Las señales de “Calle cerrada” bloqueaban la entrada al edificio de oficinas corporativas que albergaba la sede de la aerolínea desde abril de 2024, en 1731 Radiant Drive.

Marco A. Salvino, Sr., vicealcalde de Dania Beach, dijo que Spirit Airlines aportó alrededor de 1,2 millones de dólares en impuestos sobre la propiedad y servicios públicos a Dania Beach.

“Es una gran pérdida para nuestra ciudad”, dijo Salvino.

Dania Pointe , un centro comercial vecino, se benefició de tener la sede de la aerolínea de ultra bajo coste a tan solo 5 minutos a pie .

“Esto afectará a los restaurantes”, dijo Salvino.

La anterior sede de Spirit Airlines estaba ubicada en 2800 Executive Way, en el Miramar Park of Commerce.

Con pérdidas superiores a los 2.500 millones de dólares desde 2020, las solicitudes de quiebra se presentaron en 2024 y 2025, y el cierre se produjo el sábado después de que fracasara un rescate gubernamental de última hora de 500 millones de dólares.

“Tenemos 18.000 personas que viven en este país que son personas estupendas y excelentes empleados”, dijo el presidente Donald Trump sobre los empleados de Spirit Airlines en todo el país el 23 de abril en la Casa Blanca.

Trump y el secretario de Transporte, Sean Duffy, criticaron al gobierno del expresidente Joe Biden por bloquear la venta de Spirit Airlines a JetBlue por 3.800 millones de dólares en 2024.

Spirit Airlines presentó el lunes los avisos de despido ante FloridaCommerce , la principal agencia estatal encargada de la gestión laboral. Se registraron más de 3260 despidos en los condados de Broward y Miami-Dade.

Los registros muestran que el aviso incluía 2.529 casos en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood y 181 en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami.

Los otros fueron el vuelo 796 en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Orlando y el vuelo 796 en el Centro de Operaciones y Control de Tráfico Aéreo de MCO en Orlando.

Documento relacionado: Aviso de despido (del 2 al 13 de mayo)

Enlace útil : Spirit Airlines lanza una página de reestructuración.

Historias relacionadas

• Spirit Airlines informa de más de 4.850 despidos en Florida.
• Mientras aún visten los uniformes de Spirit Airlines, los solicitantes de empleo comienzan a pedir ayuda.
• Ex empleados desempleados de Spirit Airlines marchan en Dania Beach.
• Spirit Airlines pide a los pasajeros que no acudan al aeropuerto, o de lo contrario, no se realizarán cambios de reserva.

Próximas ferias de empleo

La feria de empleo del sector de la hostelería se celebrará el miércoles de 10:00 a 12:00 en CareerSource Broward, ubicada en 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard. La entrada y el estacionamiento son gratuitos.

Miramar organiza una feria de empleo el 20 de mayo, de 10:00 a 14:00, en el Centro Cultural de Miramar, ubicado en 2400 Civic Center Place. La entrada y el estacionamiento son gratuitos. Para más información, visite la página de Eventbrite .

La Feria y Exposición de Empleo de Port Everglades se llevará a cabo el 27 de mayo de 9:00 a 13:00 en el Centro de Convenciones del Condado de Broward, ubicado en 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale. La entrada y el estacionamiento son gratuitos. Aquí encontrará una lista de las empresas participantes >

Recursos

• Departamento de Trabajo: Los servicios de respuesta rápida incluyen orientación sobre la cobertura de continuación de COBRA.
• American Airlines lanza la página de empleo “Supporting Spirit”.
• United Airlines lanza un programa para dar prioridad a los exempleados de Spirit Airlines en sus contrataciones. Aquí está la página de empleo >
• Southwest Airlines estaba reclutando en esta página .
• Página de empleos de JetBlue
• JetBlue anunció una extensión del “acuerdo de asientos auxiliares durante las próximas dos semanas, sujeto a la disponibilidad de espacio y limitado a los asientos de cabina” para aquellos que quedaron varados mientras trabajaban para Spirit Airlines, y también anunció “entrevistas de empleo preferenciales”.
• Delta publica un comunicado de ayuda
• Para obtener más información sobre la ayuda que ofrece la Asociación de Auxiliares de Vuelo , llame al 1-800-385-3920.
• CareerSource Broward ofrece servicios como colocación laboral y orientación profesional en tres centros ubicados en 4941 Coconut Creek Parkway, 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard y 7550 Davie Road Extension en Hollywood.
• Employ Miami-Dade ofrece servicios para quienes buscan empleo .
• CareerOneStop tiene una base de datos de centros de empleo.
• Para presentar una solicitud de beneficios por desempleo en Florida, llame al 1-800-204-2418 o visite esta página .
• Encuentra tu banco de alimentos local en esta página de Feeding America.

Leer en español

Those residents of the Plantation Trace development, located along the 700 block of 132nd Avenue, are upset because they say the U.S. Postal Service isn’t doing anything about it.

Recently, under the cover of night, security cameras captured a car reversing into a parking space next to a row of mailboxes. Seconds later, a pair of hooded subjects emerged.

It’s clear the crooks were able to gain access to the mailbox quickly before getting away with mail belonging to the residents.

“It’s a little intrusive,” said resident Alex Ruane. “The first time we got something materialistic stolen, but then we started hearing credit cards coming up in people’s names and IRS papers and things like that. It’s a little bit of a scary feeling.”

Ruane is one of many residents inside the development who have fallen victim to this crime, a cycle that’s been repeated five times over the past two years.

“What’s the resolution? There isn’t one, so we ended up spending HOA funds to put up cameras, license plate readers, and that’s how we caught the car the last time it happened,” said Ruane.

Carli Pierson is the attorney representing the Plantation Trace Homeowners Association.

“This is being perpetrated by an organized criminal enterprise,” said Pierson. “They move quickly and they clearly have access to some kind of a master key.”

Pierson has helped to guide property owners on how to properly report the thefts with police and the U.S. Postal Inspector, but every effort to curb the crime so far has hit a wall.

“We can’t change the locks on the mailboxes ourselves because that’s tampering, which is a federal offense, and the postal service won’t tell the community when they’re gonna change the locks, so they’re just sitting there like a sitting duck,” Pierson said.

Residents are hoping the video of this latest heist will help bring the crooks to justice.

“I don’t wanna ship things to my house,” said Ruane. “If I’m gonna buy something, am I gonna send it somewhere else? Am I gonna send it to my husband’s business or my parents’ house where I don’t have to worry about it getting stolen?”

Esos residentes del desarrollo Plantation Trace, ubicado en la cuadra 700 de la avenida 132, están molestos porque dicen que el Servicio Postal de Estados Unidos no está haciendo nada al respecto.

Recientemente, bajo la cobertura de la noche, cámaras de seguridad captaron un auto retrocediendo hacia un espacio de estacionamiento junto a una fila de buzones. Segundos después, un par de sujetos con capucha emergieron.

Está claro que los delincuentes pudieron obtener acceso al buzón rápidamente antes de huir con correspondencia perteneciente a los residentes.

“Es un poco intrusivo”, dijo el residente Alex Ruane. “La primera vez nos robaron algo material, pero luego empezamos a escuchar sobre tarjetas de crédito a nombre de personas y documentos del IRS y cosas así. Es una sensación un poco aterradora”.

Ruane es uno de muchos residentes dentro del desarrollo que han sido víctimas de este delito, un ciclo que se ha repetido cinco veces en los últimos dos años.

“¿Cuál es la solución? No hay una, así que terminamos gastando fondos de la asociación de propietarios para instalar cámaras, lectores de placas, y así fue como captamos el auto la última vez que ocurrió”, dijo Ruane.

Carli Pierson es la abogada que representa a la Asociación de Propietarios de Plantation Trace.

“Esto está siendo perpetrado por una organización criminal”, dijo Pierson. “Se mueven rápidamente y claramente tienen acceso a algún tipo de llave maestra”.

Pierson ha ayudado a orientar a los propietarios sobre cómo reportar adecuadamente los robos a la policía y al Inspector Postal de Estados Unidos, pero todos los esfuerzos para frenar el delito hasta ahora han chocado con un obstáculo.

“No podemos cambiar las cerraduras de los buzones nosotros mismos porque eso es manipulación, lo cual es un delito federal, y el servicio postal no le dice a la comunidad cuándo va a cambiar las cerraduras, así que están ahí como un blanco fácil”, dijo Pierson.

Los residentes esperan que el video de este último robo ayude a llevar a los delincuentes ante la justicia.

“No quiero enviar cosas a mi casa”, dijo Ruane. “Si voy a comprar algo, ¿lo voy a enviar a otro lugar? ¿Lo voy a enviar al negocio de mi esposo o a la casa de mis padres donde no tenga que preocuparme de que lo roben?”

Lo que antes se consideraba un pasatiempo transmitido de generación en generación ahora está teniendo un resurgimiento claramente moderno, impulsado por las redes sociales, la fascinación de celebridades y un creciente apetito local por la conexión en persona.

Clubes de mahjong están surgiendo en todo el sur de Florida y Mahjong Club Miami está organizando lecciones semanales con llenos totales y eventos sociales de juego.

El club comenzó con algo mucho más pequeño: un pequeño grupo de amigos jugando por diversión. El grupo de cinco se reunía semanalmente, rotando de casa en casa para encuentros íntimos de mahjong hasta que la noticia se difundió demasiado.

“La gente quería venir a jugar con nosotros en nuestra casa”, dijo la cofundadora Gabriela Leon. “Así que empezó a hacerse cada vez más grande y más grande hasta que un día dijimos: ‘No, esperen, no podemos invitar a más personas aquí. No podemos’”.

Leon dijo que su propia curiosidad por el mahjong surgió hace años por un momento memorable de la cultura pop: la dramática escena final de la película de 2018 “Crazy Rich Asians”, en la que el juego ocupa un lugar central.

Aprendió a jugar, enseñó a sus amigos y en poco tiempo, las pequeñas reuniones en casa se convirtieron en algo mucho más grande.

A través del boca a boca y las redes sociales, los amigos se convirtieron en instructores, atrayendo a recién llegados de todo el sur de Florida que querían aprender el juego y unirse a la creciente comunidad que lo rodea.

“No estamos en nuestros teléfonos”, dijo Leon. “Simplemente estamos conectando con las personas con las que estamos, así que se trata de comunidad”.

Asistimos al evento de Mahjong Club Miami en Ironside Cafe Bistro, que se ha convertido en un importante punto de encuentro en el sur de Florida para reuniones sociales de todo tipo, desde clubes de ajedrez y noches de juegos hasta eventos sociales de mercado público. Puede verlos en Instagram haciendo clic aquí.

El mahjong combina memoria, estrategia y velocidad, a menudo descrito por los entusiastas como una mezcla de ajedrez, póker, dominó y rummy.

Pero para muchos jugadores, el atractivo va más allá de las fichas.

A medida que los clubes de mahjong, eventos temáticos y lecciones para principiantes continúan multiplicándose en todo el país, el juego se ha convertido tanto en una salida social como en un símbolo de estatus, en partes iguales tradición, competencia e iniciador de conversaciones.

En el sur de Florida, eso significa una cosa está clara: el juego más antiguo en la sala podría ser la obsesión más nueva.

Para enviar una idea para What Connects Us, envíe un correo electrónico a whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

Leer en español

What was once considered a pastime passed down through generations is now having a distinctly modern revival, fueled by social media, celebrity fascination and a booming local appetite for in-person connection.

Mahjong clubs are popping up across South Florida and Mahjong Club Miami is hosting packed lessons weekly and social play events.

The club started with something much smaller: a small group of friends playing for fun. The group of five met weekly, rotating home to home for intimate Mahjong meetups until word spread too far.

“People wanted to come play with us at our house,” said co-founder Gabriela Leon. “So it started to become bigger and bigger and bigger until one day we were like, ‘No wait, we cannot invite more people here. We cannot.’”

Leon said her own curiosity about mahjong was sparked years ago by a memorable pop culture moment - the dramatic closing scene of the 2018 film “Crazy Rich Asians,” in which the game takes center stage.

She learned to play, taught her friends, and before long, the small home gatherings turned into something much larger.

By way of word-of-mouth and social media, the friends became instructors, attracting newcomers from across South Florida who wanted to learn the game and join the growing community surrounding it.

“We’re not on our phones,” Leon said. “We’re just connecting with the people we are with, so it’s about community.”

We attended the Mahjong Club Miami event at Ironside Cafe Bistro, which has become a major south Florida hub for social gatherings of all kinds — from chess clubs and game nights to public market socials. You can check them out on Instagram by clicking here.

Mahjong blends memory, strategy and speed — often described by enthusiasts as a mix of chess, poker, dominoes and rummy.

But for many players, the draw goes beyond the tiles.

As mahjong clubs, themed events and beginner lessons continue multiplying nationwide, the game has become both social outlet and status symbol — equal parts tradition, competition and conversation starter.

In South Florida, that means one thing is clear: The oldest game in the room may just be the newest obsession.

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

By Mother’s Day weekend we will introduce a stray shower or two into the forecast, but nothing widespread. Most of the weekend looks hot and dry. A higher chance for pop up thunderstorms holds off until Monday and Tuesday.

En el condado Miami-Dade, Wynwood Marketplace se convirtió en una gran fiesta callejera el martes.

Desde tacos hasta música en vivo y calles llenas, la fiesta estaba en pleno apogeo por la tarde.

El reportero de Local 10 News, Jason Carter, estuvo allí para toda la diversión, y su informe completo se puede ver en la parte superior de esta página.

Leer en español

In Miami-Dade County, Wynwood Marketplace turned into one big street party Tuesday.

From tacos to live music and packed streets, the fiesta was in full swing by the afternoon.

Local 10 News’ Jason Carter was there for all the fun, and his full report can be seen at the top of this page.

Leer en español

A Local 10 News crew was outside Cube Motors, on Northwest 79^th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenue, as agents were seen mostly inside the business’ gate.

Employees at a gym next door said agents rolled in around 6:10 a.m. and announced they were with the FBI, but the law enforcement presence didn’t impact classes at the gym.

Agents were seen circling some vehicles outside Cube Motors, taking pictures of the outside of the vehicle, as well as the interior of a couple of them.

Local 10 also saw agents questioning at least two men.

Both had handcuffs on at one point, but they’ve since been removed.

It’s unclear what the investigation is about.

The business opens daily at 8 a.m., but people were there by 6 a.m. to be questioned as part of the investigation.

No roadways in the area are being impacted by the investigation at this time.

A spokesperson for the FBI would only tell Local 10 News that the “FBI is conducting court ordered law enforcement activity in the vicinity of that location,” but added that “no further information is available at this time.”

Un equipo de Local 10 News estaba afuera de Cube Motors, en Northwest 79th Street, entre la Tercera y la Cuarta Avenida, mientras agentes fueron vistos principalmente dentro de la reja del negocio.

Empleados de un gimnasio contiguo dijeron que los agentes llegaron alrededor de las 6:10 a.m. y anunciaron que eran del FBI, pero la presencia de las autoridades no afectó las clases en el gimnasio.

Los agentes fueron vistos rodeando algunos vehículos afuera de Cube Motors, tomando fotos del exterior de los vehículos, así como del interior de algunos de ellos.

Local 10 también vio a agentes interrogando al menos a dos hombres.

Ambos tuvieron esposas en algún momento, pero ya les fueron retiradas.

No está claro de qué trata la investigación.

El negocio abre diariamente a las 8 a.m., pero había personas en el lugar desde las 6 a.m. para ser interrogadas como parte de la investigación.

Ninguna vía en el área está siendo afectada por la investigación en este momento.

Un portavoz del FBI solo dijo a Local 10 News que el “FBI está llevando a cabo actividades de aplicación de la ley ordenadas por un tribunal en las cercanías de esa ubicación”, pero agregó que “no hay más información disponible en este momento.”

Electricity from solar and wind energy can power cars, however ships and aircraft largely run on liquid fuels made with a large percentage of oil or gasoline. When burned, those emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. Biofuel, refined from organic material like plants or algae, is a potential option to change the fuel makeup.

One kind of biofuel comes from kelp. Through a process that uses heat and pressure to produce fuel, known as hydrothermal liquefaction, this humble seaweed could power ships and aircraft without any petroleum.

“We need other sources of energy that are sustainable, we can’t just rely on petroleum,” said Scott Lindell, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution about a 90-minute drive south of Boston. “There’s hardly anything simpler, or anything that grows quite as fast and as sustainably, as seaweed.”

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and The Associated Press.

___

Existing biofuels, like corn-derived ethanol, primarily work as gasoline additives. Corn crops require agricultural land, fresh water and pesticides while kelp, by contrast, can be grown in the ocean with minimal resources.

Although any bioethanol — whether produced from corn or kelp — releases hazardous gases when burned, such as acetaldehyde, these fuels produce fewer greenhouse gases overall compared to petroleum-based fuels.

Researchers like Lindell have successfully bred kelp varieties that in some cases produce up to three times more biomass than conventional strains. Yet energy companies are hesitant to invest in large-scale aquaculture projects without demonstrated demand, and farmers are reluctant to scale up without a guaranteed buyer, forming a circular problem that has slowed industry development.

Government interest in biofuels is inconsistent

Aquaculture farms today remain small, supplying kelp primarily to restaurants, cosmetics companies and fertilizer producers. Hauke Kite-Powell, an engineer and economic analyst at Woods Hole, said scaling kelp production to support a biofuel economy would require sustained government support, beyond just the private sector.

While oil price volatility, driven in part by international conflicts such as the war in Iran, has led to bursts of renewed interest in energy independence, government support for options like biofuel fluctuates in the United States. In 2016, a program run by the Department of Energy set out to develop tools for kelp-based biofuel production.

The program, known as MARINER — Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources — consisted of projects ranging from developing heat-resistant kelp strains that can withstand warming oceans to studies on seaweed genomes. The Department of Energy often backs exploratory, high-risk high-return projects, and researchers involved in MARINER said they made progress, such as increasing kelp yields.

The program mirrored a similar feasibility-testing venture that began in the 1970s, which was swiftly terminated once oil prices stabilized. Lindell’s lab, funded by MARINER, focused on improving crop yield by selectively breeding kelp with desirable qualities — such as nonreproductive capabilities to prevent interbreeding with wild kelp — so that, down the line, farmers could scale up their kelp production.

Lindell’s MARINER funding lasted six years, finishing in 2024. Since then, federal research funding opportunities have been fewer and delayed. But the urgent need for sustainable energy remains, he said. “I don’t think things have changed incredibly since the first oil crisis.”

A middle market for kelp has yet to materialize

Farmers note the difficulties of finding consistent kelp buyers. Oliver Dixon, a shellfish farmer based in Point Judith, Rhode Island, grows kelp to supplement his oyster business during the winter. As of this month, he expects to harvest about 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms) of kelp, selling most of it to local restaurants and seafood markets.

“The buyers come in and out, it’s pretty discouraging,” Dixon said. His 9-acre (3.6-hectare) farm is hundreds of times smaller than what would be needed to produce biofuel, and without proven demand from the energy sector, he has no plans to expand.

Bren Smith, an ocean farmer and co-founder of GreenWave, a nonprofit supporting ocean farmers, argues that the issue isn’t a lack of demand, but instead where kelp makes sense economically: Kelp is currently more viable in products like cosmetics or food, rather than fuel, which remains one of its lowest-value uses.

“We’ve made this mistake before, right?” Smith said, referring to large-scale investments in kelp research focused on fuel production instead of the seaweed's myriad other uses. “Competing with the most technically advanced, subsidized industry on the globe, the fossil fuel industry.”

Red tape slows expansion, but researchers bet on the long game

Even with a guaranteed buyer, expanding kelp farming would face regulatory hurdles, according to Kite-Powell. In the United States, coastal waters are largely prioritized for recreation, fishing and conservation, making it difficult to obtain permits for large aquaculture projects. By contrast, countries in Asia often prioritize extensive seaweed farms, sometimes covering entire bays.

For now, most U.S. farms remain small and nearshore. Dixon said that he cannot obtain a permit to keep his farm infrastructure in the water year-round, requiring him to remove his lines and anchors each spring and reinstall them in the fall.

Moving farms further offshore could allow for larger operations, but it introduces engineering and environmental challenges, including the risk of entangling marine animals and the possibility that farmed kelp could compete with other marine life for nutrients.

“We don’t yet have a full understanding of what all the ecological side effects of very large-scale ocean farming might be,” Kite-Powell said.

Even so, scientists like Lindell remain confident that their work will be applied to a biofuel industry in the future. Around Lindell’s lab are glass vials and flasks of over 2,600 strains of sugar kelp collected from across New England, which he continues to study and breed selectively in hopes of the energy industry transitioning to renewable sources. To him, volatile fuel prices and the finite nature of resources like oil point to an eventual change.

“We’ll come to the realization that things have shifted in the marketplace,” Lindell said, “and we can’t squeeze any more oil out of the earth in 30 years' time.”

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The results will likely bolster Trump’s confidence heading into upcoming Republican primaries where he wants to help oust more incumbents, including U.S Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

Indiana's primary also ratchets up the pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to move aggressively to redraw congressional district boundaries before the November elections. Alabama and Tennessee have already begun special sessions that could limit Black voters’ strength in Democratic-leaning districts, and some of Trump’s allies in South Carolina want to follow suit.

State Sen. Linda Rogers, one of the Indiana lawmakers who voted against redistricting and lost her seat Tuesday, said the outcome “will probably discourage others in other states."

“If someone is going to ask you to take a tough vote, you may think twice about your conscience and what’s best for your community and instead what’s best for you and your career," she said.

Redistricting efforts began last year, when Trump saw an opportunity to give Republicans an additional edge, but they were supercharged last week when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a provision of the Voting Rights Act that influenced how political lines are drawn.

Trump's success in Indiana, aided by more than $8.3 million in campaign cash in races that usually see very little spending, reaffirmed the president's continued strength within a Republican Party that he has dominated for a decade, despite his inevitable slide toward lame-duck status and his sagging poll numbers.

“Historic night for Indiana as Republicans stood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives,” Gov. Mike Braun, R-Ind., posted on social media. “I look forward to winning big in November and serving Hoosiers with this team in the statehouse!”

Trump backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. Five of the president’s candidates won, and another race remained too close to call.

Trump was relatively restrained on social media about the voting. He shared a series of photos celebrating the victories of candidates he endorsed in Indiana and Ohio, which also held primaries Tuesday. But he otherwise passed on boasting or renewing his attacks on Massie or Cassidy.

Massie has been among the members of Congress who frustrated the president by pressing for release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files. Cassidy was among the Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on 2021 impeachment charges after the Jan. 6 riot.

James Blair, one of Trump's top political advisers, was more direct, posting an image from the movie “Gladiator” depicting Russell Crowe’s ancient Roman character Maximus exulting after a combat victory.

Rogers, the Indiana state senator, faced almost $670,000 in television advertising against her, funded by political action committees associated with Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.

She said she did not regret her vote against redistricting.

"It would have been easy for me to hit that ‘yes’ button,” she said. “To hear the number of people who asked me not to, then the number of people who thanked me, would mean I wasn’t representing them.”

Louisiana’s primary, in which Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Julie Letlow over Cassidy, is set for May 16. Kentucky, where Trump has endorsed Massie’s challenger, retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, will hold its primary May 19.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump's post said.

The White House believes it is nearing an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios. It said provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, a lifting of U.S. sanctions and the distribution of frozen Iranian funds and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for ships.

Trump wrote that it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.

The White House did not respond to questions about the possible agreement.

Also Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is appearing before a House committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as lawmakers seek answers for Lutnick’s contact with him in the years after 2008. Lutnick has given contradictory statements about his relationship with Epstein but says he has done nothing wrong and welcomes the closed-door interview with lawmakers.

Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that’s becoming increasingly clear — while Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have the momentum ahead of November’s midterm elections. In Indiana, five of the president’s candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash.

And Trump has renewed his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, potentially complicating a fence-mending visit that Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to make this week to the Vatican. In an interview, Trump said the first American-born pontiff is helping Iran and also making the world less safe with his comments about the importance of not treating immigrants with disrespect.

The Latest:

Shipper either loses millions or risks sanctions for paying Iranians for safe passage

Hamburg-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is costing it around $60 million a week, in particular in costs for fuel and insurance, as it remains too risky to permit its ships to try getting through.

Insurance costs have shot up due to the risk of attack from Iranian drones and small boats. Alternate routes to safe harbors or overland are “limited in capacity and cannot completely replace the regular maritime routes through the region,” a company statement said.

The number of ships passing the strait has dwindled to a trickle. Iran has demanded that vessels go through a vetting process run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp that involves passing to the north near the Iranian cost, submitting information on crew and cargo, and in some cases paying. But paying the IRGC risks running afoul of sanctions from the US and the EU, which have designated it a terrorist organization.

Shipping industry and oil traders see no quick return to normal

Oil prices and shipping are unlikely to return to normal until it’s clear the risk of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have receded, cautions Kaho Yu, head of energy and resources resources at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

“Even with diplomatic engagement continuing, energy markets are unlikely to return quickly to pre-crisis assumptions,” he said. “Refiners, shippers, and commodity traders will remain cautious until there is clearer evidence that Hormuz disruptions will not re-escalate.”

Despite the Iran-China meeting’s emphasis on de-escalation, “Hormuz remains the real metric that will be watched,” he added. “Tanker traffic and energy flows over the coming weeks and months are likely to matter more than diplomatic language in assessing whether Beijing can translate influence with Tehran into practical stability.”

Poll: Most believe the US is no longer a great place for immigrants

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the United States is no longer a great place for immigrants, according to the AP-NORC poll.

Roughly 3 in 10 say the U.S. is a great place for immigrants, while about 1 in 10 say it never was. The belief that America is no longer great for immigrants is more common among Democrats and independents.

Nick Grivas, a 40-year-old Democrat from Massachusetts, said he worries that federal immigration policies could discourage new arrivals from investing in their communities, especially if they don’t believe they will be allowed to remain.

“You’re less willing to commit to the project if you don’t think that you’re gonna be able to stay,” he said.

White House says it believes an agreement with Iran is near

The White House believes it is nearing an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios.

There is not an agreement yet, but the provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, a lifting of U.S. sanctions and the distribution of frozen Iranian funds and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for ships.

The White House did not respond to questions about the possible agreement.

Trump threatens Iran with bombing if it doesn’t reopen Strait of Hormuz

Trump posted on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump said.

Trump said that it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.

AP-NORC poll: For many Americans, Trump’s immigration crackdown is personal

Many U.S. adults say they or someone they know has made life changes because of immigration enforcement over the last year, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

About one-third of Americans say they know someone who has started carrying proof of their immigration status or U.S. citizenship, been detained or deported, changed their travel plans, or significantly changed their routines – such as avoiding work, school or leaving the house – because of their immigration status.

This is especially true among Hispanic adults, with more than half knowing someone affected. Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say they have a personal connection to someone impacted by immigration enforcement.

China’s top envoy calls for a ‘comprehensive ceasefire’ in the Iran war

Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict. He spoke after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.

China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.

The Chinese minister’s comments followed an earlier statement by Trump that he was pausing his short-lived U.S. effort to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz in hopes that a deal could be finalized. A shaky ceasefire has been largely holding, despite exchanges of fire during the U.S. push to reopen the strait on Monday.

Michigan Democrats keep their majority in the state Senate

The seat has been vacant for more than a year, since Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned to take a seat in Congress.

Democrats are showing surprising strength in special elections and off-year contests across the country, winning races in unexpected places and significantly narrowing the gap, even when they fall short.

There’s no guarantee the trend will continue through the midterms, when turnout will be much higher, but it has nonetheless energized Democrats and spooked Republicans worried about keeping their congressional majorities.

Trump’s influence on the Republican Party remains strong

Trump took aim at seven Republican state senators in Indiana who opposed his plan to redraw congressional district boundaries to help the party gain seats in the U.S. House. His intervention mostly paid off.

Groups allied with the president spent more than $8.3 million on advertising, an extraordinary surge of money into races that are typically low-profile.

Five Trump-backed challengers won. One incumbent won. A seventh contest was too close to call on Tuesday night.

The races were a test of Trump’s enduring grip over his party as Republicans grow increasingly anxious about the midterm elections.

By winning most of them, Trump sent a signal to Republicans everywhere that they can still get thrown out of office if they distance themselves from him even as his popularity fades. And they show the president that he can still credibly threaten consequences for Republicans who cross him.

The Trump-targeted state senators all represent districts he carried in 2024, mostly by 20 percentage points or more.

Takeaways from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan: Trump’s flex pays off and Democrats win special election

Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that’s becoming increasingly clear — while President Donald Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have the momentum ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The biggest test of Trump’s power came in Indiana, where he backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. Five of the president’s candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash.

Meanwhile in Michigan, a Democrat comfortably won a state Senate race in a bellwether district, the latest in a string of special election victories.

Over in Ohio, primaries locked in candidates for two major races with national implications.

▶ Read more

The International Court of Justice is holding a week of hearings between the South American neighbors who both lay claim to the Essequibo region, which is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources and is located close to massive offshore oil deposits.

An 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain. Venezuela contends the Americans and Europeans conspired to cheat the country out of its rightfully owned land.

Venezuela has considered Essequibo as its own since the Spanish colonial period when the jungle-draped region was within its boundaries. The country argues a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration.

“Guyana presents itself as the true, legitimate heir to British and Dutch territories, but the reality is that it is the beneficiary of colonial dispossession, formalized through fraudulent arbitration. The Geneva Agreement seeks to correct this century-old injustice,” Venezuela's representative Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta told the world court.

He said Caracas rejects the court's jurisdiction that was “erroneously imposed” in a 2020 decision and said the 1966 agreement “establishes a framework” for a negotiated resolution.

As hearings opened Monday, Guyana's Foreign Minister High Hilton Todd told the panel of international judges that the dispute “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning.” He said that 70% of Guyana's territory is at stake.

The court, based in The Hague, is likely to take months to issue a final and legally binding ruling in the case.

Lutnick, a member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, is the latest powerful political figure to appear before the House Oversight Committee. He has previously given contradictory statements about his relationship with Epstein, but he says he has done nothing wrong and welcomes the closed-door interview with lawmakers.

Still, the transcribed interview presented a test of how much scrutiny lawmakers will apply to powerful men who kept company with Epstein even after it was known that he had solicited prostitution from an underage girl. Trump's Republican administration has tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to move past the issue.

Lutnick is the highest-ranked official in the Trump administration, besides Trump himself, to be named in the case files on Epstein. Trump has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has said he ended their relationship years ago.

Several Democrats have called for Lutnick to resign, and a few Republicans, including Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have said he should at least testify before the Oversight panel.

Lutnick has downplayed his ties to Epstein, who was once his neighbor in New York City. Under questioning from Democrats during an unrelated hearing earlier this year, he described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of meetings in 2011 and 2012.

But that admission came after he had previously claimed on a podcast last year that he had decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein following a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state sex offense charges in Florida, including soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him,” Lutnick told senators in February when he was asked about Epstein during a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

But Lutnick, who was previously the head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, actually had an hourlong engagement at Epstein’s home in 2011. His family then visited Epstein’s infamous private island in 2012 for lunch.

The federal release of case files on Epstein also showed that the two had kept in contact through email. Lutnick in 2018 emailed Epstein about a proposed expansion of a museum in their neighborhood that would have blocked the view from their homes. Epstein also gave $50,000 to a 2017 dinner honoring Lutnick, while Lutnick invited Epstein to a 2015 fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. In 2013, they both invested in the same business venture.

The White House has continued to express support for Lutnick, who was one of the biggest boosters of Trump's sweeping tariffs strategy. He has been close to Trump for years and helped fundraise for his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.

The House Oversight Committee is also scheduled to hear testimony on May 29 from Pam Bondi, who was pushed out from her job as attorney general last month.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of Jeffrey Epstein at https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein.

La tormenta, que atravesó las Montañas Rocosas y se adentró en las Grandes Llanuras el martes, debía debilitarse antes de terminar el miércoles por la tarde, aunque no sin antes dejar nieve pesada y húmeda en las zonas de mayor altitud.

Se mantenía vigente una advertencia de tormenta invernal hasta la tarde, y se esperaban de 5 a 10 centímetros (entre 2 y 4 pulgadas adicionales) de nieve en Fort Collins, Boulder, el área metropolitana de Denver y Castle Rock, informó el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.

“Esperamos que las carreteras estén resbaladizas durante los chubascos de nieve más intensos, pero en las zonas de menor altitud, cualquier acumulación en las vías se derretirá rápidamente a medida que disminuyan los chubascos de nieve”, indicó en internet el miércoles la oficina del servicio meteorológico en Denver.

Nieve acumulada en partes de Colorado

El pequeño pueblo montañoso de Jamestown, Colorado, cerca de Boulder, registró 41,4 centímetros (16,3 pulgadas) de nieve hasta primeras horas del miércoles, indicó el servicio meteorológico. Estes Park, cerca del Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas, reportó 43 centímetros (17 pulgadas) de nieve hasta la noche del martes.

Las autoridades municipales de Boulder, que acumuló casi 15 centímetros (6 pulgadas) de nieve hasta el final del martes, advirtieron a los residentes sobre árboles y ramas caídos, y los instaron a evitar permanecer debajo o cerca de aquellos con una fuerte acumulación de nieve.

Denver enfrentaba lo que podría ser su mayor nevada de la temporada. El Aeropuerto Internacional de Denver, que registró algunos retrasos y cancelaciones a primeras horas del miércoles, acumuló 3,7 pulgadas (9,3 centímetros) de nieve hasta las 2 de la mañana, informó el servicio meteorológico.

Las temperaturas también se desplomaron. Denver, que rondaba los 0 grados Celsius (en la gama baja de los 30 grados Fahrenheit) el miércoles por la mañana, activó su plan de refugios por frío.

Se espera que las temperaturas más cálidas regresen el jueves, señaló el servicio meteorológico.

El distrito escolar más grande del estado, Denver Public Schools, y otros distritos importantes y universidades de la región cancelaron las clases del miércoles debido al clima severo.

El pronóstico ominoso no disuadió a miles de asistir al espectáculo de David Guetta en el anfiteatro Red Rocks el martes por la noche, aunque los organizadores adelantaron la hora de inicio una hora con la esperanza de que los asistentes pudieran regresar a casa antes de lo peor de la tormenta.

Los asistentes al concierto se abrigaron con abrigos invernales de pelo y gorros mientras esperaban en la fila para entrar al recinto al aire libre.

La tormenta obligó a los Colorado Rockies a reprogramar dos juegos contra los New York Mets. Pero eso ocurre con más frecuencia de lo habitual durante la temporada primaveral de béisbol en Denver, incluidas cuatro ocasiones en 2015, según MLB.

Las nevadas de mayo no son inéditas en Colorado. Son aún más comunes en la capital de Wyoming, Cheyenne, que está casi 1.000 pies (300 metros) más alta que Denver y es más fresca durante todo el año. Wyoming también es más ventoso que Colorado, lo que empuja la nieve y forma ventisqueros que deben volver a retirarse con quitanieves si persisten las ráfagas.

La tormenta es bienvenida durante una sequía

Abril fue más cálido de lo habitual y con pocas precipitaciones: el mes pasado a Denver le faltó una pulgada de lluvia (2,5 centímetros) y 2,8 pulgadas de nieve (7 centímetros) en comparación con lo normal.

Para algunos agricultores, que han sentido la presión de la sequía persistente en Colorado, la nieve fue una oportunidad.

Adam Jones, quien dirige Unsung Family Farms en Longmont, declaró a KMGH-TV que había sembrado semillas de zanahoria días antes para aprovechar la precipitación.

“Con líneas de goteo o aspersores no se logra una distribución tan uniforme”, comentó. “No hay nada como iniciar semillas con nieve o agua”.

Sin embargo, Jones tuvo que trasladar al interior los cultivos más sensibles al clima, con un calefactor para mantenerlos calientes.

El tiempo inestable no se limitaba a las Montañas Rocosas.

El miércoles podrían registrarse tormentas eléctricas severas con riesgo de tornados en el sureste y se esperaba que algunas de las tormentas más fuertes se presentaran desde Arkansas hasta Georgia.

____

McCormack informó desde Concord, New Hampshire. La periodista de AP Jaimie Ding colaboró desde Los Ángeles.

___

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

The ADL tallied 1,694 antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses in 2024, after pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist student protests proliferated due mostly to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. That figure fell by 66% in 2025, to 583, as many colleges and universities — under pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration — took steps to curb such protests.

With the drop in on-campus incidents a major factor, the ADL’s latest annual audit — released Wednesday — says there were 6,274 incidents of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism overall in 2025. That’s down 33% from the record-high 9,354 incidents counted for 2024.

The states with the most antisemitic incidents in 2025 were New York (1,160), California (817) and New Jersey (687), the ADL says.

The ADL’s methodology in tallying such incidents has added grist to an intense and divisive debate among American Jews and others over the extent to which vehement criticism of Israeli policies and of Zionism should be considered antisemitic. Some critics say the ADL’s criteria is too broad.

2025 incidents included 3 killings, record number of assaults

Despite the decrease in total incidents, the ADL’s national director and CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said 2025 “was one of the most violent years for American Jews,” with a record-high 203 incidents of physical assault tallied in the audit.

“Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor,” Greenblatt said. “People are being murdered because of antisemitism on American soil, and thousands more are threatened.”

Greenblatt was referring to the two Jewish people killed in a May 21 shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., and the 82-year-old Jewish woman who died from injuries sustained in a June 1 firebombing attack at an event in Boulder, Colorado, aimed at raising awareness of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Campuses are under scrutiny from groups with varying views

In the ADL's report for 2024, antisemitic incidents related to Israel or Zionism accounted for 58% of the total, marking the first time since the annual audit began in 1979 that more than half the incidents fit this category. The change arose from widespread opposition to Israel's intensive military operation in Gaza that was launched after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In 2025, 45% of all antisemitic incidents were related to Israel or Zionism. The ADL said anti-Israel rallies featuring “extreme anti-Israel rhetoric that crossed the line into antisemitism” decreased significantly — by 67% overall and by 83% on college campuses.

Starting in 2024, the ADL launched a Campus Antisemitism Report Card, assigning grades reflecting its assessment of how colleges address antisemitism and whether they adopt ADL-recommended policies. Seeking to raise pressure on colleges, the ADL filed several lawsuits and — in cooperation with two other Jewish organizations — reached a settlement in a complaint against Pomona College.

“We welcome any decrease in antisemitic incidents on college campuses or in other settings. It is indisputably a good thing, and we hope this is just the beginning of a downward trend,” Greenblatt told The Associated Press via email.

“Yet, let me be very clear: this is not a moment for relief or complacency. Yes, ADL recorded a 66% decline of antisemitic incidents on college campuses in 2025. But here is the critical context: campus incidents in 2025 are still nearly four times higher than they were in 2021.”

In its new report, the ADL says it is “careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism.” But there are gray areas. For example, the ADL contends that vilification of Zionism — the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel — is a form of antisemitism, yet some Jews are among the critics of Zionism and of the ADL itself.

The ADL's approach “emerges from their genuine concern that anti-Zionism is a genuine threat to the safety and security of American Jews,” said antisemitism expert Aryeh Tuchman. “There are a lot of people who would disagree with that. ... It's important that there be room for multiple approaches.”

Tuchman formerly led the ADL’s Center on Extremism, the group behind the annual audit, and now is director of the Nexus Center for Antisemitism at the Nexus Project, a watchdog group that promotes a more nuanced definition of antisemitism than the ADL uses.

Responding to the pressure on colleges from the ADL and Trump administration, the Council on American-Islamic Relations launched an “Unhostile Campus Campaign” aimed at ensuring that pro-Palestinian students, faculty, and staff enjoy free speech and academic freedom and are not penalized for their viewpoints.

Schools rated “most hostile” in CAIR's latest report were Columbia University, the City University of New York, and the University of Michigan.

Worries about antisemitism deepen in Britain and Australia

The new ADL report surfaces amid growing concern about antisemitism elsewhere in the world.

In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said tougher action is needed against people chanting certain phrases at pro-Palestinian protests, as concerns grew over the safety of British Jews after the stabbings of two Jewish men in London.

The stabbings were the latest in a string of incidents, including recent arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London. The U.K.’s senior police officer said British Jews are facing their greatest ever threat, and blamed social media for making antisemitism more mainstream.

— In Australia, a wide-ranging inquiry commission examining antisemitism after a massacre at a Hanukkah celebration heard this week from Jews who said escalating hatred has left them fearful and vulnerable. Fifteen people were killed when two gunmen opened fire at the celebration on Bondi Beach in December. The Commission says there has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents nationwide since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

— According to a recent study by Tel Aviv University, the total of 20 deaths in Australia, Britain and the United States made 2025 the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks since 1994. That's when the bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina killed 85 people.

___

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

The June 6-12 visit will first bring Leo to Madrid for meetings with the government, parliament and King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. He will also preside over a prayer vigil with young people that will recall the last time a pope visited Spain: 2011, when Madrid hosted World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI.

In Barcelona, Leo will be on hand to mark the 100th anniversary, on June 10, of the death of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who designed Sagrada Familia, the world’s tallest church. Leo will celebrate an evening Mass in the basilica and inaugurate its Tower of Jesus Christ, the soaring central piece that was moved into place in February.

The tower brought Sagrada Familia to its maximum height, 172½ meters (around 566 feet) above Barcelona, but the building is still far from complete. When Benedict visited in 2010, he consecrated the basilica, and there will still be unfinished related business when Leo visits: Gaudí is on the path to possible sainthood, but he won't be canonized during the pope's trip, Spain's bishops said Wednesday.

The head of the Spanish Catholic bishops conference, Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, highlighted Leo’s planned address to parliament while in Spain as particularly significant. Only on rare occasions do popes address foreign legislatures, and the speeches often end up among the most noteworthy of a pontificate.

“I believe it’s of great importance,” said Argüello, because parliament “as the embodiment of national sovereignty, needs to reflect on what an ethical and spiritual reference means at a time of the undoubtedly necessary renewal of our democratic life.”

Fulfilling Pope Francis' wish

Leo is in many ways carrying out an intention of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, by visiting the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago off northwest Africa which is the main gateway for migrants from Africa to enter Spain.

Francis had made reaching out to migrants and refugees a hallmark of his papacy, and Leo has followed suit by demanding dignified treatment of migrants, especially in his native United States. Francis had planned to visit the Canary Islands, even while staying away from the Spanish mainland for his entire 12-year pontificate, as he prioritized smaller destinations far from the centers of traditional Catholicism.

Spain’s government under Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has championed legal immigration at a time when many governments in Europe are trying to decrease migrant arrivals and step up deportations.

Underway in the Iberian nation of 50 million is a migrant amnesty measure that aims to legalize the status of an estimated 500,000 people the government says are living in Spain without authorization.

Conservative opposition parties have criticized the approach, especially the far-right Vox party, which has described the legalization push as an “attack on our identity.”

But Spain’s leftist government has said that the measure has the support of a broad coalition that includes the Catholic Church and many Spanish business leaders. Spain's population is aging, and Sánchez has repeatedly said that the country needs more workers to maintain its growing economy and contribute to social security.

Spain’s population now includes around 10 million foreign-born residents — or one in every five people. Many are from Latin America and Africa.

Two days in the Canary Islands

Leo will meet with organizations working with migrants in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The following day he will meet with migrants at a reception center in Tenerife and separately with Spanish groups that work with them.

The Canary Islands are roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the closest point in Africa, but to avoid security forces, many migrants attempt longer journeys that can take days or weeks.

The islands have been a steppingstone for migrants trying to reach Europe from West Africa and Morocco for decades. Arrivals peaked in 2024 with nearly 47,000 arrivals, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry statistics. Following pressure and deals between the European Union, Spain and the governments of Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, arrivals have fallen dramatically, with just over 2,000 migrants landing in the Canaries in the first four months of 2026.

A few weeks after Leo visits the Canary Islands, history's first U.S.-born pope will travel to the main migrant entry point to Europe, the Italian island of Lampedusa, Sicily, on July 4, to meet with migrants there. That's the same day the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence.

___

Suman Naishadham reported from Madrid, and Renata Brito from Barcelona, Spain.

___

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

The storm, which swept over the Rocky Mountains and into the High Plains on Tuesday, was expected to weaken before wrapping up Wednesday afternoon, but not before leaving some heavy, wet snow in higher elevations.

A winter storm warning was in effect through the afternoon, with an additional 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of snow expected in Fort Collins, Boulder, the Denver metro area and Castle Rock, the National Weather Service said.

“We expect roads to be slick during heavier snow showers, but for the lower elevations, any road accumulations will melt quickly as snow showers subside,” the weather service office in Denver posted online Wednesday.

Storm leaves more than a foot of snow in parts of Colorado

The small mountain town of Jamestown, Colorado, near Boulder recorded 16.3 inches (41.4 centimeters) of snow as of early Wednesday, the weather service said. Estes Park, near Rocky Mountain National Park, reported 17 inches (43 centimeters) of snow as of Tuesday night.

City officials in Boulder, which got nearly 6 inches of snow (15 centimeters) as of the end of the day Tuesday, advised residents of downed trees and branches, encouraging them to avoid being under or close to those with heavy snow accumulation.

Denver was facing what may be its biggest snowfall of the season. The Denver International Airport, which experienced some delays and cancellations early Wednesday, recorded 3.7 inches (9.3 centimeters) of snow by 2 a.m., the weather service said.

Temperatures also plunged. Denver, which was in the low 30s Wednesday morning, activated its cold weather shelter plan.

Warmer temperatures are expected to return Thursday, the weather service said.

The state's largest school district, Denver Public Schools, and other major districts and colleges in the region canceled Wednesday classes due to severe weather.

The ominous forecast did not deter thousands from attending the David Guetta show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Tuesday night, though organizers moved the start time up by an hour in hopes of getting fans home before the worst of the storm.

Concertgoers bundled up in furry winter coats and beanies while waiting in line to enter the outdoor venue.

The storm caused the Colorado Rockies to reschedule two games against the New York Mets. But that happens more often than not during Denver's spring baseball season, including four times in 2015, according to MLB.

May snows are not unheard of in Colorado. They are even more common in the Wyoming capital of Cheyenne, which is almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) higher than Denver and cooler year-round. Wyoming is also windier than Colorado, pushing snow into drifts that must be re-plowed if gusts persist.

The storm is welcome during a drought

April was warmer than usual and short on precipitation, with Denver missing an inch of rain (2.5 centimeters) and 2.8 inches of snow (7 centimeters) last month compared to normal.

For some farmers, who have felt the pressure from Colorado's ongoing drought, the snow was an opportunity.

Adam Jones, who runs Unsung Family Farms in Longmont, told KMGH-TV that he had planted carrot seeds days before to take advantage of the precipitation.

“You can’t get as even distribution with driplines or sprinklers,” he said. “There’s nothing like starting seeds with snow or water.”

Jones had to move the more weather-sensitive crops inside, however, with a heater to keep them warm.

Storms elsewhere, too

The unsettled weather isn’t limited to the Rockies.

Severe thunderstorms with a risk of tornadoes were possible across the Southeast on Wednesday.

Some of the strongest storms were expected from Arkansas through Georgia.

____

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. AP reporter Jaimie Ding contributed from Los Angeles.

The new name will be Donald J. Trump International Airport.

It’s an airport frequented by the president while traveling to and from his Mar-a-Lago home in the town of Palm Beach.

The name change is just part of a naming rights and license agreement between Palm Beach County and DTTM or Donald Trump Trademark Operations LLC.

And while some were for the change, others were against it.

New signage and branding that would need to be changed is estimated to cost at least $5.5 million, funds the county is hopeful they will get back from the state.

While Trump’s companies have agreed not to receive any royalties or revenue for the sale of Trump-branded items at the airport, a non-exclusivity clause leaves an opening for them to sell airport branded items off site for profit.

County commissioners were advised if they refused to sign the agreement they could be penalized and moving forward with the agreement meant protection for Palm Beach County residents.

The FAA will still need to approve the name change, and it’s likely we will see the airport code change from PBI to DJT.

Leer en español

This followed another round of vigorous debate.

During the discussion, a company representative told commissioners they have outgrown their existing space and need to accommodate for future growth.

After the vote, Kelly Tractor owner Chris Kelly told Local 10 News they have made a lot of effort “to give them what they want and hopefully we can get there.”

“Unfortunately, every environmental decision is temporary,” said Florida International University biologist and science director for the advocacy group Hold the Line Coalition Laura Reynolds. “And so a deferral is to survive another day, those wetlands are still there.”

According to Hold the Line, the project will remove, “247 acres of land available for agriculture,” located, “within the North Trail Basin and contains Wetlands of Regional Significance,” and within, “the core foraging area of the federally Threatened wood stork, within consultation area for the Endangered Florida bonneted bat as well as just east of the USFWS Florida Panther Focus Area.”

‘It protects us, the taxpayer’

Reynolds said this one item could have immense implications for the county’s residents from their drinking water to insurance rates.

“The UDB is in place because it protects us, the taxpayer,” she said.

Reynolds explained the wetlands help mitigate against property-damaging flood risks.

“It allows the water to go somewhere,” she said. “If we don’t have those wetlands out there, where are we going to pump the water?”

She said the wetlands also clean the water that eventually makes its way to Biscayne Bay, a huge ecological benefit for marine life and preserving the water quality which underpins the county’s multi-million-dollar real estate, trade, and tourism economy.

A frustrated Commissioner J.C. Bermudez, sensing the item was on the cusp of another deferral, felt like the county was not telegraphing it is pro-business.

Setting a precedent: Is the future of UDB, wetlands on the line?

“We want jobs for Miami-Dade County and we’re glad the Kelly Tractor company has been here for 93 years,” said Reynolds. “But is it worth destroying these wetlands for this particular said purpose?”

For Reynolds, a key factor at the heart of this contentious public debate is the manner by which the company proposed its plans to the county.

Previously, Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins expressed concern about the process this application used to make its way to county hall, in the form of a text amendment, which has lower thresholds than the more rigorous application typically required to request building outside the UDB.

“We need to put a stop to this,” said Cohen Higgins. “And my concern regarding precedent is that if we continue to have applications that come in the form of text amendments, as opposed to applications to move the Urban Development Boundary, we’re going to get a plethora of them. And our Urban Development Boundary is going to cease to exist.”

“This would set precedent,” Reynolds said. “What it does is it makes the UDB irrelevant. Any private company could now come in with just a text amendment and rewrite the rules just for themselves. It would almost be like if House Bill 399 passed, and then there was no UDB.”

“We’ve owned the land since 1984. We filed this application three years ago, we would have happily filed a UDB application back then,” Kelly said. “Hopefully we can get this approved because there’s been a lot of time and resources dedicated. It’s been three years. I would hate to have to start from scratch and wait until May of 2027 to file the UDB application. It’s just very duplicitous.”

Who worked with Kelly Tractor? Owner won’t say

At this hour, it remains unclear who at the county advised a private company seeking to expand beyond the UDB to bypass the county’s routine oversight process.

Local 10 News asked the company’s owner for the name and title of the county employee who advised them to approach their expansion plans in a text amendment form.

Kelly declined to provide a specific name.

“Honestly, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s career,” he said. “I’m not here to throw shade on anyone, I don’t want to ruin a public servant’s career, but I was in a couple meetings and there were multiple county planning staff that pretty much, my interpretation is, they were fine with it.”

Some of the commissioners did express support for the company in terms of honoring the money it already invested in pursuing this path.

Local 10 News has reached out to each commissioner’s office, the mayor’s office, and the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, asking them how they verified the company’s claim that a planning official suggested this course of action.

“We have reviewed the company’s claim and do not have information to support it. We are not aware of anyone in the Administration having advised the company to bypass the UDB process and pursue a text amendment in that manner. Based on that review, we are not aware of any record, documentation, or directive reflecting that type of guidance, nor identified staff associated with that claim.”

Roy Coley, Miami-Dade County Chief Utilities and Regulatory Services Officer

“We have land inside the Urban Development Boundary for industrial uses like the one they’re proposing,” argued Reynolds. “So if they went through the process in the normal way, we would not have a need to push into wetlands.”

Reynolds said advocates for the environment and the county’s master plan would like to see the commissioners “protect the wetlands” and require that every private company follow the same rules, “and make it clear that if you’re going to try to move the UDB, you need to follow the rules that we have had since the early ‘80s on the books in Miami-Dade County.”

The new date for a vote is set for June 2.

The Walt Disney Co. had cautioned in February that in the second quarter its Experiences division, which includes its theme parks, would likely see modest operating income growth due in part to a decline in visits from international tourists to the U.S.

There’s been a drop in foreign visitors to the U.S. attributed to several factors, including President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, tariffs, an immigration crackdown and repeated jabs about the U.S. possibly trying to acquire Canada and Greenland.

In the Experiences division, which includes Disney’s six global theme parks, its cruise line, merchandise and video game licensing, operating income climbed 5% to $2.62 billion and revenue hit $9.49 billion in the quarter. Operating income rose 5% at domestic parks, while operating income edged up 1% for international parks and Experiences.

However, overall attendance at U.S. parks declined 1% from the same time last year due to weaker visits from those abroad.

Disney said Wednesday that domestic parks and resorts are doing well, but it is aware that customers are facing inflation and soaring energy prices. The company said that it expects year-over-year attendance at its U.S. parks to improve in the current quarter.

For the period ended March 28, Disney earned $2.25 billion, or $1.27 per share. A year earlier it earned $3.28 billion, or $1.81 per share.

Stripping out one-time gains and losses, earnings were $1.57 per share, easily beating the $1.49 that Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.

The Burbank, California, company reported revenue of $25.17 billion, which was slightly above expectations.

Revenue for Disney Entertainment, which includes the company’s movie studios and streaming service, climbed 10%, while revenue for the Experiences division, rose 7%.

Disney is preparing for the release of several films, including “The Mandalorian & Grogu,”“Toy Story 5” and the live-action “Moana.”

“Franchise films like these strengthen our most strategic asset – our intellectual property – and help fuel our streaming, consumer products, experiences, and games businesses over years and generations,” CEO Josh D'Amaro and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said in a statement.

D’Amaro was named to succeed Bob Iger as Disney’s CEO in February. He became the 9th CEO in the more than 100-year-old company’s history. He has overseen the company’s theme parks, cruises and resorts since 2020.

Disney still anticipates double-digit growth for fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings per share, excluding the impact of an extra week in the period.

Shares of Disney rose more than 4% before the market opened.

Beijing's profile in international diplomacy has risen in recent years. Long reluctant to get involved in conflicts far from its borders, it has nevertheless emerged as a major player with attempts to mediate conflicts from Southeast Asia to Europe.

Beijing is not an official mediator in the Iran war, but all parties — including Washington and Tehran — say it has played an important role in efforts to de-escalate the conflict. The Trump administration is pressing China to use its influence with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

During Wednesday's meeting with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a “comprehensive ceasefire," saying his country is deeply distressed by the war.

“The international community shares a common concern for restoring normal and safe passage through the Strait, and China hopes the relevant parties will respond as quickly as possible to the strong calls from the international community,” China's official news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying.

The timing of Araghchi’s visit matters

Trump and Xi are set to meet in Beijing next week, with the conflict expected to be on their agenda. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Chinese officials to use Araghchi’s visit to China to urge Tehran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway.

Wang's renewed call for reopening the strait could provide fresh momentum to help push for an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.

“Currently, it is possible to resolve the issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible," Xinhua quoted Araghchi, who's in Beijing for the first time since the war started on Feb. 28, as saying.

Wang also said China appreciates Iran’s pledge to not develop nuclear weapons, while acknowledging Iran's legitimate right to peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Tuvia Gering, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said the timing of Araghchi's visit is important, saying the meeting showed coordinated messaging between Beijing and Tehran and reinforces China's desire to have a seat in any future regional agreement.

“However, unless China implements a concrete initiative, I would not consider this a significant shift in China’s role,” he said.

Some noted that the Iranian foreign minister visited at Beijing’s initiative. “It’s China exercising their leverage ... to summon the Iranian foreign minister,” said Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University.

“By holding the talks with the Iranians, you can’t fault for them not putting in any effort," Hoo said.

China leans on its role as an economic power

Some analysts say China occupies a unique position as an important economic partner for many countries involved in mediating the war, including Pakistan and key Arab Gulf states. It can promise investment in postwar reconstruction and commercial reliefs in ways few others can.

George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group consultancy, said China’s role in the Iran situation is irreplaceable. As Tehran’s biggest oil buyer, its advice carries weight. China is also one of the few countries that has showed sympathy for Iran at the United Nations, he said.

In addition, Iran’s ballistic missile program was built with Chinese technology, and China sells dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the U.S. government.

China’s role as a global mediator is growing

One of China’s biggest diplomatic wins in recent years came in 2023, when it was among the parties bringing Saudi Arabia and Iran together to restart official engagement.

It was widely seen as a major geopolitical breakthrough that reduced the risk of direct and proxy conflict, said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies in Indonesia.

But China is choosing when to play a role cautiously, he said, noting that Saudi Arabia and Iran had preexisting incentives to reengage diplomatically. “Its mediation tends to be opportunistic and low-risk, often occurring when conditions are already conducive to agreement,” he said.

Beijing also was active during the recent conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, hosting multiple meetings between them and attending initial ceasefire talks alongside the U.S. in Malaysia. When fighting started again in December, China and the U.S. helped broker another ceasefire.

Beijing also has issued peace proposals for the war in Ukraine, hosting the Ukrainian foreign minister at one point, even though it maintains what it calls a “no-limits” friendship with Russia.

Beijing’s role remains carefully worded

China’s diplomatic efforts tend to follow a pattern, experts say, with Beijing reiterating calls to respect the U.N. charter and national sovereignty.

With the Iran war, Xi last month called for “upholding the principles of peaceful coexistence, upholding national sovereignty, upholding the rule of international law, and coordinating development and security.”

“A lot of the points are remarkably consistent,” said Hoo.

In conflicts further afield, the stakes for Beijing can be low but benefits can be high as the world tries to come to terms with the Trump administration’s approach to negotiating, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of international relations at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.

“What the U.S. is doing is deeply damaging, and everyone suffers from it ... and China is displaying global leadership and exerting its global role by speaking to the rules-based international system,” he said. “It’s an inescapable contrast.”

___

Wu reported from Bangkok.

But when the 25-year-old from Southern California gives serious thought to the idea of repeatedly having to get the cosmetic procedure — it only lasts about a year — she wonders if a surgical implant would be more practical, even though the prospect of surgery scares her.

“I just try to remember self-love, you know? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” she says as she verbally processes her internal struggle and talks herself out of getting any work done for now.

Technological advancements over recent decades have made various forms of body modification increasingly accessible — and inescapable on many social media algorithms.

As injectables like Botox, cosmetic plastic surgeries and GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic become more pervasive, people — often but not exclusively women — are grappling with the philosophical and ethical implications of turning to these interventions in a ceaseless quest for beauty, youth and conformity.

“We need to have a wider conversation about how to think about this in a way where we’re not putting the burden squarely on women, while also not taking away their moral agency,” said Natalie Carnes, a feminist theologian at Duke Divinity School. “Beauty is something that’s good. And beauty is something that is good to pursue. Botox and Ozempic and face-lifts, they’re all ways of really narrowing the cultural ideals of beauty.”

There has been little in the way of official guidance or explicit prohibitions from major religions. But a growing chorus of theologians, philosophers and bioethicists are calling for more conversations surrounding these procedures and treatments.

In March, the Vatican released a document on Christian anthropology decrying the “cult of the body.” “Once modified, often with relentless frenzy, the body becomes a body-object in which the person-subject mirrors themselves, creating a relationship in which the person is no longer his or her body but ‘owns’ a body,” it said.

Increased — and younger — demand for intervention

Demand for cosmetic surgery in the United States has increased in recent years across all age demographics and ethnic backgrounds, says Dr. C. Bob Basu, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “Forty years ago, perhaps people would think, ‘Cosmetic surgery is for the superrich or the celebrity elite. It’s not for regular folk.’ That’s not the case anymore.”

One of the biggest changes he’s seen is more young people opting for interventions.

“They’re being proactive and thinking about preventive measures, whether it be baby Botox at a younger age to prevent wrinkles from starting or maybe considering a deep plane face-and-neck-lift in the late 30s or early 40s, rather than waiting until you’re in your 60s,” he said.

But despite its increasing ubiquity, many bioethicists say plastic surgery is not prioritized in their training.

“If you’re getting into bioethics and you rotate to learn about medicine, you go to the ICU, you go to places where the palliative care is for dying people, you’re looking at transplants. Nobody rotates to plastic surgery,” said Arthur Caplan, founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

As a result, plastic surgeons often must set their own boundaries for what they will and won’t do, without much specialized ethical training.

Faith in the operating room

Many religions condemn vanity and praise modesty, which can inform attitudes toward cosmetic work.

Dr. Jerry Chidester, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said he sees a broad spectrum of stances on plastic surgery within the church. Although some stricter interpretations of the faith may discourage interventions, Chidester said that attitude contrasts with the broader cultural landscape of Salt Lake City, where he’s based. Several studies suggest the area has a high number of plastic surgeons and procedures performed per capita.

When patients wrestle with whether to have an operation, Chidester tells them to not worry about what others will think.

“I’m like, ‘Look, if you want to do this or not, it’s up to you,’” he said. “It’s literally your body. Who cares if they think you’re doing it for vanity or for function or whatever? It is none of their business.”

Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a Jewish board-certified plastic surgeon, incorporates her interpretations of parts of the Torah for guidance on thinking about when it is appropriate to modify one’s body.

“If it’s bringing distress, then it’s OK,” she said. “My patient population, they’re all pretty well adjusted, happy, successful, intelligent people. But they need help with one little thing that they’d just rather not think about anymore.”

Dr. Michael Obeng, a Christian, has seen a dramatic shift in acceptance of cosmetic procedures in the nearly 20 years he’s been practicing.

“Now people are not even hiding it. They show their plastic surgery as a badge of honor, like somebody wearing their expensive bag,” he said. “We are aging slower and of course we are working much longer than our moms and grandmothers worked. In the marketplace, we have to look presentable.”

Obeng, a board-certified surgeon in Beverly Hills, specializes in a wide range of procedures from tummy tucks and Brazilian butt lifts to rib removal surgeries. He says he rarely feels tension between his faith and his work. It wasn’t until he came to a “crossroads” in 2018, when he began thinking through his willingness to perform certain gender transition surgeries.

He sought the advice of several pastors and religious leaders about what to do. “Nobody could give me an answer,” he recalled.

He said his faith ultimately led him to limit his practice to some gender-related procedures like breast augmentation, stopping short of genital gender-affirming surgeries, which he sees as harder to reverse.

Agency versus constraint

Ivory Kellogg, a 29-year-old actor in Los Angeles, has been grappling with the tension she feels as a woman while pondering cosmetic interventions.

“There’s this expectation that once you hit 35, you think about doing a mini face-lift. That's a lot of pressure,” she said. “At the same time, I do want women to feel like they’re allowed to do whatever they want. Like if you want to have a face-lift, that’s your prerogative.”

Though opting for these interventions is often framed as a personal decision, many experts say it’s hardly that simple.

“It’s important to think about how those choices are constrained and to think about the social pressures,” said Abigail Saguy, a sociologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “This is a social issue. It is a collective problem. But it’s continually treated as an individual issue and what individual people should do.”

In some cases, as with drugs like Ozempic, these interventions can offer real health benefits. But as their use expands beyond medical need, questions arise about how medical resources are used.

Dr. Aasim Padela, who studies bioethics and Islamic thought at the Medical College of Wisconsin, thinks a broader conversation is needed. His primary issues are the ways in which the field of medicine suffers as a result and what resources are poorly distributed when cosmetic surgery is prioritized within a society.

“The profession is supposed to be about restoring health or preventing loss of health,” he said. “Certain types of procedures, body modifications, interventions — whatever you want to call them — may not meet those goals or even be aimed at those goals.”

___

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.

Apple trumpeted new AI features for its virtual assistant Siri when it rolled out the iPhone 16 in 2024, part of new software updates that the company billed as “Apple Intelligence.”

The company has been scrambling to keep up with tech rivals amid the AI boom but still hasn't delivered on the Siri revamp two years later.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of U.S. consumers in the San Francisco federal court for the Northern District of California, alleged that Apple deceived consumers with a marketing campaign that promoted features that did not yet exist and misled them into buying the devices.

Lawyers for the iPhone buyers asked a court for preliminary approval of the proposed $250 million settlement, according to a court filling. If approved by a judge, it would be one of the biggest ever for Apple.

The settlement covers about 37 million devices bought in the United States between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025, including all iPhone 16 models and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Owners are eligible for a payment of at least $25 for each device, and that amount could go up to $95 depending on how many other claims are filed “and other factors,” the filing said.

Customers will be notified by email or mail that they can file a claim on a settlement website, it said.

“Apple has reached a settlement to resolve claims related to the availability of two additional features,” the company said in a statement. "We resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, was caught off-guard by the intense consumer interest in the Siri AI features. Buyers were angered after finding out that the new features would be released later than expected, the filing said.

They “would not have purchased the Eligible Devices or would have paid significantly less, had they known Enhanced Siri features were not available,” the filling said.

Apple's AI features remain in development even as rivals Google and Samsung have been rolling out more of the technology on their own devices. The company is expected to unveil its Siri upgrade this year, most likely at its annual developer conference next month.

Apple said in its statement that it has “introduced dozens of features” since it launched Apple Intelligence, such as Visual Intelligence and Live Translations.

Parents can help minimize the risks by providing professional driving instruction, modeling safe driving behavior, and putting their teen in the safest vehicle possible. But how can you know which models are safest, especially if you’re on a budget? Edmunds has done the research for you and compiled a list of the five best used SUVs for teen drivers under $20,000.

Each of our picks below earned a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and an overall five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, you can find clean examples with less than 60,000 miles for under $20,000. We’ve included a variety of SUV sizes and types, but these five crossovers all have one thing in common: favorable crash test ratings. They’re listed below in alphabetical order.

2021-2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Chevy’s latest Trailblazer is small in size but big on personality. It is surprisingly roomy and practical, and its engine is reasonably fuel-efficient. The model years we picked for the Trailblazer did not come standard with blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. This is a driver assist feature we think is beneficial for teens, so be sure to find a used Trailblazer that came with it as an optional add-on. However, every Trailblazer includes Teen Driver technology, which lets parents monitor their child’s driving habits while they’re away from home.

2019-2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai redesigned its midsize SUV for the 2019 model year, infusing it with a long list of standard driver assist features that can help keep a teen driver safe on the road. Not only that, but an active subscription to Hyundai’s Bluelink communication service also gives parents the ability to program alerts for vehicle speed, a teen’s curfew time, and when the SUV travels beyond a geo-fenced boundary. There is no need to upgrade to the Santa Fe’s optional turbocharged engine; the standard four-cylinder offers enough power without encouraging dangerous driving.

2018-2023 Mazda CX-5

Mazda redesigned the CX-5 small crossover SUV for the 2017 model year, but in 2018, it added blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert as standard equipment. That was also the first year the CX-5 earned top ratings from both the IIHS and the NHTSA. No matter which model year you choose, make sure the CX-5 has the i-Activsense package (it became standard in 2020), which fully equips the vehicle with all available driver assist features. Parents can also rest easy knowing that the infotainment system includes automatic 911 emergency assistance technology that contacts first responders in the event of a collision.

2019-2023 Subaru Forester

If you think your teen driver needs a small SUV that is very easy to see out of and comes with standard all-wheel drive and a raised ride height to help with outdoor recreational use, look no further than the Subaru Forester. This small crossover received a redesign in 2019 and added many standard driver assist features, including one that alerts the driver when traffic ahead is moving again. Just keep in mind that blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert were unavailable on the base trim level, so find a used Forester with those features and within your budget.

2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4

Going electric? The Volkswagen ID.4 is a safe choice for a teen driver. This compact crossover is available with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive and can travel an EPA-estimated 209-275 miles on a full battery charge depending on the version you pick. An active subscription to Car-Net Safe & Secure equips the ID.4 with emergency assistance and automatic crash notification systems, and this electric VW includes an impressive list of standard safety features. It even has Emergency Assist, which can bring the ID.4 to a safe stop if it detects the driver has become unresponsive.

Edmunds says

With a budget of $20,000, you can find a safe and clean used SUV for your teenager to drive. The models listed above can protect your child in a collision, but they’re also equipped with modern technologies that can help to prevent one from occurring in the first place. However, these are just a sampling of potentially suitable choices. We encourage you to prioritize crash test ratings when conducting your own research, as well as standard and available driver assist features.

____________

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Christian Wardlaw is a contributor at Edmunds.

Si se hace un promedio entre todas las ciudades del mundo, la cobertura arbórea —al dar sombra y liberar vapor de agua— enfría de media 0,15º Celsius (0,27º Fahrenheit), según un estudio publicado el miércoles en Nature Communications.

Sin esos árboles, las ciudades del mundo se calentarían en promedio 0,31º C (0,56º F) debido al efecto de isla de calor urbana, en el que los tejados oscuros y el pavimento absorben el calor. Ese mecanismo de calentamiento causado por el ser humano es distinto del cambio climático provocado por la quema de combustibles fósiles.

Los investigadores elaboraron su análisis de las casi 9.000 grandes ciudades de la Tierra midiendo temperaturas en segmentos de aproximadamente 150 manzanas. Eso les permitió captar los efectos de enfriamiento en ciudades y vecindarios, de modo que, por ejemplo, a los árboles del Central Park de Nueva York no se les atribuyera el enfriamiento de zonas más urbanizadas a kilómetros (millas) de distancia en el Bronx.

Unos 185 millones de personas que viven en 31 de las ciudades más grandes ya perciben un enfriamiento medio proporcionado por la cobertura arbórea de al menos 0,3º C (0,5º F). Pero el autor principal del estudio, Rob McDonald, científico de The Nature Conservancy, señaló que los grandes centros urbanos más pobres y más calurosos —que son los que más lo necesitan— no están recibiendo tanto alivio frente al calor extremo, que puede causar la muerte al confundir el cerebro, provocar el fallo de órganos y sobrecargar el corazón.

Los meteorólogos miden la diferencia de temperatura entre el centro de una ciudad y una zona rural cercana para determinar el efecto de isla de calor urbana. Los científicos de este estudio usaron una combinación de mediciones de estaciones meteorológicas, datos satelitales y modelos informáticos para estudiar el enfriamiento que aportaban los árboles.

Poco alivio en zonas calurosas, secas y pobres

En 20 ciudades con al menos tres millones de habitantes, los residentes sienten 0,05º C (menos de 0,1ºF) de enfriamiento debido a los árboles. En cuatro ciudades —Dakar, Senegal; Yeda, Arabia Saudí; Ciudad de Kuwait y Amán, Jordania— la cobertura arbórea es tan mínima que los más de 15 millones de personas que viven allí prácticamente no perciben enfriamiento de los árboles.

En el otro extremo del espectro, McDonald examinó ciudades donde la cobertura arbórea enfría al menos 0,25º C (0,45º F). Casi el 40% de las ciudades en países ricos obtiene ese nivel de enfriamiento, pero apenas el 9% en los países más pobres cuenta con ese nivel de alivio gracias a los árboles, indicó el estudio.

La lista de los lugares que más se enfrían está encabezada por Berlín e incluye a Atlanta, Moscú, Washington, Seattle y Sydney, que tienen más árboles. Por ejemplo, Atlanta tiene el 64% de su superficie terrestre bajo un dosel arbóreo, afirmó McDonald. Las zonas acomodadas de América del Norte tienen parcelas más grandes, propiedades individuales y residentes con mayor influencia política, lo que contribuye a que crezcan más árboles y proporcionen una mayor cobertura, explicó Chris Greene, de la Universidad de Dalhousie en Canadá, que no participó en el estudio.

“Existe esta desigualdad”, manifestó McDonald. “Cuando se observan las ciudades a nivel global, hay muchísimas ciudades, especialmente en países en desarrollo, que tienen una cobertura arbórea muy baja, y por eso creo que la cifra de enfriamiento de la temperatura del aire fue un poco menor de lo que esperábamos”.

Thomas Crowther, ecólogo de la Universidad Rey Abdalá de Ciencia y Tecnología en Arabia Saudí, dijo que cada pequeño aporte ayuda. Él está en una región donde las ciudades casi no se benefician del enfriamiento por la cobertura arbórea, a menudo porque el agua es un recurso escaso.

“A medida que hasta el 75% de la población humana se desplaza hacia entornos urbanos, estos efectos amortiguadores de la vegetación urbana van a ser vitales", apuntó Crowther, quien no formó parte de la investigación. "Pero tenemos que revertir las devastadoras desigualdades en la distribución de los árboles urbanos, para que sus beneficios puedan ser experimentados por las comunidades de ingresos bajos y medios, que a menudo son las más vulnerables a los efectos de las temperaturas extremas”.

Plantar árboles no nos salvará del cambio climático

Los autores del estudio afirmaron que las ciudades, especialmente las más pobres y calurosas, pueden y deben hacer más para aumentar la cobertura arbórea. Pero debido a las limitaciones en la disponibilidad de agua, tierra y especies adecuadas, además del agravamiento del cambio climático, como máximo reducirían el calentamiento urbano futuro en un 20%, indicó McDonald.

“Los árboles no nos salvarán del cambio climático”, apuntó. “Los escenarios climáticos muestran un mundo mucho más cálido y la cobertura arbórea solo puedo ayudar hasta cierto punto".

Aun así, plantar árboles tiene beneficios más allá de reducir el calor. En 2019, Crowther y Jean-Francois Bastin sugirieron en un estudio publicado en la revista Science plantar un billón de árboles nuevos —además de los tres billones que ya crecen en el planeta— para absorber dióxido de carbono, no tanto por su efecto de enfriamiento.

“Plantar árboles sí ayuda a combatir el cambio climático de múltiples maneras, pero esta estrategia no es ni de lejos suficiente para frenar el cambio climático en un grado significativo”, dijo Jonathan Overpeck, decano de Medio Ambiente de la Universidad de Michigan, quien no participó en el estudio. “Solo al alejarnos de los combustibles fósiles en favor de las energías renovables y el almacenamiento en baterías podemos esperar detener el cambio climático que está causando estragos en todo el planeta”.

___

La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. 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.

___

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

A new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research of more than 2,500 U.S. adults finds about 6 in 10 say the country used to be a great place for immigrants but is not anymore. About one-third of U.S. adults — and more than half of Hispanic adults — say that over the last year they, or someone they know, have started carrying proof of their immigration status or U.S. citizenship, been detained or deported, changed travel plans, or significantly changed routines, such as avoiding work, school or leaving the house, because of their immigration status.

The poll comes as the Supreme Court is considering whether the Trump administration should be allowed to restrict birthright citizenship, as well as following months of sweeping immigration enforcement and mass deportations of immigrants.

Missouri retiree Reid Gibson, an independent, is furious about the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants. He hopes America eventually becomes more welcoming to immigrants again, but he worries “it may take many years to reverse the damage that the Trump administration has inflicted” with its policies.

The poll finds that many Americans know someone who has been affected by Trump's approach. That includes Gibson’s stepdaughter, who he says started carrying her passport because of concerns that her darker skin would make her a target in immigration crackdowns.

“It’s just plain wrong,” Gibson, 72, added. “This is not a good country for immigrants anymore.”

Americans’ personal connections to immigration enforcement

Many U.S. adults have adapted their lives to heightened immigration enforcement over the last year, as Trump increased detentions and sought to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history.

Democrats are more likely than independents or Republicans to know someone affected, and those with a personal connection are more likely to say the U.S. is no longer a great place for immigrants.

Kathy Bailey, a 79-year-old Illinois Democrat, has seen the administration’s immigration policies seep into the small-town swim class she regularly attends. She said two women in the class — both naturalized U.S. citizens — have begun carrying their passports when they leave home. Bailey says one of the women, who is from Latin America, has been especially worried about sticking out in an overwhelmingly white community.

“She’s an American citizen now, but she’s so scared that she has to carry her passport,” said Bailey. “She’s just another sweet old grandmother swimming at 5 in the morning.”

About 6 in 10 Hispanic adults say they or someone they know has been impacted by immigration enforcement in this way, much higher than among Black or white adults.

“This is terrible for these women!” Bailey said. “I’m just stunned at what we are coming to.”

Most believe the US used to be a great place for immigrants

Nick Grivas, a 40-year-old from Massachusetts, said his own grandfather’s immigration to the U.S. from Greece has made him feel the impact of the president’s policies. It’s part of why he believes the U.S. stopped being a promising place for people seeking a new life.

“We can see how we’re treating children and the children of the immigrants, and we’re not viewing them as potential future Americans,” Grivas said.

Roughly 3 in 10 U.S. adults say the U.S. is a great place for immigrants, according to the poll, while about 1 in 10 say it never was. The belief that America is no longer great for immigrants is more common among Democrats and independents, as well as among those born outside the U.S.

Grivas, a Democrat, worries that federal policies against immigration could stunt the country by discouraging new arrivals from investing in their local communities, especially if they don’t believe they will be allowed to remain.

“You’re less willing to commit to the project if you don’t think that you’re gonna be able to stay,” he said.

Most support birthright citizenship, but also hold nuanced views

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict birthright citizenship by declaring that children born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults in the poll say automatic citizenship should be granted to all children born in the country, a view that most Democrats and independents back. Republicans are more doubtful: just 44% support birthright citizenship. The poll also shows that some people are conflicted, saying in general that they support birthright citizenship but also that they oppose it in some specific circumstances.

Among those who object to automatic citizenship is Linda Steele, a 70-year-old from Florida, who believes that only children born to American citizens should be granted citizenship. Steele, a Republican, does not believe foreigners living legally in the U.S. — whether for work or other reasons — should be able to have a child who automatically becomes a U.S. citizen.

“That shouldn’t be allowed,” she said. “They’re just here visiting or going to school.”

When asked about some specific circumstances, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults say they support birthright citizenship for children born to parents on legal U.S. tourist visas, while only about half support it for those born to parents who are in the country illegally. An even higher share, 75%, support automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are in the country legally on work visas, with much of that increased support coming from Republicans saying this was an acceptable situation.

Kevin Craig, a 57-year-old from Wilmington, North Carolina, does not believe citizenship should be automatically granted. Craig, who leans conservative, believes there should be “at least some opportunity for intervention by a human being who can make some sort of a judgment.”

But he added: “I think my personal opinion is that I can’t think of a situation where it would not be granted.”

___

Sullivan reported from Minneapolis. Catalini reported from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

When averaged out over all the world’s cities, tree cover — by giving shade and releasing water vapor — cools an average of 0.27 degrees Fahrenheit (0.15 degrees Celsius), according to a study in Wednesday’s Nature Communications.

Without those trees, the world cities would warm on average by 0.56 degrees Fahrenheit (0.31 degrees Celsius) due to the urban heat island effect, where dark roofs and pavement absorb heat. The human-caused warming mechanism is distinct from climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

Researchers built their analysis of Earth’s nearly 9,000 large cities by measuring temperatures for segments of about 150 city blocks each. That allowed them to capture cooling effects for cities and neighborhoods so that trees in New York’s Central Park, for example, weren’t credited for cooling more built-up areas miles away in the Bronx.

About 185 million people living in 31 of the larger cities already feel an average cooling from tree cover of at least half a degree Fahrenheit (0.3 degrees Celsius). But study lead author Rob McDonald, a scientist at the Nature Conservancy, said poorer and hotter large urban centers that need it the most aren’t getting as much relief from higher heat, which can kill by confusing the brain, shutting down organs and overworking the heart.

Meteorologists measure the temperature difference between a city center and nearby rural area to find the urban heat island effect. Scientists in this study used a combination of weather station measurements, satellite data and computer models to see the cooling trees provided.

Little tree relief in hot, dry poor places

In 20 cities with at least 3 million people, residents feel less a tenth of a degree Fahrenheit (0.05 degrees Celsius) from cooling trees. In four cities — Dakar, Senegal; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City and Amman, Jordan — there's such minimal tree cover that the more than 15 million people who live there get essentially no cooling from trees.

On the other end of the spectrum, McDonald looked at cities where tree cover cools at least 0.45 degrees Fahrenheit (0.25 degrees Celsius). Nearly 40% of cities in wealthy nations get that much cooling, but just under 9% in the poorest countries have that amount of tree relief, the study said.

The list of places that cool the most is topped by Berlin and includes Atlanta, Moscow, Washington, Seattle and Sydney, which have more trees. For example, Atlanta has 64% of its land area under tree canopy, McDonald said. Wealthy areas in North America have larger lot sizes, individual ownership and residents with more political clout, all of which contribute to more trees growing and providing larger cover, said Chris Greene of the University of Dalhousie in Canada, who wasn't part of the study.

“There’s this inequality,” McDonald said. “When you look at cities globally, there are many, many cities, especially in developing countries, that have very low tree cover, and so I think the air temperature cooling number was a little less than we expected.”

Thomas Crowther, an ecologist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, said every little bit helps. He's in a region where cities have nearly no cooling from tree cover, often because water is at a premium.

“As up to 75% of the human population shifts towards living in urban environments, these buffering effects of urban vegetation are going to be vital,” said Crowther, who wasn't part of the research. “But we have to overturn the devastating inequities in the distribution of urban trees, so that their benefits can be experienced by the low- and middle-income communities that are often most vulnerable to the effects of extreme temperatures.”

Planting trees won't save us from climate change

The study's authors said that cities, especially poorer and hotter ones, can and should do more to increase tree cover. But because of limitations in availability of water, land and proper species, combined with worsening climate change, at most they'd reduce future urban heating by 20%, McDonald said.

“Trees won’t save us from climate change,” McDonald said. “The climate scenarios are showing a much warmer world and there’s only so much of that that tree cover can help with.”

Still, planting trees has benefits beyond lowering heat. In 2019, Crowther and Jean-Francois Bastin in a study in the journal Science suggested planting a trillion new trees — on top of the 3 trillion trees already growing on the planet — to suck up carbon dioxide, not so much for their cooling.

“Planting trees does help fight climate change in multiple ways, but this strategy is not nearly enough to slow climate change to a significant degree,” said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck, who wasn’t part of the study. “Only by transitioning away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy and battery storage can we hope to halt the climate change that is wreaking havoc around the planet.”

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

PSG edged their encounter 5-4 in the first leg in Paris last week, giving the defending a champion a slim advantage going into Wednesday’s decisive second leg.

But Bayern is confident after fighting back from 5-2 down in that game and developing a habit of comebacks in its last three matches including two in the Bundesliga.

Bayern, which had already secured the league title, fought from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 before its trip to Paris, then twice came from behind to draw with Heidenheim 3-3 last weekend.

The winner will face Arsenal in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, after the Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday to progress 2-1 on aggregate.

PSG and Bayern are the top-scoring sides in the competition with 43 and 42 goals, respectively. It’s the first time two teams have scored more than 40 in the same season.

The German club has won five of its last seven meetings with PSG in Munich, and is going for a repeat of the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble of titles that it won in 2020 and 2013.

But PSG has good memories of Munich. The city was the scene of PSG’s triumph in the final last season when it demolished Inter Milan 5-0 to fulfill its Qatari owners’ quest to become European champion for the first time. A relatively unchanged team has been charged with delivering the second title.

___

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

Associated Press footage showed health workers in protective gear heading to the ship for the evacuation that included the ship's Dutch doctor, who Spain's health ministry said had been in “serious condition” but has improved. An air ambulance later departed.

Three people have died, and one body remained on the ship, the World Health Organization said. Eight cases have been recorded in all, three of them confirmed by laboratory testing.

Contact tracing had begun on two continents, Europe and Africa, in search of infections around people who earlier left the ship, which departed over a month ago from South America for stops in Antarctica and several remote Atlantic islands. Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and can spread person-to-person, though the WHO calls that rare.

The Dutch foreign ministry said the three evacuated were a 41-year-old Dutch national, a 56-year-old British national and a 65-year-old German national who would be "immediately transferred to specialized hospitals in Europe.” A Dutch hospital confirmed it would take one, and German authorities said they were preparing for a second.

Two “remain in a serious condition," Dutch ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said, and the third had no symptoms but was “closely associated” with a German passenger who died on the MV Hondius ship on May 2.

Spanish officials said passengers and crew members still on the ship are without symptoms. Their journey to the Canary Islands will take three or four days, Spain’s health ministry said, adding that the arrival “won´t represent any risk for the public."

Meanwhile, authorities in Switzerland and South Africa said three people had tested positive for the Andes strain of the virus. The WHO says the species of hantavirus is found in South America, primarily in Argentina and Chile, and can spread between people, though that’s rare and only through close contact.

The wide-ranging ship has been at sea for over a month

The ship left Argentina on April 1. The WHO has said the itinerary included stops across the South Atlantic, including mainland Antarctica and the remote islands of South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and Ascension.

The ship is now in the Atlantic off West Africa's island nation of Cape Verde. The WHO said passengers were isolating in their cabins.

“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Harald Wychgel, a spokesperson for the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, said two doctors were on their way to join the ship.

Spain’s health ministry said it would receive the ship in the Canary Islands after a request from the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The Canary Islands regional president , Fernando Clavijo, said he worried about the risk to the population and demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

It's not clear when the patient in Switzerland left the ship

Authorities in Switzerland said a former passenger was being treated at a Zurich hospital after testing positive for the Andes strain. South African authorities earlier said two passengers who were transferred there tested positive for the strain. One, a British man, was in intensive care and the other collapsed and died in South Africa.

Swiss health office spokesperson Simon Ming in an email said patient there had left the ship during its St. Helena stop. It was not immediately clear when or how he returned to Switzerland.

The patient’s wife hasn’t shown symptoms but is self-isolating as a precaution, the statement said. Health experts say the incubation period for the virus is 45 days.

“There is currently no risk to the Swiss public," the public health office said, while looking into whether the patient had come into contact with others.

South Africa looks for people who had possible contact

At St. Helena, the body of the Dutch man suspected to be the first hantavirus case on board was taken off the ship. His wife flew to South Africa, where she collapsed at the Johannesburg airport and died.

Later, a British man was evacuated at Ascension Island and taken to South Africa.

The ship's operator has not said if other people left at those or other locations.

The South African health ministry says officials have traced 42 out of 62 people, including health workers, they believe had contact with the two infected passengers who traveled there. The 42 tested negative for hantavirus.

But 20 people still need to be traced, including five people who may have been on flights to South Africa with some of the passengers as well as flight crew members.

Some may have now traveled overseas, the ministry said.

___

Keaten reported from Geneva and Asadu from Abuja, Nigeria. Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa; Renata Brito and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands and Michelle Gumede and Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

Visitors came from France, China, Ivory Coast and Italy, including France’s ambassador to Tunisia, a symbolic gesture after two French citizens were among those killed in the 2023 attack. A national guardsman shot and killed five people at the El-Ghriba synagogue soon after the festival that year, spreading fear among the local Jewish population and international pilgrims.

Participants said about 500 people have attended this year’s pilgrimage, held on the Mediterranean island of Djerba from April 30 to May 6 to celebrate the Lag B’Omer Jewish holiday. Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times, and the pilgrimage remains central to the country’s small but long-standing Jewish community.

Inside the synagogue, the atmosphere was calm and devotional, while also buzzing with conversations and social exchanges. Worshippers lit candles, read sacred texts and wrote wishes on eggs later placed in a sacred cave within the complex, a tradition believed to bring blessings.

Among them was Redj Cahen, a Tunisian-Italian pilgrim who returned after missing last year’s gathering. “We are back, and we are proud to be Tunisian Jews,” he said. “It is a feeling you cannot explain. Only those who come here understand.”

The gathering draws both local worshippers and members of the diaspora returning to their ancestral roots and has long been seen as a symbol of coexistence, attracting Muslim visitors alongside Jewish pilgrims.

A visible but contained security presence surrounded the synagogue, while heavier measures were deployed at access points to the island, where police checkpoints and barricades controlled entry. Vehicles were searched and identification documents carefully inspected. Within Djerba, security was especially concentrated in Hara Seghira and Hara Kebira, the island’s main Jewish quarters.

Despite security worries, the traditional “Minara” procession took place for the first time since the 2023 attack, signaling a cautious easing of restrictions.

The Minara, a pyramid-shaped tower of gold and silver, is placed at the center of the synagogue. Women drape it with colorful scarves in a gesture associated with good fortune, fertility and marriage. A symbolic auction of paintings and Jewish religious items follows as part of a traditional fundraiser for the synagogue’s maintenance, after which the scarf-laden Minara is placed on a cart and paraded outside to the sounds of the traditional darbuka drum, singing and throwing of candy. It is later brought back into the synagogue, concluding one of the event’s pillar traditions.

The pilgrimage, one of the oldest in Africa, has historically drawn thousands from around the world. Attendance dropped sharply after the 2023 shooting outside the synagogue that killed two pilgrims and three security officers. The synagogue was also targeted by a 2002 truck bombing by al-Qaida that killed about 20 people.

“This year’s Ghriba pilgrimage marks a gradual return,” said former Tourism Minister René Trabelsi. “We are returning little by little.''

Trabelsi said Tunisian authorities had pushed to maintain the pilgrimage despite the challenges. The event plays an important role in supporting the local economy.

Khedir Hnaia, who has worked at the synagogue for more than three decades, welcomed the return of longtime visitors. “We would like to reflect a good image to the world, to bring back the glory of Ghriba and make it even better than how it used to be,” he said.

“We need to stand up for our country, we love Tunisia very much and in the same way our country stood up for us we will always stand up for it,” said Haim Haddad, a member of the pilgrimage organizing committee from Zarzis.

___

Ben Mbarek reported from Tunis, Tunisia.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn’t abided by its own ceasefire, saying that air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday.

Five people were killed by a Ukrainian drone strike on the city of Dzhankoi in Crimea, according to Russia-installed Gov. Sergei Aksyonov. He reported the casualties just after midnight, but posted about the attack itself more than 90 minutes earlier.

There had been no official sign from Moscow that it would heed Kyiv’s ceasefire, and there was little hope for a pause in hostilities as the war stretches into its fifth year following Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war over the past year have come to nothing.

On Tuesday, Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine killed 27 people and wounded 120 others, all of them civilians, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. The war has killed more than 15,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

“After yesterday’s savage strikes against our cities and communities … the Russian army continued active hostilities and terrorist shelling throughout this day as well,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday on X. “Russia’s choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives.”

Despite Kyiv's open-ended suspension of hostilities, Russia has continued shelling, with aerial strikes using drones and powerful glide bombs, and has attempted to break through Ukrainian defenses on the front line, Zelenskyy said.

“Russia must end the war it is currently waging,” he said, urging Moscow to call off its invasion. “The Russian side has our diplomatic proposals, and the only thing needed is Russia’s willingness to move toward real peace.”

Both sides have kept up long-range strike campaigns. On the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line, meanwhile, Russia's bigger army remains engaged in a slow-moving and costly slog against Ukraine's drone-heavy defenses.

Zelenskyy had announced the unilateral ceasefire after Russia said it would hold its own pause of hostilities over two days later this week while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The Ukrainian leader said any breach of the ceasefire would trigger a military response.

European officials had welcomed Ukraine's unilateral move as a goodwill gesture illustrating its readiness for a peace settlement.

Russian forces launched 108 drones and three missiles overnight, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, with attacks continuing throughout the night and into Wednesday morning.

“Moscow once again ignored a realistic and fair call to end hostilities, supported by other states and international organizations,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

Moscow’s proposal to stop fighting on Friday and Saturday follows a pattern of Russia declaring short unilateral ceasefires during the war timed to coincide with various holidays, most recently Orthodox Easter.

Those suspensions of combat don’t produce any tangible results amid deep mistrust between the warring sides.

Sybiha said Russia’s actions exposed its calls for a separate ceasefire around May 9 as insincere. “Putin only cares about military parades, not human lives,” he said.

The diplomat called for increased international pressure on Moscow, including new sanctions, diplomatic isolation, accountability measures for war crimes and expanded military and civilian support for Ukraine.

___

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

Trump posted on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.

Trump's threats came after China's foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict.

China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Tuesday that he was pausing his short-lived U.S. effort to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz in hopes that a deal could be finalized. A shaky ceasefire has been largely holding, despite exchanges of fire during the U.S. push to reopen the strait on Monday.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertilizer and other petroleum products passed before the war, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers like China.

The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around $100 per barrel Wednesday, easing significantly from big price jumps earlier in the week. The prices are still well above the roughly $70 a barrel that crude was selling for before the war began.

Trump also due to visit China

Araghchi's visit to China comes ahead of a planned visit by Trump to Beijing for a high-profile summit May 14-15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip would be Trump’s first to China during his second term and the first by a U.S. president since Trump visited in 2017.

“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said, according to a video of the meeting.

The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has already lasted for more than two months. It has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace. China is deeply distressed by this.”

In a televised interview with Iran’s state media from Beijing, Araghchi said his visit included discussions of the Strait of Hormuz as well as Iran's nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Iran has attained “an elevated international standing” after the war, having proven its capabilities and strength, Araghchi said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that Beijing would reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, which would deny its main leverage as Trump demands a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said during a White House briefing Tuesday. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing has made clear that the relevant sides must act “with prudence” and resolve the conflict through dialogue in order to restore peace. He added that China has been actively promoting peace talks and will continue to do so.

In a statement published on the ministry's website about Wang's meeting with Araghchi, the foreign ministry said China values Iran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

Trump pauses effort to guide ships out of strait

Hundreds of merchant ships remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. said it had opened a safe shipping lane Monday and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships in the strait. Only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route.

But Trump announced he was pausing the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war could be reached.

In a social media post Tuesday, Trump said the move was based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”

Pakistan has been mediating between the U.S. and Iran, and had hosted peace talks between the two sides.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for what he described as a timely announcement of a pause in the effort to guide ships out of the strait.

In a post on X, Sharif said Trump’s response to requests from Pakistan and other countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, would help advance regional peace, stability and reconciliation.

“Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and a peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy,” Sharif said. “We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.”

___

Castillo reported from Beijing. Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.

Aunque las cifras de visitantes siguen siendo pequeñas —en parte por los altos costos y el tiempo que puede requerir—, crecen tan rápido que científicos y ambientalistas están dando la voz de alarma.

Un brote mortal del inusual hantavirus a bordo de un barco neerlandés en un crucero polar de varias semanas ha llamado la atención sobre esta creciente tendencia del turismo.

La mayoría de las expediciones se dirigen a la península Antártica, uno de los lugares que se calientan más rápido en el mundo. De 2002 a 2020, se derritieron aproximadamente 149.000 millones de toneladas de hielo antártico por año, según la Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y del Espacio.

Una ruta común consiste en viajar hacia el sur desde Argentina rumbo a la Antártida antes de dirigirse al norte por la costa de África, la misma ruta que tomó el crucero MV Hondius.

“Los sitios que verán en la Antártida son extremadamente únicos y no se pueden replicar en ningún otro lugar del planeta —las ballenas, las focas, los pingüinos, los icebergs—, todo es realmente impresionante y deja una enorme huella en la gente”, dijo Claire Christian, directora ejecutiva del grupo ambiental Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition.

Crecimiento explosivo de los viajes al continente austral

En 2024, más de 80.000 turistas pisaron el vasto continente cubierto de hielo y 36.000 lo observaron desde la seguridad de los barcos, según datos recopilados por la Asociación Internacional de Operadores Turísticos de la Antártida.

La Unión Internacional de Científicos Preocupados estima que el turismo a la Antártida se ha multiplicado por diez en los últimos 30 años.

Esa cifra podría aumentar aún más en la próxima década a medida que bajen los costos, ya que entrarán en servicio más cascos capaces de navegar entre hielos y hay avances tecnológicos, señaló Hanne Nielsen, profesora titular de derecho antártico en la Universidad de Tasmania. Sus colegas en la universidad estiman que el número anual podría triplicarse o cuadruplicarse hasta superar las 400.000 visitas en ese periodo.

Algunos turistas llegan a la Antártida por el “turismo de última oportunidad”, conscientes de que el paisaje que se derrite está cambiando rápidamente, indicó Nielsen.

Riesgos de contaminación

Las autoridades no han señalado ninguna evidencia de contaminación proveniente del MV Hondius.

Sin embargo, bandadas de aves migratorias llevaron la gripe aviar desde Sudamérica a la Antártida en los últimos años, según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de Estados Unidos.

Ese brote llevó a la Asociación Internacional de Operadores Turísticos de la Antártida y a otros a endurecer las normas sobre la conducta y la higiene de los turistas para proteger a los visitantes de contaminarse. Para proteger el frágil ecosistema de especies invasoras, grandes y microscópicas, se indica a los visitantes que se mantengan alejados de los animales y que eviten tocar el suelo con cualquier cosa que no sean sus pies.

“Hay reglas que la gente debe cumplir cuando se dirige hacia el sur”, manifestó Nielsen, que describió sus cinco viajes en su papel anterior de guía. Tripulaciones y pasajeros usan aspiradoras, desinfectantes y cepillos para limpiar zapatos y equipos, eliminando insectos, plumas, semillas y tierra que transporta microbios.

“Entre la lengüeta y los cordones de las botas se pueden encontrar muchas cosas”, comentó.

Los cruceros han sufrido brotes de enfermedades como el norovirus, que puede propagarse rápidamente en los espacios reducidos de un barco. En 2020, un brote de COVID-19 en el Diamond Princess convirtió al crucero en una incubadora del entonces misterioso virus.

El hantavirus suele propagarse al inhalar excrementos de roedores contaminados.

El crucero del Hondius de isla en isla

La Organización Mundial de la Salud informó que el MV Hondius salió de Ushuaia, Argentina, el 1 de abril y visitó la Antártida y varias islas aisladas.

La OMS está investigando una posible transmisión de persona a persona en el crucero, explicó la doctora Maria Van Kerkhove, directora de preparación ante epidemias y pandemias de la OMS. Las autoridades sospechan que la primera persona infectada probablemente contrajo el virus antes de embarcar, precisó, y se les ha informado a los funcionarios que no hay ratas a bordo.

La Antártida se rige por el Tratado Antártico, que en 1959 consagró el territorio como una reserva científica utilizada únicamente con fines pacíficos. Una serie de normas posteriores “tienen como objetivo garantizar que todas las visitas, independientemente del lugar, no afecten negativamente el medio ambiente antártico ni sus valores científicos y estéticos”, según la secretaría del tratado.

Las empresas y las iniciativas científicas cumplen de manera voluntaria las directrices de bioseguridad y presentan evaluaciones de impacto ambiental para las operaciones en la Antártida.

El tratado se redactó cuando las cifras de turismo eran mucho más bajas, señaló Christian.

“La actividad debe regularse de manera adecuada, como se haría con cualquiera de los sitios ecológicos sensibles y valiosos del mundo”, señaló Christian desde Hiroshima, Japón, donde se preparaba para una Reunión Consultiva del Tratado Antártico. Allí se sumará a los llamados para reforzar las protecciones de los pingüinos, ballenas, aves marinas, focas y kril de la Antártida, criaturas diminutas en la base de la cadena alimentaria.

Por ahora, el atractivo de la frontera helada sigue atrayendo visitantes.

“Puedes dejar una huella en la Antártida y sigue ahí 50 años después”, afirmó Christian.

___

El periodista de The Associated Press Mike Corder contribuyó desde La Haya, Países Bajos.

___

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

Now the league can focus on the play on the court which will feature the Las Vegas Aces looking for a fourth championship in five years, the return of Caitlin Clark after she missed most of last season with injuries, and the debut of expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.

The Aces have their core intact from last season's title run, including four-time league MVP A'ja Wilson. She was picked by a national media panel as the preseason AP Player of the Year. She became the highest paid player in WNBA history, earning a $5 million supermax contract extension over the next three years.

Las Vegas has won three of the last four championships with New York taking home the crown in 2024.

The Liberty look poised to challenge the Aces again with their Big Three of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu all returning. Ionescu will miss at least the first couple of weeks of the season with a foot injury she suffered in the preseason finale over the weekend.

The Liberty added All-Star Satou Sabally in free agency and made a coaching change after last season's first-round exit in the playoffs. They replaced Sandy Brondello with former Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco. He's one of five new head coaches in the league.

Brondello didn’t stay unemployed long as she is the head coach of the Tempo — the league’s first team outside of the United States.

Clark played in only 13 games last year after a series of injuries cut short her sophomore season. The Indiana Fever star spent the offseason getting healthy and stronger and is ready to go.

Here are a few other tidbits for the upcoming season:

Free agent movement

While 80% of the players were free agents this offseason with the expected payday of the new CBA, a handful changed teams with coming home a major reason why.

Nneka Ogwumike returned to Los Angeles, Skylar Diggins went to Chicago, putting her closer to her hometown of South Bend, Indiana. Sabally came to New York where she was born.

Sunset season

The Sun will play their final season in Connecticut as the franchise will move to Houston next year after the team was sold to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. Connecticut has said that it will honor its past players and coaches over the course of the season. This will end a 23-year run by the team in New England after moving to Connecticut from Orlando in 2003.

Injured Lynx

Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who was the runner-up in MVP voting last year, will be out until at least early June while she recovers from ankle surgery she had in March. Collier also had surgery on her right ankle in early January.

“Right now, I’m just working as fast as I can with my doctors and my (physical therapy) staff, just trying to get back on the court,” Collier told reporters in training camp. “But everything is going well, so you’ll see me soon.”

The Lynx will rely on rookie Olivia Miles, who was the No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft last month. She was picked as the AP preseason Rookie of the Year.

Tune-in

A record 216 WNBA regular-season games and events will be available on multiple broadcast platforms throughout the year. The league will have games on ABC/ESPN, CBS, Amazon Prime Video, ION, NBC, USA Sports and NBA TV.

Predicted order of finish

Las Vegas was the preseason No. 1 team in the AP WNBA power poll, which is in its 10th season, The Liberty were second. New York was followed by Atlanta, Indiana, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Phoenix. Dallas was eighth with Golden State ninth. Chicago, Washington, Toronto, Seattle, Connecticut and Portland rounded out the poll. ___

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

While visitor numbers are still small — in part due to the high costs and time it can take — they are growing so fast that scientists and environmentalists are sounding alarms.

A deadly outbreak of the rare hantavirus aboard a Dutch ship on a weekslong polar cruise has brought attention to the growing tourism trend.

Most expeditions head to the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the fastest-warming places in the world. From 2002 to 2020, roughly 149 billion metric tons (164 billion tons) of Antarctic ice melted per year, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

A common route is to voyage south from Argentina toward Antarctica before heading north up the coast of Africa — the same route taken by the cruise ship MV Hondius.

“The sites you will see in Antarctica are extremely unique and not replicable anywhere else on the planet — the whales, the seals, the penguins, the icebergs — it’s all really stunning and it makes a huge impression on people,” said Claire Christian, executive director of the environmental group Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition.

Explosive growth of trips to the southern continent

In 2024, more than 80,000 tourists touched down on the vast ice-cloaked continent and 36,000 viewed from the safety of ships, according to data collected by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.

The International Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that tourism to Antarctica has grown tenfold in the past 30 years.

That number could rise further in the next decade as costs fall with more ice-capable hulls hitting the water and technological advances, said Hanne Nielsen, a senior lecturer of Antarctic law at the University of Tasmania. Her colleagues at the university estimate the annual figure could triple or quadruple to over 400,000 visits in that time.

Some tourists come to Antarctica for “last chance tourism,” knowing the melting landscape is rapidly changing, Nielsen said.

Risks of contamination

Officials have not indicated any evidence of contamination from the MV Hondius.

However, flocks of migratory birds brought avian flu from South America to Antarctica in recent years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That outbreak prompted the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators and others to harden rules for tourists’ conduct and hygiene to protect visitors from being contaminated. To protect the fragile ecosystem from invasive species large and microscopic, visitors are told to stay away from animals and to avoid touching the ground with anything but their feet.

“There are rules that people are bound by when they’re heading south,” Nielsen said, describing her five voyages as a former guide. Crews and passengers use vacuums, disinfectants and brushes to scrub shoes and equipment clear of bugs, feathers, seeds and microbe-carrying dirt.

“Between the tongues and the laces of the boots you can find a lot of things,” she said.

Cruise ships have been struck by outbreaks of diseases like norovirus, which can spread quickly in a ship's close quarters. In 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak on the Diamond Princess turned the cruise ship into an incubator for the then-mysterious virus.

Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings.

The Hondius' island hopping cruise

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and visited Antarctica and several isolated islands.

WHO is investigating possible human-to-human transmission on the cruise ship, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness. Officials suspect the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding, she said, and officials have been told there are no rats on board.

Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty, which in 1959 enshrined the territory as a scientific preserve used only for peaceful purposes. A series of rules that followed “aim to ensure that all visits, regardless of location, do not adversely impact the Antarctic environment or its scientific and aesthetic values,” according to the treaty’s secretariat.

Companies and scientific ventures voluntarily comply with biosecurity guidelines and submit environmental impact assessments for Antarctic operations.

The treaty was written when tourism numbers were much lower, Christian said.

“Activity needs to be regulated appropriately, as you would with any of the world’s sensitive and precious ecological sites,” Christian said from Hiroshima, Japan, where she was preparing for an Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. There she'll join calls to strengthen protections for Antarctica's penguins, whales, seabirds, seals and krill — tiny creatures at the base of the food chain.

For now, the lure of the frozen frontier continues to draw visitors.

“You can put a footprint in Antarctica and it’s still there 50 years later,” Christian said.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Corder contributed from The Hague, Netherlands.

Starmer’s center-left Labour Party is expected to take a battering in elections for local authorities across England and for semiautonomous legislatures in Scotland and Wales.

With the prime minister’s popularity in the doldrums from a weak economy and repeated questions about his judgment, rival parties are framing Thursday’s votes as a referendum on Starmer and his 2-year-old government. “Vote Reform, Get Starmer Out” is the campaign slogan of the hard-right party Reform UK.

The next national election does not have to be held until 2029, but a wipeout on Thursday could tip a restive Labour Party into revolt against its unpopular leader.

Less than two years after winning a landslide election victory, “Keir Starmer has become a vessel for people’s disappointment (and) disillusionment,” said Luke Tryl of pollster More in Common.

Polling day could be Starmer's judgment day

Starmer's popularity has plunged after repeated missteps since he became prime minister in July 2024. His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living — tasks made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Forecasters suggest Labour will lose well over half of the 2,500 seats it is defending on English local councils. It is expected to lose votes to parties on both left and right — especially to the Green Party in London and Reform UK in working-class, former Labour strongholds in England’s north.

“These elections are a perilous, perilous moment for Keir Starmer,” said Tony Travers, professor in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics. He said that after a series of policy U-turns and in an economy where “there isn’t much money to spend on anything … his opponents are lining up.”

Starmer has already survived one crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers, including the party’s leader in Scotland, urged him to quit over the Mandelson appointment.

An election rout could trigger a snap leadership challenge from a high-profile rival such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Any challenger would need the support of 80 lawmakers, one-fifth of the party in the House of Commons, to trigger a contest. In Burnham’s case he would have to win election to Parliament before he could take over.

Alternately, Starmer could face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure after an orderly leadership contest.

“His parliamentary party are unsure as to whether now is the right time to unseat him,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “So there might be a stay of execution.”

But, Bale added, “it’s a case of when rather than if he goes.”

Polls point to fragmented politics and a fractured country

For decades, Labour losses would have been good news for its main rival, the right-of-center Conservative Party. But the Conservatives are tarnished by 14 tumultuous years in power that ended in 2024. In these elections, it’s Nigel Farage-led Reform UK, the left-leaning Greens and nationalist Welsh and Scottish parties that will likely be the main beneficiaries.

Opponents have heightened their scrutiny of Reform and the Greens in an effort to stop their rise. Farage is facing questions over a 5 million pound ($6.8 million) donation from a cryptocurrency billionaire that he accepted in 2024 but did not declare. He says it was a personal gift.

The environmentalist Greens, who have stressed their pro-Palestinian credentials under self-described “eco-populist” leader Zack Polanski, have fired several candidates for antisemitic social media posts.

Travers said Britain is moving from being a “two-and-a-half party system” — with the Liberal Democrats as the usual third party — “to something more like a five-party one.”

That is excellent news for Rhun ap Iorwerth, who leads Plaid Cymru (the Party of Wales) and stands a strong chance of leading that country’s semiautonomous government.

“The old politics is gone,” he said. “Labour is not going to win this election.”

A possible seismic shift on the horizon

Labour has dominated Welsh politics for a century and has held power in Cardiff since the Welsh government was established in 1999. Polls suggest Labour will be pushed into third place behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, who are running neck-and-neck.

A Plaid victory would give three of the four parts of the U.K. pro-independence leaders. Northern Ireland is governed by Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein in a power-sharing arrangement with the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party.

The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, says it will push for a new referendum on independence if it wins a majority on Thursday. Scottish voters rejected leaving the U.K. in a 2014 vote.

Plaid Cymru says a secession vote isn’t on the agenda in the next few years, though independence remains the party’s ultimate goal. In the short term, it wants more power to raise taxes and more control over how money is spent.

“We need a fundamental redesign of Britain,” ap Iowerth said. “This is an unequal union.”

The fire started Tuesday in the Arghavan shopping center in Andisheh town in Tehran province. It was not clear what caused the blaze. Iran's state television IRIB said authorities were investigating.

Television footage showed firefighters battling the flames as large plumes of black smoke billowed from the multistory building.

There was no indication the blaze was linked to the U.S. war against Iran. A shaky ceasefire with the United States has been holding for around three weeks.

Urged on by President Donald Trump, South Carolina Republicans are attempting to redraw a district long held by a Black Democratic lawmaker in their quest for a clean sweep of the state's seven congressional seats.

Lawmakers already are meeting in special sessions in Alabama and Tennessee in a bid to change their U.S. House districts. And Louisiana lawmakers are making plans for new congressional districts after the Supreme Court last week struck down the state’s current map.

The stakes are high for minority voters who stand to lose their preferred representatives and for any Republican lawmakers reluctant to follow Trump's wishes. In Republican primary elections Tuesday, Trump-endorsed challengers defeated at least five of the seven Indiana state lawmakers targeted by Trump's allies for refusing to support a congressional redistricting effort last year.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling said Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The ruling significantly altered a decades-old understanding of the law, giving Republicans grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats.

The ruling revved up an already intense national redistricting battle ahead of a November midterm election that will determine control of the closely divided House.

Since Trump prodded Texas to redraw its U.S. House districts last year, a total of eight states have adopted new congressional districts. From that, Republicans think they could gain as many as 13 seats while Democrats think they could gain up to 10 seats. But some of the new districts could be competitive in November, meaning the parties may not get all they sought.

South Carolina to test its will for redistricting

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn has represented South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District since it was redrawn to favor minority voters in 1992. He’s running for an 18th term. But it could get harder for him to win reelection if Republicans redraw his district.

Leaders in the state House and Senate said a redistricting effort needs to start with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. The issue could come up as soon as Wednesday. But if only a few Republicans aren’t on board, it can’t succeed.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey has warned that redistricting could backfire because of thin political margins, resulting in a second Democrat in the U.S. House. Massey told reporters Tuesday that he had a cordial conversation with Trump about redistricting, each laying out their concerns.

The state’s primaries are June 9 and early voting starts in three weeks.

Alabama looks at setting a new primary

The state House on Wednesday could debate legislation that would allow Alabama to hold a special congressional primary, if the Supreme Court clears the way for the state to change its U.S. House districts.

In light of the court’s ruling on Louisiana’s districts, Alabama officials have asked courts to set aside a judicial order to use a U.S. House map that includes two districts with a substantial number of Black voters. Republicans instead want to use a map passed in 2023 by the Legislature that could help the GOP win at least one of those two seats currently held by Democrats.

Alabama’s primaries are scheduled for May 19. If the Supreme Court grants the state’s request after or too close to the primary, the legislation under consideration would ignore the results of that primary and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.

Democrats denounced the legislation as a Republican power grab that harkens back to the state’s shameful history of denying Black residents equal rights and representation.

Republicans are “working to secure an electoral victory by taking Alabama back to the Jim Crow era, and we won’t go back,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell told a crowd gathered outside the Alabama Statehouse.

Tennessee plan targets Memphis district

Republican Gov. Bill Lee called Tennessee lawmakers into a special session to consider a plan urged by Trump that could break up the state’s lone Democratic-held U.S. House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis. Republicans didn't say much about the plan Tuesday.

But as the state Senate began work Tuesday, shouts of “shame, shame, shame” could be heard inside the chamber from protesters gathered in the hallways. On the chamber floor, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Black Democrat from Memphis, called the redistricting “an act of hate.”

Martin Luther King III sent a letter to Tennessee legislative leaders expressing “grave concern” about the plan to divide Memphis, saying the move could undermine the work for voting rights carried out by his father, Martin Luther King Jr.

The candidate qualifying period in Tennessee ended in March, and the primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Thousands had already voted in Louisiana

After last week’s Supreme Court decision, Republican Gov. Mike Landry postponed the state’s May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts. State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, a Republican, said a redistricting committee he leads plans to hold a public hearing Friday.

Louisiana voters had already sent in more than 41,000 absentee ballots by last Thursday, when Landry suspended the House primaries, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. That’s about a third of all the absentee ballots sent out to voters. Around 19,000 were from registered Democrats, 17,000 from registered Republicans and the remainder belonged to neither party.

Democrats and civil rights groups have filed several lawsuits challenging the suspension of Louisiana’s congressional primary.

___

Chandler reported from Montgomery, Alabama, Loller from Nashville and Lieb from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writer Jack Brook contributed from New Orleans.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, sank 5.7% to $103.61, down from more than $115 early this week. It dropped as President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz could be “OPEN TO ALL” if Iran accepts a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.

The strait has caused big trouble for the global economy because the war with Iran has blocked oil tankers from using it to exit the Persian Gulf. A reopening could allow oil to flow freely again and remove some of the upward pressure on inflation that’s driven prices up for all kinds of products worldwide.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and was heading for another record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 487 points, or 1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.

Stock markets abroad had even bigger gains, and indexes jumped 6.5% in Seoul, 1.2% in Hong Kong, 2.2% in London and 2.9% in Paris.

Of course, hopes have risen several times already on Wall Street about a possible end to the war with Iran, only to quickly get dashed. That could happen again, and oil prices pared some of their steepest losses from Wednesday morning. The price for a barrel of Brent briefly dove below $97 before pulling back above $100.

But Wall Street nevertheless latched onto several potentially encouraging signals. Trump on Tuesday evening said he would pull back on his effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially through forceful means. And China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire following a meeting with Iran’s foreign minister. That could be influential because of how closely tied Iran is to China economically and politically.

Plus, in the background, big U.S. companies continue to turn in much stronger profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. That’s helping to support the stock market despite all the uncertainties about the war.

AMD helped lead the market with a surge of 19.3% after it joined the list of big-name companies topping expectations for both profit and revenue. CEO Lisa Su said the chip company benefited from continued growth from artificial-intelligence technology, which is demanding tremendous amounts of computing power from data centers.

AMD also said its revenue growth could accelerate in the current quarter to roughly 46% from a year earlier.

Another company enmeshed in the AI industry, Super Micro Computer, rallied 14.2% after likewise delivering stronger earnings than analysts expected.

CVS Health climbed 8.2% after delivering better results for the first quarter than analysts expected and raising its financial forecasts for the full year.

Outside of earnings reports, companies with big fuel bills jumped on hopes that oil prices will continue to ease. That included gains of 5.2% for United Airlines, 5.5% for Carnival and 5.2% for Royal Caribbean.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased sharply as falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 4.35% from 4.43% the day before. That’s a notable move for the bond market.

Lower yields can bring down rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which could boost the economy. They also tend to push upward on prices for stocks and other kinds of investments. The 10-year yield, though, still remains well above its 3.97% level from just before the war.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi jumped to a record above the 7,000 level for the first time following big gains for AI winners, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

He appointed lawyer Gabriel Estuardo García Luna to the position, marking a win for the Guatemalan president who has often clashed with prosecutors he accuses of rotting Guatemala’s justice system and making politically motivated arrests.

Porras’ prosecutor’s office repeatedly tried and failed to block Arévalo from entering office, sparking international rebuke and a fierce struggle with the president.

In Guatemala, the attorney general holds an independent office that is not supposed to be allied to any given president, meaning that presidents can be effectively stuck with rivals as chief law enforcement officers. The office has been plagued by corruption allegations for years.

In a national address, Arévalo said he decided to entrust García Luna with the position starting May 17, when Porras’ term ends.

“The Public Ministry is getting a new authority who does not come to serve a president, the government of the day, or particular or spurious political interests,” Arévalo said.

García Luna takes over an institution that has faced strong national and international criticism over its direction during Porras’ controversial tenure. She has been accused of using the prosecutor’s office for attempts to criminalize former justice officials, journalists, political opponents and even Arévalo himself.

García Luna, 49, is an attorney and notary with 22 years of professional experience and doctoral-level legal studies.

Arévalo selected García Luna from a list of six candidates submitted by a nominating commission made up of the president of the Supreme Court, deans of law schools across the country and the national bar association. The commission reviewed at least 48 applications for the post.

Porras was criticized and sanctioned by countries around the world for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations and using her power to persecute political opponents.

Since Arévalo’s election last year, Porras has pursued the president's Seed Movement party, alleging wrongdoing in how it gathered signatures to register as a political party. Her investigators raided the party offices, seized and opened ballot boxes and sought multiple times to have his immunity lifted.

Arévalo has said Porras is protecting powerful and corrupt interests in Guatemala who fear his promise to root out corruption.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points for the Thunder. The defending champions improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams with an injured left hamstring for the third straight game. The Thunder shot 49.4% from the field and made 13 of 30 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City will host Game 2 on Thursday.

Los Angeles struggled to find offense without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who has missed the past month with an injured left hamstring. LeBron James scored 27 points and Rui Hachimura added 18 for the Lakers. Austin Reaves, who averaged 23.3 points in the regular season, was held to eight on 3-for-16 shooting.

Oklahoma City won all four regular-season matchups by an average of 29.3 points, and this one was only slightly closer. The Thunder held the Lakers to 41.7% shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

The Lakers ran out to a 7-0 lead, with James scoring five of the points. Eventually, the Thunder shook off the rust from an eight-day break and went up 31-26 at the end of the first quarter, despite 12 points from James.

Holmgren's two-handed alley-oop dunk on a lob from Isaiah Hartenstein put the Thunder up 48-39. Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured the pinkie finger on his right hand on the play, left the game and did not return.

Oklahoma City led 61-53 at halftime, despite 16 points from James.

Mitchell, who started in Williams' place, made a corner 3-pointer and was fouled by Marcus Smart in the final minute of the third quarter. His free throw put the Thunder up 84-72, a score that held up until the end of the period.

Alex Caruso's fast-break dunk early in the fourth put Oklahoma City up 88-73, and the Thunder maintained control from there.

___

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

The Avalanche have now won six straight postseason games, which ties the 2021 squad for the franchise's longest win streak to begin the playoffs.

This game featured a little more defense than the 9-6 eruption in Game 1. The 14 goals for the Avalanche are the most in the first two games of a playoff series since the Calgary Flames had 15 against the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.

Martin Necas, Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy all scored their first goals of the series. Valeri Nichushkin added an empty-netter in the closing seconds. Twelve different Avalanche players have scored in the series, an NHL record for the first two games of a series.

“It’s great. I mean, right now, that’s what you need,” defenseman Cale Makar said. “You need everybody contributing and we’re finding ways to do that. There’s a lot of jelling minds right now.”

Scott Wedgewood made 29 saves on a night where he drew contact — he was knocked into the net on one occasion — and took a puck off the mask, leading to some quick repairs. It was a bounceback performance after giving up six goals in Game 1.

“He’s been unbelievable for us,” Roy said. "You can feel the confidence he’s got and it bleeds through the lineup.”

The Wild went with Gustavsson in net after Jesper Wallstedt gave up eight goals in the 9-6 loss. Gustavsson got off to a rocky start by giving up goals on the opening two shots of the first period and the first shot of the second. He settled down and finished with 18 saves.

“Just fine. Nothing special," Gustavsson said of how he felt Tuesday. “Not bad, not good.”

The series shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Saturday.

The Avalanche are 18-2 in best-of-seven playoff series when winning the first two games since moving to Denver in 1995-96.

Kirill Kaprizov and Marcus Johansson had goals for the Wild. Tempers flared in the third, with Parker Kelly getting into a scuffle with Matt Boldy and hitting the linesman with his glove. No penalties were called.

Colorado weathered a late rush by the Wild after they pulled Gustavsson for an extra skater late in the game. Boldy took a big hit from MacKinnon along the boards.

The game boiled down to special teams. The Avalanche were 2 of 5 on the power play while the Wild finished 0 of 2.

“It’s not good enough,” said Boldy, whose team is missing two big pieces with forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin sidelined by lower-body injuries. "We know that. It’s on us. We’ve got to make adjustments and be way better.”

Necas gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead in the first period but just six seconds later Kaprizov tied it. The six-second gap between the goals was tied for the fifth-fastest two goals by both teams in postseason history, according to NHL Stats.

Landeskog later added a power-play score on a pass from MacKinnon, who notched two assists in the first period for his 21st career multipoint playoff period. He passed Hall of Famer Joe Sakic for the most in franchise history.

“Just excited to play playoff hockey,” said MacKinnon, whose team has scored five or more goals in three straight postseason games for the fifth time in franchise history. “Obviously, the best time of year.”

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Lambert (2-2) allowed three hits and walked four with four strikeouts in his longest outing of the season. Bryan King gave up a run in the eighth before pitching a scoreless ninth for his third save.

Walker sent Ohtani’s first pitch of the second inning to the train tracks atop left field to make it 1-0. It was Walker’s 30th career home run against the Dodgers.

There was one out in the second when Shewmake hit a fastball from Ohtani into the seats in left field to extend the lead to 2-0. Shewmake, who had two hits, was a late addition to the lineup after Carlos Correa was scratched with a left ankle injury.

Ohtani (2-2) permitted four hits and two runs with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Alex Call led off the eighth with a double and scored on a two-out single by Kyle Tucker to cut the lead to one.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth inning, but Miguel Rojas grounded into a force out to allow Lambert to escape the jam.

Right fielder Cam Smith robbed Will Smith of extra bases with a a leaping catch near the warning track for the third out of the fifth inning.

The Astros had a chance to add to the lead in the bottom of the inning when they had runners on first and third with two outs. But Ohtani struck out Jose Altuve to end the inning.

Up Next

Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.56 ERA) opposes RHP Lance McCullers (2-2, 6.32) when the series concludes Wednesday.

___

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

Arévalo dijo que decidió confiarle el cargo a García Luna a partir del 17 de mayo, fecha en que finaliza la gestión de Porras.

“El Ministerio Público recibe una nueva autoridad que no llega para servir a un presidente, al gobierno de turno, ni a intereses políticos particulares o espurios”, señaló el mandatario en un mensaje a la nación.

García Luna asumirá al frente de un organismo que ha sido objeto de fuertes críticas a nivel nacional e internacional debido a la dirección que tuvo durante los ocho años de la gestión de Porras, quien es señalada por los críticos de utilizar a la fiscalía para criminalizar a ex operadores de justicia, periodistas, opositores y al mismo presidente Arévalo.

García Luna, de 49 años, es abogado, notario y doctor en derecho con 22 años de experiencia. Además, ha fungido como juez de paz, de primera instancia y magistrado de sala de apelaciones.

Arévalo escogió a García Luna de una lista de seis aspirantes que le fue presentada por una comisión de postulación integrada por la presidenta de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, los decanos de las facultades de derecho de las universidades del país y el Colegio de Abogados, que revisó por lo menos 48 expedientes de candidatos a ocupar el cargo.

Juan Francisco Sandoval, un exfiscal que denunció desde el exilio las prácticas de criminalización de Porras. destacó que la designación de García Luna “marca el cierre de una etapa profundamente cuestionada en el Ministerio Público y abre una oportunidad para iniciar un proceso de reconstrucción institucional”.

Añadió que el principal desafío será recuperar la independencia, credibilidad y confianza de la ciudadanía en una institución que “durante años fue señalada por instrumentalizar el derecho penal y perseguir selectivamente a operadores de justicia, periodistas y defensores de derechos humanos.

"Más allá de las expectativas políticas, lo importante será que el nuevo fiscal general demuestre con hechos su compromiso con la legalidad, la objetividad y la lucha contra la corrupción y la impunidad”, puntualizó.

En mayo de 2025, la Relatora Especial sobre la Independencia de los magistrados y abogados de Naciones Unidas, Margaret Satterthwaite, cuestionó a Porras por mantener una política de criminalización contra varios colectivos y personas por sus denuncias contra la corrupción.

Porras también intentó bloquear la llegada al poder del presidente Arévalo. Luego de los comicios de 2023, la fiscalía logró que un juez cancelara al partido Movimiento Semilla de Arévalo a pesar de que la ley únicamente faculta al Tribunal Supremo Electoral para tomar ese tipo de decisiones. Además, denunció un presunto fraude electoral, denuncia que no avanzó.

Líderes indígenas, estudiantes, campesinos y miembros de la población general paralizaron el país con bloqueos de carreteras durante varios días en octubre de 2023 para que Porras, elementos de la fiscalía y miembros de la oposición no pudieran intervenir en la toma de posesión de Arévalo. La fiscalía detuvo en 2024 a Luis Pacheco y Héctor Chaclán, autoridades indígenas que lideraron las protestas y permanecen en prisión.

Porras permaneció ocho años en el cargo, los primeros cuatro después de recibir la designación por parte del entonces presidente Jimmy Morales, y los demás gracias al nombramiento del expresidente Alejandro Giammattei de quien decía ser su amigo. Porras nunca investigó o proceso a ninguno de estos exmandatarios, quienes fueron señalados de varios delitos de corrupción.

Malik, 18, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Lollar, her ex-boyfriend, in March.

Lollar’s family had asked for a 30-year sentence. The judge ended up giving her 17 years behind bars, with five years of probation.

“I’m gonna stand up and honor my son and defend my son,” Darveed Lollar, Yakheim Lollar’s father, said. “I just wanted to be heard. Man, I don’t like the way this case was handled.”

It happened on Dec. 20, 2024 at the apartment building where Lollar lived in the 6100 block of Northwest Sixth Court, in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.

Malik told police the stabbing was an accident — a deadly, unintended result of horseplay.

“It will always be a fact that you are a murderer,” Zeldrina Beecham, Lollar’s aunt, told Malik. “You are a demon seed that your parents brought into this world to bring suffering on everybody else. Shame on them.”

Nathalie Jean, Lollar’s mother, said, “We just want what my son deserved.”

“His life matters. I do not want to leave here today, your honor, feeling like I lost my son all over again,” she said.

Prosecutors played surveillance videos in court, showing Lollar’s final moments after Malik stabbed him in the chest with a pocket knife.

“It went into the third rib on the left side, approximately one inch in depth and hit the heart,” Miami Police Department Sgt. Juan Santos testified.

The sights and sounds were so distressing, some fled the courtroom.

Prosecutors had recommended 20 years of prison with 10 years probation.

Meanwhile, Malik’s attorneys said she was remorseful and they wanted her sentenced as a youthful offender to a boot camp program.

Malik apologized in court Tuesday.

“I was wrong for what I did, and every day I sit and think about the damage I caused,” she said. “The family wants me in prison, but I’m in my own prison for the rest of my life. I wish I can’t go back and change what happened, but I can’, and that’s the worst part. Y’all didn’t deserve this pain and I wish I hadn’t been the one to give it to y’all.”

Besides the years of prison and probation, Malik will have to undergo a mental health evaluation and write a letter on every Dec. 20 during her probation term, acknowledging what has occurred and how it has affected their lives.

After the hearing, emotions were running high for loved ones of both Lollar and Malik.

“I hope when she goes today to go to prison and get processed, she’s going to sit there and think about the lives that she destroyed,” said Jean.

“I feel that justice was not served tonight for the defendant, my niece, Jahara Malik,” said Gary Malik, the defendant’s uncle. “She was a youthful offender at the time that this happened, and I feel that the court did not recognize that.”

Malik was remanded immediately after the judge announced her decision.

In front of a live television audience, the league hosted the lottery from NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, where the first 16 picks of next month’s NHL Draft were decided.

The Florida Panthers were a part of the mix on Tuesday after an injury-filled season led to the Panthers finishing with the eighth-worst record in the league.

Holding a 6% chance at landing the first overall selection, the Panthers were not one of the lucky teams to see the ping pong balls fall their way.

This year’s big winner was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who jumped from fifth to first to claim the top pick.

Winning the second draw and moving from up from ninth overall to the second selection was the San Jose Sharks.

With the Sharks moving up from behind the Panthers, that means Florida was bumped back from eighth to ninth overall.

In their history, the Panthers have only picked ninth in the first round of an NHL Draft once. That came in 2002, when Florida made Czech forward Petr Taticek the ninth player selected.

The Taticek pick didn’t work out for either side.

He only played three total NHL games with Florida and eventually finished his career playing overseas.

We’ll see what the Panthers end up doing with their pick this time around. Don’t be surprised to see Florida General Manager Bill Zito explore trading the selection in the weeks to come.

The Panthers are a team in win-now mode, and it would make sense if they considered flipping the pick for a player or players who could immediately contribute to an already stacked roster.

This year’s NHL Draft is set for June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Several players on the Thunder bench immediately looked away at the sight of the finger.

“I mean, it just — it looked pretty gruesome in my opinion,” Thunder guard Jared McCain said. “I don’t even know, to be honest, what I was looking at. It looked pretty bad, though. So prayers for him. Sending him love.”

Vanderbilt had swiped at Holmgren's dunk attempt from behind and hit his finger on the backboard. Holmgren made the dunk to put the Thunder up 48-39 with 5:57 left in the second quarter.

Vanderbilt bent over while holding his hand, then left the game.

“I went to go check on him because it just looked bad," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "He was audibly screaming. Knew he had done something. We’re obviously disappointed. But, that happened, and it’s just a freak injury.”

Vanderbilt’s absence trimmed the Lakers’ nine-man rotation to eight. The reserve only played six minutes and finished with two points.

The Thunder led 61-53 at halftime and eventually won 108-90.

___

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

After a lengthy stalemate, negotiations have reached a point where the NFL Referees Association is planning to have a ratification vote this week, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations are private. ESPN first reported the development.

Last month, the league began the onboarding process for replacement officials because negotiations weren’t progressing.

The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association is set to expire on May 31.

The league and the union have been negotiating a new CBA since the summer of 2024.

“The league remains committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement with the NFLRA but will be prepared in the event the NFLRA permits the current agreement to expire,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell said in a memo sent to teams in April.

The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, but the NFLRA wants 10% plus $2.5 million for marketing fees, two AP sources said in March.

NFLRA executive director Scott Green told the AP “those numbers are not accurate.” At the time, he said negotiations with the league were similar to 2012 when a stalemate resulted in a 110-day lockout and replacement referees were used.

“We’re taking the appropriate steps to be ready, but we’re also keenly focused on negotiations,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on March 31.

___

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

Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Detroit.

The Pistons forced 20 turnovers that led to 31 points in a strong performance against Cleveland's potent backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

“That's what this series presents, but we're up for a challenge," Harris said. "I thought tonight we did a great job of that.”

Mitchell scored 23 points, ending his NBA-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in nine straight series openers.

Harden had 22 points and Max Strus scored 19 for the No. 4-seeded Cavs, who pulled into a tie midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the night and by as much as 18 points.

Harden committed seven turnovers and pointed the blame at himself.

“You look within first,” he said. “Look at my turnovers and a lot of them are just on me and nothing they did.”

Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was limited to two points and three rebounds, coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound performance in an elimination game against Toronto.

Two days after both teams won a Game 7, the Pistons started strong and led 37-31 after a quarter. Detroit took a 59-46 lead into the second half, when the cushion was no longer comfortable.

Cleveland pulled within three points late in the third and Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the quarter and put the Pistons up 83-76.

After the Cavs cut their deficit to three again early in the fourth, the Pistons responded with eight consecutive points to restore a double-digit lead.

Cleveland, though, wouldn’t go away.

Harden, playing the Pistons for the first time since Cleveland acquired him, scored seven straight points to pull the Cavs into a 93-all tie with 5:28 left.

Jalen Duren blocked Harden’s next shot and dunked on Detroit’s next three possessions — each off Cunningham assists.

The Pistons won the Central Division this year by eight games ahead of the defending champion Cavs, splitting four games during the regular season.

Detroit earned 60 victories and the top seed in the East just two years after losing 68 games and setting a single-season NBA record with 28 straight losses.

The Pistons rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against Orlando to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Cleveland outlasted Toronto in seven games to reach the second round for the third straight year, a run that started with Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavs and hired a month later by the Pistons.

___

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

The attack came a day after U.S. forces struck an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people.

The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed at least 191 people in total.

Despite the Iran war, the strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks, showing that the administration’s aggressive measures to stop what it calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere are not letting up. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.

The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the 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.

In the attack Tuesday, U.S. Southern Command once again said it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat cruising along the water before a huge explosion left the vessel in flames.

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.”

Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.

A police report says Dayron Ramirez-Mesa, 21, was driving the Cybertruck shortly after 8 a.m. on Dec. 14.

Investigators say he was speeding in the area of Southwest 56th Street and 122nd Avenue when he ran the red light, hitting two vehicles that had a green light and were making a left turn at the intersection.

Authorities say shortly after the crash, one of the other drivers, Dayana Abreu Perez, died of her injuries.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office released three new angles of the incident, revealing the reckless driving in real time.

A rearview angle shows the Cybertruck zipping past several cars seconds before the crash.

Another shows the aftermath, with parts flying and a tire rolling down the street.

Investigators say data shows that three seconds before the impact, Ramirez-Mesa was going 97 mph, more than double the posted speed limit of 40 mph.

Investigators say all three blood samples collected from Ramirez-Mesa after the crash came back above Florida’s legal limit.

He’s scheduled to appear in court in late May.

Vladimir Sklarov, 63, also known as Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley, set up a sham company, Astor Asset Group, that purported to be a legitimate and experienced loan provider that was connected to the Astors, federal prosecutors said. The storied New York family included John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest men in America in the mid-19th century.

Although the indictment unsealed on Monday does not name the victim, court records in litigation in England show it was Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the Mexican TV, retail and banking magnate. Salinas also confirmed he was ripped off by Astor Asset Group in an interview with The Wall Street Journal last year.

“I feel like an absolute idiot. How could I fall for this?” Salinas Pliego told the newspaper.

Sklarov was arrested in Chicago on Saturday on the indictment by a federal grand jury in New York City, prosecutors said. A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday in federal court in Chicago, according to court records.

A public defender representing Sklarov in Chicago did not immediately return phone and email messages Tuesday.

“As alleged, Vladimir Sklarov represented his company to be affiliated with, and have the financial backing of the famed New York Astor family in order to burnish his brand,” Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “That was a complete lie. Sklarov used false prestige to gain control of hundreds of millions of dollars in stock and then liquidated those shares for his own benefit."

In 2021, Salinas was seeking a $100 million loan that he intended to secure with shares of a company he owned, according to the indictment. Sklarov — using the name Gregory Mitchell and claiming he was “managing director” of Astor — and other, unnamed co-conspirators convinced Salinas that Astor was willing and able to provide the loan, prosecutors said. The other conspirators included a man who also used an alias, Thomas Mellon, whose last name is also that of a prominent and wealthy American family.

Sklarov and other conspirators told Salinas that Astor was originally established from the wealth of John Jacob Astor and that the company had high-profile clients including universities and investment funds, prosecutors said.

Under a deal signed around July 2021, Sklarov agreed to lend Salinas at least $115 million, claiming the money would come from the Astor family, the indictment says. Salinas secured the loan with company shares worth at least $450 million that were supposed to be held but not sold.

Sklarov then sold the company shares, used some of the proceeds to fund the loan to Salinas and kept the remaining hundreds of millions of dollars for himself and other conspirators, federal prosecutors said.

It wasn't until July 2024 that Salinas learned the company shares had been liquidated, the indictment says. A day later, Salinas received a letter from Astor falsely claiming that Salinas had defaulted on the loan, according to the document. A month earlier, Astor wrongly informed Salinas that it had the right to sell the shares, prosecutors said.

Authorities listed Sklarov's hometown as Athens, Greece. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sklarov is a Ukrainian-born American who had been convicted of fraud in the past.

The fine was announced by NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations James Jones on Tuesday night, two days after Brown said in a livestream he hosts that game officials “clearly had an agenda” to call fouls against him for "pushing off" when he drove toward the basket while handling the ball.

“There’s some referees that need to be investigated,” Brown said on the livestream Sunday, a day after the Celtics' 109-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

“Every good basketball player does this. What are y’all talking about? They clearly had an agenda,” Brown said.

Brown was previously fined $35,000 in January after a two-minute postgame rant about the officiating following Boston's loss to San Antonio.

___

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

While the AFCA has no authority within the NCAA or CFP governance structures, FBS coaches are part of the group's board and membership. The AFCA publicly revealed its positions Tuesday, after they were discussed and adopted by board members at an annual meeting last week.

“The American Football Coaches Association has identified the length of the college football season as a critical issue that needs to be addressed,” the group said in a statement. “As we modernize our game to better serve student-athletes, we have fallen short in structuring a season that concludes in a timely and sustainable way.”

As for the size of the playoff field, currently 12 teams and expected to expand, the AFCA didn't publicly endorse a certain number, but said “future playoff models should maximize the number of participants while honoring the proposed completion date.”

Other proposals

Along with eliminating conference title games, the AFCA proposals for finishing on the second Monday in January are to reduce scheduled bye weeks from two to one and reduce the minimum number of days between games to no fewer than six.

The AFCA also calls to preserve a dedicated window for the Army-Navy game, while allowing flexibility for other games, such as playoff games, to be played on that same day outside that window.

“Structuring the season in this way will better support student-athletes by more closely matching the academic calendar and aligning with the single transfer portal window,” the AFCA said. “It also elevates the quality of play during the most meaningful stretch of the season by removing unnecessary breaks and preserving competitive rhythm.”

An NCAA committee last month recommended that Football Bowl Subdivision teams play a 12-game schedule over 14 weeks beginning in 2027. The regular season would start on the Thursday of what is now designated Week Zero and end the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Same playoff format for now

The 12-team playoff format is unchanged for next season. The opening round of games, featuring the fifth through 12th seeds, will be played on campus Dec. 18-19. Traditional bowl sites will host quarterfinal games Dec. 30-Jan. 1, and semifinal games Jan. 14-15. The championship game will be played in Las Vegas on Jan. 25, 2027, which is the fourth Monday of that month.

Conference championship games are set for the first weekend in December, with the Army-Navy game scheduled Dec. 12.

Last season's national championship game was played on Jan. 19, when undefeated Indiana beat Miami 27-21.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

He still could face discipline from the NFL.

“We have been monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tuesday.

Diggs was found not guilty Tuesday of assaulting his personal chef. The charges stemmed from a Dec. 2 incident at his house in Massachusetts where Jamila Adams, a former live-in personal chef, testified that Diggs slapped and choked her during an argument. He had pleaded not guilty to a felony strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before clearing Diggs of all charges.

"The evidence has shown what we’ve maintained from day one: Mr. Diggs was wrongly accused, and this case represents exactly the kind of opportunistic targeting that players can face the moment they step off the field,” Diggs’ attorney, Mitch Schuster, said in a statement.

Diggs spent last season with the New England Patriots, helping them reach the Super Bowl, where they lost to Seattle. He was released in March and remains a unsigned.

That could change in the coming weeks, though league discipline is still a possibility.

Several NFL players, including Ben Roethlisberger, Jameis Winston and Ezekiel Elliott, have been suspended for violating the personal-conduct policy despite not being arrested or charged with a crime.

Roethlisberger, the former Steelers quarterback was suspended six games — it was later reduced to four after an appeal — in 2010 following sexual assault accusations.

Winston was in his fourth season with the Buccaneers when he was suspended three games in 2018 following a sexual assault allegation.

Elliott, a three-time Pro Bowl running back, was in his second season with the Cowboys when he was suspended six games in 2017 following a league investigation into domestic violence allegations. An arbitrator upheld the six games following an appeal.

Diggs led New England with 85 receptions and 1,013 yards receiving with four touchdowns in his only season with the team. He was the go-to option for Drake Maye, who finished runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award.

Diggs, who turns 33 on Nov. 29, has played for three teams in the last three seasons. He began his career in Minnesota in 2015 and went from fifth-round pick to No. 1 receiver in five seasons with the Vikings.

He was traded to Buffalo for a first-round pick in 2020 and had an All-Pro season that year. Diggs spent four seasons with the Bills before he wore out his welcome. He played for the Texans in 2024.

Here are five potential landing spots for Diggs going forward:

Baltimore Ravens

Despite drafting Ja’Kobi Lane in the third round and Elijah Sarratt in the fourth, Baltimore could use another veteran receiver to pair with Zay Flowers and give Lamar Jackson more options.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers acquired Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade to join DK Metcalf and tried to select Makai Lemon in the first round before the Eagles swooped in and took him instead. The Steelers ended up taking wideout Germie Bernard in the second round but Aaron Rodgers, if he returns, prefers veterans and Diggs would be a fit.

Los Angeles Chargers

Fourth-round pick Brenen Thompson joins a group that’s led by Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston and includes Tre’ Harris. Diggs would give Justin Herbert a dependable target.

Los Angeles Rams

After exploring the possibility of a trade for A.J. Brown earlier in the offseason, the Rams could still be in the market for another veteran to add to a formidable unit led by All-Pro Puka Nacua and six-time Pro Bowl pick Davante Adams.

New England Patriots

They’re likely going to acquire Brown from the Eagles after June 1. However, bringing Diggs back if the price is right could be an option. He knows the offense and didn’t hold any grudges after being informed he was going to be released. Diggs posted his appreciation for the organization, saying: “We family forever.”

___

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

The leftist Lula and Trump have had an up-and-down relationship since the U.S. leader’s return to the White House last year.

Trump hit Brazil with steep tariffs and has pressed Brazilian authorities over their prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for his involvement in a coup plot.

The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July on top of a 10% tariff hike earlier. The U.S. president justified the tariffs by saying that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of Bolsonaro constituted an economic emergency.

But Trump later loosened tariffs on Brazil as part of his effort to lower consumer costs for Americans.

Trump and Lula started mending fences at the United Nations’ General Assembly in September, which was followed by their first private meeting in Malaysia in October and subsequent phone conversations.

Bolsonaro was accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 election loss to Lula — similar charges to what Trump faced after a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021 to stop Democrat Joe Biden from taking the White House.

Last month, Lula came to the defense of Pope Leo XIV during a tense exchange of attacks between the pontiff and Trump over the war in Iran.

The 80-year-old Lula is running for reelection in October.

The Brazilian paper O Globo first reported the planned trip by the Brazilian leader.

Se trata de algo sin precedentes al menos desde la fundación de la Segunda República en 1949 y también podría tener implicaciones legales, según los críticos.

Fernández presentó al gabinete que le acompañará en el gobierno por los próximos cuatro años a partir del viernes. Además de la designación de Chaves para dirigir los ministerios de la Presidencia y de Hacienda, muchos de los otros ministros y presidentes ejecutivos de instituciones de su administración se mantendrán en su cargo o simplemente cambiarán de cartera.

Fernández había aceptado regresar al cargo de ministra de la Presidencia en la administración de Chaves, luego de ganar la elección presidencial el 1 de febrero.

El ministro de la Presidencia en Costa Rica tiene entre sus principales funciones la relación entre el Poder Ejecutivo y la Asamblea Legislativa. Además, Chaves también dirigirá la cartera de Hacienda, la cual ocupó durante el gobierno de Carlos Alvarado (2018-2022).

“Bienvenido a mi equipo, Rodrigo Alberto Chaves Robles, estoy segurísima que tal y como lo hemos hecho desde el primer día de su gobierno, vamos a seguir trabajando en equipo muy bien", dijo Fernández a Chaves durante un acto en el teatro Melico Salazar en San José.

Durante su mandato, Chaves enfrentó dos intentos en la Asamblea Legislativa para retirarle su inmunidad legal como presidente: uno en septiembre de 2025 cuando fue acusado por la Fiscalía de presuntas presiones para favorecer a un exasesor con dinero de un contrato con el Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE).

El segundo intento fue en diciembre pasado, cuando fue el Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones el que pidió que se analizara el caso de Chaves, tras recibir acusaciones de presunta “beligerancia política”, que consiste en violar la prohibición que tienen los funcionarios públicos en Costa Rica de referirse a la política electoral o manifestar su apoyo a algún partido político.

Para levantarle la inmunidad, la Asamblea Legislativa necesitaba alcanzar una mayoría calificada con 38 de los 57 diputados, pero al no alcanzarse esa cantidad, las solicitudes no prosperaron.

Con su nombramiento, Chaves mantendrá el fuero legal tras asumir como ministro y no parece probable que pueda enfrentar otro intento de retiro de inmunidad en una Asamblea Legislativa en la que el oficialismo ahora es mayoría con 31 diputados.

El diputado opositor y jefe de fracción del Partido Frente Amplio, José María Villalta, criticó el nombramiento de Chaves como ministro de la Presidencia tras considerar que es una forma de que el hoy mandatario mantenga su inmunidad después de que termine su mandato.

“Pareciera estar más pensado para dar o mantener inmunidad a políticos cuestionados del gobierno saliente que para buscar un mejor funcionamiento de las instituciones”, señaló Villalta.

Otro nombramiento que llamó la atención es el del segundo vicepresidente, Douglas Soto, quien será el próximo embajador de Costa Rica ante el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, un estrecho aliado de la administración Chaves.

Fernández le encomendó seguir estrechando los lazos con Washington en materia de cooperación para el combate del narcotráfico. Costa Rica firmó un acuerdo reciente con Estados Unidos para recibir a deportados de ese país.

The Maple Leafs got some lottery luck a little more than 48 hours after hiring John Chayka as general manager and bringing back franchise legend Mats Sundin to serve as a hockey operations adviser. Chayka and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Keith Pelley got some harsh questions at the introductory news conference, but it was all smiles at Toronto's facility after getting the No. 1 pick.

“I’m extremely happy for the Toronto Maple Leafs fanbase, of course," Sundin said. "Certainly this is really going to help when you’re looking into the future and try to help this team and what we’re looking for the future for the Toronto Maple Leafs, so it’s great to get the first pick.”

Penn State’s Gavin McKenna and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg are rated as the top North American and European prospects by NHL Central Scouting. McKenna has been considered the prospective top choice for quite some time.

“I’ve kept track of him for a number of years now, and the skill level, the creativity, obviously the puck ability and then his shot and release is all pretty special,” Chayka said. “A good package, and it’ll be good to get with the scouts and talk through it all, but I know there’s a lot of passion for a lot of players, including Gavin.”

The most immediate question for the Leafs under new management is the future of captain and best player Auston Matthews after they missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. It's the first time they've won the lottery since taking Matthews with the No. 1 pick in 2016, and the draft is back in Buffalo where they made that selection.

Toronto had the fifth-highest odds of winning it at 8.5%. Vancouver had the highest at 18.5%, has never had the first pick and dropped to third. Chayka called moving up a fortuitous bounce.

“Long road ahead, of course: Lots of work to do still, but when you get a first overall pick, it’s a monumental type of opportunity,” Chayka said. “You don’t know what’s going to occur in these types of situations, but you do know you need some luck and it happened. I don’t think it changes the vision or the strategy, but certainly when these things happen it can change course and timelines, etc. But it’s not something that we’re going to change how we think about things.”

The Leafs get to keep the pick this year but lose their first-rounder in 2027 and '28 to Philadelphia and Boston. There is some uncertainty as to which order for the Flyers and Bruins, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly called it a complicated situation that would need to be worked out.

The San Jose Sharks won the lottery for the second pick. With yet another top-five pick, GM Mike Grier and his staff can augment a young group already led by Macklin Celebrini and including Will Smith and Michael Misa.

“There’s lots of options there,” Grier said. “There’s centers, there’s ‘D,’ there’s wingers, so to have the opportunity to add another very talented player to our young core is very exciting.”

Chicago has the No. 4 pick and the New York Rangers No. 5.

“We're going to get a great player,” Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said. “It's all about accumulating talent.”

This was the second live draft conducted at the NHL Network studio, after the draw in previous years was conducted in a conference room and those inside were sequestered until the results aired on television. Commissioner Gary Bettman credited president of content and events Steve Mayer for the change.

“He goes, ‘This is an exciting moment,’ when we would do it in the room before Bill would do the reveal,” Bettman said. "He said, ‘Let’s do it live.’ And I gave him 10 reasons that we should be concerned, including, what if the machine breaks. And he said, ‘No, no we’re going to be fine.’ He’s the one who figured out how to make it an interesting and compelling show.”

After the first three numbers were drawn, the Canucks had a 27.3% chance of winning and the Rangers 18.2%, while the Leafs were among six teams with 9.1%. When the No. 12 ball popped out, completing the 7-2-11-12 sequence, Toronto won, changing the entire mood around the Original Six organization that has not hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1967.

“Just really excited for the organization, for the fan base," Chayka said. "I think it's a meaningful step and just elated.”

___

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Chinese officials to use Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to China to urge Tehran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Araghchi on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said during a White House briefing Tuesday. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

The secretary went on to argue that China has been hit harder than the U.S. by Iran’s effective shuttering of the strait during the two-month old war. Beijing's export-driven economy depends on shipments going through the strait. China also imports about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

“It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” Rubio said.

A diplomat familiar with the matter also told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the U.S. has been engaging in serious efforts to persuade China to abstain from vetoing the most recent U.S.-backed resolution at the U.N. Security Council aimed at opening up the strait and condemning Iran’s actions. The diplomat spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations.

China and Russia — Tehran’s two allies on the council — last month vetoed an earlier Hormuz resolution, saying it went too far and did not condemn the U.S. and Israel for strikes that started the war.

Trump's Treasury secretary has also urged China to do more

Rubio's push on China to get more involved came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that Iran would be high on the agenda when Trump meets with Xi for the first visit by a U.S. president to China since Trump visited in 2017.

The effective shuttering of the strait is having an enormous impact on Asia broadly, a factor that seems to have informed the Chinese government’s efforts to consult with Pakistan to help mediate a two-week ceasefire.

To be certain, Trump has said he believes China played a part in encouraging Iran to agree to a fragile ceasefire that was forged last month. Three diplomats who were familiar with China’s behind-the-scenes efforts also confirmed that Beijing, the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil, used its leverage to get the Iranians back to the negotiating table as talks wobbled.

But the Republican administration believes China can still do more to get involved in reopening the critical waterway.

“The threat of attacks from Iran has closed the strait — we are reopening it,” Bessent said in a Fox News interview. “So I would urge the Chinese to join us in supporting this international operation.”

Trump himself spoke in more measured tones about China’s involvement with Iran, telling reporters in the Oval Office earlier Tuesday that China hasn’t “challenged” him even as he continues to press Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program and open the strait. China, however, has been critical of the U.S. military action against its long-isolated economic partner in the Middle East.

“You know, in all fairness, he gets, like, 60% of his oil from Hormuz,” said Trump, slightly exaggerating Xi and China's dependence on Middle East oil.

China has faced suspicions of assisting Tehran

China has long supported Iran’s ballistic missile program and backed it with dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the U.S. government.

But Trump said last month that Xi had agreed to not provide weapons to Iran as reports circulated that Beijing had considered transferring arms.

Days after Trump said he received a letter of assurance from Xi, he claimed in an interview with CNBC that the U.S. forces had intercepted a boat containing a “gift” from China bound for Iran. Trump did not offer further details.

The administration has also sought to step up economic pressure on China, Tehran's biggest trade partner, for its ties to the Islamic Republic.

The Treasury Department announced on April 24 it was levying sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The sanctions cut off the companies from the U.S. financial system and penalize anyone who does business with them.

Rubio says Taiwan will be on Trump-Xi agenda

Meanwhile, the Chinese have signaled they will look to press the U.S. to dial back weapons sales to the self-ruled island of Taiwan that China views as its own breakaway province.

Rubio confirmed Taiwan would likely be part of the conversation between the leaders. “I think both countries understand that it is neither one of our interests to see anything destabilizing happen in that part of the world,” Rubio said. “We don’t need any destabilizing events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific. And I think that’s to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese.”

Trump in December announced a record-setting $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan. Trump later suggested he would discuss the arms sales with Xi — a move that has alarmed officials in Taipei.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a call with Rubio urged the United States to “make the right choices” on Taiwan in order to safeguard “stability” between the two nations, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

___

Amiri reported from New York.

The draft Security Council resolution, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable” United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait for the delivery of vital aid, fertilizer and other goods.

It is the latest diplomatic effort by the U.S. and its Gulf allies after a watered-down resolution aimed at opening the strait was vetoed by China and Russia hours before Washington and Tehran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement on Tuesday accused Iran of continuing “to hold the world’s economy hostage” by trying to close the strait, threatening to attack ships, laying sea mines, and attempting to charge tolls “for the world’s most important waterway.”

While Rubio said he looks forward to the resolution being voted on in the coming days, he told journalists later in the day that he remained uncertain if “slight adjustments” the U.S. made to the text would be enough to avoid a veto from Tehran’s allies on the council. These adjustments included removing language authorizing the use of force and focusing instead on the threat of sanctions.

Whether the resolution succeeds will be “a real test” for the U.N. “as something that functions, that can solve global problems,” Rubio added at the White House briefing.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz told reporters Monday he believes the new, narrow proposal will gain the necessary support it needs to pass the 15-member council, without triggering opposition or a veto from Iran’s allies.

The U.S. and Gulf nations proposed the new draft as the Trump administration tries to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, which carried about 20% of the world’s crude oil before the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28. A shaky ceasefire remains in effect.

The proposed resolution, which was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter and thus could be enforced militarily, threatens “effective measures that are commensurate with the gravity of the situation, including sanctions” if Iran doesn’t comply. The earlier resolution removed a Chapter 7 reference but was still vetoed.

One Security Council diplomat told AP that as in previous negotiations on Hormuz resolutions, specific language directly condemning Iran, without also reflecting U.S. and Israeli strikes, has been an issue with some members. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

The new draft resolution reaffirms the right of all countries to defend their vessels from attacks and provocations, and orders all other countries not to assist Iran in closing the strait or levying tolls.

The draft also “welcomes ongoing efforts to deconflict and coordinate safe and secure transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, expresses support for ongoing efforts to seek a durable peace in the region, and encourages member states in the region to strengthen dialogue and consultations in this regard.”

The diplomat also said that the U.S. has been engaging in serious efforts to convince China to abstain from vetoing the resolution, including at the highest diplomatic levels as both countries prepare for President Donald Trump’s visit next week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Leer en español

“Road Closed” signs blocked the entrance way to the corporate office building that was the airline’s headquarters since April 2024 at 1731 Radiant Drive.

Marco A. Salvino, Sr., the vice mayor of Dania Beach, said Spirit Airlines contributed about $1.2 million in property taxes and utilities to Dania Beach.

“It’s a great loss to our city,” Salvino said.

Dania Pointe, a neighboring shopping mall, benefited from having the ultra-low-cost airline’s headquarters about a 5-minute walk away. Salvino hopes a new owner will step up soon.

“It will affect the restaurants,” Salvino said.

Spirit Airlines previous headquarters were at 2800 Executive Way, in the Miramar Park of Commerce.

With more than $2.5 billion in losses since 2020, the bankruptcy filings followed in 2024 and 2025, and the shutdown was on Saturday after a last-minute $500 million government bailout failed.

“We have 18,000 people that live in this country that are great people and great employees,” President Donald Trump said about Spirit Airlines employees nationwide on April 23 at the White House.

Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized former President Joe Biden’s administration for blocking the $3.8 billion sale of Spirit Airlines to JetBlue in 2024.

Spirit Airlines filed the layoff notices on Monday with the FloridaCommerce, the state’s lead agency for workforce. There were more than 3,260 layoffs in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Records show the notice included 2,529 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and 181 at Miami International Airport.

The others were 796 at the Orlando International Airport, and 796 at the MCO Infight & Operations Center in Orlando.

Related document: Notice of layoff (May 2-13)

Helpful link: Spirit Airlines launches restructuring page

Related stories

• Spirit Airlines reports over 4,850 job cuts in Florida
• While still wearing Spirit Airlines uniforms, job seekers start asking for help
• Jobless former Spirit Airlines employees march in Dania Beach
• Spirit Airlines asks guests not to go to the airport, or expect rebookings

Upcoming job fairs

The Hospitality Industry Job Fair is from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday at the CareerSource Broward at 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard. Admission and parking are free.

Miramar is hosting a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 20 at the Miramar Cultural Center, at 2400 Civic Center Place. Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit the Evenbrite page.

The Port Everglades Career Fair & Expo is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 27 at the Broward County Convention Center at 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Admission and parking are free. Here is a list of the participating companies >

Resources

• Department of Labor: Rapid response services includes guidance on COBRA continuation coverage
• American Airlines launches “Supporting Spirit” career page
• United Airlines launches program to prioritize former Spirit Airlines employees when hiring. Here is the career page >
• Southwest Airlines was recruiting on this page.
• JetBlue’s jobs page
• JetBlue announced an extension of the “jumpseat agreement for the next two weeks, subject to space availability and limited to cabin seating” for those who were stranded while working for Spirit Airlines, and also announced “preferential employment interviews.”
• Delta releases statement of help
• For more information about help from the Association of Flight Attendants, call 1-800-385-3920
• CareerSource Broward offers services such as job placement and career coaching at three centers at 4941 Coconut Creek Parkway, 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard, and 7550 Davie Road Extension in Hollywood.
• Employ Miami-Dade has services for job seekers.
• CareerOneStop has a database for job centers
• To file an unemployment benefits claim in Florida, call 1-800-204-2418 or visit this page.
• Find your local food bank, on this Feeding America page

The New York Times called the lawsuit politically motivated and said it would defend itself “vigorously.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of a New York Times editor who lodged a complaint after he didn't get the role of deputy real estate editor in 2025, alleging gender and racial discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin or religion.

The EEOC claimed the news organization's publicly stated goals of increasing the number of women and people of color in its leadership ranks influenced the decision to exclude the white male applicant for a final round of interviews, while advancing three women and a Black man.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican, has been a staunch champion of the Trump administration's campaign against corporate diversity policies that she argues veer into discrimination against white men and others. In December, Lucas posted a social media call urging white men to come forward with complaints if they believe they have faced discrimination because of their employer's diversity policies.

“No one is above the law — including ‘elite’ institutions. There is no such thing as ‘reverse discrimination;’ all race or sex discrimination is equally unlawful, according to long-established civil rights principles," Lucas said in a statement. "No matter the size or power of the employer, the EEOC under my leadership will not pull punches in ensuring evenhanded, colorblind enforcement of Title VII to protect America’s workers, including white males.”

The New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said the EEOC “deviated from standard practices in highly unusual ways. The allegation centers on a single personnel decision for one of over 100 deputy positions across the newsroom, yet the EEOC’s filing makes sweeping claims that ignore the facts to fit a predetermined narrative.”

“Neither race nor gender played a role in this decision – we hired the most qualified candidate, and she is an excellent editor,” Rhoades Ha added.

In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, the EEOC complaint said the complainant, who was not identified, has worked as an editor for the New York Times since 2014, mostly as a senior staff editor on the international desk with previous experience working on real estate stories.

The lawsuit claims that the woman ultimately appointed deputy real estate editor “did not have experience with real estate journalism" but “as a multiracial female, this candidate matched the race and/or sex characteristics NYT sought to increase in its leadership.” The EEOC said one final panel interviewer described her as “a bit green overall."

The EEOC's lawsuit extensively cited The New York Times diversity and inclusion policies as evidence for its alleged discriminatory policies.

In particularly, the lawsuit cites the organizations “Call to Action” plan published in February 2021 in which it set a goal of increasing the number of Black and Latino employees in leadership by 50% by 2025. The EEOC said the New York Times met that goal in 2022 but continued its commitment to diversity policies. According to reports cited in the lawsuit, white employees composed 68% of its leadership in 2024, compared to 29% people of color.

Lucas has been particularly critical of representation goals that many companies have publicly announced, particularly in the wake of of the 2020 racial protests following the police killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd.

In almost all cases, it is illegal under Title VII for employers to take race or gender into account when making hiring, promotion and other decisions. Lucas has taken aim at practices she claims pressure hiring managers to do just that, from certain forms of anti-bias training to ensuring a diverse slate of candidates for roles. Critics say the EEOC is attacking long held practices designed to level the playing field for workers who have traditionally faced discrimination in U.S. workplaces.

In February, the EEOC revealed that it was investigating sportswear giant Nike for racial discrimination against white employees. Unlike the New York Times lawsuit, the Nike investigation stemmed not from a worker complaint but by Lucas herself, who filed what is known as “commissioner's charge” to investigate an array of diversity policies at the sneaker company.

The creators of Sybil, an AI tool for risk assessment, aim to change the way physicians assess lung cancer risk to better treat their patients.

Doctors at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute have been working with MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health on perfecting the tool.

Dr. Lecia V. Sequist, an oncologist at MGH, said Sybyl analyzes a patient’s low-dose computed tomography scans to make predictions.

“What Sybyl is doing is something that the radiologists can’t do, which is trying and predict what’s going to happen a year from now, two years from now,” Sequist said.

Sequist envisions the tool will help physicians to be more effective with even more personalized treatments and preventive medicine.

According to the Marlins, the club designated veteran right-hander Chris Paddack for assignment Tuesday afternoon ahead of a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at loanDepot park.

In a corresponding roster move, the team recalled right-handed pitcher William Kempner, who will wear No. 71, from Triple-A Jacksonville to add depth to the bullpen.

The move comes two days after Paddack surrendered six runs in a rocky first inning, including a three-run homer by Bryson Stott of the Philadelphia Phillies.

After Sunday’s game, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough told reporters that, barring something unforeseen, Paddack would make his next scheduled start, which was set for Friday in the series opener against the Washington Nationals at loanDepot park.

Drafted in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Marlins, Paddack signed a one-year, $4 million deal in February that included up to $500,000 in performance bonuses.

His tenure in Miami, unfortunately, was one to forget.

The 30-year-old went 0–5 with a 7.63 ERA, the worst among Marlins starters. He logged 30 2/3 innings, allowing 41 hits, 26 earned runs, six home runs and 10 walks over 585 pitches.

Miami fell to 0-6 in Paddack’s first six starts this season, marking just the fourth time in franchise history a newcomer has done so, according to MLB.com Marlins beat writer Christina De Nicola.

McCullough addressed reporters from the Marlins’ dugout before the game and said the decision to release Paddack was performance-based.

He credited Paddack with being a professional and buying into the team’s initiatives during spring training, ultimately saying the club has better starting options.

As of Tuesday evening, the Marlins haven’t announced a starter for Friday.

Two names to watch are left-handers Braxton Garrett and Robby Snelling, Miami’s No. 2-ranked prospect.

Garrett, 28, who is currently with Triple-A Jacksonville, is working his way back after missing the entire 2025 season following revision surgery with an internal brace on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow.

Snelling, 22, has dominated Triple-A, posting a 1.86 ERA in six games this season for the Jumbo Shrimp.

Wednesday will feature sunshine, few clouds and gentle east winds. Temperatures will make a run for 90°F, factor in the humidity and it could feel like the mid-90s.

That’s the idea behind a growing South Florida community featured this week on “Mom to Mom,” where one woman is trying to change that by turning a simple group chat into a large network of moms and family-focused events.

The group, known as “The Mom Club,” began as a WhatsApp chat started by founder Sharon Feiereisen after she moved back to the U.S. following 10 years abroad.

“I came here knowing no one,” Feiereisen said. “I opened a WhatsApp chat.”

Two years later, that chat has grown to nearly 2,000 moms, she said, evolving into a community that now organizes weekly events across South Florida — from workouts and expert-led talks to kid-friendly activities and social meetups.

On a recent sunny day in Miami Beach, the group hosted a padel event designed for moms and children to connect in a relaxed setting.

“We want to keep everyone hydrated and fed,” Feiereisen said. “Mom Club is not about having to read nutrition labels. Everything we have is not full of junk.”

The events are structured to remove pressure, she said, with space for both moms who want to participate in activities and those who simply want to relax while their kids play.

“If the kids are playing by themselves, they can come here and relax,” she said. “Some moms don’t want to play and some moms do, so it just depends.”

Feiereisen said the goal is simple: create opportunities for connection during a stage of life that can often feel isolating.

“It’s really nice to get moms and kids together in a relaxed environment and do something new,” she said.

For Feiereisen, the idea was born in part from her own experience with isolation during motherhood, even after years of fertility struggles and eventually having two children.

“You have no personal space,” she said. “It’s weird that that’s what makes you lonely, but you feel like you can’t take care of yourself — so how can you nourish relationships with other people?”

She said including children in the events helps break that barrier.

“Just bring them,” she said. “We all understand kids are going to scream.”

Still, she said she continues organizing the events because of the connections they create.

“There are so many days where I’m like, why am I doing this?” she said. “But there are so many more days where I’m like, thank God.”

Feiereisen said she is often surprised by how quickly strangers become friends.

“I don’t even know what we’re like-minded about,” she said. “But we meet and we instantly connect.”

The Mom Club hosts regular events and posts updates through its WhatsApp community and Instagram page. Moms interested in joining can scan a QR code featured on Mom to Mom.

Information is also available through the group’s Instagram, as well as its website and WhatsApp chat link. Anyone looking to can also get notified of upcoming events by clicking here.

Leer en español

According to Hollywood Fire Rescue officials, the fire was reported at 3:36 a.m. at a home in the 6700 block of Harding Street.

Firefighters said the home was vacant at the time and no injuries were reported.

Local 10 News obtained 911 calls as flames tore through the home.

Steven Llerena, who lives next door, told Local 10 News that he and his family did whatever they could to stop the flames from reaching their home.

“It was crazy because I walked outside and the fire wasn’t that big yet, but something exploded and it started getting bigger and bigger, and then me and my dad were trying to wet the whole backyard, everything, to make sure that our house didn’t catch fire,” he said.

“(It) starting sparking everywhere, and we didn’t know what to do at that point, so we just had to get out,” he added.

His mother, Daire Llerena, got emotional once everything was settled and they were alright on the other side.

“Everything is (in the) past now and I suppose I feel better because I see my house and it’s safe – it’s amazing, it’s a miracle, because I watched the fire come over” she said.

The decision is certain to be opposed by health groups and parent organizations that have long pointed to flavors as the driver behind underage vaping in the U.S. But the federal action comes as teen vaping rates have dropped to a 10-year low and manufacturers have pushed the Republican administration to loosen restrictions on their products.

Vaping companies have long made the case that their products can help blunt the toll of smoking among adults, which is blamed for 480,000 U.S. deaths annually due to cancer, lung disease and heart disease. The battery-powered devices have been sold in the U.S. since 2007, but their potential benefits have been overshadowed for years by uptake among middle and high school students.

The newly authorized e-cigarettes come in mango, blueberry and two varieties of menthol. Los Angeles-based vaping company Glas Inc. plans to market the flavors under the names Gold, Sapphire, Classic Menthol and Fresh Menthol, according to the FDA release.

Previously the FDA had only granted permission to tobacco or menthol-flavored vaping products. Most e-cigarettes OK'd by regulators come from large manufacturers, including Juul and Altria.

Tuesday's announcement is not an approval or endorsement, and the FDA reiterated that the Glas vapes are only intended for adults interested in quitting or cutting back on cigarettes.

The FDA suggested the company's digital age-verification system makes it unlikely the products will be picked up by underage users. Users must first verify their age with a government ID on their cellphone. The e-cigarettes can then only be used when connected via Bluetooth to the phone of the verified user.

The FDA’s OK of the new fruity products will be “a key test case,” said Kathy Crosby of the Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco nonprofit.

“Ultimately, it’s critical that we remain vigilant in protecting young people, including closely monitoring the use of authorized products,” Crosby said in an emailed statement.

As a presidential candidate, Trump vowed to “save” vaping and won backing from e-cigarette companies, shop owners and vaping enthusiasts.

Under President Joe Biden, the FDA denied more than a million marketing applications for candy- or fruit-flavored products, part of a wider crackdown that is credited with helping drive down teen vaping after a surge in 2019. During his first administration, Trump put in place the first flavor restrictions on e-cigarettes and raised the age for purchasing all tobacco products from 18 to 21.

But action on vaping and other tobacco policies has largely taken a backseat under FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who has focused on a slate of other priorities, including restricting COVID-19 vaccines, phasing out artificial food dyes and speeding up approval of some innovative drugs.

Groups such as the Vapor Technology Association have met with administration officials in recent weeks calling for more action on flavors.

In March, the FDA released its first-ever guidance to industry on flavors, stating that menthol, coffee, mint and spice flavors could have a role in appealing to adult smokers. The same document also reiterated the risks of sweeter flavors that tend to appeal to teens, such as fruit, candy and dessert flavors.

The vast majority of U.S. teens who vape continue to use unauthorized fruit- and candy-flavored products, according to the latest government data. Those products are technically illegal but remain widely available in cheap, disposable brands typically imported from China.

___

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.

Leer en español

Jail records show Nazia Badal, 44, of Arlington, Texas, was taken into custody around 9:20 p.m. on Thursday by U.S. Marshals and the Miramar Police Department.

Authorities said she had an active Broward County warrant on two counts of DUI manslaughter and is being held without bond.

The charges stem from a June 16, 2013, crash near the 2300 block of Red Road in Miramar that killed a man identified by loved ones as Jose Francisco Zamora.

An arrest report states that Badal, who worked as a waitress at Tootsie’s Cabaret at the time of the crash, was driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% — nearly twice the legal limit — and about 15 mph over the speed limit at the time of the crash, which occurred near the intersection of Red Road and Renaissance Boulevard.

“At the time of the crash, the defendant had an unlawful blood alcohol concentration that impaired her normal faculties and ability to safely operate a motor vehicle,” an officer wrote in her 2013 arrest report.

Investigators said the crash resulted in “multiple blunt force injuries” to Zamora, causing his death.

The report states that a witness told police that Badal had been driving erratically before slamming into Zamora’s vehicle in what was described as an “explosion.”

The witness said Badal’s vehicle came to a stop with severe damage, while Zamora’s car was reduced to “mangled metal,” leaving him trapped inside, according to the report.

Investigators said Badal had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage,” which became more pronounced when she spoke, and that her eyes appeared “glassy and red.”

According to the report, when authorities told Badal a criminal investigation was underway, she responded, “for what, nobody died,” and “who’s going to pay for my car?”

Police also wrote that Badal “seemed to be oblivious to the seriousness of the crash and showed absolutely no concern for the other driver, only for her vehicle.”

A toxicology report revealed that Zamora had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.

The victim’s niece told Local 10 News that the case had largely gone unpublicized since the fatal crash. A sign placed at the location where Zamora was killed memorializes his life.

The pain is still fresh for Nancy Olivera, Zamora’s other niece, who told Local 10 he was like a father to her.

“He was always thinking about everybody else — always happiness,” she said. “He walked me down the aisle. He was everything to us, so we still miss him a lot. It’s like it was yesterday.”

Family members told Local 10 that Zamora had just dropped off his sister when he was fatally struck.

Jail records show Badal was initially arrested in 2014 and later released on bond. Authorities said she failed to appear in court in 2017 and was later found in the United Kingdom, leading to an outstanding warrant for her arrest.

Records show Badal, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, has been placed on an immigration hold and is being held without bond at the Paul Rein Detention Facility.

Badal appeared in court Tuesday wearing a light blue jail jumpsuit and shackles — an image Zamora’s family said they never expected to see. They now say they are looking forward to facing her in court.

“I want her to know how much he was loved, how much he was missed, the damage that she has done, because he was just a blessing,” said Olivera.

The family will have that opportunity soon. Badal’s hearing was postponed to the end of the month. She remains charged with DUI manslaughter.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, subpoenaed the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, the agency that oversees legislative employees’ workplace protections.

CNN reported on Tuesday that the newly released records showed taxpayers have paid more than $300,000 in confidential sexual harassment settlements on behalf of six former members of the House of Representatives or their offices.

The investigation comes after Reps. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, and Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives on April 14 over alleged sexual misconduct.

Mace, who identifies as a survivor of sexual assault, also pushed for the full, unredacted release of all files related to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Related social media post

The results of my subpoena of Congress’s sexual harassment slush fund are in.

Nine members. One thousand pages.

All records prior to 2004 were destroyed - which tells you everything you need to know about how long this has been buried.

We are reviewing every page. We will name… pic.twitter.com/S4QizDJuFt

— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) May 4, 2026

Según funcionarios de Hollywood Fire Rescue, el incendio fue reportado a las 3:36 a.m. en una casa en la cuadra 6700 de Harding Street.

Los bomberos dijeron que la vivienda estaba vacía en ese momento y no se reportaron heridos.

Steven Llerena, quien vive al lado, dijo a Local 10 News que él y su familia hicieron todo lo posible para evitar que las llamas alcanzaran su casa.

“Fue una locura porque salí y el fuego aún no era tan grande, pero algo explotó y comenzó a crecer y crecer, y luego mi papá y yo estábamos tratando de mojar todo el patio trasero, todo, para asegurarnos de que nuestra casa no se incendiara”, dijo.

Su madre, Daire Llerena, se mostró emocionada una vez que todo se calmó y estaban a salvo.

“Todo ya pasó y supongo que me siento mejor porque veo mi casa y está segura, es increíble, es un milagro”, dijo.

La policía detuvo a Michael Alvarez, maestro en First United Methodist Christian School, ubicada en 622 N. Krome Ave., por un cargo de agresión el lunes.

Los investigadores dijeron que Alvarez, de 34 años, llevó al menor al pasillo y le colocó cinta de pintor sobre los labios después de que se riera en clase durante una lectura de la Biblia.

Los padres del menor dijeron que el joven de 13 años nunca le dio permiso a Alvarez para ponerle cinta en la boca.

Hasta la tarde del martes, aún no había pagado fianza para salir del Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

John Andrew Spillman está acusado de exposición indecente.

Según un informe de arresto, agentes de MDSO respondieron al hotel DoubleTree, ubicado en 711 NW 72nd Ave., poco después de la medianoche en referencia a un hombre desnudo en el pasillo de uno de los pisos del hotel.

Cuando los agentes llegaron al pasillo, vieron a Spillman masturbándose, dijeron las autoridades.

Según el informe, Spillman fue detenido antes de que la víctima saliera de su habitación y le dijera a los agentes que ella estaba abajo en el lobby del hotel antes de que Spillman la siguiera.

Ella dijo que entró de inmediato a su habitación cuando llegó a su piso y luego vio a Spillman masturbándose junto a su habitación.

Un portavoz del Servicio Secreto de Estados Unidos confirmó a Local 10 News que Spillman es un agente del Servicio Secreto con base en Washington, D.C., pero que estaba trabajando en Miami al momento de su arresto “como parte de un operativo que brindaba seguridad exterior para un evento”.

Su asignación había concluido el día anterior y estaba fuera de servicio al momento de su arresto, dijeron las autoridades.

Según el portavoz, después de su arresto, Spillman fue puesto de inmediato en licencia administrativa, en espera del resultado del caso penal y de una revisión interna.

El jefe de policía del Servicio Secreto, Richard MacAuley, emitió un comunicado a Local 10 News que decía:

“Estamos al tanto del arresto de un agente del Servicio Secreto fuera de servicio por parte de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade. La conducta alegada es inaceptable y contrasta marcadamente con el profesionalismo e integridad que exijo de nuestro personal. Esta agencia toma estos asuntos con la mayor seriedad; en consecuencia, el individuo ha sido puesto en licencia administrativa en espera de los resultados de este asunto penal y de una investigación interna completa y exhaustiva.”

The first team to win three straight postseason games by at least 25 points is looking more and more like the one that could make New York’s first NBA Finals appearance in the 2000s.

With laughably lopsided scoring margins that resemble UConn women’s basketball more than the NBA, the Knicks have gone from trailing in the first round to a quick lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in the East semifinals, with Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

“We're playing well at the right time, but I think we have room to grow,” coach Mike Brown said.

Hard to imagine, because his team is at a level never seen before in the postseason.

A 126-97 victory over Atlanta in Game 5, when the Knicks led by 32, was followed by a 140-89 romp in the clincher, when New York built a 61-point bulge. Pouncing on a Philadelphia team that barely had time to catch its breath after needing seven games in the first round, the Knicks went up by 40 on Monday in a 138-97 victory.

Counting their victory in Game 4 against the Hawks to even that series, the Knicks have won four in a row by 135 points.

Jalen Brunson is averaging 27.6 points, third among all players in the postseason. Karl-Anthony Towns is playing perhaps the best all-around basketball of his career, with his first two playoff triple-doubles as the Knicks rely on their All-Star center to initiate some of their offense with his passing. He's providing 6.0 assists per game along with his 10.6 rebounds.

Forward OG Anunoby, always known as a defender first, is shooting beyond Stephen Curry levels from the outside, making 59% of his 3-pointers and 63.8% of his shots overall. The bench is playing so well that Josh Hart, who last season was second in the NBA in minutes per game and always wants to be on the floor, said he's fine now raising his hand for a break if he's tired.

Defensively, their physicality so rattled the 76ers that Brown said of the 16 50-50 balls in the game, the Knicks came up with 14 of them.

“We were sitting here watching it like man, we can’t believe what we’re actually watching here,” former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said of the defense during NBC's studio coverage of the game.

The Detroit Pistons had the East's best record in the regular season. The Cleveland Cavaliers had become the betting favorites after acquiring James Harden, then the odds shifted to the Celtics after Jayson Tatum's strong return helped them earn the No. 2 seed.

But the Celtics are gone, and the Pistons and Cavaliers had to slog through seven-game struggles to reach their second-round matchup. Now it's the Knicks who are listed as solid favorites to emerge from the East and behind only defending champion Oklahoma City and San Antonio to win the title.

The Knicks haven't reached the NBA Finals since 1999 and haven't won the championship since 1973. They didn't care what outsiders thought of their chances before the season and that hasn't changed now.

“Boston was the favorite last series, and they came back 3-1,” Hart said, referring to the 76ers' comeback. “So being the favorite means literally nothing. Every game you have to come in with a focus and attention to detail. And if you don’t do that, you can lose to anybody in this league. If you do that, you know, we feel like we can beat anybody.”

The Knicks have been building toward this, reaching the East semifinals for four straight years and advancing to the conference finals last year for the first time since 2000. They surprisingly fired Tom Thibodeau after that and hired Brown, who downplayed the idea of a mandate to go further but is certainly aware that was the expectation.

New York went 53-29 but had puzzling patterns of lackluster play, such as a 2-9 stretch not long after winning the NBA Cup in December, and the back-to-back losses to the Hawks.

“That’s why you play a season. That’s why you go through the ups and downs of the season. That’s why you go through adversity,” Brunson said. “You find things to make you the best team as possible by the end of the year, and you continue to work. And even when you’re at this point, you continue to find ways to get better and improve.”

It appears in the last week the Knicks have done that.

“You hope that at this time we’re the best version of ourselves,” Towns said.

Maybe even the best in the East.

___

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

Leer en español

John Andrew Spillman, 33, of Marble Falls, Texas, is accused of indecent exposure.

According to an arrest report, MDSO deputies responded to the DoubleTree hotel, located at 711 NW 72nd Ave., just after midnight in reference to a naked man in the hallway on one of the floors of the hotel.

When deputies arrived in the hallway, they saw Spillman masturbating, authorities said.

According to the report, Spillman was taken into custody before the victim exited her room and told deputies that she was downstairs in the hotel lobby before Spillman followed her upstairs.

She said she immediately entered her room when she got to her floor and then saw Spillman masturbating next to her room.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service confirmed to Local 10 News that Spillman is a Secret Service officer based in Washington, D.C., but he was working in Miami at the time of his arrest “as part of a detail that provided exterior security screening for an event.”

His assignment had concluded the day prior and he was off-duty at the time of his arrest, officials said.

According to the spokesperson, after his arrest, Spillman was immediately placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the criminal case and an internal review.

Secret Service Chief of Police Richard MacAuley released a statement to Local 10 News which read:

“We are aware of the arrest of an off-duty Secret Service officer by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. The alleged conduct is unacceptable and stands in stark contrast to the professionalism and integrity that I demand of our personnel. This agency takes these matters with the utmost seriousness; consequently, the individual has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of this criminal matter and a complete and thorough internal investigation.”

Leer en español

Police took Michael Alvarez, a teacher at First United Methodist Christian School, located at 622 N. Krome Ave., into custody on a battery charge on Monday.

Investigators said Alvarez, 34, took the boy into the hallway and put painter’s tape over his lips after he laughed in class during a Bible reading.

The boy’s parents said the 13-year-old never gave Alvarez permission to put tape over his mouth.

He bonded out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Tuesday afternoon.

The main reason drivers are paying more at the pump is because of the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war. The price of crude oil, which is the main ingredient in gasoline, has been climbing for most of the past two months because the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil normally passes, has effectively been shut, and oil tankers have been stranded there unable to deliver crude.

Many drivers were hopeful in mid-April, amid signs that the conflict could be winding down, and gasoline prices fell daily for almost two weeks.

“After the announcement of the initial ceasefire, there was kind of optimism that this really could be the beginning of the end of the conflict,” said Rob Smith, director of global fuel retail at S&P Global Energy. “And so crude prices came down correspondingly, gasoline spot prices followed, and so on and ... the retailers lowered prices as well.”

But as the war continued, gasoline prices reversed course and began increasing again.

“There’s a fundamental shortfall that will exist globally or fundamental struggle to meet that demand that will drive up price,” Smith said. “No matter what a government says or what any market person thinks, there is a true kind of upward pressure that’s being exerted on prices every day the Strait of Hormuz is constrained. And it is still severely constrained.”

Who sets gasoline prices

Gas station owners set prices at the pump, but a lot of factors go into what they decide to charge.

The main ingredient in gasoline cost is the price of a barrel of crude oil. In the U.S., oil prices represented about 51% of the price of a gallon of gasoline in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration.

That means when crude oil prices rise, gasoline prices generally follow. Less oil on the market means higher prices for oil and gasoline. And the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered the largest supply disruption in the history of oil markets, according to the The International Energy Agency, pushing oil prices as high as $112 a barrel in early April.

Bob Kleinberg, adjunct senior research scholar at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy, compared the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. with the price for a barrel of WTI, the U.S. benchmark oil, over the past few weeks, and said their price changes generally matched up.

“Not much of a mystery here,” Kleinberg said. “It's not exactly proportional but the shape of the curves follows the same pattern, and really with very little delay.”

Federal and state taxes contributed about 17% of the oil price, refining costs and profits contributed 14% and distribution and marketing contributed 17%, the EIA said. In some states, such as California, higher taxes and refining costs push the price of gasoline well above the national average.

What caused renewed march in gasoline prices

One event that could have changed the trajectory of gasoline prices occurred in April, when the U.S. blocked Iranian ports to stop the country from exporting oil.

“Iran had been moving an unusually high amount of oil to global markets, so that was helping moderate prices," said Jim Krane, energy research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. "The Trump administration decides they’re going to punish Iran, and try to put more pressure on Iran by blocking their exports, so of course that does put pressure on Iran, but also puts pressure on global oil prices and forces them up. That was probably a big factor.”

What refineries and traders are willing to pay for oil swings wildly after news breaks about attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf or diplomacy talks stalling. “The oil market is exquisitely sensitive to what’s coming out of the White House,” Kleinberg said.

Back in early March, at the beginning of the Iran war, the price of gasoline jumped 48 cents in a week. The highest weekly jump was in March 2022, when the price jumped 60 cents in a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, AAA said.

No quick fix

No one can predict how high gasoline prices will climb. A gallon of regular in the U.S. costs more now than it did in early May of 2022, and back then, the price kept climbing through Memorial Day, AAA said.

The longer the flow of oil is constrained through the Strait of Hormuz, the higher prices will go, and the longer it will take to get back to normal, Smith said.

“Even if there was a true and lasting resolution of the conflict, both sides agree to play nice and truly do commit to keeping Hormuz open, it will still take months to get back to what it was pre-war, if not even longer,” Smith said. “There will still be within the industry a risk premium associated with going through that region. Not that it was ever a perfectly safe journey, but the past few months have shown that it’ll be hard to convince shippers and insurance companies that the risk level will be similar to what it was in February. It’ll be a long time before anyone can be convinced of that.”

Jurors in a Fort Worth courtroom decided on Tanner Horner's punishment after hearing about a month of testimony and evidence that included audio of Athena Strand's last moments from inside his delivery van. Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder last month in the 2022 killing just as his trial began. Athena's body was found two days after she was reported missing from her home in the rural town of Paradise, near Fort Worth.

Horner didn't visibly react when the judge read the sentence, according to a livestream of the court proceedings.

Jurors found there was a probability Horner would commit criminal violence and be a continuing threat to society. They said there was nothing in the commission of the crime or in Horner's background to warrant life without parole instead of death.

Prosecutor James Stainton told jurors in opening statements that Horner had told, “lie upon lie upon lie upon lie” in the case, including telling authorities that he accidentally struck Athena with his van while making the delivery and then killed her in a fit of panic.

Several jurors cried as they were shown video and heard audio from inside the van after Athena was taken. He could be seen lifting her into the van, and then driving away, telling her not to scream or he’d hurt her.

Horner then covered the camera, but the audio continued recording. Horner asks Athena questions, including how old she is and where she goes to school, before stopping the van and telling her they are going to “hang out.” Horner tells her to take off her shirt and she begins crying, and asks whether he’s a kidnapper.

She asks him: “Why are you doing this?” He replies, “Because you are pretty.”

“My mom says I can’t do that to somebody,” she tells him. “And you can’t do that to me either.”

As the recording, which lasts over an hour, continues, Athena’s screams can be heard. At one point he tells her: “If you don’t shut up, I will hurt you worse.”

A medical examiner testified that Athena died of blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation.

While acknowledging during opening statements that the evidence against Horner was “overwhelming” and “terrible,” Horner’s attorney, Steven Goble, told jurors that Horner’s mother drank while she was pregnant, that he has autism and suffered from “various mental illnesses throughout his life” in addition to being exposed to a “massive amount of lead.”

Goble had asked jurors to sentence Horner to life in prison.

Athena’s family has said that the package Horner had dropped off was a Christmas present for her — a box of “You Can Be Anything” Barbies.

The trial was moved from rural Wise County to Fort Worth after Horner’s attorneys argued that he would not have received a fair trial. ____

Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report from Honolulu.

Cole Tomas Allen initially was charged in a complaint with attempting to assassinate the president and two additional firearms counts. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.

Allen's indictment by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., includes the same three counts but also adds a charge of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

A Secret Service officer was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest during the April 25 attack at at the Washington Hilton, which disrupted and ultimately prompted an early end to one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. Allen was armed with guns and knives when he ran through a security checkpoint and pointed his weapon at the officer, who fired five times without hitting anybody, authorities said.

The addition of the assault charge confirms that authorities believe Allen fired the shot that struck the officer. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated last week that investigators wanted to review more ballistics evidence before making that determination.

Allen's attorneys have questioned the strength of the government's theory that their client intended to kill the president or fired a shot that struck the officer.

“In sum,” they wrote, “the government’s entire argument about the nature and circumstances of the offense is based upon inferences drawn about Mr. Allen’s intent that raise more questions than answers.”

Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot. He was placed on suicide watch after his arrest, but jail officials removed him from that status over the weekend. Allen's attorneys complained that he had been unnecessarily confined in a padded room with constant lighting, repeatedly strip searched and placed in restraints outside his cell.

Those results for 2025 were released Tuesday by Lifeway Research, the denomination's research affiliate.

Membership fell by 3% to 12.3 million, continuing a nearly two-decade decline. At the same time, weekly worship attendance was up by nearly 4% to 4.5 million.

The number of baptisms increased 5% to 263,075. It was the second consecutive year in which the number of baptisms exceeded those before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The denomination often uses baptism as a key spiritual vital sign, a measure of how many people are being brought into the faith.

“We are grateful Southern Baptists continue to show growth in key metrics like baptisms, worship attendance and Bible study participation,” Jeff Iorg, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said in a statement.

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, attributed the membership dip in part to church closures and to congregations cleaning up their membership rolls.

The SBC numbers are based on self-reporting by congregations. Most members are in the denomination's traditional base of the South, where it was founded by a pro-slavery faction before the Civil War, though it has since developed a presence throughout North America.

The numbers are closely watched by scholars because the SBC has long represented the single-largest body of evangelical Christians and keeps meticulous records.

The SBC remains by far the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. in part because many other large denominations have been declining even more. The ranks of nondenominational churches — many of them with evangelical beliefs and independent governance similar to Baptists — have been growing. So have the ranks of the “ nones,” people with no religious affiliation, although that decades-long growth has stalled in recent years, according to a survey released last year by the Pew Research Center.

Political scientist Ryan Burge, who studies religious demographics, said that despite the baptism and attendance statistics, the SBC faces a likely future of continued declines The 3% membership decline amounts to nearly 400,000 people — the size of some small denominations.

"We’ve got to put that in perspective. Losing that many people is still losing a lot of people," said Burge, a professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.

He said the SBC is probably losing members to a combination of factors, including people joining nondenominational churches or leaving the faith. And it’s losing members to deaths, something that will accelerate in a church with many older members.

“The SBC has a baby boomer problem,” he said. “Structurally speaking, it’s hard to outrun that demographic cliff. I just don’t think there's anything structurally in the data that says the SBC is going to go back to where it was 20 years ago.”

___

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.

Police in Edmond, Oklahoma, said in a post on the social media platform X that an 18-year-old woman died from injuries sustained in the shooting that started after a fight erupted at the party on Sunday night.

So far, no one has been arrested, but investigators have information that leads them to believe there's no ongoing danger to the public, said Edmonds Police spokesperson, Sgt. James Hamm.

The shooting broke out at a picnic pavilion alongside Arcadia Lake, a popular boating, fishing and swimming spot just north of Oklahoma City. The shooting began just as officers were responding to a noise complaint about the party, Hamm said.

The party had been promoted across social media, drawing a large crowd of mostly young adults, police said.

Three hospitals in the Oklahoma City area said Monday that they had treated 18 people from the party. One healthcare system said the victims ranged in age from 16 to 30.

Some of the victims suffered graze wounds and many were treated and released, he said. It's possible that more people were hit but didn't seek treatment, Hamm said.

Many of those shot were not involved in the fight and were “simply attending the party,” he said.

Police declined to release any information about potential suspects, how many people may have fired shots or what types of weapons were used. Hamm said the department wanted to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

Edmond Mayor Mark Nash said Monday that the shooting took place at a public park where spaces can be reserved for large gatherings, but no reservation had been made.

Jeremiah Braxton, who was at the party, said two of his friends were among those shot. He said everyone was eating, dancing and having a good time until a group of girls started arguing over boyfriends.

“It just started a whole bunch of chaos,” he said Monday.

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone contributed from Boise, Idaho.

La empresa con sede en Dania Beach presentó un aviso oficial de despidos ante FloridaCommerce , la principal agencia estatal encargada de la fuerza laboral.

Incluía recortes en los aeropuertos internacionales de Miami y Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Sandra González, una ex auxiliar de vuelo, dijo estar devastada.

Para algunos empleados, la búsqueda de empleo estuvo marcada por la tristeza en los eventos de FloridaCommerce que se llevaron a cabo el lunes y el martes en el CareerSource Broward South Center, ubicado en 7550 Davie Road en Hollywood.

“No vendimos boletos intencionadamente pensando que no íbamos a estar aquí”, declaró Dave Davis, director ejecutivo de Spirit Airlines, al Wall Street Journal el lunes. “Pensábamos que íbamos a obtener la liquidez que necesitábamos”, dijo Pool.

Spirit Airlines sufrió pérdidas superiores a los 2,500 millones de dólares desde 2020 y se declaró en bancarrota en 2024 y 2025 antes de que fracasara una propuesta de rescate gubernamental de última hora por valor de 500 millones de dólares. Los vuelos de Spirit Airlines fueron suspendidos a las 3 de la madrugada del sábado. El secretario de Transporte, Sean Duffy, anunció el cierre de la aerolínea horas después.

“Tenemos 18,000 personas que viven en este país que son personas estupendas y excelentes empleados”, dijo el presidente Donald Trump sobre los empleados de Spirit Airlines el 23 de abril en la Casa Blanca.

El seguro médico de los empleados de Spirit Airlines finalizó el sábado. American Airlines y JetBlue Airways ofrecieron ayuda a los pilotos y auxiliares de vuelo de Spirit Airlines que quedaron varados durante el fin de semana.

Trump y Duffy criticaron al gobierno del expresidente Joe Biden por bloquear la venta de Spirit Airlines a JetBlue por 3,800 millones de dólares en 2024. El lunes, en el aeropuerto de Fort Lauderdale (FLL), JetBlue anunció 11 ubicaciones adicionales.

En Hollywood, Gonzalez y Pool estuvieron entre los ex empleados de Spirit Airlines que participaron en los eventos de FloridaCommerce el lunes y martes en el centro CareerSource Broward en 7550 Davie Road.

“Este curso ha sido realmente bueno. Ha sido interesante descubrir cuántas cosas han cambiado, y creo que venir aquí nos va a ayudar”, dijo Pool.

Gonzalez dijo que está buscando un trabajo en la industria.

“De cara al futuro, es difícil verme haciendo algo diferente”, dijo Gonzalez sobre su esperanza de continuar trabajando como asistente de vuelo.

Registros relacionados

Enlace relacionado : Spirit Airlines lanza una página sobre su reestructuración.

Historias relacionadas

• Mientras aún visten los uniformes de Spirit Airlines, los solicitantes de empleo comienzan a pedir ayuda.
• Ex empleados desempleados de Spirit Airlines marchan en Dania Beach.
• Spirit Airlines pide a los pasajeros que no acudan al aeropuerto, o de lo contrario, no se realizarán cambios de reserva.

Recursos

• Departamento de Trabajo: Los servicios de respuesta rápida incluyen orientación sobre la cobertura de continuación de COBRA.
• American Airlines lanza la página de empleo “Supporting Spirit”.
• United Airlines lanza un programa para dar prioridad a los exempleados de Spirit Airlines en sus contrataciones. Aquí está la página de empleo >
• Southwest Airlines estaba reclutando en esta página .
• Página de empleos de JetBlue
• JetBlue anunció una extensión del “acuerdo de asientos auxiliares durante las próximas dos semanas, sujeto a la disponibilidad de espacio y limitado a los asientos de cabina” para aquellos que quedaron varados mientras trabajaban para Spirit Airlines, y también anunció “entrevistas de empleo preferenciales”.
• Delta publica un comunicado de ayuda
• Para obtener más información sobre la ayuda que ofrece la Asociación de Auxiliares de Vuelo , llame al 1-800-385-3920.
• CareerSource Broward ofrece servicios como colocación laboral y orientación profesional en tres centros ubicados en 4941 Coconut Creek Parkway, 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard y 7550 Davie Road Extension en Hollywood.
• CareerOneStop tiene una base de datos de centros de empleo.
• Para presentar una solicitud de beneficios por desempleo en Florida, llame al 1-800-204-2418 o visite esta página .
• Encuentra tu banco de alimentos local en esta página de Feeding America.

Registros carcelarios muestran que Nazia Badal, de 44 años, de Arlington, Texas, fue detenida alrededor de las 9:20 p.m. del jueves por alguaciles federales y el Departamento de Policía de Miramar.

Las autoridades dijeron que tenía una orden activa del condado Broward por dos cargos de homicidio por DUI y permanece detenida sin derecho a fianza.

Los cargos se derivan de un choque del 16 de junio de 2013 cerca de la cuadra 2300 de Red Road en Miramar que mató a un hombre identificado por sus familiares como Jose Francisco Zamora.

Un informe de arresto indica que Badal, quien trabajaba como mesera en Tootsie’s Cabaret en el momento del choque, conducía con un nivel de alcohol en sangre de 0.15%, casi el doble del límite legal, y aproximadamente 15 mph por encima del límite de velocidad al momento del choque, que ocurrió cerca de la intersección de Red Road y Renaissance Boulevard.

“En el momento del choque, la acusada tenía una concentración ilegal de alcohol en sangre que afectaba sus facultades normales y su capacidad para operar un vehículo de manera segura”, escribió un agente en su informe de arresto de 2013.

Los investigadores dijeron que el choque resultó en “múltiples lesiones por fuerza contundente” a Zamora, causando su muerte.

El informe indica que un testigo dijo a la policía que Badal conducía de manera errática antes de chocar contra el vehículo de Zamora en lo que fue descrito como una “explosión”.

El testigo dijo que el vehículo de Badal se detuvo con daños severos, mientras que el auto de Zamora quedó reducido a “metal retorcido”, dejándolo atrapado en el interior, según el informe.

Los investigadores dijeron que Badal tenía un “fuerte olor a bebida alcohólica”, que se intensificaba cuando hablaba, y que sus ojos parecían “vidriosos y rojos”.

Según el informe, cuando las autoridades le dijeron a Badal que había una investigación criminal en curso, ella respondió, “¿por qué?, nadie murió”, y “¿quién va a pagar por mi carro?”

La policía también escribió que Badal “parecía estar ajena a la gravedad del choque y no mostró absolutamente ninguna preocupación por el otro conductor, solo por su vehículo”.

Un informe toxicológico reveló que Zamora no tenía drogas ni alcohol en su sistema en el momento del choque.

La sobrina de la víctima dijo a Local 10 News que el caso en gran medida no había recibido cobertura desde el choque fatal.

Registros carcelarios muestran que Badal fue arrestada inicialmente en 2014 y luego liberada bajo fianza. Las autoridades dijeron que no compareció ante el tribunal en 2017, lo que llevó a una orden de arresto pendiente en su contra.

Los registros muestran que Badal, originaria de Trinidad y Tobago, ha sido puesta bajo retención migratoria y permanece detenida sin derecho a fianza en el centro de detención Paul Rein.

Los registros judiciales muestran que tiene programada una audiencia para el martes.

On May 9, the National Association of Letter Carriers is hosting its “Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.”

Leer en español

The campaign happens every year on the second Saturday in May and asks homeowners to leave a bag of non-perishable grocery items near their mailbox. The letter carriers pick up the items and deliver them to local food pantries.

According to Feeding America, in Florida, more than three million people are facing hunger, and of them, just under 807,000 are children.

Local 10 has reported on the plight of hunger in our communities and hosts annual campaigns, such as The Local 10 Day of Giving, to raise awareness, funds and replenish the shelves of pantries across Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Manna-Share-A-Meal, a nonprofit that has operated a food pantry in Davie for more than 35 years, tells Local 10 they’re seeing more elderly and working families frequenting their weekly food distributions.

They are feeding between 40 to 60 families every Saturday, and the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is an essential source of food for them.

“This is always such an important event for our community, and with the continued need we’re seeing right now, we’d love to get the word out to bring more awareness and participation,” said Lorinda Diaz, Manna-Share-A-Meal volunteer.

This Saturday will mark the 34th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. It’s the nation’s largest one-day food drive, held across more than 10,000 U.S. cities.

Since 1993, the campaign has collected more than 1.9 billion pounds of food to fight food insecurity.

A few minutes cleaning out your cupboard or picking up an extra item on your grocery run can make all the difference for someone in need.

Click here for more information about the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Se prevé que una tormenta de nieve tardía recorra las Montañas Rocosas y las Grandes Llanuras, y provoque lluvia que se convertiría en nieve en el área de Denver para la noche del martes, con una posibilidad de hasta 20 centímetros (8 pulgadas), según pronósticos. En las elevaciones más altas podrían caer hasta 30 centímetros (un pie), de acuerdo con el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.

Podría ser la mayor nevada de la temporada en Denver.

“Acabamos de tener el invierno más seco registrado”, señaló Kenley Bonner, meteorólogo de la oficina del servicio meteorológico en Denver. “Al principio de la temporada, bromeábamos diciendo que el invierno no llegaría sino hasta la primavera, y eso fue exactamente lo que ocurrió”.

Gran nevada y un rápido descenso de la temperatura

Se espera que la nieve continúe hasta el miércoles, seguida de un desplome de las temperaturas y una helada generalizada durante la noche, indicó el servicio meteorológico.

Toda esa nieve pesada y húmeda podría quebrar ramas de árboles y provocar cortes de electricidad, advirtió Bonner. Las empresas de servicios públicos se están preparando, y Xcel Energy puso a 165 empleados en alerta en todo el estado.

¿Nieve en mayo?

El pronóstico es inusual, pero no desconocido.

Por lo general, Denver registra su última nevada alrededor del 28 de abril, aunque llegan a ocurrir tormentas en mayo. La “ciudad de una milla de altura” registró 1,2 centímetros (media pulgada) de nieve el 21 de mayo de 2022, mientras que la cercana Boulder recibió 11,4 centímetros (4,5 pulgadas).

Históricamente, Denver ha tenido al menos cinco tormentas de mayo con acumulaciones de nieve superiores a 25 centímetros (10 pulgadas). La mayor de ellas, ocurrida en 1893, dejó 39,3 centímetros (15,5 pulgadas). La nevada más reciente de dos dígitos en la ciudad fue del 25 al 26 de mayo de 1950, con 27 centímetros (10,7 pulgadas).

Una ligera nevada, ocurrida el 2 de junio de 1951, fue la fecha más tardía del año en la que nevó.

La tormenta es bienvenida durante una sequía, pero no es una solución

Abril fue más cálido de lo habitual y con pocas precipitaciones: el mes pasado, a Denver le faltaron 2,5 centímetros (una pulgada) de lluvia y 7 centímetros (2,8 pulgadas) de nieve en comparación con lo normal.

Pero una sola tormenta no resolverá los problemas de agua del Oeste.

En un informe del Centro Nacional de Mitigación de la Sequía se indica que las precipitaciones recientes ayudaron a aumentar la humedad de la capa superficial del suelo y redujeron las necesidades de riego, pero no han cambiado un panorama hídrico “mayormente desalentador” de cara al verano.

También habrá tormentas en otros lugares

El tiempo inestable no se limita a las Rocosas.

Según el Centro de Predicción de Tormentas, se esperan tormentas eléctricas desde el noreste de Texas hasta el oeste de Tennessee, y Arkansas enfrenta el mayor riesgo de granizo de gran tamaño, vientos dañinos y posibles tornados. Fuertes tormentas aisladas también podrían alcanzar partes del Noreste.

___

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

The wood planks were scattered along the Turnpike’s northbound lanes near Sample Road.

The alternate route was Interstate 95. For a map with live traffic updates, visit this page.

El 9 de mayo, la Asociación Nacional de Carteros organiza su campaña “Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive”.

La campaña se realiza cada año el segundo sábado de mayo y pide a los residentes que dejen una bolsa con alimentos no perecederos cerca de su buzón. Los carteros recogen los artículos y los entregan a despensas de alimentos locales.

Según Feeding America, en Florida, más de tres millones de personas enfrentan hambre, y de ellos, poco menos de 807,000 son niños.

Local 10 ha informado sobre la situación del hambre en nuestras comunidades y organiza campañas anuales, como el Local 10 Day of Giving, para crear conciencia, recaudar fondos y reabastecer las despensas en los condados Monroe, Miami-Dade y Broward.

Manna-Share-A-Meal, una organización sin fines de lucro que ha operado una despensa de alimentos en Davie por más de 35 años, dijo a Local 10 que están viendo a más adultos mayores y familias trabajadoras acudir a sus distribuciones semanales de alimentos.

Atienden entre 40 y 60 familias cada sábado, y la campaña Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive es una fuente esencial de alimentos para ellos.

“Este siempre es un evento muy importante para nuestra comunidad, y con la necesidad continua que estamos viendo ahora, nos gustaría darlo a conocer para generar más conciencia y participación”, dijo Lorinda Diaz, voluntaria de Manna-Share-A-Meal.

Este sábado marcará la edición número 34 de la campaña Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Es la mayor colecta de alimentos de un solo día en la nación, realizada en más de 10,000 ciudades de Estados Unidos.

Desde 1993, la campaña ha recolectado más de 1.9 mil millones de libras de alimentos para combatir la inseguridad alimentaria.

Unos minutos limpiando su despensa o agregando un artículo extra en su compra pueden marcar la diferencia para alguien necesitado.

Haga clic aquí para más información sobre la campaña Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Esto ocurrió tras otra ronda de intenso debate.

Durante la discusión, un representante de la empresa dijo a los comisionados que han superado su espacio actual y necesitan acomodar el crecimiento futuro.

Después de la votación, el propietario de Kelly Tractor, Chris Kelly, dijo a Local 10 News que han hecho mucho esfuerzo “para darles lo que quieren y con suerte podemos lograrlo”.

“Desafortunadamente, cada decisión ambiental es temporal”, dijo Laura Reynolds, bióloga de la Universidad Internacional de Florida y directora científica del grupo defensor Hold the Line Coalition. “Así que un aplazamiento es sobrevivir un día más, esos humedales siguen ahí”.

Según Hold the Line, el proyecto eliminará “247 acres de tierra disponible para agricultura”, ubicados “dentro de la cuenca North Trail y contiene humedales de importancia regional”, y dentro del “área central de alimentación de la cigüeña de madera, especie amenazada a nivel federal, dentro del área de consulta para el murciélago bonneted de Florida en peligro, así como justo al este del área de enfoque de la pantera de Florida del USFWS”.

“Nos protege a nosotros, los contribuyentes”

Reynolds dijo que este tema podría tener enormes implicaciones para los residentes del condado, desde el agua potable hasta las tarifas de seguros.

“El UDB está en su lugar porque nos protege a nosotros, los contribuyentes”, dijo.

Reynolds explicó que los humedales ayudan a mitigar los riesgos de inundaciones que dañan propiedades.

“Permite que el agua tenga a dónde ir”, dijo. “Si no tenemos esos humedales, ¿a dónde vamos a bombear el agua?”

Dijo que los humedales también limpian el agua que eventualmente llega a la Bahía de Biscayne, un beneficio ecológico clave para la vida marina y para preservar la calidad del agua que sustenta la economía multimillonaria del condado en bienes raíces, comercio y turismo.

Un frustrado comisionado J.C. Bermudez, al percibir que el tema estaba cerca de otro aplazamiento, consideró que el condado no está proyectando ser proempresa.

Sentando precedente: ¿Está en juego el futuro del UDB y los humedales?“

Queremos empleos para el condado Miami-Dade y nos alegra que la empresa Kelly Tractor haya estado aquí por 93 años”, dijo Reynolds. “Pero, ¿vale la pena destruir estos humedales para este propósito en particular?”

Para Reynolds, un factor clave en el centro de este debate público es la forma en que la empresa presentó sus planes al condado.

Previamente, la comisionada Danielle Cohen Higgins expresó preocupación por el proceso mediante el cual esta solicitud llegó al condado, en forma de una enmienda de texto, que tiene umbrales más bajos que la solicitud más rigurosa requerida normalmente para construir fuera del UDB.

“Necesitamos ponerle fin a esto”, dijo Cohen Higgins. “Y mi preocupación sobre el precedente es que si seguimos teniendo solicitudes en forma de enmiendas de texto, en lugar de solicitudes para mover el Límite de Desarrollo Urbano, vamos a tener una gran cantidad de ellas. Y nuestro Límite de Desarrollo Urbano va a dejar de existir”.

“Esto sentaría un precedente”, dijo Reynolds. “Lo que hace es que vuelve irrelevante el UDB. Cualquier empresa privada podría venir ahora con solo una enmienda de texto y reescribir las reglas solo para sí misma. Sería casi como si se aprobara la ley HB 399 y no hubiera UDB”.

Agregó Kelly: “Hemos sido dueños del terreno desde 1984. Presentamos esta solicitud hace tres años, habríamos presentado con gusto una solicitud del UDB en ese entonces. Esperamos poder obtener la aprobación porque se han dedicado muchos recursos y tiempo, han sido tres años, odiaría tener que empezar desde cero y esperar hasta mayo de 2027 para presentar la solicitud del UDB. Es simplemente muy duplicado”.

¿Quién trabajó con Kelly Tractor? El propietario no lo dice

Hasta el momento no está claro quién en el condado asesoró a la empresa privada para evitar el proceso de supervisión habitual.

Local 10 News preguntó al propietario de la empresa el nombre y cargo del empleado del condado que le sugirió presentar sus planes mediante una enmienda de texto.

Kelly se negó a proporcionar un nombre específico.

“Honestamente, no quiero arruinar la carrera de nadie”, dijo. “No estoy aquí para culpar a nadie, no quiero arruinar la carrera de un servidor público, pero estuve en un par de reuniones y había varios empleados de planificación del condado que, según mi interpretación, estaban de acuerdo con eso”.

Algunos comisionados sí expresaron apoyo a la empresa en términos de reconocer el dinero que ya invirtió en este proceso.

Local 10 News contactó a cada oficina de comisionados, a la oficina de la alcaldesa y al Departamento de Recursos Regulatorios y Económicos para preguntar cómo verificaron la afirmación de la empresa de que un funcionario de planificación sugirió este curso de acción.

“Tenemos terrenos dentro del Límite de Desarrollo Urbano para usos industriales como el que proponen”, argumentó Reynolds. “Así que si hubieran seguido el proceso normal, no tendríamos necesidad de avanzar hacia los humedales”.

Reynolds dijo que los defensores del medio ambiente y del plan maestro del condado quieren que los comisionados “protejan los humedales” y exijan que cada empresa privada siga las mismas reglas, “y dejar claro que si vas a intentar mover el UDB, necesitas seguir las reglas que hemos tenido desde principios de los años 80 en los libros en el condado Miami-Dade”.

Leer en español

Sandra Gonzalez and Denise Pool were both dealing with the devastation of sudden job loss on Tuesday at the CareerSource Broward South Center.

“It’s super emotional to be here, seeing all of my co-workers that we have been together for so long, and now we are together at the unemployment office,” Pool said.

The failed ultra-low-cost airline filed the layoff notices on Monday with the FloridaCommerce, the state’s lead agency for workforce.

Records show the notice included 2,529 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 551 at the Spirit Support Center in Dania Beach, and 181 at Miami International Airport.

The others were 796 at the Orlando International Airport, and 796 at the MCO Infight & Operations Center in Orlando.

“We didn’t intentionally sell any tickets, thinking we weren’t going to be here. We thought we were going to get the liquidity we needed,” Dave Davis, the Spirit Airlines chief executive officer, told The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Spirit Airlines had suffered more than $2.5 billion in losses since 2020, and filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and 2025 before a last-minute $500 million government bailout proposal failed.

“We have 18,000 people that live in this country that are great people and great employees,” President Donald Trump said about Spirit Airlines employees on April 23 at the White House.

Without creditors’ agreement on the bailout, Spirit Airlines flights were grounded by 3 a.m. on Saturday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the airline’s shutdown hours later.

Spirit Airlines employees’ health insurance ended on Saturday. American Airlines and JetBlue Airways offered to help Spirit Airlines pilots and flight attendants who were stranded over the weekend.

Trump and Duffy criticized former President Joe Biden’s administration for blocking the $3.8 billion sale of Spirit Airlines to JetBlue in 2024. At FLL, on Monday, JetBlue announced 11 additional locations.

In Hollywood, Gonzalez and Pool were among the former Spirit Airlines employees who participated in the FloridaCommerce’s events on Monday and Tuesday at the CareerSource Broward center at 7550 Davie Road.

“I am a primary caretaker for my mother, who has dementia, and I have no idea how I am going to help her now,” Pool said.

For the CareerSourceBroward’s calendar of events, visit this page.

Related document: Notice of layoff (May 2-13)

Helpful link: Spirit Airlines launches restructuring page

Related stories

• While still wearing Spirit Airlines uniforms, job seekers start asking for help
• Jobless former Spirit Airlines employees march in Dania Beach
• Spirit Airlines asks guests not to go to the airport, or expect rebookings

Upcoming job fairs

The Hospitality Industry Job Fair is from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday at the CareerSource Broward at 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard. Admission and parking are free.

Miramar is hosting a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 20 at the Miramar Cultural Center, at 2400 Civic Center Place. Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit the Evenbrite page.

The Port Everglades Career Fair & Expo is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 27 at the Broward County Convention Center at 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Admission and parking are free. Here is a list of the participating companies >

Resources

• Department of Labor: Rapid response services includes guidance on COBRA continuation coverage
• American Airlines launches “Supporting Spirit” career page
• United Airlines launches program to prioritize former Spirit Airlines employees when hiring. Here is the career page >
• Southwest Airlines was recruiting on this page.
• JetBlue’s jobs page
• JetBlue announced an extension of the “jumpseat agreement for the next two weeks, subject to space availability and limited to cabin seating” for those who were stranded while working for Spirit Airlines, and also announced “preferential employment interviews.”
• Delta releases statement of help
• For more information about help from the Association of Flight Attendants, call 1-800-385-3920
• CareerSource Broward offers services such as job placement and career coaching at three centers at 4941 Coconut Creek Parkway, 2550 West Oakland Park Boulevard, and 7550 Davie Road Extension in Hollywood.
• Employ Miami-Dade has services for job seekers.
• CareerOneStop has a database for job centers
• To file an unemployment benefits claim in Florida, call 1-800-204-2418 or visit this page.
• Find your local food bank, on this Feeding America page

Nurse's brother Steve Nurse, 62, died unexpectedly last Wednesday. Nick Nurse left the team following Philadelphia's 137-98 loss to open the second round against the Knicks on Monday for the service on Tuesday in Ankeny, Iowa.

Nurse is expected to rejoin the Sixers for Game 2 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I'd like to pass my condolences along to Nick Nurse and his family, his brother's family and all their friends," Knicks coach Mike Brown said at the team's training center in suburban Greenburgh. “Life is precious and you don't wish that upon anybody, so I'd like to pass along my condolences to him and his family while they're going through these times.”

___

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

The Pittsburgh Pirates, where Skinner began his career and helped the franchise stun the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series, said Tuesday they were informed of Skinner's death from his wife, Joan. He died in San Diego. A cause was not provided.

“Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community.”

Skinner, a 6-foot-4 left-handed-hitting outfielder who threw right-handed and was known as “Sleepy” for his laid-back demeanor, spent 12 seasons in the majors with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

A career .277 hitter, Skinner was named to the National League All-Star team in 1958 and twice in 1960, during the brief period when Major League Baseball held two All-Star games a season. Skinner spent eight-plus seasons with Pittsburgh from 1954-63 before being traded to Cincinnati and then the Cardinals, where he was part of the 1964 team that won the World Series.

Skinner retired at the end of the 1966 season before going into coaching and managing. He went 93–123 during a short managerial run with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968-69 and a one-game interim stint with his hometown San Diego Padres in 1977.

A respected coach who worked with six different organizations in various capacities, Skinner returned to Pittsburgh in 1979 as the club's hitting coach, winning a third ring as part of the “We Are Family" Pirates that beat Baltimore in the 1979 World Series.

Skinner's best season may have been 1960, when he drove in a career-high 86 runs while hitting in the middle of a Pirates lineup that reached the World Series. He started in Game 1 against the New York Yankees but injured his thumb while sliding into a base, forcing him to sit out until Game 7. He went 0 for 2 with a walk in Game 7, scoring on Rocky Nelson's second-inning homer and later laying down a sacrifice bunt that advanced two runners during an eighth-inning rally that put Pittsburgh in front.

Skinner was born on Oct. 3, 1931, in La Jolla, California. A standout at San Diego Junior College, he signed a contract with Pittsburgh in the early 1950s and eventually made his debut in 1954 after spending two years in the military during the Korean War.

Skinner is survived by Joan, sons Mark, Craig, Drew and Joel, along with eight grandchildren.

___

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

Spirit Airlines, which abruptly canceled all its future flights over the weekend, secured court approval Tuesday to begin dismantling the once-busy budget carrier and to convert its parts into cash for creditors.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane authorized the airline's plan for a rapid wind down of its remaining business activities, clearing the way for Spirit to move forward with liquidation.

“Today is a very challenging day. It’s not a day that anybody hoped would ever come,” Lane said as he ruled from the bench following an hourslong hearing in New York. The judge extended his “sympathy to the Spirit employees and their families.”

The company needed the judge’s green light to proceed because shutting down an airline is far from straightforward, with creditors, regulators, airport authorities and employees all tied into a process that has to be carefully unwound. More than 100 people tuned in to Tuesday’s hearing virtually, reflecting the broad interest in the case.

Spirit's plan centers on selling off every possible asset — from its airplanes, engines and spare parts to gates and landing slots at airports — while also limiting additional payroll, leasing and other costs.

The liquidation marks a dramatic turn for Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2025 hoping to escape financial ruin. The airline's parent company was attempting to restructure the business for the second time since November 2024 when it abruptly stopped operating flights early Saturday.

The shutdown itself was tightly choreographed. The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., said it made its going-out-of-business announcement in the middle of the night to ensure the jetliners making their final runs for the airline were safely on the ground and their crews accounted for.

Three days later, that sense of urgency carried into the courtroom, where the company's lawyers asked the judge for expedited approval of their wind-down plan, arguing that speed would benefit Spirit's creditors and customers.

“Any delay will cause chaos, confusion and cost the estate significant time and money,” the company said in a motion filed with the court, noting the airline was “not generating any revenue.”

Spirit attorney Marshall Huebner said Tuesday in court that rising jet fuel costs since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran “engulfed Spirit entirely.” The airline's fuel expenses grew by roughly $100 million “in March and April alone,” he said, and rapidly drained Spirit’s liquidity and derailed its restructuring efforts.

He also apologized directly to Spirit’s employees and customers, especially passengers who he said may now be completely “priced out” of certain routes without the ultra low-cost carrier known for its unbundled “no frills” service.

Huebner described a swift effort by other airlines and other segments of the aviation industry to assist Spirit's employees and customers once the airline's end looked inevitable.

“The entire industry sprang into action to get our people home,” Huebner said. Spirit employed about 17,000 people and carried about 50,000 passengers on its final day of operations. The final flight, which traveled from Detroit to Dallas, landed after midnight Saturday.

According to court filings, Spirit’s assets include its fleet of 114 Airbus A320-family planes. Most of them — 66 aircraft — were leased, but the company owns 28 that will be part of the liquidation process. Another 20 of the planes it owns outright were already set to be sold under a separate, previously approved court deal. Spirit also owns 18 spare engines.

Spirit says it plans to initially keep a skeleton crew of 130 to 150 employees who will help oversee the liquidation process, including securing aircraft and coordinating logistics. The team, expected to include some corporate officers, will eventually shrink to roughly 40.

In the last two weeks, Spirit was in discussions with the Trump administration about a hoped-for rescue deal that fell through, eliminating what the company described as its last viable path forward. Of the potential bailout, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday, “We oftentimes don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”

Duffy said other U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, were offering $200 one-way fares for a limited time to travelers holding Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase.

Airlines also stepped in to assist stranded Spirit crew members, he said, with some offering a preferential hiring process for former Spirit employees looking for work.

“Everyone who attended the Met Gala this year really leaned into fashion is art, using your body as a canvas, and that really came across in some of the best-dressed looks of the night,” said Kevin Huynh, fashion director of InStyle.

Fashionable A-listers gave into the theme and had fun with it. First-time Met Gala attendees included actors Chase Infiniti and Hudson Williams, as well as Olympian Alysa Liu, all of whom commanded the carpet in dramatic ensembles. Infiniti, for example, donned an enchanting Thom Browne sequined gown using trompe l’oeil to depict the female form.

Meanwhile, Met Gala mega stars and repeat attendees rose to the occasion: Vogue red-carpet correspondent Emma Chamberlain playfully dressed in a dramatic long-sleeved gown that appeared dipped in a rainbow of color from indigo to the brightest yellow-gold. And after 10 years of skipping the Gala, Beyoncé arrived to reclaim her throne, wearing a glittering crown and radiant Olivier Rousteing silver gown designed in the shape of a skeleton.

Artistic masters or novices

Maybe it was the theme or something in the air, but Met Gala guests ran with the dress code, embracing color, sculpture and a plethora of artistic references from Gustav Klimt and John Singer Sargent to the Winged Goddess of Samothrace.

Madonna even delivered performance art on the carpet, arriving with seven women carrying her cape, which was attached to her pirate-ship headpiece in reference to a painting by Leonora Carrington.

“The Met Gala has finally settled the question of ‘Is fashion art?’” said Nancy Hall-Duncan, an art historian and author of “Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art. “It is, according to the Met Gala, Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton.”

For Lynette Nylander, executive digital director of Harper’s Bazaar, there were wins from Infiniti to Cardi B, though some guests steered more toward costume than couture. Heidi Klum, for example, arrived in full costume as a statue.

“It was the kind of loudest Met Gala that we’ve seen in a while, probably since the ‘Camp’ theme,” Nylander said. “It felt very ostentatious."

Pops of color in a sea of black

Despite all the artistic opportunities to draw from, some celebrities chose sophisticated all-black looks instead of color. Zoë Kravitz and Connor Storrie both wore black custom Yves Saint Laurent.

Yet the examples in solid black only amplified the more colorful ensembles, like Chamberlain's hand-painted Mugler dress with cascading fringe sleeves and a spiral deep rainbow train.

“It looked like an artist’s palette and it’s just stunning, colorful and interesting,” Hall-Duncan said. “This isn’t addressing a specific painting. It’s addressing the whole concept of color in artistic work.”

Trompe l’oeil

Artistic illusions of the body stood out throughout the night, with celebrities playing with the dress code and the “Costume Art” exhibit inside the Metropolitan Museum, which examines the dressed body and thematic body types.

Naomi Osaka wowed in a white Robert Wun overcoat featuring tiny slits that allowed a glimpse of her sparkling red dress underneath. In a dazzling red carpet moment, Osaka removed the overcoat to reveal a two-toned red gown with the human anatomy beaded into the dress. Nylander said designer Wun was one of several independent designers who dominated the carpet, dressing stars including the tennis pro and singer Lisa.

Actor Jeremy Pope was on theme for the menswear look of the night. Pope sported a Vivienne Westwood corseted jacket filled in with pearls in the shape of a chest.

And fashion darling Colman Domingo is never one to disappoint with his menswear attire.

“He was wearing a Valentino look that was color blocked in these beautiful tulle squares that were really reminiscent of Pablo Picasso’s harlequin paintings,” Huynh said. "I thought that was such a clever way to tap into the artistic side of things, whereas Hudson Williams, hot off all the ‘Heated Rivalry’ madness, wore a matador-inspired look that really harkened back to Cristóbal Balenciaga's Spanish roots.”

Athleticism on display

Several Olympians hit gold twice for taking risks with their looks. Bubbles filled the carpet as Olympian free style skier Eileen Gu walked up the steps in her mini Iris van Herpen dress covered with bubbles. Lindsey Vonn made a surprise appearance following multiple surgeries after a fracture took her out of the Winter Olympics.

Other athletes on the carpet included NFL players Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson.

NFL Fashion Editor Kyle Smith, who dressed Burrow in a custom navy Bode look, said the Met Gala allows athletes to shine off the field.

“It’s this opportunity to express yourself and when you put on your uniform and your helmet, you’re part of a team and you’re working toward this really big shared goal,” he said. “But when you’re dressing for the tunnel or any red carpet event, it’s an opportunity to express themselves and show their identity.”

Fashion as protest?

The night's fashion put a spotlight on some underlying politics: Billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos sponsored the gala and exhibit and served as honorary chairs, prompting some protests and a few absences.

Their involvement added another layer of interest in some of the fashion choices of the night. Actor Sarah Paulson arrived in a Matières Fécales gray tulle gown from their collection titled “The One Percent," which she accessorized with a $1 bill mask covering her eyes.

La norma y sus reglamentaciones aparecieron en la Gaceta Oficial y deben entrar en vigor en 180 días, dijo el primer coronel Mario Méndez Mayedo, jefe de la dirección de extranjería del Ministerio del Interior, en una conferencia.

Sin embargo, Méndez aclaró que se pondrá en vigor de inmediato una legislación específica que permitirá gestionar en los consulados una categoría migratoria llamada “inversor y de negocios” que permitirá a muchos cubanos de larga residencia en el extranjero o que fueron considerados emigrados o exiliados poder invertir en la isla y participar en empresas con respaldo jurídico.

La migración fue un tema que estuvo en el centro de debate político en la isla y su comunidad en el extranjero, pues aplicaba un estatus de “emigrados” a personas que salían del país –-luego el rango fue flexibilizado —limitándole muchos derechos ciudadanos como por ejemplo tener titularidad de viviendas.

La nueva ley, aunque fue aprobada en general por el Parlamento cubano en 2024, no había sido publicada en la Gaceta Oficial ni reglamentada, por lo que su vigencia estaba paralizada, y llega en momentos que la isla enfrenta fuertes desafíos internos y externos.

Por un lado un proceso migratorio masivo de cerca de un millón de personas derivado de la crisis económica que sufre la nación caribeña en los últimos cinco años y que según los expertos incluso redujo la población en la isla. Por otro lado, el país se enfrenta a una fuerte tensión con Estados Unidos, cuyo presidente Donald Trump amenazó con tomarla por la fuerza si no se produce un cambio de gobierno y de modelo político. El mandatario impuso un cerco energético que tiene a la nación caribeña al borde de una crisis humanitaria.

La nueva ley de extranjería remplazará a una norma de 1976 y sus posteriores actualizaciones.

Una de las medidas más esperadas por los cubanos era la eliminación, que finalmente se produjo en esta norma, del límite de 24 meses afuera del país, antes de perder los derechos y ser considerado emigrado.

El segmento temporal había sido eliminado durante la pandemia de la COVID-19 que impedía muchos viajes de ciudadanos de regreso y por ende cumplir con la ley y luego no se volvió a aplicar. Ahora se eliminó por completo el requisito.

La permanencia de un ciudadano cubano por largo tiempo en el extranjero no constituye motivo para, por ejemplo, perder propiedades, su patrimonio o una casa, como sí sucedía en décadas anteriores bajo la antigua ley.

En este sentido, la nueva norma reconoce la posibilidad de los isleños a tener varias nacionalidades y sus pasaportes, aunque se indicó que al interior de la isla las personas tendrán un criterio de “ciudadanía efectiva” o sea serán considerados cubanos sin importar si tienen documentos de otro país.

Igualmente, la norma permitirá que extranjeros establecidos en el país por larga data puedan tramitar su nacionalidad como cubanos, algo que no estaba contemplado en las regulaciones actuales que solo les daban categoría de residente permanentes.

El martes, Daniel López, quien estaba en libertad bajo fianza en el caso penal pendiente en el condado Miami-Dade, dijo que fue arrestado y “despedido” de su trabajo.

“Creo que me tendieron una trampa, mucha gente trabajando allí”, dijo López.

El jueves, un administrador de la propiedad en Bijou Bay Harbor, en 9521 East Bay Harbor Drive, reportó haber encontrado “una caja fuerte que había sido forzada”, según un informe policial.

Pertenecía al propietario del apartamento, quien vive fuera de Estados Unidos, según la policía.

El viernes, un detective encontró un video de vigilancia que muestra a Lopez saliendo del elevador y dirigiéndose hacia el apartamento, según la policía.

López le dijo al detective que estaba trabajando en la recepción durante la noche cuando alguien llamó pidiendo ayuda, por lo que “sacó las llaves de la unidad de la caja de llaves segura del edificio”, según la policía.

López “no pudo explicar lo que vio o hizo al entrar, no pudo indicar quién era la persona que llamó ni proporcionar un número de teléfono, ni notificó a sus supervisores ni a nadie más”, según el informe policial.

Los oficiales arrestaron a Lopez el viernes en el Departamento de Policía de Bay Harbor Islands, y fue ingresado en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center cerca de Doral.

“Hasta que tenga a mi abogado, tengo que hablar”, dijo Lopez, quien enfrenta un cargo de delito grave de segundo grado por robo de una vivienda desocupada.

Leer en español

On Tuesday, Daniel Lopez, who was out on bond in the pending criminal case in Miami-Dade County, said he was arrested and “thrown out” of his job.

“I believe I was set up ... a lot of people working over there,” Lopez said.

On Thursday, a property manager at Bijou Bay Harbor, at 9521 East Bay Harbor Drive, reported finding “a safe that had been forced,” according to a police report.

It belonged to the owner of the apartment, who lives outside of the U.S., according to police.

On Friday, a detective found surveillance video showing Lopez walking out of the elevator and toward the apartment, according to police.

Lopez told the detective that he was working the front desk overnight when someone called for help, so he “signed out the unit keys from the building’s secured key box,” according to police.

Lopez “was not able to explain what he saw or did when entering ... could not advise who this caller was or provide a phone number ... did not notify his supervisors or anyone else,” according to the police report.

Police officers arrested Lopez on Friday at the Bay Harbor Islands Police Department, and corrections booked him at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral.

“Until I get my lawyer, you know, I’ve got to speak out,” said Lopez, who is facing a second-degree felony charge of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.

Related story: Police: Video shows valet turned burglar in Bay Harbor Islands

A late snowstorm swept over the Rocky Mountains and into the High Plains on Tuesday, bringing heavy, wet accumulation north of Denver into southeastern Wyoming.

In Fort Collins, Colorado, heavy snow fell throughout the day on ground that was still too warm for significant accumulation. Slushy snow clung to leaves, grass and flowers, and homeowners shut off yard sprinklers lest sub-freezing temperatures damage their plumbing.

Boulder, nestled against the mountains, could get upward of a foot (30 centimeters) of snow. While the Denver area experienced mostly rain on Tuesday, that turned into snow by early evening. Forecasts predict up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow is possible into Wednesday.

Even as Denver imposed lawn-watering restrictions to address what have been low mountain snows, the city was facing what may be its biggest snowfall of the season.

“We just had our driest winter on record,” Kenley Bonner, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Denver office, said. “We were kind of joking earlier in the season that winter’s not going to come until spring, and it did exactly that.”

Big snow and a fast drop in temperature

More accumulation was expected with temperatures plunging overnight and the heaviest snow continuing into Wednesday morning. Warmer temperatures are expected to return Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

The state's largest school district, Denver Public Schools, and other major districts and colleges in the region canceled Wednesday classes due to severe weather.

Accumulated snow could snap tree branches and knock out power, Bonner said. Utilities were preparing, with Xcel Energy putting 165 employees on standby across the state.

Highways remained open Tuesday for the time being. Interstate 80 across southern Wyoming, including a high-elevation stretch between Cheyenne and Laramie that closes often, was open but webcams showed heavy snowfall.

Others along northern Colorado mountain highways also showed deteriorating conditions.

The ominous forecast did not deter thousands from attending the David Guetta show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, though organizers moved the start time up by an hour in hopes of getting fans home before the worst of the storm.

Concertgoers bundled up in furry winter coats and beanies while waiting in line to enter the outdoor venue.

Wait, snow in May?

The forecast is somewhat unusual but not unheard of.

Denver typically sees its last snowfall around April 28, although May storms do happen. The “Mile High City” recorded half an inch of snow (1.2 centimeters) on May 21, 2022, while nearby Boulder got 4.5 inches (11.4 centimeters).

Historically, Denver has seen at least five May storms with snowfall over 10 inches (25 centimeters). The biggest, in 1893, dropped 15.5 inches (39.3 centimeters). The city's most recent double-digit snow was May 25-26, 1950, with 10.7 inches (27 centimeters).

A light dusting on June 2, 1951, was the latest time in the year it snowed.

The worsening storm caused the Colorado Rockies to reschedule two games against the New York Mets. But that happens more often than not during Denver's spring baseball season, including four times in 2015, according to MLB.

May snows are even more common in the Wyoming capital of Cheyenne, which is almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) higher than Denver and cooler year-round. Wyoming is also windier than Colorado, pushing snow into drifts that must be re-plowed if gusts persist.

The storm is welcome during a drought, but not a fix

April was warmer than usual and short on precipitation, with Denver missing an inch of rain (2.5 centimeters) and 2.8 inches of snow (7 centimeters) last month compared to normal.

For some farmers, who have felt the pressure from Colorado's ongoing drought, the snow was an opportunity.

Adam Jones, who runs Unsung Family Farms in Longmont, told KMGH-TV that he had planted carrot seeds days before to take advantage of the precipitation.

“You can’t get as even distribution with driplines or sprinklers,” he said. “There’s nothing like starting seeds with snow or water.”

Jones had to move the more weather-sensitive crops inside, however, with a heater to keep them warm.

But one storm won't solve the West's water problems.

A report from the National Drought Mitigation Center said recent precipitation helped boost topsoil moisture and reduced irrigation demands, but hasn't changed a “mostly bleak” water outlook heading into the summer.

Wildfires also thrive in the dry conditions. Firefighters across the West have been turning to artificial intelligence and other technology to catch small fires before they expand.

Storms elsewhere, too

The unsettled weather isn’t limited to the Rockies.

Thunderstorms are expected from northeast Texas into western Tennessee, with Arkansas facing the greatest risk of large hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Isolated strong storms could also reach parts of the Northeast.

____

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. AP reporter Jaimie Ding contributed from Los Angeles.