshan used antisemitic slurs toward him and his children.

Officers responded and located both parties after they had been separated.

The victim told investigators he was at the park with his family when they were approached by Zeeshan as they were leaving.

According to the report, Zeeshan asked the victims, “You guys are Jewish?”

After the victim confirmed they were Jewish, Zeeshan allegedly began verbally assaulting them, saying, “Get the f--- out of here, you f------ dirty people,” the report states.

Police said Zeeshan continued using vulgar language and racially charged insults, later telling the victim he was going to attack him and “f--- him up.”

They said the victim warned Zeeshan to stop and told him to stay away, but Zeeshan continued to press him, causing the victim to fear for his and his children’s safety. The victim, who was with his two children ages 7 and 5, then drew a gun he carries for protection after pleading with Zeeshan to de-escalate, officers said.

According to the report, the sight of the weapon caused Zeeshan to retreat briefly, but he later began moving back toward the family and continued making verbal threats.

Police said a witness nearby asked the victim to stand behind her because she was also frightened by Zeeshan’s behavior. The victim asked the witness to call police and record the incident.

They said Zeeshan also began recording and left the park in his vehicle. He was later stopped in the 900 block of Stillwater Drive in a 2025 gray Kia K4 with Virginia tag “TAJ8641.”

While in custody, the report states Zeeshan said multiple times that he was “just exercising his First Amendment rights.” Investigators said he also stated that he is Muslim and “does not like Jews.”

Police wrote that Zeeshan targeted the victim and his family because of their religion and that his actions placed others in and around the park in danger.

“The defendant charged at him. He was in fear for his life, he perceived that him and his kids were in harms way, witnesses attempted to intervene,” said Miami Beach Police Officer Christopher Bess.

The report further states Zeeshan “appears mentally unstable” and expressed that he “likely would not be alive in a few months,” saying he has stage 4 cancer and is undergoing treatment. Officers noted the victim and his children appeared visibly shaken after the encounter, while Zeeshan showed no remorse and maintained his actions were justified.

Prosecutors said Ahmad Zeeshan appeared in bond court Friday, where they asked the court to impose a higher bond, arguing the allegations involved bias-motivated conduct and the presence of children. The defense requested a standard bond, noting he has no prior criminal record.

The judge rejected the defense request, calling Zeeshan’s alleged behavior “disgusting” and emphasizing the involvement of a gun and children.

The judge found probable cause on a charge of assault with prejudice based on religion and ordered Zeeshan to stay away from and have no contact with the victims.

As of Friday afternoon, he was being held on a $5,000 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

For the cake and soaking:

1 sponge cake, either purchased or use your favorite recipe!

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

14 ounces evaporated milk

1 cup coconut milk

½ cup passion fruit puree

½ cup mango puree

For garnish:

1 cup fresh sliced mango

2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup toasted coconut flakes for garnish

Use a skewer to poke holes all over the surface of your sponge cake.

Whisk together the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and coconut milk until combined. Stir in the passion and mango puree. Pour the entire mixture slowly and evenly over the poked cake. Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Beat the heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar and the vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Spread or pipe generously over the chilled cake. Top with fresh mango and toasted coconut flakes.

More rain has been forecast for the coming days throughout Afghanistan, and the authority warned the public to stay away from river banks and areas prone to flooding.

So far this year, dozens of people have died due to extreme weather in Afghanistan, an impoverished country that is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floods left dozens of people dead across the country.

The recent toll includes 26 people killed over the past 48 hours, the disaster authority said. Overall, 793 homes have been completely destroyed and a further 2,673 have been damaged, while floods and landslides have destroyed 337 kilometers (about 210 miles) of roads, it said.

Businesses, agricultural land, water wells and irrigation canals have also been damaged, with more than 5,800 families affected overall, the authority said.

Several highways connecting the country’s capital to the provinces have also been damaged by floods and landslides, forcing travelers to take long, circuitous routes to reach Kabul, Public Works Ministry spokesman Ashraf Haqshinas said Saturday.

They include the Kabul to Jalalabad highway, which is the main route linking the capital to the Pakistani border and eastern Afghan provinces. A landslide and rockfalls, as well as flooding, shut the highway on Thursday morning, and Haqshinas said crews were working to re-open the road.

The Public Works Ministry warned travelers to be cautious when using roads in affected areas.

Flooding has also shut the Salang Pass, a high mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range that connects Kabul to the country’s north, including the major cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Snow and heavy rain often trigger flash floods that kill scores, or even hundreds, of people at a time in Afghanistan. In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods.

___

Elena Becatoros contributed from Kabul, Afghanistan.

For the coconut shrimp:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut flakes

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

½ cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

pinch cayenne pepper

1-2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

For the Mango Honey Mustard:

1 cup fresh mango, diced (or 1/2 cup mango puree)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2-3 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

pinch of salt

For the sauce:

Blend the mango or mango puree, mustard, honey, lime juice, and the salt together until smooth. Taste for salt, sweet and lime. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Set out three shallow bowls. One with the flour, seasoned with a teaspoon of salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Another one with the eggs, and the last one with the coconut and panko breadcrumbs mixed together.

Pat the shrimp, peeled and deveined, with a paper towel until dry. Dredge in seasoned flour, dip in egg, then press firmly into the coconut-panko mixture, coating all sides well. Set aside on a plate.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat to 350°F.

Working in batches, fry shrimp for about 2 minutes per side until deeply golden and coconut is toasted and the shrimp is cooked through. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Place the shrimp on a platter with the sauce on the side.

Serve immediately.

8 pound-bone-in spiral sliced ham

1 cup guava paste

3 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons brown sugar

juice of 4 oranges

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham cut-side down in a roasting pan. Score the top in a diamond pattern if not already sliced. Cover tightly with foil. Bake the ham until warmed through.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the guava paste, mustard, brown sugar, orange juice, cider vinegar, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the guava paste melts and the glaze is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat.

Brush the glaze generously over the entire ham. Return to the oven, uncovered, and bake for 25-30 minutes, brushing with glaze every 10 minutes, until deeply caramelized.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Brush with any remaining glaze.

“We've beaten and completely decimated Iran,” he said in a prime-time speech from the White House on Wednesday. “They are decimated both militarily and economically and in every other way.”

He added: “Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.”

His certitude is now colliding with the uncertainty of war.

The American fighter jet that was shot down in Iran on Friday was a searing reminder of the dangers associated with war, prompting a search operation that resulted in the rescue of one crew member. Another U.S. aircraft was hit by Iranian air defenses, Iranian state media reported, days after Trump said Iran had “no anti-aircraft equipment.”

For the Republican president, who did not appear in public Friday, the developments were the latest example of his triumphal characterization of the war appearing misplaced.

He has expressed surprise at Iran's moves to strike its Gulf neighbors. He has struggled to respond to Iran's move largely shuttering the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil supplies and sending pump prices soaring in the United States. His overtures to world leaders to help him reopen the vital waterway have been rebuffed, with some allies waiting for the fighting to end before addressing that situation and others openly critical of a war that Trump chose to initiate.

Trump has long relied on unyielding self-confidence to propel him through the worlds of business and politics, boasting during the 2016 campaign that “I alone can fix it.” That has often translated into a go-it-alone approach where only Trump has the answers in a chaotic world and dysfunctional Washington. This view of the presidency has justified his executive orders at home and tariffs that affect the global economy.

But the war with Iran, which he undertook alongside Israel and without consulting other allies or Congress, has provided a test like almost nothing before. For Trump, it is no longer “America First” but America alone, and he is the principal.

“You can be the most assertive, aggressive president in the world but you don’t control what happens overseas,” said Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University.

Some traditional allies speak out

As the war enters its sixth week, that reality is becoming more apparent. Trump spent most of the first year of his second term using trade penalties as a weapon that would force other countries to bend to his will. Today, in a time of war, some traditional American allies are becoming more outspoken.

French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that the United States “can hardly complain afterward that they are not being supported in an operation they chose to undertake alone.”

“This is not our operation,” he said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not budged from his refusal to be drawn into the war despite fierce criticism by Trump. France and the United Kingdom are leading efforts to reopen the strait once the fighting ends.

At home, even some of Trump's fellow Republicans are reinforcing the need to maintain strong international relationships. After the president threatened to withdraw from NATO this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there were not enough votes in the Senate to support that.

“We got an awful lot of people who think that NATO is a very critical, incredibly successful post-World War II alliance,” Thune said of past conversations among Republicans about the move. “I think in the world today, you need allies.”

Trump made no mention of leaving NATO during his White House address.

John Bolton, a first-term Trump national security adviser who has since become an adversary, said the current administration made a “serious mistake” by not consulting allies before going to war.

“If you don’t build your coalition before the war, it’s pretty tough to do it while you’re in it,” said Bolton, who pleaded not guilty last fall to federal charges accusing him of emailing classified information to family members and keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home.

But he also cautioned European leaders against reflexively opposing Trump out of frustration with his lack of consultation. That, Bolton said, would be “juvenile and petulant.”

Trump on his own terms

Trump's penchant to work on his own terms is not limited to the war.

Just this week, he said congressional approval of a ballroom he wants to build at the White House is “not necessary” despite a judge's ruling. He signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting.

In a first for a sitting president, he appeared in the courtroom of the Supreme Court as his administration tried to defend an executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

But as with the war, Trump's go-it-alone strategy at home is also confronting limits.

The Supreme Court struck down his far-reaching tariff program. Democrats quickly challenged his voting executive order in court and, despite his courtroom presence, the justices seemed skeptical of his bid to dismantle the Constitution’s provisions providing birthright citizenship.

Then there is the uncertainty about the ballroom.

During private comments at an Easter lunch at the White House this week, Trump — ever the builder — seemed to lament the constraints on his job.

“I’m such a king I can’t get a ballroom approved,” he said to laughter from an audience that included Cabinet members and religious leaders. "I’m doing a lot. But I could be doing a lot more if I was a king.”

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Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

The winning numbers were 1-6-7-14-25, with a total prize of $42,581.80 split among the three winners.

In Miami-Dade County, a Quick Pick ticket was purchased at Bravo Supermarket at 11247 SW 152nd St., in the county’s Richmond Heights neighborhood, according to lottery officials.

Another Quick Pick ticket was sold in Broward County at a BP station, located at 6450 Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines.

A third winning ticket was sold at a Publix in Jupiter, located at 10142 W. Indiantown Road.

All three winners matched all five numbers to claim their share of the prize.

The next Fantasy 5 drawing is set for Saturday.

Mortgage rates have been rising since the war began, as surging energy prices heighten worries about higher inflation, pushing up the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

As recently as the last week of February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to just under 6%, its lowest level in more than three and a half years. It climbed this week to 6.46%, its highest level in nearly seven months.

The conflict is also injecting more uncertainty into the U.S. economic outlook at a time when the job market is sputtering.

While rates are still down from a year ago, their recent upward trend has already led to a slowdown in mortgage applications. Further increases threaten to put a damper on home sales during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

“The war in Iran has seriously complicated the spring buying season,” said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. “I expect that many buyers will be put off by rising rates and mounting economic uncertainty, choosing to bide their time rather than jumping on board for a purchase before rates go up.”

Home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates this spring are likely to find a more buyer-friendly housing market than this time last year. That means they'll have more leverage when negotiating with sellers, who in many cases are watching their property go unsold for weeks, potentially making them more willing to lower their initial asking price or offer buyers money for closing costs, repairs or other concessions in order to get a deal done, real estate agents say.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, lower listing prices and more homes on the market are forcing many sellers to price their home more competitively or consider offering some incentives to land a buyer, said Matthew Crites, an agent with Coldwell Banker Realty.

“It’s been a really good buyer’s market to kind of start the year off with,” he said.

The trends helped give home shopper Anne King a strong hand when she set her sights on a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch-style house in Fort Worth listed at $275,000.

The contract administrator offered $10,000 below the listing price. She also asked that the seller kick in $5,000 toward closing costs. The seller accepted, and later agreed to throw in another $12,000 for repairs after a home inspection revealed roof damage.

“Fortunately for me, the seller was in a position they needed to sell,” said King, 57. The purchase was finalized in late February, just before the start of the conflict in the Middle East.

King had hoped mortgage rates would ease further before she bought the home, but decided it made sense to buy sooner, rather than risk having to compete this spring against more homebuyers who could potentially trigger a bidding war -- something she experienced last May when she bought a two-bedroom, two-bath townhouse in Arlington, Texas.

She locked in a 6% rate on her mortgage and plans to refinance to a lower rate whenever rates drop.

“I feel like I got a good deal on this property, and that’s all that matters,” she said.

Home shoppers gain more leverage

While the inventory of homes for sale nationally is still low by historical standards, active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market except those pending a finalized sale — jumped nearly 8% in February from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com.

The increase varies across the U.S., with the West, Midwest and South far outpacing the Northeast. Still, some 43 of the 50 largest metro areas had more homes for sale in February than a year earlier, with listings up between 10% and 38.5% in many markets, including Seattle, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Houston and Denver.

As homes take longer to sell, prices have started falling. The median listing price was down in February from a year earlier in just over half of the nation’s biggest 50 metro areas, including a nearly 9% drop in Austin and Memphis, and declines of more than 5% in Washington D.C., San Diego and Los Angeles.

In another sign that buyers may have the edge negotiating with sellers this spring, an analysis by Redfin estimates that there were about 46% more sellers than prospective buyers in the market nationally in February. That’s up from about 30% a year earlier and represents the largest gap between buyers and sellers on records going back to 2013, according to Redfin.

Miami, Nashville and Austin are among the metro areas where sellers most outnumber buyers, Redfin found.

A buyer's market, if you can afford it

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales 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, declining in January and February versus a year earlier.

While the pace of home price growth has slowed or fallen in many metro areas, affordability hurdles remain daunting for many aspiring homebuyers because wage growth has not kept up with home prices.

Consider, the median price of an existing home sold in February was $398,000, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's nearly five times the median household income. A historic rule of thumb was that homes generally cost three times the household income.

The recent increase in mortgage rates adds slightly to the affordability challenge. On a $400,000 home near downtown Dallas, for example, factoring in a 20% down payment and a 30-year mortgage at 6%, the buyer’s monthly payment would be about $2,248. At a 6.4% rate, that payment would climb to $2,331.

And while mortgage rates are still lower than a year ago, making monthly payments more manageable, rates are still much higher than the sub-3% averages available to homebuyers during most of 2020 and 2021 as the weakened economy dealt with the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath.

Sellers under pressure

The housing market has cooled considerably since earlier this decade, when rock-bottom mortgage rates set off a frenzy that sent home prices soaring. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for a home to fetch well above the seller’s asking price after receiving offers from multiple buyers.

While some sellers are still receiving multiple offers now, it’s far from the norm.

Jo Chavez, a Redfin agent in Kansas City, tells clients looking to sell to expect that their home probably won’t sell right away. She also advises them to be “reasonable” with how they price their home.

“We have a lot of sellers who have that idea of like, ‘well, my neighbors sold for this much, and so I think I should price $10,000 above them,’” said Chavez. “And that’s obviously not a logical approach, because there were less sales last year.”

Kansas City is among the few metro areas where the median listing price isn’t falling. It rose 4.1% in February from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com. However, the number of homes on the market soared by nearly 20%.

Gail Sanders and her husband, David, put their four-bedroom, three-bath home in Olathe, Kansas, on the market in late February. But even after hosting a couple of open houses, and after lowering their asking price from $535,000 to $525,000, the couple had yet to receive any offers as March drew to a close.

The couple wants to sell the house and buy a home in another Kansas City suburb closer to their three adult children and grandchildren. But until they find a buyer, those plans are on hold.

“We just didn’t think it was fair to somebody else to put a contingent offer on (another house), but then also lock ourselves into something when we weren’t sure how fast ours was going to move,” said Gail Sanders, a senior claims director. “I don’t want to be stuck with two house mortgages on the off chance.”

Mohibullah Niazi, a neighbor who helped in the rescue efforts, said Saturday that the eight people killed on the outskirts of Kabul after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan the previous night were a refugee family recently returned from neighboring Iran.

There was only one survivor: a boy of around 3 years old, who was injured and has been hospitalized in Kabul.

Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat on Saturday increased the overall death toll from the quake to 12, with another four people injured. Fitrat said five homes were destroyed and another 33 significantly damaged, affecting 40 families in the provinces of Kabul, Panjshir, Logar, Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan.

The Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority put the overall death toll at nine. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.

The family near Kabul was among the millions of Afghan refugees who have recently returned from Iran and Pakistan, after both countries launched crackdowns in 2023 on foreigners — particularly Afghans — living in their countries.

They had arrived 15 days ago and were living in a tent on land next to Niazi’s home. The family head, Najibullah, who was about 50 years old, “had no other shelter," Niazi said. “He was a very poor person.”

‘We tried our best’

The family had set their tent up next to a wall separating the plot of land from Niazi’s home, which stood on higher ground, in the village of Ittefaq on the eastern outskirts of the Afghan capital.

Heavy rains over the past several days, which have led to deadly floods in many parts of Afghanistan, had left the ground sodden and soft. When the earthquake struck, the wall collapsed on the family.

“My daughter shouted to me that a wall had fallen on them. The whole family ran, but there were so many big rocks,” Niazi recounted Saturday as he stood at the scene. “We tried our best.”

On Saturday morning, piles of bricks and mud were all that were left, along with blankets, cooking utensils and other personal belongings salvaged from the rubble and set into a pile.

“For about three minutes, I could hear the voices of these people,” Niazi said. “But we couldn’t do anything. There were two or three of us, but this was not the work of three people.”

Neighbors soon rushed to help, digging through the mud and rubble with spades and their hands. They alerted the local Taliban police checkpoint, which sent rescuers and ambulances.

The young boy, Aarash, was pulled out alive but injured, and rushed to the hospital. Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman, who visited the boy Saturday, said he was being treated for a severe head injury.

For the rest of the family — the father and mother, four daughters aged between 12 and 23, and two sons — it was too late. The rescuers could only recover their bodies.

Niazi said he had hosted the family in his own home one night. On Friday, just half an hour before the earthquake struck, he had renewed the offer, telling the family they could spend the night in his own guest room to shelter from the cold and rain. “But they did not come with me,” he said.

A string of deadly quakes

Friday night’s quake had an epicenter in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of the northern city of Kunduz, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the U.S. Geological Survey. The area is roughly 290 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of Kabul.

Afghanistan lies in a highly seismically active part of the world, and quakes have caused thousands of deaths in recent years.

Last August, a 6.0 earthquake that struck a remote, mountainous part of eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people. Most casualties were in Kunar province, where people typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys.

In November, a 6.3 earthquake struck Samangan province in northern Afghanistan, killing at last 27 people and injuring more than 950. It also damaged historical sites, including Afghanistan’s famed Blue Mosque in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and the Bagh-e-Jahan Nama Palace in Khulm.

On Oct. 7, 2023, a 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks in western Afghanistan killed thousands of people.

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Associated Press writer Abdul Qahar Afghan in Ittefaq, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

He was already a social media star — in part through his relentless attacks on his cousin, Trump administration heath secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and had been bouncing around the national Democratic scene very much looking the part of a Kennedy heir.

Now, among a crowded field hoping to win a prized House seat in Manhattan, Schlossberg has another potential advantage no other candidate could dream of: a hit TV show about his family that's renewed Kennedy clan fervor.

But even with the familial connections and the excitement over the show, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy insists the buzz is all organic.

“They don’t just like me because I’m a Kennedy. Ask them how they feel about RFK Jr.,” he said. “They like me because of my experience, my ideas and they trust me because they see what’s going on with their very own eyes.”

So far, one of the big criticisms of Schlossberg is that he's never held public office, though he's tried to spin that in his favor, casting himself an energetic, outsider candidate whose big online following proves that he can excite young voters and bring fresh ideas to Washington.

Despite Schlossberg's thin political resume, his candidacy has received both attention and financial support, along with the endorsement of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, long a Kennedy backer.

No love for ‘Love Story’

Schlossberg, whose full name is John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, is no fan of the “Love Story” series, previously criticizing it as a cash grab at the expense of his famous family.

“I don't watch much TV,” he said.

Nevertheless, lots of people did tune in and the series became a hit, stoking the enduring mystique of the Kennedy family, especially among a younger generation of new fans.

Spots where Schlossberg's aunt and uncle dined and hung out have attracted viewers of the TV show, with leather-jacket-wearing women and button-down-and-tie guys lining up to get in. Not too long ago a crowd gathered in Washington Square Park for a JFK Jr. look-alike contest where young men donned suits, backward hats or rollerblades, attempting to mimic his style.

Also recreating JFK Jr.’s style is Schlossberg himself, copying one of his uncle’s best known looks — riding a bike in suit and tie and a backward cap and a heavy chain bicycle lock around his waist — in a photo on his campaign website, which was posted before the show’s debut.

But does the Kennedy family still have the juice to sway an election? George Arzt, a longtime Democratic political consultant in the city, isn't too sure.

“I don’t think that gets you votes,” he said. “People will say ‘Who’s Schlossberg?’ And they’ll go ‘He’s the grandson of JFK.’ So? What’s that going to do for me?”

Schlossberg maintains people on the street are less interested in his family ties than his policies, including one that, if passed, would allow rent payments to be tax deductible.

He batted away criticism over his scant professional experience, noting a stint at the State Department's environmental bureau, his joint law and business degree from Harvard and a handful of political opinion pieces he wrote for Vogue. He also cited his social media presence, which has at times been zany. In August, for example, he posted a video of himself in a blonde wig reading a letter that first lady Melania Trump wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I’m the only one who has engaged millions of people on a progressive and aggressive political message,” he said. “I’m not just an influencer who’s hawking products. I make informative videos.”

A crowded field

Schlossberg faces solid opposition in the June primary, which is usually the deciding contest in the safely Democratic district.

The district's current representative, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is retiring, endorsed his former aide Micah Lasher, a state Assemblymember who's spent his career working in New York politics and casts himself as a seasoned, serious candidate.

“The voters of this district are highly informed voters. They do their homework before they make their decisions,” he said.

State Assemblymember Alex Bores is also running and has racked up local endorsements, including support from former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who represented parts of the district for decades before it was redrawn and she lost her seat to Nadler.

George Conway, who was once married to former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway before turning into a vocal antagonist of the president, hopped in the race earlier this year as a Democrat.

Conway, a lawyer who helped create the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said he does think Schlossberg has a big advantage because of his family name and excitement around “Love Story.” But he believes voters will ultimately opt for someone who has more experience.

“There's something very appealing about a young, fresh face and I think he's very smart to play that up,” Conway said. “But I also think there's something to be said for an older, experienced fresh face and that's what I'm trying to be.”

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Saturday that his counterparts from Germany, Italy, Portugal and Austria had signed a letter to the European Commission citing “market distortions” caused by the price spike.

“The conflict in the Middle East has caused oil prices to rise, placing a significant burden on the European economy and on European citizens,” the letter, dated Friday and made public by Cuerpo in an online post, said.

“It is important to ensure that this burden is distributed fairly,” it added.

Europe is largely dependent on imported oil and gas, leaving it vulnerable to external shocks. In 2022, turmoil in energy markets following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine pushed inflation into double digits in many European countries.

At the time, the EU imposed a “solidarity contribution” that included caps on excess energy profits.

“Given the current market distortions and fiscal constraints, the European Commission should swiftly develop a similar EU-wide contribution instrument,” the letter said. “It would also send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of the war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public.”

Driven largely by higher oil prices, the annual inflation rate in the 21 countries that use the euro rose to 2.5% in March, from 1.9% in February.

Iran has blocked most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and gas — in a move that threatens to stress fuel markets for months.

European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen warned this week that disruption caused by the closure means fuel prices are unlikely to “go back to normal in a foreseeable future.”

The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will also meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

“We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure the real protection of lives, advance stability, and guarantee security in Europe and the Middle East. Joint efforts always yield the best results,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the messaging app Telegram after arriving in Istanbul.

Russia fired 286 drones at Ukraine overnight, 260 of which were downed, the Ukrainian Air Force said in an online statement.

Five people — three women and two men — were killed in the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and 19 others were wounded, the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Hanzha said. The attack damaged market stalls and a shop.

In the city of Sumy, not far from the border with Russia, a strike wounded 11 people, the National Police said. Residential areas were hit, and houses, cars and utility networks were damaged in the attack.

In the capital, Kyiv, a drone strike caused a fire on the first floor of a three-story office and warehouse building, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. No casualties were reported.

In the partially occupied Donetsk region, a Russian drone strike hit a civilian car on the Kostyantynivka–Druzhkivka road on Saturday morning, killing one woman and wounding another, according to the head of the Kostyantynivka City Military Administration, Serhiy Horbunov.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its forces fired “long-range air- and ground-based precision weapons, as well as strike drones” at unspecified “military-industrial and energy facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Meanwhile, the Russian-installed head of the occupied Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, said Ukrainian forces hit railroad infrastructure in the region and private houses, killing a family of three — a couple and their 8-year-old child.

The Security Service of Ukraine, also known as the SBU, claimed it used drone strikes to halt production at a metallurgical plant in the Russian-occupied city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region, most of which is controlled by the Russian forces.

The SBU said on its Facebook page that drone strikes damaged blast furnaces, key production workshops, distillation columns, gas pipelines and electrical substations that power the plant, which supplies Russia’s state tank and railroad car plant, Uralvagonzavod.

There was no immediate comment from Russian officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian military overnight shot down 85 Ukrainian drones over nine Russian regions, the annexed Crimea region and the Black Sea.

In Russia's Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, one person was killed and four sustained injuries, according to the region's governor, Yuri Slyusar. The attack sparked a fire at a warehouse facility of an unspecified logistics company, and another fire on a dry-cargo vessel flying a foreign flag several kilometers from the shore, Slyusar said.

In the Samara region's city of Tolyatti, one person was wounded, Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. The roof of a residential building was damaged and windows were shattered in several apartments, he said.

High pressure off the North Carolina coast will keep steady easterly winds in place. A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for boaters, and there is still a very high risk of rip currents at the beaches throughout the weekend.

Rain chances stay at 20% to 30% both days, with highs in the lower to mid-80s. Those rain chances increase by the middle of next week as a front moves in and stalls for a couple of days. Until then, any showers will be hit or miss.

The American warplane, identified by Iran as a F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday. Iran has promised a reward for whoever turns in the “enemy pilot.” Iran's joint military command on Saturday said that it also struck two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters on Friday, but The Associated Press couldn't independently verify that.

The war, now in its sixth week, began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. It shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds with attacks across the region.

“We will continue to crush them,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday. Israel's military confirmed that it struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr that Netanyahu said helps to fund the war. Five people were killed, Iranian state media reported, citing a provincial security official.

Trump said in a national address on Wednesday that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.” But on Saturday, an apparent Iranian drone damaged the headquarters of U.S. technology company Oracle in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Both sides have threatened, and hit, civilian targets and infrastructure, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, said that 198 workers were being evacuated. It was the fourth time the facility was targeted.

Hopes for talks

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told the AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track.” Last week, Pakistan said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that Iranian officials “have never refused to go to Islamabad.”

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials. They said that they were working on bridging the gap between the two sides' demands to stop the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

Trump reminded Iran of his deadline in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them."

Missing U.S. pilot

The search for the U.S. pilot focused on a mountainous region in Iran’s southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. An anchor on a channel affiliated with Iranian state television urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police.

In an email from the Pentagon, obtained by the AP, the military said that it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East.

A U.S. crew member was rescued. The Pentagon notified the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member wasn't known.

Trump told NBC News that what happened wouldn't affect negotiations with Iran.

A second U.S. Air Force combat aircraft went down in the Middle East on Friday, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation. It wasn't clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down, or whether Iran was involved.

Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iran’s defense forces.

Oracle's Dubai headquarters

The Dubai offices of Oracle was hit after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened the firm. Footage verified by the AP outside the UAE showed a large hole in the building's southwestern corner.

The sheikhdom’s Dubai Media Office, which speaks for its government, noted a “minor incident caused by debris from an aerial interception that fell on the facade," saying there were no injuries. Oracle Corp., based in Austin, Texas, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Guard has accused some large U.S. tech companies of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations against the Islamic Republic and called them legitimate targets. Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE and Bahrain were hit in earlier drone strikes.

Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late Friday to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.

The strait, 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.

“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and there have been more than 1 million displaced people. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.

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Jon Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Samy Magdy from Cairo. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; and Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Will Weissert, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro and Ben Finley in Washington, contributed to this report.

Eleven months after releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler” and just over two months after publishing an apology letter for his antisemitism, Ye let two decades of hits — and 70,000 screaming loyal fans — speak the loudest on Friday night at SoFi Stadium.

"I want to thank y’all for sticking by me all these years. Through the hard times, through the low times," he told the crowd. “I love you for that.”

Hill joined Ye on a stage for the first time ever for an energetic rendition of his 2004 hit “All Falls Down,” which originally sampled her voice. Ye left the stage as she performed “Lost Ones” and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” before rejoining for his 2021 “Doo Wop”-sampling song “Believe What I Say.” They hugged as she exited.

Travis Scott, CeeLo Green and Ye's tween daughter North West also strapped on safety harnesses to join Ye high above the stadium floor atop a striking half-orb stage, which alternately depicted a moon, a rotating Earth and a smoking sphere throughout the two hours-plus livestreamed performance.

A loud singalong of “Heartless” midway through the more than 40-song Good Friday show seemed to boost Ye’s spirits: “That’s what 80,000 people sound like, ladies and gentlemen. … They said I’d never be back in the States. Two sold-out concerts, baby!”

The first SoFi show Wednesday, his first major U.S. performance in nearly five years, turned out to be more of a warm-up as Ye was tentative in his rapping and drew attention to technical mishaps.

Fans at that show said they separated the 48-year-old performer’s personal beliefs and public statements from his music — and were ready to forgive after his January apology letter.

“You gotta back your family no matter what,” said Vince Da Prince, a rapper from Downey, Calif. “He’s a part of our fam since we were little kids.”

Added fan Yovani Contreras: “I don’t really bring into politics or the way someone’s personal opinion are. I’m into the music artistry … Like, I just, to me, Ye is always gonna be Ye. Kanye is always gonna be Kanye.”

Luis Velasquez said he’d been a longtime fan and had been put off by controversies in recent years, but felt the apology was sincere.

“Yeah he did apologize,” he said. “He’s taking the medication I think is what he mentioned. … For me as a fan that’s, like, respect, right? Like I think that’s cool enough to bridge that gap.”

Ye released his latest album, “Bully,” under both the names Ye and Kanye West, at the end of March. He dominated hip-hop and pop charts in the 2000s and early 2010s, winning 24 Grammy Awards despite public outbursts and a polarizing personality. He lost nearly all his major business partnerships and many fans after a string of controversies in the last several years including antisemitic remarks and social media posts.

He closed Friday night's show with his “toast to the douchebags" hit “Runaway,” and walked out of the stadium behind his wife Bianca Censori and two of his children.

Auriemma said it started at the beginning of the game, but the ending is what everyone will talk about.

A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the waning seconds of South Carolina's 62-48 victory over his UConn team in the Final Four and appeared to chastise her before the two shook hands. Staley responded with “don't do that" while assistant coaches from both teams separated them.

Auriemma later said the exchange was about the lack of a traditional pregame handshake between the coaches. Staley said she was confused.

“I have no idea,” Staley said when asked what happened. “But I’m going to let you know this: I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand.

“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

The Gamecocks will play UCLA in their third straight title game on Sunday, but not everyone was willing to move on from the exchange so quickly.

Auriemma immediately left the court without shaking hands when the game ended, and the moment quickly spread on social media.

Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, a former Olympic teammate of Staley, posted on X: “It’s a real shame that #Geno took the low road! We have all had to lose with class! Geno of the @UConnWBB needs to start with an apology!!!”

There were no apologies Friday night, but Auriemma explained why he was frustrated before ultimately following up with an apology on Saturday.

“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours,” Auriemma said. “The protocol is before the game you meet at halfcourt. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands, correct? Ever see it? They announce it on the loudspeaker.

“I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”

Auriemma and Staley have been the gold standard in women's basketball for years, and their battle for supremacy has produced some of the most thrilling moments in women's college basketball over the last decade.

They've coached some of the greatest talent in the game. They have a combined 15 national championships and nearly 2,000 wins with their respective programs, and their teams have faced each other 15 times.

Despite the intensity on the court, Staley and Auriemma have typically exchanged public pleasantries, complimenting each others' successes and importance to the women's game. They sparked conversations in 2023 when Staley defended her team after Auriemma criticized the Gamecocks' physicality — but their rivalry had never boiled over in the way it did on Friday.

Auriemma ripped the officiating in the third after the Gamecocks were not whistled for a foul in the quarter. He continued to voice his displeasure with how Staley spoke to the refs in his postgame news conference.

“I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an official like that, I would get tossed,” he said. “So I just want to make sure there’s not a double standard, that some people are allowed to talk to officials like that and other people are not. That’s it.”

Staley did not want to talk about the exchange in her postgame news conference.

“You can ask Geno the question,” she said. “He’s the one that initiated the conversation. I don’t want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Both Richardson and Coleman are racing from “scratch” in the 144th edition of the event, meaning they must run the entire distance and chase down opponents who in some cases may start up to 25 meters ahead of them.

Richardson, who gave away 10 meters to her closest competitor at the start, won her heat in 13.815 seconds Saturday and Coleman his in 12.681.

On Monday there will be six semifinals in each of the men's and women's divisions, with the winners of each of the heats advancing to the respective finals. Only two men and two women have won the race starting from scratch.

“My experience so far is just reminding me what track and field feels like — love the respect and also fun,” Richardson told Seven Network television after her heat.

“It felt like being a kid again, playing tag, like playing rabbit. I had a great time, and it just kind of woke my body up with this being the first time running in 2026 . . . chasing everyone actually made me activate and work on my race pattern."

Richardson is one of the fastest women of all time, winning a silver medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and gold in the 4x100 relay that same year.

Coleman is a former world champion over 100 meters. He and Richardson appear to have continued their relationship despite a domestic violence charge against Richardson last July.

There are more than 700 competitors in the Stawell race, including many of Australia's top runners, in the event held about 235 kilometers (145 miles) west of Melbourne. The men's and women's finals each carry a prize of 40,000 Australian dollars ($27,500).

It has not been disclosed whether Richardson or Coleman have been paid appearance money to take part in the race. Last year Australian media reported that top Australian sprinter Gout Gout was paid 50,000 Australian dollars (35,000) to run at Stawell, where he was eliminated in the semifinals.

Richardson said this week that she was excited about the handicap format.

“I’ve been known to be a chaser in a couple of races, so actually the challenge of the stagger makes me more technical and sound, and with that comes great results," she said in comments on the Australian Athletics website.

Coleman, known for its fast starts, said he's the opposite.

“I’m usually leading from the front and people are trying to come catch me. I feel that this will be the perfect start to the season, to have some fun, but also be able to work on the things I have been practicing,” he said.

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

Meanwhile, the search continued for a second day in a remote area of Iran for a missing U.S. pilot whose warplane was shot down. Iran has urged residents to turn in the “enemy pilot” for a reward.

And Israel vowed to “continue to crush” Iran and confirmed it struck a petrochemical complex Saturday. Iranian state media reported at least five people were killed.

Here is the latest:

Prediction market taking bets on search for missing US military service member has been shut down

A prediction market accepting bets on the search for a U.S. military service member still missing from a fighter jet shot down in the Iran war Friday has been shut down by Polymarket for violating its standards.

Polymarket, which has turned prediction markets into an increasingly popular phenomenon alongside rival operator Kalshi, disclosed it blocked the wagering on the search for the missing military member about two hours after U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton posted a note of outrage on social media.

“This is DISGUSTING,” wrote Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts who was in combat in the Middle East while serving in the Marines.

In its response on the X platform, Polymarket said Friday it had removed the market cited by Moulton and was investigating how it slipped through the safeguards set up to protect its integrity standards.

Polymarket has recently been coming under increasing scrutiny, including calls for tougher regulation of prediction markets.

The criticism has mounted after some of its users made substantial bets ahead of the war in Iran and the military action in Venezuela earlier this year.

Police forcibly dispersed anti-war protest in Tel Aviv amid wartime restrictions

Several hundred people attended the demonstration at Habima Square in Tel Aviv calling for an end to the war, in between sirens warning of incoming missiles from Iran and from Yemen.

Israeli wartime restrictions currently limit gatherings in public areas to 150 people. But in response to an appeal, supreme court justices on Saturday evening issued an interim ruling saying at least 600 people would be allowed to gather at Habima Square and 150 at each of several other locations across the country.

At around 8 p.m., police declared the demonstration unlawful, claiming there were “hundreds more than the court ordered” at the protest. Police officers forcibly removed protesters from the square and arrested at least 17.

Argentina says Iran’s top diplomat has been expelled from the country

Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Saturday it had expelled Iran’s top diplomat as tensions increase between Iran’s theocratic regime and Argentina’s libertarian government, which is closely aligned with the Trump administration.

In a message on X, Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Minister Pablo Quirno said Iran’s Charge D’Affaires, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, had left the country “in compliance” with a resolution issued Thursday that gave the Iranian diplomat 48 hours to leave the South American country.

Tensions between both nations intensified earlier this week after Argentina declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. The measure will enable the Argentine government to issue financial sanctions against those conducting business with that branch of Iran’s armed forces and seize any assets it could own in Argentina.

Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry replied to the terrorism designation with a statement which said Argentina’s actions amounted to an “unforgivable offense” influenced by the United States.

Iran state media say five killed in strikes on petrochemical facilities

The U.S.-Israeli strikes also wounded others in the attack on the facilities in the Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Economic Zone in southwestern Iran, state media cited a provincial security official as saying.

The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the attack on the facilities earlier Saturday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed in a video statement on X to press ahead with more attacks. He claimed the complex was “responsible for producing and exporting chemical materials to the regime’s armed forces” and that the targeted facilities were “used to produce materials for explosives, ballistic missile, and additional weaponry.”

White House says Trump is ‘working nonstop’

As the clock ticks closer to the U.S. president’s Monday deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the White House says Trump is firmly at work.

“There has never been a President who has worked harder for the American people than President Trump,” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted on X. “On this Easter weekend, he has been working nonstop in the White House and Oval Office. God Bless him.”

The president often travels to his Palm Beach, Florida, club on the weekends, but he’s staying in Washington for the Easter weekend. Since he delivered his prime-time address on Iran on Wednesday night, the president has held a series of closed-press meetings at the White House.

Meloni says Gulf visit aimed at solidarity and protecting Italy’s energy and security interests

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said in a video message released by her office Saturday that her mission to the Gulf was aimed at showing solidarity with countries “that continue to suffer unjustified attacks by Iran,’’ while also addressing Italian security and energy interests.

Meloni is the first EU leader to travel to the Gulf since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a two-day visit.

“I think it is important for Italy in such a difficult moment to be present in the places where a fundamental part of our security is being decided, and also our economic future,’’ Meloni said in the video shot as she was being driven in the back of a car through Doha, Qatar. “Because when instability increases in the Gulf, not just the international balance is impacted, but also energy prices,’’ which affect companies’ cost and families’ purchasing power.

She noted Italy receives 10% of its natural gas from Qatar and the Gulf region supplies 15% of its petroleum needs.

Netanyahu confirms Israel hit Iranian petrochemical factories, says they’ll continue to ‘crush’ Iran

“After we destroyed 70% of its ability to create steel, which is used as the raw material for the weapons used against us, today we attacked their petrochemical factories,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his X account.

The Israeli military said that earlier Saturday its air force struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, in southwestern Iran. It alleged the complex was “responsible for producing and exporting chemical materials to the regime’s armed forces” and that the targeted facilities were “used to produce materials for explosives, ballistic missile, and additional weaponry.”

“I promised you that we will continue to crush the terrorist regime in Tehran, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Netanyahu said.

World commodity prices rise for 2nd straight month with Strait of Hormuz closure posing additional risks

World food commodity prices rose for a second consecutive month in March, driven largely by increasing energy costs linked to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization reported Friday.

The latest FAO benchmark index, tracking monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, rose 1% from a year ago, highlighting how geopolitical tensions are pushing up production and transportation expenses, adding renewed pressure on global food markets. Prices were up 2.4% from a month earlier.

Price surges have been relatively contained compared with after the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 because markets remain well-supplied following strong harvests in major growing regions, said David Laborde, the FAO agrifood economics director.

With a large portion of the world’s fuel and fertilizer moving through the Strait of Hormuz, he noted that a long-term closure will force farmers to make difficult planting decisions. That will affect the cost of producing the next harvest, as well as yields.

Iran says Iraq is exempt from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s joint military command spokesperson said in a statement in Arabic on Saturday that the restrictions imposed in the Strait of Hormuz “only apply to enemy countries.”

Addressing Iraqis, Ebrahim Zolfaghari said in a speech carried by state media that “you are a nation that bears the marks of American occupation on your chest, and your struggle against America is worthy of appreciation and praise.”

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on U.S. bases and other facilities in the country in solidarity with Tehran since the war began.

The Iran war, now its second month, has dealt a massive blow to Iraq’s economy. The country is heavily dependent on oil revenues for almost 90% of its budget and most of its oil is exported through the Strait of Hormuz, where cargo traffic has effectively been stopped by Iran during the conflict.

Israel says a ballistic missile from Yemen was launched against the country

The attack triggered sirens across the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The Houthis in Yemen have launched several missiles against Israel since joining the war last week in support of Iran.

Israel says another soldier killed in Lebanon

The death brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon in the current war to 11.

A military official said the soldier was killed by friendly fire. He spoke anonymously in line with military regulations.

Meloni wraps Gulf tour in UAE, discusses end to conflict and new investments

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni concluded her two-day visit to three Gulf states in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, discussing with the country’s leader additional investments by both countries in energy, defense and security, her office said in a statement.

Meloni is the first EU, G20 and NATO leader to visit the Gulf region since the start of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. She began her two-day visit Friday in Saudi Arabia and visited Qatar earlier Saturday. The start of the mission was unannounced due to security concerns.

Meloni and UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also discussed ways to bring an end to the conflict in the region and open the Strait of Hormuz, Meloni’s office said. The Italian leader also expressed her support for the country, which has suffered attacks from Iran following the launch of the war.

US revokes green cards and visas of several Iranian nationals connected to Tehran government

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or U.S. visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, including two who’ve been detained by immigration authorities and are to be deported.

The latest actions were taken just this week when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined they were no longer eligible for either lawful permanent resident status, or to enter the United States. The steps follow a move late last year in which the visas of several diplomats and staffers at Iran’s mission to the United Nations were also revoked.

In a statement Saturday, the State Department said the niece and grand-niece of former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike near the Baghdad airport in 2020, had been arrested late Friday by immigration agents after Rubio revoked their green cards.

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Pakistan says US-Iran talks effort on track as Tehran denies refusing Islamabad visit

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Saturday there was no truth to speculation in local media that the mediation effort had stalled due to Iran’s refusal to send a delegation.

He dismissed reports suggesting an impasse in the regionally backed initiative, saying the peace efforts are right on track.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X also said Tehran had “never refused to go to Islamabad” but was seeking a “conclusive and lasting” end to the conflict. “We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad,” Araghchi wrote.

He said “What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting end to the illegal war that is imposed on us.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar welcomed Araghchi’s remarks, saying he appreciated the clarification.

Pakistan, with backing from regional partners, is still working to bring Washington and Tehran to the negotiations table. However, no dates have been set for the proposed talks and it remains unclear whether any such engagement would be direct or indirect.

Israel says it identified another launch of missiles from Iran, the 8th on Saturday

It comes shortly after an attack that damaged buildings in East Jerusalem. Sirens were activated across northern Israel.

Buildings damaged in East Jerusalem after the latest barrage in a day of consistent fire from Iran

For the seventh time Saturday, missiles launched from Iran triggered sirens in multiple cities and towns in Israel.

Fire and Rescue services said their teams were treating two sites in East Jerusalem where buildings were damaged in the latest round. It wasn’t immediately clear if the impact was from parts of a missile or of an interceptor. No injuries were reported.

The military had said its defense systems were activated to try and intercept the missiles.

Hezbollah on Saturday also kept up its rocket fire on communities in northern Israel. Most were intercepted and there were no reports of injuries.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims it struck two US Black Hawk helicopters

In a briefing Saturday, Iran’s joint military command spokesperson said it hit other enemy targets Friday, including the two helicopters.

The AP could not independently verify the claims. Some media outlets in the U.S. have reported the helicopters were hit.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari said in a statement carried by state media that it “must be called a black and humiliating Friday for the American and Zionist enemies.”

Iran had claimed the downing of two American warplanes Friday.

On Saturday, the U.S. military was pressing ahead with its search for a missing pilot over a remote area in southwestern Iran.

Israeli fire kills one Palestinian in central Gaza, health officials say

The airstrike on a civilian vehicle wounded two others, according to health officials at Al-Aqsa hospital, where the casualties arrived.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Gaza Strip has seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, and nearly 713 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Since the Iran war began over a month ago, Gaza militants have sat out the conflict and haven’t claimed any attacks against Israel.

US military jets hit in Iran war are the first shot down by enemy fire in more than 20 years

Iran shooting down two American military jets marks an exceedingly rare assault for the U.S. that hasn’t happened in more than 20 years and shows the Islamic Republic’s continued ability to hit back despite President Trump asserting it has been “completely decimated.”

The attacks came five weeks after U.S. and Israeli strikes first pounded Iran, with Trump saying earlier this week that Tehran’s “ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed.”

Iran shot down a U.S. F15-E Strike Eagle fighter jet Friday, with one service member getting rescued and the search still underway for a second, U.S. officials say. Iranian state media also said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed after being hit by Iranian defense forces.

The last time a U.S. warplane was shot down by enemy fire in combat was an A-10 Thunderbolt II during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 fighter pilot.

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Kuwait continues to intercept Iranian aerial attacks

In its daily briefing posted on X, the Kuwaiti army said Saturday that it had intercepted eight ballistic missiles and 19 drones over the last 24 hours.

Since the war began, Kuwaiti air forces have engaged with a total of 709 Iranian drones, 327 ballistic missiles and nine cruise missiles, according to the briefing.

Relatives of the late Gen. Soleimani have been arrested

The U.S. State Department says the niece and grand niece of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who had lead the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, are now in ICE custody.

Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were arrested after the State Department terminated their green cards.

The State Department said “as identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran.”

Afshar’s husband is also banned from entering the U.S.

Russia’s nuclear chief says 198 workers are being evacuated from Iran’s nuclear power plant

The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom says 198 workers are being evacuated from Iran’s Russian-built nuclear power plant.

Alexei Likhachev told reporters this is “the main” and “the biggest evacuation wave.” He said it was planned and began Saturday morning, shortly after a strike hit the Bushehr plant, killing a security guard, who was an Iranian citizen.

Buses with the evacuated workers are on their way to the neighboring Armenia, Likhachev said, adding that Israel and the U.S. will be informed about the routes of their journey.

Russian news agency Interfax said Rosatom has already evacuated more than 400 workers from Bushehr.

Likhachev said the strike Saturday was “carried out effectively on the plant’s physical security perimeter” and that “the likelihood of damage, of a possible nuclear incident, is unfortunately only increasing by the day.”

Israeli strikes kill 1,422 since Israel-Hezbollah war began

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes killed 54 people and wounded 156, the Lebanese health ministry said Saturday.

The ministry said the overall death toll includes 126 children and 93 women, since Israel launched intense airstrikes across Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran on March 2. The strikes have also wounded 4,294 others.

Among those killed are 54 health workers, while Israeli strikes have targeted 87 emergency medical service facilities, the health ministry said.

On Saturday, a wave of Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across southern Lebanon, one of them killed two children and wounded 22 others, according to the health ministry.

Less than a quarter later, Flagg became the first teenager to score 51 points in an NBA game in Dallas' 138-127 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

Flagg scored 24 points in the fourth quarter after coach Jason Kidd and forward Naji Marshall were ejected for complaining about what they thought was a no-call when Desmond Bane fouled Flagg.

Kidd was tossed even though he was assessed just one technical foul, while Marshall had gotten another tech at the end of the first half. His second came just moments after Kidd was thrown out.

“It’s great to see,” Flagg said after going 19 of 30 from the field and making all seven of his free throws to top his previous career high of 49 in a 123-121 loss to Charlotte on Jan. 29.

“I already know that coach has my back and Naji ... I know he has my back for sure out there,” Flagg said. “Just seeing their emotion, seeing them fight for me and fight for the calls. Definitely some emotion, and motivated me even further.”

Flagg initially exited the game with 45 points, but assistant coach Frank Vogel, filling in for Kidd, told the 19-year-old he was just resting him during a defensive possession.

Vogel called a timeout to get Flagg back in with 3:22 remaining, and Flagg made history a little more than a minute later. He missed a 3-pointer the first time down, then missed a follow attempt on Brandon Williams' miss, got the rebound again and made a corner 3.

On the next Dallas possession, he hit an off-balance shot in the lane while getting fouled to clinch 50, made the free throw and left to a standing ovation.

The Mavericks were down 30 when Flagg started his fourth-quarter scoring barrage in what ended up being their 14th consecutive home loss. It's the longest home losing streak since Dallas lost the first 19 games at since-demolished Reunion Arena in 1993-94.

“It’s always fun getting into that type of mode,” Flagg said. “The basket feels big. My teammates are looking out for you, helping you out. But I like to win. That was my main focus. It’s hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we’re down 20, down 10, down 15, for the majority of the game.”

Flagg said he thought it was obvious Bane had fouled him in the opening two minutes of the fourth.

“I think it was warranted,” Flagg said about Kidd's reaction. “I’m not going to lie. I talked to Bane after the play, and he told me he was intentionally trying to foul me. I honestly don’t know how they didn’t see that. Obviously, they must not have had the right view, or they weren’t paying attention. But they missed it.”

Kidd said there was “a lot of excitement in the back” as he watched Flagg on a TV delay, hearing the crowd reaction before the buckets as the former Duke standout was 8 of 12 from the field and 4 of 6 from deep in the fourth.

Flagg's previous career high came against former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, the fourth overall pick and fellow contender for rookie of the year.

Kidd continues to stump for Flagg to win the same award that Kidd won with the Mavs 31 years ago, and dropped a Michael Jordan reference after Flagg's latest milestone. Yes, Jordan was the 1985 Rookie of the Year.

“He should be rookie of the year,” Kidd said. “It’s unbelievable. The country’s not watching the same thing we get to watch on a daily basis. He’s in rare air. He’s with the GOAT when you talk about MJ and what he did in his rookie year. And as a teenager, to see what Cooper’s doing, just the excitement, the joy, playing the game, win or lose, his spirit, is about winning. Right now we’re not.”

For at least one night, the rookie overshadowed the long home losing streak, even though he couldn't end it.

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

South Carolina will be trying to win its fourth national championship in nine years. The Gamecocks played stifling defense to knock off UConn 62-48 and end the Huskies' 54-game winning streak in the semifinals of March Madness on Friday night.

UCLA played incredible defense of its own in its 51-44 win over Texas. The Bruins spoiled a chance at the first all-SEC title game since 2017, when Staley’s team beat Mississippi State, which was led by current Texas coach Vic Schaefer. That victory was South Carolina's first title and started the current run that the Gamecocks have been on over the last decade.

South Carolian and UCLA have played each other many times over the past few seasons. UCLA coach Cori Close has been impressed with what Staley has built at South Carolina.

“Dawn does such a great job and is a standard-bearer in our sport,” Close said. "Thankful for what they’ve done, not just for South Carolina, but for the game. We also are an incredibly competitive, confident group. I’m sure they are as well. All you can ask for is to play your best basketball for a national championship."

The Bruins have been on a mission this season since losing to UConn in the Final Four last season. It was the Bruins' first-ever trip to the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. With most of the key players back from that team and a couple of new additions, UCLA ran through the regular season with the only loss in November to Texas in a tournament in Las Vegas.

That loss was the only blemish the Bruins had this year, and they cruised to both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championship.

Now, they'll have a tall test with South Carolina, which put on a defensive clinic against UConn. The ending of that game was overshadowed by a dust-up between Staley and UConn coach Geno Auriemma as they were shaking hands with less than a second left. The two coaches needed to be separated by their assistants.

Coming into the season Staley wasn't sure about this team as they were dealing with injuries and trying to work in star transfer Ta'Niya Latson from Florida State. The country's leading scorer last season while at Florida State just wanted to have a chance to win a national championship.

“This is why I came to South Carolina. It was a personal sacrifice that I had to make. I mean, I know a lot of people don’t get that, they don’t understand my why,” said Latson. “This is my why. This is why I came to South Carolina.”

Close and her team will try and hang a championship banner to go with the one the school won by taking the 1978 AIAW title, which was the postseason tournament for women's basketball before the NCAA took over in 1982.

The Bruins are a veteran team, even though they have no championship game experience. UCLA's starting five, led by center Lauren Betts, are all seniors or graduates.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Even as Hollywood still drives how Americans envision little green men with big eyes and bigger heads, fiction soon could be separated from — or revealed as — fact if government agencies release secret files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs as called for in February by President Donald Trump.

The science fiction genre has shaped how people think about intelligent life elsewhere in the universe — “whether it’s invasion narratives or aliens coming to warn us that we’re on the wrong track or aliens just trying to come and make contact and help us with things or just say ‘hi,’” says Duke University professor Priscilla Wald, who teaches a class on science fiction and film.

Trump's announcement on social media followed former President Barack Obama suggesting in a podcast interview that aliens were real. Obama later clarified that he had not seen evidence that aliens had made contact, but said since the universe is so vast odds are good that life exists elsewhere.

Movies say they are nearly everywhere, from a Pennsylvania cornfield in 2002's “Signs” to Wyoming's Devil's Tower in 1977's “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to a Central American jungle where 1987's “Predator” was set.

“Hollywood has basically been preparing the public for this,” retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet says of any revelation that intelligent life from outer space exists and has visited Earth. “I think people can handle it. It does, of course, depend on what information is released (by the government)."

Hollywood quickly latched on following the 1947 discovery of debris near Roswell, New Mexico. Authorities initially identified crash materials as a flying disc before quickly backtracking and saying they were from a high-altitude weather balloon.

About three years after Roswell, “The Flying Saucer” made it to theaters. That was followed by a some low-budget and mostly forgettable movies, while others continue to inspire sci-fi buffs like 1951’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

“If you think back to the flourishing of alien films, this starts really in the U.S. in the 1950s,” Wald says.

“The aliens are gentle souls who come down and try to warn us after nuclear war," she says of “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” “They’re trying to warn that we’re creating problems in the cosmos and that if we don’t stop, they are and have to do something about it."

Still others depict visitors arriving with more nefarious motives and intentions — to kill us, to take over the Earth, sometimes even to make us food.

“I think if we found out aliens were on the way, there would be a mix of responses,” Wald says. “I think there would be a lot of people out there welcoming them. A lot of people would be going down to the cellars and stocking them with canned food."

A plethora of documentaries also have been released, including 2025’s “The Age of Disclosure,” which details government knowledge of the existence of intelligent life outside of humans and attempts to reverse engineer alien technology.

Steven Spielberg has directed such box office hits as 1982's “E.T. The Extraterrestrial” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” His upcoming film “Disclosure Day” teases: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?”

“My question is always, 'Well, what is that fear really about?'” Wald says. “It seems to me it’s a reflection on who we are, that we’re projecting onto aliens the way we treat each other. So, the aliens are coming down, they want to conquer us, they’re violent. Who does that sound like? It sounds like us.”

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AP national writer Allen G. Breed in Durham, North Carolina, contributed to this story.

It's a question that can produce some, well, uncomfortable answers if you happen to be an earthling.

“If I were looking at Earth from a distance, I would be pretty disappointed,” theoretical physicist Avi Loeb says. “Most of our investing is dealing with conflicts to prevent other people from killing us or us killing others. Look at the Ukraine war over a little bit of territory. That is not a sign of intelligence."

The debate on whether little green men or UFOs are among us escalated in February when former President Barack Obama, responding to a podcaster's question, said aliens are “real,” but he ”hasn’t seen them” and “they’re not being kept at Area 51.” President Donald Trump later announced on social media that he was directing release of government files because of “tremendous interest.”

Stepped-up interest in UFOs also is swirling as the United States heads back toward the moon with Wednesday's launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission. The four astronauts aboard will do a fly-around of the moon before returning to Earth.

In a world riven by war, civil unrest, climate change and divisiveness, it's easy to wonder what newcomers to Planet Earth might make of us and our struggles. Whatever the case, well over a majority of Americans echo the sentiment of the slogan from “The X-Files”: “The truth is out there."

A 2021 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed about two-thirds of Americans said their best guess is that intelligent life exists on other planets. About half of U.S. adults said UFOs reported by people in the military are “definitely” or “probably” evidence of intelligent life outside Earth.

“We don’t want to think this is the only place in this extraordinarily and incomprehensibly large universe where life and intelligence and even technology have emerged,” says Bill Diamond, president and chief executive of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.

“It sort of says about humans, ’We don’t want to be alone.'"

Something is up there. But what?

Americans have been fascinated by the thought of life outside this planet following the recovery of debris in 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico. The military initially said the material was from a flying disc, only to reverse course and tell the public it was from a weather balloon.

Hollywood ran with it. Flying saucers, little green men and eventually humanoid gray aliens became part of popular culture. April 5 even is celebrated annually throughout the iconic “Star Trek" franchise as “First Contact Day” to mark the date in 2063 when humankind, in “Trek” canon, first made contact with Vulcans.

Much in the popular culture suggests any aliens might be aggressive. Priscilla Wald, who teaches about science fiction at Duke University, has a theory as to why.

“It seems to me it’s a reflection on who we are, that we’re projecting onto aliens the way we treat each other," Wald says. "So the aliens are coming down, they want to conquer us, they’re violent. Who does that sound like? It sounds like us.”

In 2024, the Pentagon released hundreds of reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena. However, that review gave no indications that their origins were extraterrestrial.

On two separate occasions, Debbie Dmytro saw things in the sky over Michigan’s southern Oakland County. The greenish object Dmytro says she saw March 1 in the sky over Royal Oak, Michigan, looked like neither plane nor helicopter. Dmytro, a 56-year-old medical professional, acknowledges that it could have been some type of commercial or delivery drone.

What she saw in 2023 in the same general area north of Detroit is not so easily explained.

“Four yellow lights, yellowish golden lights and they were all flying very, very low,” Dmytro remembers. She says the lights were about 100 feet (30 meters) up at their nearest.

“I’ve never seen anything so low without any noise and flying in complete uniformity,” she says. “Is it something man-made? Is it something that’s not manmade? Who knows?”

Who knows indeed? UFOs, the term for unidentified flying objects, has in recent years given way to UAP — unidentified aerial phenomena or unidentified anomalous phenomena.

“Absolutely, there are such things” as UAPs and UFOs, says Diamond, whose SETI — Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence — seeks to explore, search and understand the nature of life and intelligence in the universe.

“People observe things in the sky that they can’t immediately identify or recognize as either human engineering such as planes or drones or helicopters, or animals, such as birds, and therefore they don’t know what they are," Diamond says.

Time for the truth

Like so many, Dmytro wants to know what the government knows. “I think there’s more information out there. I’m open to learning more,” she says. “I have an open mind. It’s always about scientific proof.”

Retired Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet says evidence clearly shows there are UAP zipping around the airspace and in the oceans.

“The nonhuman intelligence that operates them or controls them are absolutely real,” Gallaudet says. “We’ve recovered crashed craft. We don’t know if they’re extraterrestrial in origin."

Gallaudet worked as acting administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He participated in a 2024 congressional hearing on UAP disclosure and says the release of government files promised by Trump is something people find of interest. He just hopes the president follows through.

There are billions of galaxies in the universe and each has billions of stars, so the likelihood life developed elsewhere is fairly high, according to University of Michigan Astronomy Professor Edwin Bergin, who teaches about looking for life elsewhere. He believes that if intelligent beings navigated vast distances to reach Earth they would make themselves known — despite humanity’s penchant for creating chaos.

“I would think that they would look at us like we were crazy ... but they would come out," he says. "I mean, why come here otherwise unless you’re going to sit and observe.”

Loeb, director of the Institute for Theory & Computation at Harvard and head of the university's Galileo Project for the Systematic Scientific Search for Evidence of Extraterrestrial Technological Artifacts, believes in the likely existence of extraterrestrials.

“They might be laughing at us,” he says. "They might be watching us ... to make sure we will not become predators, that we will not become dangerous to them.”

In the interest of national security

Much of the government’s secrecy around UFOs and UAP is tied to national security concerns, according to Diamond.

“We have pretty advanced technologies, satellite, ground-based that are for various purposes mostly national security and defense that are pointing at the sky or things on board aircraft,” Diamond says. “Sometimes these pick up objects. The technology behind it is sensitive and protected.”

Government data, including a “trove ” of UAP video the Navy is sitting on, should be shared with scientists for research and a better understanding of the characteristics of the objects, says Gallaudet, who spent 32 years in the Navy and viewed classified UAP video.

“When you look at these things in our airspace having near collisions with our aircraft, that’s a real valid concern,” he says. “We are just not sure of what they are and what they intend to do with their interaction with humanity. That could be a national security threat, or not."

“When has ignorance ever been a good national strategy?" Gallaudet asks. "Whether it be scary, harmful or not, or a mix, I think seeking the truth is in our best interest.”

Meanwhile, Diamond doesn't think any “true alien encounter could be kept secret.”

“If any civilization has mastered interstellar travel, they have technology and capabilities beyond our wildest comprehension,” he says. “If they want to interact, they will; if they don’t, they won’t. If they want to be seen, they will be, and if not, they won’t be!”

Descovich was back at the White House a few months later, seated alongside CEOs of Google and IBM to weigh in on artificial intelligence and education policy.

Last month, when first lady Melania Trump hosted a global technology summit in Washington, Descovich was there, too.

Her presence at the White House underscores the meteoric rise of a group that made its name in local politics, fighting to win school board seats and end “wokeness” in U.S. schools. What started as a fringe of far-right mothers has seen its interests collide with a presidential administration that embraces and amplifies their message, launching the group into a new level of influence in public policy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Descovich said she has a voice in discussions around transgender sports bans, AI in education, the dismantling of the Education Department and a campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion.

“We have a seat at the table in so many policy discussions throughout the administration,” Descovich, who lives in Florida, said during a recent visit to Washington. “We’re invited to participate in discussions and meetings where some of these things are hashed out.”

Supporters say the group's trajectory speaks to the power of its “parental rights” agenda, which has become a plank of conservative politics. Critics are alarmed by its presence at the White House, saying the group promotes extreme views and undermines public schools.

Alliance with Trump offers a new lifeline after ups and downs

Founded five years ago in Florida, the organization became known for challenging classroom instruction it deemed inappropriate for children, often involving sex, race or LGBTQ+ themes. It later turned to state capitols, securing legislation like Florida's “Don't Say Gay” law.

It claims more than 300 chapters, with sharply growing revenue flowing in from groups like the Heritage Foundation and conservative megadonors, including Richard Uihlein.

By some measures, however, its influence had appeared to be waning. School board candidates endorsed by the group struggled in elections, and rival liberal groups rose up to compete for power in America's suburbs.

A series of missteps fueled ridicule among opponents, including an incident in which an Indiana chapter quoted Adolf Hitler in a parent newsletter in 2023.

Yet when Trump returned to office, the group's political fortunes swung upward. His administration charges into the same cultural battles Moms for Liberty staked its name on, including a push to keep transgender athletes out of girls' sports.

By her count, Descovich has been to the White House about a dozen times this administration.

Descovich was in attendance when Trump signed an order to overhaul the foster care system. She brought more than a dozen members to an event honoring Women’s History Month in March. Co-founder Tiffany Justice was there when Trump signed an order to dismantle the Education Department.

For the Trump administration, Moms for Liberty appears to be playing a role that's often filled by groups like the National PTA, said Rick Hess, director of education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank. As those establishment groups shy away from Trump, he said, Moms for Liberty has stepped up.

“Moms for Liberty speaks to a very active part of the MAGA community, and education has been a big part of what the administration has been focused on for the last 15 months,” he said.

Behind the scenes, Descovich has been a tipster for agencies that investigate schools over transgender sports and bathroom policies. After meeting with Justice Department officials, she delivered more than 250 complaints, she said.

“We really are this grassroots team that’s working hand-in-hand with helping move forward President Trump’s agenda,” she said.

The group is carrying the momentum to Capitol Hill

Asked about its relationship with Moms for Liberty, the White House declined to offer specifics but said Trump is “the most pro-family President in history,” citing his child tax credit among other initiatives.

The White House “is proud to tout these great accomplishments for American families alongside many leaders,” spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement.

Moms for Liberty hopes to carry its momentum to Congress, too.

On a recent March morning, more than 100 members fanned out across Capitol Hill, delivering homemade cookies to lawmakers and their offices. Some brought their children, including a boy sporting a suit and red tie like Trump's.

House Speaker Mike Johnson stopped for a photo with a few parents, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted a photo to social media of himself giving a thumbs-up alongside a Moms for Liberty member.

Members of the group call themselves “joyful warriors,” a moniker that critics say disguises their anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and aggressive tactics. The group has been accused of harassing teachers and school board leaders, calling its opponents “groomers” and “predators.”

Descovich dismisses the criticism. “Our motto has been, from Day One, we’re joyful warriors, because we knew we needed to advocate in a way that was OK for our children to watch,” she said.

Yet she doesn't shy away from a fight. The group has a deep feud with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which in 2023 labeled the parent group as “extremist.”

Late last year, Descovich led a letter urging the federal government to cut ties with the SPLC. The FBI agreed to do so soon after, echoing language from her letter.

Critics say an extreme voice is getting a platform

The presence of Moms for Liberty has gained at the White House is both unsettling and unsurprising, said Seth Levi, chief program strategy officer for the SPLC.

It's “further evidence that they are more interested in platforming extremist voices and policies rather than listening to the American people, who are demanding solutions to make their lives easier and more affordable,” Levi said.

The leap up to federal policy marks a new chapter in the group's evolution, said Maurice Cunningham, a former political science professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston who tracks the organization and its relationships.

Yet he sees the group's influence as political advocacy rather than parental input. He identifies the group as a close cousin to groups like the Heritage Foundation, which has been influential in Trump's second term.

“They're in the White House, there's no question,” he said. “But they are there as a voice of the organized institutional right wing.”

Descovich said the relationship with Trump took root at a 2023 convention where Republican presidential candidates jostled for the group's endorsement. When Trump took the stage, he called Moms for Liberty “the best thing that’s ever happened to America.”

Moms for Liberty threw its weight behind Trump, and Descovich said she stayed close with his team.

The organization's latest concern is AI in the classroom, which Moms for Liberty sees as a threat to parental control over education. At a White House meeting, Descovich pushed for guardrails to ensure humans guide instruction, not algorithms.

It's also expanding its national presence with a new online training program called M4L Academy, featuring videos on “critical race theory” and other topics the group sees as taboo. And while its first trip to Congress was mostly seen as an introduction, it's gearing up for more.

“We’re not really doing any lobbying for any specific bills at the federal level yet,” Descovich said. “That will come next year.”

“There’s obviously concern,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after his team's 10-3 victory. “The calf area could be tricky. We’ve just got to wait, but there’s obviously concern.”

Soto singled off Tyler Mahle in the top of the first and appeared to slow up while going first to third on Bo Bichette's run-scoring single.

“He felt something,” Mendoza said. “As he was standing at third base, he continued to get tight.”

Soto was forced out at home plate when Brett Baty grounded into a 1-2-3 double play, and Tyrone Taylor replaced Soto in left field for the bottom of the first.

The 27-year-old Soto is in the second season of a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets. He had 43 homers and 105 RBIs while playing in 160 games last season.

The four-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger award winner has played at least 150 games six times in his eight major league seasons before this one. The only times he didn't were the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and his rookie year with Washington in 2018, when he was called up on May 20. He hasn't been on the injured list since early in the 2021 season with the Nationals.

Soto has hit safely in all eight Mets games this season. He entered Friday with a .282 career batting average and 245 home runs.

He also has played for the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees.

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

The attacks came five weeks after U.S. and Israeli strikes first pounded Iran, with Trump saying earlier this week that Tehran's “ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed."

Iran shot down a U.S. F15-E Strike Eagle fighter jet Friday, with one service member getting rescued and the search still underway for a second, U.S. officials say. Iranian state media also said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed after being hit by Iranian defense forces.

The last time a U.S. warplane was shot down by enemy fire in combat was an A-10 Thunderbolt II during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 fighter pilot.

But, he said, that’s because the U.S. had largely been fighting insurgents who didn’t have the same anti-aircraft capabilities. The fact that there have not been more fighter jets lost in Iran, Cantwell said, is a testament to the capabilities of U.S. forces.

"The fact that this hasn’t happened until now is an absolute miracle,” said Cantwell, who served four combat tours and is now a senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “We’re flying combat missions here, they are being shot at every day.”

Shoulder-fired missile likely used, experts say

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that American forces have flown more than 13,000 missions in the Iran war while striking more than 12,300 targets.

After more than a month of punishing U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, a degraded Iranian military nonetheless remains a stubborn foe. Its steady stream of strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors have been causing regional upheaval and global economic shock.

When it comes to American dominance over Iran's airspace, there’s still a distinction between air superiority and air supremacy, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran program senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.

“A disabled air defense system is not a destroyed air defense system,” he said. “We shouldn’t be shocked that they’re still fighting.”

American planes have been flying missions at lower altitudes, which makes them more vulnerable to Iran's missiles, Taleblu said. It’s possible that Iran fired at the F-15 with a surface-to-air missile, but it's more likely that a portable, shoulder-fired missile was used, he said. Those are much harder to detect and reflect how Iran is “weak but still lethal.”

“This is a regime that is fighting for its life,” he said.

Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that a shoulder-fired missile was likely used against the fighter jet.

Nonetheless, the American air war against Iran has been a “tremendous success” so far, he said.

To put things in perspective, he said the loss rate for American warplanes flying over Germany during World War II was 3% at one point, which would equal about 350 warplanes in the U.S. war against Iran.

“But then there’s the political side — you have a American public that is accustomed to fighting bloodless wars,” Cancian said. “Then a large part of the country doesn’t support the war. So to them, any loss is unacceptable.”

Pilots are trained on what to do if their plane is hit

The last U.S. jet shot down in combat was struck by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile over Baghdad on April 8, 2003. The pilot safely ejected and was rescued, according to the Air Force.

In high-threat environments like missions over Iran, Cantwell, the retired general, said an aviator's blood pressure goes up and they become highly alert to incoming missiles. Those are typically either infrared- or radar-guided missiles, he said, requiring different evasive tactics.

If they are hit and need to eject from their aircraft, they are trained on what to do next, he said.

Pilots learn to check for wounds after a violent ejection and the shock of a missile explosion and, most crucially, how they are going to communicate their location so rescuers can find them.

At the same time, he said, the enemy is likely working to intercept the communications or even spoof the location.

Helicopters are more at risk than other aircraft

The planes that went down Friday were not the first crewed American aircraft to be lost overall in Iran.

A military helicopter and airplane exploded in 1980 during an aborted mission to rescue several dozen American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, according to the Air Force Historical Support Division.

After a series of setbacks, including severe dust storms and mechanical failures, the mission was called off. As the aircraft took off, the rotor blades of one of the RH-53 helicopters collided with an EC-130 aircraft full of fuel and both exploded, killing eight.

More U.S. helicopters have been shot down in recent decades, including a MH-47 Army Chinook helicopter that was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan in 2005, killing 16. Helicopters are more dangerous because “the lower and the slower, the more susceptible you are,” Cantwell said.

That’s why those who went out on this week's rescue missions, likely in helicopters, he said, did “such a brave and honorable act.”

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Bedayn reported from Denver.

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This story has been clarified to show that a U.S. military jet has not been shot down in 20 years vs. general aircraft.

The two-time All-American made sure there wasn't a repeat performance in this year's Final Four, swooping in for the biggest play in a game that sends the Bruins into the NCAA national championship game for the first time.

Heeding her coaches' persistent advice to sprint back on defense, Betts swatted fellow All-American Madison Booker with 20 seconds left, allowing UCLA to withstand a late charge by Texas for a 51-44 win in the Final Four on Friday night.

“When that play happened, I really have so much confidence that every time she is in a matchup, she’s going to find a way to alter, block, scare somebody from doing that,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I just think she’s spectacular.”

She needed to be.

Motivated by the beatdown in their first Final Four a year ago, Betts and the Bruins (36-1) dominated their way to another national semifinal with the best season in program history.

A chance at a first national championship game appearance had to go through the only team to beat them this season.

Texas was overpowering in the first meeting, but the Bruins turned the bully tables on the Longhorns (35-4), shutting down All-American Madison Booker while building a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The Longhorns are one of the nation's best defensive teams and flexed their D during a 12-2 run that cut UCLA's lead to 47-44.

Betts swatted the Texas run to halt.

With the Longhorns on the break and Booker attacking the basket, Betts backpedaled and timed her jump just right. She blocked Booker's shot, gathered the ball herself and Kiki Rice hit two clinching free throws, sending Close's crew into the title game.

"As soon as I saw her getting downhill I was like ‘Alright, please block this. Don’t let her score,’” Betts said.

Betts' big block and the Bruins grinding win earn them a spot Sunday’s title game against South Carolina, the three-time national champions who ended reigning champion UConn’s undefeated season and left Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma fuming.

So was Booker after a brutal finish to what was otherwise a stellar season. She hit her first shot, missed the next 17 and finished with six points on 3-of-23 shooting.

“It did surprise me when I couldn’t get out of my funk because every shot I put up it felt like it was going to be money,” Booker said. “I wish a few more fell in, not just for me but for my teammates, too.”

Same for Texas coach Vic Schaefer after another agonizing Final Four loss.

He twice lost in the national title game at Mississippi State — once on a buzzer beater — and watched the Longhorns clank their way out of their second straight Final Four appearance.

The Longhorns got off to a brutal start with six points in the first quarter, shot 38% from the floor overall and 2 for 9 from 3-point range in the third-lowest scoring in Final Four history.

The chance at a second national title stretches to another year — 40 years and counting.

“We feel like, in our locker room, we let one get away,” Schaefer said. "I feel like this one will haunt me as the coach probably until the day I die.”

In the teams' first meeting, Texas dominated early and held on late for a 76-65 win on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.

The rematch was more like a wrestling match, players hitting the floor and coaches screaming for fouls that weren't called — just like in the first Final Four game.

UCLA dominated the first quarter to lead by eight. Texas tightened the screws in the second, limiting the Bruins to six points — the 28th opponent they've held to single digits in a quarter to pull within 20-17 by halftime.

Betts turned out to be a huge difference maker.

The 6-foot-7 center was held to a season-low eight points the first go-round against Texas, but had some success early in the national semifinals by attacking before the double teams arrived. She continued to produce while her fellow All-American labored, finishing 7 of 10 from the floor with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots — none bigger than the late one against Booker that all but secured UCLA's 29th straight win since the loss to Texas.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Desmond Bane had 27 points as the Magic remained a half-game behind eighth-place Charlotte in the Eastern Conference. Orlando is safely in the play-in tournament with an outside shot at the top six and automatic entry into the East playoffs.

Coach Jason Kidd and Maji Marshall were ejected seconds apart early in the fourth quarter for the lottery-bound Mavericks, who are on their longest home losing streak at 25-year-old American Airlines Center. Dallas lost the first 19 games of the 1993-94 season at since-demolished Reunion Arena.

Flagg was caught up in the disagreement that led to Kidd's ejection, drawing his own technical foul before Kidd went onto the court apparently to protest the same non-call that drew Flagg's ire.

The 19-year-old responded with 24 points in the fourth quarter to become the youngest in NBA history with a 50-point game.

Assistant coach Frank Vogel, who filled in for Kidd, briefly pulled Flagg late in the fourth quarter when he had 45 points. After returning, Flagg hit a corner 3-pointer, then clinched 50 points with a bucket and foul, making the free throw and coming out of the game to standing ovation.

Flagg went 19 of 30 from the field, including 6 of 9 from long range, and made all seven free throws.

Jalen Suggs and Tristan da Silva scored 19 points apiece for the Magic, and Franz Wagner added 18.

Brandon Williams scored 23 points for Dallas.

P.J. Washington Jr., Dallas' third-leading scorer, missed a third consecutive game with an illness.

Up next

Magic: At New Orleans on Sunday.

Mavericks: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

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

One of its most recognizable faces was Ashley Parker Angel, who rose to fame as part of the band’s success.

After his pop career, Angel took a different path when Broadway came calling, expanding his career beyond music and into theater.

Now, he’s stepping into a new spotlight -- leading High Level Fitness, where his focus has shifted to health and performance.

Angel says his mission is clear: helping others reach their full potential.

With the officiating. With his team's performance. With South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.

The Huskies coach ripped into the officiating during a live TV interview and then had a heated argument with Staley in the final seconds of their 62-48 loss to the Gamecocks. But a rough night for UConn stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd was the main cause of the Huskies' poor showing in the national semifinals of the women's Final Four on Friday night.

A minute after his sideline blowup, Auriemma stalked off the floor alone, stewing over the nightmare performance.

Fudd — a senior — shouldered the blame, saying she felt she let the team down.

“I thought some of our shots were a little rushed, some of our offense was a little rushed, out of pace,” Fudd said. “But when we got a lot of good looks, a lot of shots in our offense, shots that we are used to taking, we just didn’t hit very many.”

The Huskies hadn't faced much on-court adversity this season, winning almost all of their previous 38 games by a lopsided margin. Once it hit on Friday, UConn wasn't able to respond.

Auriemma said the officiating didn't help.

“There were six fouls called that quarter — all of them against us," Auriemma said on the broadcast at the end of the third quarter. "And they’ve been beating the (expletive) out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ’cause we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.

“Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship.”

Auriemma wasn't finished showing his displeasure. The 72-year-old coach walked toward Staley in the final seconds of the game before the two had an angry exchange, with assistants having to get in between them. Auriemma blamed the dustup on Staley not following the proper protocol for a pregame handshake.

Once the game finally ended, Auriemma slowly walked off the court and down the tunnel without a postgame handshake with the Gamecocks. The teams did shake hands and Auriemma apologized for his behavior on Saturday.

UConn has relied all season on Strong and Fudd, a pair of All-America selections who were steady throughout the season. Against South Carolina, Strong finished with just 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Fudd scored eight on 3-of-15 shooting, including 2 of 9 from long range.

The Huskies' lone offensive bright spot came midway through the third quarter. Kayleigh Heckel, Blanca Quiñonez and Fudd each hit a 3-pointer in a 90-second span to cut the deficit to 40-39, but UConn was never able to take the lead. South Carolina took a 44-39 advantage into the fourth quarter and slowly pulled away.

UConn scored just nine points in the fourth, shooting 2 of 14 from the field. The 48 points were easily a season low. The Huskies were also dominated on the glass, with South Carolina holding a 47-32 advantage.

It's true that it was a physical game. Bodies were flying under the basket for the majority of the night for both teams. UConn was whistled for 17 fouls, while South Carolina was called for just eight.

The problem for Strong and Fudd was they couldn't hit shots even when they had a little space to operate. The 6-foot-2 Strong — AP's Player of the Year — was bothered by South Carolina's interior size, with several of her inside shots rattling in and out.

“Well, sometimes we do forget she’s a sophomore,” Auriemma said. “She’s carried a huge load for this team. An awful lot falls on her. Tonight she’ll be the first to tell you that she is not proud of how her game went today.”

Strong's teammates couldn't pick up the slack. Ashlynn Shade finished with 10 points and Quiñonez added seven. Heckel missed a layup late in the game and the broadcast showed her starting to cry walking back down the court.

Teammates encouraged her and one even lifted her chin, but the damage was done.

UConn’s 54-game winning streak is over.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Ta’Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies’ 54-game winning streak.

The Gamecocks have now reached the NCAA championship game in four of the last five seasons, including the past three. They will be looking to win a fourth national title Sunday when they face UCLA, capping off another March Madness.

“I thought our players just locked in once we built a little lead. We got suggestions from coaches as to should we change our defense, start switching everything. I’m like, No, this is what is working," Staley said. “Let’s continue to do what’s working.”

As the final seconds ticked down, Auriemma walked down the sideline to shake hands with Staley and had an animated conversation with her while pointing to the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated the two.

When the clock finally ran out, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and didn’t shake hands. The two teams did shake hands.

“I have no idea,” Staley said when asked what happened between the coaches. “But I’m gonna let you know this, I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong, to Geno, I had no idea what I did.

“I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand.

“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

Auriemma didn't want to disclose what he said to Staley specifically, but made it a point of saying he was annoyed about the lack of a pregame handshake.

“I’ve been coaching and been to 25 Final Fours,” Auriemma said. “Protocol is we meet at halfcourt, two coaches meet at halfcourt and shake hands. They announce it on the loudspeaker, waited there for three minutes.”

Auriemma was also upset that in the third quarter star Sarah Strong’s jersey was ripped, in his opinion because of South Carolina’s physical defense.

Strong said: “It was an accident, I missed my shot.”

UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history, and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.

“Coach was pretty mad going into the half," Latson said of Staley. "She was yelling ‘Meet the moment! Meet the moment!’ We couldn’t be scared to play on this stage, especially against UConn. I mean, they were undefeated.”

The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship. UConn also beat South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season.

Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Agot Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven.

Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The Huskies didn't score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.

“I think our defense is pretty elite. We were super prepared by all of our coaches,” Makeer said. “I think we all wanted this really bad. We were just ready.”

South Carolina clamped down on UConn’s two stars. Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went 4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3 of 15 shots.

UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.

Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds of the tournament easily. The Huskies had been rarely challenged all season long, routing their Big East opponents by record margins.

Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer.

The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The two teams combined to shoot 22 for 62 from the field (35.4%) and had 14 turnovers. UConn led 26-24 at the half.

There were dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players in the crowd including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women’s sports.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Matthew Rodriguez, 18, was apprehended in Pennsylvania by New York Police Department detectives working with U.S. Marshals, the NYPD said.

The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Amuri Greene, was arrested shortly after the drive-by gunfire that killed Kaori Patterson-Moore. Greene pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at an arraignment Friday night and was held without bail.

Kaori was in her stroller when a two men sped down a street on a moped Wednesday afternoon. Greene, riding on the back of the vehicle, fired into a group of people on a street corner, according to a court complaint.

Kaori's mother, Lianna Charles-Moore, told the New York Post that after hearing what she initially believed were fireworks, she was comforting her startled 2-year-old son — who had been grazed by a bullet — when she looked to her left and saw her baby daughter bleeding. The infant had been shot in the head.

“My daughter was innocent. She didn’t deserve that," Charles-Moore told the newspaper. She said her daughter was just about starting to crawl and had recently begun saying “Mama.”

Greene told police he was aiming for another person in the crowd, according to the court complaint.

His attorney, Jay Schwitzman, said after court that he would conduct “an independent and thorough investigation of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident.”

Police said that after the shooting, the moped sped and crashed into a car two blocks away, hurling both men off the vehicle. Greene was injured and soon was hospitalized in police custody, but the moped driver fled.

Authorities haven't yet released court papers that detail Rodriguez's alleged role. But they haven't indicated they were looking for anyone other than the gunman — alleged to have been Greene — and the moped driver.

Police didn't immediately have information on how the men may know each other or where Rodriguez lives; no working telephone number for him could immediately be found. Police charges against him were pending.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch expressed heartbreak and outrage over Kaori's death.

“This is a terrible day in our city, a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience,” Tisch said at a news briefing Wednesday.

“Miami Freedom Park: On the Pitch” airs at 8 p.m. Friday and can be watched at the top of this page.

Parker, Holdsclaw and members of the 1996 Olympic team were all in attendance Friday at halftime of the UConn-South Carolina game during the women's Final Four, where the selections were announced, as was Amar’e Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni.

They will be joined by longtime NBA official Joey Crawford, NBA coach Doc Rivers and Gonzaga coach Mark Few in the Hall of Fame.

Parker won three titles in the WNBA with three different teams: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She is the only player in league history to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

She also won two titles while playing in college for Tennessee under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, plus two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards.

Delle Donne won two league MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot more than 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free-throw line.

Holdsclaw won three straight titles at Tennessee from 1996-98, the first team to accomplish that. The 1998 championship was Tennessee’s first undefeated season at 39–0 and the Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in a season. Holdsclaw went on to have an 11-year WNBA career.

Stoudemire, who was the only NBA player in this year's class, was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003 and six-time All-Star. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Phoenix Suns, where he teamed with D'Antoni.

Rivers has 1,192 victories on his resume, which puts him sixth on the all-time wins list. He led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008 and also was in charge of the Los Angeles Clippers during their Lob City era.

Few has won more than 770 games at Gonzaga in his career at the school. He set the NCAA Division I men's coaching record by winning 81 games in his first three years at the school.

Crawford officiated 2,561 regular-season NBA games and 50 Finals games over his 39-year career. He retired in 2016.

The enshrinement ceremony will take place in August at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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This version corrects Rivers’ placement on career wins list from eighth to sixth.

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

Geno Auriemma was only in his eighth season coaching the Huskies. UConn hadn't yet hoisted a national championship trophy. There wasn't nearly the same pressure to win that the Huskies face now. And women's basketball as a whole hadn't seen the unprecedented growth in sponsorships and popularity it is experiencing now.

By the 1994-95 season, Rizzotti and fellow UConn standout Rebecca Lobo helped the Huskies go undefeated en route to their first national title. Everything about the program changed, and even as women's basketball has evolved and skyrocketed in exposure, the Huskies have remained the gold standard.

“There was no thought that we were going to be undefeated,” Rizzotti said. “We didn't have that internal pressure. We didn't have external pressure. That's the last time a UConn team could play that way. Think about that: 1995 is the last time a UConn team could play without that kind of pressure.”

The Huskies have since won 12 national titles, reached the Final Four 25 times and won 30 conference titles. They've been ranked 653 weeks in The Associated Press women's basketball poll, and Auriemma is the winningest coach in women's college basketball history.

As conversations around the Final Four in Phoenix center around how the women's game has grown, the Huskies, who are competing for the second straight national title, have been at the forefront.

“You could tell that everything was aligned for this program to reach that pinnacle," said Rizzotti, who is currently the president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. “I don't think anything of us would have predicted that it would have gone on as it had.”

Rizzotti joined former UConn players Stefanie Dolson, currently with the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and Shea Ralph, now Vanderbilt's coach, on a panel Friday at “The AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience,” which is being held at Arizona State’s First Amendment Forum in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Earlier Friday, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) commissioner Rich Ensor and AP women’s poll founder Mel Greenberg spoke on a panel moderated by college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli on the growth of women's basketball at the college and pro levels.

“I think women's basketball has never been more popular,” said Ackerman, who was the first president of the WNBA from 1996-2005. “I think schools that are succeeding are really seeing, feeling and believing in the (return on investment). And UConn's a case in point.”

Ackerman sees the investment that the schools in this year's Final Four — UConn, Texas, South Carolina, and UCLA — have made in their programs to reach back-to-back national semifinals as a reflection of the growing importance of pouring resources into women's hoops.

“And that's done a world of good,” she added. “Programs like South Carolina, UCLA, you see what they're doing for their campuses. The investment is paying off in terms of the brand and engagement with the community and school reputation.”

Even as women's sports are drawing record crowds and WNBA players are set to make more money than ever, Ensor sees much more room to capitalize on this current growth.

“It has been about breaking down barriers, and they still exist,” Ensor said. “We marvel at what's happened, but we still recognize there's a lot more that's to come.”

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AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience: https://apnews.com/https:/apnews.com/projects/arizona-state-fan-poll-experience/

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Current Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo and Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic, an assistant in Memphis before taking over as head coach of Toronto, said their experiences did not match the comments by James in a "Bob Does Sports” YouTube video earlier this week.

James criticized Memphis and indicated the NBA would be better off if the Grizzlies moved 200 miles east to Nashville where Tennessee's capital city has Vanderbilt University, NASCAR and even the NHL's Predators. He even said he might have opted to say he wouldn't play in Memphis if the Grizzlies had the first pick in the 2003 draft.

“I can say from my own perspective that I have the complete opposite — 180-degree perspective on that,” Iisalo said. “The Memphis where we have arrived less than two years ago has been very warm. Very welcoming.”

Rajakovic added: “I don't care what the rest of the world thinks. I love the people of Memphis. I love the food. I love every single time I come over here.”

James' criticism included NBA players having nothing to do when teams arrive in Memphis for games.

“In Memphis on a (expletive) random (expletive) Thursday," James said. "I’m not even the first guy to talk about it in the NBA, like, ‘You guys have to move. Go over to Nashville.’”

The Raptors arrived in Memphis a day before Friday night's game and visited St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which treats childhood cancer patients at no charge to families. Rajakovic called the visit inspiring with his players thanking him for taking them to the hospital to meet patients.

The coaches of the Grizzlies and Raptors have short ties to Memphis with Iisalo in just his second season and first as head coach. Iisalo said Memphis features one of the NBA's most passionate fan bases with the city rallying behind its team.

"All I can say is Memphis is the right place for the Grizzlies,” Iisalo said.

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

It is China's latest push for a more prominent role in global affairs, though it may prove to be more rhetorical than substantive, with the U.S. appearing uninterested in Beijing's efforts.

“The war with Iran is the priority of all countries in and outside the region,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank. “It is an opportunity China will not miss to demonstrate its leadership and diplomatic initiative.”

Danny Russel, a former senior U.S. diplomat, described China’s diplomacy as “performative” and compared the five-point proposal for ending the Iran war with its 12-point plan for Ukraine in 2023, which was “filled with platitudes but never acted on.”

“Its narrative is that while Washington is reckless, aggressive and heedless of the cost to others, China is a principled and responsible champion of peace,” said Russel, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “What we are seeing from China is messaging, not mediation.”

China has been working “tirelessly for peace” since the outbreak of the war, said Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

How the US views China's diplomacy

The Trump administration appears to have little enthusiasm for the prospect of China's mediation, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. has soured on third-party mediation efforts, and it has little interest in boosting China’s international stature or giving it an opening to claim success in the Middle East, said three U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss potential diplomatic options.

One of the officials described the administration’s position on the Chinese-Pakistani effort as “agnostic,” neither endorsement nor rejection, but all three stressed that could change if President Donald Trump weighs in before his planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

For Beijing, there could be an incentive to see the war subside before Trump travels to China in mid-May. Citing demands of the war, Trump postponed the trip initially set for the end of March.

“There is no guarantee that Trump may not delay the trip to China again if the war rages on,” Sun said.

The war saw a major escalation Friday when Iran shot down two U.S. military aircraft, a first since the war began five weeks ago. Trump told NBC News that it would not impact negotiations with Iran, just days after declaring in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”

Beijing is calculating the pain from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

For now, China is more insulated from the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz than other countries after diversifying its energy sources and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

China relies on Iran for only about 13% of its oil imports, and Beijing is working with Tehran to allow the passage of Chinese-flagged vessels through the critical waterway, where Iran’s stranglehold has sent energy prices soaring. China also maintains a large strategic petroleum reserve.

While China has positioned itself to cushion short-term shocks, analysts say Beijing is worried about a protracted war and has an interest in trying to bring it to an end.

“An escalation of the conflict will start to harm Chinese interests,” Russel said. “Because China’s growth model is so export-heavy, prolonged energy shocks and shipping disruption will mean costlier inputs and weaker global demand that damage its vulnerable economy.”

Besides not wanting to see a long war, China “welcomes the opportunity to suggest that it is helping mitigate a crisis of America’s making, especially as the Trump administration’s lack of a considered strategy for containing the fallout becomes more apparent,” said Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser on U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group.

China has undertaken a flurry of diplomacy

After the war began, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with counterparts from Russia, Oman, Iran, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He told Iran that China cherished its friendship, urged Israel to cease military actions and expressed that China would be willing to play a role in seeking peace.

This past week, Wang hosted his Pakistani counterpart in Beijing to hash out their five-point proposal, calling for an end to hostilities and the reopening of the strait.

He has held more than 20 phone calls with regional foreign ministers, and a special envoy has visited several countries in the region, aiming to promote peace and deescalate tensions, Liu said.

Wang sought support for China's plan from the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, telling her it represented “broad, international consensus,” the Chinese foreign ministry said. Wang told Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan that halting the fighting was the most urgent matter.

Wang also spoke this week with Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, to explain why China opposed Bahrain’s U.N. proposal to allow military force to open the Strait of Hormuz. Wang said actions by the U.N. Security Council should help ease tensions “rather than endorse illegal acts of war, still less add fuel to the fire.”

China and Russia argued that the U.S. or other countries could exploit a U.N.-backed mechanism to escalate the deadly war, according to a U.N. diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic conversations.

Both countries appear to have less immediate need to see the strait fully open. While China has been able to pay to get some of its ships through, Russia is benefiting from the high price of oil, its main export.

Hoping to avoid a veto, Bahrain significantly watered down its proposal to authorize defensive — but not offensive — action to ensure vessels can safely transit the strait. A vote was pushed back until next week.

To solve the problem of the strait, China says a ceasefire is needed. But its plan with Pakistan has been met with mostly silence from the U.S.

One of the U.S. officials said the plan is difficult to assess because it is less of a roadmap to peace than a vague appeal for respect for international law and the importance of diplomacy and the U.N.'s role.

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Amiri reported from the United Nations.

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On Thursday night, the crew of Orion’s Integrity capsule fired the main engine to propel the spacecraft away from Earth’s orbit.

After days of preparations, the crew planned to observe the moon for six hours on Monday to focus on craters, lava, cracks, and the ridges of the moon’s outer layer.

There will be a solar eclipse for about an hour toward the end of the flyby, so the sun will be hidden from view as it moves behind the mostly dark moon.

The crews’ observations will then focus on flashes of light from meteoroids striking the moon’s surface, dust lofting above, deep space targets, and the solar corona and outermost atmosphere.

Once Orion’s Integrity capsule traces a figure eight around the far side of the moon, the crew will be returning home to a splashdown on April 10 in the Pacific Ocean.

Watch NASA’s 24/7 coverage of Artemis II

NASA’S flight day 3 agenda

The first of three smaller engine firings, called the outbound trajectory correction, will ensure Orion is staying on target for its path around the moon.

In the morning, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen prepared for the burn, which was scheduled for after the crew’s midday meal.

The rest of the day will include a variety of checkouts and demonstrations.

NASA Pilot Victor Glover, Hansen, and NASA Astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist and engineer from Michigan, are set to demonstrate CPR.

NASA Cmdr. Reid Wiseman will work with Glover on the medical kit, including the thermometer, blood pressure monitor, stethoscope, and otoscope.

In the second half of the day, Koch will test Orion’s emergency communications system on the Deep Space Network.

The crew will rehearse the choreography for flight day 6’s scientific observation of the moon.

Flight controllers in mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston canceled a trajectory correction burn since they were on the right flight path.

More on Artemis II

• Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind
• Launch day coverage
• Flight day 2
• Get to know the astronauts
• Mission overview
• Multimedia from NASA

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The league said in a statement that Rice “has not engaged in conduct that violates the personal conduct policy.”

The Chiefs did not have an immediate comment on the decision, but Rice's attorney, Sean Lindsey, said in a statement that "Mr. Rice wants to thank the NFL for their thorough investigation, and looks forward to the start of the 2026-27 NFL season.”

The 25-year-old Rice missed the first six games of last season after the NFL found that he had violated its personal conduct policy when he caused a multi-car crash on a Dallas highway while driving erratically in speeds nearing 120 mph. Rice left the scene of the accident before police arrived, then took responsibility for the wreck in a statement a couple of weeks later.

Rice turned himself in when an arrest warrant was issued and he subsequently pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges last July — collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury — and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years’ probation. He also was required to pay victims’ medical expenses.

The latest off-the-field issue involving Rice came after former girlfriend Dakoda Jones alleged in a lawsuit filed in February in Dallas County, Texas, that he had physically assaulted her multiple times, causing injuries that included bleeding and bruising.

The lawsuit said Rice “grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit, and headbutted” Jones, in addition to hitting her with objects. The lawsuit also said Rice had thrown objects, punched walls and broken furniture, and many of these incidents occurred when Jones, who has two children with Rice, was pregnant.

Rice had 53 catches for 571 yards and five touchdowns last season as Kansas City went 6-11 and missed the playoffs.

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It was the first time U.S. aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a U.S. military search-and-rescue operation was underway.

Neither the White House nor Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran.

“No, not at all. No, it’s war,” he said.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces.

A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation said earlier that it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it went down was immediately known.

Those incidents came as Iran fired on targets across the Middle East on Friday, keeping the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors despite U.S. and Israeli insistence that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed.

Second service member’s status unknown

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. But the Pentagon notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member from the fighter jet was not known.

In an email from the Pentagon that obtained by The Associated Press, meanwhile, the military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have roiled stock markets, sent oil prices skyrocketing, and threatened to raise the cost of many basic goods, including food.

Downed jet could mark a new level of pressure on the US

Prior to word of the rescue, social media footage showed American drones, aircraft and helicopters flying over the mountainous region where a TV channel affiliated with Iranian state television said earlier that at least one pilot bailed out of the fighter jet.

An anchor urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward.

It was the first time the U.S. has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the conflict and could mark a new level of pressure on the U.S. military.

Throughout the war, Iran has made a series of claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out not to be true. Friday was the first time that Iran went on television urging the public to look for a downed pilot.

Iranian state media said in a post on the social platform X that the military shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft is a variation of the Air Force fighter jet that carries a pilot and weapons system officer.

Alan Diehl, a former investigator for the Air Force Safety Center, said the Strike Eagle has an emergency locator beacon in a survival kit that can be set to activate automatically or manually.

Iran targets a desalination plant and a refinery

News about the downed planes came after Iran attacked Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery. The state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said firefighters were working to control several blazes.

Kuwait also said an Iranian attack caused “material damage” to a desalination plant. Such plants are responsible for most of the drinking water for Gulf states, and they have become a major target in the war.

Also sirens sounded in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia said it destroyed several Iranian drones and Israel reported incoming missiles.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates shut down a gas field after a missile interception reportedly rained debris on it and started a fire.

Activists reported strikes around Tehran and the central city of Isfahan, but it was not immediately clear what was hit.

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched a ground invasion in its fight with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militant group, an Israeli drone strike on worshippers leaving Friday prayers near Beirut killed two people, according to the state‑run National News Agency

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes. In a review released Friday, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a U.S.-based group, said it found that civilian casualties were clustered around strikes on security and state-linked sites “rather than indiscriminate bombardment” of urban areas.

More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Iran keeps a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz

World leaders, meanwhile, have struggled to end Iran’s stranglehold on the waterway, which has had far-reaching consequences for the global economy and has proved to be its greatest strategic advantage in the war.

The U.N. Security Council was expected to take up the matter Saturday.

Trump has vacillated on America’s role in the strait, alternately threatening Iran if it does not open the strait and telling other nations to “go get your own oil.” On Friday he said in a post on social media that, “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”

Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, were around $109, up more than 50% since the start of the war, when Iran began restricting traffic through the strait.

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Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Will Weissert, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.

While we saw a few sprinkles this Good Friday, rain chances are set to pick up this Easter weekend. We will watch a stray shower on Saturday with a better chance of isolated showers on Sunday. A cold front will bring scattered showers and storms starting Monday into Tuesday.

Guard Julie Allemand, who played last season for the Los Angeles Sparks, was selected by the Toronto Tempo with its first pick.

The Tempo won a coin flip and opted to take the sixth pick in the college draft on April 13 over the top pick in the expansion draft. So Portland went first on Friday and will have the seventh pick in the college draft.

Carleton, who has played for the last seven seasons for the Minnesota Lynx and averaged 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds a game last season off the bench, was an unrestricted free agent.

“Once we finalized our process, and zoomed in on Bridget, and knew we had our first expansion pick, it was obvious we did not want to have Toronto hold our destiny in their hands," Portland general manger Vanja Cernivec said.

Allemand averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 games last season.

“This group gives us the ability to compete from day one while continuing to build, and embraces the opportunity to help shape something new in a new country as Canada’s first WNBA team,” Toronto general manager Monica Wright Rogers said.

The league's teams protected five players apiece ahead of the expansion draft but those lists were not made public, leading to speculation about which players were available.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Sky announced trades with the Tempo and the Fire, which prevented the expansion teams from selecting Sky players. In exchange, the Fire got the No. 17 pick in the college draft and the No. 26 pick went to the Tempo.

The expansion draft had two rounds, with up to six picks for each team in each round. The teams alternated picks, with the Tempo picking first in the second round after the Fire got the first overall selection.

Teams could only lose two players to the expansion draft. If a player was taken in the first round, a second player from that same franchise couldn't be taken until the second round.

Following Allemand, the Tempo selected center Nyara Sabally from the Liberty, guard Marina Mabrey from the Sun, forward Aaliya Nye from the Aces, guard Lexi Held from the Mercury, and forward Maria Conde from the Valkyries.

In the second round the Tempo selected forward Maria Kliundikova from the Lynx, center Adja Kane from the Liberty, center Nikolina Milic from the Sun, guard Kitija Laksa from the Mercury, and guard Kristy Wallace from the Fever.

After Carleton, the Portland Fire selected guard Carla Leite from the Valkyries, center Luisa Geiselsoder from the Stars, forward Emily Engstler from the Mystics, guard Maya Caldwell from the Dream and forward Chloe Bibby from the Fever.

In the second round Portland took guard Haley Jones from the Wings, forward Nyadiew Puoch from the Dream, guard Sara Ashlee Barker from the Sparks, guard Sug Sutton from the Mystics and guard Nika Muhl from the Storm.

Mabry was also an unrestricted free agent. Each team was allowed to pick only one unrestricted free agent.

The teams still do not know when free agency will open. More than 80% of the players are free agents this year, as many players have expiring contracts or opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement.

The college draft is set for April 13 and training camps open on April 19. The season will start on May 8.

The Tempo and Fire join the WNBA as the league's 14th and 15th teams. Portland previously had a WNBA team, also called the Fire, that played from 2000 to 2002.

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Doncic is the NBA's top scorer and the driving force behind the Lakers' surge into the third spot in the Western Conference standings, but he injured his leg during Los Angeles' blowout loss in Oklahoma City on Thursday. An MRI exam revealed the severity of the strain.

The Pacific Division champion Lakers (50-27) have just five games left before the postseason, starting Sunday at Dallas.

Grade 2 hamstring strains sometimes require several weeks of recovery, but Doncic also has prior experience with hamstring issues. He missed four games right before the All-Star break with another left hamstring strain, but returned to the lineup after the break.

Doncic is putting up spectacular numbers in his first full season with the Lakers, who acquired the Slovenian superstar from the Mavericks last season. He is averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game for Los Angeles, and he was named the NBA's Western Conference player of the month for March after racking up 13 consecutive 30-point performances, including seven 40-point games, a 51-point barrage against Chicago and a 60-point masterclass in Miami.

Doncic scored a whopping 600 points in March, becoming only the 10th player in NBA history to hit that mark in one month. While LeBron James and Austin Reaves have also played well down the stretch, the Lakers thoroughly depend on Doncic, who either scored or assisted on 58% of the their total points in March.

Doncic is all but certain to win his second NBA scoring title — but he has played in only 64 games this season, which means he will finish one game shy of the 65-game threshold to be eligible for the NBA's biggest postseason awards.

He was a lock to be an All-NBA selection, and he had even been making a late run at consideration for the MVP award with his outstanding play down the stretch.

Along with his two absences caused by hamstring injuries and a handful of additional absences for minor medical maintenance early in the season, Doncic missed two games last December while flying to Slovenia for the birth of his second child. He also missed one game last week under suspension for accumulating 16 technical fouls.

Since he sits just shy of the 65-game threshold, Doncic theoretically could challenge the rule by citing the extraordinary circumstances of his daughter's birth in Europe through the grievance process created for these collectively bargained rules. It's wholly unclear whether that appeal would have any chance of success.

If Doncic wins the scoring title but doesn't make the All-NBA teams, he would be only the third scoring champ in league history to fail to do so. Elvin Hayes wasn't selected when he won the crown as a rookie in 1969, and Bob McAdoo wasn't chosen for the teams in 1976.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Doncic was injured in the first half against the Thunder, but was cleared to return to the game while his team was getting plastered by the defending NBA champion Thunder. Doncic lasted only about four minutes before he spun, stopped and went down on the court in pain, leading to his departure.

The loss was only the Lakers' third in 19 games since Feb. 26, but Doncic's absence casts a cloud of uncertainty over the rest of their year. Los Angeles only leads fourth-place Denver (49-28) by one game, while sixth-place Minnesota (46-30) is 3 1/2 games back with a game in hand.

The Lakers’ regular-season finale is next Sunday, April 12, at home against Utah. Their first-round playoff series is expected to start the following weekend.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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

You see them on granola bags, cereal boxes and a whole range of pantry products -- but how much weight should you actually put on those dates?

“It’s ideal to know when that food is going to be best utilized by. Now, that’s where it gets a little tricky. So that’s just an estimate,” said Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic.

Zumpano says there are three kinds of food expiration dates.

The first is “sell by,” which tells stores how long they should display an item for sale.

Then there’s “best by” or “best if used by,” which refers to when a product will have its best flavor and quality.

Finally, there’s “use by,” the last recommended day for a product to maintain peak quality.

“Shelf-stable items are usually the ones you can exceed their dates,” Zumpano said. “Things like dried goods, like rice and pasta and cereal, canned fruits and vegetables, beans -- things like that -- usually are pretty safe.”

She says to pay closer attention to expiration dates on perishable foods in the fridge, like meat and dairy. That’s where bacteria and mold are more likely to grow.

Zumpano recommends always using your senses. If you see mold, sliminess or discoloration, toss it. If it smells off, sour or moldy, throw it out. And if something doesn’t taste right, get rid of it.

“If it is past that date, using those senses — or if you feel better just tossing it, you can,” she said. “But the goal here is to reduce food waste.”

There are certain food items you should always pay attention to when it comes to expiration dates, including infant formula, which should never be used past its expiration date.

Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, of Miami, faces a charge of seaman’s manslaughter in the July collision, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Insua didn’t have a clear view as the tugboat pushed a barge full of construction debris in Biscayne Bay, according to the office. There was also no one assigned as lookout as it sailed through the body of water sandwiched between Miami and Miami Beach, the office said.

The sailboat was carrying a counselor and five girls when it stalled in the barge’s path, and Insua didn’t see it before the collision, according to the statement. The girls were ages 7 to 13, while the counselor was 19, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The counselor and two girls were dragged under the barge, but were able to escape. The other three became trapped in the wreckage and drowned, according to the office.

“Our hearts are with the families of the children who lost their lives in this tragedy,” Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said in a statement. “This information alleges a preventable loss of life on our waterways, including the failure to follow basic maritime safety rules and cellphone use during transit at or near the time of the collision.”

The internet had also been accessed on Insua’s cellphone around the time of the collision, according to a forensic review.

Insua faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.

The Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida did not immediately respond to queries about whether Insua has a lawyer.

Four of the children were rushed to a hospital, where a 7-year-old and 13-year-old were pronounced dead, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Days later, the Coast Guard said that a 10-year-old who had been in critical condition had also died.

The sailing boat had been submerged beneath the barge in Biscayne Bay, where there are several small islands, including Star Island, peppered with ritzy mansions.

The children were in their last week of camp, according to the Miami Yacht Club.

Across the U.S. in 2024, there were over 550 deaths in recreational boating, but only a sliver of those — 43 — were caused by vessels crashing into each other, according to Coast Guard statistics.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was investigating how both Great hammerhead sharks were mutilated in March in Florida’s Treasure Coast.

The first carcass — without a dorsal fin and tail — was found on March 15 at Juno Beach. The second mutilated carcass with a tied rope was found on March 29 at Hobe Sound Beach.

There was a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and prosecution in the June Beach case after the Center for Biological Diversity added $4,000.

The FWC was offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and prosecution in the Hobe Sound Beach case.

To submit a tip about the cases, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922 or visit this page.

For information about prohibited sharks, visit this FWC page.

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According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, a supervisor at the tax collector’s office notified investigators about the illegal activity on March 25.

Deputies said surveillance video was reviewed which showed the clerk, Waldersee Oge, 46, of North Miami, issuing temporary driving permits last month to at least four people who were not present in the office at 3721 NW Seventh St. in Miami’s Flagami neighborhood.

In one incident, Oge was seen on video speaking on his cellphone with one of the customers, gathering their personal information and then inputting that information into the Orion database.

According to the report, the supervisor became suspicious last week after witnessing Oge reviewing scanned documents within the customers motor maintenance system using the Orion database despite there not being any customers at the service counter at the time.

Detectives said Oge was taken into custody at his workplace Thursday and confessed to conducting multiple transactions in exchange for payments via Zelle.

Investigators said they’re looking into investigators are also looking into whether the recipients even had legal status in the United States.

“It’s possible they do not,” Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said. “This issue is a national security issue for the United States of America. That is why we take this serious(ly).”

He faces numerous charges, including official misconduct by a public servant, unlawful compensation/reward for official behavior, offenses against computer users, unlawful use of a communications device, unlawful issuance of a driver’s license and falsifying public records.

As of Friday morning, Oge was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed his total bond as “to be set.”

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The TFO with ATF, deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service, is a sworn Davie police officer and Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy who works in the Gang Investigations Task Force, records show.

Prosecutors filed the complaints against Sunil Someria, his brother Anand Someria, and the brothers’ alleged employee Richarles Lake on March 19 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, records show.

“The brothers are large distributers of narcotics to include pressed fentanyl pills, powdered fentanyl, pressed Xanax, pressed Adderall, and cocaine,” the TFO with ATF wrote, according to the criminal complaint.

Anand Someria, 23; Sunil Someria, 25; and Lake, 24, were arraigned on Thursday on federal charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

The federal case includes the Miramar Lakes Apartment Complex property management’s July report, a confidential informant’s November tip, evidence of the trio’s alleged crimes from Dec. 6 to March 18, and their arrest on March 19, records show.

Sunil Someria, also known as “Kerm;” Anand Someria, also known as “Nadd” and “Ravi;” and Lake, also known as “OTG Lindo,” operated out of a “trap house” apartment on the first floor of 10747 South Preserve Way in Miramar, according to law enforcement.

“Both Sunil and Anand indicated that they carried firearms for protection during narcotics transactions,” the TFO with ATF wrote, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators reported seizing a black and gold Glock 43X, a black Smith and Wesson M&P .40 caliber handgun, and a black Glock 19 handgun. The list of drugs seized included more than 78 grams of fentanyl pills, more than 34 grams of MDMA pills, more than 132 grams of Xanax pills, 705 grams of marijuana, and about 40 grams of cocaine.

Here is the list of $43,500 in drug deals involving an ATF agent operating in an undercover capacity:

Related story: Feds arrest 5 after $16,000 undercover fentanyl deal ends 2-year probe in Broward, records show

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

Dominique Williams, who has lived in the area for years, says she knows the warning signs.

When the shoreline looks rough like it did Friday, she keeps her son from going too far into the water. She stayed close, watching him as waves and currents remained strong.

“Stay very shallow, close to where that bank is,” Williams said.

Officials say others aren’t taking the same precautions. Alex Bagwell with Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue says crews have already turned away at least 10 people from the water.

In Pompano Beach, a rescue caught on Sky 10 shows just how dangerous conditions have become. Authorities say rough seas pulled several people offshore, including a father who was swept out while trying to help his child.

Pompano Beach officials say at least six people were taken to a local hospital.

With conditions expected to stay dangerous through the weekend, officials are now considering closing the beach.

Según los registros, el agente del TFO de la ATF, autorizado por el Servicio de Alguaciles de Estados Unidos, es un oficial de policía juramentado de Davie y ayudante del sheriff del condado de Broward que trabaja en el Grupo de Trabajo de Investigaciones de Pandillas.

Según consta en los registros, la fiscalía presentó las denuncias contra Sunil Someria , su hermano Anand Someria y el presunto empleado de los hermanos, Richarles Lake, el 19 de marzo ante el Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos para el Distrito Sur de Florida.

Según la denuncia penal, “los hermanos son importantes distribuidores de narcóticos, entre ellos pastillas de fentanilo prensadas, fentanilo en polvo, Xanax prensado, Adderall prensado y cocaína”, escribió el oficial de operaciones tácticas de la ATF.

Anand Someria , de 23 años; Sunil Someria , de 25; y Lake , de 24, comparecieron el jueves ante el juez acusados ​​de delitos federales de posesión de un arma de fuego en relación con un delito de narcotráfico y conspiración para distribuir fentanilo.

Según consta en los registros, el caso federal incluye el informe de julio de la administración del complejo de apartamentos Miramar Lakes, una denuncia anónima de un informante confidencial en noviembre, pruebas de los presuntos delitos cometidos por el trío entre el 6 de diciembre y el 18 de marzo, y su detención el 19 de marzo .

Según las autoridades , Sunil Someria , también conocido como “Kerm”; Anand Someria , también conocido como “Nadd” y “Ravi”; y Lake , también conocido como “OTG Lindo”, operaban desde un apartamento que servía de base para el tráfico de drogas, ubicado en el primer piso del número 10747 de South Preserve Way en Miramar.

“Tanto Sunil como Anand indicaron que portaban armas de fuego para protegerse durante las transacciones de narcóticos”, escribió el oficial de operaciones tácticas de la ATF, según la denuncia penal.

Los investigadores informaron haber incautado una Glock 43X negra y dorada, una pistola Smith & Wesson M&P calibre .40 negra y una pistola Glock 19 negra. La lista de drogas incautadas incluía más de 78 gramos de pastillas de fentanilo, más de 34 gramos de pastillas de MDMA, más de 132 gramos de pastillas de Xanax, 705 gramos de marihuana y aproximadamente 40 gramos de cocaína.

Aquí está la lista de transacciones de drogas por valor de $43,500 dólares en las que participó un agente de la ATF que operaba de incógnito:

Carson Merlo, editor de noticias de Local 10 News, contribuyó a este reportaje.

The new Marine Minerals Administration will bring together the functions of the current Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. Doing so will enable a “streamlined approach” that will maintain existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards, he said.

The combined agency will “deliver clearer coordination, better service to the public and stronger, more integrated oversight of offshore energy development,” Burgum said in a statement.

The new name is reminiscent of the old Minerals Management Service, which for decades was the federal agency responsible for overseeing offshore drilling. In April 2010, a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and discharging nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the sea over the next three months in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Lawmakers from both parties and outside critics accused the agency of lax oversight of drilling and cozy ties with industry. A 2008 report by the Interior Department’s inspector general said employees accepted gifts, steered contracts to favored clients and engaged in drug use and sex with employees of the energy firms they regulated.

The head of the agency resigned in May 2010 — less than a year into her tenure — under public pressure as the Obama administration moved to impose stricter control over drilling in the wake of the spill.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement replaced the disbanded Minerals Management Service in 2011. The former agency’s revenue management function was also separated into a new office. The Obama administration said the reorganization was designed to remove the complex and sometimes conflicting missions of the former agency.

BOEM oversees development of oil and gas, as well as renewable energy and mining on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, while BSEE enforces safety and environmental regulations.

Environmental groups slammed the reorganization as a replay of the agency's troubled past.

The MMS was intentionally split up after the Gulf spill because regulators were too cozy with industry and “we couldn’t trust the integrity of their work,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

The new set-up "sounds like yet another handout to the oil industry that will fast-track risky projects. It sure won’t make the people or wildlife on our coasts any safer,” she wrote in an e-mail Friday.

The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore developers, said that two separate — yet overlapping — government agencies responsible for administering the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act can understandably result in inconsistencies and delays.

“Bringing them back together should result in closer coordination and a more efficiently functioning government, for the benefit of American citizens who rely upon the energy produced from the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf to fuel our economy and lift society,” Association President Erik Milito said in a statement.

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McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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

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On Thursday, deputies released a “Missing Juvenile” flyer with a photo of the girl who was last seen at about 10 a.m., on Monday, in Biscayne Gardens.

“She was located in good health,” Detective Samantha Choon, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a statement on Friday afternoon.

Detectives had asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call 911, 305-715-3300, or Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.

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According to Hollywood Fire Rescue, the fire was reported at 2:12 a.m. at the Hollywood Gateway Inn, located in the 2900 block of Polk Street.

“Upon arrival, crews located a working fire on the east side of the building, which was quickly brought under control,” HFR said in an email to Local 10. “The majority of occupants had already self‑evacuated.”

Wilson Rodriguez, who was staying at the hotel, told Local 10 that he was awakened by someone yelling “fire!”

“As we opened the door, all we see is fire and a lot of smoke,” Rodriguez said. “We had people jumping from the balcony. We saved a lady with her daughter.”

Firefighters confirmed two people were assisted from a second‑floor balcony and were evaluated for smoke inhalation, but they both declined to be transported to the hospital.

They said two additional occupants were transported to a local hospital for injuries they sustained while evacuating the building.

In all, more than 60 people were evacuated from the building.

Firefighters said the blaze has been extinguished and crews spent about an hour “conducting overhaul operations.”

Firefighters believe the fire started on the second floor, inside one of the rooms, and said it appears to be accidental and electrical in nature.

An HFR spokesperson noted that the building’s smoke alarms “operated exactly as they should,” crediting the smoke alarms for helping save lives.

“Hollywood Fire Rescue reminds the community that working smoke alarms save lives,” the spokesperson said. “We encourage everyone to test their alarms regularly, replace batteries as needed, and ensure every home has functioning alarms on every level.”

Rodriguez told Local 10 that he’s happy to see another day.

“Anything can happen on any given day,” he said. “You wake up in the morning and have one expectation for how the day might end but you never really know what could happen.”

It’s unclear when people will be allowed back into the hotel.

Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — the first four hitters in the Los Angeles lineup — all homered Friday in a 13-6 win over the Washington Nationals. It was Tucker's first home run since joining the Dodgers. It was Ohtani's first RBI of the season.

“Rome isn't burning,” manager Dave Roberts cracked.

There wasn't much panic from Roberts before the game, even with Ohtani (.167), Tucker (.174), Betts (.136) and Freeman (.208) all in a bit of a funk through the first six games of the season. Then the first six hitters went down in order before the Dodgers broke through in the third.

Ohtani's three-run shot to right tied the game at 3, and Betts connected for a two-run homer two batters later.

“It's a new day. That's really it,” Betts said. “Nobody in here is panicking or anything. One week, tough week. That probably is not going to be our last week that we don't hit well.”

Andy Pages hit a two-run homer in the fourth that made it 7-4, then Freeman added a two-run shot in the fifth. Tucker's solo homer in the seventh capped a three-hit day for the outfielder who signed a $240 million, four-year deal to go from the Chicago Cubs to the Dodgers.

“It was nice. First homer — first actual ball I've hit in the air well, out in front and everything,” Tucker said. “You can't complain when you hit a homer.”

The first four hitters for Los Angeles combined to go 8 for 21 with four homers, 10 RBIs and six runs. The Dodgers tagged Miles Mikolas for a career-high 11 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

“I think a little bit of it is we've had a lot of history with Mikolas,” Roberts said “We've seen him, know some of his tendencies. Outside of that, they were just not missing today.”

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