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The fire, which started on Saturday and has been dubbed the Highway 41 Fire, is burning west of Tamiami Trail, just past Krome Avenue.

The fire prompted a partial park closure, including parking lots, facilities and navigable waterways within the impacted area.

On Tuesday morning, Coopertown Airboats south of Tamiami Trail was evacuated as a precaution after smoke conditions increased near the attraction.

Heavy smoke could still be seen Tuesday afternoon coming from the blaze, just a few miles west from the Miccosukee Casino.

By midday, conditions improved as clear skies returned overhead and crews wrapped up hose lines after successfully suppressing the head of the fire, which had quickly spread through the area following a change in wind direction.

Officials said Safari Park and Gator Park were also closed due to predicted weather conditions. At last check, no buildings had sustained damage and no injuries were reported.

North of Tamiami Trail, which is being used as a fire break, airboat tours continued operating without interruption.

Michele Sutter, who is visiting from Switzerland, told Local 10 News that she and her family still felt safe during their tour.

“I know the area so it is not my first time here, but haven’t seen such a big fire lately,” she said. “We still feel safe.”

Sutter, who previously lived in Miami, said she is familiar with brush fires occurring during South Florida’s dry season.

Airboat captain Hank Ridings said those conditions are not unusual.

“In a drought like we are in right now it could happen at any time, a lightning strike, someone throwing a cigarette butt out not understanding how that can start a fire,” Ridings said.

From the early morning hours, the fire off Tamiami Trail was lit by moonlight, but within hours, the billowing smoke and crackling embers reached the road.

At some point, flames pushed onto the street, getting within feet of oncoming cars.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, but fire service crews continue to assess the damage from above as the fire continues to move east.

Fire rescue officials say the smoke has affected the air quality in the area, so residents nearby are advised to stay indoors if they suffer from respiratory issues.

As of Tuesday evening, the fire remains 0% contained, and the cause is still under investigation. Crews continue to assess conditions from above as the fire moves through the area. Officials said there have been no injuries and no property damage.

The National Park Service is also urging visitors to check for closure updates before heading to the park and to allow extra travel time, especially along Highway 41, where smoke can worsen at night and in the early morning hours.

Officials noted that South Florida’s dry season, which typically runs from December through April, increases the risk of brush fires across the region.

Fire officials said smoke has affected air quality nearby, and those with respiratory issues are advised to stay indoors or avoid smoky areas.

Judge Colleen McMahon said each year she feels “assaulted by SantaCon” and must stay home on the day when “drunken kids who are wearing Santa costumes” crowd the city’s sidewalks.

McMahon made her observations as the event’s organizer, Stefan Pildes, appeared before her for the first time.

The 50-year-old Hewitt, New Jersey, resident was arrested a week ago and freed on bail.

His lawyer, Noam Biale, said in a statement that Pildes “did not defraud anyone.”

He added: "Every participant in SantaCon got exactly what they bargained for: mirth, merriment, and drunken debauchery. We look forward to advocating on Stefan’s behalf.”

Pildes did not comment as he left McMahon's Manhattan courtroom.

A prosecutor said the government would build its case on financial institution records, information from a ticketing company, and evidence collected from dozens of bars and restaurants that pledged to donate 10% to 25% of their sales during SantaCon to charity.

Prosecutors allege in the indictment that Pildes gave only a small portion of the $2.7 million raised from 2019 to 2024 to charity. They say he diverted more than half of the money he raised to finance various personal ventures and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars more on himself.

Pildes used money earmarked for charities on extensive renovations to a lakefront property in New Jersey, concert tickets, luxury vacations, extravagant meals and a luxury vehicle, prosecutors contend.

The event traces its origins to a 1994 flash mob-style event in San Francisco dubbed “Santarchy,” intended to mock Christmas consumerism. As the idea spread to cities nationwide, it moved away from its countercultural origins and became more of a mass bar crawl.

While some New York residents decry SantaCon for the chaos it brings to city streets and subways, others are amused by thousands of costumed merrymakers crowding Manhattan’s streets with numerous Saint Nicks, along with a few Mrs. Clauses, elves and the occasional Grinch.

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The two returned to federal court on Tuesday morning in Miami for trial on charges of acting as an unregistered agent for Venezuela, conspiring to commit money laundering, and tax evasion.

U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian of the Southern District of Florida issued the jury’s instructions.

“This case, as we all know, is more than just the greed and the betrayal,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz said during his closing statement in court. “It’s about how they not only failed, but they completely and wholeheartedly decided to keep their relationship with the Maduro regime secret.”

Prosecutors filed the case against Rivera and Nuhger, a political consultant, on Nov. 16, 2022, over a $50 million consulting contract with Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.

“You are not able to say, as you sit here right now, having heard that closing argument, and all the evidence, what is it that Nicolas Maduro hired Inter-American Consulting, David’s company, to do to normalize his relations while he remained in power in Venezuela,” Attorney Ed Shohat, Rivera’s defense, said during his closing statement. “And there’s a reason for that, there’s a very important reason that that eludes you, and that’s because it did not happen. It never happened.”

The trial’s witnesses included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas who is close to President Donald Trump.

The evidence the jury learned about included a Local 10 News One and Only Exclusive interview with Rivera that had aired in 2022.

The case includes meetings they allegedly arranged between Sessions with Delcy Rodríguez in 2017 in New York City and with Nicolás Maduro in Caracas.

Sessions testified that the conversations focused on a path forward for Venezuela without Maduro in power.

After Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez went on to become the first woman in Venezuelan history to perform the duties of the presidency.

Rivera served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and in the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010.

One of them was caught on camera over the weekend driving a lawnmower into a target in Ocala while his friend filmed.

Now the duo are facing charges for property damages after breaking the door at the entrance of the store.

“It was not something you see every day,” said witness Vanessa Scarlett.

The last thing you expect to see while doing your shopping inside a Target is a lawn mower coming through the door.

“He actually drove straight into the door first and shattered it, it was quite interesting,” said Scarlett.

According to Ocala police, 18-year-old Janek Szkaradek was the one driving the lawn mower while wearing overalls and a farmers hat.

He was arrested along with Luke Charske, also 18, for the social media stunt.

Scarlett didn’t know either of the teens, but decided to start recording.

“You never know what is going to happen,” she said.

Police say the chaos didn’t start at the Target.

The night before, authorities said Szkaradek used a leaf blower inside a Culver’s in Ocala.

He was charged with criminal mischief and both teens were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Police say what started as a social media stunt ended with real damage and real consequences.

“I think they are teenagers,” said Scarlett. “They definitely got the consequence that a lot of people think they deserve.”

The message from Ocala police is to think before you record, it’s north worth an arrest and a criminal charge.

Both teens bonded out of jail on Sunday afternoon.

The Seattle coffee giant said global same-store sales for the January-March period rose 6.2%. That was higher than the 4% increase Wall Street was anticipating, according to analysts polled by FactSet. In the U.S., same-store sales jumped 7%.

Starbucks said it now expects both global and U.S. same-store sales to rise 5% for the full year, up from previous guidance of 3%. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance to $2.25 to $2.45 per share, up from $2.15 to $2.40 per share.

Starbucks shares rose more than 5% in after-hours trading.

Over the last year, Starbucks has been adding employees to stores during rush times and using technology to better sequence its in-store and mobile orders. It has also encouraged friendlier service and is redesigning stores to give them a cozier, coffeehouse feel.

Starbucks has also gotten leaner, and vowed to plow those savings back into its turnaround. Last year, the company closed hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe and laid off at least 2,000 non-retail employees.

In a video message to employees Tuesday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol called the quarter “the turn in our turnaround.”

“Put simply, more customers are getting back to Starbucks as we deliver the best of Starbucks more consistently,” Niccol said.

Starbucks said its revenue rose 9% to $9.5 billion for the second quarter. That was also ahead of analysts' forecast of $9.2 billion.

Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 50 cents per share. That also came in ahead of analysts' forecast of 43 cents.

Ambos regresaron a la corte federal el martes por la mañana en Miami para el juicio por cargos de actuar como agentes no registrados de Venezuela, conspiración para cometer lavado de dinero y evasión de impuestos.

La jueza de distrito de Estados Unidos Melissa Damian, del Distrito Sur de Florida, emitió las instrucciones al jurado.

“Este caso, como todos sabemos, es más que solo la codicia y la traición”, dijo en corte el fiscal federal asistente Roger Cruz. “Se trata de cómo no solo fallaron, sino que decidieron completa y deliberadamente mantener en secreto su relación con el régimen de Maduro”.

Los fiscales presentaron el caso contra Rivera y Nuhfer el 16 de noviembre de 2022 por un contrato de consultoría de $50,000,000 USD con la empresa estatal petrolera de Venezuela, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.

Entre los testigos del juicio estuvieron el secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio, y el representante Pete Sessions, republicano de Texas cercano al presidente Donald Trump.

Entre las pruebas que conoció el jurado se incluyó una entrevista exclusiva de Local 10 News con Rivera emitida en 2022.

El caso incluye reuniones que presuntamente organizaron entre Sessions con Delcy Rodríguez en 2017 en la ciudad de Nueva York y con Nicolás Maduro en Caracas.

Sessions testificó que las conversaciones se centraron en un camino a seguir para Venezuela sin Maduro en el poder.

Tras la captura de Maduro, Rodríguez pasó a convertirse en la primera mujer en la historia de Venezuela en desempeñar las funciones de la presidencia.

Los abogados defensores de Rivera afirmaron que su trabajo era legítimo. Rivera sirvió en la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos de 2011 a 2013 y en la Cámara de Representantes de Florida de 2002 a 2010.

“I said ‘no’ over and over, and I tried to leave,” Jessica Mann told jurors, sobbing. “He just treated me like he owned me.”

Mann, 40, is a hairstylist and actor. She's testifying six years after she first gave jurors her account of a consensual, if complicated, relationship that veered into rape.

Weinstein — the Oscar-winning movie producer who became a symbol of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct — looked on steadily, sometimes sipping water, as Mann detailed what she says he did to her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.

Weinstein, now a 73-year-old prison inmate, denies sexually assaulting anyone and is appealing sex crime convictions stemming from other women's accusations on two U.S. coasts. His attorneys haven't yet had their chance to question Mann at this retrial but have argued that everything that happened between the two was consensual.

He was convicted in 2020 of raping Mann, got the conviction overturned, then saw a jury deadlock on it at a retrial last year.

Jurors watched intently, several with pens poised to take notes, as Mann delivered a second day of testimony that sometimes brought her to tears, as it did at the twoprior trials. At points Tuesday, she was asked whether she wanted a break, but she declined.

Mann met Weinstein at a Los Angeles-area party around early 2013, when she had done some acting work but was hoping for a big break.

He expressed interest in her career and followed up with get-togethers that bounced between professional advice, invites to glitzy industry events and advances that made Mann uncomfortable but that she didn't refuse, according to her testimony. At one point, according to her testimony, she had an emotional “meltdown” that cut off an episode involving Weinstein and another woman.

Despite that distress, Mann decided to have a consensual sexual liaison with the then-married producer. She explained Tuesday that she had been taught “this is just normal for men to kind of be that way, and I just thought that maybe by being a in relationship with him, it would make me feel better.”

Sometimes, she said, Weinstein was charming and made her feel validated; other times she felt demeaned by his discussions of sexual practices. And “if he was told no or something, it was just like this monster side came out” of a demanding man who flaunted his Hollywood influence.

Soon after their relationship began, Weinstein surprised Mann by showing up ahead of a planned breakfast with her and others in New York, where she'd piggybacked on a pal's work trip, she said. Weinstein took a room at Mann's hotel, though she protested at the front desk that they didn't need one, according to her and to a former hotel employee who testified earlier in the trial.

Mann said that after Weinstein snapped at her not to embarrass him, she accompanied Weinstein up to the room, hoping to sort things out privately. But “he wasn't listening to me; he was just telling me to undress,” she recalled. She said she begged, “Please don't. I don't want to,” and tried twice to open the door, but the taller, heavier Weinstein slammed it shut, grabbed her wrists and held them crossed in front of her face.

“That was really scary, so I remember just like kind of like — just shutting down and giving up, because I had been fighting and arguing. So I obeyed,” by undressing and lying on the bed, she testified.

After a trip to the bathroom, Weinstein returned and raped her, she said.

Afterward, she said, she went downstairs with him to breakfast with her friends, feeling shocked but not outwardly showing it.

Mann told no one, at the time, about the alleged rape. She accepted Weinstein's invitation to extend her trip, attend a movie screening and have tea with him and his daughter.

“I just wanted everyone to act like everything was normal,” she said.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be named, as Mann has done.

The filing submitted Monday by the Justice Department is chock-full of the kind of Trumpian touches the president uses in written communication, such as erratic capitalization, exclamation points, non sequiturs, rhetorical questions, praise for the president and accusations that his opponents are insane.

The 16-page filing, which was signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and submitted by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, is a sign of the extraordinary degree to which the president has demolished the wall of independence that the Justice Department has historically had separating itself from the White House.

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation' is a beautiful name, but even their name is FAKE because when they add the words ‘in the United States’ to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it makes it sound like a Governmental Agency, which it is not," the filing's first sentence reads.

The Trust sued in December after the White House demolished the East Wing to make room for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, but public money is paying for security upgrades and an underground bunker.

The Trust argues in its lawsuit that Trump overstepped his authority by moving forward with the project without getting approval from Congress and key federal agencies.

Trump and Republicans have made a renewed push for the ballroom in the wake of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, arguing it showed the need to have a secure facility for large events. The Justice Department asked the Trust to withdraw its complaint, but it has declined.

“What Saturday’s awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so,” the Trust's attorney Gregory Craig wrote in a reply to the government.

The Justice Department on Monday said the court should dismiss the lawsuit, saying it “greatly endangers the lives of all Presidents, current and future.”

When asked about the court filing, the White House did not deny that the president had a role in drafting or editing the Justice Department's arguments.

“President Trump is intimately involved in the ongoing disgraceful lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and is working diligently with his team of lawyers to bring this charade to an end," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement.

The Justice Department did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The filing comes as the department in Trump's second term has fired employees involved in cases that were criticized by conservatives or because they were perceived as insufficiently loyal to Trump’s agenda. The department has also pursued aggressive investigations of the president's perceived enemies, including the unveiling Tuesday of a second criminal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.

Trump shared the filing on social media Tuesday morning, posting screenshots of each of the 16 pages without comment.

In the filing, the Justice Department said that the Trust is “very bad for our Country," a phrase the president uses repeatedly. The filing twice accuses the Trust of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS,” a fictitious and satirical malady that the president has used to diagnose his critics.

Trust attorney Craig — a former White House counsel — is described in the filing as “the lawyer for Barack Hussein Obama.” Trump has for years used the former president's full legal name, a usage that recalls his longtime questioning of Obama's loyalties, his faith and birth in the United States.

The Justice Department also argued in the filing that, “because it is DONALD J. TRUMP, a highly successful real estate developer, who has abilities that others don’t, especially those who assume the Office of President, this frivolous and meritless lawsuit was filed. Again, it’s called TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

The concept for the special passport, including a rendering of Trump’s stern-looking visage, had been under consideration for months before finally being approved late Monday. Between 25,000 and 30,000 of the new passports will be available to applicants at the Washington, D.C., passport office beginning shortly before July 4.

It’s the latest instance of Trump having his name and likeness added to buildings, documents and other highly visible tributes. There are efforts to put Trump’s signature on all new U.S. paper currency, also a first for a sitting president, as well as to include his image on a gold commemorative coin to celebrate the country's founding.

The commemorative passport will be the default document for people applying in person at the Washington office, although those who want a standard passport will be able to get one by applying online or outside Washington, officials said.

“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed U.S. passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

“These passports will feature customized artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the U.S. passport the most secure documents in the world,” he said.

The limited release passport will feature Trump’s picture over a gold imprimatur of his signature to an interior page, while the cover will feature the words “United States of America” in bold gold print at the top and “Passport” at the bottom — a reversal of the standard cover.

In addition, a small gold laminate American flag, with the number 250 encircled by stars, will be at the bottom of the back cover.

The Bulwark reported earlier on the commemorative passports.

The only presidents featured in current U.S. passports are in a double-page depiction of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Other depictions include the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and scenes of the Great Plains, mountains and islands. Current passports also contain quotations from Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower.

The addition of Trump's picture and signature to the passport book is the newest step his aides have taken to increase the president's visibility, including adding his name to the U.S. Institute of Peace building and the Kennedy Center performing arts venue.

Trump also has made waves with his plans for a new White House ballroom and a massive arch to be built at one of the entrances to Washington from Virginia.

Sheinbaum descartó que la salida del fiscal César Jáuregui implique el cierre del caso y dijo en su habitual conferencia matutina que la Fiscalía General de la República tiene que seguir la pesquisa.

“Tiene que aclararse todo... En este caso lo que nos importa es la defensa de la soberanía, de la Constitución y de la Ley de Seguridad Nacional”, enfatizó la mandataria.

Jáuregui anunció el lunes su renuncia tras reconocer que hubo omisiones en la información sobre los agentes extranjeros y admitió que esa falla “vulneró los mecanismos de control y comunicación” que debía asegurar como fiscal.

Los dos agentes estadounidenses murieron junto a dos funcionarios de la fiscalía estatal el 19 de abril cuando la camioneta en la que viajaban derrapó y cayó por un barranco en las escarpadas montañas que unen Chihuahua —fronteriza con Texas—y el estado de Sinaloa, donde se había desmantelado un laboratorio de drogas sintéticas.

Los estadounidenses fallecidos eran miembros de la Agencia Central de Inteligencia de Estados Unidos (CIA, por sus siglas en inglés), confirmó The Associated Press un funcionario de Estados Unidos y otras dos personas familiarizadas con el asunto, quienes hablaron bajo condición de anonimato por tratarse de temas sensibles de inteligencia. La CIA no ha hecho comentarios.

La Secretaría de Seguridad federal mexicana informó el fin de semana que uno de los agentes estadounidenses había ingresado a México como visitante y que el otro lo había hecho con un pasaporte diplomático. A su vez ratificó que no estaba al tanto de que agentes extranjeros estuvieran operando en su territorio.

La fiscal encargada de investigar los hechos en Chihuahua, Wendy Chávez, dijo el lunes que los extranjeros “no formaban parte del despliegue operativo institucional” y que su participación en el convoy estatal “no fue reportada a mandos superiores”.

Agregó que los agentes de la CIA “no portaban armas de fuego ni insignias oficiales de ninguna institución, vestían ropa civil y mantuvieron el rostro cubierto la mayor parte del tiempo”.

La policía de Miami informó que Santana Clark, de 28 años, y Santos Gaiter, de 40 años, fueron arrestados el lunes por el Departamento de Policía de Miami en relación con los hechos.

Según los investigadores, la víctima dijo a la policía que conducía un carrito de golf cerca de Northwest 12th Street y Northwest First Place alrededor de las 5:30 a.m. del 6 de abril cuando un Honda Accord negro comenzó a seguirlo, tocando la bocina e intentando cerrarle el paso.

Cuando llegó a su casa, la policía indicó que Gaiter salió del asiento trasero del vehículo, apuntó un arma de fuego y exigió dinero. También exigió la cadena de oro de la víctima.

Cuando la víctima dijo que la cadena no era real, se produjo un forcejeo por el arma, según el informe.

Durante la pelea, los investigadores indicaron que la víctima mordió el antebrazo de Gaiter y sostuvo su muñeca lejos de su rostro.

Indicaron que Gaiter luego disparó hacia la cabeza de la víctima, pero la víctima logró desviar el arma mientras sostenía la corredera, evitando ser impactada. Los investigadores dijeron que Gaiter amenazó con matar a la víctima durante el robo antes de tomar su teléfono y bolsas del carrito de golf y huir.

El informe indica que una segunda víctima dijo a la policía que escuchó un disparo y a la víctima pidiendo ayuda. Cuando se acercó al área, los investigadores indicaron que Gaiter la confrontó y le exigió: “Dame eso, chica, dame la bicicleta”, según el informe.

La policía indicó que luego tomó su bicicleta y huyó del lugar.

Un testigo reportó haber escuchado el disparo y vio el forcejeo antes de observar a Gaiter correr hacia la segunda víctima, según el informe.

La policía indicó que un video de vigilancia con audio captó el incidente y mostró el vehículo de Clark cerca con la puerta abierta mientras ocurría el forcejeo. Indicaron que el vehículo luego se fue del área pero regresó varias veces, aparentemente para vigilar la escena.

Una alerta de ShotSpotter registró un disparo alrededor de las 5:30 a.m. en la cuadra 100 de Northwest Ninth Street, indicó la policía.

Indicaron que imágenes del Centro de Crimen en Tiempo Real del MPD mostraron el vehículo de Clark siguiendo a la víctima antes del robo y a Gaiter sentado brevemente fuera del vehículo cambiándose de pantalón. La policía también indicó que ambos fueron vistos juntos dentro de una tienda poco antes del incidente.

Según el informe, el vehículo fue identificado posteriormente como un Honda Civic negro. Una orden de registro ejecutada el 14 de abril recuperó documentos de identificación pertenecientes a Clark, incluyendo una licencia de conducir, tarjetas de crédito y citaciones de tránsito.

La policía indicó que Clark también fue detenido en el mismo vehículo el 6 de abril y recibió una citación.

Después de que se le leyeran sus derechos Miranda, los investigadores indicaron que Clark admitió que conducía el vehículo en el momento del robo y afirmó que le estaba dando un aventón a Gaiter antes de que tuvieran una discusión.

Se negó a identificar a Gaiter como sospechoso cuando fue interrogado por detectives, según el informe.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Clark y Gaiter enfrentan un cargo cada uno de robo a mano armada con arma de fuego y otro de intento de asesinato grave con arma de fuego, mientras que Gaiter enfrenta un cargo adicional de manipulación de evidencia.

Hasta el martes, ambos sospechosos permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por establecer”.

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Miami police said 28-year-old Santana Clark and 40-year-old Santos Gaiter were arrested Monday by the Miami Police Department in connection with the crimes.

According to investigators, the victim told police he was driving a golf cart near Northwest 12th Street and Northwest First Place around 5:30 a.m. om April 6 when a black Honda Accord began following him, honking its horn, and attempted to cut him off.

When he arrived home, police said Gaiter exited the rear seat of the vehicle, pointed a handgun at him and demanded money. They said Gaiter also demanded the victim’s gold chain.

When the victim said the chain was not real, a struggle broke out over the weapon, according to the report.

During the fight, investigators said the victim bit Gaiter’s forearm and held his wrist away from his face.

They said Gaiter then fired a shot toward the victim’s head, but the victim was able to push the gun away while holding the slide, preventing himself from being struck. Investigators said Gaiter threatened to kill the victim during the robbery before taking his phone and bags from the golf cart and fleeing.

The report states that a second victim told police that she heard a gunshot and the victim calling for help. When she approached the area, investigators said Gaiter confronted her and demanded, “Let me get that, girl, give me the bike,” according to the report.

Police said he then took her bicycle and fled the scene.

A witness reported hearing the gunshot and saw the struggle before observing Gaiter run toward the second victim, according to the report.

Police said surveillance video with audio captured the incident and showed the Clark’s vehicle nearby with its door open as the struggle unfolded. They said the vehicle later left the area but returned multiple times, appearing to canvass the scene.

A ShotSpotter alert recorded one gunshot around 5:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Northwest Ninth Street, police said.

They said MPD’s Real Time Crime Center footage showed Clark’s vehicle following the victim before the robbery and Gaiter briefly sitting outside the vehicle and changing pants. Police also said the pair were seen together inside a store shortly before the incident.

According to the report, the vehicle was later identified as a black Honda Civic. A search warrant executed on April 14 recovered identifying documents belonging to Clark, including a driver’s license, credit cards and traffic citations.

Police said Clark was also stopped in the same vehicle on April 6 and cited.

After being read his Miranda rights, investigators said Clark admitted he was driving the vehicle at the time of the robbery and said he was giving Gaiter a ride before they got into an argument.

He declined to identify Gaiter as a suspect when being questioned by detectives, according to the report.

Jail records show Clark and Gaiter are facing one count each of armed robbery with a firearm and attempted felony murder with a firearm, while Gaiter is facing one additional charge of tampering with evidence.

As of Tuesday, both suspects were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where their bond was listed as “to be set.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the collaboration with Amazon's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, would involve co-developing a new platform for AI agents that can do computer-based work on people's behalf.

Altman spoke via prerecorded video message to an Amazon event in San Francisco at the same time as he was appearing in federal court across San Francisco Bay in Oakland for a civil trial brought by rival OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk.

Microsoft had said Monday it will no longer pay a share of its revenue to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the latest move to untether a close partnership that helped unleash an artificial intelligence boom.

OpenAI relied exclusively on Microsoft’s investments in cloud computing services to build the technology that helped make ChatGPT a household name. Microsoft, in turn, relied on OpenAI’s technology to build its own AI assistant Copilot.

But the partnership has evolved as San Francisco-based OpenAI, founded as a nonprofit, has shifted to a capitalistic enterprise on a path toward an initial public offering on Wall Street and has balanced its reliance on Microsoft with other cloud partners like Amazon, Google and Oracle.

OpenAI said Monday it will continue to pay Microsoft a share of its revenue through 2030, though the rate will be capped. OpenAI has been on a race to boost sales of its AI technology by focusing on big business customers. Its chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, also spoke at the Amazon event.

Microsoft remains the primary cloud computing partner for OpenAI, and products made by the AI company will ship first on Microsoft’s cloud platform, called Azure, “unless Microsoft cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities,” both companies said.

Altman suggested in his remarks Tuesday that Amazon had those capabilities.

“These systems need to run reliably and robustly,” Altman said. "They need to be secure, they need to scale, and they need to fit in the environments where companies already run their businesses. And they need infrastructure that customers already trust for their most important workloads. That’s what makes this partnership with AWS so important."

Radakovich, uno de los administradores más reconocidos en el deporte universitario, regresó a Miami en 2021, casi 40 años después de comenzar su carrera en la oficina administrativa de atletismo de la escuela, donde también obtuvo su MBA.

Durante su tiempo al frente del atletismo de Miami, el programa alcanzó importantes hitos competitivos, incluyendo una histórica aparición del equipo de fútbol americano en el juego del Campeonato Nacional del College Football Playoff.

El programa de baloncesto masculino llegó a su primer Final Four en 2023, mientras que el baloncesto femenino alcanzó su primera participación en el Elite Eight ese mismo año. Seis Hurricanes también ganaron títulos nacionales individuales de la NCAA bajo su liderazgo.

Fuera del campo, los estudiantes-atletas de Miami registraron resultados académicos récord, incluyendo un promedio semestral de 3.40, el mejor del departamento, y una tasa de graduación del 94%. Los 18 programas superaron un GPA de 3.0 por primera vez en la historia de la escuela, y el departamento recibió reconocimiento nacional por sus esfuerzos de servicio comunitario en 2022 y 2024, según un comunicado obtenido por Local 10 News el martes.

El presidente de la Universidad de Miami, Joe Echevarria, elogió el liderazgo de Radakovich, afirmando que ayudó a guiar al departamento durante un período transformador y calificándolo como un asesor de confianza.

Radakovich dijo que su decisión llega con confianza en la dirección del programa.

“Servir nuevamente a la Universidad de Miami ha sido un privilegio absoluto”, dijo Radakovich. “Este lugar significa todo para mí, y estoy orgulloso de lo que nuestros estudiantes-atletas, entrenadores y personal han logrado juntos. El programa está en una gran posición, y es el momento adecuado para un nuevo liderazgo que dé forma a lo que viene”.

Radakovich ha ocupado varios cargos de liderazgo a nivel nacional en el deporte universitario, incluyendo servir como presidente de LEAD1 y ser nombrado Director Atlético del Año por Sports Business Journal en 2017.

También formó parte del comité inaugural de selección del College Football Playoff y actualmente integra un comité de supervisión de la NCAA.

La universidad indicó en el comunicado que realizará una “búsqueda nacional” para su sucesor.

Mientras tanto, funcionarios de la universidad informaron que los subdirectores Brian Baptiste y Rachelle Paul fungirán como co líderes interinos, reportando al presidente de la universidad.

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Radakovich, one of the most recognized administrators in college athletics, returned to Miami in 2021 — nearly 40 years after beginning his career in the school’s athletics business office, where he also earned his MBA.

During his time leading Miami athletics, the program saw major competitive milestones, including a historic College Football Playoff National Championship Game appearance by the football team.

The men’s basketball program reached its first Final Four in 2023, while women’s basketball made its first Elite Eight run the same year. Six Hurricanes also won NCAA individual national titles under his leadership.

Off the field, Miami student-athletes posted record academic results, including a department-best 3.40 semester GPA and a 94% Graduation Success Rate. All 18 programs finished above a 3.0 GPA for the first time in school history, and the department earned national recognition for community service efforts in 2022 and 2024, according to a press release obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.

University of Miami President Joe Echevarria praised Radakovich’s leadership, saying he helped guide the department through a transformative period and calling him a trusted advisor.

Radakovich said his decision comes with confidence in the program’s direction.

“Serving the University of Miami again has been an absolute privilege,” Radakovich said. “This place means everything to me, and I’m proud of what our student-athletes, coaches and staff have accomplished together. The program is in a great place, and it’s the right time for fresh leadership to shape what comes next.”

Radakovich has held several national leadership roles in college athletics, including serving as president of LEAD1 and being named Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year in 2017.

He also served on the inaugural College Football Playoff selection committee and currently sits on an NCAA oversight committee.

The school stated in the news release that a “national search” will be conducted for his successor.

In the interim, school officials said deputy directors Brian Baptiste and Rachelle Paul will serve as co-leaders reporting to the university president.

El incendio, que comenzó el sábado y ha sido denominado el incendio de la Highway 41, arde al oeste de Tamiami Trail, justo después de Krome Avenue.

El incendio provocó un cierre parcial de parques, incluyendo estacionamientos, instalaciones y vías navegables dentro del área afectada.

El martes por la mañana, Coopertown Airboats al sur de Tamiami Trail fue evacuado como medida de precaución después de que las condiciones de humo aumentaran cerca de la atracción.

Un denso humo aún podía verse la tarde del martes proveniente del incendio, a solo unas millas al oeste del Miccosukee Casino.

Al mediodía, las condiciones mejoraron con el regreso de cielos despejados y los equipos recogieron las mangueras tras lograr contener la cabeza del incendio, que se había propagado rápidamente por el área tras un cambio en la dirección del viento.

Las autoridades informaron que Safari Park y Gator Park también fueron cerrados debido a condiciones climáticas previstas. Hasta el momento, ningún edificio ha sufrido daños y no se han reportado heridos.

Al norte de Tamiami Trail, que se utiliza como cortafuego, los recorridos en hidrodeslizador continuaron operando sin interrupciones.

Michele Sutter, visitante de Suiza, dijo a Local 10 News que ella y su familia aún se sentían seguras durante su recorrido.

“Conozco el área, así que no es mi primera vez aquí, pero no había visto un incendio tan grande últimamente”, dijo. “Aún nos sentimos seguros”.

Sutter, quien anteriormente vivió en Miami, indicó que está familiarizada con los incendios forestales durante la temporada seca del sur de Florida.

El capitán de hidrodeslizador Hank Ridings dijo que esas condiciones no son inusuales.

“En una sequía como la que tenemos ahora, puede ocurrir en cualquier momento, un rayo, alguien tirando una colilla de cigarrillo sin entender cómo eso puede iniciar un incendio”, dijo Ridings.

Desde las primeras horas de la mañana, el incendio cerca de Tamiami Trail estaba iluminado por la luz de la luna, pero en cuestión de horas, el humo espeso y las brasas crepitantes alcanzaron la carretera.

En algún momento, las llamas avanzaron hacia la vía, quedando a pocos pies de los autos que se aproximaban.

La causa del incendio sigue sin estar clara, pero los equipos de bomberos continúan evaluando los daños desde el aire mientras el fuego sigue desplazándose hacia el este.

Las autoridades de rescate de incendios indicaron que el humo ha afectado la calidad del aire en el área, por lo que se recomienda a los residentes cercanos permanecer en interiores si padecen problemas respiratorios.

Still, the club gave itself a little bit of protection in case he does not.

Pittsburgh placed the unrestricted free-agent tender on the four-time MVP on Monday, meaning the Steelers would be entitled to a compensatory draft pick if Rodgers doesn’t sign with them and instead lands elsewhere during the 2026 season.

General manager Omar Khan and first-year head coach Mike McCarthy remain very optimistic that the 42-year-old will be back after leading them to an AFC North title last winter.

The line of communication between both sides has been wide open since the end of the season, and Khan said after the NFL draft that the selection of former Penn State star Drew Allar in the third round does not affect Pittsburgh's interest in having Rodgers back.

The tender does not preclude Rodgers from signing with another team or even give the Steelers the ability to match an offer to him if one is made before July 22.

What it does do is give them some coverage if he signs elsewhere before training camp opens in late July. After camp begins, the Steelers would have exclusive negotiating rights with Rodgers.

The tender also slots in Rodgers' salary. Under the rules, Rodgers would be entitled to a 10% raise over his 2025 salary if he comes back for a 22nd season.

Rodgers said in January that he would make a decision “down the line.” The Steelers had expressed hope that Rodgers would be able to provide clarity before the NFL draft, but that did not happen.

Pittsburgh begins organized team activities — which are voluntary — on May 18. Mandatory minicamp is set for June 2-4.

Rodgers skipped OTAs entirely last year, signing a one-year deal with the Steelers not long after minicamp wrapped up.

___

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

Jurors began deliberating after hearing attorneys' closing arguments in the federal trial of Mohammad Sharifullah, whose capture was heralded by President Donald Trump as he addressed a joint session of Congress last year. Approximately 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were killed in the attack on Aug. 26, 2021, when a lone suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device near an airport entry point known as Abbey Gate.

Defense attorney Lauren Rosen argued that prosecutors failed to present any evidence tying Sharifullah to the bombing besides his own words to FBI agents during hours of interrogation. She said her client lied about scouting a route for the suicide bomber to the airport, where U.S. troops were conducting an evacuation operation after the longest war in American history.

Rosen said Sharifullah told FBI agents what he thought they wanted to hear, possibly because he was afraid of being tortured in Pakistani custody before he was brought to the U.S.

“The problem was, he didn't know much about what actually happened that day,” Rosen told jurors. “The government has told you nothing about how this attack actually happened.”

Justice Department prosecutor Ryan White said Sharifullah played a crucial role in planning the Abbey Gate bombing and was involved in several other attacks by an Islamic State regional branch known as ISIS-K, including its March 2024 attack at a Moscow concert hall that killed roughly 140 people.

“The defendant thought nothing of killing,” White said. “For him, it was just another day at the office.”

Sharifullah, who didn't testify at his weeklong trial, is charged with one count of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

White said Sharifullah told a journalist that he wanted to “catch and kill the crusaders” from the U.S. for invading his country after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

“This case is not complicated,” White said. “The defendant told you everything you need to know.”

Rosen said U.S. authorities accepted ISIS propaganda at face value when the group took responsibility for the airport bombing. She suggested that militants from a Taliban offshoot were manning Abbey Gate and could have been involved in the attack.

“You can't base your verdict on mere conjecture and speculation,” Rosen said. “That's what the prosecution is asking you to do.”

A review by U.S. Central Command found that the Abbey Gate bomber was Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State militant who had been released from an Afghan prison by the Taliban. Sharifullah recognized the alleged bomber as an operative he had known while incarcerated, according to an FBI affidavit.

A former Marine testified to Congress that he and others had spotted two possible suspects behaving suspiciously on the morning of the bombing but didn’t get permission to act. However, the Central Command review concluded that the snipers hadn’t seen the actual bomber and that the attack was not preventable.

A prosecutor assigned to the Abbey Gate case was fired last year after a right-wing commentator publicly criticized him over his work during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration. Michael Ben’Ary’s ouster was part of a broader purge of Justice Department veterans deemed to be insufficiently loyal to Trump, a Republican.

During his most recent presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly condemned Biden for his role in the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed him for the Abbey Gate attack.

The criminal case is the second in a matter of months against Comey and is part of the Trump administration Justice Department's relentless effort to prosecute political opponents of the Republican president. The seashells photo was posted nearly a year ago, but the indictment was secured as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a Trump loyalist who previously served as his personal lawyer, aims to prove to the president that he's the right person to hold the job permanently.

The fact that the Justice Department pursued a new case against the ex-FBI director months after a separate and unrelated indictment was dismissed could open the government to claims of a vindictive prosecution and to arguments that it is going out of its way to target Comey, who had overseen the early months of an investigation into whether the Republican president’s 2016 campaign had coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of that year’s election. Comey was fired by Trump months into the president’s first term, and they have openly feuded ever since.

The two-count indictment charges Comey with “knowingly and willfully” making a threat to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon" Trump and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. It offers no evidence to support the claim that Comey knowingly made a threat against the president, especially since he has said the opposite, but suggested a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message as a threat to do harm.

The case was filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the state where Comey found the seashells.

Comey's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Tuesday, and a Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately comment.

The prosecution arises from a May post on Instagram in which Comey shared a photo of seashells he saw on a walk in the arrangement of “86 47.” He has said he assumed that the numbers reflected a political message, not a call to violence. Comey deleted the post shortly after it was made, writing: “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and “I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

Nonetheless, Comey was swiftly interviewed by the Secret Service after Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president.

What 86 means

Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”

Trump, in a Fox News Channel interview in May, accused Comey of knowing “exactly what that meant."

“A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. "If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”

Comey's first indictment

The former FBI director was indicted in September on charges that he lied to and obstructed Congress related to testimony he gave in 2020 about whether he had authorized inside information about an investigation to be provided to a journalist. He denied any wrongdoing, and the case was subsequently dismissed after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who brought the indictment was illegally appointed.

Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bush’s Republican administration.

But the relationship was strained from the start, including after Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president -- an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration.

Other politically charged prosecutions

Blanche was elevated earlier this month from deputy attorney general to acting attorney general, replacing Pam Bondi, who had frustrated Trump with the department's struggles to build successful criminal cases against his adversaries. Blanche since then has moved quickly to announce politically charged prosecutions, including a case last week against the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, which is accused by the Justice Department of defrauding donors by paying donors to infiltrate hate groups. The group has denied any wrongdoing.

Comey is among many Trump foes to face scrutiny over the last year.

The Justice Department, for instance, is also pursuing a criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, another key figure in the Russia investigation -- one of Trump’s chief grievances and a saga that he and his supporters have long sought retaliation for. Brennan has denied doing anything wrong.

CNN was the first to report the second indictment against Comey.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of former FBI Director James Comey at https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey.

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Investigators said Shawnna Fitts was last seen around 10 a.m. on April 21 leaving her home, which is located in the 11500 block of Southwest 45th Court.

They said Fitts is about 5 feet 6 inches tall, and was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants, and carrying a small duffle bag.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Miramar Police Department at 954-602-4252 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

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Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Lewin, 43, on Thursday and corrections booked him at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale.

Two firefighters and the 65-year-old victim, who is a wheelchair user, reported the attack was during a medical call on Jan. 31 in an ambulance at Northwest 31 Avenue and First Street, records show.

Lewin and the victim, Alan Macphee, got into an argument over a GPS monitor, and the victim used expletives, according to the arrest warrant.

“Lewin instructed both firefighters ... to place [the victim] in the rescue vehicle, where there are no cameras so he can show [the victim] what he does to people,” a detective wrote, according to the arrest warrant.

Once the victim was in a stretcher, Lewin “approached” the victim from behind, grabbed his head, and forcefully struck it against the stretcher" for about 30 seconds, according to the warrant.

Lewin then “lowered the stretcher, pressed his thumbs into the victim’s eyes, and choked the patient” for about 10 seconds, according to the warrant.

Macphee, who had initially called 911 for help with shortness of breath, complained of “head, neck, and eye pain, and his eyes appeared bloodshot,” according to the warrant.

Fire rescue personnel took the victim to Broward Health Medical Center.

Macphee told a BSO detective that he had been “violently manhandled” and said Lewin had placed his thumbs over his eyes and “pushed them down into my skull,” according to the warrant.

During Lewin’s bond court hearing on Friday, the defense told Broward County Circuit Judge Corey B. Friedman that Lewin is “a family man” who had been with BSFR for about 11 years and didn’t have a criminal record.

Lewin faced two counts of third-degree felony battery on a person 65 years of age or older. Friedman set his bond at $50,000.

According to court records, Broward County Circuit Judge Thomas Coleman was set to preside over the case.

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony released a statement about the case on Friday afternoon.

“The arrest of our fire lieutenant demonstrates our commitment to holding our own accountable for their unlawful actions,” Tony wrote. “The public can rest assured that internal due process will be fair, and any resulting discipline will be appropriate and consistent with policy. I applaud the two firefighters who reported this incident. We will continue to hold each other to the highest standards and serve the public with professionalism.”

Lewin bonded out of jail Friday night.

Anyone who wishes to help the victim financially or otherwise may reach out to him directly at 954-708-8581.

Read a section of the arrest warrant

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Sofia Mendez and Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report.

Los investigadores informaron que Shawnna Fitts fue vista por última vez alrededor de las 10 a.m. del 21 de abril saliendo de su casa, ubicada en la cuadra 11500 de Southwest 45th Court.

Indicaron que Fitts mide aproximadamente 5 pies 6 pulgadas y fue vista por última vez vistiendo una camisa negra, pantalones negros y cargando un pequeño bolso de viaje.

Cualquier persona con información debe llamar al Departamento de Policía de Miramar al 954-602-4252 o a Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

Según Golfweek, la estatua mide 15 pies de altura y fue instalada en el resort a principios de este mes antes del Campeonato Cadillac.

El medio informa que la estatua fue creada por el artista Alan Cottrill y encargada por un grupo de criptomonedas ($PATRIOT).

New edition at Trump Doral —> pic.twitter.com/SsY6lhaJxa

— Kacy Hintz (@KacyHintz) April 28, 2026

Representa al presidente levantando un puño en el aire.

Cinco jugadores del top 15 del mundo no participarán en el evento, incluido el campeón del Masters Rory McIlroy.

Adam Scott ganó el último evento del PGA Tour en Doral en 2016 cuando era un Campeonato Mundial de Golf. Solo otros nueve jugadores de ese WGC están en el campo.

Este es el inicio más reciente para el campo propiedad de Trump. Doral fue sede de un evento de LIV Golf desde 2022 hasta 2025.

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The council received some pushback from residents.

It’s a sprawling project of four new buildings towering nearly 300 feet in the air, offering a mix of hotel, residential units and office space on the site of the Bal Harbour Shops.

The project has been repeatedly rejected by village leaders and residents.

The pushback has sparked a lawsuit by developers trying to build under Florida’s Live Local Act, which allows them to bypass village approval, but set aside 40% of the 500-plus new residential units as affordable.

The back and forth in courts prompted mediation between the two sides.

Monday night, a compromise offer that was made by developers was made public.

The new plan slightly scales back the proposed plan down to three buildings and a lowered height, as described by an attorney working for the village.

Residents packed Monday’s special village council meeting to lodge their opposition.

Increased traffic congestion, overcrowding in schools and a lack of infrastructure to handle anomalies like flooding are among the reasons they don’t want Bal Harbour Shops to expand.

Ultimately, commissioners decided to reject the new proposal and continue fighting the developers in court.

“Bal Harbour Shops and Whitman Family Development have spent more than two years advocating for the development of hundreds of workforce housing units that will serve the first responders, teachers, healthcare, hospitality, and retail workers who are the lifeblood of our community.

“The Village has fought tooth and nail to delay, derail, and deny that proposal while disregarding the very intent of the Live Local Act, so its no surprise that Council members rejected a revised plan resulting from hundreds of hours of mediation talks that would have preserved a workforce housing component.

“It’s become abundantly clear that the Village will do whatever it takes to uphold its exclusivity at the expense of the greater good. Bal Harbour Shops’ original proposal was conceived, designed, and proposed in compliance with Florida’s Live Local Act. The State Attorney General has supported our legal position, and our team will continue to pursue its original vision with the goal of delivering hundreds of workforce housing units in a community where they are sorely needed.”

Attorney John Shubin, who represents Bal Harbour Shops

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According to Golfweek, the statue stands 15 feet tall and was installed at the resort earlier this month ahead of the Cadillac Championship.

The outlet reports that the statue was created by artist Alan Cottrill and commissioned by a cryptocurrency group ($PATRIOT).

New edition at Trump Doral —> pic.twitter.com/SsY6lhaJxa

— Kacy Hintz (@KacyHintz) April 28, 2026

It depicts the president raising one fist into the air.

Five players from the top 15 in the world will be sitting out for the event. That includes Masters champion Rory McIlroy.

Adam Scott won the last PGA Tour event at Doral in 2016 when it was a World Golf Championship. Only nine other players from that WGC are in the field.

This is the latest start for the course owned by Trump. Doral hosted a LIV Golf event from 2022 through 2025.

Dr. David Morens, 78, is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institutes of Health. The Justice Department alleges that he concealed or destroyed records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants, including an effort to revive a controversial coronavirus grant.

“These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Tuesday. "Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas.”

Morens faces charges of conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting, according to a Justice Department news release. If convicted, he could face decades in prison. An attorney for Morens declined to comment.

The indictment reflects Republicans’ long-held belief that the federal government covered up key information about COVID-19 as the pandemic unfolded. Despite numerous probes, the origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory.

Blanche said Morens' alleged conduct was part of an effort to "suppress alternative theories" about COVID-19's origins. The Justice Department also accused Morens of having an improper relationship with a collaborator, including allegedly accepting a gift of wine and discussing COVID-19 research and potential publications in a prominent medical journal.

The indictment follows a probe by House Republicans into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that scrutinized Morens' email communications and accused him of intentionally concealing records. In congressional testimony, Morens denied attempting to evade federal transparency laws by using his personal email.

The lawsuits, which were filed last week in Rhode Island Superior Court, allege that the unnamed plaintiffs have suffered because Brown failed to maintain “reasonable and appropriate security measures.”

“As direct and proximate result of Brown’s aforementioned acts of negligence, Plaintiff suffered and became afflicted with grave and severe personal injuries, causing Plaintiff to suffer great pain of body, mind, nerves and nervous system,” one of the lawsuits states.

The plaintiffs behind the lawsuits are unnamed.

A spokesperson for Brown University said they were reviewing the complaints “carefully and promptly.”

“Out of respect for the privacy interests of the plaintiffs, we have no details to share on the merits of the litigation at this time,” spokesperson Brian Clark said in a statement.

According to law enforcement, gunman Claudio Neves Valente, 48, entered a study session in a Brown academic building on Dec. 13 and opened fire on students, killing 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and wounding nine others.

Two days later, authorities say, Neves Valente, who had been a graduate student at Brown studying physics about 20 years ago, also fatally shot Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at Loureiro’s Boston-area home.

Neves Valente, who had attended school with Loureiro in Portugal in the 1990s, was found dead days later at a New Hampshire storage facility. Authorities say he killed himself. An autopsy determined that Neves Valente died Dec. 16, the same day Loureiro died in a hospital.

The lawsuits claim that Brown's campus security was alerted by a custodian that Neves Valente had been “casing” the building but the school did not investigate the reports.

Shortly after the shooting, Brown's president placed the campus police on leave amid a review of the school's security policies.

Much of the focus has centered on whether the Ivy League school had security cameras installed in the building where the attack took place in and the overall ease of accessing campus buildings.

The justices are reviewing an appellate ruling that would allow the lawsuit against Cisco to go forward in U.S. courts.

The company argues that it cannot be held liable under two separate laws for aiding and abetting human rights violations. The laws are the 18th-century Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), first enacted in 1991.

The main questions among the court's conservative majority seemed to be how broadly to rule for Cisco and whether lower courts are allowing too many similar suits to proceed. Justice Neil Gorsuch at one point asked whether the courthouse door is “not closely guarded.”

In recent years, the Supreme Court and presidential administrations of both parties have been skeptical of lawsuits seeking to use U.S. courts as a venue to seek justice over the acts of foreign governments, especially those that took place abroad. To try to overcome that skepticism, Falun Gong members have argued that a substantial portion of Cisco’s activities involving China took place in the United States.

An Associated Press investigation last year showed that American tech companies, to a large degree, designed and built China’s surveillance state, encouraged by Republican and Democratic administrations, even as activists warned such tools were being used to quash dissent, persecute religious groups and target minorities.

In 2008, documents leaked to the press showed Cisco saw the “Golden Shield,” China's internet censorship effort, as a sales opportunity. The company quoted a Chinese official calling the Falun Gong an “evil cult.” A Cisco presentation reviewed by AP from the same year said its products could identify over 90% of Falun Gong material on the web.

Other presentations reviewed by AP show that Cisco represented Falun Gong material as a “threat” and built out a national information system to track Falun Gong believers. In 2011, Falun Gong members sued Cisco, alleging the company tailored technology for Beijing that it knew would be used to track, detain and torture believers.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson seemed most willing to allow the lawsuit to continue.

Cisco was a willing partner with the Chinese government, Sotomayor said. "It knew that those people will be tortured,” she said.

Not true, said Cisco lawyer Kannon Shanmugam. "Cisco vigorously disputes those allegations,” Shanmugam told the justices.

A decision is expected late June.

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Princess Bell “nearly” struck a man, who was working as a security guard at Taboo Miami by G5ive, and who told police officers that he was “in fear for his life,” according to the police arrest report.

A woman who worked as a manager at the club at 331 NW 170 St. told police officers that Bell had been terminated over “bizarre” behavior and conflicts with employees, and she was at the club to pickup her belongings, according to police.

Bell allegedly “began to run inside throughout the club ... throwing items, and using excessive profanity, disrupting the normal flow of business,” so security “escorted her outside,” and she returned with the pole, according to the police report.

After leaving the club, a police officer reported Bell was walking towards a Shell gas station at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 171st Street, when she ignored orders to stop and ran, according to the arrest report.

North Miami Beach police officers chased Bell and arrested her shortly after 11:50 p.m. at the westbound ramp of State Road 826, but there was a struggle, according to the report.

Bell “refused to stand up and continued to push her bodyweight onto the ground,” and she also refused to identify herself before providing her sister’s name, according to the police arrest report.

Police officers asked Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel and Jackson Memorial Hospital West to care for Bell before taking her to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to the arrest report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked her shortly after 5:10 a.m. on Tuesday. She faced seven charges: Aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, providing a false name or ID after arrest, and four counts of resisting arrest without violence.

Records show corrections held her without bond on both out-of-state and out-of-county fugitive warrants.

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

Princess Bell “casi” golpeó a un hombre que trabajaba como guardia de seguridad en Taboo Miami by G5ive, quien dijo a los agentes que temía por su vida, según el informe de arresto policial.

Una mujer que trabajaba como gerente en el club ubicado en 331 NW 170 St. dijo a la policía que Bell había sido despedida por comportamiento “extraño” y conflictos con empleados, y que estaba en el lugar para recoger sus pertenencias, según la policía.

Según el informe, Bell presuntamente “comenzó a correr dentro del club, arrojando objetos y usando lenguaje excesivamente vulgar, interrumpiendo el funcionamiento normal del negocio”, por lo que seguridad “la escoltó afuera”, y luego regresó con el tubo.

Tras salir del club, un agente reportó que Bell caminaba hacia una gasolinera Shell en Northwest Seventh Avenue y 171st Street, cuando ignoró órdenes de detenerse y huyó, según el informe de arresto.

Agentes de North Miami Beach la persiguieron y la arrestaron poco después de las 11:50 p.m. en la rampa hacia el oeste de la carretera estatal 826, donde hubo un forcejeo, según el informe.

Bell “se negó a ponerse de pie y continuó empujando su peso contra el suelo”, y también se negó a identificarse antes de proporcionar el nombre de su hermana, según el informe policial.

Los agentes solicitaron a personal de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue y del Hospital Jackson Memorial West que la atendieran antes de llevarla al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según el informe.

Correcciones de Miami-Dade la registró poco después de las 5:10 a.m. del martes. Enfrenta siete cargos: agresión agravada, asalto agravado con arma mortal, proporcionar un nombre o identificación falsa tras el arresto y cuatro cargos de resistirse al arresto sin violencia.

Los registros muestran que permanece detenida sin fianza por órdenes de captura pendientes fuera del estado y del condado.

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

The row of paintings, like much of Gaza life itself, was displayed outdoors, open to the weather and curious stares. There was a painting of a dove, a bullet hole, a person’s silhouette in a territory where the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group has killed well over 70,000 people.

It was a sunny day in Bureij in central Gaza. Children shouted and played as admirers of the paintings took photos and reflected.

“They painted their feelings, their ambitions, their hopes, their visions, over four months during a continuous workshop in my studio,” said Ghanem Al-Din, who organized the exhibit of dozens of paintings.

One artist was displaced seven times

Obay Al-Qarshali, 21, was one of the artists. He said he fled his home in Gaza City in late 2023 after the war began, sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. He took only what he could in his hurry, leaving over 30 of his paintings behind.

They are now lost in the bombing and destruction, he said.

His painting on display showed broken glass, cars topped with mattresses and other belongings and the debris of buildings. All are too familiar for him and hundreds of thousands of fellow Palestinians who have been displaced, often more than once.

Al-Qarshali said he had changed locations at least seven times in the war.

“Because of how much we were displaced and suffered in moving and carrying our belongings, the tents, the crowds, and so much more, I wanted to express something that deeply troubled me: that we left our homes and our safe places, forced to flee, scatter, and change our location. This piece expresses so much,” he said.

The timing of next steps in Gaza's ceasefire is unclear. The disarming of Hamas is a major challenge before the territory’s shift in governance, stabilization and reconstruction can begin in earnest.

“Critical demilitarization talks with Hamas are continuing," former British prime minister Tony Blair, a key member of the U.S.-created Board of Peace meant to focus on Gaza, told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

Reconstruction likely will cost over $70 billion and take a decade, a report by the United Nations and the European Union said last week.

It said Gaza’s economy has contracted by 84%. More than 371,000 housing units have been destroyed. Over half of Gaza’s hospitals are “non-functional.” Nearly all schools are destroyed or damaged in the territory of over 2 million people.

In a report on Tuesday, Doctors Without Borders said Israel has destroyed or damaged about 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. And a Mercy Corps study found only 7% of Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure remains functional.

A child collecting firewood is among the dead

While large-scale fighting has eased since the ceasefire took effect in October, Israeli forces have continued near-daily strikes and fire around military-held zones, killing over 800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in Gaza City, killing four men, according to Shifa Hospital.

The strike happened away from the so-called Yellow Line that separates Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza. Israel’s military said it struck a “terrorist” in the location, with no details.

The bodies were wrapped in white and placed on the ground, outdoors, so a crowd could mourn.

And a 9-year-old boy was killed by Israeli fire while gathering firewood in the southern city of Khan Younis, about 400 meters (1,312 feet) west of the Yellow Line, Nasser Hospital said. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.

Associated Press video showed siblings crying over the boy at the morgue.

“What is the guilt of those children,” a woman said during the funeral. “God is plaguing you, Israel.”

La policía indicó que Samuel Shiete O’Reilly afirmó que estaba en medio de una “persecución” en ese momento.

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de North Miami, el choque ocurrió poco antes de la 1 p.m. en el área de 476 NE 125th St., que corresponde a un centro comercial.

Los investigadores dijeron que O’Reilly, del noroeste de Miami-Dade, golpeó al hombre con el Dodge Charger blanco cuando este “intentaba cruzar la vía”. Las autoridades indicaron que un video de celular mostró el impacto y al Charger continuando hacia el este.

El informe del NMPD señala que paramédicos trasladaron a la víctima al Hospital HCA Florida Aventura, tras sufrir una “laceración severa en la parte superior de la cabeza”.

Mientras tanto, la policía indicó que encontró el Charger —y a O’Reilly— unas dos horas después cerca de Jimmy’s Diner, ubicado en el mismo estacionamiento del centro comercial.

Según el informe, O’Reilly dijo a los agentes que había regresado “para verificar a la víctima” y afirmó que el choque ocurrió mientras “intentaba perseguir a un cliente que no había pagado por servicios prestados”.

La policía indicó que “admitió que durante la persecución, golpeó a la víctima y, por miedo e incertidumbre, huyó del lugar”.

El informe no deja claro a qué se dedica exactamente O’Reilly.

Los agentes arrestaron a O’Reilly por un cargo de abandonar la escena de un choque que causó lesiones corporales graves.

Hasta la mañana del martes, los registros muestran que permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $2,500 USD.

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Police said Samuel Shiete O’Reilly claimed that he was in the middle of a “pursuit” at the time.

According to an arrest report from the North Miami Police Department, the crash happened just before 1 p.m. in the area of 476 NE 125th St., which corresponds to a shopping center.

Investigators said O’Reilly, of northwest Miami-Dade, hit the man with the white Dodge Charger as he “attempt(ed) to cross the roadway.” Authorities said cellphone video showed the crash and the Charger continuing to drive east.

The NMPD report states that medics took the victim to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, having suffered a “severe laceration to the top of his head.”

Meanwhile, police said they found the Charger ― and O’Reilly ― about two hours later near Jimmy’s Diner, which is located in the same shopping center parking lot.

According to the report, O’Reilly told officers he had come back “to check on the victim” and said the crash happened as ”he was attempting to pursue a client who had failed to pay for services rendered."

Police said he “admitted that during the pursuit, he struck the victim and, out of fear and uncertainty, fled the scene.”

The report doesn’t make clear what exactly O’Reilly does for a living.

Officers arrested O’Reilly on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury.

As of Tuesday morning, records show he was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,500 bond.

“It wasn’t the plan,” he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “But it wasn’t not the plan.”

Stanton has done other things than think about Woody and Buzz for the past 34 years. At Pixar, he made “A Bug’s Life” and two Oscar-winners: “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E.” But “Toy Story” was the movie that started it all. The one he and his peers couldn’t believe they got to make. Everything that’s happened since, he said, has been gravy.

The new film, in theaters June 12, is widely expected to be one of the summer’s biggest hits. The past two movies made more than a billion dollars and this one is likely on the same path. But while there is a business driving many of the decisions regarding the series, Stanton said they’ve also had a lot of time to think about where the story should go. It’s show business, yes, but they always try to put the “show” first.

Remember, there was an 11-year gap between “Toy Story 2” and “Toy Story 3,” and nine more years before the fourth movie. It was around 2008, when they’d finally cracked the story for three, and decided that it would be the end of their time with Andy as he went off to college, that Stanton started to think wider.

“What if it went farther? What if it was a trilogy with one kid, closed that up, handed it off to another kid and started another one?” Stanton said. “That seemed really exciting to me because that’s the way life really goes with toys and mementos. They get passed down as hand-me-downs; they go from one kid to another.”

Midway through the Bonnie era

One thing Stanton doesn’t love about the Toy Story movies are the numbers. Toy Story isn’t Rocky — it’s something else.

“They make it sound like old blockbuster thinking,” Stanton said. “The culture’s changed in the last 15 years. We all understand binging now. We all understand episodic stories. Not everything’s great for it, but some are and the Toy Story world is meant for that kind of lengthy thinking.”

Thus, four was the beginning of the Bonnie years. Though some of the actors were publicly saying it was the last Toy Story, as Woody went off with Bo Peep and the rest of the toys stayed with Bonnie, Stanton was pretty sure it was going to keep going. Bonnie’s arc wasn’t over yet. He just didn’t know they would come knocking on his door to figure out how.

“I was skeptical at first because I didn’t know if where I would want to see it go would match with where the studio would want to see go,” he said. “I cautiously said, let me write the crappy first draft, because I always write a crappy first draft, but at least I’ll figure out myself where I’d like to see it go just as a fan, let alone somebody that’s been behind the camera with it. And if we agree on that fundamentally then can we start working on it and I’ll take the job.”

He also wanted a collaborator by his side, so Kenna Harris (“Ciao Alberto”) joined as cowriter and director. Harris was around the same age Stanton was on “Toy Story,” which, he said, felt like kismet. In Harris, he found someone who he could pass knowledge to and learn from as someone who grew up in a different era. Together, they found more commonalities than differences.

“It’s really trying to find the things that are timeless, you know? Because childhood is gonna keep happening,” Stanton said.

The screentime conundrum

The fifth film sees the arrival of a new thing that is taking Bonnie’s attention away from her toys: The Lilypad. Stanton kept checking with the lawyers to make sure it wasn’t copyrighted or a real thing. It wasn’t, they assured him.

While the screentime conversation might not be new, how it affects playtime with these toys is something they hadn't yet explored.

“I feel like we’re kind of late to the party. I was worried there would be some sort of resolution to it before we finished and there wouldn’t be so much dramatic controversy about it, but it’s a legitimate concern that has no complete, finite answer,” Stanton said. “That’s drama, it’s in the gray. It is like how do you navigate something that you have to deal with? It’s not just ‘get rid of it.’”

There were similar conversations about television for kids of his era, and he knew that like TV, technology is not going away.

“Toy Story 5” also places more direct emphasis on the power of play and imagination, something they dabbled with in the opening of “Toy Story 3,” but that they really get to lean into here.

Making ‘Toy Story’ for the grandkids

Stanton doesn’t think too much about box office anymore; At Pixar, always been aiming higher than that. On the first film, he liked to say that they were making films for the grandkids. It might have been a bit of magical thinking for a fledgling studio and a man with a very young family, but in three decades, it’s come true. Stanton’s grandchild is now watching the Pixar movies he helped create.

Just recently, Stanton was at Skywalker Ranch finishing the mix for “Toy Story 5.” It’s the first time he’s gotten to step back and take it in as a movie and not the jigsaw puzzle he’s been building for so long.

“That’s when it kind of breaks my brain. I’m going, ‘Oh my God, there’s all the characters just living their lives’,” Stanton said. “And that’s the magic of movies. You forget that anybody behind the scenes made it and you just believe, and that’s the real drug.”

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For more coverage of this summer’s upcoming films, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/movies

The witness reported that Steven Goldman, who lives where the valet attendants work in the city’s Mid-Beach neighborhood, kept the firearms in a safe, and he “had become increasingly unwell.”

On Friday, Miami Beach police officers responded to the valet area at the Seacoast, a beachfront community at 5151 Collins Ave., according to a police officer’s arrest report.

Goldman had parked his silver Hyundai Sonata for over 40 minutes at the front of the valet area, blocking vehicles from passing, and he was angry over a parking violation sticker on his window, according to police.

Witnesses in the valet area and valet office reported Goldman was screaming, threw the parking violation sticker, pushed an employee, got back in the Hyundai, and grabbed a gun, according to police.

Goldman lifted his gun and pointed it at one of the victims while shouting an expletive several times before driving away in the Hyundai, according to the police officer’s report.

Surfside police officers stopped Goldman at Collins Avenue and 93 Street. One of the officers reported that Goldman “had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech,” and ”a heavy odor of alcohol emitted" from his breath when he said, “I pulled a firearm on someone!”

Police officers also reported Goldman had two guns — a black Smith & Wesson M&P Shield and a black and silver Springfield XD 9mm handgun — in a suitcase in the trunk of the car.

Records show police officers arrested Goldman on Friday evening, Miami-Dade corrections booked him early Saturday morning, and he appeared in court on Sunday and Monday.

Goldman faced charges of burglary with assault or battery, and aggravated assault with a firearm. He also had a warrant case for driving under the influence.

According to court records, a judge ordered Goldman to stay away from two victims, and he posted a $5,000 bond on Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Richard Hersch was set to preside over the felony case.

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

Local 10 aún trabaja para obtener detalles sobre lo ocurrido, pero se observó una lona cubriendo el cuerpo a lo largo de West Hallandale Beach Boulevard cerca de la 48th Avenue poco después de las 11:30 p.m. del lunes.

También se observaron escombros y guantes de los investigadores en el suelo, junto con una bicicleta.

Aunque la vía ya fue reabierta, la investigación sobre lo ocurrido continúa.

Un equipo de Local 10 News que acudió al lugar no vio ningún vehículo estacionado cerca, pero observó a la policía hablando con testigos en la lavandería en la esquina donde ocurrió el accidente.

Vea Local 10 News o actualice esta página para obtener actualizaciones.

Durant didn’t participate in practice with the Rockets on Tuesday before they left for California, trailing 3-1 in the first-round series. But he was seen running on an anti-gravity treadmill as the team wrapped up its work before heading to the airport.

Coach Ime Udoka was asked if there was a possibility that Durant would play in Game 5 after missing the last two games with a sprained left ankle and bone bruise.

“We’ll see,” Udoka said. “It is day to day, game to game. But we’ll have to get on the court and do some things, and he didn’t participate in practice today. But he’s doing the conditioning and other aspects to try to get back.”

Durant has missed three games in this series after he sat out the opener with a bruised right knee. He returned for Game 2, scoring 23 points in 41 minutes of the 101-94 loss, during which he injured his ankle late in the game.

The Rockets won Game 4 115-96 despite missing their superstar to avoid elimination.

Durant's injury problems this postseason came after the 37-year-old ranked second in the league in the regular season by playing 2,840 minutes.

Durant, who is in his first season in Houston after an offseason trade from Phoenix, is the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history.

___

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

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According to BSO, the hit-and-run was reported shortly before 10 p.m. near the 4900 block of West Hallandale Beach Boulevard.

Investigators confirmed they are searching for the driver of a black SUV.

A Local 10 News crew was in the area later in the evening as a tarp covered the victim’s body.

Debris and gloves from investigators were also spotted on the ground, along with the victim’s bicycle.

Deputies said Pembroke Park police initially responded to the crash and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police department then requested that BSO’s Traffic Homicide Unit investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash, BSO said.

A Local 10 News crew spotted detectives speaking with witnesses at the laundromat on the corner of where the crash occurred.

While the roadway has since reopened, the investigation into what happened continues.

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Glore, 35, has been described by the New York Post as a jeweler “whose clients include 50 Cent and ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ personality Scott Disick” and was seen on season 5 of the Bravo reality show “Below Deck Mediterranean.” His Instagram page features photos of him posing with 50 Cent and other celebrities, including rapper Meek Mill and actor Joseph Sikora.

On Friday, he posed for the mugshot camera at Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. That came after Miami police took him into custody on charges of aggravated assault and improper exhibition of a firearm in connection with the March incident. But his attorney is claiming self-defense.

According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, the victim was trying to park his car in the garage at the downtown Worldcenter building, located at 851 NE First Ave., at around 12:30 a.m. on March 11 but was having trouble with his key fob.

Police said as the victim waited for the building concierge to help him, Glore, whose full name is listed in the MPD report as Leon J. Glore, pulled up behind him in a white Ferrari and was “honking its horn continuously.”

Authorities said Glore began “yelling obscenities” at the victim, who explained “the gate was malfunctioning and that he was on the phone with the concierge.”

The report states that Glore got out of the Ferrari and a “verbal argument” ensued that escalated. Police said Glore took out a black handgun and told the victim, “Give me a reason,” leading the victim to call 911 “in fear for his life.”

Police said they went to the Worldcenter on Friday to take Glore into custody; he declined to speak with them on his attorney’s advice.

He would be released from TGK over the weekend after posting a $5,500 bond, court records show.

Glore’s attorney, Chad Piotrowski, provided comment to Local 10 News Monday afternoon.

“Mr. Glore was initially investigated and released at the scene after officers reviewed the building’s security footage,“ Piotrowski said in an email. ”Weeks later, he was arrested despite that same evidence. Based on the facts and the video, we will be asking the Court to dismiss the charges pursuant to Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.“

Piotrowski submitted a written plea of not guilty in the case. Records show it’s been assigned to Miami-Dade Judge Richard Hersch.

Según la policía de Miami Gardens, el accidente fue reportado a las 7:53 a.m. en la cuadra 1200 de Northwest 188th Street.

La policía indicó que el conductor de un Ford Fusion negro se dirigía hacia el sur por Northwest 12th Avenue a alta velocidad cuando intentó evadir el tráfico lento conduciendo sobre el área verde.

El conductor luego chocó el vehículo contra un árbol y después atropelló al menor, dijo la policía.

Rose Emine, cuya cerca fue impactada por el conductor, dijo a Local 10 News que el niño no respondía después de ser atropellado por el vehículo.

“Dije, ‘Ahh’ porque pensé que el niño había muerto”, dijo Emine.

“Solo le estaban echando agua en la cabeza. Una gran herida en la cabeza”, dijo otro testigo, Orlando Lawrence.

Las autoridades indicaron que personal de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladó en helicóptero a la víctima al Ryder Trauma Center del Jackson Memorial Hospital con lesiones graves pero estables en la cabeza.

La policía confirmó que el conductor fue arrestado por cargos de conducción imprudente.

Las identidades del sospechoso y de la víctima aún no han sido reveladas.

“Necesitamos orar por ese niño y su familia”, dijo Emine.

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According to Miami Gardens police, the crash was reported at 7:53 a.m. in the 1200 block of Northwest 188^th Street.

Police said the driver of a black Ford Fusion was heading south on Northwest 12^th Avenue at a high rate of speed when they tried to bypass slow-moving traffic by driving onto the swale.

The driver then crashed the car into a tree and then struck the child, police said.

Rose Emine, whose fence was crashed in by the driver, told Local 10 News that the boy was unresponsive after being struck by the car.

“I said, ‘Ahh’ because I thought the boy has died,” Emine said.

“They was just throwing water on his head. Big gash on his head,” another witness, Orlando Lawrence, said.

Authorities said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel airlifted the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with serious but stable head injuries.

Police confirmed that the driver was arrested on reckless driving charges.

The identities of the suspect and victim have not yet been released.

“We need to pray for that child and family,” Emine said.

That's boosted the Detroit auto maker's outlook for 2026. On Tuesday, GM said it's now looking to rake in $13.5 billion to $15.5 billion in earnings before interest and taxes this year — up from previous forecasts of $13 billion to $15 billion.

The refund is set to ease the company's total tariff expenses some. GM anticipates paying $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion in tariff costs for 2026, the company said Tuesday, down from an original estimate of $3 billion to $4 billion.

“We are clearly operating in a very dynamic environment, which isn’t unusual for this industry,” CEO Mary Barra wrote in a letter to shareholders. Still, she maintained the company was seeing solid growth and a strong balance sheet "to achieve our long-term goals.”

For the first quarter of 2026, GM reported earnings of $2.63 billion and a revenue of $43.62 billion.

GM confirmed to The Associated Press that it hasn't received the refund yet, and doesn't have a specific estimate for when it will, but $500 million is what it expects following the decision from the Supreme Court. The court in February ruled that the levies Trump imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, were illegal.

Companies both big and small are seeking refunds for IEEPA tariffs they've already paid. The Customs and Border Protection agency launched an online system for claims last week.

If CBP approves a claim, it will take between 60 and 90 days for a refund to be issued, the agency said. But the system is being rolled out in phases, and only some tariff refunds will be returned in the first phase.

CBP said in court filings that over 330,000 importers paid a total of about $166 billion on over 53 million shipments.

The now-overturned IEEPA tariffs included so-called “reciprocal” tariffs that Trump slapped on nearly every country in the world a year ago and “trafficking tariffs” on imports from Mexico, Canada and China — as well as separate duties on countries like Brazil and India, all of which the president imposed by declaring a national emergency.

February's Supreme Court decision marked a significant blow to Trump's economic agenda. But many other tariffs remain in effect — including punishing sectoral levies that Trump imposed using another law (Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act) on foreign steel, aluminum, cars and other products. And companies like GM are continuing to pay those costs.

The administration has also signaled that more new duties are on the way.

Trump has publicly attacked companies who have warned of price hikes spanning from tariffs — and at times used the threat of new import taxes to strike deals. Last week, the president also said he'll “remember” those that do not seek refunds from his IEEPA tariffs.

“I think it’s brilliant if they don’t do that,” Trump told CNBC of companies that hadn't yet sought reimbursements. “If they don’t do that, they got to know me very well.”

____

AP Business Writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.

Dicen que no es la primera vez que es sorprendido traficando la droga.

Los investigadores indicaron que oficiales de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de Estados Unidos hicieron el hallazgo en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood después de que Kristopher Marco, de 53 años, de New Castle, Delaware, llegara en el vuelo 946 de Spirit Airlines desde Cartagena el lunes.

Una denuncia penal federal establece que los oficiales de CBP en el área de inspección, al revisar el equipaje de Marco, primero encontraron tabletas en un “frasco de vitaminas Centrum” que él afirmó eran pastillas para el VIH.

Según la denuncia, “múltiples registros del Sistema de Comunicaciones de Aplicación del Tesoro” sobre Marco, además de su “comportamiento nervioso”, llevaron a realizarle una revisión corporal.

Los oficiales “reportaron una gran anomalía percibida en su zona de la ingle”, indica. Cuando se le preguntó qué tenía, las autoridades dijeron que Marco respondió de manera directa: “Cocaína”.

Indicaron que eran 1.75 kilogramos. Según la denuncia, la droga estaba en un “paquete grande de forma cilíndrica envuelto en celofán rosado”.

De acuerdo con la denuncia, Marco no quiso decir a los agentes de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional de dónde provenía la cocaína ni hacia dónde iba.

Señalaron que una verificación de registros reveló que Marco — bajo su nombre anterior, Christopher Allen Gransby — fue arrestado por autoridades en Nicaragua el 10 de septiembre de 2024 por intentar ingresar al país desde Costa Rica con 7.69 kilogramos de cocaína.

La Policía Nacional de Nicaragua indicó que llevaba los paquetes de cocaína en una mochila. Aproximadamente cinco meses después de su arresto en Centroamérica, Gransby, nacido en Virginia, cambió su nombre en Delaware a Kristopher Michael Cain Marco.

Los registros muestran que Marco debía comparecer en un tribunal federal en Fort Lauderdale para una audiencia la mañana del martes, enfrentando un cargo de posesión con intención de distribuir más de 500 gramos de cocaína. También indican que los fiscales buscan su detención previa al juicio.

Mientras tanto, Marco permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward en nombre del Servicio de Alguaciles de Estados Unidos.

Edward Eastland’s words came as dozens of the girls’ family members sat just a few feet behind him during the second day of a special legislative hearing looking into the devastating July 4 flood. A written report of findings is expected later this year.

“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” said Eastland, a member of the family that owns the 100-year-old camp. “I’m so sorry.”

Eastland said he and his father Richard Eastland were on the campsite that night, and that they made a desperate attempt to save the girls when they realized that heavy rain had created a raging flood that ripped through the camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Richard Eastland died in the flood and Edward survived only after being swept into a tree.

“These girls (who died) were our youngest campers and their amazing counselors who we watched grow up,” Eastland said. “The world was a better place with them in it and the anger at us for not being able to keep them safe is completely reasonable.”

Britt Eastland, another director, said the camp will train counselors and stage drills for campers to prepare for floods, fire, tornadoes and intruders. Legislative investigators on Monday noted the camp’s previous lack of training as a critical problem that contributed to the deaths.

"All of these things should have been being done in the first place,” said Sen. Charles Perry.

The panel also pressed the Eastlands on why they didn't make a last-ditch effort to get on the camp PA system and order everyone to head to higher ground.

Edward Eastland said it didn’t even occur to him to leave the girls they were trying to rescue to go back to the camp office and make such an announcement.

“Every minute was spent trying to get to the next cabin,” he said.

Camp Mystic’s owners want to reopen in late May and have said they will only use the parts of the camp that didn’t flood. They expect nearly 900 girls on campus this summer. Those plans have angered victims’ families, and some prominent state officials have called for regulators to deny or delay renewal of the camp’s license, which is under review.

Another of the sons, named Richard Eastland after his father, said while the family doesn't plan to open the camp if their license isn't renewed, they would likely appeal if that was the state's decision.

The special legislative committee does not control the review of Camp Mystic’s license.

The Eastland family also said it’s still an open question whether they would eventually try to reopen the river camp. If they do, no campers would be placed in the buildings that flooded.

“We’re praying about that every day. We don’t know what to do,” Britt Eastland said.

Several lawmakers questioned how the camp could be ready to reopen this summer.

State regulators last week notified Camp Mystic of 22 deficiencies in its emergency plan. Mary Liz Eastland, the camp’s medical director, acknowledged Tuesday she has not officially reported last summer’s deaths to state health officers.

“Are you ready to take on 500-plus children,” for camp this summer, asked Sen. Lois Kolkhorst.

“We are ready,” Britt Eastland said, adding that he believes Camp Mystic’s broader community will ultimately “be glad we had camp this summer.”

That drew an audible gasp from some in the room, and several of the victims' family members walked out.

Los investigadores dijeron que el crimen ocurrió el 18 de abril en las casas adosadas Antigua at Country Club of Miami, en el bloque 17500 de Northwest 67th Place.

Los detectives dijeron que José Vidal tuvo una discusión con su hijastro, quien lo acusó de robar una gran suma de dinero y planeaba desalojarlo de la vivienda.

Los investigadores dijeron que ambos se enfrascaron en una pelea, la situación se tornó violenta y Vidal apuñaló a su esposa y a su hijastro.

Un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade indica que no fue hasta el lunes siguiente, dos días después, que Vidal montó su bicicleta para comprar un billete de lotería y luego se dirigió al Memorial Hospital West, a seis millas de distancia en Pembroke Pines, alegando que había sido atacado por dos hombres que lo apuñalaron, lo dejaron inconsciente y que al despertar encontró a sus familiares muertos.

Los detectives dijeron que las cámaras de vigilancia mostraron a Vidal caminando por la comunidad con unas sandalias específicas que dejaron huellas en la sangre encontrada dentro de la vivienda. Señalaron que no había evidencia de ninguna persona que coincidiera con la descripción de los supuestos sospechosos que Vidal proporcionó.

Vidal, oriundo de España, fue arrestado el viernes con dos cargos de asesinato en segundo grado y compareció el sábado ante el tribunal de fianzas de Miami-Dade, donde un juez ordenó que fuera detenido sin derecho a fianza.

Environmentalists fear the move will create a precedent for wiping out other protections for public lands across the country. Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Chile-based Antofagasta Minerals, has been looking to dig for copper, nickel and other precious metals in the Superior National Forest since 2019.

The canoe area lies in the national forest just downstream from the mine site, raising concerns that digging could create pollution that would contaminate one of the nation's last remaining wild areas.

Former President Joe Biden's administration in 2023 imposed a 20-year moratorium on mining in the national forest, putting Twin Metals plans on hold. But Trump has called for boosting domestic energy and mineral production, and congressional Republicans sent him a resolution to lift the moratorium earlier this month, promising the move would create jobs and reenergize the mining industry in Minnesota's Iron Range. The president signed the resolution on Monday.

“Today is a dark day for America's most beloved Wilderness area, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and a stark warning call for public lands nationwide,” Ingrid Lyons, executive director the group Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement. “Minnesotans and the American public writ large have been loud and clear -- this iconic place needs to be protected. Today, by the very people who claim to represent them, they were ignored, and even worse, silenced. But of course, it's not over, and we will always keep fighting.”

Twin Metals spokesperson Kathy Graul said in a statement to The Associated Press that lifting the moratorium creates an opportunity to strengthen mineral supply chains but stressed that the company still must go through a rigorous permitting process that could last years.

Indeed, the mine site stands on a patchwork of state, federal and private land, creating a regulatory labyrinth.

The first hurdle for the company is reestablishing a right to mine after officials in Biden's Department of the Interior terminated its federal site leases in early 2022. Twin Metals filed a federal lawsuit seeking a declaration that the leases are still valid but a judge threw the case out in 2023. The company is appealing that decision.

Twin Metals also would have to win a mining permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources by showing that the company can prevent water pollution, safely store waste rock and restore the land after the mine is played out. The company also will need state water and air permits. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who voted against lifting the moratorium, could be a serious roadblock for the company if she wins her bid for the governor's office in November.

Environmental groups and tribes could conceivably challenge every permit in court, potentially blocking Twin Metals' plans for years. Friends of the Boundary Waters, for example, has said litigation remains “under active consideration.”

And Canadian officials could raise concerns about whether the mine could create cross-border pollution that violates treaties with the U.S. The Boundary Waters separates northeastern Minnesota from northwestern Ontario, hence the name.

The area remains largely untouched by humans. Logging is prohibited, planes must obey minimum altitude limits when flying over it, and motorized boats are limited to certain areas. The U.S. Forest Service issued about 776,000 visitor permits between 2020 and 2024.

Students were seen picking up trash along the beach as part of the organized effort, which brought together Heart of the Hive and Reef Boys along with support from multiple sponsors.

Organizers said the cleanup was designed specifically for children, giving them a hands-on way to help protect the environment while also learning about community involvement.

“We just want to show them how life is supposed to be. It’s more about mentorship and the influence, said Nakiyah Dawkins, director of Heart of the Hive. ”Just not being home and sitting at home but just coming out to enjoy the environment and being able to cleanup and be a helping hand."

Marissa Merlano of Reef Boys said the goal is to get young people engaged early in environmental efforts.

“It feels really good to come clean the beach it’s what I’m passionate about but I think it’s really important to get kids in on this and to care about the ocean and protecting the beach,” Merlano said.

Organizers said the event was about more than just cleaning the shoreline, but also teaching responsibility and encouraging kids to take pride in protecting the environment.

The bickering billionaires' appearances at the Oakland, California, federal courthouse foreshadow the start of a legal drama that is expected to brim with intrigue and potentially embarrassing details about the two tech moguls. Musk filed the lawsuit against Altman and Brockman along with Microsoft over its investments in OpenAI, in 2024.

“Fundamentally, I think they’re going to try to make this lawsuit...very complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Musk said. “Which is that it's not OK to steal a charity.”

The jury was elected Monday and the trial is scheduled to take three weeks.

Opening arguments began with Musk's attorney, Steven Molo, who quoted OpenAI's mission statement when it was created as a nonprofit for the benefit of humanity as a whole and not constrained by the need to generate financial enrichment for anyone.

Altman and his top lieutenant Brockman, aided by Microsoft, “stole a charity,” Molo said, “a charity whose mission was the safe, open development of artificial intelligence.”

In the civil lawsuit, Musk accuses Altman and Brockman of double-crossing him by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be a steward of a revolutionary technology. He is seeking damages and to fund the altruistic efforts of OpenAI’s charitable arm and Altman's ouster from OpenAI’s board.

OpenAI has brushed off Musk’s allegations as an unfounded case of sour grapes that’s aimed at undercutting its rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.

In his opening statement, OpenAI lawyer William Savitt told jurors “we are here because Mr. Musk didn’t get his way with OpenAI.”

Savitt said Musk used his promises to provide funding to bully OpenAI founding members and tried to take control of OpenAI and merge it with Tesla. In fact, he said Musk wanted to form a for-profit company and own more than 50% of it. In the middle of discussions about OpenAI’s future, he added, Musk pulled the plug on $5 million quarterly donations he was making.

There is no record, Savitt said, of promises made to Musk that OpenAI was going to remain a nonprofit forever, or open-source everything. What Musk ultimately cared about, he said, was not OpenAI’s nonprofit status but winning the AI race with Google.

Molo said the case is not about Musk, but rather Altman, Brockman and Microsoft.

By 2017, about two years after OpenAI's founding, it became clear that OpenAI would need more money, and Molo said the founders eventually settled on the idea of creating a for-profit arm of OpenAI that would support the nonprofit. Terms were capped for investors so they “couldn't make infinite profit.”

“There is nothing wrong with a nonprofit having a for-profit subsidiary, but (it) has to advance the mission,” Molo said.

Microsoft initially invested $2 billion in OpenAI. Then, in 2022, news spread that OpenAI had done a deal with Microsoft and “this was a horse of a completely different color,” he said. It was a “gamechanger," Molo said, that violated “every commitment” OpenAI made not just to Musk but to the world. It was no longer open source, it became a for-profit company for the benefit of the defendants and Microsoft was going to have control, through licensing, of much of its intellectual property, Molo said.

After opening arguments wrap up, testimony will begin with Musk's side presenting a tale chock full of alleged betrayal, deceit and ambition that caused OpenAI to pivot from its founding mission as an altruistic startup to a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion.

Musk, the world's richest person with an estimated fortune of $778 billion, is among the witnesses who will testify during the trial.

Altman, OpenAI's CEO, is also expected to testify, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, one of the technology leaders who helped fund the late 2022 release of ChatGPT, the chatbot that unleashed the current AI boom that has propelled the stock market to record heights.

Altman’s court appearance likely made him unavailable to attend an Amazon event across San Francisco Bay on Tuesday at which both companies announced an expanded partnership.

“I wish I could be there with you in person today,” Altman told attendees of Amazon’s event in San Francisco via a prerecorded video message. “My schedule got taken away from me today.”

___

AP Technology Writer Matt O'Brien contributed to this story from Providence, Rhode Island.

El concejo recibió oposición de residentes.

Se trata de un proyecto de gran escala con cuatro nuevos edificios de casi 300 pies de altura, que ofrecerían una combinación de hotel, unidades residenciales y espacio de oficinas en el sitio de Bal Harbour Shops.

El proyecto ha sido rechazado repetidamente por líderes del pueblo y residentes.

La oposición ha generado una demanda por parte de desarrolladores que intentan construir bajo la Ley Live Local de Florida, que les permite evadir la aprobación del pueblo, pero reservar el 40% de las más de 500 nuevas unidades residenciales como asequibles.

El ir y venir en los tribunales provocó una mediación entre ambas partes.

La noche del lunes, se hizo pública una oferta de compromiso presentada por los desarrolladores.

El nuevo plan reduce ligeramente la propuesta a tres edificios y una menor altura, según lo descrito por un abogado que trabaja para el pueblo.

Residentes llenaron la reunión especial del concejo del pueblo el lunes para expresar su oposición.

El aumento de la congestión vehicular, el hacinamiento en las escuelas y la falta de infraestructura para manejar situaciones como inundaciones están entre las razones por las que no quieren que Bal Harbour Shops se expanda.

Finalmente, los comisionados decidieron rechazar la nueva propuesta y continuar luchando contra los desarrolladores en los tribunales.

Un informe de 63 páginas de la alcaldesa del condado obtenido por Local 10 News indica que el Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami está alcanzando la capacidad de su campo aéreo, actualmente al 80% de su capacidad.

Ese es el punto en el que la Administración Federal de Aviación recomienda agregar más espacio, o podrían producirse más retrasos en los viajes.

“La capacidad limitada podría afectar el crecimiento, crear retrasos en los viajes y afectar nuestra competitividad”, dijo el presidente de la Comisión de Miami-Dade, Anthony Rodríguez. “Tenemos que actuar ahora y planificar con anticipación”.

Los comisionados han reducido las opciones a tres.

La primera es construir un nuevo aeropuerto en algún lugar del condado, mientras que las otras son ampliar el Aeropuerto Ejecutivo de Miami en el suroeste de Miami-Dade o el Aeropuerto de Aviación General Miami Homestead hasta convertirlo en un aeropuerto comercial importante.

La junta del condado le dio a la alcaldesa hasta principios de junio para informar cómo el condado podría pagar esto.

Si se aprueba, tomaría de 12 a 15 años ampliar cualquiera de los aeropuertos, o al menos dos décadas construir un aeropuerto completamente nuevo.

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A 63-page report from the county mayor obtained by Local 10 News says Miami International Airport is reaching airfield capacity, currently at 80% full.

That’s when the Federal Aviation Administration recommends adding more space, or there could be more travel delays.

“Capacity challenges could impact growth, create travel delays, and affect our competitiveness,” said Miami-Dade Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez. “We have to act now and plan ahead.”

Commissioners have narrowed it down to three options.

The first is building a new airport somewhere in the county, while the others are expanding either Miami Executive Airport in southwest Miami-Dade or the Miami Homestead General Aviation Airport into a full-on major commercial airport.

The county board gave the mayor until early June to report how the county could pay for this.

If it’s approved, it would take 12 to 15 years to expand either of the airports, or at least two decades to build a brand new airport.

Two of the applications filed Friday are sound trademarks covering her voice, one of her saying “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift,” and the other is “Hey, it’s Taylor.”

The third application is for a visual trademark, described in the filing as “a photograph of Taylor Swift holding a pink guitar, with a black strap and wearing a multicolored iridescent bodysuit with silver boots. She is standing on a pink stage in front of a multicolored microphone with purple lights in the background.”

The filings were made on behalf on Swift’s TAS Rights Management. All three have been approved and are currently awaiting assignment to an examining attorney.

The Associated Press has reached out to a representative for Swift as well as Rebecca Liebowitz, partner at law firm Venable, who is listed as the attorney on the filings. Requests for comment were not immediately returned.

News of Swift's new trademark filings made the rounds on Monday after first being noticed by intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben. In a blog post shared Monday, Gerben theorized that the trademarks are “specifically designed to protect Taylor from threats posed by artificial intelligence,” in response to growing concerns that AI could challenge celebrities' abilities to control their voices and likenesses without their consent.

In his post, Gerben explained that “Right of Publicity” laws — which protect celebrities from having their images or likenesses used to sell products without their permission — offer some protection against unauthorized use of a celebrity's likeness, but trademark filings like Swift's can offer additional protection.

Swift has been a target of AI misuse in the past. Pornographic deepfake images of her have circulated online, making the singer the most famous victim of a scourge that tech platforms and antiabuse groups have struggled to fix. In another instance, the superstar was shown in a fake endorsement of President Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign, which the then-candidate reposted and shared as genuine.

“The Life of a Showgirl” singer is not the only celebrity to pursue these kinds of trademarks. In January, attorneys for actor Matthew McConaughey secured eight trademarks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office including a sound trademark of his catchphrase “Alright, alright, alright.”

Attorneys for the entertainment law firm Yorn Levine, which represented McConaughey, told Variety the trademarks were filed in an attempt to protect his voice and likeness from unauthorized use by AI, and to protect him in developing new opportunities using AI.

Last year, McConaughey made a deal with voice-cloning company ElevenLabs that will allow its artificial intelligence technology to replicate his voice.

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They say it’s not the first time he’s been caught trafficking the drug.

Investigators said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers made the discovery at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after Kristopher Marco, 53, of New Castle, Delaware, arrived on Spirit Airlines Flight 946 from Cartagena on Monday.

A federal criminal complaint states that CBP officers manning the inspection area and looking through Marco’s luggage first found tablets in a “Centrum vitamin bottle” that he claimed were HIV pills.

According to the complaint, “multiple Treasury Enforcement Communication System records” on Marco, plus his “nervous behavior,” led them to conduct a pat-down.

Officers “reported a large anomaly felt in (his) groin area,” it states. When asked what he had, authorities said Marco responded matter-of-factly: “Cocaine.”

They said it was was 1.75 kilograms, in fact. According to the complaint, the drugs were in a “large cylindrical-shaped package wrapped in pink cellophane.”

According to the complaint, Marco wouldn’t tell Homeland Security Investigations agents where the cocaine came from or where it was supposed to go.

They said a records check revealed that Marco ― under his former name, Christopher Allen Gransby ― had been arrested by authorities in Nicaragua on Sept. 10, 2024, for trying to enter the country from Costa Rica with 7.69 kilograms of cocaine.

Nicaraguan National Police said he was carrying the bricks of coke in a backpack. About five months after his arrest in Central America, the Virginia-born Gransby changed his name in Delaware to Kristopher Michael Cain Marco.

Records show Marco was set to appear in Fort Lauderdale federal court for a hearing on Tuesday morning as he faces a charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. They show that prosecutors are seeking pre-trial detention.

In the meantime, Marco was being held in the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail facility on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Bench coach Don Mattingly was named interim manager through the end of the season and third base coach Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach. Mattingly will now officially work for one of his sons — Preston Mattingly is the Phillies general manager — in what is believed to be the first father-son GM/manager combination in baseball history.

Thomson went 355-270 and led a Philadelphia team loaded with high-priced talent that included Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to consecutive division titles. The 62-year-old Thomson, a baseball lifer finally promoted to his first managerial stint in 2022, signed a contract extension in the offseason running through the 2027 season and was again expected to lead the Phillies into World Series contention.

Instead, the Phillies and their $300-plus million payroll have been one of the biggest flops in the baseball and lost 10 straight games before ace Zack Wheeler led them to a win against Atlanta on Saturday. The Phillies lost to Atlanta on Sunday and fell to 9-19 overall, tied with the division rival New York Mets.

Thomson is the second manager fired in baseball this season after the Red Sox fired Alex Cora and five coaches on Saturday.

Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, gave Thomson a vote of confidence last week while they were in the midst of their losing streak. Dombrowski stood behind Thomson’s work and said he’s been a good manager since replacing Joe Girardi in 2022.

Dombrowski said Tuesday that he talked to Cora about becoming the next manager.

“We never got down to the nuts and bolts of things,” Dombrowski said. "He called me Saturday night as a friend. I guess he calls me one of his mentors and we talked because he never had been through that before. We talked Sunday morning.

“I came to conclusion that if he took it, I would make a change. I thought he would take it. Until Monday morning it was apparent from his perspective he wanted to take time with his family. He wanted to be a father first and foremost and so that’s what he had decided.”

Thomson led Philadelphia to the 2022 World Series after taking over for Girardi, losing to the Houston Astros in six games. Since then, the club has regressed in the postseason. It lost in the NL Championship Series in 2023 in seven games, and the NL Division Series in 2024 and ’25 in four games.

Nicknamed Topper, Thomson has been with the club since the 2018 season, when he was first hired as bench coach under former manager Gabe Kapler.

He was with the New York Yankees from 1990-2017, including 10 seasons on the major league coaching staff as bench coach (2008, 2015-17) and third base coach (2009-14). He earned his nickname in the Yankees organization for always being on top of details.

Thomson became only the fourth manager in big league history to reach the postseason in each of the first four full seasons to begin a managing career, joining Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone and Mike Matheny. He became only the third manager in Phillies history to win consecutive division titles, joining Charlie Manuel and Danny Ozark.

The Phillies have been awful in what was supposed to be a celebratory season with the franchise set to host the All-Star Game and its surrounding festivities. Instead, they have collapsed in every aspect of the game, with regulars Alec Bohm and Schwarber both hitting under .200, while starters Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter all have 5.00-plus ERAs.

The Phillies just released high-priced bust Taijuan Walker in the final year of a four-year, $72 million contract and outfielder Nick Castellanos was released in February as he entered the final year of a five-year, $100 million deal.

The Phillies haven’t won the World Series since 2008 and had last made the playoffs in 2011 until Thomson led them a surprise run to the World Series in 2022 dubbed Red October that rejuvenated the fanbase and made 90-plus win seasons the norm.

The Phillies now will turn to Mattingly, the former New York Yankees great, to resuscitate their season and try to at least keep them in the hunt for an NL wild-card spot.

Mattingly, spending his 23rd straight season as a major league manager or coach, had his mind set on retirement after he left his role as Toronto’s bench coach under manager John Schneider following the World Series.

He reversed course after a talk with his family and latched on with the Phillies, enticed by the chance to work with his son and with Thomson, his friend from their Yankees days.

Mattingly managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Marlins from 2016-22. He was the 2020 NL Manager of the Year after he led the Marlins to their first playoff appearance since 2003.

He said when the Phillies hired him in the winter that he no longer had interest in managing again.

“I don’t think I have the energy for that anymore,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly played 14 seasons as a first baseman in the major leagues, all for the Yankees, from 1982-95. He was a six-time American League All-Star and the 1985 AL Most Valuable Player before retiring. Mattingly captained the Yankees in his final five seasons.

There's a loose father-son baseball hierarchy connection in Philadelphia baseball history.

Hall of Famer Connie Mack managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics and his son Earle managed 125 combined games in 1937 and 1939 when his father was ill.

Mattingly was thrilled in January at the chance of possibly winning his first World Series ring while working for the same franchise as his son.

“To be able to do it with him,” Mattingly said, “would be incredible.”

So, at this point, would be leading the Phillies to the postseason.

___

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

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According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, the theft was reported Feb. 27 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, located at 3300 SW 27^th Ave.

Police said the victim had checked into the five-star hotel on the night of Feb. 25. Later that evening, she removed all of her jewelry and placed it in a travel jewelry box, which she hid in a cosmetic bag in the bathroom of her room, authorities said.

According to the report, the victim left the hotel the next morning to go snorkeling and left her jewelry in the cosmetic bag.

Police said the victim returned to her room later that day and saw that housekeeping had cleaned her room and her belongings in the bathroom had been moved.

As she was getting ready to go to dinner, she then discovered that her wedding ring was missing, authorities said.

According to the report, the victim filed a police report the next day after being unable to find her ring.

Police said the housekeeper assigned to the room, Odessa Natasha Wray, 46, was questioned by the hotel manager that same day and he asked her whether she had seen any jewelry in the room.

“Not in the bathroom,” Wray responded, according to the report.

The manager told police he had not mentioned the bathroom when asking Wray whether she had seen any jewelry.

According to the report, during the investigation, detectives discovered that Wray had pawned a women’s ring at P&S Jewelry, located at 7900 NW 27^th Ave., on March 7 for $280. The 18kt white and yellow gold diamond ring is worth about $8,000, police said.

According to the report, detectives contacted the pawn shop to place a hold on the ring.

Police said they located Wray Monday and arrested her on charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and providing false verification to a pawnbroker.

According to the report, Wray confessed to stealing the ring and pawning it.

As of Tuesday morning, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Miami, el robo fue reportado el 27 de febrero en el hotel Ritz Carlton, ubicado en 3300 SW 27th Ave.

La policía indicó que la víctima se registró en el hotel de cinco estrellas la noche del 25 de febrero. Más tarde esa noche, se quitó todas sus joyas y las colocó en un estuche de viaje, el cual escondió dentro de un bolso de cosméticos en el baño de su habitación, según las autoridades.

De acuerdo con el informe, la víctima salió del hotel a la mañana siguiente para ir a hacer snorkel y dejó sus joyas en el bolso de cosméticos.

La policía dijo que la víctima regresó a su habitación más tarde ese día y vio que el personal de limpieza había arreglado su habitación y que sus pertenencias en el baño habían sido movidas.

Mientras se preparaba para salir a cenar, descubrió que su anillo de bodas había desaparecido, indicaron las autoridades.

Según el informe, la víctima presentó una denuncia policial al día siguiente tras no poder encontrar su anillo.

La policía indicó que la empleada de limpieza asignada a la habitación, Odessa Natasha Wray, de 46 años, fue interrogada ese mismo día por el gerente del hotel, quien le preguntó si había visto alguna joya en la habitación.

“No en el baño”, respondió Wray, según el informe.

El gerente dijo a la policía que no había mencionado el baño cuando le preguntó a Wray si había visto alguna joya.

De acuerdo con el informe, durante la investigación, los detectives descubrieron que Wray había empeñado un anillo de mujer en P&S Jewelry, ubicado en 7900 NW 27th Ave., el 7 de marzo por $280 USD. El anillo de diamantes de oro blanco y amarillo de 18 quilates está valorado en aproximadamente $8,000 USD, indicó la policía.

Según el informe, los detectives contactaron a la casa de empeño para retener el anillo.

La policía dijo que localizó a Wray el lunes y la arrestó por cargos de hurto mayor, tráfico de propiedad robada y proporcionar información falsa a un prestamista de empeños.

De acuerdo con el informe, Wray confesó haber robado el anillo y haberlo empeñado.

Hasta la mañana del martes, permanecía detenida en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

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Megan Weller lives right next to the mailboxes at her Deerfield Beach building, located at 3910 Crystal Lake Drive.

She said she was shocked to see a woman on her doorbell camera at 6 a.m.

“It sounded like the mail person was here,” said Weller. “I was in my living room. It was very strange because it was 6 a.m. and I didn’t think anything of it, but then I came out like 15 minutes later and this was open. It makes me angry because people, they could have checks in there. They have credit cards in there. It’s not right that people take things that are others.”

The woman seen in the video managed to break into one set of mailboxes and left with a handful of letters.

“I was a little surprised,” said Weller. “She was so brazen to come into our property and do something like that, so it’s a little nerve-racking.”

The video shows the woman getting into her car and driving away.

An earlier clip shows her looking around the area before she spotted the mailboxes and used some sort of tool to break in.

“I feel a little violated,” said Weller. “It wasn’t my mail that was taken, but I get Amazon packages all the time. I’m sure if there were packages here, she would’ve taken those as well and, you know, this is a nice, quiet building. I don’t know. Don’t expect things like that to happen.”

Residents did file reports with the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Anyone who thinks they recognize the woman in the video is urged to contact BSO or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

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Police and rescue crews responded to a shooting call and found 37-year-old Adrian Venereo had been shot while working in the 6300 block of Southwest Eighth Street in Miami.

First responders found him bleeding on the ground after being shot in the head.

According to Miami police, Luis Lemus and another person were locked out of their apartment and Venereo was working on the front door lock when he was shot.

The husband and father is being remembered as loving and kind.

Witnesses told investigators the suspect ran off after the shooting.

Detectives arrested Lemus, 32, who police say was found with a gun and told them he had hurt someone.

He remains in jail awaiting trial on a second-degree murder charge, but a motive for the shooting has not been revealed.

Few details were released, though armed agents were seen at childcare centers in the Minneapolis area. KSTP-TV said one crew even had a battering ram.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has been on the defensive amid Trump administration claims that he hasn't done enough to root out fraud, welcomed the raids. The state child welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement to "hold bad actors accountable."

“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” Walz said.

The searches were being conducted at daycares, businesses and some residences, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

Tensions between Minnesota officials and the federal government were high during an extraordinary immigration crackdown that led to the deaths of two people before Operation Metro Surge was eased in February.

Before that crackdown, the government had brought fraud charges against dozens of people, many of them Somali Americans, who were accused of fleecing a federal program that was meant to provide food to children. The investigation began during the Biden administration. More than 60 people have been convicted.

Various state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, participated in searches Tuesday. Officers from Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were removing boxes at some sites.

“The American people deserve to know how their taxpayer money was abused. ... No stone will be left unturned,” said DHS, which also noted the cooperation of local and state authorities.

On social media, FBI Director Kash Patel said Walz didn't deserve much credit "while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.”

Jason Steck, an attorney who represents childcare centers, said the names of targeted businesses that were shared with him show they're operated by Somali immigrants. They were not his clients.

“A few childcare centers, a few autism centers, a few healthcare agencies of some type," Steck said, adding that it appeared to be a "particular sweep for fraud.”

The executive director of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, a nonprofit that serves childhood educators, said the publicity will be unflattering.

“The majority are in business to do good business. You’re going to come across individuals who try to capitalize on systems that are broken and need to be fixed," Candace Yates said.

Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video in December that caught the attention of the Trump administration. He alleged that members of Minnesota's Somali community were running fake child care centers so they could collect federal subsidies, fueling suspicions on top of the food aid scandal. The claims were disproven by inspectors.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has used dehumanizing rhetoric, calling Somali immigrants “garbage” and “low IQ.”

In February, Vice President JD Vance said the government would temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families, but a judge on April 6 declined to grant a restraining order.

Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal government in fraud investigations, but that the immigration surge had made it more difficult.

“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” he said at the time.

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Durkin Richer reported from Washington. AP reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Corey Williams and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this story.

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A sandhill crane went on the attack when an alligator came too close to its family on the green.

The unafraid crane spread its wings real wide, and the scared gator wasn’t having it. It turned tail and the beautiful bird escorted the beast all the way to a nearby pond.

Una grulla atacó cuando un caimán se acercó demasiado a su familia en el campo.

La grulla, sin miedo, abrió sus alas muy ampliamente, y el caimán asustado no quiso enfrentarse. Dio media vuelta y el ave lo escoltó hasta un estanque cercano.

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“We’re actually the only ones in Florida, and as far as we know, we’re also the only ones in the whole country,” Michael Zuratti, CEO of Sedation Ink, said.

It’s a new medical twist on the industry that dates back over 5,000 years.

“(I) think it was a very cool idea, a very cool idea … as we know in Miami, we’re very big on plastic surgery,” Dr. Bryan Merkel, an anesthesiologist for Sedation Ink, said.

Since February 2024, the specialized Miami-based tattoo studio has been offering up large-scale tattooing while clients are under general anesthesia.

“I think we’re at the forefront of (a) shift in the industry,” Zuratti said. “So, you know, we do believe that eventually this will be more prevalent nationwide. Having said that, we are at the forefront and we’re excited to kind of set a good example in terms of, you know, making sure that the safety is of utmost importance.”

Zuratti exclusively gave Local 10 News a look at the process from the beginning, starting with the final consultation for their latest client – a business owner from Boston who asked that we blur his face and only use his initials, E.C.

“Doing this cover-up, it would take a long time,” he said.

The 37-year-old opted for the fast track, covering up tattoos he got inked when he was 15 years old.

“You change as you grow and then you start realizing that some tattoos, like, hey, they don’t fit you anymore,” E.C. said.

E.C. says the company’s online marketing piqued his interest, including Sedation’s tag line, “say goodbye to the pain.”

The procedure helps to expedite tattooing sessions for clients. Traditionally, large-scale tattoos can take upward of two years to complete with multiple hours of long sessions.

“We’re able to do large-scale projects in five, six hours,” Zuratti said.

“We’re seeing it in like LA and New York and Miami, and the typical places that you would expect to sort of find cutting edge ideas and thoughts on medicine and aesthetics and things like that,” Dr. Cameron Howard, chief of anesthesiology at Memorial Hospital West, said. “We have to take it seriously and we can’t be frivolous with it. So that being said, for patients receiving anesthesia for a tattoo, they should have all of the same precautions and the same emergency capabilities available to them.”

Back in 2025, the American Society of Anesthesiologists released a statement regarding anesthesia for tattoos, stating that going under for a tattoo can be dangerous, but “is no different from receiving it for an elective procedure.”

“It is a very serious undertaking, right? And it shouldn’t be treated like a spa day,” Howard said.

“This is an elective procedure, right? So the patient is unconscious and, you know, with a breathing tube so, it’s a medical procedure first,” Zuratti said.

What separates Sedation Ink from others is how the company is registered as both a tattoo shop and medical center, Zuratti said.

“Pitching this to the Florida Medical Board, contacting the tattoo establishment licensed people, so we’re certified with both departments, and, you know, it took a lot of groundwork to build this,” Zuratti said. “So, since day one, safety, safety, safety -- that’s what we push every day.”

“We pretty much give the patient medication through an IV, they go to sleep, once they’re completely asleep, they get a breathing tube,” Merkel said.

So far, the company has performed more than 50 procedures at South Florida Surgical Center after clients receive clearance from their primary physician, with a nurse and anesthesiologist monitoring.

“It’s no different than getting a general anesthesia for a plastic surgery procedure, for any type of other procedure, getting a colonoscopy,” Merkel said.

“The industry has been asking for this for a long time, but obviously it’s not for everyone,” tattoo artist Francisco Gomez said.

For seven years, Gomez has been tattooing clients and he’s been contracted with Sedation Ink for two years.

“My first reaction was like, ‘Before I say yes to anything, how is it working?’” Gomez said.

He, along with a handful of other artists, helped to design tattoos and cover up E.C.’s chest.

“The second the client gets put under, there’s a clock ticking, and the doctor doesn’t leave the room for the entire seven hours,” Gomez said.

Zuratti said he wants Sedation Ink to be “known as a lead provider that focuses on safety first, and then the tattooing secondary.”

Medical professionals and Sedation Ink both underscore that this is a medical procedure first.

Howard said serious reactions can range from airway issues to pulmonary or cardiac complications.

The best practice is to check with your doctor first and verify the company performing the procedure.

The price tag for Sedation Ink ranges from $32,000-$52,000.

“En realidad somos los únicos en Florida, y hasta donde sabemos, también somos los únicos en todo el país”, dijo Michael Zuratti, CEO de Sedation Ink.

Es un nuevo giro médico en una industria que se remonta a más de 5,000 años.

“Creo que fue una idea muy interesante, una idea muy interesante, como sabemos en Miami, somos muy grandes en cirugía plástica”, dijo el Dr. Bryan Merkel, anestesiólogo de Sedation Ink.

Desde febrero de 2024, el estudio de tatuajes especializado con sede en Miami ha estado ofreciendo tatuajes de gran escala mientras los clientes están bajo anestesia general.

“Creo que estamos a la vanguardia de un cambio en la industria”, dijo Zuratti. “Así que creemos que eventualmente esto será más común a nivel nacional. Dicho esto, estamos a la vanguardia y estamos emocionados de establecer un buen ejemplo en términos de asegurar que la seguridad sea de máxima importancia”.

Zuratti dio exclusivamente a Local 10 News un vistazo al proceso desde el inicio, comenzando con la consulta final para su cliente más reciente, un empresario de Boston que pidió que se difuminara su rostro y solo se usaran sus iniciales, E.C.

“Hacer esta cobertura tomaría mucho tiempo”, dijo.

El hombre de 37 años optó por la vía rápida, cubriendo tatuajes que se hizo cuando tenía 15 años.

“Cambias a medida que creces y luego empiezas a darte cuenta de que algunos tatuajes no encajan contigo”, dijo E.C.

E.C. dice que la publicidad en línea de la empresa llamó su atención, incluyendo el lema de Sedation, “di adiós al dolor”.

El procedimiento ayuda a acelerar las sesiones de tatuaje para los clientes. Tradicionalmente, los tatuajes de gran escala pueden tomar hasta más de dos años en completarse con múltiples sesiones de varias horas.

“Podemos hacer proyectos de gran escala en cinco, seis horas”, dijo Zuratti.

“Lo estamos viendo en lugares como Los Ángeles, Nueva York y Miami, y los lugares típicos donde esperarías encontrar ideas innovadoras en medicina y estética y cosas así”, dijo el Dr. Cameron Howard, jefe de anestesiología en Memorial Hospital West. “Tenemos que tomarlo en serio y no podemos ser frívolos con esto. Dicho eso, para los pacientes que reciben anestesia para un tatuaje, deben tener todas las mismas precauciones y las mismas capacidades de emergencia disponibles”.

En 2025, la Sociedad Estadounidense de Anestesiólogos publicó una declaración sobre la anestesia para tatuajes, señalando que someterse a anestesia para un tatuaje puede ser peligroso, pero “no es diferente de recibirla para un procedimiento electivo”.

“Es algo muy serio, ¿verdad? Y no debería tratarse como un día de spa”, dijo Howard.

“Este es un procedimiento electivo, ¿verdad? Así que el paciente está inconsciente y con un tubo de respiración, por lo que es un procedimiento médico primero”, dijo Zuratti.

Lo que diferencia a Sedation Ink de otros es cómo la empresa está registrada tanto como estudio de tatuajes como centro médico, dijo Zuratti.

“Presentar esto ante la Junta Médica de Florida, contactar a las autoridades de licencias de establecimientos de tatuajes, estamos certificados con ambos departamentos, y tomó mucho trabajo construir esto”, dijo Zuratti. “Desde el primer día, seguridad, seguridad, seguridad, eso es lo que impulsamos todos los días”.

“Básicamente le administramos al paciente medicamentos a través de una vía intravenosa, se duerme y, una vez que está completamente dormido, se le coloca un tubo de respiración”, dijo Merkel.

Hasta ahora, la empresa ha realizado más de 50 procedimientos en el South Florida Surgical Center después de que los clientes reciben autorización de su médico primario, con una enfermera y un anestesiólogo monitoreando.

“No es diferente a recibir anestesia general para una cirugía plástica o cualquier otro tipo de procedimiento, como una colonoscopia”, dijo Merkel.

“La industria ha estado pidiendo esto durante mucho tiempo, pero obviamente no es para todos”, dijo el tatuador Francisco Gomez.

Durante siete años, Gomez ha tatuado a clientes y ha trabajado con Sedation Ink durante dos años.

“Mi primera reacción fue, ‘Antes de decir que sí a algo, ¿cómo funciona?’”, dijo Gomez.

Él, junto con un grupo de otros artistas, ayudó a diseñar tatuajes y cubrir el pecho de E.C.

“En el momento en que el cliente es puesto bajo anestesia, hay un reloj corriendo, y el médico no sale de la sala durante las siete horas completas”, dijo Gomez.

Zuratti dijo que quiere que Sedation Ink sea “conocido como un proveedor líder que se enfoca primero en la seguridad y luego en el tatuaje”.

Profesionales médicos y Sedation Ink subrayan que este es un procedimiento médico primero.

Howard dijo que las reacciones graves pueden variar desde problemas en las vías respiratorias hasta complicaciones pulmonares o cardíacas.

La mejor práctica es consultar primero con su médico y verificar la empresa que realiza el procedimiento.

El costo de Sedation Ink oscila entre $32,000 USD y $52,000 USD.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index inched up to 92.8 in April from 92.2 in March.

Though the gauge measuring American consumers' confidence has ticked up the past two months, the reading remains mired near its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Respondents’ comments about prices, oil, gas and the war increased in April as the national average for a gallon of gas in the U.S. rose to $4.18 this week, up more than a dollar since before the war began. The last time U.S. drivers were collectively paying this much at the pump was nearly four years ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation last month, creating major challenges for the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve.

Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported earlier this month, up sharply from just 2.4% in February and the biggest yearly increase since May 2024. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such increase in nearly four years.

It’s the first read on inflation to capture the effects of the Iran war. The surge in gas prices will stretch the budgets of lower- and middle-income households as it erodes their incomes, making it harder to afford other necessities such as food and rent.

“Consumers are singing the blues,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “They aren’t happy with high prices for gas, housing, electricity and many other items. It’s clear consumers aren’t going to feel much better until there’s an end to the Middle East conflict.”

Government data from earlier this month showed that the inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve moved 2.8% higher in February from a year ago, a sign that prices were persistently elevated even before the Iran war caused spikes in oil and gas costs.

Those higher prices and the prospect of even higher inflation due to the Iran war makes it unlikely that the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate when it wraps up its two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate three times to close 2025 in an attempt to support a flagging labor market. However, because lower rates can exacerbate inflation, which remains above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed has left its overnight lending rate alone at its past two meetings.

In the Conference Board's report Tuesday, a measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market rose 1.2 points to 72.2, but remained well below 80, a marker that can signal a recession ahead. It’s the 15th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80.

The index for consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation fell by 0.3 points to 123.8.

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Judge Jesse M. Furman in Manhattan noted in a written ruling that the sole reason provided for her firing last year was Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which vests “executive power” in the president.

He said the reason given for her firing takes her case outside the process that channels many, if not most, categories of disputes between federal employers and employees to avenues of administrative and judicial review outside of district courts.

The Justice Department didn’t immediately comment.

Comey sued after her firing, contending that she was improperly removed solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation or beliefs, the judge noted.

During oral arguments in December, Furman refused to let Comey immediately gather evidence to learn who ordered her firing and how it transpired, saying the government had made serious arguments that her firing must first be considered by the federal Merit Systems Protection Board.

Comey claimed in her September lawsuit that her dismissal — soon after she led the prosecution of Sean “Diddy” Combs and won a conviction on prostitution-related charges — was retribution because her father is a Trump foe. Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in 2017.

Furman set a May 28 hearing for an initial pretrial conference in the civil case.

Megan Weller vive justo al lado de los buzones en su edificio en Deerfield Beach ubicado en 3910 Crystal Lake Drive.

Dijo que se sorprendió al ver a una mujer en la cámara de su timbre a las 6 a.m.

“Sonaba como si el cartero estuviera aquí”, dijo Weller. “Estaba en mi sala. Fue muy extraño porque eran las 6 a.m. y no pensé nada, pero luego salí como 15 minutos después y esto estaba abierto. Me molesta porque la gente podría tener cheques ahí. Tienen tarjetas de crédito ahí. No está bien que la gente tome cosas que son de otros”.

La mujer que aparece en el video logró forzar uno de los conjuntos de buzones y se fue con un puñado de cartas.

“Me sorprendió un poco”, dijo Weller. “Fue tan descarada al entrar a nuestra propiedad y hacer algo así que es un poco inquietante”.

El video luego muestra a la mujer subiéndose a su auto y alejándose.

Un clip anterior la muestra mirando alrededor del área antes de ver los buzones y usar algún tipo de herramienta para forzarlos.

“Me siento un poco vulnerada”, dijo Weller. “No fue mi correo el que se llevaron, pero recibo paquetes de Amazon todo el tiempo. Estoy segura de que si hubiera paquetes aquí, también se los habría llevado, y sabes, este es un edificio tranquilo y agradable. No espero que cosas así sucedan”.

Los residentes presentaron reportes ante la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward y el Servicio de Inspección Postal de Estados Unidos.

Cualquier persona que crea reconocer a la mujer en el video debe comunicarse con BSO o con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-TIPS.

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The crime, caught on surveillance camera, happened Sunday shortly after 4 p.m. in the area of Northeast 163rd Street and 12th Avenue in northeast Miami-Dade County.

In the footage, the teens are seen on their electric scooters when they are suddenly approached and pushed off by two men who appeared to be riding electric bicycles.

The father of one of those teens said his son was also threatened with violence during the crime.

Those scooters, he said, were valued at around $600 and $1,000.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Ocurrió alrededor de las 7:10 a.m. del domingo en el área de Northwest 135th Street y 27th Avenue.

Los agentes dijeron que Steven Hadley, quien habría cumplido 36 años el lunes, iba a exceso de velocidad y chocó contra varios vehículos.

Los investigadores indicaron que Hadley salió expulsado del vehículo en el accidente con fuego.

Mientras tanto, paramédicos trasladaron en helicóptero a dos mujeres que iban en el auto con él al Ryder Trauma Center del Jackson Memorial Hospital en condición crítica.

Vecinos dicen que el exceso de velocidad y los accidentes de tránsito son un problema frecuente en el área.

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It happened around 7:10 a.m. Sunday in the area of Northwest 135th Street and 27th Avenue.

Deputies said Steven Hadley, who would have turned 36 on Monday, was speeding and crashed into several vehicles.

Investigators said Hadley was thrown from the vehicle in the fiery wreck.

Meanwhile, medics airlifted two women in the car with him to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

Neighbors say speeding and car crashes are a frequent problem in the area.

He was 10 and half when the first film was released in theaters in 1977, which he went to see with his dad. From the opening shot of that Imperial Star Destroyer filling the screen, he was forever changed. It made him fall in love with the movies: The wonder, the world, the spectacle and the shared experience.

By the time “Return of the Jedi” came out he’d even found a job that was a little closer to the action: Movie theater usher.

For a screenwriter, director, actor and producer who has a billion-dollar film to his name, in addition to all that comes with being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s always been ready to raise his hand when it comes to Star Wars. He voiced a Mandalorian in “The Clone Wars,” played an alien in “Solo” and helped create “The Mandalorian” series and his immensely popular counterpart, Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). But believe it or not, he only ever got to direct one episode of the show (the first of the second season). So, yes, Favreau has paid his dues and now, at 59, he finally has a Star Wars movie of his own coming to theaters on May 22.

Inviting a new generation to Star Wars

“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is not simply Season 4 of the show on the big screen. Favreau should know, since he wrote both. And, perhaps more importantly, he knew there couldn’t be any presumption of Mandalorian knowledge. Writing a show, he said, you can assume that the audience will have seen the prior season. A movie is different; it has to be if it’s going to be a blockbuster.

“Even though in our hearts we are Star Wars fans, we make it for Star Wars fans, and we know that there’s a certain set of expectations around what Star Wars should be that we collectively hold, there is the responsibility to invite a whole new generation of people into Star Wars,” Favreau said. “That means that if a Star Wars fan brings somebody who’s not, they’ve got to have as good of a time as the fans do.”

It’s been nearly seven years since there was a new Star Wars movie released in theaters. That means there’s a whole group of a six-and-a-half-year-olds who’ve yet to have a first time experience of their own.

“I want to make the next generation feel the way about Star Wars that I did when I saw it for the first time,” Favreau said.

It can be intimidating going into a movie knowing that there were three seasons of television leading up to it. But the nice thing about Star Wars is, even people who don’t know it at least kind of know it. Remember, Favreau said, George Lucas plopped audiences in the middle of an adventure in 1977 without a lot of explanation.

“George has always understood that you have to fit into the mythic structure,” Favreau said. “There are certain story types that we connect with and understand and even if we might not know the particulars of the story he’s telling, we could drop right in and understand and know who to cheer for.”

For this film, Favreau is pretty sure that most people have heard of Baby Yoda and can pick up on the dynamic between the little green guy and his enigmatic bounty hunter counterpart, played once again by Pedro Pascal. If you are a newcomer, that’s pretty much all that you need to know. Also, the Mandalorian has a name: Din Djarin.

Din Djarin is a bit different

Season three left Din Djarin and Grogu at peace, at least for a moment. He's adopted Grogu as his son and apprentice, and they plan to live in a small cabin and take some jobs here and there to help protect the Outer Rim.

“He made it clear that he was only going to work for the good guys now,” Favreau said. “We switched the Western archetype from the bounty hunter to the guy who’s hunting down the bad guys in the wanted posters on the post office wall for the sheriff.”

When we meet him again in the film, “he’s a bit different from when we first met him, but he’s still, at his heart, a gunfighter and a warrior,” Favreau said. They're hunting down ex-Imperial warlords who seem to be organizing. (Remember, these events happen after “Return of the Jedi” and before “The Force Awakens.” )

And he’s not exactly thrilled about his new assignment which will put him back in the orbit of the Hutt family. Yes, Jabba the Hutt had a son, his name is Rotta, he is played by internet boyfriend Jeremy Allen White — and he's a gladiator.

“That’s one of those fun things for people who may have been following along since the first ‘Clone Wars’ film,” Favreau said. “If you don’t know who he is, you’re going to figure it out pretty quick. And he’s a lot different than people remember, and I think we have a bit of fun with that.”

Also, for superfans, Favreau is pretty sure they don’t ever refer to him by his nickname, “Stinky.”

White isn’t the only Star Wars newcomer. Sigourney Weaver plays a New Republic leader; Martin Scorsese is an alien shopkeeper.

Upping the spectacle for IMAX

“The Mandalorian” always felt more cinematic than your average television show thanks to its innovative virtual sets known as the Volume, but the big screen demands something spectacular. And it turns out, more time, space and money help out quite a bit in making something worthy of the theater.

“With the bigger screen and the larger production value, we were able to dip into another one of George Lucas’ influences, which is the Flash Gordon-style space opera where you get big monsters and creatures and worlds,” he said. “We get to do a lot more than we had the ability to do when we had to turn the show around in a year and fit it onto a television screen. Now we’re in IMAX, we had several years to do it. We got to build sets, we got to build miniatures, we got to have stop motion set pieces … it opened up a lot of opportunities to do things that we never got to do before.”

Favreau said they had a whole backlot to work with and a set of stages to build on. They could play with water and snow and environments that just weren’t possible with the show.

The future of Star Wars

The Star Wars galaxy is in a time of transition as everyone figures out what the next era of films might look like under its new leadership team of Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. Earlier this year it was announced that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who produced “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” was stepping down after 13 years.

“She’s definitely a Mount Rushmore producer,” Favreau said. “I also think she did a wonderful job preparing the next generation.”

He’s still working closely with Kennedy, and Filoni, to bring the Mandalorian movie to theaters. He's not too worried about the box office side of things.

“All of it comes down to seeing it with an audience,” Favreau said. “That’s the part I’m looking forward to.”

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For more coverage of this summer’s upcoming films, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/movies

A wildfire is burning along Highway 41 near Miccosukee. Winds will carry smoke into the Everglades today and Wednesday. If the fire is still burning by Thursday morning, it could become a bigger concern as shifting winds may push smoke into more populated areas of Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

La policía y equipos de rescate respondieron a una llamada por una balacera y encontraron que Adrian Venereo, de 37 años, había sido baleado mientras trabajaba en la cuadra 6300 de Southwest 8th Street en Miami.

Los socorristas lo encontraron sangrando en el suelo tras recibir un disparo en la cabeza.

Según la policía, Luis Lemus y otra persona estaban fuera de su apartamento sin poder entrar y Venereo trabajaba en la cerradura de la puerta principal cuando fue baleado.

El esposo y padre es recordado como amoroso y amable.

Testigos dijeron a los investigadores que el sospechoso huyó tras la balacera.

Los detectives arrestaron a Lemus, de 32 años, quien según la policía fue encontrado con un arma y les dijo que había herido a alguien.

Permanece en la cárcel a la espera de juicio por un cargo de asesinato en segundo grado, pero no se ha revelado un motivo para la balacera.

McDonald’s said Tuesday it will launch six crafted beverages in U.S. restaurants on May 6. It’s joining other chains, like KFC, Wendy’s and Taco Bell, that have elevated their drinks in order to lure customers away from rivals like Starbucks and Dutch Bros.

McDonald’s will offer three refreshers, including a mango pineapple flavor with strawberry boba and a blackberry passion fruit flavor with freeze-dried dragon fruit. It will also offer three crafted sodas, including a dirty Dr Pepper with vanilla flavoring and a topping of cold foam.

McDonald's said visual appeal — think bright colors and foams — and drinks as a form of self-expression are increasingly important to customers.

“Our fans have an obsession with beverages – to them, drinks are more than just drinks. And soon, our beverages won’t just be a reason you come to McDonald’s, they’ll be THE reason,” Alyssa Buetikofer, the chief marketing officer for McDonald's USA, said in a statement.

The drinks are also more profitable for fast food chains than the standard soda fountain drinks or plain coffees. A small Pineapple Citrus Sparkling Energy drink cost $3.29 on Tuesday at a Michigan Wendy's, while a small drink from the restaurant's Coca-Cola Freestyle machine cost $1 less.

McDonald's said it's also adding a “beverage specialist” role at its 14,000 U.S. restaurants. Those employees will have dedicated spaces behind the counter where they can focus on drinks. Initially, high-performing employees will be selected for those roles, but eventually all employees will be encouraged to rotate through the beverage positions.

McDonald’s has been working on a beverage upgrade for years. In late 2023, the company announced it would open small stores called CosMc’s which would sell customizable drinks and treats to appeal to afternoon snackers. McDonald’s said its sales often slump in the afternoon between mealtimes, and it wants to change that.

“This is a $100 billion category that’s growing faster than the rest of (casual dining) and with superior margins. And it’s a space that we believe we have the right to win,” McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at the time.

McDonald’s got creative with the CosMc’s menu, which included a turmeric spiced latte and a prickly pear slushie with popping candy on top. But it wound up closing its eight CosMc’s locations last spring. Kempczinski said many of the drinks were too complex for regular McDonald’s store operations, but he said the company would test some drinks at U.S. stores in the future.

Other chains are also jumping on the beverage bandwagon. KFC’s Kwench drink menu did so well in tests in Manchester, England, last year that it’s rolling out to 3,000 stores this year in the U.K., Australia and Canada. The menu includes shakes, like a Strawberry Shortcake Krunch, as well as boba refreshers and iced coffees.

Taco Bell, which is also owned by KFC parent Yum Brands, has a separate beverage brand called Live Mas Café. At kiosks within U.S. Taco Bell stores, employees dubbed Bellristas blend drinks like Churro Chillers milkshakes, iced coffees and fizzy energy drinks. Taco Bell opened its first Live Mas Café at the end of 2024 and added 30 more locations last year.

In a November conference call with investors, Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner said that if sales perform well at those 30 locations, the Live Mas Café concept will likely be part of Taco Bell’s long-term growth plan.

“Through Live Mas Café, (we) add a new consumer use case, which is the destination beverage visit,” he said.

Wendy’s added customizable cold foam iced coffees and two sparkling energy drinks to its U.S. menu last fall. Burger King has also upgraded its beverage options, starting with a Frozen Cotton Candy drink with an optional foam topping that debuted in 2024 and returned last summer.

The visit comes at a challenging moment for U.S.-UK relations. U.S. President Donald Trump’s up-and-down relationship with Prime Minister Keir Starmer has taken a particularly sour turn over the past several months as the president has sought to rally international support for the war in Iran.

The king, accompanied by Queen Camilla, will begin his day with a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump around 10:35 a.m. ET. The King is then scheduled to address the U.S. Congress at 3 p.m. ET, the body’s first address from a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II ’s in 1991. The day will end with an expectedly buzzy dinner at the White House.

Here's the latest:

King Charles III urges ‘unyielding resolve’ in defense of Ukraine, heralds NATO

The monarch reminded the audience that the only time that the NATO military alliance’s collective defense has been invoked was after the the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

“Today, Mr. Speaker, that same, unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine and her most courageous people. It is needed in order to secure a truly just and lasting peace,” King Charles III told the lawmakers and other dignitaries in the chamber.

The reminder seemed a subtle defense of the transatlantic military alliance that Trump has soured on and repeatedly threatened to pull the U.S. out of.

“We do not embark on these remarkable endeavors together out of sentiment,” he said. “We do so because they build greater shared resilience for the future, so making our citizens safer for generations to come.”

King Charles III says US-UK alliance ‘cannot rest on past achievements’

The call on the allies to continue work on their alliance comes as differences over the Iran war tests the relationship, perhaps the lowest point in the so-called “special relationship” since the 1956 Suez Crisis, when the U.S. opposed Britain’s attempt to seize the Suez Canal.

Charles then went on to quote British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who Trump has sharply criticized for Britain’s refusal to provide greater support to the U.S. and Israel in its war against Iran.

“As my Prime Minister said last month: ’ours is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years. Instead, we must build on it,” Charles added.

King Charles III decries ‘acts of violence’ after White House Correspondents’ Dinner incident

Charles nodded to what law enforcement authorities say was an attempt to assassinate Trump over the weekend when he attended a dinner with members of the White House press corps.

“We meet, too, in the aftermath of the incident not far from this great building that sought to harm the leadership of your Nation and to foment wider fear and discord,” he said. “Let me say with unshakeable resolve: such acts of violence will never succeed.”

Trump was on stage at the head table at Saturday’s dinner when Secret Service personnel apprehended a man armed with a gun after he broke through a security checkpoint.

Selfies with the King

King Charles III received an extended standing ovation from members of Congress when he walked into the House chamber, with many lawmakers filming his entrance on their phones or taking selfies.

It’s an unusual display of unity in the chamber — very different from the annual State of the Union, when half of the room is usually clapping and the other sitting down.

King Charles speaks of ‘interlinked’ destinies of US and UK

King Charles III acknowledged “times of great uncertainty” as he expressed gratitude to the American people and marked the 250th anniversary of independence from Britain in a speech to the U.S. Congress that highlighted the bonds between the two countries at a time of political turmoil.

“For all that time,” Charles said, “our destinies have been interlinked.”

Charles is only the second British monarch to address a joint session of Congress. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered a similar speech in 1991 highlighting the historic ties between both countries and the importance of their democratic values.

All the King’s escorts...

King Charles III will be accompanied by an “escort committee” of lawmakers when he enters the chamber to address Congress. That includes leadership from both parties and other members chosen for the occasion.

Also in attendance at the speech are members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, military leaders, select ambassadors and former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Members of the House and Senate gathering ahead of King Charles III’s address

As is customary for any joint address, the Senate walked across the Capitol and filed into the House chamber together, taking seats in the front of the room.

Military leaders were also in attendance, sitting near the rostrum where the king will speak. Lawmakers mingled across the aisle as they prepared to greet the king, a rare bipartisan moment amid the usual tensions in the Capitol.

King Charles III has arrived in the US Capitol and is meeting with congressional leaders

House Speaker Mike Johnson walked through the Capitol with the king and escorted him to a reception room just outside the House chamber where he will address a joint session of Congress at 3 p.m.

The two then met with other congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Johnson engaged in friendly conversation with the king at the beginning of the meeting, where he appeared to be explaining something to him.

Trump returns to his hospitality sector roots with King Charles III’s visit

With a background in casinos, hotels and golf clubs, Trump seemed to enjoy hosting King Charles III at the White House.

The president often reverts to his hospitality sector roots when VIPs visit, whether they’re championship sports teams, business titans or foreign leaders that merit some pomp.

Trump guided the British monarch along the White House South Lawn to inspect the honor guard formations. His speech was all charm, as he called the king “very elegant.” And in what was supposed to be a private moment, Trump and his wife, Melania, escorted the king and Queen Camilla to an awaiting BMW just outside the Oval Office.

The queen showed her appreciation by politely waving her hand before the sedan departed, with Trump giving his signature thumbs up as it moved along. Construction of the White House ballroom continued during the visit, a sign of Trump’s ambitions as a host going forward.

In UK, coverage of Charles’ visit overshadowed by headlines on Starmer political storm

While King Charles visits the White House, back in the U.K. the news headlines are dominated by the continuing fallout over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint the scandal-tainted politician Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.

British lawmakers are debating Tuesday whether Starmer should face a parliamentary probe on whether the right procedures were followed in the appointment of Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September, but the relentless questions over his judgment has left the prime minister fighting for his job.

Spruced up tennis pavilion takes center court during royal visit

The first lady took on the project of refurbishing the White House tennis courts during Trump’s first term, building a pavilion inspired by the East and West Wings to replace a smaller structure.

Planning for the project -- which was paid for by private donations -- began in early 2018, followed by approval in June 2019 by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.

Trump hosts King for brief Oval Office meeting

Trump said the meeting with Charles was “really good” and said the king is a “fantastic person.”

The president has made a habit during his second term of turning Oval Office meetings with foreign officials into freewheeling events full of criticism about how leaders are managing their national affairs.

But Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting was held largely out of public view, reducing the potential of such an exchange with the king.

Epstein survivors speak at Capitol ahead of King’s visit

Several survivors of sexual abuse from Jeffrey Epstein spoke at the Capitol ahead of an address from King Charles III on Tuesday afternoon.

They called for further legislation to protect victims of sex trafficking and a deeper acknowledgement from those in power.

Sky Roberts, the brother of the late Virginia Giuffre who was a prominent abuse survivor, said that survivors are “still fighting to be heard, still pushing for real accountability, while many of the powerful connected to these systems remain just out of reach, unable to acknowledge survivors face to face.”

First lady and Camilla talk to students about history — and AI

The queen and the first lady joined students at the tennis pavilion of the White House. The students looked at a World War II map, a portrait of President John Adams, and a letter from Queen Elizabeth II to President Dwight Eisenhower with AI-enabled glasses and headsets -- an exercise the first lady’s office said explored the history of the bilateral relationship.

Melania Trump has made artificial intelligence part of her portfolio of issues.

Later on, the king was slated to meet a group of chief executives from the technology sector to talk about investments, according to his schedule. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang was spotted among the guests for the official arrival ceremony.

What to expect from the King’s speech to Congress

The king’s speech to Congress will likely mark his most extensive public remarks during his four-day visit to the U.S.

He’s expected to address the Saturday shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in a sign of solidarity and support.

He will also acknowledge tensions that have surfaced between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, noting that the two countries have not always agreed but “have always found ways to come together.”

King Charles is expected to acknowledge Epstein survivors

King Charles III is expected to acknowledge the survivors of abuse from Jeffrey Epstein when he speaks to Congress on Tuesday afternoon, but declined to meet with survivors of his abuse, according to Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who has been a leader of the charge on Capitol Hill for a reckoning over Epstein.

Khanna had pushed for the king to meet with the survivors during his visit, but said that he was told by the British ambassador to the U.S, that instead there would be an acknowledgement of the survivors.

Allegations of sexual abuse had roiled the British royal family, and King Charles eventually stripped his brother, the former Prince Andrew, of his royal titles and privileges over his links to Epstein.

“I thought it would have been a incredible moment and statement to show that it doesn’t matter how much wealth you have, how much power you have, no human being is dispensable and the survivors deserve justice.”

UK envoy’s unguarded comments are leaked

As King Charles III celebrates the transatlantic relationship, Britain’s ambassador in Washington has appeared to downplay the uniqueness of the so-called “special relationship” in leaked comments.

Ambassador Christian Turner told a group of British students that “I think there is probably one country that has a special relationship with the United States — and that is probably Israel.”

He said, though, that the U.K. and the U.S. share “a deep history and affinity,” and that “particularly on our defense and security, we are intertwined.”

A recording of the comments was published Tuesday by the Financial Times, which said they were made in February.

Turner also called it “extraordinary” that scandals around Jeffrey Epstein had brought down a member of the royal family and senior officials in Britain – and could yet topple Prime Minister Keir Starmer – “and yet here in the U.S., it really hasn’t touched anybody.”

The Foreign Office said “these were private, informal comments” and “certainly not any reflection of the U.K. government’s position.”

Trump says he wanted to go to the Capitol for the King’s speech

Trump said he wanted to be there for the first address to a joint meeting of Congress by a British king, but he’ll stay behind and watch instead.

“I was thinking of going, but they said, I don’t know, that might be a step too far. I would love to go. It’s not supposed to be protocol, but I would love to be with you,” Trump said during his own speech at the welcome ceremony for Charles and Camilla.

Trump says the magic words: ‘our special relationship’

Part of the king’s mission on this state visit is to try to mend a rift over issues including the Iran wa r and bolster what is known as the “special relationship” between the two countries. In his remarks, Trump explicitly linked Charles to that relationship.

“Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt famously met on a ship in the North Atlantic to outline a vision for the free world after World War Two. That understanding of our nation’s unique bond and role in history is the essence of our special relationship, and we hope it will always remain that way,” Trump said.

“The ship where the two great leaders met was called the Prince of Wales, the very title that His Majesty the king held longer than any other individual in British history,” he said.

Trump tells Charles his mother ‘had a crush’ on him

Trump talked about his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in Scotland and loved watching the royal family on television at ceremonies and events.

“I also remember her saying very clearly, ‘Charles, look young Charles, he’s so cute,’” Trump said, looking back at the king sitting behind him on the dias.

“My mother had a crush on Charles -- can you believe it?”

‘What a beautiful British day this is,’ Trump quips

Trump welcomed the king and queen noting the drizzle weather that had guests wiping off seats and huddling under umbrellas.

Trump paid tribute the Brits who first traveled to America, then a “wild and untamed continent,” and walked through a history of the “special relationship” between the two nations.

Trump says it’s a ‘tremendous privilege’ to host King Charles

The president paid homage to the king’s mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, as he welcomed the royal couple to the White House.

Trump said Elizabeth was “an incredible woman who I had the privilege of getting to know,” noting that she planted a tree at the White House years ago.

“Look at it now,” he said.

The remarks were part of a broader effort by Trump to note the long history between the U.S. and the U.K.

“Like our nation itself,” Trump said of the tree, “it was laid with British hands but grew in American soil.”

Ballroom construction keeps going during royal visit

Nothing gets in the way of the president’s ballroom construction. Not even a visit from Britain’s king and queen.

Work on the project was continuing ahead of the royal visit to the White House. Ballroom construction cranes were swinging and the sound of clangs could be heard.

In the wake of Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump has said the ballroom is needed to hold secure events. The construction, however, is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit.

Grey skies in Washington ahead of White House welcome

Washington’s finicky spring weather is on display ahead of King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at the White House. They’ll be greeted by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn.

Ahead of their arrival, skies are grey with a light breeze. Drizzle and rain is possible over the next hour.

Members of the audience are shielding themselves with umbrellas to stay dry as the Marine band plays.

Trump delights in allegedly being a 15th cousin of King Charles III

Is the U.S. president actually a distant royal?

The U.K.-based Daily Mail reported this week that Trump and King Charles III have a shared distant ancestor that would make the two 15th cousins.

According to research conducted for the tabloid, Trump and Charles are both related to the 3rd Earl of Lennox, who is a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland.

“Wow, that’s nice. I’ve always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!!” Trump posted on his social media site Tuesday morning shortly before he was to formally greet the king and Queen Camilla at the White House. “I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”

Charles has faced some calls to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein

Charles has faced some calls on Capitol Hill to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein while he is in the U.S. There’s no indication that he will do so, even as the scandal involving the convicted sex offender has ensnared his brother, the former Prince Andrew, who was arrested in February over misconduct allegations, which he denies.

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., urged the king over the weekend to at least address the issue during his congressional speech.

Trump has maintained warm relations with the King

The president has spoken in glowing terms about Charles, repeatedly referring to the monarch as his “friend” and a “great guy.”

He also continues to mention his “amazing” trip to the U.K. in September with Melania Trump for an unprecedented second state visit. Starmer hand-delivered the invitation from the king in the Oval Office five weeks after Trump returned to office, in a very public attempt to woo the Republican president.

The U.K. royal family laid on pomp and pageantry for the Trumps, with scarlet-clad guardsmen, brass bands and a sumptuous banquet at Windsor Castle.

“President Trump has always had great respect for King Charles, and their relationship was further strengthened by the president’s historic visit to the United Kingdom last year,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Associated Press.

The visit comes at a challenging moment for US-UK relations

Trump’s up-and-down relationship with Prime Minister Keir Starmer has taken a particularly sour turn over the past several months as the president has sought to rally international support for the war in Iran. Trump lamented that Starmer, who has largely resisted his overtures, was “no Churchill.”

Trump has also imposed tariffs on the U.K. and warned of additional levies despite a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that has made such unilateral moves more challenging. Still, Trump threatened just last week to slap a “big tariff” on the U.K. if it doesn’t scrap a digital services tax on U.S. technology companies.

Trump has more broadly challenged the traditional trans-Atlantic alliance with efforts to annex Greenland and threats to walk away from NATO. He has repeatedly imposed tariffs on and taunted Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth.

A rare royal address to Congress

King Charles III will become the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1991. Her speech highlighted the shared history of both countries and the importance of their democratic values, themes Charles will likely reinforce on Tuesday.

Such addresses are an opportunity afforded to only the most prominent world leaders, including Pope Francis, Václav Havel and Winston Churchill. It will likely mark the most extensive public remarks Charles will deliver during a four-day visit to the U.S. that’s intended to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary of independence from Britain.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla head to the White House

The king, accompanied by Queen Camilla, will begin his day with a meeting at the White House with Trump. The Oval Office encounter offers the potential for the freewheeling, sometimes controversial meetings with foreign leaders that have become routine during Trump’s second term.

Given the expressly apolitical nature of the British monarch and Trump’s fondness for the royal family, the likelihood of an awkward meeting may be reduced.

Trump will host Charles on Tuesday evening for a state banquet at the White House.

Turns out, swiping left is out. Showing up is in again.

“Everybody’s in the same boat. Everybody’s meeting new people,” said Jessica Bakeman, founder of “We Met in Miami” and “We Met in Broward.”

“I was overwhelmed by how much demand there was,” she said.

Across South Florida, a growing nonprofit called “We Met” is organizing events designed to help people make friends, find romance and build real-life connections.

Bakeman launched “We Met in Miami” in February 2024 and has since expanded into Broward County, hosting nearly 100 meetups that have drawn thousands of attendees.

“The idea is … wouldn’t it be cool to meet someone at game night? Wouldn’t it be cool to meet someone on a hike in the Everglades?” asked Bakeman. “And look around and already know who’s single, who’s open to making new connections to make it a little bit easier to make those conversations happen.”

The organization hosts a wide range of outings across Miami-Dade and Broward counties — from dance classes and museum visits to sporting events and game nights — all intentionally structured to push strangers out of their comfort zones and into conversation.

To see how it works firsthand, Local 10 morning anchor Andrew Perez attended a “We Met at Game Night” gathering at Tripping Animals Taproom in Oakland Park.

When guests arrive, they choose colored wristbands signaling what kind of connection they are open to making: friendship, romance or LGBTQ connections. Some wear one, others stack all three.

The night begins with an icebreaker challenge, followed by randomized seating assignments listed on each attendee’s name tag. Participants head to their designated tables, meet a fresh group of strangers and choose from a towering collection of board and party games.

After about 30 minutes, everyone rotates to a second assigned table — another built-in chance to start over with new faces.

By the final round, games give way to a facilitated conversation designed to spark more meaningful interaction before attendees fill out a “match card,” indicating who they’d like to connect with again.

“A lot of people say the reason they come is because they want to be a part of a community,” said Bakeman. “They want to be part of something bigger ... also just looking for fun things to do and a way to explore the city.”

“You can really sense that people wanna connect,” said We Met volunteer, Viviane Valcezan. “They wanna meet people in person, they want to have that face-to-face experience and they’re hungry for friendship, for connection and for a way to just have fun.”

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

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Antranard Womble, 30, of North Miami Beach, was in court on Monday, facing the officer he shot at six years prior.

Officer Erica Socarras tried to pull him over on Northwest 50th Street, in the Liberty City neighborhood, in April 2020 when Womble, then 24, opened fire hitting her unmarked car several times.

Socarras, who was on board with the plea, said in a victim impact statement she was ambushed and has been living with anxiety.

She told the court and Womble she was a target and had to fight for her life.

“While everything was happening, all I could think was, ‘I can’t die today. I need to make it home to my kids,’” Socarras said.

Miami Police Department Chief Manny Morales was there with several other officers in support of Socarras.

“Six years ago, she got ready for work, put on her uniform, and ready to do what every officer does each and every day: go out there and protect and serve our community as they’ve sworn to do,” he said. “And on that day, Mr. Womble mercilessly and coldly attempted to take her life for simply doing her job. Fully aware of what was happening, there was an unmarked vehicle, but it had police lights.”

After court, someone connected to Womble became upset in the hallway, shouting expletives at police officers.

There are two other defendants facing charges in this case. Those cases remain open.

Eve Samples, of Friends of the Everglades, and Elise Bennett, of the Center for Biological Diversity, are the plaintiffs in the landmark environmental law case at the intersection of the remote immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades.

The pair are disappointed, but not deterred, by the federal appeals court ruling overturning a district court’s order which temporarily hit pause on the facility.

“It does feel like a setback, of course, because we’ve lost that preliminary injunction,” said Bennett. “But what I would say, especially with today being Earth Day, is that we are more motivated than ever to get back to district court.”

The case was aimed at compelling state and federal defendants to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and conduct an environmental impact study.

“The government is supposed to study the impacts of its actions on the environment before it takes action,” said Samples. “NEPA is a look-before-you-leap law, and in this case, the government took action before it looked.”

But in a 2-1 ruling, the appeals court said there was no federal action trigging the underpinning federal law in part because “to qualify as a major federal action - it must receive more than minimal federal funding” and “when the district court entered its injunction,” which was in August, “Florida has received no federal funding.”

Back in October, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Local 10 News Florida did submit an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and was awarded the full amount the state applied for, $608 million, which was money officials said could be applied to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ or a second site opened dubbed the ‘Deportation Depot.’

At the time, the state was also working to bring online a third, to be called the “Panhandle Pokey,” in July. DHS officials estimated the total cost for that site would be $450 million for one year.

Samples said since the district judge’s order in August, they have learned this from documents obtained in a separate public records lawsuit.

She said the records showed that the state originally applied for a $1.4 million federal grant and that FEMA approved a $608 million grant, which she said is “a lot more evidence about the federal government’s commitment to fund ‘Alligator Alcatraz’.”

“There’s more evidence that the site is under federal control,” Samples said. “And we’re eager to get back to the district court to prove that.”

Bennett said the government “set up this project to try to avoid accountability.”

“They may have won this round,” she said. “But there are many more rounds in the legal fight.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the DHS said in the agency’s view, the lawsuit was about, “open-borders activists,” a phrase which stunned the environmental advocates.

“If someone believes that the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity don’t care about the environment, then I’ve got a few acres of swampland to sell them in South Florida,” said Bennett.

That’s because what the facility does was not at issue in this environmental law case and the same goes for immigration policy.

“It has nothing to do with it,” said Samples.

Instead, she said the case is about whether the government followed the law.

“Any individual person, if they were to build like this in the middle of the Everglades, would have to get a permit,” said Bennett. “Why is it that the federal and state government don’t? Are they above the law? I don’t think so.”

Samples added, “We have a strong case to build. We also have filed notice of intent to sue under other laws. There are real impacts to endangered species and now that we have this opinion from the appeals court, we can get back, amend our original lawsuit to incorporate those claims and make our case even stronger.”

Abigail L. Fleming, Associate Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, told Local 10 News in an email that the plaintiffs could now “ask the Eleventh Circuit to rehear the case en banc, arguing that the decision conflicts with prior precedent or raises exceptionally important legal questions.”

“En banc review is rarely granted,” Fleming added. “They could also seek review from the Supreme Court of the United States, but that would be an uphill battle at this stage, particularly because the case is still in a preliminary posture. The plaintiffs also could return to the trial court and develop further evidence that the federal government is reimbursing Florida for building the facility and exercises control over it.”

The Alabama-based nonprofit was indicted last week on charges of fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors said the group misled donors by using their money to pay informants who served as leaders in the very hate groups the organization was founded to fight.

In its first legal defense against the charges, the group filed motions in federal court in Alabama asking the court to order acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to retract statements saying the government had “no information” about the informant program, and to block him from making further similar statements. Blanche made the comment in a press conference last week and later on Fox News as he announced charges against the nonprofit.

The filings detail three instances in which the SPLC says information from its informant program was shared with law enforcement to help stop the activities of racist groups. Attorneys for the SPLC presented information from at least one of those cases during an April meeting with prosecutors, attorneys said. The group asked Blanche for a retraction after he said authorities had been kept in the dark, but the government declined, according to the group.

“The Department of Justice is well aware that the SPLC provided helpful information, through the use of its confidential informants, to law enforcement,” the group said in its filing. “The Department of Justice also knows that these confidential informants helped law enforcement put violent extremists in jail.”

Lawyers for the group said Blanche's comments could taint the jury pool and compromise the group's right to a fair trial.

President Donald Trump has seized on the case, calling SPLC one of the “greatest political scams in American History” and connecting it to his false claims that he won the 2020 election. Critics have called it a politically motivated prosecution that weaponizes the Justice Department to punish opponents of conservatives.

The SPLC lays out examples of how it shared informant information

The indictment accuses the group of secretly promoting racist groups while publicly saying it was fighting them. For example, prosecutors said an SPLC-paid informant helped plan the 2017 white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and attended the rally at the direction of the SPLC.

But in its filings, the SPLC said it sent a 45-page “event alert” to the FBI in advance of the rally with information gathered from the informant program, including information about some attendees’ weapons.

In one 2019 case, the SPLC said a tip from its informant program helped thwart a planned attack in Las Vegas. The group said it shared information with law enforcement that led to the FBI's arrest of a man associated with Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist group. A Justice Department news release from 2020 said the man discussed attacking a synagogue and a bar catering to LGBTQ customers. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

In another case, the SPLC said intel from the informant program was passed to law enforcement and led to the conviction of a man who lied about his ties to a white supremacist group while requesting national security clearance. The man, who was not identified in court documents, had been working at Philadelphia's Navy Yard in 2018 and was convicted and sentenced to prison following the tip, the group said.

Attorneys for the SPLC said they presented evidence to prosecutors at an April 6 meeting showing how information from the informant program was shared with law enforcement in that case.

Alongside its request for a retraction, the SPLC filed a motion asking for grand jury transcripts to make sure false statements weren't used to secure the indictment. It said mischaracterizations by the Justice Department “suggest that the grand jury was not merely misled by the government’s presentation of the law, but likely that it was actively weaponized to facilitate such charges.”

The government says the group was ‘manufacturing’ extremism

Prosecutors say the SPLC funneled more than $3 million in donated money to informants who were leaders in the KKK, the neo-Nazi National Alliance and other hate groups. The center is charged with defrauding donors and making false statements to create bank accounts that were used to relay money to informants.

Blanche said at a press conference that the group was “manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.” Justice Department officials have said these are the first charges in an ongoing investigation.

The center came under fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who founded and led Turning Point USA. The SPLC had characterized Kirk's group as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024” in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Bryan Fair, interim president and CEO of SPLC, said information shared with the FBI has saved lives.

“When threats and other unlawful activity were revealed, the SPLC immediately passed that information to law enforcement officials, local, state and federal and assisted in efforts to prevent violence and stop criminal activity,” Fair said.

On the same day that the British energy giant reported a banner financial performance, gasoline prices in the U.S. hit new multiyear highs, a point of increasing agitation for travelers, households and also businesses that are particularly sensitive to higher energy prices, such as airlines.

The near closure of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran is a flashpoint in the war and the source of much of the economic pain being felt globally. The Trump administration appeared unlikely Tuesday to accept Iran’s offer to end the war and reopen the strait if the U.S. lifts its blockade on the country.

About 20% of the world’s oil passes through the strait on a typical day, but the passage has been choked off since the war began in late February. The price for a barrel of Brent crude that cost about $73 on the day before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, was trading for more than $104 Tuesday.

Given soaring energy costs the stellar performance from BP was anticipated, yet it still exceeded the heightened expectations of industry analysts for both profit and revenue.

It was BP’s first earnings report since the war began and the company is the first of the oil majors to post its financial performance, providing a preview of what to expect when other big drillers like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips report earnings later this week.

BP earned $3.84 billion, or $1.47 per share, for the first three months of the year, far exceeding last year’s $687 million, or 26 cents per share, the company said Tuesday. BP's underlying replacement cost profit, which more closely mimics net income reported by U.S. companies, was $3.2 billion. BP has an expansive oil trading operation, so it may outpace other oil giants due to the current volatility in energy markets.

“The Middle East conflict created significant crude and refined products dislocations that BP’s integrated supply chain was positioned to monetize,” wrote James West, managing director and head of Energy and Power Research at Melius.

The London exploration and production company called the performance of its trading desk “exceptional.”

The average price of gasoline in the U.S. hit $4.18 on Tuesday, according to motor club AAA. That is the highest level since 2022, when Ukraine was invaded by Russia, and well over dollar more than a gallon cost one month ago. The war in Iran had been going on for a month at that time, but a gallon still cost less than $4.

Inflation in the U.S. rose sharply last month during largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. The surge in gas prices has squeezed the budgets of lower- and middle-income families, making it more difficult to pay for necessities.

But it’s disrupting businesses as well, particularly those sensitive to higher fuel costs. Airlines worldwide have begun canceling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up ticket prices.

The huge profits from BP generated online vitriol almost immediately.

In addition to posts from individual social media accounts, organizations weighed in as well.

“Families are being pushed to the brink by spiraling energy bills, while fossil fuel companies turn a war into a windfall,” wrote Clémence Dubois, global campaigns director at 350.org. “This is not just unjust, it’s unacceptable.”

Simon Francis, coordinator with End Fuel Poverty Coalition, wrote on Tuesday that, “These astronomical profits are a startling reminder that when conflict drives up the price of oil and gas, energy companies profit and households pay.”

BP shares rose more than 1% Tuesday, close to a 52-week high, as did the shares of other major oil producers.

The UAE's decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low — meaning it wasn't able to sell as much oil to the world as it had wanted.

“Having invested heavily in expanding energy production capacity in recent years, the bigger picture is that the UAE has been itching to pump more oil,” Capital Economics wrote in an analysis. “The ties binding OPEC members together have loosened,” it said, particularly after Qatar withdrew from the cartel in 2019.

Regional politics are also likely at play. The UAE has had increasingly frosty relations with Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, over political and economic matters in the Mideast, even after both came under attack by fellow OPEC member Iran during the war.

No immediate impact likely for world oil markets

The UAE’s withdrawal from OPEC won’t necessarily have any immediate effects in markets. That’s because world oil supplies are sharply constrained by the war in Iran, which has closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil supplies — including much of the UAE's — is transported. On Tuesday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded above $111 a barrel, or more than 50% above its prewar price.

OPEC accounts for roughly 40% of the world's oil output, but its market power had been waning in recent years as the United States ramped up production. While Saudi Arabia had been producing more than 10 million barrels of oil a day before the war, the U.S. pumps more than 13 million barrels a day.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been a steady critic of the cartel during his two terms in the White House.

The UAE, which joined OPEC through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967, had been producing around 3.4 million barrels of crude a day just before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28. Analysts say it has capacity to produce roughly 5 million barrels a day.

In its announcement on Tuesday, made via its state-run WAM news agency, the UAE said it also would leave the wider OPEC+ group, which Russia had led to try to stabilize oil prices.

“This decision reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile, including accelerated investment in domestic energy production,” the UAE said, adding that it would bring "additional production to market in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions.”

The UAE’s withdrawal removes one of OPEC’s few members with the ability to quickly increase production, said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.

“A structurally weaker OPEC, with less spare capacity concentrated within the group, will find it increasingly difficult to calibrate supply and stabilize prices," he said.

Saudi Arabia, UAE increasingly at odds

Saudi Arabia and the UAE increasingly have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. The two countries had jointly fought against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December, when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.

As tensions rose in recent months, Saudi broadcasters long based in Dubai, the economic hub of the UAE, have pulled back to the kingdom.

“This exit of OPEC fits into the UAE need for flexibility with key energy consumers as well -- including a future relationship with China and a more competitive relationship with Saudi Arabia," said Karen Young, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.

While Saudi Arabia and OPEC had no immediate reaction, Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei insisted his country's decision did not stem from any dispute with its Gulf neighbor.

“We’ve been working together for years and years. We have the highest respect for the Saudis for leading OPEC,” al-Mazrouei told CNBC.

However, the UAE sent its foreign minister rather than its ruler to a Gulf Arab leaders' meeting held Tuesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The UAE hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks in 2023, a conference that ended for the first time with a pledge by nearly 200 countries to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels. But the UAE still plans to increase its production capacity in the coming years, even as it pursues more clean energy at home, a move decried by climate activists.

“The demand for power is going to go up and up and up,” U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told an Abu Dhabi oil conference in November. “Today’s the day to announce that there is no energy transition. There is only energy addition.”

He drew widespread applause from his Emirati hosts.

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Associated Press writer David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this report.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was convicted of torture, religious persecution and other inhumane acts in 2024 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Judges found he was a key figure in a reign of terror after Islamic extremist rebels overran Timbuktu in 2012.

“Mr. Al Hassan, as the person found responsible for the crimes, which caused the harm to the victims, is the person financially liable for the cost of repairing the harm,” Presiding Judge Kimberly Prost said, addressing the courtroom in the Dutch city of The Hague.

While the court has declared Al Hassan liable, it won't be able to collect the money from the 49-year-old, who was declared indigent and represented by a court-funded lawyer during his trial.

Instead, reparations for the more than 65,000 victims will be paid by the Trust Fund for Victims, set up by the court’s member states to distribute the funds.

We are “one of the many innovations of the Rome Statute,” the fund’s executive director, Deborah Ruiz Verduzco, told The Associated Press. Under the statute, the court’s founding treaty, the fund “responds to the harm resulting from the crimes under the jurisdiction.”

The 24 staff members in Ruiz Verduzco’s office are tasked with assisting victims and their families, establishing programs in communities destroyed by violence and drumming up financial support.

In its two decades of operation, the trust fund has received money from perpetrators in only one case.

“Substantial fundraising will need to take place,” Prost said.

The bulk of the money will come from the court’s member states, though the fund also accepts private donations. In March, Germany gave 40,000 euros ($46,000). Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands are the three biggest supporters.

Judges guide how the reparations money will be allocated, though they solicit input from the victims through their lawyers and the trust fund.

In the Al Hassan case, the reparations will be used for “socioeconomic support, educational programs or trainings and psychological support,” according to the decision. Projects should target women and girls, who suffered disproportionately under the extremist groups.

Communities in Mali already have seen some restitution. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2016 for destroying historic mausoleums in Timbuktu. In 2021, the trust fund began a project to repair ruined buildings.

Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, for over a decade has battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance instead.

Tuesday's decisions comes days after an alliance of al-Qaida-linked militants and separatists carried out the largest coordinated attack in Mali in over a decade.

Poczobut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a leading figure among Belarus’ Polish minority, was serving eight years in prison in a case condemned as politically motivated.

His 2021 arrest after covering pro-democracy rallies in Belarus drew widespread criticism. He later was awarded the Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s most prestigious human rights award.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called Poczobut a symbol of the fight for freedom in Belarus but also of the effectiveness of the Polish state in leaving no one behind.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who welcomed Poczobut at the border about midday Tuesday, posted on X that the journalist was “unwavering.” Poczobut’s first words to him were about his chances of returning home to Belarus, Tusk wrote, and said he replied: “Only you decide. You’re a free man now.”

Appearing at the border, Poczobut had noticeably lost weight, his face was gaunt and his head had been shaved. Bartosz Wieliski, the deputy editor in chief of Gazeta Wyborcza who met Poczobut there, said the journalist went straight to a hospital for a checkup. He added that Poczobut had lost over 19 kilograms (nearly 42 pounds) behind bars.

The swap was the latest in a series of U.S.-negotiated prisoner releases that have marked stronger relations with Minsk under U.S. President Donald Trump.

A Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman said three of the five prisoners released by Belarus came to Poland in exchange for three sent by Poland to Belarus, with a total of 10 involving other countries.

Included in the swap were Grzegorz Gawel, a Roman Catholic friar from the Carmelite order in Krakow, and a “Belarusian citizen who cooperated with our secret services,” Tusk said at a news conference, without identifying the latter.

Tusk described organizing the swap as a “complicated and sensational story,” saying a previous agreement to free Poczobut was derailed after Minsk backed out with less than 24 hours to go. Tuesday's exchange was ultimately possible due to prisoners viewed as important by Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan and held by Poland, he said.

Speaking of Poczobut’s release, Tusk said: “There were a few tough men present there and they all had tears in their eyes.”

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said two Moldovan citizens working for its intelligence services who were held in Russia had been released, although she did not identify them. She said they were exchanged for Russian citizen Nina Popova, who allegedly was “acting against” the state of Moldova, and Alexandru Balan, a former Moldovan intelligence official accused of treason in support of the Belarusian security services.

“For our country, it is a gain that cannot be measured by a simple mathematical equation,” Sandu said. “We brought home two citizens who work for the Republic of Moldova, giving up, in return, (two) prisoners who worked against the Republic of Moldova.”

The Russian state news agency Tass identified one of those released by Poland as Alexander Butyagin, a Russian national due to be extradited to Ukraine on allegations he conducted excavations involving artifacts at a site in Crimea that Kyiv considers part of its cultural heritage.

Belarus’ presidential press service said the negotiations had involved intelligence services from seven countries. It described some of the prisoners who returned to Minsk as having "carried out particularly important missions in the interests of ensuring the national security and defense capability of our country.”

Seeking better relations

In March, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the release of 250 political prisoners as part of a deal with Washington that lifted some U.S. sanctions.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced isolation for years. Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western countries — both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Writing on X, Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, said three Poles and two Moldovans had been released as part of the swap. He thanked Poland, Moldova, and Romania for what he called “their invaluable support,” along with the willingness by Lukashenko "to pursue constructive engagement with the United States.”

Poczobut became a symbol of repression

Large portraits of Poczobut had appeared regularly at the Poland-Belarus border, a reminder of the large-scale political repression in Minsk and of tensions on the EU and NATO frontier.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press that Poczobut was a hero who had never betrayed his principles.

"After years of unjust detention and isolation, he can breathe freely," she said, while calling for the release of the hundreds of political prisoners in Belarus.

Poczobut’s arrest followed his coverage of the pro-democracy rallies that engulfed Belarus in 2020 after the disputed presidential election that kept Lukashenko in office.

He decided to stay in Belarus despite the brutal crackdown that followed, resulting in over 65,000 arrests, thousands of police beatings and tens of thousands fleeing abroad.

Poczobut was sent to one of the country’s harshest maximum-security prisons to serve his sentence, despite ongoing worries for his health.

The Belarusian human rights group Viasna said he repeatedly was denied essential medications and refused contact with his wife and children. It also reported that he had been placed in solitary confinement for several months after refusing work that he was unable to perform due to his health.

“For Poland, Poczobut is a national hero. For Belarus, he’s a reminder that a state cannot be built on fear,” said Andżelika Borys, head of the Union of Poles in Belarus, who spent over a year in prison. “For Europe, he’s a witness to the fact that the struggle for freedom continues not in the pages of textbooks but in the prison cells of the 21st century.”

Viasna believes Belarus still holds 832 political prisoners. Its head, Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski, pledged to keep fighting until all were freed.

“Poczobut is a true hero, but let’s not forget that hundreds more political prisoners are still in prison awaiting release," he told AP.

—-

Karmanau reported from Tallinn, Estonia, and Davies reported from Manchester, England.

—-

This version corrects the spelling of Carmelite friar’s name to Grzegorz Gawel, not Grzegorz Gawej.

The animals are part of an interactive installation by American artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) currently showing at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie.

Each printed image shows a snippet of reality transformed by AI to resemble the personality of the dog or, in other words, the worldview of the human figure on its shoulders (i.e., the Picasso dog will produce images in Cubist style and Warhol's in pop art).

It's a commentary on how our perceptions are shaped by algorithms and technology platforms, the organizers of the exhibition write in the description of the event.

“In the past, our view of the world was shaped in part by how artists saw the world,” Beeple told the AP. “How Picasso painted changed how we saw the word, how Warhol talked about consumerism, pop culture, that changed how he saw those things.”

Now our view of the world is shaped by tech billionaires who own powerful algorithms that decide what we see and what we don’t see, the artist added.

“That's an immense amount of power that I don’t think we’ve fully understood, especially because when they want to make a change, they don’t need to lobby the U.N. They don’t need to get something through Congress or the EU, they just wake up and change these algorithms.”

The dogs also wear heads in Beeple’s own image.

Lisa Botti, the curator of the exhibition in Berlin, said that artificial intelligence was one of the phenomena most impacting our lives today and that “museums are the places where society can reflect” on such transformations, which is why she wanted to have Beeple’s work shown.

The work, entitled “Regular Animals,” was first shown at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025.

Beeple is a graphic designer from South Carolina who does a variety of digital artwork. He is one of the founders of the “everyday” movement in 3D graphics: For years, he has been creating a picture every day and posting it online without missing a single day.

According to Christie's, he is the third most expensive living artist to sell at auction, after David Hockney and Jeff Koons.

In the spring of 2021, Christie’s opened bidding for Beeple's digital collage entitled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” with the sale ultimately closing at over $69 million. The auction house described the artwork as “critiques of modern society, the government and social media” in the form of “grotesque, dystopian futures, often featuring celebrities like Donald Trump and Kanye West.”

Christie’s said the sale marked the first time a major auction house offered a digital-only artwork with a non-fungible token as a guarantee of its authenticity, as well as the first time cryptocurrency has been used to pay for an artwork at auction.

Non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs, are electronic identifiers confirming a digital collectible is real by recording the details on a digital ledger known as a blockchain. The tokens have swept the online collecting world recently, an offshoot of the boom in cryptocurrencies.

At the Art Basel 2025 event, Beeple gave away the photos pooed by his dogs to audience members, accompanied by a certificate that read “100% organic GMO-free dog shit.” Some prints had QR codes that gave access to free NFTs, which in practice meant Beeple was giving away his digital art for free for people (sometimes the subjects of the photos themselves) to potentially monetize.

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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland.

Random House Books for Young Readers announced Tuesday that “EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams” will be published Nov. 3. In rhyming verse, the WNBA star shares a message about the importance of effort and support.

Clark, whose book features illustrations by Adriana Predoi, was inspired by an inscription above the mirror that hung in her childhood bedroom: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little EXTRA.”

“Basketball has given me so many incredible opportunities, but what has always meant the most to me are the people who’ve supported me along the way,” Clark said in a statement. “I hope this book reminds kids that they’re never alone in chasing their dreams and that giving a little extra to the people and moments is what makes them EXTRAordinary.”

The 24-year-old Indiana Fever guard, widely credited with raising the profile of women's basketball, returned to action recently after injuries limited her to 13 games in 2025. She scored seven points Saturday in a preseason victory over the New York Liberty.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range attack drones struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting the evacuation of local people and a Russian warning of possible “environmental consequences.”

Ukraine has developed cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology that has proved essential in holding back Russia’s bigger army and has drawn military interest from around the world.

Interceptor drones as part of a comprehensive air defense system are now being sought by Middle East and Gulf countries amid the Iran war, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine is scaling up supplies of interceptor drones to thwart Russian aerial attacks, and its military has introduced a new command within the air force to boost the country’s capabilities, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in a post on Telegram late Monday.

Ukraine says its deep-strike range is growing

Ukraine’s offensive capabilities have also improved, with the Defense Ministry saying Tuesday that the country’s forces have more than doubled the range of their deep-strike capabilities since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

At that time, Ukrainian forces were able to hit military targets about 630 kilometers (400 miles) away, it said. They are now striking targets as far as roughly 1,750 kilometers (1,100 miles) behind enemy lines, the ministry said in a statement.

That improvement has allowed Ukraine to hit Russian oil installations that provide crucial revenue for Moscow’s war effort. It has also targeted manufacturing plants that supply Russia’s armed forces.

A Russian refinery is struck

Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery at the Black Sea port of Tuapse for the third time this month in a coordinated operation involving multiple branches of the country’s defense and security services, its Unmanned Systems Forces said Tuesday.

The two strikes earlier this month destroyed 24 oil storage tanks and damaged four others, it said. Independent verification of the claims was not possible.

Video from Tuapse released Tuesday by Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev showed a massive plume of black smoke rising from the refinery and black, steaming puddles on an adjacent street. An emergency official reported to the governor that boiling oil products had spilled onto the street from one of the oil tanks, damaging several cars.

People who live near the Tuapse refinery were being evacuated, Kondratyev said. He didn’t provide details about how many were evacuated or for how long.

Speaking about the strikes on Tuapse, Russian President Vladimir Putin said they could “cause serious environmental consequences,” Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Putin also said Kondratyev had reported there were no serious threats in Tuapse and people were "dealing with the challenges they face on the ground.”

Both sides carry out drone attacks

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday its air defenses overnight intercepted 186 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and the Black and the Azov seas.

In the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, three people were killed and three more were wounded in a drone attack, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, meanwhile, killed three civilians and wounded five others, Ukrainian authorities said.

Two people were killed in the city of Chuhuiv in the northeastern Kharkiv region, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

A 40-year-old man died and five other men sustained injuries in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A rare daytime drone attack on Kyiv on Tuesday wounded two people, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Another Russian attack on Konotop, in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, knocked out the city’s power and water supply.

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

The influential midfielder missed PSG's last two games with a right heel injury. He was in a three-man midfield alongside João Neves and Warren Zaïre-Emery. The latter was preferred to he returning Fabián Ruiz, who was only recently returned from injury.

Bayern lined up as expected with Jamal Musiala in a playmaker role behind striker Harry Kane, who had 53 goals this season heading into the game in Paris. Swiss referee Sandro Schärer took charge.

Musiala sustained a broken leg against PSG at last summer's Club World Cup.

Coach Vincent Kompany's Bayern has already clinched a record-extending 35th Bundesliga championship and is chasing a treble. Kompany was suspended so assistant Aaron Danks took over on the touchline at Parc des Princes. Bayern won 2-1 in Paris in the group stage in November with left winger Luis Díaz scoring twice.

Two-time finalist PSG was appearing in its third straight semifinal and Bayern had not lost in any competition since Jan. 24.

Spanish side Atletico Madrid hosts London club Arsenal on Wednesday in the other semifinal first leg.

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

Literally.

Scenes of Japanese soccer fans sweeping stadiums and picking up trash after a match first drew public attention in France in 1998 — Japan's first appearance in the World Cup.

The tradition has continued every four years. It happened at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, and it's certain to continue when Japan opens play in June with group games in Arlington, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico.

The cleanup astonishes non-Japanese who might be accustomed to leaving stadiums and stepping over half-eaten food, shredded paper wrappers, and cups — empty or with liquid dribbling out.

At the World Cup in Russia in 2018, Japanese players famously cleaned the dressing room after a loss and left a thank-you note in Russian. In 2022, fans left thank-you notes on rubbish bags written in Arabic, English and Japanese.

A Japanese phrase explains why

It's not that complicated. Beginning in elementary school, students are socialized to behave this way — in the classroom, in the school yard or on a playing field.

“Japanese sports fans at world events who clean up the stadium are behaving much the same way they did when they learned how to enjoy sports as school boys and girls,” Koichi Nakano, who teaches politics and history at Sophia University, told The Associated Press.

There is a phrase in Japanese that explains it.

“Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu.”

The literal translation is: “A bird leaves nothing behind.”

Rendered in English the message is: “Return it the way you found it.”

Many Japanese elementary schools don’t have janitors, so the clean-up work is left to students. Office workers often dedicate time to sprucing up their areas.

Also, there are relatively few trash containers in public spaces in Japan, so people take their waste home with them. This keeps the sidewalks cleaner, saves the cost of emptying trash cans, and keeps away vermin.

“The way most ordinary soccer fans experience soccer at school is no different from other sports, and the emphasis is not just on physical education but also on moral education as well,” Nakano added.

Collective vs. the individual

Raised in Germany, Barbara Holthus is the deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo. A sociologist, she agrees it's prudent not to put Japanese on a pedestal. Japan, like any country, has its own challenges and shortcomings.

“An academically sound explanation is that people in Japan just happen to be socialized different,” she told The AP. “If you grew up with a certain way of how things are being done, you apply that to even cleaning up a stadium afterwards.”

At work here is also the Japanese concept of “meiwaku,” which implies not causing trouble or annoying others. From the Japanese point of view, leaving rubbish piled up in a stadium would be a bother to others.

Japan is a relatively crowded place, and greater Tokyo alone has about 35 million people, almost the population of the entire state of California. People need to get along.

“Japanese learn early on that you don't want to inconvenience other people,” Holthus said.

She said the focus is often on the collective, compared with the West where the emphasis is on the individual and individual rights.

“You don’t want to bother people. It goes to all areas of life in Japan,” Holthus added. “We are raised (in the West) that we don’t have to clean up after ourselves in public spaces because there is going to be some kind of public service doing that.”

And because Japanese people have received widespread praise for the clean-up, the behavior has been reinforced.

“Now that the media has latched onto the story and lavished praise on Japanese fans, they have made it a point of pride to display those values and norms,” Jeff Kingston, who teaches history at Temple University in Japan, wrote in an email.

A Japanese tradition

The clean-up tradition is not limited to soccer's marquee tournament. The same thing happened last year at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile as Japanese fans cleaned up after a match. And even more recently last month at Wembley Stadium in London where Japan defeated England 1-0 in an international friendly.

“It’s one of our traditions,” said Toshi Yoshizawa, who was leading the cleanup in Chile. “We grew up with the teaching that we should leave a place cleaner than when we arrived.”

William Kelly, an emeritus professor of anthropology at Yale University and a specialist on Japan, said the tradition is linked to soccer more than other sports. He speculated it's tied to the establishment of Japan's professional football league more than 30 years ago.

“It (the J-League) was trying to distinguish itself from baseball by emphasizing teams’ community embeddedness and commitment,” Kelly wrote in an email. “Soccer fans felt, and feel, more a part of the club and its stadium.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Law enforcement authorities said the suspect was arrested near the city of Patra, some 210 kilometers (130 miles) west of the Greek capital.

The gunman initially opened fire at the social security office, wounding an employee, police said. Police officers who arrived at the scene treated the man, but the gunman fled the scene.

Local media aired security camera footage that it said was from a local store near the social security office, which showed a man walking calmly across the street carrying what appears to be a short-barreled shotgun in his right hand.

The same man was suspected of later opening fire on the ground floor of a court building in another part of central Athens, with several people wounded there, police said, adding that authorities had found the shotgun.

Television footage showed ambulance crews transporting at least three people from the courthouse to waiting ambulances.

The head of the Athens Judicial Employees Union, Stratis Dounias, said that initial information indicated that the man had shot at the floor inside one of the offices in the court building. At least three female court employees were slightly wounded by ricocheting shotgun pellets, while media reports said that a fourth female employee was transported to a hospital without physical injuries.

The motive for the shooting was unclear. State broadcaster ERT said that the gunman had reportedly left envelopes with documents after the shooting at the courthouse, saying those were the reasons for his actions.

Alexandros Varveris, head of the National Social Security Fund known by its Greek acronym EFKA, said the gunman had gone to the fourth floor of the social security fund's offices in the Kerameikos area of central Athens and opened fire after calling out to an employee to duck. His shot hit another employee, who was wounded in the leg, Varveris said, adding that the gunman had been wearing a trench coat under which he had hidden the shotgun.

“He went in, went up to the fourth floor, raised his shotgun, told an employee to duck and hit another one,” Varveris told ERT radio. He said the gunman didn't appear to specifically target the employee he hit.

The wounded employee was transported to a hospital, after police applied a tourniquet to his leg at the scene.

Gun violence is relatively rare in Greece, where firearm ownership is allowed but tightly regulated.

The government released draft legislation Tuesday it intends to introduce to Parliament by July 2 that would create a financial incentive for the social media companies to strike deals with news organizations to pay for journalism.

The platforms’ criticisms included that the proposal was a “digital services tax” that misunderstood the evolving advertising industry and would fail to deliver a sustainable news sector.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a monetary value needed to be attached to journalists’ work.

“It shouldn’t just be able to be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits for that organisation with no compensation appropriate for the people who produce that creative content,” Albanese told reporters.

“We think that investment in journalism is critical to a healthy democracy,” he added.

It’s Australia's second legislative attempt to make the platforms pay for the Australian news text and images that their users view.

Digital platforms had been pressured to strike deals with Australian news publishers to pay for journalism by legislation passed in 2021 that created the country's News Media Bargaining Code.

The platforms chose to reach commercial deals with news creators rather than be forced into arbitration and have a judge set the price.

But they have since avoided renewing those deals by removing news from their services.

The proposed News Bargaining Incentive would charge major platforms that choose not to strike commercial deals with news publishers a 2.25% tax on their Australian revenue.

The platforms would be given offsets and their overall costs would be lowered if they agree to pay publishers for journalism, the government said.

The government expects the incentive would raise between 200 to 250 million Australian dollars ($144 million-$179 million) a year. That was about as much as the platforms paid news outlets when the News Media Bargaining Code was working at its peak.

The government would distribute that income among news organizations based on how many journalists each organization employed, Communication Minister Anika Wells said.

The tax would apply to Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc., and TikTok, which is majority-owned by U.S.-backed investors.

Opposing the proposed legislation, Meta said news organizations “voluntarily post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so.”

“The idea that we take their news content is simply wrong. This proposed legislation, which would apply to platforms regardless of whether news content even appears on our services, is nothing more than a digital services tax,” Meta said in a statement.

“A government-mandated transfer of wealth from one industry to another, with no connection to the value exchanged, will not deliver a sustainable or innovative news sector. Instead, it will create a news industry dependent on a government-administered subsidy scheme,” Meta added.

Google said “we reject the need for this tax.”

“It ignores the fact that Google already has commercial agreements with the news industry, misunderstands how the ad market changed and mandates payments from some companies while arbitrarily excluding platforms like Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI -- despite the major shift in how people consume news,” a Google statement said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

All the targeted platforms are American. U.S. critics have argued that Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code had disproportionately cost American corporations.

Albanese was not concerned by potential pushback from the United States.

“We’re a sovereign nation and my government will make decisions based upon the Australian national interest,” Albanese said.

Maybe this strong start from all five teams isn't that big a surprise after all.

“I think it’s a really good division,” Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman said. “Obviously, good pitching, good offenses, and all the teams have gotten off to a good start. So we know that we've got our work cut out for us in this division.”

Heading into Tuesday, the NL Central is the only division in baseball in which every team has a winning record. It's the second-latest date in a season that every NL Central club has been over .500, according to Sportradar, trailing May 29, 2004, when the division had six teams and each one was 23-22 or better.

The NL Central and NL West each had a composite record of 80-61, followed by the AL East at 73-69. The NL East (64-79), AL Central (66-79) and AL West (66-80) all had losing records as a division.

It's impressive territory for an NL Central that had four teams among MLB's 12 smallest payrolls on opening day.

“There are good athletes in the NL Central. The style of play is interesting," St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "You see how collectively they play the game and where their record’s at right now.”

Powered by Cruz and Stewart, the Cincinnati Reds lead the way with an 18-10 record. The Cubs are 1 1/2 games back, followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in third at 16-13. The Cardinals are 15-13, and the Milwaukee Brewers are last with a 14-13 mark.

Milwaukee won the division in 2025 for the third consecutive year. Chicago and Cincinnati also made the playoffs as wild cards.

“We had three teams in the playoffs last year. We were the only division in the National League to have three,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "In previous years, we’ve never had respect. ... The (division) has been very good and last year was evidence. This year is not surprising.”

The Cubs signed Bregman to a $175 million, five-year contract in free agency, and the Reds and Pirates also made significant offseason additions. But the Central also has benefited from the arrival of a group of promising young hitters.

Stewart, 22, leads the majors with 29 RBIs in 28 games for the Reds. Moisés Ballesteros, 22, is batting .387 in 25 games for the Cubs. Wetherholt, 23, has connected for a solo homer in each of his last three games.

Griffin, who signed a $140 million, nine-year contract with Pittsburgh on April 8, is showing signs of shaking off his slow start. He hit his first career homer on his 20th birthday Friday.

“A ton of young talent in the division, and I feel like that’s really exciting,” Bregman said.

The Central also has been helped by a patient approach at the plate.

The Cubs lead the National League with 130 walks, followed by the Brewers at 126 and the Reds at 119. The Pirates are fifth with 110, and the Cardinals have 103 walks so far.

“It’s about trying to put together quality at-bats and those are leading to walks,” Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell said. "It’s part of our identity, putting together quality at-bats.”

It remains to be seen how the standings shake out once the NL Central starts seeing more of each other. St. Louis played its first division game Monday night when it rallied for a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh. Cincinnati, Chicago and Milwaukee have played just three division games apiece.

“It’s a lot of really good teams," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “When you look at the way we got three teams into the playoffs last year and the way we’ve started out this year with all five teams playing good baseball, it’s been a lot of fun. It’s cool to see the division be so strong. There’s going to be a lot of really good games.”

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AP freelance reporters Rich Rovito and Santos Perez contributed to this report.

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

The road should get at least a little tougher in the coming weeks — but there's little doubt the defending champions are well-equipped to defend their title.

The Thunder finished off a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, winning 131-122 after pulling away in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City is 12-0 in the first round over the past three years.

“It's a really good feeling," guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of the sweep. “Just for our confidence as a group, it's good to get the playoff run started the right way. You never know what can happen — and usually the later you go, the better the teams, and the series won't go like that. You want to give yourself as many days as possible to rest.”

The 27-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander looked every bit like the reigning Most Valuable Player against the Suns, averaging 33.8 points and shooting 55.1% from the field. He was at his best in Game 3, scoring 42 points on 15-of-18 shooting.

He was very good again in Game 4, scoring 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting. The Thunder's offense was at its best in the series finale, with Chet Holmgren scoring 24 and Ajay Mitchell adding 22.

Oklahoma City shot nearly 54% from the field and made 17 of 34 (50%) 3-pointers.

“We played the right way, nothing out of the usual,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Guys were out there making aggressive plays and playing for each other. We have a formula we try to play with and we try to impose it every night.”

The Thunder will face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets series in the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers have a 3-1 lead after the Rockets won Game 4.

Even though they swept the series, the Thunder were hit with some adversity when starter Jalen Williams went down with a hamstring injury in Game 2. Oklahoma City still had plenty of depth to get past the gritty but overmatched Suns, who barely qualified for the playoffs after beating the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament.

Mitchell stepped into the starting lineup for Williams and looked confident, particularly in Game 4. He finished with 22 points and six assists, showing he could handle the larger workload in the postseason.

A second-round draft pick out of Santa Barbara, the 6-foot-4 guard has quickly become a vital part of the rotation.

“Ajay is one of the toughest dudes in the league,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Mentally, he's never shaken. He's never afraid of the moment. Ajay can be having the worst day ever and you would never know because he's so solid.”

The Thunder's superior size was also on display against the Suns, who were without starting center Mark Williams because of a foot injury. The 7-foot-1 Holmgren and 7-foot Isaiah Hartenstein combined for 24 rebounds on Monday night, including nine on the offensive glass.

Holmgren said the Suns were a guard-heavy team that tried to go small. He figures others will take a different approach but believes the Thunder are ready for anything.

“We're going to see different teams match up in different ways,” Holmgren said. "Some are going to go big and some are going to go small and play with more pace and open the floor. But I think we've seen a lot of what we could see at this point. Now it's just about going out and executing.”

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It'll be the second time this season Ohtani pitches but does not hit. He'll be throwing on five days' rest.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the plan for Ohtani after a 5-4 win in the series opener Monday night.

The first time Ohtani pitched for the Dodgers but didn't hit occurred April 15, when he struck out 10 in an 8-2 victory over the New York Mets. He was held out of the batting order after being struck in the back of his right shoulder by a pitch earlier that week.

The previous time Ohtani was not in the lineup as the designated hitter during a start on the mound was May 28, 2021, with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Dodgers will miss his bat Tuesday. He has a 10-game hitting streak against the Marlins dating to September 2024.

On Monday, Ohtani had his second consecutive three-hit game, finishing 3 for 5 with a ground-rule double, two singles, two runs and an RBI.

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Iran offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade on the country and ends the war in a proposal that would postpone discussions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, two regional officials said Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to rule out any deal that excludes Iran’s nuclear program.

Here is the latest:

An Israeli military contractor is killed in southern Lebanon

The brief statement by the Israeli army said the civilian employee of an engineering company was working with the military on projects in southern Lebanon. It said his family has been notified but didn’t offer details on how he was killed Tuesday.

Despite a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel forces and Hezbollah militants have been intermittently attacking each other in the south, where Israeli soldiers are occupying a slice of territory along the border.

Israeli strike on a Lebanese army patrol killed 5, including 3 paramedics, and wounds 2 soldiers

That’s according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, which said the toll is still preliminary. The Israeli strike was in the southern town of Majdal Zoun, near the coastal city of Tyre.

Israeli forces hit an army patrol that was accompanying Civil Defense medical teams and bulldozers during a rescue operation at the site of a previous Israeli strike, the Lebanese army and Civil Defense said. Some of the responders were trapped under rubble by the second strike, they said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike, saying it was part of a pattern of Israeli attacks on rescue and emergency workers in violation of international law.

The Western-backed Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines during the recent rounds of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, although dozens of its soldiers have been killed.

Israeli president invites Netanyahu and prosecutors for talks on settling corruption charges

President Isaac Herzog’s office asked for a response by Sunday to his invitation, which came days after he announced he would not decide on Netanyahu’s request for a pardon and instead urge the sides to reach a settlement.

Netanyahu asked Herzog last November to cancel his trial, saying that dropping the charges would help unify the country. Trump has made multiple appeals to Herzog to end the trial.

Herzog’s invitation says he believes that efforts to reach a settlement “must be exhausted first” before he can consider the pardon request. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office or the attorney general’s office.

Netanyahu is charged with breach of trust, fraud and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy associates. He denies all charges.

The trial has dragged on for six years in a case that has bitterly divided the Israeli public. Netanyahu and his supporters claim he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt by the media, police and prosecutors.

Gulf Arab countries jointly condemn Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz

The leaders of several wealthy Gulf nations rejected Iran’s “illegal actions” to close the strait and threaten navigation, warning against any disruption to shipping or charging fees for safe passage.

The statement followed a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and attended by leaders from Qatar and Bahrain, Kuwait’s crown prince, and the United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister.

They called for restoring “security and freedom of navigation” to prewar levels and urged deeper military integration, including joint infrastructure projects and a ballistic missile early warning system.

US budget airlines seek billions in aid amid soaring fuel costs

Their trade group is asking the Trump administration for $2.5 billion to offset rising jet fuel costs and keep ticket prices affordable. The Association of Value Airlines said smaller carriers are being hit hardest by the jump in fuel prices, despite carrying more than 90 million passengers last year.

“Temporary government support” would help “preserve vital industry competition,” the association said.

The trade group represents Frontier, Allegiant, Avelo and Sun Country. Another member, Spirit, is separately in talks with the U.S. government on a potential financing deal aimed at keeping the struggling carrier flying as it navigates fuel price shocks during its second bankruptcy since 2024.

Protesters urge boycott of Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Serbian state RTS broadcaster on Tuesday, waving Palestinian flags and accusing Israel of atrocities in Gaza while demanding that the Balkan country pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest because of Israel’s participation.

The year’s main competition with 35 competing countries is scheduled to be held May 12-16 in Vienna. Serbia, which has close ties with Israel, will be represented by Lavina, a six-member metal band.

The contest strives to put pop music before politics but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The decision to allow Israel to compete prompted the walkout of Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

RTV Slovenia said it will air a Palestinian program at the time of the Eurovision contest.

Israeli ambassador says Lebanese government must disarm Hezbollah

Lebanon’s government has demanded that Hezbollah disarm, but Israel says this has not happened. A ceasefire in the latest Israeli-Hezbollah conflict was recently extended for three weeks.

Danon said that if the U.N. Security Council wants to help Lebanon, it should ask the government how many Hezbollah weapons it has seized, “which tunnels have been destroyed and what is being done to stop arms smuggling from Iran.”

“International support for Lebanon must depend on results on the ground and not more empty statements,” Danon said.

Israel’s UN envoy says Lebanon won’t have sovereignty 'as long as Hezbollah controls the territory’

Ambassador Danny Danon said it’s impossible to talk about peace in Lebanon without mentioning Hezbollah, the militant group with areas of influence in the south bordering Israel and elsewhere in the country.

“Lebanon will not be able to talk about sovereignty as long as Hezbollah continues to fire on Israeli civilians and operate without interference,” he told a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

Palestinian minister tells UN that Israel must stop killing civilians

Varsen Aghabekian accused Israel of seeking the collapse of the Palestinian Authority and Israeli settlers of terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank on a daily basis.

“This has to stop immediately,” she said. “The situation of the Palestinian civilian population must be a top priority.”

Aghabekian said there is no justification for Israel preventing shelter materials from entering Gaza and restricting aid and access for humanitarian workers.

Palestinian minister says 'Palestine must remain a priority’ for action toward an independent state

Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian said the ceasefire in Gaza must be upheld and Israel’s pursuit of “forcible displacement and annexation,” not only in Gaza but in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, must be stopped.

As phase two of the Gaza peace plan gets underway, she said, “We reiterate our vision of one state, one government, one law and one gun and the need for full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.”

Aghabekian told a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that Gaza’s transition must be in line with its reunification with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, “leading to Palestinian self-determination and independent statehood.”

Gaza hospital director’s detention is extended

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel says a court in Israel has indefinitely extended the detention of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, who became the face of health workers’ struggle in Gaza to keep treating patients under Israeli bombardment.

The Israeli military has said Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas. Staff and international aid groups that worked with him have denied the claims.

The rights group in a statement Tuesday says he is held in harsh conditions in Negev Prison. It says the Beersheba District Court approved the extension of his detention without charges having been filed, after his defense had sought his immediate release.

BP earns online backlash as its profit more than doubles during Iran war

The British energy giant reported quarterly earnings Tuesday of $3.84 billion, or $1.47 per share, far exceeding last year’s $687 million, or 26 cents per share. The huge profits beat analysts’ heightened expectations and generated immediate online vitriol.

“Families are being pushed to the brink by spiraling energy bills, while fossil fuel companies turn a war into a windfall,” wrote Clémence Dubois, global campaigns director at 350.org.

“These astronomical profits are a startling reminder that when conflict drives up the price of oil and gas, energy companies profit and households pay,” wrote Simon Francis, coordinator with End Fuel Poverty Coalition.

BP shares rose more than 1%, close to a 52-week high, as did shares of other major oil producers. It was BP’s first earnings report since the Iran war began, previewing what to expect when Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips report earnings later this week.

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Israeli strike wounds two soldiers, traps three rescuers in southern Lebanon

Two Lebanese soldiers were wounded and three Civil Defense personnel were trapped under rubble after an Israeli strike targeted an army patrol accompanied by rescue teams and two bulldozers in the southern town of Majdal Zoun, near Tyre, according to the Lebanese Army and Civil Defense.

The strike hit during a rescue operation, the statements said, adding that Civil Defense crews were working to extract those still trapped.

The Israeli army has not immediately commented on the attack, which came as clashes and intermittent air strikes continue despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

At least seven Lebanese army soldiers have been killed since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2.

Israeli strike wounds two soldiers, traps three rescuers in southern Lebanon

Two Lebanese soldiers were wounded and three Civil Defense personnel were trapped under rubble after an Israeli strike targeted an army patrol accompanied by rescue teams and two bulldozers in the southern town of Majdal Zoun, near Tyre, according to the Lebanese Army and Civil Defense.

The strike hit during a rescue operation, the statements said, adding that Civil Defense crews were working to extract those still trapped.

The Israeli army has not immediately commented on the attack, which came as clashes and intermittent air strikes continue despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

At least seven Lebanese army soldiers have been killed since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2.

Oil prices climb again amid more uncertainty over the Iran war

Another climb in oil prices because of the Iran war is helping to halt Wall Street’s record-setting rally. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil to be delivered in June climbed 2.7% to $111.18. Brent to be delivered in July, which is where traders are focusing more in the oil market, rose 2.6% to $104.33 Tuesday.

After sitting around $70 in late February, Brent prices are moving closer to their peak of $119, reached when worries about the war were at their heights.

The Trump administration seemed unlikely Tuesday to accept Iran’s offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade. Iran also wants to postpone discussions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, which Rubio appeared to rule out.

Average U.S. gasoline prices reached $4.18 a gallon on Tuesday, the most since 2022, according to the auto club AAA.

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US envoy says Hamas is the ‘obstacle’ to Palestinians in Gaza living in peace and prosperity

Ambassador Mike Waltz urged countries with influence on Hamas to press the militant group to demilitarize and accept that it will not have a direct or indirect role in Gaza “through weapons and terrorism and violent intimidation.”

“The moment Hamas agrees to demilitarize, a new chapter in Gaza’s history will be written,” he told a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Middle East.

“Every day we either move closer to a future where Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank live in freedom and prosperity, at peace with Israel — or we drift back toward chaos, rockets, hostages and rubble,” Walz said.

He said there is a plan for reconstruction and development of Gaza and financing, and there is a pathway to peace and eased security restrictions, but Hamas is holding Gaza back.

Netanyahu says drones are Israel’s next target in Lebanon

The Israeli leader says “we are not done yet” after destroying the Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon.

“I gave instructions a few weeks ago for a special project to eliminate the drone threats. It will take time — but we will blow that up too,” he says.

US military boards another ship as it enforces blockade on Iranian ports

The U.S. military said Tuesday in a social media post that it boarded and released another commercial ship that was suspected of heading for Iran.

The post by U.S. Central Command on X included a video showed marines fast-roping from a helicopter onto the vessel, which it said was the Comoros-flagged M/V Blue Star III. It happened in the Arabian Sea, east of the Strait of Hormuz.

“U.S. forces released the vessel after conducting a search and confirming the ship’s voyage would not include an Iranian port call,” the command said.

The command said it has now redirected 39 vessels since start of the blockade on ships going to and from Iranian ports.

Head of international group backing Palestinians urges Hamas to decommission weapons `without delay’

Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza hinges on Hamas’ disarmament, which “must be a sequential process.”

He called on the Palestinians to continue their reform efforts and prepare to resume governing Gaza as called for in the peace plan.

Eide called on Israel to lift restrictions on aid deliveries, ensure revenue is sent to the Palestinian Authority, which faces a financial crisis, and reverse its expansion of settlements.

Speaking at a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, Eide said he's made “crystal clear” that there are transitional arrangements in Gaza but the Palestinian Authority is the only recognized government.

Israel destroys alleged Hezbollah tunnel network in southern Lebanon

The military detonated a large explosion late Tuesday in Qantara, and Israel’s Geological Survey said the blast was so powerful it registered as a “seismic event.”

The army said the network included two large tunnels — one about 800 meters (yards) long and the other 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) — that were equipped with sleeping rooms, toilets, kitchen facilities and launchers aimed at Israel. It released photos and video footage of what it said were the tunnels.

An Israeli military official said the network included large rooms where over 100 Hezbollah fighters could gather at once. He also said it ran underneath and alongside a mosque, school and soccer field.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules.

In a statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army has been instructed to destroy any Hezbollah infrastructure it finds, “just like in Gaza.”

— By Josef Federman

Amnesty International urges Israel to stop destroying civilian property in southern Lebanon

The human rights organization made the statement Tuesday after a video circulated on social media showing Israeli military excavators destroying solar panels for the Lebanese border village of Debel and its water station.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it was investigating the incident after the footage emerged. Debel is the same village where a soldier was filmed earlier this month smashing a statue of Jesus, prompting international condemnation.

“Amnesty International has previously documented extensive destruction by the Israeli military along Lebanon’s border before and after the November 2024 ceasefire,” the group said, adding it had called for reparations and war crimes investigations. “So far, neither has appeared.”

Israeli strike in northern Gaza kills 4 Palestinians

Shifa Hospital said the Israeli airstrike hit a car in Gaza City on Tuesday, killing four men, about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the so-called Yellow Line separating Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza. The Israeli military said it struck “a terrorist” but provided no further details.

Although a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October eased large-scale fighting after two years of war, Israeli forces still carry out near-daily strikes and fire around military-held zones of the tiny Palestinian territory. Since the ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 818 people in Gaza, including 226 children and 179 women, according to health officials there.

Away from the spotlight, the situation in Gaza and the West Bank is ‘steadily worsening,’ UN official says

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said Gaza is facing “ongoing and deadly Israeli strikes and dire humanitarian conditions,” with 1.8 million people — nearly its entire population — living in camps and dependent on aid.

He told a U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting Tuesday that in the West Bank, “violence, including rampant settler attacks, displacement and accelerating settlement activity, is threatening entire communities and further eroding prospects for a political process” toward a two-state solution.

In Gaza, he said, “the ceasefire is increasingly fragile as Israeli strikes and armed activity by Hamas and other groups continue.”

Khiari, whose portfolio includes the Middle East, warned that while diplomatic efforts are underway to consolidate the ceasefire and implement Phase II of the peace plan, “talks on the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups have thus far not resulted in an agreement, raising concerns over the potential return to widespread hostilities.”

Red Cross aims to assess the humanitarian situation in Iran and encourage respect for the rules of war

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross has arrived in Iran to meet with officials and local affiliates and assess the war’s humanitarian consequences.

Mirjana Spoljaric will also discuss efforts of the Geneva-based humanitarian organization to ship more relief supplies to Iran, notably through the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

The ICRC says it delivered more than 170 tons of essential relief items to help people affected by the conflict this month, with more medical items and forensic supplies on their way.

Her visit is part of a trip through the region that involves bilateral discussions to help ensure respect for the rules of war, the organization said.

US consumer confidence inches higher in April despite Iran war and soaring gasoline prices

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index inched up to 92.8 from 92.2 in March, despite growing anxiety over soaring energy prices brought on by the war in Iran. It remains mired near its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s the first read on inflation to capture the effects of the Iran war. The surge in gas prices to an average $4.18 a gallon this week, up more than a dollar since before the war, will stretch budgets and erode incomes, making it harder for lower- and middle-income American households to afford food and rent.

“Consumers are singing the blues,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “They aren’t happy with high prices for gas, housing, electricity and many other items. It’s clear consumers aren’t going to feel much better until there’s an end to the Middle East conflict.”

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Without OPEC production limits, UAE could help lower postwar oil prices

The announcement doesn‘t change anything regarding the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, but could help speed the oil market’s return to lower prices after the war, said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone foreign exchange brokerage.

Once the war ends, the UAE could reach its pre-conflict goal of increasing production to 5 million barrels per day, “in turn helping crude benchmarks to normalize in shorter order once the ongoing Middle East conflict comes to an end,” he said.

The UAE’s exit from OPEC won’t expand global oil supplies right away

The UAE’s move appears to be part of an effort to assert themselves as leaders and independent actors in the region, and sell oil and gas when and how they see fit, said Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.

“This exit of OPEC fits into the UAE need for flexibility with key energy consumers as well — including a future relationship with China and a more competitive relationship with Saudi Arabia,” she said.

The exit won’t immediately change export capacity, since the UAE’s lone pipeline around the Strait of Hormuz to the port at Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman is already running at full capacity, she noted.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry raises death toll of Israel-Hezbollah war to 2,534

The ministry added on Tuesday that 7,863 have been wounded since the war broke out on March 2.

The war has displaced more than 1 million people and caused destruction worth billions of dollars.

Peak oil means sell barrels now or leave money on the table

Leon said the approaching peak in global oil demand has shifted the incentive for producers from collective restraint to earning money from their reserves now.

He said the UAE, with its 4.8 million barrels per day of production capacity and potential to increase output, is “particularly well positioned to pursue such a strategy outside the group.”

An OPEC without the UAE could increase global energy supply volatility, analyst says

The UAE’s withdrawal removes one of OPEC’s few members with ability to quickly increase production — the mechanism through which the cartel manages oil prices, said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.

“A structurally weaker OPEC, with less spare capacity concentrated within the group, will find it increasingly difficult to calibrate supply and stabilize prices,” Leon said. “The net effect points to a more fragmented supply landscape and a potentially more volatile oil market over time as OPEC’s capacity to smooth imbalances diminishes.”

Trump claims Iran has ‘just’ informed the US it’s in a ‘State of Collapse’

“They want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” Trump posted on social media.

He added that he believes they will be able to sort out reported divisions within the Islamic Republic government about negotiations with the U.S.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about who on the Iranian side delivered the message, who in the Republican administration received it and whether the communications were conducted directly with the U.S. or through an intermediary.

Israel to investigate ship carrying what Ukraine says is ‘stolen grain’

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that Israel’s tax authority has opened an investigation into a ship expected to dock in the Haifa port that Ukraine said carries stolen grain.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that Ukraine is preparing sanctions against companies that profit from grain harvested from areas of Ukraine under Russian control. Saar dismissed Zelenskyy’s comments as “Twitter diplomacy” and said Ukraine had not provided information about the cargo’s contents or a request for legal assistance.

“The vessel has not entered the port and has yet to submit its documents. It is not possible to verify the truth of the Ukrainian claims regarding the forgery of the bill of lading,” Saar said.

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Israel has ‘no territorial ambitions’ in Lebanon, Israel’s foreign minister says

Gideon Saar said the Israeli military-occupied “buffer zone” that stretches 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon is necessary to protect residents in Israel’s north.

“Hezbollah has transformed the entire front line of southern Lebanon into a network of terrorist infrastructure, and this threat has not been properly addressed by the Lebanese government,” he said during a press conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić in Jerusalem.

Saar refused to comment on the fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah, which both sides have violated multiple times since Trump announced it last week, and whether Israel might expand its military operations beyond southern Lebanon. He did note Israel’s first direct negotiations with Lebanon in decades.

Iran’s economy has been battered. Its leaders still think Trump will blink first

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes crippled thousands of factories in Iran, and the economic damage is reverberating — millions more Iranians could lose their jobs. Most damaging, Israeli strikes knocked out most steel and petrochemical production, causing a surge in prices for metals and plastic. Things could get worse as the U.S. blockades Iranian ports. Economic woes sparked the mass protests that were crushed before the war, and could again push Iranians into the streets. But Iran’s leaders are betting that economic self-reliance built under decades of sanctions can help them endure the pain longer than Trump. ▶ Read more

Equipos de rescate desplegaron botes inflables para ayudar a trasladar a algunos residentes atrapados en sus viviendas en la ciudad de Qinzhou, en la región de Guangxi, reportó la agencia oficial de noticias Xinhua. Imágenes de video de Xinhua mostraron a rescatistas avanzando a pie por agua que les llegaba al pecho y a bomberos cargando en brazos a residentes ancianos.

Las autoridades de Qinzhou indicaron que la estación meteorológica de la ciudad registró más de 270 milímetros de lluvia (unas 10 pulgadas) durante un periodo de 24 horas que terminó a las 8 de la mañana del lunes. Era la mayor cantidad registrada allí en un solo día de abril.

Las autoridades citaron a Lin Nan, analista meteorológico, quien señaló en una publicación en WeChat que precipitaciones tan intensas en las regiones costeras del sur de China por lo general ocurren sólo después de la llegada del monzón de verano, entre mediados y finales de mayo. Lin agregó que es raro ver un aguacero tan fuerte a finales de abril.

Las escuelas de toda la ciudad reanudaron las clases la mañana del martes y el tráfico circulaba con normalidad en la mayoría de los lugares, según un medio operado por las autoridades chinas de gestión de emergencias.

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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.

Nikola Jokic snapped out of his prolonged funk with a triple-double, Spencer Jones provided a spark while subbing for injured Aaron Gordon, and the Nuggets staved off elimination with a chippy 125-113 win over the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their playoff series Monday night.

“I think we're a multidimensional team that can win a variety of ways,” said Jones, who scored 20 points and keyed a third-quarter spurt that gave Denver its big cushion.

Jokic had 27 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver, which trimmed its deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Jamal Murray scored 24 points as the Nuggets, who led the NBA in scoring, enjoyed a breakout after being held under 100 points twice in Minneapolis.

Jokic posted his 23rd playoff triple-double, third on the career list, as the Nuggets stopped a three-game skid and played the way they did most of the regular season in securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.

“They’re a championship team. They have championship DNA," said Julius Randle, who led Minnesota with 27 points. "They’re going to come out and have a sense of pride on their home court. They did that tonight. So, credit to them. We get to go back to Minnesota and have a chance to close it out.”

The Timberwolves, who trailed by 27, were without their starting backcourt of Anthony Edwards (hyperextended knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (ruptured Achilles), both of whom got hurt in Game 4, and they briefly lost center Naz Reid to a rolled right ankle late in the third quarter Monday night.

DiVincenzo underwent surgery Sunday, and Edwards is out indefinitely — but an MRI confirmed the absence of structural damage, meaning he could return to action if the Timberwolves advance.

Game 4 star Ayo Dosunmu added 18 points for Minnesota, but Rudy Gobert was finally neutralized. He scored his only bucket with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter with the Wolves trailing by 25.

The Nuggets need to win the next two games to become just the 14th of 299 teams facing a 3-1 deficit to come back to win an NBA playoff series. Denver was the last team to accomplish the feat, doing it twice in the bubble in 2020, against the Jazz and Lakers.

The Wolves started out sloppy with nine first-quarter turnovers and finished with 25. Jokic swished a 29-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Denver a 60-51 halftime lead.

“It’s just a good win and then you move on,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Tomorrow we’ll sit down and talk with the guys, get them right, give us a chance to go through things on Wednesday and try to win on Thursday.”

Jones, who scored 11 points in the first four games of the series, had 11 in a six-minute stretch in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets pulled away. He sank a trio of 3-pointers and added a breakaway dunk after learning just before tipoff that he'd start in place of Gordon (calf).

Jaden McDaniels, whose meaningless layup in the final seconds of Game 4 drew the wrath of Jokic and led to a dustup that resulted in ejections and fines and only added more fuel to an already-heated playoff rivalry, got into early foul trouble and scored 13 points. He was razzed by the Ball Arena crowd every time he touched the ball.

“We just ended up losing the day,” McDaniels said, “but we’re going to win the next one.”

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The Associated Press spoke with people who fled to the swamp-encircled community of Nyatim in recent weeks. They described having little food and no clean water in a place so desolate that a Starlink connection was used to call for help.

When aid workers reached out to South Sudanese authorities with a request to deliver emergency relief, however, it was denied. Reports that dozens of people had died, including some of apparent starvation, made no difference.

"It was a ‘no’ from local and national authorities and from the military,” said Yashovardhan, the head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan, who goes by one name. “Meanwhile, people are eating leaves and roots to survive.”

The U.N. World Food Program, usually reticent about an issue that has simmered for years in South Sudan, also told the AP it had been blocked despite “numerous engagements with both national and local authorities,” according to the agency’s country director, Adham Effendi.

People say aid has been weaponized for years

It has happened over and over in South Sudan, whose people fought for years for independence from Sudan and then turned on each other. Whatever side that controls aid is accused of withholding it from the other, and civilians suffer.

This time, fighting has surged since Riek Machar, a longtime rival of President Salva Kiir, was suspended as first vice president and put under house arrest for alleged subversion last year. The two led opposing forces in a civil war that killed an estimated 400,000 people before a 2018 peace agreement brought them into a fragile unity government.

In December, opposition forces backing Machar seized military outposts in Jonglei state. Government forces struck back the following month.

On Feb. 7, soldiers reached the outskirts of Lankien town, where an aerial attack days earlier struck a hospital operated by Doctors Without Borders. Residents described artillery fire before soldiers stormed the town in armored vehicles.

Thomas Nim was among those who fled. With his pregnant wife, three children and mother, they made their way through swampland, hoping soldiers wouldn't chase them.

They and many others soon filled Nyatim, about a day’s walk away.

“Some of the most vulnerable, like the elderly and children, ended up in Nyatim because they couldn’t make it any farther," said Nim, a 43-year-old pharmacist.

As days passed and people began to die without food or good water, he called for help. But none came.

Opposition and authorities blame each other

Gatkhor Dual, an opposition official coordinating aid in Jonglei state, blamed county commissioner James Bol Makuei for blocking humanitarian access. Makuei does not want aid to reach people who “support the opposition,” Dual said, especially when they are near government-held areas.

Makuei acknowledged that access to Nyatim had been restricted but added that estimates of its evacuee-swollen population — 30,000, according to Doctors Without Borders — were exaggerated. He accused South Sudan’s main opposition group, known by its initials SPLM-IO, of holding civilians in Nyatim to attract aid and secure a foothold near the county seat of government.

Nim, the pharmacist, said there were no opposition forces in the area.

Concerns about aid diversion are not without precedent. Armed groups in South Sudan, including the military, have a long history of diverting humanitarian supplies for military purposes. During recent fighting in Jonglei, fighters looted more than two dozen humanitarian-run health facilities, according to the U.N.

Doctors Without Borders said it first reached out for help to Nyatim on Feb. 22. It asked again on March 3 after hearing reports of deaths. At the end of March, the medical charity issued a statement drawing attention to its efforts.

Delivering aid in South Sudan is never easy. Infrastructure is poor. River traffic, where available, has been attacked. Clearance from authorities is required.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis has deepened. In March, over half of the more than 1,000 children screened by Doctors Without Borders in Chuil, a community where South Sudan's government has allowed humanitarian access to enter, were acutely malnourished.

Aid workers have been overwhelmed. In February, Doctors Without Borders began expanding a four-bed facility, first to 60 beds, then 80. It is now growing to 100.

Other people are giving up on remote Nyatim and going home to ruins.

“People are returning to their homes,” said one of them, Koang Pajok. “There was no food and shelter.”

The World Food Program turns to airdrops

Unable to reach the area by road or river, the World Food Program has airdropped 415 metric tons of food to Chuil since March, country director Effendi said.

But as civilians come seeking assistance, so do young men wielding Kalashnikovs. Some people worry that could make Chuil a target.

On a morning in April, a plane circling overhead drew anxious onlookers.

“It’s a surveillance plane,” said Gal Wai Tut, who had arrived days earlier with his wife and newborn child. He recalled seeing a similar plane over Lankien on the day he said a December airstrike killed at least 11 civilians.

Don't gather in one place, an older man advised, saying a crowd is more likely to be targeted.

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The plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still canceled Swift’s three performances in August 2024. The singer’s fans, known as Swifties, who had flown to Austria from across the globe to attend a performance of her record-setting Eras Tour were devastated, but rallied to turn Vienna into a citywide trading post for friendship bracelets and singalongs.

The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen known only as Beran A. in line with Austrian privacy rules, faced charges including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, and has been in custody since August 2024.

The Vienna plot drew comparisons to a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. The bomb detonated at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.

Defendant regrets his actions

Anna Mair, his defense attorney, said her client pleaded guilty to the charges related to the concert plot.

“Of course, he deeply regrets it all,” Mair said outside the court, adding that “he says it was the biggest mistake of his life.”

Austrian media reported that he also pleaded guilty to being a member of a terrorist organization.

Beran A. is facing trial alongside Arda K., whose full name also has not been made public. They, along with a third man, planned to carry out simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 in the name of the Islamic State group. Beran A. and Arda K. never carried out their attacks.

Only Beran A. was charged in connection with the concert plot. He pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the plot for simultaneous attacks.

He allegedly planned to target onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue — with knives or homemade explosives. The suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible,” authorities said in 2024. The U.S. provided intelligence that fed into the decision to cancel the concerts.

Beran A. also allegedly networked with other members of the Islamic State group ahead of the planned attack. Prosecutors say they discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant also sought to illegally buy weapons in the days ahead of the performance. In addition, he swore allegiance to the militant group.

Authorities searched his apartment on Aug. 7, 2024, and found bomb-making materials. The concerts were scheduled to begin the next day.

“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating,” Swift wrote in a statement posted to Instagram two weeks later. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”

A representative for Swift did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.

The trial is being held in Wiener Neustadt, about an hour south of Vienna. The proceedings are set to continue May 12.

Three attacks planned in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE

Prosecutors have also filed terrorism-related charges against Arda K. in the trial in connection with the plan for simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The third man in that plot, Hasan E., allegedly stabbed a security guard with a knife at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, 2024. He was arrested and remains in pretrial detention in Saudi Arabia, Austrian prosecutors said.

Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their plans in Turkey and the UAE. Beran A. returned to Vienna and then allegedly began plotting to attack a Swift concert there.

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Dazio reported from Berlin. Daniel Niemann in Cologne, Germany, contributed to this report.

Together, the sluggers have now accomplished something for the New York Yankees with their powerful starts that only Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra had done before them.

Rice went 404 feet the opposite way for a two-run shot to left field in the Yankees' 4-2 win at Texas on Monday night, his 10th homer of the season. Judge immediately followed by driving a full-count curveball 414 feet to tie for the MLB lead with his 11th.

“After he hit his, he said, `I'm not going to let Benny catch me,'” Rice said with a smile. “Just trying to keep him honest, keep him motivated.”

They became the second pair of Yankees teammates to each have 10 or more homers in the first 29 games of a season, joining Mantle and Berra in 1956.

“I’m glad that I don’t have to face them, let’s just put it that way,” said Yankees starter Max Fried (4-1), who threw six scoreless innings for New York (19-10).

“Benny’s off to an amazing start. Judgie, ho-hum, 11 homers already,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It's a pretty good combo there.”

Rice, a 27-year-old first baseman, is hitting .322 with 23 RBIs. Judge is at .252 with 19 RBIs.

“Just consistent at-bat after consistent at-bat. Like it’s must-watch TV at this point,” Judge said of Rice. “He's going to put something in play hard or he’s going to take his walk and pass the baton. It's just impressive to watch, and I get a front-row seat. ... And, makes my job easier when he does that.”

Rice deposited a 95 mph first-pitch fastball from Jack Leiter into the Yankees bullpen in left-center field to make it 2-0 with two outs in the third inning. It was Rice's sixth homer in 11 games.

Judge then homered into the left-field seats, the ball landing not far from the spot he hit his AL season record 62nd homer on Oct. 4, 2022. He also had two doubles and was hit by a pitch in his other plate appearances.

“Maybe his best game of at-bats. ... On all four times, stings two doubles, smokes the homer where he just rides out the curveball,” Boone said.

And it came a day after Judge also went deep on his 34th birthday.

Judge has hit 260 of his 379 career homers since the start of the 2021 season and already has four 50-homer seasons.

Rice has 43 homers in 216 career games since his debut in June 2024.

After their fast starts in 1956, Mantle went on to hit a majors-best 52 homers and Berra finished with 30.

When Rice was asked if he could keep pace with Judge all season, he said he's relishing the moment now.

“Yeah, I don’t know how long this is going to last, but I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying it right now being this close,” Rice said before reflecting on the history he now shares with a trio of three-time MVPs: Judge and two Hall of Fame players.

“It’s pretty cool. I definitely would not have anticipated something like that,” he said. “But obviously the three names I’m surrounded with there are pretty big ones, so definitely very humbling.”

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