The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology jointly published a draft document with the proposed updates for China’s catalog of technologies subjected to export bans or restrictions.

A spokesperson from the commerce ministry said in a statement that the move was “necessary” and cited national security as one of the reasons.

The proposal came as China and the U.S. made progress in dialogues over AI safety and governance and on the setting up of a notification mechanism between the two superpowers for AI incidents that could threaten national security.

Twenty-three AI technologies, from advanced large models to agents, are included on Friday's list, according to the Chinese ministries.

U.S.-led restrictions have curbed the export of some advanced technologies to China over the past years, with the country blocked from accessing the world’s most cutting-edge AI chips and the advanced chipmaking machines that make them.

Exports of core technologies of AI large models trained using sensitive national data would be prohibited under the Chinese proposal, along with AI agents that are designed to be used in highly sensitive environments such as national defense and critical information infrastructure.

“The Chinese government is implementing such necessary measures with the aims of reinforcing the security bottom line, preventing misuse and abuse, and ensuring that AI remains under human control,” the commerce ministry’s statement said.

Meanwhile, exports of AI models with parameter counts of 2 trillion or above, or with certain world-leading capabilities, could be restricted. An AI model's parameter count is a key metric that reflects its learning capacity.

Chinese AI models including Moonshot’s Kimi K3 and Alibaba’s Qwen 3.8-Max are among those with parameter counts exceeding 2 trillion, but Friday’s proposal did not name specific models.

Several chip design technologies, including for some AI processing chips and memory chips, are also included in the proposed export restrictions.

Twelve solar power-related technologies are also included, including those related to the making of polysilicon, a core raw material for the solar supply chain, as well as five biomedicine technologies including those related to cell and gene therapy.

The move “can be seen as a response to Western countries posting sovereignty requirements on AI, robotics, telecommunications, and other key technologies,” said Lian Jye Su, a chief analyst at technology research and advisory group Omdia. The aim would be to better regulate access to the Chinese technologies, he believes.

The U.S. Commerce Department in June had asked Anthropic to bar foreign nationals from using some of its most powerful AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, citing national security concerns. The restrictions were later lifted.

AI is increasingly strategic for both China and the U.S., added Gary Ng, a senior economist at French bank Natixis. “The world is getting more fragmented in trade and investment, but also in access to technologies,” Ng said.

The list could go on endlessly. Talented teams, colorful coaches, unforgettable characters -- adding up to the remarkable history of Catholic college basketball over the past 100 years.

The Catholic hoops legacy will be on full display in a few weeks in an especially fitting location and matchup.

Catholic powerhouses Notre Dame and Villanova will compete in the 2026 season opener Nov. 1 at Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport, six miles from the Vatican headquarters of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, a sports fan, and a Villanova graduate. There's been no word from the Vatican on whether Leo might attend the Eternal City Tip-Off, though it's considered unlikely following his lung cancer diagnosis.

The doubleheader between the Notre Dame and Villanova men’s and women’s teams has cast a new spotlight on the deep roots of basketball in Catholic schools in America, dating to the early days of the sport.

After James Naismith invented the sport in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, YMCAs and colleges played key roles in the early expansion. Many of those schools were Catholic institutions in urban areas; basketball — requiring only an indoor court and a handful of players — was an ideal sport for them.

By 1927, before the era of season-ending tournaments, the potential of Catholic college hoops became clear — Notre Dame’s 19-1 team was named national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation. It repeated that feat in 1936.

The NCAA men’s tournament started in 1939, officially crowning a national champion. Since then, Catholic schools have won 10 titles — including three by Villanova.

Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts, was the first of these champions, defeating Oklahoma in the 1947 final. NBA legend Bob Cousy was a reserve freshman on that Crusaders team.

La Salle was next, defeating Bradley in the 1954 final. Led on the court by future Hall of Famer Tom Gola, the Explorers were one of America’s dominant teams from 1952 through 1956.

Catholic schools broke the sport's color barrier

The next Catholic champion was the University of San Francisco. Its titles in 1955 and 1956 highlighted the pivotal role played by Catholic colleges in ending pervasive racial segregation of the sport.

The Dons’ 1955 team – led by future Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K.C. Jones – was the first NCCA champion with three Black starters. Its record over the two championship seasons: 57-1.

Further barrier-breaking came when Loyola Chicago's Ramblers started four Black players in the 1963 NCAA championship game en route to an upset overtime victory over two-time defending champion Cincinnati.

One more major barrier remained to be broken. In 1984, John Thompson became the first Black head coach to win an NCAA basketball championship, leading Georgetown to victory in the 12th of his 27 seasons with the Hoyas.

Unlike many of his players, Thompson was a practicing Catholic – attending a Catholic high school in Washington, D.C., before starring as a 6-10 center at Dominican-affiliated Providence College and then serving as Bill Russell’s backup for two seasons with the Boston Celtics.

His early years at Georgetown were sometimes tense as he recruited mostly Black players to the predominantly white Jesuit university. Faculty and students rallied around him after a bedsheet with racist words was hung inside the gym before a game in 1975.

Historic teams, led by iconic coaches

Thompson is remembered for draping a white towel over his right shoulder during each game – a tribute to his mother. He's one of numerous coaches at Catholic colleges who gained iconic status during lengthy careers.

Rollie Massimino coached for 19 seasons at Villanova. His epic moment came at Thompson’s expense in 1985, when the Wildcats engineered one of the NCCA tournament’s biggest upsets by beating defending champion Georgetown 66-64 in the final. A No. 8 seed, that ’Nova team remains the lowest seed ever to win the title.

Amid 80th birthday celebrations in 2014, Massimino said he never watched a full replay of the title game. “I’m afraid we’re still going to lose." His funeral in 2017 was on its suburban Philadelphia campus at Saint Thomas of Villanova Church.

In 2001, another practicing Catholic – Jay Wright – took over as Villanova’s head coach, sticking around for 21 seasons, including NCAA championships in 2016 and 2018. Three players from those teams helped the New York Knicks win the NBA title earlier this year.

In terms of longevity among coaches of Catholic men’s teams, Ray Meyer ranks first – 42 years at DePaul, with a 724-354 record. From 1942 to 1946, Meyer's teams featured George Mikan, widely considered the sport's first superstar.

Another long-serving coach was Lou Carnesecca, who reached post-season play in all of his 24 seasons at St. John’s. He was beloved for his cheerful personality, garish sweaters and devotion to his Catholic faith.

Al McGuire, head coach at Marquette from 1964 to 1977, won an NCAA title in his last season there before transitioning to a successful broadcasting career. He took pride in being brash, mingling expletives with prayer in his pre-game pep talks.

In 1970, McGuire got a call from a priest in the Marquette president’s office, disagreeing with the coach's decision to skip the NCAA tournament and play instead in the NIT.

″I told him, ’Father, I don’t hear confession and you don’t coach this team,′″ McGuire recalled. ”Twenty minutes later, the priest called back and said, ‘You’re right.’″ Marquette proceeded to win the NIT.

Not all the great coaches at Catholic colleges have been Catholic. Mark Few, head coach at Gonzaga since 1999, is the son of a Presbyterian minister. He has coached the Zags to 27 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including two Final Fours.

The supporting cast

In general, over the decades, these Catholic teams have not explicitly depicted their ambitions in religious terms — but they often have embraced spiritual support that's close at hand.

The Rev. William Kelly, who taught in Marquette’s theology department, was the basketball team's chaplain for 31 years. The Rev. Richard Rock has been chaplain of the St. John’s team since 2013, exhorting the players with pre-game prayers and encouraging them to engage in community service.

The most famous chaplain, however, was a nun, not a priest – Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt of Loyola Chicago.

Born in San Francisco in 1919, Sister Jean grew up in a staunch Catholic family, and as a young woman joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She taught at Catholic schools and coached girls’ basketball before arriving at Mundelein College, on the Chicago lakefront, in the 1960s. The school affiliated with Loyola in 1991, and Sister Jean was hired to help students with the transition.

In 1994, she was asked to help student basketball players boost their grades. and soon was named chaplain of the men’s team -- a role she held until September 2025, shortly before her death at age 106.

Sister Jean gained folk hero status in 2018 as the Ramblers, a lowly 11th seed, reached the NCAA Final Four.

She was featured by newspapers and TV stations nationwide. Her likeness appeared on socks and bobbleheads. Her NCAA news conference had as many journalists as NFL stars draw at the Super Bowl.

What does it take to have your prayers heard, she was asked. “God always hears," she replied. "But maybe He thinks it’s better for us to do the ‘L’ instead of the ‘W,’ and we have to accept that.”

What lies ahead?

John Gasaway, author of a history of Catholic college hoops titled “Miracles on the Hardwood,” says the colleges without big-time football programs – basically all except Notre Dame and Boston College – may face challenges in the new era of pay-for-players.

He also notes no Catholic school has advanced to the men’s Final Four over the past four seasons.

“But that will change immediately if the Zags or whoever else breaks through,” he said. “That activates something in our collective memory.”

Short term, Gasaway is excited about the Eternal City Tip-Off,

“It’s a great matchup -- two venerable brands in Catholic education,” he said. “Whatever involvement the pope wants to have -- even if it’s just posing with the teams -- it will be such a thrill for them.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The report, released Friday by the Joint Economic Committee’s minority arm, found that Trump’s pharmaceutical stock holdings grew from a maximum reported value of $1.7 million in 2024 to as much as $56.2 million at the end of 2025. The report said that included up to $39.1 million worth of stock held in companies that benefited from exemptions to Medicare’s drug price negotiation program, which came through a provision in Republicans' 2025 tax and spending law.

Additional analysis of Trump's financial disclosures provided by committee Democrats showed that his investment portfolio bought as much as $2.55 million in shares of pharmaceutical companies benefiting from the exemptions on three dates before he signed the legislation in July 2025. That included up to $950,000 in purchases on July 1, 2025, the day the Senate passed the bill. His portfolio also bought as much as $1 million in AbbVie stock in August 2025, after the bill became law.

The Republican president’s wealth has grown since he took office last year through a web of business interests, many of which have benefited from the policy moves of his administration. The White House has repeatedly denied any ethics issues and accused Democrats of “attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest.”

The report also noted that the exemptions policy could leave some Medicare beneficiaries paying thousands of dollars more for certain cancer treatments and other medications than they would have if Medicare had been allowed to negotiate lower prices.

The findings come as Trump has made lowering prescription drug costs a central part of his healthcare policy, striking deals with pharmaceutical companies that his administration says will make medications more affordable for Americans, although drug pricing is based on a complicated set of factors.

Recent polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that most Americans think Trump is profiting off the presidency in unethical or illegal ways and is focused more on his wealth than on helping people like them.

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who leads the Joint Economic Committee’s minority arm, called the report’s findings “outrageous and yet typical from this president, who makes the American people foot the bill again and again for his own gains.”

Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions. He denied any conflict of interest.

“Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” Ingle said in a statement.

A law from President Joe Biden's Democratic administration allowed Medicare for the first time to negotiate prices for some of the costliest prescription drugs. Republicans' 2025 tax and spending bill expanded an existing exemption for medications developed to treat rare diseases or conditions, delaying when certain costly drugs could become eligible for negotiations or excluding them entirely, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

Also known as the orphan drug exclusion, the carveout allows drug companies to continue charging lucrative prices that might otherwise have been reduced through Medicare negotiations.

Supporters of the change argued that a broader exemption would encourage drug companies to develop treatments for rare diseases. Critics say it allows makers of blockbuster medications to avoid negotiations that could lower costs for Medicare and its recipients.

The report estimated that Medicare beneficiaries receiving the cancer drugs Keytruda, manufactured by Merck, and Opdivo, by Bristol Myers Squibb, could pay roughly $5,000 more annually than they would if Medicare negotiated prices for the medications. Trump's portfolio includes stock in both firms.

The report also said that Trump's portfolio continued to buy and sell pharma company stocks throughout the first eight months of 2026, adding as much as $3.5 million in stock wealth in the sector.

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Associated Press writer Bernard Condon in New York contributed to this report.

The children, a 1-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, who are both U.S. citizens, are originally from South Carolina, and had been living with their grandmother following their mother’s deportation.

According to information provided by the Guatemalan Maya Center, the children’s mother had no criminal record when she was detained by immigration authorities while driving with her 4-year-old child in the car.

She was subsequently deported to Guatemala, leaving her children behind in the U.S.

For the past eight months, the children have been living with their grandmother.

However, the grandmother became concerned about her own immigration status and reached out to the Guatemalan Maya Center for help.

“It’s just devastating to see this sort of trauma these children are going through,” Lindsay McElroy, of the Guatemala Maya Center, said.

Volunteers with the organization traveled to pick up the children and brought them to South Florida to help arrange their reunification with their mother.

“You can really see the trauma on the children,” McElroy said. “The 4-year-old, the entire drive down, started crying every time she saw police officers or heard police sirens because she saw her mother get taken, and it’s just really devastating. These children only know the United States. English is often what they choose to speak, but in reality, the country has abandoned them.”

The children have been staying with a foster family ahead of their journey.

On Friday morning, the siblings are scheduled to depart from Miami International Airport with their foster family, who will accompany them to Guatemala.

The trip is part of another reunification effort coordinated by the Guatemalan Maya Center, which has helped children separated from deported parents return to Guatemala.

A rapidly spreading blaze in Malibu, a coastal town west of Los Angeles, prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a large swathe of the Santa Monica Mountains. A large cloud of black smoke over the hilltops could be seen on nearby cameras and miles away. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 kph) were reported early Friday and were forecast to increase, the National Weather Service said.

With humidity levels dropping, “this will favor a critical fire weather threat,” the service said early Friday.

More than 285 firefighters battled the Bryson Fire overnight, which grew to about 200 acres (81 hectares) and threatened a Los Angeles County juvenile detention and rehabilitative facility, which was evacuated Thursday night. Fire officials planned to give an update Friday morning.

Firefighters worked to contain two other fires that had sparked Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders in the city of Azusa, north of LA, and Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

More than 150,000 customers in northern, central and southern California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.

Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power during dry, windy weather in an effort to prevent blazes.

Weather conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday.

Santa Ana winds hit Southern California

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who faced criticism for her city's response to deadly fires in 2025, directed the fire department to deploy personnel and equipment ahead of the winds. The fire department also requested assistance from the state’s office of emergency services.

“It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Dry, warm and gusty northeast winds known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, were forecast, with the strongest winds expected through Friday afternoon.

The winds could reach 20 to 40 mph (32 to 64 kph), with gusts from 50 to 70 mph (80 to 113 kph), in the San Gabriel mountains in Los Angeles County and the Santa Susana mountains, which are mostly in Ventura County, Schoenfeld said. Elevated, though brief, critical fire weather conditions were also forecast for portions of the Santa Lucia mountains in San Luis Obispo County.

A wind-driven fire in Azusa burned over 40 acres (16 hectares) on Thursday and briefly prompted evacuation orders for a neighborhood in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains. Forward progress on the blaze had been stopped by midafternoon.

Farther south, a fire at Camp Pendleton threatened buildings. Evacuation orders were issued in the Las Flores area of the military base and lifted by evening, military officials said in a statement.

Power cuts are widespread in Northern California

In Northern California, some communities in the Sierra Nevada and its foothills began experiencing strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity Wednesday night.

The weather service issued a red flag warning for parts of central and Northern California through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly. Such warnings are issued when weather conditions create an increased risk of wildfires.

The potential interruption in electricity to customers from the Central Coast to the upper corners of the Sierra Nevada could last through Saturday afternoon, Pacific Gas and Electric Company said.

Hot and windy conditions are expected through the weekend

In Southern California, the Red Flag Warning for the mountainous areas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties was in effect through Friday night.

In January 2025, the Palisades Fire — fanned by Santa Ana winds — ripped through a hillside Los Angeles neighborhood, killing 12 people and destroying mansions with spectacular ocean views. Authorities determined the Palisades Fire was a carryover from another fire that authorities alleged was started intentionally by a 29-year-old man.

Another fire that burned at the same time in the city of Altadena, in Los Angeles County, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and businesses. That fire was caused by sparks from an idle transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison, officials said.

Schoenfeld said the Santa Ana winds are not going to be as strong as during those fires, when they were gusting 60 to 100 mph (96 to 160 kph).

___

Jaimie Ding reported from Los Angeles.

Estambul, la ciudad más grande de Turquía con 16 millones de habitantes, recibió en 48 horas hasta la mañana del jueves más lluvia que el promedio histórico combinado de septiembre y octubre, reportó la agencia noticiosa estatal Anadolu.

“Estamos haciendo todo lo posible para ayudar a nuestros ciudadanos, pero también estamos viviendo el mayor desastre por inundaciones desde 1942”, manifestó Mustafa Ciftci durante una visita a una de las zonas más afectadas por el aguacero del miércoles por la noche.

El cuerpo de un hombre de 66 años fue hallado el viernes bajo un puente en el distrito de Sariyer, en Estambul. Antes se habían reportado otros tres decesos, incluyendo el de un adolescente electrocutado durante la tormenta.

Viviendas y comercios quedaron anegados mientras el agua cubría calles y parques en toda la ciudad. Muchos vehículos fueron arrastrados y terminaron amontonados al pie de las colinas.

Antes del hallazgo de la cuarta víctima mortal el viernes, Ciftci comentó a reporteros en el barrio de Ayazaga, en Sariyer, que cuatro personas seguían desaparecidas.

En total se registraron 9.850 reportes por daños y otros problemas relacionados con las inundaciones, y 46.000 efectivos trabajaban para retirar los escombros y ayudar a los residentes, añadió.

Murat Kurum, ministro de Medio Ambiente, Urbanización y Cambio Climático, acompañó a Ciftci en su visita.

En respuesta a la preocupación de que las inundaciones se hubieran agravado por el desarrollo urbanístico cerca de los cursos de agua, afirmó que afrontar el problema era “esencial”.

Kurum, quien el próximo mes presidirá la conferencia de Naciones Unidas sobre el cambio climático, la COP31, en la ciudad turca de Antalya, también vinculó las inundaciones con los efectos del cambio climático. “Combatir el cambio climático no es una opción, sino una necesidad”, sostuvo.

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

• Former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire is now a South Florida cop
• Dog found underwater tied to cinder blocks in Coconut Grove, Miami police say
• Man jailed in 2025 murder of ‘Wheels Up, Guns Down’ founder; Miami police say it was revenge killing
• Broward judge removes Tamarac commissioner from November election ballot, sparking heated exchange at city meeting
• Suspect accused of posing as police officer, kidnapping and killing man in Miami-Dade
• Investigators use GPS tracker to catch 2 mail-theft suspects after Homestead police pursuit ends in crash
• Miami-Dade man shoots Uber Eats driver in buttocks for trying to get girlfriend’s number, cops say
• Miami-Dade roofer accused of defrauding former employer of $33K
• Miami’s first supertall skyscraper nears completion as downtown’s skyline reaches new heights
• South Florida fraudsters schemed to steal victims’ bank info, launder $1 million, cops say

• Former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire is now a South Florida cop
• Dog found underwater tied to cinder blocks in Coconut Grove, Miami police say
• Man jailed in 2025 murder of ‘Wheels Up, Guns Down’ founder; Miami police say it was revenge killing
• Broward judge removes Tamarac commissioner from November election ballot, sparking heated exchange at city meeting
• Suspect accused of posing as police officer, kidnapping and killing man in Miami-Dade
• Investigators use GPS tracker to catch 2 mail-theft suspects after Homestead police pursuit ends in crash
• Miami-Dade man shoots Uber Eats driver in buttocks for trying to get girlfriend’s number, cops say
• Miami-Dade roofer accused of defrauding former employer of $33K
• Miami’s first supertall skyscraper nears completion as downtown’s skyline reaches new heights
• South Florida fraudsters schemed to steal victims’ bank info, launder $1 million, cops say

At “Eat With the Heat,” guests can sample a variety of offerings, from nachos and cheesesteaks to chicken sandwiches and tacos.

Beyond the concourse, the Heat have reimagined three premium spaces, including the 1988 Club, formerly known as the Courtside Club.

The club’s menu is led by Jeremy Ford, the Michelin-starred chef behind Stubborn Seed.

Ferrufino said the club is designed for elite reserve members, including those seated courtside.

The Heat also work with different restaurants to give members a changing dining experience throughout the season.

“The cool thing is that we partner with different restaurants. So therefore, every single time that there’s a game, there’s a different experience for our members,” Ferrufino said.

The Hard Rock Bet Lounge offers another premium space, where some fans can get a glimpse of players heading to the court.

For fans who want an upgraded dining experience without courtside seats, the Bacardí Ocho Lounge offers elevated bar bites. Ferrufino said guests can purchase access through the Heat app.

“The cool thing about it is that any guest can go into the Heat app and purchase access to this beautiful lounge and you get to see the game from here,” Ferrufino said.

Among the dishes Local 10’s Alexis Frazier sampled were crab rangoon, which quickly became a favorite. The tasting wrapped up with dessert, bringing the culinary preview to a close.

The new food offerings and lounge experiences give fans more ways to enjoy game day at Kaseya Center, whether they are grabbing a bite on the concourse or taking in the game from a premium space.

And don’t forget, you can also watch the majority of the Miami Heat’s regular season games, at least 68, on Local 10 next season as WPLG Local 10 and the Heat announced a newly expanded media rights agreement, making Local 10 the home of HEAT basketball across South Florida! CLICK HERE for more information on how to watch!

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a ShotSpotter alert shortly after 9:15 p.m. in the area of 6305 NW 20th Ave.

When deputies arrived, they found a man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to one of his shoulders.

Shortly afterward, deputies located a woman who had been grazed by a bullet on the side of her head, authorities said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics also responded to the scene and transported both victims to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition.

The sheriff’s office did not provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting and no arrests have been announced.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

When autumn rolled around, he kept up the bit, sending out weekly newsletters with foliage statistics and information to a handful of co-workers. Today, he has mastered complex mapping systems, calls himself “Leaf Daddy” and owns The Foliage Report, a website that tracks fall color from coast to coast.

Thus, he was speaking with actual authority last week when he said 2026 has been a spectacular year for foliage in New England.

“I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years, and this is the best I’ve seen of New England in that time,” he said. “2020 was a very good year, but this one seems elite to me.”

New England had adequate rain through the spring and summer, plus warm days and cool nights heading into fall, but that wasn’t the case elsewhere, he said.

Extreme drought conditions stressed trees in Colorado, for example, leading to a quick and lackluster foliage season. Aspens in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho aren’t as golden this year, he said. But Utah is a bright spot.

“They got enough rainfall in that area,” he said. “You basically want an average amount of precipitation to really bring out the most majestic and colorful leaves.”

Fall foliage: The last supper for trees

Fall foliage is all about trees preparing for winter, according to experts at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

Leaves exist to provide food for the tree. They absorb sunlight through a green pigment called chlorophyll, and that energy is used to convert water and carbon dioxide from the air into glucose, a type of sugar. As days shorten, the tree stops making food, allowing orange and yellow pigments that have been there all along to be unmasked. When sunny days are followed by cold nights, sugars get trapped in leaves, producing red pigments.

Eventually, the layer of cells between a twig and a leaf weakens, allowing leaves to be blown down during wind and rain. The timing varies widely by location. According to Cotner’s research, foliage season starts in Alaska in mid-August and ends in Florida in late December. Hawaii is the only U.S. state without fall foliage, he said.

Leaf peepers share their perspective

For Kirk Giglio, leaf peeping provides an escape from his day job as a nurse in a cardiac and stroke unit of a Connecticut hospital. A photographer who frequently chases storms as well, he is used to studying maps and forecasts, and was hopeful by early September that this would be a good year. A recent trip to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with his fiancee confirmed it.

“I was just really kind of blown away,” he said, describing sunrise hikes and fog lifting to reveal vibrant colors in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch and elsewhere. Though some spots were packed with tourists, he still found plenty of secluded and stunning scenery.

“The more I travel, the more I realize how much we take for granted up here,” he said. “In a world that is so modern and gray with these corporate, soulless colors that we see everywhere, the trees are one of the last things that make color anymore, so it’s nice to just observe, especially in a good year like this.”

The 20-year-old Spaniard was a set down and rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. It was the fourth straight match at the ATP Masters 1000 event that Jodar had mounted a comeback from losing the first set.

“Casper, I think, played the important points in the first set better than me," Jodar said. "I couldn’t win the break points because of his serve, so I knew I wanted to come back again. It was very tough, so I had to give my best level today to win this match.”

Jodar powered to victory in 2 hours 20 minutes by breaking Ruud's serve five times in the second and third sets.

He will face Daniil Medvedev or Tommy Paul in the semifinals.

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See AP’s full tennis coverage here

But the hard part for Kane, the Jacksonville Jaguars kicker said, would be shifting from star striker to bit player.

“I think the transition from soccer to football is so much more cultural than like the actual skill,” Little said.

The England captain and Bayern Munich forward has mused over the years about one day kicking in the NFL. He recently floated the idea of combining his NFL goal with also joining a Major League Soccer team.

Who better to weigh in than Little? The soccer player-turned kicker, who remains a diehard Manchester United fan, booted a 57-yard field goal as time expired for the Jags to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 19-17 last Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He also holds the record for longest NFL field goal — 68 yards.

“It’s just so different,” Little told The Associated Press of moving from being involved in a game for 90 minutes to being a kicker “sitting there on the sidelines the whole game.

“You’re not going to get on the ball, and you don’t have the same moxie, I guess, because he is a star striker for the team. So that moxie is just kind of put to the side. You’ve got to let everyone else do the big man’s job, and then you’re out there just to back everyone up basically.”

As far as Kane's ability, “he’s probably talented enough to do it... His technique in soccer is so good. But it’s just such a different mental, I’d say, challenge than soccer.

“It’d be like him taking five set pieces a day. And he’s got to deliver on all five set pieces, or you didn’t do your job for the day,” Little said Thursday after practice at the team's accommodations north of London in Watford.

“So, it’s just a lot different, but I don’t think he doesn’t have the talent level for it. I think he probably has the skill to do it.”

Little and the Jaguars remained in London this week ahead of the game against the Houston Texans on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

Little, a sixth-round draft pick from Arkansas in 2024, had missed an extra-point attempt — after a high snap from fill-in long snapper DaVon Hamilton — late in the fourth quarter against the Eagles. The miss had looked crucial because Philadelphia then took a 17-16 lead with just 8 seconds left — before the improbable ending on Little’s heroics.

“Missing a set piece or missing a wide-open goal, you see a lot of strikers do that, and they’ll come back and put the game away,” Little said at his post-game press conference while wearing a Man United jersey. “I’ve got to have short-term memory and be at my best when the best is required.”

Fulham on Saturday

Little told AP that he’d be attending Fulham’s home game against Hull at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Jaguars owner Shad Khan also owns the Premier League club.

Little, an Oklahoma native, played as a midfielder before switching to American football in high school. England and United great Wayne Rooney was his favorite player.

“Maybe one day I’ll get to meet him or do a jersey swap with him. That’s my goal,” he said. "I’ve never been to Manchester. Only London, but I’m hoping to make it there this offseason.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

“She said, ‘You can do this,’” said Landau, a 78-year-old retired teacher who enjoys studying Altadena history and cannot imagine living anywhere else, even after the Eaton Fire destroyed her house. “She gave me hope and strength.”

Landau meets weekly with Veda Ashby Romero, a trained recovery expert who helps her navigate insurance, complete online forms and qualify for financial assistance.

Now Landau is one of roughly 1,400 households affected by the 2025 Los Angeles fires who are set to lose their disaster case managers by the end of October, as a standoff between California and the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the program's funding drags on.

The news has rattled Landau. “The safety net has been pulled out from under me, and the hope is not as strong as it was,” she said.

The program’s early termination is the latest setback for LA communities in the middle of recovery and awaiting billions of additional federal dollars. It also highlights how some disaster-impacted communities still face issues like delayed FEMA payments and inconsistent communication, despite President Donald Trump's administration pledging to streamline processes after long criticizing the agency’s bureaucracy.

FEMA did not respond to a request for comment but has previously touted the assistance it has provided for the program. The White House says California has mismanaged the crisis.

Case managers simplify a notoriously opaque recovery process

Landau kept her insurance policy up to date for the 1938 two-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch home where she raised her three children and tended a wildflower garden. She still faced a shortfall of at least $200,000 to rebuild the modest home and owed $225,000 on her mortgage.

Ashby Romero supports her through the insurance process — a tedious one that has involved multiple adjusters and required creating an inventory of the half-century’s worth of possessions she lost. She also found Landau a grant to cover a year’s worth of mortgage payments. “I would never have gotten it without her,” Landau said. “I’m very bad with paperwork.”

Trained disaster case managers help people find rental assistance, new employment and money to close the gap between what insurance pays and the actual cost to rebuild. They guide survivors on how to avoid scams, challenge insurance payouts and appeal FEMA decisions.

“The recovery process is very complicated, and a lot of the systems are not designed to make it easy for people,” said Matt Gsell, disaster recovery manager at CORE, the nonprofit managing Landau’s case and one of five participating in LA’s case management program.

Late reimbursements and insufficient funds led California to end the program

After the January 2025 fires, California requested $28 million for case management. FEMA instead awarded $13.2 million for 24 months, to be paid in four equal installments.

FEMA can fund disaster case management for presidentially declared major disasters. The money is reimbursed to the state, which usually contracts with one or more nonprofits to administer the program. In the case of an exceptional disaster, states can request extensions for up to 36 months.

By August, FEMA had made only one of the four payments, leaving the state to front the rest despite “numerous requests” for reimbursement, according to the California Department of Social Services.

FEMA also had not answered a March request for an additional $6.5 million to sustain the program the full 24 months, in light of high demand. Seven hundred households remain on a waitlist for services.

California then announced it could no longer float the costs and would shutter the program at the end of October. FEMA eventually reimbursed the outstanding payments but did not give an answer about the additional money.

Rep. Judy Chu, a Democrat whose district includes Altadena, told The Associated Press that FEMA also had not responded to questions from her office about the additional money. Failing to fund the program the full 24 months "risks abandoning survivors,” Chu said, adding that FEMA should also be prepared to extend the program for longer if needs persist.

Nonprofits scramble to reassign clients

With the projected end date looming, nonprofits are triaging open cases and trying to move as many as possible to other organizations that can continue the work using philanthropic dollars.

But there won't be enough resources to keep everyone in case management.

“They are overloaded,” said Bree Jensen, spokesperson for the Eaton Fire Collaborative and an Eaton Fire survivor. “You can’t put everything onto the local nonprofits.”

The uncertainty is destabilizing, as more than 100 case managers stand to lose their jobs and must weigh whether to seek new work now or wait for answers, Jensen said.

“We can’t go month to month,” said Gsell. CORE has already closed some of its less severe cases and is trying to transfer 200 of its 450 clients to other nonprofits.

The case management program is just a small part of the federal support California has requested to recover from fires that destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, asked Trump, a Republican, and Congress for $15.7 billion, pared down from an earlier request of $33 billion, much of which would go toward rebuilding housing. Trump has not sent the Republican-controlled Congress a supplemental disaster request for the LA fires.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the Trump administration has obligated billions of dollars for LA's recovery.

Landau is waiting for construction to begin on her new home. She is still wrangling with insurance and a bank to receive her final payment. She and her children lean on each other for support, she said, but pressing on won't be the same without Ashby Romero.

“To meet with somebody who cares about you, wants to see that you land on your feet in a good situation," she said, ”it was so important."

“We are racing, and the question is how do we put barriers? So if a car was to fly out it doesn’t kill people,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

“I have high respect for the industry. I think what you’re doing is incredibly important for humanity. You may give us the biggest gift, but if the car runs over people, that gift may not be so worthwhile,” she said while speaking on a panel on the impact of AI on the world economy along with experts including Anthropic co-founder and head of policy Jack Clark.

Clark is among technology industry leaders pushing for faster action on regulating AI. In a blog post last month, the rival to OpenAI proposed that the world’s top artificial intelligence companies come up with a coordinated way to pause development of advanced AI systems, warning the technology is improving so quickly there’s a risk humans would lose control.

“I think it’s worse than you describe. I think it’s Formula 1 at night without maybe brakes in the cars,” Clark said. “And it’s remarkable to me that the toys I buy for my children are regulated more than the literal superintelligence I work on at my day job.”

He added that the effort to build policy frameworks to regulate AI is underway.

“The world is now taking this seriously, and I think if we take it seriously, we are going to be able to get our arms around it,” Clark said. “But it cannot only be companies making these decisions. And if we’re negligent about this, we’re going to get some form of chaos.”

The impact of AI on jobs is yet to be fully understood, but an IMF study found three main trends. About 10% of jobs might be transformed or newly created, while work involving repetitive tasks will be gone, Georgieva said.

The third category will be service sector jobs generated by people who benefit from the investment boom.

“The net impact is positive," she said, though she added that “services don’t pay a lot.”

“So you get young people who normally would have gone into professional routine jobs now serving coffee in Starbucks. And that is not what I think young people in the world aspire for,” she said.

Tiff Macklem, the governor of the Bank of Canada, compared that to the effects on employment from more open trade, which has generated great global wealth and raised millions out of poverty. But many millions also lost their livelihoods as manufacturers moved jobs to China and other developing countries.

He said “in aggregate there is an overall benefit,” but acknowledged that in both trade and technology “there will be winners and losers.”

“You have to find a way to help the losers," Macklem said. “Without a system to help them cope with the loss you get a backlash.”

Dozens of people marched in Bangkok on Thursday and Friday in peaceful protests, seeking to draw attention to growing inequality and other frustrations.

Georgieva noted that to ensure that the benefits of AI can reach the maximum number of people, they have to have electricity and access to digital networks. Cybersecurity also is essential.

During the wide ranging session, the speakers were also asked about how they used AI in their own lives. Georgieva said she'd used it to track calories and lose weight.

The IMF chief, who has described her personal AI assistant as bossy, joked that she'd like AI agents to be more polite.

“I mean, the agents we get, they can be really annoying,” she said. “So can we work on, like, their manners?”

Maybe, said Clark.

“We have this dial between sycophantic and rude,” he said. “So we'll spin it around the other way.”

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AP journalists Haruka Nuga, Tian MacLeod Ji and Sakchai Lalit contributed.

The latest aerial strikes on civilian targets came as fears mount that a sharp deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Washington this week could leave Ukraine further exposed to Russia’s escalating aerial assaults as the bitter winter approaches.

Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid before winter sets in has been an annual feature of the war, aiming to wear down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heating and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in coming months.

Ukraine on Thursday abandoned a brief truce on energy-related targets that it said Moscow did not heed despite U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday attended a summit of European leaders who share his concerns about Russian aggression and Moscow’s wider plans on the continent. The officials in Brussels vowed to maintain support for Ukraine and urged the U.S. to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Zelenskyy barbs raise questions about US support

Tension and uncertainty are gripping Ukraine and Europe after Zelenskyy and Trump publicly made cutting remarks about each other. On Thursday, Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by the American president and Trump openly declared his dislike of the Ukrainian leader.

Arriving at the EU summit in Belgium, Zelenskyy thanked the 27-nation bloc for its support from what he said were “real leaders.”

“We want to end this war as (quickly) as possible,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “We don’t see now signals from (the) Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war. That’s why we have to prepare for the winter.”

The public spat between Trump and Zelenskyy raised the specter of further reductions in U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort.

Ukraine is desperately short of the U.S.-made Patriot missiles it needs to protect against Russia’s devastating ballistic missile attacks, despite Zelenskyy’s pleading for Washington to send more.

Zelenskyy complained about a breakdown in Western intelligence sharing and sudden restrictions on the use of Starshield, U.S. company SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and military communications.

He also slammed Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, which came despite an international effort to sanction Russia and diplomatically isolate Putin over his invasion. Trump promised to swiftly end the war, but Ukrainian officials have complained he is trying to bulldoze Zelenskyy into surrendering land to Russia.

The EU is working to persuade Washington to stick with Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

“We are trying to convince also our American partners that if we want to end this war then we have to squeeze the aggressor,” Kallas said. “With our American allies it’s very difficult at the moment.”

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said there is “a lot of concern around Europe in terms of what’s happening in Ukraine right now.”

September civilian casualties jump 85% higher than last year

Russia is blitzing not just Ukraine's power grid but also apartment buildings, public transport, cargo ships, data centers and food stores.

Ukrainian civilians are paying a high price for the escalating Russian attacks, the United Nations human rights office in Kyiv said in a monthly report published Friday.

At least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded last month, a total that is 85% higher than in September last year, the report said, noting that intensifying Russian attacks in October already have killed dozens of civilians, including children.

“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. office.

Ukrainian drones force Russian airport flight cancellations

Ukraine is using domestically developed long-range drones to hit back at Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday its air defenses overnight intercepted 644 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, illegally annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.

Nearly 160 flights were delayed or canceled at Moscow's four airports, according to the state-backed Moskva news agency. Data from Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, showed restrictions on the four airports were in place from late Thursday night through early Friday.

Another 46 flights were delayed or canceled at St. Petersburg airport, which also faced overnight restrictions, local media reported.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. AP reporter Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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

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You can watch a live feed of our news broadcast at Local10.com/Live.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked near a palace used by the country's internationally recognized government, killing five people and injuring others.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Read our full coverage here.

Israeli settlers target Palestinians across the West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in multiple villages across the occupied West Bank on Friday and set trees and cars on fire, according to local officials and emergency responders with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said six people were injured in two attacks it responded to in the town of Abu Falah outside Ramallah. A 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man were taken to a hospital after being beaten by settlers, the Red Crescent said.

Israel has imposed new rules on the olive harvest this year, prohibiting Palestinians from working in what’s known as Area C, which is under Israeli security control and encompasses the majority of the territory’s agricultural land.

At least four Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 injured since the harvest season began earlier this month, according to Palestinian officials. They say thousands of trees have been damaged, costing farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Israel’s police and army did not immediately respond to questions about the attacks.

Attacks near palace used by Yemen’s government kill 5

Attacks near a palace used by Yemen’s internationally recognized government killed at least five people and wounded more than a dozen, said government officials.

In a Facebook post late Thursday, Health Minister Qasem Buhaibeh said security guards and other employees at Maashiq palace in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden were among the casualties.

Aden has been the seat of Yemen’s government since 2015. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they targeted a military operations headquarters associated with Saudi forces that are backing the government.

Houthi missiles struck near Saudi-backed coalition's headquarters

Two of the missiles launched by the Houthis on Thursday struck near the headquarters of the Saudi-backed coalition forces in Aden, causing damage, a Yemeni government official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Friday that the missiles landed near the compound used by the coalition in Buraiqah, west of the palace. There were no senior officials at the post at the time of the attack, he said.

— By Sarah El Deeb

Yemen's security service detains a reporter, among others

The Yemeni government's security department in Aden confirmed Friday the arrest of reporter Murad Mohammed Saeed, among other people. The department's statement did not say how many people had been detained or the charges against them.

Saeed has worked for several newspapers and news websites, including Aden Al-Ghad newspaper, according to his Facebook page. There were several posts on his account, including footage of strikes in Aden.

The security department linked the arrests to previous warnings against circulating footage that could reveal sensitive details or affect security operations.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

The 71-year-old Leo presided over Mass, and distributed Communion, in a special chapel set up for him in the Gemelli hospital, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

“His post-operative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own,” said the medical update signed by Leo’s personal physician Dr. Luigi Carbone and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Pope Leo XIV’s recovery from lung surgery has progressed so normally that the Vatican on Friday stopped providing morning updates confirming he had woken up and had breakfast, even as questions swirled about what his cancer means for the future of his young pontificate.

But in a sign it was all systems go, the Vatican on Friday published the names of journalists whose accreditation requests had been accepted to fly on Leo’s plane with him during his Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

Leo’s ability to make the trip has been in question since his Oct. 13 surgery, and the Vatican can change plans at any time. But the posting of the media list signaled that at least on an organizational level, the trip was going ahead.

In the nearer term, Vatican officials were gaming out possible scenarios for Leo to recite the traditional Sunday noontime Angelus prayer. Vatican media personnel were seen at the Gemelli hospital laying cables for a possible live broadcast, as past popes have done when hospitalized.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said a recitation of the noontime prayer on Sunday from the hospital was a possibility, but would depend on Leo’s post-operative recovery. Such appearances have often served as a welcome confirmation of a hospitalized pope's well-being for the 1.4-billion strong Catholic faithful and others.

Parolin said he remained concerned about the pope, but indicated that was also a function of his surprise at learning that Leo needed surgery. Parolin, who was considered a leading contender in the conclave that elected Leo and was recently passed over as dean of the College of Cardinals, surprised some by suggesting that the pontificate itself might need to be adjusted.

“We can’t make any type of predictions,” Parolin said Thursday on the sidelines of a diplomatic event, according to the LaPresse and ANSA news agencies. “The question now is when he will return, under what circumstances he will return, and what the doctors say. And based on all these factors, the pope will then adjust his pontificate, if it needs to be adjusted,” he was quoted as saying.

Pope's recovery proceeding as expected, hospital says

The 71-year-old Leo had the lower 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.

On Thursday, the American pope resumed working from his hospital room and met with his chief of staff, while continuing with respiratory physiotherapy. His doctors said tests showed his lung had recovered well from surgery, that other post-operative tests were in the norm and that overall his recovery was proceeding as expected.

Doctors are still awaiting the results of tests to understand the precise molecular and genetic makeup of the cancer, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary.

Cancer patients send well-wishing notes to Leo

Meanwhile, the Vatican on Friday released photos of some get-well notes that had been sent to Leo from patients at Gemelli's pediatric oncology ward, located on the 10th floor, where popes past have often visited during their own hospitalizations.

One, from 7-year-old Angelo, told Leo that he had been on the 10th floor for 36 days. “My mother and I pray for you every night. Get well soon," he wrote, with little hearts at the bottom.

Giorgia, a university-aged student, wrote to Leo in his native English, saying she had long loved learning and practicing the language.

“When I heard on the news about you and your situation, I felt it a thousand times harder, because in some ways we're going through the same thing, and it made me feel closer to you,” she wrote. “I pray to God that we both heal and I ask you to pray for me, too.”

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Associated Press visual journalist Trisha Thomas contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

ENAV ruled out a cyberattack and said flight operations remained safe.

The company said it had switched to a secondary satellite network, allowing capacity to increase steadily after the disruption earlier in the morning forced ENAV to cut the number of aircraft that could be handled in Italian airspace by up to 50%.

The alternative data transmission system allowed air traffic control services to continue while maintaining normal safety standards, ENAV said.

The disruption caused delays at airports across the country, including Rome’s Fiumicino airport and airports serving Milan and Bergamo.

ENAV said it was working closely with its suppliers to restore full operation of the primary network and return to 100% capacity as soon as possible.

A primera hora del viernes, Trudy se encontraba a unos 385 kilómetros (240 millas) al suroeste de Acapulco y a unos 535 kms (335 millas) al sur-sureste de Manzanillo, con vientos máximos sostenidos de 195 kilómetros/hora (120 millas por hora) mientras se desplazaba en dirección noroeste a 9 km/h (6 mph), informó el Centro Nacional de Huracanes de Estados Unidos en Miami (NHC por sus siglas en inglés).

Había un aviso activo de huracán para la costa de México, desde Cabo Corrientes hasta Punta San Telmo, en el norte, y se emitió otro de tormenta tropical desde Zihuatanejo por la costa hasta Manzanillo, apuntó el NHC.

Al noroeste de Trudy, la tormenta tropical Simon tenía vientos de 75 km/h (45 mph) y se espera que se debilite pronto hasta convertirse en una baja remanente.

También en el Pacífico, la tormenta tropical Champi se ubicaba al este de Guam el viernes, desplazándose hacia el oeste-noroeste a 19 km/h (12 mph) con vientos máximos sostenidos que alcanzaban los 86 km/h (52 mph), según el Servicio Meteorológico de Estados Unidos y la web del Comando de Meteorología y Oceanografía de la Marina de Estados Unidos.

Se emitió una advertencia de tifón para Guam y Rota junto con una de tormenta tropical para Tinian, Saipan y áreas cercanas.

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

Early Friday, Trudy was about 240 miles (385 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, and about 335 miles (535 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph) while moving northwest at 6 mph (9 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Mexico's coast from Cabo Corrientes northward to Punta San Telmo, while a tropical storm warning was issued from Zihuatanejo up the coast to Manzanillo, the center said.

To the northwest of Trudy, Tropical Storm Simon had 75 kph (45 mph winds) and was forecast to weaken to a remnant low soon.

Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Champi was east of Guam on Friday, moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) with maximum sustained winds increasing to 52 mph (86 kph), according to the U.S. Weather Service and the U.S. Navy's Meteorology and Oceanography Command website.

A typhoon warning was issued for Guam and Rota along with a tropical storm warning for Tinian, Saipan and nearby areas.

El incendio se desató en los últimos días en las zonas de Mentigen y Pusung Lingker del popular Parque Nacional Bromo Tengger Semeru, en la regencia de Probolinggo, en Java Oriental.

Las víctimas formaban parte de un equipo de 12 bomberos integrado por personal del parque nacional, miembros de una brigada comunitaria contra incendios y voluntarios que trataban de contener el fuego el jueves, explicó el portavoz de la policía de Java Oriental, Jules Abraham Abast.

Los fuertes vientos avivaron las llamas e hicieron que el fuego se extendiera rápidamente por la vegetación seca. Alrededor de la 1:30 de la tarde, los bomberos que operaban fuera de la zona de peligro recibieron una llamada de emergencia de compañeros que habían quedado atrapados por el humo denso y el avance del fuego, señaló Abast.

En agosto, otro incendio arrasó casi nueve kilómetros cuadrados (3,5 millas cuadradas) de pasto y vegetación —incluyendo flores de edelweiss, que están protegidas— en el parque.

Policía investiga el incidente

Los rescatistas encontraron más tarde a tres personas muertas y a otras tres con quemaduras graves en un punto de evacuación. Uno de los heridos falleció mientras recibía tratamiento, precisó Abast.

Dos voluntarios permanecían hospitalizados con lesiones graves por quemaduras tras ser trasladados al Hospital General Dr. Soetomo, en Surabaya, para recibir tratamiento especializado. Otros seis salieron ilesos.

“El incidente ocurrió en una zona montañosa remota, lo que complicó las labores de rescate”, explicó la jefa de la policía de Probolinggo, Asmida Rizki Siregar. Siregar se unió a los equipos de emergencia que trasladaron a las víctimas en camilla durante unos 2 kilómetros (1,2 millas) porque el terreno escarpado impidió la llegada de vehículos al lugar.

Las autoridades completaron la evacuación a última hora del jueves y abrieron una investigación sobre los decesos, incluyendo la posibilidad de que una negligencia o conducta delictiva hayan contribuido a la tragedia. Los investigadores estaban recopilando pruebas y entrevistando a los sobrevivientes.

Incendios reavivan preocupación por neblina transfronteriza

Las muertes se produjeron mientras Indonesia intensificaba los esfuerzos para combatir los incendios forestales y en tierras, que han empeorado este año a medida que El Niño intensifica una prolongada temporada seca. Entre los factores que contribuyen a la situación figuran también el desmonte de tierras mediante el uso del fuego en la parte indonesia de Borneo y en regiones de la isla de Sumatra, así como la escasez de agua que ha dificultado el trabajo de los bomberos, que han recibido asistencia de Japón.

El Ministerio de Silvicultura de Indonesia registró 799 puntos críticos en todo el país hasta la noche del jueves, un drástico aumento frente a los 372 del día anterior. Más de tres cuartas partes estaban en seis provincias propensas a incendios en Sumatra y Borneo.

La neblina tóxica y el humo también han provocado una crisis de salud en países vecinos. El humo ha llegado hasta Filipinas, a más de 800 kilómetros (500 millas) de distancia.

El incremento de los incendios ha renovado la preocupación por la neblina transfronteriza en el sudeste asiático. Malasia ordenó el viernes el cierre de cientos de escuelas en varios estados debido al deterioro de la calidad del aire.

El ministro de Exteriores de Malasia, Mohamad Hasan, rechazó los llamados de algunos legisladores a exigir una compensación a Indonesia, alegando que la crisis debe abordarse mediante el diálogo diplomático y los mecanismos de la ASEAN. Dijo que Malasia estaba coordinando ayuda al país vecino y que impulsaría una cooperación regional más sólida para la gestión de la neblina.

Singapur también pidió una cooperación más estrecha. El primer ministro, Lawrence Wong, dijo que las autoridades investigaban a empresas presuntamente vinculadas a los incendios forestales y de turberas en Indonesia que han agravado la neblina, y emprenderán acciones en virtud de la Ley de Contaminación por Neblina Transfronteriza de Singapur cuando corresponda.

El Ministerio de Silvicultura indonesio registró más de 2.020 kilómetros cuadrados (780 millas cuadradas) de terreno quemado entre enero y julio, casi tres veces el tamaño de Singapur. El proyecto independiente Nusantara Atlas, que monitorea incendios mediante imágenes satelitales, estimó que casi 8.960 kms cuadrados (3.460 millas cuadradas) de tierra se habían quemado hasta finales de agosto en Indonesia.

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Las periodistas de The Associated Press Edna Tarigan, en Yakarta, y Eileen Ng, en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, contribuyeron a este despacho.

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

The provincial government announced an investigation into the cause of Thursday’s collapse at Al-Khair school as victims’ families demanded justice. At least one family member said he had warned the school owner about leaks.

Police on Thursday arrested the school’s owner, Mohammad Khan. Peshawar Police Chief Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and Khan told officers that recent rains had weakened one of the roofs.

Authorities have locked the school building, where investigators were expected to arrive later Friday as part of the probe. Men and children gathered in the narrow street outside, where Muhammad Murtaza, a young boy dressed in brown and wearing a white bandage around his head, stood near a closed gate.

Other children from the neighborhood gathered around him, asking how he had survived. Murtaza said he was lucky to have survived after the roof of his classroom collapsed. “I will no go back to this school, as this is not a good one,” he said.

The government order, which was seen by The Associated Press, directs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s education department to establish district committees to inspect private school buildings throughout the province and submit findings and recommendations within three days.

The inspections must cover premises that are owned as well as those that are rented. Specific areas to checks in the buildings include roofs, ceilings, walls, columns, beams, foundations and staircases. Districts must require urgent technical assessment and classify school buildings as safe, in need of repairs or improvements, or potentially unsafe, the order says.

On Friday, government spokesperson Samar Haroon Bilour expressed grief over the deaths and injuries of children. In a video message, she appealed to parents to provide information about schools housed in structurally weak buildings, saying the government also was conducting inspections to help prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Survivor and families describe collapse and aftermath

Emergency crews arrived within five minutes of being alerted and everyone trapped beneath the rubble was recovered by the time the operation ended Thursday. Rescuers pulled at least 40 children alive from the debris, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for emergency services in Peshawar.

The collapsed roof was a traditional structure made of mud and bricks and some of the children trapped beneath died of suffocation, Faizi said.

Speaking from a hospital bed, injured teacher Mahwish Zaman said the collapse happened so suddenly that no one had time to escape.

Zaman described being in her classroom when she heard a loud crash from the floor above. Before she could warn her students to run to safety, the ceiling fell in. She was unconscious when she was taken to the hospital and learned only later that many of her students had died.

Residents visited victims’ families, many of whom lived in Peshawar’s Dir Colony neighborhood, where the school is located.

Mohammad Zaman, whose two nephews died in the collapse, said he and other relatives had complained to the school's owner about rainwater repeatedly seeping into classrooms. Zaman said he warned that the building’s condition could lead to a tragedy.

Zaman, 36, said through tears that his nephew Abdul, 9, was in second grade, while Abuzar, 10, was in third grade. Abuzar’s sister, Samiya, a nursery student at the school, survived because she had gone outside to buy sweets.

Zakir Ullah lost both sons, Abu Bakr and Mohammad, who were in the same classroom. His daughter was in a different class and ran home after the collapse to tell the family the school had fallen. They rushed back with her and found the boys’ classroom buried under rubble, he said.

Nothing was visible beneath the debris, said Ullah, who described the building as weak and demanded punishment for any officials who authorized its use as a school.

“How could I have known this would take both my sons away from me?” he said.

In June, a roof collapse at a tutoring center under construction in the eastern city of Lahore killed 14 children.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

The Fed increased its key interest rate by a quarter-point to about 3.9% in September, its first increase in three years, and stubbornly elevated U.S. inflation will likely lead it to hike that rate again in coming months to slow spending and help cool price pressures.

But Warsh offered no fresh signals during a “fireside chat” with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at a meeting of financial leaders in Bangkok.

“At the Federal Reserve, we made very clear that we would deliver price stability, and we removed a dose of accommodation about a month ago,” Warsh said. “I don’t prejudge meetings. I don’t believe in saying now what I might do at the meetings that we have in the balance of this year."

The Fed's September rate hike defied U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the Fed to cut rates. The president criticized the Fed’s rate-setting committee, though he still expressed support for Warsh, whom he appointed earlier this year.

The global surge in prices is a key concern of central bankers and financial leaders meeting in Bangkok.

According to minutes released from the most recent meeting, most Fed officials expect that another interest rate increase will likely be needed this year. That would raise borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards over time.

Warsh said the surge in investment driven by the craze for artificial intelligence is one of the factors behind higher inflation and the Fed's task force on issues related to AI will meet Nov. 16.

“I’d say the advent of this new technology is probably the most consequential change to the U.S. and the global economy in my lifetime to this point,” he said.

Unlike military conflict and other shocks that are driving prices higher, Warsh said he believes AI will bring “huge benefit” to the world economy in time.

For Fed economists who struggle to foresee the future using data that lags behind today's realities, AI could prove a vital tool, he said.

"We torture data with old fashioned models to try to find out what’s underlying inflation trends. Not so long from now, it won’t be torture. We will have access at the fingertips of central banks to all the information in the world, and we’ll be able to use new analytical tools to distill that data,” he said.

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AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington and AP journalist Haruka Nuga in Bangkok contributed to this story.

Their dream of becoming the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000 — and the first National League club ever to accomplish the feat — faded with anemic offense, a shaky bullpen and an ailing Shohei Ohtani slumping in the postseason.

Ohtani hit a three-run homer that helped stake the Dodgers to an early 4-0 lead in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series on Thursday, but the younger Milwaukee Brewers pulled off yet another comeback in a 6-4 win to complete a four-game sweep.

“I’m not used to those consolation speeches,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I personally told our guys that there’s no apologies, there’s no sorrys. We gave it everything we had, and it wasn’t good enough. That’s part of life.”

Los Angeles batted under .100 with runners in scoring position during the postseason, and wasted multiple opportunities over the final four innings Thursday.

Trailing 5-4, the Dodgers had a runner at third base in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Max Muncy struck out to end the sixth, Mookie Betts grounded out to end the seventh and Teoscar Hernández struck out to close the eighth.

The Dodgers went down in order in the ninth to end their season.

“We got outplayed in all facets,” Roberts said. “Those guys played flawless. Defensively they pitched better than we did, they hit better than we did, they slugged more than we did. You’ve got to sometimes just tip your cap.”

Los Angeles hit .185 overall against the Brewers, including .148 with runners in scoring position (4 for 27). The Dodgers were outhomered 7-1.

Ohtani and Will Smith slumped badly throughout the Division Series win over Atlanta in four games and the NLCS defeat.

Ohtani's homer was his first since Aug. 18. Overall, he batted .192 (5 for 26) in eight playoff games with 10 strikeouts, four walks, three RBIs and three runs.

Smith was even worse. The All-Star catcher went 3 for 31 (.097) with nine strikeouts, two doubles, no homers, one walk and two RBIs.

“I know there wasn't one pitch, one at-bat,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was 0 for 3 with a strikeout on Thursday. “They just outplayed us in the series, which is kind of how it goes. We had our opportunities. We didn't get the job done.”

Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow retired his first 10 batters — six on strikeouts — while working with a 4-0 lead. But the right-hander was tagged by Jake Bauer's two-run double in the fourth and David Hamilton's RBI single that chased Glasnow in the fifth and left Milwaukee trailing 4-3.

Alex Vesia followed reliever Evan Phillips and issued a bases-loaded walk to Bauers, the NLCS MVP, that forced in the tying run. The Dodgers issued four walks in the fifth, and the Brewers stole two bases.

Tanner Scott allowed a two-strike homer to Garrett Mitchell leading off the sixth as Milwaukee went ahead 5-4.

In the ninth, Edwin Díaz got two quick outs before Hamilton, the No. 9 hitter, homered for a 6-4 lead.

“Every facet of the game, if you kind of unpack it, we were bested,” Roberts said.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Index provider MSCI warned it would downgrade Indonesia from its “emerging market” status, triggering growing concerns of capital flight.

U.S. futures edged higher after Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh said the artificial intelligence shock could bring huge benefits to the global and U.S. economies.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell less than 0.1% to 10,836.46 in early trading. France's CAC 40 edged 0.2% higher to 7,947.74, while Germany's DAX rose 1% to 25,632.39.

Over in Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index jumped 2.1% to 5,668.05, after tumbling 7.6% the day before on a sell-off of shares related to artificial intelligence. Samsung Electronics was up 2.6%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix added 0.8%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% to 65,324.29, after falling 4.9% a day earlier. OpenAI investor SoftBank Group climbed 1.9%. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron was 2.6% higher and memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings advanced 3.8%.

The Asian technology stocks traded higher after losses in AI shares moderated in the U.S.

Warsh said Friday at the IMF and World Bank gathering in ⁠Bangkok that AI could bring about positive impacts to global economies.

“I’d say the advent of this new technology is probably the most consequential change to the U.S. and the global economy in my lifetime,” Warsh said. “There really is, I think, a huge benefit to the global economy, the U.S. economy, over the horizon.”

Taiwan’s Taiex, which also benefited from the AI frenzy, was up 0.3%. But shares of TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., were 0.8% lower even as it posted record quarterly profits on Thursday and said AI demand remained very strong.

In Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite index fell more than 11% after MSCI said Indonesia’s continued classification as an emerging market would be “no longer appropriate." That was its largest single-day decline since 1998, according to Trading Economics.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 24,186.83. The Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.2% to 3,716.28.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 1% higher at 8,806.70.

India’s Sensex rose 0.4%.

On Thursday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 added 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.1%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%.

AI and chip stocks had eased their losses. American AI cloud provider CoreWeave plummeted as much as 9.5% in early trading but flipped later and ended 5.9% higher. Nvidia closed 1.8% lower following an earlier loss that reached 3.8%. Broadcom was down 0.6%, and AMD, or Advanced Micro Devices, was 1.5% lower.

Oil prices steadied but continued to stay elevated as global oil supply remains under pressure without a deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the Iran war.

The International Energy Agency also said Thursday its members agreed to release in a timely manner the remaining about 100 million barrels of oil outstanding from its pledge in March and that the release total amount to be released would exceed the original 400 million barrels planned.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.6% to $105.26 per barrel. That is still high compared with around $72 a barrel in late February before the start of the war.

Benchmark U.S. crude was down 0.9% to $97.11 per barrel.

Oil remains well-supported as uncertainties surrounding the situation in the Middle East and concerns over oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz had the market “pricing in a significant risk premium,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary Friday.

The U.S. dollar fell to 157.96 Japanese yen from 158 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1255, up from $1.1220.

Bauers hit a two-run double in the fourth inning Thursday to begin Milwaukee's comeback, and the Brewers rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that completed a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series.

The 31-year-old first baseman also drew a walk that forced home the tying run in the fifth to help Milwaukee advance to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.

“There was never a doubt,” Bauers said. “There was never a doubt in that dugout what was going to happen tonight. We knew we were going to win that game.”

Bauers was selected the NLCS MVP after going 4 for 14 (.286) with a home run and six RBIs in the series. He worked three walks and finished with a .983 OPS.

Bauers was born in Newport Beach and went to Marina High School in Huntington Beach about 40 miles south of Dodger Stadium.

If performing at his best in front of family and friends was rewarding, seeing Los Angeles in the playoffs for the second consecutive season heightened his senses. Bauers learned something from how the Dodgers reacted when they wiped out Milwaukee in the 2025 NLCS on the way to their second straight World Series title.

“Watching the way they carried themselves on the field after sweeping us last year was a little bit eye-opening,” Bauers said. "We won the (NLDS) against the Cubs, and I think we kind of celebrated like that was something.

“Those guys swept us, they sent us home, and you would have thought it was a handshake line at a spring training game. That’s something that I carried with me. That’s something that I remembered. Yeah, it was a little bit of motivation to just say, we’ve got to keep going until there’s not another game left to play.”

It's not just in the playoffs that Bauers has shined. Earning consistent playing time from Brewers manager Pat Murphy in his seventh major league season, Bauers set career highs across the board with a .266 batting average, .874 OPS, 26 home runs and 86 RBIs.

The left-handed-hitting Bauers also made his mark in Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS with long plate appearances. His 12-pitch walk against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 came just before a two-run single by Christian Yelich that gave Milwaukee the lead in a back-and-forth 7-4 win.

Bauers also hit a go-ahead homer off two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to end an 11-pitch at-bat in a 6-2 victory in Game 3 at Los Angeles.

“Just trying to be ready for the moment, man,” Bauers said. “Murph has been talking about it all year. You have to meet the game halfway and be ready, and whatever happens after that is whatever happens.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The Saudi organizing committee issued a statement Friday saying it is continuing to coordinate closely with the Asian Football Confederation.

“Preparations across all organizational and operational areas are progressing according to the approved schedule, including work on venues, facilities and supporting services,” Saudi organizers said. “The focus remains on delivering a world-class tournament experience for participating teams, fans and media from across Asia, while bringing the continent together through football.”

South Korea’s Professional Footballers’ Association had earlier expressed concerns following a series of attacks on the Asian Cup host country by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

“The continued military tensions and security instability in the Middle East are issues that can never be taken lightly,” Lee Keun-ho, head of the South Korean player union, said in a statement. “The safety of our national team, as well as all players participating in the Asian Cup, is a serious concern.”

At least 19 people, including foreigners, have been killed in more than a week of Houthi attacks targeting the Riyadh international airport, the headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco and other aviation, oil and military facilities across the kingdom.

South Korea, a World Cup semifinalist in 2002, is set to open against Yemen on Jan. 10 but only if, Lee added, it was deemed safe to do so.

“No competition’s value can take precedence over the lives and safety of players and football fans,” he said. “If safety cannot be sufficiently guaranteed, all possibilities — including whether the tournament should be held — must be carefully reviewed.”

An AFC Champions League game between Cristiano Ronaldo 's Al-Nassr and Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana was delayed on Monday in Riyadh after Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense issued a security alert.

Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa told media in Zurich this week that — if necessary — the Asian Cup could be postponed by one year.

“We can wait until the end of November” to make a decision, Salman said. “Things can change very quickly for better or worse in the region, and it is a question of seeing what happens.”

“If we need to make a decision, then we will, but we could move it back a year to 2028 if we need to.”

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The leader of a small Arab political party condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He rarely speaks about the war in Gaza or Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, instead focusing on local issues like crime. He broke a taboo in 2021 by bringing an Arab party into an Israeli government, in which he served as a loyal partner. This time around, the second-ranked member of his party list is a mainstream Jewish candidate.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rivals have said they won't form a coalition with his or any other Arab-led party after the Oct. 27 election – even if that means months of gridlock and another round of voting.

It’s a measure of where Israel’s long-marginalized Arab minority finds itself three years after the Oct. 7 attack. Their speech is heavily policed, their leaders have been branded as traitors, and at one point their parties were outlawed before a court lifted the ban. Yet in a tight race, Abbas and other Arab politicians are poised to play a potentially decisive role in choosing the next prime minister — a rare opportunity to wield their influence.

The stakes in the coming election are “existential,” said Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List of Arab parties, which adopt a less conciliatory line than Abbas’ Islamist Ra’am party.

“We have to use our political power in order to basically block the deterioration of the situation,” he said at a small campaign event in Tel Aviv, before slipping out the back to avoid a crowd of far-right protesters.

Activists say protests are heavily policed – crime less so

Palestinians who remained within Israel after the 1948 war surrounding its creation, and their descendants, today make up about 20% of the population. They have citizenship, including the right to vote, but their close family ties and support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank lead many Jewish Israelis to view them with suspicion.

They face discrimination and suffer from soaring crime rates, a problem that Arab activists blame on police negligence and the police say is rooted in the refusal of community leaders to work with them.

The homicide rate among Palestinian citizens is more than 22 times higher than among Jewish Israelis, while arrest and indictment rates are far lower. The Abraham Initiatives, an Israeli organization that advocates for equal rights, has tallied 184 crime-related killings in Arab communities so far this year. The group said in July that only 12% reported in the first half of 2026 had been solved.

Authorities have meanwhile aggressively curtailed freedom of expression, activists say. Police have routinely broken up anti-war protests, restricted displays of Palestinian flags, and arrested hundreds of people over social media posts, according to the Israel-based rights group Adalah.

“They’re not writing ‘Kill the Jews.’ Some of them are writing, ’We pray for Gaza,’” Hassan Jabareen, its general director, said.

The Israeli government says it is a Jewish state in which minorities have equal rights, and that its crackdown on certain kinds of speech and protests is rooted in security concerns.

Jabareen said the perceived over-policing of protests and under-policing of violent crime leaves Palestinians feeling less like citizens and more like threats to be contained.

“We have to choose between the danger of being killed and being discriminated against,” he said.

A taboo was broken, and then Netanyahu returned

Arab-led parties have long served in opposition to a system they believe is fundamentally unfair. Until 2021, none had joined a coalition government.

Abbas’ decision to do so five years ago marked a major shift. The 52-year-old dentist argued that Arab leaders needed a seat at the table. Critics accuse him of sidestepping the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict to court potential coalition partners, while he argues that focusing on local issues is the best way to serve his constituents.

“Crime and murder are issues linked to people’s lives and there is no value higher than the value of human life. We’re responsible, as representatives elected by the Arab public, to serve this public,” he said at a campaign event in northern Israel last week.

The government he joined lasted a little over a year, until new elections in 2022 returned Netanyahu to power at the head of the most nationalist and religious government in Israel’s history.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has described Palestinian citizens of Israel as an “internal front” in the war and “an existential threat to the state.”

With the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in charge of law enforcement, at least 200 Palestinian citizens indicted for speech-related offenses have been classified as security prisoners, according to Adalah. They’ve been subjected to brutal conditions, including overcrowding and severe restrictions on food, often in the same facilities as suspected militants from Gaza.

In theory, they could be kingmakers

Multiple parties compete for the 120 seats in Israel’s national assembly, known as the Knesset. None is expected to win anywhere near 61 seats, so whoever succeeds in cobbling together a majority coalition will be the next prime minister. That can give small parties outsized influence.

Netanyahu won’t work with the Arab-led parties, and they have also ruled that out. Netanyahu’s main opponent, the centrist retired general Gadi Eisenkot, also says he won't ally with Arab-led parties. Even Yair Lapid, a center-left leader of the 2021 government, told The Associated Press in May that he would not form another coalition with Ra'am.

They could change their minds, or form a minority coalition backed by Arab-led parties from the outside. Otherwise, a big win for the Arab-led parties would likely lead to another round of elections, with Netanyahu’s government staying on as a caretaker.

Tensions have worsened since Oct. 7

The vast majority of the roughly 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack were Israeli Jews, but Palestinian citizens of Israel were also among those killed and abducted. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

Mohammad Darawshe is a director at the Givat Haviva Center for a Shared Society, a decades-old organization that campaigns for Jewish and Arab equality. His nephew, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and a paramedic, was killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

He said there was a brief moment of solidarity between Jewish and Palestinian citizens after the attack, but it soon faded as Israel's military response alienated many Palestinians. Rather than work to heal divisions, Netanyahu and his ministers have fed them, Darawshe said.

“This government provides the ecosystem for racism,” he said.

Still, some Palestinian citizens see it as a duty to participate and vote, even when the government makes them feel like outsiders.

Ahmed Kadan, a 50-year-old guidance counselor in the Arab town of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, said he plans to vote for Ra’am.

Palestinian citizens have a huge presence in Israel’s medical community and other professions, and they pay taxes, but he said the government ignores their needs.

Last month, three young men were found dead in a burning car on the outskirts of the town – apparently a criminal attack. Police have yet to identify any suspects.

“We live in this state and not in any other place,” Kadan said. “We’re doing our duty but not getting what we need.”

Lama's Khalte village in Nepal’s Rasuwa district had been set up as a temporary settlement after a 2015 earthquake destroyed nearby villages. But it offered little protection from floods, with homes clustered along the Trishuli River in a narrow valley.

When the floodwaters surged through on Aug. 26, residents had few routes to escape. At least 375 people were reported missing, according to residents. The village was wiped out.

Nepal is still recovering from the devastating floods that killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands missing in its mountainous border region with China. Another flash flood in north-central Nepal last week left at least five people missing.

Over the past decade, tens of thousands of people in Nepal have been displaced by earthquakes, landslides and floods, only to face new risks in temporary settlements built in vulnerable areas. Khalte’s destruction highlights those dangers. Survivors say the government must go beyond emergency relief and temporary shelter to provide safe, permanent places where displaced people can rebuild their lives.

Khalte’s destruction exposes the risks of unsafe resettlement

The 2015 earthquake, which killed nearly 9,000 people nationwide, destroyed villages where many families had lived for generations. Under a government relocation plan, about 257 vulnerable households were moved to Khalte, which geological assessments later classified as a “red zone” because of landslide and avalanche risks.

Bam Bahadur Tamang, a Khalte resident now living in a government relief center, said he and many others had opposed the decision to resettle them there but they were eventually forced to move. He said any new relocation must account for both safety and access to basic services.

“Wherever the government resettles us now, it must first ensure that the place is safe,” he said. “We are not cattle to be moved from one place to another.”

Tamang’s worries point to a challenge that extends beyond finding safe ground. Displaced families also need access to schools, healthcare, roads and livelihoods if a temporary settlement is to become a viable home.

Nepal plans a new approach to disaster-hit settlements

Nepal's government says it plans to build a new city for flood victims, with industries, hospitals and schools, and that displaced residents would not be sent back to settlements destroyed by the flood. It is also considering involving private developers in reconstruction, including a model in which they build homes in cooperation with landowners.

Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said the government was identifying land for settlements in safe areas. Experts would assess land use, and flood-prone areas could be declared uninhabitable, he said. The government could also convert vulnerable riverbanks into forest land and build homes on safer ground.

Uprety stressed, however, that agencies responsible for infrastructure and urban planning need to coordinate more closely.

“The disaster authority cannot do all of that work itself. Its role is largely to coordinate and create an environment in which other agencies incorporate disaster risk into their planning,” he said.

Nepal has previously taken steps to reduce flood risks, including river monitoring, early-warning systems and community preparedness. But its remote mountain valleys remain at risk of sudden floods caused by landslides and glacial lake outbursts.

Scientists warn that rising temperatures and increasingly unstable mountain landscapes make better monitoring and stronger early-warning systems ever more important for Nepal.

Rebuilding remains uncertain for Khalte’s survivors

For Khalte’s survivors the question of where to rebuild remains unresolved. Many are reluctant to return to places where they lost family members, saying a new relocation plan may do little to reassure them.

Norchi Ghale survived both the 2015 earthquake and the August floods, but suffered devastating losses, losing his father in the earthquake and his mother and wife in the floods.

Before the flood, he owned a small plot of farmland in Khalte, where he raised cattle that provided his family’s main source of income. When he recently returned, he could no longer recognize where anything had once stood.

“I could not even trace where things used to be, just like my future now. I don’t know where I will go or how I will raise my children," he said.

——

Saaliq reported from New Delhi.

In Dalton, the population center of conservative northwest Georgia, Trump will appear with Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson as part of the White House effort to boost Republican enthusiasm in an election that could reshape the final years of Trump's second presidency.

“President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle.

Yet unlike some of Trump's recent trips to solidly Republican states — Alabama, Montana, Tennessee — Georgia is a critical battleground. That means Jackson, a billionaire businessman, and Collins, a two-term congressman, need more than Trump stalwarts to defeat their respective Democratic opponents, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Sen. Jon Ossoff.

“I’m surprised Georgia Republicans want the president here,” Ossoff said. “The president coming to town reminds Georgians that Donald Trump and Mike Collins” have pushed policies that have “driven the cost of groceries, fuel and healthcare to their all-time highs.”

Collins spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said the congressman welcomes the president's attention. But he also stressed that Collins is a “bipartisan workhorse who will work with anybody,” while adding that “Ossoff hates Trump more than he loves our state.”

Bottoms also seemed thrilled with Trump's visit.

“When Donald Trump says he wants people to imagine that he is on the ballot, I am asking the people of Georgia to do just that,” she said, pointing to Jackson's promise to be Trump's “favorite governor.”

The risks have been evident even in the heavily Republican corner of Georgia where the president will visit. Voters there sent erstwhile Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene to Congress before she broke with the president and resigned. Trump won the district by about 37 points in 2024 and Greene won by 29. In the April special election to replace Greene, Republican Rep. Clay Fuller won by 12 points.

Republican candidates have run separately

The Dalton event will be the first time this fall that Jackson and Collins have appeared at the same venue. That contrasts with Ossoff and Bottoms holding joint rallies across Georgia, with the next scheduled for Saturday in Cobb County outside Atlanta.

Collins has been dogged by anemic fundraising and controversies that leave even Republicans questioning his viability against Ossoff. Jackson has focused on sharing the stage with other statewide Republican nominees and party leaders, and none mention Collins.

“That was not a neglect,” Trump’s former agriculture secretary and onetime Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said after one rally. “I think it was really respecting a Rick Jackson event and focusing on his election as governor.”

Asked about the joint rally, a Jackson spokesman said only, “Rick will be in Dalton and looks forward to reminding Georgia voters that bad mayors do not make good governors.”

Trump was last in Dalton on Jan. 4, 2021, the day before Ossoff and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won concurrent Senate runoffs. He had already lost the presidential campaign to Joe Biden but was unwilling to accept it.

“There is no way we lost Georgia. There’s no way,” Trump said that day. “That was a rigged election but we’re still fighting it.”

Election denial lingers in Georgia

Collins was elected to Congress in 2022, and he's echoed Trump's lies about 2020. He declined to recant those views this week when Ossoff pressed him during a debate. “There was a lot of doubt in that election. Yes, Joe Biden was the president,” Collins said, without saying Biden was duly elected.

Trump endorsed Collins days before his June runoff victory over former football coach Derek Dooley. When announcing his decision, Trump complained that Dooley had conceded that Biden was elected legitimately.

Gov. Brian Kemp did not endorse Collins until September, and he warned voters during the primary that the congressman could not win in November.

Trump did not endorse Jackson until after he’d won a Republican primary runoff over the president's original pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who had been part of Trump's effort to overturn Biden’s victory. The president cited Jones’ loyalty in his endorsement.

Jackson doesn’t regularly mention Trump like he did during the primary campaign, when the first-time candidate compared his business background to Trump. He's more likely in recent weeks to compare himself to Kemp.

But the governor won't be with his fellow Republicans on Friday, according to his top political adviser.

“He has a family obligation that day,” said Cody Hall.

His rivals are doing their best to help his case.

Democratic candidates and their allies have spent more than $163 million since Sept. 1 on television advertising that mentions the Republican president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which charts media spending.

That includes airing ads that reference Trump on broadcast, cable and streaming nearly 180,000 times, the data shows. Republicans, meanwhile, have run ads that talk about the president just 16,000 times, at an estimated cost of $11 million, over the same period.

It's a noticeable silence about the party's dominant yet unpopular leader.

Many of the Democrats' ads accuse Republican opponents of siding with the president over voters, particularly on issues like tariffs and the Iran war, which they blame for jacking up costs.

The ads include one from the campaign of Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection and has spent nearly $3 million on a Trump-focused ad attacking his rival, Rep. Mike Collins, for his close relationship with the president.

“Mike Collins voted for Trump’s war in Iran, sending gas prices through the roof. He voted for Trump’s tariffs, sending grocery prices soaring. And Mike Collins voted with Trump to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians,” it says. “Mike Collins sides with Donald Trump and makes you pay more.”

Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said Democratic messaging reflected the party's hollowness instead of its strength.

“Democrats are lighting money on fire talking about President Trump because they have no agenda other than investigation, obstruction and impeachment,” she said. “Trump Derangement Syndrome isn’t a policy platform, it’s a $160 million way of saying you have nothing to offer to the American people.”

Democrats link Trump and his allies to economic woes

Another ad from the House Majority PAC, a super PAC dedicated to electing Democrats to the House, opens with a middle-aged woman standing over her kitchen stove and talking about how her family is “barely getting by” before she expresses her disappointment in Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who is one of Republicans' vulnerable incumbents.

“He used to be independent. But now it seems like he’s in lockstep with Donald Trump. It really bothers me,” she says, adding, “Congressman Fitzpatrick is not for us anymore.”

Indeed, all the Democratic ads that have aired in Pennsylvania’s tightly contested 1st Congressional District since Sept. 1 have mentioned Trump, even though Fitzpatrick voted against Trump’s tariffs and his power to wage war against Iran without congressional approval.

All four of the ads talking about Trump have aired a combined 2,000 times in that period, the AdImpact data shows. Fitzpatrick is being challenged by Democrat Bob Harvie, a county commissioner who is a former social studies teacher.

Democratic strategists say the messaging reflects the sentiment of voters.

“Every single poll and every single focus group shows affordability to be voters’ number one issue, and they specifically point to corrupt politicians as being responsible for driving up prices," said House Majority PAC spokesperson Katarina Flicker.

Republican ads back away from the president

Out of dozens of issue categories tracked by AdImpact, the analysis found that Trump was the fourth most common issue mentioned by Democrats in House and Senate races' final stretch. It was topped only by healthcare, taxes and accusations about opponents being beholden to special interests.

For Republicans in the same races, Trump-themed ads clocked in at number 33, by comparison. The top issues in their ads were taxes and crime.

Idaho Republican Senator Jim Risch tells viewers he “fought alongside President Trump to pass the biggest tax cuts for working families in American history.”

Overall in the race's final stretch since Sept. 1, Democrats have spent or plan to spend $1.8 billion in ads across all federal, state and local elections. Republicans have spent or reserved $2.2 billion nationwide.

Republican strategist Alex Conant said Democrats are banking on Trump motivating their base to vote, an approach they've routinely used over the last decade.

“Democrats want this election to be a referendum on Trump. They want to equate a vote for a Republican candidate to a vote for Trump," he said.

For Conant's party, it's a different calculus.

“We have a ton of money and we’re throwing every kind of message on the wall to see what sticks," he said. “There's not a cookie-cutter Republican ad this year. Whereas the Democratic ads are pretty obvious.”

The attacks in the two countries' exclusive economic zones threaten a global shipping route and have left two people dead, with at least 25 still missing. They also run the risk of drawing other countries directly into the war for Ukraine.

Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine’s Black Sea and Danube river ports, leaving Kyiv increasingly reliant on alternative routes to get its grain exports to markets in Africa and the Middle East. Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romanian airspace near some of Ukraine's Danube ports.

In the latest incidents, fires broke out on two ships struck by drones Wednesday and Thursday, one in Romania's territorial waters.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Thursday in Brussels that “two drones” had hit the vessels but did not say whose drones they were. “There will be a reaction from the Romanian state,” he warned.

Increasingly, the suspicion falls on Russia. “There is no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of all these attacks favors Russia — and indeed, the logic points in that direction,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told his country’s Parliament.

“The problem is that we cannot prove it.”

Multiple vessels struck by drones in October

The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader, a chemical tanker traveling from Tunisia to Romania, was struck by a drone Thursday and caught fire. Five crew members were rescued but another seven are missing.

On Wednesday, a drone strike and fire were reported on the Comoros-flagged Yara J, a chemical and oil tanker traveling from Turkey to Romania. Romania’s acting Defense Minister Radu Miruta said an investigation was underway.

On Tuesday, two ships were struck by drones off Bulgaria's coast. Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from the Ukraine-operated Chelsea 3, sailing under a Maltese flag, but 11 crew from the Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity are still missing.

The crew of the Chelsea 3 reported the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three aerial drones.

Earlier this month, sea and aerial drones attacked two other commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. A Togo-flagged ship sank with no sign of the 12 sailors reported on board, while a Bulgarian ferry evacuated 18 crew members from a Palau-flagged vessel that was damaged.

A day earlier, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and later sank off the coast of Romania. Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “a horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel” in neutral waters.

Russia's ambassador in Sofia, Bulgaria, said she didn't have any information from the Russian defense ministry.

NATO’s defense clause under scrutiny

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on X on Thursday that he met 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.”

Article 5 of the NATO charter has a mutual defense guarantee — an attack on one is an attack on all — but Romanian defense analyst Radu Tudor said it was uncertain as to whether it covers many of the Black Sea drone strikes because they occurred in the alliance members’ exclusive economic zones.

“It’s a matter of discussion whether the exclusive economic zone is included in the Article 5-type reaction or not,” he said. “And it seems that until now, it isn’t — which raised a lot of questions.”

NATO has been too slow to respond in the Black Sea, he argued.

“Tens of incidents are happening and Russia is getting closer to NATO borders. … Words are not enough,” Tudor said.

A growing threat

The Black Sea drone incidents in October are just the latest in a long string of drone airspace incursions to rock Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While most have come from Russia, Ukrainian drones have also crossed borders.

In August, Romania deployed two F-16 fighter jets to destroy a naval drone that was reportedly carrying explosives and was spotted near a major Black Sea gas project, a decision that Acting Defense Minister Miruta said was made to “protect the lives of the several hundred people” working on the gas platform.

A source in Romania's defense sector, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incidents, told The Associated Press that the attacks are designed to hurt Ukraine economically and that “Romania is not the target right now.”

“All summer we’ve been hunting all kinds of (drone) debris, water drones, sea drones, air drones, debris in the water, on the beaches,” they said. “If this continues … someone should do something about that.”

Potential calls for an escort corridor

The source added they have heard Turkey “would like to summon all the riparian (Black Sea) states to plan a mission to escort these convoys” through a militarized safe corridor.

“I’m not sure about Turkish, but our Romanian vessels don’t have anti-air defense systems to protect against drones,” they said. “That would be a high risk for the Navy, for military vessels to escort this.”

In July, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey expanded the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Force naval pact to “expand the missions to the protection of critical submarine infrastructure,” according to Romania's defense ministry. It would include, it said, a permanent naval presence in Romania’s exclusive economic zone.

Many commercial vessels are flagged to one country and owned by a company based elsewhere.

“Why would Romania and Turkey escort a ship from Bermuda with, I don’t know, an Argentinian owner just to transport a few hundred tons of grains from Egypt?” the source said. “It’s difficult.”

Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Wednesday that the country plans to join NATO’s Drone Edge project by the end of October. Launched in July, the initiative — which Romania also joined — aims to invest over $40 billion in “counter-drone capabilities” over the next five years.

Cezar Gheorghe, founder of grain consultancy firm Agricolumn, told the AP that the drone incidents have not negatively impacted trade at Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta. The main concern is a rise in insurance costs in the wider Black Sea, he said.

“The (premium) for the risk is increasing, ... everyone that wants to come to Constanta, let’s say from Turkey, from the Bosphorus Strait and across that area, will have a (premium) on insurance costs,” he said. He added his main concern is a “serious incident” occurring at or near Constanta. In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the port, and three others nearby.

“It’s a matter of time,” he said.

———

McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.

Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Sam Darnold’s pass in overtime Thursday night and Wil Lutz kicked a 53-yard field goal that gave the Broncos a 17-14 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

The Broncos emerged from a tough six-week season-opening stretch with a 4-2 record despite an injury-riddled roster and a shaky quarterback, and the Seahawks (3-3) lost for the second time in five days. They also matched their loss total from last season, when they won their second Super Bowl title.

The Broncos won despite Bo Nix throwing for just 107 yards, J.K. Dobbins leading the rushing attack with a mere 41 yards and managing a meager three first downs and 168 yards of total offense — less than half the 353 yards piled up by the Seahawks.

“I don't know why we can't really push the ball vertically right now,” Nix said. “But defenses are just sitting back and hanging out. ... Hopefully we find a way to get more out of it.”

Nix was as honest as he's been to date in his postgame comments about Denver's scuffling offense.

“We’re definitely capable, we’ve shown it," he said. "And, you know I don’t know where the disconnect is right now, to be honest with you. ... I just think we’re really, for some reason, struggling to find those explosive plays, and that’s what makes an offense really spectacular: Is finding explosive plays. And right now, we don’t have those.”

Denver's depleted defense came to the rescue yet again, hitting Darnold 17 times and collecting five sacks.

“The quarterback's getting hit way too much,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Everybody sees that.”

“You’ve got to give credit to those guys," Darnold said. “They’ve got a really tough defense, really good defense coordinator in Vance (Joseph).”

On Seattle's opening drive in overtime, McMillian intercepted a pass intended for Rashid Shaheed at the Denver 43, the second pick of the night by Darnold, who completed 27 of 51 passes for 278 yards without a touchdown.

Those stats were better than Nix's. He barely topped 100 yards on 17-of-27 passing after throwing for 123 last week in a tight win over the Chargers.

Jason Myers' 34-yard field goal tied it at 14-all with 3 seconds left in regulation and capped an 11-0 Seattle run over the final 5 1/2 minutes. The Seahawks started their game-tying drive at midfield after a 31-yard punt return by Shaheed.

“No moral victories in the league,” Macdonald said. “It’s a bottom-line business, production business. But I’m proud of our effort. I’m proud of the resolve of the team. I’m proud of our connectedness of our team.

“However, there’s things that we need to get better at quickly, and we know those things; they’re within our control, and that’s what we do. We find solutions, and we get things figured out, we move forward, and we evolve.”

That's essentially what Sean Payton was saying in the winning locker room.

“Defensively, we were magnificent,” said Payton, who acknowledged, “I’m a little bit of a realist to know that 4-2 could easily be 2-4.”

Denver appeared to have victory in hand when Kris Abrams-Draine intercepted Darnold's pass at the Denver 30 with 1:25 left in regulation, but the Broncos burned just 15 seconds of clock before punting.

After scoring just three points on their first eight drives, the Seahawks put together an 11-play, 67-yard masterpiece that ended with running back George Holani scoring from a yard out. Darnold’s 2-point pass to Shaheed pulled Seattle within 14-11 with 5:41 left.

Dobbins had a 4-yard touchdown run and fellow running back R.J. Harvey took a direct snap and scored from a yard out on Denver’s next drive for a 14-3 halftime lead.

The Seahawks’ most promising first-half drive ended at the Denver 34 when Nik Bonitto punched the ball from Shaheed’s grasp and inside linebacker Justin Strnad recovered.

True to form

The Seahawks franchise fell to 19-30-1 in overtime and the Broncos improved to 33-23-2. That's second-best in the NFL.

“It was a good win,” Payton said, “but we've got a lot of work to do.”

Injuries

Seahawks TE Elijah Arroyo left late in the first half with an apparent right shoulder injury sustained while diving for a fumbled ball.

The Broncos were without star CB Patrick Surtain II and starting safety Talanoa Hufanga, both out with ankle injuries. RB Tyler Badie injured a thumb in the second quarter.

Up next

Seahawks: Host the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 25.

Broncos: Host the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 25.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Maickel David Villegas Rodríguez, de 28 años, quien fue identificado por la fiscalía como miembro de una rama local del Tren de Aragua —grupo criminal venezolano designado como organización terrorista extranjera por el gobierno de Estados Unidos—, fue el primer acusado por la muerte de Ojeda en ir a juicio. Otros 16 acusados serán juzgados la próxima semana.

Los fiscales afirmaron que Villegas Rodríguez estuvo encargado de vigilar el apartamento de Ojeda y grabó su secuestro para enviar pruebas a los líderes de la banda delictiva. Fue declarado culpable de ayudar a ejecutar el secuestro, el cual derivó en la muerte de Ojeda. La condena de 20 años fue el máximo que los fiscales podían solicitar conforme a los compromisos que Chile asumió con Costa Rica durante su extradición.

Alejandra Valdivieso, abogada que representa a la familia de Ojeda, se mostró satisfecha con la sentencia, aunque aseguró que ninguna condena puede reparar el daño que sufrió la familia.

Ojeda, de 32 años, huyó de Venezuela en 2017 después de ser acusado de conspirar contra el gobierno del presidente Nicolás Maduro. En febrero de 2024, poco después de que Chile le otorgó estatus de refugiado, Ojeda fue secuestrado en su apartamento de la capital chilena por hombres que se hicieron pasar por policías. Su cuerpo fue hallado dentro de una maleta enterrada bajo concreto.

El asesinato sacudió a los exiliados venezolanos en Chile, que alberga una de las mayores comunidades venezolanas de América Latina. Los fiscales chilenos argumentan que el ministro del Interior de Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, ordenó el asesinato de Ojeda y pagó a un líder del Tren de Aragua para que se llevara a cabo, una acusación que, de comprobarse, plantearía serias dudas sobre la capacidad de Chile para proteger a los exiliados políticos en su propio territorio.

El gobierno venezolano niega cualquier participación en el asesinato.

La acusación permanece bajo investigación y no fue abordada en el juicio de Villegas Rodríguez.

Propelled by a lockdown bullpen and repeated comebacks, the young and fearless Brewers swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers out of the playoffs Thursday with a 6-4 victory in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

“We weren’t coming in to play patty-cake," manager Pat Murphy said. “We were hungry, and as long as it’s an even playing field, we’re going to come in and give it our best shot to win. That’s exactly what we did.”

Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and Milwaukee’s brilliant relievers slammed the door late, giving a vocal contingent of Brewers fans their chance to celebrate in the Dodger Stadium stands.

Now, the Brewers get an opportunity to win their first title after topping the majors with 103 wins during the regular season. Milwaukee has a week off before hosting Cleveland or Tampa Bay in the World Series opener on Oct. 23.

“I’m excited that we've got a few more games to play and get to go home with the fans and celebrate there, too,” Mitchell said.

Shohei Ohtani’s first home run this postseason helped put the Dodgers ahead 4-0 in the second inning before the Brewers came back to complete a four-game sweep.

No. 9 hitter David Hamilton’s two-out solo shot off Edwin Díaz gave Milwaukee a two-run cushion in the ninth. Hamilton had just four homers in the regular season.

“We got down early tonight and we were like, it’s going to be a great story,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said. “We’re going to come back and win this. Like, stay together, start chipping away. And that’s exactly what they did.”

Aaron Ashby pitched three scoreless innings for a save as the Brewers won their first NL pennant and second overall. Milwaukee was in the American League when the franchise made its only previous World Series appearance in 1982, a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dodgers' goal of a three-peat — not done since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000 and never by a National League team — died with their anemic offense and injuries to Ohtani and others on their aging roster.

“I'm not used to those consolation speeches,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Those guys played flawless. You've got to sometimes tip your cap.”

Milwaukee became the first major league club to finish a postseason sweep after getting swept by that same opponent in the previous postseason. Los Angeles took all four NLCS games against the Brewers last year.

"They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we’ve got a bunch of gamers — and the gamers won this week,” Murphy said.

“I think the Dodgers figured out that we came in here with a little different attitude this year.”

The Brewers also are the first team to sweep a best-of-seven postseason series in which it trailed in every game.

“There was never a doubt in that dugout what was going to happen tonight. We knew we were going to win that game,” said first baseman Jake Bauers, the NLCS MVP.

With the score tied 4-all, Mitchell fell behind 0-2 against reliever Tanner Scott leading off the sixth before taking three straight balls to run the count full. Mitchell then launched a 409-foot drive to center field that put the Brewers ahead for the first time. He also homered in their 6-2 victory Wednesday.

“It’s absolutely surreal," Mitchell said. "You talk about the battle-tested Brewers. We went down early and the belief in that dugout got stronger and stronger.”

Milwaukee's bullpen coolly turned away multiple threats when the Dodgers had the potential tying run on base.

Winning pitcher JoJo Romero struck out Max Muncy with Kyle Tucker at third to end the sixth.

With one out in the seventh and a runner on third, Ashby struck out Ohtani swinging before Mookie Betts grounded out to end the inning.

Will Smith doubled to right with one out in the eighth and reached third on Sal Frelick's fielding error, but Ashby retired Tucker on a shallow flyball and struck out Teoscar Hernández.

“Playing with that chip on our shoulder,” Ashby said. “You don’t ever know what to expect going into a series like that last year (against the Dodgers). You don’t know how bad it can be, and then it was as bad as it was. And we came out and we survived, and we came back this year, and those guys played their tails off.”

The Brewers tied it in the fifth, when the Dodgers bullpen issued four walks and Milwaukee stole two bases. Hamilton’s single chased starter Tyler Glasnow and scored Frelick, who walked and stole second, to pull Milwaukee to 4-3.

Evan Phillips walked two batters with two outs, one intentionally, before Alex Vesia entered and walked Bauers to force in Hamilton with the tying run.

Glasnow retired his first 10 batters — six on strikeouts — before the Brewers got to him in the fourth. Brice Turang walked, William Contreras hit a ground-rule double and Bauers followed with another ground-rule double that closed Milwaukee to 4-2.

Ohtani broke out of his postseason slump with a three-run homer after Andy Pages’ RBI single in the second. The four-time MVP released weeks of pent-up frustration by raising his arms and yelling as the crowd of 49,104 roared.

But the Brewers wouldn't be denied. And when it was over, owner Mark Attanasio thought of Milwaukee's longtime owner and beloved late broadcaster.

“It’s so important for the community, the entire state of Wisconsin,” Attanasio said. “We’re standing on shoulders of Bud Selig and Bob Uecker.”

___

A previous version of this story was corrected to fix the sequence of Dodgers pitchers and Brewers walks in the top of the fifth inning.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Welcome to Florida, Brady.

He had his second consecutive hat trick, joining only Pavel Bure and Noel Acciari on the list of Panthers players with three goals in back-to-back games, to carry Florida to a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

“It's pretty cool, but I know what my goal is being here and that's to be part of something special,” Tkachuk said. “It's not about the individual stuff. Yeah, it's great, but there are bigger goals out there.”

He's the first member of his star-studded family to have six goals in a two-game span. His father, Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk, had five goals in a two-game stretch on three occasions. And his brother, fellow Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk, has never had more than four goals in such a timespan.

Brady Tkachuk also became the second player in almost 40 years and the third player in NHL history to score natural hat tricks — three consecutive goals without another player from either team scoring in that span — in back-to-back games. Petri Skriko did it for Vancouver in 1986, and Cy Denneny did it in 1923 with the original Ottawa Senators.

“Today was pretty special,” Brady Tkachuk said.

The last NHL player with back-to-back hat tricks in regular-season play was Toronto's Auston Matthews in February 2024. Dallas' Mikko Rantanen pulled it off during the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Brady Tkachuk not only did it — but he did it in a matter of minutes.

“Those guys who have had great success in their career in big moments, they can feel it," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “They want it.”

Brady Tkachuk's first three-goal game of the season was Tuesday in Florida's 7-3 win at Columbus, when he netted them all in a span of 8:03 of the second period. On Thursday, it was another quick blitz that got it done.

His goal with 8:49 left in regulation got Florida to 2-1. He tied it with 12.8 seconds left in regulation, almost won it with a drive five seconds into overtime, then got the winner 2:23 into the extra session. Add it up, and the hat trick Thursday came in a span of 11:12.

“Awesome. Awesome. He's a true gamer," said Panthers defenseman Seth Jones, who assisted two of Brady Tkachuk's goals on Thursday and one of his scores Tuesday. “He's obviously scoring right now, but he impacts the game in so many ways — his physicality and his tenacity.”

Brady Tkachuk came to Florida this offseason in a trade from Ottawa. He spent eight years with the Senators, who ended up sending him to the Panthers for four draft picks. Social media was ablaze with criticism after the first six games of Florida's season, with Brady Tkachuk managing only one point and no goals in that span.

A couple of hat tricks have made his numbers look a whole lot better.

“I don't think anybody puts more pressure on myself than me,” Brady Tkachuk said. “It wasn't the start that I wanted or envisioned, but with this group, everybody's there for one another. Just had to stick with it and knew it was eventually going to come. Didn't expect what followed, but every day has just been a blast being here, being with this group. It's truly a special group.”

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Shoes for a Cure is back in Miami, where fashion meets philanthropy. Dubbed the largest fundraising event in the footwear industry, it has already raised more than $65 million for breast cancer research.

Miami chairperson Jennifer Stearns Buttrick is a two-time cancer survivor who told Local 10 she has been fortunate to have access to state-of-the-art care at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where the event’s proceeds will go.

“Shoes for a Cure is a multi-day shopping event taking place in the Design District,” Buttrick said. “One in eight will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and so they chose to give back and raise awareness about breast cancer research and the importance of early detection and additional research so that no one dies from this dreaded disease.”

At selected stores in the Miami Design District, participating brands will donate a percentage of sales to Sylvester.

The shopping event starts Thursday. Click here for information.

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At Miami Crab & Seafood Bakery, inspectors documented rodent droppings in several storage areas, including where single-service items, flour, sugar and seasonings were stored, and found rodent bait on the floor outside a covered, tamper-resistant bait station.

At Keke’s Breakfast Cafe in Parkland, inspectors observed approximately 45 small flying insects landing on clean utensils, equipment, walls and soda boxes near the dishwashing area.

Meanwhile, at Miami Shores Golf Club, inspectors found rodent droppings on top of clean dishes and mahi-mahi, and salmon held at 53 and 58 degrees, respectively.

China Spring III in Coral Springs also had rodent droppings in the kitchen and a dead roach in the food preparation area. All four establishments were ordered shut following inspections. Below is a list of violations and some of the most concerning findings.

**MIAMI SHORES GOLF CLUB

10000 BISCAYNE BLVD.

MIAMI SHORES

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 10/9

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 20+ rodent droppings in dry storage area on floor and on top of clean dishes. Observed approximately 5 rodent droppings on floor near single service article storage area. Observed approximately 10+ rodent droppings on floor inside managers office.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed one dead roach inside empty plastic bin at the warehouse washing area.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board in back food prep area with cut marks and no longer cleanable.”

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed reach in cooler door handle soiled with food debris at the cook line.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed mahi mahi (53F - Cold Holding); salmon (58F - Cold Holding) inside reach in cooler drawers at the cook line. As per operator, product has been there for about 2 Hours. Product was placed inside walk in cooler for rapid cooling. Observed cole slaw (54F - Cold Holding) inside plastic bin on prep table.”

“Employee with no beard guard/restraint while engaging in food preparation. Observed employee engaged in food preparation with no beard guard.”

**MIAMI CRAB & SEAFOOD/ BAKERY

20723 NW 2ND AVE

MIAMI GARDENS

ORDERED SHUT 10/12

8 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed 75+ rodent droppings on the floor of the kitchen storage room where single service items are stored, 10+ rodent droppings on the shelves where employee store personal items, 5+ rodent droppings on the floor behind the front counter reach in cooler, 7+ rodent droppings on the floor in the back storage room where flour, sugar and seasonings are stored in.”

“Rodent bait not contained in a covered, tamper-resistant bait station. Observed bitten rodent bait on the floor in the kitchen storage room.”

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed microwave and oven door handle soiled.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”

**KEKE’S BREAKFAST CAFE

7609 STATE ROAD 7

PARKLAND

ORDERED SHUT 10/12

15 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Live, small flying insects found. At dishwashing area, approximately 45 small flying insects, landing on clean utensils equipment, walls and boxes of soda. At dining room- bar counter area -approximately 3 small flying insects landing on walls.”

“Raw fruits/vegetables not washed prior to preparation. At cookline area- in use unwashed strawberries constantly one of actively being cut and portioned.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. -Observed Employee pick up soiled equipment from floor. Employee proceeds to clean grill then handle ham from the flip top cooler and engaged in food preparation without changing their gloves or washing their hands.”

“Employee touched face/hair and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. At Expo station -Employee touched her face and then proceeded to handle clean equipment and bottles of hot sauce without washing their hands -educated operator employee washed their hands.”

“Employee rubbed hands together for less than 10-15 seconds while washing hands. At expo station- Employee handled dirty dishes than Proceeded to wash their hands for approximately eight seconds then engage in handling clean utensils, and equipment.”

“Employee dried hands on clothes/apron/soiled towel after washing. At cook line area, employee handled, soiled wiping cloth, and then proceeded to prepare food for order without washing their hands -educated operator-employee wash their hands properly.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. -Observed in flip top cooler cooked peppers (45F - Cold Holding). Per operator not prepared or portioned today. Per operator out of temperature due to service for approximately 15min. Operator placed in freezer to quick chill.”

**CHINA SPRING III

8100 WILES ROAD

CORAL SPRINGS

ORDERED SHUT 10/8

15 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. At kitchen / cook line area- approximately 20 rodent droppings on the floor - underneath prep tables, containers of food and reach in coolers. At dry storage shelf near cook line - approximately 4 rodent droppings on can of sauce.”

“Dead roaches on premises. At kitchen prep area- 1 dead roach on the floor - operator removed. At bathroom- 1 dead roach on the floor.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. At reach in cooler raw shell eggs stored over cooked chicken- operator removed and stored properly.”

“Throughout establishment- Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust.”

“Employee handled soiled equipment or utensils and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. At dishwashing/prep area -employee handled dirty dishes, then proceeded to handle clean dishes and engage in handling food without washing their hands-educated operator-employee wash their hands.”

“Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation. Repeat Violation.”

“Required employee training expired for all employees.”

The case eventually went cold after years of detectives pursuing leads. But investigators with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit say a tip from Brittany Hanfield, who was already in prison on unrelated armed robbery charges, helped crack the case.

“What it ended up being was two 17-year-old young ladies who were out driving around Broward County in a stolen SUV looking for somebody to rob,” said Detective Dave Towsley with the BSO Cold Case Unit. “Unfortunately, one of these ladies brought a handgun.”

Investigators say Hanfield implicated herself and an accomplice, identified as Sheila Arstil, in the May 13, 2007, killing.

According to Towsley, one of the teens had a small handgun and the other had a knife. Investigators found broken glass and shell casings at the scene, along with evidence that Heron tried to fight back.

“We have the DNA which puts them there and we’ve got their confessions,” Towsley said.

Both women are now in their late 30s. Investigators say they recently told them the crime was completely random.

Arstil was arrested at her home this week and booked into the Broward County Jail on a premeditated murder charge. Hanfield was charged with the same offense while in custody.

Heron’s family is relieved that detectives have finally cracked the case.

Tkachuk also scored three straight goals Tuesday night in Columbus in the second period of a 7-3 victory over the Blue Jackets.

With goalie Akira Schmid off for an extra attacker, Tkachuk tied it with 13 seconds left in regulation with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle. He started the run with 8:49 to go, firing a shot from the top of the right circle past goalie Leevi Merilainen.

Merilainen made 36 saves, and Liam Ohgren and defenseman Elias Pettersson scored first-period goals for Vancouver. The Canucks have lost six straight, the last five to start a six-game trip.

Schmid stopped 15 shots.

Ohgren opened the scoring at 7:23. After a Florida turnover, he took a pass from Linus Karlsson and snapped in a shot from the high slot.

Pettersson struck with 2:54 left in the first with his third goal of the season. Filip Chytil — making his season debut after returning from preseason shoulder injury — set up the defender for a shot from the slot.

The Panthers lost forward Eetu Luostarinen midway through the third period when he crashed into the back boards off a clean hit from Pettersson.

Before the game, the Canucks traded Aatu Raty to Toronto for fellow forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr.

Up next

Canucks: At Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Panthers: Host Seattle on Saturday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Thursday night's debate in a Bangor theater was the last of four meetings between Collins and Jackson, who are running for a seat that's considered crucial in the fight for a Senate majority. The debate, like those that preceded it, included several testy exchanges over issues including the national debt, Collins' relationship with President Donald Trump's administration, and the candidates' respective roles in worsening partisan divisions.

The scene became briefly chaotic when a protester opposing data centers began yelling as Collins spoke. As moderators asked for the protester to be removed, Collins said the shouting demonstrator was “obviously one of Troy's supporters.”

Jackson responded: “Oh, shut up. I don't even know that kid.”

Maine GOP said in a social media post after the debate that Jackson's “shut up” comment was “unacceptable behavior.” Jackson's campaign declined to comment on the exchange.

The issue of party loyalty came up during the debate, with one question posed to Collins asking her to cite a time she has defied the Republican Party. She referenced her push to oppose Pete Hegseth's nomination as defense secretary, saying she organized Republicans to vote no. But Collins acknowledged he was confirmed despite her effort.

Collins accused Jackson of being a guaranteed vote for the Democratic Party while she has a track record of independence. Jackson disputed that characterization and said Collins is loyal to Trump when he needs key votes.

“What I know is that 100% of the time when Donald Trump goes to Susan Collins for a vote, he gets it,” Jackson said.

Collins, who is seeking her sixth term, has sought to distance herself from Trump during the debates, including using the phrase “Gulf of Mexico” instead of Trump's preferred “Gulf of America.” Jackson described Collins' votes against Trump as “managed votes” when she already knows the outcome is decided.

Jackson's campaign also said Thursday that it raised $20.4 million in the third quarter as it seeks to close a funding gap with Collins. Jackson was a late entry into the race and the third quarter was his first quarter of fundraising.

Collins’ campaign said she raised $5.2 million in the same time period. Collins began the race with a considerable fundraising advantage over Jackson, as she had raised more than $18 million by the end of June and Jackson did not become the Democrats’ nominee until late July.

La decisión se produce poco después de que el presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, quien se enfrenta a Flávio Bolsonaro, presentó una queja en la que acusó a la compañía tecnológica propietaria de Instagram, Facebook y WhatsApp de utilizar algoritmos sesgados y restricciones de inteligencia artificial para favorecer a Bolsonaro antes de las elecciones.

El juez Marco Aurélio Bellizze resolvió que Meta no puede reducir la distribución de contenido político, restringir las búsquedas ni eliminar publicaciones de tal manera que genere un desequilibrio entre Lula y Bolsonaro. También ordenó que la empresa garantice que su herramienta de inteligencia artificial aplique criterios idénticos a las dos candidaturas.

Añadió en su resolución que Meta debe pagar una multa de 500.000 reales (98.000 dólares) por cada día de incumplimiento.

La denuncia de la campaña de Lula, a la que The Associated Press tuvo acceso, señala que Meta ha sometido los materiales de campaña y las publicaciones orgánicas de Lula a “injustificadas reducciones de alcance”. También sostiene que Meta no ha cumplido con un plan presentado ante el tribunal electoral para abordar estos temas.

Meta se negó a comentar sobre el fallo.

La campaña de Lula argumenta que cuentas y anuncios asociados con Flávio Bolsonaro habrían recibido una visibilidad inflada de manera artificial, con métricas de interacción comparables a las de celebridades globales. Ambos están en enfrascados en una reñida contienda por la presidencia, después de que el hijo del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro obtuvo el 47% de los votos frente al 45% del actual mandatario en la primera vuelta electoral del 4 de octubre.

La queja de Lula también afirma que existe una marcada disparidad en las herramientas de inteligencia artificial de Meta: los usuarios no pueden generar imágenes de campaña relacionadas con el mandatario a través de la función “Meta AI” de WhatsApp, a diferencia de quienes buscan promover contenido en apoyo a Flávio Bolsonaro.

Gean Ferreira y Evelyn Santos, abogados para la campaña de Lula, destacaron en un comunicado que la distribución de contenido de Meta es selectiva en contra del mandatario y a favor de Bolsonaro, un aliado del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump.

“Por un lado, el contenido del candidato Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva y de sus simpatizantes enfrenta restricciones de distribución, sin justificación ni transparencia", indicaron los abogados. "Por otro lado, perfiles que actúan como operadores políticos del bando contrario ... reciben un alcance desproporcionado y artificial, acumulando más visualizaciones incluso que celebridades globales”.

La campaña de Lula quiere que el máximo tribunal electoral de Brasil ordene el fin inmediato de las restricciones de contenido y presione a Meta para compensar las pérdidas y duplicar su alcance, a fin de reparar el daño causado.

Meta informó al tribunal electoral el pasado 11 de octubre —mientras los simpatizantes de Lula empezaban a quejarse de la herramientas de la empresa— que rechaza las acusaciones de estar inclinada a favor de Bolsonaro. La compañía admitió que ha enfrentado fallas técnicas con afectaciones que se extienden más allá de Brasil. También afirmó que actúa en pleno cumplimiento de las normas electorales de Brasil y que está comprometida a ofrecer un acceso igualitario a la plataforma para todos los partidos políticos.

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

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. Both said the death toll was preliminary and could change.

Bend police spokesperson Sheila Miller earlier confirmed the suspect is dead. It wasn’t clear if the suspect was included among the five.

She also said multiple victims were children.

“We don’t have a number at this point. We know children are among the victims,” Miller said during a media briefing.

Authorities received a call about a shot fired into a car outside Silver Rail Elementary at 12:59 p.m. and arrived on scene within minutes. Further 911 calls came from inside the school, she said.

The attacker was shot and went down inside the school soon after police arrived, Miller said.

It was not immediately clear if it was by police, a bystander or self-inflicted.

Spokespeople for the city and police department did not immediately return emails seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Silver Rail Elementary was under lockdown, the Bend-La Pine school district wrote on Facebook.

“We’re in the process at this time of going room by room and evacuating each of the people who are in that school. ... This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend. It’s devastating,” Miller said, pausing to control her emotions.

The school in Bend, Oregon, which is more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Portland, had 459 enrolled students as of last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education. The school serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

By their predictions, the San Antonio star is going to win his first Most Valuable Player award, repeat as Defensive Player of the Year — and if that wasn't enough, he'll also lead the Spurs to their sixth NBA championship this season. All that is according to voting from the league's GMs in the annual poll conducted for NBA.com. The poll was released Thursday.

Wembanyama got 23 of a possible 29 votes in the pick for MVP, swept all 29 possible votes in the polling of which player is the league's best defender, and the Spurs were a narrow pick over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the balloting for which team will win the NBA title.

Each of the league's 30 GMs got a vote; the maximum number of votes that any player or team could get was 29 because clubs could not vote for themselves or their own personnel.

Among the other highlights:

— In picking the 2027 NBA champion, the Spurs got 50% of the votes and the Thunder got 43%. The GMs expect defending champion New York to emerge from the Eastern Conference; the Knicks got 60% of those votes.

— MVP was a runaway, with Wembanyama at 77% and Denver's Nikola Jokic being next-closest at 10%.

— Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the back-to-back reigning MVP, was the runaway choice as best point guard (67%). Minnesota's Anthony Edwards was the pick as best shooting guard (73%), Miami's Giannis Antetokounmpo was tabbed as best power forward (70%) and Jokic (63%) got the nod over Wembanyama (37%) as the best center. The only close positional battle was small forward, with the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (37%) edging Boston's Jayson Tatum (33%).

— Philadelphia (73%) got the nod as having made the best moves of the offseason after landing LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. But Antetokounmpo (53%) was the pick when GMs were asked which one player acquisition would have the biggest impact.

— Miami's Erik Spoelstra (43%) was the pick as best coach, finishing just ahead of Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault (37%).

— Golden State's Stephen Curry was essentially the unanimous pick (97%) as best shooter. The Warriors couldn't vote for him by survey rule.

— Jokic (87%) is the league's best passer and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson of the Knicks (53%) is the league's best leader, the GMs said. Jokic also was picked as the player with the best IQ (67%), with James (33%) getting all the other votes there.

— Houston's Amen Thompson (63%) was the top choice as the league's most athletic player.

— Indiana coach Rick Carlisle got nods as the coach who runs the best offense (47%) and as the coach who makes the best in-game adjustments (30%, just ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers' Tyronn Lue at 23% and Spoelstra at 20%).

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See AP’s full NBA coverage here

“Sheriff Tony and I are buddies,” Jeff Lefcourt is heard saying on body camera video. “We’re awesome. Like yeah, he’s on my yacht the whole time.”

But whether Lefcourt hosts the sheriff on his yacht isn’t the issue. Neither is his part in a charitable sheriff’s advisory council, or his card that gets him into the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s training center gym.

“Give me your cards,” Lefcourt is heard saying on the video. “I’ll get you in if you want to work out. I know the guy.”

What is at issue: Lefcourt telling the deputies he and others privately funded a Broward Sheriff’s Office helicopter that Tony wanted.

“The new helicopter ― we all paid for the helicopter," Lefcourt is heard saying in the video. “We had about 20 guys that put in to buy that $5 million. Greg (Tony) said to the f---ing commissioners, ‘The helicopter’s f---ed up. We need these f---ing county commissioners to put money in this.’”

After a horrific, fatal BSO chopper crash in the summer of 2023, the county commission allocated $15 million dollars for a replacement.

Documents show the sheriff then ordered three helicopters and went back to the commission to cover all those costs.

No public documents seem to account for private money for a helicopter the county commission had already publicly funded.

“So we said ‘That’s it,’” Lefcourt said in the body camera video. “Everyone else wrote a check for about $400,000. We bought the helicopter. It’s there.”

Years later, the county and the sheriff are in an ugly public standoff over what BSO spends, as the sheriff demands a larger budget from the commission and the commission asks for a more detailed accounting of the current $870 million BSO gets.

The elected sheriff doesn’t have to answer, and for reasons he has not detailed, just won’t.

But sources high up the chain refuted Lefcourt’s claims late Thursday afternoon.

Stopping short of calling Lefcourt a liar, they said what he claimed did not happen.

Lefcourt did not return Local 10 News’ phone calls seeking comment on Thursday.

The backlog, which state officials attributed to a software glitch, left counties big and small scrambling to process scores of voter registrations late in an unusually competitive midterm election season in Texas. Early voting in the state begins Monday.

State officials have not said how many applications were delayed but the number was in the hundreds of thousands, including over 75,000 in Harris County, which includes Houston and finished its backlog earlier this month.

“With our size, that was a big win for our county,” said Harris County Tax Assessor and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez, who oversees the county's elections.

The problem, which officials in the Republican-controlled state have not publicly defined, started last October in the Texas Department of Public Safety, which among other things allows people to register to vote or update their voter registrations when they renew their driver’s license.

The error failed to send a large number of records to applicants’ home counties, where the applications are processed and verified. Those records could be a new voter registration application or an update to an existing registration, such as a change of address.

DPS had previously said certain records submitted online “were incomplete and not fully transmitted.” The department did not immediately respond to an email seeking further explanation Thursday.

Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Texas Secretary of State, said they were not aware of any county with pending applications. Her office has said that any person can still cast a provisional ballot if they show up to a polling place and are not on the voter rolls.

The League of Women Voters and the Texas Civic Fund, a civil rights group, filed a lawsuit that accused the state of not providing a reliable way for people to register to vote. California U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee that oversees federal elections, sent Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a letter last month seeking answers on the scope of the failure and the causes.

Election offices hired temporary workers to handle the crush. In Austin, Travis County Tax Assessor Celia Israel said the backlog for her elections office was an “enhanced stress,” especially on top of seeing more voting applications coming in the last few weeks.

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Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The ruling comes shortly after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is running against Flávio Bolsonaro, filed a complaint that accused the tech company that owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor opposition candidate Bolsonaro ahead of the election.

Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze ruled Meta cannot reduce the distribution of political content, restrict searches or remove posts in a way that creates an imbalance between Lula and Bolsonaro. His ruling also orders the company to ensure its artificial intelligence tool applies identical criteria to both candidacies.

Bellizze said in his ruling that Meta must pay a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,000) per day if it fails to comply.

The legal filing of the Lula campaign, to which The Associated Press had access, said Meta has subjected Lula’s campaign materials and organic posts to “unjustified reductions in reach.” It also said Meta has not complied with a plan submitted to the electoral court to address these issues.

Meta declined to comment on the ruling.

Lula's campaign argues that accounts and advertisements associated with Flávio Bolsonaro have reportedly received artificially inflated visibility, with engagement metrics rivaling global celebrities. The two are in a close race for the presidency, after the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro garnered 47% of the vote against 45% of the incumbent in the first round on Oct. 4.

Lula's complaint also claims there's a stark disparity in Meta’s artificial intelligence tools, with users failing to generate campaign images related to the 80-year-old president via WhatsApp’s “Meta AI” feature, but being able to do so if they want to promote content in support of Flávio Bolsonaro.

Gean Ferreira and Evelyn Santos, both lawyers for the Lula campaign, said in a statement that Meta's content delivery is selective against the incumbent and favorable to Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“On one hand, content from candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his supporters faces delivery restrictions, without any justification or transparency," the lawyers said. "On the other hand, profiles acting as political operatives for the opposing side ... receive a disproportionate and artificial reach, garnering more views even than global celebrities.”

Lula's campaign wants Brazil's top electoral court to order an immediate end to the content restrictions and pressure Meta to make up for the lost traction by doubling its reach to rectify the harm inflicted.

On Oct. 11, as Lula's voters started complaining about their use of Meta tools, the big tech company told the electoral court it rejects accusations of being skewed to Bolsonaro. The company admitted it has faced technical glitches that affect accounts beyond Brazil. It also said it acts in full compliance with Brazil's electoral regulations and is committed to providing equal platform access for all political parties.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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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.”

Later, Wells’ mother, Mary Brown, said “Justice is served.”

“My thought on that is God took care of this killer and brought him out,” she said. “He is going to take care of that revenge thing too.”

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

Es la primera vez que ambas conversan luego que en julio Perú y Venezuela anunciaron el inicio de un proceso de reanudación de relaciones bilaterales que estaban rotas desde el 30 de julio de 2024 cuando Venezuela rompió relaciones con Perú porque Lima reconoció al entonces candidato Edmundo González como presidente electo en los comicios de ese mes frente al ahora detenido expresidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro.

“Tuve una llamada con la presidenta de Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, para abordar la cooperación entre nuestros países, iniciar el apoyo a su plan Vuelta a la Patria, así como coordinar los procesos de expulsión del Perú de ciudadanos venezolanos indocumentados”, dijo Fujimori en su cuenta de X.

Rodríguez dijo, por su parte, en la misma red social que la llamada fue “cordial” y le expresó a Fujimori su “interés en fortalecer los mecanismos que permitan el retorno seguro" de los venezolanos que viven en Perú. No se refirió a los procesos de expulsión mencionados por Fujimori.

Hace más de una semana Fujimori dijo que iba a expulsar “en tiempo récord a los extranjeros que llegaron para romper la ley” durante la presentación de un grupo mixto de militares y policías que combatirán el crimen en Perú donde en los últimos años se han incrementado las extorsiones, homicidios y secuestros.

El ministro del Interior, César Astudillo, dijo a inicios de septiembre en el Congreso que el gobierno de Fujimori, iniciado el 28 de julio, había expulsado a 1.635 venezolanos que antes ya habían sido deportados y regresaron al país andino. Indicó que las expulsiones podrían realizarse más adelante por barco hacia Venezuela.

La agencia de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados (ACNUR) dijo en 2022 que los venezolanos en Perú constituyen casi el 3,5% de la población de unos 33 millones y que Lima (1,1 millón de venezolanos).

El representante de ACNUR en Perú, Federico Agusti, dijo en abril de 2022 “si Lima estuviera en Venezuela sería la tercera ciudad de Venezuela con el mayor número de venezolanos”.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is seeking re-election in the newly redrawn district, where she faces Republican Brent Anderson, an insurance industry executive, in November’s election.

Asked what specific policies they would pursue to address the region’s housing affordability challenges, both candidates pointed to the need for greater access to housing, while also proposing different ways to help residents afford their homes.

Wasserman Schultz highlighted bipartisan housing legislation and a package of Democratic proposals aimed at expanding housing opportunities.

“We have to make sure that we are not only creating more opportunities like the housing affordability bill that we passed on a bipartisan basis,” she said.

She also pointed to a Democratic package of 14 bills that she said could help communities make use of available land for new housing.

Anderson said reducing regulatory barriers and increasing federal investment in infrastructure could help speed up development and ease some of the costs associated with homeownership.

“In addition to home ownership, people need to be able to afford their homes,” Anderson said.

He cited economic development funding and expanded opportunities for people to enter skilled trades as potential ways to help families improve their financial footing.

Anderson also said federal Pell Grant funding could be modified to allow more people to pursue training in the building trades, which he described as a source of “high-paying jobs.”

“We would have to reduce red tape,” he said, adding that federal infrastructure funding could help development move more quickly while addressing flooding, waterway safety and property insurance concerns.

Wasserman Schultz also discussed efforts to help residents facing housing insecurity, including allowing housing vouchers to cover security deposits.

She described the proposal as the kind of “reform that we really need to help bring costs down” and said additional assistance is needed for people transitioning out of homelessness.

The congresswoman also cited federal funding she has secured for local housing initiatives, including an apartment building purchased for veterans experiencing homelessness through United Way.

She said she secured $2 million in funding this year to help people transition out of living in their cars and renovate hotel rooms so they can be used as housing.

The candidates’ proposals come as housing affordability remains a major concern for South Florida residents, where the cost of buying or renting a home can put pressure on household budgets.

Friday will feature a sun/cloud mix and east-southeast winds, sustained 5 to 10 mph. There may be a few showers along the east coast in the morning or a spotty shower or two during the afternoon. Temperatures will make a run for 90°F.

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A judge heard arguments after challenger George Morgan filed an emergency request to have current Mayor Alix Desulme disqualified.

He claims Desulme failed to meet the requirements to run because he used a cashier’s check to pay his qualifying fees.

But Desulme’s attorney argues the city charter only requires the funds to come from a campaign account, which is where he says the money came from.

“He used campaign funds to pay for his candidate qualifying fee,” Desulme’s attorney, Ben Kuehne, said. “It happened to be in the form of a cashier’s check, drawn on his campaign funds, money that he raised to run for reelection. And we believe that’s perfectly permissible.”

Desulme’s side also raised questions about Morgan’s qualification, saying his payment was 80 cents short.

The judge ordered Desulme’s attorney to provide a bank affidavit proving the money came from the campaign.

In the end, no decision was made, with another hearing scheduled for Monday.

Un juez escuchó los argumentos después de que el aspirante George Morgan presentara una solicitud de emergencia para descalificar al actual alcalde, Alix Desulme.

Morgan afirma que Desulme no cumplió con los requisitos para postularse porque utilizó un cheque de caja para pagar las tarifas de inscripción de su candidatura.

Sin embargo, el abogado de Desulme argumenta que los estatutos de la ciudad solo exigen que los fondos provengan de una cuenta de campaña, que es de donde, según él, salió el dinero.

“Utilizó fondos de campaña para pagar la tarifa de inscripción de su candidatura”, dijo Ben Kuehne, abogado de Desulme. “Resultó ser en forma de un cheque de caja, emitido con fondos de su campaña, dinero que recaudó para postularse a la reelección. Y creemos que eso está perfectamente permitido”.

La defensa de Desulme también planteó dudas sobre la elegibilidad de Morgan, señalando que a su pago le faltaban 80 centavos.

El juez ordenó al abogado de Desulme presentar una declaración jurada bancaria que demuestre que el dinero provenía de la campaña.

Al final, no se tomó ninguna decisión y se programó otra audiencia para el lunes.

At least one of the incidents was captured on surveillance video.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies say Edgar Montanepina is the man seen holding a gun and attempting to rob a woman at the Fumar y Mas smoke shop on Quail Roost Drive in southwest Miami-Dade.

The victim reminded the armed man that cameras were nearby. He eventually walked away with the store’s tip jar, according to deputies.

The clerk’s sister told Local 10 that Montanepina was a regular at the store and had been outside smoking a cigarette before coming back inside with a gun pointed at the clerk.

Montanepina is also accused of robbing a nearby food truck, holding two women at gunpoint before running off with cash from the register.

Investigators say he also held up a woman on a bicycle and at least two other locations, including the Goulds Food Market. Deputies say he had help during some of the incidents.

Alexander Reguera was also arrested and charged with similar crimes. Prosecutors say he is also a convicted felon.

Montanepina faces charges including armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Reguera is accused in three separate armed robbery cases, according to a judge.

Both Montanepina and Reguera are being held without bond at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Thursday evening.

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Police say it started with several attempted break-ins in a Miami Beach neighborhood and ended hours later with a stolen Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, commonly known as a G-Wagen, in Broward County.

Surveillance video shows three masked men pulling up to a home on Chase Avenue in a red Tesla. The men, dressed in all black, quickly got out and began tugging on several door handles, the video showed.

Police say they tried to get into several parked cars in the driveway, including a Mercedes-Maybach, but the cars were locked, so the men eventually took off.

Police identified the two teens involved as 16-year-old Guillermo Spillman Jr. of Sunrise and 14-year-old Daveion Gill of Fort Lauderdale.

According to arrest reports, a few hours later, the pair stole a 2027 Mercedes G-Wagen from a home in Kendall, along with a purse and wallet inside.

The owner used live tracking to help police follow the SUV north into Broward County.

Cellphone video shows the end of the chase in Hollywood, where police say the G-Wagon crashed. The teens then got out and were immediately arrested.

Both teens are now in custody, facing multiple felony charges, including burglary and grand theft.

La policía informó que todo comenzó con varios intentos de robo en vehículos en un vecindario de Miami Beach y terminó horas después con el robo de una camioneta Mercedes-Benz Clase G de lujo, comúnmente conocida como G-Wagen, en el condado Broward.

Un video de vigilancia muestra a tres hombres enmascarados llegando a una vivienda en Chase Avenue a bordo de un Tesla rojo. Los hombres, vestidos completamente de negro, salieron rápidamente del vehículo y comenzaron a tirar de las manijas de varias puertas, según muestra el video.

La policía indicó que intentaron entrar en varios automóviles estacionados en la entrada de la vivienda, incluido un Mercedes-Maybach, pero los vehículos estaban cerrados con seguro, por lo que los hombres finalmente se marcharon.

La policía identificó a los dos adolescentes involucrados como Guillermo Spillman Jr., de 16 años, residente de Sunrise, y Daveion Gill, de 14 años, residente de Fort Lauderdale.

Según los informes de arresto, unas horas después, los dos robaron una Mercedes G-Wagen modelo 2027 de una vivienda en Kendall, junto con un bolso y una billetera que estaban dentro del vehículo.

El propietario utilizó un sistema de rastreo en tiempo real para ayudar a la policía a seguir la camioneta hacia el norte, hasta el condado Broward.

Un video grabado con un teléfono celular muestra el final de la persecución en Hollywood, donde, según la policía, la camioneta G-Wagen se estrelló. Los adolescentes salieron del vehículo y fueron arrestados inmediatamente.

Ambos adolescentes se encuentran ahora bajo custodia y enfrentan múltiples cargos por delitos graves, incluidos robo y robo mayor.

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Without the jury in the room, Sierra told the Miami-Dade judge, “I do not wish to testify.”

The state then began its rebuttal case as they seek the death penalty for Sierra, 42, who killed estranged wife, Gladys Machado, 29, along with her two daughters, 6-year-old Julia Padrino and 3-year-old Daniela Padrino.

Before resting, the defense, working to persuade the jury to recommend a life sentence for Sierra, called corrections consultant Raul Banasco to the stand.

Banasco offered the jury a view of what life in prison without parole and life on death row could look like.

Asked whether inmates serving life sentences have to work, Banasco said, “They can work in the laundry, kitchen. Working gives them structure.”

Banasco said inmates on death don’t have to work, don’t line up to get meals or do their own laundry and hygiene.

Banasco said the current environment is a 6-by-9-foot cell with a bed, commode and television. He said inmates are allowed to be out of their cells for 20 hours a week, including six hours a week in the recreation yard.

They are also allowed visitation and a tablet to speak with friends and family, he said.

The state, which is seeking a death sentence for the brutal triple homicide, asked about security differences.

Banasco testified that death row inmates have a “high level of security,” agreeing that it’s because the person is on death row, not in the general population, and that interaction with other inmates on death row is limited.

Lead prosecutor Abbe Rifkin also asked whether it is easier to get things like drugs in the general population, as opposed to death row.

“The answer would be yes,” Banasco said.

He also testified that Sierra would have access to medical care for his Type 1 diabetes regardless of whether he serves a life or death sentence.

The state mounted its rebuttal case late Thursday afternoon, featuring Dr. Robert Denney, a clinical neuropsychologist who shared with the jury his findings after conducting an in-person evaluation of Sierra on Aug. 26.

A chart showed Sierra tested better than clinical groups with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

“We see his memory. It is way up here, exceedingly high,” Denney said. “It tells me he is exaggerating his self-report when it comes to his memory.”

The defense had asked the jury to consider what its expert said was the lifelong impact of a childhood car crash on Sierra’s executive functioning skills.

“His executive function skills are at least low-average,” Denney said.

Denney also said Sierra performed above average on mazes. During the defense case, the jury learned Sierra liked to do puzzles.

Denney also testified as a state rebuttal witness during the penalty phase of the Parkland school shooter case.

The state presented his testimony in its rebuttal case to refute what the jury heard from a defense expert witness.

Sin la presencia del jurado en la sala, Sierra dijo al juez de Miami-Dade: “No deseo testificar”.

La fiscalía comenzó entonces a presentar sus pruebas de refutación mientras busca la pena de muerte para Sierra, de 42 años, quien asesinó a su esposa, Gladys Machado, de 29 años, de la que estaba separado, junto con sus dos hijas, Julia Padrino, de 6 años, y Daniela Padrino, de 3 años.

Antes de concluir la presentación de sus pruebas, la defensa, que busca persuadir al jurado para que recomiende una sentencia de cadena perpetua para Sierra, llamó al estrado al consultor penitenciario Raul Banasco.

Banasco ofreció al jurado una perspectiva de cómo sería la vida en prisión sin posibilidad de libertad condicional y cómo sería la vida en el corredor de la muerte.

Cuando le preguntaron si los reclusos que cumplen cadena perpetua tienen que trabajar, Banasco respondió: “Pueden trabajar en la lavandería o en la cocina. Trabajar les proporciona una estructura”.

Banasco dijo que los reclusos condenados a muerte no tienen que trabajar, hacer fila para recibir sus comidas ni encargarse de su propia lavandería e higiene.

Banasco explicó que las condiciones actuales consisten en una celda de 6 por 9 pies con una cama, un inodoro y un televisor. Indicó que los reclusos pueden salir de sus celdas durante 20 horas a la semana, incluidas seis horas semanales en el patio de recreación.

También se les permiten visitas y el uso de una tableta para comunicarse con amigos y familiares, indicó.

La fiscalía, que busca una sentencia de muerte por el brutal triple homicidio, preguntó sobre las diferencias en las medidas de seguridad.

Banasco testificó que los reclusos del corredor de la muerte tienen un “alto nivel de seguridad” y estuvo de acuerdo en que esto se debe a que la persona se encuentra en el corredor de la muerte y no entre la población general de la prisión, además de que la interacción con otros reclusos condenados a muerte es limitada.

La fiscal principal, Abbe Rifkin, también preguntó si es más fácil conseguir artículos como drogas entre la población general de la prisión, en comparación con el corredor de la muerte.

“La respuesta sería sí”, dijo Banasco.

También testificó que Sierra tendría acceso a atención médica para su diabetes tipo 1, independientemente de si cumple una sentencia de cadena perpetua o de muerte.

La fiscalía comenzó a presentar sus pruebas de refutación a última hora de la tarde del jueves, con el testimonio del doctor Robert Denney, un neuropsicólogo clínico que compartió con el jurado sus hallazgos después de realizar una evaluación presencial de Sierra el 26 de agosto.

Un gráfico mostró que Sierra obtuvo mejores resultados en las pruebas que los grupos clínicos con lesiones cerebrales traumáticas de moderadas a graves.

“Vemos su memoria. Está aquí arriba, extremadamente alta”, dijo Denney. “Eso me indica que está exagerando lo que declara sobre su memoria”.

La defensa había pedido al jurado que considerara lo que su experto describió como el impacto de por vida de un accidente automovilístico ocurrido durante la infancia de Sierra en sus habilidades de funcionamiento ejecutivo.

“Sus habilidades de funcionamiento ejecutivo están al menos en el nivel promedio bajo”, dijo Denney.

Denney también indicó que Sierra obtuvo resultados superiores al promedio en pruebas de laberintos. Durante la presentación del caso de la defensa, el jurado se enteró de que a Sierra le gustaba resolver rompecabezas.

Denney también testificó como testigo de refutación de la fiscalía durante la fase de sentencia del caso del atacante de la escuela de Parkland.

La fiscalía presentó su testimonio como parte de sus pruebas de refutación para contradecir lo que el jurado había escuchado de un testigo experto de la defensa.

While family history and genetics cannot be changed, experts say lifestyle choices, including regular physical activity, a healthy diet and limiting alcohol consumption, may help lower the risk of developing breast cancer.

Dr. Jessica Pastoriza, a breast surgical oncologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center who is also certified in lifestyle medicine, focuses on the role healthy habits can play in cancer prevention.

“I think now a days in medical schools, it’s becoming more popular that people are electing to do this field of work,” she said.

Lifestyle medicine emphasizes habits that may reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve overall health. For breast cancer prevention, physical activity is one important component.

“Actually, for cancer prevention, it’s 300 minutes a week and that’s two days also of strength training,” Pastoriza added.

Nutrition is another consideration.

Although no single food can prevent breast cancer, a diet rich in minimally processed, plant-based foods may support overall health and help reduce certain risk factors.

Vegetables such as kale, cabbage and cauliflower contain compounds that support normal cellular processes. Lentils, chickpeas and black beans provide fiber and plant protein. Whole grains, fatty fish and green tea can also be part of a balanced diet.

Alcohol consumption, meanwhile, is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Pastoriza said recommendations have evolved as research has clarified the relationship between alcohol and cancer.

“They’ve changed a lot of the different guidelines, and we used to think a glass of wine was healthy, even protective, but guidelines have been changing, so now, any amount of alcohol is a cancer risk, especially in women,” Pastoriza said.

She advises people who drink alcohol to do so in moderation.

Beyond diet and exercise, she also emphasizes the importance of managing stress, getting enough sleep and maintaining social connections.

“You feel like you have good social connections, people to rely on, people that love you, that are there for you, that’s the most important part of longevity,” Pastoriza said.

Although lifestyle changes cannot eliminate breast cancer risk, they can be part of a broader approach to health. Regular screening and conversations with health care providers remain important, even for women with no family history of the disease.

Investigators still don't know why family patriarch Matthew Stone Sr. gunned down his wife, their three children, two grandchildren and two women who had rushed to the home and were shot outside, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said at a news conference.

Lorah painted a picture of a family living in a home in isolated, filthy conditions. He said the authoritarian behavior of Stone, 45, started after his wife became pregnant with their first child more than two decades ago.

The adult victims of the Oct. 9 shooting previously were identified as Stone’s wife, Michelle Stone, 44; their daughter, Angelina Stone, 24, who was due to give birth Monday, three days after the shooting; sons Jonathan Stone, 19, and Matthew Stone Jr., 21; and two women who lived at other addresses: Lora Roberts, 37, and Twila Tanner, 51. Roberts was Michelle Stone’s sister.

A 5-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl who were identified by relatives as Angelina Stone's children also were killed. State law prevented authorities from releasing their names.

Family members told detectives that the elder Stone “restricted when family members could leave the residence or spend time with relatives,” Lorah said. In addition, Michelle Stone “stopped maintaining contact with friends.”

The elder Stone also kept a tight grip over the family's money, including supplemental government income received for one of the grandchildren, Lorah said.

In 2019, Stone was arrested and charged with threatening his wife with the same .40-caliber handgun that he used in the Oct. 9 shootings. However, at a preliminary hearing, Michelle Stone “changed her original statement and those charges were withdrawn,” Lorah said.

A year ago, daughter Angelina filed a petition to change her last name, citing concerns about the elder Stone's “declining mental health,” according to Lorah. She had planned to pursue a career in medicine and didn’t want her last name associated with her father. But that application was closed in April 2026.

Angelina Stone posted ultrasound photos of her unborn child on social media on Sept. 25. Lorah said she had been sending messages to others indicating she was going to leave the home after giving birth. She also said her father had been physically abusive toward her brothers. After the shootings, detectives found bags and boxes that were packed in Angelina Stone’s bedroom.

Detectives described conditions in the home as “extremely filthy.” A shower, toilet and kitchen sink didn’t appear to be working, and there were numerous soda bottles filled with urine throughout the house. Water service remained active but had an outstanding balance of $1,900, the chief said.

During their search, detectives also found drug paraphernalia, “but we cannot establish what role, if any, mental health or substance use played in the shooting,” Lorah said.

Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators included muffled gunshot sounds coming from inside the home just before Roberts and Tanner arrived and began pounding on the door. The gunman then came out and shot them as they ran toward him, before returning inside. Tanner was the only nonrelative killed, Lorah said.

As circumstances of the family's living conditions and history came to light, Mayor Daria Devlin said some difficult questions, too, have surfaced.

“Were there opportunities to recognize that this family was struggling?” Devlin said. “Were there places where our systems could have responded differently? And how do we make sure that families in this community who are suffering and struggling like this don’t fall through the cracks?

“We cannot assume that any one intervention could have prevented what happened on Friday. But that can't stop us from examining where each one of us can do better.”

The 42-page complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., claims the Department of Homeland Security's secretive probe of the voter data, including a policy to combine it with commercial datasets, disregards federal safeguards and flouts the privacy rights of millions of Americans.

The case, brought by the League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the League of United Latin American Citizens, is the latest in a torrent of legal challenges that have emerged in response to President Donald Trump's crusade against noncitizen voting, a concern he views as a serious problem but which research shows is exceedingly rare.

The Trump administration has consistently sought to exert more power over elections, even as the Constitution grants that authority to states and, in some cases, Congress. Judges have consistently upheld states’ rights to decline to hand over their lists to the federal government.

DHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thursday's lawsuit alleges the Trump administration has obtained voter lists from 47 states, even as 30 states refused to turn them over to the administration. It calls for the court to declare the administration's collection of voter data illegal, block the policy and order DHS to delete and stop using the voter information it already has collected.

The lawsuit comes less than three weeks before Election Day, as the administration has continued to escalate threats to states alleging they are not doing enough to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls.

On Thursday, the administration sued California election officials, alleging they didn't act quickly enough to review names the federal government identified as “likely” noncitizens, and asking a judge to bar the state from counting those people's mail ballots for next month's midterm elections. The secretary of state's office said it was given just 48 hours to review 20,000 names without the Justice Department providing any evidence to substantiate its claims.

But it wasn't enough to keep the Milwaukee Brewers from advancing to their first World Series in 44 years on Thursday.

The Dodgers lost 6-4 and got swept in four games, the same thing they did to the Brewers last year on the way to winning a second straight World Series title.

Ohtani went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts — including a big one in the seventh inning with the potential tying run at third base and one out. He hit .192 in the playoffs (5 for 26) with three RBIs, four walks and 10 strikeouts.

Last season, Ohtani was the NLCS MVP after hitting three home runs and striking out 10 batters over six-plus shutout innings of two-hit ball during a dominant two-way performance in the clinching Game 4.

“Ohtani is arguably the best player in the world, and he’s proven that to us,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “He had the greatest game I’ve ever seen played by an individual player last year against us.”

With the Dodgers facing elimination this time, Ohtani's 428-foot drive to right-center off former teammate Dustin May left his bat at 113.1 mph and gave Los Angeles a 4-0 lead in the second inning. It was the Dodgers' first homer of the series and his first since Aug. 18 at Colorado — a span of 116 plate appearances.

“I thought we woke up a giant. I’m like, ‘Oh, God, here we go,’” Murphy said. “But we had a little JoJo Romero for them and Aaron Ashby for them later on. That did the trick.”

The typically placid Ohtani reacted in a most un-Ohtani way: raising his arms and yelling toward the Dodgers' dugout before beginning his trot around the bases.

“I think it was a lot of pent-up anger, frustration. It was the best ball he hit in probably two, three months, and it was a big hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “For him to look at the dugout, show that emotion, it just shows how much he cares. He’s still human. He still cares and wants to help his team win a baseball game.”

With two outs, Ohtani unleashed the smooth and powerful swing that had mostly deserted him over the last few months while he dealt with knee and arm issues.

The four-time MVP struck out swinging so hard in the first that his helmet came off.

Ohtani has been dealing with nagging injuries to his left knee and right biceps and didn't pitch after the All-Star break.

He told reporters at his locker that he “definitely” expects to pitch next season.

“Looking forward to having a better season next year,” he said through a translator.

Ohtani was vague when asked if he expects to need surgery for the injuries that affected him this season.

“Hard to tell at this point,” he said. “It's something that's going to be analyzed, discussed over the offseason and see if that's a viable thing to do.”

Roberts said, "I think he’s the best player on the planet, and he’s not completely healthy. But I just give him a lot of respect for not running from it, still wanting to participate, still wanting to play when he’s not 100%.”

Roberts restored Ohtani to his familiar leadoff spot for Game 4.

Ohtani batted sixth in a 6-2 loss on Wednesday, the lowest he's hit since joining the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season. He was 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.

“Just seeing the work the last couple days, I like where his head is at,” Roberts said before the game. “I liked the at-bats yesterday. Obviously we haven’t performed the way that we’re capable of, so to kind of shake it up a little bit, but something that’s of somewhat normalcy that our guys are used to.”

Ohtani typically leads off but was dropped lower while struggling with injuries to his left knee and right biceps over the last few months that have prevented the two-way star from pitching since early July. Roberts didn't tell Ohtani about the change before posting the Game 4 lineup.

“It's not one player that didn’t come through. It was all of us,” Roberts said. “But I’m really impressed with what Shohei did. I'll always trust Shohei."

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

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On Wednesday, Local 10 News reported on Diener Beguria, who felt he didn’t have a voice after he said he was beaten in Hialeah and no action was taken by police.

That changed after Beguria’s story aired on TV.

“I’m very happy with Channel 10, very thankful for the job they did,” Beguria said Thursday. “I think the case got reopened because of what they did and put it out there, and now everybody knows what’s going on.”

He said after the story went public, “the detectives got my statements really fast after that.”

The incident in question occurred on Sunday around 7:30 p.m. in the area of East 19th Street and First Avenue in Hialeah.

Beguria said he was walking his dog with his mother when he was viciously attacked.

“A dog that was on their property I guess, that was loose with no leash or nothing, came running toward 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,” he said.

Hialeah police initially told Local 10 News this was a case of mutual combatants, but something changed because on Wednesday night, detectives were back out in the area looking for surveillance video.

Then on Thursday, investigators took the statements of Beguria and his mother, and they are expected to take the statement of the other individual involved in the incident as well.

Beguria said the officers told him that they would have more information on the investigation by next week.

“Now they know my side of the story,” he said. “That it wasn’t a fight. That he just came up to me and hit me with a can and started wailing on me.”

El miércoles, Local 10 News informó sobre el caso de Diener Beguria, quien sentía que no tenía voz después de que, según dijo, fue golpeado en Hialeah y la policía no tomó ninguna medida.

Eso cambió después de que la historia de Beguria fuera transmitida por televisión.

“Estoy muy contento con Canal 10, muy agradecido por el trabajo que hicieron”, dijo Beguria el jueves. “Creo que el caso se reabrió gracias a lo que hicieron y a que lo dieron a conocer, y ahora todo el mundo sabe lo que está pasando”.

Dijo que después de que la historia se hiciera pública, “los detectives tomaron mis declaraciones muy rápidamente”.

El incidente en cuestión ocurrió el domingo alrededor de las 7:30 p.m. en el área de East 19th Street y First Avenue en Hialeah.

Beguria dijo que estaba paseando a su perro con su madre cuando fue brutalmente atacado.

“Un perro que supongo estaba en su propiedad, que estaba suelto, sin correa ni nada, vino corriendo hacia mí y mi perro, así que me detuve y me quedé paralizado porque no sabía si el perro me iba a atacar a mí, a mi perro o qué”, dijo.

Inicialmente, la policía de Hialeah dijo a Local 10 News que se trataba de un caso de enfrentamiento mutuo, pero algo cambió porque el miércoles por la noche los detectives regresaron al área en busca de videos de vigilancia.

Luego, el jueves, los investigadores tomaron las declaraciones de Beguria y su madre, y también se espera que tomen la declaración de la otra persona involucrada en el incidente.

Beguria dijo que los agentes le informaron que tendrían más información sobre la investigación para la próxima semana.

“Ahora conocen mi versión de la historia”, dijo. “Que no fue una pelea. Que él simplemente se me acercó, me golpeó con una lata y comenzó a golpearme brutalmente”.

The suspect was found dead inside the school minutes after the shooting was first reported, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.

The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child, 7, and a teacher, 54, were injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition, he said.

The first 911 call came just before 1 p.m. from a person in a vehicle outside Silver Rail Elementary who reported being shot at by someone with a long gun, Krantz told reporters. Further 911 calls came from inside the school, and officers arrived on scene within minutes, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.

The attacker, who police identified as a Bend resident, was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, she said.

Police said they did not know if the shooter knew anyone at the school or whether he had attended.

Children were taken by bus to a nearby church serving as a reunification center for families. Parents hugged, kissed and held their kids’ hands as they walked to their cars, with some bringing along favorite stuffed animals or other comfort items from home.

The school in Bend, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Portland, had 459 enrolled students as of last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education. The school serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The high-desert city has ballooned in population over the past three decades and is a tourism and outdoor recreation hub near Mount Bachelor.

Classes, sports and extracurriculars were canceled Friday for all 32 schools in the Bend-La Pine district.

The shooting was the 28th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

The attacker used a pump-action shotgun that was purchased by his mother, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

At a news conference, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said her heart was “absolutely broken” and thanked the civilian who pursued the shooter.

“To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life: Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well,” she said.

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Associated Press journalist Hannah Schoenbaum contributed reporting.

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Police said they responded to a home in the 2900 block of Northwest 56th Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. after the children’s mother reported that her daughter had been injured in an incident involving her son.

They said the girl told them she was cutting pizza when her brother became upset because he had not received his piece.

He then grabbed the knife and threw it at her, striking her in the chest, according to police.

The mother told officers she had stepped outside to retrieve the mail. When she returned, she found her daughter running out of the apartment and bleeding from her chest, police said.

They said the girl was conscious and breathing when fire rescue personnel transported her to Broward Health Medical Center. Investigators said she suffered a small cut to her chest.

Authorities said all parties involved are in contact with police, and the investigation remains ongoing.

No charges have been announced at this time.

La policía informó que acudió a una vivienda en la cuadra 2900 de Northwest 56th Avenue alrededor de las 3:30 p.m., después de que la madre de los niños reportara que su hija había resultado herida en un incidente que involucraba a su hijo.

Los agentes indicaron que la niña les dijo que estaba cortando una pizza cuando su hermano se molestó porque no había recibido su porción.

Según la policía, el niño tomó el cuchillo y se lo lanzó a su hermana, hiriéndola en el pecho.

La madre dijo a los agentes que había salido a recoger el correo. Cuando regresó, encontró a su hija saliendo del apartamento con una herida sangrante en el pecho, informó la policía.

Las autoridades indicaron que la niña estaba consciente y respiraba cuando los equipos de rescate la trasladaron al Broward Health Medical Center. Los investigadores señalaron que sufrió una pequeña cortadura en el pecho.

Las autoridades informaron que todas las personas involucradas están en contacto con la policía y que la investigación continúa en curso.

Hasta el momento no se han anunciado cargos.

Sea World Orlando in Florida and La Ronde theme park in Montreal, Canada, confirmed on Thursday they had temporarily closed rides, bringing the total number of roller coasters halted to 11.

Police and a state regulatory agency are investigating what caused Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old school employee from Atlanta, to fall from the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday. Witnesses described seeing him ejected from the coaster; some people who rode the Goliath before him that day said they had concerns about its restraints.

Nine of the roller coasters taken out of service have the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system as the Goliath at Six Flags.

Mom says her son's restraint didn't work properly

Erica Billups said her son and daughter rode Goliath about an hour before Kariem’s death and encountered a problem with the restraint on one seat. Her son initially sat in that seat and tried to lock it, but then moved when it repeatedly became unlocked. The roller coaster embarked with the seat empty and the harness up, she said in a post on X.

She confirmed the post in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday.

She said staff did not tell her kids there was a problem.

Summer Bates, who was at the Georgia park with her husband and three children and saw Kariem fall, told the AP previously that her older two children kept trying to push their restraints down tighter while on the ride. She understood why they were doing that later when she was on the coaster, she said, because the restraints didn’t feel secure.

Six Flags did not immediately respond to an email for comment on any issues with restraints.

At least one of the other closures is for safety

La Ronde in Montreal said one of its coasters — also named Goliath — is offline “while we conduct a thorough safety review in collaboration with the ride’s manufacturer.” Sea World Orlando said that it closed its Mako roller coaster with no set date to reopen.

Neither La Ronde nor Sea World Orlando said why those specific rides were closed. Both were manufactured by the Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, which also built the Goliath ride in Georgia and eight of the other coasters that Six Flags closed. Bolliger & Mabillard declined Thursday to answer questions about the shutdowns.

In an updated list of ride closures provided Thursday, Six Flags no longer included the Goliath coaster at its Six Flags Magic Mountain park in California. The coaster has a different manufacturer and restraint system from the others. Six Flags had listed it as closed earlier in the week.

Online photos and videos of most of the closed coasters show each equipped with so-called “clamshell” restraints, mounted in front of each seat on a vertical bar that sits between the rider’s knees. The bar locks the padded restraint into place over the rider’s lap and upper legs.

It’s unclear from the images whether any of those coasters also have seat belts or other secondary restraints. Goliath in Georgia has no such backup restraints.

Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant and past president of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a trade group, said the similar restraint systems are almost certainly why most of the coasters were closed.

Speigel said they’re likely to remain shut down until investigators have determined what went wrong on the Georgia coaster, but he said that “obviously it was something with the restraint.”

Roller coaster manufacturers decide what type of restraints to use after considering speed, force and the track’s transitions, said Brian D. Avery, a University of Florida professor and amusement ride safety expert.

He advocates the use of a backup restraint for riders, but there is a long-running debate in the industry over whether that would increase wait times, Avery said.

Bolliger & Mabillard says it is investigating

The company said in an email it would have no further comment until it had a “better understanding of what transpired” on Monday.

Kariem was thrown from his seat and struck other patrons before landing below the ride. Goliath, one of Six Flags Over Georgia's headline attractions, towers above the park's entrance. It opened in 2006 and features a series of hills and turns. It doesn’t take riders upside down, but its first hill rises to 200 feet (61 meters) and it has a top speed of 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers).

Nick Mendenhall, who had just ridden Goliath with his son and was watching the coaster cars passing overhead, said it looked like Kariem was hovering because the car was moving underneath him. He fell headfirst back into the coaster, Mendenhall said, and then was ejected from the ride on its final turn.

Six Flags has faced legal trouble before

A class-action lawsuit filed by investors in 2025 alleges that Six Flags concealed the poor state of its amusement parks — including long-neglected maintenance — ahead of its merger with major amusement park operator Cedar Fair.

“Prior to the Merger, Legacy Six Flags had for years deferred or foregone basic park maintenance, operational improvements, infrastructure repairs, and ride design and development updates,” the complaint said. The company also cut staffing to reduce costs, it alleges.

Timothy Loranger, a California attorney who sued Six Flags in a fatal case, said it’s a positive step that the theme park chain closed down rides at other parks as a precaution. Loranger represented the family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley, who died after riding the X2 roller coaster in 2022 at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

“In all instances, X2 had many reports of injury in the past, and instead of doing a deep dive investigation into the ride, they did things like blame the passengers, the injured person for not sitting properly or holding their head against the headrest or they blamed an imaginary pre-existing condition,” Loranger said.

Six Flags permanently closed the X2 ride last month.

Georgia park to reopen

Six Flags Over Georgia is set to reopen on Friday. The Goliath, however, is not expected to be running.

The park, which has about a dozen roller coasters, is in Mableton, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta.

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writers Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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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.

Trantalis said the new facility also improves the quality and taste of the water while keeping up with all EPA standards.

Yellow water had been plaguing Fort Lauderdale’s residents for years.

It’s why resident Barbie Pearson and her neighbors stopped taking baths.

“Well I take showers so I don’t notice,” she said with a laugh.

The newly opened facility uses nano-filtration and ion exchange technology, which officials said removes the organic compounds blamed for the yellow tint.

Local government officials have maintained the yellow water from the former facility was safe to drink.

La ciudad de Fort Lauderdale inauguró el Prospect Lake Clean Water Center, que, según las autoridades, marca “un hito importante en la inversión de la ciudad en un sistema de agua moderno y resistente, y en el futuro del agua potable para Fort Lauderdale y las comunidades circundantes”.

La instalación está ubicada en 3501 West Prospect Road.

“Esta es una inversión transformadora en el futuro de Fort Lauderdale”, dijo el alcalde de Fort Lauderdale, Dean Trantalis. “Sabíamos que era momento de construir un sistema de agua capaz de satisfacer las necesidades de una ciudad en crecimiento durante las próximas décadas. El Prospect Lake Clean Water Center cumple con ese compromiso mediante tecnología moderna, mayor resistencia y el agua potable limpia y transparente que nuestros residentes esperan y merecen”.

La instalación, cuya construcción costó aproximadamente $666 millones USD, según las autoridades, reemplaza a la planta de tratamiento de agua Fiveash, que tenía casi 70 años, como la principal fuente de tratamiento de agua potable de la ciudad.

Trantalis dijo que la nueva instalación también mejora la calidad y el sabor del agua, al tiempo que cumple con todas las normas de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA).

El agua amarillenta había afectado a los residentes de Fort Lauderdale durante años.

Por esa razón, la residente Barbie Pearson y sus vecinos dejaron de tomar baños de tina.

“Bueno, yo me ducho, así que no lo noto”, dijo entre risas.

La instalación recién inaugurada utiliza tecnología de nanofiltración e intercambio iónico que, según las autoridades, elimina los compuestos orgánicos responsables del tono amarillento del agua.

Las autoridades del gobierno local han sostenido que el agua amarillenta de la antigua planta era segura para beber.

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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.

La policía indicó que la balacera ocurrió alrededor de las 11:40 p.m. en el apartamento del sospechoso en Millennium Condominiums, ubicado en 18671 Collins Ave.

Un informe de arresto señala que la víctima dijo que había estado “bebiendo en exceso” con su amigo de cinco años, Joseph Christopher Mattina, quien aparentemente “se había molestado por un tema que habían discutido”.

La víctima dijo a la policía que Mattina, de 53 años, salió del balcón y entró a su apartamento, y regresó con “una expresión en el rostro que hizo que (la víctima) se sintiera incómoda”.

Fue entonces cuando, según la policía, Mattina abrió fuego y la bala “le rozó el talón derecho”.

La policía informó que la víctima golpeó a Mattina con el puño, quien colocó el arma sobre una mesa. Según el informe, la víctima tomó el arma, la lanzó por el balcón y llamó al 911.

Después de que llegó la policía, los agentes indicaron que Mattina “declaró espontáneamente que el arma de fuego le pertenecía y que la había disparado accidentalmente”.

Según el informe, posteriormente se negó a hablar con la policía. Las autoridades indicaron que los paramédicos atendieron a la víctima en el lugar.

Hasta la tarde del jueves, la fianza de Mattina figuraba como “pendiente de determinar” en los registros de la cárcel de Miami-Dade.

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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.”

Los agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade identificaron a los sospechosos como Garrett Andre Smith y Tremayne Feonn Bates, ambos de 58 años.

Las autoridades informaron que los dos cometieron robos en múltiples jurisdicciones, incluidos los condados Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach y Orange, así como en municipios y ciudades dentro de las respectivas jurisdicciones de esos condados.

Según los informes de arresto obtenidos por Local 10 el jueves, el modus operandi de los sospechosos “generalmente incluye el uso de ropa de alta visibilidad para disfrazarse y múltiples vehículos, incluidos vehículos de alquiler a los que les retiran o cambian las placas”.

Uno de esos casos ocurrió el 6 de octubre en el condado Miami-Dade, cuando el propietario de una empresa contratista que realizaba trabajos de construcción en el centro de transporte Northeast Division Transit Hub del condado, ubicado en 360 NE 185th St., alertó a los agentes sobre un robo.

El propietario del negocio dijo a las autoridades que las imágenes de vigilancia mostraban a dos sospechosos desconocidos entrando por la fuerza en dos remolques y robando herramientas valoradas en aproximadamente $41,661 USD, informaron los agentes. Además, los investigadores indicaron que el propietario les dijo que habían cortado un agujero en una cerca de alambre en el lado noroeste de las instalaciones.

Los agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) informaron que se comunicaron con sus homólogos de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, quienes anteriormente habían logrado localizar y comenzar a vigilar a los sospechosos. Ambos fueron vistos conduciendo vehículos sin placas en el área de la terminal de autobuses alrededor de la hora en que ocurrió el robo.

Los agentes indicaron que observaron a Bates “conduciendo de una manera consistente con una actividad delictiva coordinada, que incluía dar vueltas y estacionarse cerca” de la escena del crimen en el centro de transporte “a una hora inusual de la noche, en un comportamiento consistente con el de una persona que actúa como vigilante”, según un informe de arresto.

Mientras ambos sospechosos continuaban bajo vigilancia encubierta de las autoridades, fueron vistos el miércoles dentro de una Honda Ridgeline gris sin placa.

Los investigadores informaron que observaron a la Honda ingresar al Aeropuerto Ejecutivo de Miami, ubicado en 14569 SW 127th Street, y estacionarse detrás de una camioneta de trabajo Ford blanca que posteriormente fue objeto de un robo durante el período en que las imágenes de vigilancia mostraban a la camioneta estacionada detrás del vehículo.

La víctima, propietaria de la camioneta Ford, dijo a los agentes que acudieron al lugar que le habían robado equipos de plomería valorados en aproximadamente $21,450 USD y que la manija de la puerta del vehículo había resultado dañada cuando fue abierta por la fuerza, según el informe.

Poco después del robo, los sospechosos fueron detenidos por agentes que, según los investigadores, encontraron “numerosas herramientas de plomería que coincidían con las herramientas sustraídas del vehículo de la víctima” en la parte trasera de la Honda Ridgeline.

Ambos fueron arrestados y ejercieron su derecho a guardar silencio, además de negarse a proporcionar muestras de ADN, informaron los agentes.

Las autoridades indicaron que los dos también están vinculados al robo de cables de cobre valorados en $29,500 USD de la Oficina del Supervisor de Elecciones de Miami-Dade, ubicada en 9385 NW 14th St.

El incidente ocurrió el 8 de octubre y quedó captado por cámaras de vigilancia, según las autoridades.

Los funcionarios indicaron que los robos cometidos por los sospechosos han causado cientos de miles de dólares en daños y pérdidas materiales.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que ambos hombres enfrentan múltiples cargos, incluidos robo mayor, robo en un vehículo desocupado, robo en una estructura ocupada, posesión de herramientas para cometer robos y daños a la propiedad.

Hasta la tarde del jueves, ambos permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, con el monto de sus fianzas pendiente de determinar.

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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.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, William Gonzalez, residente del suroeste de Miami-Dade, fue detenido tras el enfrentamiento en el gimnasio, ubicado en 9291 W. Flagler St.

Los agentes informaron que acudieron al gimnasio alrededor de las 8:22 a.m. después de recibir un reporte de una agresión con una mancuerna.

Según el informe, la víctima dijo a los agentes que había tenido una acalorada discusión con Gonzalez por el uso de las mancuernas.

A medida que el enfrentamiento se intensificaba, la víctima dijo que Gonzalez tomó una mancuerna de un soporte de pesas con su mano derecha y la lanzó contra él.

La víctima dijo a los investigadores que levantó su antebrazo izquierdo para protegerse, pero recibió golpes en el brazo y en el lado izquierdo de la cabeza.

Según el informe de arresto, los agentes observaron moretones visibles y un bulto en el lado izquierdo de la cabeza de la víctima, además de un rasguño en su antebrazo izquierdo.

Los investigadores indicaron que las lesiones coincidían con el relato de la víctima sobre el enfrentamiento.

Según el informe de arresto, cuando los agentes interrogaron a Gonzalez, este reconoció haber discutido con la víctima, pero negó haberlo golpeado con la mancuerna.

En cambio, Gonzalez dijo a los investigadores que había levantado la pesa en un intento de asustar a la víctima para que se alejara, según el informe.

Los agentes también entrevistaron a una empleada de LA Fitness que, según el informe de arresto, dijo que no presenció el enfrentamiento inicial.

Sin embargo, la empleada dijo a los investigadores que vio a Gonzalez persiguiendo a la víctima por el gimnasio mientras esta intentaba escapar.

Gonzalez fue arrestado por un cargo de agresión agravada y trasladado al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Hasta la tarde del jueves, Gonzalez permanecía detenido en el Centro de Detención Metrowest bajo una fianza de $5,000 USD.

Two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said the war needs to end soon, and he wants the Strait of Hormuz to open and a deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, said an agreement is “so far out of sight” and lamented the deaths of 20 military personnel.

“This war is driving up our energy bills and hurting Alaskans with no end in sight,” she said.

Sullivan said the best way to bring down energy costs “is to produce more Alaskan energy by and for Alaskans.”

The debate followed contours of Senate contests around the country, with Peltola blaming the Trump administration for rising gas and consumer prices and pulling back from traditional alliances around the globe, while Sullivan warned that Democratic leadership in Congress would undercut the military and curb domestic energy production.

The debate also took on an edgy, deeply personal tone, as the candidates repeatedly accused each other of being dishonest or misleading.

“I think that Alaskans have had it up to here with the lying and the dishonesty,” Peltola said at one point, addressing her rival.

Sullivan repeatedly accused Peltola of lying throughout their campaign and said “it’s revealed character challenges.”

Foreign conflicts and their impact at home produced some of the sharpest exchanges.

Asked about Ukraine and President Donald Trump's deal to buy Russian diesel, Peltola said, “I think it’s so important that we stand with Ukraine and our allies. We have been making new adversaries out of our traditional allies across the globe.”

“I think we should be doing everything in our power to help support them, not bolstering up Russia,” she added.

Sullivan said he was a strong supporter of Ukraine, then said Democrats were always “cutting our military, undermining readiness.”

Peltola appeared to be reading from note cards during several of her answers, at one point prompting Sullivan to question the moderators and say he didn’t think the candidates were supposed to get questions ahead of time. A moderator said they did not.

Visits by Trump on Tuesday to conservative Wasilla and by Vice President JD Vance the week before to Fairbanks, the hometown of Sullivan’s wife, underscore the stakes involved as both parties seek control of the chamber. Alaska last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008.

The contest is playing out in a turbulent political year in which voter angst over the Iran war, soaring gas and diesel prices and a rising cost of living have put the House and Senate up for grabs.

Before the debate, noisy supporters of both candidates gathered with signs — and at least one bullhorn — outside the Alaska Public Media studios.

There was a brief moment of agreement when the candidates were asked about the possibility of a third Trump term in the White House. Sullivan said it would be unconstitutional, and Peltola said that the law was clear, “Two terms for every president.”

The race also includes two Republicans who have done virtually no campaigning, including another Dan Sullivan. To participate in Thursday's debate, candidates had to win at least 5% of the vote in August's open primary.

Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher who dominated attention ahead of the primary and was called a sham candidate by the senator and his allies, including Trump, finished third with about 2.5% of the vote. Dan J. Sullivan said he received no invitations to any candidate forums.

The incumbent finished second to Peltola in the August primary, in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advanced to the ranked vote general election. Sullivan, a retired Marine, said the race comes down to record, vision and character.

“I saw her up close and personal. It wasn’t pretty,” he told reporters after the debate, referring to Peltola’s time in office.

He said Peltola was ineffective during her time in Congress. But in an interview Wednesday, Peltola said she worked well with Sullivan as part of Alaska’s three-member congressional delegation and said he was engaging in “kind of revisionist history.”

“Our delegation worked so well together the two years that I was there,” she said, citing as an accomplishment the approval of the major Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Peltola won special and regular elections for the state’s only House seat in 2022 before losing reelection in 2024.

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Associated Press writer Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

A trial is scheduled to start this month for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in the killing of 17 U.S. sailors, who died when an explosives-laden skiff blew up alongside the USS Cole destroyer off the coast of Yemen. He faces a possible death penalty. The proceedings at a U.S. Navy base in Cuba, where he is detained, could last up to five weeks.

Captured in 2002, Nashiri underwent waterboarding, beatings, and confinement in a crate for years in CIA custody at clandestine detention facilities. Declassified documents released in 2018 graphically described how he was stripped naked, repeatedly slammed against walls and left “moaning, shaking and asking God to help him repeatedly.”

Nashiri's attorney, Allison Ferber Miller, asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to delay the proceedings until the military commission has had enough time to determine his mental capacity.

A psychiatrist for the defense who examined Nashiri in August concluded that he is “not competent,” Miller wrote.

“He diagnosed a traumatic brain injury (TBI) arising from torture in CIA custody, a severe neurocognitive disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and major depression,” Miller wrote. “He concluded that Petitioner cannot understand the proceedings or assist his counsel.”

Miller wrote that Nashiri is not asking the federal judge to determine his competence but to delay the trial until the military commission has had “a meaningful opportunity” to do so.

The military judge had ordered a competency evaluation, “but left no time for a meaningful hearing” on whether al-Nashiri is fit for trial, Miller wrote, adding that the military judge has declined three times to stay the proceedings until the question of Nashiri's competence was resolved.

Lawyers in the case were scheduled to travel to Guantanamo Bay on Saturday, Miller wrote. The military judge left open the possibility for a competency hearing on Monday morning, the same day the trial was scheduled to begin.

The trial has since been rescheduled to start a week later on Oct. 26, according to Ronald Flesvig, the spokesman for the Office of Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay.

The Office of the Chief Prosecutor for military commissions at Guantanamo Bay did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Proceedings before the military commission were previously mired in delays and in legal challenges over admissibility of evidence from the torture-aided interrogations of Nashiri and over other circumstances of his trial and detention. Questions over the handling of Nashiri’s case, like those of other Guantanamo Bay detainees accused of planning and aiding al-Qaida’s 9/11 attacks on the United States, have led to constitutional debates and other problems.

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.

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That man has been identified by police as 35-year-old Elvis Centano.

It was just before 6 a.m. Tuesday when Centano was struck by a dark colored car near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 27th Street in Miami.

The driver of that car did not stop after striking Centano.

A police officer who happened to be nearby rushed to Centano’s aid.

Authorities are actively searching for the driver who just kept going after striking a man in the middle of the street.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

La policía identificó al hombre como Elvis Centano, de 35 años.

Eran poco antes de las 6 a.m. del martes cuando Centano fue atropellado por un automóvil de color oscuro cerca de Northwest Seventh Avenue y la calle 27 en Miami.

El conductor del vehículo no se detuvo después de atropellar a Centano.

Un agente de policía que se encontraba cerca acudió rápidamente en ayuda de Centano.

Las autoridades buscan activamente al conductor que continuó su marcha después de atropellar a un hombre en medio de la calle.

Se pide a cualquier persona que tenga información que se comunique con la línea de Alto al Crimen de Miami-Dade al 305-471-TIPS.

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.

Petey Halpin hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth inning and followed with a majestic bat flip as the Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 Thursday for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“It’s the second time he’s kind of picked us up in a big spot this year. And a really fun moment for him, great swing,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said.

Halpin watched the ball clear the wall in right-center and then launched his bat over his head and into the sky before rounding the bases. The bat might have gone higher than the 25-degree launch angle on his homer.

“I definitely threw it high. I think just the moment and that being for sure the biggest moment of my career, just the energy and the excitement, just kind of let it go,” Halpin said.

The home run and the bat flip energized Cleveland's dugout and the 30,101 fans in attendance at Progressive Field. Even though the game wasn't sold out, it was a strong crowd after the start time was moved up five hours on Wednesday due to the threat of rain.

“That was a nasty one. Didn’t even move either. I feel like he knew that the wind was blowing in and it still got out," outfielder Steven Kwan said. "So the bat flip that he did was just ignorant, but in a good way. That was awesome.”

Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings. José Ramírez had two hits and Nathaniel Lowe added an RBI double in the second inning for the Guardians, who have won five of their last six playoff games since trailing the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in their AL Division Series.

“When anyone does their job and gets the job done and puts on us in a position to win, everyone on the team’s juiced. It’s not about me or that home run, but it’s just the fact that we’re winning and we keep rolling,” Halpin said.

Chandler Simpson had a two-run triple in the fourth inning for Tampa Bay, which was held to three hits and struck out 13 times.

Game 4 is scheduled for Friday, though rain is forecast.

Bailey's infield single sets stage for Halpin

Patrick Bailey started the fifth with a chop that Rays starting pitcher Griffin Jax was unable to cleanly field. Five pitches later, Halpin connected on a elevated 95.9 mph sinker on a 2-2 count and drove it 385 feet into the stands in right-center for a 3-2 lead.

It was Halpin’s first postseason home run and only the fifth overall of his two year big league career. It was the first time Jax allowed a homer since Sept. 9, a span of five appearances.

“I knew I hit it good. I thought I got more of it, I guess,” Halpin said. “I knew that he used a sinker in a few times to lefties before, kind of as a strikeout pitch. I was on a hard timing trying to get the head out and it all worked out. He left it over the plate a little bit and I was able to make a good swing.”

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Jax wouldn't have been able to make a play on Bailey's chop, especially with the jump Bailey got leaving the batter's box. The sinker to Halpin leaked over the plate.

“He does a good job handling off-speed, so it was the right pitch. Just the wrong location," Jax said.

Halpin flourishes in lineup

Halpin got his first postseason start in Game 5 of the ALDS and had two doubles. He is 4 for 11 with a home run and two RBIs in the past four games.

The 24-year old outfielder also had a three-run homer on Sept. 16 against the White Sox, which put the Guardians atop the AL Central.

“He’s ready for whatever we ask him to do. He got called up when everybody got hurt, and he played an everyday role for us for a while. And then it kind of turned into a defensive replacement. And then kind of filling in for injured guys,” Vogt said. “I don’t feel like any moment ever gets too big for him. And so it’s really fun when you see somebody like that step up for their teammates.”

Another strong start for Williams

Williams allowed two runs in five innings with one walk. He is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings in four postseason games this season, including three starts.

Cleveland retired 16 of the Rays' last 17 batters. Daniel Espino, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith allowed only one baserunner the final four innings.

Smith stranded a runner at third in the eighth when he struck out Yandy Díaz in a 10-pitch at-bat, then retired the Rays in order in the ninth.

Rays offense held in check

Other than Simpson's triple, it was another quiet day for the Rays' offense Williams didn’t allow a baserunner and struck out five his time through the order.

Tampa Bay batters were retired in order in seven innings, and Junior Caminero had four strikeouts. Rays batters whiffed 13 times after combining for 14 in the first two games.

It is the first time the Rays trailed 2-1 in three ALCS appearances.

“Two runs on two hits. You got to be perfect to win games like that,” Cash said.

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The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Orlando, comes nearly two years after the House Ethics Committee said the Florida Republican had regularly paid for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl, purchased and used illicit drugs, and violated state laws while a member of Congress.

Gaetz had left office when the report was released and denied wrongdoing. But the report helped to tank his nomination to become attorney general in President Donald Trump's second administration.

Two women said they were in their early 20s in 2017 when they met Gaetz through Joel Greenberg, who was a tax official in Seminole County and is now in prison for a raft of crimes, including a sex crime.

Gaetz provided drugs and paid the women for sex, out-of-state travel, lodging and other expenses, according to the lawsuit.

“Much of the conduct alleged against me is false," Gaetz said in response.

“The lawsuit relies almost exclusively on a Congressional Committee report that didn’t allow me to confront my accusers. Now I will finally have that chance,” he said in a statement.

Gaetz also appeared to mock the women on the social platform X, sharing a 2018 social media photo of the backs of three women in bathing suits looking at the ocean in the Bahamas.

“I’m shocked nobody responded to their repeated cries for help, posted to instagram,” he said Thursday.

The lawsuit also names Greenberg, another man and businesses tied to Greenberg's family.

“Every part of this venture ran on an exploitative power imbalance,” the women's attorney, Spencer Kuvin, said in the lawsuit. “On one side stood a sitting congressman, an elected tax collector, and a former state legislator, men with public office, private homes, and money to spend. On the other stood young financially vulnerable women in their early twenties.”

Gaetz hosts a political talk show on One America News Network. He was recently appointed to the board of Triumph Gulf Coast, which oversees how Florida spends money recovered for damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

La jueza del Tribunal de Circuito de Miami-Dade, Marisa Tinkler-Mendez, interrogó a Sierra, sin la presencia del jurado, sobre su decisión de no subir al estrado.

“No quiero declarar”, respondió Sierra.

Después de confirmar que no deseaba testificar, Tinkler-Mendez le preguntó si alguien lo había obligado a tomar esa decisión.

“No, señora”, contestó Sierra.

Cuando el jurado regresó a la sala, el abogado defensor Khurrum Wahid anunció que la defensa había concluido la presentación de su caso.

El último testigo de la defensa fue Raul Banasco, un consultor penitenciario que declaró sobre las condiciones que Sierra podría enfrentar si recibe una condena de cadena perpetua sin posibilidad de libertad condicional, en comparación con las del corredor de la muerte.

Banasco describió las oportunidades de trabajo y los servicios disponibles para los presos que cumplen cadena perpetua. Explicó al jurado que los reclusos pueden ser asignados a labores en las lavanderías y cocinas de las prisiones.

“Hay servicios médicos en todas las prisiones”, afirmó Banasco.

Durante el interrogatorio de Wahid, Banasco también confirmó que los presos condenados a cadena perpetua sin posibilidad de libertad condicional están obligados a trabajar.

Cuando le preguntaron si los condenados a muerte también deben hacerlo, respondió: “No”.

Su testimonio permitió al jurado comparar las dos posibles condenas antes de decidir el castigo de Sierra por los asesinatos de Gladys Machado, de 29 años, y sus hijas Julia Padrino, de 6, y Daniela Padrino, de 3.

Sierra, ahora de 42 años, confesó haber asesinado a las tres víctimas en 2012.

Fiscalía cuestiona al consultor penitenciario

La fiscal principal, Abbe Rifkin, cuestionó el testimonio de Banasco durante el contrainterrogatorio y destacó las diferencias entre el corredor de la muerte y la población penitenciaria general.

Rifkin estableció que Banasco había sido contratado por abogados defensores en todos los casos de pena de muerte en los que había declarado.

También le preguntó si los presos de la población general tienen mayor facilidad para conseguir drogas que quienes están en el corredor de la muerte.

“Es más fácil conseguir cosas como drogas entre la población general que en el corredor de la muerte, ¿correcto?”, preguntó Rifkin.

Después de varias preguntas, Banasco estuvo de acuerdo.

“La respuesta sería sí”, afirmó.

Rifkin también preguntó sobre las medidas de seguridad adicionales que se aplican a los condenados a muerte.

“Hay mayor seguridad para ese tipo de persona, ¿correcto?”, preguntó la fiscal.

“Se les considera de alta seguridad, sí”, respondió Banasco.

La Fiscalía busca que Sierra sea condenado a muerte, mientras que la defensa ha presentado pruebas con el objetivo de convencer al jurado de recomendar cadena perpetua sin posibilidad de libertad condicional.

La defensa presentó pruebas de una lesión cerebral

La decisión de la defensa de concluir su caso se produjo después de varios días de testimonios sobre una lesión cerebral que Sierra sufrió durante su infancia y si esta pudo haber afectado su capacidad para tomar decisiones y controlar su comportamiento.

Durante la audiencia del miércoles, la fiscal Lara Penn cuestionó a la experta de la defensa, la doctora Erin D. Bigler, sobre si las acciones de Sierra durante los asesinatos demostraban planificación, organización y una conducta dirigida a cumplir objetivos.

Bigler, especialista en la interpretación de estudios de imágenes cerebrales, declaró sobre los posibles efectos de las lesiones en las áreas del cerebro de Sierra relacionadas con las funciones ejecutivas.

Penn la interrogó sobre detalles de los asesinatos, entre ellos las acciones de Sierra para separar a las niñas de su madre, inmovilizar a Machado e intentar obtener el código de acceso de su teléfono.

Bigler reconoció que algunas de esas acciones implicaban planificación, pero sostuvo que el daño cerebral pudo haber afectado el juicio de Sierra y su capacidad para controlar su comportamiento.

“Son conductas atroces, horribles”, afirmó Bigler, al subrayar que su testimonio no pretendía justificar los crímenes.

“No estoy tratando de justificar su comportamiento de ninguna manera”, agregó.

La defensa también presentó el testimonio de Mercedes Pedraza, madre de Sierra, quien fue interrogada sobre los antecedentes de consumo y venta de drogas de su hijo.

Pedraza, quien declaró con ayuda de un intérprete de español, dijo que no recordaba que Sierra le hubiera entregado dinero obtenido de la venta de drogas.

También contó que, la mañana siguiente a los asesinatos, regresó a su casa entre las 8 y las 9 a.m. y encontró a su hijo dormido en el sofá, comportándose con normalidad.

Pedraza abandonó el estrado llorando después de terminar su declaración.

Esta fase del juicio también estuvo marcada por la exclusión de un miembro del jurado el miércoles, luego de que expresara preocupación por el desgaste físico y emocional que le estaba causando el proceso.

Tinkler-Mendez relevó al jurado, un sobreviviente de cáncer que se recuperaba de una cirugía, después de que explicara que tenía dificultades para dormir y temía que continuar participando en el juicio afectara su salud.

Con la presentación de pruebas de la defensa concluida, los miembros del jurado deberán evaluar las pruebas de ambas partes antes de decidir si recomiendan para Sierra cadena perpetua sin posibilidad de libertad condicional o la pena de muerte.

Thanks in large part to a Final Four run at Florida Atlantic in 2023 and leading Michigan to the NCAA title last season, May has coached plenty of big games in plenty of NBA arenas and knows what it's like when those buildings are filled to the rafters.

And that means, when he officially starts as coach of the Dallas Mavericks in a few days, May will have a real sense of what's coming — at least from an surroundings standpoint.

“I’ve been in that environment,” May said. “Not at the level, obviously, but I’m someone who's big on visualization. I see myself there. ... But I have a real unique ability to, once the game starts, for 48 minutes to have 100% of my focus on the court and our bench.”

In other words, the coach of last season's NCAA champion truly believes he's ready for the NBA challenge. And he's not alone, with six teams under new coaching management this season.

May is one of three first-time NBA coaches this season, along with Orlando's Sean Sweeney (the former San Antonio assistant) and Portland's Micah Nori (the former Minnesota assistant).

Another trio of coaches got new jobs in the league — former Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins has taken over in Milwaukee, former Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley has taken over in New Orleans, and former interim Portland coach Tiago Splitter (who coached for basically the entirety of last season) is the new coach in Chicago.

“I think just in general, the way we’re approaching things is, ‘What do we need to do today? Where are we at? How did we do with it? What do we need to improve on?’” Sweeney said. “We’ve done a good job of trying to set high standards for ourselves and lay down expectations for each other and live up to that.”

It is possible to win somewhere in Year 1 as a coach — just ask New York's Mike Brown, who led the Knicks to last season's NBA championship in his inaugural season on that team's sideline. The coach of the reigning Western Conference champions, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson, got to the finals in his second season as coach of the Spurs (which, technically, was his first full season as head coach).

Sweeney and Nori were widely considered as being ready to become head coaches for a few years before getting their current chances. May had taken two schools, one of them a mid-major, to the Final Four in a four-season span, more than proving his ability to win. Splitter did such a good job under awkward circumstances in Portland last season that he was a coach of the year candidate, and both Jenkins and Mosley have had success at their previous stops.

Nori essentially accepted a one-year contract with the Trail Blazers, an extremely rare move, especially for a first-time head coach. He's betting on himself, saying that if he does the job the options for future seasons on the existing contract will take care of itself.

“I've been around a lot of — I think it's 13 — head coaches, so you start to see what you would do and what you'd like to do,” Nori said. “I guess the biggest difference, and they always talk about sliding over that one seat, is that it ends with you. ... It's your program now. That's been the biggest adjustment.”

Mosley was living in Florida a few months ago, never thinking he'd be in Louisiana now. But when the Magic decided to change coaches, the Pelicans didn't wait long before pouncing — knowing that Mosley would be a hot commodity. And Mosley says a change of scenery gave him an opportunity for what essentially is a reawakening.

“You get to do a lot of reflecting quick, right? You get to see exactly what worked, what didn’t work, how you can balance out what you do, the roster you have, you get to reflect on a lot of things that were successful and things that you need to work on," Mosley said. "That's what it gave me. And now look at the group of guys that we have here — young, energetic, wanting to learn, wanting to figure it out, hungry to get better. There’s so much of it here that it's easy to pour into an organization like this.”

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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”.

Authorities announced Wednesday that they had arrested Alexandros Paporakis and provided the additional detail about his suspected movement during a news conference Thursday. The leaders of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in a statement said a security threat had “targeted our Temple” and announced an increased security presence.

Palatine Police Chief William Nord said a red Acura RDX registered to Paporakis entered a temple parking lot on Sunday around 12:25 p.m. and left less than 15 minutes later. He was seen alone inside the car around 2 p.m. near his home in another suburb.

Paporakis faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a rifle. Prosecutors have said his co-workers at a Taco Bell location called 911 after Paporakis told them he “couldn't wait to kill Indian people” and said Sunday would be the “special day.”

Temple adds security after threat

Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, around 40 miles west of downtown Chicago, said leaders were in contact with police.

“Please know that the safety of our devotees, employees and volunteers is our highest priority, and we have implemented additional security measures effective immediately, including increased armed security presence at the Temple,” a statement said.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents Illinois' 8th congressional district, said he was at the Hindu temple on Sunday.

“I visited not knowing that there was an attacker lying in wait with a sinister motive to commit a mass shooting, and only because his AR-15 weapon jammed was he not able to commit a massacre that day," Krishnamoorthi told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Krishnamoorthi said he had increased his security in response to the alleged planned attack. He called on the FBI to “investigate and prosecute this particular matter as a hate crime,” and the Trump administration to release federal nonprofit security grants to bolster security at religious institutions.

“People are really shaken up,” he added.

Aurora Mayor John Laesch said at a Thursday news conference at the Council on American Islamic Relations' Chicago office that police were “made aware” of other scheduled celebrations and are reaching out to other temples in the area “to make sure that they know they have a number to call.”

Court records detail the accused attacker's words

Paporakis told a coworker on Sunday afternoon that his gun jammed and he left quickly, but promised to “retry,” according to prosecutors. He sent the coworker a video showing an AR-style rifle and a photo of himself wearing a tactical vest, they added.

Paporakis also sent the coworker an eight-page document in which he used racial slurs to describe non-white people and outlined a plot to kill as many of them as possible, according to prosecutors. He also described himself as a white supremacist and a neo Nazi who fantasized about mass murder.

Police arrested Paporakis later that day near his home in Palatine, which is located about 40 miles (64.37 kilometers) northeast of the temple. Detectives who searched his home found an AR-style rifle without a serial number, loaded magazines and “hundreds of rounds” of ammunition, a gas canister labeled with a slur referring to South Asians, a tactical vest and a patch depicting Nazi symbolism, authorities say.

Paporakis' mother was questioned, but she is not cooperating with the investigation, police said on Thursday.

At a Wednesday court appearance, a judge ordered Paporakis to remain in detention. His next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.

“This case is in the earliest stage of what will likely be a lengthy process,” the office of the Cook County Public Defender, which is representing Paporakis, said in a statement emailed to the AP. "We would remind the public that statements made by police and prosecutors are only allegations and that cases can change significantly as they continue to be investigated.”

The targeting of the Hindu temple is another example of heightened threats in the last few years against South Asians in the U.S., according to Stop AAPI Hate, the national reporting center for anti-Asian hate incidents. Online slurs and threats have risen significantly, co-founder Manjusha Kulkarni said in a statement.

“We are grateful this violent plot was thwarted and that no one was hurt -– but it doesn’t erase the fear Hindu, Indian, and South Asian people feel after years of escalating hate,” Kulkarni said. “Violence against South Asian people is not inevitable. It is fueled when leaders stoke fear of immigrants and people of color for political gain.”

She attributed some of the anti-South Asian sentiment to the Trump administration’s rhetoric around Indian immigrants who hold work visas. She also pointed to a Texas Republican last month posting a social media video of South Asian students cheering at a University of Texas football game and referring to them as “foreigners.”

The temple, like other Hindu temples and households around the country, has been celebrating Navratri, a Hindu festival that lasts nine days. It “should be a time for celebration and unity, not terror and hate,” Kulkarni said.

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Associated Press writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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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.

Zacharia sat down for an interviews with conservative media. She told the conservative Human Events outlet that she did not have time to get fully prepared ahead of her first briefing on Tuesday and that it was always the plan to keep it short because President Donald Trump would field questions from journalists later that morning.

“It was absolutely my goal to keep it short, considering he is his own best spokesperson, and he would love -- and does love -- gaggling with the media as he goes to Marine One,” Zacharia said. “So I wanted to give ample deference and not barge into his time.”

The initial briefing materials were given to Zacharia on Monday evening, then completed Tuesday at 8 a.m., less than two hours before she would appear before the White House press corps. She had been up since 3 a.m. preparing, Zacharia said.

“I never had a full briefing beforehand, and I went out and I effectuated the briefing,” she said.

Later, speaking to Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, she said she “probably should have stepped aside” instead of taking questions from the press corps without having time to prepare.

“I could have just given a brief intro and said, ‘I’m only here to introduce myself, and I want to engage with the press corps,’” she said.

Zacharia calls failure to pass bar exam ‘inconsequential’

As for her legal background, Zacharia said she was preparing to take the bar exam in California at a time that she had just gotten married and was readying a move to China to join her new husband, who had been working in private equity in Beijing.

“I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I’d been long distance from for at least a year,” Zacharia said.

She said the results of the bar exam, which she did not pass, were “somewhat inconsequential” because she would not need to be a barred attorney while living in China.

Zacharia, who has been under scrutiny for calling herself a “lawyer,” said she consulted several legal experts to ensure that title was accurate when offering legal analysis.

“It’s unfortunate that people dub this as some kind of conspiracy or want to put me in a camp. The truth is, I was very careful how I executed this, and I never came across as someone who was an attorney-at-law.”

She will not weigh in on legal matters in her White House capacity, Zacharia said.

She says she didn't lobby for the job

She also divulged details of how she went about securing the White House press secretary job. Zacharia stressed that she did not want to be seen as lobbying for the position, left vacant when Karoline Leavitt announced she would depart the administration to spend more time with her family.

Zacharia, who was a communications adviser for the company that runs Truth Social, said she closely monitored the president’s social media posts to determine what was top of mind for him, then would go on air to talk about those topics.

“My philosophy is, I’m on TV enough where if he sees me and he likes me, then I will be recruited for the job. I do not believe that lobbying for that job would have been successful, and I wanted to work for it. I wanted to audition for it."

Then on Oct. 7, as Zacharia was preparing to take one of her children to a pumpkin patch, she received a phone call from Trump about the press secretary position.

She promptly flew out the next day from her home in California to Washington, met with the president about the job on Friday and formally accepted the position later that day.

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Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed.

Bailey Martinez Jr., de 46 años, fue detenido por su presunta participación en el ataque ocurrido el 13 de septiembre cerca de Northwest 17th Street y Northwest Fifth Avenue, según el informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Miami.

De acuerdo con el documento, los agentes llegaron al lugar poco después de las 7 a.m. y encontraron a un hombre con dos heridas de arma blanca en la parte superior del pecho.

Paramédicos de Miami Fire Rescue trasladaron al herido al Centro de Traumatología Ryder del Hospital Jackson Memorial.

La víctima y un testigo dieron versiones distintas del altercado

Según el informe policial, un testigo que llamó al 911 contó a los detectives que estaba sentado en una acera cuando vio a la víctima pasar en bicicleta por Northwest 17th Street, en dirección oeste.

El ciclista se encontró con Martinez, quien caminaba en sentido contrario, y ambos comenzaron a discutir, relató el testigo.

Según su versión, el ciclista sacó una cadena e intentó golpear a Martinez.

El sospechoso presuntamente le arrebató la cadena, lo golpeó con ella y después lo apuñaló dos veces con un objeto que el testigo no pudo identificar, posiblemente un cuchillo o un arma punzante improvisada.

Tras el ataque, Martinez huyó hacia el este, en dirección a Northwest Fifth Avenue, según el testigo.

Sin embargo, cuando los detectives entrevistaron a la víctima en el hospital el 16 de septiembre, esta contó una historia diferente.

El ciclista explicó que se había acercado a Martinez para preguntarle dónde había conseguido un pedazo de pastel.

Según su declaración, intentó bajarse de la bicicleta, pero tropezó y cayó al suelo.

Fue entonces cuando Martinez presuntamente lo apuñaló dos veces y salió corriendo.

La víctima aseguró que nunca vio el arma utilizada en el ataque.

También negó que alguno de los dos hubiera utilizado una cadena durante el enfrentamiento, como había declarado el testigo.

Explicó que la cadena estaba colgada del manubrio de su bicicleta y que simplemente cayó al suelo.

La víctima identificó al sospechoso en una rueda de reconocimiento fotográfica

Según el informe de arresto, el 22 de septiembre un agente se encontró con Martinez, quien coincidía con la descripción del sospechoso que la policía había difundido.

El 29 de septiembre, los detectives regresaron al Hospital Jackson Memorial y mostraron a la víctima varias fotografías para intentar identificar al agresor.

De acuerdo con el informe, el ciclista señaló a Martinez como el hombre que lo había apuñalado.

Detienen al sospechoso cerca del lugar del ataque

El miércoles, un agente encontró a Martinez cerca de la intersección de Northwest Fifth Avenue y Northwest 17th Street, donde había ocurrido el ataque, informaron las autoridades.

Fue detenido alrededor de las 8:42 a.m. y trasladado a la Unidad de Delitos Violentos del Departamento de Policía de Miami.

Según los detectives, Martinez fue informado de sus derechos constitucionales, pero se negó a declarar.

Posteriormente, fue trasladado al centro correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde quedó bajo arresto acusado de agresión agravada con un arma mortal.

Hasta la tarde de este jueves, Martinez continuaba detenido con una fianza de 20,000 dólares.

El informe policial no incluye información actualizada sobre el estado de salud del ciclista ni sobre el posible motivo del ataque.

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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.

Talarico told rallygoers under bright lights that David may not have had Goliath's strength, but he had a slingshot.

“You are my slingshot," he continued, without mentioning Musk or the other spending against him. "We are going up against our own Goliaths.”

The description falls in line with Talarico's past rhetoric painting politics not as right versus left, but the ultrawealthy versus everyone else, as he tries to become the first Democrat to win statewide in over 30 years. Talarico's own campaign has raised record amounts of money in one of the nation's more expensive and competitive Senate races.

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 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.

Texas will help decide control of the US Senate

While outside spending in support of Paxton has flooded the Texas airwaves with ads, Talarico's campaign itself has outpaced Paxton's in fundraising from donors eager for Texas to forgo its solidly Republican title.

The prospect of a flagship GOP 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.

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.

The candidate 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 talk of affordability resonated at rally

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. That unaffordability, Talarico argued at the nighttime rally in Texas that was packed with younger voters, is because billionaires and corrupt politicians have rigged the system. It resonated.

“They think that they can buy us, and that they can essentially be the kings of the country,” said Kaitlyn Johnson, a 29-year-old bartender who attended the rally.

Johnson felt that Talarico put words to that feeling she'd held for a while, and the high costs keep nagging at her, too.

“I make decent money,” she said, “but there's no way in hell that I'm going to be able to buy a house anytime soon.”

Paxton has backing from Musk, Trump

Trump and Republicans are well aware of Talarico's ability to connect with voters, and of 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.

Paxton has received significant financial support from Musk, who last year headed Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Musk contributed $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, federal campaign spending filings showed Thursday. The Senate Leadership Fund gave $158 million to Texas PAC, the largest contributor to Paxton’s campaign.

Musk also provided $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group that supports Paxton.

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.

___ Associated Press reporters Thomas Beaumont and Joey Cappelletti contributed.

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.

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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 at the moment and that the former CIA director had not proven that the Justice Department was failing to preserve records relevant to a future malicious prosecution argument.

“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 in dismissing the lawsuit. “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.”

Lawyers for Brennan said in a statement that Cobb's decision addressed a technical matter of legal standing and was not based on their argument “that the Justice Department is using the criminal justice system to target and investigate him for politically vindictive reasons.” They said the government had refused to offer assurances that it was preserving records and communications that would reveal the "motivations behind its investigations of Director Brennan."

“With this lawsuit, Director Brennan has served notice that the government’s conduct and its document preservation will be carefully scrutinized in the event of any future indictment. Director Brennan will continue to vigorously defend himself against these baseless investigations, and he will challenge any attempt to use the criminal justice system for personal and political retribution,” said Brennan's lawyers, Ken Wainstein and Dan Gelber.

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 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 false statements investigation.

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

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 records they received from the government through a court order would help support their argument.

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

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.

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