In a post on X, the World Health Organization said the outbreak of the disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, and advised against the closure of international borders.

Officials first announced the spread of the disease in Congo on Friday, reporting 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths.

Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in neighboring Uganda, the WHO said.

Uganda on Saturday confirmed one case it said was imported from Congo, and said the patient died at a hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and the WHO said that a second case has been reported in Kampala. The two cases had no apparent links to each other and both patients had traveled from Congo, it added.

The 39-year-old Rousey ended a 9 1/2-year absence from MMA when she took the cage with the 44-year-old Carano, who hadn't fought in 17 years.

Rousey (13-2) wasted absolutely no time when the door finally closed, charging and tackling Carano an instant after the opening bell rang.

Rousey quickly moved into position and applied her famous finishing move, wrenching Carano's arm as the fight was stopped.

“I really didn’t want to hurt her,” Rousey said. “Luckily it was just beautiful martial arts, that’s what it is.”

Rousey famously won eight fights in less than a minute during her meteoric rise through MMA in the 2010s. When asked if she considered waiting a bit longer to go for the finish in a fight so many years in the making, Rousey laughed.

“Hell no,” she said. “My husband and my kids are watching me. I don’t want to put them through anything more than I have to.”

Carano was all smiles even after the swift end to one of the longest layoffs in pro sports history. Rousey and Carano hugged and shared warm words after the finish.

“I felt so ready,” Carano said. “I’ve never felt that good. But I haven’t been here for 17 years ... and I wanted to hit her.”

This improbable double comeback bout united two of the most important fighters from MMA's past two decades.

Rousey became one of the world's most famous athletes as she won the first women's title in the UFC, which only began to promote women's MMA because of Rousey's undeniable talent and star power.

Rousey first became interested in MMA because of Carano, whose athleticism and star power made her into a television headliner when the nascent sport was still fighting for legitimacy and acceptance in the late 2000s.

Rousey left the sport after consecutive losses, while Carano moved on to an acting career after taking her first loss.

After having two children and settling into post-fighting life on her farm in Riverside, Rousey seriously began to consider an MMA return last year. She immediately focused on a fight with Carano, whose long-thriving career as an actor abruptly ended in 2021 with her series of controversial social media posts.

Carano was happy to finally accept the comeback she had occasionally considered, saying she used her preparations as a way to overcome multiple health problems from recent years.

“Getting in here after 17 years was a victory,” Carano said. “Fighting a legend was a victory. I feel great. But she trained. She had her game plan. I have so much love and respect for her.”

The show at Intuit Dome was the first live MMA event on Netflix, which is moving steadily into combat sports.

Rousey has repeatedly said this will be her final fight, while Carano has said she doesn't know what the future holds.

___

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

Officials and lawmakers in at least six states — including Arizona, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — are going to new lengths to try to block rate increases proposed by utilities. Some are pressing utilities to completely change their model for financing major system upgrades.

The push comes during a midterm election year in which affordability is the leading theme in Democrats’ attempts to loosen Republicans' control of Washington.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat who is seeking reelection this year, is challenging two utility rate increase requests in front of the state’s utility regulatory board.

“I felt like it’s never been more important to stand up against the blatant corporate greed of our monopoly utilities in Arizona,” Mayes said in an interview.

The fights are getting noticed on Wall Street

The voracious energy demands of AI data centers have driven up electric prices in some regions and launched a moneymaking energy-sector construction boom.

For years, consumer advocates have tried to challenge the size of a utility's investment return in front of regulators. But maybe not like this, consumer advocates say.

“We’ve entered into this era of expensive energy and (demand) growth, and we’re seeing utility profits at record highs and rising utility bills,” said Matt Kasper of the Energy and Policy Institute, which pushes utilities to keep rates low and use renewable energy sources.

Utilities were long viewed as a stable haven for investors, with a reliable source of income and predictable demand. Because of that lower risk, the utility's sector investment returns are typically on the low end compared to other sectors, analysts say.

However, utilities — many of which are owned by multibillion-dollar, for-profit parent companies — have seen share prices perform particularly well during the data center expansion.

The investment returns that utilities get from regulators aren't the sole reason consumers' bills are rising, but researchers suggest they are a contributing factor. In March, the Energy and Policy Institute issued a report that said the profits of 110 for-profit utilities rose from just under $39 billion in 2021 to over $52 billion in 2024.

Mark Ellis, a former utility executive-turned-consumer advocate, said about 10% of the typical customer bill is what he called a for-profit utility’s “excess profit,” above what might be considered reasonable under long-standing Supreme Court precedent.

Instead of regulators setting returns above what the market might require, utilities should instead shop for the lowest-cost investor cash, much like someone might shop for the lowest interest rate on a loan, Ellis said.

Paul Ferraro, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, said that targeting utility investment returns is a political action, not an economic action.

“That’s an action that’s aiming to address the deep social disagreements we have about who should benefit from essential infrastructure,” Ferraro said. “But it’s not going to address the key challenges that the electricity sector is facing.”

That includes investment in modernization, expansion, renewable energies and distributed sources of power, Ferraro said.

‘Affordability’ has reached corporate earnings calls

Travis Miller, an energy and utilities analyst for Morningstar, said utility executives on earnings calls are emphasizing efforts to cut costs or protect residential customers from the cost to supply electricity to data centers.

“Affordability is probably the number one issue that executives and investors are thinking about right now in the utility sector,” Miller said.

If rates aren’t affordable currently, there’s no way that utilities can get the rate increases they need to boost earnings and dividends for investors, Miller said.

Utilities point to federal data showing that home electricity bills as a proportion of household income have fallen in the past couple decades. They defend the investment returns they are granted by state regulators as critical to raising the cash they need to appropriately maintain electric grids and ensure reliability for millions of people.

They also warn that investors will simply send their cash to utilities in other states that promise higher returns.

Critics call that fearmongering.

Earlier this month, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities launched what its president, Christine Guhl Sadovy, called one of the most consequential regulatory reviews in a generation, to question how utilities "should earn revenue in a modern energy system."

In recent weeks, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pressured PECO, the Philadelphia-area utility subsidiary of Exelon Corp., to withdraw a 12.5% rate increase, or $20 per month extra for the average residential customer. Shapiro, a Democrat running for reelection this year, then issued a letter to utility executives, taking a whack at utility profits and saying that the “20th century utility model is broken."

“We can no longer simply prioritize corporate profitability to drive infrastructure development," Shapiro wrote.

In a note to investors, one analyst called it “Quaker State Sticker Shock,” and the share prices of companies that own Pennsylvania-based utilities lagged their peers in the following days.

For its part, Exelon — the Chicago-based parent of Commonwealth Edison, PECO, Baltimore Gas and Electric and several other utilities — emphasized that it recognizes the importance of affordability.

Calvin Butler, Exelon's president and CEO, told analysts on its first-quarter earnings call May 6 that it was committed to justifying what it spends and keeping energy bills as low as possible. Its decision to withdraw its rate increase request came after conversations with “stakeholders” who said, "Hey, if you could partner with us to address the affordability issue and lean in, timing is not the best right now," Butler said.

In Indiana, Republican Gov. Mike Braun appointed a new slate of utility commissioners with a mission to face down rate increases.

Their first big test is a request by AES Indiana for a 10.1% increase, or $193 million a year more from ratepayers, said Ben Inskeep, program director for the Indianapolis-based consumer advocate Citizens Action Coalition.

As part of it, AES Indiana — whose parent company is being taken private in a $33.4 billion deal led by private investment giant BlackRock — sought a 10.7% return on its cash.

Inskeep said an 8% return — instead of 10.7% — would slash the proposed rate increase nearly in half.

In Arizona, Mayes is challenging a pair of 14% proposed increases that she said could be dramatically reduced if the companies are simply paid the cost to maintain reliable service.

“It’s becoming unbearable for the people in Arizona,” Mayes said. “And I think we have to fight back.”

___

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

After escaping a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the New York Mets' 6-3 Subway Series win over the Yankees on Saturday night, Weaver made sure to speak to the teammate who left the previous day's loss with a broken leg.

“When I saw him I just was like: `That was in honor of you. I even had your name written in my hat,'" Weaver recalled saying.

Only, the reliever admitted he invented that extra bit of inspiration.

“I didn't, but it just felt right to say,” he told reporters. “Kids, don’t lie to your parents.”

“Clay would probably be disappointed that I wasn’t thinking about him out there on the mound,” Weaver added, “but the situation obviously presented itself pretty quickly.”

A night after Holmes broke his right fibula when struck by Spencer Jones' comebacker, the Mets led 5-2 when the Yankees loaded the bases in the seventh after rookie right fielder Carsen Benge dropped Cody Bellinger's fly ball, allowing Aaron Judge to score.

Weaver, who left the Yankees in December for a $22 million, two-year deal with the Mets, sprinted in from the bullpen to relieve Brooks Raley. Weaver concentrated on “not twisting an ankle or something.”

“I run in pretty fast. I just think that’s more of an adrenaline spike,” he said. “but the first few steps always are unpleasant and then the ankles start to loosen up a bit.”

He struck out Amed Rosario and Trent Grisham on changeups after getting ahead of both 0-2, then got Anthony Volpe to ground into an inning-ending forceout.

“He was pretty fired up,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Weaver’s fastball averaged 96.1 mph, 1.4 mph above his season average.

“I don’t think he’s extra fired up. I think that’s who he is. I think that’s what he brings to the table every time,” said Juan Soto, who had a pair of hits and walked twice.

Weaver went back out for the eighth, his first two-inning outing since May last year. He ended the eighth by retiring Judge on a flyout.

“A little smirk," Weaver revealed. “I did say I would acknowledge him at the plate. I didn’t do that a few years ago, and he let me have it. But yeah, it was a cool opportunity to finish that outing against one of the greatest we’ve ever seen and one of best people you’ve ever known.”

Fans at Citi Field were loud, especially when Judge and Soto batted.

“I enjoyed every bit of it.” Soto said. “Definitely, there’s some weird words that they say out there. Most of them, I don’t understand it, but, yeah, it’s really cool.”

With four wins in five games, the Mets improved to 19-26 but remained last in the NL East.

“I think tonight I wanted people to know, especially my teammates, that’s what we’re capable of,” Weaver said. “We could beat great teams in this league and it just takes some fundamental baseball. It takes big moments. It takes some mistakes that we bounce back from.”

Holmes, who left the Yankees for the Mets after the 2024 season. likely will be sidelined until at least August. Weaver doesn't feel an obligation to write Holmes' name in his cap in the future.

“I certainly will not. That would violate a best friendship that I’m striving for and it would just be a little too much too quick,” he said. “He seems like a guy that’s got a lot of friends but not a lot of best friends, so that’s always a challenge, trying to just get something you can’t have.”

___

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

His niece, Jeni Balanay, lost her crops too — a mustardy green called choy sum, bitter melon, tomato. The leaves of her recently planted banana, coconut and mango have gone yellow, the trees unlikely to survive.

Across Oahu's North Shore, an area famed for its big-wave surfing, the small farms that help supply the island's food are struggling after back-to-back storms in March brought the state's worst flooding in two decades. Officials are pleading with farmers not to give up, stressing that local agriculture is crucial for the isolated archipelago.

“In some cases entire farms have been wiped out,” said Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. “These are farmers who were just days or weeks away from harvesting and now they have to start over.”

According to data collected by farming advocates, more than 600 of Hawaii's 6,500 farms reported nearly $40 million in damage, including to crops, livestock and machinery. But Miyamoto said the farm bureau estimates that the full extent of the destruction is much broader — $50 million at close to 2,000 farms.

A particular type of agriculture

For most of the late 19th and 20th centuries, plantation-style agriculture dominated Hawaii, as companies like Dole and conglomerates founded by missionary descendants grew immense fields of sugarcane or pineapple for export. The operations drew large numbers of immigrants, primarily from Asia and Portugal.

But that large-scale monoculture faded by the 1990s amid international competition, and officials began to promote smaller farms — some, like Kongphan's, just a few acres — with a wider array of crops that could be sold to local grocery stores or at farmers markets.

Worldwide shipping disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of having a local food supply in Hawaii, and the state in recent years has offered additional support to the farms. That includes money for infrastructure, a farm-to-school program and loans for those who have been denied credit from banks.

But they still face challenges. Unlike many of their counterparts on the mainland, Hawaii farms are often too small and diversified to be able to afford or qualify for crop insurance.

Many of the farmers are immigrants who were barely eking out a living even before the storms, Miyamoto noted.

The majority of Hawaii's farms report less than $10,000 in annual sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The flooding, along with high winds and power outages, killed or stressed livestock and destroyed equipment, vehicles and infrastructure.

Farmers in despair

Without insurance, Kongphan, an immigrant from Thailand, has been trying to obtain government aid and figure out how to level earth moved by the floodwaters. His niece has been helping him and other Thai farmers navigate the process. Available help includes federal disaster relief, one-time $1,500 emergency grants and long-term loans from the state, and a charitable fund that raised about $850,000 in the weeks after the floods. Many farmers also have online fundraising pages.

In an interview interpreted by Balanay, Kongphan called the floods “very devastating,” but said he will continue working the 5-acre (2-hectare) plot he’s leased for five years, growing vegetables he sells at farmers markets, a swap meet, and at shops and stalls in Honolulu’s Chinatown.

Kongphan pointed to a faint, thigh-high line on a plywood wall showing where the water reached inside his home, which he built from a shipping container. Inside, there’s now a donated tent, but he usually sleeps outside.

Flies swarmed as he carried a dirt-caked generator he hopes to salvage. Nearby sat a Toyota Yaris, covered inside and out in the same dried sludge.

Balanay, who learned farming from her mom after the family immigrated to Hawaii, isn’t sure she wants to keep at it. She recalled the torrent rising to her waist in seconds and wiping out her crops in the middle of the night.

“Will it happen again?” she asked. “When you look at the land and it’s all destroyed, you want to give up.”

The flooding is the latest crisis for Hawaii's farmers, on top of wildfires, pests and volcanic tephra — ash and debris ejected by an erupting Big Island volcano, said the state’s top agriculture official, Sharon Hurd.

“These are the farms that we really need to get started again,” Hurd said. “We cannot have them give up.”

Officials have been conducting tests to assure farmers that their soil is safe and providing them with seeds and plant starts, she said.

Sparser offerings at farmers markets

Some farmers have been unable to make it to farmers markets, a key source of their income. Many who do have less to offer, Miyamoto said.

Farmer Kula Uliʻi said her family has been bringing roughly one-quarter of their usual output. Instead of 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) of tomatoes at weekend farmers markets, they might sell 60 pounds (27.2 kilograms).

They lost starts that were due to be planted this month and face months of limited harvest, she said. She's unsure about the status of her farm's contracts with grocery stores, given that it can't meet demand.

Even the taro, which thrives in water, is lost, she said, after it was submerged in the contaminants carried by the floods.

“It’s all gone,” Uliʻi said. “We can’t use any of it.”

___

Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

They were promoting their new album “Double Fantasy,” but the two-hour conversation was wide ranging. Though the interviewers had been warned “no Beatles questions,” Lennon and Ono were thrillingly open. That day, Annie Leibovitz also shot the famous portrait of a clothes-less Lennon wrapped around Ono.

The interview is similarly naked. The two, particularly Lennon, riff on love, their relationship, creativity, life after the Beatles, raising their toddler son, writing songs in bed and much more. At the age of 40, Lennon sounds like someone who has found real clarity.

“I feel like nothing happened before today,” said Lennon.

In “John Lennon: The Last Interview,” Steven Soderbergh turns those surviving tapes into a documentary that does as much to demystify Lennon and Ono as “Get Back” did to the Beatles. The film debuted Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival.

“I was just so compelled by their generosity of spirit throughout the conversation,” Soderbergh explained in an interview Saturday in Cannes. “It's like the world took place in one day, in this apartment.”

Making it posed an acute problem. Soderbergh was resolved to let the audio play. He could finds ways to visualize much of the film, but that still left a large gap where the conversation grows more philosophical.

“I worked on everything that could be solved except that for as long as I could,” Soderbergh says. “Then there was the inevitable moment of: OK, but really what are we going to do? We just started playing and ran out of time and money. That’s where the Meta piece came in.”

Soderbergh accepted an offer to use Meta's artificial intelligence software to conjure imagery for those sections, which make up about 10% of the film. When Soderbergh let the news out earlier this year, it prompted an uproar. One of America's leading filmmakers was using AI? In a film about a Beatle, no less?

The AI parts (overwhelmingly slammed by critics in Cannes) are fairly banal and don't differ greatly from special effects. But Soderbergh put himself at the forefront of an industrywide debate about the uses of AI in moviemaking. For Soderbergh, who has made movies on iPhones, it's a conversation he's eager to have.

AP: At a time when AI in film is under much debate, you've been very forthright about your use of it here. Why?

SODERBERGH: Transparency is so important (in) that the world outside of the creative context, we’re not aware of the extent that this is being used and used to manipulate us. We don’t know because they’re not telling. We find out after, by accident, by some whistle blower. I’m like my own whistle blower: “This is what he’s doing.”

AP: Did you expect such a strong response?

SODERBERGH: I knew what was coming. I take it very seriously, and I understand why people have an emotional response to this subject. As I’ve said before, I feel like I owe people the best version of whatever art I’m trying to make and total transparency about how I’m doing it. But, yeah, you don’t say yes to Meta offering you these tools and offering to finish the film and not know you’re going to come in for some heat. That was part of the deal.

AP: Some fear generative AI will tear apart the film industry. You don't see it as a bogeyman, though.

SODERBERGH: I think most jobs that matter when you’re making a movie cannot be performed by this tech and never will be performed by this tech. As it becomes possible for anybody to create something that meets a certain standard of technical perfection, then imperfection becomes more valuable and more interesting. We haven’t seen yet someone with a certain amount of creative credibility go full-metal AI on something, and see how people react. I think it’s necessary. How do you know where the line is until somebody crosses it? I don’t think what I’m doing crosses it. Some people may disagree. I don’t know where my line is yet. I’m waiting to see.

AP: What kind of prompts did you give the program to create the animations?

SODERBERGH: Circles of light that come out of nowhere, things like that. A black rose that turns into a Busby Berkeley thing and then a red rose. I wasn’t very articulate to the people I was working with. It was hard to describe the things I wanted to see. The good part about this technology was at least ability to have something in front of me quickly that I could respond to.

AP: Did your experience give you any kind of framework that you think this technology should be limited to?

SODERBERGH: I’ve determined my rule is: It has to be necessary. Is it the only way to accomplish what I want to see? Is it truly the best way to do it? That’s the real question. You’re going to see a lot of people doing stuff with AI that fail those two challenges.

AP: There's the ethical debate but also an aesthetic one. This is otherwise a naked human dialogue.

SODERBERGH: I needed a way to follow them in flight visually, or I’m not doing my job. It’s hard to judge how long it will take us to find homeostasis with this technology. I think we will. Just looking at this technology in the movie making business, each department has or will have a very different relationship with it. I’ll have a different relationship than a writer, than an actor, than the costume designer, the production designer, the sound effects people.

Each creative person is going to have their own prism and be affected by it in different ways. Our inherent desire to have a simple template for how this is to be approached is part of the problem. I don’t think that’s possible. I don’t think there’s a one-size fits all.

AP: Regardless, the conversation in the film is deeply inspiring.

SODERBERGH: Especially his burning desire to destroy the male rock star myth — at a time when that was not the mood anyone else was in. That’s inspiring. What I hope young people who see it get out of it is: This guy told the truth about everything from the jump, right up through the last day of his life. He just was built that way. And he was constructive. He was very opinionated but also very thoughtful and all in the aid of: Can we do this better? Can we do a better version of human beings on this planet?

The parliamentarian's ruling, described late Saturday by Senate Democrats, said that funding for a project as large and complex as President Donald Trump's massive East Wing renovation is too broad to be included in the narrow GOP budget bill, which cannot be filibustered and only needs a simple majority to pass.

It's unclear if Republicans will be able to immediately salvage any part of the billion-dollar Secret Service proposal, which would fund security for Trump's ballroom along with other parts of the White House, including a new visitor screening center, additional training for agents and extra reinforcements for large events. Republicans said Saturday night that they are revising the legislation based on the parliamentarian's advice.

Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, wrote in a post on X that “none of this is abnormal” during the complicated budget process that Republicans are using to try and pass the immigration enforcement and White House security money on a partisan basis.

“Redraft. Refine. Resubmit,” Wrasse said in the post.

Democrats celebrate and say they will stop it again

Democrats have seized on the security request, accusing Republicans of dedicating precious federal resources to the ballroom effort instead of focusing on helping Americans with rising costs. Republicans have insisted that private donations will be used to build the ballroom and that the federal dollars are focused just on much-needed security enhancements.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took credit for the ruling after Democrats argued to the parliamentarian that the security money doesn't belong in the bill.

“Republicans tried to make taxpayers foot the bill for Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom," Schumer said Saturday evening. “Senate Democrats fought back — and blew up their first attempt.”

Schumer added that Democrats “will be ready to stop them again” as Republicans say they will revise the bill.

The ruling from the Senate parliamentarian is just advisory, but such rulings are rarely if ever ignored when lawmakers put together legislation that can pass with a simple majority. Most bills are subject to a filibuster and thus need 60 votes for passage — meaning Republicans must find some Democratic support in the 53-47 Senate.

White House security money is part of a larger immigration bill

Republicans are looking to approve a roughly $72 billion package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection until the end of Trump's term after Democrats have blocked the money for months.

As part of that package, Republicans included $1 billion for White House security enhancements, part of it connected to Trump's new ballroom. The Secret Service had requested the money after a man was charged with trying to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last month.

The overall budget package is providing another boost of funding for Trump's immigration and deportation agenda, fueling operations through September 2029. It comes on top of ICE and Border Patrol funds Congress provided last year in the big tax breaks bill Trump signed into law.

The parliamentarian kept most of the immigration portion of the legislation intact, though some minor provisions were blocked, including Customs and Border Patrol funds to hire, train and pay Border Patrol agents. Republicans said those were only technical fixes.

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, said Saturday evening that “Democrats are prepared to challenge any change to this bill.”

Americans shouldn't spend “a single dime” on Trump's “Louis XIV-style ballroom and throw tens of billions more at two lawless agencies," Merkley said.

___

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Mark Vientos had three RBIs and Juan Soto two hits and two walks as the Mets won for the fourth time in five games.

Carlos Rodón's two-run wild pitch/throwing error in the third inning and Vientos’ two-run double in the fifth off Brent Headrick built a 5-2 lead. The Yankees closed within two runs in the seventh when Mets rookie right fielder Carsen Benge dropped Cody Bellinger's drifting fly ball for an error that allowed Aaron Judge to score from second.

Paul Goldschmidt was hit by a pitch and Jazz Chisholm Jr. loaded the bases when he popped up a bunt and it landed behind the pitcher's mound for a single.

Weaver, who left the Yankees in December for a $22 million, two-year deal with the Mets, relieved Brooks Raley and struck out Amed Rosario and Trent Grisham on changeups, then got Anthony Volpe to ground into an inning-ending forceout.

Weaver pitched a one-hit eighth and Devin Williams, who left the Yankees for a $51 million, three-year deal with the Mets, pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.

David Peterson (2-4) struck out a season-high eight, allowing two runs, six hits and three walks in four innings.

The Yankees dropped to 2-6 on their trip, going 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11.

Grisham's RBI single put the Yankees ahead in the second but Rodón (0-1) again struggled with his control in his second big league start following elbow surgery, allowing three runs — two earned — three hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. He has walked eight in eight innings.

Rodón struck out his first two batters in the third before Benge doubled, Bo Bichette and Soto walked and the left-hander threw a high fastball that hit the padding above the backstop. The ball ricocheted into the air and Rodón grabbed it with his bare hand as he crossed the first-base foul line and in one motion whipped the ball to the backstop as Bichette sprinted home for a 2-1 lead.

Up Next

Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (3-3, 3.10) and Yankees RHP Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 5.19) were scheduled to start Sunday in the series finale.

___

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

Snell made his season debut last weekend, giving up four earned runs in three innings after missing the start of the season with left shoulder fatigue and inflammation, and the left-hander was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels.

The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.

“It’s going to be to take out those loose bodies, and it’s supposed to be a lot quicker recovery, so we’re encouraged about that,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday before the second game of the three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium.

Snell missed most of the 2025 regular season because of a shoulder injury, which limited him to 11 starts, but he was able to make six appearances in the playoffs. Snell had a 3-2 record in the postseason to help the Dodgers to a second consecutive World Series title.

Snell’s latest injury was discovered on Thursday, and Roberts indicated the 33-year-old could undergo a similar procedure to what Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal recently had in an effort to expedite his recovery. Skubal had a more aggressive type of minimally invasive surgery on May 6, which allowed him to resume playing catch and soft tossing just over a week later.

Roberts indicated it was too early to have a timetable for Snell’s return to baseball activities, but “I think just with the MRI, the scans and everything, we feel good about getting back to play sooner than later,” he said.

The Dodgers are already without closer Edwin Diaz, who had surgery in remove loose bodies from his right elbow in April, and starter Tyler Glasnow is on the injured list because of back spasms.

___

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

The “Wanny," as it’s called, houses sophomores and upperclassman.

He might poetically be the player hoisting the Wannamaker Trophy as the PGA Championship winner.

“My parents and I have been joking that maybe this would be a tournament that I would win just because of that kind of fact,” Smalley said. “That’s just kind of something that we’ve joked about even before I made it out here.”

Smalley graduated from Duke, loves travel to Disney World, and his mom and dad caddied extensively for him throughout his career.

Here's one more fun fact for Smalley: He leads the PGA Championship — not Rory McIlroy or Scheffler or Jon Rahm — and could close out his first career PGA Tour victory, much less his first major, on Sunday.

Smalley's recent hot streak stretched into Saturday with terrific play on the back nine at Aronimink Golf Club, with six birdies over his last 10 holes for a 2-under 68 and a two-shot lead.

The 29-year-old Smalley, out of Rochester, New York, has never finished higher in a major than a tie for 23rd. That came at Oak Hill in the 2023 PGA in his hometown. But his game has been trending upward, with seven top-25 finishes this season, including a second with teammate Hayden Springer in New Orleans and as seventh-place finish at Doral.

“I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, I’ve had that the last couple of weeks, I’ve been fortunate to play, fortunate enough to play well the last few weeks to where that’s starting to become a norm, if you want to call it that,” Smalley said.

The norm just might earn him the Wannamaker Trophy.

Take a look at his accomplishments in just three rounds at Aronimink.

Smalley (67-69-68) is the only player in the field this week to shoot under par in each of the first three rounds and he has a 54-hole lead for the first time at a PGA Tour event.

“Anybody who wants to play golf for a living dreams of winning on the PGA Tour when they’re younger,” Smalley said. “I recognize that I have an opportunity to do that tomorrow. I recognize that it’s on a stage that’s a little bit larger than most other tour events. I’m trying to downplay that as much as I possibly can just to make it seem like any other golf tournament, because essentially that’s all it really is.”

At Duke, Smalley set the school record for the lowest career scoring average at 71.32 and the single-season scoring record of 70.35. He topped Scheffler of Texas in a 5-and-4 victory in a singles match at the 2018 NCAA Championships that might be his biggest claim to fame.

So far.

Smalley will be paired in the final group with Matti Schmid tomorrow. Neither player has a win on the PGA Tour.

Rooting on Smalley in his third career PGA will be his parents, Terry Smalley and Maria Smalley. Maria has been on the bag for her son in the past and was even dubbed a “mom-ager" for her active role inside the ropes.

“She takes videos of me when I’m out competing in a tournament. If she sees something, she might tell me later that night like, `Hey, your tempo seemed a little quick today. What did that feel like?'' Smalley said "Or she’ll send them to my golf coach as well so he can kind of see things.”

The best highlight video awaits Smalley now, if he can hang on at Aronimink for one more round.

___

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

Two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that the four-time NFL MVP agreed to a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh on Saturday, ending a protracted decision-making process. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.

The 42-year-old Rodgers guided Pittsburgh to an AFC North title last year, throwing for 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He seemed to embrace playing for a team whose football roots run deep, much as he did in Green Bay earlier in his career, and now he'll be a Steeler for his 22nd and perhaps final season.

Rodgers reunites with former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, hired to lead the Steelers in January after Mike Tomlin stepped down following 19 seasons.

Rodgers and McCarthy spent 13 years together in Green Bay, where Rodgers blossomed into one of the game’s biggest stars after becoming the starting quarterback in 2008. Green Bay won its fourth Super Bowl and Rodgers earned two of his four MVPs with McCarthy calling the plays.

The arrangement will be much the same with the Steelers, though both player and coach are in different phases of their respective careers. This figures to be Rodgers’ last ride, and the 64-year-old McCarthy is almost certainly ending his coaching journey a few miles from the Greenfield neighborhood where he grew up.

The Steelers made it clear they would welcome Rodgers back, though a couple of artificial deadlines — first the start of free agency in March, then the NFL draft last month in Pittsburgh — came and went with Rodgers unsigned.

The club made the somewhat unusual decision to place an unrestricted free agent tender on Rodgers, a paperwork move that gave the Steelers a bit of protection should Rodgers have opted to sign with another team before training camp opened in late July.

It’s uncertain if a market for Rodgers existed, not that it matters. A year ago, he waited until early June to join the Steelers, then spent the next seven-plus months embracing the experience, earning raves from his teammates for his buy-in and his leadership.

Rodgers joins a quarterback room that expanded while he made up his mind. The Steelers selected Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of the draft. He joins veteran Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, a sixth-round choice in 2025.

Howard and Allar figure to be longer-term projects, and Rodgers’ presence will give them time to develop while also gleaning whatever lessons they can from a quarterback who spent three seasons backing up Hall of Famer Brett Favre in Green Bay before becoming the starter.

Pittsburgh also added receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard in the offseason. The trade for Pittman and the drafting of Bernard could provide Rodgers with more big-play options after teams loaded up to stop DK Metcalf last year.

While it seemed the question surrounding Rodgers wasn’t if he would re-sign, but when, it’s still uncertain when he might actually take the field with his teammates. Pittsburgh begins organized team activities on May 18.

Though OTAs are typically voluntary in name only in most places — particularly with a first-year coach — Rodgers’ familiarity with McCarthy’s offense and the opportunity for Pittsburgh to use OTAs as a chance to give Allar and Howard plenty of reps mean Rodgers could stay home in Malibu, California, until mandatory minicamp from June 2-4.

Either way, when the team reports for training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in late July, Rodgers will run out with the starters with the goal of leading the Steelers back to the playoffs while eyeing the franchise’s first postseason victory in a decade.

___

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

___

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

His putter failed him, and cost Scheffler a major opportunity in a tournament where no standout has emerged and led to a bunched leaderboard through three rounds.

Scheffler will still be in the mix in the final round — 14 players had at least a share of the lead at some point — yet the short game failures only stretched his odds at pulling out another PGA.

A four-time major winner, Scheffler missed six putts inside 10 feet, four of them for birdie. But he made a 9-foot bogey putt on 18 for a 71.

Scheffler shot 1 over in a round where he could have grabbed a healthy lead if not for the muffed putts. Scheffler followed an opening 3-under 67 with consecutive rounds of 1 over. He slipped 14 spots, into a tie for 23rd, and is 5 shots off the lead.

“If I continue to do what I’m doing and hole a few more putts, then I think I’ll be in a good spot when tomorrow ends,” Scheffler said.

The Scheffler who tore through the 2025 season, winning six times in a 4 1/2-month span, hasn’t arrived yet this year. Not even playing his best golf might be enough for Scheffler to pull off back-to-back PGA crowns.

Take last month's Masters, for a recent example.

Scheffler was trying to pull off what would have been an unprecedented comeback from 12 strokes down after 36 holes. He put a championship round together and shot a 4-under 68 at Augusta National, a terrific finish but he still finished one stroke behind winner Rory McIlroy.

Buoyed by that recent flashpoint for success, Scheffler believed he could play his way through a crowded field of contenders — from unheralded Alex Smalley looking for his first career PGA Tour win, to the blistering hot McIlroy — and shoot his way back to the top and leave with another Wanamaker Trophy.

Scheffler and McIlroy have won four of the last five majors, with McIlroy winning the 2025 and 2026 Masters and Scheffler taking the PGA Championship and British Open last year. They are ranked 1-2 in the world.

“It's quite literally anybody’s tournament,” Scheffler said. “There’s a lot of guys that have a chance. Going into tomorrow, just somebody is going to have a great round, and I’m going to make sure to do my best to give myself my best shot at being the one who has a great round.”

Scheffler continued to get heckled by Philly sports fans, who chanted the traditional “E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!” chant at the noted diehard Dallas Cowboys fan. He credited the crowd for creating a spirited atmosphere in the first major in the Philadelphia area since the U..S. Open at Merion in 2013.

Just one day earlier, Scheffler said Aronimink claimed "the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on tour, and that includes U.S. Opens.”

He didn’t complain about the pin placement on Saturday and his moments, including a birdie at 11 that had him back to even on his round. Scheffler had more pressing worries than pins, such as putting like a major champion rather than a weekday Aronimink member.

“It’s a challenging golf course and there’s a lot of slope on the greens,” he said. “The winds were quite heavy when we were out there this afternoon, and it’s just tough.”

___

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

La decisión marca un drástico giro para Alex Saab, por quien Maduro luchó con uñas y dientes para llevarlo de regreso tras su anterior arresto en 2020. Ahora, el empresario nacido en Colombia y descrito durante mucho tiempo por autoridades de Estados Unidos como el “recaudador” de Maduro, podría ser llamado a testificar contra su antiguo protector, quien espera juicio por cargos de narcotráfico en Manhattan tras ser capturado en enero en una incursión del ejército estadounidense en Venezuela.

La autoridad de inmigración venezolana emitió un breve comunicado el sábado en el que no indica explícitamente a dónde envió a Saab, pero señaló que la decisión se basó en varias investigaciones penales que están en curso en Estados Unidos. En el comunicado se hace referencia a Saab solo como un “ciudadano colombiano”, lo cual pudo haber sido un guiño a la ley venezolana, que prohíbe la extradición de sus propios ciudadanos. Tras su anterior arresto, Maduro y la actual presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez presentaron una copia de lo que dijeron era el pasaporte venezolano de Saab, afirmando que era un diplomático de alto nivel que había sido detenido ilegalmente durante una escala para reabastecimiento de combustible mientras se dirigía a Irán.

Una fortuna construida a partir de contratos gubernamentales

Saab, de 54 años, amasó una fortuna mediante contratos con el gobierno venezolano. Pero cayó en desgracia ante el nuevo gobierno del país que asumió el poder tras la destitución de Maduro. Desde que asumió el cargo el 3 de enero, Rodríguez degradó a Saab, lo despidió de su gabinete y le quitó su papel como el principal conducto para las empresas extranjeras que quieran invertir en Venezuela. Durante meses habían circulado versiones periodísticas de que estaba encarcelado o bajo arresto domiciliario.

Su traslado a Estados Unidos probablemente profundice las divisiones dentro de la frágil coalición gobernante de Rodríguez integrada por chavistas, llamados así por el movimiento iniciado por el fallecido presidente Hugo Chávez.

Rodríguez ha generado una enorme buena voluntad en Washington y ha logrado frenar cualquier conversación sobre nuevas elecciones mientras se apega a las exigencias del gobierno de Donald Trump de abrir sus industrias petrolera y minera a la inversión estadounidense.

Pero esas concesiones a lo que los chavistas han descrito durante mucho tiempo como el “imperio” estadounidense han enfurecido a muchos de sus aliados más radicales e impulsados por la ideología, algunos de los cuales, como el ministro del Interior Diosdado Cabello, ejercen gran influencia dentro de las fuerzas de seguridad venezolanas y enfrentan ellos mismos cargos penales en Estados Unidos.

Investigación en EEUU sobre corrupción

The Associated Press informó en febrero que fiscales federales de Estados Unidos han investigado durante meses el papel de Saab en una presunta red de sobornos relacionada con contratos del gobierno venezolano para importar alimentos.

La investigación se deriva de un caso de 2021 que el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos presentó contra Álvaro Pulido, un socio de larga data de Saab, dijo un exfuncionario policial. Ese proceso, iniciado en Miami, se centra en el llamado programa CLAP establecido por Maduro para proporcionar productos básicos, como arroz, harina de maíz y aceite de cocina, a los venezolanos pobres que tenían dificultades para alimentarse en un momento de hiperinflación desbordada y una moneda en ruinas.

Saab es identificado en la acusación formal como “Conspirator 1” y presuntamente ayudó a establecer una red de empresas utilizada para sobornar a un gobernador pro-Maduro que otorgó a los socios comerciales un contrato para importar cajas de alimentos desde México a un precio inflado.

Saab fue arrestado por primera vez en 2020 después de que su jet privado hiciera una escala para reabastecimiento de combustible en Cabo Verde mientras se dirigía a Irán en lo que el gobierno venezolano describió como una misión humanitaria.

Rodríguez celebró el regreso de Saab en 2023, que consideró una victoria para Venezuela sobre lo que calificó como una campaña de mentiras y amenazas liderada por Estados Unidos. Pero varios políticos estadounidenses criticaron el acuerdo, incluido el senador republicano Chuck Grassley, quien escribió una carta al entonces secretario de Justicia Merrick Garland en la que dijo que la historia “debería recordar (a Saab) como un depredador de personas vulnerables”.

Biden aceptó liberar a Saab en 2023 a cambio de la liberación de varios estadounidenses encarcelados y del retorno por parte de Venezuela de un contratista extranjero de defensa prófugo conocido como “Fat Leonard”. El acuerdo se produjo como parte de un intento de la Casa Blanca de Biden de revertir sanciones y atraer a Maduro a celebrar una elección presidencial libre y justa.

El indulto de Biden a Saab fue estrictamente limitado a una acusación formal de 2019 —el número de caso se cita en el propio indulto— relacionada con un contrato que él y Pulido presuntamente obtuvieron mediante sobornos para construir unidades de vivienda de bajo costo en Venezuela que nunca se construyeron.

Posible testigo contra Maduro

Si Saab es devuelto a custodia de Estados Unidos, podría convertirse en un testigo valioso contra Maduro.

El empresario se reunió en secreto con la DEA antes de su primer arresto y, en una audiencia judicial a puerta cerrada en 2022, sus abogados revelaron que, durante años, el empresario ayudó a la DEA a desentrañar la corrupción en el círculo cercano de Maduro. Como parte de esa cooperación, entregó más de 12 millones de dólares en ganancias ilegales provenientes de negocios turbios.

El abogado de Saab con sede en Miami, Neil Schuster, declinó hacer comentarios. El Departamento de Justicia no respondió de momento a una solicitud de comentarios.

___

El periodista de The Associated Press Eric Tucker contribuyó a este despacho desde Washington.

___

Esta historia es parte de una investigación que incluye el documental de FRONTLINE “Crisis in Venezuela”, que se emitió el 10 de febrero de 2026 en PBS. Vea el documental en pbs.org/frontline, en la aplicación de PBS y en el canal de YouTube de FRONTLINE.

___

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

At the same time, heat and humidity will continue building across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties, with heat index values reaching the upper 90s to low 100s. Breezy easterly winds will also increase the rip current risk along Atlantic beaches through the weekend. Looking ahead, tropical moisture lingering near South Florida will keep daily rain and thunderstorm chances elevated through much of next week.

Leer en español

For many customers, paying the electric bill is routine, with payments often set to autopay and little thought given to the process.

So when a phone call comes in claiming there’s a problem with a home, it can sound believable.

“The state of Florida has recently changed its efficiency standards. Your house has been flagged for an energy compliance review,” one voicemail says.

But the voicemail is not from a real person. It’s AI-generated.

FPL says scams like this are happening more and more frequently.

“Hey it’s Will from Florida Power and Light compliance department,” another voicemail says.

The AI-generated voicemail tells customers to call a number to complete a review and potentially receive money back.

“You can get up to $3,000 dollars in energy rebates and possibly a new air conditioner at no cost,” the message says.

But FPL says whoever is on the other end of the call is trying to collect personal information and demand payments in an attempt to scam customers.

“Call us back immediately and ask for the energy compliance team,” another voicemail says.

The decision marks a stark reversal for Alex Saab, who Maduro fought tooth and nail to bring home after his previous international arrest in 2020. Now, the Colombian-born insider, long described by U.S. officials as Maduro’s “bag man,” may be asked to testify against his former protector, who is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan after being captured in a shock raid by the U.S. military in January.

The Venezuelan immigration authority in a short statement Saturday did not explicitly say where it had sent Saab but said the decision was made based on several ongoing criminal investigations in the U.S. The statement's reference to Saab only as a “Colombian citizen” appeared to be a nod to Venezuelan law, which prohibits the extradition of its nationals. Following his last arrest, Venezuela's government submitted a copy of what it said was Saab's Venezuelan passport to a U.S. court, with then Vice President Delcy Rodríguez — now acting President — claiming he was an “innocent Venezuelan diplomat” who had been illegally “kidnapped" while on a humanitarian mission to Iran to circumvent the “immoral, imperial blockade" imposed by the United States.

A fortune built from government contracts

Saab, 54, amassed a fortune through Venezuelan government contracts. But he fell out of favor with the country’s new leadership that took power following Maduro’s ouster. Since taking over from Maduro on Jan. 3, Rodríguez demoted Saab, firing him from her Cabinet and stripping him of his role as the main conduit for foreign companies looking to invest in Venezuela. For months conflicting news accounts have circulated that he was imprisoned or under house arrest.

His removal to the United States is likely to deepen divisions inside Rodríguez's fragile ruling coalition of Chavistas, named for the movement started by the late Hugo Chávez.

Rodríguez has generated enormous goodwill in Washington and successfully stalled any talk of new elections as she bends to the Trump administration’s demands to open up its oil and mining industries to American investment.

But those concessions to what Chavistas have long decried as the U.S. “Empire” have angered many of her more radical, ideologically driven allies, some of whom, like Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, wield great influence inside the Venezuelan security forces and face criminal charges themselves in the U.S.

US investigation into food corruption

The Associated Press reported in February that federal prosecutors have been digging for months into Saab’s role in an alleged bribery conspiracy involving Venezuelan government contracts to import food.

The investigation stems from a 2021 case the Justice Department brought against Saab’s longtime partner, Alvaro Pulido, a former law enforcement official said. That prosecution, out of Miami, centers around the so-called CLAP program set up by Maduro to provide staples — rice, corn flour, cooking oil — to poor Venezuelans struggling to feed themselves at a time of rampant hyperinflation and a crumbling currency.

Saab is identified in the indictment as “Co-Conspirator 1" and allegedly helped set up a web of companies used to bribe a pro-Maduro governor who awarded the business partners a contract to import food boxes from Mexico at an inflated price.

Saab was first arrested in 2020 after his private jet made a refueling stop in Cape Verde en route to Iran on what the Venezuelan government described as a humanitarian mission to circumvent U.S. sanctions.

Rodríguez celebrated Saab’s return in 2023 as a “resounding victory" for Venezuela over what she called a U.S.-led campaign of lies and threats. But several Republicans criticized the deal, including Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, who wrote a letter to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland saying history “should remember (Saab) as a predator of vulnerable people."

Over the objections of law enforcement, Biden in 2023 agreed to free Saab in exchange for the release of several imprisoned Americans and Venezuela’s return of a fugitive foreign defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard.” The deal came as part of an effort by the Biden White House to roll back sanctions and lure Maduro into holding a free and fair presidential election.

Biden's pardon of Saab was narrowly tailored to a 2019 indictment — the case number is cited in the pardon itself — related to a contract he and Pulido allegedly won through bribes to build low-income housing units in Venezuela that were never built.

A possible witness against Maduro

Should Saab be returned to U.S. custody, he could become a valuable witness against Maduro.

The businessman secretly met with the Drug Enforcement Administration before his first arrest and, in a closed-door court hearing in 2022, his lawyers revealed that the businessman, for years, helped the DEA untangle corruption in Maduro’s inner circle. As part of that cooperation, he forfeited more than $12 million in illegal proceeds from dirty business dealings.

Saab's Miami-based attorney, Neil Schuster, declined to comment. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

___

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.

___

This story is part of an investigation that includes the FRONTLINE documentary “Crisis in Venezuela,” which aired Feb. 10, 2026, on PBS. Watch the documentary at pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.

Para muchos clientes, pagar la factura eléctrica es algo rutinario, con pagos configurados automáticamente y sin pensar mucho en el proceso.

Por eso, cuando reciben una llamada telefónica afirmando que hay un problema con una vivienda, puede sonar creíble.

“El estado de Florida cambió recientemente sus estándares de eficiencia. Su casa ha sido marcada para una revisión de cumplimiento energético”, dice un mensaje de voz.

Pero el mensaje no proviene de una persona real. Fue generado con inteligencia artificial.

FPL dice que este tipo de estafas están ocurriendo cada vez con más frecuencia.

“Hola, soy Will del departamento de cumplimiento de Florida Power and Light”, dice otro mensaje de voz.

El mensaje generado con IA les indica a los clientes que llamen a un número para completar una revisión y posiblemente recibir dinero de regreso.

“Puede obtener hasta $3,000 USD en reembolsos de energía y posiblemente un nuevo aire acondicionado sin costo”, dice el mensaje.

Pero FPL afirma que quien está al otro lado de la llamada intenta obtener información personal y exigir pagos en un intento de estafar a los clientes.

“Llámenos de inmediato y pida hablar con el equipo de cumplimiento energético”, dice otro mensaje de voz.

If you're a dedicated follower of Eurovision or simply curious to learn more about the contest's best bangers, we've got you covered.

Here's a list of the 10 best songs from the final, presented in no particular order.

Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu, “Choke Me”

If you’ve ever wondered what a Lady Gaga nu-metal pop song would sound like, look no further than Romania’s Eurovision entry, “Choke Me,” by Alexandra Căpitănescu. And it’s not just in her spoken-word interludes or that her delivery of “All I need is your love” is eerily reminiscent of Gaga’s “I Want Your Love.” But the track’s heaviness transforms it — and its performance is undeniable.

Italy: Sal Da Vinci, “Per Sempre Sì”

It began with piano and built from there: To unexpectedly groovy production, with the classist vocalist Sal Da Vinci singing his heart out to a new love. “Per Sempre Sì,” Italy’s entry, is a fun vintage romp for those who miss the Eurovision of yore. It works. And onstage Saturday, Da Vinci brought an effortless Italian charm.

Cyprus: Antigoni, “Jalla”

If Cyprus’ Antigoni looks familiar to you, it’s likely because she was previously a bombshell on “Love Island UK.” She might’ve come and went on the super popular dating show, but her joyous “Jalla” is here to stay in 2026. It’s a summery pop song that weaves in traditional Cypriot instrumentation, including çifteli and lute, making it the perfect soundtrack to the beach vacation in your brain.

Finland: Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, “Liekinheitin”

Finland’s entry electrified, as they were expected to do: They’ve been an early favorite in the competition. Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen’s “Liekinheitin,” or “Flamethrower,” is an animated mashup of pop singer Parkkonen’s anguished vocals and violinist Lampenius’ fiery fiddling. He’s an “Idol” finalist; she’s a globally recognized classical musicians. It’s a winning combination.

Moldova: Satoshi, “Viva, Moldova!”

What is there to say about Moldova’s Eurovision entry? Rapper Satoshi performs the cheekily patriotic “Viva, Moldova!” with his full heart, in several languages, in a chorus so addictive it almost recalls the anthemic work of anthemic Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap. Atop relentless flute, breakbeats, electronic production that doesn’t quit, it’s impossible not to root for them. Or, at the very least, to leave without “Welcome to Moldova!” stuck in your head.

Bulgaria: Dara, “Bangaranga”

In another universe, she’s Zara Larsson. Bulgaria’s Dara is a veteran pop performer at this stage — whose credits include “The Voice,” “The X Factor” and “Dancing with the Stars” — but global super fame has so far passed her by. Here’s hoping that changes soon, because her up-tempo pop banger “Bangaranga,” with its Nicki Minaj-inflections, is easily one of the most animated tracks of the bunch this year. And on stage, it was a mood elevator.

Serbia: Lavina, “Kraj Mene”

No Eurovision Song Contest is complete without a pop metal entry — it’s not etched into law, but it might as well be. Serbia delivered just that at the final Saturday night with the easy-listening, spooky “Kraj Mene” by Lavina. Heavy guitars are made airy with gospel harmonies. Screaming is limited and so is the breakdown. But they brought a welcomed intensity, and that’s worth celebrating.

Australia: Delta Goodrem, “Eclipse”

One of the most internationally recognizable performers of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest is Australia’s Delta Goodrem. She was a judge on Australia’s hit TV talent show “The Voice,” a former star of Australian soap “Neighbours,” and an artist mentored by Olivia Newton-John who once wrote a track called “Eyes on Me” for Celine Dion. (Dion, some might recall, won Eurovision representing Switzerland in 1988.) Goodrem’s full-throated singing style reaches new heights on her power ballad “Eclipse.” With stacked harmonies, virtuosic piano riffing and strong synth-y coda with a note that doesn’t quit, it’s a classic “Eurovision”-type tune. A wise choice from the woman from Down Under -- and one that certainly resonated on Saturday night.

Albania: Alis, “Nân”

It opens with a cinematic chant, a churchlike choir amplifying the theatrics. Dramatic, to say the least! Then, Alis, the vocalist behind “Nân,” takes over. It plays out like the soundtrack to an emotive transitional scene in a blockbuster — and on stage at the final, it continued to hold weight: He wore what appeared to be sequined chain mail in front of a screen as a woman, depicting a mother, circled him.

Belgium: Essyla, “Dancing on the Ice”

What is there to say about Belgium’s Essyla? Her song “Dancing on the Ice” is a cool ride: with its chilly vocal performance and Billie Eilish-informed production, the track is a decent pop tune in and outside of Eurovision. (Think of her as in the tradition of Ava Max.) It almost makes it seem unfair that she was a runner-up on “The Voice Belgique” instead of its winner. At any rate, it seemed like she wanted to use her performance at the final as a call for justice, or at least, recognition.

His voice was calm and steady after signing for a 2-under 68 for a two-shot lead. He recognizes the stakes and the stage for someone who has yet to win on tour.

“I’m trying to downplay that as much as I possibly can just to make it seem like any other golf tournament, because essentially that’s all it really is,” Smalley said.

One look at the leaderboard would illustrate this PGA Championship is wildly different. Fourteen players had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday. There was a seven-way tie for the lead with an hour left in the third round until Smalley's big finish.

And he's still left with an All-Star cast of contenders — 11 of them major champions — within five shots, a list that includes Masters champion Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Scheffler said when he finished with a 71, leaving him five shots behind. “I’ve never seen a leaderboard like this, this bunched up. Going into tomorrow, it’s quite literally anybody’s tournament.”

Smalley at least gets a head start thanks to six birdies over his last 10 holes that helped him recover from the rough start to become the only player to break par in all three rounds of the tournament.

His finishing kick kept this PGA Championship from having the largest 54-hole logjam in major championship history. Midway through the third round, 28 players were separated by two shots.

Rahm and McIlroy were among those tied for the lead at one point. Schauffele and Patrick Reed were right behind. About the only one who failed to seize on the moment was Scheffler, who missed six putts inside 10 feet, four of them for birdie.

Smalley's final birdie putt from just inside 15 feet put him at 6-under 204, two shots ahead of the group that includes Rahm and three ahead of McIlroy, Schauffele and Reed.

“The challenge can also be kind of fun if you do well. That’s probably the reason why the leaderboard is so bunched up,” Rahm said. “And it’s going to be such a good Sunday tomorrow.”

It starts with Smalley, a 29-year-old who spent three years in the Wannamaker dormitory at Duke, the name on the heavy PGA Championship trophy to be awarded Sunday. He is playing only his fifth major, never cracking the top 20. He's also winless on the PGA Tour, but he showed up for his first major of the year off three straight finishes in the top 20.

Key to his round was a 15-foot par putt on the sixth hole to stop the slide. He took the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th — 551 yards into the wind — stretched it two shots by reaching the par-5 16th in two for another birdie and then had a bogey-birdie finish.

Rahm had a careless three-putt bogey on the final hole that slightly soiled his 3-under 67 and was part of the five-way tie for second with Ludvig Aberg of Sweden (68), Matti Schmid of Germany (65), Nick Taylor of Canada (65) and Aaron Rai of England (67).

McIlroy began the third round five shots behind but with 29 players ahead of him. He blasted his way to a 4-under 66 — his 25th score in a major at 66 or better. His target was to reach 5 under, and it looked like he might get there until failing to birdie the par-5 16th and having to scramble for bogey from a plugged lie in the bunker on the 17th.

“I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow,” McIlroy said.

Schauffele had a 66 and Reed bounced back with a 67, two shots behind along with McNealy, who bogeyed the final hole for a 71.

The pin positions were far more accessible than the previous two days, as McIlroy had predicted. No one shot better than 65, though Chris Kirk had a double bogey on the 18th for one of those rounds. Justin Rose was outside the cut line on Friday until holing a chip from deep rough for eagle on his last hole to make it with one shot to spare. He shot 65 and was among those four shots behind.

“When you have a set of greens like this, you can start to frustrate people pretty easily,” McIlroy said. “It's frustrating to us, but at the same time, it creates a hell of an entertaining championship. If I wasn’t playing this tournament, I’d love what’s going on this week.

“But watching and playing are two different things.”

What a show, indeed.

The leading 10 players come from seven countries, four of them major champions. Taylor saw the leaderboards across Aronimink and kept right on walking.

“It's so bunched, it’s kind of pointless,” Taylor said. “I’ll definitely be aware late tomorrow, if I’m in that position. But with so many things going on, it’s just a distraction if you start looking at it.”

That's what faces Smalley on Sunday, when he will try to become the first player since Shaun Micheel to make a major his first title on one of the main six main tours in the world. A victory would also come with a $3.69 million payout.

“Anybody who wants to play golf for a living dreams of winning on the PGA Tour when they’re younger. I recognize that I have an opportunity to do that tomorrow,” Smalley said. “I recognize that it’s on a stage that’s a little bit larger than most other tour events.”

___

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

Leer en español

While attendees celebrated at the event, many were also closely following developments in Cuba.

The situation on the island continues to deteriorate, with worsening power blackouts and the Cuban government saying it has run out of oil because of the U.S. blockade.

The crisis has sparked some of the largest protests seen around Havana.

Hospitals are also suspending surgeries and facing severe medicine shortages.

The developments come as the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly preparing an indictment against former Cuban President Raul Castro, the 94-year-old brother of Fidel Castro.

Questions remain over what happens next, with some legal experts wondering whether the U.S. could move to capture Castro, similar to actions taken against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

For many at the festival, the situation is personal.

Robert Diaz, a Cuban American and longtime vendor at the celebration, said he is worried about family members still in Cuba and hopes Castro is brought to justice.

“They have to pay for what they’ve done for many others who’ve lost their lives,” Diaz said.

Another Cuban American attendee also expressed hope for the country’s future.

“I wish that Cuba is free soon. It’s just a matter of waiting and hoping things happen and the right people do their thing,” she said.

Diaz said he believes a brighter future for Cuba is near and described that optimism as the general mood at the festival.

He said this year feels different from past celebrations because there is legitimate hope that change is coming.

Mientras los asistentes celebraban en el evento, muchos también seguían de cerca los acontecimientos en Cuba.

La situación en la isla continúa deteriorándose, con apagones cada vez peores y el gobierno cubano afirmando que se ha quedado sin petróleo debido al bloqueo de Estados Unidos.

La crisis ha provocado algunas de las protestas más grandes vistas en La Habana.

Los hospitales también están suspendiendo cirugías y enfrentan una severa escasez de medicamentos.

Los acontecimientos ocurren mientras el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos supuestamente prepara una acusación contra el ex presidente cubano Raúl Castro, el hermano de 94 años de Fidel Castro.

Persisten las dudas sobre qué ocurrirá después, y algunos expertos legales se preguntan si Estados Unidos podría intentar capturar a Castro, de manera similar a las acciones tomadas contra el presidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro.

Para muchos en el festival, la situación es personal.

Robert Diaz, cubanoestadounidense y vendedor de larga trayectoria en la celebración, dijo que está preocupado por sus familiares que aún permanecen en Cuba y espera que Castro enfrente la justicia.

“Tienen que pagar por lo que les han hecho a muchos otros que han perdido sus vidas”, dijo Diaz.

Otra asistente cubanoestadounidense también expresó esperanza por el futuro del país.

“Deseo que Cuba sea libre pronto. Solo es cuestión de esperar y tener esperanza de que las cosas sucedan y que las personas correctas hagan lo que tienen que hacer”, dijo.

Diaz dijo que cree que un futuro mejor para Cuba está cerca y describió ese optimismo como el ambiente general en el festival.

Afirmó que este año se siente diferente a celebraciones pasadas porque existe una esperanza legítima de que se avecina un cambio.

Good Neighbor Day America partnered with VOUS Church’s Miami Gardens campus, which served as one of the flagship sites for the nationwide event.

To celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, organizers aimed to complete 250 million acts of kindness in a single day.

Here in South Florida, this distribution was one of those acts. Cars wrapped around the parking lot as volunteers handed out bags filled with food to families in need.

“This is actually our third food distribution so far this year, and we’re looking to be able to provide food even more frequently,” said Katharine Canals, a pastor and director of outreach for VOUS Church. “Right now, it’s a part of our monthly ‘I Love My City’ outreach, but hopefully in the future, we will be able to open up weekly food distributions from our location.”

More than 300 families left with food for their tables.

Leer en español

Organizers said this year’s event carried added significance as the Haitian community continues facing challenges.

“If you are in Miami in May, you’re going to see red and blue no matter where you go. I think that’s the pride of the Haitian people,” said Mia Lopez with public relations for the Haitian Compas Festival.

“There’s a lot of things happening in the Haitian community. A lot of people are kind of down. This brings everybody together for the right reasons,” Lopez said.

Those reasons included the food, pride surrounding the Haitian flag and the music keeping Haitian culture alive.

“This year we’re excited to have the renaissance band like Kogji that’s bringing that old feeling, that drum of traditional Haitian music, but we have new artists here,” said Annave Noel, talent acquisition for the Haitian Compas Festival.

Noel is helping bring new artists to the festival and hopes to continue evolving the event to connect with younger Haitian Americans.

“My dad is one of the founders of the festival and I told him something that is missing in our festival is our representation of Haitian Americans and making them feel like they can fit in coming to a festival where mostly Creole -- that is all you hear,” Noel said. “It can be a little intimidating on how I can be Haitian enough in my space.”

This year, local artists mixed Haitian Kreyol and English while taking center stage, creating music meant to reach a broader audience.

“Burger Marty brings how he’s so proud to show his Haitian culture and still make it Americanized,” Noel said.

“It’s limitless. I feel like we’re not bound to just the Caribbean because so many of us are acclimating to the culture here especially with what’s going on back at home,” she added.

The festival featured more than a dozen artists and continued at NoMi Village through 11 p.m. Saturday.

Los organizadores dijeron que el evento de este año tuvo un significado adicional mientras la comunidad haitiana continúa enfrentando desafíos.

“Si estás en Miami en mayo, vas a ver rojo y azul sin importar a dónde vayas. Creo que ese es el orgullo del pueblo haitiano”, dijo Mia Lopez, de relaciones públicas del Festival Compas Haitiano.

“Están ocurriendo muchas cosas en la comunidad haitiana. Mucha gente está un poco desanimada. Esto reúne a todos por las razones correctas”, dijo Lopez.

Esas razones incluyeron la comida, el orgullo en torno a la bandera haitiana y la música que mantiene viva la cultura haitiana.

“Este año estamos emocionados de tener bandas de renacimiento como Kogji, que trae esa sensación antigua, ese tambor de la música tradicional haitiana, pero también tenemos nuevos artistas aquí”, dijo Annave Noel, encargada de adquisición de talento para el Festival Compas Haitiano.

Noel está ayudando a llevar nuevos artistas al festival y espera seguir evolucionando el evento para conectar con los jóvenes haitiano-estadounidenses.

“Mi papá es uno de los fundadores del festival y le dije que algo que falta en nuestro festival es la representación de los haitiano-estadounidenses y hacer que sientan que pueden encajar viniendo a un festival donde mayormente se escucha criollo”, dijo Noel. “Puede ser un poco intimidante pensar cómo puedo ser lo suficientemente haitiana en mi espacio”.

Este año, artistas locales mezclaron criollo haitiano e inglés mientras se presentaban en el escenario principal, creando música destinada a llegar a una audiencia más amplia.

“Burger Marty demuestra lo orgulloso que está de mostrar su cultura haitiana y al mismo tiempo hacerla americanizada”, dijo Noel.

“No tiene límites. Siento que no estamos atados solo al Caribe porque muchos de nosotros nos estamos adaptando a la cultura aquí, especialmente con lo que está ocurriendo en nuestro país”, agregó.

El festival contó con más de una docena de artistas y continuó en NoMi Village hasta las 11 p.m. del sábado.

Here’s one spoiler alert: Miami will not have any primetime games in 2026.

Below is a game-by-game breakdown of the Dolphins’ 2026 schedule.

Week 1 at Las Vegas Raiders (Sept. 13, 4:25 p.m. ET)

As mentioned Thursday, it will mark the third time in franchise history that the Dolphins open a season against the Raiders (1966, 1975) - including Miami’s first game as a franchise in 1966. No. 1 overall pick and rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who grew up in Miami, could face the team he grew up watching.

Week 2 at San Francisco 49ers (Sept. 20, 4:25 p.m. ET)

The Dolphins will stay on the West Coast and visit Levi’s Stadium, where quarterback Brock Purdy and a vicious 49ers defense await. Interestingly enough, Purdy’s first NFL appearance came against the Dolphins on Dec. 4, 2022, when he threw two touchdown passes in a 33-17 win over Miami.

Week 3 vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Sept. 27, 1 p.m. ET)

Hafley’s first regular-season game at Hard Rock Stadium will feature quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion; tight end Travis Kelce; and, well, maybe Taylor Swift. It will also be Dolphins fans’ first in-person look at quarterback Malik Willis.

Week 4 at Minnesota Vikings (Oct. 4, 4:05 p.m. ET)

Miami will see a very familiar face in former head coach Brian Flores, who has become one of the NFL’s better defensive coordinators since being fired in Miami. Similar to Las Vegas’ situation, the Vikings are dealing with a quarterback controversy involving Kyler Murray, acquired this offseason, and J.J. McCarthy.

Week 5 vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Oct. 11, 1 p.m. ET)

It was a nightmare for the Dolphins the last time the Bengals flew to Miami Gardens, as quarterback Joe Burrow torched Miami’s defense for 309 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 45-21 blowout win on Dec. 21, 2025. The classic Tua Tagovailoa-Burrow matchup no longer exists in Miami, with Tagovailoa now with the Atlanta Falcons.

Week 6 Bye (Oct. 18)

It is no secret that the Dolphins have a daunting early schedule, but in terms of keeping players healthy throughout a long, 17-game season, having their bye week in mid-October may be a benefit for a young Dolphins squad.

Week 7 at New York Jets (Oct. 25, 1 p.m. ET)

The Dolphins’ first divisional matchup of the 2026 season will be on the road against the Jets in late October. Welcome back to New York, Geno Smith, who was born in Miramar, Florida, and whom the Raiders traded to the Jets for draft compensation.

Week 8 vs. New England (Nov. 1, 4:25 p.m. ET)

The Super Bowl runner-up from a season ago will make its annual trip to South Florida to start the month of November. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has taken the next step under head coach Mike Vrabel and will look to continue that success against Sean Duggan’s defense. This is Miami’s only late-window home game of the season.

Week 9 vs. Detroit Lions (Nov. 8, 1 p.m. ET)

Another familiar face Dolphins fans can look forward to seeing is Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Campbell, 50, took over as interim head coach after Joe Philbin was relieved of his duties during the 2015 season. Detroit has an explosive offense, featuring running back Jahmyr Gibbs; quarterback Jared Goff; tight end Sam LaPorta; and wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

Week 10 at Indianapolis Colts (Nov. 15, 1 p.m. ET)

It remains to be seen whether Colts quarterback Daniel Jones will be the starter after Jones tore his Achilles tendon in December 2025 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Dolphins fans would rather not talk about the previous meeting between the two teams at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Week 11 at Buffalo Bills (Nov. 22, 1 p.m. ET)

The Bills are set to open their brand-new Highmark Stadium ahead of the 2026 season, so this will be the Dolphins’ first visit there. Hafley is hoping to do something previous Dolphins head coaches could not accomplish, and that is have success against quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills. Including the playoffs, Miami is an abysmal 3-16 against Buffalo since 2017.

Week 12 vs. New York Jets (Nov. 29, 1 p.m. ET)

The top storyline for this game may be draft positioning, with the loser in the driver’s seat for a higher first-round pick. By this time, Dolphins fans will have a larger sample size to determine whether Willis is their quarterback of the future.

Week 13 at Denver Broncos (Dec. 6, 4:05 p.m. ET)

Dolphins fans who are traveling to Empower Field at Mile High may want to consider bringing plenty of layers to stay warm. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is in the process of recovering from a devastating right ankle injury suffered in their playoff win over the Bills last season, which ultimately required surgery, but he is expected to play in this game, assuming he is medically cleared. And before I forget, the Dolphins will also see their former teammate, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who spent the first five seasons of his career in Miami Gardens.

Week 14 vs. Chicago Bears (Dec. 13, 1 p.m. ET)

It should be a perfect afternoon for football in Miami Gardens, with cooler temperatures expected to set in. For all of you Ben Johnson nerds, get your tickets now. The Bears are one of the more fun teams to watch in the NFL.

Week 15 at Green Bay Packers (Dec. 20, 1 p.m. ET)

I know we’re only in May, but Hafley, Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, and Willis already have this date circled on their calendars at the team facility. Another cold December game, and temperatures may be well below freezing.

Week 16 vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Dec. 27, 1 p.m. ET)

Gone are the memorable debates about whether the Dolphins should have selected Justin Herbert over Tagovailoa in the first round back in 2020, but there are other big storylines - notably the return of former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, now the offensive coordinator in Los Angeles after four seasons with Miami.

Week 17 vs. Buffalo (Jan. 3, 2027, 1 p.m. ET)

Upsets happen every season in the NFL, and one big upset in 2025 came at Hard Rock Stadium, when the Miami Dolphins bullied the Buffalo Bills 30-13 on Nov. 9, a game that saw Dolphins running back De’Von Achane — who was recently awarded a new contract extension — run for a game-high 174 yards and two touchdowns.

Week 18 at New England Patriots (TBD flex game)

For the second straight season, the Miami Dolphins will close the regular season at Gillette Stadium, and yet it’s another cold-weather game for Miami — a narrative they’re looking to kill well before Week 18. Second-year quarterback Quinn Ewers started the season finale in 2025.

Leer en español

Deputies said they took Andrew Lee Jansen, 28, whom they described as a “wanted fugitive,” into custody on Saturday morning.

Andrew Beckham, of Aurora, Colorado, told Local 10 News that he had hired Jansen to watch his home and dog, named Maverick, while he was deployed.

In early April, while he was overseas, both Maverick and Jansen disappeared, Beckham said. His blue Subaru was also stolen.

Home surveillance video shows the two leaving the house on April 2. Aurora police say the car was found in nearby Denver about a month later with Maverick dead inside.

Authorities said they took Jansen into custody after he interfered with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue who were trying to help his father.

They said deputies responded to help and Jansen ran.

“An off-duty deputy working at Jackson South Hospital was able to identify and apprehend the subject when he arrived at the hospital to visit his father who was transported there by MDFR,” an MDSO news release states.

Deputies took Jansen to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was pictured in his booking photo still wearing his hospital visitor sticker.

Authorities said he’s now set to be extradited to Colorado.

Los agentes informaron que arrestaron el sábado por la mañana a Andrew Lee Jansen, de 28 años, a quien describieron como un “fugitivo buscado”.

Andrew Beckham, de Aurora, Colorado, dijo a Local 10 News que había contratado a Jansen para cuidar su casa y a su perro, llamado Maverick, mientras estaba desplegado en servicio militar.

A principios de abril, mientras se encontraba en el extranjero, tanto Maverick como Jansen desaparecieron, dijo Beckham. Su Subaru azul también fue robado.

Un video de vigilancia de la vivienda muestra a ambos saliendo de la casa el 2 de abril. La policía de Aurora indicó que el auto fue encontrado aproximadamente un mes después en Denver, con Maverick muerto dentro.

Las autoridades dijeron que arrestaron a Jansen después de que interfiriera con Miami-Dade Fire Rescue mientras intentaban ayudar a su padre.

Indicaron que los agentes respondieron para ayudar y Jansen salió corriendo.

“Un agente fuera de servicio que trabajaba en Jackson South Hospital pudo identificar y detener al sujeto cuando llegó al hospital para visitar a su padre, quien fue transportado allí por MDFR”, señala un comunicado de prensa de la MDSO.

Los agentes trasladaron a Jansen al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde fue fotografiado en su ficha policial aún usando la etiqueta de visitante del hospital.

Las autoridades dijeron que ahora será extraditado a Colorado.

His club was boosted to a win over the Royals Friday night and again on Saturday by a group of college players in the right-field seats who took off and waved their shirts as they sang, chanted and drew others into the fray.

Marmol loved it so much that he bought tickets for shirtless revelers this weekend.

“Last night’s atmosphere was electric. Let’s run it back this weekend,” Marmol said in a social media post. “I’ll buy tickets for fans who want to sit in the right field Loge and bring the energy.”

It all began when the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team, known as the Lumberjacks, was in nearby Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team, and 17 players attended.

By the time Yohel Pozo hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning, the Lumberjacks had other fans — and even the mascot Fredbird — joining in on the ruckus.

“Whoever started that in right field, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure they come every game,” Marmol said Friday night. “Because that was awesome. Not only them, but everybody that showed up today. That was a fun environment.”

The college players were back Saturday, when they shouted Marmol's name numerous times along with “M-V-P!” when Jordan Walker came to bat. Other fans in the stadium joined in on the fun.

“I heard it pretty clear,” Marmol said. “Welcome back to Busch. It was cool to see them back. The environment was awesome. We feed off that.”

Will he keep buying tickets?

“I'll go broke,” Marmol quipped.

The “tarps off” trend — celebrating by taking a shirt off and waving it — is not new to sports, but it was to Busch Stadium.

Friday night's fans may have inadvertently created a new tradition.

The fans sang soccer chants and shouted players’ names. The stadium organist, Dwayne Hilton, played accompanying music and got everyone involved.

The party had grown to multiple sections by the 11th inning.

“It creates an environment where, it’s not only filling this place up, it’s making it a tough place for other teams to come in and play,” Marmol said Friday. “That was pretty damn cool. I’ll sign up for that, any day.”

The Cardinals said Marmol bought right-field tickets for both games this weekend, and all of them were snapped up by Saturday afternoon.

The Lumberjacks returned to Busch Stadium after a come-from-behind 9-8 win over Stony Brook earlier in the day.

St. Louis beat Kansas City 4-2 on Saturday and the Cardinals rewarded the Lumberjacks, who were given swag bags of hats and shirts.

They also were invited into the clubhouse and Marmol's office after the game. Several Cardinals posed for photos with them and some even gave away bats and baseballs.

Masyn Winn, who is in his third full season, marveled at the energy in the stadium.

“I've never been in a playoff but this was a playoff atmosphere,” Winn said. “It's hard not to have fun when the fans are like that. We've got the best fans in the world but it seems like the younger generation makes it more like a college atmosphere. I think it's good for the game.”

Freshman pitcher Caleb Cummings, of League City, Texas, couldn't believe his good fortune.

“I don't even know what to say,” Cummings said. “It's the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. We're in the clubhouse. It's just crazy.

“The Cardinals are a great organization and led by a great manager.”

Cummings is a St. Louis fan now.

“I didn't think I'd ever switch. I'm a diehard Astros fan but man, the Cardinals just showed me so much this weekend,” Cummings said.

The college crew may be back Sunday, but they have their own game to play at 7 p.m.

___

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

Félicien Kabuga, 91, was accused of encouraging and bankrolling the mass killing of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority. His trial began in 2022, nearly three decades after the 100-day massacre that left 800,000 dead.

In 2023, the judges declared him unfit to continue standing trial because he had dementia and said they would establish a procedure to continue hearing evidence without the possibility of convicting him.

On Saturday, the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals said in a statement that Kabuga died while hospitalized in The Hague, and the medical officer of the U.N. Detention Unit was notified immediately.

An investigation into his death has been ordered to establish the circumstances of how he died, the statement said.

An arrest warrant for Kabuga was issued in 2013, and a $5 million bounty was announced. He was arrested in 2020 in France, and his trial started in 2022.

Kabuga was charged with genocide, incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, as well as persecution, extermination and murder. He pleaded not guilty. If he had been convicted, he would have faced a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

After the court declared him unfit to stand trial, he remained in detention, pending the resolution of the issue of his provisional release to a state willing to accept him on its territory.

His lawyer had said that he wouldn't return to his home country, Rwanda, which had offered to take him, as he feared he would be mistreated.

The declaration that he was unfit for trial angered many genocide survivors in Rwanda, who felt his crimes deserved the maximum sentence.

The genocide was triggered on April 6, 1994, when a plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down and crashed in the capital, Kigali, killing the leader who, like the majority of Rwandans, was an ethnic Hutu. Kabuga’s daughter married Habyarimana’s son.

“El virus analizado corresponde a los virus ya conocidos y vigilados en Sudamérica”, informó el viernes en X la ministra de Salud, Stéphanie Rist. Añadió que, “en esta etapa, ningún elemento sugiere la aparición” de una forma del virus que pudiera ser más transmisible o más peligrosa.

El Instituto Pasteur indicó que el análisis genómico confirmó que el virus hallado en la pasajera francesa coincidía con el detectado en otros casos de hantavirus a bordo del barco y se parecía estrechamente a muestras conocidas del virus Andes que circulan en Sudamérica.

“Este trabajo de secuenciación nos permite comprender mejor el virus y garantizar una estrecha vigilancia sanitaria”, indicó Rist. Agregó que los datos se compartirían con la comunidad científica internacional.

El instituto explicó que los virus detectados en pacientes del barco eran idénticos entre sí y aproximadamente un 97% similares a algunos virus Andes que circulan en Sudamérica, incluidos los identificados en roedores. Jean-Claude Manuguerra, quien dirige la unidad de Medio Ambiente y Riesgo Infeccioso del instituto Pasteur, dijo que la variación restante parecía reflejar una variación viral natural y no parecía afectar las características del virus detectado entre los viajeros.

La mujer francesa era pasajera del MV Hondius y está recibiendo tratamiento en París. Las autoridades del país habían dicho previamente que se encontraba en estado grave.

El instituto francés indicó que las investigaciones virológicas continuaban con las autoridades sanitarias francesas y socios internacionales.

Leer en español

Authorities said the FBI notified the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office of David Patrick Williams’ threat and deputies went to his home on Fourth Avenue just before 9:45 p.m. Friday to speak with him.

Deputies said Williams, 54, told them “he was not going to open the door” before opening it “tensing his body, and pulling away” from them.

According to MCSO, Williams grabbed one of the agency’s sergeants “by the throat.”

Nobody involved was seriously hurt, MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said. Williams, he said, later admitted to making the call.

Williams faces charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and making threats to kill a law enforcement officer.

Jail information wasn’t immediately available on the MCSO website Saturday. Records show he’s scheduled to be arraigned in a Florida Keys courtroom on May 27.

Las autoridades dijeron que el FBI notificó a la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado Monroe sobre la amenaza de David Patrick Williams y que los agentes acudieron a su casa en Fourth Avenue poco antes de las 9:45 p.m. del viernes para hablar con él.

Los agentes dijeron que Williams, de 54 años, les indicó que “no iba a abrir la puerta” antes de abrirla “tensando su cuerpo y alejándose” de ellos.

Según la MCSO, Williams agarró “por el cuello” a uno de los sargentos de la agencia.

Ninguna de las personas involucradas resultó gravemente herida, dijo el portavoz de la MCSO, Adam Linhardt. Williams, agregó, posteriormente admitió haber realizado la llamada.

Williams enfrenta cargos por agresión a un agente del orden público, resistirse al arresto y hacer amenazas de muerte contra un agente del orden público.

La información carcelaria no estaba disponible de inmediato el sábado en el sitio web de la MCSO. Los registros muestran que tiene programada una audiencia de lectura de cargos en un tribunal de los Cayos de Florida el 27 de mayo.

“The analyzed virus corresponds to the viruses already known and monitored in South America,” Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said Friday on X. “At this stage, no element suggests the emergence” of a form of the virus that could be more transmissible or more dangerous, she said.

Pasteur said genomic analysis confirmed that the virus found in the French passenger matched the virus detected in other cases aboard the ship and closely resembled known Andes virus samples circulating in South America.

“This sequencing work allows us to better understand the virus and to ensure close health monitoring,” Rist said. She added that the data would be shared with the international scientific community.

Pasteur said the viruses detected in patients from the ship were identical to each other and about 97% similar to some Andes viruses circulating in South America, including those identified in rodents. Jean-Claude Manuguerra, who heads Pasteur’s Environment and Infectious Risk unit, said the remaining variation appeared to reflect natural viral variation and did not seem to affect the characteristics of the virus detected among travelers.

The French passenger tested positive after traveling aboard the MV Hondius and has been treated in Paris. French authorities previously said she was in serious condition.

The outbreak on the ship has reached 11 cases, nine of which have been confirmed. Three people on the cruise died, including a Dutch couple who health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America.

A memorial of flowers dedicated to Andrew Cross sat outside of the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department as a procession of dozens of firetrucks, police cars and other vehicles escorted his remains to a funeral home. Dozens of first responders and other community members gathered in Morrill to salute and pay their respects.

The procession routed through the small town of fewer than 1,000 people on its way from Augusta to Belfast, Maine, a journey about 46 miles (74 kilometers) long.

Roughly two dozen fire departments had responded to the massive flames that tore through a silo at Robbins Lumber in a rural area, according to the state fire marshal's office. Officials on Saturday identified Cross as the firefighter who was killed.

Cross joined the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department when Jethro Pease was fire chief, Pease told the Portland Press Herald.

“He was a good, bright young man,” Pease said. “He’d do anything for anybody.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, which has a Level 1 trauma designation, said Saturday that eight of 10 patients brought to the hospital were still being treated. Two patients had been transferred. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor had been treating one patient who was in critical condition but said Saturday that that patient was transferred to another facility.

Robbins Lumber’s website describes the company as a “high-tech lumber manufacturer” that has been in existence since 1881 and family-owned for five generations. The mill in Searsmont, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) from Portland, was cooperating with authorities on the investigation and would cease operations at this time, said family spokesperson Christian Halsted.

Halsted said Friday that it was a “hugely devastating day for the family.”

Lumber and wood products are a critical and historic industry in Maine. The Maine Forest Products Council said it contributed more than $8 billion to the state's economy in 2024 and provides about 29,000 jobs.

Now trainer Chad Summers wants a shot at Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, whose absence left an underwhelming field at Laurel Park this weekend.

“We wish he was here in the Preakness. We were rooting for them when they were thinking about it,” Summers said. “Unfortunately they didn't make it here. That's fine. Hopefully we can see him down the road somewhere.”

Napoleon Solo held off Iron Honor down the stretch on Saturday, rebounding from a pair of fifth-place showings for his first victory of the year. Golden Tempo was held out of the race, leaving a wide-open field of 14 horses to contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which was held at Laurel Park this year because Pimlico in Baltimore is being rebuilt.

Taj Mahal was the top choice at 9-2 — the longest odds for a Preakness favorite since the race moved to its current distance of 1 3/16 miles in 1925. Iron Honor had been the morning line favorite at 9-2, but he was an 8-1 shot by the time the horses entered the starting gate.

Taj Mahal broke to the lead early and covered the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds, but the pace quickly slowed and trainer Brittany Russell’s unbeaten colt couldn’t hold on. He was passed by Napoleon Solo (7-1) near the top of the stretch. Iron Honor was a threat late but came up 1 1/4 lengths short.

“He was a bit wide on both turns and it probably took the starch out of him a little bit when it mattered late,” said Chad Brown, Iron Honor’s trainer.

Chip Honcho (11-1) was third.

Previously a rowdy event with throngs of fans and live music on the infield, the Preakness was contested in a subdued atmosphere this year at Laurel, with attendance capped at 4,800. The track's future is uncertain — it may be converted into a training facility.

“It’s a shame and it’s a tragedy that racetracks like Aqueduct and Laurel are no longer going to be around, because they’re foundation racetracks,” Summers said. “I would just hope that we get the opportunity as an industry to rally and save some of these tracks. We can’t allow this to keep happening, and there’s only going to be three or four tracks left at the end of the day.”

The Preakness has long served multiple purposes: It’s obviously a necessity for a horse to win the Triple Crown, but it’s also a second chance of sorts for those that didn’t make it to the Derby for one reason or another. This time, it was primarily the latter when only three horses that ran in the Derby showed up.

So it came to be that Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor, who hadn’t raced since finishing fifth and seventh in the Wood Memorial in early April, went head to head again for much higher stakes.

Third-place Chip Honcho was coming off its own fifth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby in March.

Napoleon Solo finished in 1 minute, 58.69 seconds and paid $17.80 on a $2 bet. It was the first victory in a Triple Crown race for both Summers and jockey Paco Lopez.

The colt won his first two starts last year by impressive margins, prevailing in the Champagne Stakes by 6 1/2 lengths in October. He couldn't maintain that form, however, finishing fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial this year.

“All year long, fifth place, fifth place. Everyone said he wasn’t as good as he was in the Champagne,” Summers said. “This was a win here. People will say it wasn’t against the best of the best. We’ll find out the rest of the year.”

Now Napoleon Solo is being pointed toward the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in July.

The three horses who did race in both the Derby and Preakness this year — Ocelli (7-1), Incredibolt (5-1) and Robusta (25-1) — finished fourth, fifth and ninth Saturday.

The race included its maximum of 14 horses, marking its largest field since 14 also ran in the 2011 edition.

Taj Mahal had run all three of his races at Laurel, which likely played a role as bettors made him the slight favorite over Incredibolt. Russell was trying to become the first female trainer to win the Preakness — two weeks after Cherie DeVaux achieved that milestone at the Derby — but Taj Mahal fell back to 10th after leading much of the way.

“He got away good, and they were moving along fine, but the winner also sat right on his flank,” Russell said. “He did what we thought he would do. He just didn't kick on.”

___

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

He made a birdie and kept a second straight major victory firmly in sight on a day in which several players made big moves up the leaderboard in more favorable conditions.

The pin placements, the course, nothing bothered McIlroy at Aronimink as he charged back from 105th at the end of Round 1 of the PGA Championship all the way to a share of the lead until he bogeyed 17, finishing at 3 under Saturday, a day after he complained about the setup at Aronimink Golf Club.

"I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow," McIlroy said.

Who would count out McIlroy?

He won the Masters and is trying to join Ben Hogan (1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015) as the only players to win the first two majors of the year in the modern rotation.

The No. 2 player in the world, McIlroy was buried on the leaderboard Thursday after he shot a 74. Only four players in history have ever won a major championship after being 50th or worse at the end of the first round.

His Round 3 was a different story. He had six birdies, 10 pars and two bogeys and shot 66.

“I’ve climbed my way out of that hole a little bit, which is, I’m proud of myself for doing that, but there’s one more day left, and I feel like I’m — again, if I can — depending on what the guys do, be close enough to the lead, I feel like I’ve still got a good chance,” McIlroy said.

Two long days at Aronimink produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead the PGA Championship in 14 years. The 15 players separated by two shots made it the biggest logjam going into a weekend at a major since 2002. At one point Saturday afternoon, there were 28 players separated by two shots.

McIlroy griped about the setup at Aronimink one day earlier. He cushioned his criticism a bit on Saturday.

McIlroy might be angling for his next job as much as he is trying to win his next major. McIlroy, the only European with the career Grand Slam, noted last year he would unwind from a round by watching “The Devil Wears Prada.” That caught the attention of the filmmakers and earned him an invite to cameo in the sequel.

His Saturday night plan?

To watch the thrilling conclusion of the Batman movie, “The Dark Knight.”

On their way down

Justin Thomas, the PGA winner in 2017 and 2022, grabbed a share of the lead at 4 under with a birdie on the sixth hole.

He followed with four straight bogeys to drop off the leaderboard and would up tied for 31st.

Other players who lost ground to the field included top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Cam Young.

Scheffler followed an opening 3-under 67 with consecutive rounds of 1 over and was at 2-over par for the championship. He dropped 14 places and slipped into a tie for 23rd.

Spieth, needing a PGA victory complete the career Grand Slam, had an even-par 70, tumbling 14 spots on the leaderboard and needing a big day on his 10th attempt to secure his missing major.

Young, a winner this season at The Players Championship and the Cadillac Championship, started the third round at 1 under and was at even-par 210, slipping 22 spots and heading into the final round in a 10-way tie for 31st in the pursuit of his first major victory.

Players make the most of favorable conditions

The wind, cold and rain of the first two rounds largely gave way to warmer weather that may have helped with all the birdies.

Chris Kirk had eight — including five birdies in six holes on the front nine — on his way to a 65 and Michael Kim birdied six of his first seven holes. Justin Rose, who won at Aronimink in the 2010 AT&T National, shot a 5-under 65 to move up the leaderboard and well within striking distance of the lead.

Rose noted subtle differences in the course from one day earlier when he shot a 73 and was in jeopardy of missing the cut before holing out on 18 to make an eagle.

He said the pins were “just a bit more predictable.”

“I’ve heard Scottie say it’s probably the hardest set of pins he’d seen," Rose said. "That didn’t strike me as that being the case, but yeah, when you think about it, they were incredibly challenging.”

___

AP Sports Writer Bob Lentz contributed to this report.

___

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

A week later, Cabrera picks through the charred scraps of her life, salvaging pots, woven cloths and a small wooden cross. She knows that it's the last time she'll return to her home of 60 years.

“Oh God, why have you abandoned me,” she said through heartbroken sobs, wandering past burned ashes of what was once her mattress in a small room with a collapsed roof and a melted refrigerator just through the door. “How are we going to rebuild? We don’t have money, we don’t have anything.”

She joined a growing number of people displaced in conflict-torn regions of Mexico forced to flee their homes. Experts have described the phenomenon as an invisible crisis with long-term humanitarian consequences — there are few official figures on the number of displaced people, who have almost no resources to turn to once violence forces them to leave.

‘We can’t live here anymore’

Cabrera fled her small town Friday after years of mounting cartel violence in Tula. This town of around 200 native Náhuatl people is among many in the central state of Guerrero ravaged by decades of fracturing rival criminal groups warring for territorial control.

Last week, a group known as Los Ardillos attacked her town and a handful of others with drone-fired explosives, opened fire on local community police forces, killed livestock and burned homes like Cabrera’s to an undistinguishable crisp.

Cabrera carefully handed bags of belongings to soldiers escorting a small group of families returning home to gather their things. She prayed as armed men in camouflage loaded her possessions into the back of a truck. As she wandered through her garden for the last time, she begged forgiveness from the dogs and chickens she was forced to leave behind.

“We don’t want to abandon them,” she said. “But we suffered through everything. We can’t live here anymore.”

Scattering across Mexico

A local human rights group, Indigenous and People’s Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata, or CIPOG-EZ, estimated that at least 800 people, including children and the elderly, were forcibly displaced along with Cabrera, and three community police officers — groups often formed to protect themselves in the wake of state absence — fighting back against the mafia were killed.

The official numbers are far lower: Mexico’s government said Tuesday that only 120 people were forced to flee and confirmed no deaths. One community leader sleeping at the basketball court on Friday told a local government official that in their town alone they estimated around 280 people had been forced to flee.

Some families ran into the mountains, not looking back. Hundreds sought shelter under a local basketball court, hoping that it might be safe to eventually return home. Others — some wounded by gunfire — boarded cars, buses and trucks, scattering to different regions of Mexico.

Videos published on social media this week show groups of crying women and children pleading for help.

The images pushed the government to deploy 1,200 military and police officers to the region. Officials say they have provided aid to those displaced, largely contained the violence, established a “safe corridor” for humanitarian aid to enter and paved the way toward defusing the region’s convoluted conflict.

“What we do not want is a confrontation that would affect the civilian population. Above all, we must preserve people’s lives,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a news conference last week.

An invisible crisis

Critics say that it was the latest example of government inaction and efforts to downplay the depth of the displacement crisis in Mexico. Unlike Colombia, Mexico doesn’t have a comprehensive registry of displaced people. Government figures are often cited as being insufficient by entities like the U.N. refugee agency, human rights groups and researchers documenting the crisis.

A 2025 government National Survey of Victimization and Public Security Perception estimated that nearly 250,000 households were forced to flee their homes in 2024 alone to protect themselves from crime.

Between 2024 and 2025, the Ibero-American University documented at least 44,695 people who had fled their homes to other parts of Mexico. Many more migrate to the U.S.

In a May report, the university noted that forced displacements are on the rise in Mexico at a time when Sheinbaum’s government has sought to highlight security gains — like sharp dips in homicides — in an effort to offset threats by the Trump administration to take military action on Mexican cartels.

“There’s no more life in these communities,” said Prisco Rodríguez, a local representative for CIPOG-EZ. “The government says people have already returned to their houses, but there’s no one here. People don’t say where they’re going out of fear ... and the majority never appear.”

Cabrera and her husband, 75-year-old Alejandro Venancio Bruno, were scrambling to figure out where they would go. Cabrera said that her children plead with her to come live with them in Mexico City, around 350 kilometers (220 miles) from their home, or the state of Queretaro, and rebuild their lives elsewhere.

But Venancio said that he’s spent his life working his land, and without money, a home or his most valuable possessions — his goats — any other life outside of Tula seems unfathomable.

“It’s like starting from zero,” he said.

Leer en español

The event was held at the Walmart at 401 E. Sheridan St. in Dania Beach. It aims to make the U.S. a no-kill country by encouraging adoption over purchasing.

The chain partnered with Best Friends Animal Society to put on it and other similar events across the country.

Potential pet parents can visit the store until 1 p.m. Saturday.

Watch the video above to learn more.

El evento ha llevado a cabo en el Walmart ubicado en el 401 E. Sheridan St. en Dania Beach. Su objetivo es convertir a Estados Unidos en un país donde no se sacrifiquen animales, fomentando la adopción en lugar de la compra.

La cadena se asoció con Best Friends Animal Society para realizar este y otros eventos similares en todo el país.

Las personas interesadas en adoptar una mascota pueden visitar la tienda hasta la 1 p.m. del sábado.

Vea el video de arriba para conocer más.

In the men’s final on Sunday, home favorite Jannik Sinner will face Casper Ruud.

Svitolina took nearly three hours to prevail 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 and win her first WTA 1000 title since lifting the title in Rome in 2018. The Ukrainian also won the Italian Open in 2017.

Gauff, who was hoping to become the first American to win in Rome since 2016, lost to Jasmine Paolini last year but went on to win the French Open.

Gauff started brilliantly on Saturday, breaking Svitolina and holding to love. She also had the chance to go 5-2 up in the first set but Svitolina fended off three break points and won four straight games to take the opener.

The third-ranked Gauff struggled on her serve throughout the second set but managed to take it to a tiebreak and level the match.

However, Svitolina dominated the decider and broke Gauff’s serve twice to leave her serving for the title. The seventh-ranked Svitolina sealed the result on her third match point with a volley at the net.

Sinner finishes off Medvedev

Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 when their rain-delayed semifinal resumed on Saturday and is one victory away from becoming only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 titles. Djokovic has won each Masters tournament at least twice.

The top-ranked Sinner led 4-2 in the third set when the match was suspended late Friday. The Italian finished off the match in 15 minutes on Saturday, sealing it on his third match point after Medvedev fended off two on his serve.

“It was a very different challenge and a tough challenge,” Sinner said. “Usually, during the night, I don’t struggle to sleep but this time it was not easy.

"You are in the third set, nearly done, but you still have to show up again and you never know what is happening. It is like the start of the match as there are nerves again. I am very happy with how I handled this situation and that I am back in the final.”

Earlier Friday on the red clay of the Foro Italico, Ruud routed home player Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1.

Sinner is also attempting to become the first Italian man to raise the Rome trophy since Adriano Panatta in 1976. Panatta will present the trophy on Sunday, with Italian President Sergio Mattarella also slated to attend the men's final.

Sinner appeared exhausted

After winning the first set easily on Friday, Sinner appeared fatigued as Medvedev stepped up his game and started running him around the court with drop shots and groundstrokes to the corners.

After several points Sinner bent over in apparent exhaustion and leaned on his racket for support. Sinner had his right thigh treated by a trainer midway through the second set.

Sinner came back from a 3-0 deficit only to be broken again in the 12th game and concede the set to Medvedev.

A bad bounce helped Sinner break Medvedev early in the third and take control for good.

Sinner 4-0 against Ruud

Sinner has won all four of his career meetings with Ruud without dropping a set — including a 6-0, 6-1 rout in the Rome quarterfinals last year.

“Jannik is chasing history,” Ruud said. “I have to be the guy to try to stop him, and it will not be easy playing here in his home country. ... Last year, he really (routed me) here on the same court, so of course I’m looking for revenge. But at the same time I realize that he’s an incredible player and a unique talent.”

Sinner lost last year’s final to Carlos Alcaraz, who is sidelined due to a right wrist injury. Paolini in 2025 became the first Italian woman to raise the trophy in 40 years.

Sinner hasn’t lost since Feb. 19 in the Qatar Open quarterfinals. He has won 28 straight matches and a record five successive Masters titles. He could become the second man to win all three Masters tournaments on clay — including Monte Carlo and Madrid — in the same season after Rafael Nadal in 2010.

After Rome for Sinner is the French Open, the only Grand Slam event he hasn’t won. The titleholder, Alcaraz, will also miss it.

___

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

Trump anunció la operación conjunta en el país más poblado de África en una publicación en redes sociales a última hora de la noche, en la que ofreció pocos detalles. Manifestó que Abu Bakr al-Mainuki era el segundo al mando de Estado Islámico a nivel mundial y que “creía que podía esconderse en África, pero no sabía que teníamos fuentes que nos mantenían informados sobre lo que estaba haciendo”.

Al-Mainuki era considerado la figura clave en la organización y las finanzas de EI, y había estado planeando ataques contra Estados Unidos y sus intereses, según un funcionario que habló bajo condición de anonimato porque no estaba autorizado a compartir información sensible.

El presidente de Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, confirmó la operación y dijo que Al-Mainuki fue abatido junto con “varios de sus lugartenientes, durante un ataque contra su complejo en la cuenca del lago Chad”.

Según el portavoz del grupo de trabajo militar nigeriano que llevó a cabo el operativo, fue una “operación aérea-terrestre de precisión altamente compleja” y se realizó durante tres horas de oscuridad a primera hora del sábado, sin bajas ni pérdida de material.

“Su eliminación representa el resultado antiterrorista más trascendental” en la región desde el inicio de la operación en 2015, dijo el vocero, Sani Uba, en un comunicado.

Nacido en la provincia nigeriana de Borno en 1982, al-Mainuki asumió el mando de la rama de EI en África Occidental después de que el anterior líder del grupo en la región, Mamman Nur, fuera abatido en 2018, de acuerdo con el Counter Extremism Project, que monitorea a grupos insurgentes.

Al-Mainuki tenía su base en la zona del Sahel, indicó el grupo de monitoreo, y añadió que se cree que combatió en Libia cuando la milicia radical estaba activa en el país del norte de África hace más de una década. Estados Unidos lo sancionó en 2023.

Dudas sobre el estatus de Al-Mainuki en EI

En su anuncio en redes sociales, Trump indicó que Al-Mainuki era el “segundo al mando a nivel mundial”, escondido en África, una afirmación que, según analistas, no es acertada. En un comunicado, el ejército nigeriano apuntó también que la inteligencia muestra que a principios de año, Al-Mainuki podría haber sido “elevado al puesto de jefe de la Dirección General de Estados, colocándolo como el segundo en la jerarquía global de ISIS”.

No hay forma de verificar de manera independiente su posición dentro de EI. Sostienen que Al-Mainuki era el adjunto de Abu Musab al-Barnawi, el líder de Estado Islámico-Provincia de África Occidental (ISWAP, por sus siglas en inglés), cuya muerte se reportó en 2021. Se le considera uno de los principales impulsores de la formación tras su ruptura con Boko Haram en 2016.

“Si se confirma, la muerte de Al-Mainuki es significativa porque es la primera vez que una agencia de seguridad ha abatido a alguien tan alto en el escalafón de ISWAP”, dijo Malik Samuel, investigador principal de Good Governance Africa, especializado en grupos insurgentes en Nigeria.

“La posibilidad de causar caos dentro del grupo también está ahí porque la operación debió haberse llevado a cabo en el corazón de la base fortificada de ISWAP, a la que es muy difícil acceder”, agregó.

En diciembre, Trump ordenó a las fuerzas estadounidenses que lanzaran ataques contra Estado Islámico en Nigeria, aunque entonces difundió pocos detalles sobre el impacto.

EEUU y Nigeria intensifican operaciones conjuntas

El ejército nigeriano dijo que la operación fue resultado de la “reciente asociación Estados Unidos-Nigeria y los esfuerzos de intercambio de inteligencia”. Samalia Uba, el portavoz militar, afirmó en un comunicado que la operación también ha “desarticulado una red terrorista violenta que ponía en peligro a Nigeria y a la región más amplia de África Occidental”.

Nigeria ha estado combatiendo a múltiples grupos armados, incluidos al menos dos afiliados a EI, mientras enfrenta una crisis de seguridad con múltiples frentes. Grupos afiliados a Estado Islámico en África están entre las milicias más activas del continente tras el colapso del califato de EI en Siria e Irak en 2017.

En febrero, Estados Unidos envió tropas a la nación de África Occidental para asesorar a su ejército, y en marzo desplegó drones allí después de que Trump alegó que los cristianos están siendo atacados en la crisis de seguridad en Nigeria.

La operación del viernes por la noche fue el último episodio de una serie de misiones encubiertas en el extranjero anunciadas por Trump este año, que comenzó con la impactante redada nocturna de enero para capturar y sacar del poder al entonces líder de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, y trasladarlo rápidamente a Estados Unidos, seguida casi dos meses después por los ataques que dieron comienzo a la guerra con Irán.

Leer en español

“We were attacked by Cuban MiGs while on a mission to find survivors,” Basulto said.

The family says the audio clip documents the Cuban leader’s order to open fire on the humanitarian group’s planes in 1996.

“You got me, yes on the left side,” one pilot says in archived audio.

The group had been flying over the Florida Straits searching for Cubans fleeing the island by sea.

“When the MiGs attacked, I saw through the right window of the plane,” Basulto recalled.

“Get out of there,” another voice says in archive audio.

“Black smoke,” Basulto said.

Four people were killed.

“We were brothers, so we suffered in the family,” Basulto said.

The Associated Press is now reporting that the United States may be seeking to indict 94-year-old Castro in connection with the deadly shootdown.

“It was about time. It’s 30 years,” Basulto said. “U.S. citizens flying U.S. planes were shot down by the Cuban government on the orders of Raúl Castro, and to this day justice has been delayed, therefore justice has been denied.”

“If it does happen, it is an act of justice, a necessary justice,” said Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat. “The possibility the regime is brought to justice is a godsend.”

“They savagely massacred these four young men,” Gutiérrez-Boronat said. “They were my good friends, my brothers. I think of them daily because they were good men dedicated to saving human lives, and they were horribly massacred on that day in February 1996.”

Gutiérrez-Boronat, secretary general of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, joined by Zoom from Honduras, where he said members have been meeting with high-ranking government officials to build Latin American consensus on freedom for Cuba.

“The consensus should be that fundamental political change takes place in Cuba, that the dictatorship ends, that political prisoners are released, that repression stops, that a provisional government can establish a timetable for true elections, that the Cuban economy can be deregulated, and Cubans can be the owners of their own work,” he said. “That is the essence of what we are trying to achieve.”

“In the past few weeks, we have met with the presidents of Chile and Paraguay, the vice president of Costa Rica, and now we are in Honduras,” Gutiérrez-Boronat said.

“It is an initiative of the Cuban democratic forces to bring about true change in Cuba, and of course, we are in fluid communication with the U.S. State Department,” he added.

The pending indictment comes as the United States continues its maximum pressure campaign on Cuba.

“I don’t know what the specific conversations with the director of the CIA were, but we have been very clear what a future of freedom and security can look like,” said Rosa María Payá. “And in that future, the Castro family is not in power.”

Payá, a Cuban human rights and democracy activist, said she is more hopeful than ever that regime change is nearing and is formalizing a roadmap to transition the island from dictatorship to democracy.

“At the beginning of March this year, we launched the ‘Freedom Accord,’ which gathers the main democratic forces on the island and in exile behind a transition plan in phases,” Payá said. “Liberation, but also stabilization, reconstruction and finally democratization.”

“Fuimos atacados por MiGs cubanos mientras estábamos en una misión para encontrar sobrevivientes”, dijo Basulto.

La familia dice que el audio documenta la orden del líder cubano de abrir fuego contra los aviones del grupo humanitario en 1996.

“Me dieron, sí, en el lado izquierdo”, dice un piloto en el audio archivado.

El grupo sobrevolaba el estrecho de Florida buscando cubanos que huían de la isla por mar.

“Cuando los MiGs atacaron, vi por la ventana derecha del avión”, recordó Basulto.

“Salgan de ahí”, dice otra voz en el audio archivado.

“Humo negro”, dijo Basulto.

Cuatro personas murieron.

“Éramos hermanos, así que sufrimos como familia”, dijo Basulto.

The Associated Press informó ahora que Estados Unidos podría estar buscando acusar al ex presidente cubano de 94 años en relación con el mortal derribo.

“Ya era hora. Han pasado 30 años”, dijo Basulto. “Ciudadanos estadounidenses volando aviones estadounidenses fueron derribados por el gobierno cubano bajo órdenes de Raúl Castro, y hasta el día de hoy la justicia se ha retrasado, por lo tanto, se ha negado”.

“Si sucede, es un acto de justicia, una justicia necesaria”, dijo Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat. “La posibilidad de que el régimen enfrente la justicia es una bendición”.

“Masacraron salvajemente a estos cuatro jóvenes”, dijo Gutiérrez-Boronat. “Eran mis buenos amigos, mis hermanos. Pienso en ellos todos los días porque eran buenos hombres dedicados a salvar vidas humanas, y fueron horriblemente masacrados aquel día de febrero de 1996”.

Gutiérrez-Boronat, secretario general de la Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana, participó por Zoom desde Honduras, donde dijo que miembros del grupo se han reunido con altos funcionarios gubernamentales para construir un consenso latinoamericano sobre la libertad para Cuba.

“El consenso debe ser que ocurra un cambio político fundamental en Cuba, que termine la dictadura, que se liberen los presos políticos, que cese la represión, que un gobierno provisional pueda establecer un calendario para elecciones verdaderas, que la economía cubana pueda ser desregulada y que los cubanos puedan ser dueños de su propio trabajo”, dijo. “Esa es la esencia de lo que estamos tratando de lograr”.

“En las últimas semanas, nos hemos reunido con los presidentes de Chile y Paraguay, la vicepresidenta de Costa Rica y ahora estamos en Honduras”, dijo Gutiérrez-Boronat.

“Es una iniciativa de las fuerzas democráticas cubanas para lograr un cambio verdadero en Cuba y, por supuesto, estamos en comunicación constante con el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos”, agregó.

La posible acusación ocurre mientras Estados Unidos continúa su campaña de máxima presión contra Cuba.

“No sé cuáles fueron las conversaciones específicas con el director de la CIA, pero hemos dejado muy claro cómo puede lucir un futuro de libertad y seguridad”, dijo Rosa María Payá. “Y en ese futuro, la familia Castro no está en el poder”.

Payá, activista cubana por los derechos humanos y la democracia, dijo que tiene más esperanza que nunca de que un cambio de régimen esté cerca y está formalizando una hoja de ruta para la transición de la isla de una dictadura a una democracia.

“A principios de marzo de este año lanzamos el ‘Acuerdo por la Libertad’, que reúne a las principales fuerzas democráticas dentro y fuera de la isla detrás de un plan de transición por fases”, dijo Payá. “Liberación, pero también estabilización, reconstrucción y finalmente democratización”.

Leer en español

Local 10 spoke with Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, who said any decision to close the facility would come from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — and no such directive has been issued.

“I literally got a communication today, kind of back channel if you will, for through some of my staff at FEMA that there is an initial check coming out,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie said Florida has requested about $390 million so far in federal reimbursement tied to the facility’s operations, which he compared to the same process used for disaster recovery funding such as hurricanes. He said those requests must still be vetted and verified.

He also confirmed the facility costs about $1 million per day to operate, but said he expects federal reimbursement to eventually cover the expenses.

“We always said it was going to be temporary,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “They’ve never told us they don’t want it anymore.”

According to Guthrie, Florida has not been given a timeline for any potential closure and continues to operate under existing agreements. He said the current arrangement could last one to two years depending on federal needs.

“This is potentially going to be a two-year option, or maybe even longer depending on the needs of the federal government,” he said.

Officials say the facility, which opened July 1 of last year, currently holds about 1,500 detainees. The overall FEMA-related contract tied to its operations totals about $608 million.

Local 10 habló con Kevin Guthrie, director ejecutivo de la División de Manejo de Emergencias de Florida, quien dijo que cualquier decisión de cerrar la instalación vendría del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos y que no se ha emitido ninguna directiva de ese tipo.

“Literalmente recibí hoy una comunicación, algo extraoficial si se quiere, a través de parte de mi personal en FEMA, de que viene un cheque inicial”, dijo Guthrie.

Guthrie dijo que Florida ha solicitado hasta ahora alrededor de $390 millones USD en reembolsos federales relacionados con las operaciones de la instalación, lo que comparó con el mismo proceso utilizado para fondos de recuperación por desastres como huracanes. Dijo que esas solicitudes aún deben ser evaluadas y verificadas.

También confirmó que operar la instalación cuesta alrededor de $1 millón USD por día, pero dijo que espera que el reembolso federal eventualmente cubra los gastos.

“Siempre dijimos que iba a ser temporal”, dijo el gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis. “Nunca nos han dicho que ya no lo quieren”.

Según Guthrie, Florida no ha recibido un cronograma para un posible cierre y continúa operando bajo los acuerdos existentes. Dijo que el arreglo actual podría durar entre uno y dos años dependiendo de las necesidades federales.

“Esto potencialmente será una opción de dos años, o incluso más tiempo dependiendo de las necesidades del gobierno federal”, dijo.

Los funcionarios dijeron que la instalación, que abrió el 1 de julio del año pasado, actualmente alberga a unas 1,500 personas detenidas. El contrato total relacionado con FEMA para sus operaciones asciende a aproximadamente $608 millones USD.

Leer en español

She’s described as a calm, but playful dog who has some breed-related medical issues.

For more information about Mocha and the pets available at 2070 Griffin Road, visit this page, or call 954-989-3977 to make an appointment.

La describen como una perra tranquila, pero juguetona, que tiene algunos problemas médicos relacionados con su raza.

Para más información sobre Mocha y las mascotas disponibles en el 2070 de Griffin Road, visite esta página o llame al 954-989-3977 para hacer una cita.

Leer en español

Protests have erupted in Havana as rolling blackouts continue to cripple the island. Fuel is also becoming nearly impossible to find at state-run gas stations, leading to growing desperation for many residents.

“I’m looking for information at CUPET (Cuba’s state-run oil company), but they haven’t given me any information. Nothing has come out,” said Havana resident Mirko Cejas, referring to CUPET.

Cejas said his young son is sick, and he has been searching for gasoline to keep a generator running.

The fuel shortage has left many Cubans unable to use their cars after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries exporting fuel to Cuba.

In Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, Cuban exiles say now is the time for change in Cuba.

“For me it’s a little frustrating,” a protester said. “I think this thing is taking too long.”

Meanwhile, residents in Havana are reportedly rejecting a U.S. plan to indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, which killed four people.

The incident was condemned internationally.

“If it does happen, it is an act of justice,” said Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat.

“They savagely massacred these four young men,” Gutiérrez-Boronat said.

Back in Little Havana, there are also growing concerns about conditions inside Cuba, especially as the island’s health care system faces severe shortages and delays.

“More than 32,000 pregnant women face increased risks due to reduced access to diagnostic services, as well as limited transport for obstetric emergencies,” said Altaf Musani of the World Health Organization.

“Estoy buscando información en CUPET (la empresa estatal de petróleo de Cuba), pero no me han dado ninguna información. No ha salido nada”, dijo el residente habanero Mirko Cejas, en referencia a CUPET.

Cejas dijo que su hijo pequeño está enfermo y que ha estado buscando gasolina para mantener funcionando un generador.

La escasez de combustible ha dejado a muchos cubanos sin poder usar sus autos después de que el presidente Donald Trump amenazó con imponer aranceles a países que exportan combustible a Cuba.

En el vecindario de Little Havana en Miami, exiliados cubanos dicen que ahora es el momento de un cambio en Cuba.

“Para mí es un poco frustrante”, dijo un manifestante. “Creo que esto está tomando demasiado tiempo”.

Mientras tanto, residentes en La Habana supuestamente están rechazando un plan de Estados Unidos para acusar al ex presidente cubano Raúl Castro en relación con el derribo en 1996 de aviones operados por el grupo humanitario Hermanos al Rescate, que dejó cuatro personas muertas.

El incidente fue condenado internacionalmente.

“Si sucede, es un acto de justicia”, dijo Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat.

“Masacraron salvajemente a estos cuatro jóvenes”, dijo Gutiérrez-Boronat.

De regreso en Little Havana, también hay crecientes preocupaciones sobre las condiciones dentro de Cuba, especialmente mientras el sistema de salud de la isla enfrenta severas carencias y retrasos.

“Más de 32,000 mujeres embarazadas enfrentan mayores riesgos debido a la reducción del acceso a servicios de diagnóstico, así como al transporte limitado para emergencias obstétricas”, dijo Altaf Musani, de la Organización Mundial de la Salud.

Leer en español

“I had heard the sound of a pop,” said witness Cathy Byers, who was staying at the resort. “It sounded like it was just outside our room.”

“It was like a snapping pop,” witness Mark Terry testified.

“I heard a pop and then a flash,” said Tom Kinsloe, who lives across from the resort. “It sounded different than fireworks.”

Prosecutors say the shooting took Randazzo’s life nearly seven years ago.

“I found an unresponsive male laying face down,” testified Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Lawrence Klkrman.

Randazzo’s body was found near the Southern Seas Resort in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in October 2019.

“Our door was taped off,” Byers testified. “We looked out the window to see what was going on. When we couldn’t get the door open, that’s when we saw the body.”

The 39-year-old firefighter was found without shoes. Investigators believe that’s because prosecutors say Torrey Holston and Jose Romero were robbing Randazzo after shooting him in the back of the head, taking his iPhone, sneakers, wallet and keys.

Jurors also reviewed surveillance footage recovered by Broward investigators showing Randazzo arriving at and later leaving a nearby bar the night he was killed. The footage captured what prosecutors described as his final steps toward the resort.

“Could this have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound?” a prosecutor asked the medical examiner.

“No, it’s in the back of the head,” testified medical examiner Gertrude Juste.

Video shown in court also captured the then-19- and 20-year-old defendants at a nearby gas station before traveling what prosecutors say was the same route as Randazzo.

“The cause of death was a gunshot wound,” Juste testified.

Both men are charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy.

A third suspect has already pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.

Day three of the trial resumes Monday.

“Escuché un sonido como una explosión”, dijo la testigo Cathy Byers, quien se hospedaba en el resort. “Sonó como si hubiera sido justo afuera de nuestra habitación”.

“Fue como un chasquido”, testificó el testigo Mark Terry.

“Escuché una explosión y luego un destello”, dijo Tom Kinsloe, quien vive frente al resort. “Sonó diferente a fuegos artificiales”.

Los fiscales dicen que la balacera cobró la vida de Randazzo hace casi siete años.

“Encontré a un hombre inconsciente acostado boca abajo”, testificó el agente de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, Lawrence Klkrman.

El cuerpo de Randazzo fue encontrado cerca del Southern Seas Resort en Lauderdale-by-the-Sea en octubre de 2019.

“Nuestra puerta estaba acordonada”, testificó Byers. “Miramos por la ventana para ver qué estaba pasando. Cuando no pudimos abrir la puerta, fue cuando vimos el cuerpo”.

El bombero de 39 años fue encontrado sin zapatos. Los investigadores creen que eso se debe a que, según los fiscales, Torrey Holston y Jose Romero estaban robando a Randazzo después de dispararle en la parte posterior de la cabeza, llevándose su iPhone, tenis, billetera y llaves.

Los miembros del jurado también revisaron imágenes de vigilancia recuperadas por investigadores de Broward que muestran a Randazzo llegando y luego saliendo de un bar cercano la noche en que fue asesinado. Las imágenes captaron lo que los fiscales describieron como sus últimos pasos hacia el resort.

“¿Pudo haber sido una herida de bala autoinfligida?”, preguntó un fiscal a la médica forense.

“No, está en la parte posterior de la cabeza”, testificó la médica forense Gertrude Juste.

El video mostrado en la corte también captó a los acusados, que entonces tenían 19 y 20 años, en una gasolinera cercana antes de recorrer lo que los fiscales aseguran fue la misma ruta que tomó Randazzo.

“La causa de muerte fue una herida de bala”, testificó Juste.

Ambos hombres enfrentan cargos de asesinato en primer grado, robo con arma mortal y conspiración.

Un tercer sospechoso ya se declaró culpable de complicidad después del hecho.

El tercer día del juicio continuará el lunes.

Leer en español

She turned 9 months old on Friday.

Since Sunday, she has been at Broward Health Medical Center fighting for her life.

“She took head trauma, swelling of the brain with the head, and now, you know, her hard stuff on her having difficulties because her brain is not sending the signal,” Guzman said.

On Mother’s Day, the family was among the five vehicles involved in a deadly crash on I-75 near Weston. They were on their way to Guzman’s mother’s house, but never made it.

Villarruel’s mother and aunt died at the scene.

“It was as if I had two moms,” Villarruel said in Spanish.

Investigators arrested Cira Quinones-Lewis, a driver in another vehicle involved in the crash. She remains in ICE custody on an immigration hold and is charged with driving while her license was suspended.

“We would like justice. We don’t know much about what’s going on. We would like some justice,” Guzman said.

The family says photos and videos taken about 30 minutes before the crash are now all Villarruel has left to remember her mother and aunt.

“They were exceptional women,” Villarruel said. “My aunt was a teacher in Ecuador. She loved the kids. These last few weeks I spent with them, we were very happy with them. They played with my baby a lot. My mom, the same.”

While the family waits for answers and for the investigation to continue, their focus remains on Nina.

“Just prayers. We can’t do nothing about the deceased, but we need all the prayers for the baby, for Nina,” Guzman said. “We need her. We need a miracle. My baby is very critical.”

Villarruel said Nina remains in very critical condition.

The tragedy has been even more difficult for the family because Villarruel’s mother and aunt had been visiting for a month to help care for Nina while Villarruel recovered from thyroid cancer surgery.

The family has started a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs and Nina’s medical expenses.

La bebé cumplió 9 meses el viernes.

Desde el domingo, permanece en Broward Health Medical Center luchando por su vida.

“Sufrió trauma en la cabeza, inflamación cerebral y ahora, ya sabes, tiene complicaciones porque su cerebro no está enviando las señales”, dijo Guzmán.

En el Día de las Madres, la familia estaba entre los cinco vehículos involucrados en un mortal accidente en la I-75 cerca de Weston. Se dirigían a la casa de la madre de Guzmán, pero nunca llegaron.

La madre y la tía de Villarruel murieron en la escena.

“Era como si tuviera dos mamás”, dijo Villarruel en español.

Los investigadores arrestaron a Cira Quinones-Lewis, conductora de otro vehículo involucrado en el accidente. Permanece bajo custodia de ICE debido a una retención migratoria y enfrenta cargos por conducir con la licencia suspendida.

“Nos gustaría justicia. No sabemos mucho sobre lo que está pasando. Nos gustaría algo de justicia”, dijo Guzmán.

La familia dice que las fotos y videos tomados unos 30 minutos antes del accidente son ahora todo lo que le queda a Villarruel para recordar a su madre y a su tía.

“Eran mujeres excepcionales”, dijo Villarruel. “Mi tía era maestra en Ecuador. Amaba a los niños. Estas últimas semanas que pasé con ellas, fuimos muy felices con ellas. Jugaban mucho con mi bebé. Mi mamá igual”.

Mientras la familia espera respuestas y que continúe la investigación, su enfoque sigue siendo Nina.

“Solo oraciones. No podemos hacer nada por las fallecidas, pero necesitamos todas las oraciones para la bebé, para Nina”, dijo Guzmán. “La necesitamos. Necesitamos un milagro. Mi bebé está en estado muy crítico”.

Villarruel dijo que Nina permanece en condición muy crítica.

La tragedia ha sido aún más difícil para la familia porque la madre y la tía de Villarruel habían estado de visita durante un mes para ayudar a cuidar a Nina mientras Villarruel se recuperaba de una cirugía por cáncer de tiroides.

La familia inició una campaña en GoFundMe para ayudar a cubrir los gastos funerarios y los gastos médicos de Nina.

Armados con gas lacrimógeno y equipo antimotines, policías y militares hicieron una pausa al medio día del sábado para bajar la tensión en la vecina ciudad de El Alto, foco de la resistencia. Las fuerzas del orden “no han sido rebasadas, solo se busca bajar la intensidad porque no queremos que se pierdan vidas”, informó en rueda de prensa el vocero presidencial José Luis Gálvez. “Se libera unos puntos, pero vuelven a reagruparse para bloquear las rutas”, reconoció.

El Alto es el principal ingreso a La Paz. La policía también encontró resistencia en barrios al sur de la ciudad que abastecen a la ciudad de verduras y frutas. “Queremos evitar la confrontación, nos estamos replegando” por el momento, dijo el jefe policial Miguel Zambrana.

Los manifestantes protagonizaron fuertes choques con la policía lanzando piedras y pequeñas cargas de dinamita para repeler a las fuerzas del orden que buscan “abrir un corredor humanitario” que permita el paso de vitales suministros a la ciudad. Informes preliminares de la policía hablan de una treintena de detenidos y heridos.

“Queremos que renuncie este presidente que ha mostrado incapacidad para resolver los problemas”, dijo un chofer que participaba en las protestas y no quiso identificarse. Autoridades informaron de ataque a bienes públicos en El Alto.

Otras rutas en el interior del país eran despejadas sin encontrar fuerte resistencia como en La Paz, foco de los conflictos.

Dos semanas de cortes liderados por la Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), los sindicatos campesinos y los mineros dejaron a La Paz con mercados desabastecidos y hospitales sin reservas de oxígeno y precios elevados de los alimentos. Tres personas fallecieron por falta de auxilio médico, según el gobierno.

Sobre el final de la semana, las protestas se tornaron violentas y varios sectores comenzaron a pedir la renuncia del mandatario, que no tiene mayoría en el Legislativo ni un partido fuerte que lo respalde a seis meses de haber iniciado su mandato. El gobierno acusa a partidarios del expresidente Evo Morales (2006-2019) de estar detrás de las manifestaciones que “buscan desestabilizar” al gobierno, dijo Gálvez.

“Los que están buscando destrozar la democracia irán a la cárcel”, advirtió el mandatario la víspera. Sectores empresariales y gremios han reclamado acciones al gobierno para garantizar el libre tránsito. Más de 5.000 camiones y vehículos estaban atrapados en las carreteras en todo el país, según los gremios.

Leer en español

It’s the sixth year the walk has taken place. Organizers held the event at loanDepot Park in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.

The event aims to reduce the stigma around mental health by bringing together the community.

Mayors Eileen Higgins and Daniella Levine Cava, of the city and county respectively, were there.

So too was Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson.

Visit the NAMI website for more information on the event.

Es el sexto año en que se realiza la caminata. Los organizadores llevaron a cabo el evento en loanDepot Park, en el vecindario de Little Havana en Miami.

El evento busca reducir el estigma en torno a la salud mental al reunir a la comunidad.

Las alcaldesas Eileen Higgins y Daniella Levine Cava, de la ciudad y el condado respectivamente, estuvieron presentes.

También asistió el ala del Miami Heat, Keshad Johnson.

Visite el sitio web de NAMI para más información sobre el evento.

Leer en español

The incident happened at around 5:40 p.m. on May 8 in the area of Booker T. Washington Boulevard and Southwest 147th Street.

Deputies included a photo of the suspect in a news release Friday night.

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

El incidente ocurrió alrededor de las 5:40 p.m. del 8 de mayo en el área de Booker T. Washington Boulevard y Southwest 147th Street.

Los agentes incluyeron una foto del sospechoso en un comunicado de prensa emitido el viernes por la noche.

Cualquier persona con información debe llamar a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

Trump made the comment in a Fox News interview with Bret Baier that aired right after the U.S. president wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China on Friday.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be retaken by force if necessary. The U.S., like all countries that have formal ties with Beijing, doesn’t recognize Taiwan as a country but has been the island’s strongest backer and arms supplier.

Trump is now suggesting that is open to negotiation.

Asked if he would approve a $14 billion arms package to Taiwan that has been held up for months, Trump said that’s up to China.

“I’m holding that in abeyance and it depends on China,” he said. “It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons.”

The U.S. is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and sees all threats to the island as a matter of grave concern.

By conditioning U.S. arms sales to Taiwan on his negotiations with China, Trump may play into one the island’s “nightmare scenarios,” said William Yang, a Northeast Asia senior analyst for International Crisis Group: that Taiwan, instead of being at the negotiating table, is on the menu.

Although Trump didn’t say specifically what he would want from China in return for denying Taiwan the weapons, he has been pressing Beijing to buy more American goods and to help put pressure on Iran.

Trump and the U.S. Congress already approved in December a separate $11 billion arms sales package to Taiwan. Beijing reacted furiously by staging live fire drills around the island.

China warned of ‘clashes and even conflicts’ over Taiwan

China has framed Taiwan as “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations” during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent summit with Trump. The visit is to be followed next week by a trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing.

In one of his strongest statements to date, Xi on Thursday warned Trump of “clashes and even conflicts” if the issue of Taiwan is not handled properly.

Taiwan’s presidential office on Saturday sought to smooth over the tensions by highlighting “that the consistent U.S. policy and position toward Taiwan remain unchanged.”

“The Republic of China is a sovereign, independent, democratic country; this is self-evident, and Beijing’s claims are therefore without merit,” said Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo, referring to Taiwan’s official name. She added that the island remains grateful to Trump for his support and stressed that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are stipulated by law.

Trump wants Taiwan’s microchip makers to move to the U.S.

Another statement that raised concerns on the island was Trump’s call for Taiwan’s microchip sector — the world’s largest and most advanced — to pick up and move to the U.S.

“I’d like to see everybody making chips over in Taiwan come into America,” Trump told Fox News, describing such a move as “the greatest thing you can do.”

Trump has long pressed Taiwanese chipmakers, which produce more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, which are used for artificial intelligence, smartphones and military equipment, to base some of their production in the U.S.

Taiwan’s leading chipmaker, TSMC, has committed an investment of $165 billion in a mega-campus in Arizona. The island’s government, in a sweeping trade agreement with the U.S. earlier this year, pledged $250 billion in investment in the U.S. microchip sector, which included TSMC’s previous commitment.

Trump also reiterated older accusations that Taiwan “stole” its chipmaking sector from the U.S. decades ago.

Trump seems to embrace Xi’s narrative on Taiwan

While Trump during his summit with Xi did not alter U.S. policy wording on Taiwan — which many observers had feared he would — he did seem to adopt some of the Chinese president’s own narrative about the island’s government.

Beijing has branded Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as a “Taiwan independence diehard,” and warned that he would bring war and destruction to the island.

Trump and other top U.S. officials don’t usually communicate with Taiwanese leaders but have shown support in the past for example by allowing former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to transit on U.S. soil en route to visiting Latin American countries. Lai, who is about to reach his presidency’s two-year mark, has yet to set foot on the U.S. mainland, and some observers have interpreted that as a rollback of support by the Trump administration.

In his interview with Fox News, Trump stressed that he didn’t want to see a change of status quo between Taiwan and Beijing. “But they have somebody there now that wants to go independent,” he said, likely referring to Lai.

“They’re going independent because they want to get into a war and they figure they have the United States behind them.” He added that he is not looking to fight a war thousands of miles away.

Trump’s worrying statements about Taiwan may be another instance of “his transactional rhetoric being turned up to the max,” said Wen-Ti Sung, a fellow with the Atlantic Council. “What matters more is the substance, which Taiwan is holding its collective breath for.”

The winner's share will be $3,690,000.

The Masters raised its total purse to $22.5 million this year, the highest payout of golf's four majors and a $1.5 million increase from the previous year. The U.S. Open next month and the British Open in July — typically the smallest of major purses — have not announced their plans.

The U.S. Open had a $21.5 million purse last year, and the British Open purse was at $17 million.

Prize money in golf began spiking when Saudi-funded LIV Golf launched in 2022 with its $20 million purses and $4 million payouts. The PGA Tour now has eight “signature” events with a $20 million purse that pays $3.6 million to the winner ($4 million in three such tournaments).

The Players Championship had a $25 million purse, and the PGA Tour last year decided the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship would count as official money instead of a bonus, making it a $40M prize fund.

Terry Clark, the new CEO of the PGA of America, was asked earlier this week about staying competitive with the other majors while being fiscally responsible. He offered little along those lines except to say, “It’s not always in comparison to all of those. It’s what are the factors that make sense. We do look at it as an annual focus around how do we get at competitive purses.”

The player finishing last among the 82 players who made the cut will get $23,900. The 74 players who missed the cut, including 19 club professionals, were paid $4,300.

The PGA Championship is at Aronimink for the first time since 1962, when the total prize fund was $69,400 and Gary Player won $13,000. It also was the third-highest purse among majors then.

___

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

The conflicting advice is at least partly because guidelines for breast cancer screening are designed for women at average risk and with no possible cancer symptoms. But breast cancer is so common that it is hard to know who is really “average” and how to balance the pros and cons of screening.

"Breast cancer is not one disease,” said Dr. Laura Esserman of the University of California, San Francisco. “So how in the world does it make sense to screen everybody the same when everyone doesn't have the same risk?”

Esserman is leading research to better understand the nuances of who is at low or high risk or somewhere in between and eventually offer more tailored screening advice.

More than 320,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Death rates have been dropping for decades, thanks largely to better treatments. But it is still the second-most common cause of cancer death in U.S. women -- and diagnoses are inching up.

For now, here are some things to know.

When to get a mammogram

The newest guidance comes from the American College of Physicians, which recommends that average-risk women ages 50 to 74 get an every-other-year mammogram. For those 40 to 49, the guideline says to discuss pros and cons with a doctor and if they choose screening, to go every other year.

That advice, issued last month, was a surprise. Most other U.S. health groups have urged women to start earlier, in their 40s. The influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently switched its guidance to start every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of 50.

The American Cancer Society has long recommended yearly mammograms for 45- to 54-year-olds -– but says they can choose to start at 40. For those age 55 and older, the cancer society says women can switch to every other year or choose to keep going for yearly checks.

The new American College of Physicians guidelines also say doctors can ask if women 75 or older wish to stop routine screening. In contrast, the cancer society says there is no reason to stop if they are still healthy.

Why don’t experts agree?

The higher a woman’s risk of eventually developing breast cancer, the more benefit she will derive from more frequent screenings. But beyond some well-known factors like the cancer-causing BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, it is hard for women to know their true risk. Age has long been a proxy because the risk of breast cancer rises as women get older.

Mammograms aren’t perfect. Sometimes they miss cancer or an aggressive tumor pops up after a routine mammogram. But guidelines seek to balance the benefits of catching cancer early with possible harms, such as stress and pain from investigating suspicious spots that don't turn out to be cancerous.

“We’re not saying there’s no benefit” from mammograms in the 40s, cautioned Dr. Carolyn Crandall of the University of California, Los Angeles, who chaired the American College of Physicians report. But “there’s a narrower balance between the benefits you could get and the harms in 40- to 49-year-olds.”

The American Cancer Society recommends starting yearly mammograms at 45 because it found breast cancer incidence in 45- to 49-year-olds was higher than in the early 40s – more like what 50- to 54-year-olds experience, said public health researcher Robert Smith, the society’s expert on early cancer detection.

What is missing is a way to tell if someone is more likely to develop an aggressive breast cancer or a slow-growing one, Smith noted.

How dense breasts affect mammogram advice

Nearly half of women over 40 have dense breast tissue, which can make it harder to spot a tumor on a mammogram and can slightly increase the risk of developing cancer.

After a mammogram, women are notified about their breast density. Many experts say it is not yet clear if women with dense breasts would benefit from adding ultrasounds or MRIs to their screening. But the new American College of Physicians guidance advises considering 3D mammography – what doctors call digital breast tomosynthesis or DBT.

What’s next for breast cancer screening

In the future, adding a gene test — one that looks at more than just those well-known BRCA genes — along with broader risk factors may help refine women’s optimal mammogram schedule.

A recent study of nearly 46,000 women, called the WISDOM trial, used age, genetic testing, lifestyle, health history and breast density to classify women as low, average, elevated or high risk. That risk level determined if they waited to start mammograms at 50, went every other year or every year – and the highest-risk group was told to screen twice a year, once with a mammogram and again with an MRI scan. Risk-based scans were compared to standard yearly mammograms.

Risk-based screening worked as well as yearly screening, Esserman's team reported in the medical journal JAMA. One surprise: About 30% of women whose gene testing indicated increased risk didn't report relatives with breast cancer. While more research is underway, Esserman hopes the early findings will start influencing guidelines soon.

Also in the pipeline are AI tools being crafted to assess a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer in the next few years based on clues in her mammogram, another possible way to identify who might qualify for more or less frequent screening.

For now, women can talk with their doctors about close relatives who have had cancer, their own overall health and other risk factors such as whether they have had children and at what age.

Whatever mammogram age and interval they choose, the best advice is to stick with it, the cancer society's Smith said: “Breast screening works best when it’s done regularly.”

___

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

Consumer inflation in the United States increased to 3.8% annually in April, higher than what he inherited as the Iran war and the Republican president’s own tariffs have pushed up prices. Inflation is now outpacing wage gains and effectively making workers poorer. The Cleveland Federal Reserve estimates that annual inflation could reach 4.2% in May as the war has kept oil and gasoline prices high.

Trump’s time with Chinese leader Xi Jinping appears unlikely to help the U.S. economy much, despite Trump's claims of coming trade deals. The trip occurred as many people are voting in primaries leading into the November general election while having to absorb the rising costs of gasoline, groceries, utility bills, jewelry, women’s clothing, airplane tickets and delivery services. Democrats see the moment as a political opportunity.

“He’s returning to a dumpster fire,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal think tank focused on economic issues. “The president will not have the faith and confidence of the American people — the economy is their top issue and the president is saying, ‘You’re on your own.’”

The president’s trip to Beijing and his recent comments that indicated a tone-deafness to voters' concerns about rising prices have suggested his focus is not on the American public and have undermined Republicans who had intended to campaign on last year’s tax cuts as helping families.

Trump described the trip as a victory, saying on social media that Xi “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes," as the U.S. president has praised their relationship.

Trump told reporters that Boeing would be selling 200 aircraft — and maybe even 750 “if they do a good job” — to the Chinese. He said American farmers would be “very happy” because China would be "buying billions of dollars of soybeans.”

"We had an amazing time," Trump said as he flew home on Air Force One, and told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview that gasoline prices were just some “short-term pain” and would “drop like a rock” once the war ends.

Inflationary pain is not a factor in how Trump handles Iran

Trump departed from the White House for China by saying the negotiations over the Iran war depended on stopping Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

That remark prompted blowback because it suggested to some that Trump cared more about challenging Iran than fighting inflation at home. Trump defended his words, telling Fox News: “That’s a perfect statement. I’d make it again.”

The White House has since stressed that Trump is focused on inflation.

Asked later about the president's words, Vice President JD Vance said there had been a “misrepresentation” of the remarks. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the “administration remains laser-focused on delivering growth and affordability on the homefront" while indicating actions would be taken on grocery prices.

But as Trump appeared alongside Xi, new reports back home showed inflation rising for businesses and interest rates climbing on U.S. government debt.

His comments that Boeing would sell 200 jets to China caused the company’s stock price to fall because investors had expected a larger number. There was little concrete information offered about any trade agreements reached during the summit, including Chinese purchases of U.S. exports such as liquefied natural gas and beef.

“Foreign policy wins can matter politically, but only if voters feel stability and affordability in their daily lives,” said Brittany Martinez, a former Republican congressional aide who is the executive director of Principles First, a center-right advocacy group focused on democracy issues.

“Midterms are almost always a referendum on cost of living and public frustration, and Republicans are not immune from the same inflation and affordability pressures that hurt Democrats in recent cycles,” she added.

Democrats see Trump as vulnerable

Democratic lawmakers are seizing on Trump’s comments before his trip as proof of his indifference to lowering costs. There is potential staying power of his remarks as Americans head into Memorial Day weekend facing rising prices for the hamburgers and hot dogs to be grilled.

“What Americans do not see is any sympathy, any support, or any plan from Trump and congressional Republicans to lower costs – in fact, they see the opposite,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday.

Vance faulted the Biden administration for the inflation problem even though the inflation rate is now higher than it was when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 with a specific mandate to fix it.

“The inflation number last month was not great,” Vance said Wednesday, but he then stressed, "We’re not seeing anything like what we saw under the Biden administration.”

Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, a Democrat. By the time Trump took the oath of office, it was a far more modest 3%.

Trump's inflation challenge could get harder

The data tells a different story as higher inflation is spreading into the cost of servicing the national debt.

Over the past week, the interest rate charged on 10-year U.S. government debt jumped from 4.36% to 4.6%, an increase that implies higher costs for auto loans and mortgages.

“My fear is that the layers of supply shocks that are affecting the U.S. economy will only further feed into inflationary pressures,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.

Daco noted that last year’s tariff increases were now translating into higher clothing prices. With the Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s ability to impose tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, his administration is preparing a new set of import taxes for this summer.

Daco stressed that there have been a series of supply shocks. First, tariffs cut into the supply of imports. In addition, Trump’s immigration crackdown cut into the supply of foreign-born workers. Now, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off the vital waterway used to ship 20% of global oil supplies.

“We’re seeing an erosion of growth,” Daco said.

Speaking like a coach who knows his days are numbered, Arbeloa told reporters in Madrid on Saturday that “if he (Mourinho) is the one who is here next season, I will be happy to see him back home.”

Arbeloa played for Madrid when Mourinho was in charge from 2010-2013, a tumultuous time in which Madrid won Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles but was overshadowed by Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona side. Mourinho's abrasive attitude to opponents like Guardiola as well as some of his own players turned off many in Spain. He also had his faithful backers, like Arbeloa and some hardcore fans.

The Madrid sports papers are rife with rumors that Mourinho is the leading candidate to replace Arbeloa, who was always seen as an interim coach after he was promoted from the club’s reserve team midseason to fill in for the fired Xabi Alonso.

Second-place Madrid has two more Spanish league games to play this campaign, which it will finish without a major title. It visits Sevilla on Sunday and concludes the season at home against Athletic Bilbao on May 23.

The 15-time European Cup winners have been embarrassed in recent weeks by series of unseemly events. There was a fight between players, and a loss at Barcelona that allowed its fierce rival to clinch the league title. Kylian Mbappé was also jeered by fans, while the star striker called out Arbeloa publicly for not playing him more.

Club president Florentino Pérez added to the sense of a club in crisis by giving a press conference to announce he would call early elections, which he is expected to win, while blasting the media for what he considered a campaign to force him to quit.

Pérez is expected to make a coaching change soon, and it is understandable that he believes Mourinho’s strong personality is what the squad needs.

Mourinho, who led Porto and Inter Milan to Champions League titles in 2004 and 2010, is finishing his season with Benfica this weekend. The 63-year-old coach said on Friday that he had received an offer from the Lisbon-based club to continue, but that he will decide his future in the coming days.

When asked what he thought about Mourinho’s possible return, Arbeloa reiterated similar praise he has lavished on Mourinho on other occasions.

“For me as a player, and above all as a Madrid supporter, I feel and think that he is the number one,” Arbeloa said.

___

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

The railroad, which serves New York City and its eastern suburbs, ceased operations just after midnight after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.

The unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the public agency that runs the railroad, have been negotiating for months on a new contract, with talks stalled over the question of workers' salaries and healthcare premiums. President Donald Trump’s administration tried to broker a deal, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m.

Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

“We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said early Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out.

First LIRR walkout since 1994

The walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, promises to cause headaches for sports fans planning to see the Yankees and Mets battle this weekend or to watch the Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above the railroad’s Penn Station hub in Manhattan.

The station was devoid of its usual weekend bustle in the afternoon. Only a few dozen people were seen traversing the main concourse, many dragging rolling luggage from departing or arriving Amtrak trains, which are not affected by the strike.

Departure boards normally showing upcoming trains by destination instead listed ghost trains marked “No Passengers.” A few signs affixed to customer service windows explained that the railroad was shut down because of a strike.

Access to platforms was blocked off with bicycle-rack style barricades and roll-down gates as MTA police officers stood sentry, directing people to alternative transportation.

Shutdown could severely disrupt weekday commuting

If the stoppage continues into the workweek, the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system each weekday will be forced to find other routes to the city from its Long Island suburbs. For many that likely means navigating the region’s notoriously congested roads.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for cutting mediation short and pushing the negotiations toward a strike. Trump, a Republican, responded on his Truth Social platform, saying he had nothing to do with the strike and “never even heard about it until this morning.”

“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump said, renewing his endorsement of Long Island politician Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Hochul’s reelection bid. “If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done.”

Hochul urged Long Islanders to work from home if possible. The MTA has said it would provide limited shuttle buses to New York City subway stations, but that contingency plan was not envisioned to handle all the riders the system normally carries on a workday.

And while remote work options greatly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people still need to show up in person, said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, a commuter advocacy group.

“You work in construction, you work in the healthcare industry, you work at a school or you’re about to graduate from school, that’s not always possible,” she said. “People need to get where they need to go.”

Dave Sumner, a locomotive engineer of 32 years, said he anticipates that Trump or Congress will step in before the strike goes on much longer.

“We’re pretty vital to this area,” he said.

The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands to raise salaries would have led to fare increases and impacted contract negotiations with other unionized workers.

The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.

Duane O’Connor, who picketed in the morning at Penn Station, said that while he regrets the impact on commuters, workers are simply asking for fair pay.

“I feel terrible. Terrible. This is going to hurt. This is going to hurt the island, this is going to hurt the city. ... All we are asking for is fair wages,” he said.

“We’re pretty much three years without a contract,” said Karl Bischoff, a locomotive engineer with LIRR for 29 years. “If they did their contracts for their construction stuff like that, this place would be in worse condition.”

If the unions get the pay increases they are looking for, “it will come at the expense of our riders who will see next year’s 4% fare increase doubled to 8%,” Gerard Bringmann, chair of the rider advocacy group LIRR Commuter Council, said in a statement. “Like the union workers, we too are burdened by the increase in the cost of living here on Long Island.”

With Hochul running for reelection, the pressure might be on the MTA to strike a deal to end the shutdown, said William Dwyer, a labor relations expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where commuter rail workers staged a three-day strike last year.

“She’s up for reelection, and Long Island is a critical vote for her,” Dwyer said. “So if there’s a significant fare hike, that does not bode well for her on Election Day.”

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

Meanwhile, Associated Press journalists in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, interviewed locals who recounted their fears and constant burials.

“Every day, people are dying ... and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three or even more people,” said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia. “At this point, we don’t really know what kind of disease it is.”

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

Officials first announced the latest outbreak in Congo on Friday with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. By Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 336 suspected and 13 confirmed cases. Four people have died among the confirmed cases.

At an online briefing on Saturday, Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the first cases were reported in Mongwalu health zone, a high-traffic mining area. “Cases subsequently migrated to Rwampara and Bunia as patients sought medical care, enabling spread across three health zones,” he said.

A high number of active cases remain within the local community, particularly in Mongwalu, Kaseya said, “significantly complicating containment and contact tracing efforts.”

Insecurity in Ituri, where Islamic State-backed militants carry out rampant deadly attacks, continues to restrict surveillance and rapid response operations, he added.

Of the 87 deaths, 57 are in the Mongwalu health zone, 27 in the Rwampara health zone and three in Bunia, Ituri's main city.

Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said late Friday that test results confirmed the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the disease that has been less prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks. This is Congo’s 17th outbreak since Ebola first emerged in the country in 1976.

The suspected index case in the latest outbreak is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia, Kamba said. He said the case dates back three weeks to April 24.

He did not say whether samples from the nurse were tested, but said the person presented symptoms suggestive of Ebola.

The outbreak has spread to neighboring Uganda

Uganda confirmed Friday an Ebola case that authorities said was “imported” from Congo. The person died at the Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on May 14.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control ​and Prevention had said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.

The body of the patient who died in Kampala was later taken back to Congo and no other local case has been confirmed, Uganda’s Health Ministry said.

On Saturday, people were being screened at the entrance of the Kibuli Muslim Hospital.

Ismail Kigongo, who resides in Kampala, said the new outbreak reminded him of his father, whom he lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I really get scared because I remember burying my father without looking at his body,” he said.

Kenya, Uganda's neighbor, said Saturday that there is only a “moderate risk of importation” of the Ebola virus due to regional travel. Kenya’s government said it has formed an Ebola preparedness team and has strengthened surveillance at all points of entry.

Congo is a large country that often faces logistical challenges

Congo has experience managing Ebola outbreaks but often faces logistical challenges in delivering expertise and supplies to affected regions.

As Africa’s second-largest country by land area, Congo’s provinces are far from one another and mostly battling conflict. Ituri, for instance, is around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, and is ravaged by violence from Islamic State-backed militants.

Only 13 blood samples have been tested at the National Institute of Biomedical Research; 8 tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain. The remaining five could not be analyzed due to insufficient sample volume, the health minister said.

In Bunia, Ituri's main city, businesses and regular activities in public places appeared normal on Friday.

Resident Adeline Awekonimungu said she hopes the outbreak is quickly contained. "My recommendation is that the government take this matter seriously and that it takes charge of the hospitals so that this matter can be brought under control,” she said.

___

Associated Press writers Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria; Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo; Patrick Onen in Kampala, Uganda; and Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya contributed.

—

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed on Friday, Israel’s army said, describing him as one of the senior Hamas military commanders who directed the planning and execution of the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw more than 250 taken hostage.

A Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, confirmed the killing on social media.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, and the top diplomat overseeing it says it has stalled because of the deadlock over disarming Hamas. Both sides have traded accusations of violations. Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire with more than 850 people killed in the Palestinian territory since the ceasefire went into effect in October, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. The ministry overall says Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the war have devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 72,700 people.

Israel said that al-Haddad had assumed the role of Hamas commander after his predecessor, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed. The army said that al-Haddad had surrounded himself with Israeli hostages during the war as a shield against an attack.

Al-Haddad’s family confirmed his death in Friday's strike to The Associated Press. Six other people, including his wife and daughter, were also killed. His two sons were killed earlier in the war.

His body was wrapped in Hamas and Palestinian flags as it was carried by mourners at Saturday's funeral in Gaza City.

Al-Haddad joined Hamas when it was established in the 1980s, and was a member of the Qassam Brigades' Majd section tasked to go after collaborators with Israel. He was also a member of Hamas’ Military Council, the highest group of commanders that played a key role in the attacks that sparked the war.

Israel's army chief of staff called his killing a significant operation, and said that Israel would continue pursuing its enemies to hold them accountable.

Palestinian man killed in West Bank

Violence flared Saturday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops shot and killed a 34-year-old Palestinian in the Jenin refugee camp, according to the Palestinian Health ministry.

Hassan Fayyad was fatally shot in a thigh, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Israel's military said that troops first fired warning shots at a person trying to infiltrate the camp and shot him when he didn't comply. They provided him with medical treatment as he was transferred to a hospital, it said.

Israeli troops on Thursday shot and killed a 15-year-old boy in Eastern Lubban town in Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israel's military said that it identified three people hurling rocks toward Israeli vehicles and “endangering lives,” and troops fired at them, killing one.

On Friday, settlers set fire to a mosque and vehicles in the village of Jibiya, northwest of Ramallah, Palestinian religious authorities said. Security camera footage showed people pouring flammable material on the mosque and at least two vehicles, said Sabir Shalash, the head of Jibiya’s municipal council. Spray-painted Hebrew slogans were found on the mosque’s walls, he said.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs described the attack as “a cowardly terrorist act” and criticized the international community’s inaction over mounting Jewish settler attacks against Muslim and Christian sites in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military and police said that they were deployed to the area and didn't locate any suspects, but were investigating. The army said that it “strongly condemns” attacks on religious institutions.

___

Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.

___

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Labor unions representing about half the system’s workers announced the walkout after negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ended Friday without a new contract. The five unions, which represent about half the system’s 7,000 workers, including locomotive engineers, machinists and signalmen, weren’t legally allowed to go on strike until 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Kevin Sexton of the National Vice President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

“We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

Janno Lieber, the MTA chairman, said the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out.

The strike will force the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system each weekday to find alternative routes into New York City from its Long Island suburbs or to work from home. That means more cars on traffic-choked highways and longer work commutes.

“It’s gonna be such a nightmare trying to get in,” said Rob Udle, an electrician who takes the LIRR at least five days a week into Manhattan.

The strike could make it challenging for some sports fans to get into Manhattan to watch the NBA’s New York Knicks playoff run or see the baseball rivals the New York Yankees battle the crosstown Mets this weekend.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has urged LIRR riders to work from during the walkout as the MTA plans to provide free but limited shuttle buses during the work day rush hours geared toward essential workers.

In a statement she blamed the strike on union leadership.

“Commuters are dealing with unnecessary dysfunction and thousands of union LIRR workers are being forced to go without a paycheck because of decisions made by a small group of union leaders,” Hochul said. ”I stand with LIRR riders and will fight to preserve the long term stability of the MTA.”

Dispute over wages

Both sides said the fight was over wage increases and health care premiums.

Details on exactly where each side stood late Friday weren’t released, but the union had gone into the talks demanding a total raise of 16% over four years, saying it was needed to help workers keep up with inflation.

The MTA has argued that the union’s initial demands would lead to fare increases. Lieber said that while the MTA had met the pay demands, it had asked for new hires to the LIRR to pay higher health care premiums to offset some costs. The union rejected that idea.

Commuters brace for the worst

Susanne Alberto, a personal trainer from Long Island, said she has already made plans with her Manhattan clients to hold virtual sessions in the event of a shutdown.

She said the union likely has the upper hand.

“The MTA is going to cave, and they know that,” Alberto said. “Why don’t they just do it now instead of waiting until virtually millions of people get inconvenienced?”

Udle, the electrician, said he will likely use his vacation days rather than navigate the “nightmare” of commuting into Manhattan if the rail service shuts down.

A union member, he sympathized with the unions’ affordability concerns, but he said he didn’t agree with their strong-arm tactics.

“I get it, the cost of living is going up and stuff like that,” Udle said while waiting at Penn Station for a train home. “But they shouldn’t hold everybody hostage to do it. There’s a better way. You’re affecting a lot of other people.”

A strike was temporarily averted in September when President Donald Trump’s administration agreed to help with negotiations. Those efforts ended without a deal, giving both sides 60 days — ending 12:01 a.m. Saturday — to again try to resolve their differences before the union is legally allowed to go on strike or the agency could lock out workers.

LIRR workers last went on strike in 1994, for about two days.

Workers on the commuter rail system connecting Manhattan to New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, went on strike last year. It lasted three days.

___

The first reference to the rail system has been updated to correct to Long Island Rail Road, from Long Island Railroad.

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

Heart of Midlothian was denied a first Scottish league title since 1960 on Saturday after losing a showdown game 3-1 at Celtic, which had to win and got the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute.

Add 2026 to 1986 and 1965 on the list of cruel ways fans of the unheralded Edinburgh club have seen title dreams dashed in the final minutes of the season.

Daizen Maeda, who is going to the World Cup with Japan, scored the crucial goal at Celtic Park that ultimately ensured the Glasgow giant would be crowned champion for the fifth year in a row and 14th time in 15 seasons. The goal was confirmed by video review to annul a raised offside flag.

Celtic extended its lead with an empty-net goal in the eighth and last minute of stoppage time when Hearts goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow went to the other end in search of a title-winning equalizer.

Callum Osmand putting the ball into the unguarded goal sparked wild celebrations from Celtic's fans, and hundreds invaded the field. Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland was reportedly punched by a Celtic fan as he tried to leave the field.

Shankland’s header in the 43rd gave Hearts a lead in a game it needed only to draw. Celtic leveled in first-half stoppage time when Arne Engels slotted a penalty awarded for handball.

‘That’ penalty in midweek

The buildup to one of the most eagerly anticipated games in Scottish soccer history was dominated by the hugely controversial penalty that gave Celtic a key win on Wednesday.

It changed the balance of the title race and gave Celtic an easier path to its record 56th Scottish league title.

Deep into stoppage time in the second-to-last round, Celtic was tied at Motherwell 2-2. Then a penalty was awarded on video review for what the officials eventually judged was handball by Motherwell's Sam Nicholson.

Video evidence was inconclusive, to say the least, and furiously debated since late Wednesday when Celtic forward Kelechi Iheanacho scored from the spot in the 99th minute.

Soccer great Gary Lineker later called it possibly the worst VAR call he ever saw, and Hearts coach Derek McInnes said it was "actually quite disgusting.”

Had Celtic not won at Motherwell, the gap to Hearts would be three points. Celtic would then have needed to win by three clear goals on Saturday to edge the tiebreaker on goal difference.

Instead, Celtic needed just a win by any score.

Hearts' cruel run

Celtic and its city rival Rangers have won every Scottish league title since Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen was champion in 1985. That four-decade run started with severe trauma for Hearts fans.

In 1986, just as in this season, a surprising Hearts led the standings for months and needed just a draw on the last day.

In both cruel climaxes, Hearts held that draw in its hands beyond the 80th minute. Forty years ago, Hearts conceded two late goals to Dundee substitute Albert Kidd, and Celtic won the title on goal difference by winning its game 5-0.

Older fans recall another Hearts-breaker in 1965. Hosting second-placed Kilmarnock, Hearts knew a 2-0 loss was the result that could deny the title on the now-defunct tiebreaker of goal average. The result? 2-0 to Kilmarnock.

The latest 3-1 loss at Celtic added an unwanted chapter in the history of a club now majority owned by fans, with a fascinating minority owner: Tony Bloom, the professional gambler, who also owns English Premier League club Brighton. Bloom's data analytics firm found transfer market gems for Hearts, including the league player of the year Cláudio Braga.

Celtic's season of turmoil

Celtic's league title came in a chaotic season that saw two coaches leave: Brendan Rodgers, in open conflict with the club's board, and Wilfried Nancy, who lasted just weeks after being hired from Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

Long-time chairman Peter Lawwell left in December citing “intolerable” levels of “abuse and threats” from fans toward him and his family.

Club icon Martin O’Neill was twice appointed as interim manager and, at the age of 74, this was his fourth league title with the team — coming 22 years after his previous one. Celtic can do the double next weekend, in the Scottish Cup final against second-tier Dunfermline.

___

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

The rainy season is officially here but it’ll sputter through next week with rainfall totals coming in under an inch the next 7 days. Today will be the better of the two weekend days with rain chances at 30% today increasing to 50% tomorrow.

These easterly winds will keep our high temperatures closer to normal in the upper 80s but watch out for increasing chances for rip currents at the beaches into early next week.

Thai news reported the crash happened in the late afternoon near an airport railway station in the central area. The city’s emergency services, Erawan Medical Center, said at least eight people were killed and more than 20 others were injured.

Footage of the moment of the crash shared on social media showed a line of vehicles had stopped at a railway crossing when a cargo train struck an orange bus. The impact also dragged several nearby vehicles along the tracks before the bus was engulfed in flames. Several motorcycles and their riders were also seen being thrown onto the road after the collision.

Later videos showed a group of rescuers entering the charred bus after the flames were brought under control.

Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat told reporters at the crash site that all the bodies were found on the bus. He said it was still unclear how many people were on board.

When asked about reports that the bus had stopped on the railway tracks and that the barriers, used to keep motorists away from the tracks when the trains are passing, may not have lowered properly, Siripong said the matter still needs to be investigated.

Kittipong Raksa said he parked his car near the train tracks when he heard the signal indicating the train was about to pass.

“I heard a thud and then another. I heard something hitting my car," said Kittipong. "Then I saw the train pass, dragging the bus with it.” He said after the collision, he found someone caught under his car, with a broken leg.

Kittipong said he did not see the barriers being lowered.

Armored vehicles, police horses, dogs, drones and helicopters were deployed along with at least 4,000 officers as the Metropolitan Police aims to avoid clashes. Hundreds more are on standby.

Police tried to make sure there was no crossover between the march organized by far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known by his pseudonym Tommy Robinson, and the annual demonstration to commemorate Nakba, the Arabic term for “catastrophe” that marks the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians from what is now Israel in 1948.

As of early afternoon, police said 11 people were arrested for a variety of offenses.

The marches took place at a particularly radicalized time in British politics, with the extremes on the right and the left advancing across the U.K. in elections last week.

Those protesting are motivated by a variety of issues, including anger at the number of would-be asylum-seekers making the dangerous crossing across the English Channel from the French coast to the U.K. in small boats, to Israel's actions in Gaza that have devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 72,700 people,

As the marches progressed through the afternoon, police said they will be mindful of splinter groups coming in contact.

Some foreigners were barred from entering UK

Prosecutors have been told to consider whether protest placards, banners and chants viewed on social media may amount to offenses of stirring up hatred during the rallies.

“This is not about restricting free speech," said the Crown Prosecution Service's director, Stephen Parkinson. “It is about preventing hate crime and protecting the public, particularly at a time of heightened tensions.”

The British government has also blocked 11 foreign nationals from entering the country for the “Unite the Kingdom” rally. Right-wing figures claiming to have been barred include Polish politician Dominik Tarczynski, Belgian politician Filip Dewinter, anti-Islam commentator Valentina Gomez and Dutch activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek.

“We will block those coming into the U.K. who seek to incite hatred and violence," said Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is fighting for his political life following those disastrous election results earlier this month. "For anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone, you can expect to face the full force of the law.”

On Friday, Starmer visited the Met's command center to discuss policing arrangements for the rallies alongside Met Commissioner Mark Rowley and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Live facial recognition will be used for the first time in a protest policing operation, with cameras set up in the north London neighborhood of Camden that is not on the route of the “Unite the Kingdom” march, but which is expected to be used by a lot of people attending the event.

Farther north in the capital at Wembley, police will be hoping that the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City, which kicks off at 3 p.m., passes off without incident. Around 90,000 fans are set to attend.

Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday thanks to a moment of magic from Antoine Semenyo.

The forward brought to life a final that had produced little in the way of chances or excitement with a spectacular back-heeled goal in the second half.

Running onto a cross from Erling Haaland in the 72nd minute, Semenyo flicked his heel at the ball and directed it low into the far corner past diving Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

“It has happened a couple of times in training, it happened perfectly today. ... It came straight to me and I had to improvise myself as quickly as I can," Semenyo told the BBC. “It is a good finish, I can’t lie."

Chelsea interim coach Calum McFarlane agreed.

“For me it’s a one in 100 goal," he said. “For me, no, there’s not much more you can do to defend it.”

Victory kept City in the hunt for a domestic trophy treble, having already won the English League Cup. Pep Guardiola’s team is also second in the Premier League, two points behind Arsenal with two rounds to go.

With an important game against Bournemouth on Tuesday, Guardiola said he would not allow his players “even one beer” in celebration.

This was Guardiola’s 17th major trophy in 10 years at City and his 35th in his career overall.

City has won the Cup eight times and moved level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham as equal third on the all-time winners' list.

Defeat means Chelsea will end the season trophyless — a year after being crowned Club World Cup champion — in what has been a crisis-ridden campaign.

After firing two coaches since the turn of the year, Chelsea went into the final with a novice on the sideline in McFarlane, a former youth coach taking charge of only his seventh first team game.

The turmoil at Chelsea led to supporters staging a protest against its American owners outside the stadium before kickoff.

In that sense it was commendable that McFarlane was able to frustrate Guardiola for such long periods.

That was until Semenyo's match-winning moment.

The Ghana international joined City from Bournemouth only in January and made an immediate impact — scoring 10 goals and helping the team to two trophies.

“As a kid I have always wanted to be playing for the top teams. It took a long time to get there, but I am grateful,” Semenyo said. “The first thing he (Guardiola) said to me when I came was, ‘Don’t change your game’ ... he still wants me to be me, still create a bit of chaos."

Fourth straight final

After the final whistle City fans sang the club anthem “Blue Moon” loudly, and cheered wildly as Bernardo Silva and John Stones lifted the famous trophy. Both players are leaving at the end of the season.

“Being able to lift another trophy at Wembley, where we have played so many times, is such a special feeling, one I never take for granted,” Bernardo said. “To do so as captain makes this one of the best days of my career.”

Triumph for City came after back-to-back losses in the final in the previous two years. This was the record fourth year in a row it reached the final, having last won it in 2023.

Chelsea has lost its last four FA Cup finals, tying Leicester's record for consecutive losses.

Arsenal has won soccer's oldest knockout competition a record 14 times. Manchester United was second with 13.

Guardiola was congratulated by Prince William as he went to collect his winners' medal. Afterwards the City manager gazed around Wembley at the celebrating fans.

There has been growing speculation that this could be his final season at City; he has yet to confirm his plans.

“The future is bright,” Guardiola said. “I know the guys, I know how they feel ... next year we will be there, we will be better next season.”

___

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

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.

In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.

It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.

Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.

When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”

The Russian leader is also scheduled to visit China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the city of Shenzhen in November.

Continued strikes and returned remains

Ukraine repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers Saturday following an earlier exchange with Moscow involving prisoners of war.

Russia returned 528 bodies that “according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen,” Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.

Experts will now “take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the deceased who have been repatriated,” it said.

It comes after Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians had been held by Russia since 2022 and fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, he added.

Meanwhile, Russia launched overnight drone attacks against Ukraine’s southern Odesa region on Saturday, regional authorities said.

Russian drones struck a five-story apartment block and a one-story residential building, injuring two people, said regional head Oleh Kiper. The city’s port was also damaged, he added.

Russia launched 294 drones overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said, adding that 269 of them were shot down.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that its forces shot down 138 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions, including Moscow. Drones were also destroyed over the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, as well as the Black and Azov seas, it said.

Ukrainian attacks killed two civilians in Russia's Belgorod region on the western border with Ukraine, local officials said. One man was killed when a Ukrainian drone hit a vehicle in the village of Krasnaya Yaruga, while another died when his home was hit in a strike on the village of Dubovoye. An apartment block in the region was also damaged in a separate attack, officials said.

___

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

The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).

Maldives presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said the search was suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.

Authorities are awaiting the arrival of three Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving, on Sunday, to rethink their search strategy, he said.

Mahudhee will be buried with military honors in a funeral attended by President Mohamed Muzzu on Saturday night. The diver was part of the group that had briefed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.

“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” Shareef said.

Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.

Search operations on Saturday involved eight local divers who worked in shifts to locate the missing Italians, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. Initial teams had already dived to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians disappeared. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home. He offered his condolences for the death of the Maldivian diver during the rescue efforts.

The victims are described as experienced divers

The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.

Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday. His body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.

Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said in a statement Friday. However, the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately,” it said.

The statement also said the two other victims — student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri — were not involved in the scientific mission.

Carlo Sommacal, Montefalcone’s husband and Giorgia’s father, expressed doubts over the accident, saying that “something must have happened down there” given his wife and daughter's extensive experience.

Speaking to Italian TV, he described Montefalcone as a careful and highly disciplined diver who would never put her daughter or other colleagues at risk.

Tour operator says it didn't authorize deep dive

The Italian tour operator that manages the Maldives' diving trip denied authorizing or knowing about the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator “did not know” the group planned to descend beyond 30 meters. That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities and the tour operator “would have never allowed it,” she said.

The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Stella added. The victims were experienced divers, but the equipment used appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical equipment suited for deep cave diving, she said.

She also clarified that Albatros only marketed the cruise and neither owned the vessel nor employed the crew, which was hired locally.

Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialized training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor. Experts say it’s easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.

Diving at 50 meters also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 meters (131 feet) considered technical diving and requiring specialized training and equipment.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.

Italian officials said that around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard the vessel “Duke of York” were safe. Italy’s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.

The Maldives Tourism Ministry said it suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation.

___

Zampano reported from Rome.

Among the stacks of beef boxes and red meat cuts hanging from metal hooks, chicken and pork are increasingly present.

Red meat consumption in Argentina — historically one of the world’s biggest consumers of beef — has fallen to its lowest level in two decades amid economic austerity measures imposed by libertarian President Javier Milei.

As of April 2026, annual per capita beef consumption fell to 44.5 kilograms (98 pounds), down from 49.5 kilograms (109 pounds) during the same month a year earlier, according to the Agricultural Foundation for Argentina’s Development. In 2006, it was 63.4 kilos (139 pounds) per person.

“People are switching to cheaper proteins. They’re eating pork, they’re eating chicken,” said García.

Analysts attribute the decline to soaring beef prices, lower cattle supply and weakened household purchasing power. The opening of Argentina’s beef market to international trade has also pushed domestic prices closer to global levels.

“Beef moved into a completely different purchasing-power category. Workers’ wages fell far behind,” said Juampi Quintero, 25, a meat distributor who estimated consumption among his clients has fallen by more than half.

Less money for beef

Since coming into office in December 2023 with an annual inflation at 211%, Milei promised to eliminate what he called “the cancer of inflation” through an adjustment plan that included cuts equivalent to nearly one-third of public spending, symbolized by the image of a chain saw.

The government succeeded in reversing the fiscal deficit and achieving a budget surplus — a rare result in Argentina’s recent history — but the social cost of the austerity measures has drawn criticism.

Within months, Milei’s administration eliminated 13 ministries, laid off about 30,000 public employees, halted public works projects and reduced funding for key areas such as education, healthcare and science, while also cutting subsidies for basic services such as electricity, gas, water and transportation.

“That affects household income because families now have to pay more for services that were previously subsidized by the state,” said economist Camilo Tiscornia. “As a result, they have less disposable income and must give up certain more expensive goods, such as beef.”

At the same time, household incomes did not rise at the same pace as beef prices, helping drive down consumption.

Wages for registered workers increased an average of 1.8% in February, the latest available data, compared with monthly inflation of 2.9%.

“Before, I had the freedom to buy what I wanted,” said Alberto Brajin, a 61-year-old retiree who runs a streetside barbecue stall in Buenos Aires.

Brajin said he now has to “trade down” to cheaper proteins such as chicken.

Incomes drop, beef prices surge

Beef prices rose more than 60% over the past year, reaching an average of 18,500 pesos ($13) per kilogram in Buenos Aires in May, according to the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute.

In July 2025, Milei’s government reduced export taxes on beef and poultry and removed production quotas to encourage overseas sales, reversing part of the restrictions imposed under former President Alberto Fernández to curb rising domestic prices. The easing of export regulations came just as Argentina's beef production dropped by more than 10 percent due to floods and droughts, according to CICCRA, the nonprofit organization that represents Argentina’s beef producers.

Argentina’s government said this week that beef exports rose 54% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, totaling nearly 200,000 tons worth more than $1 billion. The increase followed a U.S. decision earlier this year to expand Argentina’s tariff-free beef quota amid American cattle shortages.

With the market opening up, producers began selling beef — once affordable across much of Argentina’s social spectrum — at prices closer to international levels.

“Previously, all meats had similar prices, which encouraged high beef consumption that did not reflect its real production costs,” agricultural consultant Iván Ordóñez explained.

Shop owners learn to adapt

As beef becomes increasingly expensive for many Argentine families, chicken and pork are gaining ground as cheaper alternatives.

“We’ve chosen to buy pork and chicken because beef is too expensive,” said shop owner Ruth Simon.

Chicken costs an average of 4,900 pesos ($3.50) per kilogram, while pork ribs cost around 8,900 pesos ($6.30).

García, the butcher shop owner, said he began selling chicken and pork less than a year ago after noticing changes in customers’ eating habits.

“You have to adapt,” he said. “We can’t just sit around crying. No crying. We have to work. We have to keep our dignity. We have to fight.”

___

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

For the first time in seven years, Silvia Díaz won’t get together with friends to watch the Eurovision Song Contest finals on Saturday night. Their host called off their annual gathering after Spain’s public broadcaster withdrew from the festival, protesting Israel’s participation over its war against Hamas in Gaza. Díaz will watch on YouTube, but only if she has no other plans.

“It’s not the same watching it alone at home as it is with friends. That’s the only thing that upsets me.”

The five-day song competition drew 166 million viewers last year — considerably more than Super Bowl viewership in the U.S. Spain hasn't won since 1969; nevertheless, after months of television, radio and newspaper play for Spain’s song, friends and families usually watch the final at home and bars, and their contestant's performance dominates the day-after headlines. Spaniards at the event wave the country's flag, wear red clothing, or don the occasional bullfighter costume.

Spain announced its boycott in December, after the European Broadcasting Union said Israel would be allowed to compete, and has been joined by Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland. Some Spanish fans respect the choice to take a stand by sitting out the cherished event, even if it’s bittersweet.

Media blackout in Spain and elsewhere

Spain's broadcaster has repeatedly expressed disapproval over Israel’s participation. In last year's semifinals, RTVE's commentators introduced Israel's singer in the same breath as they mentioned Palestinians killed in the war. Before airing the final, the network transmitted the message “Peace and justice for Palestine” on a black background to hundreds of thousands of Spanish televisions.

As Eurovision finals take place in Vienna, RTVE will air a tribute to the network's musical history. It will feature a performance by Tony Grox and Lucycalys, the musicians who RTVE would have dispatched to represent Spain at Eurovision.

Ireland's public broadcaster will air a film about one couple's life in the Irish countryside. Slovenians will be shown an episode of a 10-part program about Palestinians. People can still watch Eurovision on the European Broadcasting Union's YouTube channel, but the lack of a performer or commentator from their own country renders the vibe decidedly less passionate.

Israel has been competing for 50 years and won four times. Israelis gather in bars to watch and are enthusiastic about the country’s participation, which is seen by many as a sign of international acceptance and normalcy. Its contestant each year becomes a national celebrity and a strong showing — even if not an outright victory — is a source of pride.

Fans are divided by the boycott

Among Spain's Eurovision fans, this year's boycott has supporters and detractors.

For Rebeca Carril, who enjoys replaying performances from the 1960s and 1970s, before she was born, the turning point came a few years ago with the influx of Israeli sponsors. She didn't want to support their marketing efforts by tuning in.

“I have Palestinian friends and I began to understand a little better how things worked,” said Carril, a 42-year-old marketing executive in Madrid.

For others, like Guillermina Bastida, music and politics should be separate. She drove 3 1/2 days from northern Spain in a van with her two daughters to last year's competition in Basel, her third time attending. This year, she will settle for YouTube.

“It’s a song festival, period,” Bastida, a 47-year-old who works in communications, said by phone from Asturias province. “I also have my own stance, which is critical, but not to the point of boycotting the festival.”

Eurovision’s motto is “United by Music,” and organizers strive to keep politics out, vainly, in recent years. Months after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Broadcasting Union disqualified Russia, and it hasn’t been allowed to return. Contest rules ban overtly political lyrics or symbols, and organizers stress it is a competition among national broadcasters, not governments.

Spain is one of the so-called “Big Five” countries that contribute the most financially to Eurovision. In addition to missing out on big bucks for broadcasting rights, Eurovision is losing publicity and credibility, said Jose García, co-director of a website that provides news about the competition, whose main social media channels have a combined total of almost 100,000 followers.

That doesn't mean people will tune out completely, he added.

“It has marked the television and personal history of many people, and fans will watch it via international channels or YouTube. But it’s one thing to be able to watch it and another to agree with what’s happening,” García said.

The absence of Spaniards is felt

On the streets of Vienna, the lack of Spaniards is noticeable, said Vicente Rico after attending the first night of the semifinals.

“We’re a group that, just like at other events, makes its presence felt — we’re among the happiest, the loudest and the most fun,” said Rico, 40, who runs a perfumery in Madrid.

This is Rico's 18th Eurovision, and he had been torn before embarking on his annual pilgrimage because he believes the boycott is morally right. Still, it doesn't sit well.

“It bothers me that Eurovision is being used as a scapegoat,” he said, noting the lack of action by international organizations and boycotts at other events like the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in a month.

And who will Rico support, with Spain absent?

“I think Finland is going to win, but the support for Italy is crazy,” he said. If Sweden, Serbia or Australia prevails, he would return to Spain happy.

“This year, we’re rooting for everyone except Israel.”

___

Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Jill Lawless in Vienna contributed to this report.

Trump announced the joint operation in Africa’s most populous country in a late-night social media post. He said Abu Bakr al-Mainuki was second-in-command of the Islamic State group globally and “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.”

Al-Mainuki was viewed as the key figure in IS organizing and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share sensitive information.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation and said Al-Mainuki was killed alongside “several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin."

The joint operation is the latest by both countries since their new security partnership that kicked off last year after Trump claimed Christians were being targeted in Nigeria’s security crisis and threatened U.S. military intervention. Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria's security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.

According to the spokesperson for the Nigerian military task force that carried out the Friday operation, the mission was a "highly complex precision air-land operation" and was carried out during three hours of darkness early Saturday without any casualties or loss of assets.

“His elimination represents the single most consequential counterterrorism outcome" in the region since the inception of the operation in 2015, Sani Uba, the spokesperson for the task force, said in a statement.

United Nations experts in their latest report said IS had intensified efforts in West Africa, citing more than 500 attacks between January and October last year.

Questions over Al-Mainuki's exact status in IS

Born in Nigeria’s Borno province in 1982, al-Mainuki took the helm of the IS branch in West Africa after his predecessor, Mamman Nur, was killed in 2018, according to the Counter Extremism Project, which tracks militant groups.

Al-Mainuki was based in the Sahel area, the monitoring group said, adding that it is believed that he fought in Libya when IS was active in the North African nation more than a decade ago. He was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023.

Trump, in his social media announcement, said Al-Mainuki was “second in command globally,” hiding in Africa, a claim that some analysts say is off the mark. The Nigerian military, in a statement, also said intelligence shows that earlier this year, Al-Mainuki might have been “elevated to the position of Head of the General Directorate of States, placing him the second most senior leader within the ISIS global hierarchy.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said Al-Mainuki was the senior ISIS General Directorate of Provinces Emir — “the number two for ISIS globally — responsible for overseeing the planning of attacks, directing the hostage-taking and managing financial operations."

There is no way to verify his position within IS independently. Analysts say Al-Mainuki was the deputy to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of the Islamic State West African Province who was reported to have died in 2021. He is regarded as one of the central proponents of the formation of ISWAP, after its split with Boko Haram in 2016.

“If confirmed, the killing of Al-Mainuki is huge because this is the first time a security agency has killed someone this high in the ranking of ISWAP,” Malik Samuel, a senior researcher at Good Governance Africa who specializes in insurgent groups in Nigeria, said.

“The potential to cause chaos within the group is also there because the operation must have been carried out in the heart of ISWAP’s fortified base, which is very difficult to access.”

Trump in December directed U.S. forces to launch strikes against the Islamic State group in Nigeria, though he released little detail then about the impact.

US and Nigeria step up joint operations

The Nigerian military said the operation was a result of recently formed U.S.-Nigeria partnership and intelligence-sharing efforts. Samalia Uba, the military spokesperson, said in a statement that the operation has also “disrupted a violent terrorist network that endangered Nigeria and the broader West African region.”

Nigeria has been battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with IS, as it has grappled with a multifaceted security crisis. IS affiliates in Africa have emerged as some of the continent's most active militant groups following the collapse of the so-called IS caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2017.

The U.S. in February sent troops to the West African nation to help advise its military, and in March, the U.S. also deployed drones there after Trump's allegations about Christians being targeted in Nigeria.

The Friday night operation was the latest instance in a string of covert missions abroad that Trump has announced this year, starting with the stunning overnight raid in January to capture and remove Venezuela's then-leader Nicolás Maduro and whisk him to the U.S., followed nearly two months later by the launch of strikes that kicked off the war with Iran.

___

Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Dyepkazah Shibayan in Abuja, Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP and he's one of the three finalists for the award this season — along with Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Denver's Nikola Jokic. Amazon Prime Video announced that it would reveal the MVP winner during its pregame show Sunday, which starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT.

No matter who wins, it'll be the eighth consecutive season in which a player who was born outside the U.S. takes the MVP trophy.

This international run of MVPs started with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (born in Greece, of Nigerian descent) in 2019 and 2020, then Denver’s Nikola Jokic (Serbia) in 2021 and 2022, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (born in Cameroon but has since become a U.S. citizen) in 2023, Jokic again in 2024 and Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) last year.

Wembanyama would be the first French player to win MVP, and Jokic is seeking a fourth MVP — something only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain (four) and LeBron James (four) have done.

It'll also be the 12th MVP award overall for an international player. Before this current run, Nigeria's Hakeem Olajuwon won in 1994, Canada's Steve Nash won in 2005 and 2006, and Germany's Dirk Nowitzki won in 2007.

The scheduling of the announcement may be a hint that Gilgeous-Alexander might be the winner, because it would have the same time-frame that the MVP reveal followed a year ago. In 2025, Gilgeous-Alexander was announced as the winner May 21, and he was formally presented with the trophy before Game 2 of the West finals in Oklahoma City on May 22.

This year, the Sunday announcement comes a day before the Thunder plays host to Game 1 of the West finals on Monday night.

Awards so far this season

A breakdown of the awards already announced by the NBA this season:

— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.

— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.

— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.

— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.

— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.

— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.

— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.

— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.

The league's Coach of the Year award (San Antonio's Mitch Johnson, Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla) has yet to be announced, as have the All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.

___

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

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, first brought attention to the strengthening ties between Israel and the UAE by revealing that Israel had sent Iron Dome air-defense weapons and personnel to operate them to help protect the UAE from Iranian attacks.

Then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had quietly visited the UAE during the war, prompting a hasty public denial from the Gulf nation.

As Netanyahu and the Trump administration ballyhoo their alliances as part of an effort to bolster the region's anti-Iran factions, the Gulf states prefer to downplay these partnerships — a sign of how public ties to Israel remain deeply controversial in the region.

Here’s what you need to know about the Israel-UAE relationship:

Why would the UAE deny Netanyahu’s visit?

Netanyahu’s decision to reveal his wartime trip to Abu Dhabi rocked the boat, particularly coming after Huckabee confirmed military cooperation between the two countries. Reports swirled that Israel’s security chiefs had also visited.

The UAE’s official WAM news agency posted an article denying “reports circulating” about the visit. The agency wrote that the country’s relations with Israel “are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements.”

The report also denied any Israeli military delegation was received in the UAE.

“It complicates Abu Dhabi’s wartime-frame posture by forcing it into the open — which is why the denial was issued so quickly and worded so carefully,” said Hesham Alghannam, a Saudi Arabia-based scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.

Though the UAE normalized relations with Israel in 2020, its rulers like to keep the alliance somewhat quiet.

Antipathy toward the Jewish state runs high in Arab and Muslim countries across the Middle East. The negative feelings were magnified by the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas, a militant group backed by Iran, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s ensuing offensive in Gaza flattened much of the territory and has killed over 72,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths. That conflict spilled across the region, with Israel waging deadly and damaging campaigns against Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and Yemen, and striking militant targets in Qatar and Syria.

“We are the ugly duckling of the Middle East,” said Dan Diker, the president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, a conservative Israeli think tank.

Diker, who has had extensive talks and relationships with Abraham Accord countries in the region, said the regional officials with whom he often negotiated always asked to keep things under the radar.

What is the Israel-UAE alliance based on?

Israel and the UAE collaborated militarily during the war with Iran. Israel benefited from having a defense foothold in a country geographically closer to its archenemy. The UAE, meanwhile, gained access to Israeli military technology, like the Iron Dome air-defense system.

The alliance has also been a boon for both countries’ economies, with trade between them rising steadily since 2020.

Israel, long isolated in the Middle East, gains legitimacy by partnering with an Arab country. And the UAE gains power in Washington.

The UAE was the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.

Why did Netanyahu publicize his visit?

Netanyahu faces fierce domestic opposition headed into an election season in Israel. He believes his image is bolstered if he can show his base that he is a Middle East power broker.

The Iran war did not much help the leader’s domestic popularity. One thing that could help it — while strengthening his strained relationship with President Donald Trump — would be more regional powers following the UAE’s lead. Israel is currently in talks with Azerbaijan to join the Abraham Accords.

But if Netanyahu was hopeful that broadcasting close Israel-UAE ties could serve as a model for other countries, he may need to temper expectations.

Saudi Arabia, a leader in the region that has resisted joining the Abraham Accords, has taken a different approach throughout the war. It has maintained open lines of communication with Tehran, and has supported Pakistan’s mediation between the sides, said Alghannam, the Saudi Arabia-based scholar.

“The aim is not to take a posture on Israel, per se. It is to refuse entanglement in a war whose dynamics Riyadh did not set and cannot control,” he said.

“Riyadh discussing the full range of options openly, with partners, without locking into one track, is itself a strategic signal," he said. "The regional security architecture will be designed regionally, not inherited from whatever Washington and Tehran negotiate bilaterally.”

___

Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg will be replaced as FDA's acting drug center director by Dr. Mike Davis, who has been serving as deputy director, according to an email sent to agency staff Friday that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Hoeg said in a social media post late Friday that she was “fired,” from the agency, adding: “I learned so much and leave with no regrets.”

Hoeg's departure is the latest in an ongoing shake-up at the powerful regulatory agency. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned earlier in the week, and Dr. Vinay Prasad, the agency's vaccine and biotech chief, stepped down last month following intense criticism from drugmakers, patients and investors.

The agency also announced Friday that Karim Mikhail would take over as acting director of the vaccines center. Mikhail, a longtime pharmaceutical executive, was hired by Makary last spring.

Makary's ouster from his role atop the FDA followed weeks of complaints from President Donald Trump's political allies, including anti-abortion groups and vaping lobbyists, who are frustrated with the direction of the agency.

Hoeg, who is closely aligned with Makary and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had been leading FDA's drug program since December, the latest official to briefly hold that position amid a revolving door of FDA leadership changes.

Hoeg's rapid rise through the agency was engineered by Makary, who quickly promoted her from serving as his special assistant to overseeing the agency's largest center, responsible for regulating most U.S. prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

FDA center directors are typically career agency scientists with decades of experience. Hoeg had no previous government or management experience.

Since arriving at the FDA last March, Hoeg led investigations into the safety of injectable RSV drugs for children, antidepressants and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Those inquiries reflected Hoeg’s longstanding interests and concerns from before joining government.

A sports medicine physician and public health scientist, Hoeg first gained attention during the pandemic as a critic of masking, school closures, vaccine mandates and other government measures. She co-wrote papers with other medical contrarians who would go on to join the Trump administration, including Makary and Prasad.

Like Makary and Prasad, Hoeg also frequently expressed her opinions in blog posts and podcasts, including one titled “Vaccine Curious.” The podcast discussed a number of discredited ideas, including that mRNA vaccines may contain harmful DNA contaminants.

A Danish American citizen, Hoeg was instrumental in the Trump administration’s recent effort to drop a number of federally recommended shots for children, including those for the flu and hepatitis B at birth. Those changes have been temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Boston, though the administration plans to appeal the decision.

At the FDA, Hoeg led an “initial analysis” of vaccine injuries that linked COVID-19 shots to 10 reported deaths in children — without providing the supporting evidence. The findings were discussed in an internal memo Prasad sent to staffers last November, though the FDA has not formally announced the findings or explained how they were developed.

Officials from the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have previously concluded that serious side effects from the vaccines are extremely rare.

More recently, Hoeg was involved in the agency’s review of a formal petition to add bold new warnings to antidepressant drugs about unproven pregnancy risks, including fetal abnormalities that could lead to autism and other disorders.

In March, she attempted to hire the author of the petition to serve as a senior adviser at the FDA, according to people familiar with the situation. The matter raised concerns among some agency staff because Hoeg had repeatedly referred to the person as a friend, according to the people who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential FDA matters.

___

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

The young Spurs left no doubt they're already a serious NBA title contender.

Stephon Castle had 32 points and 11 rebounds to highlight another dominant performance from the backcourt, and Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs romped past the Timberwolves 139-109 on Friday night to finish in the second-round series in six games.

“I just tip my hat to them,” Edwards said. “They were just the better team.”

De'Aaron Fox added 21 points and nine assists and rookie Dylan Harper had 15 points off the bench for the Spurs, who set their franchise postseason record for 3-pointers made by going 18 for 38. They will face defending champion Oklahoma City in Game 1 on Monday night. The Thunder swept their first two series.

“Of course we’re confident, but we need to keep the right confidence level,” Wembanyama said. “Right now, I’m not even thinking about it. I’m just thinking about recovering.”

Wembanyama, who bounced back from his stunning Game 4 ejection with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the Game 5 blowout, was well-guarded by the Wolves in Game 6 and had a quiet 19 points in 27 minutes. But he still served as a constant defensive deterrent in the paint, and he dutifully joined the Spurs in transition whenever they had the opportunity to run — which was often.

The size, smarts and shooting touch of the Spurs guards were too much for the Wolves, who predictably had their hands full with the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama.

Castle made his first five 3-pointers and finished 11 for 16 from the floor. Fox was 3 for 3 from deep, and Julian Champagnie made four 3s among his 18 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Wolves by a whopping 97 points in the series and never once trailed by double digits. The Spurs breezed by Portland Trail in five games in the first round.

“It shows that we already gained a little bit of experience from our short playoff time," Wembanyama said. "I feel like we put ourselves in the best conditions, as simple as that.”

Anthony Edwards had 24 points on 9-for-26 shooting for the Wolves, who got another spark from reserves Terrence Shannon (21 points) and Naz Reid (18 points) but were again flustered by the Spurs and their relentless switch-heavy defense. Julius Randle had just three points on 1-for-8 shooting.

“It just felt like we kind of ran out of bullets as this series went on,” coach Chris Finch said.

This no-show in the elimination game might’ve felt familiar to Wolves fans, who’ve otherwise enjoyed an unprecedented run of success in the playoffs over the last three years.

Minnesota trailed by 33 points at halftime in a 30-point loss at Oklahoma City in the Game 5 ouster in the Western Conference finals last year and were down by 29 points at the break to Dallas in losing the Western Conference finals in 2024 in a 21-point loss in Game 5.

___

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

Not yet, at least, though a path is now open for Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Greater Manchester, to try to unseat beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

It’s far from a sure thing, as there would be big hurdles to clear.

Burnham first needs to return to Parliament, where he could mount a challenge to Starmer's leadership, potentially alongside others, including former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who confirmed Saturday that he would stand in any race if and when it is triggered.

Starmer, who has vowed to lead on, has been on the ropes, facing plummeting approval ratings and questions about his judgment. His unpopularity was undoubtedly a key reason why Labour took a beating in U.K.-wide local elections this month. More than a fifth of the party's lawmakers in the House of Commons have urged him to stand down.

A return home yields a new look and nickname

Burnham, 56, is seen as Starmer's biggest would-be rival, partly because he's perceived to be to the political left of the prime minister.

The mayor is known as the “King of the North,” and his Labour backers will hope that moniker reaps rewards.

The allusion to the popular Jon Snow character in “Game of Thrones” is a sign of respect — earned for Burnham's fierce backing of northern England, its working class culture and heritage. It projects an image that he’s not part of the London political establishment. For many northerners, that counts for a lot.

His three sizable mayoral victories since 2017 show he can win.

But he hasn't always. Burnham, who was in the Cabinet of Gordon Brown’s government from 2007 to 2010, ran twice for the leadership of the Labour Party and lost badly — first in 2010 and then in 2015. Looking back on those campaigns, he was pretty stiff.

Ending his 16-year tenure in Parliament yielded a more polished performer and a sleeker look. Suits and ties were largely replaced by a smart-casual look, often paired with sneakers.

That may seem superficial, but it broke down barriers with voters.

More importantly, his stint as mayor made him a more effective operator and, arguably, the best communicator in Labour’s ranks.

His standing grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when he became the de facto spokesman for northern England by constantly haranguing Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson over what he called a “London-centric” approach to the crisis.

Burnham would have to quit his job as mayor if he wins a special parliamentary election in the constituency of Makerfield, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Manchester.

The road of return to Parliament runs through Reform UK

His route back to the House of Commons opened up Thursday when Labour lawmaker Josh Simons said he would step down to make way for Burnham. Though Burnham was blocked from running for a seat earlier this year, Labour’s executive body has said he can this time in the special election expected within weeks.

It will likely be a bruising battle and one of, if not the most, consequential special elections in U.K. history.

“We need to fix politics, to fix the economy, get the basics back under public control so that people can afford their rent, energy bills, etc," Burnham told the BBC on Saturday. “We’ve got to see this as a moment to reclaim the Labour Party, to save it from where it’s been. we can’t just carry on as we are.”

Simons secured the seat by about 5,400 votes two years ago, but that was in Labour’s landslide victory of 2024 that swept Conservatives out after 14 years.

Times have changed dramatically, and Labour’s recent battering came at the hands of the ascendant anti-immigrant Reform UK party on the right and, to a lesser-extent, the eco-populist Greens on the left. All the wards in the Makerfield constituency were won by Reform in the local races.

Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, said the party would “throw absolutely everything at it.”

Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Burnham can capitalize on his “big name” reputation and as someone who gets things done.

“There will be a lot of people who would like to see him get back into Parliament, not least to take down Keir Starmer,” Bale said. “In some ways, it’s a useful test for Burnham because if he can’t beat Reform in that constituency, then quite frankly, he’s not much use to the Labour Party as leader.”

One battle after another

Labour has never ousted one of its leaders while in government, but there is a process.

If Burnham wins, he would either trigger a leadership contest or join one. To do so, a member of Parliament needs the support of a fifth — or 81 — of Labour's 403 members. Starmer, who has vowed to fight on, would automatically be entitled to run.

Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary on Thursday but did not directly challenge Starmer, confirmed he would be a candidate in the likely leadership election.

“We need a proper contest with the best candidates on the field, and I’ll be standing," he said.

Streeting insisted he had enough support to trigger a contest, but suggested he would “lack legitimacy” without Burnham having a chance to return to Parliament.

Streeting said the future of the U.K. was at stake in the next general election and that Labour risked being “the handmaidens of Nigel Farage” if the party did not heed the electorate's warnings last week. He also voiced his hope that the U.K. would go back into the European Union.

Others said to be considering doing so are former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, defense minister Al Carns and former party leader Ed Miliband.

For now, all permutations go through Makerfield and that result could have a seismic impact.

“Were Burnham to win the by-election, it’s unlikely that Keir Starmer will actually stand in that leadership contest,” Bale said. “If Burnham fails, then Starmer might feel he has a chance against Streeting and Rayner.”

___

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

White, a 27-year-old screenwriter, knew she had to go. She wasn't the only one. More than 150 women — buoyed by the viral video — attended the tryouts in January, a five-fold increase from previous turnouts.

Five months later, White is one of a handful of women who have packed their bags and moved to Florida to join USA Handball's national residency program, hoping to eventually be selected to represent the United States at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Handball is popular overseas but not in the US

As the host nation, the U.S. automatically qualifies for every sport.

The last time the United States had a women’s handball team at the Games was in 1996. Finding the money and resources needed to field a competitive U.S. team is a constant challenge. Athletes are often dual citizens from Europe who play professionally overseas.

While handball is little known in the U.S., it is popular in Germany, France, Norway and Denmark as well as Balkan nations in southeastern Europe. These countries usually dominate at the Olympics.

Men’s handball was introduced in the 1936 Olympics, and women started participating at the 1976 Games. But while many Olympic athletes start training in childhood to compete for their country, handball athletes in the U.S. often pivot to the sport later in life.

The game involves two teams of six players who use their hands to pass a ball — covered in a sticky resin — to get it into the other team’s goal, protected by a goalkeeper. It’s fast, full-contact and can draw tens of thousands of spectators overseas.

Former athletes take a gamble

Many female handball players were Division One athletes in college or are former professional basketball players. Most are in their 20s and 30s, but some play into their 40s.

White had hoped to have a college athlete career playing basketball and lacrosse but was hindered by injuries and several surgeries on her knees. Handball felt like her chance to play competitive sports again.

“I think a lot of people would describe me as the most competitive person they’d ever met,” White said. “I definitely was raised in a house where we had big, big dreams.”

She told the coach after tryouts: “I’m ready to go do this and I will work as hard as you want me to work.”

The goal of the residency is for players to improve enough to be paid to play professionally overseas.

Many have left partners behind to pursue their dreams, including White.

“I told him I’m going to take him to Europe with me,” she said.

As for the Olympic team roster, that won’t be finalized until a few months ahead of the LA Games. While dozens of women are training in the residency, only about 14 to 18 can represent the country in a tournament. It’s a big gamble.

Multisport athletes tend to make the best handball players

Sarah Gascon, who played on the women’s national team for years, recently became its head coach. Her goal is to rebuild the team and the program in the U.S. after years of decline.

“We’ve had great successes in my career and some really great moments but still didn’t get an opportunity to play in the Olympic Games because we just weren’t good enough,” Gascon said.

The best players, Gascon has found, are multisport athletes. Basketball teaches you how to dribble, volleyball teaches you how to block a ball when someone is shooting, and softball or rugby teaches you how to throw. Handball incorporates all of these skills.

“It’s really about their athleticism,” Gascon said. “Do they have a good foundation that we could build upon? And how are they able to adapt with learning something new at 22 or 23 years old?”

A lack of funding is the biggest hurdle

While Gascon has rounded up enthusiastic athletes in Florida, the biggest challenge they face is resources.

USA Handball is the only national governing body for an Olympic sport that doesn’t receive any funding from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and the women’s team is the only one that doesn’t receive any support, such as access to elite athlete health insurance, Gascon said. The committee did not respond to an Associated Press email request for comment.

Gascon and her staff are all volunteers, and the athletes have to work full-time while training.

“Some of our best athletes haven’t been able to go to tournaments or go to events because they can’t afford it,” Gascon said.

Devyn Holbrook had also never heard of handball before the tryouts.

The 30-year-old self-proclaimed “queen of side quests” grew up doing ballet, soccer, basketball, softball, and javelin for track and field. She quickly became obsessed with handball after playing for just a few days.

“I just loved it and then I couldn’t stop watching videos online of past Olympic Games,” Holbrook said. “You don’t get a lot of chances to do like women’s team sports later in life.”

She figured she had nothing to lose.

“There will never be a chance again that I could go to the Olympics in this capacity,” Holbrook said. “So why not give it everything that I have? And if I don’t make it, then I don’t make it.”

There’s a lot that's noteworthy: Women lead the nominations for a second year in a row. Shania Twain will host for the first time, taking over for Reba McEntire. The awards ceremony will also take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, leaving the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, after three years.

And the ACM festivities actually began ahead of Sunday's event.

Before the show, a few trophies were handed out. Jessie Jo Dillon was named songwriter of the year, becoming the first artist to win three times in a row. Stephen Wilson Jr. was awarded visual media of the year for “Cuckoo.” And Avery Anna and Tucker Wetmore were presented with new female and new male artist of the year, respectively.

Here’s what you need to know before the main ACMs attraction begins.

How to watch the ACMs

The 2026 ACM Awards will stream on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, as well as the Amazon Music app, on May 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.

This year’s ACM Awards nominees

Women dominate the 2026 ACM Award nominations. First up: Megan Moroney, who leads with nine nods.

She’s followed by Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, with eight, as well as Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven each.

Then there's Chris Stapleton with six, Zach Top with five and Cody Johnson with four.

In addition to Moroney, those competing for entertainer of the year are Wilson, Stapleton, Johnson, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.

In the album of the year category, Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” faces off against Top’s “Ain’t in It for My Health,” Riley Green’s “Don’t Mind If I Do,” Parker McCollum’s “Parker McCollum” and first-time nominee Carter Faith’s “Cherry Valley.”

Who’s performing at the ACM Awards

Performers will include Lambert, Langley, Top, Wilson, Johnson, Green, Faith, Anna, Wetmore, McCollum, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett and Lee Ann Womack.

McCollum and Womack will perform “Killin’ Me” from his 2025 self-titled album. All the nominees in the album of the year category will perform, except for Wallen.

Who’s presenting at the ACM Awards

Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Shaboozey, The War and Treaty, and TJ Osborne are among this year's presenters.

There will also be a few non-musician presenters: Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth, NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards, NASCAR driver and podcast host Corey LaJoie and former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

___

For more coverage of this year’s ACM Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-of-country-music-awards.

Israeli competitor Noam Bettan came second after a contest in Vienna clouded by protests and a boycott over the country’s participation.

Dara beat 24 other competitors during Saturday’s grand final of the sequin-drenched pop music competition. The song’s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine proved a hit with both national juries in participating countries and viewers around the world, whose votes together decide the winner.

“This is unbelievable,” Dara said at a post-show news conference early Sunday. “I don't even know what's going on."

She thanked “everyone who felt the bangaranga and felt connected to the force.”

The 27-year-old performer is an established name in her homeland, but had not been among the favorites to win. Still, “Bangaranga” is the sort of pop banger that Eurovision does so well, with its irresistible exhortation: “Surrender to the blinding lights. No one’s gonna sleep tonight. Welcome to the riot.”

Dara has spoken about battling with anxiety, and described bangaranga as an inner force that allows people to “drop this mask of chasing perfection.” She has said the song draws on Bulgaria's kukeri, elaborately costumed men who perform ritual dances to ward off evil spirits.

Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu came third in the contest with the rock song “Choke Me.” Australian star Delta Goodrem was fourth with the slick midtempo ballad “Eclipse,” and Italian crooner Sal Da Vinci came fifth with “Per Sempre Si,” or “Forever Yes.”

The Finnish duo of pop star Pete Parkkonen and classical violinist Linda Lampenius, who were strong favorite on betting markets, ended up in sixth place.

Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic said the contest often produces surprises.

“Eurovision has never really been a contest for big stars,” Vuletic said. “People like to see the underdog on stage. They like to the artist-in-the-making on stage or an artist from a smaller, poorer country on stage.”

Eclectic and outrageous acts

Acts from 25 countries, whittled down from an initial 35, took the stage at the Wiener Stadthalle arena in Vienna to battle for the continent’s pop crown. A fiery Finnish violinist, a Moldovan folk rapper and a Serbian metal band were among the contenders in a campy, colorful contest that has been likened to the World Cup with songs instead of soccer.

And like global sports, it often becomes entangled in politics. The contest has been clouded for a third year by calls for Israel to be excluded over its conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere, with five longtime participants — Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia — boycotting in protest.

The political tensions have clouded a contest that over the decades has given the world the perfect pop of ABBA’s “Waterloo” and the ageless “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” — better known as “Volare” — along with a host of Euro-pop party anthems.

The contestants had just 3 minutes to win over viewers. Jets of flame, glitter guns and wind machines worked overtime in a show that celebrated Europe’s eclectic musical tastes.

Serbian metal band Kravina offered hard rock angst, there was brooding choral rock from Albania’s Alis, and Cypriot contestant Antigoni had the crowd on its feet with dance floor filer “Jalla.”

Female solo artists dominated: There was an empowering power ballad from Germany’s Sarah Engels, gospel-tinged R&B from Poland’s Alicja, ethereal beauty from Ukraine’s Leléka, techno-pop from Sweden’s Felicia and opera-pop from France's Monroe.

Male soloists were well represented too, by the likes of Aidan from Malta, Denmark’s Søren Torpegaard Lund, rock-edged singer Jonas Lovv from Norway and Austria's techno-pop performer Cosmo.

Party rap with a political edge was in the house thanks to Satoshi’s ebullient “Viva, Moldova” and Greek artist Akylas’ playful “Ferto.”

British act Look Mum No Computer came last with the jokey novelty song “Eins, Zwei, Drei,” winning just a single point. Bulgaria gained 516 points in the contest’s convoluted voting system, and Israel received 343.

Protests express opposition to Israel

Tension over Israel's participation in Eurovision looks unlikely to subside.

This is the second year in a row that Israel has come second, largely because of a huge vote from the public. Eurovision organizers tightened voting rules this year after allegations the country had mounted an intense lobbying campaign to get votes for its competitor.

Bettan was loudly cheered, though there was a smattering of boos as he performed “Michelle,” a rock ballad in Hebrew, French and English. Earlier in the week, four people were ejected for trying to disrupt his semifinal performance.

Hundreds of protesters against Israel's inclusion marched near the contest arena before Saturday's final, some holding placards saying “Block Eurovision.” Pro-Palestinian groups also staged an outdoor concert on Friday under the banner “No stage for genocide.”

“Inviting Israel on such a beautiful stage as the Eurovision Song Contest stage is an affront to all the people who believe in humanity, who believe in love and togetherness,” said Congolese-Austrian artist Patrick Bongola, one of the organizers.

Despite blow to Eurovision's finances and viewership from the boycott, the contest is eyeing expansion, with a spinoff Eurovision Song Contest Asia due to take place in Bangkok in November.

Vuletic said political controversy is nothing new. The first Eurovision boycott was in 1969 — by Austria, which refused to send a delegation to Spain under dictator Francisco Franco.

“We’ve seen very politicized editions of the contest in the recent past,” Vuletic said. “All of them were very much mired in political controversy, yet Eurovision continues."

___

Associated Press writers Hilary Fox and Philipp Jenne in Vienna and Maria Sherman in New York contributed to this report.

The Vatican said Leo had decided to create the in-house study group because of the acceleration in AI's use, “its potential effects on human beings and on humanity as a whole (and) the church’s concern for the dignity of every human being.”

The announcement came a day after Leo signed his encyclical, 135 years to the day after his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, dated his most important encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” or Of New Things. That document addressed workers’ rights, the limits of capitalism, and the obligations that states and employers owed workers as the Industrial Revolution was underway.

It became the foundation of modern Catholic social thought, and the current pope has already cited it in relation to the AI revolution, which he believes poses the same existential questions that the Industrial Revolution posed over a century ago. The new encyclical is expected to place the AI question in the context of the church's social teaching, which also covers issues such as labor, justice and peace.

“I think that the Catholic Church in many ways is going to be the adult in the room on some of these debates about how we are going to integrate AI into the rest of our society,” said Meghan Sullivan, a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame who directs its ethics institute. “For sure, the pope is going to be one of the most forceful advocates for human dignity in these discussions.”

Just days after his 2025 election, Leo told the cardinals who made him pope that the Catholic Church owed it to the world to offer the “treasury of its social teaching” to confront the challenges posed by AI on “human dignity, justice and labor.”

The public release of the encyclical, expected in the coming weeks, will likely become a new flashpoint between the Chicago-born Leo and the Trump administration, which has made the rapid development of AI a matter of vital national economic and security strategy. The United States has strongly rejected international regulatory efforts to rein in AI and the Trump administration has removed bureaucratic roadblocks slowing its development domestically.

The flurry of Vatican activity came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to China that included AI business. Traveling with Trump on Air Force One were, among others, Elon Musk, whose social media platform X features his AI chatbot Grok, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who recently secured federal approval to sell H200 AI chips to Chinese buyers.

The Vatican wants its voice and values in the AI debate

Since the AI boom kicked off with ChatGPT’s debut, the technology’s breathtaking capabilities have amazed the world. Tech companies have raced to develop better AI systems even as experts warn of its risks, from existential but far-off threats like rogue AIs running amok to everyday problems like bias in algorithmic hiring systems.

The United Nations last year adopted a new governance architecture to rein in AI after previous multilateral efforts, including AI summits organized by Britain, South Korea and France resulted only in nonbinding pledges. In 2024, the EU adopted its own Artificial Intelligence Act, applying a risk-based approach to its AI rules.

The Vatican has sought to add its voice to the debate, offering ethical guidelines for the application of AI in sectors from warfare to education and healthcare. The underlying call has been that the technology must be used as a tool to complement, and not replace, human intelligence.

The Vatican has also warned of the environmental impact of the AI race, noting the “vast amounts of energy and water” required by AI data centers and computational power.

“There are almost a billion and a half Catholics in the world, so that alone is reason to pay attention,” said Thomas Harmon, theology professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. “But beyond the numbers, the Catholic Church has a deep and sophisticated tradition of thinking through what it means to be human.”

In 2020, the Vatican enlisted tech companies to sign on to an AI pledge, known as the Rome Call for AI Ethics, which, among other things, outlined core principles for AI regulation, including inclusiveness, accountability, impartiality, and privacy. Microsoft, IBM and Cisco were among the private sector companies that signed on.

In his final years, Pope Francis called for an international treaty to regulate AI, saying the risks of technology lacking human values of compassion, mercy, morality and forgiveness were too great to merely trust in the morality of AI researchers and developers.

He also brought his authority to bear on the Group of Seven, addressing a special session on the perils and promises of AI in 2024. There, Francis said politicians must take the lead in making sure AI remains human-centric, so that decisions about when to use weapons or even less-lethal tools always remain made by humans. He called ultimately for a ban on the use of lethal autonomous weapons, colloquially known as “killer robots.”

AI-savvy Leo is concerned with peace, truth and human relations

In-house, Leo has warned priests against using AI to write their homilies. But the math major pope, who does spend free time scrolling on his phone, has also raised his voice on the broader implications of AI on world peace, labor and the very meaning of reality.

For the Augustinian pope, generative AI’s ability to misinform and deceive through deepfake imagery is particularly worrisome, given that the search for truth is a fundamental element of his religious order's spirituality.

In a June 2025 speech to an AI conference, Leo acknowledged generative AI’s contributions to healthcare and scientific discovery. But he questioned “its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp reality.”

Leo, who has emphasized a constant appeal for peace, has also called for monitoring how AI is being used and developed in warfare in the Middle East and Ukraine, where automated weapons systems are using everything from aerial drones and maritime and ground platforms.

“What is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon and in Iran illustrates the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation,” he said this past week at La Sapienza, Europe’s largest university.

___

AP Technology Writer Matt O'Brien in Providence, R.I. contributed to this report.

___

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 show was part of the monthly Mercadito sessions put on by the Fiesta Fresh Market, a family-owned store in the Philadelphia metro-area city of New Castle, far away from the massive music industry hubs typically associated with artistic opportunity and exposure. But the excitement of new music, paired with the colorful, unassuming stage, has rapidly engaged an international following for the 2-year-old store — with up-and-coming bands traveling from far away to perform, and tens of thousands tuning in online.

Jose Luis Aguilar Garcia, one of the store's owners, hopes the series highlights the persistence of joy and creativity in Latino communities at a time when they're often only brought up on the news in the context of immigration crackdowns, he said.

Tiny Desk Concert inspired

Jose Luis Aguilar Garcia has worked with both food and music for most of his life.

Born in Mexico, Garcia grew up in an apartment adjacent to where he would eventually open Fiesta Fresh Market. Garcia worked at farmers markets and grocery stores since he was a teenager, and ran a photography and videography company that also produced regional Mexican music like mariachi, corridos tumbados and banda.

“We did a lot of quinceañeras, weddings, that sort of thing. Music was always like something I wanted to do as a passion project, but especially here in Delaware, there’s really no industry for that,” Garcia said.

In 2023, an artist on Garcia’s label — DannyLux — was invited to perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, a semiprivate music series filmed in the middle of the radio station’s bustling Washington, D.C., bureau, and then distributed to a massive following on YouTube. It was then that Garcia realized the special appeal of an unconventional, acoustic setup.

With the capital his label got from producing DannyLux's music, Garcia opened the store in 2024 with his sister and father. And eventually, he used his experience with the Tiny Desk Concerts at the store too, merging the two otherwise disparate aspects of his life.

Showcasing culture

Garcia initially hoped the shows would attract business, but it was hard to sell local artists on performing in such a quirky context, Garcia said.

But soon, the premise caught on. All of the acts in an April show had heard about the small store on social media before they were asked to perform.

While the shows initially featured almost exclusively the Spanish-language music that Garcia produced with his label, the Mercadito sessions now showcase a broad range of artists and genres.

“I found that super interesting that no matter who the artist was that was playing, people would gather to hear,” Garcia said.

Global audiences

Luna Luna, which has earned recognition from outlets like Billboard and Rolling Stone, was one of three bands performing at the late April show. It was a vastly different from the other stops on their sprawling United States tour.

Large piñatas hung from the ceiling above the group as they performed — a vastly different ambiance from the stages and lights that normally set the scene for Luna Luna’s hypnotic, indie-pop ballads. The performance was illuminated with the fluorescent grocery-store lighting, which customers used to shop in the background as Luna Luna sang in both Spanish and English.

The unconventional platform was part of the appeal for lead singer Kavvi Gonzalez, along with many in the series’ rapidly growing fanbase, for whom the unique venue evokes a kind of nostalgia.

“I actually grew up shopping at stores like this, so to be able to play in one is kind of crazy,” said Gonzalez, who was born in Colombia and moved to Texas when he was 6.

The charm is in the surprising romance of the mundane, Gonzalez said.

“To see people just actually be shopping around and just living regular life while we’re doing a performance here, you know, it’s cool. It’s combining real life and music culture,” Gonzalez said.

He finished behind U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who capitalized on the power of Trump's endorsement as the president continues purging his party of people he views as disloyal, and John Fleming, the state treasurer. Letlow and Fleming will compete in a runoff on June 27.

The result was the latest example of Trump's unrivaled power over the Republican Party as he approaches the twilight of his second term with persistent inflation, sagging approval ratings and dissatisfaction over the war with Iran. Unlike some other senators who declined to run again after crossing Trump, Cassidy pushed hard for reelection and spent nearly double the combined amount of his opponents.

But none of that was enough for Cassidy to qualify for a runoff, let alone win a third term.

“Our country is not about one individual,” he told supporters after his loss. “It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about the Constitution.”

Letlow, on the other hand, swiftly acknowledged Trump's central role when she spoke at her victory party.

“I want to say thank you to a very special man who you all know, the best president this country has ever had, President Donald Trump,” she said while flanked by her two young children.

Asked about Cassidy's vote at the impeachment trial, Letlow called it “a sign that he had turned his back on the Louisiana voters.”

Trump has been purging his party

Trump unloaded on Cassidy the morning of the election, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy” on social media. Later that night, the senator made a thinly veiled reference to the attacks.

“Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity, and I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet,” Cassidy said.

The Louisiana primary comes in the middle of a month of campaigns by Trump to exact retribution on politicians who have crossed him. On May 5 he helped dislodge five of seven Indiana state senators who rejected his redistricting plan.

Next Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky will face a Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein, in another Republican primary. Massie angered Trump by opposing his signature tax legislation over concerns about the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran.

It's a striking amount of intraparty turmoil as Republicans face the possibility of losing control of Congress in November's midterm elections.

The runoff between Letlow and Fleming, a former U.S. House member and Trump administration official, will likely determine Louisiana's next senator because of the state's Republican leanings.

On the Democratic side, Jamie Davis advanced to a runoff, but the second spot remained too close to call between Nicholas Albares and Gary Crockett.

Election changes stir concern

The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary went forward, Louisiana leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that raised the possibility of confusion for voters on Saturday.

Cassidy also complained that a new primary system enacted last year confused voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the all-party primary previously in place. He said some called his office to say they had been unable to vote for him.

“The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy told reporters Friday.

Dadrius Lanus, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said his team fielded hundreds of calls from voters who said the changes undermined their ability to vote as they planned.

“A lot of the information should have gotten to voters well in advance,” Lanus said. “It’s literally been a whirlwind of confusion.”

Incumbent senator tried to hang on

Cassidy waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should not be counted out.

His campaign was expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him, was on track to spend $12.3 million.

By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, spent roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, spent about $6 million.

Fleming's campaign spent about $1.5 million.

Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has tried to eliminate.

Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020.

Targeted by Trump

Cassidy's vote in favor of convicting the president after his 2021 impeachment has shadowed him since.

John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy's decision. He waved a campaign flyer showing her standing alongside the president.

“I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said. “But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”

Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine views.

But as chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for vaccine development.

Trump also blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports. Trump withdrew the Means nomination and criticized the senator.

Letlow waited for Trump's backing

Letlow considered running for Senate last year but only entered the race after Trump announced his endorsement in January.

By that time Fleming, who was elected treasurer in 2023, had already jumped in and pitched himself as a Trump devotee. But Landry was looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to the president.

Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics.

In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

The gathering in Montgomery, Alabama, was put together in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act and the resulting rush by southern states to redraw lines. Speakers said they returned to the city, famous for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, because the fight that began there is continuing for later generations.

The Rev. Bernice King, speaking near the spot where her father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., addressed voting rights marchers in 1965, said the dedication and sacrifice of that generation changed the trajectory of the country.

“Sixty-one years later, we come back as new generations to this same hallowed place to reclaim and redeem that legacy because the recent Supreme Court decision demands our presence. It was not only a legal decision, y’all, it is a moral disgrace and a shameless assault on Black political power,” King said.

She said the decision strikes “at the very heart of my father’s and my mother’s sacrifice” and is a direct attack on the generations who faced “dogs and batons and bombs and billy clubs so that Black people and all marginalized communities could participate fully in this democracy.”

Civil rights leaders, Democratic members of Congress from across the country, union leaders and pastors spoke at the rally titled “All Roads Lead to the South.”

The crowd gathered in front of the Alabama Capitol, the place where the Confederacy was formed in 1861 and where the elder King spoke in 1965 at the end of the voting rights march. The stage stood in front of Capitol statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and civil rights icon Rosa Parks, tributes erected nearly 90 years apart and reminders of the state’s complex history.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey called Montgomery “sacred soil” in the fight for civil rights. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama said the gathering was not a protest, but “a call to action.” Speakers called upon voters to show their numbers at the ballot box.

“They think they can draw us out of power. They do not know the sleeping giant that they just awakened,” said U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York.

Attendees stood for hours in summerlike temperatures for the rally that stretched on for more than four hours. The crowd was led in chants of “we won’t go back” and “we fight.”

Some in the crowd said the effort to redraw lines has echoes of the past.

“We lived through the ’60s. It takes you back. When you think that Alabama’s moving forward, it takes two steps back,” said Camellia A Hooks, 70, of Montgomery.

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving Louisiana hollowed out the voting rights law that was already weakened by a separate decision in 2013 and then narrowed further over the years. That helped clear the way for stricter voter ID laws, registration restrictions, and limits on early voting and polling place changes, including in states that once needed federal preclearance before they could change voting laws because of their historical discrimination against Black voters.

Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement are alarmed by the speed of the rollbacks, noting that protections won through generations of sacrifice have been weakened in little more than a decade.

Kirk Carrington, 75, was a teen in 1965 when law enforcement officers attacked marchers in Selma on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.” A white man on a horse wielding a stick chased Carrington through the streets.

“It’s really just appalling to me and all the young people that marched during the ’60s, fought hard to get voting rights, equal rights and civil rights,” Carrington said. “It’s sad that it’s continuing after 60-plus-odd years that we are still fighting for the same thing we fought for back then.”

City will be affected by Supreme Court ruling

Montgomery is home to one of the congressional districts that is being altered in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.

A federal court in 2023 redrew Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after ruling that the state intentionally diluted the voting power of Black residents, who make up about 27% of its population. The court said there should be a district where Black people are a majority or near-majority and have an opportunity to elect their candidate of choice.

But the Supreme Court cleared the way for a different map that could let the GOP reclaim the seat. While the matter remains under litigation, the state plans special primaries Aug. 11 under the new map.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, who won election in the district in 2024, said the dispute is not about him but rather people’s opportunity to have representation.

“People tell us that we are not who we once were,” Figures said of the South. “That is true, but we certainly aren’t where we need to be," he said.

Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, a Republican, said that the Louisiana ruling provided an opportunity to revisit a map that was forced on the state by the federal court.

“People tend to forget what happened. When this thing went to court, the Republican Party had that seat, congressional seat two,” Ledbetter said last week. “There’s been a push through the courts to try to overtake some of these red state seats, and that’s certainly what happened in that one.”

Shalela Dowdy, a plaintiff in the Alabama redistricting case, said the fight will continue inside and outside of the courtroom. A three-judge panel has scheduled a May 22 hearing on a request to try and stop Alabama from switching maps.

“We are not going down without a fight. We are not going back to Jim Crow maps,” Dowdy said.

“It's a great question,” Schwarber said.

One the Philadelphia Phillies slugger isn't particularly interested in answering. All he knows is that he's found a little something. Even more importantly, so has his team.

So even on a night the Phillies designated hitter smashed a pair of two-run homers that boosted his season total to a major league-leading 20 and drew a bases-loaded walk during a ninth inning rally, Schwarber was quick to deflect attention to all that was happening around him during an 11-9, 10-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Schwarber reached 20 homers on the earliest date in MLB history, according to Stats Perform, bettering Arizona's Luis Gonzalez, who hit his 20th on May 17, 2001. The Phillies slugger also tied a club mark with 20 homers in the team's first 45 games, first set by Cy Williams in 1923.

Bryce Harper, batting behind him, had four hits, including a tying single after Pirates closer Gregory Soto walked Schwarber on four pitches to pull the Phillies within two. Backup catcher Rafael Marchan delivered a two-run single in the 10th. Orion Kerkering picked up his first save of the season and just the third of his career.

“There’s so much good that went on today that we were able to respond and fight back,” Schwarber said. “That’s a really positive thing for us.”

The win pushed Philadelphia's record to 13-4 since Don Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson as manager and pulled the Phillies to within a game of .500 (22-23). The fact that surge has come in lockstep with Schwarber going off is not a coincidence.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Mattingly said. “He’s a different cat from the standpoint of how he does it. ... He's dangerous all the time. Doesn’t matter really lefties or righties, either one.”

Schwarber went deep off both to fuel Philadelphia's rally from a six-run deficit. He took Pittsburgh right-handed starter Braxton Ashcraft over the fence in the fifth. The Pirates pulled Ashcraft in favor of left-hander Mason Montgomery with one on and two outs in the seventh. It didn't matter. Schwarber turned on a 96 mph fastball that caught too much of the plate and sent it into the seats in right-center field to draw the Phillies within three.

The two blasts gave Schwarber nine home runs in his last eight games. It's the second time in his career he's had that many homers in an eight-game span. Former slugger Albert Belle is the only other player in major league history to have that kind of prolific run twice.

“One of the cooler things I’ve seen in baseball,” Harper said. “Just the ways he puts the bat on the ball. Yeah, it been pretty fun to watch.”

For Schwarber, the fun part isn't watching the ball sail from the barrel of his bat to the farther reaches of the ballpark but what the scoreboard reads at the end of the night.

A 10-game slide in April cost the popular Thomson his job. Mattingly — who'll miss Saturday's game to attend his son's graduation at Purdue — has steadied things. It's helped that one of baseball's best (and most expensive) lineups is starting to produce.

Yet even as hot as Schwarber is at the moment, he's not getting ahead of himself. His most impressive at-bat Friday might have been the one where the bat never left his shoulder.

With the Phillies down three in the ninth, Schwarber let four consecutive sinkers from Soto go by rather than take a hack and try to make something happen. He trotted to first base and Harper followed with a long single off the top of the wall in right-center to pull Philadelphia even.

“Greg’s got great stuff and he’s got a really nasty sinker in the bigger slider, so it’s just kind of really keying in on what you want,” Schwarber said. “And once I get 3-0, I was happy with the take.”

He was even happier with what came next as the Phillies took another step toward looking like the team that has been a postseason fixture the last four years. While front-running Atlanta remains well ahead in the NL East, Philadelphia's early season funk has passed and momentum seems to be building, which Schwarber is far more concerned about than whatever home-run total is next to his name.

“Obviously we know it’s not anywhere near complete, right?” Schwarber said, later adding, “It's been really cool to see the guys go out there and getting their results and us as a team, to be able to kind of get the results that we want.”

___

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

“It’s a huge blow. He’s been one of our most consistent guys that we have in our rotation,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Perhaps the Mets' best pitcher this year, Holmes got nailed just above the right foot on a leadoff single in the fourth inning by New York Yankees rookie Spencer Jones during the Subway Series opener at Citi Field.

Holmes chased after the ball as it caromed past the first-base line into foul territory. Mendoza and an athletic trainer came out of the dugout to check on the right-hander, who threw two warmup pitches and remained in the game.

His next six pitches were balls, but Holmes then got consecutive strikeouts and retired Aaron Judge on a flyball with the bases loaded to finish a scoreless inning.

Holmes was lifted following a one-out walk in the fifth. He threw 95 pitches, including 26 while facing seven batters after getting hit by Jones' line drive.

“He said he was fine. That’s the crazy part. We went out, checked him out, threw a couple pitches, was able to finish the inning," Mendoza said. “Comes back in and he didn’t even give me a chance. He said, ‘I’m good to go back out,’ and he goes back out there. Sent him for X-rays and this is what we’re dealing with now.”

Mendoza said those X-rays showed a fractured right fibula that will sideline Holmes “for a long time.”

“That’s the hard part to understand. He was fine, we checked him, finished the inning, he goes back out because he feels good. And then the last pitch, something didn’t look right. He came out, I’m talking to him in the dugout, he’s like, yeah, something didn’t feel right,” Mendoza said.

A former Yankees reliever, Holmes has been a dependable member of the rotation since converting to a starting role after signing a $38 million, three-year contract with the Mets as a free agent before the 2025 season. He entered Friday third in the National League with a 1.86 ERA.

“We all know how tough he is. He’s not going to come out that easy,” Mets slugger Juan Soto said. “But whenever I saw him coming out of the game in the next inning is when I was thinking something is wrong.”

Holmes (4-4) was charged with four runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-2 loss, raising his ERA to 2.39. He struck out eight and walked two.

Holmes had lasted at least five innings and permitted no more than two runs in each of his first eight starts this season. His contract includes a $12 million player option for 2027.

“It’s tough to hear,” said Jones, who called Holmes a friend and noted they work out together during the offseason in Nashville, Tennessee. “I hit the ball and then I saw it come back towards me. It sounded loud.

“He’s a tough guy. Workhorse. Competitor. Says a lot about who he is to go back out there again the next inning with a broken leg. It’s incredible.”

After opening the season with baseball's biggest payroll, the Mets dropped to 18-26. Four projected regulars are already on the injured list — shortstop Francisco Lindor, catcher Francisco Alvarez, first baseman Jorge Polanco and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — along with ineffective starting pitcher Kodai Senga and backups Ronny Mauricio and Jared Young.

“It’s tough, man. Clay is a guy who shows up every day and is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Soto, who was also teammates with Holmes on the Yankees. “It’s part of the game. We’re going to support him, we’re going to be right there for him in any way that he needs us. But it just sucks.”

___

AP freelance writer Jerry Beach contributed to this report.

___

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

The four-time WNBA MVP scored 45 points to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 101-94 on Friday night. Wilson was an incredibly efficient 15 for 18 from the field, hitting both of her 3-point attempts. She also made all 13 of her free throws.

“Finding shots in our system and letting the flow of the game take over,” Wilson said. “That's big to me. I want to be efficient. It's beautiful to rack up all these points, but to be efficient, that's what is key.”

It was the fifth time she has scored over 40 points — a WNBA record, breaking a tie with Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi. Her career high is 53 on Aug. 22, 2023 against Atlanta.

Wilson's boyfriend, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, was at the game on Friday, just as she attended his 83-point effort in March.

“She was unbelievable,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Really happy with the free throws. The 3s, she just continued to sprinkle those in. She got a lot of early touches.”

When Connecticut cut a 13-point deficit to 72-70 late in the third quarter, Wilson hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout and then followed it up with a three-point play, igniting a 16-4 run that put the game away.

“It wasn’t really designed to be like that,” Wilson said of her 3. “I was trying to take what the defense was giving me. (Raegan) Beers was playing a little bit off, so why not?”

Wilson has had a lot of big moments at Mohegan Sun Arena. This was potentially her last game there, with the Sun set to move to Houston next season.

“This building has been special to me for a while,” Wilson said. “Got my first WNBA point in this building and championship in this building. It's fun coming here. ... Going to miss this place.”

Chelsea Gray has had a front-row seat to Wilson's amazing play over the last five seasons.

“You can't get bored with watching greatness,” the Aces' star point guard said. “I'm around it all the time, but I'm surprised every day. I never want to get to the spot where I'm comfortable, like, yeah, that's unheard of.”

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

El subsecretario de Estado de Estados Unidos para Asuntos Económicos, Jacob Helberg, sostuvo conversaciones esta semana con altos funcionarios guyaneses, incluido el presidente Irfaan Ali, en el país sudamericano que vive un auge petrolero.

Las enormes reservas de petróleo del país, descubiertas en la última década, han incrementado la importancia geopolítica de Guyana, la cual se ha visto amplificada por una crisis energética a nivel mundial como resultado de la guerra con Irán. Sus reservas de bauxita son fundamentales para la producción de aluminio.

El gobierno del presidente Donald Trump se ha enfocado agresivamente en los recursos naturales de América Latina, desde impulsar una expansión en la producción petrolera de Venezuela después de la operación militar estadounidense de enero pasado, hasta buscar cooperación con Brasil en lo relacionado con minerales críticos.

En una región donde la producción de energía parecía ir en declive, América Latina ahora vive un cambio en esa tendencia, según Benjamin Gedan, investigador y director del programa para América Latina del Stimson Center.

“En tiempos de escasez energética global, hay mucha más atención en América Latina como una fuente alternativa y estable de suministro”, afirmó Gedan. “Y Guyana es el protagonista de esa historia”.

La visita se produce en medio de las preocupaciones del gobierno de Estados Unidos en torno a China y las megacompañías que se benefician de los multimillonarios contratos estatales, dejando de lado a empresas estadounidenses.

Funcionarios guyaneses han argumentado que las empresas de Estados Unidos no han sido tan agresivas como las chinas, que a menudo ofrecen financiamiento y se adaptan a las necesidades de mano de obra para megaproyectos.

Helberg les dijo a los funcionarios que las reservas de bauxita ya son conocidas, por lo que Estados Unidos está interesado en el sector. Actualmente, el operador chino Bosai Minerals es la empresa dominante en el sector local de bauxita.

“En términos generales, ambos entendemos que Guyana es un país con muchos recursos naturales”, manifestó Helberg sobre las conversaciones bilaterales.

Dejó entrever que Estados Unidos también puede ayudar a Guyana a realizar estudios de alta tecnología para determinar qué otros minerales yacen bajo la superficie para su explotación en un futuro.

Estados Unidos busca aprender de los errores del pasado de permitir que China ganara influencia en la región, según Jason Marczak, vicepresidente y director del Centro Adrienne Arsht para América Latina del Atlantic Council.

Aunque es probable que Guyana esté buscando diversificar sus relaciones comerciales, incluso con China, la visita muestra que el país sigue siendo un sólido socio de Estados Unidos en la región.

“El presidente Ali, en particular, es muy cercano a Estados Unidos y, en general, reconoce la importancia de Estados Unidos como socio clave para Guyana”, dijo Marczak. “Eso se refleja en la visita de Helberg a Guyana”.

El secretario de Relaciones Exteriores de Guyana, Robert Persaud, dijo el viernes a The Associated Press que Guyana está interesada en atraer a inversionistas de Estados Unidos en los próximos meses.

“Estados Unidos es nuestro socio estratégico y se lo dejamos en claro, pero quisiéramos agregar valor a la bauxita y a otros productos. Estamos interesados en el procesamiento y en mejorar la generación de energía”, expresó.

___

La periodista de The Associated Press Anna-Catherine Brigida informó desde Ciudad de México.

___

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

Philadelphia trailed by six early. Schwarber led the comeback, smashing a pair of two-run homers. The designated hitter went deep off Braxton Ashcraft in the fifth and again off Mason Montgomery in the seventh.

Schwarber has nine home runs in the past eight games, the second time in his career he's achieved that feat. He also did it in 2021 while playing for Washington. Albert Belle is the only other player in MLB history to hit nine homers in an eight-game stretch twice.

The Pirates were so wary of Schwarber while holding onto a three-run lead in the ninth that closer Gregory Soto walked him on four pitches with the bases loaded. Bryce Harper followed with a two-run single off the top of the wall in right center to pull Philadelphia even.

The Phillies pounced on Pirates reliever Dennis Santana (2-3) in the 10th. Brandon Marsh led off with an RBI single and Rafael Marchán followed with a two-run single. Jose Alvarado (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth. Orion Kerkering worked the 10th for his first save as Philadelphia won for the fifth time in six games to improve to 13-4 since Don Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson as manager last month.

Brandon Lowe homered twice for the Pirates. Marcell Ozuna added a 438-shot to the Pirates' bullpen that reliever Yohan Ramirez caught with a traffic cone.

The traffic cones have become a fixture in both the Pittsburgh dugout and the stands at PNC Park this season in Pittsburgh after outfielder Jake Mangum brought one into the clubhouse in Cincinnati in early April, which coincided with an offensive explosion in a victory over the Reds.

Up next

The series continues Saturday. NL Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sánchez (4-2, 2.11 ERA) was set to start for the Phillies against Pittsburgh's Bubba Chandler (1-4, 4.62).

___

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

The decisive game is Sunday in Detroit.

“It’s going to be a fun environment for us and we’re excited to get back to the crib,” Cunningham said.

The Pistons’ 21-point victory tied a 66-year-old NBA playoff record for the largest Game 6 road win by a team trailing 3-2 in a series. The St. Louis Hawks beat the Minneapolis Lakers 117-96 in a the 1960 West Division finals.

Jalen Duren had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Daniss Jenkins also scored 15 for the Pistons, who have won four games this postseason when facing elimination.

They were down 3-1 to Orlando before winning the last three to advance out of the first round.

“We did what needed to be done. When we’re at our best, it’s the defense and the physicality that’s going to carry us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I was pleased that we were allowed to play our style of basketball tonight where we can be legally physical and handsy, and just make it difficult on people.”

Cunningham made five 3-pointers as the Pistons went 16 of 36 from beyond the arc, tied for their most this preseason. Duncan Robinson, who missed Wednesday's Game 5 with a lower back injury, had four 3-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench.

Paul Reed also had 17 points as Detroit’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s 48-19.

“It has been a collective effort. We needed every bit of it. Great team win,” Cunningham said.

James Harden scored 23 points for Cleveland, which suffered its first home loss of the postseason. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley scored 18 apiece.

“We never really kicked it to that second level. And we need to get to that third and fourth level. It was never just a consistent flow at either end of the floor, which is frustrating,” Harden said.

Detroit asserted its will on the offensive boards and took advantage of Cleveland turnovers. The Pistons converted 13 offensive rebounds into 20 points. The Cavaliers had 20 turnovers, which resulted in 28 Detroit points.

The Pistons were up 54-41 at halftime and started the second half with a 12-2 run. The Cavaliers rallied to get within 74-68 before the Pistons put it away with a 13-2 spurt.

Mobley missed a dunk and Marcus Sasser drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give Detroit a 84-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.

“It starts with us in the starting lineup. We got hit in the mouth and we didn’t punch back,” Mitchell said.

___

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

The curveball to Joc Pederson missed wide of the strike zone, but Arrighetti’s confidence in his best pitch soared.

“I was like, dang, that felt pretty good,” Arrighetti said. “Spinning good. I looked up and saw the shape, and I was like, oh, that’s better than it’s been, so I had a pretty good feeling about it.”

Arrighetti generated a swinging strike to get ahead 1-2 on Pederson before freezing him with a curveball that nicked the outside corner.

The 26-year-old took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of the Astros' 2-0 victory. The no-hit bid ended when Rangers rookie Justin Foscue hit a line-drive single to left field.

Arrighetti was pulled after Foscue’s base hit. He walked four while throwing 102 pitches — one shy of his career high — and 62 for strikes. The native of nearby Katy, Texas, received a rousing ovation from the announced crowd of 32,555 at Daikin Park.

“It was a strike and I needed it to be a strike because I was getting tired, and honestly, I thought it was a pretty good slider,” Arrighetti said of his final pitch. “It could’ve been better. He broke his bat on it. In another world, maybe it goes right at somebody.”

Foscue grounded out in each of his first two at-bats and entered the game batting .182 this season in 11 plate appearances.

Arrighetti (5-1) lowered his ERA to 1.50 in six starts after beginning the season with Triple-A Sugar Land. The longest start of his career was on Aug. 28, 2024, when he struck out 11 over 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Astros went ahead 1-0 on Isaac Paredes’ third-inning solo homer, and Braden Shewmake added an eighth-inning RBI single.

Left-hander Bryan King replaced Arrighetti and kept the Rangers off the board in the eighth by getting Pederson to fly out to right field, and then Astros catcher Christian Walker picked off Foscue at first base. King retired the side in order in the ninth for his fourth save.

Astros left fielder Zach Dezenzo kept the no-hit bid alive when he made a diving catch on a line drive by Alejandro Osuna for the second out of the fifth inning.

“Dezenzo makes that catch, I’m like, there’s always one play when you look back at (no-hit) bids,” Arrighetti said.

First baseman Christian Walker took a tough hop on a ground ball off the bat of Brandon Nimmo to start an inning-ending double play in the sixth.

There have been 17 no-hitters in Astros history, with the last coming from Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024.

The Rangers have been no-hit five times since moving to Texas in 1971, most recently by Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees on May 19, 2021.

Arrighetti, whose wife gave birth to twin boys last month, said Friday’s performance meant more than normal because his grandparents, who live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attended the game.

“I don’t really get to see them very often,” Arrighetti said. “I got a little emotional. I can’t hide it.”

___

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

Scott McLaughlin needed just seven laps in the middle of the afternoon to send his message on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's iconic 2.5-mile oval — Team Penske intends to reclaim the pole.

Rosenqvist posted the fastest lap of the day, 233.372 mph though it came with a tow, and the fastest four-lap average, 232.828 in the final practice before qualifying. But it was McLaughlin who waited through the two-hour rain delay and two more hours of inactivity before turning heads with the fastest no-tow lap of the week, 232.674, and the second fastest four-lap average, 232.572.

It sets up a potentially dramatic qualifying weekend between the New Zealander who won Indy's pole in 2024 and Rosenqvist, who will try to put Meyer Shank Racing on the front row.

“It was better than going upside down, that was the last time I was here on this boost level," McLaughlin said after finishing his day with three hours of practice time still left. “I think we got a really good test point for the team and we'll go back, scratch our heads a little bit more. But it's just going to get harder as the weekend goes on.”

The only other driver with a faster lap than McLaughlin was Alexander Rossi with a 232.93. Rossi and McLaughlin both changed engines earlier this week because of mechanical problems.

Penske's cars were so dialed in that McLaughlin and his teammates — two-time Indy winner Josef Newgarden and David Malukas, last year's Indy runner-up — logged the fewest laps of any team after IndyCar officials gave each driver an additional boost of about 100 horsepower.

But most of the 33 drivers attempting to make the traditional starting grid for the May 24 race recognize things could change quickly Saturday.

Rain is in the forecast for the first four scheduled hours of qualifying. If it stays dry for the final three hours, the weather conditions could be quite similar to what they had Friday. Then it's expected to heat up substantially Sunday, causing even more changes.

“It's going to get hotter, a bit of rain coming in as well, so we've just got to make every run count,” McLaughlin said, who got a boost by drawing the No. 6 spot in the qualifying line — ahead of Rosenqvist at No. 11, Rossi at No. 20 and points leader Alex Palou at No. 31. “I felt like that was my best run of the weekend, so really happy to do that at that (increased) boost level.”

What else could be in play? New strategies to comply with the revised qualifying format.

Race organizers have eliminated the last row shootout because there are only enough driver-car combinations to fill the traditional 33-car starting grid, meaning none will be bumped.

Instead, there's a new wrinkle in pole qualifying. The fastest 15 cars will advance to Sunday's round with the top nine locked into the 12-car pole shootout and the other six vying for the final three spots. The six fastest cars in Round 2 will compete to determine the pole winner.

“Our goal is to be solidified in the top nine, to be honest,” Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood said. “I think that’s probably everyone’s goal. You know, in the past couple of years we’ve had chances to be at the front and it just kind of hasn’t materialized when Saturday comes along, but I think this year feels a little bit different.”

Kirkwood is second in points heading into next weekend's race, but struggled to stay with the Fast Friday leads.

Palou, the defending 500 champ, had the second fastest no-tow lap at 23

The Spaniard who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing has won three of this season's first six races and posted the second-fastest no-tow lap Friday at 232.532.

“Qualifying sims on yesterday’s boost, I don’t want to say it’s easy, but you feel like there’s a ton of grip, like the car is not on the limit," Palou said. "Today or this weekend it’s going to feel like the car doesn’t like it, it’s not as happy, you start sliding, need to work more with your tools. You cannot go aggressive with the amount of trim you are doing.”

And it will set up a memorable qualifying weekend for one lucky driver.

“I've kind of gone through every emotion possible in the last two weeks,” Rosenqvist said, reflecting on the recent birth of his first child. “It's cool, it's kind of hard to explain and it becomes like the No. 1 coolest thing you've ever done. But I feel like a driver it kind of makes you a bit calmer, a bit more confident or a little less worried about things. You just kind of go out and drive.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The people spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the league had not made an announcement. The Hockey News first reported the development earlier in the day.

With the addition of San Jose, the PWHL increases to 12 teams, doubling the league's size since it started in 2024 and broadening its geographical reach.

The city is home to the NHL's Sharks and gives the league a four-team foothold in the West. Las Vegas is another expansion market, and Seattle and Vancouver, joined the league last year. The team would likely play at the Sharks' arena, the SAP Center.

The PWHL also added franchises in Detroit and Hamilton, Ontario, over the past two weeks.

Executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer previously told the AP that the league's priorities include geographic diversity and reducing travel time between markets. Scheer also said the PWHL has been exploring splitting into two conferences or divisions.

The PWHL’s original six franchises are Boston, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Minnesota.

___

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Korda had two late birdies in a 67 in the morning session at Maketewah Country Club. She won The Chevron Championship for her third major, then followed with a victory in Mexico before taking last week off.

“There have definitely been some loose shots,” Korda said. “Not really happy with the way I’m hitting it right now, but overall, I mean, I’m not complaining with the position I’m in. Hopefully, I can go figure something out again on the range after today.”

Ko had a bogey-free round in the morning to reach 7-under 133 on the first-year venue. The 30-year-old South Korean player has 15 LPGA Tour victories, winning two majors in 2019.

“Getting older, like little more afraid and think too much," Ko said. “I’m just trying to be like the time, like 2018 through 2021. So, brave is good key for me, and just have fun.”

Doherty had five birdies and a bogey in the afternoon session, closing with a birdie on the par-3 18th. The 28-year-old former Florida State player is winless on the tour. She's fighting to secure higher tour status to avoid missing events.

“I’m really excited,” Doherty said. “I’m just excited to be teeing it up this week after reshuffling after Mexico. I’m going in with that mindset I think and just happy to be here and happy to be playing.”

Lottie Woad was a stroke back after a 64. She played the first 10 holes in 6 under. Lydia Ko, playing alongside Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, was another shot back after a 67.

Korda and Thitikul (67) were 4 under with Jennifer Kupcho (66), Chella Choi (70) and Rio Takeda (70). Thitikul won the Mizuho Americas Open last week in New Jersey

___

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

The trial centered on whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor, in 2013 during a relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger Mann. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual, while Mann described a hotel-room encounter when he forced himself upon her.

The current jury heard nearly three weeks of testimony, including from Mann. Weinstein decided not to testify.

Here’s what you need to know about the case:

Why has the case gone to trial three times?

Weinstein was initially convicted in 2020, but an appeals court overturned that verdict after the court ruled the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.

Jurors at a retrial last year convicted Weinstein of one count of criminal sex act and acquitted him of another. But they stopped deliberating on Mann's rape charge when the foreperson refused to participate further, leaving the case unresolved and leading to the retrial that ended as a mistrial Friday.

Why did this case ended in a mistrial?

On the third day of deliberations, the jury told the judge they were stuck, but he told them to keep trying. Ultimately, they sent another note saying: “We feel that no one is going to change where they stand.”

When a jury in criminal court cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge typically declares a mistrial.

Some jurors on the majority-male Manhattan jury questioned the credibility of Mann’s testimony and said outside court that nine out of 12 wanted to acquit Weinstein.

A juror, Josh Hadar, said Mann had an “incredible memory” when she testified for the prosecution but “forgot a lot of things” when questioned by defense attorneys.

Mann underwent five days of fraught, often tearful testimony that included hours of questioning at a time.

Will there be a fourth trial?

District Attorney Alvin Bragg said his staff will consult Mann about another trial and also take into account what happens to Weinstein when he is sentenced for his conviction from the last trial.

A hearing was set for June 24 for prosecutors to decide if they will go to a fourth trial.

Is Weinstein still in prison?

Weinstein had been in a New York prison serving a 23-year sentence after his initial conviction in 2020. After that was overturned, he remained behind bars because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is currently being held at the Rikers Island jail while awaiting further legal proceedings.

What crimes has Weinstein already been convicted of?

During a retrial last June, Weinstein was convicted of one count of criminal sex act, when a jury found he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and movie producer and production assistant, Miriam Haley, nearly two decades ago.

She had worked on the Weinstein-produced show “Project Runway" and testified that he assaulted her in July 2006 after inviting her to stop by his SoHo apartment before a flight. Weinstein is appealing the conviction.

In Los Angeles, he was convicted during a December 2022 trial of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against an Italian actor and model. The woman said he arrived uninvited at her hotel room during a 2013 film festival in the run-up to the Oscars, talking his way in and assaulting her.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann and Haley have done.