But the ad’s on-screen text includes an important qualifier: Moskowitz has made “up to” $8 million in stock trades.

The distinction matters because congressional financial disclosure forms generally report stock transactions in dollar ranges, rather than exact amounts. As a result, the disclosures do not establish precisely how much money Moskowitz made from trading.

A spokesperson for the Congressional Leadership Fund, the group behind the ad, said the “up to” language was technically correct.

According to CongressStock.com, Moskowitz’s net worth is estimated at $9.9 million. However, that figure does not establish how much he has earned from stock trades, and the amount he has actually profited from trading remains unclear.

The ad also accuses Moskowitz of getting rich in Congress while raising taxes, linking his personal finances to his voting record.

Moskowitz voted against President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which made expiring tax provisions permanent and reduced federal taxes on tips and overtime.

The ad’s claims raise two separate questions:

How much Moskowitz has actually profited from stock trading and how his vote on the tax legislation affected taxpayers.

The available transaction ranges do not, by themselves, establish his trading profits, while the tax claim depends on how the legislation’s provisions and effects are characterized.

Local 10 has reached out to Moskowitz’s campaign for comment.

“Knowing that everybody is behind him, it was very special to be there today," Spreen said. "The church was full and everybody was praying. You could just see all those prayers going up and being received.”

Catholics in Chicago and around the world met the news of Leo's lung cancer diagnosis with shock, concern and support for the 71-year-old, whose candor around his health broke with the Vatican's tendency to be tight-lipped around papal health. Leo himself announced that he had a nodule and was undergoing surgery, which confirmed that he has lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Surgeons on Tuesday removed the lower lobe of his right lung.

Spreen, whose husband died from cancer, said the pope going public with his diagnosis can “wake up the whole world” to the importance of early detection.

“If the pope can have cancer, anybody can," she said.

The first American-born pope, Leo undertook his ministry in Peru, but he was born in 1955 in the south side Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville and grew up in suburban Dolton, near St. Mary of the Assumption, where he attended Mass and elementary school.

He later studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in Hyde Park and taught in local Catholic schools, including at St. Rita High School. Leo is also a White Sox fan, a fact embraced by the team.

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, encouraged fellow Chicagoans and people worldwide to “join me in asking the Lord to return this son of Chicago to wellness.”

"He has much more good work to do, many more wise words to preach and many more ways to inspire others," Cupich said in a statement.

Earlier Wednesday, students at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy made get-well cards and a care package, complete with a White Sox blanket, to send to the Vatican. The Rev. Charles Rubey, a retired priest, planned to offer a Sunday Mass in the apartment where he lives in the suburbs of Chicago.

“I’m praying very hard, asking God to spare him illness, so he’ll be successful in the treatment,” he said.

“I think he’s a hero,” Rubey said of Pope Leo. “He’s highly revered here, highly loved.”

The Vatican said late Wednesday that the pope had celebrated Mass with his secretaries in the afternoon in a special chapel set up for him on the 10th floor of the hospital. He had also resumed his regular diet and begun walking.

For Katrina Coker, Leo has been an authentic embodiment of true Catholicism, which she said should be open and welcoming and loving. Coker of Johns Creek, Georgia, said it was meaningful to her that she happened to be in Chicago this week and she wanted to attend Mass in his hometown to pray for Leo's recovery.

“I feel somewhat of a kindred spirit, and hopefully he can get a little bit of healing from home,” she said. “I think there’s just so much more that he can do, and I pray that he gets well soon."

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Henao reported from Princeton, New Jersey.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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They answer questions, present the administration's positions and, in the way they interact with journalists, press secretaries can reflect how their boss feels about the media.

That's a reason why so much attention has been directed at Katie Zacharia as she started this week as President Donald Trump's press secretary, after the departure of Karoline Leavitt.

Here are a handful of press secretary moments through recent decades — including one you might not expect.

Ron Ziegler and Watergate

Only 29 when he was named to the job, Ziegler was press secretary for Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1974. The latter portion of that period was consumed by the Watergate political scandal, in which the administration was implicated and which led to Nixon's resignation. Ziegler downplayed the break-in at the heart of the scandal but on April 17, 1973, he essentially acknowledged previous denials about White House involvement were not true, saying: “This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative.”

James Brady's shooting

Brady had only been in the position of Ronald Reagan's press secretary for just over two months when he was severely wounded by a gunshot during an attempted assassination aimed at Reagan on March 30, 1981. Brady was hit in the head, resulting in brain damage and some paralysis. Popular with the press corps, he was greeted with loud applause on Nov. 9, 1981, when he paid a visit to the press room. He was unable to continue as press secretary but kept the title for the duration of the Reagan presidency and worked in the White House.

Robert Gibbs and the ‘beer summit’

Gibbs was named press secretary after the election of Barack Obama, and held the position from 2009-2011. One of the more exasperated moments of his tenure came early in that period, in July 2009, following the arrest of a Black professor by a white police officer at the professor's own home. Obama came under criticism for his commentary around the incident, and invited both men to the White House on July 30, 2009, to talk about it. It was dubbed the “Beer Summit” by media despite the administration's efforts to downplay it as merely a moment of conversation. The day after it happened, Gibbs poked fun at the media frenzy in covering it, like the use of a countdown clock and images from actual geopolitical summits. He said Obama's disdain for “the hoopla ... was much justified.”

Sean Spicer and the media, not exactly friendly

Spicer was Trump's first press secretary in his first administration, from January to July of 2017. He immediately started with criticism of the media, and interactions between him and journalists were often contentious. He became the subject of parodies and internet memes, including a portrayal by comedian Melissa McCarthy on “Saturday Night Live.” One of the most memorable moments of his time in the role was the night of May 9, 2017, following Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey. Spicer was seen huddling on White House grounds around some bushes, and away from bright lights, largely avoiding reporters.

Jen Psaki's pointed sparring with Peter Doocy

Psaki served as press secretary in Joe Biden's administration, from January 2021 until mid-May 2022. A recurring theme during that time was sharp exchanges between Psaki at the podium in the White House press room and Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy in the journalists' seats. In one January 2022 press briefing, Doocy asked about a social media comment that the secretary of state had made in support of Ukraine, saying, “Has that ever worked at stopping an authoritarian regime from doing anything?” Psaki replied, “I will have to say that unlike the last administration we don’t think Twitter is the only means of engaging or negotiating or discussing important topics.” Despite heated moments, though, both have said publicly that they had a civil and professional working relationship.

And one more from the world of fiction ...

In a case of art and life colliding, the real White House press corps got a visit from a fictional press secretary on April 29, 2016, when “White House press secretary” C.J. Cregg of “The West Wing” television series made an unexpected appearance. Actress Allison Janney portrayed the no-nonsense Cregg in the show and reprised the role for a few minutes before breaking character and talking about why she was really there — the opioid epidemic.

Because of the changes, current U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Florida, is running for re-election in another district.

The race for Congressional District 22 follows a major redrawing of the state’s congressional map. The new district stretches coast to coast across four counties: Broward, Palm Beach, Hendry and Collier.

Businessman Casey Askar is the Republican candidate eyeing the seat and laying out his priorities if elected.

“I think this new district definitely needs strong leadership,” Askar said. “It’s cost of living. It’s price at the pump. It’s price in the grocery store. Our cost of insurance here in Florida, our cost in housing. And so all these things are first and foremost for me.”

Askar said he hopes to increase the child tax credit in addition to pursuing other tax reforms.

“Federal gas tax, I believe, should go away permanently, not temporarily,” Askar said.

Running against the businessman is Democrat Pia Dandiya, a former educator and White House fellow.

“People are done with the performative politics,” Dandiya said as she laid out her platform. “We have a higher than the national average of senior citizens who are worried about whether they are going to be able to rely on their Social Security. And we need to explore every single solution that will make that Social Security protected for them because we are a country that makes good on its promises.”

Dandiya said she would fight to end the Trump tariffs and restore Affordable Care Act subsidies that millions of Floridians rely on.

“Housing prices are higher than they’ve ever been. Gas prices are higher than they’ve ever been. We have lost more health care than we have ever had in our recent past. That is the number one priority for us in this election cycle,” Dandiya said.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

On Wednesday, former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire graduated the police academy as to serve the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department.

The ceremony was held at Miami Dade College’s North Campus.

It’s a big summer for Stoudemire, who also was one of this year’s inductees into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Stoudemire played 14 years in the NBA, with his final season coming with the Heat in 2015-16.

He played 846 NBA games, finishing his career with an average of 18.9 points on 53.7% shooting, to go with 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.

Local 10’s Jeff Derderian was at the graduation, and his full report can be seen at the top of this page.

The shooting occurred just after 4 a.m. on Feb. 9 at the crowded Mission District nightclub Dahlia, where White was hosting a private Super Bowl party.

White was shot in the ankle and taken to a local hospital for surgery, his team said at the time.

San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew said authorities arrested four men over the past week with the help of law enforcement agencies in Atlanta; Stockton, California; Irvine, California and Los Angeles.

The night of the shooting, multiple suspects with firearms “confronted” White, Lew said. Investigators used video footage and witness accounts to identify the men they say are the perpetrators.

On Oct. 7, local law enforcement arrested 35-year-old Curtis Green in Irvine, and two days later authorities arrested 36-year-old Gregory Walker of Mountain House, California, for their alleged involvement in the shooting.

The men were booked into San Francisco County Jail on Monday and scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said prosecutors would seek no bail for Walker due to the public safety risk they said he poses. He will be charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm — which prosecutors say he fired — as well as other charges for having a gun as a felon.

Green faces misdemeanor charges of brandishing a firearm and carrying a concealed and loaded gun in public, Jenkins said.

A message was left Wednesday with the San Francisco public defender's office to determine if its attorneys were representing the two men.

Two other men arrested in other jurisdictions are not yet in local custody and will be charged once they are brought to San Francisco, Jenkins said.

One of the other men expected to face charges in San Francisco was arrested Oct. 7 in Atlanta. The 38-year-old was arrested on a no-bail warrant. Authorities say police seized an illegal firearm during the arrest, along with thousands of grams of MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl at the man's home.

That same day, law enforcement arrested a 36-year-old man in Stockton, California, in connection with White's shooting, and recovered a loaded firearm, over 100 oxycodone pills and $7,000 in cash.

The callers claim victims have outstanding arrest warrants and demand thousands of dollars in bond payments to avoid being taken into custody.

In some cases, the scammers use the names and badge numbers of real law enforcement officers and provide what appear to be official arrest warrants.

Even experienced journalists are being caught off guard by how convincing the calls can be.

Local 10 photojournalist Scott DePuy said he received a call from someone claiming to represent the Broward Sheriff’s Office while he was on his way to a doctor’s appointment.

The caller provided names and badge numbers of officers and sent DePuy an image of what appeared to be a warrant for his arrest.

The caller also appeared to know personal information about DePuy, including addresses, and the call did not register on his phone as a suspected scam.

DePuy said the caller accused him of failing to appear for jury duty, a legitimate concern for Broward County residents.

The caller then escalated the threats, warning DePuy not to use certain phone applications because his phone was being monitored and an officer could be dispatched.

The scammers demanded $15,000 in bond.

DePuy decided to play along with the caller, but he did not fall for the scheme.

Matthew Cowart, a BSO captain who oversees court services, said the department does not demand payment from residents who miss jury duty.

Instead, residents who fail to appear for jury duty receive a notice in the mail, he said.

“Nothing on this is going to solicit or request any sort of payment,” Cowart said, describing the legitimate notice.

Cowart said the scammers have become increasingly convincing, in part by using the names of actual law enforcement officers. He said the impersonators have even used his name.

Local 10 News called one of the suspected scammers back and visited a convenience store near U.S. 1 and Sunrise Boulevard, the location the caller had directed DePuy to go to pay the supposed bond.

The incident highlights how fraudsters can exploit fear of arrest and the court system to pressure people into making payments before they have time to verify the claims.

Cowart said he worries that many victims may not report the crimes.

Residents who receive suspicious calls or believe they have been targeted are urged to contact law enforcement.

Anyone who receives a demand for money over an alleged missed jury duty appearance should verify the claim directly with the appropriate court or law enforcement agency rather than follow instructions from the caller.

The law was one of the most restrictive in the U.S. on social media use by children when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it in 2024.

The law implicates the First Amendment, an appeals court said, but “likely does so in a content-neutral manner.”

It would likely survive a full legal challenge “because it doesn’t burden substantially more speech than necessary to advance the important interest in protecting minors from social media addiction,” a panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 opinion.

The law bans social media accounts for Florida children under 14 and requires parental consent for use by kids who are 14 or 15.

Industry trade groups the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice sued Florida, arguing that the law violated the free-speech rights of social media providers and users. A judge in 2025 said the law likely was unconstitutional and granted an injunction.

That injunction was put on hold while the appeals court heard the case. The lawsuit, with the injunction now overturned, will return to federal court in Tallahassee.

The appeals court noted that the law covers social media platforms "that have been determined to induce heavy use by children, and applies only to platforms that use both algorithms and one of several addictive features.”

An email seeking comment from the Florida attorney general's office was not immediately answered. NetChoice said it was disappointed with the decision.

“We are currently evaluating all of our options as we continue the fight to ensure Floridians’ rights to free expression online are protected, and parents remain in the driver’s seat when it comes to making decisions for their families," said Paul Taske, a lawyer at NetChoice.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been “horribly surprised” that Moscow struck a power plant in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, as well as a gas production facility and a civilian gas station hours after Trump announced the purported “energy ceasefire” in the 4 1/2-year-old war.

Later, during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Zelenksyy said his government had refrained from striking Russian energy sites since Trump’s announcement Sunday, and was ready to honor an energy ceasefire as “a good first step” toward closing the war.

But, he said, “I’m not sure that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is ready.”

“Even after yesterday’s messages from (Trump) ... Putin attacked our gas infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said. “When we speak about energy ceasefire, it means only one thing: that they don’t attack our energy infrastructure and we don’t respond on their energy infrastructure.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump insisted Monday that an energy ceasefire was in place. “Well, they agreed,” Trump said. “Because I said, ‘You agree.’ That’s why they agreed. because I said they agree.”

When pressed about the attacks by Russia, Trump said, “Well, I’d have to look at it and see, because there’s been violations on both sides.”

Trump’s brief social media post Sunday had offered few details about the ceasefire, but said it took effect immediately. “Do not break it!” he added.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t say whether Russia had agreed to a ceasefire, saying only: “Contacts are ongoing.”

Energy strikes have caused pain for both Ukraine and Russia

Trump previously announced a similar agreement on ceasing energy strikes that did not come to fruition. In a social media post on Sept. 14, he said both countries had agreed “not to hit” each other’s energy infrastructure, but offered no details on that proposal either.

Russia has used attacks on energy facilities in order to deny Ukrainian civilians power, heat and running water during the war, hoping to wear down public support for Ukraine’s response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter,” and fear Russia could ramp up such attacks as cold weather approaches.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has launched strikes against Russian energy sites like oil refineries, sometimes deep within Russian territory. That’s prompted Trump to blame Zelenskyy for record U.S. diesel prices — rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran — and to strike a deal with Putin on Friday to import diesel from Russia in an attempt to bring fuel prices down ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

Speaking on Fox News on Monday, Zelenskyy pushed back on Trump’s claims that Ukrainian strikes in Russia were driving up fuel prices, saying: “Everybody understands that the prices on diesel (don’t) depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia. Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking (of the) Strait of Hormuz.”

EU foreign policy chief skeptical of energy ceasefire

The European Union’s top diplomat on Monday welcomed the prospect of a pause in energy strikes on Ukraine, but said she sees no sign that Russia is willing to respect it.

“We haven’t yet seen that ... Russia will stick to it,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Luxembourg. “Personally, I would also welcome that the ceasefire would include people not being killed, not only energy.”

Trump’s deal with Putin to purchase diesel from Russia dismayed officials in the U.S., Ukraine and around Europe. A bipartisan group of six U.S. senators, including four Republicans, called Sunday on the Trump administration to “immediately reverse course” on the deal, saying the U.S. should “not provide Putin with a financial lifeline” while Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians.

Kallas also pushed back on Trump’s comments Saturday that it was time for Ukraine to get a new president and that Zelenskyy has not done enough to end the war. She said that now is not the time to hold elections in Ukraine, at least not without a ceasefire.

On Monday, Zelenskyy said holding elections in Ukraine was impossible during war time, especially with new Russian tactics involving attacks day and night. He added, however, that he would be ready to work toward doing so if Ukraine secured a full ceasefire lasting at least 60 days.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said in a statement that in case of a Ukrainian election, Putin would be ready to halt strikes on Ukraine “specifically on election day,” and that Kyiv only wanted a 60-day ceasefire “to gather their strength, heal their wounds, and continue the war.”

Russian attacks kill 5 and injure others, including children

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy called for greater pressure on Russia to end the war after a Russian drone struck a high-rise apartment building in Kyiv on Monday evening, killing two people and injuring nine.

“This is further proof that Russia must face greater pressure. They are the ones continuing the brutal strikes. They are the ones prolonging the war,” he said in a post on X.

He called the attack a “response” to the U.S. proposal for an energy ceasefire.

“We count on the United States to recognize these signals from Russia and act with strength. Strength is needed to force Russia to end this war,” Zelenskyy said.

Monday’s attack came a day after a Russian drone struck the village of Pisochyn in the Kharkiv district, killing three people and injuring nine others, including children, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

Ukrainian air defense forces shot down or suppressed 89 of 121 Russian drones overnight Monday, Ukraine’s Air Force said in a Telegram post. The attacks included one Kh-59 guided air-to-surface missile and 76 jet-powered Shahed-type drones, the statement said. Strikes were recorded at 15 locations in Ukraine, while debris from downed drones fell at four locations.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday its air defenses overnight intercepted 151 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions as well as the illegally annexed Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea.

In a separate statement, the ministry said its forces carried out drone strikes overnight on Ukraine’s port infrastructure and a bulk carrier heading to Ukraine’s port city of Odesa with military cargo on board.

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Associated Press writers Joshua Boak in Washington and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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

Latarence Eugene Dunbar, 46, was taken into custody Tuesday in Miami after Miami Beach police identified him through surveillance footage and witness statements in connection with the Oct. 8 attack, according to the reports.

Jail records show he is facing two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

Officers were dispatched in emergency mode at about 8:14 p.m. Oct. 8 to the area of Eighth Street and Washington Avenue after a reported stabbing, according to the report.

An officer arriving at the scene found the victim suffering from “multiple lacerations and stab wounds,” with a “substantial amount of blood on his person,” the report states.

The victim told the officer he needed fire rescue, the report states. Miami Beach Fire Rescue treated him at the scene and transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma, the report states.

Detectives reviewing Miami Beach city surveillance footage said they determined the attack occurred at about 8:12 p.m. on the southeast side of Eighth Street and Washington Avenue.

The footage allegedly showed Dunbar, who is listed as homeless in his arrest report, removing his sweater and backpack before approaching the victim in an “aggressive manner.” Dunbar then removed an unidentified object from his pocket and began striking the victim with it, the report states.

Additional surveillance footage from South Beach Market, at 764 Washington Ave., showed the victim running west on Eighth Street toward Pennsylvania Avenue in an apparent attempt to escape.

Police said Dunbar chased him and caught up with him near the intersection, where he allegedly struck the victim multiple times.

The victim then ran north before falling on the north side of Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Dunbar was seen striking him while he was on the ground, according to the report.

After the attack, surveillance footage showed Dunbar walking back toward Washington Avenue before fleeing north toward Ninth Street, police said. He then boarded a Miami-Dade County transit bus at the 900 block of Washington Avenue at about 8:15 p.m., the report states.

Two witnesses interviewed by detectives described the attack and corroborated what investigators observed on surveillance footage, according to the report.

A witness told detectives that Dunbar was yelling, “I’ll kill you motherf---er,” while attacking the victim, the report states. The witness said Dunbar appeared very angry and that he thought Dunbar was going to kill the victim, police said.

Another witness told detectives, “I thought he was going to kill him.” that witness also said he saw what appeared to be a pocketknife in Dunbar’s hand during the attack, according to the report.

Detectives tracked Dunbar’s movements on city surveillance cameras before and after the incident and circulated a flyer seeking to identify him.

Three Miami Beach officers recognized Dunbar from previous encounters, including two prior arrests and a separate disturbance call, the report states.

Dunbar was located at the intersection of Northwest Second Avenue and Northwest First Street in Miami at about 10:04 p.m. Tuesday by Miami Beach police tactical detectives and Miami police tactical robbery unit detectives, according to a second arrest report.

The report states that detectives approached Dunbar, who was wanted in connection with the Miami Beach case, and ordered him to get on the ground. Dunbar refused to comply and repeatedly reached toward a bag in front of him, the report states.

A detective deployed a Taser, but it had no effect, according to the report. Detectives then approached and apprehended Dunbar.

While being escorted to be secured, Dunbar became angry about the Taser deployment and spat toward a detective’s face, making contact with the detective’s skin, the report states.

Detectives said they later interviewed Dunbar at Jackson Memorial Hospital after reading him his Miranda rights. Dunbar gave a “vague statement” about the incident before invoking his right to have an attorney present, the report states.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Dunbar was being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He was also ordered to stay away from the victim.

Sankey spoke at SEC basketball media days in Birmingham, where basketball-related questions were few and far between.

He said the conference will continue to push for federal help but could take a more active role in determining its own policies if Congress falls short.

“If change is not accessed or not achieved at that national level, there will be more and more conversation about how we as a conference function and our own decision-making," Sankey said. "We have had rules in the past that apply only to our conference that are more restrictive generally than what might happen nationally. That type of conversation has been initiated, and I would expect it to continue, but we’ll wait to see what happens at the congressional level.”

Last month, the Senate passed a sweeping bipartisan bill that would be the first specifically intended to regulate college sports, an attempt to end “chaos” in an industry that has been upended by skyrocketing athlete payments and near-unrestricted transfers between schools.

The 77-22 vote to pass the legislation is the strongest effort yet by Congress to set national regulations governing payments to college athletes for their name, image and likeness and how often they can transfer. It would give the NCAA new authority over those rules and limited antitrust protections to enforce them.

The measure is now before the House, where uncertainty about next steps has only been magnified by the midterm elections coming up next month.

Sankey insisted that national standards are needed to ensure fairness in college sports, especially considering the range of Division I schools and conferences.

“If we want those national championships across all sports given the diversity in Division I, you know, small private colleges that draw from a regional base to large public universities that can put 100,000 people in a football stadium, we need those national standards,” he said.

Expanding the playoff

Sankey, who previously expressed skepticism about expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 to 24 teams, signaled more openness.

“I think I’ve always communicated that we’ve never said no that won’t happen, that won’t be a point of support,” Sankey said. “I think there’s an openness to playoff expansion on our part -- I think certainly there’s an openness. Attitudes change over time and perspectives change, and so we’ll see where that leads us from a final decision standpoint.”

The playoff expanded from four to 12 teams in 2024, but after executives failed to reach an expansion agreement, the CFP is using the same model for this season. There is a Dec. 1 deadline to make any changes for next season.

The key hurdle to 24 teams is making up the revenue lost by the elimination of conference championship games to accommodate the extra playoff games, and whether current broadcast partner ESPN — by itself or with other media partners — can put together a financial package that makes sense in the time remaining. ESPN’s new deal starts this year and is worth $7.8 billion over six seasons; it provides the network the first option of adding the first two games in any expansion of the playoff.

Last week, the CFP said discussions were continuing with broadcast partner ESPN after the end of an exclusive negotiating window over media rights.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said then he was optimistic that the CFP would expand to 24 teams.

“We’ll make some final decisions — probably sooner rather than later — is my expectation,” Sankey said Wednesday.

Pros or college

Sankey also addressed the ongoing feud over whether professional athletes can return to play in college, an issue that put LSU guard RJ Luis, who coach Will Wade said Tuesday has not yet been rostered, in the spotlight. Sankey declined to go into specifics about the Tigers, a founding member of the league that is currently swapping court filings with the school about governance.

Sankey said the SEC has drawn a line when it comes to athletes going pro and then attempting to return to college.

“When you look at the principles up front, somebody who enrolls in college and chooses to depart, that’s where we’ve drawn the line, and we’ll continue to develop those boundary lines," Sankey said.

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Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full men’s basketball coverage here

The account by lawyers for Oscar Belgal contrasted sharply with the version of events outlined by Department of Homeland Security officials. They have said officers opened fire only after Belgal smashed his car into two government vehicles and “accelerated toward other officers.”

The Legal Aid Society, in a petition filed in Brooklyn federal court seeking Belgal's release, said he had picked up his son from school on Oct. 8 and was stopped in front of a fire hydrant, looking for a parking spot, when “an anonymous, masked man” stormed up to the vehicle with his gun drawn, followed by other masked men with guns.

“The men did not identify themselves, show any documents or otherwise communicate with Oscar in any substantive way," Belgal's lawyers wrote. "Instead, without identifying himself, the first man struck and shattered Oscar’s window and began firing a pistol into Oscar’s car while his son cowered in the back seat. One of those bullets struck Oscar in the neck and he immediately began to bleed.”

New York City police security camera footage released by the department last week shows some of the encounter but doesn't conclusively resolve the dispute about how the shooting happened.

The video shows a man wearing a sweatshirt and a red hat running up to the car with his gun pointed at Belgal, then immediately using the barrel of his gun to bash the driver’s side window. The window shatters on the second blow.

A second officer comes into view alongside the car and draws his gun. Belgal then pulls into the street, away from the two officers. The car pulls out of view of the camera, with the officer in the red hat in pursuit.

Whatever happened next didn't appear on the NYPD's security cameras, but the chase ended just a moment later, with Belgal's damaged car resting against a concrete barrier with bullet holes in its windshield and a rear window.

Video from bystanders and NYPD body camera footage show that ICE officers handcuffed Belgal and tended to a gunshot wound to his neck as he sat on the pavement outside the car. NYPD officers took Belgal to a nearby hospital.

DHS didn't comment Wednesday on the claims by Belgal's lawyers, saying the incident remains under investigation. But DHS officials have maintained that ICE officers fired their weapons because they believed their lives were in danger.

Belgal’s lawyers said he didn’t learn the men were ICE officers until he awoke later in the hospital. They say he remains detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has yet to receive surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his neck. They also say he has lost sensation on the left side of his face and is suffering from impaired hearing.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which manages the jail, didn’t immediately comment.

“Mr. Belgal’s detention was unlawful from its inception. ICE officers shot him in the neck in front of his five year-old son, failed to provide him with immediate medical assistance, and now continue to hold him in a facility notorious for medical neglect,” said Perry McAninch and Elyssa Williams, the lawyers representing Belgal.

At a news conference last week, Marcos Charles, the head of ICE's enforcement and removal operations, said Belgal refused orders to exit his vehicle and then accelerated and smashed into two government vehicles as ICE officers tried to block him from driving away.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has maintained officers didn’t know a child was in the car and blamed Belgal for putting his son's life in danger.

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Associated Press reporter Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this story.

The Heat will host the Nets at the Kaseya Center, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air on Local 10.

With the regular-season opener one week away, the matchup could serve as a dress rehearsal for Miami as the coaching staff determines which players are ready for expanded roles.

One of the biggest questions entering the game is whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will play. Spoelstra is expected to provide an update on player availability, including which key contributors will see the court.

Miami’s starters have appeared in two preseason games, showing early signs of comfort together. However, Spoelstra said the team’s depth will be an important factor over the course of the 82-game regular season.

“We have so much depth, and we want to utilize that depth over the course of 82 games,” Spoelstra said.

Spoelstra added that the team does not see a need to play its key players for 40 minutes a night, emphasizing the importance of distributing playing time and keeping players healthy throughout the season.

Alongside Antetokounmpo, the Heat have veteran contributors such as Bam Adebayo, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins. How Spoelstra combines those players with the rest of the roster remains an important part of Miami’s preseason evaluation.

The team’s rotation could continue to evolve even after the regular season begins as Spoelstra works to determine how best to use the available personnel.

Thursday’s matchup against Brooklyn offers Miami another opportunity to build chemistry, assess its options and prepare for the start of the regular season.

And don’t forget, you can also watch the majority of the Miami Heat’s regular season games, at least 68, on Local 10 next season as WPLG Local 10 and the Heat announced a newly expanded media rights agreement, making Local 10 the home of HEAT basketball across South Florida! CLICK HERE for more information on how to watch!

Surveillance video showed Latarence Dunbar attacking Camrod Erby at 8:12 p.m., on Oct. 8, in South Beach, and Erby running westbound on Eighth Street, according to police.

“Dunbar gave chase ... catches up ... and begins to strike him multiple times,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

Video shows Erby running northbound, falling on the north side of Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and Dunbar striking him while he was on the ground, according to police.

“Dunbar then begins to flee the scene and runs northbound on Washington Avenue,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

Police officers responded shortly before 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 8, and they found Erby suffering from stab wounds at the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Eighth Street, according to the police arrest report.

Witnesses told police they heard Dunbar screaming that he was going to kill Erby, according to the police arrest report. Fire rescue personnel took Erby to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Surveillance video shows Dunbar getting into a Miami-Dade County Transit bus at 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 8 at Washington Avenue and Ninth Street, according to police.

Shortly before 10:05 p.m., on Tuesday, Miami detectives found Dunbar at Northwest Second Avenue and First Street, in downtown Miami, and learned that he was wanted in Miami Beach, according to a detective’s arrest report.

“Detectives approached Dunbar and gave him orders to get on the ground ... Dunbar refused and kept reaching in a bag that was directly in front of him,” a detective wrote, according to an arrest report.

A detective deployed his Taser, and Dunbar spat at the detective’s face, while the detective arrested him, according to the detective’s arrest report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Dunbar shortly after 2:15 a.m. on Wednesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral, according to inmate records.

Dunbar faced three charges in two new cases. For Oct. 8th, he faced a charge of second-degree attempted murder. For his arrest on Tuesday, he faced charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Dunbar appeared in bond court at 2:05 p.m. on Wednesday in Miami-Dade County. A judge denied him bail and ordered him to stay away from the stabbing victim.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

The shooting happened around 7:30 a.m. near the intersection of Northwest 109th Street and South River Drive in the town of Medley.

According to police, the incident stemmed from two people getting into an argument at a business called Metro Express, which led to one of them shooting the other.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said crews responded to the area and transported one person by helicopter to a nearby trauma center. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that the victim had died at the hospital.

Deputies said the shooter was also hospitalized due to “personal medical reasons.”

Charges are pending, authorities said.

The identities of the suspect and victim have not yet been released. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.

El Comando Sur de Estados Unidos dijo en su cuenta de X que su comandante, el general Francis L. Donovan, se reunió con el ministro de Defensa, Rafael Belaúnde, el jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas de Perú, César Briceño, y el embajador estadounidense en Perú, Bernie Navarro.

La embajada de Estados Unidos en Perú indicó en un comunicado que la delegación viajó a Loreto, la región más grande de la Amazonía peruana, para reunirse con militares "que realizan operaciones contra las redes narcoterroristas”. En Loreto, donde prolifera la minería ilegal y el narcotráfico, se ha reportado la presencia del brasileño Comando Vermelho y de grupos disidentes de las extintas Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

Estados Unidos incorporó en septiembre a Perú al “Escudo de las Américas”, una coalición de países afines en la región que está encabezada por Washington para llevar a cabo operaciones militares contra los cárteles de la droga.

Después de Colombia, Perú es el segundo cultivador mundial de la hoja de coca, la materia prima de la cocaína, según datos de la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito.

Miami-Dade County Judge Marisa Tinkler-Mendez excused the juror, a cancer survivor who said he was still recovering from surgery, after reviewing a series of questions he submitted about the trial and his well-being.

The dismissal came as jurors continued hearing testimony in the penalty phase of Sierra’s case.

Sierra, 42, confessed to killing his estranged wife, Gladys Machado, 29, in 2012, along with her two daughters, 6-year-old Julia Padrino and 3-year-old Daniela Padrino.

Prosecutor challenges defense expert on Sierra’s brain injuries

During cross-examination Wednesday, prosecutor Lara Penn questioned defense expert Dr. Erin D. Bigler about whether Sierra’s actions during the killings demonstrated planning, organization and decision-making abilities.

Bigler, an expert in interpreting brain imaging records, previously testified about the impact of a brain injury Sierra reportedly suffered in a childhood car accident.

The defense expert discussed how damage to areas of Sierra’s brain could have affected his executive functioning, which involves decision-making, planning and behavioral control.

Penn challenged that explanation by walking Bigler through details of the 2012 killings.

She questioned whether Sierra demonstrated planning when he took the victims to a second location at knifepoint and separated the children from their mother.

Penn described how Sierra locked the children in a separate room before turning his attention to Machado.

She asked Bigler whether those actions showed organization and planning.

“Totally inappropriate, but yes,” Bigler responded.

Penn then questioned the expert about Sierra tying up Machado and torturing her to obtain the passcode to her phone.

“Yes,” Bigler answered when asked whether those actions required thought and planning.

Bigler emphasized that she was not defending Sierra’s actions.

“These are atrocious, horrible behaviors,” Bigler said, adding that Sierra had damage to the social-emotional part of his brain.

She described Sierra’s behavior as “out of control.”

Penn also questioned Bigler about whether Sierra’s actions were goal-oriented, including tying up Machado, separating the children and holding a knife to her throat to obtain her phone’s passcode.

“Yes, he is carrying out these behaviors,” Bigler responded.

When Penn pressed her about whether the actions required thought, judgment and planning, Bigler described the behavior as “completely inappropriate” and “deviant.”

Expert questioned about details of killings

Penn continued challenging Bigler’s testimony by focusing on Sierra’s physical abilities and actions during the crimes.

She asked whether Sierra would have needed control of his motor skills to carve a smiley face into Machado’s chin.

“Well that is horrible, and yes, yes, his motor skills would have to be intact to be able do that,” Bigler testified.

The prosecutor also questioned Bigler about Sierra’s actions after the killings, including his efforts to cover his tracks.

Penn asked whether formulating a plan to conceal a crime required executive functioning, one of the abilities Bigler said could be affected by Sierra’s brain injury.

“It does,” Bigler acknowledged.

However, the expert maintained that Sierra could have been making decisions with an impaired executive system.

Bigler explained that a person with such damage might engage in behavior that appears organized but is driven by faulty decision-making.

‘I’m not trying to justify that behavior’

One of the exchanges focused on the killing of one of the children.

Penn asked Bigler whether placing a plastic bag over a child’s face for four minutes before the child died could be considered goal-oriented, planned behavior.

“That is just horrible, absolutely horrible,” Bigler responded.

Bigler stressed that her testimony was intended to explain the possible effects of brain damage, not excuse Sierra’s actions.

“I am not trying to justify behavior in any way, shape or form,” Bigler said.

She explained that damage to certain areas of the brain could contribute to aggressive, emotional or immediate reactions.

“It is absolutely horrible and I am not trying to justify that behavior, I am just trying to explain what may be going on in his brain,” she said.

Penn then challenged Bigler’s ability to assess Sierra’s mental processes, pointing out that she had not personally interviewed him.

“Well, none of us knows what is going on in anybody’s brain,” Bigler responded.

Juror dismissed after describing emotional and physical toll, submitting unusual questions

Earlier Wednesday, Tinkler-Mendez dismissed a juror who had submitted an extensive list of questions about the proceedings, jury deliberations and what jurors might be permitted to do after the trial.

The judge described the questions as unprecedented in her experience, including in capital cases.

Among the juror’s questions was whether he could bring reference materials, including a Bible and a copy of the U.S. Constitution, into the jury deliberation room.

Tinkler-Mendez explained that jurors could not bring outside materials into the jury room.

The juror told the judge he had never been inside a courtroom before and was still learning how the legal process worked.

He also asked whether jurors could establish a foundation after the trial to help victims of domestic violence or create a GoFundMe account to support the education of a family member of the victims.

The juror explained that he had previously created an educational foundation and wondered whether it could be used to help others.

“Again, it is forward thinking. We have created a group here, a bond here, and at the end of the day, there are no winners in this trial, so maybe we can make some good out of it,” he said.

The juror also questioned the length and expense of the proceedings, including the taxpayer-funded costs of attorneys and expert witnesses.

He described the process as lengthy and potentially inefficient, explaining that he came from the private sector.

The juror told the court that the trial was affecting his sleep, health and professional life.

“Restless mind, two, three in the morning, can’t sleep, so I am thinking what the future holds after this case,” he said.

He explained that the proceedings were taking an emotional toll on him and his family, adding that his spouse had experienced migraines in recent days.

The juror, a cancer survivor recovering from surgery, also expressed concern about how continued jury service could affect his health.

He said he had taken approximately 60 pages of notes during the trial.

Tinkler-Mendez told the juror that she had carefully reviewed his questions and was concerned about his well-being, particularly his lack of sleep.

“I think it would be in your best interest to discharge you at this time,” the judge told him.

She emphasized that her primary concern was his health rather than his continued participation in the proceedings.

Judge thanks juror for service

Despite his dismissal, the juror expressed appreciation for the experience and the opportunity to participate in the judicial process.

He said he had gained knowledge from the proceedings and admired how attorneys on both sides presented their cases.

He also expressed hope that the jury would ultimately make the right decision.

The juror asked whether his dismissal would affect the proceedings, noting his understanding that 12 jurors were needed.

The trial has alternate jurors available, although it was not immediately clear whether the dismissed juror was serving as an alternate.

Tinkler-Mendez thanked him for his service and presented him with a certificate of appreciation.

The juror, who appeared grateful for the gesture, mentioned that he had previously made similar certificates for people who donated to causes he supported.

Mother again takes stand

In the afternoon, Sierra’s mother, Mercedes Pedraza, was back on the stand for cross examination.

Through her questions, the lead prosecutor highlighted Sierra’s past of drug use and drug dealing.

Through a Spanish-language interpreter, Pedraza testified that she doesn’t remember her son helping her financially by giving her money from his drug dealing activities.

The jury also learned that the day after the killings, she came home around 8 to 9 a.m. to find her son asleep on the couch, testifying that he was acting normally.

Pedraza left crying after wrapping up her testimony.

It happened on Sunday around 7:30 p.m. in the area of East 19th Street and First Avenue in Hialeah.

Family members say Diener Benguria was walking his dog with his mom when he was viciously attacked.

“A dog was loose, came running to me attack me or my dog,” said Benguria. “I called him and said ‘Get your dog, come get your (expletive) dog and put him on a leash.’”

That’s when Benguria said he had a can thrown at him before he was pushed to the ground.

After the alleged beating, Benguria was left with fractures all over his face, as evidenced in photos provided to Local 10 News.

There have been no arrests in the case, though, as Hialeah police told Local 10 News, “This was an altercation between two men. An independent witness advised that the gentlemen that was taken to the hospital approached the other man in an aggressive manner entering his personal space before the altercation ensued. Due to conflicting stories, both men were referred to the State Attorney’s Office.”

Benguria’s mother told Local 10’s Rosh Lowe that she saw her son being attacked, describing it as an assault.

Detectives said they are actively investigating the case, knocking on doors and looking for any surveillance footage that may have captured the incident.

“Ayer volvió a ganar la corrupción y la impunidad de los políticos protegidos por el poder”, denunció el miércoles en X una de las ONG que representa a los migrantes, la Fundación para la Justicia. A su juicio, la decisión del juez de cerrar la acción penal contra Garduño, que es una exoneración de facto, “confirma que en México la justicia es selectiva” y niega a las víctimas “una reparación integral” y garantías de que hechos similares no se repitan.

Miguel Zenteno, abogado de la Fundación, recordó que la decisión del juez no es definitiva porque se va a apelar y, además, hay otro recurso pendiente de resolver contra las medidas de reparación que, según las víctimas, no cumplían con lo que ameritan hechos tan graves.

El 27 de marzo de 2023 unos 70 hombres estaban hacinados en un dormitorio cerrado con candado, sin ventilación y sin apenas agua en el centro de detención migratoria de Ciudad Juárez, en la frontera con El Paso, Texas. Al caer la noche un pequeño grupo prendió fuego a unas colchonetas en señal de protesta y en cuestión de segundos el humo lo cubrió todo.

Las cámaras de seguridad grabaron cómo los guardias salieron del lugar pese a los gritos de auxilio y sin siquiera acercarse a abrir las rejas. Sólo las mujeres, retenidas en otra celda, fueron liberadas. La mayoría de las víctimas fueron centroamericanos y venezolanos.

Garduño, un exagente de prisiones y actual funcionario de la Secretaría de Educación, lideró el Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) desde 2019 a 2025 pese al trágico suceso.

El juez había exigido que Garduño indemnizara a las familias, que tuvieran atención medica especializada gratuita, que el funcionario se disculpara públicamente, que se impartieran cursos de derechos humanos al personal de migración y que se garantizara la no repetición de los hechos.

Zenteno reconoció que las medidas se cumplieron pero solo parcialmente porque los pagos por daños no los hizo Garduño, que es lo que establecía el proceso, sino el INM y no han supuesto una reparación integral de las familias. Además, las víctimas no supieron ni cómo acceder a los servicios médicos gratuitos y la disculpa “fue mera formalidad, no sustancial”.

Además de Garduño, otro exdirectivo del instituto fue acusado de los mismos delitos. Seis agentes migratorios, entre ellos un militar, un guardia de seguridad privada y los dos migrantes señalados de iniciar el fuego están acusados de homicidio y lesiones. La mayoría de los funcionarios siguen su proceso en libertad.

Wendy Louis, 40, of northeast Miami-Dade, was taken into custody after deputies from the sheriff’s Intracoastal District responded to his home to conduct a welfare check on the children.

According to the arrest report, the children had been telling family members that they were not being fed for days, were only allowed to drink water from the shower and were not permitted to use the restroom.

When deputies spoke with the children, both described similar living conditions, the report stated.

Investigators said the children reported going days without food because their father believed the government was putting “stuff” in it.

The children also told deputies that Louis kept them confined to their rooms for days at a time and would not allow them to leave.

According to the report, they were forced to use a bucket as a toilet and were not permitted to shower daily.

The children also told investigators that they had not attended school since August of last year, when their father withdrew them, authorities said.

According to the arrest report, the children were not receiving homeschooling instruction.

Deputies described both children as extremely small and thin for their ages, with unkempt and matted hair.

The report did not specify the children’s ages.

Investigators determined that Louis had failed to provide the “care, supervision and services necessary” to maintain the children’s “physical and mental health.”

According to the report, Louis refused to be interviewed by investigators.

He was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was booked on two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.

As of Wednesday afternoon, he remained jailed with a bond listed in online jail records as “to be set.”

According to records, Louis also had an active bench warrant at the time of his arrest for charges of battery/domestic violence and resisting an officer without violence.

That's the lowest the left-handed hitting Ohtani has hit since joining the Dodgers three years ago on a $700 million, 10-year contract. Manager Dave Roberts said he wanted to sprinkle left- and right-handed hitters throughout the lineup against Milwaukee's left-handed starter Robert Gasser.

”Shohei’s all on board," Roberts said before the game. “Whatever it takes to win.”

The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Ohtani, the designated hitter, is typically atop the order, but Roberts has dropped him lower during a slump that has extended into the postseason. Ohtani has been struggling with left knee and right biceps issues for a few months, and said before the National League Division Series that he's not 100% healthy.

During his six years with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani started games batting sixth or lower 19 times, all during the 2020 season or earlier.

Ohtani is hitting .150 (3 for 20) over six postseason games while appearing visibly uncomfortable at the plate. He has seven strikeouts, three walks and one stolen base with no home runs, no RBIs and an OPS of .411.

He hasn’t homered since Aug. 18 at Colorado.

“I couldn’t imagine really kind of having the expectations that he has and falling short in a way that it’s not normal for him,” teammate Mookie Betts said before the game. “Then having to come back and be present in this postseason knowing how important he is to the boys.”

Roberts said he saw a more focused Ohtani during off-day batting practice Tuesday.

“He was determined, and that’s an understatement,” the manager said. “He was here late last night working on his swing, out with the guys and talking about things on how we're going to beat these guys.”

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, set to start Game 4 on Thursday, said Ohtani's demeanor doesn't deviate regardless of how well he's performing.

“I think most people put in that situation, you’d have a lot more emotional volatility, so it’s just impressive to see him just be a good dude always,” Glasnow said. “I don’t think he needs reassurance or anything. He’s confident in himself. It’s just business as usual and a lot of smiles and the same laugh.”

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https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

According to the Miami Police Department, investigators became aware of a disturbing video circulating online Tuesday that showed the dog.

Police said witnesses found the dog underwater, secured to two cinder blocks, prompting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the discovery.

“It was the worst thing I have seen in my life because, I started thinking about it, and the worst part about it is that they tied the dog with its own leash and they zip-tied it to the cinder blocks,” Ryan Young, the boater who found the sunken dog, said. “It was a very purposeful-looking thing.”

Detectives are now working to identify the person or people responsible.

Person questioned, arrested on unrelated charges

In a statement posted on Instagram, Miami police said investigators had made contact with someone who might be the dog’s owner.

However, authorities said they have not been able to confirm whether that individual owns the animal.

The person was questioned by investigators and subsequently arrested on unrelated charges, police said.

Authorities have not released the individual’s identity or provided details about those charges.

Investigation remains ongoing

Miami police spokesperson Officer Kiara Delva confirmed that detectives are actively pursuing leads to determine what led to the dog being found in the water and identify whoever is responsible.

The investigation remains ongoing.

The two coaches going in opposite directions meet Monday night when the Washington Commanders (1-3-1) visit the San Francisco 49ers (5-0).

They have history.

Shanahan was Quinn's offensive coordinator in Atlanta when the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead against Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl 51. Atlanta's time management was poor in that one.

Jayden Daniels had a big day running the ball against the Giants until forgetting how to stop the clock with a spike. Brock Purdy is playing at an MVP level for the Niners. Christian McCaffrey is running with fresh legs and Mike Evans has been an excellent addition for San Francisco's depleted receiving corps.

The 49ers are 7 1/2-point favorites. Pro Picks likes the home team.

49ERS: 30-20

SEATTLE (3-2) at DENVER (3-2)

Line: Seahawks minus 3

The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks are turning the ball over too much, their run game is inconsistent and they don’t have much going on offense other than All-Pro Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But Seattle’s defense remains elite. Bo Nix and the Broncos are also having trouble on offense but an injury-riddled defense has been stout. The Seahawks are 13-5-1 against the spread on the road under coach Mike Macdonald. Denver is 3-2 as a home underdog with coach Sean Payton.

SEAHAWKS: 20-19

HOUSTON (1-4) at JACKSONVILLE (4-1), in London

Line: Jaguars minus 3

C.J. Stroud is playing well, hasn’t thrown an interception and gets Marvin Harrison Jr. to add to his receiving corps. The Texans’ defense got on track after coach DeMeco Ryans took over play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Matt Burke. The Jaguars barely beat the undermanned Eagles last week. They’re 8-7 in London and 2-0 in the second of back-to-back games there. Houston is 13-3 in this series since 2018.

JAGUARS: 23-22

BALTIMORE (4-1) at CLEVELAND (3-2)

Line: Ravens minus 4½

Lamar Jackson could be returning after missing a game. If not, the Ravens will again turn to Tyler Huntley, who played well in a win at Atlanta. Deshaun Watson was under duress much of the game last week in a loss to the Jets. The Browns need to get their offense on track. The Ravens are a league-best 21-7 on the road since 2023 and have won three straight in the series.

RAVENS: 22-16

CAROLINA (2-2) at PHILADELPHIA (2-3)

Line: Eagles minus 1 1/2

Bryce Young leads the No. 1 passing offense against a pass defense that’s 26th despite two All-Pro cornerbacks. The Panthers are coming off a bye and are 11-6 ATS as an underdog since the start of the 2025 season. The Eagles are back from an international game. Teams off a bye facing teams following an overseas game are 4-0. Depleted Philadelphia was missing six offensive starters last week and still should have beat the Jaguars if not for a long kickoff return with 8 seconds left. The Eagles also blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead against the Rams. Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts are hearing the criticism. They’ve responded before and could get some players back.

EAGLES: 26-20

CHICAGO (3-2) at ATLANTA (2-3)

Line: Bears minus 3

There's quarterback uncertainty for both teams heading into the practice week. Caleb Williams has missed three straight game for the Bears. Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum both struggled against the Packers after each played well in starts. Michael Penix Jr. is expected to start if he doesn't have any setbacks to his injured rib. He's got Bijan Robinson to lean on. The All-Pro back leads the NFL with 580 yards rushing.

FALCONS: 24-23

NEW ORLEANS (1-4) at NEW YORK GIANTS (3-1-1)

Line: Saints minus 1½

The Saints looked like potential contenders after losing to Detroit in overtime and beating the Ravens on the road. But they’re reeling after three straight losses at home. Yet, they’re somehow favorites on the road against a team that’s only lost once. Oddsmakers are disrespecting the Giants. Jameis Winston is 2-0-1 since replacing Jaxson Dart and faces one of his former teams. He’s done a decent job protecting the ball. Cam Skattebo needs to do the same.

UPSET SPECIAL: GIANTS: 20-17

NEW YORK JETS (2-3) at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (3-2)

Line: Patriots minus 7½

The Jets are playing tough defense, Geno Smith hasn’t thrown an interception and there’s reason for optimism. The next step would be beating a division rival. The Patriots are banged-up on offense and in the secondary but Drake Maye is back to his 2025 form. New England’s injuries will keep this close.

PATRIOTS: 22-16

PITTSBURGH (3-2) at TAMPA BAY (1-4)

Line: Steelers minus 2½

Aaron Rodgers, Jaylen Warren and the Steelers face a tough challenge against Tampa Bay’s seventh-ranked defense. Rodgers has thrown three TD passes in three straight games for the first time since his fourth MVP season in 2021. Undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels has impressed in Baker Mayfield’s absence. The Buccaneers were 0-13 ATS before beating Dallas on the road last Thursday.

STEELERS: 24-18

TENNESSEE (0-5) at INDIANAPOLIS (2-3)

Line: Colts minus 7

Cam Ward is struggling in Brian Daboll’s offense and the Titans are last in the NFL in scoring 11.6 points. The Colts traded a ton to get two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner last year but he hasn’t fixed a pass defense that’s fifth-worst in the league. Daniel Jones had a turnover-free game last week. Titans are 4-5-1 ATS with Ward.

COLTS: 23-17

ARIZONA (1-4) at LOS ANGELES RAMS (2-3)

Line: Rams minus 12½

The Cardinals are bad at football. The Rams don’t look like the team some people foolishly predicted would go 17-0. Sean McVay is ticked and kicker Harrison Mevis paid the price for missing field goals. With Matthew Stafford leading a prolific passing attack, this one should be easy.

BEST BET: RAMS: 34-13

BUFFALO (4-1) at LAS VEGAS (3-2)

Line: Bills minus 4½

Josh Allen is the reason the Bills are winning despite a defense that’s third-worst in total yards and fifth-worst in points allowed (28.2). The team is staying on the West Coast after beating the Rams in Los Angeles on Monday night. The Raiders have lost two in a row and Fernando Mendoza saw his first action in a lopsided loss to New England. Kirk Cousins is still QB1 for Las Vegas for now. Both teams are 4-1 ATS this season.

BILLS: 27-24

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (0-5) at KANSAS CITY (4-0)

Line: Chiefs minus 8½

This version of Justin Herbert in Mike McDaniel’s offense isn’t working for the depleted Chargers. The Chiefs are rested after a bye. Kenneth Walker III is on pace to run for nearly 2,300 yards. His presence has elevated the offense led by Patrick Mahomes. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 22-5 after a regular-season bye.

CHIEFS: 24-17

DALLAS (2-3) at GREEN BAY (3-2)

Line: Packers minus 2½

Micah Parsons won’t get to face his former team again but at least this time it shouldn't end in a tie. The Cowboys are coming off an embarrassing loss at home to previously winless Tampa Bay. Their defense has allowed the second-most yards and 27.2 points per game. Dak Prescott and a potent passing attack has kept Dallas competitive. Jordan Love could have another big game throwing to Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. The Packers need it because their rushing offense is last in the NFL. The depleted defense will get a huge boost whenever Parsons returns.

PACKERS: 28-27

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Last week: Straight up: 7-7-1. Against spread: 7-8.

Overall: Straight up: 47-31-1. Against spread: 38-39-2.

Best Bet: Straight up: 3-2. Against spread: 2-3.

Upset Special: Straight up: 2-3. Against spread: 2-3.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The speaker told a small crowd at the Sea Dog Brewing Co. that he disagrees with the polling and the growing sense that Republicans are heading toward defeat on Nov. 3. Instead, he said he believes that the party in power will maintain their narrow grip on the House — thanks in part to candidates like LePage, the two-term former governor.

“I'm telling you, we’re going to surprise them,” Johnson told the few dozens gathered for lunches of burger, fish and chips and pot pies at the Bangor eatery.

Johnson has been crisscrossing the country in a campaign blitz that will total more than 20 states and 40 districts in October, in a final sprint ahead of the elections that will determine control of Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term in the White House.

Republicans have increasingly been forced to play defense in the final weeks, trying to shore up their candidates in GOP strongholds nationwide as voters reel from high gas prices, Trump’s tariffs policies and the war against Iran. Democrats are reaching deep into districts where Trump has had support trying and preparing a first 100-days agenda if they win back control.

Johnson said what he’s seeing on the campaign trail tells a different story — of crowds turning out to support the party's candidates, including earlier this week in southern Texas, a key battleground region.

“Now we have to defy history to do this,” Johnson said, noting that rarely does the president’s party win in midterm elections.

But he said, echoing Le Page’s own message to the room, “voter turnout is critical.”

With a narrow split, every House district matters

While much of the attention in Maine has been on the state's volatile Senate race between incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson, the House race for the open seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is another key battleground.

LePage and Democratic state auditor Matt Dunlap are vying for the sprawling district that encompasses much of the rural northern part of the state. The two are set to debate this week.

LePage acknowledged that getting out the vote is what will make the difference.

The district is one Trump carried in the past, but that Golden has held as a leader of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of more centrist Democrats. The retiring congressman has at times bucked House Democratic leadership in voting with Republicans.

It's also one of the few remaining Trump-won districts represented by a Democrat, which makes it a prime opportunity for Republicans as they work to backfill losses elsewhere and keep their majority.

This week, the main House Republican super PAC aligned with Johnson, the Congressional Leadership Fund, canceled spending in four House races, including Iowa and New Jersey, and increased its investment in others from Texas to Pennsylvania.

Democrats, however, are confident they will seize control, as they begin planning an ambitious agenda focused on affordability issues and anti-corruption investigations of Trump and his administration.

The lengthy written submissions by both sides precede the sentencing later this month of twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 39, and Tal Alexander, 40.

The brothers were convicted in March of multiple charges including sex trafficking, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison.

“As the evidence makes clear, the defendants are serial rapists who violated woman after woman and girl after girl for years upon years,” prosecutors wrote. They said they had identified at least 70 victims who were raped or sexually assaulted by at least one of the defendants.

Defense lawyers said the brothers apologize to the women they insulted or offended for conduct they admit was “insensitive toward the feelings of certain women at certain times,” but they added that all three “steadfastly maintain their complete innocence of these awful charges.”

Oren and Tal Alexander, once known as real estate’s “A Team” for their high-ticket sales and celebrity clientele, face sentencing Oct. 27 along with Alon Alexander, who ran their family's private security company.

Prosecutors said the brothers began sexually assaulting women as early as 2001 or 2002, when they were in high school. As the years passed, the government said, they developed a pattern of drugging and raping women who they enticed to join them on luxury getaways.

“The defendants felt empowered to take whatever they wanted from any woman or girl who agreed to get on a plane, go to a party, or sit at their table at a nightclub,” prosecutors said.

Once sexual assaults began, the brothers “seemed to prefer — when the women protested, struggled to get free, or lay lifeless in front of them,” prosecutors said.

Eleven women testified at their trial, with many of them describing being raped or sexually assaulted after they became disoriented and lost control of their bodies after being given a drink by one of the brothers.

Prosecutors noted that the Probation Office has recommended that each defendant serve 15 years for each victim they raped, which would result in 180-year sentences for Alon and Tal Alexander and 195 years in prison for Oren Alexander.

Defense lawyers described the brothers as “dedicated husbands and fathers” and said they had all lived “lives very different than what was portrayed at trial” for years prior to their 2024 arrests. They have been jailed ever since.

The defense submission projected confidence that the brothers will do well on appeal, saying the evidence was “remarkably weak” on critical points and that the men faced “overwhelming prejudice” as a result of Judge Valerie E. Caproni's decisions about what evidence the jury saw.

“We fight against injustice,” they wrote.

The lawyers also urged Caproni to see the brothers as “human beings, not the monsters falsely portrayed in Court and in the media.”

Michael Delgado confessed to firing a handgun as two teens were fighting on Sept. 1st, at the Atlantico at Aquabella apartment complex at West 35th Way and 111th Place, according to a police officer’s report.

A victim reported that he was in a fist fight when Delgado, who was born in Cucuta and lives in Hialeah, fired into the air and at him while he ran away, according to a police officer’s arrest report.

“I am going to kill you,” Delgado shouted at the victim, while running after him and firing in his direction, according to the police report.

The victim reported that he could hear the bullets “passing” near his head and body, according to police.

Another victim accused Delgado of pointing a gun “directly toward” his face and firing in his direction, so he threw himself “to the ground,” and fled with friends in a black Chevy Tahoe, according to police.

No one was injured.

Police officers detained Delgado and another teen for questioning on Sept. 2, and Delgado confessed to “possessing” and firing a gun into the air, according to the arrest report.

Police officers arrested Delgado and the other teen at 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 2 and took them to the Juvenile Assessment Center in Miami-Dade County, records show.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Delgado on Tuesday, and he was at the Metrowest Detention Center on Wednesday, according to inmate records.

Miami-Dade prosecutors filed four charges against Delgado in adult criminal court on Tuesday, and a judge ordered his pre-trial detention on Wednesday, according to court records.

Delgado faced two felonies: Second-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and throwing a deadly missile. He also faced two misdemeanors: Possession of a firearm by a minor and discharging a firearm in public.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Carmen R. Cabarga was set to preside over the case. The court set Delgado’s arraignment at 9 a.m. on Oct. 19.

Related report: 2 teens arrested following shooting at Hialeah residential complex, police say

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.

The subpoenas were issued for a grand jury collecting evidence in Minnesota as federal authorities probe potential fraud in Omar's immigration paperwork, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The investigation led to federal agents searching Omar's Washington, D.C. home on Monday just weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection.

The scope of the investigation into Omar is unclear, though Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested that authorities were examining potential crimes related to her family’s immigration paperwork.

On Tuesday, Washington D.C. U.S Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a Fox News interview that “there are several investigations going on" related to Omar and that her office is also probing issues concerning the lawmaker's financial disclosures.

“If there was a crime that was committed, it will be prosecuted,” Pirro said.

The search of Omar's home so close to next month’s midterm contests that will determine control of the House and the Senate was swiftly condemned by Democrats, who accused the administration of targeting the Democrat for political purposes. Omar, in a statement on X, called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”

“For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said. “I will not be silenced.”

A phone message seeking comment was left Wednesday with a representative for Omar.

Though the Republican focus on Omar’s background dates back years, the search notably took place three weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection. The Justice Department has historically sought to avoid public investigative actions involving a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election.

Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis. She is part of The Squad of progressive lawmakers who are a vibrant political force on the left wing of Congress but have also endured repeated attacks from Trump, dating back to his first term. She was one of the first two Muslim-American women in the House and the first African refugee to be elected to Congress.

The drugs included 29,600 pounds of cocaine and 3,355 pounds of marijuana, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The crews of the USCG Cutter Tampa seized the drugs during six interdictions in the Pacific, according to the USCG.

During a news conference, Capt. Kent Reinhold said three of the six interdictions required “precision disabling fire” directly on the vessels.

“Stopping a speeding vessel from a maneuvering helicopter, at night, over an open ocean, demands extraordinary aviation skill, tactical judgement and absolute discipline,” said Reinhold, the commander of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron based in Jacksonville, Fla.

USCG Cmdr. Joshua M. DiPietro said there were high-speed pursuits in “total darkness” of larger vessels with engines with more horsepower than usual.

“The vessels we saw this patrol were much more powerful than what I have seen the rest of my career,” said DiPietro, who assumed command of USCGC Tampa in 2025.

DiPietro said they saw people from six different countries during the interdictions. There were 15 suspects detained. USCG Vice Adm. Jo-Ann F. Burdian said the offload of narcotics was a historic event.

“Just last year, over 19,000 Americans lost their lives to cocaine overdose, so make no mistake, this is life-saving work,” said Burdian, the commander of the USCG Atlantic.

Kundizeza's “The Blue Fighter” won this year’s $10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing last week, but a report in The Atlantic magazine said the AI detection tool Pangram had indicated the entire story was AI-generated with the exception of an excerpt from a poem by another author.

Kundizeza posted a denial on X late Tuesday, and in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press said that African writers and readers should challenge such accusations.

“There is need to use technology responsibly so that it is not deployed to create a bias against natives who seek to write about their own experiences and cultures,” he said. “Although I am not too well versed with these technologies, it is well known that AI is in certain ways biased against us, it’s something that really needs to be looked at because this kind of treatment I got is not going to stop,” he added.

The Caine Prize organizers have not retracted the prize, but have said that it is under review and that they have a responsibility to examine such AI claims. “We aim to do this by taking a human-centered approach, ensuring that writers are supported and cared for during the process. We have initiated that process in this case,” the organizers said this week.

In his statement on X, Kundizeza insisted that his story, centered on family relationships and economic hardship, was entirely his own work. He said it had gone through standard editorial processes. He said the story reflected his family’s life during Zimbabwe’s years of economic turmoil.

“Aspects of the story, including characters and the setting, are drawn from events in my own life,” he said, describing it as “a deeply personal story about economic collapse and familial relationships.”

He challenged the suggestion that differences between the winning story and his earlier work should cast doubt on his authorship.

“As writers, we develop recurring interests, but we don’t produce work from a single fixed template. To suggest that a writer cannot write in different styles or genres, or improve his writing substantially after five or more years, fundamentally misunderstands the craft of writing,” he said in his X post.

The allegations have prompted a wider debate on social media, with some questioning whether Black authors are being unfairly targeted by AI-related accusations.

Radical Books Collective, an international group that organizes online book clubs, literary events and podcasts focused on political literature and ideas, described the controversy as part of a broader pattern. “The digital lynchings continue as Black authors are being targeted in AI/plagiarism scandals: Jamir Nazir, Jerry Falade, Thélyson Orélien and now Simbarashe Kundizeza,” the collective posted.

Nhlandla Duba, a linguist from Zimbabwe who researches English literature at the University of Pretoria, said Kundizeza's story rings true.

“That story sounds human. Zimbabwean literature is alive!" Duba proclaimed on X.

The agency rejected the recommendation, saying that using cameras that automatically activate when an officer pulls their weapon or activates a car siren could risk privacy concerns.

ICE has come under intense scrutiny after numerous incidents where officers have opened fire during enforcement operations and the agency has claimed they were under threat but officers weren't wearing body cameras. Critics say the cameras could help hold officers accountable and promote transparency at a time when the agency is operating at a high tempo across the country and increasingly accused of excessive use of force. The report by the Government Accountability Office covers the period from February 2025 until September of this year. The report, conducted at the request of Democratic members of Congress, delves into policies governing the use of body-worn cameras by ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and details improvements both agencies can make to improve their programs. But it did not go into any of the high-profile ICE-involved shootings that have focused attention on the agency’s body-worn camera usage, such as the shooting deaths of Renee Good in Minneapolis or Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.

A fatal shooting exposed gaps in ICE’s camera rollout

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in February that every Homeland Security officer on the ground in Minneapolis would be issued body-worn cameras. Noem, who was later fired by Trump, said officers across the country would receive them as funds became available.

The department later received $20 million from Congress to finish the ICE body-camera rollout plan. But then came a shooting in July of Salgado Araujo, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot and killed the Mexican man who lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years. Those officers were not wearing body cameras, raising questions about why the agency still hadn't gotten the cameras out to officers in the field. Homeland Security said after Salgado Araujo’s death that body cameras had been deployed to more than half of ICE field offices and that the remainder would get them in the next 60 days. In the GAO report, DHS said all ICE offices had received the body-worn cameras as of Aug. 5 and that officers were being trained on their use.

In a statement Wednesday, DHS said that while they'd purchased devices for all ICE officers across the country, the required training was still ongoing and that they expected to be finished “soon.”

DHS rejects automatic recording, citing privacy concerns

The report recommended ICE take additional steps such as “automated camera activation” that it said would be particularly helpful in situations where “unexpected and unplanned incidents, unrelated to sensitive operations, result in use of force by or against personnel.” The report said this would improve transparency and public trust. But DHS disagreed, saying that cameras that automatically activate could result in “the unauthorized recording of sensitive interactions with informants or victims.” The agency said the body-worn cameras are required to be turned on at the beginning of pre-planned enforcement activities.

Confusion over camera rules kept one ICE office from using them

The report also said some of the officers they talked to at both ICE and CBP were confused as to when they should activate the cameras. For example, some officers told the GAO they didn't know whether to activate the cameras during vehicle searches or when transporting detainees. The report noted that at one ICE office, staff was so uncertain about when they were supposed to use the cameras that they hadn't begun using them even after they'd been trained.

The report also found that neither agency had updated the plans that oversee their body-worn camera programs even as their staff had grown significantly.

En los tres países de su itinerario —el laico Uruguay, la mayoritariamente católica Argentina y Perú, la patria adoptiva de León—, funcionarios gubernamentales le desearon al pontífice una pronta recuperación, líderes de la Iglesia pidieron paciencia y fieles se reunieron para rezar.

El Vaticano informó el miércoles que León se recuperaba según lo previsto tras la cirugía y que el viaje seguía en su agenda. Pero la presidenta peruana Keiko Fujimori adoptó un tono más cauto y dijo a los periodistas que su recuperación podría tomar “varias semanas, más de lo previsto”, lo que potencialmente obligaría a cambios en el itinerario del 6 al 17 de noviembre.

El viaje tiene un itinerario ambicioso

La gira sudamericana de 12 días sería la más larga del pontificado de León hasta ahora, con más de 31.000 kilómetros (19.000 millas) en una docena de vuelos y dos traslados en helicóptero. En Uruguay y Argentina —dos países que no reciben la visita de un papa desde la década de 1980—, León celebraría misas y se reuniría con fieles, clérigos y líderes políticos en seis ciudades.

El tramo más largo del viaje llevaría a León, de 71 años, a Perú, donde pasó 20 años como misionero y obispo de la ciudad costera de Chiclayo. Desde la capital, Lima, tiene previsto viajar al norte hacia su antigua diócesis y luego continuar hacia la antigua capital inca de Cusco, en lo alto de los Andes, y la ciudad amazónica de Pucallpa. El aire enrarecido de montaña en Cusco, a unos 3.400 metros (11.150 pies) sobre el nivel del mar, podría suponer un desafío particular tan poco tiempo después de la cirugía pulmonar de León.

Funcionarios de la Iglesia en Argentina, patria del predecesor de León, el papa Francisco, instaron a los feligreses a anteponer el bienestar del pontífice a la emoción por la primera visita papal al país en cuatro décadas.

"Uno a veces piensa egoístamente en su venida, pero lo primero que hay que pensar es en su salud", aconsejó el cardenal Ángel Rossi, arzobispo de Córdoba, una de las paradas previstas de León.

Dirigentes de todo el profundo espectro ideológico argentino, desde el presidente de derecha Javier Milei hasta su rival de izquierda, el gobernador de Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, se sumaron a los deseos de una pronta recuperación para el papa.

Milei, quien fue criado como católico, pero más recientemente ha explorado la conversión al judaísmo, manifestó: “Toda la Argentina acompaña con afecto y oración a Su Santidad, deseándole una pronta y completa recuperación”.

En el vecino Uruguay, donde se espera que la visita de León dinamice a la minoría católica en un país que oficialmente celebra la Navidad como el Día de la Familia, el cardenal Daniel Sturla, arzobispo de Montevideo, moderó las expectativas sobre la visita histórica y añadió que la decisión

“Primero recemos para que venga. Corremos el riesgo de que en estos días se diga que no puede venir”, dijo Sturla a medios locales el martes, y añadió que la decisión, en última instancia, recaerá en los médicos del papa.

Perú espera con ansias el regreso de León a casa

En Chiclayo, una de las ciudades más grandes de Perú, la emoción por el esperado regreso de León a casa se transformó en aprensión tras su diagnóstico.

“Por el cariño que le tenemos al Santo Padre con nuestro obispo también preocupados y preocupados por su salud, por lo que pueda venir”, comentó el reverendo Elmer Uchofen. Recordó cómo el futuro papa ayudó a conseguir plantas de producción de oxígeno durante la pandemia de COVID-19, se metió en el barro con botas de goma para ayudar a víctimas de inundaciones y dio misa con presos en Chiclayo.

Betania Marina Rodríguez, quien dirige una asociación local de migrantes venezolanos en Chiclayo y también trabajó estrechamente con León, dijo que sentía un choque de emociones.

“Todos deseamos que esté sano y fuerte”, expresó. “Y al mismo tiempo anhelamos verlo, escucharlo y recibir su bendición”.

En Lima, peruanos se persignaron y rezaron el rosario ante una estatua de silicona de tamaño real del pontífice, afuera de una iglesia. Otros se reunieron en el monasterio de Las Nazarenas, de siglos de antigüedad, hogar de una venerada imagen de Jesús crucificado que atrae enormes procesiones religiosas cada octubre.

Teresa Ramírez, de 73 años, sostenía rosas rojas, blancas y amarillas —los colores combinados de las banderas de Perú y del Vaticano— en el monasterio mientras ofrecía le deseó “la mayor suerte del mundo al peruano más querido”.

“Para venir al Perú hay tiempo todavía, que se haga la santa voluntad del padre celestial”, indicó.

León, nacido como Robert Prevost en Chicago, se convirtió en ciudadano peruano en 2015 y renovó el año pasado su documento nacional de identidad después de convertirse en papa.

En un asilo de ancianos en la ciudad portuaria peruana de Callao, otra parada del itinerario previsto de León, Mayela Medina, de 52 años, manifestó su esperanza de que las oraciones de millones de peruanos lleven consuelo al papa convaleciente.

“Se me llenan los ojos de lágrimas porque yo también estuve grave y atravesé días oscuros y noches largas cuando me costaba respirar”, dijo, al recordar su propia lucha contra una enfermedad respiratoria. “Ruego con toda mi alma ante Dios que no se sienta abandonado”.

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DeBre informó desde Buenos Aires y Luis Andrés Henao desde Princeton, Nueva Jersey.

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

The company said the deal was made possible by the Trump administration's trade and investment agreement with the Japanese government. It said the initiative will accelerate semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and strengthen critical supply chains.

The company previously received some federal funding to expand as part of a Biden administration program to expand chip production. As a result of the investment from Japan, that federal funding will now go to investments in other areas to advance semiconductor manufacturing, GlobalFoundries spokesperson Kenneth Craig said in an email.

President Donald Trump posted on social media that the U.S. government will receive shares in GlobalFoundries, just as it did for Intel Corp., in an expansion of the administration’s policy of taking ownership stakes in private companies.

GlobalFoundries said in a statement that roughly $10 billion would accelerate construction of a chip factory to open in 2029 and the other $10 billion would fund a second plant.

Demand for semiconductors has surged in recent years thanks to artificial intelligence and the need for computing power at data centers. In July, Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC said it plans to spend another $100 billion on expanding its manufacturing capacity in the U.S. TSMC has been expanding chip fabrication plants in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan.

Katie Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.

The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump's decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment and whose debut at the podium on Tuesday has been widely panned.

Afterward, the president was asked by reporters where Zacharia had passed the bar exam, following a report by the independent outlet Popular Information that she did not appear to be licensed in any state.

Trump stepped aside to allow Zacharia to answer.

“When I moved to China," she responded over the sound of Marine One whirring in the background. It is not clear what she had intended to say or whether she had finished the sentence.

China’s notoriously difficult National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination can only be taken by Chinese citizens.

Asked what credentials she held, the White House passed along a statement from Zacharia, who received a bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University in 2007 and received her law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to the school and her LinkedIn bio.

“I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials," it read.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, added that Zacharia was "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as press secretary.”

A resume under scrutiny

According to her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia has been the senior communications adviser at the Trump Media & Technology Group since June and spent two months as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.

From 2011 to 2013, it says, she served as an associate on the International Practice Team at the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing. She also worked as the manager of fundraising and communications for Compassion for Migrant Children, which assists the children of migrant workers, from 2012 to 2013.

More recently, it says she served as general counsel for Fix California, a group started by Trump administration official Richard Grenell.

Neither the firm nor the two groups responded to questions about her tenure and background.

Zacharia has long called herself a lawyer. On Instagram, she describes herself as the White House press secretary, “Wife, Mom, & Lawyer” (with four heart emojis after “Mom”).

And her official author page at the California Globe, where she wrote occasional commentary, says that, in addition to being a “regular commentator on Fox News, Newsmax," she has “extensive experience in political advocacy, international corporate law, and non-profit work, including time as outside counsel for the World Bank and IFC in Beijing.”

A June 2026 press release from NovaRed Mining Inc. announcing her appointment to the company’s advisory board, which was first reported by Popular Information, said her "professional experience includes work related to international legal and financial transactions, including matters involving organizations associated with the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation during her tenure with Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing.”

In announcing her hire on his social media site, Trump described Zacharia as "a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney, and a frequent Commentator on outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax."

“She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning. She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!” he added.

‘No Record’ found

Zacharia is not listed as a member of the state bar in California, where she currently resides, according to a public database.

Rick Coca, a spokesperson for the State Bar of California, a regulatory agency that oversees state licensing, said in a statement that they have “no record of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black" or any version of her married or maiden names "having been licensed to practice law in California.”

Popular Information said the same was the case in all 50 states they had queried, plus Washington, D.C.

In response, the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint Wednesday with the State Bar of California asking them to investigate whether Zacharia misrepresented herself as a lawyer in violation of California law.

"In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime. The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has,” said CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith in a statement.

The State Bar said they could not confirm whether they had received the complaint or were conducting an investigation, citing confidentiality laws.

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An earlier version of this story said Zacharia’s Instagram profile shows three heart emojis. It has four.

The report by the U.K.-based Conflict Armament Research group came as the Houthis, in their ongoing war with Saudi Arabia, are demonstrating remarkable ability to wreak havoc on one of the Middle East’s best equipped militaries.

The weaponry under development could help the group more precisely target the Saudis and Israel. By turning to China, it also appears to be a sign of increasing independence.

The rebels expand their ambition, an analyst says

The Houthis have tried to acquire key parts from Chinese suppliers that could be used to make a version of Iran’s Kheibar Shekan precision-guided missile, according to the report. The Kheibar Shekan has a range of roughly 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers).

“The local ambition of the Houthis for manufacturing is beyond what was previously assumed,” said Fabian Hinz, a senior analyst at Conflict Armament Research, a research outfit specializing in tracing the flow of arms in war zones around the globe. “These types of parts are very specific, and producing them would have required design information related to the missile.”

They're “not goods that can be used for a variety of civilian applications,” Hinz said.

Liu Chang, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, did not address the specific findings of the Conflict Armament report, but maintained that Beijing was fulfilling its “international obligations.”

“China has always adopted a prudent and responsible approach to the export of military products and strictly controls the export of dual-use items,” Chang said in a statement.

China is a major purchaser of both Iranian and Saudi oil and leveraged its ties with both countries to broker a rapprochement in 2023. It has condemned a series of attacks on Saudi airports by the Houthis and called for a de-escalation in the fighting.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s government launched a military campaign last month aimed at driving back the Houthis from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical Middle East trade route for oil and other goods.

Yemen interdicted key components to building missiles

The Conflict Armament report was based on information released by Yemeni government authorities in July after officials interdicted two shipments that included suspicious equipment.

The shipments originated from China and were intended to be delivered to Hodeidah, a Yemeni port that Israeli officials say has been commonly used by the Iranians as a weapons transfer point. China accounts for the largest share of seized shipments destined for the Houthis, according to U.N. reports.

Components integral to the functioning of a missile were among the parts found in the cargo. They included stabilizing fin cores, rocket motor aft closures with nozzle attachments, and rocket motor igniters.

The cargo also contained phenolic resin, a material used in creating ablative heat shields. These shields protect ballistic missiles from the intense heat associated with atmospheric flight at high supersonic speeds, the report said.

Hinz said that the combination of materials made clear that the Houthis intended to assemble that specific type of Iranian-designed missile.

“This particular type of system is very difficult to smuggle. And you can’t just disassemble and reassemble them,” he said.

Houthi weaponry has grown more sophisticated over time

The Houthis rose to prominence more than 20 years ago as an insurgent group armed with Soviet-era and North Korean weapons seized from the Yemeni government's military.

But over the years, the group's access to advanced weaponry has expanded and so has its ability to menace neighbors.

In the current weekslong conflict with Saudi Arabia, the Houthis have fired ballistic missiles and utilized maneuverable warheads and long-range drones. They previously have fired scores of drones and missiles at Israel, more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away.

Over the past week, they managed to puncture the kingdom’s stout air defense system with strikes on Riyadh’s international airport that killed at least 18 people.

Iran could find value in redundancy

Iran has been an important supplier of blueprints and components for the Houthis. But procuring parts from beyond Tehran could be crucial for the group.

⁠"Redundancy is an asset, not a liability in military planning,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank. “With a blockade of Iran in place, the Houthis are diversifying.”

The rebels had long received weapons and materials smuggled from Iran. But the shipments have changed and now more often contain components rather than intact weapons.

The group’s arms program has been “increasingly backstopped by a hybrid, global supply chain serviced by a web of participants — including tribally connected smugglers across Yemen and businessmen working from export hubs in eastern China,” according to research published earlier this year by The Century Foundation, a U.S. think tank.

Security forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government have repeatedly intercepted missile components and launch equipment at the port of Aden, according to Yemen’s Aden Counter Terrorism Unit.

Yemen experts believe that the Houthis still rely on Iran for more sophisticated components needed to manufacture guided missiles, including navigation and control systems. But the group has expanded its capacity to manufacture and assemble weapons domestically at facilities deep inside territory under their control.

“The group has reached a capability tipping point and can build a significant proportion of some weapons systems using imported components," The Century Foundation report said.

Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said that the Houthis’ supply chain historically mirrored that of other Iranian proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

Iran is among the world’s most advanced in ballistic missile development. And both in Gaza and Lebanon, Iran-backed militant groups have smuggled in raw materials, and relied on Iran for more sophisticated components and assembled weapons themselves, he said.

Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at the Baker Institute, said that the Houthis’ growing reliance on Chinese components could have broader implications for politics in the Gulf.

“Now that the situation has really escalated and seen these attacks on infrastructure and airports, we could see more pressure from the Saudis,” he said, noting that China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner.

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Aamer Madhani in Jerusalem, and Samy Magdy in Cairo, contributed to this report.

El tiroteo ocurrió alrededor de las 7:30 a.m. cerca de la intersección de la calle 109 del noroeste y South River Drive, en el pueblo de Medley.

Según la policía, dos personas discutieron en un negocio llamado Metro Express, y una de ellas le disparó a la otra.

Según Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, los equipos de emergencia acudieron a la zona y trasladaron en helicóptero a una persona a un centro de trauma cercano. Más tarde, la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade confirmó que la víctima murió en el hospital.

Los agentes dijeron que el tirador también fue hospitalizado por “razones médicas personales”.

Los cargos están pendientes.

Aún no se ha revelado la identidad del sospechoso ni de la víctima. Las circunstancias del tiroteo siguen bajo investigación.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Monroe dijeron que el martes ingresaron a Johnay Monique Barnett, de Roswell, Georgia, en la cárcel del condado.

Según los agentes, en diciembre de 2025 alguien que decía trabajar para la cárcel del condado de Seminole contactó a las víctimas.

Los agentes dijeron que esa persona les dijo a la pareja que su hijo había sido arrestado. Según ella, tenían que pagar $6,500 por un monitor de tobillo para que lo dejaran en libertad.

Según los agentes, las víctimas pagaron el dinero por Zelle. Después volvieron a contactarlas para decirles que necesitaban $9,000 más para liberar a su hijo.

En ese momento, las víctimas llamaron a la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Monroe para denunciar lo ocurrido.

Según las autoridades, la investigación requirió la ayuda de varias agencias policiales de Georgia, entre ellas la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Forsyth, el Departamento de Policía de Atlanta y el Departamento de Policía de Alpharetta.

En la investigación también intervinieron varias instituciones bancarias. Además, se revisaron videos de seguridad y grabaciones de cámaras corporales de la policía de investigaciones similares anteriores. Según las autoridades, así armaron un caso que permitió a la Oficina del Sheriff obtener una orden de arresto contra Barnett.

Los agentes dijeron que la arrestaron y luego la trasladaron al condado de Monroe, acusada de un cargo de hurto. Su fianza se fijó en $30,000.

Reportes de medios indicaron que el aguacero inundó viviendas y comercios y anegó carreteras y pasos subterráneos, dejando vehículos varados y causando caos vial en la ciudad de unos 16 millones de habitantes. No hubo reportes de lesiones graves.

En un distrito, transeúntes rescataron a una mujer que era arrastrada por una calle por las aguas, según mostraron imágenes obtenidas por la televisora NTV. Los bomberos rescataron a otra persona que estaba atrapada dentro de un sótano inundado, señaló el reporte.

Las imágenes mostraron varios autos estacionados siendo arrastrados por las inundaciones en otro vecindario.

La oficina del gobernador informó que la educación se suspendería por un día el jueves, y que los empleados públicos con discapacidad y las madres con niños pequeños quedarían en licencia. Aconsejó a los residentes permanecer en casa a menos que viajar fuera absolutamente necesario y pidió a quienes viven en apartamentos en sótanos pasar la noche en otro lugar. Usar motocicletas quedó prohibido.

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

Fusco fue sacada de la reunión del martes después de protestar en voz alta, una y otra vez, a favor de una administradora del distrito. En esa misma reunión se aprobó el despido de la funcionaria.

Los miembros de la junta escolar y el superintendente de las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Broward, Howard Hepburn, dijeron que Fusco estaba interrumpiendo la sesión. Según ellos, le advirtieron varias veces antes de ordenar que la sacaran.

“Hoy estamos tomando medidas legales rápidas”, dijo Fusco a los periodistas el miércoles.

Fusco dijo que la junta violó sus derechos al no darle tiempo a su sindicato para hablar. También acusó a la junta de no responder las preguntas que ella planteó en voz alta durante la reunión.

“Por todo lo que he leído, violaron el debido proceso”, dijo. “Por eso estaba yo en ese edificio ayer, que no quede ninguna duda”.

La disputa gira en torno al despido de Jennifer Andreu. Andreu fue directora ejecutiva de operaciones, compras y servicios de almacén del distrito desde octubre de 2023 hasta principios de 2026.

Según las conclusiones descritas por el distrito, la Oficina del Inspector General de Broward determinó que Andreu manejó mal un contrato del distrito de unas 80,000 computadoras portátiles. También concluyó que engañó a la junta escolar.

Fusco cuestionó la investigación y dijo que no confía en sus conclusiones.

“No creo en lo que encontraron, porque no sé a quién les llevaron a entrevistar el superintendente y los demás que tienen el poder”, dijo. “No conocemos todos los detalles porque es una agencia externa, y las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Broward tienen su propia política interna de cómo investigar. ¿Por qué no se hizo con nosotros?”.

Fusco también rechazó la idea de que la disputa legal pueda desviar la atención del referéndum sobre fondos escolares que los votantes decidirán en noviembre.

Dijo que los votantes de Broward entienden que la medida beneficiaría a los educadores y a los estudiantes.

El jefe de gabinete de las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Broward, John J. Sullivan, envió a Local 10 News el siguiente comunicado sobre la salida de Fusco de la reunión:

“Las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Broward valoran la participación del público, los distintos puntos de vista y el debate respetuoso en las reuniones de la Junta Escolar. Sin embargo, la Junta Escolar establece reglas de participación para todos, con el fin de mantener el orden y atender con eficiencia la importante tarea de servir a nuestros estudiantes, maestros y familias”, escribió. “La persona a la que se sacó de la reunión de ayer recibió varias advertencias por interrumpir repetidamente la sesión. La decisión se basó en su conducta, no en sus opiniones”.

There were a total of 78 goals scored during Matchday 2 of the competition — played over Tuesday and Wednesday — beating the previous record of 71 from Matchday 3 last season. That included at least five goals in six of Wednesday's nine matches, with Liverpool's 6-3 win at Austrian champion LASK leading the way.

PSG, the two-time defending champion, produced an impervious first-half performance in a 4-2 win in Manchester with three early goals to leave the home fans – including former City coach Pep Guardiola – stunned at the break.

Désiré Doué fired in the opener in the 13th, then provided a brilliant lobbed cross for Ousmane Dembélé to get the second within two minutes after that.

PSG fans celebrated with their backs turned — emulating City supporters' trademark celebration — after Vitinha got the third in the 32nd, and the home fans appeared to be in shock. The players’ shouts could be heard for the rest of the first half as the stadium was silenced.

Erling Haaland provided some reason to cheer by heading in City’s response in the 53rd, prompting Guardiola to celebrate, but Maghnes Akliouche stopped the home team’s momentum with PSG’s fourth 10 minutes later.

Haaland’s second goal in the 75th gave City hope again. It was the Norway star's 61st goal on his 60th appearance in the competition.

Ferran Torres’ penalty should have sealed it in stoppage time for PSG, but Gianluigi Donnarumma stopped the poorly taken spot kick.

It was City’s first European game since being charged with financial rule-breaking over nearly a decade in the Premier League.

Rüdiger saves Madrid

Antonio Rüdiger was Real Madrid’s unlikely hero on his return to Roma with a last-minute winner for a 4-3 victory.

The home fans paid tribute to returning coach José Mourinho, then celebrated wildly as their team took a 3-1 lead.

Marten de Roon scored Roma’s opener with a well-struck effort from distance in the 20th, before Kylian Mbappé equalized with a deflected shot in the 25th on his 100th appearance in the competition. At 27, he's the youngest player to reach the 100 mark.

Donyell Malen answered twice – restoring Roma’s lead in the 51st and getting his second six minutes later.

But Madrid substitutes Carlos Espí and Endrick scored within three minutes from the 85th to tie the game, then Rüdiger scored from close range after a corner.

The German veteran kept his celebrations in check after spending two seasons at Roma from 2015-17.

Betis outshoots Porto

Isco scored the winner and Abde Ezzalzouli netted a contender for goal of the day as Real Betis defeated Porto 3-2 in a bad-tempered game in Seville.

Ezzalzouli struck the ball from the corner of the penalty area inside the top corner at the far post after the break.

Gabriel Veiga equalized with a fine free kick in the 55th and set off a kerfuffle between rival players with his celebration. Three players were booked.

Porto substitute Samu – a Spanish international – scored just two minutes after coming on, only for Cucho Hernández – another substitute – to equalize in the 74th.

Isco got the winner late with a penalty.

Barcola hat trick for Liverpool

Bradley Barcola scored a hat trick as Liverpool coasted to a 6-3 win at Austria’s LASK earlier.

They were his first goals for the club since joining from PSG in the offseason.

Ronald Araújo also got his first Liverpool goal as he broke the deadlock with a header from a corner, less than two minutes before Barcola scored in the 24th from a lay-off by Lewis Koumas.

Ryan Gravenberch struck the post before Barcola got his second in the 37th, finishing with aplomb after being played through by Florian Wirtz.

Jeremie Frimpong, one of the smallest players on the field, headed Liverpool’s fourth in off the right post in the 51st.

Robert Ljubičić pulled a goal back in the 63rd, a minute after going on as a substitute, before Frimpong gave Barcola a simple tap-in to complete his hat trick in the 66th.

Koumas was left free to get Liverpool’s sixth six minutes later – it was the 21-year-old forward's first Liverpool goal.

But Florian Flecker – another LASK substitute – got the biggest cheer when he scored his team’s second with a diving header in the 74th, four minutes before he got another to complete the scoring.

Other results

Nicolas Jackson and Ross Barkley both scored twice in a 6-0 rout for Aston Villa over Fenerbahçe.

Switzerland winger Johan Manzambi opened the scoring, on his first Champions League appearance, on his 21st birthday. Tammy Abraham completed Villa's biggest ever European win.

Fredrik Sjøvold’s second-half strike was enough for Bodø/Glimt to upset Borussia Dortmund 1-0, Stuttgart won 3-0 at Slovan Bratislava, and Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk recovered to beat AEK Athens 3-1 in a “home” game at Chelsea’s ground in London.

Earlier, Anis Hadj Moussa scored twice as Dutch leader Feyenoord came from behind to beat visiting Como 3-2.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Media reports said that the downpour flooded homes and businesses and inundated roads and underpasses, stranding vehicles and causing traffic chaos in the city of around 16 million people. There were no reports of any serious injuries.

In one district, bystanders rescued a woman who was being swept down a street by the floodwaters, footage obtained by NTV television showed. Firefighters rescued another person who was trapped inside a flooded basement, the report said.

Images showed several parked cars being swept by the floods in another neighborhood.

The governor’s office said that education would be suspended for a day on Thursday, and state employees with disabilities and mothers with young children would be placed on leave. It advised residents to stay home unless travel was absolutely necessary and for people living in basement apartments to spend the night elsewhere.

Motorcycles, meanwhile, were barred from traffic.

The granddaughter of President Donald Trump revealed on social media Wednesday that she recently had surgery to repair a left wrist injury. She did not reveal the severity and said the injury happened during her first tournament of the season.

“While I had hoped to avoid surgery, after talks with my family, coaches, and athletic training staff I know I made the best decision for my long-term health and my future in the game I love,” she wrote on social media. “It’s certainly not how I envisioned the next few months, but sometimes the journey takes an unexpected turn, and I’m choosing to embrace this one with patience, and a whole lot of determination.”

Kai Trump is one of nine players on Miami's roster. The Hurricanes, as a team, have two tournament wins and one runner-up finish in three events this season — currently holding the No. 7 spot in the national rankings.

“For now, it’s all about healing, and trusting the process,” she wrote in her post. “I can’t wait to be back with my team, doing what I love."

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, a day before Cornell’s Faculty Senate began debating a no-confidence resolution in his administration, Kotlikoff acknowledged that he did not know until recently that the woman had dropped out of Cornell or that students had been expelled or suspended over the incident.

Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations involving drug use and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house in a November 2024 message to the Cornell community, saying criminal and university investigations were underway.

He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault, but said this week that he never followed up to learn the outcomes of the criminal or Title IX investigations into the woman’s allegations.

Faculty describe ‘contentious’ meeting

The faculty senate meeting stretched past the two hours anticipated. Kotlikoff left the meeting after addressing faculty members and answering questions, and did not stay for the debate over the no-confidence resolution, according to Anne Marie Brady, a co-sponsor who attended.

Faculty described a contentious meeting that exposed a division on campus on what should happen next.

“The institution is split in significant ways,” said Grant Farred, professor of Africana Studies and English, describing those in the humanities as feeling they had enough information to proceed while those in the sciences wanted more data.

Iris Packman, a member of the faculty senate and senior research and policy development associate at Cornell's ILR School Climate Jobs Institute, said the meeting had a “contentious tone” and that Kotlikoff got “defensive” and tried to “control the narrative.”

“The resolution is about the need for systematic change because there is a systematic problem,” Packman said. The underlying case happened in 2024 but “the administration has yet to take responsibility for anything,” she said.

Debate was expected to continue Oct. 28, followed by electronic voting by the Faculty Senate, which has approximately 130 voting members. A simple majority is required for passage.

Case has drawn national attention, roiled campus

The case has drawn national attention since the woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit alleging that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted or exploited her in October 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints.

On Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced a ban on fraternity parties through the end of the academic year and plans to give state police a role in investigating sexual assault reports.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten initially declined to pursue charges after reviewing a summary prepared by Cornell University Police, but later said it omitted key details. He reopened the investigation after the lawsuit was filed. Gov. Kathy Hochul subsequently removed him from the case, appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor and ordered an independent review of Cornell’s handling of the allegations.

The Cornell Faculty Senate's proposed resolution, declaring no confidence in the administration's ability to handle reports of sexual assault on campus, reflects growing concerns among some faculty members that people who report sexual misconduct face institutional barriers and fear retaliation. Some have called for Kotlikoff’s resignation, while others have urged patience as independent investigations proceed.

The resolution is nonbinding and would not force Kotlikoff or other university leaders from office, but cosponsors said they hoped it would prompt Cornell’s trustees and senior administrators to act.

Faculty members question whether Cornell can investigate itself

Brady, a senior extension associate at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, questioned whether Cornell University Police can independently investigate serious allegations of sexual misconduct.

“There doesn’t seem to be independence between the administration and the Cornell Police Department,” Brady said. She pointed to its handling of campus protests as one reason for her concerns and said serious criminal allegations should be investigated by outside law enforcement agencies.

Brady welcomed Kotlikoff’s announcement that state police would take on a role in sexual assault investigations, saying it showed the administration was listening to faculty concerns. But she questioned the timing, a day before the Senate was scheduled to begin debating the no-confidence resolution.

“I’m happy that they are listening — we need a dialogue,” she said. “We need to debate and discuss this. But I also feel it’s a bit disingenuous that it comes out just before the resolution.”

Professor who reported harassment says it nearly cost her career

For Ariana Kim, an associate music professor at Cornell and co-sponsor of the resolution, Kotlikoff’s acknowledgment that he had not followed up on the woman’s case was deeply troubling.

“I mean, that’s appalling in and of itself, right?” Kim said. “That you don’t know about a student who faced an alleged horrific crime, that you don’t think to check in.”

Kim, a Grammy-nominated violinist, said she was motivated to take action after being struck by Jane Doe’s story, as well as her own personal experiences on campus since she started at Cornell a decade ago as a young academic in her 20s. She said when she experienced bullying and sexual harassment by senior colleagues, Cornell failed to properly document her complaints and that she was never clearly informed what disciplinary action, if any, had been taken.

“I was asked what I had done to provoke the situation,” she said.

Kim said she continued to be expected to work alongside colleagues she said had harassed her. Her efforts to avoid them later became a point of criticism during her tenure review. In one instance, a senior professor cited her unwillingness to accept his advice and her avoidance of him in explaining his vote against granting her tenure.

Kim spent more than a year appealing the initial denial of tenure, a process during which she said she lost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and struggled to eat or sleep. The original decision was ultimately overturned, and she secured tenure.

Now seeking promotion to full professor, Kim said she recognizes that publicly criticizing university leaders could again jeopardize her career.

“I’m speaking out publicly against this administration that may very well deny my promotion,” she said.

Kotlikoff has faced other challenges during his tenure

The controversy over Cornell’s handling of sexual assault allegations is the latest challenge for Kotlikoff, who became the university’s interim president in July 2024, months before Jane Doe’s alleged assault, and took the job permanently last year.

Dining and custodial workers went on strike shortly after he took office, and some faculty and students criticized his decision last year to pay $60 million to settle Trump administration civil rights investigations.

Earlier this year, he also faced accusations that he tried to back his car into demonstrators following a campus debate over Israel and Palestinian rights. Kotlikoff denied the allegations, saying he was the victim of harassment.

It’s been a tumultuous journey but coming to Atlanta this season has been the perfect move for the three-time All-Star, whose accomplishments this year have quieted many of her critics. Leading the Dream to the franchise's first title would silence the rest of them. That quest begins Saturday when the best-of-seven series against the Golden State Valkyries opens in California.

Reese is the first player from the heralded 2024 draft class that saw Caitlin Clark go No. 1 to reach the finals as a starter. The 6-foot-3 Reese went seventh in that draft to the Chicago Sky and has used that to fuel her to become one of the top players in the league — winning the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award this season.

“I think it was important for me to go through what I went through,” Reese said of falling to seventh in the draft. “Being able to build character, going through adversity drove character and I was able to learn from a lot of things, being able to continue to be great, but also learning to know that I can be better.”

Her first two seasons ended early, not just by missing the playoffs, but also because of injuries. She had wrist surgery at the end of her rookie year and had a back issue last year. Despite leading the WNBA in rebounding each of her first three seasons, averaging a double-double every year, critics questioned her offensive efficiency.

Online keyboard warriors came up with the phrase “mebounds" to call attention to Reese grabbing her own misses. Reese, who has her own custom Barbie doll, turned that into a positive. She created a business initiative and donated some of the proceeds to her foundation to combat cyber bullying.

“One thing that always set Angel apart as a rookie was her tenacity, her desire," NBC analyst Cheryl Miller said. "I think she’s one of those players who feels like the more you tell her who she’s not and try to set limits, she’s going to break those feelings every time.”

Reese has already matched Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson. Those WNBA icons also reached the finals in their third season in the league. Reese will try to follow Stewart and win the title in her first try.

Reese the missing piece for the Dream

Reese didn't make the playoffs in her first two years in the league when she played with Chicago. Atlanta general manager Dan Padover said the night his team lost to Clark and the Indiana Fever in the playoffs last season that he decided he needed to acquire Reese. She was the missing piece that the franchise needed to get back to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013. So he did just that, trading for Reese.

“Coming to Atlanta, obviously the goal for me was just to get them past the first round, because I wanted that for them," Reese said. “I watched them last year when they played how they came up short, and we saw the film from the beginning of the season."

Reese said that coach Karl Smesko still played those clips from when they lost in the first round. She didn’t make the postseason in her two years in Chicago. She just wanted to get a chance to play in the playoffs, and after helping Atlanta knock off Washington and New York, she has the Dream in the championship round.

“I think the expectations for me have risen beyond what I expected,” she said. “Obviously I didn’t know we were going to be going to the finals, but obviously now the expectation is being in the finals every single year. Being here with the Dream, it just makes it a lot of fun. They pour into you, the organization is great, so I really love it.”

Reese has drawn high praise from Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who worked with her at the World Cup.

“Yeah, she’s an ultimate, ultra competitor,” Nakase said. “To me, when we were at USA, you heard her voice constantly. So when she didn’t start, you heard her. She was constantly cheering her teammates on when they needed to. She constantly called them out when we needed energy."

Nakase said Reese's competitive edge is a huge reason Atlanta is in the finals, and she knows Reese "is not going to let any possession slip.”

Winning titles not new for Reese

Reese is no stranger to winning championships. She helped LSU win the NCAA title her junior year, beating Clark and Iowa in the title game that had over 18 million people watch on television. She also was on the U.S. national team that won a fifth straight World Cup last month.

“All of them are just like win or go home situations for me," Reese said of her college experience. "That’s kind of the mindset how it’s always been. Every game I’m treating it like it’s win or go home, and making sure I put my body out there every single night and give it my all, every little detail.

“We always talk about the value of one, that’s Karl’s big emphasis,” Reese said. "The value of one, the value of one, one rebound, one box out, one shot, one free throw, making sure I am perfecting and doing everything right. That’s kind of been the mindset for me.”

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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley and freelance writer Alan Cole in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case exploring the extent to which companies from an array of sectors are obligated to protect the privacy of customers’ video-viewing data. A ruling could resolve a lower-court split over how a consumer qualifies for the law's protections.

Consumer advocates say the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 was broadly written to adapt to inevitable advances in technology and safeguard consumers' personal information.

Critics of the law view it as a relic that plaintiffs' lawyers are trying to exploit in a way that Congress could not have anticipated before the internet revolutionized commerce. They are urging the justices to reject an interpretation of the law that deprives companies of a vital source of revenue from targeted online advertising.

The current case was brought by a customer who subscribed to Paramount Global's online newsletter to view videos on its website 247Sports.com. Michael Salazar claims Paramount violated the law by disclosing his video-watching history to Facebook without his consent, allowing companies to use his personal information to create and display targeted advertising.

Justice Elena Kagan, who said the language of the statute is “relatively clear," stressed that it is easy for companies to obtain consent from customers to use their digital data.

“Going forward, you have two very simple solutions," Kagan told Paramount lawyer Paul Clement. “One is to get consent. Easy enough. People do it every day. And the other is to stop selling people's private information. Take your pick.”

“Yeah, or put everything behind a paywall. That would be great,” Clement responded sarcastically.

“Not the same thing,” Kagan said.

“Well, I think that's one way that people would try to deal with this,” Clement said.

Congress passed the law a year after a video store clerk provided a Washington City Paper reporter with a list of 146 movies rented by Bork, a federal appeals court judge at the time of his nomination by Republican President Ronald Reagan. The reporter's publication of “The Bork Tapes," on the eve of Bork's hearings in 1987 that ended with the Senate rejecting the nominee, fueled bipartisan outrage and led to the law's enactment.

Paramount's lawyers say lower courts have overwhelmingly rejected other attempts to expand the law’s reach, with district court judges dismissing most cases.

“And why do you think that is?” Justice Samuel Alito asked Salazar’s lawyer, Joshua Hammack. “Why do you think these smart lower court judges have rejected the kind of very literal interpretation of the statutory language that you’re presenting to us today?”

“I think there is, unfortunately, some reluctance to believe that Congress actually meant what it said in the context of this statute,” Hammack responded. “It wrote a broad law that is very protective of personally identifiable information.”

Paramount argues that Salazar does not meet the definition of a “consumer” under the law to qualify for its protections.

Rulings in two appeals courts defined a consumer, under this law, as anybody who purchases, rents or subscribes to any good or service from a videotape service provider. Two other appeals courts adopted a narrower definition of consumer limited to goods and services with audiovisual content.

Only the Supreme Court "can resolve the split and bring uniformity to this important area of federal law,” Salazar’s lawyers wrote.

Paramount says Salazar has no basis to broaden the scope of the law. The company says the law merely prohibits video rental stores from disclosing customers' rental histories without consent.

“Salazar seeks to transmogrify it into a prohibition against targeted advertising on the Internet,” Paramount attorneys wrote.

Paramount says 247Sports is a sports news website that posts video clips with articles and photos free of charge.

“That is a completely different business from renting video cassette tapes. The VPPA does not address it,” company lawyers wrote.

That includes on the mountain, where the three-time Olympic champion will prioritize training in giant slalom and super-G over her signature slalom event. It also extends to the microphone, with her plan to be even more free-flowing in interviews on her podcast, "What’s the Point.”

Just a way to feed her curiosity as she enters her 16th season on the World Cup circuit and second hosting her show. In her eyes, a speedy race and a seamless podcast have a common thread — cadence.

“When I’m skiing my best, it feels like a dance,” Shiffrin wrote in an email to The Associated Press as her 12-episode podcast kicked off Wednesday and featured media personality/fellow podcaster Kylie Kelce. "The turns link together and I stop thinking about them. A great episode has a similar rhythm. One question flows into the next, I might go ‘off script’ — it just feels natural and not forced. Then afterward the guest says something like, ‘That was such a fun conversation, let’s talk again soon.’ That’s my version of seeing green (signifying the fastest time) at the finish.”

From now until March, Shiffrin will feature episodes in which she interviews top names from around the sports world, including figure skater Ilia Malinin, rugby player Ilona Maher, tennis great Iga Swiatek and sportscaster Mike Tirico. The theme is what drives them toward success.

It’s a question she's pondered, too.

The six-time overall World Cup champion will focus her attention more on the GS and super-G this season. Sure, she will still compete in slalom, her top event. But she wanted to branch out after a season in which she won nine of 10 World Cup slalom events, along with capturing gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

A little bit of a scary decision, “because the safe choice was obvious,” the 31-year-old from Colorado said.

“I was coming off a successful slalom season, and if you only look at results, staying focused on slalom made the most sense,” she added. “But after 16 years on the World Cup, I felt a real curiosity pulling me toward GS and super-G, and I’ve learned to trust that feeling. Making peace with it came from being clear with myself about why I was doing it. It’s not about caring less or working less. It’s about recovering better, training with more intention, and racing slalom when I’m prepared for it. Slalom isn’t going anywhere.”

Shiffrin and her fellow racers push out of the start gate on Oct. 24 with a giant slalom competition in Soelden, Austria. Shiffrin said her first slalom race will be in Killington, Vermont, over Thanksgiving weekend.

“I’m keeping the door open,” Shiffrin said of her racing plans. "We’re calling this the exploration season, and I think that framing is what let me exhale.”

As for podcasting, she’s finding her groove. Last season, her guests included her fiancé, Norwegian ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, and gymnast Simone Biles, winner of seven Olympic gold medals.

“I learned that listening is a skill you train, just like skiing,” said Shiffrin, whose podcast launched in October 2025 in partnership with financial group Stifel. “In Season 1, I’d sometimes be so focused on getting to my next question that I’d miss the best thing a guest said. ... So in Year 2 I’m prepping less of a script and more of a direction. I also learned that I don’t need to be the expert in the room.”

Her plans going forward — and leading into the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps — remain fluid, in racing and podcasting.

“Whether I’m in the start gate, in the crowd cheering on former competitors and teammates, or even hosting live episodes of 'What’s the Point,’ I’ll tackle it with the same passion and curiosity I bring today," Shiffrin said. "What I can promise is that as long as I’m skiing, it’ll be because I want to, not because I feel I have to.”

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See AP’s full Alpine skiing coverage here

Según el Departamento de Policía de Miami, el martes los investigadores supieron de un video perturbador del perro que circulaba en internet.

La policía dijo que los testigos encontraron al perro bajo el agua, atado a dos bloques de concreto. Eso dio pie a una investigación sobre las circunstancias del hallazgo.

Los detectives trabajan ahora para identificar al responsable.

Persona interrogada y arrestada por cargos no relacionados

En un comunicado publicado en Instagram, la policía de Miami informó que los investigadores contactaron a una persona que podría ser el dueño del perro.

Sin embargo, las autoridades dijeron que no han podido confirmar si esa persona es la dueña del animal.

Según la policía, los investigadores interrogaron a esa persona y luego la arrestaron por cargos no relacionados con el caso.

Las autoridades no han revelado su identidad ni han dado detalles sobre esos cargos.

La investigación continúa

La agente Kiara Delva, portavoz de la policía de Miami, confirmó que los detectives siguen varias pistas. Buscan determinar por qué el perro terminó en el agua e identificar al responsable.

La investigación continúa.

Wendy Louis, de 40 años y residente del noreste de Miami-Dade, fue detenido después de que agentes del Distrito Intracoastal de la Oficina del Sheriff fueran a su casa a comprobar el bienestar de los niños.

Según el informe de arresto, los niños les habían contado a sus familiares que pasaban días sin comer. También dijeron que solo les permitían tomar agua de la ducha y que no los dejaban usar el baño.

Cuando los agentes hablaron con los niños, ambos describieron condiciones de vida similares, según el informe.

Según los investigadores, los niños contaron que pasaban días sin comer porque su padre creía que el gobierno le estaba poniendo “cosas” a la comida.

Los niños también les dijeron a los agentes que Louis los mantenía encerrados en sus cuartos durante días y no los dejaba salir.

Según el informe, los obligaba a usar un balde como inodoro y no les permitía bañarse todos los días.

Los niños también contaron que no iban a la escuela desde agosto del año pasado, cuando su padre los sacó, según las autoridades.

Según el informe de arresto, los niños tampoco recibían educación en casa.

Los agentes describieron a ambos niños como extremadamente pequeños y delgados para su edad, con el pelo descuidado y enmarañado.

El informe no especificó la edad de los niños.

Los investigadores determinaron que Louis no les dio a los niños “el cuidado, la supervisión y los servicios necesarios” para mantener su “salud física y mental”.

Según el informe, Louis se negó a ser entrevistado por los investigadores.

Fue arrestado y trasladado al Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Allí fue procesado por dos cargos de negligencia infantil sin lesiones corporales graves.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, seguía en la cárcel. Según los registros en línea, su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.

Según los registros, al momento de su arresto Louis también tenía una orden de arresto judicial vigente por agresión en un caso de violencia doméstica y por resistirse a un agente sin violencia.

Lawyer Abbe Lowell also said in a letter Tuesday that Cook would not be able to participate in a hearing Nov. 5 because she “will be executing her official duties as Governor at financial and monetary policy meetings in Europe."

The earliest that Cook could appear before a “committee of inquiry" that the White House set up last Friday would be after the Fed's policy meeting Dec. 8-9, the letter said. The letter was sent to William Scharf, a counsel to President Donald Trump.

Lowell's comments are the latest turn in the Trump administration's extended efforts to fire Cook from her position as one of seven members of the Fed's board of governors. Trump has accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud in 2021, before she joined the board, a claim she has denied. No criminal charges have been filed.

No president has fired a Fed governor before, a reflection of the Fed's traditional independence from politics. Yet Trump, who has repeatedly demanded that the central bank lower its key interest rate, has taken numerous steps that economists say have threatened that independence. The Justice Department earlier this year sought to investigate then-Chair Jerome Powell over brief testimony he had given about an extensive building renovation, though a judge threw out subpoenas in the case and it was later dropped.

Cook was appointed by former President Joe Biden and is the first Black woman on the Fed’s board.

Trump first tried to fire Cook in August 2025, but the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year she could remain in her position while litigation continued. The court also suggested, in a footnote to the ruling, that Trump could try again to fire her if the administration provided her adequate notice and an opportunity to respond. The committee of inquiry announced by the White House last Friday is an effort to meet those conditions.

Under the law governing the Fed, the president can only fire a Fed governor “for cause,” but the Supreme Court didn't address whether Cook's actions met that standard. The committee of inquiry will ultimately recommend whether there is cause to fire Cook, a White House memo last week said.

Lowell also said in the Tuesday letter that “we have significant concerns regarding the objectivity and fitness of the committee for its assigned purpose.”

One of its three members, Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to Trump, has already said the president has “cause” to fire Cook, the letter noted. The other two members — Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling and chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Andrea Rich — are also Trump appointees.

“A hearing with demonstrably biased members, unspecified additional allegations, and an unclear schedule for the disclosure of any additional evidence – with no explanation for why it was not previously produced – is not a process that respects the appearance or history of independence,” Lowell's letter said.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry hailed the opening as a “diplomatic milestone,” while Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called it “a day of celebration for Israel-Colombia relations, and for Jerusalem, our capital.”

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1957 and have maintained particularly close security ties. Colombia uses Israeli-made rifles and fighter-bombers as part of its military arsenal.

But in 2024, then-President Gustavo Petro severed ties with Israel, accusing it of genocide over its military operations in the Gaza Strip, which he compared to Nazi concentration camps. Israel rejected the allegations and condemned Colombia’s decision.

After breaking ties, Petro announced plans to open an embassy in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, but the diplomatic mission never opened.

Restoring relations with Israel became a priority for de la Espriella’s government after he took office with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“This embassy is a visible expression of our determination to restore dialogue, strengthen mutual trust and build an agenda that delivers tangible benefits to our citizens,” Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula said.

In early October, Colombia appointed Tania Gilinski Bacal as its ambassador to Israel and tasked her with strengthening trade ties and cooperation on security, intelligence, cybersecurity and information sharing.

Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017, making the U.S. the first country to do so.

Since then, nine foreign governments have followed suit, including several Latin American countries. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as the capital of a future state, while Israel considers the entire city to be its capital. The final status of Jerusalem is one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the competing claims to east Jerusalem, home to the city’s most important religious sites, have repeatedly erupted into violence.

Most countries maintain embassies in Tel Aviv, saying the final status of Jerusalem should be settled in negotiations.

Fusco was removed from Tuesday’s meeting after repeatedly speaking out in support of a district administrator whose firing was approved during the meeting.

School board members and Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn said Fusco was disrupting the proceedings and warned her multiple times before ordering her removal.

“We’re taking swift action today legally,” Fusco told reporters on Wednesday.

Fusco said the board violated her rights by not allowing her union time to speak and by failing to answer questions she called out during the meeting.

“From everything I read, they violated due process,” she said. “That’s why I was in that building yesterday, I want no mistake.”

The dispute centers on the firing of Jennifer Andreu, who served as the district’s executive director of operations, procurement and warehousing services from October 2023 to early 2026.

The Broward Office of the Inspector General says it found that Andreu mismanaged a district contract involving about 80,000 laptops and misled the school board, according to the findings described by the district.

Fusco questioned the investigation and said she did not trust its conclusions.

“I don’t believe what they found because I don’t know who the superintendent and the other little powers that be, brought them the people to be interviewed,” she said. “We don’t know all the details because it’s an outside agency and Broward County Public Schools has their own internal policy on how to investigate. Why wasn’t it done with us?”

Fusco also rejected the suggestion that the legal dispute could distract from a school funding referendum voters will decide in November.

She said Broward voters understand the measure would benefit educators and students.

Broward County Public Schools Chief of Staff John J. Sullivan released the following statement to Local 10 News in regard to Fusco’s removal from the board meeting:

“Broward County Public Schools welcomes public participation, differing viewpoints, and respectful debate at School Board meetings. However, the School Board outlines rules of participation for all participants to ensure decorum to efficiently address the important business of serving our students, teachers, and families,” he wrote. “The individual removed from yesterday’s meeting was given multiple warnings for repeatedly disrupting the proceedings. The decision was based on conduct, not viewpoint.”

Raez, a hematologist and oncologist specializing in lung cancers, is the medical director and chief scientific officer at the Memorial Cancer Institute in Pembroke Pines.

“Lung cancer is still a very lethal condition ... 70% of the patients are not going to survive ... and the 30% that we cure are the ones that we found early, that are small and we can take them out, and maybe do some extra treatment,” said Raez, who is not involved in the pope’s care and has been caring for cancer patients for more than 20 years.

Pope Leo XIV decided to go public on Sunday about the nodule on his lung. The Vatican and his doctors reported that he underwent a 90-minute video-assisted minimally invasive chest surgery on Tuesday to remove the cancerous mass from his right lung.

“The reason why lung cancer is so lethal ... you don’t get symptoms until the end, when you are already having pain in your rib cage, or you are having pain in your bones,” said Raez, who is the president of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology.

The pontiff remained hospitalized without post-op complications on Wednesday at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, according to the Vatican and the hospital’s doctors.

Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope’s personal physician, and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, his thoracic surgeon, reported, “The Holy Father underwent respiratory physiotherapy and has begun walking in his room. He resumed his regular diet and had breakfast and lunch. Recovery is proceeding as planned.”

The Vatican hasn’t announced the cancelation of the pope’s trip from Nov. 6 to Nov. 17 to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, where he served for more than two decades.

High altitudes and airplane cabin pressures could potentially present shortness of breath, fatigue, or serious cardiopulmonary strain, and risk a collapsed lung.

Raez is waiting for the pope’s doctors and the Vatican to release information about more test results.

Related reports

• Pope Leo is eating and recovering after cancer surgery, his doctors say
• Who’s in charge when the pope is unconscious and unable to govern? The pope
• Pope Leo XIV diagnosed with lung cancer after surgery to remove part of right lung

Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said they booked Johnay Monique Barnett of Roswell, Georgia, into the county jail on Tuesday.

According to deputies, it was in December of 2025 when the victims were contacted by someone who claimed to work for the Seminole County jail.

Deputies said that person told the couple their son had been arrested, and they needed to pay $6,500 for an ankle monitor so he could be released.

They said after the victims paid the money through Zelle, they were contacted again and told that an additional $9,000 was needed in order for their son to be released.

At that point, the victims contacted MCSO to report what happened.

Authorities said the investigation required the assistance of several law enforcement agencies in Georgia, including the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department, and the Alpharetta Police Department.

Through investigative means, that also involved several banking institutions, security footage and past police body camera footage from similar investigations. Authorities said they built a case that led to MCSO obtaining an arrest warrant for Barnett.

Deputies said she was arrested and subsequently transferred to Monroe County on one count of larceny. Her bond was set at $30,000.

According to the organization Cuba Decide, in the month of September, there were 911 human rights violations in Cuba that range from arrests for simply protesting in the streets to posting comments on social media criticizing the Cuban government. 75% arrested were men and 25% women.

For example, in the capital city of Havana, 413 people were arrested. In Camagüey, 121 people were detained and in Villa Clara, 62. There were 284 cases of threats reported that were allegedly made against Cubans by the government as well.

During the month of September, there were also 138 cases reported of human rights violations against individuals for practicing their religious freedoms.

Anything that can threaten the political control and power of the Cuban government will continue to be castigated in an attempt to maintain control of the population.

Cuban laws have two interpretations. One for those in power and one for the Cuban people.

Oct. 13: With or without a U.S. intervention, can Cuba survive?

The socio-economic conditions continue to worsen in Cuba and the Cuban government has no answers for improving them. Even with the 176 economic reforms they introduced months ago, they have been very slow to implement them.

The only answers the Cuban government has is to increase their propaganda of blaming the U.S. for all their problems, which the Cuban people on the island no longer believe.

Without foreign investment, it will be very difficult for them to survive. In addition, their infrastructure continues to collapse from their electrical plants, water system, food supply, and lack of safe buildings for people to live in.

As the midterm elections get closer in the U.S., I don’t see us taking any action against Cuba. Their only hope is that Raul Castro dies in the months to come and that someone within their inner circle of power becomes a true political reformer that can begin to transform their totalitarian system.

Oct. 8: Social Challenges Facing Cuba

In 2014, I wrote a book with that title.

Today, the social challenges facing Cuba are even greater.

When we speak of creating a democratic government in Cuba’s future, there are three variables that must be taken into consideration.

1) The history of the country

2) The culture of the country

3) The personal experiences of the population

That is why it’s very difficult to apply a transition of another country to Cuba or any other country that has lived under a totalitarian regime for so long.

Today, Cuba’s population is about 8.3 million. Many have left seeking a better future. Some factors that are often forgotten is the fact that about 60% of the island is Black or Mulato, while in exile, that percentage is about 5%. Today, Cuba has the lowest birth rate in all of Latin America and, at the same time, one of the oldest population in Latin America.

As we have seen from recent statistics, about 1 million Cubans left last year, seeking a better life. I suspect if and when there is a change in Cuba’s regime, the young generation will not stay on the island to help rebuild their country. They will go elsewhere, seeking better opportunities.

The last challenge is how to change people’s minds to support a democracy when it has been years, even before the Revolution of 1959, that there was a democracy in Cuba.

The ideology of the Cuban Revolution is gone. However, there is a lack of any clear ideology that Cubans believe in, which makes it more difficult when trying to develop a civil society in the future that can support a democratic government.

Oct. 6: Cuba prepares for possible U.S. intervention as talks stall

Cuba’s Chargé d’Affaires in Washington, D.C., Lianys Torres Rivera, gave an interview to Reuters and said that, given the lack of progress in conversations with the U.S., the Cuban military has begun preparations for a possible U.S. intervention.

Cuba fully understands that, if such an intervention were to come, it would not be an invasion as many expect, but rather an aerial drone and missile attack. According to military experts and sources at the Pentagon, such an attack could take less than forty-eight hours to neutralize Cuba’s military.

The U.S. military has also incorporated preparations and contingency plans to deal with Cuban drones if any were launched against the U.S. mainland. My own personal belief is that Cuba would first target the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, which is located very close to one of Cuba’s main military installations near Santiago de Cuba.

Oct. 5: Cuba will not negotiate regime change with U.S.

Over the weekend, Cuba’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, made it very clear that Cuba will not negotiate regime change with the U.S. In an interview with Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Cuban government that if they don’t change their regime, the consequences would be worse.

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This leaves the U.S. with limited options moving forward. 1) Wait until Raul Castro dies and see what happens. 2) Strengthen the opposition inside the island. 3)Take military action against the island nation.

None of these options lead to a clear and quick path to a quick change in their system of government. A military invasion of Cuba by the U.S. could lead to a prolonged stay on the island until some form of government can be established from within the island and with the support from the Cuban exile community. However, there are some in the exile opposition that consider themselves possible leaders in a free Cuba, which could further complicate things.

Lastly, the extended war with Iran and the mid-term election results in the U.S. could also complicate what the U.S. does with Cuba.

Oct. 2: Who is driving U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba?

In the last several months, we have witnessed Secretary of State Marco Rubio continuing to sanction top officials of the Cuban government and their organizations, trying to force them to change or come to the table and negotiate with the U.S.

On the other hand, we just learned that the White House authorized a sale of 3.2 million barrels of oil to Cuba supposedly going to Cuba’s private sector. Are you kidding?

When dealing with Venezuela and Cuba, Trump has clearly shown that making money is more important than regime change in these two countries.

Oct. 1: Robberies and delinquencies increase in Cuba

According to Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez (14yMedio), this past Monday a bank was robbed in Lawton, Cuba in the middle of a major power failure.

The robbers got away with the money that was to be paid the next day to people who had retired. At the same time, many solar panels that have been installed around Cuba to help with the growing electrical shortages are being stolen at night by robbers.

The Cuban government is concerned that as socio-economic conditions continue to get worse on the island nation, these practices will increase. So far, no one has been caught.

Major League Baseball moved the start time up five hours in order for the series to remain on schedule. The game will still be broadcast on TBS and other TNT Sports platforms.

After that switch, MLB also moved up the start of Game 4 of the NL Championship Series between the Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. That game in Los Angeles will now start an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET). The Brewers lead that series 2-0.

The best-of-seven ALCS is even at 1-1 after the Rays' 3-1 victory Tuesday night. Cleveland took the series opener 7-3 on Monday.

Tampa Bay will send right-hander Griffin Jax to the mound. Jax (8-10, 3.52 ERA) struck out four and gave up one run in two innings of relief against the New York Yankees in the Division Series.

Cleveland is expected to go with Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76 ERA), who led the American League in strikeouts. The right-hander started Games 2 and 5 against the White Sox and tossed an inning in relief in Game 4. He had 24 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits.

Friday’s game still has a start time of 6 p.m. and Saturday’s first pitch is slated for 8 p.m.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The Lauderhill Police Department identified the victims as Adianna McCray and Yehudah St. Dic.

Police said they responded at approximately 11:07 p.m. Thursday to the 2000 block of Northwest 43rd Terrace after receiving a report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers said they found McRay and St. Dic suffering from gunshot wounds.

Investigators said one victim was pronounced dead at the scene by Lauderhill Fire Rescue medics, while the other was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where that victim later died.

The motive remains unknown, and investigators have not identified any suspects at this time, according to police.

Detectives from the department’s Criminal Investigations Division and crime scene investigators responded to the scene.

Authorities said the investigation remains “active and ongoing.”

Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. A reward of up to $5,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest.

It happened in the area of Jog Road, between Woolbright Road and Grand Isle Drive.

According to deputies with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, the shooting stemmed from an incident that occurred in Lake Worth the night before when the suspect, who has since been identified as 51-year-old Gregory Dobkins of West Palm Beach, ordered a pizza.

“He says to the pizza guy, ‘I only got $100. Do you have change for that?’ When the guy took out the change, that’s when he grabbed him and they wrestled for the money. He took it away from him,” said PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. “It’s called a strong-armed robbery.”

Thanks to the delivery driver, authorities were provided with a description of the suspect’s vehicle and license plate number, and deputies were able to track him down on Tuesday.

“They attempted a traffic stop and that’s when the guy took off,” said Bradshaw. “It went down I-95 and FHP got involved.”

A police chase ensued, with Dobkins eventually crashing his pickup truck along a fence on Jog Road, leading to a standoff with first responders while he held an unknown object in his hand.

Bradshaw said deputies attempted to use non-lethal tactics to bring Dobkins into custody, but they did not work and ultimately, he was fatally shot.

“During this whole time, he was yelling at the officers, ‘You’re gonna have to kill me,’” said Bradshaw. “But they did try less-than-lethal (measures) three times, but it had no effect on him at all.”

After the shooting, Dobkins received live-saving measures from the deputies at the scene until fire rescue crews arrived, deputies said.

They said he did not have a weapon concealed under the shirt or towel that was in his hand.

According to authorities, Dobkins had a lengthy criminal history that included carjacking, assault, drug possession and sales, kidnapping, trespassing, disorderly conduct and hit-and-run with severe damage.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and PBSO’s violent crimes division are all investigating the incident.

A letter sent Tuesday to Secretary of State Shirley Weber from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy U.S. attorney general, says the department has provided officials in Los Angeles County with a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election.

California mails ballots to all registered voters.

The letter obtained by The Associated Press gives the state 48 hours to determine whether any citizens are included on the list. For individuals whose citizenship cannot be independently verified, the state is to instruct local election officials to segregate their mail-in ballots until their status can be determined, and to not provide a ballot to anyone who has not yet received it. The letters warns that legal action may follow if the state does not meet the 48-hour deadline to review the list.

“If you cannot implement this process by then, given the ongoing federal election, the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief,” the letter states.

A separate, similar letter was sent to the registrar's office in Los Angeles County, which the U.S. attorney's office had investigated during the state's June primary.

Unclear how many names DOJ flagged

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan confirmed in a statement that his office received the letter and a thumb drive, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls.

He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device and hasn't yet accessed any files. The letter, which Logan made public, does not specify the number of individuals flagged by the federal government.

Logan said his office is working with the secretary of state and attorney general's offices to decide how to proceed. The California secretary of state's office did not respond to requests for comment.

“Federal and state laws are clear on how voter eligibility is established,” Logan wrote. “And any action to remove a voter from eligibility must be based on verifiable information, not assertions of unconfirmed data matching.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta slammed the letter in an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, calling it another example of President Donald Trump spreading “absolutely false conspiracy theories that there is widespread voter fraud when there is not.”

Bonta did not say how the secretary of state’s office would respond to the Justice Department, but said: “Will we be engaging in conspiracy theories? We will not.”

Nationwide search for alleged noncitizen voters

The Trump administration has made the hunt for noncitizen voters a priority this year, even though the problem is exceptionally rare. The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.

In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, alleging that as many as 250,000 noncitizens were registered in those states. Election officials there were skeptical of the claim, including Weber, the California secretary of state.

“I have serious doubts about the reliability of your data and accuracy of your claims, since my office has not shared our statewide voter registration list with DHS or any other federal agency or official,” Weber said in response.

That same month, the Republican administration claimed Nevada had 1,500 noncitizen voters on its voter rolls. But after the federal government identified them to the state, the number of actual registered noncitizens turned out to be zero.

As part of its project to find noncitizens on the voter rolls, the Justice Department has been seeking detailed voter information — including dates of birth, addresses, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — from the states. Some Republican-led states have turned over the information, which has been run through a U.S. Department of Homeland Security database that has been criticized as inaccurately flagging U.S. citizens.

The Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for that information, but so far has lost those cases in court. California is among the states that successfully sued, in part by arguing that turning over the data would violate state privacy laws.

Election official calls 48 hour deadline “unreasonable”

Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber, who is president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said she had not seen the letters but said the 48-hour deadline to vet voters flagged by the federal government was “completely unreasonable.”

She said when there is a report of an ineligible voter incorrectly on the rolls, her office does due diligence to investigate. That involves looking at the voter’s registration history, identifying whether that person had voted before and, most importantly, reaching out to the voter, she said.

“It would take more than 48 hours to even begin to get the full picture,” Webber said. She also questioned how the federal government came up with a list of alleged noncitizen voters since it doesn’t have access to the state's detailed voter information.

Webber added that throughout the course of her decades-long career working for local election agencies, she has “never seen anything that would make me believe that our voter records are filled with fraudulent voters.”

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Associated Press writer Sophie Austin in Sacramento contributed to this report.

The visits come as the Republican president works to bolster his party in Nov. 3 elections that will determine control of Congress, and they follow stops earlier this week in Ohio and Alaska.

In Bullhead City, Arizona, soaring music played as the former Qatari jet now serving as Air Force One flew low over an airport where supporters awaited Trump in the heat. The plane circled around and landed moments later. The president, wearing his signature red baseball cap, emerged with a wave and a fist bump and slowly descended the stairs as speakers blasted Lee Greenwood's “God Bless the USA," the song that marks Trump's entrance at campaign events.

Air Force One, now wearing Trump's new red, white and blue paint scheme, and the Black Mountains filled the background as Trump started speaking.

“We want to say a very special hello to Arizona and Bullhead City,” Trump said.

Trump is in Arizona to rally support for Rep. Andy Biggs, who is seeking to defeat incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Republicans running in the state's two competitive U.S. House districts, Jay Feely and Rep. Juan Ciscomani, skipped the event.

Afterward, Trump is set to travel to Western Montana's 1st District to try to boost Aaron Flint, a former aide to retiring Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as Interior secretary in Trump's first-term Cabinet.

Trump has kept up a brisk pace of hour-plus-long rallies — new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia called it a “midterm blitz” — in his effort to stem expected Republican losses and fight a historical trend in which the president's party typically loses seats in elections halfway through their term in the White House.

Arizona stands out as the lone swing state among the president's recent stops, though the airport rally will be in an area of the state known as a Republican stronghold. His other visits so far in October have taken him into traditionally solid Republican territory — Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas — as he weathers low approval ratings, rising costs and the Iran war.

With under three weeks left in the campaign, the Western swing comes as Trump's party has begun retreating from a handful of battleground U.S. House races and Democrats aim to raise money for candidates who seemed like long shots earlier this year.

The shifting money in the final weeks of midterm campaigns reflects an increasingly defensive posture by Republicans, who have already trimmed their expectations in U.S. Senate races, and new aggression from Democrats, who are trying to capitalize on Trump’s low public approval.

Trump twice won Arizona, in 2016 and 2024, but lost the state in 2020. Montana's 1st District is slightly less Republican overall than the state, which voted for Trump by double digits in each of his three presidential campaigns.

Biggs, of Arizona, has been a stalwart ally of the president and assisted Trump's attempt to block certification by the House of Trump's 2020 election defeat. A one-time head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, he's represented a safe GOP seat since winning election in 2016.

He faces Hobbs, who narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake in the governor's race four years ago in a state that has increasingly elected Democrats to statewide office.

In Montana, Flint won the president's and Zinke's endorsement during the June primary. An Army veteran and talk-radio host, Flint assails progressive Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as part of his campaign.

Flint's opponent is Sam Forstag, a Democratic labor union leader and Forest Service smokejumper, a specialized firefighter who gets to fires by aircraft and parachute.

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Catalini reported from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved bemotrizinol — sometimes called BEMT — in June. The first sunscreens containing it are now hitting U.S. store shelves, including formulas from Neutrogena and other manufacturers.

Dermatologists say the chemical fills an important market gap by offering broad protection, like the most well-established sunscreen ingredients, but without their cosmetic downsides, including white streaking.

BEMT has decades of safety data behind it, including studies showing it has minimal absorption into the skin. That’s been a concern with some older sun-blocking chemicals.

“It’s not a brand-new ingredient that you’re going to be the first person to try,” said Dr. Jennifer Stein, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Health.

Here’s what to know:

New ingredient offers broad protection without streaks

To be effective, sunscreens must protect against both forms of ultraviolet light that can damage the skin — UVB rays, which cause most sunburn, and UVA rays that pose the greatest risk of skin cancer and wrinkles.

Sunscreens that block both forms are labeled “broad spectrum protection.” Those that don’t must carry an FDA warning label.

BEMT is the first chemical-based sunscreen in the U.S. that offers this dual protection. Previously, manufacturers had to mix multiple ingredients to protect against both UVA and UVB light.

“This ingredient provides a solution for what is currently a big gap with respect to providing strong UVA protection,” said David Andrews, chief science officer of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that advocates for higher sunscreen standards.

A different class of sunscreens, using minerals such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, has long been shown to offer strong protection against both forms of ultraviolet light. These mineral-based formulas work by physically blocking harmful rays from the skin.

But some people — particularly those with darker complexions — tend to avoid them because they cause white streaking and discoloration. In other cases, people don’t like their texture or consistency.

“Those are good sunscreens,” Stein said. “But for people who aren’t so inclined to use them — maybe they don’t like how it feels on their skin — this is a nice option.”

There's less skin penetration with the new formula

The fact that chemical-based sunscreens are absorbed into the skin means they have to be carefully studied to make sure they aren't building up in the body at unsafe levels.

Last month, the FDA revoked approval of an older chemical ingredient, oxybenzone, after determining it was “absorbed through the skin to a greater extent than previously understood.”

That’s not a problem with BEMT.

“It’s a molecule that’s too big to really penetrate through the skin and get absorbed into the bloodstream,” Stein said. “The older chemical sunscreens had small molecules.”

As part of its safety review, the FDA reviewed studies of BEMT in more than 500 patients conducted by Dutch manufacturer DSM Nutritional Products. Levels of the chemical absorbed into the skin were nearly undetectable, the studies found.

Agency reviewers said research in people who used the sunscreen daily for up to three weeks showed that BEMT “did not cause irritation” or allergic reactions. As a result, the FDA designated the ingredient as “generally recognized as safe and effective,” alongside the older mineral ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

More than a dozen other ingredients are currently used in U.S. sunscreens, but the FDA has said they will require additional evidence to support their safety and effectiveness. The FDA review is part of an ongoing effort to overhaul U.S. sunscreen ingredients that kicked off in 2019.

More evidence is needed about the impact on coral reefs

Scientists have shown that some sunscreen ingredients can trigger bleaching and damage coral reefs. That's led to bans on two chemical ingredients — oxybenzone, the ingredient recently targeted by the FDA, and octinoxate — in Hawaii and parts of Florida. It's estimated about 25% of the sunscreen people apply to their skin washes off while swimming or wading in the ocean.

The U.S. government doesn't classify the environmental impact of sunscreens, and marketing claims like “reef safe” or “reef friendly” have no standard definition or requirements. The European Union's environmental agency has found “limited evidence of environmental toxicity” with BEMT, but longer-term research is needed.

Mineral ingredients like zinc oxide are generally considered safer for the environment, although some experts recommend staying away from so-called nano formulations. Those products are made with tiny particles that are more likely to be inhaled or absorbed by marine organisms.

Older chemicals were often unstable

Experts say BEMT has one other key advantage, in that it doesn’t quickly break down in the sun. That’s been a particular issue for avobenzone, the only other chemical-based ingredient that filters UVA light.

“Avobenzone has been known to be particularly unstable on its own, and a lot of work and reformulation efforts have gone into trying to find ways to stabilize it,” said Andrews. “BEMT is significantly more stable.”

As with all sunscreens, dermatologists say it’s important to reapply every few hours — more frequently if you’re swimming or sweating a lot.

Also, people shouldn’t rely on sunscreen alone when spending time outside, Stein said. Taking breaks in the shade, wearing a hat and sun-protective clothing are all important protections.

“Sunscreen is just one part of an overall sun-protection plan,” Stein said. “Clothing is even better.”

___

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

Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos announced the job cuts in a memo to employees Wednesday. They said the company's product, tech, legal and human resources teams would be the most impacted.

"Decisions like these are never easy, and we don’t take them lightly," Peters and Sarandos wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press. They maintained business was strong — but that Netflix needed to be “disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources" as it invests in future growth and “high impact areas to improve our service.”

Beyond the memo from its chief executives, Netflix declined to comment further about Wednesday's cuts.

Between membership signups and price increases, Netflix’s profit has grown this year. In its second financial quarter, the company earned $3.4 billion and racked up revenue of $12.56 billion — up 9% and 13%, respectively, from the same period last year.

Still, Netflix’s forecast for the third quarter fell below Wall Street's expectations. The company plans to report those earnings next week.

Competition in the streaming space is growing more crowded overall. Netflix continues to be a dominant player (accounting for 19% of the market per the latest data from streaming guide JustWatch), but rivals like Amazon's Prime Video and Disney+ are close behind.

HBO Max and Paramount+ are also now under the same roof — Skydance — after Paramount's $81 billion buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery closed last week. The new Hollywood giant plans to unify its streaming products “into a single service over time.” Netflix initially inked a deal to buy Warner's studio and streaming business late last year, but walked away from that offer back in February.

At the end of 2025, per regulatory filings, Netflix had about 16,000 full-time employees worldwide. The layoffs announced Wednesday mark the biggest round of cuts the California-based company has rolled out in years.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday's news of the layoffs.

“Entendemos que esta recuperación va a tomar varias semanas más de lo previsto. Por lo tanto, entendemos que podría haber algún cambio en el calendario de su visita”, dijo Fujimori durante una actividad pública en Lima.

La presidenta peruana señaló que millones de peruanos rezan por la recuperación del pontífice. “Esperamos que su recuperación sea pronta, inminente y que su visita se pueda realizar, pero entenderemos también el caso contrario", añadió. "Acá lo importante es que su Santidad recupere su salud”.

Hasta ahora el Vaticano no ha anunciado ningún cambio en el itinerario del pontífice por Uruguay, Argentina y Perú del 6 al 17 de noviembre.

El papa, de 71 años, fue sometido el martes a una cirugía en la que se le extirpó una masa cancerosa de un pulmón. Expertos dijeron que se necesitan más pruebas para saber si la enfermedad se propagó y si se necesita más tratamiento, pero los resultados de esas pruebas aún no están disponibles.

En Perú, donde el pontífice nacido en Estados Unidos pasó dos décadas como sacerdote y obispo, decenas de personas asistieron a diversos templos católicos la noche del martes para rezar por la recuperación de León XIV.

Cerca de un templo donde se venera al Señor de los Milagros, cuya imagen acompañará a Robert Prevost durante una misa programada durante su visita a Perú, Teresa Ramírez le deseó “la mayor suerte del mundo al peruano más querido”, tras enterarse del diagnóstico postoperatorio.

Ramírez, de 73 años, llevaba tres rosas de colores amarillo, blanco y rojo en una de sus manos mientras rezaba en las afueras del monasterio Las Nazarenas en el centro de Lima. “Para venir al Perú hay tiempo todavía, que se haga la santa voluntad del padre celestial”, indicó.

También en un asilo de la congregación Hermanitas de los Ancianos Desamparados, en el puerto de El Callao, rezó Mayela Medina, una de sus 60 residentes. El papa tiene previsto visitar ese centro en su viaje a Perú.

“Se me llenan los ojos de lágrimas porque yo también estuve grave y atravesé días oscuros y noches largas cuando me costaba respirar”, dijo la mujer a The Associated Press.

Medina —que sufrió una pleuritis y neumonía— pasó más de dos meses en el área de cuidados intensivos de un hospital de Lima. “Ruego con toda mi alma ante Dios que no se sienta abandonado”, dijo la mujer de 52 años.

Hundreds of youths smashed store fronts, set fires and caused damage to at least four government ministry buildings during running battles with riot police, who used tear gas and water cannon to try and hold back the crowds. Authorities said 23 police officers and six other people were being treated for injuries, while 35 people were detained.

President Bajram Begaj condemned the violence and appealed for calm, adding: “The constitution and the law must remain the boundaries for everyone, without exception.”

The latest demonstrations, continuing for a second day, were organized by student groups seeking education reforms. But the protesters have joined a broader anti-government campaign opposed to a development project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The so-called flamingo movement is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of widespread corruption. The movement earned the name after protesters used signs depicting the pink bird.

Rallies staged for months against the proposed coastal project have fueled political tensions in Albania, which is aspiring to join the European Union. It has struggled with repeated bouts of instability since the collapse of a harsh communist regime in the early 1990s.

On Wednesday, officers in riot gear clashed with youths who dismantled police cordons and set up their own street barricades using burning trash bins. Police struggled to cope with the multiple outbreaks of violence. Health Minister Klodiana Spahiu, who visited the injured officers in hospital, called the violence “intolerable.”

The EU delegation in Albania called for a proportionate response from authorities following protest organizers' “allegations of excessive violence by the police against protestors and journalists.”

“We express concern on the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana,” the delegation said. “Freedom of assembly and expression are fundamental rights and core European values.”

___ Zana Cimili reported from Pristina, Kosovo and Derek Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece

John Douglas Osborne committed sex acts on a 23-year-old incapacitated and intoxicated woman while Mace's ex-fiance Patrick Bryant and Eric Bernard Bowman watched, according to sworn statements by agents from the State Law Enforcement Division, which brought the charges.

The men talked about who would assault the woman beforehand, took photos and recorded the assault, which was also seen on a security system feed at the home in Sullivan's Island, an affluent suburb of Charleston, state agents said. The woman had fallen into a pool and was passed out on a couch covering herself with a pillow, agents said.

Another woman who happened to be watching the feed saw the assault and took pictures and wrote about it in a journal, police said. Mace and Bryant were not yet engaged at the time of the October 2018 assault.

Osborne, 46, is charged with first-degree assault and battery and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Bryant, 53, and Bowman, 46, are each charged with voyeurism.

Along with the voyeurism charge, Bowman was also charged with obstruction of justice after agents said he did a factory reset on a cellphone he knew investigators were seeking in a search warrant, and with publishing the name of a victim of criminal sexual conduct after posting the victim’s name and a video of her on X.

Bryant didn't return a message seeking comment on Wednesday, and attorneys who have been listed as representing Bowman and Osborne in other cases did not immediately return messages.

Mace, a Republican, described the assault at length in a nearly hourlong speech in February 2025 that named the men and described other photos and videos found when she looked at Bryant's cellphone when they were still together.

Mace said she “accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable. We’re talking about rape, non-consensual photos, non-consensual videos of women and underage girls, and the premeditated, calculated exploitation of women and girls in my district.”

At the time, Bryant completely denied the allegations. “I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name,” he told The Associated Press.

The State Law Enforcement Division didn't say if their investigation into any of the men is continuing.

After the arrests, Mace released a statement detailing the 25 bills she says will protect victims of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination, including in retaliatory defamation and libel lawsuits that may result from allegations they bring to light.

The Republican, who is leaving the House this term after losing her bid to be South Carolina governor, introduced a proposal this week to require that anyone who brings such a case and loses must pay attorney fees for the defendant.

“Protecting women and holding predators accountable isn’t a slogan. It’s been one of my top priorities in Congress. For too long, survivors have faced broken systems while predators exploited loopholes and walked free,” Mace said in her statement.

The City Council is expected to approve a bill next week that would end the rides by 2028. Three consecutive mayors had called for an end to the carriage rides because of safety concerns, only to have lawmakers yank back the reins.

A spokesperson for Julie Menin, the council speaker, confirmed the incoming vote and said the proposal had enough support to pass. Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office said he had reached a deal with the speaker on the legislation.

“The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City,” Mamdani said in a social media post.

Teen's death reignited debate over carriage rides

The latest push for a ban started in June, when 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, visiting the city from India, died after jumping from a runaway horse carriage during a ride with family members. His death, which appeared to be the first fatality in a horse carriage accident since they were introduced in Central Park, reignited the debate over whether carriages, a romantic throwback to the city's past, have a place in a modern metropolis.

Mahajan's family has appeared at City Hall, in person and through videoconference calls from India, begging the city to finally end the rides.

“We are shattered, our whole family shattered. The pain does not go away,” his father, Deepak Mahajan, told city council members via a videocall during a hearing for the bill last summer, saying his son leapt from the carriage to try and help his mother, who was flung from her seat, after the horse bolted. “Every morning we wake up and think of nothing but the loss of our son.”

For decades, animal welfare activists and other critics have decried the carriage industry, arguing horses shouldn't be hauling tourists around busy streets and Central Park while having to navigate bustling traffic and gawking passersby. In the past, horses have collapsed, gotten startled and run off, hitting cars or other objects, with each accident resulting in fresh calls for a ban.

“The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable. Horse-drawn carriages have long been part of New York City’s history, but in an increasingly busy Central Park, this tradition has become a growing public safety liability,” Menin said in a statement.

The industry and its supporters have long cast the rides as a way for visitors to experience the New York they know from classic movies and television.

Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse danced into one of the carriages in “The Band Wagon.” Robert Redford and Jane Fonda rode one in “Barefoot in the Park.” Macaulay Culkin escaped bandits in a carriage in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”

“Taking a horse and carriage ride in New York City is one of the most iconic things to do in New York City and people from all over the world know about us and travel to New York to go to a carriage ride in New York,” Conor McHugh, a longtime carriage driver, told the Council earlier this year.

Mayors have faced pushback in efforts to ban rides

Efforts to close down the industry have been met with pushback from unions and influential supporters, often resulting in tiresome political fights that have seen mayors throw up their hands over nagging worries about putting carriage drivers out of work and what to do with the horses if they can no longer work.

Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen said the Council's bill has “no meaningful economic relief for workers” and that Menin “used the tragic death of a tourist to contrive a public safety crisis.”

“This is disgraceful political opportunism, and Zohran should not simply go along with it, particularly when immigrant families’ livelihoods are being destroyed. This entire situation is reprehensible,” he said in a statement.

The proposal as written would require the mayor's office to develop a workforce transition plan for drivers, and includes a measure that would allow the city to consider some kind of compensation for industry workers. Carriage owners could not sell their horses off for slaughter, according to the bill's language, which requires that horses be disposed of in a “humane manner.”

“I think we have a civic responsibility to ensure that we are not leaving anybody out to dry,” Mamdani told reporters Wednesday.

The mayor's predecessor, Eric Adams, called for ending the industry during the waning days of his administration, but the proposal went nowhere. The mayor before that, Bill de Blasio, had pledged to eliminate the rides on day one of his administration but abandoned the crusade after heavy opposition from unions and a media blitz involving actor Liam Neeson.

Over the years, the city has placed various safety regulations around the industry, including a requirement that the horses get at least five weeks of vacation a year outside of city limits with daily access to a pasture. The horses are inspected by a veterinarian twice a year, and the maximum age they can work at is 26, according to city regulations. And they don't work when it is hotter than 89 degrees.

Answer all four trivia questions correctly for a chance to win one of the following:

Grand Prize: Four tickets to NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.

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Winners will be randomly selected by WPLG.

The team announced the decision Wednesday while also moving on from several members of his coaching staff. His contract is set to expire at the end of this month.

“We are thankful for Joe’s hard work, his passion for the game, and for his commitment to the Houston Astros,” team owner Jim Crane said in a statement. “He represented the Astros and the Houston community in the most positive way. We wish he and his family the best moving forward.”

The move comes after the Astros overcame a plethora of injuries to win the AL West with an 81-81 record and become the first team in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason without a winning record. They were then swept by the Chicago White Sox in two games at home in a Wild Card Playoff series.

The Astros will now be searching for a new manager and general manager after former GM Dana Brown was fired in August.

Also on Wednesday, the Astros parted ways with catching instructor Tim Cossins, game planning coach Tommy Kawamura, third base coach Tony Perezchica, assistant hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz.

The team said bench coach Omar Lopez has been offered an opportunity to remain in the Astros organization in a new role.

The Astros are retaining pitching coach Josh Miller, first base coach Dave Clark, major league field coordinator Jason Bell, hitting coach Victor Rodriguez and longtime bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte.

It was the first managerial job for Espada, who was in his third year after being promoted from bench coach after Dusty Baker retired following the 2023 season.

Houston won the AL West in Espada’s first season in 2024 but was swept by the Detroit Tigers in the wild card playoff round. That series loss ended a streak of seven straight appearances in the AL Championship Series, and that included four World Series trips and titles in 2017 and 2022.

The Astros went 87-75 last season to finish second in the division and miss the playoffs, snapping a streak of eight consecutive appearances.

The 51-year-old Espada went 256-229 as Houston’s manager.

He’s been with the Astros since joining them as the bench coach in 2018. Espada, who was born in Puerto Rico, was the second Latino manager in franchise history, joining Cuban-born Preston Gomez, Houston’s manager from 1974-75.

Espada began his coaching career in the Marlins organization, working in the minors until moving to the big league club as the third base coach in 2010.

He remained with the Marlins through the 2013 season before taking a job as a special assistant to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. He joined the Yankees coaching staff in 2015 and worked as their infield and third base coach through the 2017 season before coming to Houston.

Espada was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 1996 amateur draft and spent nine seasons in the minors. He advanced to Triple-A as a player, but retired at age 29 after failing to reach the majors before beginning his coaching career.

___

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

Infantino will on Thursday chair the first session of the 37-member FIFA Council since his secretive and divisive World Cup sell-off plan was revealed — and dropped within days — 11 weeks ago.

The confrontation with his most determined opponents from Europe and North America comes ahead of a Nov. 18 deadline for candidates to enter FIFA's presidential election, which will be held four months later in Rabat, Morocco.

It is the biggest crisis of Infantino’s near 11-year presidency. He was cruising toward a fourth and final term through 2031 when the World Cup final was played July 19 near New York. The private investor plan was revealed nine days later.

Deep into an untypically long agenda, a four-part section promises to be fiercely debated in the basement meeting room at FIFA’s slate and glass headquarters next to Zurich’s zoo.

The four items to be reviewed: Infantino’s quickly withdrawn proposal to sell a permanent stake in tournament rights to private investors led by Joshua Kushner, paying FIFA's 211 member federations from its $5-6 billion reserves, FIFA disciplinary procedures and its governance standards.

FIFA didn't immediately reply to a request for comment about the planned scope and goals of the discussion.

At the core of all four subjects is Infantino’s increasingly executive, one-man leadership style that led his own — and now departed — chief operating officer Kevin Lamour to call the intended FIFA Forward Enterprise spinoff “the project of one person.”

However, it is unclear if most of the 211 federations want to vote out a president who has sent them multiple more millions of dollars from FIFA, a not-for-profit under Swiss law that they effectively own.

FIFA is proposing more cash to member federations

FIFA presidential elections have since 2007 been scheduled in the year after a men's World Cup.

The timing allows sitting presidents to steer a bonus from World Cup revenues, which in Sepp Blatter's time was $250,000, during the official election period. For the 2027 FIFA election, the official period started in April this year at the Congress held in Vancouver.

At the council on Thursday, Infantino is expected to propose the 211 members each get $15 million extra in the 2027-2030 commercial cycle, on top of their $10 million already promised.

That offer appears to counter UEFA and allies proposing last month that FIFA could afford to give each member a one-off $10 million payment from cash reserves. The UEFA-backed offer was in the context of suggesting FIFA had no need to raise $4.2 billion from private investors in exchange for a 20% permanent stake in the FFE subsidiary that would run commercial rights to all World Cups and Club World Cups.

That $4.2 billion would have funded Infantino's offer in July of $20 million to each member federation who approved the sell-off plan by a mid-September deadline.

UEFA filed court applications in the U.S. in August seeking authorization of evidence discovery from FIFA and Kushner's investment firm for a possible criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland. UEFA lawyers claim the $4.2 billion could be a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.”

FIFA asked U.S. courts to reject the discovery requests, and accused UEFA of running a “ smear campaign. ”

FIFA's peace prize to Trump is also on the agenda

How and why a peace prize was created by Infantino and given to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw last December in Washington, D.C. is part of formal complaints by the Norwegian soccer federation to FIFA's ethics and governance officials.

It is also an additional item on Thursday's agenda, which German media reported was at the request of FIFA Council member and German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf.

Infantino's ties to Trump, and potential conflicts of interest, also fueled scrutiny on FIFA disciplinary decisions for the World Cup that allowed Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and U.S. forward Folarin Balogun to keep playing after being shown red cards.

A third case revealed in media reports last week also raised questions about how Congo — whose soccer federation has close ties to Infantino — was not disciplined despite goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi being ineligible for four qualifying games he played in.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

According to an arrest report, Francisco Edilbert Carrillo, 38, of Homestead, was taken into custody Monday after a deputy stopped a suspicious white van that had reportedly been spotted leaving an avocado grove.

Investigators said the deputy was on routine patrol at about 3:30 a.m. when he received a call about the van that was “blacked out” leaving Dunagan Grove, located near Southwest 216th Street and Southwest 147th Avenue.

The deputy located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop near 15730 SW 232nd St.

As the deputy approached the van, he noticed two large black bags filled with avocados on the front passenger seat, according to the report.

When questioned, Carrillo allegedly told the deputy that he had been at the grove because he was trying to repair his vehicle’s lights.

He also claimed the avocados had been collected the previous night and not that day, authorities said.

According to the arrest report, the owner of the grove arrived at the scene and estimated that Carrillo had approximately 750 pounds of the fruit in his possession.

The amount was equivalent to one full bin of avocados, valued at approximately $1,000, investigators said.

Authorities noted in the arrest report that the grove was designated agricultural property and had posted no-trespassing signs.

When a detective arrived at the scene, Carrillo invoked his rights and declined to provide a statement, according to the report.

He was then arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

According to the arrest report, Carrillo faces charges of trespassing on horticultural property and third-degree grand theft.

As of Wednesday morning, Carrillo was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center on a $5,000 bond.

Jimmy Butler. Paul George. James Harden. Tobias Harris. Al Horford.

Nothing more now in Philly than throwback jerseys in the back of some teenager's closet.

Josh Harris bought the team in 2011 and not even a year later the Sixers made the first splash of his tenure with a blockbuster deal when they landed All-Star big man Andrew Bynum in a trade with the Lakers.

Bynum with his achy knees never played a game with the Sixers. Butler, Harden and most of the rest certainly had their moments, yet they not only failed to win a championship in Philadelphia, but they also could not get the Sixers even out of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

That doesn't even count the draft night disappointments since Harris' first draft in 2012. Ben Simmons. Jahlil Okafor. Markelle Fultz. Michael Carter-Williams.

The trade-deadline blockbusters and late-night deals all seemed at the time like the Sixers were swinging for the fences.

The moves were just bunts compared to the summer of 2026.

The Sixers are as all-in as they've ever been in playing for a championship after they traded for Jaylen Brown, an NBA Finals MVP and champion with the Boston Celtics, and landed LeBron James as a free agent on the NBA veteran minimum salary.

If it doesn't work now, with perhaps the best starting five in the NBA, when will it for the Sixers?

“I wouldn't say it didn't work out,” Embiid said of the second-fiddle failures. “Obviously, we didn't win. It's hard to win when you get a group of guys together for one year, two years, maybe.”

The 76ers only have to look at their last championship in 1983 to know that sometimes going outside the organization is the right call. Take 1982, when the Sixers signed reigning NBA MVP Moses Malone to a six-year free-agent contract. Malone won MVP honors again in his first season with the Sixers and helped lead stalwarts Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones and Andrew Toney to an NBA title in 1983.

Brown and James will try to do the same in Year 1 and avoid joining this recent list of stars who left Philadelphia without a ring:

James Harden

Former Sixer executive Daryl Morey had his heart set on Harden and landed the feared Beard from Brooklyn at the February 2022 trade deadline. He had been one of the league’s top players for the previous decade, having won three scoring titles and the 2018 league MVP award.

Harden essentially forced his way with trades out of Houston and Brooklyn and soon added the Sixers to the list.

His low moments with the 76ers came in the 2023 playoffs when the Sixers blew a 3-2 lead to the Celtics. Harden was 0 for 6 on 3s in Game 2 and Game 6 losses. He scored only nine points in Game 7, and he went scoreless in the second half.

Harden got into a contractual dispute in the offseason that lingered into training camp, and he was traded in October 2023 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Tobias Harris

The Sixers made another deadline deal in 2019 to land Harris from the Clippers. Harris had a modest career, and the Sixers were already his fifth NBA team at the time of the deal. Feeling the pressure to keep Harris after trading away a slew of draft picks, the Sixers signed him to a five-year, $180 million contract that summer.

Harris never made an All-Star team over those five years, and he never delivered in playoff crunch time. His low moment came in a 2024 playoff loss to the Knicks. Harris, who averaged 17 points in the regular season, went scoreless in 29 minutes for the Sixers in a Game 6 loss that ended their season.

Paul George

George was indeed the chosen one for the Sixers in the summer of 2024. He signed a four-year, $212 million free-agent contract after the nine-time All-Star spurned the Los Angeles Clippers. With the move — and a coinciding extension with All-Star Tyrese Maxey — the franchise was feeling like they had assembled a championship-level Big Three.

George's low moment in Philadelphia was a 25-game suspension last season for flunking a drug test that put a permanent blemish on his career. George returned to have a solid postseason for the Sixers against the Celtics, which may have been his greatest contribution.

The deal wasn't a total loss. The Sixers were able to use George as the offseason anchor in a trade with the Celtics to obtain Brown.

Jimmy Butler

Butler was an exciting arrival for the Sixers in November 2018 when they got a four-time All-Star in a trade with Minnesota.

Butler, Embiid and Simmons were christened a Big Three — one of many attempted by the Sixers over the last 15 years — and the team was instantly considered a serious threat to win it all.

Butler finished the season with the Sixers before going to Miami. Butler was frustrated with the Sixers' organizational structure and clashed with former coach Brett Brown. Butler felt he needed the ball in his hands and was irked in the playoffs — when the Sixers lost a semifinal series to Toronto in seven games — when he switched primary playmaking roles with Simmons.

His moment in Philadelphia actually came in 2022 when he returned with the Heat. After Miami eliminated the Sixers in the playoffs, Butler yelled as he walked off the court, “Tobias Harris over me?!"

Honorable mentions to Horford, Bynum — whose wasted season kickstarted the rebuild known as “The Process” — Danny Green, Josh Richardson and, well, the list goes on.

The 76ers hope the list of fiascos ends with James and Brown — and with a parade down Broad Street.

___

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 inside Lummus Park in Miami Beach.

According to Miami Beach police, officers were flagged down by a man who told them he was walking along the boardwalk inside the park when he saw the suspect, identified by authorities as Roberto Hernandez, 56, unzip his pants, pull out his genitals and began masturbating.

Police said the witness recorded the act with his phone and presented the footage to the officers, who noted the proximity of the bench Hernandez was sitting on and nearby shower stations used by beachgoers.

Another witness told officers that he was with his wife and two children, ages 1 and 3, rinsing off the children at the shower station when he looked up and saw Hernandez “staring directly at the children while masturbating,” and that he “could clearly see the defendants penis as he was caressing it in an up and down motion,” according to an arrest report.

Officers said they took Hernandez into custody without further incident.

Jail records show he is facing charges of indecent exposure while observing a child and possession of an open alcohol container.

As of Wednesday morning, Hernandez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,650 bond.

Deputies say Shakiria Ross was last seen at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday near the 2700 block of Northwest Ninth Place in unincorporated Fort Lauderdale.

They said she was last seen wearing a grey and white shirt and grey pants.

Ross is approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighs about 190 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes, according to investigators.

Authorities said that Ross’ family confirmed that she has autism.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact BSO Missing Persons Detective Chris Blankenship at 954-321-4268 or the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-4357.

Most schools, colleges and universities are closed and thousands of medical appointments have been canceled because of the one-day strike, which was called to pressure Prime Minister Micheál Martin to intervene in the talks, which have been stalled since June.

Speaking at Mater Hospital in Dublin, the head of the main public employees union, Forsa, blamed the government for failing to address the pay demands of workers.

“The government needs to respond to our members today, right across the country,” said Kevin Callinan, Forsa’s general secretary. “The struggles they’re having with the cost of living, the sense of a breach of trust that’s happened with the Department of Public Expenditure. They’re the issues that need to be faced up to by the government now.”

Consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.1% in the 12 months through September, the highest rate since January 2024, Ireland’s Central Statistics Office said last week. Housing costs jumped 9.5% in the period and transportation expenses rose 7.5%.

Conor Carroll was on the picket line Wednesday at St. Michael’s Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, a coastal town south of Dublin. The hospital porter said that the dispute was all about the cost of living.

“Every time you go to the supermarket you feel it,” Carroll told The Irish Times. “Everything’s gone up, even the cost of eating. And whatever you’re earning doesn’t feel like enough these days.”

The government had tried to head off the strike by highlighting its commitment to put an additional 1.2 billion euros ($1.34 billion) into public sector pay.

Martin said Wednesday that he was open to being an “honest broker” to resolve the pay dispute.

The government’s budget decisions provided “a very strong foundation” for public service pay talks, he said, adding that he detected “goodwill all round.”

“I think the foundations are there for a very substantive engagement between unions and government, and we certainly will be doing everything we possibly can,” Martin said.

On the tourism-dependent island, motorcycles and cars waited outside stations and spilled onto nearby roads as motorists scrambled for fuel. The lines have been reported since Sunday.

Officials stressed that the shortages were caused by domestic distribution problems rather than a lack of fuel supplies or turmoil in global energy markets.

“This is purely a distribution issue,” said Laode Sulaeman, director-general of oil and gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. “A fuel tanker was delayed, but it has now arrived and 24-hour deliveries have been underway since yesterday.”

Sulaeman said that a tanker carrying fuel to Bali suffered an anchor problem while preparing to unload cargo, delaying deliveries to the island’s main fuel terminals. Rough seas and bad weather also slowed shipments to the Sanggaran terminal in Denpasar and the Manggis terminal in eastern Bali.

The disruption was compounded by strong demand for government-subsidized Pertalite gasoline, which is significantly cheaper than nonsubsidized fuel. Panic-buying by motorists worried about shortages further strained supplies at some stations.

At several gas stations, attendants posted signs reading, “Sorry, no fuel available,” while drivers and motorcyclists waited outside closed facilities for new deliveries. The shortages have frustrated residents and business owners on the resort island, where transportation is critical for daily life and tourism.

“This is really a waste of time. We should be productive, but instead we’re stuck in line,” said Made Marlianti, who said she had spent about seven hours waiting for fuel under the hot sun.

Fashion store owner Febi Marsha said that authorities should have managed the situation more effectively before it escalated.

“Fuel is available, but supplies are limited,” Marsha said. “The queues should be managed properly to prevent this from happening.”

Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday from several locations showed long lines of motorcycles, idle fuel pumps and security personnel, including soldiers, deployed to help manage crowds.

Bali Gov. I Wayan Koster said that fuel stocks at storage depots remained sufficient, but deliveries to gas stations were slowed by delayed tanker arrivals and road congestion. He urged residents not to panic, saying additional supplies were being distributed across the island.

State-run energy company Pertamina said that it was closely monitoring supplies after the arrival of a tanker carrying 18 million liters (4.8 million gallons) of Pertalite and 2.5 million liters (660,000 gallons) of Pertamax, a higher-octane nonsubsidized gasoline.

The shortages come as the country faces broader challenges securing fuel imports amid disruptions to global shipping routes linked to tensions in the Middle East. Despite the growing fiscal weight on the state budget, President Prabowo Subianto has held subsidized pump prices firm through the end of the year to contain inflation and shield household purchasing power.

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Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.

Miles se desplazaban por el centro de Bogotá gritando consignas contra el gobierno: “¡Abelardo, fascista, usted es el terrorista!” mientras alzaban banderas del pueblo palestino, de Colombia y de los principales sindicatos.

El expresidente Gustavo Petro, quien terminó su mandato en agosto, convocó a manifestarse alegando que De la Espriella ha dado señales de buscar reducir el salario mínimo, lo que a su juicio provocaría un incremento de la pobreza.

La marcha también fue convocada por algunos sindicatos, incluido el de maestros, contra medidas de De la Espriella que “modifican decretos para precarizar el trabajo docente, privatizar la educación y limitar el derecho a la protesta”, indicó la víspera en un comunicado la Central Unitaria de Trabajadores.

Este será el primer gran pulso en las calles para De la Espriella, quien ha dicho que no tolerará desmanes y que la víspera publicó un decreto que modifica el protocolo del uso de la fuerza por parte de la policía durante las protestas.

La nueva norma permite la intervención policial sin agotar necesariamente el diálogo, según el decreto. A su vez indica que puede retomarse el diálogo después del empleo de la fuerza, siempre que las “acciones violentas” hayan cesado.

“Hay medidas como el decreto expedido el día de ayer que son autoritarias”, dijo a The Associated Press Percy Oyola, presidente de la Confederación General de Trabajo que protestaba en el centro de Bogotá. “Esta es una movilización pacífica, la sostendremos así para evitar enfrentamientos, esperamos que la provocación y la infiltración no provenga de actores que pretendan dar esa imagen de justificar una agresión”, agregó.

Algunos de los manifestantes cubrían sus rostros con telas y máscaras para evitar ser identificados mientras ayudaban a guiar la protesta por las calles cerradas.

“Siento que se viene una onda de violencia tenaz y de estigmatización hacia nuestro derecho a la protesta. La verdad da un poco de miedo y aterroriza un poco el panorama, pero hay que estar en pie de lucha”, aseguró a AP Julián Téllez, un artista de 26 años que sostenía un cartel que decía “Abelardo es un tigre de papel”, en referencia al apodo del presidente.

El gobierno argumenta que con las modificaciones en el protocolo busca garantizar los derechos de quienes participan en la protesta de manera pacífica.

“En Colombia se respeta la protesta pacífica, pero no se toleran la violencia, el vandalismo ni los bloqueos que atropellan los derechos de millones de ciudadanos”, aseguró De la Espriella el martes en X.

La modificación del protocolo generó especial preocupación en los movimientos sociales y sectores de izquierda que temen un uso excesivo de la fuerza y recuerdan la violencia registrada en las multitudinarias protestas de 2021 en las que algunos miembros de la fuerza pública resultaron implicados en lesiones y muertes de manifestantes.

La congresista Jennifer Pedraza, crítica del gobierno, demandó el decreto ante el Consejo de Estado —el máximo tribunal de la administración pública— pidiendo que se anule por considerarlo “regresivo e inconstitucional”.

At least half the survey questions could be axed. The cost-saving change is part of an ongoing effort to slim down the 69-year-old National Health Interview Survey, which for years has been suffering from declining response rates.

As many as a quarter of wheelchair users and more than a third of people who are blind or deaf could be miscategorized as not disabled because of the shorter survey, according to some advocates and researchers. That could leave the government unable to recognize the health needs of many disabled Americans, or the damage caused by changes to Medicaid or other health insurance programs, they say.

The cuts are being ironed out and officials predict the whittling won't be as severe as what's been suggested in earlier proposals.

Questions that have been proposed for removal deal with memory, fatigue, arthritis, difficulty walking and climbing stairs, as well as others about the use of hearing aids, canes, wheelchairs and scooters.

“We just won't know any of that anymore,” said Scott Landes, a Syracuse University sociology professor who researches people with disabilities.

Officials are still determining exactly how much cutting will take place. Currently, the survey has 490 health questions for adults. U.S. officials expect that the 2028 questionnaire will have about 200 to 225 questions, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Stephen Blumberg, who oversees the survey.

U.S. Census Bureau workers conduct the survey every year on behalf of the CDC. It’s a $40 million annual project, and around 30,000 households answer the questions each year.

Their answers have shaped the public’s understanding of topics including how common chronic fatigue syndrome is, how many people get X-rays, what proportion of U.S. children suffer seizures, and how many Americans have health insurance. The survey’s responses also are the foundation of how we measure the nation’s progress — or backsliding — on problems such as obesity and smoking.

Fewer people are interested in participating in such surveys. And the National Health Interview Survey is particularly daunting, as it can take an hour or more and has traditionally involved an in-person interviewer asking the questions.

The planned redesign should cut it to about a half hour, Blumberg said.

“People are busy. They're more protective of their privacy, and some don't trust the government to protect their data and use it only for statistical purposes,” he said. “Fewer people see sharing information with the government as their civic duty.”

The survey was first conducted in 1957, and has been updated every 15 to 20 years. The latest update was put into the field seven years ago, prompting some advocates to ask why it was being changed so quickly.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the White House Office of Management and Budget were behind dramatic staff reductions, research funding overhauls and other federal health agency changes under the current Trump administration. But neither ordered this redesign, Blumberg said.

Rather, the factors driving the current redesign include tightening budgets and difficulties fielding enough workers to do so many in-person interviews — which was affected last year by a federal hiring freeze.

Another factor: The Census Bureau is reconfiguring its data collection platforms for the 2030 census in a way that affected the health survey, he said.

Related to all that is a proposed change in how the health survey is conducted. Instead of starting with in-person or telephone interviews, people will receive an invitation to fill out the survey online or to fill out a paper questionnaire. That's because in-person interviews have proven difficult with the proliferation of gated communities, locked buildings without door attendants and doorbell cameras, according to officials.

However, Census Bureau staff will visit homes for a smaller second round of surveying, Blumberg said.

A notice about the survey redesign appeared in the Federal Register in August, opening a public comment period that runs through Oct. 20.

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The move provided desperately needed good news for a franchise mired in a decade-long postseason drought with an interim general manager, a former captain in limbo and an unsigned restricted free agent.

The 28-year-old DeBrincat has established himself as a productive offensive player in the NHL with 298 career goals and 603 points. He led the team and set a career high with 85 points last season and matched his career high with 41 goals, becoming the first player to have at least 40 goals for the Red Wings since Marian Hossa in 2009.

DeBrincat leads the Red Wings with four goals and eight points this season but they have lost five of their first six games. Detroit hosts Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Chicago selected DeBrincat in the second round of the 2016 draft. He was an All-Star with the Blackhawks during the 2022 season and was traded to Toronto the following offseason, The Red Wings acquired the Farmington Hills, Michigan, native from the Ottawa Senators in 2023 and he was an All-Star in his first season in Detroit.

DeBrincat's extension is a positive development for a franchise that has had a string of negative news.

Detroit demoted former general manager Steve Yzerman in July, giving him an advisory role to owner and CEO Chris Ilitch, and named Shawn Horcoff interim GM after failing to hire one during a search.

Dylan Larkin asked for a trade during the offseason and after the team did not move the the 30-year-old center, he was stripped of his captaincy. Larkin was booed when he was introduced before the season-opening game while he was not in uniform, recovering from an upper-body injury.

When the Red Wings were preparing to start the season earlier this month, defenseman Simon Edvinsson was seen training with a team in his native Sweden. The 23-year-old restricted free agent had nine goals and 25 points in 72 games last year, his second full season in the NHL. Detroit drafted him No. 6 overall in 2021 and he has 19 career goals and 60 points in 175 games.

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

Los modelos de pronóstico están prácticamente vacíos para las próximas semanas. Eso podría permitirnos llegar casi a finales de octubre sin ningún sistema importante.

El Golfo y el extremo oriental del Atlántico, las excepciones de esta temporada

Como explicamos en el boletín del lunes, la actividad tropical en la cuenca del Atlántico es hasta ahora la tercera más baja desde que hay registros satelitales. Si la temporada termina a finales de noviembre sin más huracanes, será la única desde que existen registros confiables, en 1950, con un solo huracán.

Oficialmente, la última temporada con un solo huracán fue la de 1925. Pero en esa época no había vigilancia satelital las 24 horas ni aviones de reconocimiento, así que ese conteo es dudoso. Un estudio de 2021 publicado en la revista científica Nature Communications concluyó que en esos primeros años pudieron pasar inadvertidos hasta 4 huracanes por temporada.

Esta temporada, la actividad tropical ha sido menor fuera del Golfo y, sobre todo, en el oeste del Atlántico, donde los huracanes suelen alcanzar su mayor fuerza. Aparte de Isaias y el Golfo, los únicos puntos activos han estado en los extremos del este del Atlántico. Allí se formaron varias tormentas tropicales de corta duración.

En cambio, el Pacífico central y oriental registra hasta ahora su temporada de huracanes más activa desde que hay registros. La actividad ha sido especialmente intensa alrededor de Hawái, donde este año impactaron directamente tres huracanes: Lala en agosto, y Lowell y Nolo en septiembre. En apenas dos meses, el estado 50 del país enfrentó el equivalente a unas tres décadas de amenazas de huracanes.

Aunque no se espera ninguna tormenta cerca de Hawái en las próximas semanas, el Pacífico todavía no se apaga. Se pronostica que Simon afecte la península de Baja California, en México, a finales de esta semana. Además, Trudy podría convertirse en otro huracán de gran intensidad y afectar la costa del Pacífico mexicano a principios de la próxima semana.

According to the Plantation Police Department, officers attempted to stop the driver who was riding the electric motorcycle in the Plantation Acres area on Saturday.

Body camera video obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday shows the moments that the suspect fled on the motorcycle but was quickly apprehended by officers.

Investigators said the electric motorcycle was stolen from Plantation in September. Police did not specify whether it belonged to a business or an individual.

The teenager, whose gender and identity have not been disclosed at this time, was arrested and faces charges of grand theft, driving with a suspended license, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting arrest, according to investigators.

Police said they transported the suspect to the Juvenile Assessment Center.

Team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced the move Wednesday. Mattingly led the team to a 79-55 record and a spot in the postseason after he replaced the fired Rob Thomson in late April. The Phillies nearly blew a four-game lead for a wild card in the final week of the regular season, then lost in three games to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Series.

The Phillies were 9-19 when they fired Thomson in April after he led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, and consecutive NL East titles.

Dombrowski and the Phillies were rebuffed twice by former Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Dombrowski was spurned by Cora when he made the move to fire Thomson and again after the season ended, leaving him in both cases with Mattingly.

The 65-year-old Mattingly was hired last offseason to serve as a bench coach and had another year left on his contract. With an MLB work stoppage on the table in December, leaving at least parts of next season in doubt, Mattingly is the safe and familiar choice to oversee a roster that includes Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and one of the top rotations in baseball.

Dombrowski has yet to hold his annual end-of-season press conference — he and Mattingly will speak Thursday, the team said. The Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs on Oct. 1.

The Phillies' September swoon prevented them from lining up their pitching against Atlanta because it took until Game 162 to clinch a playoff spot.

Philadelphia forced Game 3 against the Braves with three dramatic solo home runs late in Game 2. But in the end, the Phillies were eliminated from the postseason for the fifth consecutive year as they chase their first World Series title since 2008.

The Phillies’ core of Harper, Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have made five straight playoff appearances and averaged 91 wins per year during that stretch. They have yet to win a championship and have been eliminated further and further from that goal each season since reaching the 2022 World Series.

The following season, Philadelphia exited in the National League Championship Series, and the next two years saw losses in the Division Series. A wild-card exit this season marked another step in the wrong direction.

Mattingly was one of three interim managers in baseball last season. Andy Green of the New York Mets and Chad Tracy of the Red Sox each were midseason replacements who eventually had the interim tag removed.

A six-time AL All-Star in his playing career with the New York Yankees, Mattingly is the father of Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Turns out two of his longtime Ryder Cup teammates are providing some inspiration.

For this week’s DP World India Championship, McIlroy has brought along a new look — baggy golf pants.

After all, Tommy Fleetwood has been wearing them for a while.

“I have watched and I have admired Tommy Fleetwood over the past year,” McIlroy said, with a smile, on Wednesday's DP World Locker Room show about his style that has generated plenty of chatter in New Delhi this week.

“And in my everyday life, when I don’t have to wear what is my golf uniform, I wear a lot of wide-legged pants. It is the in-thing, the fashionable thing.”

But how, McIlroy was asked, do they feel to play golf in?

“These hit a little low, maybe a little short … I understand they are maybe not as well-fitting as they need to be,” he said, “but they are a work in progress.”

Also in the works for the Northern Irishman is a replica of what he calls his “performance trailer” that he uses in the United States to aid his fitness and recovery during and between PGA Tour events, in an effort to gain an edge over rivals.

Now, he wants one for when he plays on the European tour, too.

McIlroy said that idea came from tennis great Novak Djokovic but also fellow golfer Justin Rose.

“I decided to pull the trigger on it when Justin won in Memphis last year,” McIlroy said. “He’s 45 years old, playing great, contending in major championships, and at that time I was 36. I was like, I want to play really well for the next 10 years — I feel like I need to do something like this.”

McIlroy hopes to have that up and running by the summer of 2027 — by which time, who knows, he might have a record-tying eighth Order of Merit title that crowns the year’s No. 1 player on the European tour.

There are four events remaining in this season’s Race to Dubai and McIlroy will play in three of them, starting in India.

He is third in the standings, behind Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra, but there's little between the three players and plenty of points on offer in the season-ending events in India, South Korea, Abu Dhabi and finally Dubai.

While Reed has stumbled of late thanks to an injury-prompted withdrawal at the BMW PGA Championship and a missed cut at the Spanish Open, Chacarra is finishing fast by climbing above McIlroy thanks to a tie for third at the French Open and a tie for second in Spain.

“It’s still anyone’s game,” Reed said Wednesday.

The American said he was swinging freely after the shoulder injury he sustained at Wentworth. He didn't play in France or at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and returned to shoot 73-71 in Spain, failing to make the weekend.

“For me, I was itching about getting back and getting out and playing,” Reed said. “Did I come back too early? Who knows. At the end of the day the good thing is I can’t hurt it worse, and because of that, I have the confidence and the comfort level to come out here and execute and perform at the highest level.”

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

There is no launch date yet for the Arthur M. Blank Crest Cup, which will have a prize pool of $1.5 million. The single-elimination competition will serve as a national championship and a pathway to qualification for the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.

“We’re working very closely with both the NWSL and the Gainbridge Super League to figure out what is the optimal time to do this,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said. “Obviously, we want to put it into play as soon as possible, but we also want to be respectful of each league’s calendar and how do we best go forth and do this. And I’ve got to say, I’ve been very impressed with both leagues and how much they’re leaning in and collaborating and cooperating to make this happen.”

Parlow Cone said the competition could be open to other clubs, including amateur teams, much like the men's U.S. Open Cup.

“We’re looking at the option for lower division professional teams being able to join, as well as amateur women’s teams being able to join, and what that could and should look like, but we’re also not of the thought that the tournament can’t evolve. So maybe we start with the NWSL and GSL, and then evolve and engage the other teams,” she said. “We’re announcing this in real time as we are still trying to put all the pieces together."

The growth of women's soccer has spurred club competitions in recent years. Internationally, the women's Champions Cup is in its second year, and the FIFA Women's Club World Cup is set to start in 2028.

The aim of Crest Cup is to capitalize on the popularity of the game, which is expected to grow with the World Cup next summer in Brazil. The United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica have a joint bid for the 2031 tournament.

The tournament also aims to give high-level, meaningful competition for club teams, while spurring player development.

“As we gear up for the World Cup in 2031, I think this is a great timing in order to create another competition, because most of the players and the coaches and the teams in our ecosystem, they only get that international exposure if they make their national teams, or if they’re lucky, one or two teams to be able to play in the CONCACAF tournament. But this is another way to get more players interleague competition that could then lead to international competition in really meaningful games,” Parlow Cone said.

Blank has long been a supporter of U.S. Soccer. The federation recently opened the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Lafayette, Georgia. Blank owns Major League Soccer's Atlanta United and an expansion NWSL team, Atlanta City FC, set to start play in 2028.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Forecast models are mostly blank for the next few weeks, which could get us through most of the remainder of October without any significant systems.

Gulf and far eastern Atlantic the rare exceptions this season

As we discussed in Monday’s newsletter, tropical activity across the Atlantic basin so far is the 3^rd lowest of the satellite record and if the season concludes at the end of November with no additional hurricanes, it will be the only season of the reliable record (since 1950) with only one hurricane (the last season to record only one hurricane was officially back in 1925 but without 24/7 satellites and aircraft reconnaissance, that count is dubious; a 2021 study in the scientific journal Nature Communications found as many as 4 hurricanes could’ve been missed annually during this early period).

Tropical activity has been most reduced this season outside of the Gulf and over the western Atlantic where hurricanes often hit their stride. The only hot spots of activity outside Isaias and the Gulf have been in the far corners of the eastern Atlantic where several short-lived tropical storms formed this season.

On the other hand, the central and eastern Pacific is notching its most active hurricane season on record to date, with especially significant activity around Hawaii this year which saw direct impacts from three hurricanes – Lala in August and Lowell and Nolo in September. This amounted to roughly three decades’ worth of hurricane threats to our 50^th state in a matter of two months.

Though no storms are expected to be near Hawaii over the next few weeks, the Pacific isn’t powering down just yet, with Simon forecast to affect the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico later this week and Trudy gearing up to be another major hurricane with possible impacts to the Pacific side of Mexico by early next week.

Established in 1798 by Thomas Rule as an oyster bar when Europe was in turmoil in the aftermath of the French Revolution, Rules has survived the British Empire, the Blitz and even plans for a new road layout that would have seen it demolished.

Its menu expanded to traditional British fare and the restaurant welcomed generations of high profile figures from Charles Dickens to Charlie Chaplin, David Bowie to Madonna. King Edward VII would even rendezvous with his lovers there.

Owner wants Rules to endure the test of time

Now, the four-decade owner of the building that houses Rules, J-P Mayhew, has made the selfless decision to donate 34-35 Maiden Lane in bustling Covent Garden in central London to the National Trust, itself a British institution hailing back to 1895.

“There are few restaurants in the world that have endured the test of time like Rules,” Mayhew said Wednesday. “The Trust will protect this place in a way that no one else could, safeguarding its bricks and mortar, its famous interior and its invisible atmosphere, too.”

The charity, which seeks to save important sites while opening them up for everyone to enjoy, said that the 11 million-pound ($14 million) donation would secure the future of a building where “kings dined and writers and politicians plotted.”

Along with the four-story building, the donation includes items such as visitor books, menus, caricatures, photographs, stained glass and signs. The gift also includes the annual rent from the ongoing restaurant business, which will go into conservation work each year.

The trust described it as a “rare example of living heritage” where both the historic structure and the original use of the building — a restaurant — remain intact.

“This place is an outstanding piece of living history, with its corners where kings dined and writers and politicians plotted, and the traditions it kept alive through wars and upheaval,” said Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust. “It has defied the odds to be standing here today, doors still open and treacle sponge still on the menu.”

Rules' special atmosphere is a treat for theatergoers

Going into the restaurant is like stepping back into a London that's long gone, with the interiors plush and colorful. The menu is rich and in many cases old-school English — fans of steak and kidney pies and guinea fowl and of course the desserts, such as sticky toffee pudding and apple crumble, are unlikely to be disappointed. The restaurant can accommodate around 90 guests, many of whom come before or after a visit to one of the many theaters and cinemas nearby.

There are rooms named after poet John Betjeman, who gave an impassioned speech in defense of the restaurant's “invisible atmosphere” when London's then governing authority planned to expand the nearby Strand thoroughfare in 1971 that would have led to the demolition of Rules.

There's also a room named after one of the restaurant's most loyal customers, writer Graham Greene, who had birthday meals there and featured it in his novel “The End Of The Affair.”

The restaurant’s proprietor Ricky McMenemy, who has worked there since 1989, will become a commercial tenant of the National Trust.

“As an independent business, it gives us both the security and peace of mind that our home will be in very good hands and be protected and secure going forward,” he said. “Having already established a very amicable working relationship with the Trust, we look forward to another two centuries in this, our home.”

The adjustment translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income.

The announcement comes as inflation adds pressure on household budgets and businesses and as midterm elections are weeks away.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees and disabled beneficiaries is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers, up to a certain annual salary. That is set to increase to $192,300 in 2027, from $184,500 in 2026.

The agency's commissioner, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement that the adjustment will give recipients “greater financial stability.”

Older adults feel the bite of rising costs

Some older adults feel the increase is a drop in the bucket as inflation has eaten away at monthly savings. The government reported Wednesday that inflation accelerated in September, with the consumer price index rising 3.7% in September compared with a year ago and gas prices have spiked in the wake of renewed fighting between the United States and Iran.

Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy group, said the latest inflation data shows that “as important as the Social Security COLA is, it is not keeping up with prices.”

Lorrie Ufkin, a 71-year-old retiree who lives outside Rochester, Minnesota, said the COLA will not put a dent in her healthcare costs, which are set to increase after the Trump administration concludes at year's end a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that has helped offset premiums. Ufkin said that her premiums and drug cost are expected to rise, although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has projected a modest increase for most people.

The COLA “doesn’t even meet what they’re going to do for changes to Medicare,” she told The Associated Press.

She said one of the medications both she and her husband take will go from $11 per month for each prescription, to $200 per month, after Republican administration changes made to older Americans' healthcare programs. She said that was “catastrophic.”

Senior advocacy groups say the COLA is a strong reminder of the financial straits of many older people.

“There’s a lot on the line financially right now for older Americans — one in five have no retirement savings, and more people feel financially insecure this year than last. That makes Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment critically important,” said AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan.

Jaime Jakubczak, a 68-year-old resident of Buffalo, New York who retired early at 55, has recently gone back to work to make ends meet, specifically to afford rising property taxes. He said the COLA is insufficient because it is offset by high inflation and a proposed 3.9% property tax increase in his town.

Jakubczak called the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment “a pittance," given how high food, healthcare and gasoline prices have become across the country.

“We were getting ahead a little bit with the COLA based on inflation, but the inflation is so high that it doesn’t offset what our COLA allowance is," he said.

Most older adults believe the COLA isn’t adequately keeping up with inflation, according to an AARP poll from September. That poll found that about three-quarters of those 50 or older disagreed with the idea that a 3.5% COLA in 2027 would be enough to keep up with rising prices.

Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall

The Social Security Administration faces a looming bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress.

The June 2026 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report states that Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

While a permanent solution for shoring up the benefits program has not been passed into law, lawmakers on the Hill have called for new measures to replenish the trust funds.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in June proposed lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap, which is a maximum amount of earnings taxable. Treating all income the same "would generate substantial revenue that would extend the solvency of Social Security for another generation,” they wrote in The New York Times.

The move is controversial because Republicans have traditionally criticized calls to raise taxes on the wealthy.

The Peterson Foundation estimates that lifting the payroll tax cap would add roughly $3 trillion into the program over the next 10 years.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations signed into law new benefits for retirees, which boosted their finances, but simultaneously accelerated the insolvency of the old-age benefits program.

The Trump administration, as part of Republicans’ tax and spending bill, gave a temporary tax deduction for people 65 and over, which applies to all income — not just Social Security. But those who aren't able to claim the deduction include the lowest-income older adults who already don’t pay taxes on Social Security, those who choose to claim their benefits before they reach 65 and those above a defined income threshold.

Additionally, Democratic President Joe Biden in 2024 repealed two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that previously limited Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million people, including largely former public workers.

If that capsule description makes “Lincoln in the Bardo” sound like a grim night at the opera, it’s actually far from that, according to its creators.

“It does seem quite heavy,” said Royce Vavrek, who crafted the libretto for composer Missy Mazzoli from George Saunders’ Booker Prize-winning novel. “But it’s also so effervescent, quite hilarious at times. There’s such heartbreak, and such joy.”

The inspiration behind both the novel and the opera is the concept of the bardo, which in Tibetan Buddhism is the period between physical death and rebirth.

They're dead, but they don't know it

The ghosts populating Georgetown’s Oakhill Cemetery refuse to accept the circumstances — often abrupt or violent — that ended their lives.

They refer to their coffins as “sick-boxes,” and only when they are able to acknowledge their true state can they find peace, vanishing in a spectacular explosion of fireworks for which Saunders (in what he calls “a little bit of a nod to James Joyce”) invented the term “matterlightblooming.”

Through the course of the opera we learn many of the characters’ life stories, which range from inspiring to tragic to ridiculous.

“The opera honors that life is not all doom and gloom,” said Lileana Blain-Cruz, who is directing the work for its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. “People have desires and hungers, and we’re silly and we’re funny. There’s something wonderful about encountering the fullness of life in all these characters.”

Into this netherworld come Willie Lincoln, a victim of typhoid fever, and his distraught father, who pays a late-night visit to his son’s crypt and cradles the boy’s body in his arms. By the end of the opera, Willie has accepted the fact that he is dead, and Lincoln leaves the cemetery, ready to take up his burden guiding the nation through the Civil War.

Writing music for a dead child

For Mazzoli, the biggest challenge in composing the score was the fact that it deals with the death of a child.

“When I’m writing, there’s a period of years where I’m alone with these characters,” she said. “I really tried to inhabit the character of this boy, but it’s hard to enter that place every day.”

She solved the problem by focusing on the end of the story, when Willie realizes that since he is dead he is freed from earthly constraints.

“He sings this incredible aria where he says ‘all is allowed me now,’” Mazzoli said. “‘Now that I’m dead I can go down to the party, I can fly out the window, I can hang from the chandelier, I can drink rum.’

“He’s found this beautiful way of looking at it, and he sort of awakens the other dead people in the cemetery to this,” she said. “I had to find this positive slant so I wouldn’t be crushed by the sadder parts of the story.”

A first for soprano Christine Goerke

The opera opens Oct. 19 with Met music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting and will run for nine performances. Baritone Peter Mattei stars as Lincoln, and, in a bit of gender-switching, soprano Christine Goerke is the Reverend and counter-tenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is Miss Elise Traynor.

Goerke, one of her generation’s leading dramatic sopranos in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss, said she was thrilled when Mazzoli told her she had her in mind to play the Reverend.

“I have waited my whole life to have a role written for me,” she said. “It’s the most meaty, spectacular role.”

Vocally, it encompasses her full range (“There’s a moment where I go from high C down two octaves!” she said.) And it’s dramatically challenging as well. Unlike the other ghosts, the Reverend knows he is dead but resists his fate because he’s had a vision that he’s doomed to eternal damnation. In the end, he makes a heroic sacrifice that may redeem him.

Mazzoli’s score has its moments of playfulness, starting with the prologue in which the chorus members blow into kazoos.

“I’m interested in non-virtuosic instruments in virtuosic settings,” she said. “I’m sure there are people who are really good at the kazoo, but anybody can pick it up and blow into it and make a noise. And I like that in the context of the Met, and in combination with really skillful singing.”

Blain-Cruz and her production team have made sure there’s plenty for the eye to feast on, from pyrotechnics to puppetry, to a black mustang named Zeus who carries a Lincolnesque figure back toward the White House at the final curtain.

This is the sixth collaboration between Vavrek and Mazzoli and comes close on the heels of the world premiere of “The Galloping Cure,” which got rave reviews in Edinburgh and will have its U.S. premiere in San Francisco next season. Met general manager Peter Gelb promises there will be more Mazzoli at the Met in years to come.

As for Saunders, he’s not quite done with “Lincoln.” He’s written the screenplay for a feature film version directed by Duke Johnson that combines live action and stop motion and will star Tom Hanks in the title role.

Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected over the weekend. The worst of it is expected Sunday and Monday with 30-40 mph wind gusts. Some downpours could sit and back-build along the coast, leading to a flooding threat. Stay updated through the rest of the week as we fine tune the details on this high impact storm system.

The agency's report on Wednesday said that global oil demand is predicted to drop 2.5 million barrels a day year-over-year in the fourth quarter and fall 2.6 million barrels a day on average this year. Diesel is expected to account for 25% of the drop.

The IEA foresees a partial recovery of 2 million barrels a day next year, but that still puts global oil use 0.6% below 2025 levels.

Global production climbed 2.5 million barrels a day month-over-month to 102.3 million barrels a day in September, driven by Gulf producers. OPEC+ gains of 2.1 million barrels a day were led by Saudi Arabia, while the United Arab Emirates drove non-OPEC+ increases.

Oil supply is expected to drop by 5.8 million barrels a day to 100.7 million barrels a day this year before climbing by 7.7 million barrels a day next year. The agency said that renewed Gulf attacks “leave the recovery fragile.”

While gas prices in the U.S. have moved lower in recent weeks, they remain higher than a month ago. Gas prices averaged $4.33 per gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA, up slightly from a month ago.

Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.6% to $106.37 a barrel Wednesday morning. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.2% to $95.30 a barrel.

Brent has been pinballing between $96 and nearly $110 over the last month on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal.

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately supply the U.S. more than 300,000 tons of diesel. That would be followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November, then 4 million more tons at some point after that. But energy policy experts say that the new pact is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere.

The price of diesel has shattered records in recent weeks, ratcheting up inflation for a broad swath of consumer goods.

Trump's announcement came a week after the Group of Seven wealthy democracies said that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with “substantial” amounts of diesel.

The release follows on from a March announcement that IEA member countries would release 426 million barrels of oil and products to stabilize the oil market. European Union countries committed about 92 million barrels, a promise weighted toward refined products made from crude such as diesel.

Russia's Federal Security Service said the man, who works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was suspected of gathering information about Russia's defense capability on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency. Russia's Foreign Ministry identified the reporter as Yuki Imai.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet KGB, said it arrested the man on Sakhalin Island as he was preparing to leave Russia.

Tuesday’s arrest is the latest dispute between the two countries, whose tensions have spiked after President Vladimir Putin ’s visit in August to Iturup, one of four disputed Kuril Islands, a Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that also is claimed by Japan.

Hokkaido Shimbun said the man had been reporting in Russia on a journalist visa and was due to leave the country on Tuesday. The newspaper did not disclose his name.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday that Imai had been charged with espionage. She accused Tokyo of using Japanese journalists in Russia to gather information to undermine Russian security, calling it “regrettable.”

Zakharova said Japan’s policies toward Russia and its military buildup threatened Moscow’s security interests in the Far East, adding that “the incident will further dampen the atmosphere in Russian-Japanese relations.”

In Tokyo on Wednesday, Kimitake Nakamura, head of the European Affairs Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to protest the arrest and Moscow's announcement without an explanation to Japan's government, according to a ministry statement.

Nakamura demanded humane and fair treatment of the journalist and for Japanese officials to be allowed to have contact with him, the ministry said.

He also reiterated Japan's territorial claim over the Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territory. He protested a recent visit to Iturup by officials of a Chinese regional government and companies, calling it “unacceptable.” The Sakhalin regional government announced the visit Tuesday.

Nozdrev said he would relay Japan's position to Moscow, according to the Japanese ministry.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara earlier said the journalist's health was unknown because Japanese officials have been unable to contact him. Russia had not responded to Tokyo's requests for access, he added.

“We'll do everything we can for the protection of the Japanese citizen,” he said.

Though Japan has “many problems” with Russia, the two countries are neighbors and “we need to communicate,” Kihara said. Japan recognizes the importance of properly managing relations and will take appropriate steps to serve its national interests, he added.

The Russian region of Sakhalin includes Sakhalin Island and the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Moscow controls and Tokyo claims.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi protested Putin’s August visit, calling it a further blow to relations already strained by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Tokyo imposed additional economic sanctions on Moscow over the war.

The Soviet Union seized the Kuril Islands from Japan in the final days of World War II. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

___

This story corrects to say the journalist was due to leave Russia on Tuesday, not Monday.

Jordahl was 30 when she started working for the city. Her last post was as the coordinator of the Urban Area Security Initiative special projects with the department’s division of emergency management.

Jordahl, a University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center patient, died on March 4, 2020. She was 48. Her husband, Joseph R. Fernandez, then Broward’s fire chief and now Key Biscayne’s fire chief, survived her.

Joseph “Jo” Zahralban, then Miami Fire Chief, honored her nearly two decades of service during Breast Cancer Awareness Month for years after the debut of the 2021 rescue truck decorated by Brazilian-American artist Romero Britto.

Chief Robert Hevia continued the tradition. On Tuesday, the pink rescue truck rolled into the WPLG-Local 10 News studios in Hallandale Beach with Jordahl’s message about being proactive with self-exams and mammograms.

“We are honoring her and everyone else who has lost their lives to breast cancer,” Lt. Pete Sanchez said.

The truck also included a sign: “Driving Hope In The Breast Cancer Fight.”

The tribute in memory of Jordahl hits home for the Local 10 newsroom’s family. Local 10 News reporter Janine Stanwood and Local10.com digital journalist Andrea Torres have both shared about their experience with the disease.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Local 10 News health specialist Kristi Krueger is featuring patients and their doctors during her weekly episodes of Proactively Pink.

Related Proactively Pink stories

• Watch the episode with Nell Trimble, a registered nurse diagnosed with lobular breast cancer
• Watch the episode with Amanda Marchant, a mother of four diagnosed after her first mammogram at 40

Some of Stanwood’s stories

• ‘The power of women’: Janine Stanwood on marking Breast Cancer Awareness with Artfull Angels
• Local 10’s Janine Stanwood shares her breast cancer survival story

The German airline outbid Air France-KLM, the only other company in the race, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said.

The government set aside 5% of the company for its more than 9,000 employees to buy shares, with the government remaining the main shareholder.

The deal still requires approval by European Union regulators. The government may conclude TAP’s complete privatization by 2028, Montenegro said.

TAP says it carried 16.7 million passengers last year. Its more than 90 aircraft fly to over 90 destinations, 52 of them in Europe, 16 in Central and South America, 14 in Africa and 11 in North America.

Its routes to Brazil are particularly prized, analysts say.

The airline made a net profit last year of 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million), according to the company’s published accounts.

Two previous attempts to sell off stakes in the airline, in 1998 and 2015, failed, with governments taking the company back into Portuguese state ownership.

El veredicto del martes fue mayormente favorable para Hill. El jurado falló en su contra en solo dos de los 11 reclamos.

El jurado, integrado por tres hombres y tres mujeres, falló a favor de su esposa, Keeta Vaccaro, de quien está separado, en dos reclamos por agresión.

Antes de que comenzaran las deliberaciones, los abogados de Vaccaro retiraron voluntariamente otro de los cargos.

Al final, el jurado le otorgó a Vaccaro $500,000 en daños compensatorios, pero no le concedió daños punitivos.

En sus alegatos finales, los abogados de Vaccaro habían pedido hasta $1 millón por cada cargo.

Minutos después de conocerse el veredicto, los abogados de Hill dijeron estar satisfechos con el resultado.

“Desde el principio sentimos que esto era un intento de sacar dinero, y creo que hoy el jurado lo confirmó”, dijo el abogado Michael Gottlieb.

Los abogados de Vaccaro señalaron que, aun así, el jurado falló a su favor en dos de las acusaciones de agresión.

“El jurado deliberó durante tres horas y media y determinó que el señor Hill cometió violencia doméstica contra su esposa”, dijo el abogado Evan Marks. “Agredió a su esposa y el jurado le otorgó daños compensatorios”.

El veredicto pone fin a un juicio civil de alto perfil, que incluyó varios días de testimonios sobre el matrimonio de la pareja y acusaciones de maltrato reiterado.

Mientras tanto, el divorcio de Hill y Vaccaro todavía no ha concluido.

Según las autoridades, el martes por la tarde agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Palm Beach y de la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida localizaron una camioneta pickup Chevrolet negra. La manejaba el sospechoso de un robo por la fuerza.

El robo ocurrió el lunes por la noche en Lake Worth. Según las autoridades, el sospechoso había pedido una pizza.

“Le dice al repartidor: ‘Solo tengo $100. ¿Tienes cambio?’. Cuando el muchacho sacó el cambio, lo agarró y forcejearon por el dinero. Se lo quitó”, dijo el sheriff de Palm Beach, Ric Bradshaw. “Eso se llama robo por la fuerza”.

El repartidor pudo describir el vehículo del sospechoso y dar el número de placa. Con esos datos, los agentes localizaron el vehículo el martes.

“Intentaron detenerlo en una parada de tránsito y fue entonces cuando el tipo salió huyendo”, dijo Bradshaw. “Se fue por la I-95 y la FHP intervino”.

Según la Patrulla de Carreteras, comenzó una persecución. Terminó cuando el conductor de la camioneta chocó en una zona no incorporada del condado de Palm Beach, en Jog Road, entre Woolbright Road y Grand Isle Drive.

Según las autoridades, entonces comenzó un enfrentamiento entre el hombre que manejaba la camioneta y los agentes.

Según la Oficina del Sheriff, los agentes intentaron detener al sospechoso con métodos no letales. Al final, el sospechoso recibió un disparo mortal en el lugar mientras sostenía un objeto en la mano.

“Todo ese tiempo les estuvo gritando a los agentes: ‘Van a tener que matarme’”, dijo Bradshaw. “Ellos sí intentaron tres veces con métodos no letales, pero no le hicieron ningún efecto”.

Según las autoridades, tras el enfrentamiento los equipos de emergencia intentaron salvarle la vida al sospechoso, pero murió a causa de sus heridas.

Según las autoridades, no tenía ningún arma bajo la toalla o camisa que sostenía en la mano.

Las autoridades dijeron que el sospechoso, cuya identidad no se ha revelado, tenía un largo historial delictivo. Incluía robo de vehículo con violencia, agresión, posesión y venta de drogas, secuestro, entrada ilegal a una propiedad, alteración del orden público y fuga tras un accidente con daños graves.

El Departamento de Cumplimiento de la Ley de Florida (FDLE) investiga el tiroteo.

Nota del editor: Un primer informe de la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida indicaba que el sospechoso manejaba un vehículo robado. Después, la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Palm Beach corrigió ese dato y aclaró que el sospechoso manejaba su propio vehículo. Esta nota y su titular se editaron para reflejar la nueva información.

The trip comes as Republicans are retreating from a handful of battleground U.S. House races, while Democrats are racing to raise money to boost candidates who seemed like long shots earlier this year. The strategy in the final three weeks of midterm campaigns points to an increasingly defensive posture by Republicans and new aggression from Democrats.

The Latest:

Trump sends well-wishes to Pope Leo

The first American pope has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

“I want to see Pope Leo get well,” Trump told reporters in a brief gaggle as he was departing Arizona for a second rally in Montana.

He noted that Leo’s prognosis appears to be good and that “we just want to wish him our love and our best wishes.”

Trump has often mentioned that Leo’s elder brother, Louis, is a supporter of his. The president noted that again on Wednesday, and added, “I can say that his brother loves him a lot, loves the pope a lot. And that’s good, that’s good enough for me. But I just want to wish him well. Get better fast.

Trump marks Charlie Kirk’s birthday

Wednesday would have been the Turning Point USA founder’s 33rd birthday.

When Trump mentioned the killed activist’s name, the crowd began chanting “Charlie! Charlie!” Trump called Kirk, who was assassinated in September 2025, a “great man and a great friend of mine” who helped him win key elections.

“He’d be out there fighting like nobody else,” Trump said. “So let’s have a big victory in honor of Charlie Kirk.”

Bill Clinton to campaign for Jolly in Florida

The former president’s first campaign stop of the 2026 election will take him to Hollywood, Florida, on Tuesday to stump for David Jolly, the state’s Democratic candidate for governor.

The two will appear at an interfaith event, according to Jolly’s campaign.

A Democrat hasn’t won the Florida governor’s race since Lawton Chiles in 1994. But the party is hopeful that Jolly, a former Republican congressman from Tampa, could ride this year’s anti-Trump sentiment and make the race more competitive.

Trump hints at ‘things nobody’s seen before’ before he leaves office

The president, amid the rally crowd’s “Four more years!” chants, acknowledged that the Constitution constrains him from running for a third term.

“I’d love to,” Trump said as his supporters continued to yell. But, he added, “We have a clause that is sort of hard to break.”

He noted that the Republican Party has a “great bench” and that his supporters will be happy.

And he previewed much more to come in his final two years.

“Before I leave, we’ll be doing things nobody’s seen before,” he said.

Trump says he has to add military components to DC renovation projects to satisfy Congress

The president was describing his plans for an extensive ballroom at the White House and a huge arch he wants to construct in Washington.

“Everything has a military component nowadays. I have to do that to satisfy my senators. Otherwise my senators get very angry,” he said.

Trump, after first announcing the projects as a ballroom and an arch, over time began saying that each project would also be a “military complex.”

Trump says ‘leakers’ should be shot

Trump began talking about people who leak information about the government, including timing about strikes over Iran, and said, “In my opinion, leakers should be shot.”

He said, “In the old days, we used to shoot leakers, you know?”

He went on to call people who leak “the scum of the earth” and said they should be “dealt with very, very strongly.”

Trump seems to joke that he took out too many of Iran’s leaders

The president was talking about the Iran war and started polling the crowd, asking facetiously if any of them would like to be the new leader of Iran.

Joint U.S.-Israeli strikes early in the war took out Iran’s supreme leader and much of its top echelons of leadership.

“So I probably went a little too far. I’m sorry, because I don’t know who the hell we’re dealing with anymore, but, that’s going to end very soon,” Trump said.

Anti-war, Iranian American group claim responsibility for protesting Hegseth

CodePink, along with an Iranian American advocacy group, has taken responsibility for a protest that interrupted a panel made up of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military leaders at a U.S. Army conference on Wednesday.

The National Iranian American Council said that a group of protesters that included the group’s communications manager, Isabella Javidan, “confronted … Hegseth at a massive gathering of military officials and defense contractors showcasing the latest weapons of war” in a social media post Wednesday.

The group has voiced the strongest opposition to the Iran war since the conflict began early this year and advocates and volunteers tied to the organization, which is one of the largest representing Iranian Americans in the U.S.

Javidan told The Associated Press that CodePink, a feminist, anti-war group that traces its roots back to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, organized the action.

Six protestors individually got up and disrupted the morning panel over the span of around 20 minutes by shouting and holding up signs inside a ballroom at a Washington, D.C. convention center. All six protestors were removed.

Trump repeats falsehoods about 2022 Arizona elections

Trump is repeating falsehoods about voting issues that affected some vote centers in the Phoenix area in 2022.

Republicans, led by candidate for governor Kari Lake, blamed the issue for their sweeping losses that year. Trump brought it up again Wednesday at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, saying falsely that “only the Republican machines were broken.”

In fact, about a third of the voting centers across Maricopa County reported printing issues that stopped some ballots from being counted onsite, including in Democrat-leaning areas. Those ballots were counted instead on more sophisticated scanners at the county’s central elections warehouse, though the confusion caused long lines in some areas.

An investigation by a former state Supreme Court justice later traced the problem to changes to the ballot paper, not malicious actions.

Peltola says claims she’s ‘liberal’ are a diversion from issues like gas prices

Democrat Mary Peltola says she’s “not liberal or radical,” and that efforts to paint her that way in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race are a “diversion” from issues like gas prices and the war in Iran.

Peltola is the main challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in next month’s ranked vote general election.

Sullivan has said that if Peltola is elected, she would empower national Democrats that oppose expanded oil and gas development. He says that would set Alaska back.

Peltola told The Associated Press on Wednesday she wants to work for all Alaskans, regardless of party.

The comments came a day after President Donald Trump visited Alaska to support Sullivan. Peltola is a former congresswoman, and Sullivan has argued she was ineffective in that role.

Peltola called that characterization “revisionist history.”

She said she worked well with Sullivan as part of the state’s congressional delegation on issues such as getting approval for the major Willow oil project.

Trump defends accepting new jet from Qatar

The president has faced plenty of criticism for accepting a luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One.

But apparently for him, accepting the plane was a no-brainer.

“When you’re given gifts, you take ’em, right?” Trump told the rally crowd in Bullhead City, Arizona. “When they give you a 747 you say two words: thank you.”

When he essentially repeated that phrase a few moments later, some in the crowd joined in, saying “thank you.”

Trump arrives in Arizona for the first of two western rallies on Wednesday

Air Force One flew over the crowd that was waiting in the sun in Bullhead City before landing nearby and rolling up close to the area where Trump was set to take the stage.

Trump’s favorite rally songs featuring hits from the Y.M.C.A. and Donna Summer played as a set of stairs were wheeled to the side of the plane’s open door.

Trump emerged from the plane only after he was announced to the crowd. He descended the stairs wearing a red hat as “God Bless the U.S.A.” blared and the crowd clapped.

Pete Buttigieg campaigns with US House candidate in swing Michigan district

Buttigieg, a former transportation secretary and potential 2028 presidential candidate, appealed to independents and Republicans in southwest Michigan alongside Democratic Congressional candidate Sean McCann.

“You don’t have to be a bleeding-heart liberal or a card-carrying Democrat to believe certain things like the basic idea that one job ought to be enough,” Buttigieg said.

McCann, a state senator, is attempting to unseat eight-term incumbent Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga. McCann told reporters the seat is more competitive after a 2022 redistricting and thinks people’s frustration about the Iran war and cost of living will boost his campaign.

“This is people who are looking for a new direction, some change to bring some real relief to their lives because it hasn’t come so far,” McCann said.

A few sheriffs want their peers to avoid interfering in the midterms

Five county sheriffs are calling on their peers to sign a petition saying they promise to uphold fair elections and not interfere in the midterms.

The petition is a response to the “constitutional sheriffs” movement that has adherents throughout the country who believe county sheriffs hold the highest legal authority in the U.S., surpassing even the president.

Earlier this year in California, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized over 650,000 ballots from a statewide election held in November 2025. The state’s supreme court has since ruled Bianco’s actions were illegal.

Sheriff Paul Heroux from Bristol County, Massachusetts, says sheriff’s deputies should stay away from voting sites and investigate potential fraud only when asked by the local election authority.

“It’s very clear where the power rests during elections,” Heroux said. “I’m happy to call out the ridiculousness of the constitutional sheriffs movement.”

He was circulating the petition along with sheriffs from Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and Ohio.

Senate Democratic staffers will act as observers in the Nov. 3 election

Democrats say they are sending more than 100 trained staffers to nine states to act as observers in the election next month, part of a new program they announced earlier this year.

The program is based on similar efforts by House Republicans and follows the passage of a 2024 law that allows congressional leadership in both parties to send election observers around the country. The workers will observe polling locations and document any attempted voter interference, threats or attempts to meddle in elections, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday.

Schumer and California Sen. Alex Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee, said they have stepped up as President Donald Trump has continued to insist that the 2020 presidential election he lost was stolen and tried to change voting procedures to favor Republicans.’

“Our elections are free and secure, but we cannot take that for granted,” Schumer said.

US Department of Justice threatens California with legal action over noncitizen voters

The DOJ’s letter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber says the department has provided officials in Los Angeles County with a password-protected thumb drive with a list of names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. California mails ballots to all registered voters.

The letter gives the state 48 hours to determine whether any citizens are included on the list.

It’s part of the Trump administration’s hunt for noncitizen voters this year, even though the problem is exceptionally rare. Over the summer, the administration claimed that Nevada had 1,500 noncitizens on its voter rolls. But after the federal government identified them to the state, the number of actual registered noncitizens turned out to be zero.

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Trump says Japan is investing $21 billion in computer chip factories

Trump posted on social media that Japan was committing $21 billion as part of the construction of two computer chip factories by Global Foundries in Malta, New York.

The president also said that the U.S. government would receive shares in Global Foundries, just as it did for Intel in a further expansion of the administration’s policy of taking ownership stakes in private companies.

Global Foundries said in a statement that roughly $10 billion would accelerate construction of a chip factory to open in 2029 and the other $10 billion would fund a second plant.

The Biden administration in 2024 announced plans to give grants and loans to Global Foundries in 2024 as

Judge extends temporary restraining order on Trump ads

A federal judge on Wednesday said her temporary order blocking Trump’s controversial taxpayer-funded television ads from airing will now extend through Nov. 8, several days past the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon in New York said that would give the plaintiffs time to seek discovery from the government and request a longer-term preliminary injunction, which she’ll consider on Nov. 4.

The plaintiffs, including the government watchdog Common Cause, want to know why some of the pro-Trump political ads paid for by a $20 million Department of Homeland Security contract kept running on Monday, despite Rochon’s order Sunday siding with the plaintiffs, who challenged the ads as an illegal misuse of funds.

Government attorney Jeffrey Oestericher said Wednesday that he had theater tickets Sunday and didn’t take all the steps he could have to ensure compliance.

Hegseth credits Ukraine for drone innovation, but cites dependence on Chinese parts

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the U.S. military has gained knowledge about drone warfare from Ukraine, but noted the vulnerability of Ukraine’s dependence on Chinese parts.

“We’ve learned a lot from Ukraine, but you can’t use everything that’s in Ukraine because of all the Chinese components involved in it,” he said during a panel discussion at the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington. “So you’ve got to be able to ensure that we take the best of that and the lessons learned.”

Since Russia invaded more than four years ago, Ukraine has become a global leader in military drone innovation. But Ukrainian drone makers are highly dependent on electronics made by China, a key Russian ally.

Ukraine has concerns the Chinese government could severely restrict its access to these critical parts. It also worries that Russian defense companies needing these same supplies could be given preferential treatment by Chinese factories.

Sudden Starlink limits sap Ukraine drone power as Kyiv fears US intelligence squeeze

Ukrainian drones lost some of their fighting capacity after restrictions were suddenly imposed on the battlefield use of the country’s U.S.-made Starlink communication terminals, officials said Wednesday as Kyiv endured another night of missile attacks.

Ukraine also did not receive the usual advance warning from its Western partners of incoming Russian ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, triggering fears that the U.S. is starving Ukraine of vital intelligence.

Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about, and Trump later said the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

But the developments have frustrated the Ukrainian military and deepened concerns that Kyiv’s relationship with Washington is unraveling.

Trump has sought to blame Zelenskyy for high diesel prices in the U.S., saying Saturday that it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.

Neither SpaceX nor the White House offered immediate comment.

Democrats may regain power, but Trump has ultimate say

Much of the House Democrats’ agenda, if they regain power, would depend on the size of the majority. Details also depend on the Senate, and whether it flips to Democrats.

“We cannot simply go back to the status quo,” said Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for Justice Democrats, an outside group that supports the far-left progressives.

But Trump has veto power at the stroke of his pen.

“We’re going to do a lot and we’re going to be very busy,” said Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter, who hopes to become chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “We will not be able to fix everything overnight.”

Fix healthcare, stop the war, end the tariffs — and investigate Trump

Jeffries launched five working groups to tackle the affordability agenda, focused on healthcare, housing, groceries and goods, gas and utilities, and care-giving.

Each group is co-led by a progressive and a centrist — healthcare, for example, is run by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Terri Sewell of Alabama — with the goal of striking common ground on draft policies all House Democrats can support.

At the same time, Jeffries has tasked ranking Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees with preparing investigations focused on Trump, his family and his administration as part of a sweeping anti-corruption agenda. Impeachment, Jeffries has said, is neither on nor off the table.

“We need to lower the cost of groceries and gas. Two, we need to make healthcare affordable for every single American. Three, we’re going to hold the crooks accountable who’ve visited unprecedented corruption on the American people,” Jeffries said.

A Freedom Caucus of the far-left?

Republicans are portraying Democrats as beholden to a far-left socialist agenda as they try to hold onto their congressional majorities.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said he’s often asked if Democrats will be confronting their own version of the Freedom Caucus, referring to the far-right Republicans who often grind the House agenda to a halt.

“It doesn’t work that way,” Casar told The Associated Press in an interview. “The Freedom Caucus breaks things. But if you’re a progressive, you want to pass things.”

Hegseth faces shouts at Army conference discussion on drones

Protesters shouted at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military leaders on Wednesday as they spoke at a panel on drones during the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington.

The six protesters appeared to yell about the war with Iran as well as Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion military budget for next year.

The speakers acknowledged the disruptions but continued their discussion, which focused initially on a need to open more military contracts to smaller businesses to develop more drones.

Others in the audience chanted “USA, USA” to counteract them at one point, but for the most part, the panel continued its discussion as the protesters were removed one by one.

House Democrats plan a 100-days agenda if they win majority in midterms

House Democrats are preparing an ambitious 100-days agenda focused on delivering their campaign promises — making life more affordable and conducting vast oversight of the Trump administration — if the party seizes majority control in next month’s elections.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, in line to become House speaker if the party wins power, said Democrats will be united “right out of the gate” on reinstating Affordable Care Act tax breaks, reversing Republican Medicaid cuts, holding votes against the Iran war and undoing President Donald Trump’s tariff regime.

“That’s our commitment to the American people, because the cost of living is way too high and far too many people who are working hard, playing by the rules, can’t thrive and can barely survive — and are drowning — in the Trump economy,” Jeffries said recently at the party campaign headquarters in Washington.

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ICE appeared to intentionally strike man with vehicle in Houston, prosecutor says

A Texas prosecutor says a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent appeared to use a vehicle to intentionally strike a man who took off running in Houston, and that an investigation opened by his office could result in criminal charges.

“The most obvious criminal charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, told FOX 26 Houston. “Meaning the car was used as a deadly weapon. And it certainly is what appears to have happened based on the surveillance footage.”

Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, needed surgery for a broken leg on Saturday. ICE spokesperson Tim Oberle said in a statement that he “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.”

Teare also is investigating the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, one of at least 10 deaths in ICE encounters during Trump’s deportation campaign.

Zelenskyy says Russia keeps striking Ukraine’s energy sites despite Trump ceasefire push

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced outrage Wednesday over Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand for a ceasefire.

Moscow’s forces pounded Ukraine’s power grid, as well as oil and gas facilities, for the third straight night, Zelenskyy said, after Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to avoid striking energy infrastructure 4 ½ years after Moscow’s forces invaded.

Zelenskyy has agreed to halt Ukraine’s monthslong campaign targeting Russian oil refineries, which caused fuel shortages for Russians. Ukraine’s last reported hit on an oil refinery was last Friday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that details of the energy ceasefire are still being decided. Meanwhile, Trump’s efforts to stop the fighting have made no progress.

Iowa faces reckoning over water quality, cancer rates in midterms

Water polluted by industrial agriculture runoff and high cancer rates have been the focus of debate questions, roundtable events and campaign advertisements for both Republicans and Democrats, up and down the ballot in Iowa.

The issue has historically been politically taboo in Iowa, where chemical fertilizers and animal waste from huge corn, soybean and hog operations get washed into drinking water sources. The political calculus has shifted amid restrictions on water use in the Des Moines area and a burgeoning “Make America Healthy Again” movement in rural communities.

“The real issue is the water and the nitrates,” Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek told cancer patients.

The Republican congresswoman running against Turek, Ashley Hinson, said Iowans can feel safe because tap water meets federal regulations.

“I don’t think water quality is a partisan issue,” Hinson said as she gathered farmers, researchers and local officials to discuss the water problems.

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Former Mayor Dana Goldman is trying to unseat the current mayor, Larisa Svechin.

“I’d like to say that I am the voice for change,” said Goldman, who served as mayor between 2021 and 2022.

She claims sidewalks are deteriorating and parks on the north end of the city need to be improved.

“Our streets are in deplorable condition, our sidewalks, maintenance and repair, the bathrooms,” said Goldman.

Svechin says the city is changing aging cobblestone blocks to cement.

“We’re on Collins Avenue, FDOT comes in anytime they want to do work, and they literally destroy the sidewalk and don’t tell us anything,” said Svechin. “So we’re not in control of everything, but where we can control it and where we can solve for it, we absolutely do.”

Svechin said the city is upgrading its parks and replacing old playgrounds with new facilities.

“We just recently opened a brand-new sports park with tennis courts and basketball courts, literally brand new,” she said.

Both candidates agreed that there is too much traffic, and they have the same idea to fix it.

They want to do away with timed traffic cameras and utilize AI based on actual road demand.

“I believe with AI and new technology, and the adoption of the county with signalization, we can improve that,” said Goldman.

Added Svechin: “I’m already working with barrier island mayors, together with Golden Beach, us, Bal Harbour, Surfside and Miami Beach, to get all of our signals corrected.”

Both candidates also acknowledged South Florida’s affordability problem.

Svechin said Sunny Isles Beach has the lowest millage tax rate in Miami-Dade County.

“There’s plans to continue our low tax rate, potentially decrease it even more,” said Svechin.

Goldman says parking rates are too high, with some parts of the city charging non-residents $10 an hour to park their vehicles.

“I’m promising we’re going to lower it,” said Goldman.

Svechin said the rates are lower for the city’s residents for a reason.

“Our residents pay the lowest parking rate, which is $3 per hour,” she said. “The parking rates that are more expensive are for non-residents, and the purpose of this is to allow our residents to be able to enjoy the city which they pay for.”

A third candidate on the Sunny Isles Beach mayoral ballot, Robert Spence III, did not respond to an interview request for this story.

Local 10 News’ Jeff Derderian spoke with Leslie Rimboeck, a survivor of sexual assault.

Rimboeck said she was a victim of domestic and sexual assault by her ex-boyfriend, who she says slammed her in the face with her own cellphone, an act that was captured on video.

“There are days I stayed in bed, I couldn’t get out of bed,” she said.

Prosecutors in New York are investigating allegations of gang rape at Cornell University after an initial investigation two years ago by school officials resulted in no charges being filed.

Local 10 News has uncovered that colleges and universities are required to report certain crimes to the U.S. Department of Education, including rape and fondling.

Think of it as a school’s ugly secret.

It’s certainly not numbers they promote in any brochure.

Local 10 News reviewed the most recent federally reported data, under what’s called the Clery Act, for colleges and universities in South Florida.

The data is from 2024 and showed there were 25 reported rapes between the University of Miami, Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University.

The University of Miami documented seven reported rapes and five cases of fondling, FIU had nine reported rapes and six cases of fondling, FAU reported three reported rapes and six cases of fondling, and NSU reported six reported rapes and five cases of fondling.

“That number, when you said it, gave me chills,” said Rimboeck. “There’s no doubt it my mind the number is way more.”

Rimboeck said the shame and embarrassment is real, and defense lawyers who try to “dirty you up” makes it extremely hard for women to come forward.

“At the time, you feel shame, you feel like it’s your fault, and you feel fear,” she said.

Jewish Community Services in Miami Beach has helped many women, including Rimboeck, a mother of two, and had a message for young women in school: don’t stay silent.

“It’s very hard for them to make sense of how things unfolded, why they are the victim,” said Jewish Community Services Program Manager Dana Hahn. “It’s very hard, and also that they may be blamed.”

Rimboeck hopes young women at schools in South Florida do speak out like she did.

Local 10 News reached out to the four aforementioned South Florida schools.

FAU and UM said they offer to help sexual assault victims report the alleged crimes to authorities if they wish. The other two schools did not respond as of the time of this story’s publication.

According to authorities, deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol troopers located a black Chevrolet pickup truck on Tuesday afternoon being driven by the suspect in a strongarm robbery.

The robbery happened Monday night in Lake Worth, when authorities said the suspect ordered pizza.

“He says to the pizza guy, ‘I only got $100. Do you have change for that?’ When the guy took out the change, that’s when he grabbed him and they wrestled for the money. He took it away from him,” said PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. “It’s called a strong-armed robbery.”

The delivery driver was able to give a description of the suspect’s vehicle and tag number, and deputies were able to locate that vehicle Tuesday.

“They attempted a traffic stop and that’s when the guy took off,” said Bradshaw. “It went down I-95 and FHP got involved.”

Troopers said a chase ensued, which ended when the driver in the truck crashed in an unincorporated area of Palm Beach County along Jog Road, between Woolbright Road and Grand Isle Drive.

That led to a standoff between the man behind the wheel of the truck and first responders, authorities said.

According to PBSO, deputies attempted to bring the suspect into custody using non-lethal tactics, but ultimately the suspect was fatally shot at the scene while holding an item in his hand.

“During this whole time, he was yelling at the officers, ‘You’re gonna have to kill me,’” said Bradshaw. “But they did try less-than-lethal (measures) three times, but it had no effect on him at all.”

Following the standoff, authorities said the suspect received life-saving treatment from first responders, but ultimately died from his injuries.

He did not have a weapon under the towel or shirt that he was holding in his hand, according to officials.

Authorities said the suspect, who has not been publicly identified, had a lengthy criminal history that included carjacking, assault, drug possession and sales, kidnapping, trespassing, disorderly conduct and hit-and-run with severe damage.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

Editor’s Note: An initial report from the Florida Highway Patrol indicated the suspect was driving a stolen vehicle. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has since corrected that report, saying the suspect was driving his own vehicle. This story and headline have been edited to reflect the new information.

James Robertson, 63, declined to offer any last words before receiving a three-drug injection and was pronounced dead about 10 minutes later. It was a stark contrast to the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee two weeks ago, where she was rushed to the hospital after surviving two lethal doses of pentobarbital.

Robertson’s execution, the first in Florida since Pike, comes at a time of escalating attention on the death penalty in the United States. The Pentagon said last week that it would livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, drawing criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

“Florida has a sound lethal injection process and protocol,” Jordan Kirkland, a state Department of Corrections spokesperson, said at a news conference before the execution. Although he couldn’t speak to Tennessee’s lethal injection procedure, he said Florida would make sure its process was “humane and dignified.”

Florida executes people by injecting them with a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

Robertson wanted to be executed

Robertson had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for strangling Frank Hart while he slept in 2008, and waived all appeals. He told investigators that he did it so he wouldn’t have to live out his days in prison.

Hart was killed just eight days before he was due to be released, his daughter, Rebecca Hart, told reporters at Florida State Prison. She stressed that her father was not just a piece of Robertson’s story.

“When someone you love is taken from you in such a violent way, the world keeps moving, even when a part of yours feels like it has stopped,” she read. “Other people go on with their lives, but you carry your loss into every tomorrow.”

Robertson was 17 years old when he went to prison in 1980 for burglary and assault. Years of convictions for escape, battery and weapons while in prison kept adding time to his total sentence. Hart had been sent to prison in 2003 following a sexual battery conviction.

A rare reprieve leaves another Florida prisoner on death row

Robertson was supposed to be one of two executions carried out by Florida on Tuesday, but Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew a death warrant last week for William Lee Thompson. The Republican governor did not provide a reason but had temporarily stayed the execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation.

Records show this was the first time DeSantis withdrew a death warrant. Thompson, 74, will remain on death row, and a new death warrant could be signed in the future. His attorneys say he has dementia and failing health, and they want him transferred to a medical facility.

DeSantis is the third Florida governor to sign a death warrant for Thompson. Bob Graham and Bob Martinez both scheduled executions for Thompson in the 1980s, but years of appeals and stays allowed him to avoid the electric chair, the state’s method of execution at the time.

Thompson was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the 1976 killing of 23-year-old Sally Ivester.

Florida has the nation’s busiest death chamber

DeSantis oversaw 19 executions in 2025, more than any other Florida governor in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Robertson was the state’s 17th execution of 2026, with two more already scheduled, not counting Thompson.

DeSantis, who leaves office in January, has made few public comments about the unprecedented number of executions but explained previously that his goal is to bring justice to victims’ families who have waited decades for the death sentences to be carried out.

William Reaves, 77, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 20, followed by Jesse Guardado, 64, on Nov. 5. Reaves was convicted of fatally shooting a deputy after dropping a gun in front of the law enforcement officer in 1986. Guardado was convicted of robbing and killing a woman in order to buy drugs in 2004.

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Besides leading all other states last year, Florida has carried out more than half the 31 total executions in the U.S. so far this year. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.

Tuesday’s verdict was mostly favorable for Hill, with jurors siding against him on just two of 11 claims.

The jury, which was made up of three men and three women, ruled in favor of his estranged wife, Keeta Vaccaro, on two claims of battery.

One additional count was voluntarily dismissed by Vaccaro’s side before jury deliberations began.

Jurors ultimately awarded Vaccaro $500,000 in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.

Her attorneys argued during closing statements that as much as $1 million per count should be awarded.

Moments after the verdict was announced, Hill’s attorneys said they’re pleased with the outcome.

“We’ve always felt from the beginning that this was a money grab and I think that the jury validated that today,” said attorney Michael Gottlieb.

Vaccaro’s attorneys pointed out that the jury still ruled in her favor on two of the battery allegations.

“The jury deliberated for three and a half hours, and they determined that Mr. Hill committed domestic violence against his wife,” said attorney Evan Marks. “He battered his wife and they awarded compensatory damages.”

The verdict brings the high profile civil trial to a close after several days of testimony over the couple’s marriage and allegations of repeated abuse.

Hill and Vaccaro’s divorce, meanwhile, has not yet been finalized.

The hearing began with the three-judge panel collectively questioning the government’s attorney, Eric McArthur. Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard asked how the government's argument about an administration's authorities was “not federalization and therefore running up against" the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 U.S. law forbidding the use of the federal military for domestic law enforcement unless authorized by the Constitution or Congress.

McArthur, answering Judge Judith Rogers' question on the limits of a president's action, said, “I think the limiting principle in our position is the president has to be calling out the guard in aid of the civil authorities.”

Trump deployed the guard in August 2025 as part of what he said was a crime-fighting mission in Washington, D.C. The force, which rose to a peak of about 5,000 troops over the summer, has supported arrest operations, patrolled city streets and neighborhoods and participated in cleanup efforts.

Trump’s Republican administration says the deployment has contributed to a decrease in crime in the city, where crime was already on the decline before the National Guard arrived. Officials and activists in the overwhelmingly Democratic city say the deployment is a waste of taxpayer money and has normalized the militarization of a major American city.

Mitchell Reich, who was arguing for D.C., did not escape the hearing unscathed, with the panel concentrating on his argument that there are laws and guidelines that lay out a president's ability to call out the guard and there were circumstances when those steps would be unnecessary, including during an invasion or an insurrection.

“If there’s any kind of organized violence in the district, the president can deploy the guard for the purpose of suppressing the same,” he said.

The 90-minute hearing came months after a different three-judge panel paused a lower court’s ruling that Trump's deployment of the guard was illegal.

The three judges who issued the stay last December — two appointed by Trump and one appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat — said in a unanimous 32-page ruling that a number of factors favored the Trump administration, including the “disruption to the lives of thousands of service members,” as well as what it said was the president’s interest “in the protection of federal governmental functions and property within the nation’s capital.”

The three judges on the panel on Wednesday were nominated by Democratic presidents: Pillard by Obama, Rogers by Bill Clinton and Bradley Garcia by Joe Biden.

The case is about whether the president has the authority

At the heart of the court case, brought by D.C.'s attorney general, is whether the president has the authority to deploy the National Guard to the city, which, as a federal district, has limited autonomy over its own affairs. The U.S. Constitution gives federal lawmakers authority over the District of Columbia, while the Home Rule Act of 1973 lets residents elect a mayor, a council and neighborhood commissioners.

The city has argued that the mobilization is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement, a point Reich made during the hearing.

Last December, the three-judge panel that paused the lower court's ruling said Trump might prevail in his argument that the president “possesses a unique power” to mobilize the guard in Washington.

Those judges found that the district “has not identified any ongoing injury to its statutory interests.”

Even if D.C. wins at the appeals court level, the Trump administration will undoubtedly go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already shown deference to the president in a number of cases.

A legal expert looks at the arguments

Syracuse law professor William Banks said D.C. might have a slim argument under its home rule, questioning whether National Guard units can be deployed to the city when it isn’t authorized by local law.

But, he said, outside of that argument “there is no overarching federal principle that would bail out the district in this case."

Because D.C. is not a state and because the president is commander in chief, there’s a "tremendous amount of leeway and discretion for the president” to control or delegate control of the local National Guard and out-of-state units, Banks said.

A judge said Trump couldn't unilaterally deploy the DC National Guard

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded last November that Trump’s military takeover in Washington illegally intrudes on local officials’ authority to direct law enforcement in the district.

Cobb, a Biden nominee, found that while the president does have authority to protect federal functioning and property, he can’t unilaterally deploy the D.C. National Guard to help with crime control as he sees fit or call in troops from other states.

The appeals court stayed the order and has allowed the guard to remain in place while the case is pending.

The mobilization, extended until January 2029 by the Defense Department, has taken on a sense of permanence, despite the court case.

The federal government awarded a $292 million contract to a private company to provide members of the Joint Task Force-D.C. with apartments. The numbers have grown as well, ballooning to around 5,000 during the height of the semiquincentennial celebration. As of last week, that number had dropped to about 2,900.

DC residents rally against the National Guard's presence

Before the hearing began, several dozen people rallied outside the courthouse to oppose the continuing presence of the military in the city.

David Barrows, a retired office manager and city resident, was dressed in a Trump costume. “It’s easier to boss around the people in Washington, D.C., because we don’t have any representation in either House or Congress. So we’re basically an abused people,” he said. “We pay the highest federal taxes in the land, and we get no representation in both houses. So we’re a cheated people, and we’re scapegoats for Trump.”

He also questioned the premise of the guard's presence: “There's no national emergency here in Washington,” he said.

Jennifer Pace, a longtime resident and former banker, said she suspected the case would continue through the courts.

“But I really want it to move forward so they can just go home,” Pace said. "I’m sure they want to go home, too, because it’s clear they’re bored. They’re just standing around.”

“Swords,” said performer Deborah Hochberger. “It’s the swords,” she chuckled as she prepared for her rehearsal.

We met The Royal Chessmen, a South Florida stage combat and acting troupe, at T.Y. Park in Hollywood.

The nonprofit group combines Renaissance-era entertainment, staged combat and history lessons. They perform or just meetup at different Ren-faires and Pirate Festivals all across the state of Florida.

Click here to find The Royal Chessmen on Facebook.

“We write all our own shows,” Hochberger explained.

Members aren’t just playing characters. They’re finding their people and drawing new audiences to the park through weekly practice.

The troupe is also now preparing for the upcoming Camelot Days Medieval Festival.

President Chris Toriello says the group will bring its characters, staged duels and adventure quests to crowds at TY Park on Nov. 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22.

Click here for more information on the Camelot Days Medieval Festival.

For some like Hochberger, it’s a family affair. She’s been part of the Royal Chessmen since she was 6 years old and has watched this group evolve.

Find the group on Instagram by clicking here.

Longtime member Barry Schwartz and his then-girlfriend spent years traveling to different festivals and events. They joined the group to get involved and took their relationship to new heights. They got married onstage, as part of the show. But the wedding itself was very real and the audience didn’t know.

The Royal Chessmen welcome newcomers of all ages and experience levels. The group generally meets Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at T.Y. Park.

Members also have access to group costumes, props and equipment.

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