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In the latest case, Liudmila Perez-Labrada was arrested Tuesday on a charge of counterfeiting goods worth $20,000 or more.

According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Crime Stoppers received a tip in February that counterfeit items were being stored and sold at a home in the 3100 block of Northwest 81^st Terrace.

A detective assigned to the case then reviewed an Instagram page called “Elegance and Glamour,” which Perez-Labrada allegedly used to sell counterfeit items, even though she was already arrested in July 2025 for the same crime, authorities said.

According to the report, a private investigator purchased a counterfeit Louis Vuitton Pochette Eva bag from the Instagram page for $211 using Zelle.

After the bag was delivered, it was sent to the senior manager of “criminal enforcement for Louis Vuitton,” who confirmed that the bag was counterfeit, the report stated.

Detectives said the real version of the bag retails for $1,460.

Over the course of the next couple of months, detectives said the private investigator purchased other counterfeit luxury items from Perez-Labrada, including a fake Gucci bag, Alo top and a Louis Vuitton bathing suit.

According to the warrant, a search warrant was obtained for Perez-Labrada’s home on July 21 and detectives executed the warrant the following day.

Detectives said a “customer” of Perez-Labrada’s was at the home when they arrived and she admitted that she was there to purchase counterfeit items that she had seen on Perez-Labrada’s Instagram page.

According to the report, detectives recovered a large haul of counterfeit items inside the home, bearing the brand names of Celine, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, Nike, New Balance and others. The items recovered ranged from sunglasses to jewelry, clothing and handbags, authorities said.

Deputies said Perez-Labrada also admitted to having a storage unit and a search of that revealed more counterfeit goods.

According to the report, Perez-Labrada was not arrested on the day the search warrant was executed because she had just undergone major surgery.

Detectives, however, said they informed her they would be back to arrest her at a later date and they made good on that promise on Monday.

According to the report, had the seized merchandise been authentic, the total worth would have been about $1.7 million.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Perez-Labrada was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $7,500 bond.

Northwestern University medical school researchers pored through records of 916,404 visits to hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers in Chicago from 2011 to 2023 to see if they could spot trends in illnesses and injuries when the temperature hits 92.6 degrees (33.7 degrees Celsius) or higher. They found when it gets hot, more than a dozen broad categories of injuries and illness become more frequent, including some that most people don't associate with heat, according to the study in Wednesday's Science Advances.

While the study looked only at Chicago, outside experts said it highlights underestimated health problems and rising costs that infect much of the warming world.

“The sound of the city is the sound of ambulances,” said study senior author Dr. Abel Kho, an internal medicine professor at Northwestern. “Hot days are just like, something’s going to happen.”

How heat multiplies medical problems

“When there’s heat, there’s a much higher likelihood of people having external injuries, as well as complications of certain conditions, specifically those related to kidney disorders or things like exacerbations of drug effects, like cannabinoids,” said Kho, a former emergency room physician.

Some problems doubled, tripled or, in the case of accidental gunshot wounds, jumped more than 30-fold compared to days under 92 degrees, the study said. Unspecified injuries from assault showed an even bigger increase, the data showed.

This study “helps confirm that we’ve been underestimating health risks from heat exposures,” said Dr. Jonathan Patz, chair of health and environment at the University of Wisconsin, who wasn't part of the research.

“It also is a reminder that the price of climate change is increased illness, strain on our health care system and health care costs,” said Dr. Courtney Howard, a Canadian emergency room physician, chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association. She was not part of the study.

Northwestern researchers looked through all the records to see what became more frequent, instead of just focusing on known heat-related problems.

“Heat-related illness is undercounted when studies only search for explicit heat codes like heat stroke,″ said Dr. Nicholas Cozzi, president-elect of the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians. He wasn’t part of the study.

Researchers found an association between high temperatures and individual medical problems, but that's not the same as a cause-and-effect, Kho said. The data had more Black people and women represented than the general population, but University of Washington climate and health scientist Kris Ebi said that's another positive part of the study because those groups are often underrepresented in medical studies.

“We know that heat waves are becoming more frequent, more intense, and lasting longer,” said study co-author Daniel Horton, a Northwestern climate scientist. “So a study like this indicates that those heat waves have real effects on people, not only on the likelihood of mortality, but of morbidity as well. So all the other things, the bad things that happen on the way up to dying, may also increase.”

The importance of taking heat seriously

Cozzi said that the study has an important message for the public: “Don’t wait for heat stroke symptoms to take heat seriously. If you have a chronic condition — kidney disease, MS, venous issues — treat extreme heat days as a trigger for extra caution, not just an outdoor-activity problem.”

Many of the diseases that saw an uptick in heat had to do with kidneys and the renal system. The skin issues are known by doctors but not often seen in non-medical literature, Kho said.

With the marijuana mental health issues, Kho said doctors have long known that when a body is “under physiologic stress, some medications will have greater effects.” That's why, he said, when it gets hot “maybe people need to be a little more careful if they’re going to be using certain things.”

Yet cardiovascular problems, which are commonly connected to heat in other studies, don't show up in this research as spiking during extra hot days. That's probably because people suffering cardiovascular issues often have other problems at the same time, such as kidney or fluid issues, that determine how their records are coded, Kho said.

Dehydration or “changes in fluid status can then contribute to cardiovascular disease as the heart works harder to pump more concentrated blood to the skin in order to support sweat-related ways to cool the body down,” Canada's Howard said.

Kho said the study had him thinking back to the nights when he worked the emergency room: “When it’s hot out, it’s going to be a busy night. That’s just how it goes.”

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

La Red de Sobrevivientes de Abusos Eclesiásticos manifestó su oposición a la visita papal que tendrá lugar en noviembre y afirmó que no tiene “ninguna intención” de reunirse con el pontífice en un comunicado difundido la tarde del martes.

El grupo agregó que todas las promesas realizadas por la iglesia y “la mencionada ‘Tolerancia Cero’ a los abusos” que planteó el anterior papa, el argentino Jorge Bergoglio, “son el verdadero humo blanco del Vaticano: una verdadera cortina de humo para seguir encubriendo y ocultando”.

Además indicó que a fines de 2025 envió a la Comisión Pontificia para la Protección de Menores un informe con un listado de supuestos abusadores y denuncias sobre la falta de acciones concretas de la Iglesia para reparar los daños causados. Señaló que no obtuvo respuesta y que por ello “es lógico pensar que no hay un verdadero interés en tratar el tema y que continúan con el negacionismo ante los abusos”.

Al ser consultado por The Associated Press sobre el comunicado de la Red, un referente de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina —que pidió no ser identificado porque porque no se refiere públicamente a estas temáticas— se limitó a responder el miércoles que “respetamos todas las opiniones”.

En su visita a España en junio el papa León XIV pidió a la jerarquía católica que brinde reparación a las víctimas de abusos sexuales cometidos por miembros del clero y que aborde la crisis con transparencia.

León XIV recibirá el jueves en el Vaticano a las máximas autoridades del obispado argentino para pulir los detalles de la visita que realizará al país entre el 8 y el 11 de noviembre en el marco de su primer viaje a Latinoamérica que incluirá también a Uruguay y Perú.

Falta de castigos ejemplares, entre las críticas

La Red de Sobrevivientes, que agrupa a víctimas y cuenta con asesores legales y acompañantes psicológicos, exigió que "los delincuentes por pederastia de la Iglesia católica no tengan los privilegios que ostentan impunemente”.

Una de las críticas recurrentes de las víctimas argentinas al Vaticano es la falta de severos castigos eclesiásticos para los sacerdotes con condenas firmes por abuso como Julio Grassi, quien se hizo muy popular en la década de 1990 por administrar hogares para menores sin recursos.

La Corte Suprema argentina ratificó en 2017 la condena a 15 años de prisión en su contra por el abuso de un menor, pero hasta ahora el Vaticano no ha informado públicamente si ha dispuesto su expulsión o dimisión del estado clerical. Varios medios de prensa argentinos divulgaron que Grassi sigue dando misa a reclusos de la cárcel adonde está confinado en la provincia de Buenos Aires.

Los críticos también cuestionan la falta de transparencia del Vaticano sobre el resultado de los procesos que sigue a sacerdotes e integrantes de la alta jerarquía eclesiástica condenados por la justicia penal.

En su comunicado, el grupo argentino destacó la adhesión de pares de Europa y del continente americano como la Red de Sobrevivientes de Chile y la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Clerical de Colombia.

Yes, and it's no accident. In a collision of dog lovers, sports and ongoing war with Russia, the Ukranian president on Tuesday was captured on video as never before — cuddling and cooing over a floppy, three-month-old American pit bull terrier, handed to him by U.S. former boxer Terence Crawford.

The cute and fluffy scene in Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv was the latest volley in a deadly serious battle of visuals that runs in parallel to Ukraine's fight against Russia's brutal four-year invasion.

Crawford, a longtime supporter of Ukraine and a devotee of the American pit bull terrier, came forward and handed a reddish-yellow puppy to Zelenskyy.

And for a few minutes in Kyiv, cultures, death and geopolitics yielded to the power of sweetness and puppy love, as well as the symbolism of resilience and protection.

A happy, floppy puppy belies a more serious backdrop

It's a truism of the political world: If you want a friend, get a dog. Zelenskyy, weighed down by war and scandal, seemed to have found both in the light-eyed puppy that melted into his chest.

The president smiled and cooed something into the dog's fur. He cradled her as he was told the pup's name is is Freya — after Zelenskyy's pet project, Freyja, Ukraine's proposed missile defense system with European allies.

He was further informed that Freya's grandfather survived the devastating Russian siege of Bucha in 2022. Zelenskyy cuddled the pup close as they posed for photos. She appeared to relax, letting two white-tipped paws dangle from Zelenskyy's arms.

“The president said he would accept" Freya, said Vadym Danylchenko, adviser to the minister of youth and sports in Ukraine, who helped organize the visit.

Politically and culturally, it might have been problematic to refuse. Animals have become a symbol of the nation's forbearance during the four-year war. One mural in a Kyiv park immortalizes a Jack Russell terrier named Patrone who is renowned for assisting mine-clearing teams in the northern Chernihiv district and became a mascot for Ukraine’s emergency services. Zelenskyy awarded him a state medal. UNICEF recognized the pup as the first “Goodwill AmbassaDOG.”

Another mural depicts volunteer fighter Oleksii Movchan, holding a grey-and-white cat. He and three fellow soldiers rescued 11 civilians and the cat in the eastern Donetsk region shortly before being killed by Russian shelling in 2022.

Stories abound of others going to great lengths to rescue Ukraine's animals during the Russian invasion, including one Ukrainian woman who worked to save hundreds from the war by shipping some to safer Western Ukraine and others overseas.

The politics of nations hovers

Then there's the fraught matter of American support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy was famously dressed down by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance last year in the Oval Office, though the leaders have appeared to have mended fences since then. But in Zelenskyy's office on Tuesday, an American sports hero was handing him an American dog breed. Zelenskyy embraced the love.

Freya is the granddaughter of Athos — a dog who survived the Russian brutality in Bucha and was found on the street where Ukrainian forces destroyed a large Russian convoy, Danylchenko told The Associated Press in an interview.

Through rescuers, Athos made his way to Crawford's friend Francisco Lopez, a professional breeder and longtime Ukraine supporter in America. Athos' daughter had been left behind in Ukraine. Lopez flew an unrelated male dog to Ukraine to mate with Athos' daughter. She gave birth to Freya.

The puppy's name has a particular resonance in Ukraine. European nations are developing the antiballistic missile defense system with Ukraine amid shortages, particularly of American-made Patriot interceptors. Patriot interceptors are in shorter supply as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran continues to rage, and Trump last month appeared to back away from a recent commitment to give Ukraine a license to produce them.

“Terence really wanted to give the president this particular female puppy,” said Danylchenko, who said he wasn't initially supportive of giving the president a gift laden with such responsibility.

“They named her Freya. Obviously, from the perspective of our country's future, this was important,” he added. “This little girl is a symbol of the fact that her grandfather survived and was a direct witness to the events in Bucha. So it was very symbolic for them.”

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Kellman reported from London.

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According to Fort Lauderdale police, an officer located a vehicle at approximately 11:30 a.m. that had just been involved in a “felony incident” in Pompano Beach.

Police said the vehicle had previously fled from BSO deputies.

A Fort Lauderdale officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver refused to pull over, prompting officers to initiate a pursuit, according to FLPD.

BSO deputies and the agency’s Aviation Unit later joined the pursuit.

Authorities said the chase came to an end in the 1600 block of West Sunrise Boulevard after Fort Lauderdale police deployed a grappler, a device designed to help officers stop fleeing vehicles.

Police said three men “immediately bailed out of the vehicle” and ran from the scene.

All three were taken into custody a short time later, according to FLPD.

They were identified Tuesday as Claudin Butler, 45; Antonio Retcho, 35; and DeWantres McCray, 42.

Authorities have not released details about the felony incident in Pompano Beach that preceded the pursuit.

BSO is taking the lead on the investigation.

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Torrasha Monique Smith was previously arrested in January 2024 for operating an unlicensed post-surgery ALF located at 18132 NW 91st Court in Miami-Dade County, and then again in June 2025 for opening another facility at 21480 SW 132nd Court.

In January, deputies said they received an anonymous tip regarding an illegal recovery house for post-surgery patients was being run by Smith.

Investigators discovered it was at the same 132nd Court location that deputies had previously encountered, determining that Smith never ceased operations despite her previous arrest.

According to an arrest warrant, patients advised deputies that they had paid Dream Body Retreat via Zelle for the services, and investigators determined that Smith was the sole proprietor of Dream Body Retreat.

Additionally, one of the patients told deputies they had used the facility previously in June 2025, which was after Smith’s arrest in May of that year after she was ordered to close the facility, according to official documents.

Authorities said they ultimately discovered that Smith ran the facility for 274 days after being issued a Notice of Unlicensed Activity on April 30, 2025, and during that time, she accepted Zelle payments exceeding $200,000.

According to investigators, Smith ceased operations at the facility sometime in February, but she continued to book appointments and receive deposits “without any intention of providing services.”

Multiple police reports were filed in Miami-Dade County over the following months from patients who had paid deposits to Dream Body Retreat only to discover the business had been closed, and then were unable to reach Smith when they tried to obtain refunds.

Ultimately, a warrant was issued for Smith’s arrest on July 20 after an attorney representing Smith told authorities he couldn’t advise as to when she would surrender herself.

According to an arrest form, Smith was taken into custody on Tuesday at the Harris County Jail Facility in Houston.

Officials did not indicate why she was arrested in Texas or how she was apprehended, but she has since been brought back to South Florida.

Smith is facing three charges of grand theft, a charge of organized fraud of $50,000 or more, and 274 charges of failure to cease operations of an assisted living facility.

As of Wednesday afternoon, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Official documents indicate that Smith was already out on felony bond at the time of her arrest for charges stemming from the illegal disposal of hazardous, biomedical waste.

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Perdue currently runs the Florida Department of Transportation. For now, it appears Perdue will lead both FDOT and FDEM.

He also most recently took up the fight to get rid of rainbow crosswalks across the state.

Perdue is taking over for Kevin Guthrie. DeSantis did not say whether Guthrie resigned on his own or if he was asked to leave after being named Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ running mate.

Perdue said today that Florida is a leader in emergency response, and he will continue working to keep it that way.

“There’s been a lot of questions, are you still doing transportation, well you heard from the governor ― yes we have a very well-oiled machine, and a lot of great people at FDOT,“ he said. ”We are going to continue that operation, and the good news is FDOT and the Division of Emergency Management have been working shoulder-to-shoulder for years responding to natural disasters and those other things that pop up like wildfires, so we are well-prepared and we are going to continue to serve.”

The reason they hosted the news conference at FIU is because DeSantis also announced a new program there that will train the next generation of emergency management workers for the state.

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According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the crash was reported just before 2:30 a.m. in the area of Northwest 36^th Street and Lee Drive.

Deputies said Miami Springs police officers responded to the scene and discovered the driver, Reginald Devon Faulks, 47, was heading west on Northwest 36^th Street, approaching Lee Drive, when the vehicle “traveled toward the right shoulder, entered the sidewalk, and struck a business storefront.”

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews also responded and transported Faulks to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead, deputies said.

MDSO officials confirmed that detectives from their Traffic Homicide Bureau have assumed the investigation.

The circumstances leading up to the crash remain under investigation.

Perdue dirige actualmente el Departamento de Transporte de Florida. Por ahora, parece que Perdue estará al frente tanto del FDOT como de la FDEM.

También asumió recientemente la lucha para eliminar los cruces peatonales con los colores del arcoíris en todo el estado.

Perdue sustituye a Kevin Guthrie. DeSantis no dijo si Guthrie renunció por decisión propia o si se le pidió que dejara el cargo después de ser nombrado compañero de fórmula del vicegobernador Jay Collins.

Perdue dijo hoy que Florida es líder en respuesta a emergencias y que continuará trabajando para que siga siendo así.

“Ha habido muchas preguntas: ¿todavía está a cargo de transporte? Bueno, ya escucharon al gobernador, sí, tenemos una maquinaria muy bien aceitada y mucha gente excelente en el FDOT”, dijo. “Vamos a continuar con esa operación, y la buena noticia es que el FDOT y la División de Manejo de Emergencias han estado trabajando hombro a hombro durante años respondiendo a desastres naturales y a esas otras situaciones que surgen, como incendios forestales, por lo que estamos bien preparados y vamos a continuar sirviendo”.

La razón por la que realizaron la conferencia de prensa en FIU es porque DeSantis también anunció allí un nuevo programa que capacitará a la próxima generación de trabajadores de manejo de emergencias del estado.

Torrasha Monique Smith fue arrestada previamente en enero de 2024 por operar un centro de vida asistida sin licencia para recuperación posoperatoria, ubicado en 18132 NW 91st Court, en el condado Miami-Dade, y nuevamente en junio de 2025 por abrir otro centro en 21480 SW 132nd Court.

En enero, los agentes dijeron que recibieron una denuncia anónima sobre una casa ilegal de recuperación para pacientes posoperatorios que era operada por Smith.

Los investigadores descubrieron que se encontraba en la misma ubicación de 132nd Court que los agentes habían encontrado anteriormente, y determinaron que Smith nunca cesó sus operaciones a pesar de su arresto previo.

Según una orden de arresto, los pacientes dijeron a los agentes que habían pagado a Dream Body Retreat a través de Zelle por los servicios, y los investigadores determinaron que Smith era la única propietaria de Dream Body Retreat.

Además, uno de los pacientes dijo a los agentes que había utilizado el centro anteriormente en junio de 2025, después del arresto de Smith en mayo de ese año, cuando se le ordenó cerrar el centro, según documentos oficiales.

Las autoridades dijeron que finalmente descubrieron que Smith operó el centro durante 274 días después de recibir una Notificación de Actividad sin Licencia el 30 de abril de 2025 y, durante ese tiempo, aceptó pagos por Zelle que superaron los $200,000 USD.

Según los investigadores, Smith cesó las operaciones en el centro en algún momento de febrero, pero continuó reservando citas y recibiendo depósitos “sin ninguna intención de prestar los servicios”.

Durante los meses siguientes, se presentaron múltiples reportes policiales en el condado Miami-Dade por parte de pacientes que habían pagado depósitos a Dream Body Retreat, solo para descubrir que el negocio había cerrado y luego no pudieron comunicarse con Smith cuando intentaron obtener reembolsos.

Finalmente, se emitió una orden de arresto contra Smith el 20 de julio después de que un abogado que la representaba dijera a las autoridades que no podía informarles cuándo se entregaría.

Según un formulario de arresto, Smith fue detenida el martes en la cárcel del condado Harris en Houston.

Los funcionarios no indicaron por qué fue arrestada en Texas ni cómo fue localizada, pero desde entonces fue trasladada de regreso al sur de Florida.

Smith enfrenta tres cargos de hurto mayor, un cargo de fraude organizado por $50,000 USD o más y 274 cargos por no cesar las operaciones de un centro de vida asistida.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Documentos oficiales indican que Smith ya se encontraba en libertad bajo fianza por un delito grave al momento de su arresto, por cargos derivados de la eliminación ilegal de desechos biomédicos peligrosos.

En el caso más reciente, Liudmila Perez-Labrada fue arrestada el martes por un cargo de falsificación de productos valorados en $20,000 USD o más.

Según un reporte de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, Crime Stoppers recibió una denuncia en febrero de que se almacenaban y vendían artículos falsificados en una casa ubicada en la cuadra 3100 de Northwest 81st Terrace.

Un detective asignado al caso revisó entonces una página de Instagram llamada “Elegance and Glamour”, que Perez-Labrada presuntamente utilizaba para vender artículos falsificados, a pesar de que ya había sido arrestada en julio de 2025 por el mismo delito, dijeron las autoridades.

Según el reporte, un investigador privado compró un bolso Louis Vuitton Pochette Eva falsificado de la página de Instagram por $211 USD utilizando Zelle.

Después de que el bolso fue entregado, fue enviado al gerente sénior de “cumplimiento penal de Louis Vuitton”, quien confirmó que el bolso era falsificado, señala el reporte.

Los detectives dijeron que la versión auténtica del bolso se vende por $1,460 USD.

Durante los siguientes meses, los detectives dijeron que el investigador privado compró otros artículos de lujo falsificados a Perez-Labrada, entre ellos un bolso Gucci, una blusa Alo y un traje de baño Louis Vuitton.

Según la orden, se obtuvo una orden de registro para la casa de Perez-Labrada el 21 de julio y los detectives la ejecutaron al día siguiente.

Los detectives dijeron que una “clienta” de Perez-Labrada se encontraba en la casa cuando llegaron y admitió que estaba allí para comprar artículos falsificados que había visto en la página de Instagram de Perez-Labrada.

Según el reporte, los detectives recuperaron una gran cantidad de artículos falsificados dentro de la casa con los nombres de marcas como Celine, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, Nike, New Balance y otras. Los artículos recuperados incluían desde gafas de sol hasta joyas, ropa y bolsos, dijeron las autoridades.

Los agentes dijeron que Perez-Labrada también admitió tener una unidad de almacenamiento y un registro del lugar reveló más productos falsificados.

Según el reporte, Perez-Labrada no fue arrestada el día en que se ejecutó la orden de registro porque acababa de someterse a una cirugía mayor.

Sin embargo, los detectives dijeron que le informaron que regresarían para arrestarla posteriormente y cumplieron esa promesa el lunes.

Según el reporte, si la mercancía incautada hubiera sido auténtica, su valor total habría sido de aproximadamente $1.7 millones USD.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Perez-Labrada permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Los registros de la cárcel en internet indicaban que su fianza estaba “por determinar”.

And oil is only the beginning.

Canada also supplies aluminum, potash to U.S. farms and parts for an auto industry built on both sides of the border.

“WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” Trump posted this week, repeating his long-running claim.

Yet Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian aluminum while acknowledging this week that the United States badly needs the metal.

“This country desperately needs aluminum,” Trump said. “We don’t have it. We get it all from Canada for the most part, and we need it badly.”

The contradiction underscores how deeply the two economies remain intertwined — and how much could be at stake if Trump’s trade war reaches more of the energy, materials and supply chains that the U.S. still relies on Canada to provide.

Canada fuels American industry

Canada is the United States’ second-largest trading partner after Mexico and energy is at the heart of that relationship.

The two countries exchanged about $872 billion in goods and services last year. Canadian crude imports equal nearly 20% of total U.S. petroleum consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Department of Energy.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, said Trump’s claim that the United States does not need Canada is “absolutely false,” citing U.S. reliance on Canadian oil and natural gas and deeply integrated industries such as autos.

Much of Canada’s crude flows to Midwest refineries built to process its heavy oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Energy also explains much of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which Trump frequently cites as evidence of an unfair relationship.

The White House this week portrayed the relationship in starkly negative terms, saying Canada had taken roughly $50 billion a year from the United States over the past decade. Much of that gap reflects U.S. purchases of Canadian energy, which helps power the U.S. economy. And Canada's heavy crude typically trades at a discount to U.S. benchmark oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Energy more than accounted for last year’s $48.3 billion goods deficit. Without energy, the United States would have run a trade surplus.

After trade talks collapsed last Friday, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. The measures cover only about 5% of Canadian exports to the United States and exclude energy.

Canadian politicians debate using energy exports as leverage

For now, using oil as a weapon in trade negotiations remains a remote possibility. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opposes restricting energy exports, arguing that doing so would hurt her province.

But former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Canada should not rule out export taxes on oil, fuel or potash if Trump escalates further.

Such retaliation “would affect Republicans who drive F-150s and lay fertilizer on their farm fields,” Kenney said.

“They should be mindful that if they really want to escalate, it will not end well for the American economy two months before midterm elections,” he said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford cited Canadian commodities as leverage, accusing Trump of “putting out fake news” about the United States not needing Canada. He called potash used by U.S. farmers “one of the most powerful tools we have” and said Washington would have to turn to suppliers such as Russia if Canada redirected shipments.

Kenney stopped short of advocating an export tax, and Béland said such a move would probably be “a very divisive issue politically in provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan.”

That underscores the limits of Canada’s leverage: measures aimed at hurting U.S. industries could also hurt Canadian producers and strain political unity at home.

From pickup trucks to farm fields

Canada has long been the dominant foreign source of aluminum for the United States. Smelting the metal requires enormous amounts of electricity, giving hydro-rich Canada a major advantage.

Prime Minister Mark Carney told a New York business audience in May that Canadian aluminum exports to the U.S. are “the energy equivalent of 10 Hoover dams.”

American farmers are even more dependent on Canada for potash, a fertilizer essential to crops such as corn and soybeans. More than 80% of U.S. potash imports come from Canada.

Even Trump’s ambassador has disputed the idea that the United States needs nothing from its neighbor.

“America has a tremendous amount of things where we have a need,” Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said in June. Pointing to Canadian fertilizer supplies, he added: “We need potash.”

Then there are cars.

Canada and the United States have built an integrated auto industry in which parts can cross the border up to six times before final assembly, according to the Canadian government.

Trump said Monday that his administration would impose 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks and auto parts starting Jan. 1, 2027 — after the November midterm elections.

That means a tariff aimed at Canada can land in Michigan or Ohio. Tax Canadian aluminum and an American automaker may pay more for metal. Tax Canadian parts and the cost of assembling an American vehicle can rise.

AI needs power. Canada has it

Artificial intelligence is driving a surge in electricity demand. Canada supplied 85% of U.S. electricity imports in 2023, according to the Canada Energy Regulator, and Carney says the country needs to double the capacity of its electricity grid by 2050 through major hydroelectric and nuclear projects.

Carney said Canada could help the United States “meet exploding demand to power AI."

The record ended China’s five-day World Humanoid Robot Games, in its second year in Beijing, in which more than 2,000 humanoid robots competed in Olympics-style events including soccer, boxing and running.

The winning robot finished the 100 meters in 8.64 seconds, breaking a record for the second straight day. A robot ran 8.86 seconds Tuesday, after another clocked 9.39 seconds four days earlier — all at the Games.

For comparison, the men’s 100-meter world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Usain Bolt in 2009.

Several robot runners, including the champion, crashed into a padded barrier after crossing the finish line. Sparks flew from some of the robots as staff rushed over with fire extinguishers and sprayed those machines lying on the ground. Almost all the robot runners were eventually carried away on stretchers.

Robots also competed in real-world tasks, including housework, hotel services and emergency response.

All three records were set by the same humanoid robot model, Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics, also known as X-Humanoid. The company was founded in Beijing in 2023.

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This story has been corrected to show that the record set on Wednesday is 8.64 seconds, not 8.84 seconds.

Judge Lewis J. Liman explained in a written decision in Manhattan why Lively was not entitled to the full amount that her lawyers claim was spent after Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios LLC, filed their own claims in response to her December 2024 lawsuit.

Acknowledging Lively and Baldoni had “waged fierce battle against each other in court,” the judge denied Lively the bulk of legal fees she sought, citing the limits of a California law designed to protect survivors of sexual harassment and discrimination from retaliatory lawsuits.

The law meant to protect sex abuse survivors from legal actions designed to intimidate and silence victims could only be construed to let her be reimbursed for what she paid lawyers to defend against defamation claims rather than all claims Baldoni made against her, Liman wrote.

Thus, the judge ruled, Lively is entitled to $363,245 in attorneys' fees and $44,206 in costs.

Requests for comment were sent to Baldoni and Lively's representatives.

In her lawsuit, Lively asserted that she had been subjected to sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

Baldoni, who directed the dark romantic drama and starred in it with Lively, denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign. He claimed the complaints about his behavior were made up by Lively as part of an effort to seize creative control of the movie.

Weeks after Lively sued, Baldoni and Wayfarer asserted claims in a countersuit against Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, of civil extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of good faith and fair dealing and economic interference.

In June 2025, Liman tossed out the countersuit Baldoni and Wayfarer had filed and nearly a year later rejected Lively's sexual harassment claims on the grounds that she was an independent contractor rather than an employee when she worked on the film.

In early May, two weeks before a scheduled trial, Lively and Baldoni reached a settlement, saying in a joint statement that Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard” and that they ”remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.”

“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel about a relationship devolving into domestic violence, was released in August 2024 and exceeded box office expectations despite criticism that it glorified abuse. Lively and Baldoni’s fractious falling out took attention away from the film, overshadowing its message and success.

Lively said in her lawsuit that during filming, Baldoni made inappropriate comments about her appearance, violated physical boundaries while filming a love scene, and pushed for nudity — against Lively’s wishes — during a scene in which her character was giving birth.

Baldoni denied doing anything outside the realm of the normal creative process of making a movie.

Lively appeared in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the TV series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows.”

Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.

Larger-than-life at 5-foot-nothing, the country star, actor, philanthropist, entrepreneur and theme park enthusiast who died Tuesday, transcended celebrity in rhinestones and fringe. She was embraced by fans across gender, race and class, embodying a mythology typically inaccessible to even the most influential historical figures.

It’s hard to name a more adored artist — one who could deliver a perfectly timed dirty joke seconds before a folk classic of her own composition. (This is where, if Parton were reading along, a self-deprecating quip would come in — lest anyone forget she was a whip-smart jokester, too.)

Throughout her endeavors, Parton worked to build a better world, while becoming inextricable from the American imagination. It is one of her greatest legacies: to take what you have and help someone with it.

One of the most beloved artists of all time

In 2015, when Parton returned to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody introduced her as “the most beloved artist of all time,” quickly amending it to “female artist.” As history has proven, he was correct the first time.

Parton’s legacy starts with the immortality of her music: songwriting as solace, an exercise in creativity and an unwavering ability to write experience into art. Across her career, Parton wrote and performed perennial hits (“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Little Sparrow,” take your pick) and others that took on a life of their own (most famously, “I Will Always Love You,” made immortal by Whitney Houston ).

Parton grew up in poverty, one of 12 kids in East Tennessee’s rural Sevier County, where she started writing songs as a toddler. By 10, she was on the radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 13, she had made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. At 21, she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show,” her star power quickly eclipsing its host.

The accomplishments — and the trials and tribulations that came with them, which she let roll off her shoulders with enviable resiliency — came fast and furious, as they do with once-in-a-lifetime talents. There are the 10 Grammys, the numerous Hall of Fame inductions, and the fact that she revolutionized the world of country music for women alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, creating a path for crossover artistry. But there are also her Hollywood forays. It’s telling that her first feature film, “9 to 5,” celebrated women in the workplace and messed with their devious bosses.

One of her superpowers was rooted in a kind of irony: Everything about Dolly Parton is truly Dolly Parton or else she wouldn’t partake — down to the false eyelashes and big wigs. She built an economic empire with down-home sensibilities. If authenticity is currency in popular culture, Parton showed the world how it was done.

An honest-to-goodness iconoclast

There’s a moment in her 1983 television special, “Dolly in Concert,” where Parton calls herself “the original punk rocker.” It’s a fitting description: Armed in a uniform of high heels, acrylic nails (the better to write songs with), tight clothes and a big blond beehive, the image of Parton was enough to scandalize. Jokes about her breasts were prevalent for decades; she wielded them like a weapon.

Her first big break came in 1967 with a single, ironically titled “Dumb Blonde.” It’s a clever admonishment of a man who calls a woman stupid. It was fabulously misunderstood and misconstrued, forecasting the wonderful hypocrisy inherent in many public appreciations of Parton: She had full autonomy; make a low-brow pass at her and she’ll have the last laugh. Always.

That spirit was inherent in her business ventures as well. Too poor to travel to Disneyland as a child, Parton opened her Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, amusement park, Dollywood, in 1986. Many thought it was a bad idea; it proved to be her most lucrative business venture. It’s also, crucially, a blessing for the local economy. According to a 2021 study by the Tennessee Aviation System Plan, Dollywood brings in $1.8 billion each year.

A great unifier

Parton’s career kicked off in the transformative ’60s, perfectly aligning with the emergence of the women’s liberation movement. Though she didn’t use the word herself, much of Parton’s career — and in particular, her songwriting — has been viewed as a kind of feminism. Take the early hit, 1968’s “Just Because I’m a Woman.” Parton’s sweet soprano and idiosyncratic tremolo are on full display as she reminds her male partner that he need not judge her for having previous sexual partners because he has done the same. “My mistakes are no worse than yours,” she sings, “Just because I’m a woman.”

Or consider 1970’s “Down from Dover,” a tearjerker about a pregnant teenager abandoned by her family and the child’s father. She gives birth to a stillborn baby, alone, without medical treatment. “I guess in some strange way she knew she’d never have a father’s arms to hold her,” Parton sings. “And dying was her way of telling me he wasn’t coming down from Dover.” It’s evocative then and now.

Still, across political divides, Parton is welcomed with open arms. It may have something to do with the fact that, when it came to capital-P party line, Parton valued apoliticism. During the 2016 presidential election, she said a woman would do a great job in office. When it was viewed as an endorsement of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, she said her words were taken out of context. She never said who she voted for. And she declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom three times, twice from President Donald Trump and once from President Joe Biden so as to not appear biased. As a result, she was beloved by all — even in periods of unmitigated division.

A fantastic philanthropist

With the same resolve she exhibited in her performances, Parton was dedicated to charity work.

In 1988, she launched the Dollywood Foundation, originally designed to combat high school dropout rates. Its early ’90s Buddy Program paired junior high students in Sevier County and gave $500 to each if they both finished high school. In 2016, when wildfires ravaged her native Great Smoky Mountains, the foundation announced it would give $1,000 each month for six months to families who lost their homes. The following year, it was revealed the foundation’s My People Fund helped 900 families with roughly $9 million in the first six months after the fires.

In 1991, she launched a sanctuary for bald eagles that couldn’t survive in the wild; in 2000, she started a college scholarship giving $15,000 to five high school seniors in Sevier County. In 2020, she donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna’s vaccine.

Best known is her Imagination Library, founded in 1995. Parton’s father was illiterate; it inspired her to launch an organization providing books to those without resources. By 2025, she had given away over 200 million books to children in need.

Parton was truly one of one — a generous country music heroine from the small-town South turned global phenomenon.

“I hope I’ll be remembered as somebody that tried to do some good in the world,” she told The Associated Press in 2024. “And left, you know, a few good things behind.”

It also was the third-most watched regular-season game ever and peaked at 3.82 million viewers. That is behind only the June 21-22, 1997 opening weekend games that featured the New York Liberty-Los Angeles Sparks (5.04 million) and Charlotte Sting-Phoenix Mercury (3.59 million), also both on NBC.

Caitlin Clark and the Fever continue to be the league's top draw. They also have set all-time viewing records this season for games on CBS, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video.

Against the Sky, Clark made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 37 points in the Fever's 113-90 victory. Teammate Kelsey Mitchell added 30.

That game was the first meeting since Chicago's DiJonai Carrington fouled Indiana's Sophie Cunningham on a breakaway in the Fever’s 90-86 victory on Aug. 8. Carrington was ejected for the Flagrant 2 foul.

There were no such incidents between the two in the rematch.

But there was controversy. Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom attended as a spectator and was ejected in the third quarter after he and the Sky's Natasha Cloud exchanged words. Freedom has since been banned from Sky home games.

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

That makes eight tournaments announced for the Championship Series, the only two surprises being the new Sompo Championship and the Greensboro, North Carolina, event that has changed sponsorship and now is the GO by Raymond James.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said Tuesday that seven — now eight, with the Truist announcement Wednesday — of the 15 tournaments on the Championship Series have been announced. That doesn't include the four majors, The Players Championship and the postseason.

He said an additional three have been identified, and those will be disclosed shortly. There will be plenty of assumptions of current signature events, such as the AT&T Pebble Beach, the RBC Heritage and the Genesis Invitational.

The Genesis Invitational is the only player-hosted event — Tiger Woods — not yet announced. Part of that is due to the future of Riviera Country Club, which just finished a U.S. Women's Open in June, has the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2031 U.S. Open. The private club might want a breather. Discussions are ongoing.

“Of the remaining four regular-season events, we are currently in active discussions with 14 prospective partners,” Rolapp said. “Given that level of demand and interest, we expect to be making final decisions soon.”

He said he expects to announce the full 2028 Championship Series schedule on Feb. 22 at a special television show from PGA Tour headquarters.

Jim Furyk goes all in with Golf Channel

Jim Furyk is no longer just dipping his toes into the television world. The 2003 U.S. Open champion and two-time Ryder Cup captain has been named Golf Channel's lead analyst for PGA Tour events and the major championships.

Furyk agreed to a multiyear deal that takes him into the revamped 2028 schedule of Championship Series events. Golf Channel next year has full coverage of The American Express to start the season, and weekday coverage of the rest of the PGA Tour events (along with the U.S. and British Opens).

“I’m thrilled to expand my role with USA Sports and Golf Channel to call the action at men’s majors and the biggest PGA Tour events for years to come,” Furyk said. “I have really enjoyed my time in the booth and look forward to continuing to develop in the role.”

The announcement would seem to end speculation about Furyk joining the NBC booth because Golf Channel and NBC are now separately owned.

PGA Tour releases full 2027 schedule

The PGA Tour on Wednesday put out its full schedule for 2027, the last one before it changes to what amounts to a two-tour system.

It looks to be similar to this year, with a few tweaks. The Dallas-area tournaments are no longer in consecutive weeks in May. The CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas will end in the first weekend of May, followed by the Valspar Championship in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area. That will lead into the Truist Championship, the PGA Championship and then Colonial will be the last week in May.

The Valspar previously was in March. That was been moved to clear the way for the Cadillac Championship in Miami to return to the Florida swing in March.

Also, the new Sompo Championship to be held in Napa, California, will be the last week in July and take the spot of the Rocket Classic in Detroit.

Pebble Beach again will have two events — the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and the U.S. Open in June. The British Open returns to St. Andrews and the PGA Championship is at its new headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

That means the Dallas-Fort Worth area will have three tournaments in five weeks — The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, PGA Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial — with the PGA Championship and Colonial going back-to-back.

Colonial is about 50 miles southwest of Frisco.

Woodland still hearing about his tee shot

Gary Woodland is the feel-good story at East Lake simply by making it to the Tour Championship while trying to cope with the effects of his brain surgery three years ago.

That doesn't spare him from getting plenty of grief from last week at the BMW Championship.

He was on the bubble of being in the top 30, playing well in the final round at Bellerive, when he topped a tee shot into a creek about 100 yards in front of him on the ninth hole, leading to a double bogey. He was rock-solid the rest of the way, shot 69 and tied for fourth to advance.

Now about that tee shot?

He heard about it from Xander Schauffele on the putting green at East Lake on Monday. At the Payne Stewart Award ceremony Tuesday night, former award winner Brandt Snedeker was being interviewed on stage when he was asked if Woodland — one of Snedeker's assistant captains for the Presidents Cup next month — would be considered a captain's pick if he played well this week.

Snedeker paused during his answer, smiled and everyone knew what was coming. He mentioned the topped tee shot.

“I’ve hit some good shots this year, and I haven’t got as much attention as that shot has,” Woodland said.

Woodland even heard it from his father. They plan to play together again in December at the PNC Championship in Florida.

“When I turned my phone on after the round, it wasn’t, ‘Congrats’ or ‘Good playing.’ It was: ‘Hey, get that shot out of the way. I can’t afford to have that in the scramble,’” Woodland said.

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

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The suspect was identified in an arrest report from the Hialeah Police Department as Louis Charles Munoz.

The report states that officers were dispatched at about 11 a.m. Tuesday to the Taco Bell at 785 E. Ninth St. after receiving a report of a man hitting the restaurant’s kiosks with a sharp metal object.

Police said they spoke with the manager, who stated that Munoz had ordered a meal and sat at a table inside the restaurant. She said he stared at her and other employees while he ate.

They said when the manager asked whether something was wrong, Munoz, who is listed as homeless in his arrest report, told her he had been “living here for three years and that things happen in life.”

Police said Munoz then got up, pulled out the metal object and smashed one large television menu and two electronic ordering kiosks. The damaged items were valued at approximately $2,500, the report states.

Munoz then told the manager to call police as he fled the restaurant, according to the report.

Police said they canvassed the area and found Munoz on the roof of 765 E. 9th St., where he barricaded himself.

After multiple attempts to negotiate with Munoz, police said he eventually surrendered the metal object by throwing it off the roof. They said he then turned himself in and climbed down using a Hialeah Fire Rescue ladder truck that was at the scene.

Police said Munoz was then taken into custody without incident.

According to the report, Munoz spontaneously told officers he broke the screens because he wanted to “receive help.”

Jail records show he is facing one count of armed criminal mischief involving property damage of $1,000 or more.

As of Wednesday, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”

El sospechoso fue identificado en un reporte de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Hialeah como Louis Charles Munoz.

El reporte señala que los oficiales fueron enviados alrededor de las 11 a.m. del martes al Taco Bell ubicado en 785 E. Ninth St., después de recibir un reporte de un hombre que golpeaba los quioscos del restaurante con un objeto metálico afilado.

La policía dijo que habló con la gerente, quien afirmó que Munoz había ordenado una comida y se había sentado en una mesa dentro del restaurante. Dijo que él la miraba fijamente a ella y a otros empleados mientras comía.

Dijeron que cuando la gerente le preguntó si algo estaba mal, Munoz, quien figura como una persona sin hogar en su reporte de arresto, le dijo que había estado “viviendo aquí durante tres años y que en la vida pasan cosas”.

La policía dijo que Munoz luego se levantó, sacó el objeto metálico y destrozó un gran menú de televisión y dos quioscos electrónicos de pedidos. Los artículos dañados estaban valorados en aproximadamente $2,500 USD, señala el reporte.

Munoz luego le dijo a la gerente que llamara a la policía mientras huía del restaurante, según el reporte.

La policía dijo que recorrió el área y encontró a Munoz en el techo de 765 E. Ninth St., donde se atrincheró.

Después de varios intentos de negociar con Munoz, la policía dijo que finalmente entregó el objeto metálico arrojándolo desde el techo. Dijeron que luego se entregó y bajó utilizando un camión con escalera de Bomberos y Rescate de Hialeah que se encontraba en la escena.

La policía dijo que Munoz fue detenido sin incidentes.

Según el reporte, Munoz dijo espontáneamente a los oficiales que rompió las pantallas porque quería “recibir ayuda”.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que enfrenta un cargo de daños criminales con un arma que involucra daños a la propiedad por $1,000 USD o más.

Hasta el miércoles, permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.

Según un reporte de arresto, el incidente ocurrió alrededor de las 7:30 a.m. del sábado cerca de la intersección de Southwest 87th Avenue y 184th Street.

El reporte indica que Raimiero Rios conducía una SUV negra hacia el sur por Southwest 87th Avenue cuando comenzó a tocar la bocina a dos ciclistas que también se dirigían hacia el sur.

Rios luego desvió la SUV hacia los ciclistas, obligando a uno de ellos a salirse de la carretera, según el reporte.

Los agentes indicaron que Rios luego atropelló al segundo ciclista con la SUV.

Después de la colisión, Rios sacó un arma y disparó en dirección al ciclista, según el reporte.

El incidente fue captado en video.

Los agentes que respondieron al lugar indicaron que encontraron un agujero de bala en el suelo. No se reportaron heridos.

El reporte indica que Rios fue trasladado a la estación del Distrito Municipal de Cutler Bay de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade para ser interrogado, donde invocó sus derechos Miranda.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que enfrenta un cargo de agresión agravada con arma de fuego, un cargo de agresión física agravada con arma mortal y un cargo por disparar un arma de fuego desde un vehículo.

Hasta la mañana del martes, permanecía detenido en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, donde su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, el accidente fue reportado poco antes de las 2:30 a.m. en el área de Northwest 36th Street y Lee Drive.

Los agentes dijeron que oficiales de la policía de Miami Springs respondieron a la escena y descubrieron que el conductor se dirigía hacia el oeste por Northwest 36th Street, acercándose a Lee Drive, cuando el vehículo “se desplazó hacia el arcén derecho, ingresó a la acera y chocó contra el frente de un negocio”.

Equipos de Bomberos y Rescate de Miami-Dade también respondieron y transportaron al conductor al Centro de Trauma Ryder del Jackson Memorial Hospital, donde fue declarado muerto, dijeron los agentes.

Funcionarios de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade confirmaron que detectives de su Oficina de Homicidios de Tránsito asumieron la investigación.

Las circunstancias que llevaron al accidente continúan bajo investigación. La identidad del conductor aún no ha sido divulgada.

Here's a look at some other notable corporate settlements.

BP and the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Oil giant BP agreed to pay $20 billion for the Deepwater Horizon disaster that became the worst offshore spill in the nation’s history.

The settlement, first announced in 2016, included $5.5 billion in civil Clean Water Act penalties and billions more to cover environmental damage and other claims by the five Gulf states and local governments. The money is to be paid out over roughly 16 years.

Enron and its massive accounting scandal

Enron, once the nation’s seventh-largest company, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work and wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions.

Twenty-four Enron executives, including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, were convicted for their roles in the fraud.

A class-action lawsuit led to the recovery of more than $7 billion in funds.

WorldCom hid falling profits in one of the worst cases of accounting fraud

WorldCom Inc. collapsed and went into bankruptcy in 2002 following revelations of an $11 billion accounting fraud that included pressure from top executives on subordinates to inflate numbers to make the company seem more profitable. The collapse caused losses to stockholders, including those who had invested through retirement plans.

In 2005, the company agreed to pay shareholders about $750 million in cash and stock, while major banks and accounting firms settled for about $6 billion.

WorldCom's former CEO, Bernie Ebbers was convicted in New York in 2005 on securities fraud and other charges and received a 25-year sentence. He died in 2020, just over a month after his early release from prison.

After its collapse, WorldCom reemerged under a new name, MCI. It was taken over by Verizon and relocated its operations to Ashburn, Virginia.

JPMorgan, Bank of America and the housing bets that shook the world

JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $13 billion in a landmark settlement in 2013. The firm acknowledged that it misled investors about the quality of risky mortgage-backed securities ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.

The agreement also included settlements with New York, California and other states.

JPMorgan was among the major banks that sold securities that plunged in value when the housing market collapsed in 2006 and 2007. Those losses triggered a financial crisis that pushed the economy into the worst recession since the 1930s.

A year later, Bank of America reached a $16.65 billion settlement with the government over the same issue. Its deal called for the bank, the second-largest in the U.S., to pay a $5 billion cash penalty, another $4.6 billion in remediation payments and provide about $7 billion in relief to struggling homeowners.

Johnson & Johnson and the marathon legal fight over talc

Johnson & Johnson agreed in July to pay $5.5 billion after fighting lawsuits for almost two decades over talc products that plaintiffs claimed had caused ovarian cancer.

The drugmaker, which has been fighting talc-related lawsuits for more than a decade, said that the settlement is conditioned on at least 95% of remaining claimants participating.

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied a $9 billion settlement proposed by company subsidiary Red River Talc last year that would have been one of the biggest mass tort settlements in history.

Johnson & Johnson decided not to appeal that ruling and instead fight on in court.

As part of the proposed settlement, Johnson & Johnson will make an initial payment of no more than $3 billion next year. It has no additional payments due until 2028.

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Her name is etched on the city’s Walk of Fame, which sits right outside the Country Music Hall of Fame.

It wasn’t long ago when the hall opened a new exhibit showcasing her amazing career.

Fans also were seen at Dollywood, showing up and paying tribute in different ways.

Just a few blocks away is the Songteller Hotel, one of Parton’s latest projects that is still under construction.

Outside, there were flowers and a note that said, “I hope life treats you well.”

Parton was a legend on stage, screen and in the community.

She was a girl from east Tennessee who lived a life that has left a lasting impact on the entire world.

Su nombre está grabado en el Paseo de la Fama de la ciudad, ubicado justo afuera del Salón de la Fama de la Música Country.

No hace mucho, el salón inauguró una nueva exhibición que muestra su extraordinaria carrera.

También se vio a admiradores en Dollywood, llegando y rindiéndole homenaje de diferentes maneras.

A solo unas cuadras se encuentra el Songteller Hotel, uno de los proyectos más recientes de Parton que aún está en construcción.

Afuera había flores y una nota que decía: “Espero que la vida te trate bien”.

Parton fue una leyenda en el escenario, la pantalla y la comunidad.

Fue una joven del este de Tennessee que vivió una vida que dejó un impacto duradero en todo el mundo.

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According to an arrest report, the incident happened at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Southwest 87th Avenue and 184th Street.

The report states Raimiero Rios was driving a black SUV south on Southwest 87th Avenue when he began honking at two cyclists who were also traveling south.

Rios then swerved the SUV toward the cyclists, forcing one of them off the roadway, according to the report.

Deputies said Rios then struck the second cyclist with the SUV.

After the collision, Rios pulled out a gun and fired a round in the direction of the cyclist, according to the report.

The incident was captured on video.

Grant Cordery is an avid cyclist who runs a bike shop in Deerfield Beach.

Cordery is friends with members of the cycling group that was involved in the incident.

“It’s disgusting in my opinion, and I think I speak for all cyclists that we just want to be treated with the same respect,” he said. “A vehicle is definitely a weapon. I think there just needs to be more patience in the world and more respect in the world, for sure.”

Deputies who responded to the scene said they found a bullet hole in the ground. No injuries were reported.

Residents in the area told Local 10’s Roy Ramos that the area where the incident occurred is popular with riders.

“I saw two cyclists sitting on the grass with their bikes lying beside them, and I saw two police officers,” said Kathy Javach, who was driving in the area at the time of the incident.

Witnesses said Rios took off before deputies arrived but later turned himself in.

Jail records show he is facing one count each of aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm from a vehicle.

He posted a $15,000 bond and was released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center early Wednesday. He declined to comment to Local 10 News and covered his face as he left the jail.

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KISS Country 99.9’s morning show featuring TC and Dina B provided a hearty mix of smiles and tears as they paid tribute to Parton.

For four hours, they didn’t just play her songs, they remembered her.

They said it’s the least they could do for a woman who has done so much for so many others.

“Every time you saw Dolly Parton, she was just this light, and I feel that if you know country music or if you don’t know country music, you know dolly parton,” said Dina B.

TC and Dina B have both spent more than a decade in radio, seeing songs and stars come and go, but Parton is one who withstood the test of time.

“Dolly introduced a whole new sound of country,” said TC. “It was a sound that you listened to music these days and it’s not all coming from the heart. Everything she wrote came from the heart. Everything she wrote is something you can connect to or some way or another.”

At Hollywood’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, butterflies lit up the sky as fans stopped by to pay their respects.

“She was an inspiration, an inspiration for everyone,” said fan Susan Salicco. “I honestly thought she’d live forever.”

One of Parton’s fans who visited the Hard Rock on Wednesday was Joan Pendergrass, widow of famed vocalist Teddy Pendergrass.

“She has given back so much,” said Pendergrass. “She has given so much of herself. What a beautiful, petite (woman), but so large at heart.”

You don’t have to go to Nashville to see Parton’s legacy.

Back in 1998, Parton joined Bob Hope to film a Christmas special at PortMiami, and further back in 1982, both Parton and Burt Reynolds made their way through South Florida crowds for a movie premiere.

El programa matutino de KISS Country 99.9, con TC y Dina B, ofreció una emotiva mezcla de sonrisas y lágrimas mientras rendían homenaje a Parton.

Durante cuatro horas, no solo tocaron sus canciones, también la recordaron.

Dijeron que era lo menos que podían hacer por una mujer que hizo tanto por tantas otras personas.

“Cada vez que veías a Dolly Parton, ella era simplemente esta luz, y siento que si conoces la música country o si no conoces la música country, conoces a Dolly Parton”, dijo Dina B.

TC y Dina B han trabajado en la radio durante más de una década, viendo canciones y estrellas ir y venir, pero Parton es una de las que resistió el paso del tiempo.

“Dolly introdujo un sonido completamente nuevo en la música country”, dijo TC. “Era un sonido que, cuando escuchas música en estos días, no todo viene del corazón. Todo lo que ella escribió venía del corazón. Todo lo que escribió es algo con lo que puedes identificarte de una forma u otra”.

En el Hard Rock Hotel & Casino de Hollywood, mariposas iluminaron el cielo mientras los admiradores se detenían para rendirle homenaje.

“Fue una inspiración, una inspiración para todos”, dijo la admiradora Susan Salicco. “Sinceramente pensé que viviría para siempre”.

Una de las admiradoras de Parton que visitó el Hard Rock el miércoles fue Joan Pendergrass, viuda del famoso cantante Teddy Pendergrass.

“Ella ha retribuido tanto”, dijo Pendergrass. “Ha dado tanto de sí misma. Qué mujer tan hermosa y pequeña, pero con un corazón tan grande”.

No hay que ir a Nashville para ver el legado de Parton.

En 1998, Parton se unió a Bob Hope para grabar un especial de Navidad en PortMiami, y anteriormente, en 1982, tanto Parton como Burt Reynolds se abrieron paso entre multitudes del sur de Florida para el estreno de una película.

The sanctioning body released its 2027 schedule Wednesday. The slate begins at Daytona International Speedway and wraps up back in the Sunshine State at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Among the highlights: a return to San Diego for the Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parks series. NASCAR and the Department of Defense unveiled a multi-year plan to host events beyond Coronado. In 2028, they intend to take the military-base street race to a different U.S. military installation.

The exhibition Clash will be held at Daytona the weekend before the Daytona 500. NASCAR’s All-Star race will be held at North Wilkesboro Speedway. And the season-ending NASCAR championship weekend will return to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the second straight year.

Homestead hosted NASCAR’s championship weekend from 2002-2019 before welcoming the season finale back in 2026. The venue is currently undergoing a $20 million capital investment project that will transform the track and enhance race-day experiences for fans, partners and industry stakeholders.

Also noteworthy: Dover Motor Speedway returns to a Cup Series points-race date May 16 after hosting the All-Star race; the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will serve as the final regular-season race in the Cup Series, setting the field for the Chase; and Pocono Raceway will feature all three national series during its race weekend in June.

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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

The ruling Wednesday by a judge in the state's capital city marks another setback in Democrats' national attempts to counter a Republican redistricting movement pushed by President Donald Trump ahead of this year's elections. The judge ruled that the amendment cannot appear on the November ballot, but he paused the effect of that ruling to allow for an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Democrats already control seven of Maryland's eight congressional seats. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore called lawmakers into a special session in August with a goal of making it easier to claim that final seat.

An amendment referred to the ballot by lawmakers seeks to sidestep a court ruling that struck down a previous Democratic redistricting plan in 2022. It would declare that a constitutional requirement for districts to be compact and take into account “natural boundaries” applies only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones.

That would allow Democratic state lawmakers to draw congressional districts that cross the Chesapeake Bay, reshaping a district east of the bay that is held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson ruled that lawmakers violated their own deadlines for ballot measures. Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a law signed by Moore that set a July 1 deadline for the secretary of state to certify summaries of all statewide ballot questions to the Maryland State Board of Elections.

The state attorney general's office argued that deadline didn't apply to the redistricting amendment because lawmakers wrote their own ballot summary for it, using their constitutional authority. The judge disagreed, instead siding with arguments by the conservative Oversight Project and Republican state lawmakers who sued.

Thompson also ruled that lawmakers used “intentionally misleading” wording in the ballot question by stating that it merely “clarifies” the Constitution's redistricting standards. And Thompson said the amendment violates a single-issue requirement in the Constitution by also including a provision that would give the state Supreme Court original jurisdiction in lawsuits over congressional redistricting.

“The court has no choice but to enjoin the board of elections from including ballot Question 3 on the general election ballot for November 3, 2026,” Thompson wrote.

Earlier this year, the Virginia Supreme Court also invalidated a redistricting ballot measure because of procedural violations by state lawmakers. In that case, voters had already approved an amendment in April authorizing mid-decade redistricting when the court ruled that lawmakers last year had waited too long to take an initial step necessary to qualify it for the ballot.

Virginia and Maryland both were seeking to follow the path of California, where voters approved a Democratic-backed amendment authorizing mid-decade redistricting. Democrats hope to gain as many as five congressional seats from California's redrawn districts, plus an additional seat from new districts in Utah.

But Republicans hope to win as many as 16 additional seats from new U.S. House districts enacted in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.

Redistricting typically happens near the beginning of each decade, after new census data is released. But a mid-decade redistricting battle broke out after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts in hopes that it might help Republicans hold onto a slim House majority in this year’s midterm elections.

Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012 that put him in a wheelchair, died Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause was disclosed.

Known for his arch humor, a putty-like face and gift with voices, Curry earned three Tony nominations — for “Spamalot,” “My Favorite Year” and “Amadeus” — and an Emmy nod in 1994.

“I like playing the more curious corners of the human mind and human behavior, partly because they’re a tad more interesting,” Curry told The Associated Press in 1993.

Curry burst onto the scene as the Transylvanian Frank-N-Furter in the sci-fi, cross-dressing rock musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which premiered in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went with it to Broadway and then starred in the 1975 cult-classic movie alongside Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf and Susan Sarandon.

The show was ahead of its time in terms of its representation of LGBTQ+ characters and has entered the pop culture lexicon for its many iconic and memorable scenes, including the song “The Time Warp,” which has been covered by handfuls of artists, and the often-quoted phrase, “Dammit, Janet!” The show was twice revived on Broadway, most recently in 2026 with Luke Evans playing Frank-N-Furter.

“He was a force, a bright fierce flame, an exquisite charm and that rich vocal tone,” Evans wrote on Instagram. “I hope, wherever you are, you'd approve of one more Frank having the time of his life in those heels.”

Tim Curry's take on Frank-N-Furter

Curry's Frank-N-Furter had a posh British accent, but that almost wasn’t the case. He said he tried German and American accents but pivoted after he heard a British woman on a bus talking with her friend.

“I met a woman on a bus who said, ‘Do you have a house in town or a house in the country’ and I thought, ‘That’s the voice!’” he told LA Magazine in 2015.

For many years after the film’s premiere, the British-born actor declined to discuss it. He didn’t participate in activities promoting the film, which morphed into an interactive event at midnight shows. But he later warmed again to the project and embraced it at public events. Asked by LA Magazine how he viewed “Rocky Horror,” he responded: “With a sort of bemused tolerance. It’s neither a blessing nor a curse. I was lucky to get it.”

Curry’s Broadway career included starring in Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties” in 1975-76, playing Mozart opposite Ian McKellen’s Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” and King Arthur in the 2005 production of “Spamalot.” The New York Times said his “stalwart, plummy-voiced Arthur wears a smile as inflexible as armor.” He also played Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol,” at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in 2001.

His screen credits included starring as the child-killing monster in the 1990 miniseries version of Stephen King’s horror novel “It,” as a medical officer in “The Hunt for Red October” in 1990 and the double-dealing Cardinal Richelieu in 1993’s “The Three Musketeers” with Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Chris O’Donnell.

In his 2025 memoir, “Vagabond,” Curry warned readers that while there were scraps of his nature in his characters, he was none of them. “The distinctions between who I really am and who I've pretended to be as an actor have proven to be a source of great disappointment to some audiences. It has not caused me much personal distress beyond the periodic necessity to deter stalkers,” he wrote.

Tim Curry's life and career began in England

Born in Cheshire, England, Curry was the son of a Navy chaplain and a school secretary. He was 12 when his father died and his mother subsequently went to work. Young Tim learned to cook his own breakfast, resulting in a lifelong passion for cooking, and sharpened his humor muscles.

“My father was a Methodist chaplain in the Navy, and we moved pretty much every 18 months,” he said. “So I had to make my mark in new schools and new playgrounds pretty quickly. And a sense of humor is the best way to do that. I was always a kind of mimic, one of those awful, relentless children, I should think.”

Acting did not occur to him until his middle teens, when he attended a school for the sons of Methodist ministers.

“I was lucky that it was a liberal kind of school; many of them in England are rather Dickensian,” he recalled to the AP. “There was a lot of theater, and I sang, too; I had been singing in church from the age of 7. I had enormous opportunities to express myself in that way. I just got hooked, really.”

His training continued in 1965 when he entered the University of Birmingham, at that time one of three English universities with a drama department. “I took an academic course, which I largely ignored, I’m afraid, and just acted all the time,” he said.

He then went down to London and talked his way into his first job, “Hair,” in the West End. Curry went on to the more formalized theater of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre, where he was enlisted for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Tim Curry's other roles

He went on to futilely try to stop Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister from taking advantage of New York’s swanky Plaza Hotel in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” Curry also was Wadsworth, the unhinged butler with a secret past, in the quotable “Clue.” He played a wealthy philanthropist in 1995's “Congo” and a baddie opposite Carol Burnett in the movie “Annie.”

“Nobody could play lovable villains better than he could,” Burnett wrote on Instagram. “He was a dear friend. I was blessed to know him.”

In later years, Curry lent his baritone voice to many voice-acting roles in children’s TV series, including “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “The Wild Thornberrys” and “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.”

After a yearslong break from live-action roles, he played a plague doctor-masked man in a wheelchair in 2024's “Stream,” something the film's director Michael Leavy called a dream come true.

Curry, who never married and had no children, was deeply private about his personal life. But he wrote in his memoir that he was convinced to tell his story thanks to so many moving encounters with fans.

“The notion that my experiences might resonate helps me persevere — if they strike a chord with only one teenager, alone with a book in his room, as I so often was; or that young woman reading this on an interminably long bus ride; or that older queen, hopefully still in his fishnets, who saw ‘Rocky Horror’ upstairs at the Royal Court; or that middle-aged mother who organizes ‘Clue’ watching parties and refuses entry to anybody out of costume; or that buttoned-up bank clerk who relishes musicals; or that woman who kicked me out of the Waverly for being myself,” he wrote.

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This story has been updated to correct that Curry’s publicist erroneously reported the date of his death as Wednesday, not Tuesday.

Paul McCartney explained those famous lines in the song by The Beatles, saying these Bibles “were in every hotel in America.” He’d never seen something like that in England.

For more than a century, countless have found it in the bedside drawers of American hotel and motel rooms. It has become a symbol of America’s roadside culture and Protestant tradition. It’s mentioned in lyrics, films, Broadway shows.

“The Gideon Bible is a peculiarly and amazingly American object,” says Lori Anne Ferrell, author of “The Bible and the People.”

It began with Gideons International, an organization of evangelical business and professional men founded in 1899.

One of its members, working on a railroad expansion project, gets off the train in the town of Superior in western Montana, and checks into a hotel. He asks the owner if he can place a Bible at the front desk. She responds with a more ambitious proposal: Place a Bible in each of the hotel rooms.

The group says that it has distributed more than 2.5 billion Bibles worldwide since that day in 1908. It was the year that Ford Motor Co. began manufacturing the Model T, the first low-priced car that introduced motoring to the masses.

“All of a sudden, we have the road culture, the interstate culture, we have motels, and we have, for the first time, people leaving home,” Ferrell says. “There’s a story about America with the Gideon Bible that you can’t tell with any other Bible because it’s distributed everywhere, and it represents the movement of people across the country.”

Gideon Bibles have been distributed in prisons, military bases, hospitals, even the White House. In a 1971 ceremony, the group presented its 100 millionth Bible to President Richard Nixon.

“It’s an expression of biblicism — the idea that the Bible it’s from God to you. And it’s all you need … and that biblicism is a deep element in American culture,” says Timothy K. Beal, author of “Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance of Faith.”

Over the years, its distribution in schools faced challenges. Its presence diminished as the number of U.S. hotels that offer religious materials in their rooms dropped.

Still, it remains the religious book that quietly seeks to provide comfort in the most secular of settings — and that, even with the advent of the TV and Wi-Fi, sits in motel nightstands across America and endures.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click here. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

Más del 33% de Puerto Rico está en condiciones de sequía extrema y otro 30% bajo sequía severa. Julio fue el mes más seco registrado para San Juan en más de 120 años y el segundo más caluroso para la capital de la isla.

La gobernadora Jenniffer González dijo que había solicitado formalmente la declaración al Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos hace más de dos semanas.

“Desde el primer momento dejamos clara la necesidad de nuestros agricultores”, expresó.

La declaración abarca 26 de los 78 municipios de Puerto Rico, incluidos Cabo Rojo, Ponce, Yauco, Aibonito y Lares.

La declaración de desastre permite que los agricultores y productores agrícolas de esas regiones accedan a préstamos de emergencia.

“Este es un paso importante para nuestros agricultores”, señaló el secretario de Agricultura de Puerto Rico, Irving Rodríguez. “Exhortamos a todos los productores afectados por la sequía a documentar sus pérdidas”.

Las persistentes condiciones secas han obligado a muchos agricultores a detener la producción desde mayo, indicó Fello Pérez, proveedor de asistencia técnica en Puerto Rico para RAFI, una organización sin fines de lucro con sede en Carolina del Norte que atiende a agricultores pequeños y medianos en el sureste de Estados Unidos, Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes de Estados Unidos.

Pérez comentó en una entrevista telefónica que los agricultores puertorriqueños que trabajan con hidroponía y los que cultivan hortalizas en suelo están entre los más afectados.

Quienes cultivan frutas como café, cacao y distintos tipos de plátanos, han visto cómo caen verdes del árbol por falta de agua.

“La cosecha se adelantó”, dijo.

Quienes crían animales también se han visto afectados porque no han podido alimentar al ganado. En un intento por obtener dinero, vendían toros jóvenes a precios de remate, pero nadie compraba debido a la sequía en curso, explicó Pérez.

Los agricultores han perdido dinero desde mayo; uno incluso se vio obligado a retomar el trabajo como mecánico para llegar a fin de mes, agregó.

La gobernadora de Puerto Rico había declarado un estado de emergencia a finales de julio debido a las persistentes condiciones secas y activó a la Guardia Nacional para transportar, distribuir y purificar agua.

A principios de agosto, anunció medidas de racionamiento de agua en ciertos vecindarios de San Juan y otras seis ciudades. Más de 180.000 clientes están sin agua durante 48 horas seguidas como parte de un calendario rotativo.

Grandes camiones distribuyen agua en esas zonas, con prioridad para hospitales y residencias de personas mayores.

Los meteorólogos afirman que la sequía en curso es el resultado de un ciclo natural de calentamiento conocido como El Niño, que también ha afectado a las vecinas Islas Vírgenes de Estados Unidos. El gobierno de Estados Unidos declaró un desastre por sequía a principios de este mes para Santo Tomás, San Juan y Santa Cruz, que están bajo sequía extrema.

Más allá de las condiciones secas, Puerto Rico también enfrenta una falta de agua atribuida al deterioro de la infraestructura.

Miles de puertorriqueños ya experimentaban escasez de agua y cambios en la presión de la misma desde hace un año.

La falta de agua no relacionada con la sequía llevó al alcalde de San Juan, Miguel Romero, a demandar a la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de la isla a finales de mayo, y la gobernadora reconoció que la infraestructura de la agencia ha carecido de inversión y mantenimiento durante décadas.

Puerto Rico implementó previamente medidas de racionamiento de agua en 2020 y en 2015, cuando unos 400.000 clientes del servicio público recibían agua solo cada tercer día.

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

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The incident occurred on Thursday, Aug. 6 outside of Sedano’s Supermarket, located at 950 E. Fourth Ave. in Hialeah.

According to the Hialeah Police Department, the suspect, Carlos Alvarez, loaned the victim $4,000 several days prior in order for him to purchase a vehicle.

Then on Aug. 6, police said Alvarez called the victim and asked for them to meet outside the supermarket.

According to authorities, the two conversed at first, but at one point, the victim began a video call with his girlfriend. During the call, police said Alvarez returned to his car and retrieved a gun, then went back to the victim and struck him in the face with it.

As the victim tired to get away, Alvarez fired two shots at the victim, according to an arrest report.

The report states that after the shooting occurred, Alvarez fled the scene and called the victim, who had retreated into the supermarket, telling him not to call the police.

Authorities said the victim waited a brief time before leaving the supermarket, at which time Alvarez returned and exited his vehicle, approached the victim and began punching him before again fleeing the scene.

Police said neither Alvarez or the victim were still there when officers arrived. It wasn’t until a week later on Aug. 13 that the victim reported the incident at the Hialeah Police Department’s main station, located at 5555 E. Eighth Ave.

Investigators obtained surveillance video from the area of the incident that corroborated the victim’s sworn statement, according to an arrest report.

Police said Alvarez was located at his home on Tuesday by members of HPD’s Major Crimes Unit and taken into custody.

Jail records show he is now facing charges of attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

As of Wednesday morning, Alvarez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond listed as “to be set.”

El incidente ocurrió el jueves 6 de agosto afuera del supermercado Sedano’s, ubicado en 950 E. Fourth Ave. en Hialeah.

Según el Departamento de Policía de Hialeah, el sospechoso, Carlos Alvarez, le prestó $4,000 USD a la víctima varios días antes para que pudiera comprar un vehículo.

Luego, el 6 de agosto, la policía dijo que Alvarez llamó a la víctima y le pidió que se reunieran afuera del supermercado.

Según las autoridades, ambos conversaron al principio, pero en un momento dado, la víctima inició una videollamada con su novia. Durante la llamada, la policía dijo que Alvarez regresó a su vehículo y sacó un arma, luego volvió con la víctima y la golpeó en el rostro con ella.

Mientras la víctima intentaba escapar, Alvarez le disparó dos veces, según un reporte de arresto.

El reporte señala que después de la balacera, Alvarez huyó de la escena y llamó a la víctima, quien se había refugiado dentro del supermercado, diciéndole que no llamara a la policía.

Las autoridades dijeron que la víctima esperó brevemente antes de salir del supermercado, momento en el que Alvarez regresó, salió de su vehículo, se acercó a la víctima y comenzó a golpearla con los puños antes de huir nuevamente de la escena.

La policía dijo que ni Alvarez ni la víctima seguían en el lugar cuando llegaron los oficiales. No fue hasta una semana después, el 13 de agosto, que la víctima reportó el incidente en la estación principal del Departamento de Policía de Hialeah, ubicada en 5555 E. Eighth Ave.

Los investigadores obtuvieron videos de vigilancia del área donde ocurrió el incidente que corroboraron la declaración jurada de la víctima, según un reporte de arresto.

La policía dijo que Alvarez fue localizado en su casa el martes por miembros de la Unidad de Delitos Mayores del Departamento de Policía de Hialeah y fue detenido.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que ahora enfrenta cargos de intento de asesinato en segundo grado con un arma mortal y agresión agravada con un arma mortal.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, Alvarez permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, con la fianza indicada como “por determinar”.

FDA officials gave expedited approval to the first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib, which blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. It's an approach that previously eluded drugmakers for decades.

The daily pills will be sold by Revolution Medicines under the brand name Rasonque.

Patients taking the drug nearly doubled their survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned them to receive the experimental treatment or more chemotherapy. The company-funded study enrolled 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment.

Patients getting the new treatment lived for a median of 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for chemotherapy recipients. Side effects included skin rash, mouth sores, diarrhea and other digestive issues.

“This is not a cure, it’s one more option for these patients,” said Dr. Pashtoon Kasi of City of Hope Orange County, a California-based cancer center. “But it’s the best option we’ve ever had.”

Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly forms in large part because it is hard to detect before it starts spreading to other organs. The American Cancer Society estimates about 67,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year and more than 52,000 people will die from the disease. The five-year overall survival rate is 13%.

The drug garnered public attention earlier this year when former Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., described on CBS' “60 Minutes” how he has had less pain while taking it. A surge in public interest led the FDA to allow “expanded access,” before the drug’s official approval, for patients who met certain criteria.

FDA regulators noted on Wednesday that they approved the drug more than six months ahead of their target date.

"It is our fundamental duty to deliver more cures and meaningful treatments to patients as quickly as possible,” the FDA's acting commissioner, Kyle Diamantas, said in a statement.

Unlike with other cancers that have benefited from a variety of chemotherapy alternatives, pancreatic cancer has been harder to tackle.

The new drug targets mutations in the RAS gene family that normally regulates cell growth. What are known as KRAS mutations are especially critical in fueling pancreatic cancer. But a structure that made it hard for drugs to stick to the mutated proteins meant this cancer driver was long considered “undruggable.”

Doctors who treat pancreatic cancer hope the drug may usher in more new options for other forms of cancer, with scores of experimental drugs in development.

“I think this has opened doors for many other companies,” Kasi said. “Downstream I think there are going to be a lot more trials looking at this approach in other tumor types.”

Revolution Medicines’ drug uses what’s essentially a molecular glue to bind with multiple KRAS subtypes. The Redwood City, California-based drugmaker is studying its technology for several other forms of cancer, including lung cancer.

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

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Yunior Orlando Fonseca-Jorge, 31, of Miami, was arrested on a third-degree grand theft charge in connection with the July 25 theft, according to a Miami Police Department arrest report.

Police said the investigation began July 27, after the victim contacted officers about a laptop that was supposed to have been delivered to her apartment on Brickell Key Drive two days earlier.

An officer responded to the building and obtained surveillance video from the property.

According to the arrest report, the footage showed Fonseca-Jorge arriving at the building at approximately 12:45 p.m. on July 25 and placing the package inside the mailroom.

Investigators said he then took a photograph of the package before picking it back up, returning to his vehicle and driving away with it.

Investigators determined the delivery had been made through Roadie, a delivery service. Police said Roadie provided information associated with the account used to make the delivery, which helped investigators identify Fonseca-Jorge as the suspect.

When a detective initially spoke with Fonseca-Jorge, police said he remembered making the delivery but claimed he had left the package in the mailroom.

After the detective told him surveillance video showed him leaving with the package, Fonseca-Jorge said he “must have lost” it, according to the report.

Another Miami police officer who had previous experience with Fonseca-Jorge later identified him from the surveillance footage, investigators said.

During a recorded interview with detectives after being taken into custody Tuesday, Fonseca-Jorge was shown the surveillance footage and identified himself as the person seen in the video, according to the arrest report.

Police said he also acknowledged remembering the incident and admitted taking the package with him when he left the property.

Fonseca-Jorge was then transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for processing.

As of Wednesday morning, Fonseca-Jorge remained at TGK on a $2,500 bond.

Yunior Orlando Fonseca-Jorge, de 31 años, de Miami, fue arrestado por un cargo de hurto mayor en tercer grado en relación con el robo del 25 de julio, según un reporte de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Miami.

La policía dijo que la investigación comenzó el 27 de julio, después de que la víctima contactara a los oficiales por una computadora portátil que debía haber sido entregada en su apartamento en Brickell Key Drive dos días antes.

Un oficial acudió al edificio y obtuvo un video de vigilancia de la propiedad.

Según el reporte de arresto, las imágenes mostraron a Fonseca-Jorge llegando al edificio aproximadamente a las 12:45 p.m. del 25 de julio y colocando el paquete dentro del cuarto de correo.

Los investigadores dijeron que luego tomó una fotografía del paquete antes de recogerlo nuevamente, regresar a su vehículo y marcharse con él.

Los investigadores determinaron que la entrega se había realizado a través de Roadie, un servicio de entregas. La policía dijo que Roadie proporcionó información asociada con la cuenta utilizada para realizar la entrega, lo que ayudó a los investigadores a identificar a Fonseca-Jorge como el sospechoso.

Cuando un detective habló inicialmente con Fonseca-Jorge, la policía dijo que recordó haber realizado la entrega, pero afirmó que había dejado el paquete en el cuarto de correo.

Después de que el detective le dijera que un video de vigilancia lo mostraba saliendo con el paquete, Fonseca-Jorge dijo que “debió haberlo perdido”, según el reporte.

Otro oficial de la policía de Miami que había tenido contacto previo con Fonseca-Jorge posteriormente lo identificó en las imágenes de vigilancia, dijeron los investigadores.

Durante una entrevista grabada con los detectives después de ser detenido el martes, a Fonseca-Jorge le mostraron las imágenes de vigilancia y se identificó como la persona que aparecía en el video, según el reporte de arresto.

La policía dijo que también reconoció recordar el incidente y admitió haberse llevado el paquete cuando salió de la propiedad.

Fonseca-Jorge fue trasladado posteriormente al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight para ser procesado.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, Fonseca-Jorge permanecía en TGK con una fianza de $2,500 USD.

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The suspect was identified in an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office as Stephanie Patrice Stanley.

Deputies said the incident happened Aug. 8 at her home near the 28,000 block of Southwest 126th Court in Miami-Dade’s Princeton area.

The report states that deputies were dispatched to the home at about 8:11 p.m. in reference to a fight involving injuries.

Depuites said they spoke to the victim who said she had been struck in the back several times with a 2-by-4 wood plank.

They said the victim was taken to Jackson South Medical Center for treatment.

The report states that investigators later received several videos showing the incident. According to the report, one video showed Stanley striking the victim in the back with a wooden plank four times.

Deputies said several other videos showed Stanley battering two children during the altercation.

After being advised of her Miranda rights, Stanley admitted to striking the victim with a wooden plank and battering the children, according to the report. She told investigators she was unaware that both kids were under the age of 18, deputies said.

Jail records show Stanley is facing one count of aggravated battery and two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm.

As of Wednesday morning, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set.”

Deputies did not release the relationship between the suspect and victims, and the reason for the altercation remains unclear.

La sospechosa fue identificada en un reporte de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade como Stephanie Patrice Stanley.

Los agentes dijeron que el incidente ocurrió el 8 de agosto en su casa cerca de la cuadra 28,000 de Southwest 126th Court, en el área de Princeton de Miami-Dade.

El reporte señala que los agentes fueron enviados a la casa alrededor de las 8:11 p.m. en referencia a una pelea con personas heridas.

Los agentes dijeron que hablaron con la víctima, quien afirmó que había sido golpeada varias veces en la espalda con una tabla de madera de 2 por 4.

Dijeron que la víctima fue trasladada al Jackson South Medical Center para recibir tratamiento.

El reporte señala que los investigadores posteriormente recibieron varios videos que mostraban el incidente. Según el reporte, uno de los videos mostraba a Stanley golpeando a la víctima cuatro veces en la espalda con una tabla de madera.

Los agentes dijeron que varios otros videos mostraban a Stanley agrediendo a dos niños durante el altercado.

Después de ser informada de sus derechos Miranda, Stanley admitió haber golpeado a la víctima con una tabla de madera y haber agredido a los niños, según el reporte. Ella dijo a los investigadores que no sabía que ambos eran menores de 18 años, dijeron los agentes.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Stanley enfrenta un cargo de agresión agravada y dos cargos de abuso infantil sin lesiones corporales graves.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.

Los agentes no revelaron la relación entre la sospechosa y las víctimas, y el motivo del altercado continúa sin estar claro.

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Records show the home, in the 500 block of Valencia Avenue, belonged to Henry Parra, 55, and Adam Hlavaty, 42, who were killed in last Wednesday’s crash along with five other people ― including others with South Florida ties ― in northern Kenya’s Samburu County.

Coral Gables police said the burglary happened sometime between Thursday and Saturday, after the crash.

They identified the burglary suspects as Geybert Alexander Garcia, 40, and Melany Perdomo, 24, who live together near the unincorporated Palm Springs North area of northwest Miami-Dade.

According to investigators, the pair “ransacked the residence and removed numerous items belonging to the decedent such as personal and business documents, jewelry, electronics, and artwork.”

They also stole the couple’s 2023 Land Rover and 2020 Porsche Taycan, an arrest report states. The report mentions the crash, but doesn’t state whether or how investigators believe that Garcia and Perdomo became aware of the couple’s deaths before the burglary.

Police said Parra and Hlavaty’s housekeeper discovered the heist on Sunday.

Authorities said a ping from the couple’s stolen MacBook, along with vehicle location from the stolen Range Rover, placed the stolen items at Garcia and Perdomo’s home in the 8300 block of Northwest 195th Terrace.

According to the report, after confirming the cars were parked outside of the home, Coral Gables police and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies executed a search warrant there on Tuesday.

Investigators said Garcia hid in a closet while officers found Perdomo in an upstairs bedroom.

During the search, “officers located and identified numerous stolen documents” belonging to the couple, as well as the key fob to the Range Rover, the arrest report states.

“Additionally, several valuable pieces of artwork were recovered from inside the residence, including an art sculpture belonging to the victims and valued in excess of approximately $500,000,” it states. “Officers also located several items and instruments consistent with the production and/or alteration of fraudulent identification documents and personal identifying information.”

Additionally, investigators said they found a Ford F-250 with an altered VIN that turned out to be stolen out of Indian River County.

Jail records show Garcia and Perdomo were each arrested on multiple felony charges, including burglary and grand theft auto.

Both were being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bonds listed as “to be set” as of Wednesday morning.

Additionally, Perdomo, despite being listed in her arrest report as being born in Florida, had an immigration hold entered into her jail record.

Los registros muestran que la casa, ubicada en la cuadra 500 de Valencia Avenue, pertenecía a Henry Parra, de 55 años, y Adam Hlavaty, de 42, quienes murieron en el accidente del miércoles pasado junto con otras cinco personas, incluidas otras con vínculos con el sur de Florida, en el condado Samburu, en el norte de Kenia.

La policía de Coral Gables dijo que el robo ocurrió en algún momento entre el jueves y el sábado, después del accidente.

Identificaron a los sospechosos del robo como Geybert Alexander Garcia, de 40 años, y Melany Perdomo, de 24, quienes viven juntos cerca del área no incorporada de Palm Springs North, en el noroeste de Miami-Dade.

Según los investigadores, la pareja “saqueó la residencia y se llevó numerosos artículos pertenecientes al fallecido, como documentos personales y comerciales, joyas, dispositivos electrónicos y obras de arte”.

También robaron el Land Rover 2023 y el Porsche Taycan 2020 de la pareja, señala un reporte de arresto. El reporte menciona el accidente, pero no indica si los investigadores creen que Garcia y Perdomo se enteraron de la muerte de la pareja antes del robo ni cómo pudieron haberse enterado.

La policía dijo que la empleada doméstica de Parra y Hlavaty descubrió el robo el domingo.

Las autoridades dijeron que una señal de la MacBook robada de la pareja, junto con la ubicación del Range Rover robado, situó los artículos sustraídos en la casa de Garcia y Perdomo, en la cuadra 8300 de Northwest 195th Terrace.

Según el reporte, después de confirmar que los vehículos estaban estacionados afuera de la casa, la policía de Coral Gables y agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade ejecutaron una orden de registro allí el martes.

Los investigadores dijeron que Garcia se escondió en un clóset, mientras que los oficiales encontraron a Perdomo en una habitación del piso superior.

Durante el registro, “los oficiales localizaron e identificaron numerosos documentos robados” pertenecientes a la pareja, así como el llavero electrónico del Range Rover, señala el reporte de arresto.

“Además, varias obras de arte valiosas fueron recuperadas del interior de la residencia, incluida una escultura de arte perteneciente a las víctimas y valorada en más de aproximadamente $500,000 USD”, señala el reporte. “Los oficiales también localizaron varios artículos e instrumentos compatibles con la producción y/o alteración de documentos de identificación fraudulentos e información de identificación personal”.

Además, los investigadores dijeron que encontraron una Ford F-250 con un VIN alterado que resultó haber sido robada en el condado Indian River.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Garcia y Perdomo fueron arrestados cada uno por múltiples cargos de delitos graves, incluidos robo y hurto mayor de vehículo.

Ambos permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, con las fianzas indicadas como “por determinar” hasta la mañana del miércoles.

Además, Perdomo, a pesar de que su reporte de arresto indica que nació en Florida, tenía una retención de inmigración registrada en su expediente carcelario.

More than 33% of Puerto Rico is under extreme drought, and another 30% under a severe drought. July was the driest month on record for San Juan in more than 120 years and the second hottest for the island's capital.

Gov. Jenniffer González said she had formally requested the declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than two weeks ago.

“From the very beginning, we made clear the needs of our farmers,” she said.

The declaration covers 26 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities, including Cabo Rojo, Ponce, Yauco, Aibonito and Lares.

The disaster declaration allows farmers and agricultural producers in those regions to access emergency loans.

“This is an important step,” said Puerto Rico Agriculture Secretary Irving Rodríguez. “We urge all producers affected by the drought to document their losses.”

The persistent dry conditions have forced many farmers to halt production as early as May, said Fello Pérez, a Puerto Rico-based technical assistance provider for RAFI, a North Carolina-based nonprofit that serves small- to midscale farmers in the Southeast U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Pérez said in a phone interview that Puerto Rican farmers who work in hydroponics and grow vegetables in soil are among the most affected.

Those who cultivate fruits, including coffee, cacao, plantains, and bananas, have seen them fall green from the tree due to a lack of water.

“The harvest was ahead of schedule,” he said.

Those who breed animals are also affected because they haven’t been able to feed livestock. In a bid to make money, they were selling young bulls at rock-bottom prices, but no one was buying because of the ongoing drought, Pérez said.

Farmers have been losing money since May; one was even forced to resume work as a mechanic to make ends meet, he said.

Puerto Rico’s governor had declared a state of emergency in late July because of the persistent dry conditions and activated the National Guard to transport, distribute, and purify water.

In early August, she announced water rationing measures in certain neighborhoods of San Juan and six other cities. More than 180,000 customers are without water for 48 hours at a time as part of a rotating schedule.

Large trucks are distributing water in those areas, with priority given to hospitals and residences for older people.

Meteorologists say the ongoing drought is the result of a natural warming cycle known as El Niño, which has also affected the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. government declared a drought disaster earlier this month for St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, which are under an extreme drought.

Dry conditions aside, Puerto Rico is also struggling with a lack of water blamed on crumbling infrastructure.

Thousands of Puerto Ricans were already experiencing water shortages and changes in pressure for up to a year.

The lack of water unrelated to the drought prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to sue the island’s Water and Sewer Authority in late May, with the governor acknowledging the agency’s infrastructure has lacked investment and maintenance for decades.

Puerto Rico previously implemented water rationing measures in 2020 and in 2015, when some 400,000 utility customers received water only every third day.

Grint, who starred in all eight “ Harry Potter ” movies from 2001 to 2011, will join the play at the Lyric Theatre from Feb. 2 to May 30, 2027.

“Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can’t wait to meet him again in this stage of life,” Grint said in a statement. “There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron’s shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new.”

It will mark the second time a member of the “Harry Potter” film cast has joined the stage production. This year, Tom Felton reprised his role of Draco Malfoy, seeing box office receipts jump.

The play picks up 19 years after the end of the final novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” An adult Potter is married to Ginny Weasley, sister of his best friend, Ron, who married brainy Hermione. Both couples have children and all are in danger again. Ron runs his own joke shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

“His return creates a powerful bridge between the story audiences first fell in love with and the story of family, legacy and the passage of time that ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ carries forward,” producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender said in a statement.

Grint made his Broadway debut in the original production of “It’s Only a Play,” opposite Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. He made his West End debut in Jez Butterworth’s play “Mojo,” starring opposite Ben Whishaw.

Jared Bridegan was shot four years ago after he got out of his SUV to remove a tire from a road in Jacksonville Beach. The attack stumped police for months as they struggled to understand why someone with no apparent enemies would be killed while his daughter sat nearby in her car seat.

Prosecutors believe he was killed because of ongoing strife with his former wife over the parenting of their twins.

Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, was convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation of murder. He’s married to Bridegan’s former wife, Shanna Gardner, whose trial is set to start in September.

Bridegan was “unarmed, unaware, exposed, vulnerable. He couldn’t have known, on that cold asphalt in February of 2022, the architects of his murder had been making preparations for his death for months,” Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler said during closing arguments.

Defense attorney Jesse Dreicer told jurors that Fernandez Saldana had no motive to have Bridegan killed. Fernandez Saldana and Gardner are estranged, and Gardner moved to Washington state after the killing.

“He certainly gained no benefit from the death of Jared Bridegan,” Dreicer said, noting there was no testimony that Fernandez Saldana told anyone that Bridegan “deserves to die.”

The alleged gunman, Henry Tenon, had no personal connection to Bridegan, but he was a former tenant at Fernandez Saldana’s rental property in Jacksonville. Jurors saw three checks totaling $10,000 written to Tenon after the homicide, marked as payments for handyman work and a business idea.

Tenon’s DNA was identified on the rim of the tire that was intentionally placed in the road, police said.

Tenon, 65, initially pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Fernandez Saldana, but he later backed out of the deal and will stand trial next year.

Gardner, 39, is the daughter of the co-founder of Stampin’ Up!, an arts-and-crafts company based in Utah.

Bridegan was shot twice when he stopped his Volkswagen Atlas to remove a tire from the road. He had just returned two children to Gardner's home after a “date night” meal with the twins. At the time of his death, he was married to Kirsten Bridegan and they had two children.

Kirsten Bridegan told the jury that the post-divorce relationship between her husband and Gardner was “pretty terrible,” adding there was “absolutely no trust.”

The decision to lift an injunction against Trump's directive came shortly after a group of Democratic state officials filed a fresh lawsuit against it, underscoring how a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week was already injecting confusion into the midterm elections. The first mailed ballots are set to be sent out next week.

In her decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama, agreed to remove her previous injunction prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out Trump’s order for November’s elections. She did so after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled that a similar injunction Talwani had placed on the federal government in a separate case against the mail voting order was premature.

Talwani said the Supreme Court’s Monday decision “compelled” her to toss out the injunction. She nevertheless said the executive order could unleash “chaos” and referred to it as “likely unconstitutional.”

The administration can now move forward and implement a Postal Service rule published late Friday. It would require states to follow a uniform style for the envelopes used for mail ballots and give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them. Talwani found on Tuesday that the issuance of the rule technically violated her injunction, but she declined to penalize the administration over it.

The new lawsuit, filed by about two dozen Democratically controlled states against the U.S. Postal Service, marked a new phase in the high-stakes litigation just two days after the Supreme Court ruled against them in a separate case, but did not say Trump’s order was legal.

The high court majority found the Democratic lawsuit was premature, but that was before the Republican administration issued a rule governing Postal Service delivery of mail ballots. Election officials warn it will be impossible to implement in the days before the first wave of mail ballots are sent out next week.

“Across the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections. Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans’ right to vote,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 25 Democratic attorneys general filing the lawsuit, said in a statement. “USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail.”

Trump’s executive order remains barred from taking effect under a separate injunction that the administration argues needs to be immediately rescinded in light of the high court’s ruling in the previous Democratic state lawsuit. It also had succeeded in a third case filed in May in the District of Columbia, convincing a judge that it was too early to prevent its implementation of the executive order.

All previous challenges were filed before the administration published its mail ballot rule Friday night. The rule says that if states want their mail ballots delivered, they will need federal approval of the design of their envelopes and must give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis on Wednesday said the Postal Service’s proposals were “commonsense measures that protect the security of mail-in ballots” and that the administration would continue to work to implement them to boost “the safety and security of our elections.”

The Postal Service said it would not comment because of the pending lawsuit.

National Democrats on Tuesday cited the rule in asking the federal judge in the Washington case to block Trump’s order after he declined to do so last spring, saying the administration at the time had not taken concrete action. In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani also found that the administration moving forward with the mail ballot rule had violated a separate injunction she had placed on the Postal Service prohibiting it from enacting Trump’s order, although she did not take any action against the government.

Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, had issued the injunction against Trump’s executive order in the prior Democratic state case, which is the one the Supreme Court overturned on Monday. She has yet to act on the administration’s urging her to revoke her second injunction. It was issued Aug. 11 in a case against the executive order and was filed by the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups while the Supreme Court was considering the administration’s appeal of the judge's first order.

Trump has long targeted mail voting, which he falsely blames for his 2020 election loss and is disproportionately used by Democrats as a result of Trump’s condemnations. Since returning to power, Trump has tried to claim authority over election rules, saying he thinks Republicans should “take over” vote counting in Democratic areas.

He issued his first election executive order just months after retaking office, attempting to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, among other changes. He has also been pushing a sweeping election bill that has stalled in the Senate amid opposition from Democrats and even some within his own party.

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Jail records show Orlando Armin Villasmil Noriega, 37, was arrested Tuesday by the Hallandale Beach Police Department.

Police said Noriega worked as a manager at the South Florida chain’s location at 4 N. Federal Highway.

According to an arrest report, he was responsible for depositing the previous day’s cash revenue at a nearby Bank of America when he opened the business each morning.

Police said Noriega opened the restaurant on April 18 and removed deposits containing nearly $9,000 in revenue from the previous two days. Surveillance video showed him leaving the business with the money, according to the report.

The deposits were never received in the business’ Bank of America account, and the bank found no record of Noriega attempting to make the deposits, police said.

They said Noriega was again captured on surveillance video on April 19 removing a deposit bag containing just over $5,000. Police said he was not seen making a deposit at the bank.

From April 23 through April 26, Noriega worked as the closing manager and was responsible for preparing deposits and placing them in the business’ safe for the next day’s opening manager, according to investigators.

Deposits from those days, totaling more than $19,000, were never deposited, police said.

When questioned by police about what happened to the money, a witness told investigators that Noriega said the deposits were made at night, the report states.

Police said making nighttime deposits was not authorized at that Bank of America location and investigators were unable to locate surveillance video showing Noriega making the deposits.

They said Noriega was scheduled to work April 27 but called in sick and told the business he was “terminating his employment” with Flanigan’s. He reportedly said he was moving to North Carolina in May.

According to police, Noriega deprived the business of $33,091.06. The business is now seeking incarceration and restitution.

Records show Noriega is facing one count of grand theft of more than $20,000 but less than $100,000.

As of Wednesday morning, he was no longer listed as an inmate in Broward County jail records.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Orlando Armin Villasmil Noriega, de 37 años, fue arrestado el martes por el Departamento de Policía de Hallandale Beach.

La policía dijo que Noriega trabajaba como gerente en la ubicación de la cadena del sur de Florida en 4 N. Federal Highway.

Según un reporte de arresto, era responsable de depositar los ingresos en efectivo del día anterior en un Bank of America cercano cuando abría el negocio cada mañana.

La policía dijo que Noriega abrió el restaurante el 18 de abril y retiró depósitos que contenían casi $9,000 USD en ingresos de los dos días anteriores. Un video de vigilancia lo mostró saliendo del negocio con el dinero, según el reporte.

Los depósitos nunca fueron recibidos en la cuenta de Bank of America del negocio, y el banco no encontró ningún registro de que Noriega intentara realizar los depósitos, dijo la policía.

Dijeron que Noriega fue captado nuevamente en un video de vigilancia el 19 de abril retirando una bolsa de depósito que contenía poco más de $5,000 USD. La policía dijo que no fue visto realizando un depósito en el banco.

Del 23 al 26 de abril, Noriega trabajó como gerente de cierre y era responsable de preparar los depósitos y colocarlos en la caja fuerte del negocio para el gerente que abriera al día siguiente, según los investigadores.

Los depósitos de esos días, que sumaban más de $19,000 USD, nunca fueron depositados, dijo la policía.

Cuando la policía preguntó qué había sucedido con el dinero, un testigo dijo a los investigadores que Noriega afirmó que los depósitos se habían realizado por la noche, señala el reporte.

La policía dijo que los depósitos nocturnos no estaban autorizados en esa ubicación de Bank of America y que los investigadores no pudieron localizar videos de vigilancia que mostraran a Noriega realizando los depósitos.

Dijeron que Noriega tenía previsto trabajar el 27 de abril, pero llamó para reportarse enfermo y le dijo al negocio que estaba “terminando su empleo” con Flanigan’s. Según reportes, dijo que se mudaría a Carolina del Norte en mayo.

Según la policía, Noriega privó al negocio de $33,091.06 USD. El negocio ahora solicita encarcelamiento y restitución.

Los registros muestran que Noriega enfrenta un cargo de hurto mayor de más de $20,000 USD, pero menos de $100,000 USD.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, ya no figuraba como recluso en los registros de la cárcel del condado Broward.

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The modeling suites that were originally gung-ho on 96L’s development this week – notably the legacy physics-based Euro and American GFS models, the latter of which catapulted 96L into a hurricane in its forecast yesterday – have backed off considerably in recent cycles, showing 96L struggling throughout its journey this week across the deep tropical belt between Africa and the Caribbean.

As a result, the National Hurricane Center nudged down its development odds for 96L from high to medium early Wednesday.

That said, 96L for now remains a healthy disturbance and it wouldn’t take much additional organization for it to clear the hurdles to become a tropical depression or named storm today or tomorrow before environmental conditions become less conducive into the weekend.

The next name on the list is Dolly.

Google DeepMind first on and first off

Google’s DeepMind machine-learning based ensemble system – which had a banner, breakthrough year in 2025, becoming the new gold-standard hurricane forecast system – has been consistently first to sniff out new systems but also been consistently first to drop development odds when the picture turns less conducive.

This bellwether behavior has been true for 96L as well. When most other modeling camps insisted on the possibility of significant development this week, DeepMind balked, yesterday showing next to no chance of formation this week.

Overall development odds for 96L from DeepMind have fallen from 60% a few days ago to 40% yesterday to around 20% today. The now low odds don’t come until the disturbance is over the southwestern Atlantic and near the Bahamas in about a week, a scenario the model has been promoting for several days.

The odds are low and the trend is lower today than yesterday for this late-blooming scenario, but it’s one we’ll watch given the disturbance’s proximity to Florida and the U.S. next week.

This is beyond El Niño’s shear-induced moat over the central Atlantic and in a region where waters are at record or near-record warmth for the time of year so it’s worth following the trends.

The odds remain low and they’ve trended a little lower since yesterday so it’s nothing for us to worry about at this point.

Will 96L break through or fumble this week?

We’ll have to give this one some time and see how it plays out this week. As we discussed in yesterday’s newsletter, the harder it falls this week, the better, as a weaker system will have less time to recover on the other side of the shear zone next week.

Intensity models generally limit any organized development to tropical depression or low- mid-tier tropical storm strength the next few days. But again, it’s left to be seen if 96L will even cross these entry-level development thresholds before it hits a sizeable roadblock this weekend.

Interests in the eastern Caribbean islands should continue to monitor the forecast this week but right now 96L or what comes of it does not pose a significant threat.

95L no more

The development window for the disturbance in the middle North Atlantic previously designated Invest 95L quickly closed Tuesday and the remnant low-pressure area is being ushered out to sea by strong jet stream winds today.

Los conjuntos de modelos que originalmente apostaban con fuerza por el desarrollo de 96L esta semana, en particular los modelos tradicionales basados en la física, el europeo y el GFS estadounidense, este último llevó a 96L a convertirse en huracán en su pronóstico de ayer, han reducido considerablemente sus expectativas en ciclos recientes, mostrando a 96L enfrentando dificultades durante su recorrido esta semana por el cinturón tropical profundo entre África y el Caribe.

Como resultado, el Centro Nacional de Huracanes redujo ligeramente las probabilidades de desarrollo de 96L de altas a moderadas la madrugada del miércoles.

Dicho esto, 96L sigue siendo por ahora una perturbación saludable y no necesitaría mucha organización adicional para superar los obstáculos y convertirse en una depresión tropical o tormenta con nombre hoy o mañana, antes de que las condiciones ambientales se vuelvan menos favorables hacia el fin de semana.

El próximo nombre en la lista es Dolly.

Google DeepMind, primero en detectar y primero en descartar

El sistema de conjunto basado en aprendizaje automático DeepMind de Google, que tuvo un año sobresaliente y decisivo en 2025, convirtiéndose en el nuevo sistema de referencia para pronósticos de huracanes, ha sido consistentemente el primero en detectar nuevos sistemas, pero también el primero en reducir las probabilidades de desarrollo cuando el panorama se vuelve menos favorable.

Este comportamiento como indicador también se ha cumplido con 96L. Cuando la mayoría de los otros grupos de modelos insistían en la posibilidad de un desarrollo significativo esta semana, DeepMind se mostró contrario y ayer indicó una probabilidad prácticamente nula de formación esta semana.

Las probabilidades generales de desarrollo de 96L según DeepMind han disminuido de 60% hace unos días a 40% ayer y alrededor de 20% hoy. Las probabilidades, ahora bajas, no aparecen hasta que la perturbación se encuentre sobre el Atlántico suroccidental y cerca de las Bahamas dentro de aproximadamente una semana, un escenario que el modelo ha estado proyectando durante varios días.

Las probabilidades son bajas y la tendencia es menor hoy que ayer para este escenario de desarrollo tardío, pero es uno que vigilaremos dada la proximidad de la perturbación a Florida y Estados Unidos la próxima semana.

Esto se encuentra más allá de la barrera de cizalladura inducida por El Niño sobre el Atlántico central y en una región donde las aguas registran temperaturas récord o cercanas a niveles récord para esta época del año, por lo que vale la pena seguir las tendencias.

Las probabilidades siguen siendo bajas y han disminuido un poco desde ayer, por lo que no es algo de lo que debamos preocuparnos en este momento.

¿Logrará 96L desarrollarse o fracasará esta semana?

Tendremos que darle algo de tiempo y ver cómo evoluciona esta semana. Como comentamos en el boletín de ayer, cuanto más se debilite esta semana, mejor, ya que un sistema más débil tendrá menos tiempo para recuperarse al otro lado de la zona de cizalladura la próxima semana.

Los modelos de intensidad generalmente limitan cualquier desarrollo organizado a una depresión tropical o una tormenta tropical de intensidad baja a moderada durante los próximos días. Pero, nuevamente, queda por ver si 96L siquiera superará estos umbrales iniciales de desarrollo antes de encontrarse con un obstáculo considerable este fin de semana.

Quienes tengan intereses en las islas del Caribe oriental deben continuar monitoreando el pronóstico esta semana, pero por ahora 96L, o lo que llegue a desarrollarse de este sistema, no representa una amenaza significativa.

95L ya no existe

La ventana de desarrollo para la perturbación en medio del Atlántico Norte, anteriormente designada como Invest 95L, se cerró rápidamente el martes y el área remanente de baja presión está siendo arrastrada mar adentro hoy por fuertes vientos de la corriente en chorro.

The court in Yangon’s Kamayut township on Tuesday found Pavinee Supasirivisan guilty under a provision applying to any foreign national who commits a crime in the country, according to the lawyer.

The charge carries a sentence ranging from six months to five years, the lawyer said on condition of anonymity to avoid possible repercussions from Myanmar’s military-backed government, which exercises tight control over information. Pavinee is being held at Insein Prison.

Neither U.S. nor Myanmar officials have publicly named the dead man, but the New York Post and other Western media have identified him as 43-year-old Daniel Paul Riva, who served as a U.S. State Department assistant regional security officer. An online obituary for someone of that name has details including the same day of death as the victim and recollections of him having worked in several U.S. diplomatic missions.

The U.S. State Department had confirmed the death of a U.S. government employee, but refused to provide further information, including the victim's name, citing privacy reasons.

Pavinee was arrested after the diplomat was found dead with stab wounds to the head and neck on May 11 at the Sakura Residence & Hotel, a facility popular with diplomats, business people, and other international visitors that is about 1½ kilometers (a mile) from the U.S. Embassy.

Police have opened a case at the township’s police station under the relevant murder provision, which carries a sentence ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty. But it's not clear whether she has been formally charged with murder, or even whether a murder investigation is still ongoing, the lawyer said.

An official from Kamayut township’s immigration and population department confirmed her sentence for violating immigration law, but wouldn't provide further details. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn't authorized to speak with the media.

The military seized power from democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, giving rise to widespread protests that have expanded into a civil war in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

Authorities rarely speak with the media, which is tightly controlled. Police investigating the case, the Thai Embassy in Yangon, and the court that sentenced her all refused to comment.

UEFA’s member federations are meeting Thursday in Monaco ahead of the Champions League draw, where they are expected to end the boycott threat, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agenda of the closed-doors meeting was confidential.

Ruling out a boycott will clear six European teams to continue preparing for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup that kicks off Sept. 5 in Poland.

France and Spain named their squads last week for the 24-nation tournament which risked becoming an unwanted battleground in European soccer’s pushback against Infantino’s private investor plan. England, Italy, Portugal and host Poland also will play. The United States, Brazil and Argentina also are in the lineup.

FIFA welcomed the update from UEFA in a statement, adding it “strongly believes that football has the power to unite, even in challenging circumstances, and looks forward to welcoming all teams and players to Poland.”

Infantino infuriated soccer leaders worldwide last month when his plan for a $20 billion subsidiary controlling FIFA commercial rights including the World Cup was revealed by British daily The Times.

The spinoff was to be 20% owned by investors led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner, whose initial money was to pay offers of $20 million to each of FIFA's 211 member federations. They were given a mid-September deadline to accept.

The FIFA president dropped his proposal within four days amid a furious backlash led by UEFA, including the boycott threat, with support from the Asian Football Confederation and North American soccer body CONCACAF. The furor was fueled by criticism of the plan and of Infantino from senior FIFA officials.

UEFA then said it wanted assurances the spinoff, to be called FIFA Forward Enterprise, would not be presented in a different form. That assurance was now received, the person told the AP.

The European soccer body said Aug. 1 it had no confidence in Infantino’s leadership in a clear signal it would try to stop his reelection in March next year.

The next set of FIFA competition games in Europe after the Under-20s event is qualifying playoffs for the 2027 Women's World Cup scheduled Oct. 9-13. Qualifying games for the next men's World Cup do not start until 2029.

FIFA election timetable

FIFA previously set a Nov. 18 deadline for candidates to enter the presidential contest, four months ahead of the vote by 211 member federations in Rabat, Morocco.

Infantino had seemed sure to be reelected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031 until the turmoil created by his investor plan.

The 55 UEFA member federations are attending the meeting in Monaco four weeks after they united in an online call to agree the threatened boycott.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The sisters will play doubles at the tournament after receiving a wild card Wednesday into the event they won twice.

Serena Williams returned to tennis this summer after a four-year absence, and the sisters were set to play at Wimbledon before Serena had to withdraw after injuring her knee in her singles loss. They played in the Cincinnati Open, losing in the first round.

The Williams sisters won the 1999 and 2009 U.S. Open doubles titles and are 27-7 in their nine appearances. They last played in 2022, losing in the first round in what was expected to be Serena's final match in Flushing Meadows.

Serena, 44, played with Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles Tuesday, winning one match before losing in the quarterfinals. Venus, 46, is entered in the women's singles event.

The Williams sisters teamed to win 14 Grand Slam doubles titles along with Olympic gold medals in 2000, 2008 and 2012. They shared the No. 1 ranking in women's doubles for eight weeks.

Serena opted not to compete in singles at the U.S. Open, where she won six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles. But she felt good enough to accept wild cards into both doubles events.

She and Venus won their first U.S. Open doubles title the same year the younger Williams won her first singles championship there. The height of their dominance as a team would come about a decade later.

They won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2009, before picking up their second title in Flushing Meadows later that summer. They won in Australia again in 2010 and then picked up the French Open title, making the sisters the holders of all four major trophies at the time.

The first round of the women's doubles tournament begins Sept. 3.

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See AP’s full tennis coverage here

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The U.S. Secret Service and Homestead Police Department are searching South Florida businesses for card skimmers — devices designed to steal information from credit and debit cards.

Local 10’s Jolena Esperto joined authorities during an operation targeting the devices and learned how quickly criminals can install them.

Surveillance video from businesses in Homestead and West Miami showed men using a silver pan to obstruct the view of employees while allegedly tampering with payment terminals.

At Mexico Market in Homestead, manager Sergio Carballo said employees once caught suspects attempting to tamper with a machine.

“One of them talked to the cashier,” Carballo said. “He tells her, ‘Show me one of those medicines.’ He holds the pan right in front of the machine, while other one is right here doing his thing.”

Carballo said an employee noticed something was wrong.

“We closed the register right away,” he said. “I had to compare with this one because you really can’t tell.”

Skimming devices can be made to look nearly identical to legitimate payment terminals and placed directly over the existing keypad or card reader, making them difficult for customers and employees to detect.

Once installed, the devices can capture information from cards that are swiped or inserted.

During the operation, authorities inspected payment terminals at several Dollar General and Dollar Tree locations, along with smaller businesses such as Mexico Market.

Skimmers are not limited to store checkout counters. A Local 10 employee previously used a gas pump that was later found to have a skimming device attached to it.

Stores that accept Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, cards are also targets, according to authorities.

Jason Harris with the U.S. Secret Service said when criminals steal government benefits through skimming, the financial impact can extend beyond the individual victim.

“It’s money that the government has given as benefits, but those funds are fraudulently diverted to the criminals,” Harris said. “It means it’s costing taxpayer dollars because government has to reimburse those people for the funds lost.”

While accompanying investigators, Local 10 spoke with Betty Coats as she shopped at a Dollar General.

Coats said she has experienced credit card fraud and believes a skimmer may have been responsible.

“You have to go through a lot of work when you have credit card fraud,” Coats said. “You have to go through so many channels just to get your identity.”

She said the experience changed the way she pays for purchases. Coats now tries to use cash or tap-to-pay rather than inserting or swiping her card.

The Secret Service and local law enforcement continue working to identify and remove skimming devices before more consumers — and taxpayers — become victims.

El Servicio Secreto de Estados Unidos y el Departamento de Policía de Homestead están buscando clonadores de tarjetas en negocios del sur de Florida, dispositivos diseñados para robar información de tarjetas de crédito y débito.

Jolena Esperto, de Local 10, acompañó a las autoridades durante un operativo dirigido a estos dispositivos y descubrió la rapidez con la que los delincuentes pueden instalarlos.

Videos de vigilancia de negocios en Homestead y West Miami mostraron a hombres usando una bandeja plateada para obstruir la vista de los empleados mientras presuntamente manipulaban terminales de pago.

En Mexico Market en Homestead, el gerente Sergio Carballo dijo que empleados sorprendieron en una ocasión a sospechosos intentando manipular una máquina.

“Uno de ellos habló con la cajera”, dijo Carballo. “Él le dice: ‘Muéstrame una de esas medicinas’. Sostiene la bandeja justo frente a la máquina, mientras el otro está aquí haciendo lo suyo”.

Carballo dijo que un empleado notó que algo estaba mal.

“Cerramos la caja de inmediato”, dijo. “Tuve que compararla con esta porque realmente no se puede notar la diferencia”.

Los dispositivos para clonar tarjetas pueden fabricarse para parecer casi idénticos a las terminales de pago legítimas y colocarse directamente sobre el teclado o lector de tarjetas existente, lo que dificulta que clientes y empleados los detecten.

Una vez instalados, los dispositivos pueden capturar información de las tarjetas que se deslizan o insertan.

Durante el operativo, las autoridades inspeccionaron terminales de pago en varias tiendas Dollar General y Dollar Tree, junto con negocios más pequeños como Mexico Market.

Los clonadores de tarjetas no se limitan a las cajas registradoras de las tiendas. Un empleado de Local 10 utilizó anteriormente una bomba de gasolina en la que posteriormente se descubrió un dispositivo para clonar tarjetas.

Las tiendas que aceptan tarjetas de Transferencia Electrónica de Beneficios, o EBT, también son blanco de estos delincuentes, según las autoridades.

Jason Harris, del Servicio Secreto de Estados Unidos, dijo que cuando los delincuentes roban beneficios del gobierno mediante la clonación de tarjetas, el impacto financiero puede extenderse más allá de la víctima individual.

“Es dinero que el gobierno ha otorgado como beneficios, pero esos fondos son desviados fraudulentamente a los delincuentes”, dijo Harris. “Significa que está costando dinero a los contribuyentes porque el gobierno tiene que reembolsar a esas personas los fondos perdidos”.

Mientras acompañaba a los investigadores, Local 10 habló con Betty Coats mientras hacía compras en una tienda Dollar General.

Coats dijo que ha sido víctima de fraude con tarjetas de crédito y cree que un clonador de tarjetas pudo haber sido el responsable.

“Hay que pasar por mucho trabajo cuando se es víctima de fraude con tarjetas de crédito”, dijo Coats. “Hay que pasar por muchos procesos solo para recuperar la identidad”.

Dijo que la experiencia cambió la manera en que paga sus compras. Coats ahora intenta usar efectivo o pagos sin contacto en lugar de insertar o deslizar su tarjeta.

El Servicio Secreto y las autoridades locales continúan trabajando para identificar y retirar dispositivos para clonar tarjetas antes de que más consumidores, y contribuyentes, se conviertan en víctimas.

Storm systems are named by procedures set by the World Meteorological Organization, and the lists of names are reused every six years. For the Atlantic region, the lists are alphabetical and alternate male and female names.

This season started with Tropical Storm Arthur coming ashore on the U.S. Gulf Coast in June, and Tropical Storm Bertha dumped rain in Louisiana and Texas in July. Tropical Storm Cristobal formed and quickly dissipated in the Atlantic earlier in August.

The National Hurricane Center was monitoring a weather system off Africa that may strengthen into a named tropical storm.

Conditions were somewhat favorable for the area of thunderstorms south of the Cabo Verde Islands to become a tropical depression sometime in the next week, forecasters at the Miami-based center said early Wednesday.

If it further develops, with maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph (63 kph), the system would be named Tropical Storm Dolly.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast a below-average Atlantic hurricane season due to El Nino. It forecast eight to 14 named storms, with three to six of them reaching hurricane strength and one to three of those intensifying to major hurricanes.

The NHC and other weather agencies name storms to easily communicate warnings about them to people and to avoid confusion. The WMO says names are chosen to be short, easy to pronounce and familiar to the regions of the world where the storm names are used. It meets regularly to evaluate potential names, and some names are retired for reasons of sensitivity, particularly for deadly or destructive storms.

One name from the 2025 season was retired, Melissa, which was a Category 5 hurricane that brought devastation to the Caribbean.

La policía de Miramar detuvo al agente Isaiah Williams por múltiples cargos, entre ellos agresión doméstica por estrangulamiento y robo mediante arrebato con un arma de fuego. Posteriormente, BSO suspendió sin sueldo al hombre de 27 años.

La policía de Miramar dijo que respondió a un complejo de apartamentos en Southwest 45th Court, cerca de Red Road, alrededor de las 2 a.m. del lunes. Indicaron que para cuando llegaron, Williams ya se había marchado.

Según el informe de arresto, un amigo dejó a la víctima en la vivienda de Miramar que compartía con Williams. Ella dijo a la policía que Williams estaba molesto, la insultó y la golpeó, provocando que cayera por las escaleras.

“El acusado estaba encima de ella, donde le dio un puñetazo en el rostro con el puño cerrado”, señala el informe. “Cuando la víctima se dio vuelta para protegerse el rostro, el acusado le dio un puñetazo en la parte posterior de la cabeza y le jaló el cabello. La víctima declaró que el acusado puso su mano derecha debajo de su cuello y apretó, luego la levantó del suelo por el cuello”.

Ella se defendió y dijo a la policía que Williams amenazó con matarla y que tomó su arma de su bolso, según el informe.

Ambos forcejearon por el arma antes de que Williams se la arrebatara y huyera, dijo la policía.

Las autoridades dijeron que la víctima resultó herida, con una cortada en el labio, un moretón en la nariz y rasguños en el cuello.

Williams se entregó el lunes por la tarde y compareció ante un juez de fianzas el martes.

Llevaba puesto un chaleco antisuicidio. Un juez fijó su fianza en $47,500 USD y le ordenó no tener contacto con la víctima, entregar sus armas y usar un monitor GPS.

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The move could impact up to 200,000 people, raising questions about what happens to those with asylum cases already pending.

“What the administration is trying to propose is to revoke anyone that came in under a B1, B2 visa and later for an asylum application,” said immigration attorney Maria Vivanco.

In the coming weeks, the U.S. State Department is expected to announce the revocation of those so-called B1 and B2 visas that were issued between 2016 and 2026, whose holders sought asylum or are now seeking asylum, according to new reporting from the Associated Press, which obtained State Department documents and spoke to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

“There are many aspects of why someone is filing an asylum application, but the main takeaway is that they’re filing to become refugees of the United States and not go back to their home country, which is the main intent of the B1 and B2 visa,” said Vivanco.

A State Department spokesperson said it’s working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke the visas.

Since President Donald Trump took office for his second term, his administration has ramped up restrictions on visa applications.

Legal experts say the revocations would not necessarily result in immediate deportation.

“Just make sure you have copies of everything you filed,” said Vivanco. “Copies of the actual application and you make sure you have those documents with you.”

If this happens, it would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history, but it will also likely face legal challenges.

La medida podría afectar hasta a 200,000 personas, lo que genera interrogantes sobre qué sucederá con quienes ya tienen casos de asilo pendientes.

“Lo que la administración está tratando de proponer es revocar la visa de cualquier persona que haya ingresado con una visa B1 o B2 y posteriormente haya presentado una solicitud de asilo”, dijo la abogada de inmigración Maria Vivanco.

En las próximas semanas, se espera que el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. anuncie la revocación de esas denominadas visas B1 y B2 que fueron emitidas entre 2016 y 2026, cuyos titulares solicitaron asilo o están solicitando asilo actualmente, según un nuevo reporte de The Associated Press, que obtuvo documentos del Departamento de Estado y habló con dos funcionarios estadounidenses familiarizados con el asunto.

“Hay muchos motivos por los que alguien presenta una solicitud de asilo, pero el punto principal es que están solicitando convertirse en refugiados de Estados Unidos y no regresar a su país de origen, lo cual es la intención principal de la visa B1 y B2”, dijo Vivanco.

Un portavoz del Departamento de Estado dijo que está trabajando con el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional para identificar y revocar las visas.

Desde que el presidente Donald Trump asumió el cargo para su segundo mandato, su administración ha intensificado las restricciones sobre las solicitudes de visas.

Expertos legales dicen que las revocaciones no necesariamente resultarían en una deportación inmediata.

“Solo asegúrese de tener copias de todo lo que presentó”, dijo Vivanco. “Copias de la solicitud en sí y asegúrese de tener esos documentos con usted”.

Si esto sucede, sería la mayor revocación masiva de visas de una sola vez en la historia de Estados Unidos, pero probablemente también enfrentará impugnaciones legales.

Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday, before the jury begins deliberating.

Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, with her lawyers arguing she was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she killed 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy at the family’s home in coastal Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023. The rare mental illness is linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Prosecutors say Clancy planned the killings and understood her actions were wrong.

Clancy did not testify during the trial, which is in its fifth week. The defense called 10 witnesses, including some of Clancy's friends and relatives, while prosecutors called more than 70 witnesses, including her then-husband.

Testifying as the final rebuttal witness for the prosecution, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of Virginia and a senior psychiatrist for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit said Wednesday that he did not believe Clancy’s account that a voice ordered her to kill the children.

Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague asked Dr. Gregory Saathoff a series of questions about Clancy's account: Did the voice tell her where to kill the children? How to kill them? What to use? In what order? Saathoff answered no each time.

“Having no instructions as to how to do it, but being able to execute those decisions … that is surprising that she’s able to accomplish all of this without any other kind of direction or plan,” he said.

All three children were strangled with exercise bands in the family's basement before Clancy tried to kill herself while her husband was getting takeout and at a pharmacy on Jan. 24, 2023. Saathoff said her ability to accomplish everything she did without direction indicated Clancy “had control, control of the sequence of what she was doing throughout.”

“In the small amount of time that Miss Clancy had in the home without her husband, it was important, in order to carry this out, as well as her suicide, to do this quickly, methodically, and alike,” he said.

On Tuesday, Saathoff said he found it unusual that Clancy said the voice stopped once she was done strangling the children, that the voice was constant rather than intermittent and that she never previously reported hearing a voice to her medical providers. She also gave a different timeline to other evaluators about when she first heard the voice that day, he said.

“Committing the act is not curative of the voice,” Saathoff said of the voice stopping abruptly. “I’ve not ever seen that.”

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington began his cross-examination of Saathoff on Wednesday by trying to cast doubt on Saathoff’s expertise in postpartum psychosis and portray him as someone closely aligned with law enforcement, questioning him about his work with prisons, the Justice Department and the Virginia attorney general’s office.

Saathoff testified that he treated women with postpartum psychosis while working at a state hospital in the 1980s and 1990s, while much of his more recent research has focused on such subjects as extremist violence, national security and political radicalization.

Reddington also asked Saathoff about Clancy’s attempts to search online for information about postpartum depression, her visits to multiple maternal and mental health providers, disclosures to her mother and then-husband that she was suicidal and feared that she would harm her children, and calls to a suicide hotline — all attempts that Reddington contended establish Clancy realized something was seriously wrong and made a sincere effort over time to get help.

Reddington asked whether Saathoff believes that Clancy decided to kill her children because she “no longer liked the life she thought she wanted” and was making “a selfish choice” to “manipulate her providers, seek out a quick and easy fix when she was feeling depressed and anxious.”

“I think that statement that you read really minimizes what she was going through,” Saathoff responded.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the team had not revealed the extent of the injury.

Austin went down without contact during a 1-on-1 drill at training camp on Tuesday and was carted off the field. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said after practice that he feared the worst.

The 27-year-old Austin was having a strong camp and preseason and looked to be carving out a substantial role for himself in the Giants’ offense. He made two catches for 24 yards in exhibition play last week at Miami and had been one of quarterback Jaxson Dart's most popular targets during team periods of practice.

Austin's absence opens the door for a handful of players to earn a spot on the 53-man roster at a crowded position behind Malik Nabers, who is coming off his own ACL injury and is trending toward playing Sept. 13 against Dallas. Darnell Mooney, Braxton Berrios and Odell Beckham Jr. are among the free agents brought in at receiver, and rookie Malachi Fields has shown flashes that he can already contribute in the NFL.

Signed to a $1.5 million contract for this season, Austin had 89 catches for 1,140 yards and nine touchdowns in 51 games, counting the playoffs, over his first three seasons in the league, all with Pittsburgh.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The settlement resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook young people’s attention.

“For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health," Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said. The settlement "will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm.”

If approved by the court, the deal will stop an avalanche of litigation by states against Meta, although the company still faces lawsuits from individuals and school districts across the U.S. For the states, the settlement delivers money for programs to benefit kids’ mental health, including after-school or summer activities and digital literacy counselors.

Advocates cheered the new protections, including default time limits and the disabling of features such as “like” counts.

But “we cannot truly protect all children and teens until these protections are required on every platform and are permanent – that’s something only Congress can do,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the money would be paid out over 10 years, with the state getting at least $1.5 billion. New Jersey expects to receive at least $525 million. Massachusetts said it was in line for at least $366 million. Virginia's share is worth $353 million.

Meta urges rivals to adopt similar safety measures

Meta said in a blog post that it was “building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.”

“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard."

The company urged rivals TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safety measures.

The $17 billion settlement is a fraction of Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion.

The agreement cuts short an ongoing court case involving California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, which were among 29 states that sued Meta in 2023. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was among those expected to take the stand before a jury in federal court in California.

The lawsuit accused Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms and hiding them from the public. The case also argued that Meta violated federal laws by routinely collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent.

The trial kicked off last week in Oakland, California, with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers overseeing the proceedings. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, began his testimony late Tuesday and defended Meta’s record and progress on child safety and privacy.

The cases in other states had been expected to go to trial later. In addition, nine attorneys general filed lawsuits in their respective states.

New features to include time limits and curbs on push notifications

Under the proposed settlement, Meta agreed to adopt a series of safety features, including a “hard cap” on daily time limits and pauses for children using Instagram and Facebook.

It will eliminate push notifications during weekday school hours and bring in “robust” age-assurance measures and “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm.

There will be stronger and more user-friendly parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as “like” counts.

An independent auditor will assess how Meta is implementing the safety features and how effective they are.

Meta put the settlement at $18 billion, a figure that apparently includes a large award for Texas.

The company said 30% of that amount — about $5.3 billion — will be released to states only if rivals YouTube and TikTok meet two conditions: implementing similar safety features, including a one-hour daily time limit, a nighttime block and age-assurance measures; and paying the same amount, split between the two companies.

Neither YouTube owner Google nor TikTok responded immediately to requests for comments.

Investigation was led by bipartisan coalition

The federal lawsuit was the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. It followed newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, that found that the company knew about the harm Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues.

Meta has since added a host of safety features to Instagram, including separate accounts for teenagers with stronger protections around messaging and privacy, along with content restrictions.

But child safety experts, along with some former Meta employees, have long contended that the features are little more than window dressing.

Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director, said during his testimony last week that Meta consistently prioritized profits over safety in designing its products, focusing on how often and for how long people used them, even if it was detrimental to their mental well-being.

“If you step away from the product, they are not going to make any money,” he said.

While the four states in the Oakland trial did not officially say how much they had been seeking, Meta said in a court filing that financial penalties in the case could amount to as much as $1.4 trillion — a figure legal experts said was unlikely, if not impossible.

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Chan reported from London. Associated Press Writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, and Wyatte Grantham-Philips in Chicago contributed to this report.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade dijeron que acudieron al Krome Service Processing Center, ubicado en 18201 SW 12th St., la tarde del lunes después de recibir un reporte sobre el robo.

Un reporte de arresto de MDSO indica que, mientras miembros del personal preparaban documentos de deportación, el detenido les dijo que le faltaban $5,382 USD.

Las autoridades indicaron que revisaron imágenes de vigilancia que mostraban a Matthew Christian Torres, un guardia de seguridad de 31 años empleado por Akima Protective Services, colocando el dinero del hombre dentro de un libro de registro, sin registrarlo y, en cambio, “ocultando el dinero dentro de su chaqueta negra y entrando a un baño de empleados”.

“(Torres) luego regresa al área común de pertenencias y saca de la parte interior del área del pecho la bolsa de plástico transparente que contenía el dinero”, escribió un agente en el reporte al describir el video. “(Él) luego coloca el dinero dentro del bolsillo derecho de un pantalón cargo beige. Cabe señalar que (Torres) nunca informó a un supervisor sobre el dinero perteneciente a la víctima”.

Los agentes arrestaron a Torres, de Palmetto Bay, por un cargo de hurto mayor de tercer grado.

Hasta la mañana del martes, Torres permanecía detenido en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center con una fianza de $2,500 USD.

Local 10 News se comunicó con ICE y Akima para solicitar comentarios sobre el caso.

“ICE toma muy en serio las acusaciones de conducta indebida. Exigimos a nuestro personal y contratistas los más altos estándares de conducta profesional y ética. Cuando recibimos una queja, investigamos el asunto exhaustivamente para determinar su veracidad y garantizar el estricto cumplimiento de los estándares integrales que ICE debe seguir conforme a diversas normas nacionales de detención.

“Las acusaciones de conducta indebida por parte de empleados o contratistas de ICE deben ser reportadas a la Oficina del Inspector General del DHS al 800-323-8603, a la Oficina de Responsabilidad Profesional de ICE al 833-442-3677 o a ICEOPRIntake@ice.dhs.gov, un buzón electrónico monitoreado. ICE recomienda reportar las quejas sobre centros de detención a la Línea de Información y Reportes de Detención al 888-351-4024, un servicio gratuito con operadores capacitados para ayudar con una amplia variedad de temas. También hay asistencia lingüística disponible.”

Portavoz de ICE

That's nearly double its valuation from a year ago, when the league closed a Series B funding round. Unrivaled also announced that the portion of the company owned by its players is valued at nearly $200 million. The league said the player equity pool has increased 550% since it was launched.

Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said the Series C funding is more than all of the league’s other funding combined. It will help strengthen the league, which will begin its third season this winter.

“This raise reflects the confidence investors have in what we set out to build at Unrivaled: a league where the best players in the world have a real stake in the value they create,” Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart said. “Moving forward, this investment gives us even more resources to support our players, elevate the experience for fans, and grow a league that is shaping the future of women’s basketball.”

Ten Pillar Sports Fund, backed by UC Investments, led the Series C raise, which was oversubscribed. It passed the league's initial $100 million target.

“The moment for women’s sports is here,” said Jagdeep Singh Bachher, UC Investments’ chief investment officer. “Young people get it. We get it. Anyone who’s watched Unrivaled knows this game is every bit as thrilling as any other sport out there. We’re excited to help propel that momentum forward.”

Unrivaled, which has eight teams and plays most of its games at a 1,000-seat arena in Miami, had two sold-out tour stops in New York and Philadelphia last year. The league is planning eight tour stops in 2027.

The season will tip off in early January. Unrivaled has a six-year media rights deal with TNT. League ratings were down last season, when Unrivaled went up against the Milan Cortina Olympics and the College Football Playoff.

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Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said they were called out to the Krome North Service Processing Center, located at 18201 SW 12th St., on Monday afternoon after receiving a report about the theft.

An MDSO arrest report states that while staff members were preparing deportation documents, the detainee told them that he was missing $5,382.

Authorities said they reviewed surveillance footage that showed Matthew Christian Torres, a 31-year-old security guard employed by Akima Protective Services, placing the man’s money inside a log book, never logging it and instead “concealing the money inside his black jacket and enter(ing) a employee restroom.”

“(Torres) then returns to the property common area and removes the clear plastic bag containing the money from the inside of his chest area,” a deputy wrote in the report, describing the video. “(He) then places the money inside the right pocket in beige cargo pants. It should be noted that (Torres) never advised a supervisor of the money belonging to the victim.”

Deputies took Torres, of Palmetto Bay, into custody on a third-degree grand theft charge.

As of Tuesday morning, Torres was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,500 bond.

Local 10 News contacted ICE and Akima seeking comment on the case. Akima had not responded to our request at the time of publication.

“ICE takes allegations of misconduct very seriously. We hold our personnel and contractors to the highest standards of professional and ethical behavior. When we receive a complaint, we investigate the matter thoroughly to determine its veracity, and to ensure strict compliance with the comprehensive standards that ICE is required to follow under various national detention standards.

“Allegations of ICE employee or contractor misconduct must be reported to the DHS Office of Inspector General at 800-323-8603 or the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility at 833-442-3677 or ICEOPRIntake@ice.dhs.gov, a monitored electronic mailbox. ICE encourages reporting detention facility complaints to the Detention Reporting and Information Line at 888-351-4024, a toll-free service with trained operators to help on a wide range of topics. Language assistance is also available.”

ICE spokesperson

Los sistemas de tormentas se nombran mediante procedimientos establecidos por la Organización Meteorológica Mundial (OMM), y las listas de nombres se reutilizan cada seis años. Para la región del Atlántico, las listas son alfabéticas y alternan nombres masculinos y femeninos.

Esta temporada comenzó con la tormenta tropical Arthur, que tocó tierra en la costa del Golfo de Estados Unidos en junio, y la tormenta tropical Bertha dejó lluvias en Luisiana y Texas en julio. La tormenta tropical Cristobal se formó y se disipó rápidamente en el Atlántico a principios de agosto.

El Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC) de Estados Unidos estaba monitoreando un sistema meteorológico frente a África que podría fortalecerse hasta convertirse en una tormenta tropical con nombre.

Los pronosticadores del centro de huracanes con sede en Miami indicaron a primera hora del miércoles que las condiciones eran algo favorables para que el área de tormentas eléctricas al sur de las islas de Cabo Verde se convierta en una depresión tropical en algún momento de la próxima semana.

Si se desarrolla más, con vientos máximos sostenidos de al menos 63 km/h (39 mph), el sistema se llamará tormenta tropical Dolly.

La Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos (NOAA) ha pronosticado una temporada de huracanes en el Atlántico por debajo del promedio debido a El Niño. Pronosticó entre ocho y 14 tormentas con nombre, con tres a seis de ellas que podrían alcanzar fuerza de huracán y de una a tres de esas podrían intensificarse hasta convertirse en huracanes mayores, es decir categoría 3 o más.

El NHC y otras agencias meteorológicas nombran las tormentas para comunicar con facilidad las advertencias sobre ellas a la población y evitar confusiones. La OMM señala que los nombres se eligen para que sean cortos, fáciles de pronunciar y familiares para las regiones del mundo donde se usan los nombres de tormentas. Se reúne con regularidad para evaluar posibles nombres, y algunos se retiran por razones de sensibilidad, en particular en el caso de tormentas mortales o destructivas.

El nombre Melissa se retiró de la temporada 2025, que fue un huracán de categoría 5 que causó devastación en el Caribe.

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

The federal approval is notable because President Donald Trump has created massive hurdles for clean energy, particularly offshore wind. His government has implemented policies that slow energy permitting and development, canceled billions in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects and spent nearly $4 billion to buy back leases to stop offshore wind projects. But Trump officials see promise in harnessing the power of the ocean's waves.

Companies can now bring wave energy technologies off the coast of Oregon to PacWave South to test their ability to generate power in the open ocean and deliver it to the local grid. The goal is to advance an industry that's still in its infancy but has enormous potential for cleanly generating large amounts of electricity.

Oregon State University developed the test facility. After Trump returned to office in 2025, PacWave had to pass a “go/no-go” review at the Energy Department that required approval by the energy secretary to open, PacWave Director Dan Hellin said. Hellin said the approval came through last summer and they connected to the grid this summer.

But the facility has yet to generate any electricity because no wave energy devices have arrived, with developers facing delays in federal funding.

Marine energy refers to power generated from tides, currents or waves

The Department of Energy has invested nearly $150 million since 2016 in the facility's siting and construction costs. The university is marking the facility’s opening Thursday in an invitation-only event.

Bringing PacWave South online will help streamline the testing and permitting process that has held back marine energy for decades, an Energy Department spokesperson said in a statement.

Burning coal, oil and natural gas for electricity emits carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere and warming the planet. By contrast, marine energy is carbon-free.

It has the potential to power about 57% of U.S. electrical needs, according to federal estimates. The Energy Department says that even if only a small portion of this is captured, marine energy technologies would make significant contributions to America’s energy system.

The department also says the wave energy devices that will be tested at the PacWave site can enhance national security, in contrast to its characterization of wind energy. The administration has worked to stop offshore wind development on the grounds that it’s a national security risk since late last year.

The Energy Department said that technologies that convert wave energy to electricity are “uniquely suited to provide power sources for national security applications.” Those could include remote sensors, autonomous underwater vehicles and other equipment that requires persistent, low-visibility power in remote and sensitive offshore and coastal environments, as well as power resiliency for forward military bases.

Developers can bring several types of wave energy converters there

The PacWave South site in Oregon isn’t the first grid-connected wave energy test site in the nation — the U.S. Navy has one in Hawaii — but it's the first to be connected to the continental U.S. grid. It's also “pre-permitted,” which means developers can bring several types of wave energy converters there without having to acquire permits on their own for testing, saving them time and money. Those include point absorbers, oscillating water columns and attenuators.

“When you’re developing this technology, ultimately you have to get to that stage of full-scale open water testing, connected to the grid. And that’s the real bottleneck for the global industry, the fact that there’s very few facilities like this,” Hellin said.

A point absorber is the most common type. These buoy-like devices move up and down, converting the motion of waves into electricity. An oscillating water column uses the rise and fall of waves to push and pull air through a turbine to generate electricity. An attenuator is a long, floating device. As its sections flex with the motion of the waves, that movement is converted into electricity. These devices use subsea cables to connect to the grid to supply that electricity to shore.

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Years ago, a young Cuban man sat one morning in the famous Malecon of Havana, looking at the ocean and said to himself “Either they kill me or I will kill myself,” feeling the frustration of living and surviving each day in Cuba.

On July 11, 2021, many young Cubans took to the streets of the island nation after years of frustration to protest the living conditions they faced each day. There were many expectations that change was not far away. As a result, many of the protesters were thrown in jail or kicked out of the country.

Five years later, with the many sanctions that have been placed by the U.S. on the Cuban government and their leaders, many of these same youngsters felt the end of the regime was near. In South Florida, the feeling was mutual. Politicians in South Florida said the regime would fall by the end of 2026. Now the same politicians say that Cubans on the island and Miami need to be patient. Change could come by 2029.

For many young Cubans on the island, time has run out. There is no more waiting. No more suffering. No more empty promises. Many of them have started to leave Cuba to anywhere around the world. For Cuban-Americans in South Florida, it is just one more disappointment.

Aug. 25: What will happen when Raul Castro dies?

Washington, D.C. keeps sanctioning the Cuban government and members of the elite. The Cuban government has shown their capability to survive at the cost of the Cuban people. The question I ask myself is what will happen when Raul Castro dies?

Will those Cuban military officers that have not benefited from the economic corruption within the government be willing to support someone Castro picks to succeed him? Or will they challenge the new leadership?

Aug. 21: CEPAL releases economic performance indicators for 2026, predicting Cuba’s economy will slow down 10.3%

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) just came out with their economic performance indicators for 2026. It predicts that Cuba’s economy will slow down 10.3%, which is the worse performance in all of Latin America.

How much more will the Cuban people be able to take is anybody’s guess.

Aug. 20: Cuba’s president says health system on verge of total collapse

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel admitted earlier this week that the health system, one of the so-called “great accomplishments” of the Cuban revolution, is on the verge of total collapse. There are thousands of Cubans on the island waiting for surgeries that cannot be performed due to the lack of doctors, medicines, equipment and poor hospital conditions.

For years, Cuba has been sending medical brigades around the world to help pay-off their debt and export the ideals of their revolution. The U.S. government has accused Cuba of human trafficking for these actions.

Aug. 18: Trump’s Cuba strategy: Is there really a plan?

Does the Trump administration really have a plan for Cuba?

After months of rhetorical back-and-forth, you begin to wonder whether the Trump administration really knows what to do with Cuba. We keep hearing that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given the responsibility to deal with Cuba and the rest of Latin America, which he knows extremely well. But from what I hear, White House senior staff keeps getting in the way.

Continuing to sanction operations and individuals in Cuba will not bring down the government. Now we hear from Secretary Rubio and members of our Cuban-American congressional delegation that the target date has been moved back, and they hope that by 2029, changes in Cuba will have taken place, which is absolutely ridiculous.

Aug. 14: Cuba turns to global investors as US sanctions and property claims raise risks

The Cuban government has realized that efforts to attract investment from U.S. and Cuban-American businesses have largely failed because of the many sanctions imposed by the United States and the fact that the risks still outweigh the opportunities.

However, the Cuban government is trying very hard to attract companies from around the world to take over many operations and businesses in Cuba. With many European hoteliers and other companies having recently left Cuba, it will still be a challenge to attract new investors.

One thing these companies should keep in mind before starting operations in Cuba is that they could be operating in properties that were confiscated by the Cuban government in the early 1960s. They could potentially face legal challenges in the future as a result.

For American companies alone, there are 5,913 businesses and properties that were confiscated and registered with the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Aug. 13: Fidel Castro’s 100th birthday prompts reflection on his legacy in Cuba

Thursday marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Fidel Castro, a man whose narcissistic personality took control of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959. He made promises to the Cuban people that he later betrayed for his own selfish ambitions and thirst for power.

At his trial on Oct. 16, 1953, following the failed attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, he famously said, “History will absolve me.”

In the end, history will judge him as a ruthless dictator who destroyed Cuba, impoverished its people and inflicted tremendous suffering on an entire nation.

Aug. 12: Cuba poses a tough foreign policy challenge for Rubio

“Who is on first, what is on second, I don’t know is on third.”

The famous comedy routine by Abbott and Costello can be compared to the Trump administration’s foreign policy strategies these days. Diplomatic negotiations are complex and complicated, especially when dealing with countries, governments, and individuals with whom the United States has not had good relationships.

Reliable sources tell me there are tremendous differences between the staffs at the White House and the Department of State over how to handle negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia, Israel-Gaza, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. It does not help when those negotiating on behalf of the United States have limited to no diplomatic experience.

For now, let’s stay within the area of expertise: Cuba. While President Trump thinks Cuba can be resolved in two months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio knows very well, as does his senior staff, that negotiating with Cuba is not easy.

The Cuban government is willing to continue introducing cosmetic changes to its moribund economy without relinquishing political control. The United States can continue to sanction everyone on the island, and the Cuban government could not care less. All the while, the people of Cuba continue to suffer tremendous hardships. Yet the people are unlikely to turn against the government. The consequence of doing so can mean spending years in jail.

Meanwhile, in Miami, the guessing game continues over who will replace Raúl Castro when he dies, along with preparations for possible transition plans for Cuba. A transition to a democratic system of government in Cuba will take time. A civil society cannot be built overnight. It is also important to remember that Cuba did not have a democratic government before 1959.

For Rubio, expectations from the Cuban American community are high. Yet most in the community understand that it will not be easy to get the Cuban government to make political changes short of a U.S. military invasion. However, Rubio needs a win, especially if he is considering another presidential run. The failures of the Trump administration’s foreign policies around the world could affect Rubio’s future presidential campaign.

So, what will be Rubio’s next step on Cuba? The clock is ticking.

Aug. 10: Will the cat catch the mouse this time?

While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to put pressure on the Cuban government to change, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel went on Cuban television this past weekend and announced to the Cuban people that the government was making major “transformational changes” to the economy.

Díaz-Canel also told the Cuban people that it would take time and patience -- two things the Cuban people do not have anymore. Díaz-Canel went on to say that the benefits of these changes will begin to show by 2029.

Sources in Washington, D.C. have told me that the Trump administration is looking to see if there is someone in the Cuban government, like Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela, to hand over Raul Castro or even take over the current government and be willing to negotiate with the U.S.

The Miami Herald reported this weekend that General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, currently the Cuban Minister of the Interior, may be acceptable to the U.S. General Casas is considered a hardliner and therefore unlikely to break with the Cuban leadership.

As I have said before, the case of Venezuela is quite different than Cuba. While Raul Castro is alive, I believe the Cuban government will continue in power and make promises to the Cuban people they cannot keep.

Aug. 8: Cuban opposition leader says Cuba’s transformation must include those on the island

According to Cuban opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, any plans to transform Cuba must include Cubans on the island.

But do Cubans on the island have the capacity and capabilities to participate in such a process? After living for almost 68 years under a totalitarian system that has shaped the population’s personal values and attitudes, it could take time not only to change it but, more importantly, to sustain those changes.

Democracies are not built in one day. It will take time and patience. Let’s also remember that before the Cuban Revolution, Cuba had a dictatorship under Batista.

Aug 6: US announces new set of economic sanctions against Cuba; 2 of Cuba’s top generals also sanctioned

The U.S. State Department announced a new set of economic sanctions against Cuba on Thursday. At the same time, two of Cuba’s top generals were also sanctioned, Alvaro Lopez Miera, Minister of Defense; and General Roberto Sotolongo, head of the armed forces.

Aug. 5: CIA Task Force on Cuba created, per report

The New York Times has reported the creation of a CIA Task Force on Cuba with the purpose of putting additional pressure on the Cuban government to make political and economic changes to their system.

This news will probably be received by Cuba as an additional threat by the U.S.

Aug. 5: Cuban president confirms ongoing conservations between Havana, US

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed today that there are ongoing conversations between Havana and DC for the purpose of avoiding a military confrontation and trying to find solutions to the issues between both nations.

The Cuban government understands that they are running out of options and most likely will need to reach an agreement with the U.S. Will it include regime change?

Aug. 3 update: Rubio speaks about Cuba’s ongoing espionage activities in the US

This past weekend, in an interview with Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio spoke about Cuba’s ongoing espionage activities in the U.S.

Rubio went on to say that Cuban spies continue to infiltrate the U.S. government, financial institutions, organizations, and academic institutions. Rubio claimed that Cuba continues to be a national security threat to the U.S.

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

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was informed of the contacts that were "on the intelligence agencies’ level.”

“Of course, President Putin is immediately informed of everything,” Peskov added, refusing to say what was discussed.

Russian state news agencies reported that a U.S. military plane landed in Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Tuesday and departed later that day.

U.S. President Donald Trump played down the significance of Ratcliffe’s trip, saying it was “sort of semi-routine.”

“I hate to disappoint people,” he said on conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck's radio show Wednesday.

A senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that Washington informed Kyiv a delegation would be traveling to the Russian capital and asked it to suspend strikes until it left. The official said the request did not apply to all Russian territory, but specifically to Moscow, St. Petersburg and some northern regions. Strikes on other parts of Russia continued, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk publicly.

CBS News first reported on the visit.

Kremlin says US-Russia relations are in a ‘profound crisis’

Peskov said that “contacts between intelligence agencies are, in and of themselves, a positive phenomenon, a positive process,” but he stressed that Russia-U.S. relations remain in a “profound crisis.”

He added that it was “too early to say” what impact Ratcliffe's visit would have on the ties between the two countries.

Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russia’s security services, told AP that visits like the one by Ratcliffe do not “happen every year.”

Official channels of communication between Moscow and Washington have been kept alive since the 1980s and exist so both sides can talk if American or Russian lives are in danger or for other reasons, Soldatov said.

In 2021, Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Putin’s Security Council, met CIA Director William Burns in Moscow months before Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Burns later met Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, in Turkey in November 2022 to warn Russia not to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

Details of Tuesday’s discussions have not been revealed but such meetings normally take place only when there is a matter of pressing national security and when it is in “American national interests,” Soldatov said.

Russia-U.S. relations sank to Cold War lows after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but appeared to warm after Trump returned to office. He had promised to end the war swiftly, holding multiple phone calls with Putin and even hosting him in Alaska a year ago.

In his radio appearance Wednesday, Trump repeated that he wants to see the Russia-Ukraine war end.

Efforts to negotiate a peace deal have largely stalled, with U.S. attention turning to its war with Iran and both Moscow and Kyiv stepping up their long-range attacks on each other. Putin has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's push for an immediate ceasefire, arguing that Russia wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce.

Russia has proposed to mediate in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran, Moscow's important ally in the Middle East.

Russia and Iran have a partnership treaty

After Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Tehran provided Russia with Shahed drones and later licensed their production in Russia. In January 2025, Moscow and Tehran signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty. But even as it has built ties with Iran, Russia also has remained friendly with Israel, and analysts have described its relations with Iran as complex and challenging.

In March, AP reported that Russia provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.

Asked at the time whether Russia would go beyond political support and offer military assistance to Iran, Peskov said there has been no such request from Tehran. Pressed on whether Moscow provided any military or intelligence assistance to Tehran since the Iran war’s start, he refrained from comment.

Soldatov said it’s possible Tuesday's meeting involved protecting U.S. personnel, bases or facilities in the Middle East that have been targeted by Iran. Ratcliffe could have traveled to Moscow to try to influence this relationship, he added.

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Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Emma Burrows in London contributed.

This time, she is certain she will be back.

The 21-year-old from the San Francisco Bay area made history in February when she became the first American woman since Sarah Hughes in 2002 to stand atop the podium at the Winter Games. Liu also became the first women's skater to win two golds in the same Olympics when she was part of the U.S. squad that successfully defended its team gold medal.

It was a remarkable comeback for Liu, a one-time teen phenom who abruptly walked away from figure skating after the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Liu had become burned out by the grind of the sport and had no designs on ever returning to the ice.

Yet she returned in 2024 with a fresh, almost effervescent outlook on the sport, and it carried her all the way to the Olympic title.

“While people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season,” Liu wrote in an Instagram late Tuesday. "I always want to challenge myself in new ways, so my artistry & skating can evolve. It’s important to me that my sport reflects my personal growth. I’m gonna take the time to recalibrate, fine-tune things & whatnot.

“So fear not, I’ll be back, & in the meantime I’ll be rooting for my teammates near & far.”

It's not uncommon for figure skaters to take a season off following the Olympics. French skater Lorine Schild, for example, announced last week that she was taking a break “after an emotionally charged season and a few months off the ice.”

The figure skating season has already begun with some lower-tier events, but for marquee skaters such as Liu, the real competition begins with the first of the Grand Prix stops in late October in Angers, France. There are five other Grand Prix events before the Grand Prix Final, and the U.S. championships and the world championships take place early in the new year.

Liu is a two-time national champion but finished second to Amber Glenn the past two years. In 2025, she became the first U.S. woman to win a world title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006, though she skipped her defense earlier this year after her Olympic victory.

“Taking time so you can live life to the fullest and do things your way ... Love you girl,” Glenn wrote in reply to Liu's announcement.

Liu was scheduled to begin her season alongside Glenn at Skate America on Nov. 13 in Everett, Washington, and also compete with fellow Olympic teammate Isabeau Levito at the Finlandia Trophy the following week.

Sarah Everhardt will be the first American woman to compete in a Grand Prix event this season when she takes the ice at the Grand Prix de France. Levito is due to compete at Skate Canada the following week, while rising stars Alina Bonillo and Sophie Joline von Felten will make their highly anticipated Grand Prix debuts at the Cup of China the first weekend of November.

On the men's side, 21-year-old superstar Ilia Malinin is scheduled to compete alongside Jason Brown at Skate America and the NHK Trophy in Japan. He was heavily favored to win gold at the Milan Olympics — and did help the U.S. triumph in the team event — but endured a disastrous free skate that left him out of the medals entirely.

Malinin rebounded in March by winning his third consecutive world championship.

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See AP’s full sports coverage here

Stubbornly high prices are shaping up to be a key issue in the midterm elections, now just 10 weeks away, particularly as the Iran war keeps gas prices high, President Donald Trump is threatening new tariffs on Canada and China, and spending on AI infrastructure has pushed up the cost of computers, gaming consoles, and semiconductors.

Inflation remained high in July even as gas prices fell, partly because the cost of services, including health care, utilities, and financial services, jumped. Yet the government plans to change the way it calculates the cost of some services starting with next month's figures, which could lower measured inflation.

Inflation remains elevated and above the Federal Reserve's target

The Commerce Department’s Wednesday report showed that prices rose 3.7% in July compared with a year earlier, the same as June. Inflation has worsened since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, when it stood at 2.9%. It’s noticeably above the Fed’s target of 2%.

Wednesday's figures are from the personal consumption expenditures price index, a separate gauge from the more widely followed consumer price index, which was reported earlier this month. The PCE index is running hotter than the CPI, partly because it puts much less weight on rental costs, which have been cooling steadily in recent months.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation was also unchanged at 3.3% in July. It had fallen to 2.6% before President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April 2025.

On a monthly basis, overall prices rose 0.2% from June to July, after declining 0.1% the previous month and jumping 0.5% in May. Core prices also moved up 0.2% from June to July, up from 0.1% in the previous month. Some Fed officials have said that core inflation running at about 0.2% a month would be a reassuring sign that inflation is heading back to the 2% target.

The inflation gauge will be revised lower next month

Many economists have noted that the PCE index has been pushed higher by the way it calculates the cost of financial advice, as well as how it measures prices for software and computer accessories. When stock markets rise, that translates into bigger gains in what the government calls “portfolio management services.” Yet that measure doesn't always fully capture what Americans actually pay for financial services.

At the same time, the PCE also likely captures some business-related spending on software, even though it should only focus on consumer spending, analysts say.

As a result, the Commerce Department has said it plans to adjust those measurements, among others, starting next month. Economists, who largely agree with the changes, forecast that they will reduce annual PCE inflation by 0.2 percentage point or so.

Why do things still feel expensive?

Even as inflation has cooled from its post-pandemic highs — it topped 7% according to the Fed's preferred gauge in 2022 — consumer sentiment surveys show that most Americans are still gloomy about the economy and their finances.

A key reason is likely that inflation, even at lower levels, has eroded incomes. Wednesday's data show that compared with a year ago, inflation-adjusted incomes have risen just 0.2%, after several months of decline.

And gas prices have rebounded this month, which will likely push up inflation when the August figures are reported next month. Prices ticked up again overnight to $4.10 per gallon on average nationally, according to AAA.

Consumers did boost their spending at a robust pace in the April-June quarter, according to a separate report released Wednesday, and businesses also strongly increased their investments, largely on the AI infrastructure buildout. The economy grew just 1.5% during the second quarter, however, as much of the business spending went towards imports.

But Americans may be turning more cautious as inflation stays high. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, was unchanged in July, the government said Wednesday.

How will this affect the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve?

The new inflation data is unlikely to fully resolve a split at the Fed, where most officials are willing to hold interest rates steady to see if inflation can cool on its own. But many Fed officials have supported raising rates in a bid to slow borrowing and spending to combat higher prices.

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will deliver a high-profile speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that will be closely watched by Wall Street for any signs of his thinking about next steps.

Persistent inflation has contributed to higher long-term interest rates, which have lifted borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. Many Wall Street analysts say that a lack of clarity from Warsh about how the Fed will respond to persistent inflation has also pushed up those rates. The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds briefly reached a 19-year high earlier this month, prompting an unusual intervention by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Bessent said the Treasury would double its buybacks of longer-term bonds — those lasting for 10 to 30 years — starting next month. Such a move would theoretically raise Treasury prices and lower yields. The announcement initially had little effect, though yields have since declined slightly.

Growth in gross domestic product — the nation's output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.1% pace from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The second-quarter growth number was unchanged from the department's first estimate.

Still, consumer spending — which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity — increased at a healthy 3.4% annual clip, up from 0.5% in the January-March period.

The reason for the lackluster growth was imports. They are subtracted from growth because GDP is only supposed to count domestic production. Imports rose at a 12.5% annual pace from April through June, partly due to a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support artificial intelligence investment, and sliced 1.64 percentage points off second-quarter growth.

Beyond the headline figures, the U.S. economy has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of fighting with Iran and the spike in energy prices it caused. Business investment, excluding housing, rose at a 8.5% pace in the second quarter, reflecting the AI investment boom. And a measure of the economy’s underlying strength — which strips out volatile government spending and trade numbers — grew at a strong 4.2% rate, up from 1.7% in the first quarter.

Investment in housing rose, ticking up for the first time since the end of 2024. The housing market has been depressed by high mortgage rates,.

Wednesday's report was the second of three Commerce Department looks at second-quarter GDP growth. The third and final report is due Sept. 30.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. reported that an inflation measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve was unchanged last month in the latest sign that many Americans are still struggling with higher costs.

The Commerce Department’s report showed that prices rose 3.7% in July compared with a year earlier, but the pace was the same as June. Inflation has worsened since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, when it stood at 2.9%. It’s noticeably above the Fed’s target of 2%.

Stubbornly high prices are shaping up to be a key issue in the midterm elections, now just 10 weeks away, particularly as the Iran war keeps gas prices high, President Donald Trump is threatening new tariffs on Canada and China, and spending on AI infrastructure has pushed up the cost of computers, gaming consoles, and semiconductors.

Canada is striking back at the United States with retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment, as the trade war between the once-friendly neighbors escalates. And Justice Department lawyers told a court that if Trump’s name does not appear somewhere on the Kennedy Center, then the cultural center may be “required to be taken down.”

Here's the Latest:

Federal judge removes major legal obstacle to Trump mail voting order, with more challenges likely

A federal judge is lifting a major legal obstacle that had prevented the government from implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting.

The decision came shortly after about two dozen Democratically controlled states filed a fresh lawsuit against the directive.

It’s unclear whether the order will be in effect for November’s midterm elections, but it’s already creating uncertainty just a week before the first mail ballots are sent out.

The order directs the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to those on a list of eligible voters and requires a uniform envelope format.

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US hits allegedly left-wing Italy-based group with terrorism sanctions

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on an Italy-based group it accuses of fomenting left-wing terrorism online in Europe and elsewhere.

The Treasury and the State departments announced Wednesday that Autistici/Inventati, also known as the A/I Collective, had been added to their list of specially designated terrorist entities. The administration said the group was well known for supporting the infrastructure of radical left-wing groups.

The State Department said in a statement that the group’s “spectrum of digital services are specifically built to provide far-left terrorist groups with the means to organize, recruit, communicate, and carry out violent attacks – all while remaining beyond the reach of the law.”

The sanctions freeze any assets the group may have in the United States or that touch U.S. jurisdictions and bar American citizens from any financial transactions with it.

Maryland court rules Democratic-backed redistricting amendment cannot go on November ballot

A Maryland court has ruled against a proposed constitutional amendment that could have paved the way for Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections.

Democratic state lawmakers had approved a proposed constitutional amendment earlier this month. If passed by voters, it could pave the way to redraw congressional districts before the 2028 election.

The ruling Wednesday by a judge in the state’s capital city marks another setback in Democrats’ national attempts to counter a Republican redistricting movement pushed by President Donald Trump ahead of this year’s elections

The judge ruled that lawmakers missed a July deadline they had set to prepare summaries of ballot measures. The judge paused the effect of his ruling to allow for an appeal.

Democrats already hold seven of the state’s eight U.S. House districts. They hope that redistricting could help them win all eight.

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Wave energy testing site opens off Oregon, a green energy milestone in the Trump administration

The first large site for testing wave energy technologies in the continental U.S. has opened after securing a key green-energy approval from the Trump administration.

Trump has created massive hurdles for clean energy, particularly offshore wind. His government has implemented policies that slow energy permitting and development, canceled billions in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects, and spent nearly $4 billion to buy back leases to stop offshore wind projects. But they see promise in harnessing the power of the ocean’s waves.

The Energy Department signed off on the PacWave South testing facility, so it could open off the Oregon coast. Companies can now bring wave energy technologies to see how they perform in the ocean and send electricity back to the local grid.

Oregon State University developed the facility, though it hasn’t yet generated any electricity because developers of the wave energy devices are facing delays in federal funding.

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Trump’s executive order remains barred from taking effect

The Trump administration is arguing that a separate injunction needs to be immediately rescinded in light of the high court’s ruling in the previous Democratic state lawsuit. It also had succeeded in a third case filed in May in the District of Columbia, convincing a judge that it was too early to prevent its implementation of the executive order.

All previous challenges were filed before the administration published its mail ballot rule Friday night. The rule says that if states want their mail ballots delivered, they will need federal approval of the design of their envelopes and must give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them.

What 25 attorneys general say about Trump’s order on voting by mail

“Across the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections. Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans’ right to vote,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 25 Democratic attorneys general filing the lawsuit, said in a statement. “USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail.”

Democratic states file new challenge to Trump’s mail ballot directive

The action, filed by about two dozen states against the U.S. Postal Service, marked a new phase in the high-stakes litigation just two days after the Supreme Court ruled against them in a separate case.

The justices did not rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order seeking to limit mail voting in this year’s midterm elections — instead, a majority found the Democratic lawsuit premature.

But that was before the Republican administration issued a rule governing U.S. Postal Service delivery of mail ballots. Election officials warn it will be impossible to implement in the days before the first wave of mail ballots are sent out next week.

Here’s some of what Meta agreed to apply to its platforms under the settlement

1. a “hard cap” on daily time limits 2. pauses for children using Instagram and Facebook 3. elimination of push notifications during weekday school hours 4. “robust” age-assurance measures 5. “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm 6. stronger and more user-friendly parental controls 7. limits on social comparison features such as “like” counts

Instagram’s leader had taken the stand, but not Mark Zuckerberg

The trial kicked off last week in Oakland, California, where a jury was to determine whether Meta contributed to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms and hiding them from the public. The states also argued that Meta violated federal laws by routinely collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, defended Meta’s record and progress on child safety and privacy as he began his testimony late Tuesday. Meta then settled before CEO Mark Zuckerberg was to testify.

Here’s what Meta is saying about its $17 billion settlement

Meta said in a blog post that it was “building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.”

“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard.”

The company urged its rivals to adopt similar safety measures.

Meta’s social addiction settlement is a boon to state revenues

The agreement is worth $353 million in Virginia alone and is one of the biggest in state consumer protection history, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.

“For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health,” Jones said. The settlement “will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm.”

Trump says he believes Ayatollah Motjaba Khamenei is still alive

The president during his interview with Glenn Beck was asked about recent reporting in The Atlantic and elsewhere questioning whether the Iranian supreme leader is still alive.

Motjaba Khamenei was anointed supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the opening moments of the U.S.-Israel bombardment of Iran on Feb. 28.

The younger Khamenei was also badly injured in the opening strikes and has remained out of public view since his elevation nearly six months ago.

“He was very seriously wounded. But I don’t think he’s dead,” Trump said. “And if he is, they’re putting on a pretty good show,” Trump added, noting that Iranian officials reference “going back to talk to him all the time, you know, to get a final blessing on things.”

Trump says he’ll do something about the US beef processing ‘monopoly’

The president and Glenn Beck, a rancher as well as a conservative pundit, were having a freewheeling discussion on beef processing when Beck complained that a handful of companies control the U.S. industry and inflate prices.

“Is that just a question of regulation, do you think?” the president asked. He also asked Beck which agency is “controlling those regulations — the Department of Agriculture?”

Trump, who has been under intense pressure to reduce beef prices and recently angered U.S. suppliers by relaxing tariffs on beef imports, called the industry a “monopoly” as Beck claimed inspection standards prevent more processors from entering the market.

“I’m surprised the ranchers and the farmers haven’t done it, because they’re smart as hell,” Trump said. “That’s been going on a long time … before I got here.”

“This is a very big thing you just told, because you just gave me a very good idea,” Trump said, without elaborating.

Trump describes CIA director’s visit to Moscow as routine

The president said on Glenn Beck’s radio show that John Ratcliffe’s unannounced trip to Russia was “sort of semi-routine.”

Trump repeated that he wants to see the Russia-Ukraine war to end, and he indicated that he’s followed the rampant speculation about who Ratcliffe has been meeting with and why. But the president downplayed the significance of Ratcliffe going to Moscow.

“I hate to disappoint people,” he said.

Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states over teen social media addiction

Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, their attorneys general announced Wednesday.

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were among 29 states that sued the tech giant in 2023. This deal cuts short a federal trial that was expected to put CEO Mark Zuckerberg take the stand before a jury.

The agreement is worth $353 million in Virginia alone, but the total is just a fraction of the company’s 2025 revenue of $201 billion.

Trump continues to needle Canada in trade war

The president kept up his complaints about Canada, which is now embroiled in a full-scale trade war with the U.S.

Speaking on Glenn Beck’s radio show on Wednesday, Trump repeated his claim that Canada was one of the worst countries to deal with and that it had taken advantage of the U.S. when it comes to trade and tariffs. “I just said, we’re taking them on,” Trump said.

Trump orders flags lowered to honor Dolly Parton

“She was a nice person,” Trump said Wednesday during a live radio interview with conservative personality Glenn Beck.

Trump also said Parton, who died Tuesday of cancer at age 80, was ‘amazing’ and not “a very political person.”

He said his decision to order U.S. flags on federal property to fly at half-staff for a week in Parton’s honor was a “natural thing” to do.

How data center controversies have transformed the midterm elections

The snowballing opposition to data centers across the United States has transformed the midterm election landscape and has Trump defending the world’s richest companies.

Few people had even heard of a data center before the late 2022 debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT ignited worldwide demand for chatbots and other generative AI products that typically require large amounts of computing power. Now Oracle, Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft expect to plunge more than $700 billion into data centers in the U.S. this year alone.

Trump continues to stick up for data centers, even as politicians from both parties run from them and many communities try to block them. His administration is pushing to help tech giants build and connect data centers to power plants and high-voltage power lines.

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Trump champions data centers, but some Republicans are wary

Republicans as well as Democrats are turning data centers into a punching bag.

The president says AI development is key to competing against China, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said a federal pause on data center construction might be a “dangerous prospect.” But most registered voters oppose building a data center in their area, according to a July Fox News poll, including 60% of Republicans and 53% of MAGA voters.

Many Democratic leaders and candidates have withdrawn support for data centers. Now even Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced a halt on approval of new data centers until audits determine their impact on the state’s electrical grid.

Trump says tech companies “can use a little public relations help,” but he says data centers bring “jobs and lots of money and lower taxes.”

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Key inflation gauge remains elevated during Iran war and ongoing US trade fights

An inflation measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve was unchanged last month, in the latest sign that many Americans are still struggling with higher costs.

The Commerce Department’s Wednesday report showed that prices rose 3.7% in July compared with a year earlier. Inflation has worsened since the Iran war began in late February, when it stood at 2.9%. It remains noticeably above the Fed’s target of 2%.

Stubbornly high prices are shaping up to be a key issue in the midterm elections, particularly as the Iran war keeps gas prices high, Trump is threatening new tariffs on Canada and China, and spending on AI infrastructure has pushed up the cost of computers, gaming consoles, and semiconductors.

Analysts predict an eventual US-Canada trade war compromise

The U.S. and Canada have ramped up their trade war with steep new tit-for-tat tariffs, but analysts are betting the longtime allies will eventually strike a deal to end a conflict neither side really wants. “If there is political will, there is an off ramp,’’ said former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler.

The prospects for compromise appear bleak right now with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacting to Trump’s new 50% U.S. tariffs on certain Canadian goods by taxing about $20 billion in American products including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment.

“You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked,’′ Carney, who came to power last year on the promise that he’d stand up to Trump.

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The news comes less than a week after the couple surprised fans and critics alike with plans to return to Britain. Their arrival was reported by news organizations including the BBC and the Daily Telegraph, with the newspaper reporting that their plane landed at Birmingham International Airport around noon.

Flight tracking websites showed a private charter flight from Van Nuys, California, arrived at the airport at 11:56 a.m.

The couple’s children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September. The family plans to live at a private, nonroyal residence outside of London, but haven’t said exactly where that will be.

Prince Harry’s representative declined to comment.

Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago, saying they wanted to earn their own living. They later signed lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify.

Relations with the rest of the royal family quickly soured as the couple said palace staff had been insensitive to Meghan’s mental health and leveled charges of racism and media manipulation at members of the royal family.

Tensions between Harry and King Charles III, his 77-year-old father, appear to have eased in recent months, but relations with Prince William, the heir to the throne, remain tense. Charles is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer that was discovered in 2024.

Harry said last year that he wanted to reconcile with his family and that he didn’t know “how much time my father has left.” He has also expressed a desire for his children to have a chance to get to know their grandfather.

Harry, Meghan and the children visited the king at his Highgrove Estate in western England last month while the prince was in the U.K. for a series of charity appearances. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather in person since 2022, when the family traveled to Britain for events marking the late Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne.

Charles wasn't told about the couple's impending move at the time and only found out about it last week.

The airport recorded 13 million passengers during the second quarter, following 31.5 million passengers in the first half. That was a 31.3% drop over passenger traffic in the first half of 2025, the airport said.

Air traffic in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere in the Gulf region was disrupted by shutdowns and restrictions after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. The Dubai airport itself suffered minor damage in attacks from Iran.

Aircraft movements totaled 150,600 in the first half, down 32.1% year on year, with only 62,500 in the second quarter, the airport said.

CEO Paul Griffiths noted, however, there has been a steady increase in passenger volume each month in the second quarter, and said the momentum is expected to continue.

“The events of the disruption, which lasted two months, that had an impact on traffic,” Griffiths told The Associated Press. “However, the trajectory now is universally positive.”

He said the airport was waiting for overseas airlines, particularly from Europe, to restart operations.

“I'm very confident we'll be back to full operation in a very short space of time,” he said.

Musk, the founder of the aerospace company SpaceX, has become one of the most influential, and contentious, private sector figures in Ukraine’s war effort. His decision to provide access to Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet network, was a lifeline for Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and remains critically important.

Starlink has become deeply embedded in Ukraine’s military operations, with commanders and soldiers relying on satellite connectivity to communicate and coordinate operations.

Musk’s decision-making could shape Ukraine’s future military capabilities. Starlink doesn't currently operate over Russian territory, but Zelenskyy wants Musk to reconsider the policy. That would allow Ukrainian forces to maintain satellite connectivity for longer-range drone attacks targeting Russia's military and economic infrastructure.

Musk made no immediate comment on the award, which was announced by presidential decree.

Musk has restricted Starlink use in Russia

The technology has been integrated into Ukraine’s drone operations, helping operators maintain links with drones and navigate them over longer distances. Ukraine's access to Starlink is the main reason for the early successes of its middle-strike drone campaign, which caught Russian forces off guard and undermined their logistics lines earlier this year.

The campaign has put pressure on Russian logistics in Crimea, giving Ukrainian forces a degree of battlefield momentum that Kyiv has not enjoyed since its successful counteroffensives around Kherson and Kharkiv in late 2022.

Musk has allowed the Ukrainians to use Starlink inside their own territory, including in Russian-occupied regions, but has restricted use of the satellite system inside Russia.

Earlier this year, SpaceX blocked unauthorized Starlink terminals being used by Russian forces in occupied territory, strengthening Ukraine’s position.

Musk’s oversized influence over Ukraine

Musk is both a crucial partner for Kyiv and a potential source of vulnerability. As Starlink has become embedded in its wartime communications, Musk and SpaceX have significant influence over how the technology can be used, making it important for Kyiv to preserve a positive relationship.

Zelenskyy has sought U.S. help in persuading Musk to permit Ukraine to expand its ability to use Starlink beyond its borders. Musk has said he believes that would be a significant and dangerous escalation, Zelenskyy told reporters last week.

Musk's influence has spilled into politics

A reported mix-up over whether SpaceX had approved Ukraine’s use of Starlink for operations inside Russia contributed to tensions between Zelenskyy and then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was the government's main interlocutor with Musk.

Fedorov was dismissed in July as part of a broader government shake-up.

Zelenskyy said inaccurate information from the Defense Ministry that SpaceX had approved the bid had contributed to an awkward exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused the Ukrainian president of deceiving him. He did not say when that occurred.

That contributed to “some of the steps” taken against Fedorov, Zelenskyy told reporters last week, without explicitly accusing him of deliberately providing false information.

Federov's dismissal also highlights the political element of Musk’s role in Ukraine’s war effort.

The cyberattack has been ongoing since Monday, said Are Kvistad, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Digitalization Agency (Digdir), the state body in charge of making Norway's public services more digital and user-friendly, told The Associated Press.

“It's the biggest attack against Digdir solutions that we have ever experienced,” Kvistad said.

The denial-of-service attacks meant that hackers pushed massive traffic toward the agency in order to block services, including one that enables citizens to use one login across multiple public services.

However, the Digdir spokesman said that the agency managed to keep the services running “practically all the time.”

In a Telegram post on Wednesday widely reported by Norwegian media, the pro-Russian hacker group Server Killers claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had declared cyber war on Norway after the country renewed its security cooperation with Ukraine on Aug. 23.

On Sunday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced during a visit to Kyiv that Norway would provide 85 billion Norwegian crowns (9.2 billion US dollars) to Ukraine from next year’s state budget for a third year in a row.

The two countries also committed to further cooperation when it comes to drone technology and other forms of modern warfare.

Norwegian officials did not comment on the hackers' claim by publication time.

All countries in Europe are on high alert with Russia stepping up its sabotage and malign activity across the continent since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Officials say the attacks are intended to undermine support for Ukraine, spread fear and discord in European societies and drain investigative resources.

In 2025, Norwegian authorities said Russian hackers were likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam in the country. During that incident, hackers gained access to a digital system which remotely controls one of the dam’s valves and opened it to increase the water flow. A three-minute long video showing the dam’s control panel and a mark identifying a pro-Russian cybercriminal group was published on Telegram at the time, the police said.

Last year, Danish authorities blamed Russia for carrying out cyberattacks against infrastructure and websites in Denmark in 2024 and 2025. Danish officials said pro-Russian group Z-Pentest carried out a “destructive attack” on the water utility company in 2024 and that a separate group, NoName057(16), was responsible for a cyberattack on Danish websites ahead of the 2025 local elections. Voth have links to the Russian state, they said.

According to Norwegian media, Server Killers were linked directly or indirectly to previous cyberattacks in Norway and other European countries.

The top diplomats of the two countries met to discuss managing commercial shipping traffic in the vital waterway, which remains largely shut down nearly six months after the Iran war began.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Gaza continued, testing the already fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

No military vessels in the strait, Iran says

Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on a new framework for managing ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz that would exclude military vessels from traversing the vital waterway.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television late Tuesday that commercial shipping traffic into the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman would pass entirely through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s territorial waters.

He said the route would be temporary, and that Iran and Oman must discuss a permanent maritime traffic plan within 30 to 60 days. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" as his administration opposes parts of the evolving deal.

Trump believes Iran’s supreme leader is still alive

The U.S. president said during an interview on Wednesday that he thinks Ayatollah Motjaba Khamenei is “very seriously wounded,” but not dead.

“If he is, they’re putting on a pretty good show,” Trump told conservative American host Glenn Beck, noting that Iranian officials reference “going back to talk to him all the time ... to get a final blessing on things.”

Motjaba Khamenei became supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed at the start of the war when the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Feb. 28. The younger Khamenei was badly wounded in the attacks and has remained out of public view.

Children's kites in Gaza dismantled over Israeli threats

Some parents said children in Gaza are dismantling their kites after Israel threatened to ramp up strikes as the toys keep flying into southern Israel. In the past, kites and balloons have been set aflame and launched across the Gaza border, igniting fields and property in Israeli communities.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has downplayed the danger the kites pose.

In tents near the Mediterranean Sea in southern Gaza, kids dismantled the plastic, cloth and wood contraptions as adults looked on. For Atiya Abu Samhan, the kite ban represented another indignity for Palestinian children.

“They’ve lost their simple dreams, their education, their childhood, the simple things they used to enjoy,” he said.

Israel launches deadly strike in Gaza, health officials say

An Israeli strike on a tent for displaced people Wednesday in southern Gaza killed one person and wounded at least four, the territory’s Health Ministry official. The Israeli military said that it struck a “military operative,” without elaborating.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have reported a surge in deadly Israeli strikes, despite a fragile ceasefire in the nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war. Israel has said that it targets Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, as well as those who participated in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war.

Israel has legalized more than 100 settlements since 2022

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government has legalized more than 104 settlements and established 160 farming outposts in the West Bank since he took office again in 2022.

“I know that we are not only ensuring our existence in the present, we are ensuring the existence of the people of Israel in the future,” he said at an event in Jerusalem on Tuesday night.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are largely considered illegal, but Netanyahu has made their expansion a priority in the lead-up to Israel’s upcoming election.

About 3 million Palestinians live alongside more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied territory, which has seen a recent spike in violence as the Israeli presence expands.

Dubai airport traffic dropped sharply during Iran war

Dubai International Airport, one of the world's busiest travel hubs, said Wednesday that it saw a sharp drop in passengers as the Iran war disrupted air travel and prompted many travelers to choose routes that avoided the Middle East.

The airport recorded 13 million passengers in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the total to about 31.5 million passengers for the first half of the year. That's down 31.3% compared to last year at the halfway mark.

USS Lincoln stopping in Thailand after long deployment

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln will make a stop in Thailand after its grueling deployment in the Middle East, Thai officials said Tuesday, without specifying a date or port for security reasons.

The Lincoln’s lengthy deployment during the Iran war has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 250 days, raising concerns about deteriorating mental health among the crew.

Germany draws down its mission in Iraq's Kurdish region

Germany has ended the military mission of its advisers in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region after years of supporting the U.S.-led coalition’s efforts against Islamic State group militants.

The Kurdish region’s Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said Wednesday that it held an official ceremony to mark the German mission's end at Camp Stephan at Irbil International Airport, where the country maintained a small contingent as it reduced its military footprint. U.S. forces have also begun withdrawing from northern Iraq before a Sept. 30 deadline.

A rights group criticizes Yemen's Houthi rebels

Human Rights Watch condemned a decision by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels to refer at least six people to a criminal court known for putting defendants to death on terror and espionage charges.

The New York-based advocacy group said at least five of those facing charges in the notorious Specialized Criminal Court are either U.N. employees or civil society workers. HRW also said one of the defendants, Ali Mudhwahi, a national public health expert with UNICEF, was tortured and forced to confess that vaccines were spying tools.

The beloved singer, songwriter, actor, author, theme-park entrepreneur, and philanthropist was 80.

The superstar’s red robe with black lace, which she wore for one of her many photo shoots and interviews with TV Guide, was on display at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

“I’m devastated, but like she said, ‘Bittersweet, bittersweet memories.’ I think everybody that knew Dolly has a little part of her in their heart,” Patty Lisboa, a fan in Hollywood, said. “Like, how do you not feel Dolly?”

Related story: Dolly Parton’s greatest songs, and the stories behind them

Joan Pendergrass, the widow of music legend Teddy Pendergrass, was also spotted at the Hard Rock near Parton’s memorabilia.

“We were shocked,” she said of learning about Parton’s death.

Pendergrass said the impact from Parton’s celebrity reached well beyond country music.

“She has given back so much,” she said. “She has given so much of herself. What a beautiful, petite (person), but so large at heart.”

Parton performed a concert on Oct. 18, 2011, at Hard Rock Live during her Better Day Tour. She performed classics like “9 to 5,″ “Coat of Many Colors,” and “Here You Come Again.”

Parton played some songs from her 1971 gospel album, which included songs like “Golden Streets of Glory,” “I Believe,” and “Lord Hold My Hand.”

Related story: Stars from TV and film pay tribute to Dolly

Parton played the fiddle, which she said she learned to play by ear. She also played the 5-string banjo, the dulcimer, the harmonica, the piano, the guitar, and the autoharp.

Parton’s last tour was “Pure & Simple” in 2016.

Carl Dean, Parton’s husband of about 60 years, inspired “Jolene.” She said they met when she was 18 in Nashville, where he died on March 3, 2025, at 82.

Related story: Dolly Parton, music star, actor and beloved figure who spanned generations has died at 80

One of Parton’s last video on Instagram was about her health challenges, which prompted her to cancel her Las Vegas residency. She said was working on her museum and hotel in Nashville, and on her “Dolly: A True Original Musical” Broadway show.

“Some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy headed, as my grandma used to say,” she said in May. “And of course, I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels — and you know that I’m going to be wearing them. Not to mention, all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big … uh, personality.”

In Hollywood, on Tuesday afternoon, Oliver De Leon, a grief-stricken fan, said the 11-time Grammy Award winner had touched his heart with her music.

“She is an American icon,” De Leon said. “Not just country, but all music.”

Related social media post

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Thank you for standing by me and showing me so much love and support over the past year. I’ve still got some healing to do, but I am on my way! See you soon. 💖 🦋 pic.twitter.com/HXpJqTUJXZ

— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) May 4, 2026

That’s according to the family of Luis Aviles.

His son, Josh Aviles, is in his ninth month being deployed onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East.

From the ship, Josh Aviles posted a family statement to social media, which read, in part:

“Luis has been released back to our family. We are grateful for all of the support for both Luis and Josh throughout this situation.”

It was Sunday in Key West when Luis Aviles, 48, was arrested by CBP agents after leaving his home to take his car to a mechanic.

Family members call him humble and said he has a work permit and no criminal history, but federal authorities tell Local 10 News that Luis Aviles has been in the country illegally from Nicaragua for nearly 20 years.

Officials added that his son’s military service has no bearing on his status.

On Monday, Luis Aviles’ younger son, also named Luis, told Local 10 News that the situation was stressful for the family.

“We can’t do much about it. We’re trying our hardest, whatever we can do,” said Luis Aviles Jr. “He’s a good father. He doesn’t deserve it.”

The case has garnered national attention in light of reports about supply shortages and personnel concerns onboard the USS Lincoln.

Josh Aviles said he was working 12-plus hour shifts on the ship, with an added toll of worrying about his father.

Over the years, she made countless appearances there.

On Tuesday, Parton’s family shared the news that the country music icon had passed away at the age of 80 at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville.

One of the most beloved personalities in music and beyond, Parton was known for her soaring vocals, poignant songwriting, massive blonde wigs and colorful, attention-grabbing outfits.

She wrote hundreds of songs, including classics like “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You” – which was later covered by Whitney Houston – that totaled more than 100 million worldwide sales and more than 1 billion online streams.

Parton’s other crossover hits included the title song from the film “9 to 5,” the 1980 comedy starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin; and her duet with longtime friend Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream.”

Beyond her music, Parton’s most lasting legacy might be her generosity. She started her education nonprofit, Imagination Library, to send free books to children in Tennessee and she established the Dollywood Foundation after opening her Dollywood theme park in east Tennessee.

Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and was given a lifetime achievement award by the Recording Academy.

With 55 Grammy nominations and 10 wins, Parton is the third-most nominated woman in Grammy history.

It happened at approximately 5:50 p.m. near the 2900 block of Northwest 17th Terrace in Oakland Park.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the scene after receiving reports of a vehicle striking a child.

Oakland Park Fire Rescue crews rushed the child to a nearby hospital with injuries considered non-life-threatening, authorities said.

Deputies said the driver of the vehicle that struck the child remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

Authorities have not said whether that driver will be facing any charges.

It is one of the most perilous political efforts that a member of Congress can undertake, so it is telling that the push is being led by two lawmakers who have little to lose at this stage of their careers.

“We’ve been at this six years, eight years. It’s incredible how long I’ve been at it,” Cassidy said. “But Durbin came up to me and he goes, ’Bill, I’m leaving the Senate soon. We need to take a ride at it.'”

Their idea to extend Social Security’s solvency is one of a few that have been formally offered this Congress. None has gained much traction, but it is a start as more lawmakers weigh in on a problem that will likely confront the group of senators elected this fall as well as the next president. Pressure for action is sure to grow as 2032 draws closer.

Senate bill seeks 50 years of Social Security solvency

The measure that Durbin, D-Ill., and Cassidy, R-La., are pushing would not dictate an outcome, but instead set up a process for Congress to take action. It calls for the bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board to collect public input and submit draft legislation to Congress that would keep the program's retirement trust fund solvent for at least 50 years.

The resulting bill would then be introduced by the majority leaders of the Senate and House. If they do not want to go along, any member could sponsor the bill. It would then be referred to the two committees with jurisdiction over Social Security — the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Both committees would have the chance to debate the bill and amend it if they wish. If not, the original bill drafted by the advisory board would be placed on the Senate and House calendars for consideration. Lawmakers could offer substitute proposals, with final votes after 100 hours of debate. Passage would require a three-fifths vote in the 100-member Senate and a simple majority in the 435-member House.

Even though the bill does not prescribe a solution for replenishing Social Security, sponsors have struggled to win support. Cassidy voiced exasperation in a recent floor speech.

“For some people, the time to do Social is never," Cassidy said. “Don't disturb Congress. They don't want to take a tough vote. Even if that vote only sets up a process.”

AARP has come out against the bill, saying that the effort amounts to “fast-tracking” Social Security changes through a process that limits what type of amendments are offered and sets arbitrary procedural deadlines.

A different bill proposes an investment fund for older adults

Separately, Cassidy has a proposal with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that calls for the creation of a $1.5 trillion fund that would be invested in stocks and other higher-risk assets over 75 years.

The seed money would be financed by the Treasury Department through additional borrowing. At the end of the 75 years, the fund's assets would be used to repay the Treasury for the seed money as well as the borrowing that would occur over those years to keep Social Security payments going out — now projected at about $26.6 trillion.

Cassidy projects such an investment fund would earn enough to cover about two-thirds of that $26.6 trillion in borrowing, meaning other actions such as raising payroll taxes or cutting benefits would still be required to completely close the gap. But those tax increases or benefit cuts would be smaller than otherwise necessary without the investment fund.

“The advantage of the 'Save Our Seniors Fund' is that it lessens your political battle,” Cassidy said.

Debt watchdogs are worried.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said “this is a dangerous, debt-funded gamble that would come with huge risks and costs.”

Some propose lifting the payroll tax cap

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, do not agree on much, but they have joined forces in calling for lifting the cap on the Social Security payroll tax.

Currently, the payroll tax that funds Social Security applies to a maximum of $184,500 in income. That means most people pay Social Security taxes on all of their income, but the wealthier do not.

“Why should a middle-class nurse pay a larger share of her paycheck than a wealthy corporate lawyer?” the two senators wrote in The New York Times.

But while the two promised forthcoming legislation on the matter, they have not filed it yet. Some conservative groups have forcefully pushed back on the idea, saying the tax increase would lead to lower wages and fewer jobs at businesses seeking to offset the additional tax burden.

Eliminating the cap would generate more than $3.2 trillion for the trust fund over the course of a decade, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan debt watchdog.

Others have called for lifting the cap, but only above a certain income threshold. For example, a bill from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., would apply the payroll tax to income above $400,000. The bill would require those making more than $400,000 to contribute more to Medicare.

Others are calling for lifting the cap and increasing benefits

Progressives in the House and Senate have sponsored a bill that would lift the payroll tax cap to cover all earnings above $250,000, including capital gains and dividends, and increase the tax that high earners must pay on investment gains.

The bill would boost payments to Social Security beneficiaries by roughly $2,400 a year and increase the annual cost-of-living adjustment. The effort is being led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, and Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore. The House version has 39 cosponsors, all Democrats.

In a recent letter to colleagues, Sanders said expanding benefits and requiring the wealthiest in the United States to pay the same percentage of their income into Social Security as tens of millions of working people is “how we extend Social Security's solvency for generations to come. That is how the Democratic Party begins to regain the trust of the American people.”

“Dog Mom Walk” brings people and their pups together at pet-friendly venues across South Florida. The destination changes and the pack just keeps growing.

“It’s amazing how big it’s grown since day one. It’s never in the same place,” said Dog Mom Walk co-founder Ana Elvir.

The group connects on social media, then takes that connection offline — giving dogs a pack and their people a community.

At its core, Dog Mom Walk is exactly what the name suggests: a way for people who love their dogs to find one another.

“Get all the local dog moms together and make amazing friendships and genuine connections,” said Elvir.

Elvir and her dog, Teddy, were already well known on social media through their “Tour with Teddy” page, highlighting pet-friendly places across South Florida. As interest grew, Elvir and her friend Claudia took those online connections offline — launching Dog Mom Walk in 2023.

That changing scenery is part of the point. Rather than sticking to one neighborhood or route, the group uses its walks to introduce members to pet-friendly destinations from West Palm Beach to Miami-Dade County.

Many of the gatherings are outdoors, but August heat called for a different kind of walk — one with air conditioning and “window sniffing” at Aventura Mall.

The mall helped facilitate the indoor outing, with cleaning crews on hand to keep things sanitary as the pack made its way through the shopping center.

Don’t let the name fool you: dog dads are also welcome.

The group is headed to The Shops at Merrick Park in Coral Gables next month, with a possible Fort Lauderdale stop planned after that.

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

La oficina del primer ministro en Nepal reportó al menos 95 muertos. La televisora estatal china CCTV dijo que un deslave en el condado de Gyirong, en la región del Tíbet, cerca de la frontera, dejó al menos tres muertos y 265 desaparecidos. Imágenes de drones mostraban carreteras destruidas y edificios sepultados. La agencia estatal de noticias Xinhua reportó numerosas víctimas.

Los empinados valles de Nepal son salvavidas económicos y corredores de viaje, pero precarios cuando ocurre un desastre. Las imágenes mostraban lo que parecían ser los segundos pisos de edificios en el duramente golpeado distrito de Nuwakot cubiertos de lodo después de que pasó el torrente. Escombros colgaban de ramas de árboles y cables, vehículos quedaron sepultados y sobrevivientes atónitos estaban cubiertos de lodo.

Muchos desaparecidos estaban en peregrinación a un sitio sagrado

Funcionarios en Nepal dijeron que se reportó la desaparición de 403 personas, incluidos 341 extranjeros. Sunil Sharma, portavoz de la junta de turismo de Nepal, dijo que 133 de los desaparecidos eran de India en peregrinación al monte Kailash en la región autónoma china del Tíbet, un sitio sagrado para los hindúes. También estaban desaparecidos 47 de Estados Unidos, 34 de Australia, 33 de Reino Unido y 24 de Canadá, dijo. El Departamento de Estado dijo que estaba al tanto de estadounidenses afectados.

Al menos 62 nepaleses desaparecidos estaban entre cientos de locales que hacían senderismo en el lago Gosaikunda en Rasuwa, coincidiendo con el festival nepalí de Janai Purnima el viernes, añadió Sharma. El portavoz de la policía de Nepal Abi Narayan Kafle dijo a The Associated Press que al menos 28 funcionarios policiales estaban entre los desaparecidos.

Funcionarios emitieron avisos a residentes de varios distritos de Nepal y pidieron que se alejaran de las riberas de los ríos Bhotekoshi, Trishuli y Narayani. El río Bhotekoshi se desbordó alrededor de las 9 de la mañana del miércoles y destruyó varias aldeas, además de proyectos hidroeléctricos, de acuerdo con funcionarios. Al menos 19 puentes fueron arrasados.

“Hemos pedido tanto a India como a China que nos ayuden en las labores de rescate”, indicó Sasmit Pokharel, portavoz del gobierno nepalí.

El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos reportó un sismo de magnitud 4,4 la madrugada del miércoles, a unos 100 kilómetros (60 millas) al norte de Katmandú, cerca de la frontera con la región autónoma china del Tíbet.

Aunque la actual temporada de monzones es menos favorable para el senderismo en Nepal, es una temporada importante para el senderismo a Kailash en el Tíbet, que sigue la ruta en el distrito nepalí de Rasuwa que limita con Gyirong, en el Tíbet.

Países expresan alarma por ciudadanos desaparecidos

Autoridades de Corea del Sur apuntaron que nueve ciudadanos suyos que trabajaban en la construcción de una planta hidroeléctrica en Nepal estaban entre los desaparecidos. El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Malasia también sostuvo que su embajada en Katmandú ha recibido reportes de agencias de viajes de que habían perdido contacto con 11 malasios que se cree estaban en el distrito de Rasuwa, duramente golpeado por las inundaciones. La embajada de Rusia en Nepal dijo que cuatro ciudadanos que, según reportes, estaban en la zona afectada estaban desaparecidos .

El primer ministro indio Narendra Modi habló con el primer ministro de Nepal Balendra Shah y ofreció ayuda. “India está preparada para proporcionar a Nepal todo tipo de asistencia humanitaria posible. Nuestros equipos están coordinando estrechamente las labores de rescate y socorro”, dijo Modi en una publicación en redes sociales.

Algunos organismos de Naciones Unidas estaban desplegándose “en un esfuerzo por atender lo que claramente será una necesidad humanitaria masiva”, dijo el portavoz de la ONU Stephane Dujarric.

En una declaración conjunta, Australia, Reino Unido, la Unión Europea, Finlandia, Francia, Noruega y Suiza expresaron solidaridad con las personas afectadas en Nepal, y añadieron: “Alentamos a todos los que se encuentran en las zonas afectadas a seguir la orientación de las autoridades locales y los avisos oficiales de seguridad a medida que la situación continúa evolucionando”.

La misma región registró inundaciones repentinas el año pasado

Expertos climáticos del Centro Internacional para el Desarrollo Integrado de las Montañas, con sede en Katmandú, señalaron que una avalancha procedente de un glaciar probablemente causó la inundación repentina del miércoles.

“Las observaciones hidrológicas indican la velocidad y magnitud excepcionales de la ola de inundación”, dijeron en una declaración enviada por correo electrónico, señalando que los niveles de agua en un punto del río Trishuli aumentaron hasta 9 metros (27 pies) en media hora.

El río Lhende Khola, un afluente del río Bhotekoshi, registró su máximo nivel de crecida, señalaron.

“El Lhende Khola se ha desbordado dos veces en catorce meses, esta vez el detonante fue una avalancha de hielo y roca procedente de un glaciar del lado nepalí que bloqueó el río y liberó una súbita crecida aguas abajo”, explicó Saswata Sanyal, especialista en reducción del riesgo de desastres del grupo de investigación climática.

Señaló la importancia de las alertas tempranas en “un Himalaya que se está calentando”.

Las mismas regiones afectadas por el desastre del miércoles registraron inundaciones repentinas similares a las de agosto del año pasado, cuando un lago glaciar en el vecino Tíbet se desbordó a consecuencia de las altas temperaturas en la región montañosa. Nueve personas perdieron la vida y se registraron daños en infraestructura crítica, incluyendo un puente que conecta Nepal y China.

La región del Himalaya, que atraviesa Nepal y varios países cercanos, incluida India, es especialmente vulnerable a las lluvias intensas, las inundaciones y los deslaves porque se está calentando más rápido que el resto del planeta debido al cambio climático provocado por el ser humano. Las investigaciones han mostrado que los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos, incluidas las olas de calor y las lluvias, y el derretimiento de los glaciares, se han vuelto más frecuentes en la región.

Investigadores de Katmandú hallaron a principios de este año que los glaciares en toda la región del Hindu Kush Himalaya se están derritiendo a un ritmo acelerado, con tasas de pérdida de hielo que se han duplicado desde 2000, principalmente debido al aumento de las temperaturas globales y al cambio climático.

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Arasu reportó desde Bengaluru, India. Los periodistas de The Associated Press Shristi Kafle en Katmandú, Fu Ting en Washington, Hyung-jin Kim en Seúl, Corea del Sur, y Eileen Ng en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, contribuyeron a este reporte.

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

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

“I think it’s important for everyone to do their share to help their fellow man,” she told The Associated Press in 2022, adding, “I get paid more attention than maybe some others that are doing more than me."

Fans across generations and places may disagree, saying it will remain a pillar of the music legend and multimillionaire businesswoman's legacy, following her death Tuesday at the age of 80. One of her most enduring images is that of the charismatic humanitarian, whose good humor and straightforward generosity lifted the well-being of communities in her home state and beyond.

Weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the American South in 2024, she donated $1 million of her money, matched by her Dollywood companies and their partners, to the flood-ravaged community in her native Tennessee. The Library of Congress called Parton a “titan of children’s literacy” for the millions of free books provided monthly through her Imagination Library.

Also well-known is the $1 million gift she made to Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center to help develop Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. The not-for-profit Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital recently received an undisclosed sum to improve pediatric care across eastern Tennessee.

Then there’s the quieter giving that the public was still uncovering in her final years. Internet sleuths realized she’d long paid for many Tennessee high schools’ band uniforms. She bought a Nashville strip mall with her “I Will Always Love You” songwriting royalties to support the surrounding Black neighborhood.

“I just give from my heart,” she said in a 2022 speech accepting the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. “I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.”

Parton's simple philanthropic solutions were ‘magical’

The simplicity of her solutions is what made Parton so “magical,” according to Stacia West, the co-founder of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research and an associate professor at the University of Tennessee. West studied Parton’s $12 million fund for families who lost their homes in the 2016 fires that swept through Sevier County, Tennessee. Through The My People Fund, as it was called, Parton's foundation provided families $1,000 per month for half the year with no strings attached.

The concept of providing unconditional cash was much more “taboo” at the time, West recalled. That trust in the fund’s beneficiaries to exercise their own agency is one lesson that West said philanthropy can take from Parton.

“The piece that really carries forward is her belief in the goodness of people and her ability to apply that to seemingly difficult problems,” West said.

Parton applied the same framework to her reading initiative, West noted. Rather than hand out library cards that still required the time and transportation to visit a local branch, Parton simply mailed books straight to participants' doors.

The fourth of 12 children from a poor Appalachian family, Parton said her father inspired the Imagination Library. He was a “very smart man,” she once recalled, and she “often wondered what he could have done had he been able to read and write.” Kids across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia have received more than 330 million books since the program began.

Her Imagination Library was only part of her work to educate children

Ohio first lady Fran DeWine described Parton's “devotion to children and literacy” as “unparalleled.” Over a million children had received nearly 28 million books in the state, according to DeWine.

“Her generosity and selfless spirit leave a legacy that will live on for generations to come,” she said.

In addition to the Imagination Library’s work, Andrew Carnegie Foundation President Dame Louise Richardson noted the Dollywood Foundation’s efforts to “secure educational success for children born in poverty.” Parton started the foundation to provide college scholarships for students from the county where she grew up near the Great Smoky Mountains.

“What’s more, she made philanthropy fun!” Richardson said in a statement.

Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Imagination Library — a fitting request given that Parton once said the initiative “meant as much, if not more to me, than nearly anything that I've ever done.”

“Of course, I’ll always be a singer-songwriter,” she said in a 2024 appearance expanding the program in Kentucky. “But I just hope people will just say she was a good ol’ girl, you know? She tried hard, she worked hard and she tried to make the world a better place and try to make people happy. And I will be doing that till I keel over.”

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Gamboa reported from Cleveland. Staff writer Julie Carr Smyth contributed reporting from Columbus, Ohio.

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The prime minister’s office in Nepal reported at least 95 dead. China’s state broadcaster CCTV said a mudslide in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the border killed at least three and left 265 missing. Drone footage showed roads destroyed and buildings buried. State news agency Xinhua reported significant casualties.

Nepal’s steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but precarious ones when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and stunned survivors were caked in mud.

Many missing were on pilgrimage to a sacred site

Officials in Nepal said 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals, were reported missing. Sunil Sharma, a tourism board spokesperson, said 133 were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing were 47 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada, he said. The State Department said it was aware of Americans affected.

At least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of locals trekking in the Gosaikunda Lake area in Rasuwa, coinciding with the local festival of Janai Purnima on Friday, Sharma added. Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press at least 28 police officials were missing.

Officials warned residents in several districts to stay away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers. The Bhotekoshi flooded around 9 a.m. Wednesday, destroying several villages and hydropower projects, officials said. At least 19 bridges were swept away.

“We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts,” said government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel.

The U.S. Geological Survey had reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border with China’s autonomous region of Tibet.

Though the current monsoon season is less favorable for trekking in Nepal, it’s a major season for Kailash trekking in Tibet, which follows the route in Nepal’s Rasuwa district bordering Tibet’s Gyirong.

Countries express alarm over missing citizens

South Korean government officials said nine citizens working on building a hydropower plant in Nepal were among those reported missing. Malaysia’s foreign ministry said its embassy received reports from travel agencies that they had lost contact with 11 Malaysians believed to be in Rasuwa district. Russia’s embassy in Nepal said four citizens reportedly in the affected area were missing.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah and offered help. “India is prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance. Our teams are closely coordinating on rescue and relief efforts,” Modi said on social media.

Some United Nations bodies were deploying “in an effort to meet what will clearly be massive humanitarian need,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

In a joint statement, Australia, Britain, the European Union, Finland, France, Norway and Switzerland expressed solidarity with people in Nepal, adding: “We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.”

The same region saw flash floods last year

Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.

“Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and magnitude of the flood wave,” they said in an emailed statement, noting that water levels at one point on the Trishuli river rose by as much as nine meters (27 feet) over half an hour.

The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, had maximum flooding, they said.

“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.

He noted the importance of early warnings in “a warming Himalaya.”

The region saw similar flash floods in August last year, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, was damaged.

The Himalayan region, which spans several countries including India, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because of warming due to human-caused climate change. Research shows that extreme weather events, including heat waves, rains and melting glaciers, have become more frequent.

Researchers in Kathmandu found earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000, primarily due to rising global temperatures and climate change.

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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India. Associated Press writers Shristi Kafle in Kathmandu, Fu Ting in Washington, Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

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

The new Prelude faces off against a small collection of two-door rivals that includes the Toyota GR86, a car that follows the classic formula of rear-wheel drive, an available manual transmission and a low price tag. Which of these two-doors is the better buy? Edmunds’ auto experts tested both to find out.

Driving experience

This is where the GR86 makes its strongest case. At Edmunds’ test track, a manual transmission-equipped GR86 accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds. This isn’t outrageously quick, but the GR86’s 228-horsepower four-cylinder engine has enough power to have some fun on highway entrance ramps or when powering out of corners. Toyota also offers an automatic transmission; that slows the car’s acceleration by about a second.

The Prelude’s 200-horsepower four-cylinder hybrid powertrain simply doesn’t hit as hard as the GR86’s. Edmunds’ test Prelude needed 7.2 seconds to get to 60 mph. Honda’s hybrid system doesn’t have a transmission or gears in the traditional sense. It’s smooth and great for congested traffic, but you don’t get the same level of engagement that you do from revving out the GR86’s engine.

The GR86 also draws praise for excellent steering feel and balance that Edmunds identifies as its best traits. The same goes for the Prelude. It’s undeniably front-wheel-drive in character, which some drivers prefer less than the GR86’s classic rear-wheel-drive merits. But the Prelude is an excellent front-driver with class-leading handling grip.

It’s a close call, but the GR86’s extra character gives it the win here.

Winner: Toyota GR86

Comfort and features

Away from the backroads, the Prelude pulls ahead. Its cabin is more comfortable, with supportive front seats, high-quality materials, and a straightforward control layout carried over from the Civic. The 9-inch touchscreen uses a Google-based operating system, is quick and easy to navigate, and both Apple Carplay and Android Auto connect wirelessly. Edmunds’ editors also like the Prelude’s adaptive suspension that allows for a smooth ride on daily commutes.

The GR86 leans harder into its sporting mission, which does nothing for its everyday livability. The cabin is noisy at speed, and the infotainment system feels dated with wired-only phone mirroring. Getting in and out requires some effort because of the car’s low stance. It’s not uncomfortable, but the Toyota clearly favors the driving experience over ease of use.

Winner: Honda Prelude

Cargo and practicality

The Prelude’s hatchback-style trunk holds 15.1 cubic feet, a genuinely useful figure for a small coupe and far more than most rivals offer. The GR86, in contrast, manages just 6.3 cubic feet. And its shallow trunk and small opening severely limit what cargo actually fits, even though the rear seats fold down to swallow a spare set of its own wheels and tires, which adds practicality for track days. But for road trips or even a grocery run, the Prelude has a clear edge.

Winner: Honda Prelude

Fuel economy

There’s no contest here. The Prelude’s hybrid powertrain returns an EPA-estimated 44 mpg in combined city/highway driving, a number the Edmunds team matched in real-world driving. The GR86 earns an estimated 22 mpg with a manual transmission and 24 mpg with the automatic, numbers that reflect the lower efficiency of its traditional gas engine. Plan to spend a lot more for fuel if you choose a GR86.

Winner: Honda Prelude

Pricing and value

This is where the GR86 comes roaring back. With its base trim level starting at $32,795, including destination fees, the 2027 GR86 is impressively affordable for a new performance car. In its midgrade $35,695 Premium trim, the GR86 comes stocked with features such as heated front seats, an upgraded stereo, traffic-adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning.

The 2027 Prelude comes in only one trim level priced at $43,595. It has a few comfort features the GR86 lacks, such as the adaptive suspension, full leather upholstery and lane keeping assistance, but it’s hard to ignore that the entry cost is almost $10,000 more than a GR86.

Winner: Toyota GR86

Edmunds says

The Prelude has a lot going for it. It’s the more comfortable, more efficient and more practical of the two, with tech and cargo space that makes it far easier to live with every day. For these reasons, it edges out the GR86 in Edmunds’ rankings of affordable coupes. Still, the GR86 shouldn’t be dismissed if you’re seeking a more connected driving experience.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Josh Jacquot is a contributor at Edmunds.

The depositions involve a civil case where Unity Resources, a mineral assets company, was accused of fraud. Paxton was connected to Unity but not a defendant, and the case was settled.

Talarico's campaign confirmed it asked a court on Wednesday to release the documents.

The Democratic state representative is counting on voters recoiling from past accusations against Paxton, the Texas attorney general, even though similar tactics have failed in previous campaigns.

In addition to seeking the depositions, Talarico recently resurfaced video of Paxton pocketing an expensive pen at a courthouse security checkpoint. Talarico also has talked about how Paxton was impeached, although Paxton was later acquitted, and how he faced criminal charges for securities fraud, which ended with an agreement with prosecutors involving restitution payments but no admission of guilt.

Paxton has repeatedly denied allegations against him and, much like his supporter President Donald Trump, calls them politically motivated smears. It is an approach that has worked over the years, including when Paxton defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in this year's Republican primary.

A spokesperson for Paxton's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported the contents of one deposition, including that Paxton had possibly violated attorney-client privilege. That was disputed by those involved. The Journal also reported that Paxton said he could not recall the answer to a question about 90 times during the deposition.

In a draft of the court filing, lawyers for Talarico's campaign argued there is “no basis under Texas law or procedure to withhold them from the public. Keeping them secret violates Texas’s constitutional guarantee that judicial proceedings be free and open to public scrutiny.”

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The charges relate to an incident on May 28 when a Lamborghini was involved in a “single-vehicle collision” on the M3 in southern England, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

The 31-year-old Sterling is accused of dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas — for wrongful inhalation and failing to provide a sample for suspected alcohol or substance use, said the police force, which added that no other vehicles were involved in the collision and no injuries were reported.

Sterling is due to appear at a magistrates’ court on Sept. 15 for a hearing.

Sterling is currently without a club. He has played for a number of England's top teams — Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal — and was at Dutch club Feyenoord on a short-term deal last season.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The depot in the Tambov region southeast of Moscow had been hit on July 18, killing seven people. That attack was the start of Ukraine's aerial campaign that has delivered repeated blows to Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries. The company’s size and commercial importance brought comparisons with Amazon.

Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone capabilities developed since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022 have allowed Kyiv to hit Wildberries facilities across the country in recent weeks. Ukraine says goods sold by the company include equipment and technical components that are used by the Russian military, which the company denies. The attacks have unsettled Russians living far from the front and hurt small businesses.

Ukraine also has targeted oil facilities that are the backbone of the economy in Russia, which is one of the world’s largest energy producers.

Ukraine's General Staff said its forces struck a Lukoil refinery overnight in Kstovo, in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. The facility, which has an annual processing capacity of about 125 million barrels, was set ablaze in the attack, a General Staff statement said.

Nizhny Novgorod has been targeted repeatedly by Ukraine. Gov. Gleb Nikitin confirmed the attack and said an unspecified “industrial facility” was damaged, without elaborating.

The relentless barrages prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to decree that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners don't protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or don't rebuild them after the strikes. Analysts said the move aimed to compel companies to pay for their own security and bring damaged assets back into service, despite the cost.

Russia has hit Ukraine with ballistic and cruise missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones, killing thousands of civilians. A woman and a 4-year-old were killed in a strike on a residential building in northern Ukraine's Chernihiv region, emergency services said Wednesday.

Ukraine has launched hundreds of drones at Russia almost nightly, hoping to overwhelm air defenses. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces overnight shot down 426 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Ukraine struck Russian oil facilities, airfields, logistics and infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post Wednesday. He didn't elaborate on the targets.

Also on Wednesday, Zelenskyy awarded Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom, one of its highest honors, for his “outstanding personal merits” in protecting human life and freedom and strengthening ties with the United States.

Musk is one of the most influential, and contentious, private sector figures in Ukraine’s war effort. His satellite internet network Starlink has become deeply embedded in Ukraine’s military operations, with commanders and soldiers relying on satellite connectivity to communicate and coordinate operations.

Starlink doesn’t currently operate over Russian territory, but Zelenskyy wants Musk to reconsider and allow Ukrainian forces to maintain satellite connectivity for longer-range drone attacks targeting Russia’s military and economic infrastructure.

The overnight attack on the Wildberries facility in Tambov was confirmed by the company, which said the depot was evacuated. It didn’t say the extent of the damage.

Tambov Gov. Yevgeny Pervyshov said the fire destroyed the logistical center and injured two people.

Elsewhere, two people were killed and two others were wounded in Russia’s Lipetsk region, south of Moscow, after a drone fell on a house, setting it ablaze, Gov. Igor Artamonov said.

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

One baby of the 15 who were in the nursery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences was rescued, the hospital said.

Television footage showed rescue workers using ladders to reach the third-floor nursery through broken windows. Grieving parents and relatives gathered at the hospital, some weeping while others demanded answers about how the fire began and whether the nursery had adequate firefighting equipment.

The government has opened an investigation, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, the Health Ministry’s highest civil servant, to be removed from office.

A woman who identified herself as Mrs. Mohammad Sami said she gave birth three days earlier and her baby was receiving intensive care in the nursery when the fire broke out.

“I don’t know what to say or whom to blame,” she said through tears. “I have lost my child."

The fire was confined to the hospital's nursery

The fire was confined to the nursery at the institute, which is one of Islamabad’s largest public hospitals. The rest of the facility was unaffected with no other injuries reported, according to hospital officials and witnesses. The blaze was later extinguished, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Suhail Ashraf said.

It was among Pakistan’s deadliest recent tragedies involving children. In June, 14 schoolchildren were killed when the roof of a tutoring center under construction collapsed in the eastern city of Lahore.

Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, who confirmed the death toll, told the Geo News channel that he was traveling from Karachi to Islamabad to oversee the investigation.

Dr. Aneeza Jalil, a hospital spokesperson, said a doctor rescued one baby. She said the bodies of six babies had been handed over to their families, while the remaining bodies would be released soon.

The government is investigating how the fire started and the response

The Islamabad district magistrate appointed a fact-finding committee and asked it to submit a report within 24 hours. The panel will investigate the cause of the fire and its spread, determine whether adequate fire-safety measures were in place, and evaluate the emergency response, according to a government order.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sharif, the prime minister, expressed sorrow over the fire.

“A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” said Sharif, who held a high-level meeting with officials from relevant agencies hours after the fire.

President Asif Ali Zardari also offered condolences to the families, describing the deaths as “heartbreaking and an irreparable loss.” He called for those responsible to be brought to justice and urged hospitals to ensure effective fire-safety measures and emergency procedures.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built over the spots where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead.

Through many centuries, as Muslim rulers governed this region and changing politics affected the influence of religious powers, an arrangement evolved as unique as the church's jumbled architecture. Today, the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches share the ownership and the use of the worship space.

I watched through a tiny door slot as a representative from a Muslim family — they’ve been entrusted with the basilica’s keys since the 13th century — climbed a small wooden ladder to reach the upper bolt. Then he passed the ladder back through that same opening, which a Greek Orthodox priest locked shut too. Another wished us “Good night!” in English before hurrying away.

Most nights, from 9 p.m. to dawn, when the doors are reopened with the same ceremony, about a dozen priests, a smattering of registered pilgrims and a few cats have the sprawling, dark basilica to themselves.

While the priests and a few nuns quickly went about their rest or chores, it took us visitors a few quiet, contemplative moments to even decide where to start wandering in the venerated, labyrinthine space.

A unique prayer experience in Jerusalem's holiest church

Peter Stängle, a pilgrim from Brazil, repeatedly prayed on his knees. His tattooed forearms and his forehead rested on the stone of the unction, where Jesus’s body is believed to have been prepared for burial.

“A lot is going through my mind — what I did wrong in my life, is there salvation for everybody, maybe even for me?” he said.

He'd been so distracted by the stream of visitors during the day — even though it's a far tinier number than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Israel-Hamas war and the Iran war, which decimated tourism — that he considered hiding at closing time in one of the many side chapels. Then he discovered he could simply sign up to spend the night in prayer in the church.

The complex was mostly built in the Middle Ages on sites venerated since the 4th century. With renovations and additions still ongoing, our steps echoed on millennia-old stones while 20th-century wall mosaics glittered.

It's a multistory, meandering construction decorated in the different styles of the denominations that use it. In addition to their dedicated altars, all pilgrims tend to venerate three spots — the unction stone, the shrine built over Jesus' tomb, and the upper chapel of Calvary, where a stone marks the spot where Jesus’ cross stood, according to tradition.

Stängle and I sat facing it for a long time. Only a handful of oil lamps flickered in the shade of the side-by-side Catholic and Greek Orthodox spaces, with glass enclosures dividing the stone for their respective worshippers' veneration.

We also crossed paths in front of the Holy Edicule, the marble shrine erected over Jesus’ cave tomb. Three Armenian pilgrims sat solemnly in front of it until a cat strolled up and nestled at their feet, almost touching the beads of the rosary that one white-veiled woman held.

Different Christian traditions share holy worship spaces

It’s at the Edicule that each night around midnight, after the ringing of the bells, the first services are held as the resident clergy start the prayers that wrap up usually around 6 a.m. That's normally when we overnighters are let out, and daytime worshippers can come in.

The reverence, said the Rev. Giuseppe Gaffurini, “enriches the Basilica.”

“You can still breathe in the presence of he who was crucified and rose from the dead," said Gaffurini, who heads the monastic community of 10 Franciscans living in rooms above the Catholic section of the church.

The Italian priest laments that the ongoing conflicts have prevented hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from attending services at the basilica. He had often admired their devotion — those touching or kissing the cold, historic stones, and those hugging each other in tears.

He remembers first visiting to chant in some of the nighttime liturgies 15 years ago. He had taken monastic vows three decades earlier, so he didn’t expect it to be a transformative experience — but it was so searing that he hasn’t left.

“The joy of the encounter at the sepulcher of the risen one erases a lifetime of fatigue and launches you forward again,” Gaffurini said.

He then retired to his room for a few hours’ sleep before the Franciscans’ dawn services started, his brown robes fading in the candlelit space.

A fellow friar from Guinea-Bissau was the first up from the Catholic order. He rang a bell and opened the Catholic chapel of the Blessed Sacrament — where Franciscans have worshipped for 700 years — so that priests of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Coptic rites could incense it on their around-midnight tour of the sacred spots inside the church. Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox clergy also have clearly defined access to the church in an often controversial 19th-century arrangement.

The Franciscan, a Greek Orthodox priest and an Armenian one robed in bright red, nodded at each other as incense wafted near the Edicule. Then each started distinctive rites in rotation — an accommodating coexistence that’s a welcome change from centuries of at-times violent fights about the right to worship here.

“We’re living a particularly positive period of relationships with the other churches,” said the Rev. Francesco Ielpo, the Franciscan priest who, as Custos of the Holy Land, oversees more than 300 friars in the region ministering to the basilica and many more holy sites.

That positivity and collaboration, he says, "is, I believe, the first and most important sign to be really prophets of peace.”

At night, clergy and pilgrims are alone with their thoughts — and faith

Before the latest wars, the shop-filled maze of narrow alleyways that surround the church inside Jerusalem's Old City was often packed shoulder-to-shoulder with jostling pilgrims. On a 2016 trip here, the crowds were so dense I didn't even make it into the basilica's stone courtyard.

A team of archaeologists and a few groups of visitors still come in daily, crossing paths with Jews and Muslims going to pray at their respective major holy sites a few hundred meters (yards) away. For the Christian priests, nuns and monks who can be easily spotted because of their flowing robes, those encounters are increasingly tense.

But inside the church, especially in the silent wake, you're alone with your thoughts — and for Christians, with an almost tangible representation of the central tenet of the faith.

You’re locked inside a cool, dark space, on the very site where Jesus suffered a brutal form of execution, the crucifixion. And yet, to believers, this is also where that page turned — where he defeated death, leaving the promise of eternal life for the faithful.

As we sat on a bench below the Calvary chapel — across from a 17-year-old Armenian priest on one of his first nights here — I asked Gaffurini if this mystery still affected him after 15 years.

“Fifteen?” he shot back. “It would still do so after 50 years.”

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

Loud and clear.

Murphy, the two-time defending National League Manager of the Year, benched Pratt after he failed to get a bunt down and didn’t run hard out of the batter's box on a bloop single during a 3-2 loss to the New York Mets in 10 innings.

“I’ve got to be better,” Pratt said. “It’s not winning baseball. I didn’t help the team win and it won’t happen again, that’s for sure.”

Batting ninth, Pratt was asked to bunt after Garrett Mitchell and Joey Ortiz opened the third with singles against Mets starter Zac Thornton. Pratt fouled off Thornton’s first pitch and then pulled back his bat on the second one, a fastball right down the middle.

“We asked him to get a bunt down, pulled back on a strike, and that happens, maybe,” Murphy said. “Trying to get a guy second and third for (Jackson) Chourio in a game where we weren’t swinging it too good.”

Swinging away with two strikes, Pratt fouled off the next two pitches before hitting a comebacker to Thornton, who fired to third to force Mitchell. Thornton then retired Chourio and Brice Turang to escape the jam.

Murphy was particularly annoyed in the fifth.

With one out, Pratt hit a flyball to shallow right field. He paused in the batter’s box and gazed skyward for a moment before running at normal speed to first base.

The ball landed between three Mets in fair territory near the line and briefly bounced past right fielder Carson Benge. Pratt accelerated for a moment rounding first before heading back to the bag.

“No excuses. I should have been running hard, no matter if it is foul or fair,” Pratt said. “I should have been (hustling) to get to second base.”

Murphy immediately pulled Pratt for pinch-runner David Hamilton, who committed the walk-off throwing error at third base in the 10th.

Pratt, who turned 22 last week, made his major league debut on June 16 — about 2 1/2 months after the Brewers signed the shortstop prospect to an eight-year, $50.75 million contract.

“I love the kid and I believe in the kid immensely, but he’s got to be a player that does those things,” Murphy said. “It’s just not tolerated. By anybody. It sends a message to everybody else, too — you’ve got to run.”

Pratt looked surprised as he ran off the field. Television cameras caught him talking in the dugout to veteran teammate Sal Frelick.

“There’s a certain way to play here and I may be new, but it doesn’t matter,” said Pratt, selected by Milwaukee in the sixth round of the 2023 amateur draft. “It’s the way we’re right through the organization from rookie ball to the big leagues. And I didn’t do that. And I will do that. No excuses.”

Pratt is batting .259 with two homers, 18 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 49 games for the Brewers, who have the best record in the majors at 81-51 and are seeking a fourth straight NL Central crown.

“He’s a great kid — it’s not laziness,” Murphy said. “You’ve got to have your head in the game. Because there’s games like today, it comes down to (Francisco) Lindor’s great catch or whatever it might be, an errant throw or whatever. You’ve got to be locked in if you’re going to play at this level. So hopefully, a good learning experience.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Dan J. Sullivan, who goes by Dan Sullivan, was among the top four finishers after the Aug. 18 primary and on Tuesday moved on to the November matchup, which is a ranked choice contest. The incumbent, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola also have advanced.

The challenger Sullivan, a retired teacher from the island community of Petersburg, sued for a spot on the ballot and succeeded after a judge invalidated a decision by a top state elections official who said he had filed his candidacy with an intent to confuse voters. The allegation was driven by claims raised by the senator and his GOP allies. The state Supreme Court ultimately ordered Dan J. Sullivan eligible for the ballot.

While the challenger sought to appear on the ballot as Republican Dan J. Sullivan, the Division of Elections listed him as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation. The senator was listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent.

A call seeking comment from the challenger was not immediately returned Tuesday, and emails to campaign staff for the senator also were not immediately returned.

President Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Sullivan for reelection and called the other Sullivan’s candidacy an attempt to trick voters. Dan J. Sullivan criticized the incumbent for embracing Trump’s endorsement and said the president was “more interested in raising tariffs on our allies than in lowering the cost of groceries, housing and energy.”

It was too early to determine who would fill the fourth and final slot in the Senate general election race.

The Senate race was one of three major contests on Alaska’s primary ballot, which also featured races for the state’s lone U.S. House seat and governor.

In the congressional race, Republican Rep. Nick Begich, seeking a second term, advanced earlier to the general election along with independent Bill Hill. The other two spots remained too early to call.

Democrats Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Tom Begich, former state lawmakers, advanced on election night in the race for governor, topping a field of mostly Republican candidates all vying to succeed Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Tom Begich is Nick Begich’s uncle. Republican Bernadette Wilson also advanced on Tuesday, with the fourth spot remaining too early to call.

The state accepts absentee and overseas ballots up to 10 days after the primary as long as they were postmarked by election day.

The incumbent Sullivan and Peltola are the leading candidates in the Senate race, after raising the most money and having statewide name recognition. It’s one of a handful of Senate races around the country considered competitive and pivotal for both parties’ hopes of controlling the chamber.

Dan J. Sullivan’s presence on the general election ballot adds a twist to the race because of Alaska’s ranked choice voting system. Under it, candidates who finish third or fourth in the general election can play a crucial role in deciding the eventual winner if their supporters rank other choices beyond them.

But as Harold Jezler followed the media coverage from the United States, he couldn’t help but notice Gilman’s gaunt and sickly appearance and think of the implications for his wife, Olga, who has been detained in Russia since 2022 and faces her own health problems.

“You just look at the pictures and the guy is not in good shape. It’s concerning for me and for all the families, I would imagine," Jezler said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Is this what it takes for the government to really make a move and prioritize this — that the person is basically in dire straits? It was a very bittersweet thing to see that."

Gilman is the latest in a succession of prisoners freed by Russia going back years, but his release hardly cleared the decks of Americans held there. Some who remain are grappling with medical problems and receiving what family members and advocates say is below-standard care, adding urgency to the calls for their release.

Among those jailed are a Navy veteran with gastrointestinal illness, a man with an autoimmune disease, another with severe dental damage and Olga Jezler, 36, who was diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition involving abnormal tissue growth from the uterus that can cause severe pain and infertility.

“These are American citizens who are innocent of violations of Russian law. They're being held in Russia because they are Americans or because they have American status, and we shouldn't need to wait for their health to be on the brink of death for there to be an urgency to bring them home,” said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer for Global Reach, a firm that advocates for hostages and detainees and represents multiple Americans jailed in Russia.

The State Department said it was aware of concerns about medical care and continues to raise the issue with the Russians. The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service did not respond to a message seeking comment.

A former detainee describes medical care in Russian prisons

Paul Whelan assumes he received better-than-normal care in the Russian prison system given the high-profile nature of his captivity and his value as trade bait. But the more than five years the Michigan man spent in captivity on espionage charges the U.S. government called baseless gives him a good vantage point.

He spent the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russian custody, when he says extra raw onions were distributed as an apparent source of immunity. Prisoners with damaged teeth, he recalled, were more likely to have them yanked out than repaired. Prisoners had to make do, including with makeshift bandages, in the absence of a ready supply of first aid kits and bartered with guards for fresh fruit and vegetables, he said.

He had complained for months of a hernia, and when he finally was taken for an emergency, middle-of-the-night surgery, he recalls seeing medical instruments that were dropped on the floor cavalierly returned to the surgical tray.

“The poor conditions are part of the punishment,” said Whelan, who was freed in 2024 in a blockbuster prisoner swap. “You are supposed to get less of everything than normal citizens would get.”

The medical care of Russia's prisoners has long been a source of scrutiny, including because of the 2009 death of whistle-blowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky of untreated pancreatitis and more recently with the case of Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran who before his 2022 release had coughed up blood and experienced lung pain and a broken rib.

Gilman, a Massachusetts teacher, had been detained since 2022 on charges of assaulting a police officer. His family disputed the charges, and the State Department classified him as wrongly detained.

Before Gilman was flown out of Russia, he had been in “a dissociative stupor” for 47 days due to abuse he suffered in prison, Lebson has said. After Gilman was moved to the hospital, he was hooked up to a feeding tube and handcuffed to a bed.

The images of Gilman on the plane ride home raised troubling questions about his condition and the care he received, said Liz Richards, director of hostage advocacy and research at the Foley Foundation, a hostage advocacy organization. “We know he wasn't getting the medical care and treatment that he needs.”

“I really do think Russia realized, if we don't release him, he is going to die, and that would create an international incident between our two countries — to have a Marine Corps veteran, an American, die in custody in Russia because of their treatment,” Richards said.

Calls to release other Americans with health problems

Chuck Zimmerman, 59, was sailing from the U.S. to New Zealand in June 2025 when he was intercepted by the Russian navy in international waters and charged with transporting firearms on his yacht. His representatives say he voluntarily disclosed them after arriving in Sochi, a Black Sea port city. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Within months, he developed excruciating stomach pain that became so bad that he took to making himself vomit to ease the discomfort.

An initial diagnostic test failed to identify the source of the pain, but a doctor consulted by the advocacy group Hostage US identified possible causes as a gastric ulcer, pancreatitis or a hiatal hernia with gastric bypass disorder, according to Global Reach.

“It's heart-wrenching to know that he's having to make himself do that to stop the pain,” said his younger sister, Robin Stultz, who says her brother tells her he worries he might die in Russia. “It's hard for me to sit down and eat dinner knowing that he's throwing up his.”

A recent letter from 16 senators to Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited Gilman's weakened condition in urging that more be done to secure the release of five other Americans. Besides Zimmerman and Jezler, the letter names Aleksandr Antonov, who advocates say has a traumatic brain injury; Andre Khachatoorian, jailed for nearly five years and living with an autoimmune disease; and David Barnes, who advocates say requires urgent dental surgery.

Other Americans who remain jailed include Stephen Hubbard, who is accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine and has been classified by the U.S. as wrongfully detained, and Travis Leake, a rock musician held on drug-related charges. Richards, of the Foley Foundation, says that about 28 Americans are jailed in Russia, including a half dozen the organization considers wrongfully detained.

Olga Jezler, a green card holder, was arrested in 2022 after arriving in Russia to visit a sister grappling with cancer and charged with possessing CBD capsules that her husband and representatives say were legally permissible to carry.

She has been diagnosed with endometriosis, and a growth on her ovary continues to expand. Her husband and supporters are concerned the Russian government approach will be simply to remove the ovary if the cyst keeps growing, jeopardizing her ability to have children, as opposed to trying to preserve as much healthy tissue as possible — which they say would be the standard of care in the U.S.

The couple recently marked their seventh anniversary, but “it's the fifth one we've celebrated apart,” Harold Jezler said.

“She's been there,” he lamented, “way over half our marriage."

The prospects for compromise looked bleak Tuesday, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacting to new 50% U.S. tariffs on certain Canadian goods by responding in kind on about $20 billion worth of American imports, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment.

“You're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked,'' Carney, who came to power last year on the promise that he'd stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump, said over the weekend.

Doug Ford, Ontario’s populist premier, told The Associated Press on Monday that he was ready to escalate even further by cutting off his province’s shipments of electricity and critical minerals to the United States.

Soon after, Trump declared his intention to hammer the Canadian auto industry with another set of import taxes if the Canadians don’t “fall in line.’’

With the breakdown threatening to harm one of the world's largest trading relationships and clouding efforts to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated during his first term, experts cautioned that there's still time to pull back from the brink of an even bigger trade war.

They’ve done it before. “If there is political will, there is an off ramp,’’ said former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler.

'It's not real until somebody walks away'

U.S.-Canada trade talks typically get testy, said Christopher Sands, who heads the Center for U.S.-Canada Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

The two neighbors have a long history of sparring over things like Canada’s protected dairy market and subsidized softwood lumber exports.

“We’ve gone through this with Canadians before,’’ Sands said. “It’s almost like it’s not real until somebody walks away from the table. ... I’m not panicked.’’

There are reasons to think something can be salvaged from the rubble of bilateral trade talks that collapsed Friday.

First, the U.S. tariffs that Trump imposed Saturday cover just $20 billion worth — around 5% — of Canada’s exports to the United States and are unlikely to do much lasting economic damage. Oxford Economics reckons the trade conflict would reduce Canadian economic growth only slightly next year — from a previously forecast 1.6% to 1.4%. On Monday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer even tried to downplay the trade rift as a “tempest in a teapot.’’

Moreover, Carney’s retaliatory tariffs wouldn't take effect until Sept. 8. “That gives us this week. It gives us next week,’’ Sands said. “Time to take a breather and talk about how to avert’’ an all-out trade war.

Despite Trump’s tough talk on Truth Social, his punitive auto tariffs wouldn’t kick in until Jan. 1 — well after the Nov. 3 midterm elections in which the president’s Republican Party is hoping to keep full control of Congress despite voter frustration with the high cost of living.

So there’s at least enough time for the countries to find a stopgap solution.

Cutler, now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, suggested that the U.S. could tap an emissary that both countries trust to get talks back on track; she recalled that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner helped negotiate the USMCA eight years ago.

Canada would likely balk at a one-sided deal

Cutler also noted that Trump suspended his global tariffs for months last year to allow U.S. trading partners to negotiate with him. Many did, including the European Union and Japan, and ended up agreeing to lopsided trade agreements to dodge the worst of Trump’s tariffs.

Canadians, though, are in no mood for a Trump-friendly trade deal.

The American president has enraged the Canadian public with inflammatory talk of making their country the 51st U.S. state. And on Tuesday, instead of trying to lower the temperature, he declared that he was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. He has also repeatedly hit Canada with tariffs and threats of them, including when he suggested he might punish Canada for wildfires that were blackening U.S. skies.

“Fighting with Washington is hugely popular in Canada right now,” said Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute, a Washington-based free-trade think tank. “Guys like Doug Ford — like him, love him or hate him — understand this is a political winner for them.’’

The latest U.S.-Canada conflagration flared up last month when Trump said he planned to hit Canada with 50% tariffs. He complained that Canada had been unfairly restricting U.S. exports of dairy, alcoholic beverages and autos. Trump set a deadline of Aug. 19 — last Wednesday — for the two countries to reach a deal and head off the tariffs.

Because the Supreme Court struck down his biggest tariffs in February, the president turned this time to an obscure provision of a Depression-era trade law that gives him the power to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries that have discriminated against U.S. businesses. No investigation is required, nor is there any limit on how long the tariffs can last. But no president has ever imposed such tariffs before, so they are untested in court.

‘No choice’ but to walk away

Last week, negotiators appeared to be close to resolving their differences. Less than two hours before levies were set to take effect, Trump announced a three-day reprieve, posting on social media that “Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” Greer, the U.S. trade representative, later told CNBC that the United States had offered to cut in half existing 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, and to sharply reduce levies on Canadian auto and softwood lumber imports.

But it all fell apart Friday and the Canadians walked away, with Carney saying the Americans had sought “to destroy our major industries, including autos, steel and aluminum. ... That was one of the main reasons we said no. It was a bad deal.’’ Carney also said that Washington viewed protections for French and Canadian culture — considered fundamental rights in Canada — as irritants to trade.

Ford said he understood that late in the talks, Washington demanded veto power over trade deals Canada pursued with other countries, which would have violated Canadian sovereignty.

Despite the differences, Cato’s Lincicome said, “both sides understand the economic consequences of some sort of a full-blown trade war.’’

The two countries last year did $880 billion worth of trade, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Canada sends 72% of its exports to the United States. And U.S. communities along the border depend on Canadian electricity. American farmers need Canadian potash fertilizer. And U.S. refineries in the Midwest rely on imports from Alberta’s oil sands deposits.

Then there’s U.S. politics. “Voters hate tariffs,” Lincicome said. “They associate them with higher cost of living, and (Trump has) got to be hearing from political folks that if he wants any chance of salvaging the midterms he can’t start a trade war with Canada.

“My guess — and it’s only a guess — is that cooler heads do prevail somewhere in the next few weeks.’’

____

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim contributed.

Christian Castro, an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 wounding of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Minnesota authorities have been seeking to have him extradited since his arrest, but he remains in custody in Brownsville, Texas, a city bordering Mexico.

Texas law says he must be released after 90 days of detention, which is Thursday. Minnesota’s governor and attorney general filed a lawsuit asking a judge to compel Texas to return Castro to their state and to keep the Cameron County sheriff from releasing him until his extradition.

Castro is accused of firing a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg with a bullet that lodged in a child’s bedroom wall. Prosecutors say Castro then falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.

At a federal hearing Tuesday in Brownsville before U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., attorneys with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office argued it would be hard to compel Castro to face charges in their state if he is released, and even harder if he flees.

Rodriguez said he was inclined not to keep the sheriff from releasing Castro, but he said he would provide an order responding to the temporary restraining order on Wednesday.

Attorneys representing the Texas Governor’s Office said the governor has not yet officially decided to deny or grant Minnesota’s extradition request and therefore the lawsuit is premature.

“I think ripeness is a significant issue,” Rodriguez told attorneys.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an internal state investigation to determine if Castro is legally considered a “fugitive.” Trevor W. Ezell, Abbott's general counsel, also questioned whether the court could impose a deadline for the governor to respond to an extradition request.

“There’s nothing legally left for them to investigate,” Kimberly Ann Svendsen, an attorney representing the Minnesota attorney general, told the judge.

Abbott said last week that he would not respond to the extradition request, citing ongoing investigations of fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.