Leer en español

Records show that one of the suspects, Donnell Oliver, appeared in court on Thursday after being arrested Tuesday.

Oliver, 25, also known as “Pop,” is facing several charges alongside Torrien Ross, 23, also known as “Capps”; Ansel Smart, 34, also known as “Big Pistol;” Edward Rogers, 28, also known as “Ed;” and Jancent Woodard, 22.

Jail records show Smart, Woodard and Ross were arrested in August, while Rogers was arrested in September.

Authorities said the group also worked with two unidentified individuals who went by “Ms Easy” and “Rell.”

They said they obtained logs of several online chats showing the group scheming to enrich themselves by stealing from victims and laundering the proceeds.

Authorities said the group used “account takeovers,” where scammers use “personal information of the victims and pretend to be a representative of a company” or authorities “and convince victims to give up their sensitive bank information.”

Oliver, police said, was one of the people making the phone calls. They said he even played YouTube videos of call center background noise “in order to make victims believe the call is as real as possible.”

According to police, Oliver took photos of the setup and “almost always has the front facing camera of his laptop covered with tissue in all of these photos.”

Authorities said the group would recruit others through Instagram to provide their bank account information in exchange for a cut of the money.

“Ed said some s--- bout 80/20 what’s the split lil bra,” authorities said “Rell” told one of the co-conspirators.

Other chat evidence included Rogers reacting to a $40,000 deposit in his Chime bank account and saying, “And they can’t see what we did,” followed by three laughing emojis, police said.

In another, police said Ross described the response to the group’s Instagram solicitation: “N---as posted chime and they going nuts.”

Police said detectives also found electronic ledgers cataloguing victims’ bank and personal information and what names they will use during calls, as well as “when the money will post to accounts, the amount of money to post to accounts, how much money (was) to be collected from the money that will be arriving, how much money people owe, how much (was) collected, names of other co-conspirators” and taxpayer identification numbers.

Police said the group would spend lavishly with the stolen proceeds, including flaunting high value jewelry and spending wads of cash in strip clubs. Authorities said they would also “clean” the money through casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

“If you sent 50 I’m go make sure I get 25 thousand off before I leave and you get paid off rip first I got a lot of days left bro to leave 4 racks get pulled every night than I’m gone go get custo pull 3 out of TD bank than go to the casino all that,” authorities said Ross told Oliver.

They’d also brag about their exploits on Instagram, cops said.

“Early morning, getting to that motherf---er and it’s only 9 o’clock,” authorities said Smart said in one of “several photos and videos where (he) posts large bundles of money.”

In another video, police said Oliver visited a Rolex store.

Authorities said banks would sometimes catch on to the fraud.

“Damn,” police said Oliver lamented after a bank closed a victim’s account due to suspicious activity. “I hope they don’t clip everything.”

Authorities noted that during the course of physical and online surveillance, none of the participants have ever “been observed going (to) or attending a job.”

Jail records show all of the captured participants, facing charges including organized fraud, grand theft and money laundering, remained held in various facilities on six-figure bonds as of Thursday afternoon.

Los registros muestran que uno de los sospechosos, Donnell Oliver, compareció ante un tribunal el jueves, después de haber sido arrestado el martes.

Oliver, de 25 años, también conocido como “Pop”, enfrenta varios cargos junto con Torrien Ross, de 23 años, apodado “Capps”; Ansel Smart, de 34 años, conocido como “Big Pistol”; Edward Rogers, de 28 años, apodado “Ed”; y Jancent Woodard, de 22 años.

Los registros carcelarios indican que Smart, Woodard y Ross fueron arrestados en agosto, mientras que Rogers fue detenido en septiembre.

Las autoridades señalaron que el grupo también trabajaba con otras dos personas que no han sido identificadas, conocidas como “Ms Easy” y “Rell”.

Según la policía, los investigadores obtuvieron registros de varias conversaciones en línea que muestran cómo el grupo planeaba enriquecerse robando dinero a sus víctimas y lavando las ganancias.

Las autoridades explicaron que utilizaban una modalidad de fraude conocida como “toma de control de cuentas”, en la que los estafadores emplean información personal de las víctimas y se hacen pasar por representantes de una empresa o por autoridades para convencerlas de que entreguen sus datos bancarios confidenciales.

De acuerdo con la policía, Oliver era uno de los encargados de realizar las llamadas telefónicas. Incluso reproducía videos de YouTube con sonidos ambientales de centros de atención telefónica para hacer que las víctimas creyeran que las llamadas eran lo más auténticas posible.

Según los investigadores, Oliver tomaba fotografías del equipo que utilizaba y, en casi todas ellas, la cámara frontal de su computadora portátil aparecía cubierta con un pañuelo de papel.

Las autoridades indicaron que el grupo reclutaba a otras personas a través de Instagram para que facilitaran los datos de sus cuentas bancarias a cambio de una parte del dinero.

“Ed dijo algo de un reparto 80/20. ¿Cómo se divide, hermanito?”, escribió “Rell” a uno de los cómplices, según las autoridades.

Entre las pruebas también figura una conversación en la que Rogers reaccionó a un depósito de 40,000 dólares en su cuenta bancaria de Chime y escribió: “Y no pueden ver lo que hicimos”, seguido de tres emojis de risa, informó la policía.

En otro intercambio, Ross describió la respuesta que había recibido una publicación del grupo en Instagram para reclutar personas: “Los tipos publicaron lo de Chime y se están volviendo locos”, según los investigadores.

La policía informó que los detectives también encontraron registros electrónicos que contenían información bancaria y personal de las víctimas, así como los nombres que los sospechosos utilizarían durante las llamadas.

Estos registros también incluían las fechas en que el dinero llegaría a las cuentas, las cantidades que se depositarían, cuánto dinero debía retirarse de los fondos recibidos, cuánto debían distintas personas, cuánto se había recaudado, los nombres de otros cómplices y números de identificación fiscal.

Según la policía, los integrantes del grupo gastaban grandes cantidades del dinero robado en lujos, entre ellos joyas costosas, y presumían de gastar fajos de billetes en clubes de striptease. Las autoridades señalaron que también utilizaban casinos de los condados de Miami-Dade y Broward para “limpiar” el dinero.

“Si mandaste 50, voy a asegurarme de sacar 25 mil antes de irme y a ti te pagan primero, de inmediato. Todavía me quedan muchos días, hermano, para dejar cuatro mil, sacar dinero todas las noches y después ir a buscar a un cliente, retirar tres mil del TD Bank y luego ir al casino, todo eso”, le dijo Ross a Oliver, según las autoridades.

Los sospechosos también presumían de sus actividades en Instagram, informó la policía.

“Desde temprano, consiguiendo ese maldito dinero y apenas son las nueve”, dijo Smart, según las autoridades, en una de las varias fotografías y videos en los que aparecía mostrando grandes fajos de billetes.

En otro video, la policía señaló que Oliver aparecía visitando una tienda Rolex.

Las autoridades indicaron que, en ocasiones, los bancos detectaban las operaciones fraudulentas.

“Maldita sea”, se lamentó Oliver después de que un banco cerrara la cuenta de una víctima por actividad sospechosa, según la policía. “Espero que no bloqueen todo”.

Las autoridades destacaron que, durante las labores de vigilancia física y en línea, nunca observaron a ninguno de los participantes acudir a un empleo o desempeñar algún trabajo.

Los registros carcelarios muestran que, hasta la tarde del jueves, todos los sospechosos detenidos permanecían recluidos en distintas instalaciones penitenciarias, con fianzas de seis cifras y enfrentando cargos que incluyen fraude organizado, hurto mayor y lavado de dinero.

The national conversation around Talarico’s campaign has evolved over the past months. Initially, the state lawmaker was considered just the latest of several Democratic candidates over the past years who gave the party a brimming hope of flipping Texas, only for that hope to deflate come Election Day.

Now, Talarico is seen as a real contender to win the seat against Republican candidate Ken Paxton. Talarico’s success so far can partly be chalked up to voters’ apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption, including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature. He was later acquitted.

Talarico has also far outpaced Paxton in fundraising, bringing in a whopping $64 million in the third quarter, which his campaign described as a record for a Senate candidate.

The prospect of a flagship Republican state turning blue doesn't just fill Democrats with glee and Republicans with alarm. Whoever wins will help determine which party controls the Senate in President Donald Trump's final two years in office, making it either smooth sailing for Trump or a bog of investigations and opposition.

The rally Thursday in the small city of San Marcos south of Austin follows nine days earlier this month when Talarico was out of the public eye due to the flu. His absence sparked a swirl of conspiracies online, including the false claim that he was at a mental health treatment center in Ohio. Shared by conservative social media influencers, the claim quickly fell apart at closer inspection.

Talarico, a seminarian and state representative, has also tread a very careful path — as nonpartisan as he can — from the major metros that already tilt Democratic, along the border towns that flipped from blue to red last election, and to the rural Republican high plains and desert.

Talarico has distanced himself from former President Joe Biden's administration and his own party, and while progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders is coming to Texas this month, he won't be sharing a stage with Talarico.

Talarico's strategy is to take direct aim at what voters say they are most concerned about: the costs that have inexorably grown for years.

Trump and Republicans are well aware of Talarico's ability to connect with voters, and Paxton's struggles to find purchase in what would otherwise be a relatively easy race for a Republican. The president has made several trips to Texas to rally for Paxton, and the Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP's leadership super PAC, has spent over $124 million on ads promoting him.

Kennedy's Department of Health and Human Services submitted a peptides “interim access policy” to the White House for review, according to a posting Thursday on a government website. The plan was sent to the Office of Management and Budget, which reviews federal rules and regulations with the potential for significant economic impact.

HHS officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.

Peptides are the building blocks of more complex proteins, triggering hormones inside the body needed for growth, metabolism and healing. Drug companies have brought several to market as medications, including mainstay treatments for diabetes and weight loss.

But the ones at issue here haven’t gone through that rigorous vetting process. Nevertheless, they have gained a foothold among Americans interested in bulking up, looking younger or boosting energy. Those uses are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and most of the data on peptides comes from animal studies.

Before joining the administration, Kennedy publicly declared that “FDA’s war” on peptides and other wellness products would soon end.

After becoming health secretary, Kennedy said U.S. compounding pharmacies must be allowed to sell peptides because Americans were increasingly turning to “gray market” peptides made in China and other countries. Those products remain widely available for purchase via online platforms like TikTok.

The White House filing doesn’t give specifics of the new policy, but two people familiar with the plan say it is intended to allow pharmacies to temporarily compound some of the most popular peptides, including BPC-157, a chemical promoted to build muscle and heal injuries. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential government deliberations.

The update is the latest indication that Kennedy and other Trump administration officials are looking to ease access to unproven products that are popular within the Make America Healthy Again movement. Some of the biggest MAHA figures sell peptide injections and supplements.

The FDA previously placed BPC-157 and more than a dozen other injectable peptides on its list of substances that are too risky to be compounded by pharmacies. Possible risks include contamination, allergic reactions and tumor growth, according to the FDA.

But earlier this year, Kennedy directed the agency to reconsider a short list of chemicals that have been widely promoted by wellness influencers and fitness celebrities.

In July, a panel of external FDA advisers recommended the agency drop its restrictions on six of the seven peptides put before them. That recommendation went against the scientific conclusion of FDA’s staff scientists, who reiterated that none of the peptides had been studied enough to establish their safety and effectiveness.

The new policy sent to the White House would essentially assure compounding pharmacies — specialty businesses that mix customized medications that aren’t available from traditional drugmakers — that they won't be targeted for producing certain peptides, according to the people familiar with the plan. That approach, known as enforcement discretion, allows the FDA to selectively choose to not enforce some of its own regulations.

Formally adding the peptides to FDA's list of drugs that are safe for compounding would require federal rulemaking, a process that could take years and involves multiple rounds of public comment. It was not immediately clear if the administration still plans to pursue that process.

The proposal was quickly praised online by some Kennedy allies who sell peptides.

“This is huge,” Brigham Buhler, a wellness clinic operator who sells peptides through an online service, posted on X. “This isn’t about whether you’re for or against peptides. It’s about whether you’re for or against MEDICAL FREEDOM.”

The panel of outside experts that met in July was selected by Kennedy's health department and included several doctors, pharmacists and consultants who work in the peptide field.

The peptide business has caught the attention of major telehealth providers, including Hims & Hers and Noom. Both companies recently announced plans to offer peptides to their customers if the federal government eases access. Wall Street analysts estimate the market could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion.

___

The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and 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.

A lawyer for Brennan conceded during arguments last month that the request for a court order was unusual but said it was necessary given what he called the Justice Department's pattern of vindictiveness in its pursuit of Brennan and its recent track record of erasing or failing to preserve communications and records in other matters.

The lawsuit contends that the records being sought would demonstrate that any prosecution of Brennan, who has been investigated for months by the Trump administration Justice Department but not charged, is the product of a political vendetta to punish one of President Donald Trump's perceived adversaries.

But U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb denied Brennan's request, saying his arguments were too speculative and that the former CIA director had not proven that the Justice Department was failing to preserve records that would be relevant to a future malicious prosecution defense.

“Brennan’s allegations — that he is being targeted by the Trump Administration not because of his conduct, but because he has opposed the current president — are deeply concerning,” Cobb wrote. “If he was eventually able to prove those allegations true, that would certainly suggest that his potential prosecution is vindictive. But even taking all of Brennan’s allegations to be truthful at this stage, the injury he alleges is simply too attenuated from the actions he seeks to enjoin to warrant a finding of standing here.”

As CIA director in the final years of President Barack Obama's Democratic administration, Brennan was a key figure in the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia had interfered in sweeping fashion in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Trump, who went on to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton for the White House. That assessment has for years infuriated Trump, who spent much of his first term shadowed by an investigation into whether his campaign had conspired with Russia.

Brennan, over the last year, has been entangled in Justice Department investigations into whether he made false statements before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 and in a broader Florida-based inquiry into whether he and other former intelligence and law enforcement officials engaged in a conspiracy to keep Trump from power.

He has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in the broader conspiracy investigation, though the date of his appearance has been postponed. His lawyers have said they've been told by prosecutors that he remains a target in the separate and more discrete false-statements investigation.

He has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, with his defense lawyer, Ken Wainstein, telling Cobb during arguments last month that the notion of a broad anti-Trump conspiracy was “fiction.”

“I’ve spent decades in and around the Justice Department. I’ve never even conceived of a situation like this” in which the Justice Department is “blatantly trying to frame somebody for a crime that is complete fiction," Wainstein said.

It is unclear whether Brennan will face charges, but his attorneys sued in July to put the government on notice that they would challenge any prosecution on vindictive prosecution grounds. They said any records they received from the government through a court order would be helpful in backing up their argument.

Cobb was nominated in 2021 by President Joe Biden, who earlier served as Obama's vice president.

According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, William Gonzalez, of southwest Miami-Dade, was taken into custody following the confrontation at the gym, located at 9291 W. Flagler St.

Deputies said they responded to the gym at around 8:22 a.m. after receiving a report of a battery involving a dumbbell.

According to the report, the victim told deputies he had gotten into a heated argument with Gonzalez over the use of dumbbells.

As the confrontation escalated, the victim said Gonzalez grabbed a dumbbell from a weight rack with his right hand and swung it at him.

The victim told investigators he raised his left forearm to protect himself but was struck on his arm and the left side of his head.

According to the arrest report, deputies observed visible bruising and a bump on the left side of the victim’s head, along with a scratch on his left forearm.

Investigators said the injuries were consistent with the victim’s account of the confrontation.

According to the arrest report, when deputies questioned Gonzalez, he acknowledged getting into an argument with the victim but denied hitting him with the dumbbell.

Instead, Gonzalez told investigators he had picked up the weight in an attempt to scare the victim away, the report stated.

Deputies also interviewed an LA Fitness employee who, according to the arrest report, said she did not witness the initial confrontation.

However, the employee told investigators she saw Gonzalez chasing the victim through the gym as the victim attempted to get away.

Gonzalez was arrested on an aggravated battery charge and was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

As of Thursday afternoon, Gonzalez was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center on a $5,000 bond.

Sheinbaum afirmó en su habitual conferencia matutina que le parecía “bien” la venta que se anunció esta semana y recordó que esas transacciones deben pasar por la Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones para asegurar que están dentro de la ley y que se garantice la competencia.

La mandataria informó que AT&T “desde hace tiempo” quería vender su participación en México para concentrarse en Estados Unidos donde, aseguró, hay “mucha competencia” en telefonía e inteligencia artificial.

Pese a las dimensiones del mercado mexicano —que cuenta con 144,5 millones de líneas celulares activas— algunos de los competidores más importantes del mundo de las telecomunicaciones han salido en el último año del país. En abril, la empresa española Telefónica anunció la venta de su filial en México, Movistar, por 450 millones de dólares al consorcio Melisa Acquisition, que lidera OXIO Inc. y el fondo Newfoundland Capital Management.

Los analistas han asociado la salida de los competidores extranjeros a la incertidumbre sobre la autonomía del nuevo órgano regulador —que se conformó en 2025 tras una cuestionada reforma constitucional— que depende actualmente del Ejecutivo. Los operadores también han objetado los derechos anuales que pagan por el uso, explotación y aprovechamiento de las frecuencias por el impacto que genera en sus finanzas y los recursos disponibles para ampliar las redes.

¿Qué viene ahora para el mercado mexicano?

Televisa anunció el pasado martes que comprará con Fintech Holdings los negocios en México de AT&T, que es el segundo mayor operador móvil del país latinoamericano con 24,7 millones de suscriptores.

Según se informó, cada una de las empresas tendrá una participación de 50% en el negocio mexicano de AT&T. La compra aún no tiene los permisos de las autoridades mexicanas, que se espera estén listos al cierre del primer trimestre de 2027.

El mercado local es controlado actualmente por Telcel, del magnate mexicano Carlos Slim, a través del conglomerado de telecomunicaciones América Móvil. Telcel detenta cerca de 59% del mercado y tiene más de 83,46 millones de suscriptores.

De completarse las autorizaciones el Grupo Televisa pasaría a tener presencia en casi todos los segmentos del negocio de las telecomunicaciones en México que incluyen televisión, servicios fijos y móviles de voz y banda ancha. Hace cinco años Televisa llegó a a un acuerdo con Univision Holdings Inc. para combinar sus activos y crear un grupo mediático de habla hispana que atiende a millones de usuarios.

Fintech Holdings es del empresario mexicano David Martínez, quien tiene participación en Telecom Argentina y en Televisa, donde tiene un paquete accionario de 8,9%, y está por debajo del mexicano Emilio Azcárraga Jean, quien controla el poderoso grupo con una participación de 19,2%.

Al referirse a sus expectativas sobre la operación, Sheinbaum dijo que espera que “haya competencia y que se invierta, que el internet sea mejor en nuestro país”.

Orlando police announced the arrest Wednesday of Dale Smith Jr., 55, on a charge of second-degree murder. The body of 33-year-old Michelle Parker has not been recovered, but all evidence leads to Smith as the person responsible for her death, police said.

Smith’s attorney, Rajan Joshi, said during a hearing Thursday afternoon that he didn’t believe the state could meet its burden of proof to convict Smith based on the information presented in the criminal complaint. A judge ordered Smith to be held without bond pending a detention hearing, which wasn’t immediately scheduled.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, who is not related to Dale Smith, said during the news conference on Wednesday that the case never stopped being a priority. Dale Smith was the last known person to see or hear from Parker before she went missing on Nov. 17, 2011, when she dropped their children off at his home, the chief said.

“Over the past year, we expanded our investigative team looking into this case and took a fresh, focused look at all the evidence,” the police chief said. “We re-examined testimony and conflicting statements made by the suspect and used advances in digital forensics to uncover and analyze additional evidence.”

Police gave few details about what evidence they had against Smith, but Detective Phillip McMican confirmed that police had collected new evidence in the past year, as well as new insights into old evidence thanks to technological advancements.

“Vehicles, electronic devices, phones, computers — we’re able to better interpret that evidence today than what we were able to do back in 2011,” McMican said.

Police continue to search for Parker’s body. Her vehicle was found abandoned a day after her disappearance, and her cellphone was later recovered from an Orlando-area lake.

Investigators have not publicly stated a motive for Parker’s murder.

On the day of Parker’s disappearance, an episode of “The People’s Court” featuring her and Smith was broadcast. Smith had sued Parker, claiming that a $5,000 engagement ring that he bought for her became lost when she threw it at him during an argument. Judge Marilyn Milian ultimately ruled that both parties were responsible for the ring’s loss and ordered Parker to pay $2,500 to Smith for half of it.

The review, which was conducted by an external firm, was done after the university received a complaint about Griffith’s coaching behavior during practices from a previous season.

She'll miss the school's opening game on Nov. 2 against Davidson as well a tournament in Nashville with games against Rhode Island and Belmont.

“I fully respect the process of the University review and take complete responsibility for everything that happens in the program, including the times my conduct fell short,” Griffith said in a statement. “As the head coach and a former student-athlete at Columbia University, there is nothing more important to me than the success and well-being of my players.”

The statement said Griffith “expressed regret for occasions in which her interactions with the team did not align with expectations.” The university also said the review did not require notice to the NCAA of any rules violations and did not involve any allegations of violations of the school's anti-discrimination policies, Title IX or related policies.

The women’s basketball team said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that it was aware of the suspension.

“This is not indicative of our experience as part of this program, which has been overwhelmingly positive,” the team said in the statement. "We fully stand with and support Coach Griffith. This program is a family, and we pride ourselves on being a supportive and inclusive environment for all.

“We are ready to attack the season.”

Griffith, who graduated from the school, is the winningest coach in Columbia history and a three-time Ivy League Coach of the Year. She has gone 171-99 in her 11-year coaching career at the school.

Griffith has led the Lions to two NCAA Tournament at-large bids and the first victory in school history in the NCAAs. The school won the WBIT last season and has a challenging schedule this year with top teams Duke and Michigan coming to New York.

The Lions won three regular-season Ivy League titles from 2022-25.

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college basketball coverage here

Police said the shooting happened at around 11:40 p.m. in the suspect’s unit at the Millennium Condominiums, located at 18671 Collins Ave.

An arrest report states that the victim said he had been “drinking heavily” with his friend of five years, Joseph Christopher Mattina, who had apparently “become upset regarding a subject they had discussed.”

The victim told police that Mattina, 53, left his balcony and went into his apartment and came back with “an expression on his face that caused (the victim) to feel uneasy.”

That’s when police said Mattina opened fire, “grazing his right heel.”

Police said the victim punched Mattina, who put the gun on a table. According to the report, the victim grabbed the gun, chucked it off the balcony and called 911.

After police arrived, they said Mattina “spontaneously uttered that the firearm belonged to him and that he had discharged it accidentally.”

According to the report, he later declined to speak with police. Medics treated the victim at the scene, authorities said.

As of Thursday afternoon, Mattina’s bond was listed as “to be set” in Miami-Dade jail records.

The lawsuit against the Hobart-Lawrence (Wisconsin) Police Department was filed Wednesday in Brown County Circuit Court.

Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend. He was charged in late August, and the criminal complaint against him noted that a surveillance video from the camera system in their garage corroborated the woman’s statement.

That video hasn’t been released, and lawyers representing the woman filed a motion last month asking that the evidence be sealed.

Clarence Duchac, the lawyer representing Jacobs in this lawsuit, said in his complaint that Jacobs “joins and supports (the victim’s) position that the identifying, private and sensitive records associated with the underlying incident should not be publicly released.”

Shortly after Jacobs was charged, the NFL placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which prevents the three-time Pro Bowler from playing or practicing but allows him to keep receiving a paycheck.

In the complaint, Duchac says that public release of records identifying the victim or disclosing sensitive information about her “would force unwanted exposure upon her and risk revictimizing her through renewed public scrutiny.”

The complaint says the police should be prohibited from publicly releasing “descriptions, images, audio recordings, video recordings, statements, communications, or other materials” whose disclosure might threaten the woman’s “privacy, dignity, safety, emotional well-being, or ability to obtain closure.”

The complaint also notes that public sports figures have recently been targeted for robberies and other related property crimes, and that releasing the video would reveal details of the garage’s interior that might put Jacobs at risk.

"The public availability of (Jacobs’) schedule or travel information increases the risk that persons could identify periods when (Jacobs) is away from home and use released information concerning the residence, garage, access points, security arrangements, or property to target the property,” the complaint says. “Widespread public dissemination of those details would materially increase (Jacobs’) vulnerability to theft, burglary, robbery, trespass, or other targeted criminal conduct.”

Jacobs was arrested May 26, three days after police officers came to his Wisconsin home to investigate a disturbance. According to police, the woman told them that Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took her phone from her while she was on the ground.

Police said they noticed redness on her face and neck and could feel a bump on the back of her head.

Under an agreement Jacobs reached with prosecutors, the criminal damage charge against him can be dismissed in a year if he fulfills terms that include staying out of trouble, avoiding the victim in this case, submitting to supervision, completing counseling and paying restitution to the victim.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Leer en español

According to BSO, deputies responded to a disturbance call shortly before 8:45 a.m. at a home in the 1600 block of Southwest Fifth Court.

When deputies attempted to make contact with an “adult male suspect,” he barricaded himself inside the home, authorities said.

Deputies quickly established a perimeter around the home and BSO’s SWAT team was called to the scene.

Authorities confirmed hours later that the man had been taken into custody. His identity has not yet been released nor details about what led to the initial disturbance call.

It is also unclear whether anyone else was inside the home at the time.

The complaint adds to the growing list of legal challenges to the mass terminations under FBI Director Kash Patel of agents who participated in investigations of the Republican president or are seen as opposed to Trump administration interests.

The suit was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of nine agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists who were fired in February following earlier dismissals of agents who had worked on the investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Patel has said in congressional testimony that employees he has fired had “weaponized” the FBI. But the agents deny that claim in the lawsuit, noting that between them they had more than a century of distinguished and apolitical FBI service that involved responding to the Boston Marathon bombing, hostage recoveries and the investigation into the 2024 assassination attempt of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Their firings, the lawsuit says, create an “immeasurable loss” to “America's national security."

“In return for their service, they were fired because they did their jobs, as they always did to follow the facts and law without bias or favor. To this administration, this is an offense. To the rest of us, it is heroic,” said a statement from their attorneys, Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio.

“This lawsuit will prove their unlawful dismissal and hold the administration accountable for this blatant attack on the rule of law,” the statement added.

The Mar-a-Lago investigation produced criminal charges against Trump

The suit lays out a detailed recitation of the allegations against Trump, describing how he improperly stored dozens of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, that he took with him after leaving the White House, showed them off to people not authorized to see them and obstructed FBI efforts to get them back.

The investigation resulted in a dramatic 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago that recovered classified records and later produced an indictment in federal court in Florida charging Trump with dozens of felony counts.

Trump denied wrongdoing, and the case was dismissed in 2024 by a Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, who ruled that the special counsel who filed the charges, Jack Smith, had been illegally appointed by the Biden administration Justice Department.

The nine fired FBI employees did not volunteer for the investigation but were rather assigned to it as part of their work on specialized counterintelligence and counterespionage squads, according to the lawsuit, which says they were nonetheless terminated because of baseless perceptions that the performance of their law enforcement duties had run “afoul of the political and personal loyalty to Trump that Defendants demanded.”

“By casting Plaintiffs’ work on the Plasmic Echo investigation as ‘politically weaponized,’ Defendants incorrectly presumed to know the personal political convictions of Plaintiffs and took unlawful action based on that presumption,” the lawsuit says, using the FBI code name for the classified documents investigation. “Worse still, Defendants incorrectly concluded that those personal political convictions affected or drove their work.”

The lawsuit seeks, among other remedies, reinstatement to the FBI, an awarding of back pay and a court order declaring that the firings were unlawful.

The suit says the firings were the culmination of a retribution campaign

Lawyers for the fired employees suggest their clients' “fate was sealed” well before the February terminations, casting the ousters as the culmination of a long-running retribution campaign that kicked into gear once Trump returned to the White House in 2025.

The lawsuit notes how Patel, in his capacity as a conservative podcaster before becoming Trump's FBI director, had derided the FBI's Mar-a-Lago search as “unlawful” and had accused the agents who had participated in it as being “corrupt government gangsters.”

Days after Trump was inaugurated, a top Justice Department official demanded that the FBI turn over a list of bureau employees who had participated in Trump-related investigations, an order that the then-director, Brian Driscoll, resisted and that was seen within the workforce as a potential prelude to mass firings.

Over the following year, the FBI and the Justice Department fired waves of employees involved in investigations of Trump, without hearings or proper notice that the plaintiffs' lawyers say are required by law.

The lawsuit says that the Mar-a-Lago agents and analysts were fired last February after Patel disclosed to Reuters that the FBI, as part of the investigation, had subpoenaed his toll records, which show the date, time and length of a phone call but not the content of the communications.

“The Plaintiffs were unlawfully terminated not for any cause or any legitimate reason, but only to satisfy the President’s personal vendetta,” the lawsuit states. “The firings did not follow any internal investigation or disciplinary process within the FBI, and Plaintiffs were not given any notice, a hearing, or an opportunity to appeal.”

The team's previous coach, Greg Powers, said in a statement that he has “mutually agreed to leave my position” as the Sun Devils' head coach as the investigation into the collapse of 21-year-old Matthew Mayich continues. Mayich is unlikely to recover from external heat stroke that reduced the flow of oxygen to his brain.

“We welcome Dave Hakstol and his family to Arizona State University. His success building championship-caliber programs, developing players for the highest level of the sport, and leading organizations in the NHL speaks to his knowledge of the game and his ability to develop talent,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said in a statement.

“We appreciate Dave’s belief in ASU and look forward to supporting him as we continue to build Sun Devil Hockey into one of the nation’s premier programs," he added.

Hakstol, 58, had two stints as an NHL head coach, leading the Philadelphia Flyers from 2015 to 2018 and the Seattle Kraken from their inaugural season in 2021 to 2024. He is in his second season as an assistant to coach Jared Bednar and leads the team’s power play.

Hakstol was the head coach at North Dakota for 11 seasons, leading his alma mater to the Frozen Four seven times. He’s also worked two stints as an assistant for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was head coach of the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League from 1996-2000.

Arizona State has asked former Arizona State Supreme Court chief justice Scott Bales to lead an independent review of Mayich's collapse, requesting that it be completed by early December. Powers was placed on administrative leave last month.

“Our focus remains where it has been since August 20, on Matthew, and making sure what happened to him is fully understood and never happens to another player," the Mayich family's attorney, Rob Carey, said in a statement. "It seems more like a negotiated agreement than accountability, and so we believe Justice Bales’s investigation must continue with its full scope, gathering all digital evidence and covering everyone involved in that morning’s workout and in approving it, and its findings must be made public.

"Coach Powers’s departure should not limit his cooperation or anyone else’s, and the players who have spoken up must be protected. We wish Coach Hakstol, his staff, and the players a safe and successful season.”

The Avalanche hired Brett McLean as an assistant to replace Hakstol on Bednar’s staff.

___

See AP’s full college sports coverage here

The nation's largest retail trade group said Thursday that it expects American consumers will collectively spend $1.01 trillion this November and December, which would be 4.2% more than during the same months last year.

The increase reflects more than seasonal good cheer, according to economists. The National Retail Federation and other organizations that have issued holiday forecasts said they expected higher consumer prices to account for about half of the anticipated growth. Moreover, higher income shoppers will fuel a lot of the spending, retail experts say.

“We all acknowledge households continue to navigate persistent inflation and uneven confidence about the economy,” National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay told reporters on Thursday. “But throughout the year, consumers have repeatedly shown that holidays and spending on loved ones are priorities. We’re confident that pattern is going to continue through the 2026 winter holidays.”

Retailers rang up $972 billion in holiday sales last year, which was 3.1% more than the year before that, the trade group said.

At 4.2%, NRF's growth projection is above the actual gains from the last 20 years, which averaged 3.1% when excluding the outsized holiday spending of pandemic-era 2020 and 2021, according to Mark Mathews, the trade group's chief economist.

The forecast, which was not adjusted for inflation, is in line with most other holiday predictions so far. The outlooks illustrate an ongoing disconnect between the dismal consumer confidence that shows up in monthly surveys and Americans' willingness to keep spending.

The U.S. war with Iran has driven up gasoline prices for drivers and caused worries about all kinds of products getting more expensive as high diesel prices make transporting goods costlier for retailers.

The average price for regular gasoline rose to $4.33 per gallon Thursday, according to motor club AAA. Before the war began, gas cost less than $3 a gallon.

Experts say such higher pump prices will continue to squeeze lower-income shoppers, while higher-income shoppers buoyed by stock market gains will keep splurging on discretionary purchases.

“We’ve seen disruption after disruption kind of knock people off kilter, and then the consumer comes roaring back,” Bryan Eshelman, a partner and managing director at AlixPartners, said.

Instead of pulling back altogether, consumers are changing their shopping habits by trading down to lower-price brands and stores, shopping earlier and relying more on credit cards and buy now pay later plans, Eshelman said.

Holiday spending accounts for 19% of the U.S. retail industry's annual sales, even more for some types of retailers, according to NRF.

Economists look at the holiday results as a gauge for the state of the consumer beyond the holidays. Consumer spending is monitored closely because it drives about 70% of U.S. gross domestic product.

“It not only tells us about the current state of the consumer, (but) it helps inform expectations for the year ahead as well," Mastercard Economics Institute chief economist Michelle Meyer said. “It gives us a lot of incredible insights into how consumers are doing from a macro perspective.”

The institute, which tracks spending across all payment methods including cash, forecast a 5.5% increase in holiday sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24 compared to last year.

Although Mastercard estimated that half of the growth would come from higher prices instead of more sales, the institute still expects healthy spending by shoppers because of a decent U.S. job market, Meyer said.

“I guess they feel some sense of security because the jobless numbers are so low," she said.

AlixPartners expects holiday sales numbers for October, November and December to expand 4% to 7% over the same three months last year, the firm said.

Adobe expects U.S. online sales to hit $275 billion this holiday season, representing 6.7% growth. That growth is a tad smaller than last year’s 6.8% increase from the previous year, the firm said.

NRF derives its holiday forecast through modeling with economic indicators, including monthly retail sales, consumer spending, disposable personal income, employment, wages and inflation. The group's calculations exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.

The Labor Department’s snapshot of inflation released Wednesday showed that U.S. inflation accelerated last month as gas prices went back up again and many other goods and services became more expensive. Higher prices are already starting to sap shopper spending.

The latest retail sales report from the Commerce Department, released Thursday, showed a solid 0.8% increase in September from the month before, but gasoline purchases made up a big chunk of the sales gain.

A slew of economic data Thursday showed that inflation accelerated last month as more expensive oil and gas began to lift prices in other parts of the economy, including shipping and warehousing, before the increases reach most Americans.

Wholesale food prices jumped, which could make groceries more expensive in the months ahead.

At the same time, consumers also ramped up their spending, according to data released Thursday. Though much of the increase reflected higher prices, consumer resilience is powering solid U.S. economic growth.

Workers are enjoying an unusual degree of job security despite scattered layoffs, which likely encourages spending despite surveys showing that many Americans have a gloomy economic outlook.

It all adds up to an economy in which people are spending money but don't feel good about it.

“Consumers may have gritted their teeth and looked through higher gas prices,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “They're not happy, but they're still spending.”

Higher costs strain producers, the last stop before they reach consumers

A report Thursday on wholesale prices helps explain the gloom: The government's producer price index, which measures costs before they reach the consumer, jumped 6.3% in September from a year earlier, the biggest increase in nearly four years. On a monthly basis, prices soared 1.3% from August to September, powered by a 20% rise in gas prices.

Higher diesel prices have made shipping more expensive because long-haul trucks and freight trains rely on the fuel. Higher transportation costs may have helped push up food costs, which rose 1.2% from August to September, the biggest monthly gain since February. The wholesale price report followed the latest consumer price figures, released Wednesday, which showed inflation rising to 3.7% in September, far above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

“The jolt to transportation prices affects every good in the economy, since inputs to manufacturing move to factories and goods at all stages of production move from producer to wholesaler to retailer by truck, train or rail,” wrote Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “This is how increases in energy prices ‘bleed through’ to prices of core goods.”

Farmers also rely on diesel to power most of their equipment, which could further push up food prices. Diesel prices averaged $6.32 a gallon nationwide Thursday, according to AAA, up from just $3.66 a year ago.

Despite those cost pressures, retail sales rose a solid 0.8% from August, more than economists had forecast. The increase was driven by a 6.4% jump in spending at gas stations, but consumers also spent elsewhere, including a healthy 1.1% rise at restaurants and bars.

Excluding gas, retail sales rose just 0.2% last month, with much of that also reflecting higher prices.

Economists say that as long as unemployment stays low and Americans continue working, spending will likely stay resilient. Hiring has been sluggish, but layoffs are also unusually low.

The US job market remains relatively strong

Another report Thursday showed that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits stayed below 200,000 last week, a historically low figure. Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs.

“If the unemployment rate remains low, meaning consumers have a job, they will continue to spend, even if more cautiously and leaning increasingly on savings and credit,” Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, said in an email.

Many economists worry, however, that as inflation stays high, it will steadily erode Americans' spending power and start to weigh on the economy. Weekly paychecks, adjusted for inflation, actually declined in September compared with a year ago for the first time since May.

And September hiring slowed to a disappointing 29,000 jobs from a revised 133,000 in August, according to the Labor Department early this month. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% from the previous month, which is still low. Yet economists had expected September payrolls to come in around 90,000.

Inflation may soon boost the cost of credit cards, mortgages and more

Stubbornly elevated inflation also means the Federal Reserve will likely raise its key interest rate in the coming months in an effort to slow spending and bring down inflation. When the Fed raises its rate, that can raise borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards over time.

According to minutes released from the most recent meeting, most Fed officials expect that another interest rate increase will likely be needed this year to combat inflation.

The Fed increased its key interest rate by a quarter-point to about 3.9% in September, its first increase in three years.

The increase defied President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the Fed to cut rates and prompted the president to criticize the Fed’s rate-setting committee, though he still expressed support for Chairman Kevin Warsh, whom he appointed earlier this year.

The lawsuit comes after the Justice Department said California officials failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of 20,000 names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. The state mails ballots to all registered voters. A top Justice Department official had sent a letter earlier this week threatening potential legal action if California didn't comply.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a letter to the Justice Department that the federal government hasn't provided evidence to support its allegation that 20,000 names on the state's voter rolls are of noncitizens. She referenced an instance in which the federal government alleged nearly 16,000 possible noncitizens were listed on Nevada's voter rolls, but the state determined that all were, in fact, U.S. citizens.

She also noted that voting is already underway in the state. Weber, a Democrat, said the Justice Department was “demanding unprecedented measures that threaten thousands of Californians’ right to vote, based on unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide.”

California's elections are in “full compliance” with federal law, she added.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement that his office received the letter and thumb drive this week, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls. He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device. The secretary of state’s office said the password was written “on a sticky note."

The Justice Department's lawsuit says the federal government sought to “work collaboratively” with California to identify noncitizens registered to vote in the state, and “California made no serious effort to do so.”

“The United States thus seeks commonplace election relief when a ballot is called into question,” the lawsuit says. "This Court should enjoin California from presently tabulating vote by-mail ballots from likely noncitizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter’s citizenship status can be determined," the lawsuit says.

Weber, who is named in the lawsuit, suggested the federal government's outreach had not been collaborative.

She said that over the summer, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls but refused to provide the methodology or data sources when the office asked for them.

In her letter Thursday, she called the recent demands “an emergency of the DOJ’s creation.”

The letter sent by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter gave the state 48 hours to research the list of the 20,000 people it claims might not be citizens. For those whose citizenship cannot be independently verified, the state is to instruct local election officials to segregate their mail-in ballots until their status can be determined, and to not provide a ballot to anyone who has not yet received one.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at an unrelated press conference Thursday morning that state officials would not carry out the federal government’s requests to withhold ballots for the alleged noncitizen voters. He noted that the administration's alleged number of noncitizens on the state's voter rolls had dropped from the 190,000 flagged over the summer by the Department of Homeland Security to the 20,000 noted by the Justice Department.

“What happened to those 170,000? They just got those wrong,” Bonta said.

Bonta also said the Trump administration was violating a federal law that prohibits states from changing voter rolls within 90 days of an election.

“They are in unprecedented, baseless, lawless territory,” he said.

The Trump administration has made the hunt for noncitizen voters a priority this year, even though the problem is exceptionally rare. The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.

___

Austin reported from Sacramento, California, and Riddle from Los Angeles.

.

The Eagles said in a statement Thursday that Hurts was injured in an Oct. 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams when he took a cleat to his calf area.

“It was a very unique experience, to say the least," Hurts told reporters on Wednesday. "I don’t want to get into the details of kind of leading up to the game and whatnot, but got nicked up in the Rams game.”

Hurts practiced on Wednesday and Thursday last week and informed the medical staff of the injury following the Oct. 8 practice.

The Super Bowl 59 MVP also practiced on Friday last week before the team left for London to play against Jacksonville.

“Out of an abundance of caution, an ultrasound was performed on Saturday following the team’s flight to London and walkthrough," the Eagles said in a statement. “The ultrasound revealed a superficial blood clot. Our medical staff and doctors in London reviewed the results and concluded that activity and mobility were important and that Jalen could safely play. Doctors recommended a follow-up ultrasound within 72 hours of the game and the return flight to Philadelphia.”

Hurts completed 21 of 40 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown in a 19-17 loss to the Jaguars.

He did not emerge from the tunnel in London until just before the coin toss.

“I was trying to rest,” he said, laughing.

Hurts received treatment Monday and Tuesday this week when he returned to Philadelphia and was a full participant in Wednesday's practice.

Hurts underwent another ultrasound on Wednesday that revealed a “movement in the small blood clot.”

The Eagles said in a statement they would determine the appropriate course of treatment. There was no timetable on when Hurts could return.

The Eagles will likely turn to backup Tanner McKee against the Panthers.

Carolina Panthers right tackle Taylor Moton returned to practice this week for the first time since doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his right lung. Moton was placed on blood thinners.

That kind of blood clot Hurts has often form in a vein close to the surface of the skin but can be painful and need treatment.

The 28-year-old Hurts has eight touchdowns and three interceptions with 933 yards passing this season for the Eagles. He's led the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances and earned MVP honors after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs to win the championship in the 2024 season.

The Eagles have been banged up all season and hope running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring), No. 1 wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) can play Sunday.

As crucial as their absences have been, playing without Hurts would sting the most.

Hurts is in the midst of a five-year, $255 million extension, including $179.3 million guaranteed, with the Eagles that takes him through the 2028 season.

The Eagles stunned fans when they drafted Hurts out of Oklahoma in the second round in 2020. They seemingly had Carson Wentz entrenched at QB and had more pressing needs. Hurt was expected to serve as insurance for Wentz. Instead, he supplanted him and became one of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

En el norte de California, casi 62.000 clientes en 26 condados no tenían electricidad, según Pacific Gas and Electric Company. La empresa comenzó a cortar el suministro de manera preventiva la noche del miércoles. Se esperaba que las condiciones meteorológicas que incrementan el riesgo de incendios se mantuvieran hasta el sábado.

La alcaldesa de Los Ángeles, Karen Bass, quien enfrentó críticas por la respuesta de su ciudad a incendios mortales en 2025, indicó que ordenó al Departamento de Bomberos desplegar personal y equipo antes que lleguen los vientos. El Departamento de Bomberos también solicitó ayuda a la oficina estatal de servicios de emergencia, agregó.

“Es una situación bastante generalizada de condiciones meteorológicas de incendio elevadas, así que toda la región del sur de California realmente debería estar en alerta”, señaló Rose Schoenfeld, meteoróloga del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.

Se esperan vientos secos, cálidos y con ráfagas del noreste conocidos como Santa Anas, que soplan desde el interior del sur de California hacia la costa y mar adentro, y se pronostica que los más fuertes se registren desde la tarde del jueves hasta la tarde del viernes.

Schoenfeld indicó que los vientos podrían alcanzar de 32 a 64 km/h (20 a 40 mph), con ráfagas de 80 a 113 km/h (50 a 70 mph), en las montañas de San Gabriel, en el condado Los Ángeles, y en las montañas de Santa Susana, que están mayormente en el condado Ventura. También se pronostican condiciones críticas elevadas, aunque breves, de clima propicio para incendios en partes de las montañas de Santa Lucia, en el condado San Luis Obispo.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional informó que las condiciones peligrosas comenzaron antes en el norte de California, y que algunas comunidades en la Sierra Nevada y sus estribaciones registraron vientos fuertes, altas temperaturas y baja humedad a partir de la noche del miércoles.

El servicio emitió una Alerta de Bandera Roja para partes del centro y norte de California que comienza el jueves y se extiende hasta la mañana del viernes, y advirtió que cualquier incendio se propagará rápidamente. Estas alertas se emiten cuando las condiciones meteorológicas generan un mayor riesgo de incendios forestales.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company informó el jueves que notificó a 90.000 clientes en 29 condados que podrían perder el suministro eléctrico.

La empresa indicó que la posible interrupción del servicio para clientes desde la Costa Central hasta los rincones superiores de la Sierra Nevada podría prolongarse hasta la tarde del sábado.

En el sur de California, la Alerta de Bandera Roja para las zonas montañosas de los condados Ventura y Los Ángeles estará vigente desde la mañana del jueves hasta la noche del viernes.

“Estamos reforzando nuestro personal, posicionando a nuestra gente y desplegando equipo con anticipación ante este clima para estar listos antes que llegue la primera llamada", explicó el jefe de bomberos de Los Ángeles, Jaime Moore. "También les pedimos a los residentes que pongan de su parte. Despejen las calles, tengan un plan y manténganse informados”.

En enero de 2025, el incendio de Palisades — avivado por los vientos de Santa Ana — arrasó un vecindario en una ladera de Los Ángeles, mató a 12 personas y destruyó mansiones con espectaculares vistas al océano. Las autoridades determinaron que el incendio de Palisades fue una reactivación de otro incendio que, alegaron, fue provocado por una persona que encendió fuegos artificiales.

Otro incendio que ardió al mismo tiempo en la comunidad de Altadena, en el condado Los Ángeles, mató a 19 personas y destruyó más de 9.400 viviendas y negocios. Ese incendio fue causado por chispas de una torre de transmisión inactiva propiedad de Southern California Edison, indicaron autoridades.

Schoenfeld explicó que los vientos de Santa Ana no serán tan fuertes como durante esos incendios, cuando las ráfagas alcanzaban entre 96 a 160 km/h (60 y 100 mph).

Southern California Edison está considerando cortes por seguridad pública que podrían afectar a 245.000 clientes, y la mayoría de ellos — 124.000 — se encuentran en el condado Ventura, justo al norte de Los Ángeles.

___

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

Es probable que El Niño modifique los patrones meteorológicos para provocar más humedad, pero con temperaturas más altas. Eso debería ayudar a borrar la persistente sequía del oeste, pero probablemente no hará felices a los amantes de la nieve en el norte del país, informó el jueves la Oficina Nacional de Administración Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Aunque el servicio meteorológico no hace pronósticos estacionales de nevadas, sus meteorólogos indicaron que gran parte de las zonas del norte del país —incluidos el Noreste, la región de los Grandes Lagos, la parte superior de la región centro-norte y las Montañas Rocosas del Norte— debería esperar menos nieve de lo normal, mientras que las Rocosas del Sur, partes del sureste y el suroeste podrían recibir más de la habitual.

Empresas privadas de meteorología también pronostican la reducción de nieve en el norte, y Salt Lake City es la única gran área metropolitana donde AccuWeather prevé acumulaciones de nieve invernales por encima de lo normal. De acuerdo con la firma, se pronostica que Chicago, Boston, Nueva York y Filadelfia recibirán aproximadamente la mitad o menos de su nieve invernal normal.

¿Y el temido vórtice polar, con su gélida ráfaga de aire ártico que escapa hacia Estados Unidos? Eso no debería ocurrir en la misma medida que en la mayoría de los inviernos, pero eso no significa que no vaya a ocurrir en absoluto, explicó Jon Gottschalck, meteorólogo del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional y jefe de rama.

“El Niño puede favorecer un invierno más templado que el promedio en el norte de Estados Unidos, pero, escuchen, incluso en los meses de invierno, eso no significa que no vaya a haber nieve. No significa que no pueda haber una tormenta de nieve. Así que no elimina el riesgo”, afirmó el director del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, Ken Graham, en una sesión informativa con medios en la que presentó el pronóstico invernal de tres meses.

___

La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido. Encuentra los estándares de la AP para trabajar con organizaciones filantrópicas, una lista de las fundaciones y las áreas de cobertura que financian en AP.org.

___

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

The company's chatbot model, ChatGPT, is giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging paranoia and coaching people to hurt others or commit suicide, Iowa's lawsuit said. At the same time, the chatbots are pretending to be agreeable and compassionate while preying on the vulnerable, according to the lawsuit.

“OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement.

In a statement, OpenAI said it has already built safety protections into ChatGPT for children, and that it would continue to do so to improve the model.

The wave of lawsuits are the latest filed by states under their consumer protection laws, accusing tech giants that offer AI chatbots and social media platforms of harming children. The states that filed separate lawsuits Wednesday in state courts are Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia.

In its lawsuit, Arizona said ChatGPT encourages teens to share personal information with it and, at times, discourages them from sharing that information with parents, authorities or friends.

ChatGPT is the most popular chatbot in the world, commanding nearly half the American marketplace, according to the lawsuits.

In August, Meta agreed to add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in an $18 billion landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state.

Coordinated, multistate lawsuits against the tech industry have borne fruit. Although the safety measures that Meta agreed to adopt did not apply industrywide, the company quickly urged its competitors to adopt similar measures.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement that the company is committed to working with states on "advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company.”

ChatGPT is intended for users age 13 and older, and users under 18 need permission from a parent or guardian to use it, OpenAI said. The chatbot model for teens has safeguards that are designed to reduce exposure to self-harm, violence, eating disorders and explicit sexual or graphic content, it said.

Nearly nine in 10 teens who use ChatGPT use it for learning, information, skill-building or productivity, the company said. On average, teens spend under 15 minutes a day on ChatGPT, it said.

ChatGPT provides break reminders for periods of extended use and OpenAI said it works with external experts who review policies and the model's behavior.

___

Follow Marc Levy at http://x.com/timelywriter

This is the first documented instance of barn owls nesting in Manhattan in modern history, according to one expert, and the owls have attracted nightly crowds of people in the street eager to get a glimpse of the elusive birds.

“It was, like, totally shocking,” Andrew Farnsworth, a migration ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said of the barn owls. “To the best of our knowledge, like the collective birding knowledge, there hasn’t been a nest in, you know, in Manhattan, at least in recorded history.”

Word of the barn owl family didn't get around until last week, when Elisabeth Williams, an Upper West Side resident, notified a local news outlet on Oct. 6 that she and her husband saw multiple owls at the water tower atop a building on West 75th Street close to Central Park West.

The couple had previously seen a single owl on an apartment windowsill a few days earlier and were shocked even then, Williams recalled.

“In a place like Manhattan, you normally really have to go out of your way to encounter nature,” she said. “And here it was, just sort of right outside our window.”

Barn owl sightings are rare in New York City

It's not the first time that birds have captivated New Yorkers. Residents have fallen in love with American woodcocks, who are known to stop in Midtown Manhattan’s Bryant Park every year as they migrate north in early spring. After Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl died in 2024, dozens of mournful fans gathered to say goodbye to the beloved creature who flew around Manhattan and became a joy to many after someone let him out of his zoo enclosure the previous year. Then there was Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk who nested above Fifth Avenue for three decades before dying in 2023.

But barn owl sightings in New York City parks are very rare, according to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. New York is at the northern fringe of the barn owl's range and the barn owl population has declined “at an alarming rate” over time, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“There’s lots of excitement among New Yorkers, both birders and non-birders alike, about these owls because owls really capture the attention,” said Jessica Wilson, executive director of NYC Bird Alliance. “They’re magical, they’re nocturnal, they are secretive, they’re not commonly seen, especially on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. And to have this chance to see these birds is really thrilling.”

Photographers and casual onlookers have gathered on the street on a nightly basis to spot the owls.

“I’ve only seen one barn owl ever, and that was in California,” said Val Coleman, a retired New York City resident who was on the Upper West Side earlier this week trying to spot the owls. “At dusk, we hope they will come out to hunt. We hope they don’t eat poisoned rats with rodenticide in ’em.”

David Barrett, a Manhattan-based birder who runs the popular social media account, Manhattan Bird Alert, said he’s observed at least one adult barn owl and five fledglings at the water tower. He’s also seen an adult owl carrying rodents back to the water tower. There are believed to be two adult owls, and some photographers have claimed to have seen six fledglings, Barrett added.

“Having one barn owl is a rarity, but it’s not national news. Having a family, for the first time ever, breeding in Manhattan in recorded history, that’s special news,” Barrett said.

Screeching was heard by residents

Before the recent barn owl sightings, Williams and her husband heard periodic screeching noises outside going back to early September. They initially assumed it was a bird of some kind but were skeptical when a phone app indicated the noise was from a barn owl.

Thomas Obersteiner said that he first heard bizarre screeching and wailing noises from outside one evening in mid-September. It sounded like someone was “being murdered outside,” he said.

“That lasted for two or three weeks, every night, sometimes more, sometimes less, coming from different directions,” Obersteiner added. “But I had no idea what that was.”

On multiple occasions, Obersteiner or his wife ran into their children's bedroom after mistaking the owls' screech for a child in pain, he said. It wasn't until he saw a news report that he realized that owls were making the sounds.

Farnsworth said the screech is typical of barn owls, who use it to communicate with one another. The screech is like a “horror movie kind of experience,” he said.

Obersteiner, who said his roof deck is the “probably the best location in town right now” to watch the owls, has been letting nature photographers access that perch to observe the owls “almost every night” since news of the barn owls spread. On one night last week, 20 people had gathered.

“We can’t say no because it’s so much fun and these people are so serious,” Obersteiner added. “It's beautiful.”

Williams and her husband were not bird watchers before the barn owl family moved in to the water tower. But that may change soon after their “delightful” experience.

“I think we’re about to become birders,” Williams said.

__

Kelety reported from Phoenix.

The California Business and Consumer Services Agency and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation seek to speed up the release of insurance proceeds that lenders hold before distributing them to homeowners. DFPI has received more than 160 complaints about payment delays or other issues since January 2025. The state is giving lenders two weeks to submit their reports.

“It’s unacceptable that after running through a gauntlet of paperwork to file insurance claims, some wildfire survivors still have not gotten access to the funds they need to rebuild,” said Rohit Chopra, secretary of the Business and Consumer Services Agency.

The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other structures as they tore through residential neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles. Very few homes have been rebuilt since.

In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote a letter to bankers’ associations and credit unions, saying fire victims rebuilding their homes reported that lenders sometimes hold on to those payouts for weeks before releasing them. He ordered the state to collect data on lenders that take longer than 10 days to distribute insurance proceeds and don't develop a plan to speed up those payouts.

He signed a law last year requiring banks and credit unions to pay homeowners interest on insurance payments they hold.

Newsom said the state is taking crucial action Thursday to support families and business owners as they rebuild.

"The last thing survivors need is unnecessary red tape, delays, and barriers standing between them and the relief they deserve,” he said in a statement.

More broadly, questions about who should bear the financial costs of California’s wildfires have persisted throughout Newsom’s nearly eight years as governor. He took office in 2019, months after the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history, and immediately had to grapple with who should cover the costs of fires caused by utility equipment. In his final legislative session as governor, Newsom pushed a plan that would have required home insurers to bear more of the cost. But the deal fell apart when lawmakers couldn’t agree on a solution.

DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni said the department will take action, including potentially through fines, against banks and credit unions that unnecessarily delay insurance payouts.

“It is critical that as homeowners and families continue to rebuild and recover, lenders do not stand in their way,” he said in a statement.

Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified Garrett Andre Smith and Tremayne Feonn Bates, both 58, as the suspects.

Officials said the duo committed burglaries in multiple jurisdictions, including Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County and Orange County, as well as municipalities and cities within those counties’ respective jurisdictions.

According to arrest reports obtained by Local 10 on Thursday, the suspects’ modus operandi, “typically include the usage of high-visibility clothing to disguise themselves and multiple vehicles, which include rental vehicles where the license plate is removed or switched.”

One such case occurred on Oct. 6 in Miami-Dade County, when the owner of a contracting business whose company had been doing construction at the county’s Northeast Division Transit Hub located at 360 NE 185th St. alerted deputies to a burglary.

The business owner told authorities that surveillance footage showed two unknown suspects breaking into a pair of trailers and stealing approximately $41,661 worth of tools, deputies said. Additionally, investigators said he told them that a hole had been cut through a chain link fence on the northwestern side of the premises.

MDSO deputies said they reached out to counterparts with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, who had previously been able to locate and begin surveilling the suspects, who were each seen driving vehicles without license plates in the area of the bus depot around the time of the burglary.

Deputies said they noticed Bates “drive in a behavior consistent with coordinated criminal activity, which included driving in circles around and parking near” the transportation hub crime scene “during an unusual time of the night consistent as an act as a lookout,” according to an arrest report.

As both suspects continued to be covertly surveilled by authorities, they were seen on Wednesday inside a gray Honda Ridgeline with no license plate.

Investigators said the Honda was observed entering the Miami Executive Airport located at 14569 SW 127th Street and parking behind a white Ford work van that was subsequently burglarized during the time surveillance footage showed the truck parked behind the van.

The victim who owns the van told responding deputies that approximately $21,450 worth of pluming equipment was stolen, and the door handle to the van had been damaged when it was forced open, the report states.

Not long after the burglary occurred, the suspects were stopped by deputies who said they found “numerous pluming tools consistent with the tools taken from within the victim’s vehicle” in the bed of the Honda Ridgeline, according to investigators.

They were both taken into custody and invoked their right not to speak while refusing DNA samples, deputies said.

Authorities said the pair are also connected to the theft of $29,500 worth of copper wire from the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Office located at 9385 NW 14th St.

The incident occurred on Oct. 8 and was captured on surveillance footage, according to authorities.

Officials said the burglaries committed by the suspects have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and property loss.

Jail records show both men are facing multiple charges, including grand theft, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, burglary of an occupied structure, possession or burglary tools and criminal mischief.

As of Thursday afternoon, they are each are being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond listed as “to be set.”

A necropsy and additional testing found that the primary underlying cause of Jackie's death in August was highly pathogenic avian influenza, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday in a news release.

In the weeks before she died, Jackie was being treated at the Ojai Raptor Center for various ailments, including anemia. Chris Eksteen, the center's director, said in the news release that the necropsy results “have helped connect many of the findings” they saw during her hospitalization.

“In an uncommon presentation of the virus, the infection caused a severe ulcer in her stomach that led to persistent internal bleeding, anemia, and the development of bacterial sepsis," Steve Kubiski, the disease investigations director at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where the necropsy was conducted, said in the news release.

For more than a decade, nature lovers watched via an online video feed as Jackie and her partner, Shadow, tended to their nest each year atop trees near Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. There's no evidence Shadow is ill, according to the news release.

The nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley installed the nest camera in 2015 and documented the successes and failures of each breeding season.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been circulating in bird populations throughout the U.S. While waterfowl and shorebirds are natural hosts for bird flu viruses, eagles and other raptors can be exposed through contact with infected birds or by eating them, according to the news release.

Jackie's remains were cremated to prevent transmission of the virus, it said.

American bald eagles teetered on the brink of extinction until the pesticide DDT was banned in the 1970s and other protections were established, leading the species to rebound and be removed from the federal endangered list.

Eight players from the Southeastern Conference and seven each from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten are on the first team, as determined by a panel of media members who vote each week in the AP Top 25.

Nine players who were on the AP preseason All-America first team also were voted to the midseason first team. Four other preseason first-team picks are on the second team.

Mensah, who played at Duke last year and at Tulane in 2024, has averaged 10.8 yards per pass attempt and completed 84.2% while leading unbeaten Miami to a No. 3 ranking. That's the best accuracy rate since at least 2000 among quarterbacks who had at least 130 passing attempts through a Week 6, according to Sportradar. Mensah has 15 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Mensah's teammate, Malachi Toney, is part of a star-studded cast of receivers. The others are Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Oregon State freshman Jesse Legree, who leads the nation with 155.3 yards per game and 12 touchdowns.

UCLA's three first-team picks are all-purpose player Wayne Knight, linebacker Sammy Omosigho and defensive back Ta’Shawn James.

A total of 21 schools are represented on the first team.

First team — Offense

Quarterback — Darian Mensah, fourth year, Miami.

Running backs — Jamal Roberts, fourth year, Missouri; Nate Sheppard, second year, Duke.

Tackles — x-Trevor Goosby, fourth year, Texas; x-Carter Smith, fifth year, Indiana.

Guards — x-Kade Pieper, fourth year, Iowa; x-Shadre Hurst, fifth year, Houston.

Center — Anthony Boswell, third year, Houston.

Tight end — Luke Reynolds, third year, Virginia Tech.

Wide receivers — x-Jeremiah Smith, third year, Ohio State; x-Malachi Toney, second year, Miami; Jesse Legree, first year, Oregon State.

All-purpose player — x-Wayne Knight, fifth year, UCLA.

Kicker — Sam Keltner, third year, Oklahoma State.

First team — Defense

Edge rushers — x-Colin Simmons, third year, Texas; Princewill Umanmielen, fourth year, LSU.

Interior linemen — Xavier Gilliam, third year, Tennessee; Xavier Lewis, second year, North Carolina.

Linebackers — Sammy Omosigho, fourth year, UCLA; Chris Cole, third year, Georgia; Nicholas Rodriguez, third year, Missouri.

Cornerbacks — x-Leonard Moore, third year, Notre Dame; Ashton Hampton, third year, Clemson.

Safeties — Kingston Lopa, third year, California; Robert Fitzgerald, fifth year, Northwestern.

Defensive back — Ta’Shawn James, fourth year, UCLA.

Punter — Tyler White, fourth year, Texas A&M.

Second team — Offense

Quarterback — Gunner Stockton, fifth year, Georgia.

Running backs — Jadan Baugh, third year, Florida; Dylan Riley, third year, Boise State.

Tackles — Monroe Mills, seventh year, Virginia; Cayden Green, fourth year, Missouri.

Guards — Greg Johnson, fourth year, Minnesota; x-Evan Tengesdahl, fourth year, Cincinnati.

Center — Drew Bobo, fifth season, Georgia.

Tight end — Patrick Overmyer, fourth year, Houston.

Wide receivers — KJ Duff, third year, Rutgers; Carlos Hernandez, fourth year, Wake Forest; Anthony Evans III, fourth year, Mississippi State.

All-purpose player — Aiden Flora, third year, Iowa State.

Kicker — David Olano, fifth year, Texas A&M.

Second team — Defense

Edge rushers — Daeden Hopkins, second year, Missouri; Boubacar Traore, fourth year, Notre Dame.

Interior linemen — A.J. Holmes Jr., fifth year, Texas Tech; Will Echoles, third year, Mississippi.

Linebackers — x-Rasheem Biles, fourth year, Texas; Tony Rojas, fourth year, Penn State; EJ Smith, fourth year, Nevada.

Cornerbacks — Jett Jefferson, fourth year, Mississippi State; x-Ellis Robinson IV, third year, Georgia.

Safeties — CJ Heard, third year, Vanderbilt; x-KJ Bolden, third year, Georgia.

Defensive back — Ty Benefield, fourth year, LSU.

Punter — Will Karoll, fourth year, Texas Tech.

(x-denotes AP preseason All-America first-team pick)

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.

Bailey Martinez Jr., 46, was taken into custody in connection with the Sept. 13 stabbing near Northwest 17th Street and Northwest Fifth Avenue, according to a Miami Police Department arrest report.

According to the report, officers responded to the area shortly after 7 a.m. and found a man suffering from two stab wounds to his upper chest.

Miami Fire Rescue medics transported the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Witness, victim give different accounts of confrontation

According to the arrest report, a witness who called 911 told detectives he was sitting on a sidewalk when he saw the victim riding his bicycle westbound on Northwest 17th Street.

The bicyclist encountered Martinez, who was walking in the opposite direction, and the two became involved in an argument, the witness told investigators.

The witness claimed the victim pulled out a chain and attempted to strike Martinez with it.

Martinez allegedly grabbed the chain, struck the victim with it and then stabbed him twice with an unidentified weapon, possibly a knife or shank, the witness said.

The suspect then fled eastbound toward Northwest Fifth Avenue, according to the witness.

However, the victim provided detectives with a different account when they interviewed him at the hospital on Sept. 16.

According to the report, the victim told investigators he had approached Martinez while riding his bicycle and asked where he had gotten a piece of cake.

The report states that the victim said he attempted to get off his bicycle but tripped and fell.

He claimed Martinez then stabbed him twice before running away.

The victim told police he never saw the weapon used in the attack.

He also disputed the witness’s account involving the chain, telling detectives that neither man used it during the confrontation.

Instead, the victim said the chain had been hanging from his bicycle’s handlebars and fell to the ground.

Victim identifies suspect in photo lineup

According to the arrest report, on Sept. 22, an officer encountered Martinez, who matched a description of the suspect previously circulated by police.

Detectives returned to Jackson Memorial Hospital on Sept. 29 and presented the victim with a photographic lineup.

According to the report, the victim identified Martinez as the man who had stabbed him.

Suspect arrested near scene of stabbing

On Wednesday, an officer located Martinez near Northwest Fifth Avenue and Northwest 17th Street, the same intersection where the stabbing had been reported, authorities said.

He was taken into custody around 8:42 a.m. and was transported to the Miami Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit.

Detectives said Martinez was advised of his constitutional rights and declined to speak with investigators.

He was subsequently arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center where he was booked on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

As of Thursday afternoon, Martinez remained jailed on a $20,000 bond.

The arrest report did not provide an update on the victim’s condition or a motive for the alleged attack.

In a filing this week, they asked a Florida court to compel the president to appear in the $10 billion case after they say he canceled an agreed-upon date this week, citing “matters of national importance.”

“Two months of discovery remaining, the BBC still has not been able to depose, and does not even have a schedule to depose, the most central figure in this case: Plaintiff himself," attorney Charles D. Tobin wrote in the filing. “Those delays have flouted the cooperative spirit of discovery and precluded the BBC from obtaining the evidence necessary to robustly litigate its defense.”

Trump, who has a history of avoiding depositions, filed the lawsuit against the BBC last December, seeking $10 billion in damages as he accused the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices related to a documentary, “Trump: A Second Chance.”

Britain’s publicly funded national broadcaster admitted filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of the speech Trump delivered to his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, before the storming of the U.S. Capitol, to make it seem like he was directly urging violence.

The 33-page lawsuit accused the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

The broadcaster apologized to Trump over the edit and the head of the BBC and the British broadcaster’s top news executive both resigned. But the broadcaster has denied Trump's claims that it defamed him.

In the filing this week, BBC lawyers said that they first requested dates for the deposition in July, and followed up repeatedly. Both sides, they said, eventually agreed on Oct. 16.

However, after weeks of silence, they wrote, “Plaintiff’s counsel responded on September 28, 2026, indicating that ‘the President is no longer available for his deposition on October 16 due to other matters of national importance’ and that counsel would ‘endeavor to provide you with a replacement date by the end of this week.’ He did not.”

Instead, they said, they were told last week that Trump “has no availability whatsoever for a deposition" before discovery is set to close on Dec. 18. and were told that Trump would instead make himself available the second or third week of January.

In a statement in response to the filing, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team did not address the reasons for Trump's delay, but repeated its allegations against the BBC and said the president was holding the broadcaster “accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”

Trump voluntarily dropped a $500 million lawsuit he filed against his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen in 2023, days before he was set to give a deposition in that suit.

El Niño is likely to shift weather patterns to bring more moisture, but with it higher temperatures. That should help erase persistent Western drought, but it won't likely make Northern snow-lovers happy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

“This is going to be a winter that’s really difficult for them to find what they’re looking for,” said James Belanger, vice president of meteorology for the Weather Company.

El Niño, the natural but temporary warming in parts of the Pacific, generally warms the globe. Although it disrupts weather conditions around the world in dramatically different ways, its effects tend to follow predictable regional patterns, especially when El Niño is strong like it is right now. That gives forecasters greater confidence in what lies ahead.

All this is on top of a U.S. winter that has warmed about 4 degrees (2.2 degrees Celsius) in the past 50 years, predominantly from human-caused climate change, according to NOAA.

The best chance of snow could actually shift south

While the weather service doesn't make seasonal snowfall predictions, their meteorologists said much of the northern parts of the country — including the Northeast, Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and Northern Rockies — should expect below-normal snow. The Southern Rockies, parts of the Southeast and Southwest may get more than they usually do.

“Listen, even in the winter months, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to have snow. It doesn’t mean you might not have a snowstorm,” National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said in a media briefing presenting the three-month winter outlook. “So it doesn’t erase the risk.”

The Northern snow shrinkage is also predicted by private meteorology firms. Salt Lake City is the only big metro area where AccuWeather expects above-normal winter snow amounts. Chicago, Boston, New York and Philadelphia are forecast to get about half or less of their normal winter snow, the firm said.

And a White Christmas? Consider a plane ride to the Southern Rockies, Belanger said. Otherwise, “Santa’s gonna find a barren landscape when he returns in late December.”

A warmer winter can still pack a punch

Part or all of 41 of the Lower 48 states are forecast to be warmer than normal. No states — or even parts of states — are forecast to be cooler than average. Florida, Louisiana, southern Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi are forecast to be near normal. There's equal chance of warm, cold or normal in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Southern California, Nevada, Wyoming, western Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.

And the dreaded polar vortex with its icy blast of Arctic air escaping into the United States? That shouldn't happen as much as most winters, but that doesn't mean it won't happen at all, said National Weather Service meteorologist and branch chief Jon Gottschalck.

“It only takes one storm to flip the script, especially for the East Coast cities,” said AccuWeather lead long-range forecaster Paul Pastelok, who said to especially watch for Eastern snowstorms in late January and February.

AccuWeather is more bullish than NOAA for snow in the Rockies regions, calling for Denver to have 10 to 18 days with at least 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow, which is more than the historical average of 9 inches (23 centimeters). The company's overall snow forecast for Denver is still around average, but considerably more than last winter.

Drought relief comes with a downside

NOAA is forecasting that parts of all of 39 states will see a wetter-than-usual winter, with much of Montana and parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wisconsin and Michigan being drier.

“We anticipate drought conditions to improve or end for western portions of Oregon and western Washington state, the Southwest, the central and southern Rockies, the southern Great Plains, the lower Mississippi Valley, and areas in the East,” Gottschalck said.

Mike Bettes, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said it will likely be too much rain for California: “We'd anticipate numerous, high-impact atmospheric rivers that could bring extensive flooding and landslides this winter.”

Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor. They take water from oceans and flow through the sky, dumping rain in prodigious amounts.

Florida and parts of the Southeast should also be on guard for more tornadoes this winter and early spring because of El Niño, Gottschalck said.

A record El Niño puts forecasters in uncharted territory

Forecasters across the globe expect the current El Niño to reach record levels this fall or winter. Graham, the weather service chief, noted that a strong El Niño doesn't mean its impacts are stronger, but it does make the weather easier to predict.

Winter weather expert Judah Cohen, an MIT research scientist, is waiting a couple more weeks before making his forecast. He says an unprecedented El Niño is “a reason not be more confident, but less confident.”

“We have no real historical analog or precedent,” Cohen said. “When every meteorologist on the planet is on the same side, I get nervous. We’re not that good.”

___

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.

A week after Rahm's attorney told the court his client would not play on the beleaguered tour in 2027, the agreement was filed Wednesday and is scheduled for a judge's approval Nov. 5.

The agreement says Rahm owes no further service or performance obligations under any contract, is not bound by league regulations or team rules and policies and may join or contract with any tour, league, or sponsor without notice to or consent from LIV. The Spaniard also was granted his name, image and likeness rights under the agreement.

Rahm is scheduled to play his first event following his LIV departure Nov. 5-8 at the Abu Dhabi Championship in the United Arab Emirates.

When LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, court files showed Rahm was owed $7.5 million. Rahm had said in May he had several years left on his contract. His signing bonus, never confirmed, was reported to be in the $300 million range. The separation agreement did not mention monetary compensation.

Rahm, a Masters and U.S. Open champion and the last player to be No. 1 in the world before Scottie Scheffler, was among the biggest and most stunning acquisitions by LIV Golf at the end of 2023 when he was the reigning Masters champion.

The PGA Tour has said it would not hold conversations with any LIV player still legally under contract. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp brought back five-time major champion Brooks Koepka with heavy financial stipulations at the start of this year, after Koepka negotiated an end to his LIV contract. Rolapp offered the deal to three other major champions, including Rahm, giving them a two-week deadline to decide. None took the offer.

Two months later, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia said it would no longer bankroll the rival league after the 2026 season.

Rahm was the individual points champion each of the last three years, when the prize money was $20 million for individual competition and bonuses were awarded for the points race. His total earnings from LIV over the last three years topped $100 million.

The PGA Tour typically bans players for one year after their last LIV event, though it made an exception for Koepka. Bryson DeChambeau, among those who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tour when LIV began, has not indicated any desire to return.

___

See AP’s full golf coverage here

A renovation is planned for the Philharmonie, its home since 1963, and is likely to displace the orchestra from 2032-40.

“It’s a huge challenge to have a different stage for us because the Philharmonie has this unique sound,” Petrenko, the orchestra's chief conductor, said during a recent Zoom news conference ahead of four U.S. concerts and its first South American tour in a quarter century. “It’s really a very difficult time.”

The Berlin Philharmonic, which is among the world's top orchestras, plays in a 2,410-seat capacity main hall designed by Hans Scharoun with terraced seating.

The orchestra is formulating plans for a temporary facility in hangars at Tempelhof Airport, which closed in 2008. The cost of the renovation and makeshift hall are estimated at 1.15 billion euros (currently $1.28 billion), and the German federal government has pledged 225 million euros ($251 million).

Plans are to relocate from the Philharmonie after celebrating the orchestra's 150th anniversary during the first half of 2032.

“First of all, we need to find the venue and build the right acoustic for us, for our big orchestra,” Petrenko said. “It will be quite a challenge in Berlin, but yes, we are already in negotiations and I think very soon we will have a sort of, a preliminary result.”

Just 5 chief conductors in 7 decades

Petrenko became chief conductor for the 2019-20 season, following Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle.

Berlin opened Carnegie Hall's season last week, its 26th U.S. visit since 1955 and its third with the 54-year-old Petrenko, who has an evergreen contract rather than a fixed term. The orchestra then headed to South America for the first time since 2000 for performances in Bogotá, Colombia, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, that run through Oct. 23.

With more than 45,000 active subscribers to its Digital Concert Hall, Berlin has a worldwide audience.

Unlike the Vienna Philharmonic, which has no music director and engages only guest conductors, Berlin is led by a single musician with a distinct personality.

“Each of our chief conductors left something behind, which formed the orchestra,” said Andrea Zietzschmann, the general manager since 2017. “After Karajan, Claudio Abbado had much more the — his attitude was: `I’m one of you. I am one of the orchestra and we all play together.' ... And then Simon Rattle came and he had a very different approach. He came more from the percussion and not from melodies and he gave the orchestra completely different input. He had much more repertoire from early Baroque until modern music.”

Like Abbado and Rattle, Petrenko conducts in the shadow of Karajan, who headed the orchestra from 1955-89 and left a legacy of recordings that in many cases remain regarded as top choices. Petrenko said, “I don’t feel any fear” about comparisons with Karajan.

“Of course, I feel this tradition every time I come into my conducting room, which was also the conductor’s room of Herbert von Karajan. I see the chair where he was sitting,” Petrenko said. “Of course, I still study the orchestra parts being played by Karajan. I learned his bowings. I learned his dynamic, but then I decide how it should sound today.”

Petrenko has spent much of his career in Germany and Austria

Born in 1972 in Omsk, Russia, which was then part of the Soviet Union, Petrenko moved with his family to Austria when he was 18. He conducted at the Vienna Volksoper from 1997-99, then served as music director of Germany’s Meininger State Theater (1999-02), Berlin’s Komische Oper (2002-07) and Munich's Bavarian State Opera (2013-21).

When listening to Berlin Philharmonic recordings, at times he can differentiate sounds generated by his famous predecessors.

“How people vibrate, how they do portamenti, which tempi they take, which details you cannot hear,” he said. “I might imagine the art of Furtwängler in comparison with Karajan’s style. I might recognize maybe the lucidity of Abbado or rhythmical power of Rattle.”

Petrenko drives the musicians to never stop trying to perfect sound.

“There’s never sort of a point where he says, `OK. We’ve got it.' And that's really inspiring,” Noah Bendix-Balgley, one of the first concertmasters, said before a Carnegie Hall performance. “Regardless of what’s going on in the world and in terms of your career, and what’s the current trend, you can always go further with wrestling with this music and with these composers and this art form.”

Leer en español

Police arrested Jamar Lionel Jenkins, 39, of northwest Miami-Dade, on Wednesday in connection with the Oct. 10, 2025 murder of Wells, 40, outside of his restaurant in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.

Authorities said the killing was a case of revenge: Wells, police said, spent time in prison for killing Jenkins’ brother, Anthony Jenkins, in 2004 before becoming an anti-violence activist after his release.

According to the Miami Police Department, Wells was playing dominoes on the patio of Winning and Won Turkey Legs at 5030 NW 17th Ave. when a masked Jenkins walked up to him and shot him multiple times.

An arrest warrant states that ballistics data tied spent shell casings at the scene to a New Year’s Day 2024 shots fired incident in North Miami involving Jenkins and his younger brother, who were both arrested on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Miami police arrested Jenkins’ brother on Dec. 18, 2025 on a suspended license charge and questioned him.

Authorities said he told investigators that “several family members,” including Jenkins, were still “upset” about the killing and told them that Jenkins was the last person to have his gun.

According to the warrant, after the killing, when Jenkins’ brother asked about getting his gun back, he was told it had gone “swimming.”

Authorities said surveillance video tied Jenkins’ Mercedes-Benz to the shooting.

Police said they questioned Jenkins in February. He denied knowing that Wells had been convicted for killing his brother and claimed he was “home and asleep” the night of the murder, saying he found out about it through social media and news broadcasts and that his vehicle was at his home in the West Little River area the whole time.

“When confronted with screen captures,” detectives wrote in the warrant, Jenkins “again claimed his vehicle was at his residence the entirety of the evening and could not provide an explanation for the activity.”

Authorities said GPS data obtained from the vehicle’s lienholder helped link the vehicle to the crime and iCloud and Google records tied him to the vehicle.

Additionally, they said Jenkins’ employment records showed he had time off from his job as a contracted custodian working at the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Miami.

Miami police went to the hospital, located at 1201 NW 16th St., on Wednesday morning to take Jenkins into custody on a second-degree murder charge.

“We had already arrested this individual as well. We were able to link the weapon used in our first arrest to this homicide as well, so that that assisted us in the process as well,” MPD Chief Edwin Lopez said Thursday. “But sheer determination by these detectives and relationships with the community have been established over quite some time. The community trusts law enforcement here in the city of Miami and we’re fortunate to have that positive relationship, and that yielded the arrest of this individual.”

As of Thursday, Jenkins was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, online records show.

The city of Fort Lauderdale launched the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center, which, according to officials, marks “a major milestone in the city’s investment in a modern, resilient water system and the future of drinking water for Fort Lauderdale and surrounding communities.”

It is located at 3501 West Prospect Road.

“This is a transformational investment in the future of Fort Lauderdale,” said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. “We knew it was time to build a water system capable of meeting the needs of a growing city for decades to come. The Prospect Lake Clean Water Center delivers on that commitment with modern technology, greater resiliency and the clean, clear drinking water our residents expect and deserve.”

The facility, which officials said cost approximately $666 million to construct, replaces the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant, which was nearly 70 years old, as the city’s primary drinking water treatment source.

La policía indicó que aún no ha identificado a la persona cuyo cuerpo fue recuperado y que, por el momento, no tiene información adicional que divulgar.

El helicóptero Sky 10 sobrevoló la escena cerca del 11900 de NW 11th St. alrededor de las 10:10 a.m., donde se encontraban agentes y un médico forense, mientras una lona amarilla cubría el cuerpo de la persona no identificada.

Las autoridades habían registrado el lago cercano a la comunidad la semana pasada después de que se reportara la desaparición de Alan Lok. La policía informó el jueves que Lok continúa desaparecido y que las labores de búsqueda en la zona siguen en marcha.

Los investigadores no han confirmado si el cuerpo recuperado está relacionado con la desaparición de Lok.

No se divulgaron otros detalles de inmediato.

Leer en español

Police said they had not identified the person whose body was recovered and had no additional information to release at this time.

Sky 10 flew over the scene near 11900 NW 11th St. at about 10:10 a.m., where officers and a medical examiner were gathered and a yellow tarp was placed over the body of the unidentified individual.

Authorities had searched the lake near the community last week after they said Alan Lok was reported missing. Police said Thursday that Lok remained missing and that search efforts in the area were continuing.

Investigators have not confirmed whether the recovered body is connected to Lok’s disappearance.

No other details were immediately released.

Esta quinta marcha en defensa de la educación pública se produce en un clima de creciente descontento con las políticas de ajuste del mandatario y luego de que en los días previos se sucedieran cortes de calles por parte de estudiantes que celebraron clases públicas y de que un juez impusiera una multa al Ejecutivo por incumplir una medida cautelar que lo obliga a acatar la Ley de Financiamiento Universitario.

El gobierno se resiste a la aplicación de esa norma aprobada en 2024 argumentando que rompe el equilibrio fiscal.

Los manifestantes se congregaron en diversos puntos de Buenos Aires y marcharán hacia las inmediaciones del Congreso. Son respaldados por organizaciones sociales y sindicatos que también reclaman fondos para la salud pública y los discapacitados.

Los referentes de la protesta sostienen que la educación pública sufre un deterioro “dramático” por la disminución de los fondos estatales en el marco de las políticas que buscan garantizar el superávit fiscal.

Además denuncian que los salarios de los trabajadores docentes y no docentes de las universidades se licuan. La inflación en septiembre fue de 1,9% mientras que la interanual alcanzó 33,4%, según la última medición oficial.

El Consejo Interuniversitario Nacional (CIN) y la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) —una de las de mayor prestigio en América Latina— defienden el reclamo contra el gobierno en los estrados judiciales y liderarán la marcha. “No normalicemos el incumplimiento de la ley. Las leyes se cumplen siempre”, señaló la UBA en X.

Las autoridades de ambas instituciones afirman que el sistema universitario acarrea una caída de recursos de más de 40% entre desde 2023 y advierten que si el presupuesto para los centros terciarios no se actualiza se deteriorarán la investigación científica y el funcionamiento de los hospitales universitarios.

La primera marcha universitaria transcurrió en abril de 2024, a cinco meses del inicio de la gestión de Milei. Esa multitudinaria movilización fue motivada por el congelamiento de los fondos para las universidades, que se declararon en emergencia presupuestaria.

Recientemente el juez federal Martín Cormick resolvió que Diego Santilli, jefe de Gabinete y responsable de la administración del presupuesto nacional, pague 100.000 pesos (65 dólares) diarios como multa por el incumplimiento de la ley.

En junio, un fallo de la Corte Suprema dejó firme una medida cautelar de ese juez que obliga al gobierno a acatar los artículos de la norma que estipulan la actualización de los salarios del personal de las universidades y las becas estudiantiles.

La ley fue ratificada por ambas cámaras legislativas en 2025, luego de que el presidente la vetara.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from last week at 7.40%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.27%.

The latest reading ends a seven-week climb for the average rate, which is at the highest level since Nov. 16, 2023, when it was at 7.44%.

Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, eased this week. That average rate dropped to 6.71% from 6.73% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.52%.

Rates on home loans are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Mortgage rates have been climbing since late February, when the U.S. war with Iran began, pushing up the price of oil and driving inflation higher. The run-up in rates also reflects heightened bond market volatility, which has pushed up yields on U.S. Treasurys.

U.S. home sales remain stalled this year in large part because of rising mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power and prompting many to put off buying a home.

The recent string of mortgage rate increases snapped as the 10-year Treasury yield pulled back from its highest level since 2002.

The yield was at 5.10% at midday Thursday on the bond market. It had topped 5.30% earlier this month amid worries about high inflation, signals of a strong U.S. economy and other factors. It’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran began.

In late February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly dipped to 5.98%, its lowest level going back to late 2022. The 1.42 percentage point increase in the rate since then translates roughly into an additional monthly cost of $376 for a borrower financing a $400,000 home loan at the current average rate.

Depending on a borrower’s income, credit and other factors, they may qualify for a rate on a 30-year mortgage that is below or above the current average.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low.

This week, the National Association of Realtors said that existing U.S. home sales rose in September from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year earlier amid rising mortgage rates and home prices.

The surge in mortgage rates in recent weeks has put off many would-be homebuyers.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.7% last week from the previous week as mortgage rates rose, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Faced with higher borrowing costs due to rising mortgage rates, more homebuyers are opting for adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs. Such loans, which typically offer lower initial interest rates than traditional 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, accounted for 10.5% of all mortgage applications last week — the highest level in a year, MBA said.

Despite holding steady this week, it's likely that the recent upward march in mortgage rates is not over.

Reports this week showing prices at the consumer and wholesale level rose more than economists expected flashed the latest sign that inflation has worsened as rising oil prices add on costs to all manner of goods and services.

The reports could persuade the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to hike their key interest rate by December, and could set the stage for more rate increases early next year, said Jiayi Xu, a senior economist at Realtor.com.

“In other words, mortgage rates are unlikely to ease anytime soon, but bringing inflation under control would pave the way for lower rates and a much-needed boost to affordability for the year ahead,” Xu said.

Wall Street traders now expect the Fed will keep its short-term rate unchanged at its next policy meeting this month, but the odds of a rate increase in December have jumped to 64.6% from 49.9% a month ago, according to data from the CME Group.

While the central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

In its latest forecast, mortgage buyer Fannie Mae projects that the rate on a 30-year mortgage will average 7.4% in the final quarter of this year and average 7.5% in 2027.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame joined F1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Tuesday to announce the race. It will be held at a circuit yet to be built at Bugesera, near Rwanda’s capital Kigali, in “the early 2030s," F1 says. The series last raced in Africa in 1993.

Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Rwanda says its security measures are intended to protect it against threats from armed groups operating across the border.

“In February 2025, I warned Stefano Domenicali and the F1 authorities that allowing Rwanda to host a Grand Prix would be morally indefensible," Kayikwamba Wagner said in a statement. "(Congo) welcomes Formula 1’s return to Africa, but giving Paul Kagame this platform would help polish the image of an authoritarian leader whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in our country."

Kayikwamba Wagner said Congo backs rival efforts from South Africa to host a race instead.

“This is also an opportunity for F1 to show its audiences and supporters what the sport truly stands for," she added. "It should require credible, independent guarantees that no money used to host the race comes from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources.”

F1 said in a statement that it has “a long track record of delivering significant economic, social and cultural value to our host nations” and that “sport can be a positive force for good.”

“When racing around the world we ensure the exceptional standards, values and integrity of the sport are shared and delivered by both promoters and partners,” the statement said. "As we’ve seen, sport can be a huge driver of change and unifying force and look forward to the positive impact that the African Grand Prix will have.”

Congo has previously objected to other Rwandan efforts to promote its brand through sports, especially a string of high-profile sponsorship agreements with leading European soccer clubs.

The United States imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four senior officers in March over their support for M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Rwanda rejected the sanctions as one-sided and said they misrepresented the conflict.

___

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Leer en español

The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired hosted the celebration, which honored “the independence and achievements represented by the white cane,” according to officials.

Thursday’s event began at the Miami Lighthouse campus in Little Havana with breakfast and a program that featured the Miami Jackson Senior High JROTC Honor Guard.

Miami Marlins mascot Billy the Marlin was also there for some fun with the participants.

The annual White Cane Day Walk began at 9:30 a.m. and was supported by the Miami Police Department and Miami Fire Rescue.

Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired organizó la celebración, que rindió homenaje a “la independencia y los logros que representa el bastón blanco”, según los funcionarios.

El evento de este jueves comenzó en las instalaciones de Miami Lighthouse en La Pequeña Habana, con un desayuno y un programa que contó con la participación de la Guardia de Honor del JROTC de Miami Jackson Senior High.

Billy the Marlin, la mascota de los Miami Marlins, también estuvo presente para compartir momentos de diversión con los participantes.

La caminata anual del Día del Bastón Blanco comenzó a las 9:30 a.m. y contó con el apoyo del Departamento de Policía de Miami y Miami Fire Rescue.

Leer en español

Michael Lamont Person is facing one count of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.

The shooting happened around 5:25 p.m. Aug. 23 at Northwest 75th Street and 22nd Court, in the county’s unincorporated Gladeview neighborhood, according to deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responding to a report of a man shot said they found the victim lying unresponsive in the grass with gunshot wounds. They said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics pronounced him dead at 5:36 p.m. He has not been identified at this time.

Investigators said surveillance video captured the moments leading up to the shooting.

They said Person and a child were riding a scooter eastbound on Northwest 75th Street, while the victim was traveling northbound on Northwest 22nd Court. The scooters collided at the intersection.

Both men got off their scooters, and the child fell onto the pavement, according to the report. Investigators said Person picked up the child and exchanged words with the victim before pulling out a gun and shooting at the victim as he ran away.

They said Person and the child then got back on the scooter and fled westbound on Northwest 75th Street.

According to deputies, an autopsy conducted on Aug. 24 determined that the victim died from gunshot wounds. The medical examiner classified the death as a homicide.

Investigators received a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers tip on Aug. 31 that identified Person as the suspected shooter, according to the report.

On Sept. 15, investigators reviewed surveillance footage and circulated an identification flyer to law enforcement personnel. A homicide detective and personnel from MDSO’s dispatch center identified Person using facial recognition software, which returned a positive match above the system’s identification threshold, the report states.

Witnesses later identified Person from images taken from surveillance footage on Oct. 2, according to investigators.

Authorities did not indicate whether the suspect and victim knew each other.

As of Thursday, Person was being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

A motive for the shooting is unclear at this time.

Michael Lamont Person enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en segundo grado con un arma mortal, según los registros de la cárcel.

La balacera ocurrió alrededor de las 5:25 p.m. del 23 de agosto en Northwest 75th Street y 22nd Court, en el vecindario no incorporado de Gladeview, en el condado, según agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade.

Los agentes que respondieron a un reporte de un hombre baleado indicaron que encontraron a la víctima tendida sobre el césped, inconsciente y con heridas de bala. Señalaron que los paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lo declararon muerto a las 5:36 p.m. Su identidad no ha sido revelada hasta el momento.

Los investigadores indicaron que un video de vigilancia captó los momentos previos a la balacera.

Señalaron que Person y un menor viajaban en un scooter en dirección este por Northwest 75th Street, mientras que la víctima circulaba en dirección norte por Northwest 22nd Court. Los scooters chocaron en la intersección.

Ambos hombres se bajaron de sus scooters y el menor cayó al pavimento, según el informe. Los investigadores indicaron que Person levantó al menor e intercambió palabras con la víctima antes de sacar un arma y dispararle mientras intentaba huir.

Señalaron que Person y el menor volvieron a subirse al scooter y huyeron en dirección oeste por Northwest 75th Street.

Según los agentes, una autopsia realizada el 24 de agosto determinó que la víctima murió a causa de heridas de bala. El médico forense clasificó la muerte como homicidio.

Los investigadores recibieron una denuncia a través de Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers el 31 de agosto que identificaba a Person como el presunto autor de los disparos, según el informe.

El 15 de septiembre, los investigadores revisaron las grabaciones de vigilancia y distribuyeron un boletín de identificación entre el personal de las fuerzas del orden. Un detective de homicidios y personal del centro de despacho de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) identificaron a Person mediante un programa de reconocimiento facial, que arrojó una coincidencia positiva por encima del umbral de identificación del sistema, señala el informe.

Posteriormente, el 2 de octubre, testigos identificaron a Person a partir de imágenes obtenidas de las grabaciones de vigilancia, según los investigadores.

Las autoridades no indicaron si el sospechoso y la víctima se conocían.

Hasta el jueves, Person permanecía detenido sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

El motivo de la balacera aún no está claro.

Leer en español

It happened on Sept. 15 at Uleta Park, which is located at 386 NE 169th St. in North Miami Beach.

According to authorities, fire rescue crews were alerted to a man who appeared to need medical attention at the park’s playground.

An arrest warrant states that first responders found the victim, whose name was redacted, underneath a slide and pulseless, having suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. Medics rushed him to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

As officers began their investigation, they said by reviewing surveillance footage from the park and nearby businesses, in addition to an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip, the suspect was identified as Andrew Lee Trejo, who also goes by the street name “Ski.”

Trejo was arrested by North Miami Beach police officers and has since been charged with second-degree murder and possession of cocaine.

The warrant does not provide any details about a suspected motive.

He was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Wednesday, where he remains on no bond for the murder charge.

El incidente ocurrió el 15 de septiembre en Uleta Park, ubicado en el 386 de NE 169th St., en North Miami Beach.

Según las autoridades, los equipos de bomberos y rescate recibieron una alerta sobre un hombre que aparentemente necesitaba atención médica en el parque infantil.

Una orden de arresto señala que los equipos de emergencia encontraron a la víctima, cuyo nombre fue censurado, debajo de un tobogán, sin pulso y con una herida de bala en el pecho. Los paramédicos lo trasladaron de urgencia al HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, donde posteriormente fue declarado muerto.

Cuando los agentes comenzaron la investigación, indicaron que, tras revisar las grabaciones de las cámaras de vigilancia del parque y de negocios cercanos, además de recibir una denuncia anónima a través de Crime Stoppers, identificaron al sospechoso como Andrew Lee Trejo, también conocido en las calles como “Ski”.

Trejo fue arrestado por agentes de la Policía de North Miami Beach y desde entonces ha sido acusado de asesinato en segundo grado y posesión de cocaína.

La orden de arresto no proporciona detalles sobre un posible motivo del crimen.

El miércoles fue ingresado en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde permanece detenido sin derecho a fianza por el cargo de asesinato.

The investigation by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police was first disclosed in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. The notice, sent to Senate offices, said that law enforcement officials were working to intercept any additional letters, but “it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.”

In Congress, the threat appeared limited to the Senate, though the House was monitoring the situation, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

An FBI statement said the bureau and the Postal Inspection Service were "investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices.”

"Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident," the statement read. "We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters."

Mailed packages containing a powdery substance led to the evacuation this week of election offices in at least two states, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The Ohio secretary of state said the Postal Service intercepted a package containing a white powder intended for its office and noted that similar mailings had been sent to election officials in multiple states. Maryland, Mississippi and South Dakota officials on Thursday said their election offices also were targeted by separate mailings but that the letters were intercepted by the Postal Service.

News of the letters comes just three weeks before Election Day and is reminiscent of a similar threat in 2023, when election offices in six states received mailings that contained a white powder. In some cases, the incidents disrupted work around local elections.

Some of those letters contained threats and traces of the powerful opioid fentanyl, leading some election offices to stock up on the overdose reversal medication naloxone.

The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors issued a joint statement condemning what they said were threats against election staff.

“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” they said in their statement.

Deputy Postal Inspector Brendan Donahue told reporters Thursday that “any threat or attack on election officials is unacceptable” and that “we are also working with our partners on identifying the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.”

___

Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia; and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

The discovery by boaters in 2022 sparked memories of the city's mob era, which ended in the mid-1980s. Organized crime helped build up the city, and a body stuffed in a barrel was known to signify a mob killing.

Las Vegas police have scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon. Authorities have already said the man was shot, and they estimate he was killed between the mid-1970s and early 1980s, based on the type of shoes found with him.

The man had been wearing a button-down short-sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, a silver wristwatch and blue-and-white tennis shoes.

The Mob Museum in Las Vegas has suggested the victim could be connected to the mob, speculating it could be: George “Jay” Vandermark, a gambling machine cheater trusted by the mob to oversee slot machine operations at the Stardust casino; William Crespo, a drug-runner who became a federal informant; or Johnny Pappas, who owned a boat at Lake Mead and worked in the casino industry.

All three disappeared and their bodies were never found.

Lake Mead is at a historic low due to years of overuse, longstanding drought and increasing temperatures. The water level of the 90-year-old reservoir has dropped, exposing areas that were previously underwater. Historians predict more bodies could be found.

Several other sets of remains were found at Lake Mead in 2022. That May, another set of skeletal remains was discovered, and they were identified as a drowning victim from 2002. Skeletal remains found in August were identified as a 52-year-old Las Vegas resident who disappeared in 1998. A set of remains found in October 2022 were determined to be an accidental drowning from 1974, according to Clark County.

In August 2026, more human remains were discovered.

Lake Mead and the upstream Lake Powell are the largest human-made reservoirs in the U.S., part of a system that provides Colorado River water to more than 40 million people, tribes, agriculture and industry in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and across the southern border in Mexico.

In 2022, the dropping lake level exposed Las Vegas’ uppermost drinking water intake, forcing the regional water authority to switch to a deep-lake intake it completed in 2020 to keep serving the city’s 2.4 million residents and visitors, casinos and suburbs. Las Vegas attracts around 40 million tourists per year.

La policía arrestó el miércoles a Jamar Lionel Jenkins, de 39 años y residente del noroeste de Miami-Dade, en relación con el asesinato de Wells, de 40 años, ocurrido el 10 de octubre de 2025 frente a su restaurante en el vecindario de Liberty City, en Miami.

Las autoridades indicaron que el asesinato fue un acto de venganza: Wells, según la policía, pasó un tiempo en prisión por matar al hermano de Jenkins, Anthony Jenkins, en 2004, antes de convertirse en activista contra la violencia tras su liberación.

Según el Departamento de Policía de Miami, Wells estaba jugando dominó en el patio de Winning and Won Turkey Legs, ubicado en el 5030 de NW 17th Ave., cuando Jenkins, quien llevaba el rostro cubierto, se acercó y le disparó varias veces.

Una orden de arresto señala que los datos balísticos vincularon los casquillos encontrados en la escena con un incidente de disparos ocurrido el 1 de enero de 2024 en North Miami, en el que estuvieron involucrados Jenkins y su hermano menor, quienes fueron arrestados por cargos de disparar ilegalmente un arma de fuego.

La policía de Miami arrestó al hermano de Jenkins el 18 de diciembre de 2025 por un cargo relacionado con conducir con una licencia suspendida y lo interrogó.

Las autoridades indicaron que el hombre dijo a los investigadores que “varios miembros de la familia”, incluido Jenkins, todavía estaban “molestos” por el asesinato y les aseguró que Jenkins fue la última persona que tuvo su arma.

Según la orden de arresto, después del asesinato, cuando el hermano de Jenkins preguntó cómo podía recuperar su arma, le dijeron que se había ido a “nadar”.

Las autoridades señalaron que un video de vigilancia vinculó el Mercedes-Benz de Jenkins con la balacera.

La policía informó que interrogó a Jenkins en febrero. Él negó saber que Wells había sido condenado por matar a su hermano y afirmó que estaba “en casa y dormido” la noche del asesinato. También aseguró que se enteró de lo ocurrido a través de las redes sociales y los noticieros, y que su vehículo permaneció en su vivienda, en el área de West Little River, durante todo ese tiempo.

“Cuando se le mostraron capturas de pantalla”, escribieron los detectives en la orden de arresto, Jenkins “volvió a afirmar que su vehículo había permanecido en su residencia durante toda la noche y no pudo proporcionar una explicación sobre la actividad”.

Las autoridades indicaron que los datos de GPS obtenidos de la entidad que tenía un derecho de garantía sobre el vehículo ayudaron a vincularlo con el crimen, mientras que los registros de iCloud y Google relacionaron a Jenkins con el automóvil.

Además, señalaron que los registros laborales de Jenkins mostraron que había tenido tiempo libre de su trabajo como empleado de limpieza contratado en el Centro Médico Bruce W. Carter del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos, en Miami.

La policía de Miami acudió al hospital, ubicado en el 1201 de NW 16th St., la mañana del miércoles para detener a Jenkins por un cargo de asesinato en segundo grado.

Hasta el jueves, Jenkins permanecía detenido sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según muestran los registros en línea.

A Republican on the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission cast the lone vote against sending the guidance, saying it "is only going to scare away some people from the polls.” A hotly contested race for governor tops the ballot in Wisconsin.

“I personally think this guidance is unnecessary because we have not seemed to need it the past 201 years," Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell said.

Clerks have been deluged with questions from voters about what they would do if agents showed up at the polls, Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe said. The guidance is intended to explain how to handle it, she said.

“I see this as just like any other contingency planning we do to assist our clerks," she said.

The memo tells Wisconsin's roughly 1,800 clerks who administer elections what to do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, Department of Homeland Security officials, FBI agents or local law enforcement shows up at the polls.

If officers arrive, the guidance says the head of the polling site should inform the municipal clerk, who should then tell the county clerk and the state elections commission. If the agents are there to observe, they must check in like any other observer and be subject to rules governing them, the guidance says.

Democratic commissioner Ann Jacobs said she was concerned about uniformed officers intimidating voters. The commission agreed to her recommendation that the guidance tell clerks to encourage law enforcement agents planning to come to the polls to be in plain clothes and not uniforms.

“I don’t think we want full flak jacket, whatever, law enforcement three feet from our voters," Jacobs said. "I think that is much different from an ordinary, quiet observation by somebody in plain clothes.”

Department of Homeland Security officials have said they don’t plan to send immigration enforcement officers en masse to patrol the polls and have dismissed concerns that they plan to do so as “fearmongering.”

Election legal experts say federal law clearly prevents the government from deploying any armed troops, agents or officers to election sites except to “repel armed enemies of the United States" — a high bar to clear.

But organizations who represent Latino, Black and Asian American voters say the rhetoric and ICE’s own activity make them worried at a time the number of immigration arrests is soaring as President Donald Trump carries out his mass deportation agenda.

Wisconsin elections officials have been traveling the state in recent days holding news conferences to discuss the process for casting and counting ballots. They have been saying they don't anticipate anything unusual at the polls this year.

“I expect this election will go like all other elections," Republican Don Millis, chair of the elections commission, said Thursday.

The 86-year-old star of “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Scent of a Woman” and a trilogy of “Godfather” films is the 62nd actor to receive the highest honor handed out by the Screen Actors Guild -American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

“I wondered and wandered most of my life but have always felt at home with a script and my fellow actors. It’s the work and the actors along the way that have been among the greatest joys of my life,” Pacino said in a statement Thursday. “It’s an honor to be recognized by SAG-AFTRA in celebrating the journey.”

He’ll pick up the prize on Feb. 28 at the 33rd annual Actor Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The show will stream live on Netflix.

The award also honors humanitarian work, and the guild cited Pacino's charitable efforts for disaster relief, fighting hunger and poverty and his support for local theater companies, including the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles.

The native New Yorker was a young actor best known for his stage work when director Francis Ford Coppola tapped him to play Michael Corleone in 1972's “The Godfather” against the wishes of a studio that wanted an established star in the coveted part.

He would be nominated for an Oscar for the role and become regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation. He got annual Academy Award nominations for the next three years, for “Serpico,” “The Godfather Part II” and “Dog Day Afternoon.” He would not win until he took best actor for “Scent of a Woman” in 1993, a year when he was also nominated for supporting actor for “Glengarry Glen Ross.” He’s been nominated nine times overall, most recently in 2020 for “The Irishman.”

Pacino has also won two competitive Actor Awards from SAG-AFTRA, two Emmys, four Golden Globes and the Globes’ lifetime achievement honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

“I have spent my life in awe and appreciation of the force of nature that is Al Pacino,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in a statement. “When you watch him perform, you are witnessing a student and a master. Al Pacino is an artist of extraordinary courage, intensity and heart whose work has always set an exceptional standard of skill and talent. All of that and he’s just plain fun to watch.”

The SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award dates to 1962. Previous winners include Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Pearl Bailey, Frank Sinatra, James Cagney, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Paul Newman, James Earl Jones, Jane Fonda and Harrison Ford.

It was a rare attack on the palace area, as fighting has escalated between the rebels and a Saudi-led coalition in the latest front in the Iran war. The explosions caused panic among residents, who fled the area.

At least two people were killed and six wounded, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The government said the Houthis attacked with missiles and drones, the Aden-based SABA news agency reported.

A security official said at least two explosions were on top of the hill near the Maashiq palace, and two others were near the security gate.

Many of Yemen's government leaders are living in exile, and those in Aden were safe, a government official said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The Houthis said they attacked a military operations headquarters with the “Saudi enemy," part of their strategy of attacking Saudi targets that has included a series of attacks on airports and oil infrastructure inside the kingdom.

The escalation has complicated efforts to end the wider Iran war and further rattled global markets as Saudi Arabia, one of the world's top oil exporters, faces repeated attacks. Regional aviation is affected, too, as the rebels have warned airlines about their use of Saudi airspace for attacks. Thousands of flights across the kingdom have been disrupted.

Houthis target Saudi areas again

Earlier Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted a cruise missile over the province of Medina. Flightradar 24, a tracking platform, said dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed at Jeddah airport.

The coalition statement did not assign blame for the attack. The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, denied the rebels carried it out. The group previously pledged not to attack airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia also said it destroyed a drone over the country's Eastern province, a major oil-producing region, and intercepted a drone in Khamis Mushait, near a major military air base.

The rebels besiege Yemen's third-largest city

Inside Yemen, the fighting has revived a devastating civil war after four years of relative calm. One focus of alarm is the Houthi-besieged city of Taiz.

Residents of Yemen’s third-largest city are running short of basic necessities. Where goods can be found, prices have soared. Gas stations sit empty or out of service. The World Food Program said it can no longer reach more than 600,000 people in Taiz who depend on aid.

Fathiyya Mohamed al-Mugahed said she had gone looking for flour, cooking gas and fuel but found none.

“The Houthis have surrounded us from all sides,” she said. “Projectiles are all we have received from them.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Taiz has seen some of the “highest casualty burdens” in the country.

Alcaraz sat out 4 ½ months and missed two Grand Slams with a right wrist injury between April and August.

The top-ranked Sinner hasn’t played since he won Wimbledon in July and announced last week that he would sit out the rest of the year due to inflammation in his right knee.

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi on Thursday outlined a plan whereby ranking points would be redistributed to award more to players reaching the latter stages of bigger events.

A policy that enables players to replace three weaker results from Masters 1000 events each year with better results from 500-level or 250-level events later in the season would be eliminated.

“That can create pressure to add tournaments after an early loss to make up the points,” Gaudenzi said. “The proposals would remove this, so results at the biggest events count in full and players can plan their schedules around them rather than chasing points and risking overplaying.”

The proposals come while the ATP is preparing to introduce a new Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia that would raise the annual number of tournaments at that level to 10.

Player compensation would also rise with an increased year-end bonus pool going from $21.5 million to $50 million. And there would be a year-end bonus for players finishing in the top 250 of the rankings that would provide $25 million in career support.

Furthermore, there would be an annual player pension contribution of approximately $30 million, enhancing pension and retirement benefits for 300 players each year.

News that the men’s tour wants to reduce prize money and tournament sizes for doubles starting in 2028 came out earlier this year.

“Any prize money reallocated from doubles would remain dedicated to player compensation and is expected to be reinvested into singles qualifying and early-round prize money, helping more players invest in their careers and compete with the world’s best players,” Gaudenzi said in an open letter published on the ATP website.

“Together, these proposals are intended to give players a clearer framework for planning their seasons, reward performance at the tour’s biggest events and extend support to more players.”

The proposals remain subject to further consultation and approval.

___

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Según la BSO, los agentes respondieron a un reporte de disturbio poco antes de las 8:45 a.m. en una vivienda ubicada en la cuadra 1600 de Southwest Fifth Court.

Cuando los agentes intentaron establecer contacto con un “sospechoso adulto”, este se atrincheró dentro de la vivienda, informaron las autoridades.

Los agentes establecieron rápidamente un perímetro alrededor de la vivienda y el equipo SWAT de la BSO fue llamado al lugar.

Las autoridades no han revelado la identidad del sospechoso ni proporcionado detalles sobre lo que provocó el reporte inicial de disturbio.

Tampoco está claro si hay otras personas dentro de la vivienda.

La situación continúa activa.

The Lauderhill Police Department identified the victims as Adianna McCray and Yehudah St. Dic, also known as “Youngin.”

Police said they responded at approximately 11:07 p.m. Thursday to the 2000 block of Northwest 43rd Terrace after receiving a report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers said they found McRay and St. Dic suffering from gunshot wounds.

Investigators said one victim was pronounced dead at the scene by Lauderhill Fire Rescue medics, while the other was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where that victim later died.

The motive remains unknown, and investigators have not identified any suspects at this time, according to police.

Detectives from the department’s Criminal Investigations Division and crime scene investigators responded to the scene.

Authorities said the investigation remains “active and ongoing.”

Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. A reward of up to $5,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated a democratic socialist in the primary and faces one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Washington. It's a dream matchup for Democrats in a midterm election where Trump's approval ratings are at record lows.

But the race remains close based on the latest public polling. Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who survived a small plane crash while campaigning, distanced himself from some of Trump's most unpopular policies while tapping three billionaire megadonors to hammer Crowley as weak on crime and illegal immigration.

The attacks and Tiffany's financial advantage, along with Wisconsin's long history as a state narrowly divided between Republicans and Democrats, is helping to keep the campaign close in a midterm election in which Democrats are hoping to notch big wins nationwide.

“We think we’re in a great spot,” Tiffany said after a law enforcement roundtable in Rock Springs earlier this month. “We basically see a dead heat race at this point."

Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki said Crowley is doing better than people think — noting that in 2018, the last midterm when Trump was in office, Democrats defeated a two-term Republican incumbent governor and reelected U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin by double digits. The wave is shaping up to be even bigger for Democrats this year, he said.

“The political environment is doing a lot of work for David Crowley,” Zepecki said. “The handwringing is what Democrats do, and I'm fine with nervous energy motivating people to run through the tape on Nov. 3.”

Tiffany breaks with Trump on Iran and data centers

Tiffany has been a longtime ally of Trump but in recent months has taken steps to distance himself from the unpopular Republican president.

Tiffany voted five times against resolutions in the U.S. House that would've prohibited Trump from continuing military activities in Iran without congressional approval, but in May he said it was time to “wrap up” the war.

In an interview with WMTV on Tuesday, Tiffany sidestepped a question about whether he approved of Trump's performance.

“The president is doing what he believes is best for the United States of America," Tiffany said. "What I’m focused on is being the best governor possible in Wisconsin.”

Tiffany has also been critical of artificial intelligence data centers, breaking with Trump, who has said communities that don't embrace them will be “backwards and poor.” Instead, Tiffany has tried to paint Crowley as an advocate for building data centers, referring to him as “Data Center David Crowley.”

Crowley has said his comments on AI data centers were taken out of context. He has said local communities must have veto authority, while also calling data centers a part of the modern economy that could bring significant economic benefits to the state.

Tiffany and his supporters have tried to paint Crowley as weak on crime, hitting him for a Milwaukee County program that provides computer tablets to inmates that some used to contact and harass victims and witnesses. Crowley last week suspended messaging features on the tablets after criticism from Tiffany.

Crowley targets Tiffany's ties to Trump

Crowley and his backers have tried to hammer Tiffany on his loyalty to Trump, his past support for the war in Iran, high tariffs and soaring gas prices.

Crowley this month launched an ad accusing Tiffany of pledging his loyalty to Trump and his billionaire backers. Tiffany raised more than $26 million during the most recent two-month reporting period, with $24 million-plus coming from just three people.

“These billionaires know that if they buy Congressman Tom Tiffany this election, he will sell Wisconsin out to them,” Crowley told supporters last week.

Tiffany said he thinks Crowley’s attacks linking him and Trump aren’t landing.

“People of Wisconsin are really savvy voters,” Tiffany said. “They’re like, ‘We’re not voting for president in this election. We’re voting for the governor.’"

Liberal activist Scot Ross said Crowley and his supporters have to do more to remind voters about Tiffany’s ties to Trump given voter anger over high gas prices, the Iran war and inflation.

“The number one thing in politics is anger wanes,” Ross said. “In campaigns, you need to be reminded why you’re angry. And you’re angry because of what Tom Tiffany, Trump and Republicans have done.”

Tiffany outspends Crowley

A Marquette University Law School poll of 692 likely voters conducted Sept. 16-23 showed the governor’s race to be about even.

Tiffany and his backers have outspent Crowley and his supporters $53 million to roughly $35 million, according to AdImpact, which tracks political advertising.

“We think that we have momentum on our side at this point,” Tiffany said. “I think David Crowley is struggling to get his message out.”

Republican strategist Ben Voelkel said given the “challenging national environment,” he thinks Tiffany is running a strong campaign aided by the financial advantage.

“He’s offering voters a choice and something different from the status quo, which is what I think David Crowley represents,” Voelkel said.

Democratic socialist who lost primary urges support for nominee

Crowley emerged from a chaotic Democratic primary that saw two top candidates drop out within a month of the election. Crowley had also dropped out, but he got back in at the urging of two-term incumbent Gov. Tony Evers as part of an effort by more mainstream Democrats to defeat democratic socialist Francesca Hong.

Crowley eked out a primary win by less than half a percentage point in August, and Tiffany is banking on low turnout among Democrats.

“People are not excited about David Crowley, and you can see it out there,” Tiffany said. “He’s counting on the generic ballot getting them across the finish line.”

But Democratic leaders are rallying around Crowley. Besides Evers' ongoing support, Hong is also campaigning on Crowley’s behalf.

“Let’s win this together,” she said in an Oct. 1 social media post.

In another attempt to unify Democrats and boost turnout, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore campaigned with Crowley across Wisconsin last week, noting that Crowley is vying to become Wisconsin's first Black governor. Moore is the first Black governor of Maryland and just the third Black person elected governor in U.S. history.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black person to hold that position, is scheduled to campaign with Crowley on Oct. 26.

Wisconsin is used to tight elections, even in wave years

Five of the past seven presidential elections were decided by less than a percentage point in Wisconsin. In 2018, the last Trump midterm election, Evers defeated Republican then-Gov. Scott Walker by 1.1 percentage points. In 2022, Evers won reelection by 3.4 percentage points, a landslide by Wisconsin standards.

The governor’s race is open for the first time in 16 years after Evers decided against seeking a third term. Democrats hope to hang onto the office and flip control of the Legislature, which has been majority Republican since 2011.

Crowley and Tiffany are running statewide for the first time. Crowley served three years in the state Assembly and has been the top elected official in Milwaukee County since 2020.

Tiffany, also a former state lawmaker, has served in Congress representing a mostly rural northern Wisconsin district since 2020.

“Three months ago people didn’t really know either of these candidates,” said Gordon Hintz, a former Democratic state lawmaker who served as Crowley’s mentor when he was first elected to the Assembly. “It’s kind of a race to the finish of who best defines themselves to the voters."

The Brazilian driver replaces 30-year-old Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who has one win to his name and is without an F1 seat next year.

Like Bearman, Câmara is 21 and a product of the young driver development program at Ferrari, Haas' longtime engine supplier and technical partner.

Haas has yet to confirm Bearman for next year but the British driver is widely expected to be staying for a third full season with the team, given his strong results this season compared to Ocon and the lack of any open seat at Ferrari. Bearman and Câmara are set to form the youngest partnership on the grid by combined age.

The announcement comes ahead of a home race for Haas at the United States Grand Prix next week.

“I’m really excited to sign such a young, amazing talent like Rafael Câmara,” Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said in a statement.

"We’re all excited about this opportunity and really committed as TGR Haas F1 Team to nurture this talent and provide a place where he can flourish. We want to create an environment where he’s comfortable and supported, where he can really excel in his capabilities.”

Câmara leads the F2 standings by seven points from Red Bull-backed junior Nikola Tsolov. He would be named champion if the final two scheduled rounds of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi can't go ahead and no replacement is scheduled.

“Now my focus is on preparing myself in the best possible way for this new challenge,” Câmara said. "There will be a lot to learn, and I’m looking forward to working closely with the team, understanding the car and continuing to develop as a driver.”

Next year will be the first since 2016 with more than one Brazilian driver on the grid, after Audi previously confirmed Gabriel Bortoleto was staying for 2027.

Ocon has said he's a “free agent” and would prefer to stay around F1 in a reserve driver role with another team than to race in a different series.

___

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Leer en español

According to a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Devorise Carl Johnson, 21, of southwest Miami-Dade, was arrested Wednesday after being discharged from HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for gunshot wounds sustained during the incident.

The victim, identified as Eddrick Malik Bethune, was abducted early Sunday, Oct. 4, from the Aliro apartment complex at 14040 Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami.

Suspects allegedly posed as police officers

Investigators said Johnson and four other men arrived at the apartment complex around 9:41 p.m. on Oct. 3 and waited for Bethune to leave his building.

Around midnight, Bethune walked into the parking lot, where the five men approached him in a gray 2026 Toyota Camry equipped with flashing red and blue lights, authorities said.

According to the arrest report, the driver and front-seat passenger got out of the vehicle wearing baseball caps, black pants and long-sleeved black shirts with the word “POLICE” on the back.

Both men were armed with guns, the report stated.

Investigators said the men ordered Bethune to the ground and handcuffed him.

During the encounter, Bethune’s apartment keys and cellphone were taken from him and tossed near the Camry, authorities said.

A third man then exited the vehicle, threw the cellphone across the parking lot and retrieved the apartment keys, according to the report.

Gunfire erupts inside apartment

Investigators said Johnson and two other men used Bethune’s keys to enter his apartment.

They said surveillance video showed two of the men walking toward the bedrooms while another pointed a gun toward a sofa in the living room, where a second victim was located.

After the armed man walked away, the second victim got up from the sofa and grabbed an AK-47-style rifle, according to the report.

Moments later, Johnson encountered the second victim in the living room and raised his gun, authorities said.

Investigators said the second victim opened fire, striking Johnson multiple times, while Johnson also fired at him.

The report states that Johnson and the two other men continued shooting at the second victim before jumping from a third-story bedroom window to escape.

Witness video previously obtained by Local 10 News showed two of the men jumping from the window after the shooting.

Another video captured the sound of approximately a dozen gunshots at the apartment complex.

Authorities said Johnson left blood on the apartment’s floors, walls, curtains, blinds and broken window glass.

Victim abducted, later found shot to death

While the gunfire unfolded inside the apartment, investigators said the two men who remained outside forced Bethune into the back seat of the Camry as he attempted to escape.

Cellphone video previously obtained by Local 10 News showed two men beating someone, believed to be Bethune, before throwing that person into the back seat of a gray vehicle.

The vehicle then drove away with one of its doors still open.

Surveillance footage later captured Johnson and the other two men running back to the waiting Camry, which had Bethune inside, authorities said.

Investigators said Johnson was dropped off at Jackson North Medical Center while the four other men continued driving with Bethune.

The group traveled to the area of Southwest 216th Street and Southwest 189th Avenue in the Redlands, where investigators said Bethune was shot multiple times and killed.

A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office captain discovered Bethune’s body around 7:25 a.m. on Oct. 4 along the roadside near plant nurseries, according to detectives.

Deputies also found a burned vehicle near the body.

According to the arrest report, the suspects attempted to destroy evidence by setting the Camry on fire near Southwest 248th Street and Southwest 157th Avenue.

An autopsy performed Oct. 5 determined that Bethune died from gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.

Suspect faces multiple felony charges

According to the arrest report, Johnson was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and transported to the MDSO Homicide Bureau for questioning.

After investigators advised him of his Miranda rights, Johnson invoked his right to have an attorney present.

He was subsequently arrested on the following charges:

• First-degree murder/kidnapping
• Attempted first-degree murder
• Kidnapping with a weapon or firearm
• Shooting a deadly missile
• Armed robbery with a firearm
• Falsely impersonating a police officer resulting in death
• Armed burglary with assault or battery

Johnson was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. As of Thursday morning, he remained held at TGK with a bond listed in online jail records as “to be set.”

The arrest report did not identify the four other men involved or indicate whether they had been arrested.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact MDSO Detective J. Rodriguez at 305-471-2400.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, Devorise Carl Johnson, de 21 años y residente del suroeste de Miami-Dade, fue arrestado el miércoles después de recibir el alta del HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, donde había estado recibiendo tratamiento por heridas de bala sufridas durante el incidente.

La víctima, identificada como Eddrick Malik Bethune, fue secuestrada la madrugada del domingo 4 de octubre en el complejo de apartamentos Aliro, ubicado en el 14040 de Biscayne Boulevard, en North Miami.

Sospechosos presuntamente se hicieron pasar por agentes de policía

Los investigadores indicaron que Johnson y otros cuatro hombres llegaron al complejo de apartamentos alrededor de las 9:41 p.m. del 3 de octubre y esperaron a que Bethune saliera de su edificio.

Alrededor de la medianoche, Bethune caminó hacia el estacionamiento, donde los cinco hombres se le acercaron en un Toyota Camry gris modelo 2026, equipado con luces intermitentes rojas y azules, informaron las autoridades.

Según el informe de arresto, el conductor y el pasajero del asiento delantero salieron del vehículo usando gorras de béisbol, pantalones negros y camisas negras de manga larga con la palabra “POLICE” en la espalda.

Ambos hombres estaban armados, según el informe.

Los investigadores señalaron que los hombres ordenaron a Bethune que se tirara al suelo y lo esposaron.

Durante el encuentro, le quitaron a Bethune las llaves de su apartamento y su teléfono celular, y los arrojaron cerca del Camry, indicaron las autoridades.

Un tercer hombre salió entonces del vehículo, lanzó el teléfono celular al otro lado del estacionamiento y recogió las llaves del apartamento, según el informe.

Se desata balacera dentro del apartamento

Los investigadores indicaron que Johnson y otros dos hombres utilizaron las llaves de Bethune para ingresar a su apartamento.

Señalaron que un video de vigilancia mostró a dos de los hombres caminando hacia las habitaciones, mientras otro apuntaba con un arma hacia un sofá de la sala, donde se encontraba una segunda víctima.

Después de que el hombre armado se alejara, la segunda víctima se levantó del sofá y tomó un rifle estilo AK-47, según el informe.

Momentos después, Johnson se encontró con la segunda víctima en la sala y levantó su arma, informaron las autoridades.

Los investigadores indicaron que la segunda víctima abrió fuego, alcanzando a Johnson varias veces, mientras Johnson también disparaba contra él.

El informe señala que Johnson y los otros dos hombres continuaron disparando contra la segunda víctima antes de saltar por la ventana de una habitación del tercer piso para escapar.

Un video grabado por un testigo, obtenido anteriormente por Local 10 News, mostró a dos de los hombres saltando por la ventana después de la balacera.

Otro video captó el sonido de aproximadamente una docena de disparos en el complejo de apartamentos.

Las autoridades indicaron que Johnson dejó rastros de sangre en los pisos, paredes, cortinas, persianas y vidrios rotos de las ventanas del apartamento.

Secuestran a víctima y posteriormente la encuentran muerta a tiros

Mientras se desarrollaba la balacera dentro del apartamento, los investigadores señalaron que los dos hombres que permanecieron afuera obligaron a Bethune a entrar en el asiento trasero del Camry cuando intentaba escapar.

Un video de teléfono celular obtenido anteriormente por Local 10 News mostró a dos hombres golpeando a una persona, que se cree era Bethune, antes de arrojarla al asiento trasero de un vehículo gris.

El vehículo se alejó con una de sus puertas todavía abierta.

Posteriormente, las cámaras de vigilancia captaron a Johnson y los otros dos hombres corriendo de regreso al Camry que los esperaba, en cuyo interior se encontraba Bethune, informaron las autoridades.

Los investigadores indicaron que Johnson fue dejado en el Jackson North Medical Center, mientras los otros cuatro hombres continuaron conduciendo con Bethune.

El grupo se dirigió al área de Southwest 216th Street y Southwest 189th Avenue, en Redlands, donde los investigadores señalaron que Bethune recibió múltiples disparos y murió.

Un capitán de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade descubrió el cuerpo de Bethune alrededor de las 7:25 a.m. del 4 de octubre, a un costado de la carretera cerca de varios viveros de plantas, según los detectives.

Los agentes también encontraron un vehículo incendiado cerca del cuerpo.

Según el informe de arresto, los sospechosos intentaron destruir pruebas incendiando el Camry cerca de Southwest 248th Street y Southwest 157th Avenue.

Una autopsia realizada el 5 de octubre determinó que Bethune murió a causa de heridas de bala y su muerte fue clasificada como homicidio.

Sospechoso enfrenta múltiples cargos por delitos graves

Según el informe de arresto, Johnson recibió el alta del hospital el miércoles y fue trasladado a la Oficina de Homicidios de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) para ser interrogado.

Después de que los investigadores le informaran sobre sus derechos Miranda, Johnson invocó su derecho a tener un abogado presente.

Posteriormente, fue arrestado por los siguientes cargos:

• Asesinato en primer grado/secuestro.
• Intento de asesinato en primer grado.
• Secuestro con arma o arma de fuego.
• Disparar un proyectil mortal.
• Robo a mano armada con arma de fuego.
• Hacerse pasar falsamente por un agente de policía, causando una muerte.
• Allanamiento de morada a mano armada con agresión o lesiones.

Johnson fue ingresado en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Hasta la mañana del jueves, permanecía detenido en TGK, con una fianza que figuraba en los registros penitenciarios en línea como “pendiente de establecer”.

El informe de arresto no identificó a los otros cuatro hombres involucrados ni indicó si habían sido arrestados.

Se solicita a cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el caso que se comunique con el detective J. Rodriguez, de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, al 305-471-2400.

Trump said on social media that publicly airing the execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan."

But, he continued, “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”

The Pentagon has said Hasan’s execution is scheduled for Dec. 3. Trump said the execution can be viewed in person by immediate families of the victims, “if they so choose.”

The announcement earlier this month from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Hasan’s execution would be public — and subsequent confirmation from the Pentagon that it would be livestreamed — prompted significant blowback from both Republicans and Democrats, with many pointing out that the images could be used to fuel radicalization.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said Trump and Hegseth discussed the decision to drop the livestream plans before the president's announcement on social media.

“The Secretary supports the President’s decision, and they are completely aligned,” Parnell said.

When asked how the public execution comported with his Christian faith earlier this month, Vance said “I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen.”

“So whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people,” Vance said, adding: “Now, that said, I mean, look, if it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it.”

Vance is Catholic, and the church has long opposed capital punishment. The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had condemned the Trump administration’s decision to livestream Hasan’s execution, with Archbishop Paul S. Coakley saying the move was a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.”

Other top Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voiced similar sentiments.

For his part, the president has defended his decision to approve the use of a firing squad, but had for days distanced himself from Hegseth's announcement that it would be public.

"Well, they’re making a determination about that,” Trump said Friday when asked about the livestream. As for Hasan and the method of execution, Trump said then: “He will be killed. He will be, through firing squad. I really don’t care how he goes, as long as he goes. And I think the death penalty is a very worthy way of going for him.”

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, walked into a medical building on Nov. 5, 2009, where soldiers were waiting in long lines to receive immunizations and medical clearance for deployment. He shouted “Allahu akbar” — Arabic for “God is great!” — and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. He also shot at the backs of soldiers fleeing toward the parking lot.

Hasan said it was an effort to stop them from going to Afghanistan and killing his fellow Muslims. A military judge barred him from presenting that as a defense during his 2013 trial. Hasan was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in the back by law enforcement and now uses a wheelchair.

Hasan could seek a lengthy delay of his execution, though given his behavior at trial, he may not want to.

The U.S. military hasn’t executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was executed by hanging.

——-

Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

Leer en español

Several of our computer models – including Google’s DeepMind machine-learning based ensemble system as well as the traditional physics-based European model ensemble system – are showing low pressure development along a stalled front off the Carolinas next week.

The starting bid from forecast models is generally low (roughly 30% development odds), though the European model is taking a slightly more bullish stance, indicating a modest 40 to 50% chance of development, most likely in the Tuesday to Friday time frame next week.

It’s a decent enough signal in both of our top-performing forecast systems to merit a trend watch for next week, especially for interests in the coastal Carolinas.

“Some level of coastal concerns” regardless

Most of our models agree that a low-pressure area will form along the stalled front but the unknowns are whether it fully transitions to a tropical or subtropical system and how far it forms off the coast (other models like the American GFS and its AI counterpart show it forming much farther east off the Carolinas).

Whatever forms by later next week won’t be in hurry to move and, with the warmer waters of the nearby Gulf Stream, may have some time to try to organize or transition into a tropical system, depending on exactly where it sets up shop.

Regardless, as folks in the Carolinas know, even an offshore system can bring coastal issues in terms of beach erosion and overwash so it’s something those along North Carolina’s Outer Banks will want to monitor for next week.

As the National Weather Service forecast office in Morehead City notes in its Thursday morning discussion, all forecast model scenarios – even those farther offshore – “result in hazardous marine conditions and some level of coastal concerns.”

Development not expected elsewhere

Elsewhere things look quiet across the Atlantic basin for the next week or two.

Varios de nuestros modelos computacionales, incluido el sistema de pronóstico por conjuntos basado en aprendizaje automático DeepMind de Google, así como el sistema tradicional de pronóstico por conjuntos del modelo europeo, basado en principios físicos, muestran la posible formación de un sistema de baja presión a lo largo de un frente estacionario frente a las costas de las Carolinas la próxima semana.

Las estimaciones iniciales de los modelos de pronóstico son generalmente bajas, con una probabilidad de desarrollo de aproximadamente un 30%, aunque el modelo europeo muestra una perspectiva ligeramente más optimista, indicando una probabilidad moderada de desarrollo de entre el 40% y el 50%, muy probablemente entre el martes y el viernes de la próxima semana.

Es una señal suficientemente significativa en nuestros dos sistemas de pronóstico más precisos como para justificar un seguimiento de su evolución durante la próxima semana, especialmente para quienes se encuentran en las zonas costeras de las Carolinas.

“Cierto nivel de preocupación en las zonas costeras” de cualquier manera

La mayoría de nuestros modelos coinciden en que se formará un área de baja presión a lo largo del frente estacionario, pero las incógnitas son si llegará a convertirse completamente en un sistema tropical o subtropical y a qué distancia de la costa se formará (otros modelos, como el estadounidense GFS y su equivalente basado en inteligencia artificial, muestran que se formaría mucho más al este de las Carolinas).

Cualquier sistema que se forme hacia finales de la próxima semana no se desplazará rápidamente y, con las aguas más cálidas de la cercana corriente del Golfo, podría tener tiempo para intentar organizarse o transformarse en un sistema tropical, dependiendo de dónde se establezca exactamente.

De cualquier manera, como saben los residentes de las Carolinas, incluso un sistema que permanece mar adentro puede causar problemas en las zonas costeras, como erosión de las playas e inundaciones por el desbordamiento del agua del mar, por lo que es algo que quienes se encuentran a lo largo de los Outer Banks de Carolina del Norte deberán vigilar durante la próxima semana.

Como señala la oficina del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Morehead City en su informe del jueves por la mañana, todos los escenarios de los modelos de pronóstico, incluso aquellos que sitúan el sistema más lejos de la costa, “provocan condiciones marítimas peligrosas y cierto nivel de preocupación en las zonas costeras”.

No se espera desarrollo de sistemas en otras áreas

En otras partes, las condiciones parecen mantenerse tranquilas en toda la cuenca del Atlántico durante la próxima semana o dos.

Leer en español

The ruling sparked a heated exchange during Wednesday night’s Tamarac City Commission meeting as Mayor Michelle Gomez addressed the decision and what it could mean for voters.

“During this meeting, a ruling came out that said that Commissioner Wright was not going to be qualified to be on the ballot in November,” Gomez said.

As the mayor discussed the ruling, another official attempted to adjourn the meeting, arguing that the matter was not on the agenda.

Gomez pushed back, insisting she had the right to address the issue.

“You are the one who brought it up. I am making a comment and I am going to use my personal privilege. You do not have to like it,” Gomez said.

Mayor addresses concerns about election

Gomez also sought to reassure residents that the court’s ruling did not necessarily mean they would lose their opportunity to vote for a District 2 representative.

“You have fear mongering going among you,” Gomez said.

The mayor acknowledged that the ruling could be appealed and that the city’s charter would help determine whether a special District 2 election would be necessary.

“Yes the ruling came out, yes there is opportunity for appeal, and yes there is a city charter to determine on whether or not this needs to be set for a new special set District 2 election, and those will be determined by the actual experts, not anybody on this dais,” Gomez said.

She urged residents not to panic about their representation.

“So please do not have a panic that your voices will not be heard,” Gomez said.

Wright released a statement to Local 10 News Thursday, saying he will appeal the judge’s decision.

“My attorneys and I respectfully disagree with the Judge’s ruling and plan an immediate appeal to the Fourth District Court,” the statement read. “The voters should decide who they want to represent them on the Tamarac City Commission. We remain confident that our campaign will ultimately prevail at the ballot box. I look forward to continuing to represent you as your District 2 Commissioner!”

Michael Desronvil said he didn't have any doubt that Clancy was guilty, telling Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that he was struck by her “thought process” during the killings.

Desronvil was the only juror who opposed clearing Clancy of criminal responsibility, siding with prosecutors who argued that she knew what she was doing. Clancy's defense argued she was in the grip of a rare condition called postpartum psychosis when she strangled her kids.

“The focus has to be on the children,” Desronvil said. “They are the ones who don’t have anyone fighting for them.”

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

___

Clancy's trial ended with a mistrial in early September and generated intense public interest, drawing attention to maternal mental health after childbirth. She had mental health problems that included months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital before she killed the children and then tried to kill herself at her family’s Massachusetts home in 2023.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether they will put the case in front of a jury for a second time. They could retry her on first-degree murder charges, seek lesser charges or drop the case entirely.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

Her former husband Patrick Clancy, who discovered the children’s bodies, has said in interviews that he forgives her.

Los conteos de focos de incendio en todo el bioma, que este año se habían mantenido cerca de mínimos históricos, se han triplicado desde el 4 de octubre, cuando los brasileños votaron en la primera vuelta de las elecciones nacionales. El senador Flávio Bolsonaro, hijo del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro, obtuvo el 47% de los votos, mientras que el presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recibió el 45%. Ambos se enfrentarán en una segunda vuelta el 25 de octubre.

“El indicio es que ha habido un esfuerzo premeditado” para iniciar los incendios, declaró al The Associated Press el ministro de Medio Ambiente, João Paulo Capobianco.

Capobianco y funcionarios de fiscalización ambiental sobrevolaron el domingo zonas quemadas e hicieron un nuevo recorrido el miércoles. El ministro señaló que observaron incendios en áreas de bosque protegido dispuestos en un patrón geométrico distintivo, lo que sugiere que pudieron haber sido provocados deliberadamente.

No se sabe quién pudo haber iniciado los incendios ni cuáles podrían ser sus motivaciones. En los últimos días, los incendios forestales han golpeado especialmente a los estados de Amazonas y Pará. El humo ha alterado la vida cotidiana en Manaus, la capital de Amazonas y la ciudad más grande de la Amazonía brasileña. Se cancelaron las clases en las escuelas públicas y se instó a los residentes a usar mascarillas.

Los incendios alimentan los choques políticos

Según un monitoreo de Barometro, una herramienta desarrollada por la agencia brasileña de estrategia climática FALA, parte de la coalición global Climate Action Against Disinformation, los políticos conservadores del estado de Amazonas han sido quienes más han levantado la voz sobre los incendios.

En el análisis se examinaron 165 publicaciones sobre incendios y humo en el estado, provenientes de 41 políticos, y se determinó que casi el 55% procedía de la derecha. Con el paso de las semanas, las publicaciones personales dieron paso a disputas políticas, en las que dirigentes locales se atribuyen el mérito de los esfuerzos de combate al fuego o acusan a las autoridades de no actuar.

“El mismo tema sirve simultáneamente como advertencia de salud pública, agenda de política ambiental y herramienta de campaña”, según el informe.

Los incendios también se han convertido en un punto de disputa fuera de la Amazonía, en una campaña electoral en la que la protección del bosque y el cambio climático han recibido poca atención.

La deforestación en la Amazonía se disparó durante el gobierno del expresidente Bolsonaro, mientras que Lula la ha reducido al nivel más bajo en una década. Flávio Bolsonaro ha negado el cambio climático, pero ha afirmado que es un defensor del medio ambiente, sin ofrecer detalles sobre cómo proteger la Amazonía o respaldar el financiamiento forestal. En sus discursos, ha pedido modernizar las leyes ambientales, algo que muchos ambientalistas interpretan como una flexibilización.

Los aliados más populares de los Bolsonaro —Nikolas Ferreira, legislador del estado de Minas Gerais, y el gobernador reelecto de São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, ambos del sureste de Brasil— mencionaron los incendios forestales la semana pasada para criticar al gobierno de Lula. De Freitas sostuvo que los miembros del Partido de los Trabajadores de Lula eran hipócritas y que “desaparecieron” mientras la Amazonía ardía.

Lula no respondió a las críticas, pero afirmó en un video publicado el sábado en X que había hablado con el gobernador de Amazonas, Roberto Cidade, y que el gobierno federal estaba enviando recursos para apoyar los esfuerzos de combate al fuego.

“El pueblo de Amazonas puede contar con el gobierno federal. Estamos juntos en esta lucha para proteger vidas, preservar el bosque y apoyar a quienes enfrentan esta emergencia”, afirmó el presidente.

La actividad humana y las condiciones más secas agravan los riesgos de incendio

Susana Braz, una bióloga de 35 años en Manaus que estudia cómo la ceniza tóxica de los incendios amazónicos afecta los ríos de la región, contó que no pudo dormir en su propia cama porque su dormitorio, lleno de humo, parecía una parrilla.

“Llegamos a casa y la casa está llena de humo”, relató Braz. “Salimos y había humo por todas partes”.

La gente ha intentado seguir con su vida con normalidad, pero el empeoramiento del humo en los últimos 10 días ha alimentado la frustración. “¿De verdad vamos a aceptar este humo como algo normal, como si todo estuviera bien y simplemente tuviéramos que vivir con ello?”, añadió.

La Amazonía almacena enormes cantidades de carbono y libera humedad que regula el clima mucho más allá de Sudamérica. Pero el cambio climático y la deforestación la están volviendo más caliente, más seca y más inflamable. El Niño, un patrón climático recurrente, puede agravar el calor y la sequía.

“Casi todas las igniciones en la región son causadas por actividad humana, principalmente para renovar pastizales o despejar tierras”, explicó Ane Alencar, directora científica del Instituto de Investigación Ambiental de la Amazonía, una organización sin fines de lucro de Brasil. “Durante períodos muy secos, esos fuegos pueden salirse de control”.

Se esperaba que los conteos de incendios aumentaran en esta época del año con el desarrollo de El Niño, pero el momento en torno a las elecciones sigue siendo llamativo, señaló Alencar.

“En los últimos 10 días, hemos visto que los puntos críticos de incendios casi se triplicaron en comparación con los 10 días previos a la elección, principalmente alrededor de Manaus”, indicó. “Algo ocurrió que llevó a la gente a quemar más”.

Los bomberos enfrentan una variedad de causas

João Morita, coordinador del ICMBio, la agencia federal que administra las áreas protegidas de Brasil, ha estado en la primera línea combatiendo incendios en áreas de conservación de la Amazonía. Dijo que varios factores podrían explicar el aumento de la semana pasada en la región, incluidos residentes de bosques nacionales que queman parcelas de cultivo, pese a que existe una prohibición.

“Los incendios comienzan por todo tipo de razones. Algunos son represalias por acciones de fiscalización. Otros se provocan deliberadamente con intención maliciosa. Cualquier quema no autorizada es un delito, así que hay un abanico de posibilidades”, expresó Morita.

Funcionarios e investigadores han advertido que los efectos de El Niño sobre la Amazonía podrían ser peores en 2027 que este año.

En un comunicado enviado a la AP, el gobierno de Amazonas informó que se reunió con funcionarios federales durante el fin de semana para hablar sobre los esfuerzos de combate al fuego y que había declarado el estado de emergencia en municipios afectados por incendios forestales.

“La medida toma en cuenta el empeoramiento de las condiciones climáticas causado por El Niño, con precipitaciones por debajo del promedio y pronósticos de altas temperaturas, lo que favorece el inicio y la propagación de incendios”, señaló el gobierno estatal.

___

La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido. Encuentra los estándares de la AP para trabajar con organizaciones filantrópicas, una lista de las fundaciones y las áreas de cobertura que financian en AP.org.

___

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

El tiroteo ocurrió alrededor de las 7:30 a.m. cerca de la intersección de la calle 109 del noroeste y South River Drive, en el pueblo de Medley.

Según la policía, dos personas discutieron en un negocio llamado Metro Express, y una de ellas le disparó a la otra.

Según Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, los equipos de emergencia acudieron a la zona y trasladaron en helicóptero a una persona a un centro de trauma cercano. Más tarde, la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade confirmó que la víctima murió en el hospital.

Los agentes dijeron que el tirador también fue hospitalizado por “razones médicas personales”.

Los cargos están pendientes.

Aún no se ha revelado la identidad del sospechoso ni de la víctima. Las circunstancias del tiroteo siguen bajo investigación.

Leer en español

His recovery has been nothing short of remarkable.

“Getting struck by lightning was probably about one of the last things I would have thought that happened,” said Rick Stanczyk.

Stanczyk, who comes from a family of fishing guides, and whose family owns the iconic Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, was scheduled to take three people out for a day of tarpon fishing on August 20th.

There were storms in the area, said friend and client Mark Fravel, but nowhere near where they were.

“We actually did see some lightning strikes, but it was so far away - you just saw the flash,” Fravel said.

The calm would soon change

Fravel heard what sounded like a loud crack.

“It was a crack so loud that if felt like it lifted the boat up in the air,” he said.

Stanczyk said not only he does he not remember anything about that moment, but he doesn’t remember anything about that entire day. But he surmises that because he was holding on a metal steering wheel at the helm of his Contender center console boat, the lightning electrified him.

“I was holding the wheel and so it got me and everyone else on the boat was fine,” he said.

Fravel believes the lightning struck the water first, “chased up the engine and through the steering column,” he recalled.

Stanczyk, 44 and a father of two, collapsed.

His Contender was dead in the water.

Fravel and another onboard began CPR, while calling 911.

In minutes, Islamorada Fire Rescue paramedics raced to Bud N’ Mary’s and got onboard another boat captain’s vessel.

“It was dark and rainy,” recalled paramedic Steven Mejia. “We went onboard a vessel to reach where the patient was. If they weren’t there to initiate CPR - who knows what the outcome would have been.”

Stanczyk was flown to the hospital where he spent several days in a medically induced coma.

He recalls his wife telling him what happened as he slowly regained consciousness.

“‘Stay calm, Rick, you’re in the hospital,’” she told him. “‘You’re okay, but you were struck by lightning.’ And I was like, ‘what?’”

Florida is known as the lightning capital of the world.

Lightning activity in the state was reported to be nearly 28 percent above the 10-year average, according to the National Lightning Safety Council.

And even higher late this summer.

Meteorologist Chris Vagasky provided Local 10 with data that showed that lightning activity in August was 58% above average, and 108% above average in September.

Scientists are still working to find out why.

Now, Stanczyk is back on the water and says he’s cleared all medical tests - and is feeling strong.

In an abundance of precaution, he uses a rubber sleeve that covers the metal steering wheel of the boat he’s using. The Contender is still in the shop.

“As the captain of the boat, you always kind of think of yourself as the one who’s gonna be in charge. [I’m] a little more grateful for being here and realizing you’re never really guaranteed tomorrow So you’ve got to enjoy the day.”

Su recuperación ha sido extraordinaria.

“Ser alcanzado por un rayo probablemente era una de las últimas cosas que habría imaginado que me sucederían”, dijo Rick Stanczyk.

Stanczyk, quien proviene de una familia de guías de pesca y cuya familia es propietaria del emblemático puerto deportivo Bud N’ Mary’s Marina en Islamorada, tenía previsto llevar a tres personas a una jornada de pesca de sábalo el 20 de agosto.

Había tormentas en la zona, dijo su amigo y cliente Mark Fravel, pero ninguna cerca de donde se encontraban.

“De hecho, vimos algunos rayos, pero estaban tan lejos que solo se veía el destello”, dijo Fravel.

La calma pronto cambiaría

Fravel escuchó lo que parecía ser un fuerte estallido.

“Fue un estruendo tan fuerte que sentí como si hubiera levantado el barco por los aires”, dijo.

Stanczyk aseguró que no solo no recuerda nada de ese momento, sino que tampoco recuerda nada de todo aquel día. Sin embargo, supone que, como estaba sujetando el volante metálico de su embarcación Contender de consola central, el rayo lo electrocutó.

“Estaba sujetando el volante, así que me alcanzó a mí, pero todos los demás que estaban en el barco salieron ilesos”, dijo.

Fravel cree que el rayo impactó primero en el agua y “subió por el motor y atravesó la columna de dirección”, recordó.

Stanczyk, de 44 años y padre de dos hijos, se desplomó.

Su embarcación Contender quedó inmovilizada en el agua.

Fravel y otra persona a bordo comenzaron a practicarle reanimación cardiopulmonar (RCP) mientras llamaban al 911.

En cuestión de minutos, los paramédicos de Islamorada Fire Rescue acudieron rápidamente a Bud N’ Mary’s y abordaron la embarcación de otro capitán.

“Estaba oscuro y llovía”, recordó el paramédico Steven Mejia. “Subimos a una embarcación para llegar hasta donde estaba el paciente. Si ellos no hubieran estado allí para iniciar la reanimación cardiopulmonar, quién sabe cuál habría sido el resultado”.

Stanczyk fue trasladado en helicóptero a un hospital, donde permaneció varios días en coma inducido médicamente.

Recuerda que su esposa le contó lo sucedido mientras recuperaba lentamente el conocimiento.

“Mantén la calma, Rick, estás en el hospital”, le dijo. “Estás bien, pero te alcanzó un rayo”. Y yo le respondí: “¿Qué?”.

Florida es conocida como la capital mundial de los rayos.

Según el Consejo Nacional de Seguridad contra Rayos, la actividad de rayos en el estado fue casi un 28% superior al promedio de los últimos 10 años.

Y fue aún mayor a finales de este verano.

El meteorólogo Chris Vagasky proporcionó a Local 10 News datos que mostraron que la actividad de rayos en agosto fue un 58% superior al promedio y un 108% superior al promedio en septiembre.

Los científicos todavía están trabajando para determinar por qué.

Ahora, Stanczyk ha regresado al agua y asegura que ha superado todas las pruebas médicas y que se siente fuerte.

Como medida de precaución adicional, utiliza una cubierta de goma que recubre el volante metálico de la embarcación que está utilizando. Su Contender todavía permanece en el taller.

“Como capitán del barco, siempre piensas que eres quien estará a cargo. Estoy un poco más agradecido de estar aquí y de darme cuenta de que nunca tienes garantizado el mañana. Así que tienes que disfrutar el día”.

A high impact storm system is still expected for the weekend. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected Saturday and Sunday. Some rain could be heavy enough to cause flooding. It’s not looking too windy on Saturday, but expect winds to increase with 30-40 mph gusts on Sunday. These breezy conditions will last much of next week. Stay with Local 10 News as we fine tune the details of this weekend storm system.

Soccer officials came to the meeting in Zurich hoping to receive more information about two of the biggest controversies that have surrounded Infantino this year: his now-aborted $4.2 billion World Cup sell-off plan and the Folarin Balogun red-card case at the World Cup where President Donald Trump intervened.

Despite Infantino’s apology, European delegates said they left the meeting disappointed about what they saw as a lack of clarity about the two disputes.

“No satisfactory answers were provided,” said German soccer leader Bernd Neuendorf, one of eight delegates from European soccer confederation UEFA in the 37-member FIFA Council that Infantino chairs.

Infantino provided no documents about the $4.2 billion World Cup sell-off plan he launched and quickly dropped in July amid a fierce backlash led from Europe.

Nor did he give details to explain the Folarin Balogun red-card case at the World Cup or how U.S. President Donald Trump intervened to help the national team forward, European delegates at the meeting later told reporters.

FIFA will, however, review whether to continue awarding the peace prize that was created to give to Trump last December.

Infantino frustrated European delegates by asking for questions in writing at their only meeting before the Nov. 18 deadline to propose a candidate to oppose him at FIFA's presidential election in March.

“The man has to answer those questions. If he doesn’t answer those questions, no, he is not fit to be the FIFA president,” said Debbie Hewitt, who leads the English Football Association and is a FIFA vice president.

She said Infantino offered his apology “with some contrition.”

FIFA says details of investment proposal are confidential

Infantino was pressed by European soccer officials for written evidence about his secretive private equity plan for a World Cup commercial rights subsidiary with investor Joshua Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.

Known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, the proposal provoked a global rift and the biggest crisis of Infantino's near 11-year presidency.

The FIFA president didn't speak to media after the 3 1/2-hour meeting in Zurich but issued a video statement.

“I apologized for the mistakes that we made in relation to the communication and consultation process related to the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which then led to many consequences,” Infantino said.

He noted that it was “just a proposal, so in no way a done deal.”

FIFA said in a separate statement details of the investor project “remain confidential due to ongoing legal proceedings in the United States.”

The council is the main decision-making body at FIFA with a global spread of officials — most are presidents of their national federation, like Cindy Parlow Cone of the U.S. — who are elected by their continental soccer bodies for four-year terms.

FIFA pays each an annual stipend of $250,000, with $300,000 for the continental presidents.

UEFA pursues legal action against FIFA, Infantino and Kushner in the U.S.

European soccer’s ruling body UEFA is leading attempts to remove Infantino before or at the FIFA presidential election in March.

Infantino infuriated soccer leaders in Europe, North America and Asia by working for months in secret on the Kushner plan. It deepened a long-standing perception in UEFA that the FIFA boss plans his biggest projects without consulting them.

“We need a person of integrity, someone who can be expected to restore the reputation of the association, which has undoubtedly been lost,” Neuendorf told reporters.

UEFA also has asked courts in the United States for the right to get evidence for a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland. The court filings allege possible mismanagement of FIFA finances in the value he put on the intended subsidiary running tournament commercial rights.

It was to be at least 20% owned by investors led by Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

FIFA lawyers’ filings in response to stall or stop the evidence requests said they were a “smear campaign” by UEFA.

Support for Infantino comes from Africa

For most of the last 50 years, FIFA voters from Africa — which now counts 54 of the 211 member federations — have been key to gaining and staying in power.

“The key point for us,” said FIFA Council member Ahmed Yahya, the head of Mauritania’s soccer federation, “is that we see Gianni as the right person to continue leading football.”

Infantino's offer to add $15 million in FIFA funding to each of the 211 members over the next four years made progress Thursday. They already were sure to get $10 million each from FIFA through 2030.

“I’ve said that President Gianni Infantino is taking football forward worldwide," Yahya said. “I come from the African continent and know what I’m talking about.”

The FIFA presidential election meeting is on March 18 in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, which is a political ally of Infantino. Its soccer leader Fouzi Lekjaa is an influential council member. Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

Morocco also is competing with Spain, an influential member of UEFA, to host the final in 2030. That FIFA decision is a potential factor in election alliances until March.

Next FIFA Council in Qatar which is supporting Infantino

The FIFA Council should next meet on Dec. 16 in Doha, Qatar — the 2022 World Cup host that still is loyal to Infantino.

Another ally is Azerbaijan — whose most senior soccer official Elkhan Mammadov is an aide in Infantino's inner circle — which will host a global boys' tournament for under-15 teams later this month. That event shapes to be a lobbying opportunity for his campaign.

FIFA also will host an extraordinary congress on Nov. 23 — five days after the candidate deadline — to confirm hosts for the Women's World Cup in 2031 and 2035. The only bids are a U.S.-Mexico-Costa Rica-Jamaica plan for 2031 and the four United Kingdom federations for 2035.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

El fallo provocó un acalorado intercambio durante la reunión de la Comisión Municipal de Tamarac el miércoles por la noche, cuando la alcaldesa Michelle Gomez abordó la decisión y lo que podría significar para los votantes.

“Durante esta reunión, se emitió un fallo que establece que el comisionado Wright no estará calificado para aparecer en la boleta electoral de noviembre”, dijo Gomez.

Mientras la alcaldesa discutía el fallo, otro funcionario intentó dar por terminada la reunión, argumentando que el asunto no estaba incluido en la agenda.

Gomez se opuso e insistió en que tenía derecho a abordar el tema.

“Usted fue quien sacó el tema. Estoy haciendo un comentario y voy a hacer uso de mi privilegio personal. No tiene que gustarle”, dijo Gomez.

Alcaldesa aborda preocupaciones sobre las elecciones

Gomez también intentó tranquilizar a los residentes, señalando que el fallo judicial no significaba necesariamente que perderían la oportunidad de votar por un representante del Distrito 2.

“Hay quienes están sembrando miedo entre ustedes”, dijo Gomez.

La alcaldesa reconoció que el fallo podría ser apelado y que los estatutos de la ciudad ayudarían a determinar si sería necesario celebrar una elección especial para el Distrito 2.

“Sí, se emitió el fallo, sí, existe la oportunidad de apelar y sí, hay unos estatutos municipales para determinar si es necesario convocar una nueva elección especial para el Distrito 2, y esas decisiones serán tomadas por los verdaderos expertos, no por ninguna de las personas que estamos aquí en este estrado”, dijo Gomez.

También instó a los residentes a no entrar en pánico por su representación.

“Así que, por favor, no entren en pánico pensando que sus voces no serán escuchadas”, dijo Gomez.

Aún no está claro si Wright apelará la decisión o si la ciudad tendrá que programar una elección especial para el Distrito 2.

During the enrollment period, which ends Dec. 7, people will have the opportunity to choose between traditional Medicare and privately run Medicare Advantage plans in their area, as well as prescription drug plans. Those changes go into effect on Jan. 1.

Open enrollment also comes as inflation adds pressure on seniors whose healthcare costs have risen and as midterm elections are weeks away. Voters have consistently said that the cost of living is a major concern heading into the elections.

The Medicare enrollment period also comes as the Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities will go up by 3.6% beginning in 2027, which translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income.

New changes to Medicare coming in 2027 include higher Part D out-of-pocket caps, the end of temporary federal Part D premium subsidies, and new drug price negotiations.

Juliette Cubanski, director of KFF’s program on Medicare policy, said the open enrollment period offers enrollees “an opportunity to evaluate the coverage they have and see if there might be better options for them in terms of accessing the care that they need at possibly a lower cost.”

Here are a few of the biggest changes:

Medicare Part D

The cap on annual out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare Part D drugs will increase to $2,400, up from $2,100 in 2026, and the standard deductible will increase from $615 to $700.

The temporary Part D premium subsidy will also end early.

The Trump administration concludes at year’s end a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that has helped offset premiums.

It was initially implemented by former President Joe Biden's administration in 2024 to lower patients’ Medicare Part D prescription drug costs in response to the effects of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has projected only modest price increases for most people. CMS did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

David Lipschutz, co-director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, points out that there could be greater disruptions in coverage for some Medicare enrollees since some Medicare Advantage plans are pulling out of specific geographic areas and scaling back benefits, such as dental coverage, while potentially increasing cost-sharing.

Plans, insurance companies make business decisions about what they’re going to offer the following year, if they’re going to offer anything at all. And by that very nature, it causes disruption to the system. And it looks like this time there’s more disruption than usual.

Drug price negotiations

New Medicare-negotiated prices, part of a Biden-era law that allows the haggling for Medicare, will go into effect for 15 drugs, including weight-loss and diabetes medications Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy.

Additionally, Trelegy Ellipta, Xtandi, Pomalyst, Ibrance, Ofev, Linzess, Calquence, Austedo/Austedo XR, Breo Ellipta, Tradjenta, Xifaxan, Vraylar, Janumet/Janumet XR, and Otezla will be covered by Medicare as of Jan. 1.

CMS expects the change to lower prescription drug coverage for people enrolled in Medicare by $685 million in 2027.

AARP’s Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Nancy LeaMond said in a statement that “higher healthcare costs are making it harder for older Americans to afford the care they need."

“It’s more important than ever to shop around, compare your options, and choose the coverage that’s best for you," she said.

Other Trump administration promises

Along with the changes, President Donald Trump in recent weeks made a series of promises to Medicare enrollees and retirees.

Last week, Trump said his administration will make one-time payments of $90 per person in October to help more than 20 million Medicare enrollees — or less than one third of enrollees — pay for their Part B premiums. It will cost about $2 billion.

Not eligible are roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, millions of other people with disabilities and low-income Medicare recipients.

According to the CMS website, eligible beneficiaries will receive one $90 rebate this month, with most getting a direct deposit. Others will receive a paper check from the Treasury Department later in October.

Trump also announced recently that roughly 1 million people would get rebate checks of $500 for Affordable Care Act premiums.

Democratic officials said that total outpaces what they raised in the same month in three previous midterm cycles. They hope the tally, which they shared with The Associated Press before a federal reporting deadline later this month, reflects voter enthusiasm with control of Congress at stake in the Nov. 3 election.

The party has struggled with fundraising during President Donald Trump's second term, lagging behind Republicans and carrying debt into this year's campaign season.

The DNC said it raised $10.25 million from small-dollar donors, meaning people who responded to email and other solicitations. That's $3.5 million more than in 2018 during Trump's last midterm election, and $1.6 million more than in 2022 and $3.4 million more than in 2014.

The DNC chair, Ken Martin, said the fundraising was a “clear sign” that Democrats were on a winning path.

“Democrats' historic momentum heading into the midterms is powered by our grassroots donors,” he said in a statement.

More complete fundraising figures, which include money from larger donors, were not yet available.

Joe Rospars, a Democratic strategist who worked on Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, said the small-dollar donors often reflect voter excitement and volunteering for the party and candidates.

“It means that the grassroots dollars are not just dollars. They’re energy,” he said.

The DNC said it has cut back on the volume of its emails as a way to reduce fatigue among supporters who are bombarded by pitches for donations.

The party said about 1 in 5 donors are giving for the first time.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that the $10.25 million raised by the DNC from small-dollar donors in September is an increase in such contributions when compared with the past three midterms -- $3.5 million more than in 2018, $1.6 million more than in 2022 and $3.4 million more than in 2014. An earlier version of this story said those figures were the totals raised by the DNC from small-money donors.

Fire counts across the biome, which have been near historic lows this year, have tripled since Oct. 4, when Brazilians voted in the first round of national elections. Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, won 47% of the vote, while President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 45%. The two will face off in an Oct. 25 runoff.

“The indications are that there has been a premeditated effort” to start the fires, Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco told The Associated Press.

Capobianco and environmental enforcement officials flew over burned areas on Sunday and again on Wednesday. He said they observed fires in protected forest areas arranged in a distinct geometric pattern, suggesting they may have been deliberately set.

It's not clear who might have started the fires or what their motivations may be. The wildfires have particularly hit Amazonas and Para states over the past few days. Smoke has disrupted daily life in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas and the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon. Public school classes were canceled and residents were urged to wear face masks.

The burning fuels political clashes

Conservative politicians in Amazonas state have been the most vocal about the fires, according to monitoring by Barometro, a tool developed by Brazilian climate strategy agency FALA, part of the global Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition.

The analysis examined 165 posts about fires and smoke in the state from 41 politicians, finding that nearly 55% came from the right. Over the weeks, personal publications gave way to political disputes, with local politicians claiming credit for firefighting efforts or accusing authorities of failing to act.

“The same issue serves simultaneously as a public health warning, an environmental policy agenda and a campaign tool,” the report said.

The fires have also become a point of contention outside the Amazon, in an election campaign in which forest protection and climate change have received little attention.

Deforestation in the Amazon soared under former President Bolsonaro, while Lula has brought it back down to the lowest in a decade. Flávio Bolsonaro has denied climate change but said he is an environmental defender, without offering details on protecting the Amazon or supporting forest financing. In speeches, he has called for modernizing environmental laws, which many environmentalists read as loosening them.

The Bolsonaros most popular allies — Nikolas Ferreira, a lawmaker from the state of Minas Gerais, and reelected Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcísio de Freitas, both from southeastern Brazil — cited wildfires last week to criticize Lula’s government. De Freitas said Lula’s Workers Party were hypocrites and “disappeared” while the Amazon burned.

Lula did not address the criticism but said in a video posted Saturday on X that he had spoken with Amazonas Gov. Roberto Cidade and that the federal government was sending resources to support firefighting efforts.

“The people of Amazonas can count on the federal government. We are together in this fight to protect lives, preserve the forest and support those facing this emergency,” the president said.

Human activity and drier conditions aggravate fire risks

Susana Braz, a 35-year-old biologist in Manaus who studies how toxic ash from Amazon wildfires affects the region’s rivers, said she could not sleep in her own bed because her smoke-filled bedroom felt like a barbecue grill.

“We come home, and the house is full of smoke,” Braz said. “We go outside, and there’s smoke everywhere.”

People have tried to carry on as usual, but worsening smoke over the past 10 days has fueled frustration. “Are we really going to accept this smoke as normal, as if everything is fine and we just have to live with it?” she added.

The Amazon stores vast amounts of carbon and releases moisture that regulates weather far beyond South America. But climate change and deforestation are making it hotter, drier and more flammable. El Niño, a recurring climate pattern, can worsen heat and drought.

“Nearly all ignitions in the region are caused by human activity, mainly to renew pastures or clear land,” said Ane Alencar, science director at Brazil’s nonprofit Amazon Environmental Research Institute. “During very dry periods, those fires can escape.”

Fire counts were expected to increase at this time of year with a developing El Niño, but the timing around elections is still notable, Alencar said.

“Over the past 10 days, we’ve seen fire hot spots nearly triple compared with the 10 days before the election, mainly around Manaus,” she said. “Something happened that led people to burn more.”

Firefighters confront a range of causes

João Morita, a coordinator at ICMBio, the federal agency that manages Brazil’s protected areas, has been on the front lines fighting fires in conservation areas in the Amazon. He said several factors could explain last week’s spike in the region, including residents of national forests burning crop plots, despite a ban.

“Fires start for all sorts of reasons. Some are retaliation for enforcement actions. Others are deliberately set with malicious intent. Any unauthorized burning is a crime, so there is a range of possibilities,” Morita said.

Officials and researchers have warned that El Niño’s effects on the Amazon could be worse in 2027 than this year.

In a statement to the AP, the Amazonas government said it met with federal officials over the weekend to discuss firefighting efforts and had declared a state of emergency in municipalities affected by wildfires.

“The measure takes into account worsening climate conditions caused by El Niño, with below-average rainfall and high temperatures forecast, which favor the outbreak and spread of fires,” the state government said.

___

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.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon will not live-stream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, after the announcement faced bipartisan criticism that such images could fuel radicalization.

And a strong majority of voters believes Trump is falling short at home and abroad, and they want major change in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new AP-NORC poll that raises serious warning signs for the Republican Party at a critical moment.

The Latest:

California sues Trump administration over ICE arrests at courthouses

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday his office is suing the Trump administration for directing federal agents to carry out civil immigration arrests at and around courthouses.

Bonta said California law expressly prohibits civil arrests at state courthouses, which impedes access to the judicial system. Officers have apprehended people in hallways, lobbies, and parking lots of the state’s courthouses, and sometimes have reported to be waiting in the court parking lot for days.

“We’ve seen serious criminal charges dropped and entire cases jeopardized because victims and witnesses are too scared to come to the courthouse to testify,” Bonta said.

The average monthly number of ICE arrests in and around California courthouses increased by more than 550% after the administration issued a directive authorizing and encouraging them, Bonta said. The arrests continued even after a federal judge in northern California struck down the policy in a June 2026 order.

Trump administration advances plan for peptide drugs favored by RFK Jr.

Federal health officials are moving ahead with plans to broaden access to a class of unproven injectable drugs called peptides.

The Department of Health and Human Services submitted a plan to the White House that would allow temporary access to some of the products, according to a government online posting Thursday.

The peptides in question are essentially unapproved, injectable drugs that have become popular among people looking to build muscle, look younger or boost energy. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described himself as “a big fan” of peptides and directed the Food and Drug Administration to consider loosening restrictions on their use.

County election offices in Texas have cleared thousands of backlogged voter records

Just days before early voting began in Texas, the Secretary of State’s office confirmed that they were not aware of any counties with pending voter records to clear after a backlog caused thousands to pile up.

Counties were alerted of the problem in late September, and spent weeks sorting through data from records that were not properly forwarded to a person’s home county, where they are processed and verified. State officials blamed an unspecified error that started with an online voter registration system within the Texas Department of Public Safety dating to October 2025.

The official statewide number of backlogged records has still not been released, although a recent lawsuit from the Texas League of Women Voters and another civil rights group against the state agencies reported it at nearly 600,000.

House Speaker says Trump diesel deal with Putin is ‘complicated situation’

Rep. Mike Johnson said that Trump is “thinking outside the box” on how to bring down the fuel costs, which he said Republicans are “laser focused” on every day.

“We’ll figure out the best mechanism to do it,” Johnson told AP during a campaign swing in battleground Maine this week.

Pressed if he agreed with the president’s deal to bring in Russian diesel – which critics said defies a law banning Russian energy imports passed by Congress at the start of the Ukraine war -- Johnson did not answer directly.

“That’s a complicated situation,” he said.

US further targets Iran’s international financial reach with sanctions on Iraqi bank

The U.S. Treasury announced Thursday that it is adding an Iraq-based financial institution along with several banks and financiers to its list of sanctioned actors for their alleged support for Iran’s proxy networks.

U.S. officials accused the entities and individuals of helping the Iranian government move hundreds of millions of dollars through shell companies and foreign‑exchange specialists across the region and in Asia.

The penalties issued against International Development Bank for Investment and Finance and others are part of a months-long U.S. economic campaign against Tehran as the Trump administration struggles to reach a diplomatic solution to the eight-month war.

“The noose is tightening around Iran’s economy, and not even Iran’s so-called allies can save it,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

FBI employees sue over terminations linked to Trump investigation

FBI employees fired for their roles in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida estate sued on Thursday to get their jobs back, calling their terminations unlawful acts of “political retribution.”

The complaint adds to the growing list of legal challenges to the mass terminations under FBI Director Kash Patel of agents who participated in investigations of the Republican president or are seen as opposed to Trump administration interests.

The suit was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of nine agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists who were fired in February following earlier dismissals of agents who had worked on the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Their firings, the lawsuit says, create an “immeasurable loss” to “America’s national security.”

“In return for their service, they were fired because they did their jobs, as they always did to follow the facts and law without bias or favor. To this administration, this is an offense. To the rest of us, it is heroic,” said a statement from their attorneys, Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio.

“This lawsuit will prove their unlawful dismissal and hold the administration accountable for this blatant attack on the rule of law,” the statement added.

Trump, running on little sleep, says maybe a ‘beautiful’ robot could replace him on the campaign trail

The president told the crowd in the Rose Garden that he arrived back at the White House from his western campaign swing just before 5 a.m. that morning.

“Yeah, I didn’t get too much sleep, come to think of it. Supposed to be sleeping now, but I’m not,” he said.

Trump said he hopes his voice holds out as he continues his heavy schedule of traveling and speaking at campaign rallies for Republicans.

“You could maybe get one of those beautiful robots that they make nowadays and make them look just like me and you wouldn’t know the difference. They make them pretty good. Send them out on the trail. I could sit home and watch them on television. But, I love doing it, actually,” Trump said.

Trump hosting Rose Garden lunch for police and firefighters

The president is trying to showcase to voters his commitment to first responders by hosting them at the White House for lunch at the Rose Garden.

Trump invited police and firefighters, among others, to discuss his administration’s efforts to reduce crime and the tax cuts that were signed into law last year, according to the White House.

“The President has empowered law enforcement and first responders to do their jobs, provided them with resources to restore law and order, and delivered on his promise of no-tax-on-tips to ensure they get to keep more of their hard-earned money,” said White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis.

Trump says he’s going to Iowa, Kansas, Michigan

The president, who was holding an event in the White House Rose Garden for first responders, opened his remarks by talking about the campaign rallies he’s been doing around the country for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections next month.

“We got a lot of them left,” he said after previewing the upcoming stops on his calendar.

FBI releases statement on ‘suspicious substances’ sent to officials

An FBI statement said the bureau and the Postal Inspection Service were “investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices.”

“Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident,” the statement read. “We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.”

Trump telephone rally seeks to boost Darline Graham in South Carolina

The Republican nominee and interim senator posted on social media Thursday that Trump would speak alongside her that evening during another telephone rally.

Trump had a close ally in Graham’s brother Lindsey Graham, who died this summer as he sought a fifth Senate term. Darline Graham was appointed to fulfill his current term and won a special GOP primary this year with Trump’s endorsement. The president has joined telephone rallies for her before, as he has for other Republican candidates.

With her general election matchup against Democrat Annie Andrews appearing to tighten, Republican groups have poured money into the state.

Trump came to South Carolina ahead of this summer’s runoff to stump with Darline Graham and is expected to return ahead of Nov. 3.

Wholesale inflation increase highest since 2002

The big jump in fuel costs is posing more pocketbook challenges for millions of Americans and a growing political problem for Republicans.

Monthly wholesale prices rose 1.3% from August to September, the largest increase since March 2022, after a 0.5% gain the previous month.

The data indicates that more expensive diesel fueling long-haul trucks and freight trains is pushing up the cost of shipping and warehousing goods, which in turn is lifting the cost of food. Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon nationwide Thursday, according to AAA, up from just $3.66 a year ago.

“The jolt to transportation prices affects every good in the economy, since inputs to manufacturing move to factories and goods at all stages of production move from producer to wholesaler to retailer by truck, train or rail,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a client note. “This is how increases in energy prices ‘bleed through’ to prices of core goods.”

Newsom to campaign for Democrats in New Hampshire

The California governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate will be in Nashua, New Hampshire on Saturday. Gavin Newsom is joining Chris Pappas, a Democratic candidate for Senate, along with Cinde Warmington, who is running for governor.

Democrats currently hold both of New Hampshire’s Senate seats but the party has worried that Pappas’ campaign could be more competitive than expected.

New Hampshire is still attracting potential White House hopefuls like Newsom, even if Democrats have stripped the state of its longheld status as host of the nation’s first presidential primary. The state is poised to vote third in 2028, after South Carolina and Nevada.

DNC and Trump administration make court arguments on taxpayer-funded ads

Democratic National Committee attorney Adam B. Miller asked a federal judge in Washington on Thursday to block the Trump administration from continuing to develop or air federally funded ads that the committee views as violating propaganda law.

The government’s counsel, Elisabeth Neylan, argued the DNC’s claims that the ads cause irreparable harm in its emergency request are unconvincing, because the government already stopped airing the ads this week.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said she’d take the issue under advisement. The case proceeds as a federal judge in New York already has temporarily blocked the pro-Trump ads from airing through Nov. 8, siding with plaintiffs who said they were an illegal misuse of funds.

The FBI and Postal Service are probing letters with ‘suspicious substances’ sent to congressional and elections offices

The letters have been mailed to congressional and election offices around the nation. Federal authorities are urging recipients to treat the letters as “potentially hazardous.”

The U.S. Senate was informed of the investigation in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms obtained by The Associated Press.

The mailings come just three weeks before Election Day and are reminiscent of a similar threat in 2023, when several election offices received envelopes containing the powerful opioid fentanyl.

GOP senator wants Defense Department to be investigated over Ukraine’s Starshield loss

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis said he plans to ask the Defense Department’s inspector general to investigate after restrictions were imposed on Ukraine’s battlefield use of the U.S.-made Starlink satellite communications systems.

The restrictions affected Starshield, a military version of Starlink developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, but Tillis wrote that “the latest reporting suggests this strategic snafu may have occurred more locally within DOD Starshield systems, not with Starlink.”

“At best, this was an unacceptable error or lapse,” Tillis wrote in a Wednesday night post on X, and at worst a conscious decision “to clear the field for a Russian attack.”

Tillis is retiring at the end of the year and has become increasingly critical of the White House and Trump’s appointees. He wrote Wednesday that he’s “not holding my breath for Defense Secretary Hegseth to offer transparency.”

A new Medicare season begins, with concerns about higher costs to come

Enrollees are facing some cost increases that go into effect in 2027 as open enrollment for Medicare plans begins.

During the enrollment period, which began Thursday and ends Dec. 7, people can choose between traditional Medicare and privately run Medicare Advantage plans in their area, as well as prescription drug plans. Those changes go into effect on Jan. 1.

New changes to Medicare coming in 2027 include higher Part D out-of-pocket caps and the end of temporary federal Part D premium subsidies. New negotiations could lower drug prices in some cases.

The open enrollment period comes as inflation adds pressure on seniors whose healthcare costs have risen and as Americans prepare to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 elections. Voters have consistently said cost-of-living is a major concern.

Trump, after bipartisan backlash, says Pentagon won’t livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter

Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon no longer plans to live-stream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, after the announcement faced bipartisan criticism.

Trump said on social media that publicly airing the execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” but “very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”

Trump said the Dec. 3 execution can be viewed in person by immediate families of the victims, “if they so choose.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said the execution would be public. The Pentagon had said it would be live-streamed. Both Republicans and Democrats denounced the plans, some saying the images could fuel radicalization. Vice President JD Vance said he wouldn’t watch it.

▶ Read more

Zelenskyy says he feels betrayed by the American president

Zelenskyy has complained that Ukraine was being denied the usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes, and that U.S.-made Starlink communications were being hamstrung. Both are vital for Ukrainian defenses and attack operations.

Meanwhile, Trump made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, despite international efforts to sanction Russia for its invasion and diplomatically isolate Putin.

Zelenskyy said in an interview late Wednesday with Piers Morgan on the British journalist’s YouTube show that he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Putin, the energy ceasefire announcement and the Starlink operational issues.

“Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump,” Zelenskyy said.

Elon Musk noted on X that the military version of Starlink, called Starshield, is controlled by the U.S. military and Trump.

Zelenskyy said someone is pushing Trump into a stance that is “not the right side of history.”

Zelenskyy complains about US stance toward Ukraine

Thursday’s strike could further complicate Kyiv’s relations with Trump, which have soured again in recent days, but Zelenskyy was outraged by Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of his country’s energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand on Sunday for both sides to halt those attacks.

The Ukrainian government had said it was heeding the ceasefire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine never stopped its strikes. It wasn’t possible to independently verify each side’s claims.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled Ukraine’s strikes on oil facilities as a “direct and crude challenge to President Trump.”

Ukraine resumes attacks on Russian oil refineries as US relations teeter

Ukrainian drones attacked a refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region early Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a brief truce declared by Trump but spurned by Moscow was over amid deepening tensions with Washington.

The drone strike started a fire at the refinery about 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry and Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov said. Russia’s Astra online news outlet posted what it said was a photograph of the blaze.

A senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Ukraine had hit the refinery.

Associations representing election officials condemn letter threats

At least two state election offices, in Louisiana and Oklahoma, have been evacuated this week after being sent envelopes containing white powder.

The mailings come just three weeks before Election Day and are reminiscent of similar threats in 2023, when several election offices received envelopes containing the powerful opioid fentanyl.

This time, authorities said no harmful substances were immediately identified. The Ohio Secretary of State’s office said the Postal Service had noted that similar mailings had been sent to election officials in multiple states.

The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors condemned the threats. “Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” their joint statement said.

The associations said security measures are in place for future threats.

Democrats see voter enthusiasm reflected in small-dollar donations

The Democratic National Committee says it’s raised more than $10 million from grassroots donors in September, a late surge of money for the cash-strapped party that outpaces the same month’s totals during the three previous midterm election cycles.

Chairman Ken Martin said it’s a “clear sign” Democrats are on a winning path. The party has struggled with fundraising during Trump’s second term, lagging behind Republicans and carrying debt into this year’s campaign season.

Joe Rospars, a Democratic strategist who worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, said small-dollar donations often reflect voter excitement and volunteering for the party and candidates. About 1 in 5 of the donors are giving for the first time, the DNC said.

“It means that the grassroots dollars are not just dollars. They’re energy,” he said.

As anger over Iran war spreads, Democrats hope military veteran candidates can flip GOP seats

Democrats are investing campaign cash in districts that have been longshots for years, counting on the unpopular war with Iran and upheaval in the armed forces to put more seats in play as the party pushes for control of the U.S. House. Democratic candidates who previously served in the military are running in Colorado, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia districts with significant veteran populations.

Although veterans hold all sorts of political beliefs, the population overall leans right — nearly 6 in 10 voted for Trump two years ago, according to AP VoteCast.

“I know there’s a bunch of veterans in the room, so I don’t have to tell you where we are with foreign policy,” Democrat Jessica Killin, an Army veteran who served in the Balkan war, told voters in Colorado’s 5th, one of the nation’s most veteran-heavy districts. “For the first time in history, now the global community thinks more of China than of the United States.”

▶ Read more

Leo’s post-operative tests remained within normal levels and his physiotherapy session Thursday involved full mobility exercises, with the pope going about his daily activities independently, said the update from Leo’s personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli hospital, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.

“The chest X-ray revealed good recovery of the operated lung,” they reported. “Overall, his postoperative recovery is proceeding as expected.”

Separately, the Vatican said Leo had received the Vatican chief of staff, or “substitute,” Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, and had resumed working from the hospital. Rudelli handles much of the day-to-day administrative work of the Holy See.

For a second day Leo celebrated Mass with other priests in a special chapel set up near his room on the 10th floor of the hospital, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The 71-year-old Leo had the lower right lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday after doctors identified a suspected cancerous nodule. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

Doctors are still awaiting the results of tests to understand the precise molecular makeup of the cancer, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary.

Asked if any changes to Leo's planned trip to South America from Nov. 6-17 were expected, Bruni pointed to Leo's words on Sunday when he announced the discovery of the nodule and impending surgery.

“Thank you for your prayers for the pastoral visit I will make to Peru,” Leo said Sunday in Spanish, in a greeting delivered to a Peruvian group. The trip is also scheduled to include stops in Uruguay and Argentina.

Leo is expected to remain hospitalized until at least Oct. 20.

___

Barry reported from Milan.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — soared 6.3% in September from a year ago, up from 5.6% in August and the biggest increase since December 2022, the government said Thursday.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices rose 1.3% from August to September, marking the largest increase since March 2022, after a 0.5% gain the previous month.

The data indicated that rising fuel prices, particularly for the diesel fuel used by long-haul trucks and freight trains, is pushing up the cost of shipping and warehousing goods.

That is starting to lift the cost of food, one place where prices appeared to have cooled this year. Wholesale food prices jumped 1.2% just from August to September, though they are still unchanged from a year ago.

Transportation and warehousing prices climbed 3.4% last month and are 16% higher than a year ago, the report showed.

“The jolt to transportation prices affects every good in the economy, since inputs to manufacturing move to factories and goods at all stages of production move from producer to wholesaler to retailer by truck, train or rail,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a client note. “This is how increases in energy prices ‘bleed through’ to prices of core goods.”

Farmers also rely on diesel to power most of their equipment, which could also push up food prices. Diesel prices averaged $6.32 a gallon nationwide Thursday, according to AAA, up from just $3.66 a year ago.

Thursday’s report amplifies the consumer price index released Wednesday, which also accelerated in September as gas prices jumped. But a broad range of goods and services became more expensive.

Both inflation reports raise pressure on the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to hike their key interest rate. Inflation has remained above the central bank’s 2% target for five and a half years.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 0.7% from August to September, up sharply from 0.2% in the previous month. Compared with a year ago, core prices rose 5%, up from 4.6% in August.

More expensive energy drove most of the increase as wholesale gas prices soared more than 20% from August to September. But the report also showed other costs rising, including those for electricity, vegetables, shipping, and air fares.

Ongoing inflation has eroded Americans' incomes and soured most consumers on the economy. The Labor Department said Wednesday that for the first time since May, average weekly paychecks when adjusted for inflation shrank compared with the same month last year.

Higher prices have taken a toll on Trump’s standing with U.S. voters. A new AP-NORC poll found that about 8 in 10 registered voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living, while about three-quarters disapprove of his handling of the economy.

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, will hold a policy meeting in two weeks and may keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged. After two hot inflation reports this week, however, some economists now expect that it could hike rates. Officials have penciled in at least one more rate hike this year.

Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks at an international economic conference late Thursday in Bangkok and his remarks will be closely watched for any hints of whether he supports a rate hike this month.

The Fed uses higher rates to slow borrowing and spending in a bid to lower inflation.

That has not proved effective as hoped this year.

After a rate hike in September, the U.S reported Thursday that retail sales rose faster than expected during the same month. A chunk of that spending, however, was at gas stations, where Americans are paying more to fill up their cars.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending October 10 ticked up by 1,000 to 199,000 from the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose by 250 to 198,500.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them closely because they can provide signs of where the job market is headed. So far this year, claims have remained at a historically low level below 220,000.

The weekly report continues to suggest that most companies are confident enough in the economy and their sales to hold onto their workers. At the same time, hiring has been sluggish, resulting in a “low-hire, low-fire” job market. Last month, the unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2%.

Earlier this month the government said that businesses and other employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, down from 133,000 in August and below what economists had forecast.

Yet with population growth slowing and immigration into the United States dropping, the economy doesn’t need to generate as many jobs every month to keep the unemployment rate low.

Despite a broadly healthy labor market, there are concerns that higher borrowing costs and persistent inflation caused by rising energy prices could cause businesses to slash jobs to reduce costs.

Earlier this week, the grocery store chain Kroger said it would lay off about 3,000 corporate employees over the next three years. Rival chain Albertson’s, which has already reduced its headcount, said more job cuts were coming.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending October 3 fell by 4,000 to 1.71 million, also a historically healthy figure.

But a big chunk of their purchases last month went toward paying the bills at the gas pump, according to the Commerce Department's latest snapshot on retail sales released Thursday.

Retail sales increased 0.8% last month, after a revised 1.3% gain in August, the Commerce Department said. Economists were anticipating a 0.3% increase for the month, according to FactSet.

Excluding business at gas stations, retail sales rose 0.2% in September. The government figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, which accelerated last month as gasoline and many other goods and services became more expensive.

In fact, business at gas stations rose 6.4%, according to the Commerce Department's report.

Elsewhere, business at furniture and home furnishings stores rose 1.3%, while electronics and appliance stores saw a 0.6% increase. Business at online retailers rose 0.3%, according to the report. Clothing and accessories stores saw business unchanged from the previous month.

The data offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn’t include activities like travel and hotel stays. But the lone services category – restaurants – registered a solid 1.1% increase.

“The large jump in headline retail sales in September was almost entirely due to rising gasoline prices,” Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note.

Pearce noted that consumer spending is still on track for a 3.3% annualized gain during the third quarter, but he expects spending to lose momentum heading into the key holiday shopping season as the drag from higher prices weighs more heavily on consumers.

Many Americans have continued to spend despite skyrocketing gas prices that have accompanied renewed fighting in the Middle East.

The average price for regular gasoline rose overnight to $4.33 per gallon Thursday, according to motor club AAA. Before the war began, the cost of gas per gallon was less than $3.

The retail sales report comes as U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported earlier this month. Still, the U.S. job market has proven solid in the face of a series of shocks, from tariffs to the Iran War.

But rising prices are still a big challenge for shoppers. The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that the consumer price index rose 3.7% in September compared with a year ago, up from 3.4% in August.

On a monthly basis, costs jumped 0.6% from August to September, the biggest gain in five months, up from a 0.4% increase the previous month. The cost of toys, new and used cars, sporting goods, and shoes all rose at a rapid clip last month, the government said.

Natalie Kotlyar, national leader of BDO's retail and consumer products practice, noted that she wouldn't read the retail sales report as a reflection of broad consumer strength.

“With inflation running above 3% and gas prices high, part of this gain is simply higher prices, and many shoppers are leaning on savings and promotions to stretch their budgets,” she said.

Kotlyar noted that strong sales alongside paychecks that aren’t keeping pace with prices can’t last forever, so retailers need to protect their profit margins and keep inventory flexible as they head into November and December.

His recovery has been nothing short of remarkable.

“Getting struck by lightning was probably about one of the last things I would have thought that happened,” said Rick Stanczyk.

Stanczyk, who comes from a family of fishing guides, and whose family owns the iconic Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, was scheduled to take three people out for a day of tarpon fishing on August 20th.

There were storms in the area, said friend and client Mark Fravel, but nowhere near where they were.

“We actually did see some lightning strikes, but it was so far away, you just saw the flash,” Fravel said.

The calm would soon change

Fravel heard what sounded like a loud crack.

“It was a crack so loud that it felt like it lifted the boat up in the air,” he said.

Stanczyk said not only does he not remember anything about that moment, but he doesn’t remember anything about that entire day. But he surmises that because he was holding on a metal steering wheel at the helm of his Contender center console boat, the lightning electrified him.

“I was holding the wheel and so it got me and everyone else on the boat was fine,” he said.

Fravel believes the lightning struck the water first, “chased up the engine and through the steering column,” he recalled.

Stanczyk, 44 and a father of two, collapsed.

His Contender was dead in the water.

Fravel and another onboard began CPR, while calling 911.

In minutes, Islamorada Fire Rescue paramedics raced to Bud N’ Mary’s and got onboard another boat captain’s vessel.

“It was dark and rainy,” recalled paramedic Steven Mejia. “We went onboard a vessel to reach where the patient was. If they weren’t there to initiate CPR - who knows what the outcome would have been.”

Stanczyk was flown to the hospital where he spent several days in a medically induced coma.

He recalls his wife telling him what happened as he slowly regained consciousness.

“‘Stay calm, Rick, you’re in the hospital,’” he said she told him. “‘You’re okay, but you were struck by lightning.’ And I was like, ‘What?’”

Florida is known as the lightning capital of the world.

Lightning activity in the state was reported to be nearly 28 percent above the 10-year average, according to the National Lightning Safety Council.

And even higher late this summer.

Meteorologist Chris Vagasky provided Local 10 with data that showed that lightning activity in August was 58% above average, and 108% above average in September.

Scientists are still working to find out why.

Now, Stanczyk is back on the water and says he’s cleared all medical tests - and is feeling strong.

In an abundance of precaution, he uses a rubber sleeve that covers the metal steering wheel of the boat he’s using. The Contender is still in the shop.

“As the captain of the boat, you always kind of think of yourself as the one who’s gonna be in charge,” he said. “(I’m) a little more grateful for being here and realizing you’re never really guaranteed tomorrow So you’ve got to enjoy the day.”

Vinícius spoke out after Real Madrid's 4-3 come-from-behind win at Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Brazil forward also acknowledged he is going through a slump, but said he had “no doubt” he will regain his best form soon.

The match against Roma came hours after he was handed a four-game suspension in the Spanish league after being sent off for pulling the hair of an opponent and for protesting against the referee.

"I don’t recall any other player receiving a four-match suspension. I tried to move the player in front of me out of the way, and I ended up getting caught in his hair," Vinícius said.

“That was it — a red card — which is why I was so surprised. I didn’t say a single offensive word to the referee that would warrant a four-match ban. But when it comes to Vini, it’s all too easy.

“The opposing team will always say it’s justified, and the press will say the same. I understand that. I’m here to keep evolving and improving, because I know where I’ve come from and what I’m capable of achieving,” Vinicius added.

“It’s understandable for the opposing fans to jeer me, because my job is to score goals against their team, but I don’t get the referees.

“I’ve seen the stats: I’ve been on the receiving end of 500 fouls, yet that has only resulted in five red cards. In the end, the yellow cards always seem to go to Vini, to the attacking players. We need to protect the players who bring something different to the game, like Lamine at Barcelona or Julián at Atleti. Defenders are allowed to foul me the entire match but in the end it’s me who gets the card.”

Madrid coach José Mourinho complained of the timing of the announcement of the suspension.

"Do you think it’s normal for a player from a Spanish team, preparing for an important match that’s also crucial for Spanish soccer, to find out about his four-match suspension just two hours before kickoff?” Mourinho said.

“We were on the bus about to arrive at the stadium when we found out ... they’ve started doing things without any shame.”

Vinícius slump

Vinícius, who hasn’t scored for Madrid since August, was replaced in the 59th minute of Madrid's victory before the team rallied from 3-1 down.

“I’m working to get back to my best as soon as possible,” Vinícius said. “I know I’m not at my peak right now, but I’ve been through worse, and even when people have doubted me, I’ve always stood up for this club. That’s why I signed a six-year contract extension.

"The good run of form will return, and the goals will come back, too. I’m certain of that. I have no doubt. I’m here to help the team.”

The 26-year-old Vinícius has scored only two goals for club and country this season, one for Madrid in the team’s second league match, and another with Brazil in a friendly against Australia in September.

He downplayed his frustration after Mourinho substituted him on Wednesday.

“It’s natural for me to get upset when I’m substituted because I always want to play every single match. I’m well aware of my current form and how I’m playing. I’m here to help the team, and sometimes you have to come off so that other players can get on and change the dynamic," he said.

"Mourinho and I have a great relationship. He’s always straight with me. Of course I got a little annoyed when I came off today, but that’s normal. In the end he was right, the team improved, and that’s what matters most."

Vinícius was replaced by Endrick, who scored an 85th-minute equalizer before Antonio Rüdiger gave Madrid the win in the 90th.

“This is Real Madrid. We needed a match like this to shift the dynamic and turn the season around a bit," Vinícius said. “It’s going to help and give us a boost because the younger players stepped up. They played a great game.

"Endrick played an incredible match. He scored and really helped us out. That’s why he was named man of the match.”

Because of his suspension, Vinícius will miss Sunday’s home match against Sevilla and the following week’s trip for the “clasico” against Barcelona. He will also miss away matches at Racing Santander and Valencia.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Leer en español

It happened on Sunday around 7:30 p.m. in the area of East 19th Street and First Avenue in Hialeah.

Family members say Diener Benguria was walking his dog with his mother when he was viciously attacked.

“A dog that was on their property, I guess, that was loose -- no leash or nothing -- came running towards me and my dog, so I stopped and I froze because I didn’t know if the dog was going to attack me, attack my dog or what,” Benguria said. “And I called him over and I told him, ‘Come get your dog,’ and nobody reacted, nobody moved, so I called him again and I told him, ‘Come get your (expletive) dog and put him on a leash.’”

That’s when Benguria said he had a can thrown at him before he was pushed to the ground.

After the alleged beating, Benguria was left with fractures all over his face, as evidenced in photos provided to Local 10 News.

There have been no arrests in the case, though, as Hialeah police told Local 10 News, “This was an altercation between two men. An independent witness advised that the gentlemen that was taken to the hospital approached the other man in an aggressive manner entering his personal space before the altercation ensued. Due to conflicting stories, both men were referred to the State Attorney’s Office.”

Benguria’s mother told Local 10’s Rosh Lowe that she saw her son being attacked, describing it as an assault.

Detectives said they are actively investigating the case, knocking on doors and looking for any surveillance footage that may have captured the incident.

The IMF forecasts growth in Africa at 4.5% this year, slightly higher than its earlier estimate, recovering to 5% in 2027. But development assistance for the continent fell sharply last year and is forecast to fall another 12% this year, Zeine Zeidane said at a meeting of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok.

“That leaves the region with little room to absorb another shock. Renewed disruption to energy supplies, a sharp increase in global risk aversion, or a strong El Nino could all intensify pressures,” he told reporters.

Persisting conflict and insecurity are other drags on the regional economy, posing a threat to food security in some regions.

“Overall risks remain firmly tilted to the downside and the challenges are significant, but so is the region’s ability to adapt and move forward,” Zeidane said.

Many African nations have enacted reforms to improve their economic resilience, and some are benefiting from surging prices for their exports of critical minerals used in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The IMF has urged those countries to use those windfalls wisely and adopt AI to improve their competitiveness.

Some African finance ministers attending the Bangkok meetings outlined strategies for fostering job creation and sustainable growth.

Mariama Cire Sylla, the minister of Economy, Finance and Budget for the Republic of Guinea, said a railway project linking mines in Simandou to the coast was part of a long-term economic transformation program.

Guinea has rich mineral resources, but half its people live in poverty. The government is banking on the Simandou iron ore project to boost the economy.

“How can we leverage mining to really develop other sectors and diversify the economy?” Sylla said. “It’s really critical because financial resources are scarce. We need to create enclaves of investment. We need to create growth poles.”

Ensuring African countries benefit more from their valuable strategic resources such as gold, cobalt and copper is vital, said Aboubakar Nacanabo, finance minister of Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso, a major gold exporter, has opened its first gold refinery as its military-led government seeks greater economic sovereignty after severing ties with traditional Western partners.

Governments across West Africa have been moving to reclaim control over their natural resources by rewriting mining codes, banning exports of raw produce and boosting government ownership. Guinea and Ghana recently restricted gold exports. Mali said it was building a gold refinery together with Russia’s Yadran Group and Ivory Coast has announced it will open one next year.

“The first step is to create the value chain,” Nacanabo said, “to create opportunity for our youth.”

The long-term impacts of AI on African economies, both direct and indirect, remain to be seen. But in the coming decade, the IMF estimates that “adoption, adaptation and scaling of AI” could increase economic growth by more than 4% over 10 years, Zeidane said.

“So, it’s not only about who benefits from AI, but the use of AI can actually make a big difference and in particular in sectors like agriculture where you have low productivity today, low yields compared to international yields, but also in education, health, government services,” he said.

___

Associated Press journalist Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.

With the county’s landfills almost at capacity, the pressure is on to find alternatives. A material called “biochar” could be part of the answer.

“This is really big. This is big,” said Roy Coley, the chief regulatory and utilities officer for Miami-Dade County. “They’re taking green waste that normally would be placed in the landfill, cause a waste of space, and actually turn it into a usable product.”

“Biochar” is a carbon-rich super charcoal that could potentially be a big solution to Miami-Dade’s solid waste problem.

“We produce 5 million tons of year of solid waste in Miami-Dade County,” Coley said. “The department itself is responsible for managing 2 million tons a year, and a huge percentage of that is green waste that can be reused and not waste space in landfills.

Green waste — yard clippings, branches and fallen trees — makes up almost 12% of all the waste Miami-Dade County sends to landfills, which are quickly filling up.

Some estimates say the county has has maybe five to seven years left of landfill space.

As it decomposes, organic waste releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, at a time when the county is under pressure to reduce emissions to fight climate change. Enter Clean Earth Innovations.

“I pulled together some of the brightest, my team members that we worked together, and we said, ‘Let’s do something, and it’s good for the environment,’ and we decided to focus on biochar innovation,” Harold Gubnitsky, the CEO of Clean Earth Innovations, said.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Clean Earth received $100,000 from the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority’s Solid Waste Challenge to pilot the only biochar machine currently sitting on top of a landfill.

“This is chipped-up yard waste coming from piles behind it that otherwise would be in the landfill or some places that we don’t want to be,” Gubnitsky said.

The chips go into a bin. A conveyor belt then takes the raw materials and dumps them into a series of drums that rotate at very high heat.

“It’s called a rotating kiln,” Gubnitsky said. “It’s got a ceramic encasing, so it allows it to get super hot again, 1,400 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s when the magic happens.”

The sealed, oxygen-free oven produces almost no emissions as it bakes the biomass.

“And it creates another byproduct, which can then be turned into electricity,” Gubnitsky said.

But the biochar is the star.

“They call it ‘nature’s black gold.’ And this has so many uses,” Gubnitsky said.

This super charcoal can help sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, nourish soil and improve crops, reducing the need for fertilizer or water. What’s more, it can also clean and filter waterways and could help restore Biscayne Bay.

“It’s granular activated carbon. It’s powdered, activated carbon,” Coley said. “We can take these carbon materials, and we can sequester contaminants in our environment. We can use it in water and wastewater. So this is an amazing product.”

It could potentially divert hundreds of thousands of tons of yard waste from going to landfills.

“When we think about landfill dependency and we look at how we can actually divert waste now into such a beneficial use, this is what, this is what innovation should look like,” Aneisha Daniel, the director of Miami-Dade County Solid Waste, said.

The results so far are encouraging. County officials say they are pleased with the progress, so much so that biochar is now part of Miami-Dade’s newly released Zero Waste Master Plan — a sign that this experimental technology could play a much bigger role in the county’s future.

Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed an attack in the Yemeni port city of Aden at a site used by the Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government, where officials said at least two people were killed. A former chief of Israel’s domestic security service has filed a defamation suit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and hospital officials in Gaza said an Israeli strike there killed one man.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Read our full coverage here.

Houthis deny responsibility for new attack on holy city

The Saudi-led coalition said in a statement that it intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile over the province of Medina, but notably did not assign blame for the attack.

The Houthis’ military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree denied carrying out the attack. The rebel group previously pledged not to attack airports in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The international airport in the capital, Riyadh, has suspended service because of Houthi attacks.

Earlier Thursday, Saudi Arabia also said it destroyed a drone over the country's Eastern province, a major oil-producing region.

The latest conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for oil shipments. The Saudi-led coalition, backing forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, has been trying to retake those areas.

Houthis claim responsibility for strikes near government palace

Houthi-launched missiles and drones struck Thursday near the palace used by Yemen’s recognized government in the port city of Aden, with an official saying at least two people had been killed.

Another six people were wounded, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in northern Yemen quickly claimed responsibility.

Many of Yemen’s government leaders live in exile, and those in Aden were safe, a government official said.

- Ahmed Al Haj in Aden, Yemen

Former Israeli security chief files suit against Netanyahu

A former chief of Israel’s domestic security service filed a defamation suit against Netanyahu, saying the prime minister had falsely accused him of withholding warnings about Hamas threats before the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

Ronen Bar, former head of the agency commonly known as Shin Bet, demanded 3 million shekels ($965,000) in the suit filed Wednesday.

Netanyahu, in a post last month on X, accused Bar of “failures and crimes” in the hours before the attack, when Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, setting off a massive Israeli bombardment and invasion that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Netanyahu said Bar knew of the Hamas threat but didn’t inform him, the military or civilian security units.

Bar called the accusations “blood libel,” detailing the steps he took in the hours before the attack to update Netanyahu’s top military advisers and the army, and describes a series of warnings and recommendations his agency delivered in the months before the attack which he says were “consistently disregarded” by the prime minister.

After a string of resignations by top security officials -- including Bar -- Netanyahu remains the only senior figure from Oct. 7 still in office. In many ways, that makes the upcoming general elections, the first since the attack, a referendum on his leadership.

Israel carries out deadly strike in Gaza

An Israeli strike north of Gaza City killed one man on Thursday morning, according to officials at Shifa Hospital.

Israel’s military said it struck a “terrorist” in the area, without elaborating.

The strike came over a year after a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and the Hamas militant group, a period during which Israel continued to launch deadly strikes on the enclave.

More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire was reached in October last year, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Its figures are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It doesn’t give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Syria sentences 5 over last year’s coastal violence

A Syrian court on Thursday sentenced two people to death and three others to prison terms over their roles in last year's sectarian violence in the country’s coastal region.

In March 2025, loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad attacked members of the new government’s security forces in areas where a large segment of the country’s Alawite religious minority lives. The government’s counterinsurgency spiraled into widespread violence in which hundreds of civilians — most of them Alawites — were killed.

Two members of the pro-Assad groups were sentenced to death and a third to 12 years in prison. Two members of the security forces received prison terms.

___

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Former Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova, along with teammate Anna Kalmykova, were not allowed to travel to Rotterdam for the week-long worlds that are a team qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Russian team has said.

Other members of the Russian team have been given visas.

“The issuance of visas to all participants is a process determined solely by the Dutch authorities," World Gymnastics said Wednesday. "World Gymnastics is not in a position to explain why a select number of application requests have been refused.

"World Gymnastics remains in ongoing dialogue with the Dutch authorities, the Local Organizing Committee, and the Russian Gymnastics Federation. World Gymnastics fully regrets the negative impact on the preparations of the Russian delegation and the confusion felt among the wider Artistic Gymnastics World Championships community.”

The cases illustrate how efforts in the sports world to lift many restrictions on Russian athletes and teams don't always mean host governments allow them to travel for events.

It also comes a year after the world championships went ahead in Indonesia without the Israeli team after authorities in the host country refused to issue visas.

Melnikova won the European all-around title in August in Croatia after being issued a visa following an initial refusal, the Russian team said at the time. Listunova was refused on that occasion.

Russia planned to demand the world championships be stripped of their Olympic qualifier status over the issue, sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov wrote on social media on Tuesday.

World Gymnastics did not mention that demand in its statement and did not respond to a question about it from The Associated Press. The International Olympic Committee also did not address that demand in a statement Wednesday and said it could not comment on the individual cases.

“Ahead of the upcoming Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the IOC supported World Gymnastics in its efforts to ensure that all athletes could participate in this event,” the IOC said.

“The vast majority of these athletes received their visas, and we have been informed by the International Federation that athletes will have other opportunities to qualify for the Olympic Games over the course of the next two years.”

Russian gymnasts were cleared in May of restrictions to competing internationally by World Gymnastics, after years of being banned or required to pass vetting for neutral status during the full military invasion of Ukraine.

___

See full AP coverage of European sports here

The halt to commercial shipments, including fruit and winter clothing, cuts off a key source of food and other critical supplies as fears grow about procuring supplies needed to get through winter in the territory.

The move stands to immediately reduce Gaza's supplies, because the closed-off territory is completely reliant on whatever goods Israel allows in through border crossings.

Aid groups generally bring in staples such as flour, while merchants import more perishable foods like fruits and meat, according to data released earlier this year by COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees humanitarian affairs in Gaza.

The suspension is raising fears about affordability, with humanitarian workers saying a combination of aid and a robust commercial market is needed to keep prices under control.

“The humanitarian sector on its own cannot meet the needs of all the people,” said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, an aid group. “The markets need to be functioning.”

COGAT announced the suspension of commercial shipments Wednesday. Its deputy spokesperson, Lt. Daniel Kantorovich, said the agency was acting on a decision made by Palestinian merchants a day earlier and could reverse it at their behest.

“We were prepared to coordinate the entry of their trucks as usual, but the vendors informed us that they were cancelling the coordination due to Hamas’s taxation mechanism and threats against them,” Kantorovich said. “The merchants don’t want to bring goods into Gaza.”

The world’s leading authority on food insecurity reported earlier this year that conditions in Gaza had improved since famine was declared in the territory in August 2025, but were still at crisis levels. Most families in the war-battered enclave weren’t getting nearly enough to eat, said the report, adding that “even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains.”

Merchants in Gaza coordinate directly with vendors outside the territory, whose shipments are examined by Israel's military before entering Gaza.

In announcing the measure, COGAT claimed to be communicating a decision made by local merchants in Gaza who had grown tired of Hamas taxing their trucks and threatening them. Israel has long accused the militant group of levying fees on imports to fund its operations.

COGAT said no private-sector vendors had attempted to import goods to Gaza since the merchants alerted Israel on Tuesday.

But the head of Gaza’s private truckers union, Nahed Sheheiber, disputed Israel's account, saying they were the ones who had made the decision.

“The merchants are not the ones who stopped the shipments,” he said. “The Israeli coordinator is claiming that Gaza’s merchants are responsible, but the truth is that the Israelis are the ones who imposed the restrictions.”

Following COGAT's announcement, Sheheiber's union met with Gaza's Ministry of Economy to express concern and say Israel was citing fees levied by the ministry as a pretext to cut off commercial goods.

The ministry had been asking merchants to pay 10,000 shekels (about $3,226) per truck entering Gaza, Sheheiber said. At the meeting, ministry Undersecretary Khaled Al-Raqab told the union that the amount was not a tax, but rather a donation sought by the ministry to help pay civil servants in the strip.

It was not clear from the COGAT announcement if aid agencies would be allowed to increase shipments into Gaza to compensate for the loss in commercial goods.

The agency claimed that Gaza's population — of roughly 2 million people — required approximately 250 truckloads of goods each day. That's far below the minimum of 600 trucks a day stipulated by a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. a year ago.

The war started when Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, and took 251 hostages. Israel responded with a massive bombardment and a ground invasion that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

That includes over 1,400 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire took effect, the ministry says. Sporadic attacks have killed five Israeli soldiers in Gaza in the same period.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says women and children make up around half the dead.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut.

The muscular police response to the largely peaceful protests has drawn criticism, and soccer fans in stadiums have expressed their support to students.

Riot police have liberally used tear gas and wielded their batons to disperse crowds. More than 6,600 arrests were made nationwide as of last week, an unusually high number for a French protest movement.

A police tear gas grenade shattered a 14-year-old’s jaw and many of his teeth. A 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a stun grenade. Other adolescents have also suffered life-changing injuries blamed on police weaponry during protests.

During a Ligue 1 match between Lens and Lyon last week, the home fans unfurled a banner calling for an end to the “disproportionate and systematic police violence,” according to the Conseil national de l’Éthique et de Déontologie (CNE).

The CNE also noted that at the half-hour mark of the match between PSG and Le Mans, supporters displayed a banner reading: “Your militias repress; our youth resist.”

The ethics body said in a statement that it was easy to understand why young supporters, who are often students, might take advantage of matches to publicly express their support for the demonstrators.

However, it added the principle of political neutrality “is enshrined” in the laws of sport, both internationally through the Olympic Charter and FIFA statutes, and at national level.

The CNE recalled that any speech or display of a political, ideological, religious or trade union nature are prohibited, as well as the wearing of symbols or clothing that expresses political, philosophical, religious or trade union affiliation.

“Sport should unite, not divide,” it said. “The National Council for Football Ethics therefore calls on all supporters, who are an integral part of the football family, to uphold the principle of neutrality in all circumstances.

"The aim is to ensure that the stadium does not become a political or trade union battleground, but remains a place of celebration and shared enjoyment centered on sport.”

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The judge said that Donaldson, 63, had expressed no “regret, apology or shame” for crimes that had blighted the victims' lives.

Donaldson was one of Northern Ireland's best-known politicians until his arrest stunned his political colleagues and wider society two years ago.

He was convicted in June of one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 indecent assault charges involving two girls between 1985 and 2008. He had denied the charges.

Donaldson led the Democratic Unionist Party, the biggest party in favor of keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, from 2021 until 2024. He resigned as leader of the conservative DUP after his arrest and gave up the seat in the U.K. House of Commons that he had held since 1997.

The DUP said in a statement that Donaldson “deserves every day of the lengthy prison sentence he has to serve” for his “vile and disgusting crimes.”

Judge Paul Ramsey said that the ex-politician had undergone a “catastrophic descent into disgrace.” He sentenced him at Newry Crown Court, south of Belfast, to 11 years for offenses against one victim and four years for the other, to run consecutively.

“There has not been, and doubtless will not be, one word of regret, apology or shame from this man to at least provide his victims with some crumb of comfort,” the judge said.

Donaldson’s wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, was found to have aided and abetted her husband’s offenses for witnessing the abuse and doing nothing to intervene. Because of mental health issues, she faced only a fact-finding hearing that couldn’t result in a conviction.

The two victims testified that Donaldson groped them when they were around primary school age. The older of the two, referred to in court as Complainant B, said that he raped her.

The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence, and U.K. law protects their identities from the media for life.

During his trial, Donaldson denied all the allegations against him. He testified that the rape “just didn’t happen.”

Catherine Kierans, the head of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland's Serious Crime Unit, said that Donaldson “has never accepted responsibility for his offending, nor shown any remorse.”

“This case shows that sexual abuse can be hidden behind a facade of respectability,” she said. “It also shows that no individual, irrespective of their position, status or public reputation, is beyond the reach of the law.”

The victims welcomed the sentence, but said nothing could undo the damage of Donaldson's crimes.

“My childhood was stolen from me and I will never get it back,” victim A said in a statement read by a police officer outside court.

“The conviction does not erase the abuse or undo the impact of what happened to me, and I will always carry the consequences of it.

“But those responsible do not control me now. They forever changed me, but they will not take my future. The cycle is being broken and it ends with me.”

Victim B said that “what happened to me as a child has affected everything since then, every day and every relationship I have ever had.

“I stood up, many years later, because for me this is about drawing a line in the sand and knowing that the Donaldsons can no longer hurt anyone else,” she said.

Donaldson’s lawyer, Kieran Vaughan, said at a presentencing hearing that his client had achieved “significant things in his life.”

“These convictions obliterate all those achievements he has made in his life,” he said.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted less than four weeks before Election Day, finds that registered voters who identify as Democrats are more enthusiastic than Republican voters about casting a ballot. More voters want Democrats to win control of Congress and have a more negative view of Republicans.

The Democratic advantage is small in some cases, but, taken together, the findings paint a challenging picture for Republicans, who are clinging to control of Congress under the weight of an unpopular war with Iran and surging prices at home.

About 8 in 10 voters overall say the economy or the cost of living is among their top issues for the upcoming election, while about two-thirds say this about healthcare and the war in Iran. Other issues that are stronger for Trump — like immigration or crime — are lower priorities.

“The world is going backwards. We can barely afford anything,” said Diana Walker, a 65-year-old Democrat from Decatur, Georgia. “Everybody’s down. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, we’re all catching hell.”

Democrats are more enthusiastic about voting than Republicans

Less than a month before the final midterm votes are cast, the poll finds that Democratic voters are more motivated to vote.

Overall, about two-thirds of registered voters say it’s “extremely" important to vote in the upcoming election, while about 2 in 10 say it’s “very" important.

But about three-quarters of Democratic voters say that voting in this November’s midterm elections is “extremely” important, compared with roughly 6 in 10 Republicans.

Ryan Longbrake, a 52-year-old Democrat from Columbus, Ohio who works in technology marketing, said he's especially excited about casting his ballot, and he's already taken steps to ensure that his wife and two college-age daughters will vote as well.

“I believe that there is change on the horizon and there is an excitement within our party,” he said, pointing to Democrats' momentum in Ohio's elections for governor and U.S. Senate. The party is also investing resources in Republican-leaning states, like Iowa and Kansas, where the political environment has put Democratic candidates on friendlier footing.

Republicans have controlled Congress for the past two years, but about half of registered voters now say they’d prefer to see the Democratic Party control the House or the Senate. A smaller percentage, roughly 4 in 10, say they want the Republican Party to control each chamber, while 15% are undecided.

The vast majority of voters want change

One thing is crystal clear on the eve of the 2026 midterms: Voters want change.

About half of voters say they want “substantial change,” and roughly 3 in 10 want “complete and total upheaval” in the way the country is run.

Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to want a full overhaul of the country’s direction. But even Republican voters are still looking for something different. Slightly fewer than half, 45%, want substantial change, while 13% want upheaval.

“I’m kind of tired of sending people there and nothing gets done,” said Krista Kohles, a 70-year-old Republican from near Davey, Nebraska. “Nothing’s changing.”

Trump's numbers on key issues are weak

Voters are deeply frustrated with Trump and his leadership on the issues they say matter most.

Only about one-third of registered voters overall have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the Republican president, and a similar share approve of his performance as president.

Voters continue to be frustrated by the high cost of living, an issue that Trump vowed to address before winning a second term in the White House.

Nearly two years after his successful election, about 8 in 10 registered voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living, in line with a September AP-NORC poll. About three-quarters disapprove of his performance on the economy.

Even among Republican voters, only 44% approve of Trump's performance on the cost of living, while 54% approve of his leadership on the economy. That's a sharp contrast with other issues, like crime, on which Republican approval is much higher.

There are cracks in Trump's Republican base on other issues, too. Just 69% of Republican voters support Trump on foreign policy as the war in Iran stretches into its eighth month, despite his promises that it would only last four or five weeks.

DonnaJean Weber, a 72-year-old Republican from Manistee, Michigan, says she will continue to support Republican candidates this fall, but she's not happy with the state of the economy under Trump's leadership.

“Everything’s going up,” she said, pointing to the impact of the war with Iran, among other Trump decisions. “I don’t agree with him fully on all of these tariffs, either. It’s making this country look bad.”

The economy and the cost of living are high priorities for voters on both sides of the aisle. The survey found that the vast majority of Republican and Democratic voters say both issues are among the most important for the upcoming election.

Voters aren't any higher on one of Trump's potential successors in the next presidential election, Vice President JD Vance: About half have a “somewhat” or “very” negative view of Vance, compared with about one-third who have a positive opinion.

Enthusiasm for the Democrats isn't overwhelming

Trump's struggles do not mean that voters are particularly excited about the direction of the Democratic Party.

Overall, about 4 in 10 voters have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the Democrats, while about half view the party unfavorably. That's roughly similar to views of the GOP, although about 6 in 10 voters view the Republicans unfavorably.

Democratic and Republican voters are equally enthusiastic about their own side, with about 8 in 10 saying they have a favorable view of their own party.

But the critical bloc of voters who identify as independents is much more likely to have a negative view of the Republicans than of the Democrats. About two-thirds of independent voters view the GOP negatively, compared with about 4 in 10 who view Democrats negatively.

Michael Russo, a 51-year-old Texas voter who is not registered with either party, described the state of the country under Republican control as “a nightmare.”

Does he want Republicans to maintain control of Congress? “No, I want them in prison — several of them,” he said. But he's not thrilled with the Democratic Party, either.

"I’m not confident they’re going to do anything if they get into power," Russo said.

___

Peoples reported from New York.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,119 adults, including 925 registered voters, was conducted Oct. 8-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, and the margin of error for registered voters is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

TSMC said during an earnings conference Thursday that it is open to collaborating with Elon Musk’s planned “Terafab” chip manufacturing complex in Texas.

TSMC, which produces over 90% of the world's most cutting-edge chips, supplies to U.S. technology giants include Nvidia and Apple and has pledged $265 billion of investments in building plants in Arizona, including $100 billion the company committed in July.

The company's earnings results are seen as a barometer for the world's AI development during a global scale-up in AI computing power. For the July-September quarter, the chipmaker reported a record 763.1 billion new Taiwan dollars (nearly $24 billion) in net profit, which was better than expected and up 69% from the year before. Revenue for the quarter was at 1.49 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($46 billion), up 51% year-on-year.

“The AI market continues to be very strong,” C.C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC, said during Thursday's conference. “The demand, actually, is still far above our capability today to supply, and we’re working very hard to narrow the gap.”

TSMC is working hard to expand in response to requests from most of its large U.S. customers to increase capacity, Wei said.

The chipmaker based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, recently has explored expanding its capacity outside of Arizona and Texas is among the options under consideration, he said, confirming earlier media reports.

“We sent the teams to Texas to do all the evaluation,” Wei said, adding that the plan is still under deliberation.

TSMC is in discussions to be part of the “Terafab” project in Texas, Wei added, stressing that a plant in Texas must be run by TSMC.

Musk confirmed on X earlier this month that there have been discussions with TSMC over its potential role in Terafab, but he also said “we will build and run the fab,” referring to chip fabrication facilities, and TSMC at most would be subleasing part of the Terafab.

TSMC has said it has an annual capital expenditure budget of $60 billion to $64 billion for this year, up from its previous estimate earlier this year of $52 billion to $56 billion.

Spending between 2026 and 2028 will be significantly higher than the past three years, TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said during the earnings call.

But TSMC, one of the world’s most valuable public companies, also cautioned there will be macroeconomic challenges.

“Looking ahead, we continue to observe consumer and price-sensitive end market segments are being challenged due to the impact of rising component prices and macroeconomic uncertainties,” Wei said. “As such, we have been prudent in our business planning going into 2027.”

Trudy se ubicaba unos 480 kilómetros (300 millas) al suroeste de Acapulco, México, con vientos máximos sostenidos de 120 km/h (75 mph), según el Centro Nacional de Huracanes de Estados Unidos en Miami.

El huracán se desplazaba hacia el noroeste a 15 km/h (9 mph) y se esperaba que se aproximara a la costa del suroeste y del centro-oeste de México este fin de semana, indicó el centro.

Trudy iba camino de convertirse en un huracán de categoría 3 o más para el viernes, y llevaría precipitaciones de 101 a 203 milímetros (de 4 a 8 pulgadas) durante el fin de semana a los estados de Colima y Jalisco, señaló el centro.

___

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

Youths protesting Albania's long-serving Socialist government hurled rocks at a police cordon outside the Education Ministry, and riot police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Police detained several demonstrators.

The latest clashes followed riots on Wednesday when protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses, leaving 89 people injured including 61 police officers, according to the Health Ministry.

The protests were led by student groups seeking education reforms. They have joined the so-called flamingo movement, which is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of widespread corruption and in opposition to the large luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coast, associated with an investment firm founded by Kushner.

The movement earned the name after protesters used signs depicting the pink birds, which live in their thousands in a nature reserve on the island where the development is planned.

On Thursday, high school students joined thousands of protesters on marches through the center of the capital, chanting “Rama Resign!” as they brought the city to a standstill.

“We will be in the square every day,” Mateo Yskollari, a prominent protest organizer, wrote in an online post. “Our response to any attempt to silence us will be to expand the protest, civil mobilization, and disobedience.”

Though largely peaceful, the rallies turned violent when confronting police cordons. Groups of youths also broke away from the rallies to attack government buildings and commercial storefronts.

Rama Thursday greeted cleanup crews and issued a video message from a burned-out college building. He directly accused political opponents of inciting the violence, promising to stay on as prime minister to further Albania's bid to join the European Union.

“We will all get through these difficult hours together because Albania will continue to climb, because Albania will continue on its path to Europe,” he said. “No one can grab Albania by the throat. Anyone who thinks the law does not apply to them is mistaken.”

Rama's Socialists won a fourth consecutive election victory last year and Albania is not due to hold another parliamentary election until 2029.

The conservative opposition Democratic Party backed the student protests and called on Rama to appoint a caretaker government to prepare for early elections.

“This movement is not simply a protest against the government,” the party said. “It's a revolt against a model of government created by Edi Rama that has stolen hope from young people, violated citizens’ trust and is increasingly distancing Albania from its European future.”

A European Union delegation in Albania called late Wednesday for a proportionate response from authorities, expressing concern at “the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana.”

___

Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece

Trudy was located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The hurricane was moving northwest at 9 mph (15 kph) and was expected to approach the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico this weekend, the center said.

Trudy was on track to become a major hurricane on Friday, bringing rainfall of 4 to 8 inches (101 to 203 millimeters) through the weekend across Colima and Jalisco states, the center said.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

• Deputies investigate double shooting in Deerfield Beach
• Dog found underwater tied to cinder blocks in Coconut Grove, Miami police say
• Spoelstra looks to evaluate Heat’s depth in final home preseason game against Nets as Heat win big 144-128

You can watch a live feed of our news broadcast at Local10.com/Live.

Rubio spoke by phone with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday, urging dialogue under a peace deal agreed between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2018. He said the region could not tolerate more conflict, according to a statement from the State Department.

Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region in recent weeks has effectively shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war. Ethiopia has accused Eritrean troops of occupying parts of its territory, while Eritrea condemned Ethiopia for what it called a declaration of war.

Human Rights Watch has received reports of civilians killed and injured by shelling in southern Tigray, Laetitia Bader, the group’s deputy Africa director, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

She said shelling also forced some health facilities to close and called for independent monitoring, restored communications and safe humanitarian access. Her account did not identify who carried out the shelling.

Near the border, a resident reported that Eritrean soldiers withdrew Monday from Fatsi, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Ethiopian border town of Zalambessa.

“The last time I saw Eritrean soldiers was when they left late this morning,” Hayelom Gebretsadkan, a three-wheeled taxi driver from Zalambessa, told the AP on Monday. He said the soldiers headed toward the border and there was no active fighting in Fatsi. Later that day, he said Ethiopian federal forces had moved into the town.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrea of deploying troops across the border and said Ethiopia was taking measures in self defense. He did not specify those measures, identify the occupied areas or provide evidence supporting the allegations. The AP could not independently verify the claims.

Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh urged the council to condemn what he called a “deplorable declaration of war” by Ethiopia. His response did not confirm or deny the alleged troop crossings.

Rubio told Abiy in their call that “all countries in the Horn of Africa must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbors and avoid cross-border incursions.”

The dispute also reflects tensions over Abiy’s pursuit of access to the Red Sea. Ethiopia became landlocked when Eritrea gained independence in 1993.

The countries’ armies fought together against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front during the 2020-2022 war, which caused about 500,000 civilian deaths from violence, famine and the collapse of health services, according to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium.

Last week government-allied fighters entered Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, after the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced its withdrawal. Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Mekelle on Sunday after suspending all flights there for days.

______

Kiyaro reported from Hamburg, Germany. Filmon Equar Hailu reported from Mekelle, Ethiopia. Associated Press journalists Matthew Lee in Washington and Moses Ndungu in Nairobi contributed to this report.

The drone strike started a fire at the refinery about 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow in Russia’s Ryazan region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry and Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov. Russia’s Astra online news outlet posted what it said was a photograph of the blaze.

The strike could further complicate Kyiv’s relations with Trump, which have soured again in recent days amid deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington.

Zelenskyy said he was outraged by Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand on Sunday for both sides to halt those attacks.

Despite going along with Trump’s demand for a truce, Zelenskyy complained, Ukraine in recent days was denied the usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes, and limits were placed on its use of U.S.-made Starlink communication terminals. Both are vital for the Ukrainian military.

He said his patience had run out, telling the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries would resume.

“We’re done,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying.

A senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Ukraine had hit the refinery.

Zelenskyy slams US deal to buy Russian diesel

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Ukraine never stopped its strikes on refineries. It wasn't possible to independently verify each side's claims.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled Ukraine’s strikes on oil facilities as a “direct and crude challenge to President Trump.”

Another point of tension with Ukraine is a deal Trump made with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, despite international efforts to sanction Russia for its invasion and diplomatically isolate Putin.

Zelenskyy slammed the agreement, saying it would allow Russia to press on with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began more than 4½ years ago. U.S. efforts under Trump to end the war have made no progress.

In an interview late Wednesday with Piers Morgan on the British journalist’s YouTube show, Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Putin, the energy ceasefire announcement and the Starlink limits that restricted the use of Ukrainian drones.

Asked if he felt betrayed by the American president, he said, “Really, yes, between us.”

“Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump,” Zelenskyy told Morgan.

He said the behavior of the U.S., including restricting the Starlink system, “was really strange.”

Zelenskyy says U.S. position isn't ‘on the right side of history’

In the same interview, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “losing a strong partner” in the United States.

“It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side. But we are OK that he’s in the middle,” he said.

Zelenskyy said someone is pushing Trump into a stance that is “not the right side of history.”

Elon Musk noted on X that the military version of Starlink, called Starshield, is controlled by the U.S. military and Trump.

A Ukrainian official said the country has not received an explanation from SpaceX, the company that maintains the Starlink satellites, or the Pentagon, on the slowdown. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation.

The Pentagon has not answered questions about the slowdown from The Associated Press either.

The absence of Western intelligence leaves Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missiles. Trump has said the U.S. hasn't stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

Ukraine looks to Europe for more help

Amid fears that the Trump administration may be withdrawing support for Ukraine, Zelenskyy went to Brussels on Thursday for talks with European Union leaders attending a two-day summit.

Zelenskyy said he would meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the prime ministers of Poland, Denmark and Belgium.

The previous day, he visited London, where he won pledges of more help from U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Asked whether the EU still trusts Trump, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, replied: “We definitely have a different approach to this war. We see that we have to pressure the aggressor to stop the war, not the victim to surrender.”

“Squeezing Ukraine is not the right approach, and that is why Europe is standing beside Ukraine,” Kallas told reporters.

Russian strike in Ukraine kills 3 civilians

In other developments, three people were killed and six others injured after the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine came under a Russian drone attack lasting more than 10 hours, Ukraine’s Emergency Services said Thursday.

Between midnight and Thursday morning, Russia launched more than 850 drones at Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on X. He added that the barrage came “precisely at a time when the speed of our defensive capabilities is being artificially restricted,” an apparent reference to the Starlink restrictions on drones.

Russian aerial attacks hit 15 Ukrainian regions, he said.

“It is obvious that Russia deliberately chose to escalate its attacks after receiving sanctions relief and seeing attempts to pressure Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “It is important that everyone in America stand not with the aggressor, but with our efforts to protect lives, end this war and guarantee security.”

Ukrainian air defenses stopped 536 Russian drones during a large-scale overnight attack, the Ukrainian air force said, but impacts were recorded at 31 locations.

A Ukrainian missile destroyed six warplanes at an airfield in southwestern Russia, Zelenskyy said. The aircraft were used to launch powerful glide bombs, he said.

“Russia is dragging out the war, so our long-range operations will continue,” he said on social media.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 166 Ukrainian drones overnight and that Russian forces hit two vessels carrying military cargo.

___

Associated Press writers Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine; Lorne Cook in Brussels; and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.

___

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

Five people were rescued after the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader, a chemical tanker traveling from Tunisia to Romania, caught fire in the attack about 13 nautical miles (15 miles) southeast of the port town of Sulina, according to the Romanian Naval Authority. Seven others are still missing.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said in Brussels that the cargo vessel had been struck by a drone, as was another ship in a separate incident the night before. Dan did not state the drones’ origin.

“There will be a reaction from the Romanian state,” he said.

Similar drone incursions have occurred this month in the exclusive economic zones of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO and European Union members.

According to initial medical assessments, one person rescued from the Wine Trader sustained scalp burns and another suffered from mild smoke inhalation, while the three others appeared unharmed, the Department for Emergency Situations said.

On Wednesday evening, a fire was also reported on the Comoros-flagged Yara J, a chemical and oil tanker traveling from Turkey to Sulina, Romania, in Romanian territorial waters. The crew was safe.

Romania's Ministry of National Defense said earlier that a “group of air targets” was monitored overnight near Ukraine’s Snake Island, and that a drone briefly entered Romania’s airspace at 1:34 a.m. southeast of Sulina, before disappearing from radar.

Romania’s acting defense minister, Radu Miruta, said that an investigation was underway, but that no drone was seen on military radars heading toward the Yara J.

On Tuesday, drone strikes on two ships off the coast of Bulgaria prompted emergency rescue operations for 11 crew members from the HS Dignity, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship, who remain missing.

The other ship, a Ukrainian-operated coastal freighter named the Chelsea 3, was sailing under a Maltese flag. Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members, with five receiving treatment for minor injuries. The crew reported that the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three aerial drones.

The incidents on Tuesday, for which Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Russia was likely responsible, came a week after sea and aerial drones struck two other commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. A Togo-flagged ship sank, while a Bulgarian ferry evacuated the 18-member crew of a damaged Palau-flagged vessel.

A day earlier, on Oct. 5, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and later sank in the Black Sea off Romania's coast. Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on X on Thursday that he met with Radev and Dan to discuss security in the Black Sea and “the latest attacks on commercial shipping.”

“NATO has strengthened our posture along the eastern flank including with increasing counter-drone capabilities,” he said. “NATO will continue to work closely with our Allies in the Black Sea, adjusting our deterrence and defense posture as needed.”

Palestinians have long faced harsh treatment in Israeli prisons, but rights groups say conditions have deteriorated dramatically since the war in Gaza began more than three years ago.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel say they have documented 22 cases of inmates being shot with rubber bullets. One of these inmates is Israeli; the rest are Palestinian.

Nearly all of the shootings have occurred since last fall, whereas only a handful of such incidents had been documented by these rights groups in the prior decade.

The groups sent a letter to the Israel Prison Service in August, urging it to end behavior they called “widespread” and “unlawful.”

The Associated Press did not independently confirm the 22 shootings documented by the groups. But it reviewed files provided by PHRI — including statements inmates gave to their lawyers, as well as medical reports — and spoke with two former inmates who said they had been shot.

The prison service did not respond to a request for comment on rules governing the use of rubber bullets or whether rubber bullets have been fired at close range.

Rights groups say guards are using more force than needed

In many instances, the shootings were neither proportionate nor being used as a last resort, such as to stem violence or prevent a prisoner from escaping, the rights groups said. Under Israel's prison regulations, guards are only allowed to use weapons when facing imminent risk, said Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

“The use of (rubber) bullets against prisoners is a dangerous new development," said Muhannad Abu Ghosh, director of the prisoners and detainees division at PHRI. It is “becoming another routine form of violence in Israeli prisons.”

Responding to the letter Israeli rights groups sent in August, the prison service's legal adviser said it saw no reason to stop using rubber bullets in “measured” and “appropriate” ways. The letter said the prison service is committed to the safety of its prisoners.

Israel is one of several nations, including the United States and Canada, that allows prisons to use “less-lethal” munitions, such as rubber bullets and other projectiles.

Some inmates who were shot did not receive medical care afterward

After the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces rounded up thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, doubling the country's prison population, according to Hamoked, a legal rights group.

Some prisoners and detainees were released last year as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. But Hamoked, which relies on Israeli prison service data, says more than 9,000 Palestinians are still imprisoned or detained.

The AP has previously reported on abuse, medical neglect and the deaths of Palestinians in Israeli custody. And while there were previous instances when prison guards used rubber bullets — including during a large-scale raid of Ofer prison in 2019 — the practice wasn't common, rights advocates say.

In recent months, inmates in Israeli prisons have been struck by rubber bullets in the legs, knees, stomach and pelvic area, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel. Several of those shot said they weren't treated for their injuries, according to the PHRI documents shared with AP.

One man was shot for refusing to return to his cell to protest untreated scabies, his lawyer's notes said. Another was struck in the leg at point-blank range.

In June, a 45-year-old inmate had to have a testicle removed after it was “completely crushed” by a rubber bullet, according to a report from Soroka hospital, where the patient was brought.

One Palestinian detainee, who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said he was shot multiple times, most recently in January, over the 30 months he was held in different prisons. He said there never appeared to be a reason for the shootings, and that guards would sometimes come into the cell in the middle of the night and fire at people.

He said that he was struck multiple times in his legs, and that the bullets, which burned his skin, sometimes caused infection.

The Israel Prison Service did not respond to a request for comment on the detainee's account.

“I was praying to die," he said in an interview. “I felt that it’s the end.”

Two seasons after he nearly quit baseball, Bauers has become a big hitter in the middle of the Milwaukee Brewers' lineup — and he put his renewed focus on display in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Bauers’ two-run homer on the 11th pitch of a seventh-inning at-bat against Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell gave Milwaukee the lead for good in a 6-2 victory Wednesday, putting the Brewers on the cusp of their first World Series since 1982.

“Incredible at-bat,” manager Pat Murphy said.

Bauers fouled off five two-strike pitches before turning on a 97 mph fastball and launching it 412 feet to right field.

“Super sick,” teammate Garrett Mitchell said. “I think that more just goes to show the type of player he is. It’s a selfless at-bat. He’s just trying to put the ball in play. He’s trying to move the guy over, and put an incredible swing on that. For me, being able to watch that on deck was awesome.”

Mitchell followed with a home run of his own to chase Snell and make it 4-2. Milwaukee has a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS, with Game 4 at Los Angeles on Thursday.

Bauers was drafted in 2013 by the San Diego Padres out of Marina High School in Huntington Beach, located about 40 miles south of Dodger Stadium. After batting .202 for the New York Yankees in 2023, he was traded that November to Milwaukee — where he hit .199 in 2024.

Ready to hang up his spikes, Bauer changed his mind when his wife told him she was pregnant. Wanting to be a provider for his growing family, he put off retirement and maintained their health insurance.

Earlier this week, Bauers spoke eloquently about his wife and her sacrifice while raising two rambunctious children while he is away playing baseball.

Now, he's making fans all over Milwaukee feel like little kids again.

“There’s a lot of people to credit, man,” Bauers said after Wednesday's game. “I’ve played a lot of places. I’ve picked up knowledge from a lot of different people.

“I think what changed for me this year was I stopped caring about results. I started caring about competing. I started caring about being in the moment and getting out of my own way.”

All that showed up in Game 2 of the series when he worked a two-out walk to load the bases on the 12th pitch he saw from Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning. Christian Yelich followed with a two-run single for a 3-2 lead in a 7-4 victory, ending Yamamoto's outing.

Bauers, who turned 31 last week, is in his third year with Milwaukee — his fifth team in seven major league seasons. The first baseman and corner outfielder led the Brewers with 26 home runs and an .874 OPS during the regular season.

“Jake got an opportunity, that’s what he got,” Murphy said. “He got an opportunity to contribute, and he kind of found his offensive approach. And he kind of found, like, I’m really talented, but this is what serves me best. It’s a growth in the game. He’s continued to grow.”

Patient and disciplined with a sharp eye at the plate, Bauers drew 94 walks and compiled a .389 on-base percentage this season. He also had 86 RBIs in 144 games, shattering his previous career highs across the board.

“I came into this year feeling like there was really only one person holding me back, and that was myself,” Bauers said. “So I think I just gave myself the space to believe that I could play — I could play in this league.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Protesters, some wearing masks of U.S. President Donald Trump, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva and other leaders, dragged a float of a big pink pig with dollar signs for eyes toward the venue, briefly blocking traffic near the rigorously guarded convention center where more than 15,000 officials and experts were gathered for the IMF’s autumn meeting.

The protesters were also demonstrating against financial institutions and against what they said were the “vile abuses” of the Thai government and financial institutions.

“Our country is facing a crisis of household debt. Our people are growing poorer. Our environment is deteriorating. Climate disasters are intensifying,” the People’s Network Against the World Bank and IMF said in a written declaration.

Thailand has used the meetings as an opportunity to showcase its capital city, where luxury hotels and other trappings of extreme wealth contrast with shantytowns, fetid canals and people sleeping rough along major thoroughfares.

Recent severe floods have wrecked crops and damaged millions of homes and businesses, adding to the hardships for many Thais.

Apart from a minor scuffle with police on a pedestrian bridge, the peaceful protesters marched from the nearby Khlong Toei slum toward the convention center and then disbanded.

Growing inequality and the challenges posed by climate-related disasters and war are among the many problems leaders are discussing during their weeklong meetings.

Thailand is among many low- and middle-income countries, especially net energy importers, that have struggled as the Iran war has pushed oil prices past $100 a barrel for much of this year. It also is the most income-unequal country in the region, according to the World Bank.

In its latest forecasts, the IMF has warned that rising prices and debt are worsening inequality in many of its 191 member economies.

In Asia, regional economic growth is projected to slow to 4.8% this year from 5% in 2025, and then to 4.4% in 2027, dragged lower by the back-to-back shocks of the pandemic, the Ukraine war, the Iran war and higher tariffs and other trade barriers, IMF economists say.

The IMF chief and other top economic experts have emphasized the need for countries, including Thailand, to ensure they control debt by focusing their government spending on helping their most vulnerable people with targeted and temporary assistance.

___

Associated Press journalists Haruka Nuga and Sakchai Lalit contributed to this report.