Sánchez afirmó en una conferencia con la prensa internacional que iniciará su campaña en medio del retraso del conteo oficial y los reclamos sin sustento de fraude del ultraconservador Rafael López Aliaga, del partido Renovación Popular.

Según las autoridades electorales, contabilizadas el 97,1% de las actas, Fujimori del partido Fuerza Popular lideraba el jueves el conteo de votos con 17,11%, seguida de Sánchez con 12,04% y López Aliaga con 11,86%. Las autoridades han anunciado el 15 de mayo como fecha límite para conocer los candidatos que disputarán el balotaje presidencial.

Fujimori no reaccionó de inmediato al comentario de Sánchez, pero antes ha cuestionado algunas de sus propuestas.

En la conferencia el nacionalista indicó que, en caso de que logre avanzar a la segunda vuelta y se imponga en junio, espera que no se repita la historia de su socio político, el sentenciado expresidente Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), quien solo duró 16 meses en el cargo. Castillo fue condenado en noviembre a más de 11 años de prisión por el delito de conspiración para una rebelión por su intento de cerrar el Congreso en 2022, lo que devino en su destitución.

Sánchez, de 57 años y del partido Juntos por el Perú, manifestó que una eventual gestión suya lucharía contra el crimen, buscaría mayor participación del Estado en la economía, renegociaría contratos mineros internacionales que transfieran tecnología y crearía un banco minero que apoye a miles de pequeños productores.

Perú está sumido en la inestabilidad política y suma ocho presidentes y tres Congresos en una década en medio de un incremento de la delincuencia que los ciudadanos identifican como su mayor preocupación.

OG Anunoby extended the Knicks' lead to 50 points with a pair of free throws and 4:39 remaining in the first half of the game.

Robinson boxed out Daniels, and a scuffle ensued, sending an official to the floor as players from both teams got involved. The Hawks' Onyeka Okongwu and Knicks' Jalen Brunson held Robinson back as the fight inched toward fans sitting courtside.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker and several coaches pulled Daniels away, including Hawks head coach Quin Snyder.

Atlanta's 83-36 deficit was the largest at halftime in NBA playoff history. It was second overall, trailing only Dallas' 77-27 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in December 2020. The Mavericks went on to win 124-73.

___

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

The Knicks led 83-36 at the break, after leading by as many as 51 at one point in the second quarter.

Before Thursday, the biggest halftime playoff lead was 41 points. It had happened twice: Cleveland led in Boston 72-31 at the break on May 19, 2017, and Indiana led the Cavaliers 80-39 at the half of game on May 11, 2025.

The 47-point lead tied for the second-biggest — including regular season games — in the NBA's shot-clock era, which started in 1954. Dallas led the Los Angeles Clippers by 50 points at the break on Dec. 27, 2020, and Golden State led Sacramento by 47 at the half of their game on Nov. 2, 1991.

New York also tied for the third-highest first-half point total in NBA playoff history. Oklahoma City scored 87 against Denver on May 7, 2025; Cleveland scored 86 against Golden State on June 9, 2017; and Dallas scored 83 against Sacramento on May 8, 2003.

Atlanta actually had a 9-0 run in the early moments to take a 9-5 lead. The Knicks answered that with a 43-6 run.

___

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

The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.

A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb. 28 have terminated.” The official said the U.S. military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.

While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran's oil tankers from getting out to sea.

Under the War Powers Resolution, the law that sought to constrain a president’s military powers, President Donald Trump had until Friday to seek congressional authorization or cease fighting. The law also allows an administration to extend that deadline by 30 days.

Democrats have pushed the administration for formal approval of the Iran war, and the 60-day mark would likely have been a turning point for a swath of Republican lawmakers who backed temporary action against Tehran but insisted on congressional input for something longer.

“That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted Thursday in favor of a measure that would end military action in Iran since Congress hadn’t given its approval. She added that “further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close.

Richard Goldberg, who served as director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction for the National Security Council during Trump's first term, said he has recommended to administration officials to simply transition to a new operation, which he suggested could be called “Epic Passage,” a sequel to Operation Epic Fury.

That new mission, he said, “would inherently be a mission of self-defense focused on reopening the strait while reserving the right to offensive action in support of restoring freedom of navigation.”

“That to me solves it all,” added Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.

During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hegseth said it was the administration’s “understanding” that the 60-day clock was on pause while the two countries were in a ceasefire.

Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program and an expert on war powers, said that interpretation would be a “sizeable extension of previous legal gamesmanship” related to the 1973 law.

“To be very, very clear and unambiguous, nothing in the text or design of the War Powers Resolution suggests that the 60-day clock can be paused or terminated,” she said.

Other presidents have argued that the military action they’ve taken was not intense enough or was too intermittent to qualify under the War Powers Resolution. But Trump’s war in Iran would certainly not be such a case, Ebright said, adding that lawmakers need to push back against the administration on that kind of argument.

___

AP writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

Some Venezuelans in South Florida avoid displaying that flag. Instead, they fly the 7-starred flag that Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan revolutionary who fought for independence from Spain, introduced in 1811.

The detail didn’t mean much to Barbara Font, a Venezuelan who lives in Florida. She was excited about how much more often she plans to visit her family. Before Flight AA 3599 on Thursday, she used to have a day-journey, followed by a layover in Panama.

“It’s going to be a lot easier, because we don’t have to make connections,” Font said while getting ready to board Flight AA 3599. “So, having this opportunity, it’s really amazing.

American Airlines first began service to Caracas in 1987, after an oil price collapse severely crippled Venezuela’s economy. Chávez took over Venezuela in 1999, and to the outrage of the opposition, he released his 8-starred flag in 2006.

After Chávez died on March 5, 2013, Nicolás Maduro succeeded him. The instability that followed prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to suspend all U.S.-Venezuela flights in May 2019.

In January, President Donald Trump ordered U.S. forces to capture Maduro, the U.S. Department of Transportation lifted the 2019 ban, and American Airlines announced plans to become “the first airline to reconnect Venezuela with the United States.”

Jarrod Agen, the executive director of the White House National Energy Dominance Council, celebrated the changes that followed the transition with Delcy Rodríguez, the first woman to hold the position of interim President of Venezuela.

“We have had a lot of progress with oil and gas deals and mining deals, and this opens it up, and things are going to move even faster,” Agen said before boarding Flight AA 3599, the first commercial passenger flight from the U.S. to Venezuela in nearly seven years, with Wilson, the vice president of flight operations for Envoy Air, a Texas-based American Airlines subsidiary.

“President Trump is a man of action, and what you’re seeing today is action taking place,” Agen said after disembarking.

Envoy Air operated the twin-engine regional jet’s inaugural direct flight from Miami International Airport in Miami-Dade County, or MIA, to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, or CCS.

“This is the first of many expanded connections between the United States and Venezuela, as Venezuela looks to reclaim its position as a regional economic and energy powerhouse,” said John Barrett, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

Barrett, a veteran diplomat, was among the passengers aboard Flight AA 3599 who experienced the water cannon salutes at both airports.

AA decorated the jet with an America250 commemorative logo. At MIA, passengers were welcomed with small Venezuelan 8-star flags, Venezuelan “tequeños” by Panna, arepas from Gilbert’s, live music, and balloons at the gate.

“There is a lot of hope,” Alejandra Montesinos, a passenger, said at MIA. “We have a lot of hope as Venezuelans.”

Flight AA 3599’s gate departure was at 10:11 a.m., the takeoff was at 10:26 a.m., the landing was at 1:15 p.m., and the gate arrival was at 1:22 p.m., according to Flight Aware. The non-stop flight’s travel time was 3 hours and 11 minutes.

“Caracas is the shortest air distance from any city in the East Coast of North America to South America,” said Félix Plasencia, who was appointed under Rodríguez as Venezuela’s diplomatic representative to the U.S.

On March 19, the U.S. State Department issued a Travel Advisory on Venezuela as a Level 3 Reconsider Travel. The advisory also warned that some areas, including the Colombian border, are at a Level 4 Do Not Travel “due to risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and poor health infrastructure.”

Despite this, the demand for Flight AA 3599 tickets was high. The twin-jet had a capacity for under 100 people. Ticket prices climbed well over $1,000. There was a returning CCS-Miami flight on Thursday, and travel experts expect American Airlines to add a second MIA-CCS flight later in May.

This will likely mean more family reunions for Font, Montesinos, and other Venezuelans who live in the U.S. but still have relatives living in Venezuela.

Weddle reported from Caracas. Milberg, Kelly, and Torres reported from Miami-Dade.

More related reports

• The first direct US-Venezuela commercial flight in 7 years lands in Caracas
• Verdict watch: Jury deliberates trial of ex-lawmaker accused of illegally lobbying for Venezuela
• Colombia’s leader to visit Venezuela for key talks with acting President Delcy Rodríguez

La posibilidad surgió en medio de maniobras jurídicas en la antesala de un juicio sin jurado la próxima semana, el cual se llevará a cabo debido a acusaciones de que Meta constituye una molestia pública. Es la segunda fase de un caso que ya derivó en 375 millones de dólares en sanciones civiles, después de que un jurado determinara que la compañía perjudicó deliberadamente la salud mental de los niños y ocultó lo que sabía sobre la explotación sexual infantil en sus plataformas.

Los fiscales piden al tribunal que ordene una serie de cambios en las cuentas infantiles en redes sociales, orientados a frenar funciones adictivas, mejorar la verificación de edad y prevenir la explotación sexual infantil mediante configuraciones de privacidad predeterminadas y una mayor supervisión.

Ejecutivos de Meta han subrayado que la empresa mejora de forma continua la seguridad infantil y aborda el uso compulsivo de las redes sociales. La compañía afirma que está siendo señalada entre cientos de aplicaciones que usan los adolescentes.

En un escrito judicial hecho público el jueves, Meta sostuvo que para la empresa es inviable cumplir un requisito propuesto de 99% de precisión para verificar que los usuarios menores de edad tengan al menos 13 años, entre otras exigencias.

“En la práctica, este requisito de hecho obliga a Meta a cerrar sus servicios —para todos los usuarios del estado— o, de lo contrario, a cumplir obligaciones imposibles”, manifestó la empresa en el escrito.

Un cierre de ese tipo para una población de 2,1 millones de residentes en Nuevo México podría silenciar la comunicación personal en las inmensamente populares plataformas de Meta, que también incluyen Facebook y WhatsApp, y además afectar su uso para publicidad comercial.

Al retirarse de Nuevo México, Meta atendería cualquier preocupación sobre daños a los niños, pero el mensaje podría parecer intencionalmente hostil y podría derivar en consecuencias no previstas, señaló Eric Goldman, codirector del High Tech Law Institute de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Santa Clara, en California.

Goldman recordó que, en 2023, autoridades canadienses acusaron a Facebook de anteponer las ganancias a la seguridad después de que la plataforma bloqueara contenido de noticias locales durante incendios forestales y evacuaciones sin precedentes. Facebook respondía a una ley recién promulgada que exige a los gigantes tecnológicos pagar a los editores por enlazar o reutilizar de otro modo su contenido en internet.

Un jurado de Los Ángeles determinó el mes pasado que tanto Meta como YouTube eran responsables por daños a niños que usan sus servicios, lo que validó preocupaciones de larga data sobre los peligros de las redes sociales.

El caso de Nuevo México contra Meta es el primero en ir a juicio entre más de 40 fiscales generales estatales que han presentado demandas contra la empresa, bajo el argumento de que contribuye a una crisis de salud mental entre los jóvenes. La mayoría busca medidas correctivas en un tribunal federal de Estados Unidos.

“Dudo muchísimo que estén dispuestos y sean capaces de apagar las luces de su producto en todo el país”, declaró Raúl Torrez, fiscal general de Nuevo México, en una conferencia de prensa en línea.

Torrez rebatió el argumento de Meta de que los cambios propuestos son impracticables, al describir “épocas anteriores” en un panorama de redes sociales en constante evolución, cuando “no teníamos desplazamiento infinito ni teníamos reproducción automática”. Torrez, un demócrata que se postula a la reelección para un segundo mandato en noviembre, afirmó que no “se hará de la vista gorda ante niños explotados en el estado de Nuevo México porque haya gente con un contrato publicitario”.

Más allá de Estados Unidos, otros países han implementado —o planean implementar— una serie de restricciones a las actividades en línea de los niños, que van desde prohibiciones al uso de redes sociales hasta exigir que los adolescentes más jóvenes vinculen sus cuentas a la de uno de sus padres. Nuevo México también intenta lograr, en la demanda contra Meta, que haya vínculos entre menores y sus tutores, así como un supervisor de seguridad infantil bajo supervisión judicial para dar seguimiento a las mejoras a lo largo del tiempo.

Goldman indicó que hay algunos países a los que Facebook “no da soporte directo, en parte porque simplemente no vale la pena ofrecer esa instancia personalizada”.

“El costo de mantener el servicio separado es mayor que cualquier valor que aporte ese territorio", apuntó. "Y eso podría ser el caso también con Nuevo México”.

———

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

The suspect, a student, was in custody and also injured, said Shelbie Boyd, a spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department.

All those injured were taken to a hospital, including the suspect, she said.

The Tacoma Fire Department responded to Foss High School at 1:38 p.m. for a possible stabbing, spokesperson Chelsea Shepherd said. Upon arrival, crews treated and took five patients to local hospitals, including four in critical condition and one with minor injuries.

The sixth injured person was in police custody and was also taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, she said. All were in stable condition as of late afternoon.

Shepherd did not confirm the type of injuries treated.

“The school is secure, and we are currently investigating. Parents can pick up their kids in the student’s parking lot. There’s a reunification area there,” said Boyd, the police spokesperson.

The school went into lockdown at 1:38 p.m., and students were safely dismissed at 2:45 p.m., Tacoma Public Schools said in an emailed statement. School and after-school activities for Friday were canceled.

The school will reopen Monday with counselors on site to support students and staff.

“We are grateful for the quick, calm action of our staff and our first responders,” the district said.

The group is led by Grant Gustavson, grandson of B. Wayne Hughes, the founder of Public Storage. The Whitecaps were put up for sale 16 months ago, but no potential buyers had emerged publicly until Thursday.

“In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to the opportunity to share more, however, out of respect for the league’s deliberations and community stakeholders, we are refraining from sharing details of our proposal,” Gustavson said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work for a positive outcome for the game, the fans, the league and Las Vegas.”

Gustavson said the investment group will privately finance the deal to buy the team and relocate it and it is “not connected to any of the recently announced arena ideas in Las Vegas.”

Major League Soccer has said it would "evaluate all options” for the future of the Whitecaps, including a possible move. The team currently plays at BC Place, which will host seven games of this summer's World Cup. But the league has said the lease situation with the stadium is untenable and would prefer a soccer-specific stadium for the team.

“It’s reaching a critical point,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors in New York.

Garber cited strict schedule restrictions from the government entity that owns and operates the building and an inability to add premium seating.

British Columbia’s government said Tuesday it is working with the Whitecaps to help the team lower costs and generate more revenue at BC Place — but it won’t be buying the team to prevent it from moving cities.

The team's supporters were at Thursday's meeting of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, many waving signs that read “Save the 'Caps.” Posters with the words were plastered across downtown.

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs and economic growth, said the team is now using the stadium at no cost, and any breaks that the team received this year could be extended for another year.

“Look, I think we should all be concerned,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said following the congress at the Vancouver Convention Center. “And that goes well before Vegas came into the picture. We've been concerned. We've been working on this for more than a year. We can't control what other groups that have an interest in our team, what they do. All we can do is control our destiny.”

Sim added that the city has identified a site where a new owner could build a stadium and entertainment district without taxpayer dollars. The next step would be a bridge deal with the province.

The Whitecaps and the provincial government — which owns BC Place through the provincial Crown corporation PavCo — signed a one-year lease earlier this year, which annually returns to the club about $1 million to $1.5 million that the province makes from hosting.

Garber has expressed hope the Whitecaps could find a way to remain in Vancouver and said expansion to Las Vegas could also be a possibility. Las Vegas is not necessarily the only city being discussed.

In a statement earlier this week, the Whitecaps said it had “serious conversations with more than 100 parties, and to date, no viable offer has emerged that would keep the club here.”

“The club has faced well-documented structural challenges around stadium economics, venue access, and revenue limitations that have made it difficult to attract buyers committed to keeping the team in Vancouver.”

A franchise fee that costs tens of millions of dollars to enter MLS 15 years ago is now worth hundreds of millions. In May 2023, a $500 million expansion fee was paid to secure the league’s 30th team in San Diego.

___

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

Leer en español

Police officers found Yacov Levi sitting on a chair at the beach behind the Solimar condominium in Surfside, but the scene was far from serene.

The 50-year-old man stands accused of using a drill to dig a hole for beach umbrellas to attack men on Wednesday, at 9559 Collins Ave., according to a Surfside police officer’s arrest report.

Two men reported Levi “became irate” when he learned the chairs were only for residents, according to police.

Levi “grabbed a beach umbrella and attempted to hit” a man, and he “grabbed a drill and charged at” another man, according to police.

“I am going to kill you,” Levi told the man, according to the police arrest report.

Police officers reported “Levi was refusing to comply ... remained seated on the beach chair,” and he kicked a police officer during his arrest.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Levi on Wednesday night at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Levi faced new charges of attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery on a police officer, and criminal mischief.

Court records show Levi has an arrest record in Miami Beach. In 2018, he was arrested for burglary and petit theft.

In 2023, he was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior, grand theft, battery, and charges related to resisting arrest. He was accused of trying to steal a Jet Ski while naked.

Court records showed Levi’s bond court hearing was on Thursday, but video of the hearing showed that he refused to appear and was too aggressive, so the judge set his next bond hearing for Friday.

The 2018 and 2023 cases were dropped. Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez was set to preside over the new case.

Related story: WATCH: Body camera footage shows arrest of naked man accused of trying to steal Jet Ski

Local 10 News Photojournalist Tim McFarland and Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

Un día antes del Día Internacional de los Trabajadores, la Confederación General del Trabajo, o CGT, el mayor grupo sindical de Argentina, marchó hacia la sede del gobierno, en el centro de la capital, para “defender el empleo de calidad” frente a los cambios de Milei al código laboral que, desde 1974, había garantizado generosas protecciones y derechos para los trabajadores argentinos, pero también elevó los costos empresariales que ahuyentaron a inversores extranjeros.

“Le queremos decir basta a este gobierno. Se terminó la paciencia, señor presidente”, dijo Octavio Argüello, dirigente de la CGT, a las multitudes de trabajadores que golpeaban tambores, agitaban pancartas y coreaban consignas contra Milei.

Durante décadas, presidentes anteriores intentaron liberalizar el mercado laboral, pero fracasaron ante la feroz resistencia de los poderosos sindicatos de Argentina. Pese a semanas de protestas y una huelga nacional, Milei logró sacar adelante el paquete de reformas laborales en febrero, en una gran victoria para su agenda de libre mercado.

Los opositores de Milei se aferran a un proceso de apelación que impugna la constitucionalidad de la ley. Los líderes sindicales planean presentar una nueva petición después de que un tribunal revocara la semana pasada una medida cautelar que, a pedido de ellos, había suspendido la aplicación de la ley. Se espera que el caso llegue a la Corte Suprema de Justicia.

La reforma laboral tocó una fibra sensible en un país donde los sindicatos ayudaron a fundar el movimiento peronista, de tendencia izquierdista, que dominó la política argentina desde la década de 1940. El tema es particularmente delicado en un momento en que el impulso emblemático de Milei para eliminar la inflación se estanca, los salarios quedan rezagados frente a los precios y el desempleo aumenta.

“La economía no crece tan sólidamente como el gobierno pensó que lo haría”, manifestó Marcelo J. García, director para las Américas de la consultora de riesgo geopolítico Horizon Engage. “La mayoría de los argentinos puede sentir que no está viendo los beneficios del programa económico (del presidente). Y ese es el mayor riesgo político de Milei en este momento”.

La nueva ley, destinada a ayudar a las empresas a contratar y despedir trabajadores con mayor facilidad, permite que las compañías amplíen las jornadas laborales a 12 horas en lugar de las ocho anteriores, extender los períodos de prueba durante los cuales los empleados pueden ser despedidos sin beneficios y reemplazar las horas extra por tiempo libre en lugar de pago adicional.

“Este es un gobierno al que no le importa en absoluto la gente”, dijo Sergio Aguirre, de 51 años, un conductor de autobús que participó en la marcha, quien afirmó que los costos siguen subiendo y los salarios se mantienen igual. “Llegamos a fin de mes de las horas extra. Ahora quieren sacarnos eso junto con el resto de nuestros beneficios”.

La legislación también reduce el derecho de los trabajadores a la huelga, disminuye el poder de los sindicatos nacionales para fijar salarios en industrias enteras y limita la discrecionalidad de los tribunales sobre las indemnizaciones por despido, que, según críticos, durante mucho tiempo empantanaron a los empleadores en costosas demandas y desalentaron la contratación formal. Casi la mitad de los argentinos trabaja en la informalidad.

En los últimos meses, los sectores de la construcción y la fabricación en Argentina han mostrado señales de recesión.

La Fundación Pro Tejer, una organización sin fines de lucro que representa a fabricantes textiles, informó esta semana que la producción textil de Argentina en los dos primeros meses del año registró una caída de casi 30% interanual. Siete de cada 10 máquinas de coser ahora están inactivas en las fábricas del país, según la entidad.

Los avisos de despido se acumulan. El mercado laboral formal de Argentina ha perdido aproximadamente 200.000 empleos desde que Milei asumió el cargo, de acuerdo con el Ministerio de Capital Humano, y el desempleo en el último trimestre de 2025 subió más de un punto porcentual en comparación con el mismo período del año anterior, hasta alcanzar 7,5%, una tasa que sigue siendo relativamente baja debido a la enorme proporción de trabajadores informales en Argentina.

Milei, que llegó al poder a fines de 2023 impulsado por una ola de desencanto público con el populismo derrochador de sus predecesores peronistas, ha desestimado los informes sobre dificultades económicas, calificándolos como ““las barbaridades que dicen los medios de comunicación”.

“Recibimos reconocimiento internacionalmente por nuestros logros”, afirmó en una conferencia económica el miércoles por la noche. “Pero, como dice la frase, ‘Nadie es profeta en su tierra’”.

La marcha del jueves fue un indicio de lo que podría venir mientras las promesas del presidente de un cambio radical chocan con la miseria económica.

“Nos quedamos en la calle hasta que el gobierno cambie o dé marcha atrás”, afirmó Manuel Correa, de 47 años, quien trabaja en una fábrica textil en las afueras de Buenos Aires que recortó su plantilla en los últimos dos años en 58%, equivalente a 350 empleados. “No tenemos alternativa”.

___

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

As the island’s energy crisis deepens, a growing number of Cuban families say another emergency is unfolding.

In Little Havana, Ailex Marcano says she is constantly living in prayer — and in pain.

“Freedom for my son -- I beg you, Lord,” she said.

Her only child, Ángel Jesús, has been in a Cuban prison for the past five years.

She says the 31-year-old P.E. teacher was detained after taking part in the historic “Patria y Vida” protests of 2021.

Activist groups say he is one of an estimated 1,200 men and women jailed for protesting against the Cuban government — a number they say continues to rise.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recently said in an interview that there are no political prisoners in Cuba.

Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as Antúnez, says he spent years behind bars in Cuba after speaking out against communism.

He says his brother, religious leader Loreto Hernández García, and his sister-in-law, Donaida Pérez, are serving 7- and 8-year sentences for their roles in human rights demonstrations on the island.

He says the issue of political prisoners is being overlooked.

“It pains me -- the issue of political prisoners,” he said.

He also believes that, unlike Venezuela, Cuba will not see change without a complete shift in government.

When asked about freeing political prisoners, Díaz-Canel again said there are none in Cuba.

Both García and Marcano are now living in exile in Miami.

They say they fear for their loved ones’ safety -- and are speaking out because their families asked them to.

Friday will feature plenty of sunshine and southerly winds. That combination should push temperatures toward 90°F. Rain is not in the forecast.

A tantalizing tripleheader of Game 6 action begins with the Tampa Bay Lightning's visit to the Canadiens and the Sabres' trip to Boston, followed by the Golden Knights visiting the Utah Mammoth in the nightcap.

While the Knights have had a wealth of postseason success — more than their share, most of their opponents would say — during their first nine seasons in the NHL, the Mammoth will look to stay alive for their first playoff series victory since moving to Salt Lake City last season.

Meanwhile, a series-clinching win would be nothing less than monumental for the Canadiens and the Sabres, whose hockey-hungry markets would love to see the second round again.

No fan base in the league has been hungrier for longer than Buffalo, which went 14 years without seeing a playoff game before these Sabres won their first Atlantic Division title this spring.

They've got an even bigger step to take now, however — learning to close out a playoff series. The Sabres barely failed in their first chance Tuesday, losing Game 5 at home in overtime to the resilient Bruins.

Then again, Buffalo’s lineup didn’t have a lot of experience, with just 10 players having previously appeared in an outing with a chance to eliminate an opponent.

“We trusted the process to get to this point,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “You’ve got to continue to trust it. It’s a team (that for) a whole year has won together and lost together, but embrace this moment -- and somebody for us is going to be a big time player. I can’t tell you who that is, but somebody will."

Buffalo’s power play continues to sputter: Rasmus Dahlin’s goal in Game 5 was the Sabres' first with the man advantage in 18 opportunities this series. Buffalo enters Game 6 having converted one of 20 power-play chances against Boston after going 0-for-22 to close the regular season.

The Sabres' last playoff series victory was in the second round in 2007 against the New York Rangers.

Vegas Golden Knights at Utah Mammoth

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday, 10 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

Series: Golden Knights lead 3-2.

The Golden Knights are one victory away from advancing because of … special teams?

Vegas’ power play has remained a confounding problem for coach John Tortorella, who has tinkered with the first and second units to find some kind of answer for one of the NHL's best groups in the regular season.

But special teams carried Vegas in Wednesday night’s 5-4 double-overtime victory over the Mammoth. The first of Pavel Dorofeyev’s three goals came with the man advantage, and he forced OT with a six-on-five goal with 52.7 seconds left in regulation before Brett Howden’s short-handed winner.

The Golden Knights also killed all five of Utah’s power plays. The Mammoth have converted just one of 14 power plays this series.

“It really came up big for us tonight,” Tortorella said of the penalty kill. “It’s a skilled team, a very dangerous power play, really big in OT as far as the kill. It’s steadied itself. Utah gets a lot of momentum off their power play whether they score or not. I think we’ve done a better job as the series has gone on.”

The Golden Knights still need to find their own way on the power play. Dorofeyev’s first goal ended a drought of 13 power plays without scoring, and they are just 3 of 18 for the series.

Which makes it even remarkable Vegas is ahead. According to OptaSTATS, 29 teams have trailed in the third period of each of the first five games of a series, including the Golden Knights in this one. The other 28 teams trailed after five games or had been eliminated.

Not Vegas.

But it also gives the Mammoth plenty of hope as they try to stave off elimination. They have been right there, losing back-to-back games in overtime, or the Mammoth would already be preparing to face Anaheim or Edmonton in the second round.

“We’re a confident group and we believe in one another and our team,” Mammoth captain Clayton Keller said. “These are the most fun games to be a part of. Down 3-2, we get to go home and play in front of our fans. I’m fired up for that.”

Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

Series: Sabres lead 3-2.

David Pastrnak’s breakaway goal 9:14 into overtime sealed a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night to keep the Bruins’ season alive.

They’re now back in TD Garden to try to do it again, but it hasn’t exactly been a haven in this series: The Bruins were outscored 9-2 in their home losses in Games 3 and 4.

It’s why coach Marco Sturm said the dramatic Game 5 victory doesn’t make them feel like they've cracked the code against Buffalo, even after some schematic changes that went Boston’s way.

The Bruins were 29-11-1 at home during the regular season.

“(Being home) should elevate your game,” Sturm said. “We’re against the wall, so home or away I see it more like we have to bring our A-game. Otherwise we go home, so we’re going to approach it that way. It’s a one-game mission again.”

Buffalo will be down one of its key contributors in this series as it looks to clinch its first playoff series victory since eliminating the New York Rangers in six games of a 2007 second-round series.

Rookie forward Noah Ostlund went down with a lower-body injury in the first period on Tuesday.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff didn’t reveal what the injury was, but said, “it doesn’t look good.” Ostlund had just returned to the lineup from an upper-body injury in Game 3, in which he had a goal and assist.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN2).

Series: Canadiens lead 3-2.

This series has been an absolute thriller, with five consecutive one-goal victories, three overtimes and a host of late-game heroics by both clubs. Montreal is one win away from its first playoff advancement in five years, and the Bell Centre will be appropriately frenzied.

The Habs got immediate help in Game 5 from Brendan Gallagher, who scored a goal in his first appearance of the series following four scratches. The veteran's grit and toughness around the net exemplified the way coach Martin St. Louis wants his players to approach the playoff-tested Lightning.

Tampa Bay is one loss away from its fourth consecutive first-round playoff exit, but coach Jon Cooper's club can build on its gritty Game 4 victory in Montreal when it faces down the hostile crowd once again.

___

AP Sports Writers John Wawrow, Mark Anderson and Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.

___

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

The possibility emerged amid legal gamesmanship in the runup to a bench trial next week on allegations that Meta poses a public nuisance. It's the second phase of a case that already resulted in $375 million in civil penalties on a jury's determination that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

Prosecutors are asking the court to order a series of changes to child accounts on social media aimed at reining in addictive features, improving age verification and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight.

Meta executives have emphasized that the company continuously improves child safety and addresses compulsive social media use. The company says its being singled out among hundreds of apps that teens use.

In a court filing unsealed Thursday, Meta said it was unfeasible for the company to meet a proposed requirement for 99% accuracy in verifying that child users are at least 13 years old, among other demands.

“As a practical matter, this requirement effectively requires Meta to shut down its services — for all users in the state — or else comply with impossible obligations,” Meta said in the filing.

Such a shutdown across a population of 2.1 million residents in New Mexico could silence personal communication on Meta’s immensely popular platforms, which also include Facebook and WhatsApp, and also impact their use for commercial advertising.

By withdrawing from New Mexico, Meta would satisfy any concerns about harm to children, but the message could appear intentionally hostile and might lead to unintended consequences, said Eric Goldman, codirector of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law in California.

Goldman noted that Canadian authorities accused Facebook in 2023 of putting profits over safety after the platform blocked local news content during record-setting wildfires and evacuations. Facebook was responding to a newly enacted law that requires tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

A Los Angeles jury last month found both Meta and YouTube liable for harms to children using their services, validated longstanding concerns about the dangers of social media.

New Mexico’s case against Meta is the first to reach trial among more that 40 state attorneys general who have filed suit against the company on claims it contributes to a mental health crisis among young people. Most are pursuing remedies in U.S. federal court.

“I highly doubt that they’re going to be willing and able to turn the lights off for their product all over the country,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in an online news conference.

Torrez disputed Meta’s argument that proposed changes are impractical, describing “before times” in an ever-evolving social media landscape when “we didn’t have infinite scroll and we didn’t have auto-play.” Torrez, a Democrat running for reelection to a second term in November, said he won’t be “turning a blind eye to exploited children in the state of New Mexico because people have an advertising contract.”

Beyond the U.S., other countries have implemented — or are planning — a bevy of restrictions on children’s online activities, ranging from social media bans to requiring younger teens to link their accounts to a parent’s. New Mexico also wants all child accounts on Meta platforms to have an associated parent or guardian, as well as a court-supervised child safety monitor to track improvements over time.

Goldman said there are some countries that Facebook “doesn’t directly support in part because it’s just not worth it.”

"The cost of maintaining the separate service is greater than any value from that territory,” he said. “And that could be the case with New Mexico as well.”

Wednesday’s ruling significantly limits the use of race when drawing voting districts, weakening a Civil Rights-era law that has boosted minority representation in Congress.

The decision came in the midst of a special legislative session in Florida that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis had called for congressional redistricting on the assumption the Supreme Court would rule as it did. Mississippi’s Republican governor also already had announced a special legislative session, contingent on the court’s ruling.

Here’s a look at how some states are responding to the ruling:

Florida

Hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, Florida’s Republican-led Legislature approved new U.S. House districts that could help the GOP win up to four additional seats in the November midterm elections.

DeSantis had called a special legislative session without knowing when the Supreme Court would issue its opinion in the Louisiana redistricting case. But DeSantis was pretty confident in how the court would rule.

He unveiled a new U.S. House map on Monday that, among other things, redraws a southeastern Florida district that DeSantis said was created to help elect a Black representative in an attempt to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.

“Properly understood, the Fourteenth Amendment forbids the government from divvying up the citizenry based in whole or in part upon race,” DeSantis wrote in letter Monday to lawmakers.

A Florida constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2010 prohibits districts from being drawn to deny or diminish the ability of racial or language minorities to elect the representatives of their choice. But DeSantis had said he considers that amendment a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Whether that’s true remains to be determined. The Supreme Court’s decision does not automatically undo state constitutional protections against racial discrimination in voting districts, said Ruth Greenwood, director of the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School.

Mississippi

Late last week, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, announced he would call a special legislative session to redraw voting districts for the state Supreme Court. He said it would begin 21 days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Louisiana case.

A federal judge last year had ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court voting districts after finding that they violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. Mississippi lawmakers had been waiting on a decision in the Louisiana case before moving forward, but their legislative session ended earlier this month.

Reeves said in his proclamation that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision would provide guidance to lawmakers on whether “race-conscious redistricting” violates the U.S. Constitution.

Louisiana

State lawmakers last year voted to delay Louisiana’s primaries from April 18 to May 16 to allow time to respond to a Supreme Court decision on the state’s congressional districts, which were at issue in the case decided Wednesday. But it took longer for that decision to come than some lawmakers had anticipated.

Early voting is to begin Saturday. It was unclear Wednesday whether Louisiana’s Republican-led legislature could attempt to redraw congressional districts ahead of the November general election.

House Speaker Phillip DeVillier and Senate President Cameron Henry said in a statement that they are reviewing the ruling and consulting with others “to “determine next steps to be taken in the best interests of Louisiana voters and our state.” Republican Gov. Jeff Landry also said he is speaking with leaders to figure out their options.

Alabama

A federal court in 2023 ordered the creation of a new near-majority Black district, which led to the election of Alabama’s second Black representative in the U.S. House. Alabama is under a court order to use the new map until after the next census in 2030. But an appeal pending with the Supreme Court argues that the map is an illegal racial gerrymander.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised Wednesday’s decision in the Louisiana case. He said he will “act as quickly as possible to apply this ruling to Alabama’s redistricting efforts and ensure that our congressional maps reflect the will of the people, not a racial quota system the Constitution forbids.”

But that could still take awhile. The state’s primaries are set for May 19, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said the state is “not in position to have a special session at this time.”

Tennessee

The Tennessee General Assembly ended its annual session last week. But Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor, said on social media Wednesday that the Republican-controlled legislature should reconvene and redraw Tennessee’s only Democratic congressional district in favor of Republicans. The district currently centers on Memphis, which is majority Black.

Tennessee’s Republican House and Senate leaders said they are discussing the possibility of redistricting. But Senate Speaker Randy McNally said there are some obstacles to changing the districts. The candidate qualifying period ended in March, and the primary is in August.

“With the filing deadline passed and qualified candidates already running for election, redistricting congressional seats at this time would present several logistical challenges,” McNally said.

Illinois

Fearing the Supreme Court would undermine the Voting Rights Act, the Democratic-led Illinois House last week approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution adding protections for race-based redistricting.

The measure would make it a priority to draw legislative districts that ensure voters have the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice “on account of race.” The creation of “racial coalition or influence districts” — where the bulk of voters are minorities — would rank higher in priority than districts that are contiguous or compact.

But Senate President Don Harmon said Wednesday the amendment won’t pass this session, to allow time for legal experts to review the court ruling.

“The last thing we want is to act in haste and risk unintended consequences down the road,” he said. ”Too much is at stake for too many.” ___

Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writers Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville; and John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed to this report.

Weaver gave up a go-ahead, two-run homer to CJ Abrams in the eighth inning that lifted the Washington Nationals to a 5-4 win Thursday and dealt the Mets their 17th defeat in 20 games.

“At the end of the day, this pursuit of perfection is just an ultimate pressurized failure mindset,” Weaver said softly during a lengthy postgame introspection. “Everybody wants to be the hero because we care and we want to win really, really bad, and I just don’t think success lives in that realm. It just truly doesn’t and I think the freedom of which we play day to day is just kind of being suffocated a little bit.”

New York is a major league-worst 10-21. The team's .323 winning percentage through April is its fourth-lowest behind bad starts in 1962 (3-13), 1964 (2-10) and 1981 (4-10).

After overcoming a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead on MJ Melendez’s three-run homer in the third and Mark Vientos’ RBI double in the sixth, the Mets lost a game in which they were ahead for the 10th time this year.

Luis García Jr. singled on the first pitch of the eighth from Weaver, and Daylen Lile beat a relay throw to avoid a double play. Abrams drove a hanging changeup 403 feet to right-center.

“I want to do my job. It’s that simple. There’s moments that feel really close, and then there’s just one — mistakes that magnify our situation,” Weaver said. “And, so, of course I sit there and feel the weight of the world, and feel like I let the team down. But at the end of the day, I do feel like I'm in a good spot. It's just, we sit there and we just tell you guys, ‘It’ll come. This is the game. This is the law of averages' and all these things, but at the end of the day those words just don’t hold the same weight when you continue to go (lose) day after day.”

Much was expected from the Mets, whose offseason makeover saw Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz depart, and Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien and Devin Williams arrive. Thus far, it's fizzled.

New York started the season with the major leagues' highest payroll at $358.4 million. A big league-best 45-23 at the start of play on June 13 last year, the Mets are 48-76 since.

They are 27th among the 30 teams with a .227 batting average, 29th with 106 runs and 30th with a .631 OPS.

“Typically we don’t see an entire kind of collective group at the same time not playing their best brand of baseball,” Weaver said.

New York's lone position players batting above .240 are $765 million slugger Juan Soto, whose 15-game absence because of a right calf injury coincided with a 12-game losing streak, and MJ Melendez, who opened the season in the minors but has batted third behind Soto the last two games.

One-third of the Mets’ opening-day lineup is on the injured list. Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (lumbar spine disk herniation) joined shortstop Francisco Lindor (left calf) and first baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco (left Achilles, right wrist) on the shelf Thursday.

Weaver and Williams, imported from the crosstown New York Yankees by president of baseball operations David Stearns to rebuild the back of the bullpen, have combined for a 6.86 ERA and three blown saves.

Mets starters are averaging barely five innings per outing. Members of the rotation other than Clay Holmes and rookie Nolan McLean have a 6.04 ERA.

“It just feels like there’s a little bit of a culture that’s just kind of adapted to it unintentionally,” Weaver said. “It’s just how winning and losing goes. When you win, you feel like you’re on top of the world. When you’re losing, everybody wants to talk about the failures and the outcomes. And the magnification just becomes immense.

“Sleep is lost. The mind wanders and you just kind of get into a fixation that you don’t really need to be in.”

The Mets are 8 1/2 games out of the NL’s final playoff spot and 11 1/2 games back of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. Only two teams — the 1914 Boston Braves and the 1981 Kansas City Royals — have made the playoffs after starting 10-21 or worse — and the Royals did so by winning the AL West second half crown in the split strike season.

“It’s hard for all of us,” embattled manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re in this together. It’s not easy. But we’ve got to keep going. There’s no other choices here. We have a responsibility and we have to turn this thing around.”

Perhaps by going all the way back to their first days as baseball players.

“It’s simplifying the process and maybe doing less,” Weaver said. “Maybe it’s less reps. Maybe it’s more about just enjoying why you do this for a living and trying to just find your inner kid and the joy of why you play the game and not trying to do it for other people.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Leer en español

The case, now in its fifth week in federal court in downtown Miami, stems from alleged conduct dating back to 2017.

Thursday marks their first full day of deliberations after the case was handed to them late Wednesday following closing arguments.

Rivera and co-defendant Esther Nuhfer are accused of failing to register under federal foreign agent laws.

Prosecutors allege the pair conspired to profit by using political connections to advance efforts tied to Venezuela’s government, including attempts to normalize relations between Caracas and Washington.

According to prosecutors, Rivera and Nuhfer engaged in undisclosed lobbying activities that benefited Maduro’s administration while avoiding required disclosure under U.S. law.

During rebuttal arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz told jurors they could use the superseding indictment as an outline to guide their deliberations and referenced the charging document multiple times.

“Of course Rubio trusted them,” Cruz said, arguing to the jury that Rubio was “used by these two to make money.”

He also urged the 12-person jury to review an interview between Rivera and former Local 10 reporter Michael Putney that was submitted into evidence, which prosecutors have described as a key part of their case.

Defense attorneys counter that the work at issue was commercial in nature and did not require registration.

They argue the arrangement involved a U.S.-based company connected to Venezuela’s oil sector and was focused on business opportunities rather than political advocacy.

The prosecutor pushed back, telling jurors, “They wanted it for Exxon” — adding, “we agree — what we argue is the client was Nicolas Maduro.”

Exxon and Venezuela had a major legal battle after Maduro’s predecessor, former President Hugo Chávez, seized the company’s assets, according to the Miami Herald.

Attorneys for Nuhfer told jurors there is no evidence she acted in bad faith, asking during closing arguments, “Why did they charge her in the first place?” They argued that if jurors cannot answer that question, they should return a not guilty verdict.

The jury of 12 also heard testimony from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said he had no knowledge Rivera was lobbying on behalf of the Venezuelan government when they met in 2017.

“The facts in this case speaks volumes that these two defendants are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Cruz said.

Jurors additionally heard from Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, who testified he was unaware Rivera’s consulting work was tied to any foreign government contract.

Cruz reiterated jurors could rely on the charging document, saying, “You can use the charging document” as a reference.

He closed by telling jurors: “Take your time, talk it over, but it is crystal clear” that the evidence stacks up against them.

Earlier Wednesday, the judge told both sides that a juror had indicated during selection that they would be unavailable from Thursday through Tuesday, requiring the first alternate to step in.

As a result, the 12-person jury chose to stop deliberations for the day, noting a new juror joined the panel Thursday.

A verdict was not reached on Thursday, and deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Friday.

Read Rivera’s indictment in the document below.

Indictment

El “ingreso mínimo integral” es un mecanismo de compensación para los trabajadores por sus servicios, utilizado por el gobierno socialista del país sudamericano, que está constituido por la suma del salario base, el cual se mantiene en niveles extremadamente bajos, y bonificaciones adicionales.

A partir del 1 de mayo, el ingreso mínimo integral se elevará a un monto equivalente a 240 dólares al mes, dijo Rodríguez en el acto de cierre de una masiva movilización organizada por el oficialismo para “pedir por la paz y contra las sanciones” estadounidenses. La suma del salario mínimo y los bonos promedian actualmente en alrededor de 190 dólares, pero varía de acuerdo con la tasa oficial de cambio que tiende ir a la baja.

Rodríguez, quien fue juramentada el 5 de enero dos días después de un operativo militar estadounidense que depuso y capturó al entonces presidente Nicolás Maduro, no aclaró si el salario mínimo mensual, que se mantiene congelado desde hace cuatro años, experimentará algún aumento con esta medida. Tampoco dejó en claro si ese monto se usará como referente cada mes para ajustar el pago en la moneda nacional, el bolívar.

Rodríguez exhortó al sector privado a aplicar la medida "en aquellos casos donde (ingreso mínimo integral) sea inferior al equivalente a los 240 dólares”.

La presidenta en funciones, ante las protestas sostenidas, ha pedido paciencia a los trabajadores de los sectores público y privado, cuyos salarios durante mucho tiempo no les han permitido cubrir sus necesidades básicas, incluida alimentación, argumentado que su gobierno interino trabaja para mejorar la economía.

Rodríguez expresó que espera que para “el año 2030, 2040, nosotros podremos decir no solamente que tenemos el mejor crecimiento económico de nuestra región, como lo tenemos hoy, sino que podremos decir tendremos el mejor salario de América Latina; que miremos a ese futuro y que sepamos que vamos avanzando con determinación, con fe".

Días antes, la mandataria explicó que se implementaría un aumento en los ingresos de trabajadores activos y jubilados de manera que se evitara el repunte inflacionario que siguió al último aumento del salario mínimo.

Muchos trabajadores del sector público subsisten con aproximadamente 160 dólares al mes, mientras que el empleado promedio del sector privado ganó al mes alrededor de 237 dólares el año pasado, de acuerdo con el Observatorio Venezolano de Finanzas, un organismo independiente.

El salario mínimo mensual de Venezuela, de 130 bolívares (0,26 dólares), no ha aumentado desde 2022, lo que lo sitúa muy por debajo del umbral de pobreza extrema de 3 dólares al día establecido por las Naciones Unidas. Originalmente el monto de 130 bolívares era equivalente a 30 dólares, pero el repunte de la inflación y la sostenida devaluación del bolívar lo devoró rápidamente.

La dolarización de los precios también deja a la vista la pulverización de los ingresos de los trabajadores.

Numerosos venezolanos tienen dos o más empleos para mejorar sus ingresos. El precio de una canasta básica de alimentos ha superado los 500 dólares, según el Observatorio.

Rodríguez anuncio además que los jubilados van a tener “una pensión equivalente a los 70 dólares", que representa un incremento del 40%. Reconoció que “no es suficiente” por lo que ordenó crear un plan de atención médica y alimentaria que llegue “casa por casa”.

Los jubilados en Venezuela están muy lejos de tener una vida tranquila después del retiro. Ellos figuran entre los más golpeados por la severa crisis económica de Venezuela.

DPD Chief Edwin Lopez was at the Cadillac Golf Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club to demonstrate the department’s new drones.

“The planning is very complex when creating an operational plan of this magnitude,” said Lopez.

Aimed at improving surveillance, Lopez said DPD received $40,000 in state funding to purchase two drones.

“Whether it comes to special events, whether it comes to monitoring a critical incident, whether it comes to monitoring traffic or even finding a missing child, this type of technology really puts us at the forefront,” said Lopez.

Local 10 News also caught up with the department’s lead drone pilot, Officer John Medina.

“People may be leaving a bag or a box somewhere, where it shouldn’t be on the side of the road, or in a pathway,” he said. “Any kind of fights that may be going on, public disturbance, we can fly and get there before any officers on the ground will be there.”

From above, officers can track crowds, monitor entry points, and spot potential problems before they escalate.

“We need to gather intelligence in real time,” said Lopez. “Many times, we can get there seconds faster, seconds means saving lives, so we are able to monitor remotely from our command center or from even a cell phone the actual incident.”

Doral Mayor Christi Fraga says Doral is the epicenter of some big events this year, and security is top of mind.

“Having eyes from above really can help us zoom in and not only identify a person if we need to, but find someone if we need to,” she said.

As for this weekend’s golf tournament, the drones will add an extra layer of security for all those attending.

“We are monitoring rooftops, surrounding areas, intersections around the community, not only for the players but any dignitaries that visit, any folks that may have threat,” Lopez said.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she “believe(s) that this is the longest prison sentence ever for an HOA board president in the United States” as part of one of the largest known HOA frauds in U.S. history.

Marglli Gallego could have spent a lot longer behind bars: She was facing up to 195 years in prison. Instead, after taking responsibility, she received a seven-year prison sentence and seven years of probation. Her husband, Jose Gonzalez, agreed to seven years probation and handing over a $1.2 million property.

The two were part of eight arrested in connection with the HOA theft case.

Prosecutors laid out allegations of grand theft, racketeering and money laundering.

Authorities said the co-conspirators took millions from residents of the southwest Miami-Dade community.

Gallego, 44, was accused of using HOA money for personal expenses. Prosecutors said Gonzalez, 49, received more than $1 million in funds for over-billed work or work never performed

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office shared video showing hundreds of documents hidden in a spa business.

“A spa, really?” Fernandez Rundle said. “Those are the records. Some of the records.”

Gallego has already spent three-and-a-half years behind bars, so she “has a few more years to go,” her attorney said.

Meanwhile, four other cases remained pending as of Thursday afternoon.

The Hammocks ordeal led to a new law protecting homeowners.

Friday will feature plenty of sunshine and southerly winds. That combination should push temperatures toward 90°F. Rain is not in the forecast.

Leer en español

Fans are strongly encouraged to plan their transportation in advance and arrive as early as possible.

There will be no parking available on-site without a pre-purchased parking pass.

All shuttles are free for ticketholders traveling to and from the Miami International Autodrome, and fans may be picked up or dropped off at these lots, regardless of whether they are parking a vehicle.

For more information on parking details and a clear breakdown, click here.

Parking lots will open 30 minutes before gates open.

Gates open Friday May 1 at 11:30 a.m.; Saturday May 2 at 10 a.m.; and Sunday May 3 at 8 a.m.

Race fans planning to use rideshare services such as Waymo, Uber, or Lyft are encouraged to be dropped off at one of the official shuttle locations.

Click here more information on rideshare options.

There is also a strict bag policy.

Permitted items include clear plastic bags that do not exceed 12” x 6” x 12”, as well as small bags that do not exceed 4.5” x 6.5”.

Prohibited items include all purses or bags that exceed 12” x 6” x 12”, as well as non-clear bags that exceed 4.5” x 6.5”.

Still, even the Pittsburgh Pirates ace knows no matter how his pregame routine goes, he's never really sure what kind of stuff he's going to have on a given day until he steps onto the mound and the leadoff hitter steps into the box.

Many times, such as last week in Milwaukee, it's nearly perfect.

Then there are afternoons like Thursday against St. Louis, when the command that seems to come so easily looks far more ordinary than extraordinary.

Skenes' third pitch of the game landed in the right-field seats at PNC Park courtesy of Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt. Three batters later, Jordan Walker turned on a sweeper that didn't sweep and sent it into the first row of bleachers in left to give the Cardinals the early momentum on their way to a 10-5 victory and a four-game sweep.

The loss dropped Skenes (4-2) to 0-5 against the Cardinals, though that number is a little misleading. His career ERA versus St. Louis sits at 2.95, even after allowing five runs, four earned, in his first rocky performance since a bumpy opening day in New York against the Mets.

That number is telling of the almost impossibly high standard Skenes has set for himself during his rapid rise from first overall draft pick to arguably the best pitcher in the game.

"Nobody expects more out of Paul Skenes than Paul does out of himself,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I think when he has a game like today or the opener, we have to find a way to pick him, because he picks us up all the time.”

Yet given a chance to put a halt to Pittsburgh's first rough patch this season, Skenes didn't quite have it. He fell behind Wetherholt 2-0 before the St. Louis second baseman turned on a 95 mph fastball — a tick below the usual 98-99 range Skenes sits at — and laced it into the seats above the Roberto Clemente Wall in right.

Ivan Herrera followed with an infield single. Two batters later, Walker pounced on an 83 mph sweeper that caught the inside part of the plate. The ball sailed just over the glove of Pittsburgh left fielder Jake Mangum, sending the Cardinals on their way to their first four-game sweep at PNC Park since 2019.

Asked why St. Louis might have his number — relatively speaking — the 23-year-old Skenes responded with his typical mix of sarcasm and blunt truth.

“They score more runs than us," he said.

Skenes settled in — his nine strikeouts were a season high — but when the Cardinals were able to make contact, they made things happen. They added a run in the third after an infield single by Alec Burleson and a throwing error by rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin led to an RBI single by Nolan Gorman. In the fifth, Burleson flipped his bat at a changeup well off the plate and dumped it into left field to drive in Wetherholt.

“I think that sometimes teams go up there, try to work his pitch count, try to get that up,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t seem to be the case. They’re going up there swinging and trying to get their swing off. ... They put some good swings on the ball today.”

The Pirates fell to 16-16, hardly the horrific start of a year ago that cost former manager Derek Shelton his job, but it also has them off the pace a bit in the hyper-competitive NL Central with first-place Cincinnati coming in for the weekend.

“I mean, every team is going to have skids,” Skenes said. "Just got to get back to who we are and just play our game. Not try to do too much. Just think we’re trying to do too much a little bit, especially today. Just got to be us.”

Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe said the quiet part out loud about how spoiled the Pirates have become when Skenes' familiar No. 30 is standing on the mound.

“It’s pretty difficult when you sit there and you’re saying, ‘Oh, he struggled’ and he gave up three (runs),” Lowe said.

Lowe, one of a handful of veterans acquired in the offseason to surround the Pirates' young core that includes Skenes and the 20-year-old Griffin, is not concerned about the last week snowballing into something that would put a damper on the positive vibes created during a season that began with plenty of promise.

“When you’re in the training room, you’re in the tubs and stuff like that, showers, you just kind of have conversations and talking with these guys for a long time,” said Lowe, who hit his eighth home run of the season in the seventh. “They have a pretty good head on their shoulders and the way they look at things. ... So it’s just one of those things, you kind of flush the bad ones and focus on the next one.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Leer en español

“There’s this fella called Santa Claus -- and we arrested Santa Claus,” authorities said.

The arrest is raising alarm, with officials calling it a shocking case.

“Thousands and thousands of children have sat on this guy’s lap thinking he was Santa Claus -- but what he was, was a child sex predator,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

Investigators identified the suspect as Thomas Allen Hicks.

They say the 68-year-old portrayed Santa Claus at major community events, including Lakeland’s Christmas parade for the past three years -- becoming a familiar face to families across the area.

He also made several appearances at local schools and was described as well regarded in the community.

According to detectives, Hicks believed he was arranging to have sex with a 13-year-old girl after responding to an online ad as part of an undercover operation.

Authorities say he was actually communicating with an undercover deputy.

Deputies say Hicks agreed to pay $200 and later drove to a meeting location in Lakeland, where he was taken into custody.

He was not alone.

In total, 19 suspects were arrested in the operation.

According to the sheriff, Hicks told detectives he has been married for more than 50 years but regularly checked adult websites looking for prostitutes or companions.

He is now facing several charges, including human trafficking and traveling to meet a minor.

Venter’s death was announced by the J. Craig Venter Institute, a genomics research group with locations in La Jolla, California, and Rockville, Maryland. The institute said he died in San Diego after being hospitalized for side effects from a recent cancer treatment.

In the 1990s Venter bet that he could use a different sequencing technique to speed up the process of decoding the human genome and beat an enormous government effort called the Human Genome Project. And in 2000, Venter’s private company Celera Genomics announced, along with Human Genome Project leaders, that they had decoded the 3.1 billion sub-units of DNA, the chemical “letters″ that make up the recipe of human life. Three years later, in April 2003, the project declared the genome complete.

“Some have said to me that sequencing the human genome will diminish humanity by taking the mystery out of life,” Venter said at a White House event in 2000 about the breakthrough. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

And his work did reveal even greater mysteries — even as it helped scientists understand the genetic causes for rare diseases and more common conditions such as heart disease and cancer, as well as what mutations or shifts may put people at higher risk of disease.

Venter, who served in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam, said the experience taught him how fragile life could be and made him curious about how the trillions of cells in the human body conspire to create and maintain life.

He also worked at the National Institutes of Health, where he helped develop a technique to quickly identify large swathes of human genes.

Later, he was the first to publish his own sequenced genome with the hope that researchers could scan it to learn what was inherited from each parent and where vulnerabilities to disease might lie, opening doors to one day tailor future treatments to a person's genes. He and his team also made a breakthrough in synthetic biology by creating a bacterial cell with lab-synthesized DNA.

—-

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

“Hay un tipo llamado Papá Noel, y hemos arrestado a Papá Noel”, dijeron las autoridades.

La detención está causando alarma, y ​​las autoridades la califican de caso impactante.

“Miles y miles de niños se han sentado en el regazo de este hombre pensando que era Papá Noel, pero lo que era, era un depredador sexual de menores”, dijo el sheriff del condado de Polk, Grady Judd.

Los investigadores identificaron al sospechoso como Thomas Allen Hicks.

Según cuentan, este hombre de 68 años interpretó a Papá Noel en importantes eventos comunitarios, incluido el desfile navideño de Lakeland durante los últimos tres años, convirtiéndose en un rostro familiar para las familias de toda la zona.

También hizo varias apariciones en escuelas locales y se le describía como una persona muy respetada en la comunidad.

Según los detectives, Hicks creía que estaba concertando una cita sexual con una niña de 13 años tras responder a un anuncio en línea como parte de una operación encubierta.

Las autoridades afirman que en realidad se estaba comunicando con un agente encubierto.

Según los agentes, Hicks accedió a pagar 200 dólares y posteriormente condujo hasta un lugar de encuentro en Lakeland, donde fue detenido.

No estaba solo.

En total, 19 sospechosos fueron arrestados en la operación.

Según el sheriff, Hicks declaró a los detectives que lleva más de 50 años casado, pero que consulta regularmente sitios web para adultos en busca de prostitutas o acompañantes.

Ahora se enfrenta a varios cargos, entre ellos trata de personas y viajar para encontrarse con una menor.

Local 10 sports director Will Manso took part in a promotional hot lap Thursday, describing intense heat while riding portions of the Miami International Autodrome at high speed ahead of race weekend.

Manso said he reached speeds of about 160 mph during his lap around the circuit, which features the same layout Formula 1 drivers will compete on this weekend.

“Today, we got a chance to get on the track ourselves in a car, go 160 mph, and give it a shot,” he said. “It was a great experience.”

Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. was among the local athletes participating in the event, riding with Formula 1 drivers during a hot lap experience.

Jaquez said he was struck by the speed, precision and braking performance of the cars, calling the ride one of the most memorable experiences he has had.

He also noted the difficulty of handling the high-speed turns and rapid deceleration, adding that it gave him a new appreciation for the sport and its drivers.

Other local athletes and sports figures also took part in the promotional laps, including Miami Dolphins personnel, as part of a broader fan and media preview ahead of the weekend.

Manso said the experience highlighted both the physical intensity of the sport and the spectacle surrounding the Miami Grand Prix.

The Miami Grand Prix weekend runs Friday through Sunday, with officials urging fans to plan ahead for transportation, arrival times and parking restrictions due to expected crowds.

Parking will require pre-purchased passes, while shuttle services will be available for ticket holders traveling to and from the venue. Rideshare drop-off locations are also designated around the stadium complex.

Click here for a closer look at a list of essential details to help you plan your Miami Grand Prix experience

Se recomienda encarecidamente a los fanáticos planificar su transporte con anticipación y llegar lo más temprano posible.

No habrá estacionamiento disponible en el lugar sin un pase de estacionamiento comprado previamente.

Todos los autobuses serán gratuitos para los poseedores de boletos que viajen hacia y desde el Miami International Autodrome, y los fanáticos pueden ser recogidos o dejados en estos estacionamientos, independientemente de si están estacionando un vehículo.

Para más información sobre los detalles de estacionamiento y un desglose claro, haga clic aquí.

Los estacionamientos abrirán 30 minutos antes de que abran las puertas.

Las puertas abrirán el viernes 1 de mayo a las 11:30 a.m.; el sábado 2 de mayo a las 10 a.m.; y el domingo 3 de mayo a las 8 a.m.

Se recomienda a los fanáticos que planean usar servicios de transporte compartido como Waymo, Uber o Lyft que sean dejados en uno de los puntos oficiales de transporte.

Para más información sobre opciones de transporte compartido, haga clic aquí.

También hay una estricta política de bolsos.

Los artículos permitidos incluyen bolsas plásticas transparentes que no excedan 12” x 6” x 12”, así como bolsos pequeños que no excedan 4.5” x 6.5”.

Los artículos prohibidos incluyen todas las carteras o bolsos que excedan 12” x 6” x 12”, así como bolsos no transparentes que excedan 4.5” x 6.5”.

“Vivo justo ahí, eso podría haber sido yo”, dijo un vecino.

Sky 10 estaba sobre la escena poco después del colapso en una cuadra cerca de East 63rd Street y Fourth Avenue. El brazo de la grúa móvil de alta capacidad estaba completamente extendido cuando se volcó, por poco impactando una vivienda donde la esposa y los hijos de un hombre estaban dentro.

“Sonó muy fuerte y supe que algo había pasado”, dijo Mayra Jimenez, quien vive a dos casas de donde el brazo terminó.

Jimenez salió corriendo afuera tras escuchar el estruendo.

“Creo que todo está bien. Me siento afortunada, no pasó nada, ni siquiera a mi carro ni a mis vecinos”, dijo.

La policía respondió a la escena, cerrando el tráfico y manteniendo a los vecinos a distancia de la situación.

Equipos de Florida Power & Light también fueron vistos cerca, ya que la grúa aparentemente derribó parte de un árbol y un poste de concreto.

“Es una locura lo que estamos viendo aquí”, dijo Richard Alberto, cuya casa está justo al otro lado de la calle.

La grúa todoterreno, capaz de levantar hasta 800 toneladas, tenía sus estabilizadores, o placas de estabilidad, extendidos al momento del colapso.

Sims Crane & Equipment envió grúas móviles adicionales para ayudar a levantar el equipo volcado, una operación delicada y peligrosa que se desarrolla en medio del vecindario residencial.

“Pudo haber sido algo peor, así que estamos agradecidos de que no pasó nada”, dijo Jimenez.

Leer en español

Attorneys for the rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, highlighted that the 26-year-old has been in jail for seven years and hasn’t been convicted.

Demons is accused of murdering his childhood friends Christopher Thomas and Anthony Williams in October 2018 after a late-night recording session and then making it look like a drive-by shooting.

His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2023 after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. That trial included allegations of witness tampering.

Thursday’s hearing included testimony from the rapper’s family members and a Broward Sheriff’s Office detention officer, Maj. Kevin Corbett, regarding the rapper’s living conditions while in custody, which include no access to a phone.

The BSO detention officer testified as to Demons’ recreational opportunities, stating he gets outside exercise three times per week.

Demons’ attorneys brought in a security expert to testify, the home will have the cameras it needs to monitor all of his moves in a home in Broward County that they are proposing he will stay at.

They also claimed that the rapper could have psychological breakdowns because he’s alone in solitary confinement. Prosecutors countered that Demons has an open dorm to himself, with a shower, TV and a basketball court and can also see a psychologist.

They even had Corbett read a letter they said Demons wrote from jail.

“They moved me to another jail; it’s way better,” Corbett testified that Demons wrote. “Here I get a whole unit to myself. I’m out all day,and I got a rec yard, personal indoor basketball court, all to myself. It’s like a mansion. They treat me way better here.”

A judge will determine if he can be released on bond or remain in custody as he awaits retrial.

The judge didn’t say when he’ll make a decision.

El caso, ahora en su quinta semana en un tribunal federal en el centro de Miami, se deriva de presunta conducta que se remonta a 2017.

Se espera que los fiscales concluyan sus argumentos al final del día, tras lo cual el caso podría pasar al jurado.

Rivera y la coacusada Esther Nuhfer están acusados de no registrarse conforme a las leyes federales de agentes extranjeros.

Los fiscales alegan que ambos conspiraron para obtener ganancias utilizando conexiones políticas para impulsar esfuerzos vinculados al gobierno de Venezuela, incluidos intentos de normalizar relaciones entre Caracas y Washington.

Según los fiscales, Rivera y Nuhfer realizaron actividades de cabildeo no reveladas que beneficiaron a la administración de Maduro mientras evitaban la divulgación requerida por la ley estadounidense.

Los abogados defensores sostienen que el trabajo en cuestión era de naturaleza comercial y no requería registro.

Argumentan que el acuerdo involucraba a una empresa con sede en Estados Unidos vinculada al sector petrolero de Venezuela y estaba enfocado en oportunidades de negocio, no en defensa política.

Exxon y Venezuela tuvieron una importante batalla legal después de que el predecesor de Maduro, el ex presidente Hugo Chávez, incautara los activos de la compañía, según el Miami Herald.

Los abogados de Nuhfer dijeron al jurado que no hay evidencia de que ella actuara de mala fe, preguntando durante los argumentos finales: “¿Por qué la acusaron en primer lugar?”. Argumentaron que si los jurados no pueden responder a esa pregunta, deberían emitir un veredicto de no culpable.

El jurado de 12 personas también escuchó el testimonio del secretario de Estado Marco Rubio, quien dijo que no tenía conocimiento de que Rivera estuviera cabildeando en nombre del gobierno venezolano cuando se reunieron en 2017.

Los jurados también escucharon al representante de Texas Pete Sessions, quien testificó que desconocía que el trabajo de consultoría de Rivera estuviera vinculado a algún contrato con un gobierno extranjero.

Lea la acusación contra Rivera en el documento a continuación.

Indictment

Both approaches were optimal in the opening round of the Cadillac Championship.

Young shot a bogey-free round of 8-under 64 on Thursday, taking a one-shot lead over Spieth and Alex Smalley at Trump International Doral to open the $20 million signature event — the first PGA Tour event at the course in 10 years.

“I think you can be pretty aggressive into a lot of the greens,” Young said. “They’re not particularly firm. I feel like the ball’s sitting when you need it to. So, it’s more just about avoiding some of the big mistakes. There's a couple spots where the rough’s a little longer and obviously there’s tons of water out there.”

Young made some putts — about 98 feet worth, to be exact — and his round got rolling with barely any putt at all. He hit his approach from 154 yards to about an inch on the par-4 second, and he went on to make three birdie putts from 25 feet or more before the day was done.

“I feel like I made a billion feet of putts, which I think works most places,” Young said. “It’s just one of those days that each mistake I made I was not penalized as much as I could have been. And every time my ball got near the hole it seemed to want to go in today.”

Spieth chipped in for eagle on the par-5 eighth hole and survived a pair of bogeys on the back nine. He said he relied on notes he took in the Wednesday pro-am — “nerdy stuff,” he called it — and generally stayed in control of his round.

“I didn’t love some of the swings I made,” Spieth said. “But I was able to kind of put them in the right spot and I made some really good swings as well.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had a slightly different opinion after his opening round.

He made three birdies in the first five holes, then didn't get another the rest of the day. Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 dropped him to 1 under, and that's where he stayed — with a highlight that might have been a par save on the par-4 14th after he sprayed a driver way right and had the club come out of his hands on the follow-through.

It's the sixth time in his last eight starts that Scheffler — who, to be fair, almost always finds a way to contend — has been no better than 20th after an opening round.

“I just wasn’t capitalizing on a lot of stuff today,” Scheffler said. “Felt like I could have holed a few more putts. Couple more fairways. Felt like when I got a touch off I wasn’t able to get it back and didn’t really steal any shots today.”

Nick Taylor (66) was in fourth, two shots off of Young's lead, while Nico Echavarria — a winner of the Cognizant Classic, about a 90-minute drive north of Doral at PGA National earlier this year — was three shots back after an opening-round 67.

Most of this week's field is playing Doral for the first time, at least as pros. The course held LIV Golf events from 2022 through 2025, but the PGA Tour stopped using the course — a longtime highlight of the Florida Swing — when President Donald Trump bought the facility.

Adam Scott was the most recent PGA Tour winner at Doral, prevailing in the World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship in 2016. He shot a 76 on Thursday, two shots worse than Justin Rose — a winner at Doral in 2012.

Young proved to be a quick study.

“I think most of the tee shots are pretty apparent, which is what good courses give you,” Young said. “I think it doesn’t try to hide anything. So, learning the course wasn’t a huge deal, I wouldn’t say.”

___

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

The Coast Guard announced Wednesday that the USCGC Tampa was found about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom, at a depth exceeding 300 feet (90 meters) deep in the Atlantic Ocean. The cutter's wreckage was located and confirmed by the British technical-diving team Gasperados.

Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement that the courage and sacrifice of the Tampa's crew reflected the legacy of the Coast Guard, which has defended the U.S. during every armed conflict since its 1790 founding.

“When the Tampa was lost with all hands in 1918, it left an enduring grief in our service," Lunday said. “Locating the wreck connects us to their sacrifice and reminds us that devotion to duty endures.”

The Tampa was lost after being torpedoed by a German submarine in the Bristol Channel, officials said. The vessel sank in less than three minutes, resulting in the death of all 131 people aboard. That included 111 Coast Guardsmen, four U.S. Navy personnel and 16 British Navy personnel and civilians. It was largest single American naval combat loss of life in World War I.

Gasperados Dive Team conducted 10 trips to possible dive locations.

“This discovery is the result of three years of research and exploration," team leader Steve Mortimer said in a Facebook post. "TAMPA is of huge importance to the United States and the relatives of everyone who died that day. Their final resting place is known at last.”

The all-volunteer team first contacted the Coast Guard Historian's Office in 2023 regarding the Tampa.

“We provided the dive team with historical records and technical data to assist in confirming the wreck site,” Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian William Thiesen said in a statement. “This included the archival images of the deck fittings, ship’s wheel, bell, weaponry, and archival images of the Tampa.”

The Coast Guard is now developing plans for underwater research and exploration.

Leer en español

“I live right there -- that could be me,” one neighbor said.

Sky 10 was over the scene shortly after the collapse on a block near East 63rd Street and Fourth Avenue. The boom on the heavy-duty mobile crane was fully extended when it toppled over, barely missing a home where a man’s wife and children were inside.

“It sounded very strong and I expected that something happened,” said Mayra Jimenez, who lives two doors down from where the boom came to rest.

Jimenez rushed outside after hearing the crash.

“I think everything was okay. I feel lucky, but nothing happened -- not even my car and not even my neighbors,” she said.

Police responded to the scene, roping off traffic and keeping neighbors at a distance from the situation.

Florida Power & Light crews were also spotted nearby, as the crane appeared to have taken down part of a tree and a concrete pole.

“This is crazy what we’re seeing here,” said Richard Alberto, whose home sits directly across the street.

The all-terrain crane, capable of lifting up to 800 tons, had its outriggers -- or stability plates -- extended at the time of the collapse.

Sims Crane & Equipment dispatched additional mobile cranes to help lift the overturned equipment, a delicate and dangerous operation unfolding in the middle of the residential neighborhood.

“It could be something worse, so we are grateful nothing happened,” Jimenez said.

Overnight, crews were busy cleaning up the mess, even cutting away a downed pole.

Removing the boon of the crane from the neighborhood was a time-consuming operation, though.

By Thursday morning, the job was done and that heavy duty equipment was righted and towed away.

Forget the quiet galleries -- this week, Wynwood is trading paintbrushes for Pirelli tires. The Atlassian-Williams Racing Fan Zone has taken over, bringing what many call the pinnacle of motorsport straight to the streets of Miami.

The main attraction is one of the team’s biggest stars, Carlos Sainz, drawing fans eager to get a closer look.

Over at Kiki Wynwood, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls unveiled this year’s car with help from DJ Khaled. Drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were also on hand, locked in and ready to get on track.

The fan zone is open through Sunday, offering a free alternative for those looking to experience the Formula One energy -- with plenty of heat, both on the track and in the South Florida humidity.

Amazon and Duke announced Thursday they had reached a multiyear agreement to broadcast three of the Blue Devils' neutral-site nonconference matchups per season. This marks the first college partnership for Prime Video, which has aired NFL and NBA games among other sports.

This fall's broadcasts include a Nov. 25 matchup between Duke and UConn in Las Vegas, a rematch of the Huskies' comeback from 19 down to win on a last-second shot in the NCAA Elite Eight. Next is a Dec. 21 matchup against reigning NCAA champion Michigan in New York's Madison Square Garden. Finally, Duke will face Gonzaga on Feb. 20 in Detroit.

“Duke basketball games transcend the schedule," said Charlie Neiman, Prime Video's head of sports partnerships, "and the creation of this all-new offering gives fans more of what we all want, marquee matchups featuring the most successful programs in the nation.”

In its release, Duke said the Blue Devils have also agreed to participate in additional events owned and operated by ESPN across the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons “in exchange for the flexibility” to schedule the Prime Video events. Those come as part of ESPN's partnership with Duke's Atlantic Coast Conference home.

In a statement, Duke athletic director Nina King said the deal “expands the global reach” for the program that has won five NCAA championships.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team isn't releasing details of Nix's cleanup performed by Dr. Norman Waldrop III, who operated on Nix after Denver's quarterback broke a bone in his right ankle on Jan. 18 during the AFC playoffs.

The Broncos will probably be conservative with Nix following the follow-up surgery, which was either going to take place this spring or after next season.

Nix has been working out at the team's suburban Denver headquarters but backup Jarrett Stidham and No. 3 QB Sam Ehlinger will in all likelihood share snaps ahead of training camp in late July when Nix is expected to return to action.

Other than their rookie minicamp next week, the Broncos have pushed their on-field workouts during OTAs and minicamp to June.

Coach Sean Payton confirmed Nix's follow-up with his surgeon after the Broncos concluded the NFL draft Saturday but didn't go into any details about the cleanup operation.

“He had a recheck that was scheduled,” Payton said. “He’s doing great. We’re excited about his progress. Nothing to report.”

Nix got injured while leading the Broncos to their game-winning field goal in overtime against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional playoffs. Backup Jarrett Stidham started in his place the following week in the AFC championship, which Denver lost 10-7 at home to the New England Patriots in a blizzard.

Team owner and CEO Greg Penner told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona that Nix was “ahead of schedule, no concerns at all for OTAs and games." Payton echoed those sentiments, saying Nix would be a full participant in OTAs.

Those plans changed recently when Nix and his surgeon, in consultation with the team, opted to do the cleanup now rather than waiting for next offseason.

Nix is 25-11 in his two NFL seasons after being the 12th overall selection in the 2025 draft out of Oregon.

___

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

At Tuesday’s state dinner honoring King Charles III and Queen Camilla, U.S. President Donald Trump said that during a private meeting earlier in the day the British monarch had agreed with him that Iran should never be allowed to have nuclear weapons.

“We’re doing a little Middle East work right now … and we’re doing very well,” Trump told the audience. “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever — Charles agrees with me, even more than I do — we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon."

While many Britons would agree with the president’s sentiment, the comment triggered mild consternation among pundits in the U.K.

In Britain, you see, this just isn’t done.

By convention, people aren’t supposed to relay private conversations with the monarch. That is partly because the king has to remain above the political fray, but also because the sovereign doesn’t have the ability to wade into a public debate and correct the record if he’s misquoted.

“Generally, as a matter of protocol, I think I would expect discussions between heads of state to be sort of behind the scenes, in those closed meetings, for those to be sort of kept private,” said Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law and the monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London. “And, you know, this was something that the U.K. government wanted to avoid.”

There had been a fair amount of jitters before the king’s trip to the United States, which comes amid Trump’s very public frustration with U.K. Prime Minster Keir Starmer over his failure to support U.S. actions in the Iran war.

Like all royal visits, this is a carefully choreographed diplomatic event carried out at the request of the U.K. government, which hopes that warm relations between the king and Trump, who seems to love all things royal, can help repair the rift.

But Trump is an unconventional leader who has a penchant for breaking protocol, and there were concerns about just what he might say or do.

At least in this case, the king’s comments seemed clearly within the bounds of existing U.K. government policy.

“The King is naturally mindful of his government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement designed to provide context to the president’s remarks.

Prescott said that “in a sense, this was always the issue, just what Trump would do or say — would he put the king in an embarrassing position,’’ Prescott said.

“You always had that sort of issue of what he would post on social media,” he said. ”And I think, you know, this could have been much, much worse.”

Before the state dinner, Charles gave a speech to a joint session of U.S. Congress. The king received repeated standing ovations during the address, which celebrated the longstanding bonds between the U.S. and Britain while nodding to differences over NATO, support for Ukraine and the need to combat climate change.

Now, from the U.K. government’s point of view, the trip is shifting to safer ground as the king and queen leave Washington behind and head to New York, where the focus will be on the city’s creative industries, rather than politics.

The most difficult part of the trip may be over, Prescott said.

“If this is the only controversy arising out of this phase of the state visit, I think overall this has been an enormous success for the king and the British government, because the king was able to make some quite pointed remarks in Congress and it hasn’t really yielded any sort of negative reaction from the president.”

“In a sense,” he said, “you get the feeling that the king (has) rather charmed Washington with his speech to Congress and, you know, his very witty speech at the state banquet.”

Leer en español

State Attorney Alexcia Cox confirmed in a news release obtained by Local 10 on Thursday that Corrinne Adrianna Blue, 32, faces three counts of vehicular homicide in the Nov. 21, 2024 crash that claimed the lives of Corporal Luis Paez Jr., Deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz and Deputy Ralph “Butch” Waller.

According to PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, the crash occurred around 9 a.m. in the 18000 block of Southern Boulevard, just west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, near Lion Country Safari.

Bradshaw said the deputies had pulled over on the side of the road in a grassy swale waiting for battery cables when an SUV struck their motorcycles while they waited for assistance.

He also confirmed that Blue was heading eastbound in the center lane in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and attempted to pass a slower-moving vehicle on the right when investigators said she overcompensated, veering into the officers and “sending all three airborne in different directions.”

Deputies said preliminary findings suggest Blue was not impaired. However, they did confirm that she sustained minor injuries in the crash.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Blue was driving the SUV in an “unsafe manner” and at a speed well above the posted 55 mph limit when she struck the deputies.

“These charges follow a thorough review of the evidence and mark an important step in the pursuit of justice for the families of Corporal Paez, Deputy Diaz, and Deputy Waller,” Cox wrote in the news release. “These deputies were serving this community when their lives were tragically taken by a reckless driver.”

Dave Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said officials support the decision to pursue charges.

“We are thankful for the decision of State Attorney Alexcia Cox and her office in seeking and obtaining this felony warrant for arrest,” Kerner said. “We now turn our attention to the judicial process, where a jury of the defendant’s peers will decide the ultimate outcome.”

Kerner added that, regardless of the outcome, the three deputies “are remembered as heroes of our community,” acknowledging the loss felt by their families, the sheriff’s office and the broader community.

Investigators said the case will be handled by the State Attorney’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit.

As of Thursday, she was being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Main Jail.

Local 10 obtained a statement from PBSO on behalf of Bradshaw, which you can read here:

La fiscal estatal Alexcia Cox confirmó en un comunicado de prensa obtenido por Local 10 el jueves que Corrinne Blue enfrenta tres cargos de homicidio vehicular por el accidente del 21 de noviembre de 2024 que cobró la vida del cabo Luis Paez Jr., el agente Ignacio “Dan” Diaz y el agente Ralph “Butch” Waller.

Según el sheriff de PBSO, Ric Bradshaw, el accidente ocurrió alrededor de las 9 a.m. en la cuadra 18000 de Southern Boulevard, justo al oeste de Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, cerca de Lion Country Safari.

Bradshaw dijo que los agentes se habían detenido a un lado de la carretera en una franja de césped esperando cables de batería cuando un SUV impactó sus motocicletas mientras esperaban asistencia.

También confirmó que Blue se dirigía hacia el este en el carril central en un Jeep Grand Cherokee e intentó rebasar a un vehículo más lento por la derecha cuando, según los investigadores, sobrecorrigió, desviándose hacia los agentes y “lanzando a los tres por el aire en diferentes direcciones”.

Los agentes dijeron que los hallazgos preliminares sugieren que Blue no estaba bajo los efectos de sustancias. Sin embargo, sí confirmaron que sufrió heridas menores en el accidente.

Según la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida, Blue conducía el SUV de manera “insegura” y a una velocidad muy por encima del límite establecido de 55 mph cuando impactó a los agentes.

“Estos cargos siguen a una revisión exhaustiva de la evidencia y marcan un paso importante en la búsqueda de justicia para las familias del cabo Paez, el agente Diaz y el agente Waller”, escribió Cox en el comunicado. “Estos agentes estaban sirviendo a esta comunidad cuando sus vidas fueron trágicamente arrebatadas por una conductora imprudente”.

Dave Kerner, director ejecutivo del Departamento de Seguridad Vial y Vehículos Motorizados de Florida, dijo que las autoridades apoyan la decisión de presentar cargos.

“Estamos agradecidos por la decisión de la fiscal estatal Alexcia Cox y su oficina de solicitar y obtener esta orden de arresto por delito grave”, dijo Kerner. “Ahora centramos nuestra atención en el proceso judicial, donde un jurado de los pares de la acusada decidirá el resultado final”.

Kerner agregó que, independientemente del resultado, los tres agentes “son recordados como héroes de nuestra comunidad”, reconociendo la pérdida que sienten sus familias, la oficina del sheriff y la comunidad en general.

Los investigadores dijeron que el caso será manejado por la Unidad de Homicidios de Tráfico de la Fiscalía Estatal.

La información sobre la fianza de Blue y su foto policial no estuvieron disponibles de inmediato.

The company has been considering the policy change since at least early this year, after being pressured by Trump administration officials to ease restrictions on transporting weapons, two people familiar with the proposed plan told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak about it publicly.

They said the railroad hasn’t abandoned the proposal despite Saturday’s arrest of a man who authorities say traveled by Amtrak from California to Washington, D.C., with his firearms intent on killing President Donald Trump and other administration officials at Saturday's event.

Cole Tomas Allen was arrested after authorities say he tried to race past security barricades near the hotel ballroom that was hosting the dinner, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents. A Secret Service officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest and survived.

Authorities say Allen was armed with a shotgun and semiautomatic pistol that he brought with him by rail from his home in Torrance, California. Amtrak declined to say if he followed the company’s existing rules, which would have required him to declare he had guns and allow the railroad to lock them up with his checked bags. A lawyer for Allen has said he has no criminal record and is presumed innocent.

Amtrak's proposed rule change, which the railroad could begin testing soon, calls for adding lockboxes to its trains to allow passengers throughout the country to bring guns aboard, instead of only allowing guns on trains that have locked baggage cars, according to the people who spoke to the AP.

The change would open up more than 1,500 trains a day to allowing guns aboard — including the routes that roughly 750,000 people travel every day in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor — instead of the current rule that only allows guns on a couple dozen mostly long-distance trains that have locked baggage cars.

John Feinblatt, president of the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, said doing this would decrease safety.

“Just days after a man took an Amtrak train to Washington with a shotgun and pistol and tried to assassinate the president and other federal officials, the Trump Administration is trying to open the floodgates for firearms on every Amtrak route, while also moving to hollow out the agency responsible for enforcing gun laws and preventing gun trafficking,” he said. “This will only make Americans less safe and Congress must step in before the next tragedy.”

Officials at Amtrak and the Transportation Department didn't immediately respond to questions about the gun policy.

How this would change the rules

Currently, Amtrak requires passengers to declare they are bringing firearms aboard and secure them unloaded in a hard case. The guns must meet certain size and weight requirements. Such weapons are only allowed in checked baggage, similar to policies for firearms being transported on commercial flights.

This proposed change would still require guns to be locked up aboard trains, and only the conductor would have the key, according to the two people who spoke to the AP. But the plan would be to add lock boxes to every train.

It's unclear how Amtrak would determine who is legally allowed to carry a gun and whether local laws at their destinations would permit it. In some places, including New York City, there are restrictions on who can carry guns and a permit might be required. But other places have looser gun restrictions.

Despite Amtrak's current gun policies, it's possible that some passengers are already armed or have carried guns on board. Unlike airports, which screen passengers and their luggage, train passengers aren't screened and Amtrak doesn't run passenger names through a criminal database to identify possible threats. That's true at crowded terminals such as Washington's Union Station and the tiny unstaffed stations throughout the country where trains stop in the middle of the night to pick up passengers.

In those sleepy unstaffed stations, passengers routinely board and the train starts moving again before the conductor ever makes contact or scans their tickets. So there would be at least several minutes before a gun could be secured under the proposal.

Security expert Sheldon Jacobson, whose research contributed to the design of the TSA PreCheck system used in aviation, said railroads should do more to screen their passengers ahead of time by collecting more information when they sell the tickets and checking passengers' backgrounds. But he said it's not possible to eliminate guns on trains when there is no way to enforce the rule.

“The initial condition is that there’s almost 400 million guns in this country,” he said. “Then work from there as opposed to trying to create a utopian environment where there’s not guns and we’re going to keep it that way.”

Rail travel poses fewer risks than air travel, so it wouldn’t be worth the investment needed to create a strict passenger screening system at every train station similar to what TSA does at airports, Jacobson said. But he acknowledged that calculation could change if there ever were a major tragedy on a passenger train.

“You have to weigh the risks and rewards. And you have to say, where are we going to put our money to get the greatest risk reduction for the greatest benefit with the least inconvenience to people?” he said.

Unions have sought worker protections for years

Unions have been fighting to strengthen passenger rail workers' protections for nearly a decade, after several incidents like the 2017 shooting of a conductor by an enraged passenger at the train station in Naperville, Illinois.

Two bills in Congress would give rail workers similar protections to what airline crews have by making it a federal crime to interfere with or assault a rail worker performing their duties. The unions have also had some success getting states to pass laws.

Amtrak and many other ground transportation companies barred weapons on trains and buses after 9/11, but none put security measures in place to detect or screen every passenger for firearms. In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring Amtrak and other companies to allow firearms to be transported as long as they are checked.

The changes come as FEMA prepares for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, both beginning in June.

Fourteen FEMA employees who signed a public letter of dissent last August sounding alarms about the agency's capacity to respond to disasters were told by email Wednesday that an investigation into the matter was closed and they were to return to work Thursday after being on paid administrative leave for eight months, according to two FEMA staff members.

“I feel pretty vindicated, and like we did the right thing,” said Abby McIlraith, a FEMA emergency management specialist who was among the suspended workers. Their reinstatement was first reported by NBC News.

FEMA leadership also told some employees this week that it will be extending certain term-limited employees’ contracts, according to documents seen by The Associated Press, in the midst of extended uncertainty over the future of those positions and a related lawsuit.

The actions are the latest indications that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is moving away from his predecessor Kristi Noem's harsher approach toward FEMA, before she was fired as DHS leader.

Soon after assuming the post, Mullin reversed Noem’s policy that her office approve any DHS expenditure over $100,000 and has released more than $1 billion in backlogged FEMA grants and reimbursements to states, tribes and territories since being sworn in last month.

A FEMA spokesperson told The Associated Press that while it does not comment on specific personnel actions, the agency is taking “targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness.”

“Under new leadership, FEMA is addressing outstanding personnel actions to ensure workforce stability and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters,” the spokesperson said.

Dissent letter called out controversial policies

The reinstated employees were among over 190 current and former FEMA employees who signed the letter, known as the “Katrina Declaration,” but were the only active employees who included their names.

The statement called out multiple policy decisions by President Donald Trump’s administration that the signatories said risked a catastrophe like the one seen after Hurricane Katrina. It specifically named the $100,000 approval policy, along with DHS' decision to reassign some FEMA employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the administration's failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator as stipulated by law, and cuts to grants, training and the FEMA workforce.

The letter also called for FEMA to be taken out from under DHS and restored to a Cabinet-level agency.

One day after its Aug. 25 release, the 14 staffers were put on indefinite paid administrative leave. They were reinstated in early December only to again be placed on leave after one day. A DHS spokesperson at the time blamed “bureaucrats acting outside of their authority” for the reinstatement.

McIlraith, 24, said that experience left her feeling slightly tentative that their reinstatement would be permanent this time. Nonetheless, she was back at work at a FEMA office in Maryland Thursday, waiting to regain access to her work devices. She called her time away “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

Internal email indicates extensions for some term-limited employees

The expected contract extensions also announced this week will apply to some of FEMA's 10,000 term-limited disaster workers who make up roughly half the agency's staff.

Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees, or CORE, work on two- to four-year assignments, though they traditionally have been routinely renewed, a system that allows the agency to build up and taper down its capacity as needed.

FEMA abruptly stopped renewing some of those CORE employees’ contracts at the start of 2026 as they expired, and extended others only 90 days at a time. An email to some staff this week said COREs with contracts ending between January and May who were previously extended for 90 days “may be reappointed for up to one year,” along with those whose contracts end after May.

The email also said that “eligible” FEMA reservists will be renewed for two years. The 7,000 reservists in the agency's surge workforce have contracts expiring May 2.

“Our readiness directly impacts our ability to help Americans in need,” the email said, “and every employee plays a critical role in meeting these challenges.”

While FEMA has not confirmed whether it will bring back CORE workers who were already dismissed, a FEMA employee who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity told The Associated Press they knew of at least one CORE who has been called back.

An ongoing lawsuit is challenging the dismissals of hundreds of CORE staff between then and late January, when FEMA paused the nonrenewals.

McIlraith said her apprehensions over FEMA’s future persist as the agency continues operating without a permanent administrator and recovers from the record-long DHS shutdown that ended Thursday.

Trump on Thursday signed a bill that funds all aspects of DHS besides immigration enforcement. The bill will replenish FEMA’s dwindling disaster fund with over $26 billion.

The president has repeatedly criticized FEMA and even threatened to abolish it completely. Next week, the Trump-appointed FEMA Review Council will present its highly anticipated and months-overdue recommendation report. It is expected to propose sweeping changes to the agency.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced earlier this month he will be stepping down from the role, with Apple’s head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, assuming the role later this year.

The January-March results announced Thursday reflect the continued momentum of iPhone sales. Cook said in a statement that it was the company's best March quarter ever, with "double-digit growth across every geographic segment."

The company earned $29.58 billion, or $2.01 per share, in the January-March period, up about 22% from the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose about 17% to $111.18 billion from $95.36 billion a year earlier. iPhone sales made up the bulk of revenue, bringing in $56.99 billion.

The Cupertino, California company beat analyst expectations this quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research forecast earnings of $1.95 per share on revenue of $109.46 billion.

In the previous quarter that ended in December, the company said it reached record-high iPhone sales, even though it still hasn’t delivered on its long-promised revamp of Siri assistance with AI. iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fueled by strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup.

This March, Apple introduced the new iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo, an entry-level laptop, the company’s most aggressive attempts at moving into the affordable market.

High demand has caused supply constraints, Cook said on a conference call with analysts Thursday. Those constraints have been driven by the availability of the advanced technology used to form what is essentially a device's brain. In the current quarter that runs through June, supply constraints will affect several Mac models, in part because the “customer response to Mac Neo has just been off the charts” with higher-than-expected demand, Cook added.

The company also saw higher memory costs in the recent quarter and expects “significantly higher” memory costs moving forward, Cook said, telling analysts that beyond the current quarter, “we believe memory costs will drive an increasing impact on our business, and we’ll continue to evaluate this.”

“Apple showed that even the best operators can’t fully escape the memory squeeze,” said Jake Behan, Direxion’s head of capital markets, in a statement. “Tim Cook’s warning of ‘significantly higher’ costs in the coming quarters tells you how real the AI-driven supply crunch has become for the entire industry.”

Cook did follow up on the Siri promise, saying that Apple will bring “a more personalized Siri” to users this year, but did not elaborate on timing. He also teased new software and developer tools and AI advancements. Apple's systems deliver “intelligence that is fast, personal and private,” Cook said. “This is not AI as a standalone feature, but AI is an essential, intuitive part of the experience across our devices.”

Cook has helmed Apple for 15 years, inheriting the CEO role from the late Steve Jobs. During his tenure at the head of the company, the company’s market value soared by more than $3.6 trillion during an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity.

Ternus will start as CEO on Sept. 1, and Cook will remain involved with the Cupertino, California company as executive chairman.

Ternus briefly joined a call with analysts after the results were posted Thursday, with Cook introducing him and emphasizing the confidence he has in his successor. Cook said he and Ternus will be working together closely over the next few months to make the transition as smooth as possible.

“This is the most exciting time in my 25 year career at Apple to be building products and services,” Ternus said. “There are so many opportunities before us, and I couldn’t be more optimistic about what’s to come.”

The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline.

The pipeline needs additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill.

At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate change, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021.

“Slightly different from the last administration. They wouldn’t sign a pipeline deal. And we have pipelines going up,” Trump said after signing his approval for it to cross the border between Saskatchewan and northeastern Montana.

Trump in his first term approved the Keystone XL project in 2020 despite concerns from Native American tribes about possible spills and environmental groups about fossil fuels' contribution to climate change. Its cancellation by Biden frustrated Canadian officials, including Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, after Alberta invested more than $1 billion in the project.

Sometimes called “Keystone Light," the Bridger Pipeline Expansion would not cross any Native American reservations.

More than 70% would be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80% on private land, Bridger Pipeline LLC said in a statement. The line would carry various grades of crude, including from Canada's oil sands region, to be exported or refined in the U.S., company spokesperson Bill Salvin said.

The permit from Trump also authorizes other petroleum products including gasoline, kerosene, diesel and liquified petroleum gas. Salvin said including those fuels keeps the company's options open, but it remains focused for now on crude oil.

Bridger Pipeline could avoid a reversal by a future administration if it’s able to complete its project before Trump leaves office. It hopes to start construction in the fall of 2027 and finish it by late 2028 or early 2029, Bridger spokesperson Bill Salvin said.

Trump’s term ends Jan. 20, 2029.

Bridger Pipeline and other subsidiaries of True Company have been responsible for several major pipeline accidents including more than 50,000 gallons (240,000 liters) of crude that spilled into the Yellowstone River and fouled a Montana city’s drinking water supply in 2015, a 45,000-gallon diesel spill in Wyoming in 2022 and a 2016 spill that released more than 600,000 gallons (2.7 million liters) of crude in North Dakota, contaminating the Little Missouri River and a tributary.

Subsidiaries of True agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty to settle a federal lawsuit over the North Dakota and Montana spills.

Salvin said Bridger Pipeline in the years since the Yellowstone spill developed an AI-based leak detection system that allows it to be notified more quickly when there are problems. It also plans to bore 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) beneath major rivers including the Yellowstone and Missouri to reduce the chances of an accident. The 2015 accident occurred on a line that was constructed in a shallow trench at the bottom of the river.

“We designed the pipeline with integrity and safety in mind. We have emergency response plans should something happen where oil happens to get out of the line, which is fairly rare,” Salvin said.

The Casper, Wyoming-based company operates more than 3,700 miles (5,950 kilometers) of gathering and transmission pipelines in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

Environmental groups opposed to the project include the Montana Environmental Information Center and WildEarth Guardians.

“The biggest concern we see right now is the concern inherent in all pipeline projects which is the risk of spills,” said attorney Jenny Harbine with the environmental law firm Earthjustice. “Pipelines rupture and leak. It’s just a fact of pipelines.”

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

The time off gave the FIA time to make changes to the regulations that drivers heavily criticized after the first three races of the year because of how the electrical battery power has changed the cars and competition.

Will it help?

“It's a tickle,” said Max Verstappen, who has been so vocal about his dislike of the current cars that he's openly considering leaving F1.

“It's not what we need yet to really make it flat out. It's complicated to get everyone to agree,” he continued. “I just hope for next year we can make really big, big changes. Like I said, it's a tickle, but it needs to be more than a tickle, for sure.”

Drivers won't be able to truly get a feel for the changes until Friday when practice begins, so everything they have learned so far has been limited to simulator work. While the drivers were able to offer opinions on how the FIA should attack the complaints about the car, they aren't sure how much influence they really had.

“The fact is, we don’t have a seat at the table. We do engage with the FIA and F1 more often,” said seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. "We’re not stakeholders. I say to them, when I was doing the early tests, I was like, ‘You guys should come and speak to us and collaborate with us.’

“We’re like, ‘Speak to us, we’ll work, and we can work together.’ We want this sport to succeed. It’s like small baby steps each time.”

Verstappen acknowledged that the drivers did have quality conversations but there is room for a stronger relationship moving forward.

“The positive thing about it is we have had some nice meetings with Formula 1 and the FIA and I think that’s probably like a starting point,” Verstappen said. "In a few years time, where maybe I’m not here anymore, I’d really hope that for the future drivers as well, there’s more input to come from the drivers to the organizers in general. I do think that most of the drivers here, we have a good understanding and a good feel of what is needed to make Formula 1 a good product, a fun product.

“I think everyone has tried their best to at least do something. But of course, it won’t change the world.”

Upgrades everywhere

The break allowed the 11 teams in the paddock to assess their season after three races and update their cars ahead of Sunday's race. That's another uncertainty the field is attempting to navigate.

“It’s going to be pretty unusual to see so many upgrades on so many different teams,” said Charles Leclerc. “I’m pretty sure most of the people will have kind of new cars for here. Whether it will change significantly the pecking order that we have seen since the beginning of the year, I doubt so.”

The Ferrari driver believes Mercedes will still have the early season control over the rest of the field. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli combined to win the first three races of the season and Antonelli is the current points leader.

“I think the package will make a difference on that, hopefully for us better, but at the point of going and get Mercedes, I think they are, they were too ahead for us to actually get them only with what we are bringing here,” said Leclerc.

Weather concerns

And then there's the added threat of heavy rain on Sunday and the forecast is so unpleasant that it dominated conversation three days before the race.

The National Weather Service is calling for thunderstorms for all of South Florida throughout Sunday, while AccuWeather is showing a 55% chance of thunderstorms on race day. It could disrupt the event because conditions must be stable enough for a medical helicopter to be able to fly when cars are racing, plus the NWS recommends seeking shelter if the delay between thunder and lightning is shorter than 30 seconds.

The NWS recommends waiting at least 30 minutes before leaving shelter and cited Florida as the state that "specifically leads the U.S. in lightning deaths, injuries, and casualties.” The weather service also says lightning is Florida's number one “weather killer.”

“In the wet we are really passengers,” said Leclerc. “In the rain, it’s not about being brave or not. You stay flat out and you hope that no cars in front of you are slower than you and you just assume they are on the same speed as you. So it’s not such a nice feeling.”

___

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

The House sent the extension to President Donald Trump’s desk Thursday after the Senate cleared it earlier in the day. The move comes despite passage through the House of a longer three-year extension, with lawmakers needing more time to negotiate a final agreement. The temporary patch extends the program through June 12.

“I don’t like kicking the can down the road. Not my jam. But that’s where we are,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Trump and intelligence officials have for weeks urged Congress to renew a key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows agencies like the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets without a warrant.

But negotiations have stalled over concerns that the program can incidentally sweep up Americans’ communications. Critics want a warrant requirement when those communications are accessed.

The short-term extension was passed Thursday by unanimous consent in the Senate. In the House, it received bipartisan support, with many Democrats joining the Republican majority in the 261-111 vote.

“I won’t oppose this short extension, but only because it is my fervent hope and determination it will give us the time to work together across the aisle to implement meaningful reforms,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Some House Republicans did speak against it ahead of the vote. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has been among the Republicans pushing for a warrants requirement.

“A short term infringement of the Constitution is still an infringement of the Constitution,” Massie said on the House floor.

Thune said Thursday he believed the extension into June would allow Congress to work with the White House on reforms to the program.

“We’ll get to work in earnest and try to find something you actually are able to do a long term extension of the authorization with,” Thune said.

Concerns about warrantless surveillance have made passage of a long-term renewal a heavy lift for Republican leadership. Earlier this month, lawmakers approved a short-term extension through April 30 after a chaotic late-night session.

House GOP leaders appeared to make headway Wednesday, clearing a key procedural hurdle on a three-year renewal after flipping several Republican holdouts. The bill later passed with bipartisan support.

But House leaders added separate legislation banning a central bank digital currency to win more votes. Senate leaders made clear that provision would not pass their chamber.

Thune said he told Johnson Wednesday that “what they sent us, we weren’t going to be able to process over here.”

___

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed.

On Thursday morning, visitors snapped photos as the Steller sea lion flopped on the pier, surrounded by dozens of much smaller California sea lions that call the docks home.

“He’s like a Volkswagen! He’s so huge!” said Oluwaseyi Akinbobola, a visitor from Los Angeles who had an extra half hour so she ran down to the pier for a hopeful peek of the elusive sea lion. “I have heard everywhere about this big giant sea lion, and I like to look at things, so just thought I’d check it out.”

Chonkers likely came from up north off the coast of Washington or Oregon and is estimated to weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds (680 and 907 kilograms), said Laura Gill, public programs manager at The Marine Mammal Center in nearby Sausalito. Chonkers has been one of the few Steller sea lions to venture to the pier, which is protected from predators and crashing waves while providing a fish-filled buffet.

“There's plenty of food in San Francisco Bay for them, so the fish, the rockfish, the anchovies, the herring, there’s a lot of easy prey for them,” she said.

The giant sea lion, which was first spotted on the pier last month, has brought the community together, said San Francisco resident Danielle Ovadia. “He’s so precious, and he’s quite literally humongous," she said.

Sea lions have become synonymous with the popular tourist pier, but they didn't start gathering there until after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, according to the marina. One lone male was quickly joined by dozens more and by February 1990, the pinniped population had grown to more than 300.

Chonkers has been spotted at the docks early in the morning but is harder to pin down during the rest of the day, Gill said. She said it is endearing to watch him try to snuggle with the regular sea lions for warmth and it will be interesting to see if other Steller sea lions follow suit.

“He's trying to fit in, but he sticks out like a sore thumb,” she said.

The announcement from Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, cited searches by federal agents on Tuesday at childcare and learning centers and other sites in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that receive federal Medicaid funding.

“Minnesota state-run programs have raised serious red flags,” Oz said in a video statement on social media.

Gov. Tim Walz called the action part of the Trump administration's retribution campaign against Minnesota.

Vice President JD Vance notified Walz in February that CMS was temporarily withholding $243 million because of fraud concerns that have dogged the Democratic governor's administration. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families. A judge declined to grant a restraining order.

The deferral of $91 million comes in addition to the funds Vance said were being withheld earlier this year.

Of the latest tranche, $76 million is tied to 14 service categories that are considered highly vulnerable to fraud, Oz said. Another $14 million involves program integrity concerns, such as payments for ineligible individuals, including those who might be in the country illegally, he said.

Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video in December that said members of Minnesota’s large Somali community were running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies. The video caught the eye of the administration and conservative activists, though state inspectors discounted the allegations. Oz cited the video Thursday.

Walz — the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024 — dropped out of the governor’s race in January, promising to devote his energy to fighting fraud rather than seeking a third term.

“While Minnesota is working to stop fraud, the Trump Administration is working to exploit it," Walz said in a statement. "This is a transparent effort to cut funding for the same working people and rural Minnesota hospitals they’ve had in their crosshairs for months. Minnesota will not stand for this continued campaign of retribution.”

But Oz said the action was about protecting taxpayer money.

“This isn’t about punishment, it's about partnership and accountability,” Oz said. “We’re offering Minnesota the support they need to fix these problems. But at the same time, we cannot and will not pay claims that don’t meet federal standards. So we’re asking for additional documentation to verify these charges.”

The Minnesota Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid in the state, defended its record, saying it has been taking “aggressive action” for more than a year to stop fraud and recoup improper payments.

“We have been reporting to our federal partners and the public about those efforts,” Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said in a statement. “We are disappointed to learn that CMS will extend deferrals of needed funds for another quarter. Nonetheless, the department will continue to fight against the criminals who target Medicaid programs.”

CMS approved the state’s corrective action plan in March but has yet to free up any of the $243 million it withheld earlier.

The announcement comes a week after Oz said CMS would require all states to explain their plans to revalidate some of their Medicaid providers in an escalation of the Trump administration's anti-fraud campaign.

___

Associated Press reporter Ali Swenson in Washington, D.C., contributed.

“We put ourselves in a bad position, but we can still make history and come back one game at a time,” Houston big man Alperen Sengun said. “Play at home, come back here, just do the same thing we’re doing.”

That game is one of three Game 6 matchups in the NBA on Friday night starting in the Eastern Conference with underdog Orlando Magic trying again to close out its series against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. The second game of the night features James Harden and the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers looking to wrap up their series against the fifth-seed Toronto Raptors.

In Friday’s nightcap the Rockets will try to get a win to become just the fifth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a series. None of the 159 teams that were in a 0-3 hole have won the series.

They’ll likely do it without superstar Kevin Durant, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury after sitting out of the series opener with a bruised knee.

“You cannot take off days anymore,” Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. said. “If you lose, you go home, and on this team, nobody wants to go home. Everybody is here to fight.”

The Lakers couldn’t finish off the Rockets on Wednesday night despite the return of Austin Reaves, the team’s second-leading scorer in the regular season who had been out since April 2 with an oblique injury.

He scored 22 points on 4-of-16 shooting in 34 minutes off the bench in the 99-93 loss.

LeBron James expects him to be more dynamic on Friday night after shaking the rust off in Game 5.

“A few of his jump shots were short. That makes sense. He hasn’t played in a month,” James said. “He gives us another ball-handler, another attacking threat at the point of attack, so it’s great for us.”

In Toronto, the Raptors are also feeling confident despite their 125-120 loss in Game 5 and some injury concerns.

“I like our odds 100%,” Toronto’s Scottie Barnes said. “We’re going to go home and we’re going to get it done.”

They could have to do that without All-Star Brandon Ingram, who left Wednesday night’s game in the second quarter with right heel inflammation and didn’t return. Ingram scored just one point before his early exit. Barnes is also not 100% after being kneed in the quadriceps while driving to the rim during the second quarter.

“Obviously, we need (Ingram) out on the floor,” Barnes said. “His playmaking ability and his defense and everything he brings.”

Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson knows another huge mental test is coming up for this group after rallying to win on Wednesday night.

“These are high pressure moments,” he said. “You’re down, you can feel the crowd getting nervous. So, I think we took a step (Wednesday). Now the big one is can you go and beat this team on the road? Can we go in there and go take this because we haven’t shown we can yet.”

The Pistons avoided elimination behind Cade Cunningham’s franchise playoff-record 45 points in a 116-109 win in Game 5.

Now the Magic will try and close it out again to win a playoff series for the first time since 2010. If they’re able to pull it off, they’ll be only the second No. 8 seed to win its first-round series after advancing through the play-in tournament and first since Miami in 2023.

Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video).

Series: Magic lead 3-2.

Betting line: Pistons by 3 ½

What to Know: Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, played like a franchise player should Wednesday night to allow the Pistons to extend the series. Now they’ll need another big performance from the 24-year-old to force Game 7 as they chase their first playoff series win since 2008. He has taken 23 shots in each of the last three games but was much more efficient in Game 5. Cunningham made 13 shots Wednesday after making just eight and seven respectively in the previous two games. Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, the top pick in the 2022 draft, also scored 45 points in Game 5 but missed 7 of 12 free throws. The Magic will have to depend on his scoring again in Game 6 with Franz Wagner’s status uncertain after he missed the last game with a strained right calf. Wagner averaged 17 points and 5.5 rebounds in the first four games of the series as the Magic built a 3-1 series lead.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Video)

Series: Cavaliers lead 3-2.

Betting line: Cavaliers by 3 1/2

What to Know: The Cavaliers look to close out the series by doing something that hasn’t been done in the first five games, winning on the other team’s home floor. This is the only first-round series where home court has held serve. A major point of emphasis for Atkinson is reducing turnovers. Cleveland railed from a 12-point second-half deficit for the win despite the Raptors scoring 28 points off 15 Cavaliers turnovers. The Raptors look to avoid elimination despite having Ingram and Barnes being injured.

Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime Video).

Series: Lakers lead 3-2.

Betting line: Rockets by 3 1/2.

What to Know: With Durant out, the Rockets have relied on a balanced scoring attack to win the last two games with each starter scoring at least 12 points in both games. They know they’ll have to continue that to keep the series alive and they also must continue their strong 3-point shooting. The Rockets have made 26 3-pointers combined in the last two games after managing just 18 in the previous two games. The Lakers need to play much cleaner to end the series after they had 38 turnovers combined in their two losses. “You give credit where credit is due,” James said. “They played well the last two games, exceptionally well, and we’ve got to answer the call.”

___

AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham and Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

___

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

The 44-year-old pop star was charged with a single misdemeanor count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and at least one drug, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.

A Spears representative had no immediate comment.

The criminal complaint does not specify what kind of alcohol or drugs, or what amount, Spears is accused of having used.

Spears, who has since entered substance abuse treatment, was arrested March 4 after she was pulled over for driving her black BMW fast and erratically on U.S. 101 near her home, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs and was taken to a Ventura County jail, the CHP said.

She was released on bail the following day. Police completed their investigation and presented it to prosecutors on March 23.

A representative at the time called Spears’ actions “completely inexcusable” and said it would ideally be “the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life.”

Spears voluntarily checked into a substance abuse treatment facility just over a month after the arrest, her representative said.

Spears’ arraignment is set for Monday. Because it is a misdemeanor charge, she will not be required to appear in court, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the case will be handled according to their standard protocol for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road and a low blood-alcohol level.

In court on Monday, Spears will be offered what is commonly known as a “wet reckless,” allowing a defendant to plead guilty and get a year of probation, credit for any time served in jail, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines and fees, prosecutors said.

The offer is common especially for defendants who have independently shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, the district attorney’s office said.

The singer has a home in Ventura County just outside the Los Angeles County line. Her arraignment will be held in the city of Ventura, a seaside community of about 110,000 people about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of downtown LA.

The onetime teen pop phenomenon and “Mickey Mouse Club” alum became a defining superstar of the 1990s and 2000s with hits like “Toxic,” “Gimme More” and “I'm a Slave 4 U.” Most of Spears' albums have been certified platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two diamond titles: 1999’s “ … Baby One More Time” and 2000's “Oops! … I Did It Again.”

Spears became a tabloid focus in the early 2000s, and a source of public scrutiny, as she battled mental illness and paparazzi documented the details of her private life.

In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. It was dissolved in 2021.

Since then, she has married and divorced, and released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, “The Woman in Me.”

She has essentially been retired as an artist in recent years, releasing only a few collaborative singles since her last full album in 2016.

The Treasury and State departments announced Thursday that they had targeted Kabila, who served as Congo’s president from 2001 until 2019, with a freeze on all assets he may have in the United States or that transit through financial institutions in U.S. jurisdictions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that Kabila had been supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 and Congo River Alliance rebel groups, which are seeking to topple the current Congo government.

Congo and Rwanda agreed last year to a U.S.-mediated peace deal aimed at ending the long-running conflict in eastern Congo. President Donald Trump has often referred to his success at negotiating the deal, but the agreement has been hindered and brought near collapse by numerous violations.

“President Trump is paving the way for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he has been clear that those who continue to sow instability will be held accountable,” Bessent said. “Treasury will continue to use its full range of tools to support the integrity of the Washington Accords.”

The State Department issued its own statement, saying, “The United States stands with the Congolese people and calls on all regional leaders to reject those who perpetuate violence and instability. Today’s action sends a clear message: we will hold accountable anyone who obstructs peace efforts in the DRC."

Consumers are paying for the Iran war 's disruption of global energy production as the conflict enters its third month. Steeper gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices are making driving and air travel more expensive.

Many companies warn there's more to come: the cost of fuel and of materials derived from petroleum could drive up prices for food and for household items.

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, keeping them pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide, while a U.S. Navy blockade is preventing Iran from selling its own oil. Prices surged overnight on worries that the war will affect the flow of crude for a long time.

Here’s how the growing cost of oil and gas is impacting consumers.

Gas surges to highest level since 2022

As the cost of crude climbs, so do the prices of gasoline and other fuel that keep equipment, cars, buses, delivery trucks and airplanes running.

Across the U.S., gas prices are at their highest level since 2022. The national average hit $4.30 a gallon on Thursday, compared with $2.98 before the war started, according to AAA. That's a 44% increase since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Diesel prices are making shipping cost more

Steep diesel prices are making it more expensive to haul everyday goods. Diesel is now at an average of nearly $5.50 a gallon, up from $3.76 before the war, AAA says.

Shippers have started adding surcharges to cover the cost. The U.S. Postal Service implemented a temporary 8% charge on some of its services, including Priority Mail, to help blunt the impact of rising transportation costs. Amazon added a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on third-party sellers using its platform to offset fuel prices as well.

Shoppers may see more sticker shock for clothing, cosmetics, furniture and other goods.

"Diesel’s the one that you want to watch out for for prices of consumer goods,” said Peter Zaleski, professor of economics at Villanova University.

Plane tickets are getting pricier

After jumping to $209 a barrel in early April, the global price of jet fuel eased last week to around $179, still well above the roughly $99 at the end of February.

Fuel is one of the largest expenses for airlines. Its prices are pushing up airfares, baggage fees and add-on charges.

Major U.S. carriers including Delta, United, American and Southwest have raised checked baggage fees. United is expanding its “pay for what you want” model from economy to premium cabins, charging separately for options like seat selection. American is adding fees for seat assignments in basic economy, even for its elite-tier loyalty members.

Outside the U.S., carriers in Asia and Europe have added or raised fuel surcharges, in some cases tacking on hundreds of dollars to long-haul tickets.

Many airlines also have trimmed flight schedules, cut less profitable routes or reduced seat capacity. The Lufthansa Group has said it plans to cancel about 20,000 flights across its network over the next six months.

Consumer goods makers may raise prices

Procter & Gamble, the maker of such household products as Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper, estimated last week the war could cause a $1 billion hit to profits during its next fiscal year if Brent crude were to stay around $100 per barrel. Many of P&G’s products and packaging are made of resin or other petroleum-based material, Andre Schulten, P&G’s chief financial officer, told reporters on April 24. He said the company may have to pass on some of the costs to shoppers.

London-based Unilever, which makes everything from Dove soap to Hellmann's mayonnaise, plans to raise prices around 2% to 3% in “small doses,” CFO Srinivas Phatak said in an earnings call on Thursday.

Groceries could be next

Grocery prices have yet to be affected, according to government figures. But they are expected to rise with tightening supplies of fuel and fertilizer.

Fuel accounts for roughly 15% to 30% of the total cost of food, according to the Independent Grocers Alliance, a grouping of 7,500 global supermarkets. Fertilizer is also essential to farmers, and about 30% of the world’s fertilizer shipments typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ken Foster, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said there is typically a 3- to 6-month lag between an energy price shock and an increase in retail food prices. The lag can be up to a year for packaged foods with a longer shelf life.

Increased hunger in Asia and Africa is possible

The U.N. World Food Program estimates that 45 million additional people — the majority of whom live in Asia and Africa — could tip into hunger if the war doesn’t ease by the middle of this year. That would bring the global total of people facing food insecurity to 363 million, the highest level on record.

“Delays and higher transport costs push up food prices, and families who spend 50% to 70% of their income on food are the first to go without,” Corinne Fleischer, the program’s supply chain director, said in a statement.

___

Associated Press writers Cathy Bussewitz and Anne D'Innocenzio in New York, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Traveling different paths, they all got to the Kentucky Derby this year, where Father's Day is coming early at Churchill Downs. The Delgados have The Puma, the elder Mott is looking to go back to back with Chief Wallabee, and his 34-year-old son has his first two Derby horses in Albus and Incredibolt.

“You always want your children — you hope they’re better than you,” Bill Mott told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “And I think that’s probably the case. We’re very proud of him.”

Bill Mott has two Kentucky Derby titles already, though Country House getting elevated to first in 2019 when Maximum Security was disqualified made Sovereignty's triumph feel more like his first. A competitor in his own right, he acknowledges it would be quite special to see Riley do it.

That's the goal, now.

“It was extremely special for Sovereignty because I’m still part of the family, part of the team,” Riley said. “But to do it on my own, this is my baby — our stable, our business. It’s my brainchild, my baby. It’s like my life’s work, so naturally to do it on your own would be tenfold special.”

The Puma is set to be the Delgados' fourth horse in the Kentucky Derby and their first since winning it with Mage in 2023. The horse, named for Gustavo Sr.'s nickname for his resemblance to popular Venezuelan artist José Luis Rodríguez, occupies the same stall as Mage did, and the occasion has the father-son training duo reliving all the delightful memories from three years ago.

“It feels great just to be back to Churchill at this time of the year with a horse going to the Derby,” Gustavo Jr. said. “I'm happy to be back here.”

They own part of The Puma, along with Ramiro Restrepo and others, and jockey Javier Castellano is riding again after Mage was his first Derby win on his 16th try. The Deglados' partnership has reached a stage where they don't even argue with one another and see things the same way.

“My dad and I, we work so (well) together and we share the same passion,” Gustavo Jr. said. “We are also best friends. When you have that kind of chemistry, everything works so well, especially when a good horse comes around.”

A lot of good horses came around for Bill Mott since Riley began working for him full time out of college in 2014, so much so that it looked like he'd train for the rest of his life.

“He’s never going to retire: He’s going to die in his boots, so to speak,” Riley said of his dad, who's 72. “I knew it was never going to be a situation where he’d retire and I’d take over. He loves the game, he’s passionate about the horses and he’d probably get very bored if he retired.”

Through Country House, Tacitus and Sovereignty, it has not been boring for Bill, who doesn't believe he specifically taught his son particular lessons along the way.

“There would be things I needed him to do, and he would carry out the whatever it was that we needed to have done, but I never drilled anything into him,” Mott said. “He just picked it up. Like a sponge, he just absorbed everything on his own. He’s a good horseman who knows what’s going on.”

Naturally, the credit goes to pops, who's most proud of how Riley treats everyone from grooms to executives with respect and maintains the same even-keeled demeanor.

“I’ve learned almost everything that I know about horses, about life,” Riley said. “My lifetime’s worth of knowledge comes from him.”

___

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

Austin-based Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the Connecticut massacre a hoax. The proposed licensing deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars' trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation.

A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal with the receiver. But the proceeding fizzled into a status conference because the Texas Third Court of Appeals late Wednesday approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any Infowars assets. The judge set another hearing for May 28.

Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had asked the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling, but the high court did not issue a decision before Thursday's hearing.

“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” Ben Collins, The Onion's CEO, said in a social media post ahead of the hearing. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”

The Onion already has been selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the “o” with its trademark onion image. It wants to turn the Infowars platforms into comedy sites that would include spoofing Jones, conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points, while giving revenue to the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives.

Jones declared victory in videos posted on his social media sites after the appellate court ruling. He called The Onion's plan illegal, citing pending appeals and his continuing personal bankruptcy case.

“I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done,” Jones said.

After Thursday’s hearing, Mark Bankston, a lawyer for some of the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives, accused Jones of delaying the liquidation of Infowars numerous times with court filings.

“As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that,” he said. “He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going.”

It’s not the first time The Onion has hit a legal setback in plans to take over Infowars.

In November 2024, the Chicago-based satirical outlet was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, aimed at helping pay some of the defamation judgments. But a federal judge overturned the auction results, citing problems with process and The Onion’s bid.

Jones said on his show this week that he has a new studio nearing completion. He already has set up a new phone app and websites, including one that sells the dietary supplements, clothing and other merchandise he hawks on his shows. And his personal X account, where he posts videos of his shows and has 4.5 million followers, is not affected by any of the court cases.

___

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

Trump then posted on his social media platform Truth Social congratulating Ali al-Zaidi and wishing him “success as he works to form a new Government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq.”

“We look forward to a strong, vibrant, and highly productive new relationship between Iraq and the United States," the post said. "This is the beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”

The call and post signal that Washington has given its blessing to al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer, after Trump had announced his disapproval of a previous leading candidate for the post.

Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework — a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran — on Monday nominated al-Zaidi to be the country’s prime minister after weeks of internal debate among its member parties.

The coalition had previously said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who the U.S. administration views as too close to Iran. Trump publicly announced his opposition to al-Maliki and threatened to cut off aid to Iraq if he was appointed.

While al-Maliki remained defiant after Trump’s intervention, the bloc decided to shift to a compromise candidate.

Al-Zaidi, who is chairman of Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, emerged in the final stages of discussions as one of the leading candidates — bolstered by his economic background and business and investment connections. He hasn't previously held political office.

In 2024, Al-Janoob was one of a number of banks that were banned by Iraq’s central bank from dealing in dollars amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on money laundering and funneling of funds to Iran. However, neither the bank nor al-Zaidi are under U.S. sanctions.

Following his nomination, al-Zaidi promised to focus on making Iraq “a balanced country, regionally and internationally.”

“This appointment comes at a sensitive time that requires concerted efforts from all political and social forces,” he said.

Under the constitution, the designated prime minister has 30 days to present a Cabinet lineup to the parliament, which requires 167 votes to secure a vote of confidence.

The next government will have to deal with the political and economic fallout of the Iran war, which spilled over into Iraq, while the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the oil exports on which Iraq’s economy depends.

El hombre de 50 años enfrenta cargos por atacar a hombres en la playa el miércoles, en el 9559 de Collins Ave., según un informe de arresto de la Policía de Surfside.

Dos hombres reportaron que Levi “se enfureció” cuando supo que las sillas eran solo para residentes, según la Policía.

Levi “agarró una sombrilla de playa e intentó golpear” a un hombre, y “agarró un taladro y cargó contra” otro hombre, según la Policía.

“Te voy a matar”, le dijo Levi al hombre, según el informe de arresto policial.

Los agentes reportaron que “Levi se negaba a cumplir … permaneció sentado en la silla de playa”, y pateó a un agente policial durante su arresto.

Correcciones de Miami-Dade ingresó a Levi el miércoles por la noche en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Compareció ante la corte de fianza el jueves.

Levi enfrenta nuevos cargos de intento de agresión agravada con un arma mortal, agresión a un agente policial y daños criminales.

Los registros judiciales muestran que Levi tiene antecedentes de arresto en Miami Beach. En 2018, fue arrestado por robo con allanamiento y hurto menor. En 2023, fue arrestado por conducta lasciva y obscena, hurto mayor, agresión y cargos relacionados con resistirse al arresto. Los casos fueron desestimados.

La jueza del Tribunal de Circuito del condado Miami-Dade, Marisa Tinkler Mendez, estaba programada para presidir el nuevo caso.

Historia relacionada: VER: video de cámara corporal muestra arresto de hombre desnudo acusado de intentar robar una moto acuática

El editor de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Carson Merlo, contribuyó a este informe.

Leer en español

Deputies said they were escorting Jamie Romanski, 49, of Astoria, Queens, off an American Airlines flight at around 6:30 p.m. after “she had a verbal argument with the flight crew.”

According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, airline employees said Romanski “seemed intoxicated” at the time and that they had planned on rebooking her.

Authorities said as an MDSO deputy approached Romanski and tried to calm her down, she smacked her hand away. The deputy then told her she was under arrest and cuffed her.

The report states that as the deputy was escorting her off the jet bridge, Romanski “stopped and heel-kicked her left thigh three times,” causing the deputy to “move back away in pain.”

After being taken to the MDSO station within MIA, a deputy wrote that he “was unable to interview (Romanski) due to the fact she was very irate and refused to speak to me.”

Romanski is now facing charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.

As of Thursday, she was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,500 bond.

Los agentes dijeron que estaban escoltando a Jamie Romanski, de 49 años, de Astoria, Queens, fuera de un vuelo de American Airlines alrededor de las 6:30 p.m. después de que “tuvo una discusión verbal con la tripulación del vuelo.”

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, empleados de la aerolínea dijeron que Romanski “parecía intoxicada” en ese momento y que planeaban reprogramar su vuelo.

Las autoridades dijeron que cuando un agente de la MDSO se acercó a Romanski e intentó calmarla, ella le apartó la mano de un golpe. El agente entonces le dijo que estaba bajo arresto y la esposó.

El informe indica que mientras el agente la escoltaba por el puente de abordaje, Romanski “se detuvo y pateó con el talón su muslo izquierdo tres veces”, lo que provocó que el agente “se apartara hacia atrás por el dolor.”

Después de ser llevada a la estación de la MDSO dentro de MIA, un agente escribió que “no pudo entrevistar a (Romanski) debido a que estaba muy alterada y se negó a hablar conmigo.”

Romanski ahora enfrenta cargos de agresión a un agente del orden y resistencia al arresto con violencia.

Hasta el jueves, permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $2,500 USD.

La medida, que será impugnada en los tribunales, indica un debilitamiento de Lula ante el Congreso de cara a su intento de reelección en las elecciones presidenciales de octubre.

No está claro cuánto tiempo cumplirá Bolsonaro por su condena por encabezar un intento de golpe de Estado, pero analistas señalan que la medida podría reducir 20 años su sentencia. El expresidente, que comenzó a cumplirla en noviembre, se encuentra actualmente bajo arresto domiciliario.

La oposición logró esta victoria al atraer a senadores centristas y diputados federales para superar cómodamente el veto de Lula a un proyecto de ley sobre sentencias aprobado el año pasado. Los simpatizantes de Bolsonaro confiaban en su victoria antes de que comenzara la votación.

“Este es un primer y muy esperado paso por quienes están afligidos. La siguiente etapa es la amnistía total”, dijo el senador Espiridião Amin, un aliado de Bolsonaro.

El proyecto de ley aprobado por el Congreso el año pasado reduce las penas de prisión para varios delitos, incluidos los cometidos contra el Estado democrático de derecho y el de encabezar un golpe de Estado cuando una persona es condenada por ambos. La nueva legislación establece que solo debe contarse el cargo que conlleve la pena más alta.

Antes de la votación, el presidente del Senado dijo que sólo los casos similares a los que llevaron a condenas de Bolsonaro, sus aliados y simpatizantes por el intento golpista serían elegibles a recibir penas menores, aunque los expertos legales señalan que esa afirmación será cuestionada en los tribunales.

Pedro Uczai, jefe de bancada del Partido de los Trabajadores en la cámara baja, dijo que apelará ante el Supremo Tribunal Federal, argumentando su inconstitucionalidad. El tribunal aún no ha recibido su queja.

Aliados de Bolsonaro en el Congreso dijeron que la medida beneficia no solo al expresidente, sino también a simpatizantes que fueron condenados por destruir edificios gubernamentales en Brasilia, la capital, el 8 de enero de 2023, en un disturbio que reflejó el asalto al Capitolio de Estados Unidos, ocurrido dos años antes.

Alexandre Knopfholz, abogado y académico del derecho, dijo a The Associated Press que el proyecto de ley podría reducir las penas por delitos cometidos por multitudes, ampliando los beneficios legales para muchos de los acusados por la destrucción de edificios gubernamentales en Brasilia.

Knopfholz añadió que Bolsonaro “no será liberado automáticamente” incluso si la nueva iniciativa resiste al probable escrutinio del Supremo Tribunal Federal.

La votación le asesta a Lula otra importante derrota en el Congreso, meses antes de su intento por un cuarto mandato no consecutivo. El miércoles por la noche, el Senado del país rechazó a su nominado para un puesto en el Supremo Tribunal Federal, algo que ocurría por primera vez en 132 años.

“Quieren liberar a Bolsonaro, a sus generales encarcelados y detener las investigaciones de la policía federal que los implican”, dijo el legislador Lindberg Farias, un aliado de Lula. “Este es un día de infamia”.

Varios legisladores que votaron el jueves hablaron en el podio sobre las elecciones de octubre. Hace cuatro años, Lula venció a Jair Bolsonaro por un estrecho margen para regresar a la presidencia. El rival del presidente en su intento de reelección será el senador Flávio Bolsonaro, uno de los hijos del expresidente.

“Si es la voluntad de Dios, gobernaré este país”, dijo Flávio Bolsonaro durante la votación. “Los abrazaré y cuidaré de ustedes, sin importar cuál sea su postura política”.

Lula aún no ha hecho comentarios públicos sobre sus derrotas en el Congreso.

Carlos Melo, profesor de ciencias políticas en la Universidad Insper en Sao Paulo, dijo que la votación del jueves es una mala señal para Lula de cara a las elecciones, aunque afirmó que las cosas podrían cambiar en los próximos cinco meses, como la posibilidad de que la atención se desvíe hacia la próxima Copa del Mundo de fútbol.

Esta votación es otra señal de que Bolsonaro no ha terminado como actor político; su hijo será competitivo contra Lula”, afirmó Melo.

___

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

The law, which goes into effect in July, is the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, subjecting people to time behind bars if they knowingly enter a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth — even if the bathroom is in a privately owned business. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense, or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense.

The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, say the law forces them to either stay at home or risk harassment, assault or arrest when using public restrooms.

“I’ve been enjoying life as a man and using the men’s restrooms hasn’t been a big deal,” Diego Fable, one of the plaintiffs, said in a news release. “But this law would force me to use the women’s facilities, and doing so would only invite suspicion, questions, and raised eyebrows. I would have to face tough choices every time I leave my home: Do I know the restroom situation when I go out to eat with my friends? Do I know the restrooms available when I go to public parks to go birding? What do I do while I’m at work all day?”

Republican Sen. Ben Toews, one of the sponsors of the legislation behind the law, said in March that the law was needed to protect women and children. He suggested that transgender people could simply find and use a single-occupancy gender -neutral restroom if they wanted.

Few gender-neutral restrooms available

But in the lawsuit, Fable said the only restrooms available at his work, local grocery stores and some restaurants, conference centers and gas stations are multi-occupancy gendered facilities. Other people also perceive Fable as a man, according to the lawsuit — and he is worried he will face violence if he goes into a women's restroom facility as required by the new law.

“Ultimately, complying with this law would be extremely isolating,” Fable said. "The only safe option truly available is to just stay home –- or leave the state entirely, leaving my treasured friends and community behind.”

The other plaintiffs expressed similar concerns. Peter Poe is a transgender man with a beard, and said using a women's restroom would be disruptive. Amelia Milette, a transgender woman, says her job requires her to assist clients at their own offices, and most of those offices only do not have gender-neutral restrooms. She said she will have to limit her food and liquid consumption to reduce the need to use the restroom in public places if the law goes into effect.

At least 19 states, including Idaho, already have laws barring transgender people from using bathrooms and changing rooms that align with their gender in schools and, in some cases, other public places. The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Movement Advancement Project’s tracking of the laws shows that three other states — Florida, Kansas and Utah — have made it a criminal offense in some circumstances to violate the bathroom laws.

Idaho's law applies broadly to private businesses

But none of the others apply as broadly to private businesses as the Idaho law, which covers any “place of public accommodation,” meaning any business or facility that serves the public. The legislation includes nine exceptions for situations like performing janitorial work, responding to emergencies, helping children or cases when someone has “dire need” of a restroom.

The plaintiffs say the ban will cause emotional harm, exacerbate gender dysphoria and could lead to medical problems like kidney and urinary tract infections caused by being forced to avoid using restrooms. They contend the law is overly vague, that it discriminates based on sex and transgender status, and that it violates their constitutional right to privacy because it will force them to disclose their transgender status.

“This law is a dangerous and discriminatory effort to push transgender people out of public life,” said Barbara Schwabauer, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project.

Schwabauer said they would try to have the law completely blocked. “If you cannot use the restroom at work, you cannot go to work. If you cannot use the restroom at school, you cannot go to school," she said.

Attorney General Raúl Labrador is named as a defendant in the case along with multiple county prosecutors.

“We look forward to defending the law,” Labrador’s office said in an email to The Associated Press.

Over the last several weeks, the Saudis have bailed on a Winter Olympics-style sports festival and sold one of their best soccer teams, all while shifting the strategy of their multibillion-dollar investment fund that bankrolls it all.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund, helmed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recently delivered a new prospectus outlining its strategy for 2026-30. The strategy focuses on more internal investment while “maximizing financial returns, strengthening investment efficiency and increasing private sector participation.”

The ultimate goal is to fulfill the prince's “Vision 2030,” which seeks to enhance and overhaul Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure and make tourism a more focal point of an oil-based economy.

It follows an era in which the fund poured staggering sums of money into various sports ventures around the world. Soccer has been a centerpiece — the country is hosting the 2034 World Cup, while PIF owns a majority stake in Newcastle of the Premier League and bolsters the Saudi Pro League. The fund has also spent big on men's and women's pro tennis, Formula 1, boxing and more.

LIV Golf, though not the most expensive, is the highest profile among them; the fund has reportedly poured some $5 billion into LIV without receiving any return.

“For the past two years, we've seen the beginning of the scaling back of some of the mega projects that were announced in 2021, 2022,” Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy “That's exactly when LIV Golf began, as well.”

LIV Golf has new leadership and a new business strategy

The PIF announced Thursday it would withdraw funding for LIV Golf after 2026, ending weeks of speculation and reporting that the Saudis were about to cut the cord. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who was behind the creation of LIV Golf, is no longer listed as chairman of LIV Golf amid reports he has resigned from that role.

Staff and players have been aware for the last two weeks the PIF was only going to support LIV Golf through the end of this year. LIV responded with a new board and a plan to diversify into an investment model with hopes of finding long-term partners.

The PIF's deep pockets were integral for LIV in prying some of the sport's best players from the PGA Tour. It spent $1 billion to land the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and eventually Jon Rahm, the last big signing at the end of 2023.

In an interview earlier this week with The Wall Street Journal, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said: “We’re interested in having the best players who can help our tour. Not every player can do that.”

Already, five-time major winner Koepka has moved back to the tour from LIV, and Masters champion Patrick Reed plans to return later this year.

In a sign of the times, Saudis scale back multibillion-dollar plans for super-city

About three months ago, Saudi Arabia scaled back plans for a futuristic super-city project called The Line inside a bigger project called “Neom” that was supposed to span more than 100 miles and run from the Red Sea across the desert mountains.

One feature of the project was a resort called Trojena, which was envisioned as a year-round ski resort that would host the 2029 Asian Winter Games (which themselves were moved instead to Kazakhstan). It could have served as a dress rehearsal for future Olympics or, at the very least, the 2034 World Cup that has already been awarded to the kingdom.

More recently, PIF sold 70% of its Saudi Pro League soccer club Al-Hilal to a company owned by Saudi royalty, a move that sent shock waves through that sport — namely raising questions as to whether the fund was still committed to Newcastle of the English Premier League, of which it owns about 85%.

"Whether due to the war or reasons related to economic feasibility, we continuously reassess our priorities,” Al-Rumayyan told the state-owned Al Arabiya news channel shortly after the Al-Hilal sale.

Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told The Associated Press “Saudi Arabia is constantly reassessing its priorities, and its investment strategy will shift accordingly."

“The PIF has always been a vehicle of national transformation first, global sports deals were part of that story, but so is pulling capital closer to home when the moment calls for it,” Soliman said.

War's impacts only add to questions about Saudi's sports future

There's a healthy debate over what impact the U.S. war in Iran is having on the Saudi decision-making.

Some of these decisions — such as the scaling back of the Neom project — were being made earlier in the year when a barrel of oil was selling for $60 — a lower price that can cause the country to endure budget deficits that might have to be financed by cutting into profits of Aramco, the country's national oil producer.

The war, meanwhile, raised oil prices to above $100 but reduced the Saudis' ability to sell it while Iran and the U.S. battle over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint through which up to 25% of the world's oil must pass.

“Ironically, the fact that the Saudis are still able to export maybe two-thirds of their oil at much higher prices over the last six weeks maybe actually means that their revenues may have gone up,” Ulrichsen said. “But this won’t be forever. The war has definitely heightened the element of uncertainty, and the closer it gets to 2030, the more they’ll want to deliver one or two key things, rather than maybe falling short on six or seven in general.”

Golf captures headlines, but soccer and World Cup hover over Saudi decisions

The Saudis have made major inroads into sports other than golf and soccer.

They are in the last of a three-year contract to host a $15 million season-ending tournament on the Women's Tennis Association. The PIF has naming rights for both the WTA and the men's ATP tour.

Saudi Arabia has hosted the Dakar Rally and an F1 event came to the country in 2021. (It was cancelled this year because of the war.)

It has shown interest in hosting the Summer Olympics, maybe as soon as 2036.

All that pales in comparison to its biggest sports undertaking — hosting the World Cup in 2034. That project calls for building 10 or 11 new stadiums across the country, including one in Neom that is planned to hover a quarter-mile above ground.

All those stadiums and all that investment make LIV's $5 billion look small. Still, it hasn't gone unnoticed that the vision LIV began with — as a league that would create teams, then sell them to make the endeavor profitable — hasn't materialized.

“The expense is not on the scale of what they spent on The Line or the (Asian) winter games,” Ulrichsen said. “But it’s significant, and I don't think there's an appetite for the prospect of losses continuing for at least another five or 10 years.”

___

AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.

___

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

He and another officials with the group accused Ankara of failing to enact legal and political reforms needed to move the process forward, contradicting recent optimistic statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Murat Karayilan, a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and one of its most senior leaders, said in an interview with the PKK-linked ANF news outlet that his group had taken major steps as part of the peace effort, including declaring a ceasefire and an end to its armed struggle.

“The process is currently frozen. That’s what we’ve been able to see and what has been reported to us," the outlet quoted Karayilan as saying. “We, as a movement, have fulfilled our responsibilities at this stage. It is clear that we have done everything necessary for the government to take action.”

There was no immediate reaction from officials in Turkey to Karayilan’s remarks.

Last year, the PKK declared that it would disarm and disband as part of the new peace effort with Turkey, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The PKK then staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, and later announced that it was withdrawing fighters from some key locations in Turkey to Iraq.

Earlier this year, a Turkish parliamentary committee recommended a series of reforms to advance the initiative, including the reintegration of PKK members who renounce violence, while stressing that legal steps should be tied to state security institutions verifying that the group has surrendered its weapons.

Karayilan said that Turkish government and ruling party officials had set April as the month in which legislation advancing the process would be brought to parliament, a deadline that has now passed with no bill introduced.

He accused the Turkish government of failing to implement even basic measures recommended by the committee, including releasing opposition politicians and activists from prison.

Ocalan himself also remains imprisoned. Karayilan said that the PKK’s decision at its 12th Congress to end its armed struggle and dissolve itself was approved on the condition that Ocalan personally manage the disarmament process, meaning, he said, that the group’s own internal mandate can't move forward while its leader remains in prison.

In a separate statement to The Associated Press, Zagros Hiwa, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Communities Union, a political organization linked with the PKK, said that the organization had taken several steps in line with Ocalan’s call. But Hiwa said that Turkish forces continue to operate in parts of northern Iraq, government-appointed administrators still occupy the seats of elected Kurdish mayors in Turkey and that thousands of Kurdish and Turkish political prisoners remain jailed.

“The Turkish state has taken no legal and political steps towards peace and has been continuing war-time policies under new rhetoric,” he said, adding that Ocalan remains under solitary confinement on Imrali island off Istanbul, where he has been imprisoned since his capture in 1999.

Hiwa accused the Turkish government of “instrumentalizing” the process to consolidate the governing party's grip on power and boost its standing in upcoming elections, rather than seeking a genuine settlement.

“What happens next totally depends on the attitudes of the Turkish state,” Hiwa said. He warned that the impasse could carry “precarious implications.”

The PKK officials' suggestion that the peace process has stalled contradicted a statement by Erdogan, who a day earlier told legislators from his governing party, that the peace efforts were moving in a positive atmosphere.

“The process is proceeding as it should,” Erdogan said. “Those who write pessimistic scenarios about the process are acting entirely on their delusions, not on facts.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria. It's designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.

___

Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

The trial centers on the 2015 birth of the ChatGPT maker as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk. It pits the world’s richest person against Sam Altman, a fellow OpenAI co-founder he accuses of betraying promises to keep the company as a nonprofit dedicated to humanity’s benefit.

Tempers have flared on both sides of the high-stakes trial, as the morning began with an existential discussion about the future of humanity — complete with references to “The Terminator” movies — and how much witness testimony would focus on AI safety.

“Your client, despite these risks, is creating a company that is in the exact same space,” Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told Musk's lawyers, referring to the billionaire's xAI, which launched in 2023. People, she said, “don't want to put the future of humanity into Mr. Musk's hands,” and instructed the parties not to discuss the dangers of AI to humanity during the course of the trial.

“This is not a trial on the safety risks of artificial intelligence. This is not a trial on whether or not AI has damaged humanity,” she said. “It could be one day in a federal court in this country that we may have that trial. That is not this trial and we are not going to get sidetracked on that issue in this trial.”

On the stand, Musk has taken issue with the cross-examination by opposing attorney William Savitt, accusing him of asking misleading questions designed to trick him and the jury. At one point Thursday, Savitt asked Musk about earlier testimony where he said that as long as investor profits were capped, OpenAI wasn’t in violation of agreements to keep it a nonprofit.

“It depends on how high the cap is,” Musk replied. Savitt then said that “wasn’t your complete answer yesterday right?” In response, Musk said “few answers are going to be complete, especially if you cut me off all the time.” He added that if the cap is “super high,” then OpenAI is “really a for-profit at that point.”

Lawyers for OpenAI have rejected the allegations brought in Musk’s civil lawsuit and said there were never promises that the company would remain a nonprofit forever. The company has argued Musk’s legal challenge is aimed at undercutting OpenAI’s rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.

The trial in federal court in Oakland, California, is scheduled to continue through late May. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers excused Musk from the witness stand Thursday, but he may be called back later.

During the cross-examination, Savitt also asked Musk about his companies — Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and X — and whether they were all for-profit. Musk replied yes, and affirmed that he believes all of these companies are “socially beneficial.”

Savitt then asked why Musk hasn't started a nonprofit himself, eight years after he left OpenAI.

“I thought I had started a nonprofit with OpenAI but they stole it,” Musk replied, adding that this is “the entire basis of this lawsuit.”

The legislation, which will be challenged in court, indicates a weakening of Lula’s position in Congress ahead of his bid for reelection in the country’s October presidential election.

It’s unclear how much time Bolsonaro will serve for his conviction for leading a coup attempt, but analysts say the move could shave 20 years off his sentence. The former right-wing president, who began his sentence in November, is currently under house arrest.

The conservative opposition successfully drew centrist senators and federal deputies to comfortably override the leftist president's veto of last year's sentencing bill. Bolsonaro supporters expressed confidence in the outcome even before the voting began.

“This is a first and much awaited step by those who are afflicted. The next stage is full amnesty,” said Sen. Espiridião Amin, a Bolsonaro ally.

The bill that lawmakers passed last year reduces prison terms for several crimes, including those against the democratic rule of law and leading a coup when a person is convicted in both. The new legislation states that the sentence should be based only on the count carrying the highest sentence.

Ahead of the vote, the president of Brazil’s Senate said only cases similar to ones that led to convictions for Bolsonaro, his allies and supporters in the attempted coup trial would be eligible for the softer penalties, though legal experts say that claim will be questioned in court.

Pedro Uczai, the Workers' Party whip in Brazil's lower house, said he will appeal to the Supreme Court to annul the legislation, arguing that it was unconstitutional. The court is yet to receive his complaint.

Bolsonaro allies in Congress said the move benefits not only the former president, but also supporters who were sentenced for destroying government buildings in capital Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023, in a riot that mirrored the assault on the U.S. Capitol Hill two years earlier.

Alexandre Knopfholz, a lawyer and legal scholar, told The Associated Press the bill could reduce penalties for crimes committed by crowds, expanding legal benefits for many of those charged with the destruction of government buildings in Brasilia.

Knopfholz added that Bolsonaro “will not be automatically released” even if the new legislation withstands the Supreme Court's likely scrutiny.

The vote hands Lula another significant defeat in Congress months before his bid for a fourth nonconsecutive term. Wednesday evening he had his nominee to a seat in the Supreme Court rejected by the country's Senate, a first in 132 years.

“They want to release Bolsonaro, his jailed generals and stop federal police investigations that implicate them,” said lawmaker Lindberg Farias, a Lula ally. “This is a day of infamy.”

Several lawmakers voting on Thursday spoke on the podium about October's election. Four years ago, Lula beat Jair Bolsonaro by a narrow margin to return to the presidency. The president's rival in his bid for reelection will be Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the sons of the former president.

“If it is God's will, I will govern this country,” Flávio Bolsonaro said during the vote. “I will hug you and take care of you, no matter what your political view is.”

Lula is yet to make public comments about his defeats in Congress.

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said Thursday's vote was a bad sign for Lula ahead of the election, though he noted that a lot could change in the coming five months, including attention being diverted to the upcoming soccer World Cup.

“This vote is another sign that Bolsonaro is not finished as a political actor, his son will be competitive against Lula," Melo said.

___

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

“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media.

Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged. His post left it unclear if the tariffs were being lifted on bottles of Scotch or on the materials used to produce alcohol in both countries.

“I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland’s ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon,” Trump said.

The White House did not respond to emails seeking clarification about the details of what Trump announced, though the post was interpreted in Scotland and by industry lobbyists as removing the tariffs on Scotch.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said in a Thursday statement that the U.S. would give “preferential duty access for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom.” The administration did not immediately respond to questions about whether that meant eliminating the tariffs or lowering them.

The Trump administration in 2025 reached a trade framework that put a 10% tax on most goods imported from Britain. The Scotch Whisky Association said its export volume to the U.S. fell 15% after the tariffs were announced in April of last year.

The president, answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office, said the tariffs were lifted to specifically enhance the trade of barrels between Scotland and Kentucky, which produces almost all of the world's bourbon. The barrels are used to age the alcohol.

“I just took all the restrictions off so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again,” said Trump, who added that he's “not a big drinker."

Still, John Swinney, Scotland's first minister, interpreted the president's statement as a removal of tariffs on Scotch itself, calling it a “tremendous success” for his country.

“People’s jobs were at stake. Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy," said Swinney, expressing gratitude to both Trump and King Charles III.

Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats. Last year, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine — a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.

Foreign countries have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products.

In the end, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs, a huge relief to Portugal, the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., also interpreted Trump’s post as a removal of the 10% tariff on whisky from the United Kingdom.

“We applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero‑for‑zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,” Swonger said in a statement. “This action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much‑needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.”

___

AP correspondent Jill Lawless contributed from London.

Jose Novo, director ejecutivo de Everglades Safari Park, recorrió en un aerodeslizador los pantanos calcinados a lo largo del corredor de la autopista, viendo por primera vez hasta dónde se había extendido el incendio tras iniciarse el sábado.

“Este fue un incendio bastante grande y se propagó muy, muy rápido”, dijo Novo.

El incendio forestal quemó más de 9,000 acres en los Everglades, alimentado por matorrales secos y vegetación muerta acumulada en el terreno.

Desde el agua, el daño es desigual, grandes extensiones de hierba de sierra ennegrecida interrumpidas por áreas de vegetación intacta a solo unos pies de distancia.

Desde el aerodeslizador, la cicatriz del incendio se extiende por millas en algunas direcciones, mostrando cuán rápida e irregularmente se movió el fuego a través del River of Grass.

Novo dijo que la intensidad del incendio fue impulsada en parte por la acumulación de material combustible en el suelo.

“Fue muy caliente debido a muchos árboles que se han podrido y caído a lo largo de los años”, dijo.

Las autoridades informaron que el incendio está ahora contenido en aproximadamente un 20%, con solo focos calientes dispersos restantes.

A pesar de la destrucción, Novo dijo que el fuego es parte del ciclo natural del ecosistema de los Everglades.

“Lo hermoso es que en dos o tres semanas verás todos los nuevos brotes verdes saliendo”, dijo.

Agregó que el incendio ayuda a eliminar la vegetación vieja y dar paso a nuevo crecimiento.

“Regresa más fuerte y elimina lo viejo”, dijo Novo.

Sin llamas activas restantes, Novo dijo que se está preparando para reabrir su negocio a medida que las condiciones continúan mejorando y comienza la recuperación en el área afectada.

Haga clic aquí para obtener actualizaciones del estado actual y estadísticas sobre el incendio, incluida la superficie afectada, que se actualiza periódicamente, y aquí para conocer los últimos cierres debido al incendio.

Leer en español

According to authorities, the crash happened April 22 at the intersection of Northwest 37^th Avenue and West Flagler Street in the city’s Flagami neighborhood.

Police said the victim, Asiel A. Escobar, was struck by an unknown vehicle while riding his motorcycle. The driver then fled north on Northwest 37^th Avenue.

Anyone with information about the vehicle or driver is asked to call the Miami Police Department at 305-603-6525 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Según las autoridades, el choque ocurrió el 22 de abril en la intersección de la avenida 37 del noroeste y West Flagler Street, en el vecindario Flagami de la ciudad.

La Policía dijo que la víctima, Asiel A. Escobar, fue impactada por un vehículo desconocido mientras conducía su motocicleta. El conductor luego huyó hacia el norte por la avenida 37 del noroeste.

Cualquier persona con información sobre el vehículo o el conductor debe llamar al Departamento de Policía de Miami al 305-603-6525 o a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

The measure that passed unanimously by voice vote Thursday was written as a change to the Senate’s rules, so it will go into effect immediately. It comes a week after a U.S. special forces soldier was charged with using classified information to bet on the January capture of Venezuela's then-president, Nicolas Maduro, and as lawmakers increasingly voice concerns about who might be making public wagers on the war with Iran.

“United States senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck, period,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who sponsored the resolution. An amendment by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., broadened the measure to include staff.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the move was a “no-brainer.” He encouraged the House and Trump administration to do the same.

“We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises or elections,” Schumer said. “That would destroy the very principle of representative government.”

Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have introduced a bill to ban all federally elected officials and government employees from using insider information to make prediction market bets. Young said the resolution was “a good first step” and he encouraged the Senate to take up their bill.

Prediction markets, including the betting platform Polymarket and its chief rival Kalshi, have come under scrutiny as the business has expanded. Polymarket has received particular criticism as a venue for offshore trades that are beyond the reach of U.S. regulators.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that a group of new accounts on Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the United States and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for the new customers. On the same day the AP published the report, the White House warned staff against using private information to trade on prediction markets.

The administration has been a key ally of the growing prediction market industry in a legal fight with states seeking to ban the platforms. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, is an adviser for both Polymarket and Kalshi. Trump’s social media platform Truth Social is also launching its own cryptocurrency-based prediction market called Truth Predict.

“The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world and Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things,” Trump said this month.

Leer en español

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the student called 911 shortly after 12:30 p.m., prompting deputies to respond to the school at 701 SE Sixth Ave.

“A short time later, Broward County Regional Communications also received reports of a possible threat to Cypress Bay High School in Weston,” a BSO spokesperson said in a news release. “BSO deputies and detectives with BSO TMU responded to both districts to investigate. Out of an abundance of caution, both schools were placed on lockdown.”

According to BSO, the first caller told the dispatcher they were “about to shoot the school (Deerfield Beach Middle).”

A BSO spokesperson said the caller was later identified as the Deerfield Beach Middle School student.

“He admitted to detectives that he was playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’ and if he lost, he would have to call 911,” the spokesperson said. “He lost the game and then called the emergency number saying he was about to shoot the school.”

The teen was arrested and transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center.

He faces charges of unlawful use of a two-way communication device, misuse of 911 and disruption of a school function, along with a felony charge of making a false report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner.

Detectives are also still investigating the threat made at 12:48 p.m. to Cypress Bay High School in Weston, which they said appears to be unrelated to the Deerfield Beach threat.

“This is not a game and there is nothing routine about these calls,” Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement. “Every report of a threat is thoroughly investigated and may lead to an arrest.”

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, el estudiante llamó al 911 poco después de las 12:30 p.m., lo que provocó que agentes acudieran a la escuela ubicada en el 701 de la avenida Sexta SE.

“Poco tiempo después, Broward County Regional Communications también recibió reportes de una posible amenaza a Cypress Bay High School en Weston”, dijo un portavoz de la BSO en un comunicado de prensa. “Agentes de la BSO y detectives de la BSO TMU respondieron a ambas zonas para investigar. Por precaución, ambas escuelas fueron puestas en confinamiento.”

Según la BSO, la primera persona que llamó le dijo al operador que estaba “a punto de disparar contra la escuela (Deerfield Beach Middle).”

Un portavoz de la BSO dijo que el autor de la llamada fue posteriormente identificado como el estudiante de Deerfield Beach Middle School.

“Admitió a los detectives que estaba jugando ‘piedra, papel o tijera’ y que si perdía, tendría que llamar al 911”, dijo el portavoz. “Perdió el juego y luego llamó al número de emergencia diciendo que estaba a punto de disparar contra la escuela.”

El adolescente fue arrestado y trasladado al Centro de Evaluación Juvenil.

Enfrenta cargos por uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación bidireccional, uso indebido del 911 y alteración de una función escolar, junto con un cargo grave por hacer un reporte falso sobre el uso de un arma de fuego de manera violenta.

Los detectives también continúan investigando la amenaza hecha a las 12:48 p.m. a Cypress Bay High School en Weston, la cual, según dijeron, parece no estar relacionada con la amenaza de Deerfield Beach.

“Esto no es un juego y no hay nada rutinario en estas llamadas”, dijo el sheriff del condado Broward, Gregory Tony, en un comunicado. “Cada reporte de una amenaza es investigado a fondo y puede conducir a un arresto.”

Add into it that this weekend's race is in Miami — traditionally one of the most-viewed of the season not only in the U.S. but worldwide — and hopes are high that casual viewers of the sport will be able to increase audiences.

“I think it’s a relaunch in a way. We’re treating it and we were treating it in a huge way anyway, and we’ve kind of probably even done a little more, but we’ve got a lot of things coming up for the race, so we’re very excited about it,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services.

Apple reached a five-year deal with the global motorsports series last fall, averaging $150 million per year. ESPN, which had carried F1 races since 2018, paid nearly $90 million during a three-year extension signed in 2022.

Miami is the first race since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29. The Iran war forced F1 to call off April's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Apple is showing the races in 4K Dolby Vision with immersive 5.1 surround sound. Viewers can watch up to four live feeds at once during practices, qualifying and races via multi-view displays. In addition to in-car cameras, there are timing and scoring channels.

Viewers can also choose either the commentary team from F1 TV or Sky Sports. ESPN used the Sky Sports feed when it aired the races.

“I think the first feedback that we’ve gotten in general is how good the video quality is because we do Dolby Atmos and we do 4K and we really don’t compress at the levels that all of the others do. The first time you watch a race, you’re like, ‘Wow, this looks amazing.’ The video and sound quality is just really, really good,” Cue said. "We’ve had almost a third of the people that are watching the race are taking advantage of multiview, because we’ve made it easy to do that where you can watch the key feed and watch your favorite cars."

Apple TV is also adding two shows before and after race weekends.

“Circuits in Focus” debuted on Thursday and features 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg and creator Emelia Hartford previewing the circuit where the race will be run heading into the weekend, including strategy and key areas of the track that could define the race. Rosberg and Hartford will use the EA Sports F1 25 video game to take viewers into the driver's seat to show where there will be chances for drivers to overtake or defend their position.

“POV” will take place after races. It features former Red Bull Racing senior technician Calum Nicholas as well as content creator and engineer Christina Roki as they react and analyze key points from the weekend from a technical point of view.

Apple is also adding an on-demand, 10-minute recap of qualifying to join its race reviews.

In addition to content in its sports app, Apple also offers detailed circuit layouts in its Maps app, driver-curated playlists in Apple Music, and content in Apple News and podcasts.

Besides the content on Apple, Sunday's race will be shown nationwide from 50 IMAX locations. The race will also be shown in Times Square in New York.

The Tubi streaming “The Fast Lane: Miami” altcast features YouTube influencers Michelle Khare and Jeremiah Burton along with F1 expert Scott Mansell.

Apple is not part of Nielsen’s ratings system, and the company has not released ratings on the first three races. Cue said they have been pleased with viewer figures.

“I think fans have in some ways been surprised by how good everything’s turned out. We haven’t released any numbers yet or anything. We’ve been very happy with it and you’ll soon see more about that,” Cue said.

___

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

For the first time in almost five decades, there will be a former chair on the central bank's board, potentially creating an alternate center of power. And on Wednesday multiple officials dissented from the Fed's statement, a sign they won't easily roll over for a new chair who has sharply criticized recent policy. Outgoing chair Jerome Powell — who announced he will remain on the board of governors for a “period of time, to be determined” — has also shown a new outspokenness since the White House launched an unprecedented legal investigation into a Fed building renovation.

Warsh “is inheriting an institution that will fight for independent, consensus-driven decision-making, a potential obstacle to his vision of wholesale ‘regime change,’” said Jon Hilsenrath, a senior advisor to StoneX and visiting scholar at Duke University.

It's all a sharp contrast to the previous three Fed chairs — Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and Powell — who were all Fed governors before becoming chairs in relatively smooth transitions.

At a news conference Wednesday, Powell indirectly acknowledged the unusual nature of his decision, when asked how it would work to have a current and former chair on the board: “I don’t know what the exact specifics of it will be," he said.

He also said he would move to the background as a governor, yet his presence could make it a bit harder for Warsh to cut the Fed's short-term rate, as Trump has loudly demanded. While Powell is considered by economists to generally favor lowering rates, he said inflation is “misbehaving” and signaled it could be months before a cut is considered.

“We no longer anticipate a rate cut in December,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, but expect the Fed to stay "on hold through the remainder of the year.”

On Wednesday, Powell emphasized that he is staying at the Fed to protect its political independence from the White House's legal attacks, rather than to push for any particular interest-rate policies.

“These legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113-year history,” Powell said. “I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors.”

Trump has sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied, in what has become a test case regarding how much power the White House has to remove Fed governors. Should Trump succeed in firing Cook, he would be able to fill her seat and have much more sway over the central bank's interest rate decisions.

Three of the seven governors are already Trump appointees. So far, courts have allowed Cook to remain in her position and the Supreme Court in January appeared to lean in her favor.

By staying on as governor, Powell will also deny Trump an opportunity to appoint a new governor. The president won't have another shot at filling a seat on the Fed's board until Powell leaves. While his term as chair ends May 15, he can serve as a governor until January 2028.

On Thursday, Trump said he didn’t care if Powell remained at the Fed: “If he stays on, he stays on,” the president told reporters. “I just wanted to make sure that Kevin became the head.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday criticized Powell's decision on Fox Business, calling it “highly unusual” and “a violation of all Federal Reserve norms.”

Powell, however, rejected the notion that his decision has injected politics into the Fed.

“I’m literally staying because of the actions that have been taken,” he said Wednesday. “I had long planned to be retiring and the things that have happened really in the last three months have left me no choice but to stay.”

Still, Powell said he planned to keep a “low profile” in his remaining time on the board, and would not be a “shadow chair.”

“That's just something I would never do,” he said. "There is only ever one chair of the Federal Reserve board. When Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, he will be that chair.”

The Senate is likely to confirm Warsh on a narrow, party-line vote the week of May 11. In a sign of the increasing politicization of the Fed, when Powell was confirmed for a second four-year term in 2022, the Senate vote was 80-19 in favor.

Warsh told a congressional committee last week that he would be an independent chair, but Trump has continued to say he expects his choice to reduce the Fed's key rate.

Yet on Wednesday Powell said the “center” of the committee was moving away from a bias toward cutting rates toward a more neutral stance. Three policymakers dissented from Wednesday's statement because they wanted to make that shift more explicit. A fourth official, Stephen Miran, voted to cut rates immediately, but he will be replaced by Warsh.

The four dissenting votes were the most since October 1992.

"A 34-year high in dissents is not exactly the welcome mat Mr. Warsh was hoping to see upon his arrival," Stephen Douglass, chief economist at NISA Investment Advisors, said in a note to clients. “He might want to wear a hard hat at his first meeting, and not only because the (Fed building) is still under construction.”

Leer en español

Jose Novo, CEO of Everglades Safari Park, rode an airboat through scorched marshland along the highway corridor, seeing for the first time how far the fire had spread after igniting Saturday.

“This was a pretty big fire and it spread very, very quick,” Novo said.

As of Thursday, the wildfire has burned approximately 8,500 acres across the Everglades, fueled by dry brush and long-dead vegetation scattered across the landscape.

From the water, the damage is uneven — large stretches of blackened sawgrass broken up by pockets of untouched greenery just feet away.

From the airboat, the burn scar extends for miles in some directions, showing how rapidly and irregularly the fire moved through the River of Grass.

Novo said the intensity of the fire was driven in part by accumulated fuel on the ground.

“It was very hot due to a lot of trees that have rotted and fell down throughout the years,” he said.

Officials say the fire is now about 20% contained, with only scattered hot spots remaining.

Despite the destruction, Novo said fire is part of the natural cycle of the Everglades ecosystem.

“The beautiful thing is is that in two or three weeks you’ll see all of the brand new shoots of green coming out,” he said.

He added that the burn helps clear out old vegetation and make way for new growth.

“It comes back stronger and gets rid of the old stuff,” Novo said.

With no active flames remaining, Novo said he is preparing to reopen his business as conditions continue to improve and recovery begins across the burned area.

Click here to get current status updates and statistics about the fire, including acreage, which is updated perodically, and here to get the latest closures due to the fire.

Job Listing: Floor Director

Looking for your start in television? Our ideal candidate is eager to learn and use this entry-level opportunity as a stepping-stone to their broadcasting future.

As a Floor Director Responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:

• Control the flow of information from the control room into the studio. Give time and hand cues, assist in studio logistics, as well as teleprompter operation.
• Assist Studio Supervisor with maintenance of the studios, property room, and basic facility services.
• Work along with the News Department in the preparation of news shows.

The ability to multitask in a fast-paced high-energy environment along with attention to detail is necessary. This job entails the climbing of ladders and working at heights above 15 feet with hand and power tools. As a floor director you will be trained and expected to learn other duties so that you may be candidates for future positions such as OverDrive directors, photographer/editors, etc… Therefore, we are looking for applicants preferably with a background in television with experience either in a control room atmosphere or with editing Avid as a plus.

***All of the essential functions of this position are not necessarily described in this posting.

***We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age gender, marital status, disability, matriculation or political affiliation. Any offer of employment is conditioned on successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks. A valid driver’s license is required.

Please follow link below to apply for Floor Director Position:

https://jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/wplg/CANDIDATEPORTAL/jobs/8922

WPLG/TV

Send resume to: Daniel Bruederlin

Control Room/Studio Supervisor

dbruederlin@wplg.com

3401 West Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Pembroke Park, Florida 33023

No phone calls please.

The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners' determination to reopen, follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. Those hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff, and missed chances for an evacuation that came too late as floodwaters ripped through the camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River in the early morning hours of July Fourth.

The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.

As recently as Tuesday, members of the Eastland family told state lawmakers the camp would be ready to open for business for nearly 900 campers on May 30. That swiftly changed with Thursday's announcement that the camp had withdrawn its application for a license renewal for 2026.

“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp has withdrawn its application.

The decision was praised by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who opposed the camp's reopening while investigations were ongoing.

“I am thankful to hear that, today, the Eastland family withdrew their application,” Patrick said in a statement. “Given the tragic circumstances, this is the correct decision to protect Texas campers and to allow time for all investigations to be completed.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not weighed in publicly on whether the camp should reopen, noted in a statement Thursday that the result of ongoing investigations into Camp Mystic by DSHS and the Texas Rangers “will be made public as soon as possible.”

Public hearings revealed cascading problems before and during storm

Several civil lawsuits have been filed against the camp and the Eastlands. The families of the victims have packed court and legislative hearings, often wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late. The testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed for “help!” somewhere in the distance.

Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors, had offered a tearful public apology to the victims’ families on Tuesday.

“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters ... I'm so sorry, ” Eastland said, with the victims’ families sitting behind him.

“We are grateful that no child will be placed in the Eastlands' care this summer,” said Cici and Will Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains the only victim still missing. The hearings proved the camp was not prepared for an emergency then or now, the Stewards said.

“But let there be no confusion about what happened today. Camp Mystic did not withdraw its application out of grace. It withdrew because the state of Texas was about to deny it,” the Stewards said.

The camp had seemed determined to reopen

Camp Mystic had been pressing hard to open in a few weeks. The camp invited journalists and lawmakers to review safety improvements at the camp, promised that no camp activities would take place in the low-lying area that was devastated and impressed that hundreds of families wanted to return, underscoring how special a place it was for generations of Texans.

But last week, state regulators noted nearly two dozen “deficiencies” in its emergency operations plan for this year. They included problems with flood warning evacuation plans, use of an emergency warning and public address system, monitoring safety alerts and training for campers about safety. State regulators noted that hundreds of other camps were also found to be deficient as they try to meet new safety standards enacted after the flood.

Camp Mystic officials insisted they would made the necessary corrections and said at least 850 campers signed up to return this year. Reports that so many families were prepared to send their daughters back this summer caused divisions within the close-knit community of Mystic alumni.

Camp director Britt Eastland told lawmakers this week he believed that the camp community would ultimately be grateful it had reopened this summer. That comment prompted several families to leave the hearing in anger.

Ongoing investigations into the tragedy

All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

Texas health regulators have said they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp's owners. The Texas Rangers are also looking into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.

“We never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that,” said Matthew Childress, father of 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress who died in the flood.

___

Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.

“Es un tema sin duda complejo y escabroso. Como gobierno nacional hemos puesto reiteradas quejas ante las autoridades de puertos chinos”, dijo Mulino durante su conferencia de prensa semanal.

Durante todo abril de 160 detenciones registradas en puertos chinos, 132 correspondieron a buques con bandera de Panamá, según datos del Port State Control Committee del Tokyo MOU, el órgano rector del Memorando de Entendimiento de Tokio en la región Asia-Pacífico, integrado por 22 autoridades marítimas.

“El tema de las detenciones sí ha aumentado exponencialmente. Mucho. No es normal. Los otros registros, sobre todo los dos que compiten con Panamá, tienen detenciones, pero muy por debajo de las panameñas. Eso no es casual. Eso no es fortuito”, sostuvo Mulino.

El mandatario aseguró que la situación “lleva intrínseco un mensaje político” y reiteró que Panamá ha quedado en medio de las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y China.

En los últimos días Estados Unidos y China intercambiaron comunicados por la situación de los buques de bandera panameña. China negó una presión a Panamá un día después de que Estados Unidos y varios países de Latinoamérica afirmaron que estaban alertas ante las acciones de Beijing.

La tensión ocurre luego de que el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump asegurara al inicio de su nuevo mandato que el Canal de Panamá estaba siendo controlado por China debido a que la firma hongkonesa CK Hutchison tenía la concesión de dos puertos estratégicos en cada entrada de la vía.

El pasado 29 de enero la Corte Suprema de Panamá declaró inconstitucional la concesión de dos puertos a orillas del Canal de Panamá que eran operados por CK Hutchinson.

El gobierno de Panamá tomó el control de los puertos de Balboa y Cristóbal en febrero y permitió que filiales de Maersk y Mediterranean Shipping Company asumieran las operaciones en esas terminales.

Mulino defendió la decisión panameña sobre los puertos.

“Lo que hicimos... era lo que había que hacer en función del derecho panameño. Se acabó el contrato de Panama Ports (filial local de CK Hutchinson) por una orden de la Corte y Panamá tenía que asumir el control de esos dos puertos inmediatamente”.

El gobierno panameño entregó por 18 meses la operación temporal de esas terminales a filiales de MSC y Maersk mientras se desarrolla una nueva licitación.

Panama Ports mantiene un arbitraje por 2.000 millones de dólares contra el Estado panameño y otro proceso contra Maersk.

“En lo que a mí respecta yo no tengo ningún interés de escalar este problema con China. Para eso están los dos procesos de arbitraje”, manifestó el mandatario panameño.

The Biennale said in a statement that the jury, made up of the president, Solange Farkas, and Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma and Giovanna Zapperi, had resigned. The brief statement didn't provide an explanation for the highly unusual move.

It came just days after the jury had announced it would not award prizes to countries charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. That includes Israel and Russia, whose participation in the first Biennale since its 2022 Ukraine invasion has been opposed by the Italian government.

The Russia participation has been a particular sore point, with Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli saying he would not attend previews of the exhibition next week or the May 9 opening day.

The Biennale's director, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, has refused to back down from allowing Russia to participate, even in the face of a visit by cultural ministry officials Wednesday to gather information about the reopening of the Russian Pavilion.

The Culture Ministry said the officials' visit was aimed at collecting documents to respond to an EU request for information after it cut 2 million euros last week in funding to the Biennale over Russia's participation. It added that the ministry had no role in the jury's resignation.

Giuli, meanwhile, has demonstrated strong support for Israel. The minister had a phone call Wednesday with the Israeli Pavilion's artist, Belu-Simion Fainaru, to express solidarity in the face of “recent attacks.”

The minister also “confirmed the Italian government's commitment against every form of discrimination and antisemitism in Italian cultural institutions,” his office said in a statement.

Fainaru said in a statement that he opposes “discrimination, racism, and boycotts in all their forms. I believe in the fundamental principles of freedom of creation and freedom of expression, which must remain at the core of any artistic platform.”

The jury was due to select winners of the highly prestigious Golden Lion for the best national pavilion and best participant in the main curated show on the official opening day, May 9.

Instead, the Biennale announced that visitors will select winners of two awards: Best Participant in the 61st Exhibition “In Minor Keys,” curated according to a plan by the late Koyo Kouoh, and the Best National Participation among the 100 national pavilions. It will be awarded on the closing day, Nov. 22.

Premier Giorgia Meloni, asked about the resignations, reiterated that the government didn’t agree with the Biennale’s decision to allow the Russians to participate, but acknowledged the Biennale's autonomy. Her government appointed Buttafuoco.

She said that she didn’t know if the resignations were connected to the Culture Ministry’s decision to send inspectors to Venice.

Cabinet Minister Matteo Salvini backed the decision to have visitors award the winners.

“So it will be an autonomous and democratic Biennale,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

The Biennale has in the past refused pressure to exclude countries, including Iran and Israel, from participating and this year reiterated that it “does not have the authority to prevent a country from participating. Any country recognized by the Italian Republic may request to participate.’’

Since Russia owns the pavilion built in 1914 in the historic Giardini, it was required only to send notification of its request to participate, the Biennale said.

Russian artists withdrew their participation in 2022, and Russia did not present an exhibition in 2024 for its permanent pavilion, which it instead lent to Bolivia. Russia last participated in the International Art Exhibition in 2019.

The Biennale contemporary art exhibition is the world’s oldest and most important, comprising a main curated exhibition alongside national pavilions, which are curated separately by the participating nations.

___

Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

Japan is pouring tons of money into everything from breeding to training and racing, with a turn to dirt-track runners over the past decade or so after turf was the focus for so long. Following a near miss with Forever Young in 2024, the investment could soon pay off in the form of a Kentucky Derby winner, with Danon Bourbon and homebred Wonder Dean the country's hopes in the race this year.

“We are getting closer,” racing manager Hiroshi Ando told The Associated Press outside the Japanese horses' barn Thursday. “For Japan, I think we’re able to change Japanese racing history again, like we did with Forever Young in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Our ambition is the Kentucky Derby right now, if possible.”

The ambition for a longer period of time has been the Arc De Triomphe on grass in Paris, because Japan's roots in racing are on turf. The Japanese Racing Association launched the Japan Cup in 1981 to promote the sport and get more national interest in it, and it has become the richest turf race in the world with a purse of $8.2 million.

“We tried to learn a lot of things from the techniques and lots of things from foreign countries, not only U.S. — from European countries,” said Tom Hashimoto, general manager of the JRA's New York Representative Office. “Developed not in a short period, (but) we make it. It took step by step and learn from other countries, and now we are very lucky to have so many good thoroughbreds.”

That history of quality thoroughbreds there dates to the early ‘90s, when 1989 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sunday Silence drew little breeding interest in the U.S. and was exported to Japan to stand as a stallion. He was Japan's leading sire for 13 consecutive years from 1995-2007, and his ancestors have won races all over the world.

Interest in mainstream dirt racing ramped up a little after that, around the time Victoire Pisa delivered Japan's first Dubai World Cup championship in 2011. American Pharoah, who won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 2015 to end a 37-year Triple Crown drought, is in Japan breeding until July.

“Obviously he produced a lot of good horses in Japan, too, so Japanese people love American Pharoah babies,” Ando said. "I’m really interested to see how his babies perform because we have many good Japanese mares."

While the result of his stay in Japan won't be evident for a few years, the country is churning out strong horses on a regular basis, coming a long way from its debut Ski Captain finishing 14th in 1995. Master Fencer in 2019 and Derma Sotogake in '23 each were sixth, and Forever Young was a very close third two years ago when Mystik Dan beat Sierra Leone by a nose.

The post time just before 7 p.m. at Churchill Downs makes the Kentucky Derby a first Sunday morning in May event in Japan, and all the horses coming from there running in it is making fans take notice.

“Last couple years, Japanese racing people understand the Kentucky Derby,” Ando said. “Even the public knows the Kentucky Derby now, which is great for betting, great for the industry.”

Ando just wants to keep experiencing the Derby, which he called the best atmosphere in racing — and addictive. The chance to have a Japanese presence almost annually is certainly no accident, given how intentional Japanese stakeholders have been about getting to the elite level of the sport.

“The important thing is, how does the money fund the horse racing industry as a whole?” Hashimoto said. “Not only the racing: breeding, training, training, training and racing and back to breeding. We have to invest the money to all the aspects of horse racing.”

___

This story has been updated to show Sunday Silence was Japan’s leading sire from 1995-2007, not 2008.

___

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

Una mujer recibió un disparo en el pecho, según agentes   que la encontraron poco después de la 1:35 p.m. del miércoles cerca de la avenida 22 del noroeste y la calle 90.

“Mientras veía televisión, escuché dos disparos, “POW! POW!”. Luego, escuché a alguien gritando, chillando”, dijo la testigo auditiva, quien pidió permanecer en el anonimato por temor a represalias.

El personal de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladó a la mujer al Ryder Trauma Center del Hospital Jackson Memorial, donde murió, según agentes  .

Agentes   detuvieron a un hombre y a una mujer y cerraron la calle 90 del noroeste desde la avenida 22 hasta la 21.

Dentro del área acordonada con cinta de la escena del crimen, un marcador de evidencia amarillo estaba en el suelo cerca de una silla alta de plástico tipo resina.

Residentes dijeron que las personas se habían quejado del crimen en el área y pidieron a los agentes   del M-DSO que “cerraran la esquina”. El jueves por la tarde, los agentes   mantuvieron barricadas naranjas para bloquear el área.

Detectives pidieron a cualquier persona con información sobre este u otros casos que llame a Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477 para permanecer en el anonimato.

El editor de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Carson Merlo, y la editora senior de asignaciones, Frine Gomez, contribuyeron a este informe.

Área de la escena del crimen

Vea el informe de las 3 p.m.

Los investigadores dijeron que el sitio, ubicado en 13105 SW 199th Ave., tenía suficiente basura y escombros como para llenar múltiples piscinas de tamaño olímpico.

Las autoridades dijeron que un detective comenzó a vigilar un camión de basura alrededor de las 4 p.m. del miércoles y siguió al conductor mientras ingresaba al lugar.

Desde el exterior, el detective vio al conductor arrojando desechos de jardinería en la propiedad, según un informe de arresto del MDSO.

“Había varias otras pilas de basura observadas en la propiedad consistentes con una estación de transferencia de vertido ilegal”, escribió el detective.

Las autoridades dijeron que el detective detuvo tanto al conductor del camión de basura como al “supervisor del vertedero” Walter Afitt Garcia, de 48 años, cuando Garcia abrió la puerta principal para permitir que el conductor saliera.

Según el informe, Garcia dijo que era “solo un empleado” del propietario del sitio Manny Dorta, de 39 años, y que “solo deja entrar y salir a los camiones”.

El informe indica que el conductor del camión de basura dijo a los investigadores que Garcia y Dorta “tienen permisos” para verter en el lugar y que “paga $300 USD por viaje y ha estado allí dos veces hoy”. También indica que dijo a los investigadores que Garcia “le dice dónde botar los escombros porque no alquilan toda la propiedad”.

El conductor del camión de basura no parece enfrentar cargos, pero Dorta figura como coacusado “prófugo”. Las autoridades dijeron que el sitio en realidad no tiene permiso para verter desechos sólidos ni de jardinería.

Las autoridades dijeron que obtuvieron una orden de registro para la propiedad y encontraron montones de “desechos de jardinería mezclados con plástico, tuberías, metal y espuma de poliestireno con un total de 418,388 pies cúbicos de volumen”.

Además de ser suficiente basura para llenar cuatro piscinas de tamaño olímpico y aproximadamente tres cuartas partes de una quinta, también sería suficiente para llenar más de 175 contenedores de envío estándar de 40 pies.

Agentes arrestaron a Garcia por un cargo grave de vertido ilegal de basura y un cargo menor por no obtener un permiso ambiental. Según los registros de la cárcel, estaba en libertad bajo fianza al momento de su arresto por dos cargos de agresión agravada con arma mortal, violencia doméstica y agresión a un agente del orden.

Según un informe de arresto separado del MDSO, esos cargos se derivan de un incidente del 9 de julio de 2025 en la casa de Garcia en el noroeste de Miami-Dade, en el que, bajo la influencia de drogas, apuñaló a uno de sus hermanos en la mano y golpeó a otro con un bastón metálico.

Un informe separado indica que también lanzó un plato y la pata de una silla de madera contra los agentes que respondieron.

Leer en español

Investigators said the site, located at 13105 SW 199th Ave., had enough trash and debris to fill multiple Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Authorities said a detective began surveilling a dump truck at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday and followed the driver as he drove into the site.

From the outside, the detective saw the driver dumping landscaping debris onto the property, an MDSO arrest report states.

“There were several other trash piles observed on the property consistent with an illegal dumping transfer station,” the detective wrote.

Authorities said the detective detained both the dump truck driver and “dump supervisor” Walter Afitt Garcia, 48, as Garcia opened the front gate for the driver to allow him to leave.

According to the report, Garcia said he was “just an employee” of site owner Manny Dorta, 39, and he “just lets trucks in and out.”

The report states that the dump truck driver told investigators that Garcia and Dorta “have permits” to dump at the site and said he “pays $300 per trip and has been there twice today.“ It states that he told investigators that Garcia “tells him where to dump the debris because they don’t lease the whole property.”

The dump truck driver doesn’t appear to be facing charges, but Dorta is listed as an “at large” co-defendant. Authorities said the site is not, in fact, permitted to dump solid or yard waste.

Authorities said they obtained a search warrant for the property and found piles of “landscaping debris mixed with plastic, pipes, metal and Styrofoam totaling 418,388 cubic feet in volume.”

Besides being enough trash to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools and about three-quarters of a fifth, it would also be enough to fill more than 175 standard 40-foot shipping containers.

Deputies arrested Garcia on a felony littering charge and a misdemeanor charge of failing to obtain an environmental permit. According to jail records, he was out on bond at the time of his arrest on two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, domestic battery and battery on a law enforcement officer.

According to a separate MDSO arrest report, those charges stemmed from a July 9, 2025 incident at Garcia’s northwest Miami-Dade home in which he, while under the influence of drugs, stabbed one of his brothers in the hand and beat another with a metal cane.

A separate report states that he also hurled a plate and wooden chair leg at responding deputies.

Garcia remained in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Thursday afternoon.

The quick action after weeks of political blame brought an abrupt end to the months-long standoff that began after Trump’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis launched a reckoning on Capitol Hill over the funding for the president’s agenda.

DHS has been without routine funds since Feb. 14, causing hardship for workers, though many of the immigration enforcement operations were able to keep running with separate funding sources. The White House had warned that temporary funding Trump had tapped to pay Transportation Security Administration and other agency personnel would “soon run out.” Some employees risked missed paychecks in May.

“It is about damn time,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, who proposed the bipartisan bill more than 70 days ago.

The House swiftly voted by voice earlier Thursday, without a formal roll call, to pass the measure.

The movement in Congress comes as DHS is under intense scrutiny after Trump ousted Kristi Noem as the department's leader, installing Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin in the middle of the shutdown. The agency counts some 260,000 employees, across TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA and other operations.

Many workers have endured repeated turmoil with potential furloughs and pay lapses as the congressional stalemate dragged on. This shutdown came on the heels of last year's governmentwide closure, which itself had set a record at 43 days. Countless employees have struggled with bills or simply quit their jobs.

Trump's deportation strategy fueled the dispute

In the aftermath of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens, by federal agents during protests against the immigration actions in Minneapolis, Democrats refused to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations.

At the same time, Republicans would not go along with a plan pushed by Democrats to fund TSA and the other parts of DHS without the money for ICE and Border Patrol. They insisted that immigration operations must not be zeroed out.

After the shutdown intensified, with hourslong lines at airport security screening, the Senate unanimously approved the bipartisan package without the immigration-related funds in a middle-of-the-night vote a month ago. Then the bill languished in the House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., himself had called the legislation a “joke.”

To break the impasse, Republican leaders in both the House and Senate decided to tackle the immigration enforcement funding on their own through what is called budget reconciliation, a cumbersome weekslong process ahead.

By beginning that path with a separate vote late Wednesday night, adopting a GOP budget resolution to eventually provide $70 billion for immigration and deportation operations for the remainder of Trump's term in 2029, Johnson was able to unlock the broader bipartisan bill for the rest of DHS.

Johnson acknowledged Thursday that while he had trashed the bipartisan bill before, the new budget process ensure that the immigration enforcement money eventually will flow “with no crazy Democrat reforms.”

“We threw a fit,” the speaker said. “We had to.”

But not all Republicans were pleased. During the quick floor action Thursday, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said isolating the immigration-related money on a separate track is “offensive to the men and women who serve in ICE and Border Patrol, and are serving this country every single day.”

White House warned paychecks were at risk, again

The White House had urged Congress this week to act, warning that the money Trump tapped to temporarily pay TSA and other workers through executive actions was drying up.

Immigration enforcement workers have largely been paid through the flush of new cash — some $170 billion — that Congress approved as part of Trump’s tax cuts bill last year. Others, including at the TSA, have had to rely on Trump’s intervention through executive action to ensure their paychecks. Most of its employees are considered essential and have remained on the job.

But with salaries topping a combined $1.6 billion every two weeks, Mullin said recently that the money was dwindling.

On Thursday, he said in a social media post that the shutdown "NEVER should have happened."

More than 1,000 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, according to Airlines for America, the U.S. airlines trade group that on Wednesday called on Congress to fully fund the Cabinet department.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said while workers are "pleased that Congress finally stepped up to do their jobs and fund DHS, it is unacceptable that it took them this long to do so.”

He said "federal employees are not political pawns. They are not leverage. They are Americans -– and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Complicated budget strategy ahead

The go-it-alone strategy under the budget resolution process is the same that was used last year to approve Trump’s tax cuts bill, which all Democrats opposed.

With the budget resolution now adopted by the House and Senate, lawmakers will next draft the actual $70 billion ICE and Border Patrol funding bill, with voting expected in May.

Trump has said he wants it on his desk by June 1.

___

Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Los abogados del rapero, cuyo nombre real es Jamell Demons, destacaron que el joven de 26 años ha estado en la cárcel durante siete años y no ha sido condenado.

Demons está acusado de asesinar a sus amigos de la infancia Christopher Thomas y Anthony Williams en octubre de 2018 tras una sesión de grabación nocturna y luego hacerlo parecer como una balacera desde un vehículo.

Su primer juicio terminó en un juicio nulo en 2023 después de que el jurado no lograra un veredicto unánime. Ese juicio incluyó acusaciones de manipulación de testigos.

La audiencia del jueves incluyó el testimonio de familiares del rapero y de un oficial de detención de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward sobre las condiciones de vida del rapero bajo custodia, que incluyen no tener acceso a un teléfono.

El oficial de detención de la BSO testificó sobre las oportunidades recreativas de Demons, indicando que sale a hacer ejercicio tres veces por semana.

Un juez determinará si puede ser liberado bajo fianza o permanecer bajo custodia mientras espera el nuevo juicio.

Leer en español

A woman was shot in the chest, according to deputies who found her shortly after 1:35 p.m. on Wednesday near Northwest 22 Avenue and 90 Street.

“As I was watching TV, I heard two gunshots, ‘POW! POW!’ Then, I heard someone hollering, screaming,” said the earwitness, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel took the woman to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where she died, according to deputies.

Deputies detained a man and a woman and closed Northwest 90 Street from 22nd to 21st avenues.

Within the area enclosed by crime scene tape, a yellow evidence marker was on the ground near a resin plastic high-back chair.

Residents said people had complained about crime in the area and asked for M-DSO deputies to “shut the corner down.” On Thursday afternoon, deputies kept orange barricades to block the area.

Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo and Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report.

Crime scene area

Watch the 3 p.m. report

In a social media post, Trump said he would nominate Saphier, whom he called “a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. complimented the nomination, calling Saphier “a long-time warrior for the MAHA movement.”

But at least in one instance, she hasn't been in lockstep with Trump's thoughts on health policy, telling The Associated Press in September that his cautions about pregnant women taking Tylenol were oversimplistic and “patronizing.”

Means' withdrawal came after her tense exchanges with lawmakers of both parties threw into question whether she could secure enough votes to advance out of the Senate health committee.

In an interview Thursday, Means said her nomination fell apart after a “yearlong smear campaign against me,” which she said was a larger effort to impugn the MAHA movement and its focus on reforming food and healthcare.

She said she will continue to “help with progress on this movement how I can.”

Means pitched ideas popular with MAHA

In nominating Means last May, Trump sought to hire a close Kennedy ally as the nation’s doctor. The 38-year-old Means, a Stanford-educated physician who became disillusioned with the health care system and pivoted to a career as an author and entrepreneur, promotes ideas popular with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that diet and lifestyle changes should be at the center of efforts to end widespread chronic disease.

But Means, who did not finish her surgical residency program and doesn’t currently have an active medical license, also had faced scrutiny for her lack of experience and potential conflicts. On top of those concerns, senators grilled her in February about Kennedy’s effort to pull back vaccine recommendations — leading to some contentious moments as Means toed the line between support for vaccines and calling them a decision best made by patients and their doctors.

In her confirmation hearing, Means was repeatedly asked about the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending for all children late last year in a move criticized by scientific and medical groups nationwide and currently blocked during a lawsuit. Means has raised doubts about the birth dose, posting on social media in 2024 that giving the vaccine to a newborn whose parents don’t have hepatitis B was “absolute insanity.”

Means' nomination had languished since the late February confirmation hearing, even as activists from the MAHA movement orchestrated a push to support her bid by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. They had both indicated reservations with the pick.

Means told The Associated Press her understanding was that Murkowski wasn't going to vote for her, and Collins had serious reservations.

“I think there was some talking past each other,” Means said of her conversations with the senators, noting they seemed focused on vaccines when she “wasn't coming in with any agenda to impact the vaccine conversation.”

In post Thursday, Trump called Means “a strong MAHA Warrior” and also criticized the “intransigence and political games” from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the chair of the Senate health committee, who is facing a tough reelection this year and who interrogated Means about vaccines during the hearing.

Means' brother, Calley Means, a health adviser to the Trump administration, blamed Cassidy in a social media post, claiming his “constant delay tactics” sank the nomination because he didn't bring Means' nomination to a committee vote. Kennedy later piled on with his own post claiming Cassidy “did the dirty work for entrenched interests seeking to stall the MAHA movement.” Cassidy didn't respond to a request for comment.

Now Trump will try to fill the post a third time

Means is the second U.S. surgeon general pick whose nomination has been withdrawn in Trump’s second term. Trump withdrew his first nominee, Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions were raised about her academic credentials.

Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, according to her profile on the New York-based institution’s website. She has a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados along with fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, the profile said.

Like Means, Saphier has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

“I don't necessarily think it's necessary,” she said on a podcast in September. “My opinion is if a woman recently tested negative for hepatitis B and they’re living a low-risk lifestyle, no IV drug use, not a sex worker, they don’t have a hepatitis B positive person living in the home, then the newborn probably doesn’t need this vaccine and we can have a conversation about whether or not they should get the vaccine later in life.”

She also has criticized COVID vaccine booster requirements, arguing on a radio show in September that they were not always rooted in evidence.

Saphier used the phrase “Make America Healthy Again” years before Kennedy popularized it. It was the title of a book she wrote in 2020 that criticized government handling of health care and the Affordable Care Act.

In at least one case, Saphier has diverted from Trump’s medical messaging. Last year, as Trump advised pregnant women, “Don’t take Tylenol” — promoting unproven and in some cases discredited ties between the medication, vaccines and autism — Saphier said that while pregnant women generally are advised to take acetaminophen only under medical supervision, when necessary and at the lowest effective dose, equally important was that untreated fever or severe pain can also pose serious risks to mothers and babies. She noted that part was missing from Trump's message, delivered at a press conference with top U.S. health officials.

“For decades, women have endured a paternalistic tone in medicine. We’ve moved past dismissing symptoms as ‘hysteria,’” Saphier wrote in an email to the AP at the time. “The President’s recent comments on Tylenol in pregnancy are a prime example. Advising moderation was sound; delivering it in a patronizing, simplistic way was not.”

On a podcast at the time, Saphier said the press conference was “full of hyperbole” and “really painful to watch."

Saphier did not respond to a request for comment.

___ Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

El incidente ocurrió el martes alrededor de las 9:30 p.m. en la cuadra 100 de Southeast Seventh Street en Deerfield Beach.

Según los agentes, la esposa de la víctima estaba paseando a su perro frente a su casa cuando su vecino, identificado por la Policía como Scott Surace, se le acercó con su perro, el cual ella temía que se volviera agresivo hacia su mascota.

Después de que le pidieran a Surace que mantuviera a su perro alejado, los agentes dijeron que comenzó a mostrarse agresivo, por lo que la mujer llamó a su esposo y entró a su casa.

Según las autoridades, después de que su esposo regresó a casa, estaba preparándose la cena cuando escuchó “lo que sonaba como impactos contra el frente de su casa” y salió corriendo para ver a Surace huyendo “mientras se reía” y notó que la vivienda había sido atacada con huevos.

En ese momento, los agentes dijeron que Surace regresó a la casa de la víctima con un palo de golf y dijo “¿Quieres ir a la guerra? Usaré esto contra ti” mientras sostenía el palo sobre su cabeza y lo blandía de una manera que los agentes describieron como “amenazante”.

Las autoridades indicaron que Surace luego huyó en un scooter eléctrico antes de que llegaran los agentes, pero fue detenido más tarde en la noche cuando regresó a su casa.

Durante la investigación, los agentes dijeron que también encontraron que un neumático del vehículo de la víctima había sido cortado, y que “aunque no se vio a Surace cortando los neumáticos, se puede concluir que probablemente fue responsable”.

Las víctimas dijeron a los agentes que han tenido problemas con Surace durante varios años, afirmando que “él cree que ellos son asociados de la mafia que están tras él”, según el informe de arresto.

Después de su arresto, Surace dijo a los agentes que estaba “a solo 50 pies” de las víctimas y que “tomó un palo de golf para defenderse”, antes de decir a los agentes que sus acciones entrarían bajo la ley de “defensa propia” después de que se le informaran los cargos.

Los detectives dijeron que “era evidente que Scott estaba en un estado de delirio y que si no recibe tratamiento probablemente se convertiría en una amenaza para otros”.

Surace finalmente fue acusado de agresión agravada con un arma mortal sin intención de matar y daños criminales con daños a la propiedad de $200 USD o menos.

No figuraba entre los reclusos de la cárcel del condado Broward hasta la tarde de este jueves.

But one distinguished guest — even if his fleeting stop consisted of a three-and-a-half-minute speech — brought a buzz that had some members of high society lining up along velvet ropes and craning their necks inside Christie's New York auction house. That would be King Charles III, who made his first appearance in the five-year history of the event supporting his nonprofit that helps young people find work.

The excitement was evident from the red carpet. Charlotte Tilbury, the British cosmetics entrepreneur, asked Martha Stewart, who wore a sparkling blue dress, if she would tell Charles that she wore “royal blue just for you.” Natasha Poonawalla — the executive director of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer — said “everyone's been waiting for him."

“I think the fact that he’s here is going to strengthen the presence of the foundation so much more," Poonawalla said.

It appears so. Organizers reported a record fundraising total exceeding $3 million, affirming hopes that the arrival of the monarch and Queen Camilla might boost the sum collected Wednesday as the nonprofit tries to establish an endowment for its work in the United Kingdom and deepen its relationships in more than two dozen countries.

Charles is wrapping up the first visit to the U.S. since his coronation, a four-day trip intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain and strengthen the countries' fraying relationship.

The King's Trust counts 1.5 million people worldwide who have been reached in some way by its education and employment programs over the past 50 years. In brief remarks before guests sat for dinner, Charles noted that many of their beneficiaries return to support disadvantaged young people much like themselves.

“Only now do quite a lot of them actually admit they were started (here),” he joked.

Edward Enninful, the former editor-in-chief of British Vogue and a co-chair of the gala, has seen the trust's impact in West London. He said his cousins and brothers have been able to make something of their lives despite being classed by society as “not worthy.”

He described Charles' appearance as the nonprofit's “glory moment."

“He’s set the example that philanthropy matters," Enninful told The Associated Press. "No matter how well you are doing, you’re not doing enough unless you’re passing it on to a newer generation.”

The event was more intimate than previous years with just about 160 guests. There weren't musical performances either; Richie informed guests from the get-go that he wouldn't be singing, prompting Charles to joke that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer “must gargle with port.” Other attendees included supermodels Karlie Kloss and Iman, actors Leo Woodall and Meghann Fahy as well as designers Donatella Versace and Stella McCartney.

Stewart recalled her own luck as she built a multi-million-dollar media empire centered around cooking, entertaining and homemaking. The lifestyle entrepreneur said she paid for her “fine education” through scholarships. And she was fortunate that all of her jobs were “excellent.”

“But I know today there’s a big challenge in getting a good job, a big challenge in getting a good education,” she said. "And we’re here to help those people.”

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Leer en español

The incident happened on Tuesday around 9:30 p.m. along the 100 block of Southeast Seventh Street in Deerfield Beach.

According to deputies, the victim’s wife was walking her dog in front of her home when her neighbor, identified by police at Scott Surace, approached her with his dog, which she feared would become aggressive toward her dog.

After Surace was asked to keep his dog away, deputies said he began to get aggressive, so the woman called her husband and went inside her home.

According to authorities, after her husband returned home, he was making himself dinner when he heard “what sounded like impacts against the front of his home” and rushed outside to see Surace running away “while laughing” and noticed the home had been egged.

That’s when deputies said Surace returned to the victim’s home with a golf club and stated “You want to go to war? I’ll use this on you” while holding the club over his head and swinging it in what deputies described as “a threatening manner.”

Authorities said Surace then took off on an electric scooter before deputies arrived, but he was apprehended later in the evening when he returned home.

During their investigation, deputies said they also found that a tire on the victim’s vehicle had been slashed, and that “while Surace was not seen slashing the tires, it can be concluded that he was likely responsible.”

The victims told deputies that they have had issues with Surace for several years, stating that “he believes that they are associates of the mafia who are out to get him,” according to an arrest form.

After his arrest, Surace told deputies that he was “only 50 feet away” from the victims and that he “grabbed a golf club to defend himself,” before telling deputies his actions would fall under the “stand your ground” statute after he was informed of his charges.

Detectives said that “it was evident that Scott was in a state of delusion and that if left untreated he would likely become a threat to others.”

Surace was ultimately charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and criminal mischief with property damage $200 or less.

He was not listed among Broward County jail inmates as of Thursday afternoon.

“The sport has changed a lot, the world has changed a lot,” Bottas said Thursday, a day after he discussed his own struggles in an essay for “ The Players' Tribune."

“There's better ways for people to communicate and share their issues, or anything from the past. It's definitely a more welcoming environment for everyone in F1, but I think also the whole world.”

Bottas said he was approached by the outlet late last year and began the process of writing the essay titled “Born Crazy” that was released ahead of the rookie Cadillac team making its North American debut this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix. Bottas, who is from Finland, and Sergio Perez of Mexico are the drivers for the team that considers itself the only true American team in the global series.

He said he agreed to open up to the publication in an effort to show the intense personal battles drivers work through in the ultra-competitive racing world.

“I think it's important to highlight that we're all humans and no one is perfect. Everyone has their struggles or their issues,” Bottas said. “Hopefully somebody can learn from other people's mistakes. Part of life is learning about your mistakes.”

Being a wingman broke Bottas

In the piece, Bottas revealed that during his time as a driver for Mercedes he was pushed to the brink of depression and despised F1 when he was relegated to “wingman” for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He also disclosed an earlier two-year struggle with an eating disorder.

Bottas spent five seasons as Hamilton’s teammate following a 2017 promotion from Williams.

“First season was good,” he told the Players’ Tribune. “I started the 2018 season thinking that I was the best driver on the grid, and that I was going to win the championship.”

But he instead went winless and sacrificed track position often to help Hamilton win the title.

“Do you know how badly I wanted to just say no?” he said. “But I had to be a good teammate. I let him through, and of course he had an incredible season. He was the champion. I was ‘the wingman.’

“To this day, I have complicated feelings about it. I don’t know how to answer when people ask me about it, because Lewis is an incredible driver and a friend. I have no bad blood with Mercedes ... but the whole situation almost made me walk away from the sport."

The situation nearly broke him mentally.

“The old me came back. The negative Valtteri. The obsessive Valtteri. I was reading too many comments on social media, and I started to become very self-loathing," he said in the essay. "Thankfully, I had the tools from my experience in 2014 to understand what was happening, and I had plenty of support.”

Early career eating disorder

The 2014 reference was to Bottas' battle with an eating disorder that “completely consumed” him.

“It was like a game to me. I’d wake up and weigh myself every morning, and when I’d see the number go down, I’d feel a deep satisfaction," he said. "After two months of spiralling, my nerves were shot. I would wake up at 4 a.m. on my own, no alarm. I was like a drug addict, ‘I’ve never felt better!’ Ha. Completely delusional. The actual reason I was waking up so early was that my body was in starvation mode.”

He said he had struggled to find any joy and was “just so angry and negative about everything.” Bottas said his then-wife asked him if he feared the risks of racing, but he'd become so detached that he told her “‘No. If I die, I die.’”

“At that moment, I realized that I genuinely did not care what happened to me anymore," he revealed. "Not long after that, I decided to get some help. I started seeing a psychologist, and I finally admitted out loud that I was unwell. It took me almost two years to feel like myself again.”

His descent into depression began again in 2018 when it became clear he would only ever be in the shadow of Hamilton.

“I was definitely depressed and burnt out. I hated racing. During that winter break before the 2019 season, I did not think that I was going to come back," he said. "That winter break, I made the decision that I was going to retire. Then I went for a walk one day in the forest. I walked in the deep snow for maybe three hours and I walked out of those woods with a completely different mindset.”

Help is out there

Bottas said Thursday he isn't sure what sort of reaction his essay has received because it had only been released the day prior and he has avoided social media. But he hopes the essay shows others there are resources available and the stigma surrounding mental health has changed.

“The whole sport has evolved a lot. Everything is more professional,” Bottas said. “I also think when it comes to coaching, physical coaching, mental coaching, that level also has gone up. There is more support available. There's better packages for drivers when it comes to mental coaches. I think people are less afraid of seeking for help, seeking for support, because these things are now talked about more.”

___

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

Prices rose at the fastest pace in almost three years last month, U.S. economic growth is steady and layoffs fell last week, according to a slew of economic data released Thursday.

The inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve — the Commerce Department's Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — rose 0.7% from February to March and 3.5% from a year earlier. The year-over-year gain was the biggest since May 2023.

No secret what was driving the increase: Gasoline prices shot up 21% in March from February after Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli attacks by closing the Strait of Hormuz and creating the biggest disruption of oil supplies in history.

The same data showed that prices outgrew American incomes — wages, business income and government benefits — for the second straight month in March.

The Commerce Department also reported Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the output of goods and services — grew at a steady 2% annual pace from January through March, slower than economists expected, but a rebound from lackluster 0.5% growth during the final three months of 2025. In the October-December quarter, the 43-day federal government shutdown had slashed more than a percentage point off growth.

Business investment is surging because of the AI boom. Excluding housing, business investment surged 10.4% in the first quarter, biggest jump in nearly three years.

From January through March, consumer spending — accounting for 70% of U.S. economic activity — expanded at a 1.6% annual pace. Americans were helped by big tax refunds, the result of President Donald Trump's 2025 tax cuts.

But the boost might not last long. “Rising tax refunds were outpacing the increased burden of gasoline spending two to one in March and most of April,” wrote Michael Pearce, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. "With tax refund season winding down and gas prices still climbing, the hit to consumer spending will become more evident from May.''

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped another 7 cents overnight to $4.30. The price on this date last year was $3.18. In each of the past three days, gasoline prices have set new multi-year highs.

Forced to spend more on gasoline, consumers are likely to cut back their spending on other goods and services. Economists are already expecting GDP to take a hit as they do. Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax and advisory firm, has downgraded his forecast for U.S. economic growth this year to 1.7% from the 2.4% he'd expected earlier.

“A year that was set to benefit from tail winds associated with a large tax cut and boom in artificial intelligence-led investment has been partially derailed by the impact of what as of today is an adverse and growing supply shock caused by the war in Iran,” Brusuelas said. “Unfortunately, war and the supply shock that ensued has altered the probable growth path this year.”

The combination of rising prices — and the threat to economic growth — has put the Fed and other central banks in a bind. Should they cut interest rates to help their economies? Or hold off — or even consider raising rates — to combat the threat of inflation?

So far, they are staying put. The Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold at 3.75% Thursday and hinted of hikes to come as policymakers assess the war's economic impact. Likewise, the Fed, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, with all opting for no change as they assess the economic fallout from the conflict.

Still, U.S. workers enjoy considerable job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs — tumbled last week to the lowest level in more than 50 years.

Companies aren't letting workers go — but they aren't necessarily eager to hire much either. Job growth last year was the weakest outside a recession since 2002. And it's been up and down so far this year — strong in January (160,000 new jobs) and March (178,000) but weak in February when employers slashed 133,000 jobs.

Economists describe “no-hire, no-fire’’ scenario that locks young applicants out of the job market. At the same time, there are growing worries that AI is taking entry-level jobs.

____

AP Business Writer Matt Ott in Washington contributed to this story.

The order is intended to help more people gain access to retirement plans before next year, when the federal government will start matching retirement contributions made by lower-income workers.

That new matching contribution, known as the Saver’s Match, comes from 2022 legislation passed under Democratic President Joe Biden. Starting in January, it will offer a match of up to $1,000 for workers who make less than $35,000 a year.

Trump’s order is meant to help make the match available to roughly 50 million people who do not have retirement plans offered by their employers. The Republican president directed the Treasury Department to launch TrumpIRA.gov, where workers will be able to compare private-sector retirement plans.

“For millions of Americans who lack employer-sponsored plans, this will be really revolutionary, because they’ll be covered,” Trump said at an Oval Office signing ceremony.

He is not offering a new government retirement plan but helping match workers with existing plans from private companies.

Details of the order were first reported by the news outlet Semafor.

Trump discussed the idea during his State of the Union address in February, when he noted that about half the people in the country do not have access to employer-provided retirement plans with matching contributions.

“To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year my administration will give these often-forgotten American workers — great people, the people that built our country — access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker,” Trump said.

The Saver’s Match program will offer a maximum match of $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples who file jointly. The maximum will be limited to single filers earning less than $20,500, with smaller matches offered for those earning up to $35,500. It applies to contributions made toward 401(k) plans, IRAs and Roth IRAs.

Trump said he wants to take the match “to the next level” by asking Congress to expand it to those with incomes higher than $35,000 a year. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said many middle-income earners also lack access to employer retirement plans.

“We’re working with Congress to significantly expand this program and are looking forward to legislation this year,” Hassett said at the ceremony.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the income threshold for the Saver’s Match benefit is $35,500, not $46,000.

BET announced Thursday that the 31-year-old comedian and digital creator will lead the ceremony, which airs live June 28 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Druski surpasses Kevin Hart, who previously held the distinction as the BET Award's youngest host when he emceed in 2011.

“I grew up watching the BET Awards,” Druski said in a statement. “To know the comedic legends that hosted before me set the bar so high, I’m just grateful to be a part of the history. But I’m still bringing my brand of comedy to the stage.”

Best known for his viral sketches and improvisational style, Druski has built a massive following across social media, translating that momentum into sold-out tours and high-profile collaborations with artists including Drake and Snoop Dogg, as well as appearances alongside figures like Tom Brady and Timothée Chalamet.

Druski has been named to Forbes’ Under 30 list and Rolling Stone’s Most Influential Creator list, and in 2025 became the first comedian to cover Billboard’s No. 1s issue.

Now in its 25th year, the BET Awards has long served as a major stage celebrating Black achievement across music, film, television and sports, and is known for its performances, tributes and culturally defining moments.

“As one of the most exciting comedic voices of his generation, Druski brings a unique ability to connect with audiences through humor that feels both fresh and deeply rooted in culture,” said Connie Orlando, BET’s executive vice president of specials, music programming and music strategy.

The show will be produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, with Jesse Collins,Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as executive producers.

Other women can pick up on this. Many would even argue that it’s instilled in us from a young age through what we watch and the environments we grow up in. So daughters often grow up celebrating their mothers with intention, because we are tuned in to what is expected and what is needed from the people we love. Women understand the value of a thoughtful gift or even simple consideration on a global holiday like this. Weeks, sometimes months, go into planning something special not just for their mothers, but for sisters, friends, and even colleagues.

Men, on the other hand, sometimes let the day slip their minds, even though the holiday is advertised weeks in advance. It can start to feel like a secondhand Valentine’s Day: last-minute reservations, rushed trips down store aisles, grabbing teddy bears and flowers that no one really asked for, scratching their heads over what to cook or where to send the kids so mom can finally rest.

Although men and women are wired differently, one thing most would agree on is that Mother’s Day may be a small gesture but it deserves big respect.

Still, could it be that men are simply caught in the middle? With a wife, mother, sister, and mother-in-law all expecting something from you? Not to mention running a company filled with women who want to feel appreciated too. How do you meet the needs of so many when you already carry so much? For some, the day can bring stress and quiet anxiety, even a hint of resentment, wondering whether the same level of consideration would be returned on another holiday.

And then there’s a small group of cavemen who just choose not to remember the day at all. No shade but they should be mentioned. You know the one who ignores both his wife and his mother, leaving his poor sister to save the day. Or the one who uses financial support as justification for skipping a gift for his wife, yet expects her to buy one for his mother and bring the kids over to Nana’s house with flowers and cards lovingly covering up the fact that he couldn’t even show up.

We’ve all been there, and we all know someone like that. Relationships and the health of them play a psychological role in how mothers are treated on this day.

According to a 600-person survey conducted through Google Consumer Surveys and published by Jolly Good Gifts, men and women participate in Mother’s Day celebrations at roughly similar rates, but their methods differ significantly. The survey found that men are 44% more likely than women to give their mothers flowers and 39% more likely to make a phone call. However, men are 19% less likely to send a paper card and 38% less likely to give a special gift. In contrast, women are 61% more likely than men to purchase a special gift and 24% more likely to send a paper card, though they are 28% less likely to call and 31% less likely to give flowers. The survey also noted that 46% of men and 44% of women reported not participating in traditional Mother’s Day activities, with participation varying by age. 70% of respondents under 45 reported celebrating, compared to just 35% of those 55 and older.

Broader consumer data compiled by Gitnux shows that 92% of Americans acknowledge Mother’s Day, making it one of the most widely recognized holidays in the country. The data also indicates that 75% of consumers begin shopping at least two weeks in advance, and women are 60% more likely than men to purchase gifts for other mothers beyond their own.

In Miami, the celebration often carries an added layer of culture and community. In many Hispanic and Caribbean households , which make up a large portion of South Florida, Mother’s Day is rarely a quiet exchange of flowers and cards. It can mean multigenerational brunches in Little Havana, packed church services in North Miami, or entire families gathering at Abuela’s or Nana’s house with food that took two days to prepare. The expectation to show up is not subtle; it’s cultural. In a city where family ties run deep, and motherhood is often honored loudly and collectively, the pressure to celebrate well can feel even greater, especially for sons and daughters navigating tradition, modern schedules, and shifting gender roles.

With all that data and information in mind, it’s fair to say men and women support moms the best way they know how. Still, the numbers suggest that women often lean more toward sentimental and detailed gift-giving not only for their mothers, but for the maternal figures closest to them. This data isn’t meant to belittle or discourage men when it comes to giving. Instead, it’s an invitation, a gentle challenge to approach the day with less stress and more intention.

In the end, it truly is the thought that counts. Thinking about mothers should never feel like a strain or punishment, because they would bend backward for the world without hesitation. Feeling special, loved, and valued is often enough to make her glow. With just a sprinkle of time and effort poured into one day out of the year, the everyday weight of motherhood can feel a little lighter.

The grass is greener where you water it. So in honor of Mother’s Day, don’t forget this small but powerful trick. Show up with care, show up with heart, and maybe next time the love you give won’t just play its part, it will come back around, full circle, right from the start.

To reveal how Mother’s Day changes as a child ages, nearly a dozen South Florida residents were asked to briefly recall how they spent Mother’s Day at different points in their lives, from early childhood to young adulthood. These anecdotes were then analyzed and split into categories, depending on factors such as whether the children made their mothers a card at school, went out for dinner, or made them breakfast in bed.

First, respondents were asked how they remember spending Mother’s Day at any point from the ages of 0 to 5 years old.

The largest share of respondents — more than 60 percent — recall making their moms a gift, such as a card or origami flowers, at school during the week of Mother’s Day. This is perhaps unsurprising, as preschool and kindergarten classes often involve lots of arts and crafts activities, and young toddlers with little independence or awareness of cultural events are unlikely to make or buy a gift without the guidance of a teacher. As one South Florida resident, Kelly Rengifo, recalled:

“For mothers day, me and my sister gave her cards we made in school and ate a special dinner together as a family.”

It’s only in later stages of childhood, such as when a child is 6 to 10 years old, that they start gaining agency over how they choose to celebrate the women that brought them into the world.

At a glance, this batch of data tells largely the same story as the first — children are more likely to go out to family dinners at restaurants than make a homemade gift — but there are significant changes as well. As an example, in this stage, children are now more likely to give their mothers a store-bought gift than one they made at school, reflecting the decline in seasonal arts and crafts activities in grade school versus preschool and kindergarten.

Additionally, a new category is added to the mix: Service. As children enter this age range, they become aware of the effort it takes to be a mother, and as such, might help with household chores as an intangible gift. One respondent, Samirah Mustafa, had this to say about how she spent Mother’s Day at 9 years old:

“[My sister, my dad and I] woke up early and cooked breakfast for my mom to deliver it to her in bed. It was pancakes, eggs, and fresh fruit. We then helped her clean the house and gave her cards we made in school.”

As a child with little to no disposable income, helping mom with household duties or errands can be a way to show gratitude for everything she does without spending any money, and as shown in the next set of data, it only seems to get more common as children grow into preteens and adolescents.

Between the ages of 11–15, acts of service are doubly as popular among respondents as it was during the previous age bracket, but there’s also a more significant change: store-bought gifts now top the list by a wide margin. While very few children in this age range are making their own cash at this point, they now have the ability to go to a store with a parent and play a role in choosing a gift — like jewelry, clothing, or a household appliance — even if a parent is the one making the purchase.

At this age, it seems, children are initiated into the nationwide ritual of holiday consumerism. According to the National Retail Foundation, Americans spend a total of $34 billion on Mother’s Day, a total that has increased almost every year since 2020. $6.8 billion of that amount goes towards jewelry, while $3.2 billion goes towards flowers.

As teenagers age into young adulthood, they become deeper entrenched in the consumer culture of Mother’s Day, as depicted in the final set of South Florida survey data.

In the 16–year-old to 20-year-old age range, 88% of respondents recalled buying a gift at a store for Mother’s Day. This is unsurprising, since at this age, teenagers and young adults usually get their first jobs, open bank accounts, and start accruing a significant amount of their own money for the first time.

Restaurant outings tie retail gifts for the top spot, with 88% of respondents also going out to eat. Rengifo recalls:

“I took my mom to breakfast and bought her a purse she wanted.”

According to research from the National Restaurant Association, 34% of consumers plan to celebrate Mother’s Day by going out to eat at a restaurant, while another 12% order takeout from a restaurant. However, Rengifo is one of just 13% of restaurant-goers who go out to breakfast for Mother’s Day, with most opting for dinner or lunch.

In a city as bustling as Miami, Mother’s Day festivities can cause a noticeable uptick in attendance at restaurants such as Korean Kitchen, an Asian eatery in North Miami Beach. One employee at the establishment, Angelina Shi, reports seeing “more people taking their moms out to eat,” but maintains an optimistic attitude, saying:

“I enjoy working on Mother’s Day […] because customers are usually nicer and tip more, and I can tell the moms really feel the love because they smile a lot.”

The roles of mothers, sons, and daughters are always changing as children age from infants into toddlers, and from adolescents into adults. But however families choose to spend the second Sunday of May, one thing stays the same: the desire to go the extra mile for those they love, and to make the mothers in their lives feel appreciated.

Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez, 41, went missing while heading to Miami with a shipment of vehicles he picked up April 16 at the Port of Brunswick on the Georgia coast, according to the FBI.

He was last spotted at a rest stop along Interstate 95 in Brevard County, Florida, in the early morning hours of April 17. His tractor-trailer was found later that day about 320 miles (515 kilometers) away in Port Wentworth, Georgia, west of Savannah. The FBI said Gonzalez and several of the cars he was hauling were missing.

A body was discovered that day in coastal Glynn County, Georgia, nearly 80 miles (128 kilometers) south of where the semitrailer was found. Investigators confirmed it was Gonzalez's body, Tony Thomas, an FBI spokesman in Atlanta, said Thursday.

Thomas said he couldn't provide further details, citing the active investigation. No charges or arrests have been announced.

Gonzalez, a commercial truck driver, pulled into the Florida rest stop on April 17 at about 1:20 a.m., the FBI said when it posted a missing person bulletin for Gonzalez last Friday. He had completed more than half his trip to Miami.

The semitrailer's GPS showed it began moving again hours later, at about 7:50 a.m., the FBI said. The truck drove south a short distance on I-95, taking the first available exit. It then turned north, heading back toward Georgia.

The FBI said three of the vehicles missing from Gonzalez's truck when it was located in Georgia were later found in Florida, but others haven't been found.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.3% from 6.23% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s still down from one year ago, when the rate averaged 6.76%.

The increase ends a three-week slide, bringing the average rate back to where it was two weeks ago.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also moved higher this week. That average rate rose to 5.64% from 5.58% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.92%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

This week’s uptick in the average rate on a 30-year home loan follows a rise in the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.39% in midday trading on the bond market Thursday, up from 4.34% a week ago. The yield was at just 3.97% in late February, before the war with Iran broke out.

As recently as late February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage had slipped just under 6% for the first time since late 2022. It's hasn’t fallen below that threshold again in the weeks since the conflict in the Middle East began, sending energy prices soaring and heightening worries about higher inflation.

Bond yields, and mortgage rates, have remained volatile as the conflict drags on.

High oil prices helped push the Federal Reserve to announce Wednesday that it’s continuing to hold off on cuts to interest rates.

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

While lower rates could give the economy a boost, they simultaneously risk worsening inflation, which could in turn lead to higher mortgage rates.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. They have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February and March from a year earlier.

Even with its recent swings, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage remains nearly half a percentage point below what it was a year ago.

Still, the mortgage rate uncertainty has clouded the outlook for the spring homebuying season, traditionally the busiest stretch of the year for the housing market.

A recent measure of pending U.S. home sales, which tracks when a buyer signs a contract to buy a home, showed a mixed picture of the housing market.

Pending home sales rose 1.5% compared to February, but fell 1.1% compared to March last year, the National Association of Realtors reported earlier this week. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a bellwether for future completed home sales.

“There are some signs of life among buyers, as pending sales have inched up ever so slightly over the past four weeks,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “But the fact remains that we are not going to see rates fall below 6% anytime soon, and the spring housing market is going to be much more subdued than forecasts suggested at the end of last year.”

The indictment named a number of sitting officials in Sinaloa, including members of Sheinbaum's progressive Morena party, fueling a political firestorm at a time when Sheinbaum has sought to offset U.S. pressures while appeasing her own base. Shortly after, Mexico's government said that it had seen extradition request from the U.S. for 10 citizens, without naming them.

The highest profile official implicated was Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya, a top Morena official and close ally of Sheinbaum's mentor and predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Sheinbaum on Thursday said that Mexican prosecutors would investigate the cases and gather their own information to “determine whether there is evidence establishing that the allegations made by U.S. authorities have a legal basis for requesting arrest warrants.”

The president previously said that she had seen no evidence to back up the U.S. allegations.

She added that she was ready to put her foot down if they find “no clear evidence” in their investigation that those charged committed a crime.

“If it is evident that the Justice Department’s charges are politically motivated, let there be absolutely no doubt: under no circumstances will we allow a foreign government to interfere in decisions that are the exclusive prerogative of the Mexican people," Sheinbaum said.

Camara was killed during last weekend's coordinated militant attack in the West African nation, the largest in over a decade.

His death, and the major setback endured by the Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies, risk creating divisions within the junta and could lead it to reconsider its partnership with Moscow, analysts say.

After two days of national mourning, a funeral ceremony for Camara was attended by junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita and broadcast live on national television. The coffin was draped in the green, yellow and red of the Malian flag while large portraits of the former defense minister lined the ceremony hall.

Camara was born in 1979 in Kati, the same garrison town near the capital Bamako where he was killed when a car bomb exploded outside his home on Saturday.

As a field officer, he was deployed to northern Mali in the late 2000s, amid a rise in rebellions by armed groups, some linked to Al-Qaeda. After graduating from a military academy, he went abroad on several training assignments, including at a military academy in Russia.

Malians first became familiar with Camara when, as a colonel, he appeared on national television in August 2020 among a group of five officers who had overthrown President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The officers accused Keita of being propped up by France and not doing enough to contain the rampant militant attacks in the country. They pledged to provide more security.

Following the coup, the new junta turned to Russia as its new security partner, expelling French troops and U.N. peacekeepers.

Camara quickly came to play a central role in establishing Russia as Mali's main security partner. He served as defense minister under both of Mali’s successive military governments — first following the 2020 coup and then reappointed after a second coup in May 2021 which brought Goïta to power.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Germany-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said Camara was the “architect of cooperation with Russia,” proposing the deployment of Russian mercenaries in 2021 and the expulsion of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA.

Camara, who made frequent trips to Moscow, played a key role in the coups and his stewardship of the war effort made him an indispensable figure for the junta despite a deteriorating security situation, according to Laessing.

On Monday, the recently created Africa Corps — a Russian military unit that reports to the defense ministry in Moscow, estimated to have around 2,000 troops in Mali — said its fighters had withdrawn from Kidal, two days after separatists said they had taken the key northern city.

Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, said Camara's death and a growing frustration from the population and military leadership over the Russian mercenaries inability to curb the insurgencies, could result in the junta reconsidering its partnership with Moscow.

Goita, who met with the Russian ambassador to Mali on Tuesday, “seems open to collaboration with some Western countries, such as the United States,” said Laessing.

Leer en español

The Florida Department of Corrections released Castilla, 52, from prison on Nov. 18, 2025. He engaged in his shady business even while on probation until 2045, according to the detectives’ arrest report.

“The subject falsely represented himself as a commodities broker and accepted funds ... for investment purposes,” but “instead of investing the money, he diverted the funds for his personal use,” a detective wrote, according to the report.

It wasn’t the first time he kept his legal struggles secret to manipulate his victims, according to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detectives.

In 2020, a detective arrested Castilla on March 18, after accusing him of operating a fraudulent Ponzi-style scheme. He was released on bond on March 19.

“While awaiting trial, he continued to deceive another victim using similar false representations of non-existent investments,” a detective wrote, according to the arrest report.

Detectives arrested Castilla on Wednesday with his defense attorney present at the M-DSO Northwest District station in Miami Lakes.

Corrections booked him at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, facing charges of second-degree grand theft and organized fraud. His bond was $5,000.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Andrea Wolfson is set to preside over the case.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.