For those seeking to stay in office, particularly the newest members, it can be a tough sell.

“I only know a dysfunctional Congress,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a freshman from Virginia.

The Democrat said it's best to campaign on his own record delivering for constituents, rather than on the performance of Congress, as his party tries to wrest control from the Republicans.

“It's virtually impossible to sell the performance of Congress to the American people because Congress is such an easy punching bag,” he said. “And this particular Congress has been ceding too much of its authority to the executive branch.”

He said, “I tell people to sell yourself and what you've tried to do.”

Yet Republican Rep. Brandon Gill, a freshman from Texas who has emerged as one of the party's rising figures, particularly on Trump's hard-line immigration enforcement agenda, argued there's plenty to show to voters back home.

“We've gotten a lot done,” he said

“Cutting taxes across the board, over $100 billion for border security, repealing half the Green New Deal, the biggest mandatory spending reform in history — pretty historic stuff,” he said.

“Everybody always wants Congress to move faster than it does, but we’ve been extremely productive.”

Midterm elections often become a referendum on the party in power

Control of Congress is often an afterthought in presidential election years when the White House is at stake. But in the midterms, when lawmakers face voters as they will this fall, the races largely become a referendum on the party in power.

Republicans have history against running against them, as the president's party often encounters losses during the midterm elections — a “thumping,” as George W. Bush put it, a “shellacking” as Barack Obama said — and a pendulum nation swings.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is about to embark on a cross-country trek to raise millions of dollars for his party and visit lawmakers' home districts, remains bullish that Republicans will not only keep their House majority control — but grow their numbers.

“This week we continued to deliver for the people, and we're going to continue that straight through the end of this year,” Johnson said after a flurry of legislating before sending lawmakers home for summer.

Republicans in a single day adopted a budget resolution seeking $95 billion for the Iran war and other priorities; advanced a $1 trillion Pentagon bill renaming it the Department of War; and approved legislation to clamp down on stock trading in Congress, all over Democratic objections.

“We're going to run through the tape,” Johnson said.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if his party wins control, will launch “100 Days of Action” on Sunday as he works to take the majority and impose a check on Trump's White House.

“It's not going to be easy, right?” Jeffries told reporters. “No one's going to give it to us. We have to take it in a way that is consistent with the values of the American people.”

Control of Congress sets the agenda for the nation

With its 435 seats being contested, control of the House often narrows to the tiniest slice of the country.

Fewer than 20 seats are considered genuine toss-ups, according to analysts. The rest are considered safer seats, drawn with map lines designed to favor one party over the other — including new maps still being drawn to eliminate Black majority districts largely in the Deep South after a landmark Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act.

Millions of dollars are being spent that will make the difference between a return of the GOP majority eyeing more budget cuts or a new Democratic agenda that is expected to launch vast oversight and investigations into the Trump administration.

Even as he openly pines for a normal Congress, Johnson believes the country needs a steady hand at the wheel as he partners with the White House on Trump’s priorities — and fend off Democratic investigations and the threat of impeachment.

“We are increasingly confident that we will hold and grow this majority in the House — and we must,” he said.

Democrats under Jeffries make the case that Trump and the Republicans in charge have done nothing for Americans struggling with high costs of living. Instead, they say Trump waged war against Iran that sent gas prices soaring, slapped tariffs on goods that are spiking prices, deported longtime immigrants and slashed health care and food aid as part of Trump's big tax cuts bill last summer.

“They're flailing all over the place,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries vowed that Democrats “will hold the crooks accountable” on a number of issues, including the Trump family's business dealings.

A throwback to communism or forward-looking new ideas

Johnson raises the specter of a mid-20th-century-style communist threat if Democrats win control with a new generation of far-left progressive candidates, some backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

“We have been saying that this is an election that’s shaping up as a contest between common sense and crazy,” he said. Now, he said, it's “common sense versus communism.”

Jeffries brushes past such warnings as unserious. “House Democrats aren't a cult,” he said, a criticism his party often lobs at Trump's backers in Congress. “We're a coalition of people, public servants, who are committed to getting things done.”

One of the newest lawmakers, Rep. James Gallagher, R-Calif., said he's just trying to focus on the issues important to constituents back home.

“We're in a time where there's a lot of division, unfortunately,” he said. “And I think one key is like, Hey, trying to bring people together to solve problems for Americans, right?”

“Iran had a peaceful night,” Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour posted on X. The U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, unlike the previous 13 nights, it did not announce new strikes.

Sirens sounded multiple times on Saturday in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu and Jizan provinces, which house crucial oil facilities on the Red Sea, according to the Saudi Civil Defense. It said the alert was for a “potential danger” that was later lifted, without providing further details. Bahrain also sounded missile alerts, but no casualties have been reported.

A tenuous ceasefire that appeared to halt major operations in the conflict that started with American and Israeli attacks on Iran seemed to unravel early July. Iran was accused of striking three ships in the strait. The U.S. responded by striking dozens of targets in Iran, which retaliated by firing at Arab states in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for world energy supplies effectively shut down by Iranian attacks, has been at the center of the conflict. The U.S. military fired Friday on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was trying to breach its renewed blockade of Iran’s ports, while Iran targeted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab countries.

Iran’s Houthi allies targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea this week, raising concerns the group may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes. In response, Saudi Arabia struck the port city of Hodeida in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for “diplomacy and dialogue” to solve the Yemen conflict without “military confrontations” in an interview published Saturday in the state-run Iran newspaper.

On Friday, U.S. embassies in the Middle East alerted Americans in the region that options to leave could become more limited, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases with U.S. troops.

The war has so far killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. Eighteen U.S. service members, 24 civilians in Israel, and smaller numbers of civilians were reported dead in countries across the region.

In Lebanon, more than 4,000 people have been killed, as well as 38 Israeli troops, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired at Israel in support of the Islamic Republic.

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Dell’Orto reported from Jerusalem.

Around 30 people were injured in the crash between a civilian bus and an Interior Ministry bus on the desert highway, the SANA news agency cited a health ministry official as saying.

Syrian military helicopters were reported to be involved in the operation at the scene.

The cause of the collision was not immediately known.

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Prior to her sentencing, Perez, who was sitting in a wheelchair while shackled on her hands and feet, delivered a statement in court.

“First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere condolences and apologies to Ezequiel’s family. This was a complete accident, your honor. I am not a person who does things like this on purpose. Ever since that accident happened and it took that young man’s life, all I can think about is how his mother must feel,” Perez said before breaking down in tears.

“I ask God to please forgive me because I have trouble forgiving myself because I cannot imagine how his mother feels,” Perez added as she tried to compose herself.

Some relatives of Ezequiel Urrutia cried in court as Perez delivered her statement.

Perez, 46, pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges in March.

“She was at the courthouse pleading guilty to every charge, and in doing so I did see she was pretty shaken and understandably so,” the victim’s father, Frank Urrutia, told Local 10 News at the time. “We’re still devastated by the loss of our son. It’s something we’ve had to endure and figure out how to live our lives.”

According to authorities, Perez was driving drunk and going the wrong way on the Turnpike near Red Road in Broward County on Jan. 9, 2025, before crashing into Ezequiel Urrutia’s vehicle, killing the young man known to his friends and loved ones as Zeke.

During her statement Friday, Perez acknowledged that she took medication prior to the crash.

Loved ones said Ezequiel was a rookie firefighter and also worked as a paramedic.

After Perez spoke in court Friday, friends and family of Ezequiel’s took to the stand to deliver their victim impact statements, including his girlfriend, who gave emotional testimony about how the loss of him changed her life forever.

“There is no sentence that will bring Zeke back or reduce the pain that we will carry for the rest of our lives,” Christina Diaz said. “But there is a sentence that can hold Sunshine Perez accountable for the choices she made and help prevent another family from living the same nightmare. Zeke deserves so much more than any he was given. He deserves to live a life that was stolen from him. He will always be remembered, deeply loved and missed. I choose to believe that a part of him is still with me. I see him in beautiful moments of everyday life and that is one thing that Sunshine Perez can never take away from me.”

Frank Urrutia told the court, “In a single moment, Sunshine Perez put an end to everything, everything. Absolutely no words can fully describe what it felt like when two Florida Highway Patrol detectives came knocking on my front door, oh man. It was terrible. No words can describe it. None.”

Ezequiel’s mother, Tiffany, asked the judge “with everything I have left” to give Perez the maximum sentence.

“Zeke meant the world to me, every dream for the future included him,” she said. “Every milestone in his life was tied to watching him grow to the incredible young man he became.”

Ezequiel’s family has turned their pain into purpose, creating a scholarship fund in their son’s name. They say they’re focused on helping others follow their son’s dream of serving others and making a difference.

Perez faced up to 34 years in prison. The judge sentenced her to five and 15 year consecutive sentences, with multiple special conditions afterward, including a restriction on driving.

After the judge handed down Perez’s sentence, Ezequiel’s family members told Local 10 News that they were at peace.

And with peak travel season underway, millions of people may have to contend with this disorienting condition, which can cause sleep disturbances, daytime tiredness, headaches and nasty gastrointestinal symptoms.

But you can minimize the effects of jet lag — and not just by adjusting your sleep-wake schedule. What and how you eat and drink can make a difference too.

Jet lag occurs when your body’s biological clock is out of sync with the time zone you find yourself in. Usually, environmental cues such as sunrises and sunsets help set your internal clock. But when you cross time zones, it may take a few days for your body to adjust.

“I’ve personally experienced pretty severe jet lag before,” during two European trips, said Tara Schmidt, a registered dietitian at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “It really kind of ruined the first few days of my vacation.”

Eat on the local schedule at your destination

While symptoms of jet lag vary, digestive problems such as bloating, constipation or diarrhea are not uncommon, said Joanne Slavin, a nutrition expert at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

One way to minimize jet lag is to begin gradually shifting the timing of your meals as you get ready for travel. Schmidt suggested first moving them by 15 minutes, then a half hour, then an hour closer to the destination time zone.

Then, after you get where you're going, eat when the locals eat.

If it’s morning, have breakfast. A hearty one aligned with your new time zone can help you recover from jet lag, a 2023 study co-authored by Northwestern University researchers suggests.

As the day goes on, keep to the same schedule, having lunch and dinner at times appropriate for the location.

“Immediately go on your new schedule,” Slavin said.

To avoid stomachaches, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises keeping meals smaller just before and during travel. Schmidt said this is particularly important in the early days of a trip.

“Smaller meals tend to be more easily tolerated for people, especially if you have a sensitive stomach or maybe are dealing with some of those GI discomforts,” Schmidt said.

Later in the trip, she said, you may be able to ease into eating more at one sitting. Just be mindful about foods that you might not be used to, especially greasy or high-fat items.

“Enjoying a meal abroad is so fun, especially when you’re experiencing a new culture, a new food,” she said.

Watch what you drink on vacation

It’s also best to skip that glass of wine or pint of beer.

“As fun as it is sometimes when we travel, we really do endorse avoiding alcohol because alcohol is such a huge sleep disruptor,” Schmidt said.

Another pro tip: Use caffeine strategically. If you normally have a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, it’s fine to do that while traveling. But don’t have caffeine so late in the day that it will keep you up. And be aware that both caffeine and alcohol can make you more dehydrated.

“Dehydration can certainly worsen fatigue and those perceived jet lag symptoms,” Schmidt said.

Drink water before, during and after your flight to combat the effects of dry cabin air. At your destination, eight glasses of water a day is a good, easy-to-remember goal, but keep in mind that some people may need more fluids, others less, depending on things like weather and exercise. Cleveland Clinic experts suggest choosing bottled water if you have any questions about water safety.

When the trip is over, get back to your normal schedule

Experts say how and what you consume while traveling is only part of the equation for minimizing jet lag. But these changes complement the better known tips for adjusting your sleep schedule to the new time zone.

When your vacation begins winding down, the advice is much the same for sleep and eating: Ease back into your normal schedule and try to fully resume it at home.

“The sooner you get back to it, to all of your habits,” Slavin said, “the better off you’re going to be.”

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

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Police said Jerry Saint Vil, 26, fled before officers arrived at the Mobile gas station located at 16961 Miramar Pkwy.

According to police, Saint Vil is accused of stabbing 51-year-old Teofilo Vargas after an altercation.

Police said Teofilo Vargus suffered serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Alan Vargas, Teofilo Vargas’ son said his father was working at a nearby car wash along Miramar Parkway near Southwest 172n Avenue when his dad’s life was cut short.

Authorities on Saturday confirmed that Saint Vil has been taken into custody thanks to what they called “outstanding investigative work” of the Miramar Police Department and their law enforcement partners.

Jail records show he is facing one count of first-degree murder.

A motive for what the suspect and victim were arguing about remains unclear at this time.

Bay Harbor police officers at the scene told Local 10’s Linnie Supall that three people were aboard one of the boats involved in the crash. They said all three individuals were taken to a hospital with injuries. Authorities did not immediately release information about the severity of those injuries.

Authorities said crash happened near West Broadview Drive and 103rd Street.

One of the boats remained partially submerged in the bay Saturday morning, with only its overhead canopy frame clearly visible above the water.

Police used a cable attached to the front of a patrol vehicle to stabilize the vessel and keep it from sinking further while crews worked at the scene.

Police said a second boat involved in the crash ended up at nearby Haulover Marina. Authorities have not said how many people were aboard that boat or whether anyone on board was injured.

Authorities said the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency investigating the case, and FWC officials also responded. No other details about the incident were immediately released.

Jack, 50, scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store, she looks in the weekly circular for coupons she might have missed. If shelf prices look too high, she tries to find lower prices someplace else.

“The apples went up here, the ones I eat, so now I’m not going to get them here,” Jack said as she pushed a cart into a Stop & Shop near her home in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Couponing, comparison shopping and cutting back on favorite foods are new habits for her and millions of other Americans as they absorb the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century. Buying food to eat at home has gotten 33% more expensive since the beginning of 2019, according to government figures.

With a conflict in the Middle East creating more price pressures, the cost of filling refrigerators, freezers and pantries has made affordability a central issue in the fall midterm elections.

Residents of four urban areas where food inflation has exceeded the national average shared how steadily rising prices are changing the way they shop. They described hunting for discounts, switching to store brands and feeling grateful for food banks. Some are buying less meat and skipping nonessentials like cookies. Others are buying less food overall.

Meat becomes a luxury for a family in Texas, the nation's top beef producer

Beef epitomizes out-of-control grocery prices for many Americans. The price of a pound of ground beef reached $6.82 in June, which is 79% more than at the beginning of 2019, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Ada Torres, 60, who lives 45 miles northeast of Houston in Cleveland, Texas, is one of the people no longer buying it. She does the grocery shopping and cooking for the home she shares with her daughter and three grandchildren.

“Prices are sky-high. One hundred dollars’ worth of groceries these days is nothing,” Torres said.

Chicken and cold cuts are the family's main source of animal protein now that fresh meat is a luxury, she said. Her grandchildren, ages 12, 15 and 16, miss eating lasagna with ground beef, beef fajitas and steak with plantain chips.

Torres' daughter is the family’s main provider. Her work for a mobile car-washing service dwindles during the rainy season; the family only can afford one full meal a day, Torres said.

Shopping outside Boston takes research and multiple stores

Apral Jack, a care provider and part-time Amazon worker, has fewer mouths to feed now that her three daughters are adults. But she spends more cautiously than she once did.

Instead of shopping at Whole Foods, she builds her weekly menu around discounts and digital coupons.

“Typically, I’ll try to pick the meals based on that. So like chicken fajitas: there was a three-day sale on chicken” Jack said.

Nabisco Ginger Snaps and Nilla Wafers are off her shopping list. Jack won't buy store brand replacements. To her, they don't taste the same.

Three generations share food pantry eggs and produce to get by in San Francisco

San Francisco has a reputation as foodie city. Food preoccupies 33-year-old Jack Chang for other reasons. The self-employed barber has three young children and a partner who is unemployed.

"Since I have five mouths I have to feed, basically — and then sometimes my mom, too — it’s a lot on me financially,” Chang said.

Their family is not one that goes out for boba milk teas or artisanal ice cream. They visit a Japanese entertainment center with $1 ice cream cones. Milk is the only organic product they consume.

“I look at my credit card every month and I’m like, ‘Wow, how am I going to pay this?’ So I’m a little behind on bills, honestly,” Chang said.

When their 4-year-old daughter’s preschool has leftover meat or bread, Chang's partner, Tina Chhous, offers to take it. Chhous also receives monthly food assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“Without that, I don’t know what I would do,” Chang said.

Chang's 77-year-old mother, Lien, receives SNAP aid, too, and visits two food banks each week. She shares the canned food, eggs and produce she gets with the rest of the family.

Prices in the Honolulu area keep a pastry chef from shopping and eating local

High grocery bills come with living in Hawaii. The state gets nearly all its food from cargo ships that have traveled thousands of miles, making prices vulnerable to oil market spikes.

Local products also got costlier this year. The cost of shipping goods between the Hawaiian Islands skyrocketed amid rising fuel prices tied to the Iran conflict.

Amanda Tabadero, 28, a pastry chef on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, remembers buying Maui-grown strawberries and blueberries for $7.99 per pound in 2024. Now that they cost $11, she buys berries from California or Mexico at Costco for $5 when she bakes.

Tabadero also doubts she will buy lychee again anytime soon. Kaimana lychee, the variety grown in Hawaii, mostly comes from the Big Island. Tabadero said an iced coffee and a bag of fruit she recently purchased in Honolulu's Chinatown came to $30.

“It makes me sad,” Tabadero said. “I want to use local stuff.”

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This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and The Lexington Observer in Massachusetts, La Esquina in Texas and Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii. AP Video Journalist Terry Chea contributed from San Francisco.

While most of the storms have missed much of South Florida over the past few weeks, we’re more likely to see them over the next several days as upper-level steering winds have shifted to the west, pushing storms toward our beaches.

A couple of inches of rain could accumulate quickly near some of the stronger storms, causing street flooding in poor-drainage neighborhoods.

We’ll see highs in the middle 90s, with the heat index approaching 105 degrees before those cooling storms arrive.

In the tropics, conditions remain quiet through the end of the month, but be prepared because we’re heading into a typically more active part of the hurricane season over the next few weeks.

A lengthy and bruising process ended swiftly and decisively on Friday, when a large majority of the court’s 125 member states voted to remove Karim Khan from his post.

The British barrister was accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, as outlined by the AP in a series of stories, allegations he has steadfastly denied. According to documents seen by the AP, Khan engaged in a sexual relationship with the woman and tried to prevent her from pursuing her allegations.

Khan's removal comes at a time when the court is already facing daunting challenges, including a campaign by the United States to “dismantle” the ICC, which was established to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes.

Supporters of the court are looking forward

Several countries where the ICC has open investigations met together on the sidelines of the event on Friday to discuss the ways out of any potential impasses created by Khan’s removal, according to three senior diplomatic officials familiar with the discussions.

One of the officials said a number of states began planning for how to move forward before the final votes were tallied.

“Whether Khan is removed or not, we must bring everyone back together,” the official said. They all spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

The vote was surprisingly clear

A special session at U.N. headquarters in New York was scheduled to take all of Friday. Instead, a morning motion that would have made it harder to oust Khan failed and diplomats quickly moved forward to vote on removal, several hours ahead of schedule, according to three diplomats familiar with the proceedings.

Iva Vukusic, a researcher at Utrecht University who has been following the process, said she was surprised by how decisive it was. “The numbers indicate that there is more agreement than previously thought,” she told the AP.

Khan’s ouster comes at an already difficult time

The decision comes at a time when the global tribunal is under enormous pressure. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that Washington was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Hours after Friday’s vote, Venezuela announced it would withdraw from the court, saying its work reflects a “demonstrated geographical bias.” Félix Plasencia, the country’s foreign affairs minister, made the announcement in a statement.

Trump’s administration already has brought sanctions against Khan and a dozen other ICC staff in retaliation for investigations into Israeli officials in Gaza and U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.

The allegations became entwined with the court’s investigation into the war in Gaza, with Khan’s supporters arguing that the warrants the court has issued for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were at stake.

Palestinian representatives were quick to push back on that narrative. “The vote by the Assembly of States Parties to remove the Prosecutor was not a political proxy vote on any Situation before the ICC,” Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi said in a statement.

Khan’s removal will have no immediate impact on the arrest warrants which can only be withdrawn by ICC judges.

The work of the court will continue

Khan’s two deputy prosecutors have helmed the office since he stepped down in May 2025. In a statement, the office of the prosecutor said the pair will continue with its “leadership, management and administration,” until a new chief is selected.

It is not clear yet when member states will be able to decide on Khan’s replacement. His election in 2021 took nearly 18 months and drew criticism from civil society groups over the lack of stringent background checks on the candidates to ensure they met the requirement of “high moral character.”

There may be more legal proceedings to come

The removal vote may not be the end of the process for Khan. He intends to “challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms,” attorney Tayab Ali said in a statement.

There is no appeals process for his removal but all ICC staff are entitled to bring complaints to a special labor tribunal based in Geneva.

Khan’s lawyers criticized the process leading to his ouster, complaining that he was blocked from addressing the session Friday and arguing the regulations had been rewritten to disadvantage him.

On Monday, lawyers and investigators will return to the court’s headquarters in The Hague with at least some clarity about the future. “I hope now the court can move on and focus on its core work of dealing with cases,” Vukusic said.

Rockets, because the cost of food eaten at home zoomed up in the aftermath of the pandemic. Feathers, because once prices rise, they’re slow to come down.

That’s been frustrating for Americans hit with the sharpest increase in grocery prices in 50 years. While food price inflation peaked in 2022, when prices jumped 11.4%, prices have not reversed course. An acceleration in flation after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran has prolonged the aggravation.

“I think the public is coming to grips with, ‘Well, I’m hearing inflation has slowed, but things aren’t getting any cheaper.’ It has to be deflation for prices to go down, and that’s very rare,” said Matt Hamory, who leads the global grocery practice at the consulting company AlixPartners.

Prices for food at home are expected to rise 2.7% across the country this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Friday. That's higher than the grocery inflation shoppers saw in 2024 and 2025 but close to the historical average of 2.6%.

It's the compounding effect of the post-pandemic price shocks that consumers are still feeling, and they're reacting to them in ways that could have repercussions for the U.S. economy.

A recent study by the consulting firm Bain & Co. and the market research company NielsenIQ said the number of items purchased at U.S. grocery stores declined in the second half of last year and dropped more sharply starting in February of this year. The study said high gas prices, rising GLP-1 usage and cuts in the number of people receiving government food aid are all affecting grocery spending.

Consumers are also looking for deals and shopping around to find them. In the second quarter of this year, discounters like Costco, Walmart and Aldi took market share away from traditional grocers like Kroger and Albertsons, according to Numerator, a market research firm.

Many U.S. shoppers are also replacing name-brand products with store brands to save money. Total sales of store brands at supermarkets, drugstores and other retailers grew to a record $282.8 billion last year, the Private Label Manufacturers Association said.

“Now that this option becomes available, why would I go back? You have the convenience, it’s the same, but my cost is 40% less and it’s a brand that I know and trust,” said Sean Hooper, a senior solution principal at Relex Solutions, a retail and grocery consulting firm.

Prices rocketed up for lots of reasons in the wake of the pandemic, from the war in Ukraine to a highly contagious bird flu that pushed retail egg prices to record highs last year. And when prices rocket upward — whether for food, gas or other items — consumers can count on a slow, downy descent.

For one thing, retailers are reluctant to lower prices on inventory they ordered when wholesale prices were high, said Jared Bernstein, a senior policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy who served as chair of President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Stores and food companies also want to maximize their profits and were reluctant to give up some of the sales gains they saw after the pandemic, Bernstein said. PepsiCo hiked its prices by double-digit percentages for eight straight quarters in 2022 and 2023, for example, citing higher ingredient and packaging costs. After customer demand faltered, the company began lowering prices on some snacks last year.

Customer behavior also can contribute to prices staying elevated. When prices spike, people shop around for lower ones. But consumers often stop deal hunting when they see prices coming down, giving retailers less incentive to lower prices even further.

“There’s less competitive force on the feather side of the mountain,” Bernstein said.

In some cases, grocery inflation is the result of long-term issues with no quick fix. Consider the average price of coffee, which has risen 54% in U.S. cities since 2019, according to government data. Climate issues — including drought in Vietnam, heavy rain in Indonesia and hot, dry weather in Brazil — are blamed for reducing coffee yields and driving up global prices.

In other cases, there are clearer causes and simpler fixes. For example, U.S. consumers paid 19.5% more for fresh tomatoes in June compared to a year earlier due to a 17% import tax the Trump administration placed on fresh tomatoes from Mexico. Coffee was subject to a tariff for most of 2025 as well, but the duty was eventually removed.

Hamory said the feather may be starting to fall as big retailers invest in price cuts. In early July, Walmart said it was rolling back prices on ground beef, corn, red cherries, ice cream, potato chips and Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. Target also cut prices on some foods in March.

“If the big guys are really investing, saying, ‘That’s what I need to do to get right with my customer,' that will force others in the market to act," Hamory said. “It’s just in the process of starting, but that’s a thing we could be seeing.”

The number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo has reached 2,973, including 1,309 deaths, according to government data released Friday in what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak on record.

Activities at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri province, were largely paralyzed after doctors, nurses and security staff stopped work.

About a hundred health workers protested outside the treatment center on Saturday. They said the unpaid bonuses were undermining morale and disrupting patient care, and called on Congolese authorities to settle the arrears so they could resume their work.

In a statement issued Friday, staff said they had unanimously voted to strike from Saturday until “concrete solutions” were found to resolve “two months of unpaid performance bonuses.”

Last week, health workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region’s largest medical center, went on strike over unpaid salaries. Some had told The Associated Press they have not received any payment since they started work at the onset of the outbreak.

The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak.

The Central African nation has been battling the Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus since May 15. A total of 766 patients remain in isolation or in hospitals, while 540 have recovered so far, according to data from Congo’s Ministry of Health.

The eastern province of Ituri accounts for nearly 90% of confirmed cases.

The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response.

A key challenge is that health authorities have yet to identify the outbreak’s patient zero, while displacement from armed conflict and mining-related movements have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals.

The response is being hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo and mistrust among local communities.

Response efforts have also been challenged by the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, unlike the more common Zaire virus for which there is a vaccine and which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Enrollment in a highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments recently started in Ituri.

The WHO says the global risk of the outbreak spreading outside Central Africa is low, noting Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person rather than through the air, making it much harder to spread than respiratory viruses.

Jack scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store, she grabs the weekly circular to look for coupons she might have missed. If the shelf prices look too high, she scratches items off her list or tries to find lower prices someplace else.

“The apples went up here, the ones I eat, so now I’m not going to get them here. I’ll go to Market Basket, where I can get them cheaper,” Jack, 50, said as she pushed a cart into a Stop & Shop near her home in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Couponing, comparison shopping and cutting back on favorite foods are new habits for her and millions of other Americans as they absorb the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century. Buying food to eat at home has gotten 33% more expensive in U.S. cities since the beginning of 2019, according to government figures. In the 7 1/2 years before that, prices rose 6.4%.

The historic increase happened for numerous reasons. The coronavirus pandemic snarled supply chains and raised labor and transportation costs. Droughts, hurricanes and diseases like bird flu drove down production. Tariffs raised prices on foreign products like coffee, tomatoes and chocolate. Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine disrupted oil and fertilizer supplies.

With a fresh conflict in the Middle East accelerating food price inflation again this year, the cost of filling their refrigerators, freezers and pantries has become a frustration for Americans and made affordability a central issue in the fall midterm elections.

By some measures, Americans are better equipped to handle the higher prices, if only slightly. The average weekly earnings of people with full-time jobs job have gone up a bit faster than the cost of groceries since 2019, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But consumers have long memories when it comes to food shopping, and they know their dollars aren’t going as far as they used to, said Jared Bernstein, a senior policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy.

Wages grew much more quickly than grocery prices before the pandemic, Bernstein said. Even if a typical worker's paycheck still outpaces supermarket receipts by a small margin, consumers may feel stressed and aggrieved because other costs, like housing and electricity, have climbed significantly as well, he said.

“People have a well-honed sense of those prices, just as much as gas and maybe more so,” Bernstein, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Joe Biden, said. “You need groceries to live.”

An economic indicator like median wages does not capture the capacity of family budgets to accommodate additional price hikes. Americans spent an average of 12.9% of their pretax incomes on eating out and at home in 2024, but the share was 33% for the one-fifth of U.S. households with the lowest earnings, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Prices also can vary substantially by region. In St. Louis, food for home use cost 2% more in June compared to a year earlier; in San Francisco, it was 6%, the consumer price index showed.

In interviews, residents of four urban areas where food price inflation has exceeded the national average shared how steadily rising prices are changing the way they shop. They described hunting for discounts, switching brands and feeling grateful for food banks. Some are more cautious about buying nonessentials like takeout coffee. Others are buying less meat or less food overall.

“It’s almost like a strategy, a household strategy, where financial pressure just hasn’t disappeared, so consumers are really developing their own playbook on how to navigate it,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, a global executive vice president at market research company Circana.

Meat has become a luxury for a family in Texas, the nation's top beef producer

Beef epitomizes out-of-control grocery prices for many Americans. The price of a pound of ground beef reached $6.82 in June, which is 79% more than at the beginning of 2019, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Contributing factors include a shrinking U.S. cattle herd, drought in the West, and the costs of feed and fuel.

Demand for ground beef is falling as a result, according to market research company NielsenIQ. Ada Torres, 60, is one of the people no longer buying it: with five pounds of ground beef costing almost $20, meat has become a luxury for her family of five, she said.

Torres lives 45 miles northeast of Houston in Cleveland, Texas, where she shares a home with her 36-year-old daughter and three grandchildren. Her daughter, who works for a mobile car-washing service, is the family's main provider. Torres does the grocery shopping and cooking.

“Prices are sky-high. One hundred dollars’ worth of groceries these days is nothing. Maybe you can bring home seven family-size items, if you manage to find a good deal,” she said.

Swapping Goya canned beans and Hunt’s tomato sauce for products from Walmart’s Great Value range is one way Torres tries to cut costs. Chicken and cold cuts are now the family’s main source of animal protein, she said.

Torres worries that too much deli meat will be bad for the health of her grandchildren, ages 12, 15 and 16. They miss beef dishes that were once staples on their table, like lasagna with ground beef, beef fajitas and steak with plantain chips, she said.

Torres' daughter's work dwindles during the rainy season in Texas, and the family only can afford one complete meal a day. Breakfast and dinner consist of simple fare like eggs and generic cereals.

Shopping outside Boston takes research, multiple stores and chicken recipes

Apral Jack's grocery-shopping trips included going to Whole Foods until recently. She liked the selection and has fewer mouths to feed now that her three daughters are adults.

“I don’t have to worry about buying for them anymore,” Jack said with a smile, noting that her days of loading up a cart at Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club are in the past.

But she spends more cautiously than she once did. She buys steak only if she can get it at a discount. Her weekly menu planning starts at home with an app that displays special offers and digital coupons. She builds her shopping list around what's on sale.

“Typically, I’ll try to pick the meals based on that. So like chicken fajitas: there was a three-day sale on chicken. I’ll sauté chicken with vegetables and rice,” Jack said.

Her list includes fewer canned goods. Nabisco’s Ginger Snaps and Nilla Wafers are off it completely because she thinks they cost too much. She doesn't buy store-brand replacements; to Jack, they don't taste the same.

Matt Hamory, who leads the global grocery practice at the consulting company AlixPartners, said consumers generally have an amount they’re comfortable spending on food each week. They will go to a more expensive store or splurge on a treat if prices fall below that. But if prices seem unreasonable or the economic outlook is uncertain, they’ll look for cheaper alternatives or cut back.

“I’m going to spend $250 a week, so if I’m shopping at Stop & Shop and they’re getting more expensive, then I’ll start splitting my trips with cheaper places and eventually maybe I’ll lose Stop & Shop entirely,” Hamory said.

Three generations stretch their dollars and share canned food, eggs and produce to get by in San Francisco

San Francisco has a reputation as a great city for foodies. Food preoccupies 33-year-old Jack Chang for other reasons. The self-employed barber has three young children and a partner who is unemployed. The money he makes cutting hair five or six days a week sometimes doesn't go far enough.

"Since I have five mouths I have to feed, basically — and then sometimes my mom, too — it’s a lot on me financially,” Chang said.

They are not a family that goes out for boba milk teas or artisanal ice cream, both of which abound in San Francisco. They visit Round 1 Bowling & Arcade, a Japanese entertainment center with $1 ice cream cones.

Like a lot of Bay Area residents, Chang has felt surrounded by rising costs in the last year. The rent for his barbershop increased 10% as he was losing clients laid off from their tech jobs, he said. He bought a used minivan, so now he has a monthly car payment.

“I look at my credit card every month and I’m like, ‘Wow, how am I going to pay this?’ So I’m a little behind on bills, honestly,” Chang said.

Chang and his partner, Tina Chhous, try to economize by buying generic brands of food and medicine. They buy organic milk but otherwise stick to conventional products.

When their 4-year-old daughter’s preschool has leftover lunch items like meat or bread, Chhous offers to take it. She also receives monthly food assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“Without that, I don’t know what I would do,” Chang said.

Fewer people have the same buffer after the Trump administration tightened SNAP eligibility requirements last year. As of April, 37 million Americans were enrolled in the program, a 12% decline from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chang's 77-year-old mother, Lien, receives SNAP aid, too, and visits two different food banks each week. She shares the canned food, eggs and produce she gets with the rest of the family.

Chang loves doting on his children, and acknowledges that money would be less worrisome if he were single.

“But I try to be optimistic and do what I have to do in order to support my family," he said. "Failure is not an option for me.”

Prices in the Honolulu area keep a pastry chef from shopping and eating local

High grocery bills come with living in Hawaii. The state gets nearly all its food from cargo ships that have traveled thousands of miles, making prices and the selection at stores vulnerable to oil market spikes.

Prices for local products also took an upswing this year. The cost of shipping goods between the Hawaiian Islands has skyrocketed amid rising fuel prices tied to the Iran conflict and financial instability within the company that has a near-monopoly on interisland shipping.

Amanda Tabadero, 28, a pastry chef from Kāneʻohe, a community on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, remembers buying Maui-grown strawberries and blueberries for $7.99 per pound in 2024. Now that they cost $11, she buys berries grown in California or Mexico at Costco for $5 when she needs a bulk supply for baking.

Tabadero also doubts she will buy lychee fruit again anytime soon. Kaimana lychee, the variety grown in Hawaii, mostly comes from the Big Island. Tabadero said an iced coffee and a bag of lychee she recently bought in the Chinatown section of Honolulu came to $30.

“It makes me sad,” Tabadero said. “I want to use local stuff.”

One of her favorite sweets is butter mochi, a chewy dessert made from rice flour. But even that simple recipe has gotten harder to make. One essential ingredient, milk, now costs $9 a gallon at a locally owned supermarket chain, Tabadero said.

“Foodland is not affordable” for locals, she said, referring to the chain known for its poke and which has a central Honolulu location that is popular with tourists. Tabadero has switched to shopping at Target or Times Supermarket, another Hawaii-based chain.

At home, where she lives with her parents and younger sister, three cats and a dog, making dinner has required adjustments. Chuck roast for Hawaii-style beef stew, a local staple, crept up last year to roughly $10 a pound from $7.99 or less before the pandemic. Unless she snags a $5 Friday deal at Safeway, “we do have to find substitutes, even if we’re craving it,” Tabadero said.

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This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and The Lexington Observer in Massachusetts, La Esquina in Texas and Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii. AP Video Journalist Terry Chea contributed from San Francisco.

Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation in a post on X, handing a major victory to the youth movement that spearheaded nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes. His resignation marks the first significant concession by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to one of the most visible waves of public dissent it has faced in recent years.

The government has rarely yielded to sustained public pressure during Modi's more than 12 years in office. The most notable exception came in 2021, when it was forced to withdraw controversial farm laws after a yearlong farmers’ protest.

The "Cockroach'" movement began more than a month ago after allegations of leaks in some of India’s biggest entrance exams. It started as a call for education reforms but grew into a broader protest over unemployment, government accountability and economic opportunities. Students, professionals, families and activists joined rallies in New Delhi and other cities across India.

Following Pradhan’s resignation, movement organizers called off the protests, saying the government had accepted their remaining demands. Those included broader reforms to India’s education system, compensation for families of students who died by suicide following exam paper leaks, and a commitment that no legal action would be taken against those who participated in the protests.

“We urge everyone to peacefully withdraw from protest sites,” Ashutosh Ranka. spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party, which launched the protest movement, said at a news briefing in New Delhi.

News of Pradhan’s resignation sparked celebrations among the thousands of protesters who have camped at New Delhi’s protest site for more than a month. Many embraced each other and waved the Indian flag.

Prachi Kumar, a corporate employee who joined the protests, said Pradhan’s resignation was necessary to restore accountability in the education system.

“This had to be done. Someone must be held accountable,” she said.

The Cockroach Janta Party declared victory following the resignation, writing on X: “DEMOCRACY WINS!”

The demonstrations became one of the most persistent challenges to Modi’s government in recent years, with thousands returning to the streets even after police used tear gas and batons to disperse marchers.

Tensions escalated on Monday when police moved to disperse thousands of protesters marching toward Parliament. Several students were injured in the crackdown, intensifying anger among demonstrators.

Modi’s government had earlier sought to ease tensions by announcing fast-track courts for cases involving exam paper leaks and saying it would introduce legislation to strengthen measures against cheating and corruption in the examination system. The measures failed to satisfy protesters, who said they did not address government accountability.

Opposition parties, which rallied behind the protests, said Pradhan’s resignation showed the government had bowed to sustained public pressure.

Rahul Gandhi, India’s main opposition leader in Parliament, called it a “major step toward revamping our education system”.

The strikes followed a major Russian attack on Friday near Kyiv that killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 100 others, a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat attacks that dims the potential of reaching a diplomatic end to Russia's more than 4-year-old invasion of its neighbor.

Two children were among the eight people killed in the attack on the resorts in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed regional head, said Saturday, adding that 14 people were wounded.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack.

Sumy regional head Oleh Hryhorov said on Saturday three people were killed when a large fire broke out after a Russian drone struck a “civilian facility,” adding that the victims were drivers for private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

Russia’s defense ministry said it attacked a “storage and launch site” for Ukrainian drones in the Sumy region.

In Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, a Russian drone attack late Friday hit a shopping center, causing a fire that spread over a 500-square-meter area and injuring several people, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in his evening address on Friday that intelligence assessments indicated that Russia was preparing missiles for a large attack, saying there were indications that this could happen in the next 48 hours.

On Saturday, Romania’s defense ministry said its forces “safely shot down” a drone that breached its airspace in an “unpopulated area” near the Ukrainian border. The drone was “shot down by a Romanian pilot from an F-16 aircraft,” President Nicușor Dan said in a post on Facebook.

Saturday’s interception came after a drone was shot down around Padina, northeast of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Friday.

A series of drone incursions by Russia and Ukraine have hit Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta, while three other sea drones exploded outside the port. No one was hurt.

A Russian drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine in May went astray and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people.

Including some 70,000 people evacuated in central Spain, wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the hulking A400M aircraft will join 18 other water- and retardant-dropping planes and helicopters waging an expected “long and very difficult” battle against the blaze raging in the Gironde region of southwestern France.

With winds expected to shift in a west-to-east direction on Saturday afternoon, potentially driving the fire closer to Bordeaux, fire crews and authorities were digging trenches, using retardants and taking other steps to block it, Nunez said. He said the fire was about 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the city and lost some of its intensity overnight.

The government mobilized soldiers to join the battle and was rushing in 1.5 million face masks to protect against choking smoke.

Authorities ordered people between the fire and Bordeaux to evacuate, including from parts of the city’s western suburbs and other towns and villages.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the fires as unprecedented and said the Gironde blaze became so strong on Friday that it had begun generating its own winds.

“Our priority is clear: protecting human lives,” he posted on X, adding that evacuation orders “must be respected without delay.”

He said firefighting teams were being reinforced Saturday with the addition of hundreds of soldiers and that breathing masks to filter out smoke particles were being rushed to the Gironde region for those exposed to the clouds of potentially noxious fumes.

Blazes caught authorities off guard

The virulence of the wildfires, fueled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change, caught fire crews and authorities off guard in both countries. Firefighters in Spain said the blazes spread so fast and violently that they could not be tackled head on. In France, some people even fled by boat when flames swept through touristic towns on the Atlantic coast.

Dozens of French firefighters have been injured, authorities said, but no deaths were reported in either country despite the scenes of panic as townsfolk fled by car and police went door to door to tell people to leave as large plumes of smoke darkened the skies.

Successive heat waves that hit unusually early and hard this year, baking Europe with record-shattering high temperatures, have turned forests and scrublands into tinderboxes.

Fires have burned 130,000 hectares of forest already this year in Spain, up from an annual average of 100,000 hectares over the past decade, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday as he visited a command post west of Madrid.

He said more favorable weather Saturday offered “a window of opportunity” for fire crews to bring the blazes under control. Madrid's regional government said the fires decreased in intensity as winds and temperatures dropped.

Other European nations were helping, with Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia already providing or expected to deploy water-dumping planes and helicopters to the Spanish and French fire fronts.

Wildfire headed toward Bordeaux

Gironde region prefect Sophie Brocas said on Friday night that strong winds from the west were pushing the fire closer to the Bordeaux metropolitan area and that it had grown to “an unprecedented magnitude.” Bordeaux’s western suburbs covered by evacuation orders included Le Haillan and parts of Eysines and Mérignac, where the city’s airport is located. The airport said it remained open but that its bus and tram services were suspended.

The Gironde blaze broke out Wednesday near the Cap Ferret peninsula on France’s Atlantic coast, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Bordeaux. Bordeaux authorities took in thousands of evacuees, offering them food and shelter in an exhibition center, and the city's mayor said it could be equipped to welcome as many as 10,000 people if that became necessary.

Evacuation orders were sent with special alerts to mobile phones, instructing people to leave, Brocas said.

“We want everyone to be quickly brought to safety. We must act quickly together,” she said.

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Leicester reported from Paris. Associated Press journalist Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona contributed.

Punch was abandoned by his mother after his birth a year ago Sunday, presumably because of exhaustion. Zookeepers nursed him and gave him the toy to develop his gripping ability, something newborn macaques need to survive.

Punch is no longer a plump baby with the plushie and he's hard to distinguish from other monkeys as he mingles and plays with them at an enclosure at the Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden.

He still attracts big crowds, and has received some 2,500 birthday cards from inside and outside Japan, said Takashi Yasunaga, head of the zoo. Many of the cards and other messages fill the walls at an indoor Punch birthday exhibit where visitors can also view video chronicling Punch from his earliest days.

“As Punch was trying very hard struggling to live each day, his two keepers did everything they can while other staff watched over him,” Yasunaga said, recalling the past year. “It was extremely hot when Punch was born. The memory is still clear to me as the hot season returns."

In mid-January, after six months of special care by his keepers, Punch was placed into the zoo’s monkey enclosure to join some 50 other monkeys — a challenge that led to his fame.

In February, images of Punch with his toy posted by the zoo on social media immediately became a sensation and drove tens of thousand of visitors to the zoo, half of them from overseas, Yasunaga said.

When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging it for comfort. Fans cheered him with a #HangInTherePunch tag on social media.

It was not just the cuteness factor of seeing Punch with his toy, but also his lone struggle to be gradually accepted by others that struck a chord, fans say.

Kumi Ishizawa, a Kobe resident who was at the birthday exhibit, said she found Punch on social media earlier this year. From then on, overcoming her illness to come see him had become her goal.

“He moved me ... I kept on telling myself that I'm going to get well and come visit to see Punch," said Ishizawa, who has since recovered and dropped by the zoo after wrapping up a business trip. “And here I am, I made it. I'm very happy I could finally see him in person."

Yeye Lights, a longtime resident in the city, had never visited the zoo until she became a Punch fan and now has an annual visitor pass. She was hooked by Punch after her daughter in the Philippines told her about the monkey.

“I have a cake for Punch-kun, I'm celebrating with my friends,” Lights said, using an affectionate Japanese honorific for boys. She thanked the monkey's two carers for taking good care of him.

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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.

The UNESCO meetings in Busan, which continue through next Wednesday, are reviewing dozens of other nominations, including the D-Day landing beaches in France, Mount Olympus in Greece and the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka-Fujiwara.

The Okefenokee Swamp boasts impressive biodiversity

The Okefenokee Swamp is regarded as one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems, encompassing a vast network of wetlands that supports exceptional biodiversity and serves as the source of two major rivers. Its largely undisturbed peat beds preserve a 5,000-year record of environmental change, making the swamp both a globally significant natural habitat and a valuable source of information on long-term environmental change, according to a UNESCO description.

While the World Heritage designation places the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge alongside iconic U.S. landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, some locals have opposed the listing, fearing it would increase U.N. involvement in managing the site.

“We accept this inscription not as a finish line, but as a commitment to keep the Okefenokee wild, resilient, and thriving for generations to come,” said Kim Bednarek, executive director of the nonprofit Okefenokee Swamp Park that’s worked with the U.S. government on the refuge’s nomination package.

A Thai 13th-century Buddhist temple with unique architecture makes the list

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, a 13th-century Buddhist temple in southern Thailand known for its 78-meter (255-foot) stupa and distinctive architecture, was also inscribed on the World Heritage List, becoming Thailand’s ninth site.

UNESCO has described the temple as an outstanding example of Theravada Buddhist architecture that remains a living place of worship, preserving religious traditions that draw large gatherings of devotees. The temple was first proposed to UNESCO in 2012, and has gone through more than a decade of preparation to meet the nomination requirements.

While the World Heritage listing is expected to dramatically increase visitors to the temple, Kanop Ketchart, mayor of Nakhon Si Thammarat City, said officials are prepared to address potential infrastructure and capacity challenges.

“We have prepared our infrastructure, buffer zoning and evacuation plan to fit all the requirements of UNESCO,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press this month. “More importantly, the people are getting used to all this process for almost 10 years. So they are very much looking forward to (it).”

Religious, environmental and historic sites join the World Heritage List

Sarnath, an ancient Buddhist site in the northern Indian city of Varanasi, was another Asian religious location newly added to the World Heritage List. Recognized as the sacred location where the Buddha delivered his first sermon, the site’s architectural and archaeological properties remain deeply significant despite periods of decline and revival, UNESCO said.

The committee also decided to expand the World Heritage listing of the South Korean “getbol” tidal flats with four additional coastal wetlands in Seosan, Goheung, Muan and Yeosu in the country’s west. UNESCO had previously inscribed four other South Korean tidal flats in 2021 for their biodiversity and crucial role as a stopover for migratory birds.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the expanded designation of the tidal flats “reaffirms the importance of international cooperation for the conservation of the Yellow Sea ecosystem and the East Asian-Australasian Flyway,” a major migratory bird route that stretches from the Arctic through Asia to Australia and New Zealand.

Another new addition to the World Heritage List was centuries-old handicraft porcelain industry sites in the eastern Chinese city of Jingdezhen. The sites trace the evolution of handcrafted porcelain production in China from the 10th to the 19th centuries, showcasing innovations that helped make Jingdezhen a leading center for fine porcelain, with its blue-and-white porcelain becoming a global symbol of Chinese craftsmanship, according to UNESCO.

The Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros secured its first World Heritage listing after the committee inscribed six historic towns dating to the 11th century that later emerged as the principal urban centers of the country’s sultanates. UNESCO says the towns reflect centuries of cultural exchange through Indian Ocean trade networks while preserving distinctive urban traditions shaped by African, Arab and Islamic influences.

As thousands of demonstrators take to the streets in the Indian capital, they are waging a parallel campaign online, flooding social media with memes, parody videos and self-deprecating jokes.

In doing so, they are also beating Narendra Modi — the powerful but image-conscious prime minister — at his own game.

Modi built his political brand through social media. Now protesters are using that same platform to mock his administration, ridicule pro-government television news coverage, transform confrontation with police into viral content and seize control of the online narrative.

The campaign has taken the protests demanding accountability and education reforms beyond the streets, broadening its reach and intensifying pressure on a government wary of appearing to yield to a rapidly growing youth movement.

Humor has become a form of protest

The “Cockroach” movement’s digital campaign has been largely powered by humor.

Clashes with police have become viral content. Videos showed protesters joking about keeping their Strava streaks alive — a reference to the fitness tracking app used by runners — as they ran from police baton charges. Others edited footage of themselves dodging police barricades to mimic the popular endless runner mobile game Subway Surfers.

Some women have borrowed influencer culture, posting “get ready with me” videos before marches and “fit check” posts featuring helmets, goggles and other homemade protest gear. Other protesters have created spoof videos mocking pro-government television anchors and their dramatic style of broadcasts that have labeled the protesters “anti-national” and “foreign-funded conspirators.”

The Associated Press interviewed several protesters, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from authorities.

One 25-year-old protester said the memes are more than comic relief; they’re a way of coping. She sees them as a generational trait.

Unlike older generations, who learned to endure hardship, hers has little patience for “simply putting up with it," she said.

“If our phone data runs out, we can’t even bear that. So we’re definitely not going to tolerate this,” she said, referring to Monday’s police crackdown on protesters in the capital.

Protesters lean on meme culture

The street protests erupted a month ago, fueled by anger over a string of exam scandals, including the illegal sharing of entrance exams for the national medical program. Young people say the scandals have jeopardized their futures and eroded trust in the education system. Protesters blame Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and demand his resignation, but the demonstrations have since expanded into a wider anger over government accountability, spreading to other cities.

Much of that expansion has been driven by the Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical group that started the movement two months ago. Through memes, humor and satire, it has given younger Indians a new way to express their frustration with the government and helped turn a single-issue campaign into a broader youth movement.

At the main protest site in New Delhi, that influence is hard to miss.

Some protesters march in Spider-Man masks and Batman costumes, carrying tongue-in-cheek placards. Other protest signs echo the irreverent tone of social media, with memes and pop culture references woven into the demonstrations.

One poster featuring the education minister asked: “When will AI take his job?” Another captured the movement’s spirit with the slogan: “Every joke is a (tiny) revolution.”

Some slogans and posters have taken on an overtly profane and risqué tone.

A 23-year-old student said the protesters were simply speaking the language of their generation.

“We find speeches boring, we are the summary generation. We have a habit of consuming things in a short span of time, so we are using the same ways to put our message across,” she said.

The jokes now target the prime minister

For Modi, who is entering his 13th year in office, the protests present an unusual challenge. His image is built on strength and decisiveness, but he risks alienating young people if he responds too forcefully. Nearly half India’s population is under 25, making young voters one of the country’s most influential electoral groups.

But the protests have broken a long-standing taboo: mocking Modi himself.

Jokes about Modi were rare during earlier protests, when his government was criticized for suppressing dissent. But now, even he has become a target of taunts.

Modi’s gestures, pauses and mannerisms have been turned into viral edits that turn his own words into political jokes.

When Modi released a late-night, selfie-style video Thursday addressing the protesters, he promised swift legal action against those responsible for leaking academic or job exams. But many internet users edited the clip with parody voice-overs and references to his past promises they said had gone unfulfilled.

One video went particularly viral. Modi’s original address began with him referring to the protesters as “friends.” A parody video kept that opening, and abruptly cut to three young girls staring into the camera and responding: “No, we are not.”

A 21-year-old student said there is no better way to challenge Modi than by using social media that helped build his political brand.

“We’re just answering him in his language,” he said.

Roads near the 1,084-kilometer-long (673-mile-long) border are covered for long distances by anti-drone netting. The surrounding landscape is dominated by rows of razor wire and concrete anti-tank barriers known as “dragon’s teeth.”

The Associated Press visited parts of the border in northern Ukraine earlier this month, following a rise in tensions between the two countries; Ukraine demanded that Belarus shut down communications relay stations Russia had installed to boost the range of its drones attacking Ukrainian cities.

Belarus obliged, according to Ukraine, and rhetoric between the two governments has eased since then. While Ukrainian officials say they see no signs of a Russian troop buildup in Belarus, they are determined to strengthen their border against any possible threat.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly said he has no plans for his troops to enter the war unless his country is attacked. Still, people living near the border say the possibility of Belarus becoming more involved in Russia’s war remains a source of anxiety.

For many residents, the extensive defenses are both a reminder of the early days of the war and a source of reassurance that Ukraine is preparing for any future scenarios.

Ukrainian border guards patrol the area around the clock using armored vehicles, drones and other surveillance systems. Ukrainian officials say the addition of more defenses will remain a priority well into the future because Belarus is Russia's closest military ally.

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Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

Support has coalesced around former state Senate President Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from rural northern Maine who campaigned alongside Platner during a failed bid for governor and was a favorite among progressives to replace him.

The Maine Democratic Party has been scrambling to choose a new nominee after Platner, who sailed to victory in the Democratic primary in June, was accused by a former girlfriend of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Platner denies the allegation, but quit the race after key supporters called on him to withdraw.

Democrats have seen Maine as the party’s best opportunity to flip a Senate seat this year because it is a competitive Senate race in a state that President Donald Trump lost in 2024. But defeating Collins won't be easy. The five-term incumbent holds a fundraising advantage, while the new nominee will have less than four months to sell themselves to voters.

Maine law gave the state party authority to choose a replacement and required a new nominee to be named by Monday — 99 days before the Nov. 3 election.

Maine Democrats' never-before-used process of voting on a new nominee will involve more than 600 Democratic delegates gathering in Bangor, about 130 miles (209.21 kilometers) north of Portland. The delegates were elected at county party meetings last weekend.

“We have worked hard to create a fair process that is inclusive of varying viewpoints and diverse backgrounds of Democrats across the state of Maine, as we all come together in service of our ultimate goal: defeat Susan Collins and win this Senate seat,” the party said in a statement.

Other top candidates dropped out after Jackson scooped up support

Once Platner dropped out on July 10, a flood of former governor candidates — including Jackson — and others jumped to try to take Platner's place. But by July 19, most had abandoned their bids, with Jackson emerging as the clear favorite.

Jackson received early support from progressives who had backed Platner before he dropped out. Our Revolution, the political organization founded nearly a decade ago by Sen. Bernie Sanders, initially backed Jackson for governor and Platner for Senate. When Platner left the race, the group rallied behind Jackson.

Jackson previously ran Maine operations for Sanders' 2016 presidential bid. This election cycle, Sanders endorsed Jackson for governor and Platner for Senate, though the independent senator from Vermont withdrew his support for Platner after the sexual assault allegation. He said he didn't plan to weigh in on which Democrat should replace Platner.

Just one other candidate has remained in the race for the Senate nomination — women’s health company CEO Saundra Pelletier. She faces long odds against Jackson, who has been a fixture in Maine politics for more than a decade.

Jackson's campaign says more than 480 of the 601 delegates who will be voting at Saturday's convention are committed to supporting him.

Jackson has supported progressive positions such as Medicare for All. He also has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose presence in Maine has been hotly debated since an agent killed a driver in the state earlier this month.

Maine is an important piece of Democrats’ effort to win the Senate

Democrats have a narrow path to take back the Senate in November and it’s highly unlikely they can do it without a win in Maine. In addition, they need victories in competitive races in North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio, and they need to hang on to the seats they already have. That includes open Senate seats in Michigan and Minnesota, where Democratic incumbents are retiring.

Maine's Democratic primary was one of the early contests where progressives took on establishment-backed Democrats. While Platner faced several controversies during his campaign, he easily outlasted Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer but dropped out before the June 9 primary.

Platner had backing from Sanders as well as Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. That support disintegrated after the sexual assault allegation early this month.

Collins has described Jackson as a ‘Bernie Bro’

If he becomes the nominee, Jackson will need to convince the state's large independent voting bloc that it's time to replace Collins. Republicans have called Jackson too extreme for Maine voters, and Collins said earlier this week that she knows Jackson well and that his positions are “clearly” in line with socialism.

She noted Jackson ran Sanders' first presidential campaign in Maine, adding “He's a Bernie Bro.”

Jackson would also need to scramble to make up a fundraising gulf against Collins, who has been raising money for months.

Federal filings show she has raised more than $16 million so far. Jackson's campaign this week said he raised more than $1 million since jumping into the Senate race.

Jackson believes his team is up to the task.

“We are building a movement in every corner of this state to defeat Susan Collins and elect a senator who will fight like hell for working people,” Jackson said last week.

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AP journalist Nathan Ellgren in Washington contributed to this report.

Kaepernick and rock star Bruce Springsteen were honored Friday night with the ACLU Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science and Sports. The honor comes a decade after Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in protest against police violence and racial inequality.

“We know our civil liberties are under attack, we know humanity is under attack, education is under attack. They are trying to encroach on our rights, encroach on our dignity, encroach on the future that we want to build together,” Kaepernick said in his acceptance speech. “When we look back at this moment, it will not be the speeches that change the direction of history. It's going to be whether we decided: Are we going to build the schools or not? Are we going to defend the rights of others, or are we going to watch? Are we going to build community together, or are we going to stand in isolation?

“The consequences of these decisions are going to be the reality that the future generations inherit.”

Kaepernick was joined in protest by teammate Eric Reid and others, but he also drew criticism from politicians, team owners and other players. Kaepernick and Reid filed collusion grievances against the NFL in 2017, saying they were blacklisted. They reached a settlement in 2019.

“He demonstrated in real time the price America too often exacts from those who challenge racial injustice," said Deborah Archer, the ACLU's president. “His peaceful protest was met with extraordinary personal sacrifice. He lost the career he spent his life building. He became the target of criticism, hostility and relentless public attack, and yet he never retreated.”

Springsteen — who closed the event with a solo rendition of “Streets of Minneapolis” — and Kaepernick were honored as part of an awards ceremony hosted by actress Laverne Cox.

“It's important for us to recognize all of the people who are contributing to the fight to protect civil rights and civil liberties,” Archer said. “Those folks — actors, athletes — these folks have all shown up in incredibly powerful ways.”

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

Crews have been able to build some containment lines around the Akawa Butte Fire, which is burning near Sisters, a town about 22 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of Bend. Started by lightning on July 16, the fire has scorched 42 square miles (109 square kilometers) and destroyed two homes.

It has been designated as the nation’s top priority wildfire because of its proximity to people. The designation will allow officials to tap into resources from other states and other countries, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Friday.

Strong winds and low humidity were expected later Friday and Saturday and could lead to increased fire activity, officials warned. They urged residents to be prepared to evacuate if necessary.

The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning in central Oregon through Saturday, which means conditions such as low humidity, warm temperatures and strong winds can create an extreme wildfire risk.

The most critical period for Sisters, a town of 3,800 people about 3 miles (5 kilometers) south of the fire, will be the next 24 to 48 hours, said Sisters Mayor Jennifer Letz. She said about half of the town's population has been told to be ready to leave if needed.

“If we can get through this weekend, we will probably be in a good position moving forward. But right now, we do have the north half of the city under orders to be prepared, to have a plan, to get their things together," she said.

There are more than 1,000 firefighters battling the blaze and more are expected to join them to help strengthen and expand containment lines. The blaze has shown extreme fire behavior, including 200-foot (61-meter) flame heights and a pyrocumulus cloud that generated its own lightning, Kotek said.

“This is all-hands-on-deck here in Oregon,” she said.

It’s not Oregon’s only significant wildfire, making this an especially challenging period for emergency responders, she said.

There are dozens more fires burning across the state, choking the air in Oregon and sending smoke across the country. Kotek said every available firefighter and firefighting resource is being used in the field.

The biggest blaze is the Rowe Creek Complex which has destroyed 300 square miles (777 square kilometers) since being sparked by lightning on July 15. It was nearly 30% contained on Friday.

Firefighters have made progress on the northern portion of the blaze, where they have built containment lines, but strong winds fueled the fire and it expanded on its southern end after spot fires jumped containment lines, said Thadd Niebel, an operations chief with the U.S. Forest Service.

Crews were being reassigned to the southern portion of the blaze to strengthen containment lines and protect homes and other buildings ahead of winds forecast to reach 20 mph (32 kph), Niebel said.

___

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.

The multi-day event features R&B and soul performances, parties and a variety of live events throughout the weekend.

Guests arrived early at the Miami Beach Bandshell ahead of the opening night’s festivities.

Before the kickoff, Studio 10 spoke with this year’s hosts and artists, who shared why they say Miami Takeover is the place to be this weekend.

Fans at Comic-Con International were ecstatic with his response Friday. A crowd at the expo's massive Hall H stood to cheer and applaud as the 73-year-old actor — long absent from Hollywood — joined a panel to promote his return as Dark Helmet in “Spaceballs: The New One," the long-awaited sequel to the 1987 cult classic.

When his name was first announced, Moranis hid in the crowd under his character's extra large helmet as soldiers from the film used an oversized comb to search for the actor.

“This came along at the right time,” said Moranis of the film, set for release next April. “It just felt like this is it. … It is the best decision I ever made. It’s like family to me.”

Moranis and Daphne Zuniga were joined on stage by director Josh Greenbaum, writer and actor Josh Gad, writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, along with new cast members Keke Palmer and Lewis Pullman. Pullman and Palmer’s character descriptions have not been revealed.

“It was so funny that I kept being like, ‘Oh my God! Can you believe they said that?’” said Palmer about first reading the script.

Pullman says he was hesitant to join the film having grown up with it and watching his father Bill Pullman’s performance as Lone Starr.

“I read it and I was like, 'Damn it. This is so good. … This is one of the funniest scripts I’ve ever read.' I rarely laugh out loud when I’m reading scripts," Pullman said. "I would be a fool. It would be weird if I didn’t do it.”

Mel Brooks and Bill Pullman were not in attendance but greeted fans via prerecorded video.

Fans were shown behind-the-scenes footage of Brooks recording lines inside a vocal booth and reuniting with Bill Pullman and Zuniga, and a sneak peak at a teaser trailer.

Gad confirmed to fans that he was playing a mawg, but not John Candy’s character from the original, Barf. Gad said the new film would honor Candy and other original cast members who have since died, including Joan Rivers, Dom DeLuise and Dick Van Patten.

The team poked fun at the “cinematic universe” film timelines popularized by Marvel Studios with a parody displayed across Hall H's wrap-around screens showcasing imagined sequels in more than 11 phases of “The Almighty Schwartz Saga."

Robin Merrill said she was devastated to see the artwork, created in 2016 with a couple hundred people, replaced with gray paint.

“This is the color of their lifeless souls,” Merrill said. “Everyone who did this, that’s the color of their interior. It took away the life. It took away the color. Why? That represents them. That’s sick. And you know what? We’re coming back. You can’t do this.”

Abby Laughlin, owner of 600 Gallery, said she first noticed the changes last weekend and immediately called Merrill.

“I was very surprised to see it change so drastically,” Laughlin said. “It was a shock to the system. We kind of knew it was coming following the case that was happening.”

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Transportation to paint over colorful crosswalks across the state or risk losing state funding.

Merrill said her artwork predates the LGBTQ rainbow crosswalks that became the focus of the statewide debate. She said the project was part of a Safe Roads program funded by the Florida Department of Transportation.

“I studied that,” Merrill said. “I created these designs for that reason. Under a Bloomberg Study these came in as number three and number four in the nation for asphalt art in changing accidents, pedestrians bicycles, and cars.“

While Merrill criticized the state’s actions, she said she’s also frustrated with the City of Fort Lauderdale, accusing city leaders of failing to communicate with her.

Merrill said she is now preparing a lawsuit against the City of Fort Lauderdale and is also considering legal action against the state.

“What I would say is, you made a mistake, own it,” Merrill said. “And pay the penalty. And the penalty will be determined by law.”

The subject of trade rumors as he approaches free agency, the two-time defending AL Cy Young winner pitched out of a seventh-inning jam before walking off the mound to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd of 40,638.

Skubal returned for the eighth inning with 89 pitches, but was replaced by Brenan Hanifee after retiring Carter Jensen. He left to another ovation, having given up four hits and two walks in his 61st win for the Tigers.

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 12th save as the Tigers (50-54) improved to 28-16 since June 1. They are four wins away from reaching .500 for the first time since May 4.

Detroit scored twice in the first off Royals opener Beck Way (1-1), but Noah Cameron followed with seven shutout innings.

Way struggled in the first, allowing a pair of singles before hitting Dillon Dingler to load the bases. Riley Greene hit a long fly to left, but Isaac Collins reached above the fence to steal a grand slam. Colt Keith scored on the play, and Hao-Yu Lee made it 2-0 with an RBI single.

The Royals got two runners to start the third, and Tyler Tolbert bunted them to second and third. Skubal, though, struck out Carter Jensen and Lane Thomas to end the inning.

Skubal almost repeated the feat in the fourth, striking out Vinnie Pasquantino with one out and a runner on third, but Nick Loftin made it 2-1 with an RBI double to left.

A two-out double by Michael Massey gave the Royals on second and third with two out in the seventh, but Tolbert flew out to end the inning.

Salvador Perez, who needs one homer to break George Brett's franchise record of 317, couldn't make it happen on the 43rd anniversary of Brett's Pine Tar Game homer against the New York Yankees.

Up next

Tigers RHP Casey Mize (4-6. 2.79) was set to start opposite RHP Michael Wacha (5-7. 3.66) on Saturday.

___

The 26-year-old Richardson got off to a slow start but quickly made up time, finishing in 10.77 seconds to breeze past training partner Kayla White and win by 0.13 seconds at Icahn Stadium.

“It feels phenomenal to be back in a better place — healthy, mentally, physically, emotionally," Richardson, who battled injuries last year, said in an interview with Peacock after the race. “It shows that hard work pays off."

Lyles, the reigning Olympic champion, was trailing early but quickly caught up to the field — and then blew right by them. He matched his personal-best time by finishing in 9.79 seconds. The 32-year-old Ronnie Baker took second and Kenny Bednarek finished third.

“I did what I do,” Lyles said in a postrace interview. “There’s no better rush than (winning). It’s my natural high. That’s my vice. Winning, running fast, that feeling of flying, that feeling of being better than everybody in the world — you can't get that around here, only around me.”

Lyles celebrated after the race by signing a trading card with his image on it. He planned to give it to a “special fan,” he said. This was his third national title in the 100.

It's been quite a stretch for Lyles, who got married in April. He also recently attended a FIFA World Cup game, where he posed for photos with Jamaican great Usain Bolt.

Lyles is gearing up for world championships next season and then the 2028 LA Olympics.

“Shoot, I was just playing around this year," Lyles said. “I’m scared for y’all next year. I am real scared. Because you all ain’t going to have this nice Noah who goes around and just thinks that it’s all lollygagging and good. Next year I've got plans. I got places to run fast."

Richardson stuck around for the men’s race, sitting on the grass with her spikes off as her partner, Christian Coleman, competed. Coleman was fourth.

She's rounding into the form that led to a gold medal in the 100 at the 2023 world championships and silver at the 2024 Paris Games.

“Just really remembering who I am and just knowing that consistency and just being determined to be better," said Richardson, who won her third 100 national title.

Erin Marsh used a strong 800-meter race to eclipse Timara Chapman by 38 points to win the heptathlon. Marsh, the sister of Philadelphia All-Star outfielder Brandon Marsh, finished with 6,059 points.

Garrett Scantling edged Kyle Garland by 95 points to take the decathlon crown. Euphenie Andre won the women's triple jump, Tyus Wilson took the men's high jump title and Annette Echikunwoke the women's hammer throw. Nick Christie won the men's race walk half marathon and Lauren Harris the women's race.

___

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

Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by Dallas, scored 30 points in the finals to top Portland's Bridget Carleton.

“I was shocked, that’s crazy to be the first is definitely an honor,” Fudd said of being the first rookie to win.

Fudd's 30-point effort was tied for the second-most ever, equaling Sabrina Ionescu and Allie Quigley's total. Ionescu holds the record, scoring 37 points in 2023.

Fudd hit her first six shots in the finals to get into rhythm. Carleton, from the expansion Fire, had 29 points in the opening round, but struggled in the finals, scoring 19 points.

Fresh off her victory, Fudd issued a playful request for a rematch with Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry. The two had a 3-point competition when Fudd went to his camp when she was in high school.

“I mean Steph if you’re listening, I'm asking for a rematch,” Fudd said.

The 3-point competition capped off the Friday night festivities. Elena Delle Donne, Shakira Austin and high schooler Jezelle Banks led team Washington to the Shooting Stars championship to tipoff the action. The trio scored 31 points to edge Seattle’s three in the finals, with Banks hitting two of the 4-point shots from just inside halfcourt to put the team over the top.

“She carried. She carried,” Austin said of Banks. “You could just tell in her energy, like as soon as we started, like it was confidence and I think that showed in how she hit those tough shots.”

In the 3-point competition, Carleton had a stellar first-round, scoring 29 points. She hit 13 of her first 16 shots. Fudd also had a great opening round, scoring 24 points. She made four of her final five shots. That carried over to the finals.

Carleton’s hot shooting in the opening round brought the crowd, which included Jayson Tatum, Russell Westbrook, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dwyane Wade and Sheryl Swoopes, to its feet.

Other players in 3-point contest were Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, who scored 20 points, Golden State’s Janelle Salaun, who had 19 points; Toronto’s Marina Mabrey, who had 18 and Minnesota’s Natisha Heideman, who had 17.

In the Shooting Stars competition, Seattle had 24 points to finish as runner-up after missing all of the team’s 4-point shots.

This was the first year that the contest was conducted. A skills competition was done in previous All-Star weekends. The format was a two-round, timed shooting competition in which teams had 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition featured shots ranging from a layup to the 4-pointer.

Washington had the highest score in the preliminary round, posting 35 points. Once again, Banks hit 4-point shots to help her team reach the championship round.

Seattle’s squad needed to beat the 20 points that the Detroit/Dallas team put up to advance to the finals. High schooler Tatianna Griffin hit two of the 4-point shots to help Seattle reach the finals. Minnesota finished in fourth with 19 points with a team of Courtney Williams, Rebbekah Brunson and Ryan Carter.

Detroit/Dallas had former Shock great Deanna Nolan, Wings All-Star Jessica Shepard and high schooler Morghan Reckley.

The new CBA gave Fudd $20,000 for winning the 3-point contest and each participant received $10,000. That’s about eight-times last season’s prize money.

Each shooting stars winner received $15,000. Each competitor, not including the high school players, will receive $7,500. Last year, the winners of the skills contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.

In addition Aflac, like it has the past two years, gave extra money to the winners. Fudd took home $40,000 for winning the 3-point contest. Carleton received $30,000 for finishing second and Howard got $15,000 for placing third.

Team Washington got $40,000 from Aflac with Seattle receiving $32,500 and Dallas $12,500.

___

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

The statement contradicts repeated assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials that the projects were canceled because they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or had other problems that made them a poor investment of taxpayer dollars.

Democrats and environmental groups seized on the court filing Friday, saying the administration had “weaponized” the federal government to kill good jobs and punish working families because of their political views.

Democrats say what was ‘obvious’ has now been acknowledged

“This administration has now admitted in court what has long been obvious: it terminated nearly 300 cost-cutting energy projects for no reason other than the fact that the states they were in did not vote for the president in the 2024 election,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state. Both are high-ranking Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations committees, respectively.

“Weaponizing the federal government like this is outright un-American, and it’s hardworking families already struggling with sky-high costs who are suffering the consequences of this corrupt abuse of power,” Kaptur and Murray said.

They called on congressional Republicans to join them in holding the Trump administration "accountable for the President’s failure to look out for all Americans.”

The Energy Department announced last October that 321 funding awards across 223 projects were terminated, saying that after review, they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable."

The cuts, part of broader attacks from President Donald Trump on climate programs and clean energy funding, slashed federal support for projects to build battery plants, develop hydrogen technology, upgrade the electric grid and capture carbon dioxide emissions.

Russell Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the cutbacks in a social media post, saying money “to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Projects from many states were cut

Projects that were cut were located in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state. All 16 targeted states supported Harris, but Wright said the cuts were “business decisions" based on whether the projects were a good use of taxpayer money or not.

The cuts were immediately challenged in court, and more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress, led by California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, wrote a letter to the Energy Department's acting inspector general requesting a formal investigation. The department's internal watchdog launched an investigation in December.

Government lawyers had p reviously confirmed in a court filing late last year that the selection of grants in fact “was influenced by whether a grantee’s address was located in a State that tends to elect ... Democratic candidates in state and national elections (so-called “Blue States”).”

That filing came in a separate suit filed by clean energy groups and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, over the canceled funding. The most recent admission came in a case called Thakur v. Trump that’s been ongoing since last spring. Federal lawyers acknowledged that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.

Holly Bender, chief program officer for the Sierra Club, said the latest court filing shows “the Trump administration is brazenly admitting to a vindictive approach to cancelling much-needed energy infrastructure that ignores the job losses, air pollution and increasing bills that people are experiencing everywhere.”

Instead of “building the energy projects we desperately need,” billions of American taxpayer dollars are “going to line the pockets of a small handful of fossil fuel company CEOs,” Bender said, citing nearly $3 billion pledged by the Trump administration to cancel offshore wind projects in favor of fossil fuel projects such as natural gas and coal.

Trump described a mutually beneficial relationship and praised Delcy Rodríguez, who has served as the acting president since Nicolás Maduro’s capture on Jan. 3, as “doing a fantastic job.”

Trump also said that presidential elections will not happen anytime soon.

“They are not ready yet for the elections, but at some point, they will be, and we are going to be standing right on top of it,” Trump said during the news conference in the Oval Office.

U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio has said elections are part of a three-phase plan for stabilization, recovery, and transition.

“The amount of money being made by Venezuela now is more than they have ever made before, and we are taking a lot also, you know, for our efforts,” Trump said during the question-and-answer segment of the conference.

On oil sales, Rubio has said that the U.S. is committed to strict financial oversight, ensuring deposits into U.S. Treasury-controlled accounts, and disbursing only after approving monthly government budgets.

“That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime, so we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front,” Rubio said in January.

Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, the opposition leader, traveled to Panama after the 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck northern Venezuela on June 24. She was unable to travel to Caracas.

“Even though I cannot be there physically, I am with each of you — with every family still grieving those they lost, and with those who continue to seek answers,” Machado said in Spanish on Friday.

The Trump administration continued to assist the Venezuelan victims of the earthquakes, as the official death toll increased to 5,069 people on Friday, and there were 190 collapsed buildings. The World Bank recently estimated $19.6 billion in damages.

Trump said he was hopeful and “a lot of progress has been made” since “the amount of oil coming out of Venezuela, even before the big companies, you know Exxon, all the big companies there ... looking at it, they are going there.”

Trump also said he was “very popular” in Venezuela.

“For a long time, I’ve known their country and, you know, I owned the Miss Universe pageant and Miss Venezuela always did very well in that pageant, so I know something about the country,” Trump said about owning the Miss Universe organization from 1996 to 2015.

Venezuelan women won the Miss Universe crown seven times from 1979 to 2013. Trump also described Venezuelans as “great people.”

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The administration announced tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies late Thursday, saying the countries had failed to adequately enforce a ban on goods made with forced labor.

The new tariffs took effect just as stopgap levies Trump imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court expired at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Countries object to what they call unfounded labor claims

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell rejected claims linking Australia, a major exporter of beef, gold and copper, to modern slavery and raising the tariff on its exports to the U.S. to 12.5% from the 10% level imposed after Trump’s “Liberation Day” hikes last year.

“We believe that amongst all of the countries in the world Australia does take the issue of slavery, modern slavery, seriously, and will continue to do that,” Farrell told reporters in Adelaide.

Australia believes the higher tariffs are “completely unjustified and we will continue to lobby the United States Trade Representative to remove all tariffs on Australian goods,” Farrell said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the tariffs on his country, also subject to a 12.5% import duty, were “extremely disappointing,” unjustified and harmful to trade.

A U.S. investigation serving as the basis for the tariffs did not provide meaningful evidence to support allegations of forced labor.

“Tariffs are not the way — they drive up costs and uncertainty for businesses,” he wrote on X.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas questioned the U.S. stance in comments on Channel News Asia.

“If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the United States, I mean we have, people have paid vacations, we have very good conditions, labor conditions for our employees, so it’s not really grounded,” Kallas said.

Also facing a 12.5% tariff, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said it would “continue to engage the USTR (United States Trade Representative) to explore options.”

Some hope to forestall the new tariffs

Japan likewise protested the 12.5% tariff imposed on its exports, noting Tokyo had been reassured by the Trump administration that there would be no more tariffs on top of an earlier agreement on a 10% U.S. import duty.

“Our understanding is both sides are still committed to that,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.

“It is regrettable that the measure imposes tariffs on the grounds of non-existence of measures banning imports of goods made by forced labor, even though Japan’s industry and trade are in line with international rules,” Kihara said.

South Korea’s trade ministry said the announcement eased some uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, but noted that a Section 301 investigation into alleged Korean excess production continues.

The combined duties on South Korean exports should not exceed 15%, the ministry said in a statement.

Thailand noted it is subject to the new 12.5% tariff by the U.S. under the forced labor provision, but the measure exempts around 2,120 items, representing more than half the value of Thai goods exported to the U.S.

China opposes unilateral tariffs in ‘all forms’

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “opposes all forms of unilateral tariffs” in response to the new 12.5% tariffs.

“Tariff wars and trade wars do not serve any parties’ interests,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference.

Trade tensions have clouded relations between China and the U.S., two of the world’s biggest economies, as Trump’s hefty “Liberation Day” tariffs resulted in a sharp drop in Chinese exports to the U.S.

Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who agreed to set up new boards of trade and investment at their mid-May meeting in Beijing, are expected to meet again in September.

Some Chinese exporters say, however, the impacts are limited as the latest U.S. tariffs on China remain at lower levels than last year’s rates, which were initially 34%.

“Of course it’d be best if they (the tariffs) are not there,” said Richard Chan, manager of Golden Arts Gifts & Decor, which manufactures Christmas trees and decorations in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan and supplies globally to those including Walmart.

Golden Arts’ share of sales to the U.S., however, already have fallen as U.S. tariffs added more uncertainty. They have pivoted more to Europe, which now accounts for roughly 70% of their sales, Chan said.

The latest import duties might stick

Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official, said the latest round of tariffs involved “few surprises” since they range just between 10% and 12.5%.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office spent four months investigating the basis for those tariffs to meet legal requirements under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

“Time will tell whether the third attempt to impose tariffs is the charm and this action stands up to legal challenges,” said Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

These duties are less likely than earlier ones to be overruled by U.S. courts, she said.

Further tariffs may be coming in the fall related to alleged structural excess capacity of trading partners, she noted.

Experts say these tariffs may be less disruptive

Washington has generally tended to engage in increased trade friction, William Bratton of BNP Paribas said in a research note Friday.

“On the positive side, however, these tariffs are lower than the earlier (Emergency Powers Act) ‘reciprocal’ tariffs and appear to exempt a substantial proportion of Asia’s current trade flows with the U.S.,” he said.

The Trump administration has made tariff exceptions, however, including imported goods that the U.S. does not produce, Cutler noted.

“This should reduce the impact of these duties. Nevertheless, they will contribute to higher prices both for end consumers and businesses importing inputs and machinery,” she said.

Immediate pushback, legal and political

There was immediate pushback, both legally, and politically.

The Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian advocacy group that successfully challenged earlier Trump tariffs, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, challenging the double-digit import taxes that Trump imposed Friday.

The group called the new tariffs a pretext to allow Trump to maintain a wall of tariffs around the U.S. economy after the Supreme Court struck down big global taxes he’d imposed last year.

“The administration allowed one global tariff to expire and immediately replaced it with another under a different statute,” said Sara Albrecht, chair of the center. “Changing the statute doesn’t change the law. Every tariff authority has limits, and every administration must respect them.”

Her group represented businesses that successfully challenged Trump’s 2025 global tariffs.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, a California Democrat questioned the reasons for the latest slew of tariffs.

“If he was serious, he would not be applying the same tariff rate to China, one of the worst forced labor abusers in the world, as he does to countries like Australia,” she said. “Then again, unlike China, Australia doesn’t manufacture any Trump corporation products.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Americans will be the ones paying for the new tariffs.

“Instead of continuing his disastrous tariff scheme, the president must put the American people first and revoke these harmful policies that are making everyday Americans’ lives flat-out unaffordable,” Gillibrand said. ”At home in New York and across the country, people are struggling, and they need relief.”

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Chan reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press writers Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Grant Peck in Bangkok and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, as well as AP Economics Writer in Washington, and AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman in New York, contributed to this report.

Biden's attorneys filed the notice of voluntary dismissal less than a week after a divided panel of appeals court judges rejected his bid to block the material's release. Biden could have petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene or asked for a rehearing by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In a 2-1 ruling on Monday, a three-judge panel from the circuit court found a “substantial” public interest in disclosing the material that Biden wants to keep under wraps. The panel had suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow more time for Biden to consider his appellate options.

Circuit Judge Florence Pan wrote a dissenting opinion in which she said Biden has shown a “substantial privacy interest” in keeping the material hidden. The appeal also was heard by D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas.

Pan was nominated to the court by Biden, a Democrat. Srinivasan was nominated by President Barack Obama, also a Democrat. Katsas was nominated by President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on two memoirs, 2007’s “Promises to Keep” and 2017’s “Promise Me, Dad,” interviewed him at his home in 2016 and 2017. Biden’s lawyers say the conversations were candid, personal and intended to remain private.

The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents from his time as a senator from Delaware and as Obama’s vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded the material after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.

Biden sued and sought an injunction to prevent the Justice Department under Trump from releasing the recordings to Congress and the conservative Heritage Foundation. The department previously argued that the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law.

Biden appealed after U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump nominee, ruled in June that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had.

The candidates are Scott M. Singer, Daniel J. Franzese, George R. Moraitis, Raven Harrison, and Joe Kaufman, according to the Federal Election Commission. They had a heated debate during the GOP’s Sunshine State Showdown on June 27 in Hollywood.

Singer, 49, is the Republican at the top of the campaign finance list with more than $1.99 million in total receipts, according to the data submitted to the commission on June 30, records show.

“I’m a proud American, a proud Jewish Republican, and I’m going to appeal to swing voters that we need,” said Singer, a Georgetown Law grad who was born in Miami Beach and was a three-term Boca Raton mayor.

Franzese, who earned his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1989, follows Singer on the list with more than $1.47 million in total receipts, according to the data.

“I know from talking to voters that there’s a strong sentiment that that’s what they want to see this year,” Franzese, who was born in New York, said about his experience as a retired finance executive and a portfolio manager.

Moraitis, 55, a retired Lt. Comdr. in the U.S. Navy Reserve who was born in Fort Lauderdale, followed Singer and Franzese with more than $839,000 in total receipts, according to the data.

“I’m going to fight in Congress to reduce fraud, to reduce wasteful spending, and cut the size of the federal government,” said Moraitis, a real estate attorney who represented District 93 in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018.

Harrison, a Temple University grad who was born in Texas, follows Moraitis with more than $778,000 in total receipts, according to the data.

“What’s happening is we have people who’ve been there for decades, and they kick the can down the road, which is why we need a reset and to get true representation into Congress and get things done,” said Harrison, a military spouse and mother of two.

Kaufman, a counter-terrorism expert known as the “Terrorist Hunter,” follows Harrison with more than $631,500 in total receipts, according to the data.

“My background is in national security and counterterrorism. I have been involved in the shutdown of terrorist charities and imprisoned terror-related individuals,” said Kaufman, a self-proclaimed defender of the U.S.–Israel alliance.

The mail-in ballot request deadline is Aug. 6, the Democratic primary is Aug. 18, and the general election is Nov. 3.

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• VOTER GUIDE: Here is how to prepare for Florida’s Aug. 18 primary election
• EDITORIAL: Take action now if you want to vote by mail

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The candidates are U.S. Rep. Jared E. Moskowitz, who represents Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, and Oliver A. Larkin.

According to campaign finance data submitted to the Federal Election Commission on June 30, Moskowitz, 45, is at the top of the list with more than $2.65 million in total receipts.

“Things are not affordable. People’s homes are not affordable,” Moskowitz said. “Their home insurance is not affordable, groceries are not affordable. Healthcare is not affordable.”

Moskowitz, who was born in Coral Springs, served as Parkland City commissioner from 2006 to 2012 and in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2019.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Moskowitz as the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management from 2019 to 2021. He has been representing Florida’s 23rd Congressional District since 2023.

“The majority of Democrats want someone who can win this seat and then make Hakeem Jeffries the speaker so we can get the gavel and hold the Trump administration accountable,” said Moskowitz, who earned degrees from George Washington University and Nova Southeastern University’s law school.

Larkin, 32, a union organizer, follows Moskowitz and five Republicans with more than $541,000 in total receipts, according to the campaign finance data.

“To be clear, I voted for Congressman Moskowitz, so I have been disappointed as many South Floridians have been,” said Larkin, who was born in California, grew up in Fort Lauderdale, and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South in Tennessee.

The Democratic Socialists of America, a New York-based political organization that seeks to dismantle capitalism, endorsed Larkin, who supports Medicare for All and universal childcare.

“Right now, nobody in the DSA has won a red seat. This is a red seat in the general election,” Moskowitz said about the endorsement.

The mail-in ballot request deadline is Aug. 6, the Democratic primary is Aug. 18, and the general election is Nov. 3.

Related stories

• Republican primary: 6 candidates seek to succeed Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s newly redrawn 25th Congressional District
• VOTER GUIDE: Here is how to prepare for Florida’s Aug. 18 primary election
• EDITORIAL: Take action now if you want to vote by mail

Related content on the web

• State Affairs: Florida GOP sues to block Libertarian in key House race
• Florida Politics: Uthmeier backs Scott Singer in crowded CD 25 Republican primary

Interactive graphic

Towering 407 feet (124 meters), Starship soared from the company’s base at the southern tip of Texas. NASA monitored the space-skimming flight, a critical step toward using the Starship as a lunar lander for moon crews.

The hourlong journey ended with a splashdown so soft that the spacecraft remained afloat in the Indian Ocean as the SpaceX webcast drew to a close, drawing cheers from employees back at the launch site.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX had replaced six of the 33 engines on the first-stage booster after some of them failed to ignite last week, resulting in a last-second launch abort. The previous Starship flight in May also experienced engine trouble, which prevented the booster from making a controlled return.

This time, all of the engines fired at liftoff, but not enough of them lit back up for the booster's return, causing it to descend too fast and slam into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft continued soaring eastward, popping out the Starlinks one by one 124 miles (200 kilometers) up before reentering.

It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3. Like the previous demo, neither the booster nor spacecraft was meant to be saved, instead plunging into the sea.

The stainless steel, retro-looking spacecraft hovered upright over the Indian Ocean before lowering into the water, more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from where the flight began.

It was the best reentry yet, according to SpaceX, with the intact booster floating amid just a few flames. Previous flights ended with the spacecraft engulfed in flames and exploding at splashdown — or rupturing in midair.

“We're really pumped about this,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, calling it “lucky flight 13.”

The Starlinks accomplished all their jobs before reentering over the Indian Ocean.

After being ejected from the Starship’s Pez-like dispenser, the Starlinks had just 20 minutes to communicate via lasers and radio before reentering. SpaceX said its engineers made contact and even downloaded data from each one. With more than 10,000 Starlinks currently providing internet, SpaceX boasts the world’s largest satellite constellation.

Six of the newly launched Starlinks carried cameras that photographed Starship’s heat shield at flight's end, beaming back amazingly crisp shots even as the spacecraft bobbed in the ocean. The heat shield was also equipped with sensors to measure the extreme pressure placed on the spacecraft during launch. Most of the heat shield’s thermal tiles were black, but some were deliberately painted white to simulate missing tiles, part of an experiment to test the shield’s robustness.

"We got all the heat shield data we needed and then some!" Musk said on X.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman offered congratulations. “Excited for what will be learned from this mission,” Isaacman noted on X.

SpaceX wants to make sure Starship’s heat shield can withstand the heat of entry before trying to return it to the Starbase launch pad near the Texas-Mexico border. The company already has used a pair of giant mechanical arms at the pad to capture a Starship booster. The company plans to do the same with the actual spacecraft, which is designed to be totally reusable.

NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts — three Americans and one Italian — can practice docking their capsule with it next year.

Starship is also the vehicle with which Musk intends to build a city on Mars. He's already booking tourist trips to Mars, as well as the moon.

The latest test flight was delayed first by the July 16 launch abort, then again on Thursday by thick clouds from Tropical Storm Bertha.

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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.

Trump's move follows a report released July 4 by his Domestic Policy Council saying leaders of the Smithsonian and its National Museum of American History don't tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”

The president lacks authority to quickly fire the Smithsonian leadership or to order changes to exhibits, so his executive order targets the sidewalks out front, which are maintained by the National Park Service. His executive order calls for signs telling visitors about the White House report and directing them to resources for what he calls “accurate information regarding America’s history.” It also calls for a temporary exhibit that corrects information he deems inaccurate.

Smithsonian officials declined to comment on Trump's order.

Anthea M. Hartig, director of the American history museum, pushed back on the White House report during congressional hearings this week.

“As we continue to fact check the report, we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum,” she told lawmakers. “There is always room for improvement. But I also know the beauty and the inspiration and the expertise that lies in our collections, our exhibits, and our programming.”

The Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch and museum directors report to Secretary Lonnie Bunch, who is subject to oversight from a Board of Regents.

Trump’s escalating effort to force changes at the Smithsonian marks the Republican president’s latest move to transform cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, and his handpicked board voted to add his name to the building, only to have a federal judge later order the signs to be removed.

Trump has also imposed changes on historical sites beyond Washington, including in Philadelphia, where the administration won a court ruling last week allowing it to reinstall interpretive panels that critics say whitewash the history of slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home. Advocates, academics and officials have been concerned for months that the version that complies with Trump’s order could give a history that plays down the pain in the nation’s past in favor of a more triumphant view.

Trump in March revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

“We need people to call their senators,” said Paul Christian Namphy, an advocate from the Family Action Network Movement.

“This week we have been pushing a lot to get those votes. Hopefully we will get the support that we need,” said National Coordinator Arnoldo Diaz.

The advocates are urging Congress to pass legislation offering protections for TPS recipients, including Venezuelan TPS beneficiary Sedna Mercado, who said she recently met with lawmakers in Washington.

“It was really nice because it was bipartisan, Republicans and Democrats,” Mercado said. “We were able to tell them our stories and why we need protection from deportations.”

Advocates said uncertainty surrounding the program has left many recipients fearful.

“People have been driven underground because there is so much uncertainty,” Christian Namphy said.

“Our protection from deportation, as well as our work authorization and driver’s license privileges, are coming to an end, and it is an extremely cruel measure our administration has meted out against us with the help and complicity of the Supreme Court,” Christian Namphy said.

The Archdiocese of Miami said Friday it will have to terminate at least 40 employees at Catholic Health Services, one of its largest ministries, because of federal changes affecting TPS work authorization. Another 10 employees could also be affected pending a final review of their circumstances.

“It’s not just the Haitian community that is in fear, but the entire TPS community is in fear of losing their jobs or going to work and being arrested on the streets because everyone right now is at risk of deportation,” Diaz said.

Mercado said many families have stopped leaving their homes.

“I have a lot of friends and family that don’t go out of their houses, so they depend on DoorDash and Uber Eats to get their groceries. That is how impactful it is,” she said.

TPS provides work permits and protection from deportation after the government determines conditions in a designated country prevent its nationals from returning safely.

“You have Haiti, for instance. That country has some of the worst conditions right now in terms of crime, unemployment, everything, but they decided to terminate it,” Diaz said.

“We are working people. We strive to pay our taxes, to improve the economy and the community, and this is completely unjust. As you see what is happening to the Venezuelans today in a country facing an earthquake, it is inhuman to deport anyone to Haiti or Venezuela or any other TPS country,” Christian Namphy said.

Catholic Legal Services Managing Attorney Vanessa Joseph said the effects of the recent 6-3 Supreme Court ruling allowing the government to move forward with ending TPS for Haitians are being felt by recipients from other TPS-designated countries.

“A lot of people are going to be fearful because when the Supreme Court decided that they did not have the authority to review the government’s decision to terminate TPS, what they essentially allowed is the government to terminate people’s status, execute deportations, even while the lower court was going through its process,” Joseph said.

Asked whether the ruling makes TPS recipients from all designated countries feel under threat, Joseph responded, “Absolutely. I think everyone is feeling like they are susceptible to deportation at any point due to that decision.”

Calling the situation a “state of emergency,” advocates said Congress must act.

“What we need to do is stop those deportations and keep these families protected until conditions change in our countries,” Diaz said.

Joseph said a permanent immigration solution is needed.

“A pathway to residence is extremely important. A pathway to citizenship is even more important for many of these individuals,” she said.

Mercado said recipients also need more time.

“To make a permanent solution or even a solution for one year, because people need time to figure out what they are going to do with life,” she said.

The Archbishop of Miami plans to travel to Washington next week with a Haitian cardinal to meet with lawmakers on the issue.

Click on this link to see updates on Haitian TPS.

A stray shower is not out of the question for Miami-Dade/Broward or the Keys Friday night.

Saturday morning may feature spotty showers or storms along the east coast. More scattered showers and storms are expected to develop during the afternoon.

Sunday will get off to a mostly dry start. Daytime heating will breed afternoon storms!

Temperatures will make a run for the low and mid 90s both days -- factor in humidity and it will feel like 100+°F.

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According to police, the incident was reported at 7:27 a.m. in the area of Northeast Miami Avenue and 80^th Terrace.

Miami Fire Rescue personnel took the victim, who is in his 60s, to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, police said.

Anyone with information about the robbery and stabbing is asked to call the Miami Police Department or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

En una orden de arresto, la policía presentó un caso basado en pruebas circunstanciales contra Alejandro Leon Jr. y Samantha Angelina Feliz. Indicó que el cuerpo de su bebé, identificada como “Angelina”, aún no ha sido encontrado, pero que los indicios, incluida evidencia de ADN en manchas de sangre, apuntan a que la menor murió.

La policía de Rockingham, Carolina del Norte, arrestó el miércoles a Leon, de 21 años, y a Feliz, de 20. Ambos enfrentarán múltiples cargos, incluido homicidio involuntario, cuando sean trasladados de regreso al sur de Florida.

Las autoridades informaron que la investigación comenzó después de que un familiar se comunicó con el Departamento de Policía de Hollywood en julio de 2025 para reportar que no había visto a la niña desde febrero de ese año y que la pareja había hecho declaraciones inquietantes asegurando que Angelina “era parte de una estafa y negaban haber tenido un bebé”.

Un familiar que se reunió con Feliz en un parque de Hollywood en marzo de 2025 dijo a los investigadores que, al preguntarle por Angelina, ella respondió: “¿Qué bebé? No hay ningún bebé”.

“Desde entonces, Feliz ha afirmado que nunca hubo un bebé, que el bebé era un engaño y que estaba estafando a todos para obtener dinero”, señala la orden de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Hollywood.

Sin embargo, la policía indicó que la pareja hacía referencia a la niña en mensajes de texto anteriores y que se habían tomado fotografías en las que Feliz aparecía visiblemente embarazada. Además, las autoridades informaron que ambos tomaron fotografías y videos con Angelina después de su nacimiento, el cual se cree ocurrió en la vivienda sin que se emitiera un certificado de nacimiento.

Las autoridades señalaron que la última fotografía de Angelina fue tomada el 5 de enero de 2025. La bebé lucía “visiblemente enferma y desnutrida”.

“En esta última fotografía, la víctima no muestra signos de vida”, indicó la policía sobre la imagen.

En un momento de la investigación, agentes del Departamento de Policía de Lantana, en el condado Palm Beach, localizaron y entrevistaron a la pareja, y ambos sostuvieron que “Feliz nunca estuvo embarazada y nunca dio a luz a un bebé”.

“También afirmaron que la historia fue inventada con la esperanza de que sus familias sintieran lástima por ellos y les dieran dinero”, escribió la detective del Departamento de Policía de Hollywood, Nancie Toler. “Durante la entrevista, Feliz indicó que existían numerosos mensajes de texto entre ella, Leon y familiares hablando del embarazo y de cómo ella había inventado toda la historia”.

La policía informó que Feliz afirmó haber estado “usando un vientre falso de embarazo para aparentar que estaba embarazada” como parte de la supuesta “estafa”.

“Además, durante dichas entrevistas, tanto Feliz como Leon dijeron que las autoridades nunca encontrarían un ‘registro’ de ningún bebé”, escribió Toler. “Feliz también insinuó que la bebé pertenecía a una adicta al crack y que ellos solo la estaban cuidando”.

Las autoridades informaron que un registro en una unidad de almacenamiento en Hollywood, donde se cree que la pareja vivió en algún momento, permitió encontrar “ropa de bebé, una prueba de embarazo positiva Clearblue Easy, una pistola semiautomática negra, lo que parecía ser una toalla con manchas de sangre, tres cuadernos con anotaciones sobre una revelación de género y un baby shower, además de múltiples dispositivos electrónicos”.

Los resultados del laboratorio criminalístico “indicaron la presencia de sangre en la ropa y las toallas del bebé”, y las pruebas de ADN demostraron que “provenía de un hijo biológico de Leon y Feliz”, señala la orden.

En la orden, Toler escribió que, desde el reporte inicial, las autoridades intentaron sin éxito localizar a Feliz y Leon.

“Además, durante el curso de esta investigación, las autoridades intentaron localizar los restos de la víctima utilizando perros especializados en la detección de cadáveres en las antiguas residencias de Leon y Feliz; sin embargo, todas las búsquedas dieron resultados negativos”, escribió la detective.

Toler presentó los fundamentos de los cargos de la siguiente manera:

Después de que las autoridades emitieran una orden de arresto, la pareja enfrentará cargos por homicidio involuntario agravado de un menor, alteración o fabricación de evidencia física, no reportar una muerte a la oficina del médico forense, proporcionar información falsa sobre un menor desaparecido y presentar denuncias falsas ante las autoridades durante una investigación.

La policía solicita a cualquier persona con información sobre el caso que se comunique con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

Antes de recibir su sentencia, Perez, quien se encontraba sentada en una silla de ruedas y con grilletes en las manos y los pies, ofreció una declaración ante el tribunal.

“Antes que nada, quiero expresar mis más sinceras condolencias y disculpas a la familia de Ezequiel. Esto fue un accidente por completo, su señoría. No soy una persona que haga este tipo de cosas a propósito. Desde que ocurrió ese accidente y le quitó la vida a ese joven, lo único en lo que puedo pensar es en cómo debe sentirse su madre”, dijo Perez antes de romper en llanto.

“Le pido a Dios que, por favor, me perdone porque me cuesta perdonarme a mí misma, ya que no puedo imaginar cómo se siente su madre”, agregó Perez mientras intentaba recomponerse.

Algunos familiares de Ezequiel Urrutia lloraron en la sala mientras Perez ofrecía su declaración.

Perez, de 46 años, se declaró culpable en marzo de homicidio por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol y homicidio vehicular.

“Ella estuvo en el tribunal declarándose culpable de todos los cargos y, al hacerlo, pude ver que estaba bastante afectada y es comprensible”, dijo entonces a Local 10 News Frank Urrutia, padre de la víctima. “Seguimos devastados por la pérdida de nuestro hijo. Es algo que hemos tenido que soportar y encontrar la manera de seguir con nuestras vidas”.

Según las autoridades, Perez conducía bajo los efectos del alcohol y en sentido contrario por la autopista Turnpike de Florida, cerca de Red Road, en el condado Broward, el 9 de enero de 2025, antes de chocar contra el vehículo de Ezequiel Urrutia, lo que provocó la muerte del joven, conocido por sus amigos y seres queridos como Zeke.

Durante su declaración este viernes, Perez reconoció que había tomado medicamentos antes del choque.

Sus seres queridos dijeron que Ezequiel soñaba con convertirse en bombero y estaba a punto de terminar sus clases.

Después de que Perez hablara ante el tribunal este viernes, amigos y familiares de Ezequiel subieron al estrado para presentar sus declaraciones sobre el impacto que tuvo el crimen en las víctimas, incluida su novia, quien ofreció un emotivo testimonio sobre cómo su pérdida cambió su vida para siempre.

“No existe una sentencia que pueda devolvernos a Zeke o disminuir el dolor que llevaremos por el resto de nuestras vidas”, dijo Christina Diaz. “Pero sí existe una sentencia que puede hacer responsable a Sunshine Perez por las decisiones que tomó y ayudar a evitar que otra familia viva la misma pesadilla. Zeke merecía mucho más de lo que recibió. Merecía vivir la vida que le fue arrebatada. Siempre será recordado, profundamente amado y extrañado. Elijo creer que una parte de él sigue conmigo. Lo veo en los momentos hermosos de la vida cotidiana y eso es algo que Sunshine Perez nunca podrá quitarme”.

La familia de Ezequiel ha transformado su dolor en un propósito al crear un fondo de becas con el nombre de su hijo. Aseguran que están enfocados en ayudar a otras personas a seguir el sueño de su hijo de servir a los demás y marcar una diferencia.

Perez enfrenta una pena de hasta 34 años de prisión.

Grados, de 65 años, nació dentro de una familia dedicada al bordado de banderas peruanas de colores rojo y blanco, pero también de mantos para vírgenes católicas populares, sombreros que usan los obispos en la semana santa y vestimentas de los sacerdotes durante la misa.

“Mi papá ha hecho bandas para 11 presidentes” durante 66 años, recordó Grados mientras ensartaba un hilo dorado dentro de una aguja.

Desde 2016, cuando reemplazó a su padre, Grados ha elaborado bandas para casi una decena de mandatarios. “Los presidentes no eran reemplazables como ahora”, comentó en referencia a la extensa crisis política que ha generado el cambio frecuente de mandatarios y que no cesó ni con la pandemia del coronavirus que mató a 217.000 en Perú.

Fujimori —de perfil conservador e hija del fallecido y condenado expresidente Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000)— se convertirá en la segunda mujer en gobernar Perú, pero la primera en llegar al poder en unas elecciones. El 7 de junio venció en un ajustado balotaje al progresista Roberto Sánchez por casi 50.000 votos.

La dirigente política llega al poder en medio del alza del crimen, que es la mayor preocupación social, y el hartazgo de los peruanos por la crónica inestabilidad política en el país sudamericano.

Desde 2016, cuando asumió la presidencia Pedro Kuczynski (2016-2018), Perú ingresó en una crisis política por el enfrentamiento entre el Congreso —liderado por el partido de Fujimori— y los diversos líderes del Ejecutivo que nunca obtuvieron una mayoría parlamentaria.

En esta década han gobernado ocho presidentes, en vez de los dos que fueron los elegidos en comicios democráticos.

El último a cargo del gobierno es el presidente interino José María Balcázar, un parlamentario al que el Congreso colocó en febrero y entregará el poder a Fujimori.

En ese intermedio de casi una década han gobernado Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018) quien renunció en medio de una investigación por presunta corrupción, Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) destituido en 2020, Manuel Merino que dimitió tras seis días por protestas en 2020 que dejaron dos muertos y Francisco Sagasti quien encabezó un gobierno de transición (2020-2021).

La inestabilidad continuó con Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), destituido tras intentar disolver el Congreso en 2022, Dina Boluarte (2022-2025), cuyo gobierno estuvo marcado por protestas con 50 civiles muertos y terminó con su destitución, José Jerí (2025-2026) que gobernó cuatro meses y Balcázar.

Todos estos cambios de presidentes han provocado días febriles de labor en el taller de Grados. La banda que cuelga desde el hombro izquierdo de cada presidente hasta su muslo derecho se confecciona con satén de seda rojo y blanco, así como hilos metálicos bañados en oro. “Una de las cosas que más nos enorgullece es hacer este símbolo del poder”, comentó Grados quien estudió psicología, pero se dedicó al bordado.

La banda que el presidente saliente Balcázar entregará a Fujimori será una que ha sido prestada por el Parlamento para la ocasión debido a que cada mandatario se lleva su propia banda a casa, indicó Grados.

En 1950 su padre, que también se llamaba Dante, recibió el primer encargo de elaborar una banda presidencial para Manuel Odría (1948-1956), un militar que gobernaba desde 1948 tras ejecutar un golpe de estado, pero que en 1950 convocó y ganó las elecciones presidenciales luego de apresar al único candidato rival.

Desde esa época, la familia Grados comenzó a elaborar esos símbolos presidenciales en su taller ubicado en el casco urbano y más antiguo de Lima, fundado en 1532 por el español Francisco Pizarro y que casi tres siglos después se transformó en la capital de Perú, cuando empezó la república en 1821.

Raul Morales, 51, allegedly yelled the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar” while attacking the two men Thursday on Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to police accounts of what witnesses told them.

Morales was initially arrested Friday on hate crime charges related to the Jewish man but not the other. He was arraigned later that day and charged with attempted murder and assault as hate crimes related to both victims.

As Morales was led out of a police station Friday evening, he shouted about seeking justice for someone. When reporters asked about the stabbings, he responded that he was “gonna talk about it” as he was ushered into a police car.

Morales' court-appointed attorney did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment late Friday.

The stabbings happened about two blocks apart Thursday afternoon, police said. Both victims were taken to a hospital and were expected to survive. They were in stable condition Friday, state Attorney General Letitia James said at a morning news conference with other officials and community leaders.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Morales approached the Asian man from behind and stabbed him with a knife “without provocation." Then, after walking four blocks away, he stabbed the Jewish man wearing a kippah with a screwdriver, prosecutors said.

A witness followed Morales as he fled to the apartment he was staying at, prosecutors said.

The Jewish victim was attacked just after leaving a nearby synagogue, called the Jewish Center, Rabbi Yosie Levine said.

“He was just trying to pray at his synagogue, and now we’re the ones praying for his recovery,” Levine said.

The Asian American Foundation, a New York-based advocacy group, said in a statement the attacks “underscore the persistent safety challenges” and mistreatment — from harassment to physical assault — facing Asian Americans in the city.

“We demand continued, meaningful investment in community safety and hate prevention that protects everyone,” the group said in a statement.

The charges Morales faces carry a consecutive total of 40 years in prison, prosecutors said. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 30.

Hate crimes in New York City have been on the rise in recent years, while overall violent crime rates have dropped, according to police data. Tisch said in April that more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city so far this year targeted Jewish people. Estimates of the size of the city's Jewish community vary, but it's far less than half the overall population.

“We are undeniably being disproportionately targeted, again and again and again,” City Comptroller Mark Levine said at the Friday morning news conference, where he also told Asian Americans: “We stand in outrage with you.”

James and Levine are Democrats.

Según MDSO, el tiroteo ocurrió en el 785 de 81st Street.

La sheriff confirmó a los periodistas que los agentes ejecutaban una orden de registro en la residencia en relación con violaciones a las leyes de armas de fuego por parte de un joven de 17 años y otro de 18.

Cordero Stutz dijo que el joven de 17 años salió de una habitación cuando llegaron los agentes, blandiendo un arma, momento en el que un agente le disparó y lo mató.

“Estos dos sujetos tienen amplios antecedentes penales por violaciones a las leyes de armas de fuego. Actualmente están en libertad condicional, son pandilleros registrados y llevan grilletes electrónicos en el tobillo”, dijo Cordero Stutz. “Las órdenes de registro son siempre una de las acciones más peligrosas que enfrentamos nosotros y todas las fuerzas del orden”.

Los agentes no identificaron de inmediato a los dos sospechosos ni al agente involucrado en el tiroteo.

“El joven negro de 17 años que falleció fue procesado como adulto y tiene múltiples delitos graves en su historial criminal”, afirmó la sheriff.

Se espera que el Departamento de Policía de Florida (FDLE) investigue el tiroteo.

Rafael Andres, de 61 años, fue declarado culpable en 2014 por el asesinato de Yvette Farinas, de 31 años, ocurrido en 2005.

Los detectives dijeron que Andres golpeó, apuñaló y estranguló a Farinas con un cable eléctrico antes de incendiar su vivienda.

Según The Miami Herald, Andres había sido contratado para realizar trabajos de remodelación en el efficiency donde Farinas vivía con su novio.

En 2015, Andres fue condenado a pena de muerte, pero un fallo de la Corte Suprema de Florida anuló esa sentencia.

Durante el último año, un jurado escuchó los argumentos de la fase de sentencia y nuevamente recomendó la pena de muerte.

El juez del condado Miami-Dade Zachary James tuvo la decisión final este viernes y podía optar por no seguir la recomendación del jurado. Sin embargo, el juez respaldó la recomendación y condenó nuevamente a Andres a la pena de muerte.

La Policía informó que Jerry Saint Vil, de 26 años, huyó antes de que los agentes llegaran a la gasolinera Mobil ubicada en el 16961 de Miramar Parkway.

Según la Policía, Saint Vil está acusado de apuñalar a un hombre tras un altercado.

La víctima sufrió heridas graves y fue trasladada en helicóptero a un hospital cercano, donde posteriormente murió.

Cualquier persona que tenga información adicional debe comunicarse con el Departamento de Policía de Miramar o con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

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According to MDSO, the shooting happened at 785 81^st St.

The sheriff confirmed to reporters that deputies were serving a search warrant at the residence in connection with possession of firearms violations by a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old.

Cordero Stutz said the 17-year-old came out of a bedroom when deputies arrived, waving a gun, at which time a deputy fired at the teen, killing him.

“These two subjects have extensive criminal pasts for firearms violations. They are currently on probation, they are registered gang members and are wearing ankle monitors,” Cordero Stutz said. “Search warrants are always one of our most dangerous actions that we and all law enforcement face.”

Deputies did not immediately identify the two suspects or the deputy involved in the shooting.

“The 17-year-old Black male who is deceased is an adjudicated adult with multiple felonious histories on his criminal record,” the sheriff said.

Yvonne Warner believes the teen was her son, Darrell Young.

“From my heart, my baby was everything to me, but he has been in trouble,” Warner said. “He ain’t no saint, but he most definitely was on a different track. He starts school Aug. 13. He just came home from boot camp he’s been doing everything I ask him (to) around the house.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is expected to investigate the shooting.

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Rafael Andres, 62, was convicted in 2014 of the 2005 murder of Yvette Farinas, 31.

Detectives said Andres beat, stabbed and strangled Farinas with an electrical cord before setting her home on fire.

According to The Miami Herald, Andres had been hired to do renovations at the efficiency Farinas lived in with her boyfriend.

In 2015, Andres was sentenced to death, but a Florida Supreme Court ruling overturned his sentence.

Within the last year, a jury heard sentencing phase arguments and once again recommended the death penalty.

Miami-Dade County Judge Zachary James on Friday had the final say and could have chosen to override the jury’s recommendation. But the judge followed the jury’s recommendation and sent Andres back to death row.

For Rene Azcarreta, the journey to this punishment goes back decades.

Andres killed his mother, Linda Azcarreta, back in 1987 -- a killing Andres only served 18 months in prison for.

“I was 7 years old. So I come home and I see her and she had already passed on,” Rene Azcarreta said.

The judge cited Linda Azcarreta’s death as an important aggravating factor to justify his death sentence for Farinas’s murder.

“The aggregator reflects the prior conviction. The defendant served his sentence and then committed the new felony decades later,” James said.

As Andres awaits his execution date, the families of his two victims will live on, forever linked.

“I love the Farinas (family). They’re the best people,” Rene Azcarreta said. “They lost a daughter, but gained a son. So we have that connection.”

“ @KingJames hey bro hope you’re having a good day...... Want to join us in philly?? Peace," Embiid wrote.

His recruitment skills were on point and James — the four-time NBA champion and career scoring leader — will join Embiid in a startling turn of events on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Ok, fine, just a short 12 years after the July 1, 2014, post.

The 76ers expect James to be worth the wait and hope he can win an NBA championship in Philadelphia much as he did in his previous three stops in Cleveland, Miami and with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 76ers are used to playing the long game. The franchise hasn't won an NBA championship since 1983, when Julius Erving still soared and a year before James was born.

Certainly not as dominant as he was in his MVP heyday, LeBron James is still, well LeBron James and his addition should lift any team mired in the NBA mucky middle such as the Sixers into contention.

Throw him into in a lineup that includes a league MVP in Embiid, All-Stars Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown, and promising second-year standout VJ Edgecombe, and it's no shock the Sixers moved up few a few pegs Friday on the betting board and into the short list of favorites for an NBA title.

Just not the favorite.

James is again chasing a ring and his arrival on a two-year deal for the veterans' minimum of about $3.9 million per season shook up the Sixers and put the Eastern Conference on notice — yes, even the NBA champion Knicks — that a real championship contender might finally emerge in Philly.

The 76ers won the offseason

Here they come, team of the year?

The Sixers earned straight A's on their summer school report card even before James said he would sign with team.

The Sixers fired team president Daryl Morey and replaced him with longtime Cleveland executive Mike Gansey, who came out swinging for the fences in his first month on the job. He pulled off the shocker of a trade with Boston that landed them Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star and the league’s fourth-leading scorer this past season.

It's difficult to fathom that an oft-injured Embiid — who won Olympic gold with James — and Maxey alone would have been enough to coax James to Philadelphia.

But adding a stud like Brown?

Brown surely played a key deciding factor in James' decision — his “last” one, he says — and now the Sixers boast perhaps the top starting five in the NBA.

And boy, what a bargain.

There are some caveats, of course.

James turns 42 in December and there are a lot of miles on those legs. James battled injuries last season and played in only 60 games. Embiid has never been reliable with only 57 combined games played the last two seasons, and the Sixers have churned through a slew of imported stars over the last decade — James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Paul George — and still haven't advanced out of the second round since 2001.

There's only one ball and a lot of talent that has the resume to command it.

But with apologies to Wilt Chamberlain, many, many apologies, James becomes the most accomplished player to ever wear a 76ers uniform.

He won't be alone in that No. 23 uniform — Fanatics sold out almost instantly of his jerseys on Friday.

It’s also a big win for front office boss Bob Myers, who openly pitched for James to sign in Philadelphia on his agent’s podcast and won four championships as a Golden State Warriors executive.

The balance of power shifts in the East. Not by much

The Sixers ended their season with a second-round sweep to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the NBA champion Knicks.

The Knicks are still the team to beat. By talent, by virtue of winning it all and, at least out of the East, the betting favorite to again reach the NBA Finals.

The Knicks have largely stayed pat while other hopeful contenders went for major moves.

The Heat — hey, when exactly is that presser? — like their chances after they traded with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP was the latest on a long list of superstar acquisitions made since Pat Riley arrived to take over as team president in 1995.

Much like the Sixers before they acquired Brown, the Heat are a two-star team with Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Antetokounmpo, Adebayo and James would have made them a new Big 3, much like when James won titles in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Toronto is hopeful for a resolution to their held-up trade with the Los Angeles Clippers that should land them Kawhi Leonard. The trade is on hold pending the outcome of the NBA’s investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules.

It's a bad day for Cleveland

The Cavaliers would have loved a sentimental third tour with James and have the franchise's greatest player eventually retire in Cleveland.

James instead left the Cavaliers in a lurch, and they have to hope they can re-sign 36-year-old James Harden as part of a lineup that includes Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell.

They will be projected to finish behind the Knicks and 76ers in the East.

Don't forget, Detroit won 60 games last season and would like to prove its early playoff exit was a part of the growing pains of a contender.

LeBron's legacy

Look, James' legacy is set and not even a flameout in Philly is going to change his indelible stamp on the game from the court to the cash register.

There is one major mark he could hit should he send the Sixers on a parade route down Broad Street. He would become the first player to win NBA titles with four teams.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse turned 59 on Friday and there's no better professional gift he could have received than LeBron James.

Purchased on a discount rack.

Look for LeBron on opening night in New York. Look for LeBron on a Christmas game in Philadelphia. Look for LeBron to keep Sixers' tickets sky high on the secondary market even on nights when Embiid sits.

Look for the ride of a lifetime in Philadelphia where the franchise wants to reach the sky again just like it did with Dr. J.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Miles, 17, of Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of more than 500 incoming first-year students at Howard who learned this week that they have been unenrolled from the prestigious, historically Black Washington, D.C., university and no longer have spots for the upcoming fall semester that begins Aug. 17.

Many have taken to social media — some in tears — to share their stories. Some posts have gone viral.

After Miles learned she had been unenrolled, her mother, Kendra Miles, said the school's automated system would not allow the family to enroll in a payment plan because the amount that was owed made them ineligible to sign up.

“I’ve reached out since we got the email (Wednesday). I've emailed, literally, everybody," Kendra Miles said. “I emailed her adviser. He responded and said it wasn't a mistake and there was nothing they could do.”

On Friday, Howard confirmed in an email that the school sent notifications to “502 first-time-in-college students whose accounts did not reflect the required enrollment and financial obligations by the previously communicated deadlines."

Starting in March, the unenrolled students began receiving specific communications about enrollment requirements, payment expectations and deadlines via email and orientation sessions, the school said.

“The university recognizes that timing differences may have occurred between when financial aid was reflected and when charges were finalized,” Howard said in the email. “Students who believe their account did not accurately reflect their financial standing at the deadline should contact the Bursar’s Office. Each case will be reviewed individually to determine whether adjustments or reinstatement are appropriate.”

Howard, one of about 100 historically Black colleges and universities in the United States, had an undergraduate enrollment last fall of about 11,000. The average annual tuition for undergraduate students living on campus is about $38,000. Housing costs are about $13,600.

Colleges try to walk a fine line

Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said colleges generally try to walk a fine line in making sure students can enroll, but also making sure students pay their bills.

Howard “either had students who owed a lot of money and they didn’t think a lot of students would pay, or potentially, they have a really big incoming class and they can replace those students,” Kelchen said.

Laverne Mickens coaches students and their families on how to apply for college scholarships. Mickens said that she answered more than 400 emails Wednesday and Thursday from students and families impacted by the enrollment situation at Howard. She said most of them were strangers and they were “frantic and crying.”

Students and parents are upset

“People are devastated,” said Mickens who runs The Scholarship College Mama LLC, which is not affiliated with Howard. “Parents are saying: ‘Can you help us? Howard unenrolled us.’ ”

A'Zariah Miles, who plans to major in biology, chose Howard over other schools that accepted her. Now, she is worried that it is too deep into the summer to enroll elsewhere.

“Everybody’s housing is booked, or I can’t enroll because it’s too late or I missed orientation,” she said. “I've been trying to continue to have hope with Howard, but I don't really have that much time before school starts and I don't really want to have a gap year.”

Like Miles and others, Saniah Collins learned Wednesday that she no longer was enrolled at Howard.

“My mom is part of a parent group chat,” said Collins, 17, of Atlanta. “That day we learned that a lot of students were getting unenrolled."

Collins received an email from the school Wednesday afternoon that said a July 10 deadline to pay her tuition balance or make payment arrangements had passed and the school no longer could hold her place.

But Collins said she was also told by an adviser that most of her balance for the fall semester was paid. She's not giving up.

“I worked like crazy to get into this school,” Collins said. “Howard has been my everything. My whole senior year, my whole summer I worked consistently on scholarships. We tried to make ourselves 10 steps ahead to make sure we were on the right page.”

Given that HBCUs are seen as caring and nurturing places for Black students, the mass removal of students from Howard’s fall enrollment is a bad look for the school, said Marybeth Gasman, an expert in higher education at Rutgers University.

“If it were me and it was over 500 students, I wouldn’t have done it in one day,” Gasman said. “I would have also done the due diligence of going through each one. Now, they are going to have to go back and do that.”

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Williams is as member of AP’s Race & Ethnicity team. He reported from Detroit.

Mahomes said Friday he visited earlier this week with Dr. Dan Cooper, the Dallas-based orthopedic surgeon who performed the operation, and that he met all the benchmarks necessary to report to Missouri Western State University on time.

The Chiefs begin practice Saturday for rookies, quarterbacks and players coming off injuries. Full-squad work begins next week.

None of those players is more important than Mahomes, who hurt his knee late in a loss to the Chargers in December. He underwent surgery immediately afterward, and rather than spend the offseason at his Texas home like usual, Mahomes toiled away at the Chiefs' practice facility, pushing forward with his rehab so he would be ready to go by the late-July start of camp.

“It was always the goal to be able to practice when I got to training camp. We kind of hit that step," Mahomes said. “Now, it's about building and keep getting better and better, so when the regular season comes around, I can be available.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Mahomes was fully cleared — no limitations at all — but that he would evaluate the cornerstone of the franchise on a daily basis. Whether he participates in any of the Chiefs' preseason games remains to be seen.

The preseason opener against the Rams is Aug. 15. But the far more important date is Sept. 14, when the Chiefs welcome the AFC West-champion Broncos to Arrowhead Stadium for a marquee Monday night showdown in Week 1.

“We'll see about games and all that once we get there,” Reid said, “but right now, we're just taking it day by day.”

Mahomes, who signed a lucrative restructured contract in June that will tie him to the Chiefs through the 2033 season, plans to wear a brace on his left knee, much like he did while recovering from an injury in college, in part because it doesn't really bother him.

But other than that, he plans to participate in camp just like he has for the past decade.

“Like, I'm a competitor,” Mahomes said, “so gameday, I'm going to want to be out there. But I understand the process of getting myself ready to play in the regular season is more important (than the preseason). But we'll see. I mean, the coaches and doctors will kind of make that decision for me, but I'll prepare myself like I'm going to play. And then if I'm just doing a very hard warmup, I'll take that as serious as playing in the preseason game. It's just a couple of weeks away, but it feels like a long ways away.”

Not nearly as long as it probably felt in December, when Mahomes was rehabbing largely by himself. He got some advice from Tom Brady and former teammate Tyrann Mathieu, who overcame similar injuries in their careers, about how to proceed, and then he found an unexpected virtual workout buddy in Eagles tight end Zach Ertz.

Ertz also tore his ACL last December, and the two would send each other videos of themselves doing deadlifts, sprints and agility, each trying to upstage the other as they progressed through the long, difficult days of the rehab process.

“They all said, ‘Stay on top of it,’” Mahomes said. “I mean, it's a long process. I remember sitting on the table and watching us play those last few games, how much it hurt me. But I knew that if I continue to work, I can be at this spot where I get cleared for practice, and now I'm trying to get to that spot where I'm cleared to play for the regular season.”

Notes: DT Omarr Norman-Lott is likely to begin camp on the physically unable-to-perform list after tearing his right ACL in October, Reid said. “Big guys with ACLs, it takes a little time to come back," he said. ... WR Rashee Rice was cleared to practice after surgery in May to clean up debris in his right knee. ... CB Mansoor Delane, the Chiefs' first-round pick, was undergoing physicals Friday and Reid is hopeful that he will be on the practice field soon. He hurt his shoulder during offseason workouts.

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

Thomas Goldstein, who also published a popular blog about the nation's highest court, had asked U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby to spare him from a prison sentence. Instead, the judge sentenced Goldstein to five years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to pay over $3.1 million in restitution, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland.

Goldstein, 56, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, co-founded SCOTUSblog and argued over 40 cases before the Supreme Court before retiring in 2023 at age 52. He was a member of Democrat Al Gore's legal team in the Supreme Court litigation over the 2000 election ultimately won by Republican President George W. Bush.

Many friends and colleagues didn’t know the extent of Goldstein’s gambling until his January 2025 indictment, which sent shock waves through the legal community in Washington, D.C.

A jury found Goldstein guilty of 12 of 16 counts, including eight felonies, after a six-week trial that ended in February. Jurors convicted him of one count of tax evasion, four counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, four counts of willfully failing to pay taxes and three counts of mortgage fraud.

The trial in Greenbelt, Maryland, included testimony by “Spider-Man” star Tobey Maguire, an avid poker player who enlisted Goldstein’s help in recovering a gambling debt from a billionaire.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of just over eight years for Goldstein. They say he concealed more than $25 million in income between 2016 and 2023, depriving the federal government of over $9.5 million in unpaid taxes.

“His motivation was singular: pure, unrelenting greed,” prosecutors wrote. “Whether funneling gambling income through offshore bank accounts, shaving millions off his true law firm income, or lying to his lenders, Goldstein’s crimes always sought to advance and maintain his exorbitant lifestyle, replete with Bentleys, globe-trotting vacations, and a $200,000 watch.”

Goldstein's attorneys argued that sparing him from prison would allow him to repay debts and address his severe addiction to gambling. He maintains that his conduct, while self-destructive, wasn't illegal.

“He should be retiring with significant life savings or, if he wanted to, continuing to practice law at the highest levels," defense lawyers wrote. "Instead, he has spent many years gambling with money he didn’t have, and gambling away money that he won, to the detriment of himself and his loved ones.”

Prosecutors say Goldstein diverted money from his law firm to pay gambling debts and falsely deducting gambling debts as business expenses. Goldstein also was accused of lying to IRS agents and hiding his gambling debts from his accountants, employees and mortgage lenders. He omitted a $15 million gambling debt from mortgage loan applications while looking for a new home in Washington, D.C., with his wife in 2021, his indictment alleges.

Goldstein, who testified at his trial, said he repeatedly instructed his law firm’s staff and accountants to correctly characterize his personal expenses. In a 2014 email, he told a firm employee that “we always play completely by the rules.”

Goldstein spent years gambling money he didn’t have, his lawyers say.

“He is not wealthy enough to sustain the losses of the billionaires he has played against, and he is not good enough at poker to win at the rate of professionals,” they wrote.

Prosecutors say Goldstein's crimes were motivated by “pure, uninhibited greed” and his “obvious disdain for the tax system.”

“We can and should expect more from every attorney and officer of the court — let alone one of Goldstein’s status,” they wrote.

The 98 people had illnesses that started between Nov. 21 and June 30, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. No deaths have been reported, but 26 people have been hospitalized.

Investigators have determined that shell eggs recalled by Midwest Poultry Services are a likely source of the germ, but the Indiana-based company doesn’t account for all the illnesses.

Midwest Poultry previously recalled eggs produced and distributed from farms in Texas between June 6 and July 3. The eggs were sold under several brand names and have sell-by or best-by dates between July 20 and Aug. 17.

Among the stores that received the recalled eggs were Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana and Brookshire Grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi.

Samples collected by Midwest Poultry at farms in Texas tested positive for salmonella, and genetic testing showed that some samples match the bacteria strain that sickened people, federal officials said.

Consumers should check their refrigerators for recalled eggs and throw them away or return them to stores for a refund.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever, severe vomiting, dehydration and stomach cramps. Most people who get sick recover within a week. Infections can be severe in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, who may require hospitalization.

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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.

Among the violations: mold growing on food, cooked chicken contaminated by flies, rodent and roach activity, food kept at unsafe temperatures, mold-like buildup inside an ice machine, unsanitary kitchen conditions, and one business operating without running water.

No restaurants in the Florida Keys were ordered shut last week. All of the establishments later reopened after an ordered cleanup and passing a follow-up inspection.

**ANDREAS CAFETERIA & COFFEE SHOP

16679 NE 19TH AVENUE

NORTH MIAMI BEACH

ORDERED SHUT 7/13

11 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed 20+ rodent droppings on the floor at the front counter behind hand washing sink.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed 1 dead roach on the floor by the entrance of the bathroom in the kitchen.”

“Worn, torn and/or soiled floors/carpeting. Observed floor soiled in the kitchen hallway. Observed floor around the hot water heater and bathroom soiled. Observed front counter floor behind handwashing sinks heavily soiled.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed raw shell egg (52F - Cold Holding) stored in the walk in cooler overnight. Stop sale issued. Repeat Violation.”

“Required employee training expired for some employees.”

**QUATES MEXICAN RESTAURANT

3701 NORTH ANDREWS AVE.

OAKLAND PARK

ORDERED SHUT 7/16

14 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Food with mold-like growth. Cooked pork stored in walk in cooler with mold like growth. Stop Sale”

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed approximately 1 live roach behind wall mounted internet router on wall in ware washing area. Observed approximately 3 live roaches inside of gasket of cook line flip top cooler on cook line in kitchen. Observed approximately 2 live roaches inside of control panel on top of dish machine in ware washing area. Observed 1 live roach on ground under three compartment sink in kitchen.”

“Roach excrement and/or droppings present. Observed accumulation of roach excrement around wall mounted internet router on wall in ware washing area.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed 3 dead roach on ground in prep area next to kitchen area. Observed 1 dead roach in hand wash sink in prep area Observed 3 dead roaches on ground in walk in cooler. Observed 2 dead roaches on ground under storage rack in kitchen Observed approximately 10 dead roaches in control device located behind ansul tank on wall on cook line in kitchen Observed 1 dead roach on ground at front counter not in kitchen Observed 1 dead roach inside of 2 door stainless reach in cooler in kitchen. Observed 2 dead roaches inside of door frame/on hinge at 2 door stainless reach in cooler in kitchen. Observed approximately 5 dead roaches inside of control panel on top of dish machine.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. cooked beef (47F); cooked rice (49F); refried beans (48F); cooked white rice (48F); raw chicken (47F). Per operator items have been in unit overnight.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. oven: cooked rice (120F-130F - Hot Holding) being held inside of oven with no temperature control. Operator states rice was reheated approximately 1.5 hours ago, operator reheated to 165F and put in steam table. Repeat Violation.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Cook line cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable Repeat Violation.”

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

“Food manager certification expired.”

“Handwash sink not accessible for employee use at all times. Multiple items stored in prep area hand wash sink.”

RE-INSPECTION 7/17

“Observed approximately 9 live roaches in establishment.”

“Observed approximately 5 dead roaches in establishment.”

**ASAHI RESTAURANT

9240 WEST COMMERCIAL BLVD.

SUNRISE

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 7/15

20 VIOLATIONS FOUND

ALSO ORDERED SHUT 4/28/25 (ROACH ISSUE)

“Food contaminated by live flying insects . See stop sale. Observed 4 live flying insects at food preparation station landing on precooked chicken.”

“Live, small flying insects found. -Observed 4 live flying insects at food preparation station landing on precooked chicken. -Observed approximately 10 live flying insects in dishwashing area landing on clean food containers and food preparation table. -Observed 5 live flying insects in storage area landing on container with cornstarch. -Observed 2 live flying insects at cook line landing on in-used cutting board.”

“Accumulation of dead or trapped birds, insects, rodents, or other pests, in control devices. Observed accumulation of dead flying insects on fly traps in kitchen.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed walls throughout kitchen soiled with accumulation of black mold like substances and old food residues.”

“Employee washed hands with no soap.”

“Employee washed hands in a sink other than an approved handwash sink. Observed employee wash his hands at dishwashing machine sprayer and then continue to engage in food preparation without changing.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed food container stored inside hand wash sink next to cook line.”

**EL RANCHO BAKERY AND RESTAURANT

6023 KIMBERLY BLVD.

NORTH LAUDERDALE

ORDERED SHUT 7/15

19 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. 1 live roach on dry storage rack next to cans of corn at end of cook line next to exit door. 5 live roaches seen crawling in the crease of wall behind chest freezer in ware washing area. 1 live roach under shelf where dry beans are stored at the end of cook line next to exit door.”

“Dead roaches on premises. One dead roach under dry storage rack next to exit door.”

“Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Observed in walk in cooler , two buckets of black beans cooling covered overnight in deep bucket , cooked beans container #1 (51F - Cooling ),container #2 (52F - Cooling). Per operator items were held in unit overnight exceeding 6 hours. See stop sale.”

“Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit within two hours and from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within six hours. See stop sale. Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Observed in walk in cooler , two deep buckets of black beans cooling covered overnight cooked beans container #1 (51F - Cooling ), container #2 (52F - Cooling). Per operator items were held in unit overnight exceeding 6 hours.”

“Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Observed operator came to work, put on gloves and went to cook line to start making orders without washing hands. Educated operator on proper hand washing procedures . Operator washed hands and put on new pair of gloves.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“Proof of required state approved employee training not available for some employees.”

**LAS CARNITAS LATIN CUISINE

3305 NORTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY

POMPANO BEACH

ORDERED SHUT 7/17

12 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Dead roaches on premises. 1. One dead roach observed under clean utensil rack in ware washing area. 2. Approximately 30 dead roaches observed on glue board monitor under microwave at front counter.”

“Live, small flying insects found 1. Observed approximately 20 live, small flying insects resting on wall around dish machine in ware washing area. 2. Observed 2 live, small flying insects resting on breadcrumbs container at storage rack in kitchen. 3. Observed 2 live, small flying insects resting on wall next to cookline in kitchen. 4. Observed 1 live, small flying insects resting on cup stored on top of microwave at front counter. 5. Observed 4 live, small flying insects resting on shelf and on single service Styrofoam food containers in kitchen. 6. Observed 6 live, small flying insects resting inside cabinet space for and on bottled drink mixes at front counter.”

“Interior of microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris opposite cookline in kitchen.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine.”

“Ceiling tiles and vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance in kitchen.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. 1. Observed on door gaskets at both three door reach in coolers opposite cookline in kitchen. Repeat Violation.”

**SWEET BUBBLE

20505 S. DIXIE HIGHWAY

CUTLER BAY

ORDERED SHUT 7/16

11 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Live, small flying insects found observed 5 live flies flying around the booth and landing on 3 compartment sink and clean equipment.”

“Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. At the time of the inspection there is not running water at the 3 compartment sink. As per employee they run out of water since last week. Establishment has been closed since Monday.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed under 3 compartment sink.”

“Establishment operating with no potable running water. Observed establishment does not have water at the time of the inspection. As per employee the establishment has not running water since last Sunday.”

“No running water at three-compartment sink. Observed not running water at the time of the inspection. As per operator since last Sunday. Establishment has been closed since Sunday. They opened today.”

“Water with a temperature of least 85 degrees Fahrenheit not provided/shut off at employee handwash sink. Observed there is not cold neither hot water at the hand wash sink at the time of the inspection.”

El canciller venezolano, Félix Plasencia, indicó en X que el país sudamericano comunicó al secretario general de Naciones Unidas, António Guterres, la decisión de “denunciar el Estatuto de Roma e iniciar su retiro definitivo de la CPI, conforme al Artículo 127”.

El anuncio se produjo más de siete meses después que la Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela, de abrumadora mayoría oficialista, aprobó por unanimidad una ley para derogar el instrumento legal que hace casi 26 años ratificó la adhesión al Estatuto de Roma —constitutivo de la CPI— en un primer paso para retirar al país de ese tribunal.

“Venezuela considera que la actuación de la Corte responde a un sesgo geográfico demostrado, que ha concentrado su labor de manera desproporcionada en países africanos y latinoamericanos, en detrimento del Sur Global”, dijo Plasencia en un comunicado. “Este patrón revela una justicia internacional que, lejos de aplicarse con equidad, ha sido instrumentalizada para profundizar las desigualdades entre los pueblos y desconocer su derecho a la autodeterminación y a la soberanía”.

El canciller consideró que el tribunal “ha puesto sus mecanismos al servicio de intereses ajenos a la justicia y a los pueblos que dice proteger”. Sostuvo que Venezuela rechaza “esta dimensión de lawfare” —en alusión al uso mal intencionado de las leyes y de los tribunales como arma política— “que perpetúa la persecución contra el pueblo venezolano y agrava las desigualdades que la justicia internacional debería corregir”.

Además reafirmó el compromiso del gobierno con una justicia equitativa y “respetuosa de la soberanía”.

Venezuela ratificó el Estatuto de Roma en junio de 2000 durante el mandato del entonces presidente Hugo Chávez (1999-2013). La CPI ejerce jurisdicción sobre los crímenes cometidos en el territorio de Venezuela o por sus nacionales a partir del 1 de julio de 2002.

La CPI es un tribunal de última instancia que investiga crímenes de guerra, de lesa humanidad y otros delitos graves cuando las naciones no pueden o no quieren hacerlo, un sistema conocido como complementariedad.

El artículo 127 del Estatuto de Roma establece los pasos que un Estado miembro debe seguir si desea retirarse de ese tribunal. Debe informar al secretario general de las Naciones Unidas y el retiro entra en vigor un año después de la recepción de la notificación. Anunciar la retirada, sin embargo, no libera al país de sus deberes bajo el tratado.

Cruces de Maduro con la fiscalía de la CPI

El ahora depuesto presidente Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026) acusó a la Fiscalía de la CPI de “desentenderse” de sus deberes luego de que el fiscal adjunto de La Haya, Mame Mandiaye Niang, anunciara en diciembre pasado el cierre de su oficina en Caracas.

En 2023 el gobierno de Maduro y la Fiscalía de la CPI acordaron abrir una oficina en Venezuela con el propósito de facilitar la investigación de presuntos crímenes de lesa humanidad que pesa sobre la administración de Maduro por la actuación de la fuerza pública en las protestas de 2017.

El fiscal adjunto de la CPI indicó que se tomó la decisión de cerrar la oficina por una falta de “progreso real” en la “complementariedad” con el gobierno venezolano. Ese recinto permitía a la organización trabajar de manera más cercana con las autoridades del país.

La Fiscalía de la CPI resaltó que la investigación “permanece activa” y un equipo de esa instancia judicial seguirá trabajando desde La Haya.

La CPI tiene una investigación abierta sobre la violencia que siguió a los comicios venezolanos de 2017, pero por ahora no ha emitido ninguna orden de detención.

El ahora exfiscal jefe del tribunal mundial, Karim Khan, anunció a fines de 2021 que abriría una investigación tras una prolongada pesquisa preliminar y una solicitud de investigación formal presentada en 2018 por Argentina, Canadá, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay y Perú.

Khan, también el viernes, fue destituido de su cargo. Fue la primera vez que un fiscal jefe es removido de su puesto.

Khan fue apartado temporalmente de sus funciones en la CPI en junio pasado, a la espera de la votación del viernes, después de que un informe del comité ejecutivo del órgano de supervisión del tribunal concluyera que había incurrido en “conducta indebida grave”.

“They not only tackled him, not only tased him, not only kicked him, but you saw they shot him three times in his head and other parts of his body,” Crump said.

He spoke at an emotional news conference with Ruiz's mother, siblings and 13-year-old daughter, Kah’liyah Aliomar.

Ruiz, 38, was killed on a busy city street Wednesday, just a couple of blocks away from his daughter's home and along the route she walks to school. Police say Ruiz pulled a knife during a struggle with four officers, injuring one of them. That officer then fired the shots, according to police. All four officers have been placed on administrative leave pending a state investigation, and the officer who fired the shots has not yet been identified.

Aliomar cried as she described learning of her father’s death.

“My heart was broken and hurt so much knowing I can’t see my father anymore,” she said.

His mother Elsa Ruiz said she never imagined she would have to bury her son.

“He was my love. He loved his daughter, he loved his family. He did not deserve to be taken out like that. They took my baby from me,” she said, sobbing.

The family promised to seek justice for Ruiz’s death, which Crump called an unjustified “execution.”

“Anytime there is excessive use of force, there should be accountability,” Crump said. He said it was “shocking on every level.”

The shooting was captured on cellphone video that was widely shared online, though Madison Police Chief John Patterson cautioned Thursday that the video did not show the altercation from the police officers’ perspective.

But unlike nearly every other similarly sized city, Madison doesn’t require its police to use body-worn cameras, so there is no footage from the officers’ perspective. Over the last decade city officials have repeatedly debated adopting the cameras — at times creating subcommittees and doing studies on the idea — but local officials have primarily blamed budget concerns and political inertia for the ongoing stalemate.

Another common source of opposition, identified in a 2021 feasibility study, came from community groups worried the cameras would be used to surveil and criminalize marginalized groups. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Thursday that she expects the new budget that takes effect in January to include funding for body-worn cameras.

“Thank God there was video,” Crump said. “If there wasn’t video, imagine what the narrative would have been.”

Wisconsin court records show Ruiz had been in and out of jail over the past decade for mostly misdemeanor offenses including disorderly conduct, drug possession, auto theft, battery and invasion of privacy. He was also convicted of felonies including possession of cocaine and marijuana, robbery, strangulation, resisting an officer and causing bodily harm.

“People are saying he’s a criminal. So what? He had a family, he had me,” Aliomar said, breaking down into tears.

Police said they were at the street to investigate reports that someone was trying to enter parked cars, something Crump said amounted to only the suspicion of a low-level property crime.

“I need somebody to help me understand why they felt it was OK to execute my brother based on no facts at all,” Veronica Ruiz said. “I hope everyone continues to support and come together and find justice for him.”

The police chief has released few details about the shooting. Patterson said Thursday that a Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation probe must run its course. A separate investigation by the city’s independent police monitor is also underway.

“The situation was clearly dangerous,” Patterson said, and that he did not know the extent of the knife injuries sustained by the officer. He also said he wanted transparency and accountability in the investigation.

The killing sparked protests, calls for justice from elected officials and anger from a community where police have killed three people in the same neighborhood since 2012.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Corey Ruiz's daughter's last name is Aliomar, not Ruiz.

___

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.

Ambas cancillerías acordaron que en una primera etapa reactivarán las relaciones consulares, como paso inicial a la reanudación plena de los vínculos bilaterales y para “asegurar la protección y los servicios consulares en favor de sus connacionales que residen en ambos países hermanos”.

El 30 de julio de 2024, Venezuela rompió relaciones con Perú porque Lima reconoció al entonces candidato opositor Edmundo González como presidente electo en los comicios de ese mes frente al entonces mandatario Nicolás Maduro, quien fue depuesto a inicios de año por fuerzas militares de Estados Unidos y llevado a ese país para enfrentar acusaciones de narcotráfico. Su vicepresidenta, Delcy Rodríguez, asumió como mandataria interina del país sudamericano.

El canciller peruano de esa época, Javier González-Olaechea, había indicado que Maduro deseaba “por la vía de una dictadura perpetuarse en el poder” tras realizar un “fraude” en los comicios de ese año.

Perú informó en 2024 que, tras la ruptura de relaciones con Venezuela, Brasil se iba a encargar de proteger los intereses de Perú en Venezuela así como la cooperación consular para los peruanos en ese país además de custodiar los locales diplomáticos peruanos, sus bienes y archivos.

La agencia de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados (ACNUR) dijo en 2022 que los venezolanos en Perú constituyen casi el 3,5% de la población de unos 33 millones y que Lima —donde hay 1,1 millón de venezolanos— es la primera ciudad del mundo en cantidad de personas venezolanas desplazadas.

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

Paramount said in a filing Friday that it won't close its Warner buyout until either a court ruling is made on the states' claims or June 1, 2027. The agreement comes just days after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a temporary restraining order to freeze the transaction for weeks, noting that the states had raised some “serious questions” and made a strong case about the merger's potential to “substantially lessen competition.”

Paramount and the states have also agreed to cancel an preliminary injunction hearing that was set for Aug. 3. The states’ case in now headed down the path toward a larger antitrust trial.

Both sides touted the delay as a victory.

The result was “exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence," Paramount said in a statement. The company, which was bought by Skydance just last year, added that it looked forward to proving its transaction is “good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators.”

Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta — who is leading the states' case — called the delay great news for audiences, movie theaters and entertainment and media workers nationwide.

“Our argument against this illegal merger is straightforward: When too few corporations have too much power in markets central to American life, it makes things more expensive, and it makes things worse,” Bonta said in a statement. He added that the states were eager to see their challenge through court and ensure the Paramount-Warner combo "never sees the light of day.”

The Writers Guild of America has also filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger, arguing that the deal would cause specific harm to movie and TV writers. The delay will give more time for that case to make its way through court, too.

States argue merger would harm Hollywood competition

A Warner-Paramount tie-up would bring together two of the last five legacy studios in Hollywood and a host of TV networks that include CNN. Warner’s HBO Max streaming service and fan favorite titles like “Harry Potter” would come under the same roof as Paramount-owned CBS and the Paramount+ streaming service, which includes titles like “Top Gun."

Last week, the 12 states — which, beyond California, also include entertainment heavyweights like New York — sued to block the buyout, alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers.

Paramount has repeatedly called the states' claims meritless and not reflective of the current industry. The company points to tech and streaming giants’ growing reach across the entertainment industry and argues the merger would help it compete with bigger rivals like Netflix (which once wanted to buy much of Warner’s business itself) and others “who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition.”

The states' complaint doesn’t focus specifically on streaming. It alleges that the merger violates the Clayton Act — a key federal antitrust law — due to anticipated reach across three markets: theatrical movie distribution, theater releases of bigger blockbusters and the licensing of basic cable channels.

Trump administration says deal would benefit consumers

The challenge by the states — all of which have Democratic attorneys general — notably contrasts with the Trump administration’s effective greenlight of the deal. The U.S. Justice Department announced in June that it wouldn’t challenge the merger, and instead released an unusually long statement ruling that a Paramount-Warner tie up would bring “benefits for American consumers and workers.”

The Justice Department maintained that its review wasn’t political. But critics have raised their eyebrows — and pointed to Republican President Donald Trump’s close relationship with the billionaire family of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Many eyes are also on Warner assets like CNN, a network that has long attracted ire from Trump and members of his administration, particularly in light of editorial turmoil at Paramount-owned CBS following Skydance's takeover.

Friday's delay “materially reduces the near-term concern that a politicized Paramount would control CNN during the 2026 midterms,” noted Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester.

Still, there is uncertainty farther down the road.

“I’ve said from the start that anyone who thinks they know how this deal ends should think again," Proulx wrote. “What we know is that the path to either outcome just got longer, messier, and likely more expensive.”

The now monthslong delay could become very costly for Paramount. The company previously pledged to start paying Warner shareholders added “ticking fee” compensation amounting to about $7 million per day if the deal wasn’t closed by Sept. 30.

Including billions of dollars in debt, Paramount’s proposed purchase of Warner is currently valued at nearly $111 billion based on outstanding shares.

Beyond the U.S., Paramount has also touted regulatory clearances in countries like Canada, China and Australia. The European Union also gave the deal its blessing, conditional on company commitments to adjust film distribution partnerships there. Meanwhile, ongoing reviews continue in the U.K., which has separately suggested it may intervene.

He's hoping to put Roger Penske back in victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he'd like to add a second crown jewel win to his resume. At the same time, he's chasing a $1 million pay day — if he finishes ahead of surprise finalist Todd Gilliland in NASCAR's second In-Season Challenge.

Blaney's solution is to simplify matters by sweeping both titles Sunday with one amazing Brickyard 400.

“We obviously understand what we're going for with the In-Season Challenge,” Blaney said before Friday's short practice. “But at the same time, you're trying to win the race. That's the big one here — and trying to win for Roger at this place is incredibly important in our race shop and to everyone on this team. So I've looked at it as like, just go try to run the best race you can and focus on that.”

Blaney heads into race weekend as the favorite in the final round of the challenge. The 2023 Cup champion has strung together 11 consecutive finishes of 11th or better, a feat he's achieved in 17 of 21 races this season. Two weeks ago in Atlanta he captured his second win of the year.

Now the Ohio-born Blaney returns to the Midwest ranked third in points, 19 behind Tyler Reddick, the 2022 Brickyard 200 champ who is trying to become the first Cup driver to win on the track's road course and the historic 2.5-mile oval that will be used Sunday.

Reddick said he wasn't sure if team owner Michael Jordan would attend the race.

Gilliland, meanwhile, has struggled lately. His eighth-place finish at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, was his first top 10 in 13 races, and the 26-year-old enters the weekend 23rd in points, though he's continued to do just enough to keep advancing through the challenge rounds.

But facing his toughest test yet, Gilliland seems to be adopting a “Hoosiers”-like attitude.

“We've caught a lot of lucky breaks. We've barely been skating by all these rounds,” the Front Row Motorsports driver said. “But now that we're here, yeah, it feels a bit more real and you never know, right? Four hundred miles, anything can happen. So we're just going to go give our best effort and try not to think about what it would be like if we won.”

Neither finalist was near the top of Friday's leaderboard, though.

Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing posted the fastest lap of the day at 183.512 mph, leading Toyota to a top-five sweep. John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club was second at 183.180, followed by Ty Gibbs, Bell's teammate; Erik Jones, Nemechek's teammate; and Denny Hamlin of JGR, who still needs a Brickyard win to capture the fourth and final crown jewel title with time running shot on the 45-year-old's career.

“I've got a couple shots in this left, so I think more desperate," Hamlin said when asked about his level of desire to win at Indy. “I'm certainly willing to take a small risk here on a restart, whatever it might be, on strategy, something to give us a real shot to win because this is like the Daytona 500.”

Gilliland and Blaney, who sat side by side at microphones Friday, view the Brickyard similarly even though they know fans will be watching the race inside the race just as closely as the final charge across the Yard of Bricks.

In practice, Blaney also had the advantage. He was ninth on the speed chart at 182.526, the top speed of the Ford drivers. Gilliland, who also drives a Ford, was 28th at 180.712.

Will that make a difference Sunday?

“We beat them here last year so I don't know why we can't do it again,” said Gilliland, who finished sixth — one spot ahead of Blaney in 2025 at Indy. “But, yeah, overall, I think it's fair to say we're big underdogs. At the same time, anything can happen.”

Even, perhaps, Blaney's highly coveted sweep.

“I got knocked out in the first round last year in Atlanta so it was nice to kind of go be part of it, see you racing every single week and go through the gauntlet,” he said. “So nice to end it here at Indy. I think it's a great place to end it, an amazing race track. It will be exciting.”

___

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

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed July 7 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers chased his white work van through the streets, then shot him through the window in front of his work crew, including his brother.

Salgado Araujo’s sons read from prepared remarks at a Houston hearing with Democratic members of Congress. The sons' voices often choked with emotion as they described their father as a humble and hardworking family man. He lived without legal status in the U.S. for 35 years, ran a homebuilding business and had never been in trouble with the law.

“He didn’t need anybody to know his name,” Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jr. told the hearing, held by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “He worked hard to protect and provide for our family, to put me and my siblings through college. He taught us that good things come to those that work hard.”

The Department of Homeland Security said shortly after the shooting that Salgado Araujo had rammed his van into the immigration vehicles chasing him, then “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” and that the officer fired in self-defense. The officers were not wearing body cameras.

Passengers in Salgado Araujo’s van describe a different version of events

At least two of the passengers in the van have disputed the government's account, saying the officers crashed into the van and were safely on the sides of the vehicle, never in danger of being struck, when the officer fired. All three passengers in the van were arrested and remain in immigration detention. One of them is Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor, whose account of the killing is not public because his petition for release is sealed.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told the hearing that DHS, which oversees ICE, has ignored his requests for information and evidence, including the name of the officer who fired the fatal shot.

Nevertheless, he said, his office was making “significant progress.” He declined to discuss specific evidence or speculate on when his office’s investigation would end.

Salgado Araujo’s sons said their father would have never run from officers, who were driving unmarked vehicles, if he’d known who they were. They had talked as a family about what they would do if he encountered ICE, and they said he believed he would find a way to get back home to them.

Salgado Araujo’s sons describe an excruciating wait for information

They said he was a man of routine. The day he was killed started as most did: He woke up before dawn, his wife cooked him a hearty breakfast, then he said goodbye to her and their dog. He got into his white van, said a prayer and left before 6 a.m. to pick up his crew.

Ronaldo Salgado said his mother called him around 7 a.m. to say something bad had happened. He saw a Facebook post about an encounter with immigration officers and rushed to the scene. He was there for hours, he said, begging officers and neighbors for information, even asking one homeowner to climb onto her roof to survey the scene.

Then a Facebook video appeared.

“I learned again from a Facebook post that our dad had been shot,” he told the hearing. “Not because I could see him, but because I could hear his voice on videos posted online crying for help.”

He rushed to the hospital. More hours passed before Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia demanded answers, and they learned he was dead.

Garcia said the Democratic delegation has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE about the shooting and has received no response. The delegation also invited representatives of the department and the administration to attend the hearing, and they declined.

An email sent to DHS by The Associated Press seeking comment Friday was not immediately returned.

The FBI executed a search warrant on the van, alleging that officers saw several small bags inside filled with a white substance that appeared to be methamphetamine. Salgado Araujo's sons said the insinuation that their father was involved in drug trafficking was “absurd.” The substance, the family said, was a salt mixture that the crew used as electrolytes to stay hydrated while working under the blazing sun.

Teare, the district attorney, said later Friday on the social platform X that the substance tested negative for any illegal drugs.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jr. called what happened to them “a kafkaesque nightmare.” They said they mourned not only for their father but also for the families of others killed by immigration officers, including Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old who was shot in Maine days after their father.

The sons say they want justice

The sons called on Congress to make sure justice is served.

Salgado Araujo Jr. asked people to imagine what the brothers were experiencing by picturing a loved one “pinned to the ground in pain and yelling out in desperate need of help.”

“Picture the anger and helplessness of watching that person bleed out through a video on your phone. What would you do after?” he said. “How would you cope with the feeling of losing your protector, your role model, your mother’s loving partner, your grandmother’s little boy?”

He added, “That feeling you feel right now is only a fraction of what my family and I have felt these past 17 days.”

Whitmer remains popular in the battleground state, where she has twice won by substantial margins, and her endorsement gives Stevens a significant boost a day before early in-person voting begins. Whitmer also has history with El-Sayed, whom she defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor.

The second-term governor appeared with Stevens and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn in Detroit on Friday, repeating her endorsement in front of more than 100 people at a Teamsters hall. She said Steven has “what it takes to win.”

"Michiganders need a fighter in Washington and there are few leaders with more fight in ’em than Haley Stevens,” Whitmer said, who left the event without taking questions from reporters.

Stevens has pitched herself as a Democrat who has won tough elections, including flipping a Republican-held House seat. She has been backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a two-term Democrat who is retiring from the seat.

She's in a tight race for the Democratic nomination against El-Sayed, a progressive whose supporters include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

“The corporate establishment has closed ranks and made their pick – now, Michigan voters will get to make theirs,” said Roxie Richner, a spokesperson for El-Sayed.

The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November for a critical, battleground Senate seat. Democrats are hoping to flip the Senate in November, and Michigan remains a key part of their plan.

Stevens is a four-term congresswoman from the Detroit area. Her candidacy has benefited from tens of millions in spending by outside political groups, including nearly $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.

El-Sayed, who accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, has criticized Stevens for taking money from AIPAC.

Whitmer is a term-limited governor who isn’t on the ballot this fall, though she has been mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate. She is the best-known politician in Michigan.

Whitmer had long weighed the decision. Stevens’ success winning in a competitive district, including converting the GOP-held seat for Democrats in 2018, was among the factors in the endorsement, according to a person who was familiar with the governor’s deliberations but was not authorized to discuss private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Produced by environmental scientists, the report — which the state for more than six months had refused to release — said regulators should have more authority to reject industrial water withdrawal permits, force entities to examine alternative sources of water and clamp down on users who might be using more water than they should be.

The report noted limits around publicly available information on data center water use but did not lay blame with the industry for the concerns raised about the aquifer.

The groundwater supply in Virginia’s populous eastern coastal plain region “is constrained, and current projections indicate declining availability in the near future,” said the report, which Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office provided to The Associated Press Thursday.

Data centers use water, sometimes in large amounts, to cool their servers. Worries about data centers' impact on the quality and supply of both ground and surface water — and about tech companies’ failures to be as transparent as the public would like — have dogged projects around the country. The issues have become politically explosive heading into the midterm elections.

Perhaps nowhere are those topics more resonant than in Virginia, home to hundreds of data centers with more under development and where the sustainability of groundwater, the supply stored naturally under the earth's surface, in the coastal eastern region has been a long-running concern.

A wide range of interest groups had begun to publicly admonish the governor's administration for withholding the report; those reviewing it Friday said its findings were sobering.

“We’re standing on the ledge,” said Jay Ford, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia policy manager.

Report says lawmakers should tighten regulations

Virginia enacted its first groundwater law in 1973, but legislators acknowledged it was “too permissive” and tightened it in 1992, the report said. The law remains in effect, but the report warns it should be strengthened again.

State Sen. Richard Stuart, a conservative Republican who represents Virginia’s coastal Northern Neck region and has made conservation a cornerstone of his legislative work, said he's been making noise about the issue for at least 15 years. Increasingly, local governments in his district are being told by regulators that they will have to shift to new surface water sources because of the strain on groundwater.

He said the water crunch is happening at the same time as many new data centers are coming online across his district. He wanted more specifics, so he passed a bill requiring the study.

The report found that groundwater withdrawals in the region fell sharply roughly 15 years ago after a paper mill closed, which, along with regulatory efforts, helped water levels rise in the area’s biggest aquifer. Recently, those trends stalled, and levels throughout the aquifer are projected to resume declining, it said.

There likely isn’t enough groundwater to sustainably add any big, new industrial user, according to the study.

The report suggests the Legislature strengthen regulators' permitting authority; require applicants who want to tap large volumes of groundwater first examine surface water or water reuse; require better planning for local water use; and beef up funding for water management staffing and equipment.

Lawmakers should also weigh in on how they want regulators to prioritize drinking water for the public with current law, which directs them to consider protecting current uses.

Stuart said Friday that while he was still processing the more than 100-page report, its summary findings were worrisome, though they will help lawmakers make tough decisions moving forward.

“Folks worry about the lack of the ability for growth. A lot of them are talking about industrial and commercial. I’m worried about our citizens having drinking water, and I’m worried about our seafood industry because they need clean water,” he said.

Data centers would struggle to get a groundwater permit, study finds

The report said most existing and planned data center capacity is located in public water supply service areas that mostly draw from surface water. But it went on to note that no comprehensive public data exists about groundwater-sourced water withdrawals from the facilities.

While it’s also not clear exactly how many data centers are under development in the state’s eastern region, 371 are in operation across the state and another 438 are planned, according to Cleanview, a company that tracks data centers and other power infrastructure development.

The report’s authors performed an analysis to evaluate what hypothetical water withdrawals from a data center would look like and whether they could be permitted.

“Under current conditions, it appears unlikely that a data center with evaporative cooling technology (or any comparable water user) would find a reliable, sufficient groundwater supply anywhere” in the region, the report said.

Groundwater management and quality as more data centers come online has also been a concern in states including Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Georgia and South Carolina.

Administration initially blocked the report's release, but Spanberger says she will act on it

The state’s delay in issuing the report had raised transparency concerns and questions about its contents, partly because of its connection to data centers.

A wide range of advocacy organizations and a committee that advises state regulators on eastern Virginia groundwater issues had begun to raise concerns in June and July about why the report due in January had not yet been made public. Stuart said he had not been able to obtain a copy of it.

The AP sought the report under an open records request, and the Department of Environmental Quality withheld it. After AP requested comment for a story about the refusal to release the report, the governor’s office provided a copy late Thursday night.

Jack Bledsoe, a spokesperson for Spanberger, who took office in January, attributed delays in the report's release to a backlog of outstanding items from the previous governor's administration.

“This report represents the most comprehensive analysis of groundwater resources conducted in Virginia history. Governor Spanberger is committed to working with the General Assembly to carefully evaluate its findings, strengthen the Commonwealth’s groundwater management policies, and protect Virginia’s water supply for future generations,” Bledsoe said.

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Associated Press reporters Michael Phillis in Washington and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

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Authorities said it happened at around 3:30 p.m. at the home of David Martinez Jr. in the 900 block of Northeast 33rd Terrace.

According to an arrest report from the Homestead Police Department, the beating began after the boy ― who is non-verbal ― screamed, which the child’s mother said he does when he wants something.

Police said Martinez, 31, asked his son “what was wrong with him and shortly after, the light of the bedroom was turned off.”

“A noise that appeared to sound like (Martinez) was striking the victim with an open hand could be heard,“ the HPD report states. ”Shortly after, (he) escorted the victim out of the bedroom while simultaneously spanking him with an open hand.”

Then, as the boy sat on a sofa crying, police said Martinez came out with a belt.

Police said Martinez “violently” threw his son on the sofa and began hitting him with the belt “multiple times.”

Martinez walked away as the boy cried, screamed and hit himself, but came back to slap him multiple times, police said.

According to the report, he left and came back with the belt and beat the child more, then left and returned again to continue the beating.

Police said the young boy “ended up on the floor,” at which point he “violently picked up the victim and threw him onto the sofa and continued hitting him with the belt multiple times.”

“(Martinez) then escorted the victim to his bedroom and pushed him onto his bed and began hitting the bed with the belt while yelling at the victim to stop crying,” the report states. “(Martinez) left the bedroom and returned and he violently turned the victim over and struck him with an open hand.”

Police said the boy “suffered abrasions and red marks on his upper thighs” and said in-home surveillance video confirmed the abuse, as well as its nearly half-hour duration.

Authorities arrested Martinez on a charge of child abuse causing no great bodily harm. As of Friday afternoon, he was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bond listed in online records as “to be set.”

Las autoridades informaron que ocurrió alrededor de las 3:30 p.m. en la vivienda de David Martinez Jr., ubicada en la cuadra 900 de Northeast 33rd Terrace.

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Homestead, la golpiza comenzó después de que el niño, que no es verbal, gritara, algo que la madre del menor explicó que hace cuando quiere algo.

La Policía indicó que Martinez, de 31 años, le preguntó a su hijo “qué le pasaba” y poco después apagó la luz de la habitación.

“Se podía escuchar un sonido que parecía indicar que Martinez estaba golpeando a la víctima con la mano abierta”, señala el informe del Departamento de Policía de Homestead. “Poco después, sacó a la víctima del dormitorio mientras simultáneamente le daba nalgadas con la mano abierta”.

Luego, mientras el niño estaba sentado en un sofá llorando, la Policía dijo que Martinez salió con un cinturón.

La Policía indicó que Martinez lanzó “violentamente” a su hijo sobre el sofá y comenzó a golpearlo con el cinturón “en múltiples ocasiones”.

Martinez se alejó mientras el niño lloraba, gritaba y se golpeaba a sí mismo, pero regresó para darle varias bofetadas, informó la Policía.

Según el informe, volvió a salir, regresó con el cinturón y golpeó nuevamente al menor. Después volvió a irse y regresó otra vez para continuar con la golpiza.

La Policía indicó que el niño “terminó en el suelo”, momento en el que Martinez “levantó violentamente a la víctima, la lanzó sobre el sofá y continuó golpeándola con el cinturón en múltiples ocasiones”.

“Luego, Martinez llevó a la víctima a su dormitorio, la empujó sobre la cama y comenzó a golpear la cama con el cinturón mientras le gritaba que dejara de llorar”, señala el informe. “Martinez salió del dormitorio, regresó y volteó violentamente a la víctima antes de golpearla con la mano abierta”.

La Policía informó que el niño sufrió abrasiones y marcas rojas en la parte superior de los muslos y que un video de vigilancia instalado en la vivienda confirmó el maltrato, así como su duración de casi media hora.

Las autoridades arrestaron a Martinez por un cargo de maltrato infantil sin causar lesiones corporales graves. Hasta la tarde del viernes permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, con una fianza aún pendiente de ser fijada, según los registros en línea.

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Authorities said they took “Big Baby” ― a street name used by Thomas Isaac Dudley ― into custody on Thursday.

State records show that Dudley, 49, spent nearly 15 years in prison after committing a robbery in Brevard County and had just gotten out of prison in April after a Miami-Dade grand theft conviction. Besides “Big Baby,” he’s known by several other aliases, including “Pinky Baby” and “Teddy Bear.”

But he’s accused of acting like anything but a teddy bear on the morning of July 8.

According to an MDSO arrest report, the victim told deputies he was walking in the area of Southwest 102nd Avenue and 174th Terrace at around 6 a.m. when Dudley got out of the passenger’s seat of a car and pointed a gun at him, telling him, “Give me the money. Where’s the money, boy?”

Deputies said after the victim told him he didn’t have any money, Dudley “then armed himself with a galvanized metal fence post/pipe” and began hitting him with it, causing him to fall.

According to the arrest report, Dudley then began to “strike and stab the victim in the chest/collarbone area, left torso, and left upper leg/groin area,” causing cuts and bruises. Deputies said Dudley made off with about $130 and got back in the vehicle and the unknown driver sped away.

Deputies said a passerby called 911 as the victim hid in the bushes and he was eventually treated in the emergency room.

According to the report, the victim told investigators that he believes Dudley targeted him because he is disabled ― using a urostomy bag ― and “unable to defend himself.”

The victim added that Dudley knows that he “panhandles nearby and is known to always have some money.”

Authorities said they recovered the “bloodstained fence post/pipe” and took it into evidence. Meanwhile, they said the victim later identified Dudley “via confirmation photo.”

Authorities said they went to Dudley’s home in the 13600 block of Jackson Street in the county’s Richmond Heights area on Thursday to take him into custody.

“Big Baby,” they said, was “combative” and deputies didn’t interview him.

Records show Dudley, arrested on charges of armed robbery and aggravated battery on a person 65 or older, was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Friday afternoon.

Las autoridades informaron que el jueves arrestaron a “Big Baby”, apodo con el que se conoce a Thomas Isaac Dudley.

Los registros estatales muestran que Dudley, de 49 años, pasó casi 15 años en prisión tras cometer un robo en el condado Brevard y que acababa de salir de prisión en abril después de una condena por robo mayor en Miami-Dade. Además de “Big Baby”, también es conocido por otros alias, entre ellos “Pinky Baby” y “Teddy Bear”.

Sin embargo, está acusado de actuar de manera muy distinta a un “oso de peluche” la mañana del 8 de julio.

Según el informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, la víctima dijo a los agentes que caminaba por el área de Southwest 102nd Avenue y 174th Terrace alrededor de las 6 a.m., cuando Dudley salió del asiento del pasajero de un vehículo y le apuntó con un arma mientras le decía: “Dame el dinero. ¿Dónde está el dinero, muchacho?”.

Los agentes indicaron que, después de que la víctima le dijo que no tenía dinero, Dudley “tomó un poste o tubo galvanizado de una cerca” y comenzó a golpearlo con él, provocando que cayera al suelo.

Según el informe de arresto, Dudley luego comenzó a “golpear y apuñalar a la víctima en el área del pecho y la clavícula, el lado izquierdo del torso y la parte superior de la pierna izquierda y la ingle”, causándole cortaduras y moretones. Los agentes dijeron que Dudley huyó con aproximadamente $130 USD y volvió a subir al vehículo, cuyo conductor escapó del lugar.

Los agentes informaron que un transeúnte llamó al 911 mientras la víctima se escondía entre unos arbustos y posteriormente fue atendida en la sala de emergencias.

Según el informe, la víctima dijo a los investigadores que cree que Dudley lo eligió como objetivo porque es una persona discapacitada, ya que utiliza una bolsa de urostomía, y “no puede defenderse”.

La víctima agregó que Dudley sabe que él pide limosna en las cercanías y que “siempre suele tener algo de dinero”.

Las autoridades informaron que recuperaron el “poste o tubo manchado de sangre” y lo incorporaron como evidencia. Además, señalaron que posteriormente la víctima identificó a Dudley mediante una fotografía de confirmación.

Las autoridades indicaron que el jueves acudieron a la vivienda de Dudley, ubicada en la cuadra 13600 de Jackson Street, en el área de Richmond Heights, en el condado, para arrestarlo.

Según las autoridades, “Big Baby” se mostró “agresivo” y los agentes no lograron entrevistarlo.

Los registros muestran que Dudley, arrestado por los cargos de robo a mano armada y agresión agravada contra una persona de 65 años o más, permanecía detenido sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight hasta la tarde del viernes.

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest report, Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests after getting stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 on Thursday. Sheriff’s officials said Romo was taken into custody, booked and released.

He has a court appearance set for Sept. 21.

Romo went to high school about 35 miles from Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin.

The 46-year-old Romo has been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during an NFL career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

CBS had no comment regarding the arrest.

Romo remains the Cowboys’ franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248. He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season.

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“No doy permiso a ninguna guarnición o establecimiento militar para que se aliste, hasta el último segundo que sea presidente, para ninguna posesión”, aseguró Petro en un discurso desde la Quinta de Bolívar, una casa campestre convertida en museo ubicada en el centro de Bogotá, adonde llevó la espada de Simón Bolívar desde el palacio presidencial.

De la Espriella pretende tomar juramento en una guarnición militar en el suroeste del país para rendir homenaje a la fuerza pública, a la que promete fortalecer en la lucha contra los grupos armados ilegales.

Esta semana el Senado aprobó la propuesta de trasladarse para la juramentación desde Bogotá a Cauca, un convulso departamento del suroeste del país, sin especificar si sería en una guarnición. Resta el aval de la Cámara de Representantes.

“Los civiles se tienen que posesionar ante el pueblo, no ante las armas. Una vez juramente, pero no en un estamento militar, puede dar las órdenes que quiera”, explicó Petro, quien como presidente es el comandante supremo de las fuerzas armadas.

Petro desconoció la victoria en las urnas del conservador De la Espriella, su férreo opositor, pese a que la autoridad electoral la certificó tras vencer por un estrecho margen al progresista Iván Cepeda, a quien apoyaba el mandatario saliente.

En su discurso aseguró que deben la presidencia de De la Espriella al "Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos”, al reprochar el apoyo político del presidente Donald Trump y de su gobierno a De la Espriella.

Petro considera que Colombia perderá su soberanía con el próximo gobierno y “vuelve al virreinato”, esta vez al servicio de Estados Unidos.

Tras alegar un presunto fraude electoral, Petro apoyó una demanda que pide la anulación de la declaratoria de De la Espriella como presidente al señalar que la autoridad electoral habría disminuido los controles a las actas de votación, dificultando la veeduría ciudadana y la verificación de los jueces.

Petro envía la espada de Bolívar a un museo

El mandatario anunció que tras salir de la presidencia irá a la “resistencia”, durante el acto simbólico en el que llevó la espada del libertador Simón Bolívar.

“La espada sale hacia la Quinta de Bolívar en ostracismo. El 7 de agosto termina la independencia nacional de Colombia”, dijo Petro en la red social X junto a un video de la espada puesta en una urna y resguardada por la guardia presidencial por las calles del centro de Bogotá. “La espada de Bolívar volverá a brillar cuando conquistemos la segunda independencia nacional”, agregó.

Petro ha usado la espada como símbolo de su “lucha popular”. Al posesionarse como presidente, decidió exhibirla en una urna del palacio presidencial y utilizarla en algunos actos públicos.

“Los cinco países bolivarianos están amenazados de perder su independencia; en uno de ellos ya cayeron misiles”, dijo Petro en referencia a Venezuela. “Amenazan también con misiles a lancheros que no son los dueños del narco”, reprochó sobre las embarcaciones atacadas por Estados Unidos en el mar Caribe por ser supuestamente usadas para traficar drogas.

El simbolismo de la espada está ligado con el pasado de Petro, quien en su juventud militó en la extinta guerrilla M-19. La espada de Bolívar fue robada en enero de 1974 por el M-19 cuando era custodiada en la Quinta de Bolívar.

Desde entonces, la espada se convirtió en el símbolo por excelencia de la lucha insurgente del M-19, hasta que sus dirigentes la devolvieron como un gesto de paz en 1991, después de que firmaron un acuerdo de paz y abandonaron las armas.

U.N. member nations rejected a U.S. proposal to delay the vote until the end of next week as well as a Russian proposal to extend Türk’s term just until the end of the year. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly to reappoint Türk was 144-10, with 13 abstentions.

While he got strong support, the votes and speeches also reflected concern that Secretary-General António Guterres quietly nominated the Austrian lawyer this month after private consultations, with no public discussion, as the U.N. chief nears the end of his own 10-year tenure.

Türk’s job as the U.N. rights chief, by its nature, is tricky: It requires speaking out against rights violations by the governments of the countries that make up the membership of the world body. For instance, Türk has sharply criticized Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Türk got wide support but loud pushback from the U.S. and Israel

Türk, whose term was supposed to expire on Oct. 11, has faced opposition from critics and some countries for his criticism of Israel’s attacks in Gaza and his approach to China’s crackdown on its Uyghur minority. None of Türk’s predecessors have served two full terms since the job was created in 1993.

U.S. deputy ambassador Jeff Bartos warned before the vote that reappointing Türk would prove that the General Assembly “is dysfunctional” and that the vote “was quietly shoved onto the agenda at the last minute to bypass meaningful review.”

“Make no mistake, if this assembly tolerates procedural overreach, backroom deals and the misuse of U.N. posts, there will be consequences,” he warned. “The United States will immediately reassess our engagement, participation and funding.”

The Trump administration already owes nearly $4 billion to the U.N. for its regular dues and for the separate budget for U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Russia’s deputy ambassador, Dmitry Chumakov, said Guterres had sown discord among U.N. members and accused Türk of “political bias” and promoting “Western geopolitical interests under the pretext of concern for human rights.”

Speaking for the European Union, Ireland’s U.N. Ambassador Fergal Mythen reaffirmed the 27-nation bloc’s “wholehearted support” for Türk.

“The European Union believes that Mr. Türk has demonstrably fulfilled responsibilities entrusted to him effectively and with integrity in an objective and non-selective manner over the past four years,” Mythen said. He takes on another term when “the multiplication of obstacles and challenges and rights violations is relentless, and the promotion and protection of all human rights becomes ever more contested.”

Guterres, whose own second five-year term ends Dec. 31, sent letters to regional groups at the United Nations this month informing them of his intention to reappoint Türk. The African group had no objection, but the Latin American countries had several, including Nicaragua, Argentina and Paraguay.

Before the vote, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Guterres’ action to get a second term for Türk the U.N. secretary-general’s “latest moral failure,” saying on social media that the choice should be left to his successor.

“After years of bias against Israel, the answer is accountability — not rewriting the rules,” the ministry said.

Guterres is ‘following the rules’ on the reappointment, UN says

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Guterres was following the 1993 resolution that established a U.N. high commissioner for human rights and allows for a second term.

“The secretary-general is doing things in a very transparent manner, following the rules and his authority,” Dujarric told reporters Friday. “Consultations were had with member states prior to this and with regional groups.”

As human rights chief, the longtime U.N. functionary who worked for Guterres at United Nations headquarters in New York, Türk has expressed concerns on issues in China as diverse as the fate of detained individuals — like artist Gao Zhen, lawyer Yu Wensheng and media mogul Jimmy Lai — and counterterrorism and assimilation practices that affect ethnic minorities including the Uyghurs in the regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet.

Critics insist he could have done more to publicly follow up on a report issued by his predecessor, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, that said China’s discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang may amount to crimes against humanity.

Türk also has stopped short of joining independent U.N. rights experts who have accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies those claims.

Former head of Human Rights Watch Ken Roth said: “The biggest stain on Türk’s reputation is his utter abandonment of the Uyghurs.”

Türk has used both private engagement with Beijing and public advocacy to support human rights in China, his office said. Roth called that “an admission that he is doing nothing, that he’s putting the plight of the Uyghurs on the deep back burner, and is just pretending to care.”

The Chinese government denies the Uyghurs have been or are being persecuted. It maintains its policies in Xinjiang rooted out terrorism and religious extremism after sporadic bouts of violence rocked the region in previous decades.

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Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

The Bulldogs received 88 of 164 votes to reach the title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in early December. Texas was the second choice, with 57 votes, and Mississippi a distant third with six. Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU and Kentucky also received votes.

Only 10 times since 1992 has the media’s preseason predicted champion proceeded to win the SEC title game.

Media also voted on preseason All-SEC teams, with Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss edging Texas’ Arch Manning for first-team quarterback.

Predicted order of finish

1. Georgia, 2,510 points

2. Texas, 2,449

3. Mississippi, 2,004

4. Texas A&M, 1,967

5. LSU, 1,961

6. Alabama, 1,930

7. Oklahoma, 1,914

8. Tennessee, 1,320

9. Florida, 1,217

10. Missouri, 1,105

11. South Carolina, 956

12. Auburn, 936

13. Vanderbilt, 751

14. Kentucky, 546

15. Mississippi State, 467

16. Arkansas, 262

First-team offense

QB: Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi

RB: Kewan Lacy, Mississippi; Ahmad Hardy, Missouri

WR: Cam Coleman, Texas; Ryan Coleman-Williams, Alabama

TE: Trey’Dez Green, LSU

OG/OT: Trevor Goosby, Texas; Cayden Green, Missouri; Jordan Seaton, LSU; Earnest Greene III, Georgia

C: Drew Bobo, Georgia

All-purpose: Mario Craver, Texas A&M

First-team defense

DL: Colin Simmons, Texas; Will Echoles, Mississippi; Dylan Stewart, South Carolina; Princewill Umanmielen, LSU

LB: Whit Weeks, LSU; Xavier Atkins, Auburn; Rasheem Biles, Texas

DB: KJ Bolden, Georgia; Zabien Brown, Alabama; Bray Hubbard, Alabama; Ellis Robinson IV, Georgia

First-team specialists

PK: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma

P: Grant Chadwick, LSU

Return specialist: Ryan Niblett, Texas

Kickoff specialist: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma

Long snapper: Ben Anderson, Oklahoma

Second-team offense

QB: Arch Manning, Texas

RB: Jadan Baugh, Florida; Nate Frazier, Georgia

WR: Mario Craver, Texas A&M; Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma

TE: Lawson Luckie, Georgia

OG/OT: Dontrell Glover, Georgia; Michael Fasusi, Oklahoma; Michael Carroll, Alabama; Lance Heard, Kentucky

C: Mark Nabou Jr., Texas A&M

All-purpose: Ryan Niblett, Texas

Second-team defense

DL: David Stone, Oklahoma; Elijah Griffin, Georgia; Taylor Wein, Oklahoma; Quincy Rhodes Jr., Arkansas

LB: Raylen Wilson, Georgia; Suntarine Perkins, Mississippi; Kip Lewis, Oklahoma

DB: Kelley Jones, Mississippi State; DJ Pickett, LSU; Ty Benefield, LSU; Eli Bowen, Oklahoma; Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma

Second-team specialists

PK: Lucas Carneiro, Mississippi

P: Grayson Miller, Oklahoma

Return specialist: Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma

Kickoff specialist: Lucas Carneiro, Mississippi

Long snapper: Trey Dubuc, Texas

Third-team offense

QB: Gunner Stockton, Georgia

RB: DeSean Bishiop, Tennessee; Hollywood Smothers, Texas

WR: Ryan Wingo, Texas; Nyck Harbor, South Carolina

TE: Willie Rodriguez, Kentucky

OG/OT: David Sanders Jr., Tennessee; Patrick Kutas, Mississippi; Brandon Baker, Texas; Wendell Moe Jr., Tennessee

C: Braelin Moore, LSU

All-purpose: Jaden Baugh, Florida

Third-team defense

DL: Kam Franklin, Mississippi; DJ Hicks, Texas A&M; Gabe Harris, Georgia; Jayden Woods, Florida

LB: Arion Carter, Tennessee; TJ Dottery, LSU; Yhonzae Pierre, Alabama

DB: Keon Sabb, Alabama; Champ Anthony, Auburn; Khalil Barnes, Georgia; Jelani McDonald, Texas

Third-team specialists

PK: Alex McPherson, Auburn

P: Ethan Pulliam, Mississippi State

Return specialist: Vernell Brown III, Florida

Kickoff specialist: Terry Bussey, Texas A&M

Long snapper: Brett Le Blanc, Missouri

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Surveillance videos show Raymond Delgado, who lives in Hialeah and is unemployed, tracking a UPS delivery truck with his phone on June 18, according to a police officer’s arrest report.

Delgado walked into an apartment building’s lobby and told an employee that “he was authorized to retrieve packages,” according to the police report.

Police officers arrested Delgado at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday at the Florida Department of Corrections Probation & Parole Services facility, at 3601 NW 167 St., in Miami Gardens, according to the police report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Delgado shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Court records showed Delgado faced three new charges: Burglary of an occupied dwelling, third-degree grand theft, and unlawful use of a communication device. His bond was $15,000.

According to Delgado’s Florida Department of Corrections’ profile, his probation was from March 9 to March 8, 2028, for a third-degree grand theft on Jan. 6 in Miami-Dade County.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.

Según el informe de arresto, videos de vigilancia muestran a Raymond Delgado, residente de Hialeah y desempleado, siguiendo con su teléfono un camión de entregas de UPS el 18 de junio.

De acuerdo con el informe policial, Delgado entró al vestíbulo de un edificio de apartamentos y le dijo a un empleado que “estaba autorizado para recoger paquetes”.

Según el informe policial, agentes arrestaron a Delgado a las 12:15 p.m. del jueves en las instalaciones de Servicios de Libertad Condicional y Libertad Supervisada del Departamento de Correcciones de Florida, ubicadas en el 3601 de Northwest 167 Street, en Miami Gardens.

De acuerdo con los registros de reclusos, el Departamento Correccional de Miami-Dade ingresó a Delgado poco antes de la 1:30 p.m. del jueves en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Los registros judiciales muestran que Delgado enfrenta tres nuevos cargos: robo a una vivienda ocupada, robo mayor en tercer grado y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación. Su fianza fue fijada en $15,000 USD.

Según el perfil de Delgado en el Departamento de Correcciones de Florida, se encontraba en libertad condicional desde el 9 de marzo y hasta el 8 de marzo de 2028 por un caso de robo mayor en tercer grado ocurrido el 6 de enero en el condado Miami-Dade.

La editora de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Mercedes Cevallos, colaboró con este informe.

Kim birdied the final four holes of his bogey-free round at TPC Twin Cities to get to 14 under for the tournament and open a a three-shot lead over three players after two rounds.

Ben Kohles, who had a two-shot lead entering the day, shot a 69 to drop into a tie for second with Chandler Phillips (65) and Emiliano Grillo (67).

Two bad swings cost Scottie Scheffler, and the world’s top-ranked player was seven shots back after 70.

Kim had the fourth 59 on tour since 2024. Jake Knapp was the last to do so during the first round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic. Jim Furyk holds the tour record with a 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

“Today was an awesome day, but still, I’m only halfway there so still need to kind of get focused up for the weekend,” said Kim, who shot 69 Thursday.

Kohles' post-round interview was interrupted by a roar when Kim made his final putt.

“That’s sick,” he said smiling. “There’s a 59. I guess 62 wasn’t as good.”

Kim’s mindset is to not play “too protective.” That is not easy at the par-3 17th and par-5 18th where water lines each hole.

“I just kind of told myself like, ‘Hey, this is the way, this is the moment to get into the history books and let’s go for it, let’s not try to luck our way into it, let’s try to step up and hit some really good shots,’” he said.

Kim needed to make an uphill 24-foot putt with little break on the final hole to reach the magic number.

“I tend to leave those short when it’s that uphill and I just, last thing was just get it there, just don’t leave it short,” said Kim, who raised his hands and did a few fist bumps when the ball sank into the cup.

Kim, whose previous career low round was 62, made five straight birdies beginning on No. 3 and added three in a four-hole stretch beginning on No. 9.

Eight of his birdies were from more than 10 feet.

“When you hit a putt and it does exactly what you kind of envisioned before you hit it, it’s an awesome feeling. Felt like that all day out there,” said Kim, whose lone tour win came at the 2018 John Deere Classic.

Second in the Valero Texas Open in April, Kim’s best finish in 12 tournaments since was 17th, and he missed four cuts, including the past three weeks at the British Open, Scottish Open and John Deere Classic.

Playing the previous five weeks, Kim thought about skipping this week’s tour stop.

“I felt decent energy-wise,” Kim said, “so I went home after I missed the cut at the Open, just spent a couple days relaxing and came up here and really happy I did.”

Kim and Kohles played in the morning before the wind picked up and gusts topped 20 mph. Afternoon scores reflected the change.

“Definitely wasn’t a 59 out there. Maybe somebody playing really well could have shot 64, 63,” Grillo said.

Scheffler was at 9 under before his approach shot found the water at No. 14, leading to a double bogey. His tee shot at the par-3 17th landed in the right rough, and a second shot from an awkward lie with the ball well below his feet skidded 34 feet past the hole, leading to a bogey.

“Just got a bad break, but that happens,” he said.

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

The Republican president made the announcement a day after the EU hit Google with a fine of 890 million euros, or $1 billion, after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.

In a lengthy post on social media, Trump said he has warned the EU about its practice of fining U.S. tech companies. He named Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and others.

“The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” Trump said, adding that his post should serve as notice of an immediate trade investigation “into the practice of ‘ROBBING’ American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.”

“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about,” he said.

In the post, Trump asserted that the penalties against the companies “will be entirely reversed” and predicted “a substantial TARIFF” would be placed on the EU “at the earliest possible moment.”

“Stay tuned!” he said.

Investigation follows new Trump tariffs

Trump's move comes a day after the White House announced double-digit tariffs on imports from more than 60 countries, accusing them of inadequately enforcing bans on goods produced by forced labor. The new tariffs replace temporary 10% worldwide import taxes that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest tariffs.

The new tariffs are being implemented using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices.

José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company has worked hard to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act and has expressed its concerns about the effects of recent decisions by the European Commission.

"We appreciate the engagement by the administration and U.S. government,” he said.

Representatives of Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. There also was no immediate comment from the Brussels-based European Commission.

Trump had threatened retaliation over EU fines

The EU's billion-dollar fine against Google was the latest major crackdown on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in reining in some of the world’s largest companies from Silicon Valley to Beijing.

It has done so despite the risk of incurring the wrath of Trump, who has lashed out at the 27-nation bloc’s digital regulations in a broader campaign against Europe: imposing high tariffs, making threats to seize Greenland from Denmark by force, and rattling trust within the NATO military alliance.

Trump had threatened retaliation if American tech companies are penalized.

Google had recently lost its appeal of a $4.5 billion antitrust fine imposed by the EU for throttling competition and reducing consumer choice through the dominance of its mobile Android operating system.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch and highest antitrust enforcer, said it was acting in the interest of consumers after an investigation of Google.

“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine. And European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut,” said Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition.

Google’s president of global affairs, Kent Walker, assailed the fine as “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants” that will hurt European businesses and consumers.

He said the EU’s Digital Markets Act forces Google “to strip away real-time search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play.”

The EU describes some of the world’s leading tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance — as “gatekeepers” that control access for consumers.

“In the EU, businesses have the right to compete fairly. Gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said. Alphabet reported $403 billion in revenue last year.

—-

Associated Press writer Kaitlyn Huamani in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots opened camp on Friday, joining the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers report on Saturday, and the remaining 26 teams start on Tuesday.

Ten teams have new head coaches, 21 have new offensive coordinators and 14 brought in new defensive coordinators.

Here are the top stories to watch:

Will Aaron Donald come out of retirement?

The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year is contemplating a comeback to team with star edge rusher Myles Garrett and increase the Rams’ chances of winning another Super Bowl in their home stadium.

Donald is 35 and hasn’t played since retiring after the 2023 season. He played a key role for Los Angeles when the Rams won the Super Bowl five years ago.

Will Patrick Mahomes be ready for Week 1?

The three-time Super Bowl MVP tore two ligaments in his left knee last Dec. 14 as the Chiefs were on their way to a 6-11 finish. Mahomes had surgery to repair his ACL and LCL a day later, and participated in Kansas City’s offseason practices. He is on track to play against Denver on Sept. 14, barring any setbacks. If Mahomes starts the opener, it’ll be eight months post-injury.

Will Baker Mayfield get a contract extension?

Mayfield is in the final season of a three-year, $100 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He tailed off after an outstanding start last season when he played through several injuries. Mayfield wants to stay with Tampa Bay and the Bucs want him. He’s expected to get around $55 million per season and it’s just a matter of when the two sides reach an agreement.

Which quarterbacks will win the competition for starting jobs?

There’s a battle between two lefties in Atlanta where Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. will compete. A change of scenery could help Tagovailoa regain his Pro Bowl form.

Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy fight for the starting job in Minnesota. Murray, a two-time Pro Bowl QB in Arizona, is the favorite to start Week 1. McCarthy was the Vikings’ first-round pick in 2024 and could even end up No. 3 behind veteran Carson Wentz.

Deshaun Watson has a shot to start in Cleveland after tearing his right Achilles tendon twice in a span of three months and sitting out the 2025 season. Watson is in the final year of a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract. Sheduer Sanders, who was 3-4 as a starter as a rookie, showed glimpses of his potential and will get an opportunity to win the job.

How many first-team reps will Fernando Mendoza get in camp and preseason?

Kirk Cousins is expected to start in Las Vegas but Mendoza could end up starting sooner than later. It’ll be interesting to see how many first-team snaps rookie coach Klint Kubiak gives Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, national champion and No. 1 overall pick.

How does Sean Mannion change the Eagles’ offense?

The 2024 Super Bowl champs won 11 games last season despite an inconsistent offense that cost Kevin Patullo his job as offensive coordinator. Sean Mannion took over after coaching Green Bay’s QBs last season. He was a journeyman quarterback in the NFL between 2015-23 and brings a new system that’s rooted in Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan’s philosophies of pre-snap motion, under-center plays and use of play-action.

He’ll be the sixth OC in seven seasons for Jalen Hurts, who won’t have A.J. Brown as his primary receiver this season.

Can the Seahawks transition from Kubiak to Brian Fleury seamlessly?

The Super Bowl champs replaced Kubiak with another one of Shanahan’s disciples. Kubiak and Fleury worked together previously in San Francisco. Fleury served in various roles with the 49ers and coaches tight ends and was the run game coordinator in 2025. He plans to keep much of Kubiak’s system, which allowed Sam Darnold to thrive.

How are players returning from injuries progressing?

QBs Bo Nix (ankle) and Daniel Jones (Achilles) are expected to be ready for Week 1. Nix was injured in Denver’s playoff win against Buffalo and missed the AFC title game. Jones got hurt in Week 14 last season as the Colts were in the middle of a 7-game losing streak to end a season they began 8-2.

Tight end George Kittle (Achilles) could return to San Francisco’s lineup in the first month. Giants running back Cam Skattebo (tibia/ankle), Dolphins RB De’Von Achane (shoulder), 49ers edges Nick Bosa (ACL), Mykell Williams (ACL), Jaguars cornerback Travis Hunter (LCL) and Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (ACL) are also coming back from significant injuries.

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

El funcionario explicó que el alcalde de Temoac, Valentín Lavín, estuvo presuntamente involucrado en el asesinato de Flores y también en el de Sandra Rosa Camacho, líder social de la misma localidad que está situada en el estado de Morelos, 130 kilómetros al sureste de Ciudad de México y cerca del volcán Popocatépetl.

Camacho fue asesinada en marzo, poco después de que hubiera declarado que temía por su vida en un vídeo en el que también denunció ante la gobernadora del estado de Morelos, Margarita González Saravia —del partido oficialista Morena—, la violencia que estaban viviendo los activistas.

Organizaciones de la sociedad civil llevan siete años exigiendo justicia por el asesinato de Flores en la comunidad Amilcingo, en Temoac. El activista se convirtió en símbolo de la lucha comunitaria por la defensa de la tierra en México frente a muchos de los proyectos que fueron impulsados por el gobierno de Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), como el polémico Tren Maya del sureste mexicano.

García Harfuch explicó que Lavín estaba bajo investigación por sus posibles vínculos con varias células de grupos criminales involucrados en “secuestro, extorsión, narcomenudeo y homicidio en distintos municipios de la región Oriente de Morelos”.

Agregó que el 30 de marzo el Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra y del Agua de Morelos, Puebla y Tlaxcala exigió investigar al entonces alcalde por su presunta responsabilidad en los homicidios de Flores y Camacho.

En un comunicado de este jueves publicado en su cuenta de Facebook, el Frente de Pueblos denunció que el asesinato del alcalde “se suma al silenciamiento de quienes sabían quién mandó matar a Samir”. “Valentín Lavín desde el inicio fue considerado como uno de los probables responsables de su asesinato, pero nunca fue llamado a declarar”.

El Frente dijo en marzo que un juez absolvió al único detenido en el asesinato de Flores por falta de pruebas e inconsistencias en la investigación. El colectivo lleva años denunciando la presunta implicación de funcionarios estatales para impedir el esclarecimiento del caso.

Denuncias de larga data

Desde hace años las comunidades locales han luchado contra un proyecto energético en el que está involucrada la Comisión Federal de Electricidad. Incluye una termoeléctrica, un gasoducto para abastecer a la planta con gas natural desde Tlaxcala y un acueducto.

Las comunidades mayoritariamente indígenas y cercanas al volcán Popocatépetl llevan años expresado sus preocupaciones relacionadas con la salud, la seguridad y el suministro de agua.

Pese al asesinato de Flores, López Obrador decidió seguir adelante con una consulta popular sobre el proyecto que era muy polémica y recibió una mayoría de votos a favor. Sin embargo, las críticas no cesaron, ni tampoco la violencia en la zona.

El Frente de Pueblos señaló recientemente que no funcionan bien ni la termoeléctrica construida en una comunidad indígena de Yecapixtla, ni el acueducto que supuestamente lleva agua del río Cuautla a esa planta, ni el gasoducto que atraviesa parte de Tlaxcala, Puebla y Morelos.

Según los datos ofrecidos por García Harfuch el viernes, desde octubre de 2024 han sido detenidos cuatro alcaldes por vínculos con el crimen organizado; los de Cuautla, Yecapixtla, Atlatlahucan y Ayala. Todas esas localidades están en la zona del proyecto energético.

La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum recordó que en abril se reforzó la seguridad del estado, momento desde el que han bajado los homicidios, y garantizó que la Guardia Nacional se mantendrá “para siempre”.

Leer en español

The arrest of “Yunglazz Drakula” ― whose real name is Lazaro Lesteiro-Diaz ― came as the result of a joint investigation between Miami police, Miami-Dade deputies and the FBI.

And it’s not the 26-year-old’s first time in the news.

Fraud investigation

An arrest report ― which lists Lesteiro-Diaz‘s occupation as “rap-fraudster” ― first describes a June 17 video in which he‘s ”seen holding a laptop with money on it and a headset/mic on his head commonly used by fraudsters/scammers as he raps a song in Spanish."

Investigators said Lesteiro-Diaz rapped, “I called you from a Bank of America number. Ima boof a plot.”

“That means ‘I’m going to take your money...I’m going to access your bank account and (you’re) giving me your code, everything over the phone and I won’t even touch you,’” a detective with the Miami Police Department explained in the arrest report.

Then, police said on July 6, Lesteiro-Diaz livestreamed himself rapping again, displaying a gun, large amounts of cash, and a laptop.

Authorities said he then flipped the camera to show personal information belonging to “multiple victims” and described “how he commits organized fraud and spoofing schemes.”

Then came the “purple drank.”

Police said Lesteiro-Diaz flashed a bottle of the promethazine codeine cough syrup, used as an illegal drug, as he walked around his kitchen.

On Tuesday, police said he posted a video “in a bathroom and flashing multiple debit/credit/gift cards while concealing a suspected firearm that has an extended magazine.” The sink had a “wad” of cash on it.

Police raid

On Thursday, one day after a judge signed a search warrant, police, deputies and the FBI raided his home in the 11200 block of Southwest 43rd Lane in the county’s unincorporated Westwood Lakes area.

There, they said they found a gun, magazines, a “Drakula” diamond chain, a diamond watch, baby bottles with suspected “purple drank,” cash and a call center headset. But that’s not all.

In the rear of the home were “(two) dead chickens with their heads cut off,” police said.

Next to the chickens, they said, was a room “full of Cuban Santería” and “voodoo (witchcraft).”

“Law enforcement then discovered a live baby goat inside a box near the Santería (witchcraft) material,“ the arrest report states. ”The baby goat’s neck was painted in orange, which is a sign marking where the animal would get cut/slaughtered.”

Police said they were able to find a rescue organization for the goat.

“Subsequently, FBI agents discovered a video of (Lesteiro-Diaz) holding two dead chickens dangling by their feet in his hand, which are consistent with the dead chickens located in the rear of the premises,” the report states.

Police said during an interview, he admitted the items were his and said he bought the promethazine cough syrup to “cure his sickness,” also stating that “he previously attempted to commit fraud.”

They said he then invoked his right to remain silent. Police arrested him on charges of armed drug possession, organized fraud, money laundering, identity theft and animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill.

Past felony case

Back in 2020, Local 10 News reported on the arrest of Lesteiro-Diaz, then 19 and living in Hialeah, after police said he wrote threatening messages about wanting to kill random people, including gay, Black, Nicaraguan and Colombian people.

On what was then known as Twitter, authorities said he wrote, “My brain looks like the brain of a serial killer psychopath. I feel no type of pity or emotion towards hurting someone ... humans are mosquitoes in my eyes.”

After being charged with written threats to kill, court records show that he received withheld adjudication later that year. They additionally show that his probation in that case was terminated in 2022.

Rapper gets $30K bond

Meanwhile, in his latest case, records show he’s being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $30,000 bond.

Before he posts bond, however, he’ll have to prove any funds came from a legitimate source.

El arresto de “Yunglazz Drakula”, cuyo nombre real es Lazaro Lesteiro-Diaz, fue el resultado de una investigación conjunta entre la Policía de Miami, agentes de Miami-Dade y el FBI.

Y no es la primera vez que el joven de 26 años aparece en las noticias.

Investigación por fraude

Un informe de arresto, que identifica la ocupación de Lesteiro-Diaz como “rapero-estafador”, comienza describiendo un video del 17 de junio en el que se le “ve sosteniendo una computadora portátil con dinero sobre ella y usando unos audífonos con micrófono, comúnmente utilizados por estafadores, mientras rapea una canción en español”.

Los investigadores indicaron que Lesteiro-Diaz rapeó: “Te llamé desde un número de Bank of America. Ima boof a plot”.

“Eso significa: ‘Voy a quitarte el dinero… voy a acceder a tu cuenta bancaria y tú me vas a dar tu código, todo por teléfono, y ni siquiera voy a tocarte’”, explicó un detective del Departamento de Policía de Miami en el informe de arresto.

Luego, la Policía indicó que el 6 de julio Lesteiro-Diaz volvió a transmitir en vivo mientras rapeaba, mostrando un arma, grandes cantidades de dinero en efectivo y una computadora portátil.

Las autoridades señalaron que después giró la cámara para mostrar información personal perteneciente a “múltiples víctimas” y explicó “cómo comete fraudes organizados y esquemas de suplantación de identidad”.

Después apareció el “purple drank”.

La Policía dijo que Lesteiro-Diaz mostró una botella de jarabe para la tos con prometazina y codeína, utilizado ilegalmente como droga, mientras caminaba por su cocina.

El martes, la Policía informó que publicó un video “en un baño mostrando múltiples tarjetas de débito, crédito y de regalo mientras ocultaba un arma de fuego que presuntamente tenía un cargador extendido”. En el lavamanos había un fajo de dinero en efectivo.

Allanamiento policial

El jueves, un día después de que un juez firmara una orden de allanamiento, policías, agentes de Miami-Dade y el FBI allanaron su vivienda en la cuadra 11200 de Southwest 43rd Lane, en el área no incorporada de Westwood Lakes, en el condado Miami-Dade.

Allí, aseguraron haber encontrado un arma, cargadores, una cadena de diamantes con la palabra “Drakula”, un reloj de diamantes, biberones con presunto “purple drank”, dinero en efectivo y unos audífonos con micrófono para centro de llamadas. Pero eso no fue todo.

En la parte trasera de la vivienda encontraron “dos gallinas muertas con las cabezas cortadas”, informó la Policía.

Junto a las gallinas, encontraron una habitación “llena de objetos relacionados con la santería cubana” y “vudú (brujería)”.

“Las autoridades descubrieron además un cabrito vivo dentro de una caja cerca del material de santería (brujería)”, señala el informe de arresto. “El cuello del cabrito estaba pintado de color naranja, una señal que marca el lugar donde el animal sería cortado o sacrificado”.

La Policía indicó que logró contactar a una organización de rescate para hacerse cargo del cabrito.

“Posteriormente, agentes del FBI descubrieron un video de Lesteiro-Diaz sosteniendo dos gallinas muertas colgando por las patas, lo que coincide con las gallinas muertas encontradas en la parte trasera de la propiedad”, señala el informe.

La Policía indicó que durante un interrogatorio Lesteiro-Diaz admitió que los objetos le pertenecían y dijo que había comprado el jarabe con prometazina para “curar su enfermedad”, además de reconocer que “anteriormente intentó cometer fraude”.

Las autoridades señalaron que posteriormente invocó su derecho a guardar silencio. Fue arrestado por cargos de posesión de drogas estando armado, fraude organizado, lavado de dinero, robo de identidad y crueldad animal con intención de herir o matar.

Caso previo por delito grave

En 2020, Local 10 News informó sobre el arresto de Lesteiro-Diaz, quien entonces tenía 19 años y vivía en Hialeah, luego de que la Policía asegurara que escribió mensajes amenazando con matar a personas al azar, incluidos homosexuales, personas negras, nicaragüenses y colombianos.

En la entonces conocida red social Twitter, las autoridades dijeron que escribió: “Mi cerebro parece el de un asesino en serie psicópata. No siento ningún tipo de lástima ni emoción al lastimar a alguien… los seres humanos son como mosquitos para mí”.

Tras ser acusado de emitir amenazas de muerte por escrito, los registros judiciales muestran que ese mismo año recibió una suspensión de la adjudicación de culpabilidad. También indican que su libertad condicional en ese caso terminó en 2022.

Rapero recibe fianza de $30,000 USD

Mientras tanto, los registros muestran que en este nuevo caso permanece detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $30,000 USD.

Sin embargo, antes de poder pagar la fianza deberá demostrar que cualquier dinero utilizado proviene de una fuente legítima.

The IOC said on Friday it has no jurisdiction to investigate Infantino’s alleged lack of political neutrality.

A London-based NGO formally complained this month to the International Olympic Committee ethics commission about Infantino, including his part in ensuring United States forward Folarin Balogun did not serve a mandatory one-game ban despite being sent off in the previous game.

The IOC’s Olympic Charter cites neutrality among “fundamental principles of Olympism” for sports bodies like FIFA and its 100-plus members, which has included Infantino since 2020.

No formal investigation will be opened, the IOC said, because the complaint by rights group FairSquare did not relate to FIFA’s or Infantino’s specific relations with the Olympic body.

The complaint “refers only to (FIFA’s) decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with government, and to (FIFA’s) implementation of the rules of its sport,” the IOC said in a statement.

“Consequently, the complaint falls outside the IOC ethics commission’s jurisdiction,” the statement said.

The ethics body does not have independent powers to start investigations and sanction officials, but can make recommendations to the IOC executive board chaired by President Kirsty Coventry. She attended the World Cup final last Sunday at East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Action has been taken against just one IOC member in the past eight years for unethical conduct: Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, a key power broker who built a reputation as the “kingmaker” of Olympic elections.

___

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

El choque ocurrió cerca de Northeast 34th Avenue.

Según Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, tres de las víctimas fueron trasladadas al centro de trauma del Hospital HCA Florida Aventura, mientras que otras dos con lesiones menores fueron llevadas a un hospital local cuyo nombre no fue revelado.

Otras dos personas fueron evaluadas en el lugar y no presentaban lesiones, informó un portavoz de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

Una de las víctimas quedó atrapada dentro de uno de los vehículos, según Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

Video de Sky 10 mostró dos vehículos involucrados, con personal de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue y agentes de la Policía de North Miami Beach en el lugar.

Las imágenes también mostraron el cierre de los carriles en dirección oeste de la vía.

Durante los últimos tres meses, voluntarios, contratistas, empresas y televidentes de Local 10 se han unido para reconstruir la vivienda de Edward y Clara Knox en Richmond Heights, ayudando a transformar lo que alguna vez fue una estructura insegura en una casa que poco a poco vuelve a tomar forma.

Cuando Local 10 presentó por primera vez a los televidentes a Edward Knox, de 75 años, en abril, la vivienda en la que él y su esposa habían vivido durante más de cuatro décadas estaba en un grave estado de deterioro. El techo se estaba derrumbando, varias habitaciones eran inhabitables y la propiedad estaba cubierta por abundante vegetación.

Después de que se transmitió la historia, voluntarios dieron un paso al frente para ayudar a hacer realidad el sueño de la familia Knox de regresar a su hogar.

“Ángeles aparecieron de la nada para ayudarme”, dijo Edward Knox. “Es imposible no sentirse bien después de eso”.

Desde entonces, el proyecto se ha convertido en un esfuerzo conjunto que involucra a empresas locales, organizaciones sin fines de lucro, contratistas y generosos miembros de la comunidad.

El primer gran logro fue sacar la vivienda de la lista de estructuras inseguras del condado y obtener los permisos de construcción necesarios. Luego, los equipos demolieron el techo dañado y retiraron varios contenedores de basura llenos de escombros.

La fase más reciente de la construcción incluyó la entrega e instalación de nuevas cerchas para el techo, un paso importante para proteger la vivienda de las condiciones del tiempo.

Las cerchas fueron compradas con donaciones realizadas por televidentes de Local 10.

“Cada día esta familia, como yo la llamo, se une para ayudar a la familia Knox a regresar a su casa”, dijo Joe Puentes, cofundador de Wikivoice.

Los equipos de techado comenzaron rápidamente a instalar las cerchas antes de pasar a las siguientes etapas de la construcción.

“La siguiente parte será colocar la madera y la fascia, que forma parte de la estructura”, dijo Héctor Rodríguez, de Level Up Roofing.

Otra donación permitió seguir avanzando en el proyecto cuando Skyline Roofing Solutions donó la mayor parte de la madera contrachapada necesaria para el techo.

“La madera contrachapada que donamos hoy tiene un valor aproximado de $2,300 USD”, dijo Jorge Gutiérrez, gerente de Skyline Roofing Solutions.

La madera contrachapada restante fue suministrada por The Home Depot de Deerwood, en el suroeste de Miami-Dade.

Una vez que el techo quede completamente protegido, los contratistas indicaron que podrán comenzar los trabajos en las ventanas, la estructura interior, la plomería y el sistema eléctrico de la vivienda.

“Cuando el techo esté completamente protegido, podremos comenzar con las estructuras de las ventanas que vamos a instalar”, dijo el contratista general Jaime Naranjo. “Después podremos empezar con la estructura interior y prepararnos para realizar toda la plomería y el cableado eléctrico”.

Las imágenes captadas por un dron muestran ahora una transformación notable, con el techo que antes estaba lleno de agujeros reemplazado por nuevas láminas de madera contrachapada.

Naranjo afirmó que el proyecto demuestra cómo incluso unas pocas horas de trabajo voluntario pueden marcar una diferencia duradera.

“Unas pocas horas de nuestro día no van a cambiar nuestras vidas, pero esas pocas horas pueden cambiar muchas vidas de ahora en adelante”, dijo.

Para Edward Knox, ver cómo avanza cada etapa de la construcción ha sido un proceso muy emotivo.

“Es maravilloso ver a estos muchachos levantando estas cerchas y colocándolas”, dijo. “Es como otra etapa de aleluya”.

Aunque se ha logrado un progreso importante, los organizadores estiman que el proyecto todavía necesita alrededor de $20,000 USD en materiales, mano de obra y servicios para completarse.

Entre las necesidades restantes se encuentran:

• Aislamiento para el ático y las paredes.
• Materiales eléctricos.
• Luminarias interiores y exteriores.
• Trabajos restantes de la estructura y refuerzo.
• Bomba de concreto y un camión de concreto.
• Pintura para interiores y exteriores, y materiales de pintura.
• Cerchas para el techo del garaje.
• Sistema de aire acondicionado (HVAC).
• Materiales e instalación de jardinería.
• Materiales diversos, trabajos en la entrada para vehículos, retiro de basura y otras necesidades finales del proyecto.

Para donar: Si desea hacer una donación económica para una historia o proyecto de Good News South Florida, haga clic aquí. Local 10 creó el Fondo Local 10 junto con The Miami Foundation y el 100% de su donación será destinado a la causa que usted indique en el apartado de “información adicional”.

Para ser voluntario o enviar una idea para una historia: Si desea participar como voluntario en un proyecto de Good News South Florida o proponer una historia, envíe un correo electrónico a goodnews@local10.com.

Good News South Florida se transmite los viernes durante el noticiero matutino de Local 10 a las 10 a.m. También se retransmite los viernes a las 3:30 p.m. y los domingos por la mañana a partir de las 6 a.m.

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Over the past three months, volunteers, contractors, businesses and Local 10 viewers have come together to rebuild the Richmond Heights home of Edward and Clara Knox, helping turn what was once an unsafe structure into a home that’s steadily taking shape.

When Local 10 first introduced viewers to 75-year-old Edward Knox in April, the home he and his wife had lived in for more than four decades had fallen into severe disrepair. The roof was collapsing, rooms had become uninhabitable and the property had been overtaken by overgrown vegetation.

After the story aired, volunteers stepped forward to help make the Knox family’s dream of returning home a reality.

“Angels out of nowhere coming to me,” Edward Knox said. “Can’t help but feel good after that.”

The project has since expanded into a collaborative effort involving local businesses, nonprofit organizations, contractors and generous community members.

The first major milestone was removing the home from the county’s unsafe structures list and securing the necessary building permits. Crews then demolished the damaged roof and hauled away several dumpsters filled with debris.

The latest phase of construction included the delivery and installation of new roof trusses — a significant step toward making the home weather-tight.

The trusses were purchased using donations from Local 10 viewers.

“Every day this family, I call it, is coming together and helping the Knox family get back in their home,” said Joe Puentes, co-founder of Wikivoice.

Roofing crews quickly began installing the trusses before moving on to the next stages of construction.

“The next part will be putting the wood and the fascia board, which is part of the structure,” said Hector Rodriguez, of Level Up Roofing.

Another donation helped move the project forward when Skyline Roofing Solutions donated most of the plywood needed for the roof.

“The plywood that we donated today was about $2,300,” said Jorge Gutierrez, manager of Skyline Roofing Solutions.

The remaining plywood was supplied by The Home Depot of Deerwood in southwest Miami-Dade.

Once the roof is dried in, contractors say work can begin on the home’s windows, interior framing, plumbing and electrical systems.

“When it’s dried-in, we can start the window structures that we are going to do,” said general contractor Jaime Naranjo. “After that, we can start doing the framing inside and get ready to do all the rough plumbing and rough electrical.”

Drone footage now shows a dramatic transformation, with the roof that was once riddled with holes replaced by newly installed plywood decking.

Naranjo said the project demonstrates how even a few hours of volunteer work can make a lasting difference.

“A few hours out of our day is not going to change our lives, but these few hours can change a lot of lives moving forward,” he said.

For Edward Knox, watching each phase of construction unfold has been emotional.

“It’s wonderful seeing these guys pulling these trusses and taking them in,” he said. “It’s like another phase of hallelujah.”

While significant progress has been made, organizers estimate the project still needs about $20,000 in materials, labor and services to reach completion.

Remaining needs include:

• Attic and wall insulation
• Electrical materials
• Interior and exterior lighting fixtures
• Remaining structural shell work and reinforcement
• Concrete pump and one concrete truck
• Interior and exterior paint and painting supplies
• Carport roof trusses
• HVAC system
• Landscaping materials and installation
• Miscellaneous materials, driveway work, trash hauling, and final project needs

To donate: If you’d like to make a monetary donation toward a Good News South Florida story or project, click here. Local 10 has established the Local 10 Fund with The Miami Foundation and 100% of your donation will go toward the cause you designate in the “additional information” box.

To volunteer or submit a story idea: If you’d like to volunteer for a Good News South Florida project or would like to submit a story for consideration, email goodnews@local10.com.

Good News South Florida airs Fridays on the Local 10 morning news at 10 a.m. It will encore Fridays at 3:30 p.m. and Sunday mornings, beginning at 6 a.m.

A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver's license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school.

The campaign will be part of a broader interagency effort to help veterans find good civilian jobs that the White House plans to announce on Monday.

The Transportation Department began enforcing existing English language requirements for truckers last summer. Concerns about truck driver qualifications then took on more urgency after an August crash in Florida, when a truck driver performed an illegal U-turn that killed three people. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that driver, who is from India, should never have been licensed in the first place.

Audits conducted in every state uncovered numerous non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant's work permits had expired or were issued without properly verifying their citizenship status.

Since then, about 26,000 drivers have been pulled off the road for failing to demonstrate English proficiency, and the Transportation Department said 30,000 commercial licenses were canceled because they were issued illegally. The federal government has tried to withhold millions of dollars of highway funds from California and New York for failing to comply and revoke thousands more licenses, but that has wound up in court. Several other states — including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina — have been warned they are at risk of losing funding.

“We are removing more and more dangerous foreign drivers off our roads every day and restoring the integrity of America’s trucking industry,” Duffy said. “Our new Freedom Haulers campaign will help build on these successes and get the word out that there’s never been a better time for America’s former service members to get behind the wheel of a big rig.”

The federal government has been actively enforcing CDL rules

The trucking industry has applauded the administration's effort to get unqualified drivers off the road and close down sham CDL schools, and companies praised this new effort to get more veterans behind the wheel.

“Veterans make up 15% of our workforce and bring the highest levels of leadership, discipline and technical skills that are essential to our success. We are dedicated to providing them with meaningful careers and a supportive environment where they can thrive," said Derek Leathers, who is chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises.

Cole Stevens, who is chief strategy officer at the trucking company that bears his last name, said veterans' backgrounds make them great drivers.

“Some of the best drivers and industry leaders I’ve had the privilege of working with are military veterans," Stevens said. “Their integrity, accountability, and mission-first mindset make them an incredible asset.”

In addition to enforcing existing restrictions, the government announced plans to restrict which immigrants can qualify for a non-domiciled commercial driver's license and require them to take the test in English, but those rules are being challenged in court.

The only immigrant drivers who can get a license under the new rules are holders of an H-2A, H-2A or E-2 visa. H-2A is for temporary agricultural workers while H-2B is for temporary nonagricultural workers, and E-2 is for people who make substantial investments in a U.S. business.

Immigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers, but all of these non-domiciled licenses for immigrants represent only about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, or about 200,000 drivers.

Some immigrant groups have said they believe that many drivers are being unfairly targeted. The spotlight has been on Sikh truckers because the driver in the Florida crash and the driver in another fatal crash in California in October are both Sikh.

Truck driving may appeal to veterans

The Transportation Department plans to work with the Pentagon and Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor to promote the career field as a good job that offers independence to veterans who don't want a desk job in civilian life.

Veterans still have to study the rules and pass the written test for a commercial driver's license, but soldiers who recently drove big military vehicles over 2.5 tons (2.25 metric tons) can skip the skills test. The government said more than 40,000 veterans have already used that program, which can enable them to get on the road within a few weeks.

The Transportation Department said that truck drivers currently make an average of $70,000 a year, as the truck market has tightened up and rates have increased.

Veterans who served for at least three years can also use the money from the GI Bill program to pay for CDL training, and they might even qualify for a housing stipend.

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The crash happened near Northeast 34th Avenue.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, three of the victims were taken to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital’s trauma center, while two victims with minor injuries were taken to an unnamed local hospital.

North Miami Beach police said just before noon that one of the hospitalized victims, a woman described as a senior, later died.

Two others were “were assessed on scene and had no complaints,” an MDFR spokesperson said.

One of the victims had been trapped in one of the vehicles, according to MDFR.

Video from Sky 10 showed two vehicles involved, with MDFR and North Miami Beach police at the scene.

Police shut down traffic on the westbound lanes of the road coming out of Sunny Isles Beach.

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Relativity Space will be eligible for an investment of up to $134 million from the Florida Department of Transportation’s Spaceport Improvement Program, according to Space Florida.

“Expanding our capacity in Florida enables our ability to scale the Terran R program to support commercial, scientific, and national security missions,” Eric Schmidt, Relativity Space’s executive chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement,

The Terran R, a 284-feet-tall lift rocket, is set to launch later this year at Launch Complex 16 in Cape Canaveral.

The plan for the Terran R production facility includes an expansion of the test and launch support infrastructure across from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Related stories

• China takes a page from SpaceX and recaptures the first stage of a rocket to reuse it
• SpaceX Starship launch aborted on the pad at the last moment

Según Space Florida, Relativity Space podrá optar a una inversión de hasta 134 millones de dólares del Programa de Mejora de Puertos Espaciales del Departamento de Transporte de Florida.

“Ampliar nuestra capacidad en Florida nos permite escalar el programa Terran R para apoyar misiones comerciales, científicas y de seguridad nacional”, dijo Eric Schmidt, presidente ejecutivo y director general de Relativity Space, en un comunicado .

El Terran R , un cohete de lanzamiento de 87 metros de altura, tiene previsto su lanzamiento a finales de este año desde el Complejo de Lanzamiento 16 en Cabo Cañaveral.

El plan para la planta de producción del Terran R incluye una ampliación de la infraestructura de apoyo para pruebas y lanzamientos, ubicada frente al Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA y la Estación de la Fuerza Espacial de Cabo Cañaveral.

Historias relacionadas

• China sigue el ejemplo de SpaceX y recupera la primera etapa de un cohete para reutilizarla.
• El lanzamiento de la nave espacial Starship de SpaceX fue abortado en la plataforma en el último momento.

Las excavaciones a las que se suman voluntarios tienen lugar en edificaciones derrumbadas de forma parcial o total, donde aún los escombros no han sido removidos con maquinaria pesada. La posibilidad de localizar a alguien con vida parece ya casi imposible y la mayoría de los rescatistas internacionales se fueron del país.

Muchos aseguran que, tal como no recibieron ayuda del gobierno para rescatar a sobrevivientes justo después de los sismos, ahora tampoco cuentan con el apoyo necesario para desenterrar a sus muertos. El gobierno niega esos señalamientos.

Por otro lado, la reconstrucción es un reto financiero para la mayoría de las familias afectadas, cuyos ingresos ya eran deficitarios antes de los dos sismos sucesivos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 ocurridos a lo largo de la cordillera de la costa norte de Venezuela.

“Estamos agradecidos de estar vivos, de tener todavía dónde vivir”, dijo a The Associated Press Rafael Quintero. Pero la falta de certeza sobre “lo que ocurrirá en el futuro” profundiza las dudas de este administrador de 36 años.

Las dificultades obedecen a la falta de recursos y a las demoras en conseguir el permiso para realizar las reparaciones debido a sucesivas inspecciones que se solapan unas con otras y en ocasiones son contradictorias, sostienen los damnificados.

La cifra de fallecidos asciende a por lo menos 5.398 y el número de heridos se mantiene en 16.740 desde hace dos semanas, según el último reporte difundido el miércoles por el gobierno de la presidenta encargada, Delcy Rodríguez.

La mayoría de los decesos se produjeron en el estado costanero de La Guaira, que fue la región más afectada por los sismos y se ubica en el lado norte de la cordillera que separa la capital venezolana, Caracas, del mar Caribe.

Un total de 856 edificios sufrieron daños y de ellos 190 colapsaron totalmente, mientras que más de 1.600 estructuras de otra índole, como puentes y carreteras, también fueron afectadas.

El gobierno estima que los terremotos dejaron 17.907 personas sin hogar y que más de 21.000 que sufrieron daños de distinto tipo reciben refugio en 107 campamentos instalados en La Guaira, Caracas y el vecino estado Miranda.

Promesas del gobierno

El gobierno sostiene que está acelerando el proceso de reconstrucción y alquiler de viviendas.

La presidenta prometió entregar 4.000 viviendas que ya estaban en construcción antes de diciembre para los afectados y construir otras más para superar las 10.000 el año próximo.

Las alcaldías y gobernaciones, entre otros organismos, han empezado a brindar ayuda para remover escombros y donar materiales para la reparación de las viviendas dañadas que no han sido declaradas inhabitables.

Rodríguez también ha dicho que el gobierno “está en la revisión de los suelos”. Su administración rechaza las denuncias que señalan que muchos de los edificios colapsados fueron construidos por el sector público en terrenos inestables. Los críticos dicen que se habrían saltado regulaciones por la prisa de entregar viviendas luego de pasadas tragedias naturales que dejaron a miles sin hogar.

La gente, sin recursos financieros

“Los daños en mi casa tienen arreglo, pero no hay dinero, eso me quita el sueño”, resaltó Quintero. Solicitar un crédito para Quintero y muchos otros no es una opción.

Los créditos en la banca pública y privada son casi inexistentes para la mayoría de los venezolanos.

El porcentaje de los depósitos totales que un banco debe mantener como reserva obligatoria en el Banco Central se ubica en alrededor del 73%, lo que limita severamente el crédito. La medida busca controlar la liquidez para frenar la presión sobre el tipo de cambio y la inflación, y se mantiene pese a los sostenidos pedidos para que sea reducido de expertos y gremios financieros.

“Ahora más que nunca toca tener varios trabajos, y bueno, no perder la fe”, dijo Genesis Ramírez, que renunció a su trabajo como empleada pública para mejorar sus ingresos realizando servicios de entrega de paquetes y vendiendo postres y almuerzos.

Los venezolanos están agobiados por los bajos salarios fijados en bolívares y los elevados precios de los bienes que en los últimos años se fijan en dólares.

La mayoría de los 3,5 millones de trabajadores del sector público subsisten con aproximadamente 190 dólares al mes, casi en su totalidad bonos. De acuerdo con el Observatorio Venezolano de Finanzas, un organismo independiente, un empleado promedio del sector privado ganaba el año pasado alrededor de 237 dólares mensuales.

Numerosos venezolanos tienen dos o más empleos para mejorar sus ingresos. El precio de una canasta básica de alimentos ha superado los 500 dólares, según el Observatorio.

La crisis social y económica en la última década empujó a más de 7,7 millones de personas a emigrar en busca de mejores condiciones.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak first tied to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants now includes Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Previously the agency's investigation included five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

The CDC, Food and Drug Administration and state health officials have been tracing the supply of the lettuce and interviewing people across the nation about the foods they ate two weeks before getting sick.

The number of cases linked to the lettuce is now 1,947, including at least 98 people who had to be hospitalized. There have been no deaths, the agency reported on its website.

The total number of people sickened by the outbreak is likely higher than the official tally, given that not all cases are reported, the agency noted.

FDA officials earlier this week said they remain focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of the multistate outbreak. The company last week announced it was recalling iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

Asked when it would be safe to eat lettuce again, Trump said Friday that his government is “going to put a major tariff on tax on Mexico because of the lettuce.”

On Thursday, the FDA announced it was investigating a separate outbreak of cyclospora reported in 72 people. Regulators had not yet identified the products linked to the illnesses.

Overall, cyclospora cases have set a U.S. record. Since May 1, CDC has received reports of more than 4,100 laboratory-confirmed cases and is investigating more than 7,400 other likely cases across 41 states. Federal health officials have said that other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be tied to the outbreak as the investigation continues.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC.

Mexican health officials announced Thursday that the parasite was not detected in the lettuce or water at the Taylor Farms plant in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

The results were announced following a visit by Mexican health authorities to the Taylor Farms plant between July 18 and 20, during which 10 samples of iceberg lettuce were collected. Four water samples also were collected for analysis, authorities stated.

___

Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this story from Mexico City. Fatima Hussein contributed from Washington.

___

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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Florida’s vote by mail rules changed a few years back, and all previous vote by mail requests expired.

In order to continue to vote by mail, you need to take action now.

You must submit your vote by mail request to get ballots for elections that will occur this year and you’ll need to do it again before the next election cycle in 2028.

Go to the election website in your county to make the request or you can always vote early or on Election Day.

CLICK HERE to view Local 10’s 2026 Voter Guide for more information ahead of the Aug. 18 primary election.

Las reglas para votar por correo en Florida cambiaron hace algunos años y todas las solicitudes anteriores para votar por correo vencieron.

Para seguir votando por correo, debe tomar medidas ahora.

Debe presentar una nueva solicitud para votar por correo si desea recibir las boletas de las elecciones que se celebrarán este año, y tendrá que volver a hacerlo antes del próximo ciclo electoral en 2028.

Ingrese al sitio web de elecciones de su condado para presentar la solicitud, o siempre puede votar de manera anticipada o el Día de las Elecciones.

HAGA CLIC AQUÍ para consultar la Guía del Votante 2026 de Local 10 y obtener más información antes de la elección primaria del 18 de agosto.

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Francois Levi approached the children, who were walking eastbound on Lucy Street near Northwest Sixth Avenue, according to a police officer’s arrest report.

The children ran to school and reported the incident to a school security employee, who called 911, according to the police report.

Police officers arrested Levi at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday at the Laura C. Saunders Elementary School, at 505 SW 8th St., according to the police report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Levi shortly after 11:50 p.m. on Thursday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Levi faced four charges: Two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition on a child younger than 16, and two counts of indecent exposure.

Según el informe policial de la detención, Francois Levi se acercó a los niños, que caminaban hacia el este por la calle Lucy, cerca de la Sexta Avenida Noroeste.

Según el informe policial, los niños corrieron a la escuela e informaron del incidente a un empleado de seguridad escolar, quien llamó al 911.

Según el informe policial, los agentes de policía arrestaron a Levi a las 8:45 de la mañana del jueves en la escuela primaria Laura C. Saunders, ubicada en 505 SW 8th St.

Según los registros de reclusos, el departamento penitenciario del condado de Miami-Dade ingresó en prisión a Levi poco después de las 23:50 del jueves en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Levi se enfrentó a cuatro cargos: dos cargos de exhibicionismo lascivo o indecente ante un menor de 16 años y dos cargos de exposición indecente.

La noticia surge después de que las redes sociales estallaran a principios de esta semana cuando la cuenta oficial del Miami Heat publicó brevemente un enlace a una transmisión en vivo en YouTube titulada “Conferencia de presentación de LeBron James”, programada para el 27 de julio.

La publicación fue eliminada rápidamente, pero no antes de que los aficionados capturaran imágenes de pantalla y comenzaran a compartirlas en redes sociales, alimentando las especulaciones de que James podría regresar a South Beach.

El Heat se refirió a la situación y dijo a ESPN que el departamento de redes sociales del equipo se estaba preparando para la posibilidad de que James firmara con Miami y publicó el enlace por error.

James, de 41 años, se unió por primera vez al Heat en 2010, formando un equipo aspirante al campeonato junto a Dwyane Wade y Chris Bosh.

Durante sus cuatro temporadas en Miami, el equipo llegó a las Finales de la NBA todos los años entre 2011 y 2014, conquistando campeonatos consecutivos en 2012 y 2013. El Heat se convirtió en apenas el tercer equipo en la historia de la NBA en disputar cuatro Finales consecutivas.

El título de 2012 marcó el primer campeonato en la carrera de James, y el Heat de 2013 se convirtió en uno de los equipos más dominantes de la liga, al ganar 27 partidos consecutivos durante la temporada regular antes de derrotar a los San Antonio Spurs en una dramática serie de siete juegos en las Finales.

James dejó Miami en 2014 y regresó a Cleveland, donde posteriormente le dio a los Cavaliers su primer campeonato de la NBA en 2016.

Pero aunque James no regresará a Miami, los aficionados del Heat siguen celebrando la llegada de Giannis Antetokounmpo al equipo.

Y no lo olvide, podrá ver los partidos del Miami Heat la próxima temporada por Local 10, ya que WPLG Local 10 y el Heat anunciaron un nuevo acuerdo ampliado de derechos de transmisión, que convierte 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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James made the announcement on social media Friday, saying it will be his “last decision” and that it comes after he strongly considered retirement.

“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time,” James said.

The news comes after social media erupted earlier this week after the Miami Heat’s social media account briefly posted a link to a YouTube livestream titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference,” scheduled for July 27.

The post was quickly deleted, but not before fans captured screenshots and began sharing them across social media, fueling speculation that James could be headed back to South Beach.

The Heat addressed the situation, telling ESPN that the team’s social media department was preparing for the possibility of James signing with Miami and accidentally published the link.

James, 41, first joined the Heat in 2010, creating a championship contender alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

During his four seasons in Miami, the team reached the NBA Finals every year from 2011 through 2014, winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. The Heat became only the third team in NBA history to make four-consecutive Finals appearances.

The 2012 title marked the first championship of James’ career, and the 2013 Heat became one of the league’s most dominant teams, winning 27 consecutive games during the regular season before defeating the San Antonio Spurs in a dramatic seven-game Finals series.

James left Miami in 2014 and returned to Cleveland, where he later delivered the Cavaliers their first NBA championship in 2016.

But even though James will not be heading to Miami, Heat fans are still rejoicing over Giannis Antetokounmpo signing with the team.

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.

Nope — to all of those teams.

The blaring headline in bold letters still seemed like a feverish dream to the bulk of a fan base that wasn't even alive the last time the franchise won a title, but it's true:

LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The NBA’s career scoring leader made the announcement on social media Friday, saying it will be his “last decision” and that it comes after he strongly considered retirement.

“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time,” James said.

A four-time NBA champion, James wrote he was “done” when his 23rd NBA season ended and that it was his last with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game," James wrote. “I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.”

The 41-year-old James is set to sign a modest $8 million, two-year contract on the veterans' minimum with the Sixers, according to ESPN. He made nearly $53 million last season.

“I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family,” James wrote. “What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning.”

James celebrated his decision on Instagram with a career highlight reel set to Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill's “Dreams and Nightmares,” the adopted sports anthem of city teams.

The video ends with the lyric, “hold up, wait a minute. Y'all thought I was finished?” and cuts to a 76ers' logo.

Fanatics already had his No. 23 jersey on sale for $125 with delivery not expected until the end of August. The company sold out within hours of the announcement.

Much as James did for Cleveland when he ended a 56-year championship drought for the city by leading the Cavaliers to the title in 2016, he can snap a lengthy title drought for the Sixers.

The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round by the NBA champion New York Knicks.

Most betting sites had the Sixers as 9-1 favorites to win the championship behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks, as of Friday afternoon.

James joins a 76ers team that has not won an NBA championship since 1983 and has not advanced out of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs since 2001.

He's the biggest elite free-agent star to sign with a Philadelphia sports team since Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season. Like James, Harper was a teenager on the cover of Sports Illustrated and has long had to live up to lofty expectations at every single turn.

“He’s going to have a great couple of years here, and obviously everyone’s going to expect him to win a championship here like everywhere else," Harper said. “So nothing new for him. He’s had all the pressure since he was in high school or younger than that.”

The 76ers should boast one of the top starting fives in the NBA with second-year standout VJ Edgecombe, fellow All-Stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star and the league’s fourth-leading scorer this past season acquired in a stunning offseason deal with the Celtics.

Maxey posted an Instagram story of him celebrating in a gym and yelling “what!? what?!” over the news while Brown wrote on X “#throwtheballup.” Brown wrote the same phrase in his introductory note to Philadelphia, and it has already been branded on billboards throughout the city.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro even proclaimed Friday as LeBron James Day in the state.

Turned out with the Brown deal, new 76ers team president Mike Gansey — an Ohio prep basketball star with James — was just getting started with his summer of surprises.

No move, of course, hits like James' arrival.

Playing with his home team in Cleveland to the bright lights of Los Angeles and with the talent he took to Miami, James won an NBA championship everywhere he played. James left the Lakers after an eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.

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 Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.

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.

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 NBA titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, including that title run in 2016, and left in 2018 for the Lakers.

Cleveland and Miami were believed to be on James’ radar again as he weighed this decision.

“Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!” James wrote.

He eighty-sixed them all for a shot to win a title with the 76ers, a franchise with a career lineup that includes Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and, for the next two seasons, LeBron James.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

He assured the crowd of journalists, though, that he'd scrapped the most biting parts of his remarks.

“That was going to be a doozy,” Trump said about the speech he’d been prepared to give in April, before a gunman upended the original dinner and forced its postponement.

“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” the president said to begin his remarks, hailing the decision to reschedule the dinner. He referred to “the attempted mass murder” that could have happened that night in April, but then moved largely to humor — and insults.

Trump's return to the correspondents' dinner — and his promise to come back next year as well — represented a notable moment in his relationship with the news media, which he has attacked, sued and taken administrative action against since he began his second term early last year. Among the audience members were reporters he had denounced and barred from events.

Trump’s sometimes off-color speech, which lasted just over an hour, was full of vague potshots directed at individuals he doesn’t like — from Jane Fonda to Bruce Springsteen to “Barack Hussein Obama.” The audience, reacting at first with some friendly laughs, slowly quieted to scattered titters as the insults piled up.

Among other targets of Trump’s humor: Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; California Gov. Gavin Newsom; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Trump's own speechwriters, whose jokes he sometimes criticized even as he delivered them. Some of the comments flirted with racism.

The president also spent some time expressing pride in the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel. “It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it,” Trump said.

He also made reference to the journalism awards that had been handed out earlier in the evening, most of them for stories challenging him and his administration. “Do I have a say in those awards?” he asked with a grimace.

He made a brief mention of the Iran war and several remarks about the ballroom he is building at the White House. He also used the occasion to joke about the possibility he would serve a third term — something barred by the U.S. Constitution's 22nd Amendment.

“Just like my presidency, the second time is always better,” the president quipped. “And the third time will be better yet.”

He added: “I’m only kidding.” Then, at the end, he donned a red cap that said “Trump 2028” and delivered the “scoop” that he was running again.

It was a very different dinner than the previous one

Earlier, Trump had entered the ballroom to polite applause, and was thanked for his support by outgoing White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang of CBS News. After dinner, he then sat through more than an hour of awards presentations.

One of the winners, Tyler Pager of the New York Times, was in fact one of the reporters who had been subpoenaed by Trump’s Justice Department over his reporting about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Those subpoenas were withdrawn on Thursday in a New York courtroom — just one of the arenas where the president, in his second term, has been seeking to control media coverage that displeases him.

The rescheduled dinner was taking place at a smaller venue this time that held only about 700 people. Security was markedly tighter. Guests entered via a single entrance, through two ID checks and past a detection dog, armed officers and security guards. There was no red carpet and no separate cocktail receptions preceding the dinner.

“Let’s try this again,” Jiang quipped, welcoming the crowd. The White House press corps, she noted, “always have a follow-up.” Turning serious, she referred back to the trauma and confusion of the original dinner in April.

“Tonight our message is this: We are back,” she said. “We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word.”

Early in his speech, Trump signaled that he had decided to tone it down. But he kept some zingers. Like this one, to the media-heavy audience: “This is really the largest group of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ people put together at one time.”

People received awards for bravery during April shooting

Besides the pared-down approach, there was another change at Friday’s dinner: two additional awards. One was presented to Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service agent who was staffing a security checkpoint in April and was struck in his protective vest.

Gonzales “placed himself directly in harm’s way and engaged the armed suspect,” Jiang said. “He stayed in the fight and the attacker was stopped.”

A second award was presented to the staff of the Washington Hilton hotel, site of the first dinner, hailed for professionalism under pressure.

The dress code this time was a looser “black tie optional,” and dinner included grilled peach and burrata salad, lobster and beef Wellington. The evening, as in April, featured entertainment by mentalist Oz Pearlman — who this time got the chance to do his act..

Jiang and her fellow board members had worked hard to bring about this WHCA dinner 2.0, not wanting to let a violent act — or the image of colleagues hiding under tables — remain the final thought. Announcing the rescheduling, she emphasized the dinner’s stated purpose: “A celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century.”

There's still lots of criticism of the event

But it’s also clear that some people felt the dinner should not be rescheduled at all.

Many never thought it was much of a good look in the first place, with the sight of journalists in formal wear cozying up to their sources, or the objects of their reporting.

“It undermines the public faith in how the press does its work, and it makes it look like we are pals with the people we cover,” Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, said when the deliberations were taking place.

The new dinner came at a time of fast-increasing tension between the media and a president who, in his second term, has tried to exert pressure on media outlets he is unhappy with in a variety of ways. That pressure has ranged from sanctions against members of the White House press corps to regulatory actions through the Federal Communications Commission to outright lawsuits. Those tensions have only escalated since April.

Trump, though, ended with an attempt to mend fences to a point. “I have a lot of respect for your profession,” he told the assembled journalists. He also touted his own success, and declared: “When I'm not around, you're all gonna be broke.”

And he concluded about the evening: “I didn't know what to expect. It's far worse than I originally thought.”

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Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.

“Debe ser una decisión impostergable proteger la vida de quienes defienden los derechos humanos y construyen paz en los territorios”, afirmó la Defensoría en un comunicado.

El reporte indica que fueron asesinados 61 hombres y 17 mujeres entre enero y junio de este año, una disminución del número de víctimas fatales respecto al mismo periodo del año anterior, en el que se registraron 89 asesinatos.

Colombia no ha logrado revertir la violencia contra líderes sociales y defensores de derechos humanos, pese a que consecutivos gobiernos han avanzado en políticas a su favor. La Defensoría del Pueblo calcula que en la última década han sido asesinados en el país 1.741 activistas.

El seguimiento a este tipo de crímenes se intensificó a partir del 2016, cuando el Estado firmó un histórico acuerdo de paz con las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), la que fuera la guerrilla más antigua de Latinoamérica.

Aunque después de la firma del acuerdo la violencia disminuyó, se elevó paulatinamente a medida que otros grupos armados ilegales —incluidas las disidencias de las FARC— cooptaron los territorios estratégicos para desarrollar economías ilícitas como el narcotráfico y la minería ilegal.

La fiscalía ha señalado a los grupos armados ilegales de ser los mayores perpetradores de los homicidios contra líderes sociales, especialmente las disidencias de las FARC, el cártel de la droga Clan del Golfo y la guerrilla Ejército de Liberación Nacional.

El saliente gobierno del progresista Gustavo Petro emprendió negociaciones de paz paralelas con los grupos armados ilegales sin lograr desarmarlos. De la Espriella, quien asumirá el poder el 7 de agosto, ha prometido acabar con los diálogos, dando a los ilegales la posibilidad de someterse a la justicia o ser objetivo militar.

De la Espriella aún no ha trazado un plan detallado para proteger a los líderes sociales; sin embargo, en campaña dijo que la protección de las comunidades en los territorios en conflicto armado pasará por combatir a los ilegales.

La violencia ha obligado a desplazarse a 15.960 personas en Colombia y a que 64.787 estén confinadas, con restricción de movimientos por las amenazas de armados, entre enero y junio, según advirtió la víspera la Defensoría del Pueblo.

Además, en ese mismo periodo han muerto 272 personas en 68 masacres, según el Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y la Paz, un observatorio sobre el conflicto interno.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logged 2,318 cases of measles as of Thursday, according to an agency update on Friday.

The nation had 2,289 cases in 2025, the worst year for measles in more than three decades. Now, 2026 has easily become the U.S.’s worst year for measles since 1991, as major outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah and Arizona have sickened hundreds and smaller clusters of cases sparked in other states.

In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status. The U.S. eliminated local measles spread in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, which have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks.

Measles cases are undercounted

While measles cases in the U.S. are climbing, it may be impossible to say exactly how far-reaching the spread is. Public health departments and disease researchers have long acknowledged that official counts are incomplete, because some people get sick and don’t seek out treatment — something not unique to measles.

Furthermore, experts say the spread might be greater than what’s known because the virus is one of the most contagious known to medicine and vaccination rates nationwide have declined. National vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella — which dropped to 92.5% among kindergartners in the 2024-25 school year, from 95.2% in 2019-20 — obscure even lower rates in certain communities.

In Utah, where public health officials have fought measles for more than a year, the virus has sickened more than 700 people during that time, according to the state health department. Experts relying on mathematical modeling and genetic analyses indicate that a large outbreak on the Utah-Arizona border could be around three to four times bigger than what’s currently known, state epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen said.

The picture is muddier in South Carolina, which had the nation’s largest outbreak in 35 years. There, the 997 total is likely an undercount, the state health department has said, but it doesn’t know by how much.

Dr. Brannon Traxler, acting director of the state department of health, said the undercount is “impossible to know and may vary during the course of an outbreak.”

Data gaps can make it hard to reliably estimate an outbreak’s true scope. Experts say hospitalization rates can be a good barometer, but measles hospitalizations are not required to be reported in every state.

“If we really had some kind of solid gold standard for the percentage of all cases that have hospitalization or some measure of severity, then that would be another way of estimating the outbreak size that we could see if it’s consistent with these other methods,” said Damon Toth, an applied mathematician at the University of Utah’s medical school who is working on one of the Utah outbreak analyses.

Researchers are still analyzing the 2025 Texas outbreak

In Texas, researchers are still working to estimate the size of the state’s 2025 outbreak and early findings show it might have been nearly twice the size of the 762 known cases.

Rémy Pasco, a mathematical epidemiologist at the University of Colorado Boulder who is working on the analysis, said the undercounts were unsurprising. In the absence of an adequate community vaccination rate — 95% according to health experts — “there’s just not much you can do about measles once you have it,” he said.

The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more linked cases. But by the time three such cases are identified in communities with low vaccination rates and less disease surveillance, “either you missed the previous ones or you’re going to have a lot more,” he added.

Dr. Varun Shetty, Texas’ chief state epidemiologist, said there were instances where people tested positive for measles but health officials couldn’t confirm who else was in the person’s household or if they were sick.

“What we’re able to count and report is almost always an underestimate of what actually occurred, because it relies on people being willing to be able to get tested, to share information with healthcare providers and with public health,” Shetty said. “Sometimes that just doesn’t happen.”

The state health department previously reported that 182 probable measles cases went unconfirmed in March 2025 among minors in Gaines County — the epicenter of the outbreak — due to a lack of information. The confirmed case count for the western Texas county for the whole outbreak is 414.

Shetty expects to keep seeing measles cases and even outbreaks because so many people are unprotected.

“It’s really critical, not only for individual people, but for communities, to have high vaccination coverage,” he said.

Vaccination is about protecting others, physician says

Dr. Mark Roberts, retired director of the Public Health Dynamics Lab at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, worries most for the people he calls “innocent bystanders.”

Research and measles modeling by his team shows those who cannot get vaccinated — young babies, people with weak immune systems and those who rarely don’t get robust immunity from the vaccine — bear the brunt of outbreaks early on.

Some people see skipping vaccination as like deciding not to wear a seat belt in a car, Roberts said.

“Not vaccinating your kid is like saying, ‘I don’t want my car to have brakes,’” he said. “Because it’s other people that you can hit. It’s not just you in your car. It’s other people.”

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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.

Clark called her conversation with Obama “a moment I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.”

“It was obviously super cool. He just complimented me for the way that I handle everything, obviously with everything that’s been going on,” the Indiana Fever star said Friday after meeting Obama. “He’s somebody that has been in front of the media quite a bit and he reminded me, ‘When I got famous in my 40s, I didn’t have to do it in my 20s.’"

Obama spoke to the players for a few minutes on the basketball court at the center which opened last month.

“Some of you I’m meeting for the first time. All of you are extraordinary and I could not be bigger fans,” Obama said. “The way the game has been growing lately, the way it’s been picking up and people paying attention to your excellence, I think it’s been something for basketball fans, generally, a sight to see. It’s been making me happy.”

He spoke to the players for a few minutes before taking a group photo. Obama then spent about 10 minutes shaking hands with the players and taking photos with them, including Clark.

“I know many of you are involved in some wonderful ventures off the court, looking out for other young people and inspiring them. I just wanted to say thanks,” Obama said.

The former president gave a shout out to A’ja Wilson in his talk to the players and then went over and chatted with her as well.

After the photo-ops were done, Obama stepped on the court and talked with New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, getting down in a defensive stance for a few seconds on her.

“I feel like as a hooper, you know when someone’s challenging you. So I was just like, let me go over there with the basketball, you know, do a little cross, bump him a little bit," Jones said. “And I knew that I would get him activated a little because he’s a hooper, too.”

Jones said she had met Obama once before.

“He’s a role model for me and it was nice to be able to have that moment,” Jones said. “Someone that I look up to, someone that has paved the way for a lot of people to be here and see him continuing, his family continuing to give back to the community when they’ve already done so much is just so inspirational.”

That was the extent of his time on the court. He told the players that he didn’t play 5-on-5 anymore to protect his Achilles. He did say that he broke in the court with a game of “horse.”

Obama was the first sitting U.S. President to attend a WNBA game when he and his daughter, Sasha, sat courtside in 2010 for a Washington Mystics game. He also has hosted many of them at the White House after they either won WNBA championships or NCAA titles.

Obama was gifted with a No. 44 WNBA All-Star jersey that the players were going to autograph later.

This was the first professional sport to use the basketball court at the center, which opened in June. Obama went to the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles in February. Obama said he unfortunately wasn’t going to be able to make the All-Star Game on Saturday because of a previous engagement with his wife, Michelle.

“It’s fitting for our 30th anniversary that we’re here as the first sports league to play in the Obama Presidential Center,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Someone who has inspired hundreds of millions of people to dream big and accomplish things like President Obama has and his tie to basketball is amazing, too. I think there’s no more fitting person to be meeting with the players.”

After talking to the players, Obama went across the center to talk to a group of investors in the league and nearly 100 high school girls to talk.

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