But three months later, the entire Harris family was absolutely devastated when their brand new family member took a terrible turn.

“He was drooling at the mouth, bubbling at the mouth. It was just heartbreaking, it was horrifying,” said Scott Harris.

The family’s Siberian husky named Bodhi had gotten into a case of rat poison.

They immediately called poison control.

“We explained to the woman what had happened and she said, ‘Yeah, that’s a 15-pack package,’” said Harris. “So I had found three of the disks, thrown them away. Apparently he had eaten 12.”

One disk has enough toxin to kill a 25-pound puppy like Bodhi.

“This is bromethalin, there’s no cure for it,” said Harris. “It’s a poison that creates inflammation in the brain and the brain swells -- neurological damage that it creates -- and she said, ‘There’s no cure.’”

Unlike rodenticide that does have a cure, this dose of deadly toxins is expected to be terminal.

“It’s absolute death,” said Harris. “This dog is exhibiting the symptoms. He has so much poison in his system, there’s no way. Anything we do now is just going to be torturing him.”

After following their veterinarian’s orders, they fed Bodhi more than 100 active charcoal tablets, but the poison was still causing seizures and symptoms of neurological damage.

So they made the painful decision to euthanize their 4-month-old puppy.

“I was convinced that this was just a downhill slope and anything we did beyond euthanizing was just inhumane, was going to be torturing the poor puppy,” said Harris.

But behind the scenes, a rescue group was ready to take a chance on the beautiful blue-eyed baby.

Rebecca Landerman, with Rescue Dog Network, thought there was a fighting chance, so she lined up a foster family.

“The first night he came he was definitely not great,” said foster parent Martine Lebel. “He was not doing well, he had a hard time keeping his eyes open, he just kept falling on the side.”

Bodhi was sent to the ICU for 36 hours to receive fluids and a drug to reduce the swelling of his brain.

And then he had an unbelievable bounce back.

Bodhi was happy, healthy and healed!

“As a dog owner, to have your dog brought back from the dead, because they thought their dog was dead,” said Landerman.

That led to an emotional family reunion.

Nobody could comprehend how the dog that had eaten enough poison to kill a human somehow had survived.

“I still don’t know what to think,” said Harris. “I’m ready to change his name to Ghost, and the crazy thing is it all happened around Easter, so we’re like, this dog is being reborn.”

Cellphone video obtained by Local 10 News shows the panic and chaos after the shooting that occurred around 1:30 a.m. Sunday outside the Five Stars Banquet Hall in Sunrise.

Friends of the victim identified him as Kendrick English.

A candlelight vigil was held for English on Monday night.

Delarno Barrett, who said he’s known English for years, is heartbroken over his death.

“It’s unreal, I can’t believe (it). I’m dazed right now,” Barrett said.

According to Sunrise police, a birthday party was being held at the banquet hall along Oakland Park Boulevard at the time. English, who is a quadriplegic, was trying to get inside when he was met at the door by 26-year-old Francisco Navarro Sanchez, who was working as a security guard, authorities said.

An arrest form says English was denied entry and there was a verbal argument.

English left and returned for a second time, at which point investigators said English swore at him and Sanchez pulled out a gun and fired multiple rounds.

Witnesses said five shots were fired, according to authorities.

English died at an area hospital.

“He’s defenseless, he can’t harm nobody,” said Barrett.

Sanchez went before a Broward County judge on Monday, facing a murder charge.

English went through so much in life after overcoming odds following a football accident as a teenager.

Local 10 News first met English in 1995 following the accident that left him paralyzed. He played for Stranahan High School.

We caught up with him nine years later when he received a specially equipped van so that he could drive.

“I’ve been looking forward to having my own independence and being able to go from point A to point B alone,” he said at the time.

Those who knew and loved English are trying to make sense of this tragedy.

“How can we explain this? It hurts,” Barrett said.

Sanchez remains behind bars at the Broward County Main Jail after being denied bond.

Hialeah police arrested Tanaijah Leanna Mason, 18, of West Park, for crimes that occurred back in March.

According to police, Mason was with two other women on March 5 inside the Sedanos supermarket located at 3950 W. 12th Ave. when they took approximately $1,500 worth of baby formula without paying.

Authorities said on the same day, Mason tried stealing another $1,500 worth of formula from a Publix in Hialeah, but when the women were stopped, they took off.

Four days later, police in North Miami Beach said a group of four women pulled off a similar crime at a Target located at 14705 Biscayne Boulevard.

On Friday, police said Mason was discovered to already be in custody “for arrests matching this exact same MO throughout Miami-Dade County” and that “similar cases involving the same group of females has also been reported in Broward County,” according to an arrest form.

An additional case out of Miramar is under investigation, but police cannot confirm if the crimes were committed by the same group.

Wang Hao, Tesla's vice president, said the Shanghai facilities, like other Tesla factories, will contribute after the company enters an era of robots.

Wang, who also serves as president of Tesla China, told reporters on a government-organized tour of one of its Shanghai factories that CEO Elon Musk once noted having production at scale is a critical challenge in manufacturing humanoid robots.

Wang said he believes the Shanghai manufacturing arm “is a golden key to solving this challenge," but did not specify how the operation will support the company's robotic business.

Musk has urged investors to focus less on car sales and more on what he considers a bright artificial intelligence future of robotaxis ferrying millions in cars without drivers, or even steering wheels, and robots watering plants and taking care of elderly parents.

Musk earlier underlined that shift by announcing Tesla had decided to end production of two older car models, S and X, in the second quarter and convert a Fremont, California, factory to instead produce its Optimus robots.

London-based technology research and advisory group Omdia said Tesla shipped fewer than 500 general-purpose embodied, intelligent robots in 2025. Still, the company is among the vendors that showcased industry-leading advancements in AI capabilities, its report said.

Tesla entered the mainland Chinese market in 2013 and the factory Wang spoke at delivered the company's first made-in-China vehicles in late 2019. The factory delivered 851,000 electric vehicles in 2025, accounting for more than half of Tesla's total global deliveries that year.

A separate factory began production in Shanghai in 2025, marking the firm's launch of commercial energy storage manufacturing in China.

___

Leung reported from Hong Kong. Video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.

“This case has been haunting us since the year I got here,” he said.

It was on April 6, 2024, when 26-year-old Onyxia Delinos was out jogging ahead of her running group, near Miramar Parkway and Southwest 184th Avenue, when she was suddenly struck by a car whose driver fled from the scene.

Delinos was left with a critical head injury, forever changing her life. She would require around-the-clock care in the time since, but last week, she passed away.

“What we still haven’t gotten is that magic phone call, that magic phone call that’s gonna help us,” said Moss.

Miramar police say they are actively investigating the case and are pursuing several leads, but what has made it a challenge is there were no eyewitnesses and no surveillance cameras in the area.

Police said they also haven’t found any vehicle with damage from the hit-and-run.

“Right now, it’s hard to say how close we are, because again, we don’t have that magic phone call,” said Moss. “I think when we’ve got it, that’s when we’ll be able to say, ‘Yeah, this is definitively it.’ Because we’ve had leads in the past.”

Delinos’ husband, Roosevelt, is devastated.

In a text to Local 10 News, he wrote, “I don’t have the words to describe what I feel. I lost my wife twice and the person is still out there.”

Authorities are offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

“If you’ve got information, please, make that phone call,” Moss said.

In fact, a new Fox News poll indicates people are more upset about taxes than they were last year. The findings from the survey, which was conducted in late March, are another sign that Americans are on edge about their personal finances as the U.S. experiences a spike in inflation and sluggish economic growth. Other polling finds that frustration goes beyond personal tax obligations, with many believing that wealthy people and corporations are not paying their fair share, while others worry about government waste.

The surveys come after Trump and Republicans passed a massive tax and spending cut bill last year. The legislation enacted a range of tax breaks, including a boosted child tax credit and new tax deductions for tips and overtime. Tax refunds are up this season, and many households are expected to see more income from the Republicans' tax legislation, but the Congressional Budget Office estimated it will ultimately give the largest benefits to the richest Americans.

Republicans have touted the law as evidence that they are making life more affordable for working families. But polling shows that many Americans may not be feeling the benefits, especially as their tax refunds get eaten up by higher prices.

Most say taxes are too high

About 7 in 10 registered voters say the taxes they pay are “too high,” according to the Fox News poll. That’s up from about 6 in 10 last year. The poll shows heightened concern among very liberal voters and Democratic men, but there has also been a sizable increase among groups that Republicans want to court ahead of the midterm elections, such as moderates, rural voters and white voters without a college degree.

Discontent about taxes has been rising for the past few years. Recent polling from Gallup, conducted in March, found about 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the amount of federal income tax they have to pay is “too high,” a finding that’s been largely consistent in the annual poll since 2023. That’s approaching the level of unhappiness found in Gallup’s polling from the 1980s through the 1990s, before President George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Now, about half of Democrats and about 6 in 10 Republicans say their federal income taxes are too high. Republicans tend to view their tax bill more negatively than Democrats, but Gallup’s polling shows that this gap often shrinks when a Republican is president.

Many believe the rich aren’t paying enough in taxes

Most Americans are troubled by the belief that some wealthy people and corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in January. About 6 in 10 Americans said each of those notions bothers them “a lot,” a measure that is largely unchanged in recent years.

By contrast, only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults in that poll said the amount they personally pay in taxes bothers them a lot.

About 8 in 10 Democrats are bothered “a lot” by the feeling that some corporations and rich people aren’t paying their fair share, the Pew survey found, compared to about 4 in 10 Republicans. Government spending is a bigger issue for Republicans, according to the Fox News poll, which found that 75% of registered voters — and a similar share of Republican voters — say “almost all” or “a great deal” of government funding is wasteful and inefficient.

That points to a perception problem for many Americans. Even if their own tax bill is manageable, the idea that the wealthy are underpaying — or that the government is wasting their dollars — bothers many. About half of Americans, 49%, in the Gallup poll say the income tax they will pay this year is “not fair,” which is in line with the record high from 2023.

Broad unhappiness with Trump’s tax approach

Americans’ tax frustration was rising before Trump re-entered the White House, but it’s still a problem for the president's party — especially if Americans are not feeling the relief that he promised.

The Fox News poll found that about 6 in 10 registered voters, 64%, say they disapprove of how Trump is handling taxes, up from 53% last April. Disapproval has risen most sharply among independents, but also among Democrats and Republicans.

This aligns with a broader feeling that Trump isn’t doing enough to address inflation. Most Americans said Trump had hurt the cost of living “a lot” or “a little” in his second term, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in January. Roughly 9 in 10 Democrats and about 6 in 10 independents said Trump has had a negative impact on the cost of living.

Less than half of Republicans, 43%, said Trump had helped the cost of living, while 33% said he hadn't made a difference and only 23% said he'd helped.

___

The Fox News poll was conducted among 1,001 registered voters from March 20-23. The Gallup poll was conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults from March 2-18. The Pew Research Center poll was conducted among 8,512 U.S. adults from Jan. 20-26. The AP-NORC Poll was conducted among 1,203 U.S. adults from Jan 8-11.

Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union announced on social media that it won a tentative agreement with “major gains” including raises and more hours. The district announced that an agreement in principle had been reached with SEIU Local 99 allowing schools to be open Tuesday and they would work to finalize the details of a tentative agreement.

SEIU Local 99 said the tentative deal also included protections against subcontracting, stopped IT layoffs and increased staffing. SEIU Local 99 told members to report to work as usual on Tuesday and thanked its fellow unions and the Los Angeles community, saying the “victory belongs to ALL of us.”

Teachers, principals and staff had been prepared to walk out for a strike if the deal was not reached. Unions representing teachers and principals reached tentative contract agreements with nation’s second-largest school district over the weekend.

All three unions that represent about 70,000 workers across the Los Angeles Unified School District had pledged to go on strike if any of the three did not reach a tentative agreement.

The three unions have never gone on strike at the same time — administrators have remained on duty during previous teacher walkouts to help keep schools open. That was the case in 2023 when Local 99 workers went on strike and teachers joined them for three days. About 150 of the district's 1,000 schools remained open.

Job Listing: Editor/Floor Director (Hybrid)

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As Editor, responsibilities include, but are not limited to editing of news packages, VO’s and other projects for broadcast. Must possess good judgment for editing news stories. Must be able to work well under pressure and be able to meet newsroom deadlines as well as be able to work flexible hours including nights, weekends and holidays. Must have knowledge and experience working with Avid NewsCutter or other non-linear editing systems.

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• Control the flow of information from the control room into the studio. Give time and hand cues, assist in studio logistics, as well as teleprompter operation.
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• Work along with the News Department in the preparation of news shows.
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***All of the essential functions of this position are not necessarily described in this posting.

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A raffle in France is offering the chance to win a $1 million portrait by the Spanish artist for the price of a 100-euro ticket ($117), with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research. The draw takes place later Tuesday at Christie’s auction house in Paris.

The third iteration of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” lottery is for Picasso's “Head of a Woman," with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research.

The gouache on paper was painted by Picasso in 1941.

The first such raffle in 2013 saw a Pennsylvania man who worked at a fire-sprinkler business win “Man in the Opera Hat,” which the Spanish master painted in 1914 during his Cubist period.

The oil-on-canvas “Still Life” was raffled off in 2020 and made a very happy mom of Claudia Borgogno, an accountant in Italy whose son bought her the ticket as a Christmas present.

Painted in 1921, that painting was purchased for the raffle from billionaire art collector David Nahmad, who argued in an Associated Press interview that Picasso would have approved of raffling his work. Picasso died in 1973.

The Alzheimer Research Foundation, the charity raffle’s organizer, is based in one of Paris’ leading public hospitals and says it has become France’s leading private financier of Alzheimer-related medical research since its founding in 2004.

The organizers’ online sales platform said the number of tickets for Tuesday's draw have been capped at 120,000, meaning it could net 12 million euros ($14 million) if they’re all sold.

Of that, 1 million euros will be paid to the Opera Gallery, an international art dealership that owns the painting.

Organizers said the two previous Picasso raffles raised a total of more than 10 million euros for cultural work in Lebanon and water and hygiene programs in Africa.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take part in the talks in Washington with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

At least 2,089 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, among them 252 women, 166 children and 88 medical workers, while 6,762 others were wounded. More than 1 million people are displaced.

The Lebanese government hopes the talks will pave the way to an end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the United States, Lebanon insists on representing itself.

Hezbollah and critics are skeptical and believe Lebanon's government in Beirut has no leverage and should take advantage of the position of Iran, the group's key ally and patron.

The Israeli military continues an invasion into southern Lebanon, which some Israeli officials have said aims to create a depopulated “security zone” from the border to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles). Iran-backed Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.

The Israeli and Lebanese governments are meeting to discuss ways to ensure long-term security on Israel’s northern border and support for Lebanon seeking to take control of its territory and political future from Iran-backed Hezbollah, a U.S. State Department official said.

They will be the first talks between the two since 1993, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lebanon's top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah's decision to fire rockets towards Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.

Israel did not respond positively until last week, after it launched 100 strikes across the country, including in the heart of the Lebanese capital.

Beirut wants a truce as a prerequisite to talks, similar to Pakistan-brokered negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

“Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories is not the solution, nor will it yield any results,” said President Joseph Aoun Monday, who came to power vowing to disarm non-state groups including Hezbollah. “Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be the most effective means of resolving armed conflicts globally.”

Israel has ruled out a ceasefire.

"We will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah , which continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks against Israel and our civilians,” Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Monday.

Hezbollah and its supporters have been critical, calling it a free concession to Israel.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem delivered a fiery speech calling on Lebanon to cancel the talks. Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted indirectly with the U.S., France and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon as mediators.

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Lee reported from Washington.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was also holding talks with his counterpart, Mykhailo Fedorov, the former Ukrainian digital transformation chief who took up his new post in January and is credited with advancing military drone technology.

U.S.-led efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine have recently petered out as the Iran war grips the Trump administration’s attention, although Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that Washington “will continue to push for a negotiated and durable end” to the war.

Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded battlefield successes against Russia’s bigger army, disrupting a spring offensive started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new foliage on tree lines offers more cover.

Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside Russia.

Ukraine “is in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this horrific war,” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.

Ukraine “is on top from a military perspective,” Stubb claimed, noting that last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than Russia launched at Ukraine.

Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent verification of each side’s claims was not possible.

Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

Ukraine is desperately short of cash and needs a promised 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) loan from the European Union. That was being held up by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, but his departure as prime minister after weekend elections could free up the sum.

Kyiv is also heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy fears.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Fedorov, the defense minister, said in January.

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

The 18-year-old attacker, armed with a shotgun, fired randomly inside a vocational high school in Siverek, Sanliurfa province. He later killed himself with the same shotgun after being “cornered by police,” Gov. Hasan Sildak said.

The attack left 10 students, four teachers, a canteen employee and a police officer hurt, Sildak said. While most of them were being treated in Siverek, five of the teachers and students were transferred to a hospital in the provincial capital because their conditions were more serious, the governor said.

The motive for the attack remains unclear. School shootings are rare in Turkey.

The attacker did not have a criminal record, Sildak said. The school had been declared safe and no permanent police officer was assigned to protect it, he added, calling the shooting an “isolated incident.”

NTV television and other media reports said the assailant had threatened an attack on the school on social media prior to the shooting.

One student told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he and a friend jumped out of their classroom window to flee the attacker.

“He suddenly entered the classroom and fired. He fired four or five times. Two people were hit. He then went into the next classroom,” Anadolu quoted Omer Furkan Sayar as saying. “We first threw ourselves to the ground and then two of us jumped out of the window.”

Sayar continued: “He didn't say anything, he entered and started to shoot directly.”

Earlier, media reports said all students were evacuated and police special operations units were deployed after the assailant refused to surrender.

“The individual was cornered inside the building through police intervention and died after shooting himself," Sildak told reporters, adding that a “comprehensive” investigation into the shooting would be carried out.

Video footage showed dozens of students running out of the school toward the gate and onto the street.

Atletico is at home to defend its 2-0 win from the first leg and try to make it to the last four of the European competition for the first time in nearly a decade.

Before last week's first leg, Barcelona beat Atletico 2-1 in Madrid in a Spanish league game on April 4. The teams had already met twice in the Copa del Rey semifinals, when Atletico won 4-0 at home and then advanced to the final despite a 3-0 loss in Barcelona in the second leg.

Atletico last made it to the semifinals in 2017. Barcelona lost to Inter Milan in last year's last four.

Coach Diego Simeone has not ruled out Jan Oblak’s return even though the goalkeeper hasn’t played since March 10 because of a muscle injury. He has been practicing with the squad for the last few days and is expected to be fit to play.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has not ruled out midfielder Frenkie de Jong making his first start after a long absence because of a hamstring injury.

Whichever team advances on Tuesday will face Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week. Their second leg in England is on Wednesday.

___

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

Though last week's ceasefire appeared to hold, the showdown over the Strait of Hormuz risked reigniting hostilities and deepening the region-wide war's economic fallout.

Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict — which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — failed to produce an agreement last weekend, though Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round in the coming days.

Two Pakistani officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter with the media, said that the first talks were part of an ongoing diplomatic process rather than a one-off effort.

Two U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations, said on Monday that discussions were still underway about a new round of talks. They said that the venue, timing and composition of the delegations hadn't been decided, but that talks could happen Thursday.

The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as a great deal of shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,000 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Tanker reported rounding the corner

The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began. Much of it has likely been carried by so-called dark transits that evade sanctions and oversight, providing cash flow that’s been vital to keeping Iran running.

Both the nature of enforcement and the extent to which ships will comply remained unclear during its first full day in effect on Tuesday. Tankers approaching the strait on Monday turned around shortly after it took effect, though one turned around and transited the waterway early Tuesday.

The tanker Rich Starry had been waiting off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to shipping data firm Lloyd’s List, which cited data from the energy cargo-tracking firm Vortexa. It wasn't immediately clear whether the Rich Starry had earlier docked in Iran. Yet it is listed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as linked to Iranian shipping.

Lloyd’s List, citing ship registry and tracking data, reported that it's owned by a Chinese shipping company and ultimately bound for China.

U.S. Central Command didn't immediately respond to questions about the vessel after it cleared the 21-mile-wide (nearly 34-kilometer) waterway. A day earlier, it said that the blockade applied to vessels going to and from Iranian ports.

Since the start of the war, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic, with most commercial vessels avoiding the waterway.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that Iran's control of the strait amounted to blackmail and extortion as the U.S. blockade took effect. He said in a social media post that Iran’s navy had been "completely obliterated,” but still had “fast attack ships.”

He warned that “if any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED."

Iran threatened to retaliate against Persian Gulf ports if attacked.

“If you fight, we will fight," Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a statement addressed to Trump.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday for nations willing to deploy warships to escort oil tankers and container ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The deployment will happen “when security conditions allow,” Macron’s office said Tuesday.

Israel and Lebanon scheduled for talks

Meanwhile, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to begin in Washington on Tuesday, the first such negotiations in decades.

Israel has pressed ahead with its air and ground campaign since last week’s ceasefire in Iran, insisting that it doesn't apply to fighting in Lebanon. It has, however, halted strikes in the country's capital since April 8, after a deadly bombardment that hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in central Beirut. It sparked an international outcry and threats by Iran that it would end the ceasefire.

After more than a year of near-daily strikes in southern Lebanon, Israel escalated its offensive in the early days of the war following Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel. The fighting has carved a path of destruction from agricultural towns near the border to Beirut, killing more than 2,000 people and displacing in excess of 1 million others, according to Lebanese authorities.

The talks are expected to be preliminary, focused on setting parameters rather than resolving core issues. Lebanese officials have pushed for a ceasefire, while Israel has framed the negotiations around Hezbollah’s disarmament and a potential peace deal, without publicly committing to halting hostilities or withdrawing its forces.

Israel wants Lebanon’s government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades and said on Monday that it won't abide by any agreements that may result from the talks.

___

Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.

The six-time European champion trails 2-0 after the first leg of the quarterfinal in Paris. But it is hoping for the type of Anfield night that saw it rout Barcelona 4-0 in the semifinals in 2019 to overturn a 3-0 first leg loss.

“There is a belief that we can do special things . . . but we need to be very, very, very special," coach Arne Slot said ahead of the match. “We know we need an exceptional performance to go through to the next round.”

Defending champion PSG totally dominated the first leg last week and could have ran up a more commanding lead if it had taken its chances.

Coach Luis Enrique warned his team about the potential to slip up with the semifinals within touching distance.

“You need to be really careful, there could be pitfalls and it could be a trap,” he said. “Everyone says, ‘You won (the first leg) easily and you were much better than (the) opposition.’ It might be the case but things can change so quickly in a football match.”

Barcelona must also overturn a 2-0 first leg loss against Atletico Madrid if it is to advance to the semifinals.

___

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

___

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

The Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the press.

A senior Hezbollah official on Monday said the Lebanese militant group will not abide by any agreements that may result from direct Lebanon-Israel talks set to start Tuesday in Washington.

Lebanese officials hope to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war that has killed at least 2,089 people in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he doesn’t want a ceasefire and the goal is Hezbollah’s disarmament and a potential peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

A U.S. blockade of Iranian ports that began Monday and Iran’s threatened retaliation set up an extraordinary showdown posing serious risks for the global economy and raising the specter of a ceasefire collapse and resumed fighting.

Here is the latest:

South Korea says it will provide humanitarian assistance to Iran

South Korea says it provided $2 million in humanitarian assistance to Lebanon through international organizations and has also decided to provide $500,000 in aid to Iran through the International Red Cross.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it hopes the aid will help ease the humanitarian crisis in affected regions

Red Cross delivers first emergency aid shipment to Iran since war began

The Red Cross delivered its first emergency aid shipment to Iran since the war began over a month ago, which is expected to meet the needs of nearly 25,000 people.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement Tuesday that it dispatched assistance to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, or IRCS, including five truckloads delivered Monday.

Supplies included blankets, jerrycans, tarpaulins, hygiene kits and solar lamps. The remaining aid shipment, comprised of nine aid trucks, will be given to IRCS later this week.

Macron, Starmer to co-chair talks on Strait of Hormuz mission to protect shipping

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday in Paris, bringing together non-belligerent nations willing to participate in a mission in the Strait of Hormuz “when security conditions allow.”

Other participants will take part via videoconference, Macron’s office said. European and other partners are ready to contribute to a “purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.

France and Britain have been working in recent weeks to set up an operation to escort oil tankers and container ships to help ensure safe passage through the strait.

‘Rich Starry’ reportedly headed for China

The tanker is listed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as linked to Iranian shipping. It is flagged to Malawi, one of several landlocked countries often cited in so-called “false flag” operations, in which ships are registered under foreign flags with little or no connection to their owners, complicating oversight.

According to MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics provider, the vessel was headed for Sohar, an Omani port outside the strait. Lloyd’s List, citing ship registry and tracking data, reported it is owned by a Chinese shipping company and ultimately bound for China.

Vessel reported exiting Strait of Hormuz

A tanker that aborted an attempt to exit the Strait of Hormuz on Monday turned around and transited the waterway early Tuesday, in one of the first tests of the U.S. blockade.

The Rich Starry, a chemical and oil tanker, had been waiting off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to shipping data firm Lloyd’s List, which cited data from the energy cargo-tracking firm Vortexa.

The U.S. military said on Monday that the blockade applied only to vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports, and it was not immediately clear whether the Rich Starry had earlier docked in Iran or was carrying Iranian oil. U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to questions about the vessel.

France says Lebanon must be included in ceasefire, calls Israeli strikes ‘intolerable’

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot reaffirmed Tuesday that Lebanon must be included in the initial ceasefire agreement.

“The ceasefire must absolutely include Lebanon, which under no circumstances can be the scapegoat of the Israeli government,” Barrot said on French radio RFI.

Israel’s strikes on Lebanon are “intolerable,” he said, because they undermine the ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran and because it strengthens militant group Hezbollah.

“Destroying Lebanon, targeting the Lebanese state, does not weaken Hezbollah — quite the opposite, it strengthens it,” Barrot said.

Spain’s prime minister asks China to do more to end war

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he sees China as the main global interlocutor that can help end the war in Iran and other conflicts, such as Ukraine, and urged the Asian giant to do more on the diplomatic front.

“I find it very difficult to find other interlocutors, beyond China, who can resolve this situation created in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” he said Tuesday after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Sánchez is in China for his fourth trip in just over three years as Spain looks to strengthen its political and commercial ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

Sánchez said Spain wants to avoid impunity for those who commit crimes and described what has happened in Gaza as “genocide.”

“International law is being violated today, fundamentally by one country: the government of Israel,” he said. “There is also an absolutely illegal response from the Iranian regime regarding a war that we have described from the very beginning as a mistake and an illegality.”

Merz says he supports talks between Israel and Lebanon

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he supports direct peace talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, which are set to start Tuesday in Washington.

Merz called for an end to hostilities in southern Lebanon and said militant group Hezbollah must lay down its arms, the German chancellery said in a statement Monday night.

Merz reaffirmed his government’s strong support of a diplomatic understanding between the U.S. and Iran and its readiness to contribute to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz if the necessary conditions are met, his office said.

Merz also expressed deep concern about developments in the Palestinian territories and said there must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank.

Xi floats proposal to promote Middle East peace

Chinese President Xi Jinping floated a four-point proposal for promoting Middle East peace during a meeting Tuesday with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown ⁠prince of Abu Dhabi, Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported.

Xi’s proposal calls for upholding the principle of regional peaceful coexistence and respecting national sovereignty while underscoring the principles of coordinating development and security, Xinhua reported.

“Safeguard the authority of the international rule of law. It can’t be ‘use it when it suits us, discard it when it doesn’t,’ and we cannot allow the world to revert to the law of the jungle,” Xi said.

Oil falls and stocks gain on hopes of renewed US-Iran talks

Asian stocks were trading higher tracking and oil fell on Tuesday as expectations rose over a possible second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.7% early Tuesday to $97.37 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 0.9% to $98.49 per barrel.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.3% to 57,804.81. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7% to 5,968.06.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 25,783.41, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.5% to 4,007.93.

Oil prices continued to pull back on Tuesday from earlier gains.

Pakistan proposes second round of talks in Islamabad

Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad in the coming days, before the end of the ceasefire, two Pakistani officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the press, said the proposal would depend on whether the parties request a different location.

One of the officials said that, despite ending without an agreement, the first talks were part of an ongoing diplomatic process rather than a one-off effort.

— By Munir Ahmed

Trout's second home run of the game bounced off the back wall behind the Angels bullpen in left-center, giving Los Angeles a two-run lead in the eighth inning on a night when Judge had already homered twice to put the New York Yankees ahead.

And there was more drama to come — after two three-time MVPs both homered twice in the same game for the first time in 70 years.

Trent Grisham hit his second homer of the evening (and season) to tie the score in the ninth. Moments later, José Caballero trotted home on Jordan Romano's game-ending wild pitch to give the Yankees a pulsating 11-10 win that stopped a five-game losing streak.

“It was great. That’s baseball for you,” Trout marveled. "It’s what fans want, and to be able to see something like that, pretty cool.”

Only once before had a pair of players already three-time MVPs each homered twice in the same game, according to STATS Perform.

After Stan Musial had gone deep twice, Roy Campanella hit a tying, three-run drive in the ninth for his second of the game and Don Zimmer followed with a walk-off single to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 at Ebbets Field on June 21, 1956.

Trout nearly hit a third Monday night. He flied out to Cody Bellinger in front of the center-field wall, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth after the Angels tied the score 4-all with four unearned runs following Caballero's error on Trout's leadoff grounder to shortstop.

Judge had looked forward to crossing paths with Trout in a Yankee Stadium weight room.

“I was going to talk some smack to him after the one he hit all the way to the warning track,” Judge said, “but I didn’t get a chance to and then he answers right back with two big homers for him. You put that guy in a clutch situation, a big moment and he’s going to show up every single time, so it’s fun going back and forth with a guy like that, especially in New York and the Bronx.”

New York had lost five straight after an 8-2 start and had been 0-6 in one-run games.

There were seven home runs that traveled a total of 2,846 feet — more than half a mile — with the Yankees hitting five. Judge's first went 456 feet deep into the left-field bleachers and left the bat at 116.2 mph, the hardest-hit home run of the season.

Grisham and Trout each had five RBIs, and Judge had three.

Baseball's top four active home run leaders were all in the game. Judge, with 374, moved one ahead of teammate Paul Goldschmidt. New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who leads active players with 454, missed by about a foot with a double off the center-field wall in the fifth. Trout has 408 homers.

Trout, 34, won AL MVPs in 2014, '16 and '19 but has struggled with injuries for much of the past five seasons.

“He’s the greatest of all time. It’s been fun to watch his whole career, coming up at such a young age and instantly just putting yourself at the top of the list. It's special," Judge said.

Judge, who turns 34 on April 26, won AL MVPs in 2022, ‘24 and ’25.

“Those are two of the greats, so it’s really fun to watch,” Yankees starter Will Warren said.

Judge and Caballero each hit a two-run homer off Yusei Kikuchi for a 4-0 second-inning lead on an unseasonably warm 77-degree night. After Caballero’s error led to the unearned runs off Warren, Grisham pinch hit in the fifth and connected for a three-run drive against Shaun Anderson for a 7-4 lead.

Trout countered with a three-run homer in the sixth against Jake Bird, who was demoted to Triple-A after the game.

Judge’s homer off Anderson leading off the bottom half gave him 47 multi-homer games, one more than Mickey Mantle and trailing only Babe Ruth’s 68 among Yankees.

“To be surrounded by some greats like that, it’s special,” Judge said.

Josh Lowe knotted the score at 8 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and Trout’s two-run drive in the eighth off Camilo Doval put the Angels ahead 10-8 with his 31st multi-homer game. Judge, watching from right field, shook his head.

“Every time he comes to the Bronx, man, he puts on a show," Judge said. "I hate to see it, but it’s fun competing against a guy like that.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to start the ninth against Jordan Romano, and Grisham reached down and pulled a slider into the right-field seats as the closer put both hands on his head.

Caballero doubled and stole third without a throw. And after Austin Wells walked, Caballero scored when Romano bounced a full-count slider to Ryan McMahon to the backstop on the ninth pitch of the plate appearance.

New York had not won a game while allowing double-digit runs since beating Minnesota 14-12 on July 23, 2019.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone described his own feelings as “tough ... for the belly.”

Then he switched his thoughts to his players.

“You get a lead, then you get another lead, and then it’s gone,” he said. "For the guys, maybe it was good to have a game like that where it was a little messy."

___

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

Leo’s visit to Annaba, the modern-day Hippo, is a spiritual homecoming for the American pope on his second full day in Algeria. He arrived Monday on the first-ever papal visit, against the backdrop of the war in Iran and his calls for peace that have sparked a feud with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine” on the night of his election and has cited Augustine prolifically in his first year, making clear that he's the guiding inspiration of Leo's pontificate. For this trip, where he's aiming to press a message of peace and Christian-Muslim coexistence, he's focusing on Augustine as a bridge-builder.

But the visit is also drawing attention to the North African origins of Augustine, who only spent five years in Italy but is often considered through a Eurocentric lens as one of the greatest Western thinkers of Christianity for his writings on truth, evil, creation and grace.

Leo's Augustinian religious order was founded in Italy in the 13th century, inspired by the saint.

A life in North Africa, looking to Rome

St. Augustine was born in 354 to a Berber mother and Roman father in Thagaste, today the Algerian city of Souk Ahras near the border with Tunisia. At the time, the swath of North Africa was part of the Roman Empire, including Carthage in today’s Tunisia, where Augustine was educated and taught rhetoric.

He left North Africa for Rome in 383 and then Milan, where he converted to Christianity. He returned to his homeland soon thereafter, founded a monastery at Hippo, became a bishop and there wrote some of the most important works in the Western canon, including “Confessions” and “The City of God.”

A new book, “Augustine the African,” by Catherine Conybeare, an Augustine scholar at Bryn Mawr college in Pennsylvania, explores Augustine from his perspective: As a North African, looking to Rome as the center of his universe but feeling insecure there about his Punic-accented Latin.

“One of the most important thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition actually came from Africa, spent almost his whole life in Africa,” Conybeare told The Associated Press. “How does that change things?”

“Of course, because his successors — the people who carried on his heritage — were in Europe, they got to tell the story,” she said. And Europe got his body: After dying in Hippo, Augustine's body was taken eventually to Pavia, Italy, though a forearm remains in the basilica in Annaba.

In welcoming Leo on the first-ever papal visit to Algeria, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed the “immense pride” Algerians feel over St. Augustine. He called him “a cherished son of this land, which having been his first cradle, proudly became his initial resting place.”

A personal visit for Leo

Leo made clear en route to Algeria and even in his remarks to Algerian authorities how deeply personal and important this visit is to him, because of his spiritual connection to St. Augustine. He had visited twice before, while he was superior of the Augustinian order.

“This journey, which is very special for several reasons, was supposed to be the first of my pontificate,” Leo told reporters on the papal plane. “As early as last May, I had said that on my first journey, I would like to visit Africa. Several people immediately suggested Algeria because of St. Augustine.”

In the end, other trips intervened, but he kept the appointment.

The saint, he said, represents “a very important bridge in interreligious dialogue" that the world could use.

“We must always seek bridges to build peace and reconciliation," he said. "This journey, then, truly represents a valuable opportunity to continue with the same voice, with the same message, that we wish to convey: to promote peace, reconciliation, respect and consideration for all peoples.”

While in Annaba, Leo will visit the archaeological ruins of the ancient Roman city of Hippo, including its theater, market and thermal baths. The Vatican said that the site includes the ruins of the basilica where Augustine preached and the adjoining baptistry.

Leo will also visit an order of nuns and the small community of Augustinians in Annaba. He was finishing the day by celebrating Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine, built in the late 1800s, which contains the relic of the saint. Thousands of pilgrims visit the basilica each year, including Muslims.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 10,591.45. France's CAC 40 gained 0.6% to 8,285.37, while Germany's DAX was up 1% to 23,980.13.

Asian stocks ended higher Tuesday. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.4% to 57,877.39. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7% to 5,967.75 after briefly topping 6,000 intraday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8% to 25,872.32, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1% to 4,026.63. China on Tuesday reported worse-than-expected export growth of 2.5% in March for the first month since the Iran war began, although some analysts believe Chinese exports of goods related to AI and renewable energy will continue to support overall export momentum for the year.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%, and Taiwan’s Taiex rose 2.4%.

Investors are still hopeful for a lasting de-escalation of the Iran war, which is in its seventh week, as the U.S. and Iran are said to be weighing a second round of talks before a temporary ceasefire agreement expires next week. The U.S. military on Monday began a blockade of Iranian ports as Washington steps up its pressure on Tehran, following ceasefire talks between the two sides over the weekend that ended without an agreement.

But U.S. President Donald Trump also suggested on Monday that the United States is still willing to engage with Tehran. “I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side,” he said, without further elaborating details.

Oil prices continued to pull back on Tuesday from earlier gains. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 0.4% to $98.93 per barrel. It reached nearly $104 early Monday morning over Iran war worries on limited progress from the weekend ceasefire talks.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 2% to $97.09 a barrel.

The global energy shock stemming from maritime traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil is typically transported, has led to surging fuel prices and is threatening to push up inflation in many countries and impact economic growth.

Wall Street rose on Monday. The S&P 500 gained 1% to 6,886.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 48,218.25, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.2% to 23,183.74.

Shares of investment bank Goldman Sachs dropped 1.9% despite its announcement of better-than-expected quarterly profits.

In other dealings, gold and silver prices rose on Tuesday. Gold’s price was up 0.8% to $4,806.20 an ounce, while silver prices gained 2.9% to $77.82 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar fell to 158.86 Japanese yen from 159.45 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1793, up from $1.1759.

The clock officially ran out on the proposal late Monday night as the state legislative session ended, a casualty of internal party disagreements. In the end, the Maryland Senate left the bill in a committee, with Democrats who control the chamber concerned it could backfire under judicial review.

The unusual mid-decade redistricting, which started when Trump encouraged Republican-controlled Texas to redraw their map last year, is expected to continue next week. Republicans want to change congressional boundaries during a special legislative session in Florida, while Democrats are asking voters to approve a redistricting referendum in Virginia.

But Democrats will not be poised to pick up a seat in Maryland, where the proposed map would have made it easier for voters to oust the state's lone Republican member of the U.S. House.

Moore disagreed with another powerful Maryland Democrat on plans

Moore, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said he disagreed with another powerful Maryland Democrat, state Senate President Bill Ferguson, about “what is required to be able to make sure we’re fighting back” against Trump.

“This is not a political game to me,” Moore said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t look at this as some kind of political talking point. I look at the fact that I think Donald Trump is actively trying to manipulate and change the rules around the November election and beyond because he knows he cannot win on his policies.”

Ferguson has said redistricting could actually cost Democrats seats in Maryland because, in the inevitable legal battle that would ensue, a court could order a new map that would be even less favorable to the party. He refused to budge despite pressure from Moore and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

While speaking at National Action Network in New York on Thursday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Moore complained that Trump was urging some states to redraw maps to favor Republicans, while telling other states to “sit on your hands.”

“Don’t play with me,” Moore said. “And if the rest of the country is going to have this conversation about mid-decade redistricting, then so should Maryland, and so should every other state. Because until it is done nationally, we have to make sure that this election is not stolen right before our face so this pain is made permanent.”

But while Moore named a panel in November that proposed the new map for Maryland, the governor could not prevail on the heavily Democratic Maryland Senate to approve it.

When it was before the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, the governor told lawmakers in January that the state needed to act to counter what he called “political redlining” by Trump in other states at the cost of Black representation in Congress.

Moore, who is the nation's only serving Black governor, compared Trump’s push for Republican-friendly redistricting to discriminatory housing practices, saying the president and his allies “are doing everything in their power to silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership — elected leadership — all over this country.”

Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland and already hold a 7-1 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation, with Rep. Andy Harris the lone GOP representative.

The Maryland House passed legislation containing a new map in early February, but the measure ran into opposition from Ferguson.

The senator pointed out a map adopted in 2021 that would have made it easier to flip Harris’ seat was ruled unconstitutional by a judge who called it “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.” Maryland passed another map in 2022, and the parties dropped their legal fight.

Meanwhile, here's a look at what's happening in other states this month in mid-decade redistricting efforts:

Florida

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has scheduled a special session next week for the Republican-dominated Legislature to draw new congressional districts.

Currently, 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional seats are held by Republicans.

Congressional districts in Florida that are redrawn to favor Republicans could carry big consequences for Trump’s plan to reshape districts in GOP-led states, which could give Republicans a shot at winning additional seats in the midterm elections and retaining control of the closely divided U.S. House.

Virginia

Early balloting has already begun for a vote on a constitutional amendment for a new congressional map in Virginia next week.

After a cascade of redistricting efforts, Republicans believe they can win a combined nine more U.S. House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats think they can win a total of six more seats in California and Utah. Virginia could give Democrats an extra four seats.

Jury selection is set to start as early as Tuesday in the onetime movie mogul's latest retrial, where jurors will weigh — for the third time — whether he raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.

But “it's not going to be a mirror image of the last trial,” new Weinstein lawyer Marc Agnifilo told Judge Curtis Farber last month.

This time, jurors will weigh only one charge based on one accuser, rather than the array of allegations that were aired at Weinstein’s previous trials in New York and Los Angeles. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations and declared in court this winter that he had “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The judge has indicated he might revisit some rulings about exactly what evidence gets presented about Weinstein's and Mann's years of interactions. And Weinstein's recent change in attorneys could shift the trial's tenor and tactics.

Agnifilo and his partners took on the case only in February, when longtime Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala stepped aside from the retrial to focus on the former studio boss’s appeals and civil matters. Both Aidala and Agnifilo are well-known New York defense attorneys, but their litigation styles differ. Aidala is folksy, while Agnifilo is more buttoned-up.

Weinstein wielded significant clout in the entertainment industry, having built his reputation on such critical and popular hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.” He also became a prominent Democratic donor.

Then a series of sexual harassment and sex assault allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in news media in 2017, propelling the #MeToo movement.

He was criminally charged in New York in 2018 and in Los Angeles two years later.

Weinstein went to trial and was convicted of some — but not all — counts in both cases. His initial New York convictions were overturned, spurring a retrial last year.

The retrial verdict was mixed: Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on production assistant and producer Miriam Haley in 2006, but he was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex that same year on model-turned-psychotherapist Kaja Sokola. The jury didn’t decide on the rape charge involving Mann because the foreperson refused to keep deliberating.

Weinstein subsequently considered pleading guilty, according to Aidala. Evidently, Weinstein ultimately rejected the idea.

Mann has testified that she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with the then-married Weinstein. But when he cornered her in a Manhattan hotel room where she was staying on a weekend getaway, she protested, “I don’t want to do this,” she told jurors. She said he kept making advances and demands until she “just gave up.”

Weinstein hasn’t testified at any of his trials, but his lawyers have contended that he never had non-consensual sex.

The defense claimed that Mann and his other accusers willingly entertained his sexual overtures because they wanted his help with their show-business aspirations. The women, by contrast, said Weinstein dangled his Hollywood influence to draw them into his orbit and then victimize them.

His sexual assault conviction involving Haley carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison; no sentencing date has been set. In this case, the yet-to-be-decided rape charge is a lower-level felony punishable by up to four years behind bars. Weinstein, 73, already has served longer than that.

Weinstein suffers from various health problems and uses a wheelchair. He said in court in January that he's haunted by the possibility that he might die in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

“My mental state is collapsing. … My spirit is breaking,” he told the judge.

Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that his New York conviction last year was poisoned by bad blood among jurors. Meanwhile, he's appealing the Los Angeles verdict.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Haley, Mann and Sokola agreed to be named.

The House bill, called the Alert Act, has the backing of key industry groups. The National Transportation Safety Board said recently that the legislation, since amended, now addresses its recommendation to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems that let pilots know more precisely where other aircraft are flying around them.

The NTSB has been recommending the new technology systems since 2008, and Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has said such a system would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that plunged into the icy Potomac River on Jan. 29, 2025.

Two key House committees unanimously advanced the bill last month. The bill is now being brought up for a full House vote under rules that won't allow any amendments. But victims’ families said they want to make sure the bill has strict timelines to guarantee the reforms will be completed.

Sponsored by Republican Sam Graves and Democrat Rick Larens, the legislation needs to secure two thirds of House support to advance to the Senate. Separate legislation called the ROTOR Act that the Senate crafted came up one vote short in the House. Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell have also said the Alert Act still needs to be improved.

Earlier this year, the NTSB's Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as a “watered down” measure that wouldn’t do enough to prevent future tragedies. But the board said the revised version would now address the shortcomings their investigation identified and require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department and the military to take needed actions.

National Transportation Safety Board members at a hearing in late January were deeply troubled over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before the collision.

Everyone aboard the American Airlines jet, flying from Wichita, Kansas, and the helicopter died when the two aircraft collided. It was the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001, and the victims included 28 members of the figure skating community.

A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn't ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport's secondary runway, and the route wasn't reviewed regularly, the board said. The poor design of that route was a key factor in the crash along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots seeing and avoiding other aircraft.

The bill now requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft. Proponents of the use of such systems said they would have alerted the pilots of an American Airlines jet sooner about the impending collision with the Black Hawk helicopter. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their locations.

The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.

Once a leading candidate to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, Swalwell suspended his campaign — then announced he would resign from Congress — following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman. A lengthy lineup of remaining candidates is scheduled to gather Tuesday in Sacramento, their first public appearance together since Swalwell's departure reshaped the wide-open contest.

Meanwhile, lawyers said a woman would detail new allegations of misconduct against Swalwell on Tuesday in Beverly Hills.

In a crowded race with no clear leader in the heavily Democratic state, Swalwell's exit presents an opportunity for his one-time rivals to pick off former supporters just weeks before mail ballots go to voters in early May. The outcome of the June 2 primary election featuring more than 50 candidates is unpredictable.

Democrats have feared for months that the large field of candidates dividing the vote could result in the party being locked out of the November election, with only Republicans appearing on the general election ballot under a quirk in the state's election rules.

Republicans, meanwhile, have yet to settle on a preferred candidate. President Donald Trump endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton, but Republicans at a state convention did not endorse a candidate for governor, with Hilton splitting support with Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff.

No clear beneficiary with Swalwell out

Swalwell’s decision to suspend his campaign Sunday followed allegations published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN. He remained defiant, saying, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

On Monday, he said he planned to resign from Congress but did not provide a date for his departure. He wrote on X that it was unfair for his constituents to have him distracted from his duties. He said he would continue to fight the allegations against him and added, “I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

It's difficult to predict where Swalwell's supporters will go, and it's possible they could scatter across the field of seven established Democrats remaining in the race, with some voters losing interest in the contest.

Swalwell is perhaps best known nationally as a House manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial in early 2021, and he didn't have strong ties to Democrats across the state outside his San Francisco Bay Area district.

Democrats have been struggling to find traction with voters.

Billionaire hedge fund manager-turned-liberal activist Tom Steyer has tapped his personal fortune to blanket media with ads. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is trying for a comeback after he flopped in a 2018 run for governor, and Katie Porter is among the leading Democrats after she fell short in a 2024 run for U.S. Senate.

Porter posted a line from a San Francisco Chronicle column on X saying “Democrats can pull victory from the jaws of defeat by coalescing around Porter.” Steyer said he secured the support of a handful of lawmakers, including Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat whose coastal district runs north of San Francisco, not far from Swalwell’s home turf. Villaraigosa pitched a new ad promising to lower gas and grocery costs in a state known for its punishing cost of living.

While Swalwell has suspended his campaign, his name cannot be removed from the ballot.

“Nobody has really caught fire,” said Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta, who is not involved in the campaign. Swalwell’s supporters “will scatter out to other candidates.”

Many Democrats hoped former Vice President Kamala Harris, or U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, would enter the contest, but they declined.

Lawmakers switch support

In Sacramento, a handful of state lawmakers quickly switched their support from Swalwell to Steyer. Democratic Assemblymember Nick Schultz said he believes Steyer will put in the work to form strong relationships with the legislature. Steyer’s business background — he has never held public office — means he’ll challenge the status quo, Schultz added.

Democratic Assemblymember Corey Jackson — who also shifted to Steyer — said he wanted to back a candidate who had a legitimate chance of winning. He said in a statement that he and Steyer shared a “commitment to building an economy rooted in dignity for working people.”

San Jose’s Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan, running for governor in his first statewide election, sought to distinguish his record from Steyer and Hilton, the Republican candidate known for hosting a show on Fox News for six years.

With Swalwell out, “now we have a field that’s got a billionaire who made his fortune investing in private prisons, ICE facilities, oil and gas companies … and a MAGA-backed TV commentator on the other hand,” Mahan said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”

“California deserves so much better,” Mahan said.

Swalwell’s swift downfall came amid rising pressure for him to leave Congress. He earlier lost the support of powerful labor unions that had backed his candidacy, along with one-time allies, including California U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jimmy Gomez.

Infante, de 53 años, le dijo entonces a su alumna que un corazón la representaba a ella y el otro lo representaba a él, según un informe de arresto de la policía escolar.

“Si tan solo tuviera 30 años menos”, le dijo Infante a la estudiante en otra ocasión, según el informe policial.

Infante estaba bajo arresto domiciliario con confinamiento total el lunes, luego de que los agentes lo arrestaran el viernes. Compareció ante el tribunal de fianzas el sábado, según registros judiciales del Condado Miami-Dade.

La Policía Escolar de Miami-Dade asignó a un detective para investigar la “relación estudiante-maestro” el 23 de febrero, y la estudiante describió cómo el comportamiento de Infante escaló entre agosto y noviembre.

Según el informe de arresto, el comportamiento de Infante incluía tomarle “la mano por más tiempo del usual”, darle “abrazos laterales que la hacían sentir incómoda”, y tomarle el teléfono el 28 de octubre para escribir una nota con su número personal que decía: “Llama a Rudy.”

Infante supuestamente le decía “eres tan hermosa”, “he estado pensando en ti” y “no puedo esperar para estar contigo”, y le “tocaba el hombro, la espalda o el brazo” y le ponía “la mano en las nalgas.”

La adolescente le dijo al detective que Infante describía sus transgresiones como “actos de amor y cariño”, y que ella “dejó de pedirle” que parara “porque sentía que no la escucharía”, según la policía.

“Infante la agarró por la cintura mientras estaba sentada en una silla y la jaló hacia él, haciendo que ella quedara sentada de lado sobre su regazo. Mientras estaba en su regazo, [él] le frotó la espalda... se inclinó hacia adelante y la besó en el pecho entre los senos... ella sintió miedo”, dijo la estudiante según el informe de arresto.

La estudiante dijo que tenía miedo de rechazar a Infante, quien mide seis pies de altura y pesa aproximadamente 225 libras, porque él “es físicamente más grande que ella”, según el informe policial.

El caso del maestro fue asignado a la unidad de Crímenes Sexuales y Abuso Infantil de la Fiscalía del Estado del Condado Miami-Dade, según registros judiciales.

Infante enfrentó cinco cargos: cuatro por agresión y uno por delitos contra estudiantes cometidos por figuras de autoridad. Su fianza fue de $14,000.

Infante compareció ante el tribunal de fianzas el sábado. Un juez le ordenó mantenerse alejado de la adolescente y de todas las escuelas, y le impuso arresto domiciliario con confinamiento total.

Las Escuelas Públicas del Condado Miami-Dade publicaron un comunicado el domingo informando que el distrito escolar había iniciado el proceso de despido contra Infante.

“Este tipo de comportamiento no será tolerado, ya que va en contra de la conducta profesional que esperamos de todos nuestros empleados”, escribió un portavoz de M-DCPS sin dar detalles específicos.

Miami Southridge Senior High School, ubicada en 19355 SW 114 Ave., en el área de South Miami Heights, tenía a Infante en el directorio de la facultad como maestro de Bellas Artes.

El juez del Circuito del Condado Miami-Dade, Zachary James, estaba designado para presidir el caso.

Lee el comunicado completo de M-DCPS:

Las Escuelas Públicas del Condado Miami-Dade (M-DCPS) están perturbadas por las acusaciones contra este individuo.

Al tener conocimiento de este comportamiento sospechoso, la Policía Escolar de Miami-Dade inició de inmediato su investigación y procedió a realizar un arresto.

Este tipo de comportamiento no será tolerado, ya que va en contra de la conducta profesional que esperamos de todos nuestros empleados.

El distrito ha iniciado el proceso de terminación de empleo y garantizará que el individuo no pueda buscar empleo futuro con M-DCPS.

Las editoras de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Sofía Méndez y Mariana Ortiz, contribuyeron a este reportaje.

Sony Pictures unveiled new footage from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” Monday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, in which Zendaya’s character MJ apparently has a boyfriend.

Five years after “Spider-Man: No Way Home” became a sensation in theaters, earning over $1.9 billion worldwide thanks in part to the appearance of past Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the webslinger’s fourth standalone movie is one of the most hotly anticipated of the summer. Its trailer already broke records, with over 1 billion views in its first four days.

Tom Holland, in a video message, told the exhibitors in the audience that it’s the most emotional Spider-Man movie yet, and “the most grown-up.” He introduced an early scene in the new film showing the aftermath of his decision at the end of “No Way Home.” In the sequence, he attends a housewarming party for MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned and introduces himself as “Maynard … just a neighbor from across the hall.”

Destin Daniel Cretton, who made the Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” stepped in to direct this newest “Spider-Man,” which opens in theaters on July 31.

Sony Pictures has for years kicked off the annual conference and trade show for movie theater owners, where throughout the week Hollywood's major studios bring out stars and new footage hoping to wow the people putting their films on the big screen. The studio announced the development of an R-rated adaptation of the video game “Bloodborne,” and the release date of “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki’s English language debut, “Grand Gear,” which will begin filming soon. It’s scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 18, 2028.

They also debuted new footage from the “Spider-Verse” finale, revealed the title of the next “Jumanji” movie — “Open World” — previewed “Weapons” filmmaker Zach Cregger's “Resident Evil,” and gave the audience a first look at Jeremy Strong playing Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin's “The Social Reckoning,” a companion piece to “The Social Network.”

Oscar-winner Mikey Madison (“Anora”) plays Facebook engineer Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White is then-Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz in the film, which comes out in October. Haugen leaked thousands of pages of internal Facebook records to the Journal, yielding a 2021 investigation known as the “Facebook Files.” The series of stories alleged the social media giant was prioritizing profits over safety and hiding its own research from investors and the public.

“It was time to say more,” said Sorkin, who described this film as “a real David and Goliath story.”

In the footage, Strong's Zuckerberg quips that he's “a professional defendant” and pushes back on an adviser saying, “I’m not two years out of a dorm room anymore.”

Sony Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman said he believes “it’s going to be an Olympic level movie year overall” while also acknowledging the industry’s “serious challenges” including that admissions have been down since before the pandemic.

Studios, he said, need to deliver a variety of great films for all audiences. He also made some recommendations for theaters, imploring them to enforce longer theatrical windows “even if that means you cannot play every film,” to get rid of endless advertising before films and make going to the theater more affordable.

“I’m not heckling,” Rothman said. “I’m rooting for you.”

The March export data released by China’s customs agency Tuesday missed analysts’ estimates and was sharply down from the 21.8% export growth recorded for January and February.

Imports last month surged 27.8%, up from the 19.8% year-on-year increase in the first two months of this year.

Technology-related exports including a jump in shipments of semiconductors from China on the global artificial intelligence boom have powered its robust exports in early 2026, but economists say impacts from the prolonged Iran war could affect overall global demand for Chinese exports this year.

“China’s exports have decelerated as the Iran war starts to affect global demand and supply chains,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist for Asia Pacific at French bank Natixis.

Despite the significant rebound in China's export growth in January and February, demand is likely to weaken due to the war's energy shock, Bank of America economists led by Helen Qiao wrote in a recent research note. The risks will "arise from a persistent global slowdown in overall demand if the conflict lasts longer than currently expected,” they wrote.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s elevated tariffs on Chinese exports and tensions between Washington and Beijing have also been straining China’s shipments to the U.S. over the past months, with China stepping up its exports to other regions including Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Analysts are also closely watching Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in May to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping following a delay due to the Iran war.

Chinese leaders have set an annual economic growth target for 2026 of 4.5% to 5%, the lowest since 1991. China met its “around 5%” economic growth target for 2025 on strong exports — with a record high $1.2 trillion trade surplus — and analysts say exports likely will continue to be a key driver for maintaining economic expansion this year as a prolonged property sector slump in China weighed on domestic demand and investments.

Un escrito judicial del 19 de marzo indica que Glidden, de 52 años, y Hochstein, de 43, enfrentan cada uno un cargo de interceptación de comunicaciones por cable, orales o electrónicas.

La descripción de los cargos señala que entre el 12 y el 31 de marzo de 2023, ambos “ilegal e intencionalmente” interceptaron, intentaron interceptar o intentaron que otra persona interceptara “declaraciones orales de Leonard Hochstein y de las personas con quienes Leonard Hochstein habló.”

Los registros muestran que Glidden fue detenido el sábado, aunque el lunes ya no aparecía en la base de datos de la cárcel en línea.

Leonard “Lenny” Hochstein, prominente cirujano plástico del sur de Florida, es el exesposo de Lisa Hochstein. Tienen dos hijos en común.

Según un artículo de Page Six de mayo de 2023, Lenny Hochstein acusó a su exesposa de haber colocado un “dispositivo de escucha” en su auto para “monitorear” sus llamadas.

Lisa Hochstein negó las acusaciones ante Page Six.

La abogada Jayne Weintraub, defensora de Hochstein, y los abogados Howard Srebnick y Frank Gaviria, defensores de Glidden, publicaron una declaración conjunta a Local 10 News el lunes por la tarde en la que dijeron: “Este asunto es parte de un contencioso proceso de divorcio y no pertenece a un tribunal penal.”

La Fiscalía del Estado del Condado Miami-Dade, por su parte, le dijo a Local 10 News que la orden judicial está actualmente sellada.

Criminal complaint: Jody Glidden, Lisa Hochstein by Amanda Rojas

Funcionarios del distrito dijeron que el cierre en Parkway Middle School, ubicada en 3600 NW Fifth Court en Lauderhill, fue consecuencia de la presencia de un arma en el campus.

La policía, por su parte, indicó que parece haber sido el resultado de una activación accidental de una alerta de seguridad.

Parte de la confusión puede deberse al tipo de arma. Estudiantes le dijeron a Local 10 News que se trataba de una pistola de balines.

Algunos estudiantes pensaron inicialmente que era un simulacro.

“Estuvimos en cierre durante todo el primer período”, dijo un estudiante.

Pero la gravedad de la situación se fue haciendo evidente a lo largo del día.

Las Escuelas Públicas del Condado Broward confirmaron que un aviso de un estudiante y un padre de familia llevó a un hallazgo potencialmente peligroso.

El director interino Ackimo Charles dijo en un mensaje a los padres, en parte: “Recibimos información de un estudiante y un padre sobre una posible arma en el campus. Inmediatamente pusimos nuestra escuela en cierre y notificamos a nuestro oficial de recursos escolares y al equipo de seguridad, quienes manejaron la situación de forma segura y confiscaron el arma.”

“Me dijo que la iba a traer a la escuela, pero yo le dije que no lo hiciera, y aun así lo hizo”, dijo otro estudiante. “Y otro de mis amigos también le dijo que no lo hiciera.”

Tras la intervención de la policía, se levantó el cierre y las operaciones escolares continuaron con normalidad.

Charles elogió al estudiante y al padre que decidieron hablar, señalando que el principio de “si ves algo, di algo” funcionó en esta situación.

Judge and José Caballero each hit a two-run homer off Yusei Kikuchi for a 4-0 second-inning lead on an unseasonably warm 77-degree night, but Caballero’s error on Trout’s fourth-inning leadoff grounder to shortstop led to four unearned runs.

Grisham’s pinch-hit, three-run homer off Shaun Anderson lifted New York into a 7-4 lead in the fifth. Trout, like Judge a three-time AL MVP, retied the score with a three-run drive in the sixth against Jake Bird.

Judge’s homer off Anderson leading off the bottom half gave him 47 multi-homer games, one more than Mickey Mantle and trailing only Babe Ruth’s 68 among Yankees.

Josh Lowe knotted the score at 8 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and Trout’s two-run drive in the eighth off Camilo Doval put the Angels ahead 10-8 with his 31st multi-homer game.

Grisham, who had five RBIs, tied the score at 10 with a two-run homer against closer Jordan Romano (0-1) in the ninth. Caballero doubled and stole third without a throw. And after Austin Wells walked, Caballero scored when Romano bounced a full-count slider to Ryan McMahon to the backstop.

Judge has 374 homers, one more than teammate Paul Goldschmidt. New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who leads active players with 454, missed by about a foot with a double off the center-field wall in the fifth. Trout has 408 homers.

Paul Blackburn (1-1) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.

Caballero allowed Trout’s grounder to glance off his glove for an error, leading to a 28-minute, 55-pitch top of the fourth that ended with Trout’s bases-loaded flyout to the center-field warning track.

Jorge Soler doubled for the Angels’ first hit and his AL-high 17th RBI. Jo Adell and Logan O’Hoppe hit two-out RBI singles off Will Warren, who threw 37 pitches in the inning while getting two outs. Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz walked a pair of batters, including Zach Neto with the bases loaded.

Up next

New York’s Ryan Weathers (0-1, 2.81 ERA) and the Angels’ Reid Detmers (0-1, 4.60) start Tuesday in a matchup of left-handers.

___

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

The lower-key four-day Australian visit comes after the couple announced in 2020 they planned to “step back” as senior royals and to become financially independent in their Californian base.

The Sussexes describe their visit as privately funded, and they flew to Melbourne business class from Los Angeles on a commercial Qantas Airways flight. But there have been public complaints about the added security costs for police agencies as the couple visits Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

The cost of security explains why the couple won’t be greeted by thousands of people at public events as they were during their 16-day tour as newlyweds in 2018 to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

The couple’s children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, are not traveling with them. Meghan announced she was pregnant with their first child while she was in Sydney in 2018.

Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper descried the latest visit as a ”faux royal tour to shore up Brand Sussex.”

There have been criticisms of the couple attending paid ticketed events while in Australia.

The Sussexes reject criticisms that the visit is a publicity tour.

“The program is rooted in long-standing areas of work for the Duke and the Duchess, with a clear focus on amplifying organizations delivering measurable impact. The visit prioritises listening, learning and supporting communities rather than promotion,” the Sussexes' office said in a statement.

There were also “a small number of private engagements” to “support broader commercial, charitable and commercial objectives,” the statement said.

Afua Hagan, a media commentator on the British royal family, said the news media typically portrayed the Sussexes as “villains.”

“This is a privately funded trip. To pay for that, they’re going to have to have some commercial interest,” Hagan told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“If they didn’t have commercial interest, the problem would be: ‘Oh my goodness, these people are leeching off the Royal Family and the taxpayers whether or not they’re making their own money. How dare they make their own money.’ They can’t do right for doing wrong,” Hagan added.

Giselle Bastin, a Flinders University expert on the British royals, said the Sussexes’ decision to use their titles to pursue private interests will be perceived by many as a conflict of interest.

“It’s well known that the Sussexes are in dire need of income and so a staging of a quasi-royal tour to Australia is being regarded as a rather desperate attempt to monetise their status as royalty,” she said.

Their first public engagement was at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II opened the facility in 1963 and his parents, Princess Diana and the then-Prince Charles, visited in 1985.

The Sussexes shook hands with dozens of well-wishers and were filmed by hundreds of onlookers' phones as they entered the hospital foyer.

When asked by a reporter what he looked forward to most about his Australian visit, Harry replied: “Everything.”

“It's good to be back,” he added.

Also in Melbourne, Meghan is scheduled to visit a women’s shelter and Harry a veterans’ art museum.

Harry will visit the Australian War Memorial in the national capital, Canberra. The couple will join an Invictus Australia sailing event on Sydney Harbor.

The 2018, the couple hosted the opening of the Invictus Games in Sydney. Harry founded the sporting event in 2014 where sick and injured military personnel and veterans compete.

Un video de celular obtenido por Local 10 News muestra el pánico y el caos después del tiroteo, ocurrido alrededor de la 1:30 a.m. del domingo afuera del Five Stars Banquet Hall en Sunrise.

Amigos de la víctima la identificaron como Kendrick English.

Delarno Barrett dijo que conocía a English desde hace años y que está destrozado por su muerte.

“Es irreal, no lo puedo creer, estoy aturdido”, dijo Barrett.

Según la policía de Sunrise, se celebraba una fiesta de cumpleaños en el salón de eventos ubicado sobre Oakland Park Boulevard. English, quien es cuadripléjico, intentaba entrar cuando fue interceptado en la puerta por Francisco Navarro Sánchez, de 26 años, quien trabajaba como guardia de seguridad.

Un informe de arresto indica que a English se le negó la entrada y se produjo una discusión verbal.

English se fue y regresó por segunda vez, momento en el que los investigadores dijeron que English lo insultó y Sánchez sacó un arma y disparó varios tiros.

Testigos dijeron que se escucharon cinco disparos, según las autoridades.

English murió en un hospital de la zona.

“Él está indefenso, no puede hacerle daño a nadie”, dijo Barrett.

Sánchez compareció ante un juez del Condado Broward el lunes enfrentando un cargo de asesinato.

English tuvo una vida marcada por la adversidad tras sobrevivir a un accidente de fútbol americano cuando era adolescente.

Local 10 News lo conoció por primera vez en 1995, después del accidente que lo dejó paralizado. Jugaba para la escuela secundaria Stranahan.

Nos reencontramos con él nueve años después, cuando recibió una camioneta especialmente adaptada para que pudiera manejar.

“He esperado con ansias tener mi propia independencia y poder ir de un punto A a un punto B solo”, dijo en ese momento.

Quienes conocían y querían a English intentan encontrarle sentido a esta terrible pérdida.

“¿Cómo podemos explicar esto? Duele.”

Sánchez permanece detenido en la cárcel principal del Condado Broward tras serle negada la fianza.

“Este caso nos ha perseguido desde el año en que llegué aquí”, dijo.

Fue el 6 de abril de 2024 cuando Onyxia Delinos, de 26 años, salía a correr adelantándose a su grupo cerca de Miramar Parkway y la Avenida Suroeste 184 cuando fue golpeada repentinamente por un conductor que huyó del lugar.

Delinos quedó con una lesión craneal grave que le cambió la vida para siempre. Desde entonces requirió atención las 24 horas, pero la semana pasada falleció.

“Lo que todavía no hemos recibido es esa llamada mágica, esa llamada mágica que nos va a ayudar”, dijo Moss.

La policía de Miramar afirma que investiga activamente el caso y sigue varias pistas, pero lo que ha dificultado el avance es que no hubo testigos presenciales y no se ha dado a conocer ningún video de vigilancia.

Las autoridades también indicaron que no han encontrado ningún vehículo con daños relacionados con el atropello.

“Ahora mismo es difícil decir qué tan cerca estamos, porque, de nuevo, no tenemos esa llamada mágica”, dijo Moss. “Creo que cuando la tengamos, podremos decir: ‘Sí, esto es definitivamente’. Porque hemos tenido pistas antes.”

El esposo de Delinos, Roosevelt, está destrozado.

En un mensaje de texto a Local 10 News escribió: “No tengo palabras para describir lo que siento. Perdí a mi esposa dos veces y la persona sigue ahí afuera.”

Las autoridades ofrecen una recompensa de $15,000 por información que conduzca a un arresto.

“Si tiene información, por favor, haga esa llamada”, dijo Moss.

There are plenty of historic examples. In 1077, the apologetic “Walk to Canossa” followed the power struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.

“I remember at the beginning of the Iraq War, Pope John Paul II was very vocal in his opposition against the Iraq War,” Wenski said on Monday in Miami Shores. “And I think, President Bush at that time certainly didn’t agree with him, but he didn’t rant about it.”

On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV criticized the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the war in Iran, which continued into the seventh week. The head of the Catholic Church said, “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

TRUMP’S ‘RANT’

On Sunday, Trump took to Truth Social to write that Pope Leo was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Trump wrote, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”

Trump also wrote that the pontiff was elected “because he was an American,” so “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” and added, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”

Wenski said Pope Leo is likely unbothered by Trump’s post.

“You don’t become a Pope without having developed a thick skin over the years, and certainly he will continue to witness the gospel to proclaim The Good News of Jesus Christ,” Wenski said.

TRUMP AND POPE ON MONDAY

Trump told reporters at the White House that he was not going to apologize for the post on Truth Social.

“He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result,” Trump said.

On Monday, the pope talked to reporters about Trump’s post on Truth Social.

“I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems,” the pope told reporters.

THE CONTROVERSIAL IMAGE

Trump faced criticism for sharing a graphic on Truth Social that depicted him as a Christ-like savior.

“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

The White House removed the image on Monday.

Wenski said that while Trump is a Christian, he may not have intended for the photo to offend fellow Christians.

“I don’t think he has much foundation in theology or anything like that to really understand all the nuances and the complexities of religious beliefs and religious feelings,” Wenski said.

Related stories

• Pope starts Africa tour in Algeria and calls for peace against Iran war’s backdrop
• Trump says he won’t apologize to Pope Leo and explains his reason for posting much-criticized meme
• Many US Catholics are dismayed by Trump’s unprecedented broadside at the first American pope

From Grammy nominations to multiplatinum hits, he is considered one of hip hop’s greats.

Now, Jeezy is taking over the Vegas strip with his Legend of the Snowman residency at Planet Hollywood.

For Jeezy, this is the best chapter in an already incredible musical story.

This is his music given new life, hip hop underscored by orchestration, a reimagining of more than 20 years of hits.

Jeezy is the quintessential multihyphenate; a father, author, businessman and creative artist that doesn’t shy away from stepping out of his comfort zone.

Local 10’s Jason Carter caught up with Jeezy and their conversation can be seen at the top of this page.

Officials with the district said that the lockdown at Parkway Middle School, located at 3600 NW Fifth Court in Lauderhill, was the result of a weapon on campus.

Police said it appears to be the result of an accidental activation of a safety alert.

Some of the confusion can possibly be blamed on the type of weapon. Students told Local 10 News that it involved a BB gun.

Some students initially thought it was a drill.

“It was on lockdown for like the whole first period,” one student said.

But the seriousness of the situation became evident as the day went on.

Broward County Public Schools confirmed that a tip from a student and parent led to a potentially dangerous discovery.

Intern Principal Ackimo Charles said in a message to parents, in part, “We received information from a student and parent about a possible weapon on campus. We immediately placed our school on Lockdown and notified our School Resource Officer and security team, who safely handled the situation and confiscated the weapon.”

“He told me he was going to bring it to school, but I told him not to do it, but he still went ahead,” another student said. “And one of my other friends told him not to do it.”

After police got involved, the lockdown was lifted and school operations continued as normal.

Charles praised the student and parent who actually stepped in to say something, saying that the idea of “see something, say something” worked in this particular situation.

The list was revealed on Monday night's airing of “American Idol.” Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. Nominees were voted on by more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals.

Soft rocker Collins, who already is in the hall as a member of Genesis, has had such solo hits as “In the Air Tonight” and “One More Night,” and has earned eight Grammys, including album of the year in 1985 for “No Jacket Required.” Collins got in the first time he appeared on the ballot.

Soul-jazz vocalist Sade, also nominated in 2024, had such soft rock hits as “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo.” The Wu-Tang Clan have been hailed as rap innovators since their game-changing 1993 debut album “Enter the Wu-Tang.”

Iron Maiden, nominated twice before, helped power the new wave of British heavy metal with iconic albums like “The Number of the Beast.” Vandross, who sold more than 25 million albums and had the hits “Here and Now” and “Any Love,” died in 2005 and inspired Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther.”

This year, the hall will open its arms to the sounds of Manchester, England, inducting post-punk pioneers Joy Division and New Order — which shared most of the same members — as well as Britpop’s recently reunited Oasis, made up of Noel and Liam Gallagher. Idol, also English, has brought a punky sneer to pop with songs like “White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell.”

The induction will be held Nov. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. A TV presentation will air in December on ABC and Disney+. Next year, the ceremony will return to the hall's home of Cleveland.

Those nominated this year but who came up short for the class of 2026 include Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Melissa Etheridge, Jeff Buckley, Pink, New Edition and Shakira.

In addition to the performer category, inductees entering the hall can arrive under three special committee categories: early influence, musical excellence and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.

The early influence award this year will honor Queen Latifah, Cuban singer Celia Cruz, Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, rapper MC Lyte and country rocker Gram Parsons. The musical excellence will honor songwriter Linda Creed and producers Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin.

More than 50 years after his death, Ed Sullivan, the legendary host of his self-titled appointment-viewing TV show, will go into the hall with the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award. It's a recognition of how important his Sunday night stage became as a launchpad for nearly every musical icon of the 1950s and '60s and of how his show helped break racial barriers in American entertainment.

Last year, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Soundgarden, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Carol Kaye, Nicky Hopkins, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell and Warren Zevon all were inducted.

The campaign of attacks on vessels that the Trump administration says are trafficking drugs in Latin American waters has persisted for more than seven months and continues even as the military has been preoccupied for more than six weeks with the Iran war.

It was the second day in a row that U.S. Southern Command announced a strike on social media. It said Sunday that it blew up two boats in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing a total of five people and leaving one survivor. It was not immediately clear what happened to that person.

With the latest attack Monday, at least 170 people have been killed in the boat strikes since the effort began in early September, months ahead of the U.S. raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.

U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. It posted a video on X showing a small boat floating in the water before a huge blast hits it and smoke is seen pouring from the vessel.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

Trump on Monday appeared to reference the tactic of boat strikes in Latin America while issuing new threats against Tehran as a blockade of Iranian ports took effect.

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice were taken with picks Nos. 4-6 on Monday night, barely a week after helping the Bruins win their first NCAA championship. UCLA became the first team to have five first-round selections, and the first with six players selected in one draft.

In a whirlwind stretch where the Bruins were feted from coast to coast, the good times hit their peak at the draft, where the best team this season took its place among the best of all time.

“It’s really hard to sum up because there’s so much,” Jaquez said. “I think that we’re just on a high right now. We just won the national championship. A lot of us have also graduated college, which is a huge step and something to be super proud of, especially at UCLA. And then we got to go to Jimmy Kimmel, a Laker game, Clipper game, dance, have the celebration at Pauley Pavilion. We went on ‘Good Morning America’ this morning. Obviously, a lot of us are here at the draft tonight being drafted. It’s just been a special moment.”

The 6-foot-7 Betts was selected by the Washington Mystics, with Jaquez then taken by the Chicago Sky. The expansion Toronto Tempo made Rice their first draft pick with the No. 6 selection.

With coach Cori Close sitting up front near her players, the Bruins kept having reasons to stand up and cheer. They were going so quickly that after Angela Dugalic was taken at No. 9 to join Betts in Washington, she worried she’d miss witnessing more big moments for her teammates.

Betts said she wasn’t surprised, having watched how hard her teammates worked.

“These are like my sisters, and getting to watch your family do something like that is amazing,” Betts said. “But I mean, this team is just so special. We knew the type of players that we had on the team, and to really just have this night really showcase all of the things that we’ve worked on all season is just amazing.”

UCLA went 37-1, routing South Carolina on April 5 in the title game — with their seniors scoring all of their points in the Final Four — and then made WNBA history when Gianna Kneepkens was drafted by Connecticut with the 15th and final pick of the first round. Close has said she doesn't care about records, but that changed Monday.

“Well, I mean, I sort of do care about this one actually, because No. 1, it helps us in recruiting. I think we’ve really taken a developmental approach to this and to see it come to fruition the way it has is obviously really gratifying,” she said.

“Just to be a part of an historic night and for them to be so excited for each other, that’s sort of representative of how they’ve been all year long. But it’s a pretty cool record to be a part of.”

UConn had the previous record of four first-round selections — all in the first six picks — in 2002. Sue Bird was No. 1, Swin Cash No. 2, Asjha Jones No. 4 and Tamika Williams No. 6 from a team that went 39-0.

Tennessee, in 1999 and again in 2008, had five players selected in the draft, as did Notre Dame in 2019 and South Carolina in 2023. But those players weren’t all taken in the first round.

“I think it definitely demonstrates that being a selfless team, that maybe giving up individual stats for team success, that you can win with that formula. You can still be successful. You can win at a high level as a team but you can also achieve individual goals,” Rice said.

“We knew we all wanted to go to the WNBA. We all wanted to be pros, but that wasn’t the only focus during the season. It was winning, it was giving to each other, it was how can we be the best team possible. In the process of doing that, we still got the results that we wanted to at the end of the day, and that’s something that is really special.”

Charlisse Leger-Walker was taken by the Sun in the second round, set to remain teammates with Kneepkens.

The Bruins went to dinner together while in New York and were going to spend more time together after the draft. But Kneepkens said they wouldn't be saying their goodbyes yet.

“Yeah, those girls mean the most to me, and good thing we live in this day and age and we have phones,” she said. “So hopefully we’ll keep in touch, and obviously we’ll see each other around.”

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AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this report.

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

Ramagem, también exlegislador, fue sentenciado en septiembre pasado a 16 años en prisión por su presunta participación en un intento de golpe de Estado contra el actual mandatario Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva en 2023. La Policía Federal de Brasil indicó que huyó del país antes de empezar su condena.

El senador Jorge Seif señaló en redes sociales que informó a la embajada de Estados Unidos en Brasilia que Ramagem no debería permanecer bajo custodia de las autoridades debido a que era perseguido en su país de origen. Seif no entró en detalles sobre los motivos por los que el exdirector de la agencia de inteligencia había sido detenido.

Ramagem figuraba el lunes en la base de datos en línea de personas bajo custodia del ICE, aunque no se especificó dónde se encuentra retenido.

“La persecución política contra el presidente Bolsonaro, sus hijos y sus aliados alcanzó ahora a un legislador electo en suelo extranjero”, declaró Seif. “En nuestro documento (a la embajada de Estados Unidos) mostramos todas las razones que justifican y respaldan la concesión de asilo político a Ramagem y su familia”.

Ramagem fue destituido de su escaño en el Congreso en diciembre pasado como resultado de su condena.

La Policía Federal de Brasil informó horas antes el lunes que “un prófugo de la justicia del país fue arrestado” en Orlando, pero no mencionó a Ramagem por su nombre.

El comunicado de la Policía Federal de Brasil también indicó que el prófugo fue condenado recientemente por el máximo tribunal del país por los mismos tres cargos por los que Ramagem fue declarado culpable.

El ICE y el abogado de Ramagem no respondieron de momento a una solicitud de comentarios de The Associated Press.

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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.

Ramagem, also a former lawmaker, was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison for his role in the coup attempt by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2023. Brazil's federal police said he fled the South American nation before he would have started serving his sentence.

Sen. Jorge Seif said in his social media channels that he had informed the U.S. embassy in Brasilia that Ramagem should not remain in custody for he was being persecuted at home. Seif did not give details as to why the former Brazilian intelligence agency chief had been put under custody.

On Monday, Ramagem appeared as in custody in ICE's online detainee database, although where he is being held was not specified.

“The political persecution against President Bolsonaro, his sons and his allies is now hitting an elected lawmaker in foreign soil,” Seif said. “In our document (to the U.S. embassy) we showed all the reasons that justify and defend the concession of political asylum to Ramagem and his family.”

Ramagem was stripped of his seat in Brazil's congress in December as a consequence of his conviction in the coup case one month earlier.

Earlier on Monday, Brazil's federal police said in a statement that a “fugitive of the country's justice was arrested" in Orlando, but did not mention Ramagem by name.

Brazil's federal police also said the unnamed fugitive was recently sentenced by the country's top court for the same three counts as Ramagem's conviction.

ICE and Ramagem's lawyer did not respond a request for comment from The Associated Press.

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

The program released a video statement Monday from the 6-foot-10 forward regarded as a top prospect in the June draft. That made Wilson's one-and-done route official, coming after he had posted an “#8out” message on social media late last month indicating he was headed in that anticipated direction.

“I am grateful for the opportunity I had to represent North Carolina,” Wilson said. “Wearing No. 8, running out of that historic tunnel every day for practice and games, and i’m happy to say every day I gave it my all.”

Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in a dynamic season was cut short by injury, first a broken bone in his left hand days after a thrilling win against rival Duke. Then, when he was on the verge of returning, he broke his right thumb in a non-contact drill to end his season on the eve of Round 2 with the Blue Devils.

Still, Wilson was named a second-team Associated Press All-American, a distinction that will ensure that he will be included among the honored jerseys in the Smith Center rafters.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Monday night’s looks spanned the gamut from dressy business pantsuits to full-on Hollywood-style glamour filled with designer labels.

“I feel like if you have the confidence you can pull anything off,” LSU guard and rapper Flau’jae Johnson said.

The attention and detail given to the draft night outfits also is good preparation for the “Tunnel Fits” that have become a major part of WNBA marketing with how the players look arriving for games during the season.

Johnson, who does not lack for confidence, walked the carpet in a daring black, sleeveless gown with slits down the side with a black fur wrapped around her waist and holding a bejeweled clutch. She told her stylist to give her a look that could work for both the WNBA draft and the Met Gala.

The five UCLA Bruins on hand Monday night took time before posing with the rest of the players at the draft for a version of their own first look at each other's floor-length dresses — along with a quick selfie.

Awa Fam Thiam, a 6-foot-4 center from Spain, joined TCU forward and fellow Spaniard Marta Suarez decking out in red. Suarez wore a red pantsuit with a large black belt anchoring her middle, while Fam Thiam went with a daring red gown featuring cutouts over her left shoulder and portions of her midriff.

“I saw this moment like introducing myself,” Suarez said. “I'm passionate, I'm fiery and the red looks good on me what can I say?”

Fam Thiam also loves the color red: “I saw this dress yesterday and I felt like this is the dress.”

Suarez carried a purse she painted on one side with her fellow players on hand for this draft signing the other side for what she called her introduction to the league. She also paints her shoes for games, a tradition she intends to take with her into the WNBA.

“I love painting," Suarez said. “That's my love language.”

Ta’Niya Latson brought a bit of the 1960s mixed with old Hollywood to the orange carpet as the South Carolina guard had a little swoop of hair over her forehead to go with a black sequined gown. She wore Christian Louboutin black pumps, elbow-length gloves and a clutch handbag.

Raven Johnson debuted a bob hairdo on the orange carpet — a big change from the long hair the South Carolina guard had in a ponytail at the Final Four only a week ago. Johnson said she partnered with Coach going for a rich and elegant look in a gray and black jacket-style dress with black clutch, diamond necklace and earrings.

As fabulous as the women looked for their draft close-ups, the incoming rookies also sound ready to do their part styling up lots of looks for those “Tunnel Fits” when the season starts in May.

“Tunnel fits are going to be great,” Flau'jae Johnson said. “I’m just very excited. Ever since I did the cover of Teen Vogue, I'm really into fashion.”

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

Vitale said Monday that biopsy results had confirmed a diagnosis of melanoma in his lung and liver cavity, which will have him starting immunotherapy. It marks his fifth battle with cancer, which sidelined him from the airwaves for two years before his return shortly before March Madness in 2025.

“I've beaten melanoma,” the 86-year-old Vitale said in a statement released by ESPN. “I've beaten lymphoma. I've beaten vocal-cord cancer. I've beaten lymph-node cancer. I'm 4 for 4 and I'm fully confident I'm going to make it 5 for 5."

Separate from his ESPN statement, Vitale posted on social media Monday that he had gone through 10 days of testing that included scans, MRIs, bloodwork and a biopsy.

"I obviously did not get the report today that I was hoping for when my oncologist called,” Vitale said, noting he planned on “winning the battle” and adding: “Now at least I know what I face.”

Vitale has made himself a fixture in college basketball, earning the affectionate nickname “Dickie V” with his voice and exuberant style offering a soundtrack to some of the biggest moments in the sport's history. He's inching closer to five decades with ESPN going back to its 1979 launch, armed with a contract through the 2027-28 season as well as the creation of a basketball event named in his honor this past season.

And every step of the way he's quick to tell anyone and everyone how “lucky” he feels to still be working after years of fighting cancer.

That started in 2021 with melanoma, followed by treatments for lymphoma. There were also chemotherapy treatments, radiation for vocal-cord cancer and surgery by summer 2024 to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck, while he was unable to speak for a time after the vocal-cord surgery, leaving him having to scribble on eraser-board messages to communicate.

Still, Vitale said in his ESPN statement that he feels “fantastic." And he quickly turned the focus of his statement to his long-running efforts to raise money for pediatric cancer research, notably with next month’s annual gala in his name that has raised more than $105 million in its two-decade history.

“At 86 years young, I've lived a hell of a life, and I'm more motivated than ever to raise money for kids battling cancer,” Vitale said, adding that he hopes to raise $12 million with the 21st “Dick Vitale Gala” set for May 1 in Sarasota, Florida.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Gonzales had already said he would not seek reelection after admitting to an affair with a staff member who had later died by suicide. His retirement announcement came just hours after Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California said he would be resigning from Congress as he also confronted allegations of sexual misconduct.

House Republican leaders had already called on the three-term Gonzales to not seek reelection as they try to hold on to a strongly Republican district in November's midterm elections. And the House Ethics Committee had initiated an investigation. Under House ethics rules, lawmakers may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House under their supervision.

“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales said in a social media post. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.”

He said it has been a privilege “to serve the great people of Texas.” He gave no further details on his plans to step down. Previously, he had insisted he would serve out the remainder of his term as the GOP works to hold its slim House majority.

Last month, the top Republican and Democratic members on the House Ethics Committee said in a joint statement that an investigative panel would look into whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee in his office and whether he discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.

That announcement came the same day that Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show,” was asked if he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales went on to say he had reconciled with his wife and had asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation.

But as lawmakers returned from a two-week break on Monday, there was a growing clamor among members to take a stand against alleged sexual misconduct. Swalwell's alleged transgressions brought renewed attention to the issue.

Comments from lawmakers on social media suggested some were open to an expulsion trade-off of sorts that would affect each party equally.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., said both Gonzales and Swalwell “are not fit to serve in Congress given their sexual transgressions against women who work for them.”

“There’s already been a resolution announced to expel Swalwell that I will support. I will introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Gonzales,” Leger Fernandez said.

In a separate post that came after the Texas lawmaker made his retirement announcement, she challenged Gonzales to make it "effective immediately.”

“He has until 2PM tomorrow — when we will file his expulsion,” she said on X.

Infante, 53, then allegedly told his Miami Southridge Senior High School student that one heart represented her and the other represented him, according to a schools’ police arrest report.

“If only I was 30 years younger,” Infante told the student on another occasion, according to the police arrest report.

Infante was on house arrest with total lockdown on Monday after police officers arrested him on Friday, and he appeared in bond court on Saturday, according to Miami-Dade County court records.

Miami-Dade Schools Police assigned a detective to investigate the “student-teacher relationship” on Feb. 23, and the student described how Infante’s behavior escalated from August to November.

According to the arrest report, Infante’s behavior included holding “her hand longer than usual,” giving her “side hugs that made her feel uncomfortable,” and taking her phone on Oct. 28 to type a note with his personal phone number that said, “Call Rudy.”

Infante would allegedly say, “you are so beautiful,” “I have been thinking about you,” and “I can’t wait to be with you,” and he would “touch her shoulder, back, or arm” and place “his hand on her buttocks.”

The teen told the detective Infante described the boundary crossing as “done out of love and endearment,” and “she stopped asking” him to stop “because she felt he would not listen to her,” according to police.

“Infante grabbed her by the waist while seated in a chair and pulled her toward him, causing her to sit sideways on his lap. While she was seated on his lap, [he] rubbed her back ... leaned forward and kissed her on the chest area between her breasts ... she felt afraid,” the teen said, according to the arrest report.

The student said she was afraid to reject Infante, who is 6 feet tall and weighs about 225 pounds, because he “is physically larger than her,” according to the police arrest report.

The teacher’s case was assigned to the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Sexual Crimes and Child Abuse unit, according to court records.

Infante faced five charges: Four counts of battery and one count of offenses against students by authority figures. His bond was $14,000.

Infante appeared in bond court on Saturday. A judge ordered him to stay away from the teenage girl and all schools and ordered house arrest with total lockdown.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement on Sunday, reporting that the school district had initiated employment termination proceedings against Infante.

“This type of behavior will not be tolerated as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees,” a M-DCPS spokesperson wrote without providing specifics.

Miami Southridge Senior High School, at 19355 SW 114 Ave., in the South Miami Heights area, had listed Infante on the faculty directory as a Fine Arts teacher.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Zachary James was set to preside over the case.

Local 10 News Assignment Editors Sofia Mendez and Mariana Ortiz contributed to this report.

Read the arrest report’s narrative:

Watch Saturday’s bond court hearing

Releated report: Miami-Dade schools’ teacher faces prosecution by state attorney’s sexual crimes and child abuse unit

Read M-DCPS complete statement:

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is disturbed by the allegations made against this individual.

Upon learning about this suspected behavior, Miami-Dade Schools Police immediately began their investigation and subsequently made an arrest.

This type of behavior will not be tolerated as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees.

The District has initiated employment termination proceedings and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with M-DCPS.

The Florida Forest Service responded to the wildfire burning in Naples.

As of late Monday afternoon, officials said the fire was 15% contained.

Footage captured from I-75 traffic cameras showed thick clouds of smoke billowing from the area.

This comes as Naples is under extreme drought conditions.

Officials are taking caution as windy conditions could cause the flames to spread.

Evacuation orders have been issued for some residents in the area.

Tuesday will feature sunshine, scattered clouds and that familiar, east breeze. Plan for winds sustained 10 to15 mph with gusts 20 to 25 mph. Temperatures will be seasonable with lows forecast near 70°F, highs in the low 80s.

Timothy Hudson was initially charged in February and subsequently indicted on March 10. But the breadth of the case was not known until a seal was lifted Friday, weeks after U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said he would be prosecuted as an adult at the request of the government.

Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.

The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.

Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, released a statement, saying the family was placing “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.”

“At the same time, we are deeply troubled that, despite the seriousness of the charges, he has not been taken into custody. ... The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Kepner said.

Email and voicemail messages seeking comment from Hudson’s attorneys about the charges were not immediately returned Monday. Hudson has remained free in the care of an uncle since his arrest in February.

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said in a written statement. “A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters.”

Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”

Teens are rarely prosecuted in federal court. Hudson pleaded not guilty when he was initially charged in February, though the proceedings were not public because of his age and neither were court documents. He was seen at the courthouse wearing a ball cap and a hoodie pulled tightly around his face.

A judge on Feb. 6 said Hudson must wear an electronic tether while living with an uncle. The order was changed to allow him to join his father for a few days last week at a landscaping business, newly unsealed court records show.

Prosecutors objected to Hudson’s release, citing dangerousness, and asked a judge Monday to revisit that order now that he has been charged as an adult. Defense lawyers will have a week to respond.

“He committed these crimes against a victim with whom he had no apparent relational strife, and whom he was being raised to view as a sibling,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra López said in a court filing.

The suspect was identified by BSO as Tamica Brown, 43, who faces charges of criminal use of personal identification information and trafficking in counterfeit credit cards.

“SNAP is a federally funded program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its Food and Nutrition Service,” BSO spokeswoman Claudinne Caro said in a news release. “Eligible recipients access their funds through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which works similarly to a debit or credit card. Recipients access their benefits using the EBT card and a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN).”

According to BSO, the investigation began on July 20, 2025, when deputies in Cooper City were called to a Walmart at 4700 S. Flamingo Road where a victim reported that someone had used their EBT card without their consent.

Detectives said they eventually identified about 200 victims who suffered a combined loss of more than $120,000.

A single mother of three children, who was forced to go without groceries, and a 95-year-old woman were among the victims, Caro said.

Caro confirmed that 30 victims have been interviewed by detectives so far.

“The eight-month-long investigation revealed Brown, 43, operated an organized fraud scheme where she unlawfully obtained EBT card numbers belonging to SNAP recipients, associated PINs, and account balances from multiple sources,” Caro said. “Evidence indicated that these card numbers were stolen by unknown means and transmitted to Brown electronically by way of phones.”

According to BSO, Brown used the stolen card numbers and PINs to make unauthorized purchases, including for “high-demand” energy drinks, such as Red Bull and Celsius.

Investigators said she then resold the products to corner stores and convenience stores.

According to Caro, the victims discovered their benefits had already been depleted when they tried to make purchases of their own with their EBT cards.

Brown was arrested last Tuesday by Pembroke Pines police, who took her into custody on BSO’s warrant.

As of Monday afternoon, she was being held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility on a $300,000 bond.

According to Officer Mike Vega, the police department received a ShotSpotter alert near the main stage of the event on Northeast 62^nd Street off Second Avenue shortly before 11:30 p.m., toward the end of the event.

He said three people who had been shot were located. Each was transported by Miami Fire Rescue to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

According to authorities, one victim died at the hospital and the two others are stable.

The deceased victim has been identified by officials as Kitchner Cyrille, 23.

“I just don’t understand how it happened,” said event host Supa Cindy. “There was so much police presence out there and everyone felt safe, on a good vibe having fun, there were officers everywhere.”

Cellphone video shows the aftermath of the shooting. Clothing and shoes were scattered across the pavement and one of the victims was seen on the ground being treated by paramedics.

“Well, it was two gunshots,” one witness said. “I didn’t see anything.”

The witness was near the area where the shooting took place and said she heard the deadly shots.

She described the chaotic moments that followed.

“When I turned around, I saw a young guy laying (on the ground) -- was just unresponsive. He wasn’t responsive,” she said. “People were just running all over, I fell down on people. People just trying to recover from the whole incident. That was it -- it was a pause, and then it was another two or three shots.”

Authorities said Monday they have a person of interest in the shooting, but no other details were made available.

“No matter how much planning you have, it is incredibly hard to dissuade someone who has a target in mind,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales. “It appears to be a crime of opportunity targeted specifically to the victim. It had no connection to the festival whatsoever.”

Farmers' costs, such as equipment, have crept up over time while soybean prices have stayed low. Tariffs levied by the Trump administration last year and the monthslong trade war with China only made things worse, soybean producers say. Then the Iran war bottled up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, restricting global fertilizer supplies and sending fuel and fertilizer prices soaring. A ceasefire deal announced April 7 raised hope that bottlenecks in the strait would abate, but the future of the agreement was uncertain and experts say it will take time for global supply chains to recover.

The AP and Lee Enterprises interviewed experts and soybean farmers across multiple Midwest states.

Here are key takeaways from the report:

Rising costs, low soybean prices have hurt farmers' margins

Soybeans, which are used for livestock feed, food and biofuels, are among the top U.S. agricultural exports. But soybean prices have been persistently low in recent years. The global market has been awash in soybeans, driven in part by Brazil, which surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest soybean producer years ago.

“If we look at global soybean production over the past several years, it continues to set record, after record, after record,” said Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University. “There’s been just large supplies globally, and that has led to depressed prices.”

Meanwhile, Midwest soybean farmers’ costs have risen. Overall farm production expenses, including seed and pesticide, have increased over time, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Operating costs for soybean production have stayed elevated since 2020 and are projected to increase again in 2026, according to the agency.

The cost of land also is a major issue for farmers, experts say. Midwest crop land values have increased. And most regional farmers rent some of their land, according to Joana Colussi, research assistant professor in the department of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

The U.S.-China trade war in 2025 has lasting impacts

Sweeping tariffs levied by President Donald Trump in April 2025 exacerbated a trade war with China, the top buyer of U.S. soybeans. China responded with retaliatory tariffs and effectively boycotted U.S. soybeans, cutting off a major export market for Midwest farmers and driving the price of soybeans even lower. The U.S. and China eventually reached a deal in late 2025. Beijing committed to buying 12 million metric tons of soybeans by January and at least 25 million metric tons annually for the next three years. China has since met its initial soybean purchase goal and the Trump administration also rolled out a $12 billion temporary aid package in December to boost farmers affected by the trade war.

But the damage is already done, experts and farmers say. While China’s renewed purchases and the federal payments are helping, it’s not enough to recover farmers’ losses. Even after federal assistance, farmers still lost almost $75 per harvested acre of soybeans in the 2025 crop, according to the American Soybean Association. And the trade war further pushed China toward competing soybean exporters, such as Brazil — accelerating a trend of declining U.S. soybean exports to China.

Joseph Glauber, former chief economist at the Department of Agriculture between 2008 and 2014, said global competitors to U.S. soybean farmers gained from the trade war. The U.S. is not as dominant in the global soybean export market as it used to be, Glauber added.

The Iran war further drove up costs for farmers

After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, a severe slowdown in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz sent the price of oil soaring. The shipping disruption also largely stopped the export of nitrogen fertilizers manufactured in the Persian Gulf and limited access to key fertilizer ingredients. The price of urea, the most widely traded nitrogen fertilizer, skyrocketed.

Soybeans don’t require nitrogen fertilizer, but it’s vital for corn and most soybean farmers also grow corn. About half the global supply of urea comes from the Middle East, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia are two of the top sources of U.S. fertilizer imports, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire last week that included reopening the strait of Hormuz, but traffic remained slowed amid disagreements over Israeli attacks in Lebanon, and the price of urea remains elevated.

Many Midwest farmers bought their fertilizer well in advance of the spring planting season. But some farmers who didn’t buy early face elevated prices.

The war also caused gasoline and diesel prices to surge, causing further headaches for farmers. Oil prices dropped following the ceasefire announcement, but the war and the closure of the strait will have lasting impacts on farmers, said Seth Goldstein, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar, an investment research company. Facilities in the Middle East that are critical for exporting chemicals, oil and other commodities were damaged or destroyed during the war and it will take time for supply chains to recover, he said.

A March 19 court filing states that Glidden, 52, and Hochstein, 43, are each facing one count of interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications.

A description of the charges states that between March 12 and March 31, 2023, the two “unlawfully and intentionally” intercepted, tried to intercept, or tried to have someone else intercept “oral statements by Leonard Hochstein and those Leonard Hochstein spoke with.”

Records show Glidden was taken into custody Saturday. He no longer appeared in the online jail database on Monday.

Leonard “Lenny” Hochstein, a prominent plastic surgeon in South Florida, is Lisa Hochstein’s ex-husband. They share two children.

According to a Page Six article from May 2023, Lenny Hochstein accused his ex-wife of planting a “listening device” on his car in an attempt to “monitor” his calls.

Lisa Hochstein denied the claims to Page Six.

Attorney Jayne Weintraub, Hochstein’s defense counsel, and attorneys Howard Srebnick and Frank Gaviria, Glidden’s defense counsel, released a joint statement to Local 10 News on Monday afternoon saying, “This matter is part of a contentious divorce proceeding and does not belong in criminal court.”

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, meanwhile, told Local 10 News the warrant is currently under seal.

Regan Prater also pleaded guilty to attempting to aid a foreign terrorist organization for efforts to provide the militant group Hezbollah “a list of personally identifiable information for individuals purportedly affiliated with the government of Israel,” according to a criminal information filed in February.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9 in Knoxville.

A public defender representing Prater did not immediately respond to an email and phone message requesting comment.

Prater was arrested last April in connection with the arson at the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market. The arrest came more than six years after the March 2019 blaze, which caused more than $1.2 million in damage, prosecutors say.

An affidavit filed in federal court in East Tennessee last year said Prater’s posts in several group chats affiliated with white supremacist organizations connected him to the crime. In one private message, a witness who sent screenshots to the FBI asked a person authorities believe was Prater whether he set the fire.

“I’m not admitting anything,” the person using the screen name ‘Rooster’ wrote. But he later went on to describe exactly how the fire was set with “a sparkler bomb and some Napalm.”

A white-power symbol was spray-painted on the pavement near the site of the fire. The affidavit describes it as a “triple cross” and says it was also found on one of the firearms used by a shooter who killed 51 people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, 2019, about two weeks before the Highlander fire.

Prater was initially charged in 2025 with one count of arson. On Monday, the previous indictment was dismissed in favor of the criminal information filed in February which included the charge related to the Lebanese group Hezbollah. In a plea agreement filed the following day in February, the government agreed that a sentence of no more than 20 years was appropriate.

Prater was previously sentenced to five years in federal prison for setting a fire in June 2019 at an adult video and novelty store in East Tennessee. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $106,000 in restitution in that case. At the scene of that fire, investigators found a cellphone they later determined belonged to Prater. The phone included a short video showing a person inside the store lighting an accelerant, according to the affidavit.

Highlander is known as a place where civil rights figures including Rosa Parks and John Lewis received training. Parks attended a workshop there on integration in 1955, about six months before she famously refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She always credited Highlander with helping her become a more determined activist.

Parks returned to Highlander two years later with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for the school’s 25th anniversary celebration, where King gave a keynote address on achieving freedom and equality through nonviolence.

The blaze at Highlander broke out in the early morning of March 29, 2019. No one was injured, but decades’ worth of irreplaceable documents were lost. They included artifacts, speeches and other materials from different eras, including from the Civil Rights Movement.

Nov. 6, 2025:

Anna Kepner, a high school cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, dies from mechanical asphyxia aboard the Carnival Horizon in international waters. She was on the cruise with her family.

Nov. 7-8, 2025:

Kepner’s body is discovered by a housekeeper, concealed under a bed in the cabin she was sharing with two other teens, including her stepbrother, Timothy Hudson.

Mid-November, 2025:

Kepner’s death draws international attention, sparking intense speculation after a court filing in a dissolution of marriage case involving Hudson’s mother said the FBI is investigating and a minor child may be implicated.

Nov. 20, 2025:

The Associated Press reports that Hudson is identified as a suspect in her death according to court documents filed by his parents in an ongoing custody dispute. He is identified only as “T.H.” in the court documents.

Feb. 2, 2026:

Hudson is charged as a juvenile with murder and sexual abuse in federal court, but the court file is sealed because of his age.

Feb. 3:

Hudson is arrested and pleads not guilty to the charges. The hearing is not open to the public.

Feb. 6:

U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres says Hudson can remain free pending trial, but he must live with an uncle and be electronically monitored.

Feb. 24:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra L. Lopez requests that Hudson be prosecuted as an adult, and Hudson’s defense attorneys do not object.

March 10:

Federal prosecuting attorneys file a superseding indictment but asks the court to keep it sealed.

April 10:

The entire court file is unsealed.

April 13:

The U.S. Department of Justice announces that murder and sexual abuse charges have been brought against Hudson in connection with Kepner’s death.

But according to one of the team’s front-office executives, he is going about his job as usual preparing for next week’s NFL draft despite recent scrutiny regarding the nature of his relationship with a reporter.

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

It was the first time a member of the team's front office has spoken to reporters since the New York Post published photos of Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini of The Athletic at an Arizona hotel that have raised questions about the nature of their relationship.

Vrabel spoke with reporters in a news conference setting before last year’s draft but opted not to on Monday. Though reporters did bump into Vrabel, who briefly greeted them, during a tour of the team’s new facility after Wolf's news conference had concluded.

According to the Post, the photos were taken in Arizona two weeks before the start of NFL owners meetings in Phoenix that began on March 29.

Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released statements to the Post after the publication of the story downplaying what the photos depict.

Russini said they “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”

Vrabel told the newspaper: “Those photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable."

The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, reported Saturday that the digital outlet is investigating the conduct of Russini.

That decision came after the outlet’s executive editor, Steven Ginsberg, previously told the Post that the photos “lacked essential context” and lauded her work with The Athletic.

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

The Patriots hold the 31st overall pick in next week’s draft and 11 picks in total.

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

Sharon Simmons, dressed in a "DoorDash Grandma” T-shirt, walked up to the Oval Office’s exterior door and knocked as media cameras rolled. Trump popped out and said, “Hello. Nice to see you,” before proclaiming, “Look at this!” and then, glancing toward a pack of nearby reporters, offering, “This doesn’t look staged, does it?”

It was, of course. Making it onto the White House grounds alone requires obtaining prior permission and passing through security, while accessing the Oval Office — not to mention getting so close to the president — would have been impossible without additional screenings and background checks.

Still, the White House has attempted to call more attention to a piece of the Trump-backed tax and spend package approved last summer that allows Americans to temporarily deduct some federal taxes from income earned on tips. It lets certain workers deduct up to $25,000, but phases out for those with higher incomes.

Officials are intensifying the publicity effort ahead of Tax Day on Wednesday — even as the issue has been overshadowed for weeks by the war in Iran that has raised gas prices and spooked financial markets, and more immediately by Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV.

McDonald’s is a longtime favorite of the president — and fare he's used to political ends before.

He famously ordered it, along with vast piles of other fast food, to serve the visiting NCAA football champion Clemson Tigers in 2019 during his first term, when a government shutdown had reduced White House kitchen staff. Trump also staged one of the most memorable stops of his successful 2024 reelection campaign by visiting a Pennsylvania McDonald’s restaurant, where he worked the fry station and took reporters’ questions from the drive-thru window.

On Monday, Simmons, who DoorDash said was from Arkansas, recounted how the tax changes had helped reduce the amount of income she had to claim. Simmons subsequently told reporters she had earned more than $11,000 in tips a year. Exact figures on her savings were difficult to verify without Simmons' tax statement wasn't provided to reporters.

Trump then asked, “Would you like to do a little news conference with me?" and had her stand awkwardly beside him as he took questions about his threats to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and his refusal to apologize to Pope Leo.

The president eventually asked Simmons: “I think you voted for me. Do you think?” To which she responded, “Um, maybe.” Undaunted, Trump continued: “I heard you're a great supporter. We appreciate it.”

When a reporter later asked if the White House was a good tipper, Simmons hesitated: “Um ... potentially.”

“Wait,” Trump crowed, reaching into his pocket for a $100 bill and handing it to Simmons with a grin. She took the money, laughed and finished, “Yes, very," as the president patted her on the back and beamed.

Trump also invited Simmons and her husband to a UFC bout he's helping to stage on the White House lawn to mark his 80th birthday in June. And he turned to Simmons again to press her on if she believes “men should play in women's sports” — a frequent topic of his as he blasts Democrats for being too supportive of transgender rights.

“I really don’t have an opinion on that,” Simmons replied, prompting Trump to push, “I’ll bet you do.”

“No, no," she insisted. “I’m here about no tax on tips.”

The White House later said that Trump personally delivered the food — consisting of cheeseburgers and fries — to West Wing staff.

It didn't say if he got a tip for doing so.

Cichowski, 46, a 2021 Palm Coast mayoral candidate, injured his 82-year-old father and his 76-year-old mother on Friday at their home in Palm Coast, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s arrest report.

Cichowski struck his father on the head with a firearm that he also pointed at his mouth, ear, and groin, while he “threatened to shoot and kill him,” according to the deputy’s arrest report.

His mother — who was bedridden — reported Chichowski snatched her cellphone and struck her in the head with it, and she suffered “a clear injury,” according to the deputy’s arrest report.

During the attack, Chichowski told them that if they called 911, he would kill them and law enforcement, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

Chichowski faced six charges: Two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery on a person over 65, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and tampering or depriving a witness with the use of 911.

After so many seasons in which James valiantly carried otherwise ordinary teams to extraordinary achievements, the greatest scorer in NBA history was not even the Los Angeles Lakers' focal point this year. Down the stretch of his first full season alongside Luka Doncic, the 41-year-old James became a supporting player of sorts while Doncic drove the Lakers’ offense and rising star Austin Reaves thrived.

This dynamic worked superbly while the Lakers made a 16-2 surge through March, winning the Pacific Division and prompting many to wonder if they could even conjure a challenge to Oklahoma City or San Antonio this spring.

And then Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) both went down in the Lakers' first game of April with significant injuries likely to sideline them for several weeks.

Just like that, James is alone in the spotlight once again this month, the Lakers' faint postseason hopes resting on a 23-year NBA veteran who has already done it all.

When Los Angeles hosts the Houston Rockets in its playoff opener Saturday night, James will attempt yet another improbable feat in a career full of them: Keeping the Lakers alive long enough for Doncic and Reaves to return.

“I’ve had to tap back into a role that I’ve been accustomed to in the past, but obviously wasn’t what it was this year,” James said. “Circumstances have put me back in here, and I’m just trying to feed off my teammates (while my) teammates feed off of me. Trying to make things happen for us to continue to stay afloat.”

Indeed, this would be a daunting challenge for almost any player except James. After he racked up 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds while the Lakers beat Golden State last week, he was asked what his team needs from him without its two top scorers.

“Everything,” James said. “So nothing changes for me. Just back to the old ways."

James has spent the majority of his basketball life lifting up the players around him. Even after he left Cleveland the first time to relieve that burden by forming the Miami Heat's super-team, he went home again after four years and spent four more seasons carrying the Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals against Golden State — most famously stretching the 2015 series to six games without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love, followed by leading Cleveland's epic rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win the 2016 title.

Here in the present, the Lakers realize their promising season has probably been sabotaged by unlucky injuries. Doncic, who led the NBA in scoring, has traveled to Spain in hopes of finding some medical way to get back on the court sooner, while Reaves is almost certainly out for at least the first round.

But with James in their lineup, Lakers coach JJ Redick will always feel they've got a chance.

“We’re going to need him to facilitate, and we’re going to need him to score,” Redick said. “We’re going to need him to defend and rebound. I think he recognizes the task at hand, and he’s very locked in. He’s played great.”

All three of the Lakers' stars have had injury problems this season, and they only got extensive playing time together recently. James missed training camp and the first 14 games of the regular season last fall after developing sciatica, yet he has played in 60 of the ensuing 68 games for Los Angeles, including five back-to-back sets.

“He had not a good season, not a great — he had a remarkable season, all things considered,” Redick said. “You take away the fact that he’s in his 23rd year, and he’s 41 years old, he had a remarkable season. The fact that those things are real, and they’re very real in terms of the day-to-day management, it’s unbelievable what he did this year.”

James' numbers reflect only slight concessions to his age and his lessened workload behind Doncic and Reaves: His 20.9 points per game were his fewest since his rookie year in 2003-04, while his 33.2 minutes per game were his lowest ever.

Yet when he's in the spotlight, James still delivers with remarkable frequency. He finished the regular season by averaging 24.0 points, 9.7 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in three Lakers victories to secure homecourt advantage in the first round.

James was named the Western Conference’s player of the week Monday for the 70th time — more than any other two players in NBA history combined.

“Just trying to squeeze as much of the juice as I can, until it’s as dry as it can be for me,” James said. “I’ve been given an opportunity to play the game that I love, and tried to do it at a high level, and I’ve tried to commit to it, and the game has given back to me.”

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

The reality TV star and entrepreneur has signed on to help produce the play “The Fear of 13,” about the true story of Nick Yarris, a man who spent more than two decades on death row for a murder he insists he did not commit.

“My commitment to criminal justice reform has always been about more than just policy — it’s about people. I’ve learned that sometimes the most effective way to change minds is through a powerful story. 'The Fear of 13' is that story,” she said in a statement.

Kardashian has in the past few years used her spotlight to shine a light on the wrongfully convicted. She has gone to the White House during President Donald Trump's first term and during President Joe Biden's term to lobby for criminal justice reform and the president's clemency powers.

Kardashian lobbied Trump to commute the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who spent more than 20 years in prison for drug offenses. Johnson was released in June 2018 and later, in August 2020, received a full pardon from Trump and had her rights restored.

“The Fear of 13,” written by Lindsey Ferrentino, stars Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, and is directed by Tony Award-winner David Cromer. Opening night is set for Wednesday.

Led by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, the crowd of hundreds initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside the Manhattan offices of the two Democratic lawmakers they accused of abetting Israel’s intensifying attacks in Lebanon and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

After demonstrators were blocked by security from entering the building, they stopped traffic outside, chanting “fund people, not bombs” as they were arrested and loaded onto three buses.

Among the 90 people taken into custody were whistleblower Chelsea Manning, actor Hari Nef and New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés, according to a JVP spokesperson.

The demonstration focused on a set of resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders that could block the sale of more than $600 million in bombs to Israel.

Similar measures previously introduced by Sanders, an independent from Vermont, have failed. But the most recent effort this past summer drew support from more than half of Senate Democrats amid widespread hunger and suffering in Gaza. Schumer and Gillibrand were not among them.

Protesters on Monday said Israel’s air and ground offensive in southern Lebanon, along with the larger U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, added to the urgency of the vote, which is expected later this week.

“This is the moment when Schumer and Gillibrand must listen to their constituents,” said Sonya Meyerson-Knox, the communications director with Jewish Voice for Peace. “The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want a resolution to what the Israeli government is doing.”

Inquiries to Schumer and Gillibrand were not immediately returned.

Over several hours of sometimes emotional testimony at a court hearing packed with families of campers who were killed, Edward Eastland provided the most detailed description yet of how camp staff did or didn't respond as floodwaters along the Guadalupe River quickly rose to historic levels, trapping children and counselors in cabins before they were swept away in the early morning dark of July Fourth.

“I wish we never had camp that summer,” Eastland said near the end of his testimony. He acknowledged lives could have been saved if camp staff acted sooner, but insisted they could not have anticipated the severity of the storm.

This week's hearing comes during a legal battle between the camp owners and victims' families who have filed multiple lawsuits and the families' demands to preserve the damage at the camp site as evidence.

And it comes as Camp Mystic plans to reopen in less than two months. The camp has applied with state regulators to renew its license so that it can open an elevated area that did not flood. Camp operators have said nearly 900 girls have registered to attend.

Eastland acknowledged the camp had no detailed written flood evacuation plan. He also said more campers would have survived if he and his father, camp co-owner Richard Eastland, as well as a camp safety director had made quicker decisions to evacuate.

By the time they did, the waters were so high and so fast they were producing rapids that swirled around some cabins, he said.

Eastland also acknowledged staff didn't use simple measures like using campus loudspeakers to tell campers and counselors to leave their cabins and get to higher ground earlier in the storm.

Cici Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile is the only camp victim still missing, said after the testimony the state should deny the camp's license.

“It is so clear they are incapable of keeping children safe," Cici Steward said.

Eastland attorney Mikal Watts declined comment immediately after the hearing.

Missed warnings and missed chances to evacuate

Eastland said he and other staff were signed up for an emergency warning system on their phones and used other weather apps. But he said he did not see flood watch social media posts by the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Emergency Management on July 2 and 3.

Eastland said he thought the local “CodeRED” mobile phone alert system and phone weather apps staff had at the time “was enough.”

A July 3 National Weather Service alert asked area broadcasters to note that locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding in rivers, creeks, streams and low-lying areas, all features of the Camp Mystic property.

Eastland said that his father typically monitored weather issues and that he did not believe camp staff held a meeting about the alerts and warnings that day.

The storms would hit in the overnight hours, killing 25 campers, two teenage counselors and Richard Eastland, who had loaded up his large SUV with campers before the vehicle was swept away. None survived.

“We did not expect what was going to happen,” Edward Eastland said.

“You were warned,” said Brad Beckworth, an attorney representing the Steward family.

Eastland says campus loudspeakers were not used to issue a weather warning

The courtroom heard part of a video of “Taps” played over loudspeakers when the campers went to bed at around 10 p.m. July 3.

Eastland said he went to bed about 11 p.m. and never received a National Weather Service flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m.. He said he slept through a CodeRED alert text at the same time that warned of a flood event that could last several hours.

His father called him on a walkie-talkie shortly before 2 a.m. to tell him about hard rain falling and the need to move canoes and water equipment off the riverfront. They did not move to evacuate cabins at that point.

“It was not reasonable to do that at that time,” Eastland said. “The water wasn’t out of the Guadalupe River. It was pouring down rain and lightning and the cabins were safe at that time.”

Richard Eastland made the call to evacuate cabins about 3 a.m., Edward Eastland said.

Lawyers for the families introduced a signed statement from a counselor who described the horror of the night. She woke up during the storm and could see girls running for shelter.

“The water was rising faster than anything I have ever witnessed,” the counselor wrote. She said Edward Eastland eventually approached the cabin in knee-deep water, told her it was too late to leave and they should ride out the storm there.

The counselor said she tried to keep the children out of the rising water pouring in before she was eventually swept away herself.

Eastland also tearfully described trying to grab two girls and a third who jumped on his back while he stood bracing himself in a cabin doorway before they were washed away. He and a counselor eventually were pushed into a tree.

“The water was over my head very quickly. The water was churning,” Eastland said.

At one point, several family members left the courtroom during a cellphone video taken the night of the flood. Someone could be heard yelling “Help!” in the background.

Flooding killed at least 136 people along the Guadalupe River

All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

Texas health regulators said last week they are investigating hundreds of complaints filed against the camp owners. The Texas Rangers are also helping look into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.

The hearing is scheduled to continue Tuesday.

But the numbers also say as the NBA postseason begins not to count out the Celtics, who are just two years removed from winning their record 18th championship.

OKC is a +120 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook to become the first team since Golden State in 2018 to repeat as champion. San Antonio, which defeated the Thunder four out of five times in the regular season, is next at +450. Boston lurks close behind at +550.

Every other team carries odds of 10-1 or longer.

“The West team is going to be favored in the final unless there's a real shocker,” said Bruce Marshall, handicapper for WagerTalk/Gold Sheet. “We're assuming it's Oklahoma or San Antonio. Either of those two would be favored. Boston would have the best chance, I think, in the East, followed by the Knicks and then Detroit.”

David Lieberman, pro basketball lead at Caesars Sportsbook, expressed caution about assuming favorites would wind up in the NBA Finals.

“It should be pretty wide open this year, and I can see any of the top 3-5 seeds making a run in each conference," Lieberman said. "I expect several long, competitive series all the way through.”

Key Eastern players return

Jayson Tatum's earlier-than-expected return from an Achilles tendon tear sustained in last year's playoffs has made bettors believers of the Celtics. Boston was listed at 10-1 before his comeback, and 8.7% of the bets and 8.2% of the money at BetMGM are on the Celtics. That's behind only the Pistons in the Eastern Conference (10.2% of bets, 9.7% of the handle).

There is plenty of reason for optimism in Detroit with Cade Cunningham back after missing about three weeks because of a collapsed lung.

Even though the West is better and deeper, many bettors see value in the numbers in the East.

“The Detroit Pistons have been getting bet all year, and now with Cade Cunningham back and healthy, bets are coming in on them again," Lieberman said. "The top five seeds in the East have been pretty popular bets of late, so I think there is some belief in those teams outside of the Celtics.”

Lakers likely to be one and done

There was plenty of chatter about keeping an eye on the Lakers as a potential sleeper team in the West before Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) went down with injuries this month.

The BetMGM betting numbers reflect the low expectations for the Lakers. Los Angeles is listed at 125-1 to emerge from the West and 250-1 to win it all.

The fourth-seeded Lakers open the playoffs against No. 5 Houston. The Rockets are 8-1 favorites to win the series even without home-court advantage.

“The moment Luka got hurt, the chances of the Lakers making a deep run ended,” Marshall said. “Houston has been playing better, so I think that Lakers (have a) short stay. It's too bad because it was looking like they might be menacing for a while when all the hands were on deck.”

Home teams favored in play-in games

If the odds are correct, the four play-in tournament games Tuesday and Wednesday should come down to the final minutes.

Charlotte and the Los Angeles Clippers, each at 5 1/2 points, are the largest favorites at BetMGM.

The Hornets play Miami, with the winner facing Orlando or Philadelphia and an eventual matchup with top-seeded Detroit on the line. The 76ers are 1 1/2-point favorites over the Magic, with the winner of that game playing the Celtics.

In the West, the Clippers meet the Warriors for the right to play Portland or Phoenix and eventually advancing to play the Thunder. The Suns are 3 1/2-point favorites over the Trail Blazers, with the winner meeting the Spurs.

No tanking at this time of year

Marshall agreed with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that tanking is a major problem for the league.

Whether some teams aren't giving it their all won't be a factor in the betting in the playoffs, unlike during the regular season.

“Actually, I kind of enjoyed it when you got these teams that weren't trying because you could try to go against them, although the oddsmakers were really making us pay with a lot of these numbers,” Marshall said. “It's really a disease in the NBA and they're trying to address, but it gets worse every year with the tanking stuff. As soon as a team sees they're out of the playoff picture, they try not to win.”

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

Knox is taking on “Wheels of Grit,” a 2,000-mile cycling journey up the East Coast.

“They’re incredible people who have done amazing things for their country,” Knox said.

“I kind of just get in the mindset of this is all I have to do today, this is it, so just think about it one minute at a time,” she added.

A few years ago, Knox, who lives in Washington, D.C., suffered a serious accident on her bicycle. Spending months in outpatient recovery at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, she saw the challenges disabled veterans face up close.

She’s a Coast Guard veteran herself.

“I just felt inspired by the people I met and their determination to embrace life and do the best with what they’ve got now,” Knox said.

Her sendoff was in Key West on Thursday alongside two American Legion posts.

By Saturday, she made it to downtown Miami. On Sunday, she reached Fort Lauderdale.

“Part of my journey is to hit American Legions and VFW posts at the end of every ride each day,” she said.

The goal is to finish the journey in southern Maine.

She expects the trip to take 42 days, riding more than 60 miles a day.

No matter the distance or how long it takes, Knox hopes this helps people believe they can go after their goals.

“I really hope to inspire people who watch this stuff to think about something that feels impossible to them,” she said.

She has already raised more than $8,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project and another $2,000 for Achilles International, which helps people with disabilities.

For more information on her journey, visit her Instagram page.

Courtney Williams, 40, who is charged with four counts of communicating and disclosing national defense information about a “special military unit” at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after working for it as a civilian, appeared in federal court in Raleigh.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Meyers agreed to release Williams, who was arrested last week and wore a striped jumpsuit in court, under home detention and location monitoring. She's barred from having contact with the media or using social media, Meyers said.

Williams' attorney, Christian Dysart, declined to comment after the hearing, which came more than a week after a criminal complaint was filed in her case.

The complaint was unsealed last week on the same day a grand jury indicted Williams and the U.S. Justice Department announced her arrest. An FBI official said then her alleged disclosures put “our nation, our warfighters, and our allies at risk.” Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the government says, along with monetary penalties.

Court documents say Williams, who was hired as a defense contractor in 2010 and became a Department of Defense employee months later, worked for a “special military unit” at Fort Bragg until 2016 and held a top-secret security clearance.

Although the reporter and unit are not named in the court filings, dates and details match an article and book about the Army’s secretive Delta Force written by Seth Harp.

Williams, who lives about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Fort Bragg, was the focus of a 2025 Politico article with the headline: “My Life Became a Living Hell: One Woman’s Career in Delta Force, the Army’s Most Elite Unit.” The article, which describes Williams as serving previously in the Army as an interrogator and Arabic linguist, coincided with the release of Harp’s book, “The Fort Bragg Cartel,” which alleges sexual harassment and discrimination.

The indictment alleges that between 2022 and 2025, Williams was in contact with the author, resulting in more than 10 hours of phone calls and exchanging hundreds of text messages.

The indictment alleges in part that Williams unlawfully disclosed a “cover alias identity issued and owned” by the unit; tactics and techniques the unit used to “execute covert missions without being detected”; and “true names of individuals” assigned to the unit, and “their capture during a sensitive military mission in a foreign country.”

Harp said last week in a written statement that Williams is a “courageous whistleblower” on discrimination and harassment within Delta Force and contends former unit members reveal incidentally on podcasts and YouTube shows unit details that the government now labels a crime by Williams.

“I am confident that the DOJ’s slapdash indictment, full of misleadingly juxtaposed quotations taken out of context, will fall apart upon careful scrutiny,” Harp wrote.

An FBI agent's affidavit said that Williams had signed nondisclosure documents regarding classified materials while working for the unit and as she left her job.

The affidavit says Williams messaged the journalist on or about the article's release expressing concern about “the amount of classified information being disclosed.” And in another alleged exchange, she told her mother she may get arrested “for disclosing classified information.”

Investigators said the crash happened just before 9 p.m. in the area of Southwest 192nd Avenue and 349th Street.

Police said Rodrigo Rivas, 19, hit the motorcyclist and took off. Medics took the victim to Jackson South Medical Center.

Investigators said Florida City police put out a be-on-the-lookout notice for the a suspect’s vehicle and a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detective later saw a Chevrolet Malibu “traveling on a rim,” then found the sedan pulled over on Southwest 195th Avenue and 340th Street.

A Florida Highway Patrol arrest report states that Rivas flagged the detective down, “confessed that he was involved in a car crash” and said “he thought he hit someone and did not know what to do.”

The MDSO detective, troopers said, “inspected the vehicle for damage and observed front right-side damage, along with what appeared to be evidence of blood and tissue, which was consistent with a car collision.”

A state trooper took Rivas into custody just after midnight on Saturday on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury.

The FHP arrest report lists no indication of drug or alcohol use.

Additional details about the motorcyclist weren’t immediately available on Monday.

Rivas no longer appeared in Miami-Dade jail records as of Monday afternoon.

Authorities allege 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama threw the incendiary device about 4 a.m. Friday, setting an exterior gate at Altman’s home alight before fleeing on foot, police said. Less than an hour later, Moreno-Gama allegedly went to OpenAI’s headquarters about 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) away and threatened to burn down the building.

Moreno-Gama is opposed to artificial intelligence, writing about AI’s purported risk to humanity and “our impending extinction,” according to a federal criminal complaint.

“This was not spontaneous. This was planned, targeted and extremely serious,” said FBI San Francisco Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo during a press conference.

No one was injured at Altman's home or the company offices, authorities said.

Moreno-Gama faces state and federal charges

Moreno-Gama faces charges including two counts of attempted murder and attempted arson in California state court, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. He tried to kill both Altman and a security guard at Altman's residence, she alleged. He is set to appear in court Tuesday, and online state court records do not yet show if he has an attorney.

Jenkins said the state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison.

On Monday morning, FBI agents went to Moreno-Gama’s home in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, where they spent several hours before leaving. He has been charged by federal prosecutors with possession of an unregistered firearm and damage and destruction of property by means of explosives. Those charges carry respective penalties of up to 10 years and 20 years in prison.

The federal court documents do not list an attorney for Moreno-Gama, and he has not yet had his first appearance in federal court.

Authorities allege Moreno-Gama traveled from his home in Texas to San Francisco and visited Altman’s home early Friday morning.

Authorities say Moreno-Gama was opposed to artificial intelligence

When Moreno-Gama was arrested Friday, officials found a document on him in which he “identified views opposed to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the executives of various AI companies,” court documents say. The document discussed AI’s purported risk to humanity and “our impending extinction,” according to the criminal complaint.

Surveillance video images included in the criminal complaint show a person dressed in a dark hoodie and pants that the FBI alleges is Moreno-Gama approaching the driveway of Altman’s home. In various images, the person can be seen tossing the Molotov cocktail, which landed at the top of a metal gate and started a small fire.

Surveillance video images from outside OpenAI’s headquarters allegedly show Moreno-Gama grabbing a chair and using it to hit a set of glass doors. Authorities said Moreno-Gama was approached by the building’s security personnel, who told investigators he “stated in sum and substance” that he came to the headquarters “to burn it down and kill anyone inside,” according to the complaint.

San Francisco police arrested Moreno-Gama and recovered “incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a blue lighter, and a document.” Moreno-Gama was being held Monday in the San Francisco County Jail on the state charges, and was expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said authorities “will treat this as an act of domestic terrorism, and together with our partners, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.”

Authorities say Moreno-Gama's anti-AI document contained threats against Altman

The document in which Moreno-Gama discussed his opposition to AI also made threats against Altman, officials said.

“Also if I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example and show that I am fully sincere in my message,” Moreno-Gama is alleged by authorities to have written in the document.

Advocacy groups that have issued grave warnings about AI’s risks to society condemned the violence.

Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the Future of Life Institute, said in a written statement Friday that “violence and intimidation of any kind have no place in the conversation about the future of AI.”

Another group, PauseAI, said in a statement that the suspect had no role in the group but joined its forum on the social media platform Discord about two years ago and posted about 34 messages there, none containing explicit calls to violence but one that was flagged as “ambiguous.”

Discord said Monday that it has banned Moreno-Gama for “off-platform behavior.”

Altman addressed the threats in a blog post

Hours after the attack on his house, Altman posted a photo of his husband and their toddler in a blog post addressing the threats against him.

“Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me,” Altman wrote.

He added that “fear and anxiety about AI is justified” but it was important to “de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”

Altman has become a preeminent voice in Silicon Valley on the promise and potential dangers of artificial intelligence. The attack comes days after The New Yorker published an in-depth investigation that touched on concerns some people have about him and the company.

Debate about the impact of AI is growing

The attack came at a time of growing debate about the societal effects of AI assistants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT that millions of people are turning to for information, advice, writing help and to do work on their behalf.

An annual report published Monday by Stanford University called the AI index found that most people believe AI’s benefits outweigh its drawbacks, “but nervousness is growing and trust in institutions to manage the technology remains uneven.”

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Lozano reported from Houston and Oyekanmi reported from Spring, Texas. Associated Press journalists Matt O'Brien from Providence, Rhode Island and Rebecca Boone from Boise, Idaho contributed.

The investigation, according to a statement by the committee, centered on “allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision.”

On Sunday, Swalwell, 45, the House manager in President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, announced he was suspending his run to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell wrote.

On Friday, Swalwell shared a video.

“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” Swalwell wrote on X.

Related stories

• Swalwell exits California governor’s race after assault allegations as rivals seek his supporters
• Swalwell suspends campaign for California governor after being accused of sexual assault

Leo says he is sharing a Gospel message and not directly attacking Trump or anyone else with his appeals for peace and criticism of attitudes fueling the war.

Criticism of Trump came from Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and from Minnesota-based Bishop Robert Barron, who only a few days ago was applauding Trump as an Easter guest at the White House. Barron called the president’s remarks “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful” and urged him to apologize.

The dismay extended into an even more solid base of Trump support – conservative Christian evangelicals. Many were appalled that Trump followed his Truth Social attack on Leo by posting an image depicting himself as a Christ-like savior.

“TAKE THIS DOWN, MR. PRESIDENT,” posted David Brody, a prominent Trump-supporting commentator with the Christian Broadcasting Network. “You’re not God. None of us are. This goes too far. It crosses the line.”

By midday Monday, the image had been taken down from Truth Social. And speaking at the White House, the president claimed that he never intended to liken himself to Jesus when he posted the picture.

“How did they come up with that?" he asked. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better."

Trump: No apology needed

On his clash with the pope, Trump was equally defiant: “There’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong.”

The president's feud with American religious communities comes just six months before voting begins in this fall's midterms as Trump grapples with low approval ratings and dissension from his MAGA base over the war with Iran. But few groups of voters have been more loyal to Trump — and important to his political success — than those on the religious right.

For now, some Trump allies are optimistic that the dispute will soon be forgotten.

“There is a deep reservoir of appreciation for the president and his faith-based policies that transcends and eclipses any disagreement over a social media post,” Ralph Reed, who sits on the president’s faith advisory board, told The Associated Press.

Through American history, numerous U.S. presidents have had policy differences with various popes. But experts on the Vatican and religious history could recall no exchange comparable to the back-and-forth between Trump and Leo over the pope’s condemnation of America's role in the Iran war.

“This is unprecedented criticism of a Pope from a US president,” David Campbell, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame, said via email.

“As to whether it will have a big effect on how US Catholic voters regard Trump, that is an open question,” Campbell added. “Given that attitudes toward the president are driven largely by people’s party preference — which is hard to move -- it probably will not have a huge impact on Catholics’ attitudes toward Trump.”

David Gibson, director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture, noted that many lay Catholics have been standing by Trump in recent weeks and have been critical of their bishops who critique the president.

“If this attack on the pope does not shift that dynamic in a marked way it will truly be a watershed moment ... with American Catholics choosing a Catholic-baiting president over their own pope,” Gibson said.

Looking far back into world history, Trump’s attempt to “strong-arm Pope Leo” isn’t anything new, said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a professor of American Studies and History at Notre Dame.

“Emperors, monarchs, and despots have long threatened popes in an effort to force them to bend to their will,” she said via email. “In an American context, however, Trump’s invective does represent a historic reversal.”

“For most of this country’s history, Americans viewed the pope as war-mongering, money-grubbing, anti-democratic menace who had designs on the White House,” she added. “Today, the menace is in the White House, and the pope is the one defending the ideals of liberty and human dignity.”

At a prayer service Saturday, the pontiff denounced the “ delusion of omnipotence ” that he said was fueling the war with Iran. Without citing Trump or the U.S. specifically, the pope said: “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

On Monday, he was specific in responding to the president’s criticisms, saying “I have no fear of the Trump administration.”

Questions arise about Catholic convert JD Vance

There was no immediate comment about the pope-Trump rift from Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert who occasionally has sparred with Catholic leaders over their criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Catholics Vote Common Good, a nonprofit group that generally supports progressive causes, urged Vance to speak out on the rift.

“At a moment when the Holy Father is being attacked and the dignity of the Church is being undermined, silence is not neutrality. It is complicity,” said Denise Murphy McGraw, the organization’s national co-chair.

Some vocal evangelical supporters of Trump criticized the meme depicting him as healer apparently resembling Jesus, even while maintaining support for Trump himself.

“It isn’t hard to condemn this outright,” said Willy Rice, a candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida.

“Many Christians appreciate the President’s administration and have supported him in meaningful ways, but this is wrong,” Rice posted on X.

Also weighing in was Doug Wilson, co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a staunchly conservative Calvinist denomination with an outsized influence in the current administration. Its churches’ members include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“I was very grateful to see how many conservative Christians immediately denounced the blasphemous Jesus/Trump image,” Wilson posted on X.

Megan Basham, a conservative evangelical commentator, posted that she agreed with Trump’s criticisms of Leo as “Weak on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” But she assailed his meme as “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy” and urged Trump to “ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

A look at the numbers for religious blocs as election nears

Such public dissension against Trump from evangelical leaders is rare.

In 2024, white evangelical Protestants were a significant component of Trump’s winning coalition, according to AP VoteCast. About one-third of Trump voters, 34%, identified as white evangelical or born-again Christians, compared with only 8 percent of Harris voters. White evangelicals made up about 2 in 10 voters that year, and the vast majority, 79%, voted for Trump.

A February AP-NORC poll found that about two-thirds of white born again Protestants approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, while about one-third disapprove.

Catholics were much unhappier with Trump’s performance in that poll. Only about 4 in 10 approved of his handling of the presidency, similar to Americans overall.

William Barbieri, a Catholic University ethics professor, said Trump’s remarks seemed aimed more at his political base than at Leo himself.

“Pope Leo’s response has been calm and measured, in a way that creates a contrast unflattering to the President,” Barbieri said via email.

“He is opposing resorts to lethal force ... and expressing solidarity with suffering people in many countries,” said Barbieri, contrasting the start of Leo’s pastoral journey to Africa this week with Trump’s appearance at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the weekend.

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This story has been corrected to attribute a quote to David Gibson of Fordham University, not to David Campbell of Notre Dame.

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Crary reported from New York and Smith from Pittsburgh. Associated Press writer Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

He never anticipated the long journey back would take a detour because of a bout with shingles.

On Monday, one day after the Pacers completed a 19-win season without their two-time All-Star ever suiting up, Haliburton told reporters that while he's ready to return from the injury, it's the illness that he will contend with this offseason. It has caused him to gain weight, lose part of his right eyebrow and forced him to wear eyeglasses to avoid scratching his swollen eye.

“First of all, I'd tell anybody over 50 years old to get the shot," Haliburton said. "It's been miserable. I have good days and bad days, but for the most part it's been bad days. I've been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn't worked. It's not been fun and hopefully it goes away soon. It's hard to really tell with nerve pain, but I've been dealing now with nerve pain for two months and in the world of nerve pain, that's not very long. Hopefully, it goes away soon.”

Anyone who’s had chickenpox harbors that virus for the rest of their life. It hides in nerves and can break out when the immune system weakens from illness or age, causing painful, blister-like sores typically on one side of the body that last for weeks.

About 1 in 3 Americans will get shingles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most recover, it sometimes causes severe complications. If it infects an eye it can cause vision loss. Up to 20% of shingles patients suffer excruciating nerve pain months or even years after the rash itself is gone.

While team officials wasted no time announcing last July the former Iowa State point guard would not play this season, Haliburton said his recovery was essentially tracking that of Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, who tore his Achilles tendon last May, until the shingles diagnosis. Haliburton was injured in June, during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Tatum recently returned to game action and appears to be getting stronger by the day for the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed.

Haliburton and his teammates, meanwhile, are heading home for a crucial summer that could determine whether the Pacers can continue to be a title contender when Haliburton returns.

The good news from Haliburton is that he has no doubts about his lower right leg being healthy. Instead, he's just trying to get over this illness that delayed his return to five-on-five workouts until last week.

“I'm out of shape like crazy, like I never have been before,” Haliburton said. "I've changed my medication a bunch of times. I've gotten a Botox injection I thought would help, it hasn't really helped. I've done everything, it just hasn't worked yet. But I'm confident it goes away soon."

Most people figured losing Haliburton for an entire season would derail the title hopes of last year's Eastern Conference champs. Still, as training camp opened, team officials bristled at the thought of describing this as a “gap season,” awaiting Haliburton's return.

An early season rash of injuries to additional starters and key rotational players, coupled with a 1-13 start, quickly changed the equation and not to everyone's satisfaction.

“It was tough, just tough mentally going through that,” four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam said Sunday. “It was hard trying to get through it, find positive things, trying to continue to improve, trying to find ways to win games. It was pretty bad. It sucked.”

Haliburton felt similarly, yet at the urging of coach Rick Carlisle, continued to attend team meetings, film sessions and workouts. In the locker room, he helped counsel teammates about their injury battles while encouraging younger players to make improvements.

“Once I get off that (medication) and start running a little more, I have no worries,” Haliburton said. “I've got a long summer ahead of me — we're only in April and the season doesn't start till October. So I don't really have any concerns. I can't wait till I get out there and play and compete with my guys.”

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

An IV stand on wheels is set up behind him. On the floor, a clear bag holds dialysis fluid.

“Hey, don’t mind that,” he says to a visitor, as he nods toward the tubing and bag at his feet.

This has been Pimental’s reality for nearly a year now. He’s been a Type 1 diabetic for about 30 years, and last spring his health took a serious turn — his kidneys began failing and, probably for a variety of reasons, his blood pressure was soaring. He’s been on a transplant list for months, awaiting both a new kidney and pancreas.

The call might come this week. It might come next year. Nobody knows.

“We’ve all just kind of wanted to rally around him,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”We support him as much as possible, but also we let him know, one, we love him, and two, we really appreciate everything that he does and that he’s still able to do it, despite everything.”

April is National Donate Life Month, and it hits particularly close to home for the Heat. Alonzo Mourning, one of Miami’s all-time great players, a Hall of Famer and the team’s vice president for player programs, needed a life-saving kidney transplant in 2003. He’s been an invaluable resource for Pimental throughout this process.

“That’s a big thing, having Zo around me all the time,” Pimental said. “He’s been through this and just to have him come in and walk me through some steps I didn’t understand and then just be there if I have a question, it means something. Sometimes he walks in and he’s like, ‘Man, you look good today. You good? You feeling good? You look good.’ That means a lot, because he knows what I’m going through.”

Pimental — one of the league’s longest-tenured equipment managers — wasn’t on the plane that carried the Heat to the play-in tournament on Monday. He hasn’t been able to fly with the team this season, which is the biggest change to the way he’s handled the job that he’s had in Miami for 15 years.

He gives himself dialysis twice a day and relies on the help of other Heat staffers and people he oversees probably more than ever before — along with constant comic relief from former Heat players Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love, who check in on Pimental all the time — but he’s still finding a way to make it work.

“It’s meant a lot because he’s meant so much to us, as a mentor, as someone we look up to, as someone who has put so many years into this league,” said locker room manager Marvin Ulysse, who reports directly to Pimental. “I felt like it was our duty to get him through this journey. He’s a big brother to us. We’re like his human dialysis in a way.”

Pimental hasn’t missed a beat, even though he can’t travel. When problems pop up, he handles them from home. He still works long days — but has also appreciated being around his wife and children more than he has in the past.

That said, there are scary times. He often wakes up in the middle of the night and grabs at his phone, fearful that he’s missed the call telling him that organs are awaiting him. The unknown is stressful. He’s worried about what’ll happen to his kids if something happens to him.

Each day, he said, brings hope.

“Dialysis is working, I’m still here,” Pimental said. “Just like somebody said to me awhile back, you’ve got to learn how to string as many good days together as you can so when that one bad day comes, you can handle it. And that, I think, is what we’re doing right now. The Heat have been very, very supportive throughout this whole thing. But to be honest, the only motivation I need is my wife and my kids. To be here for them, that’s the only motivation I ever needed.”

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

Pete Thamel is reporting that the team has given a multi-year extension to both offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.

Both men worked together to help lead the Canes to the National Championship game last season.

Hetherman inherited the 70th-scoring defense in the country and turned it into the nation’s No. 5 scoring defense.

As for Dawson, he just finished his third year at Miami.

In back-to-back seasons, Dawson developed transfer quarterbacks Cam Ward and Carson Beck into future NFL picks.

According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, the incident happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday at 700 NE 26^th Terrace.

Police said the video shows the dog’s owner, Nicholas Jabbour, yanking the dog’s leash aggressively to the point where all four of the dog’s legs were lifted off the ground.

After lifting the dog up to his waist level, he then slammed the dog on the floor, police said.

According to the report, Jabbour slammed his dog to the floor twice before exiting the elevator.

The report states that a security guard at the building told officers that Jabbour abused his dog after the dog peed in the elevator, which he is required to clean up.

The security guard also said that there have been prior incidents involving Jabbour and his dog, including a time when the dog urinated in the hallway and inside the elevator.

Jabbour was arrested on a charge of animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill.

Police confirmed that Miami-Dade Animal Services was notified, but it’s unclear whether Jabbour still has possession of the dog.

Jabbour was no longer appearing in the online jail database on Monday afternoon.

Krofft's death, which came three years after the death of Marty Krofft, was announced on Instagram by his friend and business partner Kelly Killian. Additional details were not immediately available.

“The last six years of my life were devoted to him, and his to me,” Killian wrote. “In that time, he taught me more than I could ever put into words — about the art of Hollywood, the magic of the stage, and the depth and complexity of human nature. I wish so very much that I had more time with him.”

The Kroffts popularized cultural figures ranging from the inept Weenie the Genie to siblings Donny and Marie Osmond.

TV fans of a certain age would long remember “H.R. Pufnstuf,” the live-action puppet series with its cheerful theme song, the dragon who gave the show its name — and served as Mayor of Living Island — and such memorable, supporting characters as the larcenous witch Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, and her patented Vroom Broom. “H.R. Pufnstuf” only aired for 17 episodes, in 1969, but lived on for decades in reruns and syndication. It ranked 27th in a 2007 TV Guide poll of all-time cult favorites.

Other Krofft productions included “Land of the Lost,” “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” and “Pryor’s Place,” featuring comedian Richard Pryor. Their children's shows were so far-flung at times that critics suspected the Kroffts were under the influence of drugs — allegations the brothers rejected — but they also oversaw such wholesome programming as the “Donny & Marie,” the Osmonds' 1970s variety show.

The Kroffts received a Daytime Emmy for lifetime achievement in 2018, and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star two years later.

The weekend storm came just weeks after a March heat wave melted much of California's snow, forcing many ski resorts to close. More snow was possible Monday.

On April 1, the Sierra snowpack, which provides one-third of California’s water, stood at just 18% of average, a reading in the mountains near Lake Tahoe found. It was the second-lowest mark for that date on record.

The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported 42.5 inches (53.5 cm) between Friday and Sunday, which “has been great to create a late-season snowpack. ”

“Unfortunately, record warm temps this winter means that we’re still well below average for the water year,” the lab said on social media.

Interstate 80 in Northern California was shut down Sunday because of blizzard conditions, and chain controls were in place early Monday for the important route between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.

The storm also brought strong winds, heavy rain and hail to many areas. A tornado touched down Sunday near Sacramento, but no damage was reported, the National Weather Service said.

Mammoth Mountain said 11 lifts were running Monday. Skies were clearing but another couple of inches (5 centimeters) of snow was possible, the resort said in its daily report.

“While fresh snow may look inviting, hazards like dirt, rocks, and bushes remain just below the surface. Ski and ride with caution and avoid venturing off trail,” the report said.

Snow was vanishing across much of the U.S. West after a warm winter with poor skiing conditions gave way to early spring record heat. This month, Colorado reported its worst snowpack since statewide recordkeeping began in 1941.

Officials warned the measurements are a clear sign that water shortages could worsen the ongoing significant drought, barring an unexpected deluge.

Cities in the region are imposing water-use restrictions, and ranchers are wondering how they will feed and water their cattle. The threat of devastating wildfires looms.

The decision caps a swift political fall for the seven-term lawmaker, who had been seen as one of the leading candidates in California’s gubernatorial race before dropping out Sunday after the allegations surfaced, claims he has continued to deny.

The San Francisco Chronicle, followed by CNN, first reported allegations that Swalwell had sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him. CNN also reported that three other women alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct by Swalwell — including sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell said on social media. “I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

The House Ethics Committee had begun an investigation into whether Swalwell engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee working under his supervision, the panel announced Monday. Other lawmakers were pushing for a quick vote to expel him from Congress.

Another lawmaker, Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, said Monday that he would file his "retirement from office" when Congress returns Tuesday. Gonzales, who had already said he would not seek reelection, gave no further details on his plans to step down.

Gonzales had acknowledged an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide and was also facing renewed calls for an expulsion vote in the wake of the allegations against Swalwell.

Several Democrats had quickly called on Swalwell to resign in the days after the allegations came to light, including prominent allies such as Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego. California Sen. Adam Schiff, who withdrew his endorsement for Swalwell's gubernatorial bid, told reporters Monday that “the whole thing is just shocking and deeply upsetting.”

“I think he made the right decision to resign,” Schiff said.

Swalwell wrote in the statement posted to social media that he was “aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote” and that it was “wrong” without due process.

“But it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress,” Swalwell wrote. He did not provide a timeframe, saying only that he would work with his staff in the coming days to ensure their work can continue.

Swalwell, an Iowa native, was elected in 2012 and represents a House district east of San Francisco. He launched a presidential run in April 2019 but shuttered it a few months later after failing to catch on with voters.

Swalwell was one of Donald Trump’s top Democratic antagonists in Congress, serving as a prominent member of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees during the president’s first term and as one of several Democratic prosecutors for Trump’s second impeachment after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

He was removed from the intel committee by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023 based on his contact with a suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang.

Fang was reported to have come into contact with Swalwell’s campaign as he was first running for Congress in 2012 and participated in fundraising for his 2014 campaign.

Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns and briefed Congress about Fang in 2015, at which point Swalwell says he cut off contact with her. He was not accused of wrongdoing and a House Ethics Committee investigation that was opened in 2021 closed two years later without any action.

Swalwell’s planned departure from the House will trigger a special election in his district, which he won by over 30 percentage points in 2024. In California, the governor is responsible for calling a special election, which he must do “within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of the vacancy,” according to state election law.

The future of the House Ethics probe is uncertain, as the panel often ends its investigations when lawmakers resign. The Ethics Committee said the mere fact that it is investigating the allegations against Swalwell, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.

—

Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah's political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks.

“As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all," Safa told The Associated Press.

"We are not bound by what they agree to,” he added in a rare interview with international media. He spoke next to a cemetery as an Israeli drone buzzed overhead.

Historic negotiations at a sensitive time

Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in the U.S. talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said the goal is Hezbollah's disarmament and a potential peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Netanyahu said Monday that there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Separately, in U.S.-Iran peace talks held last weekend in Pakistan, Iran has sought to include Lebanon in any ceasefire deal of its own with the U.S. Israel and the U.S. have insisted Lebanon would not be a part of it.

Hours after Tehran and Washington announced a truce last Wednesday, Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon, including in densely packed residential and commercial areas of central Beirut.

And though the U.S.-Iran talks broke up without an agreement, Safa said Hezbollah has been informed that Iran “was able to obtain a cessation of attacks" in the entire administrative region of Beirut, Lebanon's capital, including Beirut's southern suburbs — a Hezbollah-strong area known as Dahiyeh.

Israeli strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs have halted since Wednesday but intense fighting has continued in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah's entry into the war

Israel and Hezbollah have fought multiple wars since the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group was formed in the 1980s as a guerrilla force fighting against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon at the time.

The latest round began on March 2, two days after Israel and the U.S. launched a war on Iran. Hezbollah entered the fray, firing missiles across the border into Israel. Israel responded with aerial bombardment and a ground invasion.

Since then, the war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed more than 2,000, including more than 500 women, children and medical workers. Many Lebanese have blamed Hezbollah for pulling Lebanon into the war, accusing it of acting on behalf of its patron, Iran.

Safa said Hezbollah's actions were preemptive because its leaders believed “Israel was preparing for a second battle with Lebanon” with the aim of destroying Hezbollah.

It was “an appropriate moment for Hezbollah ... to rebuild a new equation” and restore deterrence against Israel, he said, denying any prior deals with Tehran that Hezbollah would enter the war if Iran was attacked.

After a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the last Israel-Hezbollah war in November 2024, Israel continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it said aimed to stop the group from rebuilding. Hezbollah wants to avoid a return to that status quo, Safa said.

‘Black Wednesday’

Israel has claimed that its strikes on Lebanon last Wednesday killed more than 250 Hezbollah militants. More than 100 women and children were among the over 350 people killed, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

That would mean that, according to Israel’s assertion, every adult male killed that day was a Hezbollah member.

“None of our officials or cadres was killed in Beirut," Safa said. ”Those who died in Beirut are 100% civilians." He did not deny that members of the group were killed outside of the Lebanese capital.

Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem's secretary who was also his nephew, Ali Yusuf Harshi, as well as some high-level commanders.

Safa said Kassem’s secretary was not killed, although “maybe a relative of his was.”

He also confirmed for the first time that he was wounded during the earlier, 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, after being targeted by two Israeli strikes in Beirut, "but God granted me survival.”

Later Monday in a televised address, Kassem himself urged Lebanon to pull out of direct talks with Israel, calling the negotiations a “free concession” to Israel and the U.S.

Souring relations with the government

Relations between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah — which is not just a militant group but also a political party with a parliamentary bloc — have grown increasingly tense.

The government last year approved a plan to remove all weapons that are not property of the state — its security forces or military — and later said it had largely completed the task south of the Litani River, where Hezbollah militants are now fighting with Israeli forces.

After March 2, the government went further, declaring Hezbollah's armed wing illegal.

Safa said Hezbollah is currently not directly speaking with President Joseph Aoun or Prime Minister Nawaf Salam but that all its communications are going through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the head of the Hezbollah-allied Amal party.

Safa said that if there is a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, Hezbollah — which calls itself a “resistance” movement against archenemy Israel — is ready to negotiate with the Lebanese government about the fate of its weapons.

“The issue of resistance weapons is a Lebanese matter that has nothing to do with Israel or the United States,” he said.

Los trabajadores del Parque Industrial Metropolitano, de propiedad estatal y conocido informalmente como Sonapi, se reunieron fuera de sus puertas en Puerto Príncipe y gritaron: “¡Cuando tenemos hambre, no jugamos!”

Los empleados señalaron que no han recibido un aumento salarial desde 2023 y que ya les resulta imposible costear bienes básicos, dado que el gobierno de Haití incrementó los precios del diésel un 37% y los de la gasolina un 29% a principios de este mes.

“Un galón de gasolina cuesta más que nuestro salario mínimo”, afirmó Marc Jean Jean-Pierre, un padre de dos hijos de 47 años.

Jean-Pierre trabaja en una fábrica que confecciona jeans y gana 685 gourdes haitianos (5,23 dólares) al día, cuando un galón de gasolina cuesta 850 gourdes (6,49 dólares).

“Se puede ver lo que estamos pasando”, expresó.

Jean-Pierre solía tomar transporte público para ir al trabajo, pero ahora camina durante una hora para ahorrar dinero, ya que el pasaje de ida y vuelta aumentó 100 gourdes (76 centavos).

“Estaremos en la calle hasta que el gobierno escuche nuestra voz”, advirtió.

A la protesta del lunes se sumó Maxime Excellence, un conserje de fábrica de 49 años, quien se mostró preocupado, entre otras cosas, por el aumento de los precios del transporte.

“Además de eso, tengo que comer. No puedo pasarme todo el día sin comer”, comentó. “Dios sabe qué voy a tener que comer cuando llegue a casa”.

Excellence sostuvo que las exigencias de los trabajadores son justas.

“Apenas logramos llegar a fin de mes con lo que tenemos para vivir”, manifestó.

Indicó que seguirá protestando hasta que se cumplan sus demandas y que recurrirá a la violencia de ser necesario.

James Cardichon, un trabajador de fábrica de 37 años que confecciona camisetas, compartió esa postura.

“Necesitamos una revolución para que entiendan”, sostuvo, y añadió que también deben mejorar las condiciones en la fábrica. “Estamos dejando nuestro sudor”.

Señaló que los trabajadores buscan un mejor salario para que sus hijos no tengan que vivir los mismos problemas.

“Estamos cansados”, dijo. “Nuestro país está infestado de pandillas. El autobús cobra más porque tienen que pagarles a las pandillas para poder pasar, y al final nosotros pagamos por todo”.

Cardichon también expresó su molestia por las promesas constantes de funcionarios del gobierno de mejorar la situación del país.

“Estamos cansados de promesas”, declaró. “Queremos que actúen, y rápido”.

Algunos haitianos que se unieron a la protesta no trabajan en el parque industrial, pero querían expresar su frustración por las crisis en espiral de Haití, con el aumento de la violencia de las pandillas y el agravamiento de la pobreza.

Garry Jean Paul, de 35 años, quien vende teléfonos celulares en la calle, dijo que el alza de los precios del petróleo está empeorando la situación del país.

“Algunos días gano un par de cientos de gourdes; otros días tengo que volver a casa sin nada”, relató. “Las familias están haciendo cosas que no deberían estar haciendo. Están mendigando”.

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

The attention is less than comfortable for the grandson of Joe Gibbs, a Hall of Fame legend as a championship team owner in NASCAR and a Super Bowl-winning coach in the NFL.

“Yeah, I feel like I could be a lot bigger in the community than what I am,” Ty Gibbs said about his place in NASCAR after his first career victory Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “I just enjoy privacy. I don’t really want to show off a lot, too. I just enjoy training on my bike, getting strong, working hard during the week. I’m not here to be a moving billboard. I don’t really care. I don’t have any social media on my phone at the moment. I just really enjoy racing and focusing on myself.”

The focus at Bristol was squarely on the 23-year-old after he deftly fended off NASCAR champions Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson on a two-lap overtime restart. The relief of finally breaking through in his 131st Cup start was evident. Gibbs celebrated by playfully crashing his grandfather’s national TV interview and handing the checkered flag to his mother, Heather, before giving her a ride to victory lane in the No. 54 Toyota.

“It’s just a thrill to see this happen because I don’t know how to explain it,” said Joe Gibbs, who has half of his eight grandchildren working at Joe Gibbs Racing, the team he founded 35 years ago. “It’s just a special feeling for all of us. I called my wife, and she’s crying. The whole family is crying. We love this. We really appreciate what today meant to us and the family.”

The narrative was positive for the Gibbs organization, which has been ensnared in some unflattering headlines after suing former competition director Chris Gabehart for breach of contract.

In a court filing, Gabehart said he expressed “serious concerns” about team management after he felt pressured to help Ty Gibbs (and was moved to the No. 54 pit box to call strategy). Gabehart said Gibbs “was not held to the same meeting attendance standards as others on the team.”

After the Bristol win, Gibbs made multiple references to “people saying false things” (without naming Gabehart) and steadfastly reaffirmed his work ethic.

”I’ve stayed after it the whole time,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, people are going to say false things about how I wasn’t present in meetings. I’ve been the same the whole time, just to clarify that.”

But others have noticed a change in his demeanor. To defuse the driver’s frustration during races, crew chief Tyler Allen said “a huge focus” entering 2026 was on keeping it fun because a “loose, fun Ty is a fast Ty.”

During a stretch of four consecutive finishes of sixth or better before Bristol, Gibbs impressed his teammates by speaking up in debriefs with helpful advice.

“He’s been in a good mood,” JGR driver Christopher Bell said. “He’s happy. Ty is killing it. It’s fun to see his confidence is literally radiating from him. He’s really switched on right now. He’s taken a huge step, and he’s a joy to be around right now.”

Gibbs, who was involved in a run-in last year with teammate Denny Hamlin, was a little defensive about whether he had changed that much.

“I’ve always had fun,” he said. “I think that’s taken out of turn. I truly enjoy the position I’m in. Obviously, being around such a great group of people is so much fun. These guys love racing as much as I do, or even more, and I know I love it a lot.”

Joe Gibbs hopes more people see that side of his grandson.

“He’s really, really got a good sense of humor,” Gibbs said. “We laugh all the time. I think the farther we go in this sport, hopefully, his personality and everything come out, the kind of kid he is. When I’m around him, he’s fun.”

Pit crew woes

Bristol runner-up Blaney’s pit crew ranked 32nd of 37 teams in Sunday’s race, raising questions about how long Team Penske can stay patient with a group that has squandered more than 80 positions on pit stops over the past seven races.

“We’ve got to get better for sure,” said Blaney, who lost seven spots on two mediocre pit stops midrace at Bristol. “If we’re going to keep competing and get cars that can win, we’ve got to clean that up.”

Hendrick struggles

A Martinsville Speedway win didn’t provide much momentum for Chase Elliott, who finished 22nd after starting 18th. Teammates William Byron (30th) and Alex Bowman (37th) also struggled for Hendrick Motorsports, which has 13 top 10s among its four drivers through eight races.

Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon addressed the slow start before Sunday's race. “We’re being challenged right now, not that I don’t like it, but also I love it because I know what we’re capable of, and I love watching us do the climb,” Gordon said. “It teaches us things about ourselves, and I think it only makes us stronger.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Dans pulled out Friday, the last day to remove his name from ballots before the state's primary on June 9.

Trump — who long ago endorsed Graham, among his top congressional allies — reacted to the announcement with a social media post suggesting that Tucker Carlson's endorsement of Dans had been the "KISS OF DEATH” for his campaign.

Trump and Carlson have been feuding over the Iran war, which the former Fox News star called “absolutely disgusting and evil.” Dans denied his decision to withdraw had anything to do with Carlson.

Dans said he was endorsing another Republican in the contest, appliance business owner Mark Lynch. In another social media post, Trump said Lynch “would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party” if elected.

Dans rose to prominence as one of the people behind Project 2025, which was a blueprint for conservative governance if Trump won his comeback campaign. He said he was pleased with some of Trump's progress after taking office — including federal workforce reductions and cuts to federal programs — but there was “more work to do” in the Senate.

“What we’ve done with Project 2025 is really change the game in terms of closing the door on the progressive era,” Dans told The Associated Press last year. ”If you look at where the chokepoint is, it’s the United States Senate. That’s the headwaters of the swamp.”

Dans, an attorney who worked in the first Trump administration as White House liaison to the office of personnel management, often commuted on weekdays to Washington as he organized Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The nearly 1,000-page policy blueprint included chapters written by leading conservative thinkers.

Challenging the long-serving Graham, who has routinely batted back contenders over the years, is something of a political long shot. A half-dozen other Republican candidates remain in the race, and Graham's campaign said Monday it had more than $11.6 million cash on hand, raising nearly $1.4 million in the first quarter of this year.

Trump early on gave his endorsement of Graham, a political confidant and regular golfing partner of the president, despite their on-again-off-again relationship. Graham, in announcing he would seek a fifth term in the Senate, also secured the state’s leading Republicans, Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Henry McMaster, to chair his 2026 run.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

La sospechosa fue identificada por el BSO como Tamica Brown, de 43 años, quien enfrenta cargos de uso criminal de información de identificación personal y tráfico de tarjetas de crédito falsificadas.

“SNAP es un programa financiado por el gobierno federal y administrado por el Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA) a través de su Servicio de Alimentación y Nutrición”, dijo la portavoz del BSO Claudinne Caro en un comunicado de prensa. “Los beneficiarios elegibles acceden a sus fondos a través de tarjetas de transferencia electrónica de beneficios (EBT), que funcionan de manera similar a una tarjeta de débito o crédito. Los beneficiarios acceden a sus beneficios usando la tarjeta EBT y un Número de Identificación Personal (PIN) único”.

Según el BSO, la investigación comenzó el 20 de julio de 2025, cuando agentes en Cooper City fueron llamados a un Walmart en 4700 S. Flamingo Road, donde una víctima reportó que alguien había usado su tarjeta EBT sin su consentimiento.

Los detectives dijeron que eventualmente identificaron a unas 200 víctimas que sufrieron una pérdida combinada de más de $120,000.

Una madre soltera de tres hijos que se vio obligada a quedarse sin comestibles y una mujer de 95 años estuvieron entre las víctimas, dijo Caro.

Caro confirmó que hasta ahora los detectives han entrevistado a 30 víctimas.

“La investigación de ocho meses reveló que Brown, de 43 años, operó un esquema de fraude organizado en el que obtuvo ilegalmente números de tarjetas EBT pertenecientes a beneficiarios de SNAP, los PIN asociados y los saldos de las cuentas de múltiples fuentes”, dijo Caro. “La evidencia indicó que estos números de tarjetas fueron robados por medios desconocidos y transmitidos a Brown electrónicamente a través de teléfonos”.

Según el BSO, Brown usó los números de tarjetas y PIN robados para hacer compras no autorizadas, incluyendo bebidas energéticas de “alta demanda” como Red Bull y Celsius.

Los investigadores dijeron que luego revendía los productos a bodegas y tiendas de conveniencia.

Según Caro, las víctimas descubrieron que sus beneficios ya habían sido agotados cuando intentaron hacer sus propias compras con sus tarjetas EBT.

Brown fue arrestada el martes pasado por la policía de Pembroke Pines, que la detuvo con una orden de arresto del BSO.

Hasta el lunes por la tarde, estaba detenida en el Centro de Detención Paul Rein con una fianza de $300,000.

The 30th annual Florida Tour de Force charity bicycle ride began Monday morning in North Miami Beach. The five-day, 270-mile journey will end in Daytona Beach.

Two fallen South Florida officers killed in the line of duty in 2025 were among those honored: Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Deputy Devin Jaramillo, shot and killed by a suspect, and Miami Beach Police Department Sgt. David Cajuso, killed in a motorcycle crash.

MBPD Officer Rick Lonergan was riding in Cajuso’s honor.

“He gave so much to the department and the city and the citizens of Miami Beach. The only right thing to do is to come out and honor him on a day like today,” Lonergan said. “He was a great guy. Funny guy. I enjoyed working with him.”

Law enforcement will escort the riders up the Atlantic coast with stops planned every 12 to 15 miles, making the ride accessible for seasoned cyclists and those riding for a cause.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” North Miami Beach police Chief Juan Pinillos said.

Every dollar raised goes directly to the families of the fallen heroes.

Francisco Navarro, quien trabajaba como guardia de seguridad, le disparó mortalmente a un usuario de silla de ruedas que los invitados querían dejar entrar pero que no estaba en la lista, según el informe de arresto policial.

Durante una discusión, la víctima insultó a Navarro, de 26 años, con una palabrota, tras lo cual él sacó una Glock 19 de su funda, disparó varias veces y huyó, según el informe de arresto.

De acuerdo con el informe, Navarro, quien vive en el condado de Miami-Dade, le disparó a la víctima seis veces: una en el cuello, dos en el abdomen, dos en el hombro izquierdo y una en el antebrazo.

Durante la investigación, los detectives en el salón de banquetes en el 6072 de West Oakland Park Boulevard llamaron a Navarro, quien regresó para entregarse a la policía, según el informe policial.

El lunes por la tarde, Navarro, nacido en La Habana, Cuba, enfrentó un cargo de asesinato en primer grado en el condado de Broward, según registros judiciales.

Un juez de fianzas le negó la libertad bajo fianza, por lo que permaneció en la Cárcel Principal del condado de Broward en Fort Lauderdale, según registros de reclusos.

La jueza del Circuito del condado de Broward, Francis I. Viamontes, estaba programada para presidir el caso.

Workers at the state-owned Metropolitan Industrial Park, informally known as Sonapi, gathered outside its gates in Port-au-Prince and shouted, “When we are hungry, we don’t mess around!”

Employees noted that they haven’t had a raise since 2023, and that they can no longer afford basic goods given that Haiti’s government increased diesel prices by 37% and gasoline prices by 29% earlier this month.

“A gallon of gas is higher than our minimum daily wage,” said Marc Jean Jean-Pierre, a 47-year-old father of two children.

He works at a factory making jeans, earning 685 Haitian gourdes ($5.23) a day, while a gallon of gasoline costs 850 gourdes ($6.49).

“You can see what we’re going through,” he said.

Jean-Pierre used to take public transportation to get to work, but now he walks for an hour to save money since the round-trip fare has increased by 100 gourdes (76 cents).

“We will be in the street until the government hears our voice,” he said.

Joining Monday’s protest was Maxime Excellence, a 49-year-old factory janitor, who worried about rising transportation prices, among other things.

“On top of it, I have to eat. I can’t spent the whole day not eating,” he said. “God knows what I’m going to have to eat when I get home.”

Excellence said the workers’ demands are fair.

“We can barely make ends meet with what we’re living on," he said.

He said that he would continue to protest until their demands are met and would resort to violence if necessary.

James Cardichon, a 37-year-old factor worker who makes T-shirts, echoed those sentiments.

“We need a revolution for them to understand,” he said, adding that the factory conditions also need to improve. “We are leaving our sweat behind.”

He said that workers are seeking a better salary so their children don’t have to experience the same problems.

“We are tired,” he said. “Our country is infested by gangs. The bus charges more because they have to pay the gangs to get through, and we end up paying for everything.”

Cardichon also said he was upset about the ongoing promises by government officials to improve the country’s situation.

“We are tired of promises,” he said. “We want them to take action, and quickly.”

Some Haitians who joined the protest don’t work at the industrial park but wanted to express their frustration at Haiti’s spiraling crises, with gang violence surging and poverty deepening.

Garry Jean Paul, 35, who sells cellphones on the street, said that rising oil prices are worsening the country’s situation.

“Some days I make a couple hundred of gourdes, some days I have to go home with nothing,” he said. “Families are doing things they are not supposed to be doing. They are begging.”

Se trata de una medida que se ha discutido por años en el país y que ha generado rechazo especialmente en la comunidad de Puerto Triunfo, donde se ubica la Hacienda Nápoles que perteneció a Escobar y que atrae a cientos de turistas que acuden a ver los hipopótamos. El narcotraficante falleció en 1993 abatido por la policía colombiana.

La ministra de Ambiente, Irene Vélez, firmó un documento oficial que contiene lineamientos para la coordinación institucional en el manejo y control de los hipopótamos. En rueda de prensa explicó que las medidas serían implementadas en el segundo semestre del año, cuando ya estará en funciones un nuevo presidente que asumirá el 7 de agosto.

El ministerio indicó en el documento que la caza será una medida de última instancia que “solo procederá cuando las alternativas no letales no resulten” viables.

La senadora animalista Andrea Padilla rechazó en la red social X la decisión gubernamental al considerar que se trata de una “matanza de criaturas saludables” que son “víctimas" de la “negligencia” estatal. Instó a que se contemplen otros métodos que no impliquen el sacrificio.

Los tipos de eutanasia

El plan contempla la eutanasia química con una inyección y la física, que se realizará con disparo de rifle por un tirador certificado, según el ministerio.

Para la eutanasia química los que la ejecuten deberán atraer a cada hipopótamo con alimentos hacia un corral. Una vez allí el animal recibirá un dardo que lo inmovilizará y luego el medicamento que le provocará la muerte.

Mientras que para la eutanasia física, el protocolo indica el uso de rifles de caza de largo alcance y potencia —la piel de los hipopótamos es gruesa y difícil de penetrar— con el fin de provocar el “menor sufrimiento al individuo”.

El proyectil deberá ser apuntado “directamente a la cabeza del animal”, buscando que penetre el cráneo, lo que “causará el daño suficiente en la masa cerebral" para insensibilizarlo de inmediato y generar “la conmoción irreversible y la muerte”, acotó el protocolo.

Para la disposición final de cadáveres indicó que preferiblemente se realice un enterramiento disponiendo de una fosa con una pendiente de hasta cuatro metros de profundidad. Como alternativa contempló la cremación.

Otras opciones de control

También se continuará intentando el traslado de animales a varios países que los acepten para cuidarlos en zoológicos y santuarios, un plan gestionado desde 2023 que no ha tenido ninguna respuesta positiva, según detalló el ministerio.

Ese mismo año, el país también inició decenas de esterilizaciones, un procedimiento costoso de cerca de 9.800 dólares por hipopótamo que representa riesgos como la muerte o la reacción alérgica a la anestesia; mientras, contemplaba el traslado y la eutanasia, a la que le hacía falta el protocolo.

Vélez advirtió que, de no tomar medidas, en 2030 Colombia tendría una población de 500 hipopótamos, afectando los ecosistemas y especies nativas como el manatí y la tortuga de río. El país sudamericano declaró esos mamíferos herbívoros una especie exótica invasora.

Los hipopótamos, territoriales y de hasta tres toneladas, no tienen un depredador natural en Colombia y están cada vez más dispersos por el caudaloso río Magdalena en estado salvaje. Las autoridades temen que se extiendan hacia otras zonas del país.

Algunas veces han salido del agua y caminado por las calles del pueblo de Puerto Triunfo o por las carreteras, como ocurrió a finales de marzo, según videos divulgados por la comunidad en redes sociales.

El ministerio asignará hasta 1,7 millones de dólares para el plan de control. Vélez calculó que con el presupuesto disponible sería aplicada la eutanasia a por lo menos 80 hipopótamos.

Aún está en la memoria colectiva el caso de “Pepe”, un hipopótamo que, tras escapar de la Hacienda Nápoles, fue perseguido por francotiradores de una fundación ambiental privada y cazado a tiros en 2009, lo que provocó reclamos de ambientalistas.

Francisco Navarro, who was working security, fatally shot a wheelchair user, who guests wanted to allow inside, but was not on the guest list, according to a police arrest report.

During an argument, the victim used an expletive to insult Navarro, 26, who then pulled out a Glock 19 from his holster, fired several times, and fled, according to the police arrest report.

According to the police arrest report, Navarro, who lives in Miami-Dade County, shot the victim six times: Once in the neck, twice in the abdomen, twice in the left shoulder, and once in the forearm.

During the investigation, detectives at the banquet hall at 6072 West Oakland Park Boulevard, called Navarro, who then returned to surrender to police, according to the police report.

On Monday afternoon, Navarro, who was born in Havana, Cuba, faced a first-degree murder charge in Broward County, according to court records.

A bond court judge denied him bail, so he remained at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, according to inmate records.

Broward County Circuit Judge Francis I. Viamontes was set to preside over the case.

Location

The fire was reported at a home in the 2500 block of Northeast Third Avenue.

The back of the home was apparently fully engulfed in flames.

The damage is so bad, you can barely step into Joel Elusma’s backyard.

“I’m looking for somebody to fix it,” he told Local 10 News.

Elusma said he is looking at all his options after the back of the home he lives in caught fire Sunday night.

He believes the water heater exploded.

One witness told Local 10 News that she was watching TV when she saw a red flame outside her window.

She then told her grandmother, who immediately called 911.

“I was worried about him because I didn’t know if he was in the house or not,” a neighbor named Mark said.

Pompano Beach Fire Rescue officials confirmed that no one was injured in the fire.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

The American Red Cross offered to assist Elusma, who lives alone, however he has opted to sleep in his car in the driveway out of fear that someone will steal his belongings.

Se tiene previsto que el supertifón Sinlaku toque tierra la noche del martes en las Islas Marianas del Norte con vientos destructivos, lluvias intensas e inundaciones que podrían provocar prolongados cortes en el servicio eléctrico, informó el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional el lunes.

No se anticipa un impacto directo en Guam, un territorio de Estados Unidos con instalaciones militares y unos 170.000 habitantes, pero aún podría sufrir algunos daños.

El tifón tropical —el más intenso en lo que va del año— generaba el lunes vientos máximos sostenidos de 278 km/h (173 mph), a medida que se acercaba a las islas de Rota, Tinian y Saipan, según el Centro Conjunto de Alerta de Tifones.

Si bien se prevé que se debilite ligeramente en los próximos días, se pronostica que el meteoro pase cerca de las islas como un tifón de categoría 4 o 5.

El tifón se ha mantenido a grandes rasgos en una trayectoria que lo lleva sobre o muy cerca de Tinian y Saipan, indicó Joshua Schank, meteorólogo principal del servicio meteorológico en Guam.

Alrededor de 50.000 personas habitan en las tres islas, la mayoría de ellas en Saipan, la capital de las Islas Marianas del Norte que es conocida por sus relajados complejos turísticos, y campos de golf.

Saipan fue escenario de una de las batallas más cruentas de la Segunda Guerra Mundial en el Pacífico, en la que murieron más de 50.000 soldados japoneses y estadounidenses, así como civiles.

En Guam, donde el tifón Mawar dejó sin electricidad a los habitantes de la isla por varios días en 2023, funcionarios militares de Estados Unidos advirtieron al personal que se prepare para la llegada de la tormenta y se resguarde en interiores. Las fuerzas armadas controlan alrededor de una tercera parte de la superficie de la isla, un centro crucial para las fuerzas estadounidenses en el Pacífico.

La isla ya recibía fuertes lluvias y ráfagas de viento de hasta 96 km/h (60 mph) a primera hora del martes, señaló Schank. La mayoría de los negocios estaban cerrados y las autoridades pidieron a la población que permaneciera en casa, añadió.

Glen Hunter, quien creció en Saipan, ha vivido varios tifones. “Vivimos en lo que llaman el ‘Callejón de los Tifones’”, dijo a primera hora del martes después de despertarse entre las fuertes ráfagas de viento que derribaron algunos árboles.

La mayoría de los residentes viven en casas de concreto, aunque las personas que habitan residencias de madera con techos de lámina suelen quedarse con familiares o en refugios del gobierno, dijo.

Cuando la pandemia de COVID-19 llegó a Saipan en 2020, la isla aún se recuperaba del paso del supertifón Yutu en 2018, recordó, y asegura que la economía aún no se recupera por completo.

Mientras se prepara para recibir un impacto directo, Hunter también anticipa la posibilidad de pasar varias semanas o meses sin electricidad ni agua corriente.

“Somos islas remotas y hermosas en el Pacífico, lo cual es una ventaja, pero los tiempos de recuperación se convierten en un enorme aspecto negativo, el poder traer cosas a los puertos dañados. Lo que esperaríamos es todo el apoyo que podamos obtener del mundo exterior, del gobierno federal, de las fuerzas armadas”, explicó.

El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump aprobó el sábado declaraciones de emergencia por desastre para Guam y las Islas Marianas del Norte, lo que permite desbloquear fondos de ayuda adicional para los servicios de emergencia.

La Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias (FEMA, por sus siglas en inglés) dijo que ya coordina el apoyo entre varias agencias, enviando a casi 100 empleados de FEMA y personal de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental, el Departamento de Transporte y el Cuerpo de Ingenieros del Ejército de Estados Unidos.

“Estamos listos para responder a este evento”, dijo Robert Fenton, administrador regional de FEMA, desde Guam. La agencia comenzó a preparar suministros y personal a finales de la semana pasada, puntualizó.

La respuesta de FEMA se produce en medio del cierre más prolongado en la historia del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, pero las funciones de respuesta a emergencias de la agencia continúan en operaciones durante la disputa de financiamiento. Más de 10.000 empleados dedicados a la respuesta a desastres aún reciben su salario y el fondo de ayuda para desastres de la FEMA —que, según la agencia, tenía alrededor de 3.600 millones de dólares hacia finales de marzo— puede gastarse hasta que se agote.

Un supertifón es el nombre que se le da a los ciclones tropicales más fuertes que se forman en el noroeste del océano Pacífico, donde suelen originarse las tormentas más intensas del planeta.

Supervisados por el Centro Conjunto de Alerta de Tifones en Guam, los supertifones equivalen a huracanes de categoría 4 o 5 en el Atlántico, con vientos de por lo menos 240 km/h (150 mph). Se han identificado más de 300 supertifones desde que el centro de alerta empezó a usar ese nombre hace casi 80 años.

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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Gabriela Aoun Angueira en San Diego y Jennifer Sinco Kelleher en Honolulu contribuyeron con este despacho.

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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.

Video from Sky 10, taken just after 12:30 p.m., shows the small plane on its nose along the runway.

First responders said the plane’s nose gear collapsed on takeoff. No one was hurt.

Aside from collapsed gear, the Cessna R182 looked to be intact.

The government revealed the decision in court papers as it agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by advocacy and historic preservation groups who had sought to block the Feb. 9 removal. A judge approved the deal.

The Interior Department and National Park Service “have confirmed their intention to maintain a Pride flag at Stonewall,” lawyers for the government and the groups wrote in a joint court filing.

The flag — one of several Pride banners at the 7.7-acre (3.1-hectare) park — won’t be removed, except for “maintenance or other practical purposes,” the filing said.

Under the agreement, within a week, the park service will hang three flags on its flagpole at the monument. The Pride flag will be positioned below the U.S. flag, in accordance with U.S. flag code, and above the park service flag. Each will measure 3 feet by 5 feet (0.9 meters by 1.5 meters).

The site also features a large Pride flag on a city-controlled flagpole and smaller flags on a fence surrounding the monument, which is across the street from the Stonewall Inn, the gay bar where a 1969 police raid sparked an uprising and helped catalyze the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Those flags weren't removed.

“We fought the Trump administration and won,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal wrote on X. The Democrat helped organize a protest Pride flag raising after the government-authorized banner was removed.

“We as an LGBTQ community celebrate the legal climb-down by the gutless Trump Administration on their contemptuous attempt to erase queer people from American history at Stonewall,” Hoylman-Sigal, the first openly gay person elected to his job, wrote.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, called the Trump administration’s reversal “a victory for the LGBTQ+ community and for our entire city” and “a reminder that New Yorkers won’t let our history be rewritten.”

The Gilbert Baker Foundation, which honors the Pride flag creator who died in 2017, was among the organizations that sued over the removal.

“Stonewall is sacred ground in the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, and this resolution helps ensure that the Rainbow Flag will continue to fly there, where it belongs,” foundation President Charley Beal said.

The Pride flag had become a flashpoint for arguments over Republican President Donald Trump ’s approach to Stonewall and various other historical properties.

After a yearslong campaign by activists who wanted the flag symbolizing LGBTQ+ pride to be flown daily inside the park service-run site, the banner was formally installed in 2022 during Democrat Joe Biden ’s tenure.

At the time, park service officials called it a sign of the government’s commitment to “telling the complex and diverse histories of all Americans.”

When it removed the flag in February, the park service said it was complying with federal guidance on flag displays. A Jan. 21 memo largely restricted the agency to displaying U.S., Interior Department and POW/MIA flags, with exemptions that include providing “historical context.”

The park service insisted the monument “remains committed to preserving and interpreting the history and significance of this site” through exhibits and programs. But LGBTQ+ activists saw the flag’s removal as a targeted affront meant to diminish a site that is all about their fight for rights and visibility.

Activists Michael Petrelis and Steven Love Menendez, who fought to have the park service fly the Pride flag, said they were pleased with Monday's agreement. But, they said, they were dismayed that other symbols, such as the even more inclusive Progress Pride flag, were left out.

“I look forward to the day when the flag display can restored to its original intent that allows all iterations of LGBTQ+ flags to fly,” Menendez said. “Until then at least we have the original rainbow flag flying to serve as a beacon of light.”

Democratic President Barack Obama created the Stonewall monument in 2016.

After Trump returned to office last year, he took aim at diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and many references to transgender people were excised from the Stonewall monument’s website and materials.

Trump’s administration similarly has put national parks, museums and landmarks under a messaging microscope, aiming to remove or alter materials that it says are “divisive or partisan” or “inappropriately disparage Americans.”

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Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this report.

The Oscar-winning actor and co-host of “The View” has launched the imprint WhoopInk, a partnership with Blackstone Publishing that will focus on bringing “fresh, diverse new talent to the marketplace” and on works spanning across genres. According to Blackstone, Goldberg will be “intimately involved” with the imprint, on everything from cover design to promotion.

At least one WhoopInk author already is well known to Goldberg — Rick Bleiweiss, a Blackstone executive who signed up Goldberg's “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me” for the publisher. Goldberg plans to publish the next novel in Bleiweiss' “Pignon Scorbion & the Barbershop Detectives” mystery series and to release some of her own books, including a collaboration with longtime business partner Tom Leonardis and a follow-up to “Bits and Pieces,” a bestselling memoir that comes out in paperback this week.

“I am personally looking forward to finding new authors, working with established authors, and bringing influential voices into this curated imprint,” Goldberg said in a statement Monday.

Numerous other celebrities have overseen their own imprints in recent years, including Sarah Jessica Parker,John Legend and Questlove. Reese Witherspoon, Dakota Johnson and Dua Lipa are among the public figures who have formed their own book clubs.

Greier se preocuparía menos si la granja solar que quería en su terreno se hubiera concretado. Pero funcionarios locales la bloquearon en 2023 en virtud de una ley estatal de Ohio, y Greier —ante una pesada deuda médica— tuvo que vender parte de su tierra para mantenerse a flote. El acuerdo que se frustró le habría aportado unos 540.000 dólares en pagos de arrendamiento cada año.

“Fue nuestra salvación”, manifestó. “No era ese panorama aterrador que a todo el mundo le gusta pintar sobre la energía solar y la pérdida de tierras agrícolas”.

La oposición local a la energía solar ha sido durante mucho tiempo un obstáculo para los desarrolladores de energía verde. Pero algunas comunidades están trabajando para revertir las restricciones locales, citando los beneficios fiscales y los empleos que aportan los proyectos, así como los pagos de arrendamiento de las empresas energéticas, que pueden proporcionar ingresos estables a los agricultores en una industria volátil.

Cuando una empresa solar se le acercó con la intención de construir paneles en parte de su terreno, Greier, de 42 años y agricultor de sexta generación, dudó. Pero, ante 1 millón de dólares en deuda médica tras una larga batalla con el COVID y complicaciones relacionadas, vio una oportunidad para salvar su granja.

Algunos en la comunidad lo vieron de otra manera.

Greier contó que él y su familia fueron marginados mientras el debate sobre el proyecto se desarrollaba en reuniones públicas. Su salud mental se desplomó. Y el proyecto finalmente fue bloqueado en virtud de una ley estatal que permite a los condados impedir la construcción de parques eólicos y solares en terrenos que consideren “restringidos”.

“Yo era el que iba a perder la granja de sexta generación. Yo era el que no podía mantener a mi familia”, expresó.

Un momento difícil para las energías renovables

La hostilidad del presidente Donald Trump hacia la energía verde ha golpeado a la industria al eliminar subsidios, préstamos e incentivos fiscales. Pero incluso antes de su regreso a la Casa Blanca, las prohibiciones locales a la energía renovable se estaban volviendo más comunes. Un estudio de 2025 de la Universidad de Columbia encontró que, de 2023 a 2024, hubo un aumento del 16% en las leyes locales en 44 estados que restringieron este tipo de proyectos.

“Muchas comunidades quieren descarbonizar y probablemente, en teoría, apoyan la energía renovable”, dijo Juniper Katz, profesora adjunta de la Universidad de Massachusetts que se centra en política ambiental. Pero, añadió, “cuando se trata de tu comunidad y tu patio trasero, equilibrar estos procesos para que la gente sienta que ha tenido voz sin crear tantos puntos de veto que no se pueda hacer nada, creo que ahí está el truco. Y no es fácil”.

Funcionarios del condado Dearborn, Indiana, pausaron el desarrollo solar durante un año en febrero tras la preocupación de residentes por la cercanía de paneles solares a viviendas y el posible impacto ambiental de los materiales de los paneles.

Bobby Rauen, que vive cerca de parte de un proyecto solar propuesto de 1.200 acres (486 hectáreas) en ese condado, está entre los residentes que solicitaron la pausa. Señaló que espera que los funcionarios aprovechen este tiempo para crear mejores protecciones para quienes viven cerca de posibles proyectos solares. También indicó que le preocupaba que las tierras agrícolas no vuelvan a producir si los paneles solares se retiran eventualmente.

Después de que funcionarios del condado Mahoning, Ohio, detuvieran el proyecto planificado por Greier —de 675 acres (273 hectáreas) y 150 megavatios—, él decidió ayudar a otros que querían energía solar en sus tierras, al afirmar que “no quería ser una víctima”. Como miembro de Renewable Energy Farmers of America, Greier, que principalmente cultiva maíz y soja, ha compartido su experiencia con legisladores, grupos de defensa y en comunidades que debaten el desarrollo de energía verde.

Recientemente habló con funcionarios gubernamentales en una reunión pública en el condado Richland, Ohio, a unos 161 kilómetros (100 millas) de su casa. Allí, defensores lograron incluir en la boleta un referendo este mayo para revertir la prohibición del condado sobre proyectos eólicos y solares.

Morgan Carroll, residente del condado de toda la vida, ha estado trabajando desde el verano pasado para reunir apoyo para eliminar la prohibición. Aunque no es agricultora ni propietaria de tierras, Carroll dijo que respalda los empleos y los ingresos fiscales que estos proyectos pueden aportar y cree que la prohibición les quita la decisión a los residentes, y que algún día podría afectar a sus dos hijos pequeños.

“Quiero que estén en un condado que pueda ofrecer empleos, que pueda ofrecerles una buena escuela”, dijo. “No quiero tener que mudarme”.

La política federal influye en las leyes locales

Los republicanos del Congreso y el gobierno de Trump adelantaron los plazos para que los proyectos solares a escala de servicios públicos pudieran calificar para incentivos fiscales tras la aprobación de una gran ley de exenciones tributarias y recortes de gasto en julio pasado. Ahora, los proyectos solares a escala de servicios públicos deben estar en funcionamiento para finales de 2027 para calificar.

El año pasado, Lita Leavell y su esposo, Joe, que operan una granja ganadera de 1.000 acres (405 hectáreas) en Lancaster, Kentucky, esperaban albergar un proyecto solar a escala de servicios públicos en aproximadamente la mitad de su terreno, lo que les habría aportado un estimado de 60.000 dólares al año. Al igual que Greier, los pagos de arrendamiento habrían garantizado que la tierra pudiera permanecer en su familia.

Pero después de que se aprobara en 2023 una ordenanza del condado Garrard que restringía el desarrollo solar, la empresa energética con la que trabajaba Leavell decidió poner fin al proyecto.

Parte del razonamiento de su condado para la ordenanza fue la oposición del gobierno federal a la energía solar y el deseo del gobierno de Trump de detener proyectos a escala de servicios públicos en tierras agrícolas, dijeron líderes del condado durante una reunión en agosto de 2025. Leavell, quien dijo ser republicana, cuestionó por qué la falta de apoyo federal a proyectos de energía verde debería afectar su capacidad de impulsar estos proyectos en su propia tierra. Ella y un grupo de otros seis propietarios de tierras están demandando para anular la ordenanza.

“Lo que supongo que me desconcertó tanto es que hay muchas cosas peores que podrían estar al lado tuyo”, comentó.

Una cuestión de derechos de propiedad

Carroll, que ayudó a reunir firmas para el referendo en el condado de Richland, Ohio, descubrió que cuando el debate sobre los proyectos solares se planteaba como una cuestión de derechos de propiedad, la gente en la comunidad era más receptiva.

Greier también se centra en los derechos de propiedad cuando habla del tema. Su granja es su plan de jubilación y, según dijo, debería tener el derecho de usarla para mantener a su familia.

“Hay familias que dependen de esto y lo están buscando”, afirmó. “Y se les ha quitado esta oportunidad”.

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La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido. Consulte las normas de AP para trabajar con filantropías, una lista de patrocinadores y las áreas de cobertura financiadas en AP.org.

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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.

Speaking in an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press program, the president said an invasion of Cuba would be costly and affect regional security. But should it happen, Díaz-Canel said, Cubans would defend themselves.

“If the time comes, I don’t think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba, or for the U.S. to undertake a surgical operation or the kidnapping of a president,” Díaz-Canel said, speaking through a translator.

He added: “If that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live’.”

His comments come as tensions between Cuba and the U.S. remain high despite both sides acknowledging talks, although no details have been shared.

Díaz-Canel has accused the U.S. government of implementing a “hostile policy” against Cuba and said it has “no moral to demand anything from Cuba.” He noted that Cuba is interested in engaging in dialogue and discussing any topic without conditions, “not demanding changes from our political system as we are not demanding change from the American system, about which we have a number of doubts.”

Cuba blames a U.S. energy blockade for its deepening woes, with a lack of petroleum affecting the island’s health system, public transportation and the production of goods and services.

Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it consumes, and it stopped receiving key oil shipments from Venezuela after the U.S. military attacked the South American country in early January, seized President Nicolás Maduro and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Then, with cooperation from ruling party leaders, the Trump administration began implementing a phased plan to end Venezuela’s entrenched crisis.

The arrival of a Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil in Cuba in March marked the island’s first oil shipment in three months. Russia has promised to send a second tanker.

Despite threatening tariffs in January on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, the Trump administration allowed the tanker to proceed.

“Cuba’s finished,” President Donald Trump said at the time. “They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter.”

Díaz-Canel said his government takes Trump’s words as a warning.

“You hear that Cuba is next, that Cuba is going to be next, that there are, there’s a way out, that they’re going to take over Cuba,” he said. “So, from the position of responsibility within the leadership of the country, that is a warning. And we need to responsibly protect our people, protect our project and protect our country.”

The analysis, part of the Economic Report of the President, outlines both a political risk and a messaging opportunity for President Donald Trump, whose public approval has slumped because of concerns about his tariffs, the Iran war and his unfulfilled promises to slash inflation and unleash stronger growth.

Trump signed two executive orders in March directing federal agencies to reduce housing regulatory burdens and make it easier for smaller banks to provide mortgages but he’s been slow to take other steps that would show that high housing costs are a top priority for his administration.

The White House has been trying to focus on housing and other affordability issues for months to get ready for what’s expected to be a challenging midterm season for Republicans, but it has been thrown off course by a series of global issues. In January, a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that had been billed as focusing on housing turned into a showdown for Trump over control of Greenland.

Meanwhile, the Iran war has driven up the cost of buying homes, with average rates for 30-year mortgages jumping from just under 6% to 6.37%.

Trump also has argued in favor of keeping home prices high to protect values for existing owners. “I don’t want to drive housing prices down,” Trump told his Cabinet earlier this year. “I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes, and they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.”

The report lays out a blueprint on housing

The housing chapter of the annual economic report, obtained by The Associated Press before its release, lays out a blueprint for how more home construction would help the middle class and the overall economy, setting up an argument that Trump could make to voters.

Put together by staff at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, it finds there would be 10 million more houses in the country if “homebuilding and the growth of the single-family housing stock had continued at their historical pace instead of falling dramatically” after the 2008 global financial crisis. That crisis was caused largely by a wave of defaults in the housing market, where prices had been fueled by problematic lending practices.

The analysis notes that home prices have risen 82% since 2000, while incomes are up just 12% — a mismatch that had been masked for a period by historically low mortgage rates. But when rates jumped with inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic, monthly mortgage costs also rose for buyers and affording a home, a signifier of middle class status, became a top concern for voters under 40.

The White House maintains that the executive orders in March, in addition to the plans to purchase mortgage-backed securities, show that the president is focused on housing issues.

The report says that various regulations on home construction, which it calls “the bureaucrat tax,” add more than $100,000 in costs to building. That cost includes changing the building codes over the past decade, compliance costs and zoning approval fees, among other expenses.

By the report’s estimates, a reduction in those regulatory costs could help spur construction of as many as 13.2 million homes. That could add on average 1.3 percentage points to annual economic growth over the next decade and support 2 million manufacturing and construction jobs, it argues.

Trump could decide to make federal funding to state and local governments contingent on reducing some of the regulations, according to an administration official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the report before its release.

The report also attacks the green energy housing standards introduced during the Biden administration as a factor in increasing construction costs. Those steps gave preferences for more efficient air conditioning units and water heaters as well as higher standards for the related duct work.

But getting rid of some of those requirements could increase other costs for homeowners over the long run, such as utility bills.

The report relies on a 2021 analysis by National Association of Home Builders that says the standards could add up to $31,000 to the price of a new home, while it could take as many as 90 years for a homebuyer “to realize a payback on the added cost of the home.”

It is not clear how much savings would occur from rolling back Biden-era housing standards because of existing legal challenges regarding their enforcement and different practices by states. In March, a federal judge in Texas agreed with 15 states led by Republicans that said the standards for federally backed housing were unlawful.

Johnny George Mays, de 48 años y residente de Cutler Bay, enfrenta ahora un cargo de asesinato en primer grado tras ser arrestado el jueves y comparecer ante un juez el lunes por la mañana.

Según el Departamento de Policía de Hialeah, el tiroteo mortal ocurrió poco después de las 6:45 a.m. del 28 de marzo afuera de una vivienda en la cuadra 600 de West 15th Street.

Los investigadores dijeron que un video de vigilancia mostró a Mays “apostado aproximadamente a una cuadra de distancia” durante una hora y nueve minutos, “esperando a que la víctima saliera de su residencia”.

La policía dijo que cuando la víctima salió de su casa, Mays se acercó en su vehículo, se bajó y “corrió hacia la víctima con los brazos levantados en posición de disparo”, disparándole varias veces en la entrada antes de volver al asiento del conductor y huir.

El informe no identifica a la víctima ni menciona un presunto móvil. Local 10 News contactó al HPD en busca de información adicional.

La policía dijo que pudo identificar el vehículo de escape y contactó al dueño, quien dijo que Mays lo había usado desde finales de 2025. Los investigadores dijeron que finalmente pudieron vincular el crimen con Mays.

Un informe de arresto indica que los agentes encontraron a Mays cerca de su casa en la urbanización cerrada Cutler Cay el jueves y lo detuvieron. Las autoridades dijeron que invocó su derecho a un abogado y no habló con los investigadores.

Los registros muestran que no fue ingresado al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight hasta el sábado. Al parecer estuvo hospitalizado en ese período intermedio; aparece en su foto de arresto vistiendo una bata médica y su información en el registro carcelario hace referencia al Pabellón D del Jackson Memorial Hospital, una unidad de confinamiento para reclusos.

Además del asesinato en primer grado, Mays también enfrenta un cargo de exconvicto en posesión de un arma de fuego. Un juez ordenó que permanezca detenido sin fianza el lunes por la mañana.

Hasta el lunes por la mañana, Mays permanecía recluido en el TGK, según los registros.

Ocurrió en la intersección de West 68th Street y 17th Court.

Un video del helicóptero Sky 10, tomado poco antes de las 10:45 a.m., muestra la motocicleta y escombros en la calzada junto a un sedán Nissan blanco y el cuerpo del motociclista, cubierto con una lona.

Las autoridades aún no habían divulgado el nombre de la víctima ni si habían determinado quién tuvo la culpa en el accidente.

Los carriles en dirección oeste de West 68th Street permanecían bloqueados hasta el lunes por la mañana.

The analysis, part of the Economic Report of the President, outlines both a political risk and a messaging opportunity for President Donald Trump, whose public approval has slumped because of concerns about his tariffs, the Iran war and his unfulfilled promises to slash inflation and unleash stronger growth.

Trump signed two executive orders in March directing federal agencies to reduce housing regulatory burdens and make it easier for smaller banks to provide mortgages but he's been slow to take other steps that would show that high housing costs are a top priority for his administration.

The White House has been trying to focus on housing and other affordability issues for months to get ready for what's expected to be a challenging midterm season for Republicans, but it has been thrown off course by a series of global issues. In January, a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that had been billed as focusing on housing turned into a showdown for Trump over control of Greenland.

Meanwhile, the Iran war has driven up the cost of buying homes, with average rates for 30-year mortgages jumping from just under 6% to 6.37%.

Trump also has argued in favor of keeping home prices high to protect values for existing owners. “I don’t want to drive housing prices down," Trump told his Cabinet earlier this year. “I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes, and they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.”

The report lays out a blueprint on housing

The housing chapter of the annual economic report, obtained by The Associated Press before its release, lays out a blueprint for how more home construction would help the middle class and the overall economy, setting up an argument that Trump could make to voters.

Put together by staff at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, it finds there would be 10 million more houses in the country if “homebuilding and the growth of the single-family housing stock had continued at their historical pace instead of falling dramatically” after the 2008 global financial crisis. That crisis was caused largely by a wave of defaults in the housing market, where prices had been fueled by problematic lending practices.

The analysis notes that home prices have risen 82% since 2000, while incomes are up just 12% — a mismatch that had been masked for a period by historically low mortgage rates. But when rates jumped with inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic, monthly mortgage costs also rose for buyers and affording a home, a signifier of middle class status, became a top concern for voters under 40.

The White House maintains that the executive orders in March, in addition to the plans to purchase mortgage-backed securities, show that the president is focused on housing issues.

The report says that various regulations on home construction, which it calls “the bureaucrat tax,” add more than $100,000 in costs to building. That cost includes changing the building codes over the past decade, compliance costs and zoning approval fees, among other expenses.

By the report's estimates, a reduction in those regulatory costs could help spur construction of as many as 13.2 million homes. That could add on average 1.3 percentage points to annual economic growth over the next decade and support 2 million manufacturing and construction jobs, it argues.

Trump could decide to make federal funding to state and local governments contingent on reducing some of the regulations, according to an administration official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the report before its release.

The report also attacks the green energy housing standards introduced during the Biden administration as a factor in increasing construction costs. Those steps gave preferences for more efficient air conditioning units and water heaters as well as higher standards for the related duct work.

But getting rid of some of those requirements could increase other costs for homeowners over the long run, such as utility bills.

The report relies on a 2021 analysis by National Association of Home Builders that says the standards could add up to $31,000 to the price of a new home, while it could take as many as 90 years for a homebuyer “to realize a payback on the added cost of the home.”

It is not clear how much savings would occur from rolling back Biden-era housing standards because of existing legal challenges regarding their enforcement and different practices by states. In March, a federal judge in Texas agreed with 15 states led by Republicans that said the standards for federally backed housing were unlawful.

There was no stage, no spotlight — just Yellow Springs, where he’s lived for decades, a place he spent summers as a child while his father worked as dean of students at nearby Antioch College.

It’s in places like this, away from the glare, where Chappelle finds clarity and continues to sharpen a comedic voice that has sparked debate, drawn criticism and, through it all, refused to bend.

“I’ve had a lot of support from my people,” said Chappelle, an Emmy and Grammy winner. “That’s what’s sustained me.”

He sat down with The Associated Press before walking through the town, where he'd recently participated in the ribbon-cutting for a restored 19th-century schoolhouse that now houses a public radio station and will serve as office space for his company, Pilot Boy Productions.

Enduring the backlash over his jokes

Chappelle said he didn’t initially expect his voice to carry the weight it does today.

“Sometimes people will attach things to your voice that don’t necessarily have anything to do with you,” he said. “Your responsibility is to be true to yourself and your work.”

That voice has become one of the most scrutinized in comedy, particularly after criticism of jokes about transgender people in his Netflix specials. The backlash surrounding “The Closer” in 2021 drew protests and internal pushback at Netflix, turning his work into a flashpoint in broader debates over comedy, culture and free speech.

Chappelle said he has never set out to provoke controversy, describing his work as an extension of the same stand-up he has always done. He said the reaction often felt disconnected from the audiences who continue to show up.

“The media used to talk (expletive) about jokes that I did … and none of that stuff swayed my audience,” he said. “So I feel like I need to be true to something.”

Chappelle said being in Yellow Springs allows him a different perspective without the pressures of the entertainment industry.

“One of the best sovereignties that a person can enjoy is the sovereignty of their mind,” he said. “Just the idea of knowing where you land and the rest of the world begins.”

Reconsidering ‘Chappelle’s Show'

For many fans, Chappelle’s voice is still tied to “Chappelle’s Show,” the Comedy Central series that premiered in 2003 and quickly became a cultural force with its sharp satire on race, politics and pop culture.

The show ran for two full seasons with an abbreviated third season released in 2006 after Chappelle walked away during production. It was a decision he later attributed to burnout and concerns about the show's direction.

Now, Chappelle says he’s at least open to the idea of revisiting it.

“If you’d asked me that question a year ago, I’d have told you absolutely not,” he said. “But in the last few weeks … I’m considering it.”

Chappelle acknowledged the comedy landscape has shifted, with digital platforms and social media creating new pathways for humor and a new generation of creators shaping the conversation in real time.

Finding perspective on criticism

As he walked through town, Chappelle framed criticism less as a verdict than something to endure. He pointed to “The Muhammad Ali Reader,” a collection that documents the intense criticism the late boxing legend faced during his career.

“It’s every negative thing they said about him,” he said. “And history proved him to be absolutely right. ... As bad as that weather was, there’s another side to it."

Chappelle framed the tension around his work in a broader cultural context.

“Black life in America, there’s always an ‘or else’ to all of it,” he said. “Don’t say this or else; don’t do that or else. And then there’s those few brave people who say, ‘Or else what?’”

Watching comedy’s next chapter

Even as he reflects on his own career, Chappelle said he’s paying close attention to the next generation of comedians. He pointed to Druski as part of a new wave showing how audiences engage with comedy.

“I love what he does,” Chappelle said before drawing a distinction between digital success and stand-up. That freedom to fail, he suggested, is essential to the development as a comedian — which can be harder to find in today's fast-moving digital landscape.

“One of the worst things that can happen to a comedian is becoming successful before they get good,” Chappelle said. “Because you miss the part where you get to explore and make mistakes.”

Still performing, still reflecting

Chappelle remains active onstage, including upcoming performances tied to the Netflix Is a Joke Fest in Los Angeles in May.

Back home, he continues to perform at his own comedy club — which used to be a firehouse — in Yellow Springs, where he has hosted surprise sets and brought in high-profile guests, including Travis Scott, Lizzo, Wyclef Jean, Marsha Ambrosius, Clipse, 50 Cent and Christopher Cross.

The village has also drawn attention beyond its size. Over the weekend, Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, interviewed Chappelle for their podcast at the radio station.

After decades in comedy, he said he doesn’t spend much time thinking about his legacy, though the idea occasionally comes up in conversation with peers like Chris Rock.

“I’ll be like, ‘They’re gonna write books about us,’” he said. “And those guys will laugh. But they might … or they might not.”

Asked whether he feels he’s living out his purpose, Chappelle paused.

“Man, I’m a lucky guy in that respect,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m doing that on purpose, but I dreamt of being a famous comedian. Took me 40 years, but I did it. … This is better than I dreamt of.”

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher said at a news conference they are pursuing information from the Department of Homeland Security that they need for their investigation into the arrest of ChongLy “Scott” Thao, 56, on Jan. 18. Ramsey County includes the state capital of St. Paul.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers bashed open the front door of Thao’s St. Paul home at gunpoint — without a warrant as far as Choi and Fletcher have been able to determine — then led him outside in just his underwear and a blanket in freezing conditions.

“There are many facts we don’t know yet, but there’s one that we do know. And that is that Mr. Thao is and has been an American citizen. There’s not a dispute over that," Fletcher said. “There’s no dispute that he was taken out of his house, forcibly taken out of his home and driven around.”

The sheriff continued: "Is that good law enforcement, to take an American citizen out of their home and drive them around aimlessly, trying to determine what they can tell them?”

DHS, which oversees ICE, has refused so far to cooperate with Ramsey County, or with other state and local investigations into the killings by federal officers of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

“ICE does not ‘kidnap’ people," the agency said in a statement that called Ramsey County's announcement “nothing but a political stunt to demonize ICE law enforcement.”

Choi said they’re trying to determine whether any crimes were committed that they could prosecute under state or federal law. He also said St. Paul police were investigating another case related to the immigration crackdown for potential violations, but he declined to provide details.

“This is not about any type of predetermined agenda other than to seek the truth and to investigate the facts,” Choi said.

Agents who arrested Thao eventually realized he was a longtime U.S. citizen with no criminal record, Thao said in an interview with The Associated Press in January. They returned him to his home after a couple of hours.

Homeland Security later said ICE officers had been seeking two convicted sex offenders. But Thao told the AP he had never seen the two men before and that they did not live with him. The Minnesota Department of Corrections later said one of the two wanted men was still in prison.

The ICE statement did not address the county’s request for evidence, but it asserted that investigators “concluded sexual predator targets had ties to the property” — something that Thao and his family denied.

Videos captured the scene, which included people blowing whistles and horns, and neighbors screaming at more than a dozen gun-toting agents to leave Thao’s family alone.

Thao declined to comment on the announcement Monday.

The director of the trial division in the County Attorney's Office, Hao Nguyen, said they wrote to DHS, ICE and local federal prosecutors March 20 outlining the evidence they're seeking.

“We know there are reports, there’s just no way that there aren’t," Nguyen said. "We want also to know who was working that day, who was working that month. Where did they report to? Who did they report to? We also want to understand what recordings might be out there in terms of digital recordings, witness interviews, video recordings.”

They set a deadline of April 30, after which they could sue or convene a grand jury, Choi said.

The state and the chief prosecutor in neighboring Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, sued the Trump administration last month to gain access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate three shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It happened during the surge of around 3,000 federal law enforcement officers into Minnesota.

Choi urged members of the public who might have evidence about Thao's case or other potential violations to come forward. Minnesota and Hennepin County have made similar appeals.

The Trump administration has suggested Minnesota officials lack jurisdiction to investigate federal law enforcement actions. But Fletcher said he believes they do.

“There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents," the sheriff said. "There’s qualified immunity for all law enforcement in a lot of different capacities. But seizing a person out of their home who’s an American citizen, they’re not immune from that.”

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Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter Jack Brook contributed to this story from New Orleans.

Over the past few weeks, a few water utilities have said their supply had been disrupted, according to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies. Fluoride is used in water systems as a public health measure to prevent tooth decay.

Here's what to know.

What's driving the fluoride shortage?

Israel is one of the world’s top exporters of fluorosilicic acid, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA data also shows the U.S. is among the world’s top five importers of the product.

At least one Israeli supplier has been facing workforce challenges because many employees have been called into active military service, said Dan Hartnett, chief policy officer for the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.

“That has led to decreased production, and supply shortages for the U.S. market," he said.

Not every water system is affected

The number of water utilities affected so far is small, but the shortage is affecting hundreds of thousands of people. As the conflict continues, "there will likely be additional stressors placed on the supply chain, leading to shortages in additional communities,” Hartnett said.

The country's eighth largest water and wastewater utility, WSSC Water in Maryland, is among those facing a shortage. On April 7, utility officials said they were lowering the level of fluoride in the water to 0.4 milligrams per liter, down from the recommended 0.7 milligrams per liter.

Chuck Brown, spokesperson for the utility serving 1.9 million customers, said officials did not know how long the shortage would last, "but we feel confident that we’ll be able to stretch that out for a couple more months.”

In Pennsylvania, the borough of Lititz told its water customers it had to halt fluoridation for a couple weeks last month because of supply issues.

What dentists say you should do

Water utilities add fluoride voluntarily to improve communities' oral health, so lower levels have no effect on drinking water safety.

A few months' drop in fluoride levels is probably not a cause for concern for most people, said Dr. Scott Tomar, an American Dental Association community water fluoridation expert.

Research from places that stopped fluoridating their water — Calgary, Canada; Juneau, Alaska; and Israel — has found that lower levels can have an impact over the span of years.

“Based on the best available information we have, below about 0.5 milligrams per liter, you’re probably not going to see effective preventive exposure,” he said.

Tomar said younger children would be the first to experience tooth decay, because the fluoride strengthens enamel as their teeth are developing and once they've grown in.

He recommends people in shortage areas brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and keep up with their routine dental appointments. If people are concerned they aren't getting enough fluoride, they should talk to their dentist before taking a fluoride supplement or other treatment.

What else should I know about fluoride in the water?

Research shows water fluoridation is beneficial even when it is also available through toothpaste and other means. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data.

The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water was long considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. The American Dental Association credits it with reducing tooth decay by more than 25% in children and adults.

However, misinformation about fluoride's safety has proliferated. Last year, Utah became the first state to ban public water fluoridation. And Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly sown doubt about its safety and restricted the use of fluoride for dental health.

“The levels we use in the United States is perfectly safe," Tomar said. "Despite a lot of the misinformation, there are no adverse health effects associated with the levels we use in our drinking water.”

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