La conferencia de prensa de presentación de Portis está programada para las 12:30 p.m., seguida por la de Antetokounmpo a las 3 p.m.

Antetokounmpo llega a Miami después de 13 temporadas con los Bucks de Milwaukee, donde se consolidó como uno de los jugadores más destacados de la NBA.

El jugador de 31 años es dos veces Jugador Más Valioso (MVP) de la NBA, campeón de la NBA, Jugador Más Valioso de las Finales de la NBA, nueve veces All-Star y nueve veces seleccionado al Equipo All-NBA. También ganó el premio al Jugador Defensivo del Año de la liga en 2020 y es el líder histórico de los Bucks en puntos, rebotes, asistencias y bloqueos.

La temporada pasada, Antetokounmpo promedió 29.8 puntos, 11.9 rebotes y 6.3 asistencias por partido, además de obtener otra selección al Primer Equipo All-NBA. Su llegada a Miami se produjo como parte de uno de los intercambios más importantes de la temporada baja en la NBA.

Portis, de 31 años, se reúne nuevamente con Antetokounmpo después de pasar las últimas siete temporadas con los Bucks.

El ala veterano iniciará su duodécima temporada en la NBA tras promediar 13.7 puntos, 6.4 rebotes y 1.6 asistencias por partido, con un 48.8% de efectividad en tiros de campo y un 45.6% en tiros de tres puntos con 4.4 intentos por partido la temporada pasada.

El Heat será el quinto equipo en la carrera de Portis en la NBA. Anteriormente jugó para los Bulls de Chicago, los Wizards de Washington, los Knicks de Nueva York y los Bucks.

Las presentaciones se realizan mientras Miami continúa reestructurando su plantilla tras una activa temporada baja centrada en la adquisición de Antetokounmpo, un movimiento que elevó de inmediato las expectativas de la franquicia de cara a la campaña 2026-27.

Por ahora, los aficionados del Heat en Miami ya imaginan lo que viene.

Y no lo olvide, la próxima temporada podrá ver los partidos del Heat de Miami por Local 10, ya que WPLG Local 10 y el Heat anunciaron un nuevo acuerdo ampliado de derechos de transmisión, convirtiendo a Local 10 en la casa del baloncesto del Heat en todo el sur de Florida. HAGA CLIC AQUÍ para obtener más información sobre cómo ver los partidos.

Los aficionados del Heat también pueden llamar al 786-777-4375 para obtener más información sobre cómo comprar boletos para la temporada 2026-2027.

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According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, Gerald Hollie, 36, was charged Wednesday in connection with the Feb. 5, 2021, killing of Tilkharri Harris.

Authorities said at approximately 10:27 a.m. that day, officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert near the 1500 block of Northwest 58th Street.

Upon arrival, police said they discovered Harris sitting in the driver’s seat of a Mercedes-Benz, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

An arrest report confirmed Harris’ home had also been struck several times in the hail of gunfire.

Authorities said first responders rushed Harris to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:06 a.m.

Investigators said they reviewed surveillance footage from the area which showed a newer model black Chevrolet Blazer with dark tints parked near the corner of Northwest 15th Avenue and Northwest 58th Street, just east of the victim’s home.

The vehicle arrived at approximately 7:53 a.m., hours before the shooting, and appeared to be lying in wait, authorities said.

Police said moments before the fatal shooting, the rear passenger window of the SUV was lowered, and the vehicle moved westbound on Northwest 58th Street.

Authorities confirmed that additional surveillance video footage later showed the Blazer stopping in front of Harris’ home.

The driver, who police identified as Terrance Martin, was armed with a dark-colored semi-automatic gun as he exited the vehicle and began firing in the direction of the victim, who was seated in his car, authorities said.

According to detectives, Martin stood on the floorboard of the Blazer and shot over the top of the vehicle, resting his left hand on the door frame as he continued firing.

After the shooting, police said Martin re-entered the SUV and fled westbound on Northwest 58th Street toward Northwest 17th Avenue. Surveillance footage indicated there were at least two other occupants inside the vehicle, suggesting a coordinated attack, according to investigators.

Forensic evidence tied vehicle to homicide

According to the report, the following day, investigators recovered the Chevrolet Blazer parked outside an apartment complex at 3330 N.W. 48th Terrace, where surveillance cameras had captured both Hollie and Terrance Martin, then 27, near the vehicle the day before the homicide.

Police said Martin matched the physical description of the gunman seen on surveillance video.

During a search of the SUV, detectives recovered a spent 7.62-caliber shell casing from the rear floorboard. According to forensic testing, the casing had been fired from the same weapon used in Harris’ killing.

Martin was arrested in October 2024 on charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, second-degree murder with a weapon, throwing or shooting a missile and illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Witnesses provided new information

The investigation later produced additional witness statements that investigators say linked Hollie to the homicide.

According to his arrest report, a woman, who was arrested in 2024 on an accessory-after-the-fact charge, told detectives that both Martin and Hollie admitted they had shot and killed Harris. She told investigators Martin was driving the SUV while Hollie was the shooter.

In June, another witness gave a sworn statement to investigators.

According to police, the witness said Hollie, whom he knew as “GB” or “God Body,” contacted him shortly after the shooting and said, “We just killed TK,” referring to Harris by his nickname.

The witness told detectives Hollie asked him to clean out the SUV. The witness said he later removed spent 7.62-caliber and 9 mm shell casings from inside the vehicle before throwing them away, the report stated.

Investigators said those calibers were consistent with evidence recovered from the homicide scene.

According to the arrest report, the witness also told detectives the killing stemmed from an ongoing feud between members of the Wavy Navy gang and the 13th Avenue gang.

Hollie interviewed while jailed on unrelated charges

According to the arrest report, detectives interviewed Hollie Wednesday at the Metrowest Detention Center, where he was being held on unrelated charges.

The report states that Hollie waived his Miranda rights and acknowledged there had been an ongoing conflict between the rival gangs. He also identified himself and Martin in surveillance footage taken the day before the homicide, standing near the Chevrolet Blazer, authorities said.

When detectives asked whether he had ever been inside the SUV, Hollie responded, “Possibly, but I cannot recall,” according to the report.

Police said Hollie denied any involvement in Harris’ killing.

Hollie faces charges of first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, shooting or throwing a deadly missile, possession of a concealed weapon by a violent career criminal and attempting to tamper with physical evidence.

A criminal records check showed Hollie has three prior felony convictions from 2008, including two counts of robbery with a firearm and one count of carjacking with a firearm, according to investigators.

As of Thursday afternoon, Hollie remained at the Metrowest Detention Center. His total bond in online jail records was listed as “to be set.”

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Miami, Gerald Hollie, de 36 años, fue acusado el miércoles en relación con el asesinato de Tilkharri Harris, ocurrido el 5 de febrero de 2021.

Las autoridades informaron que, aproximadamente a las 10:27 de la mañana de ese día, los agentes respondieron a una alerta del sistema ShotSpotter cerca de la cuadra 1500 de la calle Northwest 58th.

Al llegar, la policía declaró haber encontrado a Harris sentado en el asiento del conductor de un Mercedes-Benz, con múltiples heridas de bala.

Un informe policial confirmó que la casa de Harris también había sido alcanzada varias veces por la lluvia de disparos.

Las autoridades informaron que los servicios de emergencia trasladaron rápidamente a Harris al Hospital Jackson Memorial, donde fue declarado muerto a las 11:06 a. m.

Los investigadores dijeron que revisaron las imágenes de las cámaras de vigilancia de la zona, las cuales mostraban una camioneta Chevrolet Blazer negra, modelo reciente, con vidrios polarizados oscuros, estacionada cerca de la esquina de la Avenida Noroeste 15 y la Calle Noroeste 58, justo al este de la casa de la víctima.

Según las autoridades, el vehículo llegó aproximadamente a las 7:53 de la mañana, horas antes del tiroteo, y parecía estar esperando al acecho.

Según la policía, momentos antes del tiroteo mortal, la ventanilla trasera del SUV se bajó y el vehículo se movió hacia el oeste por la calle Northwest 58th.

Las autoridades confirmaron que posteriormente se vieron imágenes adicionales de las cámaras de vigilancia que mostraban al vehículo Blazer deteniéndose frente a la casa de Harris.

Según las autoridades, el conductor, identificado por la policía como Terrance Martin, estaba armado con una pistola semiautomática de color oscuro cuando salió del vehículo y comenzó a disparar en dirección a la víctima, que se encontraba sentada en su coche.

Según los detectives, Martin se paró en el piso del Blazer y disparó por encima del vehículo, apoyando su mano izquierda en el marco de la puerta mientras seguía disparando.

Tras el tiroteo, la policía informó que Martin volvió a entrar en la camioneta y huyó hacia el oeste por la calle Northwest 58th Street en dirección a la avenida Northwest 17th Avenue. Las imágenes de las cámaras de vigilancia indicaron que había al menos otros dos ocupantes dentro del vehículo, lo que sugiere un ataque coordinado, según los investigadores.

Las pruebas forenses vincularon el vehículo con el homicidio.

Según el informe, al día siguiente, los investigadores recuperaron el Chevrolet Blazer estacionado frente a un complejo de apartamentos en 3330 NW 48th Terrace, donde las cámaras de vigilancia habían captado a Hollie y a Terrance Martin, de 27 años en ese entonces, cerca del vehículo el día anterior al homicidio.

La policía indicó que Martin coincidía con la descripción física del pistolero que aparecía en el video de vigilancia.

Durante el registro del SUV, los detectives recuperaron un casquillo de bala de calibre 7.62 del piso trasero. Según las pruebas forenses, el casquillo había sido disparado con la misma arma utilizada en el asesinato de Harris.

Martin fue arrestado en octubre de 2024 acusado de asesinato en primer grado con arma mortal, asesinato en segundo grado con arma, lanzamiento o disparo de proyectil y posesión ilegal de un arma de fuego por parte de un delincuente convicto.

Los testigos proporcionaron nueva información.

Posteriormente, la investigación arrojó declaraciones adicionales de testigos que, según los investigadores, vinculaban a Hollie con el homicidio.

Según el informe de su arresto, una mujer, detenida en 2024 por complicidad posterior al hecho, declaró a los detectives que tanto Martin como Hollie admitieron haber disparado y matado a Harris. Según su testimonio, Martin conducía la camioneta mientras que Hollie era quien disparaba.

En junio, otro testigo prestó declaración bajo juramento ante los investigadores.

Según la policía, el testigo declaró que Hollie, a quien conocía como “GB” o “God Body”, se puso en contacto con él poco después del tiroteo y le dijo: “Acabamos de matar a TK”, refiriéndose a Harris por su apodo.

El testigo declaró a los detectives que Hollie le pidió que limpiara el SUV. Según el informe, el testigo afirmó que posteriormente extrajo casquillos de bala de calibre 7,62 y de 9 mm del interior del vehículo antes de tirarlos.

Los investigadores afirmaron que esos calibres coincidían con las pruebas recuperadas en el lugar del homicidio.

Según el informe de detención, el testigo también declaró a los detectives que el asesinato se debió a una disputa en curso entre miembros de la pandilla Wavy Navy y la pandilla de la 13.ª Avenida.

Hollie fue entrevistada mientras estaba encarcelada por cargos no relacionados.

Según el informe de detención, los detectives interrogaron a Hollie el miércoles en el Centro de Detención de Metrowest, donde se encontraba detenido por cargos no relacionados.

El informe indica que Hollie renunció a sus derechos Miranda y reconoció que existía un conflicto entre las pandillas rivales. También se identificó a sí mismo y a Martin en las imágenes de vigilancia grabadas el día anterior al homicidio, donde se les veía cerca del Chevrolet Blazer, según informaron las autoridades.

Cuando los detectives le preguntaron si alguna vez había estado dentro del SUV, Hollie respondió: “Posiblemente, pero no lo recuerdo”, según el informe.

La policía afirmó que Hollie negó cualquier implicación en el asesinato de Harris.

Hollie se enfrenta a cargos de asesinato en primer grado, intento de asesinato en segundo grado, disparar o lanzar un proyectil mortal, posesión de un arma oculta por parte de un delincuente violento reincidente e intento de manipulación de pruebas físicas.

Según los investigadores, una revisión de sus antecedentes penales reveló que Hollie tiene tres condenas previas por delitos graves que datan de 2008, incluyendo dos cargos de robo a mano armada y un cargo de robo de vehículo a mano armada.

Hasta el jueves por la tarde, Hollie permanecía en el Centro de Detención Metrowest. Su fianza total, según los registros penitenciarios en línea, figuraba como “por determinar”.

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Portis was introduced at Kaseya Center at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, while Antetokounmpo is scheduled to hold his introductory news conference at 3 p.m. as part of a major day for the Heat following one of the biggest moves of the NBA offseason.

Heat president Pat Riley welcomed Portis to the organization, highlighting his journey from Arkansas to becoming one of the NBA’s most respected frontcourt players.

“I always loved his game, right out of Arkansas to Chicago to Washington, New York, Dallas, and finally Milwaukee,” Riley said. “Prototype power forward, very versatile, score. As I mentioned, I think last year, led the league in double-doubles, coming off the bench and a hell of a player, and we’re very fortunate to have him part of our organization.”

Riley also joked about Portis’ new jersey number, 95, noting the forward drove from Milwaukee to Miami on Interstate 95.

“I like that number because it reminds me of a double-double somewhere along the way,” Riley said.

Portis, who is entering his 12th NBA season, spent the past seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played alongside Antetokounmpo. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game last season while shooting 48.8% from the field and 45.6% from 3-point range on 4.4 attempts per game.

The 31-year-old has also played for the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and New York Knicks. The Heat is the fifth team of Portis’ NBA career.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Portis’ toughness and versatility fit what Miami wanted to add to its frontcourt.

“We feel like we bring a physicality and an edge to our front court, and that’s something that we’ve always wanted,” Spoelstra said. “Everybody’s talking about you need to have some size in the front court and positional size. We think we’ve checked those boxes.”

Spoelstra added that Portis’ ability to stretch the floor while also providing a physical presence makes him valuable in today’s NBA.

“He’s one of the best shooting bigs in the league,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a low post threat. He always has been. He’s a physical rebounder, like we said, and he’s also crafty in a lot of different pick-and-roll coverages defensively. So we think it fits the versatility, the toughness. It’s something that we wanted to address going into this offseason.”

Portis said he was grateful for the opportunity to join Miami and become part of the Heat culture.

“First and foremost, I just want to give a big shout out to the Heat organization for allowing me to be a part of this trade, allowing me to grace the culture,” Portis said. “I was born to be a hero, so it fits right in with me. My favorite team growing up, I just want to put that out there.”

Portis said he has continued to evolve his game throughout his career and takes pride in improving each offseason.

“Over time, as you grow in your career, you want to evolve your game each and every year,” Portis said. “I pride myself on working every day in the summer to get better, so the low post stuff is just like a treat that I can do and add to a team, especially coming off the bench.”

Portis joins a revamped Heat roster that now features a frontcourt rotation of Portis, Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Riley said he believes the group gives Miami a versatile combination of size and skill.

“I think with Bam and Giannis and Nico and Bobby that we got a very potent power rotation that’s very versatile,” Riley said.

Antetokounmpo is scheduled to address the media at 3 p.m. Thursday. The two-time NBA MVP and NBA champion arrived in Miami after 13 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he became one of the league’s most decorated players.

Antetokounmpo has won two MVP awards, an NBA championship and NBA Finals MVP honors. He is a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020.

The Heat will hold its annual media day Sept. 28 at Kaseya Center before opening training camp Sept. 29 ahead of the 2026-27 season.

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

Heat fans can also call 786-777-4375 for more information on how to purchase tickets for the 2026-2027 season.

Según la Policía, un gran jurado acusó el miércoles a Gregory DaSilva, de 26 años, de tres cargos de asesinato premeditado en primer grado y un cargo de intento de asesinato en primer grado.

Los primeros homicidios fueron reportados la mañana del 30 de junio en un complejo de apartamentos ubicado en la cuadra 5300 de Northwest 19th Street.

Los investigadores dijeron que un agente fue abordado inicialmente por un hombre que informó que alguien armado con un cuchillo había intentado atacarlo.

Posteriormente, los agentes localizaron a DaSilva, quien coincidía con la descripción del atacante, pero la Policía informó que huyó hacia un vecindario residencial cercano.

Mientras los agentes buscaban en el área, los investigadores dijeron que recibieron una llamada al 911 sobre un hombre con aparentes heridas de arma blanca. Mientras recorrían el vecindario, los agentes confirmaron que encontraron a una segunda víctima de apuñalamiento.

La Policía informó que una víctima fue declarada muerta en el lugar, mientras que la otra murió después de ser trasladada a un hospital cercano.

Posteriormente, las víctimas fueron identificadas como Mesilien Pierre, de 36 años, y Wilford White, de 68. Vecinos dijeron que White utilizaba una silla de ruedas y no pudo escapar.

Según la Policía, los agentes respondieron a una vivienda cercana el 5 de julio tras recibir un reporte sobre un hombre de 51 años que fue encontrado muerto en el interior por un familiar.

La Policía identificó a la víctima como Jeffrey Standifer, quien, según indicó, también fue asesinado por DaSilva. No confirmó cómo murió Standifer.

Cualquier persona con información sobre las investigaciones de los tres homicidios debe llamar al Departamento de Policía de Lauderhill al 954-497-4700. También puede proporcionar información de forma anónima llamando a Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

This focus comes even as studies show that there are very few reported cases of such incidents in the U.S., especially compared to historically higher levels of far-right violence.

With sweeping statements about the “alarming rise” of political violence by the left, Rubio and other U.S. officials painted a dark image of the future if the “communists and Marxists” perpetrating these supposed acts are not defeated. He urged officials in attendance — mostly from European and Latin American countries — to unite to address the issue, which he says has been a “blind spot” in counterterrorism doctrine.

“So many people in positions of power have repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and even terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause," Rubio said in opening remarks. “A bomb planted by a neo-Nazi group was ‘a nefarious and murderous act of evil.’ It is, but a bomb planted by a Marxist revolutionary; well, that’s just merely a tragic excess of idealism.”

A report published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that left-wing terrorism attacks as of July 4, 2025, had surpassed those from the far right for the first time in more than 30 years. However, a closer look at the data reveals that the uptick reflects a very low starting level and a concurrent drop on the far right.

There was an average of 0.6 left-wing incidents annually from 1994 through 2000, compared with an average of 20.6 on the right, the report shows. From 2016 to 2024, there were an average of four per year on the left and 22.7 per year on the right. Those numbers had dropped dramatically on the right as of early July 2025, with only one incident. Meanwhile, there had been five from the left.

But the report’s authors note that right-wing terrorism could easily return to elevated levels and that it is important to fight terrorism on both sides of the political spectrum.

President Donald Trump and his allies have prioritized talking points against the far left ahead of the congressional elections this November. Trump has repeatedly stated that the Democratic Party’s ascendant left are communists who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of life” and even engage in assassinations.

Vice President JD Vance has similarly called out communism as a political shift that is “something we haven’t seen in the U.S.” House Speaker Mike Johnson has decried “radical candidates” who are “self-described, self-identifying Marxists.”

For Rubio, his worldview on this issue has been largely shaped by his own history: he is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956, a few years before communist leader Fidel Castro rose to power in Havana. The former Florida senator said Thursday that it was that same government’s sprawling intelligence and ideological network that “helped to build the far left in our country and in our hemisphere.”

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and main architect of the administration's immigration policy, followed Rubio's remarks, aiming to drive home the immediacy of the perceived threats he saw to American institutions coming from the left, and what response is needed in return.

“If your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives,” Miller said. “That is the level of dedication and urgency that is required.”

This ideological focus has repeatedly conflated democratic socialism — which often centers on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation — with communism, under which private ownership is largely eliminated.

It has only intensified in the last year, following the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to become New York City mayor and several of his proteges who won their New York City congressional primaries last month, beating out incumbents.

One of the ways the administration has started to target left-wing efforts is through sanctions. In November, the State Department designated four antifa or anti-fascist groups in Europe as foreign terrorist organizations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his remarks Thursday that targeting these groups and entities' financial networks is the best way to circumvent their efforts.

“We have spent decades developing the world’s most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities, and now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront this emerging threat here at home,” he told the conference.

___

Amiri reported from New York and Kinnard from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed to this report.

The league's first 84-game season since 1993-94 opens Sept. 29 as 32 teams will combine to play a total of 1,344 games. The season runs through Saturday, April 10, before the playoffs begin the following week.

The increase from an 82-game slate, which had been the standard since the mid-’90s, was agreed upon by team owners and players in the last round of talks on a collective bargaining agreement. The intent is to provide more space between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and the draft in late June before free agency commences July 1.

When the Panthers and Oilers went the distance in ’24, there were just three days between Game 7 on June 24 in South Florida and the first round of the draft on June 28 in Las Vegas.

After defeating Vegas to win the Stanley Cup, the Carolina Hurricanes will raise their second championship banner on Sept. 29 against Florida.

That opening night, featuring five games, matches the earliest start date in NHL history and is the first time the regular season begins in North America before October. The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played games in London on Sept. 29 and 30, 2007.

The most recent — and only other — September hockey outside of exhibitions came during the pandemic playoff bubble in 2020, culminating when Tampa Bay hoisted the Cup in an empty arena in Edmonton on Sept. 28.

Games to watch

Oct. 21: New Florida Panther Brady Tkachuk returns to Ottawa. The former Senators captain plays his first game against his old team since getting traded to Florida to play with his brother, Matthew. It did not end well in Canada's capital, from Brady bristling at his name being in rumors to asking out and then the team offering to take Tkachuk No. 7 jerseys fans wished to exchange.

Oct 25: Heritage Classic. The Montreal Canadiens visit the Winnipeg Jets in the return of outdoor hockey to Canada for the first time since 2023.

Dec. 21: Stanley Cup Final rematch: The Hurricanes return to the scene of their championship triumph to face the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. The two teams meet again in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 17.

Dec. 31: Winter Classic: Utah takes center stage outside, hosting the Colorado Avalanche in the Winter Classic in Salt Lake City.

Feb. 20: Jerry World hockey: The Dallas Stars host Vegas in at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington, Texas.

April 4: Washington hosts Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin is back for a 22nd NHL season with the Capitals. If this is it for him at age 41 — and it very well may not be if he wants to shoot for 1,000 career goals — this would be the last regular-season game against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins.

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

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According to police, a grand jury indicted Gregory DaSilva, 26, Wednesday on three counts of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

The first killings were reported on the morning of June 30 at an apartment complex in the 5300 block of Northwest 19th Street.

Investigators said an officer was initially flagged down by a man who reported that someone armed with a knife had tried to attack him.

Officers then located DaSilva, who matched the description of the attacker, but police said he ran into a nearby residential neighborhood.

As officers searched the area, investigators said they received a 911 call about a man suffering from apparent stab wounds. While canvassing the neighborhood, officers confirmed that they found a second stabbing victim.

Police said one victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other died after being taken to a nearby hospital.

The victims were later identified as Mesilien Pierre, 36; and Wilford White, 68. Neighbors said White used a wheelchair and was unable to escape.

According to police, officers responded to a nearby home on July 5 after receiving a report about a 51-year-old man who was found dead inside by a family member.

Police identified the victim as Jeffrey Standifer, who they said had also been killed by DaSilva. They did not confirm how Standifer was killed.

Anyone with information about the investigations into the three killings is asked to call the Lauderhill Police Department at 954-497-4700. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Basabe está acusado de acosar sexualmente a dos ex empleados, el pasante Jacob Cutbirth y el asistente legislativo Nicholas Frevola.

Ambos hombres alegan haber sido víctimas de tocamientos inapropiados y otras conductas poco profesionales. Como evidencia se han presentado publicaciones en X, mensajes de texto y fotografías.

Basabe, quien no es abogado y nunca estudió Derecho, decidió representarse a sí mismo durante el juicio.

Esa decisión ha provocado algunos momentos complicados para Basabe, incluidos los del miércoles, mientras presentaba sus alegatos finales ante el jurado del condado Leon.

Tras varias conversaciones en privado entre las partes y el juez, se observó repetidamente a Basabe enviando mensajes de texto desde su teléfono celular, aparentemente para obtener información relacionada con el proceso, aunque en ocasiones sin éxito.

En un momento, Basabe dijo que accidentalmente borró una página completa de sus notas.

El caso ya fue entregado al jurado, que decidirá si Basabe es responsable en el juicio civil y cuál sería la compensación económica que correspondería a las presuntas víctimas.

Una parte de la audiencia del miércoles puede verse en el video a continuación:

La Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) identificó a los sospechosos como Karel Clavel-Beltran, de 46 años, de Hialeah; Alexis Franc Fernandez, de 63 años, de Tampa; y Miguel Nunez-Garcia, de 47 años, de Miami.

Según un comunicado de prensa de la MDSO, “Clavel-Beltran utilizó cámaras colocadas estratégicamente y audífonos para ayudar al Sr. Miguel Nunez-Garcia y al Sr. Alexis Fernandez a hacer trampa en el examen computarizado para obtener la licencia de conducir”.

El informe de arresto de Nunez-Garcia indica que había reprobado el examen en múltiples ocasiones antes de aprobarlo el miércoles. El informe señala que Nunez-Garcia no entiende inglés y que el examen se administra únicamente en inglés, de acuerdo con una ley que entró en vigor el 6 de febrero.

Según el informe, Nunez-Garcia admitió que llevaba puesta una camiseta tipo Polo color púrpura equipada con una “cámara de botón” y un audífono, mientras Clavel-Beltran le proporcionaba las respuestas del examen mientras lo presentaba en la oficina del recaudador de impuestos de Midway Crossings, ubicada en el 7795 W. Flagler St.

Las autoridades informaron que dijo haber pagado $600 USD a Clavel-Beltran por su ayuda.

Según un informe de arresto separado, Fernandez también presentó el examen el miércoles en la sede de Midway Crossings y fue visto por un oficial de cumplimiento del Departamento de Seguridad Vial y Vehículos Motorizados de Florida entrando a una camioneta blanca con una camiseta gris y luego saliendo del vehículo con una camiseta tipo Polo.

Los agentes dijeron que es una práctica común que las personas usen una camiseta tipo Polo para ocultar dispositivos de grabación durante los exámenes y luego cambien de ropa una vez que el examen ha terminado.

Según el informe, Fernandez fue detenido después del examen y tampoco podía entender inglés, a pesar de haber presentado el examen en ese idioma.

Los agentes dijeron que Fernandez admitió que Clavel-Beltran le proporcionó el audífono y la camiseta tipo Polo con la cámara de botón para ayudarlo a aprobar el examen, pero aun así reprobó porque no pudo escuchar a Clavel-Beltran a través del audífono.

Según el informe, Fernandez dijo que llevó una “gran cantidad de dinero en efectivo” para pagarle a Clavel-Beltran por sus servicios, pero fue detenido por un investigador antes de poder hacerlo.

Fernandez y Nunez-Garcia fueron arrestados por cargos de hacer trampa y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación.

Mientras tanto, Clavel-Beltran fue arrestado por cargos de esquema organizado para defraudar, hacer trampa, uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación y proporcionar un nombre o identificación falsos después del arresto.

“Obtener una licencia de conducir es un privilegio que conlleva la responsabilidad de operar un vehículo de manera segura en nuestras carreteras”, indicó la MDSO en un comunicado. “Cuando alguien intenta hacer trampa en el proceso de evaluación, socava la integridad del sistema y pone en riesgo la seguridad de nuestra comunidad.

“La MDSO mantiene su compromiso de proteger la integridad del proceso de otorgamiento de licencias y garantizar que solo los conductores calificados obtengan el privilegio de ponerse al volante. No se tolerarán los intentos de obtener una licencia de conducir mediante fraude o engaño, y quienes intenten evadir la ley serán investigados y responsabilizados”.

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The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects as Karel Clavel-Beltran, 46, of Hialeah; Alexis Franc Fernandez, 63, of Tampa; and Miguel Nunez-Garcia, 47, of Miami.

According to an MDSO press release, “Clavel-Beltran used strategically placed cameras and earpieces to help Mr. Miguel Nunez-Garcia and Mr. Alexis Fernandez cheat on the computer-based driver license examination.”

Nunez-Garcia’s arrest report states that he had failed the exam multiple times before passing Wednesday. The report notes that Nunez-Garcia does not understand English and the test is solely administered in English following a law that took effect on Feb. 6.

According to the report, Nunez-Garcia admitted that he was wearing a purple Polo shirt equipped with a “button camera” and an earpiece as Clavel-Beltran provided him the answers to the exam while he took it at the Midway Crossings Tax Collector Office at 7795 W. Flagler St.

He said he paid Clavel-Beltran $600 for his assistance, authorities said.

According to a separate arrest report, Fernandez also took the exam Wednesday at the Midway Crossings location and was spotted by a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles compliance officer entering a white truck in a gray T-shirt and then exiting the truck wearing a Polo shirt.

Deputies said it is common practice for people to wear a Polo shirt to hide recording devices during exams and then change their attire once the exam is completed.

According to the report, Fernandez was detained after the exam and he too could not understand English, despite taking the exam in English.

Deputies said Fernandez admitted that Clavel-Beltran provided him the earpiece and Polo shirt with the button camera to help him pass the exam, but he still failed because he was unable to hear Clavel-Beltran through the earpiece.

According to the report, Fernandez said he brought a “large amount of cash” with him to pay Clavel-Beltran for his services, but he was detained by an investigator before he could pay him.

Fernandez and Nunez-Garcia were arrested on charges of cheating and unlawful use of a communications device.

Clavel-Beltran, meanwhile, was arrested on charges of organized scheme to defraud, cheating, unlawful use of a communications device and providing a false name/ID after arrest.

“Obtaining a driver license is a privilege that comes with the responsibility of safely operating a vehicle on our roadways,” MDSO said in a statement. “When someone attempts to cheat the testing process, they undermine the integrity of the system and put the safety of our community at risk.

“MDSO remains committed to protecting the integrity of the licensing process and ensuring that only qualified drivers earn the privilege to get behind the wheel. Attempts to obtain a driver license through fraud or deception will not be tolerated, and those who try to circumvent the law will be investigated and held accountable.”

All three suspects appeared in bond court Thursday. Fernandez was granted a $5,000 bond. Clavel-Beltran and Nunez-Garcia, both of Cuba, will remain jailed on immigration holds for the time being.

Records show Clavel-Beltran also has an open warrant on a 2008 case in which he was charged with trafficking cannabis and grand theft.

Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said more arrests could be coming as this investigation continues.

“When individuals attempt to cheat the testing process, they undermine the integrity of the system and put public safety at risk,” he said. “Fraud has no place in our offices or around our facilities, and anyone who attempts to obtain a government-issued credential through deception should expect to be held accountable.”

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Willard, 35, used a smoking device to stab a lover on May 16 in Broward County and a kitchen knife to stab another lover about two months later in Miami-Dade County, according to police officers.

“Ms. Willard is also currently on an ankle monitor for a domestic-related aggravated battery with a deadly weapon incident,” a Miami Gardens police officer wrote, according to an arrest report.

Willard, of Hollywood, had been arrested for domestic violence three times — going back to when she was 21 —in Broward, when police officers arrested her for domestic violence on May 16 in Sunrise and on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, records show.

Shortly before 1:40 a.m., on Wednesday, Miami Gardens police officers responded to a mobile home along Dorado Avenue, near Aledo Circle, according to a police officer’s arrest report.

The victim was “sitting in a chair in the back of the property. He had a puncture wound to the abdomen ... stated that he and Ms. Willard were arguing over her being unfaithful ... Willard grabbed a kitchen knife, with a white plastic handle, and stabbed him,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel took the victim to the HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was able to talk to a detective hours later, according to a police report.

“He advised that Ms. Willard had been beating on him all day. He said she disrespects him in his own home by talking to the victim from her Broward case ... He said today, Ms. Willard punched him in the face several times and choked him. She gave him a bloody nose and knocked a tooth out. While he was in the bathroom cleaning his face from the blood, Ms. Willard stabbed him,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

Police officers searched the apartment and found the kitchen knife with the white handle on the kitchen table, after Willard told police officers that the victim had “stabbed himself,” according to the report.

“She advised that [the victim] gets aggressive when he drinks ... had been arrested in the past for domestic violence against her ... [they] have been in an on-and-off romantic relationship for over five years ... for the past two months they have been living together,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

On May 16, police officers responded to a house along Oakland Park Boulevard, near Northwest 94 Avenue in Sunrise, and accused Willard of aggravated battery with a deadly, records show.

“I observed blood on her hands ... she stated that she injured her hand while punching [the victim] and while using a smoking device to stab him ... she picked up a small black sharp object commonly used for smoking cannabis,” a Sunrise police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

The victim said Willard “grabbed a small black object used for smoking marijuana from a brown desk located on the right side of the room and began stabbing him multiple times in the stomach area,” a police officer wrote, according to the report.

Police officers seized the device, identified Willard as “the primary aggressor,” arrested her, and took her to the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, where corrections booked her, records show.

Broward court records show prosecutors filed a case against Willard on May 18, and she faced a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. She was released on a $700 bond and was under an agreement to house arrest with an electronic monitor.

Miami-Dade court records show prosecutors filed a case against Willard on Thursday, and she faced charges of second-degree felony attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A judge ordered her pre-trial detention.

Broward County Circuit Judge Tim Bailey and Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Richard Hersch were presiding over the pending cases.

Según la Policía, Willard, de 35 años, utilizó un dispositivo para fumar para apuñalar a una pareja el 16 de mayo en el condado Broward y un cuchillo de cocina para apuñalar a otra pareja aproximadamente dos meses después en el condado Miami-Dade.

“La Sra. Willard también se encuentra actualmente bajo monitoreo electrónico por un caso de agresión agravada por violencia doméstica con un arma mortal”, escribió un agente de la Policía de Miami Gardens, según un informe de arresto.

Los registros muestran que Willard, residente de Hollywood, había sido arrestada por violencia doméstica en tres ocasiones desde que tenía 21 años. La Policía la arrestó por violencia doméstica el 16 de mayo en Sunrise y nuevamente el miércoles en Miami Gardens.

Poco antes de la 1:40 a.m. del miércoles, agentes de la Policía de Miami Gardens respondieron a una casa móvil ubicada en Dorado Avenue, cerca de Aledo Circle, según un informe de arresto.

“La víctima estaba sentada en una silla en la parte trasera de la propiedad. Tenía una herida punzante en el abdomen… indicó que él y la Sra. Willard estaban discutiendo por una infidelidad de ella… Willard tomó un cuchillo de cocina con mango plástico blanco y lo apuñaló”, escribió un agente en el informe de arresto.

Personal de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladó a la víctima al Hospital HCA Florida Aventura, donde fue sometida a una cirugía y pudo hablar con un detective horas después, según un informe policial.

“Indicó que la Sra. Willard lo había estado golpeando durante todo el día. Dijo que ella le faltaba el respeto en su propia casa al hablar con la víctima de su caso en Broward… Dijo que ese día la Sra. Willard le dio varios puñetazos en la cara y lo estranguló. Le provocó una hemorragia nasal y le tumbó un diente. Mientras estaba en el baño limpiándose la sangre del rostro, la Sra. Willard lo apuñaló”, escribió un agente, según el informe de arresto.

Los agentes registraron la vivienda y encontraron el cuchillo de cocina con mango blanco sobre la mesa de la cocina, después de que Willard les dijera que la víctima “se había apuñalado a sí misma”, según el informe.

“Ella indicó que la víctima se pone agresiva cuando bebe… que había sido arrestado anteriormente por violencia doméstica en su contra… que ambos han mantenido una relación sentimental intermitente durante más de cinco años… y que durante los últimos dos meses habían estado viviendo juntos”, escribió un agente en el informe de arresto.

El 16 de mayo, agentes respondieron a una vivienda ubicada sobre Oakland Park Boulevard, cerca de Northwest 94 Avenue, en Sunrise, y acusaron a Willard de agresión agravada con un arma mortal, según muestran los registros.

“Observé sangre en sus manos… indicó que se lesionó la mano al golpear a la víctima y al usar un dispositivo para fumar para apuñalarlo… tomó un pequeño objeto negro con punta que comúnmente se utiliza para fumar cannabis”, escribió un agente de la Policía de Sunrise, según el informe de arresto.

La víctima dijo que Willard “tomó un pequeño objeto negro utilizado para fumar marihuana de un escritorio marrón ubicado al lado derecho de la habitación y comenzó a apuñalarlo varias veces en el área del estómago”, escribió un agente, según el informe.

Los agentes incautaron el dispositivo, identificaron a Willard como “la principal agresora”, la arrestaron y la trasladaron a la cárcel principal del condado Broward, en Fort Lauderdale, donde fue ingresada, según muestran los registros.

Los registros judiciales de Broward muestran que los fiscales presentaron un caso contra Willard el 18 de mayo, en el que enfrentaba un cargo de agresión agravada con un arma mortal. Fue liberada tras pagar una fianza de $700 USD y permanecía bajo arresto domiciliario con monitoreo electrónico.

Los registros judiciales de Miami-Dade muestran que los fiscales presentaron un caso contra Willard el jueves, en el que enfrenta cargos por intento de asesinato en segundo grado y agresión agravada con un arma mortal. Un juez ordenó que permaneciera detenida mientras espera juicio.

El juez del Tribunal de Circuito del condado Broward, Tim Bailey, y el juez del Tribunal de Circuito del condado Miami-Dade, Richard Hersch, presiden los casos pendientes.

The United States on Wednesday said it would impose a new 25% tariff on certain imports from Brazil, citing unfair trade practices by the world’s 10th-biggest economy.

The tariffs, first proposed last month, will take effect July 22. The order exempts some goods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains — including coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice and aircraft components.

In a statement late Wednesday, the office of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva refuted the U.S. allegations of unfair trade practices. It said 76% of imports from the United States entered Brazil duty-free in 2025, and said the average tariff effectively applied to U.S. products was only 3.1%.

It said it has taken steps to impose reciprocal tariffs, along with other trade-related countermeasures.

“Brazil will immediately begin the procedures necessary to invoke the mechanisms provided for under the reciprocity law ... and will also pursue the matter through the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism,” it said, referencing a mechanism that allows it to respond with countermeasures.

The U.S. has a robust trade surplus with Brazil

The United States has for years run a massive trade deficit with the rest of the world, and Trump has cited the lopsided trade numbers to justify his aggressive use of tariffs.

But Brazilian imports make an unusual target: The U.S. has persistently piled up trade surpluses with Brazil. Last year, in fact, U.S. exports to Brazil exceeded imports by nearly $42 billion; only the United States’ trade surpluses with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were higher.

The new tariff puts pressure on national exports and increases insecurity for companies in both countries, Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry said in a statement Thursday.

The Trump administration first imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports last July. He cited what he called a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro. Trump's ally was on trial at the time for attempting a coup despite his 2022 electoral defeat to Lula and was later convicted. Some of those tariffs were later rescinded.

U.S. President Donald Trump at the time also accused Brazil of unfair trade practices and said he had directed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to initiate an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

That led the office to charge Brazil with lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs, among other things, in June.

Lula pointedly referenced that history late Wednesday, blaming the latest round of tariffs on the Bolsonaro family.

Lula’s office also said: “Brazil does not recognize the legitimacy of investigations that are not grounded in the multilateral rules governing international trade.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X announcing the tariff that they were the result of Lula putting “his own ego ahead of making a deal” and not negotiating with the U.S. in good faith.

Brazil’s government rejected that claim, saying it had “never left the negotiating table.”

Brazil elections may be impacted

The tariff is likely to increase tensions between the two countries ahead of Brazil’s presidential elections in October, when President Lula is expected to face Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Flávio Bolsonaro reposted Rubio’s statement, along with the comment: “Lula is no longer fit to be the president of Brazil. We are on a plane without a pilot.” He called Lula “the Brazilian Biden” and said he “is grumpy, reckless, and has become a danger to our nation.”

The two top candidates for October’s presidential election have previously traded barbs over their responses to the deeply unpopular U.S. tariffs, suggesting that they believe how they are perceived as handling them will be a key factor in the vote.

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Paul Wiseman contributed to this report from Washington D.C.

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

Mateo Pulcini delivered an amusing response a few hours later.

After holing a 40-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green at Royal Birkdale, the 25-year-old amateur cupped both of his ears in a gesture to spectators that mimicked the celebration his countryman, Enzo Fernandez, produced after scoring Argentina's 85th-minute equalizing goal on Wednesday. Argentina went on to win 2-1 in the semifinals.

“I was pretty excited and that came to my mind,” he said, “and I did it.”

Pulcini stressed there were only “a few boos” on the first tee and that it was just a bit of fun.

“People are being great. Fans are being spectacular. They were cheering for me as well,” he said.

Asked what felt better — his putt on the 18th or seeing Fernandez's goal — Pulcini said: “Enzo’s goal, for sure.”

Pulcini is making his debut at the British Open after qualifying by winning the Latin American Amateur Championship in a playoff in Peru.

He shot 5-over 75 on Thursday.

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

There's still areas that need to be worked on, but it will take more than 20 games for everything to be cleaned up.

“We’ve seen great improvements on the very things that were broken,” the Minnesota Lynx coach said. “There was a level of impeding players and trying to cut off a screen. We don’t want the unnecessary physicality.”

The league put together a task force, which Reeve is on, in the offseason to help clean up some of the physicality in the game. The main point of emphasis was to help players' freedom of movement. Despite some hiccups early on, it has led to more offense as teams are averaging around 86 points a game — the highest ever. They are shooting nearly 45% from the field — also the best in league history.

So far this season there have been roughly 4 1/2 more fouls called per game with 75% of them being non-shooting fouls.

“I think it’s fair for our coaches and players to be able to say we’re happy and we think positive things are taking place, but still I disagree with the calls that are affecting our team tonight,” Monty McCutchen, who is the head of WNBA officials, told The Associated Press.

“I want coaches to remain advocates for their teams," McCutchen added. "We have gotten positive feedback that we’re on the right track. we’ll continue to work through specifics when we fail that task and we’ll continue to check in with the officiating task force to make sure that we’re aligned with the expectations.”

By no means are things perfect. Coaches and players have complained of inconsistencies between officiating crews. What might be called a foul in one half might not be deemed a foul at another point in the game. Obvious fouls are getting missed too.

“It’s never going to be perfect, but we’re trending in the right direction,” Reeve said. “We’ve put resources into this.”

Reeve recalled a play that she asked to be reviewed during her team's game against Dallas. The officials looked at the play and upgraded it to a flagrant.

The league is constantly reviewing plays. Alyssa Thomas’ punch to the throat of Caitlin Clark that was upgraded to a Flagrant-2 was one of four that the league reviewed that night and was the only one upgraded.

Common fouls aren’t the only thing on the rise. Both technical fouls and flagrant fouls are up too. There have been 124 technicals assessed this season (four more were rescinded). Last year there were 171 total. There have been 44 flagrants called this season as compared to 51 all of last year.

“I think they are doing a better job at reviewing hostile acts,” Reeve said. “We didn't ask for that, but if that's what it takes to clean it up (it's worth it).”

Not everyone is a fan of all the reviews. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said after a loss to Indiana last week that there were too many of them.

“It’s exhausting when they go to the review every time. I mean, these games are getting longer and longer. It’s encouraging more drama,” she said. “So, it’s like somebody gets hit, and it’s like take them to the hospital. And they jump up, and they’re fine. So I actually think it’s not just today. It’s across the league. There’s so many reviews.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Es algo en lo que conviene pensar, mientras los precios de la gasolina se mantienen elevados durante el verano y añaden presión a la conducción diaria y a los viajes por carretera propios de la temporada.

En cambio, respetar los límites de velocidad señalizados puede ahorrar a los conductores millones de dólares en la gasolinera y eliminar millones de galones de combustible cada día, de acuerdo con un estudio publicado el jueves en la publicación Communications Sustainability de la revista Nature. Ese es combustible que, al quemarse, emite gases que calientan el planeta a la atmósfera. Para colmo, cambiar los hábitos de conducción ni siquiera añadiría un minuto completo al trayecto de un conductor.

Investigadores de la Universidad de Minnesota analizaron 120 millones de viajes en vehículo en todo Estados Unidos correspondientes a cuatro miércoles de 2021, utilizando datos de conducción sobre redes viales nacionales, límites de velocidad y datos de elevación del Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos. El análisis incluyó carreteras con límites de velocidad de 45 mph (72 km/h) o más.

Más del 43% de los viajes estudiados incluyó al menos un episodio de exceso de velocidad, y los conductores pasaron casi el 12% de su tiempo de conducción yendo más rápido que el límite.

Hallaron que, si los conductores de vehículos convencionales de servicio ligero con motor de combustión interna realmente condujeran a los límites señalizados, se podría ahorrar un promedio de 22 millones de dólares según los costos del combustible de ese momento, 6,7 millones de galones de combustible y 57.000 toneladas métricas de dióxido de carbono cada día. Los investigadores indicaron que eso es comparable a sacar de circulación a unos 5,5 millones de vehículos de pasajeros.

Y aunque los conductores afirman que exceder la velocidad les ahorra tiempo, los investigadores concluyeron que en realidad no es así. Con una distancia diaria promedio de conducción de 46,03 kilómetros (28,6 millas), conducir al límite señalado o por debajo de él equivale a apenas unos 54 segundos más al día.

“Si su meta es recortar un minuto, entonces tiene que conducir rápido. Si su objetivo es llegar a su destino de manera segura y ahorrar combustible, entonces quizá conduzca más lento que el límite de velocidad”, explicó William Northrop, profesor de ingeniería mecánica en la Universidad de Minnesota y coautor del estudio.

La investigación consideró la eficiencia de los vehículos eléctricos a batería solo en California, dado el nivel de adopción de vehículos eléctricos en ese momento. Con base en el modelado de California, “encontramos que conducir más lento también es beneficioso para los vehículos eléctricos”, señaló.

De manera interesante, el estudio encontró diferencias entre estados. Nevada registró una prevalencia elevada de ir rápido así como un alto excedente de velocidad. Hubo una alta prevalencia de recorridos rápidos en Florida, Georgia y Carolina del Norte, aunque esos estados no necesariamente mostraron exceso de velocidad. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho y Dakota del Sur presentaron tanto baja prevalencia de recorridos rápidos como bajo excedente de velocidad.

El costo de conducir más rápido

Conducir más rápido incrementa el uso de energía de un vehículo y las emisiones de su motor, además de reducir la eficiencia. Los motores de los vehículos se han vuelto cada vez más eficientes en las últimas décadas, incluso mientras los vehículos se han hecho más grandes y potentes. Pero los límites de velocidad también han aumentado desde que se implementó la Ley de Conservación de Energía en Carreteras de Emergencia, que estableció límites nacionales de 55 mph (88 kph) en medio de la crisis energética de la década de 1970.

Al considerar el costo promedio de la gasolina hoy y el mayor número de millas recorridas por los vehículos, eso aumenta a aproximadamente 26 millones de dólares y 7,2 millones de galones de combustible que los estadounidenses, en conjunto, podrían ahorrar cada día este año simplemente por no pisar el acelerador a fondo.

Una limitación de la investigación es que conducir más lento podría afectar los patrones de tráfico, lo que podría influir en la eficiencia.

Sin embargo, el tema es especialmente oportuno en momentos en que los conductores siguen siendo sensibles a los precios de la gasolina, mientras la guerra en Irán ha llevado el costo de un galón de combustible por encima de los 4 dólares este año. Expertos han señalado que hay varias maneras de mejorar el rendimiento de gasolina de un vehículo, incluida una tan simple como reducir la velocidad. Comprar menos combustible gracias a una mejor eficiencia podría influir en la demanda del mercado petrolero, lo que a su vez podría afectar los precios.

Rob Middleton, científico investigador asociado de ingeniería mecánica en la Universidad de Michigan que no participó en la investigación, comentó que el estudio estaba bien realizado. Pero también apuntó que el combustible ahorrado por conducir más despacio aún representa solo una fracción del consumo diario de gasolina en Estados Unidos, que es de alrededor de 375 millones de galones al día.

“Es un número grande, pero es una fracción pequeña”, manifestó Middleton. “Es una ganga solo en el sentido de que no le cuesta nada a nadie hacerlo”.

“La penetración de mercado de los vehículos eléctricos todavía es pequeña, así que seguimos necesitando combustible, seguimos necesitando vehículos a motor de combustión interna, y vamos a tenerlos por mucho tiempo”, añadió. “Las cosas que podemos hacer para que los nuevos sean mejores o para mejorar nuestro suministro de combustible, tenemos que hacerlas”.

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Alexa St. John es reportera de clima de AP. Sígala en X: @alexa_stjohn. Puede contactarla en ast.john@ap.org.

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

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

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Basabe is accused of sexually harassing two former staffers -- intern Jacob Cutbirth and legislative aide Nicholas Frevola.

Both men allege inappropriate touching and other unprofessional conduct. Tweets, texts messages and photos have all been presented as evidence.

On Wednesday afternoon, a jury found Basabe liable in the case.

Basabe, who is not a lawyer and who has never been to law school, elected to represent himself in the trial.

It’s a decision that has brought some rocky moments for Basabe, which included Wednesday while presenting his closing arguments before the Leon County jury.

After several sidebars, Basabe was constantly spotted texting on his cellphone, appearing to glean information for the proceedings, sometimes unsuccessfully.

At one point, Basabe said he accidentally deleted an entire page of his notes.

The jury reached their verdict after two hours of deliberation, awarding $450,000 in damages to his former staffers.

Basabe released a statement to Local 10 News after the verdict.

“I chose to defend myself because I am still naïve enough to believe that truth matters, that an ordinary citizen can stand in court, defend himself, and be judged on the facts. I believed representing myself was the right thing to do because I am innocent and because, before this civil trial, these allegations had already been the subject of four investigations and ethics proceedings that concluded without substantiating the misconduct alleged against me.

“Looking back, representing myself was a mistake. I underestimated how different civil litigation is from what most people believe. It operates under different standards, different procedures, and different rules. That is the lesson I take from today.

“This is a difficult time for me and my family, but their confidence in who I am has not changed. Neither has my determination.

“For now, I have no further comment on this matter.”

Florida State Rep. Fabian Basabe

A portion of Wednesday’s hearing can be seen in the video below:

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar avoided the crash and kept his significant overall lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard after 12 stages.

It was Merlier’s third stage win on this year’s Tour and sixth of his career. Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished second and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium was third.

With riders fighting for position on the home straight, Colombian Fernando Gaviria went down after clipping the wheel of another cyclist and fell to his left, bringing Norwegian rider Soeren Waerenskjold — Wednesday's stage winner — down with him. Just behind them, four other riders had no room to swerve around them and flew over their handlebars.

None of the riders appeared seriously injured and, after a few minutes of recovery, Gaviria crossed the line with the help of a teammate. Gaviria's left knee was heavily bloodied and his left arm appeared hurt as he held it close to his body.

Four-time Tour champion Pogacar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Vingegaard and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place.

Pogacar had extended his overall lead Tuesday after another trademark attack in the 10th stage.

Stage 12 was a mostly flat 179-kilometer (111-mile) route starting from the Magny-Cours track, which once hosted Formula 1 races, and ending in Chalon-sur-Saône in eastern France.

Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer forged ahead on his own until he was caught by a group of 14 riders heading into the last 30 kilometers. They were caught by the hard-chasing peloton soon after, and just before the third of three minor climbs.

With teams looking to place their sprinters into the best position to attack it was a nervy approach to the finish line.

Philipsen's Alpecin-Premier Tech team put three riders at the front to help him but they attacked too soon, as they did in previous stages, and Philipsen is still looking for his first victory at this year's race.

Merlier said having his wife and young son at the race “gave me a lot of motivation.”

"Winning for them is special,” Merlier said. “I managed to find the opening, I had to stay calm and wait. It was a finale and a finish that suited me very well.”

Friday's 13th stage is the longest of this year's race at 206 kilometers and features a sharp Category 1 climb — the second-hardest category in the Tour — toward the end.

The race concludes with its traditional finish in Paris on July 26. ___

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

The policy, known as “public charge,” appeared on Thursday in the Federal Register and will be formally published on July 20.

The policy was first implemented in February 2020 as one of President Donald Trump’s moves to limit legal immigration during his first administration, but it was reversed after Democratic President Joe Biden came to power.

Under the policy, applicants for green cards have to show they wouldn’t be burdens to the country or “public charges.”

Its return comes when the Republican administration is implementing a hardline policy to curb both illegal and legal immigration, and when the cost of healthcare and food is rising.

The federal government “is reaffirming the requirement of self-reliance, protecting public resources and ending policies that encouraged dependency on the backs of hard-working American taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post published on its X account.

“Under President Trump, USCIS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves," the post said. The agency said the rule will take effect Sept. 18.

While the administration’s crackdown on immigration has an increased focus on deportations and immigration enforcement in cities across the country and at borders and entry points, it has also taken actions that target legal immigrants and mixed status families.

Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge. The Trump administration’s rule, however, includes a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.

The Trump administration first promoted the rule in 2018 as a way to ensure that only those who were self-sufficient came to the U.S. Immigrant rights advocates criticized it, saying it amounted to a “wealth test.” Public health experts said it would lead to worse health outcomes.

Nongovernmental organizations said the policy generated confusion and fear and caused many immigrants and their U.S.-born relatives to decide not to apply for benefits and services to which they were entitled.

The Memorandum of Understanding was supposed to halt all military operations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil and gas. It also set the stage for further negotiations intended to lead to a permanent peace deal and an agreement on Iran's nuclear program within 60 days.

Here's a look at some of the main clauses of the agreement and the situation on the ground.

The fighting has resumed

THE DEAL: The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war by signing this MOU declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: The U.S. has launched days of airstrikes on Iran in response to its attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has fired back at Arab countries hosting American troops. A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah reached shortly after the Iran agreement has largely held despite renewed hostilities elsewhere in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz is largely closed

THE DEAL: Upon the signing of this MOU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa. The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start and, considering the needs for removing the technical and military obstacles and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be instated within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: This clause seems to have been the undoing of the deal. Iran says it gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge tolls after 60 days. The U.S. and others dispute that, saying the strait should be open to all without fees, as it was before the war. The U.S. has set up an alternative route along Oman's coast and outside of Iran's control. Iran's attacks on ships using that route triggered the renewed hostilities. Traffic through the strait rose after the deal was signed but remained far short of prewar levels and has plummeted in recent days as fighting has escalated.

The U.S. has reimposed its blockade

THE DEAL: Immediately upon the signing of this MOU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade and any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran and will fully end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of prewar traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America further undertakes to remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: The U.S. this week restored its blockade on Iranian ports, citing Iran's attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, U.S. forces opened fire on a ship they said was trying to break the blockade.

Sanctions on Iranian oil exports have been restored

THE DEAL: The United States of America undertakes that immediately upon the signing of this MOU and until the termination of sanctions the U.S. Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives and all associated services including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: The U.S. issued the waivers but then revoked them after Iran's attacks on shipping.

There's been no public sign of progress toward a final deal

THE DEAL: The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent … After signing this MOU and subject to the beginning of the implementation of paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11 of this MOU, and the continuing implementation of these measures, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will start negotiations regarding the final deal exclusively on the other paragraphs.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: Negotiations were apparently paused during last week's funeral for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening U.S. and Israeli strikes. It's unclear if they have resumed, or if any progress has been made. The 60-day time frame suggests a mid-August deadline.

The nuclear dispute still seems as intractable as ever

THE DEAL: The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpile enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in Paragraph 7 with the minimum methodology to be downblending on site under the supervision of the IAEA. The two parties also agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final deal. The final deal will confirm the provisions of this paragraph.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: It's unclear if any progress has been made toward the highly ambitious goal of resolving the nuclear issue in 60 days. Iran has not publicly made any concessions while reiterating its longstanding position that its program is peaceful. It has refused to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit bombed nuclear sites where its highly enriched uranium is believed to have been buried.

Other clauses also appear to be in limbo

The interim deal called for a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran as part of the final agreement, but it's still unclear where that money would come from. The U.S. pledged to lift all sanctions as part of the final accord, but U.S. officials have always said that is linked to progress on nuclear and other issues.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.55% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.75%.

Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power at a time when affordability challenges continue to sideline many aspiring homeowners.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Rates have been mostly rising this year as the war with Iran has driven crude oil prices sharply higher, stoking expectations of hotter inflation. That's pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the conflict began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.57% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.54% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it's been since Aug. 28, when it was at 6.56%. As recently as late February, the average rate dropped slightly below 6% for the first time since late 2022.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.93% from 5.82% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.92%, Freddie Mac said.

A report this week showing prices paid by consumers for gas, clothes and other goods cooled last month could help take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates.

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

That cooler inflation reading “is a step in the right direction, but until mortgage rates actually follow suit, buyers will keep feeling the pinch of stubbornly high borrowing costs even as other conditions improve,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their upward trajectory has weighed on home sales this year.

And the latest monthly tally of home purchase transactions that have yet to be finalized points to potentially more sluggish home sales this summer.

Pending U.S. home sales fell 5.4% in June from the previous months and were down 0.3% from June last year, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a near-term bellwether for the housing market.

Data on mortgage applications also signal that the upward trend in mortgage rates has given some would-be homebuyers reason to pause.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.7% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The pullback was driven mainly by a 7% drop in applications to buy a home.

That’s according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who has been covering the incident since it occurred on Friday in Las Vegas.

Charania spoke to an NBA spokesperson, who told him, “After discussing with the players involved and the NBPA, everyone would prefer to move on from this unfortunate circumstance, and no further action will be taken by the league.”

Adebayo and Herro were teammates for seven years in Miami.

Herro was included as part of the trade that brought superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat.

In the wake of the trade, a fan released screenshots of direct messages with an account allegedly connected to Herro in which he criticized Adebayo’s play and questioned if he was worth the contract that he’d signed with Miami.

The altercation occurred after they were made public.

Neither the Heat nor Bucks have commented on the incident.

But the money dried up after the Supreme Court struck down the biggest and boldest of Trump’s tariffs in February.

The question now is: Can the president’s trade team make good on its promise to replace the lost revenue?

A deadline is approaching rapidly.

After the Supreme Court setback, the president turned first to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose 10% tariffs globally. But Section 122 only authorizes tariffs for 150 days. Trump’s expire on July 24. Congress would have to extend those tariffs — something lawmakers are unlikely to do as the Nov. 3 midterm elections approach amid voter discontent over the high cost of living.

But the administration has more durable options: Section 301 of the same 1974 trade law permits the president to impose tariffs and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices. Trump used Section 301 to impose big tariffs on China in his first term and is rolling them out again — as recently as late Wednesday when he announced 25% tariffs on some Brazilian imports, charging the world’s 11th-biggest economy with a host of unfair trade practices.

Trade attorneys and analysts are confident the tariff-happy Trump administration will manage to beat the clock and swap out Section 122 tariffs with bigger Section 301 tariffs by the July 24 deadline. “They’re going to raise the tariff wall again,’’ said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a trade official in Trump's first administration and in President Joe Biden's.

Trump last year tested – and exceeded – the limits of his authority to impose import taxes, a power the U.S. Constitution gives Congress. He invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to slap big tariffs on most of the world’s countries.

He justified the levies, which marked a stunning reversal of decades of U.S. policy in favor of lower tariffs and freer trade, by labeling America’s longstanding trade deficits a national emergency.

The Supreme Court didn’t buy it, ruling in February that the president couldn’t use the emergency powers law to impose tariffs at all. The legal defeat meant the administration had to send refunds to importers that had paid the levies.

As a result, tariffs have at least temporarily gone from a windfall to a drain on the Treasury.

Revenue from import taxes peaked at more than $31.4 billion last October. Then, after the Supreme Court ruling, it started dwindling – to $22 billion in both March and April. As refund checks went out faster than revenue from the Section 122 and other tariffs came in, the number turned negative: A small ($42 million) shortfall in May was followed by a whopping $25.6 billion loss in June.

Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have vowed to use other legal authorities to recoup the lost income.

Enter Section 301, which gives the president power to impose – and adjust – tariffs in response to other countries’ trade practices. But the administration must first check procedural boxes – collecting comments and holding hearings. There are no limits on Section 301 tariffs. They expire after four years but can be renewed.

So the president has flexibility in how he uses the Section 301 tariffs. Trump can still change them — after clearing procedural hurdles — but he can’t impose or move them up or down on a whim as he often did with the IEEPA tariffs. Uncertainty over Trump's tariff policy has vexed businesses, leaving them hesitant to make investments and decisions because they don't know what the trade rules are going to be.

A switch to rule-bound 301 tariffs would mean "there’s less uncertainty but not no uncertainty,’’ said Sarah Bianchi, a former U.S. trade official who is now chief strategist of international political affairs at the investment research firm Evercore ISI.

The Trump administration has turned to two big Section 301 investigations in its campaign to replace lost tariff revenue. One accuses 60 countries, accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, of failing to do enough to crack down on imports created by forced labor. The other is investigating whether 16 U.S. trading partners — including China, the European Union and Japan — are overproducing goods, driving down worldwide prices and putting American manufacturers at a disadvantage.

The administration has already decided what it wants to do about the forced labor issue. Invoking Section 301 last month, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer proposed tariffs — 10% on 16 countries and 12.5% on 44 — that are the same or slightly higher than the 10% Section 122 levies they would replace. But Greer's office is still receiving public comments on the proposed tariffs and has not imposed them yet.

Nathaniel Halvorson, a partner at the Baker McKenzie law firm and a former U.S. trade official, expects Greer’s office will manage to get the forced-labor levies in place in time so that there won’t be much, if any, “daylight’’ between them and the expiring Section 122 tariffs. “Really, they’re operating about as fast as legally possible,’’ he said.

The administration has not yet completed the other Section 301 investigation into alleged overproduction by 16 countries. Trade attorney Majerus expects the administration to propose more big tariffs in that case, likely in a month or two. He suspects they will be timed to take effect only after the midterm elections “for obvious reasons.’’

Trump, who has proudly called himself “Tariff Man,’’ has made it clear that he is seeking to bring back the big, worldwide import taxes he’d imposed in 2025. So the new 301 investigations look like a pretext to do that and might be vulnerable in court, Bianchi said.

“Section 301s have been pretty legally durable,” she said. “But no one has tried to use it to basically put in place universal tariffs. I think there will be legal challenges.’’

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According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, it happened outside of the Publix at 15771 SW 152nd St. in the unincorporated Country Walk area, near Miami Executive Airport.

An arrest report states that the victim told deputies he was involved in a road rage dispute with the man, later identified as Frank Domenech-Fernandez, on Southwest 157th Avenue.

The victim then told deputies he followed Domenech-Fernandez into the parking lot, where Domenech-Fernandez then approached the victim’s vehicle “holding what he believed to be a large stick in his hand,” according to an arrest form.

Authorities said Domenech-Fernandez then swung the item, which was later discovered to be an umbrella made out of “a steel aluminum material,” but the victim was able to move his vehicle out of the way, causing Domenech-Fernandez to strike his own vehicle instead.

Witness statements and surveillance video obtained by investigators corroborated the victim’s account of the incident, deputies said.

Domenech-Fernandez is now facing a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO), el incidente ocurrió frente al Publix ubicado en el 15771 de SW 152nd St., en el área no incorporada de Country Walk, cerca del Aeropuerto Ejecutivo de Miami.

Un informe de arresto indica que la víctima les dijo a los agentes que estuvo involucrada en una disputa de ira al volante con el hombre, posteriormente identificado como Frank Domenech-Fernandez, en Southwest 157th Avenue.

La víctima dijo a los agentes que siguió a Domenech-Fernandez hasta el estacionamiento, donde este se acercó a su vehículo “sosteniendo lo que creía que era un palo grande”, según el informe de arresto.

Las autoridades informaron que Domenech-Fernandez blandió el objeto, que posteriormente fue identificado como un paraguas fabricado con “material de acero y aluminio”, pero la víctima logró mover su vehículo para evitar el impacto, lo que provocó que Domenech-Fernandez golpeara su propio vehículo.

Los agentes dijeron que las declaraciones de los testigos y los videos de vigilancia obtenidos por los investigadores corroboraron la versión de la víctima sobre el incidente.

Domenech-Fernandez ahora enfrenta un cargo grave de agresión agravada con un arma mortal.

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

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The addition of the disturbance in the far eastern Atlantic was less a statement about its development potential than a simple nod to a healthy-looking tropical wave.

Models don’t show this one going anywhere in terms of development and by the weekend increasing wind shear and dry air will formally seal its fate.

Meanwhile closer into the U.S., forecast models continue to waffle over the development odds for an elongated area of low pressure that’s expected to form over the northeastern Gulf by late this weekend.

Models have only been mildly interested in this one and turned largely bearish again overnight.

As we’ve detailed in previous newsletters, the environment just isn’t in a configuration to promote much development into the early part of next week. The broad surface low will be accompanied by a mid- to upper-level low above, jet dynamics that aren’t conducive to tropical organization.

Additionally, a series of fast-moving jet stream dips beginning this weekend and persisting into early next week will ensure moderate to at times strong wind shear near the system.

Overall, the mix of wind shear and land interaction will significantly limit development potential and it’s unlikely this one clears the hurdles next week.

Heavy rain threat regardless for parts of west-central Florida

As we mentioned on Wednesday, regardless of development the disorganized low pressure will still bring the threat of heavy rains to parts of west-central Florida to start next week.

Models indicate periods of heavy rain beginning this weekend and ramping up across parts of west-central and northeastern Florida Sunday into Monday. Given the drought conditions in this part of Florida, this type of rain could be largely beneficial if spread out over a few days.

For now, the NWS only indicates a marginal risk of excessive rainfall from Sunday through early Tuesday for the middle tier of Florida. We’ll of course monitor the trends in the event the flood risk increases for next week.

Big outage for NOAA’s big hurricane-tracking satellite

The main operational weather satellite from NOAA that we use to continuously monitor the Atlantic basin during hurricane season – also the primary satellite used by meteorologists to monitor weather systems across the eastern part of the U.S. – encountered a mechanical issue late Wednesday and was turned off to troubleshoot the problem and protect the satellite from a wider system failure.

The last satellite image we received from GOES-19 was from 4:10 p.m. ET on July 15.

According to a satellite alert message issued by NOAA two hours after GOES-19 was placed in a safe hold on Wednesday, engineers are investigating the issue and working to recover the satellite. So far, no recovery timelines have been shared by the agency.

It’s worth noting that while NOAA does have satellite redundancy capabilities and can revert to its legacy (i.e., older) GOES-16 satellite to cover the Atlantic, getting this satellite in place and turned on would presumably take some time.

We rely heavily on GOES-19 for a multitude of critical satellite-derived products to investigate developing storms and to track and estimate the intensity of hurricanes.

The satellite data are also critical input to forecast models, and without GOES-19 data we should expect model forecast skill to temporarily drop.

While we have some overlap in the far western Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf, with GOES-19’s western counterpart GOES-18 and in the eastern Atlantic with the European Meteosat-12 satellite, neither satellite is optimized to give a clear picture of the entire Atlantic and the pictures we capture on their edges is of degraded quality.

We’ll keep you posted on the status of GOES-19 and this evolving story in the days ahead.

La presencia de esta perturbación en el extremo oriental del Atlántico no fue tanto una declaración sobre su potencial de desarrollo como un simple guiño a una onda tropical de aspecto saludable.

Los modelos no indican que este sistema vaya a desarrollarse, y para el fin de semana, el aumento de la cizalladura del viento y el aire seco sellarán definitivamente su destino.

Mientras tanto, más cerca de Estados Unidos, los modelos de pronóstico siguen sin ponerse de acuerdo sobre las probabilidades de desarrollo de una zona alargada de baja presión que se espera que se forme sobre el noreste del Golfo a finales de este fin de semana.

Los modelos solo han mostrado un interés moderado en este caso y, durante la noche, volvieron a adoptar una postura mayoritariamente bajista.

Como ya hemos detallado en boletines anteriores, las condiciones ambientales no favorecen un desarrollo significativo a principios de la próxima semana. La amplia baja presión en superficie estará acompañada por una baja presión en niveles medios y altos, con una dinámica de chorros que no propicia la organización tropical.

Además, una serie de descensos rápidos de la corriente en chorro que comenzarán este fin de semana y persistirán hasta principios de la próxima semana garantizarán una cizalladura del viento de moderada a, en ocasiones, fuerte cerca del sistema.

En general, la combinación de la cizalladura del viento y la interacción con el terreno limitará significativamente el potencial de desarrollo, y es poco probable que este proyecto supere los obstáculos la próxima semana.

Amenaza de fuertes lluvias en algunas zonas del centro-oeste de Florida.

Como ya mencionamos el miércoles, independientemente de su evolución, la desorganizada baja presión seguirá trayendo consigo la amenaza de fuertes lluvias a algunas zonas del centro-oeste de Florida a partir de la próxima semana.

Los modelos indican periodos de fuertes lluvias a partir de este fin de semana, que se intensificarán en algunas zonas del centro-oeste y noreste de Florida entre el domingo y el lunes. Dada la sequía que azota esta región, este tipo de lluvia podría ser muy beneficiosa si se distribuye a lo largo de varios días.

Por ahora, el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (NWS) solo indica un riesgo marginal de lluvias excesivas desde el domingo hasta la madrugada del martes en la zona central de Florida. Por supuesto, estaremos atentos a la evolución de la situación en caso de que aumente el riesgo de inundaciones la próxima semana.

Gran interrupción en el funcionamiento del satélite principal de seguimiento de huracanes de la NOAA.

El principal satélite meteorológico operativo de la NOAA que utilizamos para monitorear continuamente la cuenca del Atlántico durante la temporada de huracanes, y que también es el satélite principal que utilizan los meteorólogos para monitorear los sistemas meteorológicos en la parte oriental de los Estados Unidos, experimentó un problema mecánico a última hora del miércoles y fue apagado para solucionar el problema y proteger al satélite de una falla mayor del sistema.

La última imagen satelital que recibimos del GOES-19 fue tomada a las 4:10 pm ET del 15 de julio.

Según un mensaje de alerta satelital emitido por la NOAA dos horas después de que el GOES-19 fuera puesto en reserva el miércoles, los ingenieros están investigando el problema y trabajando para recuperar el satélite. Hasta el momento, la agencia no ha proporcionado plazos estimados para la recuperación.

Cabe destacar que, si bien la NOAA cuenta con capacidad de redundancia satelital y puede recurrir a su satélite GOES-16 anterior (es decir, más antiguo) para cubrir el Atlántico, presumiblemente, la instalación y puesta en marcha de este satélite llevaría algún tiempo.

Dependemos en gran medida del GOES-19 para obtener multitud de productos satelitales cruciales que nos permiten investigar el desarrollo de tormentas y rastrear y estimar la intensidad de los huracanes.

Los datos satelitales también son un insumo fundamental para los modelos de pronóstico, y sin los datos del GOES-19, cabe esperar que la precisión de los pronósticos del modelo disminuya temporalmente.

Si bien existe cierta superposición en el extremo occidental del Atlántico, el Caribe y el Golfo con GOES-18, la contraparte occidental de GOES-19, y en el Atlántico oriental con el satélite europeo Meteosat-12, ninguno de los dos satélites está optimizado para ofrecer una imagen clara de todo el Atlántico, y las imágenes que capturamos en sus bordes son de calidad degradada.

Les mantendremos informados sobre el estado de GOES-19 y la evolución de esta noticia en los próximos días.

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In a 15-page federal criminal complaint, FBI agents said Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, 21, of North Lauderdale, financed and procured the malware and then helped market the infected games, which were distributed on a “popular digital distribution software company.”

That company is not directly named in the complaint, but information contained within strongly suggests that it was the platform Steam, one of the largest of its kind.

Games identified in the complaint ― including BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lunara and PirateFi ― were named in a plea for victim information in a “Steam malware investigation” by agents in FBI’s Seattle office. The case against Wilkins and others involved is being prosecuted in Seattle federal court and Steam’s parent company, Valve Corporation, is based in nearby Bellevue, Washington.

Agents said in the scheme, Wilkins and others “gained unauthorized access to approximately 80 cryptocurrency wallets and stole cryptocurrencies worth at least $220,000″ from May 2024 to this February by “launch(ing) eight games embedded with malware and infect(ing) the devices of approximately 8,000 individual customers.”

According to the complaint, Wilkins and others helped market the games on social media and messaging applications, including Discord, Telegram, X and LinkedIn and encouraged others to download them.

Additionally, agents said the conspirators targeted specific victims, using bots “to identify individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings and send them targeted messages” encouraging them to download the games.

“After their victims downloaded the games, the conspirators used the malware to access and steal private user data and credentials,” the complaint states. “(They) went through the stolen data and identify any information that could be used to access, without authorization, cryptocurrency accounts of others and steal cryptocurrencies from their victims.”

Wilkins, believed to be a student at the University of West Florida, used the handle “Sibel.eth” on the messaging app Signal, according to the complaint, which he used to communicate with the “primary developer” of the programs.

That person is not identified in the complaint.

Agents said after executing a search warrant on the primary developer’s home and seizing devices, they found chats with “Sibel.eth” on the encrypted messaging platform Signal showing a “high level of collaboration” between the two.

They said that the chats showed that Wilkins bought a “remote access trojan” program for $10,000.

The primary developer and Wilkins also “exchanged messages about a criminal scheme in which they would run ‘draining campaigns’ regarding cryptocurrency wallets” and the two discussed “tricking victims into authorizing transactions that instantly empty their wallets,” according to the complaint.

Authorities said they were to identify “Sibel.eth” as Wilkins by tracing cryptocurrency payments sent from the scheme’s Bitcoin wallet to Bitrefill, an online service which was used to purchase over 150 digital gift cards that were predominantly for Uber Eats.

An FBI subpoena to Uber revealed that those cards were linked to an account that had deliveries at Wilkins’ UWF addresses as well as at Wilkins’ home in South Florida.

Agents said they executed a search warrant at Wilkins’ North Lauderdale home last Wednesday. He “refused to speak with law enforcement,” they said.

According to the complaint, investigators seized multiple devices as well as “three cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases.”

“One of the seed phrases is for a Monero wallet, an anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrency frequently used by criminals that is difficult to trace between source and destination,” an agent wrote in the complaint. “Based on my training and experience, I know that cybercriminals use Monero to enhance anonymity and the difficulty in cryptocurrency transaction attribution for law enforcement.”

A review of Wilkins’ crypto transaction history showed he sent or received $382,000, according to the complaint.

Following his arrest, Wilkins faces a charge of conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain, a charge that could land him in prison for up to a decade.

Federal court records didn’t provide a timeline on Wednesday morning as to if or when Wilkins could be extradited to Washington state.

Those records did show that Wilkins was scheduled to appear in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Wednesday morning.

Local 10 News contacted a spokesperson for Valve Corporation on Wednesday morning seeking comment about the case and Steam’s security measures. As of the publication of this article, we were awaiting a response.

Detroit's air quality was among the worst in the world for major cities, as a lingering high pressure system trapped smoke from dozens of fires in Canada and northern Minnesota, said Steven Freitag, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pontiac, Michigan.

“Sure enough, it arrived in force here and it's really pretty extreme levels,” said Freitag, who noted that visibility in some areas was reduced to a half mile.

Omar Mitchell wore a mask as he walked to his restaurant in Detroit. He said he urged his employees to do the same.

“It’s scary,” Mitchell, 50, said as he looked at the sky. “You don’t know necessarily what the side effects may be. That’s days or months later.”

Cities across the Great Lakes states registered air quality ranging from unhealthy to hazardous — which means it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to heart and lung problems and contributing to other long-term health issues.

All of Michigan and much of Minnesota were under a hazardous air quality alert. In the Chicago area, air quality ranged from very unhealthy to hazardous.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said even if winds from the northwest clear skies as expected later this week, the smoky air could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take weeks or longer.

“Anytime we have something that could bring air from that region until the fires are over, it could conceivably dip back into the area,” Petr said.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the air was “glowing yellow,” said Brent Williams, head of the soil, water and climate department at the University of Minnesota, who said the area “could be looking at weeks to months of continued smoke and flare-ups off and on as the winds blow in different directions.”

A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly health issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death.

In the New York City area, a thick, gloomy haze tinged the morning sky in orange-and-yellow, reducing visibility so dramatically that it partly obscured Manhattan’s prominent skyline.

Smoke eased a bit in the metropolitan area but was expected to thicken again by late afternoon or evening, possibly lasting overnight, weather service meteorologist Maureen Hastings said.

City officials opened cooling centers as health officials urged New Yorkers to limit strenuous and prolonged outdoor activities and to stick to air-conditioned spaces as much as possible. State officials distributed tens of thousands of face masks at transit hubs and other major locations.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said public schools, parks and other city agencies were moving activities indoors, rescheduling events and adjusting operations as air quality was expected to worsen as the day progressed.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation warned that there was a potential for temporary spikes of “very unhealthy” air quality from Buffalo in the state's western corner to Rochester by Lake Ontario, Syracuse in the central region, down to the greater New York City area.

Philadelphia officials urged people to avoid strenuous activity and stay inside or wear N95 or KN95 masks outside.

“Today is not the day to start your marathon training plan,” said Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, the city's public health commissioner.

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Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit, Jacqueline GaNun in Lansing, Michigan, and

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Lockwood was cited for “Will There Ever Be Another You,” a dark and comic novel about a woman's breakdown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sentences and passages flash us with beauty or leave us reeling with laughter," the judges' citation reads in part. "There is so much pain in the book and yet there is no self-pity, instead there is a marvelous self-awareness as to how ridiculous it is to be human.”

The Hudson prize was established in 2024 by his mother, Sanchia Semere, and is administered by the publisher McSweeney's. Hudson, who died in 2023 at age 52, was known and admired for such fiction as “Dear Mr. President,” for his work as an editor at large at McSweeney's and for his years as a teacher at Yonsei University in Korea, among other schools.

Lockwood's other books include “Priestdaddy,” winner in 2018 of the James Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the novel “No One Is Talking About This,” shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021. In a statement Thursday, Lockwood noted that she felt a kinship with Hudson, even though they never met.

“He was a truly generous literary citizen with a rich trajectory: a writer of funny, gut-punching stories, an inventive novelist, a cheerleader for others,” she said. “He was a Marine, like my brother, and a teacher in South Korea, in the same neighborhood where my husband grew up.”

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Troopers said the tanker truck was traveling south on the Turnpike near Bird Road when the driver lost control.

They said the truck overturned and collided with the center median concrete barrier wall.

Authorities confirmed that the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sky 10 flew over the scene around 10:45 a.m., where a heavily charred tractor-trailer as firefighters continued spraying water on it. Light smoke could still be seen rising from the vehicle.

The crash shut down the Florida Turnpike in both directions as authorities investigated. It was not immediately clear what caused the driver to lose control of the truck.

No other details about the truck driver or crash were immediately released.

It is something to think about as gas prices stay elevated throughout the summer months and add pain to day-to-day driving and seasonal road tripping.

Instead, abiding by posted speed limits can save U.S. drivers millions of dollars at the gas pump and eliminate millions of gallons of fuel each day, according to a study published Thursday in the Nature journal Communications Sustainability. That is fuel that, when burned, emits planet-warming gases into the atmosphere. To top it all off, changing driving habits wouldn't even add a full minute to a driver's commute.

University of Minnesota researchers analyzed 120 million vehicle trips across the United States from four Wednesdays in 2021 using driving data on national road networks, speed limits and U.S. Geological Survey elevation data. The analysis included roads with speed limits of 45 mph (72 kph) and higher.

More than 43% of the studied trips included at least one instance of speeding, and drivers spent nearly 12% of their driving time going faster than the speed limit.

They found that if drivers of light-duty, conventional internal combustion engine vehicles actually drove at posted speed limits, it could save an average of $22 million, based on fuel costs at the time, 6.7 million gallons of fuel and 57,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide every day. The researchers said that is comparable to taking about 5.5 million passenger vehicles off the road.

And while drivers say that speeding saves them precious time, researchers found that is not really the case. With an average daily driving distance of 28.6 miles (46.03 kilometers), driving at or below the posted limit corresponds only to about 54 seconds longer per day.

“If your goal is to shave one minute off your time, then you’ve got to drive fast. If your objective is to get to your destination safely and to save fuel, then you might drive slower than the speed limit,” said William Northrop, mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota and study co-author.

The research considered battery-electric vehicle efficiency only in California given the level of EV adoption in the U.S. at that time. Based on the California modeling, “We find that driving slower is beneficial for EVs as well,” he said.

Interestingly, the study found differences among states. Nevada saw elevated speeding prevalence as well as high speed excess. There was high speeding prevalence in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, though those states did not necessarily exhibit high speed excess. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota showed both low speeding prevalence and speed excess.

The cost of faster driving today

Driving faster increases a vehicle’s energy use and the emissions from its engine, as well as reduces efficiency. Vehicle engines have become increasingly more efficient over the past several decades even as vehicles have gotten bigger and more powerful. But speed limits have also climbed since the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act was implemented, which mandated 55 mph national speed limits amid the 1970s energy crisis.

Accounting for the average cost of gas today and more vehicle miles traveled, that increases to roughly $26 million and 7.2 million gallons of fuel that Americans collectively could save each day this year just by not putting the pedal to the metal.

One limitation of the research is that slower driving could impact traffic patterns, which could play a role in efficiency.

However, it is especially timely as U.S. drivers remain price-sensitive to volatile gas prices as the war in Iran has sent the cost for a gallon of fuel above $4 this year. Experts have said there are a number of ways to improve one’s gas mileage, including something as simple as slowing down. Less fuel needing to be purchased because of better efficiency could influence oil market demand, which in turn could impact pricing.

Rob Middleton, associate research scientist of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the research, said the study was well-done. But he also noted that the fuel saved from driving more slowly still only represents a fraction of daily gasoline consumption in the U.S., which is about 375 million gallons daily.

“It’s a big number, but it’s a small fraction,” Middleton said. “This is a ‘freebie’ in that it doesn’t really cost anyone anything to do.”

“The market penetration of selling EVs is still small, so we still need fuel, we still need ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, we’re still going to have them for a very long time,” he added. “Things that we can do to either make the new ones better or to improve our fuel supply, we need to do.”

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Equipos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue respondieron al lugar en la rampa de acceso a la Turnpike cerca de Southwest 40th Street, donde los bomberos trabajaron para extinguir el incendio.

Sky 10 sobrevoló la escena alrededor de las 10:45 a.m., donde se observó un camión con remolque completamente calcinado mientras los bomberos continuaban rociándolo con agua. Aún podía verse humo ligero saliendo del vehículo.

Todos los carriles de la rampa de acceso permanecían cerrados mientras los equipos continuaban trabajando en el lugar.

No se reportaron personas heridas de inmediato y, por el momento, no estaba claro qué provocó el incendio.

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According to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, Irving Steele, 33, was behind the wheel of a vehicle that crashed near a Dunkin’ at 9801 Pines Blvd.

Police said Steele took off after the crash, but officers were able to take him into custody following a brief chase.

He is now facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving damage, fleeing or eluding, driving with a suspended license and resisting or obstructing an officer without violence.

As of Thursday morning, Steele remained behind bars at the Broward Main Jail.

Según el Departamento de Policía de Pembroke Pines, Irving Steele, de 33 años, conducía el vehículo que chocó cerca de un Dunkin’ ubicado en el 9801 de Pines Blvd.

La Policía informó que Steele huyó después del choque, pero los agentes lograron detenerlo tras una breve persecución.

Ahora enfrenta cargos por abandonar la escena de un choque con daños materiales, huir o evadir a las autoridades, conducir con la licencia suspendida y resistirse u obstruir a un agente sin violencia.

Hasta la mañana del jueves, Steele permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal de Broward.

The move, backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top officials, aligns with the advice of many online influencers and podcasters, including men’s health gurus who tout the hormone as a way to boost muscle and energy. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military would begin screening for low testosterone and offering the hormone as a way to help troops operate at their “absolute best.”

The notion of testosterone as an all-purpose elixir for strength and vitality is not supported by the science. But medical experts say a decade of new research has bolstered the case for testosterone's benefits for sexual health while allaying concerns about its impact on the heart.

“Many providers have been trained for years that these were real issues, and they were scared to get a testosterone reading from a patient or offer them testosterone therapy,” said Dr. Justin Dubin, a urologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration removed a bold safety warning about possible heart risks with testosterone pills, gels, injections and patches, based on recent data that showed no increase in those problems.

Last month, the agency proposed rewriting prescribing instructions to clear the way for using testosterone against age-related symptoms, such as low libido and erectile dysfunction. Currently the label emphasizes that the hormone is only approved for abnormally low testosterone levels caused by serious medical conditions or injury.

But experts who prescribe the drug say those patients are a small segment of people seeking help.

“The majority of people we see in our office are regular men complaining of these common symptoms because they're dramatically affecting their quality of life,” said Dr. Helen Bernie, a urologist and director of sexual health at Indiana University.

Testosterone use has evolved over decades

Testosterone was first approved in the 1950s to treat hypogonadism, a condition defined by low testosterone levels caused by medical problems affecting the testes or other organs.

Testosterone declines naturally with age and can effect sexual function, mood, bone density and other measures. The question of how to diagnose and treat men with those issues has long been debated by researchers.

“These symptoms overlap with symptoms of human aging in men, so there’s a high risk of misdiagnosis and that’s led to the controversy” said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, of Harvard Medical School, who has co-authored several recent testosterone studies and guidelines.

Bhasin says increased willingness to prescribe testosterone reflects growing acceptance of the seriousness of men's sexual health problems, beginning with the introduction of Viagra for erectile dysfunction in the 1990s.

Bhasin helped write the Endocrine Society’s current guidelines for testosterone, which recommend discussing testosterone with men who have documented symptoms and two blood test results confirming low hormone levels. One recent study by Michigan researchers found that just 12% of men getting a prescription met that criteria.

Prescriptions previously soared, despite little evidence

The potential for overprescribing testosterone is real and helped lead to current restrictions.

In the early 2010s, drugmakers spent millions on TV ads for gels, patches and other products promising relief from “low T,” including a laundry list of symptoms like fatigue, muscle loss, brain fog and weight gain.

By 2013, the drugs were generating more than $2 billion in sales annually, despite lacking FDA approval for most of the issues described. Doctors remain free to prescribe drugs off-label, or for unapproved uses, and many men today continue taking testosterone because they believe it improves energy, mood and appearance.

In 2015, the FDA hit drugmakers with a double whammy: They had to clarify that their drugs weren’t approved for routine problems and also add a boxed warning about possible heart risks.

FDA scrutiny led to new research

The FDA now says updated data warrants relaxing the restrictions.

An FDA-mandated study published in 2023 followed 5,000 men with a history of heart disease, with half receiving daily testosterone gel and the other half getting a sham drug. After two years there was no difference in heart attack, stroke and related problems between the two groups.

A series of studies by the National Institutes of Health also clarified the benefits of the hormone. Results from nearly 800 older men showed testosterone therapy improved erectile dysfunction, libido and other sexual measures and had a small effect on mood. There was little or no improvement in other measures like fatigue, memory or overall well-being.

The recent testosterone studies are the largest ever conducted, but Bhasin — who helped lead both efforts — says more research is needed on longer-term effects.

“I think FDA’s label changes are very welcome and they are bringing us a big step forward," said Bhasin, who also co-authored the Endocrine Society's guidelines. "But I think there’s a lot more to be done to better define the safety and efficacy.”

In recent comments submitted to the FDA, the Endocrine Society recommended studies of 15 to 20 years to assess conditions that evolve slowly, including prostate cancer, which remains a concern when prescribing testosterone.

Some men should not get testosterone

Experts agree that men who are hoping to have children in the near future shouldn’t take the hormone. Getting testosterone from a pill or gel shuts off the body’s natural process for making the hormone.

“It can stop the signal from your brain to your testicles to make testosterone, and so you stop making sperm,” Dubin said. “That can compromise fertility.”

Most guidelines also recommend careful consideration for men who have had prostate cancer or are at risk of the disease, given lingering questions about whether hormone therapy hastens tumor growth. But guidelines may soon change.

The FDA has proposed new language that would only suggest that men whose prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body should avoid testosterone.

Be wary of online promotions

Dietary supplements promoted online to boost testosterone should be avoided because they aren't FDA approved and probably don’t work.

FDA-approved testosterone drugs come in a variety of forms. Gels and pills generally need to be used daily. Injections, patches and implantable pellets can last for weeks or several months.

Many of these medications are available through telehealth services, though accessing them that way can have risks.

A 2022 paper by Dubin found that only 1 in 7 online prescribing companies asked basic screening questions, including whether men planned to have children. And most of the companies did not have a testing threshold for whether patients actually had low testosterone.

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

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Deputies said they responded Monday to a home near the 6100 block of Southwest 18th Street in Miramar.

During the investigation, deputies determined the incident was connected to a separate domestic dispute involving the same victim and multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Miramar Police Department and the Hollywood Police Department.

According to the report, the victim told deputies she and Romario Martin had been married for two years and share one child. Three additional children who were not related to both parties were also inside the home during the domestic incident.

The victim told deputies she and Martin argued after she called him to ask where he was after he had left the home because their infant son had “spilled water throughout the residence,” according to the report.

The report states that Martin returned to the home and another argument followed, prompting the victim to leave with her infant and the other three children.

Deputies said the victim told them she was driving westbound near the 4000 block of West Hallandale Beach Boulevard approaching U.S. 441 when she noticed Martin following directly behind her in a 2019 Land Rover Velar.

“The victim then advised the defendant intentionally accelerated toward her vehicle and struck the rear passenger side bumper one time with his vehicle while the victim and the 4 minor children were occupants of the vehicle,” deputies wrote in the report.

According to the report, both the victim and Martin left the scene. Martin was later located and detained by HPD officers near Southwest 63rd Avenue and Pembroke Road.

Deputies said Martin made a confession, but the statement was fully redacted from his publicly released report.

Jail records show Martin is facing 10 counts of aggravated domestic battery with a deadly weapon, four counts of child abuse without great bodily harm and four additional domestic battery charges.

As of Thursday morning, Martin was being held without bond at the Broward Main Jail and had also been placed on an immigration hold.

Los agentes informaron que respondieron el lunes a una vivienda cerca de la cuadra 6100 de Southwest 18th Street, en Miramar.

Durante la investigación, los agentes determinaron que el incidente estaba relacionado con una disputa doméstica ocurrida por separado que involucraba a la misma víctima y a varias agencias del orden público, incluidos el Departamento de Policía de Miramar y el Departamento de Policía de Hollywood.

Según el informe, la víctima les dijo a los agentes que ella y Romario Martin habían estado casados durante dos años y tienen un hijo en común. Otros tres menores, que no eran hijos de ambos, también se encontraban en la vivienda durante el incidente de violencia doméstica.

La víctima dijo a los agentes que discutió con Martin después de llamarlo para preguntarle dónde estaba tras haber salido de la casa porque su hijo bebé había “derramado agua por toda la vivienda”, según el informe.

El informe indica que Martin regresó a la vivienda y ocurrió otra discusión, lo que llevó a la víctima a marcharse con su hijo bebé y los otros tres menores.

Los agentes dijeron que la víctima les informó que conducía hacia el oeste cerca de la cuadra 4000 de West Hallandale Beach Boulevard, aproximándose a la U.S. 441, cuando notó que Martin la seguía directamente detrás en una Land Rover Velar modelo 2019.

“La víctima indicó que el acusado aceleró intencionalmente hacia su vehículo y golpeó una vez el parachoques trasero del lado del pasajero con su vehículo mientras la víctima y los cuatro menores ocupaban el vehículo”, escribieron los agentes en el informe.

Según el informe, tanto la víctima como Martin abandonaron el lugar. Martin fue localizado posteriormente y detenido por agentes del Departamento de Policía de Hollywood cerca de Southwest 63rd Avenue y Pembroke Road.

Los agentes informaron que Martin hizo una confesión, pero la declaración fue completamente censurada en el informe divulgado públicamente.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Martin enfrenta 10 cargos de agresión agravada por violencia doméstica con un arma mortal, cuatro cargos de abuso infantil sin causar lesiones corporales graves y otros cuatro cargos de agresión por violencia doméstica.

Hasta la mañana del jueves, Martin permanecía detenido sin derecho a fianza en la cárcel principal de Broward y además tenía una retención migratoria.

El conservador De la Espriella se posesionará el 7 de agosto, sucediendo al progresista Gustavo Petro, quien rompió relaciones diplomáticas con Israel en 2024 como protesta por el “genocidio” en la Franja de Gaza, el cual comparó con las acciones de la Alemania nazi.

Bajo el gobierno de Petro, Colombia apoyó el caso de Sudáfrica contra Israel ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia, máximo tribunal de la ONU, en el que lo acusó de “genocidio” contra los palestinos en Gaza. Israel ha negado rotundamente las acusaciones y ha señalado a Sudáfrica de actuar como el brazo legal del grupo miliciano palestino Hamás.

El rompimiento de relaciones con Israel ha significado para el país sudamericano cambiar de proveedores en materia de seguridad, dado que sus Fuerzas Armadas utilizan aviones de combate y fusiles de fabricación israelí para combatir a los cárteles de la droga y a los grupos rebeldes.

De la Espriella, apoyado por el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, ha dado prioridad al afianzamiento de la cooperación con Estados Unidos y al restablecimiento de la relación con Israel en su política exterior.

“La relación histórica que el gobierno de Petro rompió de manera unilateral volverá a fortalecerse. Colombia recuperará sus aliados, su palabra diplomática y su lugar como socio confiable en el mundo”, indicó De la Espriella en un comunicado.

El canciller designado Omar Bula se reunió la víspera en Washington con el ministro de Exteriores de Israel, Gideon Saar, para acordar la hoja de ruta de la restauración “plena e inmediata de las relaciones diplomáticas y económicas” a partir del 7 de agosto, agregó el comunicado.

El plan incluye el nombramiento de embajadores, la eliminación recíproca de visas y la apertura de la embajada de Colombia en Jerusalén, indicaron ambas partes.

Tras romper relaciones diplomáticas con Israel, Colombia anunció que abriría una embajada en Ramala, Cisjordania, un territorio palestino ocupado por Israel, y luego Petro designó un embajador en territorio palestino.

Petro se ha mostrado en desacuerdo con los anuncios de De la Espriella para retomar las relaciones con Israel. “Quien apoya un genocidio será genocida en su propio país”, advirtió la víspera en X.

La transición de gobierno ha generado tensión política en Colombia, luego de que Petro desconociera la victoria electoral de De la Espriella y señalara como vencedor a Iván Cepeda, su aliado político, alegando un presunto fraude en el que señala de participar a empresas de “inteligencia privadas israelíes”.

Guy Pearce plays Murdoch and Jack O’Connell plays Lamb in the film about how they turned the paper into Britain’s most influential tabloid. Claire Foy also co-stars.

“Long before Fox News, click bait, and Truth Social; decades before Twitter, Facebook, Google (and) Only Fans, these (two) men created a new tabloid which against all the odds became the biggest selling newspaper in the world,” Boyle said in a statement. The paper, he added, "challenged the establishment and remade our world for the modern era.”

Boyle said it was a huge honor to be selected, noting that, “I’ve been to the Biennale many times, but this is my baptism at the film festival.”

“Ink” will be playing in competition at the 83rd edition of the festival, which kicks off on September 2. The full slate of films vying for the Golden Lion is expected to be revealed next week.

The play opened in London in 2017, and went to Broadway in 2019, where it was nominated for, and won, multiple Tony Awards.

“I started writing this way before Trump, way before Brexit,” Graham told The Associated Press in 2017. “But I knew I wanted to capture what was clearly in the air about populism."

One of the few smokers in golf, Brown went through “seven or eight" cigarettes during his 4-under 66 that gave him the clubhouse lead midway through the first round at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.

After weeks of sunshine in this northwest corner of England, the fairways here are baked and parched — making them a potential fire hazard from discarded cigarettes.

“I’ve been making sure that they’re out,” the 31-year-old Englishman said reassuringly.

Not that he sounds too proud of a habit that makes him stand out on the circuit, but which he feels is needed to relieve some stress.

“Sorry, Mum,” he said with a cheeky smile.

The burly and bearded Brown is an interesting character, not least because of the 10 tattoos on his body — three of which are of little birds — and his YouTube channel called “BeersForeBogeys” which has around 4,000 subscribers.

Brown first came into widespread consciousness in golf in 2024 when, as the world No. 272, he shot a 6-under 65 for the outright first-round lead in his British Open debut at Royal Troon.

His name — one he shares with the author of “The Da Vinci Code” — was a headline writer’s dream and his dry humor proved popular, too. Brown was tied for second place heading into the final round at Troon and wound up in a tie for 10th.

That experience taught him he could compete with the best players in the world.

“I feel like I’m a better player now to what I was back then, two years ago,” he said. “So we’ll see.”

Brown arrived at the Open with no form from his first year on the PGA Tour — he missed the cut in his last four events — but has immediately taken to the Birkdale links.

He made seven birdies, including three straight around the turn, after being 1 over after seven holes.

“Today a few putts dropped, which was nice to see,” Brown said, “because I’ve not seen that for a while.

"(Hopefully), I’m in a sort of similar area on the leaderboard come Sunday."

That might mean continuing to have a smoke during his rounds.

“There might be a big drop off by Sunday if I’m not allowed," he said.

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Con un estrecho margen, la cámara alta votó cada uno de los artículos previstos en la iniciativa en un debate que se alargó por 12 horas de hasta casi las 3 de la madrugada debido a las discrepancias entre los senadores.

“Hoy es un día importante para Chile", dijo el ministro de Hacienda, Jorge Quiroz, tras la votación. "Chile necesita crecer y este proyecto lo hace posible”.

Mientras el oficialismo ve el proyecto como un medio para captar más inversiones, generar empleo e impulsar una maltrecha economía que nunca se recuperó del todo del golpe de la pandemia de COVID-19, la oposición considera que favorece sólo a los más ricos y denuncia la flexibilización de reglas tributarias y ambientales que podrían afectar el desarrollo del país.

La discusión del proyecto se produce en momentos en que Chile vive un estancamiento económico, con una caída del Producto Interno Bruto de 0,5% en el primer trimestre del año y varios meses consecutivos con cifras negativas en la actividad económica. Además, el país registró una tasa de desempleo de 9,4% en el trimestre móvil entre marzo y mayo, la cifra más alta desde junio de 2021.

Kast, un abogado conservador de 60 años, asumió el poder en marzo bajo la promesa de poner en marcha un gobierno de emergencia y arreglar la golpeada economía chilena. Su asunción supuso el giro más pronunciado de Chile hacia la derecha desde la dictadura militar (1973-1990) y también la defensa de una política económica de tintes neoliberales que propone una drástica reducción del Estado y mayor autonomía a la iniciativa privada.

“Lo que había antes era neoliberalismo corregido con subvenciones y otros elementos", expresó el analista político Gilberto Aranda. “Ahora, básicamente lo que ha centrado los esfuerzos presidenciales es una profundización y un retorno a ese modelo neoliberal ortodoxo de los finales de los años 70, principios de los 80”.

Uno de los debates más encarnizados de la madrugada fue precisamente sobre la exención de contribuciones así como las indemnizaciones a las que podrán acceder las empresas que vean rechazados sus proyectos por temas ambientales. Con 26 votos a favor y 24 en contra, finalmente se aprobó una rebaja gradual de los impuestos para grandes empresas, desde el 27% actual hasta el 23% a ser alcanzado en 2029.

Por la misma cantidad de votos se aprobó el artículo que prevé la restitución de gastos a las empresas cuyos proyectos hayan sido revocados por cuestiones ambientales, lo que desató críticas de diversos senadores de oposición que calificaron la medida de irregular y anticiparon que recurrirán al Tribunal Constitucional.

"Lo que ha hecho la derecha es entregar una amnistía tributaria”, dijo la senadora Yasna Provoste, del Partido Demócrata Cristiano.

Dentro de las normas aprobadas también se encuentran un nuevo régimen tributario para las inversiones y la exención del pago de contribuciones para adultos mayores propietarios de su primera vivienda, entre otras.

Pese al aval de los senadores el proyecto deberá volver ahora a la Cámara de Diputados, que había dado su visto bueno a fines de mayo, ya que una serie de nuevas indicaciones fueron incorporadas a la iniciativa, como la norma de derecho al olvido financiero, que obliga a eliminar de los registros financieros las deudas prescritas o extinguidas tras cinco años.

La cámara baja deberá pronunciarse sobre todas las modificaciones introducidas por el Senado, en lo que se prevé será una de las etapas más complejas de la tramitación tras la estrecha votación del jueves. En caso de que cualquiera de los cambios sea rechazado, el proceso podría alargarse por varios meses más, ya que en este caso se conformaría una comisión bicameral para solventar las discrepancias.

El Departamento de Defensa de Estados Unidos ha pagado $3 millones USD en compensación al personal estadounidense afectado por la misteriosa condición conocida como Síndrome de La Habana, realizando el primer pago bajo la Ley de La Habana de 2021.

El Síndrome de La Habana apareció por primera vez en 2016, cuando diplomáticos y oficiales de inteligencia estadounidenses en La Habana, Cuba, reportaron síntomas inusuales, incluidos intensa presión en la cabeza, mareos, náuseas, alteraciones auditivas y problemas de memoria.

Actualización del 14 de julio: Nuevas sanciones de EE.UU. aumentan la presión sobre la economía controlada por los militares en Cuba

Estados Unidos impuso el lunes nuevas sanciones dirigidas a empresas controladas por GAESA, el conglomerado económico militar de Cuba, así como a algunas de las brigadas militares responsables de reprimir protestas como las que vimos el otro día.

¿Cuánto tiempo más podrá resistir el gobierno cubano? Continúa llegando información a funcionarios estadounidenses que indica que hay sectores dentro del gobierno cubano cada vez más preocupados por cuánto tiempo podrán sobrevivir sin negociar con el gobierno de Estados Unidos antes de enfrentar un colapso total de su sistema.

Actualización del 10 de julio: ¿Tiene el nieto de Raúl Castro plena autoridad para negociar por el gobierno cubano?

Como esperaba, parece haber una pequeña fisura dentro del círculo interno del gobierno cubano. Algunos han criticado a Raulito (nieto de Raúl Castro) por ofrecer negociar directamente con el presidente Trump. La crítica se centra en si tiene plena autoridad para negociar en nombre del gobierno cubano o si solo está negociando en nombre de la familia Castro.

Ayer, el Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) respaldó los esfuerzos de Raulito, pero el liderazgo militar ha permanecido en silencio.

Actualización del 8 de julio: Las Naciones Unidas no tienen derecho legal para levantar el embargo de EE.UU. a Cuba

Cada año, Cuba argumenta ante las Naciones Unidas que el embargo económico de Estados Unidos es la causa de sus problemas económicos. Cada año, Cuba pierde más apoyo para ese argumento. Las Naciones Unidas no tienen un derecho legítimo ni legal para levantar el embargo. Solo el Congreso de Estados Unidos puede levantar el embargo.

La maquinaria de propaganda del gobierno cubano ha fracasado. La mayoría de los cubanos en la isla, incluidos economistas residentes en Cuba, responsabilizan al gobierno cubano por las actuales malas condiciones económicas.

Actualización del 6 de julio: Nieto de Raúl Castro dice que Cuba está dispuesta a negociar con EE.UU.

Reuters informó temprano esta mañana que Raulito, nieto de Raúl Castro, conocido como “El Cangrejo”, anunció que Cuba está dispuesta a negociar con Estados Unidos. La pregunta que debemos hacernos es si Raulito está negociando en nombre de la familia Castro o del gobierno cubano.

Sabemos que Cuba ha estado vendiendo algunos de sus activos, incluidos algunos pertenecientes al conglomerado económico militar GAESA, durante las últimas semanas. El intento de Cuba por atraer inversión extranjera no ha despertado mucho interés debido al temor de perder el dinero invertido.

Actualización del 2 de julio: La cultura del miedo en Cuba complica una transición democrática

Cuando hablamos de Cuba, normalmente nos concentramos en su sistema político y económico centralizado. Sin embargo, no reconocemos que las personas que han vivido bajo regímenes totalitarios han tenido que sobrevivir bajo una cultura del miedo. Ese sistema de gobierno crea un conjunto psicológico de actitudes y valores que ayuda a definir el comportamiento diario para alinear los deseos y necesidades de la población con las restricciones impuestas por el gobierno.

Romper con esos comportamientos podría tomar años de entrenamiento psicológico y de cambios. Por lo tanto, la transición de un Estado totalitario hacia alguna forma de gobierno democrático podría tomar tiempo.

Las actualizaciones de junio del Dr. Andy S. Gómez pueden consultarse haciendo clic aquí.

El Dr. Andy S. Gómez es el analista sobre Cuba de Local 10. Gómez es considerado uno de los principales especialistas sobre Cuba. Trabajó en educación superior durante 32 años antes de retirarse de la Universidad de Miami en 2012.

The U.S. Department of Defense has paid $3 million in compensation to U.S. personnel affected by the mysterious condition known as Havana Syndrome, making the first payment under the 2021 Havana Act.

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Havana Syndrome first appeared in 2016 when U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers in Havana, Cuba reported unusual symptoms, including intense head pressure, dizziness, nausea, hearing disturbances and memory problems.

July 14 update: New U.S. sanctions increase pressure on Cuba’s military-run economy

The United States on Monday introduced new sanctions targeting companies controlled by GAESA, Cuba’s military economic conglomerate, as well as some of the military brigades responsible for suppressing protests like the ones we saw the other day.

How much longer can the Cuban government hold on? Information continues to reach U.S. officials indicating that there are sectors within the Cuban government that are increasingly concerned about how much longer they can survive without negotiating with the U.S. government before facing a complete collapse of their system.

July 10 update: Does Raul Castro’s grandson have the full authority to negotiate for the Cuban government?

As I expected, there seems to be a small crack within the inner circle of the Cuban government. Some have criticized Raulito (Raul Castro’s grandson) for offering to negotiate directly with President Trump. The criticism comes as to whether he has the full authority to negotiate for the Cuban government or is he just negotiating for the Castro family?

Yesterday, the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) backed Raulito’s efforts, but the military leadership has remained quiet.

July 8 update: United Nations has no legal right to lift U.S. embargo on Cuba

Every year, Cuba argues in front of the United Nations that the U.S. economic embargo is the cause for their economic problems. Each year, Cuba loses more support for their argument. The United Nations has no legitimate or legal right to lift the embargo. The U.S. Congress can only lift the embargo.

The Cuban government propaganda machine has failed. Most Cubans on the island, including economists on the island, blame the Cuban government for their current poor economic conditions.

July 6 update: Raul Castro’s grandson says Cuba is willing to negotiate with US

Reuters reported earlier this morning that Raul Castro’s grandson Raulito, known as “El Cangrejo,” announced that Cuba is willing to negotiate with the U.S. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether Raulito is negotiating on behalf of the Castro family or the Cuban government?

We know that Cuba has been selling some of their assets, including some belonging to the military economic conglomerate GAESA in the last couple of weeks. Cuba’s attempt to invite foreign investment has not attracted many takers for the fear of losing their money.

July 2 update: Cuba’s culture of fear complicates a Democratic transition

When we talk about Cuba, we usually concentrate on their centralized political and economic system. However, we fail to recognize that individuals that have lived under totalitarian regimes have had to survive under a culture of fear. Such system of government creates a psychological set of attitudes and values that help define the daily behavior in order to align the people’s wants and needs to the restrictions imposed by the government.

To break such behaviors could take years of psychological training and change. Therefore, transitioning a totalitarian state to support a transition to some form of a Democratic government could take time.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez’s June updates can be viewed by clicking here.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez is Local 10’s Cuba Analyst. Gomez is considered one of the leading scholars on Cuba. He worked in higher education for 32 years before retiring from the University of Miami in 2012.

They are the Juárez Cartel, on the border with Texas, and Los Viagras, a criminal group from the western state of Michoacán. The Federal Register, the U.S. government's gazette, published the designation on Thursday.

They joined six other Mexican criminal organizations that the U.S. considers terrorist groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Gangs in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador, also have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump began to extend the terrorist label to Latin American cartels in February 2025 to allow U.S. authorities to take more aggressive action against them or against anyone who the U.S. sees as aiding the groups.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that both criminal groups either have committed terrorist acts or pose a serious risk of committing acts that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

The measure represents a further increase in pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration following the indictment of 10 current and former officials from the state of Sinaloa for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as the controversies about U.S. operations in Mexico.

Higher pressure on the Texas border

Juarez Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest drug trafficking organizations, which for decades has controlled a key crossing point in the central part of the Mexico-U.S. border: Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas.

Both its founder, Amado Carrillo Fuentes — known as “El Señor de los Cielos” for smuggling massive drug shipments by light aircraft in the 1990s — and the brothers and sons who succeeded him, turned the trafficking of tons of drugs into a multimillion-dollar business. Despite the arrests of many of its leaders, the cartel and its allied gangs maintained control of a vast infrastructure for smuggling illegal shipments into the U.S..

According to Mexican analyst David Saucedo, the designation is key to enabling the United States to take more decisive action along the border, where two other groups both located at the eastern end of the border with Texas — the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel — were declared terrorist organizations in February 2025.

The US again targets Michoacan

Los Viagras is a local cartel in the western state of Michoacan, which is already home to two other criminal groups designated as terrorist organizations: Cárteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

Los Viagras emerged following the 2013–2014 armed uprising led by farmers who succeeded in driving out many of the old cartels, only to see them replaced by new ones.

The cartel is led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, who faces a formal indictment in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to traffic drugs, filed in June 2025. The State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

The group has shifted its loyalties and alliances to consolidate its regional control of the territory through extortion. It also produces synthetic drugs, which sells to other cartels that traffic them into the United States.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring an area in the northeastern Gulf with a 20% chance of development into a tropical depression or tropical storm. The environment will make it difficult to develop, but either way it is more of a rainmaker for the northern half of Florida through the coastal Carolinas.

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According to PBSO, deputies responded around 1:40 p.m. to the 15000 block of Jackson Road for a welfare check.

When deputies arrived, they encountered the man holding a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators said he raised the weapon and pointed it at deputies. One deputy fired, striking the suspect.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue medics took the suspect to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office responded to the scene. FDLE is leading the investigation.

The investigation remains ongoing, and charges are pending against the suspect.

Según la PBSO, los agentes respondieron alrededor de la 1:40 p.m. a la cuadra 15000 de Jackson Road para realizar una verificación de bienestar.

Cuando los agentes llegaron, encontraron al hombre sosteniendo una escopeta, informaron las autoridades. Los investigadores dijeron que levantó el arma y la apuntó contra los agentes. Un agente disparó e hirió al sospechoso.

Paramédicos de Palm Beach County Fire Rescue trasladaron al sospechoso a un hospital local para recibir tratamiento.

Investigadores del Departamento de Cumplimiento de la Ley de Florida (FDLE) y de la Fiscalía Estatal respondieron al lugar. El FDLE está a cargo de la investigación.

La investigación continúa en curso y el sospechoso enfrenta cargos pendientes.

Netflix said Thursday that it will release “14th” later this year. The film will mark a return to nonfiction for DuVernay, the filmmaker of “Selma” and “Origin,” and a follow-up to DuVernay's 2016 film “13th,” her examination of the legacy of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

The 14th Amendment has been a prominent target of Trump's. On the first day of his second term, he signed an executive order that would have heavily restricted birthright citizenship as protected by the amendment. In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 during Reconstruction states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The constitutional amendment nullified the 1857 Supreme Court decision Dred Scott v. Sandford, which had held that those descended from slaves couldn't be citizens.

DuVernay said her film will detail how the 14th Amendment became “a permanent argument.” It will feature politicians, historians and cultural voices.

“If ‘13th’ asked who gets caged, then ‘14th’ asks who gets counted,” DuVernay said in a statement. “This is not a film about the past tense of freedom. I’m not interested in asking you to look back. The film asks what kind of country is being written beneath our feet now … while we’re busy believing the stories we’ve all been told.”

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, upheld the protections of the amendment, which makes a citizen of anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land,’” wrote Roberts. “We keep that promise today.”

Trump has vowed to continue to contest the Supreme Court's ruling. Following the decision, he wrote on Truth Social: “This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision.”

Verstappen has yet to commit to staying with Red Bull for next year after he was linked to McLaren and suggested he'd consider leaving F1.

“I don’t want to go here, say yes, and no, and this and that about my future. I said already many times that if there was something new I would say it myself,” the four-time world champion said Thursday.

‘Open and transparent’ with Mekies

Mekies is marking a year in charge of the team after replacing longtime boss Christian Horner midway through 2025, and Verstappen had warm words for him.

“It’s been really good. I get on very well with Laurent. We speak a lot on track, but also off track," he said. "I think the relationship that he has also within the team is great.

"Everything for me feels very positive and I think it’s always nice when you can discuss a lot of things with your team boss. So from that sense, yeah, very happy. It’s all very open and transparent.”

After faults with the rotating rear wing pitched Verstappen into the barriers at high speed two weeks running in Austria and Britain, Red Bull is reverting back to an old wing design for Belgium this week.

“It’s quite obvious, no, why? So we’ll go back on the old one and then see whenever the latest or new one is ready again to be used for us,” Verstappen said.

He crashed out of the British Grand Prix and delivered an expletive-laden rant at the car over the radio before branding it “dangerous” to drive.

A history of uncertainty

It's the third year running that Verstappen has kept his future open, only to recommit to Red Bull halfway through the season. Last year, he didn't pledge to stay with the team until the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31.

He has been part of Red Bull's racing program since childhood and has a contract through 2028, though it includes clauses potentially allowing an earlier exit.

This time, a reported meeting between Verstappen's management and McLaren fueled the speculation of what would have been a blockbuster move. McLaren has also signed Verstappen's longtime engineer and confidant GianPiero Lambiase as its “chief racing officer” in future.

However, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown seemed to rule out a move when he said the team's current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were “not going anywhere.”

It wasn't even certain Verstappen would stay in F1 after he publicly considered leaving the series earlier this year. Verstappen has been the most vocal critic of the reliance on electrical power in the 2026-specification cars, which he says are not fun to drive and promote artificial overtaking.

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

Fires burning in one state can make the air worse several states away, and wildfires in Canada can send smoke into U.S. cities.

Here’s what to know about taking precautions against poor air quality due to wildfires.

What counts as bad air?

The Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index converts all pollutant levels into a single number. The lower the number, the better.

Anything below 50 is classified as “healthy.” Fifty to 100 is “moderate,” while 100 to 150 is unhealthy for “sensitive groups,” and anything above 150 is bad for everyone.

Sensitive groups include people with asthma, lung disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said Dr. Sanjay Sethi, chief of the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University at Buffalo medical school.

“If you have heart or lung problems, then you’ve got to be definitely more careful,” Sethi said. “I would either avoid going outside or wear an N95 or at least a dust mask.”

Is my air unhealthy?

Sometimes the air is bad enough to see or smell the smoke. Even if you don't see the pollution, it can be unhealthy to breathe.

The EPA maintains a website with up-to-date, regional air quality information. PurpleAir, a company that sells air quality sensors and publishes real-time air quality data, has a citizen scientist air quality monitoring network with a more granular map of street-by-street air quality readings.

The best way to get indoor air quality readings is to buy a monitor, said Joseph Allen, director of Harvard University's Healthy Buildings Program.

“You can find these low-cost, indoor air quality monitors just about everywhere online now. They don’t cost all that much anymore,” he said.

What if I have to go outside?

For most people, going outside for just a short time won't have a negative long-term impact, said Sethi.

Wearing an N95 mask, which became common during the coronavirus pandemic, will help filter out the pollution.

“N95 is going to get rid of 90-95% of the particles,” said Jennifer Stowell, a research scientist at Boston University’s Center for Climate and Health. “If you have access to a mask that has a respirator-type attachment to it, then that’s the very best.”

If you must be outside and you experience symptoms, experts say you should head indoors or elsewhere with better air quality. Even if you are healthy, it’s good to take precautions.

“If you start wheezing, which is like this whistling sound of the chest, or if you’re feeling short of breath, that’s definitely more concerning,” Sethi said.

How do I make my air cleaner?

Close the windows and turn on the air conditioner, if you have one, setting it to circulate the indoor air. Use blankets to cover cracks that allow outside air into your home, such as under doors.

Finally, swapping the air conditioner's filter for a MERV 13 filter can help, but ensure it's installed correctly.

“If you happen to have access to an air purifier, even if it’s just a room air purifier, try to keep it running and in the room that you’re doing most of your activities in,” said Stowell.

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Wells is a former reporter for The Associated Press.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Con estas designaciones suman ocho las organizaciones delictivas mexicanas consideradas terroristas —entre ellas destacan el Cártel de Sinaloa y el de Jalisco Nueva Generación—, una etiqueta que el presidente Donald Trump extendió a los cárteles latinoamericanos a partir de febrero de 2025 y que permite a las autoridades estadounideses acciones más agresivas contra ellos o contra cualquiera que, a su juicio, les preste apoyo.

Según argumentó el secretario de Estado Marco Rubio al solicitar la designación, ambos grupos criminales han cometido actos terroristas o hay un serio riesgo de que los cometan y amenacen "la seguridad de los ciudadanos estadounidenses, la seguridad nacional, la política exterior o la economía de Estados Unidos”.

La medida supone un nuevo incremento en la presión al gobierno de Claudia Sheinbaum después de la acusación contra una decena de funcionarios y exfuncionarios del estado de Sinaloa por presuntos vínculos con el Cártel de Sinaloa y de las evidencias de que agentes estadounidenses estaban operando en México, como se supo cuando miembros de la CIA murieron en el norte del país.

Presión en la frontera con Texas

El Cartel de Juárez es una de las organizaciones de narcotráfico más antiguas de México que ha controlado durante décadas un cruce clave del centro de la frontera mexico-estadounidense: Ciudad Juárez, vecina de El Paso, Texas.

Tanto su fundador, Amado Carrillo Fuentes —conocido como “El Señor de los Cielos” por cruzar enormes cargamentos de droga en avionetas en los años 90— como los hermanos e hijos que le sucedieron hicieron del trasiego de toneladas de droga un negocio millonario. Pese a las detenciones de muchos de sus líderes, el cártel y sus células o bandas aliadas mantienen el control de una importante infraestructura para introducir cargamentos ilegales en territorio estadounidense.

Para el analista mexicano David Saucedo su designación es clave para que Estados Unidos pueda llevar a cabo acciones más contundentes en la frontera donde otros dos grupos, el Cártel del Golfo y el del Noreste, ambos en el extremo oriental de la franja limítrofe con Texas, fueron designados terroristas en febrero de 2025.

Michoacán, de nuevo en la mira con Los Viagras

Los Viagras es un cártel local del estado occidental de Michoacán que ya tiene otros dos grupos criminales designados como terroristas: Cárteles Unidos y La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

Los Viagras surgieron después del levantamiento armado de las autodefensas en 2013 y 2014 que lograron expulsar a muchos de los antiguos cárteles de esa región, sólo para ver cómo eran sustituidos por otros nuevos poco después.

El grupo está liderado por Nicolás Sierra Santana, contra quien pesa desde junio de 2025 una acusación en el Distrito de Columbia por conspiración para el tráfico de drogas. El Departamento de Estado ofrece una recompensa de cinco millones de dólares por información que facilite su captura.

Los Viagras se han caracterizado por cambiar de lealtades y alianzas —en un tiempo fueron socios de Cárteles Unidos— para afianzar el control regional del territorio. Sus negocios clave son la extorsión, con la que intimidan a todo tipo de productores y comerciantes, y la producción de drogas sintéticas que luego venden a otros cárteles que los mueven hacia Estados Unidos.

Clothed in jail garb and shackled, Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, entered the pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. in Ohio, where the case has been consolidated. They and the other six defendants are each charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

Sargus scheduled their trial to begin Sept. 14.

“What would have happened or could have happened, that's never going to be clear, because, thank God, there was an intervention here and this thing was disrupted,” U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II told reporters last week as he detailed the group's July 9 indictments. “But, in my view, when I look at what's been alleged there, it seems pretty likely that someone or multiple people were driving to Washington, D.C., to do something.”

Attorneys for Proper and Scaggs declined to comment after the hearing.

According to the indictment, the plot began in May. Members of the group — citing grievances about government corruption, water-guzzling data centers and the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files — began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

The attack was planned to take place at the cage-fighting show dubbed UFC Freedom 250, which was held on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. Law enforcement officials said they learned of the possible threat four days before the event was scheduled to take place.

One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.

The Justice Department announced charges against seven people from across the country last month, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California. Officials said the suspects harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

Four alleged conspirators charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the event and two more charged about a week later in Washington and Missouri are still in the process of being moved to Ohio to face charges. They are likely to be tried as a group.

Scaggs was arrested separately later, but was brought to Ohio ahead of the other out-of-state defendants.

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It’s called Coupr: an AI-powered tablet attached to the shopping cart that is designed to act as your personal shopping assistant.

Julian Janna created the system mainly in an effort to solve the never-ending frustrations with shopping.

“Someone might be shopping for their family, someone might be shopping for a barbecue, so we just want to make a personalized experience for each shopper,” said Janna. “I see this as my mom giving my dad a list of things to get and my dad’s like, ‘I have no idea where any of this is.’ That’s exactly it.”

Milam’s Market is on the forefront of this tech movement and it turns out, it’s not that hard to use. You can just grab and go or even upload your list and it pops up on the tablet.

The app gives you a real-time map of where you are in the store and, if you’re unsure of what item to buy, Coupr can help with that as well by answering concept questions.

Milam’s says this is all an effort to help customers. The app is in its beta phase now but the response has been positive.

“Because it tells us the customers are interested, they’re willing to give something a chance,” said Milam’s Market Chief Administrative Officer Chad Milam. “What we see with the data is that we see customers returning to use it time and time again.”

Los agentes arrestaron a Heihachiro Nakashima, de 33 años, por tres cargos de agresión lasciva y obscena luego de que se entregara voluntariamente el martes. Según la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Miami-Dade (MDSO), Nakashima trabajaba en la Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, una escuela autónoma ubicada en 22655 SW 112th Ave. en el área no incorporada de Princeton del condado.

Según la orden judicial del MDSO, la relación con la niña de 15 años escaló hasta convertirse en encuentros sexuales después de comenzar con mensajes de texto en los que Nakashima “asumió un rol paternal”, diciéndole “frecuentemente” a la víctima “que la amaba”, lo que ella interpretó como algo “platónico” y proveniente de una “figura paterna”.

Según los agentes, esos encuentros tuvieron lugar en el apartamento de Nakashima, cerca del centro comercial Dadeland Mall, y en un momento dado, Nakashima expresó su deseo de tener una relación de “noviazgo” con la adolescente.

El miércoles, la jueza Mindy Glazer del condado de Miami-Dade fijó una fianza de $15,000 dólares para Nakashima ante el tribunal. Su abogado argumentó que su cliente no tenía antecedentes penales y no existía riesgo de fuga.

También estará sujeto a arresto domiciliario con GPS y Glazer le ordenó que se mantuviera alejado de la denunciante.

En una carta dirigida a las familias, en la que hacía referencia a las “noticias recientes” sobre el arresto de Nakashima, los administradores de Palm Glades dijeron, entre otras cosas:

Entendemos que situaciones como esta puedan generar preguntas e inquietudes. La escuela está cooperando con las autoridades. Por el momento, no podemos brindar más detalles. Queremos que sepan que la seguridad y el bienestar de nuestros estudiantes y personal siguen siendo nuestra máxima prioridad. Continuamos siguiendo todos los protocolos de seguridad exigidos por la ley estatal y nos comprometemos a fomentar un ambiente escolar de apoyo donde estudiantes y personal se sientan cómodos al reportar sus inquietudes. Animamos a todos los estudiantes a hablar con un adulto de confianza si ven o experimentan algo que les haga sentir inseguros o incómodos.

Carta dirigida a las familias

Los agentes pidieron a cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el caso que llame a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

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On Wednesday, a Miami-Dade County judge ruled that Precious Bland, 38, will not be institutionalized.

The case dates back to the summer of 2021, when Bland maintained that COVID-19 was to blame for her actions, claiming that the virus caused a temporary psychosis.

Investigators said she was trying to baptize her family after hearing voices in her head telling her Jesus is coming back.

During the hearing, three psychologists agreed that Bland does not need to be hospitalized, but that she should continue receiving mental health treatment.

Bland was calm when she left the courtroom Wednesday morning while her attorney stopped to speak to the media.

“She was found not guilty on all counts, but she still has to live with the fact and circumstances of something that happened that was beyond her control, that changed her dream life into a nightmare, and that’s going to be forever,” said defense attorney Larry Handfield.

Bland, who already spent several years behind bars, is focused on rebuilding her life, Handfield said.

It meant needing a 3:30 a.m. alarm.

It also meant missing one of his country’s biggest ever soccer matches.

Baldwin said he didn’t watch England’s agonizing 2-1 loss to Argentina in the men’s World Cup semifinals, a match that started at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. He was dozing until waking up 55 minutes into the game and discovering England was leading 1-0. He fell asleep and woke up again around midnight, to be informed by his wife that England lost.

More important to Baldwin was making a good start to his fourth appearance at the Open — and first at Birkdale.

He said the opening shot — an iron that split the middle of the parched fairway and was approved by a cheering crowd in a full grandstand under early morning sunshine — was “terrifying” and “overwhelming.”

“But,” added Baldwin, who shot 2-over 72, “it’s something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

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

Police said Yasmany Aguiar-Gonzalez, 39, voluntarily surrendered to authorities.

The investigation began after FedEx reported missing shipments in November.

Detectives said surveillance video showed a FedEx truck making an unauthorized stop in Pinecrest, where a Dodge pickup driven by Aguiar-Gonzalez pulled up behind it for what investigators described as a back-to-back cargo transfer.

“During the investigation, detectives reviewed GPS data, surveillance footage and telephone records. According to the investigation, surveillance footage captured a FedEx driver in a FedEx truck -- they were meeting with a Dodge pickup in a Pinecrest location,” Medley police spokesperson Andres Oviedo said.

Authorities said phone records also showed contact between the FedEx driver and Aguiar-Gonzalez at the time of the stop.

Last month, police arrested the FedEx driver, Michael Turro-Cabrera.

After learning about that arrest, Aguiar-Gonzalez decided to turn himself in, according to his attorney.

“The minute that my client found out that they were looking for him, we immediately called the detective. We set up a time and a place to surrender him, and he came in voluntarily on his own free will to surrender,” defense attorney Salvedo Jauregui said.

Investigators have not said whether the stolen Apple products have been recovered.

Police said they hope the arrests send a clear message.

“We want to let everyone know that if you’re going to do cargo theft, don’t do it in Medley,” Oviedo said.

The incidents involved “elevated airborne radioactive contamination” inside the Koeberg Power Station, on South Africa's west coast, when there was a loss of power to ventilation units during maintenance work, the National Nuclear Regulator said, adding there was no danger to the public.

It said the three separate contamination events on June 30, July 2 and July 7 were contained inside the station.

Workers inside the power station who may have been exposed were screened and recorded radioactive contamination below the radioactivity a person is exposed to when they have a dental X-ray, the NNR said.

The regulator said that while it was conducting further inspections the recent events “did not meet the criteria for classification as a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency and did not result in any off-site radiological consequences.”

The Koeberg plant is located around 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of South Africa's second biggest city, Cape Town. It is Africa's only commercial nuclear power station and was commissioned in the 1980s during apartheid. It has two reactors which generate around 5% of South Africa's electricity, and is operated by the national electricity company, Eskom.

Its reactors were recently granted 20-year life extensions, clearing them to be operational until after 2040.

South Africa has plans to expend its commercial nuclear capability with new stations to support its unreliable and polluting energy supply, which is struggling to provide for a growing population and heavily based on burning coal.

Other countries are also turning more towards nuclear power to meet skyrocketing energy demands despite long-held safety fears from opponents of nuclear power citing disasters like Chernobyl and, more recently, Fukushima in Japan.

Several other African nations are advancing their own commercial nuclear plans, including Egypt, which is building its first nuclear power station with four large Russian reactors that it hopes will be operational around 2030 and generate around 10% of the country's electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

But the report, released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, showed consumers' continued resilience despite ongoing economic uncertainty as they bought cars and took advantage of summer sales events.

Retail sales rose 0.2% in June, after being up a revised 1% in May, according to the report.

Outside of gas stations, retail sales rose a solid 0.7%, according to the report.

The government figures aren't adjusted for inflation so last month's decline in gas prices pulled down gas station sales and thus the overall retail sales figure.

Business at gas stations fell 5.3% last month. Meanwhile, sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers rose 1.9%, helped by aggressive manufacturers' incentives, according to the report.

Elsewhere, shoppers were selective in their buying, given their worries about the economy and fading benefits of generous government tax benefits, which propelled spending earlier in the spring.

Business at clothing and accessories stores as well as at miscellaneous retailers both posted small declines, And sales at retailers that sell big-ticket items were mixed, with business at furniture and home furnishings merchants flat, while electronics and appliance stores showing a small increase for June.

World Cup boost

Among the bright spots: online sales rose 1.9%, fueled by spending surrounding Amazon's Prime Day event, which was held from June 23 through June 26. Business at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores was up 1.3%, likely helped by spending around the World Cup tournament.

The data offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn’t include activities like travel and hotel stays. The lone services category – restaurants – registered a slim 0.1% increase.

The so-called control group—which excludes food services, autos, building materials and gas station sales and is used to calculate economic growth—rose a solid 0.5%.

The report comes as U.S. inflation cooled last month as the cost of gas, clothes, and used cars fell, offering some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also slowed more than anticipated.

Gas prices fell to $3.94 per gallon on Thursday, down from $4.04 a month ago, according to motor club AAA.

“Falling fuel prices weighed on headline sales data, but a smaller bill at the pump was a source of relief for consumers and provided at least a little more cushion in household spending budgets,” Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors, wrote in a report published Thursday.

But Baird noted the June report suggests consumers are “perhaps taking a more discerning approach to where they’re spending and how they’re prioritizing their choices.”

The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the largest monthly drop in four years, after increasing 0.5% in the previous month. On a yearly basis, inflation declined to 3.5%, down from a year-over-year gain of 4.2% in May and lower than many economists expected.

Muted impact at the gas pump

The core inflation figures suggest that the gas price spike from the Iran war, while it pushed up airfares and some other costs, hasn’t so far led to broad-based, sustained inflation, according to economists. But the United States renewed attacks on Iran and President Donald Trump announced a new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s oil. The increase threatens to unravel at least some of the progress that occurred last month.

Next month, major retailers including Walmart, Target and Macy’s, are slated to announce their second-quarter earnings results, which will offer some insight into shopping behavior.

A report last month from the Conference Board showed that Americans’ attitudes toward the economy improved slightly this month as gas prices declined, but their outlook is still mostly negative by historical standards.

Sara Williamson, a 27-year-old software support engineer in Raleigh, North Carolina, said that over the last year or so, she’s more conscious of how she spends her money. She feels financially secure given her stable job, but increasing costs of food and gas are making her pull back on frivolous spending.

“I shop less overall as a hobby,” she said.

Williamson noted that at the supermarket, she avoids buying pre-cut fruits like cantaloupe, which tend to be more expensive than buying the whole cantaloupe, to save money, and is careful about buying clothing for herself.

Brian Reynolds, CEO and founder of Just For Teens, a skincare collection aimed at preteens and teens, noted that his low-price products, which include $5 pimple patches, are aimed at families on a budget and are in the sweet spot of retailing right now.

By October, his brand will be expanded to 10,000 Dollar General stores, up from about 4,000 late last year. He said sales have been decent so far, but he expects that business will see more of a momentum for the back-to-school selling season.

“There’s a lot of space for products that are everyday essentials that are value-priced,” he said.

“It’s passion that people (don’t) understand. It’s Argentina passion,” fan Robert Caluvio said.

The excitement even reached the skies. On an American Airlines flight from Miami International Airport to Buenos Aires, passengers erupted in cheers after the pilot announced Argentina’s semifinal win.

Back on the ground, fans made their way across the John F. Kennedy Causeway to Manolo, a popular gathering spot for Argentina supporters in Miami Beach, where celebrations continued along Collins Avenue.

“It’s great. We’re going for Sunday next,” a man named Juan said.

With music playing and fans chanting, the excitement spread through the crowd.

“This was not just a game. This was something that we had to do, had to play. We had to win for all the people,” one fan said.

The victory sent Argentina to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, uniting supporters eager to see their team compete for another title.

“It’s beautiful. It’s energy, it’s passion that we Argentinians have in soccer. This is unbelievable,” fan Javier Astrada said.

Lionel Messi remained a major part of the celebration for fans in South Florida.

“He knew that Miami was the place to unite all the Latin people and American people to bring soccer to the American people,” Caluvio said.

Argentina will face Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday at 3 p.m. in New Jersey.

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid in the week ending July 11 dropped by 8,000 to 208,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's well below the 219,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S. job market.

In its more comprehensive June jobs report earlier this month, the government reported that employers pulled back on hiring in June, adding only 57,000 jobs. That’s less than half the previous month’s total and a sign that companies remain cautious about adding to their head counts. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that decline is mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed.

June’s tepid hiring comes after a relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor market.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Among the companies that have trimmed their workforce recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Last week, Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of weekly jobless claims, which adjusts for volatility, declined by 4,750 to 214,250.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 4 fell by 16,000 to 1.81 million, also a historically healthy figure.

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“Since January 1st up to July 15th was the last 1 to 78 rescues on our beach,” said Lt. Melissa Porro, with the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department.

In order to see how the technology works, Local 10 News put it to the test.

During the test, the drone flew overhead and released a flotation tube directly into the water.

The process can be seen in the video provided by the police department.

The department says the drone can be launched 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can reach a swimmer in less than a minute.

“For now, it’s just nice to see what it can do and the hopes that we will hopefully be able to use it eventually,” Porro said.

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According to an arrest report, Emely Barberena, 35, is facing one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said they responded around 7:20 a.m. to the area of 1125 E. 25th St., where they found a man suffering from apparent stab wounds.

They said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

According to the arrest report, the victim went to the station after spotting Barberena and her boyfriend with a bicycle that he claimed had been stolen from him earlier that day. Deputies said that theft had already been reported to the Hialeah Police Department.

Investigators said Barberena’s boyfriend threw the bicycle toward the victim, causing it to roll onto the train tracks which led to a fight.

The report states the victim armed himself with a broomstick and struck Barberena after she approached him. Barberena then grabbed a broken piece of the broomstick and began striking the victim while her boyfriend punched him, deputies said.

According to the report, the victim pushed Barberena onto the train tracks before her boyfriend pushed the victim onto the tracks.

While the victim was unarmed on the tracks, Barberena slashed him across the face with a knife, according to the report. Investigators said she had already stabbed him in the torso and arm before he was pushed onto the tracks.

The report states Barberena and her boyfriend fled after the stabbing. Deputies said the victim suffered a stab wound to his abdomen, a cut on his arm, a laceration to his cheek and other injuries from the fight and fall.

Deputies said they later found Barberena at a bus stop outside the station. She was taken to Hialeah Hospital for treatment of minor injuries before she was arrested, according to the report.

Investigators said surveillance video reviewed during the investigation corroborated the victim’s account.

They said Barberena’s boyfriend fled before deputies arrived and remains unidentified and at large at this time.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Barberena was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set.”

Anyone with information about her boyfriend’s whereabouts is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en San Antonio reportó que una “gran y mortal ola de crecida” avanzaba a toda velocidad por el mismo río devastado por inundaciones de hace un año, cuando dos docenas de niños y monitores murieron en Camp Mystic.

Las tormentas amenazaban a varios condados cercanos a la frontera con México y a la región de Texas Hill Country, donde funcionarios municipales de Kerrville instaron a la población a refugiarse en los pisos más altos de sus viviendas.

La Oficina de Manejo de Emergencias del condado de Uvalde emitió su propio aviso para quedarse en casa. “Todas las autopistas principales y muchas calles de la ciudad están cerradas debido a las inundaciones y al agua sobre la calzada”, indicó.

No se reportaron fallecidos o heridos a causa de las inundaciones. También se emitieron varias alertas por tornados.

Hasta ahora, los guardabosques de Texas han participado en el rescate de más de 40 personas debido a las inundaciones, en su mayoría en la zona del condado de Uvalde, según un portavoz del Departamento de Parques y Vida Silvestre de Texas.

Otra prueba para Texas Hill Country tras la tragedia en Camp Mystic

El servicio meteorológico señaló que en los últimos dos días han caído entre 25 y 50 centímetros (10 y 20 pulgadas) de lluvia, con 20 cms (8 pulgadas) en apenas dos horas en la madrugada del jueves.

Un medidor ubicado a unos 16 kilómetros (10 millas) de Kerrville mostró que el nivel del río había subido 9,7 metros (32 pies) en cuatro horas. Se espera que alcance un pico similar al de la catastrófica inundación del 4 de julio de 2025, indicó el servicio meteorológico.

Los meteorólogos habían advertido que las condiciones, ya peligrosas, probablemente empeorarían en algunas comunidades muy afectadas. El diluvio descargó casi 30 cms (un pie) de agua en algunos condados y puso a la población de varios condados en alerta por inundaciones. Los avisos afectaban a partes de Texas Hill Country, donde las devastadoras inundaciones del verano pasado causaron la muerte de más de 100 personas.

Se espera que algunas de las alertas por inundaciones se mantengan en vigor hasta la noche del viernes.

Las familias se apresuran para llegar a zonas más altas

Para el miércoles, la policía de Uvalde había ordenado evacuaciones obligatorias en algunas zonas, y el departamento indicó en Facebook que los equipos de primera respuesta estaban notificando directamente a los afectados. A otros se les pidió mantenerse alerta por si se requerían más evacuaciones.

Algunos salieron a la calle para comprobar cómo el agua se acercaba cada hora, con gestos de preocupación en el rostro. Los residentes a orillas del río Leona se apresuraron a empacar sus autos y marcharse, aunque muchos aún no sabían a dónde debían ir. Un hombre arrojó dos kayaks a la caja de su camioneta, por si acaso.

Los relámpagos iluminaban el cielo mientras las nubes oscurecían el paisaje, y el agua marrón formaba grandes rápidos en el río, normalmente tranquilo, que el miércoles por la tarde ya chocaba contra el puente alto del pueblo y se metía en vecindarios.

Los avisos por inundaciones afectan a 6 millones

El gobernador de Texas, Greg Abbott, ha declarado el estado de catástrofe para decenas de condados.

Hasta el miércoles por la noche, poco más de seis millones de residentes en 57 condados del estado estaban bajo una alerta por inundaciones del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, que estaba previsto que se mantenga hasta el inicio de la noche del jueves. Las alertas para 34 de esos condados estaban programadas para expirar el viernes por la noche.

Algunos de los mayores acumulados de lluvia hasta la fecha se han registrado en el condado de Uvalde, donde las autoridades realizaron decenas de rescates y señalaron que más personas necesitaban ayuda a medida que el nivel del río aumenta. Autopistas y carreteras fueron cerradas en toda la región debido a las crecidas.

El condado suele recibir alrededor de 58 cms (23 pulgadas) de lluvia al año, de acuerdo con la Oficina de Extensión de Uvalde.

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Stengle informó desde Dallas.

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

At Trump’s last primetime presidential address in April, he said the U.S. would accomplish its Iran war objectives “very shortly.” But days of back-and-forth attacks by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East and in the Strait of Hormuz have shredded the interim deal to pause the fighting. U.S. strikes intensified early Thursday against a widening set of targets, including a ship it accused of breaking its blockade on Iranian ports. Iran retaliated by firing on U.S. allies in the region.

Here's the latest:

It’s unclear if TV networks plan to air Trump’s speech or to what extent

Messages to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MS NOW asking about coverage plans weren’t returned.

Democrats warned that Trump was trying to revive false claims of past stolen elections in order to delegitimize the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican Party is facing headwinds.

US government designates 2 new Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

They are the Juárez Cartel, on the border with Texas, and Los Viagras, a criminal group from the western state of Michoacán. The Federal Register, the U.S. government’s gazette, published the designation Thursday.

They joined six other Mexican criminal organizations the U.S. considers terrorist groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Gangs in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador, also have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

President Trump began to extend the terrorist label to Latin American cartels in February 2025 to allow U.S. authorities to take more aggressive action against them or against anyone the U.S. sees as aiding the groups.

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As Iran war expands, Rubio hosts world leaders for conference on ‘far-left political terrorism’

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened more than 60 governments to address what he described a growing increase of left wing violence around the globe. Rubio opened the conference by making sweeping statements about the issue and noting that the U.S. and most of the world has spent the last few decades focusing on Islamic terrorism.

“For far too long, however, our counterterrorism doctrine has had a blind spot, a blind spot when it comes to extremist violence from the political left,” he said.

Rubio added that the U.S. plans to make more terrorist designations against groups like antifa.

2 of 8 men charged in thwarted attack on UFC cage-fighting show at White House plead not guilty

Two of the eight men indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show at the White House last month pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, entered the pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. in Columbus, Ohio. Each is charged, as are the six others, with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

Sargus set their trial date for Sept. 14.

A message seeking comment was left with Proper’s attorney. Scaggs’ lawyer declined to comment.

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DHS finds itself back in the headlines after 3 fatal ICE encounters, in a test for Secretary Mullin

When Markwayne Mullin took over as Homeland Security secretary from fired Kristi Noem, he pledged to get the department responsible for carrying out the Trump administration’s mass deportations policy out of the headlines.

But just months into Mullin’s time in office, the department is squarely in the center of controversy again after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the span of less than a week.

The events are the first major test for Mullin, who promised a steady hand for a department roiled by his predecessor’s conduct and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

As he navigates the uptick in violence, he’s being forced into a balancing act that has him juggling pressures from a White House eager to carry out mass deportations and his former colleagues in Congress seeking answers — all while attempting to ease tensions in American cities over the deaths.

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After six years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House

In the weeks after Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, the people Trump appointed to run the Department of Justice, cybersecurity agencies and intelligence departments all said the same thing — the election was fair, legitimate and free of major fraud or foreign interference.

In his second term, Trump has tried to use the levers of power to rewrite that well-settled history, something he’s expected to try again Thursday night with an address to the nation.

He’s already appointed loyalists who’ve echoed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and made clear he expects everyone to follow his lead.

In an indication of how fealty to Trump’s lies has become a litmus test for his administration, many of his nominees have steadfastly refused to directly answer the question of who won in 2020, preferring to tersely note that Biden became president.

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Trump is taking longer to approve disaster aid and denying Democratic states more frequently

When major disasters strike, Americans are routinely waiting weeks — or even months — to receive presidential approval for aid. And if they live in a state that didn’t support President Trump, chances are greater that aid will be denied.

Since taking office last year, Trump has approved about 65 requests for major disaster declarations and denied more than two dozen others from states, tribes or territories seeking federal financial assistance following hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods and fires.

Trump has taken longer on average to approve disaster requests than any other president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data dating back to 1989, when a federal law setting new parameters for disaster determinations was implemented. And no other president has such a disparity in denials between states that supported him politically and those that did not.

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Trump is expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

President Donald Trump is set to address the nation Thursday night on topics he said will include elections and voting machines, suggesting he’s likely to revisit some of the unproven claims he’s previously made about Republican losses, particularly his own in 2020.

Trump’s fixation on his loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago and the long-debunked theories he’s circulated about it are something he still brings up regularly when discussing other subjects. But elevating the deeply political and conspiratorial topics to a presidential primetime address underscores the lengths to which Trump has used his second term to both blow past norms and fixate on old grievances.

Trump has offered only vague details about the address, scheduled for 9 p.m. When asked by a reporter Tuesday if it would concern “election machines and integrity,” Trump said it would “concern that subject” and “we’ll have a couple of other things to say also.”

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In the latest attempt to rein in tech behemoths' deep control of the digital economy, the EU said it will support innovation and diversity in the field by enabling fair access to AI features on Android devices and search engines.

“Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services,” Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission overseeing tech, said.

The measure is the latest advancement of Brussels’ growing rules and regulations that have given the 27-nation bloc a global leadership position in checking the power of tech juggernauts or “gatekeepers” like TikTok, which are largely based in China and the U.S.

Recently, Brussels has pushed through efforts to ensure Google gives access to Gemini AI services to rival AI companies and search engines; forced Apple to add interoperability features to its devices to connect to non-Apple products; and demanded Meta dismantle “ key addictive features ” like infinite scrolling.

Kent Walker, president of global affairs for both Google and its parent company Alphabet, said the new rules could backfire by removing safeguards that the company had built to protect user privacy like the vetting of third-party AI assistants.

“Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent. This would weaken citizens’ privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security,” he said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at EU tech regulation in the past.

In issuing the two new rules, the commission said it found that AI agents not made by Google were unable to function on Android phones at the same level as Google's Gemini.

Google must now allow voice-activation of these alternative AI agents and enable them to run background tasks like booking restaurants via third-party apps.

By January 2027, Google must also begin sharing anonymized search data with some rivals. The commission said the move is meant to level the playing field since Google controls a vast trove of user data that no competitor can match.

So far, at least one person has died, said Gov. Greg Abbott, who added that it appeared that many of summer camps hit hard last year were not facing any danger. “Our number one focus is saving lives,” he said.

After days of pounding rain, the National Weather Service said a “large and deadly flood wave” was barreling down the same river wrecked by flash floods last summer when two dozen children and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic.

Forecasters urgently warned “Move to higher ground now!” as rivers rose hour by hour, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water. Several tornado warnings were also issued.

The Texas Hill Country floods over the July Fourth holiday last year killed more than 100 people.

The governor said there was “one loss of life” so far but did not specify where or when. More than 1,300 personnel were responding and have rescued well over 70 people, he said Thursday.

The unfolding crisis brought back haunting memories of last summer's unimaginable floods for many.

“It’s crazy happening two times in one year,” said Josiah Rodriguez, who woke to the sound of heavy rain around 2 a.m. Thursday in Kerrville. He navigated flooded roads to help evacuate relatives.

“Last year there was no warning of it,” he said. “It just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year, a lot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safety measures.”

Residents said they were caught off guard a year ago and didn’t receive any warning when floods overtopped the Guadalupe River. Some local leaders were criticized for not acting quickly.

The storms and flooding this time threatened multiple counties close to the border with Mexico and in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. City officials in Kerrville urged people to shelter at the highest levels of their homes.

Images along a creek in Kerr County showed propane tanks that had been pushed onto a bridge and a mess of tangled trees.

Uvalde residents isolated by floodwaters

Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting off outside access. The Leona River, normally dry most of the year, filled streets with water.

“People really can’t get anywhere” said Carmen Rodriguez, who was nervously watching water engulf her neighborhood Thursday morning as a helicopter roared overhead. “We have a place to go, but all the streets are closed.”

Phones buzzed with warnings throughout the night warning of flash floods in the morning. Rodriguez said it seemed that authorities were well prepared. By Wednesday, Uvalde police had ordered some mandatory evacuations, with first responders notifying people directly.

Uvalde officials sent out rescue boats and found multiple people trapped in vehicles overnight, said Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for Uvalde police.

“There’s no way into the city at this point,” she said.

Texas Game Wardens rescued more than 40 people and evacuated about a dozen others, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.

Flooding could reach last year's deadly high

The floodwaters were expected to reach a crest similar to last year's flood, the weather service said.

Gauges in some spots along the Guadalupe River showed it rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) in just hours overnight. One gauge outside Kerrville showed the river had risen 32 feet (9.7 meters) in four hours.

Close to Camp Mystic, which remains shut, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge, which is just under the level expected to inundate structures and roads.

Flooding hits towns still rebuilding

Volunteer firefighters spent the night helping people evacuate their homes and answering calls about rising water in Ingram, just up river from Hunt, where summer camps dot the shores of the Guadalupe, Ingram Mayor Claud Jordan said Thursday morning.

While the water didn’t rise as high as a year ago, he believes this round of flooding was more widespread and “worse” in his city. “The rural part of Ingram, all the roads are just trashed,” he said.

“There are a bunch of businesses that haven’t reopened from last year. They’re still trying to rebuild from the July 4 floods,” Jordan said. “This doesn’t help.”

A rush to higher ground

Residents at an RV park in Comfort, Texas, near the Guadalupe River moved their trailers as local fire department sirens sounded, manager Duke Earwood said Thursday.

Water rose over the hoods of vehicles parked closest to the river.

While the water started to recede, another surge was expected, Earwood said at the Comfort RV Resort, which has about 200 residents. “People need to know to just kind of stay put for now,” he said.

Markers showed the flooding already matched the level from the big flood last July.

“Too familiar for sure, and too soon,” Earwood said.

Another test for Texas Hill Country after the Camp Mystic disaster

The Texas Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before quickly filling the narrow river basins.

The weather service said 10 to 20 inches of rain (25 to 50 centimeters) had fallen in the past two days, with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in just two hours early Thursday.

The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in multiple counties under flood watches, with some were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

The governor issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties. As of late Wednesday, six million residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch.

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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Michael Phillis in Washington; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

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According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened just before 11:30 a.m. at 4250 Overseas Highway in Marathon.

Deputies said the worker, identified as 37-year-old Marathon resident Victor Vivian Cano Franco, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The incident occurred where rock is crushed into smaller pieces,” MCSO posted to its Facebook page. “The victim appeared to have been struck by a front-end loader. The victim was struck in the mid-section and his body was severed as a result.”

Deputies said they’re investigating the incident but don’t suspect any foul play.

They said they notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The capital of Thailand is renowned for its vibrant nightlife, with bars and clubs spread across the city. However, gaps in the country’s licensing system have left many venues operating under regulations that may not match their activities.

The fire that broke out Sunday night killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, with 27 people still hospitalized on Thursday, Erawan emergency services said. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, while a few died from burn injuries, officials said.

The bar claimed on social media to have space to accommodate around 600 people, but it is unclear how many were there Sunday night.

What set off the flash blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar in northern Bangkok and why it caused so many casualties is under investigation.

Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, cited possible causes including overcrowding, combustible materials inside and obstructed exits, an analysis that has been echoed by fire safety and engineering experts.

The tragedy could have been prevented “if proper engineering principles and all relevant laws and regulations had been strictly followed,” Amorn said.

Safety standards upgraded after a similar tragedy

The primary law regulating nightlife venues in Thailand, the Entertainment Place Act, was enacted in 1966. The statute was updated in 2012, three years after 67 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire during a Jan. 1, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub.

The revised standards include fire-resistant or non-flammable materials for interior decoration and acoustic soundproofing. They also must have smoke ventilation systems, sprinklers and fire escape routes sized appropriately for the number of patrons.

However, those requirements apply only to entertainment venues that are licensed and operate within designated zones, including three zones in Bangkok. Opposition lawmaker Paramait Vithayaruksun of the People’s Party called the law “outdated and unrealistic.”

Paramait told Parliament on Monday that although there are clubs and bars across Bangkok, by law the venues outside the three designated zones cannot obtain proper licensing, even if operators are willing to meet the safety standards.

Instead, many operate by registering as restaurants licensed to sell alcohol and host live music, which have less stringent safety regulations, he said.

The Na Ladprao bar where Sunday's fire occurred is located outside Bangkok's entertainment zones and was registered as a restaurant with live music, officials said.

The restricted zoning law for entertainment venues is in effect in 55 provinces throughout Thailand, while 22 other provinces do not provide entertainment venue licenses, according to the Department of Provincial Administration.

Loopholes allow businesses to bend the rules

The measures as they are written have enabled businesses to circumvent the law, allowing nightlife venues to “evade strict safety standards and face much lighter legal penalties,” Paramait said.

Restaurants do not have to meet the same requirements, especially for soundproofing materials, and operators can install cheaper soundproofing foam for live music performances, he said.

Thailand’s conservative, Buddhist values also have shaped policymaking decisions, with tight controls reflecting concerns over social impact from nightlife businesses. The venues cannot be within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of a temple or school.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul acknowledged the shortcomings this week and said the law should be reviewed.

“Times have changed. I’ve asked officials to study how we should adjust the rules,” he said. “We need to look at it from every angle — what society is like today, as well as our culture, customs and traditions.”

Wasawat Kitsiriteeraphak, former president of the Building Inspectors Association, said inspections should focus on how structures are actually used rather than solely on their licensed classification.

“The risks to lives and assets of the people depends on the actual use of the building rather than how the business is called,” he said in a statement, urging relevant authorities to conduct a sweeping review of similar establishments in Thailand based on their operations to prevent future tragedies.

It is a key finding from a Meta Oversight Board study released Thursday, showing that major AI systems, including those built in the U.S., are more likely to refuse to criticize restrictive leaders or governments. It raises concerns that the large language models powering chatbots and AI agents could be regurgitating and spreading government influence over online speech as the technology is increasingly adopted worldwide.

“There is a real risk that, if model developers do not undertake human rights due diligence and implement mitigation measures, they will build AI infrastructure that, intentionally or not, has the effect of extending illegitimate restrictions on freedom of expression globally,” according to the report from the quasi-independent body.

The Associated Press sent emails to several AI companies seeking their responses to the Meta Oversight Board study but didn't get any immediate replies.

The findings come as countries are determining how to put up guardrails around AI without impeding their ability to compete in the rapidly developing field. That includes a Trump administration oversight effort related to the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems.

AI models extend state influence beyond borders

The oversight board, which has been working on state influence on tech companies and the impact on freedom of expression, came up with seven questions related to political criticism to pose to chatbots about both restrictive and permissive governments.

The study picked 10 commercial large language models by top tech companies — including Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI — and asked the AI systems to make critical pamphlets, write limericks, give reasons if someone should join protests, and more.

“In short, in aggregate, models responding to requests from an Australia-based user were much more likely to generate political criticism of authorities” in places such as Chile, Japan, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S. “compared to where criticism of authorities is legally restricted and penalized,” such as in Cambodia, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey, the report said.

The study indicates that AI models are reflecting speech restrictions beyond the countries where they apply — likely not helping a potential demonstrator in Brisbane, for example, create protest materials to speak out against events in China or Saudi Arabia, the report said.

“Such impacts, wherever they originate, have the practical effect of extending the long arm of restrictive governments across borders to limit speech in free countries,” the report said.

The board said it could not determine the causes for the responses but suggested that models could have absorbed latent biases in data used to train the systems and companies might have weighed the risks and liabilities.

Other researchers warn about a growing problem in AI results in non-English languages

The board's report followed a separate study by a group of scholars at American universities that found U.S.-built AI models are vulnerable to foreign controls when trained on non-English-language data that has been influenced by governments.

While the oversight board posed questions in English, the university researchers queried chatbots in different languages. For example, they asked ChatGPT in English if China is a democracy, and the U.S.-developed chatbot said it’s not generally considered one. Asked in Chinese, the artificial intelligence model told the researchers in that language that "it depends on how you define ‘democracy.’”

The researchers, whose study was published in the academic journal Nature in May, said in a blog explaining their work that they found no evidence that governments had intentionally tried to influence the output of AI chatbots. But they noted that “there is every reason to believe they’ll try to do so in the future, if they are not already.”

“People often talk about AI as if it learns from the internet in some neutral way. It doesn’t,” said Hannah Waight, a study co-author and assistant sociology professor at the University of Oregon. “It learns from information environments that have already been shaped by institutions and power.”

No easy solution to how data is being fed to AI models

Carlos Carrasco-Farré, who specializes in machine learning, AI, misinformation, social media and human-machine interactions at Esade Business School in Barcelona, said that “AI systems inherit not only biases contained within individual documents but also inequalities in who has the power to produce and suppress information at scale.”

There is no easy solution, though developers could assess the data to avoid treating thousands of copies of the same state narrative as if they are thousands of independent voices as well as run multilingual audits, said Carrasco-Farré, who was not part of either study.

Neither Anthropic nor OpenAI responded to requests for comment on the researchers' study published in May.

The personnel overhaul, which included replacing his prime minister, could become a test of Zelenskyy’s political authority as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches 4½ years. Zelenskyy has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited but has periodically reshuffled his government.

The moves threw Ukraine’s military leadership into an unwelcome crisis at a time when its actions against Russia are starting to bear fruit and as Moscow has unleashed unrelenting aerial attacks. Two people were killed and five others were wounded, including a child, when Russian missiles hit the capital of Kyiv overnight, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said.

In making the changes, Zelenskyy cited friction between outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces.

“I’m just showing that if the sides can’t resolve an issue, I will have to resolve it,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference.

The outgoing defense chief was seen as a modernizer

Fedorov, 35, is considered to be a vigorous modernizer whose technological expertise is credited in part with significantly improving Ukraine’s military performance in recent months against Russia’s bigger army. He is leaving the government after only six months in the post.

Fedorov appeared at a news conference in a dark T-shirt and jeans, and accused Syrskyi of blocking reforms needed because “the war has changed completely” due to new technology like drones.

During his time in office, he secured restrictions on Russian forces’ access to the Starlink satellite communications system, allowing Ukraine to better leverage its midrange strike capabilities giving Kyiv significant battlefield advantages.

Fedorov said he was willing to work with Syrskyi, “but we encountered a situation in which all the initiatives we proposed began to be blocked.”

“Under this arrangement (with Syrskyi as commander), I personally do not know how the war can be won,” he said.

On social media, Fedorov highlighted what he called his major achievements: redirecting funds earmarked for salaries into midrange strike capabilities, fiber-optic drones, reconnaissance systems and other technologies. He pointed to expanded drone procurement, Patriot missile defense contracts, successful ballistic missile tests and sweeping changes to military procurement.

But he acknowledged he was unable to complete the Defense Ministry’s organizational transformation “according to NATO standards and common sense,” and move all procurement to competitive tenders, and build a culture of accountability.

Syrskyi didn’t appear in public but in a Facebook post thanked Fedorov and said he hoped he would continue to serve Ukraine. "I wish him to continue to remain in the Ukrainian team,” Syrskyi said without elaborating.

Zelenskyy said he had asked Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara to perform the defense minister's duties in the meantime, according to a post on the Telegram messaging app. Since January, Khmara has been acting head of the state’s security service, known as the SBU. He had previously led the SBU’s elite Alpha special forces unit.

Zelenskyy described a difficult relationship between the Defense Ministry and the military at multiple levels, not simply a matter of personalities, and he said both sides share responsibility for the consequences.

“Together we win, and together we’re responsible for the things that cause confusion and public reaction,” he said, standing beside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was making his final foreign visit before leaving office next week.

Mostly young protesters support Fedorov

Syrskyi, 60, initially organized the defense of Kyiv in February 2022, and seven months later masterminded a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. Born in 1965, he attended the Moscow Higher Military Command School before serving in the Soviet Artillery Corps before the USSR's collapse in 1991.

The Ukrainian military has rallied under Fedorov, slowing Moscow’s front-line advance to a virtual standstill and striking refineries and other energy sites inside Russian territory, causing widespread fuel shortages, Western officials and analysts say. Zelenskyy’s decision to fire him despite that record has dismayed many people.

Before becoming defense minister in January, Fedorov headed Ukraine’s digital transformation policies. He won popularity by spearheading the rapid development and deployment of drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.

As minister, he moved to combat corruption, an issue that carries particular weight with Ukrainians who have repeatedly protested graft. Fighting corruption meant working against the interests of groups that had long profited from programs within the ministry, he said in interviews. He also sought to overhaul weapons procurement to make it more transparent.

He had promised sweeping military reforms, saying it had faced about 200,000 desertions and draft-dodging by some 2 million people.

The mostly young protesters who took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities to support Fedorov made crude remarks about the current military commander, chanting, “Syrskyi, go away!” and “A European army for a European country!”

Kyiv resident Bohdan Huryak said he was “deeply outraged” by Fedorov’s exit.

“I’m not deeply invested in the internal political debates, but this is a person who shows results on the battlefield, we see results, we feel the fighting spirit and confidence in victory rising,” Huryak told The Associated Press. “And then, six months later, he is removed from office? Come on.”

Russian military correspondents and pro-Kremlin bloggers relished the controversy. Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov described Fedorov’s comments as a “rebellion” against Zelenskyy.

The deputy commander of Ukraine’s air force, Col. Pavlo Yelizarov, quit over Fedorov’s dismissal, saying on social media it will weaken Ukraine’s air defenses and lead to more deaths from Russian attacks.

“I believe that the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov is a great evil for the country’s defense capability,” he wrote in his resignation letter on Facebook.

State energy company chief is new prime minister

Parliament overwhelmingly approved Serhii Koretskyi, the head of state energy company Naftogaz, as the country’s new prime minister.

In nominating Koretskyi, Zelenskyy cited his record in the energy sector and argued he was best prepared to guide Ukraine through another winter, when Russian attacks on the power grid intensify.

Unlike other senior government officials, the 48-year-old engineer did not rise through political parties, parliament or the civil service. He spent more than two decades managing fuel and food businesses before being picked to run some of Ukraine’s most troubled state-owned energy companies and gained a reputation as an effective crisis manager who could make them profitable.

Zelenskyy has faced protests before over his decisions. Large demonstrations broke out in July 2025 when he fast-tracked a law that would have curbed the independence of the country’s anti-corruption watchdogs.

The outcry threatened his leadership for the first time since Russia's invasion, and he swiftly reversed course and submitted legislation to restore the agencies' independence.

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Dan Bashakov and Dmytro Zhyhinas contributed.

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

During post-match celebrations Wednesday in Atlanta, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.”

Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina's then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.

“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are," a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday. "Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”

Starmer supported calls for FIFA to investigate, the spokesperson said, after U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate."

FIFA can prosecute Argentina's players and soccer federation because its disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event” including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”

The FIFA fines for political messaging range from around $5,000 to $20,000. FIFA was approached for comment Thursday.

Argentine President Javier Milei described the players' celebration with the banner as “perfectly valid," saying the message “reflects a sentiment shared by all Argentines.” But he said he expected FIFA to sanction the team with a fine.

“What the players do is understandable; they get carried away by their emotions, they act on impulse, and that will likely lead to discussions about a fine,” Milei told a local Buenos Aires radio station.

Vice President Victoria Villarruel was more vocal in her support, posting a photo on social media of the players raising the banner with the caption: “The Malvinas are Argentine! They banned us from bringing (signs) into the stadium, forgetting that we carry them in our blood and in our hearts.”

A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men's bronze medal game.

On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions for veterans of the conflict.

“We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for the past four years with Manchester United.

Argentina-England soccer rivalry

The sporting rivalry between the two countries is heightened by political tensions over the South Atlantic archipelago. It is a British overseas territory with a population of around 3,500 people located about 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) from the U.K. and 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Argentina.

Argentina argues the islands were illegally taken from it in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to expel Argentine forces who sought to establish sovereignty over the territory.

The war in 1982 killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.

That conflict ended during the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Argentina, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all played. British television networks declined to broadcast Argentina playing in the tournament's opening game, when the defending champion lost to Belgium.

“Sadly, it is a sad part of our history," Argentina player Leandro Paredes said in Atlanta about the banner, “for everyone involved in that chapter of, I repeat, our history. And it hurts. We knew we were playing for them, too.”

Politics in soccer

British government minister Kyle told the BBC "politics needs to be separate from football.”

“In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football," he said. “That is now a matter for FIFA.”

FIFA's statutory political neutrality has been questioned at this World Cup after its president, Gianni Infantino, and disciplinary process — which could now judge Argentina — seemed to cave to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump in allowing United States forward Folarin Balogun to play Belgium in the round of 16.

Balogun was shown a red card in the previous round and FIFA disciplinary rules mandated he should be banned from his team's next game. FIFA deferred that suspension for one year of probation, provoking an all-time controversy in modern World Cup history. Belgium beat the U.S. 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Infantino is expected to sit with Trump at the World Cup final Sunday. Argentina plays Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Previous cases

Argentina players showed the same “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” slogan at a warm-up game in June 2014 in Buenos Aires for the World Cup that started days later in Brazil.

FIFA's disciplinary panel ruling in that case was published after the tournament finished and fined the Argentina federation 30,000 Swiss francs ($37,000).

In the 2012 London Olympics case, FIFA's ruling said the conduct of the South Korea player "cannot be tolerated.”

At the 2022 World Cup, FIFA fined the Serbia federation 20,000 Swiss francs ($24,800) for hanging a political banner about neighboring independent state Kosovo in the locker room before playing Brazil. It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of Kosovo, which has been an independent state since 2008, and the slogan “No Surrender.”

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Dunbar contributed from Geneva. Associated Press writer Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The technology area known as “physical AI” refers to smart, futuristic robots that can think on their own, not just follow programmed directions, to work safely alongside people in factories, homes and hospitals.

The initiative was announced in Tokyo on Thursday by Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Jensen Huang and Fujitsu Chief Executive Takahito Tokita, along with the CEOs of Japan’s top makers of industrial robots, Fanuc Corp., Yaskawa Electric Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

The latest announcement comes on top of a deal announced by Nvidia and Fujitsu last year.

The executives expressed hopes that the robots can address the nation’s acute labor shortage. Japan is among the most rapidly aging societies in the developed world and the smart robots could help take care of the elderly living alone, they said.

Huang said physical AI was a good fit for Japan because of the country's reputation for manufacturing quality because robots that move independently could potentially be dangerous.

“Japan’s excellence is a philosophy, a way of life. ‘Made in Japan’ means the highest quality, the highest precision. Japan sets the standard for the state-of-the-art in modern manufacturing,” he said.

Huang listed Japan’s prized concepts in fine manufacturing such as “kaizen,” which means “continuous improvement.”

The companies did not give a specific time frame for the arrival of such robots in daily life. They stressed efforts were underway with what they called the first phase of the collaboration coming later this year.

There has been no decision on setting up a joint venture, although that could come later, they said.

Japan has acknowledged it has fallen behind some nations, including China and the U.S., in AI, and has been eager to play catch-up.

The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently announced a plan to drum up more than 370 trillion yen ($2.3 trillion) in public and private investment in various technology fields by 2040, including physical AI, semiconductors and data centers.

Silicon Valley-based Nvidia, which offers an open-source technology, has been aggressive in forging various ties in Japan, including with leading banks, automaker Toyota Motor Corp., video game maker Sega and national research institute Riken.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

The latest commitment appears to bring the company’s total pledges for investment in U.S. chipmaking to $265 billion. The company also raised its annual revenue forecast after booking record high profits thanks to runaway demand from the boom in artificial intelligence.

The world's largest contract chip manufacturing and one of the world’s most valuable companies, TSMC is seen as a barometer for the global chip industry and for AI at a time when worries about a potential AI bubble have been buffeting financial markets.

As AI-related demand continues to jump and needs for computing power from data centers surge, TSMC has been expanding chip fabrication plants in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan. It said it is increasing its annual capital expenditure budget for this year to $60 billion-$64 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $52 billion-$56 billion.

TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple. It had previously already committed $165 billion in the U.S. for building plants in Arizona, with six fabrication facilities planned.

The extra $100 billion in investments are to “support the strong multiyear demand from our leading U.S. customers,” C.C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC, said during the company's quarterly earnings conference Thursday. An additional four fabrication plants in Arizona will likely be built with the new investments, TSMC said. They will focus on making some of the most advanced chips that are 2-nanometer and below.

“We believe this investment will help to further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States,” he said.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Taiwan reached an agreement that cut U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods, as Taiwan promised around $250 billion of new investments in the United States' tech sector, including in semiconductors. That included spending by TSMC.

AI-related demand globally continues to be “extremely robust,” Wei said, as the “AI megatrend continues to drive the need for more and more computation.”

“I believe from this day on, all the way to probably 2029, 2030, the demand is very strong,” he said.

TSMC on Thursday reported a record 706.6 billion new Taiwan dollars ($22 billion) in net profit for the April-June quarter, up 77% from a year earlier and better than what analysts had expected. Revenue was up 36% year-on-year during the quarter, to 1.27 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($39 billion).

Wei said TSMC now expects its annual 2026 revenue growth to be slightly above 40% year-on-year, up from its previous forecast of over 30%.

TSMC’s ramped up investment plans are “essential to support (its) long-term growth” and to keep up with demand, said William Li, a senior analyst in semiconductors at Counterpoint Research.

Sungjae Im and Dan Brown led the way at 4-under 66, the lowest score Royal Birkdale offered even in a mild wind, which strengthened and switched late in the afternoon as Rory McIlroy and others were just getting started.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler had few complaints after a 68, even after four birdies in his opening six holes and no birdies the rest of the way. He had a pair of soft bogeys and played the two par 5s on the back nine in 1 over.

“If I continue to strike the ball the way I did today and just keep giving myself looks, that’s part of it,” Scheffler said. “Golf is played over 72 holes, and I definitely liked what I saw today.”

As for DeChambeau's strategy? Part of it might have been declining to speak to the media, which he did again Thursday and has at the majors this year during competition rounds. The two-time U.S. Open champion has missed the cut in all three majors.

Strategy became a talking point when three-time British Open champion Nick Faldo told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast this week, “DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy. He said last year, ‘I’m going to go out and attack the links’. Well, I’ve never attacked a links. You thread it, don’t you? You feed it down the fairway. ... You don't think, ‘Oh, I’ll just blast it down there.'"

DeChambeau twice blasted it over the trouble and close to the green at the par-4 second and the par-4 10th, the latter a blind shot. He made birdie on both. And while Jon Rahm was among those who said going long can lead to trouble at some point, the only two shots DeChambeau dropped came from his putting (the par-5 14th) and chipping (the par-4 18th).

He was tied for the lead until going from wispy, yellow rough over the back of the 18th, chipped weakly to 8 feet and missed the putt. He missed three birdie chances from around 10 feet or under, one of them on redesigned, 321-yard fifth hole, when his drive settled on a hump behind the green.

DeChambeau agreed to take a few questions from the R&A and said, “I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the right places. Besides 18, I placed the ball in some good areas. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I feel like my strategy was nice today.”

Brown ran off three straight birdies around the turn and found himself atop the leaderboard, just as he did at Royal Troon two years ago after the first round. That year, he was in the penultimate group with hardly anyone watching. This time he was out early with Im, who had four birdies on the back nine as they matched 66s.

Robert MacIntyre and Francesco Molinari, the Open champion from Carnoustie in 2018, were part of the large group of players at 67. That included Ryan Gerard in his Open debut, M.J. Daffue of South Africa and Alex Smalley, the only player to reach 5 under at any point.

Smalley, who took a two-shot lead into the final round at the PGA Championship, was leading until his drive on the 18th was fading with the wind and then the luck of links golf took over. One wild bounce sent it further right and out-of-bounds. He finished with a double bogey for a 67.

“Got up to where the ball was supposed to be and was told it hit a spectator fence and kicked another 15 yards right out-of-bounds. All three of us in our group actually hit it over there, and mine just got an unlucky break,” Smalley said. "Poor tee shot, poor break. Sometimes that's how it goes."

Scheffler played in the group with DeChambeau and they traded birdies early. For six holes, the world's No. 1 player had total control of his shots and looked as though he couldn't miss. He got to 4 under when he gave a leg kick as his 40-foot birdie putt dropped on No. 6.

But then he missed the seventh green — 139 yards, downhill — to the left between a pair of bunkers, and his pitch was so strong it flirted with going in a bunker on the other side. He missed a 5-foot birdie chance on the 11th, and then made a mess of the par-5 17th.

Scheffler missed his approach well to the right and was so surprised to see it buried in deep grass he felt it might have been embedded from someone stepping on it. But no one stepped forward, and he was denied a free drop. He yanked that across the fairway to more deep grass, then hit a splendid chip to 4 feet, only to miss the par putt.

“It was underneath the wire and it was just ... I’m hoping somebody stepped on it, but nobody would fess up. Apparently nobody did,” Scheffler said. "I was just shocked at how deep the ball was in that grass. I considered actually taking an unplayable.

“Sometime you hit it over there and you get a clean lie and you’re able to give yourself a look, and then other times like today, you pay a pretty severe price,” he said. “But I guess don’t hit it offline.”

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

The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, a day after it pulled within 0.5% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 102 points, or 0.2% as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.

The majority of stocks on Wall Street rose after several of the country's biggest companies reported better profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Abbott jumped 11.1% after the healthcare company delivered a fatter profit than expected and raised its forecast for earnings over the full year. UnitedHealth Group climbed 3.5% after likewise reporting better results than Wall Street expected.

But a 1% move for Nvidia's stock packs more punch on the S&P 500 than a 1% move for any other company because it's the largest on Wall Street by value.

And Nvidia fell 2.5%, making it the heaviest weight on the index. Other AI winners also sank, giving back some of their stellar gains.

Micron Technology fell 5.7% to shave its gain for the year so far below 200%. Sandisk fell 10.6% but is nevertheless still up 500% for the year so far. Western Digital sank 9% but is still up 170% for the year so far.

Such stocks have been under pressure for weeks because of worries that their prices shot too high and that voracious demand for computer memory and processors may not be sustainable if AI ends up not producing as much profit and productivity as promised.

The losses came even though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a bellwether of the chip industry, reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock in Taiwan rose 1.2%, but its stock that trades in the United States fell 2.2%.

In South Korea, drops for AI winners like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dragged the Kospi index down 6.4%. It’s been among the world’s shakiest markets in recent weeks because of how dominant the two AI winners are in it.

The day before, the Kospi jumped 6.2%, but it’s had drops of 8.9%, 7.8% and 5.3% in the last two weeks.

A hike to interest rates by the Bank of Korea also weighed on stocks in Seoul, the first by the bank since 2023.

Higher interest rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments. And worries are rising that the Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world may have to raise rates to rein in the effects of expensive oil.

Oil prices are near their highest in a month because of worries that the war with Iran will mean oil tankers can't use the Strait of Hormuz to carry crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude briefly climbed above $86 per barrel in the morning but later erased the gain and fell back to $84.75, down 0.2% from the day before.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.57% from 4.55% late Wednesday and just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

Reports on the U.S. economy came in mixed, which added to the eddies swirling through the bond market. One report said shoppers spent less at U.S. retailers last month than economists expected. But after ignoring sales at gasoline stations, spending by U.S. consumers remained resilient.

A separate report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication of a solid job market, while a third report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region is better than economists expected.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia, including drops of 1.8% in Shanghai and 2.8% in Tokyo.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier and rose 1.3%. Alibaba rose after China’s cyberspace regulator said Wednesday it had approved the Apple Intelligence AI tool for use in China. An Alibaba spokesperson said its Qwen model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Dozens of family members of the victims packed the courtroom as Chief Judge Paolo Lepri read the verdicts against 57 defendants, including former executives and officials. Many relatives broke down in tears as the sentences were read.

A representative for the families of the victims, Egle Possetti, expressed satisfaction with the verdicts, saying they showed “there were serious failures in management, and 43 people paid with their lives.”

The former chief executive of highway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, Giovanni Castellucci, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down after four hours of deliberation in the trial that spanned four years.

Castellucci’s lawyers said they would appeal, noting in a statement that as CEO, their client had relied on Italy’s leading engineers and suggesting that he had been scapegoated.

“The suffering caused by the Genoa tragedy is immense and deserves respect. But the gravity of the event requires justice to remain based on individual responsibility, not the search for a scapegoat,” they said in a statement.

Also convicted were Autostrade’s former head of maintenance, Michele Donferri Mitelli, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The former CEO of the SPEA engineering company, Antonino Galatà, received five years and six months.

The court says the bridge collapse was foreseeable

The most serious charges included negligence resulting in the collapse, aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide stemming from failures to properly monitor and maintain the bridge, which was part of a main route linking northern Italy with the French Riviera.

The court will issue its full reasoning within six months. But in a summary accompanying the verdict, it said the convictions were based on findings that identified a system of defects affecting one of the bridge’s stay cables and concluded that the collapse was “foreseeable and preventable.”

The court said that some defendants from the highway concession and its engineering subsidiary failed to carry out the requiring monitoring of the bridge, relying in part on a 1967 Ministry of Public Works circular, while some transport ministry had officials had failed to exercise proper oversight of Autostrade's safety monitoring.

In all, 32 people were convicted and handed sentences ranging from 1 year and 11 months to 12 years. The rest were either found not guilty, or lesser charges had expired under the statute of limitations.

Lawyer Raffaele Caruso expressed satisfaction that court had held people resonsible at the three main players: the highway concession, its engineering subsidiary and the transport ministry.

“What emerges is that this bridge did not collapse by chance — this bridge collapsed due to specific, precise, individualized, personalized, and specifically identified responsibilities," Caruso told a press conference. “There has been much talk about the construction defect ... But this does not rule out the existence of liability.”

Warning signs of defect were ignored

Shortly before noon on Aug. 14, 2018, a 200-meter (650-foot) section of Genoa’s Morandi highway bridge gave way during a rainstorm, sending dozens of vehicles plunging to the ground.

Images of the collapsed bridge were seen around the world and shocked Italians on one of Italy’s busiest travel days, as millions headed out for the traditional Aug. 15 Ferragosto holiday that marks the peak summer vacation season.

Prosecutors argued that years of maintenance neglect led to the collapse, and demanded combined sentences totaling nearly 400 years for all of the defendants. The defendants denied wrongdoing and say the fault was caused by a construction defect.

Considered an engineering marvel when it opened in 1967, the Morandi featured three A-shaped concrete pylons and concrete-encased stay cables.

Caruso said that the trial showed that warning signs about defects in the pylon that collapsed had existed for decades. He cited maintenance on the other two starting in 1993 that was never extended to the third.

“From 1993 onward, the problem was known. We had three identical pylons. Two had already shown the same defect, and no one seriously asked whether the third one had it as well,” Caruso said.

Autostrade had reached a deal to avoid trial

The current Autostrade chief executive, Arrigo Giana, issued a public apology Thursday in an open letter published in major Italian dailies.

“The actions and decisions of some people left indelible scars,’’ said Giana, who joined Autostrade as CEO last year. “Offering today the apology that was not made then is, for us, a moral imperative that goes beyond establishing legal responsibility and the course of justice toward the truth.”

Autostrade and its subsidiary reached a deal on corporate liability earlier in the proceedings, paying roughly 30 million euros ($34 million) in financial penalties. The agreement spared the companies from a trial as corporate defendants and potentially much harsher sanctions, including exclusion from public contracts.

The settlements were reached after the companies adopted new compliance procedures aimed at preventing similar accidents, and after victims were compensated.

A new bridge designed by Genoa-born Italian architect Renzo Piano opened in 2020, spanning a memorial to the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.

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Barry reported from Milan.

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This story corrects the number of convictions to 32.

The NBA's career scoring king — and free agent — is scheduled to speak publicly Thursday afternoon, meaning it's possible that James will be revealing where he plans to play this coming season or at least give some updates on where he is in the decision-making process.

James will be recording an episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast alongside guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers in New York on the opening day of Fanatics Fest, a four-day event featuring dozens of athletes, celebrities and sports legends. Single-day general admission tickets are sold out, organizers said.

That appearance has been planned for months; it was announced publicly in May.

James is the NBA’s oldest active player at 41 and the only player in league history to have a career spanning 23 seasons; this coming season will be his 24th. Speculation has been rampant for more than two months about his future, officially starting in May when the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.

At that time, James said he didn’t know what he would be doing.

And the only developments that he’s revealed since came on June 30, when he said he would play this coming season and that he was leaving the Lakers after an eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.

For more than two weeks, the NBA has been waiting to hear what comes next.

James’ resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He’s a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and was a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.

He’s also coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he’s averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.

The podcast is the first of two known speaking engagements for James in New York on Thursday.

He's also planning to appear at the Game Plan Summit, an invitation-only event presented by CNBC and Boardroom. James is slated to have a conversation with Boardroom co-founder Rich Kleiman — Kevin Durant's longtime business partner — about “how he’s built an empire beyond basketball, what’s ahead for him in business, and why the next generation of athletes is poised to wield more influence than ever before.”

James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons — where he won his first two titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, leaving in 2018 to start an eight-season run with the Lakers.

Cleveland and Miami are believed to be on James' radar again as he weighs this decision, as are several other teams including Philadelphia, Minnesota and Golden State.

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Reynolds reported from Miami.

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

According to preliminary information, the two boats left Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, including some who had traveled from refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

One boat, believed to have been carrying around 250 people, lost contact shortly after departure. A second boat, reportedly carrying 280 people, is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.

″While the incidents and casualty figures have yet to be officially confirmed, UNHCR and IOM are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life,” the agencies said.

Acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Myanmar’s president and the Ayeyarwady region’s government did not respond to requests for comment.

The Rohingya, who have in recent years fled both Myanmar and Bangladesh’s squalid refugee camps by the thousands, typically avoid such boat journeys at this time of year, when monsoons are frequent and conditions at sea are particularly dangerous. The UNHCR and IOM noted this in their statement, saying that recent torrential rain and flooding across the region would have made such journeys especially risky.

Around 1.2 million stateless, predominantly Muslim Rohingya remain trapped in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing waves of violence by Myanmar’s security forces.

The refugees have no way to safely return to Myanmar, where the military that killed thousands of Rohingya in 2017 during what the United States declared a genocide remains in charge of their homeland. The Rohingya still living in Myanmar face severe restrictions and many are confined to internment camps.

Steep cuts to foreign aid by the U.S. and other countries have led to ration cuts in Bangladesh’s refugee camps, while the ruling military and an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine have fought for control of the region.

The unrest has led to an increasing number of Rohingya attempting to make the dangerous ocean crossing to Malaysia on rickety boats. Thousands have died in the process, including babies, children and pregnant women. Local maritime authorities have frequently abandoned the Rohingya at sea, often ignoring reports of boats in distress.

The IOM and UNHCR said on Thursday that the latest potential tragedy at sea underscores the continued lack of sustainable solutions for the Rohingya, and urged the international community to support those trapped in Bangladesh’s camps.

“Stronger regional and international efforts are needed to prevent further loss of life along one of the world’s deadliest maritime routes, including through enhanced search and rescue efforts, access to asylum and protection, and actions against smuggling and trafficking networks,” the agencies said.

More than 6,500 Rohingya fled and nearly 900 were reported dead or missing in 2025, the deadliest year for Rohingya who tried to leave by boat. The figure represents the highest mortality rate of any major route for refugee and migrant sea journeys in the world, the UNHCR said.

Neill's family had earlier announced the actor known for “Jurassic Park,” “The Piano” and other films died Monday in Sydney.

His agent Philip Grenz said he was providing more information after speaking with Neill's family and following news reports “which contain inaccuracies and outright falsehoods,” he said.

"Sam passed away from pneumonia," Grenz said. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”

He added that Neill had filmed four projects “back-to-back” during the past year that are due to be released in the coming months.

“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date,” Grenz said.

The New Zealand actor disclosed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and said in April this year that he was cancer-free. CAR-T therapy is a form of immunotherapy based on an individual's T cells and is used for several types of blood cancer.

His agent's statement followed days of tributes to Neill from film industry colleagues who remembered him as a kind, witty and curious man.

“You are so loved and will be sorely missed by us all,” director Taika Waititi, who directed Neill in 2016's “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” — one of Neill's best-loved films in New Zealand — wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.

“Love you and see you soon, sweet Nigel," Waititi wrote, referring to Neill's birth name, which he told interviewers he had changed to Sam at school because there were too many Nigels in his class.

“Sam was exceptionally collaborative," said Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first “Jurassic Park” movie, in which Neill played paleontologist Alan Grant.

“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him,” Spielberg said in a statement. "Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s. In New Zealand, he has been mourned as a friendly, unassuming person who shunned celebrity and contributed to causes and community projects near his home, according to local news outlets.

Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

In his second term, Trump, a Republican, has tried to use the levers of power to rewrite that well-settled history, something that he's expected to try again on Thursday night with an address to the nation.

He has already appointed loyalists who have echoed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and made clear he expects everyone to follow his lead.

In an indication of how fealty to Trump’s lies has become a litmus test for his administration, many of his nominees have steadfastly refused to directly answer the question of who won in 2020, preferring to tersely note that Biden, a Democrat, became president. Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to become the next national intelligence director, was the latest to repeat that formula in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

“He had the most electoral votes," Clayton said of Biden. “He was declared the winner.”

“And who has the most electoral votes? Is it the person who wins or the person who loses?” asked Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat.

“That’s your characterization," Clayton responded. "I’m not going to continue to do this.”

The president has embraced baroque conspiracy theories about an international cabal that penetrated U.S. voting machines that have led to libel suits against his allies when they’ve repeated the claims.

Ahead of his speech, Trump has teased “really big news” and said “it doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country.”

Election experts fear another round of falsehoods.

“There has been six-plus years of consistent findings from the intelligence community and from everyone who’s looked at it that there was no foreign interference in 2020, and our voting systems were secure and accurate,” said Victoria Bassetti of States United, a nonpartisan group supporting the state officials who run elections. “I suppose the president could come up with some new assertion or new conclusion. It would fly in the face of all the evidence.”

Huge range of reviews find same thing: No major fraud

There’s been an enormous amount of reviews of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases challenging the results, sometimes before judges the president appointed himself. Numerous audits, recounts and investigations, including several by Republicans, found no major problems with the vote or count.

Trump's own attorney general at the time, William Barr, said there were no signs of significant fraud, a statement that earned him Trump's ire. Trump's appointee to run the agency that watches for cyberattacks on American election infrastructure, Chris Krebs, declared that the 2020 election was secure and there were no signs of tampering — which led Trump to fire Krebs and demand an investigation of him upon returning to power in 2025.

An intelligence assessment released in the early days of the Biden administration but completed on Jan. 7, 2021, in Trump's last days in office, found no foreign tampering with vote totals or election equipment in 2020. And, last year, Trump signed a federal document as part of a regular review of possible foreign influence in elections that declared “there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any United States election.”

‘Untold taxpayer resources’ reinvestigating the election

Since returning to office, Trump has launched a review of the 2020 vote. Federal agents have seized voting records in Democratic-run Fulton County, Georgia, and Republican-run Maricopa County, Arizona — two major metropolitan swing state counties that figured prominently in 2020 conspiracy theories.

Trump tapped Kurt Olsen, a prominent lawyer in the world of election conspiracy theorists, to head the probe. Olsen was previously sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court for false statements in a lawsuit he brought to challenge the 2022 loss of an Arizona governor's race by one of Trump's allies.

"He has committed untold taxpayer resources,” said David Becker, a former Department of Justice lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Integrity & Research. “They’ve found nothing.”

A search warrant affidavit filed in the Fulton County case was full of old, debunked conspiracy theories about the vote in the county. The FBI reassigned hundreds of analysts to go through the material.

Conspiracy theories have led to libel cases

Still, election conspiracy theorists have been buzzing — as they have ever since Election Day in 2020 — that Trump is about to reveal irrefutable evidence of massive election fraud.

One version alleges that Venezuela and possibly other countries manipulated U.S. voting machines to deprive Trump of a victory. Venezuela's former president, Nicolas Maduro, is currently awaiting trial in Manhattan on federal charges of drug trafficking after the U.S. military took him from that country's capital.

Those theories have led to massive payouts in libel lawsuits brought by voting machine companies and others. Fox News paid $787.5 million to settle one lawsuit over it airing those claims and others on the air in late 2020. Conservative networks Newsmax andOne America News have also reached settlements with voting companies over airing those allegations.

A Denver jury found that Mike Lindell, a prominent election conspiracy theorist who Trump this week endorsed as a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, defamed an employee with a voting machine company by calling him a traitor.

Becker noted there has been a clear pattern over the six years of election conspiracy theories surrounding Trump's loss. Conspiracy theorists, including Trump himself, make sweeping allegations in public, sometimes with what seems to be massive reams of documentation from elaborate election databases. But they've lost regularly in court, where the threshold is whether there's any factual basis to the claims.

He suggested that anything new from Trump on elections be subjected to that same scrutiny.

"If someone’s alleging a crime that occurred six years ago, we shouldn’t be responding to their claims,” Becker said. “We should be demanding they meet the burden of proof.”

Trump’s fixation on his loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago and the long-debunked theories he’s circulated about it are something he still brings up regularly when discussing other subjects. But elevating the deeply political and conspiratorial topics to a presidential primetime address underscores the lengths to which Trump has used his second term to both blow past norms and fixate on old grievances.

Trump has offered only vague details about the address, scheduled for 9 p.m. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if it would concern “election machines and integrity,” Trump said it would “concern that subject” and “we’ll have a couple of other things to say also.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier Thursday that “President Trump will deliver a major address to the nation on protecting the integrity of our elections. And we encourage every American to tune in.”

Primetime presidential addresses are typically reserved for major milestones or nationally significant events.

Trump last did it in April to speak on the Iran war, a month after it started. He said then that the U.S. would accomplish its objectives “very shortly” and that “the hard part is done, so it should be easy.” The war, however, has dragged on and strikes between the U.S. and Iran have intensified this week.

Trump also delivered a politically charged primetime speech in December in which he sought to blame the challenging economic climate on Democrats.

It was unclear if TV networks were planning to air the Thursday speech or to what extent. Messages to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MS NOW asking about coverage plans weren't returned.

Democrats warned that Trump was trying to revive false claims of past stolen elections in order to delegitimize the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican Party is facing headwinds.

“Tomorrow night, Trump is going to use a primetime address to stoke misleading claims about our elections in order to justify interfering in our midterms. It’s on all of us to follow the facts and not accept his constant stream of misdirections and lies,” Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said in a statement on X.

“Trump is again trying to drum up baseless election conspiracies ahead of the November elections,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said in a post on X. “Americans are tired of endless war, skyrocketing gas prices, and a president that isn’t looking out for them. Voters will make their voices heard, whether Trump wants them to or not.”

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance bristled when asked if he’d encourage Trump in his Thursday remarks to stay focused on November’s midterm elections rather than relitigate past elections. “'The unfounded claims,'” Vance said, repeating the reporter's language. "You’re basically assuming an answer in the very question that you ask.”

“The president is going to talk about a number of things tomorrow night. I’m obviously not going to get ahead of his remarks,” Vance said. “But we can talk about a number of the American people’s problems. We can solve a number of the American people’s problems.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that he doesn’t know what Trump is going to say. “But," he said, "the only thing I can tell you is that we are focused on the 2026 election, at least I am, and I think most of my colleagues are.”

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert in Washington and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

Since taking office last year, Trump has approved about 65 requests for major disaster declarations and denied more than two dozen others from states, tribes or territories seeking federal financial assistance following hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods and fires.

Trump has taken longer on average to approve disaster requests than any other president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data dating back to 1989, when a federal law setting new parameters for disaster determinations was implemented. And no other president has such a disparity in denials between states that supported him politically and those that did not.

The delays and denials come as Trump's administration contemplates a makeover of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers disaster aid. Major disaster declarations are intended for events that are beyond the resources of state and local governments.

Trump is saying yes to Republicans more than Democrats

During his second term, Trump has denied a greater percentage of disaster requests than any president dating to 1989. Those denials have not been evenly distributed among states.

Trump has approved 80% of the disaster requests from Republican governors but only about 60% from Democratic governors, according to the AP's analysis of FEMA data.

The discrepancy is even more apparent when analyzing major disaster declarations based on presidential elections. Trump has approved more than three-fourths of the requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election but less than half the requests from states that did not. Although there are federal criteria for disaster aid, decisions ultimately are at the president’s discretion.

A batch of denials earlier this month included four Democratic states — Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island — seeking federal aid for a February snowstorm.

“The President’s denial is part of a pattern of extreme partisanship as he tries to shift a heavier economic burden onto blue states. Disaster aid should be merit-based, not politicized,” Rhode Island's Democratic U.S. Senate and House members said in a joint statement.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “there is no politicization to the President’s decisions on disaster relief.”

During his first term, Trump actually approved a greater share of requests from states that had opposed him than those that supported him.

Yet no other president had such a wide partisan divide in disaster declarations as currently exists under Trump. Obama approved 87% of the disaster requests from Democratic governors during his second term and 79% from Republican governors, but Obama's approval rate was identical for states that voted for and against him.

When requests are denied, individuals, insurers and local governments are left to shoulder the costs themselves.

Trump is waiting longer to declare disasters

Since Trump assumed office last year, it’s taken him an average of a month and a half to approve major disaster declarations after receiving a request from the governor or chief executive of a state, territory or tribe, the AP found. Because it can take several weeks after a disaster for officials to inspect the damage and submit a request, the total wait time often has exceeded two months.

By comparison, Trump approved major disaster requests in an average of about three weeks during his first term, a pace similar to President Joe Biden. Their predecessors — Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush — all had average disaster approval times of less than two weeks.

All presidents have taken longer to approve some requests. But that’s become the norm in Trump’s second term. Of Trump’s approvals, 70% have taken at least a month — up from about one-quarter of requests during Trump’s first term and Biden’s administration, and fewer than 10% under their predecessors.

Jackson said that Trump conducts a more thorough review than any administration before him, “ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute — their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”

The longer the approval process takes, the longer people must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in major disaster declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local officials uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure.

FEMA nominee is pledging faster decisions

FEMA has had four different temporary leaders since Trump took office in January 2025. One of those, Cameron Hamilton, is awaiting Senate confirmation as the agency's permanent director.

During a Senate committee hearing last month, Hamilton said he would try to speed up disaster declaration decisions and reimbursements. He also pledged to ensure that FEMA is objective, fair and reasonable in reviewing disaster declaration requests and making recommendations to the president.

Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, had been fired as FEMA's acting director in May 2025 after publicly disagreeing with Trump's idea of dismantling the agency. His reemergence signals that Trump now may support changes to FEMA instead of an outright elimination of the agency.

Panel's recommendations could lead to more denials

A council appointed by Trump has recommended a series of changes to FEMA that would shift greater responsibility to states, potentially reducing the number of major disaster declarations and the amount of federal money paid out.

The council suggested revised criteria to qualify for presidential declarations, including a prerequisite of annual minimum expenditures by states, territories and tribes.

Another recommendation, which would require congressional approval, would reduce the federal government's share of the disaster aid from a minimum of 75% to 50% of the costs, leaving state and local governments more to cover. For governments approved for assistance, federal funding could get there quicker — within 30 days of a federal disaster declaration, instead of waiting months or years for reimbursements that are based on proof of expenditures.

For individuals, the council recommended consolidating several different types of aid into one payment targeted for those whose homes are uninhabitable.

“If not fasting, what? Riots in the streets? That’s what we don’t want to do. So this is a peaceful way to take your voice to the government,” Wangchuk said on a recent afternoon as worried supporters checked on him.

The 59-year-old has become an unlikely symbol of India’s Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement that erupted online two months ago and gained momentum over alleged leaks on social media in the country’s fiercely competitive college entrance exams.

With the hunger strike in its third week, organizers are racing to keep pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which they accuse of ignoring their calls for the education minister’s resignation.

“There has been no kind of response from the government. They have left Sonam Wangchuk to die,” said Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University student and founder of the Cockroach Janta Party.

Online outrage becomes a street movement

The movement began in May after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches" during a hearing on another issue. Supporters embraced the insult as a badge of resilience, turning it into a satirical political campaign that amassed more than 21 million Instagram followers in a few days.

The movement seeks the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over the alleged leaks, along with sweeping reforms to the examination system and compensation for families of students who died by suicide, whether over the leaks or exam results.

For many young Indians, their future depends on a single entrance exam for government jobs and medical colleges.

Dipke said the movement's online popularity has translated into growing support on the ground. Since its first major demonstration in New Delhi in early June, he said, thousands of supporters have turned out at universities and rallies in other cities.

The presence of Wangchuk, a well-known climate activist, shows how the protest has drawn professionals beyond the world of education.

High-profile attention is growing. Opposition leaders from several political parties and some Bollywood celebrities have visited the camp or lent support to the movement in recent days.

But turnout in New Delhi has been modest compared with the large online following.

On most days, a few hundred people gather at Jantar Mantar for a sit-in, with crowds typically swelling to around 1,000 by evening. Many have endured weeks of monsoon rain, sleeping in tents.

Unlike established political parties, Dipke said, the movement has no formal structure. Supporters pay their own way to New Delhi, where they camp at Jantar Mantar, a designated public protest ground enclosed by police barricades. There has been no police attempt to shut down the protest.

Ajay Zingade, a 33-year-old IT professional, said recurring exam paper leaks compelled him to join the protest despite no longer being a student.

“I am just exercising my fundamental right of dissent,” he said.

Protesters face continued government silence

Organizers say the movement has grown into a broader campaign for accountability and restoration of trust in institutions that students believe have failed them, including the judiciary, the political system and the media.

“The system needs a complete overhaul because the current system is no longer accountable or even taking basic responsibility,” Dipke said.

But the government has neither opened negotiations nor publicly acknowledged the movement's demands. The education ministry did not respond to AP questions.

Senior leaders in Modi’s government have largely dismissed it, with the education minister accusing its members of working against the country. Other government leaders have argued that while students’ concerns deserve attention, there is no need for the government to negotiate with them.

Protest organizers say the government’s silence has hardened their resolve as Wangchuk’s hunger strike continues.

“In a democracy the government is supposed to listen to the people, to have a dialogue with the people, and more importantly to be answerable to the people. I don’t know why the government isn’t doing that,” Dipke said.

For Wangchuk, his strike is an attempt to channel that anger into peaceful civil disobedience.

“It’s to demand accountability, which is important in any government,” he said.

Organizers plan a march to Parliament

Organizers say they are preparing to escalate the campaign with a march to Parliament on Monday.

Wangchuk said it is intended to bring demands directly to lawmakers.

“We hope that government is sensible enough to reward peaceful ways rather than wait for not-so-peaceful ways,” he said.

Dipke said they are prepared to continue the demonstrations for as long as it takes.

“The government was thinking that maybe if they ignore us: These are kids, they will go back home. But I think we have proved that we are here for the long battle, and we are not going to go back home," he said.

The proposal is scheduled for consideration on Thursday by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, according to a meeting agenda and the plans posted on the agency's website. The agency has oversight over the design of construction on federal land in Washington.

The commissioners are also set to take another look at the design for an underground facility to screen the thousands of tourists and others who visit or work at the White House. All seven commissioners were appointed by the Republican president.

The proposals are being considered at a time when security for the president has become a top concern. President Donald Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts, including two during the 2024 campaign and a third this past April as he attended a dinner in Washington with White House journalists.

Those concerns were heightened the following month after U.S. Secret Service officers fatally shot a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.

The administration says the projects will be an improvement over temporary structures that have long been used to aid perimeter security, like barriers fashioned out of bicycle racks, and for screening the many guests who access the White House and its grounds.

A look at both projects:

Lafayette Park last had a permanent fence in the late 1800s

Trump was accompanied by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on a recent tour of the park to see updates being made at his direction. The president has worked with the Interior Department and one of its agencies, the National Park Service, to restart dormant park fountains.

“We're really doing a job at Lafayette Park, which is really the entrance to the White House, and that’s going to be completed very shortly and it’ll be incredible,” Trump said in June.

The administration's 79-page proposal for the 8-acre (3-hectare) park calls for fencing it all the way around with gates at the north and south entrances to control public access. Options call for either including or excluding four monuments located at each of the park's four corners.

The proposal, which is backed by the Secret Service and the Executive Office of the President, in coordination with the Interior Department and National Park Service, notes that leaving out the monuments would expose them to vandalism.

The report says the goal of the plan is to “enhance long-term safety," preserve the Lafayette Park's identity as a significant National Park Service landscape and “maintain public access to this nationally symbolic space.” Throngs flock to the park to protest or celebrate major events.

Lafayette Park has not had a permanent fence around it since the 19th century. The Secret Service anticipates the fence would start going up sometime next year.

The administration wants similar fencing along Pennsylvania Avenue on the north side of the White House complex, from the Treasury Department building at 15th Street to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 17th Street. The report said that will be treated as a separate proposal and submitted to the commission at a later date.

White House visitor screening facility could replace currently used tents

The commission is set to review a revised design for the facility, which would be built beneath Sherman Park, federal land southeast of the White House, to support screening for public tour participants, guests attending large events, White House staff and contractors.

The original design called for locating the facility's entrance at the southern end of the park, but meetings and consultations led to a revised proposal that shifted the entrance to the western edge of the park to avoid conflicts with infrastructure and minimize the impact on the surrounding views, according to the report submitted for the commission's review on Thursday.

The administration said the permanent facility will eliminate the need for a series of temporary screening tents currently used for events, improve security on the White House complex and enhance the experience for visitors.

The Secret Service, Interior Department, National Park Service and Executive Office of the President want to start construction in August on the 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) underground facility. They have set a July 2028 date for it to be operating.

White House visitors would face an initial ID check before they enter the facility through a pavilion located above ground, then head down to a lower level and a second checkpoint. After they are cleared, visitors will ride escalators that will take them up to the White House grounds.

But just months into Mullin's time in office, the department is squarely in the center of controversy again after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the span of less than a week.

The events are the first major test for Mullin, who promised a steady hand for a department roiled by his predecessor's conduct and the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

As he navigates the uptick in violence, he is being forced into a balancing act that has him juggling pressures from a White House eager to carry out mass deportations and his former colleagues in Congress seeking answers — all while attempting to ease tensions in American cities over the deaths.

“When he took his position, Secretary Mullin said that his goal was to get the department off the front page of the news,” Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner said on the House floor Tuesday. Then, waving a newspaper, he said: “Well, you’re back on the goddamn front page now."

Mullin's approach is a marked change from his predecessor, Kristi Noem

Mullin, a former senator from Oklahoma, was a surprise pick to run the sprawling department after Noem was fired in the wake of two deadly shootings of American protesters at the hands of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.

As the secretary in charge of carrying out the administration's mass deportations vision, Noem pushed an aggressive style of immigration enforcement where she was front and center, including most famously, a visit to a Salvadoran detention center. She was quick to speak publicly on controversial events, weighing in on both Minneapolis shootings with statements accusing the killed protesters of being agitators.

President Donald Trump, who made mass deportations a central promise of his second administration, ultimately soured on Noem over a $200 million ad campaign and her handling of the Minneapolis operation.

Mullin promised a different approach, while still pledging to deliver on the president's priorities. His first trip as secretary was not to promote immigration enforcement but to observe hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. Noem frequently went out on immigration raids with her officers — Mullin has not.

Since he became secretary and in the aftermath of the Minneapolis violence, the administration has also moved away from high-profile and unpopular immigration operations in American cities to a quieter approach to enforcement that has largely shifted media attention away from the crackdown. Under Mullin, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also retreating from a plan to use warehouses to detain migrants.

But immigration arrests continue under Mullin and often with little fanfare: ICE arrested 10,000 people over a five-day period in late June, averaging out to about to 2,000 arrests per day. And legal pathways to immigration have also faced new restrictions.

Trump, during Mullin's tenure, has hailed the secretary as “so incredible,” and “amazing,” lauding him for giving up his Senate seat to run DHS.

For months, it appeared as though Mullin's change in approach was taking hold. While advocates and civil rights activists accused the department of mistreating immigrants under his leadership, Mullin's less confrontational approach seemed to keep the department out of the spotlight.

ICE-related deaths bring renewed spotlight to Mullin and DHS

But the events of the past week have posed a new challenge for Mullin as he walks a tightrope between his softer approach and the president's demands.

“Trying to deal with competing policy objectives is a challenge for any Cabinet secretary, but Mullin has this worse than most,” said Tom Warrick, a former counterterrorism official at Homeland Security who’s now at the Atlantic Council.

“In the case of Homeland Security, the White House wants both to meet their immigration quotas at the same time that they keep public trust, and how you do that — even with the funding that Mullin has — is a really difficult challenge."

ICE officers in Houston and Maine shot and killed individuals in their cars during immigration operations. In Florida, a man fleeing ICE officers was killed in a car crash.

Mullin has not spoken publicly about the deaths while the department’s public affairs office has released only brief statements following each.

Behind the scenes, Mullin, who frequently talks about how he shares his cellphone number with members of Congress and encourages them to call him directly, has talked with lawmakers and shared information, including talking with both senators from Maine.

And after the second shooting death in Maine, as criticism surged from both protesters and Mullin's former colleagues in Congress, ICE was ordered to suspend most vehicle stops.

Trump heaps pressure on Mullin over vehicle stop order

That decision infuriated Trump's supporters.

Conservative influencer Nick Sorter called it a “TOTAL CAPITULATION to the left," in a post on X. Conservative activist Mike Davis accused Mullin of heeding the advice of Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who said she'd suggested the vehicle stop pause to the secretary.

A day later, Trump appeared to contradict the guidance to ICE, saying in a social media post “we must be strong, tough and smart and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”

Mullin then reposted Trump's words, adding that people in the country would be “arrested and deported wherever they are." He later said on X that he and the president are “on the same page.”

It was not immediately clear whether vehicle stops were back on.

But it showed the friction between Mullin's attempts to maintain calm and the president's demands that illegal immigrants, which the administration has in many instances portrayed as criminals, be arrested in large numbers.

Democrats have slammed the new secretary, saying that they see little change at the department.

“Secretary Mullin, if he wants to, and if he has the backing of the White House, he has the ability to get ICE under control and make them follow the law,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas. “So either he has no interest in doing that, or the White House is not backing him up, or the agents are simply out of control.”

Republican lawmakers have come to Mullin's defense.

“I think the Secretary has lived up to what he’s wanted to do to try to change the atmosphere over there,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, who as chair of the congressional Homeland Security Committee has requested a bipartisan briefing on ICE's use of force policies from DHS.

“I don’t think anybody is celebrating that ICE is back in the headlines," Garbarino said.

___

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

The twice-yearly changing of the clocks in the United States could be a thing of the past if legislation currently in Congress that calls for permanent daylight time makes it through. But even as annoying as some find the back-and-forth of the time shift in the spring and the fall, that doesn't necessarily mean sticking to one would go over well. America has tried it before, most recently in the 1970s, and it didn't last.

Now it's a new era, one full of people working at home who didn't before — and advances in sleep science that tell a more nuanced tale.

Could this time (shift) be the charm?

What's going on this time around?

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that makes the shift to daylight saving time, when clocks are moved forward one hour, become permanent.

Currently, the shift is forward in spring and back to standard time in fall as a way to give people more daylight time in the summer evenings. But the semi-annual change has few fans - an AP-NORC poll last year found that only 12% of American adults were in favor of it, while almost half opposed it. Proponents of a single time include the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine — outfits to whom daily rhythms are deeply important.

The Senate would have to pass it before it could be signed into law. President Donald Trump has indicated he's supportive.

So just change it. What's the big deal?

Not so fast. People may not like making the change, but history shows they also don't like living with even less morning light in the winter months, when daylight hours are shorter than in summer.

In 1973, Congress passed a law instituting permanent daylight saving time for what was supposed to be a trial period from January 1974 to April 1975. It lasted until October, when it was repealed after public outcry. Among the concerns was worry that schoolchildren would have to get to class in darkness. These days, school starting times have started to shift later.

Kevin Birth, a professor of anthropology at Queens College whose research focuses on cultural concepts of time, was in elementary school in Syracuse, New York, at the time and remembers it vividly. “I had to get up for school and it was like it was midnight,” he said. “It was just pitch black and it remained pitch black into the school day.”

If the U.S. decides to try it again, he said, more has to change than just the clocks. The time zones across the country would need to be adapted as well. The current four zones wouldn't be adequate - they cover so much ground that sunrise comes at different times in western and eastern parts of each zone.

The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the region risks tipping back into all-out war after days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran as they wage for control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.

For the first time in this latest round of violence, strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on “all the infrastructure in the region” if the U.S. acts on President Donald Trump 's repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridges and power plants.

“Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extraregional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. “This is Iran’s invincible red line.”

Both the US and Iran launch attacks as blockade is reimposed

The U.S. strikes early Thursday hit around Tehran, state media reported. It also reported that American attacks targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.

Iranian media also reported strikes Thursday around the provinces of Hamedan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan, as well as on Iran’s Qeshm island, near the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wednesday, the U.S. resumed striking Iran during daylight, further showing the increasing tempo of the attacks. An attack on Greater Tunb Island targeted Iranian defense and missile sites, Central Command said.

Greater Tunb Island is one of three small rocky islands that sit at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz — seized in 1971 by Iran from what would become the United Arab Emirates — and have become a garrison for Iran that help it exert significant control over the strait.

The U.S. military also said it disabled a Curacao-flagged oil tanker as it sailed toward Iran’s main oil export terminal, firing a missile after the ship “ignored multiple warnings.”

Another American strike Wednesday targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers.

Iran retaliated Thursday morning with missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, authorities in those countries home to U.S. forces said. There was no immediate acknowledgment of damage or casualties from the attacks. Kuwait reported a new round of incoming fire on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned an overnight drone attack on the city of Irbil in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. The drone, which authorities said had been intercepted, came during his trip to the U.S. in which he said Iraq would work to disarm non-state armed groups, including those backed by Iran.

A drone separately targeted a tanker in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Basra in southern Iraq on Thursday afternoon, the state-run INA news agency reported. A port employee who witnessed the attack said there appeared to be only minor damage to the tanker. No casualties were reported.

Trump says a peace deal is still possible

The latest round of fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran attacks ships using a U.S.-controlled route through the vital waterway.

Week-to-week cargo shipments through the strait dropped by almost a quarter at the beginning of the month, according to Maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence -- and that was before the recent surge in tit-for-tat attacks.

Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the strait with their location devices turned off, but many are just staying put, Lloyds said Thursday. A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force, but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops.

The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Thursday, more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

Rising prices pose a particular challenge to Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November. But Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway, leading to Trump reimposing the naval blockade Wednesday.

Trump again insisted Iran was ready to strike a peace deal, but he did not elaborate.

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said Wednesday at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.

Mediators have sought to calm the tensions, but so far have been unsuccessful. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it was still trying to bring the U.S. and Tehran to the table, while acknowledging that mediation was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Whenever the parties exhaust the logic of escalation, the formula for peace is there,” ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told a news conference.

Trump separately said on social media that Tehran made a goodwill gesture by releasing an American citizen wrongly detained in Iran since 2024. He didn’t release further details. Human rights lawyer Jared Genser released a statement identifying the detainee as his client Dena Karari, a U.S.-Iranian citizen who runs a nonprofit and was charged with espionage.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the release, and her case was not publicly known, as sometimes happens with detentions in the Islamic Republic.

___

Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.

The tariffs, which were first proposed last month, will take effect July 22.

The order exempts some goods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains. Exempted products include coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice, some oil and gas energy products and aerospace parts and components.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative concluded after a yearlong investigation that Brazil had a range of unfair trade practices, including lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs of its own, among other practices seen as unreasonable and unfair. The U.S., however, has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the action was necessary to ensure American workers and companies compete on a level playing field.

“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” he said.

After U.S. officials in early June warned that they were proposing the tariffs, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reacted with indignation. He instead pointed to political considerations, blaming his rival in the country's October elections, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro had recently visited Washington and is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X about the announcement of the tariffs: “Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith. His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians. For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.”

The tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, allowing the U.S. to launch the investigation into Brazil’s trade practices.

The U.S. Supreme Court in February ruled against many of Trump's tariffs imposed under a different law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. The court found he overstepped his authority under that act to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including Brazil.

Trump had under that law imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil to protest its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn his loss in a 2022 election. But Trump's relationship with Lula seemed to improve in May, when he visited the White House.

Now the controversial projects have come to Florida, where they are receiving anything but a warm welcome. Supporters say they are critical infrastructure for the future of technology. Opponents question whether they are environmental nightmares or simply misunderstood.

As data centers rise, so does the backlash.

At the center of the debate is Project Tango, a proposed hyperscale data center in western Palm Beach County. If built, it would be the first hyperscale data center in the state.

“This one is proposed to be 600 megawatts of power across five buildings, about a million square feet, with the latest technology not only on the computing side, but on the cooling side,” said Ernie Cox, project manager for PBA Holdings.

Developers say the site was chosen because it sits just a few hundred feet from a major power plant.

“You have one of the most connected pieces of electrical infrastructure in Florida with the largest power plant in the state of Florida immediately next to a site that’s been zoned and used for industrial uses for decades,” Cox said.

But it’s that location that is generating fierce opposition.

Project Tango borders the Arden residential community and an elementary school, both just outside Wellington.

Project Tango’s original master plan was approved 10 years ago. Developers are now seeking permission to expand that plan by 1.5 million square feet, mostly for warehouses but, they say, space that could also be used for additional data centers.

Dozens of data centers already exist in Miami-Dade County, including Iron Mountain, which is set to open later this year. None, however, are hyperscale data centers requiring 50 megawatts or more, like Project Tango.

The potential environmental impact is driving most of the opposition, with concerns centered on water use, heat and constant noise.

“The water, the air, the noise, I mean the pollution. All of that is a big concern of ours,” Arden resident Larry Frazier said.

“I haven’t heard anything good about a data center anywhere. Anywhere. Virginia. Nothing.”

Wellington Mayor Michael Napoleone said the proposed site is less than five miles from the village.

“We’re the winter equestrian capital of the world and we have a lot of very expensive, well-maintained horses there,” Napoleone said. “Horses are very sensitive to noise and vibrations.”

“That shouldn’t be put in jeopardy for a hyperscale data center that could probably be sited somewhere else.”

The heat generated by an AI data center can raise surrounding temperatures by as much as 16 degrees, creating what’s known as the heat island effect.

“Another thing that we see from data centers is an incredible amount of water to operate and cool their systems,” said Christina Reichert, a senior attorney with Earthjustice.

“Now even if they are able to reduce the amount of water they consume from the aquifer, there’s still a potential for water pollution.”

She also noted the site is directly next to a canal connecting the northern and southern Everglades and is near one of the nation’s wildlife refuges.

Project Tango says its closed-loop cooling system will use minimal water each day and that used water will be transported to an off-site facility for disposal.

Developers also say they are taking unprecedented steps to house all operations inside concrete buildings buffered by a berm and trees designed to ensure noise and heat have no impact on Arden or the nearby school.

“Our focus has been on, how do we eliminate impacts off of our property?” Cox said.

Because of their intensive power requirements, data centers have often been associated with higher electric bills for surrounding communities.

Florida and Florida Power & Light say they have taken steps to prevent that from happening. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 484 in May to protect ratepayers by prohibiting utilities from passing data center costs on to residential customers.

“We make sure that the data center companies fund 100% of the cost of the new power generation,” FPL spokesman Andrew Sutton said.

A recent ruling by the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission recommended denying Project Tango’s expansion plans and questioned whether the proposal complies with zoning laws.

“It’s really heavy industrial in a light industrial zone area,” Napoleone said.

Developers disagree.

“This will be a light industrial use because it won’t have an impact off-site,” Cox said.

“The data center facilities that we’re going to be building are going to reduce the industrial nature of the site. So it’s going to look like and feel like and sound like a modern office park.”

The final decision rests with the Palm Beach County Commission, and the debate is expected to remain contentious.

During a zoning meeting, one speaker accused Cox of being dishonest, saying, “Don’t listen to Ernie. He’s already been caught in a bunch of lies. Who knows what else he’s lying about.”

Cox responded by saying, “This is the most uncivil I have ever dealt with in my entire career.”

Project Tango could become a test case for hyperscale data centers in South Florida. What happens in Palm Beach County could affect future proposals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Developers point to jobs, tax revenue and the growing technical need for data centers.

Residents and environmental advocates say the projects require stronger regulations and safeguards.

“Data centers are going to continue to exist. We need them. It’s the wave of the future,” Napoleone said.

“There’s places to build them. I don’t think they’re here next to a community.”

“If I have a choice between it being in Florida or Georgia, well, I’d rather it be in Florida,” Cox said.

“We are not saying no to any data centers,” Reichert said. “What we’re saying is, put them in the right places. Make sure they have the right technologies.”

“Just don’t do it in front of communities, don’t do it in front of schools,” Frazier said. “I mean, that’s horrible. Who would even consider doing that?”

Project Tango’s expansion master plan went before the Palm Beach County Commission on Wednesday, with the outcome being a 5-1 vote denying the proposal.

While some communities may enact bans or receive temporary reprieves, data centers appear to be inevitable. Big Tech is forecast to spend $1 trillion on projects next year.

Meanwhile, organizers across the country are planning an AI Data Center National Day of Protest next Saturday, with nearly 100 demonstrations scheduled, including nine in Florida, one at the proposed Project Tango site.

Republican Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap sued the predominantly GOP board of supervisors in June 2025, alleging it illegally took control of certain aspects of election administration. The board called the lawsuit frivolous and said Heap was wasting taxpayer money.

They reached a settlement this week to resolve the lawsuit after mediated negotiations, and the board approved it.

“This deal gets us out of the courtroom,” board Chair Kate Brophy McGee, said after Tuesday's vote. “I’m sick of drama. We are done with being on the front page going forward.”

Heap said his objective was simple: to ensure his office's statutory responsibilities are carried out lawfully.

“I am pleased we have reached an agreement that, when implemented, will restore those responsibilities and establish a clear framework for administering elections moving forward,” Heap said in a statement jointly released with the board.

Under the agreement, an interim plan proposed by Heap and approved by the Arizona Supreme Court will govern the July 21 primary. Early voting began in late June.

Heap will oversee much of early voting, selection of ballot drop box locations and other duties. The board will handle other areas, including Election Day voting, ballot tabulation and voting location equipment maintenance. The board also will fund a new $15 million information technology system and related positions for the recorder.

Heap was backed in the lawsuit by America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff in the White House. Heap had claimed the board transferred funding, IT staff and some key functions — including management of drop boxes and establishment of early voting sites — away from his office through an agreement negotiated with his predecessor.

Heap defeated incumbent recorder Stephen Richer, in a GOP primary, and won the 2024 general election.

The two were at odds over election administration in Maricopa County. In the past, Heap has stopped short of repeating false claims that the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen. But he has said voters don’t trust the state’s voting system and that it is poorly run. Richer, also a Republican, relentlessly defended the legitimacy of the vote.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat, did not vote to approve the settlement and criticized Heap during Tuesday's board meeting.

“Honestly, I don’t think he wants to have an election that is conducted transparent or even an election that’s not compromised,” Gallardo said. “Now, with this, he owns it."

David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel, accused the government of bringing the subpoenas in “bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage.”

“They violate the constitutional rights of The Times and its journalists,” McCraw said in a statement. "We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter."

The filing was made under seal in the Southern District of New York, where the journalists were summoned in subpoenas delivered last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury. The Times had said it expected five journalists to be subpoenaed; three were ultimately served.

The subpoenas, delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But the Republican president used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey last week.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

The Justice Department has justified the subpoenas by saying that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the department said after the Times reported it had received the subpoenas. “But DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”

Asked about the issue at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is “not targeting reporters,” describing them as “material witnesses” to a leak investigation.

When Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, pointed out to Blanche that the department wants to ask the journalists who their sources were, Blanche replied, “No, the question we want to ask them is who provided them with classified national security information, which everybody in this body should want to protect.”

The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.

Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel a reporter to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups. The moves again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.

A memo Bondi issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.

In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.

That’s catastrophic for everyday Cubans who have to wash their clothes, cook using a hotplate, watch television or, perhaps more importantly than almost any of that, have a fan on to get through the island’s sultry nights.

Cuban Energy Minister Vicente Levy de la O blamed the collapse on the U.S. oil blockade, giving two reasons: First, he said it makes it very difficult for Cuba to import spare parts that are vital to maintain the decrepit, obsolete, largely Soviet-era grid.

Secondly he said that because of the Trump oil blockade, in force ever since January, less fuel is getting through and that with less fuel it’s more difficult to maintain the grid.

What really stands out about the grid collapses is the way that Cubans interpret and experience them.

When the whole national grid began collapsing fairly regularly in 2024, people reacted differently: with indignation, anger and huge frustration and stress.

“When,” people were asking, “will the country manage to get the grid up and running again?”

Now, in Havana, it’s a different feeling: Cubans have gotten used to far worse power cuts and people are getting by with as little as two hours of power a day. So when the entire grid goes down, a lot of people don’t notice it.

A lot of people don’t even get messages on their WhatsApp saying that it’s gone down; many just say “¿Que más me da?,“ or, ”How is that going to change my life? I haven’t had power for the last fifty hours anyway.“

Rather than indignation, these days, at least in Havana, the national grid collapses are being met with resignation:

“Without power you have no connectivity,” resident Carlos Borrego said. “Right now, I’m trying to message a client back and I can’t.”

“It’s really complicated because of the heat,” resident Yania Montiel said. “Outside our house, there’s a pile of garbage that’s unbearable and you can’t open a window because of the flies.”

“You can’t buy food to store,” resident Jorge Grey said. “You have to buy what you need daily and every time you go to buy meat it’s three-to-four-thousand pesos and I don’t make that kind of money.”

Resident Carlos Borrego said he can’t afford to run out of hope.

“If I lose hope, I’ll kill myself,” he said. “I’ll hang myself from a tree right now.”

People in Havana are at their wits’ end with the long power outages, and there’s even now scientific data that shows how stressed Cubans are because of these longstanding power cuts.

A recent peer-reviewed article published by two Cuban academics who are experts in mental health, one based in the University of Villa Clara in central Cuba and the other now based in the United States, found that two-thirds of Cubans are now experiencing severe anxiety and stress because of the power outages and because of all of the problems associated with them.

The academics said that when they delivered their results to the journal, its editors said that their psychological findings were so extreme that they align with societies that are going through wars.

One of the things that makes it so difficult for Cubans is that there’s no end in sight.

Twenty-three of the 30 teams are within four games of a playoff position heading into the season's second half, which opens Thursday with the back-in-contention Philadelphia Phillies hosting the woeful New York Mets.

“You’ve got a lot of really good teams that were on the bubble that have gotten in and kind of made it,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. “Anybody that has an opportunity to get in, anything can happen and that’s what makes our sport great.”

Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the most prominent possible trade bait. The 29-year-old left-hander is 2-3 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts for the Detroit Tigers since surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow.

He returned to a big league mound on June 13 after Dr. Neal ElAttrache operated with a NanoNeedle scope 2.0, a miniaturized, flexible version of the traditional arthroscope.

Detroit was 22-38 at the start of June — at 16 games under matching the 1914 Braves (12-28) as the most under .500 of a team that rebounded to reach the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Tigers are 22-14 since and trail by 3 1/2 games for the last AL wild card, needing to overcome six teams. Their performance in 16 games before the deadline will help determine whether they are buyers or sellers.

Minnesota's Joe Ryan and the Mets' Freddy Peralta also could become available. The Mets also could deal left-handed relievers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter to contenders and San Francisco may try to jettison second baseman Luis Arraez.

Baseball’s only division leads of more than three games are held by the Los Angeles Dodgers (11 1/2) and Milwaukee (five).

“There are some middling teams that are potentially going to finish stronger and some teams that are front-running right now that might fall back to the pack,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s what the fans wanted. It keeps everyone involved through September, as many teams as possible.”

Just seven teams of the 30 teams are more than four games out of a wild-card berth: the Athletics (6 1/2), Cincinnati (eight), Kansas City and the Los Angeles Angels (10 each), the Giants (10 1/2), the Mets (12) and Colorado (13 1/2).

“I think having more teams involved and more fan bases feeling like there’s something to play for later in the season is always good,” said Toronto pitcher Dylan Cease, the All-Star Game winner.

Phillies rebound after Mattingly becomes manager

Philadelphia fell to 9-19 when Rob Thomson was fired on April 28 and replaced by Don Mattingly. The Phillies are 44-24 since and trail NL East-leading Atlanta (55-40) by two games.

Harper thinks a key to the turnaround was when Zack Wheeler rejoined the rotation on April 25 after surgery last August for thoracic outlet syndrome. Wheeler is 10-1 with a 2.13 ERA.

“Once we got Wheels back, I think everybody kind of took a deep breath,” Harper said. “That helped a lot of our other starting pitching kind of just fall into place.”

Red Sox hottest team going into second half

Boston fired Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and the Red Sox are 36-31 under Chad Tracy, ending the first half with their first 9-0 road trip since 1977.

Despite a 46-48 record, the Red Sox trail by just a half-game for the last wild card in an AL that has just five teams with winning records.

“We've done a much better job overall with our approach,” Tracy said. “We’re taking more pitches. We’re seeing more pitches against starters. We are getting starters deep in counts earlier in games. We're scoring runs in the first five innings of the game and letting our starting rotation pitch with a lead.”

If the Red Sox struggle in the next few weeks, closer Aroldis Chapman and starter Sonny Gray could get dealt.

First-round byes at stake

Three of the four teams that had first-round byes last year advanced to League Championship Series: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Seattle and Toronto. Among the teams emerging from Wild Card Series, only the Dodgers won their Division Series.

Having the bye allows teams to reset their rotations and assure opening the Division Series with their best starters.

Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler thought back to New York losing the AL East title and the bye to Toronto on a tiebreaker last year.

“Every game matters,” he said.

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

On Wednesday, immigrants-rights groups protested outside the federal jail protesting on behalf of those detained inside and their families.

Local 10 News first reported on issues at the facility, including an air conditioning outage in the middle of the scorching South Florida summer, a week prior.

A group of wives of detainees were among the protesters. Their husbands are part of a larger population of immigrants who were once held in the now shut-down “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in the Everglades.

“Changing the building did not change the suffering,” activist Arianne Betancourt said.

“They have to drink out of the sink,” another woman said. “There’s cockroaches.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to Local 10 News the building had an air conditioning problem, but it claims it was fixed.

Annett Uset Dumont said since speaking to us last week, she claims her husband was placed in something called “the hole.”

“This guy you see on my shirt, his name Daikel Dumont Rodriguez and he’s currently in the FDC up in solitary confinement because I decided to talk to the news,” she said. “The hole is in the 12th floor and is in isolation.”

An FBOP spokesperson confirmed “the hole” is slang for disciplinary segregation, but declined to elaborate saying that “for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual.”

Dumont’s husband never called Local 10 News directly, but others did.

Officials with the FBOP said detainees are allowed to call members of the news media.

“His goal is to remain with the Saints,” Kamara's agent, Bradley Cicala, told The Associated Press after confirming the agreement.

Kamara's future with New Orleans became cloudy in March, when New Orleans signed free-agent running back Travis Etienne to a four-year $52 million contract. Kamara, who'll be 31 this season, was entering the final season of a two-year, $24.5 million extension he’d signed before the 2024 season.

Cicala and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis did not disclose specific financial terms of the new agreement. But Loomis had foreshadowed some sort of pay cut when he stated in May that there was a “resource management element” to Kamara fitting in on this season's roster.

While the new deal is expected to reduce the burden of Kamara's contract under the 2026 salary cap, it does not preclude the Saints from trading him.

Struggling through a knee injury last season, Kamara posted career lows in games played (11), yards and touchdowns rushing (471 and one), and yards and touchdowns receiving (186 and zero).

That was a far cry from the start of Kamara’s career in 2017, when he was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in what was the first of four straight playoff campaigns for the Saints under coach Sean Payton and Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.

But the Saints haven’t made the playoffs since Brees retired after the 2020 season and are on their second coach since then. Kellen Moore was hired after winning a Super Bowl as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator during the 2024 season.

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

The family of Nolan Wells had previously alleged that messages seemed to have been erased from his phone before they got it back, just one of a series of concerns they've raised about the circumstances and investigation surrounding his death.

They met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath on Wednesday, largely to discuss the inquiry process. But attorney Ben Crump said McIlrath also committed to presenting the investigation to a grand jury once it was completed.

Messages seeking comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.

Attorneys hope a grand jury will bring an impartial decision

“The hope is when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them, so we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells,” Crump said. “Our lived experiences tell us that we must question everything, everybody’s role, law enforcement’s role. That is the lived experience as Black people in America.”

Most felony cases go to a grand jury in Mississippi, said Ronald Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. A grand jury is typically comprised of 15 to 25 citizens who listen to the prosecutor’s evidence and decide whether there is enough evidence for an indictment, Rychlak said.

Wells had traveled to the island with friends, but failed to return with them when they left around 3 p.m. Conflicting accounts have been given as to whether he planned to remain on Horn Island, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) offshore, to talk to a girl — or to return with those friends.

The roughly 11-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) spit of land is near the Alabama state line. The island is uninhabited and accessible only by boat and is popular for parties and gatherings, officials said.

Wells' mother reported him missing shortly after midnight on July 5. The next day, boat and rescue crews launched searches and Wells’ body was recovered in waters near the island afterward.

Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority-white space. Family and attorneys have said from photos and videos of the Fourth of July celebration on the island, where nearly 200 people had gathered, that Wells was one of very few Black people present.

The Congressional Black Caucus also weighed in Wednesday, adding to calls for an independent investigation into the death.

Authorities with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies were quick to say they did not suspect foul play in his death. Results of an official autopsy are still pending, and the investigation is continuing, officials said.

Both the family’s attorneys and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department investigators have asked witnesses or anyone with video from the island to come forward as they seek answers about the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.

Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team. His family has urged a deeper investigation, saying he could swim. They also questioned why his friends would leave him behind but take his keys and phone.

Questions remain around teen's recovered cellphone

Family members retrieved his phone from the home of one of Wells' friends the evening of July 4 after using a locator app to find it. His family said their son was an avid Snapchat user, but there were no posts or messages from the 24 hours or so before they retrieved it.

Crump previously said he planned to hire an expert to determine whether data could be recovered from the phone or social media. Wednesday, he said that process will move forward in cooperation with investigators in the prosecutor's office.

Rychlak, the law professor, said mutual inspection of evidence between the police and victim’s family is not typical.

“Evidence is secured and not usually shared,” Rychlak said, adding that cooperation between the family and police could speed the investigation.

Wells’ death has galvanized the Black community. Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells’ funeral. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy, and filmmaker Spike Lee attended a news conference last week in support of Wells’ family.

Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley said Wednesday that they want Monday's funeral to be a celebration of their son's life.

“He would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating, and so what we’re gonna do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,” she said. _____

Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.