Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies reported finding Bree Black, also known as Cameron Breon, wounded shortly after 10:15 p.m. on July 3, 2020.

The crime scene was in the area of Northwest Third Avenue and 12th Street. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue personnel pronounced her dead about 10 minutes later.

She was 27.

On Tuesday, BSO detectives held a news conference.

Detective Andrew Gianino asked anyone with information about the case to call 954-321-4376.

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According to an arrest report, Thalia Rodriguez was taken into custody by the Miami Beach Police Department following a disturbance call near the 400 block of Euclid Avenue.

The report states officers initially responded around 1 p.m. to a call about a “suspicious person causing a disturbance outside a business.”

When Miami Beach police arrived at the scene, they said the individual had left the area, but they recovered belongings, including a wallet containing a Florida driver’s license identifying Rodriguez.

While canvassing the area, an officer spotted a woman matching the description involved in a physical altercation with Jeanne and Richard Korman near 1000 Fifth St., according to the report.

Officers then separated the individuals and detained Rodriguez pending an investigation.

According to the report, the victims told officers they were walking into a business for an appointment when Rodriguez approached them from behind, called 80-year-old Jeanne Korman a w----, and then slapped her in the face.

Police said Richard Korman intervened to protect his wife, and a struggle with Rodriguez ensued, the report states.

“She (Rodriguez) wasn’t going to get to swing another time. I figured the easiest way to get her down was to grab her by the hair,” he said.

Investigators said Jeanne Korman suffered a superficial cut to her lip, while Richard Korman had minor scratches to his face. Both were treated at the scene and declined to be transported to the hospital.

Jeanne Korman told Local 10’s Rosh Lowe on Tuesday that she was heading to the lab for blood work when she and her husband of 55 years were attacked.

“She took her first and hit me right in the face,” she said. “My husband said he saw my head move.”

A witness and surveillance video from the building corroborated the victims’ accounts, according to the report.

A motive for the attack remains unclear at this time.

Jail records show Rodriguez is facing two counts of battery on a person 65 years or older.

As of Tuesday, she was being held on a $20,000 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. She was also placed on house arrest.

Superintendent Howard Hepburn said the proposed job cuts were a response to Broward County Public Schools student enrollment’s $80 million budget shortfall.

“We are not just cutting, we also have to change the service model as well,” Hepburn said during the meeting.

Hepburn said the proposal focused on school or district employees who support the educational environment without providing direct classroom instruction.

The proposal cuts 856 positions, including 300 occupied positions, 159 vacant positions, and 53 support positions to save $40 million.

Some of the BCPS employees in the list of 300 attended the meeting and asked school board members to reject the proposal. There were tears in the audience.

School Board member Sarah Leonardi said it wasn’t easy to hear all of “the heartache” that the notifications about the cuts had caused.

School Board member Maura McCarthy Bulman said she was concerned about the cuts’ impact on veteran staff who were close to retirement.

School Board member Nora Rupert said she recommends prioritizing BCPS employees over consultants.

“Impose a 10% salary cut for all those positions ... If that could save people’s jobs, do it,” Rupert said during the meeting about higher-pay-grade positions.

School Board member Adam Cervera agreed with Rupert on protecting employees in low-pay-grade positions.

“I’m not going to stand by while high-paid administrators are spared and teachers, counselors, and student support staff are put on the chopping block. Cut from the top,” Cervera wrote on X.

School Board member Jeff Holness said he was worried about the impact of reducing pay on morale and on attracting talent.

School Board member Debra Hixon said they needed to continue to discuss the proposal during another workshop. Hepburn recommended voting next week.

The board is set to meet for a workshop at 8 a.m. on April 28.

This is a developing story.

Watch the 3 p.m. report

Watch the 12 p.m. report

This Week In South Florida: Anna Fusco

According to BSFR Battalion Chief Michael B. Kane, the air rescue unit was involved in water drops over remote hot spots west of Weston.

BSFR requested assistance from the Florida Forest Service, as flames burned under power lines west of Highway 27 and mile marker 45, according to Kane.

The brush fires have burned more than an acre of wildland.

This is a developing story. Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

Afternoon report

If confirmed by the Senate, Phelan would succeed Stephen Miran, a Harvard University-trained economist who worked at investment funds and joined the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last September. The council's vice chairman, Pierre Yared, had served as acting leader after Trump shifted Miran to the Fed.

Phelan's resume suggests a keen interest in the operations of central banks, a major interest of Trump, who has pressured the Fed to dramatically cut its benchmark interest rates to drive stronger growth, even though doing so could risk higher inflation.

Phelan has worked as a consultant with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and obtained his doctorate from the University of Chicago.

“President Trump has assembled the best and most experienced economic team in modern history,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai, who called Phelan “a key addition.”

Desai said that Yared, the current acting chairman, is returning to his professorship at Columbia University's business school.

With the ongoing drought, any wildfires could start and spread rapidly due to the gusty winds and low humidity over the next couple of days.

We could see a stray shower over the next couple of days, with spotty showers beginning Friday. These will be hit-or-miss, as no organized storm systems are expected to move our way anytime soon. Next week, a surge of heat could push temperatures near 90°, likely making it the hottest stretch of the year so far.

A small handful of subpoenas were known to have been issued over the weekend for witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington. But investigators on Monday evening informed lawyers that the subpoenas were being withdrawn in favor of requests for voluntary interviews, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss developments in an ongoing investigation.

The reason for the reversal in course was not immediately known.

The months-old Brennan investigation is one of several criminal probes the Justice Department has opened over the last year against President Donald Trump’s perceived adversaries. It centers on one of the Republican president’s chief grievances — a U.S. intelligence community finding that Russia interfered on his behalf during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

The subpoenas were issued after a shakeup in the Justice Department team leading the investigation. A career national security prosecutor in Florida who’d been handling the inquiry left the case after expressing doubt about the legal viability of a potential criminal case, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department on Monday installed a Trump loyalist, Joe diGenova, who served as U.S. attorney in Washington during the Reagan administration, as a counselor to the attorney general who will now work on the Brennan investigation.

“Welcome to the fight, Joe!” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X on Monday, alongside a photograph of the two of them and other prosecutors in Florida.

Brennan served as CIA director under President Barack Obama and was in that role when the intelligence community in January 2017 published an assessment detailing Russian interference aimed at helping Trump defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia meddled on Trump’s behalf and that his campaign welcomed the assistance, but it did not find sufficient evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy.

The Justice Department last year received a criminal referral from Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, alleging that Brennan made false statements in 2023 about the preparation of the intelligence community assessment. Brennan and his lawyers have vigorously denied any wrongdoing and have called the investigation politically motivated.

The investigation has been led by prosecutors in Florida, with investigators lining up interviews and issuing subpoenas for records. The latest subpoenas seek grand jury testimony in Washington, an indication that prosecutors expect they would have to bring any criminal case in Washington since that is where Brennan’s testimony took place.

The findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.

Trump’s approval rating on the economy dropped to 30% in April from 38% in a March AP-NORC poll. A similarly low share of U.S. adults, 32%, approve of the president’s leadership on Iran, which is unchanged since last month.

The poll was conducted April 16-20, during which time the Strait of Hormuz was reopened by Iran, then closed again, an example of the whiplash that has characterized the conflict.

The president’s policies and pronouncements have often been at odds with each other. Gasoline prices — which he promised to slash — jumped after the U.S. attacked Iran in February. His tariffs have kept much of the economy in limbo and hiring has slowed despite his boasts of a “golden age.”

Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s overall job performance, down slightly from 38% last month.

Trump’s falling approval ratings could create problems for his party as it tries to defend House and Senate majorities in the midterm elections. The poll finds that Trump is especially weak on cost of living, and enthusiasm about Trump’s performance has waned over the past year among his own supporters.

Kathryn Bright, 60, a retired captain in the U.S. Air Force, regrets that she supported Trump in the last election.

“I feel disgusted with myself, I feel betrayed, like he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” she said.

Bright lives in a small town far out on Colorado’s prairie and has several disabling medical conditions. She was initially drawn to Trump because of his vows to support veterans, avoid foreign wars and lower costs.

“It’s like high school class president: ‘I’m gonna promise we are going to get pizza every single day,’” Bright said. “Then as soon as they get elected they are like, ‘Oh, I lied.’”

The vast majority of Americans disapprove of Trump on cost of living

In a sign of just how unpopular Trump’s approach on prices has become, the poll found that only about one-quarter of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the cost of living.

The consumer price index climbed 3.3% in March from a year ago, and inflation is slightly higher than the 3% that Trump inherited upon returning to the White House last year. Yet Trump has shown little interest in inflation and played down the rising energy costs caused by the war prompting Iran to effectively shutter the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

Trump on Tuesday dismissed the war as a “little journey” and portrayed the roughly 35% jump in oil prices as a positive compared to what he thought would happen.

He told CNBC in an interview that he was “surprised” that oil prices were only around $90 a barrel, compared to the $200 that he claimed to have expected.

Public disenchantment with that attitude is visible among his own supporters. Only about half of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living.

Younger Republicans are particularly unhappy. About 6 in 10 Republicans under 45 disapprove of how Trump is handling costs, compared to about 4 in 10 older Republicans.

Most Republicans who identify as supporters of the Make America Great Again movement are still largely behind the president. About 9 in 10 MAGA Republicans approve of Trump’s job performance, compared to 44% of non-MAGA Republicans, although only about 7 in 10 MAGA Republicans approve of him on cost of living.

Miguel Cortes, a 67-year-old retired aircraft mechanic in South Carolina, believes the increase in prices from tariffs and the Iran war is simply a temporary price to pay. As for gasoline costs rising, “it is what it is, I’m not going to complain,” he said. “People are just going to have to deal with it.”

“From deep in my soul, I believe God put him there for a reason,” said Cortes, who has a tin sign of “Make America Great” in his garage near a National Rifle Association plaque.

Americans are gloomier about the U.S. economy

About three-quarters of U.S. adults described the U.S. economy as “very” or “somewhat” poor in April, up from about two-thirds in February.

The drop in confidence comes as the economy remains unsettled, with gasoline prices higher than they were, as the financial markets for stocks, bonds and oil continues on a rollercoaster ride that veers wildly based on Trump’s claims of a coming peace with Iran one day and a threat to destroy the entire civilization the next.

Americans such as Heidi Bunting, 35, a student with two children, see an economy in which basic needs such as health care and transportation are unaffordable.

“It’s awful, and not just for me,” said Bunting, who lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. “I’m sure the only people doing well in this economy are those who started with a lot of money.”

Falling approval on the economy among independents and Republicans

Despite efforts to tout last year’s tax cuts and brush off economic concerns, Trump’s economic approval remains low among independents and has even eroded among Republicans.

About 2 in 10 independents approve of Trump’s performance on the economy in the new poll, down slightly from about 3 in 10 in March. Far more Republicans, 62%, have a positive view of the way Trump is handling the economy, but that’s also down from 74% last month.

In general, Republicans are less enthusiastic about Trump’s overall performance than they were shortly after he took office. In March 2025, 51% of Republicans “strongly” approved of the way he was handling the presidency, a figure that has dropped to 38% now.

Immigration, another signature issue of Trump’s, is a relative bright spot for the president. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of his performance on that issue, which is unchanged from last month and higher than his overall approval.

Trump’s approval ratings are in line with his predecessor Joe Biden’s lowest approval rating in AP-NORC polling — 36% — which came during July 2022 after inflation spiked to a four-decade high. Biden’s approval ratings recovered slightly as inflation eased, raising a question as to whether Trump can quickly regroup to show tangible progress.

Trump came into office last year with relatively low approval — 42% in March 2025 — which has until now remained fairly stable.

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Bedayn reported from Austin.

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The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Chief Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that a coalition of plaintiffs representing wind and solar developers were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the administration's actions violate federal statute and will cause irreparable harm if the court did not intervene.

She issued a preliminary injunction to stop the administration from implementing the policies, which clean energy advocates said would hamstring projects that need to get underway quickly to qualify for expiring federal tax credits.

The Interior Department in July said that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Burgum, a layer of enhanced oversight that officials said was needed to end what they said was preferential treatment for these technologies under the Biden administration. Burgum's order authorized him to conduct “elevated review” of renewable projects, from proposed leases to rights of way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions.

A coalition of regional wind and solar developers sued Burgum and other federal officials in December, saying his actions had the “goal and effect of destroying solar and wind energy” proposals in the United States. They accused Burgum of favoring fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas and said he had intentionally changed longstanding agency processes and legal determinations to delay and prevent the permitting and construction of wind and solar facilities. The lawsuit challenged six final agency actions that it says place wind and solar technologies into “second-class status.”

An Interior spokesperson said Tuesday the department does not comment on litigation, but added: “America sets the global standard for energy production. We do it cleaner, safer, and more reliably than anywhere in the world.”

In his second term, President Donald Trump has focused U.S. energy production on fossil fuels, which he says will lower costs for families, increase reliability and help the U.S. maintain global leadership in artificial intelligence. Critics say that change continues U.S. dependence on more polluting energy sources and sets the country apart from a world transitioning toward cleaner energy.

A law approved last year by the Republican-controlled Congress phases out tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for coal, oil and natural gas. Three days after signing the law, Trump issued an executive order that further restricts subsidies for what he called “expensive and unreliable energy policies from the Green New Scam.”

The plaintiffs said in a joint statement Tuesday that the ruling is the first of many steps to bring more affordable energy options to people across the country.

“Clean energy is fast, affordable and here to stay,” the statement said. “We look forward to getting back to work and restarting the impacted wind and solar projects nationwide.”

The plaintiffs are: the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, MAREC Action, Southern Renewable Energy Association, Clean Grid Alliance, Interwest Energy Alliance, Renewable Northwest, Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association, RENEW Northeast and Green Energy Consumers Alliance.

Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the Trump administration keeps trying new ways to block the clean energy projects needed to power the grid, and the courts keep striking them down.

“The administration should take the hint and stop these illegal attacks on projects that will help meet surging electricity demand and bring down costs for consumers,” Kennedy said in a statement.

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McDermott reported from Providence, R.I.

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

“Spirit’s in trouble and I’d love somebody to buy Spirit. It’s 14,000 jobs,” Trump said in a CNBC interview. “And maybe the federal government should help that one out.”

The ultra low-cost carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in August for the second time in less than a year and was aiming to exit in late spring or early summer after striking a preliminary deal with lenders. That plan was quickly disrupted when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran sent oil prices soaring above $100 a barrel, with jet fuel costs doubling in some markets as the fighting in the Middle East continues to disrupt global oil supplies.

Spirit’s relatively young fleet has made it an attractive acquisition target. But previous buyout attempts from budget rivals like JetBlue and Frontier were unsuccessful both before and during Spirit’s first bankruptcy.

Trump did not offer details on what type of government aid could be provided. But asked separately on Tuesday about potential government relief, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters that the president had directed the department to review possible options.

“He’s directed us to take a look. I’ll have a conversation with the president later today,” Duffy said, adding that he was also meeting with some of the budget carriers later Tuesday.

The Associated Press sent emailed requests for comment to Spirit.

Congress has stepped in to authorize federal support for airlines before, most notably after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Already weakened by soft domestic demand and persistent losses, especially since the pandemic, Spirit has come under growing financial strain as the higher fuel costs have added fresh uncertainty about its ability to continue operating.

Against that backdrop, the union representing Spirit flight attendants sought to address growing concerns in a memo sent last Thursday to members.

“There have been speculative reports of liquidation. While we want to make it clear that conditions have worsened, at this time there are ongoing efforts to keep Spirit operating," the Association of Flight Attendants said. "We know you need the best possible information on this and we will keep you closely advised. But to be clear, at this time there is no definitive decision to halt operations.”

Budget carriers like Spirit — known for its bright yellow planes and no-frills service — have been under pressure by bigger airlines, which have rolled out their own low-cost offerings. By the time of its first Chapter 11 filing in November 2024, the Florida company had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

Former Democratic Rep. Wiley Price of St. Louis was accused in 2020 of having sex with an intern, threatening a staffer to keep quiet and then lying while under investigation. An attempt to expel Price from the House failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority in January 2021. Colleagues instead voted overwhelmingly to censure him and deduct about $22,500 from his paychecks to cover the costs of the investigation.

Price did not contest the allegations in his 2024 lawsuit against the Missouri House of Representatives and the state Office of Administration. Rather, he contended that the legislature lacked the authority to take his salary, and did so too late.

Cole County Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe agreed with Price in a ruling late last week. The judge said that House rules made no mention of potential fines or cost recoupments when an ethics committee recommended in December 2020 that Price be punished. After a new two-year session of the legislature began in 2021, the House could not legally continue the case nor retroactively change its rules to allow the financial penalties, the judge wrote.

“Even grade-school children recognize that you can’t change the rules after the fact," Richard Callahan, a former U.S. attorney who represented Price, said Tuesday. He added: "You don’t have to know Latin to know that there’s an unfairness about that.”

A spokesperson for the Missouri House said that chamber officials are reviewing the court order and evaluating their next steps.

Price lost in the Democratic primary in 2022 and now works on the staff of Democratic state Sen. Karla May. He is one of at least 158 lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct in state capitols since 2017, the year the #MeToo movement gained momentum, according to a tally by The Associated Press. More than one-third resigned or were expelled from office and roughly another third faced repercussions, such as losing party or committee leadership positions or being formally censured.

A dozen top state executive officials, including governors and attorneys general, also faced sexual misconduct allegations during that time, and most resigned.

A report released Tuesday by the National Women's Defense League also cataloged 30 members of U.S. Congress who faced publicly reported workplace sexual harassment or misconduct accusations since 2006. Those include Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, who announced last week that they were leaving Congress. Their decisions came as both faced the prospect of being expelled from the chamber by their colleagues.

Advocates for those subjected to harassment say resignations provide accountability only if they are followed by substantive changes to the way allegations are handled and better policies for deterring such actions.

“It is an ongoing problem that there is kind of a get-out-of-jail-free card, where you can resign with dignity and we stop a political tsunami, we don’t have to keep talking about this, and we can move on to the politics of the day,” said Emma Davidson Tribbs, founding director of the National Women’s Defense League. "That is not enough.“

She said actual instances of sexual harassment and misconduct by federal and state lawmakers likely are several times higher than what's publicly reported because many people who targeted are reluctant to go public over fear of retaliation.

Attorney General James Uthmeier said that prosecutors had done an initial review of chat logs between ChatGPT and the gunman, Phoenix Ikner, to determine if the AI app aided or abetted the crime.

“This criminal investigation will determine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting at Florida State University last year,” Uthmeier said at a news conference in Tampa.

Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has subpoenaed OpenAI for records of its policies and training materials regarding threats to harm others, and for its policies on reporting “possible past, present, or future crime,” according to the attorney general’s office.

OpenAI spokeswoman Kate Waters called the FSU shooting a tragedy but said the company had no responsibility. The company proactively shared information with law enforcement and continues to cooperate with investigators, she said Tuesday.

“In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity,” Waters said in an email.

Ikner faces two counts of first-degree murder and several counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting that terrorized the campus in Florida’s capital city.

Ikner is the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy, and investigators say he used his stepmother’s former service weapon to carry out the shooting. Prosecutors in the case intend to seek the death penalty.

Uthmeier, a Republican, was named to the position by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, after the GOP governor appointed then-Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio when he became the secretary of state in President Donald Trump’s second administration.

Uthmeier is running in November to be elected to the position on his own.

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Charles Sheehan in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

La Junta, encargada de suspender, investigar o destituir a funcionarios clave incluido el jefe de la ONPE, indicó en un comunicado que ha convocado a una reunión extraordinaria para evaluar las decisiones que correspondan. No se conoce al momento quién sucederá en el cargo a Corvetto.

Antes, en una carta enviada a la Junta, Corvetto indicó que renunciaba luego de los "problemas focalizados” el 12 de abril, durante la primera vuelta presidencial, cuando más de 52.000 peruanos no pudieron votar porque las cédulas de sufragio no llegaron a más de una decena de centros de votación en Lima lo que provocó las críticas de diversos partidos políticos y los comicios se extendieron hasta el lunes 13 de abril.

Corvetto añadió en su carta que ese incidente constituye “una situación que me impide continuar en el cargo”.

El lunes, el tribunal electoral de Perú anunció que el 15 de mayo será la fecha máxima para informar sobre quienes serán los dos candidatos que disputarán la presidencia en la segunda vuelta.

Contabilizadas el 93,8% de las actas de las elecciones del 12 de abril, la derechista Keiko Fujimori, del partido Fuerza Popular, lidera con 17,04% de votos; el progresista Roberto Sánchez, de Juntos por el Perú, es segundo con el 12,01% y le pisa los talones el ultraconservador López Aliaga, de Renovación Popular, con 11,91%, según la Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE).

Los resultados sobre quiénes pasan a un balotaje presidencial en Perú son lentos comparados con otros países de la región. En las elecciones presidenciales de 2021, el Tribunal Electoral los anunció el 18 de mayo, 37 días después de los comicios de primera vuelta del 11 de abril de 2021. En aquel entonces, la separación entre el segundo y tercer lugar fue amplia desde el inicio y no existió el suspenso de ahora.

The cellular companies appealed to the justices after the Federal Communications Commission found they sold customers’ location data without proper safeguards. The FCC slapped the companies with hefty penalties totaling over $100 million.

The telecom companies challenged the process as unconstitutional because it gives them little opportunity to tell their side of the story in court. Key justices seemed skeptical, however. “I wonder if, at the end of the day, you're really just talking about a PR problem,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.

In arguments Tuesday, the Trump administration defended the penalty as an essential regulatory tool that does leave a path to court. Still, the companies appear to have scored a legal point when the government said companies don’t have to pay immediately after getting a forfeiture notice, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. “It seems like you’ve won on the law going forward one way or the other,” Kavanaugh told an attorney for AT&T and Verizon.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority has limited the power of federal agencies before, including overturning a decades-old decision that had given regulators an advantage in court and stripping another agency of a major tool in fighting securities fraud. A victory for AT&T and Verizon in this case could have widespread effects for other agencies who use similar enforcement mechanisms, advocates said.

Companies who get notices that they’ve run afoul of FCC regulations now have two options: pay the penalty and then contest it before an appeals court or refuse to pay and wait for a federal lawsuit that could eventually go before a jury. Doug Orvis, a veteran telecom attorney, said neither option is viable, so most companies pay up.

A ruling is expected by late June.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator said during a Politico health care summit that his agency plans to ask states to “own” the problem of health care fraud this week with requests for states to share their strategies within 30 days.

“It's an example of what we'd like them to do to prove that they're serious about this,” Oz said onstage Tuesday. “And if you don't take it seriously, it indicates to us that we might have to take the audits that we're doing to the different states more aggressively,” he said, without elaborating.

Tuesday's announcement is part of a federal campaign to tackle waste, fraud and abuse in federal Medicaid and Medicare programs that so far has mostly targeted Democratic states — and at least once has erred in its accusations.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that CMS made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe in New York. The acknowledgment deepened doubts in the administration's methods and raised a common criticism that has been made about the second Trump administration — that it tends to attack first and confirm the facts later.

In addition to New York, CMS has approached at least four other states with investigations into potential health care fraud and halted some $243 million in Medicaid payments to one of them, Minnesota, over fraud concerns. It also is blocking for six months any new Medicare enrollments for suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics or certain other supplies around the country to address the potential for fraud. In addition, federal officials made several arrests earlier this month related to alleged hospice fraud schemes in the Los Angeles area.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order to create an anti-fraud task force across federal benefit programs led by Vice President JD Vance. It's unclear whether Tuesday's move is part of that effort, though Oz has been working closely with Vance on other investigations related to the task force. Asked for details on the new audit, a spokesperson for CMS said the agency was researching the AP's inquiry.

Oz justified Tuesday's move by saying federal health programs in some states have enrolled large numbers of providers who aren't providing real care to patients, but instead profiting from fraud. He said the requests for states to verify the legitimacy of Medicaid providers will be focused on “high risk areas,” but didn’t explain what those entail.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have blamed for allowing fraud to happen in federally funded programs including Medicaid, welcomed Oz’s announcement.

Walz told reporters Tuesday that Minnesota hadn’t received the request yet, but the Democratic governor said his state is already moving ahead with the revalidation process and has made significant improvements. Minnesota sued CMS in February in an attempt to stop it from withholding Medicaid funds. That case is still ongoing, and the money has not yet been released, but CMS wrote to state officials last month that the agency had approved the state’s corrective action plan.

Asked during the Politico interview whether there was a risk that Trump administration initiatives could eliminate, slow down or harm essential health care programs, Oz said he expects the opposite. He said Medicaid and Medicare are the “crown jewels” of our nation.

“I believe this audit and others like it will save the programs we care most about,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed to this report.

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Shaya Lunger, who is also known as Yona Lunger, was arrested Monday in North Miami Beach on charges of lewd and lascivious conduct on a minor under 16 and lewd and lascivious conduct on a minor between the ages of 12 and 16.

He appeared in bond court Tuesday where he was ordered held on a $10,000 bond.

According to an arrest warrant, a now-19-year-old woman who lives in Israel recently came forward to detectives in Miami-Dade County after learning about Lunger’s arrest last month.

The warrant states that the victim claims Lunger, now 54, placed his hands on her breasts over her clothing for about one minute when she was visiting her family in South Florida in May 2021 when she was 14.

The victim claimed that prior to the alleged sexual assault, Lunger arrived at her family’s home, which was used as a short-term rental, and offered to restock items for it.

According to the warrant, Lunger then had the victim go to Publix with him where he held her hand.

While driving back to her family’s home, he made inappropriate comments toward the teen, asking her if she “recalled all the places he loved and missed her,” the warrant stated.

Detectives said he then placed his hands on the victim’s breasts over her clothing and then tried to kiss her on her lips.

The victim said she froze when she arrived at her family’s home and then disclosed the incident to her mother.

Lunger was previously arrested on March 25 on a charge of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under 16 after a 15-year-old girl claimed that he entered her bedroom in northeast Miami-Dade, closed the door and told her to “put away her sexy things,” referring to her breast area.

Deputies said Lunger then hugged the victim and kissed her multiple times.

According to an arrest report, after kissing the teen near her lips, Lunger asked the girl to kiss him back and then left her room.

Deputies said he had also expressed a desire for the victim to turn 18 during multiple interactions with her.

While the arrest report and warrant do not list Lunger’s occupation, records show a Shaya Y. Lunger is the registered agent of the Chesed of South Florida nonprofit.

After his initial arrest, Bruce Lehr, Lunger’s attorney, said in a statement to Local 10 News, “My client looks forward to the true facts coming out. In reality, this is a prime example of no good deed goes unpunished.”

As of Tuesday morning, Lunger remained held at the Metrowest Detention Center.

Detectives are asking anyone who was victimized by Lunger to contact the MDSO Special Victims Bureau at 305-715-3300. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will hold the first votes Tuesday to move forward with a new workaround to unlock the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Democrats have blocked money for those agencies since mid-February, demanding policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents.

Republicans are trying to fund the two agencies through a complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes. With months of DHS negotiations stalled and temporary stopgap funding nearly exhausted, Thune said that Republicans “have run out of time to play the Democrats’ games.”

The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and an open-ended series of amendment votes that could potentially alter the bill.

“It’s not my preference, but it is reality,” Thune said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the budget workaround a “partisan sideshow” and said the resolution will pour money into immigration enforcement “without putting any restraints on these rogue agencies’ rampant violence in our streets.”

Senate leaders try to keep bill focused on ICE, border patrol

The Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday released the estimated $70 billion resolution to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years, through the rest of Trump’s term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused and pass it by the end of the month.

But that could prove difficult as many in the party see it as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump’s proof of citizenship voting bill, called the SAVE America Act.

Republican leaders say they would do a second partisan budget reconciliation bill to deal with some of those issues. But many of their colleagues are skeptical, especially with thin GOP margins in both chambers of Congress and an election approaching.

Senators who have been pushing for more to be included in the original resolution say they are preparing amendments to try and add them on the Senate floor. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he’ll try to add parts of the SAVE America Act and proposals related to the economy.

“A lot of Americans are very worried about the cost of living and we need to address it,” Kennedy said Monday.

But at a lunch meeting on Tuesday, Republican senators were mostly united around Thune's plan.

“I think people recognize that we have to act quickly,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. “The more you add the more that slows the process down.”

Democrats say reforms still needed at ICE

Democrats say any funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks.

“After the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, people across the country demanded ICE be reined in," said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “But instead of working with Democrats to enact real reform, Republicans rejected the most basic accountability measures, and now they’re rushing to give ICE billions of dollars more.”

After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to his administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.

In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Customs and Border Protection and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to vote for it, saying they wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include money for immigration enforcement.

Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but some of those will soon run out.

During the recess, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — pass the Senate bill that includes most of the department’s funding through regular order and use the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding.

Johnson has said the House will move on the rest of the funding once the Senate has made progress on the budget resolution. But he has not announced next steps, and it is unclear if members of his GOP conference will unite behind the narrowed bill.

“We’ll figure this out,” Johnson said. “We’ve got lots of discussion today and in the coming days to make sure we can get that through and I think we will.”

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Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed to this report.

Repairs to the Druzhba pipeline became a contentious issue, delaying approval of a major 90 billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan intended to support Ukraine’s military and economic needs over the next two years. Zelenskyy said repairing the pipeline was linked to freeing the funds, which had been blocked by Hungary and Slovakia.

But top EU officials are now cautiously optimistic that the massive loan scheme might be approved as soon as Wednesday, ending months of political deadlock.

“Ukraine has completed repair work on the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged by a Russian strike. The pipeline can resume operation,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Although no one can currently guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on the pipeline infrastructure, our specialists have ensured the basic conditions for restoring the operation of the pipeline system and equipment.”

“We connect this with the unblocking of the European support package for Ukraine, which had already been approved by the European Council,” he added.

Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia have been halted for two months after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory, and that continuous strikes risk the lives of technicians trying to repair it.

The war in Ukraine that began in February 2022 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and turned cities into rubble.

Before being unseated by centrist challenger Péter Magyar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine. Both Hungary and Slovakia accused Kyiv of deliberately obstructing Russian deliveries.

Zelenskyy said earlier this month he is reluctant to allow Russian oil to continue transiting through his country.

Speaking to reporters in Luxembourg after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the loan saga had taken many twists and turns. “We expect an agreement in 24 hours, so I don’t want to jinx it,” she said.

EU envoys are due to meet Wednesday in hopes of ending the standoff.

European Council President Antonio Costa, who will chair a summit of EU leaders starting Thursday, took to social media to thank Zelenskyy “for delivering, as agreed: repairing the Druzhba pipeline and restoring its operation.”

The 27-nation EU had originally intended to use Russian assets frozen in Europe as collateral for the loan. But that option was blocked by Belgium, where the bulk of the frozen assets are held.

In December, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia agreed not to stop their EU partners from borrowing the money on international markets as long as the three countries did not have to take part in the scheme.

But Orbán angered the other 24 countries by later reneging on that deal over the pipeline dispute and as campaigning heated up ahead of elections earlier this month, which the veteran Hungarian leader lost in a landslide.

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

Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups. There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened American involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.

The CIA's involvement was confirmed Tuesday by the three with knowledge of the crash, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. That the U.S. officials worked for the CIA was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

It comes after days of contradictions from Mexican and U.S. authorities about the role that American officials played in an operation to bust a narco-laboratory in northern Chihuahua state.

The lack of clarity from authorities reignited a debate over the extent of U.S. involvement in Mexico's security operations as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces extreme pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to crack down on cartels. Trump has taken a more aggressive stance toward Latin America than any leader in recent U.S. history, capturing Venezuela's president, blockading oil shipments to Cuba and launching joint military operations in Ecuador, a country also marked by criminal violence.

Trump has repeatedly offered to take action on Mexican cartels, an intervention that Sheinbaum has said was “unnecessary.”

The CIA officers were initially identified as U.S. embassy personnel by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson, who is himself a former CIA employee.

The U.S. Embassy declined Monday to identify the individuals or which entity of the U.S. government they worked for, but said the officials were “supporting Chihuahua state authorities’ efforts to combat cartel operations.” The embassy, State Department and CIA declined to comment on the identities of reports of CIA involvement in the operation.

Local Mexican officials originally claimed they were working with the U.S. on an operation, but later walked those comments back after the effort came under scrutiny from Sheinbaum.

Sheinbaum said she knew nothing of a joint operation between Chihuahua’s government and the U.S. despite reports that the Mexican army was also involved in the raid on the lab.

She maintained in a Tuesday press briefing that she didn’t know if the officials were part of the CIA but acknowledged that state officials and the U.S. “were working together.”

It’s a sensitive issue for the Mexican leader as she walks a careful line with the Trump administration, working to maintain a strong relationship to offset threats of U.S. intervention on cartels and tariffs while also underscoring Mexico’s sovereignty.

The CIA has recently expanded its collaboration with Mexican authorities, part of the Trump administration’s effort to stop the flow of illicit drugs.

The presence of U.S. intelligence officials in Mexican territory has been the subject of ongoing debate, which has only intensified after Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and Iran.

Last year, Sheinbaum said the U.S. had conducted surveillance drone flights at Mexico’s request after a series of conflicting public statements.

The most recent controversy surfaced in January over the detention in Mexico of former Canadian athlete Ryan Wedding, one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives. While Mexican officials claim he surrendered at the U.S. Embassy, U.S. authorities have described his capture as the result of a binational operation.

“There is a rise of hidden operations by the United States in Mexico under Trump,” said David Saucedo, a Mexican security analyst. “They're hidden because … the Mexican government has a discourse that they can't permit the presence of armed U.S. agents — it's a kind of violation of sovereignty. The Mexican government has always tried to hide this collaboration.”

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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. AP writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

The World Cup will be held Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, with the WNBA taking a nearly three-week break in its season to accommodate the event. The Americans have won the last four World Cups, dating back to 2010. They took bronze in 2006.

The U.S. squad could feature a lot of young talent, including Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese, to go along with veterans A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. The young trio helped the Americans win a World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico last month.

The Americans are in Group D. They beat China for the gold medal in the 2022 World Cup.

Buoyed by the success of the 2022 World Cup in Australia, the field was expanded to 16 teams for the first time since 2018.

“We just finished qualifiers with 24 teams that had never happened before. We had played before with 16 teams,” FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said. “Women's basketball has grown a lot and 12 teams didn't fit the quality we had. Sixteen represents what we believe is today's standards for our women's game.”

The winner of each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The second- and third-place finishers in the four pools will play each other for the other four spots in the quarters.

Group A includes host Germany, which is playing in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Germany will face Spain, Japan and Mali. France, which lost to the U.S. in the gold-medal game of the Paris Olympics, headlines Group B. Other teams in the group are Nigeria, South Korea and Hungary.

Australia, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, is the top team in Group C. Australia plays Belgium, Puerto Rico and Turkey.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

La comisionada Danielle Cohen Higgins indicó que un consorcio que involucra a Florida Power & Light y FCC Environmental Services no entregó un borrador de acuerdo interino a los comisionados dentro del plazo esperado.

El acuerdo estaba destinado a presentarse ante la junta para su consideración como parte de las negociaciones en curso sobre un posible nuevo proyecto de incinerador, según Cohen Higgins.

“Si han estado siguiendo esta saga, hoy era la fecha límite para que el consorcio de FCC y FPL presentara un memorando de entendimiento negociado ante la junta, pero no está en nuestra agenda”, dijo.

La propuesta de asociación incluiría a Florida Power & Light y a FCC Environmental Services, del grupo español FCC, mientras Miami-Dade continúa evaluando opciones para reemplazar o reconstruir su sistema de conversión de residuos en energía.

Cohen Higgins dijo que el retraso genera preocupaciones sobre el ritmo de las negociaciones y la necesidad de un plan más definido.

“Necesitamos avanzar. Necesitamos impulsar esto”, dijo. “Nuestro incinerador, ya sea que avancemos con uno o no, necesitamos un plan a largo plazo sobre cómo vamos a disponer de los residuos”.

El comisionado Juan Carlos Bermúdez, del Distrito 12, dijo que las conversaciones entre las partes continúan, pero reconoció que no se cumplió el plazo para presentar el tema.

“Parece que no está en la agenda, así que obviamente todavía lo están discutiendo, según entiendo, las dos partes”, dijo Bermúdez. “Ese plazo para estar en la agenda se incumplió para comenzar el proceso de evaluar el alcance completo”.

El sistema de conversión de residuos en energía de Miami-Dade ha estado bajo escrutinio desde que un gran incendio dañó la instalación del condado hace tres años.

En febrero, los comisionados instruyeron al personal a negociar un acuerdo interino con el consorcio y regresar con una propuesta en abril.

Roy Coley, director de servicios públicos y regulatorios de Miami-Dade para la alcaldesa Daniella Levine Cava, dijo que el condado recibió recientemente un modelo financiero del consorcio, pero que decisiones clave siguen sin resolverse.

“Recibimos un modelo financiero el 17 de abril”, dijo Coley. “Estamos revisando ese modelo. Lo vamos a enviar a nuestros consultores financieros para validar todos esos supuestos”.

Coley también señaló incertidumbre sobre los próximos pasos, incluida la selección del sitio.

“No sé cómo avanzamos sin seleccionar una propiedad, y aún no tenemos una propiedad seleccionada”, dijo.

La comisionada Raquel Regalado, del Distrito 7, dijo que el condado está extendiendo el período de revisión para permitir más análisis de los detalles financieros, opciones de ubicación y métodos de procesamiento de residuos.

“Estamos otorgando una extensión para regresar ante la junta y que puedan darnos más información financiera”, dijo. “Aún no tenemos una propiedad seleccionada. No sabemos qué hacer con las cenizas”.

Los comisionados dijeron que otras opciones de manejo de residuos siguen bajo consideración, incluido el uso continuo del transporte ferroviario para sacar la basura fuera del condado y alternativas basadas en reciclaje.

Los posibles sitios para una futura instalación siguen en evaluación, incluyendo terrenos del condado como el Aeropuerto Opa-locka West. Los comisionados previamente rechazaron propuestas que incluían estructuras de tarifas por regalías vinculadas al proyecto.

Los funcionarios indicaron que las negociaciones continuarán antes de que cualquier propuesta final sea presentada nuevamente ante la comisión.

Florida Power & Light respondió al incumplimiento del plazo en un comunicado:

“FPL está cumpliendo con los deseos de la comisión de unirse con FCC —un ex competidor, ahora socio en este proyecto— para crear un proyecto conjunto que beneficie al condado Miami-Dade”, indica el comunicado. “Estamos trabajando diligentemente para lograrlo y compareceremos ante esta comisión en mayo para ofrecer una actualización”.

Shaya Lunger, también conocido como Yona Lunger, fue arrestado el lunes acusado de conducta lasciva e indecente con una menor de 16 años y de conducta lasciva e indecente con una menor de entre 12 y 16 años.

Compareció el martes ante el tribunal de fianzas, donde se le impuso una fianza de $10,000 USD.

Según una orden de arresto, una mujer de 19 años que vive en Israel se presentó recientemente ante los detectives del condado de Miami-Dade tras enterarse del arresto de Lunger el mes pasado.

La orden judicial indica que la víctima alega que Lunger, de 54 años, le tocó los pechos por encima de la ropa durante aproximadamente un minuto cuando ella visitaba a su familia en el sur de Florida en mayo de 2021, cuando tenía 14 años.

La víctima afirmó que, antes de la supuesta agresión sexual, Lunger llegó a la casa de su familia, que se utilizaba como alquiler a corto plazo, y se ofreció a reponer algunos artículos.

Según la orden judicial, Lunger obligó a la víctima a ir con él a Publix, donde la tomó de la mano.

Mientras conducía de regreso a la casa de su familia, él hizo comentarios inapropiados hacia la adolescente, preguntándole si “recordaba todos los lugares que él amaba y la extrañaba”, según consta en la orden judicial.

Según los detectives, después le puso las manos en los pechos a la víctima por encima de la ropa e intentó besarla en los labios.

La víctima declaró que se quedó paralizada al llegar a la casa de su familia y que entonces le contó lo sucedido a su madre.

Lunger fue arrestado previamente el 25 de marzo por un cargo de conducta lasciva e indecente contra una menor de 16 años, después de que una niña de 15 años afirmara que él entró en su habitación en el noreste de Miami-Dade, cerró la puerta y le dijo que “guardara sus cosas sexys”, refiriéndose a la zona de sus pechos.

Según los agentes, Lunger abrazó a la víctima y la besó varias veces.

Según el informe policial, después de besar a la adolescente cerca de los labios, Lunger le pidió que le devolviera el beso y luego salió de su habitación.

Los agentes dijeron que también había expresado su deseo de que la víctima cumpliera 18 años durante varias interacciones con ella.

Si bien el informe de arresto y la orden judicial no especifican la ocupación de Lunger, los registros muestran que una tal Shaya Y. Lunger es la agente registrada de la organización sin fines de lucro Chesed of South Florida.

Tras su detención inicial, Bruce Lehr, abogado de Lunger, declaró a Local 10 News: “Mi cliente espera que se esclarezcan los hechos. En realidad, este es un claro ejemplo de que ninguna buena acción queda impune”.

Hasta el martes por la mañana, Lunger permanecía detenido en el Centro de Detención de Metrowest.

Los detectives solicitan a cualquier persona que haya sido víctima de Lunger que se comunique con la Oficina de Víctimas Especiales del MDSO al 305-715-3300. Quienes deseen permanecer en el anonimato pueden llamar a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

Anthony Gonzalez Tovar compareció ante la corte por Zoom el martes debido a un error administrativo. La audiencia duró unos 10 minutos.

“¿Tiene alguna pregunta sobre lo que ordené? ¿O sobre estar en el centro de detención?”, preguntó la jueza Stacy Ross a Gonzalez Tovar.

“No”, respondió.

Gonzalez Tovar negó con la cabeza cuando Ross ordenó que permaneciera detenido hasta el 8 de mayo e impuso condiciones adicionales, incluidas restricciones de contacto y ubicación.

“Tiene prohibido regresar al lugar de este incidente”, dijo Ross. “Tiene prohibido tener contacto sin supervisión con menores de 16 años o menos”.

Los registros judiciales muestran que Gonzalez Tovar enfrenta un cargo de intento de agresión sexual en relación con un incidente del 8 de abril en Weston que fue captado en video.

Previamente, agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward difundieron imágenes de vigilancia que, según dicen, muestran a Gonzalez Tovar exhibiéndose antes de acercarse a una mujer sentada sobre el césped en la cuadra 16300 de Golf Club Road en Weston.

Los investigadores señalan que el video muestra a Gonzalez Tovar mirando a su alrededor antes de agarrar a la víctima por detrás. La mujer logra defenderse antes de que él huya.

La madre, el padrastro y el abogado recién asignado de Gonzalez Tovar estuvieron presentes en la audiencia.

Otra audiencia está programada para el 6 de mayo, cuando se espera que el tribunal aborde su posible ubicación y condiciones de vivienda.

Ross también ordenó que Gonzalez Tovar se someta a una evaluación psicosexual.

Leer en español

Anthony Gonzalez Tovar appeared in court via Zoom on Tuesday due to a clerical error. The hearing lasted about 10 minutes.

“Do you have any questions about what I ordered? Or being in the detention center?” Judge Stacy Ross asked Gonzalez Tovar.

“No,” he replied.

Gonzalez Tovar shook his head as Ross ordered him to remain detained until May 8 and imposed additional conditions, including restrictions on contact and location.

“He’s ordered to not return to the location of this incident, Ross said. ”He’s ordered to have no unsupervised contact with a minor 16 or younger.“

Jail records show Gonzalez Tovar is facing a charge of attempted sexual battery in connection with an April 8 incident in Weston that was captured on video.

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies previously released surveillance footage they say shows Gonzalez Tovar exposing himself before approaching a woman sitting on grass along the 16300 block of Golf Club Road in Weston.

Investigators say the video shows Gonzalez Tovar looking around before grabbing the victim from behind. The woman is seen fighting back before he runs away.

Gonzalez Tovar’s mother, stepfather and newly appointed attorney were present for the hearing.

Another hearing is scheduled for May 6, at which time the court is expected to address his future placement and living arrangements.

Ross also ordered Gonzalez Tovar to undergo a psychosexual evaluation.

The UT Dell Medical Center, announced Tuesday, is projected to open in 2030 as the crown jewel of a new 300-plus-acre advanced research campus. The university expects to break ground this fall on what school leaders are calling the country's first “AI-native” hospital.

The donation makes the couple the first University of Texas donors to give more than $1 billion, according to system officials, building on two decades of support for computer science education, the medical school and scholarships for students with the most significant financial need.

For Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at about $170 billion, the next step was to further expand his and his wife's investments in Central Texas. The computer magnate founded the company in 1984 as a UT-Austin pre-med student selling customized personal computers from his freshman dorm room. Health infrastructure needs became clear, he said, as the area's population about doubled in size.

“I was born in Texas. My wife was born in Texas. This is our home,” Dell told the Associated Press, adding that “building a stronger health system here, more innovation and helping to support the growth and stability of the region” is important.

The donation is among the largest ever in higher education philanthropy, following recent contributions such as Phil Knight's $2 billion pledge to Oregon Health & Science University's cancer center and Michael Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift to cover Johns Hopkins University medical students' tuition.

A ‘rare' opportunity to integrate technology into a new medical center

From monitoring vital signs to triggering step-by-step care plans, AI is making inroads into health care at hundreds of hospitals.

With the launch of UT Dell Medical Center, however, Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti sees a rare opportunity: instead of retroactively applying new technologies to old hospital infrastructure, she said they can integrate them from the start. They will also collaborate with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to offer top specialists for those with complex conditions.

Lucchinetti, the dean of Dell Medical School and senior vice president for medical affairs, said their model will use technology to support the patient-doctor relationship and make care “feel simpler and more human.” “Ambient" AI will make the hospital itself an “intelligent member of the care team,” she said, taking notes so that clinicians can treat patients more directly. She touted AI's ability to identify biometric patterns and early signs of cancer before they're obvious to the naked eye.

The goal, she said, is to move from a reactive and fragmented health system to one that is predictive and more seamless.

“We have the technology, the science and the understanding to do better. And what we’ve been missing is the ability to design a system around those capabilities from the start,” she said. "That’s the opportunity that Susan and Michael Dell have catalyzed.”

The gift will also support undergraduate scholarships, student housing and UT's Texas Advanced Computing Center, where officials are building the nation's largest academic supercomputer with Dell's AI infrastructure.

In a convocation address two years ago, Michael Dell encouraged medical school graduates to ensure AI models understand human ethics and make health care more equitable. He believes the technology will augment caregiving, create more precise treatments, accelerate scientific discoveries and apply those findings to real-world practices sooner.

“We have to figure out how to do this in a way that is responsible, reflects our values and beliefs, and ultimately enables humans to reach their full potential,” he told AP. “That's what we're all working on.”

Landscape for higher education giving

The major contribution comes at a time when private support for higher education is falling to a dwindling pool of supporters.

Colleges raised a record $78 billion last year, according to the 2025 Voluntary Support of Education, but nearly 90% of that money came from just 2% of donors.

Rutgers University Associate Dean for Research Marybeth Gasman said she's excited to see such strong support for a public institution at a time when public funding is declining amid politicized attacks on higher education. She hopes the megagift inspires other donations, as she said decades-long patterns suggest that more giving occurs after high-profile individual contributions.

“Higher education, quite frankly, could really use it right now," she said.

UT-Austin officials are certainly hoping so. The Dells' gift kicks off a broader 10-year campaign to raise $10 billion for the university.

The donation comes on the heels of the Dells' $6.25 billion pledge to provide an incentive to claim new investment accounts under President Donald Trump's tax law for 25 million American children ages 10 and under. The “Trump Accounts” give $1,000 to every newborn, so long as their parents open one, and invests those funds in the stock market. The couple believes it is the largest single private commitment made to U.S. children.

Michael Dell said even a small sum makes a child more likely to enter college — “perhaps at the University of Texas or some other great school” — and eventually start a family or business. He welcomed the creativity he's seeing from other “Trump Accounts" funders. He's seen cities offer additional investments for community service and good grades. He noted that hedge fund managers Brad Gerstner and Ray Dalio have seeded accounts in Indiana and Connecticut, respectively.

“I think you'll see many more gifts at the local community level and some other big ones at the national level,” he said.

But he dismissed the suggestion that, between the “Trump Accounts” and this University of Texas gift, there's been a shift in his and his wife's philanthropy toward more selective, bigger bets.

“Certainly, we’ve been very blessed and we have a lot of resources,” he said. "So, we're looking for things that have significant impact.”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

El accidente fue reportado a última hora de la mañana del martes cerca de Pines Boulevard.

Funcionarios de Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue dijeron que ambos vehículos involucrados sufrieron daños graves y que dos personas fueron trasladadas por tierra al Memorial Regional Hospital como pacientes de trauma.

Sus condiciones exactas no han sido reveladas.

Dos carriles izquierdos fueron cerrados tras el accidente.

La causa del choque está bajo investigación.

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The crash was reported late Tuesday morning near Pines Boulevard.

Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue officials said both vehicles involved in the crash sustained heavy damage and two people were transported by ground to Memorial Regional Hospital as trauma alerts.

Their exact conditions have not yet been released.

Two left lanes were blocked off after the crash.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Akayed Ullah was appropriately sentenced to life in 2021 for the planned suicide attack that largely failed when an explosive attached to Ullah’s chest barely exploded.

The Manhattan-based 2nd Circuit found that the separate charge of providing material support to the Islamic State group required that Ullah work under the terror group’s control even though he was acting alone. A three-judge panel left intact other charges that support his life term.

The appeals court said Ullah cannot be directed by the group “if he is acting alone, and if ISIS does not know he exists, has no expectation he will hear ISIS’s messages or act on them, and will not know, or care, or have any recourse if he ignores the message completely.”

That Ullah “conceived of himself as a soldier of ISIS does not establish that ISIS did, in fact, control or direct his actions,” it added.

In a dissent, Judge Steven J. Menashi said it was unsurprising that Ullah was convicted by a jury of providing material support to the terror group when the evidence they saw included Ullah's statement to investigators that he “did it on behalf of the Islamic State.”

Still, though, two of the 2nd Circuit panel's three judges concluded he acted “entirely independently” of the Islamic State group, Menashi noted.

“That is wrong,” he wrote. “To reach the opposite conclusion, the majority rewrites the material-support statute and ignores the evidence presented to the jury.”

A lawyer for Ullah and a spokesperson for prosecutors both declined to comment.

At his April 2021 sentencing, Ullah requested leniency.

“Your honor, what I did on Dec. 11, it was wrong,” he said. “I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I’m deeply sorry. ... I do not support harming innocent people.”

Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who now sits on the 2nd Circuit, told him at sentencing that a life sentence was appropriate.

“It was a truly barbaric and heinous crime,” Sullivan said.

The attack in a pedestrian tunnel beneath Times Square and the Port Authority bus terminal left Ullah seriously burned but spared some pedestrians nearby from more serious injuries, though the government noted one bystander lost 70% of his hearing.

Hours after Ullah’s bombing attempt, President Donald Trump derided the immigration system that had allowed Ullah — and multitudes of law-abiding Bangladeshis — to enter the U.S.

The 2nd Circuit ruling comes six weeks after two teenagers were criminally charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization for allegedly bringing explosives to a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event outside the Manhattan residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The homemade devices did not explode.

A criminal complaint against the men alleged that they were inspired by the Islamic State group.

"Those (conversations) have been positive and productive. In order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me. That starts with me,” Vrabel said, making an unscheduled statement from the podium at the team's facility on the second day of its offseason workout program.

The photos were of Vrabel and Russini at a Sedona resort and were taken before the annual NFL meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29, according to the New York Post, which published the photos earlier this month.

A Patriots spokesman said there are no plans for other team officials to address the issue further.

The NFL, meanwhile, said last weekend that it is not investigating Vrabel’s behavior. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that the league is not looking into the matter.

Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released written statements to the Post after the publication of the story downplaying what the photos depict. But Russini resigned from The Athletic less than a week later, after the Post's report prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet.

Vrabel said he addressed players about the matter on Monday after they arrived for the start of the voluntary workout program. Two Patriots players were scheduled to be made available to reporters on Tuesday, but Vrabel said he wanted to speak before they did. He also said he didn't want the interest in the Post photos to take attention away from the NFL draft, which begins Thursday.

Vrabel said any conversations he's had with team officials would stay private.

“We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction,” he said. “There are comments and questions that I’ve answered with the team and will keep those private to ourselves."

Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including “SportsCenter” anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform.

Until his appearance Tuesday, Vrabel hadn't spoken in a news conference setting with reporters since the owners' meetings.

Last year, before his first season as Patriots coach, he addressed reporters as part of the lead-up to the NFL draft. He opted not to do that last week, with only Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf speaking at that news conference on April 13.

“Very involved. Business as usual,” Wolf said when asked how much Vrabel had been involved with the team’s draft process. “I’d say he’s been in there with us this round probably a little more than he was in there last year. ... He’s been in there. He’s been contributing. He’s watched a ton of the players.”

Vrabel, 50, won three Super Bowls as a player with New England. He is preparing for his second season as coach of the Patriots. He led the team to a 14-3 finish last season, which ended with a Super Bowl loss to Seattle.

Vrabel said his focus going forward is football.

“I care deeply about this football team and excited to coach them. I also know that I’m going to attack each day with humility and focus,” he said. "What I can promise you is that my family, this organization, the team, the staff, coaches and our fans, most importantly, will get the best version of me going forward. That’s what I know and I’m excited to do that.”

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

It has long been quoted and promoted by those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation and should be one. It's from the seventh chapter of 2 Chronicles, a book in the Hebrew (Old Testament) portion of the Bible.

The 14th verse — the one most often quoted — says:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Trump is among hundreds who are taking turns reading the entire Bible aloud over the course of a week. Most of the readings are taking place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, though Trump's is coming by video from the Oval Office.

A passage often quoted at National Day of Prayer events

The Chronicles passage has for decades been a major theme at annual National Day of Prayer events. Organizers of the America Reads the Bible marathon invited Trump to read from it. “It’s a powerful statement that he decided to read that passage,” said Bunni Pounds, founder of Christians Engaged, which organized the project.

The passage has been recited over the decades at countless rallies, services and events, often organized around the disputed belief that America was created as a Christian nation and needs to repent of its sins and return to God. The passage has particularly been associated with annual events commemorating the National Day of Prayer, which has taken various forms since the mid-20th century and became fixed by law on the first Thursday in May since the 1980s.

The verse is set in a context far from modern America — during the reign of King Solomon in ancient Israel some 3,000 years ago. Solomon is presiding over the dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem, and in a lengthy prayer he asks for divine mercy if a future generation sins, is punished with military or natural disaster and then repents. In the key passage, God replies with a promise of restoration.

Critics say the passage is used out of context

But the use of the passage in modern settings has its critics.

The Chronicles passage is “a popular verse among Christian nationalists and has been for quite some time,” said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist pastor and president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.

He said its use has taken on a partisan and polarizing tone, often used in tandem with a promotion of a belief in a Christian America in an increasingly diverse country.

“This verse is not about the United States,” said Kaylor, author of “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power.” It is “a promise made to one particular person in one particular moment. It doesn’t really work to pull it out of context and apply it to whatever you want to.”

But many have done so recently and in decades past, either saying America has a divinely ordained destiny similar to ancient Israel's or simply that they believe every nation has a duty to follow God and repent when needed.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office in 1953 with his hand on a Bible opened to the 2 Chronicles passage. President Ronald Reagan quoted the passage in a proclamation declaring 1984's National Day of Prayer. A speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention also quoted it.

The National Day of Prayer, while officially nonsectarian, has long been drawn particular promotion and participation from evangelical Christians. Readings of the “If my people” passage has been a staple of such events.

Politicians, others joining in the Bible-reading marathon

Evangelicals — a loyal Republican voting bloc for decades — have formed a crucial part of Trump's electoral base. His rallies have featured a fusion of Christian and national symbols and rhetoric, featuring songs like “God Bless USA” and T-shirts with slogans like “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.”

Many other Republican politicians are taking part in the Bible reading, along with celebrities, pastors and others. And Trump isn't the only one reading a passage significant to his office or mission.

Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor and U.S. ambassador to Israel, is reading from a Genesis passage in which God says he will bless those who bless Abraham — a passage popular with many evangelicals who believe they have a biblical mandate to support Israel.

David Barton, whose Wallbuilders promotes belief in America as a Christian nation, will read from a passage that gave his organization its name, in which Nehemiah rebuilds the broken walls of Jerusalem.

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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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Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins said Tuesday that a consortium involving Florida Power & Light and FCC Environmental Services failed to deliver a draft interim agreement to county commissioners by an expected deadline.

The agreement was intended to be presented to the board for consideration as part of ongoing negotiations over a potential new incinerator project, according to Cohen Higgins.

“If you have been following this saga, today was the deadline the consortium of FCC and FPL to bring a negotiated memorandum of understanding to the board, but nothing is on our agenda,” she said.

The proposed partnership would involve Florida Power & Light and Spain-based FCC Group’s FCC Environmental Services as Miami-Dade continues evaluating options for replacing or rebuilding its waste-to-energy system.

Cohen Higgins said the delay raises concerns about the pace of negotiations and the need for a more defined plan.

“We need to move this forward. We need to advance this,” she said. “Our incinerator, whether we move forward with one or not, we need a long-term plan of how we are going to dispose of waste.”

Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, of District 12, said discussions between the parties are ongoing but acknowledged the deadline to bring the item forward was not met.

“It appears it is not on the agenda, so obviously they are still discussing it, is my understanding, the two parties,” Bermudez said. “So that deadline to be on the agenda was missed to begin (the) process of looking at the full scope.”

Miami-Dade’s waste-to-energy system has been under scrutiny since a major fire damaged the county’s facility three years ago.

In February, commissioners directed staff to negotiate an interim agreement with the consortium and return with a proposal in April.

Roy Coley, Miami-Dade’s chief utilities and regulatory services officer for Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, said the county recently received financial modeling from the consortium but said key decisions remain unresolved.

“We did receive a financial model on April 17,” Coley said. “We are going through that model. We are going to submit it to our financial consultants to validate all those assumptions.”

Coley also noted uncertainty about the timing for next steps, including site selection.

“I don’t know how we move forward without selecting a property, and we still don’t have a property selected,” he said.

Commissioner Raquel Regalado, of District 7, said the county is extending the review period to allow more analysis of financial details, site options and waste-processing methods.

“We are giving an extension on coming back to the board so they can give us more financials,” she said. “We still don’t have a property selected. We don’t know what to do with the ash.”

Commissioners said other waste management options remain under consideration, including continued use of rail to transport waste out of the county and recycling-based alternatives.

Potential sites for a future facility remain under review, including county-owned land such as Opa-locka West Airport. Commissioners previously rejected proposals involving royalty fee structures tied to the project.

Officials said negotiations are expected to continue before any final proposal is brought back before the commission.

Florida Power & Light responded to the missed deadline in a statement:

“FPL is complying with the wishes of the commission, to come together with FCC – a former competitor, now partner in this project - to create a joint project that will benefit Miami-Dade County,“ the statement read. ”We are working diligently to do just that and will come before this commission in May to provide an update.”

Amazon will invest $5 billion immediately as part of the new agreement announced this week by the companies, and up to another $20 billion in the future. Amazon previously invested $8 billion in Anthropic.

The partnership will allow Anthropic to secure up to 5 gigawatts of Amazon’s Trainium chips to train and power their artificial intelligence models.

“Our custom AI silicon offers high performance at significantly lower cost for customers, which is why it’s in such hot demand,” said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

Amazon said AWS customers will be able to access the full Anthropic-native Claude console from within the AWS cloud platform.

Earlier this year, privately-held Anthropic said its valuation grew to $380 billion, positioning itself alongside rivals OpenAI and Elon Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX, which recently merged with his AI startup xAI, maker of the chatbot Grok.

Renaissance Capital, which researches the potential for initial public offerings, counts Anthropic as third among the most valuable private firms, behind SpaceX and ChatGPT maker OpenAI, valued at $500 billion.

Anthropic and Amazon have partnered since 2023 to accelerate generative AI adoption for customers to build, deploy, and scale AI applications. Amazon says 100,000 customers run Anthropic Claude models on AWS.

In February, the Trump administration ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties for refusing to allow the U.S. military unrestricted use of its AI technology.

In an unusually public clash between the government and the company, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials took to social media to chastise Anthropic, accusing it of endangering national security.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to back down over concerns the company’s products could be used in ways that would violate its safeguards. Anthropic said it would challenge what it called an unprecedented and legally unsound action “never before publicly applied to an American company.”

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court refused to block the Pentagon from blacklisting artificial intelligence laboratory Anthropic in a decision that differed from the conclusions reached in another judge’s ruling on the same issues.

Anthropic is not yet profitable but said in February that it's on track for sales of $14 billion over the next year.

Anthropic was founded by ex-OpenAI employees in 2021 and released its first version of Claude in 2023, following OpenAI's ChatGPT debut in late 2022.

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According to police, Yarilis Mendez-Carrillo was reported missing March 11 by her grandmother and was last seen in the 300 block of Southwest 12^th Avenue.

Her grandmother told Local 10’s Janine Stanwood that she last saw her granddaughter at about 7:30 p.m. that night.

Police said Mendez-Carrillo does not have a cellphone and has not been in contact with anyone since she was reported missing.

Mendez-Carrillo is described by police as a Hispanic female, who is 4 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

Police said she has a large circular scar on her upper right thigh.

Mendez-Carrillo was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue shorts.

A Missing Child Alert has been issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as the search for the teen continues.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the Homestead Police Department at 305-247-1535 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

“The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member, everywhere, in every circumstance at all times is just overly broad and not rational,” Hegseth said in a video posted on social media.

He said American service members are free to get the flu vaccine but will not be forced to “because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.”

Hegseth’s directive does allow for the military services to request to keep the vaccine requirement in place, according to a memo enacting the policy posted online. It says the services have 15 days to make those requests.

Vaccination programs in the U.S. military date back to the American Revolution. But they became a contentious political issue during the coronavirus pandemic, when more than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey the 2021 mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine. Thousands of others sought religious and medical exemptions.

Congress agreed to rescind the mandate, which the Pentagon dropped in January 2023, after roughly 99% of active duty troops in the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps had gotten the vaccine, and 98% of those in the Army. The Guard and Reserve rates are lower but generally are more than 90%.

The Trump administration then spent months crafting a policy to allow service members who refused to take the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine to reenter service with back pay. While only a tiny fraction have taken the Pentagon up on the new policy, Hegseth’s team has spent the past several months personally highlighting them.

The Pentagon stated in March that 153 service members who were separated under the COVID-19 mandate had been reinstated or "re-accessed."

The dropping of the flu vaccine mandate follows what health officials said was a particularly severe flu season when U.S. infections surged. Public health experts recommend that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine.

The Trump administration has been working to dial back vaccine recommendations. It stated earlier this year that it will no longer recommend flu shots and some other types of vaccines for all children, saying it’s a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors. A federal judge has temporarily blocked that effort as a lawsuit plays out.

The Congressional Research Service listed eight mandatory vaccines for service members in a 2021 report. They included vaccines for the flu, polio and tetanus as well as the measles and hepatitis A and B.

Service members could request to opt out of a vaccine requirement for religious reasons, the report stated. But the unit commander was required to seek input from medical and religious representatives, while also counseling the service member on the potential impact on their ability to deploy. A military physician also had to counsel the service member on the benefits and risks of forgoing a required vaccination.

The Congressional Research Service noted that the military instituted its first vaccination program in 1777 when Gen. George Washington directed the inoculation of the Continental Army to protect personnel from smallpox.

As part of President Donald Trump’s push to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion in the 2027 budget, the Pentagon wants to triple spending on drones and related technology to more than $74 billion and invest over $30 billion into more critical munitions, including missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

Military officials said the spending blueprint was developed before the conflict in the Middle East. They also did not discuss how much they will request in additional funds for the war, which would be on top of what the White House is seeking to boost defense spending in the next budget year.

“The overlap, you’ll see, is the request for munitions, which is something we always need," Jules Hurst III, acting undersecretary of defense and the Pentagon's comptroller, told reporters at a briefing. "We always need to increase our magazine depth. But outside of that, there aren’t any operational costs in here from Iran.”

Heavy investment in drone warfare

The missile interceptors whose numbers are under the most strain are the Patriot and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, air defense systems. The THAAD system is designed for defeating medium-range ballistic missiles, while the Patriot system is for taking down short-range ballistic missiles and crewed aircraft. However, they both also were used to shoot down cheap Iranian drones.

The $30 billion budget item also would aim to purchase long-range Precision Strike Missiles and Mid-Range Capability missile systems used by the U.S. Army.

The budget proposal would allocate nearly $54 billion for military drones and related technology, as well as $21 billion for weapons systems designed to take down enemy drones.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the U.S. must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

“Drone warfare is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield,” Hurst said. “This budget is the largest investment in drone warfare and counter drone technology in U.S. history.”

As part of the 2027 budget, the Pentagon also intends to grow the military by 44,500 troops, or more than 2%, spend more than $2 billion on operations on the U.S.-Mexico border and make the largest shipbuilding request since 1962.

Dramatic increase in the Navy's Tomahawk missiles

While officials said the budget was developed before operations began in Iran, it featured major jumps in many of the missiles that have been used in the conflict. One of the most dramatic increases was in the choice for the Navy to increase of its purchase of the Tomahawk cruise missile from 55 missiles last year to 785 in this year’s budget.

The long-range cruise missile was heavily used in Iran and led to concerns from experts that the military was using it much faster than it could replenish its stocks.

Vice Adm. Ben Reynolds, the Navy’s budget boss, wouldn’t say if he expected all 785 Tomahawk missiles to be delivered within the year. He acknowledged that weapons production capacity “is absolutely the challenge” and, in the case of the Tomahawk, he said the Navy expects Raytheon — the company that makes it — “to invest very heavily now to be able to ramp up production.”

The services also are addressing the difficulty in producing the advanced munitions favored by the military by slowly shifting toward more basic weapons.

Major Gen. Frank Verdugo, the Air Force’s budget chief, said the Air Force wants to invest $600 million to develop “affordable” munitions as part of an effort to move away from “small numbers of exquisite weapons toward a future where we can overwhelm an adversary with sheer volume.”

Trump-endorsed battleship is missing

The Navy said it would be buying 18 more warships using more than $65 billion — a 46% increase from the previous year.

However, the Trump-endorsed battleship that was announced to great fanfare last year is not in this year’s budget, according to the briefing. Instead, the Navy is planning to pay for the first battleship in next year’s budget.

The military's spending proposal also lacked money for repairing U.S. bases in the Middle East, which Hurst said would be part of a future request.

“Part of it is we would assess what our posture should be in the Middle East,” Hurst told reporters. “We have to make sure we understand what we want to construct in the future. We might change how we build bases in the Middle East based on this conflict.”

Entre sus pertenencias llevaba una fotografía modificada con inteligencia artificial en la que se lo veía junto a los agresores del ataque en la escuela secundaria estadounidense de Columbine en 1999, confirmó a The Associated Press un funcionario estatal que pidió el anonimato por no estar autorizado a hacer declaraciones.

Además, el inusual tiroteo en las turísticas ruinas arqueológicas del norte de Ciudad de México ocurrió cuando se cumplían 27 años de la masacre en esa secundaria de Colorado en la que murieron 12 estudiantes y unGuardi maestro.

El atacante, identificado como Julio César Jasso Ramírez y procedente del sureño estado de Guerrero, llegó a Teotihuacán un día antes en un Uber, se alojó en un hotel y el lunes casi al mediodía, subido a la Pirámide de la Luna, comenzó a disparar a los turistas con un viejo revólver mientras en su otra mano sostenía una bolsa de plástico con 52 cartuchos calibre 38, explicó el fiscal del Estado de México, José Luis Cervantes.

Jasso Ramírez preparó al detalle el ataque. “Adquirió armas, cuchillos, mochilas, guantes, lentes, todos los implementos que él consideraba le iban a ser de utilidad para para llevar a cabo su objetivo”, dijo el fiscal.

La pistola era un revólver de los años 60. Le costó unos 2.300 dólares, agregó el funcionario basándose en información recopilada del atacante.

Fueron 22 minutos de pánico. El agresor disparaba contra los turistas desde lo alto de la pirámide viendo a las fuerzas de seguridad acercarse a las que también atacó. Algunas personas se tiraron al suelo y permanecieron inmóviles intentando evitar llamar la atención del atacante, otras bajaron corriendo la pirámide mientras sonaban los disparos.

La Guardia Nacional trepó por la pirámide e hirió en una pierna al atacante. Al sentirse cercado se suicidó, dijo Cervantes mencionando las declaraciones de testigos.

En la mochila de Jasso Ramírez había un cuchillo, libros y “manuscritos presuntamente relacionados con hechos violentos que... pudieron haber sucedido en los Estados Unidos en abril de 1999”, explicó Cervantes sin mencionar explícitamente a la escuela de Columbine. Tampoco mencionó la fotografía manipulada con la cara del agresor junto a los atacantes de esa escuela estadounidense.

Pero el fiscal sí dijo que todo apuntaba a un “perfil psicopático del agresor, caracterizado por una tendencia a copiar situaciones que sucedieron en otros lugares, en otros momentos y por otros personajes”.

Ataque sin precedentes

El ataque, ocurrido a menos de dos meses del inicio de la Copa Mundial de Fútbol, conmocionó a México porque aunque el país está acostumbrado a la violencia vinculada de la delincuencia y el crimen organizado, no es habitual este tipo de escenarios de atacantes solitarios. Y mucho menos en lugares turísticos.

“El turismo en México no ha tenido nunca ningún problema”, dijo la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum. “El episodio de ayer, pues nos llama la atención para fortalecer la seguridad”.

La mandataria agregó que debido a que “hubo influencia de actos que ocurrieron fuera de México, entonces también esto es importante para tomar medidas”.

Este tipo de agresiones no son habituales en América Latina pero ocurren. Este mes las autoridades de Argentina vincularon a un adolescente que mató a un estudiante e hirió a ocho en una escuela de la provincia de Santa Fe con un fenómeno llamado “True Crime Community” (Comunidad de Crímenes Reales, TCC, por sus siglas en inglés) que nació en foros digitales creados tras la masacre de Columbine donde se discutían hechos violentos.

De ahí que el secretario de Seguridad, Omar García Harfuch, no sólo anunciara el reforzamiento de la seguridad física en zonas arqueológicas “y en los principales destinos turísticos del país” sino también un “patrullaje cibernético”, ya que muchos jóvenes agresores suelen anunciar sus propósitos en redes.

Las emblemáticas pirámides de Teotihuacán, que recibieron 1,8 millones de visitantes extranjeros el año pasado, permanecían cerradas el martes, pero la presidenta dijo que reabrirían sus puertas el miércoles con nuevas medidas de seguridad.

Sin embargo, todavía en medio de la conmoción, un globo aerostático de los que suelen sobrevolar la zona arqueológica y que es de las mayores atracciones de los turistas tuvo que realizar un aterrizaje de emergencia el martes porque quedó suspendido sin poder moverse ante la falta de corrientes de aire, explicó Julia Tapia, jefa de Protección Civil local.

Además de la mujer canadiense fallecida, siete de los heridos fueron alcanzados por los disparos y otras seis personas tuvieron lesiones de otro tipo. Todos se encuentran fuera de peligro, indicó la presidenta.

Los heridos eran seis personas de Estados Unidos, tres de Colombia, una de Rusia, una de Brasil, una de Holanda y una de Canadá, señalaron las autoridades.

“Sólo pensaba, ‘sal de la línea de fuego’”

El estadounidense Greg Magadini de Boise, Idaho, uno de los turistas que estaba en lo alto de la pirámide de la Luna tras subir sus 200 escalones, recordaba el martes todavía impactado el miedo que sintió cuando escuchó un fuerte estruendo seguido de gritos.

“Lo único en lo que pensaba era 'sal de la línea de fuego, sal de la línea de fuego”, contó a AP vía telefónica. “Éramos un blanco fácil”.

El atacante se encontraba a unos 12 metros de distancia en la misma plataforma de la pirámide donde había unos 60 turistas. Magadini optó por saltar por una cornisa y ponerse a cubierto. Dos de sus amigos permanecieron en la plataforma tratando de esconderse mientras sonaban los disparos aparentemente indiscriminados.

El grupo de amigos salió corrieron por un campo detrás de la pirámide y ayudó a una mujer que se lastimó un tobillo al huir.

Magadini explicó que más tarde hablaron en el hospital con otros turistas que habían estado en la plataforma cuando comenzó el tiroteo y dijeron que, en un momento dado, el tirador puso música extraña y se burló de ellos diciendo que odiaba a los turistas.

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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Fabiola Sánchez, desde Ciudad de México, y John Seewer, desde Toledo, Ohio, contribuyeron a esta nota.

Soccer's governing body announced Tuesday it will make more tickets available at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday for all 104 games in Categories 1, 2 and 3 plus the new “front category” pricing it added this month.

The new category sparked online complaints from fans who said they thought the better seats in the categories they had bought tickets for were withheld and they were assigned less favorable locations.

FIFA in December put tickets on sale at prices ranging from $140 for Category 3 in the first round to $8,680 for the final, then raised prices to as much as $10,990 when sales reopened on April 1.

FIFA did not respond to an April 9 request for comment about the new ticket categories it added.

Also Tuesday, The Athletic reported that tickets sales are lagging for the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12 at Inglewood, California. It said a document distributed to local organizers dated April 10 said 40,934 tickets had been purchased for the U.S.-Paraguay game and 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand contest on April 15. FIFA projects SoFi's World Cup capacity at about 69,650, noting it may change.

FIFA's December sale priced U.S.-Paraguay tickets at $1,120, $1,940 and $2,735, and Iran-New Zealand seats at $140, $380 and $450.

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

The auto train service between Sanford, Florida, near Orlando, and Lorton, Virginia, outside Washington, was canceled for Monday, Amtrak said in a statement. The train service allows passengers to take their cars on trips.

The Silver Meteor route, which runs between Miami and New York, was starting and ending in Jacksonville instead of South Florida on Monday, and one of its two daily train trips was canceled for Tuesday.

The Floridian route, running from Miami to Chicago via Washington, was starting and ending in Savannah, Georgia, and one of its two train trips was canceled for Tuesday, Amtrak said.

Amtrak on Monday provided some bus service between Jacksonville and Miami for passengers on the Silver Meteor and Floridian routes.

For those 230+ passengers onboard Monday’s train returning to Miami, Amtrak offered them a full refund and Amtrak travel vouchers.

Amtrak says it’s working to ensure safe and reliable service during these conditions as 38 Florida counties are under burn bans with dry, windy conditions.

The Florida Forest Service reported a 4,000 acre fire along the eastern border of Putnam and Clay counties, south of Jacksonville.

As of Tuesday afternoon, it was just 50 percent contained.

Although officials did not mention Columbine by name, they referred to several books and handwritten notes that belonged to the gunman and referenced attacks in the United States in April 1999. Monday marked the 27th anniversary of the massacre in Colorado.

Among the gunman's belongings was a photo modified by artificial intelligence showing him alongside the Columbine attackers, according to a state official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to address the media.

Seven people were wounded by gunshots at the archaeological site north of the Mexican capital, the local government said. The nature of the other injuries was not disclosed, but some people fell when the shooting started, including some who were climbing on the pyramids.

The assailant, who acted alone, shot and killed himself, authorities said, and security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition at the scene.

Attack came before World Cup tournament

The attack happened less than two months before Mexico co-hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. Mexico's security secretary, Omar García Harfuch, said major tourist destinations would see a heightened presence of both ground forces and digital “cyber patrols” to prevent threats.

“Yesterday’s attack highlights the urgent need to strengthen our security protocols,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She also noted the importance of analyzing “external influences” that may provoke such violence within the country.

While such attacks are uncommon in Latin America, they are not unheard of. Earlier this month, Argentine authorities linked a teenager to the “true crime community” after the teen killed one student and injured eight others at a school in Santa Fe. The community is an online subculture that emerged from forums established after the Columbine massacre to discuss and, in some cases, glorify such violence.

Taken to hospitals were six people from the U.S., three from Colombia, one from Russia, one from Brazil, one from the Netherlands and one from Canada, the local government said. The youngest person who was hurt was 6; the oldest was 61, Mexican authorities said.

Shooter scouted tourist site before attack

Authorities identified the attacker as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramírez, a native of Guerrero, Mexico, who, they said, had carefully scouted the pyramids before opening fire.

The assailant carried a tactical-style backpack containing an analog cellphone and bus tickets, said José Luis Cervantes Martinez, the attorney general of the state of Mexico, which includes Teotihuacan.

Cervantes Martinez also noted the presence of “literature, images and manuscripts" that related to "violent incidents known to have occurred in the United States in April 1999,” a likely reference to the Columbine attack in which 12 students and a teacher were killed.

Investigators built "a psychopathic profile" of the suspect that was "characterized by a tendency to copy situations that occurred in other places, at other times and involving other figures,’” the prosecutor added.

Greg Magadini, of Boise, Idaho, was with a tour group on top of the pyramid when he heard a loud crack followed by screaming. The gunman was about 40 feet (12 meters) away on the same platform with roughly 60 tourists, he said.

Magadini jumped down a ledge and scrambled for cover while two of his friends stayed on the platform above trying to hide.

Witnesses said everyone was a target

Shots seemed to ring out every five seconds, Magadini said, as he and the others jumped down more ledges to reach the ground. Then they ran through a field behind the pyramid, carrying one of his friends who badly injured her ankle on one of the jumps.

Magadini, who came away with scrapes and cuts, said he did not see the shooter, but his friends said the gunman seemed to fire randomly in all directions. “Everyone was a target,” he said.

Later at the hospital, they talked with other tourists, who said the shooter at one point played strange music and taunted them, saying he hated tourists, Magadini said.

The Teotihuacan pyramids, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a series of ancient structures on the outskirts of Mexico City. As one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, the site drew more than 1.8 million international visitors last year, according to government figures.

The shooting took place shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday, when dozens of tourists were at the top of the Pyramid of the Moon. The gunman fired upward, according to a tour guide who was at the scene and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

“Some people, because they were scared ... threw themselves face-down on the ground, and the rest of us started to go down,” the guide said, recounting how the shooter began firing as tourists descended the pyramid’s steps.

Another group of visitors lay motionless on the pyramid to avoid being targeted.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian tourist who was killed. He said Canadian authorities were working with those in Mexico.

“It’s a terrible circumstance,” Carney said.

___

Associated Press writers Megan Janetsky and and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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Lazaro Miranda-Alonso was a store associate at the Walmart Supercenter at 8651 NW 13th Terrace, in Doral, according to the police officer’s report.

Miranda-Alonso, who was born in Cuba, abused his access to the store’s cash register with fraudulent returns, according to the police report.

“Surveillance footage captured the defendant conducting return transactions without a customer present and without receiving merchandise in return,” a police officer wrote, according to the report.

To steal $857.46, Miranda-Alonso was “using receipts belonging to other customers ... to load funds onto gift cards,” or to pocket cash, according to the report.

Police officers arrested Miranda-Alonso shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Walmart Superstore in Doral, according to the arrest report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Miranda-Alonso at 9:30 p.m. on Monday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Miranda-Alonso faced seven charges: Organized scheme to defraud, third-degree grand theft, and five counts of using a false or fraudulently obtained receipt in Florida to request a refund. His bond was $5,500.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez was set to preside over the case.

Local 10 News Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.

Lazaro Miranda-Alonso era asociado de tienda en el Walmart Supercenter ubicado en 8651 NW 13th Terrace, en Doral, según el informe policial.

Miranda-Alonso, quien nació en Cuba, abusó de su acceso a la caja registradora de la tienda mediante devoluciones fraudulentas, de acuerdo con el informe.

“Las cámaras de vigilancia captaron al acusado realizando transacciones de devolución sin la presencia de un cliente y sin recibir mercancía a cambio”, escribió un agente, según el informe.

Para robar $857.46 USD, Miranda-Alonso estaba “usando recibos de otros clientes … para cargar fondos a tarjetas de regalo”, o quedarse con el dinero en efectivo, según el informe.

Los agentes arrestaron a Miranda-Alonso poco después de las 7:30 p.m. del lunes en el Walmart Superstore de Doral, según el informe de arresto.

Correcciones de Miami-Dade registró a Miranda-Alonso a las 9:30 p.m. del lunes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según los registros de reclusos.

Miranda-Alonso enfrenta siete cargos: esquema organizado para defraudar, hurto mayor en tercer grado y cinco cargos por usar un recibo falso o obtenido fraudulentamente en Florida para solicitar un reembolso. Su fianza fue fijada en $5,500 USD.

La jueza del circuito de Miami-Dade, Marisa Tinkler Mendez, estaba programada para presidir el caso.

La editora de Local 10 News, Mercedes Cevallos, contribuyó a este informe.

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According to an arrest report, Jose Luis Perez was taken into custody on Monday by the Miami Police Department following an investigation into stolen deliveries at the Quantum on the Bay condominium complex in Edgewater.

The report states the thefts occurred between Feb. 16 and Feb. 23 at the building located at 1900 N. Bayshore Dr., just north of downtown Miami.

Police said residents began reporting missing packages to the building’s package room supervisor, who then reviewed surveillance footage after receiving multiple complaints.

According to the report, video from around 5:35 a.m. Feb. 16 shows several orange Amazon delivery bags that were left outside the package room because it was “full.”

The report states that the packages were placed near a rear loading dock door that was malfunctioning and not properly secured at the time.

Investigators said video shows a white Ford pickup truck pulling into the loading dock area. A woman dressed in black exited the driver’s side, while Perez exited the passenger side, authorities said.

The report states that Perez opened the rear access door and removed a bag of packages, placing it in the truck bed, while the woman removed additional boxes.

Building management confirmed that neither individual had permission to remove the packages, according to the report.

During the investigation, officers said they reviewed license plate reader footage and identified the pickup truck.

Police later learned the same vehicle had been stopped that same day by a West Miami police officer, who identified the driver as 35-year-old Vanessa Caridad Rodriguez. Perez was listed as the passenger at the time, the report states.

Authorities said Rodriguez was arrested during the traffic stop for driving without a valid license (third conviction) and without proof of insurance, and the vehicle was impounded. They said she was initially stopped for having a broken taillight and emitting a yellow light.

According to the report, Perez was interviewed by detectives after being read his Miranda rights and agreed to speak without an attorney present.

The report states Perez admitted that he entered the property with Rodriguez, his girlfriend at the time, who was familiar with the building, and removed packages without permission.

While being processed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, officers found a clear baggie containing suspected cocaine in Perez’s pocket, according to the report.

Jail records show Perez is facing charges, including burglary of an unoccupied structure, petit theft between $150 and $750, and introduction or possession of a controlled substance.

As of Tuesday morning, he remained at TGK, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”

Rodriguez was not listed as an inmate in Miami-Dade County jail records as of Tuesday, and it was not immediately known whether she is facing charges in connection with this case.

Según un informe de arresto, Jose Luis Perez fue detenido el lunes por el Departamento de Policía de Miami tras una investigación sobre entregas robadas en el complejo Quantum on the Bay en Edgewater.

El informe indica que los robos ocurrieron entre el 16 y el 23 de febrero en el edificio ubicado en 1900 N. Bayshore Dr., al norte del centro de Miami.

La policía dijo que los residentes comenzaron a reportar paquetes desaparecidos al supervisor de la sala de paquetes del edificio, quien revisó las cámaras de vigilancia tras recibir múltiples quejas.

Según el informe, un video de alrededor de las 5:35 a.m. del 16 de febrero muestra varias bolsas naranjas de entregas de Amazon que fueron dejadas afuera de la sala de paquetes porque estaba “llena”.

El informe señala que los paquetes fueron colocados cerca de una puerta trasera de carga que estaba fallando y no estaba debidamente asegurada en ese momento.

Los investigadores dijeron que el video muestra una camioneta pickup Ford blanca entrando al área de carga. Una mujer vestida de negro salió del lado del conductor, mientras que Perez salió del lado del pasajero, indicaron las autoridades.

El informe señala que Perez abrió la puerta de acceso trasera y sacó una bolsa de paquetes, colocándola en la parte trasera de la camioneta, mientras la mujer retiraba cajas adicionales.

La administración del edificio confirmó que ninguna de las dos personas tenía permiso para retirar los paquetes, según el informe.

Durante la investigación, los agentes dijeron que revisaron imágenes de lectores de placas y lograron identificar la camioneta.

Posteriormente, la policía supo que ese mismo vehículo había sido detenido ese mismo día por un agente de la policía de West Miami, quien identificó a la conductora como Vanessa Caridad Rodriguez, de 35 años. Perez figuraba como pasajero en ese momento, según el informe.

Las autoridades dijeron que Rodriguez fue arrestada durante la parada de tráfico por conducir sin una licencia válida (tercera infracción) y sin prueba de seguro, y el vehículo fue incautado. Indicaron que inicialmente fue detenida por tener una luz trasera rota y emitir una luz amarilla.

Según el informe, Perez fue entrevistado por detectives después de ser informado de sus derechos Miranda y accedió a hablar sin la presencia de un abogado.

El informe señala que Perez admitió que ingresó a la propiedad con Rodriguez, su novia en ese momento, quien conocía el edificio, y retiró paquetes sin autorización.

Mientras era procesado en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, los agentes encontraron una bolsa transparente con presunta cocaína en el bolsillo de Perez, según el informe.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Perez enfrenta cargos que incluyen allanamiento de una estructura desocupada, hurto menor entre $150 y $750 USD, e introducción o posesión de una sustancia controlada.

Hasta la mañana del martes, permanecía en TGK, donde su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.

Rodriguez no figuraba como reclusa en los registros de la cárcel del condado Miami-Dade hasta el martes, y no se sabía de inmediato si enfrenta cargos en relación con este caso.

President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf made it clear after firing executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley near the end of the season that he wanted Donovan to remain on the job. He said anyone who wanted to bring in a new coach was “probably not the right candidate for us.”

Now, it looks like whoever the Bulls hire to run their organization will get that opportunity.

“While we clearly wanted Billy to return as our head coach, we had open dialogue about the importance of respecting the process of bringing in new basketball operations leadership," Reinsdorf said in a news release. “Together, we mutually agreed that giving that person the freedom to shape the organization was the best approach for everyone involved.”

The 60-year-old Donovan consistently has said he still has a passion for coaching. The decision to leave the Bulls was made “after a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization,” Donovan said in the team release announcing the move.

“I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit,” he said.

Donovan was arguably the top candidate on the market when the Bulls hired him in September 2020, a few months after Karnisovas and Eversley got their jobs.

Chicago’s lone playoff appearance since all three were hired came during the 2021-22 season, when it finished sixth in the Eastern Conference at 46-36 and got knocked out by Milwaukee in the first round. The Bulls lost in the play-in tournament the next three years.

Donovan got a contract extension last offseason. Reinsdorf said after firing Karnisovas and Eversley that the problem was the roster construction — not the coach.

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Michael's father, praised Donovan for the “class and genuine care” that he brought to the organization.

“We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach — that was never in question,” Jerry Reinsdorf said. “But through honest conversations, we all agreed that giving our new head of basketball operations the right to build out his staff was the most important thing for the future of this franchise. That is the kind of person Billy is — he put the Bulls first.”

Karnisovas’ inability to land a franchise cornerstone player and refusal to give the Bulls a better shot at the No. 1 pick by rebuilding were glaring. He finally changed course before this year’s trade deadline, dealing Nikola Vucevic to Boston, Kevin Huerter to Detroit, Coby White to Charlotte and Chicago product Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota. The Bulls loaded up on second-round draft picks and did not get any first-rounders in return.

One of the players Chicago got in return was Jaden Ivey from Detroit. Chicago waived him following anti-LGBTQ+ comments about religion he made in videos posted on his Instagram account.

___

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

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According to an arrest report, the incident occurred just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday at the family’s home.

Police said the suspect’s wife told them that her husband, Rene Matute Godoy, 43, was dropped off at home by a friend and was “extremely intoxicated.”

According to the report, Matute Godoy insulted his wife when he arrived, tapped her on the arm and told her, “I’m going to hit you.”

Police said the wife told Matute Godoy not to touch her or insult her again, at which point he became enraged, went into the backyard and grabbed a machete.

According to the report, the wife grabbed two of her four children and fled to the front yard of the home while the eldest child grabbed her younger sister and locked themselves in the bathroom as they hid from their father.

Police said Matute Godoy then went into the home and began swinging the machete inside the kitchen area, destroying various items before going outside again and striking his wife’s vehicle.

The wife told police that she handed her children over to a friend as her husband continued damaging the vehicle and mailbox until officers arrived.

According to the arrest report, Matute Godoy’s eldest child heard her father yell in Spanish, “I’m going to kill you all!”

Matute Godoy also made threats toward an officer before entering his home again, police said.

According to the report, Matute Godoy eventually exited the home and was taken into custody.

He was arrested on multiple charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill, assault on an officer, damaging property/criminal mischief, child neglect and resisting an officer without violence.

As of Tuesday morning, Matute Godoy was no longer appearing in the online jail database.

Según un informe de arresto, el incidente ocurrió poco antes de las 3:30 a.m. del domingo en la vivienda familiar.

La policía indicó que la esposa del sospechoso les dijo que su esposo, Rene Matute Godoy, de 43 años, fue llevado a casa por un amigo y estaba “extremadamente intoxicado”.

De acuerdo con el informe, Matute Godoy insultó a su esposa al llegar, le dio un toque en el brazo y le dijo: “Te voy a golpear”.

La policía dijo que la mujer le pidió que no la tocara ni la insultara nuevamente, momento en el que él se enfureció, fue al patio trasero y tomó un machete.

Según el informe, la esposa tomó a dos de sus cuatro hijos y huyó al frente de la casa, mientras que la hija mayor tomó a su hermana menor y se encerraron en el baño para esconderse de su padre.

La policía indicó que Matute Godoy luego entró a la vivienda y comenzó a blandir el machete dentro del área de la cocina, destruyendo varios objetos antes de salir nuevamente y golpear el vehículo de su esposa.

La mujer dijo a la policía que entregó a sus hijos a un amigo mientras su esposo continuaba dañando el vehículo y el buzón hasta que llegaron los agentes.

Según el informe de arresto, la hija mayor escuchó a su padre gritar en español: “¡Los voy a matar a todos!”

Matute Godoy también amenazó a un agente antes de entrar nuevamente a la casa, dijeron las autoridades.

De acuerdo con el informe, finalmente salió de la vivienda y fue puesto bajo custodia.

Fue arrestado por múltiples cargos, incluyendo asalto agravado con arma mortal sin intención de matar, agresión contra un agente, daños a la propiedad, negligencia infantil y resistirse a un agente sin violencia.

Hasta la mañana del martes, Matute Godoy ya no aparecía en la base de datos en línea de la cárcel.

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Miami-Dade Schools Police School Resource Officer Anthony Davila said he treats the kids there as if they were his own.

It was on March 11 when he put his life-saving skills to the test, saving 13-year-old Alex Sanabria from choking.

Now the two have an inextricable bond.

“Oh, I thought it’s over,” said Sanabria. “I was gonna turn blue and fall on the ground. It’s over.”

Sanabria was having lunch at school when he began choking on potato chips, and immediately ran toward the one person he knew could help save his life.

“I knew this child’s life was in my hands,” said Davila. “I performed back blows, and when that wasn’t working, I switched to the Heimlich.”

“I knew in that moment I was gonna be OK,” said Sanabria. “When he was doing the Heimlich.”

“And luckily, he threw the object up and regained breathing,” added Davila. “Right there, I realized that I saved his life. It didn’t kick in until that moment. It could have gone so many ways.”

And that realization left Sanabria with no choice but to throw his arms around the man who saved him.

“Because he saved my life and I was very grateful,” he said. “Because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today.”

“It melted my heart,” said Davila. “Especially the hug at the end. It touched right here.”

Now the two are bonding further over their shared love of law enforcement.

Sanabria says he wants to be an officer someday.

“I just don’t like seeing people do bad things to other people so I wanna send the bad guys to jail,” he said.

Davila was recognized on Wednesday for his life-saving actions, a moment he says he’ll remember forever.

“This impacted me a whole lot, knowing I saved Alex’s life,” he said. “I see these students as my kids. And I wanna make sure they get home to their parents and families every day safely.”

Sanabria said he already knows the Heimlich maneuver and wants to learn CPR next.

El agente de recursos escolares de la Policía de Escuelas de Miami-Dade, Anthony Davila, dijo que trata a los estudiantes como si fueran sus propios hijos.

Fue el 11 de marzo cuando puso a prueba sus habilidades para salvar vidas, rescatando a Alex Sanabria, de 13 años, de asfixiarse.

Ahora ambos tienen un vínculo inquebrantable.

“Oh, pensé que todo había terminado”, dijo Sanabria. “Me iba a poner azul y caer al suelo. Se acabó”.

Sanabria estaba almorzando en la escuela cuando comenzó a ahogarse con papas fritas y de inmediato corrió hacia la única persona que sabía que podía salvarle la vida.

“Sabía que la vida de este niño estaba en mis manos”, dijo Davila. “Le di golpes en la espalda, y cuando eso no funcionó, cambié a la maniobra de Heimlich”.

“Supe en ese momento que iba a estar bien”, dijo Sanabria. “Cuando estaba haciendo la maniobra de Heimlich”.

“Y afortunadamente, expulsó el objeto y recuperó la respiración”, añadió Davila. “En ese momento me di cuenta de que le salvé la vida. No lo procesé hasta ese instante. Pudo haber terminado de muchas maneras”.

Esa realización llevó a Sanabria a abrazar al hombre que le salvó la vida.

“Porque me salvó la vida y estoy muy agradecido”, dijo. “Porque si no fuera por él, no estaría aquí hoy”.

“Me conmovió mucho”, dijo Davila. “Especialmente el abrazo al final. Me llegó al corazón”.

Ahora ambos fortalecen su relación por su interés compartido en el orden público.

Sanabria dice que quiere ser agente algún día.

“No me gusta ver a la gente hacer cosas malas a otros, así que quiero meter a los malos en la cárcel”, dijo.

Davila fue reconocido el miércoles por sus acciones para salvar una vida, un momento que dice recordará para siempre.

“Esto me impactó mucho, saber que salvé la vida de Alex”, dijo. “Veo a estos estudiantes como mis hijos. Y quiero asegurarme de que regresen a casa con sus padres y familias todos los días de manera segura”.

Sanabria dijo que ya conoce la maniobra de Heimlich y quiere aprender RCP después.

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Arman Motiwalla, 37, of Plantation, was a successful insurance executive and father who worked at Synergy Insurance Affiliates LLC at 350 Camino Gardens Blvd. in Boca Raton.

But on April 8, while leaving work in the overnight hours, Motiwalla was shot multiple times and killed in the parking lot of the business.

At the time of his death, Motiwalla was involved in a bitter legal battle with his former employer, the Coral Springs-based company Innovative Partners.

“He was terminated for objecting to or refusing to participate in a practice or policy that violated a law, rule, or regulation,” his attorney, G. Ware Cornell Jr., said.

Records show Motiwalla filed the whistleblower case last summer, and Innovative Partners LLC even countersued in a strong denial of allegations of mismanaging funds.

Cornell said the insurance executive’s murder was just nine days before new evidence was set to be introduced in court tied to the lawsuit.

This has only added to the murder mystery, with some people even speculating Motiwalla was working with federal authorities to help bring down his former company.

“He never told me that he was ever any kind of witness or participant in anything involving any kind of police agency,” Cornell said.

While the case remains under investigation, police have called the parking lot shooting an isolated incident and Cornell isn’t pointing the finger at anyone.

Because of the murder, a judge has now dismissed the original whistleblower lawsuit.

There’s no known connection between the suit and Motiwalla’s murder. Police said they’re still investigating but no arrests have been made.

Arman Motiwalla, de 37 años, residente de Plantation, era un ejecutivo de seguros exitoso y padre de familia que trabajaba en Synergy Insurance Affiliates LLC en 350 Camino Gardens Blvd., en Boca Ratón.

Pero el 8 de abril, mientras salía del trabajo durante la madrugada, Motiwalla fue baleado múltiples veces y asesinado en el estacionamiento del negocio.

Al momento de su muerte, Motiwalla estaba involucrado en una intensa batalla legal con su ex empleador, la empresa Innovative Partners, con sede en Coral Springs.

“Fue despedido por oponerse o negarse a participar en una práctica o política que violaba una ley, norma o regulación”, dijo su abogado, G. Ware Cornell Jr.

Los registros muestran que Motiwalla presentó la demanda como denunciante el verano pasado, y Innovative Partners LLC incluso presentó una contrademanda negando enérgicamente las acusaciones de mala gestión de fondos.

Cornell dijo que el asesinato del ejecutivo de seguros ocurrió solo nueve días antes de que se presentara nueva evidencia en la corte relacionada con la demanda.

Esto ha añadido más misterio al caso, con algunas personas especulando que Motiwalla estaba colaborando con autoridades federales para ayudar a desmantelar a su antigua empresa.

“Él nunca me dijo que fuera algún tipo de testigo o participante en algo relacionado con alguna agencia policial”, dijo Cornell.

Mientras el caso sigue bajo investigación, la policía ha calificado la balacera en el estacionamiento como un incidente aislado y Cornell no señala a nadie como responsable.

Debido al asesinato, un juez ha desestimado la demanda original de denunciante.

No se conoce una conexión entre la demanda y el asesinato de Motiwalla. La policía dijo que la investigación continúa y que no se han realizado arrestos.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan and 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim were killed in an attack by Israeli settlers and soldiers on the village of al-Mughayyir that left three others wounded.

Kazem Al-Hajj Mohammad, who witnessed the shooting, said that there was a volley of gunfire after settlers and the army arrived. School administrators told parents to come get their children and were met with more gunfire and tear gas. That’s when the two were killed, he said.

He and other mourners carried the two bodies sheathed in Palestinian flags out of the Ramallah Medical Complex, where the dead and wounded were taken after the shooting.

“This is our daily reality,” he said, noting that the role of settlers and the army had become interchangeable amid daily violence, displacement, land grabs and livestock seizures.

Israel’s military said that the gunman was a civilian, an army reservist who wasn't mobilized. The military said that he hadn't been arrested, but that the incident was under investigation. It said that troops had responded to reports of rock-throwing toward an Israeli civilian vehicle.

Al-Mughayyir, a village 9 miles (15 kilometers) northeast of Ramallah, has been an epicenter of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and soldiers, with Palestinians reporting dozens of attacks in 2025, including lethal shootings, arson and vandalism. The main road leading to al-Mughayyir has been frequently closed by a military gate, and residents say they have gradually lost access to their agricultural lands and olive groves.

Many of the groves were razed during an Israeli army raid last summer, after a Palestinian gunman allegedly opened fire on settlers grazing sheep near the village. Eight settler outposts now encircle al-Mughayyir, including Adei Ad, which was legalized by Israel’s government in December.

Another 14-year-old, Mohammed Naasan, was killed there in January. Hamdi al-Naasan, Aws' father, was killed by settlers in a 2019 clash that drew international condemnation, including by the United Nations.

Al-Naasan and Abu Naim are the latest Palestinians to be killed this year in the occupied West Bank, where 10 people have been killed by Israeli settlers — surpassing the total killed by settlers in 2025. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 240 Palestinians were killed in the territory last year, the vast majority by Israel’s military, while nine deaths were attributed to settlers.

But rights groups caution that the distinction can be blurred. The Israeli advocacy group Yesh Din, which tracks violence in the West Bank, has reported that lethal violence is increasingly being carried out by “settler-soldiers” from reserve battalions, both when they're working and when they're off duty.

“The availability of uniforms and firearms has given a vast number of settlers, some of them with a history of ideologically motivated offenses, the opportunity to engage in illegal acts against Palestinians, using military equipment, whether by abusing their powers while on duty or off duty altogether,” it said in a February report titled “Settlers in Uniform.”

Yesh Din noted an active duty reservist wearing civilian clothes opened fire in the village of Deir Jarir — also northeast of Ramallah — in December. Israel's military also opened an investigation into a reservist who shot and killed a Palestinian in the same village on April 11.

Israeli strikes kill 5 in Gaza

Also on Tuesday, Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said, including four suspected militants who were killed when a drone strike hit a Hamas-controlled security point just after midnight in Khan Younis.

Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties, said another man was wounded in the strike in Amal, a Khan Younis neighborhood around 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) west of the so-called Yellow Line, separating the Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza, according to relatives of those killed.

Israel's military didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Relatives said the militant-manned checkpoint was being used to police the area and protect people and their properties.

“They were protecting people and their properties,” said Ahmed Musa Abu Helal, a relative of the two casualties. “This is a cold-blooded killing that didn’t respect the truce."

In the northern town of Beit Lahiya, a 30-year-old woman was killed when Israel's navy opened fire toward tents sheltering displaced people early Tuesday, Shifa Hospital said.

Israel's military said it wasn’t aware of attacks in Beit Lahiya.

The deaths were the latest among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since a fragile ceasefire deal in October attempted to halt the more than two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the shaky ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 780 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

The health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

——— Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank and Magdy from Cairo.

El condado compró el proyecto de viviendas Southcliff Estates, ubicado en 95295 Overseas Highway en Key Largo, utilizando fondos provenientes de un fondo de $35 millones USD del impuesto turístico administrado por el Tourist Development Council tras el auge del turismo posterior al COVID.

“Es frustrante para todos nosotros porque estábamos muy entusiasmados con este proyecto”, dijo la alcaldesa del condado Monroe, Michelle Lincoln. “Pensábamos: ‘Esto va a ser increíble. Vamos a poder ayudar a la gente de inmediato. No tendremos que esperar a que se construya ni pasar por permisos’. Y está vacío”.

Diseñado para trabajadores de la industria turística de los Cayos de Florida, el proceso de solicitud para las 11 unidades de un dormitorio y un baño se abrió en agosto con un alquiler de $2,995 USD al mes.

El precio inicial provocó sorpresa entre algunos residentes.

Pero incluso después de que los comisionados redujeran el alquiler a casi $1,900 USD al mes, ni una sola unidad ha sido alquilada.

Lincoln dijo que el condado buscará actualizar su proceso de encuestas para reflejar con mayor precisión las necesidades de los trabajadores en los Cayos.

“Ahora hemos pisado el freno y vamos a actualizar los estudios que hicimos hace años para determinar específicamente cuáles son las necesidades de vivienda”, dijo.

Un portavoz del condado indicó que se está actualizando la estrategia de promoción para incluir un cartel más visible en la propiedad, publicaciones en redes sociales y anuncios en el sitio web inmobiliario Zillow.

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Two pilots were killed in a collision between a plane and a fire truck on an active runway.

Officials have since revealed that the fire truck did not have a crucial tracking device, a transponder, that is standard for vehicles at many airports.

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, more than 30 million people take off and land annually.

Supported by airport data, tracking transponders are essential for safety at both FLL and Miami International Airport.

“If it detects an object close to or near especially the runway environment, it alarms,” said FLL Chief Operating Officer Mike Nonnemacher. “It lets the air traffic controller know there’s a potential conflict.”

There are busy areas of an airport that travelers may never see, but Local 10 was given access to some of those movement areas of FLL.

It’s a constant ballet of speed, timing and trust.

FLL has six fire trucks equipped with transponders onboard, tracking planes second-by-second.

There are 26 operational vehicles that are a part of that system that go out to check runways, and another 21 maintenance vehicles, at FLL.

That’s because on the ground, the work never stops. Lightbulbs, pavement, signs and many other small fixes are all part of a very big system.

And backing it all up is another set of eyes, an airport surface detection radar that is silently, constantly searching.

According to the FAA, the installation of transponders was only guidance, but not mandatory.

“The FAA is actively encouraging airports to voluntarily equip vehicles with VMATS,” the FAA said in a statement to Local 10.

Similarly to FLL, Miami International Airport also has a surface detection system.

By the numbers, MIA has 51 vehicles with transponders that handle ramp access, wildlife control, electrical work, pavement issues and more.

As for fire and emergency vehicles, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has nine emergency response vehicles at MIA, but without transponders.

Local 10 has been told that transponders have recently been ordered; MDFR and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department said they are working together to get it done.

Dos pilotos murieron en una colisión entre un avión y un camión de bomberos en una pista activa.

Desde entonces, las autoridades han revelado que el camión de bomberos no contaba con un dispositivo de rastreo crucial, un transpondedor, que es estándar para vehículos en muchos aeropuertos.

En el Aeropuerto Internacional de Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, más de 30 millones de personas despegan y aterrizan anualmente.

Respaldados por datos del aeropuerto, los transpondedores de rastreo son esenciales para la seguridad tanto en FLL como en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami.

“Si detecta un objeto cercano, especialmente en el entorno de la pista, emite una alerta”, dijo el director de operaciones de FLL, Mike Nonnemacher. “Le indica al controlador de tráfico aéreo que hay un posible conflicto”.

Hay áreas concurridas de un aeropuerto que los viajeros nunca ven, pero Local 10 tuvo acceso a algunas de esas zonas de movimiento en FLL.

Es un constante ballet de velocidad, tiempo y confianza.

FLL cuenta con seis camiones de bomberos equipados con transpondedores a bordo, que rastrean aviones segundo a segundo.

Hay 26 vehículos operativos que forman parte de ese sistema y salen a inspeccionar las pistas, y otros 21 vehículos de mantenimiento en FLL.

Eso se debe a que en tierra el trabajo nunca se detiene. Bombillas, pavimento, señales y muchas otras reparaciones pequeñas forman parte de un sistema muy grande.

Y respaldándolo todo hay otro conjunto de “ojos”: un radar de detección de superficie del aeropuerto que busca de manera silenciosa y constante.

Según la FAA, la instalación de transpondedores era solo una recomendación, no obligatoria.

“La FAA está alentando activamente a los aeropuertos a equipar voluntariamente sus vehículos con VMATS”, dijo la agencia en un comunicado a Local 10.

De manera similar a FLL, el Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami también cuenta con un sistema de detección de superficie.

En cifras, MIA tiene 51 vehículos con transpondedores que manejan acceso a rampas, control de fauna, trabajos eléctricos, problemas de pavimento y más.

En cuanto a los vehículos de bomberos y emergencia, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue tiene nueve unidades de respuesta en MIA, pero sin transpondedores.

Local 10 fue informado de que recientemente se ordenaron transpondedores; MDFR y el Departamento de Aviación de Miami-Dade dijeron que están trabajando juntos para implementarlos.

Some aspects of sustainable seafood are obvious and well-trod, even if the how-to intricacies likely are lost on most consumers.

But sustainability today is complicated terrain, as much about business as bycatch, and why, for your next clam chowder, human rights matter as much as healthy habitats.

Advocates now want you considering issues of labor abuses, the rights of indigenous populations to use traditional fishing practices, the carbon footprint of a salmon fillet relative to a filet mignon, even whether the fishing boats offer free, high-speed Wi-Fi.

All of this is certified, rated and labeled by a tapestry of competing and overlapping groups.

For the already seafood-averse consumer -- Americans have a notoriously limited appetite for seafood -- it all can be a bit overwhelming.

“I’m an expert and I still sometimes struggle to look through some of the systems to figure out which product in the store actually matches which rating, and which label is different,” said Robert Jones, global director of aquatic foods for The Nature Conservancy.

The old 'traffic light' ratings

For several decades, the most recognizable expression of seafood sustainability was Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which encouraged or admonished consumption of specific species with cards labeled green, yellow and red.

Driven largely to preserve seafood populations -- eat the abundant Arctic char, but take a pass on the tenuous tuna -- the simplicity resonated.

Twenty-five years ago, that was the right focus, said Jennifer Kemmerly, vice president of global ocean conservation for Monterey Bay. Overseas fisheries, the source of much of the seafood consumed in the U.S., might be immune to American regulations, but would respond if enough consumers demanded sustainable choices.

But the simple, traffic-light ratings also created a guilty-until-proven-innocent aura that lingers, said Barton Seaver, a seafood sustainability expert with National Geographic. Rather than tease out whether farmed or wild salmon is better (the answer has changed over the years), many people just opt for chicken.

“The entire category had to be exonerated,” he said. “Yes, (the information) was more easily digestible, but the end result was fear, trepidation and a general lack of participation.”

The many meanings of sustainability

Seafood Watch eventually fell silent, partly a victim of pandemic pressures. By then, the definition of sustainable had broadened dramatically. Safeguarding endangered stocks still matters, of course. But a host of other issues -- treatment of workers, regenerative practices, local vs. corporate ownership of the fleet -- can mitigate that.

And plenty of people in and outside the industry argue that any test of sustainability also must weigh the impact of seafood against the alternatives.

“When we do so across five very important metrics -- greenhouse gas, land-use alteration, feed conversion, freshwater and antibiotics -- seafood just comes out on top in the animal-protein conversation,” said Seaver.

“If you want the sustainable option for dinner, the yellow-list or even red-list seafood might be the better environmental option than chicken or beef,” he said.

The result is an equation too complex for most consumers. It doesn’t help that many of the newer sustainability issues simply aren’t intuitive to the consumer. That on-ship Wi-Fi, for example? A lifeline for workers to report labor abuses while at sea for months at a time.

The monoculture-like beef, pork and poultry industries easily align on methods and messaging (after all, everyone knows what’s for dinner and which is the other white meat.) But seafood is inherently complex, comprised of thousands of species, regions and regulations.

“The biggest loser here is the American consumer,” said celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern, whose documentary “Hope in the Water” highlighted efforts to make seafood more sustainable.

Aiming higher

Despite the information overload, Kemmerly sees the complexity as a sign of success.

“These big companies who 25 years ago made a sustainability commitment thinking it was just the environmental piece are now also on the hook -- no pun intended -- for reporting on environmental, social and governance issues,” she said.

The way forward, many say, is to sell confidence in American seafood. Zimmern wants to see all the players -- from fishermen and wholesalers to watchdog groups -- agree on regularly updated standards. It puts the onus for good choices on the industry and frees the consumer to feel good about whatever they purchase.

That may not be as wishful as it sounds. The Alaskan seafood industry benefits from a sustainability halo because regulations mandating good practices are written into the state constitution.

“We’ve always said, if you choose Alaska, it’s the easy choice from a sustainability standpoint. There’s not a single one of our fisheries that isn’t sustainably managed,” said Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. “We’ve tried to simplify that for them.”

The best way to support the industry, Seaver said, is to let chefs and consumers focus on what tastes good. And Seafood Watch seems to agree. The program is in the midst of a relaunch that will focus on educating chefs about making sustainable choices.

So what’s a befuddled seafood shopper to do? The consensus seems to be: Buy American, local when possible. Though hardly perfect, the U.S. seafood industry is highly regulated and works with retailers who insist on sustainability standards.

“When you go to Whole Foods, you trust that they’ve done the job for you. And that’s the case for a lot of large grocery chains these days,” Woodrow said. “Consumers should feel confident when they go to the freezer case or the fresh case that that fish is going to be coming from a responsible fishery.”

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J.M. Hirsch is a longtime food writer who was food editor of The Associated Press for nearly a decade until 2016.

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The county purchased the Southcliff Estates housing project, located at 95295 Overseas Highway in Key Largo, using money from a $35 million pool of Tourist Development Council bed tax funds from the post-COVID tourism boom.

“It’s frustrating for all of us because we were so excited about this project,” said Monroe County Mayor Michelle Lincoln. “We were like, ‘This is going to be amazing. We’re going to be able to help people right away. We’re not going to have to wait until it’s constructed and to go through permits.’ And it’s empty.”

Designed for workers in the Florida Keys tourism industry, the application process for the 11 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units opened in August at a rate of $2,995 a month.

The initial rental rate gave some residents a dose of sticker shock.

But even after commissioners amended the rental price to nearly $1,900 a month, not a single unit has been rented.

Lincoln said the county will look to update its survey process to more accurately reflect the needs of workers in the Keys.

“We have now tapped the brakes, and we are now going to update the studies we did years ago for specifically what are the housing needs,” she said.

A county spokesperson said marketing is being updated to include a more visible banner on the property, social media posts and ads on real estate website Zillow.

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Andre Bernard, 35, was hospitalized after the crash on Tuesday.

“They came straight into me, so I just braced myself for impact, held my seatbelt ― boom ― that was it,” he said. “I woke up on the ground.”

Bernard says he is very sore, walks with a limp and is covered with road rashes, deep cuts and needed stitches on his right arm.

He told Local 10’s Sanela Sabovic he was trying to make a U-turn when another driver hit him.

The crash happened in the area of Southwest 16th Street and Fourth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

The impact ejected Bernard from his postal truck.

He remembers waking up on the ground and neighbors rushing in to help him out.

Cellphone video shows Bernard on the street with people tending to him, pieces of mail and glass shards scattered all over the roadway.

He was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.

Bernard said he’s never had anything like this happen before.

The father of three small children is thankful to be alive and to be spending this time recovering with them.

“It means a lot because I feel like I have a second chance at life,” he said. “Home with kids, stay strong and keep going.”

Bernard will be out of work for 45 days or so.

He said he is so thankful to all of the residents in the neighborhood who rushed in to help him out.

For those who wish to assist Bernard during his recovery, visit Bernard’s GoFundMe page.

Andre Bernard, de 35 años, fue hospitalizado después del choque el martes.

“Se me vinieron directo encima, así que me preparé para el impacto, me sujeté el cinturón ― boom ― eso fue todo”, dijo. “Desperté en el suelo”.

Bernard dice que está muy adolorido, camina cojeando y tiene abrasiones por el asfalto, cortes profundos y necesitó puntos de sutura en su brazo derecho.

Le dijo a Sanela Sabovic de Local 10 que intentaba hacer un giro en U cuando otro conductor lo chocó.

El accidente ocurrió en el área de la Southwest 16th Street y Fourth Avenue en Fort Lauderdale.

El impacto expulsó a Bernard de su camión postal.

Recuerda haber despertado en el suelo y a vecinos corriendo para ayudarlo.

Un video de teléfono celular muestra a Bernard en la calle mientras personas lo atendían, con piezas de correo y fragmentos de vidrio esparcidos por toda la vía.

Fue trasladado de emergencia al Broward Health Medical Center para recibir tratamiento.

Bernard dijo que nunca le había pasado algo así.

El padre de tres niños pequeños agradece estar vivo y poder pasar este tiempo recuperándose con ellos.

“Significa mucho porque siento que tengo una segunda oportunidad de vida”, dijo. “En casa con mis hijos, mantenerse fuerte y seguir adelante”.

Bernard estará fuera del trabajo por unos 45 días.

Dijo que está muy agradecido con todos los residentes del vecindario que acudieron a ayudarlo.

Para quienes deseen ayudar a Bernard durante su recuperación, pueden visitar su página de GoFundMe.

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It was Sunday morning when Alexandra Anaya heard a clicking sound coming from the battery pack of the new electric wheelchair she’d bought at a thrift store.

After hearing the noises, to be safe, she moved it outside of her home located along the 5900 block of North Farragut Drive.

Surveillance video captured her watching the wheelchair for a moment and then sprinting away just before it exploded and caught fire.

Fortunately, it was away from the home and the blaze didn’t spread any further.

Anaya’s mother passed away recently, and in this close call, she said she believes her mom was watching out for her.

“She’s just gotta be looking over me,” Anaya said. “There was just too much coincidence here to be a coincidence.”

Hollywood Fire Rescue officials said her actions saved her and her family from catastrophe, confirming that it was a dangerous lithium battery fire.

Anaya hopes her story helps prevent disaster from happening to someone else.

“Don’t leave this stuff charging when you’re not home,” Anaya said. “Always do it when you’re home and you can keep an eye on it, because stuff explodes. This could’ve happened to anybody.”

Officials with Hollywood Fire Rescue said if you hear clicking, popping or hissing on one of those devices, immediately stop using it and move it to an area outside if you can.

Fue el domingo por la mañana cuando Alexandra Anaya escuchó un sonido de clic proveniente del paquete de batería de la nueva silla de ruedas eléctrica que había comprado en una tienda de segunda mano.

Tras escuchar los ruidos, por precaución, la sacó de su casa ubicada en la cuadra 5900 de North Farragut Drive.

Un video de vigilancia la captó observando la silla por un momento y luego corriendo justo antes de que explotara y se incendiara.

Afortunadamente, estaba lejos de la vivienda y el fuego no se propagó más.

La madre de Anaya falleció recientemente, y tras este incidente, ella dijo que cree que su mamá la estaba cuidando.

“Ella tiene que estar velando por mí”, dijo Anaya. “Había demasiadas coincidencias”.

Funcionarios de Hollywood Fire Rescue dijeron que sus acciones la salvaron a ella y a su familia de una catástrofe, confirmando que se trató de un peligroso incendio de batería de litio.

Anaya espera que su historia ayude a prevenir que algo así le ocurra a otra persona.

“No dejen estas cosas cargando cuando no estén en casa”, dijo Anaya. “Háganlo siempre cuando estén en casa y puedan vigilarlas, porque las cosas explotan. Esto le pudo haber pasado a cualquiera”.

Funcionarios de Hollywood Fire Rescue dijeron que si escucha sonidos de clic, estallidos o silbidos en uno de estos dispositivos, deje de usarlo de inmediato y muévalo a un área exterior si es posible.

The civil rights group made the announcement on Tuesday, saying President Donald Trump's administration appears to be preparing legal action against it or some of its employees.

“Although we don’t know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups,” CEO Bryan Fair said in a statement.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

The Southern Poverty Law Center previously paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities, often sharing it with local and federal law enforcement, Fair said. It was used to monitor threats of violence, he said, adding that the program was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants.

“When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system,” Fair said. “There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”

He said the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is based in Montgomery, Alabama, was founded in 1971 and used civil litigation to fight white supremacist groups. The nonprofit has become a popular target among Republicans who see it as overly leftist and partisan.

The investigation could add to concerns that Trump's Republican administration is using the Justice Department to go after conservative opponents and his critics. It follows a number of other investigations into Trump foes that have raised questions about whether the law enforcement agency has been turned into a political weapon.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has faced intense criticism from conservatives, who have accused it of unfairly maligning right-wing organizations as extremist groups because of their viewpoints. The center regularly condemns Trump’s rhetoric and policies around voting rights, immigration and other issues.

The center came under fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brought renewed attention to its characterization of the group that Kirk founded and led. The center included a section on that group, Turning Point USA, in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024” that described the group as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said last year that the agency was severing its relationship with the center, which had long provided law enforcement with research on hate crime and domestic extremism. Patel said the center had been turned into a “partisan smear machine,” and he accused it of defaming “mainstream Americans” with its “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.

House Republicans hosted a hearing centered on the Southern Poverty Law Center in December, saying it coordinated efforts with President Joe Biden's Democratic administration "to target Christian and conservative Americans and deprive them of their constitutional rights to free speech and free association.”

Según la policía, Yarilis Mendez-Carrillo fue reportada desaparecida el 11 de marzo por su abuela y fue vista por última vez en la cuadra 300 de la Southwest 12th Avenue.

La policía indicó que Mendez-Carrillo no tiene teléfono celular y no ha estado en contacto con nadie desde que fue reportada como desaparecida.

Mendez-Carrillo es descrita por la policía como una mujer hispana, que mide 4 pies y 7 pulgadas de estatura y pesa aproximadamente 130 libras. Tiene cabello negro y ojos marrones.

La policía dijo que tiene una cicatriz circular grande en la parte superior de su muslo derecho.

Mendez-Carrillo fue vista por última vez usando una camiseta blanca y pantalones cortos azules.

El Departamento de Cumplimiento de la Ley de Florida ha emitido una Alerta de Menor Desaparecido mientras continúa la búsqueda de la adolescente.

Cualquier persona con información sobre su paradero debe llamar al Departamento de Policía de Homestead al 305-247-1535 o a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

Según la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida, el accidente ocurrió en los carriles en dirección norte de la autopista cerca de la salida 49 hacia Hollywood Boulevard.

Los agentes dijeron que el conductor del Honda chocó contra un camión tráiler, lo que provocó que el camión impactara una barrera de contención y se volcara.

El camión quedó detenido a unos 10 pies de un cuerpo de agua, indicaron las autoridades.

Los agentes señalaron que el conductor del camión tuvo que ser rescatado del vehículo y fue atendido por una lesión en la mano.

“Botellas rociadoras misceláneas se derramaron del remolque, y más de 50 galones de combustible se filtraron”, dijo un portavoz de la FHP en un correo electrónico a Local 10 News. “Las labores de limpieza mantienen dos carriles bloqueados”.

No está claro qué causó que el conductor del Honda chocara contra el camión.

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According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occurred in the northbound lanes of the highway near the Exit 49 ramp to Hollywood Boulevard.

Troopers said the driver of the Honda crashed into a semi-tractor-trailer, causing the semi to strike a guardrail and roll over.

The semi-truck came to rest about 10 feet away from a body of water, authorities said.

Troopers said the truck driver had to be extricated from the semi and was treated for a hand injury.

“Miscellaneous spray bottles spilled from the trailer, and more than 50 gallons of fuel leaked,” an FHP spokesperson said in an email to Local 10 News. “Cleanup operations have 2 lanes blocked.”

It’s unclear what caused the Honda driver to crash into the semi-truck.

That home went up in flames slower because it was fortified with better materials. Add moving vegetation, mulch, wood fences and hot tubs with their highly flammable insultation several feet away and experts said you can protect houses from the increasing danger of wildfires on a warming planet.

The research is being done by workers at a remote site in South Carolina. They have set fire to 13 houses because scientists need to burn to learn.

Inside the carefully crafted home were sensors and a few cameras the site's manager said will “give their life for science.” Outside are nearly $1 million of other cameras and instruments in a fireproof building nearby and scattered around.

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety is a nonprofit created by insurers to make houses and other buildings more resilient. The institute's 100-acre (40-hectare) site in Richburg, South Carolina, started to study hurricanes and heavy wind and rain.

As wildfire danger increased in recent years, they sometimes turn the six-story tall wall of 105 fans stacked on top of each other to blow out of the wind tunnel's massive doors and spread fire.

“We crash test houses,” said Roy Wright, the president of the institute.

Wildfires are worsening, costing more damage

From 2016 to 2025, wildfires in the United States on average burned an area the size of Massachusetts each year, slightly more than 11,000 square miles (28,500 square kilometers). That’s 2.6 times the average burn area of the 1980s, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Canada’s land burned on average for the last 10 years is 2.8 times more than during the 1980s, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

In the United States, wildfires have caused an average of $17.7 billion a year in damage since 2020, according to statistics kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the nonprofit Climate Central.

Climate change is intensifying and extending fire seasons across the U.S. and a growing population puts densely packed neighborhoods into fire-threatened areas. In the past three years, massive and devastating wildfires hit California, Maui in Hawaii and the North and South Carolina mountains.

Drought across much of the United States — especially in the West and Southeast — is at record severe levels for this time of year. Add to that record heat and unheard of levels of low moisture in the West for the first three months of 2026 and it looks like this upcoming fire season will be extraordinarily bad, unless late spring or early summer rain somehow bails out the country, said UCLA climate and fire scientist Park Williams.

Test fires lead to building changes

The institute's research has already led to some conclusions that strengthened California's fire code. New homes must have ignition-resistant walls, tempered or double paned windows and mesh over vents to prevent fire embers from getting inside.

As important is taking care of the outside. Creating a 5-foot (1.5-meter) buffer where any material that burns easy like pine straw, a hot tub, a wooden fence or overhanging branches is an important line of defense.

The fire testing makes that clear. Researchers at the test site set fire to wooden blocks that look like Jenga towers within the buffer zone. The simulated winds, which in a recent test purposefully fluctuated between 30 and 55 mph (50 to 90 kph), continually pushed the flames toward the home.

Once the windows and walls are breached, all the combustible things inside like couches, furniture, clothes and plastics quickly erupt and begin sending large showers of dangerous burning embers lofted by heavy wind, setting new fires a block or two away.

But fire standards can only help so much. “Under really severe fire conditions, especially those involving very high winds, they probably are of more limited value,” Syracuse University fire researcher Jacob Bendix said.

Home fire prevention becomes a business

Fire prevention tools and techniques are becoming a big business.

After the 2018 Woolsey fire near his home in Ventura County, California, Nicholai Allen watched firefighters use fire retardants and wondered if homeowners could do the same. He became a wildland firefighter and learned that preventing embers from getting into homes’ attics and garages are the key.

Allen now makes and sells Safe Soss (pronounced like sauce), which include carbon filters or guards for attics and vents, fiberglass heat-resistant ember-stopping tape and a spray fire retardant that can work from a garden hose, all of which recently became available at a major hardware chain.

Allen compares it to how people up north get ready for winter.

“It’s kind of like if you live in the snow, you have a snow shovel, you have scrapers, and you know that you have to take certain preventative steps in order to live in an environment that, hey, sometimes snows,” Allen said.

Trial by fire

The test fires by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety are carefully controlled. The homes are made to be as similar to regular houses as possible without electricity or plumbing.

The attention to detail and safety is exacting. The institute likes spring fire testing at its site about halfway between Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina, because while summer temperatures in the South can nearly match those in the fire-prone West, the swampy humidity in July is a bad approximation to a mountain canyon.

High winds delayed last week's fire for more than six hours with anxious workers worried they couldn't wait for the next day because an outdoor burning ban was starting after an unusually dry and hot spring.

Tarps and machines heat the houses to summer levels just before the fires are set on a huge concrete pad just outside the giant hanger where the fans line one wall and the hurricane testing takes place.

Elsewhere at the site, researches have started looking into hail and how it can damage homes. Another part of the campus has dozens of roofs just sticking above the ground as the shingles freeze and bake and are soaked by Mother Nature sometimes for more than a decade for more testing.

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Borenstein reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Erik Verduzco contributed from Richburg, South Carolina.

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

Leon Smith, 46, has spent his entire 25-year career at Haverford High School, where he teaches Advanced Placement classes in U.S. history and African American studies. He describes himself as a “warm demander,” someone who sets high expectations while surrounding students with love and support. Often, that means recognizing hidden talents and bringing them to the forefront, he said in an interview Monday.

“An adult can tell you that they see something in you that maybe you didn’t see in yourself,” he said. “I love to do that for students. When I see ambition, when I see talent, I let them know that so that they can hopefully pursue that goal and achieve their dreams.”

Smith starts each class with a community building exercise — on Monday, he asked his students to talk about a song that made them happy. One shared a track that reminded him of a family vacation. Another recalled music she listened to with friends before they went their separate ways. The exercise helped settle the students before the discussion shifted to a harder question: When, if ever, should the United States enter a war happening far away?

“We want to make sure that our students can think critically, that they have empathy, that they can understand the nuance and complexity that goes into making decisions,” he said. “My hope is that when they leave my classroom, that they can be civically engaged, that they can make sure that they can create a society that they can be proud of.”

Smith also extends his teaching to outside the school, taking students to the state Capitol each year to engage with policymakers. That won him praise from the organization behind the award, the Council of Chief State School Officers, which also cited his emphasis on the inclusion of multiple perspectives in history.

As the Teacher of the Year, Smith will spend a year promoting the pivotal role educators play in shaping the next generation.

“They’ve moved societies. They have empowered activist movements. They’ve helped people to figure out what they want to do when they group up,” he said. “They’ve had a tremendous impact, and my hope is that people are inspired to join that legacy.”

___

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

That patient’s grieving widow spoke to Local 10’s Jeff Derderian, saying she hopes that doctor never treats another patient again.

Beverly and Bill Bryan, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, had been married for 33 years.

But the two kept a rental place in Miramar Beach ― in Florida’s Panhandle.

One day, a trip to the hospital revealed that Bill Bryan, 70, needed surgery.

Beverly Bryan said Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky performed that surgery, but something went terribly wrong.

Prosecutors said Shaknovsky, 44, removed her husband’s liver instead of his spleen by accident, which led to complications.

“His spleen was completely intact,” said Beverly Bryan. “He had a small cyst that ruptured.”

She said afterward, Shaknovsky held her hand, prayed with her and then lied about what happened.

“He offered his condolences, said Bill was in a better place and the Lord would take care of him,” she said.

Beverly Bryan said her husband wanted to go back to Alabama for the surgery, but she said the doctor insisted, pressing and urging them to do it now.

She recalled her last words to her husband.

“I told him that I loved him and he said he loved me,” she said.

Records show Shaknovsky’s Florida medical license is not currently active.

According to a lawsuit, Shaknovsky said that in the chaos and shock of that operating room, he could not identify the organ.

He now faces a second-degree manslaughter charge.

“No surgeon that we’ve talked to can make sense of what he did,” said Beverly Bryan’s attorney, Joe Zarzaur. “It doesn’t make sense, because no one in the trained field can make sense of it all.”

Beverly Bryan said her husband was literally hours away from being cremated when the medical-mistake was brought to her attention, otherwise she may have never had known.

When asked if the doctor has ever apologized, Bryan didn’t hesitate.

“Not once,” she said. “Not a word.”

But it is the European Union's policy toward Israel — and how to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as security deteriorates in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as in Lebanon — that is dividing EU members, stymieing strong action, and frustrating many in the 27-nation bloc.

Israel disagreement hobbles EU action

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said there was no clear political agreement in Luxembourg to ramp up pressure on Israel.

“We didn’t see that today, but these discussions will continue,” she said.

One of the loudest voices within the EU blocking sharper pressure on Israel is shortly leaving office — Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán routinely obstructed EU action on issues ranging from support for Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion to sanctions on Israelis accused of violent extremism.

Kallas said that Orbán’s defeat by pro-European opposition leader Péter Magyar in Hungary’s recent election could accelerate action.

“A lot of issues ... have been blocked” by Hungary, she said. “We are reopening the discussions and hope that we get a positive result.”

The EU has an Association Agreement, signed in 2000, that regulates trade and cooperation with Israel. Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have proposed completely suspending it, a move that doesn't have the required unanimous support among EU nations.

However, a partial suspension targeting just the trade aspects could have enough political support, said Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares.

“The European Union has to say today very clearly to Israel that a change is needed,” he said.

The EU has found indications Israel had violated the agreement with the bloc in its military campaign in Gaza.

“The attacks on the values that underpin that agreement are now too serious to ignore,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, adding that Belgium would support at least a partial suspension of the deal.

Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Israel's recent adoption of the death penalty for some Palestinians, and ongoing fighting in Lebanon should push EU nations to ramp up pressure on Israel.

“We need to act. We need to make sure that our fundamental values are protected,” McEntee said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said France and Sweden have brought forward a plan to curtail trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Amnesty International condemned EU's lack of action to pressure Israel over its actions. Erika Guevara-Rosas, a director for the human rights organization, said “each delay only further entrenches impunity and paves the way for further grave human rights violations” by Israel.

EU diplomats call for extending ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke at the meeting in Luxembourg about the fragile ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, difficulties in disarming the Hezbollah militant group, and the need for EU assistance for the war-torn nation.

“Lebanon today needs its European partners more than ever,” Salam posted on X on Tuesday.

While now mainly headquartered in Brussels, EU institutions are also spread out in northern Europe like the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany and the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Lawmakers, diplomats and officials regularly move between the cities for meetings.

The Luxembourg meeting comes a day after 60 nations sent representatives to a Palestinian peace conference in Brussels with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa and Bulgarian diplomat Nikolay Mladenov, who heads the Board of Peace set up by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The EU diplomats gathered in Luxembourg called for diplomacy on Iran as a ceasefire struck between Tehran and Washington that began April 8 was to expire Wednesday.

Kallas, the foreign policy chief, warned that if the fighting resumes, "it will come at a very large cost for all.”

She also announced that EU foreign ministers agreed Tuesday on new sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for obstructing freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf.

“Freedom of navigation is non-negotiable. Daily U-turns where the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the strait must remain free of charge,” Kallas said.

She did not elaborate on the sanctions or name the targeted officials.

Germany’s foreign minister called on Iran to send negotiators to Islamabad to meet with U.S. negotiators.

“Iran should now take this outstretched hand in the interest of its own people,” Johann Wadephul said.

The war in Iran has throttled global oil and gas markets and rattled the EU as a major importer of energy.

Also Tuesday, EU transportation ministers discussed in a video conference how to protect consumers at home and at the pump after the head of the International Energy Agency warned that Europe has “ maybe six weeks ” supply left of jet fuel.

Since the latest war in the Middle East started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.

___

McNeil reported from Brussels.

A spike in gas prices due to the Iran war, now in its eighth week, resulted in a hefty 1.7% gain in retail sales in March after a revised 0.7% increase in February, according to the Commerce Department’s report on Tuesday. The figure marked the fastest one-month increase in retail sales in more than three years.

The report marks the first read on spending to capture the effects of the Iran war.

Excluding gas prices, retail sales were up 0.6%, helped in part by government tax refunds and warm weather.

Business at gas stations rose 15.5% percent.

Elsewhere, shoppers were still willing to spend. Sales at department stores rose 4.2%, while sales at furniture and home furnishings stores were up 2.2%. Online retailers saw a 1% gain. Consumer electronics and appliance stores posted a 0.9% increase. The only area that saw a decline for March was miscellaneous retailers, according to the Commerce report.

The snapshot offers only a partial look at consumer spending and doesn’t include things like travel and hotel stays. The lone services category – restaurants – registered a more modest gain of 0.1%.

The so-called control group—which excludes food services, autos, building materials and gas station sales and is used to calculate economic growth—rose 0.7%. That offered a good sign of broad spending by consumers, economists said.

“It’s a blowout retail sales figure for March,“ Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a report.

She noted that the impact of tariffs is visible in the high spending on electronics and appliances due to higher prices. A small increase at restaurants may indicate some early signs of pullback as consumers have to spend more at the pump, she said.

“Overall, the American consumer is still healthy,” she added. "Extra income from tax refunds is helping many households weather this oil shock, but that extra money won’t last forever.”

The Iran war began Feb. 28 and has shut down the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Late last month, U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022.

Economists had believed that an unusually large jump in tax refunds would kick start spending at the start of the year. But spiking gas prices are taking a bite out of that money. And the Iran war is also further dampening shoppers' mood. Consumer sentiment plunged to a record low in April, according to a survey released earlier this month by the University of Michigan, largely because of the Iran war and concerns over higher gas prices.

Shoppers aren’t just feeling it at the gas pump, but are also starting to see unforeseen costs everywhere, including when they travel such as higher baggage fees. They will also likely see higher prices on different products ripple through the supply chain as companies start to pass on higher transportation costs to shoppers, analysts said.

The jump in gas prices caused a sharp spike in inflation last month, creating major challenges for the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve and increasing already significant political hurdles for the White House.

Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such gain in nearly four years.

Heading into the war, shoppers were already cautious. But Bryan Eshelman, Americas leader of retail and a partner and managing director at consultancy AlixPartners, noted his retail clients see their customers pulling back even more now.

“Particularly in the low-end economy, people are shifting from wants to needs,” he said.

R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, noted that for seven straight weeks, traffic at nondiscretionary retailers like grocers outpaced that of discretionary merchants. That trend was reversed the week of April 6, helped by the distribution of tax refunds and spending tied to spring break and Easter.

But after the data goes past Easter trends, future visits will largely depend on consumer sentiment regarding broader macroeconomic conditions and gas prices, Hottovy said. The firm tracks people’s movements based on cellphone usage.

Through his long months in captivity, family and friends hoped that, like Frankl, he would come back with a message of hope. Then, in August 2024, after nearly a year in captivity, he and five other hostages were shot dead by their captors deep underground, likely as Israeli forces were closing in.

The quest for his why has fallen to his family, who led a high-profile campaign for his release. His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, has a new book released Tuesday.

“When We See You Again” has no narrative arc, no tidy uplifting message, no score settling with the Hamas militants who killed her son or the Israeli leaders who many blamed for his death — only a searing account of her grief.

She hasn’t yet decided whether the book is an exceptionally painful love story, or a love-filled pain story.

“I’m still trying to figure out with clarity what is my why, but it’s clear to me that my why is not done,” Goldberg-Polin said, a photo of a smiling Hersh behind her. “I just really wanted to tell the truth. It’s very ugly.”

A face of the hostage crisis

Hersh was among the 251 people abducted by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack. His hand was blown off by a grenade before he was dragged into Gaza and eventually into the militant group’s labyrinth of tunnels.

The war sparked by the attack led to the killing of over 70,000 Palestinians and the destruction of much of Gaza before a ceasefire deal in October led to the release of all the remaining hostages. Hersh had been killed, along with five other hostages, more than a year earlier.

Rachel had campaigned tirelessly for her son’s release, appearing in countless media interviews, meeting with then-President Joe Biden and addressing the Democratic National Convention. She also joined mass protests in Israel accusing the government of failing to reach a deal sooner.

Her son was among the best-known hostages. Posters and graffiti with his name and face still appear across the country, often bearing the line popularized by Frankl.

A human portrait

In her memoir, Rachel takes care not to mythologize him. She notes that he picked his scabs as a kid and was bad at doing dishes.

“Hersh has become a symbol to many,” Goldberg-Polin writes in the book. “I don’t know what to do with that. But it’s OK. If people need Hersh to be something, he will be that. That is the essence of service, being what is needed.”

Rachel grew up in Chicago and moved to Israel with her husband and three children when Hersh, the oldest, was 6. She tells stories from the “before time”: of how Hersh as a child would wow people with his encyclopedic knowledge of U.S. presidents, and how he loved Jerusalem's local soccer team and their sister team in Bremen, Germany.

She only briefly touches on his capture and the details of his captivity, which have been widely reported. She writes about their desperate search for information in the chaotic and terrifying days after the attack, their long fight for his release and the news of Hersh's killing, along with five others, after 328 days.

The book is mostly a “very raw, peeled, oozing, throbbing pain,” Goldberg-Polin said. She describes “hundreds of sodden days dripping with anguish.”

“The book really started just as a way of taking this tremendous weight of suffering that was causing my soul to buckle,” she said in an interview in Jerusalem.

The writing came out in bursts, without a plan for a final project, just a question of “How do I survive the next 15 minutes?” she said.

A fellowship of grief

The book emerged in part from her frustration when people asked how she was. “I think, ‘Well, do you not see this dagger sticking out of my chest at my heart? How can you possibly be asking me that?’” she said. “But I realized they don’t see it. And it’s not because they’re mean or insensitive. They simply don’t see it.”

“Someone who’s born blind doesn’t know what blue is, and it’s very difficult to describe blue to someone who’s blind. But I’m desperate for people to see my blue, and I’m yearning for people to feel my pain,” she said.

Then there were those who wanted to share their own stories of death and loss, even during her son’s shiva, the traditional Jewish week of mourning after the funeral. It’s an experience that she describes as overwhelming and eye-opening, revealing the “surplus of suffering” in the world.

“They’re not trying to comfort me, they’re saying: ‘Let me stand next to you and we’ll be in this together,’” she said.

During the campaign to release the hostages, one of Rachel’s mantras was “Hope is mandatory,” even when it felt impossible. Now, wherever they go, people ask her and her husband for a bit of their creased and crumpled hope.

She has no easy answers, as she tells Hersh in a letter addressed to her dead son near the end of the book.

“I will carry your why,” she writes. “I'll do it, I’ll carry your why around the world.”

U.S. forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident,” the Pentagon said on social media.

The Tifani was captured in the Bay of Bengal — between India and Southeast Asia — and was carrying Iranian oil, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation. The U.S. military will decide in the next four days what to do with the vessel, such as tow it back to the U.S. or turn it over to another country, the official said.

It's the latest move in the U.S. war on Iran to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government, from weapons and oil to metals and electronics. The announcement comes ahead of the expiration of an already tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and as Pakistan attempts to broker talks between Washington and Tehran.

It is the second vessel linked to Iran that has been interdicted by the U.S. military. The U.S. Navy attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship Sunday that it said had tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports, with President Donald Trump saying an American destroyer blew a hole in the ship’s engine room.

Targeting Iran-linked ships in international waters

The Pentagon on social media described the Tifani as “stateless” despite it being a Botswana-flagged vessel.

“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate,” the Pentagon announcement said, echoing previous statements from Trump administration officials. “International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that the enforcement actions would extend beyond Iranian waters and the area under control of U.S. Central Command.

U.S. forces in other areas of responsibility, he told reporters at the Pentagon, “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.” He specifically pointed to operations in the Pacific and said the U.S. would target vessels that left before the blockade began outside the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy and other shipments.

The military also detailed an expansive list of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location.” A notice published Thursday says any “goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict” are “subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.”

Blockades can be lawful in wartime, expert says

The U.S. military’s actions against Iranian-linked vessels, namely the attack over the weekend on the cargo ship named the Touska, have raised questions about the two-week ceasefire.

The U.S. and Iran are operating in “an awkward space where the law doesn’t give you a clean yes-or-no answer” on whether the ceasefire was violated, said Jason Chuah, a law professor at the City University of London and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia.

“The United States seems to take the line that the conflict never fully switched off — that is there is still a state of armed conflict,” Chuah said. “By saying that, it can keep doing things like enforcing a blockade and even using limited force at sea.”

But Iran is treating the ceasefire as a pause on all hostile acts, Chuah said. Iran’s joint military command has called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.

The U.S. earlier had instituted a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela but had never fired on those vessels.

Blockades and even limited attacks on vessels can be lawful in wartime, with merchant vessels becoming legitimate targets if they contribute to military actions, carry contraband or are incorporated into enemy logistics, Chuah said.

It's harder to prove that a ship such as the Touska is realistically contributing to military action against the U.S., Chuah said.

“The whole dispute really turns on a deceptively simple question: Did the ceasefire actually suspend the right to use force?” Chuah said. “If it did, then firing on vessels or seizing them is very hard to square with the United Nations Charter.”

Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a violation is up for interpretation because there were no defined terms.

“Trump announced it. The Iranians agreed. But there’s no formal agreement,” Cancian said. “So whether it broke the ceasefire or not depends on your perspective. ... Nothing was written down.”

Michael O’Hanlon, a defense and foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the U.S. did not violate the ceasefire because it was limited to bombing Iran, not the blockade.

“We agreed to stop dropping bombs on them, and that’s the basic thing they wanted,” O’Hanlon said, adding that the U.S. still had to enforce the blockade “if you’re going to make it mean anything.”

The congresswoman was facing the possible threat of expulsion, something that has only occurred six times in the history of the House. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt.

It's the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House lawmaker. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced within hours of each other that they were leaving Congress. Both men were facing sexual misconduct allegations and possible expulsion.

In a statement, Chefilus-McCormick said a House committee denied her new attorney's request for more time to prepare a defense. Cherfilus-McCormick said she would not pretend that the investigation had been anything other than a “witch hunt,” and rather than play political games, she would choose to step away and her resignation was effective immediately.

“But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete," she said. "We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous patch, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party.”

The committee had previously determined she committed 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards, including breaking campaign finance laws.

She is also facing federal criminal charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using the money to buy items such as a 3-carat yellow diamond ring.

Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and says she is not guilty of ethics violations, either.

The allegations against the congresswoman center on how she received millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after Florida mistakenly overpaid the business by roughly $5 million with COVID-19 disaster relief funds. She is accused of using that money to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.

Cherfilus-McCormick declined to testify during a previous Ethics Committee hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, sparred with some of the lawmakers and argued that they should have allowed a thorough ethics trial, at which he could present witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.

A group of supporters in Cherfilus-McCormick's congressional district had weighed in on her behalf with the lawmakers who lead the Ethics Committee, urging committee leaders to proceed with caution in sanctioning her.

“Our communities deserve stability. Our voices deserve to be heard. And our right to representation must be protected,” said one of the letters sent to the committee and signed by about a dozen local faith leaders, union officials and others.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, along with other members of the caucus, issued a statement that said during Cherfilus-McCormick's time in Congress she “worked to uplift her constituents and elevate issues impacting underserved communities at home and abroad.”

“We extend our appreciation for her service and offer our prayers for her and her family," the caucus members said.

In all, the panel's two-year investigation led to the issuance of 59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents.

House Democratic leaders had declined to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick, saying they wanted to see the ethics process play out. Potential punishments included a reprimand or a censure, which serve as forms of public rebuke. The committee could also have recommended a fine. The most severe form of punishment is expulsion.

But the House has historically been reluctant to serve as the final arbiter of a lawmaker’s career, preferring to give that final say to the voters. Of the six House members expelled, the first three fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and were expelled for disloyalty. The next two had been convicted of crimes. The final one was George Santos, the scandal-plagued freshman who was the subject of a blistering ethics report on his conduct as well as federal indictment. Santos, a New York Republican, served time in prison for ripping off his campaign donors before President Donald Trump granted him clemency, and he has apologized to his former constituents.

Under the Constitution, at least two-thirds of the House has to vote for expulsion for it to occur, a high threshold that requires enormous bipartisan support.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last week he believed the House would move to expel Cherfilus-McCormick.

“The facts are indisputable at this point," Johnson said.

Ralph de la Rosa, of Imperial Freight Brokers, based out of a Doral warehouse, has clients who include a range of importers who bring in things like aluminum, windows and doors and even work in the food industry.

Speaking to Local 10’s Christina Vazquez, he explained how his clients are eager to get a tariff refund.

“We have expanded this quite a bit because people are putting cargo here because of tariffs,” he said. “I have some clients that are getting tens of millions of dollars back and I have others that maybe had less but several are getting a good bit of money back.”

Those clients are filing claims through an online portal U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched on Monday.

This comes one year after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs ― on a day he dubbed “Liberation Day” ― that, in February, the U.S. Supreme Court largely struck down as unconstitutional.

“Today, I think my clients would think it is their ‘Liberation Day’ because we were able to start filing, this morning, the process by which they can reclaim the hundreds of millions that was paid by the U.S. importer because, at the end of the day, the ones who pay this are the companies that are importing these goods,” said de la Rosa. “So today, I have gotten very happy emails from my clients.”

As for how those dollars could translate to the consumer, things get a bit trickier.

“Many times, they ate the tariff, so it is difficult to gauge how much they can possibly pass back to the ultimate consumer,” said de la Rosa. “It is not the easiest thing to track.”

A defiant Trump said he will press forward by other means, including imposing by executive order a 10% global tariff.

“The problem is nobody can predict the future, and we do know that this administration has shown that it does want to impose tariffs to the importing community, and so you are almost waiting to see what is going to happen next,” said de la Rosa.

Government officials have said refunds are expected in 60-to-90 days.

“Sixty-to-90 days ― if there is no further court challenge, which will remain to be seen,” said de la Rosa. “Another variable. It is almost like being on a roller coaster ride. You don’t know if it is going to be nice or quiet or take an unexpected turn.

“I think people are just hoping that they can get some predictability because that is what business wants, predictability. Even if it is a tariff, if they know what it is going to be and it is going to be for a set amount of time, then they can adjust. What they don’t want is unpredictability.”

That is, if it survives a potential legal challenge, explained Lenny Feldman, Managing Partner of the customs, trade and tariff law firm of Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg.

“For now, it is a great start, a good day, but there might still be an appeal to this court case which might put an end to these tariff refunds,” he said.

Plus, when you consider legal challenges facing the other means by which the president said he would press forward with tariffs, Feldman said business owners need to prepare for the situation to remain fluid.

“You have to probably prepare for another storm, there are going to be various tariff tempests coming through,” he said. “Now we are settling up, cleaning up the pieces of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Now we have another one called Section 122 and that is already in court. We may have to do through this process again if the courts find those are unlawful, and then the bridge is to the next set of tariffs, Section 301, and we have to see if those are going to be able to take root or not, so it is going to be much of the same and I think tariffs are going to be in play pretty much at the same figures.”

Local 10 News also spoke with Richard Trent, the executive director for Main Street Alliance, a national advocacy network for small business owners.

“The worst thing that you can do to a small business owner, is make their day to day unpredictable and unstable,” he said. “Larger businesses have the benefit of navigating uncertainty with massive teams and the economies of scale. It’s just like a little kerfuffle for them.”

Trent said tariffs have driven up costs and disrupted supply chains for small businesses who found it especially difficult to absorb the new tax given their already slim margins.

“You can imagine for small business owners that had to pay essentially taxes illegally, there’s an urgency around getting their money back,” he said. “Some claims are still being reviewed by customs and aren’t actually subject to refund at this time, so there’s still a lot of spottiness that Main Street entrepreneurs are trying to navigate.”

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Las noches con heladas no son inusuales en esta época del año. En toda la región, la fecha promedio de la última helada va desde mediados de abril hasta principios de junio, según el Centro Regional del Clima del Noreste de la Universidad de Cornell. Pero la primera mitad de abril fue inusualmente cálida en gran parte de la región y eso, sumado a la rápida caída de la temperatura, podría causar algunos problemas.

Boston vio cómo las temperaturas superaban los 26 grados Celsius (70 Fahrenheit) la semana pasada, y ciudades como Nueva York, Filadelfia y Washington, D.C. alcanzaron temperaturas de 32 °C (90 °F), según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Para el fin de semana, las temperaturas en toda la región bajaron a 10 °C (50 °F), y algunas zonas de Nueva Inglaterra registraron chubascos de nieve.

Y el frío continuó esta semana: el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional emitió una advertencia de helada para la noche del lunes y la mañana del martes en partes de Ohio, Pensilvania, Virginia, Maryland y Carolina del Norte.

En Ohio, el clima cálido hizo que los durazneros y manzanos empezaran a brotar temprano en Apple Hill Orchards, que incluye unos 80 acres (32 hectáreas) en Mansfield y 110 acres (45 hectáreas) en Fredericktown. Pero luego la temperatura cayó a -5 °C (20 °F), arruinando una variedad de durazno, indicó la propietaria Anne Joudrey.

“La agricultura es la agricultura, y nunca sabes qué te va a tocar, pero tuvimos una floración bastante buena, así que esperábamos una cosecha bastante buena”, comentó Joudrey.

Las manzanas iban bien, señaló, y ayuda que los árboles estén plantados en terreno elevado, de modo que el aire frío se escurre hacia abajo.

“Deberíamos salir bastante bien, ojalá”, expresó. “Pero nunca se sabe”.

En Vermont, el cambio de temperatura afectó las operaciones de Understory Farm en Bridport, que cultiva flores de corte. Los tulipanes que se suponía que estarían listos para el Día de la Madre a mediados de mayo ya han florecido en los invernaderos de la granja, explicó el propietario Gregory Witscher.

“Eso solo significa que tenemos que cosecharlos todos al mismo tiempo”, indicó Witscher. “Tenemos que cosecharlos y almacenarlos con los bulbos en cajas dentro de una cámara frigorífica por más tiempo”.

Witscher cultiva unas 50 variedades de flores para mercados mayoristas. Las fluctuaciones del clima exigen flexibilidad, afirmó, y se ha vuelto más común que las pequeñas granjas de hortalizas y flores tengan cubiertas para hileras o calefactores para proteger las plantas del frío, o mallas de sombreo para el calor extremo.

“Con el clima caluroso y luego el clima frío, creo que es intenso y hace que las cosas sean difíciles”, manifestó. “Cuanto más tiempo hago esto, más quiero tener la mayor cantidad de opciones posible y contar con muchas herramientas y recursos disponibles para ser extremadamente ágil”.

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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 Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office received numerous calls late Monday of a loud explosion in Etoile in eastern Texas, a small, rural community about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of Houston.

The sheriff's office said the explosion happened at an oil well site. The city of Nacogdoches, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, described it as a natural gas well, based on information it received from the Texas Department of Public Safety, city spokesperson Kevin Meyer said Tuesday.

Several residents evacuated as a precaution and others were asked to shelter in place.

The fire was still burning early Tuesday, but it was not spreading and was being monitored, Meyer said.

“There is currently no danger to local residents from the fire, and air quality in the area is being monitored as well,” Meyer said in a news release.

A well control emergency response company was working to suppress the fire, Meyer said.

Drilling company H&P said the cause of the well blowout is not yet known.

“At this time there is no indication of an immediate broader risk, and monitoring is ongoing,” spokesperson Stephanie Higgins said in a statement.

She said the company is cooperating with investigators.

Ternus will take over as chief executive in September for Tim Cook, who turned Apple into a $4 trillion tech colossus during his 15-year run after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.

Ternus faces challenges that will force him to step out of his comfort zone in hardware engineering. Beyond finding ways to keep Apple competitive in the artificial intelligence race, he will need to navigate supply chain questions and relationships with figures like President Donald Trump, who offered public praise for his predecessor on Tuesday.

Although Cook is handing over the CEO reins at Apple, he is widely expected to help the Cupertino, California, company maintain a good relationship with Trump after he shifts over to his new role as executive chairman.

Ternus, 50, has spent almost his entire career with Apple. He joined the company 25 years ago and has spent the past five years overseeing the engineering that underlies the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

It made him the prime contender to succeed Cook who on Monday, when Apple announced the change in leadership, hailed Ternus as “without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

Ternus worked on some of Apple's signature products under Cook, including the Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro. He was also involved in the MacBook Neo, "arguably one of the most disruptive products” that Apple has released in a while, said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.

“This mentorship will undoubtedly ensure a smooth transition, and initially, I expect very few changes to the company’s strategy,” Wood said.

The appointment appeared to be carefully timed, following Apple's 50th anniversary celebrations and ahead of its annual WWDC developers conference in June.

The change also arrives at a pivotal time for the company. While Cook led Apple through an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity, Apple has fallen behind in the AI race. Apple has stumbled in its efforts to deliver new features built on AI, as was promised nearly two years ago.

“The challenge for the new CEO is really to make sure Apple is able to crack AI as the new user interface and reinvent human machine interaction," Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson said.

Wood says attention at WWDC will be on the new CEO's AI strategy, and what the company will do next after turning earlier this year to Google — an early leader in the AI race — to help make the iPhone’s virtual assistant Siri more conversational and versatile.

“A big strategic question is how far Apple will invest in building its own AI platform versus relying on other companies’ models and platforms,” Wood said.

Apples shares fell more than 2% during Tuesday's trading, signaling some investors may have doubts about whether Ternus's focus on hardware products has prepared him for the AI challenges he will confront as the company's next CEO.

But building a device well-suited for the AI age is among the most critical missions as technology makes its most significant pivot since Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. That's why some analysts believe Apple's board saw Ternus' hardware background as a key advantage as it tries to develop an AI-powered device that could eventually supplant the iPhone as its top-selling product.

That is something that Jony Ive, the former Apple design guru, who shaped the look of the iPhone, is trying to do after his startup, io Products , was acquired last year for $6.5 billion by ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Apple also faces a turbulent market amid geopolitical uncertainty, Wood said.

"The consumer electronics industry faces a perfect storm, with memory chip shortages and the war in the Middle East having widespread implications for consumer confidence. Apple will also need to decide how much it wants to continue its deep reliance on China for manufacturing,” he said.

Being Apple CEO will also require soft skills including developing relationships with important figures. Cook cultivated ties with Trump as he navigated the company through business challenges including Trump's trade and tariff war targeting countries in Asia, where Apple has extensive manufacturing supply chains.

Trump noted his relationship with Cook in a social media post on Tuesday morning, writing that “it began with a phone call” at the beginning of his first term, when Cook asked for help with “a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix.”

“That was the beginning of a long and very nice relationship,” Trump said.

Ternus is not well known outside of the Apple universe. He joined the company in July 2001, according to his LinkedIn profile, which does not have any posts.

Before joining Apple, he spent four years as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. He graduated in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the swim team and for his senior project developed a mechanical feeding arm for quadriplegics controlled by head movements.

In a 2024 commencement speech to the university's engineering school, Ternus said he was intimidated when he first started working at Apple and wasn't sure he belonged. He learned to “always assume you’re as smart as anyone else in the room but never assume you know as much as they do.”

“There will always be new skills to master and new people to learn from,” he said.

Ternus said in Apple's announcement that he was "humbled to step into this role, and I promise to lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place for half a century.”

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AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke contributed to this story from Berkeley, California.

Frosty nights aren't unusual this time of year. Across the region, the average date of the last frost ranges from mid-April to early June, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. But the first half of April was unusually warm for much of the region, and that, coupled with the quick drop in temperature, could cause some problems.

Boston saw temperatures climb into the high 70s (around 26 Celsius) last week, with cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. reaching temperatures in the 90s (around 32 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service. By the weekend, temperatures across the region dropped into the 50s (around 10 Celsius), with some areas in New England seeing snow showers.

And the cold continued into this week: The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for Monday night and Tuesday morning for parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

In Ohio, the warm weather pushed peach and apple trees to start budding early at Apple Hill Orchards, which includes about 80 acres (32 hectares) in Mansfield and 110 acres (45 hectares) in Fredericktown. But the temperature then dropped into the low 20s (around minus 5 Celsius), ruining one variety of peach, said owner Anne Joudrey.

“Farming is farming, and you never know what you’re gonna get, but we had a pretty good bloom, so we were expecting a pretty good crop,” she said Monday.

The apples were doing OK, she said, and it helps that the trees are planted on high ground so cold air drains away.

“We should fare pretty well, hopefully,” she said. “But you never know.”

In Vermont, the temperature swing affected operations at Understory Farm in Bridport, which grows cut flowers. Tulips that were supposed to be ready for Mother's Day in mid-May have already bloomed in the farm's greenhouses, said owner Gregory Witscher.

“That just means that we have to harvest them all at the same time,” he said. “We have to harvest them and store them with the bulbs on in crates in a walk-in cooler for longer.”

Witscher grows about 50 varieties of flowers for wholesale markets. Weather fluctuations require flexibility, he said, and it's become more common for small vegetable and flower farms to have row covers or heaters to protect plants from cold or shade cloth for extreme heat.

“With the hot weather and then the cold weather, I think it's intense, and it makes things challenging,” he said. “The longer I do this, the more I want to have as many options as possible and have a lot of tools and resources available to be extremely nimble.”

The America Reads the Bible event — with each participant reading a passage aloud — is being livestreamed this week from the Museum of the Bible in Washington and other locations. It is slated to feature a video of Trump on Tuesday evening reading a passage that called for national repentance in ancient Israel — words that have been used prominently for decades by those promoting the belief that America has been and should be a Christian nation.

The Bible is “indelibly woven into our national identity and way of life,” Trump said in a statement commemorating the event. The statement cited historical figures such as the Puritan leader John Winthrop as “imploring his fellow Christian settlers to stand as a beacon of faith for all the world to see.”

Critics say the event has a highly partisan list of participants and is part of a larger project to connect America's upcoming 250th birthday with a Christian nationalist vision that portrays the nation's founding as essentially Christian, something many historians dispute. White Christians, particularly evangelicals, have been crucial to Trump's electoral base.

The list of participants — which overwhelmingly includes Republican politicians and Christian supporters of Trump — shows it to be “very much a right-wing MAGA, Christian nationalist effort," said Brian Kaylor, author of “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power,” referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

“If they wanted this to be a unifying American project, there would have been a whole lot more attention to getting political diversity and ideological diversity,” added Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.

Historian Jemar Tisby, whose books have challenged what he says is enduring Christian complicity in racism, criticized the event on Facebook: "You cannot quote the Bible while justifying violence, war and exclusion.”

Bunni Pounds, founder of Christians Engaged, said that reading the Bible alone isn't enough. “Faith without works is dead,” she said, adding: “We need the word first to bring faith into our life.”

Trump's latest faith-related tensions

The Bible event comes just a week after Trump drew rare criticism from his evangelical supporters for circulating a social media meme in which a white-robed Trump appeared as a Jesus-like healer surrounded by patriotic symbols. Trump removed the image from his Truth Social site while insisting he was depicted as a doctor, not Jesus.

It also comes shortly after Trump's high-profile clash with the U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.

Other high-ranking officials have been or will be reading biblical passages in person or by video. They include Cabinet officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson and several other Republican members of Congress. Prominent evangelical supporters of Trump who are participating include evangelist Franklin Graham, pastor Jack Graham and pastor Paula White-Cain, who heads Trump's White House Faith Office.

Pounds said that the organization invited Democratic members of Congress as well as leaders of some denominations that might be considered progressive but that they didn’t accept.

Each speaker is taking a turn in the ongoing reading of the 66 books of the Bible as recognized by Protestants. Jews recognize the Hebrew portion of the Bible that Christians call the Old Testament but not the New Testament books centered on Jesus, while Catholics and Orthodox recognize additional books of the Bible that are not included in this reading. The event does include some Catholic representation, including the president of CatholicVote, which endorsed Trump in 2024.

The event involves a comprehensive reading of the entire Bible, from the famous verses ("Let my people go," "The Lord is my shepherd") to the obscure. Passages range from the creation of the world to bloody battles and apocalyptic destruction, from exhortations to love of God, neighbor and the needy to passages telling of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

Trump will read from 2 Chronicles

The event organizer is Christians Engaged, a nonprofit whose stated mission includes “discipling Americans on biblical worldview and their responsibilities to pray, vote and engage.”

Trump's appearance will be from the Oval Office, where he will read from the seventh chapter of 2 Chronicles, set during King Solomon's dedication of the temple in ancient Jerusalem. In it, God promises forgiveness if a future generation rebels then repents: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

The verse has long been quoted at many conservative Christian rallies and political events such as the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Pounds noted that the Chronicles passage has for decades been a major theme at annual National Day of Prayer events and that organizers invited Trump to read from it. “It’s a powerful statement that he decided to read that passage,” she said.

The Bible-reading marathon comes just weeks before a May 17 event called a “National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving,” to be held on the National Mall. It's the climactic event of “America Prays,” a project Trump announced last year in conjunction with America 250, calling for prayer for the country and to “rededicate ourselves to one nation under God."

Several of the groups and individuals involved in America Prays are also participating in this week’s Bible reading event.

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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.

“We thank the Lord for the great gift of the life of Francis, to the church and the world,” Leo said.

The American pope delivered the tribute in Italian while speaking with reporters aboard the papal plane heading from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, the final leg of his four-nation African trip.

Francis died on Easter Monday last year after suffering a stroke. He had been at the Vatican recovering from a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia, and had managed to deliver a final Easter salute to the crowd with a popemobile romp through St. Peter’s Square.

His death, at 88, set the stage for the conclave that elected Leo a few weeks later. It was an outcome for which Francis had laid the groundwork by promoting the former missionary priest, Robert Prevost, whom he considered “a saint.”

In his tribute, Leo recalled with precision some of Francis’ most memorable homilies and messages, saying he “gave so much to the church with his life, with his witness, with his word and with his gestures.”

“So many times what he did was live truly being close to the poorest, the smallest, the sick, children, the elderly,” he said.

He cited Francis’ preaching promoting human fraternity and “authentic respect” among all people, as well as a special Holy Year he called in 2015 to emphasize God’s mercy and forgiveness. Francis famously opened the year in the Central African Republic, and Leo delivered his tribute just as his plane was flying over that part of Africa.

Leo recalled Francis’ first Sunday noon prayer as pope, and a Mass he celebrated two days before his pontificate was officially inaugurated, when he preached about an adulterous woman “and how he spoke from the heart of the mercy of God.”

“Let us pray that he is still enjoying the mercy of the Lord,” Leo said.

Books recall Francis’ life and what he thought of Prevost

The anniversary was being marked with commemorations in Rome, including the release of commemorative books about and recollections of Francis, and a Mass on Tuesday evening at St. Mary Major basilica, where Francis’ tomb is located.

Among the flurry of recollections, one by Salvatore Cernuzio stands out because it offers a view of the current pope from his predecessor.

Cernuzio, an Italian reporter with Vatican Media, the Holy See’s in-house news operation, developed a close personal relationship with Francis and often traveled in his entourage when the pope left the Vatican. However, the book, entitled “Padre,” or “Father,” details the private side of their relationship, of Cernuzio’s visits with Francis at the Santa Marta hotel where he lived, and their conversations.

“Him? He’s a saint,” Francis told Cernuzio of the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, whom Francis had brought to Rome in 2023 to take up the important job heading the Vatican’s bishop-vetting office.

Francis’ assessment, delivered in 2023 after he had announced Prevost would be included in his new batch of cardinals that year, adds even more weight to the hypothesis that Francis saw in Prevost a possible successor.

Cernuzio recalls that when Francis called someone a saint, it was usually “to describe people who are able to handle conflicts, tensions, and complex situations with composure, and who are able to foster a sense of community.”

Prevost was spotted and promoted by Francis

The hypothesis that Francis laid the groundwork for Prevost’s election is well-founded, given it’s clear Francis had his eye on Prevost from the start and greatly appreciated his experience as a missionary who spent two decades working in Peru.

After Prevost finished a second consecutive stint as head of the Order of St. Augustine, Francis sent him in 2014 to be bishop of the complicated diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, and he rose up within the Peruvian bishops conference from there to take on leadership roles.

Francis then moved Prevost to head one of the most important Vatican jobs — prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops — that gave Prevost crucial experience in the Vatican bureaucracy and contacts with the cardinals who would eventually choose Francis’ successor.

The combination made Prevost a viable contender in a future papal election, overcoming the otherwise impossible conclave hurdle of his American citizenship. There had long been a taboo in the church against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power the country already wields.

The two men, who later became good friends, had known each other from when Prevost was the Augustinian prior general and the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Prevost has recounted that at one point Bergoglio had expressed interest in assigning an Augustinian priest to a specific job in his archdiocese.

“And I, as prior general, said ‘I understand, Your Eminence, but he’s got to do something else’ and so I transferred him somewhere else,” Prevost told parishioners in his home state of Illinois in 2024.

Prevost said he “naively” thought the Francis wouldn’t remember him after his 2013 election as pope, and that regardless “he’ll never appoint me bishop” due to the disagreement years earlier.

Bergoglio not only made him bishop, he laid the groundwork for Prevost to succeed him.

The six were all in custody. A seventh suspect, former Bayelsa state Gov. Timpre Sylva, is accused of helping to conceal the plot and is still at large.

In the 13-count charge sheet, authorities said suspects “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the president of the Federal Republic."

The Nigerian government first said it had foiled a coup attempt in January, when it announced that several military officers would stand trial. They were part of a group of 16 military officers arrested in 2025 over what military authorities described as “acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations," which fueled rumors of a coup plot that the government initially denied.

Africa's most populous nation experienced five coups in the 20th century but has not seen one since it transitioned to democracy in 1999.

The alleged coup plot comes on the heels of a surge in coups and attempted coups in West and Central Africa, the latest in Benin and Guinea-Bissau late last year. The military takeovers, experts say, follow a pattern of disputed elections, constitutional upheaval, security crises and youth discontent.

“I think that this is the election that’s going to be the sea change, not only for getting to a pro-equality majority but for changing the momentum on this fight for equality,” said Kelley Robinson, the Washington-based organization's president, in an interview with The Associated Press. “This movement is ready for its next wind, its second wind.”

Besides eight congressional districts that could help determine control of the U.S. House, the Human Rights Campaign is also supporting Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas. The money will be spent on advertising, events and canvassers.

The LGBTQ+ movement has been reckoning with a wave of defeats on the campaign trail and in the courtroom that have left Democrats struggling to regain their footing.

President Donald Trump's Republican administration has rolled back protections for transgender people, such as banning them from serving in the military and cutting off gender-affirming care for children. The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority has upheld Republican states’ restrictions while striking down bans on “conversion therapy” practices in Democratic states.

“I believe that our movement made ourselves believe that we were closer to equality than we actually are,” Robinson said. “The last few years, we’ve been doing an incredible amount of listening, of learning, also of repositioning this work.”

After the 2024 presidential election, Democrats were divided over the role that LGBTQ+ rights played in their party’s losses. The Trump campaign ran a series of advertisements mocking Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting medical gender transitions for incarcerated people and highlighting the issue of transgender people playing on women's sports teams.

“Kamala Harris is for they/them,” said a voice-over in one national ad. “President Trump is for you.”

Robinson argued that the ad was effective because of an implicit economic message, not for its critiques of the policy toward transgender people. But conservative activists and some moderate Democrats have argued such stances are too unpopular with swing voters.

“There’s a real disconnect between most voters and the party elite," said Leor Sapir, a fellow with the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank.

He added, “If I’m a Democrat consultant, my advice would be: Do everything in your power to keep this issue off the public agenda."

Robinson said her organization has been soul-searching on how to best craft winning messages on LGBTQ+ rights.

“Our job is to move away from the fireballs that our opposition wants to talk about and instead find a way to get back to the things that are impacting folks every day,” she said.

In January, the Human Rights Campaign published a guide to blunting conservative attacks on LGBTQ+ issues, citing the successful campaigns of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Although the guide encourages candidates to “lead with your values” and “address concerns directly," it also encourages them to “go big” and quickly pivot to issues like cost-of-living concerns.

“I think the number one way to shut out a voter is to try to make them believe that their fears are not real. So what we coach candidates on doing is listening,” Robinson said. “For folks who have questions about the issues, that’s OK. We’re in a moment where the stakes in front of us are too high to look away.”

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Follow the AP's coverage of LGBTQ+ issues at https://apnews.com/hub/lgbtq.

Even more notable: Mendoza, of Indiana, joined Jim Plunkett and Bryce Young as just the third Latino to win the trophy while Pavia, from Vanderbilt, was the runner-up.

Now with the NFL draft almost here, Mendoza and Pavia continue to drive conversation about where they will go. Mendoza is projected to be the No. 1 selection Thursday night, likely going to the quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders, while Pavia hopes to prove any lingering doubters wrong.

And while the two quarterbacks are the headliners, they are certainly not the only Latino prospects hoping to hear their names called before the draft ends Saturday.

Here's a look at nine players who attended the NFL's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis in February.

QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

The Heisman Trophy winner and national championship-winning quarterback seems a virtual lock to be the No. 1 pick after throwing for 3,535 yards, leading the nation with 41 TD passes and running for seven more scores, including the memorable TD that helped seal Indiana's national title. Mendoza eagerly embraces his Cuban lineage. He has talked often about the role his parents and family played in his growth as a player, and his four grandparents who fled Cuba in 1959.

WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

The 5-foot-11 1/2, 196-pound, do-it-all receiver with Puerto Rican connections emerged as one of the nation's top playmakers in 2025. He was a first-team All-America selection as the all-purpose player and though his 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds may cause some scouts to question his top-end speed, Concepcion always seems to deliver in clutch moments or when plays appear to be over. He also has written about his speech impediment, indicating he wants to become a role model for those who “may be too scared to speak.” He could be picked on Day 1 or early on Day 2.

LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

The 6-1, 231-pound Rodriguez did a little bit of everything with one of last season's top defenses. He made 128 tackles, broke up seven passes, intercepted four, forced seven fumbles, recovered two and posted one sack. And the unanimous All-American also won the Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award and Bednarik Award on a defense stacked with future NFL players. He seemingly did it all in college, including playing quarterback at Virginia in 2021. The question is where he will land and how all that experience will translate to the pro level.

LB Taurean York, Texas A&M

At 5-11, 186 pounds, York is smaller than prototypical linebackers but could find a home by playing the trendy safety-linebacker hybrid NFL teams seem to increasingly want. He's been productive, too. The second team all-SEC selection started all three seasons with the Aggies, and he finished last season with 72 tackles and three passes defensed. He's one of five players in this draft with family ties to Mexico. Look for York to be chosen on Day 2 or early on Day 3.

QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

He's one of the most polarizing players in this draft class, in part because he's not afraid to express his thoughts and in part because he stands only 5-foot-10, much shorter than most teams prefer in a quarterback. But there are two things on Pavia's resume that can't be ignored — he's routinely defied the odds and he wins. Pavia started his college career at New Mexico Military Institute, played well enough to jump to New Mexico State and then led Vanderbilt to its most successful back-to-back seasons in recent memory. Now the 2025 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the first Heisman finalist from Vanderbilt will be waiting to find out which NFL team will give him a chance to prove himself all over again.

TE Josh Cuevas, Alabama

Cuevas has been a more proficient blocker than pass catcher at his three college stops — Cal Poly, Washington and Alabama. And though his size, 6-3 1/2, 245 pounds, may prompt some teams to project him more as a fullback than a tight end, there's plenty to like. Cuevas produced solid numbers last season with the Tide — 37 receptions, 411 yards, four TDs — and had career bests in 2022 at Cal Poly (58 catches, 678 yards, six TDs). The other thing coaches will appreciate is his accountablilty. He apologized to Alabama fans after the 2025 season-opening loss to Florida State, saying the players failed to meet the expected standard in that game. He also used his Senior Bowl platform to throw his support behind Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.

OL Fernando Carmona, Arkansas

Carmona showed his versatility last season by moving to guard after playing left tackle the previous three seasons. That gave NFL teams a potential preview of what he could do next season with his shorter arms and massive size — 6-4 1/2, 316 pounds. He's also improved steadily in college, going from honorable mention all-Western Athletic Conference with San Jose State in 2023 to third-team all-SEC in 2024 and second-team all-SEC last year. While scouts also seem to like his energy and edge, they also realize he'll need better technique to excel at the next level.

QB Joey Aguilar, Tennessee

Aguilar is one of the rare prospects who didn't want to be on any draft list. Despite throwing for 3,565 yards and 24 touchdowns in his only season with the Volunteers, Aguilar wanted to return to school for one more year. But just days before the NFL's annual scouting combine was set to begin, a Tennessee court denied his preliminary injunction, pushing him into the draft. The decision put Aguilar in an awkward position because most of the other players had spent weeks or months preparing for the draft. That makes his landing spot — or even a selection — anybody's guess.

OL Enrique Cruz Jr., Kansas

Cruz has the size teams covet — 6-5 1/2, 313 pounds — and the versatility they like in late-round prospects because he played both left and right tackle in college. He also overcame the adversity of going from starter to backup at Syracuse by reclaiming the starting job last year at Kansas. Will it be enough to entice an NFL team? Perhaps.

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

The testimony by Olly Robbins increases the heat on Starmer, who is facing calls to resign over the decision to appoint Mandelson, a scandal-tainted politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein, to one of the U.K.’s most important diplomatic posts.

Robbins, the former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, said there was an “atmosphere of pressure” from Starmer’s 10 Downing St. office to approve the appointment so Mandelson could be in the post at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump ’s second term.

He told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee there had been “a very, very strong expectation” that Mandelson “needed to be in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible.” He said Downing Street had “a generally dismissive attitude” toward the requirement for tough security checks.

The prime minister fired Robbins last week after the revelation that Mandelson was approved for the job in January 2025 against the recommendation of the government's security vetting agency.

Robbins said the vetting agency considered Mandelson a “borderline case” and was “leaning toward recommending against” giving him security clearance. Robbins cleared him anyway, based on advice that the risks could be managed, he said.

Robbins said the concerns about Mandelson didn't relate to his relationship with Epstein, but he declined to explain to lawmakers what led the government's vetting agency to flag him as a potential security risk.

Mandelson had to resign twice from senior posts in previous Labour Party governments because of scandals over money and ethics. A separate background report prepared before he was appointed ambassador flagged potential business links to Russia and China as a concern.

Politicians wanted the appointment approved

Starmer has called it “staggering” that Foreign Office officials failed to tell him about the security concerns, which he says he only found out about last week. Robbins said the rules bar details of the sensitive vetting process from being shared except in “exceptional circumstances.”

Starmer announced the choice of Mandelson in December 2024, before intensive security checks were carried out. Robbins said he was “very conscious” that refusing Mandelson security clearance would have caused “a real problem for the government and a problem for the country” in its relations with the Trump administration.

Robbins declined to identify any individuals as being behind the pressure. Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, a protégé of Mandelson, resigned in February, saying he took responsibility for the decision to appoint Mandelson.

The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, said Starmer "personally decided to appoint a serious known national security risk to our most sensitive diplomatic post.

“The prime minister is not fit for office," she said. “It is time for him to go.”

Starmer acknowledged on Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Mandelson for the job, but said he would have withdrawn the appointment if he’d known about the failed security vetting.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September, nine months into the job, when new details emerged about his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.

The U.K. leader has ordered a review of security concerns arising from Mandelson’s access to sensitive information while ambassador.

Questions over Starmer's judgment

Critics say the Mandelson appointment is more evidence of bad judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.

He picked Mandelson as ambassador despite being warned by his staff that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein exposed the government to “reputational risk.” Mandelson's expertise as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites were considered assets in dealing with the Trump administration.

Starmer says he won't resign, but the scandal has caused gloom among lawmakers in his center-left Labour Party, already anxious about its dire poll ratings. Starmer already defused one potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers urged him to quit over the Mandelson appointment.

He could face a new challenge if, as expected, Labour takes a hammering in local and regional elections on May 7, which give voters a chance to pass a midterm verdict on the government.

Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester, said that regardless of the complexities and blame-trading, the view of many voters boils down to: “Keir Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson. Peter Mandelson was a wrong-un and he hung out with Jeffrey Epstein.

“And none of this that we’ve seen today or any other day does anything except reinforce that,” he said. “And that's just disastrous" for Starmer.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he had raised concerns about the choice of ambassador, but didn’t think Starmer should resign over the debacle.

“If every time a prime minister made a mistake they resigned, we would shuttle through prime ministers like nobody’s business,” Miliband told the BBC.

Mandelson is under police investigation for suspected misconduct in public office after a trove of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Justice Department in January included emails suggesting that Mandelson had passed on sensitive — and potentially market-moving — government information to Epstein in 2009, after the global financial crisis.

British police launched a criminal investigation and arrested Mandelson in February. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He doesn't face allegations of sexual misconduct.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, expected to lead U.S. negotiators if talks continue, called off a trip to Pakistan, a U.S. official said. And Iran said it hadn't decided whether to participate.

Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, worked intensively late Tuesday to get both sides to agree to a second round of ceasefire talks, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The ceasefire was set to expire Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s state TV there has been “no final decision” on whether to attend because of “unacceptable actions" by the U.S., apparently referencing its recent blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

As Vance put on hold a return trip to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for consultations about how to proceed, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

The official cautioned that Trump could change his mind on negotiating with Iran at any time, and declined to predict what would happen if the current ceasefire expires without another meeting. The official said Trump has options short of restarting airstrikes.

Trump says he doesn't favor extending ceasefire

Both sides remain dug in rhetorically. Trump has warned that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the ceasefire deadline, and Iran’s chief negotiator said that Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” that haven't yet been revealed.

The ceasefire, which began April 8, could be extended if talks resume, though Trump said in an interview Tuesday with CNBC: “Well, I don't want to do that.”

A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to destroy the region’s oil industry if war with the United States resumes. “If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” Gen. Majid Mousavi told an Iranian news site.

Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations

Iran’s envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday that Tehran has “received some sign” that the U.S. is ready to stop its blockade of Iranian ports. The U.S. had made no public statements about lifting the blockade.

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said ending the blockade remains a condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks. When that happens, he said, “I think the next round of the negotiations will take place.”

The U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which 20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.

Iran’s grip on the strait has sent oil prices soaring. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at close to $95 per barrel on Tuesday, up more than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran to start the war.

Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz had been fully open to international shipping. Trump has demanded that vessels again be allowed to transit unimpeded.

Over the weekend, Iran said that it had received new proposals from Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the sides. Issues that derailed the last round of negotiations included Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.

US says its forces board sanctioned oil tanker

On Tuesday, the U.S. said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The Pentagon said in a social media post that U.S. forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”

The U.S. military did not say where the vessel had been boarded, though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday. The Pentagon statement added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

The U.S. military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the first interception under the blockade. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.

Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed

Pakistani officials have expressed confidence that Iran will also send a delegation to resume talks that mark the highest-level negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first round April 11 and 12 ended without an agreement.

Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Tuesday with the acting U.S. ambassador in Islamabad to urge a ceasefire extension. Dar also met with the ambassador from China, a key trading partner with Iran.

Security has been tightened across Pakistan’s capital, where authorities have deployed thousands of personnel and increased patrols along routes leading to the airport.

Israel jails soldiers for defacing Jesus statue in Lebanon

Israel’s military said Tuesday it has sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon. Images of an Israeli soldier with a sledgehammer smashing the statue's head emerged over the weekend, bringing widespread condemnation.

Israel said one of the soldiers being punished hammered the statue to the ground. The other filmed the destruction. The Israeli military said it replaced the statue.

Meanwhile, historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to resume on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a U.S. official said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes negotiations.

The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first direct diplomatic talks in decades. Israel says the talks are aimed at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.

A 10-day ceasefire began on Friday in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants broke out two days after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to start the war. Fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 2,290 people.

Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lee from Washington. Associated Press journalists Michelle Price, Aamer Madhani and Darlene Superville in Washington; Samy Magdy in Cairo; David Rising and Huizhong Wu in Bangkok; Sam McNeil in Brussels; Julia Frankel in New York; Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Edith Lederer at the United Nations and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.

Amid the frustrated jeers of an infuriated home crowd, the Hurricanes now had to regroup and continue the grinding fight of a postseason game that appeared over only moments earlier. And that led to forward Jordan Martinook immediately standing at center ice with another chance to end it as he waited to take a penalty shot — a rarity in OT during the playoffs.

“Try having a penalty shot after all that,” Martinook quipped.

Nothing came easily Monday night for the Eastern Conference's top seed against the Ottawa Senators in a 3-2 double-overtime win that secured a 2-0 lead in their first-round series. That was particularly true of those gut-churning few minutes when the Hurricanes thought they had secured a victory, then learned they hadn't, then got an immediate second chance at a walk-off win, only for Martinook to be denied.

Martinook ultimately got his winner, beating Linus Ullmark from the slot at 13:53 of the second OT to finally end this one more than four hours after the puck dropped on Game 2.

“Hockey’s crazy, sports are crazy,” Martinook said. “Being able to score after that, I’ll tell my grandkids about that one, that’s for sure.”

Not that anyone around here will soon forget this one, not with the emotions — and fortunes — changing at whiplash speed.

“There's a lot there to unwind, that's for sure,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said.

The Hurricanes won the series opener 2-0 on Saturday, then found themselves up 2-0 in the second period Monday before giving up goals to Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens that eventually pushed the game into overtime. Ullmark had been brilliant all night on the way to 43 saves, one coming when he gloved down a hammered one-timer from Taylor Hall as the puck shifted cross-ice to his left side.

Another came in the final seconds of regulation when Ullmark got his left shoulder on Jordan Staal’s shot from the top of the crease.

That all became prologue to those few minutes when things got weird in Raleigh.

The Hurricanes appeared to break through late in the first OT, with Mark Jankowski skating in to pounce on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark on the left side with 2:42 left to send the home crowd into a frenzy. But officials reviewed the sequence and determined Staal didn’t have possession and control of the puck as he entered the zone, coming as Martinook skated through the middle across the blue line for a 1-on-1 chance on Ullmark.

“I don’t know that rule,” Staal said. “I pick up the puck, I look up where Marty is and apparently I lost control of it. And then I make a nice pass to Marty for a breakaway. I don’t really get it. … We battled through it. It is what it is.”

“It's a weird play, you don't see it a lot in overtime,” Senators coach Travis Green said, adding: “I felt like it was offside. I thought the refs made the right call.”

But that sequence ultimately led to a hooking penalty on Warren Foegele, meaning Martinook quickly had to pivot to taking the first OT penalty shot in a postseason game since August 2020 and only the fifth ever.

Martinook skated in on Ullmark and tried to beat him to the glove side, only for Ullmark to knock down the puck and ensure the game would continue.

Afterward, a reporter mentioned to Martinook that he had a chance to become the first player ever to end a playoff game on an OT penalty shot.

“Thanks for that,” Martinook said with a grin.

“I was trying to tell them we needed the power play, not the penalty shot,” Martinook said. “Yeah, I've never seen that. That's a first.”

The Hurricanes ultimately came out on top — after the Senators nearly got their own sudden-death winner in the second overtime when Michael Amadio got an in-close shot. Frederik Andersen made the stop with his glove to deflect the puck, which kept rising and hit the crossbar before bouncing away.

Roughly 2 1/2 minutes later, Martinook buried a shot past Ullmark to finally end this one.

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The Timberwolves forward pretty much labeled all the Nuggets' players bad defenders. Thrown in there were All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

“Go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders,” said McDaniels, who had 14 points and three assists. "Tim Hardaway (Jr.), Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them.”

So they're all bad defenders?

“Yeah, they’re all bad defenders,” McDaniels added.

The Timberwolves overcame a 19-point deficit to even the first-round series, which shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Thursday night. Anthony Edwards led the way with 30 points despite playing on a sore knee. He also had 10 rebounds.

“They don’t got people that can defend the rim,” McDaniels said. "We’re still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do.”

Jokic had 24 points and 15 rebounds — all on the defensive end — while Murray scored 30 points. But Denver's dynamic duo shot a combined 2 of 12 for four points in the fourth quarter. Murray had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds but elected to pull up for a 2-point shot instead.

He missed.

“I was happy he took the two points,” Edwards said. “I thought he had a good look at a 3 when he first came off but yeah, he took the 2-pointer. I guess if he made it, we would have been in a free-throw situation. But yeah, I’m kind of happy he took the 2-pointer.”

Murray said he “didn't make enough shots tonight.”

"That’s really about it,” he added. "We all could have played better. It’s not all on one person, that’s just the way the game goes sometimes. They played hard as well. It was a good game. I thought we had the game in our hands, but we just didn’t make enough shots, in my opinion.”

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

Let’s make a deal.

There have been 60 trades involving first-round picks over the past five years. Eighteen were traded in 2022. Last year, six first-round picks were dealt. That was tied for the fewest since 1985.

The Bengals, Packers, Jaguars, Falcons, Colts and Broncos don’t have a first-round pick while the Giants, Jets, Dolphins, Cowboys, Browns and Chiefs each have two.

Cincinnati traded the 10th overall pick to the Giants on Saturday for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. New York owns the fifth and 10th picks. Green Bay doesn’t have one because of its blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons last August. Jacksonville traded its 2026 first-rounder to Cleveland on draft night last year to move up to get Travis Hunter with the second overall pick.

Atlanta sent this year’s first-round pick to the Rams on draft night a year ago to select edge rusher James Pearce Jr. at No. 26. Indianapolis traded its first-rounder to the Jets for Sauce Gardner. Denver sent the 30th overall pick to Miami in the deal for Jaylen Waddle.

Here are five teams that could be active on Thursday night:

Philadelphia Eagles

General manager Howie Roseman is one of the most active and aggressive executives in the NFL. The Eagles own the 23rd pick. They moved up from No. 10 to No. 9 in 2023 to get defensive tackle Jalen Carter. A year earlier, they went from 15 to 13 to get defensive tackle Jordan Davis. In 2021, Philadelphia moved up from 12 to 10 to select wideout DeVonta Smith. Roseman also moved up in 2019 and 2016. He traded out of the first round in 2018.

“I think we go into this draft being very comfortable with having 23 guys we’re ready to take. We’re there ready and prepared for that,” Roseman said. “If something happens where somebody who’s higher on our board than 23rd is available, we’ll be ready for that. If there’s an opportunity that we think makes sense to move up based on the value of that player, we’ll move up. If we have multiple guys at our spot and there’s a trade that makes sense to move back, we’ll move back.”

The trade involving the Eagles that’s been a hot topic throughout the offseason isn’t expected to happen this week. A.J. Brown is likely on the move, with the Patriots expected to be the leading contender to land the star wide receiver, reuniting him with coach Mike Vrabel. The Rams already pursued Brown earlier in the offseason. The Eagles would be able to spread a $40 million salary cap hit over two seasons by waiting until June 1 to deal Brown.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With the 15th pick in the first round, the Buccaneers might miss out on one of the top players on their board. They need an elite rusher and could use more draft capital because they have only one pick in each round. There are several potential pass rushers who could be a fit in the 16-25 range that would allow Tampa Bay to move back and add more premium draft picks.

“In a lot of scenarios that we’re working through, yeah,” GM Jason Licht said about moving back. “You have a group of players that you say, ‘No matter what, if this player’s there, we’re taking (them).’ If there’s a group of three, then maybe you go back one or two to make sure that you ensure you get one of your three, but the part of that that makes it difficult is you’ve got to find a trade partner. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes teams just don’t want to move up. They don’t want to give up picks, and I understand why.”

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks, and Jerry Jones has hinted at being aggressive. But it would make more sense for Dallas to trade down in one of those spots to add extra picks because the defense has several needs.

The Cowboys don’t have a second-round pick after sending it to the Jets in a deal for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams before the trade deadline. Moving down from 20 and adding a second-rounder plus other picks is one scenario.

New York Jets

The Jets have four of the top 44 picks in the draft, including Nos. 2 and 16 in the first round. They have three 2027 first-round picks.

If there’s a player they covet — perhaps an elite wideout — they have the draft assets to jump up from 16. They have their choice of edge rushers at No. 2 after quarterback Fernando Mendoza goes first to the Raiders.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have the 11th and 30th picks in the first round and plenty of needs. They’re in full rebuild mode. Trading one of those to add more picks could help Miami replenish its roster.

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

Many Iran-backed militias are funded through the Iraqi state budget and embedded within the security apparatus, drawing criticism from the United States and other countries that have borne the brunt of their attacks and say Baghdad has failed to take a tougher stance.

Despite mounting pressure from the U.S., Baghdad has struggled to contain or deter the groups. The most hard-line factions now operate under Iranian advisers using a decentralized command structure, the five officials told AP, each on condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive matters.

“The various forces have been granted the authority to operate according to their own field assessments without referring back to a central command,” said one militia official, who didn't have permission to speak publicly.

The war in the Middle East has exposed the fragility of Iraq’s state institutions and their limited ability to restrain these groups. A parallel confrontation between Washington and the militias has deepened the crisis, with factions acting as an extension of Iran’s regional campaign and escalating attacks on U.S. assets in Iraq before a tenuous ceasefire deal was reached in April.

Even if the ceasefire agreement holds, Washington is expected to intensify efforts against the groups militarily and politically, particularly as they gain latitude to operate more independently, officials and experts said. On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on seven commanders and senior members of four hard-line Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups.

“The U.S. is still going to feel it has the freedom of action to hit Iraqi militias,” said Michael Knights, head of research for Horizon Engage, a geopolitical risk consulting firm, and an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “That may well play out into an effort to try and guide a less militia-dominated government formation.”

For Iran-backed militias in Iraq, a move to decentralized control

Days into the war sparked by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, an Iranian delegation arrived in Iraq’s Kurdish region and delivered a blunt message: If militia attacks escalated near U.S. military bases, commercial interests and diplomatic missions, Iraqi Kurdish authorities should not come to Tehran with complaints, as there was little they could do about it.

“They said they’ve devolved authority to regional Iranian commanders,” a senior Iraqi Kurdish government official said on condition of anonymity, citing the subject's sensitivity.

In the past, Kurdish leaders in Iraq would call Iranian officials after attacks to ask why they had been targeted. “This time, they wanted to preempt that by saying, ‘We can’t help you with the groups in the south right now,’” the official said.

This shift reflects lessons drawn from the 12-day war in June, the official said. Militia officials corroborated the claim. During that war, operations were tightly centralized. In its aftermath, greater autonomy was granted in the field.

A spokesperson for Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, among the Iran-backed militia groups that have attacked the U.S. in Iraq, said there was “coordination” with Iran in launching attacks but didn't give details.

"Since we are allies of the Islamic Republic, we have coordination with our brothers in the Islamic Republic,” Mahdi al-Kaabi said.

In the recent war, key Iraqi militia leaders appeared to step back from the latest phase and didn't appear to be directly involved in operations, Knights said. U.S. strikes largely killed mid-level commanders, according to militia officials.

“None of the first-line leaders have been killed,” said a second militia official, who wasn't authorized to brief reporters.

Rather than targeting top figures, the U.S. also focused on Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisory cells, said Knights, who tracked the attacks. In one strike in Baghdad’s upscale Jadriya neighborhood, three Guard advisers were killed at a house used as their headquarters during a meeting, according to the second militia official.

Pressure on Iraq is intensifying

At the heart of government efforts to rein in militia groups lies a paradox: The factions the government says it cannot control are tied to political parties that brought it to power.

The Coordination Framework, an alliance of influential pro-Iran Shiite factions, helped install Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister in 2022. He now serves as caretaker premier amid a prolonged political deadlock.

Militia forces carrying out attacks on U.S. targets aren't rogue actors; they're part of the state’s Popular Mobilization Forces, created after the fall of Mosul in 2014 to formalize volunteer units that were critical in defeating the Islamic State.

The PMF has evolved into a powerful force that surpasses the Iraqi army, with fighters receiving state salaries and access to government resources, including weapons and intelligence. The result, critics say, is a deep contradiction: Certain state-funded groups operate in line with Iranian priorities, even when doing so undermines Iraq’s national interests.

Al-Sudani’s office didn't respond to the AP’s requests for comment on the decentralized control of militia groups.

The U.S. is focused on curbing the power of these groups in Iraq, the senior Iraqi Kurdish official and a Western diplomat said, which will put increasing pressure on the government, still functioning in caretaker status. The diplomat also spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't permitted to brief reporters.

Last week, Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. was summoned to Washington to hear U.S. condemnation of attacks by Iran-backed factions on American personnel and diplomatic missions, according to State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Bigot.

“The Deputy Secretary affirmed that the United States will not tolerate any attacks targeting its interests and expects the Iraqi Government to take all necessary measures immediately to dismantle Iran-aligned militia groups,” Bigot said in a statement.

Militias resist steps from Iraq's government

Al-Sudani has taken limited steps to curb militia influence, including further institutionalizing the PMF and occasionally removing commanders who act outside state authority. The efforts have met significant resistance from militia groups.

Further institutionalizing them has deepened their entrenchment within the state. The U.S. may seek to isolate the most hard-line factions — including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada — from others more embedded in Iraq’s political system. “The bad militias from the worse militias,” the senior Iraqi Kurdish official said.

Harakat al-Nujaba spokesperson al-Kaabi offered a dual framing of the group’s position, stressing both its alignment with Iran and its claim to Iraqi state legitimacy.

“To put it bluntly, we are allies of the Islamic Republic,” he said. He described the group as part of Iran’s regional “axis” alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah in Yemen.

At the same time, he insisted the group operates within Iraq’s political order, supporting the state and government when they serve national interests.

“It’s true we’re not affiliated with the government or the prime minister, but we respect the law and the constitution,” he said.

This time, they overcame a 19-point deficit, rallying past the Nuggets 119-114 on Monday night behind 30 points from Anthony Edwards and 24 from Julius Randle to tie their first-round playoff series at one game each.

“Just coming together, staying poised within those moments," Edwards said.

Jamal Murray scored 30 points for Denver, which had won 13 straight games since losing on March 18. The Nuggets jumped out to a 44-25 lead early in the second quarter only to see a potential laugher quickly turn into a head-scratcher.

After outscoring the Wolves 39-25 in the first, the Nuggets watched Minnesota flip that exact score in the second period.

“So, basically same quarters, first and second, just opposite teams,” said Nikola Jokic, who had 24 points, 15 boards and eight assists for the Nuggets.

After a slow start, Edwards looked much better than he did during his 22-point effort in Game 1, when his rust from a bum knee was apparent. This time, he drove to the basket more instead of settling for jumpers, fueling the comeback.

“He was awesome. It was unbelievable,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Also in that (first) period when we were down, he was great on the bench. Great leadership, positive. He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that."

Denver blew a chance to take control against its Northwest Division rival. The Nuggets are 8-0 in their history when winning the first two games of a playoff series, and the Wolves are 0-8 when dropping Games 1 and 2.

Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left and Christian Braun got fouled at the other end after Jokic passed up a floater to tie it. Braun missed one of two free throws, leaving Denver trailing 115-114 with 19 seconds remaining.

Randle then sank two free throws and Donte DiVincenzo added a breakaway dunk to cap the comeback.

“I trust C.B. to make free throws,” Denver coach David Adelman said. “It rimmed out. That happens in the NBA. You're going to have moments that you don't want to remember. That's a tough moment for C.B. after playing such a good game."

Murray sank a 51-foot 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to tie it at 64. Jokic came on strong after a quiet start, scoring 16 points in the third quarter when Denver took a 93-90 lead. But the Nuggets' All-Star duo shot a combined 2 for 12 in the fourth quarter as the Wolves evened a best-of-seven series that shifts to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Thursday night.

“I feel like we had the game in hand,” Murray said, “and then we just didn't make our shots.”

Jaden McDaniels, who added 14 points for the Wolves, said the key to Minnesota's bounce-back was going "after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them. Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.”

Before tipoff, Finch complained for a third straight day about the free-throw disparity in Game 1, when the Nuggets outscored Minnesota 30-14 from the stripe. He cracked that maybe his players need to “start flopping, too.”

Each team went to the line 30 times Monday night.

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

Adoring crowds in the largely Catholic country lined the road from the airport into the administrative capital, Malabo, cheering the first pope to visit since St. John Paul II in 1982. Wearing his formal red mozzetta cape, Leo thrilled the flag-waving masses by arriving at the presidential palace in his open-sided popemobile.

“There is a lot of joy today because we waited 44 years for the pope to come,” said Diosdado Marques, a senior Catholic official in the country. “It’s a blessing for the country. We hope many things will change and we will deepen our faith.”

The former Spanish colony on Africa’s western coast is run by the continent's longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

The pope notes a year since Francis' death

The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s transformed Equatorial Guinea’s economy virtually overnight, with oil now accounting for almost half of its GDP and more than 90% of exports, according to the African Development Bank.

Yet more than half of the country’s nearly 2 million people live in poverty. And rights groups including Human Rights Watch — as well as court cases in France and Spain — have documented how revenues have enriched the ruling Obiang family rather than the broader population.

Leo, who arrived from Angola, met with Obiang at the presidential palace and then addressed government authorities, diplomats and civil service representatives. Noting that the encounter occurred on the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, Leo quoted the late pope in denouncing income inequalities that he said had been exacerbated by a global economy focused on the pursuit of profit at all cost.

“Such an economy kills,” Leo said. “In fact, it is even more evident today than in years past that the proliferation of armed conflicts is often driven by the colonization of oil and mineral deposits, occurring with no regard for international law or the self-determination of peoples.”

The Trump administration, which has announced plans to create a minerals trading bloc with its allies, has been racing to get access to Africa’s regions rich in critical minerals and to beat competition from China in a region where Beijing has long dominated.

Last year, as the administration emerged as a key broker for a peace deal to end the fighting in Congo’s mineral-rich but conflict-battered eastern region, it was also signing a partnership with Congo that would allow American companies access to those conflict minerals.

The U.S. is also investing funds in the Lobito Corridor, a major rail project that would facilitate export of minerals from regions in Zambia and Congo through Lobito in Angola. At the same time, the U.S. has backed a South Africa project aimed at extracting rare earth minerals from industrial waste.

Leo suggests Equatorial Guinea look to the ‘City of God’

The pope's meetings took place in the old presidential palace. The government has built a new capital on the mainland named Ciudad de la Paz, or City of Peace, but the transfer of government buildings is not complete.

Authorities have said the decision to build the new capital was strategic, given the potential for expansion of the city carved out of a tropical forest. But critics said the relocation would exacerbate inequalities and give further opportunities for the presidential circle to enrich themselves.

Leo referred to the new capital by citing the famous work of St. Augustine, “City of God,” in which the 5th-century philosopher interpreted humanity through two models: The “earthly city” where people live temporarily and the eternal “city of God,” characterized by God’s unconditional love and love of one another, especially the poor.

Leo didn't call out the corruption associated with the Obiang family or the criticism of the new capital. But he suggested Equatorial Guinea should look to the “City of God” as a model.

“The earthly city is centered upon the proud love of self, on the lust for power and worldly glory that leads to destruction,” he said. “It is essential to discern the difference between that which lasts and that which passes, remaining free from the pursuit of unjust wealth and the illusion of dominion.”

The pope plans to visit a prison

Equatorial Guinea is officially a secular country but about 75% of its population is Catholic, making it one of Africa's most Catholic countries.

Church leaders “are very much interconnected intrinsically with the government,” said Tutu Alicante, a U.S.-based activist who runs the EG Justice rights group. “Part of it is the fear the government has instilled in everyone, including the church, and part of it is the monetary gains that the church derives from this government.”

The Rev. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, No. 2 in the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, said the Catholic Church is present in difficult civil spaces and knows how to operate in them to carry out its mission.

“Should the church go to war against the government? Surely no,” Nwachukwu said. “Should the church swallow everything as if it were normal? No. The church has to continue preaching justice, always in defense of life, human dignity and the common good.”

In addition to official corruption, the country’s government also faces accusations of harassment, arrest and intimidation of political opponents, critics and journalists.

Equatorial Guinea is also one of several African nations that have been paid millions of dollars in deals with the Trump administration to receive migrants deported from the U.S. to countries other than their own.

AP reporting shows that at least 29 such migrants with no ties to the country have been deported there. Some remain in detention in Malabo with restrictions on legal and medical support, while others have been forcibly returned to their countries where they face persecution.

Leo, who will visit a prison in the port city of Bata on Wednesday, has criticized the Trump administration’s overall migration deportation policy as “extremely disrespectful.”

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Associated Press writers Monika Pronczuk in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and Ope Adetayo in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed.

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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.

Iran has yet to decide whether to join the negotiations in Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, and will only take part if Tehran believes the discussions would yield results. And U.S. Vice President JD Vance 's trip to Pakistan has been put on hold, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the ceasefire deadline, and Iran’s chief negotiator said that Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” that haven’t yet been revealed. A senior Iranian commander later warned neighboring Arab countries to “say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East” if they allow the U.S. to resume attacking Iran from their territory.

The ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday.

Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.

Here is the latest:

Cyprus says its offer to host direct Israel-Lebanon talks still stands

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

President Nikos Christodoulides told the AP that the island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean is ready to host talks, citing its “excellent relations” and trust across the region. He said Cyprus has hosted similar negotiations and will discuss the offer with Lebanon’s president at an EU summit later this week.

—By Menelaos Hadjicostas

Hezbollah accuses Israel of breaching the ceasefire more than 200 times

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group said in a statement Tuesday it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces for the first time since a 10-day truce took effect Friday “in response to the blatant and documented violations” by Israel, which it said include “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages in southern Lebanon.”

Israeli officials have said they intend to maintain a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and the Israeli military has issued maps of an area it calls a “forward defense line,” which extends several miles into Lebanon, containing dozens of villages whose residents have not been allowed to return.

A senior Iranian commander threatens to destroy the region’s oil industry if war resumes with the US

Gen. Majid Mousavi, the aerospace chief for the Revolutionary Guard, said in comments on Iranian media that it would be a mistake to carry out “aggression” against Iran. He also said the region’s oil facilities would be harmed if neighboring countries allow the U.S. to carry out attacks.

“If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” he said.

The U.S. has bases and troops in several countries across the region.

Iranian foreign minister says US blockade of its ports is violation of ceasefire as talks stall

As news came that the U.S. delegation was pausing its travel to Islamabad, Iran’s top diplomat posted on X saying that American forces boarding an Iranian oil tanker earlier Tuesday was an act of war.

“Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation,” Abbas Araghchi said in a post. “Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying.”

Iran’s UN envoy says his government has ‘received some sign’ the US is ready to stop the blockade

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Tuesday that as soon as Washington ends the blockade, “I think the next round of the negotiations will take place in Islamabad.”

He called the U.S. naval blockade a violation of the ceasefire, and reiterated that lifting it is a condition for new negotiations to take place. The United States has not publicly indicated that it will lift the blockade.

The U.S. started the war against Iran, Iravani said, and if they want to return to the negotiating table “and find a political solution, they will find us ready.”

“If they want to go to the war, in this case also Iran is ready for that,” he told a small group of reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

When asked how hopeful he is he about the possibility of new negotiations, the ambassador replied: “We should give the chance — we hope.”

VP Vance’s trip to Pakistan for peace talks is on hold, US official says; comes as Iran hasn’t committed to attending

A U.S. official said the Vance trip to Islamabad for potential talks had been called off and put on hold, but cautioned that Trump could change his mind at any minute.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for consultations about how to proceed.

The official declined to predict what would happen if the current ceasefire expires without another meeting Islamabad but noted that Trump retains options short of restarting airstrikes.

— By Matthew Lee in Washington.

Iran’s state TV denies 8 women are at risk of execution

State TV quoted the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency denying Trump’s claims that the women are facing execution. It said some have already been released, while others face charges that — if upheld by the courts — would ultimately result in prison sentences rather than execution.

It didn’t name which women were allegedly released.

Human rights centers have reported that at least two of the women were facing charges that carry a death sentence.

Pakistani officials race to salvage ceasefire talks

Two officials say Pakistani leaders were engaged in intensive mediation efforts late Tuesday to ensure the second round of ceasefire talks takes place.

The officials said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and the prime minister’s national security adviser were involved in the push.

Despite a delay by Iran in sending its delegation to Islamabad, “overall optimism endures among decision makers in Pakistan,” the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

— By Munir Ahmed in Islamabad.

6 Iranian women and 2 teenagers, mostly detained during January protests, are on Trump’s appeal for release

Bita Hemmati was sentenced to death in Tehran after taking part in the protests, according to the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Mahboubeh Shabani was arrested in the city of Mashhad during the protests. She’s charged with “enmity of God,” which carries the death sentence, according to human rights monitor Hengaw.

Diana Taher Abadi and Ghazal Ghalandari are both 16, and were arrested separately in Karaj, west of Tehran, and Yasuj in southwestern Iran during the protests, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Venus Hossein Nejad, from the Bahai faith, was arrested in January from her workplace in southeast Iran. She was forced to confess on state TV and was accused with others of organizing protests and being members of a “satanic network and under the influence of Israel,” the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said.

Golnar Naraqi, a 37-year-old emergency physician, was arrested in Tehran during the protests, according to a state-affiliated newspaper.

Two women were identified by Iranian social media as Ensieh Nejati and Panah Movahhedi Salamat. There was no immediate confirmed reports about their whereabouts.

Despite a ceasefire, the Israeli military says Hezbollah launched rockets at troops in Lebanon

The army said the rockets were fired at Israeli soldiers positioned in southern Lebanon and that it responded by striking the launcher.

This appears to be the first time Hezbollah fired on Israeli troops since a ceasefire took effect Friday, although the Iran-backed group said it detonated explosives Sunday targeting an Israeli convoy inside Lebanon.

“The launches constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the army said.

Israel has left thousands of troops inside Lebanon during the 10-day truce.

The army says it also intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon before it crossed into Israeli territory.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

Trump calls on Iran to release 8 women ahead of potential truce talks

The president reposted a photo of six women and two teen girls on social media Tuesday morning that a conservative activist noted are facing prosecution by the Iranian government.

“I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm!” Trump posted. “Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”

Five of those in the photo flagged by Trump were arrested during widespread anti-government protests earlier this year, according to human rights groups.

One of the women, from Iran’s minority Bahai faith, is accused of being part of a network described as “satanic and under the influence of Israel.”

Iranian media sites identified two others in Trump’s posting but did not offer details on why they were detained.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says his government has not yet decided whether to join ceasefire negotiations

Esmail Baghaei told state TV late Tuesday that Iran was upset about what he called mixed messages from the Americans.

“It is not out of indecisiveness, it is because we are facing contradictory messages and behaviors, and unacceptable actions from the American counterpart,” he said.

US military seeks to boost spending on drones, air defenses and fighter jets

As part of Trump’s push to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion in the 2027 budget, the Pentagon wants to triple spending on drones and related technology to more than $74 billion and invest over $30 billion into more critical munitions.

That includes missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

Military officials said the spending blueprint was developed ahead of the conflict in the Middle East. They also did not discuss how much they will request in additional funds for the war.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the U.S. must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

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Israel’s military says it has replaced a crucifix in southern Lebanon after a soldier smashed it down

The Israeli military posted a photo on social media of the replacement crucifix, which appeared smaller but more ornate than the original statue that a soldier was photographed destroying in southern Lebanon. Israel says two soldiers involved in the episode will be held for a month in military detention.

Tuesday’s post on X said troops worked with the community in the Lebanese village of Debel to coordinate the replacement, which includes a metallic-sheened Jesus figure and four paintings of saints, one on each arm of the cross.

Christians are estimated to make up around a third of Lebanon’s population of roughly 5.5 million people. Thousands of Christians were displaced from their homes in the country’s south during the war.

EU diplomats agree to new sanctions targeted Iranians obstructing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz

“Today we also reach the political agreement to widen our sanctions regime, to also target those responsible for breaches to freedom of navigation,” said the 27-nation European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after the Tuesday gathering in Luxembourg.

“Freedom of navigation is non-negotiable. Daily U-turns where the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the strait must remain free of charge,” she said, referring to Iran’s charging for safe passage on the Strait of Hormuz.

Kallas said the EU’s maritime security mission would be “the quickest way” to ensure safe transit in the Persian Gulf after peace is settled.

Vance is still in Washington

The vice president was participating in policy meetings at the White House on Tuesday morning, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The vice president’s office and the White House on Tuesday did not respond to messages inquiring about whether he still intends to travel to Pakistan for talks with Iran.

Iran-allied Yemeni rebels warn against escalation in the region

Even if the U.S.-Iran ceasefire holds and the current war ends, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said “there is no doubt that further rounds of fighting are coming, as it is merely a truce within a continuous conflict with the enemy.”

In a televised speech Tuesday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned that escalation in the region is “possibly high” as the “fragile” ceasefire is nearing an end.

A Houthi missile attack on Israel last month raised concern that Iran’s ally in Yemen may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes, as it did during the war in Gaza.

Gulf shipping crews are stranded amid maritime attacks, UN agency warns

At least 10 seafarers have been killed and several more severely injured in a series of attacks on commercial vessels around the Persian Gulf since the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, according to the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for regulating global shipping.

IMO spokesperson Natasha Brown said the agency has confirmed 25 attacks on commercial shipping since Feb. 28. Hundreds of ships have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since.

“Around 20,000 civilian seafarers remain aboard vessels in the Persian Gulf, facing dwindling supplies, fatigue and severe psychological stress,” Brown added.

Following an extraordinary council session in March, the IMO said it is working with “relevant states on the development of a safe passage framework” to evacuate stranded crews, while coordinating access to supplies.

Pentagon wants to spend billions for more crucial missile interceptors

U.S. military officials said Tuesday that the Pentagon’s budget calls for spending more than $30 billion to buy more critical munitions, including missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

The supplies under the most strain are the Patriot air defense systems and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors. The THAAD system is designed for defeating medium-range ballistic missiles, while the Patriot system is for taking down short-range ballistic missiles and crewed aircraft.

The $30 billion budget item will also purchase long-range Precision Strike Missiles and Mid-Range Capability missile systems that are used by the U.S. Army.

A new budget request from the Pentagon would triple spending on drone technology

The $1.5 trillion budget proposal detailed Tuesday by defense officials would allocate nearly $54 billion for military drones and related technology, as well as $21 billion for weapons systems designed to take down enemy drones.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the U.S. must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

“Drone warfare is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield,” Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of defense, comptroller, told reporters during a budget briefing at the Pentagon.

“This budget is the largest investment in drone warfare and counter-drone technology in U.S. history.”

Israel disciplines 2 soldiers for destruction of Jesus statue

One of the soldiers photographed the other using what appears to be a sledgehammer to hack down the crucifix during military operations in the Lebanese village. The two will be held in military detention for 30 days.

“The soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values,” said a military statement, using the acronym for the Israeli military.

The disciplinary measures come after the photo of the incident attracted worldwide attention and condemnations from Christian religious leaders. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have also denounced the incident.

The military said that six other soldiers who stood by without intervening would be summoned for conversations with higher-ups and that military protocol for dealing with religious buildings and artifacts were re-emphasized to troops in the area.

Pakistan calls for Iran ceasefire extension in meeting with US diplomat

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister met U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Tuesday, urging that Washington and Iran extend the ceasefire and pursue diplomacy, the Foreign Ministry said.

In a statement, it said Ishaq Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability.”

Baker, in response, conveyed Washington’s appreciation for Pakistan’s constructive role in supporting regional peace and facilitating dialogue, the statement said.

More on the UAE as US weighs offering it a currency swap

The United Arab Emirates, an autocratically ruled federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula that’s home to Dubai, became wealthy from its oil deposits. It pegs its currency, the dirham, to the U.S. dollar.

While it has been able to send some of its oil out via a pipeline to the Gulf of Oman, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has squeezed the country’s oil exports.

The UAE has an estimated $2.5 trillion in savings and sovereign wealth funds, but may be seeking the swap to “bolster investor confidence in the UAE’s financial position if the war were to drag on,” said Jason Tuvey, an analyst at Capital Economics.

Trump says administration is weighing currency swap for UAE

Trump confirmed in his CNBC interview that he’s considering a request from the United Arab Emirates Central bank for a currency swap to help secure dollar liquidity for the oil-rich economy that’s been rattled by the Iran conflict.

The president expressed surprise that the nation needs assistance, but made clear he was open to the prospect of making the move to help meet his ally’s concerns.

“I mean I’m surprised because they are really rich,” Trump said. He added, “You know, they’re very good for this country. So, yeah, if I could help them, I would.”

Trump says he doesn’t want to extend Iran ceasefire if talks with US progress

Trump was responding to a question during a live telephone interview Tuesday on CNBC, a business news network.

Asked if he would continue the ceasefire if there’s progress in the next round of Iran talks, Trump said, “Well, I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.” He said Iran “had a choice” and “they have to negotiate.”

But it remained unclear when the ceasefire actually expires. Tuesday night was the deadline when the pause was announced two weeks ago, but Trump told Bloomberg News the ceasefire will expire Wednesday night.

Trump says he’s ready to resume Iran bombardment if talks don’t go well

In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump was asked directly if he’d resume strikes if there isn’t progress in the coming talks in Islamabad.

“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said. “But, you know, we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”

Pakistan says it tests locally made anti-ship cruise missile

The navy says it successfully conducted a live firing of the Taimoor air-launched missile.

The announcement comes amid the Pakistani navy’s ongoing efforts to escort merchant vessels transiting key routes including the Strait of Hormuz.

US forces board oil tanker sanctioned for smuggling Iranian oil

The Pentagon on social media says U.S. forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.” Ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The announcement described the boarding as happening overnight. It added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

Regional officials say US and Iran arriving Wednesday for Round Two

Neither the U.S. nor Iran have publicly confirmed the timing of talks. Iranian state television has denied any official is already in Pakistan’s capital.

Pakistan-led mediators received confirmation that the top negotiators, Vance and Qalibaf, will arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

A two-week ceasefire is due to expire.

— By Munir Ahmed and Samy Magdy

McCollum not only replaced Young in Atlanta, now he's replaced him in Madison Square Garden — as the villain who carried the Hawks past the New York Knicks in a playoff game.

“I ain't no villain,” McCollum said. “I'm a nice guy with two kids and a wife.”

The veteran guard scored 32 points Monday night to help the Hawks rally for a stunning 107-106 victory that tied the Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece.

He was profanely taunted by the Garden fans after he and Jose Alvarado went nose-to-nose and were each given technical fouls in the third quarter, just as Young was in a 2021 first-round series. And just like Young did in Game 1 of that series when New Yorkers picked him as their target, he made the big plays late that left them silent.

“I love it. I love it. That’s why we play the game,” McCollum said. “It’s fun being in opposing arenas and when the buzzer sounds and it’s quiet and you walk off the court, I think there’s a level of mutual respect.”

When the Hawks decided to move on from their longtime star guard, coach Quin Snyder knew McCollum could step in as a veteran leader on a young team. But he also knew the 34-year-old could replace some of the firepower Young had provided.

“Yeah, I felt like we needed both, you know?” Snyder said. “Being in the West for a while, I’ve watched him do that when he was in Portland.”

Then it was on to New Orleans, before the Pelicans dealt him in July to Washington. Then came the trade to Atlanta and what McCollum called his “light at the end of the tunnel.”

“I’m just thankful to be able to play in the playoffs on a good team in a good situation,” McCollum said. “I think you take the journey for what it is in stride and just hope for the best. And I think when you do things the right way you get rewarded at the end of the tunnel, and my reward is playing the Knicks in the Garden.”

He outplayed counterpart Jalen Brunson, seemingly looking for every opportunity to go 1-on-1 at the Knicks All-Star, and made the go-ahead basket, a jumper with 33 seconds to play.

He left the door open for the Knicks to win by missing two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining, but Mikal Bridges missed a jumper. Now the Knicks have to win at least once at Atlanta — and figure out how to cool off McCollum.

“CJ hit a couple big buckets late. He hit his and we missed ours and you give a guy like CJ a lot of credit,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “That’s what those guys are supposed to do and he got it done.”

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

Hayden, 73, who headed the Library of Congress from 2016-2025 and worked in libraries for much of her adult life, cited her profession as a vital bridge between writers and the general public.

“Libraries are where storytelling meets opportunity,” she told the audience gathered for the Guild's annual dinner-gala, held at Cipriani Wall Street. “They are where a child discovers a first favorite book, where a new American finds language and belonging and where research uncovers hidden history, and where communities see themselves in the pages of literature. Libraries do more than house books. You know that. They connect people to ideas, to knowledge, and to one another. They ensure that storytelling is not reserved for the few, but shared by all.”

Hayden, was among three honorees, along with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Percival Everett and “The Joy Luck Club” author Amy Tan. Hayden, the first woman and first Black person to be appointed Librarian of Congress, didn’t refer to Trump or her ouster during her brief remarks. But her speech was an implicit rebuttal to Trump's attacks against what he calls “woke" culture that have been directed at her and at such cultural institutions as the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution.

She praised libraries as “engines of accessibility and inclusion” and as havens for free expression at a time of record-high book bans.

“In many places today, librarians are under attack for believing in the power of the written word and in the principle that free people should be able to read freedom,” she said. “Yet librarians remain steady and hopeful.”

The gala was a forum for opposing bans and for other causes crucial to the Guild and to the thousands of published writers its represents. Author David Baldacci was among those who denounced AI, which has been the subject of various lawsuits filed by writers against Microsoft,OpenAI and other companies that alleges their work had been used without their permission for AI generative programs. Baldacci was among several writers present who have been plaintiffs in legal action, and his name was invoked later in the evening: It was attached to the prize given to Everett, the Baldacci Award for Literary Activism.

Everett, 69, whose “James” won the Pulitzer and the National Book Award, is a prolific author and longtime academic who joked that receiving an honor for activism was like being called an athletic chess player. His books are known for their cutting and provocative takes on racism and other subjects, and he referred indirectly to Hayden's departure by picturing a future — one he finds all too plausible — in which the only kinds of works available at the Library of Congress are the writings of Ayn Rand and other conservative favorites.

“That is where we are, and I can't tell you how sad I am about this,” Everett said.

Tan, 74, was cited for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community. Besides writing “The Joy Luck Club” and such novels as “The Kitchen God's Wife” and “The Bonesetter's Daughter,” she also has a long history of supporting emerging writers and for helping young people pay for treatment for Lyme disease, which she has suffered from for decades.

Tan offered a deeply personal account of the importance of writing, thinking and how she came to think of herself, and other writers, as “political.” As a girl, she was chastised by a minister for reading the allegedly immoral “The Catcher in the Rye.” The minister then assaulted her, an attack that left her devastated, an “unwanted life lesson" that made her question everything and set her on a path to storytelling that was compassionate and intrinsically “political” because of its power to change minds.

“Books, by their nature, have far reaching consequences regardless of our conscious intentions. Books have readers, readers have reactions and what they do with those reactions is of consequence,” said Tan, a daughter of Chinese immigrants who summarized herself as a “writer, an American writer, an American who uses her freedom of expression."

Four years after the queen’s death, the shop is doing a brisk business in mugs, tea towels and key rings bearing the likeness of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch as the nation marks the centenary of her birth on Tuesday. Items featuring her son King Charles III? Well, not so much.

“We still sell more than the king any day,’’ said Ismail Ibrahim, the store’s manager.

The late queen’s memory looms over the monarchy after a 70-year reign that saw her evolve from the glamorous young sovereign who cheered Britain during the gloomy post-war years to the beloved national grandmother who rallied the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still ‘the queen’

When she died in September 2022, Elizabeth was the only monarch most Britons had ever known. Even now, mention of “the queen” is more likely to evoke thoughts of Elizabeth than of Queen Camilla, Charles' wife.

But the passage of time has also tarnished the late queen’s legacy. While she is celebrated as a symbol of tradition and continuity who helped unite Britain as the end of empire, economic struggles and mass migration changed the nation’s perception of itself, revelations about the former Prince Andrew’s links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have raised questions about why she let the problem fester for years.

“Despite her absence, Elizabeth II remains this key presence whenever we think about the monarchy,’’ Ed Owens, author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?’’ told The Associated Press.

“She’s certainly the most significant figure in the history of the institution in the last 100 years and, I think, therefore deserves probably the attention that’s going to be focused on her in connection with what would have been her 100th birthday.”

The festivities include a Buckingham Palace reception where Charles will congratulate centenarians who share the late monarch's birthday, and the dedication of a memorial garden at Regent's Park in central London. An exhibit of the queen's fashions is already underway.

An unexpected reign

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor wasn’t meant to wear the crown. Born on April 21, 1926, she started her long life not in a castle but at 17 Bruton St., a townhouse in London’s Mayfair district.

As the elder daughter of King George V’s second son, Elizabeth was expected to live the life of a minor royal. Dogs and horses, a country house, a suitable match — a comfortable but somewhat anonymous life — seemed her future.

But destiny intervened. A decade after Elizabeth’s birth, her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth’s father became King George VI, thrusting the young princess into the spotlight as heir to throne.

Elizabeth became queen the day her father died on Feb. 6, 1952. Just 25, she heard the news in Kenya and hurried home to take up her duties.

Global ambassador

For decades, she presided over the annual opening of Parliament in crown and ermine robe, hosted banquets for visiting leaders at Buckingham Palace and made thousands of appearances across the U.K., often wearing brightly colored suits to make sure the people could catch a glimpse of their queen.

She also became a global ambassador for brand Britain, making more than 200 overseas trips that helped bolster ties with one-time colonies from India to Tanzania, former enemies Germany and Japan and long-time friends such as the United States.

Late in life, the queen became an internet star when she and James Bond star Daniel Craig used moviemaking sleight of hand to parachute into the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and teamed up with Paddington Bear to celebrate her 70 years on the throne.

The king recalled his mother's impact on people around the world in a video tribute released Tuesday.

“Millions will remember her for moments of national significance; many others for a fleeting personal encounter, a smile, a kind word that lifted spirits, or for that marvelous twinkle of the eye when sharing a marmalade sandwich with Paddington Bear in the final months of her life,'' he said.

In a world of relentless change, she moved with the times — applauding the nation’s successes and consoling Britons during difficult times, while remaining above the fray of politics, Robert Hardman, author of “Elizabeth II: In private. In public. The Inside Story,’’ told the AP.

Scandal's shadow

But those accomplishments make her failure to end the scandal surrounding her second son even more glaring.

Despite concerns about his boorish behavior, questionable business dealings and unsavory friends, Andrew spent 10 years as Britain’s special envoy for international trade and remained a prince of the realm until the details of his relationship with Epstein were revealed last year. In an effort to shield the monarchy from the continuing fallout, Charles fi nally stripped his younger brother of his princely title. He is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

“He was problematic and that gave her cause for worry,’’ Hardman said. “But I do think people let him have an easy ride because they thought if they came down hard on him, they might somehow upset the queen. Now that’s partly attributable to her, but partly attributable to others.”

Besides, her “great achievements’’ far outweighed any errors, Hardman said.

Elizabeth took the throne as a young woman with two small children at a time before jet travel existed and no one had even thought of going to the moon, then remained a constant presence in British public life across generations.

“She just reigned through this vast span of the ages and was as authoritative and loved and respected at the end as she was at the beginning,” Hardman said. “And she was working till the very end, ‘til her last day.”

As historians debate the queen’s legacy, members of the public are making their own judgements.

Take Sylvie Deneux, and her daughter Clara, who stopped by Cool Britannia during a visit to London from their home in Lille, France.

They praised the late monarch for her elegance and described her as an icon. But when asked about Mountbatten-Windsor, Sylvie Deneux, 49, paused and looked at her daughter. Failing to quickly quash the scandal was a mistake, she said. But Deneux could still muster sympathy for Elizabeth, because she made those decisions as a mother, not as a queen.

“Can we blame her?’’ she asked. “I’m not sure.”

La lista está integrada por los abogados Néctor Guilebaldo de León, Zoila Tatiana Morales, César Avila, Julio Rivera Clavería, Beyla Estrada y Gabriel García Luna. Arévalo deberá tomar su decisión a más tardar el 16 de mayo, último día de Porras en el cargo.

La comisión —integrada por los decanos de las facultades de derecho del país, el colegio de abogados y la presidenta de la Corte Suprema de Justicia— revisó los expedientes de 48 candidatos a fiscal general y recibió duras críticas por modificar los criterios para calificar a los aspirantes.

Debido a estos cambios, la comisión no otorgó valor alguno a los 25 años de experiencia como juez del ministro de Gobernación Marco Villeda, uno de los hombres de confianza de Arévalo.

El panel, integrado por 15 personas, postuló a los 12 candidatos con la mayor calificación. Porras alcanzó la nota más alta con 92 puntos, pero no recibió el apoyo de los miembros de la comisión.

Porras buscaba su tercer periodo a pesar de que ha sido objeto de sanciones de más de 40 países, incluidos Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea, por socavar la democracia de guatemalteca y obstaculizar la lucha anticorrupción.

Porras intentó impedir la llegada de Arévalo al poder en 2023, a pesar de ganar las elecciones. La fiscalía lo acusó en su momento de presunto fraude electoral y otros delitos, e incluso llegó a secuestrar boletas, solicitándole a un juez que proscribiera al partido político con el que llegó al poder.

La Relatora Especial sobre la Independencia de los magistrados y abogados de Naciones Unidas, Margaret Satterthwaite, cuestionó en 2015 a la fiscalía —a cargo de Porras— por mantener una política de criminalización contra colectivos, operadores judiciales, líderes sociales y periodistas como represalia por sus denuncias de corrupción.

“El presidente de la república está al tanto y espera la lista definitiva para continuar el proceso de evaluación de perfiles”, señaló la oficina de presidencia después de darse a conocer los nombres de los aspirantes.

El exfiscal Juan Francisco Sandoval, quien denunció desde el exilio a Porras por presuntos actos de criminalización, señaló que la lista de candidatos “sin duda” marca el cierre de un ciclo de ocho años que estuvo profundamente cuestionado por el grave daño que causó al sistema de justicia”.

“Se abre una oportunidad real para redefinir el rumbo del Ministerio Público”, subrayó.

Añadió, sin embargo, que el proceso ha provocado inquietudes al haber pasado por alto a abogados con trayectoria y capacidad que debieron ser considerados, especialmente a los perfiles de jueces. Afirmó que su omisión "transmite un mensaje equivocado sobre el valor de la carrera judicial".

Sandoval agregó que la decisión del presidente será determinante. “No se trata únicamente de nombrar a una persona, sino de decidir si el país apuesta por la reconstrucción institucional del Ministerio Público o por la continuidad de las prácticas que tanto daño le han hecho a la justicia guatemalteca”.

Owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week announced the newspaper's sale to a nonprofit foundation that said it was committed to keeping it open. A news outlet that predates the U.S. Constitution was due to close on May 3, which would have made the Steel City the nation's largest community without a city-based paper.

Weeks earlier, the alternative Pittsburgh City Paper, whose staff learned on New Year's Day that it was closing after 34 years, roared back to life under new ownership.

They were rare positive developments for a local news industry that has seen its share of the opposite over the past two decades — newsrooms shuttered or thinned out, journalists thrown out of work, consumers drifting away. No one is pretending that a true turnaround will be easy in Pittsburgh. One thing that may help is that the city faced a news abyss and was forced to prepare for it.

“It's human nature that sometimes you have to be shaken a bit to realize what's important in your life,” said Halle Stockton, co-executive director and editor-in-chief of the digital news outlet Public Source.

The many incarnations of the Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Gazette was born on July 29, 1786, the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains. It went through several names with the expansion and contraction of a newspaper market that supported seven at the beginning of the 20th century. There was The Commercial Gazette, the Gazette-Times and, briefly, the Pittsburgh Gazette and Manufacturing and Mercantile Advertiser.

A consolidation caused by the closing of the Pittsburgh Post in 1927 made it the Post-Gazette, which has remained its name for 99 years.

It had a solid reputation, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. “The Post-Gazette is really the paper of record for this city,” said Kevin Acklin, chief of staff to a former Pittsburgh mayor and former president of the Penguins hockey team. The other longtime “paper of record,” The Pittsburgh Press, closed in 1992 after a Teamsters Union strike.

Labor woes marred the Post-Gazette's last few years as well. Much of the staff was on strike between 2022 and 2025, though the newspaper limped along. Its owner, Block Communications, Inc., announced the closing on the same January day that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its appeal of a ruling on health benefits seen as favorable to former strikers.

Since then, rumors about its future ebbed and flowed. Acklin worked this winter with other investors to buy the newspaper, but a potential deal fell through when Block insisted the union not be part of it.

To anyone watching closely, a clue to the newspaper's future was revealed across town in mid-March.

“You thought we were dead and gone, didn't you?” Ali Trachta, top editor at the Pittsburgh City Paper, wrote on the outlet's revived website. “So did I. But, to be honest, only very briefly.” She announced that the paper was returning to cover community news, politics, the arts “and the creative, weird and uniquely Pittsburgh stories” that have defined it since its founding in 1991.

A new nonprofit, Local Matters, led by a former engineering manager at Apple, had gathered investors to buy the City Paper. It would return to printed editions on a monthly basis and was launching a membership program for readers to pledge support. Most of its staff would return. The paper used to print weekly until its previous owner in 2025 said it would shift to only four printed editions a year.

That former owner? Block Communications.

A new nonprofit enters Pittsburgh's civic arena

When Block announced its sale of the Post-Gazette last week, it was also to a nonprofit. The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which publishes the digital success story The Baltimore Banner, bought the Post-Gazette even though Block said it was not the highest bidder. Many in Pittsburgh feared it would be sold to a hedge fund notorious for stripping newspapers of resources.

Does that make Block, long seen as a villain in the local journalism industry, a hero in this story?

“For better or worse, the Blocks will never get credit for that," said Andrew Conte, a journalism professor at Point Park University who runs Pittsburgh's Center for Media Innovation. “But it does seem like they made an effort to come up with the best outcome they could as they were leaving Pittsburgh. They could have just walked away and said, ‘You know, we’re done.'”

Now the work begins. Venetoulis officials did not return inquiries from The Associated Press. The institute's benefactor, hotel magnate Stewart Bainum Jr., has said that he plans to invest $30 million in both the Banner and Post-Gazette over the next five years. The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said it hopes to be part of the process of rebuilding. Whether the union will be invited is uncertain.

“This is going to be one of the most closely-watched newspaper acquisitions in years,” said Tim Franklin, founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University. “Can a money-losing newspaper with serious labor strife be saved and resurrected as a non-profit? If Stewart Bainum and his team pull this off — and I hope they do — it could be a model for the nation.”

Anticipating a Pittsburgh without the Post-Gazette, other news sources in the city had begun making plans to fill gaps in the marketplace, and they're not necessarily changing them because of the sale.

Another area newspaper, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, will reinstate a Sunday print edition in Pittsburgh on May 9. It had stopped printing in the city a decade ago. The Trib is also going ahead with adding about a dozen new journalists to boost its coverage of business, health care, transportation and education, said Jennifer Bertetto, its CEO. Based in Greensburg, 30 miles to the east of Pittsburgh, some city residents view the Trib as an outsider.

Stockton's Public Source, launched in 2011 primarily as a home for investigative news stories, is widening its outlook. The outlet has also convened town halls over the past few months for residents to talk about what they want in local news, and published a list of 40 to 50 small news outlets in the region that focus on subject areas like the arts and business, or different neighborhoods and towns.

People less engaged in news were looking for new ideas. “People are actively interested in where they get their information and who they can trust for it,” Stockton said. “So we're leaning into that.”

With their careers in limbo the past several months, Post-Gazette content editor Erin Hebert and photographer Steve Mellon were among several journalists meeting regularly as the Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting, or PAPER, seeing if they could create a digital news site. Hebert said it hasn’t been decided what will happen now with those plans.

Conte can walk a few blocks from the university to show office space set aside for journalists from small, local publications. He hopes to convince the Tribune-Review to print a periodic insert featuring the best reporting from these outlets.

Talk to someone young, and the challenge is obvious

A clue to the challenge faced by news organizations in 2026 is obvious when speaking to students in Conte’s journalism class. When they're asked how many had checked the Post-Gazette's website that morning, only a couple of hands tentatively go up.

Sites like Instagram or TikTok are often their destinations for news. It’s more convenient and without pay walls, said Gabriela Wait. The journalism students know to check with more reliable sources if they’re not sure they can believe what they see. Many of their friends don’t.

Makenna Smith recalled her grandparents and parents reading newspapers when she was growing up, keeping them informed and entertained. Few people her age have the same habit.

A study released earlier this month by the Pew Research Center showed that public interest in news is a problem for all ages. Pew found that 37% of Americans in 2016 said they followed local news very closely. That dropped to 21% in 2025.

To Conte, that reinforces the need for news organizations to cooperate. A former Trib reporter, he recalled his paper's bitter competition with the Post-Gazette.

“Literally, they were trying to kill each other,” he said. “I don't think any of us want to go back to a point where we're doing that. We've evolved. We're trying to work together. Even if we're competing for scoops and clicks and dollars, there's also a benefit to having us get around the same table once a month.”

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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

“This case will come down to power, to control and to manipulation,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Candace White told jurors as opening statements began in the bellwether #MeToo case, with DA Alvin Bragg watching from the audience.

Weinstein lawyer Jacob Kaplan countered that the case actually “is about consent, about choice and about regret,” echoing Weinstein's longtime defense that his accuser has recast a willing encounter as a crime.

Since Weinstein became a major target of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct nearly a decade ago, he has been convicted of some sexual assault charges and acquitted of others in trials on two U.S. coasts. A couple of charges ultimately were dismissed. But the rape charge involving a 2013 encounter in a Manhattan hotel has lingered, due to an overturned conviction followed by a jury deadlock.

The allegation is, by now, well known. But the contours of the case have changed.

The prior trials included other accusers and charges. This trial is pared down to the single question of what happened in a hotel room one morning between Weinstein and hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann, though jurors will again also hear a lot about their relationship before and after.

Weinstein also switched his legal team, and with it the rhetorical style and perhaps some strategic choices in his defense. His new attorneys have made clear that they intend to be more circumspect about broaching, for example, Mann's compensation from a claims fund for women who said Weinstein sexually mistreated them.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies ever having nonconsensual sex. He said in court in January that he had been unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The jury — seven men and five women — was selected last week. Weinstein's last New York jury was majority-female, but his first was mostly male.

Now a 73-year-old prison inmate, Weinstein was once one of the most influential people in Hollywood. An Academy Award-winning producer and a studio boss, he helped bring such acclaimed films as “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “Gangs of New York” to movie houses and the popular reality series “Project Runway” to TV. He also was a prominent Democratic donor.

His career collapsed in 2017, when years of Hollywood whispers about his behavior toward women became public accusations in news and social media. Criminal charges followed in New York and Los Angeles.

Mann was a 27-year-old hairstylist hoping to break into big-time acting when she met Weinstein at a Los Angeles-area party in early 2013.

She has testified that she was looking for a professional connection but ended up, ambivalently, in a consensual relationship with the then-married Weinstein.

During a New York trip with a friend in March 2013, she arranged a breakfast for pals and Weinstein, she said at previous trials. According to Mann's prior testimony, Weinstein ultimately trapped her in a hotel room, ignored her protestation that “I don't want to do this,” demanded she undress and grabbed her arms, and she succumbed because she “just wanted to get out.”

White told jurors Tuesday that Weinstein “was used to getting his way. He did what he wanted, when he wanted and with whom he wanted.” She added, “Behind closed doors, power meant him taking what he wanted from the victim in this case.”

Weinstein shook his head slightly at one point as White claimed that he had “silenced” Mann by letting her know that crossing him could be professional quicksand.

Weinstein's defense emphasized that after the alleged rape, Mann kept seeing Weinstein, accepting invitations, asking him for career help and sending warm messages to him.

She has said she was trying to avoid angering a volatile and well-connected man. But his lawyer said the case “isn’t a ‘he said, she said' — it will be her word against her own word.”

“Ask yourself: What is Jessica Mann getting from Harvey Weinstein?” Kaplan told jurors. He contended that she reevaluated the relationship and came to regret it years later, but that “does not remove consent.”

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be named, as Mann has done.

The trial is expected to take up to four weeks.

Many advocates in the aftermath of the deadly shootings have said the tragedies pointedly highlight troubling trends in which Black women are more likely to experience domestic violence — and they see the killings as an opportunity to confront how disparities in access to care and resources make some women and children more vulnerable to violence in the home.

On Sunday morning, a man police identified as Shamar Elkins fatally shot seven of his children and another child in Shreveport, Louisiana. A relative has said Elkins was in the midst of separating from his wife who was wounded.

And last Thursday, police found the bodies of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his estranged wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, in their suburban Washington, D.C., home. Justin Fairfax shot his estranged wife and then himself, and their two children in the home at the time were unhurt, police said. Like Elkins, Fairfax was in the process of separating from his wife and had faced a judge's upcoming deadline to move from the house.

While it's not clear what prompted the Shreveport killings or the apparent murder-suicide in Annandale, Virginia, experts say that the harrowing details of the killings echo familiar patterns that play out in homes across the country — and underscore the need for solutions that address the root causes of the disparate violence.

A ‘silent epidemic’

Sunday wasn’t the first time that Elkins’ family had suffered from gender-based gun violence: Shaneiqua Elkins and the other woman who was shot, Keosha Pugh, were sisters, and lost their mother to gun violence when they were under age 10, according to their uncle Lionel Pugh.

“It’s sad. It just breaks you down," Pugh said.

Shreveport Councilman Grayson Boucher said at a news conference Monday that the Louisiana killings were emblematic of “a true epidemic of domestic violence" across the small southern city of roughly 180,000 people.

Those trends go well beyond Shreveport as experts have pointed out how both race and gender make Black women in particular more vulnerable to domestic violence.

More than four in 10 Black women experience physical violence from an intimate partner during their lifetimes — a much higher rate than women who are white, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander — according to a 2014 study by the Centers for Disease Control.

Paméla Tate is the executive director of Black Women Revolt, which runs programs to prevent abuse and offers survivors' resources. She said a logical skepticism about police and government child services agencies based on a history of institutionalized racism makes Black women reluctant to seek help — and especially vulnerable to domestic violence.

Additionally, Black women are two times more likely to be murdered by men than their white counterparts, according to a 2025 study published by the Violence Policy Center, based on federal government data from 2023. Those men are more often than not familiar to their victims, according to the study, which found that more than nine in 10 Black female victims knew their killers, with the majority of those killings being carried out with guns.

Ultimately, Tate said, “domestic violence doesn't see color," and is primarily driven by the prevalent belief among men — across racial demographics — that women are subjects or property.

“Domestic violence is about exerting power over someone that you profess to love and controlling their behavior,” Tate said.

Lack of resources for Black men

There has been intense speculation about the role that mental health crises might have played in both shootings.

A relative of Elkins' wife told The Associated Press that Elkins had voluntarily checked into a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in January for about a week and a half for mental health help.

In Virginia, Justin Fairfax was a rising star in the Democratic Party until two women accused him of sexual assault, casting doubt on his trustworthiness as a political leader. The former lieutenant governor's “mental and emotional health” suffered before he killed his wife and himself, according to court documents, which say he drank heavily and withdrew from his family after the allegations were made public in 2019.

Dr. Christine Crawford, an adult and child psychiatrist, hasn’t examined the killings in Shreveport or Annandale, but said financial troubles, marital issues and problems at work — in addition to underlying mental health vulnerabilities — can lead someone to “crack."

“It makes some think about the amount of pain, distress and hopelessness they found themselves in at that time,” said Crawford, who practices at the Webster Clinic in Boston and is interim chief medical officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

She noted many Black people find themselves priced out of programs and care for mental health for such reasons as private care costs and a lack of insurance.

That level of desperation can make some people feel “completely out of options on how to deal with the pain he was in at that moment," Crawford said.

Some have said that there are social dimensions to these economic trends, too.

“Mental health disparities in the Black community is not accidental,” said University of Michigan Social Work Professor Daphne C. Watkins. “They are the predictable result of structural racism” in schools, employment and other aspects of society.

Watkins, founder of the YBMen Project which provides young Black men with a safe place to discuss their mental health, manhood and social support, said studies show that 10% of Black adults experience moderate to severe depression, while 18% experience anxiety disorders.

But Black men tend to forego mental health treatment due to cultural expectations, in addition to costs, said Watkins. Without an outlet, stressors from family, work and relationships can pile up.

“For a long time, in the Black community, we didn’t talk about anxiety. Now, you have to talk about it hand in hand along with depression.”

Mental health not an excuse, some say

Others have emphatically said that mental health is not an excuse for domestic violence.

“To say they’re mentally ill, that doesn’t cut it,” Tate said. “There are people who are depressed or people who have schizophrenia and don’t harm the their partners, much less kill them.”

Shaneiqua Elkins and Cerina Fairfax could have been struggling with mental health challenges too, Tate added, and they both “had the same access or ability to go and purchase a gun” but chose not to.

“The mental illness is not what we’re talking about here,” she said.

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Associated Press writer Sophie Bates contributed in Shreveport, Louisiana.

A proposed constitutional amendment backed by Democratic officials would bypass the state's bipartisan redistricting commission to allow use of new congressional districts approved by state lawmakers in this year's midterm elections.

The referendum, which needs a simple majority to pass, tests Democrats' ability to push back against President Donald Trump, who started the gerrymandering competition between states after successfully urging Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts in their favor last year. Virginia is the second state, after California last fall, to put the question to voters.

It also tests voters' willingness to accept districts gerrymandered for political advantage — coming just six years after Virginia voters approved an amendment meant to diminish such partisan gamesmanship by shifting redistricting away from the legislature.

Even if Democrats are successful Tuesday, the public vote may not be the final word. The state Supreme Court is considering whether the redistricting plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless.

Virginia Democrats are following California's lead

Congressional redistricting typically is done once a decade after each U.S. census. But Trump urged Texas Republicans to redistrict ahead of the November elections in hopes of winning several additional seats and maintaining the GOP's narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party that is out of power during midterms.

The Texas gambit led to a burst of redistricting nationwide. So far, Republicans believe they can win up to nine more House seats in newly redrawn districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.

Democrats think they can win up to five more seats in California, where voters approved a mid-decade redistricting effort last November, and one more seat under new court-imposed districts in Utah. Democrats hope to offset the rest of that gap in Virginia, where they decisively flipped 13 seats in the state House and won back the governor’s office last year.

Voters focus on fairness, with different perspectives

The stream of voters was steady Tuesday at a recreation center in the Old Town area of Alexandria, Virginia.

Matt Wallace, 31, said he votes regularly but this election has additional emphasis.

“I think the redistricting issue across the country is unfortunate, that we’ve had to resort to temporary redistricting in order to sort of alter our elections across the country," he said. Wallace said he voted for the Democratic redistricting amendment "to help balance the scales a bit until things get back to normal.”

Katie Reusch, 35, said she thought the amendment was necessary to respond to the Republicans' redrawing of congressional districts in Texas last year: “You can’t just say we’re in power so we’re changing things so we stay in power,” she said.

But Joanna Miller, 29, said she voted against the redistricting measure, “because I want my vote to count in a fair way.” Miller said she was more concerned about representation in Virginia than trying to offset actions in other states.

“I want my vote and my representation to matter this fall,” she said.

That concern is particularly acute among conservative voters in the state's rural areas, many of which would be drawn into congressional districts that will be dominated by Democratic-leaning cities and suburbs.

Ruth Ann McCartney, voting in the town of South Hill, a few miles north of the North Carolina border, said she cast her ballot against the amendment.

“I look at it more, not really in terms of Republican versus Democrat,” she said. “I look at it more as we don’t have the population as northern Virginia. And as a rural area, we just need to be heard.”

Political parties made a big push in Virginia

Leaders of both major parties see Tuesday’s vote as crucial to their chances to win a House majority in the fall. Trump weighed in via social media Tuesday morning, telling Virginians to “vote ‘no’ to save your country!”

Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, rallied with opponents of the measure Monday night, calling the redistricting plan “dishonest” and “brazenly deceptive.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day that a vote to approve the redraw “will serve as a check and balance on this out-of-control Trump administration.”

A committee supporting the Democratic redistricting effort had raised more than $64 million — three times as much as the roughly $20 million raised by opponents, according to finance reports filed less than two weeks before the election.

The back-and-forth battle over congressional districts is expected to continue in Florida, where the Republican-led legislature is scheduled to convene April 28 for a special session that could result in a more favorable map for Republicans.

A lobster-like district could aid Democratic efforts

In Virginia, Democrats currently hold six of the 11 U.S. House seats under districts that were imposed by the state Supreme Court in 2021 after a bipartisan commission failed to agree on a map based on the latest census data.

The new plan could help Democrats win as many as 10 seats. Five are anchored in Democratic-heavy northern Virginia, including one shaped like a lobster that stretches into Republican-leaning rural areas.

Revisions to four other districts across Richmond, southern Virginia and Hampton Roads dilute the voting power of conservative blocs in those areas. And a reshaped district in parts of western Virginia lumps together three Democratic-leaning college towns to offset other Republican voters.

The Virginia redistricting plan is "pushing back against what other states have done in trying to stack the deck for Donald Trump in those congressional elections,” Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger said during an online rally last week.

Ads for the “yes to redistricting” campaign featuring former President Barack Obama have flooded the airwaves.

Opponents have distributed campaign materials citing past statements from Obama and Spanberger criticizing gerrymandering, but those were before Trump pushed Republican states to redraw their congressional maps in advance of this year's midterms.

Democrats “were all against gerrymandering before they were for it,” Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeff Ryer said.

Virginia court weighs whether lawmakers acted illegally

Virginia lawmakers endorsed a constitutional amendment allowing their mid-decade redistricting last fall, then passed it again in January as part of a two-step process that requires an intervening election for an amendment to be placed on the ballot. The measure allows lawmakers to redistrict until returning the task to a bipartisan commission after the 2030 census.

In February, they passed a new U.S. House map to take effect pending the outcome of the redistricting referendum. Republicans have filed multiple legal challenges against the effort.

A Tazewell County judge ruled that the redistricting push was illegal for several reasons. Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. said lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session.

He ruled that their initial vote failed to occur before the public began casting ballots in last year’s general election and thus didn’t count toward the two-step process. He also ruled that the state failed to publish the amendment three months before that election, as required by law.

If the state Supreme Court agrees with the lower court, the results from Tuesday's vote could be rendered moot.

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Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed in South Hill, Virginia, Gary Fields in Alexandria, Virginia, and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.