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Authorities said they were tipped off that there were still RVs on their property, located at 15600 SW 212th Ave. in Miami-Dade County’s rural Redland area, and aerial surveillance on Jan. 20 showed it “was in substantially the same condition” as it was three years ago. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies executed a search warrant on the property two days later.

MDSO deputies went back to the property, which directly abuts the Everglades, on Tuesday to take the 47-year-old twins into custody on felony charges of willful disregard for the environment and willful disregard of water pollution laws.

According to arrest documents, their January search, “revealed multiple modular structures and RVs” connected to unapproved sewage treatment and disposal systems, “some of which contained overflow pipes and/or pumps to allow the liquid effluent to be piped into the surrounding wetlands.”

“There were pipes from two of the RVs that went directly into the wetlands without any storage, including one on the western portion of the premises that was leaking and pooling within the premises and was also being piped directly into the neighboring wetlands,” it states.

Deputies said they also found a pond on the property filled with algae overgrowth and “dead animals,” saying that “testing of the pond revealed very high levels of bacteria, and tested positive for E. coli.”

But, according to MDSO, that’s not all deputies found.

They said that investigators found four mares “in a small corral without access to water” or shelter and a pig “in an elevated crate without access to food or water” or the ability to exercise.

Because of that, Juan Gonzalez-Osorio is facing five additional counts of animal abandonment.

Records show they were being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bonds of $5,000 as of Wednesday. Juan Gonzalez-Osorio faces an additional $500 bond on the animal abandonment charge.

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Free agent guard Norman Powell has agreed to a two-year, $45 million contract with the Chicago Bulls, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Powell, 33, earned his first career NBA All-Star selection with Miami last season after averaging 21.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

Over the past two seasons, he averaged nearly 22 points per contest.

The move comes after Miami decided to lock up another key piece of their roster.

Charania also reported on Monday that forward Andrew Wiggins plans to remain in Miami by opting into the final year of his current contract for the 2026-27 season before signing a two-year, $64 million extension.

The new agreement would keep Wiggins, 31, with the Heat through the 2028-29 season.

Miami is also bringing back forward Simone Fontecchio on a one-year contract, according to Charania. The veteran shooter averaged 8.5 points per game while making 37.5% of his 3-point attempts last season.

In addition, the Heat announced last week that they have exercised their team option on guard Pelle Larsson.

Larsson, 35, appeared in 70 games during his second NBA season, averaging 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 26.4 minutes per game while shooting 49.6% from the field and 79.7% from the free-throw line.

The moves come after Miami acquired superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster trade that sent Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and multiple draft picks to Milwaukee.

El escolta agente libre Norman Powell acordó un contrato de dos años y $45 millones USD con los Chicago Bulls, según informó Shams Charania, de ESPN.

Powell, de 33 años, obtuvo la primera selección al Juego de Estrellas de la NBA de su carrera con Miami la temporada pasada, tras promediar 21.7 puntos, 3.5 rebotes y 2.5 asistencias por partido.

En las últimas dos temporadas, promedió casi 22 puntos por encuentro.

El movimiento se produce después de que Miami decidiera asegurar la continuidad de otra pieza clave de su plantilla.

Charania también informó el lunes que el alero Andrew Wiggins planea permanecer en Miami al ejercer la opción del último año de su contrato actual para la temporada 2026-27, antes de firmar una extensión de dos años y $64 millones USD.

El nuevo acuerdo mantendría a Wiggins, de 31 años, con el Heat hasta la temporada 2028-29.

Miami también traerá de regreso al alero Simone Fontecchio con un contrato de un año, según Charania. El veterano tirador promedió 8.5 puntos por partido, con un 37.5% de efectividad en tiros de tres puntos la temporada pasada.

Además, el Heat anunció la semana pasada que ejerció la opción del equipo sobre el escolta Pelle Larsson.

Larsson, de 35 años, disputó 70 partidos durante su segunda temporada en la NBA, con promedios de 11.4 puntos, 3.5 rebotes y 3.4 asistencias en 26.4 minutos por juego, además de lanzar para un 49.6% de efectividad en tiros de campo y un 79.7% desde la línea de tiros libres.

Estos movimientos se producen después de que Miami adquiriera a la superestrella Giannis Antetokounmpo procedente de los Milwaukee Bucks en un canje de gran impacto que envió a Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. y múltiples selecciones del draft a Milwaukee.

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After 16 single direct-knockout matches, the winning teams will advance to the tournament’s Round of 16, which begins on the Fourth of July.

Here is the list of the teams that have advanced to the Round of 16:

1. Canada, the Group B runner-up, qualified after a 1-0 victory on June 28 against Canada. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 1 p.m. on July 4 against Morocco.
2. Brazil, the Group C winner, qualified after a 2-0 victory on June 29 against Japan. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 4 p.m. on July 5 against Norway.
3. Paraguay, the third in Group D, qualified after a 1-1 draw that ended with a 4-3 victory on penalties against Germany on June 29. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 5 p.m. at Philadelphia Stadium.
4. Morocco, the Group C runner-up, qualified after a 1-1 draw that ended with a 3-2 victory on penalties against the Netherlands on June 30. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 1 p.m. on July 4 against Canada.
5. France, the Group I winner, qualified after a 3-0 victory again Sweden on July 1. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 5 p.m. on July 4 against Paraguay.
6. Norway, the Group I runner-up, qualified after a 2-1 victory against the Ivory Coast on July 1. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 4 p.m. on July 5 against Brazil.
7. Mexico, the Group A winner, qualified after a 2-0 victory against Ecuador on July 1. The team’s Round of 16 match is at 8 p.m. on July 5.

TRACK PROGRESS

• Round of 16 qualifications
• Eliminations during Round of 32
• Round of 32 teams
• View the knockout bracket

TOURNAMENT’S SCHEDULE

Round of 32 knock-out matches

July 1

• England vs. DR Congo is at noon at the Atlanta Stadium.
• Belgium vs. Senegal is at 4 p.m. at the Seattle Stadium.
• United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina is at 8 p.m. at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2

• Spain vs. Austria at 3 p.m. at Los Angeles Stadium
• Portugal vs. Croatia at 7 p.m. at the Toronto Stadium
• Switzerland vs. Algeria at 11 p.m. at BC Place Vancouver.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3

• Australia vs. Egypt is at 2 p.m. at the Dallas Stadium.
• Argentina vs. Cape Verde is at 6 p.m. at the Miami Stadium
• Colombia vs. Ghana is at 9:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Round of 16 begins

July 4

• Canada vs. Morocco is at 1 p.m. at the Houston Stadium
• Paraguay vs. France is at 5 p.m. at the Philadelphia Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 5

• Brazil vs. Norway at 4 p.m. at the New York/New Jersey Stadium
• Mexico at 8 p.m. at the Mexico City Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens for the last day from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 6: There are two matches at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

July 7: There are two matches at noon and 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin

July 9: There is a quarter-final match at 4 p.m.

July 10: There is a quarter-final match at 3 p.m.

July 11: There are two quarter-final matches at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 5 p.m. on July 11. Parking is free.

Semifinals begin

July 14: The fan festival is closed. There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 14 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

July 15: There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 15 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

Finals begin

July 18: The third-place play-off match is at 5 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 18 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 5 p.m. bronze final.

Sunrise ride to stadium: The Amerant Bank Arena has free parking for FIFA World Cup ticket holders who ride Broward County’s free Express bus transportation to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens.

July 19: The final match is at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 1 p.m. on July 19 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 3 p.m. final.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders for the final on July 19. Parking is free.

Tras 16 partidos individuales de eliminación directa, los equipos ganadores avanzarán a los octavos de final del torneo, que comienzan el 4 de julio.

Aquí está la lista de los equipos que han avanzado a los octavos de final:

1. Canadá , subcampeona del Grupo B , se clasificó tras una victoria por 1-0 el 28 de junio contra Canadá. Su partido de octavos de final se disputará el 4 de julio a la 13:00 contra Marruecos.
2. Brasil , ganador del Grupo C , se clasificó tras vencer a Japón por 2-0 el 29 de junio . Su partido de octavos de final se disputará el 5 de julio a las 16:00 contra Noruega.
3. Paraguay , tercero del Grupo D , se clasificó tras un empate 1-1 que culminó con una victoria por 4-3 en la tanda de penaltis contra Alemania el 29 de junio. El partido de octavos de final de la selección se disputará a las 17:00 en el Estadio Filadelfia.
4. Marruecos , subcampeón del Grupo C , se clasificó tras un empate 1-1 que culminó con una victoria por 3-2 en la tanda de penaltis contra los Países Bajos el 30 de junio. Su partido de octavos de final se disputará el 4 de julio a la 13:00 contra Canadá.
5. Francia , ganadora del Grupo I , se clasificó tras vencer a Suecia por 3-0 el 1 de julio. Su partido de octavos de final se disputará el 4 de julio a las 17:00 contra Paraguay.
6. Noruega , subcampeona del Grupo I , se clasificó tras vencer a Costa de Marfil por 2-1 el 1 de julio. Su partido de octavos de final se disputará el 5 de julio a las 16:00 contra Brasil.
7. México , ganador del Grupo A , se clasificó tras vencer a Ecuador por 2-0 el 1 de julio. Su partido de octavos de final se jugará el 5 de julio a las 20:00 horas.

SEGUIMIENTO DEL PROGRESO

• Octavos de final de clasificación
• Eliminaciones durante la Ronda de 32
• Equipos de la ronda de 32
• Consulta el cuadro de eliminatorias

CALENDARIO DEL TORNEO

Partidos de dieciseisavos de final

1 de julio

• El partido entre Inglaterra y la República Democrática del Congo se disputará al mediodía en el estadio de Atlanta.
• El partido entre Bélgica y Senegal se disputará a las 16:00 horas en el estadio de Seattle.
• El partido entre Estados Unidos y Bosnia y Herzegovina se jugará a las 8 pm en el Estadio del Área de la Bahía de San Francisco.

Eventos para ver el partido en Miami : El festival para fans abre de 11:00 a 23:00 en Bayfront Park, en 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

2 de julio

• España contra Austria a las 15:00 en el Estadio de Los Ángeles.
• Portugal contra Croacia a las 19:00 en el Estadio de Toronto.
• Suiza contra Argelia a las 23:00 en el BC Place de Vancouver.

Eventos para ver el partido en Miami : El festival para fans se celebra de 14:00 a 22:00 en Bayfront Park, en 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

3 de julio

• El partido entre Australia y Egipto se jugará a las 2 de la tarde en el estadio de Dallas.
• El partido Argentina vs Cabo Verde se jugará a las 6 pm en el Estadio de Miami.
• El partido Colombia vs Ghana se jugará a las 9:30 pm en el Estadio de Kansas City.

Eventos para ver el partido en Miami : El festival para fans se celebra de 13:00 a 21:00 en Bayfront Park, en 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Comienza la ronda de octavos de final.

4 de julio

• El partido entre Canadá y Marruecos se jugará a la 1 pm en el Estadio de Houston.
• Paraguay contra Francia se juega a las 5 pm en el Estadio de Filadelfia.

Fiestas para ver el partido en Miami : El festival para fans abre sus puertas desde el mediodía hasta la medianoche en Bayfront Park, en 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

5 de julio

• Brasil contra Noruega a las 4 pm en el Estadio de Nueva York/Nueva Jersey.
• México a las 8 pm en el Estadio de la Ciudad de México

Fiestas para ver el partido en Miami : El festival para fans abre sus puertas el último día de 15:00 a 23:00 en Bayfront Park, en 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

6 de julio : Hay dos partidos a las 15:00 y a las 20:00.

7 de julio : Hay dos partidos a las 12:00 y a las 16:00.

Comienzan los cuartos de final

9 de julio : Hay un partido de cuartos de final a las 16:00.

10 de julio : Hay un partido de cuartos de final a las 15:00.

11 de julio : Hay dos partidos de cuartos de final a las 17:00 y a las 21:00.

Fiesta para ver el partido al amanecer : El Amerant Bank Arena, un recinto cubierto, organiza una fiesta gratuita para ver el partido a las 17:00 horas del 11 de julio para quienes tengan entrada . El aparcamiento es gratuito.

Comienzan las semifinales

14 de julio : El festival de aficionados ha finalizado. Hay un partido de semifinales a las 15:00.

Fiesta para ver el partido en Miami Beach: Las puertas se abren a las 3 pm del 14 de julio en The Bandshell, en 7275 Collins Ave., para el partido de semifinales.

15 de julio : Hay un partido de semifinales a las 15:00.

Fiesta para ver el partido en Miami Beach: Las puertas se abren a las 3 pm del 15 de julio en The Bandshell, en 7275 Collins Ave., para el partido de semifinales.

Comienzan las finales

18 de julio : El partido por el tercer puesto se jugará a las 17:00.

Fiesta para ver la final en Miami Beach: Las puertas se abren a las 3 pm del 18 de julio en The Sandbowl, detrás de The Bandshell, en 7275 Collins Ave., para la final de bronce de las 5 pm.

Viaje al amanecer al estadio : El Amerant Bank Arena ofrece estacionamiento gratuito para los poseedores de entradas para la Copa Mundial de la FIFA que utilicen el servicio de autobús exprés gratuito del condado de Broward para llegar al Miami Stadium, también conocido como Hard Rock, en Miami Gardens.

19 de julio : El partido final es a las 15:00.

Fiesta para ver la final en Miami Beach: Las puertas se abren a la 1 pm del 19 de julio en The Sandbowl, detrás de The Bandshell, en 7275 Collins Ave., para la final que comienza a las 3 pm.

Fiesta para ver el partido al amanecer : El Amerant Bank Arena, un recinto cubierto, organiza una fiesta gratuita para ver la final el 19 de julio para los poseedores de entradas . El estacionamiento es gratuito.

En el balotaje con la segunda diferencia más estrecha de las últimas tres décadas, fue electo el conservador Abelardo de la Espriella, un férreo opositor a Petro que promete dar un vuelco en la agenda política progresista que dominó en los últimos cuatro años.

“Es una derrota significativa para Petro porque la campaña se presidencializó... seguramente si Petro no se hubiese metido en la campaña el chance de Cepeda hubiera podido ser mayor”, aseguró a The Associated Press el consultor en comunicación política Carlos Arias Orjuela.

Petro, como presidente en funciones, no podía hacer proselitismo, según las leyes electorales. Sin embargo, durante la campaña fue cuestionado por su presunta participación indebida en política tras referirse a los candidatos en redes sociales.

Para Arias Orjuela fue clave en la derrota que Petro desconociera el conteo preliminar de la Registraduría en la primera vuelta presidencial —y sugiriera que había habido irregularidades sin mostrar pruebas— porque terminó por “generar más miedo en la campaña”.

El “antipetrismo”

Cuando Petro, exmilitante guerrillero, fue elegido presidente en 2022 lo hizo derrotando la resistencia que tenía un país tradicionalmente inclinado por gobiernos conservadores o moderados.

Petro ha defendido que su gobierno le cumplió al “pueblo” al reducir la pobreza al 28%, la cifra más baja desde 2012 según el último dato oficial disponible para 2025. También al sacar adelante reformas al sistema laboral y de pensiones con beneficios para los trabajadores.

Pero Cepeda, quien prometía continuar y profundizar la agenda de Petro, tuvo que lidiar con los cuestionamientos al gobierno, especialmente a la política de “paz total” de Petro que impulsó diálogos paralelos con grupos armados ilegales y que sólo logró desarmar a un centenar entre miles.

“La elección se convirtió en un referendo sobre el gobierno Petro, es decir, la candidatura de Cepeda no logró la autonomía que lo desligara de los errores del gobierno en temas muy sensibles para la gente”, aseguró a AP la senadora Jennifer Pedraza, quien ha sido independiente en el gobierno Petro y votó por Cepeda en el balotaje.

A pocos días de la segunda vuelta presidencial Cepeda intentó eludir una de las críticas más fuertes al gobierno de Petro al desmontar el proceso ciudadano que buscaba convocar una Asamblea Nacional Constituyente para modificar la carta magna. Pero se trató de una decisión tardía que no logró convencer a los más moderados, especialmente luego de que Petro prometiera en el pasado que no promovería una constituyente, explicó Yann Basset, profesor de Ciencia Política de la Universidad del Rosario.

La campaña digital

Arias Orjuela resaltó que De la Espriella apostó a una “campaña digital poderosa” con imágenes de “El Tigre”, como se apoda, algunas generadas con inteligencia artificial y moviendo emociones con propuestas concisas como la de mano dura contra los grupos armados ilegales y los narcotraficantes.

Mientras tanto, Cepeda dio prioridad a los discursos leídos en plazas públicas y a los recorridos por los territorios, asegurando que su campaña sería austera y tranquila.

Cepeda decidió “hablarle a una audiencia del siglo XXI con fórmulas del siglo XX”, explicó a AP Manuel Camilo González, profesor del Departamento de Relaciones Internacionales de la Universidad Javeriana. Mientras la campaña de De la Espriella fue efectiva al llegar a sus electores a través de uis teléfonos celulares.

“La idea del partido político es una idea que está empezando a ser sobrevalorada, quedó en el siglo pasado. Ahora las redes sociales le permiten al candidato aquello que antes daba un partido. Eso lo entendió muy tarde la campaña de Cepeda”, indicó González.

Sin embargo, Cepeda ha señalado que su derrota estuvo ligada a la “abierta interferencia” del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, quien respaldó a De la Espriella, en el proceso electoral. “Él mismo (Trump) afirmó que fue definitiva para la elección de su candidato en Colombia”, indicó el martes a la prensa.

Las autoridades informaron que recibieron una denuncia de que todavía había vehículos recreativos en su propiedad, ubicada en el 15600 de la avenida Southwest 212, en la zona rural de Redland, en el condado Miami-Dade, y que una vigilancia aérea realizada el 20 de enero mostró que “estaba prácticamente en las mismas condiciones” que hacía tres años. Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade ejecutaron una orden de allanamiento en la propiedad dos días después.

Los agentes de la MDSO regresaron el martes a la propiedad, que colinda directamente con los Everglades, para arrestar a los hermanos gemelos de 47 años por cargos de delitos graves de desprecio deliberado por el medio ambiente y desacato deliberado a las leyes de contaminación del agua.

Según los documentos de arresto, el allanamiento realizado en enero “reveló múltiples estructuras modulares y vehículos recreativos” conectados a sistemas no autorizados de tratamiento y eliminación de aguas residuales, “algunos de los cuales contenían tuberías de desbordamiento y/o bombas que permitían canalizar el efluente líquido hacia los humedales circundantes”.

“Había tuberías de dos de los vehículos recreativos que iban directamente a los humedales sin ningún sistema de almacenamiento, incluida una en la parte oeste de la propiedad que tenía una fuga y estaba formando acumulaciones dentro del terreno, además de descargar directamente en los humedales vecinos”, indica el informe.

Los agentes informaron que también encontraron un estanque en la propiedad cubierto por una proliferación de algas y con “animales muertos”, y señalaron que “las pruebas realizadas al estanque revelaron niveles muy altos de bacterias y dieron positivo para E. coli”.

Pero, según la MDSO, eso no fue todo lo que encontraron los agentes.

Indicaron que los investigadores encontraron cuatro yeguas “en un corral pequeño sin acceso a agua” ni refugio, y un cerdo “en una jaula elevada sin acceso a comida ni agua” ni posibilidad de ejercitarse.

Por ello, Juan Gonzalez-Osorio enfrenta cinco cargos adicionales por abandono de animales.

Mark Sherman has covered the Supreme Court for The Associated Press for 20 years during some of the most momentous decisions in history. He retired on Tuesday, the last day of the court term, and reflects on his experience. He has witnessed how by both happenstance and design the court has moved to the ideological right.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

At the end of my first term covering the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer departed from his prepared remarks to offer a sharp courtroom rebuke of his conservative colleagues.

“It is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much,” Breyer said, dissenting in a school integration case.

The moment was instructive to me as a new reporter on the Supreme Court beat. It encapsulated a term in which a new conservative majority had prevailed in one 5-4 case after another. But more than that, it was a very human reaction from a frustrated justice whose black robe was meant to convey a certain dull sobriety.

I would be on the lookout for such departures for the rest of my 20 years at the court.

In that time, almost by happenstance more than design, the court has marched to the ideological right. Unexpected vacancies, brute force political maneuvers and the rise of Donald Trump all combined to give the court a conservative supermajority, and with that change the direction of the country.

The Supreme Court has marched to the right

When I started covering the Supreme Court in 2006, the center of gravity had just shifted slightly to the right, from Sandra Day O’Connor to Anthony Kennedy.

Together they had helped preserve abortion rights in 1992, then been part of a five-justice majority to insure George W. Bush’s election in 2000 in Bush v. Gore.

Kennedy is lionized in some quarters for his opinions in favor of gay rights, including the landmark decision that declared same-sex marriage a constitutional right. In different settings, it’s his majority opinion in Citizens United that comes in for high praise, which enabled a flood of independent spending in political campaigns.

Scalia’s unexpected death presented Democrats with an opportunity. Republicans blocked them

But a larger change was afoot. It started when Antonin Scalia died suddenly of a heart attack, in February 2016.

Liberals salivated at the prospect of a court that might pivot left, rolling back gun rights and reimposing campaign finance limits that had recently been overturned.

Certainly abortion and affirmative action would be safe, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg assured me when we spoke that summer.

Sitting across from me in her court office filled with modern art and mementos, Ginsburg seemed confident that the next occupant of the White House would be a woman, Democrat Hillary Clinton. The next president, “whoever she may be,” Ginsburg said, might get to fill three vacancies, not just Scalia’s seat. At least two other justices in their 80s or nearing that milestone might retire, herself included.

I broke the spell. What if Clinton were to lose, I asked. “I don’t want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs,” she said.

Ginsburg was more right than wrong. She was incorrect about the outcome. Clinton lost the election, in part because of conservative voters’ worries about the future of the Supreme Court.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader at the time, had maneuvered to keep Scalia’s seat open until after the election, even after Obama nominated the well-respected federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland, who had previously won broad bipartisan support.

But she nailed just about everything else. The next president, Donald Trump, did appoint three justices. And everything was on the table, including abortion and affirmative action.

Instead of writing about a new liberal court majority, one on which more moderate justices like Breyer and Elena Kagan would play decisive roles, I have reported on the triumph of the conservative legal project, decades in the making, and to the great satisfaction of Republicans who wanted to reverse liberal rulings from previous decades.

Lifetime tenure gives justices a say in who succeeds them

It has become commonplace for justices to time their retirements so that they can be replaced by someone with the same judicial philosophy.

Ginsburg, having decided to remain on the court, died less than two months before the 2020 election and her deathbed wish that her seat not be filled before then was ignored.

The last two justices who retired, Anthony Kennedy, appointed by Ronald Reagan and Stephen Breyer, appointed by Bill Clinton, were replaced by people who once served as their law clerks.

It’s not a criticism of Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson, each with a sterling legal resume. Instead, it’s telling that the effort to coax a justice into retirement might be more likely to succeed if a former clerk is in the running for the seat.

The country accepts that the direction of the court turns not just on who the president is, but the late-in-life decisions of the justices themselves.

Justices object to being described as political

There are no Trump judges or Obama judges, only an independent judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts told me several years ago after I asked whether he’d have any comment on President Donald Trump’s criticism of an “Obama judge.”

Roberts was right in one respect. Judges, justices included, don’t vote robotically in favor of the president who appointed them. In just one example, two Trump-appointed justices voted against the president’s unilateral, global tariffs, for which Trump criticized them in harsh, personal terms.

But Trump clearly was right, too. In this era, presidents nominate justices because their records show they can be counted on.

Since 2010, the conservative justices all have been appointed by Republican presidents. The liberals, by Democrats. The consistent message from both sides is that too much is at stake to risk a selection mistake.

Would you mind snapping a photo, a tourist in front of the Supreme Court once asked Justice Anthony Kennedy?

One of the advantages of zealously keeping cameras from the courtroom is how little known most justices are. Some of that has changed as seven of the nine justices have written or are writing books which they then go on tour to promote. They have collectively earned millions of dollars.

It’s remarkable how unobtrusively justices used to move around town. It was not uncommon to run into Ginsburg and her family at a movie or a play, see Thomas making his way to and from Mass most mornings, bump into Kagan at a supermarket or get in line behind Sotomayor at a weekend farmer’s market on Capitol Hill.

The justices drove themselves to work most days. Scalia once got a traffic ticket for a minor fender-bender on his way into work.

Early in my time in Washington, I recall walking past the court and seeing a Volkswagen with New Hampshire plates parked on Maryland Avenue. The dry cleaning lying in the back erased any doubt about whose car it was. “Souter,” the label said, as in Justice David Souter of New Hampshire.

Security concerns have grown exponentially over the years. By the time Kavanaugh joined the court, security was much tighter. Federal agents were stationed outside Kavanaugh's house in suburban Maryland when a would-be attacker armed with a pistol, knife and zip ties showed up there late one night in 2022 and eventually pleaded guilty to trying to assassinate the justice.

Covering the court has changed dramatically

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt strongly that the world, as it were, was waiting for my assessment of what had happened in the courtroom on any given morning. I was among a handful of reporters who hurried downstairs after arguments ended to bat out a first take on where the court appeared to be headed in its biggest cases.

News organizations regularly asked for live access to big arguments and the response was always, No. Then the pandemic shut down the world and institutions scrambled to figure out how to cope. For the court, that meant remote argument sessions, with no choice but to allow the public to listen in, live.

That experiment produced the occasional embarrassing moment, including an audible and unexplained toilet flush. But mostly it worked, and Americans could hear the court in action. Even when the justices returned to the courtroom in 2021, the livestream remained.

Selfishly, my coverage feels less vital because anyone who cares can listen and assess what is being said. Decisions post quickly to the court's website. No one is hanging on my words.

The growth of emergency appeals also has changed covering the court, and not for the better. In years past, I could know from a glance at the calendar when I’d be very busy. But emergency appeals can pop up any time (and did with alarming frequency during Trump’s second term) and decisions on those appeals also could come at any time, during the regular workday or even after midnight.

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Authorities said Milagros De La Caridad Navarro, 35, was arrested Tuesday by the Miami Gardens Police Department after surrendering herself in connection with the Feb. 22 shooting.

According to an arrest report, officers responded to the 100 block of Northwest 202nd Terrace just after 1 a.m. on that day after receiving reports about a shooting.

Miami Gardens police said they were notified about 30 minutes later that a gunshot victim had arrived at HCA Florida Aventura Hospital.

The report states the driver who took the victim to the hospital told officers she was unfamiliar with the area because she was visiting from Georgia.

The driver said she heard multiple gunshots while driving before realizing her mother-in-law had been struck and then took her to the nearest hospital, according to the report.

The driver told investigators she did not know who was responsible for the shooting, the report states.

Investigators said they later interviewed the victim after her breathing tube was removed.

According to the report, the victim had difficulty speaking and recalling the events, but remembered leaving Hollywood Beach with another woman, returning home to shower and cook, and later leaving a home where a woman identified as “Caridad” had been present.

The report states that the victim told detectives her next memory was waking up in the hospital.

Police said the investigation included witness interviews, photo lineups and surveillance video.

According to the report, a witness identified Navarro during a photo lineup conducted on March 3. Another witness later identified Navarro in a separate lineup after telling investigators she had left her home in Navarro’s care while she was away, the report states.

Detectives also obtained surveillance video from a neighbor that, according to the arrest report, showed Navarro “shooting multiple shots in the direction of the victim.”

Investigators said a separate witness later told investigators that she saw Navarro pulling a handgun from a black fanny pack before the group got into a vehicle. They said that witness claimed she did not see the gun being fired, but saw Navarro holding the gun in her right hand as they drove away.

Jail records show Navarro is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated battery with a weapon causing great bodily harm.

As of Wednesday, Navarro was being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

A motive for the shooting remains unclear at this time.

The four-time Emmy Award nominee, who turns 80 on July 22, told “Today” and People magazine that he was diagnosed with the progressive, memory-destroying disease three years ago.

“I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” he told People magazine. “There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I’ll never forget.”

More than 6 million people in the United States and millions more around the world have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

Glover earned four Emmy Award nominations and an honorary Oscar in 2022. Other awards came from the NAACP and Black Entertainment Television, and he received nominations from the Screen Actors Guild.

Glover also served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program from 1998 to 2004. It focuses on poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Las autoridades informaron que Milagros De La Caridad Navarro, de 35 años, fue arrestada el martes por el Departamento de Policía de Miami Gardens después de entregarse en relación con la balacera del 22 de febrero.

Según el informe de arresto, los agentes respondieron a la cuadra 100 de Northwest 202nd Terrace poco después de la 1 a.m. de ese día tras recibir reportes sobre una balacera.

La Policía de Miami Gardens informó que aproximadamente 30 minutos después fue notificada de que una víctima de un disparo había llegado al Hospital HCA Florida Aventura.

El informe indica que la conductora que llevó a la víctima al hospital les dijo a los agentes que no conocía el área porque estaba de visita desde Georgia.

La conductora dijo que escuchó múltiples disparos mientras conducía antes de darse cuenta de que su suegra había sido alcanzada por un disparo y luego la llevó al hospital más cercano, según el informe.

La conductora les dijo a los investigadores que no sabía quién era responsable de la balacera, según el informe.

Los investigadores informaron que posteriormente entrevistaron a la víctima después de que le retiraran el tubo de respiración.

Según el informe, la víctima tenía dificultades para hablar y recordar los hechos, pero recordó haber salido de Hollywood Beach con otra mujer, regresar a casa para bañarse y cocinar, y posteriormente salir de una vivienda donde estaba presente una mujer identificada como “Caridad”.

El informe indica que la víctima les dijo a los detectives que su siguiente recuerdo fue despertar en el hospital.

La Policía informó que la investigación incluyó entrevistas con testigos, ruedas de reconocimiento fotográfico y videos de vigilancia.

Según el informe, un testigo identificó a Navarro durante una rueda de reconocimiento fotográfico realizada el 3 de marzo. Posteriormente, otro testigo identificó a Navarro en una rueda de reconocimiento distinta después de decirles a los investigadores que había dejado su casa al cuidado de Navarro mientras estaba fuera, según el informe.

Los detectives también obtuvieron un video de vigilancia de un vecino que, según el informe de arresto, muestra a Navarro “disparando múltiples veces en dirección de la víctima”.

Los investigadores informaron que otro testigo les dijo posteriormente que vio a Navarro sacar una pistola de una riñonera negra antes de que el grupo subiera a un vehículo. Indicaron que ese testigo afirmó que no vio cuando se disparó el arma, pero sí vio a Navarro sosteniendo la pistola en la mano derecha mientras se alejaban en el vehículo.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Navarro enfrenta dos cargos de agresión agravada con un arma mortal y un cargo de agresión agravada con un arma que causó lesiones corporales graves.

Hasta el miércoles, Navarro permanecía detenida sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Por el momento, el motivo de la balacera sigue sin estar claro.

Powell has agreed to a two-year deal that could be worth up to $45 million with the Chicago Bulls, a person with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. Powell also had received some interest from the Detroit Pistons, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract cannot be finalized until July 6 at the earliest.

ESPN and Chicago Sports Network were among those who first reported the agreement between Powell and the Bulls, who will hold a team option for 2027-28. Powell spent this past season in Miami, where he became an All-Star for the first time and averaged 21.7 points in 58 games with the Heat.

Miami will have a very different look this coming season, after the acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade that sent Tyler Herro and others to Milwaukee. Powell will be joining his fifth team, after past stints with Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto and the Heat.

All-Stars on the move

Powell is among five — and there likely will be more — All-Star selections from 2026 alone to be on the move this offseason.

He joins Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee to Miami), Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Ingram (the headliners of a trade that brings Leonard back to Toronto and sends Ingram to the Los Angeles Clippers), and LeBron James (who is leaving the Los Angeles Lakers for a yet-to-be-decided team).

Of the 62 players with at least one All-Star selection in the last five years, just over half — 32 of them — have changed teams at least once in that span.

Nikola Vucevic returns to Orlando

Nikola Vucevic is headed back to the Orlando Magic, agreeing on a one-year deal for just under $4 million, a person with knowledge of those talks confirmed.

Vucevic is second all-time on the Magic list in rebounds, third in points and fourth in games played. The 35-year-old center has been in the league for 15 seasons, nine of those with Orlando — and now joins a young core led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

Orlando needed another post option after losing Moritz Wagner in free agency to Brooklyn — and Vucevic, who still has a home in central Florida, was the natural fit.

Moritz Wagner, the brother of Franz Wagner, is signing a two-year deal with the Nets.

Vucevic averaged 15.1 points this past season for Chicago and Boston.

Marcus Smart to Houston

Marcus Smart, the NBA's defensive player of the year in 2022, is about to join his fourth team in a span of 17 months after agreeing with the Houston Rockets on a two-year deal worth about $12.7 million, a person with knowledge of those talks told the AP.

Smart was with Memphis as recently as February 2025, then was sent to Washington to complete that season and spent this past season with the Lakers.

He averaged 9.3 points and started 54 games for the Lakers in 2025-26.

John Collins to Detroit

Forward John Collins is changing teams again, after agreeing to a three-year contract with the Pistons, a person with knowledge of those negotiations told the AP.

ESPN reported the deal is worth $51 million.

The Pistons will be Collins' third team in as many seasons. He started his career in Atlanta, then spent two seasons in Utah (until 2024-25) and played for the Clippers last season.

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

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First off, the Main Development Region of the tropical Atlantic – where most our strongest hurricanes form during the season – just recorded its coolest June in 5 years.

The warmth of the eastern part of the Main Development Region – the band of waters between Africa and the Caribbean – is one of our most reliable predictors for seasonal hurricane activity. The cooler the waters, the lower tropical activity we should expect.

While waters here are still slightly above the 30-year average, the trend is down, and the easterly trade winds – prevailing winds that blow from Africa toward the Caribbean throughout the year – that help to regulate the Atlantic’s temperature are forecast to be much stronger than average through at least mid-July. The stronger east-to-west flowing winds mix up the Atlantic and cool it, so I don’t see the Atlantic rebounding to a warmer place as August approaches.

The other bellwether we look to in July for what the cards might hold for August and September is the amount of wind shear through the Caribbean Sea. While wind shear – the change in wind strength and direction with altitude – doesn’t tell us much in June, come July it tends to be one of our best predictors for future hurricane activity.

For June, shear was running well above average, but more importantly, the trend for above-average wind shear across the Caribbean is headed even higher for July courtesy of an increasingly strong El Nino in the eastern Pacific.

Higher wind shear suggests would-be storms will have a tougher time organizing, and it’s the Caribbean and western Atlantic that are most affected during El Niño years like this one.

Lastly, we look to global upper-air patterns to assess the health of the Atlantic basin. One of the telltale signs of a healthy Atlantic are global circulation patterns supporting rising air over the North Indian Ocean and sinking air over the eastern and central Pacific. This year, we have the exact opposite pattern, with impressive subsidence, or sinking air, centered squarely over the North Indian Ocean, and reams of rising air over the Pacific, indicating things just aren’t right in the Atlantic.

The upshot is the tropical Atlantic isn’t looking ripe for a big storm season. That of course doesn’t mean we can’t (and won’t) see strong hurricanes this year, but they’ll be fewer and have a much tougher time than in any year since at least 2015. We’ll be looking more to the subtropics – the region to the north of the traditional tropical belt that runs from Africa through the Caribbean – for activity this season than in seasons of the recent past. We’ll also not want to sleep on the Gulf, which is running well above average, for tropical seedlings that might slip through the shear-laced cracks this fall.

But for now, the Atlantic is fast asleep. The low pressure area we’ve been tracking off the Carolina coast is nothing but an innocuous low-level cloud swirl absent any thunderstorms, and development isn’t expected anywhere across the Atlantic basin for at least the first few weeks of July.

Otros sobrevivientes del terremoto en Venezuela también esperan.

Ellos, como otros en todo el estado norteño de La Guaira, tienen la misma pregunta: ¿quién está al mando? El gobierno, que se autodefine como socialista y durante mucho tiempo se enorgulleció de ser protector y proveedor, no ha sido ni lo uno ni lo otro cuando más importaba, dijeron muchos.

Los potentes terremotos consecutivos del 24 de junio han puesto en primer plano la incapacidad del partido que ha gobernado el país durante 27 años, ahora con la presidenta interina Delcy Rodríguez al frente, para llevar a cabo funciones básicas del Estado.

“Nos sentimos abandonados”, dijo Mundrain el martes, sentada en una silla en la calle frente a lo que quedaba del edificio de 11 pisos que alguna vez fue su hogar. “Nos sentimos desamparados. Lo que hemos visto es una falta de organización, de empatía, de todo”.

En las críticas 72 horas posteriores a que edificios residenciales, locales de comida, farmacias, hoteles y tiendas de conveniencia se derrumbaran en el estado de La Guaira, Caracas y regiones aledañas, la respuesta sobre el terreno se centró, principalmente, en dirigir el tráfico, con agentes de policía, de inteligencia y miembros de las fuerzas armadas apostados en las intersecciones.

Los residentes asumen tareas de rescate y recuperación ante el fracaso del gobierno

Los civiles, en su mayoría solos y algunos con ayuda de rescatistas extranjeros, buscaban a sus seres queridos entre montones de escombros. Las ambulancias quedaron atrapadas en atascos de tráfico de varios kilómetros (millas) de longitud. Los hospitales carecían de suministros y de personal. El personal de emergencia respondió con poco o ningún equipo.

Una semana después, muchos residentes de comunidades costeras de La Guaira atribuían la mayoría de los rescates y recuperaciones a otros venezolanos y a equipos extranjeros con conocimientos y dispositivos como cámaras térmicas y detectores de sonido, además de perros entrenados. También señalaron que, mientras civiles y rescatistas extranjeros trabajaban, hombres y mujeres con uniformes venezolanos se quedaban mirando y trabajadores del Estado se tomaban selfis.

El profesor David Smilde, de la Universidad de Tulane, que ha estudiado Venezuela durante tres décadas, dijo que la tragedia ha dejado claro que la impactante captura del 3 de enero del entonces presidente Nicolás Maduro por fuerzas de Estados Unidos no fue un hecho aislado “en el que el Estado venezolano no fue capaz de defenderse en absoluto”.

“Tampoco puede hacer algo tan básico como empezar a excavar para sacar a la gente”, señaló, y añadió que eso debería ser un motivo de preocupación para Rodríguez, quien asumió el cargo después de que Maduro fuera depuesto y trasladado a Nueva York para enfrentar cargos de narcotráfico.

Smilde dijo que la pésima respuesta está vinculada a la enorme cantidad de personas que han abandonado el sector público debido a los salarios extremadamente bajos, así como a la corrupción, como la de muchas personas que figuran en la nómina del gobierno pero que no han trabajado en meses o años. En un gobierno funcional, agregó, las personas tienen deberes específicos para diseñar protocolos donde se detallen los procedimientos en caso de emergencias, incluidos los terremotos.

“Es como intentar tener un equipo de béisbol con tres personas en el campo. No sabes quién va a ser el lanzador, quién va a estar como receptor y quién va a ser jardinero”, dijo, refiriéndose a la falta de organización del gobierno.

La riqueza y las conexiones con el gobierno hacen que solo algunos reciban ayuda

La riqueza y las conexiones con el gobierno también influyeron en la respuesta oficial, y algunos lugares recibieron un trato preferencial.

Cuando muchos policías y estudiantes de una escuela militar llegaron a un edificio derrumbado, la gente dedujo acertadamente que allí debían haber vivido funcionarios o personas con conexiones políticas. En efecto, los policías de un estado vecino buscaban a un capitán, mientras que los estudiantes y algunos miembros de la Guardia Nacional esperaban localizar a un mayor general.

Una grúa telescópica, como la que Mundrain necesita para recuperar a su familia, estuvo estacionada durante varias horas en lo que era la entrada de ese edificio. Los familiares de las familias acomodadas que vivían allí pudieron alquilarla. Mundrain no puede.

“Yo creo que, si en cada uno de estos apartamentos hubiera alguien con posición, aquí estuviese una máquina trabajando como lo han hecho en otras residencias”, afirmó Mundrain, señalando su edificio.

La indignación de la gente por la respuesta también ha provocado altercados entre residentes y operadores de maquinaria. En un caso, cuando una excavadora proporcionada por el gobierno intentó abandonar el lugar de un edificio de vivienda pública aplastado, la gente bloqueó el tráfico para mantenerla allí e incluso sacó al operador de la cabina.

El gobierno ha informado que 1.943 personas murieron y más de 10.500 resultaron heridas en los terremotos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 ocurridos el 24 de junio. Se ha reportado que miles de personas más están desaparecidas.

El martes, los rescatistas seguían liberando a algunos sobrevivientes de entre montañas de escombros, ofreciendo a las angustiadas familias una pizca de esperanza, aun cuando la probabilidad de encontrar personas con vida disminuía con cada hora que pasaba. Las primeras 48 a 72 horas después de un desastre natural son cruciales para las labores de rescate, aunque la supervivencia puede prolongarse si las personas tienen acceso a comida y agua.

El electricista Daniel Castillo pudo sacar con vida a su madre y a su hijo de su apartamento en el segundo piso de un edificio de vivienda pública que se derrumbó en La Guaira, apenas unas horas después de que se produjera el terremoto. El cuerpo de su hermano permaneció enterrado un día más, hasta que pudo llegar a él.

El martes, Castillo criticó la respuesta del gobierno mientras esperaba en una fila para recibir gratis una bolsa de productos de higiene, incluidos papel higiénico y jabón, en una carpa atendida por las fuerzas armadas venezolanas.

“Tú los guardias los ves y los uniformes intachables, nada sucios”, señaló Castillo, contrastando a miembros de la Guardia Nacional de Venezuela con civiles y rescatistas extranjeros cubiertos de polvo que han excavado entre los escombros durante días. “El gobierno no hizo nada”.

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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.

En primer lugar, la principal región de desarrollo del Atlántico tropical, donde se forman la mayoría de nuestros huracanes más fuertes durante la temporada, acaba de registrar el mes de junio más frío en 5 años.

La temperatura cálida de la parte oriental de la Región Principal de Desarrollo —la franja de aguas entre África y el Caribe— es uno de los indicadores más fiables de la actividad ciclónica estacional. Cuanto más frías sean las aguas, menor será la actividad tropical que cabe esperar.

Si bien las aguas en esta zona aún se encuentran ligeramente por encima del promedio de los últimos 30 años, la tendencia es a la baja, y se prevé que los vientos alisios del este —los vientos predominantes que soplan desde África hacia el Caribe durante todo el año—, que ayudan a regular la temperatura del Atlántico, sean mucho más fuertes de lo normal al menos hasta mediados de julio. Estos vientos más fuertes, que fluyen de este a oeste, remueven el Atlántico y lo enfrían, por lo que no creo que el Atlántico vuelva a calentarse a medida que se acerca agosto.

Otro indicador clave que consideramos en julio para predecir lo que nos depara agosto y septiembre es la intensidad de la cizalladura del viento en el mar Caribe. Si bien la cizalladura del viento —el cambio en la fuerza y ​​dirección del viento con la altitud— no nos aporta mucha información en junio, en julio suele ser uno de nuestros mejores predictores de la actividad de huracanes en el futuro.

En junio, la cizalladura del viento se situó muy por encima de la media, pero, lo que es más importante, la tendencia a una cizalladura del viento superior a la media en el Caribe se intensificará aún más en julio gracias a un fenómeno de El Niño cada vez más fuerte en el Pacífico oriental.

Una mayor cizalladura del viento sugiere que las posibles tormentas tendrán más dificultades para organizarse, y son el Caribe y el Atlántico occidental las zonas más afectadas durante los años de El Niño como este.

Por último, analizamos los patrones globales de la atmósfera superior para evaluar la salud de la cuenca del Atlántico. Uno de los indicadores clave de un Atlántico saludable son los patrones de circulación global que favorecen el ascenso del aire sobre el norte del océano Índico y el descenso del aire sobre el Pacífico oriental y central. Este año, observamos el patrón opuesto, con un descenso del aire notable, centrado directamente sobre el norte del océano Índico, y un gran flujo de aire ascendente sobre el Pacífico, lo que indica que algo no anda bien en el Atlántico.

En resumen, el Atlántico tropical no parece estar en condiciones óptimas para una gran temporada de tormentas. Esto, por supuesto, no significa que no podamos (ni vayamos a) ver huracanes fuertes este año, pero serán menos numerosos y tendrán mucha más dificultad que en cualquier año desde al menos 2015. Esta temporada, la actividad se concentrará más en las zonas subtropicales —la región al norte del cinturón tropical tradicional que se extiende desde África hasta el Caribe— que en temporadas recientes. Tampoco debemos subestimar el Golfo de México, cuyas precipitaciones están muy por encima del promedio, ya que podría haber plántulas tropicales que se filtren entre las zonas afectadas este otoño.

Pero por ahora, el Atlántico está en calma. La zona de baja presión que hemos estado siguiendo frente a la costa de Carolina no es más que un inofensivo remolino de nubes bajas sin tormentas eléctricas, y no se espera que se desarrolle en ninguna parte de la cuenca del Atlántico durante al menos las primeras semanas de julio.

Anthropic said Tuesday night that its AI model called Claude Fable 5 is now widely available. It's also restoring access to its most powerful model, Mythos 5, but only to a select group of U.S.-based organizations approved by the federal government.

The Commerce Department blocked foreign nationals from using both AI models on June 12, a move that San Francisco-based Anthropic said forced the company to immediately take the products down for all users just days after it unveiled them.

Anthropic said in a blog post this week that the government's concerns were sparked by a report from cybersecurity researchers at Amazon, Anthropic's primary cloud computing provider. The company “had found a method of bypassing Fable 5’s safeguards” that enabled it to discover and potentially exploit software vulnerabilities, Anthropic said.

Officials have grown increasingly concerned since Anthropic warned earlier this year that its Mythos model was adept at finding software flaws in a way that could be weaponized by malicious hackers and threaten critical computer networks around the world.

Anthropic's chief rival, ChatGPT maker OpenAI, also said Friday it is restricting the release of its new artificial intelligence model at the request of President Donald Trump’s administration.

OpenAI said its new AI product, called GPT-5.6 Sol, would be accessible only to a select group of government-approved customers for a temporary period.

Trump last month signed an executive order on AI oversight that established a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to 30 days before their public release. The order described participation by AI developers as voluntary, but the framework has not yet been fully developed.

“We are profoundly sad to announce the death of Victor Willis, lead singer of Village People," the group posted on its official Facebook page. The cause was identified as “a short but aggressive illness.”

Willis was a musician-actor who, among other things, had appeared on Broadway in “The Wiz” when he decided to cash in on the disco craze in 1977 by joining a group made up of beefy, macho-looking guys dressed as a biker, a construction worker, a cop, a cowboy and a Native American chief.

With producer Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, Morali’s business partner, Willis founded the six-member Village People. The idea came to them while partying at an after-hours gay nightclub in the West Village of Manhattan. The group’s self-titled debut album was released in 1977.

In 1978, the group released two albums, “Macho Man” and “Cruisin’” — which featured the international hit “Y.M.C.A.,” a song that peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard chart. A year later, Village People released the album “Go West,” which included “In the Navy,” a song that peaked at No. 3 on the chart. “Macho Man” peaked at No. 25 in 1978.

In 2020, Congress described “Y.M.C.A.” — with its infectious chorus of “It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.” and an accompanying dance spelling out the letters — as “an American phenomenon” and added the song to the National Recording Registry. In 2021, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Willis also starred in the 1980 movie “Can’t Stop the Music,” a widely ridiculed comedy starring the Village People and Steve Guttenberg and directed by Nancy Walker. Critic Rex Reed called it "one of the silliest movies ever made."

Village People music is the backbone of pool parties, high school dances, weddings, proms, bar mitzvahs, games and whenever an uplifting mood is needed. The songs also played at gay marches and the White House.

“We will think of Victor every time ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week,” President Donald Trump wrote on social media Wednesday. “My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed.”

While musicians like Neil Young, John Fogerty, Phil Collins, Panic! At The Disco and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince sent cease-and-desist letters to stop Trump from using their music, Willis said he didn't feel he was endorsing Trump when the song played.

Willis was born in Texas and grew up in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. When he moved to New York, he went to a YMCA on West 63rd Street in Manhattan, which inspired the hit song.

The ownership of Village People's songs came into doubt decades after the hits, and in 2015, a federal jury ruled that Willis was entitled to 50% copyright ownership in the United States of 13 of the group’s songs, including “Y.M.C.A.”

After a series of arrests on drug-related charges that resulted in a rehab stint, Willis told The Associated Press in 2012 that his life had turned around. “Life is fine. I went through whatever I went through, but everything is going great now,” he said.

In May, Willis and the Village People — he was the only original member — sang “Happy Birthday” and “Y.M.C.A.” for Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an event in India.

The World Cup’s daily group-stage matches ended on June 27 after 16 teams were eliminated.

The 48 qualifying teams started the tournament with matches within 12 groups of four on June 11.

As the tournament continues, the single direct-knockout matches to advance into the Round of 16 are set to end on July 3.

The list of 32

Here is the list of the teams in order of group-stage placement, points earned, and FIFA ranking:

1. Argentina (1) wins Group J with 9 points. The match is at 6 p.m. on July 3 against Cape Verde.
2. France (2) wins Group I with 9 points. The team advanced to Round of 16.
3. Mexico (14) wins Group A with 9 points. The team advanced to Round of 16.
4. Spain (3) wins Group H with 7 points. The match is at 3 p.m. on July 2 against Austria.
5. England (4) wins Group L with 7 points. The match is at noon on July 1 against Congo.
6. Brazil (6) wins Group C with 7 points. The team advanced to Round of 16.
7. The Netherlands (8) wins Group F with 7 points. The team was eliminated on June 29.
8. Belgium (9) wins Group G with 7 points. The match is at 4 p.m. on July 1 against Senegal.
9. Colombia (11) wins Group K with 7 points. The match is at 9:30 p.m. on July 3 against Ghana.
10. Switzerland (17) wins Group B with 7 points. The match is at 11 p.m. on July 2 against Algeria.
11. Germany (10) wins Group E with 6 points. The team was eliminated on June 29.
12. United States (15) wins Group D with 6 points. The match is at 8 p.m. on July 1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
13. Morocco (7) is the Group C runner-up with 7 points. The team advanced to Round of 16.
14. Ivory Coast (30) is the Group E runner-up with 6 points. The team was eliminated on June 30.
15. Norway (31) is the Group I runner-up with 6 points. The team advanced to Round of 16.
16. Portugal (5) is the Group K runner-up with 5 points. The match is at 7 p.m. on July 2 against Croatia.
17. Japan (18) is the Group F runner-up with 5 points. The team was eliminated on June 29.
18. Egypt (26) is the Group G runner-up with 5 points. The match is at 3 p.m. on July 3 against Australia.
19. Australia (27) is the Group D runner-up with 4 points. The match is at 3 p.m. on July 3 against Egypt.
20. Canada (32) is the Group B runner-up with 4 points. The team advanced to Round of 16.
21. South Africa (54) is the Group A runner-up with 4 points. The team was eliminated on June 28.
22. Cape Verde (64) is the Group H runner-up with 3 points. The match is at 6 p.m. on July 3 against Argentina.
23. Austria (22) is the Group J runner-up with 4 points. The match is at 7 p.m. on July 2 against Spain.
24. Croatia (11) is the Group L runner-up with 6 points. The match is at 7 p.m. on July 2 against Portugal.
25. Senegal (18) classifies after placing third in Group I with 4 points. The match is at 4 p.m. on July 1 against Belgium.
26. Algeria (29) classifies after placing third in Group J with 4 points and a minus two goal difference. Game day: July 2
27. Ecuador (32) classifies after placing third in Group E with 4 points. The team was eliminated on June 30.
28. Paraguay (37) classifies after placing third in Group D with 4 points and a minus two goal difference. The team advanced to Round of 16.
29. Sweden (38) classifies after placing third in Group F with 4 points. The team was eliminated on June 30.
30. Congo (46) classifies after placing third in Group K with 4 points plus one goal difference. The match is at noon on July 1 against England.
31. Bosnia and Herzegovina (64) classifies after placing third in Group B with 4 points and a minus one goal difference. The match is at 8 p.m. on July 1 against the U.S.
32. Ghana (65) classifies after placing third in Group L with 4 points. The match is at 9:30 p.m. on July 3 against Colombia.

TRACK PROGRESS

• Round of 16 qualifications
• Eliminations during Round of 32

TOURNAMENT’S SCHEDULE

Round of 32 knock-out matches

July 1

• England vs. DR Congo is at noon at the Atlanta Stadium.
• Belgium vs. Senegal is at 4 p.m. at the Seattle Stadium.
• United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina is at 8 p.m. at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2

• Spain vs. Austria at 3 p.m. at Los Angeles Stadium
• Portugal vs. Croatia at 7 p.m. at the Toronto Stadium
• Switzerland vs. Algeria at 11 p.m. at BC Place Vancouver.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3:

• Australia vs. Egypt is at 2 p.m. at the Dallas Stadium.
• Argentina vs. Cape Verde is at 6 p.m. at the Miami Stadium
• Colombia vs. Ghana is at 9:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

After 16 single direct-knockout matches, the winning teams will advance to the tournament’s Round of 16, which begins on the Fourth of July.

Here is the list of the Round of 32 teams eliminated:

1. South Africa, the Group A runner-up with 4 points, was eliminated on June 28 after Canada won 1-0.
2. Japan, the Group F runner-up with 5 points, was eliminated on June 29 after Brazil won 2-1.
3. Germany, the Group E winner with 6 points, was eliminated on June 29 after a 1-1 draw ended with a 4-3 defeat on penalties against Paraguay.
4. The Netherlands, the Group F winner with 7 points, was eliminated on June 29 after a 1-1 draw ended with a 3-2 defeat on penalties against Morocco.
5. Ivory Coast, the Group E runner-up with 6 points, was eliminated on June 30 after Norway won 2-1.
6. Ecuador, the third in Group E with 4 points, was eliminated on June 30 after Mexico won 2-0.
7. Sweden, the third in Group F with 4 points, was eliminated on June 30 after France won 3-0.

TRACK PROGRESS

• Round of 16 qualifications
• Eliminations during Round of 32
• Round of 32 teams

TOURNAMENT’S SCHEDULE

Round of 32 knock-out matches

July 1: Matches at noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.

• England vs. DR Congo is at noon at the Atlanta Stadium.
• Belgium vs. Senegal is at 4 p.m. at the Seattle Stadium.
• United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina is at 8 p.m. at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2

• Spain vs. Austria at 3 p.m. at Los Angeles Stadium
• Portugal vs. Croatia at 7 p.m. at the Toronto Stadium
• Switzerland vs. Algeria at 11 p.m. at BC Place Vancouver.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3:

• Australia vs. Egypt is at 2 p.m. at the Dallas Stadium.
• Argentina vs. Cape Verde is at 6 p.m. at the Miami Stadium
• Colombia vs. Ghana is at 9:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Round of 16 begins

July 4

• Canada vs. Morocco is at 1 p.m. at the Houston Stadium
• Paraguay vs. France is at 5 p.m. at the Philadelphia Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 5

• Brazil vs. Norway at 4 p.m. at the New York/New Jersey Stadium
• Mexico at 8 p.m. at the Mexico City Stadium

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens for the last day from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 6: There are two matches at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

July 7: There are two matches at Noon and 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin

July 9: There is a quarter-final match at 4 p.m.

July 10: There is a quarter-final match at 3 p.m.

July 11: There are two quarter-final matches at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 5 p.m. on July 11. Parking is free.

Semifinals begin

July 14: The fan festival is closed. There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 14 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

July 15: There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 15 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

Finals begin

July 18: The third-place play-off match is at 5 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 18 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 5 p.m. bronze final.

Sunrise ride to stadium: The Amerant Bank Arena has free parking for FIFA World Cup ticket holders who ride Broward County’s free Express bus transportation to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens.

July 19: The final match is at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 1 p.m. on July 19 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 3 p.m. final.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders for the final on July 19. Parking is free.

Track group-stage

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

Se cree que un video de vigilancia publicado por los investigadores muestra algunos de los últimos momentos de vida de Keisha Jones, de 31 años.

Los investigadores dijeron que el video fue grabado la mañana del viernes afuera de Scarlett’s Cabaret, cerca de Hallandale Beach Boulevard.

Indicaron que esa misma mañana, alrededor de las 6 a.m., Jones también fue vista en Dean’s Gold, en la 163rd Street en North Miami Beach.

Tres días después, el cuerpo de Jones fue encontrado en las aguas frente a Biscayne Bay cerca de un edificio de investigación de la NOAA en Virginia Key, informaron fuentes a Local 10 News.

El FBI ahora investiga las circunstancias que rodean su muerte.

La familia de Jones, en su mayoría de Michigan, dijo que está en estado de incredulidad y busca respuestas sobre con quién estuvo por última vez y cómo terminó muerta.

Los investigadores trabajan para reconstruir la cronología mientras intentan determinar qué le ocurrió a Jones.

Cualquier persona con información sobre el caso es instada a llamar al FBI al 1-800-225-5324.

Leer en español

Surveillance video provided to Local 10 by Keisha Jones’s family member purportedly show her outside of Scarlett’s Cabaret off Hallandale Beach Boulevard. They believe it shows some of the last moments of the 31-year-old’s life.

A missing person’s flyer first issued by North Miami Beach police states that Jones was last seen at 6 a.m. Friday at Dean’s Gold off 163rd Street in North Miami Beach.

NMBPD investigators said they believe she then booked a rideshare and went to Scarlett’s. It was the last place she was seen.

Three days later, Jones’ body was found in the waters off Biscayne Bay near a NOAA research building on Virginia Key, sources told Local 10 News.

The FBI is now investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.

Jones’ family, who is mostly from Michigan, said they are in disbelief and are looking for answers about who she was last with and how she ended up dead.

Investigators are working to piece together the timeline as they try to determine what happened to Jones.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the FBI at 1-800-225-5324.

In remarks at a central bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, Warsh said that if businesses or households thought the Fed would accept inflation above 2%, “I guess they'd be disappointed. We're going to deliver price stability.”

The Fed typically combats inflation by raising borrowing costs. When asked about Trump's oft-repeated desire for lower rates, Warsh underscored the Fed's independence from day-to-day politics.

“We’ve been an independent central bank for a very long time," he said. "We’re going to be an independent central bank at this moment and you’re going to see no changes to that.”

Such comments suggest that Warsh has shifted his views since replacing Jerome Powell as chair May 22. He called for lower rates last year as he essentially campaigned for the job. Since becoming chair, however, Warsh has appeared to move away from that stance and instead has signaled a focus on getting inflation down.

But on Wednesday he declined to say what steps the Fed would take to achieve that goal, consistent with his opposition to so-called “forward guidance,” in which central bank leaders foreshadow their next policy moves.

“I'm not going to make a judgment now," he said during the panel discussion with other central bankers. "The tactics, the strategy, and the rest, that's still to come,” he later added.

At his first news conference last month, Warsh also emphasized his goal of getting inflation back down to target. Wall Street investors expect the Fed could hike its key interest rate as soon as in September, from its current level of about 3.6% to roughly 3.9%.

When the Fed last met June 16-17, nearly half of the 19 policymakers signaled that they supported higher rates this year, while eight supported no change and one penciled in a cut. Warsh did not submit a forecast because of his opposition to providing guidance.

The economy has shifted since Trump first nominated Warsh in January, with inflation rising to a three-year high of 4.2% in May, pushed higher by the Iran war's impact on gas prices. Yet as a peace agreement has been reached, gas prices have declined, suggesting inflation may have peaked. Fed officials may very well wait to see where inflation settles if oil and gas prices continue to fall back to prewar levels.

On Wednesday, Warsh also said there are signs that the threat of persistent inflation has moderated. He specifically cited inflation expectations, or where the public and financial markets think inflation will head next, as measured by surveys and bond prices. Both have showed declining expectations in the past month.

Yet a key question facing Warsh is whether he will have to raise rates in the next few meetings to underscore his commitment to fighting inflation. If gas prices keep falling and inflation declines, he may be try to avoid doing so.

At the same time, hiring has picked up in recent months and economists forecast the government will issue a solid jobs report on Thursday that will likely show the unemployment rate remains a low 4.3%. Such a report would reduce pressure on the Fed to lower borrowing costs.

Warsh also reiterated his view that over time, artificial intelligence will expand the economy's ability to produce goods and services and reduce inflationary pressures. Yet many economists think it could take an extended period of time for those trends to take hold.

In the short term, economists say, the breakneck investment in AI infrastructure is pushing up prices for semiconductor and computing equipment, fueling inflation.

Warsh declined to comment specifically on whether AI spending is inflationary, and often noted that he has set up five task forces at the Fed to study a range of issues, including AI and its impact on productivity.

“This is as exciting a time and also as consequential a time to be a central banker that I can think of at any point, maybe outside of a crisis, in my adult lifetime,” he said.

Aquí los últimos acontecimientos sobre Venezuela:

Cuatro policías detenidos por presuntamente apropiarse de dinero encontrado en escombros

Las autoridades venezolanas informan que cuatro agentes de la policía judicial fueron detenidos por presuntamente apropiarse de dinero encontrado entre los escombros de edificios colapsados en La Guaira.

“Se constató que un grupo de funcionarios, desviándose de sus deberes y aprovechándose de las labores de rescate y asistencia humanitaria, actuaron de manera indecorosa al apropiarse de valores económicos hallados entre los escombros”, indicó en un comunicado el Ministerio de Relaciones Interiores.

Los implicados fueron “separados definitivamente de sus cargos y se inició su destitución, tras una investigación impulsada por denuncias de ciudadanos”, agregó. Varios videos divulgados en redes sociales por habitantes de La Guaira mostraron a agentes de seguridad presuntamente apropiándose de dinero y objetos de valor localizados entre los escombros.

900 militares de EEUU apoyan las labores humanitarias en Venezuela

El ejército estadounidense cuenta con unos 900 militares apoyando las labores de ayuda humanitaria en Venezuela, declaró Steven McCloud, portavoz del Comando Sur de Estados Unidos, a The Associated Press.

McCloud añadió que también hay alrededor de 100 personas del Departamento de Estado colaborando en las labores de ayuda y socorro.

Médico dice que faltan insumos específicos, teme un “campo infeccioso”

El doctor Eugenio Cova, jefe de la unidad de Traumatología del Hospital General del Oeste “Dr. José Gregorio Hernández” en Caracas, afirmó que los primeros días tras el terremoto fueron caóticos y que su equipo tuvo que improvisar dos quirófanos ya que no se pueden usar los ascensores ni acceder a las zonas dañadas por el sismo.

Al igual que muchos hospitales públicos del país, que sufren una escasez crónica de suministros médicos esenciales, el hospital ha recibido una avalancha de donaciones. Sin embargo, ha tenido dificultades para conseguir insumos más específicos como tornillos y placas para cirugías ortopédicas y gasas medicadas para prevenir infecciones.

Ha tratado a pacientes con fracturas pélvicas por aplastamiento, casos de rabdomiólisis —una afección potencialmente mortal en la que el tejido muscular se descompone tras una herida por aplastamiento— y pacientes con una combinación de lesiones potencialmente mortales.

Dijo que dada la enorme cantidad de fallecidos él y otros médicos temen que se cree un “campo infeccioso”.

“El tema que vemos ya prácticamente en puerta es las infecciones que puedan traer consigo los pacientes que más tiempo tienen expuestos al desastre. Ya pasamos el periodo de los traumas complejos que van a seguir llegando, pero ahora vienen complicados con infecciones”, dijo.

Japón envía equipo de profesionales sanitarios

Japón anuncia el miércoles que enviará un equipo de ayuda de emergencia de 42 miembros a Venezuela para brindar asistencia médica en la zona afectada por el terremoto. Se espera que el equipo, compuesto por médicos, enfermeros y otros profesionales de la salud, parta en los próximos días para unirse a un pequeño equipo de avanzada que ya opera en Venezuela desde el 26 de junio, informa el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.

Contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union and Canadian public broadcaster CBC announced that Canada will send an act to the 2027 contest in Bulgaria in May. Canada is the first new country to join Eurovision since Australia entered in 2015.

The announcement was made on the Canada Day national holiday. It comes shortly after Canada joined the EBU, an association of national public broadcasters that oversees Eurovision.

A campy, colorful contest that has been likened to the World Cup with songs instead of soccer, Eurovision has given the world the perfect pop of ABBA’s “Waterloo” – the winning song in 1974 – and a host of Euro-pop party anthems.

CBC President Marie-Philippe Bouchard said participation “will allow Canadian talent to be showcased on one of the most storied music stages in the world.”

Founded in 1956, Eurovision brings together musical acts from dozens of mostly European countries to compete for the votes of professional jurors and international viewers.

Eurovision Director Martin Green said Canada’s accession is “a further sign that, while born in Europe, the Contest continues to welcome the world.”

The CBC said it will announce details of how Canada’s entry will be selected later this year. Some Eurovision countries choose their competitors through televised national selections. In others, competitors are picked by the national broadcaster.

Canadians have entered Eurovision before under different flags — most famously Quebecoise chanteuse Celine Dion, who won the 1988 contest competing for Switzerland.

The 70th Eurovision contest in May featured 35 countries and was won by Bulgarian singer Dara, so next year’s competition will take place in the southeast European country.

Eurovision has been roiled in recent years by protests over the participation of Israel, a competitor since 1973.

Five longtime participants — Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia — boycotted this year after organizers declined to kick Israel out over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The 2026 Eurovision final was watched by 130 million viewers around the world, organizers say, down from 160 million in 2025.

Despite the blows to Eurovision’s finances and viewership from the boycott, the contest is eyeing expansion, with a spinoff Eurovision Song Contest Asia due to take place in Bangkok in November.

Una nueva ley de Florida que entra en vigor el miércoles otorga a iglesias, sinagogas y mezquitas la opción de autorizar a voluntarios calificados para portar armas como parte de sus equipos de seguridad.

Los partidarios afirman que la medida proporciona una capa adicional de protección para las congregaciones, especialmente para los lugares de culto más pequeños que no pueden costear seguridad profesional. Sin embargo, otros expresan preocupación por la introducción de más armas de fuego en lugares destinados a la oración y la paz.

El representante estatal Omar Blanco, republicano y coautor de la legislación, dijo que la ley permite que miembros de una congregación que ya están legalmente autorizados para portar un arma de fuego se ofrezcan como voluntarios para formar parte de un equipo de seguridad después de cumplir con los requisitos establecidos por la ley.

“Esta ley permite que haya seguridad armada voluntaria para proteger los lugares de culto”, dijo Blanco.

La ley busca mejorar la seguridad

Los legisladores dijeron que la legislación fue impulsada por una serie de ataques mortales en lugares de culto en todo Estados Unidos durante las últimas dos décadas.

Blanco dijo que hubo 379 incidentes violentos en lugares de culto en todo el país entre 2000 y 2024, que dejaron 487 personas muertas y cientos de personas heridas.

La ley tiene como objetivo complementar, no reemplazar, a las fuerzas del orden al proporcionar una respuesta inmediata si se desata un hecho violento antes de que lleguen los agentes.

“Especialmente para aquellas congregaciones más pequeñas que no cuentan con el presupuesto para tener seguridad armada”, dijo Blanco.

Para calificar, los voluntarios deben ser miembros de la congregación, estar legalmente autorizados para portar un arma de fuego conforme a la ley de Florida y completar el proceso de evaluación y capacitación requerido.

“Tienes que estar legalmente autorizado para portar un arma conforme al porte constitucional”, dijo Blanco.

El ex jefe de la Policía de Miami, Manny Morales, dijo que la capacitación y la coordinación con las fuerzas del orden locales serán fundamentales para cualquier congregación que decida participar.

“Alentaría a cualquier persona que esté pensando en tener voluntarios en su institución religiosa, o a cualquier individuo que vaya a formar parte de este nuevo proceso, a capacitarse de manera exhaustiva”, dijo Morales.

Las reacciones varían entre los líderes religiosos del sur de Florida

Los líderes religiosos de todo el sur de Florida están divididos sobre si planean participar.

En la Escuela Islámica de Miami, en Kendall, las medidas de seguridad ya incluyen portones de acceso controlado, cámaras de vigilancia y puntos de entrada monitoreados.

“Tenemos cámaras por todas partes, tenemos letreros por todas partes, tenemos monitores en vivo para poder ver quién entra desde el portón hasta aquí”, dijo Bilal Karakira, de la Escuela Islámica de Miami.

A pesar de esas precauciones, Karakira dijo que la mayoría de los miembros de la congregación se opone a permitir voluntarios armados.

“Según mi investigación entre los miembros de la congregación, hombres y mujeres, les digo que más del 90% dijo que no”, afirmó. “No quieren eso. No quieren armas en las instalaciones”.

En la Iglesia Bautista Misionera Antioch, en Miami Gardens, los fieles ya pasan por detectores de metales antes de ingresar a los servicios religiosos, mientras agentes de policía uniformados y encubiertos brindan seguridad dentro de la iglesia.

El pastor Arthur Jackson dijo que su iglesia cuenta con los recursos para mantener un plan integral de seguridad, pero cree que la ley podría beneficiar a las congregaciones más pequeñas.

“Permite que congregaciones más pequeñas y con menos recursos, que no pueden mantener un equipo de seguridad o un equipo de seguridad de tiempo completo, tengan feligreses y voluntarios que sirvan como su personal de seguridad”, dijo Jackson. “Y creo que es una buena idea”.

El rabino Mak Kushner también expresó su apoyo a la ley, enfatizando que cualquier voluntario debe ser seleccionado cuidadosamente.

“Alguien con buen juicio, alguien que obviamente tenga capacitación y alguien que sea capaz de hacer el trabajo”, dijo Kushner. “Y no dejarlo en manos de cualquiera”.

La participación es opcional

Blanco dijo que la legislación busca, en última instancia, garantizar que los floridanos puedan practicar su fe sin miedo.

“Creo que, al final del día, este proyecto de ley busca que cada floridano que quiera practicar su fe pueda sentirse seguro, protegido y libre de hacerlo”, dijo.

La ley no exige que los lugares de culto creen equipos de seguridad voluntarios. La decisión queda completamente en manos de cada congregación.

Algunas instituciones religiosas del sur de Florida dijeron que no tienen planes de participar, mientras que otras ya comenzaron a evaluar a posibles voluntarios. Independientemente de su enfoque, los líderes religiosos afirman que el objetivo compartido es mantener seguros a los fieles.

El martes, la superestrella global del pop comenzará una nueva gira aquí mismo en su ciudad natal, en el sur de Florida.

Grande inaugurará su Eternal Sunshine Tour, su primera gira en siete años, en el Amerant Bank Arena en Sunrise.

Los fanáticos llegaron temprano al arena este martes, emocionados por ver a la estrella de “Wicked” presentarse.

Jason Carter de Local 10 estuvo allí, y su reportaje completo puede verse en la parte superior de esta página.

El tiroteo tuvo lugar cerca del McDonald’s situado en la esquina de Stirling Road y Davie Road Extension, después de que los agentes intentaran detener al sospechoso, quien, según las autoridades, iba armado y huyó de ellos.

Los testigos dicen haber escuchado una rápida ráfaga de disparos durante el enfrentamiento.

«No paraban de decirle que levantara las manos: “Déjame ver tus manos”», explicó el testigo Gregory Jackson. “Supongo que el tipo no respondió. Lo siguiente que recuerdo es que oí casi 30 disparos. Se me cayó el móvil y eché a correr”.

Jackson contó que corrió a ponerse a cubierto mientras se desarrollaba el tiroteo.

“En cuanto oí esos disparos, tío, me puse a cubierto”, dijo. “Fui a ponerme a cubierto debajo de mi coche y, al hacerlo, me hice unos rasguños”.

El martes, los investigadores regresaron al lugar de los hechos y centraron su atención en los arbustos y en el servicio de drive-thru del restaurante de comida rápida mientras buscaban pruebas adicionales.

“Fue una escena de locos, horrible, la que vi ayer#, dijo Jackson. ”Nunca había visto nada igual".

Según el sheriff de Broward, Gregory Tony, los agentes se encontraron inicialmente con el sospechoso en el aparcamiento de un Wawa al otro lado de la calle mientras intentaban ejecutar una orden de detención vigente. Explicó que el sospechoso huyó de los agentes mientras empuñaba un arma.

Los agentes persiguieron al hombre durante unos 100 pies antes de derribarlo en un intento por detenerlo, explicó Tony.

Según el sheriff, el sospechoso era buscado por huir para evadir a la policía y los detectives creían que evidencia de ADN podría vincularlo con otros delitos. No ofreció detalles sobre esas investigaciones.

El sheriff también dijo que los investigadores contaban con información de inteligencia que indicaba que el sospechoso había dicho anteriormente a otras personas que, si las autoridades intentaban arrestarlo, pretendía provocar una confrontación de “suicidio por policía”.

No está claro si el sospechoso disparó su propia arma durante el enfrentamiento.

El Departamento de Cumplimiento de la Ley de Florida (FDLE) investiga la balacera. Las autoridades aún no han revelado la identidad del sospechoso.

La policía de Lauderhill informó que el incidente ocurrió alrededor de las 11:15 a.m. en la cuadra 5300 de Northwest 19th Street.

Según los investigadores, un agente fue alertado por una persona que dijo que un hombre intentó atacarlo armado con un cuchillo.

La policía dijo que los agentes localizaron rápidamente a una persona que coincidía con la descripción del sospechoso, pero este huyó a pie hacia un vecindario residencial cerca de la cuadra 1700 de Northwest 55th Avenue.

Los agentes informaron que establecieron rápidamente un perímetro y comenzaron a buscar en el área.

La policía dijo que posteriormente recibió una llamada al 911 de un transeúnte que reportó que un hombre estaba tendido en el suelo con aparentes heridas de arma blanca.

La policía indicó que, mientras recorrían el área, encontraron a un segundo hombre con aparentes heridas de arma blanca.

Informaron que una de las víctimas fue trasladada a un hospital local, donde posteriormente fue declarada muerta. La segunda víctima fue declarada muerta en el lugar.

Un hombre identificado como Nelson dijo a Roy Ramos, de Local 10, que una de las víctimas mortales era su vecino, quien utilizaba una silla de ruedas.

“Era un hombre muy, muy bueno”, dijo Nelson. “Este hombre era realmente una buena persona. No le hacía daño a nadie. Tenía una sola pierna y era una persona con discapacidad”.

Los investigadores dijeron que la búsqueda continuó con la ayuda de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward y del Departamento de Policía de Sunrise. La policía de Lauderhill informó que unidades K-9 finalmente localizaron al sospechoso, quien fue puesto bajo custodia sin más incidentes.

La hermana de una de las víctimas dijo a Ramos que cree que su hermano no conocía a la persona que lo atacó.

Por el momento, las autoridades no han divulgado más detalles sobre las víctimas ni sobre el sospechoso.

Cualquier persona con información debe comunicarse con el Departamento de Policía de Lauderhill al 954-497-4700 o con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

Meet the Orchidteers.

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At Flamingo Gardens in Davie, this volunteer force has transformed a single mounted orchid into a collection of thousands blooming across the 60-acre property.

“We have over 5,000 orchids mounted here and we started with 1 — and now we’re over 5,000,” said Lucy Matos Lodato, Flamingo Gardens’ Chief Orchidteer.

Their battlefield stretches from tree trunks to winding garden paths, where volunteers spend each week mounting, protecting and rehabilitating orchids throughout the grounds.

Before the work begins, the group gathers to talk strategy. Then they fan out across the gardens, each heading to a different section with a mission to tend the collection.

“We’re really a community of orchid lovers that come together for the purposes of making flamingo gardens an orchid destination. It’s conservation. Education. And community,” Lodato said.

Some volunteers head into the gardens. Others report to the facility where newly arrived or struggling orchids are cared for before returning to the landscape — part headquarters, part hospital for plants.

“I’ve been growing orchids for decades so it’s, like, fantastic to work on something special like that with other people that have that interest and learn more,” said Cindy Ransing, who joined the group in January.

Every Orchidteer has a different story about what first drew them to the flower. Some are lifelong growers. Others are beginners looking to learn. What connects them is a shared appreciation for the plant — and for the people who care for it alongside them.

“First of all, it’s beautiful. Breathtaking. It’s more like the orchid teaches you how to grow it. The orchid is in charge. You have to make it happy, what does it need?” Lodato said.

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

El sur de Florida tiene sus propias fuerzas especiales. Están organizadas, tienen una misión clara y se despliegan en la primera línea cada semana. ¿Su misión? Las orquídeas.

Conozca a los Orchidteers.

En Flamingo Gardens, en Davie, este grupo de voluntarios ha transformado una sola orquídea montada en una colección de miles que florecen en toda la propiedad de 60 acres.

“Tenemos más de 5,000 orquídeas montadas aquí. Comenzamos con una y ahora tenemos más de 5,000”, dijo Lucy Matos Lodato, jefa de los Orchidteers de Flamingo Gardens.

Su campo de trabajo se extiende desde los troncos de los árboles hasta los senderos sinuosos del jardín, donde los voluntarios dedican cada semana a montar, proteger y rehabilitar orquídeas en todo el recinto.

Antes de comenzar el trabajo, el grupo se reúne para hablar de la estrategia. Luego se distribuyen por los jardines, cada uno dirigiéndose a una sección diferente con la misión de cuidar la colección.

“Realmente somos una comunidad de amantes de las orquídeas que se une con el propósito de convertir a Flamingo Gardens en un destino para las orquídeas. Se trata de conservación. Educación. Y comunidad”, dijo Lodato.

Algunos voluntarios se dirigen a los jardines. Otros trabajan en la instalación donde las orquídeas recién llegadas o que necesitan cuidados son atendidas antes de regresar al paisaje, un lugar que funciona en parte como sede y en parte como hospital para plantas.

“He cultivado orquídeas durante décadas, así que es fantástico trabajar en algo tan especial con otras personas que comparten ese interés y aprender más”, dijo Cindy Ransing, quien se unió al grupo en enero.

Cada Orchidteer tiene una historia diferente sobre lo que primero lo atrajo a esta flor. Algunos las han cultivado toda la vida. Otros son principiantes que buscan aprender. Lo que los une es la admiración compartida por la planta y por las personas que la cuidan junto a ellos.

“Antes que nada, es hermosa. Impresionante. Es como si la orquídea te enseñara cómo cultivarla. La orquídea es la que manda. Tienes que hacerla feliz. ¿Qué necesita?”, dijo Lodato.

Para enviar una idea para What Connects Us, envíe un correo electrónico a whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

Each day this week into the holiday weekend will have the potential for scattered afternoon storms. Everyone will not get the rain every day since they will be hit or miss, but expect some decent downpours at times.

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Supporters say the measure provides an added layer of protection for congregations, particularly smaller houses of worship that cannot afford professional security. Others, however, worry about introducing more firearms into places meant for prayer and peace.

State Rep. Omar Blanco, a Republican who co-sponsored the legislation, said the law allows members of a congregation who are already legally permitted to carry a firearm to volunteer as part of a security team after meeting the law’s requirements.

“This law allows there to be volunteer armed security to protect the places of worship,” Blanco said.

Law aims to improve security

Lawmakers said the legislation was prompted by a series of deadly attacks at houses of worship across the United States over the past two decades.

Blanco said there were 379 violent incidents at houses of worship nationwide between 2000 and 2024, resulting in 487 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The law is intended to supplement—not replace—law enforcement by providing an immediate response if violence breaks out before officers arrive.

“Especially for those of smaller congregations that don’t have the budgets to allow for armed security,” Blanco said.

To qualify, volunteers must be members of the congregation, be legally allowed to carry a firearm under Florida law and complete the required screening and training.

“You have to be legally able to constitutionally carry a weapon,” Blanco said.

Former Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said training and coordination with local law enforcement will be critical for any congregation choosing to participate.

“I would encourage anyone who is thinking about having volunteers at their religious institution, or any individual themselves that are going to be taking part of this new process, to train themselves thoroughly,” Morales said.

Reactions vary among South Florida faith leaders

Religious leaders across South Florida are divided on whether they plan to participate.

At the Islamic School of Miami in Kendall, security measures already include controlled-access gates, surveillance cameras and monitored entry points.

“We have cameras everywhere, we have signs everywhere, we have live TVs so we can see who came in from the gate up to here,” said Bilal Karakira, of the Islamic School of Miami.

Despite those precautions, Karakira said most members of the congregation oppose allowing armed volunteers.

“With my research with the congregants, male and female, I’m telling you, more than 90% said no,” he said. “They don’t want that. They don’t want guns on the premises.”

At Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens, worshippers already pass through metal detectors before entering services, while uniformed and undercover police officers provide security inside the church.

Pastor Arthur Jackson said his church has the resources to maintain a comprehensive security plan but believes the law could benefit smaller congregations.

“It allows smaller congregations and less affluent congregations that can’t staff a security team or have a full-time security team to have parishioners and volunteers to serve as their quasi-security staff,” Jackson said. “And I think it’s a good idea.”

Rabbi Mak Kushner also expressed support for the law, emphasizing that any volunteers should be carefully selected.

“Someone that’s level-headed, someone that obviously has training, and someone that is capable of doing the job,” Kushner said. “And not just leaving it up to anybody.”

Participation is optional

Blanco said the legislation is ultimately about ensuring Floridians can worship without fear.

“I think at the end of the day, this bill is so that every Floridian who wants to practice their faith can feel safe, protected and free to do so,” he said.

The law does not require houses of worship to create volunteer security teams. The decision is left entirely to each congregation.

Some South Florida religious institutions said they have no plans to participate, while others have already begun evaluating potential volunteers. Regardless of their approach, faith leaders say the shared goal is keeping worshippers safe.

Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted to Trump’s preferred color scheme of a navy belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.

Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.

The jet is carrying Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.

“This is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,” Trump said.

The new jet will only temporarily be in the nation’s service, as Boeing is expected to deliver in 2028 long-delayed planes that will permanently serve as Air Force One. Trump, a Republican, has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.

The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington said that policy violated the First Amendment. He issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday barring the requirement while the Times continues its protracted legal battle against the department's restrictions.

While the order's language suggested the judge's decision was directed only at the Times, the escort policy itself applies to all journalists.

The newspaper in May sued the Defense Department for the second time in five months. The lawsuits have played into an escalating tension between the U.S. media and the Republican administration, both in the public arena and the courts.

The Times hailed Friedman’s ruling.

“Today’s well-reasoned decision reaffirms the First Amendment rights of the press to cover the Pentagon without restrictions designed to prevent the public from knowing what the military is doing,” said Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson. “The court recognized that the Pentagon’s hastily implemented new policy was a clear violation of the Constitution.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X late Tuesday that the department “strongly disagrees” with Friedman's decision. "This ruling strips away reasonable security measures and will make it easier for sensitive and classified information to reach our adversaries.”

Parnell argued further that “unescorted access to the Pentagon allowed journalists to observe activity patterns and develop relationships that contributed to repeated unauthorized disclosures of operational plans and intelligence. The court’s order effectively restores that risky environment at a time when protecting our military’s secrets is more critical than ever.”

The Times first sued in December over rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking to limit media access.

The escort policy was implemented in March after a ruling by Friedman that had struck down earlier restrictions. He said they violated the rights of Times reporter Julian E. Barnes and the paper.

The following month, the judge ruled that the interim policy violated his March order. But the escort policy remained in place when an appeals court stayed part of Friedman’s ruling while the government appealed. The appeals process is ongoing.

The Times and other outlets walked out of the Pentagon in October rather than agree to Hegseth's restrictions. They continue to cover the U.S. military from outside the building. A new press corps approved by the department currently occupies the Pentagon space.

Some were mixed in with washed up kelp. Others were under rocks.

Each month, scientists and volunteers conduct surveys of dead seabirds and find what Russell describes as a grim assessment of the impact of a massive marine heat wave that has lingered for months off parts of the California coast.

The surveys that have been carried out by various organizations for decades help build a baseline of information on beached sea life to detect threats and their impact.

Many seabirds, including California brown pelicans, loons and grebes, starved to death in recent months as record-setting ocean temperatures decreased the band of cold, nutrient-rich surface water where krill, anchovies and sardines thrive near the shore, said Russell, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“We’ve been seeing cormorants walk to shore and then just die within the hour. I mean one time it happened within 15 minutes, and I’ve never seen that before,” Russell said. “That has been heartbreaking for me and we’re seeing this happening across the whole coast.”

Scientists fear the die-off could worsen with the recently formed El Nino, the natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide and spikes global temperatures.

Die-offs of seabirds is happening more with warming oceans

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in June confirmed an El Nino formed and it is expected to grow to historic strength.

Die-offs of seabirds occur periodically, and not all the seabird deaths off California this year are tied to the marine heat wave, scientists and wildlife officials say.

But such die-offs are becoming more frequent as the planet warms and oceans heat up.

‘We don't know how bad this is going to get'

Already a marine heat wave has persisted off parts of the West Coast for the past year, marking only the third time on record that such a large section of coastal waters stayed warm for so long, according to NOAA.

Scripps measures daily ocean temperatures at 10 coastal stations along the California coast, where their records stretch back over a century. This year, saw three stations break records for 40 days or more, said the director Melissa Carter, who runs the program. The samples are taken in a variety of ways, including off piers by dropping an insulated bucket, or by lifeguards in the early morning surf or researchers off rocky shorelines.

Robotic underwater gliders with sensors operating out at sea also recorded high temperatures offshore and at depth during the spring. Dan Rudnick, who runs the Scripps glider program, said the warm temperature anomaly off Southern California this spring was comparable to that during the last El Nino in 2023.

And that was before the formation of this year's El Nino, which could stretch into 2027.

As cold-water species move deeper and farther north, the marine heat wave coupled with El Nino could further disrupt food webs for sea life from gray whales to seabirds. A similar pattern happened a decade ago.

“We don’t know how bad this is going to get,” said Russell, who has written about five species of Booby that are now common off California because of warming ocean temperatures.

Seabirds are seeking food in unusual places

Wildlife rehabilitation facilities treated hundreds of emaciated birds this spring when the marine heat wave intensified.

“It’s not abnormal to see dead birds on the beach, but the quantity of dead birds is unusual,” J.D. Bergeron, the CEO of ⁠International Bird Rescue, a global wildlife conservation organization that runs two aquatic bird rehabilitation centers in California, said in an interview in May.

Brown pelicans are turning up in inland lakes, Bergeron said.

“When birds starve, especially the pelicans, they start to look in unusual places for food,” he said. “They will chase fishing boats, they will go to piers and you end up with birds with fishing line and fish hook injuries.”

Many dead or debilitated seabirds examined this year have been young and emaciated, and most have tested negative for avian flu, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Some had opportunistic infections linked to malnourishment.

Krysta Rogers, a senior state environmental scientist, said there may be factors besides warm ocean temperatures. High mortality rates among young Brandt’s cormorants and common murres began after a robust 2025 breeding season, peaking post-winter, and appeared to coincide with the marine heat wave. Those deaths may be mostly due to chicks simply not surviving on their own, she said.

But she does not discount the marine heat wave affecting some seabirds, considering an increase this spring in reported deaths from other species and not just young ones.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which collects data from the dead seabird surveys and others, said they do not have a comprehensive report ready yet.

Only a fraction of birds that die at sea wash ashore

In 2013, a warm water mass nicknamed “the blob” developed off Alaska and stretched south, lingering for years as it wreaked havoc on marine ecosystems all the way to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. One of the strongest El Ninos on record overlapped with it in 2015.

Carcasses of emaciated common murres showed up on beaches in what biologists say was the largest seabird die-off recorded in the world’s oceans.

Common murres look like thin penguins. They can fly miles in search of schools of finger-length fish and can dive and swim nearly 600 feet (183 meters) deep to capture them. However, the birds’ high metabolism means they have to eat a lot. If they don’t eat prey matching 10% to 30% of their body mass daily, they can use up fat reserves and drop to a critical threshold for starvation within three days.

Studies show that only a fraction of birds that die at sea wash ashore. It took years for scientists to confirm that more than half of Alaska’s population of common murres, an estimated 4 million birds, died during “the blob,” according to a 2024 study in the journal Science.

The species is still struggling to recover.

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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.

Giant Eagle, which is privately held, has 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies across northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. Kroger has thousands of stores operating under various brands, including Ralphs, King Soopers, Smith’s and Fred Meyer.

The transaction includes $1.25 billion in cash and the assumption of approximately $400 million in outstanding liabilities, the companies said Wednesday.

“Giant Eagle is a well-run, high-quality regional grocer with a strong reputation for fresh products, pharmacy, private label and customer loyalty,” Kroger CEO Greg Foran said in a statement. “We evaluated the opportunity carefully, and the strategic fit is clear."

Foran, a former Walmart executive, was named Kroger's CEO in February. He has a reputation as a tech-savvy and detail-oriented leader.

Kroger and Giant Eagle said that they anticipate having to divest a limited number of Giant Eagle stores in order to receive the necessary regulatory clearance for the transaction.

The deal is expected to close next year.

Kroger's stock fell nearly 3% before the market open.

Recently named “Best Chef in Miami” by Aventura Magazine, Ostrow is the founder and executive chef of Maison Ostrow, a French kosher restaurant in North Bay Village. Her newest venture, Maison Baguette, delivers handcrafted gourmet sandwiches inspired by cuisines from around the world.

For Ostrow, the journey began long before she opened her Miami restaurant.

“I’m the happiest when I’m around food,” she said.

Growing up in France, she developed her love of cooking at her grandparents’ country home, where large family gatherings revolved around the kitchen table.

“My grandparents had a country house where everybody would meet on the weekend — all the cousins, the uncles and everyone,” Ostrow recalled. “It was like a constant revolving door of food.”

Inspired by those family meals, Ostrow trained under some of France’s most accomplished chefs before eventually relocating to South Florida.

Determined to bring authentic French cuisine to Miami’s kosher dining scene, she opened Maison Ostrow, assembling a kitchen staff trained in France under Michelin-starred chefs.

“For me to open a restaurant that was kosher and French, I needed to have a real kitchen,” Ostrow said. “The guys with me in my kitchen were trained in France under Michelin-star chefs. They know their stuff.”

The restaurant’s menu features dishes including smoked salmon crêpes, caramelized miso black cod, homemade pastas, risottos, veal, lamb and duck.

But despite her extensive fine-dining menu, Ostrow admits one food has always been her favorite.

“I’m obsessed with a sandwich,” she said. “I can eat sandwiches every day. If you want to invite me over for dinner, just tell me you’re making a sandwich. I’m coming.”

That passion inspired Maison Baguette, a delivery-only concept centered around freshly baked French bread filled with globally inspired recipes.

Rather than creating traditional deli sandwiches, Ostrow designed a menu featuring about 25 different combinations inspired by favorite dishes from around the world.

“We picked dishes, not sandwiches, from all over the world that we love,” she said. “It can be sweet-and-sour sesame chicken representing Asia, a Greek salad with chicken, or steak frites with peppercorn sauce.”

Each sandwich is served on homemade baguettes developed specifically for delivery.

Perfecting the bread took months of testing.

“The work was literally five full months to perfect that baguette,” Ostrow said. “We imported flour from all over the globe, and we made it happen. Now we’re open, we’re thriving, and I couldn’t be prouder of my little baguette.”

Customers can also order VIP meal boxes that include fries, a dessert and a drink.

With Maison Ostrow continuing to serve diners in North Bay Village and Maison Baguette expanding her reach across South Florida, Ostrow hopes to continue sharing the French culinary traditions that first inspired her around her grandparents’ kitchen table.

Maison Baguette sandwiches can be ordered online through the company’s website or mobile app.

The 44-year-old Williams did not ask for medical treatment during a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia in the first round on Tuesday.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion who won seven of her titles at Wimbledon, did not meet with media after the match.

“Serena tweaked her right knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams,” said Jill Smoller, Williams’ agent. “She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week.”

Williams confirmed the injury on Instagram and added, “It felt so good to be back on the grass (at) Wimbledon. I’m incredibly thankful for the wild card — and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it’s never too late to chase something you love.

“Congratulations to Maya Joint on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. That feeling will never get old,” Williams added.

Serena received wild card invitations from Wimbledon organizers to play both singles and doubles with Venus.

Serena has said that having her two daughters off from school inspired her comeback and it marked the first time that her youngest daughter, Adira, who is almost three, saw her play singles. Adira sat next to her 8-year-old sister, Olympia in the front row of Serena’s players’ box.

Alexis Ohanian, Williams' husband, wrote on social media: “Our little family is so proud of you @serenawilliams — even though it wasn’t the outcome you wanted, you’re an inspiration. We love you” He added that the kids “are also happy they got to stay up a bit past their bedtime.”

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka also paid tribute to Serena and her sister on social media: “I really wonder if Serena and Venus know how much they mean to us,” Osaka posted.

Then after winning her second-round match Wednesday, Osaka discussed watching Serena play.

“The montages that they had before the match started made me really emotional because I feel like I’ve watched her growing up,” Osaka said. “Now I feel like I’m grown up and I get the privilege of watching her again. So it was really cool.”

Fellow American Tommy Paul watched, too.

“It’s pretty impressive at her age,” Paul said. “She was striking the ball pretty well, returning pretty well. I thought she was going to go after it a little bit more. ... I think it would have helped her a lot to have maybe a match of singles before coming out to Wimbledon. But she’s Serena. She can do whatever she wants.”

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

La tormenta torrencial golpeó 60 localidades, y los servicios de emergencia extrajeron agua de más de 350 viviendas y 100 calles, según el Inspectorado General para Situaciones de Emergencia, o IGSU.

Las zonas más afectadas fueron el municipio de la capital, Bucarest, y el vecino condado de Ilfov, donde una persona murió cuando un árbol cayó sobre su automóvil. Los servicios de emergencia recibieron más de 2.200 solicitudes de ayuda. Se desplegaron rescatistas y recursos como camiones, bombas de agua y motosierras desde otros condados.

Durante la tormenta cayeron 988 árboles y 495 automóviles resultaron dañados, señaló el IGSU.

Al igual que gran parte de Europa, Rumania ha estado bajo el azote de una ola de calor esta semana, con temperaturas que en algunas zonas se prevé que superen los 40 grados Celsius (104 grados Fahrenheit).

La Administración Nacional de Meteorología advirtió el miércoles que la “inestabilidad atmosférica” traería lluvias torrenciales y tormentas eléctricas a las zonas occidentales y meridionales del país.

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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.

Mere startups when he took the oath of office, the new ventures have now eclipsed in revenue much of his vast property portfolio that took him decades to accumulate.

Also, the House leadership on Tuesday abruptly canceled votes and sent lawmakers home early for the holiday recess, Speaker Mike Johnson ’s majority once again ground to a standstill by a Republican revolt over their own party’s agenda. In this case, it’s a standoff blocking the annual defense bill as Republicans push to include Trump’s own priority, the SAVE America Act, a strict voter ID bill.

Here's the latest:

Nealy 1,000 US military personnel are helping with Venezuela earthquake relief

The U.S. military now has about 900 military personnel supporting relief efforts in Venezuela following a pair of powerful back-to-back earthquakes that struck the country June 24, Steven McCloud, a U.S. Southern Command spokesperson said.

The statement comes as U.S. Southern Command continues to utilize a host of military aircraft and ships to move supplies and equipment into the country and U.S. Marines have joined search and rescue teams. The Marine Corps has also brought military transport trucks, highly mobile off-road vehicles and military ambulances to “further accelerate the movement of critical supplies and equipment,” a Southern Command statement said Wednesday.

McCloud added that there are also about 100 people from the State Department supporting aid and relief work.

The Venezuelan government has reported more than 1,400 deaths from the quakes over the weekend as well as thousands more that have been reported missing.

Trump administration moves to deport Cubans legally living in the US for alleged espionage

It comes accusations they were working as spies for Cuba’s socialist government.

The State Department said Tuesday that it had revoked the legal status of Carlos Antonio Lloga Dominguez, his wife and son, all of whom are now in federal custody awaiting deportation. The department said Lloga Dominguez had worked for more than a decade in the U.S. as an agent of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People, which it said was an “influence and intelligence front group” for Cuba.

“Under the Trump Administration, America will never become home for Cuban Communist regime thugs who peddle propaganda, run foreign influence operations, or seek to wage revolution against American civilization,” the department said in a statement.

Trump visits Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota

The president is visiting North Dakota on Wednesday to see the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, a massive facility exploring the life of America’s 26th president. The 96,000-square-foot library is in the rugged, lonely landscape where the young Easterner built his conservation values while ranching and hunting in the 1880s.

Saturday’s official opening coincides with July Fourth celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Trump is coming early to see the $450 million project, a boost for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, while also bringing the nation’s birthday festivities to a region synonymous with its westward expansion.

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Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump’s trip to North Dakota

President Trump is taking his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One — a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.

Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted to Trump’s preferred color scheme of a navy belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.

Trump told reporters he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.

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Trump says Pulte can declassify what he wants as acting director of national intelligence

The president said federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, who Trump named as the acting director of national intelligence, “can declassify whatever” he wants.

Pulte’s elevation to the position has been a source of tension because of his lack of national security credentials. But he’s been given free reign to force job cuts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“Bill is there just for a fairly short period of time, but while he’s there, I said, ‘You can declassify whatever you want,’” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One.

The president estimated that Pulte could hold the job for one or two months. There’s been a push inside Trump’s movement to release documents to back up Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, despite electoral results that show a clear loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the permanent DNI.

The president said Clayton will have a Senate hearing on his nomination in two weeks, after having canceled Clayton’s initial hearing.

Trump claims stock market gains are behind his rising fortune

Financial disclosures show Trump made roughly $1.2 billion off his crypto currency ventures last year, but the president claimed he’s not directing his investments.

“We have funds that run my money,” Trump said. “I made a lot of money before I became president, and they invest my money, and I don’t talk to them. I never, I don’t even speak to them.”

Trump claimed his financial gains largely came from a rising stock market and that those profits help the country as a whole.

“We’re all profiting,” Trump said. “I’m profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash.”

But not all Americans have access to the stock market.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that 38% of Americans don’t have exposure to the stock market.

Trump boards new Air Force One, saying Boeing’s answers to questions led him to approach Qatar

Trump beamed with pride about the new Air Force One before its initial voyage, telling reporters pictures of the Boeing 747 given to him by Qatar would win the Pulitzer Prize.

The plane was given to the U.S. by Qatar and Trump relayed how the exchange happened. He said he asked Boeing — which is set to deliver new planes for the presidential jet in 2028 — if there were any counties that had potential substitutes in the interim.

“I said, ‘Who has the best one?’ They said, ‘Qatar. There’s no, there’s never been a plane like it.’ Frankly, we couldn’t build a plane like this because we wouldn’t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollar,” Trump said.

The president said he went to Qatar and asked to use its plane for a period of time and the emir said he would instead give the plane to Trump. The president described the plane as “a gift from a country that has treated us very well.”

“You’re going to get a kick out of it,” Trump said to reporters about the plane. “There’s just nothing like it.”

How the Supreme Court became a pivotal force in Trump’s immigration agenda

President Trump’s administration looked to the Supreme Court to greenlight its sweeping hard-line immigration agenda and, by and large, it got the backing it was looking for with one key exception — birthright citizenship.

After lower courts repeatedly ruled against the Trump administration, the nation’s top court allowed it to terminate temporary protections for people fleeing war or strife. It gave immigration officers greater leeway in dealing with green card holders returning from abroad, and it allowed the government to limit the number of people who can apply for asylum.

In being asked to serve as an enabler of the Republican president’s contentious immigration crackdown, the Supreme Court showed deference to constitutional guardrails in the key case of birthright citizenship that would have redefined who can be an American. In ruling against the administration, the court upheld the idea that people who are born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, are Americans.

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Trump’s actions signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, advocates warn

For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities — rights that some fear could be losing ground under the Trump administration.

Last month, the Education Department announced it would offload oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose comments on the limits of disabilities such as autism have drawn sharp rebukes from advocates and lawmakers.

Meanwhile, following a White House push to police homelessness, the Department of Justice released guidance that lowered the barrier to institutionalizing any person with a disability.

Taken together, the actions signal a worrying return to a reality where people with disabilities are pushed to the margins of society, advocates said.

“It’s a direct, frontal assault on the rights of people with disabilities to live their lives the way that people who are nondisabled live their lives,” said Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. “I can’t imagine that as a country, that would be something that we would agree we should go back to.”

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Writer E. Jean Carroll calls for Trump to pay $5.8M after high court appeal fails

Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll asked a judge Tuesday to require President Donald Trump to pay her $5 million from a jury verdict that concluded Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s and defamed her after she publicly described the attack in 2019.

Lawyers for Carroll filed papers in Manhattan federal court to say Trump is unjustly trying to further delay release of the money after the Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil jury verdict.

The amount has grown to nearly $5.8 million with interest and should be required by the court to be disbursed, the lawyers wrote, saying Trump has resumed his defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend after Carroll testified that she was sexually abused by Trump in spring 1996 in the dressing room of a midtown Manhattan luxury department store after a flirtatious and friendly chance encounter between them turned violent.

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Trump to visit newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota’s Badlands

Trump will visit North Dakota on Wednesday to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, a massive facility exploring the 26th president’s life, built in the rugged, lonely landscape where the young easterner built his conservation values while ranching and hunting in the 1880s.

The 96,000-square-foot library opens over the weekend on July 4, the pinnacle date of celebrations this year honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But Trump is coming early to see the $450 million project, a push of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum from when he was governor of North Dakota, and bringing the official celebrations of the nation’s birth to a region synonymous with its westward expansion.

All living presidents were invited to the grand opening of the library, which joins more than a dozen such libraries throughout the country examining the lives and legacies of U.S. presidents from Ronald Reagan in California, to Franklin D. Roosevelt in New York to Herbert Hoover in Iowa. The Obama Presidential Center recently opened in Chicago, bringing together four former presidents for the occasion.

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Harvard professor with polarizing alien theories is picked to lead new White House UFO council

A polarizing Harvard astronomer known for splashy theories about alien visits has been tapped by the White House to lead a team of outside scientists to study the national security risks posed by UFOs.

Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020, was recently appointed to helm a new scientific advisory council tasked with investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported by military personnel in recent years. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s push to declassify more information about the issue.

Loeb’s team will report to a new White House panel focused on UFOs, now often referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP.

For the last decade, Loeb has been scanning the skies and seas for evidence of intelligent alien life. He began the quest in 2017 as scientists puzzled over an interstellar object soaring by Earth. While others proposed it was a comet or ice chunk, Loeb said it could be a thin “light sail” detached from an alien spacecraft.

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House GOP deadlocks over Trump’s demands, sending lawmakers home early

As the nation celebrates its 250th birthday this weekend, the legislative branch has momentarily called it quits.

The House leadership on Tuesday abruptly canceled votes and sent lawmakers home early for the holiday recess, Speaker Mike Johnson ’s majority once again ground to a standstill by a Republican revolt over their own party’s agenda.

In this case, it’s a standoff blocking the annual defense bill — with pay raises for the troops and other matters at a time of war — as the renegade Republicans push to include President Donald Trump’s own priority, the SAVE America Act, a strict voter ID bill. Last week, the Senate similarly shuttered after Trump’s demands.

The emptying Capitol provides another snapshot of the imbalance of power in Washington as a headstrong executive confronts a weakened Congress.

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Trump filing shows he took in about $1.2 billion from crypto businesses last year

President Donald Trump took in nearly $1.2 billion from his crypto businesses last year, a federal filing released Tuesday shows, locking in profits while his investors were socked with losses.

Mere startups when he took the oath of office, the new ventures have now eclipsed in revenue much of his vast property portfolio that took him decades to accumulate. Fueling their rise were billionaire investors and Trump’s own move to quash a federal crackdown on the industry.

Trump got more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling new crypto products, including “governance tokens,” according to the required annual disclosure report with the Office of Government Ethics. It also showed another crypto business, CIC Digital LLC, took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type “meme” coins stamped with his face.

Both the tokens and the coins have plunged in value since the sales.

Trump also took in millions last year from selling Trump-branded Bibles, sneakers and other small items in another unprecedented move for the presidency. The sale of Trump-branded watches alone brought in $4.7 million.

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“Today’s change is about restoring fairness for European businesses and better protecting our consumers,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an online post praising a new 3 euro ($3.42) customs duty on small packages. “The surge in low-value online imports has put our retailers at an unfair disadvantage. Too many of these products also fail to meet EU safety standards, putting consumers at risk.”

The Commission said new rules on steel imports are designed to protect EU plants and jobs from “the damaging impacts of global overcapacity” on “a strategically crucial European industry.” China’s subsidies for steel production have led critics in Brussels and beyond to charge that policy undercuts steel industries from Germany's Ruhr valley to Kyushu Island in Japan.

The EU's trade deficit with China widened in 2025 to around 360 billion euros ($410 billion) — or roughly 1 billion euros a day — and is rising in 2026.

China’s annual global trade surplus reached a near-record $1.2 trillion last year even after higher tariffs introduced by the Trump administration, and despite China’s dependency on Persian Gulf energy, the war in Iran has not destabilized China’s export-led economy with sales of high-tech goods and vehicles abroad having jumped.

Flood of small packages has destabilized main street

From Wednesday, the EU will remove an customs duty exemption called “de minimis” for parcels valued at under 150 euros. Chinese firms like the e-commerce giants Temu and Shien control about 90% of this type of trade, according to the Commission. The U.S. made a similar move last year.

The Commission said 5.9 billion small packages were imported into the EU in 2025, compared with about 1.4 billion in 2022. At roughly 16 million a day, that’s 97% of the traffic, but represents just 2% of import value. A majority of the packages were said to have failed safety tests and triggered environmental concerns on overuse of plastic.

“Europe finally shows teeth against flood of cheap package deals,” said Bernd Lange, the head of the European Parliament’s trade committee in a post online.

Yet the 3 euro tax might “not affect the big picture” as it's minimal compared to the price gap between Europe and China for goods like e-commerce, according to Gary Ng, a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies.

While it may be effective in reducing small orders and impulse purchases, Ng said that customers and e-commerce platforms can still make group orders.

EU steel under threat

The new rules set tariff-free quotas at 18.3 million metric tons annually and imposes an out-of-quota duty of 50% on 26 types of steel imports. It also requires more transparency from importers to trace where the so-called “melt and pour” stage of production takes place to ensure countries like China will not circumvent protections by shipping products to the EU via third countries. The EU had put in new steel tariffs in October to protect the bloc from a flood of steel imports diverted by new U.S. trade policy under Trump.

Europe's steel industry is in crisis, with crude steel output falling to a “historic low” in 2026, according to the European Steel Association.

“Europe’s steel production is shrinking while imports as a share of the EU market are rising,” said the trade group’s director-general Axel Eggert in March. “EU policymakers must therefore agree the new steel trade measure quickly without it being weakened otherwise Europe risks losing more industrial capacity.”

While China producers more than half of the world's steel, the EU imports mostly from trade partners like the U.K., Ukraine, India, Taiwan, Turkey, Japan and South Korea. The new tariffs could trigger penalties in free trade agreements with nations like Japan but some exemptions have been granted to Ukraine as it battles Russia.

“We will remain open to engage — call it a club, call it an alliance, call it whatever you like — but the idea that we come together with like-minded partners on this global challenge of overcapacity in the market," said a Commission official tasked with communicating policy but not authorized to be named. "In an ideal world there is fair competition and level playing fields. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to live in an ideal world.”

Beijing will oppose the new rules even if they do not directly target China, said Alicia García-Herrero, a chief economist for Asia Pacific and Middle East at the French bank Natixis.

“The Chinese do not want this instrument to work. This could be a springboard for more," she said. “It opens the door to the overall overcapacity instruments to see how it works.”

China’s Ministry of Commerce in May warned the EU against new steel import regulations and said China would firmly respond to “discriminatory measures” against its companies and products.

'Wolf pack effect'

Some experts in China have raised the alarm over growing backlash to mass exports.

In a recent report, the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing identified “ China Shock 2.0 ” — a massive surge of highly subsidized, advanced Chinese manufacturing exports flooding global markets — as one of the top 10 perceived security risks for China. It warned that the EU would likely impose additional tariffs on China that, together with protectionist sentiment in the U.S., might inspire other nations to follow suit with “steep tariff hikes and investment screening” targeting Chinese firms.

"What makes this risk distinctive is that it does not originate from a single adversary. It is the ‘wolf pack effect’ of multiple countries acting in concert, inflicting not only direct economic losses on China but, more profoundly, degrading its strategic environment and international business reputation," the report stated.

Beijing has hit back at the concept of “China Shock 2.0,” defending it instead as an “opportunity” which brings the world wider shared benefits from China's tech innovations.

While the EU has not been as combative with China as the Trump administration, “the direction of travel is clearly shifting in Brussels,” HSBC economists Frederic Neumann and Justin Feng wrote in a research note on Tuesday.

In June, leaders from the Group of Seven nations issued a joint call to develop independent supply chains for critical minerals so crucial for defense and high-tech industries.

'Status quo is not an option'

“China and the EU are partners, not rivals,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday. “The root cause of the EU’s problems does not lie with China.”

China’s recent success handling Trump’s escalated tariff threats last year suggests it “can withstand external pressure,” according to Neumann and Feng, who said Beijing leveraged its control of rare earth supply chains to forge a truce on trade with Washington.

“If China managed a U.S. tariff ramp-up and the global energy shock during the U.S.-Iran conflict, it may show less inclination to make concessions to the EU,” the economists said. “The near-term outlook points to limited progress towards a comprehensive China-EU settlement.”

García-Herrero said that despite the importance of the EU’s common market to China — 90% of battery and 60% of its electrical vehicles exports go to the bloc — there is a perception in Beijing that they can successfully dissuade common action by lobbying national capitals in the EU.

“China thinks Europe has no leverage,” she said. “They do think they have the upper hand, by all means.”

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with the EU’s trade representative Maroš Šefčovič in Brussels on Monday.

“The EU remains open for business but we need to defend our industrial base and keep pushing for a level playing field globally, so our industries get a fair shot at competing,” Šefčovič said after the talks. “That is why today’s talks – and the ones to follow – matter."

He has set an October deadline for meaningful results in rebalancing trade during a visit to Beijing.

“The status quo is not an option.”

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Chan reported from Hong Kong.

Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year.

The Ufa refinery is one of Russia’s largest producers of lubricants and is located more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Ukraine also struck a plant producing missile components in Russia’s Penza region southeast of Moscow, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

Russian officials did not confirm the strikes, which could not be independently verified. The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 179 Ukrainian drones over 16 Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and waters of the Azov and the Black Sea.

Penza regional Gov. Oleg Melnichenko said that Ukrainian drones struck two industrial plants in the city of Penza, injuring two people at one of them. He didn’t name the plants or describe the damage.

The explosions shattered windows in two apartment buildings in Penza, Melnichenko said, while downed drone debris damaged a power line and fell on a building under construction.

Ukraine says drone strikes slow Russian advance

Ukraine’s domestically developed and manufactured drones and missiles have been hammering Russian oil facilities, including refineries, terminals, storage depots and pipeline pumping stations, for months.

Many regions of Russia, one of the world’s biggest energy producers, have introduced fuel rationing.

Ukraine has developed new weaponry and in recent months has gained an edge, according to Western officials. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front line have robbed the Russian army of momentum on the battlefield, officials and analysts say.

“Russians now have great problems with delivering infantry to the front line and supplying it,” Ukrainian Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov said Wednesday.

Ukraine sees growing interest in its military technology

Ukraine has become a provider of military technology sought by countries around the world, especially drones.

With European countries fearing what Moscow’s territorial ambitions might lie beyond Ukraine, leaders have described Kyiv as a bulwark against Russian advances.

Ukraine is “becoming a security provider for the whole of Europe,” Swedish Minister of Defense Paul Jonsson said in Kyiv, where he held talks with Fedorov.

Ukraine signed an agreement on Tuesday for Sweden to provide Kyiv with Gripen fighter jets. They will help Ukraine stop Russian aircraft carrying powerful glide bombs, Fedorov said.

Jonsson said European countries want Ukraine to be integrated into Euro-Atlantic defenses, although Ukraine’s NATO membership has been a contentious issue and likely will be discussed at an alliance summit in Turkey next week.

“The sooner it happens, the better it is for you, the better it is for our security and prosperity as well,” Jonsson told a press conference.

Ukraine also wants to join the European Union, though the process could take years. Zelenskyy arrived Wednesday in Ireland, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

“Ukraine proves every day that it deserves to be an equal partner of our common European home. And we hope that during Ireland’s presidency of the EU Council, we will be able to achieve tangible progress on the path to membership and open all negotiations clusters,” Zelenskyy said.

Russian attacks kill five Ukrainian civilians, injure 35

Russian long-range attacks on Ukraine continued, with at least five civilians reported killed Wednesday.

A Russian drone struck a bus in the southern Kherson region, killing two people and injuring six others, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Glide bombs hit the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest, killing two people, including a 15-year-old boy, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. At least 26 people were wounded, including a 1-year-old, he added.

A 43-year-old woman was killed and three were injured, including a 35-year-old pregnant woman, when Russia attacked five gas stations in the central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, according to regional authorities.

Russian forces have increasingly targeted Ukrainian gas stations.

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

After lower courts repeatedly ruled against the Trump administration, the nation's top court allowed it to terminate temporary protections for people fleeing war or strife. It gave immigration officers greater leeway in dealing with green card holders returning from abroad, and it allowed the government to limit the number of people who can apply for asylum.

In being asked to serve as an enabler of the Republican president's contentious immigration crackdown, the Supreme Court showed deference to constitutional guardrails in the key case of birthright citizenship that would have redefined who can be an American. In ruling against the administration, the court upheld the idea that people who are born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status, are Americans.

Each decision could have far-reaching consequences for foreigners seeking to live in the country and could help shape public perceptions over whether America remains a beacon for migrants.

Birthright citizenship is upheld, prompting calls for more restrictions

The Trump administration had sought to prevent children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily from being entitled to American citizenship at birth.

A divided Supreme Court upheld the concept of birthright citizenship, with a bare majority of five justices saying that with very limited exceptions the long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S.

It was a blow to Trump's immigration agenda, a centerpiece of his second administration. The president signed the order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship on his first day in office, although it never went into effect due to legal challenges.

The court's decision was praised by advocates but led to calls by some Republicans to try to restrict birthright citizenship by other means.

Mark Krikorian, who heads the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for less immigration, said the decision makes the president's push for large-scale deportations “all the more urgent,” with the goal of removing people in the country illegally before they have children.

Krikorian said the decision means policies governing programs that allow foreigners to come to the U.S. to work or study at university need to be “tightened up” to prevent people from coming to the U.S. and having children who then become citizens. He also suggested the State Department could add a pregnancy question to visa applications of foreigners seeking to get a tourist or other visa to come to the U.S.

“I think it’s going to have real policy impact," Krikorian said.

Temporary protections for Haitians and Syrians removed

The court allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants who have fled violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria. The 6-3 decision announced June 25 potentially leaves hundreds of thousands of more people unable to work in the U.S. and vulnerable to deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has moved to end the protections, including some that had been in place for more than a decade, for people from 13 countries.

Republican critics have said that these temporary protections effectively become permanent. But immigration lawyers said countries such as Haiti and Syria remain dangerous.

The court’s conservative majority found that the law doesn’t allow courts to question the process that immigration authorities use to revoke the protections. The high court sided with the administration before and allowed the end of the program for people from Venezuela.

It's unclear how quickly the court's ruling could translate into ICE trying to remove affected Haitians and Syrians from the country although fear of potential deportation has already ricocheted around the Haitian community.

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank that advocates for more immigration, said the court's decision has a far wider impact than just the 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians covered by the case. Roughly 1 million others are covered by temporary protected status, or TPS, decisions, and Bier said the ruling leaves them without any meaningful way to challenge the administration's moves.

“It just fully closed the door to any challenges," Bier said.

Limits on asylum applicants allowed

Under U.S. law, migrants who set foot on American soil can apply for asylum. Although the number of migrants coming to the southern border has fallen dramatically during the Trump administration, the numbers of asylum seekers had ballooned under previous administrations.

Started under Democrat Barack Obama's administration and then expanded under Trump's first term, asylum-metering limited how many people could apply for asylum every day at the southern border with Mexico.

The ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to potentially revive the policy, which isn't in place now, should it choose to do so.

The administration argued that asylum-metering was an important tool and that people turned away at the border could come back later. But advocates argued that at the time the asylum-metering was in place it led to chaos and a humanitarian crisis in Mexico as thousands of people waited for days and months in makeshift shelters in Mexico.

Court allows administration greater leeway with some green card holders

In another 6-3 decision, the court sided with the Trump administration in giving greater power to immigration officers when deciding how to treat green card holders returning to the country from abroad.

In 2012, Customs and Border Protection officers put lawful permanent resident Muk Choi Lau on immigration parole when he returned from a short trip to China and took away his green card. He had been accused of a counterfeiting crime, although not convicted.

Lau argued that the officer overstepped their authority and that when he eventually pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit clothes in New Jersey, the decision gave Homeland Security, then under the Obama administration, an easier path to remove him from the country.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in her dissent, wrote that she was worried that the court had given the government a “massive blank check” in dealing with millions of other lawful permanent residents who want to travel abroad.

The American Immigration Council, an advocacy group, wrote in an analysis after the court's decision that Congress gave lawful permanent residents special protections when they travel that make it harder to detain and remove them from the country.

There are exceptions that limit the special protections that green card holders have, including if the person has committed certain crimes in the U.S., the council wrote.

The council said there were still a lot of questions as to the effect of the court's decision but that it expects the government to argue that the decision can be applied more broadly.

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It happened Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of the Walmart located at 7900 W. McNabb Rd. in North Lauderdale.

According to officials, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and North Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene after receiving reports about a shooting.

Upon arrival, deputies said they found a man who had been shot, and that man was rushed by paramedics to a nearby hospital with injuries that were considered life-threatening.

Authorities said a woman was detained for questioning, but no arrests have been made.

One Walmart shopper told Local 10 News that he heard screaming after the shooting.

“She became fearful and distraught, and then after she shot him, they were screaming and someone called police and the police came out,” the shopper said.

Walmart shoppers told Local 10 that the shooting happened during a dispute over a parking space, but authorities have not yet confirmed that information.

Detectives from BSO’s Violent Crimes Unit are investigating the circumstances that led up to the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

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The desperate search for survivors through the rubble has gone on for days after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.

On Monday night, family members said Carlos Miguel Colmenares Gutierrez was rescued after being stuck in the rubble for five days.

Cellphone video captured the boy being taken away by crews on a stretcher.

A crowd gathered all around them, applauding, marveled by what they saw.

The boy was later shown being taken away by ambulance to a Caracas hospital.

His second cousin, Mayra Heredia, said he’s in stable condition in the ICU with no serious injuries even though he was trapped for so long.

He was home in his apartment when the earthquakes struck, and a fallen fridge had shielded him from the collapsed roof.

“By Sunday, they pretty much said the building was a loss,” said Heredia. “They presumed everyone dead.”

But Monday, crews heard the boy yelling out his name, and their cameras confirmed he was in there, leading to the rescue.

“It’s a miracle,” said Heredia. “We’re all in shock he’s alive. He survived with no life-threatening injuries -- he’s just very dehydrated.”

While the family is grateful for the boy’s rescue, they know that for so many in Venezuela, it’s not the same story.

“It’s still a bittersweet feeling knowing yes, we found him, but there’s thousands of others who might still be alive under there that we haven’t been able to fully locate,” said Heredia.

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On Tuesday, the global superstar, pop icon and South Florida native began a new tour right here in her hometown.

Grande opened her Eternal Sunshine Tour, her first in seven years, at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.

Fans were at the arena early on Tuesday, excited to see the “Wicked” star perform.

Local 10’s Jason Carter was there, and his full report can be seen at the top of this page.

Starting Wednesday, the federal government is offering a selection of the brand name medications to certain Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries for $50 a month through a new trial called Medicare GLP-1 Bridge.

The temporary program, which runs until the end of 2027, is the first opportunity for most older adults to get GLP-1s, short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, covered by insurance when used strictly for weight loss. But there are weight and health requirements, and those who already get GLP-1s covered for diseases like diabetes and sleep apnea won’t qualify.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said he hopes the program can help his agency collect data to potentially work toward longer-term coverage, while providing immediate relief to cash-strapped older Americans.

“The sheer cost of these medications is a huge barrier to access,” he said in a call with reporters. “That ends today.”

Eligibility is based on BMI and other conditions

Of the more than 70 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, at least 10 million are overweight or obese, said Juliette Cubanski, vice president and director of the program on Medicare policy at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. But, she said, a narrower slice of that group will have access to this program.

There's no good data on how many people it can benefit — and Oz declined to speculate on the number with reporters. He said data from the program will reveal how many eligible beneficiaries choose to take the drugs, a number his team is keen to learn.

To qualify, besides having Medicare drug coverage, you must have a body mass index of 35 or higher, or a BMI of 27 or higher alongside another health condition, such as a past heart attack or stroke, prediabetes or another from a list on the CMS website. BMI measurements are counted at the start of GLP-1 therapy — so even people who fall below the threshold now can qualify if they can show they had a high enough BMI when they began taking the drugs.

Medicare beneficiaries who have sleep apnea, diabetes or fatty liver disease can’t access the program, but their Medicare Part D insurance might cover their GLP-1s separately based on those diagnoses.

If you think you might qualify, the first step is to contact your health care provider, CMS says on its website. The provider must send a prescription for one of the covered GLP-1 drugs to a pharmacy and fill out a prior authorization form.

Only some GLP-1s are included

The covered medications include drugmaker Eli Lilly’s Foundayo tablets and Zepbound KwikPens and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injections and tablets. Those GLP-1s have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss, Cubanski said.

For those in the program, the cost is $50 per month, regardless of dosage. But those payments won’t contribute to their insurance deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. That’s because Medicare, rather than the Part D insurer, is subsidizing the prescription.

Longer-term coverage of GLP-1s remains uncertain

The program is scheduled to sunset after Dec. 31, 2027. And since Congress hasn’t authorized Medicare to cover weight loss drugs permanently, the federal government is limited in its options to keep the access flowing.

Congress could pass a law to allow the drugs to be covered. CMS also could move forward with a different, voluntary pilot program for covering the drugs called BALANCE, which the agency indefinitely delayed earlier this year when many Part D insurers were reluctant to sign up.

Oz told reporters that CMS plans to “carefully track participation and outcomes” to see whether an extension of the Bridge program or another solution is the best way to move forward. He told The Associated Press a federal law permanently allowing the coverage is “not essential right now” but something “for Congress to debate amongst themselves.”

“We can’t decide what’s going to happen long term with Bridge until we see some of the data,” he said, noting that other negotiations with drug companies to lower costs are ongoing.

Program is life-changing for some, frustrating for others

GLP-1s have soared in popularity in recent years, and they've spurred dramatic weight loss in many patients. But their cost — sometimes hundreds of dollars a month for higher doses — has been a barrier.

For 78-year-old California resident Gloria Dralla, who told the AP she’s lost some 40 pounds after buying lower-cost Wegovy in Europe, the Bridge program means being able to continue a treatment that has improved her life.

“This drug should be made available at a reasonable price for everybody who’s got weight loss problems,” she said.

But not everyone will have access to the drugs at an affordable price. Katie Smith, 71, in Virginia isn’t so sure she will be eligible for the program. She has a BMI of 33 but isn’t sure if she has another health condition that would allow her to meet the requirements.

Smith, whose mobility and ability to exercise were severely limited by a spinal cord injury in her 20s, said she has looked into getting the medications but was quoted $700 a month, a price she can't afford.

“I cannot tell you how frustrated I am,” she said. “I have the drive and I have the willingness and I have the motivation, but I have not been able to lose weight in all the conventional ways.”

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The shooting happened near the McDonald’s at Stirling Road and the Davie Road Extension after deputies attempted to arrest the suspect, who authorities said was armed and fled from deputies.

That suspect has since been identified as Napolian Marquez Powell, 27, of Lauderhill.

Records show Powell has an extensive criminal history that includes drug charges, along with charges of grand theft and resisting arrest.

Witnesses described hearing a rapid barrage of gunfire during the confrontation.

“They keep telling him to put his hands up – ‘Let me see your hands,’” witness Gregory Jackson said. “I guess the guy didn’t reply. Next thing I know, I hear almost 30 shots coming from the guns. I dropped my phone and ran.”

Jackson said he scrambled for cover as the shooting unfolded.

“Once I heard those gunshots, man, I went for cover,” he said. “I went to take cover up under my car, got skinned up in the process.”

On Tuesday, investigators returned to the scene, focusing their attention on the bushes and the fast food restaurant’s drive-thru as they searched for additional evidence.

“It was a crazy, horrific sight that I seen yesterday,” Jackson said. “I’ve never seen nothing like it.”

According to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, deputies initially encountered Powell in the parking lot of a Wawa across the street while attempting to serve an active arrest warrant. He said the suspect ran from deputies while holding a gun.

Deputies pursued the man for roughly 100 feet before tackling him in an effort to take him into custody, Tony said.

According to the sheriff, Powell was wanted for fleeing and eluding police and detectives believed DNA evidence may connect him to other crimes. He did not provide details about those investigations.

The sheriff also said investigators had intelligence indicating Powell previously told others that if law enforcement attempted to arrest him, he intended to force a “suicide by police” confrontation.

It’s unclear whether the suspect fired his own gun during the confrontation.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

Osaka, whose fashion reveals have become an event of their own at Grand Slam tournaments, wore a less elaborate outfit for her walk-on than the “Kill Bill” inspired kimono for her opening-round match on Monday.

This all-white outfit featured a wide belt and a long train behind her. It drew plenty of attention as she made the walk from the locker room to No. 2 Court, trailed by photographers and fans wanting to take their own photos. The four-time major winner took off the latest ensemble as she began warming up for her match against qualifier Anastasia Gasanova.

She went on to quickly dispatch Gasanova 6-3, 6-2.

“I'm just trying to mix it up a little bit,” Osaka said about her outfit, adding she had been worried that a loss might have ruined her daughter Shai's third birthday on Thursday.

“I just wanted to be here for longer, I didn't want to make her get on a plane on her birthday,” Osaka said.

Osaka's match was among the early starts on the outside courts as the second round got underway.

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka soon followed her into the third round, beating McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6 (9) on No. 1 Court.

Sabalenka converted her third match point in the tiebreaker after saving two set points.

“She really tested me today and I'm super happy to have passed the test,” said Sabalenka, who will next play Jelena Ostapenko.

Other winners included French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli and No. 26 Tommy Paul.

Defending men's champion Jannik Sinner was playing Nuno Borges in the first match on Centre Court. That will be followed by women's French Open winner Mirra Andreeva facing 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova before Novak Djokovic takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas.

On Tuesday, Serena Williams returned to Centre Court but lost in three sets to Maya Joint in her first singles match in nearly four years. Williams is set to play doubles with sister Venus later in the week.

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

The blaze was caused by a technical failure on the ground floor of the building, where more than 200 people live in 80 apartments, in the city’s Linkeroever neighborhood, sending vast plumes of smoke into the air, Antwerp police said in a statement.

The top floors of the 10-story block appeared worst hit. The building was evacuated and nearby residents were warned to keep their windows and doors closed and, if needed, to turn off any ventilators due to the amount of smoke in the air. Those evacuated were taken to a local shelter.

Firefighters battled the blaze in difficult conditions due to its size and intensity, police said. Several teams of first responders and police were dispatched to the site, including a specialized drone unit.

Television images from the scene showed one man on an upper floor enveloped in smoke and hanging over a balcony in an effort to get fresh air, before making his way to a nearby window.

A medical emergency plan was activated to keep the victims from saturating nearby hospitals.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene said that the smoke died down by early afternoon, but that many first responders were still there.

Belgium 's Prime Minister Bart De Wever, a former mayor of Antwerp, said his “thoughts are with the victims and the evacuated residents of the terrible fire on Linkeroever.”

“My deep appreciation goes out to the emergency services who are striving to help the many affected people as quickly and safely as possible, and who are working hard to bring the fire under control,” he said in a post on social media.

Linkeroever, which is located on the eastern edge of Antwerp, is a large residential area dotted by high-rise apartment buildings and bordering a major park where outdoor music concerts are held.

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Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

“Our patriotism is medieval, outworn, obsolete,” Twain wrote in 1905. “The modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.”

In these rabidly partisan times, those who think President Donald Trump deserves their support and those who don’t are joining in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Whether all the partying to come gives the nation a breather from disunity or aggravates it is an open question.

It's a proud and loud moment, sown with division and doubt.

Love of country comes in different flavors, of course. Some love it as is. Some love what it could become and press on with their activism and protest in pursuit of history's call for a “more perfect union." Some love what it used to be and might be once more — the underpinning of MAGA.

But overall, belief in American exceptionalism has waned. More people in the U.S. think there are better countries in the world than those who think the United States is the best. That’s according to an April poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that found 44% endorsing the United States as just one of the best.

This is not the America of, say, Teddy Roosevelt, whose presidential library Trump is visiting in North Dakota on Wednesday. Roosevelt mirrored the brashness and ambition of a country surging in innovation, industry, influence, military muscle and spirit.

In its place is a country where the president is his own brand of brash, but millions of the people he leads wonder if it's all coming apart.

Who’s in charge here?

For the 250th, the division starts at the top, with two organizations claiming to be the one leading the commemoration and all but ignoring the other.

A decade ago, Congress created the bipartisan America250 group and charged it by law with planning the country’s local, national and international events for the 250th. Trump stepped on that with an executive order making his Freedom 250 group “the” national organization in charge.

Marquee events like the Fourth of July fireworks at the National Mall, the parade of tall ships in New York and the Great American State Fair along the National Mall are the province of Trump's Freedom 250. Musical stars who had been lined up for the splashy opener of the fair last week withdrew, concerned Trump, a Republican, would make the festivities political and very much about him.

He stepped forward to fill the void, declaring himself the “No. 1 attraction," and he delivered a speech there June 24 on American glory and his achievements. He'll headline the official July Fourth events in the capital as well, for what he called “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all."

Poems, art and a message in a bottle go underground for 250 years

America250, meantime, put together America's Block Party — a series scheduled simultaneously around the country anchored by a Fourth of July benefit concert in Los Angeles hosted by Queen Latifah, with Chris Stapleton and the Smashing Pumpkins among the acts.

By congressional mandate, America250 also sank a 900-pound (400-kilogram) time capsule in Philadelphia with items from all states and branches of government, to be pried open in 250 years.

The people of 2276 will then see a major league baseball lineup from 2026, poems from Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky and more, postcards from Colorado and Maine, beaded artwork from Montana, an Oklahoma belt buckle, a message in a vintage Coco-Cola bottle, a pocket Constitution signed by the U.S. justices, a George Washington Lord’s Prayer gold medal from Utah given out at the Wedding of the Rails event celebrating completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and more.

In Philadelphia, where the founders signed the declaration and birthed the nation, 250 people will form the contours of the Liberty Bell in a parade with 50 marching bands and Miss America delegates, formerly called contestants, representing every state.

Ain't that America: Celebrations sprout from the grassroots, too

Though there are official events galore, it's not as if Americans, of all people, need the government to show them a good time.

In one of thousands of gatherings under the national radar, Evans, Pennsylvania, will hear the Circle of Friends Choir perform patriotic songs a cappella in an event also featuring a patriotic trivia contest and a barbershop quartet.

In Pocatello, Idaho, drag queens organized a reading of patriotic picture books for young people, including the story of Katharine Lee Bates. Bates returned from the Colorado Rockies, where the spacious skies, purple mountain majesties and fruited plains inspired her to write the poem that became “America the Beautiful.”

Twain, the scold and satirist of American government and of imperialism, shared Bates' love of his country's natural beauty. He loved the nature of its people, too — sometimes. “We glorious Americans will occasionally astonish the God that created us,” he wrote.

But a century before Make America Great Again grabbed the political zeitgeist by the lapels, he was speaking of good old days lost.

“We are called the nation of inventors," he said. “And we are. We could still claim that title and wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped with the first thing we ever invented, which was human liberty.” ___

This story has been corrected to show the benefit concert host’s name is Latifah, not Latifa.

The Leaf also faces a familiar challenger. The Chevrolet Bolt is back for 2027 after a three-year hiatus. Its 2027 overhaul adds updated technology features and more range. Both of these small EVs have starting prices around $30,000 and are compelling choices if you can’t commit to pricier picks from Hyundai, Tesla and Toyota. But which is best for you? Edmunds’ auto experts tested them to find out.

Range, performance and charging

The 2027 Bolt is capable of going 262 miles on a single charge, according to the EPA’s estimates. That’s certainly enough for routine driving and to make the occasional road trip feasible. The Leaf holds a potential edge with its EPA-estimated maximum of 303 miles. However, these two EVs were more closely matched in Edmunds’ standardized real-world range test. Here, the Bolt traveled 290 miles and the Leaf covered 310 miles.

Acceleration is similar — both went from zero to 60 mph in about 7 seconds in Edmunds’ testing — but the Bolt is the EV that Edmunds prefers to drive. The Chevy’s nimble handling makes it ideal for threading tight city streets, while the Leaf feels a little too harsh and bouncy over rough asphalt.

If you’re charging at public fast-charging stations, the Bolt will potentially get you back on the road a bit sooner. In Edmunds’ testing, the Bolt was able to regain range more quickly than the Leaf.

Winner: Bolt

Technology features

Gadget-minded drivers will probably prefer the Leaf. It comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, another 12.3-inch display for digital gauges, and an option to upgrade both screens to 14.3 inches. The Leaf also has wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, allowing you to easily use many of your smartphone’s apps right on the touchscreen.

The Bolt has dual 11-inch displays but no option to upgrade in size. It also lacks Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality and instead uses Google Built-In, an integrated Android-based operating system. Popular apps such as Waze and Apple Music can be downloaded from the Google app store, but overall Edmunds prefers the convenience of having Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Bolt does have one potential advantage with its available Super Cruise feature. When active, Super Cruise enables hands-free driving on highways to help reduce driver fatigue during tedious conditions, such as in slow-moving traffic or on long highway drives. But overall, the Leaf maintains its edge here.

Winner: Leaf

Interior space and utility

The Bolt and Leaf share crossover-style designs with tall roofs, ample cabin space and similar headroom. Rear seat passengers can stretch out more in the Bolt thanks to its additional 7.3 inches of legroom compared to the Bolt. That’s also advantageous if you have small kids and need to install a bulky rear-facing child safety seat.

The Leaf compensates with more cargo space behind its rear seats. It has 20 cubic feet behind the rear seat compared to the Bolt’s 16.2 cubic feet. Nissan also includes a handy underfloor storage system, so you can securely stow valuables or smaller items.

Winner: Leaf

Price and value

The Chevy Bolt LT starts at $28,995, including the destination fee, making it today’s most affordable new EV. Chevy includes the basic convenience features plus plenty of standard advanced driver aids such as adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning and intervention. Go with the Bolt RS for a few thousand more and you get upgrades such as synthetic leather upholstery, a power-adjustable driver’s seat and a heated steering wheel.

The Leaf S+ trim, starting at $31,535, is also a good deal. It has a similar collection of standard features and advanced driver aids. It also has a standard surround-view camera system, which is helpful for parking in tight spots. But typically you’ll be paying more for a Leaf. A fully loaded Leaf Platinum+ will cost you around $40,000 while a loaded Bolt RS will be around $37,500.

Winner: Bolt

Edmunds says

The Bolt and the Leaf are both solid choices for an affordable EV. In fact, they ended up with the same overall score in Edmunds’ ratings. Choose the Leaf for its longer range, more useful tech and bigger cargo area, or go with the Bolt for its better value for the money and more agile handling around town.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Dan Frio is a contributor at Edmunds.

Saturday's official opening coincides with July Fourth celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Trump is coming early to see the $450 million project, a boost for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, while also bringing the nation's birthday festivities to a region synonymous with its westward expansion.

The Republican president made the trip aboard his new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 given to the United States by Qatar. Trump said he asked Boeing, which is set to deliver new planes for the president's service in 2028, if there were any countries that had potential substitutes in the interim.

“I said, ‘Who has the best one?’ They said, ‘Qatar," Trump said, adding that he was assured, "'There’s never been a plane like it.'”

All living presidents were invited to the grand opening of the library, which joins more than a dozen throughout the country examining the lives and legacies of U.S. presidents from Ronald Reagan in California to Franklin D. Roosevelt in New York and Herbert Hoover in Iowa. The Obama Presidential Center recently opened in Chicago, bringing together four former presidents for the occasion.

Trump will be the library’s first official visitor, according to the library's executive director, Robbie Lauf. Trump will speak at a nearby Western-themed amphitheater at an event run by Freedom 250, the Trump-created group billed as nonpartisan that he has tapped to organize the festivities he will participate in this week.

On Friday, the president plans to visit South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore for Independence Day fireworks, as he did in 2020.

Trump has often praised Roosevelt and has compared himself favorably to the late president. Trump began his second term last year by trumpeting construction of the Panama Canal during the Roosevelt administration.

Trump even said the U.S. might seek to take back the waterway from Panama to curb influence from China. That is a goal overshadowed by his suggestions that Washington might seize control of Greenland or that Canada could become America's 51st state.

In the run-up to staging a UFC fight on the White House lawn for his 80th birthday, Trump said he was aware of Roosevelt holding far lower-key boxing matches in the White House. Trump made no mention of Roosevelt having detached the retina of his left eye during one such sparring session.

The trip also underscores the president's esteem for Burgum, who has become a key face of and cheerleader for the president’s expansive renovation projects around Washington.

Roosevelt was a New York native with a strong North Dakota connection

Roosevelt visited Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. On Valentine's Day the next year, his mother and wife died hours apart in the same house in New York.

Devastated, Roosevelt came to Dakota where he ranched cattle and hunted big game in the West during visits mostly from 1884 to 1887.

He underwent deep personal growth from his experiences, including chasing boat thieves down a river, standing up to a bully in a bar and working alongside cowboys who ridiculed him for wearing eyeglasses.

Roosevelt, who served as president from 1901 to 1909, later said he never would have been president were it not for his experiences in North Dakota.

Near the library is Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Visitors can hike trails and drive a scenic route through the colorful, rugged Badlands where bison and wild horses roam.

In 2019, Burgum championed the library to North Dakota's Republican-led legislature when he was governor, touting its tourism potential. The legislature approved a $50 million operations endowment, requiring library planners to raise $100 million in private donations, a goal met in 2020. Donations total about $354 million as of early 2026.

Donors include oil executive Harold Hamm, the Waltons of Walmart fame, Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, a hedge fund, and Burgum himself.

Burgum also has lobbied for Roosevelt’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roosevelt became alarmed at the number of injuries and deaths of college football players and convened a 1905 White House meeting featuring the presidents of Harvard, Yale and Princeton to urge safety improvements. That helped sparked the founding of the NCAA, college’s sports governing body.

The library will showcase Roosevelt's ideas and artifacts

Visitors will learn about Roosevelt's conservation ideas and his Rough Riders regiment of the Spanish-American War, but also his “horrific comments” about Native Americans and other issues "that have obviously aged poorly," Lauf said.

Artifacts, many of them out of public view for decades, will tell Roosevelt's story. Visitors will see his Rough Riders uniform; the 1884 diary grieving his terrible loss; and the eyeglasses case, speech and shirt from the 1912 assassination attempt against him.

Organizers hope the library draws families and thousands of school children from the region, as well as some of the millions of motorists who travel to Yellowstone National Park and the Black Hills.

“It's a feature, not a bug, that we are in a county of 1,000 people and a town of 120,” Lauf said. “TR came here for that purpose.”

The Dakota Resource Council on Tuesday hosted several conservation leaders who criticized Burgum and Trump for policies they say contradict Roosevelt's conservation principles, such as cutting staff and budgets and prioritizing energy development on public lands.

Last year Burgum signed an order prioritizing the openness and accessibility of parks to the public amid the workforce cuts. He has compared America's public lands and natural resources to “assets” that should be responsibly developed to exert “energy dominance.”

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Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime.

Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage since the war began Feb. 28, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.

The report came as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, were in Doha, Qatar, for talks over reaching a permanent end to the Iran war. Iran's top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Qatar with a team as well.

Technical talks between diplomats began Wednesday in Qatar, said two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions. Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the strait and Lebanon loom large.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key sticking point in talks

Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.

The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to the charges. An effort by Oman and a U.N. agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore sparked attacks across the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions.

Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.” It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait.

The Guard’s navy has repeatedly warned that “any entry or exit through routes other than the ‘Route of Authority’ in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents.”

The report did not mention the two ships Iran attacked in recent days for daring to head out through the strait without Tehran's permission, including one carrying crude oil from Qatar.

Qatar meets with both sides

Witkoff and Kushner arrived Tuesday in Qatar ahead of talks, with Qatar mediating. While Iran has said it planned no meetings with the Americans, there was the possibility of the nations negotiating indirectly by passing messages through Qatari officials.

Qatar said the Americans met Wednesday with its ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Sheikh Mohammed also met with Gharibabadi and other Iranian officials. An Iranian statement said they discussed the interim deal and “the existing challenges and obstacles to its implementation.” Pakistani mediators also were on hand.

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator, told Iranian state television that work continues to try to reach a permanent end to the war.

“We are engaged in dialogue, but if they refuse to implement what has been agreed through dialogue, we are prepared for war,” Qalibaf said.

Lebanon is another key point in a final deal. Iran has insisted that all fighting end between the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah and Israeli military forces there.

Iran also has called for Israel to give up the land it now occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel insists it must hold the territory and have a free hand to attack Hezbollah, which has been launching attacks into northern Israel.

More ships get out of Strait of Hormuz

While ship traffic in the strait dropped after the weekend attacks, more countries say their vessels have gotten out.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 10 out of 11 Thai-flagged vessels or vessels chartered by Thai operators have departed the strait safely. South Korean officials say all but two of the country’s 26 vessels that were stranded have left safely.

Iraq shoots down drone over Baghdad

Elsewhere, Iraqi authorities on Wednesday shot down a small drone over Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which includes many embassies and government buildings, two Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

One of the officials said the drone was unarmed and likely was being used for surveillance. No group immediately claimed the drone as theirs.

After the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias launched frequent attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq. The drone that was shot down Wednesday was the first security incident in Baghdad since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.

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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar; Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Police are investigating whether negligence during ongoing construction work caused the collapse that left another eight children injured and hospitalized in stable condition.

Residents and preliminary police findings indicate the tutoring center was operating in an aging building. Investigators believe the unfinished roof of the second floor may have collapsed because of poor construction.

At least two people, including the building owner, were arrested as investigators tried to determine who was responsible, senior police official Kamran Faisal said, adding that negligence by the owner and construction workers appear to have caused the collapse.

“We are still investigating to determine exactly whose negligence resulted in this tragic incident,” Faisal said.

Funeral prayers for the children, who were up to 14 years old, began before dawn and continued through Wednesday morning. Most of the victims were buried in a local graveyard, while some families planned to take the bodies to their native towns for burial.

Ambulances transported the victims’ bodies overnight to their homes in Kahna, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Lahore. As the bodies were returned to their families, cries echoed through the neighborhood. Mothers and female relatives sat beside the bodies throughout the night while classmates and friends of the victims stood nearby in tears.

The funeral mourners Wednesday morning included Mohammad Ashfaq, a laborer whose 7-year-old son and nephew were killed in the collapse.

“I cannot express my pain and grief in words,” Ashfaq said through tears as relatives tried to comfort him.

Nearby, Muhammad Farooq mourned the loss of his young daughter.

“Yesterday she went to her tuition class at around 4 p.m.,” Farooq said. “Around 4:45 p.m., my family called me and said the roof of the tuition center had collapsed. They told me many children were trapped under the debris. Fourteen children were killed, and the injured were taken to the hospital.”

Local resident Mohammad Tahir said neighbors were the first to respond after the roof gave way.

“Rescuers arrived quickly, but before they reached us, neighbors rushed in with shovels and even dug through the debris with their bare hands,” Tahir said. “We also pulled children from the rubble, but many could not be saved.”

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Structures are frequently built with substandard materials and safety regulations are sometimes ignored to reduce costs.

Grief has turned to anger for some people. Residents blamed the owner of the tutoring center for holding classes in what they described as an old and unsafe building despite ongoing construction and demanded strict punishment for those responsible.

“We don’t know whose funeral to attend first or whose home to visit first to offer condolences,” Tahir said.

Xi Jinping, now in his 14th year in power, noted that China achieved in a few decades what it took centuries for rich countries to do.

“We advocate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, providing Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for addressing major issues facing humanity,” he said at an event marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party.

China, which has long bristled at U.S. dominance of the international system, has said it doesn't want to replace the global order but change it to better represent the interests of developing countries. Xi's government went head-to-head with the U.S. last year and forced President Donald Trump to scale back import tariffs that he had imposed on imports from China.

The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, putting humanity at a crossroads, Xi said. He repeated past pledges to push forward the construction of a new type of international relations to promote world peace and development.

His remarks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing echoed many of the themes of his speech on the party's 100th anniversary in 2021, including the importance of a strong military and of bringing Taiwan under China's control.

He emphasized the need to elevate the military more quickly to world-class standards, while also upholding the Communist Party's leadership of the armed forces. Several senior generals have been removed in recent years in a corruption purge that is also seen as a way to ensure loyalty in the military.

So have other Venezuelan earthquake survivors.

They, like others across the northern state of La Guaira, have the same question: Who is in charge? Venezuela's self-described socialist government, which long prided itself on being protector and provider, has been neither when it mattered most, many said.

The powerful back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 have brought to the forefront t he inability of the party that has ruled the country for 27 years — now with acting President Delcy Rodriguez at the helm — to carry out basic governmental functions.

“We’ve been abandoned,” Mundrain said, sitting in a chair on the street Tuesday in front of what remained of the 11-story building she once called home. “We feel helpless. What we have seen is a lack of organization, a lack of empathy, a lack of everything.”

In the critical 72 hours after residential buildings, food joints, pharmacies, hotels and convenience stores imploded in La Guaira state, Caracas and surrounding regions, the on-the-ground response was primarily focused on directing traffic, with police officers, intelligence agents and members of the armed forces manning intersections.

Residents take on rescue and recovery amid government failure

Civilians, mostly alone and some with the help of foreign rescuers, searched for loved ones among piles of rubble. Ambulances were stuck in miles-long (kilometers-long) traffic jams. Hospitals were undersupplied and understaffed. Emergency personnel responded with little to no equipment.

A week later, many residents in coastal communities of La Guaira were attributing most rescues and recoveries to fellow Venezuelans and foreign teams with know-how and equipment like thermal cameras and sound detectors as well as trained dogs. They also pointed out that while civilians and foreign rescuers worked, men and women in Venezuelan uniforms stood watching and state workers took selfies.

Tulane University professor David Smilde, who has studied Venezuela for three decades, said the tragedy has made clear that the stunning Jan. 3 capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces was not a one-off “in which the Venezuelan state was not able to defend itself at all.”

“It also can’t do anything like get started with digging people out," he said, adding that it should be a worrying concern for Rodriguez, who was sworn in after Maduro was deposed and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Smilde said the dismal response is linked to the huge numbers of people who have left the public sector because of extremely low pay as well as corruption, such as the many people who are included in the government’s payroll but who have not worked in months or years. In a functioning government, he added, people have specific duties to design protocols spelling out procedures in case of emergencies, including earthquakes.

“It’s like trying to have a baseball team with three people on the field. You’re not sure who’s going to be the pitcher, who’s going to be catching, and who’s going to be outfielder,” he said of the government's lack of organization.

Wealth and government connections mean some get help

Wealth and government connections also influenced the government’s response, with some sites given preferential treatment.

When one collapsed building was teeming with police and military school students, people accurately guessed that officials or politically connected individuals must have lived there. The police officers from a neighboring state were indeed searching for a captain, while the students and a few members of the national guard were hoping to locate a major general.

A telescopic crane, like the one Mundrain needs for the recovery of her family, was parked for several hours in what was that building’s entrance. The relatives of the well-off families who lived in the building were able to rent it. Mundrain cannot.

“I think that if there were someone in a position of authority in each of these apartments, there would be a well-oiled machine working like they have in other residences,” Mundrain said pointing to her building.

People's anger over the response has also led to altercations between residents and machine operators. In one instance, when a government-provided excavator tried to leave the site of a flattened public housing building, people blocked traffic to keep it in place and even pulled the operator from the cab.

The government has reported that 1,943 died and more than 10,500 were injured in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck June 24. Thousands more have been reported missing.

Rescuers on Tuesday continued to free some survivors from mountains of debris, offering anguished families a sliver of hope even as the likelihood of finding people alive diminished with each passing hour. The first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster are crucial to rescue efforts, though survival can be extended if people have access to food and water.

Electrician Daniel Castillo was able to pull his mother and son alive from their second-floor apartment in a collapsed public housing building in La Guaira just hours after the earthquake struck. The body of his brother remained inside for another day until he could reach him.

On Tuesday, he decried the government’s response while he waited in line to get a free bag of hygiene products, including toilet paper and soap, from a tent staffed by the Venezuelan armed forces.

“You see the guards, and their uniforms are spotless, not dirty at all,” Castillo said, contrasting members of Venezuela's National Guard with dust-covered civilians and foreign rescuers who have dug through rubble for days. “The government did nothing.”

En un hospital de la región de París, los paramédicos de urgencias lo necesitaban para sumergir a los pacientes en baños de agua fría y bajarles rápidamente la temperatura, para que no se sumaran al creciente número de muertos por una ola de calor que batió récords. Pero, al no contar con una máquina para hacer hielo, ¿de dónde conseguirlo?

Un restaurante de comida rápida ayudó la semana pasada y señaló que el hospital podía llevarse su hielo. El personal también compró hielo en el supermercado. El Hospital Paris-Saclay ya encargó su propia máquina de hielo, que el servicio de urgencias espera con impaciencia ante un futuro embate de calor sofocante.

Tanto si eso ocurre la próxima semana, como dice el servicio meteorológico de Francia que podría suceder, o en los meses de verano por venir, los médicos y los administradores hospitalarios son plenamente conscientes de que la batalla que acaban de lidiar, debido al cambio climático, se verá seguida por otras. Así como se preparan para la temporada anual de gripe, saben que combatir las olas de calor se está convirtiendo en su nueva normalidad.

Así que, mientras recuperan el aliento tras lo que el director del hospital público describió como una semana “horrible”, él y su equipo también se están preparando para la siguiente ronda.

“Pensábamos que estábamos listos. En realidad no lo estábamos”, afirmó el director, Cédric Lussiez.

“El hospital estaba funcionando las 24 horas del día porque teníamos que encontrar nuevas soluciones en muy poco tiempo”, explicó. “Ya aprendimos algunas lecciones”.

Los hospitales se preparan para más olas de calor inevitables

Los esfuerzos por tapar algunos de los agujeros que dejó al descubierto la ola de calor —que, tras azotar a Francia, Reino Unido y otros países, se desplazó hacia el este a otras partes de Europa— también se están acelerando a nivel nacional.

Cuando Francia se cocía durante sus días más calurosos registrados la semana pasada, el primer ministro francés, Sébastien Lecornu, anunció un gasto de 100 millones de euros (114 millones de dólares) a partir de este verano en sistemas de refrigeración para hospitales y otros trabajos para mantener las unidades en funcionamiento.

Y, en la más reciente de una serie de reuniones de crisis por la ola de calor, indicó el lunes que el gobierno comprará 30.000 unidades de aire acondicionado para instalaciones sanitarias, con las primeras entregas previstas “a finales de esta semana, comienzos de la próxima”.

“Para nosotros es una prioridad absoluta que, si la ola de calor regresa, la situación en los hospitales esté mucho menos tensionada”, manifestó.

La Organización Mundial de la Salud describió la ola de calor el martes como “un ensayo general” para veranos que “serán más duros”.

“Europa se está calentando a más del doble del promedio mundial. Las olas de calor ya no son episodios aislados y extraños”, señaló. “Cada verano en el que no nos preparamos para ellas es un verano que pagamos con vidas”.

Aumentan los infartos y otras urgencias por exposición al calor

En el Hospital Paris-Saclay, los pacientes que sufrían exposición al calor empezaron a llegar en oleada el 20 de junio, contó el doctor Nicolas Gonzales, jefe del servicio de urgencias.

“Fue como una gran montaña”, relató. “Fue así durante siete días. Así que fue muy intenso”.

“En invierno, sabemos que tendremos epidemias de gripe y probablemente también COVID. Y ahora, en verano, vamos a tener la crisis climática”, añadió.

El primer paciente que atendió en esta ola de calor fue una salida de emergencia: un hombre de 50 años en coma en su casa y con una temperatura de unos 40 grados Celsius (104 grados Fahrenheit). Su familia dijo que parecía estar bien, y de pronto estaba inconsciente, explicó Gonzales. Fue trasladado de urgencia al hospital para recibir cuidados críticos.

Luego llegó el aluvión: infartos, deshidratación, fallos renales y otros problemas relacionados con el calor, que afectaron a todos los grupos de edad, desde niños hasta personas mayores que viven solas.

“El calor es una agresión física. Es una agresión física al cuerpo”, explicó Gonzales. “Y cuando el cuerpo ya no puede adaptarse —o, por desgracia, ya no es capaz de resistir esa agresión—, no lo ves venir y el corazón puede dejar de latir”.

Los hospitales refuerzan con urgencia sus defensas contra el calor

El Hospital Paris-Saclay es nuevo y tiene aire acondicionado, pero tres hospitales más antiguos que forman parte de su grupo, que dirige Lussiez, no están tan bien protegidos contra el calor. La ola los puso a prueba duramente.

Para evitar que los medicamentos se estropearan, tuvieron que enfriarlos con una solución temporal de ventiladores eléctricos y bloques de hielo. Se reclutó a estudiantes de enfermería para ayudar con el trabajo de mantener hidratados a los pacientes. El termómetro alcanzó los 33 ºC (91 ºF) en el piso superior, el más expuesto, de una unidad psiquiátrica, indicó Lussiez.

Ahora está equipando con urgencia esa unidad con una sala fresca para pacientes en cada piso y organizando otras obras de renovación y cambios, incluido el traslado de un departamento para pacientes de edad avanzada al hospital nuevo.

“Estaremos en una situación mejor la próxima semana de lo que estuvimos la semana pasada”, aseguró.

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El periodista de The Associated Press Alex Turnbull contribuyó 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.

At a Paris-region hospital, emergency medics needed it to plunge patients into cold-water baths to speedily bring down their temperatures so they wouldn't join the growing tally of dead from a record-smashing heat wave. But lacking an ice-making machine, where to get it?

A fast-food restaurant helped out last week, saying the hospital could take its ice. Staff also bought ice from the supermarket. The Paris-Saclay Hospital has now ordered its own ice machine, eagerly awaited in the emergency department for a future attack of sizzling heat.

Whether that hits next week, as France's weather service says it might, or in summer months ahead, medics and hospital administrators are acutely aware that the battle they've just endured will, because of climate change, be followed by others. Just as they brace for the annual flu season, they know that fighting heat waves is becoming their new normal.

So as they catch their breath from what the director of the public hospital described as a “horrible" last week, he and his staff are also gearing up for the next round.

“We thought we were ready. We were not actually,” said the director, Cédric Lussiez.

“The hospital was working on a 24-hours-a-day basis because we had to find new solutions in a very short delay,” he said. “We already learned some lessons.”

Hospitals are preparing for more inevitable heat waves

Efforts to plug some of the holes exposed by the heat wave that shifted eastward to other parts of Europe after battering France, the United Kingdom and other countries are accelerating on a national level, too.

When France was baking through its hottest days on record last week, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a 100-million euro ($114-million) spend from this summer on cooling systems for hospitals and other work to keep wards functioning.

And at the latest in a series of heat-wave crisis meetings, he said Monday that the government is buying 30,000 air-conditioning units for health facilities, with the first deliveries expected “at the end of the week, beginning of next week.”

“It's an absolute priority for us that, if the heat wave returns, the hospital situation be a lot less strained," he said.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday described the heat wave as “a dress rehearsal” for summers that “will be harder."

“Europe is warming at more than twice the global average. Heat waves are no longer one-off freak events,” it said. “Every summer we fail to prepare for them is a summer we pay for in lives.”

Heart attacks and other heat-exposure emergencies surge

At the Paris-Saclay Hospital, patients suffering from heat exposure started arriving in a surge on June 20, said Dr. Nicolas Gonzales, head of the emergency department.

“It was like a big mountain,” he said. “It was like that for seven days. So it was very intense.”

“In winter, we know we’ll have influenza epidemics and probably COVID as well. And now, in the summer, we’re going to have the climate crisis," he said.

The first patient he treated in this heat wave was an emergency call-out, for a 50-year-old man in a coma at home and with a temperature of about 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). His family said he seemed fine one minute, but was unconscious the next, Gonzales said. He was rushed to the hospital for critical care.

Then came the flood: heart attacks, dehydration, kidney malfunctions and other heat-related problems, impacting all age groups, from children to older people living alone.

“Heat is a physical assault. It is a physical assault on the body," Gonzales said. “And when the body can no longer adapt — or, unfortunately, is no longer able to fight off that assault — you don’t feel it coming, and the heart can stop beating."

Hospitals are urgently upgrading heat defenses

Paris-Saclay Hospital is new and has air-conditioning, but three older hospitals that are part of its group, which Lussiez heads, aren’t so well defended against the heat. It tested them arduously.

To prevent medicines from spoiling, they had to be cooled with a temporary solution of electric fans and blocks of ice. Student nurses were recruited to help with the work of keeping patients hydrated. The thermometer hit 33 C (91 F) on the top, most exposed floor of a psychiatric unit, Lussiez said.

He's now urgently equipping that unit with a cool room for patients on each floor and organizing other renovation works and changes, including moving a department for elderly patients to the new hospital.

“We’ll be in a better situation next week than we were last week,” he said.

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Associated Press journalist Alex Turnbull contributed.

“We're waiting for you Bron,” the tour posted on social media.

Get in line. Every team and every league, it would seem, wants LeBron James.

The waiting-for-LeBron game is on, with the entire basketball universe — and, evidently, the political, entertainment, football, hockey and golf universes as well — waiting to hear what the greatest scorer in NBA history will decide about the 2026-27 season. All that is known so far are two things: He isn't retiring yet, and he won't be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

James let the world know on Tuesday that he's coming back for at least one more season and that he's decided to move on from the Lakers, those decisions becoming known a few hours before the start of free agency. What happens next, and when it will happen, is anyone's guess. The oldest active player in the NBA is still a guy who moves the needle, and it's not even clear if he knows how long this process will take.

“LeBron James, come on, let's do it again,” DJ Khaled, a regular courtside patron at Miami Heat games, said in a video posting in an effort to recruit James back to the place where he won his first two NBA titles. “Come on, man. Let's do it again. After the game, we'll go play golf. You know Miami's the best city in the world.”

A person familiar with James' planning told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he wanted his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, to take meetings with interested teams — actual NBA ones, which means it doesn't look good for other online suitors such as the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and soccer's Minnesota United — before reporting back.

For the most part, James and Paul went into this process knowing much of what the teams would say. Cleveland's pitch would be that Northeast Ohio is home, that his career started there and that it would make sense to end it there. Miami's pitch would be that he won two titles there, that it's known he loves the city, that it just landed Giannis Antetokounmpo and James still has deep ties to coach Erik Spoelstra and the front office. Golden State's pitch would include playing with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, two guys who click with James on multiple levels.

Walz wanted James to see a newspaper clip touting that Minnesota has the best quality of life when compared to other states. The New York Jets pointed out that James wore green and white in high school, matching their color scheme. The Winnipeg Jets simply offered to change their name to LeWinnipeg Jets.

“Never say never,” the Bills posted.

Jokes aside, James is obviously worth all the effort that some team will make to get him signed.

He still plays at an All-Star level, even at his age — there have been 24 instances, including playoffs, of someone in his 40s scoring 30 or more points in an NBA game, and James is responsible for 17 of those. No player had averaged more than 15 points per game in a season after turning 40; James averaged 24.4 points in 2024-25 and 20.9 points this past season, even while often being the Lakers' third option.

Plus, James' next home will see an immediate rush of activity.

Season ticket packages, if any are available, will get gobbled up quickly. James' Lakers jersey was the fifth-hottest seller in the league at the end of this past regular season, based on sales from NBAStore.com, Fanatics.com and Fanatics partner sites; his next jersey (even if it is a Cavs or Heat jersey again) will fly off the racks as soon as they can be printed. And it'll probably make fans in that city, whichever city it is, truly believe they have a real shot at the 2027 NBA title.

Only James knows when the waiting game will end.

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

That's meant to safeguard the summit, but also to display strength and underscore Turkey’s commitment to the military alliance, even as it is often portrayed as an outlier within it.

On July 7–8, leaders from all 32 member states are expected convene in the Turkish capital, including U.S. President Donald Trump, whose threats to withdraw from NATO and reduce U.S. troop levels have cast uncertainty over the alliance’s future.

Turkey has also unveiled a new VIP airport, converted from a former military airfield, specifically to host NATO leaders.

Allies will aim for unity

At the Ankara summit, NATO members are expected to address questions over defense spending and the U.S.’s evolving role in the alliance.

The main agenda will center on unity after Trump has criticized allies for failing to support the U.S.-led war on Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“The important aspect of the meeting is to what extent the rift between the United States and Europe can be healed or narrowed during the summit,” said Fatih Ceylan, a former Turkish ambassador to NATO and security analyst at the Ankara Policy Center. “We should not expect miracles, but nonetheless if there is a convergence of ideas emphasizing the importance of NATO, that should be seen as a success.”

Turkey's role as host seems to have helped win an appearance by Trump, who has a close rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Well, except for the fact that it was being held in Turkey by President Erdogan, I don’t think I would have gone to it,” he told reporters following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

Turkey has often acted independently in NATO

In the run-up to the summit, Erdogan described Turkey as a reliable ally that consistently shoulders responsibility on NATO’s southeastern flank and will continue to play a leading role in the alliance. He said his country was working to ensure that the Ankara Summit “will stand as a reference point in NATO’s history.”

A NATO member since 1952, Turkey has the alliance’s second-largest army after the United States, a fast-growing defense industry, and a strategic location the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, the Black Sea, and the Caucasus.

Yet it has often acted independently, frustrating allies by refusing to participate in sanctions on Russia, engaging in disputes with Greece, and purchasing Russian missile defense systems — a move that led to its expulsion from the U.S.-led F-35 program in 2019.

Turkey also delayed Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership until it secured concessions on counter-terrorism cooperation and the lifting of arms export restrictions, and blocked the appointments of NATO chiefs Anders Fogh Rassmussen in 2009 and Mark Rutte in 2024 until other demands were met.

But Turkey's independent streak has also enabled it to play a mediating role, from brokering a deal to ship grain across the Black Sea between Ukraine and Russia in 2022 to supporting recent initiatives aimed at ending the war in Iran.

Ankara, too, has at times been frustrated with its NATO allies, particularly over what it saw as the alliance’s lack of solidarity during a failed coup attempt in 2016, and the arms sales restrictions imposed on Turkey after its intervention in Syria.

Murat Aslan, an analyst at the Ankara-based SETA think tank, said Turkey learned to “play it alone” due to its turbulent relations with the United States and Europe, adding that Europe is now also talking about “strategic autonomy” from the U.S.

Turkey can help NATO navigate U.S.–Europe tensions by showing how to “balance” independence with alliance commitments, he said.

Ankara is tilting back toward the West

More recently, however, Turkey has leaned closer to NATO, whose importance was underscored during the Iran war when alliance missile defenses intercepted four missiles fired from Iran into Turkish territory. Weeks before the summit, Italy and Germany deployed air defense systems to help Turkey respond to heightened threats.

“Turkey wishes to distinguish itself as a foreign policy actor that is independent of NATO and the West,” wrote Hamish Kinnear, principal Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, in a note. “While Turkey is not abandoning its balancing approach, it is tilting closer to the West, primarily because of NATO.”

Authorities roll out strict security measures

In Ankara, strict access restrictions will be imposed on several of the city's main arteries, around airports, the presidential complex where the summit will be held, and around hotels hosting the delegations, severely disrupting life in the city of nearly 6 million.

As the country prepares for the summit, Erdogan unveiled a new airport which was transformed from a former military airfield into a modern facility with expanded runways. The new Ankara Airport is expected to remain a VIP airport after the summit and is not expected to serve the general public, officials have said.

Facades of houses along the route from the new airport have been painted over as part of city beautification efforts, the newspaper Cumhuriyet reported.

With a history of terrorist attacks, Turkey's capital is no stranger to tight security, but the measures being taken in connection with NATO appear to go beyond the usual.

Authorities have also banned demonstrations, concerts, and graduation ceremonies during the summit, while nonessential state employees have been placed on leave to ease congestion.

Security units have detained more than 200 people suspected of links to extremist groups, including the Islamic State group, authorities said. Media reports said that several activists, lawyers and an academic were caught up in the sweep.

A Turkish court, meanwhile, blocked access to websites critical of NATO and the summit on security and public order grounds, according to Engelli Web, a website that tracks websites banned in Turkey. Several journalists from Turkish opposition-leaning media organizations were denied accreditation to cover the summit, sparking outrage from media rights groups.

“In the history of the organization, we have never witnessed security measures as stringent and suffocating in a host city for a summit as we are seeing this time in Ankara,” wrote Namik Tan, a former Turkish ambassador and legislator from Turkey's main opposition party.

Personal trainer Selin Karakoc said she breathed a sigh of relief after she was told that her wedding on July 5 falls just before the start of the restrictions.

“Ours could be one of the last weddings in Ankara that week,” she joked.

The survey's so-called diffusion index rose to 22 from 17 in the previous quarter, the BOJ said. The index for large non-manufacturers, such as services, edged up to 37 from the last tankan 's 36.

The survey is an indicator of companies foreseeing good conditions minus those feeling pessimistic.

Higher fuel prices due to the Iran war have added to inflationary pressures in Japan, though crude oil prices have fallen since the U.S. and Iran agreed on an interim deal to end the war.

Although a weak yen raises the value of exports’ earnings when converted into yen, a boon for Japan’s giant exporters, that positive is starting to be countered by the big negative of rising energy prices.

Japan imports nearly all of its oil and gas, and the yen’s recent decline to near a 40-year low has added to those concerns given recent high oil prices.

The U.S. dollar was trading at about 162 yen on Wednesday.

Last month the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to 1%, a three-decade high, citing challenges stemming from a weak Japanese yen and higher prices. The central bank has been trying to normalize monetary policy lately after decades of keeping interest rates near or below zero.

Analysts say Japan's economic indicators, such as investments, remain relatively strong despite longer term problems such as a chronic labor shortage due to an aging and declining population.

“Sales remain firm, especially for large enterprises, but profits are expected to weaken,” said Amova Asset Management Chief Global Strategist and Chief Economist Naomi Fink said about the tankan.

“Fixed investment plans are strong for large and mid-size firms but less so for small firms.”

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Lawyers for Carroll filed papers in Manhattan federal court to say Trump is unjustly trying to further delay release of the money after the Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil jury verdict.

The amount has grown to nearly $5.8 million with interest and should be required by the court to be disbursed, the lawyers wrote, saying Trump has resumed his defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend after Carroll testified that she was sexually abused by Trump in spring 1996 in the dressing room of a midtown Manhattan luxury department store after a flirtatious and friendly chance encounter between them turned violent.

Carroll, 82, first talked about the attack publicly in 2019 while Trump was president. He repeatedly insisted that he never knew Carroll. He also accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and having political motives.

Trump promised on social media Monday to keep fighting what he called a “Weaponization and Lawfare Case” after the Supreme Court's rejection became known.

They said lawyers for Trump contacted Carroll's attorneys minutes after Trump published a response to the high court's action, asking that the payout be delayed while the Supreme Court is asked to reconsider its decision.

But Carroll's lawyers — Roberta Kaplan, D. Brandon Trice and Maximilian T. Crema — said in their court filing that there was no reason to delay the payment, especially since the Supreme Court expressed no division in its decision not to hear the case.

“To date, Carroll has agreed to each of Defendant’s many requests to delay the payment he owes her. Given the extraordinary lengths he has taken to avoid such payments and that each of those efforts has been denied in full, that cooperation ends today. It is time for him to pay Carroll,” they wrote.

Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll from a separate Manhattan jury after a January 2024 trial at which Trump briefly testified.

At that trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is unrelated to Carroll's attorney, required that jury to accept the findings of the previous jury and only determine how much money, if any, Trump owed Carroll for comments he made about her as president.

Hincapié was sent off in the 95th minute of Ecuador’s 2-0 loss to Mexico Tuesday in the round of 32. He was shown the red card following an exchange with Mexico forward Santi Giménez.

FIFA established the new rule to prevent players from hiding abusive comments to opponents by covering their mouth.

Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón was the first player to be punished under the new rule when he was sent off in a group stage match against Turkey last week.

While Ecuador’s tournament is over, Hincapié will be suspended for the team's next international match.

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Jack Little is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Last month, the Education Department announced it would offload oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose comments on the limits of disabilities such as autism have drawn sharp rebukes from advocates and lawmakers.

Meanwhile, following a White House push to police homelessness, the Department of Justice released guidance that lowered the barrier to institutionalizing any person with a disability.

Taken together, the actions signal a worrying return to a reality where people with disabilities are pushed to the margins of society, advocates said.

“It’s a direct, frontal assault on the rights of people with disabilities to live their lives the way that people who are nondisabled live their lives,” said Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. “I can't imagine that as a country, that would be something that we would agree we should go back to.”

The move away from confining people with disabilities

Since the 1960s, legislation and court decisions have progressively expanded supports and protections for people with disabilities to go to school with nondisabled peers and to live and work in their communities. Before that, people with mental illnesses or developmental and intellectual disabilities were largely confined to institutions.

Advocates have pushed back on what's known as the “medical model,” where an individual's disability is viewed as a defect to be cured. Instead, under a “social model” of disability, differences can be accommodated and supported, as people with and without disabilities learn and work alongside each other.

Families and advocates have warned that moving special education to a health department marks a return to the medical model. They've also been angered by Kennedy's attempts to link vaccines to autism, going against decades of research that show no such link, and his framing of autism as a debilitating disease.

Kennedy's comments last year, where he said children with autism would never write a poem, pay taxes or hold a job, raised questions about how he would oversee an agency meant to help students develop those skills. Kennedy later said he was referring to people with " severe autism ″ or those who are nonverbal.

“Many of the things he said autistic people will never do, (special education) is in charge of making sure students with disabilities have the opportunity to do,” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “Will he execute that faithfully, or does he consider disabled students a lost cause until we find some medical cure?”

The Supreme Court weighs in

In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that segregating disabled people who are otherwise able to live in their community with proper supports was a form of discrimination. The Olmstead v. L.C. decision led to requirements that government agencies provide disability services in the most integrated setting possible — in mainstream schools, homes and workplaces.

But in a memo issued in June, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel upended that guidance. It argued that neither the Americans with Disabilities Act nor Section 504, two major disability rights laws, requires states to provide services in the most mainstream setting. While the memo does not change the law, it signals how federal agencies may interpret and enforce civil rights issues related to the topic — and it could embolden states or school districts to decline to support people with disabilities in mainstream environments.

The White House has already acted on a similar philosophy. Last year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on homelessness that endorsed civil commitment, where a court orders individuals into involuntary hospitalization or treatment programs. Trump directed HHS to reduce barriers to institutionalizing people with mental illnesses.

In its memo, the Justice Department acknowledged its interpretation of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision is “out of step" with the common understanding. If a state starts to provide services in institutional settings, legal challenges likely would follow, the DOJ said.

The Trump administration's steps fit a worldview in which the government has no obligation to support people with disabilities, said Claudia Center, legal director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

“It's dark, and it's awful,” Center said. “And I think it's contrary to the majority view in our country. ... It's out of touch with where our society is."

Families say their kids thrive in mainstream classes

The moves have created a deep sense of uncertainty for students with disabilities.

Lindsey Althaus says home and community-based services in northwest Ohio have been instrumental to her family. Her 12-year-old son, Whitman, has autism and a neurological disorder called apraxia, in which the brain struggles to tell muscles how to move to form words or perform other motor skills. For some of his school career, with proper support services, Whitman was able to spend much of his school day in a classroom that included kids without disabilities.

Through a Medicaid waiver program, Althaus pays her mother to care for Whitman in her absence. That allows him to spend time out in the community with his grandmother while Althaus and her husband are working or away with their daughter.

Under the Justice Department's new interpretation of Olmsted, states would have fewer obligations to fund and support those programs. And Kennedy, in testimony to lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier this year, criticized similar programs as subject to fraud.

“We want to be able to have him in the community,” said Althaus, who works as a disability rights advocate. “It's just starting to feel like Whitman's not going to be welcome anymore. We're going back to this: You're either perfect, or you're not in the light.”

For many students with disabilities, schools are where they receive the majority of support services and where they are integrated among their peers. Before Magda Nakassis's 8-year-old son, who is autistic and nonverbal, started public school in Maryland, his preschool experience had largely been defined by being kicked out of things, she said.

In school, Nakassis said, she found teachers and staff members who understood her son's needs and told her to stop apologizing for them. A program at his school called Fantastic Friends teaches mainstream fifth graders about autism, and they spend recesses with children in the autism program. Every year, Nakassis said, there is a waitlist to be a Fantastic Friend.

Nakassis said that it has been difficult to see the ways autism in particular has become politicized. Every child is entitled to a public education in this country, Nakassis said, and special education is a response to the fact that some children have differences that require additional support.

Regardless of his diagnosis, his right to an education is not a medical issue, she said, but rather a question of equity and access in a society that often pushes disabled people to the margins.

“There are lots of kids like him out there, and I sometimes wonder, ‘what did we use to do?’” Nakassis said. “I can't believe it was better.”

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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.

A police officer was shot and wounded in the neck during the protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas last July 4. The U.S. Justice Department alleges the shooting was carried out by members of the leftist militant group antifa — a claim attorneys for the protesters have denied.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor called the protest an “assault on democracy” before he and another judge handed down lengthy prison sentences to eight demonstrators who were convicted on terrorism charges.

On Wednesday, six more defendants could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. One of them testified at the earlier trial that he spray-painted a guard shack and vehicles in the parking lot.

The case has been closely watched by critics who say the prosecution could have serious implications for protesters nationwide and First Amendment free-speech rights.

The protesters' attorneys have insisted there was no planned ambush and that protesters who took firearms with them to the demonstration did so for their own protection. They argue the gathering was planned as a late-night demonstration with fireworks to show support for immigrants detained inside the facility.

Prosecutors told jurors at trial that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — signaled nefarious intent.

Benjamin Song, a former U.S. Marine reservist who was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and seven others received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years. Some of them, including Song, have filed notices of appeal.

Another person who will be sentenced Wednesday was convicted at trial. Ines Soto, whose wife was also convicted, could be sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted of providing material support to terrorists, riot and explosives. At trial, attorneys for the couple said they arrived late and left the protest when confronted by guards.

The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church, went ahead with the five-hour ceremony at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland, despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off. The American pope warned in a letter Tuesday that consecrating bishops without his approval amounted to a “sin of extreme gravity” that will actually harm their faithful.

The consecrations amounted to a crisis for Leo, who has prioritized church unity and healing tensions with traditionalists that worsened during the Pope Francis pontificate.

The SSPX, as the society is known, is a threat to the Holy See because it represents a parallel, ultra-Catholic faith. It now has six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians training in five seminaries, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities, according to SSPX statistics.

Bells tolled through the misty Alpine mountain valley as hundreds of priests walked two-by-two to the altar under a tent to start the service and then again at the end. An estimated 16,500 faithful who prefer the traditional Latin Mass over modern liturgies attended, sitting in a field through a downpour alongside their children who were too numerous for organizers to count.

The Mass, rich in velvet and gold-trimmed vestments, chanting and incense, was livestreamed on the society's YouTube channel, with simultaneous explanations in several languages. The highly organized religious extravaganza underscored the society's international reach, despite its schismatic outsider status, and appeal to conservative, traditionalist Catholics wary of the modern, secular world.

At the start of the Mass, a priest read aloud a statement justifying the consecrations as a necessary “sacred duty” and dismissing the resulting penalties. “We consider every punishment and censure brought to bear against this step will have no validity,” he said.

Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who himself was excommunicated after being consecrated without papal consent in 1988, placed his hands on the head of each of the four new bishops. The ritual confers the Holy Spirit from one bishop to another and recalls Christ’s gesture to his apostles. After they received their miter hats, gloves and pastoral staffs, the four made a procession through the crowd, blessing the faithful as bishops.

According to church law, consecrating a bishop without a papal mandate incurs the harshest penalty in the Catholic Church: automatic excommunication for the four new bishops and the bishop administering the rite. It also amounts to a schismatic act, an intentional rupture of church unity.

The society was founded in opposition to Vatican II

French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Among other things, the 1960s meetings known as Vatican II revolutionized the church’s relations with other Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, and allowed Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin.

In 1988, Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal consent. The Vatican promptly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops and declared the consecrations a “schismatic act.” Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 lifted the excommunications, but the SSPX today has no legal standing in the church.

The SSPX has accused the church of being rife with heresies and errors, and that only it is upholding the true faith of Christ. It has justified the consecrations, citing a “state of necessity” to minister to its faithful.

It identified the new bishops as Pascal Schreiber of Switzerland, Michael Goldade of the United States, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry of France and Marc Hanappier, also of France.

The Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the SSPX superior, said in his homily that the consecrations were necessary for the salvation of souls, but he also insisted they served Leo and the church.

“We are accused of not respecting the pope," he said. "But it is precisely because we love the pope as the vicar of Christ, as the head of the church, that we don't want to see the pope humiliated anymore, on the side of false shepherds representing false religions.”

The Vatican didn't immediately comment and it wasn't immediately clear how it would communicate the excommunications or any other penalties.

The ritual had a joyous air

And yet everything about Wednesday’s ceremony had the air of a joyous celebration. The SSPX website has had a countdown clock running for days ahead of the consecration. Participants received a baseball cap with the “Econe2026” seal on it.

And in perhaps the most obvious sign of a celebration, registered participants could buy a souvenir set of wine to commemorate the “historic” event for 75 Swiss francs ($92.50). The “Cuvee des Sacres” gift box featured pinot noir, syrah, Petit Arvine and Fendant, each bottle with a label depicting a bishop’s miter, his ring, a cross or crozier staff.

The field, located under giant power lines, was awash in smiling nuns, priests posing for photos, youths handing out bottled water, black-clad security guards with earpieces and orange-vested volunteers who occasionally cut short journalists' interviews with the faithful. During the downpour, priests administered Communion under yellow and white umbrellas, the colors of the Holy See.

Arlina Onglao, a 71-year-old travel agent from the Philippines, said she wanted to be on hand for the “historic event” and didn't care about the prospect of excommunications. She said the Vatican had “lost credibility.”

“I don’t think it’s going to scare any of us. Me, I’m not scared,” she said. “I feel like I’m on a safer road to heaven.”

Medical researcher Wulfran Lindzondzo, 42, a native of Gabon who lives in France, said he wanted to “rediscover tradition” through the society, noting its presence in the African country.

“The Holy Father doesn’t really agree with it, but I hand over –- I will pray to the Good Lord that the authorities in Rome can one day accept coming back to the church’s traditions,” he said before the Mass.

Eduardo Limón of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, lamented that Leo had asked the SSPX to halt the consecrations at the last minute. He prayed that "God illuminate him so he sees that the fraternity is an institution that has defended the faith,” he said.

“I’m both sad and content at the same time," he added. "Sad because again Rome closes itself in accepting that the tradition is the only hope for faith. And happy because the father superior (Pagliarani) has said courageously we are going to go ahead with the consecrations.”

But many Catholics not in Econe, including conservative and traditional ones, opposed the consecrations as an act of severe disobedience to the pope that hurts the church.

“You can’t serve tradition while disobeying the church and her authority,” said the Rev. Robert Gahl, an ethics expert at the Catholic University of America.

___

Winfield contributed from Rome.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Fuel rationing has been introduced in many regions, with hourslong queues of cars snaking beside roads. Social media videos show drivers aghast at the lines or swearing at empty gas pumps and rising prices. The mayor of the Siberian city of Irkutsk even ordered portable toilets brought in to accommodate those in line.

The fuel crisis — unprecedented for a nation that is one of the world's biggest energy producers — has brought Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine home to ordinary Russians like few other events in the war, now in its fifth year.

It drew a rare admission from President Vladimir Putin, who acknowledged “problems persist for both motorists and businesses,” and “there are still queues at petrol stations, and finding the right grade of petrol isn’t always easy.”

He insisted the shortages are “not critical” and “temporary.”

But that appeared to do little to reassure at least one motorist in Moscow, the wealthy capital typically better-insulated from economic shocks than the rest of the country.

“I think the situation is not very good,” the motorist waiting in line told The Associated Press on Monday, the day after Putin's televised remarks.

“They say one thing on television, and in reality it’s another. ... People are queueing everywhere,” he added, declining to give his full name out of safety concerns.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday echoed that sentiment, writing on Telegram that “Putin can go on and on, claiming on TV that he supposedly has everything under control," but Russians can see that the war "has reached the point where even an oil state -- a gas station, as Russia used to be called -- is now facing gas shortages.”

Ukraine hits energy targets multiple times

An AP count shows over 50 reported attacks by Ukraine on oil refineries, depots, terminals and other energy infrastructure in Russia and the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula since March. Often, the same facility was hit more than once -– such as the refinery in the Black Sea town of Tuapse that was struck four times.

The amount of crude oil Russia processed into fuel in June was down 25% from a year ago, to 3.95 million barrels per day — the lowest level in over two decades, said Gary Peach, oil markets analyst at Energy Intelligence.

“The outages are extraordinary,” he said.

Gasoline production has fallen 17% to 850,000 barrels a day, from 1.03 million a day a year ago — far short of what the domestic market needs. Russia exports relatively little gasoline.

About a third of Russia's oil refining capacity is offline, said Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. Consultancy, noting that because refineries don't publicly confirm the extent of the damage, his estimate comes from anecdotal evidence and oil industry sources.

“It comes at a very critical time for the Russian economy, in that the agriculture season, particularly the harvest season, is now starting to ratchet up,” increasing demand, Weafer said.

Ukrainian officials describe the strikes as a campaign to pressure Moscow to end the war by undermining military logistics and supply lines and weakening its ability to mount front-line assaults.

In particular, Kyiv has sought to isolate Crimea, which was seized from Ukraine in 2014 in a move most nations don't recognize. Attacks this year forced the Moscow-installed authorities to enact fuel rationing on the peninsula in May and halt sales to civilians there altogether. Limited sales later resumed in the city of Sevastopol.

Attacks — and fuel shortages — spread

Ukraine carried out major drone strikes on Russia’s two largest cities, embarrassing the Kremlin with images of black plumes of smoke that circulated widely online, despite regulations restricting their publication.

A June 3 attack on a St. Petersburg oil terminal darkened the sky as Putin prepared to host his annual economic forum to attract foreign investment. On June 18, a similar cloud rose from the Moscow Oil Refinery on capital's outskirts, with greasy black droplets raining down.

By late June, some form of rationing was reported in over half of Russia's regions. Some slapped strict limits on all gas stations; in others, gas station chains limited how much fuel could be bought.

Officials blamed hoarding and panic-buying, urging motorists to fill their tanks only when needed.

Exports of gasoline and aviation fuel have been restricted, and authorities weighed banning diesel fuel exports, too.

Importing fuel was being considered. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said contacts with some countries were “underway,” calling the move “another step toward stabilizing the market and aimed at reducing panic-buying.”

Shortages in Siberia

The shortages have reached distant regions where no refineries were attacked by Ukraine.

Viktor Shkurenko, who owns retail stores and other businesses in the Omsk region, called announced limits on gasoline sales there to 40 liters (10.5 gallons) per vehicle “unexpected.”

“Nothing was bombed here. We have the biggest oil refinery in Siberia right here, and it gave us confidence that this fuel crisis won’t come to us,” he said, expressing worry about how limits could affect his businesses. As of Saturday, however, he said his company has not had any problems refueling its vehicles.

In the Siberian region of Zabayakalye, east of Lake Baikal, media reports said a garbage hauler suspended pickups and some bus services were curtailed.

In addition to ordering portable toilets outside gas stations, the city of Irkutsk raised public transport fares as of Wednesday, citing higher fuel costs.

Pavel Kharitonenko, acting head of Irkutsk's branch of the opposition Yabloko party, told AP he finds it easier to walk or use public transportation.

“I don't have the fuel, and I don't want to queue at gas stations,” he said. The Irkutsk region, home to a Rosneft oil refinery, has experienced acute shortages for several days, with lines growing, Kharitonenko said.

Repairs will take time

Putin said Russia's gasoline stockpiles are only 4% lower than what it had the same time last year. Weafer, the analyst, says that "reportedly, there are good supplies of fuel around the country. The problem is it’s in the wrong place."

Supplies need to be reallocated to regions experiencing shortages, and in a big country like Russia, “it's not something that can be done overnight," Weafer said.

“There should be enough, but it will take several weeks to get it from where it is to where it’s needed,” he says. “It’s just a huge logistics operation to do that.”

Fixing the war-damaged refineries is complicated. Ukraine's attacks damaged specialized equipment that is often imported, making repairs time-consuming and expensive as workarounds or replacements are sought by evading sanctions.

“They manage to get these things up and running, not necessarily at full capacity,” Peach said. “But the extent of the damage this time is so extensive that they won’t get back to winter levels of refining this summer.”

Some refineries aren't worth repairing until a ceasefire or armistice, he said, because they will just "get knocked down again.”

Repairing the Moscow refinery that supplied 40% of the fuel for the capital and the surrounding region is expected to take at least three months, Weafer said.

If there's no further damage to Russia's oil infrastructure, he estimated the shortages will last “probably throughout the summer" because demand from agriculture will likely remain high into September.

———

Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

In almost any other conflict, these haunting truths would be seared into national memory. Yet more than 120 days since at least one U.S. missile struck an Iranian primary school, there remains no final accounting of what happened.

The Trump administration has yet to directly accept the blame or formally release findings of a Pentagon investigation into the bombing, even though the military possessed evidence almost immediately that the site of the school had been struck, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss an ongoing investigation, told The Associated Press.

The AP has reconstructed the story of the attack, beginning in the schoolyard on the morning of Feb. 28, drawing from open-source information, video footage, human rights reports and interviews with researchers and civilians inside and outside Iran to reveal previously unreported details about the bombing in Minab, including the diversity of children killed.

Still, many details about the blast remain elusive, as a lack of information from the Pentagon and politicization of the attack by Iran’s theocracy have complicated independent reporting efforts. That has created an accountability vacuum, leaving the families of the victims without resolution. Among the mysteries remaining are the number of munitions that hit the school and a complete list of the dead.

When asked last week about the incident, President Donald Trump said he hadn't read the Pentagon's report and had seen nothing to make him believe the U.S. had carried out the attack.

“I don’t know that they’re ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it, because there were missiles flying all over the place,” he said. “I don’t think it was us."

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.

Video evidence, interviews and other sources yield a fuller picture

The reconstruction draws from interviews with U.S. officials, Iranian human rights workers, a resident of Minab, an international representative of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Union and researchers from major international rights groups.

Several people who spoke to the AP were in direct contact with the families of victims and rescuers who rushed to the scene. Most requested anonymity for fear of retribution against them and those with whom they spoke.

Teachers called parents to pick up their kids. Then the bomb fell

Skies over the city of Minab, located in southeastern Iran about 16 miles (25 km) from the Strait of Hormuz, were clear and bright on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 28, a school day in Iran. It was Ramadan.

Students of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school, Farsi for “Good Tree,” jostled past the colorful murals lining the schoolyard and into the building. Boys and girls filtered into separate spaces with brightly painted desks.

The school they entered was one of over 30 with the same name established to serve children from families closely tied to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard or other state institutions, said Shiva Amelirad, the international union representative who also worked as a teacher in Iran for 18 years and has been in contact with people in Minab.

Though most schools in Iran operate within guidelines proscribed by the Islamic Republic, the Shejareh Tayyebeh schools were more explicitly oriented toward reproducing and reinforcing the Guard’s worldview, she said, adding that children are civilians regardless of their family backgrounds, and "any attack targeting a school is unequivocally condemnable."

The school lay within the same walled compound as a Guard base, according to an AP assessment of satellite imagery and open-source mapping. It was once part of that neighboring base, before it was fenced off and converted over a decade ago.

Though some of its pupils were the children of Guard officers working on the nearby base, others were local children from Minab, which is populated predominantly by people of the majority-Sunni Baluch ethnic minority who often face repression from the Iranian government, said the Balochistan Human Rights Group.

Hundreds of students are believed to have been inside the building by the time teachers and administrators received the news that bombs had begun falling on Tehran around 9:40 a.m.

Teachers and administrators thought it prudent to send the children home. They called parents on landline phones, summoning them for an early pickup, two people told the AP. A recently released report by Airwars, a London-based independent group that tracks recent conflicts, also found that parents were called to pick up their children.

At 10:15 a.m., Iran’s state media sent out an advisory, closing schools across the country.

One father, who lived a short distance away, went immediately to pick up his 10-year-old son, said a resident of Minab, who relayed the stories of several families to the AP. The AP verified details of the residents’ stories against available lists of the dead and rights groups' chronologies of the day’s events.

The father noticed his 6- and 7-year-old relatives among the students waiting for their parents, said the resident. He asked them if they’d like a ride home and they said no, that their own father was on the way.

He left with his child and headed to the supermarket. Ten minutes later, he heard the explosions.

Multiple munitions pummeled the compound, striking at least five buildings, according to an AP analysis of satellite imagery. Hundreds of pounds of explosives collapsed the school.

A tiny arm, suspended in the rubble

The father raced back to a scene of chaos, where onlookers gathered, screaming, as men pawed through smoking rubble to dig out bodies, according to video of the aftermath circulated by Iranian state media.

Eventually, the father made out two burned figures he believes were those of his relatives, but he couldn’t be sure.

People kept coming. One man from a nearby Sunni village arrived to search for his nephew after receiving a panicked call from the boy's mother. In the rubble, he found her dead son.

Rescuers found small backpacks and children’s drawings, colored pencils and worksheets. Gently suspended, a tiny arm lay in the wreckage.

Men carried disfigured limbs and torsos to the local hospital, said the Balochistan Human Rights Group, whose staff spoke with two families of those killed. The AP has not been able to verify how many munitions specifically hit the school, but the attack had left flesh so mutilated that many body parts were unrecognizable.

By the end of the day, doctors at the hospital estimated they had at least 108 bodies, but cautioned that it was likely an undercount, said the resident of Minab.

By the next day, state media was saying around 150 had been killed. Soon, it was reporting a death toll of 168.

‘They called the kids martyrs’

Three days after the bombing, state TV showed thousands of Iranians packing a Minab roundabout, where the crowds faced a podium and a large portrait of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic.

The gathering might have been mistaken for a demonstration, if it were not a funeral. All the parents of victims, regardless of ethnicity or religion, had to participate, said the Minab resident. Most women in the crowd donned the black chador garment customary to the Islamic Republic, even though it’s not typically worn by Baluch people at funerals.

Parents were told they'd be permitted to take their children’s bodies back to their villages and conduct their own observances, said the resident. In the end, though, many decided to bury their children together.

In footage captured by drone cameras and circulated by state media, workers broke ground on an earthen lot, creating a grid of tiny, identical, unmarked graves.

“The state media advocated a narrative based on IRGC interest,” said Amelirad. “You can tell because they called the kids martyrs.”

The story grows harder to tell

Strikes continued to ravage Iran, targeting more sites in its opening days than the start of recent U.S. or Israeli military campaigns, including in Gaza, an Airwars analysis found.

Racing to document the ongoing bombardment, journalists and rights groups struggled to verify details from Minab. They had no access to the target site. Government restrictions in Iran prevented most foreign journalists from entering the country. The opening day of the war, Iran shut down the internet, making it nearly impossible to hear from ordinary civilians.

As the war progressed and the Strait of Hormuz became a major battlefield, the situation in the province grew more tense, said the resident. All branches of the military were deployed heavily in the area. Families of the victims feared retribution for speaking out. People were reportedly being detained for trying to communicate with foreign media.

That left Iran's government in control of the messaging around the strike.

Iran’s soccer team wore golden “#168” pins on their jackets upon their arrival at the FIFA World Cup.

The Iranian team negotiating for a pause to the war with the U.S. named itself “Minab 168.”

The children were depicted as animated Lego figures in viral videos made by pro-Iran groups trolling the U.S.

“In the aftermath of the attack, Iranian authorities ... exploited the suffering of victims’ families and surviving children for propaganda purposes,” wrote Amnesty International in a March report investigating the deaths.

Through it all, there remained no public list of the names of the dead.

The Pentagon finds clues in archive

Locked out of Iran, researchers focused on the question of responsibility.

Iran blamed the U.S. Trump cast doubt on American culpability and pointed the finger at Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said only that the Pentagon was investigating.

Internally, the U.S. military knew more than it initially let on. The clues were buried in their archives.

When the news first surfaced, the U.S. military knew they had conducted strikes in the vicinity — though it took the military time to verify the Iranian claims that a school was struck and begin a formal investigation, said a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing inquiry.

It appears that while the building housing the school was identified as such by one analyst as early as seven years ago, that discovery was not sufficiently made known across different intelligence and military staffs and agencies, the U.S. official said.

Ultimately, the building was not known among target developers as a school, revealing potential systematic shortfalls in the target analysis and review process, they said.

One former Pentagon official, similarly speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bombing came as a natural result of changes made by the Trump administration to reduce staff to mitigate civilian harm and Hegseth’s emphasis on lethality.

When Hegseth took charge, he slashed the size of an office called the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, created at the direction of Congress in late 2022. That stopped the office’s work on updating “no-strike lists,” which are lists of protected sites such as hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, that the Pentagon keeps, said Wes Bryant, who began working at the office in 2024 as the Branch Chief of Civil Harm Assessments.

When he was working at the Pentagon, it was well known that the list was out-of-date, he said.

The search for more answers from Minab

In the last weeks, researchers have made some progress. Airwars, the conflict research group, spent months combing through open-source information to verify the identity of victims. The group determined the names and identities of 157 of the dead, including 123 children, all 13 or younger, and 34 adults. Among the adults are 26 school staff members (one of whom was pregnant) and five parents — each of whom lost at least one child.

The group puts the death toll between 157 and 168 and says between 95 and 111 people were injured.

It’s unclear if the formal results of the military’s Minab investigation will be published. Much of the investigative work has been completed, but the U.S. military’s Central Command, which commissioned the investigation, is currently reviewing the findings.

Findings from similar past investigations have been more timely. When a Hellfire missile killed 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 29, 2021, the Defense Department claimed responsibility and gave details on its operations in less than a month.

When asked about the Minab investigation last week, Trump said, “I don’t know that they’re ever going to solve that problem." Hegseth said the report would be divulged “when the appropriate time is right.”

Some members of Congress still push for transparency.

In a recent interview, Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota and a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said Congress has not gotten enough information on the bombing and expected a full report.

The issue “has not gone away,” he said.

___

Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin, Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Amir Hussein Rajdy in Cairo and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

Kausen, a chef and cooking teacher in Irvine, California, is more discerning and often uses her sense of smell before deciding what to do with the milk.

“I’ll put some thought into it, and if we’re talking about meat and poultry, I’m very cautious about that and for sure will do the smell test and the touch test,” she said.

The debate playing out in Kausen’s kitchen is repeated in homes across California and the country, where varying phrases on food packaging have long left shoppers unsure whether food is simply past its peak quality or unsafe to eat. The state is aiming to cut down on confusion — and the food waste it creates when people throw away food early — with a new food labeling law starting Wednesday.

It bans the use of “sell by” labels on food packaging, which experts say act as a guide for retailers on how long to display products on the shelves but are not an indicator of whether they are still safe to consume. Now, manufacturers selling food in California must use two standardized labels — a “Best if Used By” label for peak quality and “Use By” label for product safety.

Food manufacturers can choose to use either label or both, said Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, the author of the bill.

California became the first state in the U.S. to standardize food labels when it approved the law in 2024 that seeks to reduce food waste and the state’s climate-warming emissions. New York state lawmakers recently approved a similar law that's awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

Legislation addressing food labeling also has been proposed in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and South Carolina, though it has not passed in those states.

Nick Lapis, director of advocacy at Californians Against Waste, which co-sponsored the bill, said food labels are the leading cause of household food waste. The “sell by” date labels have also been a problem for food banks in California because people consider those dates as meaning the food has expired, he said.

“We don’t need to build some kind of huge infrastructure and invest tons of money to solve this. We just need companies to use the same words across brands,” he said.

There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, according to a 2022 report on food waste published by the University of Maryland. The information in the labels is largely unregulated and often does not relate to food safety.

“Consumers get confused and they just default to assuming that whatever date is on the package means ‘don’t eat it and throw it away’,” said Kumar Chandran, policy director at ReFED, a nonprofit focused on reducing food waste.

Chandran said California and New York’s approval of food-labeling laws has added momentum to the push for a national standard. A bipartisan bill that would establish uniform food labels is pending in Congress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended a decade ago that food sellers should switch to “Best if Used By” labeling.

Currently, the only product that is regulated federally with date labels is infant formula.

With no federal regulations dictating what information labels should include, the stamps have led to consumer confusion — and nearly 20% of the nation’s food waste, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In California, that’s about 6 million tons of unexpired food that’s tossed in the trash each year.

Nate Rose, a spokesperson for the California Grocers Association, said some grocers have had to overhaul their labeling systems, but as a whole, the association has been supportive of the change.

The new labels will result in “a win-win where we can reduce food waste and consumers will find these decisions a little bit simpler,” he said, adding that shoppers will still find old labels in stores for months to come as grocers sell through the products that already have them.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% and was potentially heading toward its eighth loss in the last 11 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 122 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.

The heaviest weights on the market were stocks that had soared earlier in the euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology, including drops of 2% for Nvidia, 6.2% for Micron Technology and 4.2% for Advanced Micro Devices. Such stocks have been zigzagging in recent weeks because of worries that they had become too expensive.

AI stocks have grown so big that they’ve become some of Wall Street's most influential, and their drops helped drag the S&P 500 lower even though nearly two out of every three stocks within the index rose.

Among the winners was General Mills, which climbed 9.1% after the company behind the Cheerios and Progresso brands reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also announced a plan to cut $3 billion in costs over four years.

The overall U.S. stock market trimmed its earlier losses after Treasury yields gave up some of their gains from the morning.

After nearing 4.50%, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell back below 4.46% after a report showed that U.S. manufacturing growth slowed a touch more last month than economists expected. The weaker-than-expected data could take some upward pressure off inflation, which in turn could make the Federal Reserve less likely to raise interest rates later this year.

The fear has been that the Fed may have to hike rates several times in 2026 to keep a lid on inflation. Higher yields make it more expensive for businesses and households to borrow money and in turn can slow the economy. Higher yields also tend to undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

Yields have been on the rise since the war with Iran began because of worries about high inflation caused by expensive oil.

When Treasurys are paying more in interest, investors become less willing to pay high prices for things seen as riskier bets. Gold, for example, pays its holders nothing. And rising yields briefly knocked its price below $3,980 per ounce overnight, down from more than $5,300 per ounce early this year.

But the weaker-than-expected manufacturing report and ensuing easing of Treasury yields sent gold back to $4,104.70 per ounce.

For their part, oil prices eased Wednesday as hope remains that the United States and Iran may ultimately end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers delivering crude. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.2% to $72.04.

On Wall Street, Kroger sank 1.7% after the grocer said it agreed to buy Giant Eagle for $1.25 billion in cash. It will also take on $400 million in liabilities to buy the food and pharmacy retailer with stores stretching from Indiana to Maryland.

Nike swung from an initial loss to a gain of 3.8% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The athletic-gear giant is in the midst of a turnaround attempt by CEO Elliott Hill, and he said it’s still facing headwinds dragging on its revenue.

In stock markets abroad, indexes slipped in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 2% for one of the world’s biggest moves. It’s been one of the world’s brightest stars thanks to euphoria around SK Hynix and other AI stocks, and the index is still up 97% for the year so far.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% after the Japanese yen fell to a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.

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AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.

The Ohio Bureau of Investigation and local sheriff's department searched a home in the small village of Hamden, where they found the kids in what officials called “deplorable" conditions."

“Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said at a news conference.

Law enforcement arrested Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. They have not yet been arraigned and assigned public defenders.

Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said they were being charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves “serious physical harm.”

Officials did not confirm if the children were related but said it was not a human trafficking situation. They said the adults were not locals and appeared to have been traveling.

Hamden has a population of less than 1,000 people and is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Columbus.

The children ranged from ages 1.5 to 18 and included both boys and girls, officials said. Several were in serious conditions when found, and two had to be flown to level one trauma centers because of their injuries.

Wilson said it was the worst scene he had ever encountered in his entire career, describing what he saw as “pure evil.”

Law enforcement were also executing a secondary search warrant at the home Tuesday, and the investigation is ongoing. The four adults will appear in court Wednesday morning.

“Justice will be served for these children,” Wilson said.

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Lauderhill police said the incident happened around 11:15 a.m. in the 5300 block of Northwest 19th Street.

According to investigators, an officer was alerted by an individual who said a man attempted to attack him while armed with a knife.

Police said officers quickly located a person matching the suspect’s description, but the suspect fled on foot into a residential neighborhood near the 1700 block of Northwest 55th Avenue.

Officers said they quickly established a perimeter and began searching the area.

Police said they later received a 911 call from a passerby who reported that a man was lying on the ground after suffering from apparent stab wounds.

Police said while canvassing the area, they found a second man with apparent stab wounds.

They said one victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The second victim was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

A man named Nelson told Local 10’s Roy Ramos that one of the victims killed was his neighbor, who used a wheelchair.

“He was a good, good man,” said Nelson. “This man is a really nice man. He doesn’t give any trouble to nobody. He has one foot (and) he is a handicap.

Investigators said the search continued with assistance from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Sunrise Police Department. Lauderhill police said K-9 units eventually located the suspect, who was taken into custody without further incident.

The sister of one of the victims told Ramos she believes her brother did not know his attacker.

No other details about the victims or suspect were immediately released.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Lauderhill Police Department at 954-497-4700 or Broward Crime Stoppers at-954-493-8477.

Cavalli struck out Contreras looking on a full-count pitch in the top of the fourth of what eventually became an 8-1 victory by the Nationals. The 27-year-old right-hander then shouted at Contreras as Contreras made his way back to the Boston dugout.

Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said he heard Cavalli yell “Sit down, boy” after fanning Contreras.

Asked what his specific words to Contreras were, Cavalli told reporters, “I don’t know. I just lose my head in it. I’m competitive. I just told him to sit down.”

The term “boy” has a racist history in the U.S. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, demurred when asked if he felt there was a racial component to Cavalli's word choice.

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Contreras said, later adding he plans to "let MLB handle that.”

Contreras, who hit a three-run homer off Washington's Miles Mikolas on Monday and celebrated with a massive bat flip that he later apologized fo r, then approached Cavalli on the mound. The two jawed at each other as both dugouts emptied.

“He struck me on a good pitch, I was walking back to the dugout, and then he did what did, and the rest was history,” Contreras told reporters afterward, later adding, "He was like, instigating, and I snapped.”

Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez tried to hold Contreras back, but Contreras broke loose long enough to leap and throw his batting helmet in Cavalli's direction.

Things settled down quickly after that, though the brief dustup ended with Contreras, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, Boston outfielder Nate Eaton and Mikolas being ejected.

Cavalli pointed to an incident at the end of the top of the first when Contreras nearly ran into the pitcher as both exited the field as the spark that set things in motion.

“He's just been doing stuff," Cavalli said of Contreras. “In the first inning, he just runs past me and brushes me. It's just something you don't do in baseball. I think he knows that. I didn't say anything. I just looked at him. And a few words were said after the strikeout. It's part of the game. And he's going to let everybody run out there and try and do whatever he does, throw a helmet and get himself tossed.”

Cavalli stayed in the game and allowed one run on one hit with 13 strikeouts over seven innings in what became an 8-1 romp.

“After everything that happened, the people that they chose that were going to leave the game, I just felt like the other pitcher should have been one of them too,” Tracy said. "That was my biggest complaint.”

The early exit was the second in as many nights for Contreras, the first time that's happened to a Red Sox player in the club's 126-year history. The 34-year-old Venezuela native — who acknowledged he is having a difficult time while his native country tries to recover from a pair of devastating earthquakes last week — was ejected in the second inning on Monday for mimicking an appeal call after striking out on a checked swing.

“I feel like everything is against me right now,” Contreras said. "I got ejected last night from nothing. I got ejected today even though I was walking back to the dugout.”

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

As the nation celebrates its 250th birthday this weekend, the legislative branch has momentarily called it quits.

The House leadership on Tuesday abruptly canceled votes and sent lawmakers home early for the holiday recess, Speaker Mike Johnson ’s majority once again ground to a standstill by a Republican revolt over their own party’s agenda.

In this case, it's a standoff blocking the annual defense bill — with pay raises for the troops and other matters at a time of war — as the renegade Republicans push to include President Donald Trump’s own priority, the SAVE America Act, a strict voter ID bill. Last week, the Senate similarly shuttered after Trump's demands.

The emptying Capitol provides another snapshot of the imbalance of power in Washington as a headstrong executive confronts a weakened Congress.

For the second time in as many weeks, the House has simply given up.

“It’s a relatively bad time in Congress,” Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota said recently. “A lot of my colleagues have forgotten how to govern.”

The scene is far different than last year's Fourth of July

A year ago this weekend brought a wholly different scene in Washington, as Trump gathered Republican lawmakers outside the White House for an ebullient July Fourth ceremony to sign what they called the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts.

It was a celebratory moment for Trump and the slim Republican majority — and for Johnson, who many doubted could pass the bill over the objections of Democrats who viewed it as tax giveaway at the expense of billions of dollars in cuts to health care and food stamps for Americans in need.

Johnson was so reliant on Trump's power to help push the bill to approval that he gifted the president a speaker's gavel, which Democrats and others saw as a worrisome symbol of the transference of power from one branch of government to the other.

“We’re not dealing with Speaker Mike Johnson,” Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the caucus chairman, said in a recent interview. “Unfortunately, Speaker Donald Trump does not want us in this week.”

Trump makes conflicting demands on his party in Congress

As Johnson works to keep Trump close, the president's demands seem to grow in ways the Republican speaker can't always deliver.

The president’s insistence on the SAVE America Act, which doesn't have enough support in the Senate to pass, has interrupted almost all other business in Congress. Trump has refused to sign a popular bipartisan housing bill that cleared both chambers until the voting bill is also approved. He calls the housing bill a “yawn.”

Johnson spent four hours last week at the White House and said he spent another two hours with the president this week on a path forward.

“I told him, ‘Mr. President, I don’t have any tattoos, but if I did, it’d say SAVE America on my shoulder,’ OK?” Johnson said over the weekend on Fox News.

“We passed it three times in the House already. We’re going to pass it again.”

But by Tuesday, a House vote to advance the legislation collapsed. Republicans led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida argued that Johnson's plan to attach the voting bill to the defense bill was essentially a doomed strategy that would be rejected in the Senate.

“That’s disappointing,” acknowledged Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who insisted the GOP would try again.

“We’re going to keep trying because we have to,” he said. “We’re not done doing big things.”

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Congress is adrift

The founders of the new democracy clearly had aspirations for the Congress, putting it first in the Constitution as the Article One branch of government, ahead of the executive and judicial branches.

But as lawmakers face voters this fall, they will have to answer for these dwindling days on their calendar.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the problem is not the Congress, it's the GOP.

“Donald Trump is fighting with Senate Republicans, Senate Republicans are fighting with House Republicans, and House Republicans are fighting with each other,” said Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control in fall.

“It’s not the Congress that’s struggling. It’s House Republicans who are struggling,” he said.

Jeffries said Democrats are fighting “to make life more affordable for the American people.”

As they left the Capitol for an extended recess, lawmakers voiced frustration with the House’s dysfunction.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the Republican Party to become an independent earlier this year, said the situation in the House is “frustrating.”

“It’s just like déjà vu where many times now we run into some sort of obstacle," he said, “then the solution is just to go home.”

__

Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

The Dodgers are in the midst of playing 13 games in 13 days, and Roberts wanted to make sure that the Japanese sensation got a break. Ohtani is slated to pitch in San Diego on Friday.

“If there’s any opportunity to give him some extra rest, we’re going to try to take advantage of it,” Roberts said. “So pushing him to Friday allows us to have him still take two starts before the break and get on two division opponents. In that vein, there’s just no downside. This made too much sense.”

Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.58 ERA in 13 starts this season. The four-time MVP has 82 strikeouts and 24 walks in 79 2/3 innings this season.

Roberts indicated that Ohtani will be the Dodgers designated hitter for the series finale against the A’s on Wednesday.

“It’s mostly schedule-driven,” Roberts said. “We talked to Shohei and he was agreeing to whatever we felt, knowing it’s best for him. There’s no downside with him losing starts, get more rest. That was the whole driver.”

Roberts said the Dodgers will go with a bullpen game in Ohtani’s absence on Wednesday.

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

Cleveland's left fielder lost track of the number of outs in the seventh inning and threw the ball into the stands, allowing the Texas Rangers to score the go-ahead run in a 4-2 victory over the Guardians on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, I feel terrible,” Ingle said, his face flushed red on a warm, humid night. "It’s a pretty embarrassing feeling.”

With a runner at second base and one out in the seventh, the 24-year-old Ingle, making just his second major league start as an outfielder, caught a routine fly ball hit by Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna off Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee for the second out.

Thinking it was out No. 3, Ingle briefly glanced at the ball in his glove before throwing it over the protective netting to fans as a souvenir.

The umpires immediately ruled the ball was dead and Osuna was awarded home plate.

It wasn't until then that Ingle realized his mistake and he walked back to his position in shocked disbelief. He was charged with an error.

“Yeah, honestly when I threw the ball out, I heard a bunch of yelling,” Ingle said. “Happens sometimes, but just got to learn from it and not make the same mistake."

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who has had to plug rookies into his starting lineup all season, offered his unwavering support to Ingle.

“These things happen,” Vogt said. “Rookie. Nonrookie. It’s happened to Hall of Famers. They’ve done it. We’re going to keep learning. We’re going to keep getting better.”

Vogt was proud of the way Ingle's teammates quickly rallied around him following the bone-headed play.

“It’s a mistake. Lost track of the outs. Pretty big spot,” he said. “We’ll learn from it and can’t control it once it happens. That’s why I was like, flush it. And I just want to give a credit to the dugout. Every one of his teammates, when he came back in, same messaging.”

One of the first to talk to Ingle was Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, who told him to keep his chin up.

“I’ve made so many mistakes,” Hedges said. “I can’t even remember half of them. I’ve embarrassed myself a billion times on the field. I mean, just check my offensive numbers for my career. It’s not super easy to go through that, but that’s the big leagues.”

After his mistake, Ingle said he immediately apologized to Bibee (2-9), who went toe to toe Jacob deGrom for seven innings. Bibee's response to his teammates was to try and make things right.

“I just told him to go tie the game right back up,” Bibee said. “Obviously, we all make mistakes. Everyone in this locker room has made multiple mistakes in the big leagues, whether you’re (rookie) Khalil (Waston) or me or Hedgie. It’s tough.”

Ingle was brought up from Triple-A Columbus last week. He made his big league debut on June 26 and got his first major league hit the next day, a two-run single against Seattle.

After his fielding foible, Ingle came up in the bottom of the seventh and grounded out. He got another chance in the ninth to avenge his gaffe but struck out looking for the game's final out.

What's most important now is that he move forward.

“Obviously learn from it and think about it,” he said. “It’s not something that makes you feel great, but things like that happen for a reason and learning from those things and moving on and getting better from them, it’s pretty much the only thing you can do.”

Vogt said the mistake doesn't affect his belief in Ingle.

“We’re going to help him through it. That’s what we’re here for,” he said. "You’re playing in your second game in the outfield in the big leagues and a mistake like that. Let’s learn. So what? It’s over. Flush it. We’re not going to be mad at him.

“We’re not going to hold it against him. He’s going to be right back out there the next time it’s his turn to play outfield. This was a mistake. This isn’t a judgment or anything like that, but we know how good of a player Coop is and we’re going to stick with him and we’re going to keep helping him.”

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

The cause of death for Chase, 35, was acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, according to online medical examiner records from this week that listed her last name as Schwallier. “Chronic polysubstance abuse” was listed under “other significant conditions.”

Chase was known for voicing the lead role of Lilo in Disney's “Lilo & Stitch” and her performance in the 2002 horror film “The Ring.”

After her death in a Los Angeles hospital, her father John David Schwallier, confirmed to The New York Times that she died from complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection. She was homeless in Los Angeles with her boyfriend, he said.

Chase struggled with drugs since she was 13 years old, Schwallier told the Times. He said his daughter was estranged from her parents, who are divorced.

In a text message to The Associated Press on Tuesday about AIDS being the cause of death, her father said, “I know with her lifestyle that was probably the conclusion so I'm not surprised.”

Calling her death tragic, he added, “It would've been nice for all of you to find her and try and help her that would've been a nicer story than this.”

Chase auditioned for Lilo at age 8. For her role as the long-haired Samara in “The Ring,” she won an MTV Movie Award for best villain.

Chase also voiced another lead in the 2001 animated film “Spirited Away.” She had roles in the 2001 movie “Donnie Darko” and the 2003 show “Oliver Beene,” according to her profile page on the internet movie database IMDb.com.

She was born in Las Vegas and raised in the small town of Albany, Oregon. She began singing and dancing at age 3, according to IMDb.

The Americans will look to change that narrative on Wednesday as they attempt to win their first World Cup elimination game in 24 years when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California.

The Americans last, and only, knockout win came on June 17, 2002, when they defeated Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea.

The good news for the Americans is they should have a healthy Christian Pulisic after the star missed the second game with a calf injury and played only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match against Turkey.

“I feel good and ready to go for tomorrow,” Pulisic said.

The U.S. will once again play a knockout round match at a home World Cup in the San Francisco Bay area. The 1994 team made it out of group stage and faced Brazil at Stanford Stadium — less than 15 miles away from the site of this year’s game in Santa Clara — only to lose 1-0 to the eventual champions.

Since that round of 16 win over Mexico in 2002, the U.S. is 0-3 at that stage but are favored to advance against Bosnia, according to oddsmakers.

“We understand what it means, you win or you go home. There definitely needs to be a lot of focus and attention detail this week,” Pulisic said. “But I think the vibe feels good. We’ve still kept it light and we still are going to be ready to battle once the whistle blows.”

The U.S. has one win in 21 games against European teams with seven draws and 13 losses since making it back to the World Cup in 1990 for the first time in 40 years.

England will face Congo and Belgium will play Senegal in the other elimination games on Wednesday.

The round of 32 continues on Thursday with Spain playing Austria, Portugal taking on Croatia and Switzerland facing Algeria, and then concludes on Friday with Australia up against Egypt, Cape Verde playing Argentina and Colombia facing Ghana.

The eound of 16 begins on Saturday.

What to watch on June 30

— England vs. Congo, noon EDT in Atlanta (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Belgium vs. Senegal, 4 p.m. EDT in Seattle (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— United States vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 8 p.m. EDT in Santa Clara, California (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

England battling mounting injuries entering round of 32

Injuries are mounting for England, which is missing its first- and second-choice right backs for the round of 32 game against Congo.

Reece James is out with a hamstring injury and backup Jarrell Quansah twisted his ankle in England’s 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday.

It could see Djed Spence move over from the left to cover, but coach Thomas Tuchel is confident James and Quansah will both soon return — so long as England can advance beyond Congo.

“They’re getting closer and closer,” Tuchel said. “The race was close even to make it into my squad this time. So we need to make sure that we have more matches. That is the main focus, and then that will be very soon.”

Congo is playing in the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time. It already held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in the group stage and beat Uzbekistan to advance.

“It is true we are looking at a difficult match, but in no way insurmountable. We have proven this against teams that were supposed to be superior to us, that we could actually put in a good performance,” Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. “So we are focusing on our strengths, we are walking our path and once you get to this point in the competition, it’s difficult for everyone.”

Bukayo Saka, who came into the tournament carrying an injury, is fit to start, Tuchel said.

US coach Mauricio Pochettino apologizes for curt tone to media after loss

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino opened his news conference on Tuesday by asking the media to forgive him for his curt tone following the U.S. team’s 3-2 loss to Turkey.

The loss came after the U.S. had clinched the top spot in the group.

“I want to apologize to the guys that were in my last press conference,” Pochettino said. “I was so frustrated. I was disappointed. I thank you and am sorry. It was my problem, not your problem. I was upset after the defeat.”

Pochettino called out the media in the post-match news conference last week for not praising him and his team for having already won the group before the loss to Turkey.

“For you not say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad,” Pochettino told reporters after the game.

Belgium looks to return to 2018 glory when it faces Senegal

By advancing to the knockout round atop Group G, Belgium has already improved upon its woeful performance at the World Cup four years ago.

After a historic third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Belgium did not advance past the group stage in Qatar. With its 5-1 victory over New Zealand on Friday night, Belgium has already achieved what coach Rudi Garcia expected at the bare minimum from his team.

Ahead of Wednesday’s knockout round match against Senegal, Garcia expressed satisfaction, as well as desire for more. Belgium won one game and played to two draws in group play.

“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” Garcia said in French. “Of course we wanted to win more — we know the story of our World Cup so far. Now it is time for the knockout phase. Senegal is a big team. But, you have to beat them, too, if you want to go far in a World Cup.”

More World Cup news

— France forward Kylian Mbappé scores his 17th and 18th World Cup goals, one back of Lionel Messi

— Haaland scores deciding goal as Norway wins its 1st World Cup knockout game, beating Ivory Coast 2-1

— Netherlands coach Koeman resigns after penalty shootout loss marked team’s quickest World Cup exit

— Iran heads home after a heartbreaking World Cup knockout, but fans say players should be proud

— False hope and schadenfreude: Familiar feelings for Germany after another World Cup flop

— World Cup in photos, Day 20

Stat of the day

— Prior to Monday's loss to Paraguay on penalty kicks, Germany had been 17 for 18 in World Cup shootouts and had converted 15 in a row. In the 1982 semifinals, Uli Stielike was blocked by France goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettore with Germany’s third shot. But Germany made its next three and won 5-4. Germany was 4-for-4 in the 1986 quarterfinals against Mexico, 4-for-4 in the 1990 semifinals against England, and 4-for-4 in the 2006 quarterfinals against Argentina — winning all of those contests.

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AP Sports Writers Josh Dubow, James Dobson and Andrew Destin contributed to this report. ___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Neon said Tuesday that it bought the film following a bidding process. Amazon dropped the nearly complete $40 million film, starring Andrew Garfield as Altman, earlier this month, a surprise move that came just months after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI.

Amazon said then that “Artificial” would “be better served if it were released by a different studio.”

Neon said Tuesday that it will release “Artificial” this year and “compete in this year's Oscar race.” The film, which chronicles the days leading up to the 2023 firing and reinstatement of Altman as OpenAI chief executive, also stars Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov and Academy Award winner Mark Rylance. Ike Barinholtz plays Elon Musk.

In late February, Amazon signed an expansive multiyear partnership with the artificial intelligence startup. Then earlier this month, Amazon MGM said it would put the film up for sale to find it a new home.

Neon has established an enviable awards-season track record with Oscar winners like “Parasite” and “Anora.” The specialty label has backed the last seven Palme d'Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival. The studio declined to disclose how much it paid for the worldwide rights to “Artificial.”

“The acquisition underscores Neon’s commitment to partnering with visionary filmmakers, and bringing ambitious cinema to audiences around the world,” the studio said in a statement.

It adds up. The United States trades $1.9 trillion a year — $5 billion a day — worth of goods and services with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. They have supplanted China to become America's top two trading partners.

So the stakes are high when it comes to fiddling with the rules that govern trade between the three countries. And after a year of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policies, many U.S., Canadian and Mexican businesses would welcome the return of stability across North America.

They are not likely to get it.

The regional trade pact — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA — that Trump negotiated and boasted about in his first term comes up for renewal Wednesday, a process that is likely to last months, maybe longer.

And the path forward is lined with landmines.

"There’s going to be a lot of drama this summer," Diego Marroquín Bitar, a fellow in the America’s program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week at a USMCA forum sponsored by the Cato Institute.

A bumpy road ahead for North American trade

The U.S. is making demands that could effectively force Canada and Mexico to surrender some automaking production to the United States. That might bring more auto factory jobs to the United States. But it would also upend established supply chains and would push up U.S. prices for new cars that now average nearly $50,000 at a time when American consumers are already frustrated about the high cost of living.

Trump, characteristically, has added to the tension by threatening to pull out of his own agreement altogether.

In 2020, the USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which tore down most trade barriers between the three North American countries.

Trump and other critics had called NAFTA a job killer because it encouraged U.S. companies to move factories south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor, then ship goods back to the United States duty free.

His USMCA ended up being similar to NAFTA — though it pressured factories to pay higher wages and make sure that more of what they made originated in North America in an effort to prevent Chinese products from slipping across regional borders duty free.

North America trade deal is up for renewal

The USMCA included a novel provision requiring the pact to be renewed every six years. That deadline is Wednesday, but “nothing is going to happen July 1,” said Oscar Ocampo, director of economic development at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.

Negotiators could agree Wednesday to renew the USMCA as it is for another 16 years — until 2042. But that is considered highly unlikely. Instead, they are expected to keep working on ways to improve it; they have until the current term ends in 2036 to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the pact expires.

Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice — a red buzzer that Canada and Mexico, dependent on trade with the United States, fear Trump just might push.

Trump, after all, said in June that he was “not looking to renew’’ the trade pact with Canada and Mexico. "We don’t need anything that they have,” he said.

Ocampo suspects that Trump doesn't really want to drop the treaty; he just wants to use the uncertainty to keep pressure on Mexico over security and immigration issues.

Canada is out in the cold — so far

The United States and Mexico have held talks on renewing the trade agreement. But Canada has so far been stuck on the sidelines.

Patrick Childress, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm and a former U.S. trade negotiator, said: "The danger for Canada is this: that the U.S. government and the Mexican government reach agreement on changes to core provisions of the treaty and then show up in Ottawa and say: ‘Here’s what we’ve agreed to. You can take it or leave it.’’’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the three trading partners plan to meet virtually on Wednesday, adding: “I’m not looking for my pen.”

Carney later said in French his priority is to update the USMCA and that it is impossible for the U.S. to have a new agreement without the approval of Congress.

Pushing production to the United States

The U.S. wants a refreshed trade pact to do more to make sure that Chinese goods don’t get in through the back door. But the most contentious issue is a U.S. push to require that more products are made in North America — and specifically the United States.

The USMCA included a requirement that automotive products must be 75% made in North America — up from 62.5% under NAFTA — to qualify for duty-free treatment.

The U.S. wants to push the 75% threshold even higher but it won’t be easy. Automakers already "have been fine-tuning their supply chains for years to be able to hit that 75% mark," Childress said. They would need time to meet the higher standard.

The U.S. is also seeking a brand-new requirement: that 50% of cars be made in the United States, Carney confirmed in early June. Currently, none of the USMCA countries gets a guaranteed share of production. "It’s a red line for both Mexico and Canada, and it goes against the spirit and the letter of regional integration," Ocampo said.

Marcos Carias, an economist at the credit insurer Coface, said only 1 in 5 Mexican and Canadian cars imported into the United States would currently meet the 50% standard.

Vehicle models likely to be hit with higher costs under the plan, he said, include Ford’s Maverick compact pickup truck, Chevrolet’s mid-size Equinox SUV and some Nissan sedans — all made in Mexico. Carias’ "back of the envelope" calculations suggest that prices could increase 5% to 7% on the most-affected models.

Businesses want stability

A lot of companies just want relief from Trump’s ever-changing tariffs. “My interest in this USMCA renewal is just consistency, right?" said Shawn Miller, co-founder of PKGD Group, which imports agave spirits (tequila, mezcal and raicilla) from family producers in Mexico. “If the rules change, the rules change. But we’d really like to know (what they're going to be) and we’d like them to stay that way for a while."

Business is booming for PKGD. Sales at the Holland, Michigan-based firm are up 62% so far this year after surging 100% in 2025 and 300% in 2024.

But last year was chaotic.

Trump hit Mexican and Canadian goods with a 25% import tax in February only to turn around a month later and exempt products that were eligible for preferential USMCA treatment. The USMCA allows the Mexican spirits into the United States duty free.

Amid the tumult, three truckloads of Mexican spirits imported by PKGD crossed the border into the United States and got hit with the 25% tariff. The cost came to $105,000. "For us, it was one unfortunate day!'' Miller said.

Not knowing what tariffs Trump might conjure up next, PKGD huddled with its Mexican producers to figure out how to respond. “What can we absorb? What can they absorb?" Miller said. “How can we mitigate this?"

Miller said he and his Mexican suppliers “are not large multinational corporations with dedicated trade departments, teams of lawyers, or lobbyists focused on trade policy."

Kerry Mellin can sympathize.

In 2014, the veteran Hollywood costume designer started a business in Ventura County, California, selling silicone grips that enable people with disabilities (such as cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s) to hold things — spoons, cups, pens, toothbrushes.

But sales floundered when she introduced her EazyHold grips in Canada, where she has dual citizenship. She thinks it’s because the silicone she imports from Asia kept her grips from having enough North American content to qualify for USMCA’s duty-free treatment when they crossed the border from the United States.

Mellin suspects EazyHold could meet the USMCA standards, “but the rules are complex and unpredictable enough that I genuinely can’t be sure without hiring a trade attorney."

Mellin believes the USMCA’s rules of origin should be loosened, not tightened, to help small businesses that can’t afford costlier raw materials from North America.

“I do understand why the rule exists -- to stop companies from routing Chinese goods through Mexico," she said. “I just wish it could tell the difference between that and a small family business in California making grip aids for people who can’t hold a fork. I’m not the problem they were trying to solve."

____

AP Writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Rob Gilles in Toronto contributed to this story.

It adds up. The United States trades $1.9 trillion a year — $5 billion a day — worth of goods and services with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. They have supplanted China as America's top two trading partners.

So the stakes are high when it comes to fiddling with the rules that govern trade between the three countries. And after a year of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policies, many U.S., Canadian and Mexican businesses would welcome the return of stability across North America.

They are not likely to get it.

The regional trade pact — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA — that Trump negotiated and boasted about in his first term comes up for renewal Wednesday, a process that is likely to last months, maybe longer.

And the path forward is lined with landmines.

“There’s going to be a lot of drama this summer," Diego Marroquín Bitar, a fellow in the America’s program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week at a USMCA forum sponsored by the Cato Institute.

A bumpy road ahead for North American trade

The U.S. is making demands that could effectively force Canada and Mexico to surrender some automaking production to the United States. That might bring more auto factory jobs to the United States. But it would also upend established supply chains and would push up U.S. prices for new cars that now average nearly $50,000 at a time when American consumers are already furious about the high cost of living.

Trump, characteristically, has added to the tension by threatening to pull out of his own agreement altogether.

In 2020, the USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which tore down most trade barriers between the three North American countries.

Trump and other critics had called NAFTA a job killer because it encouraged U.S. companies to move factories south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor, then ship goods back to the United States duty free.

His USMCA ended up being similar to NAFTA — though it pressured factories to pay higher wages and make sure that more of what they made originated in North America in an effort to prevent Chinese products from slipping across regional borders duty free.

North America trade deal is up for renewal

The USMCA included a novel provision requiring the pact to be renewed every six years. That deadline is Wednesday, but “nothing is going to happen July 1,” said Oscar Ocampo, director of economic development at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.

Negotiators could agree Wednesday to renew USMCA as it is for another 16 years — until 2042. But that is considered highly unlikely. Instead, they are expected to keep working on ways to improve it; they have until the current term ends in 2036 to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the pact expires.

Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice — a red buzzer that Canada and Mexico, dependent on trade with the United States, fear Trump just might push.

Trump, after all, said in June that he was “not looking to renew" the trade pact with Canada and Mexico. "We don’t need anything that they have,” he said.

Ocampo suspects that Trump doesn't really want to drop the treaty; he just wants to use the uncertainty to keep pressure on Mexico over security and immigration issues.

Canada is out in the cold

The United States and Mexico have held talks on renewing the trade agreement. But Canada has so far been stuck on the sidelines.

Patrick Childress, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm and a former U.S. trade negotiator, said: “The danger for Canada is this: that the U.S. government and the Mexican government reach agreement on changes to core provisions of the treaty and then show up in Ottawa and say: ‘Here’s what we’ve agreed to. You can take it or leave it."’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the three trading partners plan to meet virtually on Wednesday, adding: “I’m not looking for my pen.”

Carney later said in French his priority is to update the USMCA.

Pushing production to the United States

The U.S. wants a refreshed trade pact to do more to make sure that Chinese goods don’t get in through the back door.

But the most contentious issue is that the U.S. is also seeking a brand-new requirement: that 50% of cars be made in the United States, Carney confirmed in early June. Currently, none of the USMCA countries gets a guaranteed share of production. “It’s a red line for both Mexico and Canada, and it goes against the spirit and the letter of regional integration,” Ocampo said.

Marcos Carias, economist at the credit insurer Coface, said only 1 in 5 Mexican and Canadian cars imported into the United States would currently meet the 50% standard.

Vehicle models likely to be hit with higher costs under the plan, he said, include Ford’s Maverick compact pickup truck, Chevrolet’s mid-size Equinox SUV and some Nissan sedans — all made in Mexico. Carias’ “back of the envelope" calculations suggest that prices could increase 5% to 7% on the most-affected models.

____

AP Writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Rob Gilles in Toronto contributed to this story.

Pochettino began his news conference before Wednesday's game against Bosnia-Herzegovina by asking the media to forgive him for his curt tone following the U.S. team's 3-2 loss to Turkey in a match that had no impact on the Americans after they had already clinched the top spot in the group.

“I want to apologize to the guys that were in my last press conference,” Pochettino said. “I was so frustrated. I was disappointed. I thank you and am sorry. It was my problem, not your problem. I was upset after the defeat.”

Pochettino called out the media in the post-match news conference last week for not praising him and his team for having already won the group before the loss to Turkey.

“For you not say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad,” Pochettino told reporters after the game.

“What we need to remember is we won first place in this group,” Pochettino added while speaking in Spanish and English. “We ended up being No. 1, and we managed all the pressure and the expectations quite well."

Pochettino knows the expectations are even higher now that his team has reached the knockout round and goes into the game against Bosnia as the favorite to advance.

He has preached to his team that “relaxation brings concentration” and has told them to approach every game as if it was the final.

“If we don’t see it in this way, I think we are going to struggle,” he said. “We are seeing already in all the games after the group stage how difficult it is. ... We don’t have another opportunity if we fail. It’s all in and knowing that game is the final of the World Cup. And if we were capable to go through, the next one is going to be another final of the World Cup.”

Bosnia has already played host Canada to a draw in Toronto in the opening match and now faces a U.S. team on American soil as the underdogs. Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Tim Howard said Bosnia is “better off not even getting on a plane and going to San Francisco” for a match he believes they have no chance of winning.

But the Bosnians already defied the odds by beating four-time champion Italy in the European playoffs and now have a chance to spoil the World Cup for the U.S. team.

“I'm not concerned with things like that,” Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said about Howard's comments. “I have to admit, things like that happen on a daily basis. We are a small country and things like that sometimes happen. I have no problem. My boys don’t have a problem with that. ... We are playing to go into the round of 16. Is that not motivation enough? I don't notice things like that.”

Injury updates for the US team ahead of match

Pochettino had some injury updates for his team ahead of the match, saying he hoped Auston Trusty could be available after injuring his ankle late in the last game against Turkey. Trusty scored his first goal for the national team in that game.

Pochettino said it would be more difficult for Cristian Roldan (quadriceps strain) and Mark McKenzie (foot irritation) to be available for the game but a final decision won't be made until Wednesday.

Christian Pulisic said he is ready to start after missing the second group game with a calf injury and playing only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match.

“I feel good and ready to go for tomorrow,” Pulisic said.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The Raptors are sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and pick swap to the Clippers for Leonard, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not received the required league approval.

Leonard spent one season in Toronto, and that was the year the Raptors won their lone title. He turned 35 on Monday but is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games.

Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (also winning in 2014 with San Antonio) and is generally considered one of the game's top defensive players.

The trade is the latest in what's becoming a long line of huge deals getting made between clubs already this summer, one that has seen Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded by Milwaukee to Miami, Ja Morant getting moved to Portland by Memphis and now this — one where the Raptors will hope that Leonard can weave his title magic one more time.

Toronto agreeing to make this deal suggests that it isn't worried about the ongoing probe into an endorsement deal that Leonard had with a California-based sustainability services company.

The NBA opened an investigation back in September into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year — broke league rules, following a report by journalist Pablo Torre. The primary issue for the NBA to decide is if the deal allowed the Clippers to circumvent league salary cap rules.

___

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

La desesperada búsqueda de sobrevivientes entre los escombros ha continuado durante días tras los devastadores terremotos en Venezuela.

El lunes por la noche, miembros de la familia dijeron que Carlos Miguel Colmenares Gutiérrez, de 12 años, fue rescatado después de haber quedado atrapado en los escombros durante cinco días.

Un video grabado con celular muestra al niño siendo trasladado por los equipos de rescate en una camilla.

Una multitud se reunió alrededor, aplaudiendo, asombrada por lo que veían.

Más tarde, se muestra al niño siendo trasladado en ambulancia a un hospital en Caracas.

Su prima segunda, Mayra Heredia, dijo que está en condición estable en la UCI y sin lesiones graves, a pesar de haber permanecido atrapado tanto tiempo.

Él estaba en su apartamento cuando ocurrieron los terremotos, y un refrigerador caído lo habría protegido del techo colapsado.

“Para el domingo prácticamente dijeron que el edificio era una pérdida”, dijo Heredia. “Dieron por hecho que todos estaban muertos”.

Pero el lunes, los equipos de rescate escucharon al niño gritar su nombre, y sus cámaras confirmaron que estaba allí dentro, lo que llevó al rescate.

“Es un milagro”, dijo Heredia. “Estamos en shock de que esté vivo. Sobrevivió sin lesiones que pongan en riesgo su vida, solo está muy deshidratado”.

Aunque la familia está agradecida por el rescate del niño, saben que para muchos en Venezuela la historia no es la misma.

“Es un sentimiento agridulce porque sí, lo encontramos, pero hay miles de otros que podrían seguir con vida bajo los escombros y que no hemos podido localizar completamente”, dijo Heredia.

The Selma-to-Montgomery marches galvanized passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which did away with most barriers such as poll taxes and other forms of voter discrimination targeting Black Americans in the Deep South.

A delegation of five people brought dozens of flower lei with them from Hawaii to Alabama in March 1965. Images of King wearing lei, garlands that are synonymous with Hawaiian culture, have been previously published -- but most of the photos displayed in Hawaii’s new exhibit have never been seen before. Some photos have subtle variations, while others include figures who may have been deemed unimportant at the time. The exhibit runs through July 7.

One of the lei-bearers was Charles Campbell, a high school teacher and chairman of the Hawaii Civil Rights Conference, who a March 20, 1965 article in The Honolulu Advertiser quoted as saying: "Selma has the capability of becoming a real sore that could affect the entire nation.”

King was photographed wearing lei about two weeks after the event known as Bloody Sunday when state troopers violently attacked Civil Rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965.

The photos were taken by Civil Rights photographer Matt Herron, whose widow donated them to Hawaii's Department of Accounting and General Services for the state's archives.

After the photos were unveiled, Steven Springel stared at a photo of his mother, Nona Ferdon, who was a divorced mother of two children and a graduate student when she traveled to Selma.

Springel remembers he was just about to turn 7 and only realized as an adult how important her trip was. Growing up in Hawaii, “we never experienced segregation or racial inequality,” he said of his and his sister’s childhood. Ferdon died in 2021.

The exhibit, part of Hawaii's programming to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, is a reminder people from the Aloha State participated in an important event in history, said Keith Regan, who oversees the department as the state's comptroller and presided over the photo unveiling as acting governor while Gov. Josh Green is out of state.

The small delegation traveled thousands of miles “to be a part of the Civil Rights movement, to show ‘aloha’ to the world that Hawaii was there holding hands with our fellow brothers and sisters to ensure equality and justice were heard throughout the nation,” he said.

The Hawaii members also wore lei during first day of the 50-mile (80.46-kilometer) march. Mothers of Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu strung together fragrant plumeria plucked from church grounds to assemble the lei.

Giving lei, a word that is both singular and plural in the Hawaiian language, continues to be a way to share the “aloha” spirit. People in Hawaii give and receive lei for all kinds of reasons, including to celebrate birthdays and promotions, or to show appreciation or recognition.

Tomi Knaefler, who had traveled with the delegation as a reporter with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, planned to attend Tuesday's news conference. But at 96 years old, she wasn't feeling up to it, said her daughter, Pamela MacDonald, who did attend.

MacDonald said she was 14 when her mother went on the assignment, “the one that she holds dearest to her heart."

The exhibit comes at the end of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2026 term, which included a ruling gutting the remaining piece of the Voting Rights Act, setting off a wave of partisan gerrymandering in states in the South and endangering generations of gains in Black political representation.

___

This version corrects that the number of people in the Hawaii delegation was five, not four.

“I don't consider this stuff a personal victory," Norman Wong told The Associated Press. “It’s an obligation and a duty for every American to care about this because ultimately we’re not fighting for the rights of Chinese or Japanese or whatever. We’re fighting for rights for all Americans because these are fundamental rights.”

Wong, 76, has become an unexpected public face of the movement to protect birthright citizenship. He began giving speeches and interviews in January 2025 — shortly after President Donald Trump issued his executive order declaring children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

In a 6-3 decision, a divided Supreme Court upheld a broad interpretation of birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s arguments.

In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court held that the long-settled understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, adopted after the Civil War, makes anyone born in the U.S. a citizen, with very limited exceptions.

Dissenting Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas would have upheld Trump’s proposed restrictions. The Fourteenth Amendment “was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support,” Thomas wrote.

Trump said the decision was “too bad for our Country” and wrongly suggested that Congress could “easily” address it with legislation. The majority decision rests on constitutional grounds. It would take an amendment to overcome the decision.

Wong called the executive order Trump issued on the first day of his second term an unconstitutional “decree.”

“If it didn’t fly in the face of the Constitution, the Supreme Court would have ruled differently today,” Wong said. “That’s unfortunate that we have a leader that wants the United States to be in his image, but that’s not what we’re supposed to be. He’s supposed to conform to what we the people believe in.”

Maintaining birthright citizenship as a right and a family legacy

In the late 1800s, birthright citizenship was legally expanded to the children of immigrants.

Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco in 1873, was returning by steamship from China in 1895 and was denied reentry. He sued and the Supreme Court in 1898 ruled in his favor. The court held that under the Fourteenth Amendment, a child’s citizenship depends on birth in the U.S., not a parent’s citizenship.

Norman Wong has always been social justice-minded. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, in the 1970s, he joined the multiracial student-driven Third World Liberation Front. He saw how the term “Asian American” rallied Asian student groups to join forces.

It wasn't until he was in his 50s that he learned Wong Kim Ark was his great-grandfather. His father had spoken very little about family history. But journalists from Chinese-language newspapers approached his father for an interview after seeing his name in old court records.

He never pictured lobbying for another movement in his 70s. But last year, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the same organization that funded Wong Kim Ark's legal fight, invited him to speak at a press conference. Since then, Wong, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has given interviews, speeches and even traveled to Washington in April to hear the Supreme Court arguments.

“I consider myself lucky enough to actually have a meaningful role," Wong said. “All that citizenship grants is the stuff that was the promise of America, which is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Is birthright citizenship status secure now?

In April, the birthright citizenship court proceedings also marked the first time a sitting U.S. president attended Supreme Court oral arguments. California Attorney General Rob Bonta recalls sitting in the same row as Trump.

Since Trump's executive order, Bonta, the first state attorney general of Filipino descent, has heard from “hundreds” of people born in the U.S. who have been worried about being stripped of their citizenship because of a parent's immigration status. Most of them have been people of color — Black, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander. The high court's decision, while affirming, does not mean they should be less mindful of their rights.

“Everyone who believes in the rule of law, believes in the U.S. Constitution — its durability, its strength, its potency — should breathe a little easier today,” Bonta said. “But, the attacks on lawful immigration status, on the U.S. Constitution's protections, rights and freedoms afforded to people, including birthright citizenship, they will continue.”

Chinese American daughter of immigrants makes the case

The Justice Department said in a statement that it’s “committed to tackling illegal birth tourism schemes by working diligently with U.S. Attorneys across the country to uphold the law.”

“Actors seeking to exploit loopholes to obtain automatic citizenship for their children pose a national security threat and will be brought to justice,” the department said in a post on the social platform X.

Cecillia Wang, the national director of the American Civil Liberties Union who argued for birthright citizenship in front of the Supreme Court, said in a statement the court "reaffirms a fundamental American promise — if you are born here, you are a citizen.”

“A president cannot change the Constitution by executive fiat," Wang said. "Our brave clients and our legal team stand with millions of people around our country who spoke up for one of our most cherished rights."

Bonta previously worked with Wang at the same San Francisco law firm. He described her as brilliant and said that having immigrant parents “was an added dimension to Cecillia's incredible advocacy.”

Wang is American-born with parents who legally came to the U.S. from Taiwan as graduate students. The fact that she was the one who got to argue the case nearly 130 years after his great-grandfather won his case makes today's decision even better, Wong said.

“It’s kind of sweet because — especially for Chinese Americans — they were at the forefront of all this anti-Asian hate,” Wong said. “There are certain aspects of my life where I think what happened actually prepared me for what’s happening now.” ___ Associated Press reporter Mark Sherman in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

Según Reuters, las autoridades venezolanas informaron que más de 1,700 personas han muerto y al menos otras 5,000 resultaron heridas tras los devastadores terremotos.

Global Empowerment Mission, que ha estado recolectando donaciones en su almacén de Doral, publicó nuevas fotografías que muestran palés con suministros de ayuda llegando a un almacén que la organización habilitó en Caracas.

Funcionarios de Global Empowerment Mission dijeron a Local 10 que ya no necesitan donaciones de agua embotellada porque han recibido un suministro suficiente. En su lugar, la organización está solicitando donaciones monetarias, lo que permitirá a los equipos de ayuda comprar y distribuir los suministros más urgentes directamente en las zonas afectadas.

Consulta horarios, lugar de entrega, y artículos necesarios.

Mientras tanto, integrantes de la Florida Task Force 1 de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue permanecían en Venezuela, trabajando junto a equipos internacionales en una de las zonas más afectadas, Playa Grande, en el estado La Guaira.

La Florida Task Force 1 (#FLTF1) de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue se encuentra en Playa Grande, La Guaira, Venezuela, junto a una comunidad marcada para siempre por los devastadores terremotos.

La misión es compleja, pero clara. Está impulsada por la posibilidad de que aún se pueda salvar una vida.pic.twitter.com/u8NxodanHd

Los equipos de búsqueda continuaban utilizando perros especialmente entrenados para detectar el olor de personas atrapadas bajo los escombros.

En medio de la destrucción generalizada, los rescatistas celebraron un inusual momento de esperanza después de que equipos de emergencia de Jordania rescataran con vida a un niño de 3 años de entre los escombros de un edificio colapsado, seis días después del desastre.

El menor fue trasladado de inmediato para recibir atención médica mientras los rescatistas celebraban el rescate.

También seguían aumentando las dudas sobre el colapso de un hotel donde se alojaban más de 100 personas deportadas recientemente desde Estados Unidos.

Un vuelo de repatriación con unas 146 personas llegó a Venezuela el 24 de junio, apenas unas horas antes de que ocurrieran los terremotos. Las autoridades informaron que muchos de los deportados fueron llevados al hotel, que posteriormente colapsó, dejando a las familias buscando respuestas sobre el paradero de sus seres queridos.

“No nos están dando respuestas sobre dónde está ella, si en un hospital o en la morgue”, dijo Luis Armando Dasilva, cuya hermana, Amanda Donizete, según indicó, trabajaba como mesera en Georgia.

Las familias aseguran que han recibido información contradictoria sobre cuántas personas sobrevivieron al colapso.

“Por favor, actúen rápido. Queremos que encuentren a nuestros familiares, como sea que estén”, dijo Dasilva.

La Organización Mundial de la Salud informó que el sistema de salud de Venezuela continúa bajo una presión significativa debido a los daños en hospitales y la escasez de personal.

La Embajada de Estados Unidos en Caracas también publicó una fotografía del USS Fort Lauderdale, que, según el Comando Sur de Estados Unidos, permanece atracado en el puerto de La Guaira.

El buque está proporcionando capacidades médicas adicionales y funciona como centro de comunicaciones para apoyar las operaciones de ayuda.

Mientras continúan las labores internacionales de rescate, organizaciones del sur de Florida trabajan para hacer llegar más alimentos, agua y otros suministros esenciales a los sobrevivientes de los terremotos en Venezuela.

Haga clic aquí para ver los centros de entrega en todo el sur de Florida que están recolectando bienes y suministros para las víctimas del terremoto.

Contenido relacionado

Bajo el liderazgo de @POTUS y del @SecRubio, EE.UU. sigue respondiendo de manera rápida y sin precedentes a los devastadores terremotos que sacudieron Venezuela. El equipo Florida Task Force 1 (#FLTF1) de @MiamiDadeFireRescue continúa trabajando sin descanso para salvar vidas. pic.twitter.com/ij8c6n1uHl — Embajada de los EE.UU. en Caracas (@usembassyve)June 30, 2026

Cuando más importa responder al llamado. @MiamiDadeFire está en Venezuela, demostrando la dedicación y el profesionalismo que distinguen a los equipos de respuesta a emergencias de Estados Unidos. pic.twitter.com/ZjWGTwbUA7 — Department of State (@StateDept)June 29, 2026

Mbappé had his third two-goal game of this World Cup and set a career scoring record for the tournament's knockout rounds, leading Les Bleus over Sweden 3-0 on Tuesday to set up a round of 16 match against Paraguay.

“I personally haven't seen a better team,” Sweden coach Graham Potter said. “The quality they have all over the pitch and then the options for them off the bench are very, very strong, so they’ve got as good a chance as anybody, I would suggest.”

France's 27-year-old star scored the go-ahead goal with a brilliant crossover step in the 45th minute and added his sixth goal of the tournament in the 74th to tie Lionel Messi for the tournament scoring lead. He has 18 goals in 18 World Cup games, one behind the Argentine's career scoring record of 19 in 29 matches.

In between, Bradley Barcola had a 53rd-minute goal for France, which became the first nation to score three or more goals in five consecutive World Cup matches.

“I’m very aware of who I am, how I play, what I shall do, but it’s not just about me,” Mbappé said through a translator. "The entire team is aware of what should be done. It is a new competition that has started today. We did play well, but we were timid. We could have done better at the beginning."

Mbappé’s 10 knockout round goals are two more than the previous high by Brazilian greats Leonidas and Ronaldo.

France coach Didier Deschamps bowed when Mbappé came to the bench after he was substituted in the 85th minute.

“We’re on a mission — so am I with them,” Deschamps said through a translator.

France has outscored opponents 13-2. Michael Olise has five assists, the most in a World Cup since Germany's Thomas Hassler had five in 1994.

“They are skilled at knowing when to change the pace and increase it, when to possess the ball, went to fall back,” Sweden captain Victor Lindelöf said through a translator.

Seeking to reach its third straight World Cup final, France plays Paraguay on July 4 in Philadelphia. The winner advances to a quarterfinal against Canada or Morocco five days later at Foxborough, Massachusetts.

It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), sunny and humid at the 5 p.m. kickoff with poor air quality at the site of the July 19 final. Many fans in the club areas stayed inside their air-conditioned suites.

France outshot Sweden 25-7 in the first World Cup meeting between the nations, including 15-3 in the first half.

Mbappé hit a post in the 32nd minute, raising both hands in disgust, and France nearly went ahead four minutes later on Olise’s spectacular bicycle kick from just inside the penalty area, which also clanked off a post.

“I said I think we needed a couple of miracles. We had a couple, but we ran out of them," Potter said. “So we needed a few more.”

Mbappé scored after goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström tipped Olise’s shot just outside the post.

Olise played a short corner kick to Ousmane Dembélé, who passed to Mbappé near the byline. Mbappé took a crossover step to get around Viktor Gyökeres and from just outside the 6-yard box sent a diagonal shot inside the far post.

Mbappé ran up the center of the field to celebrate, colliding with Dembélé, and jogged to the bench to hug Deschamps, who returned for the match after going to France for his mother’s funeral.

“He knows that he will never be alone with us, and we will support him,” Mbappé said.

Gustaf Lagerbielke lost the ball ahead of France’s second goal. Aurélien Tchouaméni passed to Olise, who nutmegged Lagerbielke, and Barcola took a centering touch and sent the ball past Zetterström’s outstretched right hand.

Mbappé entertained the crowd with a backheel pass to Barcola in the buildup to France’s third goal, the 62nd of his international career. Barcola passed to Olise, who sent the ball forward as Mbappé sprinted into the penalty area, took a touch and fired the ball inside the far post.

“We continue to deliver great performances,” Mbappé said.

A crowd of 80,663 raised the record total for the expanded 104-match tournament above 5 million. A majority of fans wore France’s blue, with a pocket in Sweden’s yellow at one end.

“I have no complaints to the players whatsoever. I said to them after the game I don’t think it’s a disgrace to lose to France," Potter said. “For us it’s about using this as a foundation to go forward and to be proud of what we’ve done so far.”

Speaking just after the final whistle, Mbappé wasn't quite ready to turn his attention to Paraguay just yet.

“I’m looking forward to the changing room and the AC," he said.

___

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

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According to Reuters, Venezuelan authorities said more than 1,700 people have been killed and at least 5,000 others injured following the devastating earthquakes.

Global Empowerment Mission, which has been collecting donations at its warehouse in Doral, released new photos showing pallets of relief supplies arriving at a warehouse the organization secured in Caracas.

Global Empowerment Mission officials told Local 10 they are no longer in need of bottled water donations because they have received an ample supply. Instead, the organization is asking people to make monetary donations, which will allow relief teams to purchase and distribute the supplies most urgently needed on the ground.

Read the drop off time, location, and items needed below.

Meanwhile, members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Florida Task Force 1 remained on the ground in Venezuela, working alongside international crews in one of the hardest-hit areas, Playa Grande in La Guaira state.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Florida Task Force 1 (#FLTF1) is on the ground in Playa Grande, La Guaira, Venezuela, standing alongside a community forever changed by the devastating earthquakes.

The mission is complex but clear. It's driven by the possibility that a life can still be… pic.twitter.com/u8NxodanHd

— Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire) June 28, 2026

Search teams continued using specially trained canines to detect the scent of people trapped beneath the rubble.

Amid the widespread destruction, rescuers celebrated a rare moment of hope after emergency crews from Jordan pulled a 3-year-old child alive from beneath a collapsed building six days after the disaster.

That child was rushed for medical treatment as rescuers cheered.

Questions also continued to mount over the collapse of a hotel that was housing more than 100 recently deported people from the United States.

A repatriation flight carrying about 146 people arrived in Venezuela on June 24, just hours before the earthquakes struck. Officials said many of the deportees were taken to the hotel, which later collapsed, leaving families searching for answers about their loved ones.

“They are not giving us answers about where she is. If at a hospital or at the morgue,” said Luis Armando Dasilva, whose sister, Amanda Donizete, he said worked as a waitress in Georgia.

Families say they have received conflicting information about how many people survived the collapse.

“Please act quickly. We want our relatives to be found, however they are,” Dasilva said.

The World Health Organization said Venezuela’s health care system remains under significant strain because of damaged hospitals and staffing shortages.

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas also released a photo of the USS Fort Lauderdale, which U.S. Southern Command said is berthed at the Port of La Guaira.

The ship is providing additional medical capabilities and serving as a communications hub to support relief operations.

As international rescue efforts continue, organizations in South Florida are working to get more food, water and other essential supplies into the hands of earthquake survivors in Venezuela.

Click here to view the drop-off locations across South Florida that are collecting goods and supplies for earthquake victims.

Related Media

Venezuela Earthquake Relief: GEM’s Director of Field Operations for North America & the Caribbean sharing this video with you tonight of the Doral-based humanitarian relief group’s distribution in one of Venezuela’s hardest hit areas. More on https://t.co/YnKX2NZJQ5 #Donations pic.twitter.com/KpoIenvA9T

— Christina Boomer Vazquez, M.S. (@CBoomerVazquez) June 30, 2026

Bajo el liderazgo de @POTUS y del @SecRubio, EE.UU. sigue respondiendo de manera rápida y sin precedentes a los devastadores terremotos que sacudieron Venezuela. El equipo Florida Task Force 1 (#FLTF1) de @MiamiDadeFireRescue continúa trabajando sin descanso para salvar vidas.… pic.twitter.com/ij8c6n1uHl

— Embajada de los EE.UU. en Caracas (@usembassyve) June 30, 2026

Answering the call when it matters most. @MiamiDadeFire is on the ground in Venezuela, demonstrating the dedication and professionalism that define America's emergency responders. pic.twitter.com/ZjWGTwbUA7

— Department of State (@StateDept) June 29, 2026

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“Hard for the parents, hard for us,” said Leslie Novoa, owner of A World of Discovery Academy, while holding back tears.

Novia said the boy attended her daycare, located at 7025 Northwest Fourth Street, where she and staff members had known his family for more than six years.

“Every single child that comes through our school becomes part of our family, and we are destroyed,” said Carolina Quecano, an assistant director of the daycare.

Novoa said the boy’s father arrived at the daycare Monday afternoon to pick up his son, but staff quickly realized something was wrong.

“I went out to confirm that the baby was never dropped off at the school and that’s when we found out,” Novoa said.

According to Novoa, the father then opened the vehicle and made the heartbreaking discovery.

“He was screaming outside, ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’ He was really sad,” she said.

Novoa called 911, and Plantation police responded, surrounding the SUV with crime scene tape as detectives investigated. A Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office van later arrived while investigators processed the scene.

The daycare administrators told Local 10 that the boy was the youngest of three siblings. His two older siblings also attended the school, and staff said they had developed a close relationship with the family over the years.

“They are very nice, never a problem, always supportive,” Quecano said. “The children are very happy. You could see very loved children.”

As police continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the child’s death, Quecano urged the community to show compassion.

“We don’t know what people are going through and it’s a very important message to put to our community is that we should be supportive, not judgmental,” she said.

Other parents at the daycare also shared their condolences.

“As a parent you never want to lose a child,” one mother said.

Plantation police have said only that the case remains an active investigation and that no additional details are being released at this time.

“Difícil para los padres, difícil para nosotros”, dijo Leslie Novoa, propietaria de A World of Discovery Academy, mientras contenía las lágrimas.

Novoa dijo que el niño asistía a su guardería, ubicada en 7025 Northwest Fourth Street, donde ella y el personal conocían a su familia desde hace más de seis años.

“Cada niño que llega a nuestra escuela se convierte en parte de nuestra familia, y estamos destruidos”, dijo Carolina Quecano, subdirectora de la guardería.

Novoa dijo que el padre del niño llegó a la guardería el lunes por la tarde para recoger a su hijo, pero el personal rápidamente se dio cuenta de que algo estaba mal.

“Salí a confirmar que el bebé nunca había sido dejado en la escuela y ahí fue cuando nos enteramos”, dijo Novoa.

Según Novoa, el padre entonces abrió el vehículo y hizo el desgarrador hallazgo.

“Estaba gritando afuera, ‘¡Oh Dios mío! ¡Oh Dios mío!’. Estaba muy triste”, dijo.

Novoa llamó al 911, y la policía de Plantation respondió, rodeando el SUV con cinta de escena del crimen mientras los detectives investigaban. Una camioneta de la Oficina del Médico Forense del Condado de Broward llegó más tarde mientras los investigadores procesaban la escena.

Los administradores de la guardería dijeron a Local 10 que el niño era el menor de tres hermanos. Sus dos hermanos mayores también asistían a la escuela, y el personal dijo que habían desarrollado una relación cercana con la familia a lo largo de los años.

“Son muy amables, nunca un problema, siempre solidarios”, dijo Quecano. “Los niños son muy felices. Se podía ver que eran niños muy queridos”.

Mientras la policía continúa investigando las circunstancias que rodean la muerte del niño, Quecano pidió a la comunidad mostrar compasión.

“No sabemos por lo que la gente está pasando y es un mensaje muy importante para nuestra comunidad: debemos ser solidarios, no juzgar”, dijo.

Otros padres de la guardería también compartieron sus condolencias.

“Como padre nunca quieres perder a un hijo”, dijo una madre.

La policía de Plantation ha dicho únicamente que el caso sigue siendo una investigación activa y que no se están revelando más detalles en este momento.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Heat are going to sign free agent swingman Tim Hardaway Jr.

Free agent sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. will be signing with the Miami Heat to provide the organization with the spacing needed for Giannis Antetokounmpo, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/ZS5wLdcCeG

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 30, 2026

Hardaway Jr. is the son of former Heat star shooter Tim Hardaway.

The younger Hardaway has played 13 seasons in the NBA for five teams: The New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets.

He’s a career 41.9% shooter from the field and 36.5% shooter from three-point range.

Last season with Denver, Hardaway averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 44.7% from the field and 40.7% from downtown.

Hinkle — one of the oldest arenas in the country — is iconic, and more than fits the billing that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league officials were looking for when he said the league was searching for “storied college arenas” to play host to the Cup final.

The 2026-27 title game, to be played Dec. 11, will mark the first time the Cup final is held outside of Las Vegas — which hosted the final for the first three in-season tournaments.

“Hinkle Fieldhouse offers a special setting to capture the excitement and drama of the Emirates NBA Cup Championship,” NBA Head of Global Events Kelly Flatow said. “Playing the championship in an iconic basketball environment like this will further establish it as a signature moment on the NBA calendar.”

The arena, which has about 9,100 seats, has played host to at least six U.S. presidents — Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush — along with the first U.S. vs. Soviet Union basketball games, circuses, tennis matches, ice shows and even was used as a barracks for the U.S. military during World War II.

“Hinkle Fieldhouse gets loud,” Boston Celtics basketball operations president Brad Stevens said when he coached at Butler, “and it gets as loud as loud gets.”

Hinkle also was home of the famed Indiana high school basketball tournament for decades, including 1954 when tiny Milan High beat Muncie Central High to win the state title in the story that served as the inspiration for the classic basketball movie “Hoosiers” — which used Hinkle as the set for its championship game.

Indianapolis native Oscar Robertson also played there; his Crispus Attucks High team won state titles in that arena in 1955 and 1956 as well. It also has been the site of NBA games in the past, along with some WNBA games in 2022.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023; the event was simply called the in-season tournament that year. Milwaukee won in 2024 and New York beat San Antonio for the 2025 title — in a preview of this season's NBA Finals, in which the Knicks topped the Spurs again.

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

Wednesday will offer a cloud/sun mix with showers and storms developing as the day unfolds. Localized flooding would be a concern with any slow-moving downpours. Temperatures will make a run for the low 90s.

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“Tens of thousands of people are missing, two thousand are dead,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

Moskowitz is asking the U.S. State Department to deploy hospital ships to Venezuela.

The USNS Comfort and Mercy are fully equipped floating emergency rooms, a resource Moskowitz says is desperately needed on the ground.

“There are two specific resources we have that are closer than any other country,” he said. “Hundreds of doctors, hundreds of nurses, surgery rooms, triage, they could immediately help people get medical attention (and) save lives.”

Meanwhile, South Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez said he has major concerns about how Venezuela’s interim government is responding the disaster response and raising doubts about acting president Delcy Rodriguez’s handling of U.S. aid.

“This government has proven to me that they’re incapable, they’re incompetent, but they’re also thieves, so let’s not kid ourselves,” said Gimenez.

Among the missing and feared dead are a group of more than 100 migrants who had just been deported from the United States on a flight from South Florida.

They were reportedly being held in a hotel just outside of Caracas when the quakes hit.

South Florida Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the Trump administration should pause deportations to Venezuela.

“He should reinstate Venezuelan TPS today,” she said. “There were two major earthquakes, more than 7 points on the Richter scale.”

TPS was not a partisan issues, as Gimenez said this is the exact kind of disaster the TPS program is made for, and he plans to encourage President Trump to reinstate those protections in the wake of these earthquakes.

“Hay decenas de miles de personas desaparecidas y dos mil fallecidos”, afirmó el representante Jared Moskowitz.

Moskowitz está pidiendo al Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. que despliegue barcos hospital en Venezuela.

El USNS Comfort y el Mercy son salas de emergencia flotantes completamente equipadas, un recurso que Moskowitz dice que es desesperadamente necesario en el terreno.

“Hay dos recursos específicos que tenemos que están más cerca que los de cualquier otro país”, dijo. “Cientos de médicos, cientos de enfermeras, quirófanos, triaje, podrían ayudar inmediatamente a las personas a recibir atención médica (y) salvar vidas”.

Mientras tanto, el congresista republicano del sur de Florida Carlos Giménez dijo que tiene grandes preocupaciones sobre cómo el gobierno interino de Venezuela está respondiendo a la respuesta ante el desastre y está generando dudas sobre el manejo de la ayuda de EE. UU. por parte de la presidenta en funciones Delcy Rodríguez.

“Este gobierno me ha demostrado que son incapaces, son incompetentes, pero también son ladrones, así que no nos engañemos”, dijo Giménez.

Entre los desaparecidos y los que se teme que estén muertos hay un grupo de más de 100 migrantes que acababan de ser deportados de Estados Unidos en un vuelo desde el sur de Florida.

Según los informes, estaban siendo retenidos en un hotel a las afueras de Caracas cuando los terremotos golpearon.

La congresista demócrata del sur de Florida Debbie Wasserman Schultz dijo que la administración del presidente Trump debería pausar las deportaciones a Venezuela.

“Él debería restablecer el TPS venezolano hoy”, dijo. “Hubo dos grandes terremotos, de más de 7 puntos en la escala de Richter”.

El TPS no era un tema partidista, ya que Giménez dijo que este es exactamente el tipo de desastre para el que está hecho el programa TPS, y planea alentar al presidente Trump a restablecer esas protecciones tras estos terremotos.

The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams on Tuesday informing them that Sorsby, a quarterback whose college career ended when the NCAA banished him for gambling activity that included wagers on his own team while on the roster at Indiana in 2022 and betting on pro sports, will not seek legal action against the NFL after the league denied his petition to enter the supplemental draft.

“I accept 100% responsibility for my actions,” Sorsby posted on Instagram on Tuesday evening. “I did not have control of my gambling problem and it took getting caught to realize that, but it was truly the best thing that could have happened to me.”

Sorsby, who moved from Indiana to Cincinnati to Texas Tech before revelations about an extensive gambling problem surfaced, tried to enter the draft just three days before the scheduled deadline. The league, which hasn't held a supplemental draft since 2023 and hasn't had a player selected in it since 2019, denied the petition.

“The issues presented by your Petition are too significant, and too closely tied to the League’s core integrity interests, to permit meaningful review within the timeline presented,” NFL attorney Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr. wrote in a letter to Sorsby last week.

The 22-year-old Sorsby, who cannot play in the Canadian Football League in 2026, is now considered “draft-eligible” for the 2027 NFL draft. Sorsby will not be eligible to sign an NFL contract until the draft's conclusion.

The NFL has no plans to discipline Sorsby for any currently known prior misconduct but holds the right to investigate Sorsby. The league can also take Sorsby's college misconduct into account should it find cause to discipline Sorsby in the future.

Sorsby's decision to not challenge the NFL in court leaves him with 10 months on his hands to prepare. Sorsby had planned to play at Texas Tech this year before the NCAA declared him ineligible for making thousands of bets on sporting events worth at least $90,000 during his college career. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the games in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.

“I am fully committed to being the best version of myself that I can be while getting ready for the 2027 draft,” Sorsby wrote. “God makes no mistakes and I look forward to seeing the good that is to come from this.”

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