Net revenue rose 5.6% to $25.27 billion in the July-September period. Wall Street had expected revenue of $24.95, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

The company, based in The Purchase, New York, said its global snack food volumes increased 4%, the highest rate of growth since 2021. That was largely due to its international business, which makes up 41% of the company's revenue.

World Cup-related demand for Lay's snacks was strong, the company said, and PepsiCo gained share in key markets like China and Brazil.

But PepsiCo's North American results were weaker, with Frito-Lay snack food volumes flat compared to the same period last year and beverage volumes down 2%. PepsiCo said growth in sales of U.S. salty snacks was offset by sales declines in Canada.

Net income rose 2% to $2.34. That also beat analyst expectations of $2.29.

Rubio arrived in Lisbon on Thursday for a brief stop on his return to Washington, a day after delivering a speech in the Greek capital of Athens urging European countries to save Western civilization by upholding the values and traditions of ancient Greece.

Rubio, who began his trip in Iceland, is expected to thank Portuguese officials for supporting U.S. operations in the Iran war by allowing the U.S. to use the Lajes Field air base in Portugal’s mid-Atlantic Azores islands, which is strategically located for military refueling flights.

The U.S. Air Force has long had a base there under an agreement with Portugal. Unlike neighboring Spain, where Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez refused to allow the American military to use Spanish bases to stage operations for attacks on Iran, Portugal’s center-right government granted Washington “conditional approval” to use Lajes Field.

“Portugal is a great ally, very cooperative ally of the United States and a country with which we already have a solid and growing relationship. And we visit these countries in order to reinforce those ties,” Rubio said before departing Athens. “That’s the purpose of the trip.”

Spain’s position infuriated President Donald Trump, who has fumed publicly on numerous occasions about its government and other European countries he deems insufficiently supportive of his administration’s policies.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said the approval didn’t include hostile actions that go against international law. Members of the government said Portugal was performing the duties of a U.S. ally.

Some Portuguese political parties balked at the move. Following a formal complaint by a small left-wing political party called Left Bloc, the country’s attorney general’s office said last week it is looking into whether the use of the Lajes Field base was lawful.

As one of the smallest members of NATO and the European Union, Portugal is keen to cultivate its relations with bigger countries.

Portugal, a country of fewer than 11 million people, spends just over 2% of its GDP on defense, according to NATO. The government says it plans to increase defense spending to around 3%, including dual-use investments in civilian infrastructure. Portugal has around 25,000 military personnel, the alliance says.

“I’m asking our allies to be strong,” Rubio said in Greece. “We want a strong Europe.”

Lajes Field was first used by the United States in World War II. After the war, Lisbon and Washington signed a formal agreement for the Air Force's use of the base, which has a long runway to cater for heavy military aircraft.

The base was scaled back after the end of the Cold War and now mostly handles the refueling of trans-Atlantic military flights.

A previous Portuguese center-right government also supported U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that most Americans, 64%, think AI is developing “too fast,” while 27% say its development has been “about right” and only 8% say it's moving “too slow.”

The risk that powerful AI models could evade human control and hurt humanity, once the stuff of science fiction, has been emerging as a more pressing concern. Even leaders of the companies that are developing frontier AI models are calling for a slowdown so that government regulation can catch up. President Donald Trump has pushed back against slowing down AI development because of concerns that China will gain an advantage with the technology. Data centers powering AI projects have also taken a prominent role in major political races as the midterm elections approach.

About 8 in 10 U.S. adults say it's “extremely” or “very” important for the U.S. government to ensure that AI stays under human control, and they are about as likely to want the government to prioritize protecting the country's workforce. Most U.S. adults also think minimizing environmental harm and growing the U.S. economy are highly important. About half say this about promoting technological innovation, and slightly fewer say that about competing with China.

There's bipartisan concern about the speed of AI's development, but few Americans think either major political party has an advantage in handling artificial intelligence. Trump, a Republican, also gets a low rating on his handling of the issue, with 67% of U.S. adults disapproving of his performance on AI.

Stephanie Stewart, a junior-high science teacher in Sunset, Utah, said she is frustrated by the president’s opposition to AI regulation.

“There is no handling of the issue except for we’re just going to allow these companies to do whatever they want, and we’re not going to regulate them,” said Stewart, 53.

Most say protecting workers should be a priority for the government

Ron Theusch, a truck driver who lives in rural Alden, Minnesota, said his No. 1 concern with AI is the potential loss of jobs — including his own.

“I can just see a train of self-driving trucks 24/7, just running up and down I-35, loading and unloading. I can just see that happening,” said Theusch, 58.

Most Democrats and Republicans agree on the importance of protecting workers and keeping AI under human control, the poll found.

“There was a movie called ‘Terminator,’ where the robots came back and killed everybody,” Theusch said. “People relate to that ... I don’t know where it’s going to land. I really don’t have anything I can do to control it, you know. It’s going to evolve.”

There's less consensus about the importance of other priorities when it comes to AI. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say it’s highly important to grow the U.S. economy and to compete with other countries like China. Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to say it’s at least “very” important to minimize environmental harm.

“I don’t understand how, because they’re doing something as well as us, that we can’t be more human about it and more humane about it than just to say, ‘Well, they’re doing it, so we have to do it,’” Stewart said of U.S. competition with China.

And while about three-quarters of Democrats say AI is developing “too fast,” only about half of Republicans share that worry. People under 30 years old also express higher levels of concern than people 60 or older, the survey found.

“I think I have all the normal concerns, right? I think it’s wonderful for certain applications, but I also feel like it will be overused and can create a lack of personal connections. It can make people lazy because information is just given to them without really having to research things on their own,” said Kelly Opp, a 62-year-old Republican in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“Like everything else, once you get that ball rolling, it progresses fast on its own, but I think that it will continue to keep progressing. So the speed doesn’t really bother me,” she said.

Americans have little confidence in Democrats or Republicans on AI

As a teacher, Stewart regularly uses AI to help with her work, including with creating assignments or assisting with tests. But she is deeply concerned about AI's effects on children.

“You’ve got to protect kids. You’ve got to protect teens. You've got to protect privacy ... we need to try to do something,” she said.

Americans have little trust in either party when it comes to the handling of AI issues. About 4 in 10 Americans say they don’t trust either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party on AI, according to the poll, while nearly 2 in 10 trust both parties equally, and the rest are split between trusting the Republicans and the Democrats.

Even people who identify with the parties are ambivalent about their ability to handle the issue. Only about half of Republicans and Democrats say their party is better equipped to handle AI issues, and roughly 3 in 10 in each case say neither party is.

“I am kind of moderate. And I see that there’s good on both sides," said Stewart. "Anyone back in Washington is weak on doing anything for anyone but themselves right now. So, no, I don’t think the Democrats would do a better job per se. Maybe they would definitely tout it. But until I see anything coming from anyone, I’m going to be like, ‘Yeah, no. You’re all just sitting there.’”

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Ortutay reported from Oakland, Calif.

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The AP-NORC poll of 2,140 adults was conducted Sept. 24-28 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

The suspect, who was not named, is the seventh man bailed in the investigation of an apparent plot aimed at RAF Fairford air base, which has been used by American bombers to strike Iran.

British authorities have linked the incident to Tehran.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident that led to scores of residents being evacuated from their homes near the base on Sept. 27 as armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts swarmed the rural area.

Police later said they had found a quantity of an accelerant — gasoline — in three vans linked to the initial five suspects, but no explosives.

“After that, I was like, ‘I really need to take care of myself,’” she said. “We always tell people that old cliché: It’s like the oxygen mask on a plane. But it’s really true. You can’t be a successful or good caregiver to somebody else if you’re not taking care of yourself.”

Renda leads a support group for parents and caregivers for the New Hampshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, where she vigorously promotes self-care. And she’s gotten better at taking her own advice, finding time for herself and setting better boundaries.

“It’s not easy,” she said. “I joke sometimes, ‘Is 10 minutes in the shower crying self-care?’ Sometimes it is.”

Caregivers are growing in number

Nearly one in four adults in the United States, or 63 million people, provided care to adults or children with medical conditions or disabilities in 2025, a total that jumped by almost 50% in 10 years, according to a report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Their work — most of it unpaid — has gotten longer and more intense, the study found, and nearly two-thirds described feeling high emotional stress.

Recognizing those trends, Dartmouth College and its associated healthcare system recently announced the creation of an institute to provide caregivers with services, education, support and access to home health aides. The Family Caregiver Institute will be part of a broader program exploring best practices for serving the nation’s aging or chronically ill population.

In the meantime, experts say there are small steps individual caregivers can take themselves to prevent burnout.

That could mean asking a neighbor or another family member to fill in for a brief time to provide a break, said Susan Stearns, executive director of NAMI New Hampshire. She also advises prioritizing sleep and movement, even just quick walks outside.

“And if it’s winter and you can’t get outside, I’ve been known to just pace around my house for 10 minutes just to get some movement in because I know I’ll feel better,” she said.

Staying connected to a community also is key, Stearns said, whether that’s meeting friends in person, talking on the phone or participating in online support groups.

“This is a place where social media can serve us,” she said.

Self-care also can mean saying no to others and letting go of unreasonable expectations, she said.

“Caregiving’s hard, and I think sometimes, moms especially can set the bar high and be in pursuit of perfection and not realize, this is good enough,” she said.

In her peer support groups, Renda emphasizes that self-care looks different for everyone. She gets antsy trying to meditate, but others find it calming.

“Self-care doesn’t have to be a day at the spa. It can be sitting for 10 minutes in your car when you get home and just kind of decompressing from the day before you go inside,” she said.

The first step to better self-care is self-identification

Jennifer Rabalais is the co-director of the Center on Aging and Community Living at the University of New Hampshire and coordinator for the New Hampshire Alliance for Healthy Aging. She’s worked to support family caregivers in part by highlighting their impact on the healthcare system.

Many caregivers aren’t aware of available supports, she said, in part because they might not even consider themselves caregivers until someone else points out the duties they perform.

“If you ask them, ‘Do you shop for someone? Do you help someone pay a bill? Do you ever do yard work?’ That same person who is identified as not being a caregiver will often say yes,” she said.

“They are the backbone of our healthcare system, and so if they’re not taking care of themselves, they may end up in a position where they themselves need care,” she said.

Rospotrebnadzor has said that the lab worker at a plague research institute in Irkutsk in southeastern Siberia died of pneumonia of unknown origin. In tersely worded statements, it said that “extensive” testing found no evidence her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with, and it informed the World Health Organization that no case of plague has been registered in the Irkutsk region.

In Thursday’s statement, Rospotrebnadzor rejected reports about a second person falling ill after coming into contact with the lab worker as fake. It didn’t offer any new information about the lab worker’s illness and death or reasons behind the sprawling emergency measures in the region.

On Wednesday, Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, said the U.N. health agency doesn’t know what caused the woman’s Oct. 2 death, which unconfirmed reports in Russia blamed on pneumonic plague — a severe form of plague that can spread from person to person. She urged Russia to provide more information about the case.

Van Kerkhove's comments suggested the U.N. health agency has more questions than answers about the situation at the lab, which focuses on plague and was founded about a century ago to study the disease in Siberia, where it occurs naturally in wild animals.

WHO said it has requested further information to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia, the pathogen that prompted the public health measures and media reports that a second employee had pneumonia of undetermined cause.

Rospotrebnadzor said Wednesday that it has conducted the “whole range of anti-epidemic measures in connection with the professional activities of the person who fell ill," noting that she had been “vaccinated and had immunity to dangerous infections.”

The agency also said that a probe into observation of biological safety norms at the institute found “no emergencies in dealing with pathogens” and confirmed that all safety measures had been duly observed.

Russian authorities have kept a tight lid on information about the case, which has been surrounded by secrecy.

Russian state TV and other national state-controlled media have largely steered clear of the subject. Some news outlets withdrew earlier reports about the case.

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

The Helene Boucher Lycee has been a flashpoint for clashes in the French capital, and is one of hundreds of schools disrupted by protesters Thursday.

At least a dozen demonstrations in support of the high school students' movement are planned around France later in the day.

Riot police gathered in side streets as students converged on the school. Many protesters wore surgical masks or hoodies, apparently afraid to be recognized.

Police have made more than 6,600 arrests since late September, when students, most of them under 18, started protesting to demand more education funding, according to the Interior Ministry. The Education Ministry said that 375 schools were either fully or partially closed on Thursday.

Pressure mounts on an embattled administration

While the number of school closures was down compared to Tuesday, pressure is mounting on the government of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron.

The protests against the under-funding of schools — many of them struggling with dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff — have drawn troublemakers not concerned about the aims of the protest movement as well as unions and political groups.

In a TV address, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu lamented the “violence, students and staff being attacked, police officers and gendarmes injured, schools set on fire or vandalized, thousands of hours of classes lost, not to mention threats and insults.”

He took aim at “political leaders who use this anger to conduct their electoral battles." France goes to the polls for a presidential election in April. “We cannot play with the safety of France’s youth,” Lecornu said.

At the Lycee, 18-year-old university student Emma Khelil came to offer support to those at the barricades at her former high school. She told The Associated Press that she’s really concerned about police violence.

“We’re here to defend our rights, not to lose an eye or a hand,” Khelil said. She also said that she had noticed insulation problems and water leaks in the school building and had even seen rats on occasion. Other students confirmed that they’d seen rats too.

She was not convinced by Lecornu’s efforts to calm the situation.

“I don’t think the movement is going to lose momentum. As long as things don’t change, we’re going to see the movement grow stronger, and potentially a convergence of struggles, especially with the next presidential election coming up,” she said.

Not long after she spoke, police surrounded a nearby square. The crowd surged, and tear gas was fired.

The protest movement crosses borders

The impact of France's protests is also being felt north of the border, in Belgium.

Liege Mayor Willy Demeyer issued a ban on public gatherings until midnight on Oct. 16, given what he described as the “real, serious and imminent risk” of repeated clashes and vandalism that authorities expected in coming days.

City police said they used water cannon and tear gas on Wednesday to keep several hundred protesters at bay. Authorities sent emergency mobile text messages warning shopkeepers to close their premises due to rioting.

Almost 90 people were arrested and several police were injured. Police reinforcements were sent from the capital Brussels and from Antwerp, and more are coming. Smaller protests have been held in Mons and Charleroi.

In a post on social media, Belgium’s Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said the “perpetrators will have to answer for their actions before the courts.”

The Belgian protests, organized through social media chat groups, include demands for more teachers and smaller classes as well as complaints about education reform in Belgium, but are also likely inspired by events in France.

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Cook reported from Brussels. Masha Macpherson in Paris contributed to this report.

The demonstration in Bengaluru came a day after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained by police at a protest in New Delhi. Dramatic images of police dragging Gandhi into a vehicle spread widely on social media, adding momentum to the protests calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Gandhi’s Congress party has called for more protests in New Delhi later Thursday.

The nationwide voter list review, known as the Special Intensive Revision, has been carried out in most of India’s states and federally administered territories. More than 130 million names have been removed so far, a number larger than the populations of countries like Japan and Mexico. Millions of people have appealed the deletions.

The opposition says the removals have disproportionately affected voters who support them, while voters more likely to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party have been preserved or added to the lists. The Election Commission and the government reject the allegations, saying the revision is aimed at removing duplicate and ineligible entries.

Those whose names have been struck off the list can appeal, but getting back on the rolls can be difficult. Critics say the requirements are confusing and some people may not have required documents such as older government records.

The anger intensified last month following an investigation by the Indian Express newspaper that found two election commissioners had raised concerns about the process.

The campaign has been led in part by the “Cockroach” movement, which began as an online youth campaign in May and has since organized street protests across the country. Its earlier nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes over exam paper leaks led to the resignation of Modi’s education minister in July.

Protesters are demanding Kumar’s resignation and an end to the removals, warning that they could disenfranchise millions more voters.

The rallies pose a political challenge to Modi midway through his third term, as opposition parties seek to turn growing anger into a broader national campaign. Opposition leader Gandhi is also emerging as a prominent face of the protest.

The “Cockroach” movement has called for more protests in New Delhi starting Saturday, with thousands expected to march to Jantar Mantar, the capital’s designated protest site. Police barricaded the area ahead of the demonstrations.

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Saaliq reported from New Delhi.

The British military said late Wednesday that several projectiles struck a tanker off the coast of Qatar, causing multiple casualties, but did not provide more details.

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

British consulate in east Jerusalem forced to demote itself after Israeli pressure

Britain said it had reached an agreement with Israel's government to downgrade its consulate in east Jerusalem, and a small team of diplomats will continue to operate in what will now be known as the U.K. Mission.

Israel's government said last month it would close the consulate in response to the United Kingdom banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement that the consulate had “ceased to function as a consulate.” He said twenty British diplomats will leave Israel, and that the building will continue to operate with seven diplomats engaged in limited activity.

“Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it," he said.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband denied the building will close and said it will be known as the U.K. Mission. Miliband said the seven diplomats remaining will continue to work with Palestinians, but gave no details. The UK said based on the current agreement, it would not take reciprocal action such as expelling Israeli diplomats from London.

A tanker is struck off the coast of Qatar

The British military said late Wednesday that several projectiles struck a tanker off the coast of Qatar, causing multiple casualties.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack took place in the Persian Gulf, north of Qatar’s city of Madinat ash Shamal. The city is on the northern tip of Qatar.

The U.K. military did not identify the tanker and did not provide any details about the casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and no comment from Qatar.

Former military secretary accuses Netanyahu of trying to alter records of Oct. 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former military secretary has accused the Israeli leader of altering official transcripts of phone calls from the morning of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.

The accusations by Maj. Gen. Avi Gil came in a wide-ranging interview with the right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper.

In excerpts of the interview published Thursday, Gil accused Netanyahu of attempting to change records of their phone calls in the first hour of the attack, possibly in an attempt to shift blame for failures that morning from the prime minister to his advisers.

Gil said he reported the attempt, allegedly made by Netanyahu's chief of staff, to the attorney general. Gil served as military secretary from 2021 to 2024.

In the interview, Gil also confirmed that a senior Egyptian intelligence official had visited Israel shortly before the Oct. 7 attack. Asked whether there had been a warning, Gil said he did not know what message was relayed, but added: "Whoever met with someone or received something is still concealing it today.”

Gil’s full interview is expected to be published over the weekend, and an interview with an Israeli TV channel is also planned.

The report comes as Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is seeking re-election on Oct. 27. His Likud party told Israel Hayom that Gil's comments are part of an attempt to oust Netanyahu from power, the paper said.

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

The strike Wednesday in the country's Chernihiv region also injured 54 people, seven of them children, the agency said. In the immediate aftermath, rescuers had pulled 15 survivors out, including a child.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a cruise missile directly hit the building in Pryluky, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Kyiv, the country's capital.

The strike was part of a massive Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv and a dozen other regions on Wednesday, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday.

“This is the kind of ‘gift’ Putin gave himself for his birthday,” Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address Wednesday. “The killing of children, the killing of people.”

Zelenskyy warned that Russia will likely escalate daily missile and drone attacks as winter approaches.

Ukraine's energy company DTEK said the national grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered emergency power outages in Kyiv, and explained that this is separate from regular, rolling outages scheduled across the country and would not be applied during those shutdowns.

Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4 1/2 years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Late Wednesday, Russian drones struck Kyiv’s Obolonskyi and Desnianskyi districts, police said.

In Obolonskyi, north of central Kyiv, a drone hit a courtyard between apartment buildings, killing two people and injuring seven, including a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.

In Desnianskyi, on the capital’s northeastern outskirts, a drone hit a residential building, killing two women and injuring five, among them girls aged 1 and 6.

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

Last year, Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, whose surreal and anarchic novels combine a bleak world view with mordant humor, won the Nobel Prize in literature for work the judges said upholds the power of art in the midst of “apocalyptic terror.”

Three science awards were announced earlier this week. The Nobel for medicine went to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works. The physics award recognized a scientist’s efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos. The chemistry prize recognized two scientists for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules, a discovery that has been used to develop countless drugs.

This week ends with Friday's peace prize. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced Monday.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, small group of laureates or organization.

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Dazio reported from Berlin.

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AP Nobel Prizes: https://apnews.com/hub/nobel-prizes

Ermiyas Ababu, a Tigray Peace Force commander based in Mekelle, said Eritrean personnel entered Adigrat on Tuesday and Idaga Hamus on Wednesday. He said Eritrean military officers and commanders were conducting surveillance in Idaga Hamus, citing reports from his personnel in the area.

Separately, conflict monitoring group ACLED said Eritrean troops crossed the border at Zelambesa on Wednesday and Ethiopian military drones targeted them at Guada as they traveled toward Idaga Hamus.

The Associated Press could not independently verify either account. ACLED, which provided its account through East Africa analyst Jalale Getachew Birru, had not responded Thursday morning to an inquiry about the basis for its claims.

The allegations come amid renewed fighting between Ethiopian government forces and an opposition alliance that includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel accused Ethiopia on Wednesday of fabricating allegations to justify military action against his country. In a post on X, he accused Ethiopia’s ruling party of creating “a fallacious narrative of ‘self-defense.’” He did not specifically address the movements or strikes described by ACLED.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reiterated Monday that his landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea. Ethiopia lost its coastline when Eritrea became independent in 1993. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that it remained committed to dialogue and peaceful engagement with its neighbors.

Eritrea has denied Ethiopia’s allegations that it supports the TPLF. Last week, it announced it was severing diplomatic ties after Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara.

In Shire, residents Mesu’ud Ahmed and Abadi Halefom told the AP by telephone Wednesday evening that they had witnessed TPLF forces withdrawing earlier that day. Government troops and allied forces had not entered when they spoke, Mesu’ud said.

Shire has been a major refuge for people displaced by fighting in Tigray and a base for humanitarian aid operations.

“TPLF left but the government forces and their allies did not enter the town but we hear that they are coming,” Mesu’ud said. “Everyone has closed their shops in Shire, and moved their merchandise for fear of looting.”

Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle, Tigray’s regional capital, on Sunday after the TPLF announced its withdrawal. The Tigray Peace Force imposed a curfew there Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The force includes former members of the TPLF’s armed wing. Ermiyas said Tuesday that it was working with Ethiopian federal troops to expand its control.

The TPLF joined six other opposition groups last month in an alliance seeking to oust Abiy. Fighting escalated late last month, undermining the November 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war.

_________

Filmon Equar Hailu in Mekelle and Amir Aman Kiyaro in Hamburg, Germany, contributed to this report.

Rubio told reporters that he would not discuss the allegations contained in a Wall Street Journal story that said Guilfoyle had asked a donor and supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.

He spoke before leaving Greece, where he delivered a speech calling for European countries to return to what he described as their civilizational roots.

Rubio said he was aware of The Wall Street Journal's report, which was published late Wednesday, but had no idea if it was true and he would not address it.

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” he said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart Greece, looked on.

At a joint news conference with the Greek foreign minister earlier in the day, Rubio said he would not address the allegations while visiting a foreign country, but added, “Suffice it to say our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees have called for an investigation into Guilfoyle, but Rubio would not say if he was prepared to open one.

Congressional Democrats already were looking into claims reported last month by the Wall Street Journal that Guilfoyle acted improperly while serving as the top U.S. envoy to Greece.

The Journal reported that Guilfoyle told guests at a reception that the U.S. could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was once engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr., has denied any wrongdoing and Rubio has defended her before.

Se espera que Isaías se intensifique rápidamente y lleve vientos fuertes y una peligrosa marejada ciclónica a la franja nororiental de Florida, el sur de Alabama y el sur de Mississippi cuando toque tierra en la costa norte del golfo a última hora del viernes o temprano el sábado. Podrían producirse lluvias intensas con riesgo de inundaciones hasta el fin de semana, incluso tierra adentro hasta el valle de Tennessee.

El huracán tenía vientos máximos sostenidos de alrededor de 129 kilómetros por hora (80 millas por hora) y se movía hacia el este-noreste a 15 km/h (9 mph) la madrugada del jueves, informó el Centro Nacional de Huracanes con sede en Miami. El centro del ciclón se encontraba unos 676 km (420 millas) al sur-suroeste de la desembocadura del río Mississippi.

Las poblaciones costeras se movilizaron rápidamente para prepararse. Algunos pozos petroleros del golfo pausaron la producción, y al menos cuatro distritos escolares de Florida cancelaron clases para más adelante en la semana, mientras el condado de Okaloosa anunció evacuaciones obligatorias para algunas zonas costeras. Los gobernadores de Florida y Alabama declararon el estado de emergencia para decenas de condados.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional indicó a las comunidades desde Ocean Springs, Mississippi, hasta el condado de Gulf, Florida, que se prepararan para la posibilidad de “cortes de energía de larga duración”.

El huracán se formó hacia el final de la temporada

Isaias se está desarrollando más de cuatro meses después del inicio de la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico y se quedó a un día de igualar un récord de 121 años como el huracán que más tarde se ha formado en la zona. Según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, el récord data de 1905, cuando el primer huracán atlántico del año se formó el 8 de octubre.

La temporada de huracanes del Atlántico ha sido inusualmente tranquila este año debido a un fuerte fenómeno de El Niño, que interrumpe la formación de tormentas sobre ese océano. La actividad de tormentas ha estado por encima del promedio en el Pacífico, donde la tormenta tropical Simón se formó el miércoles frente a México.

Se espera que Isaías impacte a lo largo de una amplia franja de costa muy familiarizada con huracanes de categoría 3 o más.

Una de las peores tormentas del siglo XX, el huracán Camille, mató a más de 250 personas después de tocar tierra cerca de Waveland, Mississippi, en 1969. El huracán Katrina en 2005 arrasó vecindarios en Mississippi, inundó Nueva Orleans y mató a casi 1.400 personas. Y el huracán Michael destruyó viviendas y edificios cerca de Panama City, Florida, en 2018.

La producción de petróleo y el turismo ya se ven afectados

Antes de la tormenta, los productores de petróleo y gas cerraron una parte significativa de la producción en alta mar en la región, que representa casi el 15% del crudo bombeado anualmente en Estados Unidos.

Hasta el miércoles, alrededor del 25% de la producción petrolera en la región estaba detenida temporalmente, retirando del mercado unos 511.000 barriles diarios, según la Administración de Minerales Marinos. El organismo señaló que ocho de las 371 plataformas petroleras tripuladas del golfo fueron evacuadas.

Con los precios del petróleo ya altos, los recortes de producción son lo suficientemente pronunciados como para afectar a los mercados, aunque otros huracanes en el golfo han causado interrupciones mayores, afirmó Jim Burkhard, jefe global de investigación del mercado de crudo de S&P Global Energy. Más preocupante, añadió, es si Isaías impacta como una tormenta potente cerca de refinerías.

A medida que avance tierra adentro, Isaías también podría alterar el duelo de fútbol americano universitario del sábado entre los rivales Georgia y Alabama, un partido al que el presidente Donald Trump planea asistir.

En Alabama, las ciudades de Gulf Shores y Orange Beach emitieron un comunicado en el que alentaron a las personas en zonas bajas a evacuar voluntariamente.

La residente de Gulf Shores Maranie Adams reunió agua y otros suministros mientras su familia trasladaba pertenencias, incluido el motor de un jacuzzi, para almacenarlos en alto. Su familia planeaba resistir la tormenta en casa, a aproximadamente media milla de la costa, refugiándose en el interior junto a su bandada de gallinas.

“Tenemos que conseguir jaulas para meterlas en la casa para que no salgan volando”, comentó Adams. “Va a ser ruidoso”.

La gobernadora de Alabama, Kay Ivey, emitió un estado de emergencia para 40 condados, mientras que el gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis, declaró uno para 25 condados en las regiones de la franja nororiental y Big Bend. El estado también planeaba desplegar un equipo de búsqueda y rescate urbano con base en Miami.

En Pensacola, las compañías eléctricas estaban preposicionando cuadrillas para reparar rápidamente cualquier corte de energía. Funcionarios de la ciudad proporcionaron arena para que los residentes llenaran sacos de arena y protegieran sus viviendas contra inundaciones. Y el alcalde, D.C. Reeves, instó a la gente a revisar cómo estaban los vecinos ancianos y otras personas que pudieran necesitar ayuda.

“Obviamente no hay necesidad de entrar en pánico en este momento”, dijo Reeves en una conferencia de prensa. “Esto en realidad se trata de preparación”.

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Rico informó desde Atlanta, Collins desde Hartford, Connecticut, y Golden desde Seattle. Los periodistas de The Associated Press Russ Bynum en Savannah, Georgia, y Julie Walker en Nueva York contribuyeron a este despacho.

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

Isaias was forecast to intensify rapidly and bring strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. Heavy rain with the risk of flooding was possible into the weekend as far inland as the Tennessee Valley.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds around 80 mph (129 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph (15 kph) early Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was centered about 420 miles (676 kilometers) south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Coastal communities moved quickly to prepare. Some Gulf oil wells paused production, and at least four Florida school districts canceled classes for later in the week while Okaloosa County announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas. Governors in Florida and Alabama declared a state of emergency for dozens of counties.

The National Weather Service told communities from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Gulf County, Florida, to prepare for the possibility of “long-duration power outages.”

The hurricane formed late in the season

Isaias developed more than four months into the Atlantic hurricane season and was short by one day of tying a 121-year-old record for the area’s latest-forming hurricane. According to the National Weather Service, the record dates to 1905, when the year’s first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet this year because of a strong El Niño, which disrupts storm formation over that ocean. Storm activity has been above average in the Pacific, where Tropical Storm Simon formed Wednesday off Mexico.

Isaias is expected to strike a swath of coastline that’s familiar with major hurricanes.

One of the 20th century’s worst storms, Hurricane Camille, killed more than 250 people after hitting land near Waveland, Mississippi, in 1969. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 razed neighborhoods in Mississippi, flooded New Orleans and killed nearly 1,400 people. And Hurricane Michael leveled homes and buildings near Panama City, Florida, in 2018.

Oil production and tourism already affected

Ahead of the storm, oil and gas producers shut down a significant share of offshore production in the Gulf, which accounts for almost 15% of crude pumped annually in the U.S.

As of Wednesday about 25% of the oil production in the region was temporarily halted, taking about 511,000 barrels a day off the market, according to the Marine Minerals Administration. It said eight of the Gulf's 371 manned oil platforms were evacuated.

With oil prices already high, the production cuts are steep enough to affect markets, though other Gulf hurricanes have caused larger disruptions, said Jim Burkhard, global head of crude oil market research for S&P Global Energy. More concerning, he said, is whether Isaias strikes as a powerful storm near refineries.

As it moves inland, Isaias might also disrupt Saturday’s college football showdown between rivals Georgia and Alabama, a game President Donald Trump has planned to attend.

In Alabama, the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach issued a statement encouraging people in low-lying areas to voluntarily evacuate.

Gulf Shores resident Maranie Adams gathered water and other supplies as her family moved belongings, including a hot tub motor, to higher ground. Her family planned to ride out the storm at home, roughly a half-mile from shore, sheltering indoors alongside their flock of chickens.

“We’re having to get crates to bring them into the house so they don’t blow away,” Adams said. “It’s going to be noisy.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency for 40 counties, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared one for 25 counties in the Panhandle and Big Bend regions. The state also planned to deploy a Miami-based urban search and rescue task force.

In Pensacola, electric utilities were pre-positioning crews to quickly repair any power outages. City officials provided sand for residents to fill sandbags to protect their homes against flooding. And Mayor D.C. Reeves urged people to check on older adult neighbors and others who might need help.

“Obviously no need to panic at this point,” Reeves told a news conference. “This is really about preparation.”

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Rico reported from Atlanta, Collins from Hartford, Connecticut, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press journalists Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.

That was pretty much the extent of the excitement for those fans as the San Diego Padres once again fell short of winning their first World Series.

Tatis' second homer of the postseason tied the score at 1, but the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Padres 3-1 on Wednesday night to take their best-of-five NL Division Series in four games.

Manny Machado nearly tied it with a two-run homer in the eighth, but Garrett Mitchell made the catch at the center-field fence to rob him.

With the crowd on its feet still hoping for a comeback, pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets struck out to end it and the Brewers had a muted celebration on the field.

San Diego had only three hits.

“So many emotions,” said Tatis, who didn't hit his first home run until May 30 but finished with a 25-25 season that included some spectacular home run-robbing catches in right field.

“This group is so special, man, and we went through so many downs and ups this year, and how we became one. We went through every battle and just stuck together. It was such an enjoyable group to play baseball together and to go through the rough times, and the only thing I can say is thank you to every single one of them.”

While the top-seeded Brewers head home to get ready to host the Padres' biggest rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, the Padres head off into an uncertain offseason.

New owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones brought an exciting vibe to the team when they took over in late August. Now it's up to them to back general manager A.J. Preller in trying to get San Diego that elusive World Series title.

The Padres haven't been to the Fall Classic since making it for a second time in 1998. They didn't win either one.

This year, their third consecutive 90-win season carried them into the playoffs for the third straight autumn, both club records.

They did it behind rookie manager Craig Stammen, a surprise hire last fall after Mike Shildt retired less than two weeks after the Padres were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in the wild-card round.

The Padres struggled so much during the first half that fans wondered if Preller would trade fireballing closer Mason Miller. But he kept Miller and the Padres turned it on in the second half to reach the postseason.

“It stings right now, for sure,” said Machado, who chatted with the new owners in the clubhouse after the game.

The Padres beat the Cubs in two games at Petco Park last week to sweep their Wild Card Series before losing two close, riveting games in Milwaukee.

San Diego stayed alive with a 4-3 win Tuesday night in which Michael King, the Game 2 starter, earned a two-inning save on one day of rest to extend the season one more night.

Joe Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, didn't make his season debut until Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Cubs due to a prolonged recovery from Tommy John surgery. It was his first appearance since the Wild Card Series against Atlanta in 2024.

“I don’t think anybody’s satisfied with how the year ended, but I think everyone’s pretty proud of how we played,” said Musgrove, who pitched the final two innings Wednesday night. “Where we came from in May, June, being under .500, and Tati not even having a home run and Manny hitting .200, and then where we ended our year and how we finished strong at home and gave our fans something to be proud of.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

To Mitchell, that dramatic play was just the predictable result of the same daily preparation and meticulous execution that made Milwaukee the majors’ best team throughout the regular season — and which has now sent the Brewers roaring back to the National League Championship Series.

Mitchell tripled and scored the tiebreaking run in the fifth inning before making a pivotal catch on Machado’s drive to the wall in the eighth, and the Brewers finished off the San Diego Padres with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night, winning their best-of-five series in four games.

When Machado stepped to the plate, Mitchell was already shaded to right-center, thanks to the Brewers’ scouting report. He coolly tracked the 406-foot fly off the bat, and he already knew the wall was quite short in that part of Petco Park, so he realized he would only need to reach up to catch the ball.

“I think we have a different type of confidence and belief in ourselves together as a team,” Mitchell said. “It’s just like a quiet, subtle confidence. It’s not showboaty. It's just that everyone believes.”

The Brewers pride themselves on being ready to handle anything — even something wild enough to silence a roaring sellout crowd in San Diego during the heat of October.

“Just got a good jump off the bat," Mitchell said amid the Brewers' beer-drenched postgame celebration in the visitors' clubhouse. "When I got to the wall, I just had to stay composed and make the catch. I didn’t really have to jump. I knew the wall isn’t as high as at other fields.”

Mitchell also drove in Sal Frelick with Milwaukee’s first run as the Brewers snapped their 12-game postseason road losing streak since 2018 and reached the team's fifth League Championship Series.

“Just so proud of these guys,” Frelick said. “After the first (loss in Game 3), it really starts to creep in that you don’t want to go back for a Game 5. Really proud of these guys for stepping up today and getting the job done.”

After fending off the surging Padres in four tight games decided by a combined five runs, the 103-win Brewers will get an NLCS rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who eliminated Atlanta on Wednesday.

The Dodgers swept Milwaukee last October on the way to their second consecutive World Series title.

“Why wouldn't you want another chance to go at it (with the Dodgers) after the way it happened last year?” asked Mitchell, an Orange County native and UCLA product. “I don't think that's any more pressure on us. It's just ... let's see what we can do.”

The Milwaukee formula

One night after the Padres avoided elimination in Game 3, Milwaukee claimed its first road playoff win since the 2018 NLCS by sticking to its season-long formula for success.

While four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, Milwaukee’s lineup calmly worked counts, pounded 10 hits through the Padres’ defense and manufactured enough runs to head home smiling.

“After yesterday, the energy in the clubhouse was still good,” Mitchell said. “Nobody was pressing. We were just treating it like another day, treating it like we have nothing to lose. We just had to go out there and play our brand of baseball, and that starts with quality at-bats, getting on base, putting pressure on teams, and we did that today.”

Game 2 hero Jackson Chourio capped his high-impact series by driving in Mitchell to become the Brewers’ career leader in postseason RBIs at just 22 years old. Chourio has 17 RBIs, including six in this series, in 16 playoff games.

Padres' offense struggles

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 429-foot homer on an otherwise tepid offensive night for the Padres, who repeatedly tested the majors’ best regular-season team before falling short of only the fourth NLCS appearance in team history.

“It was unfortunate, man,” Machado said of his long flyout. “He made a nice play. I should have hit it harder. Two more inches, that ball may have been a homer.”

After sitting below .500 and in 11th place in the NL in late July, San Diego roared into the first wild-card spot and then swept the Cubs in the Wild Card Series last week. The Padres had won 19 of 22 before losing three of four to Milwaukee.

Starters gone early

Brewers starter and former Padres draft pick Robert Gasser threw four innings of three-hit ball, but Tatis ended his 1-for-19 skid since San Diego's playoff opener with a long shot to center in the third. It was the longest homer ever hit in the postseason at Petco Park by a San Diego player.

Padres starter Walker Buehler yielded just three hits and a run, but manager Craig Stammen replaced him with Game 1 starter Robbie Ray after William Contreras’ leadoff single in the fourth.

Mitchell then stroked a mild liner perfectly over first base and into the right-field corner leading off the fifth, and he scored on Chourio's single through the drawn-in infield. Chourio surpassed Ryan Braun for the most postseason RBIs in Brewers history.

Jake Bauers singled leading off the sixth and went to third on Cooper Pratt's ground-rule double before scoring on Frelick's sacrifice fly.

After Mitchell’s catch on Machado’s fly, second baseman Brice Turang ended the eighth with an acrobatic catch of Ty France’s tailing popup in foul ground.

Up next

The Brewers host the Dodgers in Game 1 on Sunday with ace Jacob Misiorowski almost certainly lined up to start. Milwaukee is four wins from only the second World Series berth in team history.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Share prices fell in Europe and Asia and U.S. futures also declined after U.S. stocks retreated under pressure from rising yields in the bond market.

Oil prices have bounced back given the persisting uncertainties over global crude supplies. The U.S. and Iran have yet to reach a deal to end their war, and a report Wednesday by The Atlantic, citing two unnamed officials, said the White House had asked the Pentagon to develop strike options against Iran before the midterm elections in November.

Early Thursday, Brent crude, the international standard, was up 4.1% at $104.32 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.2% to $91.94 a barrel.

In early European share trading, Germany's DAX fell 0.8% to 24,892.67 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1% to 7,688.52. Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.6% lower at 10,392.22.

The future for the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7%.

In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% to 69,042.11 and South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.6% to 6,625.93.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.4% to 23,785.79, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.8% to 3,811.90.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.8% to 8,660.90.

Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 1%, and India's Sensex was down 1.7%.

Stocks once again have retreated under pressure from rising yields in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury stayed near a multi-decade high after minutes released Wednesday from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting showed that most Fed officials expect another interest rate hike this year.

On Wednesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dropped 0.2% a day after reaching an all-time high. The Dow slipped 0.7%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.2% from its record.

Inflation in the U.S. remains above the Fed’s 2% target. In September, the Fed raised rates for the first time in three years by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%.

Rising bond yields hurt stock prices, in part because companies and consumers face higher borrowing costs. Yields on U.S. Treasurys have surged as the global energy shock driven by the Iran war pushed prices higher, while the U.S. national debt has continued to grow.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury was at around 5.33% after rising as high as 5.36% on Wednesday, its highest level since 2002.

In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.22 Japanese yen from 158.08 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1186, down from $1.1197, as elevated yields for bonds in France and growing worries about its government debt pressured the euro.

Other adolescents have also suffered life-changing injuries blamed on police weaponry during nationwide protests by high school students demanding more funding for run-down schools. In the former mining town of Lens, a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a police stun grenade. In Tours, in the wine-making Loire region, the prosecutor there says a police riot-control round is suspected in the partial blinding of a 16-year-old.

Beyond physical wounds, the massive use of police arrests and tactics that government critics and human rights campaigners allege have been unnecessarily violent is giving a generation of French schoolchildren — and soon-to-be voters — a real-life education about state power and their rights as citizens, and how the two sometimes clash.

“It politicizes you at an incredible speed,” said Alexis Baudelin, a Paris attorney for more than a dozen youngsters taken into custody.

“For many of them — for all of them — this was one of the first times that they'd taken part in a demonstration, coming together in a public space to voice demands they considered legitimate.”

Police have swept up thousands of young people

According to the Interior Ministry, police have made more than 6,600 arrests — mostly of people under 18 — since protests began snowballing last week, including 488 people detained during nationwide demonstrations Tuesday. The movement demanding increased funds and more replacement teachers for schools started in a Paris-region high school in mid-September.

Lawyers and researchers who study French policing caution that the muscular response could spawn disillusioned young adults soured on the Republic and its promises of “ Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. ” Police have been less forgiving with teenage protesters than they previously were when farmers, a powerful lobby in France, doused government buildings with manure, blocked roads and set fires.

Baudelin, the lawyer, said his young clients have had a crash course in "unrestrained violence from the police.”

“Being locked up for hours and hours with nothing, in cells that are for the most part extremely unsanitary, in police stations that smell terrible, where you can’t sleep, with police officers telling you that if you don’t talk, if you don’t tell the truth, threatening you, telling you that your life is going to be ruined," he said.

“It’s an experience that can be deeply traumatic and is completely out of proportion."

Minister suspends use of some police grenades

Amid a growing outcry, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Wednesday that the model of stun grenade suspected of mutilating the teenager in Lens will no longer be used against high schoolers, in light, he said, of a "strong possibility" that such a weapon was involved in ripping off the pupil's hand.

“We need to understand exactly what happened,” Nunez said.

Still, he has also defended police actions as proportionate in “almost all cases.” He says police have been obliged to intervene when protests led to rioting, vandalism and other violence, and have done so mindful that they're largely dealing with children.

“You don’t handle a high schoolers’ movement in the same way as one by adults,” the minister said to broadcaster RTL.

In the case of the 14-year-old with a smashed jaw and teeth, the officer who fired his grenade launcher directly at him during a protest in Saint-Ouen l’Aumone, northwest of Paris, said during questioning in custody that he acted in “a fraction of a second” to protect a female colleague who'd exchanged blows with the boy, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office leading the investigation.

It described the officer's actions as disproportionate, resulting in a preliminary charge against him of violence by a public official causing mutilation or permanent disability. Suspended from duty and barred from carrying a gun, he is the first officer facing potential prosecution in 18 investigations opened so far into suspected police misconduct during the protests.

The boy, Eden, sent his mother a video from outside his school, showing police and some protesters, just moments before the officer shot him with the gas grenade, she said, speaking to The Associated Press and other media on condition that she not be identified to preserve the anonymity of her child.

But when she then called him, it was one of his classmates who answered, screaming that her son had been hit in the face and was on the ground, bleeding with his jaw and top teeth broken and bottom teeth "completely ripped out,” she said.

“It’s shameful, it's appalling, it’s violent, it’s disgusting, it’s despicable — I could give you a whole list of words," she said. "They are dealing with children. And children demanding what? Simply better conditions in which to study.”

Teens emerge more defiant from arrests

In the crowds that demonstrated in Paris on Tuesday, marching boisterously from one city square to another, AP found three Paris-region teenagers who said they were arrested, handcuffed, searched, held in custody but then released with no criminal charges last week.

Samy and Warkya, both 17, said they were detained together with another friend. They believe that police picked on them because of their color. Warkya and the other friend are Black and Samy described himself as Arab. French officials have repeatedly denied that there is racism in the police ranks. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in parliament this week that such accusations are “lies.”

Samy said the officers who stopped them said, “'You, you and you, you’re coming with us.'" There was no apparent motive, because “we weren't wearing hoodies, we had nothing on us, our faces were visible," he said.

“Here in France, they don’t listen to us. They would rather send in the police than listen to us and put measures in place to improve our daily lives," he said.

Warkya said her first experience of police custody only reinforced her determination to protest but also taught her to run when officers appear.

“The police are more powerful than us," she said. “There's nothing we can do.”

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Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

Patekar died of a suspected cardiac arrest, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing a doctor at the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Born in 1951 in India’s western state of Maharashtra, Patekar built a career spanning nearly five decades in Hindi- and Marathi-language cinema. He was known for intense performances and roles that often portrayed complex or unconventional characters.

Patekar made his film debut in the 1978 Hindi film “Gaman,” and later earned acclaim for “Parinda” and “Krantiveer.” Patekar became popular in mainstream Bollywood films, while also working in India’s “parallel cinema” movement, known for its focus on realism and social issues. He gained wider international recognition with filmmaker Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated “Salaam Bombay!”

He won three National Film Awards, India’s highest film honors, and received the Padma Shri, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

In 2018, during India’s #MeToo movement, a Bollywood actress accused Patekar of sexual harassment on a film set. Patekar denied the allegation. The case was among several that drew attention as women publicly spoke about sexual misconduct in India’s film industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned Patekar’s death, praising his “intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence” as an actor.

“He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations,” Modi wrote on X.

Patekar is survived by his wife and son.

Democrat David Jolly and his running mate, former Florida Rep. Gwen Graham, were in North Miami speaking with Haitian Americans who want to see Temporary Protected Status restored.

“This governor and this president are not fighting crime in Florida. They’re fighting a community,” Jolly said.

Jolly also addressed concerns about Venezuelans being profiled in Doral.

“Whether there’s a Venezuelan who’s being profiled in Doral. A leader told me last week it’s a hunting field as we’re watching ICE profiling against individuals,” Jolly said.

Meanwhile, in Surfside, Republican candidate Byron Donalds was breaking bread with members of the Jewish community on the third year of remembrance of Oct. 7.

“You can’t forget tragedies like this. You can’t forget them. A lot of them lived here in the United States. They went to Israel to volunteer. That’s why you come,” Donalds said.

With less than four weeks until Election Day, both candidates are working to connect with Florida voters, hoping their messages will resonate when they head to the polls on Nov. 3.

Jolly’s staff told Local 10 he will stay in Miami, with another event planned in the area.

“I think I held my breath the whole time the ball was in the air,” Hayes said about watching Burton’s clutch shot.

In a wild finish, Jackie Young missed the second of two free throws with six seconds left to give Las Vegas one last chance, then Chelsea Gray grabbed the rebound and drove under the basket for a layup attempt. Kiah Stokes blocked the shot and Burton corralled the ball.

Gabby Williams had 20 points and five rebounds and Kayla Thornton scored 16 points as the Valkyries moved one win away from reaching the WNBA Finals in just their second season. Golden State became the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in its inaugural season last year.

Hayes missed that postseason run because of a left knee injury, and now she's shining against her former team.

“It felt amazing to be able to go out there and get a win with the team that I’m with now,” she said.

A shot-clock violation gave Golden State the ball back with 1:01 to play and Burton delivered with her lone basket of the night.

“That Burton 3 was massive,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “We battled back and gave ourselves a shot after a really abysmal first half.”

The series now shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Friday with the defending champions trying to stave off elimination. Hammon said before Wednesday's game how important it would be to go home with a split — but the Valkyries have been too good in front of their rocking home crowd and now Hammon's team is on the brink of the season ending without a repeat title.

“I can't convince them that this is not a must-win, because if we lose we go home, and we stay home,” she said. “The goal is to get one quarter at a time and we've got to string it together. We know we're capable of stringing three in a row.”

A’ja Wilson had 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting and seven rebounds for Las Vegas, which trailed 66-55 going into the final 10 minutes and made it interesting down the stretch.

Gray’s jumper with 4:46 to go pulled the Aces to 73-68 then Dana Evans’ 3-pointer made it 74-71 before Gray hit a tying 3 with 2:10 left.

Burton, who sat down with 7:29 left in the third quarter of a 71-60 Game 1 win Sunday and didn’t return, was thrilled to have the ball in her hands this time.

“I was just saying I had to do something out there,” she said. “I appreciated Gabby trusting me in that moment, obviously a big moment. We trust her with the ball in her hands as well and so for her to pass it up to me not just once in that possession but twice ... the second one I knew that had to go up.”

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

The Liberty inbounded the ball under the basket, forcing them to go the length of the court, after Angel Reese made two free throws to give the Atlanta Dream a three-point lead with 4.3 seconds remaining in overtime. The broadcast of the game showed that the Liberty had their reset, which is a WNBA rule allowing a team to advance the ball to halfcourt without going back to its bench to huddle.

Breanna Stewart missed a 32-foot attempt and the Dream took a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals with their 101-98 victory.

WNBA rules state that “each team is entitled to one Reset in the final two minutes of the fourth period and one Reset in the last two minutes of any overtime period.”

The Liberty had used both regular timeouts in overtime — they lost a coach's challenge to cost them one — but hadn't used their reset. Yet Stewart said they were told it wasn't available.

“This is not blaming the refs, but when I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout again, and they tell us no, and we leave the game with a reset timeout, it's pretty frustrating,” Stewart said. “Yeah, OK, I kind of got a good look at the end, but we'd just like to have some clarity on that situation as well.”

Stewart clarified that the conversation with the officials happened while Reese was at the line.

“I asked Kevin (referee Kevin Fahy), I said, ‘Do we have a reset timeout?’ And he said, ‘I’m going to check with the table.’ So then he goes to Fatou (crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens) and she said no. So he told me no,” Stewart said. “Of course, who knows what would have happened to end the game, but we would have had hopefully a better shot on goal.”

The WNBA's pool report, conducted with Cissoko-Stephens, contradicted Stewart.

“Stewart was standing behind referee Fahy when he confirmed with his partner between Reese's penalty free throws that New York did indeed have a reset timeout remaining,” Cissoko-Stephens said.

Further in the pool report, the league clarified the protocols around timeout tracking.

“Available timeouts are tracked by the scorer's table and statistical staff," Cissoko-Stephens said. “Teams are responsible for managing and tracking their timeout usage throughout the game. Officials may confirm the status of timeouts with the table when necessary, but they do not officially track timeouts.”

New York coach Chris DeMarco, like Stewart, said he was told the team did not have a timeout, which referees also disputed.

“There was no direction communication with the officials (and) the team,” Cissoko-Stephens said.

Atlanta coach Karl Smesko was surprised the Liberty didn't advance the ball.

“I thought they had a timeout left,” Smesko said. “I was expecting it to be advanced, but it wasn't. So we had to play, and fortunately we were able to get the stop.”

The Liberty made an official inquiry with the WNBA.

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National organizations are pumping money behind candidates that Republicans hope can provide bright spots. Here's a look at places where that cash bump — and prime issues like redistricting, immigration and top-of-the-ticket races — might help the party hold their own on Election Night on Nov. 3.

It still won't be enough, counters Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Aidan Johnson, who says his party remains “firmly on offense and on track to take back” the House majority.

An open New Hampshire seat and Trump PAC spending

The race in the state's first district has no incumbent as Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas runs for Senate against John E. Sununu, a former Republican congressman who served a single term as senator from 2003 to 2009.

Stefany Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor and daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, won a hotly contested Democratic primary. She's facing Anthony DiLorenzo, who was endorsed by Trump and owns several car dealerships.

The seat used to frequently flip between parties, but has remained blue since Pappas first got to Congress in 2019, and the district narrowly supported Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump in 2024.

Shaheen has focused on the rising cost of health care and opposing Trump's tariffs and trade wars, which she says have hurt New Hampshire consumers.

DiLorenzo has taken a more moderate stance on immigration than Trump, calling for pro-business reforms to the federal system. But he's also echoed the president's saying that Democrats want to push the U.S. toward outright socialism.

Last year, Republican Jay Ruais, the mayor of the district's largest city of Manchester, was reelected with around 59% of the vote.

Republicans are also looking for a boost from the Senate race. No Going Back Pac has pledged $10 million to back Sununu. The group is associated with MAGA Inc., Trump's behemoth campaign war chest that had more than $400 million in the bank at the end of July.

Top of the ticket could spill also into Long Island race

First-term Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen is facing Republican Jeanine Driscoll, a tax receiver in Hempstead in New York's fourth district, which includes Nassau County and runs east of Manhattan, hugging Long Island's south shore.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is considered an underdog against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in a statewide race in reliably blue New York. But Blakeman is the Nassau County executive, meaning he may see strong turnout on his home turf and potentially affect Driscoll's chances against Gillen.

In 2024, Trump nearly carried the district after losing it by well over 10 points in 2020.

While Gillen has stressed sometimes working with Republicans to address key issues like the rising cost of living, Driscoll has championed Trump's immigration policies while promising to better shield suburban Long Island from regional and statewide policies she criticizes as government overreach.

Landsman defends redder Ohio territory

Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman 's first district on the westside of Cincinnati backed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 but was redrawn to make it more Republican-leaning ahead of November.

The new boundaries encompass Clinton County and rural western Hamilton County, while reducing the more Democratic-friendly Cincinnati suburbs. It's one of several places with new maps after Trump urged an unusual round of redistricting around the country to help his party keep control of the House.

Landsman, who was first elected to Congress in 2022, is squaring off against Republican former Air Force veteran and CIA officer Eric Conroy.

Like Trump, Conroy spent months suggesting that the war in Iran would reach a swift conclusion. The president now says that won't happen until at least after the midterms.

Landsman has focused on pocketbook issues, including rising utility rates. He's also raised more money than his challenger in recent quarters, which could be an indicator of where the race is headed.

Tax policy spotlighted in a Las Vegas district

Looking to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. Susie Lee in Nevada's third district is Marty O'Donnell, the composer behind music featured in the wildly popular Halo video game series and the 1990s jingle for Flintstones vitamins: “We are Flintstones kids, 10 million strong and growing.”

O'Donnell even led the crowd in singing a rendition during the midterm convention that Trump led in Dallas.

Lee first won her seat during a Democratic wave in 2018 and survived in 2024 even though her district backed Trump. Nevada relies heavily on the tourism and hospitality industries, and Republicans are touting Trump's legislation to cut taxes on tips and overtime.

Lee and other key Democrats counter that Trump hasn't kept campaign promises to lower costs — especially as the war with Iran has driven up gasoline and diesel prices and renewed fears about high inflation.

There could also be trickle-down effects from Nevada's governor's race. Republican incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo is a former sheriff of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. He's in what's likely to be a close race with Nevada's attorney general, Democrat Aaron Ford, who previously represented a Las Vegas-area district in the state senate.

Testing immigration messaging in southern New Mexico

Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez narrowly won his seat in 2022. And he narrowly won reelection in 2024 even as Trump carried the district, which stretches from southern and western Albuquerque to encompass the state's entire southern half — including around 180 miles (290 kilometers) of U.S.-Mexico border.

Vasquez has built a political identity around being the son of Mexican immigrants and the first in his family to be born in the U.S. His Republican opponent, Greg Cunningham, is a Marine veteran and onetime undercover police officer, spoke at Trump's midterm convention and has focused on calls for stricter border security and law and order.

Hispanic voters shifted toward Trump in 2024, though a majority still backed Harris. According to AP VoteCast, 43% of Hispanic voters nationally supported Trump, up from 35% in 2020. Vasquez's race with Cunningham may test Trump's continued appeal with Hispanics and whether some voters have become disillusioned with the president’s tougher immigration policies in addition to his handling of the economy.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been behind bars in New York since early January when forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid.

Both have pleaded not guilty in a criminal case first brought six years ago against them and numerous alleged co-conspirators. They face potential life prison sentences if convicted of being part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S.

Their attorneys have asked for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that they have immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country.

Lawyers for Flores, 69, have also argued that she has medical issues that cannot be treated effectively in jail, and that she could instead be allowed to live under 24-hour guard at a residence in New York.

They also said she suffered permanent scarring when she was “thrown against a wall or dresser” during the U.S. military action that led to her capture.

Her lawyers say she has lost 25 pounds (11 kilograms) while imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and has been told that she might need heart surgery. They said she also suffers from “lingering lightheadedness, dizziness and shortness of breath" and might have suffered a minor heart attack in July.

Prosecutors opposed the bail request. In a court filing, they wrote that Flores would pose an “extreme risk of flight and danger to the public” if released. They also said she has been taken from the jail to get treatment at a local hospital, when care was needed.

President Donald Trump’s administration has defended the raid to capture Maduro as a “surgical law enforcement operation.” Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping.

Flores is charged with participating in a cocaine importation conspiracy with her husband, Maduro, who served as Venezuela's president from 2013 until his capture by American forces in January.

Lawyers for Flores said she was no threat to flee because she is “intent on supporting her husband with her constant presence.”

That was clear when he was introduced for his final home opener.

Ovechkin's sons Sergei and Ilya handled the task of announcing their father onto the ice, and the Russian star received a standing ovation before the Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Wednesday night. The 41-year-old Ovechkin announced earlier this week this would be his final season.

“It was pretty cool moment,” Ovechkin said. “Huge crowd, kids announce my name. It was a special moment.”

The NHL's career leader in goals did not add to his total of 929 on Wednesday. In fact, Ovechkin wasn't even on the ice during an extended period at the end when the Penguins had their goalie pulled. This was the 101st meeting between Ovechkin and Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby, including playoffs. Neither managed a point, only the 11th time that's happened, according to Sportradar.

Crosby actually finished with a minus-4 after being on the ice for all four of Washington's even-strength goals.

The Capitals have assembled a roster with plenty of depth, to the point where Ovechkin no longer needs to play every second of Washington's power-play time.

“I'm not going to say that he doesn't want to be out there,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “But he also is understanding of what we're trying to accomplish as a team, and the great players that he has around him.”

Washington's one power-play goal on the night was scored by Ryan Leonard — from the left circle where Ovechkin so often sets up.

Make no mistake, though. Ovechkin was still the center of attention. When the whole roster was introduced one by one, he was last, with his kids doing the honor.

“I had no idea any of that was happening,” Carbery said. “I think they nailed that moment. Special for I think everybody in the building.”

Ovechkin had two shots on goal, and he was on the ice when Anthony Beauvillier gave Washington a 1-0 lead 23 seconds into the game.

“It's been such an incredible journey. Cool to see his kids down there," said Tom Wilson, who had a goal and two assists for the Caps. “He's a legend in this city, so I think everyone had a big smile. You get chills watching him come out.”

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The FDA gave a court-ordered update on its progress in a legal filing late Wednesday, providing the first substantive information about the controversial reevaluation ordered by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000. The agency has repeatedly reaffirmed the pill’s safety and effectiveness over the years, in addition to easing a number of restrictions on the drug, including dropping a requirement that it be dispensed in person.

But since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, anti-abortion groups and their allies in Congress have pushed the administration to revisit the pill, in the hopes of restricting its use.

The FDA said in its filing that it expects to complete a safety study of the pill by mid-December this year. A report on the findings is expected “no later than March 2027,” after which the agency will decide whether to impose new restrictions or other changes on the drug's use.

Gavin Oxley of Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group, criticized the move as a lack of “true leadership” by Trump administration officials.

“The administration continues to find itself on the wrong side of women's health, clearly uninterested in mitigating the ongoing harms caused by the abortion pill,” Oxley said.

The two-drug regimen of mifepristone, combined with a second drug misoprostol, is the most common form of abortion in the U.S.

The FDA was directed to provide the latest update by a federal judge in a case brought by the state of Louisiana alleging that mail-delivery of mifepristone undermines the state’s abortion ban. It’s one of several state lawsuits related to mifepristone winding their way through the courts.

Last month a three-judge panel for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals questioned the merits of Louisiana’s case, including whether the state had the legal standing to challenge FDA’s oversight of mifepristone.

Any ruling from the 5th Circuit on the Louisiana case would not immediately change the landscape because the Supreme Court has blocked changes to the drug until it sees the case again.

The FDA said Wednesday it is using a “statistical data mining method” to discover “unknown safety concerns,” that may exist with the drug. The data comes from an electronic database that collects reports of medical injuries and drug side effects from major health networks and insurers.

In addition to the safety study, the agency said it is considering a number of petitions proposing changes to how mifepristone is prescribed and distributed.

Abortion opponents have focused most of their efforts on a 2021 decision allowing doctors to prescribe the drug online and send it through the mail during COVID-19. That decision, made permanent under President Joe Biden in 2023, had the effect of undermining a number of state abortion bans, since women can receive the drug through the mail.

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Authorities took Jimmy Alexis, 43, of northwest Miami-Dade, into custody on Tuesday in connection with a June 30, 2023 incident at Gentle Love and Care Group Home in Fort Lauderdale. Its location was redacted from official documents.

Officers said they responded to the facility to conduct a death investigation after rescue crews initially were called in regard to a patient who was unresponsive.

According to Fort Lauderdale police, investigators spoke with Alexis, who told them he had to “restrain him, not choke him” in regard to the patient, who was not publicly identified by police.

Officers later spoke with the owners of the facility, who said the patient was prone to self-harming himself by banging his head on “pretty much anything he could.”

During their investigation, officers also spoke with a staff member who was on duty when the patient was injured and noted that she “was visibly shaken and appeared concerned talking to us.”

Officers said they found that same employee waiting outside when they left, and she indicated she wanted to speak with them away from the facility.

According to official documents, that employee then told the officers that Alexis choked the patient to the point where he became unconscious, and that he did that two times during the night.

After the employee told Alexis not to choke the patient during the first incident, she told officers that she made an audio recording the second time, which she played for them, police said.

In the recording, officers said the victim could be heard moaning.

Additionally, officers asked the employee to make a controlled phone call to Alexis, and during the call, police said Alexis told her “what he is going to tell the police and advises her to say the same thing in her own words” while also cautioning her “not to say things about the logbook because police will want to get a copy” and “not to say anything about the mat that (the victim) was laying on,” ultimately telling her “not to say too many things that would prompt more questions from the police,” according to his arrest form.

In November 2023, a medical examiner ruled the victim’s death as a homicide, though the specific cause of death was redacted from Alexis’ arrest form.

He is facing a charge of aggravated manslaughter for neglect of an elderly disabled adult and as of Wednesday morning was being held at the Broward Main Jail on a $25,000 bond.

After Anthony Volpe's would-be tying homer in the bottom of the sixth inning turned into a double on video review, the Yankees did not get a runner past second base. When leadoff hitter Trent Grisham struck out to end the ninth, it capped a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the AL Division Series and a series sweep that extended the Yankees’ championship drought to 17 years.

“Disappointment,” Game 3 starter Max Fried said. “It’s not the way that we wanted it to end, not up to what we were expecting.”

After sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, New York never led against the Rays and has not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.

Asked to explain why the past two seasons ended without being able to get over the hump, likely AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler called it a great question and responded, “I don’t really have an answer.”

Without injured slugger Aaron Judge, the Yankees were one-hit and shut out in the opener, when catcher Austin Wells' baserunning blunder loomed large. Game 2 included four errors to get pushed to the brink of elimination.

The Yankees didn't go quietly — at least initially. When Fried gave up a run apiece in the third and fourth innings, the bats responded each time to tie the score.

Victor Mesa Jr. crushed Fried's 80th and final pitch for a go-ahead, two-run home run that was far from a short-porch homer like Ryan Vilade's earlier.

“It’s just as simple as I threw a bad pitch,” Fried said. “I left it up and the guy hit a home run, which was two runs and it put it out of reach. ... We played a really sound game and did enough win, and unfortunately I didn’t do enough to be able to kind of hold up my end of the bargain.”

It looked like New York would get it right back in a redemption moment for Volpe, but a Jeffrey Maier-esque moment came back to haunt the home team 30 years later.

Volpe looked to have a home run to left field, and it was called a home run by the umpires on the field. Video review determined the fan did interference, the play was scored an RBI double for Volpe, but the run that did not turned out to be the difference.

With the air sucked out of Yankee Stadium, Spencer Jones — who singled and doubled in his first two plate appearances — struck out swinging to end the threat. The eighth started with Paul Goldschmidt reaching on a throwing error and finished with fellow pinch-hitter with Giancarlo Stanton striking out in just his second at-bat of the postseason.

“They pitched well against us, and we had no answers for it,” Jones said.

Stanton got chances to swing the bat after strained calf muscles in each of his legs sidelined him since April 24. Judge was not afforded the same opportunity, left off the rosters for the AL Wild Card Series and the ALDS because of his calf injury.

“It definitely hurts," Judge said, unwilling to speculate whether he thought he would have been able to alter the result. "You want to be out there. You do all the rehab, all the work, come in here early, stay late — any time you’re banged up, you try to get out there as soon as you can. It definitely hurts not getting a chance to be out there and battling.”

The Yankees hit .130 in the series and were outscored 10-5.

“Obviously, they have some good arms, but we had the talent in here to combat that,” said left fielder Cody Bellinger, who was 1 for 12. “Didn’t really continue to get that big hit with runners in scoring position.”

Aaron Boone again fell short of a title in his ninth season as manager, and some fans chanted “Fire Boone!” as they streamed to the exits. He has a year left on his contract and expects to return.

“That’s for another day,” Boone said. “Right now is about trying to reflect on this, trying to connect with guys right now as much as I can. Appreciative of a lot of things, but those conversations and things are for another day.”

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Rays manager Kevin Cash waved an arm and pointed toward first base, urging Mesa to start the type of trot the 25-year-old yearned of when he defected from Cuba in 2018.

“That’s the moment that you want to live when you’re growing up,” Mesa said after his tiebreaking, two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning lifted Tampa Bay over the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series.

Ryan Vilade also homered for the Rays, who got help from a fan interference call and reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020. They host the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in the opener on Monday.

“We’re a bunch of dogs,” Vilade said. “We don’t care who’s on the other side. We’re going to go out and compete and do our thing.”

Mesa, 25, was designated for assignment by Miami just ahead of spring training, then traded to the Rays.

“Look where I am now," he said.

Cash had worried when Mesa lingered at home plate.

“The last thing we need to do is ignite a really great team over there,” the manager said of the Yankees. “I get the emotions and the excitement and that was probably the biggest home run he’s ever hit in his life, so I totally appreciate how you want to enjoy that. In today’s game, there's a fine line of what’s OK and what’s not.”

A son of former Cuba player and national team manager Victor Mesa, Victor Jr. was 16 when he left Cuba along with his older brother, Victor Victor Mesa. Both signed with the Miami Marlins and the older brother didn't advance past Triple-A.

“When we defect(ed), we knew that we wanted to live moments like this," Victor Mesa Jr. said. “I want to thank him because he’s a big part of why I’m here.”

Vilade, 27, is with his sixth major league organization and got extensive big league playing time for the first time this season.

“Last year I was in Memphis and sleeping on an Amazon — or a Walmart bed,” he said of his stint with St. Louis' Triple-A farm team. “And this year I’m here and get to go to the ALCS and compete with my guys.”

After Mesa's homer gave the Rays a 4-2 lead, Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a two-run shot against Griffin Jax with two outs in the bottom half as a fan reached over the left-field wall and caught the ball over the glove of a leaping Mesa.

A video review by replay umpire Malachi Moore determined the ball would not have been over the wall and would not have been caught by Mesa. Volpe was awarded an RBI double and George Lombard Jr. was allowed to score from first base. Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.

Baseball's embrace of video technology was key to the inning.

Lombard reached with a one-out walk when a 3-1 pitch called a strike by plate umpire Dan Bellino was ruled inside on an ABS challenge. Austin Wells then walked on full-count changeup but an ABS challenge by Rays catcher Liam Hicks ruled the pitch caught the inside corner for a strikeout, bringing up Volpe.

Quite a change from 1996, when umpires did not have replays to assist and Derek Jeter's homer for the Yankees helped turn around the ALCS opener despite young fan Jeffrey Meier reaching over the right-field wall where Baltimore's Tony Tarasco was set to catch the ball. MLB began using video for home run calls in 2008 and allowed challenges to ball/strike decisions starting this year.

Junior Caminero singled ahead of Mesa's homer on a sweeper, the first longball Fried allowed to a left-handed hitter since August 2025.

“We played a good game and did enough to win and unfortunately I didn’t do enough to hold up my end of the bargain," Fried said.

Ian Seymour pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth.

Bryan Baker pitched the ninth, striking out Trent Grisham with a runner at second to become the first pitcher with three saves and no hits allowed in a three-game postseason sweep.

"We’re going to have to bring it in the ALCS and keep playing our type of baseball,” Baker said.

Seeking its first World Series title, Tampa Bay celebrated on the field of the big-spending Yankees for the second time in two weeks after clinching the AL East on Sept. 22. New York opened the season with MLB's third-highest payroll at $303 million while the Rays were 26th at $91 million.

Swept in a best-of-five postseason matchup for the first time since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City, the Yankees ended their 17th straight season without a World Series crown. That equaled their longest drought since winning their first championship in 1923, a gap between titles in 1978 and '96.

“The ending is terrible,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s a broken clubhouse.”

Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed the postseason after straining a calf on Sept. 16. The three-time AL MVP played just seven games after May 31 because of a fractured rib and the leg injury, an absence the team couldn't overcome. New York batted .130 in the series and was outscored 10-5.

“There’s a standard to win a championship, and it’s black and white," Judge said. "There’s no gray area."

After sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, New York never led against the Rays and has not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.

“This is my fourth season. It’s been far too many times having this taste in your mouth,” Volpe said. “There’s too many chips added to your shoulder that it just feels like enough’s enough.”

Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead with an RBI single in the third and Ben Rice tied the score against Nick Martinez with a single in the bottom half, his eighth RBI of the postseason.

Vilade's opposite-field, 340-foot drive in the fourth landed just over the right-field short porch. The ball, just over the glove of a jumping Jones, would not have been out of any other big league ballpark.

Volpe, starting at second base in place of Jazz Chisholm Jr., hit a 96.6 mph liner off Martinez’s back with two outs in the fourth for an infield single, and Seymour relieved. Jones’ opposite-field double landed beyond Mesa, driving in Volpe.

The Yankees left the ballpark dejected.

“We didn’t meet the expectations of the fans and this organization," ace Cam Schlittler said. “There’s a certain standard of being a Yankee and we didn’t fulfill that.”

Up next

Tampa Bay gets four days off and will have played just three games in 14 days before starting the ALCS.

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The former MVP and five-time All-Star was overcome with emotion as he tried to explain his role in the Atlanta Braves' exit from the NL Division Series with Thursday night's 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4.

“I feel like I did nothing to help the team this series,” Acuña said through Braves interpreter Franco Garcia. “You know, I’m supposed to be a spark plug for my team out there, and I never lit that fire. And so, extremely disappointed.”

Acuña said his sore knee, on which he had an MRI after Game 3 to check for a potential injury, was not a factor in his performance.

Acuña was 2 for 15 in the series with no home runs and no RBIs. There was a smattering of boos at Truist Park after he grounded out in his final at-bat to finish the night 0 for 3.

“It’s frustrating just because I know the talent that I have,” he said before he sat down and cut off questions.

There was more to the Braves' offensive struggles than just Acuña. Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin, Atlanta's other two top hitters, were just as unproductive. The trio went a combined 5 for 45 (.111) with no homers and one RBI against a Dodgers pitching staff that looks capable of leading the franchise to its third straight World Series title. The three sluggers were 0 for 11 in the clincher.

As a team, the Braves hit .145 in the series and averaged two runs per game, a quiet end to a season in which they won 94 games and the NL East title under first-year manager Walt Weiss.

“Losing is definitely the number one (frustration),” said Baldwin, whose eyes were also red from tears. “(Winning is) the only goal, but just not coming through. I mean, most of it relates back to that. It’s doing what we can to win games and execute that.”

Due to a combination of injuries and scheduling, the Braves were forced to use two bullpen games to start the series at Dodger Stadium, and Atlanta managed to get a split. But with the Braves' top two starting pitchers available at home, the offense dried up. Atlanta scored just two runs in two games.

“The Dodgers have something to do with that,” Weiss said. “They’re going for their third straight world championship for a reason. Their arms just keep coming at you.

“But that’s the postseason. You never know what you’re going to get. It’s very unpredictable. But some guys, you have a lot of unsung heroes a lot of times in the postseason, and sometimes guys struggle. It’s obviously magnified because you’re playing under a microscope. We struggled with runners in scoring position. So did the Dodgers. The games were really tight.”

Austin Riley, who hit a three-run homer to send the Braves to a victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, also struggled against the Dodgers' star-studded rotation of Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.

Should the Braves' offense be given a little grace, given who they were facing?

“The competitive side of me is like, no, but you know, they’re tough,” Riley said. “They’re a tough group, they really are. But at the same time, in order to get to where we want to be, we've got to be able put together hits and score runs against those guys.”

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“Just hoping for the best,” the New York Yankees infielder said. “Crazy.”

With the Yankees' season at stake, Volpe was denied a tying home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of their AL Division Series when a replay review determined a fan interfered with his drive to deep left field Wednesday night.

The swing of emotions came nearly 30 years to the day after young Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium on a ball hit by Derek Jeter in the 1996 American League Championship Series against Baltimore. With no replay system in place back then, the home team benefited from umpires calling it a home run instead of interference, and New York went on to win the World Series.

This time, the Yankees wound up losing 4-3 by the very run that was taken off the board and had their season end in a three-game sweep.

“I mean, we lost,” Volpe said. "That’s what we’re dealing with now. That’s just what happened.”

Replay umpire Malachi Moore made the call on Volpe's sixth-inning drive in Major League Baseball's Replay Center, and players and managers on both sides mostly agreed the right decision was made.

“I thought they got it right,” New York skipper Aaron Boone said. “When he hit it, to my eye looking out there, I was a little concerned right away because it felt like something — I wasn’t sure. And then seeing the replay and seeing it unfold, I thought they did the right thing."

With rookie George Lombard Jr. on base — Austin Wells would have been as well if not for a successful ABS challenge by the Rays — Volpe turned on right-hander Griffin Jax’s 96 mph sinker and hit it 357 feet to left field. It was a matter of inches as to whether a fan reached over the fence and interfered with the ball or it would have cleared the wall without help.

“He almost had a big home run,” injured teammate Aaron Judge said. “Off the bat, I liked the chances.”

The play was initially called a two-run homer that would have tied the score at 4 with two outs in the sixth. But a lengthy video review determined a fan reached over the wall to catch the ball as Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. tried in vain for a leaping grab.

“It was interference," Mesa said in Spanish. “I believe I might have even been able to get to that ball. Not that it matters whether we won or lost. Well, it’s in the past now. I think they could have even called an out, because I was right there. Everything happens for a reason. It was kind of an in-between call.”

Spectator interference became the ruling, and Volpe was awarded an RBI double that scored Lombard from first base, trimming Tampa Bay's lead to 4-3.

“I don’t know if he would have caught it or not caught it, the guy would have scored or not,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Our replay official Nick (Rogers) said the runner had passed second base at the point where the ball hit the fan’s wrist or hand, and makes sense why they awarded him home."

There was another slight delay after some fans in left threw debris onto the field, and Spencer Jones then struck out against Jax to end the inning.

The fan who reached out to catch the ball was escorted out of Yankee Stadium by security and police.

“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play. The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught. The call is OVERTURNED, there was spectator interference and no home run. Additionally, the Replay Official scored one run and placed the batter-runner at 2B,” MLB said in a statement from the Replay Center.

Judge knew once he saw the side-angle replay that it was fan interference. He and his teammates had to deal with that reality.

“You go from a tie game to down one,” said starting pitcher Max Fried, who gave up a two-run homer to Mesa in the top of the sixth. “(Volpe) made a great swing, and it’s just the way the game goes sometimes. It’s unfortunate because that changes the game.”

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AP Sports Writer Eric Nunez contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

At issue is an $80 million redevelopment plan that supporters say will transform the waterfront but opponents warn could come at a cost to Biscayne Bay.

David Filler, senior vice president of development for Suntex Marinas, laid out plans for an $80 million makeover of the Rickenbacker Marina and the five-parcel, 75-acre property surrounding the Miami Marine Stadium basin.

“You’re going to see an open-to-the-public baywalk connecting the rowing club and Marine Stadium all the way to the Rusty Pelican,” Filler said.

“This whole area will be open, so you can kayak along this area. You can walk. You can run. You can rollerblade. You can bike. You’ll be able to eat at shops and restaurants,” he said. “It’s going to transform this from a private, basically, facility to a public one on public lands.”

But whether Filler’s vision becomes reality is up to City of Miami voters. Referendum 3 asks them to approve a long-term lease for the private redevelopment of the publicly owned waterfront property.

“It’s all privately funded at no cost to taxpayers,” Filler said.

Opponents question the potential cost to the environment. Friends of Biscayne Bay and the Sierra Club strongly oppose the project, warning it could further damage the bay’s already fragile ecosystem.

“We’re at the tipping point, and the more you shade over seagrass or dredge and silt over seagrass, the more issues we have for manatees, for fish, and for our water quality,” said Laura Reynolds, policy advisor for Friends of Biscayne Bay.

Filler pushed back, saying the redevelopment will actually improve environmental conditions at the site.

“This marina is currently operating as an environmental hazard. It has complete stormwater runoff with toxins going into the bay,” he said.

Ron Schults, CEO of Edgewater Group and the engineer and environmental consultant for the project, said the team has found violations at the marina.

“We’ve actually identified 69 DERM violations over the last 32 years, and the first step will be to fix those things and bring it up to code,” Schults said.

He pointed out what he said were examples of runoff and dirty stormwater at the marina.

“So this is a stormwater pipe that was recently installed. You can see it sheet-drains the whole parking lot, so all the solvents that come off of cars, tire dust, oils, gases, solvents, etc., go directly into the bay,” Schults said.

We checked with DERM, which now says the majority of the violations on that list have been resolved or closed.

DERM said the marina’s pump station is currently under a temporary moratorium, but the facility has not been issued a notice and is operating under its permit conditions.

The marina’s current operator also said every item on the list provided by developers was closed out through DERM’s normal inspection process.

“We just got our marina operator permit with DERM renewed. If we had any open violations or any citations, we would not have renewed our marina operator’s permit from DERM, which we just over a week ago got renewed. We’re in constant contact with every agency, and no one has cited us,” said Aabad Melwani, president of Rickenbacker Marina.

The proposed marina would have up to 202 wet slips, roughly the same number that exists today. But project renderings show slips accommodating much larger vessels. For perspective, the docks are 80 feet long, yet some of the yachts depicted extend well beyond that and are larger than any vessel currently at the marina. Still, Filler said the number of large yachts will be limited.

“The four to five boats that it could possibly handle that are 100 feet are all the way at the very end of the marina,” Filler said.

The renderings in the RFP depict more than four or five large yachts. And the larger the vessel, the deeper its draft, or the amount of hull below the waterline. A 100-foot motor yacht can draw six feet or more. The problem: the waters surrounding Virginia Key are notoriously shallow.

“What that means is increased dredging,” Reynolds said.

Asked whether there will be dredging, Filler said: “The only dredging that would occur, if it’s even necessary, would be what’s called maintenance dredging, where it’s areas of previously dredged areas where you’re cleaning it up.”

But the developers’ own proposal acknowledges a phase two that may require maintenance dredging, with the RFP allowing depths of eight to nine feet. The marina today averages four to five feet.

“It’s a problem for having to dredge deeper. More silt is going to go over top of seagrass,” Reynolds said.

Exactly how much dredging would ultimately be needed, and its potential impact on the bay, would have to be determined by the permitting process. But first, the redevelopment needs voter approval, so City of Miami voters will get the final say.

The ballot question asks whether the city should be authorized to lease about 27.5 acres on Virginia Key for the proposed redevelopment.

If you want the new plan to move forward, you vote yes. If not, you vote no.

Reese scored six of her team's 13 points in overtime. She made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left after Sabrina Ionescu overthrew a pass as Atlanta moved within one win of its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.

“I think we did a great job making sure that we were all on the connected stream," Reese said. "We really stayed together and played together, and that's how we won.”

Jordin Canada also scored 23 points and had eight assists for the Dream, who won Game 1 92-82.

Breanna Stewart scored 35 points, including 25 in the first half. She missed a desperation attempt on the final play after the Liberty didn't use their reset to advance the ball, with Stewart saying after the game that officials told them they didn't have one left.

New York hosts Game 3 on Friday.

With the Liberty trailing 86-80 with under two minutes remaining in regulation, Ionescu cut the deficit in half with a deep 3-pointer. An Atlanta shot clock violation with 31 seconds remaining opened the door for the Liberty to get closer, and Stewart hit a quick layup in traffic to make it 86-85.

After New York fouled to extend the game, Reese knocked down both free throws to give the Dream an 88-85 advantage with 14.5 seconds left. Marine Fauthoux knocked down the game-tying 3-pointer with 10.3 seconds to go, boiling the game down to one final Atlanta possession. Rhyne Howard's midrange floater rimmed out just before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

“We just had a message that we thought we could be the best team over the last five minutes, let's start off by executing the first couple plays," Dream coach Karl Smesko said. "Everybody was locked in on what those plays were, and they went out there and executed them.”

Atlanta scored the first five points of overtime before New York responded with the next eight, giving the Liberty a 96-93 lead. Canada and Reese scored the next two baskets to flip the advantage again, only for Stewart to respond with one in a pulsating back-and-forth extra period.

Hillmon's layup gave Atlanta the lead for good. The Dream forced a jump ball on New York's first attempt at its final possession, only for the Liberty to win the tip and get another opportunity before Ionescu's wayward pass.

“We're not focused on winning three games straight right now,” Stewart said. “We're focused on winning one game, and that's Friday, and then we go from there. This group has experience. I've been part of some crazy series and I have a lot of confidence in our group.”

The Dream won without leading scorer Allisha Gray, who missed the game with a left hand injury. Izzy Borlase helped soak up her minutes, and the rookie scored 11 points of the bench.

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Addressing a rally in San Antonio, Trump renewed his calls for Clemens to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That's an honor the pitcher known as “The Rocket” has yet to receive because of suspicions he used steroids during a 24-year career that featured time with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

“We’re giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said. “And, along with the Congressional Medal of Honor, it’s the highest award bestowed upon anyone.”

The president continued: “He'll be in the Hall of Fame someday, but he deserves it. One of the greatest athletes, and maybe the greatest pitcher, of all time."

He added that the medal “is a big step up from the Hall of Fame.”

Trump has given the medal to various athletes during his two terms in the White House, including golfing legend Tiger Woods, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, famed Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and Lou Holtz, former coach of Notre Dame football.

He's bestowed the same honor on Elvis Presley posthumously and on Rush Limbaugh the year before the conservative radio host died.

Wednesday's surprise revelation came near the end of a Trump speech that lasted more than 100 minutes, and with the crowd having lost some of its enthusiasm. Clemens was attending the event, and the president called him to the stage, where the retired right-hander offered, “Well, I’m stunned.”

“This supersedes anything that obviously I've done in my playing career,” Clemens said. “And to get it from this man, this president, there wouldn’t be another president I’d want to get it from.”

Clemens, who was raised in Houston, said he was honored that the announcement came in Texas and added of Trump: “You’re talking about a winner. That’s a winner right there.”

Clemens, like slugger Barry Bonds and many other stars widely suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, was repeatedly rejected by baseball writers in his bid for the Hall of Fame. There are other avenues where Clemens and others could eventually make it, but the road is not easy.

Clemens isn't the first star baseball player Trump has made a Hall of Fame case for. The president issued a posthumous federal pardon last year for the late Pete Rose, which led to Major League Baseball lifting its ban on the all-time career hits leader.

Trump has called for Rose to be inducted in the Hall of Fame too — also, so far, unsuccessfully.

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Weissert reported from Washington.

Ramírez broke out of his batting slump Wednesday, helping Cleveland avoid a sweep in its AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox. The seven-time All-Star had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice during the Guardians' 9-3 victory in Game 3.

“Josy, that’s why he’s one of the best players in the league,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “He can hurt you with the bat, the legs and the glove. He showed all that today.”

The 34-year-old Ramírez also made a diving stop at third on Miguel Vargas’ bases-loaded smash in the sixth inning, preserving Cleveland’s 5-3 advantage.

“After that play, it was, OK, this is our game to win, and that’s what we were able to do,” Ramírez said through a translator.

Ramírez was sidelined for five weeks after he broke a bone in his left hand on a swing against Detroit on June 13. The switch-hitter had surgery before returning on July 22 against Minnesota.

But he hit just .229 with two homers and 20 RBIs in 53 games after the operation. Then he went 0 for 6 with two walks in the first two games of the ALDS against the White Sox.

With the Guardians facing elimination, Ramírez delivered — just as he had so many times before.

“It feels special,” Ramírez said. “You know the type of season I had, but it’s important for us to win any game going forward because for us it’s do or die. So it feels really good. ... But for us, it’s the same mindset going forward.”

The first sign Ramírez was headed for a big night occurred in the first inning, when he hit a 107.9 mph liner that was caught by a diving Randal Grichuk in left field.

“We always know he’s one swing away,” Vogt said. “When he hit that first ball in the first inning ... great play by Grichuk. You knew he was here.”

Ramírez walked and scored on Jo Adell's three-run triple in the third, helping Cleveland take a 4-1 lead.

Playing in his 48th postseason game — all with Cleveland — Ramírez manufactured an insurance run for the Guardians in the fifth. He doubled, stole third and scored on Chase DeLauter’s grounder to second, beating Kyle Teel’s tag with a headfirst slide.

Ramírez’s savvy baserunning gave the Guardians a 5-2 advantage.

“When he got that stolen base at third, that kind of made it a José Ramírez game,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said.

Ramírez popped up leading off the seventh, but he helped Cleveland put it away with a two-run triple with two outs in the eighth. Ramírez clapped his hands in excitement and threw an upper cut with his right arm as he stood on third after the important swing.

“Great game by Ramírez,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Obviously, we know how special a player he is.”

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CPA and lifelong Palmetto Bay resident David Singer served on the Village Council for four years. After a six-year break, he is now running for mayor.

“My tagline is experience matters,” Singer said.

One of the first things he says he would tackle is the budget.

“They’ll start with a zero-dollar line item. They won’t take last year’s budget. They will just start with a zero line item, and they will have to justify every expense,” Singer said.

Palmetto Bay mother Tamara Mourino says being a business owner gives her the knowledge and experience to run the village.

If elected mayor, she wants to maximize resources and streamline departments to save money.

“We need to get our team elevated to where they are able to create those efficiencies so we can be more proactive and supportive and reduce our budget instead of increasing,” Mourino said.

Registered nurse Karen Baez-Wallis has served in the medical field for decades, including being part of establishing a trauma center in Palmetto Bay.

“I really want to look out for the single-family home community,” Baez-Wallis said.

As mayor, her goal would be to find a way to bring even more jobs to the area.

“How do we entice businesses to come here so people can not only live and work but also want to invest locally within our local economy?” she said.

Pages drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to give Los Angeles the lead, and the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Wednesday night to clinch their NL Division Series.

The Dodgers won back-to-back games in Atlanta to take the best-of-five matchup 3-1 and advance to an NLCS rematch with Milwaukee as they seek to become the first National League team to win three straight World Series.

Game 1 is Sunday in Milwaukee after the Brewers finished off the San Diego Padres with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night in Game 4 of their Division Series. Los Angeles swept Milwaukee in the NLCS last year.

Pages lined a full-count pitch from Robert Suarez up the middle to drive in Teoscar Hernández, who singled off starter Tyler Mahle, and pinch-runner Tommy Edman for a 3-1 lead. Didier Fuentes walked pinch-hitter Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker to load the bases. Edman ran for De Paula.

It was an uplifting moment for Pages, who had two hits in the series-clinching win. A year ago, he went 4 for 51 (.078) in the postseason and lost his starting job in the outfield as the Dodgers beat Toronto in the World Series.

“I’ve been preparing myself all series for a moment like that, give myself an opportunity, get a good pitch to hit,” Pages said. “And luckily I was able to put a good swing on a pitch.”

Max Muncy's solo shot off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth padded the lead and gave the slugger 19 postseason homers for the Dodgers, extending his franchise record.

Los Angeles right-hander Tyler Glasnow, making his first start since Sept. 24, allowed only one hit but walked five batters in 4 2/3 innings. After he issued two walks in the fifth, left-hander Alex Vesia ended the inning on Matt Olson's groundout to second base.

Mahle, a native of Newport Beach, California, who grew up a Dodgers fan, allowed two runs — one earned — in 6 1/3 innings.

Michael Harris II hit Glasnow’s first pitch for a single before stealing second and eventually scoring from third on a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Will Smith’s chest protector.

The Dodgers pulled even in the second with the help of two Atlanta errors. Shohei Ohtani walked, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Sean Murphy’s errant throw into center field. Muncy’s pop fly into shallow left field was dropped by shortstop Mauricio Dubón for another error, allowing Ohtani to score.

Hitting woes for Braves

The missed opportunity left the Braves with 18 walks in the series, and none scored. Atlanta hitters finished 1 for 23 with runners in scoring position.

“The Dodgers had something to do with that,” manager Walt Weiss said. "They’re going for their third straight world championship for a reason. Their arms just keep coming at you.

“But that’s the postseason. You never know what you’re going to get. It’s very unpredictable.”

Bullpen pecking order restored

Glasnow and four relievers combined to give up just three hits. Tanner Scott pitched a perfect eighth before Edwin Díaz got three quick outs for his second save of the series. It was his second in two nights and evidence he has reclaimed the closer role just in time for the Dodgers’ run at another championship.

“That’s the reason why we got him,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The last two nights, that’s the reason why we acquired a guy like Edwin Díaz. He’s one of the great closers in the game. For him to be pitching his best right now, that’s what you hope for, and I give him a lot of credit.”

Díaz said he had a long season while recovering from elbow surgery and a neck injury.

“I feel great,” he said. “I’m happy what I’m doing right now. I put in a lot of work this season. ... Those things paid off at the end of the day. Last week and a half of the season, I did my job.”

Collision with wall

Hernández crashed into the left-field wall while attempting to catch Ozzie Albies' double off Vesia leading off the sixth. Hernández pointed to his head and neck when talking to an athletic trainer but remained in the game.

Edgardo Henriquez stranded Albies at second. Henriquez allowed one hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win.

Injury report

Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas was held out after leaving Tuesday night’s 3-1 win during an at-bat in the eighth inning with lower back soreness. Roberts said Rojas would not be available off the bench.

Ronald Acuña Jr. started in right field for Atlanta one day after being moved to designated hitter in a late lineup change due to right knee soreness.

Up next

The Dodgers will face Milwaukee or San Diego in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Sri Lanka has been mired in drought for months, leading to severe water shortages that have left reservoirs dry and strained farming communities that depend on seasonal monsoons. Making matters worse, temperatures in many parts of the country have been higher than usual and high humidity has exacerbated the heat stress.

“We feel like we are being hit from every side,” Pushpakumara said. “If there is no water and we have to give up farming, we will have nothing left to live on.”

Climate experts say the lack of rain is likely due in part to a strong El Niño — a natural temporary warming of ocean waters that shifts weather patterns across the globe — combined with warmer temperatures driven partly by human-caused climate change.

Sri Lanka receives rain from two main monsoon systems. The southwest monsoon, which runs roughly from May to September, normally supplies up to 30% of the country’s annual rainfall, but this year there has been little rainfall through late September.

“We cannot say exactly whether it's due to climate change, since we need more evidence. But these kinds of events are increasing in recent years,” said Gayana Krishanthi Hendawitharana, a climate scientist at Sri Lanka’s weather department.

Recent showers have brought some relief to parts of the island. However, climate experts say scattered rain will not be enough to restore reservoirs and groundwater after months of dryness. The country’s 74 reservoirs have hovered around one-third full in recent weeks, resulting in water rationing in many parts of the island.

And it isn't only humans feeling the impact. The drought has also diminished water and food sources for wildlife in the country’s forests. Authorities are using water tankers and underground pipes to replenish watering holes inside some wildlife reserves.

Fields without water and a landscape transformed

In Medirigiriya, one of the most affected areas, rice farming is central to life. Roads run between villages and broad paddy fields, while small vegetable plots sit beside homes. During wetter years, rain fills irrigation tanks, and water stored there is released through the cultivation seasons.

This year, much of that landscape has been transformed.

The ground is dusty and brown. Vegetable gardens that once provided food and income have withered. Across exposed tank beds, cattle search for fodder.

In villages where household wells have failed, residents wait outside their homes with plastic barrels, bottles and jerrycans for water deliveries that are supplied for free by the Sri Lankan government and charities. On a recent day, a truck fitted with a large black tank pulled up along a dirt road, and families gathered around it with their containers.

For Indika Nuwankumara, a father of three, the drought has driven him into huge debt. He said he’s struggling to repay a $1,500 loan he had taken for farming. Without rain for four months, the rice, okra and eggplant he planted across his 8-acre (3.2-hectare) field have failed.

“I made a loss and am now struggling to repay the loan,” he said.

Nuwankumara said the intense heat has also made it harder to work in the fields.

“The daytime heat is unbearable,” he said. “Even using an electric fan inside our houses is not helpful because it blows warm air.”

Wildlife gathers around shrinking pools

The search for water is also playing out inside Sri Lanka’s wildlife reserves such as Yala National Park in southeastern Sri Lanka. Elephants, deer, water buffaloes, crocodiles and many types of birds including peacocks and cranes are among the wildlife that normally frequent watering holes to drink or cool off from the searing heat.

While the Menik River that supplies most of the 1,000-square-kilometer (386-square-mile) park still has flowing water, sections of the park have natural and artificial ponds that the animals drink from. Most of these have dried up. Wildlife officials say animals are suffering dehydration and heat stress.

In the dry landscape on a recent day, spotted deer bent their heads toward muddy pools. Elephants crossed parched ground and stood beside what remained of watering holes. In one area, hoses snaked across dusty earth near a small pool as wildlife workers tried to keep it supplied.

At another site, a tanker backed toward a watering hole and released water onto the baked ground.

Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said temperatures in affected areas have risen above 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), drying vegetation and leaving many natural water sources depleted.

Farmers suffer from weather extremes

Back in Medirigiriya, Vidanaarachchige Wimalasuriya said he was able to harvest only six sacks of rice after borrowing money expecting to harvest at least 50 sacks.

“The lack of water and excessive heat destroyed my crop,” he said. “I could not give the plants water when they needed it most.”

He said only last year his home and field had been flooded.

“Now we are facing drought,” he said. “I don’t know what is happening to our weather anymore.”

Hemapala Mallika, a rice farmer in Medirigiriya, said the sparse rain they have received in recent weeks has done little to help.

“The water disappears as quickly as water poured onto hot iron," she said. "Even when we get a small spell of rain, it is not enough to soak the soil.”

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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India.

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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.

En ese periodo se han registrado más de 60 ataques armados contra vehículos del transporte público y 25 asesinatos de transportistas, según las autoridades.

El anuncio ocurre luego que la desaprobación de Fujimori casi se duplicó en septiembre hasta 48%, mientras su aceptación cayó 15 puntos ubicándose en 42%. Fujimori tenía una popularidad de 57% y una impopularidad de 25% en agosto, según un sondeo nacional de la firma Ipsos Perú. Su gobierno, que empezó el 28 de julio, prometió desde el primer día actuar “con mucha fuerza contra el crimen”.

“Vamos a poner a estos miserables delincuentes a disposición de la justicia y proteger a la sociedad para que sean procesados de acuerdo a ley”, dijo Fujimori desde el cuartel general del Ejército en un discurso ante batallones de militares y policías junto a carros blindados armados con ametralladoras y dos helicópteros MI17.

La oficina del primer ministro indicó en sus redes sociales que el grupo creado tendrá 1.350 integrantes.

La presidenta, vestida con un gorro de béisbol y chaleco color beige, reiteró que ordenará la expulsión “en tiempo récord a los extranjeros que llegaron para romper la ley”, el retorno del control de las cárceles y la incomunicación de los reos que siguan delinquiendo “para que no continúen dirigiendo sus ataques desde las cárceles”.

El anuncio se realiza antes de que Fujimori viaje a El Salvador del 28 al 31 de octubre para reunirse con el presidente de ese país Nayib Bukele. En su campaña electoral Fujimori indicó que iba a enfrentar el crimen siguiendo el modelo de Bukele y que construiría una cárcel similar al Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo.

En agosto el gobierno inició su plan "Escudo" para proteger a transportistas en Lima de ataques armados de los extorsionadores que los acribillan delante de sus pasajeros y empezó un estado de excepción restringiendo varios derechos constitucionales para combatir el crimen en Lima, pero esas medidas no han frenado el crimen.

En más de una década otros gobiernos crearon una decena de grupos policiales para enfrentar al crimen. Sin embargo, los delitos siguieron en ascenso. Las denuncias por extorsiones pasaron de 2.421 en 2019 a 26.734 en 2025, mientras que los homicidios aumentaron desde 2.385 casos en 2019 a 3.675 en 2025, según cifras oficiales.

Pike, 50, suffered burns and blisters to her arms and her prognosis remains uncertain after executioners tried to give her two lethal doses of pentobarbital, her legal team said Wednesday. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer.

Although other states have moved forward with attempting to execute inmates a second time, in those cases, the first try had been halted before any drug actually began flowing.

Outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Lee has paused executions in Tennessee and ordered an outside review of the failed Sept. 30 attempt to put Pike to death. His office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on whether the state would try again to execute her.

Death penalty experts say it's hard to know what will happen if the state decides to move forward with a second attempt.

“Whether or not it would be lawful for the state of Tennessee to attempt to execute her again is a complex question that will take significant time, attention and analysis of her defense team, the prosecution team, the state government in Tennessee and multiple state and federal courts,” said Stephen Johnson, a criminal defense attorney in Tennessee who is president-elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Mental competency could be a first hurdle

Pike regained consciousness almost six days after the failed attempt to kill her. Her legal team had believed she was brain dead, but after she woke up, she was aware of what happened and was “angry and confused,” her lawyers said Wednesday.

Her attorneys will surely explore the medical and psychiatric impact of receiving two doses of the lethal injection drug and being on a ventilator for several days to determine if she is “now legally competent to even be executed,” Johnson said. That will likely include neuropsychological and forensic psychiatric evaluations and potentially other medical tests, and then there would “undoubtedly be significant litigation” over those issues, which can take years, he said.

Other cases could serve as a guide, but none are quite the same

There have been dozens of troubled executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, including several attempts that did not end in death.

Alan Miller and Kenneth Smith both survived lethal injection attempts in Alabama in 2022. Both argued that a second execution attempt violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment as applied to them individually, which courts found “plausible” in early litigation stages. However, the U.S. Supreme Court did not agree to decide this question, and both were ultimately executed by nitrogen gas in 2024.

Two other inmates, Thomas Creech of Idaho and Tony Carruthers of Tennessee, remain on death row after failed attempts to administer lethal injection drugs.

But Pike's case is distinguishable from others where a second execution attempt was made because she “bore the brunt of lethal drugs,” said Jordan Steiker, co-director of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas. He said other cases involved “the psychological trauma of facing an execution effort” but not “grievous harm.”

A similar case that predates the modern death penalty era

Louisiana executioners tried to put to death 17-year-old Willie Francis in 1946 but called off their efforts after an improperly prepared electric chair failed to kill him.

But he was executed by electrocution the following year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a second execution attempt did not violate double jeopardy under the Fifth Amendment or constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, attributing part of its reasoning to the “malfunction” of the electric chair.

The court notably said, “Accidents happen for which no man is to blame.” But a dissenting justice called the experience of being subjected to a second execution attempt “death by installments.”

It's not clear whether this case would be viewed as controlling precedent because the Court has not revisited this ruling using its modern “evolving standards of decency” approach to the Eighth Amendment, Steiker said.

“So I think the guide today would be whether or not it would be viewed as repulsive according to contemporary community standards to attempt a second execution,” he said.

Complex legal issues

Experts said they are not aware of any state or federal statute that explicitly bars a second execution attempt after a first one fails.

John Mills, a lawyer who represents people facing the death penalty, said a crucial question would be whether a second attempt to execute Pike would amount to torture.

He said federal courts have declined to intervene in “less egregious” cases, but noted that Pike's lawyers had previously warned that her medical conditions could complicate a lethal injection and make it agonizing.

“Facing her death a second time having thought she was going to die and then instead being tortured raises a strong claim that a second attempt to kill her would amount to torture violating the Eighth Amendment," Mills said.

Steiker said he believes Pike's case would be “uncharted territory” if Tennessee moves forward with a second attempt.

“The most obvious way to avoid litigation over this would be for the governor to commute the sentence," he said.

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Associated Press writers Kim Chandler in Nashville, Tennessee, and Anna Wilder in Austin, Texas, contributed reporting.

Paula Colloff's “Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast" won for nonfiction, and Elizabeth Acevedo's “Anger Is Only a Shadow” was awarded for young readers' literature.

Each of the three authors receives a $50,000 cash prize.

Colson Whitehead's “Cool Machine,” Douglas Stuart's “John of John” and Patrick Radden Keefe's “London Falling” were among the finalists.

The Kirkus awards, presented by the industry publication Kirkus Reviews, were established in 2014. Previous winners include Whitehead, Joy Williams and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

But Trump's remarks were not focused solely on Paxton.

Speaking to a packed Freeman Coliseum, Trump also pledged to award retired baseball star Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, restated his support for the death penalty for drug dealers and clarified recent comments in which he talked about the possibility of Iran bombing American cities as part of a recurring riff about how high fuel costs are “a small price to pay” for the war.

“You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country.”

The president's message was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, including by one who appeared to be close to the stage. In all, at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted the president. Some were led away by police.

Trump stepped away from the microphone briefly after one interruption.

“He’s going back home to mom,” Trump said. “But what he doesn’t know is his mom voted for Trump.”

Texas has become an unexpected battleground for Republicans

The Republican Party did not plan to devote so much money and manpower to Texas this midterm season.

Texas is the nation’s most populous reliably Republican state, where Trump won in 2024 by almost 14 percentage points. But with Election Day less than a month away, Trump’s poor approval ratings, the Iran war and soaring gas prices have threatened Republicans in virtually every state.

Wednesday’s appearance marked Trump’s third trip to Texas in less than a month, and party officials have devoted more than $300 million to elections in the state so far.

In a sign of Trump’s poor standing, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott did not attend the evening rally. A three-term Republican governor who won reelection in 2022 by roughly 11 percentage points, even Abbott has been caught in the turbulent national currents.

He’s locked in a competitive reelection race against Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.

Instead of appearing with Trump, Abbott was scheduled to attend the dedication of a hospital about 330 miles away. Democrats seized on the governor’s absence.

“For years, Greg Abbott has never been shy about embracing Donald Trump, calling Trump a ‘great friend’ and championing his agenda every step of the way,” said Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Jacob Long. “But now, as Texas families get crushed by record-high prices driven by Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran, suddenly Greg Abbott has somewhere else to be.”

Trump focuses on helping the Senate candidate he endorsed in GOP primary

While the race for governor has drawn a sudden influx of cash from Democrats, the state’s U.S. Senate race has drawn the most attention as Democrats fight for the chamber’s majority. The state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, but candidate James Talarico’s fundraising, Trump’s low approval rating and nagging concerns about Paxton’s character have put the race squarely in play.

Trump spent most of his remarks focused on the Senate contest, describing Paxton as “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.”

“He was tough and he was with us all the way,” Trump said of Paxton, whom he endorsed in the state's GOP primary over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. “He’s a fantastic man.”

Trump made no mention of the recently leaked recording of Paxton lamenting the war in Iran and rising fuel prices, while also complaining his campaign was being run by operatives in Washington.

He repeatedly criticized Talarico, including on the death penalty, a point that would appeal to many conservatives in the state that leads the nation in executions.

Trump restated his support for the death penalty for “large scale drug dealers, human traffickers and anyone who kills a police officer,” while acknowledging that Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army major who killed 13 people in a 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be executed by firing squad.

The president approved the method of execution earlier this week and suggested that Talarico opposes it.

The Talarico campaign did not immediately respond when asked about the candidate’s position on Hasan’s scheduled execution.

Paxton, invited onstage near the end of the rally, heaped praise on Trump, who stood behind him: “I am so grateful that you’re here."

Trump makes a big announcement, but not about the Senate race

While Trump promoted Paxton briefly at the beginning of his remarks, he spent almost as much time later talking up Clemens, the retired Red Sox and Yankees pitcher who has been denied a spot in Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame due to his alleged involvement with performance-enhancing drugs.

Trump brought him onstage and said he'd be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor — and, Trump said, “a step up” from the Hall of Fame.

Clemens said he was stunned by the honor.

“This supersedes anything that obviously I’ve done in my playing career,” he said, standing alongside Trump. “And to get it from this man, this president. ... You talking about a winner? That’s a winner right there.”

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Peoples reported from New York and Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed.

Stephanie Rodriguez, 29, was scheduled to get married in February when her 80-year-old father, Jaime, was critically injured in a Sept. 7 crash in Coral Springs.

“He always told me how beautiful I would look on my wedding day, and how excited he was to share that first dance with me,” Rodriguez said.

Jaime was rushed to Broward North Hospital and taken to the trauma intensive care unit. Knowing her father’s time was limited, Rodriguez decided to make his wish come true.

On Sept. 9, Rodriguez got married in her father’s hospital room.

“By the power vested in me by the state of Florida, I pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant said.

Rodriguez said her father was able to move his fingers slightly, which told her he was there and listening.

Video from the wedding shows Rodriguez leaning down and talking to her father. He could not speak, but she said she knew he felt the joy of the moment.

Jaime died two days later, on Sept. 11.

Rodriguez said she recently found a drawing of an altar her father had planned to build for her wedding.

“He was holding on as much as he could, but think about the gift he was given,” Rodriguez said. “His last memories on the earth, this love, joy, hope, and his only daughter married.”

“Even in heartbreak there can be light, and I know he’s proud,” she said. “I know he’s there with me. I know he’s here with me and every step that I take, he’s gonna be with me.”

The wedding took place in the intensive care unit, where getting family members and a wedding cake into the room was a challenge.

Jaime was the sole provider for the family.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Rodriguez and her mother.

Los peloteros y los integrantes del cuerpo técnico del conjunto capitalino lucieron sus tradicionales casacas blancas y azules con el logo de la empresa “A Granel", una firma cubana de capital privado de distribución de combustible.

Además, el Estadio Latinoamericano — la casa de la escuadra en La Habana — tenía en su valla lateral la misma publicidad, constató el miércoles The Associated Press durante un partido de Industriales contra Pinar del Río en la Serie Nacional de Béisbol.

“Me parece una buena idea”, dijo a la AP el mánager de Industriales, Guillermo Carmona, cuando se le consultó sobre el patrocinio a su escuadra. “Se están tomando medidas nuevas, y en el país hay un cambio en muchas políticas… me parece una cosa que va a ayudar” al deporte rey en la isla.

Esta es la primera vez en las 65 ediciones de la serie que un equipo sale a jugar con un sponsor.

Cuba siempre defendió el amateurismo en el deporte, acusando al profesionalismo de mercantilizarlo y especular con el talento de los atletas, pero en la última década las restricciones ya habían comenzado a flexibilizarse con permisos para que algunas figuras jugaran en otros países o participaran de ligas competitivas financieramente.

El viernes, durante un encuentro con medios nacionales, el presidente de la Federación Nacional de Béisbol, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, indicó que el patrocinio particular está contemplado en las nuevas regulaciones del sistema deportivo de la isla, aprobadas el año pasado.

Tanto Carmona como en Pérez Pardo coincidieron en que el auspicio, que no fue a un deportista individual sino a todo el equipo, permitirá mejorar las condiciones de los conjuntos desde implementos necesarios, como bates o uniformes, pasando por la logística como el combustible para transportarlos o la alimentación de los jugadores, hasta mejoras en los campos de juego.

No se conoce el detalle del contrato firmado por Industriales con la empresa A Granel.

Cuba atraviesa una severa crisis económica de un lustro que fue agudizada por un cerco energético y financiero impuesto por Estados Unidos desde enero y que semiparalizó a la isla, impactando fuertemente en todos los sectores de la vida cotidiana, incluyendo el deporte.

Apagones de más de 30 horas, desabastecimiento, afectaciones en la salud pública, cancelación de vuelos, recortes de la jornadas laborales o escolares, son algunas de las consecuencias visibles.

Las autoridades deportivas reconocieron que dada las dificultades económicas que atraviesa el país, en la presente edición la serie de 16 equipos se dividirá en dos zonas —oriente y occidente— para reducir los viajes y el consumo de combustibles debido a la crisis energética. Los ganadores se enfrentarán en la final. El torneo se desarrolla de octubre a diciembre.

El agravamiento de la crisis económica terminó por afectar aún más la situación de los deportistas, mucho de los cuales salieron del país para integrarse a grandes equipos de otros países.

Deportistas y aficionados dijeron a la AP que esperaban que la medida inédita de permitir los patrocinios ayude a mejorar el desarrollo del deporte más importante en la isla y que fue potencia a nivel amateur y olímpico.

“Es importante que se tomara esta acción. Sabemos muy bien la situación que está atravesando el país en que muchas veces no está al alcance del INDER (Instituto Nacional del Deporte y la Recreación) poder darles todo" a los atletas, señaló a la AP Luisa Álvarez, una aficionada de 55 años que dirige una “peña” o club informal de seguidores de los equipos locales, en este caso Industriales, en cada barrio.

Adell's three-run triple gave Cleveland a 4-1 lead in the third inning. Ramírez's three-bagger drove in Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey for a 7-3 advantage in the eighth.

“We continued to pile on,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “I think that’s been the difference of the first couple games to today was Game 2, we were able to get a couple runs but weren’t able to add on. But really good job by our guys today.”

The Guardians hit two triples in a postseason game for the first time in franchise history. They became the first major league team to accomplish the feat since the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees.

Adell, Ramírez, Bailey and Brayan Rocchio each had two of the team's 11 hits — a complete turnaround for the AL Central champions after they managed just three runs and seven hits in the first two games of the series combined.

Game 4 is Thursday in Chicago, with the White Sox leading 2-1 in the best-of-five matchup. Once again, they'll try to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs.

“Today has nothing to do with tomorrow. Nothing," White Sox catcher Kyle Teel said. "We come ready to go like we always do tomorrow.”

Chicago won its first four games in a surprising postseason appearance after going 60-102 last year. It was backed by a frenzied crowd of 40,590 for the franchise's first home playoff game since 2021, but there wasn't much for the fans to cheer in the final innings.

The White Sox struck out 19 times and went 2 for 11 with runners in position. Their bullpen faltered after coming up big during their fast postseason start.

“I think there was some stuff we could have played better, but they played good, too,” left-hander Hagen Smith said. “It’s a good team, and we’ll come back tomorrow and fight.”

Chicago jumped in front on Teel's RBI double off Daniel Espino with one out in the first. But then Espino fanned Chase Meidroth before Foster Griffin struck out Tristan Peters looking, stranding runners on second and third.

Griffin set a franchise record for a reliever with seven strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. The left-hander allowed one run and two hits in his first appearance since Sept. 23.

“Once we got the momentum going on our side, it was tough to stop it,” said Griffin, who came over in a trade with Washington in August.

Cleveland rallied in the third against Bryan Hudson, who entered after Sean Newcomb pitched two scoreless innings.

Bazzana walked and scored on Steven Kwan's one-out single to left. Facing Smith with two down and the bases loaded, Adell grounded a high fastball down the first-base line for a 4-1 lead.

Adell, acquired in an August trade with the Los Angeles Angels, also hit an RBI triple during Cleveland's 4-3 loss in Game 2. He hit one triple during the regular season in each of the last two years.

“It was huge,” Adell said. “Really just proud of how I kind of cleaned that at-bat up.”

Playing in his 48th postseason game — all with Cleveland — Ramírez manufactured an insurance run for the Guardians in the fifth. He doubled, stole third and scored on Chase DeLauter's grounder to second, beating Teel's tag with a headfirst slide.

Ramírez's savvy baserunning gave the Guardians a 5-2 lead. The seven-time All-Star went 0 for 6 with two walks in the first two games of the series.

The 34-year-old Ramírez also made a diving stop on Miguel Vargas' bases-loaded smash in the sixth, preserving Cleveland's 5-3 advantage.

“I felt it was a significant shift in momentum in the game when we were able to make that play,” Ramírez said through a translator. “I felt like this is going to be our game.”

Up next

Parker Messick starts for Cleveland in Game 4. Messick permitted two runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings in the series opener. The rookie left-hander went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA in 32 starts during the regular season.

Smith will open for Chicago. He also started Game 1, striking out four in 2 2/3 hitless innings.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Uno de los años de El Niño más fuertes de los que se tenga registro tuvo un inicio tranquilo en los primeros cuatro meses de la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico, pero eso ya no es el caso. Se tiene previsto que la tormenta tropical Isaías, que se formó el miércoles, alcance categoría de huracán el jueves antes de tocar tierra. En caso de que eso suceda, se igualará un récord establecido hace 121 años como el primer huracán de la temporada del Atlántico que se haya formado más tarde, según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.

Isaías es la novena tormenta con nombre de la temporada del Atlántico. Ninguna de las ocho anteriores se convirtió en huracán. Una temporada de huracanes habitual tiene 14 tormentas con nombre; siete de las cuales se convierten en huracanes y tres alcanzan categoría tres o mayor, con vientos de al menos 177 km/h (110 mph).

“La temporada ha estado completamente muerta — y aun así vamos a tener una tormenta significativa que golpeará el norte del Golfo", explicó el miércoles el experto en huracanes de la Universidad Estatal de Colorado, Phil Klotzbach. "Está por verse qué tanto impacto tendrá”.

El Niño implica un calentamiento natural y temporal de partes del Pacífico ecuatorial, lo que desencadena una serie de fenómenos meteorológicos en buena parte del mundo. Aunque es apenas uno de muchos factores que intervienen en la formación de Isaías, el actual El Niño “sin duda sigue llevando el timón”, afirmó Klotzbach.

Las temperaturas del agua en el Golfo de México están “súper calientes” en este momento y se consideran “combustible de cohete para los huracanes”, añadió. Otro factor que contribuye a su formación es el patrón meteorológico estacional natural en curso que se desplaza por el planeta cada 30 días aproximadamente, llamado Oscilación de Madden-Julian.

Aun así, la actividad general de huracanes en el Atlántico —medida con un indicador que considera el número de tormentas, su intensidad y duración— va camino a ser la más baja desde que comenzaron a llevarse los datos modernos alrededor de 1950, gracias a un El Niño que podría convertirse en el de mayor intensidad en los registros, puntualizó Klotzbach.

¿Por qué se forma una tormenta a estas alturas de la temporada?

Durante El Niño, los vientos superficiales de niveles bajos que soplan hacia el oeste a través del Pacífico se debilitan o, en ocasiones, se invierten. Esto provoca un desplazamiento de la corriente en chorro y contribuye a un calor global sin precedentes, sequías severas, incendios forestales y la reducción de los suministros de agua. El Niño también suele frenar la actividad de huracanes en la cuenca del Atlántico. Cuando se forman sistemas tropicales en el océano Pacífico durante episodios de El Niño, se incrementa la cizalladura del viento en el Caribe, lo que dificulta la formación de tormentas en esa zona.

Pero ahora, la cizalladura del viento en el Golfo de México se ha debilitado un poco en comparación con otras regiones tropicales, por lo que está “un poco más preparado para el desarrollo”, indicó Lindsey Long, meteoróloga del Centro de Predicción Climática de la Oficina Nacional de Administración Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos (NOAA, por sus siglas en inglés).

“En realidad no es tan sorprendente que empecemos a ver cierto desarrollo en el Golfo en esta época del año", comentó Long. "Basta una sola tormenta para causar mucha destrucción. Así que no conviene bajar la guardia”.

Otros huracanes en la cuenca del Atlántico durante episodios previos de El Niño

Entre los huracanes más destacados que han golpeado el este de Estados Unidos durante un El Niño figuran Lili en 2002, Iván en 2004 e Idalia en 2023.

El huracán Andrew, la primera tormenta con nombre de la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico en 1992, no se formó hasta agosto. Provocó la muerte de 65 personas y dejó daños por más de 26.000 millones de dólares en Florida, Luisiana y Bahamas. Un El Niño que comenzó el invierno previo continuó durante la primavera y se extendió hasta el verano de 1992.

Cuando Andrew se formó, el mundo estaba transitando hacia una condición neutral en lo que respecta a la importante Oscilación del Sur de El Niño, un fenómeno natural que distorsiona los sistemas meteorológicos en todo el mundo, explicó Long. La condición neutral ocurre cuando el clima se acerca más a los promedios de largo plazo o a lo normal.

¿Ha habido un año sin huracanes en el Atlántico?

Durante la era moderna de satélites, que comenzó a mediados de la década de 1960, nunca se ha registrado un año en el que no se hayan formado huracanes en la cuenca del Atlántico. Y “tampoco parece que vaya a ocurrir este año”, señaló Long.

Antes de la llegada de los satélites, hubo algunos años en los que no se registraron huracanes en el Atlántico, pero algunas tormentas mar adentro podrían haberse pasado por alto y los registros eran menos fiables, indicó.

Desde el inicio de la era satelital, la fecha más tardía en la que se formó el primer huracán del Atlántico fue el 11 de septiembre, tanto en 2002 como en 2013, informó el servicio meteorológico. Se tiene previsto que Isaías rompa esa marca.

La temporada de huracanes del Atlántico de este año ya había establecido un récord por el mayor tiempo transcurrido durante una temporada sin una tormenta que alcanzara vientos de 119 km/h (74 mph) para calificar como huracán —al menos en la era satelital—, dijo Nick Novella, meteorólogo del Centro de Predicción Climática.

¿Hacia dónde se dirige Isaías?

La mayor amenaza de marejada ciclónica y el riesgo inicial de inundaciones repentinas durante las próximas 48 horas se extiende desde la desembocadura del río Mississippi, en el sureste de Luisiana, hasta Yankeetown, Florida, al norte de Tampa.

Se prevén vientos con fuerza de huracán sobre la franja noroeste de Florida, a lo largo de la costa de Alabama y hasta Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Los riesgos de inundaciones repentinas el sábado llegan tan al norte como Memphis, Tennessee, según el servicio meteorológico.

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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.

Thursday brings the likelihood of more unsettled weather. Showers and storms are expected to develop. Regarding temperatures, lows are forecast in the mid and upper 70s, highs near 90°F.

The proposal for the retreat on Trump’s private golf course in West Palm Beach would comingle the presidency with Trump's business ventures beyond his time in office, and is the the latest example of Trump seeking ways to leave his imprint on the presidency.

“It’s a great idea, and it’ll be used a lot,” Trump said, claiming it was suggested by the United States Secret Service. “It seems that all presidents play golf.”

The plan has already been submitted to local officials. Trump, an avid golfer, rattled off the benefits of the property a short drive from his Mar-a-Lago home during an unrelated event in the Oval Office, noting that it’s close to an airport and has some distance from residential homes and tall buildings, which pose security risks.

He did not mention that the golf course was the site of an unsuccessful attempt on his life in 2024. Trump was playing at the Trump International Golf Club during a break from the campaign trail when a Secret Service agent spotted an armed man in the trees lining the club’s perimeter fence. The man was arrested after a chase and later convicted of trying to kill Trump, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Past presidents have used Camp David, a rustic compound in Maryland, as a weekend retreat and a place to host presidential meetings. Trump has spent less time there, often opting for his own properties, including golf clubs in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia.

Palm Beach County sees what it calls a ‘historic opportunity’

Trump's proposal follows other projects by the lifelong real estate developer to build a White House ballroom, gild the Oval Office, erect a triumphal arch, renovate the Kennedy Center, refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and rebuild a golf course in East Potomac Park. He has also begun planning a future presidential library in a Miami skyscraper.

In a letter to Palm Beach County commissioners last month, first reported by the Palm Beach Post, an attorney who represents the golf course said Trump is offering to designate it as a “U.S. Presidential Golf Course.”

“Just as Camp David, Windsor Castle, or the Elysée Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County,” Harvey Oyer said in the letter.

Palm Beach County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said in a statement that local officials are eager to explore what this “historic opportunity” could mean to the community. “This likely would further cement Palm Beach County’s place on the national and international stage for generations to come,” Abruzzo said.

Oyer's letter said the West Palm Beach golf course could be used by current and former presidents, along with visiting foreign heads of state. The Trump Organization owns the golf club but leases the land from the county, which would need to approve any changes.

Under the proposal, the club would pay to build a new presidential lodging and then work with the Secret Service and other agencies to provide free access to the federal government. The retreat would have a separate entrance from the private club, which earned Trump nearly $37 million during his first year back in office, according to his financial disclosure.

“This is a gift that the President would like to share with his successors, the people of America, and his fellow Palm Beach County residents," Oyer wrote. "It should be noted that President Trump will be out of office before this proposed project could be completed so this is a gift to his successors.”

Oyer highlighted past U.S. presidents who turned over land for public use. Dwight Eisenhower donated his Gettysburg Farm in Pennsylvania to the National Park Service, and Franklin D. Roosevelt donated part of his estate in Hyde Park, New York.

Years before it was bought by Trump, Mar-a-Lago itself was proposed as a “Winter White House.”

Businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post left the home to the National Park Service when she died in 1973, but the agency returned the home to her estate in 1980 because of high maintenance costs. Trump bought the property in 1985, and it later became his primary residence.

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Binkley reported from Washington.

As it churns in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the storm continues to gain strength.

Isaias is expected to become the 2026 season’s first official hurricane.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 25 counties in the state as Isaias takes aim at the gulf coast.

Florida Task Force units from both Miami Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue are expected to be deployed to the state’s west coast on Thursday.

Local 10’s Jeff Derderian is on his way to Pensacola Beach where he will have live reports on the impact from the storm.

The petition filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court says the 32-year-old Goth and the 40-year-old LaBeouf have been separated since July 2025.

The two met and became a couple while filming “Nymphomaniac: Vol. II” in 2012, and married in 2016. They had previously split and said they were divorcing in 2018, but remained legally married, reunited in 2020 and had a daughter in 2022.

Goth is seeking primary legal and physical custody of the 4-year-old, with visitation rights for LaBeouf. She also asked the court to deny either party spousal support. It was the first marriage for both.

As with most U.S. divorces, irreconcilable differences were cited as the reason for the split.

Representatives for Goth and LaBeouf did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The actor, born Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth in London, most recently appeared as the unfaithful servant Melantho in this summer's “The Odyssey,” and had a dual role in last year's “Frankenstein.” She previously starred in the horror trilogy “X,” “Pearl” and “MaXXXine.”

LaBeouf was a child star on the Disney Channel's “Even Stevens” and in the 2003 film “Holes." He later starred in “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull” and director Michael Bay's first three “Transformers” films.

The day before Goth filed for divorce, LaBeouf, for the second time, settled a lawsuit with singer, songwriter and actor FKA Twigs, whom he dated when he was split from Goth.

FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, had alleged in a suit filed in 2020 that LaBeouf emotionally and physically abused her during their relationship that began when she had a supporting role in the semi-autobiographical film “Honey Boy,” which he wrote and starred in.

The two settled the lawsuit and had it dismissed last year, but she sued him again in March, saying nondisclosure provisions in the settlement illegally silenced her under California law.

On Monday, she moved to dismiss the second lawsuit, saying in court documents that LaBeouf had agreed to void those provisions.

In June, LaBeouf was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to punching three people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras.

FBI agents broke down the front door of Trina Martin’s Atlanta home before dawn on Oct. 18, 2017, stormed into her bedroom and pointed guns at her and her then-boyfriend as her 7-year-old son screamed for his mom from another room.

The agents quickly realized they had the wrong house and left, but Martin and her boyfriend at the time, Toi Cliatt, said they were left traumatized, and they sued the government and the agent. The U.S. Supreme Court revived their lawsuit last year.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the government was shielded from liability under an exception to a federal law that allows lawsuits over wrong-house raids. But the panel reversed a decision that gave the agent immunity.

“Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, a reasonable jury could fairly conclude" that the agent had “failed to engage in reasonable efforts to avoid error, and therefore, violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights,” the judges said.

Jenna Sellitto, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Atlanta office, said the agency does not comment on personnel matters.

The FBI team quickly apologized after the raid and left for the right place, with the team leader later saying that his personal GPS device had led him to the wrong address. The FBI was looking for a suspected gang member a few houses away.

Martin and Cliatt's lawsuit accused the agents of assault and battery, false arrest and other violations.

Their attorney, Patrick Jaicomo, said in a phone interview his clients felt good about Wednesday's ruling.

The decision on immunity for the agent was a clear win, but there was also reason to be hopeful about the ruling in favor of the government, he said.

That decision was based on 11th Circuit precedent, and the judges wrote separately to encourage the full appeals court to revisit those earlier decisions. Jaicomo, senior attorney with the nonprofit Institute for Justice in Arlington, Virginia, said he plans to seek that review, opening up the possibility that his clients could eventually be allowed to take the government to trial as well.

Un mar de manifestantes vestidos de rojo se abrió paso entre dos plazas históricas del centro de Río mientras coreaban consignas y sostenían pancartas que hacían referencia a la soberanía y la democracia en el país sudamericano, las cuales aseguran están bajo amenaza.

“Estamos luchando por Brasil, no por Lula”, afirmó Talita Amaral, de 19 años y estudiante universitaria de ciencias ambientales. Vestía una camiseta amarilla y verde de la selección brasileña de fútbol, la cual suelen usar los simpatizantes de Bolsonaro, y explicó que era un gesto destinado a recuperar los colores nacionales.

“No tenemos tiempo para estar tristes; tenemos que hacer esto, ocupar las calles, enviar mensajes en grupos de WhatsApp para tratar de convencer a la gente”, añadió mientras el cántico “Olé olé olé ola, Lula Lula” resonaba en la plaza Cinelandia.

Ni Flávio Bolsonaro, hijo del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro —quien cumple una pena de 27 años en prisión por intento de golpe de Estado—, ni Lula obtuvieron el domingo pasado más del 50% de los votos que se requiere para llegar a la presidencia, por lo que se enfrentarán en una impredecible segunda vuelta el próximo 25 de octubre.

Pero Flávio Bolsonaro cuenta con al menos dos ventajas: el domingo recibió 2 millones de votos más que Lula, y los candidatos que quedaron en tercer, cuarto y quinto lugar están todos a la derecha del espectro político. Entre los tres reunieron más de 8 millones de votos.

Bolsonaro es objeto de una investigación por corrupción, lavado de dinero y evasión fiscal debido a sus vínculos con el fallido Banco Master, un caso al que muchos de los manifestantes en Río hicieron referencia el miércoles.

Algunos destacaron la gestión de la pandemia de coronavirus durante el mandato de Jair Bolsonaro, periodo en el que se reportó el deceso de más de 700.000 personas a causa de la enfermedad, mientras que otros sostenían pancartas con leyendas como “Brasil no es el patio trasero de nadie” y “No voto por alguien que vende a Brasil”.

Muchos miembros de la izquierda política temen que, de llegar a la presidencia, Flávio Bolsonaro alinee por completo al gobierno brasileño con Estados Unidos debido a la cercanía ideológica de la familia Bolsonaro con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump .

Trump ordenó el año pasado un arancel del 50% sobre productos brasileños e impuso sanciones sobre un juez del Supremo Tribunal Federal de Brasil, refiriéndose al juicio contra Jair Bolsonaro, al que calificó de “cacería de brujas”.

“Si Bolsonaro gana, Brasil se convertirá en una colonia de Estados Unidos”, afirmó João Victor Vieira, un estudiante de literatura de 20 años de edad. Aseguró que Bolsonaro representa una amenaza para minorías como las personas de color, las mujeres y la comunidad LGBTQ+. El padre de Bolsonaro era conocido por sus comentarios homófobos.

Vieira comentó que, aunque al principio se sintió desanimado por los resultados del domingo, ya ha recuperado la esperanza.

“Esta protesta muestra que los movimientos sociales siguen muy vivos”, sostuvo. “Resistiremos”.

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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.

Un documento de 185 páginas presentado recientemente revela nuevos y preocupantes detalles del caso de Andrew Tate. En él se exponen las pruebas que, según las autoridades británicas, tienen en su contra para extraditarlo al Reino Unido.

Las acusaciones abarcan varios años. Varias mujeres afirman que Tate las violó.

Según el documento, una mujer asegura que en 2015 Tate la violó con violencia. Mientras lo hacía, le dijo: “Te amo, por eso te estoy violando, porque te amo”.

El documento también describe acusaciones de que Tate atraía a mujeres con promesas de romance, pero luego las obligaba a crear pornografía para internet.

Mientras Tate está preso, alguien ha estado publicando en X en su nombre. El miércoles apareció un extraño video que muestra a una pareja feliz. Luego la mujer inventa acusaciones falsas y un hombre parecido a Tate termina en la cárcel.

El autoproclamado misógino enfrenta decenas de cargos, entre ellos violación, trata de personas, creación de imágenes indecentes de un menor y posesión de pornografía extrema. El documento lo acusa de poseer pornografía extrema con un caballo y una anguila.

Tate se ha pronunciado en el pasado sobre la investigación penal.

“El Estado británico me ha acusado de un delito. Dicen que hace 15 años hice algo que no debía hacer y que soy un criminal”, dijo Tate.

Su abogado, Joseph McBride, le dijo a Local 10 en julio que los hermanos Tate son inocentes.

“Cuando pones a hombres inocentes, o a cualquier hombre, en confinamiento solitario, empiezan a deteriorarse”, dijo McBride.

La semana pasada, un juez le pidió al abogado de los hermanos Tate que propusiera fechas para las audiencias finales de extradición. Todavía no se ha fijado una fecha.

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The Davie Police Department, with assistance from Fort Lauderdale police, Sunrise police, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Plantation Police Department’s SWAT team, served the warrant around 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at the home near the 5000 block of Southwest 136th Ave., according to Miami police.

Police said the warrant was for Braveone Jones, who was located at Redd’s home and taken into custody. Jail records show Jones is facing two counts of second-degree attempted murder in connection with the Sept. 15 shooting at Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen, located at 316 NW 24th St. in Miami.

The investigation remains ongoing, police said.

A Local 10 News crew went to the property, but there was no police activity at Redd’s home Wednesday morning.

What happened in the September shooting?

Two men were wounded in the shooting outside Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen shortly after midnight Sept. 15, authorities confirmed.

Miami Fire Rescue officials said the victims, an 18 and 23-year-old man, were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition after suffering gunshot wounds.

The restaurant is across from the Wynwood 25 apartment building in an area known for its restaurants, shops and nightlife.

Miami police said they received multiple emergency calls and found one man suffering from a gunshot wound outside Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen. Officers said they later found a second victim outside Skinny Louie’s, the restaurant next door.

An employee at a nearby business described the chaos after the gunfire and said he helped a wounded man.

“I seen a crowd of people just running straight towards us,” the employee said at the time. “I didn’t know what was going on.”

The employee said people inside the business were told there had been gunfire outside. He later found a wounded man and helped provide first aid.

“I came outside and I seen a gentleman on the floor,” he said, describing a gunshot wound to the man’s right buttocks. He said he used his belt to help apply pressure and told the injured man not to move.

As of Wednesday morning, Jones was being held at the Broward County Main Jail, where his bond was not immediately set.

Police have not said whether the suspect and Redd are connected, and the motive for the shooting remains unclear.

His estranged wife, Keeta Vaccaro, was back on the witness stand, where she made allegations of domestic violence against Hill.

Much of the day was spent on Vaccaro’s recollection of specific moments where she said she was abused by Hill.

The case centers on Vaccaro’s allegations that Hill physically and emotionally abused her when they were dating, and during their marriage.

She is seeking damages for injuries she says were caused by Hill.

However, Hill has adamantly denied those allegations.

So far, one of the most shocking moments in court was a baby monitor video that Vaccaro said captured the turbulent nature of her relationship with Hill.

In the video, you can hear both of them screaming, loud banging and yelling profanities while their newborn baby was sleeping.

At one point, Hill appeared to take the baby with him.

Vaccaro described the video during Wednesday’s hearing.

“Mr. Hill was angry that day, put his hands on me that day,” she said.

She went on to say that Hill attempted to take the ring off her finger, shouted he wanted a divorce and that he wanted her to move out while also pushing her on a bed and throwing items around the room before charging at her and wrestling with her.

Jurors were also shown new photos taken in a hotel room following a fight which Vaccaro said involved Hill.

A therapist who treated Vaccaro later testified remotely, and Vaccaro’s brother also testified.

He said he noticed changes in his sister and described a phone call where he says Vaccaro claimed Hill threw ash or part of a blunt into her eye.

At some point, Hill is expected to take the stand to recall what he believes happened.

This case is expected to go on for another nine days.

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According to an arrest report from the Hialeah Police Department, the boyfriend of Officer Marcia Sangronis flagged officers down Tuesday morning to report that he had been physically abused.

The HPD report states that the victim told officers that Sangronis, 38, becomes “angry and violent” whenever discussing “his lack of motivation to pursue a career in law enforcement.”

According to the report, he had stayed the night at her home and she brought up the topic the night before the incident and she brought it up again when she woke up the next day.

The report states that he decided to leave at around 11 a.m. and told her he wanted to break up with her, after which she “became upset and stood in front of the doorway to prevent him from exiting the residence” and told him “you are not allowed to leave” as he tried reaching for the doorknob.

“The victim attempted again to reach for the doorknob to leave when (Sangronis) started to attack him. The victim said she scratched him multiple times on his arms, face and back with her nails,” the report states. “The victim said she bit him multiple times as well on his left forearm. The victim said he was able to get away from (Sangronis) and leave her residence. The victim said (she) has been physically and emotionally abusive in the two years that they have been together.”

Police said they documented several injuries on the man’s “body, arms and face.”

A statement Sangronis made to police was redacted from the report.

She was initially arrested on a charge of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, a second-degree felony, but in court on Wednesday, a judge found probable cause for misdemeanor battery, giving her a $1,000 bond.

She was ordered to stay away from the victim.

Records show she was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Social media posts indicate that she has been with the North Bay Village Police Department for about a year.

The agency released a statement about Sangronis’ arrest on Wednesday afternoon, saying in part that she “has been relieved of duty with pay per our agency’s protocols.”

The statement went on to say that NBVPD “holds all its personnel to the highest standards of conduct and fully accountable for their actions on and off duty.”

Local 10 News also contacted her attorney seeking comment.

Students and graduates of Lincoln University in the state’s capital of Jefferson City allege the lack of financial resources undercut their education and devalued their degrees.

More than a dozen other states are in the crosshairs of a newly formed group called the 1890 Project.

“It is very unfortunate that we still live in a climate where, depending on the color of one’s skin, one gets precedence over the other,” said Lincoln graduate Jeanneth Johnson, a 54-year-old from the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The University of Missouri system and the governor’s office both said in written statements that they couldn’t comment on pending litigation.

HBCUs missed out on money

Back in 2023, the administration of then-President Joe Biden found HBCUs in 16 states had missed out on $12.6 billion in funding over the last three decades. The finding and an ensuing call for the governors in those states to boost spending came one year after members of Congress also raised concerns.

At issue is the funding of land-grant universities. The first batch was established in 1862 under the Morrill Act, which gave public lands to states to pay for colleges that focused on educating students in practical fields like agriculture and engineering.

It was a departure from traditional colleges at the time, which focused mostly on classical subjects for the elite, such as Latin, Greek, philosophy and theology. But the law’s namesake, Justin Smith Morrill, a senator from Vermont, believed higher education should be accessible to all social classes.

In the wake of the Civil War, Morrill, an abolitionist, called for an update to the act. Passed in 1890, the new law required states either to open their land grants to students of all races or establish separate land grant schools for Black students.

Missouri, a border state that allowed slavery but fought with the Union during the Civil War, wasn’t about to open its flagship University of Missouri campus in Columbia to Black students. To meet the new requirement, it looked toward what was then called Lincoln Institute, which a Black Union Army unit started at the end of the war by pooling their wages.

Seventeen other mostly former Confederate states and border states established 18 other land grant schools for Black students. They included Tuskegee University, the only private 1890 land grant.

Federal law requires an equitable distribution of state funding for all of a state's land-grant universities — whether HBCU or otherwise — based on each college's number of full-time staff and students. But the 2023 Biden administration analysis found that only two states funded traditional and HBCU land-grants equitably — Delaware and Ohio. Lincoln University alone was underfunded by $361 million from 1987 through 2020, the newly filed lawsuit says, citing federal numbers.

Today, Lincoln’s enrollment has fallen to around 2,200 students, down from around 3,400 in 2011 and just a fraction of the approximately 32,000 enrolled on the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus, which was roiled by protests in 2015 over racial injustice, leading to the resignation of two top administrators.

“We’re not saying they should be funded equally, but they should be funded on parity,” said Don Calloway, a former Missouri state lawmaker who leads the 1890 Project. “And the feds funded Lincoln with the proper parity. The problem is that the state made an intentional choice not to match the federal appropriation. And that’s where Lincoln really was cheated.”

He blames millions in deferred maintenance on some of Lincoln's enrollment woes.

Calloway said he also is talking to state’s attorneys general in several other states, including Virginia, Arkansas, Maryland, North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. Over the decades, lawsuits also have been filed in several of those states over underfunding of HBCUs, including one in Maryland that led to a $577 million settlement.

Missouri is the first legal target

But those lawsuits mostly focused on state-level funding disparities between all HBCUs and non-HBCUs. There are dozens of HBCUs that aren't 1890s land grants, often started by nonprofits and religious groups. Calloway said his legal strategy is focused just on the 1890s schools.

“We expect to negotiate and/or litigate in multiple jurisdictions over the next year," he said. “Missouri is the first.”

Herbert Kitchen, a plaintiff whose great-great-grandfather, Caleb Lindsey, was one of the soldiers whose pay founded Lincoln, recalled his residence hall frequently was without heat and hot water when he was a student at Lincoln in the 1980s. Rumors were swirling that the school might close, and he said some employers looked at his degree as “second rate.”

Kitchen, a retired California community college administrator, thinks of his great-great grandfather as he fights for Lincoln, a school generations of his family have attended.

“I am," he said, “the hope and dream that my great-grandfather had when he was a slave.”

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The Associated Press’ education 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.

Miller was put back on the Padres' roster for Game 4 of the NL Division Series against Milwaukee, and he joined his teammates for warmups on the field three hours before the first pitch. Miller said his wife, Jordan, delivered their son Tuesday night during the Padres' Game 3 victory over Milwaukee.

“I was just so happy to be there,” Miller said.

The Padres are also hopeful that top setup man Adrian Morejon will be available for Game 4 after he was ruled out of Game 3 with shoulder discomfort, manager Craig Stammen said.

San Diego is facing elimination for the second straight night at Petco Park against the Brewers, who lead the best-of-five series 2-1. Walker Buehler is starting Game 4 for the Padres after missing the first two games of this series on the paternity list.

The Padres put Miller on the paternity list about 45 minutes before the first pitch of Game 3, but San Diego eked out a 4-3 victory with 4 2/3 gritty innings of one-run relief from four pitchers behind starter Nick Pivetta. Game 2 starter Michael King stepped up to pitch the final two innings on one day of rest, earning his first save since 2023.

Rather than worrying about the Padres, Miller was so locked in at the hospital that he declined an offer to turn on the television in the delivery room.

“I said, ‘No, I can’t do that,’” Miller said with a smile. “Adrenaline was going pretty hard. Everything went really well, and then right when we got everybody settled, got Jordan in bed with the baby, they said, ‘The Padres won.’ It was pretty amazing.”

Miller was an elite closer throughout his first full season with the Padres, racking up 38 saves in 41 opportunities with a 0.90 WHIP and 129 strikeouts in just 70 innings — but he blew a six-out save attempt in Game 2 of the NLDS in Milwaukee.

Miller walked the bases loaded before giving up Jackson Chourio's two-out, two-strike, two-run single to end the Brewers' 4-3 win on Miller's 40th pitch. Both teams dismissed widespread postgame speculation that Miller had been tipping his pitches.

Miller had been hoping that his son would be born on an off day, but he emerged from his baseball absence with a new perspective.

“Obviously, Game 2 (was) not what I had hoped for or planned on,” Miller said. “Going from that feeling, kind of feeling like you're not really contributing a whole lot, to now being a dad and wanting to be there for my wife, I think it's moments like that that give you the perspective (on) what's important, that keep you grounded to want to go out and do the best that you can every single day. You get those moments to center yourself and then try to come back and be the best version of yourself.”

The Padres have relied on Miller and his 104 mph fastball all season long while winning 91 games and earning the NL's first wild card spot. Miller earned the save in San Diego's clinching victory over the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series last week.

Morejon's absence was also taxing on the Padres' bullpen after he developed “stickiness” in his shoulder earlier in the series, leading the club to decide he shouldn't attempt to pitch in Game 3. The Padres will evaluate Morejon before Game 4 to see if he feels good enough to pitch.

“He was feeling a little bit better postgame last night,” Stammen said Wednesday. “So we’re hopeful today that he’ll be available.”

The Padres are hoping for a strong start from Buehler, who hasn't pitched since Sept. 26. The two-time World Series champion has a career 3.04 ERA over 19 postseason appearances — and in his most recent playoff outing, he secured the save in the Dodgers' championship-clinching victory over the Yankees in 2024.

Stammen said the Padres were fully supportive of Buehler and Miller with their growing families.

“Everybody has a different situation, a different way of looking at it, a different expectation,” Stammen said. “There’s always health implications that go with it, and the No. 1 thing is you want a healthy baby and you want Mom and Dad to enjoy it. I think we’ve been able to accomplish that with the two births we’ve had here in October.”

Stammen even claimed that King is also available to pitch in Game 4, even after already throwing 14 innings with two starts in the Padres' first five playoff games.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Sierra, 42, could get the death penalty for killing his 29-year-old estranged wife, Gladys Machado and her daughters, 6-year-old Julia Padrino and 3-year-old Daniela Padrino,

The defense started its case with expert witness testimony from Dr. Leonardo Thaler, an endocrinologist who reviewed Sierra’s medical records.

Discussing a 2018 document, Thaler said, “He was noted as having witnessed seizure from jail.”

Referring to a 2018 emergency room document, Thaler said, “There was a note that the seizure might have been related to use of synthetic marijuana or K2.”

Thaler shared with the jury what caught his eye: Sierra’s struggles with managing Type 1 diabetes. Testimony showed he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2005, when he was 21.

“It says here that the findings are consistent with diabetes ketoacidosis, so it is a very serious medical condition,” Thaler said.

The medical record was from July 23, 2012, a few months before Sierra confessed on Nov. 10, 2012, to killing his estranged wife and her two little girls.

“They managed him with intravenous insulin, straight into the veins,” Thaler said.

The jury also saw Sierra’s hospital bill from childhood.

“This is May 13, 1996, through May 20, 1996,” Thaler said.

The billing codes documented what Sierra was treated for after being hit by a car when he was 12 years old.

The defense said he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“Skull fracture, facial bone fracture, skull-based fracture,” Thaler said. “This indicates a traffic accident involving a pedestrian.”

Seeking a jury recommendation of a life sentence, the defense wants jurors to consider the impact attorneys say the car crash and Sierra’s chronic diabetes have had on his cognitive functioning.

Prosecutors, seeking the death penalty, punctuated the testimony with legal objections.

On cross-examination, lead prosecutor Abbe Rifkin pointed out the number of times the records showed that Sierra refused treatment.

Rifkin questioned whether Sierra received attention from guards and was taken to the hospital or to see a doctor each time he was noncompliant and his blood sugar spiked.

Testimony also showed Sierra was not compliant with his diet, ate a large amount of carbohydrates and had a sedentary lifestyle.

The state also asked whether a medication he was taking at a very high dose could be used by some people to get “high.” Thaler said it could.

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According to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, it happened at around 11 a.m. in the 1700 block of Northwest 13th Court, in the city’s Lauderdale Manors neighborhood.

Police said that medics took the victim to Broward Health Medical Center with “life-threatening” injuries.

Police said they identified a possible suspect vehicle, found it in North Lauderdale and tried to pull the driver over.

“The vehicle fled and ultimately the driver bailed out of the vehicle and ran into a nearby residence. The driver was taken into custody a short time later without issue,” police said. “At this time, the driver is detained pending further investigation. We are not able to confirm a connection to the shooting at this time as this will become a part of the ongoing investigation.”

The watchdog group urged OpenAI to restrict the chatbot to adults “until it can offer a safe, developmentally appropriate experience.”

OpenAI said the group’s testing doesn’t reflect how the chatbot’s safeguards work.

Parents, educators and child development experts have been sounding alarms over children’s use of AI chatbots, which have been blamed for facilitating cheating on schoolwork and even suicide.

While even adults can fall victim to anthropomorphizing AI and develop unhealthy relationships with it, teenagers’ brains are not yet fully developed and they can be particularly vulnerable, child development experts say.

“We are concerned that ChatGPT for Teens could give parents false confidence in guardrails that frequently don’t work,” said the report from Common Sense Media, a group that advocates for using digital media sensibly.

Its report said that some teen-mode features worked as intended, including the chatbot’s refusal of explicit sexual role-play. Others that did not work as intended included alerts meant to notify parents if their child is at risk for suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, along with support for teens in crisis, Common Sense Media said.

“ChatGPT still talks like a friend when teens treat it like a person,” the group said, though OpenAI had promised that the chatbot is prevented from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions.

OpenAI said it is “deeply committed to teen safety,” to developing safeguards and giving parents tools to guide their teens’ use of AI.

The San Francisco company said its review of the report’s methodology shows “the bulk of their testing may have begun and concluded before activation of parental controls was complete, making their findings inaccurate.”

Common Sense Media receives funding from OpenAI and other tech companies, including those whose services it evaluates.

A newly filed 185-page document is now exposing troubling new details in Andrew Tate’s case. It lays out what British authorities say is the evidence they have against Tate as they seek to extradite him to the United Kingdom.

The allegations span years, with multiple women claiming Tate raped them.

According to the document, one woman claims that in 2015 Tate violently raped her and, while doing so, said, “I love you, that’s why I am raping you because I love you.”

The document also describes allegations that Tate lured women with the promise of romance but coerced them into creating online porn.

While Tate is locked up, someone has been posting to X on his behalf, including a bizarre video on Wednesday. It shows a happy couple before the woman makes up false accusations and a man who looks like Tate is thrown in jail.

The self-proclaimed misogynist is facing dozens of charges, including rape, human trafficking, making indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornography. The document accuses Tate of possessing extreme porn involving a horse and an eel.

Tate has been vocal about the criminal investigation in the past.

“The British state has accused me of a crime. They said 15 years ago I did something I wasn’t supposed to do and I’m a criminal,” Tate said.

Their lawyer, Joseph McBride, told Local 10 in July that the Tate brothers are innocent.

“When you put innocent men or any men in solitary confinement, they begin to deteriorate,” McBride said.

Last week, a judge asked the Tate brothers’ lawyer to propose dates for final extradition hearings, but a date has not been set.

The announcement stunned an attorney who had represented Nidal Malik Hasan in a civil case, and raised concerns among experts on military law about whether the Army followed its mandated process for setting an execution and notifying a prisoner they’ve been condemned to death.

President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday that Hasan would be executed by firing squad also sparked questions about how a firing squad would be assembled and what procedure it would use. The last time the military executed someone by firing squad was shortly after World War II.

Here’s a look at what we know about the military execution process and how experts said this case may proceed.

Military officials declined to provide details

In a post on social media Tuesday, acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle said he scheduled the execution for 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood — the site where Hasan opened fire killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others.

Telle confirmed in his post on X that Trump had approved the execution on Oct. 2, starting the clock in Army regulations that requires an execution date to be set no sooner than 60 days and no later than 150 days after that approval.

Telle also noted that the execution would be carried out by firing squad, but did not offer details of where on base the execution would take place, what personnel would be a part of that squad or what procedure they would follow.

The Associated Press asked both Pentagon officials and the Army for more details, but those requests were declined. A message to the Army seeking comment on the potential procedural issues was sent Wednesday.

The procedures for execution in Army regulations do not contain specific protocols for particular methods of execution. Experts said in previous iterations of the firing squad — nearly 80 years ago — one shooter would be given a blank so they all could plausibly believe they had not fired the fatal shot.

Hasan could file a Habeas petition in civil court

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, walked into a medical building where soldiers were getting checkups, shouted “Allahu akbar” — Arabic for “God is great!” — and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun.

He said it was an effort to stop them from going to Afghanistan and killing his fellow Muslims — a defense a military judge barred him from presenting during his trial. Hasan made almost no effort to defend himself in court, telling jurors when he acted as his own counsel that evidence would show he was the shooter and describing himself as a soldier who had “switched sides.”

“What happens now, is if Dr. Hasan decides he wants to resist execution, he can go to federal civilian court for a Habeas Corpus petition … and that can last years,” said Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School specializing in military law.

“It frankly might outlast the current administration, and who knows if the next one will have the same penchant for executions,” he added.

Trump resumed the federal death penalty after an informal moratorium during previous administrations. The federal government executed 13 people between 2020 and early 2021, contributing to making Trump the most prolific execution president in over 130 years.

Lawyer questions if notification was done incorrectly

Death sentences are extremely rare in the military justice system, and executions even rarer. Four men, including Hasan, are currently on the military’s death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the last execution took place there by hanging in 1961.

John Galligan, a retired colonel and a former military judge, represented Hasan in civil matters. The attorney said Wednesday that he's limited on what he can talk about, but called the rush to conduct the execution “horrific.”

Galligan, who spoke with Hasan on Wednesday, said he believes the Army regulation to have the facility's Army commandant notify Hasan, accompanied by a chaplain and a Trial Defense Service attorney or civilian counsel if possible, was not followed. Galligan said that, according to Hasan, there was no legal counsel present.

“For the life of me, I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish in such a rush fashion … and by trying to conduct this execution at Fort Hood, when he has such medical issues,” Galligan said, raising questions about how Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, would be transported to Fort Hood.

Even states have spent time and money on planning

Before Hasan's execution was set for Fort Hood, there was speculation the Army might reach out to one of the handful of states that have recently reinstated the firing squad for use in executions — particularly South Carolina or Utah, where they've renovated facilities and established protocols.

South Carolina has killed three prisoners by firing squad in the past 18 months, the only such executions in the U.S. in the past 16 years.

It's unclear if the Army will borrow from the state's protocol, but it sets out for three volunteer shooters to stand 15 feet (4.6 meters) from the condemned prisoner, who is strapped to a chair. A medical professional uses an X-ray to find the prisoner’s heart and place a target over it. A hood is placed over the prisoner’s head after his final words, and a shade is lifted so the shooters can see their target.

All three shooters have live ammunition and fire at the same time without a verbal warning. South Carolina spent about $54,000 to renovate its death chamber for the firing squad.

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Associated Press reporter Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

Since his seminal 2008 abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days,” the Romanian filmmaker has loosely based his rigorously realistic films on real events, using them to explore the larger social forces shaping our world. It is not, anyone would grant, the easiest way to go about making movies.

“R.M.N.,” for instance, was based on a 2020 incident when Sri Lankan immigrant bakery workers were harassed in a rural Romanian village. It captured a familiar global clash involving tradition, migrants and xenophobia. The film even recreated, in one unbroken 17-minute take, a town hall meeting you can find on YouTube.

“I don’t like writing screenplays in which I try to invent a story starting from ideas,” Mungiu says. “My effort is to understand the things happening next to me.”

Mungiu’s latest, “Fjord,” draws from a real 2015 episode in Norway. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a Christian couple with five children who have immigrated from Romania to Norway. They are warmly welcomed by a progressive rural community, but their traditional and religious ways are increasingly scrutinized until their children are seized by the state.

The film, which Neon opens in theaters Friday, has been widely celebrated. In May, it won the Palme d’Or, Mungiu’s second time winning the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor. Romania has since selected “Fjord” as its Oscar entry for best international feature.

But “Fjord” is also something unusual. It’s the rare art house movie to pose uncomfortable questions for largely left-leaning audiences. Mungiu is himself politically liberal, but “Fjord” dramatizes a progressive brand of closed-mindedness and sanctimony that, he feels, rivals traits of the far right.

“The extreme left behaves the same,” Mungiu said over coffee in a recent interview. “They are certain that they hold the truth. The only thing you do is divide the society to the level of division that exists today. We don’t live in society. We live in bubbles, on different shores of the same river.”

“This is what this film does, boldly,” he adds. “It speaks out and says things that we all feel but don’t dare say aloud.”

Making a social drama that doesn't preach to the choir

“Fjord,” as in previous Mungiu films, is shot with an objective, seemingly neutral perspective. But as the family’s case proceeds through the Norwegian legal system, Mungiu seems to question whether the liberal Scandinavian society is punishing the Gheorghiu family for the alleged slap of a child or scrutinizing their fundamentalist Christian practices.

Mungiu hoped his film, his first set outside of Romania, would touch a nerve.

“Absolutely. This is what we aimed for,” he says. “But it’s better than we expected.”

Still, the attention for “Fjord” has also brought what Mungiu calls some misinterpretation of his intensions. Some have even labeled it “a MAGA movie,” a description that Mungiu and his stars have pushed back on. For Mungiu, there has to be room in cinema that goes beyond preaching to the choir.

“It doesn’t mean, not even for a second, that I encourage the conservative view of the world,” Mungiu says. “But nowadays it’s considered that if you don’t use your energy as a filmmaker to make a film directly against that, it’s a big sin. Most of the films that people produce today are for or against something. These films don’t create a dialogue. Nobody else will watch them but people in this bubble. The film confirms to them they are already on the good side of things. The others are guilty.”

A polarization that goes much further than Norway

While playing “Fjord” at film festivals, Mungiu has stressed that this story could been set in any liberal society. He believes the same evolution of leftist ideals throughout Europe and in the United States is part of what’s fueling political polarization.

“Show a little bit more understanding,” says Mungiu, addressing progressives. “Try to be less dogmatic. The general habit is to label people. But you pretend to be smarter. I have more expectations from you.”

“This is a bit dangerous,” he adds, alluding to Romania's 20th century history. “I come from a Communist past where somebody else knew better than you what is good for you.”

The heightened attention around “Fjord” makes the 58-year-old filmmaker a little uneasy. He knows it's partly because of the fans of his stars and the Palme award — neither of which, he notes, signifies much about a movie's worth. The criminally underseen “R.M.N.,” he acknowledges, was more deserving of awards than “Fjord.”

But Mungiu also feels the movie carries with it a vital, even urgent message. When “Fjord” won the Palme, Mungiu said in his acceptance speech that society had become “radicalized” — split down the middle, with one side judging other and neither communicating any longer. He called his film “a pledge against any type of fundamentalism.”

“It’s very dangerous if we continue like this,” he says. “We have seen in the U.S. that we are seconds away from having this huge clash, like a physical clash between these two groups. We need to do something while we still have time.”

One of those was at Miami Beach Fire Station No. 2, where mourners reflected and remembered the 1,200 people killed and 251 hostages abducted during a music festival on that fateful day.

A story of perseverance unfolded as Ben Ladany stood before an audience, three years after the Hamas terrorist attack.

Ladany, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier, was shot seven times while serving in Gaza.

“And after being in a wheelchair for two years, I stand in front of you guys today and I love to share with you the seven lessons I learned from the seven bullets that I received,” Ladany said. “If you look at me today, my body’s not 100%, but my mind and soul is at one and sadly, you guys will only recognize this when something terrible happens to you. And you will remember that it’s 50-50.”

Shaina Verbitzky, a student at Hebrew Academy High School, recalled her family’s experience in Israel.

“A few years ago, my family made the decision to move to Israel, and we built our lives here,” Verbitzky said. “On Oct. 7, we woke up. From our balcony, we watched as missiles were being intercepted right above our heads, not fully understanding what was happening.”

Despite a ceasefire deal reached almost a year ago, Israeli strikes continue almost daily.

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner spoke with a heavy heart, sharing words of resilience and strength.

“I pray to God that the world gets the clarity, the moral clarity, and the courage to stand up for what’s moral and right,” Meiner said.

Meanwhile, another event took place at the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial.

Oct. 7 survivor Maya Izoutcheev spoke to Local 10 News.

“It takes everything out of me because to wake up in the morning, to go to sleep, to be like happy with friends, it’s not something that I will go back to the way I was,” Izoutcheev said. “We realized how many friends were taken hostage, how many people are missing.”

Yair Yifrah, another survivor, spoke to Local 10 News at an event in Surfside hosted by U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for governor.

“People died next to me. I had to run to the road that was being shot and cross it and a police officer got shot next to me as well,” Yifrah said. “We ran. We got into a forest. I lost everyone in the forest; I was alone; I hid in an avocado plantation.”

He then walked 16 kilometers to safety. He said getting away from the attack couldn’t get him to escape the trauma, so he turned to drugs.

“It would be disrespectful to God if I killed myself from drugs after he saved me from what happened,” He said. “Now, in November, I’m going to be two years clean.”

The survivors all had one message: Remembering is part of moving forward.

And for many survivors, that means holding on to the words: “We will dance again.”

The 94-page report was compiled from October 2025 to July 2026 by experts appointed by the U.N. Secretary General. They traveled to Haiti, meeting with dozens of people including confidential sources whose information they say was corroborated by independent sources.

The experts noted there are now “violent fractures” within a powerful gang alliance known as Viv Ansanm. The alliance, formed in 2023, launched attacks in 2024 on key state infrastructure.

The fragmentation of the gang alliance “exposes civilians to renewed violence, displacement and sexual violence in areas that were … stabilized,” said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Le Cour said that in the lead-up to elections, relationships between criminal leaders, brokers, and political and economic figures are re-activating.

“Each leader will seek political and electoral arrangements on its own terms, not Viv Ansanm anymore, based on what it can offer: territory, access to voters, security of the process, protection of economic assets, and rewards once the vote is over," he said.

The report noted that gangs remain resilient despite two U.N.-backed missions aimed at quelling violence, warning that “targeting gang leaders without addressing the networks that sustain them will inevitably fall short.”

The report asserted that gangs remain strong thanks to “political, economic and security actors who back gangs when it serves their interests.” It warned that ties between some local authorities and gangs are aimed “at consolidating territorial control and influencing upcoming elections.”

It noted that in late May, a new municipal commission was established in the Port-au-Prince community of Cite Soleil, and that at least one commissioner is an active gang member.

Report singles out well-known politicians

The report accused Alfrédo Junior Antoine, a former legislator representing Kenscoff, of arming and supporting youth groups “as a political tool for his agenda.” It also held him responsible for kidnappings and for sponsoring an attack in Kenscoff in 2025 that led to more than 100 deaths and multiple rapes. Kenscoff is a once peaceful farming community near Haiti's capital.

The report accused Antoine of providing weapons, ammunition and financial resources to Viv Ansanm.

Experts said Antoine denied the allegations in an email.

The report also singled out former Haitian Senator Nenel Cassy, accusing him of controlling a criminal group in Miragoane and supporting armed people “to advance his political agenda and interests.”

In 2025, Haitian National Police issued a warrant for Cassy, describing him as “armed and dangerous.”

“I am a pacifist,” he told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday.

He called on the experts to retract his name and allegations from the report, saying it was “incorrect and unfounded.”

Cassy said Haiti’s judicial system has not found him guilty of anything.

“I am accused of having relations with armed groups,” he said. “Nothing has been established.”

He dismissed alleged ties to gangs, saying he has never bought or sold arms and that he doesn’t have the funds for such activities. He asserted that the accusations are political persecution.

Cassy said he wants to see free, honest, democratic and inclusive elections in Haiti, adding that “for the instant,” he is not considering a run for president or Parliament.

Concerns grow as elections near

The report noted that the lower region of the Artibonite Department — Haiti’s second-largest electoral district — has been hit with an “unprecedented level of coordinated gang violence” since March.

Experts said that the “historic use of gangs” by former Senator Youri Latortue and ex-lawmaker Prophane Victor has fueled the violence.

“Sources warned that, ahead of elections, these individuals may exploit ties to gangs to mobilize support, intimidate rivals and undermine stability. They also cautioned that self-defense groups linked to local political dynamics could be used as tools of intimidation,” the report stated.

It also called out delayed implementation of U.N. sanctions, noting that one of Victor’s frozen bank accounts only has $421: “The meagre amounts of money frozen by banks do not correlate with the wealth accumulated by those individuals.”

The report found $0 frozen in Haiti’s central bank accounts for multiple gang leaders, and only $2.63 frozen in the account of Dimitri Hérard, ex-head of security at Haiti’s National Palace who is accused in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse.

A handful of wins as election looms

The report called out corrupt police officers — including one nicknamed “My Man” — accused of supplying gangs with weapons, ammunition and intelligence.

One policeman was responsible for picking up a gang leader’s girlfriend at the airport and for verifying the financial status of people before they were kidnapped.

Help from some officers aside, the report noted that traffickers find it so easy to smuggle weapons into Haiti that most use their own names from federal firearms licensees.

Women and children are vulnerable as elections approach

As Haiti pushes to hold elections soon, the experts warned about an increase in sexual violence and in gangs recruiting children.

Children earn about $1,000 and a motorcycle for enrollment, and they receive $114 to $190 every two weeks. They also get food, alcohol and drugs and an extra $500 for participating in “important combat operations,” the report revealed.

In addition, two gangs now have cells that are exclusively female, experts said.

The report noted that Haitians are increasingly relying on vigilantes for protection, and that while authorities have regained control of some areas, “gains remain fragile" and main roads remain under gang control.

Officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office announced that DNA research led them to identify “Cinnamon” as Cumie Doylene McCutcheon.

Investigators found the 56-year-old’s body on a boat moored off Key West in September 1999, but ran out of leads before they could identify her.

According to MCSO, this year, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told Keys detectives that DNA research tied the remains to McCutcheon.

Deputies said a DNA test from her son confirmed the finding.

An MCSO news release states that the agency worked with the FDLE, along with the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office, to solve the mystery.

“I want to thank the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office and the FDLE for their hard work on this case and for providing closure to this family,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a news release.

The forecast is for Isaias to quickly strengthen into the season’s first hurricane – the latest first-forming Atlantic hurricane of the reliable record by a wide margin – by late today or early Thursday, and conditions ahead look ripe for Isaias to peak as a major (Category 3 or stronger) or near-major hurricane on approach to the northern Gulf Coast early Friday.

While Isaias is forecast to weaken as it’s moving ashore late Friday or during the early morning hours Saturday – most likely somewhere between coastal Mississippi and the western Florida panhandle – it’s expected to remain a hurricane through landfall, with a growing wind field that will mean wide-reaching impacts, including damaging winds and significant, life-threatening storm surge and coastal flooding well east of where the center crosses the coast.

In addition to damaging winds and coastal storm surge, Isaias will bring a multi-day heavy rain and flash flood threat across the southeastern U.S. from North Florida northward to the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians this weekend.

The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center upped its flash flood risk to moderate (threat level 3 of 4) for Friday through early Saturday for South Alabama and the western Florida panhandle – including the cities of Mobile and Pensacola – for the risk of numerous and significant flash flooding.

We’ll also need to monitor for the risk of tornadoes in outer bands along the north-central Gulf as Isaias nears the coast on Friday into Saturday.

Rapid strengthening forecast today into Thursday

The first low-altitude Hurricane Hunter mission into Isaias Wednesday morning found it still organizing, with pressures down slightly and a still-broad circulation accompanied by low-end tropical storm winds.

Despite its humble beginnings, the environment over the next day or two will support strengthening, especially by later today and on Thursday as Isaias establishes a compact core and begins to tap the rich reservoir of exceptionally warm waters of the southwestern Gulf.

The National Hurricane Center is explicitly forecasting Isaias to rapid strengthen from a tropical storm today to a near-major or major (Category 3 or stronger) hurricane by late Thursday or early Friday as it finds a lane of conducive upper-level outflow ahead of a jet stream dip that’ll whisk it toward the northern Gulf on Friday.

Some of our better-performing, high resolution hurricane models like the HAFS model and its configurations suggest Isaias should peak in intensity Friday around Category 3 strength (winds of 111 to 129 mph) before weakening as it nears landfall late Friday or early Saturday morning. It’s also worth noting that over 60% of Google’s DeepMind ensembles – one of our best-performing intensity models so far this season – bring Isaias to major hurricane strength.

The weakening could come quickly as wind shear ramps up late Friday, but timing the point of weakening is an extremely difficult and risky exercise. It’s worth reiterating that despite some forecast weakening, NHC expects Isaias to be a significant and dangerous hurricane when it hits the U.S. Gulf Coast.

AI models lean east

As we discussed in Tuesday morning’s newsletter, an earlier strengthening trend would favor a stronger, faster-moving, and eastward-leaning storm in the long run, which is precisely what forecast models have seized on over the past 24 hours.

The AI camp of models – including Google’s DeepMind and the Euro AI – have been consistently advertising a track toward South Alabama or the western Florida panhandle, which NHC is siding with in its forecast for Isaias.

The latest 1,000-member Google DeepMind run Wednesday morning brought the center of Isaias inland between Mobile and Panama City Beach, with the highest strike odds from Pensacola to Navarre Beach in the western Florida panhandle.

Meanwhile, the conventional physics-based European model and its ensembles continue to show a weaker storm, with highest strike odds closer to southeastern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi.

It’s important not to focus on the exact landfall point with a large hurricane that’ll be growing in size as it approaches the coast. Areas well east and north of the track will be at highest risk for impacts, as tropical storm conditions extend over 150 miles from the center and outside the forecast cone.

Once watches are issued later today, we’ll have more information on the storm surge threat but expect a significant and life-threatening coastal flood threat in areas of onshore flow near and to the east of where Isaias makes landfall.

El ojo del ciclón se ubicaba a unos 285 kilómetros (175 millas) al sur-sureste de Lázaro Cárdenas, México, y se pronostica que se acercará a la costa el sábado.

Se prevé que Simón genere fuertes lluvias que podrían provocar inundaciones en partes del suroeste de México, con pronósticos de que algunas zonas reciban entre 20 y 30 centímetros (8 y 12 pulgadas) de lluvia hasta el domingo, según un aviso del NHC. En partes de Colima y Michoacán eran posibles acumulados aislados de hasta 38 a 63 centímetros (15 a 25 pulgadas) de lluvia.

Los vientos máximos sostenidos de la tormenta eran de alrededor de 65 km/h (40 mph), y se esperaba que se fortaleciera hasta convertirse en huracán a última hora del jueves y potencialmente en un huracán de categoría 3 para el sábado, indicó el NHC.

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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.

Even as she took her allegations about a 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house through Cornell's internal disciplinary process, the university's police department gave her the impression that a criminal investigation was continuing, lawyer Thomas Giuffra told The Associated Press.

In fact, the criminal inquiry ended almost as soon as it began.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, the local prosecutor, made the decision not to go forward with a criminal case within days of the woman giving her first substantial interviews to police.

Van Houten has said that he asked Cornell's police department to convey the decision to the woman, who is referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, but never spoke personally to her or her lawyer.

Giuffra said the woman was told that the criminal investigation was ongoing.

“I think she was misled. She was told it was still — they weren’t going to prosecute, but they were still investigating," Giuffra said. ”I was involved with this case early on. I thought they were still investigating. It was news to me that they weren’t doing anything."

Giuffra added that at the time, he assumed investigators just needed more time to speak with witnesses and build a case.

“But nothing was being done, and we didn’t know that,” Giuffra said.

A message seeking comment was left for Van Houten. Cornell’s media relations office, citing pending litigation, declined to comment on behalf of the university’s police department.

The district attorney said in a statement last week that he was confident that no further investigation was necessary after prosecutors and criminal investigators from his office reviewed a six-page summary of the woman's account, written by a police officer.

Summary left out key details, lawyer says

Based on that summary, Van Houten said he believed no crime had been committed, and that the woman's participation in drug use and sex was “voluntary, conscious and consensual.”

That description differs sharply with what the woman told police and university investigators, and with what she alleged in a lawsuit filed against seven Chi Phi fraternity members, Cornell and others last month.

Among other things, Giuffra said, the six-page report omitted the woman telling investigators, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped," that she was subjected to physical violence, and that a fraternity brother had sent a message to a group chat using a vulgar term to advertise that a woman’s body was freely available.

Last week, citing investigative records it obtained, The New York Times reported that a Cornell police investigator tried to get Van Houten’s office to consider additional evidence in the weeks after the alleged rape, but was rebuffed.

“At first I thought these police were incompetent," Giuffra said. "It sounds like they were doing the right thing. And they just got shut down.”

Giuffra said that while he and Jane Doe have received death threats, he has been heartened by an outpouring of support, including rallies and protests on the Cornell campus and more than 1,000 women who have emailed him to share anger, frustration, solidarity and stories of their own assaults.

Students rally against sexual violence

Some Cornell students staged a sit-in at a dining hall and vowed not to spend money on campus Wednesday to protest sexual violence and how the university has handled complaints, in the latest expression of outrage over an alleged 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house.

A handwritten sign reading “Justice for Jane Doe ” — the name under which the accuser is suing — was propped on an empty table in the dining hall in the afternoon. Some students sat around the room without eating, while others lunched. Another small group sat outside holding signs with messages such as “we are Jane Doe.”

The demonstrations were meant to spotlight complaints that the university is slow to respond to reports of sexual assault while quick to protect its reputation. Among other demands, the groups want the university to retool disciplinary procedures for addressing complaints and expel or revoke the degrees of anyone involved in the alleged October 2024 sexual assault.

Jane Doe, who was a student then, alleges that Chi Phi members plied her with alcohol and drugs and several sexually assaulted her. One man sent others a message inviting them to participate, according to a lawsuit she filed last month.

Lawyers for two of the men have denied they participated in a sexual assault. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the others or their representatives have been unsuccessful. Some of the men who underwent a university disciplinary hearing in 2024 told investigators that the sexual activity was consensual or said they were not involved.

Man in lawsuit wants attorney general removed

The woman went to Cornell police in November 2024, though no criminal charges resulted. In the wake of her lawsuit, Van Houten said he was reopening the investigation. Days later, Gov. Kathy Hochul took the case away from him and appointed the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, as a special prosecutor.

Giuffra applauded the move, saying he was troubled by Van Houten’s plan for conducting the reopened investigation and “didn’t think he was up to the task.” Giuffra said the district attorney wanted to take the case to a grand jury and have Jane Doe testify before the panel within two weeks.

That timeline, leaving little time to review evidence or interview witnesses, suggested that Van Houten may have been trying “to go take a dive and not really give it his best effort and not do any investigation,” Giuffra said.

James hasn't said how long her investigation might take, but she suggested it would take months.

On Wednesday, one of the men named in Jane Doe’s lawsuit filed a court petition seeking James' removal from the case, arguing she showed bias by posting on social media a few days before her appointment: “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.”

A spokesperson for James declined to comment.

Cornell closed down the Chi Phi campus chapter in 2024 and says it expelled some students and suspended others after an investigation under the federal Title IX law.

This week Cornell trustees brought in former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to review how the school investigates sexual assault and sexual harassment, how the disciplinary process works, the campus police response and more.

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Sisak reported from New York.

Manager Dave Roberts said Rojas is “not great” and would not be available off the bench. That leaves Rojas' status uncertain if the Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series. Rojas appeared to hurt his back on a swing in the eighth inning.

“Back’s sore. Laying low,” Roberts said of Rojas. “Won’t be available today. I think for us it’s, like, we have an extended bench anyway. So to try to make any decisions that would compromise his status for a potential next series doesn’t make sense. So we’re going to kick this one to another day.”

Kiké Hernández, who hit a homer in Tuesday night's win, is starting at second base. Roberts said he also hoped to use Tommy Edman, who replaced Rojas on Tuesday.

Roberts said he liked the matchup of Hernández against Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle.

“I like where he’s swinging,” Roberts said. “But we’ll see what happens today. But having him as an option, I think we’ve got some very good options, obviously. I also want to get Tommy involved at some point, too. So we’ll see where we go.”

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who was moved down to fifth in the batting order on Tuesday night, is hitting fourth.

Meanwhile, Ronald Acuña Jr. is starting in right field for Atlanta after being moved to designated hitter in a late lineup change due to right knee soreness on Tuesday night.

Braves manager Walt Weiss waited to finalize Wednesday night's lineup until having an opportunity for Acuña to test the knee in pregame warmups.

Weiss said Acuña was “Just a little sore. If he is limited, I think it’s minimally.”

The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and can win the series Wednesday night. If necessary, Game 5 would be played Friday night in Los Angeles.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

A sea of red-clad demonstrators made their way between two historical squares in Rio’s center, chanting and holding signs referencing Brazil’s sovereignty and democracy in the South American country, which they said were under threat.

“We’re fighting for Brazil, not for Lula,” said Talita Amaral, a 19-year-old environmental science student at a nearby university. She was wearing Brazil’s yellow and green soccer jersey, often worn by supporters of Bolsonaro, which she said was a gesture aimed at reclaiming the national colors.

“We don’t have time to be sad, we need to be doing this, occupying the streets, sending messages in WhatsApp groups, trying to convince people,” Amaral said, as the chant “Olé olé olé ola, Lula Lula” rang out across Cinelandia square.

Neither Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup, nor Lula received more than the required 50% of the vote needed to become Brazil’s leader on Sunday. Therefore, they will face each other in an unpredictable runoff on Oct. 25.

But Flávio Bolsonaro has at least two advantages: He received 2 million more votes than Lula on Sunday and the candidates who placed third, fourth and fifth are all on the right of the political spectrum. They gathered more than 8 million votes between them.

Bolsonaro is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion because of his ties to the failed Banco Master — a case that many protesters in Rio made reference to on Wednesday.

Some pointed to Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, during which 700,000 people were reported to have died from the disease, while others held signs emblazoned with messages such as “Brazil isn't anyone's backyard” and “I don't vote for someone who sells Brazil.”

Many on the left fear a Flávio Bolsonaro presidency would fully align the Brazilian government with the United States because of the proximity in ideologies between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Bolsonaro family. Last year, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods and imposed sanctions on a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, citing Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, which he called a “witch hunt.”

“If Bolsonaro wins, Brazil will become a colony of the United States,” said João Victor Vieira, 20, who studies literature. He said that Bolsonaro represented a threat to minorities such as people of color, women and the LGBTQ+ community. Bolsonaro's father was notorious for homophobic remarks.

Vieira said that while he was initially dispirited following the results on Sunday, he has since regained hope.

“This protest shows that social movements are still very much alive,” he said. “We will resist.”

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This story corrects a previous version that stated the candidates who placed third, fourth and fifth gathered 6 million votes. The correct number of votes is more than 8 million.

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

“We are not blind to who this defendant is,” Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said of defendant Nigel Max Edge. “He served this country in Iraq as a Marine, suffered a traumatic brain injury, and has struggled with serious mental illness. Those facts are important and they were weighed, but must be balanced against the circumstances of the crime.”

Authorities allege Edge piloted a small motorboat up to a dockside cocktail bar in Southport on Sept. 27, 2025, and opened fire with a short-barreled semiautomatic rifle. He faces three counts of first-degree murder, as well as multiple attempted murder and weapons charges.

In April, Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow ordered Edge to undergo psychiatric treatment after it was determined he was unable to understand his legal proceedings enough to help his lawyers.

Defense attorney Matthew Geoffrion filed a motion to continue Wednesday’s hearing, arguing that the extent of Edge's brain injury will likely make it impossible for him to stand trial. Edge was shot multiple times during a firefight in Iraq, including once in the head.

“The chances of capacity restoration in this case appear low,” Geoffrion said in his motion.

David countered that experts at the state hospital where Edge is being treated “have concluded he is likely to be restored.” But he added that the decision to proceed with a capital punishment case was not final.

“A capital designation guarantees the defendant the highest level of protection our system offers, including the appointment of a second qualified attorney and the most rigorous scrutiny our courts provide,” David said. “If evidence emerges bearing on Mr. Edge’s sanity at the time of the offense, we will reassess. If he is never restored to capacity, the death penalty would not be a lawful sentence and would be removed from consideration.”

Edge’s next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

Legislation to create Chiricahua National Park is expected to be transmitted to the White House in coming days for President Donald Trump’s signature. It passed Congress with bipartisan backing and would be the 64th national park.

The 19-square-mile (49-square kilometer) site is within the historical territory of the Chiricahua Apache tribes. It was designated a national monument in the 1920s to preserve hundreds of pinnacle-shaped rocks formed from an ancient volcanic eruption.

“We’re the Grand Canyon state, so we know about this kind of landscape,” Rep. Juan Ciscomani, House sponsor of the Chiricahua National Park Act, said Wednesday. “It's hard to compare anything to the Grand Canyon, but Chiricahua holds its own. This is something that really hasn’t been discovered.”

National Park Service officials declined to say if new staff would be hired to address an expected increase in visitors as the new designation elevates the site's profile.

The park service has undergone deep cuts to its workforce under Trump. Maintenance projects at many sites — including Chiricahua — were ranked a “low priority” by officials who have instead focused on projects wanted by the White House including repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

For centuries the site of the proposed park was home to the Apache, nomadic tribes who often resisted European newcomers to North America. They continued clashing with settlers until surrendering to U.S. troops in 1886 and being forcibly removed to the San Carlos Apache reservation.

The bill creating Chiricahua National Park preserves tribal access for traditional ceremonies. It allows temporary public closures within the park to protect those cultural uses, although Ciscomani said specifics have not been decided.

San Carlos Apache tribal leaders did not take a formal position on the national park designation, a spokesperson said Wednesday. In response to questions from The Associated Press, the tribe provided its 2024 testimony before Congress, where San Carlos Apache Deputy Attorney General Justine Jimmie asked for uninterrupted access to the site.

“National parks have become so packed with tourists," Jimmie said. "In contrast, we go to our cultural areas in what are now parks to seek sanctuary, pray, and perform ceremonies.”

Early settlers called the site Wonderland of Rocks. The name Chiricahua comes from the surrounding mountains.

The area has evidence of thousands of years of human use, according to the park service. That spans from prehistoric people to the famed Buffalo Soldiers. The U.S. troops who were Black were stationed there after the Civil War during a government campaign against Apache leaders Geronimo and Cochise.

Former President Calvin Coolidge named the site as a national monument in 1924 under a federal law known as the Antiquities Act. Former President Franklin Roosevelt expanded it in 1938.

About 85% of the park is designated as wilderness. It gets roughly 60,000 visitors annually.

National monuments are designed to protect specific locations and objects, such as archaeological or historical sites, whereas national parks have a broader purpose including recreation and the preservation of vast expanses of wilderness. Parks and monuments alike are managed by the park service.

Chiricahua would be the first new national park since New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia in 2021.

The mayor of nearby Willcox, Arizona, Greg Hancock, said the change could bring in more customers for its hotels, restaurants and small businesses.

The monument has a visitor center, campground and hiking trails. Park service officials declined to say if any immediate changes were planned.

The park service will "evaluate those matters consistent with the law, available funding and applicable planning requirements,” officials said in a statement. The Congressional Budget Office said it would cost less than $500,000 to establish the park, but did not specify how that might be spent.

House lawmakers approved the park's creation in a voice vote in March, and the Senate passed it Sept. 30 by unanimous consent.

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According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, the crash happened near mile marker 41.

A BSFR spokesperson said medics took a man and a woman to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment as trauma patients.

Officials haven’t provided further details about the extent of their injuries.

First responders temporarily shut down the highway in response to the crash.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

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Federal authorities said they seized 90 shipments of biodiesel: 71 at Port Everglades, totaling about a half-million gallons, and another 19 at the Port of Houston, totaling about 119,000 gallons.

The seizure was a coordinated enforcement operation between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

The shipments were valued at nearly $3 million.

Paperwork showed the oil was bound for Enitec, which is a Havana-based oil wholesaler sanctioned by the U.S. government.

While oil shipments to private companies are legal, DHS officials said that was not the case with these specific shipments.

“Today’s actions underscore our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of our ports and trade systems and ensuring that they are not exploited to advance the interests of regime-connected insiders at the expense of the Cuban people,” DHS Special Agent in Charge Jose Figueroa said.

Officials went on to clarify that the seizure was not an attempt to block legitimate humanitarian aid to the Cuban people.

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Miami Police Department investigators said the wife of Leonel Orozco, 26, of Allapattah, found the illicit content in a hidden folder while looking through his cellphone and called them.

They said she also found pictures of underage relatives edited to depict them nude.

Police said after responding to Orozco’s home in the 2400 block of Northwest 34th Street, he consented to a search of his phone.

They said investigators found five videos showing boys and girls as young as 5 to 7 years old being raped and sexually abused.

They said they also found the edited pictures.

A statement made by Orozco was redacted from an MPD arrest report.

A judge found probable cause Wednesday to charge Orozco with five counts related to the possession of child sexual abuse material and two counts of promoting an altered sexual depiction without consent, ordering he be held on a $10,000.

But the Colombian national is also facing potential immigration consequences. Besides his bond, records show he’s being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.

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According to Fort Lauderdale police, officers responded to the 700 block of Northeast 17th Court after getting calls about the driver, later identified as Eliezer Valcourt, 32, of northwest Miami-Dade.

A responding officer said Valcourt nearly hit her as she turned a corner in his United States Postal Service mail truck. Another officer was able to pull over Valcourt, police said, and “observed possible signs of impairment,” leading to a DUI investigation.

According to an arrest report, Valcourt, who failed field sobriety tests, told officers that he was working and that he had not had anything to drink that day.

Valcourt told officers that he was “almost done” working and that he “only had three more streets,” per the arrest form.

He is facing charges of DUI and DUI with a blood alcohol content level .15% or higher.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Valcourt remained behind bars at the Broward Main Jail on a $1,000 bond.

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Even after being slapped with charges in May after being accused of stealing pricey jewelry and valuables from two victims, police said the Wisconsin woman, once described as an “escort,” went back to the same thievery after leaving jail.

Police said Hood, 21, of Madison, Wisconsin, has a known modus operandi: “Meeting victims at nightlife establishments, accompanying them to their residences or hotels and leaving with valuables after they fell asleep.”

She’s now accused of targeting men she met at the Booby Trap on the River strip club in August and September.

Authorities said both incidents happened at locations in Miami after the men took her home from the strip club, located near the airport at 3615 NW South River Drive.

Miami police said on Aug. 9, a man celebrating his birthday at the Booby Trap took an “unknown” woman “wearing a burgundy dress,” later identified as Hood, back to his Airbnb and the pair “continued drinking in an upstairs bedroom.”

The victim then “placed two gold chains on the bathroom counter, took a shower and went to sleep,” according to an arrest report

Authorities said the victim’s brother saw Hood “rushing out the front door while speaking on the phone.”

According to police, after the victim’s brother woke him, he discovered that the two gold chains, valued at about $110,000, were gone.

Police said fingerprints at the home came back to Hood and a detective recognized Hood from her prior arrest on Booby Trap surveillance footage.

Meanwhile, on the morning of Sept. 11, police said another man met two women, one of whom was later identified as Hood, at the Booby Trap and brought them back home.

The women, according to a separate arrest report, “brought a bottle of Don Julio tequila, and one poured a shot into the victim’s mouth, which he later spit out. One of his friends also consumed several shots.”

Police said the victim couldn’t remember the rest of the morning and, after waking up, found that the women were gone ― and so too were the valuables in his SUV.

“His roommate reported hearing what sounded like vehicle doors slamming at approximately (7 a.m.),” police wrote in the report. “The victim provided an Instagram handle associated with one of the (women) and reported observing an unknown substance in the remaining liquor. The empty tequila bottle remained at the scene with apparent lipstick stains.”

Once again, a detective recognized Hood on surveillance footage, police said, and the victim later picked her out of a photo lineup.

The man said his stolen jewelry, apparel and cash were worth more than $25,000.

Hood surrendered at the Miami Police Department with her attorney on Tuesday.

She’s now back in jail on two more grand theft charges, on top of the three other felonies she was out on bond for at the time, according to jail records.

As of Wednesday, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Según los investigadores del Departamento de Policía de Miami, la esposa de Leonel Orozco, de 26 años y residente de Allapattah, revisaba el celular de su esposo. Encontró el contenido ilícito en una carpeta oculta y llamó a la policía.

Los investigadores dijeron que también encontró fotos de familiares menores de edad editadas para que aparecieran desnudos.

Según la policía, los agentes acudieron a la casa de Orozco, en la cuadra 2400 de Northwest 34th Street. Allí, él accedió a que revisaran su celular.

Los investigadores dijeron que encontraron cinco videos de abuso sexual contra niños y niñas, algunos de apenas 5 a 7 años.

También encontraron las fotos editadas, según la policía.

Una declaración de Orozco fue tachada del informe de arresto de la policía de Miami.

El miércoles, un juez encontró causa probable para acusar a Orozco de cinco cargos relacionados con la posesión de material de abuso sexual infantil. También enfrenta dos cargos por difundir una representación sexual alterada sin consentimiento. El juez fijó su fianza en $10,000.

Sin embargo, el ciudadano colombiano también podría enfrentar consecuencias migratorias. Además de la fianza, los registros muestran que permanece en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center con una retención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE).

The Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive that is typically reserved for significant achievement in combat, was bestowed upon the Lincoln and accompanying ships for “40 days of combat operations and an ironclad maritime blockade against Iran in support of Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth said, referring to the Trump administration’s code name for the Iran war.

The carrier endured a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea, and its extended deployment drew national attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products. After more than 10 months deployed, the Lincoln's crew got a stop in Thailand early last month on the way back from the Middle East.

Pentagon chief visits the crew and acknowledges long time at sea

Hegseth, who flew out to the ship before its arrival Thursday in San Diego, acknowledged to the crew that “I’m the only thing standing between you and home” and that his intention was “once they pull up to the dock, we’re getting out of the way.”

Long deployments can tax service members who are away from their families for extended periods while facing threats, and can add wear to the aircraft carriers, which have been used for President Donald Trump's military operations in the Middle East and South America.

The Lincoln is the second carrier that has endured an unusually long and arduous deployment to support the war against Iran and the second to receive the top unit award afterward.

Hegseth in May met the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford during its return from a 326-day deployment — the longest for an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years and a record in the post-Vietnam War era.

As for the Lincoln, it departed San Diego in late November, arrived in the Middle East in January and now will be back in its home port.

Hegseth said Wednesday that Trump “tracked your activities from day one and couldn’t be more proud of what you executed.”

Issues had been reported aboard the USS Lincoln

The Navy initially played down early reports of supply problems on Lincoln and Trump said its lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough,” Navy leaders, however, eventually acknowledged there were some issues aboard.

In August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the Lincoln maintained adequate food supplies, but because combat operations limited resupply opportunities, meal options were reduced from two to one for a short time. He said in a letter to a Democratic lawmaker seeking information that four nutritionally balanced meals were served daily.

Navy officials also said that while combat operations led to delays in scheduled resupply shipments, they prioritized the delivery of hygiene products and established a rotation to streamline distribution to different squadrons.

More recently, the service told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide while on the long deployment. Experts say that number is low in a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months.

Hegseth pushed back against what he said were efforts to turn the “Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission.”

He said that “what makes the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you’re resilient and you overcome — you finish the mission nonetheless.”

Aircraft carriers have been key to Iran war operations

According to the award that Hegseth read to the crew, the Lincoln and the strike group executed 3,693 combat missions, delivered 1.37 million pounds of ordnance, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships, destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles and defended against four fast attack craft and explosive-carrying ships.

There are now two aircraft carriers assigned to the Middle East. The USS George Washington, though usually based in Asia, relieved the Lincoln in August.

The other aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, has been deployed for about six months, but it pulled into Phuket, Thailand, for a port visit several days ago.

U.S. officials have said a third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and thousands of troops aboard it and accompanying ships could join the Washington and the Bush as early as the end of October.

The latest example came Wednesday, when Trump voiced support for Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s governor race while pledging millions to help with recent storms.

In addition, the president recently joked that he would cut off money to North Carolina, which is still healing from Hurricane Helene two years ago, if Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley lost. And the day before an Ohio campaign rally with Sen. Jon Husted last Saturday, Trump approved a disaster declaration for the state while leaving 15 other requests pending.

Disaster survivor advocates say they want elected officials to prioritize their recovery — not wield it as a political tool.

“Recovery isn’t partisan,” said Sierra Lindsey-Kos, co-founder and co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors, an advocacy nonprofit.

“Neighbors help each other without asking who anyone voted for, and that’s exactly the way it should be," she said.

The White House rejected the idea that it's injecting politics into disaster recovery. “There is no politicization to the president’s decisions on disaster relief,” spokesperson Lauren Bis said Tuesday.

Trump’s Truth Social posts intertwine endorsements with disaster funding

Trump has frequently mentioned disaster support in social media posts about the midterms, sometimes announcing new funding in conjunction with reminders of endorsements for Republican candidates like Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Andy Barr in Kentucky.

On Wednesday, Trump posted that he’d spoken to Tiffany, “who has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of the Great State of Wisconsin,” and told him about $17.9 million in disaster funds were coming to the state. “18 Million Dollars should help, A LOT,” Trump wrote. Tiffany is up against Democratic nominee David Crowley in Wisconsin’s governor’s race.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said their office had not been informed about the money, and Evers responded to the post on social media.

"Clearly, President Trump and Congressman Tiffany are continuing to play politics with emergency aid that’s meant to help communities recover in the wake of disasters like tornadoes and floods."

FEMA later confirmed that Trump approved a disaster declaration for Wisconsin, along with West Virginia and Guam, though he didn’t announce those on social media.

Even creating the perception that disaster relief and votes are connected has traditionally been “out of bounds,” said Rafael LeMaitre, FEMA spokesperson under former President Barack Obama.

“It diminishes the integrity of the disaster management system and it erodes trust in the way the government addresses disasters generally,” he said.

Disaster relief seeps into campaign speeches

When Trump held a rally in North Carolina for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, the president acknowledged the state was still waiting for billions of dollars in federal recovery funds for Hurricane Helene.

“Now if Michael loses, I’m not sending it,” he said. “No, I’m only kidding, you’re getting it,” he added.

Republican Jennifer Balkcom, a congressional candidate in a western North Carolina district, later defended Trump's comments.

"I don’t know if he was being funny,” Balkcom told WLOS ABC News 13. “I think he was trying to persuade voters to vote for Michael Whatley.”

While the joke might not faze Trump’s most dedicated supporters, others found it off putting, said Jon Council, who works for the organizing group Down Home North Carolina.

“That just doesn’t strike me as a person or administration that’s taking the conditions on the ground here seriously, and taking the responsibility to the American taxpayer seriously,” Council said.

Trump also brought up disaster relief funds at a campaign rally in Ohio last Saturday, telling supporters in a high school gymnasium in Vandalia that he had signed a “special” disaster declaration for the state after August severe weather.

“You had some bad storms, and Jon and everybody wanted me to help, and I took care of it,” Trump said, referring to Republican Senator Jon Husted, who is running a tight reelection race against Democrat Sherrod Brown.

The major disaster declaration for Ohio authorizes direct assistance to residents of seven of the 23 counties requested by Republican Governor Mike DeWine. It came while 15 other requests from states, tribes and territories remain pending, including two from Hawaii, which experienced back-to-back hurricanes in August and September.

Trump did not answer pending disaster requests before rallying in two other Republican states last week with less consequential races, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Concerns over politicization predate the midterm elections

Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who tracks presidential disaster declarations, said politicians “have always tried to use disasters to their advantage." However, he said this White House's behavior has been “unusual and frankly concerning."

An Associated Press analysis in July found that Trump had approved more than three-quarters of the requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election but less than half the requests from states that did not.

A FEMA spokesperson said Tuesday that “any suggestion that disaster decisions are politically motivated does not reflect how this process works or how FEMA carries out its mission.”

Politics has permeated recent communications from FEMA itself.

A September news release about preparations for a nor'easter storm listed 18 Republican members of Congress with whom it said agency leadership was “working closely” during the weather event, omitting mention of any Democrats despite the states mentioned being Democrat-led.

A FEMA spokesperson did not address questions about why only Republican representatives were named.

Según Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, el accidente ocurrió cerca de la milla 41.

Un portavoz de BSFR dijo que los paramédicos llevaron a un hombre y a una mujer al Broward Health Medical Center, donde fueron atendidos como pacientes de trauma.

Las autoridades no han dado más detalles sobre la gravedad de sus heridas.

Los equipos de emergencia cerraron temporalmente la carretera para atender el accidente.

La Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida investiga el choque.

En mayo, Hood fue acusada de robarles joyas costosas y objetos de valor a dos víctimas. Aun así, según la policía, la mujer de Wisconsin, a quien en su momento se describió como “acompañante”, volvió a las andadas al salir de la cárcel.

La policía dijo que Hood, de 21 años y residente de Madison, Wisconsin, tiene un modus operandi conocido. Según los agentes, “conocía a las víctimas en lugares de vida nocturna, las acompañaba a sus casas o a sus hoteles y se iba con objetos de valor cuando se quedaban dormidas”.

Ahora la acusan de robarles en agosto y septiembre a hombres que conoció en el club de striptease Booby Trap on the River.

Según las autoridades, ambos casos ocurrieron en Miami, después de que los hombres se la llevaran a su casa desde el club. El local queda cerca del aeropuerto, en el 3615 NW South River Drive.

La policía de Miami dijo que el 9 de agosto un hombre celebraba su cumpleaños en el Booby Trap. Esa noche se llevó a su Airbnb a una mujer “desconocida” que “llevaba un vestido color vino”, luego identificada como Hood. Según la policía, los dos “siguieron tomando en una habitación del piso de arriba”.

La víctima luego “dejó dos cadenas de oro sobre el lavamanos del baño, se dio una ducha y se fue a dormir”, según un informe de arresto.

Según las autoridades, el hermano de la víctima vio a Hood “salir apurada por la puerta principal mientras hablaba por teléfono”.

Según la policía, el hermano lo despertó y la víctima descubrió que las dos cadenas de oro habían desaparecido. Estaban valoradas en unos $110,000.

La policía dijo que las huellas dactilares halladas en la casa eran de Hood. Además, un detective la reconoció en los videos de vigilancia del Booby Trap por su arresto anterior.

Por otra parte, la policía dijo que la mañana del 11 de septiembre otro hombre conoció a dos mujeres en el Booby Trap y se las llevó a su casa. Una de ellas fue identificada después como Hood.

Según otro informe de arresto, las mujeres “trajeron una botella de tequila Don Julio y una le sirvió un trago directamente en la boca a la víctima, que él luego escupió. Uno de sus amigos también se tomó varios tragos”.

La policía dijo que la víctima no recordaba el resto de la mañana. Al despertar, descubrió que las mujeres ya no estaban, y tampoco los objetos de valor que tenía en su SUV.

“Su compañero de casa dijo que escuchó lo que parecían puertas de un vehículo cerrándose de golpe alrededor de las (7 a.m.)”, escribió la policía en el informe. “La víctima dio un usuario de Instagram asociado con una de las (mujeres) y dijo que vio una sustancia desconocida en el licor que quedaba. La botella de tequila vacía quedó en el lugar con aparentes manchas de pintalabios”.

Una vez más, un detective reconoció a Hood en los videos de vigilancia, según la policía. Más tarde, la víctima la identificó en una rueda de reconocimiento fotográfico.

El hombre dijo que las joyas, la ropa y el dinero en efectivo que le robaron valían más de $25,000.

Hood se entregó el martes en el Departamento de Policía de Miami, acompañada de su abogado.

Según los registros de la cárcel, ahora está de vuelta tras las rejas con dos nuevos cargos de hurto mayor. A eso se suman otros tres delitos graves por los que estaba en libertad bajo fianza.

Hasta el miércoles, permanecía detenida en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

The Democratic National Committee was first to sue the Republican administration, alleging the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda and accusing Trump of personally directing them. Later Wednesday, a coalition including the nonpartisan watchdog Common Cause filed a separate lawsuit, also alleging an illegal misuse of funds.

Both complaints asked federal judges to stop the use of federal funds to pay for the ads. The lawsuits represented the first legal challenges to the TV spots, which have faced bipartisan backlash for glorifying Trump and promoting his campaign message with November's midterm elections less than a month away.

The ads, which began airing in September, already have cost more than $12 million to run, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. The Department of Homeland Security awarded a $20 million contract for the campaign.

Responding Monday to the criticism, Trump defended them as “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” but said he’d start paying for them using his MAGA Inc. super PAC going forward.

But on Tuesday, a fifth ad began airing with a notice it was paid for by the U.S. government. It promoted Trump’s military actions to capture Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela earlier this year. The same day, Trump made it clear he hasn’t committed to reimbursing any money that has already been spent, telling reporters “we’ll decide.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that Trump is misusing taxpayer dollars in “a last-ditch attempt to save Republicans in November.”

“Americans deserve better than to have their hard-earned tax dollars used for Trump’s illegal schemes," he added.

A person familiar with the ad campaign who was not authorized to speak publicly said the ad buys placed prior to Trump’s pledge to start paying for them with his super PAC will end this week. Outside groups will begin to pay at that point, the person said.

The second lawsuit was filed by the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward on behalf of Common Cause, a New York public employee union and a Democratic state legislative candidate in Alabama.

Taxpayers “shouldn’t have to foot the bill for the president’s politics,” said Skye Perryman, who leads Democracy Forward.

Omar Noureldin, senior vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, said his organization doesn’t trust that Trump will stick to outside money for future ads. He cited Tuesday's new ad as proof that the government-sponsored ads were still being scheduled.

“Even if he said that moving forward, he plans to have his super PAC pay for this, that’s not enough for us,” Noureldin said. “We are not going to take the president’s word for it.”

Legal experts have suggested the ads run afoul of a federal statute against congressionally appropriated money being used for “publicity or propaganda,” and potentially other federal laws. The Homeland Security money tapped for the ads comes from a $175 million package Congress gave to the department as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

The White House has defended the ads as public service announcements akin to what past administrations have done to promote various policies. But the recent ads differ from many past public service announcements because they aren’t aimed at helping members of the public benefit from specific government programs. One of the ads is a near replica of a 2024 ad that Trump ran during his presidential reelection campaign.

Según la policía de Fort Lauderdale, los agentes acudieron a la cuadra 700 de Northeast 17th Court tras recibir llamadas sobre el conductor. Más tarde fue identificado como Eliezer Valcourt, de 32 años y residente del noroeste de Miami-Dade.

Una de las agentes que respondió al llamado dijo que Valcourt estuvo a punto de chocarla al doblar una esquina con su camión del Servicio Postal de EE.UU. Otro agente logró detenerlo y “observó posibles señales de que estaba bajo los efectos del alcohol”, según la policía. Por eso, comenzó una investigación por manejar bajo la influencia (DUI).

Según un informe de arresto, Valcourt falló las pruebas de sobriedad en el lugar. Les dijo a los agentes que estaba trabajando y que ese día no había tomado nada.

También les dijo que “ya casi terminaba” y que “solo le faltaban tres calles”, según el formulario de arresto.

Enfrenta cargos de DUI y de DUI con un nivel de alcohol en la sangre de 0.15% o más.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Valcourt seguía detenido en la cárcel principal de Broward con una fianza de $1,000.

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson said the 250-foot (76 meter) arch compounds multiple safety concerns that she said have gone unaddressed from a deadly January 2025 crash over the Potomac River that killed 67 people. Nelson also criticized Trump's plan to turn the arch into "a top grade military complex” able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition.

“DCA is already stretched to its limit, we do not need an obstacle taking up space in our flight path,” said Nelson. “Nor should commercial aviation have to dodge military drones, missiles or snipers while attempting to take off or land at Washington National Airport. Safety first always.”

Nelson’s statement on behalf of the union, which represents 55,000 flight attendants across 20 airlines, joins the voices of an assemblage of veterans’ groups, Congress members and others with safety concerns and complaints about the memorial's threat to historic and symbolic sightlines between different landmarks in Washington, D.C.

Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by Trump, a group of three veterans and an architectural historian sued, saying the project needs to be approved by Congress.

Last month, the Republican president said in a social media post that he had agreed, at the “strong request” of the military, to convert the planned 250-foot-tall (76-meter) memorial arch “into a top grade Military Complex.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said last month before Trump's announcement on it becoming a military complex that the arch would not pose a hazard to aircraft, but it should be “appropriately marked with a non-standard eternal flame on top of the structure and floodlight projectors pointed towards the arch to make it noticeable for pilots.

An assessment by the National Park Service said the memorial arch could disrupt the historical significance of dozens of nearby sites. The Park Service approved the project despite its assessment.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced early last month that excavation work on the site in Memorial Circle would begin within weeks. The Interior Department did not respond immediately to questions on the status of that work.

The arch is one of several projects around Washington that Trump has undertaken as he remakes the city, from renovating one of its storied public golf courses to threatening to demolish the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

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This story has been updated to correct the union’s name. It is the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA , not Flight Attendants Association-CWA.

Industry groups said they appreciate President Donald Trump’s executive order expanding the use of a diesel now reserved for off-road work, but farmers already have access to the fuel and many have already wrapped up harvest. Truckers will struggle to navigate differing state rules.

“In the context of diesel prices that are over two dollars more than they were last year, it just doesn’t come close to closing that wound,” said Matt Perdue, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union.

With less than a month to go before the November election, diesel prices continue to hit record highs as some farmers transport their crops for processing and others rush to complete their fall harvest. Many have been feeling the squeeze as costs for inputs like diesel, fertilizer and seed have soared thanks to refinery constraints and supply disruptions amid the Iran war.

Diesel averaged $6.30 per gallon across the country on Wednesday, more than 70% higher than one year ago, according to motor club AAA. The executive order defers the $0.24 federal tax per gallon of regular diesel, used for road projects, until the end of the year. Most states also levy their own tax on diesel.

“Dyed” diesel is the same as regular diesel, except for its red dye to help law enforcement enforce penalties for on-road use. It's already allowed for off-road purposes like farming equipment, such as tractors and combines, as well as construction and heating uses.

Who will see benefits

Savings can compound if states take similar actions; many have eased restrictions or waived taxes on dyed diesel, including South Dakota and Iowa. Perdue said North Dakota has waived the tax on regular diesel. But where the state decision is focused on farmers, he believes the federal decision would largely benefit those on other levels of the supply chain.

Farmers who will see the most benefit are those who haul their own product, like livestock or fresh produce, on public roads. Those who have already wrapped up harvesting won't see savings.

“Most of our diesel use is behind us,” said Perdue, who grows spring wheat, durum and canola on his family farm.

Both trucking companies and independent truckers may not see much relief either. The effect is likely to be negligible for big trucking companies because the order is on a federal level and states make their own rules, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote in a social media post.

“The largest diesel users are the least likely to use dyed diesel,” he wrote. “A national carrier crossing five or six states in a day faces enormous risk with a patchwork of rules, legal in one state, and subject to fines in the next.”

Many states exempt road diesel from sales tax but apply sales tax to dyed diesel instead, he said.

Easing limits on red-dyed diesel will likely have a minimal effect for small truckers, who pay for fuel up front, said Todd Spencer, president and CEO of trade group the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. He estimates every $1 increase per gallon in fuel costs independent truckers about $400 more per week.

Increased demand for dyed diesel

The savings will be small, but it could still increase competition for dyed diesel, said David Ortega, food economics and policy professor at Michigan State University.

“I think there's a real chance this could backfire and make the situation worse for farmers," he said. “Basically anybody that’s running a truck on the highway on regular diesel can now be using this off-highway diesel. Even someone that owns a diesel pickup truck potentially has access to this other type of diesel.”

Perdue in North Dakota said he expects a “rush for dyed diesel, and we’ll see how the supply responds.”

But not all dyed diesel pump stations are set up for larger trucks like semis, said Paul Mitchell, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“It’s going to come down to infrastructure ability to get your vehicles to a place that you can use and fill them up with,” he said.

Supply shortages persist

Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations chief advocacy and public affairs officer, pointed out that the executive order directs temporary penalty relief and potential tax deferral for using red-dyed diesel, not outright tax forgiveness. He said the ATA would review the Internal Revenue Service’s implementing guidance of the policy when it is available.

Last month, Trump had threatened a diesel export ban, though he later said it is off the table. On Friday, G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products.

“One of the problems we have right now in the world is there’s not enough diesel fuel,” said Gregg Ibendahl, farm management specialist at Kansas State University.

But underlying causes like geopolitical issues won't be solved overnight.

“The problem we’ve accumulated right now with the Strait of Hormuz and the Russia-Ukraine war, those are going to be longer term things to get fixed,” he said. “Getting that world supply back up again is going to be, I think, at least a year, even in the best cases.”

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Anderson reported from New York.

The judges revealed through their questions that there are still many legal issues to be decided in the lawsuit even though it has dragged on for almost a quarter-century.

They didn't say when they might rule on whether claims can proceed to trial alleging that Saudi Arabia provided aid to at least two of the 19 men who hijacked planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field that day.

Still, Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada was killed in the attacks, said she was encouraged that more than 100 family members of 9/11 victims turned out and by the judges' questions.

“It really was a good day for us,” she said afterward. “The judges asked really meaningful questions and hammered the Saudi attorneys and didn’t let up. They weren’t buying what the Saudis were selling.”

In lawsuits, hundreds of victims’ relatives and injured survivors, along with insurance companies and businesses, claim that employees of the Saudi government directly and knowingly assisted the hijackers and other plotters and fueled al-Qaida’s development into a terrorist organization by funding charities that supported them.

Some defendants, including Iran, the Taliban and al-Qaida, already have been found in default.

On Wednesday, lawyers from both sides were questioned repeatedly by the appeals judges who seemed unsure exactly how they would respond to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's claims that it should be dismissed as a defendant on sovereign immunity grounds.

Lawyers for Saudi Arabia say the nation and the U.S. were partners in the 1990s against terrorism, al-Qaida and its founder, Osama bin Laden.

Although 15 of the 19 attackers on 9/11 were Saudis, the Saudi government has long denied any involvement in the attacks.

Lawyers for victims' relatives claim that a group of extremist religious leaders in Saudi Arabia aided the hijackers.

The appeal by Saudi Arabia stemmed from an August 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels, who decided that the case could proceed in federal court, though he did not rule on the merits of the claims.

The Brewers announced Gasser (5-5, 3.87 ERA) as their starter a day after the Padres announced right-hander Walker Buehler (9-6, 4.63) as theirs. San Diego won 4-3 on Tuesday night to avoid elimination and trim Milwaukee’s lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1.

This will be the first appearance for both pitchers in the Division Series. Buehler had opened the series on the paternity list before getting reinstated on Monday.

Gasser had two relief outings during Milwaukee’s playoff run last year and allowed two runs over 2 2/3 innings. He pitched extremely well late in the regular season, as he allowed six runs — five earned — over 27 innings in September for a 1.67 ERA.

Gasser was drafted by the Padres and pitching in their farm system before going to the Brewers in the 2022 trade that brought reliever Josh Hader to San Diego.

Buehler has much more postseason experience after pitching on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2020 and 2024 World Series championship teams. He is 4-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 19 career playoff appearances, including 18 starts. He earned the save in the Dodgers' title-clinching Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series.

Buehler was the starting pitcher and took the loss when the Brewers earned their last road playoff win, in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series with the Dodgers. The Brewers have lost 12 straight road playoff games since.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez led the way on social media offering his condolences after housing activists and Abascal's lawyer announced her death. Known widely as “Maricarmen,” she had become a symbol for renters struggling with Spain's housing affordability crisis.

“All my love to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones,” Sánchez said in a post on X. “A hug as well to all of us who feel this loss as our own today. Rest in peace.”

The emotions ran into anger on the street among the protesters gathered near Spain's Parliament who chanted “Maricarmen lives, the fight goes on!”

Iciar López, a 32-year-old psychologist, shared her feelings with The Associated Press at the protest in Madrid.

“A great deal of sorrow. And above all, the thought that she is the cause, the head of this whole revolution that has happened, and that she can’t see it,” she said. “It makes me very sad that she can’t see if anything comes of it ... That’s what angers me the most, honestly.”

A case that captured media attention and traveled around the world

Spaniards increasingly frustrated by housing costs periodically march in major cities demanding action from lawmakers. But a fresh wave of indignation has swept Spain since Sept. 23, when Maricarmen, who used a wheelchair, was carried on a stretcher from her home of seven decades after police cordoned off the street and removed protesters. She was taken to a hospital because of her fragile health.

Televised images of the eviction prompted thousands of people to protest in Madrid and other cities across the country.

Maricarmen's lawyer, Beatriz Duro, did not disclose the cause of death when she confirmed it to Cadena Ser radio. Duro said that she and the activists were all devastated.

“Maricarmen's case, which captured media attention and traveled around the world, leaves us the image of the shameful violence of these types of evictions and the impact they can have on people’s health,” Duro said.

She had been expected to return home after leaving the hospital. The real estate company that evicted her in order to rent the property at a much higher price eventually caved in under immense public pressure and agreed to let her return to the apartment.

“Although a historic agreement was reached that would have allowed her to return home, this solution came too late,” the Madrid Tenants' Union said in a statement Wednesday. “It was an entirely avoidable situation following a harrowing ordeal.”

Maricarmen's plight galvanized a social movement

The average rent for Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years, according to the real estate website Idealista. Spain’s government said that 26% of Spaniards who rent housing spend an average of 40% of their income on rent and utilities, compared with the European Union average of 18% of renters who do so.

Protesters camped in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square held a minute of silence after learning of her death.

Maricarmen spent almost her entire life in her apartment, where she first lived with her parents and brother. She later worked as a secretary for the board of a pharmaceutical company, Spanish daily El País reported. She said both her parents died in the apartment.

After retiring in 1998, she spent her days walking around the neighborhood, doing errands and taking care of the precious items in her home. The paper reported that black-and-white family photographs were among the only things she had brought with her to the hospital.

“Maricarmen only wanted to die in her home. She wasn’t asking for anything else,” Eugenio Melchor, 22, said at the protest in Madrid. “She was dying in her home and she almost did. They have killed her. I mean, there’s no other word for it, and I hope those responsible for this pay and go to trial.”

Maricarmen’s plight galvanized a social movement, prompted Spain’s unions to announce a general strike next month and intensified pressure on political leaders. Sánchez called an early election Monday after his government failed last week to push emergency housing measures through Parliament. He now hopes the issue will reinvigorate his Socialist Party and help him form a new government after the Nov. 29 election.

Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez also expressed condolences, writing on X: “I deeply lament the death of Maricarmen. My condolences to those who accompanied her and fought by her side until the end.”

Conservative opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who hopes to unseat Sánchez and his left-wing coalition, also offered condolences.

“I want to express my condolences to Maricarmen's family and loved ones. No campaign, no party, no use for political advantage,” the Popular Party leader wrote. “When faced with the death of a person, we must only show respect.”

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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writers Teresa Medrano, in Madrid, and Renata Brito, in Barcelona, contributed.

John Beck, the attorney Rahm hired for LIV's bankruptcy proceedings, said during a Wednesday hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey that Rahm reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 and decided he would not be participating in 2027.

Rahm, a Masters and U.S. Open champion and the last player to be No. 1 in the world before Scottie Scheffler, was among the biggest and most stunning acquisitions by LIV Golf at the end of 2023 when he was the reigning Masters champion.

Rahm had said in May he has several years left on his contract. His signing bonus, never confirmed, was reported to be in the $300 million range.

While the hearing was confirmation he wants out of LIV — he had not answered questions directly most of the summer — the decision was not surprising.

The court earlier this week allowed Sergio Garcia to end his contract when the 46-year-old Spaniard and former Masters champion asked for clarification on his status. Garcia was among the first to defect to LIV in 2022.

Still to come was formal separation from LIV Golf and word on where Rahm would play next. The PGA Tour has said it would not hold conversations with any LIV player still legally under contract. Beck declined to comment when reached by phone.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp brought back five-time major champion Brooks Koepka with heavy financial stipulations at the start of this year, after Koepka negotiated an end to his LIV contract. Rolapp offered the deal to three other major champions, including Rahm, giving them a two-week deadline to decide. None took the offer.

Two months later, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia said it would no longer bankroll the rival league after the 2026 season.

The PGA Tour did not immediately comment on Rahm’s decision.

Rahm's plans were revealed two days after BC Partners Credit announced an initial investment payment to LIV Golf 2.0, which still requires approval, that would allow the league to move forward with a team-focused theme in which players would be equity owners.

Part of LIV's amended restructuring support agreement extended the deadline for players who decide whether they want to stick around for LIV 2.0.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil had said Monday: "We believe deeply in the future of this league and in the opportunity to build something distinctive alongside our players. We’re delivering on our major milestones, and while there is still work ahead, today marks meaningful progress toward a player-owned, team-focused, truly global league that complements the wider game and creates new opportunities for players, fans, partners and the next generation of golfers.”

Rahm was the individual points champion each of the last three years, when the prize money was $20 million for individual competition and bonuses were awarded for the points race. His total earnings from LIV over the last three years topped $100 million.

Rahm withdrew this week from the Spanish Open because his wife, Kelley, is home in Arizona expecting their fourth child. He remains a European tour member and plans to play in Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the end of the year.

The PGA Tour typically bans players for one year after their last LIV event, though it made an exception for Koepka. Bryson DeChambeau, among those who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tour when LIV began, has not indicated any desire to return.

Rolapp has consistently said he wants what's best for the PGA Tour, and Rahm is LIV's best player as a former No. 1. He is still at No. 15 despite limited access to world ranking points.

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More than 60 laborers, mostly from India, signed the deals Wednesday to receive their share of a 31-million-euro (nearly $35 million) settlement agreed last month with Alabama-based Caddell Construction. The signings began Tuesday.

Prosecutors say it is the largest settlement ever for labor exploitation in Europe.

Each worker signed a document seen by The Associated Press agreeing not to discredit Caddell and not to disclose the individual payments. Caddell said in the document that the settlement was not an admission of liability. Individual payments are to be made within 30 days of the signing.

The workers saw the potentially life-changing sum in black-and-white for the first time at the signings — with the highest reaching nearly 90,000 euros (nearly $101,000), said Francesco Brigatti, the court-appointed administrator working to return the consulate construction site to legality.

The payouts combine unpaid overtime, reimbursement for housing illegally deducted from their pay and hefty damages personally sought by investigating Prosecutor Paolo Storari, Brigatti said.

“The damages component alone amounts to 60–70% of the overtime total,” Brigatti said, well above the 10% to 30% that he said is more customary in such cases.

Dilip Ram, a 43-year-old mason from India, has worked at the Milan consulate site for more than two years. He said the money would go a long way to helping his family of five back home in the Indian state of Bihar.

“Things are better now than before … we get more rest now,” Ram said, after signing the deal. “This has led to a lot of change. This settlement will be good. Because the workers had troubles, that’s why this settlement has been applied.”

Over two days, 115 workers signed the deals, with the procedure continuing next week.

Prosecutors say workers were paid less than $2 an hour, were illegally docked money for housing and denied overtime for working up to 10 hours a day, six days a week. They also were allegedly subjected to threats and not given proper medical care when they were injured on the job. Most of the workers were from India, but also Nigeria, Kenya and Bangladesh.

Workers from India reported having to pay 5,000 euros ($5,600) to recruiters to get the jobs, but the settlement did not directly address abuses in India, where prosecutors could not investigate, officials said.

The investigation against Caddell remains open, pending the payouts, which are expected to be completed by February. Two managers under investigation for extortion and facilitating illegal immigration remain under house arrest.

Caddell’s settlement includes about 11.2 million euros ($12.5 million) for Italy’s social security coffers and workplace injury insurance. Under the deal, the workers are also getting permits to work in Italy even off the Caddell site.

Caddell, a major contractor for U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, said in June that it was cooperating fully with Italian authorities, reviewing its global subcontractors and consultancies for compliance with labor laws, and working with authorities to protect workers on the project.

“Caddell continues to cooperate in good faith with the appropriate authorities throughout this process, and we remain focused on the care and well-being of the people working on an important project,” the company said Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department has said it is investigating the allegations made by prosecutors and that U.S. law enforcement is working with Italian authorities. Last week, it added that it is following the case closely.

“The U.S. government has zero tolerance for illegal activity,” it said.

In all, nearly 480 workers can expect payouts — some 300 still working on the site, another 100 elsewhere in Italy and the rest in their home countries.

“We have asked the Indian consulate to help,” said Adelio Riva, a labor lawyer working as a consultant for the prosecutor’s office. “We are relying heavily on word-of-mouth because, as they say, ‘follow the money.’”

The signings are being followed also by three construction worker trade unions that are assisting the workers. It is a bittersweet coda to a saga that started when unions were denied access to workers at the consulate job site, erroneously citing diplomatic status, said Trifone Radogna, an organizer for the Feneal Uil construction workers union. He said the union had never been barred from informing workers of their rights on job sites in Milan, which has been undergoing a construction boom over the last two decades.

“We have never encountered a labor-exploitation system on this scale,” Radogna said.

“Here workers’ dignity was lost: they found themselves without accommodation, without meals, and they were already starting at a disadvantage because they had to pay 5,000 euros before leaving.”

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AP social media producer Nandini Gupta contributed from New York.

On Wednesday, the 1-year-old is celebrating his birthday — clapping, dancing, digging into his birthday cake and playing with his favorite pal, Woody from the movie “Toy Story.”

But getting to this moment was anything but easy.

Jayce is a survivor of an EXIT procedure — short for Ex-Utero Intrapartum Treatment — a rare procedure performed during delivery that allowed doctors to secure his airway before he was fully separated from his mother.

Before he was born, doctors discovered a rare tumor called a teratoma growing on Jayce’s neck. The mass was stopping him from breathing and was also attached to his swallowing tube.

“His tumor, by the time he was born, was about seven centimeters in size. It spanned all the way from the jaw to the root of his upper chest,” said Dr. Leonardo Torres, a pediatric otolaryngologist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital

On Oct. 7, 2025, more than 30 doctors took part in the procedure.

Doctors performed a partial C-section while Jayce remained connected to his mother through the umbilical cord and placenta.

For his family, the diagnosis was terrifying.

“That’s all I would hear is, ‘get prepared for the worst,”' Jayce’s grandmother, Silvia Soriano, said.

His mother, Juliana Soriano, said she turned to her faith.

“It was a tough battle from the moment I was first told that my baby wasn’t going to make it. Being 18 and going through my first pregnancy, it hit me harder than I could have imagine,” she said. “But I left everything in God’s hands, and he took over. I talked to God and left it all to him,” she said.

During the procedure, doctors had only minutes to establish an airway and give Jayce a chance to survive.

“(He) only had a few minutes,” said Torres. “Thankfully, through God’s grace, he guided me.”

One year later, the fear has given way to celebration.

Jayce spent his first birthday surrounded by family, smiling, making sounds, clapping and enjoying his cake.

And when it came time to show just how far he has come, Jayce had a message of his own — breathing into the microphone, all on his own.

His mother says seeing her son healthy and strong is a blessing.

“I’m just so blessed to be able to look at my baby. He’s here, he’s strong, he fought everything,” Soriano said.

The boy’s father and other family members were sentenced to life in prison in 2024 after jurors convicted them in what prosecutors described as a “sick end-of-times scheme.”

A panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a decision issued Tuesday that there was no evidence of a federal kidnapping crime when the family took the boy, noting that no court order or state law made it illegal for Siraj Ibn Wahhaj to take his son.

The group already was living in New Mexico when a Georgia juvenile court issued a pickup order for the boy after his mother petitioned for emergency custody. The appellate panel took issue with jury instructions that implied the mother's lack of consent could satisfy the unlawfulness element under the federal kidnapping statute.

“This instructional error was not harmless,” the panel wrote. “Had the court correctly instructed on the law, the jury couldn’t have found unlawfulness based on the government’s evidence.”

The family members can't be retried on the kidnapping charges, the panel ruled.

The appeals panel also vacated convictions stemming from accusations that Wahhaj and his brother-in-law were preparing for attacks against the government. It said the two men, who had represented themselves during the trial, had been excluded from bench conferences with the judge about notes jurors had sent during deliberations.

The court remanded that part of the case back to the district court, clearing the way for new trials for the men if prosecutors opt to pursue the case.

“What happened at the Taos compound was horrific. We are reviewing the case and assessing what further action may be appropriate,” the U.S. attorney's office for the district of New Mexico wrote in an email Wednesday.

During the three-week trial in 2023, the defendants suggested that the case was the product of “government overreach” and that they were targeted because they are Muslim.

A fifth defendant — Jany Leveille, a Haitian national — avoided the trial by pleading guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and being in possession of a firearm while unlawfully in the United States. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors alleged that it was under Leveille’s instruction that the family fled Georgia with the boy, ending up in a remote stretch of the high desert where they conducted firearms and tactical training to prepare for attacks against the government. Prosecutors said it was tied to a belief that the boy would be resurrected and then instruct the family which corrupt government and private institutions needed to be eliminated.

In a complex case that took years to get to trial, jurors heard weeks of testimony from children who had lived with their parents at the compound, other family members, firearms experts, doctors and forensic technicians.

Authorities raided the compound in 2018, finding 11 children and dismal living conditions. They also found 11 firearms and ammunition that were used at a makeshift shooting range on the property near the Colorado state line.

The remains of Wahhaj’s son, Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, were found in an underground tunnel at the compound. Testimony indicated that the boy died just weeks after arriving in New Mexico and that his body was kept for months with Leveille promising the others he would be resurrected.

An exact cause of death was never determined amid accusations that the boy, who had frequent seizures, had been deprived of crucial medication.

Lee was on hand for construction crews to break ground in Fort Worth on a museum dedicated to telling the history of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. The planned 50,000-square-foot (4,600-square-meter) National Juneteenth Museum, located in a historically Black neighborhood, is projected to open in 2029.

Wearing a flower lei and surrounded by family and friends, Lee expressed her happiness and gratitude after the announcement of a $3 million donation by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I’m so happy I could do a holy dance, and these old legs won’t respond, but let me tell you how thankful I am and that this deed won’t go unnoticed,” Lee said.

Later Wednesday, Obama was expected to join museum leaders for an event honoring Lee, who is widely known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth.”

When then-President Joe Biden in 2021 signed a bill into law making Juneteenth a federal holiday, Lee was by his side.

The holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston at the end of the Civil War with an order declaring the freedom of the enslaved people in Texas. It was about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed the enslaved people in the still rebellious states of the Confederacy. Six months later, the ratification of the 13th Amendment permanently ended slavery in the United States.

Lee has been a force in Fort Worth, where she worked for decades as a teacher, counselor and community activist.

She has said she has cherished childhood memories of celebrating Juneteenth with food, music and games, and as an adult, she was involved in planning the celebration in Fort Worth.

“Long before there were historic walks, cameras, books and well-deserved national acclaim, my childhood memories are filled with you making sure that Fort Worth remembered,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee H. Toliver said at the event.

She told Lee that she remembered her planning community events, parades and festivals.

“You always reminded us that history is not something you leave behind, it’s something you actively protect,” Toliver said.

The future site of the museum is not far from the home that was built for Lee a couple of years ago on the same tree-lined corner lot that her family had been driven from by a racist mob when she was a young girl.

Lee was 12 when, on Juneteenth in 1939, a white mob of hundreds descended on her Black family’s home, days after they moved into a white neighborhood. The mob smashed windows and furniture, according to newspaper reports from the time.

Jarred Howard, the museum’s CEO, was among those who honored Lee on Wednesday.

“It was important for us to do this on this date because everything we’ve done for the last several years, everything we continue to do, is built around the spirit of the venerable Miss Opal Lee,” he said.

Isaias strengthened into a hurricane late Wednesday, and forecasters say it could make landfall late Friday or early Saturday somewhere along the Alabama-Mississippi-Florida coastlines before moving north. The storm could prompt schools to cancel games, change kickoff times or even move games to other locations. The Southwestern Athletic Conference moved Florida A&M’s game at Alabama State from Saturday to Friday morning.

Trump, who attended Texas' win over Tennessee in another Southeastern Conference game on Sept. 26, was asked Wednesday about the storm.

“I love Alabama. I’ve got to go to the game,” Trump responded.

Trump said he didn’t want to do “anything to take the focus” away from “all of the great people that work on those things,” including first responders and police, adding “We’ll have to see” about his travel plans.

Georgia and Alabama have not disclosed backup plans for the game scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. EDT in Tuscaloosa, 200 miles inland from the coast. Alabama issued a statement saying “at this time there are no plans to alter the contest” but officials at the school and the SEC will continue to monitor conditions. The SEC ultimately makes the decision.

“It’s uncertainty beyond my control,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I’m focused on trying to prepare our team and game plan and scheme.”

Smart said Georgia went through similar preparations last week with the threat of severe weather surrounding its game against Vanderbilt. The weather turned into a non-event in the Bulldogs’ 38-14 win.

“We had that same prep last week with the threat of those things,” he said. “You can’t really practice conditions. You can’t simulate them, so you’re much better off to educate, learn from the past of other people that have played in them, and prepare your team to play and not make it about that.”

The storm could trigger flash floods with dangerous winds, heavy rain and tornadoes. Events in Alabama have already been canceled. Alabama meteorologist James Spann told AL.com that moving the game to Sunday night would be the best choice.

Smart and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said they were being updated but didn't outline contingency plans.

“I’m not really involved in too much, just updated on kind of where things stand,” DeBoer said. “If there’s anything that would need to be adjusted, but you know, I haven’t heard anything recently.”

In 1988, Alabama postponed a Sept. 17 game at Texas A&M to December because of Hurricane Gilbert. Georgia's 2016 game at South Carolina was pushed to Sunday due to Hurricane Matthew while the LSU-Florida game that same Saturday was postponed to November.

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The officials unanimously agreed that inflation was still elevated and had not made much progress toward their 2% target in recent months, the minutes said. The Fed increased its key interest rate at the Sept. 15-16 meeting by a quarter-point to about 3.9%, its first increase in three years.

The increase defied President Donald Trump's repeated calls for the Fed to cut rates and prompted the president to criticize the Fed's rate-setting committee, though he still expressed support for Chairman Kevin Warsh, whom he appointed earlier this year. The rate increase comes as Americans are already struggling with high costs for groceries, gas and housing, and as affordability has taken on a leading role in the upcoming midterm elections, just seven weeks away.

Longer-term interest rates for mortgages and other borrowing have also jumped in the past few months for a range of reasons, including rising government debt, heavy borrowing by tech firms to finance data center construction, climbing oil and gas prices, and signs that growth and inflation remain elevated. The Fed's rate hike has likely played only a limited role in the increase.

Still, key policymakers have said since the meeting that the Fed can take some time to monitor the economy and the impact of last month's rate hike before making another move. Wall Street investors now forecast the Fed will keep its rate unchanged at its next meeting Oct. 28-29, according to futures pricing, and raise it when they meet in December.

Philip Jefferson, vice chair of the Fed’s board of governors, said last week that policymakers “will need to come to our own judgement, which may take more time.”

Inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, came in lower than many economists expected in August but remained elevated. Overall prices rose 3.4% compared with a year earlier, while core prices — which exclude volatile food and energy categories — increased 3%. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.3% from July to August, and core prices just 0.2%.

According to the minutes, even with the rise in longer-term rates, many officials said that financial conditions—which includes rising stock prices — “appeared to be supportive of economic growth,” a sign that more rate hikes may be needed to cool the economy.

Several policymakers said that they saw the Fed’s rate as too low to restrain the economy, or only acting as a mild restraint. That suggests they would support multiple rate hikes to rein in inflation.

Higher oil and gas prices stemming from the Iran war and the lingering effects of tariffs have lifted costs in recent months. But even excluding those trends, many Fed officials believe inflation is stuck between 2.5% and 3%, above its target. Spiking prices for semiconductors, computer equipment, and electrical components due to the rapid surge in data center construction have also played a big role in accelerating inflation.

The Fed lifted its key interest rate to about 3.9% at its Sept. 15-16 meeting, its first increase in three years. Higher rates are intended to slow borrowing and spending, cool the economy and bring down inflation.

Warsh emphasized after the announcement that the economy has shown signs of gathering speed since the central bank decided to keep rates unchanged in late July.

“The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long,” Warsh said at a news conference after last month’s meeting. “We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective clearly and at sufficient speed. Today the FOMC decided that this standard has not been satisfied,” he added, referring to the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, an arm of the Fed.

Trump criticized the committee for voting to raise rates, calling them “very political,” but he did not single out Warsh.

“They’re raising rates to make Trump do as bad as they can possibly do,” the president said.