Basabe, a Miami Beach Republican, is representing himself in a case against two former staffers who accuse the state lawmaker of sexual harassment, battery and defamation.

Basabe took the stand on Tuesday, answering questions about his personal life.

Plaintiff’s attorney: “You are married?”

Basabe: “Yes.”

Plaintiff’s attorney: “To a woman?”

Basabe: “Yes.”

An attorney for the plaintiffs then showed the jury a photo of Basabe kissing a man.

Basabe: “His name is Renato.”

Plaintiff’s attorney: “And he lives with you correct?”

Basabe: “I don’t answer for people’s residency.”

Plaintiff’s attorney: “Is he your boyfriend?”

Basabe: “I don’t believe in those labels.”

On Monday, both of Basabe’s alleged victims testified in front of the jury.

Jurors on Tuesday also heard from the mother of one of the victims, who accused Basabe of slapping him on the buttocks and the face.

“I noticed that he was very, very, very upset and his face was red,” said Janette Frevola, who added through tears, “For him to treat us like this for no apparent reason, when we did nothing at all to him.”

Basabe representing himself has often added a layer of confusion to the proceedings.

In addition to witness testimony, snapshots of text messages and old tweets are being used as evidence to try to convince the Leon County jury that Basabe is liable for the alleged incidents.

Plaintiff’s attorney: “Is this the first time that anyone has made allegations that you sexually harassed them?”

Basabe: “There’s a lot of gossip.”

Witness testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday.

Basabe has had other accusers in the past.

In fact, one of them is a professional soccer player whose identity is being kept private.

That man addressed the court to preserve his testimony for a future litigation, but it was outside of the presence of the jury.

A stream of a portion of Tuesday’s hearing can be seen below:

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Deputies said they responded just before 1 a.m. to the area of Northwest 64th Street and Northwest 21st Avenue in the county’s Gladeview area, where they found three vehicles struck by gunfire, including a silver Hyundai.

“The car was parked outside of the residence. It was occupied by three juveniles, so it was the girl and her two siblings that were in the vehicle. The mom was outside of the vehicle at the time, so this could have been a very different outcome,” MDSO Detective Samantha Choon said.

Authorities said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics transported the girl to a nearby hospital in stable condition.

Family members have identified the girl as Kaylina Anicie.

A family member of Anicie told Local 10’s Jackie Pascale that the girl is now home and doing OK.

They said neither her siblings nor their mother was injured in the shooting.

According to investigators, no arrests have been made, and detectives have not released any suspect information at this time.

Neighbor Marie Grimes said she was shaken after hearing multiple gunshots.

“I heard the booms — boom, boom, boom, boom — and I said, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’” she said. “Maybe five or six, ’cause look at that right there. I’m just glad the little girl is OK.”

Investigators asked neighbors to check their surveillance or Ring camera footage from around 1 a.m. and contact authorities with any information.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477. Anonymous tips are accepted.

Esto ocurre después de que el estado de Florida anunciara a finales de junio el cierre del centro de detención para migrantes que operaba en el terreno conocido como “Alligator Alcatraz”.

El estado construyó rápidamente el centro de detención de inmigrantes en los Everglades, en un terreno tomado del condado Miami-Dade —aunque ubicado en el condado Collier— para apoyar el plan de deportaciones masivas de la administración del presidente Donald Trump y la necesidad relacionada de más camas de detención federales.

Ya no están las luces industriales, las carpas blancas, los generadores, los suministros de combustible ni el letrero azul de “Alligator Alcatraz” con el que algunos se detenían para tomarse fotografías.

Sky 10 captó lo que parece ser el retiro de la cerca alrededor de la pista de aterrizaje que anteriormente servía como instalación para el entrenamiento de pilotos.

Lo que permanece son las interrogantes sobre cuándo el condado Miami-Dade recuperará el control del lugar.

La División de Manejo de Emergencias de Florida había asumido previamente el control del Aeropuerto de Entrenamiento y Transición Dade-Collier.

“Estamos esperando la devolución formal de la propiedad”, dijo el martes la alcaldesa del condado Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, quien anunció planes para vender el terreno al Servicio de Parques Nacionales.

También existen dudas sobre el impacto que el centro pudo haber tenido en el medio ambiente.

“Aunque gran parte de la infraestructura ha sido retirada y los detenidos ya no están en el lugar, seguimos muy preocupados por los daños que permanecen, incluidos al menos 20 acres de nuevo pavimento que fueron colocados en el sitio sin ninguna revisión ambiental”, dijo Eve Samples, directora ejecutiva del grupo Friends of the Everglades.

Friends of the Everglades es uno de los grupos que presentó una demanda en un tribunal federal. Alegan que las entidades gubernamentales demandadas no realizaron un estudio de impacto ambiental antes de la construcción, en violación de la Ley Nacional de Política Ambiental, algo que los demandados sostienen que no aplicaba porque el sitio era operado y administrado por el estado.

“Nuestro trabajo no ha terminado, así que estamos muy ansiosos por regresar a los tribunales y estamos preparados para hacerlo”, dijo Samples.

Elise Bennett, directora para Florida y el Caribe y abogada principal del Center for Biological Diversity, otro de los demandantes, dijo: “Nos preocupa mucho cuáles serán los impactos a largo plazo sobre especies que están al borde de la extinción”.

“Desde la pantera de Florida hasta el murciélago bonneted de Florida y el milano caracolero de los Everglades, todas utilizaban esta zona antes de que el centro fuera construido y comenzara a operar”, dijo. “Más allá del nuevo pavimento, sabemos que hubo galones y galones de contaminantes en el lugar. No sabemos dónde terminaron esos contaminantes y será necesaria una investigación exhaustiva para comenzar a comprender el alcance total del impacto sobre estas especies tan vulnerables y sobre las aguas y tierras que habitan”.

Samples y Bennett dijeron que están decepcionadas, pero no desanimadas, por el fallo de un tribunal federal de apelaciones que revocó la orden de un tribunal de distrito que suspendía temporalmente las operaciones del centro. El caso fue devuelto al tribunal de distrito. Ambas consideran que varias de sus reclamaciones siguen vigentes.

“Nuestro equipo legal está evaluando todas nuestras opciones mientras nos preparamos para regresar al tribunal, ante la jueza Williams, para garantizar que el gobierno rinda cuentas por los daños ocurridos en el lugar, que se lleve a cabo la remediación y que se cumplan las leyes ambientales fundamentales de este país”, dijo Samples.

Bennett agregó que su organización utilizará “todas las herramientas a nuestra disposición para garantizar que el sitio sea restaurado y protegido de forma permanente, para que algo como esto nunca vuelva a ocurrir”.

Friends of the Everglades también envió a las autoridades del condado Miami-Dade lo que denomina un plan de cinco puntos posterior a “Alligator Alcatraz” para la remediación, restauración y protección del lugar, que incluye prohibir futuros desarrollos en el sitio y considerar la eliminación de la pista de aterrizaje existente.

El “plan de cinco puntos” del grupo:

“Solicitamos que se realizara un análisis de costo-beneficio sobre la eliminación de la pista de aterrizaje. Así que es muy posible que los beneficios de retirarla superen los costos”, dijo Samples. “Y una de las principales razones para considerar esa medida es garantizar que este tipo de operación perjudicial nunca vuelva a construirse en medio de Big Cypress National Preserve, la primera reserva nacional de nuestro país”.

Bennett calificó esa posibilidad como “un final realmente positivo para una historia verdaderamente aterradora que comenzó con una de las peores ideas de Estados Unidos”.

Local 10 News se comunicó con la División de Manejo de Emergencias de Florida, pero no había recibido respuesta al momento de la publicación de este artículo.

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It comes after the state of Florida announced in late June that it was shutting down the migrant detention facility that had been operating on the land dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

The state swiftly constructed the immigration detention facility in the Everglades on land commandeered from Miami-Dade County — but located in Collier County — to aid the Trump administration with its mass deportation plan and related need for more federal detention beds.

Gone now are the industrial lights and white tents, generators and gas deliveries, and the blue “Alligator Alcatraz” sign some stopped to snap selfies with.

Sky 10 captured what appears to be the removal of fencing around the airstrip that anchored its previous use as a pilot training facility.

What remains includes questions as to when Miami-Dade County will regain control of the site.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management previously took control of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.

“We are waiting for the formal return of the property,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who has announced plans to sell the site to the National Park Service, said on Tuesday.

There are also questions over what impact the facility may have had on the environment.

“Although much of the infrastructure has been removed and the detainees are no longer on site, we remain very concerned about the harm that remains, including at least 20 acres of new pavement that was laid out at the site without any environmental review,” Eve Samples, the executive director of the group Friends of the Everglades, said.

Friends of the Everglades is one of the groups suing in federal court. They claim government defendants failed to conduct an environmental impact study prior to construction, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, which the defendants said didn’t apply since the site was state-run and managed.

“Our work is not done, so we’re very eager to return to court and we are poised to do so,” Samples said.

Elise Bennett, the Florida and Caribbean director and a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, another plaintiff, said, “We’re very concerned about what the long-term impacts are going to be to species that are hanging on the brink of extinction.”

“From the Florida panther to the Florida bonneted bat to the Everglades snail kite, they were using this area before the facility was put in place and stood up,” she said. “Beyond the new paving, we know that there were gallons and gallons of contaminants on the site. We don’t know where those contaminants ended up and there’s a real investigation that’s going to need to take place for us to even begin to understand the full extent of impacts on these really vulnerable species and the waters and lands that they call home.”

Samples and Bennett say they are disappointed — but not deterred — by a federal appeals court ruling overturning a district court’s order that temporarily hit pause on the facility. That case was remanded back to district court. They say they feel that several claims are still in play.

“Our legal team is assessing all of our options as we’re poised to return to court, to Judge Williams’ courtroom, to ensure that the government is held accountable for the harm that occurred at the site and to ensure that remediation occurs and that our bedrock environmental laws in this country are complied with,” Samples said.

Bennett added that her organization will be “using every tool at our disposal to ensure that the site is restored and that this site is protected in perpetuity, so something like this can never happen again.”

Friends of the Everglades has also sent Miami-Dade County leadership what they call a post-Alligator Alcatraz “five-point plan” for remediation, restoration and protection, which includes prohibiting future development of the site and considering the removal of the existing runway.

Group’s ‘five-point plan’:

“We asked for a cost-benefit analysis of the runway removal to be conducted. So it’s quite possible that the benefits of removing that runway will outweigh the costs,” Samples said. “And a big motivator for considering that is to ensure that this kind of damaging operation is never built again in the middle of Big Cypress National Preserve, our country’s first national preserve.”

Bennett called that a “really beautiful end cap to a really horrifying story that started with one of America’s worst ideas.”

Local 10 News reached out to the state’s Division of Emergency Management but did not hear back as of the publication of this article.

“What a brilliant film. It was amazing,” Cruise told journalists at a recent press event. “Every aspect of that film was very thought out, very detailed, and you could feel the powerful human voice of someone who was incredibly skilled at what they were doing.”

Twenty-five years later, Iñárritu and Cruise have collaborated on the highly-anticipated dark comedy “Digger.” Cruise kicked off his promotional tour for the film — and previewed a potential Hollywood awards campaign — at a trailer reveal event last week on the Warner Bros. studio lot. He greeted and posed for photos with film journalists and influencers.

“He’s never made something like this before, nor have I,” said Cruise, who told journalists it felt as if all the skills he has developed throughout his 45-year acting career led up to his performance in the film, set for theatrical release on Oct. 2.

Iñárritu knew the role was meant for Cruise.

“The transformation he went through was astonishing," said the filmmaker in a prerecorded video at Thursday's event. "And I think we both know what it means to carry an entire career into a single moment like this. We both knew that throughout our journeys, we had never done anything even close to this.”

The 64-year-old actor and producer stars in Iñárritu’s “Digger” alongside a cast of A-list talent like John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed and Jesse Plemons.

Iñárritu first approached Cruise with the script and read it to him line by line over a series of days, a method Cruise says he asks of all collaborators.

“I’m listening to everything that’s in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together. And to be there with Alejandro, it was beautiful,” said the actor.

The trailer showcases an eccentric oil baron named Digger Rockwell, played by Cruise in heavy prosthetic makeup, whose company sets off a chain of events and hijinks.

Iñárritu says he had the idea for the film just after completing “The Revenant,” but it took him a decade to complete the story.

“Not script, not a film, just a relentless recurring obsession that has endured through all these wild years. I knew who this character was,” said the Oscar-winning director. “I knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him ... I wasn’t looking for a story. I was looking for the right way of saying it.”

Like “The Brutalist” and “One Battle After Another," the film was shot on VistaVision.

France entered the match as a favorite with a dominant attack led by Kylian Mbappé, but Spain’s defense again proved difficult to break down.

Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain on the board in the 22nd minute, finding the back of the net on a penalty kick. Pedro Porro scored Spain’s second goal in the 58th minute off an assist from Dani Olmo.

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Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after Spain teenager Lamine Yamal drew a foul with a heady play as Spain took a 1-0 lead over France at halftime on Tuesday in the World Cup semifinals.

France defender Lucas Digne was trying to collect the ball after an awkward bounce when Yamal, a day after his 19th birthday, raced in from behind to challenge in the penalty area. Yamal was kicked as Digne tried to clear the ball.

Oyarzabal’s fifth goal of this year’s World Cup marked the first time either team has trailed in their seven games in this tournament.

It was only the third goal allowed by France, FIFA’s top-ranked team. Spain has allowed only one.

The winner will play either defending champion Argentina or England in the final on Sunday.

When trailing at halftime in World Cup games, France has one draw and 11 losses.

Spain is in its first semifinal match since winning its only World Cup in 2010. France is trying to get to its third consecutive final, after winning in 2018 and losing in a penalty shootout to Argentina four years ago.

Spain also had a free kick from just beyond the area after Adrien Rabiot drew a yellow card for a foul on Dani Olmo in the eighth minute. Alex Baena’s kick went directly into the wall of French players.

Kylian Mbappé was in France’s starting lineup after the striker exited in the 77th minute of the team’s quarterfinal win over Morocco.

Mbappé scored his eighth goal against Morocco and entered the semifinals even with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. The 39-year-old Messi has a World Cup-record 21 goals in his career, one more than the 27-year-old Mbappé.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The 28-year-old was among four occupants of a vehicle that stopped in the parking lot of a gas station and convenience store in St. Augustine before 7 a.m.

During an encounter with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Homeland Security Investigations, the four fled on foot, with one darting across a busy road into the path of the semi, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan said in an emailed statement. The driver of the semi stopped and tried to help the man, Bryan said.

It was the third death in about a week involving encounters with ICE agents, following shootings in Texas and Maine.

Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately returned emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

More than 30 states have reported infections this year, and current data from them shows the number of infections surpassing the record U.S. mark of about 4,700 set in 2019. The illness is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics.

Health officials have not yet definitively identified what is causing the infections. On Tuesday, federal health officials said there may be different infection patterns in different places, although they believe cases in at least four states — Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia — are linked.

Michigan officials blame lettuce

In Michigan — where more than 3,300 cases have been reported — officials say early information points to lettuce or salad greens as a possible culprit.

After conducting more than 1,000 interviews with patients, “early information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation,” said Natasha Bagdasarian, the Michigan health department’s chief medical executive.

Because of that commonality and because produce has been behind some past cyclospora outbreaks, Michigan officials advised consumers to buy whole heads of lettuce, discard the outer layers and thoroughly wash what is left. They also suggested people avoid bagged lettuce and pre-mixed salad kits.

On Tuesday, the Taco Bell restaurant chain issued a statement saying it had “voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of public health authorities.”

In a call with reporters on Tuesday, federal health officials did not directly respond to a question about whether they are looking at Taco Bell or any specific food vendor or distributor.

“FDA certainly is continuing its traceback investigation on multiple produce items, also including locations that are reported by the case patients before they became sick,” said Donald Prater, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Acting Deputy Commissioner for Food, in response.

Cyclospora causes ‘explosive’ diarrhea

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.

Experts say it’s likely that cyclospora cases historically were underreported, in part because some common tests used to check for food poisoning have not been geared to detect cyclospora. They attribute the increasing trend in cases to climate change and better detection.

2019 was the worst year for infections

The worst year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported, according to federal data on confirmed and suspected cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps those numbers, but they traditionally lag what is posted by individual city and state health departments dealing with local outbreaks in real time. On Tuesday, CDC officials issued a health alert that said that since May 1, the agency is aware of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases and more than 5,100 that require further analysis to confirm whether the infections were acquired in the U.S. The reports come from 34 states, and no deaths have been reported, the CDC said.

The true number of cases is likely larger than what has been reported so far because some people may have milder illnesses that they don’t seek care for, said Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, in the call with reporters.

It can take days to weeks for someone exposed to the parasite to develop symptoms. It’s not clear to what extent people currently are being infected, or whether many of the exposures happened earlier. But Biggerstaff said official expect that case numbers will continue to grow through August.

The CDC also posted information about the investigation of an outbreak affecting the four states.

The federal alert did not detail how many reports came from each state. But Michigan officials have reported more than 3,300 cases, officials in northwest Ohio said they have seen more than 1,100, New York City officials counted more than 400 and Illinois reported more than 200.

Officials do not think all can be tied to a common source. In Illinois, for example, more than half the people with infections said they had traveled outside the United States, and at least some may have been infected elsewhere.

But Michigan officials believe a large share of their total is likely due to a linked domestic outbreak. CDC officials did not go into detail about why they currently think cases in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia are part of the same outbreak.

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Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.

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

The battle of the two No. 10s could be pivotal to deciding Wednesday's semifinal in Atlanta.

“We know how good Messi is,” England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said of the Argentina great, whose enduring brilliance has been on show again even at the age of 39.

Messi and Bellingham have been inspirational in their teams' respective runs to the final four. And Wednesday's match may well be determined by which one has the biggest say on the day.

Messi is playing England for the first time in his storied career.

“He's scored so many goals and contributed to so many goals as well throughout his career, it's great to finally go up against him,” Pickford said.

Settling the GOAT debate

Messi is already considered by many to the be greatest soccer player of all time and he seems to be on a one-man mission to settle the debate about where he stands in the history of the sport.

Already the all-time top scorer in the World Cup with 21 goals, he could surpass Argentina icon Diego Maradona by leading his country to back-to-back world titles.

His eight goals in the tournament so far have been pivotal to Argentina's campaign and his moments of magic have dragged his team through big scares against Cape Verde and Egypt.

With Maradona as captain, Argentina won the World Cup in 1986 and was runner-up four years later when it lost to West Germany in the final.

“Trying to draw inspiration from what Diego did is difficult. Only Leo can do that,” said Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. “Diego is a national icon for us, and hopefully, we can achieve something similar to what that team did.”

Doubts about Bellingham

England has a talisman of its own in the form of Bellingham, who is at the opposite end of his career to Messi.

At the age of 23, Bellingham is already playing in his second World Cup and his fourth major tournament for England. He has six goals, including two each in the last two rounds against Mexico and Norway.

Not bad for a player who was dropped by coach Thomas Tuchel in the lead-up to the World Cup, prompting debate about whether he'd even be in England's starting XI.

For a long time Bellingham has not only been considered one of English soccer's brightest talents, but one of a select group, along with Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr., tipped to be the next global stars after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yet his relationship with Tuchel cast doubt over his role in the England team, with Morgan Rodgers threatening to take his place.

There is no doubt anymore about a player who Tuchel described as "world class” after his double against Norway in the quarterfinals.

Bellingham was tipped for greatness

Bellingham is different type of No. 10 to Messi, relying on his athleticism, power and speed when running beyond defenders. He is also technically gifted with his touch and range of passing, but arguably no one can rival Messi's individual control of the ball, his dribbling ability or vision.

Bellingham's maturity always stood out. He made his debut for second-division Birmingham at 16 and despite many of England's top teams wanting to sign him, he rejected the likes of Manchester United and moved to Borussia Dortmund in Germany instead.

Birmingham knew it had lost a special talent and said it was retiring his No. 22 jersey despite him playing less than 50 games for the club.

After starring for Dortmund, Bellingham joined Real Madrid, wore the great Zinedine Zidane's No. 5 and helped the Spanish giant to the Champions League and Spanish title in his first season in 2024. That same year he was part of England's team that reached the final of the European Championship, scoring an overhead kick in stoppage time to save his country from elimination earlier in the tournament.

With a record like that, it should come as little surprise that Bellingham, along with captain Harry Kane, who also has six goals, has been such an inspiration at this World Cup.

“Everyone talks about Messi because he's one of the GOATs of the game, but you can't look past the ability and talent we have in the squad,” Pickford said.

A fierce rivalry

England vs. Argentina is a fierce rivalry that goes beyond the soccer field, with tensions also relating to the 1982 conflict over the Falklands Islands.

There have been numerous clashes at the World Cup.

Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered quarterfinal match against winner England in 1966.

Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal in 1986 - and England also felt aggrieved when David Beckham was sent off for kicking out against Diego Simeone in 1998 and losing in a penalty shootout.

Most recently England beat Argentina in the group phase in 2002, with Beckham scoring from the penalty spot.

Rather than being weighed down by the disappointments of previous clashes, Kane said it was that win that stood out in his mind.

“We all knew what Beckham went through previously against Argentina and that kind of redemption story of scoring that penalty, his celebration, he’s pulling the shirt and his face.

“I think that’s one of my favourite England memories," Kane told ITV. “That was always one of my favourite memories, Beckham being a big idol of mine, so that one stands out for sure.”

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

On Monday, in Broward County bond court, Scott N. Nida, who worked for BSO for more than 21 years, stood before Broward County Circuit Judge Corey B. Friedman, wearing an anti-suicide smock.

Nida shook his head and covered his face with both hands, as a prosecutor told Friedman that the law enforcement veteran had violated a judge’s orders to stay away from a domestic violence victim.

“I am ordering no victim contact,” Friedman told Nida in court. “I don’t know what else I can say.”

BSO deputies had arrested Nida on Jan. 7, April 20, May 17, and on Saturday —his fourth arrest in seven months, records show.

Records show the first two arrests were after Nida was accused of battering the same woman, and the last two arrests were after Nida was accused of violating a judge’s order to stay away from her.

“While strangling her,” Nida “pushed” the woman “to the ground and dragged her across the front lawn,” a deputy wrote, according to the Jan. 7 arrest report.

BSO hired Nida on Jan. 18, 2005, just two days after his 34th birthday. He had been working at Port Everglades when BSO placed him on administrative leave after the Jan. 7 arrest.

Nida “forcibly grabbed the back of her head and began to punch her face and head multiple times ... to the point she started bleeding,” a deputy wrote, according to the April 20 arrest report.

Nida’s employment with BSO ended on June 29, after his third arrest on May 17.

A deputy reported the woman, identified as the domestic violence victim on Jan. 7 and April 20, said she and her 16-year-old daughter had moved back in with Nida in Pompano Beach, records show.

Records show the evidence against Nida includes text messages that the woman sent her daughter with pictures of her injuries on Jan. 7, and surveillance video showing her “screaming for help” on April 20.

The woman “expressed she was extremely in fear” of Nida “and feared for her life ... she felt coerced into dropping the charges,” a deputy wrote, according to the arrest report on April 20.

After a welfare check on Saturday, deputies reported finding the woman and her teenage daughter were still living with Nida despite the judge’s order and his arrest on May 17, according to the arrest report.

On Tuesday, Nida faced a charge of violation of the injunction for protection against domestic violence. Friedman set his bond for the first-degree misdemeanor at $10,000.

Friedman denied Nida’s bond for five charges: Grand theft auto, battery, robbery, false imprisonment, and tampering with a witness, victim, or informant.

Read the Jan. 7 arrest report

Read the April 20 arrest report

Read the May 17 arrest report

Read the July 11 arrest report

Watch video of bond court on July 13

Related reports

• Now-former BSO sergeant in jail again after 4th arrest this year
• BSO sergeant bonds out of jail after second domestic violence arrest in 4 months
• BSO sergeant accused of attacking wife during argument over cheating

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

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Ohtani had the procedure to relieve irritation following Sunday's game and that the four-time MVP was taking a few days of vacation before the season's second half. Roberts said the two-way star did not receive an injection.

Two-time World Series champion Los Angeles opens the second half Friday for the start of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

“He’s going to be in the lineup,” Roberts said before managing the National League in the All-Star Game.

Ohtani is batting .293 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs while going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts. The four-time MVP skipped Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

Ohtani last pitched on July 3. It isn't yet clear whether he will pitch against the Yankees.

“We haven't decided that yet," Roberts said.

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

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Valdes’ mother, Kristy Garcia, and her brother, Jose Valdes Jr., told Local 10’s Linnie Supall that they are seeking accountability and answers over a year after her death.

“I will always love her,” Garcia said. “She’s the one who gave me the mom title. She was my firstborn. She was my world.”

According to the family, Valdes was an innocent bystander who was killed during a police response outside a Wynwood nightclub on June 14, 2025.

The lawsuit alleges officers used excessive force and that negligence contributed to Valdes’ death.

Surveillance video from the night shows a large crowd gathered outside the nightclub as two men were involved in an altercation. One of the men, identified as 30-year-old Norman Lindo, was armed with a gun, according to the lawsuit.

Police officers nearby responded and fired nearly a dozen shots at Lindo, who was killed. Valdes, who was celebrating her birthday, was sitting in the backseat of a Mazda SUV leaving the venue when she was struck by a police-fired bullet, according to her family.

“She was the glue that kept everything together, and without glue, everything falls apart,” said Jose Valdes.

The lawsuit names the city of Miami, the two officers who opened fire, the security company responsible for screening patrons for weapons, and the nightclub.

“My sister’s life was taken from pure negligence, a situation that could have been completely avoided,” added Jose Valdes.

The family’s attorneys allege Lindo displayed a gun inside the nightclub while Evelyn Valdes and her friends were celebrating nearby. They said the confrontation later moved outside but that video does not show Lindo raising, pointing, or firing the weapon before officers shot him.

The lawsuit also claims the city was negligent in getting Evelyn Valdes emergency medical care after she was wounded. The family is requesting a jury trial.

La madre de Valdes, Kristy Garcia, y su hermano, Jose Valdes Jr., dijeron a Linnie Supall, de Local 10, que buscan responsabilidades y respuestas más de un año después de su muerte.

“Siempre la amaré”, dijo Garcia. “Ella fue quien me dio el título de mamá. Era mi primera hija. Era mi mundo”.

Según la familia, Valdes era una espectadora inocente que murió durante una respuesta policial frente a un club nocturno de Wynwood el 14 de junio de 2025.

La demanda alega que los agentes utilizaron fuerza excesiva y que la negligencia contribuyó a la muerte de Valdes.

Un video de vigilancia de esa noche muestra a una gran multitud reunida frente al club nocturno mientras dos hombres estaban involucrados en un altercado. Uno de ellos, identificado como Norman Lindo, de 30 años, estaba armado con una pistola, según la demanda.

Agentes de policía que se encontraban cerca respondieron y dispararon casi una docena de veces contra Lindo, quien murió. Valdes, que celebraba su cumpleaños, iba sentada en el asiento trasero de una SUV Mazda cuando salía del lugar y fue alcanzada por una bala disparada por la policía, según su familia.

“Ella era el pegamento que mantenía todo unido y, sin pegamento, todo se desmorona”, dijo Jose Valdes.

La demanda señala como demandados a la ciudad de Miami, a los dos agentes que abrieron fuego, a la empresa de seguridad responsable de revisar a los clientes en busca de armas y al club nocturno.

“La vida de mi hermana fue arrebatada por pura negligencia, una situación que pudo haberse evitado por completo”, agregó Jose Valdes.

Los abogados de la familia alegan que Lindo mostró un arma dentro del club nocturno mientras Evelyn Valdes y sus amigos celebraban cerca. Indicaron que el enfrentamiento posteriormente se trasladó al exterior, pero que el video no muestra a Lindo levantando, apuntando o disparando el arma antes de que los agentes le dispararan.

La demanda también sostiene que la ciudad actuó con negligencia al brindar atención médica de emergencia a Evelyn Valdes después de que resultó herida. La familia solicita un juicio con jurado.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced his opposition and other key Democrats said they could not support the annual bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, as the war drags into a fifth month with no clear endgame in sight. The tally was 50-46, failing largely along party lines to reach the threshold needed.

“The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran,” Schumer, of New York, said ahead of voting.

“Donald Trump does not get to drag the American people deeper into a war he cannot explain and does not know how to end—and then demand that Congress look the other way.”

The Senate vote comes a day after the White House formally notified Congress that it had resumed bombing strikes against Iran, effectively undoing the fragile ceasefire in the U.S.-Israel led conflict that has resulted in economic disruptions, including volatile gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.

Congress has tried repeatedly to slap guardrails on the administration, voting more than 10 times on various war powers resolutions that would halt hostilities. But those efforts have not succeeded, and most Republicans in the House and Senate majorities back Trump.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the defense package a good bill and implored his colleagues to provide the resources to ensure the U.S. is kept safe.

“We have an obligation here in Congress to ensure that they have everything they need for whatever the mission may be,” he said.

After the bill failed to advance, Thune switched his vote in a procedural move that will allow the leader to bring it back up for consideration again later.

For decades, Congress had made sure to approve the annual defense bill each year, setting the policy and direction for the department and authorizing the funds that would later be allocated to carry out its investments in systems, supplies and missions.

This year, the 66th annual NDAA is running into a double-whammy of opposition. Lawmakers are fuming over Trump's military action against Iran and resisting the White House request to substantially increase Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, up from about $900 billion last year.

The sizable boost of funds aligns with the White House's 2027 budget request as the Trump administration seeks a generational investment to modernize the Defense Department, which it refers to as the Department of War under Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth was scheduled to meet later Tuesday evening with House Republicans as Congress considers providing additional money through a separate budget reconciliation bill the party can pass on its own, overpowering the opposition from Democrats.

The White House has requested $350 billion from Congress under the budget reconciliation process, but House GOP leaders have indicated it is likely to be a much smaller amount, more in line with $87 billion the White House requested last month as supplemental funding for Iran.

But Republican deficit hawks are skeptical of the big budget numbers, despite support for the war within their ranks.

The extra defense funding comes on top of the additional $150 billion Republicans already provided the Pentagon last year under Trump’s big tax breaks bill that some say has not been spent or fully accounted for.

At the same time, senators want to impose restraints on Hegseth if he fails to comply with their demands for more information about department procedures and accounts.

The Senate bill would block the secretary's travel funds unless he provides reports they have requested, including on a deadly Iran school strike at the start of the war.

Democrats, however, are pushing for further limits in line with a war powers resolution that would force the cessation of military actions.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a veteran who flew helicopter combat missions in Iraq, said she would oppose the bill unless it included her amendment to end the war.

“Simply throwing more money at an out-of-control military operation is not strategy. It’s a recipe for a forever war.”

The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, 17 Mexican migrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and three in agency operations.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry had previously said it would make the request, which was formalized on Tuesday, according to the ministry. It said a similar request will be also sent to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The United States is not legally obliged to act on the requests.

Also, the Mexican government said it has started sending letters to U.S. detention centers where Mexican migrants have died, demanding they “immediately cease the actions or omissions that resulted in these deaths, such as preventing access to prompt and expedited medical care, as well as the application of policies incompatible with medical and penitentiary standards.”

The first center to receive the letter was Adelanto, in California, where four Mexican migrants died.

The letters are a first step toward “the eventual filing of civil lawsuits” against the companies that operate the detention centers to stop human rights violations, according to the ministry.

Last week, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said his country would go directly to U.S. authorities to request criminal investigations in cases of Mexicans killed in ICE custody or enforcement operations.

Salgado Araujo, who had no criminal record and had lived in the U.S. for 35 years, was shot last Tuesday while driving his construction crew to a job site in Houston. His death sparked protests in Houston and demands for an independent investigation from Democrats and Salgado Araujo’s family.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said 52-year-old Salgado Araujo had rammed an ICE vehicle, and that a federal agent fired a weapon in self-defense.

Velasco also sent a letter to Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, requesting that U.S. authorities gather information on the deaths of the Mexican migrants in ICE custody and analyze the “compatibility of these events with international human rights obligations.”

The foreign minister also asked Türk to seek the opinion of the Human Rights Council, a U.N. intergovernmental body that promotes human rights worldwide, on the cases and offer recommendations.

The developments mark an escalation in Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s response to Trump’s immigration crackdown. Sheinbaum earlier this year ordered Mexico's diplomatic missions across the U.S. to regularly check in with ICE detainees, and her government even lodged a complaint with Türk.

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

A federal immigration agent fatally shot a motorist just south of Maine's largest city on Monday, the second time in a week that ICE has used deadly force on American soil and at least the ninth death since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown. It was the first for Maine, a Democratic-led state with a relatively large immigrant population that Trump targeted earlier in the year immediately after two high-profile ICE shootings in Minnesota.

The agents involved in the Maine incident were not using body cameras, and the victim, a 26-year-old Colombian national, was not the target of their probe, officials said.

The shooting sparked a swift and aggressive backlash from Democrats, who are still reeling from the sexual assault allegation that forced their party's Senate nominee, Graham Platner, to quit the race late last week. Platner denied the allegation, which many former allies described as credible.

Democratic officials are scheduled to select a Platner replacement at a July 25 convention, leaving the party's nominee just a few months to try to unseat a longtime incumbent in a race seen as critical if Democrats are to win back control of the Senate.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, several would-be Collins' challengers descended upon the scene — and her office — to speak out.

Senate hopeful Democrat Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director, drew a direct link from the shooting to the Republican senator's oversight of ICE's budget as chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

“She's got power, but she didn’t use it to rein in a rogue agency, and instead gave them a blank check to kill,” Shah said in a press conference outside Collins' office on Tuesday. “It is time to abolish this broken agency. It is time to fire the leadership that has let it run wild. And it is time to retire politicians like Susan Collins who have made this lawlessness possible."

Collins is in Washington this week for Senate business. Her campaign did not respond to the Democrats' criticism when asked.

Collins says she spoke with DHS Secretary

“While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops," Collins said in a brief statement Tuesday.

The ICE shooting and the immediate backlash in a state Trump lost by 7 points suggests that Collins may have only begun to answer tough questions about the situation and her role in funding the agency.

Democrats, who acknowledged that the Platner scandal likely makes their fight to defeat Collins more difficult, were nonetheless hopeful that the shooting will shift the conversation back to Collins' record. The Republican has represented the state in the Senate since 1997 and regularly touts her power as the Appropriations Committee chair as a reason to keep her in the Senate for another six years.

“This tragedy refocuses the conversation from Platner fallout to the real world impact of Susan Collins voting to give ICE tens of billions of dollars with zero reforms,” said Democratic strategist Josh Schwerin. "The impact will be real.”

Earlier this month, an ICE agent fatally shot a man in Houston after he attempted to evade arrest in his vehicle during an operation. In January, two people were shot and killed by federal officers within days of each other in Minnesota.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults said earlier this year that Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to an AP-NORC poll. The poll suggested political independents were increasingly uncomfortable with Trump's tactics.

Hundreds attend vigil after Maine killing

On Tuesday, the shooting dominated the political conversation on the ground in Maine.

The day after a vigil turned out hundreds in Portland, a group of several dozen protestors gathered near an ICE facility in Scarborough and condemned Collins for supporting legislation to expand funding for ICE. Protesters waved signs stating “Stop the murder” and “End this terror.”

“Does anyone here feel safer because this man was shot in cold blood?” said Kelli Brennan, co-president of the Maine State Nurses Association. “Does the senseless murder of this man make any of our lives better in any way?”

Former Maine Senate leader and logger by trade, Troy Jackson, now a candidate to replace Platner, declared “ICE out” at the Portland vigil and held an “Abolish ICE” sign at a protest outside Collins' office on Monday.

“Immigrant communities are living under constant threat from an agency that operates with cruelty and impunity,” Jackson said during an online progressive organizing meeting Monday night. “We need accountability and leaders who believe every person deserves dignity, safety and due process.”

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who was also in the organizing meeting, called the shooting “murder” and said “we must abolish ICE now.”

“This is the second person ICE has killed in less than a week, the latest attack from Trump’s masked, unaccountable thugs,” Markey said, noting he voted against the creation of ICE in 2003.

Less than a week after Platner's exit, however, he is still a part of the conversation — even if he is not the focus anymore.

“You poured your hearts, your time, and your energy into building this movement alongside another candidate than me. And I know that there’s real pain, anger, and disappointment. And I’m not going to try and minimize that,” Jackson said. “But look, this movement has always been bigger than one person."

He continued: "We can defeat Susan Collins and elect a senator who will never forget what side they’re on.”

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AP writers Matt Brown in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed.

El Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INDEC) informó el martes que la inflación en el sexto mes del año fue del 1,9% contra el 2,1% que había reportado en mayo.

La última vez que el indicador se había ubicado por debajo de 2% fue en agosto de 2025 (1,9%). Lo que siguió fueron meses de aceleración de precios por la incertidumbre electoral en torno al resultado de las elecciones legislativas de octubre pasado y el conflicto en Medio Oriente, que impactó en el costo de combustibles y energía.

Milei llegó al poder a fines de 2023 prometiendo eliminar los altísimos aumentos de precios de Argentina y revertir sus crónicos déficits fiscales.

Más de dos años después, sus amplias medidas de desregulación y austeridad han producido un inusual superávit presupuestario, han seducido a los inversores y han desacelerado la inflación: la tasa anual, ahora en 33%, superaba el 200% cuando asumió el cargo.

Pero en contraste, los salarios reales continúan rezagados, el desempleo ha aumentado ligeramente a medida que miles de trabajadores son despedidos de industrias nacionales que no pueden competir con una avalancha de importaciones baratas y la actividad económica no logra despegar.

El control de la inflación y un repunte de la actividad y el consumo serán claves para las aspiraciones de reelección del mandatario. En junio, la inflación fue de 33,5% y acumula en el año 16,8%.

Según el INDEC, el rubro de mayor aumento fue Recreación y cultura (4,2%), mientras que Comunicaciones (0,9%) y Prendas de vestir y calzado (0,4%) registraron las menores subas.

According to a notice published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week, the now-recalled vehicles were made with a certification label that incorrectly states their gross axle weight rating, or GAWR, which reflects the maximum weight that each axle of a vehicle can support.

The NHTSA warns a wrong GAWR label “may lead to an overloaded vehicle,” which could increase the likelihood of a crash.

Subaru has not been aware of any crashes or injuries resulting from this issue in the U.S., according to recall documents. And no mechanical repair is needed — but the company plans to mail impacted owners a “corrective certification label” to place over the faulty one. Customers may also choose to have a dealer place the new label on their cars, free of charge.

The labeling recall covers certain 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid, 2025-2026 Forester and Forester Hybrid, and 2019-2026 Ascent vehicles.

Owner notifications are set to go out in late August — and additional letters will be mailed “once the remedy is available,” NHTSA documents note. In the meantime, drivers can also confirm whether their specific vehicle is included in this recall and find more information using the NHTSA's website and/or Subaru's recall lookup platform.

The Associated Press reached out to contacts for Subaru of America — a New Jersey-based subsidiary of the larger Japanese automaker — for further comments Tuesday.

Supporters of Ukraine have been working for more than a year to pass a bill that would impose steep tariffs on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports. They unveiled a revised measure Tuesday with the goal of depriving Russia of money it uses to fund its war against Ukraine.

Some lawmakers worried the original bill was too broad and could harm the economies of some of the U.S.'s strongest allies that have also helped Ukraine. The White House wanted to ensure the president had adequate flexibility to waive sanctions when it is the national interest to do so. The revised bill attempts to address both concerns.

The final bill more narrowly applies the tariffs to the world's top five purchasers of Russia oil or natural gas, according to a summary. China and India are at the top of that list, sponsors said. It also dramatically reduces the tariffs from a blanket 500% to up to 100%, and it provides exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking steps to reduce those imports.

Graham and colleagues who had been working on the legislation issued a statement Friday announcing that significant progress had been made in talks with the Trump administration. The senator passed away late Saturday before the revised bill could be unveiled.

Graham had just returned from Ukraine and discussed the sanctions bill with President Donald Trump in a call shortly before his death.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was working with Graham on the legislation, said he would be in favor of naming the bill after Graham.

“It's part of his legacy,” Blumenthal said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Monday on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to bring the bill to the floor immediately “in honor of Lindsey,” saying “it will pass overwhelmingly and help our allies in Ukraine.”

Thune said he was “hopeful we can make that happen."

“It would certainly be an incredible legacy for him if, in fact, we can find a path forward. It’ll take Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate to do that,” Thune said on CNN.

The bill has support from more than two dozen senators so far and aides said the list was growing. The House passed a much different bill last month that included more than $1 billion in security and reconstruction aid for Ukraine as well as making another $8 billion available for Ukraine’s defense through loans.

Blumenthal said he spoke with Graham last week about the progress he had made in talks with the White House.

“He was absolutely ecstatic. You know, I’ve never heard him quite as exuberant.”

Graham traveled to Ukraine last week and offered the country reason to be optimistic, telling reporters that sweeping, hard-hitting new economic sanctions against Russia were finally within reach. He said he would be heading back to Washington to meet with bipartisan leaders to advance the proposal.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney's office, which can choose to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.

Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in the effort to flip majority control of the highest court in battleground Wisconsin.

The tech titan and groups he supported spent at least $20 million on the candidate backed by Republicans, Brad Schimel. However, he lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.

A month after the lopsided loss, Musk announced that he would be spending far less on political campaigns. Spending on the election topped $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.

Prosecutors will decide if Musk should be charged over the $1 million checks

The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were brought by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, which is in Brown County. Musk handed out checks at a rally there just days before the election.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission, consisting of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in closed session on Thursday to refer the complaints to the district attorney, the commission's spokesperson Emilee Miklas said.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

The motion approved by the elections commission said it found probable cause that Musk broke Wisconsin law by making a social media post offering $1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election “in order to induce them to vote in that election.”

Spokespeople for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Musk gave $1 million checks to 3 Wisconsin voters

Three Wisconsin voters received checks from Musk, including two who got them in person at the Green Bay rally. Two weeks before the election, Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, offered $100 to voters who signed a petition in opposition to “activist judges,” or referred someone to sign it.

Crawford's win kept liberals in control of the state Supreme Court, and their majority grew to 5-2 after Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor's victory this year.

Musk’s spending on the 2025 race has already resulted in one lawsuit filed by a government watchdog group, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which seeks to prohibit him from ever again offering cash payments in the state.

That lawsuit is pending in Brown County. It alleges that Musk and two groups he funds violated prohibitions on vote bribery and unauthorized lotteries and that his actions were an unlawful conspiracy and public nuisance.

Attempts to stop Musk failed in 2025

Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general sued to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, but was rejected by state courts.

Musk’s attorneys argued in legal filings in 2025 that Musk was exercising his free speech rights with the giveaways and any attempt to restrict that would violate both the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.

The payments are “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate,” Musk’s attorneys argued in court filings.

Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the 2024 presidential election, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.

The Department of Homeland Security later said the officer fired his weapon when the man they were pursuing attempted to flee the scene, threatening “public safety.”

It’s a narrative that has been repeated again and again since the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown began, with federal officers confronting drivers then saying they opened fire when their vehicles became a danger. That's despite decades of warnings from policing experts that shooting into moving cars presents a danger of its own and should almost always be avoided.

The Embassy of Colombia identified the man killed Monday in Biddeford, roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland, as Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national. Some friends, neighbors and an advocacy group have spelled his name “Joan.”

Nine dead in immigration operations

He is the ninth killed during immigration operations since the start of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. At least four of those deaths involved people in vehicles, including one last week in Houston, a trend so troubling U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she urged DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.”

A person familiar with the matter told AP Tuesday that administration officials told immigration officers to suspend most vehicle stops. Some policing experts say Immigration and Customs Enforcement should never have conducted traffic stops.

“They’re saying that all these cases are justified because the officers were in danger,” said John Sandweg, who was acting director at ICE, which is part of DHS, during the Obama administration. “But then why the hell are we putting the officer in danger by asking them to execute traffic stops?”

Sandweg, who estimates there have been roughly 18 traffic-stop shootings during the immigration crackdown, noted there are many other places to make arrests, from homes to workplaces.

“It becomes a much more risky and dangerous situation once you start to pursue someone,” said John Gihon, an immigration lawyer who was an attorney at ICE from 2008 to 2014. “That’s going to escalate.”

Gihon said that during his tenure at ICE he regularly trained deportation officers about vehicle stop policies. He said officers were advised they have discretion on whether to pull over someone they are trying to arrest. But if that person refuses to get out of their car and drives away, the guidance is to let them go and track them down another day.

“If they refuse, you are not pulling them out of the vehicle, you are not putting yourself in front of their car,” he said. “This policy is for everyone’s safety.”

But fatal vehicle stops keep happening during Trump’s second administration.

There was Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, shot during a late-night traffic stop in South Texas in March 2025, and Renee Good, a mother of three shot and killed in January as she drove her car through the streets of a Minneapolis residential neighborhood amid growing anti-crackdown protests.

Last week, it was Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican builder shot and killed as he drove his crew to a worksite in Houston, where he had lived and worked for decades.

Shooting into moving vehicles creates danger for all who are near

Each time, officials insisted the federal officers had fired because they feared they or someone else could be killed by the vehicles.

“Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X after Good was killed. “The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”

That shooting was captured on multiple bystander videos that contradicted the administration’s narrative and prompted widespread anger and protests against the officers' use of deadly force.

Much remains unknown about the others.

Officers were not wearing body cameras in the Salgado Araujo or the Durán Guerrero killings, despite DHS announcing months ago that it would outfit all officers with cameras.

Geoffrey P. Alpert, an expert on policing at the University of South Carolina, said without video evidence, investigators must rely on witness statements.

“There’s certainly a pattern, a practice, a trend that is disturbing,” Alpert said, adding that police departments decades ago began prohibiting officers from shooting into moving cars because if the driver is injured or killed, they can lose control, turning the vehicle into “an unguided missile,” threatening anyone nearby.

“Every bullet needs to be understood: why was it fired. Every time an officer pulls the trigger, we need to know why,” Alpert said. “We talked about that last time, and we’ll talk about that the next time.”

Texas lawmaker notes conflicting descriptions of Houston shooting

Doubts are already swirling about the official story the administration told about the fatal shooting of 52-year-old Salgado Araujo in Houston.

DHS officials said in a statement that the Mexican national ignored commands and was trying to evade arrest, then attempted to ram his car into an officer, who opened fire in self-defense.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia said she visited the facility where the men who were in the vehicle with Salgado Araujo are being held and spoke to two of them, raising “many alarming questions” about the administration’s claims.

“Here’s the deal. I visited with them separately, and their stories were consistent, and paint a totally, totally conflicting version of the events,” Garcia said. They said that at no time were any of the ICE officers in front of the vehicle. Instead, they told her the officers were on the passenger side and shot Salgado Araujo, who was driving, through the passenger side window. The window had been open because the vehicle’s air conditioning was broken.

The DHS story quickly shifted

What exactly led to the deadly shooting in Maine remains unclear. Officers were in Biddeford, surveilling an address for a person with a final order of removal from the country, then tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone coming from that address, DHS said.

Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King said DHS Secretary Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers.

But nearly 12 hours after Durán Guerrero was killed, that story shifted: DHS issued a statement saying the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”

When asked about the contrasting statements, King told CNN an investigation would reveal the truth.

The state’s Office of the Attorney General announced it would investigate the shooting in coordination with federal authorities, promised transparency and encouraged witnesses to come forward.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered near an ICE facility in Scarborough, Maine. They held up a large banner reading “No more ICE killings” and signs saying “stop the murder” and “end this terror.”

“We need to never see this happen in the streets of Biddeford, Maine, and in this country,” said Democratic state Sen. Mattie Daughtry, said during the protest. “Never forget the human toll of what has happened here in Maine, in Minnesota, in Texas.”

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Santana reported from Washington, D.C., Sullivan from Minneapolis and Galofaro from Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press reporters Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, and Jack Brook in New Orleans contributed.

The Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone, or PROMISE Act, comes on the heels of the latest Social Security Board of Trustees’ annual report, which found that Social Security’s retirement trust fund is projected to face a funding shortfall in 2032, a year earlier than last year’s projections.

Even with it being clear for years that Social Security was running out of money, Congress has been loath to act. Making changes to the program — and potentially cutting benefits — has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare’s troubling math to the next generation.

“The longer Congress waits, the more difficult it will be to address the program’s financial shortfall,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., one of the bill’s authors, said in a statement. “We were elected to solve problems — we owe it to our kids and grandkids to protect and strengthen this critical program.”

Durbin, who is retiring, is joining with Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia; independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and outgoing Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina in backing the Social Security legislation, which calls for an “independent, bipartisan advisory committee” that would make recommendations to Congress.

Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., signed onto the bill right before its introduction.

The bill is designed to force Congress to confront Social Security’s long-term financing problem by guaranteeing that lawmakers vote on a solvency plan. It culminates in an up-or-down vote on a plan that restores Social Security solvency for at least half a century.

Committees, however, have been here before. That happened as recently as 2024, when House lawmakers undertook an effort with the backing of several in GOP leadership to form a federal debt commission that would include tackling the solvency of Social Security and Medicare.

The effort collapsed when Americans for Tax Reform — led by its president, Grover Norquist — aggressively lobbied against it.

Social Security's looming funding shortfall is mainly the result of lower projected birth rates, reduced immigration and reduced trust fund revenue due to the costs of Republicans’ massive tax and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last summer, according to the Board of Trustees' report.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Traditionally, Republicans have been skeptical of endorsing tax increases, while Democrats have been critical of calls to raise the age of Social Security eligibility. In 2022, members of the House Republican Study Committee proposed raising the age at which someone could qualify for Social Security and Medicare.

Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67, based on recommendations from a commission under the leadership of Alan Greenspan.

Still, there are ongoing bipartisan calls to find a way to provide long-term funding to Social Security.

Last month, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times calling for raising the cap on the Social Security payroll tax.

For 2026, the payroll tax cap, or maximum amount of earnings on which you must pay Social Security tax is $184,500.

Americans for Tax Reform organized a lengthy and aggressive rebuttal with comments from scores of conservatives in opposition.

Maduro’s government in 2023 freed Jerrel Kenemore, Jason Saad and Edgar Marval after months in prison as part of an exchange secretly negotiated with the Biden administration for Alex Saab, a businessman long described by U.S. officials as Maduro’s bag man and who had been awaiting trial in the U.S. on money laundering charges.

Last year, the three Americans sued several top Venezuelan officials, including now acting President Delcy Rodríguez, claiming they were subjected to physical and psychological torture — electrocution, stress positions and beatings — that continues to inflict anguish and trauma on them and their families today. Similar allegations of abuse are also being investigated by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court.

Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami issued a default judgment Tuesday against Maduro, Saab and five other individual defendants as well as the “Cartel of the Suns,” a purported drug-smuggling ring involving top military officials, for failing to respond to the lawsuit. Rodríguez was not included in the ruling after lawyers for her entered an appearance in April seeking to dismiss the complaint, arguing that as the duly recognized head of state she is immune from civil action in the U.S., a contention plaintiffs dispute.

The case is the largest judgment to date amid a slew of lawsuits filed for Americans imprisoned in Venezuela. All sought damages under a little-used federal law, the Anti-Terrorism Act, that allows American victims of foreign terror groups to seize the assets of their victimizers.

“The kidnappings,” Judge Gayles wrote in his 19-page ruling, were just one of many crimes “committed in order to support Maduro’s dictatorial rule over Venezuela, which in turn allowed the Maduro Criminal Conspiracy to earn ill-gotten gains.”

A lawyer for Saab, who is once again in U.S. custody facing new charges after Rodríguez handed him over to U.S. authorities in May, declined to comment. Lawyers for Rodríguez didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Each of the plaintiffs arrived in Venezuela unsuspecting they would be accused of spying and used as bargaining chips in Venezuela’s negotiations with the U.S.

Kenemore, who spent 643 days in jail, was a computer professional from Fort Worth, Texas, who had been living in neighboring Colombia with a Venezuelan woman he met online when both were getting over divorces. In 2022, he was abducted by armed gunmen near the border and later handed over to Venezuelan authorities and immediately imprisoned, according to the complaint.

Saad, a native of Alabama, had been living in Venezuela working in construction for several years at the time of his arrest, according to the complaint. Together with Marval, who owned a company in Florida and did business Venezuela, all were held by Venezuela’s feared military intelligence police.

The Trump administration labeled the “ Cartel of the Suns” a foreign terrorist organization ahead of a massive military deployment in the Caribbean that resulted in Maduro’s capture in January to face drug trafficking charges in New York.

The former president has denied any wrongdoing and some observers doubt that corruption that has long festered inside Venezuela’s barracks has led to the creation of a cohesive drug smuggling group that functions like other Latin American cartels.

Han pasado 26 días desde que tuvimos un sistema activo (Arthur, de corta duración, el 17 de junio) en cualquier parte del Golfo, el Caribe o el Atlántico, y desde el 30 de junio —cuando monitoreábamos una débil baja presión asociada a un frente con probabilidades mínimas de desarrollo— el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC) no ha incluido ningún sistema en su mapa de perspectivas tropicales.

Julio suele ser un mes tranquilo, por lo que esto, por sí solo, no es algo fuera de lo común. Incluso durante temporadas de huracanes que terminaron siendo más activas, como la de 2016, el Centro Nacional de Huracanes mantuvo su mapa de perspectivas vacío durante gran parte del mes. La situación se vuelve más inusual cuando la calma se prolonga hasta agosto (algo que ya hemos visto en temporadas recientes).

Aun así, ha sido un inicio de temporada inusualmente lento, el menos activo desde 2009, y como hemos explicado ampliamente en este boletín, las condiciones apuntan a que esta podría ser una de las temporadas menos activas en más de una década. Sin embargo, basta con un solo huracán de gran impacto para convertirla en una mala temporada, por lo que seguimos atentos.

Disminuyen aún más las ya bajas probabilidades de actividad tropical en el Golfo a principios de la próxima semana

Durante el fin de semana, algunos de los nuevos modelos de inteligencia artificial, en particular el sistema de modelación del Centro Europeo, mostraron un aumento en las probabilidades de desarrollo de un área de baja presión inicialmente no tropical sobre el noreste del Golfo.

Ese aumento provocó la reacción habitual en algunos sectores de las redes sociales (¡esperemos que no en los suyos!), principalmente por el modelo determinista (una sola ejecución) de inteligencia artificial del Centro Europeo, que proyectó un sistema con fuerza de huracán sobre el norte del Golfo a principios de la próxima semana en los pronósticos emitidos desde la tarde del domingo.

Por supuesto, quienes siguen regularmente este boletín saben que los modelos de una sola ejecución con pronósticos de más de una semana no son una fuente confiable, a menos que estén respaldados por evidencia sólida de conjuntos de múltiples modelos (algo que, en este caso, claramente no ocurrió).

Además, como hemos explicado en publicaciones anteriores, el modelo de inteligencia artificial del Centro Europeo ha demostrado no tener capacidad para pronosticar la intensidad de los sistemas, por lo que sus proyecciones de intensidad deben interpretarse con mucho escepticismo.

Desde ese pronóstico muy optimista emitido el domingo, el modelo de inteligencia artificial del Centro Europeo ya redujo significativamente sus proyecciones iniciales.

Incluso los modelos por conjuntos más conservadores que respaldaban bajas probabilidades de desarrollo durante los últimos días, tal como comentamos en el boletín del lunes, ahora muestran una tendencia con probabilidades aún menores de desarrollo para la próxima semana.

En términos generales, la atmósfera sobre el norte del Golfo no presenta condiciones favorables para un desarrollo significativo a principios de la próxima semana, y el sistema en el que se enfocan los modelos comenzará como un área de rotación en niveles medios de la atmósfera, lo que significa que, si llega a desarrollarse, esa circulación tendría que extenderse hasta la superficie.

Este proceso menos convencional, de arriba hacia abajo, representa un obstáculo mayor que el desarrollo tradicional de abajo hacia arriba (circulaciones que comienzan en la superficie y se fortalecen a medida que las tormentas se organizan sobre aguas cálidas).

La perturbación en niveles medios también comenzará en la base de una vaguada de la corriente en chorro de rápido desplazamiento, lo que tampoco favorecerá su desarrollo.

En conjunto, no es una zona donde debamos esperar un desarrollo significativo. Ayer, los modelos por conjuntos sugerían probabilidades de desarrollo de entre un 10% y un 20%, pero hoy esas probabilidades han disminuido en su mayoría a menos del 10%.

Debido al calor casi récord en las aguas del noreste del Golfo y a la cercanía de la perturbación a tierra, por supuesto seguiremos monitoreando las tendencias, especialmente por la posibilidad de lluvias más intensas asociadas principalmente a procesos no tropicales hacia finales de la próxima semana, pero por ahora no hay motivo de preocupación.

Por lo demás, la abundante cizalladura del viento mantendrá tranquilos los trópicos durante el futuro previsible.

Job Listing: Associate Producer

Responsibilities:

Oversee the complete preparation of newscast including writing stories and coordinating with: reporters, executive producers, assignment desk staff and production department. The producer will also coordinate the program in the control room. Must be able to use knowledge of current events to participate in editorial process and write scripts.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of television news
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills required
• Ability to work flexible hours including nights, weekends and holidays
• Ability to work in a fast-paced high-energy environment with daily deadlines and changing priorities
• 3-5 years’ experience as a writer or producer in a commercial news operation required
• College degree in journalism or broadcasting preferred
• News computer knowledge necessary

***All of the essential functions of this position are not necessarily described in this posting.

***We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, disability, or political affiliation. Any offer of employment is conditioned on successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks. A valid driver’s license is required.

Please follow link below to apply for Associate Producer Position:

https://jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/wplg/CANDIDATEPORTAL/jobs/9012

Emily Hales

Executive Producer

WPLG/TV

3401 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Pembroke Park, FL 33023

ehales@wplg.com

No phone calls please.

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The supposed teenager was actually an undercover FBI agent, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.

A federal criminal complaint states that Pavel Acosta Ruano, 38, messaged the undercover agent on Grindr on July 2. While the agent’s fake profile listed the user’s age as 18, the agent quickly told Acosta Ruano that he was 14, it states.

According to the complaint, Acosta Ruano, who went by Paul, had no qualms about the boy’s age and asked him for sex, moving the conversation to WhatsApp soon after.

“I am a good person,” agents said he told the undercover agent. “Trust me.”

They said he later asked, “Are you really 14 years (old)?,” to which the agent replied affirmatively. According to the complaint, Acosta Ruano claimed to be 28.

Authorities said Acosta Ruano offered the agent posing as the teen, who claimed to be visiting Miami with his parents for the World Cup, a rideshare to his home.

According to the complaint, after engaging in a sexual conversation, Acosta Ruano asked the undercover agent if he wanted any money and eventually offered him $200, conditioned upon sex with the teen. As they continued to converse over the following days, agents said Acosta Ruano offered to get the boy a ride to a Publix at 1500 Douglas Road, near his apartment.

According to the complaint, after the agent sent Acosta Ruano a photo of a $279 bicycle, Acosta Ruano offered him $300.

On Friday, agents said Acosta Ruano arranged a meetup. They said he sent a rideshare driver to a McDonald’s at 4999 NW 36th St. in Miami Springs to pick up the supposed teen.

“The (agent) asked the driver ‘for Paul?,’ to which the driver responded, ‘No, Acosta,’” the complaint states.

Authorities said they took Acosta Ruano into custody outside of the Publix just after noon.

He faces charges in Miami federal court of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Federal court records didn’t immediately list any upcoming hearings. As of Tuesday, federal jail records show that Acosta Ruano, who agents noted was in the country illegally from Cuba, was being held in the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami.

El supuesto adolescente era en realidad un agente encubierto del FBI, según los documentos judiciales obtenidos por Local 10 News el martes.

Una denuncia penal federal afirma que Pavel Acosta Ruano, de 38 años, envió un mensaje al agente encubierto a través de Grindr el 2 de julio. Aunque el perfil falso del agente indicaba que el usuario tenía 18 años, el agente le dijo rápidamente a Acosta Ruano que tenía 14, según se indica en la denuncia.

Según la denuncia, Acosta Ruano, que se hacía llamar Paul, no tuvo ningún reparo respecto a la edad del chico y le pidió mantener relaciones sexuales, trasladando la conversación a WhatsApp poco después.

“Soy una buena persona”, le dijo al agente encubierto, según los agentes. “Confía en mí”.

Según el informe, más tarde le preguntó: “¿De verdad tienes 14 años?“, a lo que el agente respondió afirmativamente. Según la denuncia, Acosta Ruano afirmó tener 28 años.

Las autoridades indicaron que Acosta Ruano ofreció al agente que se hacía pasar por el adolescente —quien afirmaba estar de visita en Miami con sus padres para ver el Mundial— compartir un viaje en coche hasta su casa.

Según la denuncia, tras mantener una conversación de carácter sexual, Acosta Ruano preguntó al agente encubierto si quería dinero y, finalmente, le ofreció 200 dólares a cambio de mantener relaciones sexuales con el adolescente. Mientras seguían conversando durante los días siguientes, los agentes afirmaron que Acosta Ruano se ofreció a llevar al chico a un Publix situado en el 1500 de Douglas Road, cerca de su piso.

Según la denuncia, después de que el agente enviara a Acosta Ruano una foto de una bicicleta de 279 dólares, Acosta Ruano le ofreció 300 dólares.

El viernes, los agentes afirmaron que Acosta Ruano concertó una cita. Según ellos, envió a un conductor de un servicio de transporte compartido a un McDonald’s situado en el 4999 de la calle NW 36th St., en Miami Springs, para que recogiera al supuesto adolescente.

“El (agente) le preguntó al conductor: ”¿Vienes por Paul?“, a lo que el conductor respondió: ”No, por Acosta", reza la denuncia.

Las autoridades afirmaron que detuvieron a Acosta Ruano a la salida del Publix poco después del mediodía.

Se enfrenta a cargos en un tribunal federal de Miami por intento de tráfico sexual de un menor e intento de coacción y incitación a un menor para que participara en actividades sexuales.

Los registros del tribunal federal no indicaban de inmediato ninguna vista prevista. A fecha de martes, los registros penitenciarios federales muestran que Acosta Ruano, de quien los agentes señalaron que se encontraba en el país de forma ilegal procedente de Cuba, permanecía recluido en el Centro Federal de Detención del centro de Miami.

Robinson made an impact almost from the start with the Atlanta Falcons and then took his game to another level last season when he led the NFL in yards from scrimmage and was picked as the All-Pro running back.

That production helped Robinson win the honor of being named the top running back in the league by The Associated Press.

A panel of eight AP pro football writers ranked the top five players at running back, basing selections on current status entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Robinson got three first-place votes, one second and was the only player named on all eight ballots to win the voting with 41 points. San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey got two first-place votes and finished second with 33 points, with Baltimore's Derrick Henry also getting two first-place votes and coming in third with 30 points.

The other first-place vote went to Saquon Barkley, who finished fourth, with Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs coming in fifth.

Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor and Buffalo's James Cook also received votes.

1. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Robinson, the eighth pick in 2023, is one of the top dual-threat backs in the league, finishing fourth in the league in rushing last season with 1,478 yards to go along with 820 yards receiving.

He became the second player ever with at least 1,400 yards rushing and 800 yards receiving in the same season, joining Steven Jackson, who did it in 2006.

Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage and scored 11 TDs on the season.

2. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey has established himself as the most dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield and is a focal point of Kyle Shanahan's passing game in San Francisco.

McCaffrey wasn't the explosive runner last season as he had been earlier in his career, rushing for 1,202 yards and averaging just 3.9 yards per carry. He more than made up for that with 102 catches for 924 yards as he nearly became the first player ever with two seasons with at least 1,000 yards rushing and receiving.

McCaffrey generated an NFL-best 119 first downs, matching the most for any player in the past 15 seasons.

3. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

People have been waiting for Henry to shows signs of decline as he reached his 30s but it hasn't been evident yet.

Henry has topped 1,500 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons after turning 30, with his five 1,500-yard seasons tied with Barry Sanders for the most ever.

Henry ranked second in the NFL last season with 1,595 yards rushing and is 10th all-time with 13,018 yards. He set a record last season with his seventh 200-yard game and has a record-tying four seasons with at least 15 TD runs.

4. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley took a step back from his record-setting 2024 season when his 2,504 yards rushing in the regular season and playoffs were the most ever as Philadelphia's offense was less potent last season. He still managed to rush for 1,140 yards and scored nine total TDs to earn some support in this voting.

5. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

Gibbs has been a scoring machine since entering the league with Robinson in 2023, when he was picked four spots later at No. 12 overall. Gibbs' 49 career touchdowns are the most ever for a player before turning 24 years old, topping the previous mark of 47 set by Lions legend Barry Sanders.

Gibbs rushed for 1,223 yards and added 616 more receiving last season when he scored 18 overall TDs.

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

In a complaint to the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel filed Monday, Wyden requested an investigation into whether the June calls violated the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that restricts certain political activities by federal employees. The Oregon Democrat said Kennedy acted inappropriately by interfering with elections that Trump's Republican administration wants GOP candidates to win.

“Kennedy has spent sixteen months using his official position to undermine the health and well-being of his fellow Americans, and now he is using his official position to undermine the integrity of democratic elections too,” reads a statement from Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which plays a role in overseeing the nation's health agencies.

The accusation comes as Trump has dispatched Kennedy to swing districts around the country as a key surrogate for the administration, promoting its widely popular efforts to encourage healthy eating and exercise. It takes issue with another task Kennedy reportedly did on behalf of the administration: calling Libertarian candidates to push them to drop out of two races where they could be spoilers for GOP candidates. At stake is control of Congress in a competitive midterm election year, where any win could be decisive in shaping the next two years of federal policy.

Spokespeople for Kennedy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Claims center on 2 competitive US House races

The calls Wyden references in the complaint include a June 8 call with Marco Battaglia, a Libertarian candidate running in Iowa's 3rd congressional district, and a June 11 call with Rick Stewart, a Libertarian candidate running in Iowa's 2nd congressional district.

They are among the three of Iowa's four congressional districts that are expected to be some of the most competitive in the country, and Libertarian candidates in recent election cycles have drawn support from 2 to 3% of voters. Republicans in Iowa filed challenges to Battaglia and Stewart's nominating paperwork, and Battaglia was removed from the general election ballot, while Stewart remains. Both cases are being appealed in district court.

“They don’t want our people in there. They feel we are spoilers,” Stephanie Berlin, chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, said Tuesday. “This is just another example of the major two parties trying to strangle us out of ballot access.”

Libertarian Party leader recorded a call with Kennedy

Berlin sat alongside Stewart when he spoke with Kennedy and was the one to record the call, which she said she interpreted as Kennedy offering quid pro quo even as he “skirted the line.”

Kennedy did not make any specific request of or offer to Stewart in the recording, according to a copy shared with The Associated Press. Kennedy said he could be Stewart's “liaison with the White House" and suggested Stewart could, like Kennedy himself, “make an agreement that puts me in a position where I can make a real difference in people's lives.”

“I can't go into specifics because, you know, there's legal prohibitions about that," he said. "If it's something that you want to work on together ... if there's other ways that you think you might be effective, you know, like I said, I will be your advocate."

The Washington Post previously reported on Kennedy's recorded conversation with Stewart.

Stewart told the AP it was clear that Kennedy wanted him to drop out, though he said he suspects Kennedy “did his best to stay on the correct side of the law.”

“That's how all politics works,” Stewart said. “Everybody does their best to avoid breaking the rules, but they also do their best to go around the rules.”

Wyden was more explicit, saying Kennedy’s offer of federal employment to Stewart amounted to illegal quid pro quo and that Kennedy needed to be held accountable.

Battaglia also told the AP last month that Kennedy called him to encourage him to drop out of the race but he did not have a recording.

Watchdog group calls Kennedy's comments a ‘clear violation’

Donald Sherman, president of the nonpartisan government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said there are several instances in the recording of Kennedy invoking his official position and responsibilities as health secretary. Sherman said that makes it a “clear violation” of the Hatch Act that's worthy of investigation by the Office of Special Counsel.

“I don’t want to be fighting subpoenas for the next two years instead of improving America’s health,” Kennedy said in the call to Stewart. “So for me, there’s an immediate, pragmatic reason for this phone call.”

There are ways Kennedy could make a political call that do not violate the Hatch Act but he would have had to call from a personal phone from a personal office and would have had to avoid referring to the government or his government office, Sherman said.

“Invoking the White House specifically, referring to his official duties and his official role as HHS secretary, is where he blurs the line between whether he's calling as a government employee or as a private citizen," Sherman said. "That's where the problem comes in.”

In the past, many other senior government officials have faced Hatch Act complaints. During the first Trump administration, the Office of the Special Counsel sent senior officials 15 warning letters about running afoul of the decades-old law. And Karine Jean-Pierre, former press secretary for President Joe Biden, was also found to have violated the law with references to “MAGA Republicans” during White House briefings. Penalties for Hatch Act violations are uncommon, and the Office of the Special Counsel did not recommend any fines or other punishments for Jean-Pierre.

Trump has taken steps in his second term to assert more control over independent agencies like the Office of the Special Counsel — a posture that could influence whether it acts on Wyden's complaint. Early in his second term, Trump fired the head of the office. The Supreme Court ruled recently that the president can fire members of independent agency boards without cause.

Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the watchdog group Public Citizen who has himself filed Hatch Act complaints against Trump administration officials, said he doesn’t expect the office to act on what he considers a violation in Kennedy's case.

“RFK using his official position, citing his official position, in his phone call and his connection to the White House and his ability to get the White House to provide favors – all of that would constitute a direct violation of the Hatch Act,” Holman said.

The Office of the Special Counsel could recommend that RFK be removed from his role, Holman added, “but I am not expecting that.”

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Swenson reported from New York.

Sotheby's said the 67-million-year-old fossil, nicknamed “Gus,” is now the most expensive set of dinosaur bones ever auctioned off, besting the almost $45 million price tag for a nearly complete stegosaurus sold by the same New York auction house in 2024. The previous record holder had been a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed “Stan” that sold for nearly $32 million in 2020.

“Gus is not only an exceptional find, but a specimen that’s been excavated, documented, prepared, and cared for with real excellence,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice chair, said after the sale was completed. “The market responds when great specimens are taken care of in the right way.”

Why the bidding for this T. rex was intense

Standing upright with its tail extended and right foot slightly raised, “Gus” is an adult dinosaur specimen measuring about 12 ½ feet (3.8 meters) tall and 38 feet (11.5 meters) long.

He's about 61% complete, with what Sotheby's describes as an “exceptionally preserved” skull including a gaping jaw of powerful teeth, two “well represented” feet and a number of rarely found bones, including a furcula, or wishbone.

The fossil was discovered in 2021 on a ranch in South Dakota and named in honor of property owner Gary Licking, who died during the roughly five year excavation, restoration and mounting process.

The auction house said the winner, who participated by phone and wants to remain anonymous, outbid six other prospective buyers during Tuesday's 10-minute bidding battle. The piece had been estimated to fetch anywhere from $20 to $30 million ahead of the sale.

“Try a bigger bite,” auctioneer Phyllis Kao cajoled the bidders at one point during the auction, which was conducted live and online. “It’s a T. rex, after all.”

Scientists want ‘Gus’ on public display

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, an advocacy group of scientists, scholars and students, said scientifically significant fossils such as “Gus” should be publicly displayed in museums and other research institutions so that they can be “preserved, documented, and accessible for future generations.”

“Our hope is that the new owner recognizes the extraordinary scientific and educational value of Gus the T. rex and that they aim to keep it in the public trust by immediately donating it to an accredited natural history museum,” Kristi Curry Rogers, the society's president-elect, said in a statement Tuesday. “That outcome would ensure that this remarkable specimen continues to advance science, rather than becoming unavailable for study.”

Indeed, “Apex,” the stegosaurus, the previous dinosaur fossil record-holder, is currently on long-term loan to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. “Sue” the T. rex, the first dinosaur ever sold at auction in 1997, also by Sotheby's, is a centerpiece of the Field Museum in Chicago.

And “Stan” is on display at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, posed in combat with another fossilized T. rex over the remains of a triceratops.

A Cretaceous king and Hollywood staple

Tyrannosaurus rex, whose name roughly translates to “King of the Tyrant Lizards,” stood firmly at the top of the food chain when it ruled during the late Cretaceous period.

With its fearsome jawline and comically stubby arms, it has become the most recognizable and beloved of the dinosaurs, depicted in everything from children’s programs like Barney, the purple T. rex, to the enduring “Jurassic Park” movie franchise.

The great beasts roamed what is today western North America, during a time when the region boasted “warm climates, high sea levels, and rich coastal floodplains” that allowed their primary prey, giant herbivores like the triceratops, to flourish, according to Sotheby’s.

“I’m Joe Lombardo,” he said as the officer arrived at the passenger-side window, police body camera video obtained by The Associated Press shows.

Gov. Lombardo was pulled over May 15 by an officer from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the agency Lombardo led as sheriff for eight years. The officer walks up to the passenger side of a light-gray Ford pickup truck and says, “Hello, how are you doing, sir?” according to the video.

Lombardo is in the driver's seat, with his wife Donna Lombardo in the passenger seat.

The officer begins to explain the reason for the stop, and Lombardo interrupts to say, “I’m Joe Lombardo.” The officer says, “I’m aware,” and continues to explain the stop was initiated because he did not see Lombardo stop at a red light before making a right turn.

“Come on, man,” Lombardo says.

The officer replies, “You’re good to go, sir. Appreciate ya. Have a good day,” and then walks away.

The whole interaction lasts about 15 seconds of the 1 minute and 10 second video.

The police department said the governor did not receive a citation but did not say why, however law enforcement officers say it is common to not give a citation over a minor violation.

Lombardo's campaign said the governor and his wife were headed to the airport when they were pulled over.

“Governor Lombardo spoke with the officer, fully complied with all instructions, and was promptly on his way,” the campaign said in a statement Tuesday. “He remains grateful for the professionalism of the officer involved and for the service of law enforcement officers across Nevada.”

The video, which was obtained via public records request, comes to light months before the November election, when Lombardo, a Republican seeking reelection, will face Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.

Steve Grammas, the president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, said the interaction wasn't uncommon. Officers stop drivers, explain why drivers are stopped and then let them go on their way.

“It really is a big nothing in my opinion,” he said.

Grammas, whose union endorsed the Republican governor, denied Lombardo received any special treatment. Typically officers ask for the driver’s license in order to identify them, but the officer already knew who the governor was, he said.

“Being that it is the governor, the former sheriff, odds are he doesn’t have warrants, does not have a suspended driver’s license, and so there’s no need to run that person,” Grammas said.

Grammas added that the governor didn’t identify himself as the governor, and simply said his name.

Edward Obayashi, a deputy sheriff and policy adviser who teaches an ethics and policing class in California, said there is nothing unethical about what the governor or the officer did.

“We let motorists off with a warning all the time,” Obayashi said.

Obayashi said that it was obvious the officer already knew who he was stopping because he ran the license plate, and the governor identifying himself is a common courtesy.

The Peach Bowl and the Kickoff Game say the deal is worth “multimillion” dollars and marks the first time a neutral-site college football game has incorporated NIL compensation for student-athletes.

The NIL agreement also will involve third-party entities. According to the announcement, as many as two dozen Auburn student-athletes will promote the game through social media posts, public appearances, advertisements, in-game promotions and branding opportunities.

“In the new NIL era of college football, this will be an innovative way to create wins for the teams, programs and student-athletes,” said Peach Bowl Inc. CEO David Epps in a statement.

“This new model is a true win-win scenario where Auburn and its student-athletes get a financial boost in the NIL space. At the same time, it’s a potential game changer for neutral-site games like ours who want to bring added value to participating teams and make it a more attractive and lucrative opportunity.”

Auburn opened its 2025 season with a 38-24 win at Baylor. This year's rematch originally was scheduled as an Auburn home game. The teams agreed to move the game to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, also the home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and the Peach Bowl.

The Kickoff Game is the nation's longest-running neutral-site game and will be televised by ABC at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Auburn will be making its fourth appearance in the Kickoff Game. It will be Baylor's first appearance.

Peach Bowl Inc. operates the Peach Bowl as well as the Kickoff Game.

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Graham was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday to fill the remaining months of her brother’s current term and arrived in Washington just a day later to take the oath of office. Senators, staff and family members looked on in the packed chamber, many of them visibly emotional, as Graham was sworn in by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the most senior Republican senator.

A separate special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Lindsey Graham’s seat, as he had been seeking a fifth term this year.

Darline Graham, who will be the state’s first female senator, has not previously held public office. She has worked as an optician and at various state agencies, including the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and the Department of Employment and Workforce. She is married to Larry Nordone but will be known in the Senate as Darline Graham, her legal name.

She said on Monday that her older brother, who raised her after their parents died, had always been there for her. “And now, I will be there for him,” she said.

After she was sworn in, Graham walked to her brother's desk and stood behind it as dozens of senators from both parties lined up to shake her hand or give her a hug. She attended the weekly Senate Republican luncheon before the ceremony, where Lindsey Graham's former colleagues told stories about him and welcomed her to the Senate.

Graham, 71, died unexpectedly on Saturday in Washington. A preliminary report from the medical examiner said he suffered a tear in his aorta, known as an aortic dissection.

One of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in the Senate, Graham was the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was set to become the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress. Darline Graham will receive her own committee assignments in the coming days.

Graham has often been by her brother’s side

Lindsey Graham, who was not married and did not have children, was exceptionally close to his sister. He became her legal guardian after their parents died, when he was 22 and she was 13. She often appeared at his campaign events and supported him in speeches and campaign ads, and she was there as he filed reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” his sister said as McMaster announced her appointment. “But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

McMaster said the two had spoken “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” after Graham’s death, and he asked her to serve.

“I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster said. He added that President Donald Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick. Trump announced his support for Graham to fill the seat earlier Monday.

Senators welcome Darline Graham in the Capitol

The weekly Republican luncheon is generally a serious discussion of the week's agenda. But on Tuesday, Lindsey Graham's colleagues told stories and remembered his sense of humor while welcoming his sister into the fold.

“It's personal for us,” said South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican who sat next to Graham on the Senate floor. He said senators also tried to offer support for Darline Graham, “who has been put in a position of not only losing her closest family member, but then also being asked to step into this role."

Rounds said that Lindsey Graham, who was known for his quick wit, “was a character, and he was the guy that made everybody feel like you were one of his closest friends.”

Several of South Carolina's House members attended the swearing in, lining up in the back of the Senate chamber, as did prominent members of Trump's administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and special envoy Steve Witkoff. His son-in-law Jared Kushner was also there.

South Carolina holds a special primary in August

According to South Carolina law, a one-week filing period for a special primary election begins on the second Tuesday after the candidate’s death, or July 21.

The special primary election would be held on the second Tuesday after that filing period closes, or Aug. 11. Any necessary runoff would follow two weeks after that, or Aug. 25.

From that point, the new nominee would have just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.

Several Republicans are potentially eyeing a run, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Republican Reps. Russell Fry, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.

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Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report from Columbia, South Carolina.

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The recall, which was first announced on Thursday, covers Insignia front-control gas ranges with knobs that can be turned on accidentally, posing a risk of fire, according to the CPSC.

They said the ranges were sold in the United States from 2020 through March 2026.

They also advised that consumers should stop using the ranges immediately and contact Best Buy for a free replacement knob kit.

El retiro, anunciado por primera vez el jueves, incluye estufas a gas Insignia con controles frontales cuyos perillas pueden activarse accidentalmente, lo que representa un riesgo de incendio, según la CPSC.

Indicaron que las estufas fueron vendidas en Estados Unidos desde 2020 hasta marzo de 2026.

También recomendaron que los consumidores dejen de usar las estufas de inmediato y se comuniquen con Best Buy para obtener un kit de reemplazo de perillas gratuito.

One South Florida man now has the answer after winning big on a Netflix competition show.

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Contestants from across the country walked into a luxury lakeside estate in British Columbia with one goal: keep secrets, hide in plain sight and compete for a chance at a million-dollar prize.

But one South Florida man outplayed the rest.

Nick Pellecchia, who lives in the heart of Brickell, is the winner of Season 2 of Netflix’s “Million Dollar Secret.”

“I come from a completely different background than reality TV,” Pellecchia said.

He studied finance at the University of Miami and worked at a commercial loans lender before turning his attention toward entertainment.

“I always liked entertaining people and being funny,” he said. “I knew how powerful it was to have a brand and audience online, so I was always applying.”

Eventually, that led him to Million Dollar Secret and a spot in the competition.

From the beginning, Pellecchia said his strategy was to avoid becoming a target.

“My plan going into it was (to) be kind of a funny, fratty type kid that doesn’t have a target on his back, that people just like being comfortable around,” Pellecchia said.

But that plan quickly changed when he identified who he believed was hiding the million-dollar secret.

“I ended up being the only one clocking Altie as the millionaire and felt the need to speak up at the first dinner,” he said.

After that, other contestants started looking to him for answers.

“So that whole plan went to the wayside and then it turned more into a situation where people were coming to me about what I thought was going on,” he added.

Along the way, Pellecchia found himself holding the million-dollar briefcase, meaning he had to complete secret agendas without the other contestants finding out.

Pellecchia survived multiple rounds, eventually moving the money out of his briefcase before the attention became too much.

He made it to the final three, where the prize ended up back in his hands.

For Pellecchia, becoming a millionaire still feels surreal.

“It’s a pretty surreal feeling, because it all still feels like it was made up, and it’s crazy because it’s filmed nine months before it comes out,” he said.

“To my parents, I said I’m pretty sure there’s money on the way, maybe it was a fever dream or something,” he added, “I’m just grateful.”

Now, with a million dollars to his name, Pellecchia says he plans to keep investing in himself.

“I mean I want that million dollars to be $10 (million) in the next few years, so I’m gonna keep building businesses, being entrepreneurial with it and keep investing in myself a lot of it,” he said. “But most of it, I’m just gonna keep betting on myself, dude.”

Pellecchia’s Netflix journey didn’t end with Million Dollar Secret. He also searched for love on Netflix’s “Perfect Match.”

To see what he’s been up to since those shows ended, find his Instagram page by clicking here.

Un hombre del sur de Florida ahora tiene la respuesta después de ganar en grande en un programa de competencia de Netflix.

Concursantes de todo el país llegaron a una lujosa propiedad frente a un lago en Columbia Británica con un objetivo: guardar secretos, pasar desapercibidos y competir por la oportunidad de ganar un premio de un millón de dólares.

Pero un hombre del sur de Florida superó al resto.

Nick Pellecchia, quien vive en el corazón de Brickell, es el ganador de la temporada 2 de “Million Dollar Secret” de Netflix.

“Vengo de un entorno completamente diferente al de los programas de televisión de realidad”, dijo Pellecchia.

Estudió finanzas en la Universidad de Miami y trabajó en una empresa de préstamos comerciales antes de enfocar su atención en el entretenimiento.

“Siempre me gustó entretener a la gente y ser divertido”, dijo. “Sabía lo poderoso que era tener una marca y una audiencia en línea, así que siempre estaba aplicando”.

Eventualmente, eso lo llevó a “Million Dollar Secret” y a un lugar en la competencia.

Desde el principio, Pellecchia dijo que su estrategia era evitar convertirse en un objetivo.

“Mi plan al entrar era ser como un chico divertido, tipo universitario, que no tuviera un objetivo en la espalda, alguien con quien la gente simplemente se sintiera cómoda”, dijo Pellecchia.

Pero ese plan cambió rápidamente cuando identificó a quien creía que ocultaba el secreto del millón de dólares.

“Terminé siendo el único que identificó a Altie como la persona con el millón y sentí la necesidad de hablar en la primera cena”, dijo.

Después de eso, otros concursantes comenzaron a buscar sus respuestas.

“Así que todo ese plan quedó a un lado y luego se convirtió más en una situación donde la gente venía a mí para saber qué pensaba que estaba pasando”, agregó.

En el camino, Pellecchia se encontró con el maletín del millón de dólares, lo que significaba que tenía que completar agendas secretas sin que los otros concursantes se enteraran.

Pellecchia sobrevivió a varias rondas y finalmente sacó el dinero de su maletín antes de que la atención se volviera demasiada.

Llegó a los tres finalistas, donde el premio terminó nuevamente en sus manos.

Para Pellecchia, convertirse en millonario todavía se siente surrealista.

“Es una sensación bastante surrealista, porque todavía parece que todo fue inventado, y es una locura porque se filmó nueve meses antes de que saliera”, dijo.

“A mis padres les dije que estaba bastante seguro de que había dinero en camino, tal vez fue un sueño extraño o algo así”, agregó. “Estoy agradecido”.

Ahora, con un millón de dólares a su nombre, Pellecchia dice que planea seguir invirtiendo en sí mismo.

“Quiero que ese millón de dólares se convierta en $10 millones en los próximos años, así que voy a seguir construyendo negocios, siendo emprendedor con eso y seguir invirtiendo mucho en mí mismo”, dijo. “Pero la mayor parte, simplemente voy a seguir apostando por mí mismo, amigo”.

El camino de Pellecchia en Netflix no terminó con “Million Dollar Secret”. También buscó el amor en “Perfect Match” de Netflix.

Para ver qué ha hecho desde que terminaron esos programas, encuentre su página de Instagram haciendo clic aquí.

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Experts say the technique is different from traditional deep tissue massage. Instead of applying heavy pressure, lymphatic drainage uses gentle movements designed to encourage the body’s natural lymphatic system.

“We are just incentivizing your body to do something that it naturally does 24/7,” said Camila Perez, owner of Mova Lymphatic Drainage.

Perez says the treatment helps move excess fluid produced through normal cellular metabolism back into the circulatory system, where it can be filtered by the liver and kidneys.

“It helps remove excessive fluid and bring it back to the circulatory system,” Perez said.

She says clients often seek lymphatic drainage massages to help with bloating and digestion.

“The lymph nodes that inside of the intestines are in charge of some fat removal, so in terms of digestion, important and specific working on the stomach helps digestion and reduces bloating,” Perez added.

Perez also says the treatment may help support people recovering after surgery by helping redirect fluid while the body heals.

“After an incision, you cut the pathways (and) capillaries that drain the areas,” she said. “(It’s the) right amount of pressure to redirect the fluid until it gets heeled.”

She says improving circulation can also help support a less congested system.

“In circulation in general and a less congested system is not distracted,” Perez said.

Perez says many clients schedule appointments before major events, including weddings, while others seek treatments during or after pregnancy.

“It’s a time where hormones are taking over. It’s safe. I recommend starting after the first trimester and coming back post-pregnancy,” she added.

The treatment is also popular among men, Perez said.

But Perez says one of the biggest misconceptions is that a stronger massage leads to better results.

“I think the biggest misconception is that a deeper, stronger massage will give you more results,” she said.

Instead, she says the technique relies on gentle pressure and slow movements.

“Lymphatic is not releasing fat. It’s not making you skinny, but you can look better and more slim because you’re not carrying too much water,” Perez said.

She says lymphatic drainage can be used for a wide range of clients, but each treatment is adjusted based on individual needs.

“One day I can have a cancer patient, a model, a post-surgery client. Each one, we have a different approach,” she added.

One client, Rudineia Villegas, says she receives regular lymphatic drainage massages while managing lipedema, a condition that can cause swelling, inflammation and fluid retention.

“It’s a condition it can affect your arms, your thighs, (and the) bottom part of your legs. You retain a lot of water, inflammation (and it) makes it look like a lot of cellulite,” Villegas said.

Villegas says she has received lymphatic drainage massages monthly for the past five years.

“It makes my skin feel smoother and I feel a lot lighter also,” she said.

She says the treatments have also helped while she goes through menopause.

”I feel like it helps with the mood swings. It helps regulate my digestion,” Villegas said.

While lymphatic drainage massages are considered safe for many people, Perez says some should avoid the treatment or speak with a doctor first.

“Lymphatic drainage has a few absolute contraindications: kidney failure, heart failure, deep vein thrombosis and other circulatory conditions. If you have an infection, it’s good to avoid (it),” Perez said.

For those looking to reduce swelling or improve how they feel, experts say lymphatic drainage may be an option — but it is important to understand what the treatment can and cannot do.

It was a list of things to do on the weekend after missing the cut.

“He was like: ‘Hey, you can practice at the facilities. You can still go to the gym. You can also go to the next tournament.’ It was basically all my options,” Scheffler said Tuesday ahead of the British Open. “He never sent it to me, but he told me about it.”

The reason the text was created — without being sent, to Scheffler's disappointment — was missing the cut at the Scottish Open, his first missed cut in nearly four years, a streak of 78 consecutive cuts that was the longest since Tiger Woods set the record (142) from 1998 to 2005.

Frustrating, yes. Despair? Hardly.

“You never want to have a weekend off, but going into a tournament when you're defending, there's always a bit more stuff to do,” Scheffler said. “So it wasn't the worst thing in the world.”

Among his duties was officially returning the claret jug he won last year at Royal Portrush, a ritual the Royal & Ancient has turned into a ceremony. Then, it was playing an exhibition with Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and others.

But key to Scheffler's early arrival was Royal Birkdale, which has hosted the British Open more than any other links course in England since it first joined the rotation in 1954.

He had never seen it. Scheffler had not seen conditions like this — a combination of yellow and brown, which translates to firm and fiery in a links vocabulary. St. Andrews came close in 2022, but Jon Rahm recalls the greens still being soft enough to allow for low scoring.

Scheffler ticked off two items on his friend's list — he went to the gym in Scotland and then headed to the next tournament. That allowed him time to play 18 holes on Sunday, and to limit his energy in sunbaked Blighty to nine holes on Monday and Tuesday.

His general assessment: “The ball is just going to run forever.”

Is it driver to take it over the bunkers and possibly reach the green on the 393-yard, downwind 16th hole, or hit iron off the tee? Is the redesigned fifth hole at 321 yards worth trying to reach with a pond to the right, a series of bunkers short and a wee part of a wee burn to the left?

“On each hole there's a good bit of strategy. There's a decent amount of thinking,” Scheffler said. “If it wasn't as firm as it is now, there would be as much decision-making. But I think with the firmness, it creates a whole lot more challenges.”

Rose is among four players — and at 45, the youngest — to have played Royal Birkdale three times in the Open dating to 1998. He was a 17-year-old amateur that year, full of joy and optimism when he holed out a wedge for birdie on the 18th to tie for fourth. He didn't finish in the top 50 his two times as a professional.

Rose certainly has more experience than Scheffler, but only to a point.

“A links course is interesting because you never really get to know them that well,” Rose said. "Like 2008 I think it was, weather was dreadful. It was wet. You might have been hitting 2-irons and 3-woods into par 4s, and now you could be flicking 52-degree wedges.

“A golf course can play so differently decade to decade when we come back that you never really get to know the course that well.”

Scheffler said he felt at peace about his game, and he certainly looked the part. His game didn't look deplorable in the Scottish Open, just a matter of not hitting it terribly close and not making many putts and then moving on.

It was no less frustrating — Scheffler is a killer when it comes to competing, which is one reason he has been No. 1 longer than anyone since Woods — but it was filled with perspective.

“I don’t think it hurts as much as coming close to winning and finishing second,” Scheffler said. “I felt like coming in second at Travelers hurt more than missing the cut, but missing the cut is significantly more frustrating is how I would describe it.”

He's had plenty of experience finishing second. Scheffler's lone victory this year was his first tournament in January at The American Express. Since then, he has had four runner-up finishes, including the Masters. The most recent was a playoff loss to Viktor Hovland at the Travelers Championship two weeks ago when Scheffler missed a 4-foot slider.

“I think just towards the end of the season, you get a little tired,” Scheffler said. "I got a couple days off, reset the mind, reset the body, and just kind of get back to feeling even and at peace. I've had a very solid year, but like I said, frustrating at times because I’ve been close and I haven’t been able to get it done like I have been in years past.

“I'm excited to try and defend my title this week.”

That hasn't been done at the British Open since 2008 when Padraig Harrington won at Royal Birkdale. One week could change Scheffler's outlook on the year. But it's a week that presents a test the likes of which he hasn't seen all year.

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

Federal authorities initially used that language Monday when talking to state officials about the actions of a Maine driver who was fatally shot by immigration officers. In public statements, Department of Homeland Security officials shifted their description to say officers fired into the vehicle “fearing for public safety.”

It was the second time in a week that federal immigration authorities shot and killed someone behind the wheel of a car, initially accusing the driver of attempting to ram into immigration officers.

But while the weaponization of a car is often used to justify the use of deadly force against a driver, the legal definition is a lot less clear cut.

State legislatures and some courts say cars can be considered weapons

In numerous state and federal courts, judges have agreed that vehicles can be considered weapons when they are used to inflict harm. But many of those cases have been considerations of whether enhanced charges such as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon can be levied against a person after an injury or death was already caused by a vehicle.

Many state laws that address assault with a vehicle are designed to enhance manslaughter or other charges against people violating traffic laws or driving requirements. Judicial opinions have largely focused on crimes of negligence, road rage or driving while intoxicated, and in rare instances, cases where someone purposefully drove their car into a crowd of people.

They rarely deal with the question faced by police or federal law enforcement officials of when a moving vehicle should be considered a dangerous weapon, and when that allows for the use of deadly force.

Training often says to move rather than shoot

Many law enforcement departments and agencies weigh the potential for unintended harm heavily when instructing officers or agents on when it's acceptable to fire a weapon at a moving vehicle.

Many department policies tell officers to move out of the way of a vehicle rather than shoot because of the potential harm to bystanders who could be struck by unintended gunfire or by a careening vehicle if the driver is incapacitated.

Policies often say a suspect fleeing is not enough justification for using deadly force. Some require another weapon such as a firearm being used as a threat from the person in the vehicle to establish a clear threat to public or officer safety.

Experts say many factors determine when a car is weaponized

Exceptions exist in many use-of-force policies for what became a familiar scene abroad and at times in the U.S. — a person driving a vehicle into crowded public streets to inflict as much damage as possible.

But, experts say those exceptions have been used as a defense in situations where a person was not posing the same level of threat.

They say officers and juries should consider factors such as the speed of the vehicle, whether there are large gatherings of people on the sidewalks or nearby, and the reason for the initial police interaction. For example, a person fleeing an armed robbery at a bank might pose a higher danger than someone fleeing a traffic stop.

Los expertos afirman que esta técnica difiere del masaje tradicional de tejido profundo. En lugar de aplicar una presión intensa, el drenaje linfático utiliza movimientos suaves diseñados para estimular el sistema linfático natural del cuerpo.

“Simplemente estamos estimulando al cuerpo para que haga algo que ya hace de forma natural las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana”, explica Camila Pérez, propietaria de Mova Lymphatic Drainage.

Pérez afirma que el tratamiento ayuda a devolver al sistema circulatorio el exceso de líquido producido por el metabolismo celular normal, donde puede ser filtrado por el hígado y los riñones.

“Ayuda a eliminar el exceso de líquido y a devolverlo al sistema circulatorio”, explica Pérez.

Según ella, los clientes suelen recurrir a los masajes de drenaje linfático para aliviar la hinchazón y mejorar la digestión.

“Los ganglios linfáticos situados en el interior de los intestinos se encargan de eliminar parte de la grasa, por lo que, en lo que respecta a la digestión, un trabajo específico y minucioso en la zona del estómago favorece la digestión y reduce la hinchazón”, añade Pérez.

Pérez también afirma que el tratamiento puede ayudar a las personas que se están recuperando tras una intervención quirúrgica, ya que contribuye a redirigir los líquidos mientras el cuerpo se cura.

“Tras una incisión, se cortan las vías y los capilares que drenan esas zonas”, explicó. “Se aplica la presión adecuada para redirigir el líquido hasta que se cure”.

Afirma que mejorar la circulación también puede contribuir a que el sistema esté menos congestionado.

“En general, la circulación mejora y un sistema menos congestionado no se ve afectado”, afirmó Pérez.

Pérez explica que muchas clientas conciertan citas antes de eventos importantes, como bodas, mientras que otras solicitan tratamientos durante o después del embarazo.

“Es un momento en el que las hormonas toman el control. Es seguro. Recomiendo empezar después del primer trimestre y volver tras el embarazo”, añadió.

El tratamiento también es popular entre los hombres, señaló Pérez.

Sin embargo, Pérez afirma que uno de los mayores errores es pensar que un masaje más fuerte conduce a mejores resultados.

“Creo que el mayor error es pensar que un masaje más profundo y fuerte te dará mejores resultados”, afirmó.

En cambio, explica que la técnica se basa en una presión suave y movimientos lentos.

“El drenaje linfático no elimina la grasa. No te hace adelgazar, pero puedes tener mejor aspecto y parecer más delgada porque no retienes demasiada agua”, explicó Pérez.

Afirma que el drenaje linfático se puede aplicar a una amplia variedad de clientes, pero cada tratamiento se adapta en función de las necesidades individuales.

“Un mismo día puedo atender a una paciente con cáncer, a una modelo o a una clienta que acaba de someterse a una intervención quirúrgica. Para cada una de ellas, adoptamos un enfoque diferente”, añadió.

Una clienta, Rudineia Villegas, afirma que recibe masajes de drenaje linfático de forma regular como parte del tratamiento del lipedema, una afección que puede provocar hinchazón, inflamación y retención de líquidos.

“Es una afección que puede afectar a los brazos, los muslos y la parte inferior de las piernas. Se retiene mucha agua, y la inflamación hace que parezca que hay mucha celulitis”, explicó Villegas.

Villegas afirma que lleva cinco años recibiendo masajes de drenaje linfático una vez al mes.

“Hace que mi piel esté más suave y también me siento mucho más ligera”, afirma.

Añade que los tratamientos también le han ayudado durante la menopausia.

“Siento que me ayuda con los cambios de humor. Me ayuda a regular la digestión”, explica Villegas.

Aunque los masajes de drenaje linfático se consideran seguros para muchas personas, Pérez señala que algunas deberían evitar el tratamiento o consultar primero con un médico.

“El drenaje linfático tiene algunas contraindicaciones absolutas: insuficiencia renal, insuficiencia cardíaca, trombosis venosa profunda y otras afecciones circulatorias. Si tienes una infección, es mejor evitarlo”, explicó Pérez.

Para quienes buscan reducir la hinchazón o mejorar cómo se sienten, los expertos afirman que el drenaje linfático puede ser una opción, pero es importante comprender qué puede y qué no puede hacer el tratamiento.

Soccer's governing body released the lineup for the closing ceremony, which will take place 90 minutes before Sunday's final. The show is meant to “celebrate the 48 teams’ unforgettable journey” through 16 host cities across three countries, FIFA said in a statement.

IShowSpeed — who has streamed multiple matches — is listed as a performer, while Cruise — who's also been spotted in the stands and performed a stunt at the Paris Olympics' closing ceremony — is billed as making a “special appearance.” The ceremony will also include performances from Laura Pausini, the Italian singer who helped open the Milan Cortina Olympics in February; Tony winner and Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger; and Robbie Williams, the British singer and former Take That member.

Jennifer Hudson, who boasts the coveted EGOT title with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, will perform the U.S. national anthem.

“Echoing the spirit of the opening ceremonies, which welcomed the world to the greatest stage in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the closing ceremony will bring the FIFA World Cup 2026 full circle through music, culture and football, before we kick off the highly anticipated match that will crown the champions of this groundbreaking tournament,” said Heimo Schirgi, the World Cup's chief operating officer.

While Sunday will also feature the tournament's first halftime show, with a bevy of additional A-list performers, closing ceremonies are not exactly new to the World Cup. The closing ceremony is being produced in partnership with Balich Wonder Studio, led by Marco Balich, who orchestrated the 2022 World Cup's opening and closing ceremonies in Qatar.

FIFA has encouraged ticketholders to arrive early, promising that fans “will have an active role to play in the show.” The show begins at 1:30 p.m. at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and kickoff is at 3 p.m.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

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Basabe is a Republican in the Florida state House of Representatives based in Miami Beach, but he is being sued by two former employees, a legislative aid and an intern.

Both men say they were victims of sexual harassment, battery and defamation at the hands of Basabe.

The lawsuit was first filed about three years ago but is now making its way in front of a jury.

Basabe, who is up for re-election later this year, is actually representing himself during the trial, moving forward without a lawyer.

There was also witness testimony Monday, which was tense at times as a former legislative aide was questioned by the very man accused of sexually assaulting him.

“Did you notice any oversized children who may have obstructed anyone’s view from the front of the classroom?” Basabe asked.

“I don’t know Mr. Basabe, like I said before, I was more shocked and frozen that you slapped my buttocks in a room full of children,” replied former legislative aid Nicholas Frevola.

At one point, Basabe asked Frevola to demonstrate how he was slapped on the backside.

Another man, Basabe’s former intern, alleges unsolicited sexual advances from the state lawmaker as he drove his boss home.

“He was in the passenger seat, and it started off with him getting his face close to my neck and whispering in my ear,” said former intern Jacob Cuthbirth. “And he put his hand on my thigh and he made comments about sex with men, and was, as I said previously, he did seem pretty drunk. I told him that I’m happily engaged.”

Basabe has long denied the allegations, pointing to a pair of prior investigations brought on by the Florida House of Representatives to look into the claims, both of which were dismissed after findings of no wrongdoing.

The victims have also sued the Florida House of Representatives.

A stream of a portion of Monday’s hearing can be seen below:

Basabe es republicano en la Cámara de Representantes del estado de Florida con sede en Miami Beach, pero está siendo demandado por dos ex empleados, un asistente legislativo y un pasante.

Ambos hombres afirman haber sido víctimas de acoso sexual, agresión física y difamación por parte de Basabe.

La demanda se presentó por primera vez hace unos tres años, pero ahora se está tramitando ante un jurado.

Basabe, que se presenta a la reelección a finales de este año, se está defendiendo a sí mismo durante el juicio, sin contar con la asistencia de un abogado.

El lunes también se escucharon testimonios de testigos, en un ambiente que se tornó tenso en algunos momentos, ya que un antiguo asistente legislativo fue interrogado precisamente por el hombre acusado de haberle agredido sexualmente.

«¿Se fijó en algún niño de gran corpulencia que pudiera haber obstaculizado la visión de alguien desde la parte delantera del aula?», preguntó Basabe.

«No lo sé, señor Basabe; como ya he dicho antes, estaba más bien conmocionado y paralizado porque usted me dio una palmada en las nalgas en una sala llena de niños», respondió el antiguo asistente legislativo Nicholas Frevola.

En un momento dado, Basabe pidió a Frevola que demostrara cómo le habían dado una palmada en el trasero.

Otro hombre, un antiguo becario de Basabe, alega que el diputado estatal le hizo insinuaciones sexuales no deseadas mientras llevaba a su jefe a casa en coche.

«Estaba en el asiento del copiloto, y todo empezó cuando acercó la cara a mi cuello y me susurró al oído», explicó el antiguo becario Jacob Cuthbirth. «Luego me puso la mano en el muslo e hizo comentarios sobre el sexo entre hombres y, como ya he dicho, parecía bastante borracho. Le dije que estaba felizmente comprometido».

Basabe lleva mucho tiempo negando las acusaciones, y ha señalado dos investigaciones previas iniciadas por la Cámara de Representantes de Florida para examinar las denuncias, ambas desestimadas tras concluirse que no se había cometido ninguna irregularidad.

Las víctimas también han demandado a la Cámara de Representantes de Florida.

A continuación se puede ver retransmisión parcial de la vista celebrada el lunes:

The world’s top two golfers are unmoved about what that would mean for their legacies.

“I’ll be long gone. I’ll be dead,” McIlroy said Tuesday when asked if winning more trophies and breaking more records would shape how he’ll be viewed in a hundred years.

“I don’t think I’ll be seeing what people say about me. I’ll be six feet under. I don’t think I’ll be a ghost.”

Seems Scheffler's goal isn’t about chasing a place in history, either.

“This is going to sound a little morbid,” the top-ranked American said. “At the end of the day, I’m going to live my life and it’s going to end. When it ends, I’m going somewhere else, and I’m not going to be here anymore.”

Coming over to play the Open Championship seems to bring the philosophical side out of Scheffler.

It was around this time last year, speaking days before winning golf’s oldest championship at Royal Portrush, that Scheffler delivered a soliloquy about fulfillment and what being good at golf really means.

“I love being able to play this game for a living,” he said back then, before adding: “But does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”

At that time, Scheffler was dominating golf at a level not seen since Tiger Woods. And he’s still the No. 1 player by a distance, even if he experienced his first missed cut in four years at the Scottish Open last week.

McIlroy performed better in Scotland, finishing tied for seventh, but his final round might best be remembered not for shooting 64 but for him exclaiming “I’m so bad at golf” after hitting a poor approach on the 16th hole.

“Even though I shot a good score on Sunday, it didn’t feel very good,” McIlroy said.

So, instead of taking to the course for a practice round after arriving at Royal Birkdale on Monday, he spent time on the range and said he is “definitely trending in the right direction.”

Links golf take McIlroy ‘back to my childhood’

It has been 12 years since McIlroy won his first and so-far-only Open Championship title, just down the northwest coastline at Hoylake.

Winning back-to-back Masters titles not only saw him complete the career Grand Slam but ended a major drought of more than a decade.

That has somewhat taken the pressure off McIlroy at golf’s biggest events but his home major remains special.

“It brings me back to my childhood,” the Northern Irishman said Tuesday.

As a kid, he could only dream of being a six-time major champion and only the sixth player to win all four majors. This week, a win would see him tied with Harry Vardon as the European player with most majors in men’s golf.

Not that those records matter to McIlroy, it seems.

“I think it would be a pretty unfulfilling pursuit if you’re just chasing records and chasing results,” he said. “You have to enjoy the process. You have to enjoy the journey to get there. I’ve learned that the hard way at times by chasing results and chasing records too much.”

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

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Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Guanghui Zhang, Weiling Dong, Qiaozhen Qin, and Wei Men on Monday at 7930 NW 36 St., according to deputies’ arrest reports.

Zhang, 61, whose permanent address is in Freshmeadows, New York, told an undercover officer that “a hand job” would cost $45, according to the arrest report.

Dong, 53, whose permanent address is in Doral, told an undercover officer that “a hand job” would cost $10, according to the arrest report.

Qin, 51, whose permanent address is in Miami-Dade’s West End, told an undercover officer that “a hand job” would cost $70, according to the arrest report.

A sergeant saw Men, 41, whose permanent address is Flushing, New York, “giving a patron a massage,” according to the arrest report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Men and Dong shortly after midnight on Tuesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Corrections booked Zhang shortly after 1:30 p.m., and Qin shortly after 11:50 p.m. on Monday at the TGKCC, according to inmate records.

Men faced charges of operating a healthcare practice or profession without an active, valid license; and practicing massage therapy without a license.

Zhang, Dong, and Qin faced charges of operating a healthcare practice or profession without an active, valid license; practicing massage therapy without a license; engaging in prostitution; and committing an unnatural and lascivious act.

Dong and Men also had U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds.

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

Related story

• Miami-Dade deputies arrest 12 women at 10 massage parlors in 2 days, records show

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade arrestaron el lunes a Guanghui Zhang, Weiling Dong, Qiaozhen Qin y Wei Men en 7930 NW 36 St., según los informes de arresto de los agentes.

Zhang, de 61 años, cuya dirección permanente está en Freshmeadows, Nueva York, le dijo a un agente encubierto que “un acto sexual manual” costaría $45, según el informe de arresto.

Dong, de 53 años, cuya dirección permanente está en Doral, le dijo a un agente encubierto que “un acto sexual manual” costaría $10, según el informe de arresto.

Qin, de 51 años, cuya dirección permanente está en West End de Miami-Dade, le dijo a un agente encubierto que “un acto sexual manual” costaría $70, según el informe de arresto.

Un sargento vio a Men, de 41 años, cuya dirección permanente es Flushing, Nueva York, “dándole un masaje a un cliente”, según el informe de arresto.

El Departamento de Correcciones de Miami-Dade ingresó a Men y Dong poco después de la medianoche del martes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según los registros de reclusos.

Según los registros de reclusos, el servicio penitenciario ingresó a Zhang poco después de las 13:30 y a Qin poco después de las 23:50 del lunes en el TGKCC.

Wei Men enfrentó cargos por operar una práctica o profesión de atención médica sin una licencia activa y válida; y practicar terapia de masaje sin licencia.

Zhang, Dong y Qin enfrentaron cargos por operar una práctica o profesión de atención médica sin una licencia activa y válida; practicar terapia de masaje sin licencia; dedicarse a la prostitución; y cometer un acto antinatural y lascivo.

Dong y Men también tenían órdenes de retención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos.

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

Historia relacionada

Arrestan a 12 mujeres en 10 salones de masajes de Miami Dade en dos días, muestran registros.

Los agentes informaron que respondieron poco antes de la 1 a.m. al área de Northwest 64th Street y Northwest 21st Avenue, en la zona de Gladeview del condado, donde encontraron tres vehículos impactados por disparos, incluido un Hyundai plateado.

“El auto estaba estacionado frente a la residencia con tres menores: la niña y sus dos hermanos estaban al interior del vehículo. La madre se encontraba fuera del vehículo en ese momento, así que el desenlace pudo haber sido muy diferente”, dijo la detective de la MDSO Samantha Choon.

Las autoridades informaron que paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladaron a la niña a un hospital cercano en condición estable.

Un familiar de la víctima dijo a Jackie Pascale, de Local 10, que la niña ya está en casa y se encuentra bien.

Indicaron que ni sus hermanos ni su madre resultaron heridos en la balacera.

Según los investigadores, no se han realizado arrestos y los detectives no han divulgado información sobre algún sospechoso hasta el momento.

La vecina Marie Grimes dijo que quedó conmocionada tras escuchar múltiples disparos.

“Escuché los estruendos, boom, boom, boom, boom, y dije: “Dios mío, ¿qué está pasando?”. Tal vez fueron cinco o seis, porque mire eso ahí mismo. Me alegra que la niña esté bien”, dijo.

Los investigadores pidieron a los vecinos revisar las grabaciones de sus cámaras de vigilancia o cámaras Ring alrededor de la 1 a.m. y comunicarse con las autoridades si tienen alguna información.

Cualquier persona con información sobre la balacera debe comunicarse con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477. Se aceptan denuncias anónimas.

The relatives of Youlin Chen of Boston broke their silence this week, apparently after they saw no sign from the Chinese government that it was planning to release Chen — even after President Donald Trump brought up the case when meeting Xi in Beijing in May, according to Global Reach, a Washington-based nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing home Americans wrongly detained abroad.

“I have not been able to speak with my husband for over 600 days and am concerned for his health and well-being," Yufang Rong, Chen's wife, said in a statement released by Global Reach, which has been advising the family since Chen's detention.

“President Trump has taken a personal interest in freeing Youlin. Since taking office, he has already freed 106 people and I know that he and his team will bring Youlin home to us," Rong said.

Chen is the only U.S. citizen determined by the State Department to be wrongfully detained in China, Global Reach said. The designation means those cases are of high priority to the U.S. government and can lead to intense diplomatic efforts to secure releases. The Biden administration in 2024 secured the release of three wrongfully detained Americans from China.

“President Trump has been clear that he wants every American detained abroad to return home, and he has reunited over 100 individuals with their families since taking office this term," Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said when asked about Chen's case.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as a wrongful detainee in March. The State Department said Tuesday that the U.S. government has raised Chen's case directly with Chinese officials, calling for his immediate release. Reuters reported earlier on his detention.

If not resolved, Chen's case could “figure prominently” when Xi is expected to meet Trump in Washington in September, said Eric Lebson, a Global Reach adviser to Chen’s relatives. The family decided to speak out now because Chinese officials do not appear to be acting on Xi's commitment to Trump after the U.S. president raised Chen's detention in May, Lebson said.

The seismologist was detained in November 2024 by state security agents during a personal trip to visit his parents in Beijing, and he has been charged with espionage, Global Reach said.

Chen has worked as a U.S. government contractor for the State Department and Air Force Research Lab, with much of his work involving collaborating with Chinese colleagues to analyze seismological data, Global Reach said.

Chen’s arrest is “likely an effort by Chinese officials to learn about the techniques the U.S. uses to detect nuclear tests using seismic data,” the group said.

U.S. Embassy personnel have been allowed to visit Chen several times but are not allowed to discuss the case with him, the group said.

Sen. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, vowed Tuesday to do “everything within my power to advocate for” the immediate release of one of his constituents.

“It is my hope that increased attention on his unjust detention will force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Dr. Chen and allow him to return to his family in Massachusetts,” Markey said.

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Lauderhill police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Keysean Mash. They said the investigation was conducted in partnership with the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Police said the investigation began in April after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received an online tip from Snapchat regarding suspected child sexual abuse material that had been uploaded through a user account.

Investigators said they identified the account as belonging to Mash and executed multiple search warrants and subpoenas during the investigation.

According to police, investigators identified six child victims in multiple states “who had communicated with Mash through social media platforms.”

They said Mash used online applications to engage minors in “sexually explicit conversations, solicit sexually explicit images and videos, transmit material harmful to children and possess child sexual abuse material.”

Jail records show Mash was arrested on 27 felony charges, including 10 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of computer pornography, and four counts each of harmful communication to a minor, transmitting material harmful to a minor by electronic device, lewd or lascivious exhibition using a computer, and solicitation of a child to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.

During a Broward bond court hearing on Tuesday, Mash’s bond was set at $215,000.

A Broward County judge also ordered Mash to remain on house arrest, have no contact with the victims or any children and refrain from using any device with internet access if released.

Police said the investigation remains active.

They said no additional information is being released to protect the privacy of the victims and “preserve the integrity of the investigation.”

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Local 10 has requested Mash’s arrest report from the Lauderhill Police Department.

Es el tercer incidente de este tipo en dos semanas en un contexto de extrema vulnerabilidad de la red de la isla, bajo un cerco petrolero de Estados Unidos que impide la llegada del crudo usado para impulsar la generación eléctrica y la economía, sin que hasta el momento se avizore una solución para la entrada de combustible.

La estatal Unión Eléctrica informó que un problema en una unidad generadora en la oriental provincia de Holguín ocasionó “un brusco cambio de frecuencia” ocasionando la desconexión del SEN al filo del mediodía.

Tanto el Ministerio como la Unión Eléctrica indicaron que “se activaron los protocolos para su recuperación”, lo que significa que se establecen “microislas” que luego se van interconectando y brindando energía a lugares prioritarios como hospitales y fábricas de elaboración de alimentos.

Por la tarde, algunas partes de La Habana, la capital del país, ya tenían luz, constató The Associated Press, mientras las a utoridades indicaron que ya había energía en el 4% de la urbe. Las provincias de Guantánamo y Cienfuego reporaron que comenzar a despachar la energía para sus hospitales y la de Matanzas aseguró que había fluido en el casco histórico de esa localidad.

La semana pasada se produjeron dos caídas nacionales —el lunes y el viernes— que dejaron a los más de nueve millones de cubanos a oscuras y se sumaron a otras dos en el mes de marzo, así como a varias de tipo regional.

Los cortes tienen un fuerte impacto en la población que, sumados al cerco energético, han provocado limitaciones en el transporte, recortes en las jornadas laborales y cancelación de vuelos; además de serios impactos en la salud pública. Cuba apenas produce el 40% del combustible que necesita.

Los cortes de energía eléctrica también afectan actividades básicas como la cocción de alimentos, el abastecimiento de agua y las conexiones de internet y telefonía.

En las calles de La Habana, el apagón no sorprendió a los residentes que han estado sometidos a constantes cortes en esta temporada.

“Ya esto de los apagones es normal en Cuba. Si pasara otra cosa, si sería algo raro", dijo a The Associated Press Roberto Liana, de 69 años, vendedor de una tienda minorista.

Mientras que muchos buscaban adecuarse a la circunstancias como Sayli Aguilera, de 25 años y madre de dos niños. “Estamos inventando y haciendo lo que se puede", expresó la mujer.

Muchas familias han instalado respaldos solares como páneles y baterías portátiles y el transporte que básicamente mueve a la población son motos eléctricas y triciclos adecuados con energía fotovoltaica.

——————-

La corresponsal Milexsy Durán contribuyó con este reporte.

The payment — representing the $5 million jury award, plus interest — was made Monday from an account where it had been held in escrow since the 2023 verdict, according to court records. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed the payment Tuesday.

“We are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment,” Kaplan said in a statement. Carroll herself later wrote on Substack that “the eagle has landed.”

Trump's lawyers have vowed to continue appealing.

Trump deposited the money in an escrow account shortly after the jury ruled against him. The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the civil verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to release the money.

Trump’s lawyers then sought but were denied an emergency order to block the payment. The one-sentence denial set no conditions on how Carroll may use the money. Her lawyers have said in court papers that she plans to put it in a retirement account.

Trump's attorneys have since filed another appeal seeking to stop or reverse the payment.

The jury found Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in a New York luxury department store dressing room and defamed her after she told the story publicly in a memoir in 2019, during his first term as president.

Trump insisted nothing sexual happened between him and Carroll, now 82, a former advice columnist. Trump claimed she was “totally lying” and “ not my type ” in a 2019 interview. He said he didn't know her, dismissing a 1987 photo of them and their then-spouses at a party as inconsequential, and he accused her of harboring political motives and trying to sell books at his expense.

Trump didn't attend the trial, where Carroll testified that their flirtatious and friendly chance encounter at the department store turned violent.

Carroll sued Trump after New York changed its laws to give sexual abuse survivors a fresh chance to sue over attacks that happened in the distant past.

Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury after a 2024 trial where Trump briefly testified.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually abused. Carroll has agreed to be named.

___

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Carroll collected over $5.6 million, not $5.8 million.

La policía de Lauderhill identificó al sospechoso como Keysean Mash, de 23 años. Según indicaron, la investigación se llevó a cabo en colaboración con el Grupo de Trabajo contra los Delitos contra Menores en Internet del Sur de Florida.

La policía indicó que la investigación comenzó en abril, después de que el Centro Nacional para Niños Desaparecidos y Explotados recibiera una denuncia en línea procedente de Snapchat sobre material sospechoso de abuso sexual infantil que se había subido a través de una cuenta de usuario.

Los investigadores afirmaron que identificaron la cuenta como perteneciente a Mash y que ejecutaron múltiples órdenes de registro y citaciones durante la investigación.

Según la policía, los investigadores identificaron a seis menores víctimas en varios estados «que se habían comunicado con Mash a través de plataformas de redes sociales».

Afirmaron que Mash utilizaba aplicaciones en línea para entablar con menores «conversaciones sexualmente explícitas, solicitar imágenes y vídeos sexualmente explícitos, transmitir material perjudicial para los menores y poseer material de abuso sexual infantil».

Los registros penitenciarios muestran que Mash fue detenido por 27 delitos graves, entre los que se incluyen 10 cargos por posesión de pornografía infantil, un cargo por pornografía informática y cuatro cargos por cada uno de los siguientes delitos: comunicación perjudicial a un menor, transmisión de material perjudicial para un menor mediante un dispositivo electrónico, exhibicionismo lascivo mediante un ordenador y incitación a un menor a participar en conductas sexuales ilícitas.

D

El anuncio se produjo casi cuatro semanas después de una reunión en Caracas entre el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, Jorge Rodríguez —hermano de la presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez— y la exdiputada Dinorah Figuera, que regresó brevemente luego de casi ocho años en el exilio.

En un comunicado publicado en sus redes sociales la Asamblea Nacional resaltó que el inicio de la “hoja de trabajo conjunta” es también parte de “la convocatoria a la unidad nacional para enfrentar todos juntos las consecuencias del doblete sísmico que nos enluta”.

Los dos poderosos sismos que sacudieron Venezuela del 24 de junio dejaron al menos 4.561 fallecidos, 16.740 heridos y más de 20.00 personas sin hogar, según el más reciente reporte difundido por las autoridades.

“El apoyo internacional unánime a nuestro pueblo y el gobierno nacional para enfrentar la tragedia destacan que sólo en unión podremos avanzar en la reconstrucción y en el mantenimiento de la paz”, agregó el escrito.

Estados Unidos fue el principal impulsor de la iniciativa. Se espera que la agenda sirva de "hoja de ruta para un diálogo político orientado a una transición democrática”, indicó en junio en un comunicado el vocero del Departamento de Estado, Tommy Pigott.

Washington entiende que la agenda debe contemplar prioridades tales como la reconstrucción de las instituciones democráticas de Venezuela, el fortalecimiento del Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), el restablecimiento de garantías duraderas para la participación política y la salvaguardia de las libertades cívicas "esenciales para un debate político abierto”, destacó el escrito publicado en la página del Departamento de Estado luego de la reunión entre Rodríguez y Figuera.

Después de que fuerzas estadounidenses capturaron a Maduro y a su esposa en una operación militar la madrugada del 3 de enero, el gobierno de Donald Trump propuso un plan de “tres fases” para Venezuela que incluye la estabilización, recuperación y transición democrática.

En una reunión virtual en 2023 Figuera fue escogida para ser representante de los exlegisladores opositores de la Asamblea Nacional de 2015, cuyo mandato de cinco años concluyó a fines de 2020. Ese poder legislativo, de mayoría opositora, fue considerado ampliamente en su momento la última institución de Venezuela elegida democráticamente.

The civil rights suit, filed in federal court Tuesday, names the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as the architect of what it describes as an ongoing conspiracy to silence members of the pro-Palestinian movement by smearing them as antisemites.

Those efforts were aided by Canary Mission and Betar, two pro-Israel groups that maintain online lists of Israel's critics, often alongside unsubstantiated claims that they are affiliated with Hamas, according to the lawsuit.

Activists placed on those lists “were nearly automatically targeted by the Federal Defendants for arrest and removal," the suit claims, adding that the "process of nomination to punishment was frictionless.”

Lawyers for Khalil argue this “public-private partnership” could violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law that sought to restrict government coordination with vigilante groups.

The suit, led by the Center for Constitutional Rights, seeks unspecified damages and a judicial order to end the alleged conspiracy.

Inquiries to the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, did not comment on the lawsuit, but said in an email that the executive branch “has the lawful authority to take actions that will protect the public and to ensure the integrity of our immigration system.”

The suit comes as Khalil’s deportation case appears headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Khalil described the purpose of the latest filing as “exposing the network of organizations, particular actors and institutions that work together to criminalize solidarity with Palestine and to make an example of those who refuse to stay silent.”

“If constitutional protections can be cast aside under political pressure today, they can be cast aside tomorrow against anyone,” he added.

A former graduate student at Columbia University, Khalil gained prominence as a spokesperson and leader for student activists protesting against Israel and its actions in Gaza.

He was arrested in March 2025 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in his campus apartment and quickly became the face of the Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Khalil then spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child, before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release.

Soon after his arrest, both Canary Mission and Betar boasted of their role in flagging Khalil's noncitizen status to the government.

Betar — an Israeli company that claimed to use facial recognition software to identify masked protesters — also claimed it had compiled a longer list of names and given it to the Trump administration. The group has since agreed to dissolve its nonprofit status, following a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James accusing its members of harassing Palestinians.

Khalil's lawsuit traces the origins of the alleged conspiracy to a blueprint from the Heritage Foundation, entitled “Project Esther,” which called for the expulsion of noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.

The report also suggested, without evidence, that participants in those protests should be seen as part of a “highly organized, global Hamas Support Network.”

In May, as the Trump administration ramped up its crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists, one of the report’s authors, Robert Greenway, appeared to acknowledge the foundation's influence, saying that it was “no coincidence that we called for a series of actions to take place privately and publicly, and they are now happening,” according to the suit.

Greenway, a former adviser to Trump, did not reply to a request for comment.

Khalil, meanwhile, has forcefully denied that his criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism. While government officials — along with Canary Mission and Betar — have linked him to Hamas, they have offered no evidence to support the claim.

“My beliefs are not wanting my tax money or tuition going toward investments in weapons manufacturers for a genocide,” Khalil previously told The Associated Press. “It’s as simple as that.”

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Now, the 65-year-old is back in legal trouble after Aventura police said he committed two more hit-and-runs on Biscayne Boulevard on Monday. This time, no one was seriously hurt.

Investigators said the latest crashes happened just before 4:30 p.m. near Northeast 203rd Street.

Aventura police said Eismann, of Miami Beach, was driving a black 2020 Ford Escape when he first hit a red BMW, pushing it into the rear of a GMC, and kept driving.

According to an arrest report, as he approached the 203rd Street intersection while fleeing the first crash, “he drove onto the center median in order to pass stopped traffic” and sideswiped a Nissan Rogue with two people inside and took off yet again. Police said the victims followed Eismann to the Aventura Mall, where officers took him into custody.

Both victims suffered minor injuries, according to the report, and officers arrested Eismann on two felony charges of leaving the scene of a crash causing no serious injury.

Eismann, who was known as the owner of the Pacific Time restaurant on Lincoln Road, made headlines in 2012 for a crash in the 300 block of Northwest 72nd Avenue in west Miami-Dade.

Officers with what was then the Miami-Dade Police Department arrested Eismann, then 51, after they said he struck and killed Jean Carlos Ruiz, 29, as he waited for a bus to work about a block away from his home on Oct. 10, 2012.

Eismann, police said, had been fleeing the scene of another crash when he lost control and jumped the curb.

On Sept. 17, 2019, after making a deal with prosecutors, the 58-year-old pleaded guilty to careless driving involving death and and leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, getting a year of probation.

Ruiz’s widow told Local 10 News at the time that she felt “betrayed” by the justice system.

Years later, Eismann again finds himself in that very same system for more alleged misdeeds behind the wheel. As of Tuesday morning, records show he was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond.

Ahora, el hombre de 65 años enfrenta nuevamente problemas legales después de que la Policía de Aventura informara que estuvo involucrado en otros dos casos de fuga tras accidentes sobre Biscayne Boulevard el lunes. En esta ocasión, nadie resultó gravemente herido.

Los investigadores informaron que los accidentes más recientes ocurrieron poco antes de las 4:30 p.m., cerca de Northeast 203rd Street.

La Policía de Aventura indicó que Eismann, residente de Miami Beach, conducía una Ford Escape negra modelo 2020 cuando primero chocó contra un BMW rojo, empujándolo contra la parte trasera de una GMC, y continuó su marcha.

Según el informe de arresto, al acercarse a la intersección de 203rd Street mientras huía del primer accidente, “condujo sobre el separador central para rebasar el tráfico detenido” y rozó una Nissan Rogue en la que viajaban dos personas, para luego huir nuevamente. La Policía informó que las víctimas siguieron a Eismann hasta el centro comercial Aventura Mall, donde los agentes lo arrestaron.

Según el informe, ambas víctimas sufrieron lesiones menores y los agentes arrestaron a Eismann por dos cargos graves de abandonar la escena de un accidente sin causar lesiones graves.

Eismann, conocido por ser propietario del restaurante Pacific Time en Lincoln Road, acaparó titulares en 2012 por un accidente ocurrido en la cuadra 300 de Northwest 72nd Avenue, en el oeste de Miami-Dade.

Agentes de lo que entonces era el Departamento de Policía de Miami-Dade arrestaron a Eismann, de 51 años en ese momento, luego de que, según las autoridades, atropelló y mató a Jean Carlos Ruiz, de 29 años, mientras esperaba un autobús para ir a trabajar, aproximadamente a una cuadra de su casa, el 10 de octubre de 2012.

La Policía indicó que Eismann huía de la escena de otro accidente cuando perdió el control del vehículo y se subió a la acera.

El 17 de septiembre de 2019, después de llegar a un acuerdo con los fiscales, Eismann, de 58 años, se declaró culpable de conducción imprudente con resultado de muerte y abandonar la escena de un accidente que involucró lesiones, recibiendo un año de libertad condicional.

La viuda de Ruiz dijo a Local 10 News en ese momento que se sentía “traicionada” por el sistema de justicia.

Años después, Eismann nuevamente se encuentra en ese mismo sistema por más presuntas faltas al volante. Hasta la mañana del martes, los registros muestran que permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $5,000 USD.

Las acciones se formalizaron una semana después del deceso del inmigrante mexicano Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, quien murió tras ser tiroteado por un agente de ICE en Houston. Desde el inicio del segundo mandato de Donald Trump han muerto 17 migrantes mexicanos de los cuales 14 estaban bajo custodia de ICE y tres en operativos de esa dependencia.

La Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores indicó el martes en un comunicado que la embajada de México en Estados Unidos y sus consulados presentaron denuncias ante las fiscalías estatales competentes, pero no ofreció detalles.

La cancillería mexicana también tiene previsto presentar una denuncia ante el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos.

Alterno a esas acciones, el gobierno mexicano inició el envío de escritos a los centros de detención estadounidenses donde han fallecido migrantes mexicanos para que “cesen de inmediato las acciones u omisiones que derivaron en estas muertes, tales como impedir el acceso a atención médica pronta y expedita, así como la aplicación de políticas incompatibles con los estándares médicos y penitenciarios”, refirió el comunicado.

El primer centro al que se envió el documento fue el de Adelanto, en el estado de California, donde fallecieron cuatro migrantes mexicanos.

Según explicó la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores los escritos constituyen el primer paso para “la eventual presentación de acciones civiles”.

Al explicar los alcances de las acciones, el canciller mexicano Roberto Velasco dijo la semana pasada que México acudiría directamente ante las instancias estadounidenses para presentar denuncias sobre los casos y solicitar que “se investigue en el ámbito penal” los hechos.

Añadió que el gobierno mexicano también ejercería acciones civiles contra las empresas que operan los centros de detención para que cesen las violaciones a los derechos humanos en esos lugares.

Según el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, que supervisa al ICE, Salgado Araujo, de 52 años, embistió un vehículo del ICE y un agente federal disparó un arma en defensa propia.

El migrante fallecido, que no tenía antecedentes penales y vivía en Estados Unidos desde hace 35 años, fue baleado mientras llevaba a su cuadrilla de construcción a una obra en Houston.

Su muerte desató protestas en Houston y exigencias de una investigación independiente por parte de los demócratas y de la familia de Salgado Araujo.

La cancillería informó que Velasco envió un escrito al Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, Volker Türk, para que se recabe la información de las autoridades estadounidense sobre la muerte de los migrantes mexicanos que estaban bajo custodia de ICE y se analice la “compatibilidad de estos hechos con las obligaciones internacionales en la materia”.

Asimismo, el canciller mexicano solicitó a Türk que formule las recomendaciones respectivas y se tramiten los casos como los procedimientos especiales del Consejo de Derechos Humanos.

La policía de Hialeah dijo que Yashira Marie Maldonado, de 34 años, hizo esto en el apartamento tipo estudio de su madre antes de irse en su auto. Según un informe de arresto, todo indica que dejó a la niña encadenada afuera durante casi una hora el sábado por la mañana antes de que la policía se enterara.

La edad exacta de la menor fue censurada en el reporte del Departamento de Policía de Hialeah (HPD), pero según el año de nacimiento incluido, tendría 13 o 14 años.

El reporte del HPD indica que los oficiales respondieron a la casa de Maldonado, cuya dirección fue censurada, alrededor de las 10 a.m. del sábado tras recibir reportes de un disturbio.

La policía dijo que la madre de Maldonado les contó que había ido a la casa de su hija para “rogarle” que regresara y liberara a la niña.

Las autoridades indicaron que volvieron a la casa de la madre de Maldonado y encontraron a la menor “todavía encadenada a la cerca, pero en buen estado de salud”.

Según el reporte, la madre de Maldonado explicó que poco después de recibir un mensaje de texto de su hija a eso de las 9:10 a.m. que decía “¡Me despidieron de mi trabajo!!!!!!”, abrió la puerta de su casa y, “sin poder creerlo”, la cerró al ver a su nieta encadenada afuera.

El reporte señala que luego salió e “intentó liberar a la víctima de la cadena, pero no lo logró”.

Según el informe, la madre de Maldonado les dijo a los oficiales que “no llamó a la policía porque teme que su casero la desaloje”.

El reporte indica que las cámaras de seguridad mostraron a Maldonado atando a la niña a la cerca alrededor de las 9:05 a.m.

La policía dijo que el video mostraba a Maldonado “amarrar una cadena de metal alrededor de la cintura de (su hija) y atar el otro extremo a la cerca de la casa, impidiéndole moverse”.

“(Ella) dejó a (su hija) con una mochila transparente, algo de ropa y su medicamento”, indica el reporte. “(Maldonado) dejó a (su hija) afuera, sin protección contra el sol y sin comida ni agua”.

La policía dijo que el video mostró después a Maldonado “subir a su vehículo y abandonar el lugar”.

Agregaron que trasladaron a Maldonado a la sede del HPD, donde habló con los investigadores. Las declaraciones que habría hecho fueron censuradas en el reporte.

Enfrentando cargos de abuso y negligencia infantil, a Maldonado se le fijó una fianza de $10,000.

Hasta el lunes a media mañana, ya no aparecía en los registros de la cárcel de Miami-Dade.

“You never know how long it lasts,” said Pogačar, who is on course to equal the record for Tour wins. Only Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault have five Tour victories to their names.

“We just need to be grateful for this moment to be riding in the biggest race of the world,” the 27-year-old Pogačar said.

Pogačar, who had already sapped his rivals’ morale with victory on the iconic Col du Tourmalet on Thursday, again stamped his authority with a break just over 900 meters from the summit of the Col de Pertus, the penultimate climb on Tuesday’s hilly stage.

Pogačar’s main challenger Jonas Vingegaard couldn’t follow and Pogačar quickly made ground on Richard Carapaz before powering past him 200 meters before the summit. The Slovenian rider didn’t slow down. Pogačar was 5 seconds ahead of Carapaz at the summit, and 18 ahead of Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Juan Ayuso and Paul Seixas.

He then increased that lead.

At the finish line, Pogačar was 32 seconds ahead of Evenepoel for his 24th stage victory altogether – his third on Bastille Day, France’s national holiday – and the third already at this Tour.

Seixas, French fans’ greatest hope, was third, 34 seconds behind.

Vingegaard could only finish 44 seconds behind Pogačar, leaving the yellow jersey holder with a lead of 3 minutes, 36 seconds after 10 stages.

Pogačar already had the biggest lead he has ever had at this stage of the race.

Teamed to perfection

Pogačar's UAE Emirates-XRG teammates controlled Tuesday's stage even when Mathieu van der Poel, the winner of the previous stage, was among a group of 31 riders that pulled away before the first climb of the day on Côte de Pailherols.

Javier Romo emerged to lead alone but he was never allowed to get too far ahead. Carapaz attacked after the Spanish rider was caught by the peloton and he in turn was powerless to prevent Pogačar surging past on the Col de Pertus.

“The team did a super good job. We targeted this stage a long time ago,” said Pogačar, who remembered being beaten by Vingegaard “fair and square” at Le Lioran two years earlier. That was the Dane's last stage win over his rival.

“Today I had similar legs in the finish, completely destroyed,” said Pogačar, who added he couldn't hear anything over his radio because of the noise from fans. “I didn’t know I was going to win until the last kilometer.”

Some fans booed, but Pogačar said he didn't mind.

“To all the guys that were booing, they give us more power,” he said.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Registros de la cárcel de BSO muestran que el sargento Scott Nelson Nida, de 55 años, fue arrestado por agentes en Pompano Beach el sábado. Se le acusa de violar una orden de protección por violencia doméstica.

El primer arresto de Nida ocurrió en enero, luego de ser acusado de atacar a su pareja de muchos años por un caso de infidelidad. La víctima posteriormente renunció a la acusación y se desestimó una orden de no contacto. Ella declaró a los investigadores que “sintió que la coaccionaron para retirar los cargos”, ya que Nida supuestamente le dijo que “perdería su trabajo y su pensión”.

Pero Nida fue arrestado nuevamente en abril, acusado de atacar a su pareja por segunda vez y de robar su vehículo. Los registros muestran que esos cargos siguen pendientes, con una audiencia programada para el 30 de julio.

Fue arrestado un mes después por un cargo de violación de una orden de protección por violencia doméstica. Un reporte de BSO indica que permitió que su novia viviera con él “porque ella y su hija fueron desalojadas de su residencia anterior” y que ambas recurrieron a Nida “porque no tenían adónde ir”.

Registros judiciales muestran que los fiscales de Broward decidieron no presentar cargos en ese caso.

Su informe de arresto más reciente indica que esa es la misma razón por la que nuevamente terminó tras las rejas.

Según las autoridades, un conocido de Nida solicitó una verificación de bienestar el 11 de julio tras recibir mensajes preocupantes de su parte.

Cuando las autoridades llegaron, informaron que Nida entró a la vivienda y se desplazó por el interior de la casa antes de volver a salir.

Un dron de la Policía encontró a la mujer y a su hijo escondidos en un área de almacenamiento. El informe indica: “Ambos admitieron que él había ideado un plan para que se escondieran en el patio trasero si las autoridades llegaban a la vivienda, plan que ejecutaron esa noche”.

La mujer dijo a la Policía que ella y su hijo habían permanecido durante varias semanas en la casa de Nida debido a una crisis financiera y que incluso tenían una llave de la vivienda.

Hasta la mañana del lunes, Nida permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal de la BSO, a la espera de una audiencia judicial programada.

Nota del editor: Esta historia fue actualizada después de que Local 10 News recibiera una aclaración sobre la situación laboral de Nida y una copia de su informe de arresto.

Bruce Meyer, who took over when Tony Clark was forced out in February, said the sport was thriving despite assertions by Major League Baseball that massive change is needed.

“I have watched over the last few years the owners, the commissioner’s office, try to convince fans, the consumers of their product, that the product is broken,” Meyer said ahead of the All-Star Game. "The supposed stewards of the game have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to convince those same fans that they don’t have hope or they shouldn’t have hope or that the product that they’re paying to consume in record numbers is somehow broken. I think it’s perverse.”

Attendance has averaged 29,230 this season, up 1.2% from 28,895 through similar dates last year. MLB is on pace for its highest attendance since 2017.

Management in May proposed a salary cap system, which players say they will never accept. MLB launched a “Level the Field” campaign claiming fans support a cap that contains a floor.

“In order for this game to reach its full potential we need to continue to address concerns that our fans have, particularly concerns that go to the core of what we’re about, that is competitive balance,” Manfred said in a separate question-and-answer session.

“We need to make sure that fans in markets at the beginning of the season have a realistic belief that their team has a chance to win," he added. "I think that we need a system where fans, particularly in smaller markets, can have some hope that the players that are signed and developed by their organizations can actually stay there through free agency and honestly I think we need a system where there is a more robust free agent market, so if you don’t want to go to New York or Los Angeles, you have a realistic opportunity to get a viable free agent contract.”

Fans have responded positively to MLB's changes in the 2020s, which include expanded playoffs in 2022, a pitch clock in 2023 and an appeals system to robot umpires for strike zone decisions this year.

“We got that momentum by listening to our fans and making changes that, candidly, the MLBPA was not interested in,” Manfred said. “Those changes have paid off in terms of creating that momentum, and the best way to lose momentum is to stand still.”

No small-market team has won the World Series since the 2015 Kansas City Royals. The Los Angeles Dodgers, coming off their second straight title, had a $323.3 million opening-day payroll for their 40-man roster and a $163.7 million tax for a $487.1 million total. Cleveland had the lowest payroll at $75.5 million.

“It defies human experience to ask a fan to think that the bottom end of that gap has the same opportunity to win as the top,” Manfred said. “There is no question, OK, that everybody in any sport is not going to win once every 30 or 32 years depending on how many teams you have, but the data in our sport is stark. Your opportunity to make the playoffs if you are a larger-market team is dramatically higher and your opportunity to proceed to the subsequent rounds, that advantage grows with each round.”

Meyer said unions for players in the NFL, NBA and NHL agreed to caps under duress.

“In one way or the other they were broken or forced into it,” he said. “I believe that this system is bad for players and would be for generations to come."

Baseball’s five-year labor contract expires Dec. 1 and management is expected to immediately start a lockout, the sport’s 10th work stoppage since 1972. No games have been lost since a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 caused the World Series to be canceled for the first in 90 years.

“Teams in every market across the league can afford to compete," Meyer said. “Many of them are choosing not to. From our standpoint, that’s the biggest problem in the game right now."

Meyer said owners want a cap to guarantee profits and increase franchise values, a system he called “subsidized mediocrity.”

“They don’t want it because they’re just so concerned about the fans,” he said. “If they were so concerned about the fans, they would listen to the fans all across baseball who are literally chanting 'Sell the team.' They want their owners to sell the team because they feel they're not competing."

Manfred did not want to comment on whether he thought President Donald Trump, who said he supports a cap, would attempt to intervene in bargaining.

“It would be wildly, wildly inappropriate for me to speculate about what the president of the United States might do or not do in a hypothetical situation,” he said.

Manfred defended MLB's advertising campaign supporting a cap.

“Sometimes the other side may not be completely accurate or fair in terms of their recitation and what’s going on,” he said.

___

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

A 28-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder and terror crimes remains in custody on an extended detention warrant under the Terrorism Act that allows police to question him for up to another week.

“It is clear that this was a targeted attack,” Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing told reporters. “We are still working to understand the extent of any planning or preparation, and the motivation that sits behind that attack.”

The death of Widdecombe, 78, a former member of Parliament, shocked the British political establishment, where she was long known for blunt-spoken socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

Counterterror police took over the investigation Monday after new evidence was discovered. Devon and Cornwall Police have been criticized for originally saying the killing was not believed to be a terror-related crime and there was nothing to suggest it was politically motivated.

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez defended her agency Tuesday, saying new information often changes the nature of a fast-paced investigation.

Police believe Widdecombe was attacked on Wednesday just past noon. She failed to show up for a scheduled TV interview about an hour later and was found dead the next day in her isolated rural home in a village in southwest England.

Police did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that she had sustained “serious injuries.” Taylor called it a “brutal attack on a 78-year-old lady in her own home.”

The suspect was arrested Saturday in South Yorkshire county in northern England, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, where Widdecombe died.

Police have conducted extensive searches at his home and Taylor said they found evidence of planning, but he declined to provide details.

The man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder, but additional evidence found while he was in custody led police to rearrest him on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The suspect has not been named because he has not been charged.

Widdecombe was in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving in roles including prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”

She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK party, often appearing in the media as a spokesperson.

The killing renewed concerns for politicians about security, which was tightened in the past decade after the murders of two serving members of Parliament. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

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It’s been 26 days since we’ve had an active system (short-timer Arthur on June 17) anywhere in the Gulf, Caribbean, or wider Atlantic and since June 30 – when we were monitoring an innocuous frontal low for negligible development odds – that the National Hurricane Center has outlined anything on its tropical outlook map.

July is often a quiet month so that alone isn’t terribly unusual. Even during what became busier hurricane seasons like in 2016, the National Hurricane Center had a blank outlook canvas for most of the month. Things get weirder when the quiet continues deeper into August (we know that feeling from recent hurricane seasons).

Still, it’s been an unusually slow start – the least active start to a hurricane season since 2009 – and as we’ve covered extensively in this newsletter, the factors are aligning to make this one of the least active seasons in over a decade. Even so, it only takes one bad hurricane to make a bad year, so we stay vigilant.

Already-low odds of Gulf mischief early next week trend lower

Over the weekend, some of the newcomer AI models – notably the European Centre’s AI modeling system – showed an uptick in development odds for an initially non-tropical low pressure over the northeastern Gulf.

The uptick garnered the typical frenzy among some social media circles (hopefully not yours!) mainly from the European’s deterministic (single-run) AI model, which advertised a hurricane-strength system for early next week over the northern Gulf in forecast runs beginning Sunday afternoon.

Of course, for regular readers of this newsletter, we know single-run models beyond a week aren’t credible sources unless they’re backed by strong evidence from multi-model ensembles (in this instance, it was undeniably not).

Additionally, as we’ve discussed in previous posts, the Euro AI model has shown is has exactly zero skill in forecasting intensity, so intensity forecasts from that model should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Since its very bullish forecast Sunday, the Euro AI has quickly backed off its initially overheated forecasts.

Even the more level-headed ensembles, which, as we discussed in Monday’s newsletter, only supported low odds of development the past few days have trended lower in development chances next week.

Overall the atmosphere over the northern Gulf just isn’t ripe for much development early next week and the system models are keying in on will start as an area of mid-level spin, which means if it develops, it would take some work for the spin to work its way down to the surface.

This less conventional top-down process presents a higher hurdle to clear than traditional bottom-up development (circulations that start at the surface and build as thunderstorms organize over warm water).

The mid-level disturbance will also be starting at the base of a fast-moving jet stream dip which won’t be doing it any favors from a development perspective.

All-in-all this isn’t an area where we should expect much development. Ensembles yesterday suggested development odds in the 10-20% range, which today have largely fallen to below 10%.

Given the near-record warmth over the northeastern Gulf and the positioning of the disturbance close to land, we’ll of course watch the trends (especially for the possibility of enhanced rainfall from mainly non-tropical processes later next week), but for now it’s not anything to worry about.

Otherwise, boatloads of wind shear will keep the deep tropics quiet for the foreseeable future.

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Investigators say 28-year-old Michael-Anthony Leones Espino, known to friends as Mykee, was last seen Sunday afternoon leaving a home along Southwest 161st Court and 142nd Terrace in west Miami-Dade County.

Detectives and family members released several missing person flyers that indicate he may be in need of services.

Videos from his Instagram page show Espino doing what he loved, dancing, after performing with major Latin artists including Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía.

His friends are now hoping for his safe return.

“I met him during college at FIU,” said friend Camilo Restrepo. “Incredible guy, he was always so far into dancing, so while everybody else was busy and wanted to party and wanted to do other things, he was just so into the dancing. That’s all he ever wanted to do.”

Earlier on Monday, Local 10 News cameras captured deputies blocking off the street outside his family’s home with crime scene tape.

Detectives say his family is now asking for privacy and have not released any further details about Espino’s disappearance.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts Is asked to contact the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

The United States on Monday introduced new sanctions targeting companies controlled by GAESA, Cuba’s military economic conglomerate, as well as some of the military brigades responsible for suppressing protests like the ones we saw the other day.

How much longer can the Cuban government hold on? Information continues to reach U.S. officials indicating that there are sectors within the Cuban government that are increasingly concerned about how much longer they can survive without negotiating with the U.S. government before facing a complete collapse of their system.

July 10 update: Does Raul Castro’s grandson have the full authority to negotiate for the Cuban government?

As I expected, there seems to be a small crack within the inner circle of the Cuban government. Some have criticized Raulito (Raul Castro’s grandson) for offering to negotiate directly with President Trump. The criticism comes as to whether he has the full authority to negotiate for the Cuban government or is he just negotiating for the Castro family?

Yesterday, the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) backed Raulito’s efforts, but the military leadership has remained quiet.

July 8 update: United Nations has no legal right to lift U.S. embargo on Cuba

Every year, Cuba argues in front of the United Nations that the U.S. economic embargo is the cause for their economic problems. Each year, Cuba loses more support for their argument. The United Nations has no legitimate or legal right to lift the embargo. The U.S. Congress can only lift the embargo.

The Cuban government propaganda machine has failed. Most Cubans on the island, including economists on the island, blame the Cuban government for their current poor economic conditions.

July 6 update: Raul Castro’s grandson says Cuba is willing to negotiate with US

Reuters reported earlier this morning that Raul Castro’s grandson Raulito, known as “El Cangrejo,” announced that Cuba is willing to negotiate with the U.S. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether Raulito is negotiating on behalf of the Castro family or the Cuban government?

We know that Cuba has been selling some of their assets, including some belonging to the military economic conglomerate GAESA in the last couple of weeks. Cuba’s attempt to invite foreign investment has not attracted many takers for the fear of losing their money.

July 2 update: Cuba’s culture of fear complicates a Democratic transition

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When we talk about Cuba, we usually concentrate on their centralized political and economic system. However, we fail to recognize that individuals that have lived under totalitarian regimes have had to survive under a culture of fear. Such system of government creates a psychological set of attitudes and values that help define the daily behavior in order to align the people’s wants and needs to the restrictions imposed by the government.

To break such behaviors could take years of psychological training and change. Therefore, transitioning a totalitarian state to support a transition to some form of a Democratic government could take time.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez’s June updates can be viewed by clicking here.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez is Local 10’s Cuba Analyst. Gomez is considered one of the leading scholars on Cuba. He worked in higher education for 32 years before retiring from the University of Miami in 2012.

A la niña se le diagnosticó “autismo de leve a moderado”, y el abuso “comenzó cuando ella tenía 10 años, y cumplirá 13 este año”, escribió un oficial de la policía de Hallandale Beach, según un informe policial.

Durante la investigación policial, una analista de ADN de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward reportó en abril que se halló ADN perteneciente a Daley, de 56 años, en “la zona exterior de la entrepierna” del pantalón de pijama de la niña, según un informe policial.

La investigación comenzó después de que la niña le contara a su madre que Daley había abusado sexualmente de ella el 17 de febrero, y oficiales de la policía de Hallandale Beach se reunieron con ellas en el supermercado Publix de Hallandale Beach, donde Daley trabajaba como empleado de bodega en el departamento de congelados desde hacía unos cuatro años, según el informe policial.

“Ella solo lleva a la víctima al trabajo cuando no tiene quién la cuide... la víctima se queda sentada en el cuarto de descanso”, escribió un oficial de policía, según el informe de arresto.

Un detective que investigaba el caso encontró, el 23 de febrero, un video de vigilancia que mostraba a Daley “mirar a su alrededor antes de entrar al cuarto de descanso” poco después de las 9:55 p.m., y salir a las 10 p.m. del 17 de febrero, según la policía.

La niña participó en una entrevista forense en el Nancy J. Cotterman Center, en Oakland Park, y relató que Daley había abusado de ella unas 30 veces en el Publix ubicado en el 1400 East Hallandale Beach, según el informe de arresto del oficial.

“Ella siempre le dice ‘¡No!’. Pero él sigue tocándola en contra de su voluntad... le dolía... ella se sintió amenazada”, escribió un oficial de policía sobre el relato de la niña durante la entrevista, según el informe.

Registros judiciales del condado de Broward muestran que los fiscales presentaron el 29 de junio un caso por delito grave de primer grado contra Daley, residente de Miramar. Enfrenta cuatro cargos de actos lascivos o lascivia con una menor.

Los oficiales de policía ejecutaron la orden de arresto el domingo, y el personal de BSO Corrections ingresó a Daley en la Cárcel Principal del Condado de Broward, en Fort Lauderdale. Compareció en corte el lunes, y un juez le negó la fianza.

La jueza del Tribunal Circuito del Condado de Broward, Barbara Duffy, presidirá el caso.

Un portavoz de Publix emitió un comunicado el lunes por la tarde en el que informaba de que Daley ya no trabajaba en Publix.

Los investigadores informaron que Michael-Anthony Leones Espino, de 28 años, conocido por sus amigos como Mykee, fue visto por última vez el domingo por la tarde al salir de una vivienda ubicada en Southwest 161st Court y 142nd Terrace, en el oeste del condado Miami-Dade.

Los detectives y familiares difundieron varios volantes de persona desaparecida que indican podría necesitar asistencia.

Videos publicados en su cuenta de Instagram muestran a Espino haciendo lo que más le gustaba: bailar, tras presentarse con importantes artistas latinos como Rauw Alejandro y Rosalía.

Ahora, sus amigos esperan su regreso sano y salvo.

“Lo conocí durante la universidad en FIU”, dijo su amigo Camilo Restrepo. “Era una persona increíble. Siempre estuvo completamente dedicado al baile, así que mientras los demás estaban ocupados, querían ir de fiesta o hacer otras cosas, él solo pensaba en bailar. Eso era todo lo que siempre quiso hacer”.

Más temprano el lunes, las cámaras de Local 10 News captaron a agentes bloqueando la calle frente a la casa de su familia con cinta de escena del crimen.

Los detectives informaron que la familia pidió privacidad y no ha divulgado más detalles sobre la desaparición de Espino.

Cualquier persona con información sobre su paradero debe comunicarse con la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade o con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-TIPS.

Mike Sargis, administrador de la ciudad de North Lauderdale, dijo que una cámara de vigilancia Ring grabó el video en una casa ubicada en Pebble Beach Road, cerca del Bulevar de los Campeones.

“La familia comenzó a hacerle RCP”, escribió Sargis en un comunicado el lunes por la mañana.

Personal de Bomberos y Rescate de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward y agentes de la BSO respondieron a la piscina de la vivienda alrededor de las 10:30 a.m. del domingo.

El niño fue trasladado al Broward Health Medical Center y su estado era crítico, según agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward.

“Lo último que supimos es que el niño estaba en condición muy grave”, escribió Sargis en el comunicado.

Al menos tres niños se han ahogado este verano en el condado de Broward.

Un niño de 2 años murió ahogado el 12 de julio en un lago de Plantation.

Cerca de ahí, una niña de 4 años murió ahogada el 5 de julio en un lago de Plantation.

Un niño de 4 años murió ahogado el 19 de junio en una piscina de North Lauderdale.

Niños de entre 1 y 4 años fallecen más por ahogamiento que por cualquier otra causa de muerte, según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) de Estados Unidos.

Algunas de las formas de reducir el riesgo incluyen clases formales de natación para los niños e instalar una cerca de cuatro lados de al menos cuatro pies de altura que rodee completamente la piscina de la vivienda.

La Cruz Roja cuenta con recursos educativos para los niños y sus cuidadores.

El Departamento de Salud de Florida en el condado Broward tiene un programa de vales para cubrir el costo de las clases para niños desde bebés hasta los 17 años. Para más información, visite esta página.

Área de Pebble Beach en North Lauderdale.

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The new daily route becomes the airline’s second connection between the U.S. and Venezuela and comes at a critical time, as Venezuela continues to recover from recent earthquakes and flights to and from Caracas (CCS) remain temporarily suspended.

According to airport officials, the flight will be operated by Envoy Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, using an Embraer E-175 aircraft.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is expected to attend the event, along with Vice President of MIA Operations Juan Carlos Liscano and Miami International Airport Director and CEO Ralph Cutie for remarks ahead of the inaugural departure.

Click here for a list of locations where you can drop off donations for Venezuela.

La nueva ruta diaria se convierte en la segunda conexión de la aerolínea entre Estados Unidos y Venezuela, asimismo, llega en un momento crítico, mientras Venezuela continúa recuperándose de los recientes terremotos y los vuelos hacia y desde Caracas (CCS) permanecen suspendidos temporalmente.

Según funcionarios del aeropuerto, el vuelo será operado por Envoy Air, una subsidiaria de propiedad total de American Airlines, con una aeronave Embraer E-175.

Se espera que la alcaldesa del condado Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, asista al evento, junto con el vicepresidente de Operaciones de MIA, Juan Carlos Liscano, y el director y CEO del Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami, Ralph Cutie, quienes ofrecerán unas palabras antes de la salida del vuelo inaugural.

Haga clic aquí para consultar una lista de lugares donde puede entregar donaciones para Venezuela.

Los documentos judiciales más recientes muestran que el pueblo de Pembroke Park citó a la esposa de Jacobs, Angela Jacobs, para una declaración jurada y solicitó numerosos documentos como parte del proceso de descubrimiento de pruebas.

El pueblo también solicitó registros a varias terceras partes, entre ellas a Verizon Communications, la División de Elecciones del Departamento de Estado de Florida, el condado Broward y el Distrito Escolar del condado St. Lucie.

El descubrimiento de pruebas es la etapa de una demanda en la que ambas partes recopilan evidencia antes de que un juez decida los asuntos en disputa.

Los documentos representan el capítulo más reciente de una disputa que comenzó después de que una investigación de Local 10 News descubriera registros públicos que muestran que Jacobs y su esposa son propietarios de una vivienda en Fort Pierce, en el condado St. Lucie.

Local 10 News también informó que los registros públicos mostraban que la propiedad recibió una exención de vivienda principal de Florida y una exención de impuestos para veteranos con discapacidades permanentes y totales relacionadas con el servicio militar, lo que redujo el valor imponible de la propiedad en aproximadamente $535,000 USD.

Según la ley de Florida, esas exenciones generalmente solo se aplican a propiedades que sirven como residencia permanente del propietario.

Local 10 News también revisó documentos hipotecarios que muestran que la vivienda fue comprada con un préstamo respaldado por el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos (VA). Los documentos del préstamo incluían una certificación de ocupación en la que el prestatario manifestaba su intención de ocupar la propiedad como residencia principal, de acuerdo con los requisitos de ocupación de la VA.

Tras el reportaje de Local 10 News, los registros públicos de la Oficina del Tasador de Propiedades del condado St. Lucie muestran que la exención para veteranos con discapacidad fue eliminada de la propiedad.

Jacobs ha sostenido de manera constante que vive en Pembroke Park y cumple con los requisitos para desempeñarse como alcalde.

Tras la investigación de Local 10 News, varios comisionados de Pembroke Park cuestionaron si Jacobs seguía cumpliendo con los requisitos de residencia establecidos en la carta constitutiva del pueblo y buscaron realizar una votación sobre su elegibilidad para permanecer en el cargo.

Antes de que esa votación pudiera realizarse, Jacobs presentó una demanda y obtuvo una orden de restricción temporal que bloqueó la reunión.

En marzo, la jueza del Circuito de Broward Shari Africk Olefson dictaminó que la comisión del pueblo no tenía autoridad legal para determinar la elegibilidad de Jacobs mediante una votación de la comisión.

En su orden por escrito, Olefson concluyó que la comisión “carece de autoridad legal para votar sobre la elegibilidad del alcalde”.

La jueza prohibió a la comisión votar sobre la elegibilidad de Jacobs y determinó que el asunto debía resolverse a través de los tribunales.

La orden no determinó dónde vive Jacobs ni si finalmente cumple con los requisitos de residencia para seguir siendo alcalde. En cambio, el fallo abordó quién tiene la autoridad legal para tomar esa determinación.

Tras el fallo, el pueblo de Pembroke Park cambió su estrategia legal.

En lugar de pedir a los comisionados que determinaran la elegibilidad de Jacobs, el pueblo presentó una contrademanda solicitando al tribunal una sentencia declaratoria sobre si Jacobs cumple con los requisitos de residencia establecidos en la carta constitutiva del pueblo.

Jacobs pidió al tribunal que desestimara esa contrademanda.

En mayo, Olefson negó la moción de Jacobs, permitiendo que la contrademanda del pueblo continuara.

Desde entonces, el caso ha entrado en la etapa de descubrimiento de pruebas.

Según los documentos judiciales más recientes, el pueblo presentó interrogatorios, solicitudes de producción de documentos y citaciones en busca de información que considera relevante para determinar la residencia de Jacobs.

Entre los documentos más recientes figura una citación que obliga a Angela Jacobs a comparecer para una declaración bajo juramento y presentar los documentos solicitados por el pueblo.

Los documentos judiciales también muestran que el pueblo busca registros relacionados con la propiedad de Fort Pierce, documentos de la exención de vivienda principal, correspondencia con la Oficina del Tasador de Propiedades del condado St. Lucie, registros hipotecarios, registros de servicios públicos y otros documentos que considera relevantes para la disputa sobre la residencia.

Los documentos por sí mismos no establecen ninguna irregularidad ni determinan dónde vive Geoffrey Jacobs. Más bien, reflejan la evidencia que el pueblo busca obtener a medida que el caso avanza hacia una decisión sobre el fondo del asunto.

Local 10 News contactó al abogado de Jacobs, Michael Pizzi, para obtener comentarios sobre los acontecimientos más recientes.

“Tenemos más confianza que nunca en que esta es una cacería de brujas interminable y con motivaciones políticas contra el alcalde Jacobs”, dijo Pizzi.

Pizzi también afirmó que no le preocupan los más recientes esfuerzos del pueblo durante el proceso de descubrimiento de pruebas.

“No nos preocupan las solicitudes más recientes de descubrimiento de pruebas porque el alcalde Jacobs siempre ha vivido en Pembroke Park y nunca se ha mudado fuera del pueblo”, afirmó.

Pizzi también criticó el litigio y dijo: “Algún día el pueblo tendrá que rendir cuentas por este desperdicio de dinero de los contribuyentes. El alcalde Jacobs seguirá sirviendo a la comunidad mientras algunos en el pueblo gastan dinero en política”.

La cuestión legal sobre quién tiene la autoridad para decidir la elegibilidad de Jacobs surgió antes de que se presentara la demanda.

En un memorando entregado previamente al alcalde y a los comisionados del pueblo, el abogado de Pembroke Park, Jacob Horowitz, escribió que “el foro adecuado para impugnar la elegibilidad de una persona para ocupar el cargo de comisionado del pueblo de Pembroke Park es el Tribunal del Circuito del condado Broward”.

Horowitz también escribió que, aunque la comisión podría celebrar una audiencia pública y considerar las pruebas, “el Tribunal del Circuito es, en última instancia, la autoridad legal facultada para determinar si un miembro de la comisión es elegible para ocupar el cargo”.

Olefson finalmente llegó a la misma conclusión cuando dictaminó que la comisión carecía de autoridad legal para decidir la elegibilidad de Jacobs mediante una votación.

Sin embargo, la cuestión de fondo sigue sin resolverse.

Meses después de que Local 10 News planteara por primera vez dudas sobre la residencia del alcalde mediante registros públicos, registros tributarios y documentos hipotecarios, los tribunales aún deben determinar la cuestión central que continúa dividiendo al pueblo: si Geoffrey Jacobs cumple con los requisitos de residencia para seguir desempeñándose como alcalde de Pembroke Park.

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The latest court filings show the Town of Pembroke Park has subpoenaed Jacobs’ wife, Angela Jacobs, for a sworn deposition and has requested numerous documents as part of the discovery process.

The town has also sought records from several third parties, including Verizon Communications, the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections, Broward County and the St. Lucie County School District.

Discovery is the stage of a lawsuit in which both sides gather evidence before a judge decides the disputed issues.

The filings mark the latest chapter in a dispute that began after a Local 10 News investigation uncovered public records showing Jacobs and his wife own a home in Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County.

Local 10 News also reported that public records showed the property received a Florida homestead exemption and a tax exemption for veterans with total and permanent service-connected disabilities that reduced the property’s taxable value by approximately $535,000.

Under Florida law, those exemptions generally apply only to property that serves as the owner’s permanent residence.

Local 10 News also reviewed mortgage documents showing the home was purchased with a VA backed loan. The loan documents included an occupancy certification stating the borrower intended to occupy the property as a primary residence, consistent with VA occupancy requirements.

Following Local 10 News’ reporting, public records from the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser’s Office show the disabled veteran exemption was removed from the property.

Jacobs has consistently maintained that he lives in Pembroke Park and is eligible to serve as mayor.

Following the Local 10 News investigation, several Pembroke Park commissioners questioned whether Jacobs continued to satisfy the residency requirements contained in the town charter and sought to hold a vote on his eligibility to remain in office.

Before that vote could occur, Jacobs filed suit and obtained a temporary restraining order blocking the meeting.

In March, Broward Circuit Judge Shari Africk Olefson ruled that the town commission did not have the legal authority to determine Jacobs’ eligibility through a commission vote.

In her written order, Olefson concluded that the commission “lacks legal authority to vote on the Mayor’s eligibility.”

The judge prohibited the commission from voting on Jacobs’ eligibility and ruled that the issue must instead be resolved through the courts.

The order did not determine where Jacobs lives or whether he ultimately satisfies the residency requirements to remain mayor. Instead, the ruling addressed who has the legal authority to make that determination.

After the ruling, the Town of Pembroke Park changed its legal strategy.

Rather than asking commissioners to determine Jacobs’ eligibility, the town filed a counterclaim asking the court for a declaratory judgment on whether Jacobs meets the residency requirements contained in the town charter.

Jacobs asked the court to dismiss that counterclaim.

In May, Olefson denied Jacobs’ motion, allowing the town’s counterclaim to proceed.

The case has since entered discovery.

According to recent court filings, the town has served interrogatories, requests for production of documents and subpoenas seeking information it contends is relevant to determining Jacobs’ residency.

Among the latest filings is a subpoena requiring Angela Jacobs to appear for a deposition under oath and produce documents requested by the town.

The court filings also show the town is seeking records relating to the Fort Pierce property, homestead exemption documents, correspondence with the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser, mortgage records, utility records and other documents the town contends are relevant to the residency dispute.

The filings themselves do not establish wrongdoing or determine where Geoffrey Jacobs lives. Rather, they reflect the evidence the town is seeking to obtain as the case moves toward a decision on the merits.

Local 10 News reached out to Jacobs’ attorney, Michael Pizzi, for comment on the latest developments.

“We are more confident than ever that this is a never ending and politically motivated witch hunt against Mayor Jacobs,” Pizzi said.

Pizzi also said he is not concerned about the town’s latest discovery efforts.

“We are not concerned about any of the latest discovery requests because Mayor Jacobs has always lived in Pembroke Park and he has never moved out of the Town,” he said.

Pizzi further criticized the litigation, saying, “One day the Town will have to be accountable for this waste of tax dollars. Mayor Jacobs will continue serving the people while some in the Town spend money on politics.”

The legal question over who has the authority to decide Jacobs’ eligibility surfaced before the lawsuit was filed.

In a memorandum previously provided to the mayor and town commissioners, Pembroke Park Town Attorney Jacob Horowitz wrote that “the proper venue to challenge the eligibility of an individual to hold office as a Commissioner of the Town of Pembroke Park is the Circuit Court in Broward County.”

Horowitz also wrote that while the commission could conduct a public hearing and consider evidence, “the Circuit Court is ultimately vested with the legal authority to determine whether a commission member is eligible to hold office.”

Olefson ultimately reached the same conclusion when she ruled that the commission lacked the legal authority to decide Jacobs’ eligibility through a vote.

The underlying question, however, remains unresolved.

Months after Local 10 News first raised questions about the mayor’s residency through public records, tax records and mortgage documents, the courts are still being asked to determine a central issue that continues to divide the town: whether Geoffrey Jacobs satisfies the residency requirements to continue serving as mayor of Pembroke Park.

The policy change came after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after one shot and killed a motorist in Houston, renewing criticism of the agency’s enforcement tactics that were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

The suspension allows room for exceptions when executing a criminal warrant or working with partner agencies, according to a person who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations. Matthew Felling, a spokesperson for Maine Sen. Angus King, said the senator’s office was also told by the Department of Homeland Security that ICE was suspending vehicle stops.

Hundreds of people in Maine protested Tuesday over the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national.

DHS said Monday that an officer, “fearing for public safety,” shot and killed Durán Guerrero while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the U.S. illegally and facing a final order of removal from the country. It said in a post on X that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by someone who came from the home, the vehicle attempted to flee and the officer fired.

That was a shift from how King earlier described the encounter, when he said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon. King said Mullin told him the officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant, but not for the man who was shot.

DHS, which oversees ICE, didn’t respond to an email seeking clarity on what led to the shooting.

In a scathing post on X, outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the shooting a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”

Petro, who has openly quarreled with U.S. President Donald Trump, urged Trump to provide an explanation and accused ICE officers of treating Durán Guerrero as “an inferior being without rights.”

The shooting also sparked outrage in Maine, where hundreds of protesters gathered Tuesday outside an ICE detention center in Scarborough, just up the coast between Biddeford and Portland.

“These people are killers and they must leave our state now,” organizer Todd Chretien told the crowd, including some who held signs reading "Stop the murder” and “End this terror.”

Maine’s congressional delegation on Tuesday demanded a “comprehensive, transparent, and expedited investigation.”

Questions surround the shooting

Durán Guerrero's shooting marked at least the ninth time ICE has used deadly force since Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Photos showed bullet holes in Durán Guerrero’s car’s windshield, but the officers involved in the shooting didn’t have body cameras, leaving many questions. Among them are how close the officer was to the vehicle when they fired, whether officers told Durán Guerrero to stop, and why ICE believes he had put the public in danger.

“We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.

Maine’s other senator, Republican Susan Collins, said Mullin told her that DHS’ Office of Inspector General is investigating in cooperation with the FBI.

The state attorney general’s office, which noted that it's working with federal agencies to investigate, said initial statements suggest the driver was trying to flee in the direction of the officer, whose name hasn't been released and who was placed on leave.

Video shows the shooting's aftermath

According to neighbors and public records, Guerrero lived in an apartment about 150 feet (46 meters) from where his car came to a rest outside an apartment building across the street from a pawnshop and laundromat.

Video from a nearby business' security camera obtained by the AP shows a white car slowly approaching an intersection before making several circles. A law enforcement SUV blocks its path and two officers open the driver’s door and drag out a limp body.

It isn't clear from the video when the shots were fired.

Daniel Boucher said he heard a “pop, pop, pop” and ran to the intersection.

“His face was bloody. His head was bloody,” Boucher said. “I clearly heard the victim say, ‘I tried to stop.’”

Boucher said the officer who shot Durán Guerrero walked close to him.

“He looked at me and said, ‘He tried to run me over,’ or something to that effect,” Boucher said. “I don’t remember his exact words.”

Durán Guerrero is survived by his wife and young daughter

Two advocacy groups — the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! — said Durán Guerrero was authorized to work in the U.S.

Neighbors say Durán Guerrero was a friendly and familiar face even though they rarely chatted because he didn’t appear to speak English.

Sadie Dilboy and Cory Poulin, who owns the laundromat near the intersection, said they saw Durán Guerrero all the time.

“Everyone knows him,” said Dilboy, who remembered that he often came to their store with his daughter and gave her quarters to buy candy.

Claudia Morton, who often waved to Durán Guerrero, was distraught. “The whole world should be crying,” she said.

___

Brook reported from New Orleans and Sisak from New York. Associated Press reporters Astrid Suarez in Bogota, Colombia, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Buffett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth more than $140 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Previously the plan was for his three children to distribute his remaining fortune within 10 years of the 95-year-old investor’s death.

“Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said in a statement. “The goal is to have the grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by each of my children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate.”

Buffett did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions. CNBC said Buffett was scheduled to give the channel an exclusive interview on the topic Wednesday morning.

The Gates Foundation thanked Buffett for his gifts in a statement Tuesday and said the foundation remains in a strong financial position thanks to Gates' pledge to donate 99% of his remaining fortune to the charity, which plans to close in 2045 after distributing the money.

“The Gates Foundation is grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work. His gifts, totaling more than $47 billion, have helped us expand and deliver on the foundation’s mission to improve health and opportunity for people around the world,” the charity said in its statement.

Buffett's latest gifts are roughly equal to last year's donations

The majority of Buffett’s charitable gifts — worth more than $61 billion — have gone to the Gates Foundation since he announced the plan to give away his fortune in 2006. He has been giving blocks of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and the four foundations run by his three children regularly.

Buffett plans to give about $4.5 billion in stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation this year and about $500 million in shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Novo Foundation, which are run by his children.

So the total amount of donations announced Tuesday is similar to the roughly $6 billion in donations he made last summer, with Buffett’s family foundations getting significantly more than in previous years that would seem to account for the money that would have gone to the Gates Foundation.

Gates has denied any ties to Epstein's crimes

Gates denies any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He said he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes.

Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead at the Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019 and his death was later ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.

Buffett already said in 2024 that he planned to cut off donations to the Gates Foundation after his death and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune. The decision he announced Tuesday will accelerate that plan.

The two billionaires were the best of friends

Buffett and Gates used to be exceptionally close friends who talked often, played bridge online and even took vacations together. Gates also served on the board of Buffett’s conglomerate for years and the legendary investor sat on the board of the Gates Foundation. But Buffett told CNBC in March that he hadn’t talked to Gates for months since before the Epstein files were released. The disclosures began in December 2025 and continued into this year.

In the past, Buffett stood up for Gates. Three years ago, Buffett cut off a man who was presenting a resolution at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting after he questioned Gates’ character because of his ties with Epstein. Peter Flaherty was arrested that day for trespassing even though he had been approved to make the presentation beforehand. The charge was later dropped, but the incident led to a lawsuit, which is still pending in the courts.

Buffett can't believe how many people Epstein fooled

Buffett said to CNBC “it is astounding to me that anybody could be that successful as a con person” but Epstein found a way to exploit the weaknesses of others. Buffett would not discuss Gates’ involvement, but said he doesn’t want to be involved with anything that could be investigated later.

Gates discussed his ties to Epstein with the staff of his foundation recently. Gates appears multiple times in the Justice Department’s release of documents connected to its investigation of the late financier. The Justice Department’s files include email correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects, calendar entries documenting dates they got together, and photos of Gates at events the two men attended.

The foundation announced that it hired someone in March to assess the foundation’s past engagement with Epstein and review its policies to vet any future philanthropic partnerships. Gates and the rest of the foundation’s board expect to get an update on that investigation sometime this summer.

Buffett told CNBC that he’s amazed at how many wealthy and powerful people have been caught up in the Epstein scandal.

“I mean, it, here you had a guy that was a convicted guy, a sensational con man, and the percentage of people that he knocked off,” Buffett said. “I mean, whether it was, he found their weakness. It might have been sex. It might be power, it might be, whatever it might be. And I don’t see how anybody could have pulled that off.”

Buffett said he’s glad Epstein never came to Omaha, where he has lived for more than six decades. Buffett is regarded by many as the world’s greatest investor who built up Berkshire over the years by buying insurance companies like Geico, major utilities, manufacturers and well-known brands like Dairy Queen and the BNSF railroad.

Buffett stepped down as Berkshire CEO in January after 60 years of leading the company, but he remains as chairman and the largest shareholder. Greg Abel is now CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Blanche will need the support of all GOP lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee in order to advance his nomination to lead the Justice Department, which he has done in an acting capacity since April.

Blanche is expected to face scrutiny over issues including the department's investigations into President Donald Trump's foes, a contentious deal to settle Trump's IRS lawsuit and its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files when he appears before the committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Here's a look at key topics likely to dominate the hearing:

‘I love you, sir:' Blanche & Trump's close relationship from the courtroom to DOJ

Blanche came into the public spotlight as the lead attorney defending Trump in his hush money trial in New York. The close relationship they forged then — and the unwavering loyalty Blanche has shown to Trump since joining the Justice Department last year — is likely to command the spotlight at the hearing.

Trump has made clear his desire to use the Justice Department to pursue his political opponents. And Blanche has accelerated investigations into perceived foes of the president since Pam Bondi was fired after failing to deliver criminal cases against Trump's political enemies.

Democrats say Blanche is acting as if he were still Trump's personal attorney.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump praised Blanche's record at the Justice Department, calling him “tough, brilliant, and 100% LOYAL to our Constitution, and the American People.”

"He is a great lawyer, always very fair, and every Republican Senator should vote to CONFIRM Todd Blanche, ASAP!" Trump wrote.

Blanche has strongly rejected accusations that the administration has weaponized the department for political purposes, saying in an ABC interview in February that "there’s not a whiff of political partisanship in what we’re doing.”

The Justice Department has historically prided itself on independence from the White House when it comes to prosecutorial decisions. But Blanche has insisted he sees no problem with the president’s interest in Justice Department matters and says he has felt no pressure to placate Trump.

“We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now," Blanche said at a press conference in May. “And it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and believes should be investigated. That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that.”

When asked at the time about his potential nomination for attorney general, Blanche said that if Trump chose someone else for the job he would say: “Thank you very much. I love you, sir.”

Blanche has tried to walk a fine line when discussing Jan. 6

Blanche's past comments surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could face renewed scrutiny.

Blanche has said he was not consulted on Trump's sweeping clemency grant for some 1,500 people charged in the riot, including people convicted of attacking police. Pressed on the matter during his confirmation hearing for deputy attorney general last year, Blanche said that people who commit violence against law enforcement “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Asked whether he would advise the president in the future against pardoning violent offenders, Blanche told lawmakers last year that “violence against law enforcement is never something that should be tolerated.”

But in front of a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in May, Blanche touted the Jan. 6 pardons as an accomplishment for the administration, saying to cheers in the audience that “by 5 p.m. on Jan. 20, every one of them was either pardoned or had their sentence commuted."

“So when folks say we’ve done nothing, I say ‘you have a very short memory,’" Blanche told the crowd.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, whose vote is likely to be crucial for Blanche's nomination, has said he will not support anyone for attorney general who equivocates on the events of Jan 6. Tillis, however, recently said he doesn't have any concerns about Blanche's record regarding Jan. 6.

With the death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, there are 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the panel. If even one Republican on the committee votes against Blanche, it could scuttle his nomination.

‘We are not moving forward with the fund, period.’ Will that assurance be enough?

Arguably the rockiest stretch of Blanche’s tenure atop the Justice Department has been a $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the president who feel mistreated by the criminal justice system.

Blanche was the public face of the initiative, which emerged from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The fund faced instant bipartisan congressional backlash, exemplified by a tense closed-door meeting at which shouting Republicans confronted Blanche over the planned payouts.

Weeks later, he revealed on behalf of the administration that the idea had been scrapped, saying at a hearing, “We are not moving forward with the fund, period.”

Nonetheless, expect Democrats to press Blanche on whether he has truly foreclosed the possibility of reviving the fund, especially since Trump remains vocal about his desire for compensation for his supporters and since the Justice Department has balked at a judge’s insistence that it assert in writing that it won’t bring back the compensation.

Tillis has been sharply critical of not only the fund but a separate aspect of the IRS that guarantees Trump and members of his family immunity from audits. Blanche has repeatedly said that the IRS protection remains intact, something that Tillis and others are expected to demand answers about. A federal judge on Monday stopped short of voiding the audit immunity deal but called into question its legal legitimacy.

Questions over the Epstein files have never gone away

Blanche was deputy attorney general when the Justice Department in the summer of 2025 found itself besieged by crisis over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. A year later, questions remain, despite the department's release last January of what it said were more than 3 million pages of records from its sex-trafficking investigation of the late financier.

Blanche will unquestionably be grilled about the case, especially after Bondi told lawmakers behind closed-doors after her ouster as attorney general that Blanche was the department’s point person on the release of the Epstein documents.

Trouble began in February 2025 when Bondi presented far-right influencers at the White House with white binders that she said contained the Epstein files but in reality actually consisted of largely public materials.

Things worsened last July when the department said in an unsigned statement that it would not release any additional records from the investigation, only to be forced into a reversal by an onslaught of criticism across the political spectrum and legislation from Congress that mandated the records’ disclosure.

But the staggered release was beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims. Some names, email addresses and other identifying information was either unredacted or not fully obscured.

Blanche has faced additional scrutiny over his unusual trip to a Florida prison to interview Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, as she serves a 20-year sentence for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. After the interview, Maxwell was moved from the low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas.

Tau is one part of a toxic duo fueling Alzheimer’s but prior attempts to develop drugs that can target the protein have failed. Two Alzheimer’s drugs, lecanemab and donanemab, try to clear buildup of the better-known amyloid protein and can modestly slow cognitive decline.

The new findings suggest Biogen's diranersen did more than lower tau levels. The study of about 400 people found signs that it also slowed cognitive decline, in one small subset enough to be comparable to amyloid therapy, according to results presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London. Biogen is planning a larger study to try to prove the drug’s benefit.

“This is really quite promising if it were to hold up” in that next-step testing, said Jessica Langbaum of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, who wasn’t involved with Biogen’s study.

“This is early days,” cautioned Dr. Reisa Sperling of Mass General Brigham, who also wasn’t involved in the study. But “I think it will reinvigorate interest and investment in lots of tau mechanisms, and the field needs that.”

It’s one of multiple novel attempts to fight the mind-destroying disease, including a possible tau vaccine, an experimental heart drug that might do double-duty for some people at high risk of Alzheimer's, and ways to help medicines more easily get across the so-called blood-brain barrier.

New approaches are needed to fight the leading cause of dementia

It’s not clear exactly what causes Alzheimer’s, which affects more than 7 million Americans and tens of millions worldwide. That sticky amyloid protein starts building up to form plaques in the brain about two decades before symptoms appear. But amyloid alone isn’t enough to cause Alzheimer's. Many scientists believe that amyloid buildup eventually triggers an abnormal form of tau to form tangles in neurons, setting off symptoms.

Diranersen is what’s called an antisense oligonucleotide that doesn't attack tau buildup but instead instructs a tau-producing gene to produce less.

“If you lower tau production, you are lowering the amount of the abnormal tau that needs to be cleared by the microglia, by the clearance mechanism in the brain. And so you are enabling the normal clearance mechanism to have more capacity to clear the tau,” said Dr. Cath Mummery of University College London, who led the new study.

Today’s anti-amyloid drugs are given through the bloodstream via infusions or injections. Diranersen is injected into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord, a straighter path to the brain.

Biogen's tau drug missed a key study goal — but was still encouraging

Biogen’s study included people with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s, randomly assigning them to different doses of diranersen or a placebo. Back in May, Biogen and partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced that the lowest dose — given every six months — had the strongest effect. That was a counterintuitive surprise and meant the study didn't meet its planned goal of showing that higher doses brought greater benefits.

Still, scientists had been anxiously awaiting details about how much that twice-a-year spinal shot really helped. Five of six different brain tests showed diranersen recipients’ memory and other cognitive abilities still worsened but more slowly than those given dummy shots, Mummery said. In one test of the lowest dose, that translated to a 26% reduction in cognitive decline — “approximately the same” change seen in earlier tests of amyloid drugs, she said.

Side effects included injection site pain and a temporary state of confusion that could appear a few days after the shot and last about a week, she said. But there were no signs of brain inflammation, which can affect recipients of anti-amyloid drugs.

Alzheimer's researchers also target tau in a broad new study

The University of California, San Francisco, last week opened a first-of-its-kind study known as the Alzheimer’s Tau Platform. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, it will test a variety of experimental anti-tau therapies against and in combination with today’s amyloid treatments. First up is a vaccine called AADvac1 designed to train the immune system to recognize and fight a specific worrisome portion of the tau protein, said UCSF's Dr. Adam Boxer.

The “platform” approach will expand to locations around the country, allow addition of other tau drugs to test and include people with Alzheimer’s-related protein buildup who aren’t yet showing symptoms, he said.

Other studies hint at new ways of attacking Alzheimer's

Researchers told the Alzheimer’s meeting that an experimental cholesterol-lowering drug called obicetrapib might do more than help heart health. They're exploring if it also might lower buildup of Alzheimer's-related proteins in people who carry a genetic risk for the disease.

Why? That gene, called APOE4, also affects how the body processes cholesterol. Obicetrapib maker NewAmsterdam Pharma plans to begin a study soon to test if the drug's cholesterol effects also can mitigate the Alzheimer's risk in people carrying one or two copies of that gene.

Companies also are trying to get Alzheimer’s drugs into the brain faster and at higher volumes, by penetrating the protective lining meant to protect the brain from harm. Denali Therapeutics' CEO Ryan Watts describes it as “hitching a ride” with iron that naturally gets into the brain. His company is pursuing drugs that target tau and amyloid using that “transport vehicle” technology.

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

Congo has been battling an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola since May, with no approved treatment or vaccine. The Africa Centres for Disease Control says it is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on the continent.

“Perhaps the most alarming finding is that many of the newly reported deaths are people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility and without receiving care,” Chikwe Ihekweazu said after returning from Bunia, in Ituri province, one of the worst-hit cities. “And as of today, 80% of new cases are outside our contact lists and so are coming to us from unknown chains of transmission.”

People who die outside the health system cannot be isolated, treated or have their contacts traced promptly, increasing the risk of further transmission.

The outbreak, Ihekweazu said, “continues to outpace the response efforts.”

As of Monday, at least 1,926 people have been infected, of whom 702 have died, in three provinces in Congo from the rare Bundibugyo virus, Congolese authorities said. Cases have also been confirmed in neighboring Uganda.

Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that his visit to Bunia had been “quite encouraging on many fronts, but also deeply concerning.”

Treatment capacity in Bunia is now close to 800 beds, with capacity increasing every week, and lab capacity has grown from 1 to 14 labs, an effort the emergency chief lauded.

However, Ihekweazu said that despite “our best efforts ... we have not caught up in the race.”

A funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, and mistrust among local communities have hampered the response.

Dozens of healthcare workers at an Ebola virus treatment center in northeast Congo went on strike over unpaid salaries and bonuses on Monday. On Tuesday, they agreed to resume work under the condition that the government pays them within 72 hours.

“Just one day of strike action has already caused damage. Patients were unable to access the center," the striking health workers said in a statement. “We hold the government solely responsible for any loss of life if the site closes after this ultimatum.”

The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15 after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the WHO. Clinical trials for treatment began last week after researchers launched a highly anticipated study in the hope of fighting the virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on July 11 that a U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization in Congo has tested positive for the Ebola virus, without providing further details.

Down the street, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to the White House after strongly backing the political novice’s bid for office. Iraq has been under pressure to disarm Iran-backed militias that attacked U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after the U.S. and Israel instigated the Iran war.

The U.S. launched more strikes on Iran early Tuesday after Trump vowed to blockade Iranian ports and charge 20% of their cargo for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Later Tuesday, he said he was backing away from the tolls and pursuing another arrangement following discussions with Gulf allies.

And in Maine, protesters are raising unanswered questions about the ninth fatal shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since Trump's immigration crackdown began.

The Latest:

White House launches cybersecurity clearinghouse to rush AI-found software fixes

The White House has established a cybersecurity clearinghouse to help identify and quickly fix vulnerabilities in software that artificial intelligence models have detected.

The clearinghouse is named “GOLD EAGLE” and was developed as part of a June 2 executive order signed by Trump to provide oversight for rapidly evolving AI technologies.

After AI models such as Anthropic’s Mythos exposed weaknesses in classified government computer systems, the administration has sought to find ways to protect against the risk cyberattacks and intrusions made possible by AI.

The Trump administration has stressed that the U.S. is leading in the AI race, though the claim comes with the caveat that there is no apparent finish line to cross.

National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said the clearinghouse was officially launched on July 2 by the departments of Treasury, Defense and Homeland Security in consultation with the White House.

Fears of burnout for Supreme Court’s security staff

Kagan says that when she joined the court in 2010, the need for security was vastly different. She drove herself to work, and security personnel only came along for high-profile speeches.

That started to change after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, and the need ramped up after the leak of the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Today, each justice has a security team of four to eight people, and they’re having to work overtime to provide the level of security needed, raising fears of burnout, Barrett said.

Vance tapes an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast

The vice president was taping the show on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Vance’s appearance on the show comes as Rogan has become a vocal critic of the Trump administration, particularly over the Iran war. Vance has been skeptical of military interventions abroad and seen as a reluctant defender of Trump’s war. He worked to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Iran that Trump has said is over

Vance appeared on Rogan’s show in 2024 when he was the vice-presidential nominee.

Supreme Court now requires NDAs for employees, Justice Barrett says

She said the move and others are aimed at controlling leaks of internal deliberations.

She said the court has long required confidentiality agreements, but recently upgraded to non-disclosure agreements with carveouts for whistleblowers.

The documents serve as an “additional check” on inappropriate or illegal information sharing.

They come after the 2022 leak of the draft opinion overturning abortion as a constitutional right, a major breach for the nation’s highest court.

The new NDA requirement was previously reported by the New York Times.

Collins calls attacks on judiciary ‘appalling’

Republican Sen. Susan Collins said rhetoric from public figures attacking judges is “appalling.”

The Maine senator said officials on both sides of the aisle have gone after the judiciary. Collins, who is up for reelection this year, pointed to examples of criticism of the conservative-majority court from the left.

Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, meanwhile, highlighted Trump’s targeting of justices who ruled against him and struck down his wide-ranging tariffs.

Trump administration orders ICE to suspend most vehicle stops after two deadly shootings

Administration officials issued the order after two deadly shootings in little over a week, a person familiar with the matter told the AP.

The order Tuesday came a day after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine, renewing criticism of the agency’s tactics during enforcement operations. The suspension is not absolute and there’s room for exceptions when executing a criminal warrant or working with partner agencies, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations.

The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer, “fearing for public safety,” shot and killed the man Monday in the city of Biddeford.

New York City’s mayor calls for abolishment of ICE

Zohran Mamdani made the demand in a post Tuesday on X in response to the fatal shooting of a man in Biddeford, Maine.

“ICE is killing our neighbors,” Mamdani wrote. “ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE.”

Outgoing Colombian president slams fatal shooting of citizen in Maine

In a scathing post on X, Gustavo Petro of Colombia described the fatal shooting of a Colombian citizen in Biddeford as a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”

Petro, who has openly quarreled with Trump, called on him to provide Colombia with an explanation for the killing. He accused ICE officers of shooting the Colombian national “for believing him to be an inferior being without rights.”

Petro, who will leave office in less than a month, said he expects Colombia’s foreign service to pursue legal action against those responsible for the shooting.

Abelardo de la Espriella, Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect, has not commented publicly on the case.

Official vying for Pentagon budget job skirts questions about Iran war costs

Prime Minister al-Zaidi noted that it’s “my first visit to the United States of America” and it’s “not just like any visit.”

He said from the Oval Office that the visit is about announcing an “economic partnership” with the United States. Al-Zaidi said all remaining U.S. forces will be out of Iraq come Sept. 30 “while U.S. companies will be inside Iraq” and investing in the country.

He also thanked Trump for extending a “warm welcome,” which included a last-minute offer of lunch.

“I have no idea what we’re going to be eating, but it will be fine,” Trump said before ending the joint press availability.

Iraqi leader al-Zaidi says his first US visit is about ‘economic partnership’

Prime Minister al-Zaidi noted that it’s “my first visit to the United States of America” and it’s “not just like any visit.”

He said from the Oval Office that the visit is about announcing an “economic partnership” with the United States. Al-Zaidi said all remaining U.S. forces will be out of Iraq come Sept. 30 “while U.S. companies will be inside Iraq” and investing in the country.

He also thanked Trump for extending a “warm welcome,” which included a last-minute offer of lunch.

“I have no idea what we’re going to be eating, but it will be fine,” Trump said before ending the joint press availability.

Trump says his Thursday address will touch on ‘free and fair elections’ but reveals little else

Asked for a sneak peek of his scheduled national address, the president said it will be “really, really big news” but added he’d “rather save it.”

“It doesn’t get bigger, because without free and fair elections you don’t have a country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “We’ll be discussing other things too. But it’s going to be a very big announcement.”

The Republican president has said little else about the address, which he announced on social media on Monday. His post said only that he will be “making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening” at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Asked about it on Monday, Trump quickly pivoted to discussing what he called a “busy news day,” talking about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham and other topics.

Trump hails report showing inflation declining

The president blamed his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for the rate of inflation having spiked to three-year high just last month. Biden, Trump said, “could create inflation like anybody.”

But Trump cheered a report Tuesday showing that prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the largest monthly drop in four year and way down from a year-over-year gain of 4.2% in May.

Trump added of inflation, “It’s not my fault. We are putting it to sleep.”

“The report was incredible. Inflation is way down,” Trump said, before urging voters, “Remember that for the midterms.”

“Nobody else could do it,” Trump said.

Trump says FBI is ‘wasting their time’ on Sen. Graham’s death

Trump said he doesn’t know why the FBI is looking into Graham’s death.

The president said the late South Carolina senator had “a problem” and that what ultimately took his life “is actually something that’s very hard to detect.”

A preliminary medical examiner’s report said Graham suffered a tear in his aorta.

Trump said he’s watched medical reports about Graham’s case and had White House doctors explain to him what happened. “And this is something that is very almost undetectable,” Trump said, adding that there’s not much that can be done about a torn aorta.

“So I don’t see a lot of evil there. I know there’s all sorts of conspiracy theories going along, and I don’t think the FBI, I think the FBI is wasting their time if they’re doing it,” Trump said of an investigation.

Trump says Gulf allies asked him to move from tolls to trade deals in Strait of Hormuz

The president explained his thinking in backing away from a 20% toll on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying he was called by “kings and emirs” and other leaders who suggested an alternate arrangement.

“They said we’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

Trump said he prefers that arrangement to the tolls he previously said the U.S. would impose. “I like that actually, because I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait,” Trump said.

Trump praises Iraqi PM, says he’s a ‘great leader’ who will hold office for a ‘long time’

Trump said he and Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had a “great meeting” in the Oval Office and will now have lunch together because of their “tremendous chemistry.” Lunch wasn’t on the original schedule.

“We’re going to do it on the fly,” Trump told reporters about the meal.

Trump heaped praise on al-Zaidi in front of reporters, calling him a “great fan of America.”

“He’s a great leader. I think he’s going to be there for a long period of time,” Trump said, emphasizing “long.”

“He’s changed that country so much, especially toward their thinking about the United States,” the president said.

Trump also commented on the prime minister’s youth and looks.

“He’s young and he’s handsome, which I don’t like. I’m not happy about that,” Trump joked.

Justices Kagan, Barrett split on enforcement mechanism for Supreme Court’s new code of ethics

All nine justices agreed to the code in 2023 amid a storm of criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices.

Kagan and Barrett both said the court is taking the code seriously, but Kagan also supported creating a way to enforce it. The liberal-leaning justice acknowledged it could be tricky since any enforcement would have to come from the judicial branch and the Supreme Court sits at its head.

Barrett, who is part of the court’s conservative majority, said she wasn’t so sure. There are significant questions over who would do the enforcing and how, and it’s not clear whether there is a way to address them effectively, she said.

How does the court decide emergency appeals?

The relatively quick process of deciding emergency docket cases centers on whether the petitioner will eventually win, and how they could be legally harmed if the court doesn’t step in, Barrett said.

The justices declined to talk about specific cases, including suits where the court sided with the Trump administration and allowed cuts to the federal workforce to proceed.

The court often begins by considering the case from the petitioner’s point of view, Barrett said, though Kagan pointed out the court can also consider how the other side might be affected if the court intervenes.

Supreme Court justices address rise in ‘shadow docket’ appeals

Kagan and Barrett address the rise in appeals on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket.

While the court can’t control how many are filed, Kagan points out that some high-profile decisions may have encouraged attorneys to file more appeals. Those appeals are decided without full briefing or arguments, Kagan said, and “we should consider those downsides.”

Iraqi PM arrives for White House meeting with Trump

Trump was waiting outside the entrance to the West Wing to greet the prime minister when he arrived. They shook hands and exchanged small talk before entering the White House with their arms around each other’s backs.

“Love Iraq,” Trump replied to a reporter’s question about his message to the people of Iraq.

The leaked Dobbs opinion’s shadow on the Supreme Court’s security concerns

Kagan said threats against the Supreme Court increased after the leak of a draft of the opinion that later overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, and have continued to grow since then.

In 2022, shortly after the leak, a would-be assassin was arrested near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with weapons and zip ties. Chief Justice John Roberts has condemned the threats to all U.S. judges, saying during a speech in March that criticism of judicial opinions is understandable, but personally directed hostility is “dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”

Supreme Court justices testify before Congress on increasing security funding in rare appearance

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices has increasingly encroached on their personal and family lives.

During a rare appearance before Congress, Barrett said she had to wear a bulletproof vest home a few years ago, something she struggled to explain to her 12-year-old son.

“I didn’t expect that performing this service would put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was, why I had to wear one,” she said. The hearing marks the first time justices have testified before Congress since 2019.

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Warsh vows to crush inflation but offers no hint on the Fed’s next move

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s written testimony to Congress says the Fed will make high inflation “a thing of the past,” but provides no signal about the central bank’s next steps.

Fed policymakers “have no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation,” Warsh will say when he testifies Tuesday before a House committee. “And we share a resolute commitment to restoring price stability.”

Yet about half of the 19 members of the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee expect they will have to raise the central bank’s key rate by the end of the year to defeat inflation, while nearly half have penciled in no change or even a rate cut. Warsh faces a stiff challenge in reconciling the divided committee while navigating a rapidly-changing economic outlook.

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Lindsey Graham’s sister prepares for her Senate swearing-in

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, will be sworn in Tuesday afternoon as his temporary replacement after his unexpected death over the weekend, and will serve out the rest of his term ending in January.

Graham earned a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling and has worked as an optician and at various state agencies. She’ll be the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.

“It is such an honor,” she said, as dozens of Graham staffers and campaign advisers stood behind her during a statehouse news conference. “Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.”

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Trump to welcome Iraq’s new prime minister to the White House

Al-Zaidi has been under pressure to disarm a network of Iran-backed militias operating in the country, some of which launched attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran.

Trump is scheduled to greet the Iraqi leader Zaidi at 11 a.m., followed by an Oval Office meeting.

Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Chatham House think tank, expects that “the U.S. will put significant pressure on al-Zaidi” to move ahead with disarmament “and Zaidi will respond by saying, ‘But I need support — intelligence support, technical support, armed support.’”

“There is a scenario in which, if the Iraqi government starts going after these groups, they will also go after the government,” Mansour said. “And this is a scenario that I think that the Iraqi government is apprehensive about.”

‘Dangerous.’ ‘Brazen.’ ‘Unprecedented.’ ‘Uncharted territory’

Reaction has been swift and severe to the issue of subpoenas to five New York Times journalists who reported on security questions involving Trump’s new Qatari-gifted Air Force One.

“The subpoenas are an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The White House Correspondents Association holds its rescheduled dinner celebrating the First Amendment in less than two weeks, with Trump planning to attend. The first was scuttled when a shooter opened fire in what prosecutors say was an attempt to kill the president.

“The WHCA condemns any act of intimidation against journalists, including attempts to pressure them into revealing sources,” said a statement from the group’s president, Weijia Jiang.

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What does the Supreme Court want from Congress?

Security is central to the court’s budget request of $228 million — roughly 10% more than the last fiscal year.

Nearly $15 million of that would go to expanding personal protection for justices, with six more agents for each.

Another $2 million would fund more Supreme Court police officers and an off-site residential security post to speed emergency responses.

The U.S. Marshals Service reported 564 threats to the hundreds of federal judges around the country during the last fiscal year, and justices have not been immune: Barrett’s security detail had to defuse a fake 911 call at her house, and her sister was the victim of a bomb threat. A would-be assassin was arrested near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Chief Justice John Roberts has condemned the threats, saying it’s “dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”

June inflation report shows complicated outlook for Trump on economy

The White House will have reasons to rejoice in the June release of the consumer price index, as prices fell 0.4% on a monthly basis in large part because of tumbling oil prices tied to the now deteriorated ceasefire with Iran.

But prices still rose 3.5% over the past 12 months, well above the Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2%.

And the monthly decline could be short-lived, with oil prices jumping again as fighting intensifies in the Middle East.

Prices for the global benchmark of Brent crude oil have risen nearly 8% in the past five days of trading to about $81 a barrel on Tuesday, a sign that inflation could soon pick up again as the American public begins to focus on the November midterm elections.

Attacks resume across the Mideast

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting “coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” Iran acknowledged the strikes, but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.

Moments after the military announced the new strikes, Trump called it “another major attack” and said the U.S. was “putting the blockade back.”

Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and three tankers that traveled through the strait.

Here's Trump's rationale for charging tolls in the strait

U.S. Central Command said on social media that it “will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas” beginning Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT, and will “support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade.”

A notice to mariners released Monday by the U.S. military warned of using force if ships don’t comply. It also said the military will let through humanitarian shipments.

The statement follows Trump declaring that the U.S. would be reinstating the naval blockade and charging a 20% toll on eligible cargo.

“We’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,” Trump said. “We’re spending money. And so, what we’ve done is, we are going to be reimbursed for protection.”

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, would not say whether the military would be collecting tolls, and referred questions to the White House.

Trump to address the nation on Thursday

The president posted on social media that he would be “making a Speech to the Nation” at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

Trump appeared to refer to himself in the third person in the post.

He did not disclose the details of his planned speech, but the announcement comes after Trump said he would block Iran-related ships from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. would charge a 20% fee on all cargo going through the waterway.

Asked in an interview with Hugh Hewitt what his Thursday address will be about, Trump made it sound like nothing out of the ordinary.

“It’s just going to be a speech like a lot of my speeches,” he said, without offering any more detail.

Fed policymakers “have no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation,” Warsh said in his first appearance before Congress since becoming chair May 22, replacing former chair Jerome Powell. “And we share a resolute commitment to restoring price stability.”

Still, Warsh heads a sharply divided rate-setting committee, with about half of the 19 policymakers penciling in higher interest rates by the end of the year in forecasts released last month. Another half have signaled that they support keeping rates unchanged or even cutting them. Warsh faces a stiff challenge in reconciling the divided committee while navigating a rapidly-changing economic outlook.

Warsh spoke to the House Financial Services Committee soon after the government reported that inflation fell 0.4% from May to June, driven down mostly by cheaper gas prices. Core inflation — which excludes the volatile energy and food categories — was unchanged last month, a broader slowdown in price increases than economists expected.

Compared with a year ago, inflation dropped to 3.5% from 4.2% in May. Core inflation rose just 2.6% in June from a year earlier, down from 2.9% in May, a positive sign that higher gas costs haven't yet lifted broader prices. Still, the core figure is above the Fed's 2% target.

The cooling inflation figures reduce pressure on the Fed to combat higher prices by hiking interest rates. Still, the renewed conflict in the Middle East has already driven up oil prices and could reverse some of the progress on inflation in coming months.

Warsh, asked about the price figures, said they represented just one month of data and suggested he does not see inflation as defeated.

“There might be some that look at this morning's data and say, ‘mission accomplished,'" he said. “That is not my view.”

Guidance on next steps

In keeping with his stated policy of providing less guidance about the Fed's policies, Warsh did not signal whether rate increases would be necessary to combat inflation. The next meeting of the Fed's rate-setting committee is July 28-29.

Under questioning from members of the House committee, he explained a bit more his thinking about pulling back on what Fed-watchers refer to as “forward guidance.”

“If we were to give you my projection today about what we’ll do when we meet in two weeks,” Warsh said, Fed officials are more likely to accept information “consistent with our priors and rejecting information that’s inconsistent.”

“When we have news for you about exactly the methods of solving this problem, we’ll be very clear about what they are,” he added later.

Warsh was pressed by Democrats on the committee to explain how he would react if President Donald Trump, who repeatedly attacked his predecessor, demanded that he cut rates or take other steps that weren't justified by the economic data.

“Are you ready for that?” Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York, asked.

“My commitment to you is to follow the law and follow the data, follow our very best judgment,” Warsh said.

Warsh also cited the Supreme Court's recent decision to allow Fed governor Lisa Cook to remain on the central bank's board, thwarting Trump's attempt to fire her for now, as a sign the high court sees the Fed as independent.

“To the extent there were questions about it, the court has answered those questions,” he said.

The renewal of the Iran war has caused oil prices to climb again after they had fallen back to nearly their prewar level. Gas prices had fallen about 20% from their peak but have also increased in the past week and are still about 35% higher than they were when the U.S. attacked Iran Feb. 28.

Some Fed officials have argued that underlying inflation, even excluding the impact of gas prices, remains elevated and may require higher interest rates to defeat.

Impact of technology investments

Another factor that could boost inflation for the rest of this year is the massive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure by the so-called “hyperscalers,” such as Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. The spiking demand for memory chips and processors has sent semiconductor prices soaring, leading to price hikes for laptops, tablets, and video game consoles.

Warsh said Tuesday that AI investment is “the most striking feature of the economy right now" and added that the Fed is “monitoring the implications” for inflation and jobs.

Other Fed officials have stepped in to provide guidance as Warsh has declined to do so. Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Monday said that another “hot” inflation report Tuesday would mean the Fed would have to consider raising rates “in the near term.”

But last week John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said that if core inflation stays at a 0.2% monthly pace for the rest of this year, the Fed could avoid hiking rates. Williams' approach implies the Fed would keep rates steady for some time while it monitors incoming data.

“Seeing my grandma and all these people affected made me feel like I had to do something, even if it was from the U.S.," said the 18-year-old, who has spent the last couple weeks preparing food for volunteers at the Doral, Florida headquarters of the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission.

Izaguirre is one of thousands of people who have participated in an exceptionally large grassroots humanitarian effort based at GEM, supported by donations from across the U.S. and beyond and still going strong nearly three weeks after the catastrophe.

Hundreds of volunteers still show up each day at GEM's warehouses in Doral, where about half the population is of Venezuelan descent. They sort donated supplies –– curated to address the latest needs –– and prepare them for transport to Caracas on daily flights.

GEM's system, facilitated by the U.S. State Department, has given members of the Venezuelan diaspora and others an outlet to support the ongoing crisis, and a trusted mechanism to send aid amid widespread concern about theft and corruption on the part of Venezuelan officials.

“Whatever we can get to the Venezuelan public is what counts,” said Izaguirre.

The effort also underscores the stunning dynamic shift between the U.S. and Venezuela since President Donald Trump ordered then-Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s capture in an early morning raid on Jan 3. With military personnel again on the ground, the U.S. has assumed a response role that would have been unimaginable before January, when Trump said the U.S. would “run” the country and seized control of its oil exports.

“This is a whole different animal,” said GEM founder and president Michael Capponi, who was denied entry to Venezuela while trying to deliver aid during the reign of Maduro, who long rejected humanitarian help, equating it to foreign intervention. “We land a private plane, it gets unloaded by U.S. soldiers, it goes in a truck we pay for and to a warehouse that we completely control. It doesn’t touch the hands of the Venezuelan government.”

GEM quickly activated a supply chain

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck 39 seconds apart on June 24, killing at least 4,500 people with thousands more still missing. They destroyed 190 buildings and damaged over 850, Venezuelan officials said, leaving 17,000 displaced and ravaging critical infrastructure providing electricity, clean water and sanitation.

GEM's headquarters became a donation collection point almost immediately. Some donors were initially skeptical that aid could reach those who needed it without being stolen or misused by a notoriously corrupt government, Capponi said. After GEM made its first successful aid distribution, the movement grew bigger than he'd seen in decades of global response.

Companies like Goya, Walmart and Amazon contribute supplies while professional sports teams have donated funds. But much of the aid is still amassed from thousands of individuals' contributions.

“They’re going to Walmart with their credit card, buying 15 cans of food and bringing it in a shopping bag,” said Capponi. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when it’s 2,000 people... it’s an enormous amount of aid.”

Lines to drop off aid at GEM have at times been so long police had to help manage traffic. Supplies arrive from across North America: Two brothers drove a U-Haul of goods from Canada. Another group arrived from Mexico. Trucks have rolled in from Nevada, Texas and California.

As many as 1,000 volunteers across three warehouses sort and pack. They fill pallets with essentials like diapers, and assemble individual care packages with enough sustenance and hygiene items to last two people about five days. They also tuck in notes of encouragement: “Te queremos Venezuela,” one reads. “We love you, Venezuela.”

GEM aims to deliver at least 100,000 care packages monthly for the next three-to-six months, while also addressing upcoming needs, like longer term housing.

Volunteers have taken vacations from work to put in hours at the warehouses, said Billy Richardson, director of U.S. logistics. Others arrive after work. “We almost have to kick them out at the end of the day,” Richardson said.

Mariela Vila showed up because she remembers how affected she was when Hurricane Maria pummeled her homeland of Puerto Rico in 2017. “The Latino community in general gathered together to help Puerto Rico, and that made me feel really well,” said Vila, 25, who has worked full-day shifts at GEM since the effort began. “So I felt the need to help Venezuela.”

U.S. assumes a complicated role

Nearly one million pounds (454,000 kilograms) of supplies have been deployed so far from GEM headquarters to its recently leased Caracas warehouses. GEM collaborates with local nonprofits and trusted community members to organize distributions in the hardest hit areas, often twice daily.

But it is the U.S. State Department that facilitates the shipments with the Venezuelan government, making it possible for GEM to operate in the country, even getting help from the U.S. military. On Saturday, U.S. Marines maneuvered an amphibious landing craft onto a Venezuelan beach and unloaded GEM packages that were then passed to 2,000 people lined up for aid.

Partnerships with GEM and other nonprofits allow the U.S. to tap into existing logistics and donation mechanisms, a State Department spokesperson told The Associated Press, adding that the effort with GEM leverages “the Venezuelan American diaspora and private partners who want to donate.”

Several other U.S.-based humanitarian groups told The Associated Press they also have been able to operate without interference from Venezuelan officials. Some depend on collaborations with established local nonprofits.

Despite the U.S. response, questions remain over its influence in Venezuela, especially while it controls billions of dollars in oil revenue.

“There are a lot of transparency questions that linger on the use of that fund in a moment in which Venezuelans really need that money to be used for the protection of Venezuelans,” said Laura Cristina Dib, Venezuela program director at the human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America.

John M. Barrett, U.S. charge d’affairs for Venezuela, told reporters last week that revenue from Venezuelan oil production, currently controlled by the U.S. Treasury, is being made available for relief efforts.

Asked for further details, a State Department spokesperson said the U.S. was "supporting the Venezuelan interim government’s budgetary operations, improving Venezuela’s liquidity and access to capital during the recovery," adding that the U.S. has contributed over $386 million to earthquake response independent of the oil revenue.

In the coastal city of Maiquetía last week, Yoniel Reyes sat inside a tent, examining the contents of a GEM package he’d just received during an aid distribution, packed and sealed 1,300 miles away in Doral. There were instant meals, bottles of water, canned food, hydration powder and hygiene kits.

“I never imagined I would be receiving aid from the U.S.,” said Reyes. “We Venezuelans are thankful, very thankful.”

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Associated Press videojournalist Juan Pablo Arraez contributed to this report from Maiquetía, Venezuela.

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

Incendios más grandes han estado devastando zonas del sur de Francia, pero el de Fontainebleau está excepcionalmente cerca de la región densamente poblada que rodea la capital francesa.

Aviones cisterna se zambulleron repetidamente en el río Sena para recoger agua y sofocar las llamas — la primera vez que se han utilizado aeronaves de este tipo para combatir incendios en la región de París, señaló el jefe regional de bomberos.

El humo cubrió las copas de los árboles y quedó suspendido en el aire el martes, mientras las autoridades intentaban controlar los incendios.

No se han reportado muertes ni heridos.

Dos detenidos en relación con los incendios de Fontainebleau

Dos personas han sido detenidas en relación con los incendios de Fontainebleau, y otras dos detenidas por incendios en otras partes de Francia, dijo el martes el ministro del Interior, Laurent Nunez, en la televisión BFM. No proporcionó detalles.

La ola de calor que ha abrasado Francia en los últimos días, la tercera ya este año, está empezando a remitir. El servicio meteorológico nacional espera poner fin a sus advertencias de alerta roja por ola de calor a partir del miércoles, aunque ahora hay advertencias de tormentas eléctricas en varias regiones.

España identifica a víctimas de incendio

Cuatro días después de que un incendio arrasó una remota comunidad de ciudadanos extranjeros en el sur de España, las autoridades judiciales han identificado a 10 de las 13 víctimas mortales mediante muestras biológicas.

La mayoría de los fallecidos, todos adultos, son extranjeros. Entre ellos hay cinco británicos —incluida una mujer que murió en el hospital—, tres belgas, una mujer francesa y un ciudadano español, indicaron las autoridades judiciales en un comunicado emitido a última hora del lunes.

Diez personas siguen desaparecidas.

El incendio de Los Gallardos afectó unos 70 kilómetros cuadrados (27 millas cuadradas) de bosque y tierras de cultivo, un área mayor que la isla de Manhattan.

España está experimentando un calor extremo que, combinado con el viento y la escasez de lluvias, está creando las condiciones ideales para que pequeños incendios forestales crezcan sin control.

Europa es el continente que se calienta más rápido en el mundo, con temperaturas que aumentan al doble de la media global desde la década de 1980, según el Servicio de Cambio Climático Copernicus de la Unión Europea.

_______

Las periodistas de The Associated Press Teresa Medrano y Suman Naishadham en Madrid y Angela Charlton en París contribuyeron a este reporte.

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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.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian crewmates Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off as scheduled at 7:47 p.m. (10:47 a.m. EDT, 1447 GMT) aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 for an eight-month stint on the orbiting outpost. Their spacecraft docked smoothly at the station in automatic mode about three hours after the launch.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, the first visit to Baikonur by a NASA chief in eight years that highlighted the ongoing cooperation in orbit between Moscow and Washington, despite tensions over Russia’s military action in Ukraine.

Before the launch, Isaacman met with the head of Russia's state corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov. Speaking during Monday’s meeting with the crew, Isaacman thanked Roscosmos for its efforts to prepare for the mission, saying that “the integrated work performed over the past several months reflects the professionalism and dedication of everyone involved.”

Isaacman also had a meeting with Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. Manturov's office said they discussed prospective cooperation on the International Space Station and other projects.

The mission is Menon’s first space flight and the second for Dubrov and Kikina.

The trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev.

Once bitter rivals in the space race during the Cold War, Russia and the U.S. cooperate on the space station and other projects. That relationship was marred by tensions after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, but Washington and Moscow have continued to work together, with U.S. and Russian crews flying to the orbiting outpost on each country’s spacecraft.

Plans for broader cooperation, including possible Russian involvement in NASA’s Artemis program of lunar research, have fallen apart. As Russia has become increasingly reliant on China for its energy exports and imports of key technology amid Western sanctions, Roscosmos has started cooperation with China on its prospective lunar mission.

Bigger fires have been ravaging areas of southern France, but the Fontainebleau fire is exceptionally close to the densely populated region surrounding the French capital.

Water-dumping planes repeatedly dived into the Seine River to scoop up water and douse the fires — the first time such aircraft had ever been used to fight fires in the Paris region, the regional fire chief said.

Smoke blanketed the treetops and hung in the air Tuesday as authorities sought to get the fires under control.

No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Two arrested in connection with Fontainebleau fires

Two people have been arrested in connection with the Fontainebleau fires, and two others arrested for fires elsewhere in France, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Tuesday on BFM television. He didn’t provide details.

The heat wave that has scorched France in recent days, the third already this year, is starting to subside. The national weather service expects to end its heat wave red alert warnings starting Wednesday, though thunderstorm warnings are now in place in several regions.

Spanish authorities identify some victims of deadly fire

Four days after a fire ravaged a remote expat community in southern Spain, judicial authorities have identified 10 of the 13 fatalities using biological samples.

Most of the deceased, all of whom were adults, are foreign nationals. They include five British citizens — including a woman who died in the hospital — three Belgian nationals, a French woman, and a Spanish national, judicial authorities said in a statement late Monday.

Ten people remain unaccounted for.

The Los Gallardos fire affected some 70 square kilometers (27 square miles) of forest and farmland — an area larger than Manhattan.

Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which, combined with wind and little rainfall, is creating the ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

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Associated Press writers Teresa Medrano and Suman Naishadham in Madrid and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

“To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question,” Son told executives at an annual company event in Tokyo. “AI will transform our lives completely, and do so in a way that generates profits.”

“Those who refuse to evolve are closing down their world. Those who condemn AI are themselves spitting upward,” Son added.

Financial markets have recently been swept by waves of concern that the meteoric rise in share prices of companies like Nvidia, and massive investments in data centers, might not yield returns that match hopes for huge profits from AI.

Son founded SoftBank more than four decades ago and is a pioneer in Japan’s technology investments. He was an early supporter of AI and has invested tens of billions of dollars in related companies.

Son said he estimates that almost $5 trillion in investments will be needed annually and globally to expand data centers, increase production of computer chips and provide energy systems and other infrastructure for AI.

“In 2040, approximately 20% of the world’s GDP will be replaced by AI-related industries, the world of superintelligence,” he said.

SoftBank oversees a sprawling collection of businesses through what it calls Vision Funds. Its other businesses include telecommunications and energy.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. earlier reported its profits for the fiscal year through March soared nearly five-fold to 5 trillion yen ($32 billion) from a year earlier as its AI investments paid off.

The tech giant has invested $34.6 billion in OpenAI. It sold its stake in computer chip maker Nvidia last year to free up funds for more investments in AI and data centers.

SoftBank recently started a battery business in Japan to build next-generation electric power infrastructure in anticipation of growing electricity demand driven by AI use.

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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok contributed.

Kent Carpenter, 73, was with his Filipina companion in a house in the coastal town of Sibulan, in Negros Oriental province, on Sunday night when the masked men forced their way in.

One drew a gun and shot Carpenter in the head, killing him instantly, police said his companion told them. The men took a laptop, an unspecified amount of cash and a backpack before fleeing, national police spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co told reporters.

Regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Joem Malong told The Associated Press that Carpenter's companion sustained unspecified injuries and was being treated. Investigators were trying to determine the motive for the killing and identify the attackers.

Carpenter was a marine biologist who had worked as a lecturer at the Silliman University, in Dumaguete city, Negros Oriental, Malong said.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We assure the victim’s family, the community and our foreign visitors that this case is being treated with utmost urgency and no effort will be spared until justice is served,” regional police director Brig. Gen. Romano Cardiño said.

Carpenter had been a biological sciences professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, since 1996. His research — which focused on the Philippines and the Coral Triangle between the Indian and Pacific oceans — shaped conservation efforts around the world, university officials said. They said he was on an extended research assignment in the Philippines and planned to retire in September.

“He dedicated his career to expanding our understanding of the world’s bodies of water and protecting some of its most vulnerable ecosystems,” Old Dominion President Brian Hemphill said in a statement. He described Carpenter's killing as sad and devastating. “His scholarship and passion impacted and inspired many individuals locally, nationally, and internationally.”

On his university webpage, Carpenter wrote that his research in marine conservation biology centered on assessing the extinction risks to fish species and plants. In 2010, he told the AP that unchecked global warming could lead to the extinction of all coral reefs on the planet within 100 years.

“You could argue that a complete collapse of the marine ecosystem would be one of the consequences of losing corals,” he said. “You’re going to have a tremendous cascade effect for all life in the oceans.”

Carpenter's interest in the Philippines stemmed from his Peace Corps assignment there in the 1970s, according to a 2007 Old Dominion newsletter.

Several Philippine environment and biodiversity centers mourned Carpenter's death. Silliman University said Carpenter was an exceptional scientist, who had collaborated with the university on marine research work and studies since 1976.

“Dr. Carpenter made ground-breaking contributions that transformed global understanding of Philippine marine biodiversity,” the university said.

It marks the second straight quarter of strong results from the banks, which have benefited from market volatility since the Iran war began in late February.

Both consumer-facing and market-focused banks reported revenue and profit growth that beat even the most optimistic Wall Street expectations.

The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index, which tracks the performance of two dozen banks rose 0.7% in afternoon trading.

Here's a look at how and why banks have continued to thrive despite a clouded economic future.

JPMorgan hits records

JPMorgan Chase logged $16.9 billion in second-quarter profit as its equities trading division again took advantage of market volatility triggered by the war in Iran.

The nation's largest bank by asset size, JPMorgan said that revenue in every line of its business hit record levels in the quarter, including its markets division, where revenue grew 35% over the same period last year. Revenue in its equity markets division skyrocketed 86%.

JPMorgan earned $6.14 per share in the period, beating analyst estimates of $5.59 per share. Managed revenue came in at $58 billion, also topping the estimates of analysts surveyed by FactSet.

JPMorgan shares rose 1.8% by midday.

The consumer keeps spending

Bank executives highlighted a surprisingly strong U.S. consumer even as inflation remains elevated, in part due to the higher oil prices brought about by the war in Iran.

Bank of America said that consumer spending expanded, outperforming expectations. Consumer investment assets grew 18% year-over-year and average deposits and spending all increased from the first quarter, the bank said.

JPMorgan reported revenue of $20.3 billion from its consumer banking division in the period, a year-over-year increase of 8%.

Wells Fargo also reported improved consumer activity, reflecting a broadly healthy U.S. economy.

“Consumer spending is higher, charge-offs and delinquencies are lower, and savings and investments are growing across consumer segments,” Wells CEO Charlie Scharf said.

The unresolved conflict in the Middle East, however, remains a potential economic hurdle for consumers and businesses alike.

Oil prices fell back near prewar levels earlier this month, but they’re back up more than 10% this week after the U.S. renewed attacks on Iran and President Donald Trump announced a new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s oil. At $3.86 per gallon, gas prices remain well above prewar levels but below their peak of around $4.50 in May.

Dimon said on a conference call that JPMorgan remains “appropriately cautious” in light of the current global economic risks.

“We cannot predict how these forces will ultimately play out,” Dimon said. “They may remain manageable, but they could also cause meaningful disruptions when they shift or collide.”

IPOs and mergers expected to stay hot through 2026

Dimon said that revenue from the New York bank's investment banking division rose 30%, accelerating to the highest level since 2021 as the thirst for initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions remained strong.

All the major banks played a role in SpaceX's record-setting IPO in June, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley acting as lead underwriters. The offering brought in $75 billion, more than all U.S. IPOs combined in 2024 and 2025, according to Renaissance Capital.

Renaissance expects the IPO market to extend its hot streak into the second half of this year, also driven by larger deals such as Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix’s “mega-listing” on Friday that raised $26.5 billion.

Global mergers and acquisition activity also accelerated in the second quarter of 2026, with announcements up 64% year-over-year and closings up 33%, according to Morgan Stanley.

Goldman Sachs said revenue from advising on mergers and acquisitions in the second quarter rose 17%.

Iran war the main source of market volatility

Markets have been swinging up and down since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, with military strikes from both sides interspersed with pauses in fighting and vague temporary truces.

Investors’ concerns that the war will last a long time has triggered high volumes of selling in financial markets, while hopes for a resolution and a freer flow of crude oil has inspired optimism and buying.

Though volatile markets can cause anxiety for individual investors, high-speed Wall Street trading desks can take advantage of the wild gyrations. Big swings in markets tend to increase activity on trading desks, leading to higher commissions and fee revenue for the banks.

Goldman Sachs said it brought in $15.52 billion in revenue from its banking and markets division in the period, 53% higher than last year's second quarter and a 22% increase over 2026's first quarter.

Citigroup's market revenue also topped its first quarter figure and was up 45% over the same period last year.

Overall strong second-quarter results

Wells Fargo reported a 22% jump in net income for the quarter to $6,4 billion. Revenue of $22.6 billion topped Wall Street estimates.

Scharf said the San Francisco bank benefited from a strong economy and its newly unleashed ability to invest after years of government oversight. Shares of Wells Fargo fell 2.6% at midday.

Goldman Sachs earned $6.6 billion in the quarter, or $20.98 per share, on $20.3 billion in revenue. Its shares rose more than 7%.

Bank of America’s profit rose to $9.1 billion, up 27% from a year ago. Bank of America’s shares climbed 1.7%.

Citigroup also beat Wall Street's projections for revenue and profit but its shares fell 4.5%.

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill — or Hillsborough Law — imposes a legal duty of candor on public officials to tell the truth about public tragedies whatever the impact on their reputation.

It is named after the 1989 disaster in which 97 Liverpool soccer fans were killed in a crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. An independent inquiry in 2012 found the police had covered up their own mistakes and blamed the deaths on unruly supporters.

The bill completed its passage through the House of Commons after a delay caused by wrangling over whether it would apply to Britain’s spies. After pressure from bereaved families, the government has agreed that the intelligence services will also be covered by the duty of candor, but with a “secure process” for disclosing information if it could affect national security.

The bill will become law after being approved by the House of Lords, Parliament's upper chamber, in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who promised to bring in the law during his 2024 election campaign, opened the debate on the bill in the Commons in one of his final acts as leader.

He said victims' families “have waited years and years too long” for justice.

Starmer's successor Andy Burnham, who is due to take over as prime minister on Monday, has long campaigned on behalf of the bereaved families.

In his first speech in the Commons since being elected as an MP last month, Burnham said the Hillsborough Law was “a rewiring of the state and a passing of power from the authorities to the hands of ordinary people.”

Paying tribute to Starmer, he said it was happening “because of the prime minister’s commitment to a country based on justice and fairness, and we thank him for that.”

The 54,000-capacity Hillsborough Stadium was nearly full for a FA Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989, when more than 2,000 Liverpool fans poured into a standing-only section behind a goal. Many victims were crushed against metal fences or trampled underfoot, and suffocated.

With hooliganism rife in English soccer in the 1980s, a narrative blaming drunken, ticketless and rowdy Liverpool fans was created by the police, and was only overturned by years of campaigning by bereaved families.

An original inquest in 1991 found the deaths were accidental, a conclusion the victims’ families refused to accept. Those findings were overturned in 2012 after a far-reaching inquiry into the disaster that examined previously secret documents and exposed wrongdoing and mistakes by police.

In 2016, a jury at a second inquest found the victims had been “unlawfully killed” as a result of failings by the police, the ambulance service and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, which ran the stadium. It found the behavior of fans did not contribute to the deaths.

In 2023 the government apologized for the way the families were treated over the decades and for the delay in its response to the report.

An investigation by the police watchdog concluded last year that 12 officers would have faced gross misconduct proceedings, were they not dead or long retired.

Labour lawmaker Ian Byrne, who was at Hillsborough and survived the tragedy, said he hoped the law would mean “that no grieving family will ever have to come to fight the state simply to uncover the truth.”

“This law is far more than Hillsborough,” he said in an emotional speech. “It is about the kind of country we choose to be, a country where power tells the truth, where public servants serve the public, where justice is not delayed until campaigners grow old, and where no family is ever left to walk alone.”

Assess spending rate

People who have just retired or are about to are particularly vulnerable to sequence-of-returns risk, which means that a bad market shows up early in your retirement. Not only does that early retirement sell-off feel bad, it actually is bad because it imperils your portfolio’s ability to last throughout your retirement years. In  Morningstar’s 2025 retirement spending research, we found that the people most likely to run out of money in retirement were  the ones whose portfolios lost value in the first five years of their retirements.

Retirees who are pulling cash flows from their portfolios can address that risk by adjusting their spending down to ensure that more of their portfolios are in place to recover when the market eventually does. And those adjustments don’t need to be radical to make an impact. In  our retirement income research, we found that even small tweaks like forgoing an inflation adjustment following a bear market help ensure that spending lasts over a whole 30-year period and can lead to more lifetime income than a strategy that ignores market movements.

If you haven’t yet retired, assess your planned in-retirement spending and identify where you would be willing to make cutbacks. Turbocharge savings if you can afford to do so. Catch-up contributions are available to all retirement savers over age 50. And if you’re between 60 and 63, you can make a “super-catch-up” contribution to your company retirement plan, for a total of $35,750 in 2026. High-income heavy savers may also be able to take advantage of after-tax 401(k) contributions, which enable them to stash even greater amounts in their company retirement plans.

Pull cash flows from safer assets

In a turbulent market environment in which equities have declined, it’s best to pull any portfolio cash flows from safer assets and leave your stock positions undisturbed. That’s the general logic behind  the Bucket approach to portfolio construction. In good years for the stock market, like 2023-25, you’d be harvesting appreciated equity assets to supply your income needs. In bad ones, like 2022, you’re not touching stocks but instead sourcing cash flows from high-quality bonds, cash, or a combination of the two.

If your portfolio is riskier than it should be, it’s not too late to shift into a more situation-appropriate asset allocation.

Play the long game with Social Security

Social Security is a secure, inflation-protected source of income, much like a paycheck. But the lifetime benefits of delaying Social Security are hard to ignore: a higher income stream that also happens to be fully inflation-protected and will last as long as you do. Delayed filing can be particularly impactful if you’re the higher earner in your family and you have a younger spouse who will receive that higher benefit for their lifetime.

In  our retirement income research, we found that delaying filing up until age 70 did enlarge lifetime income, but the benefits are greatest if you have some other source of funds to draw from until your benefits start. And the benefits are also obviously more valuable for people with above-average life expectancies, in that they stand to receive those higher streams of inflation-protected income for a longer period of time.

Revisit inflation protection

Inflation is a key risk for retiree portfolios because the income from your safe investments is going to buy you less and less as you age. Moreover, retirees tend to spend more on healthcare, where prices have historically increased faster than the general inflation rate.

Many retirees focus on nominal bonds and underrate the value of inflation-protected bonds as a component of their retirement plans. You can address that by adding an inflation-protected bond fund to your portfolio; most of the better target-date series allocate roughly one-fourth of their bond portfolios to inflation-protected bonds. Alternatively, you could build a laddered portfolio of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities that will mature and supply you with living expenses throughout your retirement.

Investigate tax-saving strategies

The early retirement years are typically an excellent time to consider strategies like converting traditional IRA balances to Roth or accelerating withdrawals on traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. Without income from work and because you won’t be subject to required minimum distributions until you’re 73, your income, and in turn the taxes you’ll owe on those conversions and withdrawals, will be lower.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more retirement content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/retirement.

Christine Benz is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

Related Links:

Your Retirement Countdown, With Christine Benz

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/your-retirement-countdown-with-christine-benz

5 Things You Need to Know About RMDs This Year

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/5-things-you-need-know-about-rmds-this-year

Retirees Don’t Need to Fear a Lost Decade. They Need a Plan

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/retirees-dont-need-fear-lost-decade-they-need-plan

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Tuesday imposing the country's first statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers, which house thousands of computer servers and require massive amounts of energy and a steady supply of water to keep cool.

The move pushes the state into a raging debate over how to regulate the AI industry, as concerns over rising electric bills and environmental risks collide with a desire to stimulate local economies and foster the U.S. tech sector.

“The bottom line is that progress shouldn't arrive with a higher utility bill, deleted water supply or noise pollution, so we have no choice but to address these challenges created by these massive facilities,” Hochul said at a celebratory signing ceremony in Brooklyn.

President Donald Trump has warned states not to slap regulations on the AI industry, echoing tech companies in arguing such moves hamper job growth and cede ground to China in a race to lead in the rapidly growing field.

Earlier this year, Maine seemed poised to establish a similar moratorium. But the measure was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills because it would have blocked a proposed data center in a town that has struggled after a mill closed.

Moratoriums have been proposed in at least a dozen states but have not gotten far, though some counties and municipalities have imposed their own temporary bans.

New York's executive order pauses state permitting for new large data centers and directs state regulators to create standards that address environmental impacts, energy demand, water usage and other factors, the governor’s office said.

Dan Diorio of the Data Center Coalition, a trade association, said the moratorium “will ensure that those investments, jobs, and economic activity flow elsewhere rather than to New York — with impacts far beyond the data center industry.”

The decision in New York also carries political significance for Hochul's reelection campaign and the state's tight congressional races this fall, as Democrats move to address affordability concerns over high utility bills. In addition, the governor this year softened New York's ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gases, citing rising energy costs for consumers.

Hochul’s Republican opponent in the governor’s race, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, opposes a statewide moratorium and says local governments should be allowed to strike deals with tech companies for data center projects that promise enough economic benefits.

In a statement Tuesday, Blakeman said the governor “doesn’t work with local governments and business leaders to figure out how to get things done,” while pledging to “modernize our economy to bring costs down and create good jobs.”

The state Legislature this year approved its own moratorium bill, but Hochul's office described the legislation as complex and said it needed additional work. Instead, the governor opted for an executive order that would take effect immediately.

State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, joined the governor during the signing ceremony. “If Big Tech is coming onto our turf, it should be on our terms,” she said.

New York, at this stage, has not been a destination for the largest hyperscale data centers.

Saharan dust continues to limit rain chances while also helping push temperatures higher. Looking ahead, rain chances increase Friday as the Saharan dust finally begins to move out of the area, allowing scattered showers and thunderstorms to return.

Intergovernmental conferences were being held in Brussels to ceremonially open or close negotiating tracks for the top four candidates to join the 27-nation EU: Albania, Montenegro, Moldova and war-ravaged Ukraine. But it could still be years before any of them join.

“We have not seen this in more than two decades. The last time, it was in 2002. This is a Super Tuesday for EU enlargement and Ukraine is part of it,” Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told reporters.

While holding four meetings in one day is a rarity, 10 countries — most of them from central Europe — joined the EU in 2004. Croatia, the last country to be welcomed into the world’s biggest trading bloc, joined in 2013.

Changing times force a change of policy

Tuesday’s move is a sign of the important political and geostrategic changes happening in Europe. In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that he would block any attempt at enlargement until the EU itself had undergone deep reforms.

But Europe’s biggest land war in decades and its fallout have altered that calculus. The EU has sought to encourage reform in the candidate nations, fearing the growing influence of Russia and China.

Ukraine’s progress has been impressive. It only applied for membership in 2022, four days after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. Moldova too has been under heavy Russian pressure.

Ukraine sees EU membership as one “security guarantee” for a stable future once the war ends. Its best guarantee would be NATO membership, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen, and other NATO members are wary of it joining while fighting continues.

European countries see the war as an existential threat, and fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin could target them in coming years, especially if he wins in Ukraine.

“The case for Ukraine’s EU membership is very strong,” Kos said.

“The future security architecture of our continent is unimaginable without Ukraine,” she said. “Ukrainians have turned their country into a military powerhouse with capabilities few other nations can match, especially with its rapidly evolving drone technologies.”

The benefits of EU membership

The prospect of EU membership is a powerful driver for pro-democratic reform, and joining has boosted trade and creates jobs, notably in the volatile Balkans region, where a series of wars in the 1990s tore apart the former nation of Yugoslavia. Most candidates for EU member are Balkan states.

Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, known as chapters, from agriculture to taxation and energy to trade. That process can take years.

Last month, Ukraine and Moldova opened negotiations on a cluster of five chapters linked to the values and principles on which the EU was founded, such as the rule of law, respect for fundamental rights and the functioning of democratic institutions.

They each opened a second cluster on Tuesday focused on foreign relations, security and defense policies, as well as trade policy, development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

Albania’s meeting will serve to provisionally close negotiating tracks on science and research, education and culture, and external relations. Montenegro – which hopes to join in 2028 – is doing the same with competition policy and customs rules.

Hungary's Orbán leaves and things start moving

An important factor that has led to the EU's new-found speed is a change of government in Hungary.

Ukraine’s accession process was long stymied by Hungary’s stridently nationalist former prime minister Viktor Orbán, who was considered Russia’s strongest ally in Europe and possible threat to the EU project. The candidacies of Ukraine and Moldova were linked and neither could progress.

But U.S. President Donald Trump's friend was ejected by voters in April in spectacular fashion after 16 years in power.

Orbán routinely exploited voting rules that require all 27 member countries to agree on certain rules, sanctions and even political statements. Unanimous agreement is required for each negotiating chapter to be opened, and then again for it to be closed.

Nine countries are officially candidates to join the EU: Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey. Accession talks for Georgia and Turkey are on hold due to concerns about democratic standards.

Kosovo has also applied to join but has not been granted candidate status.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine said it had downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles and have pummeled the country in Moscow's 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian air defenses likely used the U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war despite European efforts to make up for the shortfall.

Paris cheers Ukraine along the Champs-Elysees

Along the cobblestoned Champs-Elysees in Paris, crowds cheered Ukrainian troops marching in the annual Bastille Day parade, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received an ovation from European leaders who showed solidarity with Kyiv. Ukrainian aviators trained in France flew aboard two Mirage 2000B fighter jets alongside French air force pilots.

Zelenskyy was in France seeking a remedy to his country's air defense problem, and he announced Monday that Ukraine is joining with nine other nations to form a coalition that will build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe. Ukraine and its partners could jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system in the next 12 months, he said.

The Bastille Day parade featured about 500 troops from the ″coalition of the willing″ group of countries that have pledged to help with Ukraine’s postwar security. French President Emmanuel Macron called it a ″great honor″ to welcome them to the parade.

Tuesday's attack in Kyiv caused fires at two warehouses and also damaged a school, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement it targeted military manufacturing facilities that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow is seeking to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, are hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine seeks to bolster air defenses ahead of winter

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield before winter. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that have hammered its power grid since 2022, making winters almost unbearable.

President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, they are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will likely be years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine strikes more Russian oil facilities

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

An attack in southern Russia's Krasnodar region caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, authorities there said.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine also hit an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Bashkortostan Gov. Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t say what was hit.

In addition, the Ukrainian navy struck four Russian tankers operating as part of Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are dodging international oil sanctions and a patrol boat, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine claimed Monday it struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula between July 6-13.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rebuffed ceasefires offered by Zelenskyy.

“This war must be brought to an end, and all reasonable diplomatic proposals are on the table,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

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Eva Van Dam contributed from Paris.

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

The report identified the men as Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani. It said they belonged to an Islamic State cell that formed after the group’s territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria and had planned attacks inside Iran.

According to the report, Iranian security forces identified the cell’s hideout in the Bamo mountain area near the Iraqi border before it could carry out its plans. Several militants were killed and others arrested during the operation, in which three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were also killed. Authorities said they also seized weapons, ammunition and other equipment.

The two men were convicted of armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic, and were hanged after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences. The judiciary did not disclose where the executions were carried out.

The billionaire businessman has been keeping up, and he plans for the final World Cup game at AT&T Stadium this year to be his first: the semifinal between France and Spain on Tuesday.

“I think first and foremost, he’s just a big event guy,” said Chad Estis, the Cowboys' executive vice president of business operations. “He loves the NFL. He loves the Dallas Cowboys. But he has a passion for events as much as anybody that I know. He very much wanted to ensure that the stadium was operating well.”

Judging by fans who eagerly anticipate seeing themselves on the giant video board that hangs above the center of the field and under the retractable roof — and then jump and wave for joy when they do — the venue temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium by FIFA has been a hit.

The Jones family has a suite for the World Cup, and has been using it. But Jones and some family members often leave the country on his yacht this time of year — between the end of offseason workouts for the Cowboys in June and the start of training camp in California in late July.

As a result, Jones wasn't there in person for a pair of record-setting performances from Argentina superstar Lionel Messi. Or Japanese fans leaving entire sections spotless by picking up after themselves — twice. Or Portugal star and career men's international scoring leader Cristiano Ronaldo's final World Cup game.

Those types of seminal moments were what Jones had in mind with the design and building of a stadium that opened in 2009 and in barely more than five years had hosted a Super Bowl and NCAA championship games in football and men's basketball.

Jones also was thinking about the fan experience, having used his own lessons from touring stadiums in Europe to include large standing-room viewing areas on three levels at each end.

An extensive art collection is punctuated by Anish Kapoor's stainless steel sculpture dubbed “sky mirror” outside on the east plaza. Kapoor is the creator of a similar sculpture in Chicago nicknamed “the bean.”

To prepare for the World Cup, the Cowboys pumped another $350 million into a stadium with an original price tag of $1.2 billon. The video board looks the same, but there were upgrades in the guts of that, along with new carpeting and furniture mostly in premium areas and an overhaul of the fan shop.

“I cannot tell you how many people come to our stadium and say, ‘I can’t believe this is 17 years old,’” Estis said. “People think it feels new. The whole thing’s been great, but it feels like it culminates in this phenomenal match tomorrow.”

FIFA's in charge

Jones had to turn the stadium over to FIFA, which means the governing body got to put up curtains on the huge sliding glass doors on the west end for the only game where the setting sun could have shined into the eyes of the players.

NFL players, including Cowboys, losing footballs in the sun has been an occasional issue each fall. Each time the topic comes up, Jones flatly refuses to consider curtains. He prefers the asthetics and expects coaches and players to make game plans around the setting sun.

It will be too early in the day for the sun to be an issue when Spain and France play for a spot Sunday in the World Cup final at the home of the New York Jets and Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Jones wanted that final, but settled for the consolation prize of the most games, including sharing the semifinals with the home of the Atlanta Falcons, where Argentina and England play Wednesday.

“It’s just another great moment in an unbelievable sports legacy,” said Dan Hunt, co-chair of the local organizing committee and son of the late Lamar Hunt, who was one of Jones' rivals as owner of the Kansas City Chiefs.

“He’s been a world champion,” Dan Hunt said. “He’s a Pro Football Hall of Famer. He’s hosted Super Bowls, hosted almost everything you can at AT&T Stadium. And this is just another moment.”

That suite spot

Oh, one other thing Jones had to give up — his personal suite at the 50-yard line. Estis said FIFA thought it was perfect for a VIP area.

“We're like, ‘Wait a minute. Are you serious?’” Estis said with a chuckle. “I mean, I understand it. That's why Jerry's suite is there. It's the prime spot.”

Jones is giving up his prime spot for arguably the biggest single global sporting event to come to his venue. He'll just be in a different suite.

“I think I could imagine him being a little emotional about it,” Estis said. “To see him in design meetings and his attention to detail and his care for what the stadium looked and felt like to people, what it looked like from different angles walking up to it. He just he was so involved in the creation of what it is.”

Jones is set to feel the soccer vibe — finally.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Alexander, who signed a two-way deal with Utah last week, made contact with the Bulls' Caleb Wilson while driving toward the basket and, after tossing the ball toward the hoop, went behind the basket clutching his side. He then dropped to the ground, seemingly in great pain.

The 23-year-old Alexander was taken from the Thomas & Mack Center court on a stretcher. The incident occurred with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Jazz said Tuesday that Alexander had a left rib contusion.

Alexander played three seasons at Creighton and skipped his final year of eligibility to turn pro. The G League rookie of the year for the 2024-25 season played 24 games for the Denver Nuggets the same season and nine game for the New Orleans Pelicans last season.

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

The U.S. first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after the signing of the interim deal aimed at permanently ending the war. The deal set a 60-day timeline to also negotiate an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified.

When U.S. President Donald Trump announced the return of the blockade Monday, he also said he would impose a 20% fee on ships passing through the strait. But he dropped the plan to collect fees hours before resuming the blockade, citing requests from allies in the Gulf.

The interim peace agreement was supposed to reopen a waterway that is key to world energy supplies and give negotiators time to hammer out a permanent end to the war. Instead, fighting has once again engulfed the region, threatened the global economy and brought warnings to commercial airlines.

The U.S. carried out another wave of strikes ahead of reimposing the blockade, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation. Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in an interview aired Tuesday by IRIB, Iran’s state broadcaster, that the U.S. was seeking to prevent Tehran from exercising what he described as “effective sovereignty” over the strait.

There are at least 19 U.S. warships in the Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship with more than 1,000 Marines aboard. U.S. Central Command also said in a social media post that there are “hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East."

A fifth of all traded crude oil and natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, when it was open to all without tolls. When the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, it effectively shut the passage by attacking and threatening ships. That sent the price of oil, fertilizer and other goods soaring.

Iran has more recently attacked ships moving through the strait on a route overseen by the U.S. military that is outside Tehran’s control, setting off tit-for-tat strikes. The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force — but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops.

Trump says he's replacing the fees with Gulf investments

Trump said Tuesday that he was called by “kings and emirs” and other leaders who suggested an alternate arrangement to charging ships fees to pass through the strait.

“They said we’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars,” Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office.

Trump said he preferred that arrangement to charging tolls “because I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait.”

It was unclear if the investment deals would be new commitments relative to what Trump announced after a visit last year to the Middle East.

Strikes and counterstrikes resume across the Mideast

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting “coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” Iran acknowledged the strikes but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.

Iranian state media Tuesday reported the sound of explosions on Qeshm Island in the strait, alongside additional explosions in the southwestern city of Ahvaz and the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and three tankers that traveled through the strait.

The International Maritime Organization said the attack killed two mariners and wounded 14 others on two of the tankers, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, which were associated with the United Arab Emirates. The UAE threatened to retaliate.

Qatar called for diplomacy Tuesday and condemned what it described as repeated Iranian attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, calling them an “egregious violation” of the three countries’ sovereignty and the international rules-based order.

Hours after the U.S. said it ended its campaign of strikes, the Iranian city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf was hit in at least four locations, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Explosions in the southwestern city of Ahvaz and the southern port city of Bandar Abbas also were reported by Iranian state media on Tuesday evening.

The attacks again raised the possibility that Gulf Arab states were retaliating against Iran without discussing it in public.

The interim peace deal is in peril

Exchanges of fire in recent days had already cast doubt on the interim peace deal — now almost halfway through the 60-day period in which negotiators were supposed to agree to a final accord, which also was meant to address Iran’s disputed nuclear program and other issues.

“The passage of vessels is not important to the U.S. The U.S. is not dependent on the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump has announced it many times,” Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said in an interview aired Tuesday by IRIB. It was not immediately clear when the interview was recorded.

Trump's plan to charge fees would have been a change to longstanding U.S. policy and a departure from U.S. promises that the strait would remain open to all without tolls — recently offered by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on a trip to the region.

Under the interim deal, Iran agreed that passage through the strait would remain free of charge for 60 days — but the agreement left open what would happen after. Iran asserts it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees. The U.S. has disputed that.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly topped $87 early Tuesday, still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the war. The price dipped to $78 in the aftermath of Trump’s announcement that he had changed course.

Mediators are trying to prevent a return to full-scale war

Regional mediators are still trying to get the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate diplomatic process, said Pakistan-led mediation was working around the clock to reactivate the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Lebanese and Israeli delegations met Tuesday in Rome and will continue U.S.-mediated negotiations Wednesday. Shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah joined the conflict in support of its ally, Iran, and began attacking Israel. Israel responded with a ground invasion of Lebanon.

Last month, Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” outlining the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah. Implementation has stalled.

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Toropin and Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Reaction in the media world has been swift and severe to the issue of subpoenas to five New York Times journalists who reported on security questions involving the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One — a legal maneuver seen as a troubling escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign to control and intimidate independent media outlets.

“The subpoenas are an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Media advocates and analysts expressed dismay at the tactic, even after months in which news organizations drawing President Donald Trump’s ire have been attacked both in courtrooms and in the court of public opinion; media access to corridors of power has been blocked; and a Washington journalist’s home has been searched by federal agents.

“They have used the levers of power to intimidate and demonize professional journalists who report stories that are unfavorable to the administration’s desired narrative,” said Frank Sesno, a former CNN White House bureau chief who is now a media and public affairs professor at George Washington University.

He called Friday’s subpoenas “dangerous and uncharted territory, but merely an extension of what we have seen from this administration and president.”

“Don’t like a poll? Sue the Des Moines Register," he said. "Don’t like the way an interview is edited? Sue ‘60 Minutes.’ Don’t like the coverage of the gifted Air Force One? Order the FBI to investigate and subpoena the journalists for what is, by the way, a story that is in the public interest.”

Some of the subpoenas were delivered to reporters at home

Some of the subpoenas were delivered to reporters at their homes, the Times said. Sought by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, they seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this week.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump's administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But the Republican president used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

The subpoenas were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Times said the meeting lasted around eight hours.

The fact that the operation was conducted from the White House itself was particularly egregious to analysts like Sesno, who called the coordination “unprecedented.”

“This graphically illustrates the pressure and influence the White House and president have brought to bear on law enforcement that is supposed to be independent and driven by facts, not politics,” he said.

The Justice Department has justified the subpoenas by saying that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the department said in a weekend statement. "But DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”

The National Press Club called on the Justice Department to immediately withdraw the subpoenas.

“Every American should understand what is at stake,” Mark Schoeff Jr., the club’s president, said in a statement. “When federal agents arrive at the homes of journalists with subpoenas, it is not ordinary law enforcement. It is an extraordinary assault on the freedom of the press that strikes at the heart of the First Amendment.”

Also expressing solidarity with the Times journalists was the White House Correspondents' Association — which, in less than two weeks, holds its rescheduled dinner, with Trump planning to attend the event that celebrates the First Amendment. The first dinner was scuttled when a shooter opened fire in what prosecutors say was an attempt to kill the president.

“The White House Correspondents’ Association stands with the New York Times reporters who were targeted for doing their jobs to uphold the public’s right to know how its government operates,” said a statement from the group’s president, Weijia Jiang. “The WHCA condemns any act of intimidation against journalists, including attempts to pressure them into revealing sources.”

Trump's administration has initiated multiple lawsuits against media outlets

Trump’s animosity toward news outlets whose agenda runs counter to his own isn't new. But in his second presidential term, he has launched an escalation, often harnessing the levers of the federal government or attempting to do so. These efforts have taken place both in actual courtrooms and in the court of public opinion.

The president has sued various news organizations whose coverage he dislikes. He has also threatened to revoke TV broadcast licenses. His Federal Communications Commission chairman is seeking to penalize shows like ABC’s “The View,” where some hosts speak out against Trump, by having the FCC explore revoking its exemption from equal-time rules.

The legal skirmishes include an escalating dispute between the media and Trump’s Defense Department over reporters’ access to the Pentagon. The Times has filed two lawsuits over a policy requiring journalists to be accompanied by escorts at the military complex.

The White House has also battled with The Associated Press over the news organization's refusal to follow Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico. And it has battled with The Wall Street Journal over reporting about Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to the president — including an article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper said bore Trump’s signature.

Last month, the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas it had issued that sought to compel reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal to testify before a grand jury, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Post confirmed that one of its journalists received a subpoena from the Trump administration as part of a broader crackdown on media leaks that in January also included the extraordinary step of an FBI search of the home of another journalist at the newspaper and the seizure of her electronic devices. The media world was stunned by the search of the home of reporter Hannah Natanson, who was covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government.

The Times is now gearing up for battle against what its lawyer David McCraw has called “this brazen act.”

In an internal memo seen by the AP, the newspaper's executive editor, Joseph Kahn, criticized the subpoenas, praised his journalists' work and said: “We expect to prevail. We have the best legal team in the business. ... The law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power. It is essential that the courts reaffirm that protection and quash this overreach. We are confident they will in this case.”

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Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.

More than 70 people were injured in the Sunday night tragedy, with 24 of them still in critical condition, according to a statement by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Initial details about the victims, which have not been updated since Monday, said 18 of the dead were women and nine were men, all Thai except one bar employee from Laos. The injured included 41 women and 34 men.

The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, the city’s deadliest in 17 years, broke out shortly before midnight in a northern part of the Thai capital. Firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control.

The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were present Sunday night.

An investigation into the cause of the fire and whether the bar was following safety regulations is ongoing. Most of the people who were killed were found trapped in windowless bathrooms where they may have sought to escape the flames, police said.

Bangkok governor orders safety survey and better enforcement

Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said Tuesday he has ordered the city’s administration to conduct a sweeping survey of such establishments to assess risks. The city will also step up enforcement of existing laws to improve safety standards, he said.

Former patrons of the bar and other mourners visited the site Tuesday, adding to the growing pile of flowers leaning on the guardrails cordoning off the location of the blaze.

Handwritten messages in Thai and other languages, including Korean, were left alongside white flowers, expressing condolences to the victims.

Debris from the bar, including melted musical instruments and blackened chairs, lay scattered along the sidewalk, moved there Monday by officials investigating the cause of the fire.

University student Thanakon Phoklang said he was passing by and wanted to pay his respects.

“It was regrettable,” he said. “It’s impossible to feel anything else.”

The public clamor for answers and action concerning the tragedy has included relatives of the dead who went to Bangkok’s Institute of Forensic Medicine to collect their bodies on Tuesday.

Families weep as they retrieve bodies

Gathering at a loading area for vehicles, family members wept as they walked with coffins that were then loaded into an ambulance and taken away.

Namthip Tubsuk, a mother of two and teacher nicknamed “Ice,” died in the fire, according to her aunt Jittiya Phaiklaw, who focused on reports alleging exit doors had been locked.

“They shouldn’t have locked the doors,” Jittiya said. “If they were afraid the customers would get away, they could have had the security guard staff minding them away.

Jutatip Surakumhang, a friend of Namthip, said an apology was owed.

“I feel there must be someone coming out to apologize to everyone who died. There were deaths deserving an apology. It was heartbreaking,” Jutatip said.

The bar issued an apology and condolences Monday on Facebook and vowed to cooperate with investigations into the fire.

The relatives and friends of another deceased victim, 35-year-old Bangkok native Top Sarobol, also came to the forensic institute to accompany his body. They wept as his coffin was brought out and loaded into the van to be returned home.

“For his family, it is hard to accept it. His grandmother is old. She always said let her grandson cremate her,” his friend Nuttakarn Sevoy said. “But the reality is opposite of what we wanted.”

Speculation about the causes of the tragedy has been rampant but mostly unconfirmed, while experts have drawn general conclusions about fire safety in Thailand.

Engineering expert suggests problems should be probed

On Monday, the president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, Amorn Pimanmas, told reporters outside the bar that, while he had not inspected the venue, he observed some risk factors that could worsen fire hazards.

He said the building is enclosed, has low ceilings and may have used foam as decorative materials, without adequate flame-retardant treatment. Combined with limited air ventilation, smoke would accumulate quickly, he said, creating toxic air that could be the main cause of death for many victims.

He also noted that officials said the bar was licensed as a restaurant with a live music venue rather than an entertainment venue because it was located outside the designated zoning for such businesses. Amorn said that would exclude it from the stricter fire safety requirements for entertainment venues.

“There must be some kind of revolution regarding fire safety procedures, and I think law enforcement is also very important,” he said. “It’s not that we don’t have the law, but it’s the problem of how the law could be strictly enforced from now on. I think the government should answer this question.”

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Pimuk Rakkanam in Bangkok contributed to this report.