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It’s called Coupr: an AI-powered tablet attached to the shopping cart that is designed to act as your personal shopping assistant.

Julian Janna created the system mainly in an effort to solve the never-ending frustrations with shopping.

“Someone might be shopping for their family, someone might be shopping for a barbecue, so we just want to make a personalized experience for each shopper,” said Janna. “I see this as my mom giving my dad a list of things to get and my dad’s like, ‘I have no idea where any of this is.’ That’s exactly it.”

Milam’s Market is on the forefront of this tech movement and it turns out, it’s not that hard to use. You can just grab and go or even upload your list and it pops up on the tablet.

The app gives you a real-time map of where you are in the store and, if you’re unsure of what item to buy, Coupr can help with that as well by answering concept questions.

Milam’s says this is all an effort to help customers. The app is in its beta phase now but the response has been positive.

“Because it tells us the customers are interested, they’re willing to give something a chance,” said Milam’s Market Chief Administrative Officer Chad Milam. “What we see with the data is that we see customers returning to use it time and time again.”

Los agentes arrestaron a Heihachiro Nakashima, de 33 años, por tres cargos de agresión lasciva y obscena luego de que se entregara voluntariamente el martes. Según la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Miami-Dade (MDSO), Nakashima trabajaba en la Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, una escuela autónoma ubicada en 22655 SW 112th Ave. en el área no incorporada de Princeton del condado.

Según la orden judicial del MDSO, la relación con la niña de 15 años escaló hasta convertirse en encuentros sexuales después de comenzar con mensajes de texto en los que Nakashima “asumió un rol paternal”, diciéndole “frecuentemente” a la víctima “que la amaba”, lo que ella interpretó como algo “platónico” y proveniente de una “figura paterna”.

Según los agentes, esos encuentros tuvieron lugar en el apartamento de Nakashima, cerca del centro comercial Dadeland Mall, y en un momento dado, Nakashima expresó su deseo de tener una relación de “noviazgo” con la adolescente.

El miércoles, la jueza Mindy Glazer del condado de Miami-Dade fijó una fianza de $15,000 dólares para Nakashima ante el tribunal. Su abogado argumentó que su cliente no tenía antecedentes penales y no existía riesgo de fuga.

También estará sujeto a arresto domiciliario con GPS y Glazer le ordenó que se mantuviera alejado de la denunciante.

En una carta dirigida a las familias, en la que hacía referencia a las “noticias recientes” sobre el arresto de Nakashima, los administradores de Palm Glades dijeron, entre otras cosas:

Entendemos que situaciones como esta puedan generar preguntas e inquietudes. La escuela está cooperando con las autoridades. Por el momento, no podemos brindar más detalles. Queremos que sepan que la seguridad y el bienestar de nuestros estudiantes y personal siguen siendo nuestra máxima prioridad. Continuamos siguiendo todos los protocolos de seguridad exigidos por la ley estatal y nos comprometemos a fomentar un ambiente escolar de apoyo donde estudiantes y personal se sientan cómodos al reportar sus inquietudes. Animamos a todos los estudiantes a hablar con un adulto de confianza si ven o experimentan algo que les haga sentir inseguros o incómodos.

Carta dirigida a las familias

Los agentes pidieron a cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el caso que llame a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

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On Wednesday, a Miami-Dade County judge ruled that Precious Bland, 38, will not be institutionalized.

The case dates back to the summer of 2021, when Bland maintained that COVID-19 was to blame for her actions, claiming that the virus caused a temporary psychosis.

Investigators said she was trying to baptize her family after hearing voices in her head telling her Jesus is coming back.

During the hearing, three psychologists agreed that Bland does not need to be hospitalized, but that she should continue receiving mental health treatment.

Bland was calm when she left the courtroom Wednesday morning while her attorney stopped to speak to the media.

“She was found not guilty on all counts, but she still has to live with the fact and circumstances of something that happened that was beyond her control, that changed her dream life into a nightmare, and that’s going to be forever,” said defense attorney Larry Handfield.

Bland, who already spent several years behind bars, is focused on rebuilding her life, Handfield said.

Police said Yasmany Aguiar-Gonzalez, 39, voluntarily surrendered to authorities.

The investigation began after FedEx reported missing shipments in November.

Detectives said surveillance video showed a FedEx truck making an unauthorized stop in Pinecrest, where a Dodge pickup driven by Aguiar-Gonzalez pulled up behind it for what investigators described as a back-to-back cargo transfer.

“During the investigation, detectives reviewed GPS data, surveillance footage and telephone records. According to the investigation, surveillance footage captured a FedEx driver in a FedEx truck -- they were meeting with a Dodge pickup in a Pinecrest location,” Medley police spokesperson Andres Oviedo said.

Authorities said phone records also showed contact between the FedEx driver and Aguiar-Gonzalez at the time of the stop.

Last month, police arrested the FedEx driver, Michael Turro-Cabrera.

After learning about that arrest, Aguiar-Gonzalez decided to turn himself in, according to his attorney.

“The minute that my client found out that they were looking for him, we immediately called the detective. We set up a time and a place to surrender him, and he came in voluntarily on his own free will to surrender,” defense attorney Salvedo Jauregui said.

Investigators have not said whether the stolen Apple products have been recovered.

Police said they hope the arrests send a clear message.

“We want to let everyone know that if you’re going to do cargo theft, don’t do it in Medley,” Oviedo said.

The incidents involved “elevated airborne radioactive contamination” inside the Koeberg Power Station, on South Africa's west coast, when there was a loss of power to ventilation units during maintenance work, the National Nuclear Regulator said, adding there was no danger to the public.

It said the three separate contamination events on June 30, July 2 and July 7 were contained inside the station.

Workers inside the power station who may have been exposed were screened and recorded radioactive contamination below the radioactivity a person is exposed to when they have a dental X-ray, the NNR said.

The regulator said that while it was conducting further inspections the recent events “did not meet the criteria for classification as a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency and did not result in any off-site radiological consequences.”

The Koeberg plant is located around 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of South Africa's second biggest city, Cape Town. It is Africa's only commercial nuclear power station and was commissioned in the 1980s during apartheid. It has two reactors which generate around 5% of South Africa's electricity, and is operated by the national electricity company, Eskom.

Its reactors were recently granted 20-year life extensions, clearing them to be operational until after 2040.

South Africa has plans to expend its commercial nuclear capability with new stations to support its unreliable and polluting energy supply, which is struggling to provide for a growing population and heavily based on burning coal.

Other countries are also turning more towards nuclear power to meet skyrocketing energy demands despite long-held safety fears from opponents of nuclear power citing disasters like Chernobyl and, more recently, Fukushima in Japan.

Several other African nations are advancing their own commercial nuclear plans, including Egypt, which is building its first nuclear power station with four large Russian reactors that it hopes will be operational around 2030 and generate around 10% of the country's electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Retail sales rose 0.2% in June, after being up a revised 1% in May, according to the Commerce Department's report released on Thursday.

Excluding business at gas stations, retail sales rose a robust 0.7%

Business at clothing and accessories stores slipped 0.3%, while online sales rose 1.9%, fueled by spending surrounding Amazon's Prime Day event, which was held from June 23 through June 26. Business at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores was up 1.3%, helped by spending around the World Cup.

The data offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn’t include activities like travel and hotel stays. The lone services category – restaurants – registered a 0.1% increase.

The report comes as U.S. inflation cooled last month as the cost of gas, clothes, and used cars fell, offering some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also slowed more than anticipated.

Gas prices fell to $3.94 per gallon on Thursday, down from $4.04 a month ago, according to motor club AAA.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the largest monthly drop in four years, after increasing 0.5% in the previous month. On a yearly basis, inflation declined to 3.5%, down from a year-over-year gain of 4.2% in May and lower than many economists expected.

The core inflation figures suggest that the gas price spike from the Iran war, while it pushed up airfares and some other costs, hasn’t so far led to broad-based, sustained inflation, according to economists. But the United States renewed attacks on Iran and President Donald Trump announced a new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s oil. The increase threatens to unravel at least some of the progress that occurred last month.

Next month, major retailers including Walmart, Target and Macy’s are slated to report their second-quarter earnings reports, which will offer some insight into shopping behavior.

A report last month from the Conference Board showed that Americans’ attitudes toward the economy improved slightly this month as gas prices declined, but their outlook is still mostly negative by historical standards.

Sarah Williamson, a 27-year-old software support engineer in Raleigh, North Carolina, said that over the last year or so, she’s more conscious of how she spends her money. She feels financially secure given her stable job, but increasing costs of food and gas are making her pull back on frivolous spending.

“I shop less overall as a hobby,” she said.

Williamson noted that at the supermarket, she avoids buying pre-cut fruits like cantaloupe, which tend to be more expensive than buying the whole cantaloupe, to save money, and is careful about buying clothing for herself. She recently bought a dress for $30, including shipping costs, on the TikTok shop and a cotton nightgown for $72 on Amazon including shipping fees. The price for the night gown was more than she normally spends, but she figured the price was worth it since she wears it a lot.

Brian Reynolds, CEO and founder of Just For Teens, a skincare line aimed at preteens and teens, noted that his low-price products, which include $5 pimple patches, are aimed at families who are on a budget and are in the sweet spot of retailing right now.

By October, his brand will be expanded to 10,000 Dollar General stores, up from about 4,000 late last year. He said sales have been decent so far, but he expects that business will see more of a momentum for the back-to-school selling season.

“There’s a lot of space for products that are everyday essentials that are value-priced,” he said.

“It’s passion that people (don’t) understand. It’s Argentina passion,” fan Robert Caluvio said.

The excitement even reached the skies. On an American Airlines flight from Miami International Airport to Buenos Aires, passengers erupted in cheers after the pilot announced Argentina’s semifinal win.

Back on the ground, fans made their way across the John F. Kennedy Causeway to Manolo, a popular gathering spot for Argentina supporters in Miami Beach, where celebrations continued along Collins Avenue.

“It’s great. We’re going for Sunday next,” a man named Juan said.

With music playing and fans chanting, the excitement spread through the crowd.

“This was not just a game. This was something that we had to do, had to play. We had to win for all the people,” one fan said.

The victory sent Argentina to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, uniting supporters eager to see their team compete for another title.

“It’s beautiful. It’s energy, it’s passion that we Argentinians have in soccer. This is unbelievable,” fan Javier Astrada said.

Lionel Messi remained a major part of the celebration for fans in South Florida.

“He knew that Miami was the place to unite all the Latin people and American people to bring soccer to the American people,” Caluvio said.

Argentina will face Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday at 3 p.m. in New Jersey.

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid in the week ending July 11 dropped by 8,000 to 208,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's well below the 219,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S. job market.

In its more comprehensive June jobs report earlier this month, the government reported that employers pulled back on hiring in June, adding only 57,000 jobs. That’s less than half the previous month’s total and a sign that companies remain cautious about adding to their head counts. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that decline is mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed.

June’s tepid hiring comes after a relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor market.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Among the companies that have trimmed their workforce recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Last week, Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of weekly jobless claims, which adjusts for volatility, declined by 4,750 to 214,250.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 4 fell by 16,000 to 1.81 million, also a historically healthy figure.

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Basabe is accused of sexually harassing two former staffers -- intern Jacob Cutbirth and legislative aide Nicholas Frevola.

Both men allege inappropriate touching and other unprofessional conduct. Tweets, texts messages and photos have all been presented as evidence.

On Wednesday afternoon, a jury found Basabe liable in the case.

Basabe, who is not a lawyer and who has never been to law school, elected to represent himself in the trial.

It’s a decision that has brought some rocky moments for Basabe, which included Wednesday while presenting his closing arguments before the Leon County jury.

After several sidebars, Basabe was constantly spotted texting on his cellphone, appearing to glean information for the proceedings, sometimes unsuccessfully.

At one point, Basabe said he accidentally deleted an entire page of his notes.

The jury reached their verdict after two hours of deliberation, awarding $450,000 in damages to his former staffers.

A portion of Wednesday’s hearing can be seen in the video below:

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“Since January 1st up to July 15th was the last 1 to 78 rescues on our beach,” said Lt. Melissa Porro, with the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department.

In order to see how the technology works, Local 10 News put it to the test.

During the test, the drone flew overhead and released a flotation tube directly into the water.

The process can be seen in the video provided by the police department.

The department says the drone can be launched 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can reach a swimmer in less than a minute.

“For now, it’s just nice to see what it can do and the hopes that we will hopefully be able to use it eventually,” Porro said.

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According to an arrest report, Emely Barberena, 35, is facing one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said they responded around 7:20 a.m. to the area of 1125 E. 25th St., where they found a man suffering from apparent stab wounds.

They said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

According to the arrest report, the victim went to the station after spotting Barberena and her boyfriend with a bicycle that he claimed had been stolen from him earlier that day. Deputies said that theft had already been reported to the Hialeah Police Department.

Investigators said Barberena’s boyfriend threw the bicycle toward the victim, causing it to roll onto the train tracks which led to a fight.

The report states the victim armed himself with a broomstick and struck Barberena after she approached him. Barberena then grabbed a broken piece of the broomstick and began striking the victim while her boyfriend punched him, deputies said.

According to the report, the victim pushed Barberena onto the train tracks before her boyfriend pushed the victim onto the tracks.

While the victim was unarmed on the tracks, Barberena slashed him across the face with a knife, according to the report. Investigators said she had already stabbed him in the torso and arm before he was pushed onto the tracks.

The report states Barberena and her boyfriend fled after the stabbing. Deputies said the victim suffered a stab wound to his abdomen, a cut on his arm, a laceration to his cheek and other injuries from the fight and fall.

Deputies said they later found Barberena at a bus stop outside the station. She was taken to Hialeah Hospital for treatment of minor injuries before she was arrested, according to the report.

Investigators said surveillance video reviewed during the investigation corroborated the victim’s account.

They said Barberena’s boyfriend fled before deputies arrived and remains unidentified and at large at this time.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Barberena was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set.”

Anyone with information about her boyfriend’s whereabouts is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en San Antonio reportó que una “gran y mortal ola de crecida” avanzaba a toda velocidad por el mismo río devastado por inundaciones de hace un año, cuando dos docenas de niños y monitores murieron en Camp Mystic.

Las tormentas amenazaban a varios condados cercanos a la frontera con México y a la región de Texas Hill Country, donde funcionarios municipales de Kerrville instaron a la población a refugiarse en los pisos más altos de sus viviendas.

La Oficina de Manejo de Emergencias del condado de Uvalde emitió su propio aviso para quedarse en casa. “Todas las autopistas principales y muchas calles de la ciudad están cerradas debido a las inundaciones y al agua sobre la calzada”, indicó.

No se reportaron fallecidos o heridos a causa de las inundaciones. También se emitieron varias alertas por tornados.

Hasta ahora, los guardabosques de Texas han participado en el rescate de más de 40 personas debido a las inundaciones, en su mayoría en la zona del condado de Uvalde, según un portavoz del Departamento de Parques y Vida Silvestre de Texas.

Otra prueba para Texas Hill Country tras la tragedia en Camp Mystic

El servicio meteorológico señaló que en los últimos dos días han caído entre 25 y 50 centímetros (10 y 20 pulgadas) de lluvia, con 20 cms (8 pulgadas) en apenas dos horas en la madrugada del jueves.

Un medidor ubicado a unos 16 kilómetros (10 millas) de Kerrville mostró que el nivel del río había subido 9,7 metros (32 pies) en cuatro horas. Se espera que alcance un pico similar al de la catastrófica inundación del 4 de julio de 2025, indicó el servicio meteorológico.

Los meteorólogos habían advertido que las condiciones, ya peligrosas, probablemente empeorarían en algunas comunidades muy afectadas. El diluvio descargó casi 30 cms (un pie) de agua en algunos condados y puso a la población de varios condados en alerta por inundaciones. Los avisos afectaban a partes de Texas Hill Country, donde las devastadoras inundaciones del verano pasado causaron la muerte de más de 100 personas.

Se espera que algunas de las alertas por inundaciones se mantengan en vigor hasta la noche del viernes.

Las familias se apresuran para llegar a zonas más altas

Para el miércoles, la policía de Uvalde había ordenado evacuaciones obligatorias en algunas zonas, y el departamento indicó en Facebook que los equipos de primera respuesta estaban notificando directamente a los afectados. A otros se les pidió mantenerse alerta por si se requerían más evacuaciones.

Algunos salieron a la calle para comprobar cómo el agua se acercaba cada hora, con gestos de preocupación en el rostro. Los residentes a orillas del río Leona se apresuraron a empacar sus autos y marcharse, aunque muchos aún no sabían a dónde debían ir. Un hombre arrojó dos kayaks a la caja de su camioneta, por si acaso.

Los relámpagos iluminaban el cielo mientras las nubes oscurecían el paisaje, y el agua marrón formaba grandes rápidos en el río, normalmente tranquilo, que el miércoles por la tarde ya chocaba contra el puente alto del pueblo y se metía en vecindarios.

Los avisos por inundaciones afectan a 6 millones

El gobernador de Texas, Greg Abbott, ha declarado el estado de catástrofe para decenas de condados.

Hasta el miércoles por la noche, poco más de seis millones de residentes en 57 condados del estado estaban bajo una alerta por inundaciones del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, que estaba previsto que se mantenga hasta el inicio de la noche del jueves. Las alertas para 34 de esos condados estaban programadas para expirar el viernes por la noche.

Algunos de los mayores acumulados de lluvia hasta la fecha se han registrado en el condado de Uvalde, donde las autoridades realizaron decenas de rescates y señalaron que más personas necesitaban ayuda a medida que el nivel del río aumenta. Autopistas y carreteras fueron cerradas en toda la región debido a las crecidas.

El condado suele recibir alrededor de 58 cms (23 pulgadas) de lluvia al año, de acuerdo con la Oficina de Extensión de Uvalde.

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Stengle informó desde Dallas.

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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.

According to PBSO, deputies responded around 1:40 p.m. to the 15000 block of Jackson Road for a welfare check.

When deputies arrived, they encountered the man holding a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators said he raised the weapon and pointed it at deputies. One deputy fired, striking the suspect.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue medics took the suspect to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office responded to the scene. FDLE is leading the investigation.

The investigation remains ongoing, and charges are pending against the suspect.

At Trump’s last primetime presidential address in April, he said the U.S. would accomplish its Iran war objectives “very shortly.” But days of back-and-forth attacks by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East and in the Strait of Hormuz have shredded the interim deal to pause the fighting. U.S. strikes intensified early Thursday against a widening set of targets, including a ship it accused of breaking its blockade on Iranian ports. Iran retaliated by firing on U.S. allies in the region.

Here's the latest:

After six years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House

In the weeks after Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, the people Trump appointed to run the Department of Justice, cybersecurity agencies and intelligence departments all said the same thing — the election was fair, legitimate and free of major fraud or foreign interference.

In his second term, Trump has tried to use the levers of power to rewrite that well-settled history, something he’s expected to try again Thursday night with an address to the nation.

He’s already appointed loyalists who’ve echoed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and made clear he expects everyone to follow his lead.

In an indication of how fealty to Trump’s lies has become a litmus test for his administration, many of his nominees have steadfastly refused to directly answer the question of who won in 2020, preferring to tersely note that Biden became president.

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Trump is taking longer to approve disaster aid and denying Democratic states more frequently

When major disasters strike, Americans are routinely waiting weeks — or even months — to receive presidential approval for aid. And if they live in a state that didn’t support President Trump, chances are greater that aid will be denied.

Since taking office last year, Trump has approved about 65 requests for major disaster declarations and denied more than two dozen others from states, tribes or territories seeking federal financial assistance following hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods and fires.

Trump has taken longer on average to approve disaster requests than any other president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data dating back to 1989, when a federal law setting new parameters for disaster determinations was implemented. And no other president has such a disparity in denials between states that supported him politically and those that did not.

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Trump is expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

President Donald Trump is set to address the nation Thursday night on topics he said will include elections and voting machines, suggesting he’s likely to revisit some of the unproven claims he’s previously made about Republican losses, particularly his own in 2020.

Trump’s fixation on his loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago and the long-debunked theories he’s circulated about it are something he still brings up regularly when discussing other subjects. But elevating the deeply political and conspiratorial topics to a presidential primetime address underscores the lengths to which Trump has used his second term to both blow past norms and fixate on old grievances.

Trump has offered only vague details about the address, scheduled for 9 p.m. When asked by a reporter Tuesday if it would concern “election machines and integrity,” Trump said it would “concern that subject” and “we’ll have a couple of other things to say also.”

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The U.S. Department of Defense has paid $3 million in compensation to U.S. personnel affected by the mysterious condition known as Havana Syndrome, making the first payment under the 2021 Havana Act.

Havana Syndrome first appeared in 2016 when U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers in Havana, Cuba reported unusual symptoms, including intense head pressure, dizziness, nausea, hearing disturbances and memory problems.

July 14 update: New U.S. sanctions increase pressure on Cuba’s military-run economy

The United States on Monday introduced new sanctions targeting companies controlled by GAESA, Cuba’s military economic conglomerate, as well as some of the military brigades responsible for suppressing protests like the ones we saw the other day.

How much longer can the Cuban government hold on? Information continues to reach U.S. officials indicating that there are sectors within the Cuban government that are increasingly concerned about how much longer they can survive without negotiating with the U.S. government before facing a complete collapse of their system.

July 10 update: Does Raul Castro’s grandson have the full authority to negotiate for the Cuban government?

As I expected, there seems to be a small crack within the inner circle of the Cuban government. Some have criticized Raulito (Raul Castro’s grandson) for offering to negotiate directly with President Trump. The criticism comes as to whether he has the full authority to negotiate for the Cuban government or is he just negotiating for the Castro family?

Yesterday, the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) backed Raulito’s efforts, but the military leadership has remained quiet.

July 8 update: United Nations has no legal right to lift U.S. embargo on Cuba

Every year, Cuba argues in front of the United Nations that the U.S. economic embargo is the cause for their economic problems. Each year, Cuba loses more support for their argument. The United Nations has no legitimate or legal right to lift the embargo. The U.S. Congress can only lift the embargo.

The Cuban government propaganda machine has failed. Most Cubans on the island, including economists on the island, blame the Cuban government for their current poor economic conditions.

July 6 update: Raul Castro’s grandson says Cuba is willing to negotiate with US

Reuters reported earlier this morning that Raul Castro’s grandson Raulito, known as “El Cangrejo,” announced that Cuba is willing to negotiate with the U.S. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether Raulito is negotiating on behalf of the Castro family or the Cuban government?

We know that Cuba has been selling some of their assets, including some belonging to the military economic conglomerate GAESA in the last couple of weeks. Cuba’s attempt to invite foreign investment has not attracted many takers for the fear of losing their money.

July 2 update: Cuba’s culture of fear complicates a Democratic transition

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When we talk about Cuba, we usually concentrate on their centralized political and economic system. However, we fail to recognize that individuals that have lived under totalitarian regimes have had to survive under a culture of fear. Such system of government creates a psychological set of attitudes and values that help define the daily behavior in order to align the people’s wants and needs to the restrictions imposed by the government.

To break such behaviors could take years of psychological training and change. Therefore, transitioning a totalitarian state to support a transition to some form of a Democratic government could take time.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez’s June updates can be viewed by clicking here.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez is Local 10’s Cuba Analyst. Gomez is considered one of the leading scholars on Cuba. He worked in higher education for 32 years before retiring from the University of Miami in 2012.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects as Karel Clavel-Beltran, 46, of Hialeah; Alexis Franc Fernandez, 63, of Tampa; and Miguel Nunez-Garcia, 47, of Miami.

According to an MDSO press release, “Clavel-Beltran used strategically placed cameras and earpieces to help Mr. Miguel Nunez-Garcia and Mr. Alexis Fernandez cheat on the computer-based driver license examination.”

Nunez-Garcia’s arrest report states that he had failed the exam multiple times before passing Wednesday. The report notes that Nunez-Garcia does not understand English and the test is solely administered in English following a law that took effect on Feb. 6.

According to the report, Nunez-Garcia admitted that he was wearing a purple Polo shirt equipped with a “button camera” and an earpiece as Clavel-Beltran provided him the answers to the exam while he took it at the Midway Crossings Tax Collector Office at 7795 W. Flagler St.

He said he paid Clavel-Beltran $600 for his assistance, authorities said.

According to a separate arrest report, Fernandez also took the exam Wednesday at the Midway Crossings location and was spotted by a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles compliance officer entering a white truck in a gray T-shirt and then exiting the truck wearing a Polo shirt.

Deputies said it is common practice for people to wear a Polo shirt to hide recording devices during exams and then change their attire once the exam is completed.

According to the report, Fernandez was detained after the exam and he too could not understand English, despite taking the exam in English.

Deputies said Fernandez admitted that Clavel-Beltran provided him the earpiece and Polo shirt with the button camera to help him pass the exam, but he still failed because he was unable to hear Clavel-Beltran through the earpiece.

According to the report, Fernandez said he brought a “large amount of cash” with him to pay Clavel-Beltran for his services, but he was detained by an investigator before he could pay him.

Fernandez and Nunez-Garcia were arrested on charges of cheating and unlawful use of a communications device.

Clavel-Beltran, meanwhile, was arrested on charges of organized scheme to defraud, cheating, unlawful use of a communications device and providing a false name/ID after arrest.

“Obtaining a driver license is a privilege that comes with the responsibility of safely operating a vehicle on our roadways,” MDSO said in a statement. “When someone attempts to cheat the testing process, they undermine the integrity of the system and put the safety of our community at risk.

“MDSO remains committed to protecting the integrity of the licensing process and ensuring that only qualified drivers earn the privilege to get behind the wheel. Attempts to obtain a driver license through fraud or deception will not be tolerated, and those who try to circumvent the law will be investigated and held accountable.”

In the latest attempt to rein in tech behemoths' deep control of the digital economy, the EU said it will support innovation and diversity in the field by enabling fair access to AI features on Android devices and search engines.

“Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services,” Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission overseeing tech, said.

The measure is the latest advancement of Brussels’ growing rules and regulations that have given the 27-nation bloc a global leadership position in checking the power of tech juggernauts or “gatekeepers” like TikTok, which are largely based in China and the U.S.

Recently, Brussels has pushed through efforts to ensure Google gives access to Gemini AI services to rival AI companies and search engines; forced Apple to add interoperability features to its devices to connect to non-Apple products; and demanded Meta dismantle “ key addictive features ” like infinite scrolling.

Kent Walker, president of global affairs for both Google and its parent company Alphabet, said the new rules could backfire by removing safeguards that the company had built to protect user privacy like the vetting of third-party AI assistants.

“Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent. This would weaken citizens’ privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security,” he said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at EU tech regulation in the past.

In issuing the two new rules, the commission said it found that AI agents not made by Google were unable to function on Android phones at the same level as Google's Gemini.

Google must now allow voice-activation of these alternative AI agents and enable them to run background tasks like booking restaurants via third-party apps.

By January 2027, Google must also begin sharing anonymized search data with some rivals. The commission said the move is meant to level the playing field since Google controls a vast trove of user data that no competitor can match.

The National Weather Service in San Antonio said a “large and deadly flood wave” was barreling down the same river devastated by floods a year ago when two dozen children and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic.

There was no immediate word of any deaths or injuries from the flooding. Several tornado warnings were also issued.

The storms threatened multiple counties close to the border with Mexico and in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. City officials in Kerrville urged people to shelter at the highest levels of their homes.

Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight into Thursday, cutting off access to surrounding areas.

“There’s no way into the city at this point in time. Rescues have been happening overnight,” Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for Uvalde police, said Thursday morning. Multiple people trapped in vehicles were being rescued, she said.

“The good thing is they’re communicating with our emergency dispatch center and we’re getting crews to them quickly,” she said.

Uvalde officials were deploying boats for rescue operations and planned to fly helicopters after daybreak, Alvarado said.

Texas Game Wardens have participated in rescues of more than 40 people so far from the flooding, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.

Another test for the Texas Hill Country after the Camp Mystic disaster

The weather service said 10 to 20 inches of rain (25 to 50 centimeters) had fallen in the past two days, with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in just two hours early Thursday.

Forecasters had warned that already dangerous conditions were likely to worsen in some hard-hit communities. The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in multiple counties under flood watches. That included parts of the Texas Hill Country where last summer’s devastating floods killed more than 100 people.

Some of the flood watches were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

Flooding could reach last year's deadly high

The floodwaters were expected to reach a crest similar to the July 4, 2025, catastrophic river flood, the weather service said.

Close to Camp Mystic, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge, which is just under the level expected to inundate structures and roads.

While dangerous, the water was below the height of last year’s deadly floods, which was 37.5 feet (11.4 meters). That's about 15 feet (4.5 meters) above the level for major flooding.

One gauge less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Kerrville showed the river had risen 32 feet (9.7 meters) in four hours.

Downriver near Center Point, the Guadalupe River rose more than 30 feet (9 meters) between midnight and 4 a.m. Thursday. Gauges recorded similar increased near Comfort, where the River rose nearly 29 feet in less than two hours, according USGS data.

Families rush to get to higher ground

By Wednesday, Uvalde police had ordered mandatory evacuations for some parts, with first responders notifying people affected directly, the department said on Facebook. Others were asked to stay vigilant in case more evacuations are needed.

Some people walked out of their homes into the street to see the water growing closer every hour, their faces worried. People living along the Leona River scrambled to pack up their cars and head out, although many did not yet know where they should go. One man threw two kayaks into his truck bed, just in case.

Lightning flashed as clouds darkened the landscape, and brown water created large rapids in the typically calm river, which was pushing up against the town’s high bridge and into neighborhoods by Wednesday afternoon.

The Texas flood watches affect 6 million people

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.

As of Wednesday evening, just over six million Texas residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch that was scheduled to continue through early Thursday night. Watches for 34 of those counties were scheduled to expire Friday evening.

Some of the highest rainfall totals so far have been in Uvalde County, which normally gets about 23 inches (58 centimeters) of rain a year, according to the Uvalde County Extension Office.

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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

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According to police, a grand jury indicted Gregory DaSilva, 26, Wednesday on three counts of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

The first killings were reported on the morning of June 30 at an apartment complex in the 5300 block of Northwest 19th Street.

Investigators said an officer was initially flagged down by a man who reported that someone armed with a knife had tried to attack him.

Officers then located DaSilva, who matched the description of the attacker, but police said he ran into a nearby residential neighborhood.

As officers searched the area, investigators said they received a 911 call about a man suffering from apparent stab wounds. While canvassing the neighborhood, officers confirmed that they found a second stabbing victim.

Police said one victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other died after being taken to a nearby hospital.

The victims were later identified as Mesilien Pierre, 36; and Wilford White, 68. Neighbors said White used a wheelchair and was unable to escape.

According to police, officers responded to a nearby home on July 5 after receiving a report about a 51-year-old man who was found dead inside by a family member.

Police identified the victim as Jeffrey Standifer, who they said had also been killed by DaSilva. They did not confirm how Standifer was killed.

Anyone with information about the investigations into the three killings is asked to call the Lauderhill Police Department at 954-497-4700. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

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According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened just before 11:30 a.m. at 4250 Overseas Highway in Marathon.

Deputies said the worker, identified as 37-year-old Marathon resident Victor Vivian Cano Franco, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The incident occurred where rock is crushed into smaller pieces,” MCSO posted to its Facebook page. “The victim appeared to have been struck by a front-end loader. The victim was struck in the mid-section and his body was severed as a result.”

Deputies said they’re investigating the incident but don’t suspect any foul play.

They said they notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The capital of Thailand is renowned for its vibrant nightlife, with bars and clubs spread across the city. However, gaps in the country’s licensing system have left many venues operating under regulations that may not match their activities.

The fire that broke out Sunday night killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, with 27 people still hospitalized on Thursday, Erawan emergency services said. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, while a few died from burn injuries, officials said.

The bar claimed on social media to have space to accommodate around 600 people, but it is unclear how many were there Sunday night.

What set off the flash blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar in northern Bangkok and why it caused so many casualties is under investigation.

Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, cited possible causes including overcrowding, combustible materials inside and obstructed exits, an analysis that has been echoed by fire safety and engineering experts.

The tragedy could have been prevented “if proper engineering principles and all relevant laws and regulations had been strictly followed,” Amorn said.

Safety standards upgraded after a similar tragedy

The primary law regulating nightlife venues in Thailand, the Entertainment Place Act, was enacted in 1966. The statute was updated in 2012, three years after 67 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire during a Jan. 1, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub.

The revised standards include fire-resistant or non-flammable materials for interior decoration and acoustic soundproofing. They also must have smoke ventilation systems, sprinklers and fire escape routes sized appropriately for the number of patrons.

However, those requirements apply only to entertainment venues that are licensed and operate within designated zones, including three zones in Bangkok. Opposition lawmaker Paramait Vithayaruksun of the People’s Party called the law “outdated and unrealistic.”

Paramait told Parliament on Monday that although there are clubs and bars across Bangkok, by law the venues outside the three designated zones cannot obtain proper licensing, even if operators are willing to meet the safety standards.

Instead, many operate by registering as restaurants licensed to sell alcohol and host live music, which have less stringent safety regulations, he said.

The Na Ladprao bar where Sunday's fire occurred is located outside Bangkok's entertainment zones and was registered as a restaurant with live music, officials said.

The restricted zoning law for entertainment venues is in effect in 55 provinces throughout Thailand, while 22 other provinces do not provide entertainment venue licenses, according to the Department of Provincial Administration.

Loopholes allow businesses to bend the rules

The measures as they are written have enabled businesses to circumvent the law, allowing nightlife venues to “evade strict safety standards and face much lighter legal penalties,” Paramait said.

Restaurants do not have to meet the same requirements, especially for soundproofing materials, and operators can install cheaper soundproofing foam for live music performances, he said.

Thailand’s conservative, Buddhist values also have shaped policymaking decisions, with tight controls reflecting concerns over social impact from nightlife businesses. The venues cannot be within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of a temple or school.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul acknowledged the shortcomings this week and said the law should be reviewed.

“Times have changed. I’ve asked officials to study how we should adjust the rules,” he said. “We need to look at it from every angle — what society is like today, as well as our culture, customs and traditions.”

Wasawat Kitsiriteeraphak, former president of the Building Inspectors Association, said inspections should focus on how structures are actually used rather than solely on their licensed classification.

“The risks to lives and assets of the people depends on the actual use of the building rather than how the business is called,” he said in a statement, urging relevant authorities to conduct a sweeping review of similar establishments in Thailand based on their operations to prevent future tragedies.

It is a key finding from a Meta Oversight Board study released Thursday, showing that major AI systems, including those built in the U.S., are more likely to refuse to criticize restrictive leaders or governments. It raises concerns that the large language models powering chatbots and AI agents could be regurgitating and spreading government influence over online speech as the technology is increasingly adopted worldwide.

“There is a real risk that, if model developers do not undertake human rights due diligence and implement mitigation measures, they will build AI infrastructure that, intentionally or not, has the effect of extending illegitimate restrictions on freedom of expression globally,” according to the report from the quasi-independent body.

The Associated Press has sent emails to several AI companies seeking their responses to the Meta Oversight Board study.

The findings come as countries are determining how to put up guardrails around AI without impeding their ability to compete in the rapidly developing field. That includes a Trump administration oversight effort related to the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems.

AI models extend state influence beyond borders

The oversight board, which has been working on state influence on tech companies and the impact on freedom of expression, came up with seven questions related to political criticism to pose to chatbots about both restrictive and permissive governments.

The study picked 10 commercial large language models by top tech companies — including Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI — and asked the AI systems to make critical pamphlets, write limericks, give reasons if someone should join protests, and more.

“In short, in aggregate, models responding to requests from an Australia-based user were much more likely to generate political criticism of authorities” in places such as Chile, Japan, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S. “compared to where criticism of authorities is legally restricted and penalized,” such as in Cambodia, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey, the report said.

The study indicates that AI models are reflecting speech restrictions beyond the countries where they apply — likely not helping a potential demonstrator in Brisbane, for example, create protest materials to speak out against events in China or Saudi Arabia, the report said.

“Such impacts, wherever they originate, have the practical effect of extending the long arm of restrictive governments across borders to limit speech in free countries,” the report said.

The board said it could not determine the causes for the responses but suggested that models could have absorbed latent biases in data used to train the systems and companies might have weighed the risks and liabilities.

Other researchers warn about a growing problem in AI results in non-English languages

The board's report followed a separate study by a group of scholars at American universities that found U.S.-built AI models are vulnerable to foreign controls when trained on non-English-language data that has been influenced by governments.

While the oversight board posed questions in English, the university researchers queried chatbots in different languages. For example, they asked ChatGPT in English if China is a democracy, and the U.S.-developed chatbot said it’s not generally considered one. Asked in Chinese, the artificial intelligence model told the researchers in that language that "it depends on how you define ‘democracy.’”

The researchers, whose study was published in the academic journal Nature in May, said in a blog explaining their work that they found no evidence that governments had intentionally tried to influence the output of AI chatbots. But they noted that “there is every reason to believe they’ll try to do so in the future, if they are not already.”

“People often talk about AI as if it learns from the internet in some neutral way. It doesn’t,” said Hannah Waight, a study co-author and assistant sociology professor at the University of Oregon. “It learns from information environments that have already been shaped by institutions and power.”

No easy solution to how data is being fed to AI models

Carlos Carrasco-Farré, who specializes in machine learning, AI, misinformation, social media and human-machine interactions at Esade Business School in Barcelona, said that “AI systems inherit not only biases contained within individual documents but also inequalities in who has the power to produce and suppress information at scale.”

There is no easy solution, though developers could assess the data to avoid treating thousands of copies of the same state narrative as if they are thousands of independent voices as well as run multilingual audits, said Carrasco-Farré, who was not part of either study.

Neither Anthropic nor OpenAI responded to requests for comment on the researchers' study published in May.

The personnel overhaul, which included replacing his prime minister, could become a test of Zelenskyy’s political authority as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches 4½ years. Zelenskyy has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited but has periodically reshuffled his government.

The moves threw Ukraine’s military leadership into an unwelcome crisis just as its actions against Russia were starting to bear fruit and came against a backdrop of Moscow’s unrelenting aerial attacks. Two people were killed and five others were wounded, including a child, when Russian missiles hit the capital of Kyiv overnight, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said.

Zelenskyy cited friction between outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces.

“I’m just showing that if the sides can’t resolve an issue, I will have to resolve it,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference.

The outgoing defense chief was seen as a modernizer

Fedorov, 35, is considered to be a vigorous modernizer whose technological expertise is credited in part with significantly improving Ukraine’s military performance in recent months against Russia’s bigger army. He is leaving the government after only six months in the post.

Fedorov appeared at a news conference in a dark T-shirt and jeans, and accused Syrskyi of blocking reforms needed because “the war has changed completely” due to new technology like drones.

During his time in office, he secured restrictions on Russian forces’ access to the Starlink satellite communications system, allowing Ukraine to better leverage its midrange strike capabilities giving Kyiv significant battlefield advantages.

Fedorov said he was willing to work with Syrskyi, “but we encountered a situation in which all the initiatives we proposed began to be blocked.”

“Under this arrangement (with Syrskyi as commander), I personally do not know how the war can be won,” he said.

On social media, Fedorov highlighted what he called his major achievements: redirecting funds earmarked for salaries into midrange strike capabilities, fiber-optic drones, reconnaissance systems and other technologies. He pointed to expanded drone procurement, Patriot missile defense contracts, successful ballistic missile tests and sweeping changes to military procurement.

But he acknowledged he was unable to complete the Defense Ministry’s organizational transformation “according to NATO standards and common sense,” and move all procurement to competitive tenders, and build a culture of accountability.

Syrskyi made no public comment.

Zelenskyy said he was considering Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko as one of the candidates to succeed Fedorov. It's unclear when lawmakers will vote on the new defense minister.

Zelenskyy described a difficult relationship between the Defense Ministry and the military at multiple levels, not simply a matter of personalities, and he said both sides share responsibility for the consequences.

“Together we win, and together we’re responsible for the things that cause confusion and public reaction,” Zelenskyy said alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was making his final foreign visit before leaving office next week.

Mostly young protesters support Fedorov

Syrskyi, 60, initially organized the defense of Kyiv in February 2022, and seven months later masterminded a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. Born in 1965, he attended the Moscow Higher Military Command School before serving in the Soviet Artillery Corps before the USSR's collapse in 1991.

The Ukrainian military has rallied under Fedorov, slowing Moscow’s front-line advance to a virtual standstill and striking refineries and other energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, causing widespread fuel shortages, Western officials and analysts say. Zelenskyy’s decision to fire him despite that track record has dismayed many people.

Before becoming defense minister in January, Fedorov headed Ukraine’s digital transformation policies. He won popularity by spearheading the rapid development and deployment of drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.

As minister, he moved to combat corruption, an issue that carries particular weight with Ukrainians who have repeatedly protested graft. Fighting corruption meant working against the interests of groups that had long profited from programs within the ministry, he said in interviews.

He was seeking to overhaul weapons procurement to make it more transparent.

He also promised sweeping military reforms, saying the military had faced about 200,000 desertions and draft-dodging by some 2 million people.

The mostly young protesters who took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities to support Fedorov made crude remarks about the current military commander, chanting, “Syrskyi go away!” and “A European army for a European country!”

Kyiv resident Bohdan Huryak said he was “deeply outraged” by Fedorov’s exit.

“I’m not deeply invested in the internal political debates, but this is a person who shows results on the battlefield, we see results, we feel the fighting spirit and confidence in victory rising,” Huryak told The Associated Press. “And then, six months later, he is removed from office? Come on.”

The deputy commander of Ukraine’s air force, Col. Pavlo Yelizarov, quit over Fedorov’s dismissal. It will weaken Ukraine’s air defenses and lead to more deaths from Russian missile and drone attacks, he said in his resignation letter posted on social media.

“I believe that the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov is a great evil for the country’s defense capability,” he wrote on Facebook.

State energy company chief is new prime minister

Parliament overwhelmingly approved Serhii Koretskyi, the head of state energy company Naftogaz, as the country’s new prime minister.

In nominating Koretskyi, Zelenskyy cited his record in the energy sector and argued he was best prepared to guide Ukraine through another winter, when Russian attacks on the power grid intensify.

Zelenskyy swiftly reversed course in July last year when large street protests broke out over a new law that would have curbed the independence of the country’s anti-corruption watchdogs. The outcry threatened the stability of his leadership for the first time since Russia’s invasion.

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Dan Bashakov and Dmytro Zhyhinas contributed.

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

Argentina beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.

During post-match celebrations, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans in the stands, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.”

Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina's then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.

U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate. I expect FIFA to do its investigation thoroughly.”

FIFA can prosecute Argentina's players and soccer federation because its disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event” including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”

The FIFA fines for political messaging are $5,000 to $20,000.

FIFA was approached for comment Thursday.

A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men's bronze medal game.

On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions and tears for a veteran of the Malvinas conflict.

“We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for the past four years with Manchester United.

Argentina-England soccer rivalry

The sporting rivalry between the two countries is heightened by political tensions over the South Atlantic archipelago. It is a British overseas territory with a population of around 3,500 people located about 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) from the U.K. and 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Argentina.

Argentina argues that the islands were illegally taken from it in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to expel Argentine forces who sought to establish sovereignty over the territory.

The war in 1982 killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.

That conflict ended during the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Argentina, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all played. British television networks declined to broadcast Argentina playing in the tournament's opening game, when the defending champion lost to Belgium.

“Sadly, it is a sad part of our history," Argentina player Leandro Paredes said in Atlanta about the banner, “for everyone involved in that chapter of, I repeat, our history. And it hurts. We knew we were playing for them, too.”

Politics in soccer

British government minister Kyle told the BBC "politics needs to be separate from football.”

“In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football," he said. “That is now a matter for FIFA.”

FIFA's statutory political neutrality has been questioned at this World Cup after its president, Gianni Infantino, and disciplinary process — which could now judge Argentina — seemed to cave to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump in allowing United States forward Folarin Balogun to play Belgium in the round of 16.

Balogun was shown a red card in the previous round and FIFA disciplinary rules mandated he should be banned from his team's next game. FIFA deferred that suspension for one year of probation, provoking an all-time controversy in modern World Cup history. Belgium beat the U.S. 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Infantino is expected to sit with Trump and Argentina President Javier Milei, who are political allies, at the World Cup final Sunday. Argentina plays Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Previous cases

Argentina players showed the same “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” slogan at a warmup game in June 2014 in Buenos Aires for the World Cup that started days later in Brazil.

FIFA's disciplinary panel ruling in that case was published after the tournament finished and fined the Argentina federation 30,000 Swiss francs ($37,000).

In the 2012 London Olympics case, FIFA's ruling said the conduct of the South Korea player "cannot be tolerated.”

At the 2022 World Cup, FIFA fined the Serbia federation 20,000 Swiss francs ($24,800) for hanging a political banner about neighboring independent state Kosovo in the locker room before playing Brazil.

It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of Kosovo, which has been an independent state since 2008, and the slogan “No Surrender.”

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Dunbar contributed from Geneva

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The technology area known as “physical AI” refers to smart, futuristic robots that can think on their own, not just follow programmed directions, to work safely alongside people in factories, homes and hospitals.

The initiative was announced in Tokyo on Thursday by Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Jensen Huang and Fujitsu Chief Executive Takahito Tokita, along with the CEOs of Japan’s top makers of industrial robots, Fanuc Corp., Yaskawa Electric Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

The latest announcement comes on top of a deal announced by Nvidia and Fujitsu last year.

The executives expressed hopes that the robots can address the nation’s acute labor shortage. Japan is among the most rapidly aging societies in the developed world and the smart robots could help take care of the elderly living alone, they said.

Huang said physical AI was a good fit for Japan because of the country's reputation for manufacturing quality because robots that move independently could potentially be dangerous.

“Japan’s excellence is a philosophy, a way of life. ‘Made in Japan’ means the highest quality, the highest precision. Japan sets the standard for the state-of-the-art in modern manufacturing,” he said.

Huang listed Japan’s prized concepts in fine manufacturing such as “kaizen,” which means “continuous improvement.”

The companies did not give a specific time frame for the arrival of such robots in daily life. They stressed efforts were underway with what they called the first phase of the collaboration coming later this year.

There has been no decision on setting up a joint venture, although that could come later, they said.

Japan has acknowledged it has fallen behind some nations, including China and the U.S., in AI, and has been eager to play catch-up.

The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently announced a plan to drum up more than 370 trillion yen ($2.3 trillion) in public and private investment in various technology fields by 2040, including physical AI, semiconductors and data centers.

Silicon Valley-based Nvidia, which offers an open-source technology, has been aggressive in forging various ties in Japan, including with leading banks, automaker Toyota Motor Corp., video game maker Sega and national research institute Riken.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

The latest commitment appears to bring the company’s total pledges for investment in U.S. chipmaking to $265 billion. It also raised its annual revenue forecast after booking record high profits thanks to runaway demand from the boom in artificial intelligence.

The world's largest contract chip manufacturing and one of the world’s most valuable companies, TSMC is seen as a barometer for the global chip industry and for AI at a time when worries about a potential AI bubble have been buffeting financial markets.

As AI-related demand continues to jump and needs for computing power from data centers surge, TSMC has been expanding chip fabrication plants in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan. It said it is increasing its annual capital expenditure budget for this year to $60 billion-$64 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $52 billion-$56 billion.

TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple. It had previously already committed $165 billion in the U.S. for building plants in Arizona, with six fabrication facilities planned.

The extra $100 billion in investments are to “support the strong multiyear demand from our leading U.S. customers,” C.C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC, said during the company's quarterly earnings conference Thursday. An additional four fabrication plants in Arizona will likely be built with the new investments, TSMC said. They will focus on making some of the most advanced chips that are 2-nanometer and below.

“We believe this investment will help to further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States,” he said.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Taiwan reached an agreement that cut U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods, as Taiwan promised around $250 billion of new investments in the United States' tech sector, including in semiconductors. That included spending by TSMC.

AI-related demand globally continues to be “extremely robust,” Wei said, as the “AI megatrend continues to drive the need for more and more computation.”

“I believe from this day on, all the way to probably 2029, 2030, the demand is very strong,” he said.

TSMC on Thursday reported a record 706.6 billion new Taiwan dollars ($22 billion) in net profit for the April-June quarter, up 77% from a year earlier and better than what analysts had expected. Revenue was up 36% year-on-year during the quarter, to 1.27 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($39 billion).

Wei said TSMC now expects its annual 2026 revenue growth to be slightly above 40% year-on-year, up from its previous forecast of over 30%.

TSMC’s ramped up investment plans are “essential to support (its) long-term growth” and to keep up with demand, said William Li, a senior analyst in semiconductors at Counterpoint Research.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. Futures for the Nasdaq, which is dominated by technology stocks, were down 0.8%.

Chip and memory companies were getting hit the hardest, with Western Digital and SanDisk leading the way down with losses of more than 7%. Micron fell 4.5% and Intel was down 2.4%. It was the second straight day of significant losses for those companies, most of which have seen their stock double and triple in value since the beginning of 2026.

Despite the heavy investment in artificial intelligence, investors remain concerned that stock prices have shot too high and that the demand may not be sustainable if AI doesn’t deliver as much profit and productivity as expected.

Oil prices meandered between small gains and losses, remaining at elevated levels as the U.S. intensified its strikes against Iran, while Iran targeted missile and drone fire on Kuwait and Bahrain.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 42 cents to $84.53 a barrel. It was trading near $72 per barrel in late February before the war began.

Benchmark U.S. crude, which was around $67 a barrel in February, slipped 22 cents to $79.38 a barrel.

Later Thursday morning, the U.S. government releases its data on retail sales for June.

Elsewhere, at midday in Europe France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7%, as did Germany’s DAX. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3%.

Selling of AI-related shares also weighed on benchmarks in South Korea and Japan.

In South Korea, Seoul's Kospi index sank 6.4% to 6,820.60. An interest rate hike by the Bank of Korea also contributed its tumble. It was the first rate hike by the BOK since 2023 and was aimed at helping curb inflationary pressures due to the Iran war.

Memory chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 11.5%, while Samsung Electronics fell 8.8%.

Taiwan's Taiex ended nearly unchanged. Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC gained 1.2% ahead of its earnings report. After the market closed, TSMC, often seen as a barometer for the global industry and for the boom in artificial intelligence, announced an additional $100 billion in investments in U.S. computer chipmaking capacity, along with record earnings in the last quarter and higher revenue growth forecasts.

In Amsterdam, Dutch chip machine maker ASML’s shares rose 0.9% early Thursday following TSMC’s stronger-than-expected results.

In other Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.8% to 66,835.54. Shares of Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia skidded 15%. Chipmaking equipment company Tokyo Electron dropped 4.5%, while chip testing equipment maker Advantest gave up 5.9%.

SoftBank Group shed 6.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was a regional outlier, gaining 1.3% to 25,008.60. Technology giant Alibaba’s Hong Kong-traded shares climbed 3.1%, after China’s cyberspace regulator said Wednesday it had approved the Apple Intelligence AI tool for use in China. An Alibaba spokesperson said its Qwen model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence.

The Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.9% to 3,882.41.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed flat at 8,840.70, while India’s Sensex picked up 0.2%.

The former chief executive, Giovanni Castellucci, received a 12-year sentence after four years of trial and four hours of deliberations. He was among dozens of defendants convicted in the collapse that revealed serious lapses in the maintenance of Italian infrastructure.

On the morning of Aug. 14, 2018, a 200-meter (650-foot) section of Genoa's Morandi highway bridge gave way during a rainstorm, sending dozens of vehicles plunging to the ground.

Images of the collapsed bridge were seen around the world and shocked Italians on one of Italy’s busiest travel days, as millions headed out for the traditional Aug. 15 Ferragosto holiday that marks the peak summer vacation season.

The 57 defendants include former executives of highway operator Autostrade per L’Italia, experts from its engineering company SPEA and former officials from Italy’s Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

Most face charges, including negligent disaster and multiple counts of manslaughter stemming from alleged failures to maintain the bridge, which was part of a main route linking northern Italy with the French Riviera.

Prosecutors argued that years of maintenance neglect led to the collapse, and demanded combined sentences totaling nearly 400 years for all of the defendants. The defendants deny wrongdoing and say the fault was caused by a construction defect.

The verdicts and sentencing will cap a trial that spanned more than 280 hearings over four years.

“I think it is important that responsibility extends beyond those at the top. Autostrade, SPEA and the Transport Ministry all had roles to play. I hope the state’s responsibility also emerges clearly,” Egle Possetti, who heads a committee to preserve the memory of the bridge victims, told reporters outside the courthouse.

“I lost my sister, her two children, my brother-in-law and even their little dog. That’s where my determination comes from — to make sure they receive justice and that their deaths were not in vain,” she said.

“Our expectation is to feel our pain recognized … and to have it acknowledged that this did not happen by chance, but because of serious failures in maintenance,” said Raffaele Caruso, one of the lawyers representing victims.

Considered an engineering marvel when it opened in 1967, the Morandi featured three A-shaped concrete pylons and concrete-encased stay cables.

Caruso, who represents the family members of three victims, said that the trial showed that warning signs about defects in the pylon that collapsed had existed for decades. He cited maintenance on the other two starting in 1993 that was never extended to the third.

“From 1993 onward, the problem was known. We had three identical pylons. Two had already shown the same defect, and no one seriously asked whether the third one had it as well,” Caruso said.

The current Autostrade chief executive, Arrigo Giana, issued a public apology Thursday in an open letter published in major Italian dailies.

“The actions and decisions of some people left indelible scars,’’ said Giana, who joined Autostrade as CEO last year. “Offering today the apology that was not made then is, for us, a moral imperative that goes beyond establishing legal responsibility and the course of justice toward the truth.”

Autostrade and its subsidiary reached a deal on corporate liability earlier in the proceedings, paying roughly 30 million euros ($34 million) in financial penalties. The agreement spared the companies from a trial as corporate defendants and potentially much harsher sanctions, including exclusion from public contracts.

The settlements were reached after the companies adopted new compliance procedures aimed at preventing similar accidents, and after victims were compensated.

A new bridge designed by Genoa-born Italian architect Renzo Piano opened in 2020, spanning a memorial to the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.

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Colleen Barry reported from Milan.

According to preliminary information, the two boats left Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, including some who had traveled from refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

One boat, believed to have been carrying around 250 people, lost contact shortly after departure. A second boat, reportedly carrying 280 people, is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.

″While the incidents and casualty figures have yet to be officially confirmed, UNHCR and IOM are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life,” the agencies said.

Acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Myanmar’s president and the Ayeyarwady region’s government did not respond to requests for comment.

The Rohingya, who have in recent years fled both Myanmar and Bangladesh’s squalid refugee camps by the thousands, typically avoid such boat journeys at this time of year, when monsoons are frequent and conditions at sea are particularly dangerous. The UNHCR and IOM noted this in their statement, saying that recent torrential rain and flooding across the region would have made such journeys especially risky.

Around 1.2 million stateless, predominantly Muslim Rohingya remain trapped in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing waves of violence by Myanmar’s security forces.

The refugees have no way to safely return to Myanmar, where the military that killed thousands of Rohingya in 2017 during what the United States declared a genocide remains in charge of their homeland. The Rohingya still living in Myanmar face severe restrictions and many are confined to internment camps.

Steep cuts to foreign aid by the U.S. and other countries have led to ration cuts in Bangladesh’s refugee camps, while the ruling military and an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine have fought for control of the region.

The unrest has led to an increasing number of Rohingya attempting to make the dangerous ocean crossing to Malaysia on rickety boats. Thousands have died in the process, including babies, children and pregnant women. Local maritime authorities have frequently abandoned the Rohingya at sea, often ignoring reports of boats in distress.

The IOM and UNHCR said on Thursday that the latest potential tragedy at sea underscores the continued lack of sustainable solutions for the Rohingya, and urged the international community to support those trapped in Bangladesh’s camps.

“Stronger regional and international efforts are needed to prevent further loss of life along one of the world’s deadliest maritime routes, including through enhanced search and rescue efforts, access to asylum and protection, and actions against smuggling and trafficking networks,” the agencies said.

More than 6,500 Rohingya fled and nearly 900 were reported dead or missing in 2025, the deadliest year for Rohingya who tried to leave by boat. The figure represents the highest mortality rate of any major route for refugee and migrant sea journeys in the world, the UNHCR said.

Neill's family had earlier announced the actor known for “Jurassic Park,” “The Piano” and other films died Monday in Sydney.

His agent Philip Grenz said he was providing more information after speaking with Neill's family and following news reports “which contain inaccuracies and outright falsehoods,” he said.

"Sam passed away from pneumonia," Grenz said. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”

He added that Neill had filmed four projects “back-to-back” during the past year that are due to be released in the coming months.

“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date,” Grenz said.

The New Zealand actor disclosed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and said in April this year that he was cancer-free. CAR-T therapy is a form of immunotherapy based on an individual's T cells and is used for several types of blood cancer.

His agent's statement followed days of tributes to Neill from film industry colleagues who remembered him as a kind, witty and curious man.

“You are so loved and will be sorely missed by us all,” director Taika Waititi, who directed Neill in 2016's “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” — one of Neill's best-loved films in New Zealand — wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.

“Love you and see you soon, sweet Nigel," Waititi wrote, referring to Neill's birth name, which he told interviewers he had changed to Sam at school because there were too many Nigels in his class.

“Sam was exceptionally collaborative," said Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first “Jurassic Park” movie, in which Neill played paleontologist Alan Grant.

“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him,” Spielberg said in a statement. "Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s. In New Zealand, he has been mourned as a friendly, unassuming person who shunned celebrity and contributed to causes and community projects near his home, according to local news outlets.

Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

In his second term, Trump has tried to use the levers of power to rewrite that well-settled history, something that he's expected to try again on Thursday night with an address to the nation.

He has already appointed loyalists who have echoed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and made clear he expects everyone to follow his lead.

In an indication of how fealty to Trump’s lies has become a litmus test for his administration, many of his nominees have steadfastly refused to directly answer the question of who won in 2020, preferring to tersely note that Biden became president. Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to become the next national intelligence director, was the latest to repeat that formula in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

“He had the most electoral votes," Clayton said of Biden. “He was declared the winner.”

“And who has the most electoral votes? Is it the person who wins or the person who loses?” asked Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat.

“That’s your characterization," Clayton responded. "I’m not going to continue to do this.”

The president has embraced baroque conspiracy theories about an international cabal that penetrated U.S. voting machines that have led to libel suits against his allies when they’ve repeated the claims.

Ahead of his speech, Trump has teased “really big news” and said “it doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country.”

Election experts fear another round of falsehoods.

“There has been six-plus years of consistent findings from the intelligence community and from everyone who’s looked at it that there was no foreign interference in 2020, and our voting systems were secure and accurate,” said Victoria Bassetti of States United, a nonpartisan group supporting the state officials who run elections. “I suppose the president could come up with some new assertion or new conclusion. It would fly in the face of all the evidence.”

Huge range of reviews find same thing: No major fraud

There’s been an enormous amount of reviews of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases challenging the results, sometimes before judges the president appointed himself. Numerous audits, recounts and investigations, including several by Republicans, found no major problems with the vote or count.

Trump's own attorney general at the time, William Barr, said there were no signs of significant fraud, a statement that earned him Trump's ire. Trump's appointee to run the agency that watches for cyberattacks on American election infrastructure, Chris Krebs, declared that the 2020 election was secure and there were no signs of tampering — which led Trump to fire Krebs and demand an investigation of him upon returning to power in 2025.

An intelligence assessment released in the early days of the Biden administration but completed on Jan. 7, 2021, in Trump's last days in office, found no foreign tampering with vote totals or election equipment in 2020. And, last year, Trump signed a federal document as part of a regular review of possible foreign influence in elections that declared “there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any United States election.”

‘Untold taxpayer resources’ re-investigating the election

Since returning to office, Trump has launched a review of the 2020 vote. Federal agents have seized voting records in Democratic-run Fulton County, Georgia, and Republican-run Maricopa County, Arizona — two major metropolitan swing state counties that figured prominently in 2020 conspiracy theories.

Trump tapped Kurt Olsen, a prominent lawyer in the world of election conspiracy theorists, to head the probe. Olsen was previously sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court for false statements in a lawsuit he brought to challenge the 2022 loss of an Arizona governor's race by one of Trump's allies.

"He has committed untold taxpayer resources,” said David Becker, a former Department of Justice lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Integrity & Research. “They’ve found nothing.”

A search warrant affidavit filed in the Fulton County case was full of old, debunked conspiracy theories about the vote in the county. The FBI reassigned hundreds of analysts to go through the material.

Conspiracy theories have led to libel cases

Still, election conspiracy theorists have been buzzing — as they have ever since Election Day in 2020 — that Trump is about to reveal irrefutable evidence of massive election fraud.

One version alleges that Venezuela and possibly other countries manipulated U.S. voting machines to deprive Trump of a victory. Venezuela's former president, Nicolas Maduro, is currently awaiting trial in Manhattan on federal charges of drug trafficking after the U.S. military took him from that country's capital.

Those theories have led to massive payouts in libel lawsuits brought by voting machine companies and others. Fox News paid $787.5 million to settle one lawsuit over it airing those claims and others on the air in late 2020. Conservative networks Newsmax andOne America News have also reached settlements with voting companies over airing those allegations.

A Denver jury found that Mike Lindell, a prominent election conspiracy theorist who Trump this week endorsed as a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, defamed an employee with a voting machine company by calling him a traitor.

Becker noted there has been a clear pattern over the six years of election conspiracy theories surrounding Trump's loss. Conspiracy theorists, including Trump himself, make sweeping allegations in public, sometimes with what seems to be massive reams of documentation from elaborate election databases. But they've lost regularly in court, where the threshold is whether there's any factual basis to the claims.

He suggested that anything new from Trump on elections be subjected to that same scrutiny.

"If someone’s alleging a crime that occurred six years ago, we shouldn’t be responding to their claims,” Becker said. “We should be demanding they meet the burden of proof.”

Trump’s fixation on his loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago and the long-debunked theories he’s circulated about it are something he still brings up regularly when discussing other subjects. But elevating the deeply political and conspiratorial topics to a presidential primetime address underscores the lengths to which Trump has used his second term to both blow past norms and fixate on old grievances.

Trump has offered only vague details about the address, scheduled for 9 p.m. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if it would concern “election machines and integrity,” Trump said it would “concern that subject” and “we’ll have a couple of other things to say also.”

He went on to say that he has “really, really big news and our country has to shape up. But that’s what we’re going to be talking about Thursday.” He added that “it doesn’t get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country.”

Despite Trump’s comments, the White House on Wednesday suggested that the content of the speech could change.

“As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening. The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Primetime presidential addresses are typically reserved for major milestones or nationally significant events.

Trump last did it in April to speak on the Iran war, a month after it started. He said then that the U.S. would accomplish its objectives “very shortly” and that “the hard part is done, so it should be easy.” The war, however, has dragged on and strikes between the U.S. and Iran have intensified this week.

Trump also delivered a politically charged primetime speech in December in which he sought to blame the challenging economic climate on Democrats.

It was unclear if TV networks were planning to air the speech or to what extent. Messages to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MS NOW asking about coverage plans were not immediately returned.

Democrats warned that Trump was trying to revive false claims of past stolen elections in order to delegitimize the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican Party is facing headwinds.

“Tomorrow night, Trump is going to use a primetime address to stoke misleading claims about our elections in order to justify interfering in our midterms. It’s on all of us to follow the facts and not accept his constant stream of misdirections and lies,” Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said in a statement on X.

“Trump is again trying to drum up baseless election conspiracies ahead of the November elections,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said in a post on X. “Americans are tired of endless war, skyrocketing gas prices, and a president that isn’t looking out for them. Voters will make their voices heard, whether Trump wants them to or not.”

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance bristled when asked if he’d encourage Trump in his Thursday remarks to stay focused on November’s midterm elections rather than relitigate past elections. “'The unfounded claims,'” Vance said, repeating the reporter's language. "You’re basically assuming an answer in the very question that you ask.”

“The president is going to talk about a number of things tomorrow night. I’m obviously not going to get ahead of his remarks,” Vance said. “But we can talk about a number of the American people’s problems. We can solve a number of the American people’s problems.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that he doesn’t know what Trump is going to say. “But," he said, "the only thing I can tell you is that we are focused on the 2026 election, at least I am, and I think most of my colleagues are.”

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert in Washington and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

Since taking office last year, Trump has approved about 65 requests for major disaster declarations and denied more than two dozen others from states, tribes or territories seeking federal financial assistance following hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods and fires.

Trump has taken longer on average to approve disaster requests than any other president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data dating back to 1989, when a federal law setting new parameters for disaster determinations was implemented. And no other president has such a disparity in denials between states that supported him politically and those that did not.

The delays and denials come as Trump's administration contemplates a makeover of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers disaster aid. Major disaster declarations are intended for events that are beyond the resources of state and local governments.

Trump is saying yes to Republicans more than Democrats

During his second term, Trump has denied a greater percentage of disaster requests than any president dating to 1989. Those denials have not been evenly distributed among states.

Trump has approved 80% of the disaster requests from Republican governors but only about 60% from Democratic governors, according to the AP's analysis of FEMA data.

The discrepancy is even more apparent when analyzing major disaster declarations based on presidential elections. Trump has approved more than three-fourths of the requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election but less than half the requests from states that did not. Although there are federal criteria for disaster aid, decisions ultimately are at the president’s discretion.

A batch of denials earlier this month included four Democratic states — Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island — seeking federal aid for a February snowstorm.

“The President’s denial is part of a pattern of extreme partisanship as he tries to shift a heavier economic burden onto blue states. Disaster aid should be merit-based, not politicized,” Rhode Island's Democratic U.S. Senate and House members said in a joint statement.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “there is no politicization to the President’s decisions on disaster relief.”

During his first term, Trump actually approved a greater share of requests from states that had opposed him than those that supported him.

Yet no other president had such a wide partisan divide in disaster declarations as currently exists under Trump. Obama approved 87% of the disaster requests from Democratic governors during his second term and 79% from Republican governors, but Obama's approval rate was identical for states that voted for and against him.

When requests are denied, individuals, insurers and local governments are left to shoulder the costs themselves.

Trump is waiting longer to declare disasters

Since Trump assumed office last year, it’s taken him an average of a month and a half to approve major disaster declarations after receiving a request from the governor or chief executive of a state, territory or tribe, the AP found. Because it can take several weeks after a disaster for officials to inspect the damage and submit a request, the total wait time often has exceeded two months.

By comparison, Trump approved major disaster requests in an average of about three weeks during his first term, a pace similar to President Joe Biden. Their predecessors — Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush — all had average disaster approval times of less than two weeks.

All presidents have taken longer to approve some requests. But that’s become the norm in Trump’s second term. Of Trump’s approvals, 70% have taken at least a month — up from about one-quarter of requests during Trump’s first term and Biden’s administration, and fewer than 10% under their predecessors.

Jackson said that Trump conducts a more thorough review than any administration before him, “ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute — their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”

The longer the approval process takes, the longer people must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in major disaster declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local officials uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure.

FEMA nominee is pledging faster decisions

FEMA has had four different temporary leaders since Trump took office in January 2025. One of those, Cameron Hamilton, is awaiting Senate confirmation as the agency's permanent director.

During a Senate committee hearing last month, Hamilton said he would try to speed up disaster declaration decisions and reimbursements. He also pledged to ensure that FEMA is objective, fair and reasonable in reviewing disaster declaration requests and making recommendations to the president.

Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, had been fired as FEMA's acting director in May 2025 after publicly disagreeing with Trump's idea of dismantling the agency. His reemergence signals that Trump now may support changes to FEMA instead of an outright elimination of the agency.

Panel's recommendations could lead to more denials

A council appointed by Trump has recommended a series of changes to FEMA that would shift greater responsibility to states, potentially reducing the number of major disaster declarations and the amount of federal money paid out.

The council suggested revised criteria to qualify for presidential declarations, including a prerequisite of annual minimum expenditures by states, territories and tribes.

Another recommendation, which would require congressional approval, would reduce the federal government's share of the disaster aid from a minimum of 75% to 50% of the costs, leaving state and local governments more to cover. For governments approved for assistance, federal funding could get there quicker — within 30 days of a federal disaster declaration, instead of waiting months or years for reimbursements that are based on proof of expenditures.

For individuals, the council recommended consolidating several different types of aid into one payment targeted for those whose homes are uninhabitable.

“If not fasting, what? Riots in the streets? That’s what we don’t want to do. So this is a peaceful way to take your voice to the government,” Wangchuk said on a recent afternoon as worried supporters checked on him.

The 59-year-old has become an unlikely symbol of India’s Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement that erupted online two months ago and gained momentum over alleged leaks on social media in the country’s fiercely competitive college entrance exams.

With the hunger strike in its third week, organizers are racing to keep pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which they accuse of ignoring their calls for the education minister’s resignation.

“There has been no kind of response from the government. They have left Sonam Wangchuk to die,” said Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University student and founder of the Cockroach Janta Party.

Online outrage becomes a street movement

The movement began in May after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches" during a hearing on another issue. Supporters embraced the insult as a badge of resilience, turning it into a satirical political campaign that amassed more than 21 million Instagram followers in a few days.

The movement seeks the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over the alleged leaks, along with sweeping reforms to the examination system and compensation for families of students who died by suicide, whether over the leaks or exam results.

For many young Indians, their future depends on a single entrance exam for government jobs and medical colleges.

Dipke said the movement's online popularity has translated into growing support on the ground. Since its first major demonstration in New Delhi in early June, he said, thousands of supporters have turned out at universities and rallies in other cities.

The presence of Wangchuk, a well-known climate activist, shows how the protest has drawn professionals beyond the world of education.

High-profile attention is growing. Opposition leaders from several political parties and some Bollywood celebrities have visited the camp or lent support to the movement in recent days.

But turnout in New Delhi has been modest compared with the large online following.

On most days, a few hundred people gather at Jantar Mantar for a sit-in, with crowds typically swelling to around 1,000 by evening. Many have endured weeks of monsoon rain, sleeping in tents.

Unlike established political parties, Dipke said, the movement has no formal structure. Supporters pay their own way to New Delhi, where they camp at Jantar Mantar, a designated public protest ground enclosed by police barricades. There has been no police attempt to shut down the protest.

Ajay Zingade, a 33-year-old IT professional, said recurring exam paper leaks compelled him to join the protest despite no longer being a student.

“I am just exercising my fundamental right of dissent,” he said.

Protesters face continued government silence

Organizers say the movement has grown into a broader campaign for accountability and restoration of trust in institutions that students believe have failed them, including the judiciary, the political system and the media.

“The system needs a complete overhaul because the current system is no longer accountable or even taking basic responsibility,” Dipke said.

But the government has neither opened negotiations nor publicly acknowledged the movement's demands. The education ministry did not respond to AP questions.

Senior leaders in Modi’s government have largely dismissed it, with the education minister accusing its members of working against the country. Other government leaders have argued that while students’ concerns deserve attention, there is no need for the government to negotiate with them.

Protest organizers say the government’s silence has hardened their resolve as Wangchuk’s hunger strike continues.

“In a democracy the government is supposed to listen to the people, to have a dialogue with the people, and more importantly to be answerable to the people. I don’t know why the government isn’t doing that,” Dipke said.

For Wangchuk, his strike is an attempt to channel that anger into peaceful civil disobedience.

“It’s to demand accountability, which is important in any government,” he said.

Organizers plan a march to Parliament

Organizers say they are preparing to escalate the campaign with a march to Parliament on Monday.

Wangchuk said it is intended to bring demands directly to lawmakers.

“We hope that government is sensible enough to reward peaceful ways rather than wait for not-so-peaceful ways,” he said.

Dipke said they are prepared to continue the demonstrations for as long as it takes.

“The government was thinking that maybe if they ignore us: These are kids, they will go back home. But I think we have proved that we are here for the long battle, and we are not going to go back home," he said.

The proposal is scheduled for consideration on Thursday by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, according to a meeting agenda and the plans posted on the agency's website. The agency has oversight over the design of construction on federal land in Washington.

The commissioners are also set to take another look at the design for an underground facility to screen the thousands of tourists and others who visit or work at the White House. All seven commissioners were appointed by the Republican president.

The proposals are being considered at a time when security for the president has become a top concern. President Donald Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts, including two during the 2024 campaign and a third this past April as he attended a dinner in Washington with White House journalists.

Those concerns were heightened the following month after U.S. Secret Service officers fatally shot a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.

The administration says the projects will be an improvement over temporary structures that have long been used to aid perimeter security, like barriers fashioned out of bicycle racks, and for screening the many guests who access the White House and its grounds.

A look at both projects:

Lafayette Park last had a permanent fence in the late 1800s

Trump was accompanied by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on a recent tour of the park to see updates being made at his direction. The president has worked with the Interior Department and one of its agencies, the National Park Service, to restart dormant park fountains.

“We're really doing a job at Lafayette Park, which is really the entrance to the White House, and that’s going to be completed very shortly and it’ll be incredible,” Trump said in June.

The administration's 79-page proposal for the 8-acre (3-hectare) park calls for fencing it all the way around with gates at the north and south entrances to control public access. Options call for either including or excluding four monuments located at each of the park's four corners.

The proposal, which is backed by the Secret Service and the Executive Office of the President, in coordination with the Interior Department and National Park Service, notes that leaving out the monuments would expose them to vandalism.

The report says the goal of the plan is to “enhance long-term safety," preserve the Lafayette Park's identity as a significant National Park Service landscape and “maintain public access to this nationally symbolic space.” Throngs flock to the park to protest or celebrate major events.

Lafayette Park has not had a permanent fence around it since the 19th century. The Secret Service anticipates the fence would start going up sometime next year.

The administration wants similar fencing along Pennsylvania Avenue on the north side of the White House complex, from the Treasury Department building at 15th Street to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 17th Street. The report said that will be treated as a separate proposal and submitted to the commission at a later date.

White House visitor screening facility could replace currently used tents

The commission is set to review a revised design for the facility, which would be built beneath Sherman Park, federal land southeast of the White House, to support screening for public tour participants, guests attending large events, White House staff and contractors.

The original design called for locating the facility's entrance at the southern end of the park, but meetings and consultations led to a revised proposal that shifted the entrance to the western edge of the park to avoid conflicts with infrastructure and minimize the impact on the surrounding views, according to the report submitted for the commission's review on Thursday.

The administration said the permanent facility will eliminate the need for a series of temporary screening tents currently used for events, improve security on the White House complex and enhance the experience for visitors.

The Secret Service, Interior Department, National Park Service and Executive Office of the President want to start construction in August on the 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) underground facility. They have set a July 2028 date for it to be operating.

White House visitors would face an initial ID check before they enter the facility through a pavilion located above ground, then head down to a lower level and a second checkpoint. After they are cleared, visitors will ride escalators that will take them up to the White House grounds.

But just months into Mullin's time in office, the department is squarely in the center of controversy again after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the span of less than a week.

The events are the first major test for Mullin, who promised a steady hand for a department roiled by his predecessor's conduct and the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

As he navigates the uptick in violence, he is being forced into a balancing act that has him juggling pressures from a White House eager to carry out mass deportations and his former colleagues in Congress seeking answers — all while attempting to ease tensions in American cities over the deaths.

“When he took his position, Secretary Mullin said that his goal was to get the department off the front page of the news,” Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner said on the House floor Tuesday. Then, waving a newspaper, he said: “Well, you’re back on the goddamn front page now."

Mullin's approach is a marked change from his predecessor, Kristi Noem

Mullin, a former senator from Oklahoma, was a surprise pick to run the sprawling department after Noem was fired in the wake of two deadly shootings of American protesters at the hands of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.

As the secretary in charge of carrying out the administration's mass deportations vision, Noem pushed an aggressive style of immigration enforcement where she was front and center, including most famously, a visit to a Salvadoran detention center. She was quick to speak publicly on controversial events, weighing in on both Minneapolis shootings with statements accusing the killed protesters of being agitators.

President Donald Trump, who made mass deportations a central promise of his second administration, ultimately soured on Noem over a $200 million ad campaign and her handling of the Minneapolis operation.

Mullin promised a different approach, while still pledging to deliver on the president's priorities. His first trip as secretary was not to promote immigration enforcement but to observe hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. Noem frequently went out on immigration raids with her officers — Mullin has not.

Since he became secretary and in the aftermath of the Minneapolis violence, the administration has also moved away from high-profile and unpopular immigration operations in American cities to a quieter approach to enforcement that has largely shifted media attention away from the crackdown. Under Mullin, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also retreating from a plan to use warehouses to detain migrants.

But immigration arrests continue under Mullin and often with little fanfare: ICE arrested 10,000 people over a five-day period in late June, averaging out to about to 2,000 arrests per day. And legal pathways to immigration have also faced new restrictions.

Trump, during Mullin's tenure, has hailed the secretary as “so incredible,” and “amazing,” lauding him for giving up his Senate seat to run DHS.

For months, it appeared as though Mullin's change in approach was taking hold. While advocates and civil rights activists accused the department of mistreating immigrants under his leadership, Mullin's less confrontational approach seemed to keep the department out of the spotlight.

ICE-related deaths bring renewed spotlight to Mullin and DHS

But the events of the past week have posed a new challenge for Mullin as he walks a tightrope between his softer approach and the president's demands.

“Trying to deal with competing policy objectives is a challenge for any Cabinet secretary, but Mullin has this worse than most,” said Tom Warrick, a former counterterrorism official at Homeland Security who’s now at the Atlantic Council.

“In the case of Homeland Security, the White House wants both to meet their immigration quotas at the same time that they keep public trust, and how you do that — even with the funding that Mullin has — is a really difficult challenge."

ICE officers in Houston and Maine shot and killed individuals in their cars during immigration operations. In Florida, a man fleeing ICE officers was killed in a car crash.

Mullin has not spoken publicly about the deaths while the department’s public affairs office has released only brief statements following each.

Behind the scenes, Mullin, who frequently talks about how he shares his cellphone number with members of Congress and encourages them to call him directly, has talked with lawmakers and shared information, including talking with both senators from Maine.

And after the second shooting death in Maine, as criticism surged from both protesters and Mullin's former colleagues in Congress, ICE was ordered to suspend most vehicle stops.

Trump heaps pressure on Mullin over vehicle stop order

That decision infuriated Trump's supporters.

Conservative influencer Nick Sorter called it a “TOTAL CAPITULATION to the left," in a post on X. Conservative activist Mike Davis accused Mullin of heeding the advice of Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who said she'd suggested the vehicle stop pause to the secretary.

A day later, Trump appeared to contradict the guidance to ICE, saying in a social media post “we must be strong, tough and smart and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”

Mullin then reposted Trump's words, adding that people in the country would be “arrested and deported wherever they are." He later said on X that he and the president are “on the same page.”

It was not immediately clear whether vehicle stops were back on.

But it showed the friction between Mullin's attempts to maintain calm and the president's demands that illegal immigrants, which the administration has in many instances portrayed as criminals, be arrested in large numbers.

Democrats have slammed the new secretary, saying that they see little change at the department.

“Secretary Mullin, if he wants to, and if he has the backing of the White House, he has the ability to get ICE under control and make them follow the law,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas. “So either he has no interest in doing that, or the White House is not backing him up, or the agents are simply out of control.”

Republican lawmakers have come to Mullin's defense.

“I think the Secretary has lived up to what he’s wanted to do to try to change the atmosphere over there,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, who as chair of the congressional Homeland Security Committee has requested a bipartisan briefing on ICE's use of force policies from DHS.

“I don’t think anybody is celebrating that ICE is back in the headlines," Garbarino said.

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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

The twice-yearly changing of the clocks in the United States could be a thing of the past if legislation currently in Congress that calls for permanent daylight time makes it through. But even as annoying as some find the back-and-forth of the time shift in the spring and the fall, that doesn't necessarily mean sticking to one would go over well. America has tried it before, most recently in the 1970s, and it didn't last.

Now it's a new era, one full of people working at home who didn't before — and advances in sleep science that tell a more nuanced tale.

Could this time (shift) be the charm?

What's going on this time around?

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that makes the shift to daylight saving time, when clocks are moved forward one hour, become permanent.

Currently, the shift is forward in spring and back to standard time in fall as a way to give people more daylight time in the summer evenings. But the semi-annual change has few fans - an AP-NORC poll last year found that only 12% of American adults were in favor of it, while almost half opposed it. Proponents of a single time include the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine — outfits to whom daily rhythms are deeply important.

The Senate would have to pass it before it could be signed into law. President Donald Trump has indicated he's supportive.

So just change it. What's the big deal?

Not so fast. People may not like making the change, but history shows they also don't like living with even less morning light in the winter months, when daylight hours are shorter than in summer.

In 1973, Congress passed a law instituting permanent daylight saving time for what was supposed to be a trial period from January 1974 to April 1975. It lasted until October, when it was repealed after public outcry. Among the concerns was worry that schoolchildren would have to get to class in darkness. These days, school starting times have started to shift later.

Kevin Birth, a professor of anthropology at Queens College whose research focuses on cultural concepts of time, was in elementary school in Syracuse, New York, at the time and remembers it vividly. “I had to get up for school and it was like it was midnight,” he said. “It was just pitch black and it remained pitch black into the school day.”

If the U.S. decides to try it again, he said, more has to change than just the clocks. The time zones across the country would need to be adapted as well. The current four zones wouldn't be adequate - they cover so much ground that sunrise comes at different times in western and eastern parts of each zone.

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.

For the first time in this latest round of violence, strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on regional infrastructure if the U.S. acts on President Donald Trump 's repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridges and power plants.

“All the infrastructure in the region will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran” should Trump’s threat be carried out, Zolfaghari said.

“Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extraregional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. “This is Iran’s invincible red line.”

Both the US and Iran launch attacks as blockade is reimposed

The U.S. strikes early Thursday hit around Tehran, state media reported. It also reported that American attacks targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.

Iranian media also reported strikes Thursday morning around the provinces of Hamedan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan.

On Wednesday, the U.S. resumed striking Iran during daylight, further showing the increasing tempo of the attacks. An attack on Greater Tunb Island targeted Iranian defense and missile sites, Central Command said.

Greater Tunb Island is one of three small rocky islands that sit at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz — seized in 1971 by Iran from what would become the United Arab Emirates — and have become a garrison for Iran that help it exert significant control over the strait.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it opened fire on the Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma sailing toward Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. After the ship “ignored multiple warnings,” a U.S. aircraft disabled the merchant vessel by firing a missile into the ship’s smokestack.

Another American strike Wednesday targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers. A number of troops were wounded.

Iran retaliated Thursday morning with missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, authorities in those countries home to U.S. forces said. There was no immediate acknowledgment of damage or casualties from the attacks. Kuwait reported a new round of incoming fire on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned an overnight drone attack on the city of Irbil in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. The drone, which authorities said had been intercepted, came during his trip to the U.S. in which he said Iraq would work to disarm non-state armed groups, including those backed by Iran.

A drone separately targeted a tanker in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Basra in southern Iraq on Thursday afternoon, the state-run INA news agency reported. A port employee who witnessed the attack said there appeared to be only minor damage to the tanker. No casualties were reported.

Trump says a peace deal is still possible

The latest round of fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran attacks ships using a U.S.-controlled route through the vital waterway.

The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force, but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops.

The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Thursday, more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

Rising prices pose a particular challenge to Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November. But Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway, leading to Trump reimposing the naval blockade Wednesday.

Trump again insisted Iran was ready to strike a peace deal, but he did not elaborate.

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said Wednesday at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.

Mediators have sought to calm the tensions, but so far have been unsuccessful. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it was still trying to bring the U.S. and Tehran to the table, while acknowledging that mediation was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Whenever the parties exhaust the logic of escalation, the formula for peace is there,” ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told a news conference.

Trump separately said on social media that Tehran made a goodwill gesture by releasing an American citizen wrongly detained in Iran since 2024. He didn’t release further details. Human rights lawyer Jared Genser released a statement identifying the detainee as his client Dena Karari, a U.S.-Iranian citizen who runs a nonprofit and was charged with espionage.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the release, and her case was not publicly known, as sometimes happens with detentions in the Islamic Republic.

___

Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

The tariffs, which were first proposed last month, will take effect July 22.

The order exempts some goods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains. Exempted products include coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice, some oil and gas energy products and aerospace parts and components.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative concluded after a yearlong investigation that Brazil had a range of unfair trade practices, including lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs of its own, among other practices seen as unreasonable and unfair. The U.S., however, has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the action was necessary to ensure American workers and companies compete on a level playing field.

“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” he said.

After U.S. officials in early June warned that they were proposing the tariffs, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reacted with indignation. He instead pointed to political considerations, blaming his rival in the country's October elections, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro had recently visited Washington and is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X about the announcement of the tariffs: “Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith. His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians. For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.”

The tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, allowing the U.S. to launch the investigation into Brazil’s trade practices.

The U.S. Supreme Court in February ruled against many of Trump's tariffs imposed under a different law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. The court found he overstepped his authority under that act to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including Brazil.

Trump had under that law imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil to protest its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn his loss in a 2022 election. But Trump's relationship with Lula seemed to improve in May, when he visited the White House.

Now the controversial projects have come to Florida, where they are receiving anything but a warm welcome. Supporters say they are critical infrastructure for the future of technology. Opponents question whether they are environmental nightmares or simply misunderstood.

As data centers rise, so does the backlash.

At the center of the debate is Project Tango, a proposed hyperscale data center in western Palm Beach County. If built, it would be the first hyperscale data center in the state.

“This one is proposed to be 600 megawatts of power across five buildings, about a million square feet, with the latest technology not only on the computing side, but on the cooling side,” said Ernie Cox, project manager for PBA Holdings.

Developers say the site was chosen because it sits just a few hundred feet from a major power plant.

“You have one of the most connected pieces of electrical infrastructure in Florida with the largest power plant in the state of Florida immediately next to a site that’s been zoned and used for industrial uses for decades,” Cox said.

But it’s that location that is generating fierce opposition.

Project Tango borders the Arden residential community and an elementary school, both just outside Wellington.

Project Tango’s original master plan was approved 10 years ago. Developers are now seeking permission to expand that plan by 1.5 million square feet, mostly for warehouses but, they say, space that could also be used for additional data centers.

Dozens of data centers already exist in Miami-Dade County, including Iron Mountain, which is set to open later this year. None, however, are hyperscale data centers requiring 50 megawatts or more, like Project Tango.

The potential environmental impact is driving most of the opposition, with concerns centered on water use, heat and constant noise.

“The water, the air, the noise, I mean the pollution. All of that is a big concern of ours,” Arden resident Larry Frazier said.

“I haven’t heard anything good about a data center anywhere. Anywhere. Virginia. Nothing.”

Wellington Mayor Michael Napoleone said the proposed site is less than five miles from the village.

“We’re the winter equestrian capital of the world and we have a lot of very expensive, well-maintained horses there,” Napoleone said. “Horses are very sensitive to noise and vibrations.”

“That shouldn’t be put in jeopardy for a hyperscale data center that could probably be sited somewhere else.”

The heat generated by an AI data center can raise surrounding temperatures by as much as 16 degrees, creating what’s known as the heat island effect.

“Another thing that we see from data centers is an incredible amount of water to operate and cool their systems,” said Christina Reichert, a senior attorney with Earthjustice.

“Now even if they are able to reduce the amount of water they consume from the aquifer, there’s still a potential for water pollution.”

She also noted the site is directly next to a canal connecting the northern and southern Everglades and is near one of the nation’s wildlife refuges.

Project Tango says its closed-loop cooling system will use minimal water each day and that used water will be transported to an off-site facility for disposal.

Developers also say they are taking unprecedented steps to house all operations inside concrete buildings buffered by a berm and trees designed to ensure noise and heat have no impact on Arden or the nearby school.

“Our focus has been on, how do we eliminate impacts off of our property?” Cox said.

Because of their intensive power requirements, data centers have often been associated with higher electric bills for surrounding communities.

Florida and Florida Power & Light say they have taken steps to prevent that from happening. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 484 in May to protect ratepayers by prohibiting utilities from passing data center costs on to residential customers.

“We make sure that the data center companies fund 100% of the cost of the new power generation,” FPL spokesman Andrew Sutton said.

A recent ruling by the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission recommended denying Project Tango’s expansion plans and questioned whether the proposal complies with zoning laws.

“It’s really heavy industrial in a light industrial zone area,” Napoleone said.

Developers disagree.

“This will be a light industrial use because it won’t have an impact off-site,” Cox said.

“The data center facilities that we’re going to be building are going to reduce the industrial nature of the site. So it’s going to look like and feel like and sound like a modern office park.”

The final decision rests with the Palm Beach County Commission, and the debate is expected to remain contentious.

During a zoning meeting, one speaker accused Cox of being dishonest, saying, “Don’t listen to Ernie. He’s already been caught in a bunch of lies. Who knows what else he’s lying about.”

Cox responded by saying, “This is the most uncivil I have ever dealt with in my entire career.”

Project Tango could become a test case for hyperscale data centers in South Florida. What happens in Palm Beach County could affect future proposals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Developers point to jobs, tax revenue and the growing technical need for data centers.

Residents and environmental advocates say the projects require stronger regulations and safeguards.

“Data centers are going to continue to exist. We need them. It’s the wave of the future,” Napoleone said.

“There’s places to build them. I don’t think they’re here next to a community.”

“If I have a choice between it being in Florida or Georgia, well, I’d rather it be in Florida,” Cox said.

“We are not saying no to any data centers,” Reichert said. “What we’re saying is, put them in the right places. Make sure they have the right technologies.”

“Just don’t do it in front of communities, don’t do it in front of schools,” Frazier said. “I mean, that’s horrible. Who would even consider doing that?”

Project Tango’s expansion master plan went before the Palm Beach County Commission on Wednesday, with the outcome being a 5-1 vote denying the proposal.

While some communities may enact bans or receive temporary reprieves, data centers appear to be inevitable. Big Tech is forecast to spend $1 trillion on projects next year.

Meanwhile, organizers across the country are planning an AI Data Center National Day of Protest next Saturday, with nearly 100 demonstrations scheduled, including nine in Florida, one at the proposed Project Tango site.

Republican Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap sued the predominantly GOP board of supervisors in June 2025, alleging it illegally took control of certain aspects of election administration. The board called the lawsuit frivolous and said Heap was wasting taxpayer money.

They reached a settlement this week to resolve the lawsuit after mediated negotiations, and the board approved it.

“This deal gets us out of the courtroom,” board Chair Kate Brophy McGee, said after Tuesday's vote. “I’m sick of drama. We are done with being on the front page going forward.”

Heap said his objective was simple: to ensure his office's statutory responsibilities are carried out lawfully.

“I am pleased we have reached an agreement that, when implemented, will restore those responsibilities and establish a clear framework for administering elections moving forward,” Heap said in a statement jointly released with the board.

Under the agreement, an interim plan proposed by Heap and approved by the Arizona Supreme Court will govern the July 21 primary. Early voting began in late June.

Heap will oversee much of early voting, selection of ballot drop box locations and other duties. The board will handle other areas, including Election Day voting, ballot tabulation and voting location equipment maintenance. The board also will fund a new $15 million information technology system and related positions for the recorder.

Heap was backed in the lawsuit by America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff in the White House. Heap had claimed the board transferred funding, IT staff and some key functions — including management of drop boxes and establishment of early voting sites — away from his office through an agreement negotiated with his predecessor.

Heap defeated incumbent recorder Stephen Richer, in a GOP primary, and won the 2024 general election.

The two were at odds over election administration in Maricopa County. In the past, Heap has stopped short of repeating false claims that the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen. But he has said voters don’t trust the state’s voting system and that it is poorly run. Richer, also a Republican, relentlessly defended the legitimacy of the vote.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat, did not vote to approve the settlement and criticized Heap during Tuesday's board meeting.

“Honestly, I don’t think he wants to have an election that is conducted transparent or even an election that’s not compromised,” Gallardo said. “Now, with this, he owns it."

David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel, accused the government of bringing the subpoenas in “bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage.”

“They violate the constitutional rights of The Times and its journalists,” McCraw said in a statement. "We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter."

The filing was made under seal in the Southern District of New York, where the journalists were summoned in subpoenas delivered last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury. The Times had said it expected five journalists to be subpoenaed; three were ultimately served.

The subpoenas, delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But the Republican president used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey last week.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

The Justice Department has justified the subpoenas by saying that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the department said after the Times reported it had received the subpoenas. “But DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”

Asked about the issue at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is “not targeting reporters,” describing them as “material witnesses” to a leak investigation.

When Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, pointed out to Blanche that the department wants to ask the journalists who their sources were, Blanche replied, “No, the question we want to ask them is who provided them with classified national security information, which everybody in this body should want to protect.”

The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.

Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel a reporter to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups. The moves again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.

A memo Bondi issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.

In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.

That’s catastrophic for everyday Cubans who have to wash their clothes, cook using a hotplate, watch television or, perhaps more importantly than almost any of that, have a fan on to get through the island’s sultry nights.

Cuban Energy Minister Vicente Levy de la O blamed the collapse on the U.S. oil blockade, giving two reasons: First, he said it makes it very difficult for Cuba to import spare parts that are vital to maintain the decrepit, obsolete, largely Soviet-era grid.

Secondly he said that because of the Trump oil blockade, in force ever since January, less fuel is getting through and that with less fuel it’s more difficult to maintain the grid.

What really stands out about the grid collapses is the way that Cubans interpret and experience them.

When the whole national grid began collapsing fairly regularly in 2024, people reacted differently: with indignation, anger and huge frustration and stress.

“When,” people were asking, “will the country manage to get the grid up and running again?”

Now, in Havana, it’s a different feeling: Cubans have gotten used to far worse power cuts and people are getting by with as little as two hours of power a day. So when the entire grid goes down, a lot of people don’t notice it.

A lot of people don’t even get messages on their WhatsApp saying that it’s gone down; many just say “¿Que más me da?,“ or, ”How is that going to change my life? I haven’t had power for the last fifty hours anyway.“

Rather than indignation, these days, at least in Havana, the national grid collapses are being met with resignation:

“Without power you have no connectivity,” resident Carlos Borrego said. “Right now, I’m trying to message a client back and I can’t.”

“It’s really complicated because of the heat,” resident Yania Montiel said. “Outside our house, there’s a pile of garbage that’s unbearable and you can’t open a window because of the flies.”

“You can’t buy food to store,” resident Jorge Grey said. “You have to buy what you need daily and every time you go to buy meat it’s three-to-four-thousand pesos and I don’t make that kind of money.”

Resident Carlos Borrego said he can’t afford to run out of hope.

“If I lose hope, I’ll kill myself,” he said. “I’ll hang myself from a tree right now.”

People in Havana are at their wits’ end with the long power outages, and there’s even now scientific data that shows how stressed Cubans are because of these longstanding power cuts.

A recent peer-reviewed article published by two Cuban academics who are experts in mental health, one based in the University of Villa Clara in central Cuba and the other now based in the United States, found that two-thirds of Cubans are now experiencing severe anxiety and stress because of the power outages and because of all of the problems associated with them.

The academics said that when they delivered their results to the journal, its editors said that their psychological findings were so extreme that they align with societies that are going through wars.

One of the things that makes it so difficult for Cubans is that there’s no end in sight.

Twenty-three of the 30 teams are within four games of a playoff position heading into the season's second half, which opens Thursday with the back-in-contention Philadelphia Phillies hosting the woeful New York Mets.

“You’ve got a lot of really good teams that were on the bubble that have gotten in and kind of made it,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. “Anybody that has an opportunity to get in, anything can happen and that’s what makes our sport great.”

Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the most prominent possible trade bait. The 29-year-old left-hander is 2-3 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts for the Detroit Tigers since surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow.

He returned to a big league mound on June 13 after Dr. Neal ElAttrache operated with a NanoNeedle scope 2.0, a miniaturized, flexible version of the traditional arthroscope.

Detroit was 22-38 at the start of June — at 16 games under matching the 1914 Braves (12-28) as the most under .500 of a team that rebounded to reach the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Tigers are 22-14 since and trail by 3 1/2 games for the last AL wild card, needing to overcome six teams. Their performance in 16 games before the deadline will help determine whether they are buyers or sellers.

Minnesota's Joe Ryan and the Mets' Freddy Peralta also could become available. The Mets also could deal left-handed relievers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter to contenders and San Francisco may try to jettison second baseman Luis Arraez.

Baseball’s only division leads of more than three games are held by the Los Angeles Dodgers (11 1/2) and Milwaukee (five).

“There are some middling teams that are potentially going to finish stronger and some teams that are front-running right now that might fall back to the pack,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s what the fans wanted. It keeps everyone involved through September, as many teams as possible.”

Just seven teams of the 30 teams are more than four games out of a wild-card berth: the Athletics (6 1/2), Cincinnati (eight), Kansas City and the Los Angeles Angels (10 each), the Giants (10 1/2), the Mets (12) and Colorado (13 1/2).

“I think having more teams involved and more fan bases feeling like there’s something to play for later in the season is always good,” said Toronto pitcher Dylan Cease, the All-Star Game winner.

Phillies rebound after Mattingly becomes manager

Philadelphia fell to 9-19 when Rob Thomson was fired on April 28 and replaced by Don Mattingly. The Phillies are 44-24 since and trail NL East-leading Atlanta (55-40) by two games.

Harper thinks a key to the turnaround was when Zack Wheeler rejoined the rotation on April 25 after surgery last August for thoracic outlet syndrome. Wheeler is 10-1 with a 2.13 ERA.

“Once we got Wheels back, I think everybody kind of took a deep breath,” Harper said. “That helped a lot of our other starting pitching kind of just fall into place.”

Red Sox hottest team going into second half

Boston fired Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and the Red Sox are 36-31 under Chad Tracy, ending the first half with their first 9-0 road trip since 1977.

Despite a 46-48 record, the Red Sox trail by just a half-game for the last wild card in an AL that has just five teams with winning records.

“We've done a much better job overall with our approach,” Tracy said. “We’re taking more pitches. We’re seeing more pitches against starters. We are getting starters deep in counts earlier in games. We're scoring runs in the first five innings of the game and letting our starting rotation pitch with a lead.”

If the Red Sox struggle in the next few weeks, closer Aroldis Chapman and starter Sonny Gray could get dealt.

First-round byes at stake

Three of the four teams that had first-round byes last year advanced to League Championship Series: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Seattle and Toronto. Among the teams emerging from Wild Card Series, only the Dodgers won their Division Series.

Having the bye allows teams to reset their rotations and assure opening the Division Series with their best starters.

Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler thought back to New York losing the AL East title and the bye to Toronto on a tiebreaker last year.

“Every game matters,” he said.

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

On Wednesday, immigrants-rights groups protested outside the federal jail protesting on behalf of those detained inside and their families.

Local 10 News first reported on issues at the facility, including an air conditioning outage in the middle of the scorching South Florida summer, a week prior.

A group of wives of detainees were among the protesters. Their husbands are part of a larger population of immigrants who were once held in the now shut-down “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in the Everglades.

“Changing the building did not change the suffering,” activist Arianne Betancourt said.

“They have to drink out of the sink,” another woman said. “There’s cockroaches.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to Local 10 News the building had an air conditioning problem, but it claims it was fixed.

Annett Uset Dumont said since speaking to us last week, she claims her husband was placed in something called “the hole.”

“This guy you see on my shirt, his name Daikel Dumont Rodriguez and he’s currently in the FDC up in solitary confinement because I decided to talk to the news,” she said. “The hole is in the 12th floor and is in isolation.”

An FBOP spokesperson confirmed “the hole” is slang for disciplinary segregation, but declined to elaborate saying that “for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual.”

Dumont’s husband never called Local 10 News directly, but others did.

Officials with the FBOP said detainees are allowed to call members of the news media.

“His goal is to remain with the Saints,” Kamara's agent, Bradley Cicala, told The Associated Press after confirming the agreement.

Kamara's future with New Orleans became cloudy in March, when New Orleans signed free-agent running back Travis Etienne to a four-year $52 million contract. Kamara, who'll be 31 this season, was entering the final season of a two-year, $24.5 million extension he’d signed before the 2024 season.

Cicala and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis did not disclose specific financial terms of the new agreement. But Loomis had foreshadowed some sort of pay cut when he stated in May that there was a “resource management element” to Kamara fitting in on this season's roster.

While the new deal is expected to reduce the burden of Kamara's contract under the 2026 salary cap, it does not preclude the Saints from trading him.

Struggling through a knee injury last season, Kamara posted career lows in games played (11), yards and touchdowns rushing (471 and one), and yards and touchdowns receiving (186 and zero).

That was a far cry from the start of Kamara’s career in 2017, when he was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in what was the first of four straight playoff campaigns for the Saints under coach Sean Payton and Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.

But the Saints haven’t made the playoffs since Brees retired after the 2020 season and are on their second coach since then. Kellen Moore was hired after winning a Super Bowl as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator during the 2024 season.

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

The family of Nolan Wells had previously alleged that messages seemed to have been erased from his phone before they got it back, just one of a series of concerns they've raised about the circumstances and investigation surrounding his death.

They met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath on Wednesday, largely to discuss the inquiry process. But attorney Ben Crump said McIlrath also committed to presenting the investigation to a grand jury once it was completed.

Messages seeking comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.

Attorneys hope a grand jury will bring an impartial decision

“The hope is when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them, so we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells,” Crump said. “Our lived experiences tell us that we must question everything, everybody’s role, law enforcement’s role. That is the lived experience as Black people in America.”

Most felony cases go to a grand jury in Mississippi, said Ronald Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. A grand jury is typically comprised of 15 to 25 citizens who listen to the prosecutor’s evidence and decide whether there is enough evidence for an indictment, Rychlak said.

Wells had traveled to the island with friends, but failed to return with them when they left around 3 p.m. Conflicting accounts have been given as to whether he planned to remain on Horn Island, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) offshore, to talk to a girl — or to return with those friends.

The roughly 11-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) spit of land is near the Alabama state line. The island is uninhabited and accessible only by boat and is popular for parties and gatherings, officials said.

Wells' mother reported him missing shortly after midnight on July 5. The next day, boat and rescue crews launched searches and Wells’ body was recovered in waters near the island afterward.

Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority-white space. Family and attorneys have said from photos and videos of the Fourth of July celebration on the island, where nearly 200 people had gathered, that Wells was one of very few Black people present.

The Congressional Black Caucus also weighed in Wednesday, adding to calls for an independent investigation into the death.

Authorities with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies were quick to say they did not suspect foul play in his death. Results of an official autopsy are still pending, and the investigation is continuing, officials said.

Both the family’s attorneys and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department investigators have asked witnesses or anyone with video from the island to come forward as they seek answers about the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.

Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team. His family has urged a deeper investigation, saying he could swim. They also questioned why his friends would leave him behind but take his keys and phone.

Questions remain around teen's recovered cellphone

Family members retrieved his phone from the home of one of Wells' friends the evening of July 4 after using a locator app to find it. His family said their son was an avid Snapchat user, but there were no posts or messages from the 24 hours or so before they retrieved it.

Crump previously said he planned to hire an expert to determine whether data could be recovered from the phone or social media. Wednesday, he said that process will move forward in cooperation with investigators in the prosecutor's office.

Rychlak, the law professor, said mutual inspection of evidence between the police and victim’s family is not typical.

“Evidence is secured and not usually shared,” Rychlak said, adding that cooperation between the family and police could speed the investigation.

Wells’ death has galvanized the Black community. Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells’ funeral. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy, and filmmaker Spike Lee attended a news conference last week in support of Wells’ family.

Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley said Wednesday that they want Monday's funeral to be a celebration of their son's life.

“He would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating, and so what we’re gonna do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,” she said. _____

Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Blanche insisted that the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which was scrapped after fierce bipartisan backlash, was “not moving forward.” But lawmakers, including Republican Sen. John Cornyn, conveyed concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and could therefore conceivably be resurrected.

“Just to be clear, the president of the United States, who’s a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ and there’s no guarantee that he won’t raise it in the future?” Cornyn asked. Blanche replied that Trump has no power over the fund, which was to have been administered by the Justice Department but never launched.

Cornyn’s questions were closely watched since Blanche requires the backing of all Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and the Texas senator has not committed his support.

The hearing arrived at a tumultuous time for the Justice Department, with mass firings and resignations hollowing out the workforce and Democrats and other critics raising alarms that Blanche is still functioning as the president’s personal lawyer. He has led the department on an interim basis since April, functioning as the public face of the maligned and later-withdrawn fund and accelerating investigations into perceived Trump adversaries.

Even as he said the fund had been shelved, he made clear that immunity from tax audits afforded to Trump this year remained in place.

Those actions, plus the flawed release of files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation, received fresh scrutiny Wednesday.

“You’re in charge of a Department of Justice I don’t recognize, prosecuting the president’s political enemies, firing rank and file prosecutors and FBI agents,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware told Blanche. “These are some actions that in your previous confirmation hearing before us, you said you would not take.”

Blanche, for his part, insisted he has presided over a course correction following Justice Department investigations into Trump during the Biden administration.

“In recent years, we watched the Justice Department turned against many of you and a former president, and it damaged the public’s faith in justice,” Blanche argued. “We are fixing that.”

Blanche will need the support of each Republican on the panel

Key to Blanche’s confirmation are Cornyn of Texas, who in May lost his primary, and Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who has opted not to seek reelection. Entering the final stretches of their Senate career, both are seen as more likely than before to split from Trump and both have been outspoken critics of the fund the Trump administration created to compensate people who feel unjustly persecuted by the criminal justice system.

After questioning Blanche about the fund, Cornyn told CNN he continues “to have some concerns” and is not “going to make any decisions at this point.” Tillis, meanwhile, indicated during questioning that he is likely to support Blanche, even as he said he wanted “to stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 fund.”

The death of South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a member of the committee, level 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the panel. A no-vote by even a single Republican on the committee could scuttle his nomination.

Blanche insists the fund is dead. Lawmakers aren’t so sure

The fund emerged from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns. Blanche had initially defended the initiative only to later reveal that it was being scrapped following fierce bipartisan backlash.

The judge who presided over the case said in a scathing ruling Monday that Trump and his lawyers had manipulated the court system through the lawsuit and subsequent settlement and said she was troubled Blanche had signed the settlement given his prior representation of Trump and was concerned he had given misleading testimony. Blanche said Wednesday that he disagreed “with the judge’s insinuations about me.”

Blanche also defended a separate element of the settlement that afforded Trump and members of his family protection from tax audits and that, he has said, remains on track despite outrage over it even from Republicans. Blanche said the deal covers any existing audits but does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.

“Nobody is above the law,” Blanche said. Such a settlement “doesn’t make any of those individuals above the law.”

Epstein files are also under scrutiny

Blanche was also pressed on the department’s staggered release of the Epstein files, a process beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims. Some names, email addresses and other identifying information were either unredacted or not fully obscured.

During a lengthy podcast interview with Joe Rogan released Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said the administration “absolutely” mishandled the communications surrounding the Epstein files and its contents, including when then-Attorney General Pam Bondi distributed binders of Epstein documents at the White House to far-right influencers that turned out to contain already-public material.

Blanche acknowledged that “mistakes were made” in the release process but nonetheless defended the work.

“I want to make sure that the American people know that this administration, when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, has been more transparent than any administration,” he said, although the Justice Department only released additional files after Trump bowed to bipartisan pressure to sign a law forcing the department to do so.

A former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, Blanche arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. At one point, under friendly questioning from Republican Sen. John Kennedy about whether he and Trump are friends, Blanche responded: “I’m his lawyer,” before quickly correcting himself to say he “was his lawyer.”

He ascended to the top job in April after Trump ousted Bondi, who had frustrated the White House by struggling to bring successful cases against Trump’s political opponents. Blanche has tried to satisfy Trump in that regard, including with an indictment of ex-FBI Director James Comey, another Trump adversary, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.”

Comey has said the numbers were not a call to violence.

Blanche was also asked about Jan. 6 violence

Tillis, who has said he would not support for attorney general anyone who equivocates on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, denounced the Biden administration Justice Department for what he said were excessive prosecutions and punishments.

Democrats, meanwhile, pressed Blanche on the violence and Trump’s sweeping clemency action benefiting more than 1,500 people, including those convicted of violently attacking police.

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse criticized Blanche for comments at a political conference this year where he appeared to characterize the Jan. 6 pardons as an administration accomplishment. Blanche replied that he has “never said that any sort of violence against law enforcement is appropriate.”

“He has the absolute right to pardon anybody for any reason he sees fit,” Blanche said of the president. “I am not celebrating that. It is a fact.”

___

Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

Thursday will feature sunshine and a touch of haze. A spotty storm or two could pop with daytime heating. Temperatures are forecast to reach the mid 90s -- humidity will make it feel like 100°+.

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Deputies arrested Heihachiro Nakashima, 33, on three counts of lewd and lascivious battery after he self-surrendered on Tuesday. According to MDSO, Nakashima worked at Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, a charter school located at 22655 SW 112th Ave. in the county’s unincorporated Princeton area.

According to the MDSO warrant, the relationship with the 15-year-old girl escalated to sexual encounters after starting as text messages in which Nakashima “assumed a parental role” ― “frequently” telling the victim “he loved her,” which she interpreted as being “platonic” and coming from a “father figure.”

Those encounters happened at Nakashima’s apartment near the Dadeland Mall and Nakashima, at one point, expressed a desire to have a “boyfriend-girlfriend” relationship with the teenager, deputies said.

Appearing in court on Wednesday, Miami-Dade judge Mindy Glazer set a $15,000 bond for Nakashima. His attorney had argued that his client had no prior criminal history and was not a flight risk.

He’ll also be subject to house arrest with GPS and Glazer ordered him to stay away from the accuser.

In a letter to families referencing “recent news reports” about Nakashima’s arrest, Palm Glades administrators said in part:

“We understand that situations like this may raise questions and concerns. The school is cooperating with authorities. At this time, the school cannot provide any additional details. Please know that the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority. We continue to follow all safety protocols required by state law and are committed to fostering a supportive school environment where students and staff feel comfortable reporting concerns. We encourage all students to speak with a trusted adult if they see or experience anything that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.”

Letter to families

Deputies asked anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

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It’s the first area to watch on National Hurrican Center’s Atlantic basin map in over two weeks.

As we’ve detailed in previous newsletters, the area we’re following is an elongated strip of low pressure that’s expected to form this weekend in the elbow of Florida’s Big Bend over the northeastern Gulf.

Unlike most tropical systems whose circulations form first at the surface, this disturbance will initially have spin focused higher up in the atmosphere (at around 20,000 feet) from a mid-level spin that’ll be pinwheeling into the eastern Gulf from the Florida Straits starting on Saturday.

The less conventional setup means that the system will need time to transition down from an initially non-tropical low to a defined surface area of low pressure.

Forecast models are at odds as to whether it’ll eventually do so, and NHC has opened with a low 20% chance of development over the next 7 days, consistent with what model guidance has been advertising this week.

Impediments along the way

As we covered in Tuesday’s newsletter, the atmosphere won’t be in a ripe configuration for quick or significant tropical organization next week.

The main impediment will be moderate to at times strong northerly wind shear from a weakening upper-level low centered over the Florida peninsula late this weekend.

The development window will begin to open up on Sunday and stay largely open through next Tuesday. Models diverge next week as to whether the system slides across northeastern Florida and along the coasts of southeastern Georgia and the Carolinas or peels back westward toward the central Gulf Coast.

It’s the westward path over the northern Gulf that would leave it over record to near-record warm waters and the scenario that would raise the specter of pure tropical development.

A system moving northeastward and up the U.S. east coast would lean toward hybrid-like organization, if at all, aided by jet stream winds next week.

In either case, moderate wind shear and bouts of dry, continental air should pump the brakes on organization.

For now, models continue to advertise only low development odds, but it’s worth checking in on the trends this week, mainly because of the outside westward-moving scenarios that loiter it over the northern Gulf into middle next week.

Signal for heavy rainfall next week regardless

The upshot regardless is the potential for heavy rainfall, starting along the northeastern Gulf and west coast of Florida next week.

It’s too soon to pinpoint any potential flood risk, but soaking rains could be beneficial to drought-stricken parts of Florida if spread out over several days.

Those along the northern Gulf Coast will want to check back in the days ahead as we refine the forecast and get a better sense of where the heaviest totals might land next week.

Argentina and Lionel Messi simply kicked it down.

England led 1-0 late in the second half before Messi assisted on goals by Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of injury time to give Argentina a wild 2-1 victory Wednesday and a spot in the World Cup final against Spain.

Tuchel's tactical choices in one of the biggest matchups in one of soccer's biggest rivalries will likely be scrutinized and criticized for years. England missed its chance to return to the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.

“They won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air,” Tuchel said.

“Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. So we tried to help,” Tuchel said. “But of course the responsibility is on the coach. And … if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say that it was wrong.”

Tuchel’s chess moves just couldn’t contain Messi, the maestro of Argentina’s attacks.

England's loss marked only the second time this century that the team that scored first in a World Cup semifinal match did not reach the final, according to Opta. The other team was also England in 2018 against Croatia.

England took the lead on Anthony Gordon's goal in the 55th minute. But Argentina quickly switched the momentum with furious pressure on England's defense.

To protect the lead, England drew closer and closer to its own goal, hoping to build the sort of impenetrable wall it had when it held on to beat Mexico in the round of 16 despite being down to 10 players.

Tuchel swapped defender Reece James for Dan Burn, and midfielder Declan Rice for defender Nico O’Reilly in the 82nd minute.

“We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is not enough,” England striker Harry Kane said. “Just gutted, gutted. Because we’ve worked so hard to get here.”

Fernandez struck barely three minutes after the England substitutions, scoring on a precision right-footed strike from just outside the penalty area. Messi set up the play with a pass to his teammate's feet and England defenders failed to close him down before he ripped the shot that curled past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Argentina kept coming and England's wall kept crumbling. The defending champions hit the crossbar and missed another header across the mouth of the goal before Martinez finally sealed it with a powerful close-range header when England defenders lost him on a cross from Messi.

“They got tired,” Martinez said. "They pressed for 60 minutes and then just ran out of steam. They got their goal and then sat back. That gave us more composure to move the ball around and stretch the pitch.”

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The vote tally, 104-314, was not enough to attach the amendment to a broader national security spending bill, but stands as a stark accounting of the shifting attitudes that are dividing the Democratic Party and the nation over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war strategy, now approaching its third year.

The House's Democratic leadership split over the issue in what was largely seen as a test vote ahead of the U.S. midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. More than 100 Democrats voted for the amendment to strip the foreign military aid money, and almost as many voted against. Most Republicans voted to preserve the Israel aid.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who announced he opposed the measure that would zero out the aid, nevertheless said “that for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change.”

Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues, ahead of a private caucus meeting this week where he spoke on the issue, that he believes “there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government.”

Democrats divided over US support for Israel

The deepening divide over Israel threatens to upend the Democratic Party as it faces an energized left flank that is promoting self-proclaimed democratic socialists in a handful of marquee House races, particularly last month in New York.

While more traditional Democrats have stood with U.S. support for Israel, a growing number have distanced themselves from Netanyahu's strategy as the war has dragged on in a prolonged response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

The Democratic Whip, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, announced she would support the measure to withhold the funds.

Republicans have seized on the divide to portray Democrats as being overtaken by their more radical far-left elements, even as House Speaker Mike Johnson faces divisions within his own ranks as President Donald Trump's most ardent America First Republicans lean toward less foreign military spending.

According to an AP-NORC poll this month, about one-third of U.S. adults — including roughly half of Democrats — believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza, an accusation that’s been leveled by some human rights organizations and vehemently denied by Israel and the U.S. government.

Amendment pushed forward from Rep. Thomas Massie

The amendment to strip Israel's foreign aid was offered by Rep. Thomas Massie, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican who lost his own bid for reelection after Trump backed his challenger.

During the floor debate, Massie said the $3.3 billion could be better spent at home on U.S. roads, bridges and veterans' needs, especially as national deficits are on the rise. He said the American weapons were used on “oftentimes innocent civilians.”

“I think we should stop it — we should put them on a diet,” Massie said.

But Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, himself a former party leader, championed longtime support of Israel and warned against withdrawing U.S. aid.

“I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, which would dangerously undermine American national security," Hoyer said. He said it would limit the United States' ability to confront terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, which he said “expressly target American citizens and military personnel.”

Lawmakers under pressure as midterms near

The lawmakers were feeling pressure from all sides as they prepare for midterm elections this fall.

The powerful American-Israel group AIPAC encouraged its supporters to contact members of Congress to register their opposition.

"We must ensure his dangerous amendment is defeated," AIPAC said in a statement ahead of the vote.

At the same time, the progressive advocacy organization J Street gave lawmakers more leeway to express their views, as Jeffries did, even as the group opposed the amendment as poorly drafted and overly broad.

President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement that J Street recognizes “that, for many Democrats, this is one of the few opportunities to cast a recorded vote expressing opposition to the way American military assistance and American-supplied weapons have been used by the Israeli government in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere.”

He said that what unites the majority of Democrats “is far more significant” than this vote as they work to support “the security and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Basabe está acusado de acosar sexualmente a dos ex empleados, el pasante Jacob Cutbirth y el asistente legislativo Nicholas Frevola.

Ambos hombres alegan haber sido víctimas de tocamientos inapropiados y otras conductas poco profesionales. Como evidencia se han presentado publicaciones en X, mensajes de texto y fotografías.

Basabe, quien no es abogado y nunca estudió Derecho, decidió representarse a sí mismo durante el juicio.

Esa decisión ha provocado algunos momentos complicados para Basabe, incluidos los del miércoles, mientras presentaba sus alegatos finales ante el jurado del condado Leon.

Tras varias conversaciones en privado entre las partes y el juez, se observó repetidamente a Basabe enviando mensajes de texto desde su teléfono celular, aparentemente para obtener información relacionada con el proceso, aunque en ocasiones sin éxito.

En un momento, Basabe dijo que accidentalmente borró una página completa de sus notas.

El caso ya fue entregado al jurado, que decidirá si Basabe es responsable en el juicio civil y cuál sería la compensación económica que correspondería a las presuntas víctimas.

Una parte de la audiencia del miércoles puede verse en el video a continuación:

In September, Santos will appear on the fifth season of Fox's “Special Forces: World's Toughest Test,” a grueling contest where participants will be subjected to chemical gassing and other military themed challenges in a Malaysian jungle, the network announced Wednesday.

“I took my fat behind off the coach and tried something new!,” Santos wrote in a post on X along with a promotional image of himself standing next to a tree with a stern expression on his face. “And it changed EVERYTHING! I can’t wait to share this experience with y’all!”

He will go up against more than a dozen other contestants — including former NBA player Matt Barnes and actor Ruby Rose — in a show Fox has billed as the “ultimate test of physical, mental and emotional resilience.”

Santos was elected to the House from New York in 2022 as a Republican, but he wound up serving less than a year in the office after it was revealed he had fabricated much of his life story. He was expelled from Congress while facing criminal charges over stealing from donors and his campaign, fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and lying to Congress about his wealth.

He pleaded guilty but had his sentence commuted by President Donald Trump after serving around 84 days in prison. He later tried to reboot his political career with another run for the House but quickly abandoned the run after raising no money.

Last month, Kalshi, the online prediction marketplace, reported him to federal authorities after he boasted he would be going to Trump’s State of the Union address, then allegedly bet against his own attendance. That caused Polymarket, another online prediction platform where he was working in an influencer capacity, to end its paid relationship with him. Santos has said the allegation is "preposterous."

He did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday.

Among the challenges on Fox’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” according to the network, were a claustrophobic search of an underground bunker and a supply load retrieval while suspended high above the jungle floor.

The World Cup final is set, and fittingly, a clash of styles awaits. Lionel Messi — the most prolific goal scorer in the tournament's history — and defending champion Argentina will take on Spain's defensive juggernaut on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Spain beat France in one semifinal on Tuesday; Argentina, the comeback king of this tournament, rallied to beat England 2-1 in the other semifinal on Wednesday.

Argentina is seeking its fourth title and is looking to become the first back-to-back World Cup champion since Brazil pulled off the feat in 1958 and 1962. Spain is looking for its second title, after winning in 2010.

Argentina leads the tournament in goals scored — 19.

Spain leads the tournament in fewest goals allowed — one.

Something will have to give on Sunday, when the biggest World Cup ever — a 48-team, 104-match extravaganza spread out over the U.S., Canada and Mexico — comes to an end.

It's not Finalissima. It's going to be better.

South American champion Argentina and European champion Spain were supposed to meet in Doha, Qatar, in late March in Finalissima, a showdown between the teams led by Messi and Lamine Yamal in a prequel of the World Cup.

That game never happened. Security became an issue because of unrest in the Middle East, with Iran intensifying its attacks on neighboring countries at that time in retaliation to the aerial attacks by United States and Israel in a war that is still ongoing. The game was called off.

So, instead of playing at Lusail Stadium, the site of the epic 2022 World Cup final where Messi and Argentina won on penalty kicks over France and Kylian Mbappé, they'll play just outside of New York in soccer's biggest game.

It'll be a showdown of soccer's present versus soccer's future, not to mention a showdown of the teams that held the top two spots in FIFA's world rankings entering the World Cup — Argentina at No. 1, Spain at No. 2.

There was a famous photo taken in 2007 when Messi was part of a UNICEF program and posed with a baby.

Yamal was that baby. Like Messi (who now plays for Inter Miami), Yamal would become a left-footed star for Spanish club Barcelona. It is the most improbable of stories: From a photo together two decades ago, the two stars are set to be together again to end this year's World Cup.

A picture-perfect finish.

How Spain got here

— Record: Six wins, one draw, zero losses.

— Goals for: 13.

— Goals against: 1.

— Group stage: drew with Cape Verde 0-0, beat Saudi Arabia 4-0, beat Uruguay 1-0.

— Knockout stage: beat Austria 3-0, beat Portugal 1-0, beat Belgium 2-1, beat France 2-0.

How Argentina got here

Record: Seven wins, zero draws, zero losses.

Goals for: 19.

Goals against: 7.

Group stage: beat Algeria 3-0, beat Austria 2-0, beat Jordan 3-1.

Knockout stage: beat Cape Verde 3-2, beat Egypt 3-2, beat Switzerland 3-1, beat England 2-1.

Streaking

Both teams enter the final with impressive unbeaten streaks.

— Spain is carrying a 37-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and friendlies into the final, having won 28 of those matches with nine draws. Its last loss was 1-0 to Colombia in March 2024.

— Argentina is unbeaten in its last 13 World Cup matches, with 11 victories and two draws since falling to Saudi Arabia to open group play at the 2022 tournament.

The odds

Spain (+120) has been installed as the early favorite over Argentina (+275). Odds for a draw were quickly set at +200, and it's reasonable to think all those numbers could change considerably before the title matchup.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Este miércoles, un juez de Miami-Dade determinó que Precious Bland, de 38 años, no será internada en una institución.

El caso se remonta al verano de 2021, cuando Bland sostuvo que el COVID-19 fue el responsable de sus acciones y que el virus le provocó una psicosis temporal.

Los investigadores informaron que intentaba bautizar a su familia después de escuchar voces en su cabeza que le decían que Jesús regresaba.

Bland permaneció tranquila al salir de la sala del tribunal la mañana del miércoles, mientras su abogado se detuvo para hablar con los medios.

“Fue declarada no culpable de todos los cargos, pero aun así tiene que vivir con el hecho y las circunstancias de algo que estuvo fuera de su control, que convirtió la vida con la que soñaba en una pesadilla, y eso será para siempre”, dijo el abogado defensor Larry Handfield.

Handfield dijo que Bland, quien ya pasó varios años en prisión, está enfocada en reconstruir su vida.

Martelly no ha explicado los motivos del viaje, aunque medios locales han informado que se tiene previsto que testifique como parte de la investigación sobre el asesinato del expresidente Jovenel Moïse, quien murió en julio de 2021.

El exmandatario ha sido acusado formalmente en el caso, que lo llevó por a visitar Haití por última vez hace aproximadamente tres años.

Decenas de simpatizantes recibieron a Martelly, quien fue presidente de 2011 a 2016 y vive en Estados Unidos.

No respondió preguntas mientras se abría paso entre la multitud. En medio de un ambiente festivo música, sus seguidores levantaron pancartas con su fotografía mientras gritaban: “¡El padre ha vuelto!” y “¡Viva Martelly!”.

Martelly había elegido a Moïse como su sucesor; ambos son miembros del partido Tèt Kale, o PHTK, el cual ha desempeñado un destacado papel en la política haitiana, pero no inscribió a un candidato para las próximas elecciones generales, las primeras en más de una década.

Martelly, un músico conocido como “Sweet Micky”, enfrenta acusaciones de corrupción desde hace tiempo.

Canadá impuso sanciones sobre Martelly en noviembre de 2022 y Estados Unidos hizo lo mismo en agosto de 2024, después de acusarlo de facilitar actividades de narcotráfico y patrocinar a pandillas.

“El saqueo del futuro de Haití por parte de las élites políticas y económicas haitianas es inaceptable”, señaló el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos en su momento.

El Consejo de la Unión Europea anunció en diciembre de 2025 restricciones de viaje y la congelación de activos contra políticos haitianos, incluido Martelly, a quien acusó de armar y financiar pandillas para impulsar su agenda política, controlar territorio y defender sus intereses personales y económicos.

La Unidad Anticorrupción de Haití también ha acusado a Martelly de falsear su patrimonio.

Martelly no ha abordado públicamente las acusaciones.

La llegada de Martelly se produce mientras la pobreza y la violencia de pandillas van en aumento en Haití.

___

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

During a lengthy podcast interview with Joe Rogan released Wednesday, Vance pointed largely to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who infamously stated that an alleged “client list” of Epstein’s was “sitting on my desk right now.” Epstein was a convicted sex offender who was known for his wide web of connections to the world's elite.

In addition to those comments, the Justice Department under Bondi had also offered conservative commentators and influencers binders that were called “The Epstein files: Phase 1″ and “Declassified.”

“I know Pam. I like Pam. I don’t think there was anything malicious going on,” Vance told Rogan. “I think Pam was trying to respond to the political moment. I think she overstated what we had and what we didn’t have.”

As a result, Vance said, Bondi was “roasted” publicly for it and led people to “mistrust” the administration’s transparency efforts on the Epstein files.

“We absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files. Like, we just did,” Vance said. “But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No.”

The controversy over the Epstein files dogged the administration for much of last year, with lawmakers eventually passing a measure that compelled the release of a massive trove of documents in the government's possession related to its investigations of the disgraced financier. The Justice Department began releasing the documents in late December, which included photos, call logs, grand jury testimony and interview transcripts.

La decisión fue anunciada por la presidenta mexicana Claudia Sheibaum tras un encuentro que sostuvo el miércoles con Mulino en el palacio de gobierno donde también se acordó fortalecer la cooperación en materia comercial, en agroindustria, seguridad, turismo, inversiones e infraestructura.

Al expresar el respaldo de México, el protocolo del Canal, Sheinbaum afirmó que compartía con su par panameño la convicción de que los desafíos actuales solo pueden enfrentarse con colaboración y “el fortalecimiento de nuestras soberanías y nuestras instituciones”.

El protocolo de neutralidad forma parte de los tratados sobre el Canal de Panamá que suscribieron en 1977 el entonces presidente estadounidense Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) con el mandatario panameño Omar Torrijos (1968-1981), ambos ya fallecidos. En los tratados se estableció la transferencia a Panamá en diciembre de 1999 del Canal que Estados Unidos construyó en el siglo pasado y que explotó durante más de 80 años.

Al menos 40 países se han adherido al protocolo que prevé la neutralidad del Canal en tiempos de paz y de guerra y que permanezca seguro y abierto para el tránsito pacífico de las naves de todas las naciones y que no sea objetivo de represalias en ningún conflicto bélico.

Mulino agradeció a la mandataria mexicana el apoyo a la soberanía de Panamá y al Canal como “herramienta neutral del comercio mundial”, y aprovechó para instar a otros países de la región a respaldar el protocolo.

Tras la reunión entre los dos mandatarios, el canciller mexicano Roberto Velasco dijo en un mensaje de su cuenta de X que los equipos de ambos gobiernos trabajan para fortalecer las inversiones, impulsar una mayor conectividad y generar mayores oportunidades para las empresas.

“México y Panamá cuenta con una relación estratégica que combina un diálogo político cercano con una agenda económica en expansión”, añadió.

El comercio entre los dos países creció 21% en 2025, en comparación con el año previo, y se ubicó en 1.400 millones de dólares, según cifras del gobierno mexicano.

En abril pasado, el presidente panañemo manifestó preocupación por el aumento de las detenciones de buques panañema en puertos de China y calificó la situación como un “mensaje político”. Mulino sostuvo que Panamá había quedado en medio de las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y China.

El Canal de Panamá, una vía interoceánica de 82 kilómetros que conecta el océano Atlántico con el Pacífico a través del istmo de Panamá, es considerado como una infraestructura vital para el comercio internacional ya que por allí pasan aproximadamente 14.000 buques al año.

Ante el conflicto bélico del Oriente Medio que ha derivado en el cierre temporal del estrecho de Ormuz por parte de Irán en respuesta a los ataques de Estados Unidos, el Canal de Panamá ha adquirido una importancia estratégica y es visto como una posible vía segura para el transporte de la carga marítima mundial.

Acting as honorary general managers, WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon each drafted All-Star teams Wednesday from players that previously were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players or chosen as reserves by the league's coaches.

Previously, the top two fan vote-getters would serve as captains and draft their own teams. This year that would have been Dallas' Paige Bueckers and Indiana's Caitlin Clark. Instead, they were each assigned to a team, with Bueckers headlining Cooper's team and Clark atop Weatherspoon's squad.

Joining Bueckers in the starting lineup were New York's Breanna Stewart, Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell, Minnesota's Natasha Howard and Golden State's Gabby Williams. Weatherspoon picked Las Vegas' Wilson, Minnesota's Olivia Miles, Indiana's Aliyah Boston and Dallas' Jessica Shepard.

Cooper had the first pick of the reserves and chose Atlanta's Angel Reese. She'll play against her two Dream teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, who were chosen by Weatherspoon.

Cooper also drafted Toronto's Marina Mabrey, Seattle's Dominique Malonga, Los Angeles' Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas' Jackie Young and Washington's Sonia Citron as reserves. Weatherspoon also took New York's Jonquel Jones, Minnesota's Courtney Williams, Washington's Kiki Iriafen and Los Angeles' Nneka Ogwumike. Ogwumike, an 11-time All-Star, was chosen with the final pick of the draft.

Las Vegas' Becky Hammon will coach Cooper's team and Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve will be in charge of Weatherspoon's squad. Las Vegas and Minnesota had identical records through July 10, but the Aces had a tiebreaker with their victory over the Lynx. That put Hammon in charge of Bueckers' squad because she was the leading vote-getter.

Portland, Chicago, Connecticut and Phoenix have no All-Stars.

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

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It happened Wednesday afternoon near a Dunkin’ at 9801 Pines Blvd. in Pembroke Pines.

According to Pembroke Pines police, the man driving the car ran away after crashing outside the establishment.

Officers said the man, who has not been identified, was taken into custody following a brief chase.

There has been no word on what charges that man may be facing.

El incidente ocurrió la tarde del miércoles cerca de un Dunkin’, ubicado en el 9801 de Pines Boulevard, en Pembroke Pines.

Según la Policía de Pembroke Pines, el conductor huyó a pie después de chocar su vehículo frente al establecimiento.

Los agentes informaron que el hombre, cuya identidad no ha sido revelada, fue arrestado tras una breve persecución.

Hasta el momento no se ha informado qué cargos podría enfrentar.

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According to BSO, the May 26 burglary was the result of a falling out between the victim and her former close friend Natasha Ann Howell.

Deputies said Howell, 26, “took to social media on multiple occasions” to denounce the victim and tensions had escalated to physical violence between the two.

According to an arrest warrant, beginning on May 11, Howell made multiple threatening posts to WhatsApp toward the victim, including “I bought ya whole information for only $6, now my homeboy gonna run it up” and “SLAPPED ON MAY 21ST.”

Deputies said she also posted a picture on her WhatsApp story “of herself holding a pistol, followed by a recorded voice note in patois in which she allegedly stated she intended to use the firearm against (the victim) and would be happy about it, further placing (the victim) in fear for her safety.”

According to the warrant, Howell then involved Kassandra Mitiale, whom the victim knew since middle school, in the feud.

Authorities said Mitiale, 23, joined Howell in a phone call at one point and encouraged the victim to fight Howell, who threatened to send Mitiale to the victim’s father’s home to fight her ― and apparently followed through, though the victim was not there at the time.

Deputies said during the early morning hours of May 25, Howell showed up at the victim’s home and pepper-sprayed her doorbell camera. Later that evening, they said Howell and the victim got into a fight at a Hollywood nightclub.

Then, just before 3 a.m. on May 26, Howell posted the victim’s address to her Instagram story and said, “You gotta go,” according to the warrant.

Authorities said at 8:30 that morning, Howell called the victim and told her to “come outside,” implying she was at the victim’s apartment complex. Then, at 9:45 a.m., deputies said Howell called her saying she was five minutes away; the victim wasn’t home.

According to the warrant, just after 10:45 a.m., the victim received a notification from the Ring app and saw two masked women ― whom deputies believe to be Howell and Mitiale ― outside of her door.

Authorities said footage showed them tearing the camera from the wall and “attempt(ing) to kick in her front door before the footage ended.”

Police said at around 11 a.m., Howell and Mitiale called the victim, with the former saying, “Ask her about her makeup,” referencing cosmetics that had been damaged in the burglary.

Deputies said the woman got home to find her door kicked in and “nearly all of her personal belongings” damaged. On top of that, her orange tabby cat was missing and still has not been found.

According to the warrant, while BSO deputies were at the scene, Howell called the victim again and “further insinuated” that she and Mitiale were behind it all, telling the victim, “We are not done yet” and “your boyfriend is next,” once again trying to provoke the victim into a fight.

Authorities said Howell posted video to her Instagram story showing three people inside of the victim’s apartment “damaging personal property.”

“During the video, a female voice could be heard yelling, ‘Kassandra!’ Additionally, Ring camera footage obtained from a neighbor living below (the victim’s) apartment showed two Black females walking toward the apartment at approximately 10:47 a.m., moments before the burglary occurred,” the warrant states. “(The victim) viewed the footage and immediately identified Kassandra as one of the females shown.”

Records show deputies arrested Mitiale on May 28 on charges of aggravated stalking, burglary and criminal mischief. She later posted a bond of more than $100,000.

Meanwhile, Howell was taken into custody on Monday on charges of burglary, cyberintimidation by publication, aggravated stalking, written threats to kill and criminal mischief.

Records show that Howell was given a hefty $130,000 bond and was being held in BSO’s Paul Rein Detention Facility.

But she’s not just facing criminal trouble: the Jamaican national also remained locked up on an immigration hold as of Wednesday.

John Merrone, 53, pleaded guilty just as his trial was about to start in Brooklyn federal court. He admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the cadet without her consent “on the ship, in the middle of the ocean” after knocking her out with an intoxicant in 2019.

A jury had been picked and the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, was in the courthouse waiting to testify. Prosecutors were also planning to call as witnesses several other women who have accused Merrone of sexual assaults over the last three decades.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified.

Merrone was previously convicted of false imprisonment and battery after a Florida Keys waitress accused him of having sex with her against her will, but an appeals court overturned the verdict and prosecutors didn't retry the case.

Ex-cadet says ‘It’s over' after a six-year wait for justice

The former cadet, who still works in the maritime industry, watched through tears from the courtroom gallery as Merrone impassively said “guilty” to each of five charges, including aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact.

Her lawyer, Ryan Melogy, said she turned to him afterward and said, “It's over.”

“Sex crimes are notoriously difficult to prosecute in general,” Melogy said. “When they occur in the middle of the ocean aboard a ship, the level of difficulty involved in prosecuting them probably increases exponentially.”

Merrone faces up to life in prison, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Kayla Bensing said federal sentencing guidelines call for about 15 to 19 years behind bars. Merrone's lawyers said they think that estimate is too high. The guidelines are advisory, and the judge, Ramon E. Reyes Jr., could sentence him to more or less time.

Merrone will remain free on bail until sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 22. He and his lawyers, Bruce Barket and Nicole Aloise, declined to comment as they left court.

“It is my hope that today’s guilty plea will give the survivor of this attack some measure of closure knowing that the defendant has been held accountable for his despicable conduct,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.

In a statement, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy said it “remains committed to providing a safe, professional, and respectful learning environment for all midshipmen, both on campus and at sea.”

Captain raped cadet after inviting her to his room for ‘soda’

According to prosecutors, Merrone began sending the cadet and another student Facebook messages a few weeks before they boarded his ship, the 623-foot-long (190-meter-long) Liberty Glory, for a voyage from Bahrain to Corpus Christi, Texas.

On Sept. 9, 2019, after more than a month onboard and with a little more than a week left in the journey, prosecutors said Merrone messaged the cadet and her friend asking that they come to his room for a “soda.”

“Captain you know I stay away from soda !” the cadet wrote.

“U may like my soda!?!?” Merrone replied.

The women acquiesced, prosecutors said, and the captain poured them each a drink from an already open bottle of alcohol, then opened a new bottle and poured a drink for himself.

Soon after having some of the drinks, the women “lost recollection of the remainder of the evening,” prosecutors said.

The cadet awoke the next morning in her bed wearing only a shirt and bra but not pants or underwear, feeling nauseous; she had a headache and felt vaginal discomfort, prosecutors said. Her friend awoke with stomach cramping and a debilitating headache, prosecutors said. She did not accuse Merrone of sexual assault.

Merrone called the cadet to his room and told her he had “fun last night,” that “one thing led to another” and asked her to do it again, prosecutors said. After the cadet told him she didn't remember what happened and that the encounter was not consensual, Merrone offered her money, which she declined, prosecutors said.

Merrone later sent the cadet a photograph of herself holding money on what she believed to be from the night of the assault, along with a message: “lol. That how u make a woman happy!!!!” She didn't recall the photo being taken, prosecutors said.

After that, prosecutors said, the captain went to the cadet's room and pulled from his pocket the underwear she had been wearing the night of the assault.

Sea Year program has been plagued by sexual abuse concerns

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, in Kings Point, New York, trains students to work in the commercial shipping industry. It has an enrollment of about 1,000 students. It is one of five military service academies, and the only one under the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In 2016, the academy temporarily shut down the Sea Year program, which sends cadets to work on container ships, oil tankers, passenger liners and other vessels, amid sexual abuse and bullying concerns. The program resumed in 2017 on vessels operated by three companies that the academy said had implemented new preventive policies.

The Sea Year program was suspended again in 2021 after another cadet said a cargo ship supervisor got her drunk and raped her. It resumed after more safety protocols were put in place.

Congress passed the Safer Seas Act, which strengthened reporting requirements for sexual offenses aboard U.S.-flag commercial vessels. The academy updated its amnesty policy to encourage reporting by sexual assault and harassment victims and witnesses.

It has expanded prevention education and support resources, provides all cadets with satellite phones during Sea Year and conducts confidential interviews with cadets returning from the program.

The academy, in its statement, said it “will continue working with Congress, industry partners, and its federal partners to further strengthen the safety and well-being of every midshipman.”

“Desde el 1 de enero hasta el 15 de julio hemos realizado 78 rescates en nuestra playa”, dijo la teniente Melissa Porro, de la Policía de Sunny Isles Beach.

Para comprobar cómo funciona la tecnología, Local 10 News la puso a prueba.

Durante la demostración, el dron voló sobre el área y lanzó un dispositivo de flotación directamente al agua.

El procedimiento puede verse en el video proporcionado por la Policía de Sunny Isles Beach.

El departamento informó que el dron puede ser desplegado las 24 horas del día, los siete días de la semana, y que puede llegar hasta un nadador en menos de un minuto.

“Por ahora es bueno ver de lo que es capaz y tenemos la esperanza de que eventualmente podamos utilizarlo”, dijo Porro.

An Associated Press reporter and photographer viewed the fenced-off Reflecting Pool on Wednesday from the top of the Washington Monument. The new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June. Debris that had been visible earlier this week after the pool was drained is now largely gone, after work crews removed it.

Trump’s problem-plagued effort to revamp the landmark has stretched well past his initial goal of having the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 for the nation’s 250th birthday.

The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June.

Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project's initial completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Vandalism charges were levied against a former Olympic canoeist

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for the peeling paint, though critics allege it’s from shoddy repair work.

Trump has said, without citing evidence, that vandals made a “350-foot gash” in the liner and caused other problems. No large slash marks were immediately visible Wednesday from the Washington Monument view. It was not possible to do a more up-close inspection of the entire pool due to a dark fence surrounding the perimeter.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, said that after the water is drained and debris is cleaned from Independence Day fireworks, the plan for the pool is straightforward: “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again." He was speaking with conservative podcaster Katie Miller.

Court documents show that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool’s new liner.

Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.

His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.

The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch. between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

Se llama “Cooper”: una tableta impulsada por inteligencia artificial instalada en el carrito de compras y diseñada para actuar como un asistente personal durante las compras.

Julian Janna creó el sistema principalmente para resolver las frustraciones interminables que suelen surgir al hacer las compras.

“Alguien puede estar comprando para su familia, otra persona puede estar comprando para una parrillada, así que queremos ofrecer una experiencia personalizada para cada cliente”, dijo Janna. “Lo veo como cuando mi mamá le da a mi papá una lista de cosas para comprar y él dice: “No tengo idea de dónde está nada de esto”. Eso es exactamente lo que buscamos resolver”.

Milam’s Market está a la vanguardia de este movimiento tecnológico y, según la empresa, el sistema es fácil de usar. Los clientes pueden simplemente tomar un carrito y comenzar a comprar o incluso cargar su lista de compras para que aparezca en la tableta.

La aplicación muestra un mapa en tiempo real de la ubicación del cliente dentro de la tienda y, si no está seguro de qué producto comprar, Cooper también puede ayudar respondiendo preguntas generales sobre los productos.

Milam’s indicó que todo esto forma parte de un esfuerzo para ayudar a los clientes. La aplicación se encuentra actualmente en fase beta, pero la respuesta ha sido positiva.

“Porque nos demuestra que los clientes están interesados y dispuestos a probar algo nuevo”, dijo Chad Milam, director administrativo de Milam’s Market. “Lo que vemos en los datos es que los clientes regresan a usarla una y otra vez”.

Houston agreed to pay Milwaukee $4,227,273 to offset most of McCullers' remaining salary, leaving his cost to the Brewers at $2.5 million. Astros general manager Dana Brown said they created flexibility in payroll and the roster for a team currently three games back of Texas in the AL West.

“Make no mistakes, we are still trying to improve this team," Brown said. "We are still actively talking about acquiring a left-hand bat.”

Milwaukee cleared space on the 40-man roster by placing left-hander Rob Zastryzny to the 60-day injured list.

Milwaukee went into the All-Star break with a five-game lead in the NL Central and trailed the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for best record in the NL. The Brewers' 3.48 ERA ranks second in the majors behind only the New York Yankees but injuries to their starting rotation left them seeking depth.

Two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff is on the 60-day injured list after an MRI exam revealed a new injury to the anterior capsule in his shoulder, which was surgically repaired after the 2023 season. Left-hander Kyle Harrison was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with tightness in his throwing forearm.

McCullers, 32, is son of former big league reliever Lance McCullers. He helped Houston win the World Series in 2017 and 2022, and has spent his entire career with the Astros.

McCullers Jr. is 53-40 with a 3.85 ERA over 154 games. He was an All-Star in 2017, had Tommy John surgery in November 2018 and missed the 2019 season. Surgery in June 2023 kept him out through the 2024 season, and Brown said McCullers was an inspiration for grinding through the injuries.

“He was battling to come back," Brown said. "I think Milwaukee having a few injuries right now made sense that he can get some opportunity there.”

He has $6,727,273 remaining of his $17 million salary in the final season of an $85 million, five-year contract. The Astros will pay Milwaukee $914,005 on July 31, $1,770,885 on Aug, 31 and $1,542,383 on Sept. 30.

McCullers, is 2-3 with a 6.86 ERA in eight starts. Inflammation in his right shoulder landed him on the 15-day IL on May 19, and he has been on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Gordon, 27, made his major league debut in 2025. He went 6-4 with a 5.34 ERA and a save in 20 games. Gordon has started one of his four appearances with Houston this season.

Fielder, 21, the son of former Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and grandson of Cecil Fielder, made his professional debut in 2025. He was in Class A before the trade. Brown called Fielder a true professional and patient hitter with good plate discipline.

“Most likely will play the outfield, although he’s played some first base and second base. But you know good bloodlines, of course,” Brown said. "And you know just the opportunity to acquire a young bat”

___

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

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That’s more than a billion dollars over prior estimates provided to the county by their consultant. A new incinerator would replace one that burned down in February 2023.

In a memorandum to commissioners issued on Monday, Levine Cava said she’s recommending that they pause negotiations with the joint developer consortium, which is made up of two companies, Florida Power and Light and FCC Environmental Services.

In the memo, Levine Cava said, “The administration has a responsibility to act as a careful steward of public funds and ratepayer dollars. To proceed in a non-competitive manner requires a finding that waiving competition is in the best interests of the county. It is not possible at this time to make that finding.”

Mayor’s memo:

The mayor also added that the county could reopen the bidding process “to ensure the county gets the best deal.”

In a statement, FPL said that it “remains committed to partnering with Miami-Dade County to advance a long-term, sustainable waste to energy solution” but said Levine Cava’s “characterization that project costs are ‘more than a billion dollars over prior estimates’ requires additional context.”

“All cost figures provided to date are planning-level estimates based on differing assumptions and are not directly comparable to other proposals,” the statement reads. “Importantly, until due diligence is complete, the Consortium cannot provide final pricing. We continue to stand ready to proceed once the County provides key policy direction including site selection and a signed interim agreement.”

In 2024, Levine Cava recommended building the new facility in Doral at the same site of the original incinerator.

But that plan fell apart after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, since the facility would be built close to his Doral golf club and would need approval from federal regulators.

But deciding against the Doral facility will cost the county between $300 and $400 million more to build it at an alternative site, according to a 2025 report from the county’s consultant.

The problem currently facing Miami-Dade is getting waste out of the county.

Right now, Miami-Dade is transporting its waste to landfills in other parts of the state because county landfills are full.

Miami-Dade produces 5 million tons of waste per year, a figure much higher than the national average. And building a new facility is a tall task, taking anywhere from seven to 10 years.

This means the county is continuing to transport their trash elsewhere, and, in the process, harming our planet even more.

Según la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado Monroe, el incidente ocurrió poco antes de las 11:30 a.m. en el 4250 de Overseas Highway, en Marathon.

Los agentes informaron que el trabajador, identificado como Victor Vivian Cano Franco, de 37 años y residente de Marathon, fue declarado muerto en el lugar.

“El incidente ocurrió en un área donde la roca es triturada en piezas más pequeñas”, publicó la MCSO en su página de Facebook. “La víctima aparentemente fue impactada por un cargador frontal. La víctima fue golpeada en la parte media del cuerpo y, como resultado, su cuerpo fue cercenado”.

Los agentes informaron que investigan el incidente, pero no sospechan que haya habido mano criminal.

También indicaron que notificaron a la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (OSHA).

But more than 100 inmates were rewarded with a special viewing of the World Cup semifinal match Wednesday between England and Argentina because of their model behavior behind bars.

The inmates, dressed in tan uniforms, took seats at tables facing a large projection screen set up in a gymnasium. The jail has hosted about 90 such watch parties since the tournament kicked off last month, with about 4,500 of the roughly 6,600 inmates incarcerated on the 400-acre island participating, correction officials said.

“Programs like this equal safety in our jail,” said Stanley Richards, the city’s correction commissioner and a former Rikers inmate. “What we say to them is that your humanity is seen, heard and valued.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who briefly stopped by, added: “The World Cup has been a magical moment for the entire city. These are New Yorkers, and they will be New Yorkers when they get out of Rikers.”

The scene Wednesday was in sharp contrast to complaints about Rikers Island that have been so bad in recent years that a federal judge appointed an outside manager to help improve the facility.

On Tuesday, that federal overseer, former Vermont Department of Corrections head Nicholas Deml, submitted a plan for reforms that underscored the continued dysfunction at the facility, which opened in 1935.

The report described one instance when inspectors arrived at a housing unit to find it filled with smoke from fires set by prisoners, blaring alarms and people pounding on their cell doors. In another incident, prisoners streamed through an unsecured door and brawled after a guard abandoned his post.

“Violence remains pervasive, basic correctional practices remain unreliable, and unconstitutional conditions persist,” the report said.

Mamdani has vowed to honor a 2019 city law mandating the closure of Rikers, but also conceded the 2027 deadline is likely unrealistic after years of delays.

With his white shirt sleeves rolled up, the Democrat went table-by-table chatting up inmates.

One told the mayor he expected Argentina to prevail over England and go on to face Spain, which had defeated France the day earlier.

“You never know,” said Mamdani, a professed Morocco fan.

At another table, an inmate told the mayor he was going home later in the day. “That’s amazing,” Mamdani said, patting his back.

The jailhouse crowd erupted in a mix of groans and cheers as England struck first with a goal early in the second half.

Ralph Veal was among the minority of England fans who raised his arms in celebration. The 53-year-old Mount Vernon resident, who has been incarcerated since November, said the watch party made him reflect on how he might better approach life after jail.

“I could be doing this with my family, you know?” he said. “My son, he’s a big soccer fan, so this would be great for me and him to have that relationship and that bond.”

Others simply relished the chance for a rare treat: a freshly catered meal of salad, salmon, penne alla vodka and chicken parmesan, along with Snapple drinks.

“I’ve been locked up 21 months," said Thomas McCoy, 52, of Brooklyn. “It’s been a long time since I had real food like that.”

When the final whistle blew and Argentina earned a spot against Spain in the final Sunday, Victor Caldas was overcome with emotions.

The 39-year-old, who has been incarcerated for four months, has been rooting for Argentina since his home country of Ecuador was knocked out of the tournament.

“It reminds me of when I was a kid, playing soccer. It’s all about love. Soccer brings a lot of love,” he said, still staring at the final score as others started cleaning up the gym.

“It don’t matter from where you are in the world, you know. It’s about bonding with another culture, other people.”

Según la BSO, el robo ocurrido el 26 de mayo fue el resultado del deterioro de la amistad entre la víctima y su ex amiga cercana, Natasha Ann Howell.

Los agentes informaron que Howell, de 26 años, “publicó en múltiples ocasiones en redes sociales” mensajes para desacreditar a la víctima y que las tensiones entre ambas habían escalado hasta llegar a la violencia física.

Según una orden de arresto, a partir del 11 de mayo, Howell publicó múltiples mensajes amenazantes en WhatsApp dirigidos a la víctima, entre ellos: “Compré toda tu información por solo $6 USD, ahora mi amigo se va a encargar” y “ABOFETEADA EL 21 DE MAYO”.

Los agentes informaron que también publicó en su estado de WhatsApp una fotografía de ella sosteniendo una pistola, seguida de una nota de voz grabada en patois en la que presuntamente decía que tenía la intención de usar el arma de fuego contra la víctima y que estaría feliz de hacerlo, lo que aumentó el temor de la víctima por su seguridad.

Según la orden, Howell involucró posteriormente en la disputa a Kassandra Mitiale, a quien la víctima conocía desde la escuela secundaria.

Las autoridades informaron que Mitiale, de 23 años, participó junto con Howell en una llamada telefónica y alentó a la víctima a pelear con Howell, quien amenazó con enviar a Mitiale a la casa del padre de la víctima para enfrentarse con ella, amenaza que aparentemente cumplió, aunque la víctima no se encontraba allí en ese momento.

Los agentes informaron que, durante la madrugada del 25 de mayo, Howell llegó a la vivienda de la víctima y roció con gas pimienta la cámara del timbre. Más tarde esa misma noche, Howell y la víctima se involucraron en una pelea en un club nocturno de Hollywood.

Luego, poco antes de las 3:00 a.m. del 26 de mayo, Howell publicó la dirección de la víctima en su historia de Instagram junto con el mensaje: “Tienes que irte”, según la orden.

Las autoridades informaron que a las 8:30 a.m. de ese día Howell llamó a la víctima y le dijo que “saliera”, dando a entender que estaba en el complejo de apartamentos de la víctima. Luego, a las 9:45 a.m., los agentes informaron que Howell volvió a llamarla para decirle que estaba a cinco minutos de llegar, aunque la víctima no se encontraba en su casa.

Según la orden, poco después de las 10:45 a.m., la víctima recibió una notificación de la aplicación Ring y vio a dos mujeres con el rostro cubierto, quienes, según los agentes, eran Howell y Mitiale, frente a la puerta de su vivienda.

Las autoridades informaron que las imágenes muestran a ambas arrancando la cámara de la pared e “intentando derribar la puerta principal a patadas antes de que terminara la grabación”.

La Policía informó que alrededor de las 11:00 a.m., Howell y Mitiale llamaron a la víctima, y Howell le dijo: “Pregúntale por su maquillaje”, en referencia a los cosméticos que habían sido dañados durante el robo.

Los agentes informaron que, al regresar a su vivienda, la mujer encontró la puerta forzada y “casi todas sus pertenencias personales” dañadas. Además, su gato atigrado color naranja desapareció y aún no ha sido encontrado.

Según la orden, mientras agentes de la BSO estaban en la escena, Howell volvió a llamar a la víctima y “dio a entender nuevamente” que ella y Mitiale eran responsables de lo ocurrido, diciéndole: “Todavía no hemos terminado” y “tu novio es el siguiente”, intentando una vez más provocar una pelea.

Las autoridades informaron que Howell publicó un video en su historia de Instagram en el que se veía a tres personas dentro del apartamento de la víctima dañando pertenencias personales.

“Durante el video se escucha la voz de una mujer gritando: “¡Kassandra!”. Además, imágenes de una cámara Ring obtenidas de un vecino que vive debajo del apartamento de la víctima mostraron a dos mujeres afroamericanas caminando hacia el apartamento aproximadamente a las 10:47 a.m., momentos antes de que ocurriera el robo”, señala la orden. “La víctima vio las imágenes e identificó de inmediato a Kassandra como una de las mujeres que aparecían en el video”.

Los registros muestran que los agentes arrestaron a Mitiale el 28 de mayo por cargos de acoso agravado, robo a vivienda y daños criminales. Posteriormente pagó una fianza superior a $100,000 USD.

Por su parte, Howell fue arrestada el lunes y enfrenta cargos de robo a vivienda, ciberintimidación mediante publicaciones, acoso agravado, amenazas escritas de muerte y daños criminales.

Los registros muestran que a Howell se le fijó una fianza de $130,000 USD y permanecía detenida en el Centro de Detención Paul Rein de la BSO.

Sin embargo, no solo enfrenta problemas penales: la ciudadana jamaiquina también permanecía detenida hasta el miércoles debido a una retención migratoria.

The Chicago-based carrier announced plans this week to roll out a new row of its “Economy Plus” seats with no neighbor in the middle spot — and instead use the space for a shared table (and more elbow room) between the aisle and window travelers.

The offering is only set to be available in one row on United's new Airbus A321XLR aircraft, with pricing and sales expected to be disclosed later this year. But United suggested it could expand the no-middle-seat option to other planes down the road.

The move arrives amid a broader push from airlines advertising more and more special tiers and separate add-ons to their flights — particularly when it comes to courting passengers who are willing to pay more for comfort.

United is following the footsteps of a handful of European airlines, including Lufthansa and Finnair, already offering empty middle seats to business class passengers. And other carriers have also allowed travelers for years to pay extra or buy additional tickets to keep seats near them empty.

United said Tuesday that it expects to be “the only U.S. airline” to have these kind of rows. The middle seat has long been bemoaned by travelers — both those in the aisle and window seats that have to share an armrest or more with whoever is occupying the middle seat, and for those passengers stuck wedged in a middle seat between two others.

The latest no-middle-seat option also arrives just months after the airline announced the “United Relax Rows,” which, starting early next year, will allow passengers in economy class to turn a row of three seats on some wider Boeing planes into a couch they can sleep or lounge on after takeoff.

“We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet,” Andrew Nocella, United’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement Tuesday. She said both of these new offerings give customers more “choice and value in every cabin.”

Across carriers, passengers on the same flight can still have strikingly different travel experiences. And while there's demand for roomier seats and other perks, some budget-conscious travelers may feel a widening gap between the back and front of the plane — or frustration over new fees for services that were once free and added tiers to juggle when comparing fares.

A handful of big-name airlines, like Delta, have embraced strategies to provide “the best” — not the cheapest — offerings. Meanwhile, United executives have pushed back on the idea that the industry has become solely focused on chasing big spenders, maintaining that premium investments are part of a broader strategy to improve every traveler's experience.

The proceedings against 485 members of the international criminal Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang on charges that include homicide, extortion, drugs, arms and human trafficking, have drawn criticism by human rights groups, which say they infringe on defendants’ rights under the Latin American country's state of emergency.

The state of emergency, enacted in March 2022, suspended some constitutional rights and tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been detained since then.

“First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense," said Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director for Human Rights Watch.

"This is not justice; it is giving a veneer of legality to the arrests of innocent people that should never have happened.”

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the gang members are on trial for involvement in a total of 14,420 crimes — including 444 killings — committed between 2012 and 2022. The prosecution has asked for maximum sentence for each crime, which could amount to life in prison for some and $9 million in civil damages in all.

The prosecution argued that MS-13, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, used about 1,200 children in its criminal activities, exploited 638 women, and formed 32 groups, two of which operated from outside El Salvador.

During the hearings, the prosecutors played audio recordings of calls attributed to gang leaders in which they allegedly order killings and other crimes.

The trial was conducted virtually and the defendants appeared on camera from their detention center — the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a megaprison built by the government of President Nayib Bukele. The facility, where visits, recreation and education are prohibited, has also housed hundreds of migrants deported from the U.S.

It's unclear when the verdict is expected.

El Salvador has made this form of collective trials possible under a July 2023 reform of its criminal code, which allows for those detained under the state of emergency to be grouped according to their gangs or territories.

Officials say that since the state of emergency was imposed, more than 92,480 people accused of belonging to gangs or having ties to them have been imprisoned.

Bukele has said that 8,000 innocent people have been released. Human rights organizations, meanwhile, say they have registered more than 6,000 complaints of human rights violations and arbitrary detentions, and documented the deaths of at least 547 people in custody.

Despite the criticism, the state of emergency remains popular in El Salvador, where many residents have grown tired of the years of violence and praise Bukele for his approach to improving security.

This is the country's second mass trial of gang members. Last November, 45 members of the Barrio 18 gang were convicted of various crimes, including extortion and homicide. One of that gang's leaders was sentenced to 397 years in prison.

Among the MS-13 leaders on trial now are Dionisio Arístides Umanzor Osorio, known by his alias “El Sirra de Teclas,” as well as Borromeo Henríquez Solórzano, aka “Diablito de Hollywood,” Carlos Tiberio Ramírez Valladares or “Snayder,” and César Antonio López Larios, aka “Greñas.”

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Associated Press reporter Anna-Catherine Brigida reported from Mexico City.

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

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Jail records show Ronald Everett Hutt was arrested Tuesday by the Bal Harbour Police Department on a charge of third-degree grand theft.

According to his arrest report, officers responded to the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, located at 9703 Collins Ave., after hotel security flagged down a sergeant investigating a suspicious person on the property.

The report states that hotel staff told police Hutt had been using the aliases “Mr. Robert Tress” and “Joshua Tress” while claiming to be a guest who stayed there.

The scheme unraveled when the actual guest assigned to the room questioned charges made to his account during the hotel’s daily review of guest purchases, according to the report.

Staff members said Hutt walked by during the conversation and was mistakenly identified as the guest before security realized he was not the person staying in the room.

Police said Hutt claimed he had paid for clothing he obtained from the hotel’s clothing store and showed security a receipt.

After he was detained and advised of his rights, Hutt admitted he had gone to the hotel Sunday night and used one of their rooms and the Tress name to obtain food and clothing, according to the report.

Hutt told investigators he was homeless and “had no intention of paying for the clothing and food because he does not have money,” the report states.

Police said the stolen property totaled $1,238.10.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Hutt was being held on a $2,500 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Ronald Everett Hutt fue arrestado el martes por el Departamento de Policía de Bal Harbour por un cargo de hurto mayor en tercer grado.

Según el informe de arresto, los agentes respondieron al St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, ubicado en el 9703 de Collins Avenue, después de que personal de seguridad del hotel alertara a un sargento que investigaba la presencia de una persona sospechosa en la propiedad.

El informe señala que empleados del hotel dijeron a la Policía que Hutt utilizaba los alias “Mr. Robert Tress” y “Joshua Tress”, mientras afirmaba ser un huésped alojado en el hotel.

Según el informe, el engaño quedó al descubierto cuando el verdadero huésped asignado a la habitación cuestionó los cargos hechos a su cuenta durante la revisión diaria de compras de los huéspedes.

Los empleados indicaron que Hutt pasó por el lugar durante esa conversación y fue confundido inicialmente con el huésped, hasta que el personal de seguridad se dio cuenta de que no era la persona registrada en la habitación.

La Policía informó que Hutt aseguró haber pagado la ropa que obtuvo en la tienda del hotel y mostró a los guardias un recibo.

Según el informe, después de ser detenido e informado de sus derechos, Hutt admitió que había ido al hotel el domingo por la noche y utilizó una de las habitaciones y el apellido Tress para obtener comida y ropa.

Hutt dijo a los investigadores que no tenía hogar y que “no tenía intención de pagar por la ropa ni por la comida porque no tiene dinero”, señala el informe.

La Policía informó que el valor total de lo robado fue de $1,238.10 USD.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Hutt permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $2,500 USD.

En el acto celebrado en un teatro de Lima, el titular del Jurado Nacional de Elecciones le entregó un documento a la líder de Fuerza Popular que certifica su triunfo por casi 50.000 votos sobre el candidato progresista Roberto Sánchez, de Juntos por el Perú, en el balotaje del 7 de junio.

La presidenta electa, de 51 años e hija del fallecido mandatario Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), dijo que su gobierno estará integrado “por reconocidos técnicos, sin importar su militancia partidaria”, y resolverá los problemas urgentes del país. Asimismo señaló que su gestión rendirá cuentas de los recursos públicos.

Fujimori dijo que combatirá la desnutrición que afecta al 12,1% de menores de cinco años, así como la pobreza que golpea al 25,7% de la población, es decir casi 9 millones de personas a quienes no les alcanza para cubrir el costo de la canasta básica de consumo que incluye alimentos, bienes y servicios esenciales.

También indicó que cree "profundamente en la reconciliación". “He aprendido de mis errores y aciertos, de los momentos difíciles, de los momentos alegres, he aprendido a pedir perdón, pero sobre todo a perdonar”, dijo en medio de un coro de simpatizantes que gritaban “sí se pudo” y “Keiko valiente, aquí está tu gente”.

Añadió que al final de su mandato rendirá “cuentas ante Dios y la historia y lo haré con la frente en alto porque tengan la certeza que habré puesto todo mi empeño y voluntad para sacar adelante a nuestro Perú”.

Más temprano Fujimori —vestida con traje sastre de color crema— había salido de su casa a diez cuadras del Gran Teatro Nacional acompañada de sus dos hijas de 18 y 17 años. Subieron a una camioneta blanca de una compañía de alquiler de autos. La dirigente saludó, pero no hizo declaraciones a la prensa.

Cuando asuma el poder el 28 de julio, Fujimori será la primera mujer en alcanzar la presidencia por unas elecciones en 205 años de república. La gestión presidencial es por cinco años.

Perú fue gobernado antes por otra mujer —Dina Boluarte (2022-2025)— que sucedió, por ser vicepresidenta, al expresidente Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), quien fue removido por el Congreso. El gobierno de Boluarte fue el más impopular de Perú.

Fujimori ha prometido gobernar “por cinco años”, a diferencia de su padre quien inició su gobierno en 1990 pero buscó permanecer en poder y fue reelegido en 1995 y en 2000. Luego abandonó Perú a fines de 2000 en medio de escándalos de corrupción y huyó a Japón. Después fue extraditado desde Chile, a donde había llegado de forma sorpresiva, y luego fue condenado por corrupción y asesinato. Fue excarcelado tras un indulto presidencial en 2023 y murió en libertad en 2024.

Fuera del Gran Teatro Nacional llegaron más de 300 personas con banderas de Perú, algunos con chaquetas de color naranja, el color de Fuerza Popular, pero también el mismo que el expresidente Fujimori usó desde su primera campaña presidencial en 1990 bajo el lema “honradez, tecnología y trabajo”.

Consuelo Castellares, una abogada que llegó desde la región andina de Huancavelica, dijo a The Associated Press que la principal preocupación de Fujimori debería ser la educación. Indicó que en los últimos 25 años los maestros de escuela “han lavado el cerebro a los estudiantes”, por lo que ahora hay fuerte oposición a ella.

“Le diría Keiko no seas como tu papá porque él dejó agonizando a los terroristas que hoy están en el Estado, tienes que poner mano dura con esas personas que han lavado el cerebro y han generado polarización”, indicó Castellares, quien añadió que tras los gobiernos posteriores a Fujimori existe una fuerte “ausencia del Estado”.

Keiko Fujimori iniciará su gestión en medio de protestas de Sánchez, quien la semana pasada aceptó a regañadientes el triunfo de la conservadora en el balotaje donde se enfrentaron. Fujimori triunfó por los votos claves de los peruanos en el extranjero; dentro del territorio ganó el progresista, según datos oficiales.

Sánchez convocó a una manifestación esta tarde por las calles de Lima exigiendo la liberación del expresidente Castillo —sentenciado a más de 11 años de cárcel por conspiración para la rebelión luego de ser detenido en diciembre de 2022 —.

Meses después hubo manifestaciones a su favor reprimidas por la policía y militares que dejaron 50 civiles asesinados.

Sánchez también pedirá justicia por esos manifestantes asesinados por la fuerza pública durante la gestión de Boluarte, un gobierno apoyado por el partido de Fujimori.

No surprise he was voted the NFL’s top wideout by The Associated Press in a preseason survey.

Smith-Njigba received four first-place votes, three thirds and a fourth from a panel of eight AP pro football writers, who ranked the top five receivers entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Ja’Marr Chase got two firsts and Justin Jefferson and Puka Nacua each received one.

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks

The 24-year-old set a team record for yards receiving (1,793) and receptions (119) last season. He received a four-year, $168.6 million extension that averages $42.15 million annually and includes over $120 million in guaranteed money.

Smith-Njigba, a unanimous All-Pro selection, had nine 100-yard receiving games during the regular season and was a key to Seattle winning its second Super Bowl in franchise history.

2. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Chase, a unanimous All-Pro selection in 2024, tied Justin Jefferson for first place in voting last year in this survey.

He had 125 receptions, 1,412 yards receiving and eight touchdowns last season after earning the receiving triple crown in 2024.

Chase got two first-place votes, three seconds, two thirds and was left off one ballot.

3. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

Nacua was a unanimous All-Pro selection after leading the NFL with 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 TDs.

Nacua has averaged 104 catches, 1,397 yards receiving and six TDs over his three seasons in the NFL, giving Matthew Stafford a top target and the Rams an elite passing attack.

He got one first-place vote, three seconds and appeared on seven ballots.

4. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

In a down season, Jefferson had 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two TDs while catching passes from three different Vikings quarterbacks.

The two-time All-Pro has averaged 97 catches, 1,413 yards and seven TDs over his six seasons in the NFL.

Jefferson still received one first-place vote, two seconds and appeared on seven ballots.

5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

St. Brown was a second-team All-Pro after earning first-team honors the previous two seasons.

He had 117 receptions, 1,401 yards receiving and 11 TDs last season for the Lions. St. Brown has four straight seasons of more than 100 receptions and more than 1,100 yards receiving.

He appeared on seven of the eight ballots.

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

The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members' required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be voluntary.

In the video, Hegseth simply refers to troops, though it appears he is talking about only testing men in uniform for hormone irregularities.

The move comes as other Trump administration officials have begun to advocate for men to have easier access to testosterone replacement therapies, but the messaging from Hegseth and others blends known science on the hormone with broader, and less substantiated, claims.

Testosterone use in the military has previously come under scrutiny

When asked what conditions Hegseth was looking to address with the new policy, the Pentagon referred to Hegseth’s remarks in the video that mentioned keeping troops “strong, resilient and capable” and that the rigors of the modern battlefield demand “maximum psychological and mental readiness.”

Over the past several years, special operations troops — and specifically Navy SEALs — have come under scrutiny for their use of testosterone and similar substances to enhance performance.

The death of a SEAL recruit during training in 2022 led to a discovery of substances in his possession, including testosterone, and revealed far more rampant drug use among the elite program than was previously acknowledged.

A year after the recruit's death, the Navy said it would begin a drug-testing program to screen for “any hormonal substance, chemically or pharmacologically related to testosterone, that promotes muscle growth.”

Hegseth said his new initiative is "not about artificial enhancement.”

The Pentagon did not respond to questions about what research or academic studies underpinned the move. It also didn’t say if female troops would be able to be evaluated for estrogen-based therapy as they entered perimenopause.

RFK Jr. has touted testosterone, but medical experts are wary

Testosterone levels in men decline naturally with age and have long been linked to issues like erectile dysfunction, low libido, mood changes and weight gain. But experts have debated for years how to diagnose those problems and whether they should be treated by replacing the hormone.

Hegseth’s announcement comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump administration officials are moving to make it easier for doctors to prescribe testosterone. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration proposed easing prescribing limits on testosterone gels, pills, patches and injections.

The current FDA label specifies that the medications are only for men with hypogonadism, a medical condition that causes drastically low testosterone.

But many influencers and proponents of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement tout testosterone as a way to look younger, build muscle and stay mentally sharp — although those uses aren’t accepted by most medical experts.

Still, recent studies have bolstered the case for testosterone’s benefits, for certain conditions, while allaying worries about its safety — particularly concerns about heart safety.

Last year, the FDA removed a boxed warning about possible risks of heart attack and stroke from the drugs.

Separately, a series of studies by the National Institutes of Health in older men found that taking testosterone improved erectile dysfunction, libido and other sexual measures and had a small effect on mood. But there was little or no improvement in other measures like fatigue, memory or overall well-being.

Other studies have shown potential improvements in muscle-building, strength and bone density.

However, current medical guidelines generally recommend against blanket testing of testosterone levels. Typically, doctors are advised to discuss testosterone therapy with men who have troubling symptoms and documented low levels of the hormone on two separate blood tests.

Testing for testosterone is challenging because levels of the hormone fluctuate throughout the day. Accurate testosterone readings are typically measured in the morning after fasting.

Some female Democratic lawmakers with military experience blast the new policy

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and Iraq War veteran, said the announcement sounded “like gender-affirming care to me," referencing Hegseth's stance against transgender troops.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran, said it “proves that Secretary Hegseth takes direction from the far corners of the manosphere.”

Both lawmakers called on Hegseth to make hormone testing available for both men and women.

"Let’s extend hormone screenings for all of our brave servicemembers to help us identify fertility issues early — since studies show that both women and men in our military disproportionately face higher rates of infertility than the general population,” Duckworth, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

Hegseth has previously said he does not believe women should hold combat roles and that those positions should be based on the “highest male standard.” He has blocked some military promotions for women or fired female leaders since becoming Pentagon leader.

He has made other changes related to the medical treatment of troops.

In April, he announced the repeal of the military’s long-standing flu vaccine mandate, citing “medical autonomy” and religious freedom. In June, a flu outbreak at the U.S. Air Force’s boot camp sickened at least nearly 300 people.

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Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

The winner will meet Spain, whose defensive prowess and swagger allowed them to clinch a spot in the World Cup final with a 2-0 win against France on Tuesday.

Follow along for live updates, highlights and analysis as the second spot in the World Cup final is decided.

Match is scoreless at first-half hydration break

Referee Ismail Elfath has perhaps been working the hardest trying to keep control of a physical and emotional match.

Neither team has created much in the way of goal chances, but players have been hitting the ground after hard fouls and hard play. Those include stars Lionel Messi and Jude Bellingham.

Game gets off to a chippy start

England and Argentina wasted no time raising the temperature of their semifinal with tough, physical play.

Several players had to be separated after a hard foul by Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez on England midfielder Elliot Anderson. The fouls kept coming and referee Ismail Elfath had to stop play briefly in an effort to calm things down.

Argentine fans chant ‘Whoever doesn’t jump is English’

Regardless of the opponent, Argentina fans often enjoy chanting “Whoever doesn’t jump is English.” So, for obvious reasons, they’ve been singing it a lot as a dig at England fans.

The full chant is “Y ya lo ve, y ya lo ve, el que no salta es un inglés” – meaning: “And you can see it, and you can see it: whoever doesn’t jump is English.”

The melody comes from a catchy 1970s tune by the Argentine duo Juan & Juan.

The Argentina-England semifinal has started in Atlanta

Lionel Messi leads Argentina’s pursuit of a second consecutive World Cup title. His eight goals are tied for the most in this tournament.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham lead England as the Three Lions seek their first World Cup title since 1966. Each has scored six goals so far.

The intercontinental rivalry carries a lot of history, most notably Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal against England in 1986.

The winner advances to Sunday’s final against Spain, which beat France 2-0 on Tuesday.

The loser plays France on Saturday for third place.

NYC’s Rikers Island jail hosts World Cup watch party for inmates

More than 100 inmates at the sprawling Rikers Island correctional facility gathered in a gymnasium at the complex’s main intake center to watch Wednesday’s semifinal between England and Argentina.

Arriving inmates dressed in tan uniforms took seats at black cloth tables facing a projection screen showing the game.

Colorful balloon towers topped by soccer ball balloons framed the screen. The special event is for inmates who have shown good behavior, including being incident-free at least for 30 days.

The jail has been hosting watch parties since the World Cup kicked off last month.

There have been 90 such events, with about 4,500 of the roughly 6,600 inmates participating.

David Beckham cheers on England

David Beckham, the former England captain who could “bend” a ball like no other is at the match in with his wife, Victoria.

Beckham owns a notorious piece of the Argentina-England rivalry history. He was sent off in the second half of a 1998 World Cup elimination match after kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone. That left England short-handed and Beckham shouldered a lot of blame when Argentina ultimately won on penalty kicks.

Beckham got a measure of revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated from the group stage.

Starting lineups

England: Jordan Pickford, Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Djed Spence, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane

Argentina: Emiliano Martínez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico, Giuliano Simeone, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi, Julián Alvarez

England and Argentina make lineup changes for semifinal

England coach Thomas Tuchel has selected Morgan Rogers to start in place of Noni Madueke on the right wing. Defenders Reece James and Djed Spence also will start, replacing Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly.

For Argentina, coach Lionel Scaloni picked Gio Simeone in midfield over Rodrigo De Paul.

Argentine soccer federation president attends match despite investigation

Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia posted a photo on Instagram of himself sitting next to Argentina stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul.

Tapia is under investigation over his assets and the organization’s financial management. He received judicial authorization to travel to the World Cup despite the ongoing probes.

“Here we go again, with hope as our guiding principle, representing an entire nation. More united than ever,” Tapia wrote.

Argentina fans banned from carrying Falklands flags into World Cup match

Argentine Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva has said fans won’t be able to carry some of their flags and banners that incorporate images of the Falkland Islands into the World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and England.

Monteoliva cited FIFA’s code of conduct, which bans politically divisive content. But her comments led to a social media backlash in Buenos Aires.

England reasserted control of the Falklands in a 1982 war with Argentina. Argentines claim the British protectorate as the Malvinas and consider the South Atlantic islands essential to their national identity.

FIFA’s code of conduct also says fans cannot “curse or chant in a political, offensive and/or discriminatory manner.”

But Britain’s top representative in Atlanta has said she expects Argentines to continue with their chants that reference the Malvinas along with soccer greats Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. Consul General Rachel Galloway told Atlanta First News that although fans might sing about those issues, “we find a way to work together.”

Toronto’s World Cup fan festival canceled because of wildfires

Wildfires in Canada forced officials to call off Wednesday’s planned FIFA Fan Festival in Toronto. Thousands of people were expected to be there to watch the England-Argentina match.

“The health and safety of attendees, staff, volunteers, and emergency personnel remains our top priority,” organizers said.

More than 100 wildfires were burning in Canada on Wednesday, with wind pushing smoke southeast. Warnings about unhealthy air extended from Minnesota through Toronto and into New York.

The World Cup final will be in East Rutherford, New Jersey — just outside of New York City — on Sunday.

Argentina’s vice president calls England ‘usurping pirates’

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has tried to play down his country’s clash with England as nothing more than a soccer game.

But some Argentine politicians have not been shy about bringing up longstanding tensions between the countries.

Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel described the match as a fight against “usurping pirates.” That’s a reference to England’s control of the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.

Villarruel shared a photo of an Argentine jersey draped over the grave of a soldier killed in the deadly 10-week Falklands War of 1982. She also made references to Argentine greats Diego Maradona, who led a World Cup quarterfinal victory over England in 1986, and Lionel Messi.

“This isn’t just another match. … It’s the Malvinas, it’s Diego, it’s Leo’s last one, and it’s putting the brakes on the invaders,” she said.

The race for the Golden Boot

Kylian Mbappé, one of the biggest stars of this year’s World Cup and one of the game’s greatest scorers, just couldn’t generate many chances in France’s 2-0 loss to Spain in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Through Tuesday, Mbappé and Lionel Messi remain tied atop the leaderboard with eight goals each. Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar, holds the first tiebreaker with the edge in assists. Messi has a chance to pull ahead in the race on Wednesday as Argentina faces England.

Both players will then have one more match before the award is decided. France will play the loser of the other semifinal match in the third-place game on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spain will take on the winner in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the final.

The battle of No. 10s

It’s England vs. Argentina in the World Cup semifinals. It’s also Lionel Messi vs. Jude Bellingham.

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

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

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

A first for Lionel Messi

He is already considered by many to be the greatest of all time — the GOAT — and his performances at what is likely his last World Cup, aged 39, have only strengthened that argument. This will be Lionel Messi’s first ever game against England.

If Messi can lead Argentina to the title, he would surpass the great Maradona by winning two World Cups for his country.

Argentina would also become the first back-to-back champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

Soccer great Pelé was part of those Brazil teams and also went on to win a third World Cup in 1970.

Spain awaits the winner of Argentina-England

Spain’s Pedro Porro, right, and Spain’s Lamine Yamal celebrate after the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Spain’s defensive prowess and swagger were just too much for an attacking trio led by France great Kylian Mbappé, and just enough to get the 2010 champions into another World Cup final.

The Spanish team managed a record sixth shutout in seven games so far, winning 2-0 in the semifinals Tuesday against one of the most prolific scorers in World Cup history.

Spain will face the winner of Argentina-England on Sunday at New York New Jersey stadium.

Argentina and England resume their fierce rivalry

Argentina and England have plenty of beef on and off the soccer field coming into today’s World Cup semifinal game in Atlanta.

The off-the-field tensions go back to the 1982 conflict over the Falkland Islands while the soccer rivalry also has been intense for decades.

Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered quarterfinal match against winner England in 1966. England manager Alf Ramsey tried to stop his players from swapping shirts with their opponents after a 1-0 victory.

Twenty years later in 1986 Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal helped Argentina to a 2-1 win against England in the quarterfinals on the way to lifting the trophy.

David Beckham was sent off in 1998 for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone, who was predictably criticized by the English media for his reaction to what appeared to be light contact. Argentina won the round of 16 match on penalties.

Beckham got his revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated at the group stage.

How to watch today’s match

Today’s Argentina-England matchup in Atlanta will be at 3 p.m. EDT and available in English on Fox or FS1.

For those who prefer the Spanish broadcast — Telemundo has been a very popular option.

The World Cup’s viewership in the U.S. has been strong throughout the tournament.

Fox reported more than 21.7 million tuned in to watch England’s 3-2 victory in Mexico City on July 5. That topped the previous record of the final between Argentina and France in 2022, which was seen by 16.7 million.

Every match of the tournament has been available for U.S. viewers in English on Fox or FS1, on Telemundo or Universo in Spanish. Streaming options include Fox One and Peacock.

It happened shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday along the 2500 block of East Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the scene and found a man who had been stabbed.

Rescue crews rushed the man to Broward Health North where he was pronounced deceased.

Investigators said a suspect was detained, and authorities have since arrested David Edward Rice, 67.

Rice is facing a first-degree murder charge and is being held at the Broward Main Jail on no bond.

Según un informe de arresto, Emely Barberena, de 35 años, enfrenta un cargo de agresión agravada con un arma mortal.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) informaron que respondieron alrededor de las 7:20 a.m. al área del 1125 de East 25th Street, donde encontraron a un hombre con aparentes heridas de arma blanca.

Indicaron que paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lo trasladaron al Hospital Jackson Memorial en condición estable.

Según el informe de arresto, la víctima fue a la estación después de ver a Barberena y a su novio con una bicicleta que, según afirmó, le había sido robada ese mismo día. Los agentes informaron que el robo ya había sido reportado al Departamento de Policía de Hialeah.

Los investigadores indicaron que el novio de Barberena lanzó la bicicleta hacia la víctima, lo que provocó que esta rodara hasta las vías del tren y desencadenara una pelea.

El informe señala que la víctima tomó un palo de escoba y golpeó a Barberena cuando ella se le acercó. Los agentes informaron que Barberena tomó un pedazo roto del palo de escoba y comenzó a golpear a la víctima mientras su novio la golpeaba con los puños.

Según el informe, la víctima empujó a Barberena hacia las vías del tren antes de que el novio de ella empujara a la víctima hacia las vías.

Mientras la víctima estaba desarmada sobre las vías, Barberena presuntamente le provocó un corte en el rostro con un cuchillo, según el informe. Los investigadores indicaron que ella ya lo había apuñalado en el torso y en un brazo antes de que fuera empujado hacia las vías.

El informe señala que Barberena y su novio huyeron después del apuñalamiento. Los agentes informaron que la víctima sufrió una herida de arma blanca en el abdomen, un corte en un brazo, una laceración en la mejilla y otras lesiones producto de la pelea y la caída.

Los agentes informaron que posteriormente encontraron a Barberena en una parada de autobús frente a la estación. Según el informe, fue trasladada al Hospital Hialeah para recibir tratamiento por lesiones menores antes de ser arrestada.

Los investigadores indicaron que las imágenes de las cámaras de vigilancia revisadas durante la investigación corroboraron la versión de la víctima.

También informaron que el novio de Barberena huyó antes de que llegaran los agentes, permanece sin identificar y continúa prófugo.

Cualquier persona con información sobre su paradero debe comunicarse con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

Lawyers representing YouTube filed a notice of appeal Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, less than a week after Meta, which was also a defendant in the case, filed its own notice of appeal. The lawyers are expected to provide their arguments related to the appeal in later court filings.

The case centered on a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health struggles. The jury found that negligence by both Google-owned YouTube and Meta was a substantial factor in causing harm to the young woman, identified in court only by her initials, KGM, and her first name, Kaley.

The jury awarded her $3 million in damages and recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages. Her lead attorney, Mark Lanier, said in a statement last week following Meta's appeal that Kaley's legal team is expecting the appellate court to “continue the careful application of the law to this case, affirming the verdict of the trial court.”

José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said in a statement last week that YouTube was planning to appeal and that “these are standard motions for this case to move forward.”

Meta and Google had each filed post-trial motions seeking a new trial. The trial judge, Carolyn B. Kuhl, denied those motions in early June.

One of YouTube's core arguments during the five-week trial was that its platform, which offers video sharing and streaming, is not a social media platform.

Lawyers for both YouTube and Meta also consistently posed questions throughout the trial about whether the evidence and arguments encroached on legal protections for tech companies around content posted by third parties. Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act shields these companies from legal responsibility for such content. The plaintiff's lawyers instead focused on the design features like autoplay functions that they argued could lead to more long-lasting, less intentional use of the platforms.

Kaley’s case was a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, and the verdict could influence the outcome of thousands of similar lawsuits accusing social media companies of deliberately causing harm. TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. were also initially named as defendants in the case, but each settled for undisclosed sums before the trial began.

Los agentes informaron que respondieron poco antes de las 2:30 a.m. del miércoles a un reporte de una balacera en la cuadra 2800 de Northwest Sixth Court, cerca de Fort Lauderdale.

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Las autoridades indicaron que, al llegar al lugar, encontraron a una víctima de la balacera cerca de Northwest Seventh Street y Northwest 29th Terrace.

Según los investigadores, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue trasladó a la víctima a un hospital cercano para recibir tratamiento. El género, la edad, la identidad y el estado de la víctima no fueron divulgados de inmediato.

Un equipo de Local 10 News estuvo el miércoles por la mañana en la escena de la balacera, donde una SUV dorada con las ventanas destrozadas y las puertas abiertas permanecía estacionada a lo largo de Northwest Seventh Street.

Aproximadamente a una cuadra de distancia, en Northwest Sixth Street, los detectives colocaron marcadores de la escena del crimen, fotografiaron evidencias y recolectaron objetos de la vía mientras los agentes acordonaban el área con cinta de la escena del crimen.

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Chris Pitman, quien vive en el vecindario Washington Park con sus tres hijos pequeños, dijo que se despertó por el sonido de los disparos.

“Estaba durmiendo. De repente, mi hijo de 4 años dijo: “Papá, fuegos artificiales”, y luego escuché: “Bang, bang, bang”. Mi hijo de 2 años empezó a llorar, así que esperé un poco, traté de ver qué estaba pasando. Todo estaba acordonado, así que regresé”, dijo.

Pitman describió el vecindario como generalmente tranquilo.

“Más adelante no tanto, pero este lado históricamente ha sido conocido por ser tranquilo. Yo crecí aquí”, agregó.

Dijo que la balacera le afectó de manera personal.

“Antes que nada, siento tristeza. Soy padre antes que cualquier cosa. Me duele escuchar eso. No me sorprende. Este vecindario tiene cosas buenas y malas. No me sorprende, pero eso no hace que duela menos”, expresó Pitman.

Funcionarios de la BSO informaron que la Unidad de Escena del Crimen y Delitos Violentos investiga las circunstancias que rodean la balacera.

Cualquier persona con información debe comunicarse con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

The final design for the commemorative coin, being released in the fall, was approved earlier this year by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump. But the finished product unveiled Wednesday differs from that version in a few aspects, including that it is not made of gold but rather has a gold finish.

The coin is intended “to honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X. “Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all."

The president on Wednesday told Fox Business Network that the move to put his face on a coin is “very unusual, but I was honored by it,” adding that “it's very cute they gave me a coin.”

Trump, a Republican, has a penchant for putting his name and likeness in the historical record, following his renaming of the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships, among other tributes. The move to put his face on the gold coin has drawn criticism in particular because federal law prohibits the depiction of a living president on U.S. currency, though the treasury secretary has the authority to authorize the minting and issuance of coins in some circumstances.

The front of the coin features an image of Trump in a suit and tie and with a stern look on his face. Lettering on the top half of the coin's arc spells “LIBERTY," with the dates 1776-2026 on the bottom half of the arc. The words “IN GOD WE TRUST” are in the middle.

The reverse side depicts the traditional image of the bald eagle in the Great Seal of the U.S., with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” on the top half of the coin and the Latin phrase “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” meaning “Out of many, one,” on the shield emblazoned on the bird's breast.

Among the other differences from the design approved earlier this year is that Trump doesn’t have his fists resting on top of what is supposed to be a desk as he leans forward. The Treasury Department did not specify Wednesday why the final product diverged from the originally approved design.

The Treasury Department announced in March that it would be putting Trump's signature on all new U.S. paper currency.

Traditionally, U.S. paper currency carries the signatures of the treasury secretary and the treasurer, not the president.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

It's not how far shots are going in the air. It's what happens when they get on the ground. And with links golf, that's not always easy to control, especially this week.

“You can't judge every single bounce perfectly,” Justin Rose said. “But you have to accept the nature of a links golf course. There's going to be some good bounces, bad bounces. Just keep playing with a big of freedom and creativity, especially this week.

“You're going to get a few funny bounces here or there,” he said. “That's all part of it.”

The 154th Open begins Thursday with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. For those who love links golf, there's no greater colors than brown and yellow that indicate crispy conditions in which the fairways can run faster than some of the greens.

Rarely has the forecast been filled with warm sunshine — slightly cooler on the weekend — with a cloudless sky that will be a challenge for the R&A to keep the turf from getting too fast.

Rory McIlroy came to Royal Birkdale a few weeks ago and saw what seemed to be a different course. It was greener. The rough was more lush. It's no longer like that. Yes, it's harder to control shots running along the fairway But the rough, while still having some thick patches in which players are up to their knees in grass, is more burned and wispy.

“I think it’s a double-edged sword,” McIlroy said. "I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week. It’s definitely burnt out a lot.

“The big thing, especially off the tee here, is the fairway bunkers and avoiding those,” he said. “You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play. OK, it might be in the rough, but it’s not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there.”

Every hole seems to have options.

The redesigned fifth plays 321 yards and enough shrubs have been removed that it's no longer a blind shot from the tee. What players see now is a pond — an unusual hazard for links golf, but it's always been there — and a row of pot bunkers leading to the green.

Marcus Plunkett, the U.S. Army veteran playing in his first British Open, arrived Thursday and smashed driver to the edge of the green. Even with that shot, he's planning on a 7-iron off the tee.

The wind is out of a different direction than usual, making the 393-yard 16th hole play downwind and running fast. Most players were hitting no more than 5-iron off the tee to avoid the bunkers. The other option is a driver than can get close to the green.

It's like that all over, and it could lead to brilliance and blunders.

“From what I’ve learned in the past, if you start pulling out drivers in an Open Championship, you can do a good job,” Jon Rahm said. “You can maybe get away with it one round. Over four rounds, you’re going to start finding spots you don’t want to be in, and you’re going to pay the price.”

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion, trying to become the first repeat winner of golf's oldest championship since Padraig Harrington won at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale in 2007 and 2008. The world's No. 1 player has played only five times in the Open, but he probably spoke for many when he said, “This is the first forecast I remember seeing it had no rain in it for the week.”

“If it holds, it should continue to firm up, and we’ve got some warm weather as well,” he said.

It's a different Royal Birkdale from when Jordan Spieth won in 2017, particularly the new look on the fifth and the par-3 seventh, and a brand-new par 3 at the 15th (the old par-3 14th was removed). Scheffler offered a not-so-subtle jab at the chances, even though he hadn't seen the course before.

“The one thing I found interesting is it’s so obvious as to which holes had been redone," he said. “They look like they’re not even on the same golf course.”

Scheffler had to return the claret jug on Tuesday. Someone else takes possession Sunday night when he is introduced as the “Champion Golfer of the Year.” And then it's eight-plus months until the next major at the Masters in April.

The four majors are over quickly.

But it's only fitting the British Open with its unique brand of golf is the last major of the year. It's unlike anything players see all year, especially in dry and firm and fiery conditions like this.

“The ball is just going to run forever,” Scheffler said.

___

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

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Deputies said they responded shortly before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a shooting in the 2800 block of Northwest Sixth Court, near Fort Lauderdale.

Authorities said they found a shooting victim near Northwest Seventh Street and Northwest 29th Terrace after arriving at the scene.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue took the victim, who is 17 years old, to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to investigators. The victim’s gender, identity and condition were not immediately released.

A Local 10 News crew was at the shooting scene on Wednesday morning, where a gold SUV with shattered windows and its doors open remained parked along Northwest Seventh Street.

About a block away on Northwest Sixth Street, detectives placed crime scene markers, photographed evidence and collected items from the roadway while deputies blocked off the area with crime scene tape.

Chris Pitman, who lives in the Washington Park neighborhood with his three young children, said he was awakened by the sound of gunfire.

“I was sleeping. All of a sudden my 4-year-old was like, ‘Daddy, fireworks,’ and I just heard, ‘Bow, bow, bow.’ My 2-year-old started crying, so I waited a little bit, tried to wait a bit, see what’s going on. Everything was taped off, so I just came back,” he said.

Pitman described the neighborhood as generally quiet.

“Further down not so much, but this side is historically known for being quiet. I grew up here,” he added.

He said the shooting hit close to home.

“First and foremost, sadness. I’m a father first. I hate to hear that. It doesn’t surprise me. This neighborhood has its good and bad. It doesn’t surprise me, but it doesn’t make it hurt less,” Pitman said.

BSO officials said their Crime Scene and Violent Crimes Unit are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Warsh has said since taking office seven weeks ago that he would provide less guidance about the Fed’s next interest rate moves than his predecessors. Yet he has frustrated many Fed-watchers by largely avoiding explanations of how the central bank might respond more generally to potential economic changes.

“I don’t view a one-time change in prices as necessarily being inflationary, because I think there’s a supply response,” he said in answer to a question on the impact of massive investment in AI infrastructure. “Will it increase measured prices over the course of the next 12 months? I suspect it will be. Whether that’s inflationary or not, that’s up to the Federal Reserve, and we’re going to have something to say about that.”

The cost of computer memory and processing chips has soared as high-tech firms have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers and computing equipment. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Dell said they have had to raise prices on laptops, tablets, and video game consoles as a result.

According to the minutes of the Fed's last meeting June 16-17, “many” of the 19 officials on its rate-setting committee said that the “ongoing strong demand for AI infrastructure would likely sustain upward pressure on prices for technology products and electricity.” The committee has been sharply divided over whether to raise rates later this year.

Inflation data downplayed

In his second day of congressional testimony, Warsh also downplayed positive inflation data released Tuesday and Wednesday that could make his job as Fed chair easier. As inflation fades, it reduces pressure on the Fed to raise its key interest rate to cool borrowing and spending.

The government said earlier Wednesday that wholesale inflation slowed in June, a day after consumer prices were reported to have fallen from May to June for the first time in six years. On a yearly basis, inflation cooled to 3.5% last month from 4.2% in May.

“Any central banker would be happy to have data going in the right direction,” he said, but “these are all imperfect measures of the state of underlying inflation.”

Instead, Warsh said he would look to a task force he has created to study the sources of data the Fed uses. He suggested the task force could come up with ways that government statistical agencies “could do a better job in an evolving economy.” Warsh announced the formation of five task forces last week, which will also consider the Fed's inflation framework, the impact of AI on jobs and productivity, and the Fed's ownership of trillions of dollars of government bonds.

Warsh did sketch out one standard the Fed would use when evaluating whether inflation was becoming a persistent problem: It will consider whether prices are rising in more than a just a particular category, such as oil and gas, and affecting “the generalized price level.”

Yet when asked by Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, how the Fed will determine whether inflation is “temporary or permanent," Warsh said, “You use five task forces to get to the big and hard questions.”

Questions about whether Warsh has spoken with Trump

Separately, Warsh reiterated that he would act independently as Fed chair and resist any political pressure from Trump, who has often demanded lower interest rates. But he did not directly answer whether he has communicated with Trump since his appointment.

“I don’t want to be in the business of sharing discussions that the president and I have," Warsh said in response to a question from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland.

“I will tell you what I’ve said to the president repeatedly and said to the Treasury Secretary: They chose an independent guy to do the job and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” he added.

Trump repeatedly attacked Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not cutting interest rates deeply enough, and his administration even pushed an investigation into brief Senate testimony by Powell on a building renovation by the Fed, raising widespread concerns about the future of the Fed's independence.

Actualmente arden más de 100 incendios forestales en Canadá, y los vientos trasladan el humo hacia el sureste. Las advertencias por aire peligroso e insalubre se extendieron el miércoles desde Minnesota, pasando por Toronto, hasta Nueva York. También se esperaban temperaturas veraniegas inusualmente altas.

El mejor consejo es permanecer en interiores para evitar el humo y el calor extremo, señaló Tyler Hasenstein, meteorólogo del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Chanhassen, Minnesota.

“Que esas dos cosas coincidan no es bueno desde una perspectiva de salud”, afirmó.

Guardabosques intentan evacuar a miles de campistas de una remota zona silvestre de Minnesota

En el extremo noreste de Minnesota, los guardabosques intentaban advertir a la gente que el Área Silvestre de Canoas de Boundary Waters estaba cerrada porque unos 17 incendios provocados por rayos ardían alrededor de esa vasta zona silvestre, a la que se accede principalmente en canoa.

La zona se cerró el martes y los guardabosques calcularon que entre 6.000 y 10.000 personas seguían dentro de la zona silvestre de 445.000 hectáreas (1,1 millones de acres), un área que es casi del tamaño de Delaware, informó Joy VanDrie, portavoz del Bosque Nacional Superior.

“Es un trabajo arduo”, dijo VanDrie, refiriéndose a cómo los guardabosques y los campistas deben remar durante horas o incluso cargar sus embarcaciones por tierra para evacuar:

VanDrie no sabía cuándo podría reabrirse el área. Autoridades de Minnesota dijeron que se permitirá que algunos incendios en Boundary Waters sigan ardiendo indefinidamente, pero serán monitoreados para garantizar que no amenacen a personas ni propiedades.

Incluso la Fuerza Aérea canadiense colaboró rescatando el miércoles a dos grupos de campistas jóvenes que habían cruzado la frontera y parecían estar a salvo, informó el gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz.

La grave sequía y el calor han provocado una intensa temporada de incendios forestales

Dan Westervelt, profesor asociado de la Facultad de Climatología de la Universidad de Columbia, explicó que las condiciones de sequía severa combinadas con el calor en Canadá y Estados Unidos han creado “una tormenta perfecta de condiciones realmente secas que aportan mucho combustible para que estos incendios forestales ardan”. Las investigaciones muestran que el aumento de las temperaturas por la quema de carbón, petróleo y gas provocan que los incendios sean más frecuentes e intensos.

Los altos niveles de partículas finas en el aire provenientes del humo de los incendios forestales pueden ser perjudiciales para grupos sensibles, como los niños y las personas con afecciones cardíacas o pulmonares. Las partículas pueden causar falta de aire, tos, mareos o fatiga, y agravar enfermedades del corazón y los pulmones, así como otros problemas crónicos de salud.

Los expertos sugieren usar una mascarilla N95 si es necesario estar al aire libre y mantener el aire interior más limpio cerrando las ventanas y usando un purificador de aire o el aire acondicionado.

Ha sido una temporada de incendios particularmente intensa y mortal en Estados Unidos. Actualmente arden alrededor de cuatro docenas de grandes incendios en 15 estados, desde Minnesota y Carolina del Norte hasta Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon y California, según el Centro Nacional Interagencial de Incendios.

La sequía prolongada y los niveles récord de baja acumulación de nieve se combinaron para crear condiciones propicias para un rápido crecimiento del fuego. Se han asignado más de 16.800 personas para combatir los incendios en todo el país. El fuego ha quemado más de 9.138 kilómetros cuadrados (5.678 millas cuadradas), más que el tamaño de los parques nacionales de Yellowstone y el Gran Cañón juntos, indicó la agencia.

Autoridades advierten que los incendios podrían arder durante meses

En Minnesota, las autoridades advirtieron que los grandes incendios podrían arder durante meses. En Minneapolis, se prevé que la temperatura máxima del miércoles sea de 36 Celsius (96 grados Fahrenheit) y se preveían temperaturas por encima de 32 °C (90 °F) durante el resto de la semana.

“Bien podría ser que tengamos incendios importantes durante todo el verano hasta que tengamos nieve. La nieve sería algo bueno”, manifestó Patty Thielen, directora del Departamento estatal de Recursos Naturales.

Autoridades en Michigan y Wisconsin advirtieron a los residentes sobre problemas de calidad del aire que podrían durar días, y éstos se extendieron incluso hasta Maine, donde los residentes informaban de un color amarillento y amarronado en el cielo.

El intenso humo podría llegar incluso hasta Washington, D.C., hacia el mediodía del jueves.

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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Susan Montoya Bryan y Jeffrey Collins contribuyeron a este despacho.

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The Associated Press recibe apoyo de la Walton Family Foundation para la cobertura de políticas de agua y medio ambiente. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido.

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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.

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According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Pablo Arrechavaleta, 49, Leonel Ramirez, 47, and Antonio Mesa, 47, broke into a home near the intersection of Southwest 157th Avenue and 181st Terrace while a 14-year-old boy was inside.

Deputies said after unsuccessfully trying to pry open a window, the trio broke into a rear French door using a screwdriver, causing around $1,000 worth of damage.

The men then “ransacked the upstairs master bedroom” and “removed a total of $359,400” before fleeing the scene, according to an arrest report.

The report states that an MDSO helicopter was deployed and kept an eye on the suspects as they fled the home and got into a four-door SUV they said was being driven by Arrechavaleta.

Deputies said they were able to stop the vehicle soon after it left the home and take all three suspects into custody without incident.

After being medically evaluated and cleared, authorities said Arrechavaleta and Mesa gave verbal and written statements that implicated their involvement in the crimes, while Ramirez chose not to answer any questions.

All three suspects are facing multiple felony charges in relation to the burglary.

As of Wednesday afternoon, they are all behind bars at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond listed as “to be set.”

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO), Pablo Arrechavaleta, de 49 años, Leonel Ramírez, de 47, y Antonio Mesa, de 47, irrumpieron en una vivienda cerca de la intersección de Southwest 157th Avenue y Southwest 181st Terrace mientras un adolescente de 14 años se encontraba en el interior.

Los agentes informaron que, tras intentar sin éxito forzar una ventana, los tres hombres ingresaron por una puerta francesa trasera utilizando un destornillador, lo que causó aproximadamente $1,000 USD en daños.

Según el informe de arresto, los hombres “revolvieron el dormitorio principal del segundo piso” y “se llevaron un total de $359,400 USD” antes de huir del lugar.

El informe señala que un helicóptero de la MDSO fue desplegado y siguió a los sospechosos mientras escapaban de la vivienda y abordaban una SUV de cuatro puertas que, según las autoridades, era conducida por Arrechavaleta.

Los agentes informaron que lograron detener el vehículo poco después de que saliera de la vivienda y arrestaron a los tres sospechosos sin incidentes.

Tras ser evaluados médicamente y recibir el alta, las autoridades informaron que Arrechavaleta y Mesa ofrecieron declaraciones verbales y por escrito en las que admitieron su participación en los delitos, mientras que Ramírez decidió no responder preguntas.

Los tres sospechosos enfrentan múltiples cargos por delitos graves relacionados con el robo a la vivienda.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, los tres permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, con la fianza “pendiente de ser fijada”.

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In a 15-page federal criminal complaint, FBI agents said Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, 21, of North Lauderdale, financed and procured the malware and then helped market the infected games, which were distributed on a “popular digital distribution software company.”

That company is not directly named in the complaint, but information contained within strongly suggests that it was the platform Steam, one of the largest of its kind.

Games identified in the complaint ― including BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lunara and PirateFi ― were named in a plea for victim information in a “Steam malware investigation” by agents in FBI’s Seattle office. The case against Wilkins and others involved is being prosecuted in Seattle federal court and Steam’s parent company, Valve Corporation, is based in nearby Bellevue, Washington.

Agents said in the scheme, Wilkins and others “gained unauthorized access to approximately 80 cryptocurrency wallets and stole cryptocurrencies worth at least $220,000″ from May 2024 to this February by “launch(ing) eight games embedded with malware and infect(ing) the devices of approximately 8,000 individual customers.”

According to the complaint, Wilkins and others helped market the games on social media and messaging applications, including Discord, Telegram, X and LinkedIn and encouraged others to download them.

Additionally, agents said the conspirators targeted specific victims, using bots “to identify individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings and send them targeted messages” encouraging them to download the games.

“After their victims downloaded the games, the conspirators used the malware to access and steal private user data and credentials,” the complaint states. “(They) went through the stolen data and identify any information that could be used to access, without authorization, cryptocurrency accounts of others and steal cryptocurrencies from their victims.”

Wilkins, believed to be a student at the University of West Florida, used the handle “Sibel.eth” online, according to the complaint, which he used to communicate with the “primary developer” of the programs.

That person is not identified in the complaint.

Agents said after executing a search warrant on the primary developer’s home and seizing devices, they found chats with “Sibel.eth” on the encrypted messaging platform Signal showing a “high level of collaboration” between the two.

They said that the chats showed that Wilkins bought a “remote access trojan” program for $10,000.

The primary developer and Wilkins also “exchanged messages about a criminal scheme in which they would run ‘draining campaigns’ regarding cryptocurrency wallets” and the two discussed “tricking victims into authorizing transactions that instantly empty their wallets,” according to the complaint.

Authorities said they were to identify “Sibel.eth” as Wilkins by tracing cryptocurrency payments sent from the scheme’s Bitcoin wallet to Bitrefill, an online service which was used to purchase over 150 digital gift cards that were predominantly for Uber Eats.

An FBI subpoena to Uber revealed that those cards were linked to an account that had deliveries at Wilkins’ UWF addresses as well as at Wilkins’ home in South Florida.

Agents said they executed a search warrant at Wilkins’ North Lauderdale home last Wednesday. He “refused to speak with law enforcement,” they said.

According to the complaint, investigators seized multiple devices as well as “three cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases.”

“One of the seed phrases is for a Monero wallet, an anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrency frequently used by criminals that is difficult to trace between source and destination,” an agent wrote in the complaint. “Based on my training and experience, I know that cybercriminals use Monero to enhance anonymity and the difficulty in cryptocurrency transaction attribution for law enforcement.”

A review of Wilkins’ crypto transaction history showed he sent or received $382,000, according to the complaint.

Following his arrest, Wilkins faces a charge of conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain, a charge that could land him in prison for up to a decade.

Federal court records didn’t provide a timeline on Wednesday morning as to if or when Wilkins could be extradited to Washington state.

Those records did show that Wilkins was scheduled to appear in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Wednesday morning.

Local 10 News contacted a spokesperson for Valve Corporation on Wednesday morning seeking comment about the case and Steam’s security measures. As of the publication of this article, we were awaiting a response.

En una denuncia penal federal de 15 páginas, agentes del FBI informaron que Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, de 21 años y residente de North Lauderdale, financió y obtuvo el malware, y luego ayudó a promocionar los videojuegos infectados, que fueron distribuidos en una “popular plataforma de distribución digital de software”.

Esa empresa no es identificada directamente en la denuncia, pero la información contenida en el documento sugiere claramente que se trata de la plataforma Steam, una de las más grandes de su tipo.

Los juegos identificados en la denuncia, entre ellos BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lunara y PirateFi, fueron mencionados en una solicitud de información para víctimas de una “investigación sobre malware en Steam” realizada por agentes de la oficina del FBI en Seattle. El caso contra Wilkins y otros involucrados es procesado en un tribunal federal de Seattle, y la empresa matriz de Steam, Valve Corporation, tiene su sede en la cercana ciudad de Bellevue, Washington.

Los agentes indicaron que, mediante el esquema, Wilkins y otras personas “obtuvieron acceso no autorizado a aproximadamente 80 billeteras de criptomonedas y robaron criptomonedas por un valor de al menos $220,000 USD” entre mayo de 2024 y febrero de este año, al “lanzar ocho videojuegos con malware incorporado e infectar los dispositivos de aproximadamente 8,000 usuarios”.

Según la denuncia, Wilkins y otros ayudaron a promocionar los juegos en redes sociales y aplicaciones de mensajería, incluidas Discord, Telegram, X y LinkedIn, y alentaban a otras personas a descargarlos.

Además, los agentes señalaron que los conspiradores seleccionaban víctimas específicas mediante el uso de bots “para identificar personas con grandes cantidades de criptomonedas y enviarles mensajes dirigidos” con el fin de convencerlas de descargar los videojuegos.

“Después de que las víctimas descargaban los juegos, los conspiradores utilizaban el malware para acceder y robar datos privados y credenciales de los usuarios”, señala la denuncia. “(Los conspiradores) revisaban la información robada e identificaban cualquier dato que pudiera utilizarse para acceder sin autorización a cuentas de criptomonedas de otras personas y robarles sus criptomonedas”.

Según la denuncia, Wilkins, quien se cree que es estudiante de la Universidad del Oeste de Florida (UWF), utilizaba en internet el nombre de usuario “Sibel.eth”, el cual empleaba para comunicarse con el “desarrollador principal” de los programas.

Esa persona no fue identificada en la denuncia.

Los agentes informaron que, tras ejecutar una orden de allanamiento en la vivienda del desarrollador principal e incautar dispositivos electrónicos, encontraron conversaciones con “Sibel.eth” en la plataforma de mensajería cifrada Signal que mostraban “un alto nivel de colaboración” entre ambos.

También señalaron que las conversaciones demostraban que Wilkins compró un programa de tipo “troyano de acceso remoto” por $10,000 USD.

Según la denuncia, el desarrollador principal y Wilkins también “intercambiaron mensajes sobre un esquema delictivo en el que realizarían ‘campañas de vaciado’ de billeteras de criptomonedas”, y discutieron la posibilidad de “engañar a las víctimas para que autorizaran transacciones que vaciaran instantáneamente sus billeteras”.

Las autoridades informaron que lograron identificar a “Sibel.eth” como Wilkins al rastrear pagos en criptomonedas enviados desde la billetera de Bitcoin utilizada en el esquema hacia Bitrefill, un servicio en línea que fue utilizado para comprar más de 150 tarjetas de regalo digitales, principalmente de Uber Eats.

Una citación del FBI a Uber reveló que esas tarjetas estaban vinculadas a una cuenta con entregas realizadas tanto a direcciones de Wilkins en la UWF como a su vivienda en el sur de Florida.

Los agentes informaron que ejecutaron una orden de allanamiento en la vivienda de Wilkins, en North Lauderdale, el miércoles pasado. Según dijeron, él “se negó a hablar con las autoridades”.

De acuerdo con la denuncia, los investigadores incautaron varios dispositivos electrónicos, así como “tres frases semilla de billeteras de criptomonedas”.

“Una de las frases semilla corresponde a una billetera Monero, una criptomoneda con funciones avanzadas de anonimato que es utilizada con frecuencia por delincuentes y cuya trazabilidad entre el origen y el destino es difícil”, escribió un agente en la denuncia. “Con base en mi capacitación y experiencia, sé que los ciberdelincuentes utilizan Monero para aumentar el anonimato y dificultar que las autoridades atribuyan las transacciones de criptomonedas”.

Una revisión del historial de transacciones de criptomonedas de Wilkins mostró que envió o recibió $382,000 USD, según la denuncia.

Tras su arresto, Wilkins enfrenta un cargo de conspiración para obtener información mediante una computadora con fines de lucro económico personal, un delito que podría conllevar una pena de hasta 10 años de prisión.

Los registros del tribunal federal no indicaban hasta la mañana del miércoles si o cuándo Wilkins podría ser extraditado al estado de Washington.

Sin embargo, esos registros sí mostraban que Wilkins tenía previsto comparecer la mañana del miércoles ante un tribunal federal en Fort Lauderdale.

Local 10 News se comunicó la mañana del miércoles con un portavoz de Valve Corporation para solicitar comentarios sobre el caso y las medidas de seguridad de Steam. Hasta el momento de la publicación de este artículo, no se había recibido respuesta.

Buffett told CNBC that Gates' association with Epstein was “distasteful," but the 95-year-old investor suggested that Gates' actions weren't much different from mistakes he himself had made over the years in hiring the wrong person or in choosing friends.

“No one bats a thousand in the business of choosing people," Buffett said on CNBC.

Buffett read up on Gates' ties to Epstein

Buffett said he “read a great deal since Jan. 1 in terms of what happened with Bill and Epstein. And I have read his remarks to Congress given under oath, and I read the cross-examination.” He noted that Gates eventually ended his relationship with Epstein.

Buffett said Gates wasn't surprised by the decision Buffett announced Tuesday to eventually donate all the rest of his $140 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to foundations associated with his family and his three children, Howard, Susie and Peter. Gates flew to Omaha a few weeks ago and spent several hours talking with Buffett. The two hadn't spoken much since before additional details about Gates and Epstein started to come out when the federal government began releasing files from the Epstein investigation.

Gates has said that he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes, and he didn't know about Epstein's ongoing crimes.

Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead at the Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019. His death was later ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.

Gates called Buffett “one of the greatest philanthropists of all time, and a dear friend” who he hopes to spend much more time with in the future.

“His wisdom, generosity, and deep sense of purpose have defined both his life and his philanthropy. His support for the Gates Foundation, at nearly $50 billion over the past twenty years, has been unprecedented, and it has helped save millions of lives,” Gates said in a statement.

Buffett said in 2024 that he planned to cut off donations to the Gates Foundation after he died and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune.

The Gates Foundation will still have tremendous resources: its endowment was worth nearly $90 billion at the end of last year and Gates has promised to donate nearly all his remaining fortune to the foundation.

In other news from the CNBC interview, Buffett revealed that he recently broke his leg and underwent surgery for it, but he said he is recovering well.

Drastically increasing donations to give away his fortune by 2034

Buffett said he wants his own Berkshire shares to be distributed even quicker than he has previously indicated: by the end of 2034. To do that, he will have to drastically increase the amount he donates every year, to more than $17 billion annually.

Right now he is giving roughly $6 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the foundations his children run: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Novo Foundation. Buffett filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday afternoon that showed he had donated a total of 12 million Class B Berkshire shares a day earlier to those foundations.

The majority of that is going to the foundation named in honor of his late wife, which may quickly become one of the world's largest such organizations. Buffett also traditionally gives additional gifts to his family foundations around Thanksgiving each year.

He has said that after his death, a new foundation will be created to distribute the rest of his shares and that his children will have to agree unanimously on where to donate them. He wants his children to be able to make those decisions before they die or become senile, and his oldest daughter will be nearly 81 in eight years.

Buffett's donations may affect his successor's support

The accelerated pace of Buffett's plan to give away his fortune over the next eight years rather than doing it over the 10 years following his death will mean that his successor at Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel, won't be able to count on the support of Buffett's family as the company's biggest shareholder for as long as he thought. Buffett currently controls nearly 30% of the voting power with his 188,290 Class A shares.

Nevertheless, Buffett said he believes it's clear that Abel is the right man to lead the conglomerate he built, and “that becomes more evident by the day.”

However, Buffett did note that Berkshire's big investment in Google's parent company, which has grown in value considerably over the past year, is one he initiated and not an investment Abel picked, though Abel did agree on it. Just last month, Berkshire agreed to invest another $10 billion in Alphabet after previously tripling its stake in the company. ___ A previous version of this story misspelled Warren Buffett's last name in the headline.

More people have favorable views of China than the U.S. in 25 out of the 36 countries and territories that were surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. The poll was conducted from February to May, a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.

In only six countries do people still see the U.S. more positively than China, according to the findings released Wednesday.

Views in 22 out of the 36 countries and territories also are more favorable of Chinese leader Xi Jinping than U.S. President Donald Trump, including in Canada, Mexico and major European powers including France, Germany and the U.K. However, people in many of the countries have low confidence in both men.

It marks the first time in the roughly 20 years Pew has been tracking global opinions that China has been viewed more positively than the U.S., said Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research and one of the researchers on the study. Views of Beijing and Washington have been very similar at some points in the past but have not been significantly more favorable for China until now, she said.

The shift follows the COVID-19 pandemic becoming a distant issue and as global views of the U.S. have soured, Silver said.

“There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the U.S. is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," she said.

Trump's demands to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolás Maduro, and the U.S. handling of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza also have led to low approval in many countries, Silver said.

“The U.S. has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally,” she said.

Aside from benefiting from the fading memory of the pandemic, China appears to have gained from comparison with the U.S., Silver said.

“By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It’s more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability,” the researcher said.

Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, said, “President Trump has done more for global stability than anyone else,” listing Trump's achievements as having “obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities” and “eliminated hundreds of narcoterrorists.”

“President Trump is the leader of the free world, and thanks to his bold leadership the United States of America has never been stronger," Wales said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said the latest poll “demonstrates that China’s governance achievements and development progress are widely recognized.”

Notably, those in some U.S. allied countries have drastically shifted their views in recent years, such as Canada. In the new survey, only 33% of Canadians have positive views of the U.S., down from 57% in 2023. Over the same period, their favorable opinions of China rose from 14% to 44%.

Trump slapped a barrage of tariffs on Canadian goods last year, and even claimed that Canada could be the “the 51st state.”

Major European countries — including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy — all have switched their opinions toward the world's two largest economies.

People in the U.K., where about 6 in 10 held positive views of the U.S. in 2023, now view China and the U.S. similarly. Three years ago, the spread was 32 percentage points in Washington's favor.

Of the six countries where people have more favorable views of the U.S., Israel leads the way. About 8 in 10 Israelis view the U.S. positively, compared with 19% for China.

The other five countries are Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Poland. Still, even their views of the U.S. have dimmed over recent years.

The U.S. is still ahead of China when it comes to government respect for personal freedoms, though the gap is shrinking, the Pew report says.

While China's standing has improved somewhat, the narrowed divide is “driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the U.S. government respects its people’s personal freedoms” since 2021, when Pew last asked the question.

For the new study, Pew surveyed more than 42,000 people across 35 countries plus the West Bank and east Jerusalem, with margins of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points depending on the country.

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Associated Press journalists Linley Sanders, Emily Swanson and Kevin S. Vineys contributed to this report.

The new exhibit was installed in the same area where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. “It was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.”

The original panels were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.

The changed exhibition comes as President Donald Trump has made dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives a priority in an aggressive campaign to overhaul some of America's most sacred cultural, historic and educational institutions.

Trump issued an executive order in 2025 that called for federally owned or controlled historic sites to not display information to “disparage Americans past or living” and to focus on the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

The directive has raised concerns about sanitizing and erasing dark sides of American history.

Trump has continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. In March, Trump revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology." He has also pressured organizations outside of the government, including universities, to take similar actions with the stated aim of eliminating what he says are discriminatory practices.

The Trump administration began removing the old panels earlier this year, but a lower court forced the federal government in February to stop while the city appealed. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals reversed that and ruled July 3 that the work could continue.

The three-judge panel praised the plans for the replacement installation, writing that they were “full of historical context,” despite objections from historians and city officials that the content appears whitewashed.

The Interior Department told The Associated Press Wednesday in a statement that the new “panels are full of historical context and highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park.”

“They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity,” the statement said.

The new panels still include information on enslaved people who lived in the home and details on the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution treated slavery, the end of slavery in Pennsylvania and how Washington and his successor, John Adams, viewed and treated slavery, as well as information about the 20th century Civil Rights movement.

However, the replacement panels do not include some of the detail in the earlier ones, such as a map of slave trade routes and a timeline on slavery. They also avoid critical headlines such as “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

The city of Philadelphia had sued the federal government over the removal of information previously included in the panels. It argued that the federal government must consult with the city before making changes to the President’s House Site. Justice Department lawyers argued the administration alone can decide what stories are told at National Park Service properties.

Parker said the city intends to seek a rehearing “on serious legal issues” presented in the appeals court decision.

Michael Coard, an attorney and founder of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), said the Philadelphia-based history preservation group continues to work on legal strategies opposing the Trump administration’s changing of the panels.

ATAC joined the city’s lawsuit.

Trump is attempting to rewrite history, Coard told reporters Wednesday near the site.

“What if there’s a president next time who doesn’t like the Liberty Bell because the Liberty Bell was used by abolitionists to support the end of slavery?” he said. “What if there’s a president who doesn’t like the Statue of Liberty because too many immigrants come in? Do we remove the Statue of Liberty?”

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Williams reported from Detroit.

Las autoridades informaron que ocurrió en la intersección de Northwest 42nd Avenue y Northwest 135th Street.

Funcionarios de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue informaron que recibieron la llamada como una respuesta de servicio público por reportes de la rotura de una tubería principal de agua. Confirmaron que una unidad de bomberos acudió al lugar.

Las autoridades informaron que no se reportaron personas heridas. También indicaron que la Policía de Opa-locka respondió para ayudar con el control del tráfico y el cierre de la vía.

La causa de la rotura de la tubería principal de agua y el alcance de los daños en la carretera no estuvieron disponibles de inmediato.

Esta historia será actualizada. Vea Local 10 News o actualice la página para obtener la información más reciente.

The shipwreck occurred on Tuesday near Bardaa Island, off the coastal city of Tobruk, according to Coast Guard authorities in eastern Libya. They said 10 survivors managed to swim to the island to save themselves. The search for others continues, the Coast Guard said.

It was the latest tragedy off Libya, one of the main departure points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach European shores for a better life there. Last month a shipwreck off eastern Libya left 51 migrants dead or missing.

Even though Libya was plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed its longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, the country has over the years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Smugglers usually pack Europe-bound migrants into small and unsafe boats, with thousands dying during the perilous sea journey.

More than 800 migrants were reported dead or missing in the central Mediterranean route between Jan. 1 and May 16 this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. Last year saw more than 1,300 migrants perish or go missing on that route, it said.

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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.