According to the Miami Police Department, investigators determined there was no criminal intent involved in the crash that seriously injured Dr. Gilbert Beauperthuy-Rojas, 63.

Police said the decision came after an extensive investigation and consultation with assistant state attorneys.

The driver was issued a traffic summons for improper lane change on Wednesday, police confirmed.

Surgeon seriously injured while cycling

Beauperthuy-Rojas, an orthopedic surgeon affiliated with HCA Florida Mercy Hospital, was struck by an SUV while riding his bicycle along the Rickenbacker Causeway in Virginia Key on the morning of Aug. 29.

Miami Fire Rescue crews transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center following the collision.

His brother-in-law, Carlos G. Mendia, previously told Local 10 News that Beauperthuy-Rojas suffered extensive injuries, including damage to his liver and kidneys, cuts throughout his body and a spinal cord injury.

“He has some liver and kidney lacerations. He had cuts all over his body. He has a spinal cord injury. So far, the indications are that he has no movement or ability to move from the waist down,” Mendia said at the time.

Mendia said Beauperthuy-Rojas, an avid cyclist, had been riding alone in the designated bicycle lane when the SUV struck him.

The surgeon’s current medical condition was not included in the latest police update.

Family previously raised concerns about cyclist safety

Following the crash, Mendia spoke about the dangers cyclists face along the Rickenbacker Causeway and urged local officials to address safety concerns.

“It’s extremely dangerous. I plead with the officials, public officials, to find a solution to this,” Mendia said. “This is senseless.”

Mendia, who said Beauperthuy-Rojas introduced him to cycling in 2010, expressed concern about the risks of riding along the busy roadway.

Beauperthuy-Rojas has spent decades treating patients with sports-related injuries and degenerative conditions. He is also a former president of the Miami Orthopaedic Society.

Following the collision, colleagues at HCA Florida Mercy Hospital described him as both a respected physician and a valued member of the medical community.

“They not only describe him as a great physician, but a great person,” hospital spokesman Henry Garcia previously told Local 10 News.

Miami police initially said the driver involved in the collision was cooperating with investigators.

The department’s latest update confirms that “no criminal intent was established.”

On his new album, “Muse,” Legend dials back his powerhouse vocals on certain songs, adopting a more conversational delivery at Williams’ urging. It’s a departure for the EGOT winner, whose piano-driven ballads like “All of Me” and “Ordinary People” have helped define his career for more than two decades.

The 16-track project, out Friday, marks Legend’s first full album with Williams after more than 20 years of friendship. Recorded mostly at Williams’ studio inside Louis Vuitton’s Paris headquarters, it grew out of Legend’s appearance on Clipse’s “The Birds Don’t Sing,” which inspired Williams to build an album around his voice.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Legend discussed Williams’ creative influence, Jay-Z’s memorable compliment and composing his first original stage score for “Imitation of Life,” a new musical opening at The Shed in New York in December.

Remarks have been edited for brevity and clarity.

AP: You’ve achieved EGOT status and more than two decades of success. What do you still feel you have to prove?

LEGEND: I really want every project to be my best project. Every album to be my best album. That means continuing to push myself, continuing to challenge myself and not resting on all the work I’ve done before.

That also means trying new things. Working with Pharrell on an entire album was something new for me. I’m writing for Broadway now. Just finding new creative avenues to continue to throw some more challenges into the mix and seeing what it inspires in my creativity.

AP: Has the success of your piano ballads and songs like “All of Me” ever made you feel creatively boxed in?

LEGEND: No, not at all. Honestly, I feel like my success has made me feel empowered. It’s made me feel confident and trusting my voice, trusting my instincts. It’s allowed me to have relationships with record labels and other business partners where they trust my judgment and don’t over-micromanage me. … I think it allows me to operate from not being in a place of fear, but a place of confidence and willingness to try new things.

AP: What did Pharrell challenge you to do differently on “Muse”?

LEGEND: One of the things that he encouraged me to do on specific songs was to talk-sing in a way where it was like I was more speaking and having a conversation.

Like in “Fireflies,” some of the delivery of the verses of the song is more like I’m orating, like I’m speaking, rather than like I’m singing a melody. That was his idea, and I think it really works. … That’s why you work with new people, because they may bring new ideas to the table that you hadn’t tried before.

AP: Why did it take more than 20 years for you and Pharrell to make an entire album together?

LEGEND: Early in my career, I was signed to GOOD Music. Kanye (West) was very involved in executive producing all my albums, and so it wouldn’t have made sense for me to do a whole album with a whole other producer at the time. I’m more of a free agent now and able to just do whatever I want musically. My label, Republic Records, kind of lets me have free rein with whatever I want to do musically and wherever my muse takes me — no pun intended.

AP: You’ve worked with everyone from Lauryn Hill and Jay-Z to Nipsey Hussle, Rick Ross and Clipse. Do people overlook how much hip-hop has impacted your career?

LEGEND: I think a lot of people know it and they acknowledge it to me. Jay-Z one time came up to me and said, “You’re our voice.” I think a lot of hip-hop fans know that these MCs bring me onto a song when they think that I’ll add something special to it. … I love that hip-hop is such a big part of my legacy and my body of work over the years.

AP: What makes revisiting “Imitation of Life,” with its themes of race and identity, important now?

LEGEND: What we found interesting was the challenge of writing it as Black creatives and centering the Black woman Delilah at the heart of our storytelling in a way where she was never centered before. Making it a musical when it never was a musical before was also an interesting challenge. It allowed us to write an era that’s really interesting in our musical history and our cultural history, the time of the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age.

AP: What scares you more at this stage: taking a creative risk that doesn’t work or making music that no longer surprises you?

LEGEND: I don’t know if anything scares me. I would say I don’t want to get complacent. I want to continue to hold myself to a high standard, hold anything I release to a high standard, and I refuse to just rest on my laurels.

I guess you could call it fear, but I don’t think it’s really fear. It’s motivation and challenge that I put in front of myself.

The agency announced Thursday that it is waiving adoption fees in an effort to find homes for animals currently at the shelter while opening space for additional pets in need of care.

Although adoption fees have been waived, the standard pet registration fee will still apply.

Officials said overcrowding can negatively affect the quality of life of animals staying at the shelter, making it especially important to find permanent homes as quickly as possible.

“Our shelter needs the community’s help now,” said Doug Brightwell, director of Broward County Animal Care. “If you are ready to welcome a pet into your family, please consider adopting. You will give that animal a home and help us make room for another pet who needs care.”

Broward County Animal Care is encouraging residents who have been considering adding a pet to their family to visit the shelter and meet the available animals.

Those who are unable to adopt can still help by sharing information about adoptable pets and spreading the word about the shelter’s urgent need through friends, family and neighbors.

How to adopt a pet

Residents interested in adopting can visit Broward County Animal Care at 2400 SW 42nd St. in Fort Lauderdale.

The shelter is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Photos and information about available cats and dogs can also be found online at Broward.org/Animal.

County officials hope the waived adoption fees will encourage more residents to open their homes to animals and help relieve overcrowding at the shelter.

The Labor Department reported that claims were down from 200,000 the week before.

Applications for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them closely because they can provide signs of where the job market is headed. So far this year, claims have remained at historically low levels, never topping 230,000 in a single week.

The four-week average of claims, which strips out week-to-week ups and downs, dipped to 197,750.

The American job market has remained sturdy despite higher energy prices that have squeezed businesses and consumers since the fighting with Iran began Feb. 28. Most companies are confident enough in the economy and their sales to hold onto workers. At the same time, hiring has been sluggish, resulting in a “low-hire, low-fire” job market. Last month, the unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2%.

So far this year, employers — companies, government agencies and nonprofits — have been adding an average of 68,000 jobs a month. That is an improvement on a lackluster 2025 when monthly job creation averaged 9,700 as high interest rates and President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policies discouraged hiring.

Hiring remains well below the 166,000 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, and the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns.

“Every morning, I walk to the Malecon of Havana hoping to see U.S. ships in the horizon coming to free us from this inferno we live in.” Those are the words of a young lady I spoke to from Havana this week.

I spent the last week talking to young people on the island and most of them told me the same thing -- we have lost all hope that Cuba will be free soon.

Doctors on the island also told me that they have seen more cases of young adults overdosing with homemade drugs, the use of homemade alcohol or the little they can find in the streets help them forget what the reality of living each day in Cuba is like.

According to psychiatrists, Cuba already has one of the largest suicide rates of all Latin America even though the Cuban government does not report it.

Another young man told me that President Donald Trump gave him hope that the U.S. would force the regime to change but nothing happened. He said, “I’m now making plans with my friends to leave Cuba and head to Brazil. I can’t stay here anymore.”

These are the many stories that are coming out of Cuba. The result of promises and expectations for change made by Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the South Florida members of Congress. But they still created a political circus, first with the federal indictment of Raul Castro last May and this week with the State of Florida indictment and warrant for the arrest of Raul Castro. I don’t think you will find Raul anytime soon in Disney World.

Where will it all end?

Oct. 20: US and Cuba clash at the United Nations

A screaming match in the hallways of the United Nations in New York City broke out Monday evening between the Cuban delegation, led by their Ambassador Ernesto Soberon, against U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz.

The U.S. had organized an event entitled “Cuba Libre: The Oppression Havana Hides.” This happened before the United Nations takes their annual vote on the U.S. Economic Embargo on Cuba.

In the last months Cuba has increased their propaganda against the U.S. in fear of a U.S. military action or after yesterday’s indictment and warrant for the arrest of Raul Castro, a military exercise to get Raul Castro and bring him back to the U.S. to stand trial.

Oct. 16: Electrical plant in Cuba catches fire and blows up

As experts have been saying for a long time, the current electrical plants in Cuba cannot be repaired -- they are too old.

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Yesterday afternoon, the electrical plant in Santa Cruz caught fire and part of it exploded, causing more blackouts in that region of Cuba.

The people that live around the eastern town of Guantanamo have not had electricity for 36 days.

It has been estimated by the electrical experts in the U.S. that a new electrical system in Cuba will cost $9 billion to $11 billion.

Oct. 14: Human rights violations continue in Cuba

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oct. 8: Social Challenges Facing Cuba

In 2014, I wrote a book with that title.

Today, the social challenges facing Cuba are even greater.

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

1) The history of the country

2) The culture of the country

3) The personal experiences of the population

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oct. 1: Robberies and delinquencies increase in Cuba

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

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

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

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s assessment, announced on the sidelines of a U.N. biodiversity conference in Albania, found that 96% of shallow-water reef systems are already critically endangered and could disappear by 2075.

Most of the world’s famous reef systems — including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Coral Triangle in the Western Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and the Red Sea coral reefs — are all critically endangered, the highest level of threat.

“The risk of coral reef collapse is escalating, but this must be a wake-up call rather than a cause for despair," said Mishal Gudka, the scientific lead of the global IUCN Red List of Coral Reef Ecosystems assessment, the first of its kind.

“Coral reefs have shown a remarkable ability to bounce back from devastating bleaching events,” he said. “Pockets of surviving, resilient coral reefs can still remain in the future, so we must do everything within our reach to set them up for success.”

The assessment is the latest dose of bad news for coral reefs, which are critical sources for seafood and tourism and often serve as buffers from coastal erosion and storms. Sometimes dubbed “rainforests of the sea," they have some of the world's richest biodiversity. They support a quarter of marine species as well as coastal communities and businesses.

When a reef collapses, hard corals disappear and are replaced by algae, rubble and sponges. As a result, the reef no longer supports a diverse ecosystem that can include everything from tiny invertebrates to reef fish like grouper.

“Coral reefs are one of the clearest vital signs of the ocean’s health," Grethel Aguilar, the IUCN Director General, said in a statement.

The assessment, spanning 127 tropical and subtropical ecoregions, and encompassing 72,726 square miles (188,362 square kilometers) of coral reefs globally, called climate change the “single most consistent threat driving coral reef decline worldwide.”

A week ago, another study in the journal Nature by the IUCN found that nearly 44% of reef-building coral species face an elevated risk of extinction due to climate change. A year ago, a survey found that harmful bleaching of the world’s coral has grown to include 84% of the ocean’s reefs — the most intense of its kind in recorded history.

2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, and much of that is going into oceans. The average annual sea surface temperature of oceans away from the poles was a record 20.87 degrees Celsius (69.57 degrees Fahrenheit).

Beyond combatting rising global emissions, experts said efforts to reduce pollution, overfishing and coastal development can help reefs survive.

"We know what is needed: ambitious emissions reductions, stronger protection and restoration efforts, and sustained investment in resilient coastal ecosystems and the communities that depend on them,” Aguilar said.

Durante mucho tiempo, políticos e inversionistas han promocionado esa cifra como una medida importante del potencial energético sin explotar, más recientemente en comentarios del gobierno del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, al detallar un acuerdo amplio para que Estados Unidos tome el control de parte de las reservas venezolanas.

Pero una estimación más realista de las reservas probadas del país — una métrica de referencia, que representa la cantidad de petróleo que razonablemente puede extraerse bajo las condiciones actuales — es aproximadamente un tercio de lo que ha reportado, dijeron a The Associated Press media docena de expertos. Situaron la cifra probable entre 60.000 y 120.000 millones de barriles, una cantidad enorme pero insuficiente para que Venezuela siga siendo el mayor poseedor de reservas del mundo.

La distinción es importante mientras Venezuela y Estados Unidos intentan atraer nueva inversión a la deteriorada industria petrolera del país, y sugiere que el acuerdo que Trump anunció en agosto, al afirmar que Estados Unidos terminaría controlando más de 65.000 millones de barriles de las reservas probadas de petróleo de Venezuela, es mucho menos rentable de lo que él sostuvo.

Evanan Romero, exfuncionario de energía de Venezuela que ahora vive en Houston, dijo sobre el acuerdo que “esa es una propuesta muy, muy graciosa”, y añadió que cree que el gobierno de Trump no investigó a fondo las afirmaciones del país sudamericano antes de involucrarse. “Si el gobierno de Estados Unidos los llamara y les pidiera que testificaran sobre cómo hicieron el procedimiento... bueno, el mundo entero sabrá que ese es un número gracioso, una mentira absoluta”.

El gobierno de Venezuela no respondió a una solicitud de comentarios de AP.

Expertos dicen que las cifras de Trump no cuadran

Trump ha dicho que, según el acuerdo, Estados Unidos controlará 65.000 millones de barriles de reservas probadas, una cifra que supera la totalidad de las reservas de crudo de Estados Unidos. Ha citado repetidamente el número de 65.000 millones de barriles y ha calificado el acuerdo petrolero como el más grande de la historia, una forma de reponer las reservas estratégicas de Estados Unidos y bajar los precios de la gasolina, que se dispararon durante la guerra con Irán.

Pero expertos señalan que Estados Unidos está obteniendo acceso a una mezcla de yacimientos casi agotados o totalmente sin desarrollar, con una producción esperada que sería una fracción de lo que Trump afirmó. Algunos de los campos petroleros están en el interior de la Faja del Orinoco, una especie de territorio salvaje en el centro-oriente de Venezuela que plantea grandes desafíos técnicos.

“No podemos creer los 65.000 millones. Es imposible”, afirmó Romero, y agregó que algunas empresas han abandonado esos campos por las dificultades.

La Casa Blanca no ha divulgado públicamente cómo llegó a la cifra de 65.000 millones y no respondió preguntas de AP. Un comunicado de la portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Taylor Rogers, defendió el acuerdo y las afirmaciones de Trump.

“Este acuerdo histórico marca un paso importante hacia la estabilización de la economía de Venezuela después de años de hiperinflación y casi nada de nueva inversión, al tiempo que más que duplica las reservas de petróleo de Estados Unidos”, expresó Rogers.

Luisa Palacios, expresidenta de Citgo, dijo que sospecha que la cifra anunciada por el gobierno alude a petróleo almacenado bajo tierra, no a reservas probadas. En ese escenario, explicó, las reservas probadas probablemente serían alrededor del 5% de 65.000 millones, o cerca de 3.200 millones.

“¿Esos 65.000 millones de barriles asumen una tasa de recuperación del 20%?”, preguntó Palacios, ahora investigadora de energía en la Universidad de Columbia. “Eso es lo que no puedo decir. Y por eso hay dudas al respecto”.

Francisco Monaldi, experto petrolero venezolano en la Universidad Rice, estimó que entre 10.000 y 15.000 millones de barriles se clasificarían como reservas probadas en el corto plazo — muy por debajo de la estimación de Trump.

El petróleo que Estados Unidos controlaría, según funcionarios de ambos países, está en 17 campos bajo el control de una empresa conjunta entre la firma con sede en Estados Unidos y Venezuela North American Blue Energy Partners, o NABEP.

Las compañías petroleras que cotizan en bolsa están obligadas a reportar estimaciones de reservas probadas en informes anuales usando definiciones estrictas proporcionadas por la Comisión de Bolsa y Valores de Estados Unidos. NABEP no cotiza en bolsa.

Las estimaciones problemáticas comenzaron con Chávez

Los cálculos detrás de la afirmación de Venezuela sobre más de 303.000 millones de barriles de reservas comenzaron hace más de una década.

A mediados de la década de 2000, el entonces presidente Hugo Chávez se propuso contabilizar las reservas en la Faja del Orinoco, en medio del aumento de los precios mundiales del petróleo y un gasto público prácticamente sin restricciones. Se convirtió en un esfuerzo de varios años, con empresas estatales de Brasil, Irán, China, España y otros países invitadas a ayudar a calcular las reservas, y una firma con sede en Estados Unidos contratada para estudiarlas.

Pero el gobierno nunca ofreció explicaciones detalladas de sus conclusiones. Algunos expertos y observadores las han cuestionado desde entonces.

“Esos eran números graciosos que fueron cocinados por Hugo Chávez y su ministro de energía de ese momento”, sostuvo Romero.

Monaldi coincidió: “Están inflados por un factor de casi tres”.

La firma con sede en Estados Unidos contratada por Chávez estimó que Venezuela tenía más de 1 billón de barriles de petróleo bajo la superficie de la Faja del Orinoco, pero nunca calculó sus reservas probadas, o la cantidad con un 90% de probabilidad de ser extraída. El gobierno de Chávez hizo ese cálculo por su cuenta. La firma, Ryder Scott, se negó a avalar la cifra, finalmente abandonó su trabajo y no hizo comentarios a AP.

En su informe anual de 2011, la petrolera estatal de Venezuela dijo que sus reservas probadas aumentaron en unos asombrosos 82.000 millones de barriles, hasta casi 300.000 millones. La empresa — Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., o PDVSA — lo atribuyó a “ajustes debido a la revisión” de las tasas de recuperación. PDVSA no ofreció más detalles; sus operaciones, estadísticas y finanzas han estado envueltas en secreto durante años.

Con ese salto extraordinario, Venezuela superó a Arabia Saudí como el mayor poseedor mundial de reservas probadas en el reporte anual de la OPEP.

Los expertos creen que una tasa de recuperación precisa para las reservas petroleras de Venezuela hoy es de alrededor del 10% en general y aún menor — entre 5% y 8% — en la Faja del Orinoco, que se ha convertido en una prioridad de inversión para la presidenta encargada, Delcy Rodríguez, y la Casa Blanca.

El petróleo allí es más espeso que la mayoría del crudo convencional y no fluye con facilidad hacia los pozos. Los productores podrían usar tecnología avanzada para aumentar la tasa de recuperación, pero eso requiere grandes inversiones, que las empresas dudan en hacer en un país dirigido por un gobierno con historial de incumplir contratos y con inestabilidad actual. El mandato de Rodríguez expiró en julio y no hay elecciones programadas.

Venezuela sigue en la cima de la lista de la OPEP

La OPEP ha aceptado los cálculos del país sobre reservas probadas y lo ha colocado en la cima de la lista de reservas probadas cada año desde 2011.

La OPEP — integrada por una docena de países, con Venezuela como miembro fundador — no respondió a una solicitud de comentarios.

El informe de 2026 de la OPEP fija las reservas probadas de Venezuela en 303.700 millones de barriles, lo que incluye reservas en la Faja del Orinoco y otras regiones productoras de petróleo. Arabia Saudí ocupó el segundo lugar, con 267.000 millones de barriles, seguida por Irán, con 208.000 millones.

Pese al escepticismo generalizado, la cifra de 300.000 millones se ha mantenido. Ambos sucesores de Chávez — el ahora depuesto Nicolás Maduro y Rodríguez — la han citado repetidamente. También lo ha hecho la oposición política, incluida la laureada con el Nobel de la Paz María Corina Machado. El partido gobernante durante 27 años también usó la cifra para obtener préstamos de miles de millones de dólares de China y Rusia.

Expertos dijeron que los inversionistas privados que evalúan opciones en Venezuela querrán ver datos precisos del gobierno de Rodríguez. La falta de transparencia, añadieron, solo incrementa la reticencia de los inversionistas.

“Cualquier país que reporte una cifra de reservas que nunca cambia con el tiempo — eso huele extremadamente mal”, afirmó Monaldi.

___

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

The Austrian woman, an aid worker identified as Eva G, was received by the Austrian crisis team on Thursday, Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a statement.

She was kidnapped in Niger’s Agadez city in January last year, months before the Swiss citizen was abducted in the same city in April 2025.

Meinl-Reisinger said Austria worked with Switzerland to find “a safe solution” for the women.

“We are all very relieved that Eva G. is free again after more than 21 months. This time was an unimaginable burden for her and her family,” Meinl-Reisinger said.

Swiss media quoted the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs as confirming the release of the Swiss woman.

Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported she was on her way home, quoting Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

Officials did not say who was responsible for the abductions or how both women were freed.

The Austrian woman had been working as an aid worker in Agadez, hundreds of kilometers (miles) away from the capital city of Niamey, where she lived for more than 20 years, Nigerien media reported.

The Swiss citizen had also lived in Niger for several years.

Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Analysts say the country's security crisis has worsened since the military toppled the country’s government in July 2023.

Despite their promise to restore peace in hot spots, the junta’s capacity to improve Niger’s security has increasingly been questioned amid more frequent attacks.

According to an arrest report from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Raymanda Herring, 31, whose permanent address is listed in Miramar, went to the home in the 2900 block of Northwest Eighth Place in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, where the dog was being housed, and saw that it had urinated and defecated inside the home.

Deputies said Herring then removed the dog from the house and tied it to a 6-foot-high fence using a 6-foot-long leash that was affixed to the dog’s collar.

According to the report, Herring left the dog without food, water or shelter, and it was not able to move more than a foot from where it was tethered to the fence nor could it lay down without neck restraint.

Deputies said Herring admitted to leaving the dog alone without food or water and said she returned at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday to check the mail and claimed the dog was still alive at that time.

She then left the dog again without food or water and then called the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which advised her to contact Animal Control, the report stated.

According to the report, Herring never contacted Animal Control and the dog was found dead later that evening, still tied to the fence.

Herring was taken into custody Wednesday night on charges of impounding or confining an animal without sufficient food and causing cruel death, pain and suffering to an animal.

As of Thursday morning, she was being held at the Broward County Main Jail and is expected to appear in bond court later in the morning or afternoon.

Storms capable of causing hail and wind damage were traveling through central Arizona early Thursday, with some flood watches and the possibility of tornadoes, the National Weather Service said.

On Wednesday night, northern and central parts of the state saw hail the size of golf balls that pummeled people’s roofs, shattered windows and dented cars, along with damaging wind gusts. The weather service had issued multiple warnings during the severe thunderstorms.

A tornado warning was in effect Wednesday night as a storm moved over Heber-Overgaard in Navajo County, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of Phoenix. People in the area posted photos and video online of uprooted trees and crumpled structures. Significant damage and minor injuries were reported, the county sheriff's office said in a statement. There are about 3,000 people in the community.

State Rep. Walt Blackman, whose district covers parts of the county, requested a state of emergency declaration.

“We have families without power, significant property damage, and at least one reported injury,” he said in a statement.

The storm hit as members of the Overgaard Baptist Church were wrapping up a prayer meeting.

“We took some damage, lost a lot of trees, signs, fences and a few windows,” the church posted about the storm Wednesday night. Nerves were rattled, but members were OK.

“We had a great prayer meeting in the women’s restroom,” the post said.

Warm, moist air moving north fuels storms coming off the California coast. Changing winds can make them spin, creating the conditions for tornadoes, said Ryan Bernhart, a weather service meteorologist in Flagstaff.

“This is very unusual for this area at this time of the year,” Bernhart said.

Strong winds toppled trees in Flagstaff and Mesa, with some landing on walls and carports. A few dozen ponderosa pines over 30 feet (9 meters) tall fell down in the Coconino National Forest, northwest of Flagstaff.

“These are not small trees that are down,” Bernhart said. “These are pretty strong trees that had been knocked down.”

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Hill reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

The report by the Migration Policy Institute shows deportations increased from 620,000 during the first year of Trump's second administration. The numbers fall short of previous highs in the early 2000s and fail to meet the Trump administration's promise, made when it received the billions from Congress, that the money would allow for 1 million deportations annually.

The report, based on publicly available data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, comes after the Trump administration in January 2025 stopped publicly releasing similar figures compiled by the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump, a Republican, returned to power last year promising to stanch crossings at the southern border and crack down on immigration. His administration has pushed through restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and launched high-profile arrest operations in its bid to force migrants out.

More people being deported, but not at all-time highs

The analysis found that the Department of Homeland Security carried out 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of the second Trump administration.

During the last fiscal year — when the Trump administration's immigration enforcement mechanisms were shifting into high gear — an estimated 660,000 people were deported.

According to MPI's analysis, that's a 26% increase from the yearly average from 2021 to 2024 during the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, but well below the 1.86 million deportations recorded in 2000, under President Bill Clinton, another Democrat.

Despite the surging arrests, the report details some of the challenges to the Trump administration reaching its deportation targets.

Historically, many immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization were from Mexico and didn't often seek asylum. But in recent years, migrants have come to the U.S. from a wide range of countries, which can make it more complicated to deport them. And immigration courts, which ultimately decide whether someone can be removed from the country, face more significant case backlogs.

Voluntary departures are increasing as are interior arrests

The report said voluntary departures — when people give up their cases in immigration court and agree to leave the country — were at an “all-time high,” with 170,000 choosing to do so since Trump returned to office in January 2025. People who choose voluntary departure could one day return to the U.S. But some immigrant advocates and lawyers say that people give up their court fight and agree to leave simply to get out of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detention.

The Trump administration was also increasingly deporting people it arrested in the country's interior, the report said, reflecting how it was stepping up enforcement against migrants who have been in the country for a long time. In 2025, about 28% of the people deported were arrested inside the country, but by July of this year that had risen to 39%.

Migrants arrested at the southern border still make up a large number of deportations, the report said — 69% of all deportations between Jan. 20, 2025, and July 31, 2026, were of people initially intercepted at the border.

People in the country longer may have more opportunities to contest their removal while the government typically has greater authority to fast-track deportations for people arrested at the border.

The analysis said most people deported have never been convicted of a crime, despite the Trump administration claiming to be targeting the “worst of the worst.” Previous data has showed the same.

Trump administration no longer regularly releases immigration data

Homeland Security stopped releasing similar data when Trump took office, making it difficult to track one of his key campaign promises. Figures the Trump administration has released are inconsistent and unverifiable.

The administration says it is transparent. On Tuesday, it released some of its own figures as part of a document boasting of its achievements on immigration, including that 1.2 million migrants have been deported or removed during Trump’s second term. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.

In the absence of regular data, analysts and activists interested in immigration trends have relied on information obtained through lawsuits or limited and sporadic information released by federal agencies to track deportation data.

There is one sign she and the other 4 million-plus tourists who visit Acadia annually can no longer see at the summit: a marker explaining the mountain’s sacred significance to the Wabanaki people in the region. “Today, visitors from everywhere find meaning on the mountain,” it said.

It was among 30 markers removed from Acadia under a Trump administration campaign to strip national parks of materials deemed disparaging to American history, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

But when park staff took down the summit sign at the orders of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, they also unraveled some of the trust that took decades to build between Acadia National Park and the Wabanaki people. The Wabanaki Confederacy, also known as “the people of the dawnland,” has inhabited the northern seaboard for over 10,000 years and was the first known stewards of land that includes much of the national park. It was a gathering place to trade, hunt, fish and pick sweetgrass.

Some of the signs removed from Acadia were developed over years of partnerships with organizations including Friends of Acadia, the Schoodic Institute and the Native Plant Trust — with consultation from citizens of the Wabanaki Nations. They know the mountain in Maine as Wapuwoc — “white mountain of the first light.” From October to March, it’s the first place to see the sunrise in the continental United States.

“Getting to a place where our language is in these parks and it is educational … erasing that or setting that back has big implications for how far we’ve come,” said Maulian Bryant, the Wabanaki Alliance's executive director.

Bryant says the removed signs reflected “the good stuff.”

“These signs don’t say 96% of Wabanaki people died from smallpox, or there were 26 nations and now there’s four,” she said. “If we really want to get into the real history, that’s a whole other slice of cake.”

Other signs removed from Cadillac’s summit addressed issues of climate change, informing visitors that “Acadia’s future will be warmer and wetter” and that “In the last century, average annual precipitation has increased by six inches.”

During their tenure under the Biden administration, former National Park Service director Chuck Sams and former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — the first Native Americans to hold these positions — aimed to reflect the experiences of all Americans throughout the national parks. Before leaving his post in February 2025, Sams saw parts of his work unraveled by the current administration.

This “attempt to rewrite history into a single narrative … is also counter to our democracy. And counter to the idea that we are a plural nation,” said Sams.

Lawsuit against national park removals advances

Now, a coalition of conservation, history and science organizations are fighting in court to get the Acadia signs and hundreds of other items put back. Under Burgum's 2025 campaign, signs, books, films and exhibits covering topics such as slavery, climate change and the massacre of Native Americans were flagged and removed from national parks and monuments nationwide.

“Some of it’s been put back, and then some of it has been removed again,” said the Center for American Progress' Angelo Villagomez. He was part of the progressive policy group's team that examined a database leaked earlier this year and found that a third of national parks had flagged exhibits featuring history or science. Of those, Black and Indigenous history were most targeted.

Portions of all flagged material have since been reviewed and cataloged by a committee led by Joy Beasley, a National Park Service associate director. However, in a June affidavit, she writes that the spreadsheet is “unlikely to capture every removal, revision, or replacement.”

The Interior Department did not respond to The Associated Press’ questions about the current status of sign and exhibit removal or the ongoing lawsuit filed by the nonprofit coalition in February against the federal government.

The parks “are America’s storytellers,” said Todd Martin of the National Parks Conservation Association, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “It’s their duty to preserve and interpret American history, the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Jenny McBurney, a government publications librarian at the University of Minnesota who co-founded the project Save Our Signs, feels it’s more important than ever for park visitors to document revised signs.

“People are going to go to the parks and think that they will get to learn history there when in fact they will be learning an incomplete history,” said McBurney.

Wabanaki culture — past and present — shared in Acadia

Despite the job cuts, threats of land reduction, talks of privatization and even demolition within some parks, Indigenous groups and park partners have persevered.

In Maine, members of the Wabanaki Confederacy — comprised of the Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Abenaki principal nations — carry on the cultural traditions and spiritual practices that helped them maintain sovereignty and connection to their ancestral land after settlers arrived. That includes sharing their culture with tourists.

Penobscot Nation citizen Jennifer Neptune had mixed emotions about the attempted erasure of her people from Acadia and their ancestral homeland.

“It’s hard to get good signage in national monuments, in national parks,” said Neptune. “It’s a real gut punch when it (removal) happens, not just for Indigenous people, but for Black people, for the people whose stories don’t get shared.”

Over the past decade, she’s seen real change from the National Park Service, playing an integral part in bringing Wabanaki voices to the table to create Indigenous-designed spaces.

In partnership with Acadia, the privately owned Abbe Museum, which is largely overseen by Wabanaki people, hosts a program that brings Native voices into the park through music, arts and culture.

Nick Bear and members of a Wabanaki drum circle perform on Cadillac Mountain annually as part of this collaboration. “That’s just like bringing those ceremonies right back to the original sites,” he said.

In July, Passamaquoddy basket maker Lydia Soctomah demonstrated traditional Wabanaki basketry using pounded ash bark and sweetgrass outside the Sieur de Monts Nature Center. Both the ash tree and sweetgrass are part of the Wabanaki creation story, she said.

“Making a basket is worth 1,000 memories for me,” said Soctomah, whose grandmother was a well-known basket maker. “I was always told it holds a part of your spirit.”

Sweetgrass access an example of shared stewardship

Access to sweetgrass has long been difficult for Wabanaki people as they were pushed from coastal lands onto reservations. In Acadia, it’s been nearly nonexistent since the park’s creation in 1916. But over the past decade, park staff and Wabanaki members have collaborated to change that.

In 2017, scientist Suzanne Greenlaw, a citizen of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, partnered with the U.S. Forest Service, Acadia’s Schoodic Institute and 14 traditional gatherers to conduct a Wabanaki-led sweetgrass study in hopes of allowing tribal access.

“It was really impactful because we had never had those kinds of co-stewardship relationships,” said Greenlaw, adding that those relationships, built over time, have not changed.

By the end of the Biden administration, there were over 400 co-stewardship or co-management agreements with tribes, 159 within the National Park Service alone, says Sams. Programs in Acadia were among them.

These programs, he says, allow tribes to fulfill their obligation to protect, preserve and enhance natural resources, and the federal government to fulfill its obligation to allow tribal access for hunting, fishing, and gathering foods and medicines.

Sams cautiously hopes there will be a rebuilding period for the park service under the next administration.

“There are always ebbs and flows with every administration,” he said. “Nobody has seen that more than American Indian tribes.”

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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.

The 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, released Thursday, found that covered workers were paying hundreds of dollars more toward their premiums this year compared with last year. The costs were particularly pronounced for employees at small businesses made up of 10 to 99 workers who typically shoulder a larger share of their insurance costs than those at bigger companies.

Rising healthcare costs have emerged as an important issue for voters in the midterm elections and are part of broader affordability concerns. An AP-NORC poll conducted in October found that about 7 in 10 registered voters call healthcare “one of the most important issues” in this election.

Almost 157 million Americans under retirement age rely on employer-sponsored healthcare coverage. According to the KFF study, employers report that workers are paying on average $7,471 annually toward the premiums for employer-sponsored family health benefits this year, which is up roughly 9%, or $621, from last year.

“Workers are paying a bigger chunk this year,” said Matthew Rae, associate director of KFF’s Program on the Health Care Marketplace, “which also brings up the issue of affordability.”

President Donald Trump has tried to make healthcare affordability part of his midterms pitch, saying that his most-favored nation prescription drug pricing would reduce costs and promising rebates for some Americans. But other steps taken by Trump's Republican administration have raised costs for some, and the survey indicates that many are seeing their health insurance expenses climb without clear improvements in benefits.

The impact could be felt more acutely among small businesses, which employ roughly 62.3 million people, or 45.9% of private-sector workers, according to the Small Business Administration.

Covered workers at smaller firms contributed an average of $9,687 in 2026 toward family coverage, compared with $6,840 at firms with 200 or more workers, the survey says. In 2025, they paid roughly $8,900, compared with about $6,200 for larger firms, the report said. The survey found that covered workers at smaller firms contribute an average of 37% of the premium for family coverage, compared with 25% at larger firms.

And 32% of covered workers at small firms are enrolled in plans in which they must pay more than half the family premium, compared with just 6% at larger companies.

The rising costs have meant small businesses must strike a balance between maintaining attractive benefits for their employees and meeting other increasingly costly expenses.

Jenna Caligaris, who manages an upstate New York contractor with roughly 25 workers, said the pressures of providing health insurance to her workers keep her up at night.

Caligaris said that because her firm operates in a field that is extremely competitive for workers, the company looks for any way to keep employees from taking on more insurance cost-sharing. Her firm provides 80% of coverage to its nonunion workers, with employees covering the rest.

From stretching the lifespan of company vehicles and tools to cutting down the size of workers’ year-end bonuses and putting an end to the annual company picnic, “we’re trying to maintain coverage and stay competitive — so we'll have to eat these price increases," Caligaris said.

In the past three years, the company has switched insurers to save on costs yet is getting hit this year by a 25% increase in premiums, Caligaris said.

Rae, at KFF, said small firms face higher deductibles than larger companies and more volatility in the market.

KFF’s annual health benefits survey of large and small employers includes roughly 1,900 employers with 10 or more workers.

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Associated Press reporter Josh Boak contributed to this report.

The results suggest that voters are ready for Congress to tackle core issues, despite Trump’s centrality in the midterm campaign.

About 8 in 10 registered voters, including a large majority of Republicans and Democrats, say lowering the cost of living should be one of the highest priorities for the session coming up, the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds.

Justin Campbell, a 31-year-old Democrat from Brookhaven, Mississippi, said he wants the government to focus on helping people like him rather than wealthy people.

“I’m not a millionaire and probably won’t ever be," he said. "I prefer policy that helps me instead of someone I’ll never be.”

Most voters also want Congress to prioritize ending the war with Iran, with roughly 7 in 10 saying this should be a top focus. Substantially fewer voters, about 4 in 10, want Congress to make investigating the Trump administration a high priority, and only about 2 in 10 want Congress to prioritize supporting the Republican president's agenda.

But the poll also indicates that there are deep divisions within the parties on what to focus on, with moderate Democrats and Republicans differing sharply from voters on the left and right wings of their parties.

Most Democratic voters who identify as supporters of democratic socialism are hoping for a Congress that will investigate the Trump administration, and many want to end military aid to Israel, while MAGA Republicans are interested in Congress supporting Trump’s agenda.

Moderates in both parties, meanwhile, are much likelier to want Democrats and Republicans to find common ground.

Most voters want Congress to focus on reducing costs and ending the war

Lowering the cost of living and ending the Iran war overshadow a wide range of other issues as voters consider priorities for the next Congress.

While most registered voters say reducing costs and ending the war should be among the highest priorities for Congress, only about half say reducing the budget deficit and finding common ground between the two parties should be high priorities. About 4 in 10 want investigating the Trump administration and passing new laws regulating artificial intelligence to be high priorities.

Fewer, about 3 in 10, prioritize ending military aid to Israel, and only about 2 in 10 want a focus on supporting Trump's agenda.

Though most registered Democrats want Congress to investigate the Trump administration, that falls behind the larger priorities of lowering costs and ending the conflict with Iran. About 6 in 10 registered voters who identify as Democrats call investigations into the Trump administration “one of the highest priorities.”

Arthur Brown, a 71-year-old Democrat in Magee, Mississippi, wants to see the next Congress work on making the economy stronger and prices lower. He feels less urgently about holding Trump accountable, mostly because there’ll be only two years left in Trump’s term. He thinks it’s more important to try to turn the economy around.

“They should just focus on, you know, trying to tackle these problems,” he said. “Eventually down the road, justice will come.”

For Republican voters, bolstering Trump's goals also falls behind lowering the cost of living, ending the war in Iran and reducing the budget deficit.

In a strikingly tepid show of support for the president, only about 4 in 10 Republican voters say the next Congress should make supporting the Trump administration's agenda one of its highest priorities.

Most democratic socialists want Congress to investigate Trump

House Democrats have begun planning an ambitious 100-day agenda for what they would do if they win control of Congress in November. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has said the Democratic Party's top priorities include making life more affordable and conducting vast oversight of the Trump administration.

But there are potential schisms in the party awaiting Democrats if they win a governing majority. The Democratic Party has reckoned in primary campaigns with a growing wing of democratic socialists. Their progressive stances on some issues have divided the party — including on whether to continue military aid to Israel, whether to compromise with Republicans and how strongly to investigate the Trump administration.

About three-quarters of Democratic voters who identify as supporters of democratic socialism say one of the top priorities should be investigating the Trump administration, compared with slightly less than half of Democrats who say they're not democratic socialists.

Democratic socialists are also more likely to want Congress to end military aid to Israel and less likely to say it’s a top priority to find common ground between the two parties.

Campbell, the Democrat in Mississippi, identifies as a democratic socialist and wants Congress to hold the Trump administration accountable.

“It feels a little cliche to just say roll back the past two years, but honestly, mostly just roll back the stuff he’s done the past two years," Campbell said.

Most MAGA Republicans want Congress to support Trump

Republicans are broadly aligned on what they want the next Congress to do, regardless of whether they identify with the Make America Great Again movement — except when it comes to Trump.

At least half of MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans want leaders to lower costs, end the Iran war and reduce the federal budget deficit.

Richard Longo, a 74-year-old Republican in Lake Forest, California, wants to see the president’s agenda pursued in the next Congress but is especially worried about balancing the budget.

“You’re not going to balance the budget in one year, but you have to have a plan," Longo said.

But while about 6 in 10 MAGA Republicans want Congress to prioritize supporting the Trump administration's agenda, only about 2 in 10 Republicans who are not supporters of MAGA say the same.

Lisa Ostlund, a 46-year-old from Wayland, Massachusetts, who identifies as a MAGA supporter, wants to see the next Congress prioritize Trump's agenda. She doesn't support everything Trump does, but she credits his policies with her recent ability to find housing after struggling with homelessness for several years.

“You got to care about your American people," Ostlund said. "He definitely doesn’t say it right, but you do have to put them first.”

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,119 adults was conducted Oct. 8-12 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 3.9 percentage points.

The album was a word-of-mouth hit and, coupled with 1980’s “Baby Beluga,” transformed the Egypt-born singer of Armenian descent into one of North America's most famous children's musicians. Raffi's fun and heartwarming songs, including “Down By the Bay” and “Shake My Sillies Out,” remain a mainstay for parents and teachers of young children, even as the way kids consume music has changed significantly.

“Well, the technology changes; children don’t,” Raffi told The Associated Press in a recent interview via Zoom from his home in western Canada.

And the 78-year-old isn't done yet. His latest album, “Love is Everywhere,” comes out Friday and features songs that celebrate individuality (“No One Like You”), as well as “ABC Democracy” — a pro-voting anthem that reflects his longstanding willingness to wade into politics and activism. He's also marking the 50th anniversary of “Singable Songs” with a special reissue Nov. 13.

Raffi spoke to the AP about the enduring appeal of his music, why he once turned down a deal from the producers of “Shrek,” and his kinship with Ms. Rachel, the children's entertainer who has been an outspoken advocate for kids in Gaza and those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: What's the process of writing a Raffi song in 2026? And how is it different from when you were working in the '70s?

RAFFI: What’s the same is that I’m considering my audience and what songs would appeal directly to them, and what songs would stretch the imagination of a child. And what’s different is that I’ve got 50 years of songwriting behind me right now, so I certainly feel confident, more so than ever, in what I’m doing.

It’s a good feeling to know that when I write and record a song now, it’ll have a long shelf life. My fans still tell me that “Baby Beluga” is the one song that will calm their child when needed, and I think, “Wow, that song came out, what, 46 years ago?”

AP: The new album is called “Love is Everywhere.” At a time when so much of what’s happening in the world is so frightening, is it harder to write such hopeful songs?

RAFFI: The theme of the album is the power of love. This album is a response to these times that, for so many of us, feel anxious and worrisome. And the fact is that love is everywhere. You can say, “How is that so?” And I would say to you, “Are there children everywhere? Yes. Is there love everywhere? Yes.”

It’s so wonderful that there are others echoing this call of love, and Ms. Rachel is doing this brilliantly. I’m such a champion of this kind of effusive expression of love and caring for every child.

AP: What’s your relationship with Ms. Rachel? I know you’ve defended her against some blowback she’s gotten, particularly regarding her comments about the crisis in Gaza.

RAFFI: Well, Ms. Rachel is a “Beluga grad” (Raffi's term for children who grew up listening to his music). We had a wonderful video meeting about a year ago. I told her how happy I am with what she’s done on her YouTube offerings.

And then I saw her very brave stance on the rights of Palestinian children, like the right of any child, to live and thrive. When we say every child, we mean it. How would anyone deny the children of any region or any people the right to self-determination, to love and respect? I’m right there with Ms. Rachel. Her heart and my heart resonate well.

AP: When “Singable Songs” was released 50 years ago, kids were listening on record players or cassettes. Nowadays, they're listening via Spotify or YouTube. Has that changed how kids listen to music?

RAFFI: Well, the technology changes; children don’t. It’s up to us adults, though, to make sure that the technology that children are surrounded by doesn’t interfere with the healthy development of their brains, hearts and imagination.

AP: One track that stood out to me from the new album was “ABC Democracy.” What was the inspiration for that song?

RAFFI: I wrote “ABC Democracy” a year ago and released it as a single. And then I found out that children loved that song. It must be because I wrote the best first line of a song ever: “A, B, C, Dee-mocracy!” They hear that, and they’re hooked because they love the ABCs. And then there can be this conversation with mom or dad as to, “Hey, what is this about?” Learning about our civic duties from a young age — who could ask for more than that?

AP: What do adults tend to sometimes forget or get wrong about kids?

RAFFI: You don’t need to talk down to a child. Children are very intelligent. They ask great questions.

You should respect the intelligence of the young learner — keep in mind that young children are learning the most sophisticated tasks of language acquisition, syntax, grammar and conversational skills all without being in university.

AP: You’ve been clear about never wanting to exploit kids for cash through advertising, toys, etc. What offers have you left on the table?

RAFFI: You wouldn’t exploit those who you respect, right? Why would you exploit the innocence of a young child who isn’t able to appraise the sales pitch if you’re directly advertising or even indirectly to children through fast food joints?

It’s not fair to young children to have someone they look up to selling them things that they’re not old enough to understand.

So I’ve consistently left on the table all these offers, including one from the producers of “Shrek” who wanted to make a “Baby Beluga” film. We asked the question, “Will this movie be directly advertised through fast food joints?” “Oh yes,” they said. So we said, “No thank you. We don’t do that.”

AP: Finally, we had a lightning round of questions from kids that we wanted to pose to you. Nine-year-old Coco asks, “Do you like apples or bananas better?”

Raffi: Both!

AP: Four-year-old Miles asks, “What do you look like? Are you a giant?”

RAFFI: Ha! (In deep voice) Yes I am! To a small child, I probably look quite big, but no bigger than other adults. I’m about 5-foot-8 1⁄2.

AP: Six-year-old Walt asks, “What part do you play in ‘Bananaphone’?”

RAFFI: I’m the guy who sings about the banana and eats it too. That’s me. A troubadour with a peel!

AP: Four-year-old Henry asks, “What’s your favorite song?”

RAFFI: It might just be “Bananaphone,” or it might be “Baby Beluga.” I really like “Baby Beluga” because, you know, it’s a love song, and when you love a beautiful creature like a Beluga whale, you want to protect it.

AP: Seven-year-old Elsa asks, “How do you choose what to sing about?”

RAFFI: Well, I just think of what would be fun for me, and then I think of what would be fun for the audience that I’m singing with, because they sing with me. That’s how I decide.

The award came just days after the Trump administration announced sweeping new sanctions on the court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, as part of its campaign to dismantle the tribunal over investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel.

“The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions, and this prize recognizes the important work of the court in upholding international law and justice,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said.

Her announcement at the parliament in Strasbourg, France, was greeted with a standing ovation.

The annual EU award, named after Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and basic freedoms.

A court under fire welcomes the award

ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan welcomed the award, saying that it “comes at a time when the court and its officials face unprecedented challenges.”

“Against this backdrop, the Sakharov Prize carries particular significance, reaffirming the importance of independent judicial institutions and of those who work to uphold international law,” she said in a statement.

The ICC opened in 2002 as a court of last resort to prosecute senior leaders it deems responsible for crimes that, according to its founding treaty, “deeply shock the conscience of humanity.” It has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

The Trump administration's sanctions cut off the court from U.S.-based financial services, technology companies and even using U.S. dollars. They set a six-month timeline for U.S. companies and individuals that have business with the court to wind that business down.

The EU considers options to respond

In a statement after their summit last week, EU leaders said that the 27-nation bloc “deeply regrets” the Trump administration’s sanctions move and “urges the United States to reverse these latest measures.”

They noted that the U.S. has delayed the full impact of the sanctions by six months, and that “this creates space for diplomacy,” and expressed hope that the measures can ultimately be reversed.

Should diplomacy fail, however, the leaders insisted on “the EU’s readiness to take all necessary measures.”

They tasked the European Commission “to take all appropriate initiatives” to help protect the ICC and mitigate the impact of the sanctions, “specifically towards EU companies so that they can continue providing services to the Court.”

One possible retaliatory measure is the EU “blocking statute,” which could be used to protect European court staff, and possibly the Dutch-based court itself, by preventing European companies from complying with the U.S. measures.

An award for when rights and justice come under attack

The ICC and its officials were nominated for the prize by the Socialist and Democrats group in the European Parliament. The group, which unites center-left parties across Europe, said that it was “proud to have put forward their candidacy at a time when international justice is under attack.”

The Sakharov winner is chosen by the European Parliament's president and top EU lawmakers from among candidates nominated by the parliament’s various political groups. The assembly says the award is “the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.”

Imprisoned Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu and Taraneh and Romina Rahimi — twins being held in prison for taking part in demonstrations against the Iranian government — were the others to make the EU shortlist.

Last year’s prize went to journalists Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaghlobeli, who were imprisoned in Belarus and Georgia, respectively. Metsola said at the time that “their courage has made them symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy.”

Several Sakharov laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, picked up the Sakharov Prize in 2024.

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Mike Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

Variations of the voter ID proposals are being decided in the midterm elections in California, Colorado and Nevada — three states where conservative activists collected petition signatures to bypass Democratic-led legislatures and place the issue directly before voters.

The voter ID measures are among about 30 questions on November ballots affecting state policies on voting and elections. They account for roughly 1 in 5 of all state ballot measures nationwide. Some mirror policies that President Donald Trump has pushed unsuccessfully at the national level and build off a Republican narrative that noncitizen voting is a problem, though data indicates it is rare.

Several measures address changes to congressional voting districts, as part of a national redistricting battle spurred by Trump. Others could change the way primaries are conducted, make it more difficult for voters to amend their state constitutions or — in Missouri — make it harder for lawmakers to change measures that voters approve.

Taken together, the measures highlight a long-running debate about who can participate in elections and how to ensure voting is both accessible and secure.

“Ballot measures have become a battle zone for the future of American democracy, including direct democracy itself,” said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a group that backs progressive ballot issues.

California proposition is one of several voter ID measures

When voting by mail, most states already require a voter’s signature for a ballot to count. Only Georgia, Minnesota, New Mexico and Ohio require some sort of government-issued identification number to be included with mail-in ballots.

California's Proposition 39 would require a government-issued ID to vote in person or the last four digits of that identification number to vote by mail.

In the August primary, nearly 90% of California's ballots were cast by mail, and more than 52,000 ballots — less than 1% of the total — were rejected for nonmatching or missing signatures, according to the secretary of state's office.

The proposed constitutional amendment doesn't directly repeal California's current signature requirement. But the intent is for the four-digit verification to replace it, said Carl DeMaio, a Republican state Assembly member whose organization Reform California backed the voter ID initiative.

“If California gets this done through citizens, maybe it will shame the politicians into getting this going in a moderate and reasonable and bipartisan way nationwide,” DeMaio said.

Though Trump hasn't endorsed the California proposition, opponents contend it is similar to a bill he backed in Congress to require a photo ID to vote, or a photocopy for ballots returned by mail.

“Prop 39 is just another Trump power grab that is intended to make voting harder, less secure and more expensive for Californians,” said Brittany Stonesifer, a voting rights attorney at Common Cause California.

About 7 in 10 registered voters nationally favor requiring all voters to provide valid photo identification at their voting place in order to vote, according to an October poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Though support is stronger among Republicans, a majority of Democratic voters also favor a voter ID requirement.

In addition to citizen initiatives in Colorado and Nevada, voter ID amendments also were referred to the November ballot by Republican-led legislatures in Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio.

Citizen voting measures spread to six states

Ballot measures in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia would reinforce current election practices limiting voting to U.S. citizens. Since 2018, at least 15 states have adopted similar measures, including all eight states where they appeared on the ballot in 2024 and in Texas last year.

Many critics argue the measures are largely symbolic and unnecessary, because voting by noncitizens is rare and already forbidden in most states.

No state constitutions explicitly allow noncitizens to vote. But some municipalities in California, Maryland and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, do allow voting by noncitizens in some local elections such as for school board and city council.

States need to act because the nation's founders “gave the states the rights to determine who can vote,” said Becky Arps, research director for Americans for Citizen Voting.

Changes to primaries are proposed in Massachusetts and Alaska

A pair of Massachusetts ballot measures could reshape state elections. One amendment would scrap separate party primaries in favor of an open primary in which the top two vote recipients — no matter the party — advance to the general election.

Another would allow people to register to vote on the same day as the election, instead of the current 10-day-in-advance deadline.

In Alaska, voters are again being asked whether to repeal a system of open primaries and ranked choice voting. A similar measure narrowly failed two years ago.

Redistricting efforts face voter referendums

Republican lawmakers in Missouri passed new congressional districts for the midterm elections, after Trump urged GOP-led states to redistrict to try to win additional House seats. But the Missouri Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court both blocked the new map from being used in the November election because of a referendum petition.

Voters now will decide whether to uphold or reject the new districts. If approved, the map could be used in the 2028 election.

Maryland voters, meanwhile, will decide whether to approve a redistricting amendment backed by Democratic state lawmakers that could pave the way for a new U.S. House map ahead of the 2028 election. Proponents' campaign signs urge a “yes” vote as a means to “stop Trump.”

In Colorado, where some Democrats also want to redistrict, a ballot initiative backed by a conservative group would instead prohibit any mid-decade redistricting from favoring one political party and require approval from both an existing independent commission and the state Supreme Court.

Ballot initiatives could get new hurdles or protections

Proposed amendments in North Dakota and South Dakota would make it harder to amend their state constitutions by requiring 60% approval from voters instead of a simple majority. A similar 60% threshold is proposed in Utah for future citizen initiatives that raise taxes. All were referred to the ballot by Republican-led legislatures.

Several states already have supermajority requirements for certain ballot measures, including 60% thresholds to pass constitutional amendments in Florida and tax initiatives in Arizona. Two years ago, amendments to legalize recreational marijuana and create abortion rights both received majority support but still failed because of Florida's supermajority threshold.

Measures in several other states seek to strengthen citizen ballot initiatives. A Missouri amendment proposed by a citizens group would make it harder for lawmakers to change voter-approved citizen initiatives by requiring revisions to get an 80% vote in the state House and Senate. That comes after the Republican-led Legislature last year repealed a paid sick leave law approved by voters and referred a new constitutional amendment to the November ballot to reverse voter-approved abortion rights.

A Montana ballot measure would make the citizen initiative process a fundamental right, and a Colorado measure would require ballot questions to be written “in plain language at no more than an eighth-grade reading level.”

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Associated Press writer John Hanna contributed to this report.

“Wind, hush!” the speaker advised, describing the power to bring about change.

Jeffries nodded along, the words resonating beyond the church’s soaring brick walls, days out from the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term in the White House.

“We’re on the verge of taking back control of the House,” Jeffries told The Associated Press in an interview afterward.

“When this storm has passed, and it will, those of us who have served in the Congress during this time will be part of bringing about a better chapter in the United States of America,” he said. “That’s the mission. And failure is not an option."

Jeffries is on track to become House speaker, if Democrats sweep to power and elect him to the job, one of the most powerful positions in the U.S., second in line to the presidency. He has been campaigning across the country in more than 50 cities for House Democrats as they try to oust Republicans and win back majority control.

He would make history as the first Black American to hold the gavel.

A new generation of leadership, a 100-day agenda

The New York City-born Jeffries is a new generation of leadership at the Capitol, known for his deliberative, calm-is-a-choice style of governing. He would be the first Democratic speaker since Nancy Pelosi of California.

Democrats are preparing a 100-day agenda focused on lowering the cost of living and conducting oversight of Trump’s Republican administration, as Jeffries puts it, to “hold the crooks accountable.”

“What we’ve seen is he is quietly effective,” said Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, outgoing chairman of their party’s centrist New Democrat Coalition. “Rather than chasing rabbits, what Leader Jeffries has kept the caucus doing is focused on accomplishment, success and a plan for our future.”

First elected in 2012, Jeffries is sandwiched between the Pelosi-era elders who have held great sway in Congress and liberal millennial New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's generation, bridging the two.

A corporate lawyer, he grew up the son of a counselor and a social worker, steeped in Brooklyn's Cornerstone Baptist Church. He earned a political science degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton and a master's in public policy at Georgetown and graduated magna cum laude at New York University School of Law.

At 29, he made his first run for office, an insurgent himself, eager to oust a longtime New York state Assembly member. He failed, twice. Eventually he won a statehouse seat. He ran for Congress, mounting a challenge to a 30-year incumbent who stepped aside.

Since then Jeffries has been on a steady rise, representing parts of the district once held by trailblazing Rep. Shirley Chisholm.

“Faith and the community were always a central part of my journey," he said.

He said that's the case for many of his generation, “who grew up in the midst, you know, of some challenging times — the crack cocaine epidemic, a lot of community violence. A lot of people’s lives were prematurely lost.”

“It leads to a desire to want to improve the quality of life for hardworking people, who could have fled difficult circumstances but remained in the community, worked hard to turn things around,” he said.

At the Toledo church, the area's long-serving Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur told the congregation that when she first ran for office, Chisholm was the only member of Congress to campaign for her. Now another from Brooklyn is ready to lead.

“This man wants to do something for the people of this country,” she said.

‘Sky’s the Limit' as Democrats work to take charge

Jeffries never bought into the theory that voters gave Republicans a mandate in 2024 with control of the White House and Congress, leaving Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana with one of the smallest majorities in modern times.

He set about to win power back for Democrats.

Democrats used the tools available to force votes that GOP leadership tried to avoid — on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and halting the Iran war.

They voted against the GOP’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill, Jeffries delivering an eight-hour speech spotlighting cuts to Medicaid healthcare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.

At times, it seemed Jeffries, not Johnson, was in charge — including when Democrats shut down the government because Republicans refused to fund tax credits for the Affordable Care Act that millions of people relied on to buy health insurance.

Jeffries often sprinkles old-school hip hop lyrics into his speeches, and he said the music has been a soundtrack to life, as songs are for any generation.

“‘Sky’s the Limit’ is one of my favorite songs from The Notorious B.I.G.," he said, “because it really did track a journey from negativity to positivity and overcoming life’s adversity.”

Challenges ahead for the party leader

Jeffries will be tested almost immediately if Democrats take control. The House speaker is elected when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

He is facing a new generation of upstarts, including a handful of candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that Democrats are often a “party of nervous lawyers” at a time when voters are demanding change.

“To his credit,” he said about Jeffries, “in these key moments and opportunities where we've been able to take action, we’ve surprised people.”

Jeffries is described as a listener, who often jots down what colleagues say in meetings, a bottom-up style of leadership that works to build consensus. He said he has spoken to all the incoming Democrats. "Everybody’s got to chart their own path,” he said.

“On the other side of this election, I think what will unite House Democrats is the fact that we know things are broken in this country,” he said. "We've got to do something transformational about the affordability crisis.”

A sense of purpose for the country's future

After the service, members of the congregation gathered in the church basement for a luncheon honoring the bishop's anniversary years of service, with steaming trays of chicken, greens, sweet potatoes and desserts.

Church member Lorna McKinstry, 74, a retired police dispatcher, said she was hopeful the country could begin to end its divisions.

“I want us to be a United States of America,” she said.

Jeffries visited over lunch before pushing on to the next stops, driven by a sense of purpose that the country can do better.

Those in Congress “have a responsibility to stop the madness from continuing to hurt everyday Americans," he said, "and chart a more hopeful path toward making this country the best version of herself.”

Organizers of the Paris protest said an administrative court in the city overturned a ban issued by police. The Paris police prefecture previously said the ban was necessary, given the risk of street violence after groups of masked youth clashed with police forces, looted shops and torched cars over the weekend.

The Paris court ruling was not immediately made public.

More bans were expected in the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron said such measures aim to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings.

The right to demonstrate in France is protected by the French Constitution, and the ban on demonstrations planned for Thursday in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble was seen by some as an infringement on French people’s right to protest.

High school and university student groups said they will continue to mobilize, even though the autumn school break started this week.

Macron said the strategy adopted for the coming days is to ban protests requested by “individuals or groups with no legitimate authority.” His remarks came after a special security meeting at the Elysée Palace.

“Where trade unions submit requests to hold demonstrations, prefects will examine them in accordance with the law, but alternative routes will be proposed” to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings, Macron said.

“The rules are simple, and I think they’re just common sense. The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days," he said. “For those who still want to protest, if they are trade unions, prefects will propose alternative routes."

Macron blamed the weekend's violence on “actions led by radical far-left groups who aimed to bring the Republic down," in addition to criminals who came to loot.

The turmoil in Paris and other French cities has prompted a strong security response from the government. Night curfews have been implemented in some areas of the French capital, as well as in other cities where calm has been restored.

The ban in Paris applied to areas including the Elysée presidential palace, both houses of parliament, and the city's main train stations. Areas in downtown Paris, which were severely hit by the looting, were also covered.

Authorities are bracing for another big protest day

Thursday's planned protests were seen as a prelude to Saturday's big demonstration, when activists from the “ yellow vest ” movement, whose demonstrations over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, and the CGT labor union, are expected to join.

Some of those protests, including marches in Lyon, will also be banned, local authorities said.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who met union representatives on Wednesday, said a “massive” security operation was planned for Saturday to prevent a repeat of the violence by small groups of rioters that had exposed shortcomings in security measures.

Union representatives said their meeting with Lecornu did not result in concrete proposals. They are now focusing on another big day of action scheduled on Nov. 5, and called on private and public sector employees to join.

From student protests to a broader social movement

The demonstrations first erupted last month in a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over a lack of staff. From there, class strikes, blockades and demonstrations spread to other Paris suburbs and then nationwide, even in smaller towns.

High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools, dilapidated facilities and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods. Some also called for a reform of the university admissions system, seen by many as complex and unfair.

With the government unable to respond to students' demands, the school demonstrations and blockades have morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before next year's presidential election to choose Macron's successor.

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With days before a close election in Israel in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose power, and before next month’s U.S. midterm election in which war-linked high prices have sparked voter anger, there are concerns that U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran could resume.

“Netanyahu wants to attack Iran, that’s not even a question,” Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and a former Iran specialist in Israel’s military and intelligence services, told The Associated Press.

He accused Israel of rushing into another round with Iran without revamping its strategy. A clear Netanyahu victory in the Oct. 27 election means an attack is almost guaranteed, he said.

Main opposition candidates are likely to focus on domestic issues first, but Citrinowicz said he believed the region is on the way toward "another kinetic escalation.”

Iran repeats threat to attack U.S. bases in the region

Iranian state television reported the claims about the latest attacks on ships, which the AP couldn't independently confirm. The report cited the Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, which again threatened to strike U.S. military bases in the region if the U.S. keeps helping to guide commercial ships through the strait.

The report didn't mention casualties. Iran still asserts control over the waterway, a central point of leverage in any talks with the U.S. over the war.

October has had the most reported attacks on commercial shipping since March in the war's opening weeks, according to a British military monitor, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. UKMTO didn't report the latest attacks, but it has noted new reluctance by some shippers to report incidents.

Oil producers have found ways to keep crude flowing, experts say, but at a mounting cost.

Iran says it's open to diplomacy but also self-defense

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday said that a wary Tehran remains open to diplomacy, but is ready to defend itself.

Iran has warned that it has learned important military lessons from the war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28. In recent days, Tehran has indicated that it could expand targets to include infrastructure such as undersea cables and data centers.

The United States, for its part, is sending more military assets to the region, including a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops, to join the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades.

Mediators, meanwhile, have been trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks.

Iran still promotes its latest proposal that would end the war and fully open the strait within a week if the U.S. meets several conditions. Those conditions, which include ending the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, echo ones in the deal that fell apart within days of both sides signing it in June.

In late September, U.S. President Donald Trump rejected that seven-day proposal, but both sides have acknowledged that indirect discussions have continued.

The stakes are even higher if all-out war resumes

A return to full fighting would again endanger civilians throughout the region and complicate global deliveries of oil, natural gas and related products like fertilizer from the region and likely bring another spike in prices.

The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, this week acknowledged that the Islamic Republic will suffer under a prolonged U.S. blockade. But economic pain and strategic collapse are not the same thing, he added, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

Now the landscape of the conflict has widened with the recent surge in fighting between Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi kingdom backs a coalition of forces with Yemen’s internationally recognized government that is fighting the rebels.

The Houthis' repeated deadly attacks on airports and other facilities inside Saudi Arabia have pressured the close U.S. ally, which has sought military aid.

The escalation also has threatened a crucial shipping corridor, the Bab el-Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea.

La tormenta registraba vientos máximos sostenidos de 100 kilómetros por hora (65 millas por hora) y se encontraba centrada a unos 425 kilómetros (265 millas) al sur de Nantucket, Massachusetts, y a unos 940 kilómetros (585 millas) al suroeste de Halifax, Nueva Escocia.

Se esperaba que Josephine continuara alejándose de Estados Unidos y se mantuviera al sur de Nueva Escocia y Terranova, según el Centro Nacional de Huracanes en Miami.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional emitió una alerta de temporal de viento para partes del noreste y del Atlántico medio, lo que significa que eran posibles vientos por encima de 63 km/h (39 mph) hasta media mañana del viernes. También se advirtió a las embarcaciones pequeñas sobre condiciones peligrosas hacia el sur, hasta los Outer Banks de Carolina del Norte.

También se esperaba que las inundaciones costeras de leves a moderadas continuaran durante la semana en la costa del Atlántico medio.

En el Pacífico, la tormenta tropical Vance se encontraba bien alejada de la costa suroeste de México y podría intensificarse hasta convertirse en un huracán de categoría tres o más.

A última hora del miércoles registraba vientos máximos sostenidos de 75 km/h (45 mph) y se pronosticaba que se convertiría en huracán el jueves, para alcanzar categoría 3 el sábado, informó el centro de Estados Unidos.

Vance se ubicaba unos 815 kilómetros (505 millas) al sur de Acapulco, México.

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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 storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was centered about 265 miles (425 kilometers) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and about 585 miles (940 kilometers) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Josephine was forecast to continue moving away from the United States and remain south of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

The National Weather Service posted a gale warning for parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, meaning winds above 39 mph (63 kph) were possible through midmorning Friday. Small watercraft were also advised of hazardous conditions south to North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Minor to moderate coastal flooding was also expected to continue through the week on the mid-Atlantic coast.

In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Vance was well off Mexico's southwestern coast and may intensify to a major hurricane.

It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) late Wednesday and was forecast to become a hurricane Thursday and a major hurricane Saturday, the U.S. center said.

Vance was located about 505 miles (815 kilometers) south of Acapulco, Mexico.

At least four people were killed in Ukraine and dozens of others were wounded, officials said, in the large-scale attacks that began only hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed “in principle” on Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

Putin's consent came in talks in St. Petersburg with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who had spoken of a “new momentum” toward peace after meeting Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway. No date was set for the tripartite talks.

Representatives of the three countries held rounds of “technical” talks in the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland in January and February, seeking to lay the groundwork for detailed negotiations. But they reported little progress beyond exchanges of prisoners of war. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their terms for stopping the fighting despite U.S. efforts.

Zelenskyy says only a meeting of leaders can end the deadlock. As for the prospect of more “technical talks” between delegations: “We’ll see what happens this time.”

Zelenskyy sees ‘no change’ in Moscow's attitude

Russia’s aerial attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine overnight, killing at least four people and wounding scores of others, including five children, Zelenskyy said on social media Thursday.

Two women aged 50 and 60 were killed and dozens of others wounded in a Russian strike on a market in Lozova, in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration. Another person was killed in other strikes on Kharkiv, the State Emergency Service said.

The Ukrainian capital endured a noisy night as 21 ballistic missiles came in three waves, Zelenskyy said, smashing apartment buildings, energy facilities, a railway station and the Kyiv subway system, shopping malls and businesses. One person was killed in Kyiv.

A Russian ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions — bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — targeted downtown Kyiv, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy.

Ukrainians are bracing for the bitterly cold months ahead as the recent escalation in Russian attacks targets the power grid to deny civilians heat, light and running water. Ukraine says Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for an annual campaign Ukrainians describe as “ weaponizing winter. ”

The Russian bombardment showed “there has been no real change in (Moscow’s) attitude toward everything that is happening,” Zelenskyy said.

Putin mulls attending G20 in Miami, Kremlin says

The Ukrainian leader has pleaded with Washington to supply more Patriot air defense ammunition to stop the ballistic missiles, and to heap more sanctions on Russia to pressure Moscow to pursue peace.

Instead, Trump has agreed with Putin to import diesel from Russia and waived heavy sanctions on Moscow, while U.S. officials say Patriot ammunition is in short supply.

Western analysts say Putin wants to cut out Europe and Kyiv and negotiate Ukraine’s future directly with Washington. The Trump administration has also disparaged Europe.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Putin had received an invitation to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December but hasn’t yet decided whether to go.

“The American administration is doing a lot to help a peaceful settlement,” Peskov told reporters. “European capitals are doing nothing to promote a peaceful resolution, and they are doing a great deal to provoke the further escalation of fighting."

Ukrainians chide Trump envoy for flattering Putin

Witkoff, the Trump envoy who met with Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, was harshly criticized in Ukraine and in the U.S. for praising the Russian leader as a “humanitarian” for ordering the release of a retired American teacher who was imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.

Assassination attempts against Putin's foes — routinely denied by the Kremlin — have been common during his decades in power. And as the five-year anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor approaches, aerial strikes have killed thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

The latest “brutal” Russian attacks demonstrate “what Russian ‘humanism’ truly sounds like,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media. “Appeasement, servility, and flattery will not stop this war. Only strength will.”

Russia says it intercepted more than 800 Ukrainian drones

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses overnight downed 808 Ukrainian drones, with two people reported wounded.

Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 630 of the drones were fired toward the Russian capital between late Wednesday and early Thursday. Moscow airports temporarily restricted air traffic overnight.

The Russian military hit the facilities involved in making and storing drones and cruise missiles and transport infrastructure in Kyiv in overnight strikes, the Defense Ministry said. Infrastructure in the southern port of Odesa and vessels used for the Ukrainian armed forces were also hit, it said.

In other developments, the bodies of 252 people, said by Russia to be Ukrainian soldiers, were returned to Ukraine in an exchange, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Thursday.

Russia received 25 bodies of Russian soldiers, Russian lawmaker Shamsail Saraliyev, a member of a parliamentary coordination group overseeing the exchanges, told RBC news outlet.

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

The Golden State Warriors rookie began his career Wednesday night by refusing to back down from the reigning NBA scoring champion, who punctuated their prolonged on-court exchange of trash talk by making a spectacular half-court shot in Lendeborg's face at the halftime buzzer.

Doncic also won this fight decisively on the scoreboard when the Los Angeles Lakers blew out Lendeborg and the Warriors 127-105, with Doncic scoring 28 points in just three quarters.

Yet Lendeborg somehow wasn't finished talking: He called out the six-time All-Star as a complainer and a free-throw merchant during his postgame news conference.

“I lost all respect (for Doncic), man," Lendeborg said. “That was awful. ... A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, a lot of praying to the ref, man. Interesting first game for me, for sure."

The Warriors' 24-year-old rookie first-round pick said he sparred with Doncic on the court because of the Slovenian superstar's constant complaining to the officials — admittedly a common feature of most games in Doncic's nine-year career.

Lendeborg, who won an NCAA title with Michigan last season, said he enjoyed watching highlights of Doncic's electric scoring performances in the past — but he has a more jaded perspective on Doncic's skills now.

“Me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called,” Lendeborg said. “It’s about him complaining the entire game, and then you get the foul call, and congratulations, bro. And then you talk to me like you did something great? Bro, come on. That’s just weak, you know? It kind of threw me off for a little while, because like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.”

Lendeborg and Doncic exchanged insults for much of the second quarter, with Lendeborg being whistled for a technical foul after saying something so loud and profane it caught the officials' attention.

“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said with a smile. “‘You can’t score on me.’ I said it the whole game. I said a couple of cuss words, obviously. That’s why I got the technical and all that, but I was letting him know, because he was laughing and talking, all this because of that one foul call."

Doncic mostly laughed off Lendeborg's provocations, but the Lakers star obviously thrives amid confrontation. He was whistled for 16 technical fouls last season, earning a one-game suspension for exceeding the single-season limit.

“He was talking crazy, but I wasn’t trying to talk back this season,” Doncic said of Lendeborg. “Not trying to get techs. For the first time, that was not a double tech, because I didn’t say nothing, so I’m working on it. As you see, I think it worked great.”

Doncic got the ultimate victory at the final buzzer — but his halftime win was incredibly sweet as well.

“I knew that was going in before I got it in my hands,” Doncic said with a grin. “I work on those.”

He got the ball near the scorer's table and let it fly with nearly 3 seconds left on the clock. When it banked through and set off pandemonium in the Lakers' downtown arena, Doncic gleefully pointed at the fuming Lendeborg, who wasn't impressed.

“His only bucket on me was a banker from half court,” Lendeborg said. “I know it’s a team sport. He had 28 on us as a team. Me, I took my matchup personally. Tried not to get called on the fouls. Tried my best. I was thinking about playing him with my hands behind my back to see if that worked. Probably would have still got a foul call. But interesting.”

A Warriors official then steered Lendeborg away from further denigrating one of the greatest players in modern basketball, but the rookie had already done more than enough to stoke this burgeoning personal feud as a fascinating new addition to these California teams' historic rivalry.

Doncic and Lendeborg should see each other again Oct. 30, when the Lakers visit San Francisco.

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See AP’s full NBA coverage here

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

7 oil tankers damaged in Strait of Hormuz, Iran's state television says

Iran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers caught fire and were damaged overnight Thursday after being targeted or striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

If verified, it would be the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran.

Quoting a statement by the Revolutionary Guard's navy, the Iranian report said that four of the tankers were transferring oil when they were targeted and caught fire. Another three were damaged and immobilized when they hit naval mines.

The report didn't provide details about possible casualties or the flags of the tankers.

The report also warned that the Revolutionary Guard may target U.S. bases in the region if the U.S. tried to allow oil tankers to transit through other parts of the strait.

The Revolutionary Guard had routinely targeted U.S. bases in Gulf countries during the war.

Yemen's government warns that rallies in support of Houthi rebels could be targeted

Yemen’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that rallies and mobilization programs by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels will be considered legitimate military targets and warned residents in Houthi-held areas against taking part.

The announcement was shared in a social media post and is considered a major escalation against the Houthis as well as civilians living in areas under their control. Pro-Houthi rallies are regularly staged on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer.

Deliberate attacks on civilians could amount to a war crime.

Rallies and what Houthis call “cultural courses” are one of the Iranian-backed group’s main tools for mobilization of supporters and fighters. The Defense Ministry statement said such gatherings are used by the Houthis to mobilize children for combat.

Death toll from strike on Saudi airport rises to 2

Saudi Arabia's Civil Aviation Authority said Thursday that the number of people killed in an attack the night before on the King Fahd International Airport has risen to two.

The dead are a Saudi citizen and an Indian national who was living in the kingdom, according to a statement. Another eight people suffered injuries in the attack, which occurred late on Wednesday.

The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the airport attack in a statement Thursday posted on Telegram.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree also claimed the Houthis targeted an Aramco facility in Yanbu that ignited a fire, as well as the Saudi Defense Ministry in Riyadh. Saree didn't provide any evidence for the ministry strike.

King Fahd Airport in the country's east near Bahrain and Qatar has been attacked previously amid a wider wave of Houthi missile and projectile strikes targeting major Saudi airports.

India’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the strikes on the Saudi airport and the country's energy infrastructure are “completely unacceptable" and called for their immediate end.

Two Indian nationals were also injured in the airport attack. Another Indian national was wounded in a strike on Aramco’s Shaybah oil field.

A disabled Syrian man is killed in an Israeli forces raid

A civilian with special needs was killed during an Israeli forces' raid on the village of Jamla in southern Syria’s Daraa province on Thursday, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

The report did not give more details about how the man was killed. The Israeli military said in a statement that soldiers had “identified a suspect approaching them and carried out a suspect apprehension procedure.”

“The suspect continued to approach the soldiers, who responded by firing toward him in order to remove the threat,” it said, adding that the incident is under review.

After the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning Syrian rebel offensive in December 2024, Israel seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and has occupied it since.

Jamla is not inside the Israeli-occupied zone, but Israeli forces often make incursions into areas outside the zone.

A UN official calls for economic pressure on Israel

The U.N.’s special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza urged Indonesians to use their economic clout to pressure Israel into stopping what she called unlawful actions in the Palestinian territories.

Francesca Paola Albanese told the World Conference on Creative Economy 2026 that a “just economy” should abide by an economic boycott, divestment and sanctions led by Palestinians.

She said that means avoiding using services or purchasing goods that boost the Israeli economy.

The special rapporteur also criticized Indonesia’s participation in the U.S.-created Board of Peace.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, has long been a strong supporter of Palestinians.

Iran puts new drones on display

Iran’s state television on Thursday showed dozens of military drones it claimed are more powerful and more sophisticated than previous iterations.

The report showed the drones in an underground location, adding that a new version of the “Arash” drone now has a 100 kg (220-pound) warhead - twice as powerful as before.

Iranian Army Chief Gen. Amir Hatami was quoted as saying on the state television's website that Iran has "reached a significant level of maturity in the field of drones and unmanned systems in general” and that more drones will be unveiled in the future.

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

They're accusing Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal government of failing to fulfill its promise to relax Poland's strict abortion laws, and protesting even though the parliament passed two bills on Tuesday aimed at easing abortion rules. The measures are likely to be vetoed by the conservative president, Karol Nawrocki.

Passing the draft laws now, a year before the next parliamentary election, is a case of “token gestures” rather than a genuine effort to reform abortion law, said Zofia Marcinek of the Abortion Dream Team, a reproductive rights activist group in Warsaw.

She said the liberal government knew the draft laws stand no chance of withstanding Nawrocki's veto, and has merely tried to create the impression of taking action because it needs women's support to win elections next year.

Most abortions are performed secretly

Since 1993, legal abortions have been allowed in Catholic Poland only in cases of severe fetal abnormality, risk to the mother’s life and health, or the pregnancy being a result of rape or incest.

Polish women have been pushing for the legalization of abortion ever since, including in a nationwide wave of demonstrations of women wearing black called “Black Protest,” which began in 2016.

Rather than being liberalized, Poland’s abortion laws were tightened further, banning abortions of fetuses with congenital defects in 2020 under the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.

Despite the laws, abortions remain common in Poland, an overwhelming majority of which are carried out by women at home using pills obtained from outside the country. Women who undergo abortions, including by taking pills, do not face criminal responsibility under Polish law. But people helping them, including doctors and family, can potentially be prosecuted.

And abortion remains a taboo subject in Poland, which now has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, with only Malta imposing stricter limits.

Activists accuse Polish government of disinformation

Tusk’s pro-European coalition won the 2023 election in part on a promise to liberalize Poland’s abortion laws. But in 2024, Tusk said his government wouldn't be able to overcome the likely veto of a conservative president. Instead, measures were introduced to prevent hospitals from refusing to perform legal abortions on religious grounds.

"The state will increasingly effectively stand on the side of the woman when she is making dramatic decisions in her life,” Tusk said in 2024 when he announced the measures.

Polish hospitals performed 573 abortions in the first half of 2026, compared to 452 in the whole of 2022 before Tusk came to power, according to data from the national health fund. But activists say tens of thousands of abortions happen yearly outside of hospitals.

Activists organizing Thursday’s protests are claiming the Tusk government has betrayed Polish women — and that Tusk's claims that women's access to abortion has improved during his administration have actually complicated getting care for some women.

“The government's promises act as a type of disinformation,” Marcinek told the AP. “Women getting pregnant hear the prime minister say that everything is ok, that there is access to abortion, and then they end up in the hospital and see that is not the case. So they come to us when it's very late and very complicated and expensive to help them.”

Meanwhile, international donors are less interested in supporting Polish women's rights because they mistakenly believe things have improved, Marcinek said.

Activists dispense abortion pills outside parliament

In 2025, the Abortion Dream Team opened an “ abortion clinic ” across from the parliament building in Warsaw where women can get information about their options, or even take their abortion pills in the company of supporting activists.

This September, the activists also launched a parcel locker dispensing abortion pills at the same location, nicknamed “Abortomat."

The dispenser is operated by the international feminist non-profit Women Help Women. It enables women needing abortions to get the pills the next day, rather than wait for up to two weeks for home delivery, Marcinek said.

“There are also people who cannot safely order such pills at their own address, for example because of an unsupportive family or abusive partner," she said. “These women can get a pin number and pick up the pills in the machine the next day.”

“In Poland, assisting with an abortion is a criminal offence. Even passing the pills from hand to hand can be considered a crime,” the Abortion Dream Team wrote in a statement. "That’s why we’re hacking the Criminal Code and bringing abortion into the 21st century.”

Nunchucks are a controlled weapon used in martial arts consisting of two or more batons joined by a cord, rope or chain, according to Western Australia state law. Nunchucks can only be carried in public in the state for use in legitimate sports, training or martial arts instruction.

The incidents are heightening concerns about female politicians’ safety and security in a country where lawmakers are highly accessible to the public.

Man charged with entering lawmaker's office with nunchucks

Prosecutors said in a Perth court on Thursday that John Lawrence Smart, 56, was screaming when he entered Western Australian state government minister Hannah Beazley’s electorate office in suburban Perth on Wednesday, demanding to see her while holding above his head two pieces of wood tied together.

Beazley wasn’t in the office at the time. Two staff members remained safe behind a security barrier in the office and no one was hurt.

“It was confronting,” Beazley posted on social media.

Smart said from the prisoner’s dock that he had been holding claves, not nunchucks. Claves are typically wooden sticks used as a percussion instrument.

Magistrate Heidi Watson refused to release Smart on bail, saying he posed a potential risk to himself and the public. She ordered Smart to be medically assessed while in custody. He had previously been involuntarily admitted to hospital with schizophrenia.

Smart did not enter pleas to charges of being armed, or pretending to be armed, in a way that may cause fear and with making an unlawful threat.

There was no allegation that Smart's alleged behavior was connected to the driver who hit federal lawmaker Helen Haines with his car in the east coast state of Victoria on Monday.

Haines' alleged attacker, Brendan Nugent, appeared in a court on Wednesday on charges including intentionally causing serious injury. He did not enter pleas and remains in custody.

Police are still searching for a motive.

Haines, a 65-year-old independent lawmaker, remained in critical condition on Thursday in a Melbourne hospital where surgeons have amputated both her legs, a health department statement said.

Australians worry attacks threaten tradition of accessible politicians

Both the Haines and Beazley incidents have raised concerns about the safety of female politicians, who account for a growing proportion of lawmakers in Australian parliaments. Just under 50% of federal lawmakers and a majority of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet are women.

Australian lawmakers are some of the most accessible in the world and political violence has traditionally been rare. But there are fears that increasingly toxic public debate driven by social media creates additional risks for elected women.

Albanese said the fact that the threat to Beazley came so soon after the alleged attack on Haines was “just heartbreaking.” Beazley is the daughter of Albanese's former federal colleague, Kim Beazley.

“We can have debate and disagreement, but do it in a way without descending into the sort of violence that we have seen in too many parts of the world,” Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “It’s certainly not who we are as Australians.”

Albanese attended an online security briefing this week for women lawmakers in his center-left Labor Party. Security agencies addressed misogynistic threats directed at them.

Male and female federal lawmakers agree that women are facing the worst of the online abuse.

“Of course people are concerned. They’re anxious,” Albanese said. “There has been a normalization of behavior that can be very aggressive in a way that wasn’t happening a couple of decades ago.”

Governor-General abused on social media

Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who is only the second woman to ever serve as the British monarch’s representative in Australia, said that she was abused on social media for speaking at a press conference on Wednesday alongside Haines’ husband Phil Haines.

“Like any woman who has stepped up into any position across any part of our society, there is a unique and pernicious form of attack that comes our way,” Mostyn told ABC.

“Women across the country know that there are certain things that are reserved for women in that attack that go to our gender and they are often vicious and just despicable,” she added.

Tras exponer la víspera su informe sobre la situación de México ante la tercera comisión de la Asamblea General, Juan Pablo Albán, presidente del CED, expresó el miércoles dudas sobre las 16.000 personas que según el gobierno mexicano fueron localizadas en el último año.

Albán dijo en su cuenta de X que “es importante saber quienes son las personas localizadas, si ya fueron regresadas a sus familias”, y añadió que “quedan más 120.000 por localizar y hay que continuar los esfuerzos en tal sentido”.

La reacción del jurista ecuatoriano se dio horas después de que Sheinbaum celebró en su habitual conferencia matutina la postura del CED ante la tercera comisión de la Asamblea General asegurando que pasaron “de una crítica a una felicitación”, aunque añadió que los avances de su gobierno en esa materia no se debían al informe que realizó en abril el comité, sino al “cambio en las leyes que se hicieron y del trabajo constante de búsqueda que ha realizado la nueva comisionada”.

Al contrapunteo de declaraciones se sumó la noche del miércoles Jennifer Feller, representante permanente alterna de México ante la ONU, quien afirmó en su cuenta de la red social que la “cooperación, la auténtica, no se impone. Se construye con ética, sin protagonismos, manteniendo en todo momento el rigor y la transparencia en beneficio de las víctimas”.

Feller sostuvo que las intervenciones que realizaron los estados en la sesión de la comisión el martes evidenció que el diálogo internacional sobre desapariciones y desaparición forzada “exige seriedad, cooperación y compromiso genuino en el fortalecimiento del sistema internacional de derechos humanos”.

Desde abril pasado surgieron tensiones entre el gobierno de Sheinbaum y el CED luego que esa instancia solicitó remitir urgentemente la situación de México a la Asamblea General para que sopesara medidas de prevención, investigación, castigo y erradicación de las desapariciones forzadas.

Según el comité, que forma parte del sistema de la ONU, existen “indicios fundados” de que en México se han cometido y se siguen cometiendo desapariciones forzadas como “crímenes de lesa humanidad”, un planteamiento objetado por las autoridades mexicanas.

Al reporte del CED le siguió un informe de la Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos (CIDH) que instó en mayo a México a tomar acciones para hacer frente a lo que catalogó como una “grave” y “generalizada” crisis de desaparecidos que se ha exacerbado por la violencia, la complicidad de algunas autoridades con el crimen organizado y la “impunidad estructural”.

Desde el año pasado, la presidenta impulsó una serie de reformas para agilizar las búsquedas y presentó una revisión del registro nacional de personas desaparecidas. Organizaciones humanitarias locales criticaron dicha revisión, asegurando que las debilidades en los registros revelan la enorme impunidad que existe en el país sobre esos casos, y consideraron que las nuevas clasificaciones no tienen fundamento legal.

En un nuevo paso para atender la crisis, las autoridades mexicanas anunciaron la semana pasada que recibirán el apoyo de nueve expertos locales y extranjeros.

Sheinbaum decidió hacer los cambios tras la controversia que se desató en el país luego de que, en marzo de 2025, un colectivo denunció el hallazgo de numerosos restos óseos y cientos de prendas de vestir en el Rancho Izaguirre, ubicado a las afueras de Guadalajara, capital del estado de Jalisco. El predio era utilizado por el poderoso Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación como un centro de entrenamiento de sus integrantes.

If the report is verified, it would be the largest number of vessels damaged in the waterway in a single day since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28.

Brent crude, the international standard, gained 3.2% to $112.27 per barrel. It has been bouncing between $97 and $112 in recent days on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal.

U.S. benchmark crude rose 2.8% to $99.80 per barrel.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX shed 1.1% to 25,367.96, while the CAC 40 in Paris declined 1.3% to 7,816.67. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 10,678.67.

The future for the S&P 500 lost 1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.7% lower.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 2.7% to 62,907.84 on heavy selling of big tech companies like SoftBank Group, which lost 6.9%.

Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 7% and testing equipment maker Advantest lost 6%.

In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 3.5%, to 5,533.77. Big memory chipmakers led the decline, with Samsung Electronics down 4%. SK Hynix lost 5.5%.

AI stocks, at the center of market action in recent months, are under pressure from worries that construction of data centers may slow as it is becoming increasingly expensive to borrow money.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 3% to 22,934.68, and the Shanghai Composite index gave up 1.5% to 3,658.03.

Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.8%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4% to 8,793.20.

The U.S. stock market rose Wednesday following strong profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One Financial and other big companies.

The S&P 500 added 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.1%.

SpaceX helped lead the market and climbed 7.8% after reporting a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected. Elon Musk, who runs the company that makes money from artificial-intelligence technology, rockets and other businesses, also said that SpaceX took a step to consider a possible merger with Tesla, his electric-vehicle company.

Tesla rose 3.4% and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

Other stocks rallying on profit reports that topped analysts’ expectations included Capital One Financial, which rose 2.5%, and Winnebago Industries, which climbed 10.7%.

Expectations are high for profit growth for all kinds of companies during the summer, and they need to meet them to justify the big runs their stock prices have made despite worries about high inflation, higher interest rates and other challenges weighing on Wall Street.

Netflix fell 5.3% even though the streaming service reported a stronger profit than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on worries that Netflix’s momentum may be slowing.

In other dealings early Thursday, the dollar fell to 157.22 Japanese yen from 158.14 yen late Wednesday. The euro slipped to $1.1231 from $1.1233.

But now, some of the key data centers at the heart of its technical prowess have been knocked out by Ukrainian drone attacks in the 4 1/2-year-old full-scale invasion, suffering damage that could take a long time to repair.

Ukraine this month hit three main data centers belonging to tech giant Yandex, one for Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, and one for social media platform VKontakte, the country's equivalent to Facebook.

While Yandex, Sberbank and VKontakte are coy about the damage, people and businesses across Russia have reported widespread interruptions to cloud services. Banking, e-commerce, geolocation and ride-hailing services, as well as Alisa, Yandex’s virtual assistant, and multimodal AI chatbots all have suffered lasting disruptions.

The fallout even spread to Russia’s judicial system, reportedly forcing arbitration courts to cancel or postpone sessions and cutting database access.

Most experts predict repairing the damage could take months, if not years. Some warn that Moscow’s aspirations to become a leader in AI development could be significantly set back.

“This effectively sets Russia far behind in the AI race,” said Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Internet Protection Society activist group.

Data centers have been hit by both sides in the war

Data centers are the latest targets of aerial campaigns waged by both sides against each other’s vital infrastructure.

Russian missiles and drones have pummeled Ukraine’s power grid and other key sites, part of Kremlin efforts to weaken morale and resistance. Moscow stepped up those attacks as winter approaches, taking advantage of a shortage of U.S.-supplied Patriot interceptors, whose stockpiles have been drained by Washington's war with Iran.

Ukraine retaliated with waves of drone attacks against Russian oil refineries, triggering a massive fuel crisis and bringing the war home to millions of civilians.

U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed the attacks for higher global oil prices, which have escalated largely due to the U.S. war in Iran. Earlier this month, Trump struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin to import diesel oil, shocking Ukraine and its allies.

Ukraine also hit huge warehouses for Russia's top online retailers, Wildberries and Ozon.

Kyiv's attacks on Russian data centers closely followed Moscow’s recent strikes on data centers in Ukraine, which disrupted the internet and TV broadcasts.

On Oct. 8, Ukrainian drones hit a Yandex data center in Sasovo in the Ryazan region that houses two of the company’s three supercomputers. A data center in Kaluga was hit a day later and the one in Vladimir was struck Oct. 11.

The data center and AI hub for Sberbank was hit Oct. 14 in Balakovo in the Saratov region, and four days later, Kyiv struck a data center in St. Petersburg serving VKontakte.

Data centers are vulnerable

While oil refineries and warehouses are easy prey, data centers are even softer targets — massive buildings packed with servers and supporting power and cooling infrastructure. Lasting damage can result from a drone carrying a relatively light load of explosives.

The vulnerability of data centers was exposed by Iran, whose drones hit two Amazon Web Services data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. AWS said last month it was unable to restore access to the resources and data hosted at two of them.

Yandex has run drills for an accident that could incapacitate one of its six data centers, but it was caught unprepared when its three key facilities were hit over four days. It wasn’t immediately clear why air defenses near the sites had failed.

“The problem in Russia is that they’ve got to cover a big country with air defense and they don’t have enough,” said Nick Reiners, senior geotechnology analyst at Eurasia Group.

Russia’s efforts to build a ‘sovereign internet’ backfire

Ukraine has stored critical data on servers in allied European countries, helping limit the damage from Russian attacks. But Moscow’s strict digital sovereignty policy requires all data storage at home, making it extremely vulnerable.

“Because all the infrastructure and all the data is located inside Russia, it’s relatively easier to take down,” Reiners said.

Klimarev predicted the data center attacks could encourage many top Russian companies to move data abroad, while the authorities could ease their efforts to tighten internet controls to minimize the damage.

“Paradoxically, the strikes on data centers have saved the Russian internet from isolation, as they will now have to move computing assets, most likely, to Europe,” Klimarev said. “It’s quite likely that many Russian businesses are now roaming the European market to rent computing assets.”

Russians are vexed by service disruptions

Yandex dominates digital life in Russia and many former Soviet nations. It provides a wide variety of functions, including a search engine, cloud storage, payment apps, geolocation and ride-hailing services, and e-commerce platforms.

“Yandex is kind of like Uber and Amazon and Google and everything rolled into one,” with everything "concentrated in just a few data centers,” Reiners said. “From a strategic perspective, they’re an excellent target.”

The attacks on Yandex caused unprecedented disruptions, paralyzing payments, online orders, taxi rides and access to personal data.

Moscow resident Igor Mann said he couldn’t collect an order he placed with Yandex Market, an e-commerce platform. He said he tried using a virtual private network, but “nothing worked.”

Taxi driver Pavel Belyavskiy, who gets orders via Yandex’s ride-hailing app, couldn't connect with passengers.

“On several orders already, I’ve ended up waiting for a long time and had to cancel the ride because I couldn’t even get in touch with the passenger,” he said.

The attacks also caused temporary disruptions at some major companies and banks that rely on Yandex cloud services.

“It’s not just about convenience — it’s also about work ... tied to everyday life,” said another Moscow resident, Eduard Malyavko.

A blow to Russia’s AI ambitions

Yandex said it restored most key cloud services in the following days as it turned to other data centers in Russia. But the damage to the company’s AI development efforts is widely seen as massive and longer-lasting.

Yandex has invested in huge data centers as the global AI boom fuels demand for computing power. The company’s three supercomputers used to develop models are ranked among the top 500 in the world. Its most powerful computer — at the Sasovo data center — was ranked 19th.

Yandex didn't disclose the extent of the strikes' consequences, but satellite images indicated its data centers sustained serious damage. Some observers noted that fires triggered by the attacks probably seriously damaged high-end chips and other key equipment.

“With this kind of hit, it’s hard to expect that at least something was left intact — the data centers' equipment is fragile, demanding and expensive,” Klimarev said. “Soot from the fire is bad for electronics.”

While Russia already lagged years behind the U.S. and China, “Ukraine’s drone strikes will likely still set back Russian AI efforts further,” said Connor Martin, an expert with the Council for Foreign Relations.

He said in a commentary that Russia likely will struggle to quickly replace the U.S.-designed Nvidia A100 chips powering Yandex’s supercomputers.

Klimarev also said the global deficit of high-end chips, combined with the sanctions on their delivery to Russia, will make repairs long and costly.

“I’m not sure it can be done in half a year, a year, or even at all,” he said.

——

Kelvin Chan in London contributed.

“'Ashley, it's your favorite president,'” Iowa's Republican nominee for U.S. Senate recently recounted to an audience of her supporters. “That's how he introduced himself.”

She had had a more forceful message about communicating with President Donald Trump on the debate stage with her Democratic opponent, Josh Turek, as she tried to win over undecided voters.

“I’ll be President Trump’s ally when it is important for Iowa, but I will push back on him,” promised Hinson, who currently serves in the U.S. House. “He knows this.”

Although many Republicans are walking a political tightrope in this year's midterm elections, Hinson's balancing act is more challenging than most. Iowans have been hamstrung by manufacturing job losses, health care clinic closures and shrunken farm profits since Trump returned to the White House, but Hinson also is relying on the president's loyalists to show up for her.

On Thursday, Hinson will join Trump for a rally in Sioux City, which is in Iowa's conservative northwest corner. The visit to safe territory is geared toward boosting turnout even as it ties her more tightly to an unpopular president.

“I will be there at the rally to welcome him to Iowa because I think this is a contrast election," Hinson said on Fox News last week. “There was never a good time to elect a tax-and-spend liberal to the United States Senate but now would be the worst time.”

Trump is expected to visit the state again Nov. 1. He is “anxious for Iowans to hear his message before they vote,” Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann said in announcing the president's schedule.

Turek, a state lawmaker, was in Sioux City for a campaign event Tuesday and told reporters he was happy for Trump to visit to see how his tariffs and the Iran war have “hurt Iowa more than any other state.” Although Turek says he's willing to work with Trump on issues like immigration, he called Hinson a rubber stamp for the president's bad policies.

There are more examples of Hinson bucking the president

When Hinson kicked off her campaign last year, she touted Trump’s endorsement and said she was running to be Trump’s “top ally” in the Senate. Almost a year later, Hinson instead says she wants to be “Iowa’s best bipartisan fighter."

The message has crystallized since the summer, with more examples of Hinson vocalizing positions at odds with the president. Recent polling from late September and early October suggests it could work as she carves out about 1 in 10 voters who disapprove of the president even as she continues to secure overwhelming support from those who approve of Trump.

In August, she said Trump’s plan to increase beef imports from foreign countries in an attempt to lower prices was "a bad idea” that would hurt Iowa farmers.

Last month, two of Hinson's Iowa colleagues in the House broke with the White House and voted against Trump's ability to continue the war with Iran without congressional approval.

Hinson didn’t, but she said later the war has gotten too costly for Americans and called for Trump to bring the conflict to a “successful and immediate end.”

More recently, Hinson criticized Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russia in exchange for diesel fuel. She said Tuesday that the U.S. needs to make sure “dictators aren’t allowed to win wars.”

“I think the president and I share the goal of lowering costs for working families and for people who are using diesel,” she told reporters after a campaign event. “I, again, just don’t think we need to be making any deals with Russia.”

Hinson said she hadn’t talked with the president about the issue.

“Maybe I’ll have a chance to come have a conversation with him at the rally," she added.

Turek says he'll work with Trump on immigration

Hinson isn't the only one pitching bipartisanship. So is Turek. In fact, he's the only Iowa candidate seeking federal office who explicitly mentions Trump in general election television advertisements, according to an Associated Press analysis of AdImpact data.

In one, Turek is behind the wheel speaking directly to a camera about Interstate 35, which “connects Iowa to the southern border and the broken immigration system that both parties have failed to fix." He says: “In the U.S. Senate, I’ll work with anyone to fix it, including President Trump, to secure the border, stop the flow of drugs into Iowa.”

Turek has pushed back on the president’s policies, including tariffs and the war in Iran, as the catalysts of high costs that are hurting Iowans, but his message on working with the president on immigration and other select issues stands out from other Democrats. Republicans say he's just pretending to be a moderate to get elected.

Mazie Stilwell, executive director of the progressive organization Progress Iowa, said Turek's message on immigration targets a bloc of voters on an issue that's particularly important to them but doesn't overshadow his otherwise disciplined focus on the high costs facing Iowans.

Trump’s visit to the state Thursday, she added, is “a terrific reminder of the disaster that he has been and his administration has been for our bottom line, for everyday Iowans who are trying to make ends meet.”

Iowa Senate races often draw big spending

Iowa is no stranger to competitive Senate races even though Trump won the state by double digits in the last presidential election.

Ad spending on broadcast and cable television has already surpassed $200 million this cycle, AdImpact shows. But in today’s dollars, the total ad spending in the 2020 Senate race was even higher.

Republicans have spent slightly more for Hinson than Democrats for Turek. That was the opposite in 2020, when Democrats spent nearly $30 million more than the GOP did in their unsuccessful effort to unseat Sen. Joni Ernst.

Iowa Republican activist Kelley Koch has been concerned that complacency will dampen turnout from conservatives, even those who are loyal to the president.

"They say, ‘Why are you all hyped up about the midterms, Kelley, Trump will take care of everything,'” Koch said.

It’s an assumption she’s working to counteract, and she expects “the Trump effect” from his visits will help protect Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

And while Koch supports Hinson, she doesn’t like it when she talks about pushing back on Trump.

“Right now,” Koch said, “we had better unite around our president.”

___

Associated Press reporter Aaron Kessler in Washington contributed.

Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she was beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in September 2012. Miguel Salguero Olivares was arrested nine years later after being pulled over for driving while intoxicated and providing a DNA sample that prosecutors say matched evidence from the crime scene.

He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, rape and burglary charges.

Testimony began Oct. 7 following eight days of jury selection. Salguero Olivares did not testify and his attorneys rested their case Wednesday without calling any witnesses. Nearly two dozen witnesses testified for the prosecution, including Hedgepeth’s roommate and other friends, crime scene technicians, state and local law enforcement and a DNA expert.

Early testimony focused on Hedgepeth’s life and her last night alive, when she and her roommate returned home from a club around 2 a.m. Karena Rosario testified that she was drunk and sick when Hedgepeth drove them home but later called a friend to pick her up and she went out again, leaving Hedgepeth in the apartment alone. She returned hours later that Sept. 7 to find Hedgepeth’s body.

An autopsy showed Hedgepeth suffered extensive skull fractures and cuts to her face and head, and she was also badly beaten on her arms and legs.

Prosecutors allege Salguero Olivares, now 33, was a stranger who killed Hedgepeth in a fit of rage. They said his DNA was found on a rum bottle covered in blood that investigators identified as the weapon in the killing, in Hedgepeth's body and on a note written on a fast-food bag found at the scene.

Erin Ermish, a forensic scientist with the state crime lab, testified that she could never say with 100% certainty that a DNA sample came from a particular person. But she said DNA swabbed from Hedgepeth’s body was 170 septillion times more likely to be a mixture of DNA from Hedgepeth and Salguero Olivares than from Hedgepeth and an unknown individual. One septillion is a 1 followed by 24 zeros. In contrast, NASA estimates the entire universe contains only 1 septillion stars.

Ermish also said the mixture of DNA from the top of the rum bottle was 48.6 tredecillion times more likely to be from Hedgepeth and Salguero Olivares than from two unknown, unrelated individuals. One tredecillion is a 1 followed by 42 zeros.

In cross-examining witnesses, defense attorneys questioned Rosario’s account of that night, the processing of the crime scene and the reliability of some DNA evidence. They pointed out that police failed to search some areas of the apartment and later lost some possible blood evidence.

Several jurors cried after viewing autopsy photos of Hedgepeth, according to local media accounts. Salguero Olivares, meanwhile, cried when prosecutors played video of a jailhouse call between him and a friend who has since died.

___

The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Faith Hedgepeth’s last name in one reference.

___

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

On the eve of a major protest planned for Oct. 17, he was photographed at a Celine Dion concert. Early Monday morning, with French cities still smoldering and littered with wreckage from the riots, Macron was flying abroad to secure a favorable fuel supply deal.

Presidential contenders on the far right and far left seized on the unrest to attack him. Macron himself acknowledged “failures” in planning and intelligence gathering.

Constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, the centre-right president entered the crisis with his popularity at its lowest since he took office in 2017 — below even the levels recorded during the “yellow vest” protests against social injustice and inequality that began in 2018.

He has yet to endorse a candidate, and it is unclear how much influence his backing would carry. Polls show moderates trailing far-right and far-left contenders.

With further protests planned for Thursday and Saturday, here is a look at France’s political landscape and how candidates are positioning themselves to succeed Macron.

The far right seeks to broaden support for Le Pen’s bid

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, seen as the favorite in next year's election, has sought to turn anger over the riots into support for her presidential bid, presenting herself as the alternative to a government she described as powerless.

“We are facing a state that is collapsing,” Le Pen told broadcaster FranceInfo on Wednesday. “We are facing a government in its final days that has, in reality, lost its grip and can no longer maintain control,” she said, blaming the violence on “far-left rioters” and “looters from the suburbs.”

Earlier this year, a Paris appeals court cleared a path for Le Pen to run by shortening a ban on seeking public office that had threatened her presidential ambitions. And now she is “the only candidate to capitalize on this event,” according to Frédéric Dabi, director general of Ifop, a pollster. That makes it hard to imagine her failing to reach the election's runoff, he added.

Jordan Bardella, president of Le Pen's National Rally party, has urged citizens to channel their anger into votes and promised, if she is elected, “to reestablish security.” He and Le Pen have called for more police equipment and personnel and tougher sentences for rioters.

Authorities have repeatedly blamed “far-left radicals” and opportunistic criminals for the violence.

The far left backs protesters' grievances

Far-left presidential contender Jean-Luc Mélenchon has backed the protest movement while condemning looting and vandalism. He has accused the government of inflaming tensions through its policing and failure to address demonstrators’ demands.

Protesters are calling for higher wages and pensions, better healthcare and other public services, and more funding for education.

Mélenchon, who joined Saturday’s peaceful march through Paris, has faced accusations from opponents that his criticism of police excuses violence.

His party, France Unbowed, has also backed student protests and high school blockades that began in mid-September, supporting demands for more teachers, better facilities and changes to university admissions.

Observers said it was too early to tell whether Mélenchon would gain or lose support. Violence attributed to radical far-left activists could deepen reservations among moderate voters, while his prominent support for protesters’ demands could strengthen his appeal on the left.

Wide field of candidates vying to succeed Macron

Political analysts also stress that electoral effects from events like last weekend's violence must be measured over time.

Polls before Saturday's violence and the only one conducted afterward show Le Pen as the clear front-runner, while placing Mélenchon in second position, though he remained in a close contest with more moderate contenders.

“Behind her, nothing is set in stone, nothing is guaranteed,” Dabi said on Sud Radio, stressing that three candidates appear in a position to reach the runoff.

The broad field of candidates features several centrists, including two former prime ministers appointed by Macron. Earlier this month, socialists and their allies chose a center-left European Parliament lawmaker as their presidential candidate.

None has managed to gain traction in opinion polls. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for April 18 and a runoff on May 2.

But first she has to convince New Mexicans that they should keep Democrats in charge. The state persistently ranks near the bottom nationally on poverty, crime and public education, and disenchanted voters are pleading for change.

A loss would be embarrassing for Democrats, who hold all the top state offices and have controlled the Legislature nearly continuously for almost a century. Haaland blames President Donald Trump for compounding the state's problems by cutting social programs that New Mexicans disproportionately rely on and increasing the cost of living by waging war against Iran. She proposes expanding existing tax credits and spending more on safety net programs to help families make ends meet.

Haaland, a citizen of Laguna Pueblo in west-central New Mexico, once relied on government assistance as a single mother. She rose through the ranks, serving in Congress for two years before being tapped as President Joe Biden’s interior secretary.

A victory in the governor’s race could elevate Haaland's standing in the Democratic Party. The party recently named New Mexico as one of the earliest states for its next presidential primary, bolstering its prominence in national politics and ensuring more visits from White House hopefuls.

Gregg Hull, the Republican contender and a former mayor of fast-growing Rio Rancho, said New Mexico can no longer afford more of the same and is “primed for a shift.” If he wins, Hull promises to cut taxes, which he said will fight poverty by allowing people to keep more money in their pockets.

“I think the time has come to have a leader who is going to focus on the true solutions to these problems,” Hull said.

Haaland’s national star power meets Hull’s local pitch

Haaland has leveraged her national profile into a nearly $20 million campaign fund and endorsements from big Democratic names, including former President Barack Obama and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined Haaland at an Albuquerque daycare center this week to read stories to preschoolers and promote New Mexico’s fledgling universal childcare program, which Haaland has pledged to preserve.

“I have known and worked with Deb Haaland for many years, and she is a fighter on behalf of opportunities for all of our children,” Warren said.

Hull, meanwhile, has emphasized his record leading Rio Rancho, a suburb of Albuquerque, through a period of fast economic growth. He says he would apply lessons from that experience to attract large employers to the state and boost workers’ incomes.

That pitch resonates with A.J. Rodriguez, a school security guard who lives in Edgewood and said local success means more to him than federal experience.

“I do like how he was running Rio Rancho," Rodriguez said. “I liked his stance on crime.”

Soaring oil prices pad state coffers

New Mexico’s next governor will face stubborn challenges but also inherit a financial cushion that could be used to address them.

As the nation's No. 2 oil-producing state, New Mexico has used record revenues over the years to build substantial budget reserves and multibillion-dollar permanent funds that help pay for schools and childcare. Higher energy prices stemming from the war with Iran have provided an additional boost.

In that windfall, Hull sees an opportunity to reduce New Mexicans’ tax burden. He has a plan to gradually phase out state income tax for all residents while reining in recent growth in state spending.

“If you want to raise people out of poverty, the best way to do that is to improve their personal wealth,” he said.

Haaland favors doubling down on free childcare and free college tuition and shoring up government assistance for healthcare and food after federal cuts under Trump. Once a supporter of the Green New Deal, a sweeping plan for transitioning away from fossil fuels to fight climate change, Haaland acknowledges the oil and gas industry’s role in funding New Mexico’s social safety net.

But she said the surging revenue comes at the cost of higher prices.

“I’m not happy about that because it’s caused people a lot of heartache,” Haaland said.

New Mexico voters focus on affordability

Chris Flores, a volunteer for Hull's campaign, believes strongly in the candidate’s proposal to eliminate income tax, starting with the lowest income New Mexicans.

“I’ll be able to pay off the biggest debt that I’ve ever had,” said Flores, who lives in Albuquerque. She meant the student loans that have prevented her from fixing up her house and saving for retirement.

Rodriguez is skeptical of the tax break plan and wonders how the state will make up for lost income. Still, he says Democrats have “mismanaged” New Mexico's persistent problems, and it's time for a Republican to set the state's political agenda.

Journeyman plumber Alfred Lujan blamed Republicans for rising prices, and said it costs him $150 to fill up his work truck with diesel. He said Haaland understands what it means to live on a tight budget.

“She’s had setbacks in her life and she’s come back from that," the 47-year-old Albuquerque resident said. “That’s really what makes me gravitate toward her.”

At a campaign event in Gallup, Haaland’s celebrity status with some Native American voters was on display. She took selfies with students and accepted gifts of handmade jewelry and pottery from supporters.

Generita Francisco and Angela Bahe, both citizens of the Navajo Nation, were attracted to her pledge to help residents enroll in public health benefits. Both said they are priced out of the insurance market and forced to rely on Gallup’s aging and understaffed Indian Health Service hospital.

The two women, who left with autographs, have watched Haaland’s political rise with pride. But if she's elected, they vowed to hold her to a high standard.

“Everything she’s promising, she needs to fulfill it,” Bahe said.

His last three films — “Ida,” “Cold War” and his latest, “Fatherland” — are all 90 minutes or less. Each is shot in black and white, in a boxy academy ratio. And none has a single ounce of fat on it.

“It feels a bit controversial what I’m doing,” Pawlikowski says, chuckling. “I’m quite aware that it’s provocative to be so stripped down.”

In an era where three-hour movies are commonplace, Pawlikowski, the 69-year-old Polish filmmaker, has refined a style of less is more. His movies are brief but unhurried, lean yet profound.

“You try to distill it, distill it, distill it,” he says.

That approach has made Pawlikowski a leading international filmmaker and a hero to lovers of short movies. “Ida” (2013), about a Polish woman who finds out she’s Jewish just as she’s about to become a nun, won the Academy Award for best international film. “Cold War” (2018), about a doomed romance in postwar Poland, won him best director at the Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nomination for best director. “Fatherland,” too, won him best director in Cannes in May.

A postwar Germany, divided between ‘Stalin or Mickey Mouse’

In the 82-minute film, which Mubi releases in select theaters Friday, Hanns Zischler plays the German Nobel Prize-winning novelist Thomas Mann and Sandra Hüller his daughter, Erika. In the aftermath of World War II, they take a road trip through the ruins of Germany. They’re itinerant in their home country, traveling between U.S.-controlled Frankfurt and Soviet-controlled Weimar.

“Stalin or Mickey Mouse” is how one character frames the choice before the Manns in a Germany beginning to reckon with, or forget, the past. For Pawlikowski, it’s a dichotomy with shades of today’s political divisions. In Poland, “Ida” was criticized by right-wing nationalists who said it showed the country in a bad light.

“There was an election campaign going on, and it was a bad time to show it,” Pawlikowski says. “But it wasn’t just the right that attacked. It was attacked for being antisemitic. All these people can be struck in their narratives and find something in your film that they hate.”

“Art is good for you, but it’s not going to solve any problems,” he adds.

Cutting scenes and maintaining rhythm

The value art has next to political power is at the center of “Fatherland.” Mann, having fled to America to escape the Nazis, is being courted by both the West and the East. Meanwhile, former Nazis are returning to society and advancing their own view of Germany.

Pawlikowski began by taking real events and condensing them. Mann’s trip was with his wife, not his daughter. They visited more places over a longer period of time, but Pawlikowski limited himself to two cities and five days.

That was only the start of Pawlikowski paring things down. What’s most missing in “Fatherland,” you realize afterward, are the transitory moments that lead into or out of a scene.

“You don’t need the scenes that get you from A to B. Just have strong scenes side by side. They will function regardless,” Pawlikowski says. “The main thing is that it has music and a good rhythm.”

Unlike his somber, terse movies, Pawlikowski is chatty, self-deprecating and quick to laugh. He likes to shoot for five days in a week, have a day off and spend the other day editing — a part of the process usually not begun until after production is over.

“People say, ‘Oh your scripts are so well done,’” he says. “The ideas are there and there’s a beginning and a middle and an end. But actually, it’s the luxury of being able to write and rewrite all the time and sometimes shoot something else and scrap another thing.”

For Hüller, doing more with less dialogue

Reshoots for larger productions can be costly. But on “Fatherland,” it was easier.

Pawlikowski kept two locations, hotel rooms, dressed for shooting, just in case. He originally had a big emotional scene when Erika finds out her brother died and meets up with an Associated Press reporter character named Betty (Anna Madeley). After looking at it, he decided to reshoot the scene with Erika, feeling overwhelmed with grief, simply opening her window and screaming at loud Germans on the nighttime street below.

“I looked at it and wondered, ‘Maybe Betty’s not the thing. Maybe she should just be alone with her memory of Klaus and take it out on the poor Nazis,’” says Pawlikowski.

The result is one of the standout moments in Hüller’s otherwise restrained performance. Hüller, whose remarkable 2026 has also included the films “Project Hail Mary,” “Digger” and “Rose,” suspected going into “Fatherland” that Pawlikowski’s precision would heighten her scenes.

“It has a lot to do with presence and awareness,” Hüller says. “And with a rich inner movement that’s not necessarily seen on the outside. But you can feel it, in some way. The more precise this inner movement is, the better it works in that very precise (camera) frame. That’s something I had to find out.”

Still, there was dialogue Hüller loved that she had to accept being cut.

“There was one line where Sandra said, ‘Oh, I love that line,’” says Pawlikowski. “OK, but you’re never going to miss it because what we have has such a beautiful flow to it. Just because it’s a clever line doesn’t mean we have to have it.”

For Pawlikowski, paring away isn't just an aesthetic. It's a way of life.

“I’m all into simplifying life, anyways,” he says, smiling. “Stick to your friends. Like what you like. Try to be honest. If you can do that in film, or any kind of art form, it helps. And you feel you’re within yourself.”

For the carriage drivers, it's unclear what comes next.

“No one can come up with an appropriate answer because there is none,” said Alexus Lawson, a 28-year-old carriage driver from Queens who grew up with horses and has worked as a riding instructor. Now, she worries about what would become of 7-year-old Starlight and her other horses. “Without a job, how can I take care of my horses?”

The New York City Council is expected to pass a bill Thursday that would ban horse-drawn carriage rides by June 2028, pulling back the reins after the death of a teenage tourist last spring spurred the latest call to end the rides after decades of opposition from activists.

But the one question that has come up time and again — what to do with drivers whose jobs would be eliminated — remains largely unanswered.

The legislation requires Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office to develop a plan by next April to help the more than 150 remaining drivers find other work. That would include referrals for job openings in the city's transit, hospitality and taxi industries, as well as career counseling. It also would anticipate the administration considering some form of compensation for industry workers.

City Hall is working on a detailed plan for the transition of the workforce and has started discussions on potential compensation, a spokesperson for the mayor said. And Mamdani himself has said government has a “civic responsibility to ensure that we are not leaving anybody out to dry.”

Medet Fidan, a former cab driver who traded his steering wheel for a set of reins after ride sharing apps upended the taxi industry, said he felt like he was being targeted.

“I think the city is leaving us a big mess,” said Fidan, 56, who has been driving a carriage for 15 years. “We’re going to lose our businesses, we’re going to lose our jobs, we’re going to lose our livelihoods.”

Council Speaker Julie Menin “will remain engaged in the transition process,” a spokesperson said, adding that the legislation seeks to address the longstanding question of what happens to displaced carriage drivers by setting a firm deadline for City Hall to act.

The union representing the drivers has vowed to file a legal challenge “the minute the ink dries” on the legislation.

Mamdani's two immediate predecessors as mayor had both called to end the industry, but neither succeeded.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio campaigned on ending the rides on day one of his administration but the effort wilted amid a backlash from unions and a big media blitz involving actor Liam Neeson. Eric Adams, the mayor just before Mamdani, floated a ban late in his term but the proposal went nowhere.

The latest push began in June after an 18-year-old Indian tourist, Romanch Mahajan, died after jumping from a runaway carriage during a ride. That appeared to be the first fatality involving a horse carriage in Central Park since the rides began.

Mahajan's family has personally appealed to the city to end the rides, offering tearful testimony that they thought the rides were safe. His father, Deepak Mahajan, told lawmakers that his son jumped from the carriage to help his mother after she was thrown out of her seat after the horse suddenly bolted.

Carriage drivers have expressed sympathy for Mahajan and his family but argue that they are being unfairly targeted because of a single accident.

“It does nothing for alternate employment, for the continuation of our businesses,” said Christina Hansen, a longtime carriage driver and industry spokesperson. “Who’s going to pay my rent while I’m looking for a job?”

Federal authorities are investigating potential fraud in her family's immigration paperwork and have issued grand jury subpoenas to some of her relatives, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Omar, who was born in Somalia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, said Wednesday in her first interview since the search that she is “confident in the fact that I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The progressive Minnesota Democrat has been a frequent critic and target of President Donald Trump, who has on multiple occasions pushed for the prosecution of his perceived political enemies.

In the interview with MS NOW, Omar said she was rattled by the search weeks out from the Nov. 3 midterms, which will decide control of the House and Senate. She is running for reelection in a deep blue district centered in Minneapolis and is expected to retain her seat.

Omar recalled waking around 6 a.m. to Homeland Security investigators banging on her door with a warrant. They searched for four or five hours and seized 17 items, including phones, notebooks, a Somali language children’s book and a vintage camera that her husband had received as a gift, she said.

The Justice Department has shared few details about the case other than saying it was a criminal investigation.

Omar came with her family to the U.S. at age 12, after they obtained asylum. She became a U.S. citizen five years later, in 2000.

“It would be a huge undertaking to, I suppose, indict a 12-year-old for so cleverly conspiring to defraud immigration services to come to the United States. I'm sure there are a lot of smart 12-year-olds, but that seams like a leap,” she said in the interview.

The search drew sharp condemnation from congressional Democrats, who also questioned the timing. The Justice Department has historically avoided overt investigative actions involving candidates in the immediate run-up to an election.

Omar said the agents were “intrusive but polite,” logging the items they took and putting back everything else in its place.

___

Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer contributed from Washington.

Edy Leonel Vásquez Rabanales, jefe de la comisaría, y el agente Fredy Santiago Velásquez Pérez fueron sentenciados a 30 años tras las rejas por cada una de las dos víctimas, después de ser encontrados culpables del delito de ejecución extrajudicial. En tanto, Mauricio Abraham Contreras cumplirá una pena de 30 años en prisión por un cargo de ejecución extrajudicial. La legislación guatemalteca contempla un máximo de 50 años de cárcel.

El asesinato de Eldin Leonel Choc Xi y Milton Nelson Santamaría en abril de 2024 consternó a la comunidad de San Andrés Itzapa, al este de la capital.

Agentes de la Policía Nacional Civil detuvieron a los dos hombres mientras tomaban cerveza en una tienda, argumentando que estaban escandalizando. Una vez detenidos, fueron trasladados a una subestación, donde fueron agredidos con insultos homofóbicos, golpeados y torturados, según testimonios presentados por la fiscalía.

El tribunal condenó a las agentes Yuliza Nabely Ayala Yol y Yorleni Lisbeth Macario Ramos a seis años de prisión conmutables, después de determinar que profirieron insultos homofóbicos mientras sus compañeros torturaban a las víctimas.

Al darse cuenta del mal estado de salud de los dos hombres, los mismos agentes llamaron a los bomberos, quienes trasladaron a Santamaría —un ciudadano canadiense— a un hospital donde murió desangrado. Choc Xi fue ingresado a una patrulla y trasladado a un lugar desconocido. Su cuerpo fue localizado varios días después en una zona boscosa de la localidad.

Dos de los bomberos involucrados fueron condenados después de admitir que habían mentido en sus reportes sobre la muerte de Santamaría, asegurando que había muerto en un accidente de tránsito.

En total, cuatro agentes policiales fueron detenidos, mientras que Vásquez Rabanales, quien fue señalado por sus colegas de encabezar la agresión, huyó del país.

Dos meses después de la muerte de los dos hombres, Vásquez Rabanales fue detenido en Arizona, cerca de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México, mientras trataba de huir de las autoridades.

“Todos callaron (el crimen)” dijo una jueza.

Durante la tercera jornada de negociaciones desde mediados de agosto pasado, ambas partes se reunieron con el propósito de diseñar una agenda conjunta para fortalecer la democracia y restituir derechos fundamentales luego de casi tres décadas de gobiernos socialistas.

La exdiputada Dinorah Figuera —quien encabeza a un grupo de exlegisladores de oposición que en su momento intentó destituir al expresidente Nicolás Maduro— y el presidente del Legislativo, Jorge Rodríguez —hermano de la presidenta interina, Delcy Rodríguez— leyeron un comunicado en el que se destaca la decisión de “iniciar un proceso de revisión profunda de diversos instrumentos legales que contribuya al fortalecimiento de la convivencia democrática, la paz, el respeto, la responsabilidad, la reconciliación”.

Entre las leyes que serán revisadas destacan la ley de “partidos políticos, reuniones públicas y manifestaciones para garantizar la participación de todos los actores políticos… el pluralismo político, la autonomía de las organizaciones" partidistas, resaltó el comunicado.

También se revisará la ley de la Contraloría General de la República para abordar lo “inherente al proceso de inhabilitaciones”.

Durante años, estos instrumentos legales permitieron restringir la participación política y facilitaron las inhabilitaciones para ejercer un cargo público sobre numerosos políticos, como la líder opositora y Premio Nobel de la Paz, María Corina Machado, quien fue inhabilitada por 15 años poco después de anunciar su intención de participar en los comicios presidenciales del 2024.

La Contraloría General, bajo control oficialista desde la presidencia del difunto Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), inhabilitó a muchos líderes de la oposición y disidentes mediante procesos administrativo por presuntas irregularidades durante su ejercicio como funcionarios públicos.

En Venezuela la inhabilitación política es una pena que se aplica cuando existe una sentencia judicial firme. Los críticos de Chávez y del exmandatario Nicolás Maduro, afirman que se ha empleado esta herramienta como arma política desde hace años. Machado y otros políticos inhabilitados no cuentan con condenas penales.

También se revisarán leyes y decisiones judiciales que hayan socavado la autonomía de las organizaciones con fines políticos.

Washington es el principal impulsor de los diálogos. Después de la captura de Maduro y su esposa en un audaz operativo militar el pasado 3 de enero, el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump propuso un plan de “tres fases” para Venezuela, el cual incluye la estabilización, la recuperación y la transición democrática.

Maduro fue trasladado a Nueva York, donde enfrenta un juicio por cargos de narcotráfico y otros delitos.

En el primer ciclo de conversaciones se acordó renovar en su totalidad al máximo tribunal, incluida la renovación y ampliación de la comisión de postulaciones para la designación de los 32 magistrados que lo componen, además de conformar un consejo de revisión de credenciales y requisitos de los candidatos, a fin de evitar irregularidades en la designación de los magistrados.

La oposición ha acusado al oficialismo de designar a sus aliados como magistrados con el fin de asegurarse el control del máximo tribunal y del organismo electoral.

Jesus Aguirre, a U.S. citizen recovering from a lung transplant, fears he may have only days left. He spoke to Local 10 from his hospital bed at Jackson Memorial Hospital, asking for help bringing his family back to his side.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Aguirre said in Spanish, explaining that he could have as little as an hour or a day.

Aguirre’s son had traveled to Miami on a tourist visa but was detained at the airport and deported to Mexico as his father tried to recover. Aguirre’s wife, who was in the U.S. without legal status, also left his side to return to Mexico and try to resolve her situation through the proper channels.

Now, nearly four months later, the family is still waiting.

Aguirre’s son, who shares his father’s name, spoke to Local 10 from Torreón, Mexico. He said he and his mother traveled hours to the nearest U.S. consulate in Juárez for an appointment, where they were told they would have to wait for a pardon.

But time is running out.

“We don’t have time because my dad is very sick right now,” he responded.

When told that his father’s dying wish was to see him, his son agreed.

“Yes, for the last time,” he said.

The separation has been difficult for the family, which is asking the government for help so they can be together again.

“It’s very hard because we are good people,” Aguirre’s son said.

For Aguirre, the chance to see his wife face to face one last time would mean everything. He said he wants to thank her for always being there for him.

The family is asking for help to say goodbye and make sure Aguirre does not have to face his final moments alone.

Local 10 is in contact with the State Department seeking comment and more information about the family’s situation and whether anything can be done to help.

Edwards, who scored 41 in last season’s opener at Portland, joined only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan as players with at least 40 points in multiple openers. Chamberlain did it four times — consecutively from 1959 through 1962 — and Jordan did it in 1986, 1989 and 1995.

Jaden McDaniels scored 17, Ayo Dosunmu had 16 and Jonathan Kuminga added 12 for the Timberwolves, who won for the sixth time in their last eight season openers. Rudy Gobert grabbed 15 rebounds and Edwards had 10 for Minnesota, which outscored Miami 63-24 on 3-pointers and outrebounded the Heat 52-34.

Antetokounmpo scored 35 before fouling out of his Heat debut, 21 of those points coming in the first half. Bam Adebayo scored 15 for Miami, which has dropped three consecutive season-openers — the third time in franchise history that’s happened.

Antetokounmpo was 13 for 19 from the floor and had six rebounds. It still wasn’t anywhere near enough to keep the Heat close in the opener.

Minnesota took command with a six-minute burst that started late in the second quarter and continued early into the third. It wound up as a 23-7 run, one that turned a one-point Timberwolves lead into a 78-61 edge. Edwards and Ball combined for 17 points during that spurt, while the Heat missed six of nine shots and turned the ball over on four possessions.

Miami was within eight midway through the third quarter, before Minnesota went on a 45-23 run. Edwards had 18 in that burst, while Miami missed on 11 of 12 3-point tries.

Up next

Timberwolves: Visit Orlando on Friday.

Heat: Host Detroit on Friday.

The answer, delivered during a debate with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, aligned Marshall with President Donald Trump's freshly antagonistic posture toward Ukraine, which has spent more than four years defending itself against an invasion. Trump says Ukraine's strikes on Moscow's refineries are responsible for high fuel costs, and said he wants to alleviate the problem by importing Russian diesel.

Marshall balked at that Wednesday, saying “it doesn't sound like a great idea.” But he said ”if this brings Russia to the bargaining table, and it ends the war, then I am all for it right now.”

Hamilton sharply criticized Marshall's stance, saying “nobody believes” Ukraine is to blame.

“What you said just now is you’re going to sell out our friends in Ukraine,” Hamilton said. “That’s not OK."

It was the second and final debate in the Kansas Senate race before the Nov. 3 election. Marshall is seeking a second term, and the race is considered close even though a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932. Hamilton is the founder and senior pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist church.

The cost of diesel is a particularly potent issue in Kansas because the fuel powers its agricultural economy. Hamilton has repeatedly talked on the campaign trail about high diesel prices as a consequence of an “unnecessary” war with Iran waged by Trump. Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon this week, up from $3.62 a gallon a year ago, according to AAA.

Hamilton has called for suspending federal fuel taxes as a temporary solution while the war in Iran continues. He said he would work to force Trump to end the Iran war. Marshall said he wants the war to end as soon as possible, without committing to trying to force it.

Marshall also tried to tie Hamilton to liberal Democrats' Green New Deal proposals for shifting the U.S. economy fully to renewable energy to combat climate change, suggesting those ideas have prevented the U.S. from building new diesel refineries.

Hamilton said he supports parts of the Green New Deal but not the entire package.

Neighbors heard a girl screaming and called 911. A woman speaking through a Spanish translator said the dog wouldn’t let the girl go, biting one arm before going after the other.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputies responded to Northwest 66th Street around 4:40 p.m. for an animal bite. Deputies said they learned the dog was a family pet.

The dog’s owner, who asked to remain anonymous, told Local 10 the incident was a shock.

“It is a big shock because this is not him. This is completely out of character,” she said.

The American pit bull, named Diablo, was being sought by his owner after the victim’s mother called her.

“I heard that the police did tase him,” the owner said.

She said she rents the property so Diablo can live there comfortably. A mother and her two children help care for the 5-year-old dog, she said.

“I do have someone that’s here with him to just give him food, water, bathe him and everything like that,” she said. “Because I don’t have the groomer coming as often as I used to.”

She said the caretakers receive free rent in exchange for helping care for the dog.

MDSO told Local 10 that a deputy tried to Tase the dog but missed.

The dog ran away and remains on the loose.

“It was just an unfortunate game of whack-a-mole,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said Wednesday. “The knee got to a better spot, and then just kind of the biceps area was bothering him. Some of that would calm down for some period, some of that would get re-irritated. It was just a lot of different things he was trying to contend with at once.”

Ohtani and the Dodgers are equally enthused about him returning to two-way duties next season. What both sides need to figure out is how to keep him healthy while hitting and pitching into October.

“I'm not only expecting him to pitch,” Friedman said, “we're excited about him pitching.”

Ohtani didn't pitch after July 3 this year due to injuries that also affected his hitting. He had his worst offensive numbers since joining the Dodgers in December 2023, and his 30 home runs were his fewest since 2019 with the Los Angeles Angels. His three-run drive in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against Milwaukee snapped a 25-game homerless streak.

Ohtani turns 33 next July and has undergone two Tommy John surgeries on his right elbow during his MLB career. Friedman said how to better manage Ohtani's two-way workload for a potential full season next year had yet to be discussed since the season ended last week with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Brewers in the NLCS.

“I expect us to throw our heads together and figure out both in the batter's box, on the mound, just how we marry all that together to have him impact us as much as he can during the regular season and then also be in a really good spot going into October,” Friedman said.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

“One of the reasons that I did that is ‘ Zuckerbucks,'” U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said in a debate, using a term coined by opponents of the money.

Tiffany also said he opposed certifying Wisconsin's election results because clerks in Milwaukee and Dane counties advised voters they could claim to be “indefinitely confined” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and receive absentee ballots without showing a photo ID.

More than 200 communities across Wisconsin received about $10 million in grants from the Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life to help run elections during the pandemic.

“That’s why I objected, because the people of the state of Wisconsin, they did not want that,” Tiffany said.

The debate exchange was an example of how Trump's false claims about election fraud and his attempt to prevent Joe Biden from taking office continue to ripple through American politics.

Tiffany’s opponent, Democrat David Crowley, said Tiffany’s explanation of his actions in 2020 was inadequate.

“He didn’t say anything nefarious was going on with our elections,” Crowley said. “He didn’t say anything happened throughout the process. He just didn’t like the fact of how money was being spent.”

Crowley said Tiffany can't be trusted to certify the results of the 2028 presidential election.

But Tiffany said, “I will certify the election in 2028 regardless of who the winner is.”

In 2024, Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment backed by Republicans that bans the use of private grant money to run elections.

Trump unsuccessfully tried to disqualify 220,000 absentee ballots from Milwaukee and Dane counties, a move Tiffany supported. Tiffany, who is endorsed by Trump, also voted against counting electoral votes in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Five of the past seven presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a percentage point. Trump won in 2024 and 2016, but lost in 2020.

Luego de un vuelo de más de 35 horas, tres hembras y un macho de entre 4 y 15 años llegaron a la ciudad en el occidente mexicano como parte del programa Ex Situ de la Asociación Europea de Zoológicos y Acuarios (EAZA, por sus siglas en inglés), el cual busca preservar al rinoceronte blanco del sur.

El segundo mamífero terrestre más grande del mundo se ha visto golpeado en las últimas décadas por la caza furtiva y la pérdida de su hábitat, lo que ha reducido su población a unos 15.700 ejemplares. Los programas de conservación en distintas partes del mundo han contribuido a preservar la población del rinoceronte blanco del sur.

Los cuatro jóvenes rinocerontes fueron trasladados en cuatro contenedores montados en camiones que atravesaron la ciudad hasta su nuevo hogar en el zoológico de Guadalajara, que según explicó su director, Luis Soto, fue seleccionado por la EAZA debido a que la mayor parte del año suele tener un clima templado con temperaturas que rondan los 21 grados centígrados.

Soto afirmó que los cuatro rinocerontes llegaron en “buenas condiciones” y que incluso Wami, el macho de 15 años de edad, ya comenzó a comer “pasto jalisciense”.

El rinoceronte blanco del sur suele alcanzar una altura de 1,86 metros y pesar entre 1.600 y 2.300 kilogramos. Tiene una coloración gris, aunque se le identifique como blanco. La especie se caracteriza por su boca ancha y cuadrada adaptada para pastar en las sabanas africanas.

También existe la subespecie del rinoceronte blanco del norte, la cual habita en otra parte del continente africano y de la que sólo sobreviven dos hembras en estado natural en Kenia.

Soto declaró a la prensa que el objetivo del programa de EAZA es proteger al rinoceronte blanco del sur, garantizar su reproducción bajo cuidado profesional, y evitar que corra con la misma suerte que los del norte.

El zoológico de Guadalajara cuenta actualmente con más de 6.000 animales, incluida Maité, una de tres rinocerontes en el recinto.

La veterinaria Montserrat Carrazco, quien tendrá a su cargo el cuidado de los cuatro rinocerontes recién llegados, se mostró visiblemente emocionada y afirmó que espera que el centro pueda aportar su “granito de arena” para el estudio de la especie.

“Creo que debe ser un motivo de orgullo de la ciudad el decir que el zoológico de la ciudad hace un esfuerzo muy grande por la conservación”, destacó.

BioWare announced the closure on social media Wednesday following a report by Bloomberg that also said the company is laying off 400 people, including about 50 at BioWare.

The Redwood Shores, California-based maker of popular titles like “Battlefield” and “The Sims” closed the $55 billion sale of its business to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and Affinity Partners, which is run by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, in August.

Representatives for EA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the layoffs.

“What generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember,” the studio said via social media. “These games became so much more because you played them, debated your choices, fell in love with characters, and made these worlds your own.”

BioWare built its reputation on immersive role-playing adventures, from sword-and-sorcery fantasies like “Baldur’s Gate” and “Dragon Age” to science fiction epics like “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” and “Mass Effect.”

But its effort to branch out into multiplayer shooters, 2019’s “Anthem,” steered away from the studio’s strength as a creator of compelling single-player narratives. It failed to find the sort of loyal audience that keeps online hits like “Fortnite” and “Overwatch” humming.

Meanwhile the latest installments of its two most popular original franchises — 2017’s “Mass Effect: Andromeda” and 2024’s “Dragon Age: The Veilguard” — met with mixed reviews and disappointed many fans. A new chapter of “Mass Effect” was in development before BioWare announced its shutdown.

BioWare, based in Canada, was founded in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007.

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Associated Press Writer Lou Kesten in Washington contributed.

The National Weather Service issued multiple warnings as severe thunderstorms moved through the state overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday, encouraging people to seek shelter and stay away from windows as damaging 2- to 3-inch (5- 7.6-centimeter) hail struck the area. Hail pummeled people's roofs, shattered windows and dented cars.

Tornado watches were issued for multiple areas — the first the state has seen since October 2010.

Warm, moist air moving north fuels storms coming off the California coast. Changing winds can make them spin, creating the conditions for tornadoes, said Ryan Bernhart, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Flagstaff.

“This is very unusual for this area at this time of the year,” Bernhart said.

Strong winds toppled trees in Flagstaff and Mesa, with some landing on walls and carports. A few dozen ponderosa pines over 30 feet (9 meters) tall fell down in the Coconino National Forest, northwest of Flagstaff.

“These are not small trees that are down," Bernhart said. “These are pretty strong trees that had been knocked down.”

The greatest threat to the Phoenix metro area is heavy rainfall and flash flooding tonight and Thursday morning, said Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Phoenix.

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Jessica Hill reported from Las Vegas.

The debate kicked off a breakneck final stretch in one of the nation’s most closely watched and competitive Senate races. Former President Barack Obama will rally in Detroit on Saturday, followed by Trump on Sunday.

Wednesday’s hourlong debate followed one on Oct. 8 that devolved into personal insults and attacks, with the candidates continuing to argue even during a commercial break. This time, the exchanges were slightly less contentious and focused on policy, though both candidates repeatedly returned to their central attacks.

“Those playing MAGA bingo at home, you just heard like three of the buzzwords,” El-Sayed said after Rogers criticized his policies. Rogers later shot back: “The bingo game ought to be how many times can he put the word Trump in any answer.”

The most contentious exchange came when Rogers again tried to link El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, repeating an allegation he and Trump have raised in recent weeks. El-Sayed has denied any affiliation with the group.

“If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know: Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers said.

El-Sayed, who would be the country's first Muslim senator, called Rogers’ questioning of his commitment to the Constitution “shameful.”

“I’m proud to be an American," El-Sayed said. “I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray.”

Rogers offered qualified criticism of Trump’s tariffs, calling them a “mixed bag” and questioning those imposed on Canada because of the close ties between the two countries’ auto industries. But he also praised Trump’s immigration enforcement and defended the threat posed by Iran, while El-Sayed blamed the president’s war there for higher gas and grocery prices.

Freedom demanded he be allowed to sit in his purchased seat, and for the second time this season didn’t make it through a WNBA game. He posted a video at halftime saying he had been thrown out of the arena.

“I just got kicked out of a WNBA game for the second time in a row for supporting WOMEN!” Freedom said on his post. "Let that sink in AMERICA!"

The video posted by Freedom showed him being informed at the entry gate: “If you come in you have to agree to go to the suite.”

Freedom responded: “I purchased tickets, right? Just because I purchased tickets, I would like to sit in my seat. That's all I want.”

An Atlanta police officer told Freedom: “You're free to go to the city of Atlanta streets. That's another private establishment over there. He's free to go there. He just can't be here.”

A State Farm Arena public relations official said Freedom “was offered the suite for his safety and he rejected it.”

Before the game, a State Farm Arena statement said Freedom had been offered the suite.

“Enes Kanter Freedom has contacted federal, state and local authorities, the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream and State Farm Arena officials to express concerns about his personal safety during his planned attendance at Game 3 of the WNBA Finals tonight,” the statement said. "The safety and security of our guests and team members is our highest priority.

“Following consultations with the WNBA, Dream ownership, State Farm Arena leadership and security officials, we have directed Mr. Freedom to watch tonight’s game from a private luxury suite. This arrangement is intended to address his security concerns and help provide a safe and positive experience for him and other guests. The suite will have additional security and will be his designated viewing location for the game. State police have also assigned an officer to Mr. Freedom at his request.”

Freedom announced on social media on Monday he planned to attend the game. It was his first WNBA game since late August, when he went to see Chicago host Indiana. He was ejected from the game and banned from the arena for getting into a heated interaction with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.

Freedom said he was motivated to attend the game after learning that Golden State star Gabby Williams said she would support a trans athlete playing in the league.

“As you all know, this all started with an interview featuring Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries, when she said, ‘I have no problem with trans athletes playing on my team or against my team,’" Freedom said in his post. "Her words gave me so much hope and motivation to come out as a woman and officially declare for the WNBA draft. I can’t wait to watch my favorite player, the woman who inspired me to become who I am today!”

Freedom and Royce White, another former NBA player, have declared for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women. But a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press in August they are not eligible. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has since made that position public.

On Wednesday, Freedom posted a photo of himself in Atlanta and also posted a copy of a letter from Engelbert in which she said replied to a question from Indiana Rep. Marlin A. Stutzman about the eligibility of transgender athletes to play in the league.

“With respect to your questions regarding eligibility, only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men,” Engelbert said, referring to Freedom and White.

Freedom replied: “Apparently the WNBA still can't define what a WOMAN is, but they're absolutely certain they know what a MAN is! How convenient!”

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This story corrects Freedom's quote to “Apparently the WNBA still can’t define" what a WOMAN is. A previous version had it as “the WNBA still can define.”

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

“Obviously, man, I’m remorseful and sorry for putting this team in this situation,” Jacobs said. “Sometimes when you go through life, situations occur and a four-second, three-second decision can alter your life, honestly.”

Jacobs was removed this week from the commissioner’s exempt list, which had prevented him from playing or practicing. The NFL had placed Jacobs on that list Aug. 30, shortly after charges were filed against him. He pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor counts of battery and criminal damage to property.

The NFL is still investigating Jacobs over the incident, so the league still could hand out more discipline to the three-time Pro Bowl running back. But for now, Jacobs is eligible to play again for the Packers after missing the first six games of the season.

“I thought I’d be playing sooner,” Jacobs said. “But, you know, the optics of everything, I understand the other side. For me, like I said, I’m just grateful to be able to play. It was one of them things where I didn’t want to sit the whole year and then figure it out. I’m just grateful to be back on the team and to be back playing.”

Jacobs doesn't discuss details of his arrest

Jacobs was arrested May 26, three days after police officers came to his Wisconsin home to investigate a disturbance. According to police, the woman told them that Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took her phone from her while she was on the ground.

Police said they noticed redness on her face and neck and could feel a bump on the back of her head.

The criminal complaint against him noted that a surveillance video from the camera system in their garage corroborated the woman’s statement. Both Jacobs and the victim have gone to court attempting to have that video and other evidence sealed permanently.

Jacobs declined to discuss the specifics of his case but said he hopes to use the situation as an opportunity to grow into a better person.

“Obviously you never want to be in this situation, but just me being honest, for my life, it was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me,” Jacobs said. “I say that because it gave me a chance to sit down and reevaluate what’s important and what I want my life to look like, and what do I want people to know me for. When they think of me, what are they going to say?”

Jacobs didn't fear possibility he might not play again

Jacobs was asked Wednesday if he’d feared the possibility he might never play again after his arrest.

“I wasn’t overly concerned about that because in my heart, I know what happened and what didn’t happen,” Jacobs said. “And I’ll just trust the legal process. So for me, I wasn’t ever overly concerned of not playing again. It was just a matter of when.”

Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love said Jacobs had spoken to the team about the situation back when the incident occurred and added that the Packers are “happy to have Josh back, for sure.” Green Bay’s offense ranks last in the NFL in yards rushing per game (59.8) and yards per carry (2.9).

Coach Matt LaFleur hasn’t indicated what kind of workload Jacobs might get Sunday at Detroit, or even whether he would play at all. Jacobs was unable to practice or play while on the commissioner’s exempt list, but he was able to attend meetings and lift weights and condition with the Packers’ strength coaches.

“I think people learn from their mistakes and I think he’s extremely remorseful and I do believe that he’s a good person,” LaFleur said. “I’ve been around him quite a bit and I just, I believe in second chances.”

LaFleur’s comment Wednesday was more measured than what he said Sept. 1, after the charges were filed but before Jacobs pleaded no contest to the two misdemeanors. LaFleur said then that “I believe him and I trust him” and added that “I’m going to do that until proven otherwise.”

Jacobs was asked if he feels he needs to earn back the respect of teammates and what he would say to fans.

“I don’t think I had to earn respect back from the guys because I’m the same person every day,” Jacobs said. “Like I said, at the end of the day, we’re human. We all make mistakes. It’s just different for me because I’m in the public eye. But you know, like I said, I’ll let other people speak to my character and who I am and who I consistently have been.

“When it comes to earning the respect of the fans, I mean, for me, it’s more of a thing of not trying to put this organization in a position where it looks negative in any type of way. But at the end of the day, people are always going to have their opinion. People are going to believe what they believe, and it’s not really my job to try to explain or discount certain things. All I can try to do is control what I can control and move on from there.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The Department of Justice appealed after federal judges ruled in June in favor of advocates who said the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program risked becoming a tool for political retribution. But it dropped two appeals Wednesday in single-sentence joint agreements, which stipulated that each side would pay its own fees.

Federal officials provided no explanation, but advocates praised the ruling.

“The Trump administration’s attempt to weaponize public service loan forgiveness against organizations it disagrees with was anti-democratic and unlawful from the start," Dan Zibel, an attorney for the group Student Defense, said in a written statement. "This is a significant victory for millions of Americans who have dedicated their careers to public service.”

The PSLF program was designed to make jobs in government, public schools, fire and police departments, public hospitals and nonprofits more attractive by forgiving loans for qualified employees after a decade’s worth of payments.

But last fall, President Donald Trump’s administration wrote a new rule to empower Education Secretary Linda McMahon to kick employers out of the program if she decides their work has a “substantial illegal purpose.”

The vaguely phrased rule was targeted at employers who support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, potentially affecting borrowers who worked at schools, public hospitals and legal aid groups.

The overhaul amounted to a major reworking of a program that has canceled loans for more than 1 million Americans.

But just before it was set to take effect in July, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Massachusetts vacated the U.S. Education Department’s changes, saying they overstepped the agency’s power and threatened to violate First Amendment protections for free speech. The ruling came in response to a pair of lawsuits filed by more than 20 states along with a coalition of nonprofit groups and cities.

On the same day, District Judge Amir Ali in Washington issued a similar ruling in a case brought by nonprofit organizations.

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

The district, which covers eastern Miami-Dade County from Cutler Bay to Miami and Key Biscayne, is predominantly Hispanic.

Salazar co-sponsored the Dignity Act, a sweeping bipartisan immigration reform bill that pairs mandatory nationwide E-Verify with a seven-year program that grants legal status.

“I am just showing my record doing the best I could for six years and now it’s up to the voters and to the constituents to decide if they like what I did and if I represented them well, which I think I did,” Salazar said.

Salazar’s campaign also highlights actions on flood mitigation, coastal resilience, and the Take It Down Act, which criminalizes the non-consensual online publication of intimate visual depictions—including AI-generated deepfakes.

“We are very democratic within the Republican Party, and it’s like sitting at a table with dad saying, ‘You are wrong on that issue.” But that doesn’t mean that you are breaking with the family," Salazar said about her disagreements with President Donald Trump on mass deportations.

Rodriguez, a retired television news anchor, said the record shows she has voted “100%” with the Trump agenda, which is anti-immigrant.

“She voted to fund ICE, she was silent when Alligator Alcatraz was here,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he is concerned about the cost of living, access to healthcare, and the need for a lawmaker who prioritizes the needs of the middle class over partisan rhetoric.

“We need somebody in Congress who will be focused on bringing funds to this district for affordable housing, for infrastructure, for mass transit, to return the healthcare benefits that thousands of people in this district lost,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez fundraising efforts ramped up during the last quarter, and he raised close to $725,000. Salazar raised close to $420,000 and outspent Rodriguez by nearly $200,000, as she enters the final stretch of the campaign.

Thursday will offer a mix of sun and clouds, with north-northeast winds sustained at 5 to 15 mph and gusts near 20 mph. A few showers could enter the picture. Temperatures are expected to be seasonable, with highs in the mid-80s.

Becky Drury said she ran to see what was going on but immediately saw the shooter and rushed back to the classroom.

“I turned to shut the door behind me, but the shooter was already there,” Drury said. “Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground.”

Her left hand was nearly severed by a gunshot, and her right arm was struck as well. Unable to get up or defend herself or others, she said, “I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again.”

Three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and a teacher were killed at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, last Thursday when a former student there, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, blasted his way through locked doors with a shotgun and attacked the classroom. Another student was critically injured.

The pump-action shotgun used in the attack was purchased legally, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said in an update to the city council Wednesday. But he didn't say who bought it and added that investigators are still piecing together how it ended up in the shooter's hands.

The Associated Press previously reported it had been purchased by the shooter's mother, according to a law enforcement source who was not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Authorities said another teacher threw her phone at the attacker and then tackled him and wrestled with him for control of the weapon, likely saving lives before the shooter was shot by a father who followed him into the building.

Some news reports had suggested that Drury threw herself on top of one student to protect her. Drury, who remains hospitalized, said she wanted to correct the record.

“Accurate, respectful reporting is a truly important service that will help heal the wounds inflicted by that awful day,” she said.

The district closed schools after the shooting but reopened them Wednesday everywhere but Silver Rail. Dozens of officers were at each school to welcome children, the Bend Police Department said.

“We do have some families that are still not ready yet, and we most certainly have some Silver Rail families that are still going through a lot of processes,” said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook.

In a social media post, the police department said its investigation includes serving search warrants at the attacker's home, as well as on his electronic devices and social media accounts.

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Associated Press journalist Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

“We’d like to know exactly who is responsible for what happened,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, said.

“A lot of people saying, ‘Well, not me.’ OK, if not you, then who?” U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, said.

Ukrainians rely on connections from Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellites to run key tools on the battlefield, including those that can intercept incoming Russian attacks.

New reporting from The Wall Street Journal claims Musk himself ordered the service throttled back, but the trillionaire claims only the Pentagon and President Donald Trump would have the authority to slow down Ukraine’s service.

“If it is, in fact, Mr. Musk that ordered this, that is likely a violation of the law,” Fitzpatrick said.

Senior White House officials said the U.S. had not made any moves to throttle back Starlink’s capabilities. The president has been vocal about his growing frustration with Ukraine but said he did not know who was behind the reduced speeds.

“No, I wasn’t involved,” Trump said. “I don’t know who did it, but I was not involved.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the issue, telling Fox News he hoped the system would soon be back up and running.

“Conversation was very positive,” Zelenskyy said. “The secretary told me that he will work with his team on this to unblock this question. God bless, it will be done.”

Members of Congress said the matter could not go unanswered and that they needed a clear answer about who was responsible for the slowdown.

“We got to call the witnesses. Got to bring them in, put them under oath, and get to the bottom of it because this is, this is a very, very serious matter. It cannot be glossed over,” Fitzpatrick said.

Musk has joined Trump in saying he believes Zelenskyy should no longer be the leader of Ukraine, but he has not responded to the latest reporting accusing him of being directly responsible for the Starlink slowdown.

Mayor Jackie Espinosa, who was elected in 2024, faced charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“Public officials do not get to write the rules and then write themselves a check. The mayor used her position to push a COVID relief grant program, then took $50,000 from it for her family’s businesses after being warned it was prohibited,” Uthmeier said.

Blaise Ingoglia, Florida’s chief financial officer, also announced that the Florida Department of Financial Services Criminal Investigations Division found evidence that Espinosa had “abused her office for personal gain.”

The case follows an ethics complaint and an investigation into Espinosa’s alleged misuse of pandemic relief funds.

“We appreciate CFO Ingoglia and the Department of Financial Services for identifying this case through rigorous audits, and our agents for their thorough and uncompromising investigation,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Keefe said.

In July, a court-appointed special prosecutor found probable cause to file articles of impeachment and recommended that the city refer the case to law enforcement and state agencies.

“Public office is a trust, not a trough. The BOOST 2.0 program was created to help Kissimmee’s small businesses survive a pandemic, not to enrich the official who controlled it,” Mayanne Downs, the court-appointed special prosecutor, wrote in her conclusion. “No warning should have been necessary; the oath of office is warning enough. The people of Kissimmee are entitled to a full and public accounting of where their money went and the return of those monies.”

In August, Kissimmee commissioners voted 2-2 on efforts to impeach Espinosa, whose term runs through 2028.

In September, the Florida Commission on Ethics censured Espinosa after finding probable cause that Espinosa had a “relationship with an entity doing business with her agency when her business accepted grant money that was administered by her agency.”

Related document: Arrest warrant

Related social media posts

This morning, we arrested Kissimmee mayor Jackie Espinosa and are charging her with Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud.

We will be holding a press conference at 2pm at our Orlando office with CFO Ingoglia and FDLE Commissioner Keefe to provide more information.

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) October 21, 2026

Incredible work by everyone involved! Commissioner Keefe will provide an update on the case during the press conference today. https://t.co/HPbUjRlwgc

— Florida Department of Law Enforcement (@fdlepio) October 21, 2026

This morning my team, along with @fdlepio, arrested the Mayor of Kissimmee for abusing her office for personal gain.

I am proud of the outstanding work that my auditing team and Criminal Investigations Division did to uncover the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars and to ensure… pic.twitter.com/lCVQm1NOcC

— Blaise Ingoglia (@GovGoneWild) October 21, 2026

Kahlo, a hairstylist, said it was at about 10 p.m. as he walked along Northeast 19th Street, just off Wilton Drive.

“I can’t stop replaying what happened ... I heard something behind me, and then I just see a hand in front of me ... When I saw the hand getting closer to me, I just let my dogs go, and I used my other hand,” Kahlo said.

The attacker who was near the Richardson Historic Park & Nature Preserve was armed with something sharp, according to Kahlo.

“He got my hand. I didn’t realize he got my neck too, until I made it home,” Kahlo said.

After he called 911, police officers and fire rescue personnel responded and took him to the Broward Health Medical Center, where he got stitches. He said he was still in pain on Wednesday and was also afraid to leave his home.

“I hope they get him so I feel safe again,” Kahlo said.

McKenzie Henderson, who knows Kahlo as a barber who works at Ron’s Barbershop in Fort Lauderdale, set up a GoFundMe fundraiser.

“Gianni needs his hands to work and fears he will lose his business and his clients. He is unable to work,” Henderson wrote.

Wilton Manors detectives asked anyone with information about the attacker to call 954-390-2150 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 to remain anonymous.

Location

Trump-endorsed Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, joined by running mate state Sen. Bryan Avila, and former Republican U.S. Rep.-turned-Democrat David Jolly have been making campaign stops across the region. Jolly’s running mate, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, has also been on the trail.

The candidates, as they engage in photo opportunities, glad-handing and stump speeches, are reiterating the talking points and policy ideas they think will land with voters.

The campaigning comes as a new University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab poll of likely midterm voters finds the pair in a statistical dead heat.

When “leaners” are factored in — voters who initially said they did not know, but then chose one candidate or the other upon further probing — Donalds stands at 49%, just two points above Jolly at 47%.

On the issues, more respondents said they trusted Democratic candidate David Jolly when it came to data centers. Respondents trusted Byron Donalds more on property insurance and were roughly split on affordability and the cost of living.

That could explain why the candidates are out and about, working to meet as many people and get as much earned media as they can in a race that is now seemingly quite competitive.

Local 10’s Christina Vazquez spoke with one of the researchers behind the poll, University of North Florida Political Science Professor and Public Opinion Research Lab Faculty Director Sean Freeder.

Read their exchange below:

The game will also mark the official debuts of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis and Tim Hardaway Jr. with Miami.

Antetokounmpo averaged 15.7 points in 18.7 minutes per game during the preseason.

Minnesota will also see offseason trade acquisition LaMelo Ball make his official debut with the team.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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With the help of a “cooperating witness,” the Florida Department of Financial Services’ criminal investigations division used WhatsApp messages, transactions on Zelle, and other evidence to put together the five cases.

The witness “described a method in which the applicant remained visible to the online proctor while he stayed outside the camera’s view and operated the examination controls to select answers,” an investigator wrote, according to the arrest reports.

State officers arrested Alejandro Mollinedo, Angel Contreras, Adriana Gil, Yohana Fernandez, and Iyad Lamaa for their alleged roles in the scheme out of an office at 8300 NW 53 St. in Doral.

Mollinedo, 36, allegedly completed applicants’ pre-licensing work, supplied certificates, and directed payment through Contreras, 44, his brother-in-law, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

“Contreras established the usual $30-per-applicant fee, received payments through Zelle, and paid Mollinedo,” a deputy wrote, according to the arrest report.

Investigators identified Fernandez, 28; Gil, 44; and Lamaa, 41, as participants who reported to Contreras, according to arrest reports.

Records show Lamaa was arrested at 5:35 a.m. on Wednesday near Northwest 114 Avenue and 43rd Terrace in Doral, and corrections booked him at 8 a.m. at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Court records show Lamaa faced five charges: Racketeering, conspiracy to racketeer, organized scheme to defraud, unlawful use of a communications device, and acting as an insurance agent without a license.

Fernandez was arrested at 6 a.m. on Wednesday in the area of Northwest 87th Avenue and 161 Terrace in Miami Lakes. Corrections booked Fernandez shortly before 7:50 a.m. at TGKCC.

Court records show Fernandez faced five charges: Racketeering, conspiracy to racketeer, organized scheme to defraud, unlawful use of a communications device, and acting as an insurance agent without a license.

Gil was arrested at 6 a.m. on Wednesday in the area of Northwest 102nd Avenue, near 88th Terrace in Doral. Corrections booked Gil shortly after 8:45 a.m. at TGKCC.

Gil faced five charges: Racketeering, conspiracy to racketeer, organized scheme to defraud, unlawful use of a communications device, and acting as an insurance agent without a license.

Mollinedo was arrested at 6 a.m. on Wednesday in the area of Southwest 24th Avenue and Coral Way in Miami. Corrections booked Mollinedo shortly after 8:50 a.m. at TGKCC.

Mollinedo faced four charges: Racketeering, conspiracy to racketeer, organized scheme to defraud, and unlawful use of a communications device.

Corrections booked Contreras shortly before 9:10 a.m. at TGKCC. Contreras faced six charges: Organized fraud, racketeering, conspiracy to racketeer, unlawful use of a communications device, acting as an insurance agent without a license, and communications fraud.

Contreras and Fernandez both had holds by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gil’s cousin Lenys Gil and Katherinne Zerpa are also on the record as suspects who remained at large on Wednesday.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Cristina Miranda was set to preside over the cases.

Local 10 News Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram reported net income of $9.86 billion, or $3.83 per share, for the July-September period. That’s up from a profit of $2.71 billion, or $1.05 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue grew 26% to $64.60 billion, up from $51.24 billion in the prior-year quarter and above the $63.34 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.

“We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone — including launching Muse and Muse Wonder, our first frontier model,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement. “Our investments are paying off, the core business is strong, and we’re seeing velocity across the board.”

In August, Meta reached an $18 billion settlement with 48 U.S. states over the effects of social media on teen mental health. The company agreed to take steps to keep children under 13 off Instagram and Facebook and teens ages 14 and 18 in age-appropriate accounts.

Excluding the impact of a $9.89 billion charge related to this agreement, the company's third-quarter earnings would have been $7.40 per share, Meta said. The-year ago quarter included a one-time tax charge of nearly $16 billion.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion after a jury found the company liable for deceiving users about privacy on Facebook, marking the biggest fine ever against the tech giant.

Meta said the number of daily active users on its “family of apps” — Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp — grew 3% from a year earlier to an average of 3.64 billion.

And during a call with analysts, Zuckerberg noted that more than 10 million people in the U.S. and Canada have set up accounts for Muse, the personal artificial intelligence agent the company launched in August.

“About 25% of people who have set up Muse use it on any given day,” he said. The agent is for people 18 and over and is designed to help users with day-to-day tasks like schedules, shopping and other plans.

The CEO noted that Muse requires significant computing power to run, but that the company expects to improve its cost efficiency by more than 10 times in the next year, “which will enable it to be profitable once the revenue lines are at scale.”

For the current quarter, Meta is forecasting revenue in the range of $73 billion to $76 billion, the midpoint of which is higher than the $73.65 billion analysts are expecting.

Total expenses were $51.61 billion, an increase of 68% year-over-year. This includes the charge stemming from its multistate legal settlement.

The Menlo Park, California-based company had 66,775 employees as of Sept. 30, a decrease of 15% year-over-year.

Management narrowed its estimate for 2026 capital expenditures. It now anticipates spending will range from $135 billion to $145 billion, compared with an earlier estimate of $130 billion to $145 billion.

Meta didn’t provide an estimate for spending next year but noted that it expects to continue investing aggressively to support its core and AI businesses.

The company also did not give revenue guidance for 2027. But it said it expects losses at its Reality Labs segment to narrow to around $15 billion next year as the company shifts investments to other areas, primarily AI. Reality Labs builds Meta’s augmented reality, virtual reality and related wearable devices.

Also Wednesday, Meta announced that its board approved the creation of a new class of publicly listed, nonvoting Class C common stock, effective in January. The move is intended in part to boost the company’s ability to raise capital for AI infrastructure investments.

“Meta plans to issue nonvoting shares to fund AI investments without diluting CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s control,” said Andrew Rocco, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research.

Meta’s shares closed up 0.5% in regular trading Wednesday. The shares rose 2.9% in after-hours trading after the results were released. The stock is up 5.7% so far this year.

In Texas, early voting is up 74% compared with 2022. In Kansas it’s more than doubled. Maine, North Carolina and Ohio also have seen increases of more than 30% in early in-person and mail voting compared with the same point in 2022.

Democrats are trying to flip Republican-held Senate seats in each of those states. In most of them, Republicans are accounting for a smaller share of advance voters than they did four years ago.

The AP’s data, which runs through Tuesday, gives a snapshot of potential voter enthusiasm — and where it might be lacking — after early voting has opened in most states during a midterm cycle that has shifted in often unpredictable ways.

Dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the persistently high cost of living, and high gas and diesel prices caused by the Iran war have generated political blowback against Republicans in places the party didn’t anticipate having to defend this year.

Nationally, more than 13 million mail-in and early in-person votes have been cast, compared with 9 million at the same point in 2022. The increase also reflects a few additional states that expanded their early voting opportunities and ones that made more of their data available since the last midterms.

Midterm elections typically favor the party out of power in Washington. With Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, it's a distinctly different environment than 2022, when Democrats were in charge.

Democrats energized by competitive Senate races in GOP-leaning states

Senate Democrats were expected to face a tough map this cycle, defending a number of battlegrounds with only a few opportunities to flip seats in areas Trump won by single digits in 2024. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber.

But with gas and diesel prices up significantly from where they were a year ago and Trump increasingly unpopular among voters, Democrats have been wading into traditionally Republican states, hoping to win there for the first time in decades.

Earlier this month, Republicans pulled back spending in a once-competitive North Carolina Senate race and dumped close to $12 million into Kansas, a state Trump won by 16 percentage points in 2024, to support GOP Sen. Roger Marshall against Democrat Adam Hamilton.

Trump held a rally Monday in the state, where more than 55,000 people have cast their ballots so far — more than double the 27,000 people who had voted at this point in the cycle in 2022. That year, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly narrowly won reelection while Republican Sen. Jerry Moran won overwhelmingly.

Specific races seem to be drawing voters to the polls

Texas also has seen a massive surge, even though early in-person voting just started Monday. The number of ballots cast two weeks from Election Day has reached nearly 1 million, up from roughly 550,000 at the same stage in 2022. Texas’ data doesn’t show ballots returned by party registration.

The surge comes as Democrat James Talarico and Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton compete for the Senate seat currently held by GOP Sen. John Cornyn, whom Paxton defeated in a primary runoff with Trump’s endorsement.

Democrats have targeted Paxton, who is benefiting from millions in outside spending, over corruption allegations and his impeachment by the Texas Legislature, though he was later acquitted.

Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat to win statewide in more than three decades. Incumbent GOP Gov. Greg Abbott also is in an election fight against Democratic state lawmaker Gina Hinojosa.

Ohio has top races up and down the ballot this year, with tight contests for U.S. Senate, House and governor. Total spending on the Ohio Senate race will reach close to $500 million, according to AdImpact.

The increased attention is reflected in the votes, with 156,000 more ballots cast so far compared with 2022, a 30% increase. Some voting laws have changed in Ohio since 2022, including the state eliminating its grace period for receiving mail ballots, a change that forces voters to return those ballots earlier.

In Maine, where five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins is seeking reelection against Democrat Troy Jackson, there’s been an increase of 39% in ballots cast this year compared with two weeks before the election in the 2022 midterm.

Advance vote hasn't increased in every competitive state

In Michigan and Georgia, two states where Democrats are defending Senate seats, the total number of early votes cast is high, but similar to four years ago.

Both states shattered their midterm voting records in 2022, with reproductive rights on the ballot in Michigan and a highly competitive U.S. Senate race in Georgia that year.

Iowa, which voted three times for Trump in presidential years, has competitive contests for governor, Senate and in three of its four House districts. Early voting there two weeks out from the election is down about 6% from the same period four years ago.

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Ryan Dubicki and Michaela Herbst of The Associated Press Election Services team contributed to this report from Washington.

“That was awesome. He was just laughing. ... He said, ‘I can’t believe this is happening,'" Patricia Hubbard Fox told The Associated Press in a phone interview as she headed to Denver's airport to catch a flight to San Antonio to meet her brother.

President Donald Trump said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call earlier this month to free Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan. Hubbard was headed home following a visit to St. Petersburg by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who also held talks with Putin about the war in Ukraine.

“He’s out of Russia territory. He is free, praise God. He really thought he was going to die in prison,” Hubbard Fox said, adding that her brother suffered beatings and starvation while he was held captive.

She said her brother was in perfect health when he was “kidnapped” in 2022 and accused of fighting alongside Kyiv's forces. She said he now suffers from an enlarged heart and likely has post-traumatic stress disorder.

Her brother was accused of signing a contract with the Ukrainian military and sentenced in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison during closed court proceedings. The U.S. government under the Biden administration designated him as wrongfully detained, and his legal team has also disputed the Russian allegation, saying he was not involved in any military activity.

Hubbard, a U.S. Air Force veteran, taught English overseas and retired in 2012 to Cyprus, where one of his sons is an Orthodox Christian priest. He later moved to Ukraine to be with a woman he had met, his lawyers said, and remained in the country after the relationship ended and was living there at the time of Russia’s invasion.

Hubbard Fox also disputed the claim that her brother was a mercenary, saying he was used as “bait” in Putin's war with Ukraine.

“Putin is as evil as they come,” she said.

Hubbard Fox said her brother would probably come live with her in Colorado, and they both were looking forward to a family reunion. And perhaps she will be able to get some peaceful sleep in her own bed.

Hubbard Fox said she has slept on her couch for four years in solidarity with her brother “because I figured he didn’t have a bed. Why should I have a bed?”

Gangs in Haiti had opened fire on an armored vehicle three days earlier the first major attack since an international gang suppression force began operating in the violence-wracked Caribbean country. The four Salvadoran soldiers have been missing since they fled the burning vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince.

Addressing Haitian gang leaders, Bukele demanded that they return the Salvadorans “alive, unharmed” and warned that, if they do so, “everything will go back to the way it was before the kidnapping.” If not, the Salvadoran leader — who drew international attention for his contentious war on his own country's gangs — said it would result in a more powerful operation.

“Today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if they do not release the four hostages alive. And do not take our words as empty threats,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

It was not immediately clear if Bukele intended any further action to be carried out by Salvadoran, Haitian or international security forces in the area.

In his post, the Salvadoran leader shared video of armored vehicles with shattered windows driving through plumes of smoke.

Haiti’s government issued a news release Wednesday evening saying the “abduction” of the aviation technicians was an “absolute priority.”

It noted that a meeting was held at the prime minister’s office “to assess the ongoing interventions and determine the necessary measures to strengthen operations, in close collaboration with the Gang Repression Force.”

“The release of the abducted soldiers is an absolute priority, and all necessary resources are being mobilized to achieve this goal,” the government said.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Haitian authorities received confirmation that the Salvadoran soldiers are alive.

A spokesperson for the gang suppression force did not immediately respond to a message seeking details.

Bukele said the four men are aviation technicians and that the Salvadoran mission in Haiti “consists only of pilots and technical personnel” whose main job is to carry out medical evacuations, “not to wage war.”

The U.N.-backed force is still fighting gangs in the community where Sunday's attack occurred, warning residents in the area to remain indoors.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Salvadoran troops and it comes as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade. It also showcases the power of the gangs that control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince.

El Salvador is among a number of countries – including Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala – to form a part of a gang suppression force with more than 2,000 troops on the ground in Haiti.

The U.N. in 2025 originally approved up to 5,550 security personnel and more than 50 civilian staff to be sent to Haiti to dismantle armed gangs.

In early October, El Salvador passed a law extending its armed forces’ participation in the force for a year. The law also authorized the mission to “deploy civilian and military personnel according to the mission’s needs,” expanding its role beyond medical evacuations, as stipulated in the previous decree.

The multinational force received at least a six-month extension through March 2027 from the U.N. Security Council.

Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti in recent years, with more than 5,700 people killed or injured from January through mid-September and more than 230 people kidnapped, according to the United Nations.

The area where the armored vehicle was targeted is controlled by gangs including Chèn Méchan; Kraze Barye, led by Vitelhomme Innocent; and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both gang leaders have been sanctioned by the U.N. and the U.S.

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Associated Press writer Dánica Coto contributed from Puerto Rico.

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

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies with MDSO’s Organized Crime Bureau and Vice & Intelligence Squad were alerted to a property along the 22100 block of Southwest 309th Street, in the county’s rural Redland area, regarding a possible cockfighting location.

While executing a search warrant, deputies discovered “several hundred game fowl roosters, numerous enclosed cockfighting training ring(s), and one large cock fighting arena used for events” as well as “several rooster paraphernalia including vitamins, syringes, medication and rooster agitators,” according to an arrest form.

While searching the property, deputies detained a man identified as Angel Ponce-Maqueda, 29, who was inside an RV which was located next to “multiple individually enclosed game fowl, one training ring and agitator,” official documents stated.

Deputies said Ponce-Maqueda informed them he does not own the birds, but he does care for them, saying he “regularly feeds and provides water for them.”

During their search, deputies also came upon a man identified as Jesus Oliva, 41, who told investigators that he is the owner of the property.

While speaking to deputies, Oliva admitted “he was aware of all the game fowl on the property but insisted no roosters were fought on the property,” instead alleging that “he no longer fights the game fowl but admitted that on the property was a fighting area, training rings and agitators that are no longer in use,” according to an arrest form.

Deputies said Oliva initially claimed ownership of all game fowl on the property, but later recanted his initial statement and said he only owned some of the birds.

According to investigators, “the roosters were also found to be missing feathers, some injured, trimmed combs, and some with natural spurs removed” which they said are “all signs of possible fighting.”

Both men are facing multiple felony animal fighting charges and a felony animal cruelty charge, and Oliva was also charged with willful disregard for the environment and possession of a firearm by a person under a domestic violence injunction.

As of Wednesday morning, Ponce-Maqueda was behind bars at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $10,000 bond while Oliva is also at TGK on a $15,150 bond for the cockfighting-related charges and with bond listed as “to be set” on the firearm charge.

“Miami-Dade County Animal Services (MDAS) assisted the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office with an animal cruelty investigation involving suspected cockfighting. Fewer than 500 birds were found on the property, along with a dog housed in unsanitary conditions. The dog was removed from the property by Animal Services and is now in our custody.

“The property owner was arrested in connection with the case. The investigation remains ongoing, and no further details are available for release at this time.

“MDAS takes all allegations of animal cruelty seriously and remains committed to working alongside law enforcement partners to investigate suspected abuse, safeguard animal welfare, and hold those responsible accountable through the appropriate legal process. Protecting animals and ensuring their well-being remain central to our mission.”

Miami-Dade County Animal Services

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Brian Louis Sguros, 35, appeared in court with a private attorney, one day after his arrest on multiple charges stemming from allegations that he used his position as a police officer to gain access to a dead man’s personal information and take control of his property.

During the hearing, Sguros’ attorney told the judge that an agreement had been reached with prosecutors regarding his bond.

The judge also ordered Sguros to stay away from the property and have no contact with the family involved in the case.

After posting bond on Wednesday, Sguros, wearing two surgical masks over his face, sprinted away from cameras as he left the Broward Main Jail.

Officer accused of moving into home after welfare check

The allegations date back to July 11, 2022, when Sguros and another Lauderhill police officer responded to a welfare check at a home at 4551 NW 12th St.

A neighbor had contacted authorities after becoming concerned about the homeowner, Dennis Ionis West, who had not been seen for approximately two weeks.

Officers entered the home and discovered West’s badly decomposed body.

An autopsy later determined that West died of cardiovascular disease, and his death was ruled natural.

According to a 21-page arrest affidavit from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Sguros subsequently took possession of the property, moved into the home with his partner and began making renovations.

Investigators said Sguros used West’s personal identification information in connection with improvements to the property, including a building permit application submitted more than two years after West’s death.

Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar told Local 10 News that the allegations were particularly concerning because Sguros had access to the property through his duties as a police officer.

“One of those officers called the medical examiner and basically said, ‘I don’t believe he has any heirs,’ and he took possession of the body and apparently took possession of the property,” Kiar said.

According to the affidavit, Sguros identified himself as West’s friend when communicating with the medical examiner’s office and offered to assist with funeral arrangements if relatives could not be located.

However, investigators later determined that West had surviving family members and legal heirs.

Investigators say dead man’s identity was used for renovations

According to the affidavit, Sguros acknowledged in sworn court documents that he took possession of West’s property around Aug. 1, 2022.

He claimed to have spent at least $214,000 cleaning, securing and renovating the home, which he estimated was worth approximately $500,000 after the improvements.

Investigators said he also paid property taxes and utilities while the home remained registered under West’s estate.

In August 2024, a building permit application was submitted for an $8,000 project to replace windows and exterior doors at the property.

The application listed West as the homeowner and included his driver’s license information and a signature purportedly belonging to him, according to investigators.

The paperwork also indicated West had appeared before a notary, despite having died more than two years earlier.

“His driver’s license, his name, he signed it apparently on the building permit,” Kiar told Local 10 News.

Investigators said the phone number listed for West on the application actually belonged to Sguros.

A notary whose name appeared on the paperwork told detectives she did not recognize the documents and that the signature was not hers, according to the affidavit.

Authorities also accused Sguros of improperly accessing law enforcement databases seven times between July 2022 and January 2023 to obtain information about West.

Property dispute leads to criminal investigation

The case eventually came to light after Equinox Realty Holdings acquired ownership interests in the property from West’s surviving heirs.

According to investigators, representatives of the company discovered Sguros had been occupying the home and became involved in a dispute over the property’s ownership.

A Broward County court subsequently recognized the heirs’ interests and the conveyances to Equinox.

Sguros eventually surrendered the keys but sought reimbursement for improvements he claimed to have made to the home.

In February 2026, he filed a civil lawsuit seeking an equitable lien against the property.

The dispute ultimately led to an investigation involving the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Deed Fraud Task Force and Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives.

Officer placed on unpaid leave

According to the arrest affidavit, investigators identified five alleged offenses: official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person’s identifying information, criminal use of personal identifying information, an offense against a computer user and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

Sguros was arrested Tuesday and has since been placed on leave without pay from the Lauderhill Police Department.

During Wednesday’s court appearance, the judge ordered him not to contact the family connected to the case or return to the property.

El ataque —considerado la primera gran agresión desde que una fuerza internacional inició operaciones en el país caribeño contra las pandillas, ocurrió el domingo en Croix-des-Bouquets, una comunidad en la capital de Haití, Puerto Príncipe, que ahora está controlada por esos grupos violentos.

“Hoy (miércoles) hemos lanzado una operación militar para rescatarlos. El ataque de hoy no es nada comparado con lo que está por venir si no liberan a los cuatro rehenes vivos. Y no tomen nuestras palabras como amenazas vacías”, indicó Bukele en su cuenta de la red social X.

La fuerza respaldada por la ONU sigue combatiendo a las pandillas en la comunidad donde ocurrió el ataque, y ha advertido a los residentes de la zona que permanezcan en sus hogares.

Nadie se ha atribuido la responsabilidad del ataque contra el personal salvadoreño, el cual ocurre mientras Haití se prepara para sus primeras elecciones generales en más de una década. El suceso pone de manifiesto, además, el poder de las pandillas, que controlan aproximadamente el 70% de Puerto Príncipe.

El gobierno de Haití emitió un comunicado el miércoles por la noche en el que califica el “secuestro” de los salvadoreños como una “prioridad absoluta”.

El texto señala que se celebró una reunión de alto nivel en la oficina del primer ministro “para evaluar las intervenciones en curso y determinar las medidas necesarias para reforzar las operaciones, en estrecha colaboración con la fuerza de represión contra las pandillas”.

“La liberación de los salvadoreños secuestrados es una prioridad absoluta, y se están movilizando todos los recursos necesarios para alcanzar este objetivo”, declaró el gobierno.

Tampoco quedó claro de inmediato si las autoridades haitianas han recibido confirmación de que los salvadoreños se encuentran con vida.

Un portavoz de la fuerza internacional contra las pandillas no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de información adicional. Bukele señaló que las víctimas son técnicos de aviación y que la misión salvadoreña en Haití está compuesta únicamente por pilotos y personal técnico, cuya labor principal es realizar evacuaciones médicas, “no hacer la guerra”.

El Salvador es uno de los países —junto con Chad, Jamaica y Guatemala, entre otros— que integran la fuerza destinada a combatir a las pandillas, la cual cuenta con más de 2.000 efectivos desplegados en Haití.

Las Fuerzas Armadas de El Salvador informaron en un comunicado el lunes que los cuatro técnicos de aviación regresaban al campamento cuando el vehículo blindado fue atacado con explosivos e incendiado.

Indicaron que los cuatro hombres lograron huir del vehículo en llamas y que se está trabajando con fuerzas internacionales “para establecer contacto y determinar la ubicación de nuestros militares”.

Las autoridades salvadoreñas señalaron que se enviaron helicópteros a la zona, pero que éstos también fueron atacados a tiros cuando dispersaban a hombres armados en el área.

La violencia de las pandillas ha desplazado a casi 1,5 millones de personas en Haití en los últimos años, con más de 5.700 personas muertas o heridas desde enero hasta mediados de septiembre, y más de 230 personas secuestradas, según Naciones Unidas.

La zona donde fue atacado el vehículo blindado está controlada por pandillas como Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye —liderada por Vitelhomme Innocent— y 400 Mawozo —encabezada por Lanmo Sanjou—. Ambos líderes de pandillas han sido sancionados tanto por la ONU como por Estados Unidos.

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La periodista de The Associated Press, Dánica Coto, contribuyó a este reporte desde Puerto Rico.

The Interior Department wants to reconsider its own approval for the “construction and operations plan” for the New England Wind project off of Massachusetts. The plan was approved in 2024 during the Biden administration. The Justice Department said in a filing Tuesday that the court should send the permit back to Interior, because the plan was approved despite major adverse impacts.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, warned that the administration now risks derailing a legislative effort to speed up permitting reviews for new energy and infrastructure projects. The Senate reached a bipartisan deal in September on a permitting bill, which has not yet been voted on.

“This is how you blow up a permitting deal,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

The Trump administration is using executive orders, agency actions and the courts to try to stop the development of offshore wind, a technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Officials started buying back offshore wind leases after federal judges blocked its efforts to stop construction on five major East Coast projects.

The Interior Department also wants to reconsider its prior approval of the construction and operations plan for Revolution Wind, a wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut that has finished construction, and for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which has not yet begun construction.

In August, a judge granted the administration's request to reconsider the permit for the stalled New Jersey project Atlantic Shores. That project had been halted soon after Trump returned to office because co-owner Shell walked away from it.

Last year, a federal judge said the Trump administration could reconsider the permit granted to the Massachusetts project SouthCoast Wind days before the president’s inauguration to a second term.

Pasha Feinberg, an offshore wind strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the Trump administration’s attacks on offshore wind are escalating at a time when Americans are struggling with surging utility bills.

“It’s long past time for the Trump administration to realize its war on clean energy is backfiring," Feinberg said.

The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore industries including oil and wind, said it's concerned about the uncertainty that comes with reopening federal approvals for offshore energy projects, particularly those already under construction or in operation.

“The Senate has made meaningful progress on deep reforms that would provide greater certainty for energy projects across the board,” said the association's president, Erik Milito. The administration's actions “underscore why Congress needs to get this done,” he said.

The plans for New England Wind call for up to 129 wind turbines that could supply as much as 2,600 megawatts of clean energy to power more than 900,000 homes each year. The developer, Avangrid, declined to comment Wednesday. Construction has not begun.

The project's federal approval was challenged in court by ACK for Whales, a group of Nantucket, Massachusetts, residents who say they are concerned about the negative impacts of offshore wind development. The lawsuit in District Court for the District of Columbia contends that the federal government failed to comply with numerous statutes.

The federal defendants in the case filed a motion Tuesday stating that remand of the permit is warranted, so Interior could make a new decision. The government also told the court in 2025 it wanted to reconsider New England Wind’s approval.

Interior said in a statement Wednesday that the latest filing complied with a briefing schedule and was not announcing a policy change. Its position on offshore wind has remained consistent throughout this administration, the statement said.

Avangrid built another wind farm, Vineyard Wind, off the coast of Massachusetts in a joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Construction finished in March, making it the first project to reach this stage during Trump’s time in office. Vineyard Wind was one of the projects the administration tried to halt construction on, citing concerns over national security.

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McDermott reported from Providence, R.I.

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Jim Horan works as a bartender at The Catch Restaurant and Bar, located at 102041 Overseas Hwy in Key Largo, which is in close proximity to the early voting site.

When he saw what was happening and spotted the CBP agents, he took his cell phone out and started recording.

“It’s the visual,” he said. “It’s the visual of a lot of people of color, different origins, down here and they could feel intimidated.”

Horan said looking at the big picture, the agents should have known they’re not allowed near any early voting location, per Florida election code.

The incident led to a flurry of calls to Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies.

Hodies said her office is looking into the incident.

Speaking to Local 10, she said they’re trying to figure out if what occurred was a traffic stop that happened to take place outside the polling place, or if this was intentional.

“I’m not happy about it,” said Hodies. “Frankly, I was stunned about it. It’s hard to take these phone calls from voters who are frightened. Their voices are shaking. What is going on?”

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The incident occurred around 6 p.m. on Tuesday inside and outside the Miami International Mall, located at 1455 NW 107th Ave. in Doral.

According to police, officers responded to the mall after receiving reports of a theft in progress.

When they arrived, police said they located a two subjects inside a black 2024 Lincoln Navigator, but when officers attempted to detain the men inside the SUV, the driver, who was later identified as Stephon Corbett, 44, refused to stop and instead “operated the vehicle at a high rate of speed along the perimeter road within the Miami International Mall property,” according to an arrest report.

Officers also noted that at the time of the incident, “the area was experiencing heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic” which, due to the way Corbett was driving, police said he “operated the vehicle with wanton disregard for the safety of persons and property, placing nearby motorists and pedestrians at substantial risk of injury.”

At one point, officers said Corbett “made a deliberate turn and drove his vehicle into the marked police vehicle” which caused “damage to the police vehicle’s push bar.”

While fleeing police, officers noted that the passenger in the vehicle, later identified as Gregory Edwards, 38, was seen “throwing mail from the moving vehicle” which officers later said contained “a total of thirty-six (36) credit cards and three (3) checks” none of which had the names of either Corbett or Edwards.

Due to heavy traffic in the area, the suspect’s vehicle eventually came to complete stop in front of the La Carreta restaurant located at the southwest corner of the mall property, and that’s when police said they were forced to break the vehicle’s passenger-side window in order to remove both men “as a result of their continued refusal to surrender,” according to an arrest form.

As investigators began working the case, police said they spoke with loss prevention officers inside the mall’s Macy’s store who said they observed Edwards move between the store’s Finish Line department and its men’s suit department, “quickly selecting suits without looking at prices.”

After Edwards completed multiple purchases inside both departments and quickly left the store, the loss prevention officers discovered the transactions were fraudulent and alerted authorities, police said.

Officers also said that after detaining both men, they found that Corbett’s driving privileges had six active suspensions, and that Corbett had an active bench warrant issued by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in November of last year, also for a driving issue.

After being taken to the Doral Police Department, Corbett invoked his right to remain silent, but Edwards agreed to speak with detectives. He initially told police he was at the mall “for the purpose of recruiting women to visit his restaurant located in Miami” and that after leaving the mall, he ran into Corbett, who offered him a ride, but when questioned about the items he was found throwing out of the car, Edwards’ statement was redacted from an official form.

Police said Edwards initially denied making any purchases inside Macy’s, but after being presented with surveillance video showing him inside the store, he made a confession that was also redacted from his arrest form.

Based off the totality of their investigation, officers ultimately arrested Corbett and Edwards.

Both suspects are facing multiple felony charges related to the fraudulent transactions using other people’s credit cards and fleeing from police.

Corbett is also facing charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and fleeing or eluding at a high rate of speed, in addition to knowingly driving with a suspended license and driving with no valid driver’s license.

Edwards was also charged with a count of tempering with physical evidence.

Both men are being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond listed as “to be set” on the trafficking counterfeit credit card charge.

De la Espriella, a conservative Trump ally, says he wants to prevent cultural institutions from being taken over by what he calls “atheist social communism.”

The removed exhibits addressed the history of social movements, including feminist and LGBTQ+ activism, and Colombia’s political violence.

The changes have sparked protests by civil rights groups, artists and students who accuse the government of censorship and warn that important parts of the country’s history could be erased.

Dozens of demonstrators gathered Wednesday outside the museum in downtown Bogotá as riot police guarded its entrance.

“I find it outrageous that they want to erase part of our history,” said Azul Riascos, a history student. He said the government was promoting a vision of Colombia as exclusively white, Catholic and Spanish-speaking that excluded Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities.

Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, director for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America, said the Colombian government’s approach reflects a broader trend among Trump allies who are copying U.S. political narratives and strategies.

Trump has been fiercely critical of museums in Washington, particularly those tied to the Smithsonian Institution. The White House released a report in July branding leaders of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as radical activists and has ordered signs installed outside the museum telling visitors that some of the exhibits are inaccurate.

Nearly three months after that order, such signs haven’t been installed. The museum’s director, Anthea Hartig, told Congress that the White House report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

Sánchez-Garzoli said Trump’s cooperation with allied Latin American governments on security and counternarcotics efforts also has an ideological dimension.

“These are imported narratives about terrorism and about being ‘woke,’” anthropologist Arturo Sanabria said during Wednesday’s protest, describing the Colombian government’s approach as a form of neocolonial intervention.

Colombia’s Culture Minister Paola Holguín said the government was reviewing and redesigning exhibitions and curatorial practices at other museums overseen by her ministry.

The Foreign Ministry also renamed a courtyard previously honoring an Indigenous leader, describing the change as part of the president’s campaign against “woke” ideology.

“The government is making serious efforts in a cultural battle that probably doesn’t exist,” political scientist Estefanía Cardozo said outside the museum. “It is inventing one to erase identities that cannot be erased because they already exist.”

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Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed from Washington.

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

The electric vehicle maker reported third-quarter net income of $787 million, or 22 cents per share, down 44% from the year-earlier period. Excluding certain items, though, earnings per share of 48 cents beat Wall Street analyst expectations by 3 cents.

One standout for the quarter was Tesla's $1.5 billion in free cash flow, a measure of cash generated after subtracting investments needed to keep the business running. Given big artificial intelligence spending, analysts had expected Tesla would report it had burned through cash, not generated it.

“It seems Tesla is taking a more capital-efficient approach, delaying longer-term projects to be able to self-fund their AI growth,” said Morningtar analyst Seth Goldstein, calling the cash jump the big surprise of the quarter.

Revenue was basically flat at $28 billion, falling slightly short of analysts’ forecast.

In a SpaceX conference call after that company reported earnings on Tuesday, Musk said a long-rumored merger with Tesla might be in the works. He said that special committees had been set up at each company to discuss a possible combination, while cautioning that many hurdles remain.

Musk declined to discuss the possible merger further on Tesla’s conference call.

Tesla stock fell 3.2% in after-hours trading after climbing 3.6% during the regular trading session.

The company also reported doubling capital spending for the quarter to $4.7 billion, but analysts had expected a far bigger increase. The shortfall raised questions as to whether growth in the business in future months might not be as fast as investors had expected, a concern that Tesla heightened in its conference call when it said it was cutting its full-year 2026 capital spending estimate from $25 billion to $20 billion.

On the positive side, Tesla reported that a big selling feature of Tesla's cars, driver-assistance software that Tesla owners pay for separately, are in high demand with 75% of vehicles sold in North America including a subscription to the service.

The company calls the feature Full-Self Driving (Supervised), the word in parenthesis added after regulators said the term was misleading because the software requires drivers to stay alert and ready to take control at any time.

Profit margins also held up despite concerns that discounts to boost sales may have squeezed profitability in recent quarters. For the three months through September, Tesla reported that it made 18.1 cents for every dollar of car sales, up almost 3 cents from a year earlier.

Tesla had previously reported selling nearly 490,000 vehicles last quarter, a rise from the prior three months. The increase followed a brutal drop stretching more than a year amid backlash over Musk’s support for President Donald Trump and right-wing politicians in Europe.

The spot, airing on Maine radio in the form of a country song, is from the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republicans. Among the lyrics in the jingle: “If he’ll screw his own family, he’ll screw yours too.”

Collins told reporters during a campaign appearance in Lewiston that she “had nothing to do with that ad.” She added that federal law bans her from coordinating with the super PAC, but she has publicly called for it to be removed.

Previously, in a Politico story in September, Collins referenced Jackson's relationship with a second cousin.

“I’m not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin,” Collins said. “I don’t know whether people know that or not.”

In an op-ed published Wednesday, Lana Pelletier, Jackson's partner, criticized the radio ad and other attacks on her family by Collins and her supporters, saying she never thought they “would stoop this low.”

“Sen. Collins has been quick to demand respect and decency for herself. My family deserved the same,” Pelletier said.

“I am not a helpless woman who needs politicians to tell the world what happened in my own life. And I am not a punchline or a caricature of where I come from,” she added.

Jackson, a former state lawmaker and lumberjack, and Pelletier are longtime partners who have two sons together.

Jackson's campaign manager, Dan Gottlieb, said Wednesday that Collins owes Jackson's family an apology.

“Susan Collins herself spread these disgusting personal attacks on Troy's family,” he said. “Now she wants Mainers to believe she's above the very attacks she helped spread.”

Democrats are hoping for a win by Jackson over the incumbent Collins as the party tries to retake the Senate.

Also Wednesday, Collins lamented how negative much campaign advertising has been during this election cycle.

“This race is unique in Maine history in the number of personal attacks,” Collins said.

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Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

El hombre fue identificado como Michael Polanco, de 32 años.

Según la policía, intentó raptar a la niña en una gasolinera Shell ubicada en el 2840 S. State Road 7.

Local 10 News obtuvo las imágenes de las cámaras de seguridad que muestran el intento de secuestro.

De acuerdo con un reporte de arresto, un testigo les dijo a los agentes que vio a Polanco agarrar a la niña por el cuello e intentar llevársela caminando.

Las autoridades indicaron que, en un principio, Polanco huyó de la gasolinera, pero los agentes lograron localizarlo y detenerlo. Luego, tanto la víctima como el testigo lo identificaron positivamente como el hombre que intentó raptar a la adolescente.

Polanco fue arrestado y trasladado a la Broward County Main Jail por los cargos de agresión con lesiones corporales y secuestro con lesiones corporales o para aterrorizar a la víctima. Tras comparecer ante un juez el martes, se ordenó que permanezca detenido sin derecho a fianza.

Según la policía, Polanco tiene un extenso historial delictivo que incluye robo, robo en propiedad ajena, agresión y exhibicionismo, entre otros delitos.

El accidente ocurrió a primera hora de la tarde del miércoles en la cuadra 5300 de la avenida 87 del noroeste, en Doral.

Desde Sky 10 se pudo ver un vehículo de color oscuro que había entrado parcialmente en el local, que al parecer era The Corner Wine and Spirits, ubicado en el 5335 NW 87th Ave., dentro del centro comercial Downtown Doral.

Según los rescatistas, no se reportaron heridos.

Las autoridades no han dicho si la persona que manejaba recibirá una multa o enfrentará algún cargo.

Kahlo, que es estilista, contó que eran alrededor de las 10 p.m. y caminaba por la calle 19 del noreste, a pocos pasos de Wilton Drive.

“No puedo dejar de pensar en lo que pasó... Escuché algo detrás de mí y de pronto vi una mano frente a mí... Cuando vi que la mano se me acercaba, solté a mis perros y me defendí con la otra mano”, relató Kahlo.

Según Kahlo, el agresor, que estaba cerca del Richardson Historic Park & Nature Preserve, llevaba algo afilado.

“Me cortó la mano. No me di cuenta de que también me había herido el cuello hasta que llegué a la casa”, dijo.

Después de que llamó al 911, llegaron agentes de policía y paramédicos, que lo llevaron al Broward Health Medical Center, donde le dieron puntos. Kahlo dijo que el miércoles todavía tenía dolor y que le daba miedo salir de su casa.

“Espero que lo atrapen para poder sentirme seguro otra vez”, dijo.

McKenzie Henderson, quien conoce a Kahlo como barbero en Ron’s Barbershop, en Fort Lauderdale, abrió una campaña de recaudación de fondos en GoFundMe.

“Gianni necesita sus manos para trabajar y tiene miedo de perder su negocio y a sus clientes. No puede trabajar”, escribió Henderson.

Los detectives de Wilton Manors piden a cualquier persona con información sobre el agresor que llame al 954-390-2150, o a Broward County Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477 para mantenerse en el anonimato.

The center of the cyclone was at sea and posed no threat to land. Vance was located about 520 miles (835 kilometers) south of Acapulco, Mexico.

Maximum sustained winds were around 40 mph (65 kph), according to an advisory from the Miami-based hurricane center.

Paolo Rocco, nuncio apostólico en Perú, dijo a la radio local RPP que León tiene “muchas ganas de visitar” el país andino. “Hasta el momento está todo confirmado; acabo de hablar con el comité de avanzada que va a llegar en los próximos días y el Santo Padre, como se veía esta mañana, está perfectamente restablecido”.

Las declaraciones de Rocco ocurren luego de que los médicos del papa afirmaran que las pruebas finales de tejido y moleculares han confirmado que su cáncer de pulmón está localizado y que no se necesita más tratamiento, según informó el Vaticano en un comunicado el miércoles.

El papa regresó al Vaticano el sábado, cuatro días después de que le extirparan el lóbulo inferior de su pulmón derecho. La cirugía confirmó que el pontífice tenía adenocarcinoma de pulmón, el tipo más común de cáncer de pulmón.

El martes en Perú, Juan Bytton, el secretario para la visita apostólica del Arzobispado de Lima, dijo a periodistas internacionales que la visita del papa incluirá un helicóptero militar equipado como ambulancia, un listado de centros hospitalarios en cada localidad que visite para usarlo en caso de emergencia e incluso un ascensor para que el pontífice, de forma optativa, pueda subir o bajar por más de una decena de escalinatas que llevan desde la plaza mayor de Lima hasta la catedral de Lima.

León visitará en Perú las ciudades de Lima, Chiclayo, Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, Cusco y Pucallpa.

Robert Prevost tiene programado su primer viaje por Sudamérica entre el 6 y 17 de noviembre con visitas a Uruguay, Argentina y Perú. En esa gira tendrá que realizar una docena de vuelos y trayectos en helicóptero a grandes altitudes, entre ellas a la ciudad peruana de Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, a 2.035 metros de altitud. El viaje también incluye Cusco, la capital del Imperio Inca, a 3.400 metros sobre el nivel del mar.

Prevost vivió unos 22 años en Perú, hasta 2023, cuando fue llamado al Vaticano por Francisco para ejercer un cargo clave. Fue obispo de la diócesis de Chiclayo, una ciudad de la costa norte de Perú, a 700 kilómetros de Lima. Santa Cruz de Succhabamba es una ciudad que también se encuentra dentro de la diócesis de Chiclayo.

Pese a que los católicos en Perú han disminuido desde 98,5% en el censo de 1940 hasta 76% en el de 2017, la llegada de Prevost ha despertado interés. Se están construyendo estatuas y algunos negocios fabrican camisetas, dulces e incluso una cafetería ofrece el rostro del papa en sus tazas de capuchino.

The department said Wednesday it had ordered the departure of non-essential staff at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and its satellite consulates. The embassy had been badly damaged at the start of the Iran war and had been operating with only a skeleton staff for months, although some diplomats had returned in recent months.

In a new travel alert, the department said, "Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions. The hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area.”

A series of previous alerts for Saudi Arabia issued over the past several days have used almost identical language and noted that U.S. government personnel need special permission to use any Saudi airport. The Houthis have routinely targeted Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, and it had been closed since Oct. 10 following a severe attack.

But earlier Wednesday, aircraft from a limited number of Saudi airlines took off and landed at the airport, two days after Saudi aviation authorities notified airlines that they could resume operations with prior permission.

Still, major carriers like Lufthansa and Air France have canceled flights to Riyadh through mid-November. Saudi airlines, including Saudia and FlyNas, were among those operating flights Wednesday.

The Houthis have acknowledged attacking the airport, claiming without evidence that Saudi Arabia provided military equipment to government forces through the facility.

Although the ordered departure applies only to Saudi Arabia, U.S. embassies in other Gulf countries will see temporary staffing changes, the department said. Those embassies are already under “restricted operations” that limit the number of personnel working there.

Meanwhile, tensions grew as Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said debris from an intercepted drone killed two people and injured two others at an Aramco-operated oil field in the country’s southeast.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis also said the group had fired five drones toward Saudi Arabia early Wednesday. The coalition said the drones were intercepted and destroyed over the holy city of Madinah and the Eastern Region.

The attempted attack was the latest on Saudi Arabia since the resurgence of fighting with the Houthis in mid-July.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Washington, seeks a court order barring the administration from purging legally registered voters from statewide voter registration lists or denying ballots to legally registered voters.

The plaintiffs, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, also ask for a ruling that the administration has illegally threatened state election officials with prosecution before the Nov. 3 election.

The lawsuit cites the Justice Department’s recent actions in California, where it sued to block state election officials from counting mail-in ballots cast by people whom the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.

“For over a decade now, President Donald J. Trump has bombarded the American people with lies and misinformation about American elections and voter fraud," the suit says. "While these lies have been debunked at every turn, that has never deterred the President from employing them as a pretext to seize control over elections, even as courts overwhelmingly reject that effort.”

The Justice Department said in a statement that election integrity is a top priority for the administration and the department's actions on that front are grounded in law and under court litigation.

The Democratic leaders' lawsuit was assigned to Chief Judge James Boasberg, who has been vilified by the White House for rulings against the Trump administration since the start of the Republican president’s second term.

The suit's other plaintiffs are the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Governors Association. Its named defendants are Trump, the Justice Department, Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

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That man has since been identified as 32-year-old Michael Polanco.

Police said he tried to abduct the girl from a Shell gas station, located at 2840 S. State Road 7.

Local 10 News has since obtained surveillance footage showing the attempted abduction.

According to an arrest report, a witness told officers that they saw Polanco grab the girl by the nick and try to walk away with her.

Authorities said Polanco initially fled from the gas station, but officers were able to locate and detain him, after which the victim and witness both positively identified him as the man who attempted to abduct the teen.

Polanco was arrested and taken to the Broward County Main Jail on charges of battery causing bodily harm and kidnapping, inflicting bodily harm or terrorizing a victim. He was ordered to be held without bond after making a court appearance on Tuesday.

Police said Polanco has a lengthy criminal history that includes robbery, burglary, battery and exposure of sexual organs, among other crimes.

It happened early Wednesday afternoon along the 5300 block of Northwest 87th Avenue in Doral.

Sky 10 was over the scene and observed a dark-colored vehicle that had partially driven into the business, which appeared to be The Corner Wine and Spirits at 5335 NW 87th Ave. within the Downtown Doral shopping center.

According to rescue officials, there were no reported injuries as a result of the crash.

Authorities have not said whether the driver will be cited or face any charges.

The government filed an emergency appeal asking the justices to lift a lower court decision halting construction. That ruling marked a setback to one of President Donald Trump's signature projects.

The administration has been racing forward with construction on a border wall and other infrastructure from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

But in the Big Bend region, the administration has run into opposition from ranchers, residents, business owners and environmentalists who argue the projects are a waste of money in an area of historically low illegal immigration and that construction could harm the region's scenic landscapes.

Opponents have filed numerous lawsuits seeking to stop the project, which in the Big Bend consists of a mixture of walls, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology.

Ruling in one of those cases, Judge Kathleen Cardone on Oct. 2 ordered the government to stop construction across the roughly 500-mile project area while the case plays out in the courts. It was a major victory for the bipartisan opposition.

The case hinges on sweeping waivers signed by the secretary of Homeland Security that allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bypass environmental and other regulations that would otherwise slow down construction of such a major project.

The government argued that the Big Bend sector is an area of high illegal entry, and said legislation dating back to 1996 explicitly gives the secretary these far-reaching powers as necessary to build physical barriers or roads near the border to stop people from crossing illegally.

Opponents disagreed, arguing that Congress gave that power to waive regulations specifically in areas of “high illegal entry.” They said Big Bend, a remote and rugged region, doesn’t fit that description.

Cardone sided with the opponents.

“The Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their major questions doctrine claim that the Big Bend Waivers were issued in excess of the Secretary’s authority,” she wrote.

Trump has long vowed to build a border wall along the roughly 2,000-mile length of the southwest border. Last summer, Republicans in Congress allocated Homeland Security $46 billion to finish the project, which will be a mixture of 30-foot-tall steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology.

The opposition in Texas’s Big Bend region had been brewing for months, but it escalated in August when bulldozers were spotted clearing land in Big Bend National Park.

The preliminary injunction filed by Cardone stops construction there as well as land up and downriver from the park that is owned by private landowners or the state.

The government has argued that if this region is one of the only areas left without a wall or other border infrastructure, illegal immigration could end up funneling to the Big Bend. But opponents have argued that other forms of infrastructure such as drones or surveillance towers are just as effective and a lot less expensive than the wall plans.

By creating a nonprofit to manage his blockbuster $1 billion commitment, Gilbert says he is sending a signal to city residents that he is not in it for the money.

The total cost of the project might reach $2.2 billion and includes investments from General Motors.

“We all share the goals of bringing new life to the Renaissance Center, of building a thriving riverfront district for all to enjoy, and of maximizing positive community impact,” Gilbert said in a statement. “I cannot think of a better way to accomplish these goals than through a nonprofit organization dedicated to this mission in perpetuity.”

According to Gilbert’s statement, the new organization will be a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which can engage in unlimited lobbying. Donations to such organizations are not tax-deductible. Gilbert did not return requests for comment.

Jamaine Dickens, chair of the city Neighborhood Advisory Council for the section of the city where the Renaissance Center is located, said the project could generate 8,000 local construction jobs. It would also make the riverfront a more inviting place, he said.

“Detroit is one of the most segregated communities in America, but that riverfront is where everyone comes together and enjoys it all at the same time, despite age, despite gender, despite race,” he said.

Nonprofit structure can lead to public good

Gilbert’s announcement is the latest in a string of commitments to Detroit from the Rocket Mortgage founder and one of many large-scale investments by philanthropy into the city’s future. In 2013, a group of foundations put a combined $816 million into a plan known as the “grand bargain,” which allowed the city to fulfill its pension obligations and fend off bankruptcy without selling art treasures from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Last year, when the Kresge Foundation announced it would relocate its headquarters to Detroit from its longtime home in the suburbs, it committed nearly $200 million to development projects in the northwest region of the city.

Rip Rapson, Kresge’s president and a key player in the grand bargain, hailed Gilbert’s announcement in an email, saying it was a “powerful reminder” of the important role foundations can play in democratizing public spaces, making them useful and accessible to all of the city’s residents and visitors alike. It would transform the riverfront area from being “less than inviting at best, and forbidding at worst” to a destination point.

By making the investment through a nonprofit, Rapson said, Gilbert was sending a positive message. Rapson told a gathering of Kresge staff the day of Gilbert’s announcement that the details would need to be examined, but he thought that “the creation of what will, in effect, be a form of conservancy, strikes me as a move genuinely aimed at ensuring … that civic engagement will be a priority in the project’s design and operations.”

Some advocates question use of tax incentives

Developers often argue that new construction creates jobs and adds to city revenue to build parks and provide other public services. But, historically, major development projects in Detroit, like those in most major cities, have come under fire because of tax incentives local jurisdictions give to developers. According to a 2024 report from Detroit Action, a progressive nonprofit advocacy group, the city lost almost $750 million in tax revenue because of tax abatements and other favorable tax treatment given to corporate developers. Detroit Action, which did not return calls for comment, was skeptical in its report.

“For these benefits to materialize, the City must prioritize its residents’ needs first,” the report states. “Deficiencies in critical areas like housing, education, and transportation prevent working class Detroiters from fully benefiting from the jobs and amenities development brings.”

The Renaissance Center project has received $75 million from the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, which will be reimbursed, and is seeking more than $300 million in other tax benefits.

Dickens, of the neighborhood advisory group, said that any slim revenue that comes in after covering operational expenses and debt would be directed right back into the project, rather than adding to Gilbert’s fortune.

The traditional narrative used by opponents of tax breaks for building is, “We don’t want tax incentives to make a billionaire richer,” Dickens said.

“Dan Gilbert would erase that narrative for this project by saying this is not a profit-making venture, this is an impact-making venture,” Dickens said. “He’s saying ‘I’m not in this for the money I’m in this for the impact.’”

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Alex Daniels is a senior reporter at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Stocks of both companies rose sharply Wednesday after Musk said that each had formed “special committees” to discuss a possible combination. The deal would be worth trillions of dollars, a massive melding of the world's biggest provider of rocket launches and satellite internet service with the second largest electric vehicle maker.

Musk says a deal makes sense given the future of both companies relies heavily on artificial intelligence. The two have already combined forces in AI chip production and a possible — perhaps impossible — project to make flying cars.

In early afternoon trading, SpaceX shot up 8% and Tesla 3.5%.

The world's biggest deal for the world's richest man

At current market values, the combination would create a $3.5 trillion behemoth. The biggest company now on the market, chipmaker Nvidia, is valued at $5.2 trillion.

The combination had been rumored for months before Musk told financial analysts on a Tuesday conference call that dual committees of directors had been assembled to discuss the issue. He added that, as the biggest owner of both companies, he cannot interact with the committees, and isn't even privy to their discussions.

Musk owns 11% of SpaceX, though he holds a majority of the voting control, and 19% of Tesla.

If the deal goes through, it would almost certainly top the current record holder, Vodaphone AirTouch’s deal for Germany's Mannesmann to create a mobile giant back more than a quarter of a century ago.

In today's dollars, that deal was worth $354 billion.

Musk said in the conference call that there's “lots to be gained from cooperating on developing super intelligence," the new term for artificial intelligence he adopted after President Donald Trump last month ordered U.S. officials to use it to remove any negative connotations.

Specifically, Musk pointed to the companies combined efforts to make AI chips at their Terafab factory in Texas and the need for AI to make Tesla's humanoid robots work. Tesla also needs AI for its vehicles to operate without drivers, a challenge that could be met more easily with a SpaceX satellite hook up. And Tesla could benefit if SpaceX's project called Starmind is successful in putting massive data centers in orbit.

Another possible reason Musk likes a combination: It will make him richer.

A change-in-control provision in a hotly debated, potential trillion-dollar Tesla compensation plan approved last year, says many of the performance targets would be considered automatically met in certain kinds of mergers, including requirements that Tesla deliver 20 million vehicles, put million self-driving Tesla robotaxis on the streets and deploy a million robots.

With Wednesday's gains in Tesla and SpaceX, Musk regained the status of the world's first and only trillionaire. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.004 trillion, up $80 billion after a few hours of trading.

Wall Street loves the merger, but is deeply conflicted

Most financial analysts who cover the two companies have been telling investors that their shares are a bargain, according to research firm FactSet — even though by nearly all measures the shares are exceedingly expensive.

SpaceX share are trading at 100 times its expected earnings over the next year. Tesla at 170 times. Big publicly traded companies in the U.S. as measured the S&P 500 stock index are trading at 19 times.

Many of the analysts also work for banks that hope to win business advising Musk on future deals, helping to sell stocks and bonds to finance his ambitious projects, including building “cybercabs” without steering wheels and sending astronauts to the Moon and possibly Mars.

When Musk took SpaceX public in June, nearly two dozen banks and other financial firms had a hand in the IPO, taking in an estimated $500 million in fees.

Midterms could bring more scrutiny

For all the enthusiasm on Wall Street for the merger, another center of U.S. power might have doubts — Washington.

Many lawmakers, most conspicuously Democrats, think Musk has too much power already and may want to crack down on his companies in a way that could hurt them most — federal contracts and regulation.

SpaceX has huge contracts with the federal government, and hopes for many more as NASA aims to put astronauts on the moon again soon. Meanwhile, Tesla is already the target of several safety investigations over the driver assistance software that Musk is hoping to use to turn millions of his cars into completely autonomous, self-driving vehicles and taxis.

The Democrats could scuttle things should they win big in midterm elections next month.

House Democrats have called for investigations into those SpaceX contracts and Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk also has drawn criticism from politicians after speeds for a military version of SpaceX’s satellite communications service were slowed for Ukraine following President Donald Trump’s deal to get more diesel fuel from Russia amid a push to end the war.

The idea that Musk has grown so powerful that he can impact U.S. policy and the fate of nations at war is deeply troubling to some lawmakers from both parties, who've called for investigations into Ukraine satellite service.

SpaceX recognized the danger of politics disrupting its plans. In a filing for its initial public offering in June, it warned that a change in control of Congress could have a “material and adverse impact on our growth and competitive position.”

Musk has been the biggest donor the GOP candidates for the midterms, contributing $276 million since July alone.

De la Espriella, de perfil conservador y aliado de Trump, ha dicho que busca “impedir” que los espacios culturales sean “captados por el socialcomunismo ateo”.

Las piezas del Museo Nacional, ubicado en el centro de Bogotá, estaban relacionadas con la historia de los movimientos sociales, incluyendo el movimiento feminista y LGBTIQ+, y la violencia política del país.

Desde entonces se han registrado varias protestas —algunas disueltas por intervención de la policía— de organizaciones defensoras de derechos civiles, artistas y estudiantes que consideran que se trata de un acto de “censura” que puede conducir a la exclusión de relatos y de hechos históricos.

El miércoles un nuevo plantón frente al museo reunió a decenas de personas mientras policías antimotines custodiaban la entrada.

“Me parece indignante que quieran borrar parte de nuestra historia”, aseguró a The Associated Press Azul Riascos, estudiante de Historia que participó en el plantón. “Existimos personas negras, raizales, LGBTI... y se nos está planteando que la nación es una sola: blanca, católica y que habla español y eso deja por fuera a mucha gente. Es necesario empezar a pronunciarnos”, agregó.

Una “copia” de narrativas

Para Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, directora para los Andes de la Oficina en Washington para Asuntos Latinoamericanos (WOLA), lo que está ocurriendo en Colombia sigue una tendencia en la que los aliados de Trump “copian las narrativas, estrategias y actuaciones de los Estados Unidos”.

En su segundo mandato Trump ha criticado duramente a los museos de Washington, en particular a aquellos vinculados con la Institución Smithsonian, por considerar que su contenido es “woke”, un término que se emplea en ocasiones de manera despectiva por lo que algunas personas consideran medidas demasiado progresistas.

En julio la Casa Blanca publicó un informe en el que calificaba a los responsables del Museo Nacional de Historia Estadounidense —parte del Smithsonian— de “activistas radicales” y ordenó la colocación de letreros en el exterior del museo para advertir a los visitantes que algunas de las exposiciones son inexactas.

Casi tres meses después de dicha orden, los letreros aún no se han instalado. La directora del museo Anthea Hartig declaró ante el Congreso que el informe de la Casa Blanca “no caracteriza de manera justa ni precisa el conjunto de la labor que se realiza en el museo”.

Sánchez-Garzoli considera que Trump impulsa con los gobiernos aliados en la región una alianza en seguridad, enfocada en la lucha contra el narcotráfico, que también tiene un componente ideológico.

“Estos son muchos discursos importados sobre el terrorismo, sobre lo ‘woke’. Además viendo que el presidente actual (de Colombia) es un ciudadano estadounidense, esto definitivamente es una intervención neocolonial”, dijo a AP el antropólogo Arturo Sanabria durante el plantón frente al museo.

Revisión de más espacios culturales

La ministra de Cultura, Paola Holguín, aseguró que están evaluando y rediseñando la “museología y la curaduría” de los distintos espacios a cargo del ministerio, incluyendo otros museos.

En tanto, la Cancillería modificó el nombre de un patio de la entidad que se refería a un líder indígena, asegurando que forma parte de la “contrarrevolución” anunciada por el presidente frente al “wokismo”.

“Hay un gobierno que está haciendo serios esfuerzos en una batalla cultural que probablemente no existe y se está inventando para borrar identidades que no puede borrar porque ya están”, aseguró a AP la politóloga Estefanía Cardozo frente al museo.

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El periodista de AP Steven Sloan contribuyó a este despacho desde Washington.

“Tengo la convicción de que la política del gobierno de los Estados Unidos contra Cuba tendrá que cambiar, tendrá que cambiar o con este gobierno, o con el siguiente o con el próximo”, dijo Rodríguez cuando los periodistas le preguntaron sobre las expectativas del Ejecutivo cubano ante los comicios legislativos de Estados Unidos del 3 de noviembre.

Washington mantiene una agenda de sanciones contra Cuba que se profundizó con un bloqueo energético y financiero en enero, el cual agudizó una crisis económica de un lustro en la nación caribeña.

Rodríguez aseguró que la “resistencia” y la “defensa de la soberanía” de la isla ante el cerco energético —que ocasionó apagones de más de 30 horas e impactó en todos los sectores— se impusieron, sin que se produjera el “cambio de régimen” que esperaba Washington.

El canciller ofreció estas declaraciones a la prensa en el marco de la campaña de la isla contra las sanciones, la cual estará bajo el foco la próxima semana con la votación en las Naciones Unidas de una resolución condenatoria contra Washington.

Las votaciones de este documento son anuales. En 2025 se obtuvieron 165 sufragios a favor de Cuba, siete en contra (Argentina, Estados Unidos, Hungría, Israel, Macedonia del Norte, Paraguay y Ucrania) y 12 abstenciones.

Esta será la trigésimo cuarta ocasión en la cual se produzca el debate y la votación de una resolución similar. Rodríguez denunció que Estados Unidos desplegó en las Naciones Unidas fuertes presiones para que los países, incluso aquellos que son aliados de la isla, se abstengan.

Cuba presentó un informe ante las Naciones Unidas indicando que los daños ocasionados por las medidas de Estados Unidos contra la isla alcanzaron los 8.083 millones de dólares entre marzo de 2025 y febrero de 2026. El monto no contempló el deterioro de la situación desde la imposición del cerco energético por parte del gobierno de Donald Trump en enero.

Rodríguez también reaccionó en contra del anuncio de la Fiscalía de Florida, que el lunes informó que había conseguido una orden de captura contra el expresidente y líder cubano de 95 años, Raúl Castro.

Castro asumió la presidencia de forma interina en 2006 cuando se enfermó su hermano mayor, Fidel Castro, y entregó el poder en 2018 a Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Los delitos de los que se acusa al exmandatario están relacionados con el derribo de dos avionetas de la organización anticastrista de Miami “Hermanos al Rescate” en 1996 —cuando Castro era ministro de las Fuerzas Armadas—en el que murieron cuatro personas. Las aeronaves habían entrado en el espacio aéreo de la isla en varias ocasiones.

“La orden de detención contra el líder de la revolución cubana, general del ejército, Raúl Castro Ruz, personalidad histórica reconocida internacionalmente, es un acto infame y estéril que no tiene ningún valor legal, no tiene ningún valor ético… ningún valor práctico”, expresó Rodríguez.

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Siga a Andrea Rodríguez en X: https://x.com/ARodriguezAP

Leo, 71, had part of one lung removed last week in the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Leo was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on Saturday, four days after surgery, and said he would gradually resume his activities.

The pope's personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said the final tests on tissue removed during the surgery confirmed the diagnosis and that the cancer had not spread.

“A subsequent oncology assessment confirmed that no further treatment is necessary,” the doctors said in a statement.

The pope had the lower section, or lobe, of his right lung removed to try to ensure that all the cancer was removed.

Additional treatment is offered for patients whose cancer has spread, such as into the lymph nodes, or who have certain other signs that their cancer might be particularly aggressive. Surgery often can be enough when tumors are caught very early, such as when someone has an X-ray or other scan that shows a spot long before it’s large or causing symptoms.

The pope appears to have had one of those “incidental findings,” a nodule in his lung spotted during another exam.

In an interview with Vatican News on Saturday, Margaritora, the chief thoracic surgeon at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, confirmed that the nodule was found by chance during routine abdominal examinations, and that the pope had not been experiencing any symptoms.

“The statements suggest that this is a stage I lung cancer for which surgery is highly effective and expected to be curative,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. He said the lack of further treatment suggests a relatively small cancer, and that it had not spread to lymph nodes.

The pope carried on business while in the hospital, including a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has appeared strong in two public appearances at the Vatican since his surgery: the traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square and Wednesday's longer audience in the square, greeting the faithful from around the world.

“Thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers,” Leo said during the audience.

His next major engagement is an ambitious Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

Margaritora told Vatican News that there was “no clinical reason” to prevent the trip, which includes a dozen flights, two helicopter rides and high altitude stops.

The pope had revealed that a nodule would be surgically removed during the traditional Sunday blessing on Oct. 11, in an unusually transparent disclosure broadcast on live television that broke the tradition of secrecy surrounding papal health issues.

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AP medical writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.

Además del doctor Jacob Lee Henrichsen, al menos otros dos pasajeros que iban a abordar el Norwegian Jewel enfrentan cargos por drogas. Ninguno de ellos es de Florida.

Henrichsen, de 38 años y residente de Central, Arizona, es cirujano ortopédico en el Mount Graham Regional Medical Center, en la cercana ciudad de Safford, según el sitio web del hospital y los registros de licencias del estado. Este pequeño pueblo queda a unas tres horas al este de Phoenix.

De acuerdo con un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, las detenciones formaron parte de la “Operación Tentación” de la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de EE.UU. (CBP). Según los agentes, el operativo “consiste en revisar todo el equipaje en el área de maletas antes de embarcar”.

Las autoridades indicaron que a Henrichsen lo apartaron para una segunda inspección. Allí encontraron “cápsulas blancas y rosadas, varias gomitas, pastillas con el logo de Tesla, mentas, un vapeador, chupetas y dos barras de chocolate con la marca de hongos”.

El informe de la oficina del sheriff señala que parte de las gomitas, que pesaban unos 236 gramos, dieron positivo para THC. Otros casi 11 gramos de gomitas, pastillas y cápsulas dieron positivo para MDMA, también conocido como éxtasis.

Las barras de chocolate con hongos de psilocibina pesaban casi 160 gramos, según el informe.

Los agentes federales le pasaron el caso a la oficina del sheriff porque las cantidades “no alcanzan el mínimo para un proceso federal”, indica el informe. Henrichsen enfrenta un cargo de tráfico de drogas, delito grave de primer grado, y dos cargos graves por posesión de drogas.

El miércoles, durante la audiencia en la que un juez evaluó si había causa probable, el abogado de Henrichsen en Miami, Orlando Rodriguez, señaló que los pesos reportados “exageran” la cantidad de droga que se le atribuye a su cliente, lo que llevó al cargo más grave de tráfico.

“Son gomitas que son casi todo azúcar y agua, y tienen pequeñas cantidades de MDMA adentro”, dijo Rodriguez. “Así que sí, exagera la cantidad, y eso es algo que voy a plantear más adelante con el departamento de narcóticos cuando se presenten o se decidan los cargos”.

Más tarde añadió que las cantidades “suenan a mucho, pero no es como si tuviera 11 gramos de pastillas, que serían unas 20 o 25 pastillas. En el caso de las pastillas se cuenta todo su peso, mientras que una gomita es mayormente azúcar”.

Rodriguez reiteró esas declaraciones el miércoles en una llamada con Local 10 News, después de que a su cliente le fijaran una fianza de $40,000.

Local 10 News le dejó un mensaje el miércoles a un portavoz del Mount Graham Regional Medical Center para pedirle comentarios sobre el arresto de Henrichsen. No recibimos respuesta.

En el mismo operativo, los agentes arrestaron a dos mujeres por cargos menos graves.

Según los informes de arresto, Kimberly Ann Shannon, de 57 años y residente de Norton, Ohio, intentó subir al barco 320 gramos de gomitas de THC y vapeadores. Por su parte, Lori Ellen Watt, de 51 años y residente de Plainfield, Illinois, intentó llevar al Jewel 480 gramos de gomitas de THC y vapeadores.

No es la primera vez este año que las autoridades de Miami-Dade hacen varios arrestos por drogas antes de la salida de un crucero.

En febrero, los agentes arrestaron a varios hombres por cargos de drogas cuando intentaban abordar el Symphony of the Seas de Royal Caribbean. La empresa Atlantis Events había alquilado el barco para lo que promocionó como “el festival gay en altamar más grande del mundo”.

“Tom Cruise is a global icon,” said Kathleen Kennedy, chair of AFI's board of trustees, in a statement. She praised Cruise's commitment as an actor and producer and his belief in movies' ability to bring people together.

Cruise, 64, has worked in film for more than four decades, starring in movies including “Risky Business,” “A Few Good Men,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Minority Report” and the “Mission: Impossible” series. He has received three Academy Award nominations for acting: best actor in “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire” and supporting actor for “Magnolia.”

As a producer, Cruise was nominated when “Top Gun: Maverick” received a best picture nomination.

Last year, he received an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards.

The AFI Life Achievement Award, established in 1973, recognizes a person whose work has advanced film and stood the test of time. Cruise will join a roster that includes John Ford, Bette Davis, Sidney Poitier, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman and Eddie Murphy, who received the honor earlier this year.

Proceeds from the tribute gala support AFI's education and arts initiatives.

All three of NASCAR’s national series will return to South Florida Nov. 6-8 to crown their 2026 champions.

Before the sport’s biggest stars take the wheel, Hintz suited up for the NASCAR Racing Experience, first riding along with a driver before getting behind the wheel of a stock car herself.

After a safety briefing and driving instructions, Hintz took to the track, reaching about 140 mph during her laps.

Hintz also spoke with Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang, who has two top 10 finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway and remains in championship contention.

“We love coming here at the end of the season,” Preece said. “We love the racetrack because there’s so many different options.”

Preece said the track presents a unique challenge as drivers push their cars to the limit.

“And the other thing is when you’re here, what’s amazing is after 10 laps, we’re inches from the wall,” he said.

The return of championship weekend marks a major moment for the South Florida track, which last hosted NASCAR’s season finale in 2019.

Fans can catch the championship races Nov. 6-8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Titans had announced Tuesday that Elliott was released, saying only that it came after his involvement in an unspecified incident at the team’s facility five days earlier.

A person briefed on the incident told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Elliott had a gun in his car and went to the parking lot to retrieve it after a dispute with another player. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the incident is being reviewed.

Elliott's agent, Malki Kawa, could not be reached for comment.

The NFL prohibits league personnel from taking a firearm to club facilities, stadiums and team hotels and on team planes or buses.

The Titans promptly notified the league of the incident involving Elliott, which is being reviewed, the NFL said.

Speaking to reporters, Saleh defended Jordan's character.

“Unfortunately, rules are rules with regard to guns on property, and sometimes it’s far greater than the knee-jerk reaction of kicking somebody when they’re down,” the coach said.

“He’s a good man. Made a terrible, had a terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act,” Saleh added. "He’s never committed a crime in his entire life and he pulled a gun, in the parking lot.”

Right tackle JC Latham, who was involved in the altercation with Elliott on the practice field, called the episode an unfortunate situation.

“I don’t really have too much to say about it," Latham said Wednesday. “There ain’t never been no bad blood between us two. We were here on the summer getting treatment. Before that, we hung out whenever we were in the same city together. We actually had never had an argument leading up to it."

Elliott appeared in five games this season with one start and had 11 tackles. He followed Saleh to Nashville after a two-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in 31 games with 29 starts.

The 6-foot-4 defensive tackle was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2020 draft. He spent his first four seasons in Cleveland before signing a two-year, $7 million deal with San Francisco.

Tennessee added him as a free agent in the offseason on a two-year, $8 million deal.

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The Angels fired Kurt Suzuki on Wednesday after they lost 100 games in his only season in charge of the long-struggling club.

Baseball operations consultant John Mozeliak announced in a statement that the team had declined the 2027 option on Suzuki's contract. Suzuki has been offered the opportunity to stay with the organization as a special assistant.

“Kurt has earned tremendous respect in our clubhouse, and I've seen firsthand how much he cares about our players,” Mozeliak said. “I do not believe our record this year was a true reflection of his true abilities as a manager.”

Mozeliak said he made the decision in coordination with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which reached a deal to purchase controlling ownership of the Angels from Arte Moreno on Sept. 1.

The sale is not expected to close until next year, but the sports conglomerate run by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke is already making significant changes to its beleaguered baseball team. Right after the Angels' season ended last month, Mozeliak said he would endorse Suzuki's return for next season.

The Angels went 62-100 — the first 100-loss season in franchise history — and finished last in the AL West in their only season under Suzuki, who ended his 16-year major league playing career as a catcher for the Halos in 2021-22. Suzuki had never been a manager at any level before he was hired exactly one year ago by general manager Perry Minasian, who had employed Suzuki as his special assistant for the previous three seasons.

Minasian was fired by Moreno last June, and longtime St. Louis Cardinals GM Mozeliak stepped in on a temporary basis to run the front office while leading the search for a permanent GM to replace him.

That transition plan has been thrown into flux by Moreno's decision to sell, and Mozeliak didn't indicate whether he has a long-term future in his own job, although he said he had been looking “toward 2027 and beyond” while reaching the decision to fire Suzuki. Mozeliak's current contract ends in December, with the possibility of an MLB work stoppage looming.

Mozeliak also indicated that Suzuki's entire coaching staff is not expected to return in its current positions, but some members had been offered staff positions in the organization.

Mozeliak already fired Suzuki's pitching coach, Mike Maddux, and two staffers in August because he felt the team wasn’t making sufficient use of the technology and analytics available to its pitchers. Mozeliak promoted Tim Leveque, the Angels' Double-A pitching coach, to the major league staff at the time.

Suzuki’s replacement will be the seventh manager to lead the team in nine seasons since it parted with Mike Scioscia after the 2018 season. The Angels have had 11 consecutive losing seasons and 12 straight non-playoff seasons, both the longest active skids in the major leagues.

The Angels now have MLB's third current managerial vacancy, all in the AL West. The Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros also parted ways with their managers after the season.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Besides Dr. Jacob Lee Henrichsen, at least two other would-be passengers on the Norwegian Jewel ― also from out-of-state ― are also facing drug charges.

Henrichsen, 38, of Central, Arizona, is an orthopedic surgeon at Mount Graham Regional Medical Center in nearby Safford, according to the hospital’s website and state licensing records. The small town is about three hours east of Phoenix.

According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the arrests came as part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “Operation Temptation,” which deputies said “consists of searching all luggage in the baggage area prior to embarking” the ship.

Authorities said Henrichsen was pulled aside for a secondary inspection. They said the search “revealed white and pink capsules, multiple gummies, pills with (the) Tesla logo on them, mints, a vape pen, lollipops and (two) bars of chocolate branded with mushrooms.”

The MDSO report states that some of the gummies, weighing about 236 grams, tested positive for THC, while nearly 11 grams worth of gummies, pills and capsules tested positive for MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

The psilocybin mushroom chocolate bars weighed nearly 160 grams, according to the report.

Federal officers turned the case over to MDSO because the amounts “do not meet the threshold for federal prosecution,” the report states. He is facing a first-degree felony drug trafficking charge and two felony drug possession charges.

In court on Wednesday as a judge decided on probable cause, Henrichsen’s Miami-based attorney, Orlando Rodriguez, noted that the stated weights “overrepresent” the amount of drugs his client is accused of possessing, leading to the stronger trafficking charge.

“These are gummies that are largely sugar and water, and there are small quantities of MDMA inside of them,” Rodriguez said. “So it does overrepresent ― and that is an issue that I’ll take up with the narcotics department later on as the charges are being filed or decided."

He later added that the alleged amounts do “sound like a lot, but it’s not like he had 11 grams worth of pills ― which would be like 20 pills, 25 pills ― because the pills themselves, the entirety of the pill would count, as opposed to a gummy bear, which is mainly sugar."

Rodriguez reiterated those statements in a phone call with Local 10 News on Wednesday after his client was ordered held on a $40,000 bond.

Local 10 News left a message for a Mount Graham Regional Medical Center spokesperson on Wednesday in an attempt to seek comment on Henrichsen’s arrest. Our phone call wasn’t returned.

Meanwhile, deputies arrested two women on lesser charges as part of the same sting.

Arrest reports state that Kimberly Ann Shannon, 57, of Norton, Ohio, tried to bring 320 grams worth of THC gummies and vape pens aboard, while Lori Ellen Watt, 51, of Plainfield, Illinois, tried to bring aboard 480 grams worth of THC gummies and vape pens onto the Jewel.

It’s not the first time this year that Miami-Dade authorities have made made multiple drug-related arrests before a sailing.

Deputies arrested several men on drug charges in February as the would-be passengers tried to board Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which was being chartered by the company Atlantis Events as part of what it marketed as the “world’s biggest gay festival at sea.”

Jarrell Lamont Jackson, 41, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

He is accused of shooting Georgia National Guard member Karon Jones, 20, in the leg when guard members sought to intervene in the fight Sunday. Three members of the unit returned fire, wounding Jackson. Neither man sustained life-threatening injuries.

The shooting happened at about 11:10 p.m. as seven or eight guard members in a parked van were monitoring the fight on a sidewalk in southeast Washington in the Eastern Market neighborhood, said Jeffery Carroll, interim chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

“This brazen attack on the National Guard by a repeat violent offender firing into a crowded corridor is exactly the kind of lawlessness our city refuses to tolerate,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in announcing the charges.

President Donald Trump deployed the guard to Washington in August 2025 as part of what he said was a crime-fighting mission. The force, which rose to a peak of about 5,000 troops over the summer, has supported arrest operations, patrolled city streets and neighborhoods and participated in cleanup efforts.

Trump’s Republican administration says the deployment has contributed to a decrease in crime in the city, where crime was already on the decline before the National Guard arrived. Officials and activists in the overwhelmingly Democratic city say the deployment is a waste of taxpayer money and has normalized the militarization of a major American city.

The city, which filed a lawsuit in September 2025, has argued that the mobilization is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement. A federal appeals court panel heard arguments Oct. 14 in that lawsuit. A lower court sided with D.C.

Over 2,900 Guard members remain in the district, including more than 500 from Georgia, the second largest contingent behind the District of Columbia, which had 656 members involved in the Joint Task Force-District of Columbia as of Tuesday.

“Estamos viendo buena nubosidad por ahí”, dice el piloto, y señala un mapa en el tablero de instrumentos mientras inclina bruscamente su avioneta hacia una zona de nubes de color gris oscuro.

Detrás de él, un técnico acciona la válvula de un enorme depósito metálico que silba al liberar partículas amarillentas de yoduro de plata en el cielo. Esta técnica, conocida como “siembra de nubes”, es una apuesta del gobierno hondureño con la que busca generar suficiente lluvia sobre los cultivos para ayudar a los agricultores y a sus cosechas a sobrevivir.

El Niño, el fenómeno climático que altera los patrones meteorológicos a escala mundial, y que ahora se ve agravado por el calentamiento de los océanos, ha devastado comunidades en todo el Corredor Seco centroamericano, una región árida que se extiende desde el sur de México hasta Panamá.

Los efectos son especialmente graves en los bosques secos de Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador y Nicaragua, donde los cultivos de maíz y de frijol se han marchitado, dejando a los agricultores de subsistencia sin alimentos. El ganado ha muerto o ha sido vendido. Las plantaciones de café se han secado y las granjas camaroneras han sufrido pérdidas en su producción.

“Muchas veces, (las) familias se acuestan con dos tiempos (comidas) al día, donde ya han tenido que también usar estrategias de sobrevivencia”, refirió Aníbal Zúñiga, quien coordina la distribución de ayuda del Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) en Nueva Concepción, una aldea de 250 habitantes situada en las montañas, a 90 minutos al norte de Tegucigalpa, la capital de Honduras.

El PMA estima que, a nivel mundial, cerca de 50 millones de personas podrían caer en una situación de inseguridad alimentaria aguda, ya que se prevé que El Niño persistirá hasta 2027. Y Centroamérica es una de las regiones que se verán más afectadas.

Meteorólogo califica la siembra de nubes como un “experimento” costoso

En Honduras, donde una de cada cinco personas ya enfrenta algún grado de inseguridad alimentaria en un año normal, el gobierno pagó 750.000 dólares a una empresa mexicana para que realice 20 vuelos destinados a provocar precipitaciones. Los meteorólogos han cuestionado sistemáticamente la siembra de nubes, pues exponen que la modificación de las condiciones atmosféricas no es una solución a largo plazo para la sequía. Algunos agricultores rurales religiosos consideran que eso equivale a jugar a ser Dios con el clima.

“Este es un experimento”, dijo Nabil Kawas, meteorólogo y exdecano de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. “Si yo hubiera agarrado estos 750,000 (dólares) y lo hubiera invertido en un proyecto de riego, por ejemplo, o un reservorio de agua… probablemente habría mayor seguridad, que haya mejor beneficio para esta gente pobre” que utiliza el agua en sus cultivos.

José Francisco Ordóñez, portavoz de la Secretaría de Agricultura de Honduras, defiende los vuelos como una de las diversas iniciativas de mitigación climática que el gobierno y organismos internacionales de ayuda llevan a cabo. Otras medidas son el fortalecimiento de los sistemas de riego existentes, la construcción de depósitos de agua y la distribución de ayuda alimentaria, fertilizantes y semillas a los agricultores más afectados.

Ordóñez añadió que el programa de siembra de nubes ha aprovechado la presencia reciente de nubosidad y precipitaciones, e interrumpió brevemente una temporada de sequía extrema para captar la mayor cantidad de agua posible antes de que la sequía se prolongue.

Dijo que los vuelos han incrementado las precipitaciones entre un 20% y un 60% en zonas clave, en comparación con los niveles de lluvia previstos, y que esperan extender el programa. Por su parte, Kawas expuso que un programa similar de siembra de nubes en Honduras durante sequías similares anteriores aumentó las precipitaciones en menos de un 10%.

Los agricultores de subsistencia necesitan pozos para adaptarse, afirman

Durante la mayor parte de sus días, Carlos Alberto Hernández se pregunta si él y su esposa pasarán hambre.

Han vivido de su pequeña parcela de frijol en Nueva Concepción desde hace mucho tiempo, y al igual que la mayoría de los habitantes del Corredor Seco, este agricultor de 81 años nunca ha podido costear un sistema de riego, por lo que dependen de las lluvias para obtener sus dos cosechas anuales.

Cuando las autoridades hondureñas emitieron una serie de alertas por sequía este verano, él vio perderse su primera cosecha del año.

“No tenemos fondos para conseguir comida porque uno produce lo que siembra, y de esto vivimos nosotros”, manifestó Hernández. “Sin agua, no tenemos nada”.

Ordóñez calcula que agricultores como Hernández han perdido entre el 80% y el 90% de sus cultivos durante la sequía de este año.

Hernández, que acudió, junto con cientos de personas, al punto de distribución del PMA, dijo que ha pasado muchas noches con el estómago vacío pues ha elegido reservar los pocos alimentos que tiene para el día siguiente. El envío de víveres del jueves, financiado por el PMA y coordinado con el gobierno de Honduras, fue la primera ayuda de este tipo que recibió la comunidad.

No obstante, Hernández restó importancia a la siembra de nubes y expuso que lo que él y sus vecinos necesitan es ayuda para excavar pozos, de tal manera que puedan sobrevivir con o sin lluvia.

Los efectos de la sequía se sienten en toda Centroamérica

En un intento por evitar una crisis más grave, las autoridades salvadoreñas declararon un estado de emergencia de seis meses. Guatemala, por su parte, aprobó medidas de emergencia para mitigar el hambre en las en comunidades indígenas más pobres, lo que incluye la importación de granos básicos sin aranceles.

En cuanto a Nicaragua, donde el gobierno controla la información de manera estricta, la oposición en el exilio critica la ausencia de una declaración de emergencia o de un plan de contingencia. El gobierno nicaragüense no respondió a una solicitud de comentarios.

Las lluvias recientes, que se esperaban antes de que comenzara la siembra de nubes, han brindado algo de esperanza a los agricultores. Hernández ya plantó semillas de frijol, y si continúan las precipitaciones, podrían proporcionarle una fuente constante de alimento para diciembre.

No obstante, la Organización Meteorológica Mundial prevé ahora que El Niño persistirá hasta febrero, y el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional de Estados Unidos (NWS, por sus siglas en inglés), pronosticó que se intensificará y que es posible que bata récords. Para el Corredor Seco, esto probablemente significa que la escasa lluvia que suele caer en la zona se desplazará hacia otros lugares y alimentará fenómenos que van desde inundaciones hasta huracanes en otras regiones.

En Nueva Concepción, perder otra cosecha supondría un segundo golpe en un año en el que las familias ya han vendido todo lo que han podido para comprar alimentos, y cuentan con muy pocos recursos para recuperarse, expuso Zúñiga.

Hernández vigila de cerca su pequeña parcela de brotes de frijol, que asoman en un suelo que antes estaba agrietado y seco.

“Uno se acuesta (y) se levanta pidiéndole a Dios que nos mande agua”, señaló.

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Moises Castillo, en Nueva Concepción, Marlon González, en Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sonia Pérez D., en Ciudad de Guatemala, y Marcos Alemán, en San Salvador, contribuyeron a este despacho.

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In total, Trump's flagship super PAC, MAGA Inc., has reported spending nearly $277 million since the beginning of September, according to new federal campaign finance filings. That includes major transfers to two affiliated groups that have been spending millions on advertising: $200 million to No Going Back PAC Inc. and $25 million to Safety & Affordability PAC Inc.

“It’s more than any president has ever spent, by far, on the midterms,” said Corry Bliss, a GOP Senate and House campaign strategist who was the executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, House Republicans’ super PAC in the 2018 campaign.

Trump had been under intense pressure to help Republican candidates as his party struggles to hold onto its slim majorities in the House and Senate. While the party in power almost always loses seats in midterm elections, Republicans are facing an especially challenging climb after Trump helped defeat several of the party's longtime incumbents and as he has been mired in low approval ratings amid deep voter frustration over persistently high costs and the unpopular war with Iran.

One bright spot for Republicans has been their huge financial advantage over Democrats this election cycle, aided by billionaires such as Elon Musk.

Trump-affiliated groups are now on track to spend potentially more.

So far, the three that have to report their donors have spent more than $256 million on advertising, according to AdImpact, which tracks media spending and reservations. That includes tens of millions of dollars in Texas to help embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton in his race against Democrat James Talarico.

Musk has also invested heavily in Texas, leading Talarico to accuse him of trying to buy the seat.

MAGA Inc. had more than $164 million cash left in the bank as of Oct. 14, meaning it still has plenty left to spend.

But the Trump team's decision to wait until late in the cycle to begin advertising has diluted their spending power. The groups are paying far higher ad rates because of the shrinking availability of air time — sometimes more than five times what they would have spent if they had acted sooner.

In a post on his social media site Tuesday, Trump said that he planned to spend "over 400 Million Dollars by Election Day,” including $300 million he said had already been spent on advertising, voter contact, rallies, tele-rallies, get-out-the-vote programs and efforts to prevent voters from cheating.

MAGA Inc. began September with nearly $416 million in the bank. It has continued to raise huge sums of cash from billionaire backers including businessperson Diane Hendricks, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman and casino magnate Steve Wynn.

___ Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.