El tiroteo ocurrió alrededor de las 2 a.m. del 10 de junio en la vivienda de Ashley Marie Hosendove, de 32 años, ubicada cerca de Northwest First Court y 16th Street. La mujer había sido arrestada inicialmente por un cargo no relacionado con el incidente.

Según el informe de arresto, la niña, identificada por un familiar como Janova Park, sufrió heridas de bala en el abdomen y el torso y fue trasladada de emergencia al HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, donde posteriormente murió.

Hosendove dijo a agentes de la Policía de Florida City que el hermano de Janova, de 4 años, fue quien apretó el gatillo, según el informe.

“Debido a que [Hosendove] no aseguró adecuadamente el arma de fuego y mostró una indiferencia consciente hacia el bienestar de sus hijos, lo que provocó la muerte de la víctima, fue acusada de un cargo de homicidio involuntario agravado de un menor y un cargo de negligencia culpable”, concluyó en el informe el detective Paulo Klimick Pereira, de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade.

Hasta la mañana del jueves, Hosendove, nacida en Carolina del Sur, permanecía detenida sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según los registros carcelarios.

En un comunicado, su abogado, Chad Piotrowski, calificó el incidente como “una tragedia absolutamente desgarradora”.

“Una madre perdió a su hija”, señala el comunicado. “No hay nada que el sistema de justicia penal pueda hacerle a esta mujer que se acerque siquiera a lo que ya está viviendo”.

Piotrowski dijo que su firma actuó “rápidamente” para lograr la liberación de Hosendove y agregó que “mañana por la mañana presentaremos un acuerdo para que pueda regresar a casa con su familia”.

“También existen verdaderas cuestiones legales en este caso”, continuó. “Ella es propietaria legal de un arma. El arma de fuego estaba dentro de una cangurera que había sido colocada en un clóset. Abordaremos esos asuntos ante el tribunal, pero por ahora nuestro objetivo es lograr que esta madre regrese a casa y trabajar rápidamente para resolver el caso”.

The shooting happened at around 2 a.m. on June 10 at the home of Ashley Marie Hosendove, 32, off Northwest First Court near 16th Street. She was initially arrested on an unrelated charge afterward.

According to an arrest report, the girl, who was identified by a family member as Janova Park, suffered gunshot wounds to her stomach and torso and was rushed to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where she later died.

Hosendove told Florida City police officers that Janova’s 4-year-old brother pulled the trigger, according to an arrest report.

“Due to the fact that (Hosendove) neglected to secure the firearm properly and displayed a conscious indifference of the welfare of her children, which resulted in the death of the victim, (she) was charged with one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child and one count of culpable negligence,” Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Detective Paulo Klimick Pereira concluded in the report.

As of Thursday morning, the South Carolina-born Hosendove was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, jail records show.

In a statement, her attorney, Chad Piotrowski, said the incident was “just an absolutely gut-wrenching tragedy.”

“A mother lost her child,” the statement reads. “There is nothing the criminal justice system can do to this woman that comes close to what she is already going through.”

Piotrowski said his firm “moved quickly” to get Hosendove released “and tomorrow morning we’ll be entering a stipulation to get her back home with her family.”

“There are also real legal issues with this case,” he continued. “She is a lawful gun owner. The firearm was in a fanny pack and placed inside a closet. We’re going to deal with those issues in court, but right now our focus is getting this mother home and working quickly to get this case resolved.”

Should a place with that many violations be serving you?

Rinconcito Miami 2 was not shut down, but the inspection found conditions that should concern anyone walking through the front door.

And one day later, during a follow-up inspection, 35 violations were still outstanding.

Inspectors found a mold-like substance inside the ice machine, mold-like substance on a blender, live flies flying around the kitchen and a dead roach on the floor.

Employees repeatedly handled food and clean equipment without washing their hands, including after touching a trash can and a soiled apron.

Raw pork and pork belly were sitting at 60 degrees, raw shrimp at 59 degrees and cooked noodles at 57 degrees in a walk-in cooler, with the food reportedly sitting there since the day before.

A stop-sale was issued.

Hot food was also being held at temperatures as low as 82 degrees.

And inspectors found handwashing sinks without adequate water, a broken soap dispenser and employees washing their hands in an improper sink.

Sixty-three violations during one unannounced inspection. This is unacceptable!

**RINCONCITO MIAMI 2

COUNTRY MALL PLAZA

15956 SW 137TH AVE.

WEST KENDALL/RICHMOND WEST(UNINCORPORATED SOUTHWEST MIAMI DADE)

INSPECTION DATE 8/11

63 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”

“Accumulation of debris inside ware washing machine.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed at steam table black bowl with no handle used to scoop rice.”

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed oven doors handle. Observed cooler doors handle.”

“Cardboard used on floor as anti-slip measure not replaced every day or when heavily soiled, whichever comes first. Observed in front of walk in cooler.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tile shows damage or is in disrepair. Observed some ceiling tiles in the kitchen shows water damage.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. Observed ceiling vents soiled all throughout the kitchen with dust and good debris.”

“Clean equipment and utensils not separated from soiled equipment and utensils at ware washing area. Observed at shelves near the dishwasher.”

“Clean glasses, cups, bowls, plates, pots and pans not stored inverted or in a protected manner. Observed at shelves near the dishwasher.”

“Clean utensils or equipment stored in dirty drawer or rack.”

“Cold holding equipment not maintained in good repair. Do not store time/temperature control for safety food in this unit until the unit is repaired. Observed walk in cooler at 50F.”

“Cove molding at floor/wall juncture broken/missing. Observed cove molding missing at handwashing sinks in the kitchen.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed 1 dead roach on floor near the dishwasher.”

“Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation. Observed cook with no hair restraint in the kitchen.”

“Establishment charging operational charges without properly disclosing the information on the receipt.”

“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside. Observed exterior door near vegetables walk in cooler has a gap on the right and left side.”

“Floor area(s) covered with standing water. Observed in front of walk in freezer.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor under cooking and cold holding units soiled with heavy grease and old food debris.”

“Food storage container for time/temperature control for safety food not cleaned after being emptied prior to refilling. Observed Inside beans container, Observed exterior of blender with mold like substance.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed food stored on floor in walk in freezer.”

“Food-contact surface not cleaned and sanitized between working with unwashed produce and ready-to-eat food.”

“Hood ventilation system inadequate as evidenced by grease accumulation on walls/ceiling.”

“Ice buildup in reach-in freezer and/or walk-in freezer.”

“In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed at oven door located in front of the steam table.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”

“No suitable facilities provided to store employee clothing and other possessions. Observed employee shoes, aprons and other belongings stored all throughout the kitchen.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed in gaskets walk in and reach cooler. “Observed can opener holder soiled.”

“Reach-in cooler interior/shelves have accumulation of soil residues.”

“Ripped/worn tin foil used as shelf cover. Observed in the walk in cooler.”

“Single-service articles stored on a soiled surface. Observed to go containers.”

“Soiled dry wiping cloth in use.”

“Standing water or very slow draining water in handwash sink, three-compartment sink, or mop sink. Observed at handwashing sink near walk in cooler.”

“Stored food not covered. Observed food stored in the vegetable walk in cooler not covered.”

“Walk-in cooler/freezer shelves with rust that has pitted the surface.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall soiled in the kitchen.”

“Water draining onto floor surface. Observed water draining onto floor from handwash sink near walk in cooler.”

“Water leaking from pipe and/or faucet/handle. Observed water leaking from pipe under the handwash sink near walk in cooler.” “Wet mops not stored in a manner to allow the mop to dry.”

“Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses. Observed in the cafeteria, in the kitchen, and server area.”

“Wet wiping cloths used for occasional spills on equipment food- and nonfood-contact surfaces not clean.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Observed container of salt at shelf near the triple sink.”

“Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Observed employee started preparing sandwiches, no handwash. Also observed cook started preparing food no handwash.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food.”

“Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee touched soiled apron and then proceeded to handled clean equipment’s.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee touched trash can near fryers.”

“Employee washed hands with cold water.”

“Food-contact surfaces in contact with time/temperature control for safety food not cleaned at least every four hours. Observed ice cream and milkshakes mixer.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Observed 2 live flies flying in the kitchen.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed Raw pork (60F - Cold Holding); Raw pork chop (53F - Cold Holding); Raw chicken (47F - Cold Holding); Cooked pork (51F - Cold Holding); Pork belly (60F - Cold Holding); Raw whole fish (48F - Cold Holding); Cooked ground beef (52F - Cold Holding); Cooked noodles (57F - Cold Holding); Raw shrimp (59F - Cold Holding); Beans sprouts (52F - Cold Holding) in the walk in cooler from the day prior.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed Raw pork (60F - Cold Holding); Raw pork chop (53F - Cold Holding); Raw chicken (47F - Cold Holding); Cooked pork (51F - Cold Holding); Pork belly (60F - Cold Holding); Raw whole fish (48F - Cold Holding); Cooked ground beef (52F - Cold Holding); Cooked noodles (57F - Cold Holding); Raw shrimp (59F - Cold Holding); Beans sprouts (52F - Cold Holding) in the walk in cooler since the day prior.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cook onions (82F - Hot Holding); maduro (92F - Hot Holding); rice and beans (96F - Hot Holding) at room temperature in the cook line, as per operator for less than 2 hours. Observed Milk (127- Hot Holding) in the Cafeteria area. Observed cook chicken (106F - Hot Holding) in the kitchen. As per operator for less than 2 hours. Observed yucca ( 123- Hot Holding); Malanga cream ( 121- Hot holding) at steam table.”

“Certified Food Manager or person in charge lacks knowledge of employee health policy and health requirements.”

“Employee washed hands in a sink other than an approved handwash sink.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed cutting boards soiled . Observed can opener soiled either old food debris.”

“Handwash sink does not have running water or enough water pressure to properly wash hands. Observed handwashing sink near dishwasher. Observed handwash sink near exit door.”

“Handwash sink not accessible for employee use at all times. Observed baking sheet and metal food container stored over hand sink at back preparation area.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed plastic containers stored inside of handwash sink near cook line.”

“Hot water supply not maintained during peak periods.”

“Non-pitting surface rust on food-contact equipment. Observed in the kitchen.”

“Probe thermometer not used to ensure proper food temperatures.”

“Soap dispenser at handwash sink not working/unable to dispense soap.”

“Water with a temperature of least 85 degrees Fahrenheit not provided/shut off at employee handwash sink. Observed hot water at 83F at handwash sink near kitchen exit door.”

Leer en español

Investigators say an argument between two men escalated to gunfire at the Mobil gas station located at 10300 NW 12th Ave. Wednesday around 5:25 p.m.

One of the men was struck and drove himself to North Shore Hospital before he was later taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, authorities said.

Deputies said they are searching for the person who shot the victim.

A Local 10 News crew was at the scene Thursday morning, where at least one car was hit with a bullet.

Additionally, detectives are examining surveillance footage and investigating the circumstances that led up to the gunfire.

No other injuries were reported.

Anyone with information on the suspect is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Leer en español

It happened near Northwest 79th Street and Sixth Court, in the county’s Little River area, just before 8:30 a.m.

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, a man was driving when he crashed into three other vehicles before running away from the scene on foot.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed a man and two women to a local area hospital in stable condition.

Authorities did not provide a description of the suspect who fled the crash.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

The suspect, Angel Angelitha Cure, was arrested Wednesday by the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, authorities confirmed.

According to an arrest report, Cure was screaming “f--k you” toward coaches during a football game when officers approached her.

The report states that Cure was “knowingly interfering with the activity of a school board event.”

Police said parents appeared “uneasy,” while school staff yelled for an officer to help escort her from campus located at 450 Bird Road, according to the report.

They said as officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Cure continued cursing. The report states she told an officer, “F--k you, you are not going to do anything.”

The report states that Cure eventually moved to the school parking lot, where cheerleaders and parents left the stands to see what was happening. Police said she continued yelling profanities at school staff and officers.

They said Cure was taken into custody after she refused commands to leave the campus. She was then transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without incident.

Jail records show Cure is facing one count of interfering with or disrupting an educational institution.

As of Thursday afternoon, Cure remained at TGK on a $150 bond.

The Colombian Geological Survey reported a 4.2-magnitude aftershock struck on Thursday in San José del Palmar, in the Chocó region. The death toll of Monday’s earthquake was at least 265 people.

Miami Beach Fire Rescue personnel will be collecting donations from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Friday to Aug. 31, at four stations: 1051 Jefferson Ave., 2300 Pine Tree Drive, 5303 Collins Ave., and 6880 Indian Creek Drive.

The city welcomes donations of new camping gear, hygiene supplies, first-aid kits, tarps, and canned food.

City employees plan to deliver the donations to Miami-Dade County-based nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission’s warehouse in Doral.

For more information about the city’s effort, visit this page.

Related story: Rescuers call for silence around earthquake rubble as window for survival narrows in Colombia

The call for quiet was part of last-ditch efforts by search-and-rescue teams to find survivors in the aftermath of the 7.4-magnitude quake that struck the South American country Monday. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a quake to be the prime window for retrieving survivors. But that time frame can be extended if those trapped have access to food and water.

“There might be two more people alive here, and I’m hopeful,” rescuer Daiana Rojas, 25, told The Associated Press. “We have been hearing sounds since 2:30 a.m., so our hope remains.”

Rojas and her family were unharmed by the quake, the most powerful to hit Colombia in this century. She has been working as a volunteer to help search for survivors in Cali, one of the most affected cities, along with Pereira, Manizales and Quibdó.

“I thought that was going to be my last moment alive,” she said, recalling the terror of the quake. “Seeing this situation in my city breaks my heart.”

The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, told reporters Wednesday that rescue teams continue to find signs of life under the rubble and were racing to save anyone within reach. “The next 20 hours are the most critical to find and rescue people alive,” he said.

The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government as they scramble to respond while aid groups push to help the most heavily damaged communities.

De la Espriella said Wednesday that nearly 500 people were reported missing, though civilian-run databases put that number at more than 4,200. In total, more than 25,800 families have been affected, de la Espriella said.

Rojas has witnessed two people being pulled alive from the debris, as well as the recovery of bodies.

“They are not a relative or a friend of mine, but it feels as they were,” she said of the survivors who have been found. “Whenever rescuers ask for silence, everyone stays still and tries not to move, speak or whisper. But when signs of life are found, all the teams start to applaud."

___

Suarez reported from Bogota, Colombia. Batschke reported from Santiago, Chile.

In all, three ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis struck the ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, just off Yemen’s coast, as it was coming into port, killing six people and injuring at least nine others, according to Yemeni authorities.

It was part of an escalating campaign by the Houthis and their first deadly attack this year on a vessel navigating the strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and accounts for roughly 12% of global trade.

“People were burning ... it was a strange scene of doomsday,” said Zaheer Ahmed, a Pakistani crew member recovering at a hospital in the port city of Mokha.

“I shouted for help and a Yemeni soldier came to my aid,” said Ahmed, who was injured in both legs.

All three of the crew members The Associated Press interviewed Wednesday at the hospital described intense fire, panic and damage aboard the ship, which was struck before dawn on Tuesday.

Muhammad Alteno, an Indonesian crew member, said he was in “complete shock” after witnessing another Indonesian crew member — a friend — die in the attack. Alteno said he had tried to rescue his friend, who was trapped inside the room they shared, after the first missile strike.

“But the flames were so intense that I couldn't breathe,” Alteno said. “I managed to escape with some of the (other) crew members.”

Two members of Yemen's government-allied National Resistance Forces were killed in the attack, as were three crew members from Pakistan.

The attack was one of many in recent weeks by the Houthis, who have killed government forces and civilians in an escalating campaign on the government-held city of Mokha and other areas, according to the Yemeni military. The rebel group has also intensified its attacks on troops and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government.

The attacks risk reigniting Yemen’s civil war following a 2022 U.N.-brokered truce, and could open a new front in the Middle East war.

The Houthis declared a blockade several weeks ago on Saudi-linked ships leaving the Bab al-Mandeb strait in retaliation for a yearslong Saudi siege on Yemen and recent attacks on the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. The Houthis had said they would only stop vessels connected to Saudi Arabia or going in and out of its Red Sea ports.

During a similar blockade it announced during the war in Gaza, the Houthis attacked over 100 vessels before a punishing U.S. and Israeli air campaign put an end to the attacks in early 2025.

___

Ezzidin reported from Cairo.

Su vida cotidiana como entrenadora dio un vuelco la noche del lunes cuando un sismo de magnitud 7,4 — el de mayor intensidad registrado en este siglo — sacudió gran parte del país, incluyendo su natal Cali, una de las ciudades con más muertos y personas atrapadas bajo los escombros.

“Es inevitable no ser voluntario en una catástrofe de tu propia ciudad”, relató a The Associated Press Rojas, de 25 años, en medio de los restos de un edicidio que colapsó. “Me encargo de organizar todos los insumos: guantes, cascos, gafas, agua. Y de patinar, que es ir donde están los que levantan los escombros para facilitar su hidratación”, explicó.

Aún tiene esperanza pese a que se acorta la ventana de las primeras 48 a 72 horas cruciales para hallar sobrevivientes, un plazo que puede extenderse si tienen acceso a comida y agua.

“Acá puede haber dos personas más con vida... desde las 2.30 (de la madrugada) hemos estado escuchando sonidos, entonces tenemos la esperanza intacta”, dijo animada Rojas.

Cuando los rescatistas oyen un sonido entre los escombros levantan los puños cerrados. Es la señal para que todos callen.

“Cuando dicen ‘silencio’ todos tratamos de no movernos, no hablar, ni susurrar; pero cuando la persona da una señal de vida todos empezamos a aplaudir”, relató Rojas, quien presenció el rescate de dos sobrevivientes. “Fue una felicidad increíble, no es un familiar mío ni amigo, pero es como si lo fuera”.

Sin embargo, Milton Castrillón, miembro de la alcaldía de Cali, dijo a AP que el jueves inicia una fase difícil “porque empieza la remoción de escombros" y como ya han pasado más de 72 horas enfocarán el esfuerzo en recuperar cuerpos, atender a los familiares y esperar que "existan milagros de Dios para encontrar vida”.

Cali ha sido una de las ciudades más afectadas por el sismo, pero también de las más atendidas en la emergencia debido a su fácil acceso terrestre y aéreo. La ayuda ha tardado más en llegar a otros lugares como Chocó, el epicentro del terremoto y una de las zonas más pobres del país, a menudo asediada por grupos armados enfrentados. A gran parte sólo se llega en barco, a través de la selva o en avión.

El presidente Abelardo de la Espriella, recién posesionado en el cargo, declaró el desastre nacional y la emergencia económica para poder establecer impuestos temporales sin el aval del Congreso y prometió destinar ese dinero a la construcción de hospitales, centros educativos, inmuebles, vías y aeropuertos.

El terremoto dejó más de 3.400 personas heridas, casi 500 desaparecidas, 11.347 viviendas destruidas y 53.526 dañadas, señaló De la Espriella. En tanto, 140 edificios han colapsado, más de 1.800 centros educativos resultaron afectados, 179 centros de salud sufrieron fallas estructurales y cinco aeropuertos registraron daños, entre otras afectaciones.

Colombia ha recibido ofrecimientos de ayuda de muchos países y organizaciones. De la Espriella informó el jueves que Emiratos Árabes Unidos donará 10 millones de dólares y la Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol y la Federación Colombiana de Fútbol anunciaron una donación conjunta de un millón de dólares.

Otros países han enviado ayuda humanitaria como El Salvador y ofrecido rescatistas como México. Sin embargo, la presidenta mexicana Claudia Sheinbaum afirmó el jueves que el grupo de 255 militares especialistas en operaciones de rescate no viajó la víspera porque las autoridades colombianas no lo aprobaron y solicitaron sus certificaciones, mientras pidieron apoyo en alimentos, agua y medicamentos.

———

Suárez reportó desde Bogotá y Batschke desde Santiago.

Meanwhile, a system designated Potential Tropical Cyclone One-C in the central Pacific, located about 800 miles southeast of Hawaii, is expected to organize into Tropical Storm Lala on Thursday and threaten the 50^th state this weekend.

Tropical twins plodding westward over the open Atlantic with a lackluster future

Two robust tropical disturbances – designated Invest 92L (westernmost) and Invest 94L (easternmost) – continue to gradually organize over the central and eastern Atlantic this morning and could each become a tropical depression or named storm in the coming days. The next names on the list are Dolly and Edouard.

The disturbance with the best development shot in the short term is the westernmost wave (Invest 92L), which has maintained persistent thunderstorms with an organizing circulation.

While 92L will probably get the nod as our next tropical depression or named storm — perhaps as soon as Thursday — like Crisobal before it, it’s time as a tropical cyclone will be short-lived.

By Saturday, it will be moving into the eastern Caribbean where a firehose of wind shear will mean lights out, and the system is expected to wash out over the weekend. 92L or what develops from it will not pose a widespread threat to the islands and may benefit drought-stricken areas of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile AI models that turned quickly bullish on Invest 94L late Tuesday have – in a similar fashion to 92L – since retreated in their enthusiasm. Models do suggest a longer shelf life for 94L than 92L but in general intensity guidance caps it as a low- to mid-tier tropical storm into early next week.

Unlike 92L which will sail deep into the Caribbean as a washed-out wave, 94L could maintain its designation as a tropical depression or tropical storm as it curls near or north of the easternmost Caribbean islands from Tuesday to Thursday next week.

Needless to say, this one has some obstacles ahead, including shear and dry air, which will tap the brakes on any significant organization.

For now, 94L doesn’t look to be a significant threat for the islands even if it develops.

Hawaii in the crosshairs of soon-to-be Lala

A disturbance about 800 miles southeast of Hawai’i – designated Potential Tropical Cyclone One-C – is likely to become Tropical Storm Lala later Thursday.

Models show Lala slowly strengthening to a strong tropical storm as it nears the Big Island early Saturday local time.

The good news since yesterday is forecast models have trended slightly south and away from the state but there remains a growing threat for impactful weather – including periods of heavy rains on east and south-facing slopes, flash flooding, strong winds, and dangerous surf and large swell along east-facing shorelines – for not only the Big Island but for Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai this weekend.

It’s been nearly two years since a tropical storm watch or warning has been issued for Hawaii and since Hurricane Douglas in 2020 that the state has been under a hurricane watch.

Only 11 tropical storms or hurricanes on record (since 1949) have been observed within 50 miles of the state and Tropical Storm Olivia in 2018 was the last named storm to pass directly over the island chain.

Residents and visitors should continue to closely monitor the forecast over the coming days.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade buscan a un conductor que, según las autoridades, provocó un accidente la mañana del jueves y huyó del lugar.

El incidente ocurrió poco antes de las 8:30 a.m. cerca de Northwest 79th Street y Sixth Court, en el área de Little River del condado.

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, el hombre conducía un vehículo cuando chocó contra otros tres automóviles y posteriormente huyó a pie.

Paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladaron a un hombre y dos mujeres a un hospital de la zona. Los tres se encontraban en condición estable.

Las autoridades no proporcionaron una descripción del sospechoso que huyó del lugar.

Cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el incidente puede comunicarse con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

The company is one of the nation's largest providers of automated license plate readers, which document plate data and other vehicle characteristics as automobiles pass Flock's cameras. The thousands of law enforcement agencies that contract with the company can search and share that data across jurisdictions to inform investigations.

Police have credited the technology as an important crime-fighting innovation that has helped locate missing people and track suspects in violent crimes. But dozens of cities and agencies have nixed their relationships with Flock amid concerns that the data can be accessed for immigration enforcement or used in unauthorized surveillance, after a flurry of examples surfaced of law enforcement officers misusing the technology for personal searches.

CEO says changes will drive accountability

In an interview, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said many of the product changes will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory for its users to implement by Jan. 1.

Among them: All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that's intended to flag abnormal search behavior. When the system detects abnormal behavior, the user would be locked out pending an internal review, the company said in a description of the changes provided ahead of Thursday's announcement.

Flock, which says its customers own the data that the cameras record, is also shortening the standard data retention window from 30 days to seven. It said it will allow data to be preserved for longer when it is evidence tied to a case number.

Law enforcement users will now also be required to enter a code from their records management system tying each search to a specific case before it is run, something Langley said civil liberties advocates have long been calling for. Overrides for emergencies would be automatically flagged for review, the company said.

Customers will also be allowed to decide which offense types — such as homicide or arson — outside agencies can search their data for, which would allow a customer to block outside searches related to immigration enforcement, the company said.

Langley said that change will give individual cities and departments control to use the system in a manner “consistent with community values.”

Critics say updates still leave room for abuses

Critics of the company reacted skeptically to the changes, which they said appeared designed to address the growing bipartisan anger about the cameras but could still leave room for police to abuse the system.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in a blog post that the shortened evidence retention window could be “a step in the right direction,” but it characterized the other changes as “retreads” of inadequate safety measures.

Robert Frommer, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that's led closely watched litigation over the technology, called the changes “window dressing” from a company in “panic mode."

“This is window dressing that doesn’t address the fundamental problem, which is that police officers are the ones deciding who and when to search, and that should be done by judges with real warrants,” he said.

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a professor at the George Washington University Law School whose scholarship has focused on policing, big data surveillance and the Fourth Amendment, said he’s been surprised to see the “growing community backlash” against Flock specifically, given the technology is not new and other companies sell it as well.

But Flock and the movement against it have “captured people’s sense that maybe they don’t want to be surveilled all the time,” said Ferguson, a former public defender who earlier this year published a book about policing and surveillance.

More than 50 agencies or jurisdictions canceled, suspended or rejected a contract or deactivated their cameras since the beginning of the year, according to a tracker maintained by DeFlock, a grassroots group formed to track the use of license plate reader technology and push back against it.

In Congress, Republican representatives filed at least two bills aiming to restrict the use of the technology in July.

Ian Adams, an associate professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina currently working on a Flock-related research study, said many of the concerns raised about how the company's data can be used are not new concerns in law enforcement.

“Anyone with policing experience could have reasonably foreseen that what have been termed as ‘curiosity searches’ by officers, searches for private reasons not related to police work, were going to be a problem this technology faced,” he added, noting that other technologies and platforms like the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information had faced those issues.

Successes and failures have captured attention

Flock, based in Atlanta, Georgia, often posts to its website what the company deems to be everyday examples of success stories for its cameras, including finding missing seniors and catching car thieves. But the tech has also been used in high-profile cases that have garnered national attention, such as the search for a suspect in a fatal shooting at Brown University and in tracking and arresting a former North Carolina police officer who authorities say had made threats that he planned to carry out a mass shooting at a festival in Louisiana.

Abuses have also drawn widespread attention. The Washington Post reported earlier this month finding nearly 50 instances of police officers charged or accused of using the cameras for unauthorized purposes, many for tracking current or former romantic partners or family members.

Just this week, six employees — including four officers — of the Savannah Police Department in Georgia were fired after they were accused of searching for friends and family using the tool and allowing an officer from an outside agency to use the city’s cameras.

The Savannah department said it was made aware of the misuse through Flock’s voluntary audit function.

___

Lauer reported from Philadelphia.

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Prosecutors called them a major flight risk.

The two have been in the downtown Miami Federal Detention Center since July 19.

Several social media posts used by prosecutors point to self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate boasting online in 2021 that he is untouchable.

“I can be in another country under a different name, with a penthouse and $300K if things go bad,” he previously said.

Another post from the same year said in part, “Court date. I absolutely do not care.”

U.K. authorities are seeking their extradition for 59 charges related to rape and human trafficking.

The allegations took place between 2010 and 2017.

Prosecutors say Tristian Tate may have a Mexican passport under the name Vladimir Scorpius.

A photo of it was included in the filing.

Officials in Mexico say they have no record of issuing a passport in that name.

The document says the U.K. has not received travel alerts for the brothers’ true passports.

Prosecutors referenced a video of Andrew Tate appearing on Patrick Butler’s podcast.

“I have 7 passports, I have 15 drivers licenses,” he said during the appearance.

The Tate’s lawyer says they have no plans to evade the law and wrote in a recent motion following their 2022 arrest in Romania, “The brothers traveled to nine other countries and on every occasion they returned to Romania to check in with authorities because their release conditions required it.”

Since being arrested, someone has been posting to social media on Andrew Tate’s behalf.

A post from two days ago reads, “Bugattis, money, federal prison, prosecutors after you, street notoriety, professional fights, children with endless women etc. It’s GTA6. I live what everyone is waiting to play.”

The Tates claim they are innocent of the accusations against them.

After the court’s consideration, the final decision on extradition falls on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The hearing will now take place on Aug. 27, meaning they will remain there at least until then.

Nuevos documentos judiciales revelan que los fiscales consideran que Andrew y Tristan Tate cuentan con varios pasaportes e identidades que podrían utilizar para evadir a las autoridades.

Los fiscales señalaron que ambos representan un importante riesgo de fuga.

Los hermanos permanecen detenidos en el Centro Federal de Detención del centro de Miami desde el 19 de julio.

Los fiscales citaron varias publicaciones en redes sociales, entre ellas una de 2021 en la que Andrew Tate, quien se ha autodefinido como misógino, presumía en internet de ser intocable.

“Puedo estar en otro país con un nombre diferente, un penthouse y $300,000 si las cosas salen mal”, dijo en una publicación.

En otra publicación de ese mismo año escribió, en parte: “Fecha en la corte. No me importa en absoluto”.

Las autoridades del Reino Unido solicitan la extradición de ambos por 59 cargos relacionados con violación y trata de personas.

Las acusaciones corresponden a hechos que presuntamente ocurrieron entre 2010 y 2017.

Los fiscales aseguran que Tristan Tate podría tener un pasaporte mexicano bajo el nombre de Vladimir Scorpius. Una fotografía del documento fue incluida en el expediente judicial.

Sin embargo, autoridades mexicanas señalaron que no tienen registro de haber expedido un pasaporte con ese nombre.

Los documentos también indican que el Reino Unido no ha recibido alertas de viaje relacionadas con los pasaportes que contienen las identidades reales de los hermanos.

Los fiscales hicieron referencia además a un video de Andrew Tate durante una aparición en el podcast de Patrick Butler.

“Tengo siete pasaportes, tengo 15 licencias de conducir”, afirmó Tate durante la entrevista.

El abogado de los hermanos Tate sostiene que no tienen intención de evadir a la justicia. En una moción reciente, recordó que después de su arresto en Rumania en 2022 “los hermanos viajaron a otros nueve países y en cada ocasión regresaron a Rumania para presentarse ante las autoridades, porque las condiciones de su liberación así lo exigían”.

Desde su arresto, alguien ha continuado publicando mensajes en las redes sociales en nombre de Andrew Tate.

Una publicación de hace dos días dice: “Bugattis, dinero, prisión federal, fiscales persiguiéndote, notoriedad en las calles, peleas profesionales, hijos con innumerables mujeres, etc. Es GTA6. Vivo lo que todos están esperando jugar”.

Los hermanos Tate sostienen que son inocentes de las acusaciones en su contra.

Una vez que el tribunal analice el caso, la decisión final sobre la extradición corresponderá al secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio.

La audiencia se celebrará ahora el 27 de agosto, por lo que los hermanos permanecerán detenidos al menos hasta esa fecha.

Like yesterday, we will have some spotty showers and thunderstorms developing this afternoon, especially after 3pm. They will favor inland areas around and west of the Florida Turnpike. We will be drier near the beaches. This pattern is on repeat into the weekend.

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The winning ticket was sold at Hy-Vee Gas station in Quincy, Illinois. The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were 4, 26, 66, 67 and 69, with a Powerball of 9.

The jackpot winner has not yet been identified. The winner can choose between annual payments or a lump-sum payment estimated at $433 million before taxes.

Many South Florida residents were out Wednesday trying to snag the lucky numbers. Lottery officials said a ticket sold at a Circle K in Lakeland, Florida, matched all five white-ball numbers for a $1 million prize.

Local 10’s Jason Carter spoke with South Florida residents on Wednesday about what they would do if they won a billion dollars.

“I think I would give away at least $200 million to charity or to people, and then I would buy myself a huge, huge mansion,” a woman said.

The game recently expanded to allow players in the United Kingdom to participate.

Alguien ganó el premio mayor de $1,040 millones del Powerball, el más grande desde el año pasado, según funcionarios de la lotería.

El boleto ganador fue vendido en una gasolinera Hy-Vee en Quincy, Illinois. Los números sorteados la noche del miércoles fueron 4, 26, 66, 67 y 69, con el Powerball 9.

La identidad del ganador aún no ha sido revelada. El afortunado podrá elegir entre recibir el premio en pagos anuales o un pago único estimado en $433 millones antes de impuestos.

Muchos residentes del sur de Florida salieron el miércoles en busca de los números de la suerte. Funcionarios de la lotería informaron que un boleto vendido en una tienda Circle K en Lakeland, Florida, acertó los cinco números de las bolas blancas y obtuvo un premio de $1 millón.

Jason Carter, de Local 10, habló el miércoles con residentes del sur de Florida sobre qué harían si ganaran $1,000 millones.

“Creo que donaría al menos $200 millones a organizaciones benéficas o a otras personas, y después me compraría una mansión enorme, enorme”, dijo una mujer.

El juego se amplió recientemente para permitir la participación de jugadores del Reino Unido.

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Investigators said Matthew Holloway, 21, surrendered to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Monticello, Florida, on Sunday and was extradited to Broward County on Wednesday.

Holloway faces one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted felony murder in connection with the May 8 shooting near the 7900 block of Southwest Seventh Court, according to jail records.

Deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office said they responded to reports of a shooting at around 1 a.m. and found 19-year-old O’Mari Doe inside a 2020 Ford Mustang suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. They said Doe was airlifted to Broward Health North, where he later died.

Authorities said 20-year-old Maurice Vorroto was found outside the vehicle with a gunshot wound. His injuries were not considered life-threatening.

According to investigators, Doe, Vorroto and two other people were inside the Mustang when five suspects arrived in a black Honda Accord. Witnesses told detectives that the suspects got out of the vehicle armed with handguns and fired multiple shots into the Mustang before fleeing.

A Fort Lauderdale police officer later spotted the Honda Accord, leading to a pursuit. The suspects eventually abandoned the vehicle near the 900 block of Southwest 13th Street in Fort Lauderdale.

Authorities previously arrested Aamir Dennard Adams, 19; Anthony Adams, 18; Amari Adams, 16; and Romayne Smith, 17, in connection with the shooting.

Detectives later identified Holloway as the fifth suspect and sought the public’s help locating him through Broward Crime Stoppers.

With Holloway now extradited to Broward County, all five suspects identified in the case have been apprehended.

As of Thursday morning, Holloway, Aamir Adams and Anthony Adams were being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.

Los investigadores informaron que Matthew Holloway, de 21 años, se entregó el domingo a la Oficina del Sheriff del condado de Jefferson, en Monticello, Florida, y fue extraditado a Broward el miércoles.

Holloway enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en primer grado y tres cargos de intento de asesinato durante la comisión de un delito grave por el tiroteo ocurrido el 8 de mayo cerca de la cuadra 7900 de Southwest Seventh Court, según los registros carcelarios.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward (BSO) informaron que atendieron un reporte de disparos alrededor de la 1 a.m. y encontraron a O’Mari Doe, de 19 años, dentro de un Ford Mustang 2020 con múltiples heridas de bala.

Doe fue trasladado en helicóptero al Broward Health North, donde posteriormente murió.

Las autoridades también encontraron a Maurice Vorroto, de 20 años, fuera del vehículo con una herida de bala. Sus lesiones no fueron consideradas potencialmente mortales.

Según los investigadores, Doe, Vorroto y otras dos personas se encontraban dentro del Mustang cuando cinco sospechosos llegaron en un Honda Accord negro.

Testigos dijeron a los detectives que los sospechosos descendieron del vehículo armados con pistolas y realizaron múltiples disparos contra el Mustang antes de huir.

Posteriormente, un agente de la Policía de Fort Lauderdale localizó el Honda Accord, lo que dio inicio a una persecución. Los sospechosos finalmente abandonaron el vehículo cerca de la cuadra 900 de Southwest 13th Street, en Fort Lauderdale.

Las autoridades habían arrestado previamente a Aamir Dennard Adams, de 19 años; Anthony Adams, de 18; Amari Adams, de 16; y Romayne Smith, de 17, en relación con el tiroteo.

Los detectives identificaron posteriormente a Holloway como el quinto sospechoso y solicitaron la ayuda del público para localizarlo a través de Broward Crime Stoppers.

Con la extradición de Holloway al condado de Broward, los cinco sospechosos identificados en el caso se encuentran ya bajo custodia.

Hasta la mañana del jueves, Holloway, Aamir Adams y Anthony Adams permanecían detenidos sin derecho a fianza en la cárcel principal del condado de Broward.

En Auburndale Elementary, los estudiantes escogieron mochilas gratuitas llenas de útiles escolares, con muchos colores y estilos para elegir.

“¡Estoy emocionada!”, dijo Keila, estudiante de quinto grado.

Camilla, estudiante de segundo grado, dijo que escogió una mochila morada porque también tenía color rosado.

El evento de Auburndale fue uno de varios realizados en las Escuelas Públicas de Miami-Dade en la víspera del nuevo año escolar.

Comisionados locales se asociaron con las escuelas para dar la bienvenida a los estudiantes y sus familias.

“Fui a una escuela pública a solo unas cuadras de aquí. Recuerdo el primer día de clases. Era aterrador, intimidante: nuevos estudiantes, nuevos maestros, director”, dijo el comisionado de Miami Rafael Rosado. “Lo que estamos haciendo es darles la bienvenida para que puedan ver nuestras sonrisas, nuestra emoción y nuestro apoyo para ellos”.

Los eventos también dieron a los estudiantes la oportunidad de conocer sus salones antes del inicio de clases y aprender más sobre los programas en los que participarán durante el año escolar.

En Bowman Ashe/Doolin K-8 Academy, en el suroeste de Miami-Dade, estudiantes y familias conocieron el programa STARTs de la escuela magnet, que incluye música y robótica.

Los maestros también se preparaban para dar la bienvenida a los estudiantes.

“Reunirnos con los padres y tener esa conexión, en última instancia, ayuda a que los estudiantes tengan éxito”, dijo Rachel Ruiz, maestra de Bowman Ashe/Doolin Academy. “Estoy sumamente emocionada. Los nervios son buenos nervios. Estoy lista para enseñarles”.

El inicio del nuevo año escolar trae desafíos adicionales para algunas familias de Miami-Dade afectadas por cambios migratorios, mientras las autoridades educativas aseguran que están preparadas para brindarles apoyo.

Para algunas familias, este año escolar comenzará con ajustes importantes en medio de cambios recientes en materia migratoria.

El Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) terminó recientemente para miles de ciudadanos haitianos en Estados Unidos, una situación ante la cual las autoridades de las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Miami-Dade enviaron un mensaje a los padres afectados.

“Los padres no deben dejar a sus hijos en casa”, dijo el superintendente de Miami-Dade, José Dotres. “Por favor, llévenlos a la escuela”.

Los permisos de trabajo también vencieron para ciudadanos haitianos que trabajaban en el sistema escolar, por lo que las autoridades están realizando los ajustes correspondientes.

“Tenemos que tomar las medidas apropiadas, pero tratamos de asegurarnos de monitorear de cerca el impacto del TPS en nuestro distrito escolar”, señaló Dotres.

Las autoridades educativas dijeron estar preparadas para ayudar a las familias que puedan sentir preocupación o incertidumbre ante las actuales medidas de control migratorio.

En cuanto a los empleados, funcionarios del distrito indicaron que el área de servicios humanos está revisando la situación de cada trabajador, ya que las circunstancias migratorias pueden variar de una persona a otra.

Además, para la tarde del miércoles estaban programados varios eventos de regreso a clases, entre ellos una feria de recursos escolares en South Miami Heights hasta las 4 p.m., una actividad en Shenandoah Elementary a la 1 p.m. y otra en Citrus Grove K-8 a las 2:30 p.m.

Mientras los estudiantes comienzan a regresar a clases en todo el sur de Florida, Local 10 quiere ayudar a celebrar este momento compartiendo sus fotos favoritas del regreso a clases.

The man died in Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele after traveling there from Isiro in Haut-Uele province, said Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak in eastern Congo, considered the fastest-growing one yet, is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history, which erupted over a decade ago and killed over 11,000 people, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for the current outbreak.

It has killed over 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases, according to the latest government figures. This death toll has been reached almost three times faster than in the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa — the worst in history.

The outbreak is unfolding in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable, with strikes by some unpaid health workers, threats by rebel groups, anger from long-traumatized communities and misinformation asserting that Ebola isn’t real.

Bas-Uele is a vast province in northeastern Congo that borders the Central African Republic, where there is recurring armed violence that has forced thousands to flee and take refuge in the province. Access can be difficult due to bad and poorly connected roads as well as limited communication networks, and there are frequent population movements related to gold mining and displacement from conflict.

As of Thursday, six out of 26 of Congo’s provinces have been impacted.

Meanwhile, health workers at the Nizi Treatment Center in Ituri province, one of the most affected in the area, went on strike Thursday, leading to the temporary closure of the center after they said they have not been paid for three months.

Kaseya on Thursday called on the Congolese government to pay the outstanding salaries.

“We need to pay health workers,” he told reporters. “This is the responsibility of the government, not partners. And they told us that money is available.”

The real scope of the outbreak remains unknown. It was declared on May 15, but the WHO now says sequencing showed it began months earlier, in February.

Health authorities have said between 60% and 70% of new cases are recorded outside contacts being monitored, and that the disease is spreading at an “alarming” rate. Contract tracing helps break chains of transmission by finding exposed people early and reacting quickly if they show symptoms.

“We are chasing the virus; the virus is ahead of us,” the WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said this week.

On Thursday, Kaseya from Africa CDC said “the concept of contact tracing in DRC has become useless.”

Ebola is rare but highly contagious and can be contracted from bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and from contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing. The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.

Clinical trials of two possible treatments for this type of Ebola began last month in Ituri, the most affected of the five provinces in Congo where cases have been reported.

Two vaccines developed specifically for the Bundibugyo virus are now being tested in people for the first time, the WHO said Wednesday.

WHO also plans to test whether an existing Ebola vaccine could protect people against the virus after studies in animals showed promising results.

Kaseya said on Thursday that Africa CDC supports the use of Ervebo, a vaccine authorized against the Zaire Ebola strain in provinces impacted by Bundibugyo virus. He said some studies show some cross-protection from the available vaccines.

“We are in a gray area,” he said. “And when you are in a gray area, you have to make strong decisions to stop seeing people dying."

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At Miami Springs Preparatory Academy, sixth through 12th graders arrived before sunrise for the first day of classes. The school is now serving a larger student population after Miami Springs Middle School closed.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent José Dotres spoke at the school and said the changes are intended to give students access to better resources as the district responds to shifting enrollment.

“This role of mine is my the privilege and the honor of my lifetime and I’m just excited to see one more year of schools opening we’ve had,” Dotres said. “With my tenure, we’ve had terrific every single year has been excellent. I’m planning, specially this one more than ever.”

Thursday marked Dotres’ final first day of school as superintendent. His tenure is scheduled to end in February.

The district is also reminding families about changes to its free and reduced-price meal program.

A total of 121 schools across the district will continue providing free breakfast and lunch to all students. Free breakfast will continue to be available at elementary schools, while families with students in middle or high school should check whether their school qualifies for free or reduced-price meals.

Families whose children are not already covered are being urged to apply through the district’s website before the application deadline.

Eighth-grader Jesus Perdomo offered some advice to other students starting the new school year.

“All the students out there should try not to like get in trouble, try and focus on their studies and just generally have a good time,” he said.

Angelica Rodriguez told Local 10 that her son normally takes the bus but did not have an assigned route listed in his schedule.

“He usually comes in the bus, but today something came out in the schedule,” Rodriguez said. “It says that he doesn’t have an assigned bus. I called transportation and they told me just to bring him to school and ask at the office what’s going on and it’s probably something in the system.”

District officials reminded families to make sure emergency contact information is updated and to double-check bus routes, stops and schedules as the new school year begins.

Families can also use the Dadeschools Mobile App, the district’s official mobile application, to access school-related information, including schedules and transportation information.

As students begin returning to classes across South Florida, Local 10 wants to help celebrate the milestone by sharing your favorite back-to-school photos.

Estudiantes de todo el condado de Miami-Dade regresaron a las aulas este jueves, algunos de ellos en nuevos planteles tras el cierre o la consolidación de nueve escuelas públicas debido a la disminución de la matrícula.

En Miami Springs Preparatory Academy, alumnos de sexto a 12.º grado comenzaron a llegar antes del amanecer para su primer día de clases. La escuela recibe ahora a una mayor cantidad de estudiantes tras el cierre de Miami Springs Middle School.

El superintendente de las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Miami-Dade, José Dotres, visitó el plantel y señaló que los cambios buscan brindar a los estudiantes acceso a mejores recursos mientras el distrito se adapta a las variaciones en la matrícula.

“Este cargo ha sido el privilegio y el honor de mi vida y estoy emocionado de ver el inicio de un año escolar más”, dijo Dotres. “Durante mi gestión, cada año ha sido excelente. Tengo grandes expectativas, especialmente para este año, más que nunca”.

Este jueves marcó el último primer día de clases de Dotres como superintendente. Su gestión está programada para concluir en febrero.

El distrito también recordó a las familias que se implementaron cambios en su programa de comidas gratuitas y a precio reducido.

Un total de 121 escuelas del distrito continuarán ofreciendo desayuno y almuerzo gratuitos a todos los estudiantes. El desayuno gratuito seguirá disponible en las escuelas primarias, mientras que las familias con alumnos de secundaria deben verificar si su escuela califica para ofrecer comidas gratuitas o a precio reducido.

Las familias cuyos hijos aún no estén cubiertos por el programa deben presentar una solicitud a través del sitio web del distrito antes de que venza el plazo.

Jesus Perdomo, estudiante de octavo grado, ofreció algunos consejos a otros alumnos que comienzan el nuevo año escolar.

“Todos los estudiantes deberían tratar de no meterse en problemas, concentrarse en sus estudios y, en general, pasarla bien”, dijo.

Angelica Rodriguez contó a Local 10 que su hijo normalmente utiliza el autobús escolar, pero que en su horario no aparecía una ruta asignada.

“Normalmente viene en autobús, pero hoy apareció algo en el horario”, explicó Rodriguez. “Dice que no tiene un autobús asignado. Llamé a transporte y me dijeron que simplemente lo trajera a la escuela y preguntara en la oficina qué está pasando, porque probablemente sea un problema del sistema”.

Funcionarios del distrito recordaron a las familias que deben asegurarse de que la información de contacto de emergencia esté actualizada y verificar las rutas, paradas y horarios de los autobuses escolares al comenzar el nuevo ciclo escolar.

Las familias también pueden utilizar la aplicación móvil oficial Dadeschools Mobile App para consultar información relacionada con las escuelas, incluidos horarios y datos sobre transporte.

Mientras los estudiantes regresan a las aulas en todo el sur de Florida, Local 10 quiere ayudar a celebrar este momento compartiendo sus fotos favoritas del regreso a clases.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade investigan un tiroteo ocurrido en una gasolinera del noroeste del condado.

Según los investigadores, una discusión entre dos hombres escaló hasta un intercambio de disparos alrededor de las 5:25 p.m. del miércoles en la gasolinera Mobil ubicada en 10300 NW 12th Ave.

Uno de los hombres resultó herido y condujo por sus propios medios hasta el North Shore Hospital. Posteriormente fue trasladado al Ryder Trauma Center del Jackson Memorial Hospital, informaron las autoridades.

Las autoridades indicaron que buscan a la persona que disparó contra la víctima.

Un equipo de Local 10 News acudió al lugar el jueves por la mañana, donde se observó que al menos un vehículo había sido alcanzado por una bala.

Además, los detectives están revisando imágenes de cámaras de vigilancia e investigando las circunstancias que llevaron al tiroteo.

No se reportaron otras personas heridas.

Cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el sospechoso puede comunicarse con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

Western officials have previously warned that Russia has stepped up a campaign of targeted killings since President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying they have disrupted several plots across Europe. But Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this incident was unprecedented.

It was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” sought to attack an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country, Tusk said Thursday.

The suspect, who was allegedly recruited by Russia's secret services, was detained by Polish authorities on Aug. 7.

The American Ukrainian citizen “was uncomfortable for the Putin regime,” Tusk said in a news conference.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with U.S. services, said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services. He said the targeted victim was a U.S. citizen “of Ukrainian origin.” Officials did not immediately provide further details.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Western countries believe Russia seeks to undermine Ukraine's allies

Russia has long been accused of targeting its enemies abroad, including by using rare poisons. But intelligence officials previously told The Associated Press that Russia’s security services are now more brazen in their choice of targets, going after Russian activists and foreign supporters of Ukraine as well as military defectors.

Western officials see the campaign as connected to Russia’s broader efforts to undermine European countries that support Ukraine. The AP has mapped about 200 acts of sabotage, arson and other disruption across Europe since the start of the war that officials have linked to Russia. President Vladimir Putin told AP in May that Russia is not waging a sabotage campaign against Europe.

British authorities accused Russia of being behind the killing of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 with radioactive polonium and of attempting to kill former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018 with the nerve agent Novichok.

German authorities also said Russia organized the 2019 killing of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen rebel commander who was shot in a Berlin park by Vadim Krasikov, a hitman who was later greeted by Putin after he was exchanged in a spy swap.

In June, a Russian artist who was critical of Putin was shot and killed at close range near his home in eastern Poland. Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky was critical of Putin and Tusk said at the time that the killing had the hallmarks of a political assassination. He suggested it was possible Russia was behind it but Polish officials have not yet attributed it to Moscow.

Last year French officials disrupted a plot which they believe was aimed at killing Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian exile who lives under police protection and works to help military defectors flee Putin’s war. Lithuanian officials also disrupted a plot last year to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another against a Russian activist. Officials in Germany have similarly broken up two plots: one to target the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, the other against a Ukrainian military official.

Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024 in what they said was a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And that same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected was killed in Spain — with Russian operatives the prime suspects.

“This campaign is not by accident or chance,” a senior European intelligence official previously told the AP. “There is political authorization.”

___

Burrows reported from London. Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

The ticket that won the jackpot Wednesday night was purchased at a Hy-Vee station in Quincy, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of the state capital of Springfield along the Missouri border, Illinois Lottery officials said. The winning numbers were 4-26-66-67-69 with the Powerball number of 9.

It wasn't immediately clear if the winner has come forward yet.

The prize comes in the form of either an annuity of $1 billion paid over 29 years or a lump-sum payment of $450.5 million. Winners almost always take the lump sum.

It was the first Powerball jackpot won since May 2, when the top prize was $20 million, and the first since ticket sales began in the United Kingdom last month. At $2 per play, the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292 million.

The $1.04 billion grand prize was the eighth-largest in Powerball history, game organizers said. Another lottery game, Mega Millions has also had a $1 billion jackpot winner.

“Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winner in Illinois,” Stephen Durrell, chair of the Powerball Product Group and executive director of the Kansas Lottery, said in a statement. “For more than three decades, Powerball has shown that a winning ticket can be sold anywhere the game is played, giving every $2 ticket the chance to change not only a winner’s life, but generations to come."

Four tickets sold for Wednesday's drawing — in Arizona, California, Florida and North Carolina — hit five of the numbers but missed the Powerball number. They were worth $1 million apiece. A ticket sold in Massachusetts also matched all the numbers except the Powerball number, but won $2 million because of the “Power Play” multiplier option costing an extra $1 per play.

More than 3 million tickets won lesser cash prizes.

The Powerball jackpot resets to $20 million for the next drawing on Saturday.

The record lottery jackpot still stands at just over $2 billion, won with a Powerball ticket purchased in California in 2022.

It's the same for most runners, as the body can't cool down during exertion, and heat makes that even harder.

“One thing about marathoners is typically we're kind of stubborn,” said Grinvalds, 68, from West Des Moines, Iowa, who finds even temperatures in the 50s F (10 C) a bit warm. “So if we have a goal and it's hot, a lot of times we're still going to try to do that goal, which is just stupid because you're almost guaranteed to have a very painful experience.”

Such an experience can also be dangerous, a reality that marathon organizers are having to confront as climate change, caused mostly by the burning of fuels like coal and gasoline, pushes temperatures up. To improve the chances of having the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) race in cooler weather, organizers are shifting race dates, starting earlier and even giving options for participants to cut their runs short.

Starting in 2027, the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis-St. Paul will shift its more than 40-year tradition of holding the race on the first Sunday in October to later in the month. That decision comes after cancellation of the marathon in 2023 because of record heat and humidity, and starting temperatures near 70 F (21 C) for the 2025 race.

Organizers of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, marathon last year similarly moved their annual race from August to September after canceling the 2024 race due to hot conditions. And other races, including the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas, and the Long Beach Marathon in Southern California, all moved their start times to earlier in the morning in search of cooler temperatures.

In Los Angeles in March, warm conditions prompted race organizers to give runners the option of stopping after 18 miles and still receiving a finishers medal. Less than 5% of participants opted for the shorter finish and only 14 of roughly 27,000 runners were treated at a hospital, with all released the same day. Still, the move led to some online derision.

“We welcome the feedback and it's certainly something that caused a lot of discussion, but when we're grading ourselves on it, it has to do with how safe our runners were on the day of the event and we're very happy with the outcome,” said Meg Treat, a spokesperson for the marathon.

At the Twin Cities Marathon, race director Ed Whetham called the decision to cancel the 2023 marathon “devastating” for runners and the organization. Whetham said it prompted an extensive analysis of weather patterns that resulted in the decision to permanently delay the race by a couple weeks.

That analysis showed that by holding the race later in October, runners would have a far greater chance of optimal conditions. Given that snow sometimes falls in the Twin Cities in late October, there is a greater chance of chilly conditions, but Whetham said, “We’ll take a 39-degree (4 C) start over a 70-degree (21 C) start.”

Temperatures are expected to keep rising

The contiguous U.S. just had its warmest July ever recorded, and the Earth had its hottest year on record in 2024. The World Meteorological Organization forecasts that between 2025 and 2030 the Earth's average global temperature will likely rise by more than 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) compared to the 1800s.

The warming is already making conditions worse for most marathons, according to a study of 221 races by the climate research group Climate Central. By 2045, optimal conditions for recreational runners — in the low 40s (6 or 7 degrees C) — would be less likely at 46 of the 51 U.S. marathons analyzed.

“The ability to go outside, to exercise, to take advantage of your human body and being healthy, that’s something that’s getting challenged by climate change,” said Andy Pershing, who led the Climate Central research.

Jessica Murfree leads a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill lab studying climate change's effect on sports. She said organizers of marathons, bicycle races and other competitions — from tennis to college football — increasingly must consider changing event dates and times and adopting other safety measures, as climate change makes the weather hotter and more volatile.

Murfree said the concern extends beyond organized sports to whether people can even get outside on increasingly warm days, pushing people to exercise indoors or opt for activities like swimming.

“If we can't walk, if we can't exercise or go for runs, it's too hot, can we still stay physically active while remaining cool?” she asked.

Marathons are especially hard in warm weather

Any kind of exercising in the heat can be challenging, but running a marathon in warm, humid conditions is especially difficult because it's hard to prevent overheating when a person keeps pushing themselves for hours. And the faster a person goes, the more heat their body produces.

Chris Minson, a University of Oregon professor who researches how people can adapt to extreme heat and other environmental conditions, said the optimum temperature to run a marathon is about 50 degrees (10 C). As the temperature creeps into the upper 50s and 60s, the body has a tougher time supplying blood to muscles while also keeping the body cool.

“As you get to warmer temperatures you end up having a bigger competition between blood supplying your muscles to keep running, to keep nutrition going, and blood flow to your skin for thermal regulation,” Minson said.

Minson said it takes a tremendous amount of energy to run quickly. But of that energy, only about 25% is used to move the body forward. The rest goes to deal with the heat that is created by rapid movement.

Even worse than high temperatures is high humidity, which prevents sweat from evaporating and cooling the body.

Minson adds, though, that by regularly exercising in warm weather, people can acclimate to high temperatures and perform better in the heat, though likely not as well as they would in cooler conditions. Athletes who acclimate to high heat also can perform better in lower temperatures than if they hadn't exercised in warm weather, he said.

Some athletes like John Seals even run in the midday heat and endure a sauna after a workout to acclimate their bodies. That all forms part of Seals' training for an annual 135-mile ultramarathon held in July in Death Valley, California.

“We had a heat wave this week and for me, that's a great thing,” said Seals, of West Des Moines.

Still, running in the heat can be dangerous without taking precautions.

Douglas Casa, a kinesiology professor who leads the Korey Stringer Institute, which studies sudden deaths in sports, said the Twin Cities Marathon's change was prudent, especially considering the way in which many runners approach races.

“If someone was smart enough to say, 'OK, it's a little hotter today than usual, I'm going to run a 7 minute mile instead of a 6:30 mile,' then they won't get any hotter than normal,” Casa said. “It's just that runners are sometimes very locked into what they normally do and what their goals are.”

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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 Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 4.7% in July from a year ago, down from a much larger 5.5% increase in June. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices were unchanged from June to July, after they ticked down 0.1% the previous month.

The figures follows the government’s consumer price inflation report, released Wednesday, which also showed a modest cooling last month. Still, consumer prices have risen faster than wages for the past four months, underscoring the challenges many Americans have affording necessities such as rent and utilities. If prices continue to outpace wages, many consumers may be forced to dial back their spending in the coming months.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core wholesale inflation dropped to 4.2% in July compared with a year earlier, down from 4.7% in June. On a monthly basis, core prices 0.2%, down from 0.4% from May to June.

After falling in early July, gas prices then rose later that month and in early August, threatening to push inflation back up when August figures are reported next month.

“The soft (producer prices) reading for July points to reduced inflationary pressure for businesses in coming months,” said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide. “While the renewed rise in fuel costs is concerning, input costs beyond energy are cooling.”

Last month’s cooling gives Federal Reserve officials more leeway to avoid a rate hike when it meets next in September. Fed officials are debating whether they should raise their key interest rate to combat inflation, or keep it unchanged in hopes that inflation continues to cool on its own.

Wholesale prices can offer an early look at where consumer inflation might be headed. Economists also watch it because some of its components, notably healthcare and financial services, flow into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, index. That price index will be released in about two weeks.

The PCE index uses data from the consumer price index as well. With both those reports now released, economists forecast that when the Fed's preferred gauge is issued Aug. 26, it will show yearly core inflation likely remained unchanged in July, at about 3.3%, unlike both the consumer and producer price indexes, which have slowed a bit. That could raise concerns among some Fed officials that inflation is too far above the central bank's target of 2% and showing little sign of easing.

Fed officials are considering whether to hike rates after leaving them unchanged so far this year. Last week, the government said employers actually cut jobs in July, a sign of economic weakness that could discourage the central bank from raising borrowing costs.

The campus was sold through bankruptcy court in an auction won by the Hill City affiliate, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down operations May 2 during its second bankruptcy filing.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before and higher than the 205,000 forecasters had expected. The four-week average of applications, which smooths out week-to-week-volatitlity, was unchanged at 199,000.

The overall number of people collecting employment benefits the week that ended Aug. 1 dropped by 22,000 to 1.78 million.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and they've been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week for the past year, suggesting that Americans who have jobs enjoy unusual job security. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%, as the economy has proven resilient despite a spike in energy prices caused by the fighting with Iran.

"The labor market has yet to show any sign of wear and tear from the surge in oil prices since the start of the war with Iran and the global energy supply shock,'' Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary.

The story is less encouraging for those trying to break into the job market and for those who lost their jobs and are looking for new work. Companies, scarred by worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockups four to five years ago, are reluctant to let go of staff; but they aren't eager to take on new workers. Economists regularly refer to a "no hire, no fire'' job market.

Last month, in fact, companies, government agencies and nonprofits together cut 23,000 jobs instead of increasing them, the Labor Department reported last week. So far this year, employers are adding 61,000 jobs a month. That is an improvement on the 9,700 they averaged last year — the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. The lingering effects of high interest rates and President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies discouraged companies from hiring in 2025.

Still, hiring this year remains well below the 166,00 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, let alone the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed pandemic lockdowns.

Thursday marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Fidel Castro, a man whose narcissistic personality took control of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959. He made promises to the Cuban people that he later betrayed for his own selfish ambitions and thirst for power.

At his trial on Oct. 16, 1953, following the failed attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, he famously said, “History will absolve me.”

In the end, history will judge him as a ruthless dictator who destroyed Cuba, impoverished its people and inflicted tremendous suffering on an entire nation.

Aug. 12: Cuba poses a tough foreign policy challenge for Rubio

“Who is on first, what is on second, I don’t know is on third.”

The famous comedy routine by Abbott and Costello can be compared to the Trump administration’s foreign policy strategies these days. Diplomatic negotiations are complex and complicated, especially when dealing with countries, governments, and individuals with whom the United States has not had good relationships.

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Reliable sources tell me there are tremendous differences between the staffs at the White House and the Department of State over how to handle negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia, Israel-Gaza, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. It does not help when those negotiating on behalf of the United States have limited to no diplomatic experience.

For now, let’s stay within the area of expertise: Cuba. While President Trump thinks Cuba can be resolved in two months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio knows very well, as does his senior staff, that negotiating with Cuba is not easy.

The Cuban government is willing to continue introducing cosmetic changes to its moribund economy without relinquishing political control. The United States can continue to sanction everyone on the island, and the Cuban government could not care less. All the while, the people of Cuba continue to suffer tremendous hardships. Yet the people are unlikely to turn against the government. The consequence of doing so can mean spending years in jail.

Meanwhile, in Miami, the guessing game continues over who will replace Raúl Castro when he dies, along with preparations for possible transition plans for Cuba. A transition to a democratic system of government in Cuba will take time. A civil society cannot be built overnight. It is also important to remember that Cuba did not have a democratic government before 1959.

For Rubio, expectations from the Cuban American community are high. Yet most in the community understand that it will not be easy to get the Cuban government to make political changes short of a U.S. military invasion. However, Rubio needs a win, especially if he is considering another presidential run. The failures of the Trump administration’s foreign policies around the world could affect Rubio’s future presidential campaign.

So, what will be Rubio’s next step on Cuba? The clock is ticking.

Aug. 10: Will the cat catch the mouse this time?

While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to put pressure on the Cuban government to change, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel went on Cuban television this past weekend and announced to the Cuban people that the government was making major “transformational changes” to the economy.

Díaz-Canel also told the Cuban people that it would take time and patience -- two things the Cuban people do not have anymore. Díaz-Canel went on to say that the benefits of these changes will begin to show by 2029.

Sources in Washington, D.C. have told me that the Trump administration is looking to see if there is someone in the Cuban government, like Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela, to hand over Raul Castro or even take over the current government and be willing to negotiate with the U.S.

The Miami Herald reported this weekend that General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, currently the Cuban Minister of the Interior, may be acceptable to the U.S. General Casas is considered a hardliner and therefore unlikely to break with the Cuban leadership.

As I have said before, the case of Venezuela is quite different than Cuba. While Raul Castro is alive, I believe the Cuban government will continue in power and make promises to the Cuban people they cannot keep.

Aug. 8: Cuban opposition leader says Cuba’s transformation must include those on the island

According to Cuban opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, any plans to transform Cuba must include Cubans on the island.

But do Cubans on the island have the capacity and capabilities to participate in such a process? After living for almost 68 years under a totalitarian system that has shaped the population’s personal values and attitudes, it could take time not only to change it but, more importantly, to sustain those changes.

Democracies are not built in one day. It will take time and patience. Let’s also remember that before the Cuban Revolution, Cuba had a dictatorship under Batista.

Aug 6: US announces new set of economic sanctions against Cuba; 2 of Cuba’s top generals also sanctioned

The U.S. State Department announced a new set of economic sanctions against Cuba on Thursday. At the same time, two of Cuba’s top generals were also sanctioned, Alvaro Lopez Miera, Minister of Defense; and General Roberto Sotolongo, head of the armed forces.

Aug. 5: CIA Task Force on Cuba created, per report

The New York Times has reported the creation of a CIA Task Force on Cuba with the purpose of putting additional pressure on the Cuban government to make political and economic changes to their system.

This news will probably be received by Cuba as an additional threat by the U.S.

Aug. 5: Cuban president confirms ongoing conservations between Havana, US

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed today that there are ongoing conversations between Havana and DC for the purpose of avoiding a military confrontation and trying to find solutions to the issues between both nations.

The Cuban government understands that they are running out of options and most likely will need to reach an agreement with the U.S. Will it include regime change?

Aug. 3 update: Rubio speaks about Cuba’s ongoing espionage activities in the US

This past weekend, in an interview with Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio spoke about Cuba’s ongoing espionage activities in the U.S.

Rubio went on to say that Cuban spies continue to infiltrate the U.S. government, financial institutions, organizations, and academic institutions. Rubio claimed that Cuba continues to be a national security threat to the U.S.

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

Police said the blast at Europe’s biggest port happened late Thursday morning and that a crime scene has been set up to try to establish what caused it. In a post on social media, they said the explosion “appears to be a workplace accident for the time being,” without elaborating.

At the scene, Rotterdam police spokesperson Daan Valkenburg told The Associated Press that no definitive conclusions had been drawn and that “we are keeping all possibilities open.”

The explosion occurred at a refinery and fuel terminal operated by Gunvor Energy in an industrial section of the sprawling port. Dutch broadcaster NOS said that a maintenance team had been working on a section of pipes there.

Rotterdam's emergency services coordinator also reported a major power failure in another part of the port and said that a transformer had caught fire under unexplained circumstances. Several companies halted their operations and evacuated workers.

By mid-afternoon, power was fully restored to the area, where a number of oil and gas companies are based. Emergency services later ruled out any link between the blackout and the explosion.

Also, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave the Trump administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her young family. Leavitt, 28, called it a “bittersweet decision” in a social media post Wednesday shortly after President Donald Trump announced she would be stepping down.

Here's the latest:

Did you pay tariffs last year? You might be due a refund from FedEx or UPS

If you bought something from an overseas vendor last year, it might be time to check your bank account.

Shippers including FedEx and UPS that acted as customs brokers for imported packages and received tariff refunds from the U.S. government have started to pass on those refunds to the customers that originally paid the tariffs.

The refunds to consumers are the last step in a monthslong process that kicked off in February when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs implemented by President Trumpin March 2025 under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act on goods from almost every country. The court ordered the government to return the tariffs it collected.

So far, about $100 billion in tariffs have been refunded to companies who paid them under a system set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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US unemployment claims rise but remain at historically healthy levels

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before and higher than the 205,000 forecasters had expected. The four-week average of applications, which smooths out week-to-week-volatitlity, was unchanged at 199,000.

The overall number of people collecting employment benefits the week that ended Aug. 1 dropped by 22,000 to 1.78 million.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and they’ve been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week for the past year, suggesting Americans who have jobs enjoy unusual job security. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%, as the economy has proven resilient despite a spike in energy prices caused by the fighting with Iran.

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US stocks rise toward records as oil prices drop and inflation gets less bad

The stock market is rising toward an all-time high Thursday following the latest sign that inflation is getting less bad. Stocks also got a lift from easing oil prices in their latest yo-yo move.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and was on track to top its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 185 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.

Wall Street relaxed after a report showed prices at the U.S. wholesale level were 4.7% higher last month than a year earlier. While that’s still very high, it’s not as bad as June’s 5.5% inflation rate at the wholesale level, and it was slightly better than economists expected.

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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says party is in a moment of ‘generation change’

During an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Atlanta, Jeffries said progressive wins in recent congressional races show generational change.

“I think transition, change, renewal will continue to be an important part of the story, and that energy is being brought to the House in a variety of different ways, including from our progressive members,” Jeffries said.

But he also highlighted his own ascent to Democratic leader and some moderate wins as part of the same trend.

“I think we’ll see what happens in terms of what the caucus looks like on the other side of the midterm election,” Jeffries said when asked if the party’s progressive wing would have greater influence. “Our focus right now is making sure that we win as many seats as we can in November.”

But Trump’s vaccine order is not legally binding

Despite the precedent-breaking nature of Trump’s order, some experts are skeptical it will result in meaningful changes.

Neither the White House nor the FDA can compel drugmakers to develop and seek approval for new vaccines. And from a business perspective, companies have little incentive to develop individual versions of vaccines they already sell in combination shots.

“They’d be competing against themselves, and there’s no reason to do that,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia vaccine researcher and former government adviser.

While Trump’s order calls for more federal research and recommendations, only state governments have the legal authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order simply advises states to consider updating their laws to reflect the Trump administration’s approach.

“I think states will ignore this,” Offit said. “I think that bottom line is that we don’t need to look to Donald Trump for our medical advice.”

Trump’s vaccine plan would require manufacturing overhaul

Under Trump’s executive order, federal officials are instructed to develop within 90 days plans for breaking up the MMR shot and spacing out other vaccines.

But pharmaceutical scientists and former regulators say those changes would likely take years and require drugmakers to spend tens of millions of dollars on new studies and manufacturing facilities.

Currently, there are no individual vaccines in the U.S. for measles, mumps or rubella. All the vaccines approved for those viruses by the Food and Drug Administration are combination shots. That three-in-one approach has been the standard in the U.S. since the early 1970s.

Dr. Jesse Goodman, a former FDA vaccine chief, said companies would have to conduct large studies showing new individual shots produced immune system-boosting reactions in children similar to the current versions.

US ambassador condemns settler siege of Palestinian homes in the West Bank

Israeli settlers have besieged three homes in the occupied West Bank for several days, including one owned by a Palestinian American, in what the U.S. ambassador called a “horrific act of terror” on Thursday.

Mike Huckabee’s remarks on X represented an unusually sharp rebuke from the Trump administration of the latest episode in a surge of settler violence in the region.

Starting Sunday, settlers gathered around three houses in the village of Qusra, according to local officials, Palestinian American homeowner Loui Ridi, and Ridi’s brother. At times numbering dozens, the settlers threw stones, attempted to bring down a stone wall nearby, and prevented the occupants from leaving as their food and water dwindled.

Israeli troops have intervened to try to restore order. On Thursday morning, Ridi’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida, who had holed up in the house with his own teenage son to defend it, said they were moved by Israel’s military to another home but still cannot leave the area.

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USAID fallout: In Nepal, when the aid workers stopped coming, the women and babies started dying

One baby at a time, the world is marching toward a grim milestone: Because of global cuts to foreign aid, the Gates Foundation has predicted 2025 will be the first year this century where child deaths will increase.

And while global child mortality data for 2025 won’t be available for several months, health officials are already bracing for a surge in deaths among the world’s youngest and most vulnerable.

The decision by President Trump’s administration to dissolve the United States Agency for International Development — once the world’s largest humanitarian donor — gutted maternal and neonatal care, decimated nutrition programs for millions of pregnant women and children and left scores of birthing centers devoid of equipment, medicine and staff.

The U.S. government has repeatedly insisted that no one — and, particularly, no children — have died because of its funding cuts. But The Associated Press has documented the deaths of women and children from Myanmar to Nigeria.

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Reflecting Pool’s botched repairs threaten to tarnish the National Park Service’s reputation

President Donald Trump’s botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have landed the National Park Service in a political predicament.

The beloved federal agency, its iconic park rangers and other employees have been serving the public while managing controversial demands by the Republican president — from revising exhibits at parks and other sites to the demolition of important structures under its stewardship, such as the White House’s East Wing, to arresting visitors for alleged vandalism at the pool.

Critics say the monthslong Reflecting Pool saga and other demands by Trump risk undermining the integrity of a federal agency that’s long been held in high esteem by the American public.

“Never — not once in decades — have I witnessed such systematic degradation, disrespect and dismantling of the National Park Service as I see today under the thumb of President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum,” said Bill Wade, a former park ranger and superintendent.

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Rubio and Bessent stayed on decoy flight from Turkey as Trump switched planes, official says

The two most senior members of Trump’s Cabinet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, flew out of last month’s NATO summit in Turkey on what was effectively a decoy plane following an Iranian threat, while Trump was secretly moved to a smaller military jet, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

The official, who was briefed on the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of presidential travel, said Rubio was aware of the switch and details of the threat behind it but could or would not say why he had stayed on the plane. The official said Bessent was likely aware but did not know for sure.

The official, however, noted that security precautions for the president — especially one who has been the target of several assassination attempts — are more robust than those for even top members of the Cabinet.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the secretaries of State and Treasury follow the vice president and the highest ranking member of each chamber of Congress in the presidential line of succession.

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— Matthew Lee

Kennedy Center board set to vote on whether to move forward with closure

The Kennedy Center’s board is expected to meet Thursday to consider plans for the performing arts venue’s future after a federal judge blocked an earlier move for a two-year closure that would allow for substantial renovations.

Ahead of the meeting, the Kennedy Center’s management said it would present the board with three approaches for consideration.

The options would include a complete closure or a partial closure that would allow “some continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected” by the work. A third option would “consider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”

In blocking earlier plans for closure, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the board’s March 16 vote backing the move appeared “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.” In moving forward, the board, which is largely made up of President Donald Trump’s allies, may face pressure to prove they’ve thoroughly considered their options.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving the Trump administration

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave the Trump administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her young family.

Leavitt, 28, called it a “bittersweet decision” in a social media post Wednesday shortly after President Donald Trump announced she would be stepping down. She recently returned to the White House podium after the birth of her second child, a daughter named Viviana, in May. She also has a 2-year-old son.

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life,” Leavitt wrote.

Trump did not outline plans for who might replace her in the high-profile role.

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The beloved federal agency, its iconic park rangers and other employees have been serving the public while managing controversial demands by the Republican president — from revising exhibits at parks and other sites to the demolition of important structures under its stewardship, such as the White House's East Wing, to arresting visitors for alleged vandalism at the pool.

Critics say the monthslong Reflecting Pool saga and other demands by Trump risk undermining the integrity of a federal agency that has long been held in high esteem by the American public.

“Never — not once in decades — have I witnessed such systematic degradation, disrespect and dismantling of the National Park Service as I see today under the thumb of President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum,” said Bill Wade, a former park ranger and superintendent.

Wade, who now serves as executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, wrote an op-ed for The Denver Post lamenting what he called the Trump administration's “assault on the people, the mission and the values that have made the National Park Service one of America’s most valued institutions.”

The park service has been at the center of some of Trump's most contentious actions during his second term. An executive order targeted funding and demanded reviews at national parks and other sites that Trump said advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” resulting in changes to some exhibits on slavery or climate change.

The president has also ordered sweeping changes to historical monuments and buildings in Washington that fall under NPS' purview, including the creation of a White House ballroom and a 250-foot-tall (76-meter-tall) memorial arch. The agency meanwhile has lost at least one-quarter of its permanent workforce since Trump began his second term, through layoffs, forced retirements and resignations.

Park service employees “are being politicized and drawn into the absurdities and corruption of this administration” on a regular basis, said California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He cited the pool project, the proposed arch and the executive order on exhibit materials.

The ongoing political assault on the agency “is unlike anything we’ve seen in this country, and it makes life miserable at agencies like the National Park Service,” Huffman said.

Reflecting Pool saga continues

Trump launched repairs at the Reflecting Pool earlier this year, hoping to address longstanding problems at the iconic site ahead of the America 250 celebrations. But the $16 million project faced immediate problems, including peeling blue sealant and a fierce return of green algae.

Trump blamed the sealant issues on vandalism without providing evidence, and felony charges were brought against a former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn, after he was accused of vandalizing the pool.

The U.S. Park Police, a unit of the National Park Service, arrested Hearn, who denied wrongdoing and said he briefly touched a chunk of the coating.

Charges against Hearn were dropped on July 31 after prosecutors acknowledged that damage was caused by a bungled installation rather than vandalism.

The advice and counsel of career officials and rangers — instantly recognizable by their signature flat hats and green-and-gray uniforms — has been ignored or pushed aside as Trump and Burgum make decisions regarding the failed pool repair, according to an Interior Department employee who was not authorized to discuss internal discussions and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“It’s tragic,” said Ed Stierli, vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, another advocacy group. “The whole thing is a master class in how not to go about a public rehabilitation project.”

In the days since the dismissal of the charges, Trump has continued to lean on NPS in his repeated claims that vandals damaged the pool’s lining.

“A National Park Service career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn ... in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by ‘violently’ ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating,” Trump posted Aug. 9 on his Truth Social site. Hearn's legal team said Trump “is continuing to attack an innocent man.”

Stierli, of the parks conservation group, called Trump’s reference to the unnamed park employee an example of the awkward position agency workers now face under Trump and Burgum, who has publicly backed Trump’s claims about vandalism at the pool.

“I think the public understands that unfortunately, you have the president of the United States directly driving decisions, both here in Washington and around the country,” Stierli said. The park service — and especially its career staff — “has very little control over this,” he added.

The White House and the Interior Department did not directly respond to requests for comment on the park service. The White House defended the pool project, saying Trump “promised to make D.C. safe and beautiful, and he’s delivering."

“For years, the Reflecting Pool sat neglected, plagued with algae and leaking millions of gallons of water,” the White House said in a statement. "Fixing it was common sense.”

Park service morale is at its lowest point, a former official says

Wade, the former park superintendent, called the pool repair “a comedy of errors” and “a continuation of the incompetence” shown by the Trump administration.

“Most people realize the NPS is under the gun and can’t do much about it, even though they’d like to,″ he said, adding that morale at the agency is at the lowest point he can remember.

Edicts from Washington have made clear that speaking honestly about what is going on could cost staffers their jobs, Wade said. “There’s a very strong fear among employees at NPS,″ he said in an interview. “It’s very frustrating for them, as you can imagine.”

Trump’s proposed memorial arch has faced some pushback. A recent report by park service staff warned that the proposed gilded arch could disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites around its planned location near the Lincoln Memorial.

The arch, which last month received initial approval from a key federal commission, would impact the “integrity” of dozens of historical properties because it would change “character-defining visual and spatial relationships” between them, the report said.

Americans view the National Park Service favorably

The park service is popular with Americans. About three-quarters of U.S. adults — including similar shares of Democrats and Republicans — have a favorable opinion of the agency, according to Pew Research Center polling from 2025. Only about 1 in 10 have a negative impression, and about 15% are unsure.

A Washington Post/Ipsos poll from July found that about two-thirds of Americans say they are “dissatisfied” or “upset” about Trump’s Washington area projects, including construction of a new ballroom at the White House, painting the Reflecting Pool and building his triumphal arch. Republicans are more likely to be “enthusiastic” or “satisfied” with the projects.

About one-quarter of U.S. adults say Trump’s goal is to “make Washington more beautiful,” while about half say he has a “different goal.” In an open-ended question, many respondents speculated that Trump wants to glorify himself or leave his mark.

The pool and other recent controversies including the exhibit reviews jeopardize the agency's credibility, Wade said.

“Whether interpreting the Civil War, discussing climate science or describing the complex stories of Indigenous people, rangers have sought to present evidence, not political ideology,'' he said. ”That is now being lost.”

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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this story.

The headliners, announced Thursday, are a fitting choice. The annual gathering in New York's Central Park rallies attendees to pressure world leaders to fund a range of antipoverty initiatives at the end of the United Nations General Assembly 's yearly high-level meetings. Joining them on Sept. 26 are rocker Lenny Kravitz, R&B-pop singer John Legend, country music star Lainey Wilson, chart-topping Grammy winner Shaboozey and K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER.

The two Fugees are fresh off several performances marking the 30th anniversary of their landmark album, “The Score." They were in London, where Hill also brought her music festival celebrating the sounds of the African diaspora, and Rio de Janeiro, where they closed out Global Citizen's weeklong climate programming.

It's also the first festival since Global Citizen produced the World Cup's first halftime show. That collaboration helped raise more than $60 million for the education fund launched with FIFA. Global Citizen co-founder Hugh Evans hopes to leverage next month's gathering to shore up some outstanding commitments.

Festivalgoers gain entry by taking actions such as petitioning countries to dip into their international development budgets. This year's priorities include mobilizing $100 million to provide 2 million children with access to education, nutritious food and healthcare; gathering $100 million to improve food security for 1.5 million smallholder farmers; and moving $1.5 billion to expand clean energy in the Indo-Pacific region.

The countries facing asks this year include Spain, Norway, Ireland, Kenya, Japan, Denmark and Australia. Evans specifically called on France to support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, Gavi, Education Cannot Wait, or any of their other education partners. “Macron will often talk a lot about their leadership on issues of education,” Evans said of the French president. "But I think, when the rubber hits the road, are they actually stepping up?”

One country that isn't on the list? The United States. Once the world's single largest aid donor, the U.S. now provides for Evans “an example of a country that should be a leader on the global stage that is such an incredible laggard at this point.” The U.S. wasn't worth targeting, according to Evans, given that the administration "butchered its entire foreign aid budget" and “dismantled the entire apparatus” of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Still, while acknowledging a “world of shrinking foreign aid,” Evans expressed optimism that the pendulum will shift.

“I believe that the future belongs to political leaders who are willing to understand the nuance of how power works," Evans said. "Power doesn’t have to be a negative thing. It can be a very positive thing if you’re wielding it for good. As Spider-Man taught us: with great power comes great responsibility.”

This year's festival offers a new way for people to gain admission. Fans can still enter the free ticket lottery by completing calls to action on the Global Citizen app. But they can also get automatic entry by making a $25 charitable donation. The funds raised will go toward New York's City Parks Foundation and organizations that serve those experiencing homelessness.

Evans hopes that artists such as Wilson and Shaboozey, both country music acts, can bring a new audience to his movement. He noted that Wilson, who expressed interest in the festival's support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, comes from a family of farmers.

“It’s been quite some time I’d say since we had this level of a country presence in our lineup," Evans said. “So, I’m super excited about that. I’m hoping that the fans are, too.”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

“Coyote vs. Acme” was finished. Director Dave Green, inspired by “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” had completed the editing on the Looney Tunes blend of cartoon and live action. The whole project, which takes an Ian Frazier “Shouts and Murmurs” column from The New Yorker as its source material, was an audacious comic gambit that seemed to be paying off.

Hopes were high. Audience test scores were good. But days before Forte, who stars as Wile E. Coyote’s attorney, could see “Coyote vs. Acme,” Warner Bros. canceled it. Not just the screening — the movie. The studio hadn’t delayed it or sent it to streaming. They were canning it altogether.

“I just thought: ‘Well, they’re canceling the movie. It’s gotta be bad,’” Forte recalls.

Forte and his wife, suspecting the movie must have turned out poorly, joined the cast and crew to say goodbye to the film no one else was going to see.

“That was when the real emotions started,” Forte says. “It was everything I wished the movie could have been and more. It was so special, which made it so frustrating and so devastating. The confusion was amped up, then frustration, then just searing anger.

“Then it made even less sense,” he adds. “We all looked around, like, ‘What’s happening here?’”

The abrupt termination of “Coyote vs. Acme” sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Everyone in the movie business is accustomed to sudden, painful twists of fate. But the wholesale elimination of a finished film faster than you can say “Meep! Meep!” was something new.

David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros., was intent on pivoting away from the straight-to-HBO Max projects of his predecessor. The expected marketing spend — roughly $30-40 million — for releasing “Coyote vs. Acme” wasn’t worth it to the studio. It was better, the studio said, to take a tax write-off on the $70 million production. Along with two other releases — “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt” — “Coyote vs. Acme” was put in mothballs.

But nearly three years after that “funeral screening,” the movie is, like its ever-undaunted protagonist, back from the dead. After an outcry, Warner Bros. put “Coyote vs. Acme” up for sale. Ketchup Entertainment, an independent distributor that last year released the Looney Tunes movie “The Day the Earth Blew Up,” picked it up for about $50 million. On Aug. 28, “Coyote vs. Acme” will finally see the light of day.

It’s been a dizzying turn of events for everyone involved. Eric Bauza, who voices Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and others in the film, didn’t really believe it until he saw “Obsession” at his local cinema.

“Upon exiting the theater, there in a little marquee box was the poster for ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’” Bauza says. “It hit me: This is going to be seen by people.”

In a recent interview, Green was still in disbelief.

“I must be dreaming,” said Green. “It’s a total surprise I’m sitting here talking to you today.”

Wile E. Coyote has his day in court

The filmmakers and their new distributor have leaned into the project’s tortured history, promoting it as “the film ACME didn’t want you to see.” More than that, “Coyote vs. Acme” now has a newfound meta quality. The premise of the film is that Coyote, after suffering years of defective products, takes Acme to court. Like the drama surrounding the film, it's an underdog victimized by a big corporation.

“I couldn’t help but look at the movie in a completely new way because there are meta crossovers between the story and what the movie had come to represent,” Green says. “It almost felt like we had written the movie after the news had broken.”

When “Coyote vs. Acme” was canceled, its fate became a rallying cry. Filmmakers like Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert championed it as too good to disappear. Even politicians, like Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, urged the Justice Department to investigate Warner Bros.'s decision.

Bauza, a veteran voice actor, pushed the hashtag #ReleaseCoyoteVsACME on social media. His most dramatic effort, though, was at the Annie Awards in 2024. There, he drew hearty applause for making that case from the podium — in the voice of Daffy Duck.

“He’s the go-to cartoon character above anyone else when it comes to begging and pleading,” Bauza says. “It seemed appropriate.”

So many people came out fighting for the film that Green never felt alone throughout the ordeal.

“I would open my phone one day and see someone dressed in a Wile E. Coyote costume outside of the studio protesting with a sign in the rain — these kinds of things you couldn’t believe,” says Green.

‘The pipeline has changed’

At the same time, the entire episode suggested a dark new chapter in the movie business that has left many involved with “Coyote vs. Acme” shaky. This wasn’t a young filmmaker getting turned down on their first film. It was two years of work on one of Warner Bros.’ most iconic franchises — a movie even produced by DC Studios chief James Gunn.

“I don’t know what their judgment was,” says Bauza. “Did they even know or were they just looking at numbers? It’s tough looking in from the outside, thinking: ‘If that’s how the Looney Tunes are being treated, what about my story?’”

“The pipeline has changed,” he adds. “How we get to the finish line is different.”

“Coyote vs. Acme” was greenlit when studios were trying to find their way through the pandemic and theaters were struggling to stay afloat. But Green’s film now arrives at a much different point in time. Theatrical is thriving thanks in large part to the visions of filmmakers, from Christopher Nolan to Curry Barker.

For Green, that “Coyote vs. Acme” is finally having its day in the court of public opinion is a sign of Hollywood returning to its foundations.

“The film business, as much as it might not feel that way, is led and dictated by artists and filmmakers and actors and writers wanting to create,” says Green. “There will be nothing able to take that want away from creators. As long as we keep creating, there will be a movie business.”

Forte is still struggling to find a happy ending. The movie’s initial cancellation felt, he says, “cruel and heartless.”

“The downside is: Trust no one,” says Forte. “And the positive is: Don’t give up hope. And that’s the one I think I will keep.”

The nonpartisan race pits an incumbent touting academic gains against a former educator focused on equity, teacher pay and school safety.

Zeman is seeking to hold onto the seat he won in a runoff four years ago. He says the district has made significant academic progress during his first term.

“A year into my first four years we became an ‘A’ district. We’ve become an ‘A’ district for three years in a row,” Zeman said.

He also points to the number of students who have improved their academic performance.

“We’ve lifted over 25,000 students to above or at grade level that were below grade level before,” Zeman added.

Azim is running against Zeman. She is a former special education teacher and director who spent 14 years in education and previously served as dean of Renaissance Charter School.

Azim says Broward schools face inequities in everything from facilities and academic programs to discipline.

“We have an equitability crisis on Broward Schools where our students don’t all have the same access or equitability to the same facility, upkeep and maintenance, academic programs, and the way that the discipline is measured out is inequitable,” Azim said.

Teacher pay is another issue where the candidates say they want to see change.

Zeman has repeatedly called for higher salaries for teachers and says he would continue pushing for raises if reelected.

“We cannot underestimate the contribution that teachers make to the well-being of our community and to the economic vitality of Broward County,” Zeman said.

Azim also says she would fight for higher teacher pay. She is making school safety another key part of her campaign.

“And we need to have a comprehensive safety training program so that everybody, every employee in Broward Schools is prepared for the next critical day,” Azim said.

The School Board District 8 race is nonpartisan, so voters do not have to be registered with a political party to participate.

Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Click here to read more stories from Local 10’s Vote 2026 collection.

The backing came from 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan, with four of the signatories being FIFA council members.

“We, the undersigned leaders of our respective football associations, express our full support for Mr. Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, and reaffirm our confidence in his leadership and continued commitment to the development of football worldwide,” the statement read.

“We deeply appreciate Mr. Infantino’s sustained efforts to advance football globally, expand opportunities across all regions and strengthen the game’s role in bringing people and communities together.”

The statement said the signatories “look forward to continuing our close cooperation with him towards a stronger and more prosperous future for world football, expanding opportunities and further enhancing Arab football’s contribution to the global game.”

Infantino is facing a revolt after his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. He withdrew the $20 billion proposal after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA, which has warned of a boycott of all FIFA games and events.

UEFA teamed up with CONCACAF — the confederation for North, Central America and the Caribbean — and the AFC — the confederation in Asia — and issued an open letter Monday saying Infantino’s plan was a “fundamental breach of trust” and described it as “deception.”

And on Thursday, the Football Association of Ireland said in a statement it has withdrawn its support for Infantino to be re-elected as FIFA president in March, saying “recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.”

The soccer federations in England and Wales did the same last week, while Northern Ireland said it was backing UEFA's stance.

Schism in Asian bloc over Infantino support

By expressing support for Infantino, Qatar and Lebanon aligned against the Asian Football Confederation. Infantino’s official Instagram account previously has posted letters of support from several member federations, including Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The four FIFA council members among the signatories were Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida, Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa and Mauritanian Football Federation president Ahmed Yahya.

The other two were Lebanese Football Association president Hashem Haidar and Moatasem Gafar, president of the Sudan Football Association.

Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016 and seemed sure to be re-elected unopposed next year in Morocco.

FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to come forward.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Russia is one of the world’s biggest energy producers, with oil providing an economic mainstay as its military tries to push deeper into Ukraine in a slow and costly advance more than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

The attacks have dented Russia’s refining capacity, causing shortages at gas stations. Kyiv officials say the onslaught is meant to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a peace deal, but there's no sign that strategy is working.

The targeted refinery is one of Russia's biggest

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining and petrochemical complex in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan overnight, causing a fire at the facility.

The complex, located southeast of Moscow about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from Ukraine’s border, is one of Russia’s largest such facilities, the General Staff said in a Telegram post. The plant processes up to 74 million barrels of oil annually, producing gasoline, diesel fuel and other products, it said.

Bashkortostan Gov. Radiy Khabirov said only that a drone attack wounded two civilians and started a fire in an industrial zone of Salavat.

Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer whose giant warehouses have repeatedly been struck by Ukrainian drones, said a fire started at one of its facilities in the Salavat industrial zone after the overnight attack. The company said the facility was evacuated but that goods were not being stored there.

The attack came a day after Ukrainian missiles and drones blitzed a major Russian naval base on the Black Sea.

Elsewhere, four explosives experts from Russia’s Emergency Ministry and a security guard were killed Thursday after an unspecified Ukrainian weapon blew up in Sevastopol, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor for the port city in illegally annexed Crimea.

They were inspecting the site of a Ukrainian attack when “an enemy weapon detonated,” he said.

Also in Sevastopol, a Russian serviceman was killed by an explosion, and a Russian woman, allegedly acting on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence agencies, was detained as a suspect, the Crimean branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service said Thursday.

It was not possible to independently verify either side’s reports.

Russian official says refinery repairs could take 6 months

Meanwhile, a Russian refinery in Orsk that was hit by Ukrainian drones earlier this week has suspended operations, Orenburg region Gov. Yevgeny Solntsev said.

He said that “key infrastructure, which cannot be restored at this time” was attacked, including foreign equipment, and repairs could take up to six months because of international sanctions, Solntsev said in a rare public admission in Russia of the problems Ukrainian attacks are causing.

Ukraine’s General Staff had reported striking the Orsk refinery near the border with Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Russian drone hits a Ukrainian passenger train, killing 2

Russia has responded by hammering Ukraine with ballistic missiles, jet-powered drones and glide bombs, all of which are hard to intercept. The strikes have killed more than 16,000 civilians since the war began, according to the United Nations.

Russian attacks featuring 133 long-range drones killed at least four people and wounded eight others across Ukraine overnight, officials said.

A jet-powered Shahed drone struck a passenger train in the southern Odesa region, killing the engineer and his assistant, said Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia.

A Russian drone killed two men Wednesday evening in the southern city of Kherson, regional military administration chief Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Ukraine makes little headway on obtaining Patriot missiles

Ukraine desperately wants more U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles that can counter Russia's ballistic missiles, but stocks of the air defense system reportedly are low because of the Iran war.

Ukraine has two and a half times fewer Patriot interceptors than in 2025, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he makes calls every day to try to source some more.

He said he is asking the United States to sell 5% of the interceptor missiles they have in stock to help Ukraine make it through next winter, when Russia’s strikes focus on the power grid, according to an interview with CNN broadcast Wednesday, parts of which he posted online. So far, he said he has obtained only 1%.

In the first half of this year, European countries paid U.S. defense companies at least 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) for military equipment they sent to Ukraine, according to a report Thursday by Germany’s Kiel Institute, which tracks assistance to Kyiv.

The Trump administration won’t provide its own aid to Ukraine but is allowing other countries to buy U.S. equipment that is sent on.

Military aid provided to Ukraine in the first half of 2026 was close to last year’s level, the Kiel Institute said, but financial and humanitarian aid was 41% lower than in 2025.

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

Some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, swiftly began referring to the nominee by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, while depicting him as a danger to America. “Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic,'' said U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in a post on X.

El-Sayed says such attacks betray a weakness in those who launch them.

“We all pray for the same things. ... We want what’s good for our kids and our families,” he told MS NOW after his primary victory. “They're going to use Islamophobia, because their ideas are tired.”

The vitriol extends far beyond the political class. Tensions related to anti-Muslim sentiment have heightened in several communities around the country, where some residents have bitterly opposed proposals to build new mosques.

“American Muslims have made incredible political and societal progress in recent years,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. He cited increased visibility in entertainment and sports and the election of Democrat Zohran Mamdani as New York City's first Muslim mayor.

“But there also is a very concerted backlash to this progress,” Mitchell said. “You've seen this in the resurgence of anti-Muslim hate and rhetoric, the targeting of mosques.”

A Dallas suburb is a flashpoint

McKinney, Texas, a large suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is one of the flashpoints. Despite angry anti-Islam remarks at a heated city council meeting on Aug. 4, the council voted unanimously to approve a site plan for the McKinney Islamic Association’s proposed new mosque, classroom building and gym.

Among those urging the council to give the plan fair treatment was George Fuller, a former mayor of McKinney, a nonpartisan position. Opponents of the mosque project booed him, and some shouted “traitor” as he left the council chamber. One woman could be seen on video physically accosting him.

“I have never witnessed so much hate, anger and lack of humanity in our beautiful community gathered in one place as I did today at City Hall,” Fuller later wrote on Facebook.

During the hearing, which lasted more than four hours, the speakers included U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Republican whose district includes McKinney. To loud applause, he urged the council to reject the mosque proposal.

“I know you’re in the accommodation phase, but the intimidation phase follows quickly,” Self said. “Child marriage. Honor killings. Don’t tell me it can’t happen here.”

Fuller also went to the microphone, evoking the broader phenomenon of divisive political rhetoric.

“Sadly, we live in a time when some have discovered that the easiest way to gain attention or win elections is not by offering solutions but by manufacturing fear, dividing communities, demonizing neighbors and turning misinformation into a political strategy,” he said.

In North Carolina, anger flares over approval for a new mosque

The scenario was similar in Mooresville, North Carolina, when town commissioners held a public comment session on Aug. 3 about a proposed mosque that had already been approved, with early phases of construction underway.

Angry residents at the meeting voiced hostility to Islam and assailed the commissioners for not being more forthcoming about the project as it took shape over previous months. One speaker cited violence in Nigeria by Islamist extremists as a reason for concern in Mooresville. Another depicted Islam as “a political regime with the ultimate goal of takeover in regions and nations.”

CAIR’s regional manager, Al Rieder, issued a statement denouncing “the hateful and conspiratorial anti-Muslim rhetoric” that surfaced at the meeting and expressed concern about the safety of Muslims in the area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Charlotte.

“Muslims are your neighbors, your doctors, your teachers, your local politicians, your police,” he said.

A few hours after the public meeting, the town commissioners released a summary of the mosque project, which calls for a two-building Islamic center on a parcel acquired in 2019 by a local Muslim organization.

The commissioners said that the parcel is in an area zoned to allow religious assembly and that the mosque proposal was handled the same way as a proposal for a new church.

“All decisions must be based on adopted ordinances, objective standards and legal requirements, which do not allow for different rules for different religious groups,” the commissioners said. “We encourage all members of our community to remain respectful in their discussions and interactions as this project moves through the appropriate processes.”

In Oklahoma, Muslim leaders fight against the rebuff of a new mosque

A mosque controversy has been raging for many months in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Tulsa's largest suburb.

Back in January, at a stormy meeting attended by hundreds of people, the city council voted 4-1 to reject a rezoning proposal by the region's Islamic Society to build Broken Arrow's first mosque. Before the vote, dozens of residents voiced anti-Muslim views while opposing the project.

Council members who rejected the mosque had raised concerns about its potential impact on infrastructure such as roads, sewers and flood plain management.

But the Islamic Society is persisting with its quest. On Aug. 3, it filed a lawsuit against the mayor and four councilors, alleging that the vote reflected “a wave of bigoted opposition from members of the community and local politicians.” The lawsuit contends that the council violated state and federal laws governing religious land use, treating the mosque proposal differently from other comparable rezoning requests.

“They did not want a mosque in their city. They did not want Muslims here,” said Meghan Murphy, an attorney with CAIR’s Legal Defense Fund, at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. ”So they made up a reason, and in doing so they violated the law.”

Some see a terrorism threat while others see baseless scaremongering

Opposition to mosque construction isn't a new phenomenon: In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, an effort launched in 2010 to block a mosque project dragged on for more than three years. The mosque was built anyway as the case moved through the courts, but members of the Muslim community faced public protests, vandalism, arson and a bomb threat during that span.

The latest anti-mosque campaigns coincide with a broad wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric from Republican officeholders over the past year. In Congress, several bills were introduced targeting sharia, the moral and spiritual framework that guides Muslims in prayer and ethical conduct. Some Republicans say they’re concerned about growing Muslim populations in major cities and potential ties to terrorism — fears that CAIR and other civil rights groups say are unfounded and being exploited for political purposes.

Republican governors in Texas and Florida have endorsed efforts to shut down CAIR, saying it has ties to terrorism. CAIR has denied the allegations and filed lawsuits calling the governors' efforts unconstitutional.

Muslim American leaders view the vitriol as political scaremongering.

“Every election year, we expect a rise in anti-Muslim hate,” said CAIR's Mitchell. “It's been worse this year than it has been in years.”

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

El Centro Nacional de Huracanes indicó que la tormenta podría llevar lluvias intensas, vientos fuertes y oleaje peligroso a las islas hawaianas a partir de última hora del viernes.

El centro, con sede en Miami, señaló que Lala se encontraba a unos 1.127 kilómetros (700 millas) al este-sureste de Hawái, con vientos máximos sostenidos de 64 km/h (40 mph). Se desplaza hacia el oeste.

Se pronostica un fortalecimiento, y Lala podría estar cerca de alcanzar fuerza de huracán a medida que se acerque a la Isla Grande. Una vigilancia de huracán significa que son posibles condiciones de huracán y, por lo general, se emite 48 horas antes de la posible llegada de vientos con fuerza de tormenta tropical.

El sistema podría dejar acumulados de lluvia de entre 13 y 25 centímetros (de 5 a 10 pulgadas) en el archipiélago, con la posibilidad de hasta 51 centímetros (20 pulgadas), dijeron los meteorólogos. Eso podría provocar inundaciones y deslaves, advirtió el centro de huracanes.

Además en el Pacífico, la tormenta tropical Hernán se formó el jueves pero no suponía una amenaza a tierra.

Hernán se encontraba a unos 2.350 kilómetros (1.460 millas) al oeste del extremo sur de la península de Baja California, en México, indicó el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC, por sus siglas en inglés). Sus vientos máximos sostenidos rondaban los 72 kilómetros/hora (45 mph) y se movía en dirección oeste-suroeste .

En el océano Atlántico, la tormenta tropical Cristóbal se debilitó a una remanente postropical el jueves, indicó el centro. Se encontraba a unos 805 kilómetros (500 millas) al oeste de las Azores y no suponía una amenaza a tierra.

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

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Yemeni soldier killed in clashes with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels

At least one government soldier was killed and another critically wounded in clashes between Houthi rebels and the military in the mountainous province of Taiz, Yemeni military officials told The Associated Press.

The fighting came as part of a spate of recent attacks by the Houthis on government-held areas across the country. Dozens of government troops have been killed in attacks since last week, the Yemeni military said.

Elsewhere, several tribal leaders in the central province of Marib said the Yemeni army's artillery targeted overnight Houthi movements.

The Houthis have been hitting government-held areas with drones and missiles, saying they have been targeting military forces and warehouses. They have also been attacking oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, and the kingdom’s shipping in the Red Sea.

Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing Thursday that Yemen is at greater risk of returning to large-scale conflict than at any time since a 2022 truce ended nearly a decade of war.

Yemen faces “catastrophe” from rising hunger and from health services crumbling amid the fighting, said U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. He said 6 million people in Yemen face emergency levels of food insecurity bordering on famine, “the highest number globally.”

Iran and Oman working to clean oil spills off their coasts

Oil spills spreading off the coasts of Iran and Oman are raising concerns about environmental damage as oil shipments have come under fire in Iran's war with the U.S. and Israel.

Iran said Thursday it's working to clean up an oil spill off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Images distributed by Iran’s semiofficial news agency ISNA showed oil fouling the island's beaches.

While Iran hasn't said what caused the spill, the firm TankerTrackers.com says it appears to have started with an Iranian attack on a bulk carrier off Oman.

Oman is responding to another spill in the Arabian Sea, coming from a tanker grounded off its southern coast. The tanker Caroline Bezengi — a sanctioned vessel believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” — has been grounded since reporting an explosion in June. No party has claimed responsibility and the cause is unknown.

A British maritime risk and response company said Thursday it has been hired to salvage the tanker and stop the oil leak off Oman. Oil from the ship has been spreading for weeks, reaching shores hundreds of kilometers (miles) north of the vessel.

Israeli strikes kill 2, including a police chief, in Gaza

Israeli strikes killed at least two people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and injured several others, health officials said.

Jamal Abu Kamil, a Gaza governorate police chief, was killed when his vehicle was struck southwest of Gaza City, according to the territory’s interior ministry and Shifa Hospital, where his body was taken along with a person wounded by the same strike.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about that strike.

A separate Israeli strike killed a man and injured another person in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, where both were taken.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas company commander in Khan Younis who “planned to execute terror attacks” against troops.

American ambassador to Israel condemns settlers' siege of Palestinian homes

The U.S. ambassador to Israel condemned a siege by Israeli settlers of a Palestinian-American family’s home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, calling it a “horrific act of terror.”

Mike Huckabee’s remarks on X represented an unusually sharp rebuke from the Trump administration of the latest episode during a spike in clashes between settlers and Palestinians in the region.

Starting Sunday, settlers targeted three homes in the village of Qusra, throwing stones and preventing occupants from leaving despite dwindling supplies.

On Thursday morning, Qusai Abu Rida — the brother of the Palestinian-American homeowner who had holed up in the house with his own teenage son to defend it — said they were moved by Israel’s military to another home but still cannot leave the area.

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Click here for full AP coverage on developments in the West Bank.

It's the first time the music extravaganza is held in the Balkan country, which scored its first-ever victory in the contest in May, when Bulgarian singer Dara beat 24 other competitors with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga.”

Bulgaria’s public TV broadcaster BNT, which will organize the largest live music event, and the European Broadcasting Union announced the location on Thursday. The two semifinals will take place on May 11 and 13, 2027, while the final will be held on May 15.

Bulgaria’s capital city, Sofia, also had applied to host the event.

Eurovision director Martin Green said “Burgas will bring something truly special to Eurovision.”

“It is a dynamic and welcoming city on the Black Sea coast with a strong musical and cultural identity, which possesses the ambition, infrastructure, and passion needed to welcome the big Eurovision family,” he said in a statement.

Milena Milotinova, head of BNT, told a news conference that together with the EBU and Burgas they “will face intensive joint work to organize a contest that will live up to the high expectations of millions of viewers around the world.”

Burgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov said hosting the contest was a major honor for the city.

On Wednesday, Eurovision organizers introduced new rules barring countries affected by an armed conflict or other security risks from hosting the contest. Under the new rules, the winning broadcaster will be ineligible to host if an armed conflict, sensitive geopolitical situation or other circumstances threaten the security, safety or stability of the country or surrounding region.

The contest has faced security concerns in recent years as tensions rose over the participation of Israel over its conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere. Five longtime participants — Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia — boycotted in protest.

The new rules also raised the minimum age for competitors from 16 to 18. Organizers say the change aims to boost safeguarding and protection of younger artists from the pressures associated with competing.

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Valentina Petrova contributed to this report

The storm is forecast to bring rain to the Hawaiian Islands starting late Friday as well as high winds and dangerous surf, the National Hurricane Center said.

Lala was about 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) east-southeast of Hawaii with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph), the Miami-based center said. It's moving west.

Strengthening is forecast, and Lala could be near hurricane strength as it approaches the Big Island. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible, and it is typically issued 48 hours ahead of potential tropical-storm-force winds.

The system could bring rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) in the island chain, with up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) possible, forecasters said. That could produce flooding and mudslides, the center said.

Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Hernan formed Thursday but that storm wasn't threatening land.

Hernan was about 1,460 miles (2,350 kilometers) west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, the center said. Maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph (72 kph) and it was moving west-southwest.

In the Atlantic Ocean, former Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened and degenerated into a post-tropical remnant low on Thursday, the center said. It was about 500 miles (805 kilometers) west of the Azores and didn't threaten land.

Monday’s announcement by the Republican president calls for separating combination shots — including the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine — into separate injections. Appointments for that and other vaccinations should be spaced out whenever possible, the order states.

To accomplish that, drugmakers would need to revive a slate of individual vaccines that have not been marketed separately in the U.S. for decades. They would also have to build new manufacturing plants capable of producing millions more vaccine doses than the nation currently uses.

For parents, unbundling the MMR vaccine and spacing out the shots would mean returning to the doctor’s office many more times than is currently needed. Those appointments could also strain pediatricians who typically administer the shots, while driving up costs tied to syringes and other medical supplies.

Studies in the U.S. and other countries have shown that combination vaccines increase the likelihood that children will be fully protected from infectious diseases before starting school.

Health experts say there is no scientific basis for changing course.

“We do things that are less convenient and more expensive if there’s a good reason to do it,” said Dr. Anna Durbin, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “There is no good justification for this. I think it’s very bad public health policy.”

Trump's plan would require vaccine manufacturing overhaul

Under Trump's executive order, federal officials are instructed to develop within 90 days plans for breaking up the MMR shot and spacing out other vaccines.

But pharmaceutical scientists and former regulators say those changes would likely take years and require drugmakers to spend tens of millions of dollars on new studies and manufacturing facilities.

Currently, there are no individual vaccines in the U.S. for measles, mumps or rubella. All the vaccines approved for those viruses by the Food and Drug Administration are combination shots. That three-in-one approach has been the standard in the U.S. since the early 1970s.

Dr. Jesse Goodman, a former FDA vaccine chief, said companies would have to conduct large studies showing new individual shots produced immune system-boosting reactions in children similar to the current versions.

Companies might also have to demonstrate the safety of new manufacturing facilities and procedures, given that individual measles shots haven't been widely produced in the U.S. for roughly a half-century.

“The question is how much has changed since then and how comfortable will the FDA and the companies be relying on those comparisons?” said Goodman, who is now a professor at Georgetown University.

Designing, constructing and getting federal sign-off for new vaccine plants typically takes about five years, according to industry experts.

Additionally, Goodman said the FDA would have to review and license each unbundled vaccine separately, a process with no precedent.

“I don’t think there’s any comparable example of removing hugely effective public health measures that protect babies for no documented scientific reason,” he said.

Individual shots for measles and related diseases tend to be used by lower-income countries that can’t afford the MMR shot. Merck, GSK and the handful of other companies that supply U.S. childhood vaccines make only the combination shot.

In separate statements, Merck and GSK said they stand by the safety and effectiveness of their products. Neither discussed plans to unbundle their shots.

“To date, there has been no published scientific evidence that shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots,” Merck said in an emailed statement.

Parents would need to make many more trips to the doctor

The MMR shot is currently delivered in two doses — the first at the age of 1 and the second dose after age 4. Splitting up the shot into its three separate components would mean six office visits. Spacing out other shots for pertussis and other infectious diseases could multiply the number of visits many more times.

As the number of visits goes up, parents are more likely to miss appointments or stop making them, according to Durbin.

“It’s going to be less convenient, more expensive and you’re going to have fewer people getting vaccinated,” she said.

Since last year, Trump has repeatedly expressed concern about the number of vaccinations U.S. children are receiving and called on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reduce the number. Kennedy and other officials have pointed to smaller countries, such as Denmark, that recommended slightly fewer vaccines than the U.S.

But breaking up combination shots will result in kids receiving many more individual shots than other comparable nations, Durbin notes.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said the Trump administration’s efforts on the MMR vaccine “will give parents more options on timing and frequency for their children, which ultimately will increase vaccination rates for all three diseases.”

Vaccine order is not legally binding

Despite the precedent-breaking nature of Trump’s order, some experts are skeptical it will result in meaningful changes.

Neither the White House nor the FDA can compel drugmakers to develop and seek approval for new vaccines. And from a business perspective, companies have little incentive to develop individual versions of vaccines they already sell in combination shots.

“They’d be competing against themselves, and there’s no reason to do that,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia vaccine researcher and former government adviser.

While Trump’s order calls for more federal research and recommendations, only state governments have the legal authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order simply advises states to consider updating their laws to reflect the Trump administration’s approach.

“I think states will ignore this,” Offit said. “I think that bottom line is that we don’t need to look to Donald Trump for our medical advice.”

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AP videojournalist Mary Conlon in New York contributed to this report.

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

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Follow the AP's coverage of immunizations at https://apnews.com/hub/immunizations.

High temperatures will be in the low 90s, but heat indices will reach into the triple digits, sparking a heat advisory from noon until 7 p.m.

Lighter winds will help keep storm chances slightly closer to inland Broward and Miami-Dade, mainly just west of the Turnpike.

So, grab your rain gear. You may need it later today!

• Miami-Dade students head back to school today
• Donations continue as South Florida steps up to help earthquake victims in Colombia
• One winning ticket sold in Illinois for $1 billion Powerball drawing

You can watch a live feed of our news broadcast at Local10.com/Live.

Los meteorólogos prevén que el mercurio alcance los 38º Celsius (100º Fahrenheit) en el centro y el sureste de Inglaterra, rozando el récord de 2003 de 38,5º C para un mes de agosto.

La Oficina Meteorológica británica indicó a principios de semana que bastaría con que las condiciones meteorológicas se mantuvieran en sus valores promedio el resto de agosto para superar el récord del año pasado como el año más caluroso.

Para un país que, en gran medida, no está preparado para hacer frente a este grado de calor, han sido unas semanas especialmente incómodas. Tener aire acondicionado es una rareza más allá de en las tiendas y las oficinas.

Trabajar ha sido especialmente difícil en los hospitales, donde se han dado casos de enfermeras se han desmayado por agotamiento debido al calor, según el Real Colegio de Enfermería (RCN, por sus siglas en inglés).

“Cuando el personal de enfermería se desmaya, se siente mareado, enfermo o incluso termina ingresado en los mismos hospitales en los que trabaja porque sus lugares de trabajo no pueden soportar el calor, eso demuestra hasta qué punto se les está fallando”, manifestó la directora ejecutiva y secretaria general del RCN, la profesora Nicola Ranger.

La mayor parte del país se encuentra ahora oficialmente en situación de sequía, lo que aumenta la presión sobre los recursos hídricos para los hogares, la agricultura y el medio ambiente, que deben buscar medidas tanto a corto como a largo plazo frente al cambio climático causado por el ser humano.

Southern Water, la empresa que gestiona el suministro en el sur de Inglaterra, ha solicitado una inusual orden de sequía que prohibiría a las empresas el uso no esencial de agua, incluyendo para la limpieza de autos y el llenado de piscinas no domésticas, señalando que una ausencia de lluvias “excepcional” ha amenazado el abastecimiento en Hampshire y la isla de Wight. La secretaria de Medio Ambiente, Angela Eagle, decidirá sobre la solicitud, que sería la primera prohibición de este tipo desde mayo de 2006.

Mientras, los incendios forestales han ardido sin control, especialmente esta semana en el New Forest, en el sur de Inglaterra. En lo que va de año se han registrado unos 1.017 fuegos en Inglaterra y Gales, según datos del National Fire Chiefs Council, los mismos que en todo el año pasado, que batió récords.

Aunque no alcanzan la magnitud de los registrados en Francia, Grecia y España, son una prueba más que suficiente de la necesidad de que Reino Unido se adapte a una nueva realidad.

El primer ministro, Andy Burnham, apuntó que considerará la prohibición de las barbacoas desechables ante el riesgo de más incendios forestales, mientras el calor extremo sigue afectando a algunas partes de Reino Unido.

“Creo que debemos transmitir el mensaje alto y claro”, manifestó. “La gente no debería estar utilizar esas barbacoas al aire libre en este momento”.

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

Learning teamwork and reducing screen time are among the perceived benefits of youth sports, according to the AP-Ipsos survey.

About half of U.S. parents with K-12 school-aged children say their kids play a structured sport, but participation is higher among more affluent families. About 7 in 10 K-12 parents with a household income of at least $100,000 annually say their children play organized sports, compared to about 4 in 10 parents with a lower household income.

The findings point to a key problem in youth sports: parents almost universally see participation as an important part of kids’ childhood, but the out-of-pocket expenses can be significant, particularly for lower-income families.

“There's travel, the uniforms, pitching in on the lunches,” said Tanisha Curry, 51, who lives in Ohio. She has custody of her granddaughter, who plays volleyball through her school. It strains Curry's budget, but the whole family pitches in to keep the costs manageable.

“Kids don't go out and do things anymore,” she said. “Getting them away from a screen, at least for an hour — it's worth it.”

About two-thirds of K-12 parents with at least one child playing sports estimate spending up to $2,000 annually on equipment, fees, training and travel for youth athletics. More affluent sports parents spend about the same amount yearly as less affluent sports parents, which underscores the additional financial burden for lower-income families. Some parents hope the investment will pay off beyond the social benefits, with scholarships or other opportunities.

Despite the demands — and hefty cost — K-12 sports parents overwhelmingly say the benefits of youth sports outweigh the drawbacks.

Most see major benefits to kids playing youth sports

Jon Fassnacht, a 47-year-old dad in Pennsylvania, has seen his 9-year-old daughter push herself physically and mentally through competitive swimming. She got involved in the sport after taking swim lessons, and he has been thrilled to see her build her confidence over multiple seasons as she improves her swim times.

“It’s just so good for her self-esteem to have that goal setting,” Fassnacht said. “And then there’s the social aspect on top of it. She’s kind of shy, so to have these opportunities to meet new people outside of her school is big.”

Soccer, basketball and softball or baseball are among the most commonly played sports, the poll found.

Nearly all U.S. adults say learning to deal with adversity, improving physical fitness, learning teamwork, making friends, reducing technology time and learning about hard work and commitment are “major” and “minor” benefits for children playing organized sports, the poll found.

Some of that perceived benefit may come from adults’ own experiences. About three-quarters of adults who played organized sports as a child say playing sports had a “mostly positive impact” on their childhood, and about 6 in 10 say it positively influenced their adulthood.

About three-quarters of K-12 sports parents say their children have ever played on a recreational sports team, and about two-thirds say their kids have played on a school sports team. Around half say their kids have played in specialized youth sports camps or done independent sports training, while about 4 in 10 say their kids have participated in travel or club sports teams or done private lessons.

Scheduling and costs present challenges for some sports parents

Most K-12 sports parents face challenges when children play organized sports.

About 8 in 10 say that scheduling and logistics — or the time commitment — present a “major” or “minor” challenge for their household. Roughly 7 in 10 say the same about team or club fees, the amount of travel involved and the equipment or uniform costs.

In addition to the roughly two-thirds of sports parents who estimate spending up to $2,000 annually on equipment, fees, training and travel for their children’s athletics, roughly 2 in 10 spend more than $2,000 but less than $5,000. Only about 1 in 10 K-12 sports parents spend more than $5,000 annually.

Kathryn Stuczynski, 37, said she and her husband budget in order to make sure they can afford the activities their 7-year-old and 13-year-old daughters are passionate about, including karate, grappling and wrestling. Stuczynski, from New York, says their household skips buying the latest iPhone or a new TV in order to keep their budget manageable.

“Giving my girls life experiences, it’s priceless,” she said. “I’d rather have the old phone, you know? I’m fine with that.”

In general, more affluent sports parents — those in households that make at least $100,000 annually — spend about the same as sports households with lower incomes. Higher-income households are more likely to say they spend more than $5,000, though that is still atypical. About 1 in 10 households that make at least $100,000 spend over $5,000, compared to almost no lower-income households.

Despite the challenges, the vast majority of sports parents feel good about their children playing organized sports. About 8 in 10 sports parents say “proud” describes how they feel “extremely” or “very” well, and a similar share say that about “happy.”

Some parents hope youth sports will lead to athletic scholarships

Relatively few K-12 athletes will go on to play at the collegiate level or earn athletic scholarships, but the poll shows many sports parents have it on their minds. About 8 in 10 sports parents say the possibility of improving college acceptance odds is at least a “minor” benefit of kids playing organized sports.

Stuczynski has seen her 13-year-old daughter excel at wrestling and believes she has the potential to get a college scholarship in the sport if she sticks with it, but she and her husband are letting their daughter's passion and competitiveness drive her future with sports.

“We would never force it,” Stuczynski said. “We’ll go as hard as she wants to go, basically.”

About 6 in 10 sports parents say the hope of their child earning an athletic scholarship or improving their college acceptance odds plays either “a major role” or “a minor role” in the decision to enroll their kids in sports, though only about 3 in 10 say either played a “major role” in their decision.

Less affluent parents are more likely than more affluent parents to say the possibility of their child improving college acceptance odds, earning an athletic scholarship or earning NIL money played a “major” role in their decision to enroll their child in sports, while more affluent parents are more likely to say it played “no role.”

Fassnacht, from Pennsylvania, hopes his daughter will continue swimming through high school because of the physical and mental benefits, but he’s not expecting her to make a career of it.

“I’m more focused on the benefits to her,” he said. “If she ever stops enjoying it, then we’ll move on to something else.”

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The poll of 1,737 adults was conducted July 21-26, 2026, using a sample drawn from Ipsos’ probability-based KnowledgePanel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It included interviews with 510 parents of school-aged children who play youth sports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2.7 percentage points for adults overall and +/- 4.9 percentage points for parents of school-aged children who play youth sports.

“How can you assure us,” the 71-year-old pressed, “that you won't become another John Fetterman?”

As the crowd in the clubhouse of a manufactured home community for seniors jeered the mention of the contrarian Pennsylvania Democratic senator, Jolly, who once critiqued politicians as an MSNBC pundit, made the case for himself.

“Change is part of my journey,” he responded. “What I can tell you is that the values I speak of — that the economy should work, that government can do a little bit to improve our lives and that everyone should have the right to be protected — those are the guideposts for how I'll serve as governor.”

Doyle, an independent who said she's a registered Democrat mostly to participate in primaries, left impressed.

“I believe him,” she said. “I don't believe many.”

Florida spent a generation as America’s prized political battleground, where the interests of big cities, agricultural towns, freshly arrived retirees and diverse Latino communities collided in elections often decided by fractions of a percentage point.

Jolly is bent on proving those days aren't over.

In the course of a single day last weekend, he rallied a chandeliered ballroom in The Villages, a wealthy Republican-leaning retirement community. Then it was off to the fluorescent lights of the Leesburg clubhouse before ending with a rousing speech to Democrats in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, which backed a Republican presidential candidate for the first time in 20 years in 2024.

Democrats have collapsed in Florida

President Donald Trump's rise has coincided with a Democratic collapse in Florida. He won here three times, with ever-expanding margins. The 19-percentage-point win by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 cemented a GOP supermajority in the legislature.

Jolly's path to victory could be blocked by both math and money in his likely race against Rep. Byron Donalds, the Trump-backed candidate in Tuesday's Republican primary. Donalds, who would be Florida's first Black governor, has raised more than $100 million compared to Jolly's $10 million.

Donalds has cast Jolly as an out-of-touch liberal, blanketing the state this week with an ad featuring Jolly referring to “gender-affirming care” and backing communities painting rainbow crosswalks to show support for LGBTQ people. Jolly countered that Donalds is ignoring pressing economic issues.

In an interview over an Outback Steakhouse lunch while his wife and two young children busied themselves with coloring, Jolly acknowledged “there’s not going to be the political will” to reverse the state’s ban on transgender girls and women participating on female teams at public schools and universities.

He said he didn't think governors should decide who plays in what sports even as he described himself as a “girl dad” and noted “I don’t think we should have biologically born men playing in competitive sports."

“But look,” he added, “if a 10- or 12-year-old soccer league in the community has a coed team, I don’t think the governor should be throwing a flag on the field.”

Republicans face tests of their own

For all the headwinds confronting Jolly, Republicans may encounter their own turbulence.

The culture wars that have raged under DeSantis, including a feud with Disney and fights over gender and sexual orientation, have left some exhausted. Karen Kuhn, a 72-year-old resident at The Villages, described herself as in “despair.”

Democrats have won a string of special elections from Miami to Palm Beach and Tampa, adding to their optimism. Former GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo said Latinos who voted for Trump in 2024 might not support Republicans again, in part because of the administration's immigration enforcement tactics.

“I definitely can see a scenario where it’s a closer race, where it’s a competitive race,” said Curbelo, who narrowly lost his reelection bid in 2018, the last wave election year for Democrats.

A race with implications for 2028

Jolly is telling that to any Democrat who will listen, including those with potential presidential ambitions such as Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gavin Newsom of California, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. If Florida can change, he argues, the national political landscape would change with it.

“All of a sudden the road to the White House looks dramatically different,” Jolly said. “It reshapes the House of Representatives. The structural change from winning Florida is a generational opportunity for Democrats.”

It’s a point echoed by other Democrats, including state Rep. Emily Gregory, who flipped the Palm Beach district home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.

“To abandon Florida was deeply, deeply unwise,” she said. “I hope that investment is coming back because it is a purple state and I feel very confident going into November."

Nikki Fried, the Florida Democratic Party chair, acknowledged “the bottom fell out” for Democrats. She has spent the past several years rebuilding the operation. Democrats charged with winning back state legislative and congressional seats are prioritizing some Florida races this year.

But Beshear, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, isn't making a financial commitment yet.

“David’s working really hard," he said in an interview. “He’s a good candidate, and we’re watching it closely.”

Donalds' campaign remains confident. His communications director, Gates McGavick, said: “Florida voters will reject radical liberal David Jolly because he will make life more expensive.”

“Byron Donalds will make life in Florida more affordable,” he said. “Our campaign will make that case to voters every single day.”

A ‘Bush 41’ Republican's path to becoming a Democrat

Jolly is an unlikely figure cajoling Democrats to think about their future.

He first gained national attention in 2014 as the GOP winner of a Tampa Bay congressional seat that was seen as a bellwether. In a Democratic Party that emphasizes diversity, Jolly regularly refers to himself as a “53-year-old white former Republican with salt-and-pepper hair.” His time in Congress runs counter to voters elevating fresher voices this year.

During stump speeches, he says he was a “Bush 41” Republican. He left the GOP in 2018, spending several years as an independent before registering as a Democrat in 2025.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who challenged Jolly until suspending his campaign in June and announcing he had prostate cancer, acknowledged Florida Democrats have to appeal to independents. But he also said “people don’t want a chameleon.”

“That's the big challenge that he's had, is convincing people that he has stepped away from the Republican policies,” Demings said.

Others were more forgiving.

Sylvia Rieger, a 70-year-old resident at The Villages, said Jolly’s evolution showed “moxie.”

Steven Slyter, an 81-year-old retired handwriting expert, said it was “courageous” for Jolly to leave his party. “He made a decision about what he stands for,” Slyter said. “I like that.”

Florida's last Democratic candidate for governor, Charlie Crist, was also a former Republican. After his drubbing by DeSantis, several Democrats said Jolly was campaigning more effectively.

Facing minimal primary competition, Jolly has largely avoided debates over the party's ideological future. He's won support from progressives including Rep. Maxwell Frost while shoring up his centrist credentials by picking former Rep. Gwen Graham, the daughter of longtime Sen. Bob Graham, as his running mate.

Some Jolly supporters are hoping that his poly-party background will be an asset.

Jeff Adelman is running for a nonpartisan seat on the Coral Springs City Commission in Broward County. As he left a recent meeting of the Coral Springs Parkland Democratic Club, he described Jolly as a potentially unique fit for the state.

“We live in Florida,” he said. “I don't think you're going to get somebody like Bernie Sanders to run for governor in the state of Florida."

Mike Huckabee's remarks on X represented an unusually sharp rebuke from the Trump administration of the latest episode in a surge of settler violencein the region.

Settlers have targeted three homes for days

Starting Sunday, settlers gathered around three houses in the village of Qusra, according to local officials, Palestinian American homeowner Loui Ridi, and Ridi's brother. At times numbering dozens, the settlers threw stones, attempted to bring down a stone wall nearby, and prevented the occupants from leaving as their food and water dwindled.

Israeli troops have intervened to try to restore order. On Thursday morning, Ridi's brother, Qusai Abu Rida, who had holed up in the house with his own teenage son to defend it, said they were moved by Israel’s military to another home but still cannot leave the area, which is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Palestinian city of Nablus.

The military said that its troops dismantled “two illegal outposts” near the homes on the outskirts of Qusra and a nearby village, and detained one Israeli. It added that additional soldiers were sent to “carry out defensive missions and patrols.”

Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi said that Israeli forces evacuated seven homes in total to take positions in the village. The settlers, though removed from their outposts, remain in other parts of the village, he added. The military said the soldiers have subsequently been instructed to allow families to remain in their homes and not to operate in them, but families have not yet returned, Abu Rida said.

It's still not clear when families in the besieged area will be able to get basic supplies and what would happen to their homes.

“No one is allowed to enter. Even food and water are prohibited from reaching those besieged,” Yasser Ahmad, a resident of a neighboring village, said as he watched the operation unfold from one hilltop over.

Journalists on the outskirts of Qusra said roads into the village were closed on Thursday afternoon. Israeli police did not immediately respond to questions about whether any detained Israelis had been arrested.

Settler violence has surged in recent years

Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians that have increased in the last few years.

Israeli ministers and Cabinet members have downplayed settler violence and described it as the actions of a few fringe youth acting outside the law. Huckabee is a longtime ally of Israel’s settler movement and in the past has expressed support for Israeli control over the occupied West Bank, while condemning settler violence.

“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting,” Huckabee said in his post, noting that the embassy has been coordinating with the Israeli military and police.

The siege began five days ago

Settlers began their siege of the homes five days ago, blocking the doors and preventing inhabitants from leaving, Abu Rida said. Israel’s military condemned the siege as “illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable” on Tuesday and declared the area a closed military zone. But by Wednesday, dozens of settlers had returned and begun to block the road with rocks.

Speaking to The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday from Ohio, where he lives, Ridi said his 48-year-old brother and nephew had not had access to new food or water supplies for several days.

Ridi said that settlers have been targeting his home for months before the situation escalated in recent days, saying they had cut off the water and electricity to his house and thrown stones, causing damage to the property.

“We are prisoners in our own house, hostages in our own house,” he said.

Qusra is in one of the most violent pockets of the northern West Bank, surrounded by settlements.

Last month, a mosque in Qusra was set on fire in another apparent settler attack. That followed the killing of an Israeli settler, triggering violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead.

Settlers have been building more outposts in an effort condemned by many in the international community as aimed at dismantling any remaining hopes of establishing a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinians seek the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of a future state. Many settlers and their supporters say the entire area should belong to Israel for historical, religious and security reasons.

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This story has been updated to correct the first name of the homeowner to Loui.

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Metz reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Sam Mednick and Giovanna Dell'Orto contributed from Jerusalem. Koral Saeed contributed reporting from Herzliya, Israel.

The 24-year-old Hunt won the 100-meter final and hopes it's not her only gold at the meet. She’s also competing in the 200 and is in contention to be in two relay teams.

Hunt will line up in the final of the 200 on Thursday night at Alexander Stadium alongside rivals including teammate Dina Asher-Smith.

The ever-affable Hunt likes to quote a “High School Musical” character when she says “I want it all” on the track. But the University of Cambridge alum can get more serious, too, like when she recently discussed the legacy of colonialism associated with the Commonwealth Games.

Here's what to know about her career:

Medals include silver in 200 at world championships

Hunt was the surprise silver medalist in the 200 at the world championships last September in Tokyo, where she ran 22.14 seconds in the final — U.S. sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was the winner.

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Hunt ran the third leg on the British women’s 4x100 relay team that won silver.

In the youth ranks, Hunt set an under-18 women's world best in the 200 when she ran a 22.42 in June 2019 in Mannheim, Germany.

Hunt juggled academics — studying English Literature — while training and overcame a leg injury to reach world-class levels. After her silver medal in Tokyo last year, she told the BBC she's glad she stayed in school: “You can be an academic badass and a track goddess.”

Hunt quotes ‘High School Musical’ character

When describing her goals, Hunt cites a “High School Musical” character Sharpay Evans and the song called “I Want it All.”

Hunt mentioned it in the pre-championships news conference and again after winning gold in the 100 on Monday night.

“That performance is one step closer to being like Sharpay Evans,” she said after the victory. “I really want to win it all and I’m so happy now I’ve got one out of four done. Hopefully I can take this momentum and the good vibes into the rest of the week.”

Hunt's issue with the Commonwealth Games

Hunt gives fans a behind-the-scenes view of her life as an athlete with video updates on her YouTube page. Her “vlog” touches on everything from meals to sightseeing to anti-doping tests.

The sprinter's most recent video was a review of her time at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where she won a silver medal in the 100.

Hunt takes a few minutes in the video to discuss the history of the games, saying she doesn't “ethically or morally agree with the kind of notion of a Commonwealth Games.” The games, she added, “used to celebrate a colonial empire.”

“I think the Commonwealth Games provides the opportunity for us to reflect on ourselves and our history with colonialism, also the fact that England as we know it was rebuilt post-war by the Windrush generation, by immigrants,” Hunt said.

Athletes discuss this privately, she said, but that's where it stays.

“I think a lot of people are afraid to speak about it openly. I think as a white athlete, it’s important for me to speak about my thoughts on it. ... I just kind of wish there was more dialogue and more conversation about that.”

She concludes: “You’re more than free to disagree with it and you’re more than free to think that if I have these views it’s hypocritical for me to compete.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

The slowdown Thursday for people in the capital, Taipei, and six other cities and localities was part of the last phase of the island's annual Han Kuang exercises, military drills that began last week and aim to model a response to a possible Chinese military invasion.

Telecommunication operators slowed mobile web traffic to 256 Kbps, making it difficult to exchange anything other than texts. Usually, residents can access 5G in major cities.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te apologized to the public for the inconvenience, “We ask for your understanding and support, as this is a necessary drill,” he said.

Taiwan has stepped up the intensity of the Han Kuang drills, incorporating reservists and more civilians into the exercises with a focus on real-world scenarios. Previously, urban resilience drills in Taipei went largely unnoticed as they were not disruptive. For example, air raid drills in the metro station didn’t stem the flow of passengers.

This year, integrating civilians and coordinating with local governments was a key part of the exercises, according to the Taipei Times.

At a Taipei metro station Thursday afternoon, passengers waited to be released after the station's gates were shut for the simulation as part of air raid drills.

Allen Hsieh, a tourist from Hong Kong who was among the passengers who waited 30 minutes to be let out of the station, said he found the exercises to be convincing.

“The exercise did not cause me any inconvenience. I know that Taiwan needs to conduct exercises, given the current situation. I can understand that,” he said. “I did not expect it to be so real. I thought I would only receive text messages.”

Lai also visited a hospital as it simulated how to relocate its critical operations to underground facilities as part of the drills.

Taiwan is ramping up its defense exercises and purchases in response to heightened tensions with China, which claims the island as its own. China sends military planes, as well as Coast Guard ships and other vessels towards Taiwan on a daily basis and carries out large-scale military exercises from time to time.

Between Wednesday to Thursday morning, 18 Chinese warplanes and 11 navy ships operated around Taiwan, the island's Defense Ministry said.

Putin visited a fish plant, a hospital and a school on Iturup, one of the volcanic chain's southern islands. He also briefly spoke to local residents and met with the governor of Russia's Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko.

Japan asserts territorial rights to the four southernmost islands of the chain, which it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them from Japan in the final days of World War II, and the dispute kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

Decades of diplomatic efforts to negotiate a settlement haven’t produced any visible results. Moscow over the years has also bolstered its military presence on the Kurils in moves that appeared to underscore its firm stance in the dispute.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said his country “strongly protests” Putin's visit to Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu.

“The Northern Territories, including Etorofu (Iturup) Island, are Japan’s inherent territory both historically and from the perspective of international law,” Motegi said in a statement.

He summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to the ministry in Tokyo and lodged a strong protest over the visit, requesting that he "promptly report the message back to Moscow,” the minister told reporters afterward.

Later Thursday, the Russian Embassy in Japan called Tokyo's protest “unfounded” and said Nozdrev had explained that “the southern Kuril Islands are an integral part of the Russian Federation and became part of it following World War II on legitimate international grounds.”

Putin's travels are “sovereign decisions of the Russian leadership and can't be subject to discussion with foreign states," the statement added.

Japan also protested in 2021 when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iturup.

Putin in recent days has visited several regions in Siberia and the Far East. Before coming to Iturup, he stopped on Sakhalin Island to attend the final part of drills by Russia's Pacific Fleet.

Speaking aboard a warship that was participating in the naval exercises, Putin said Wednesday that the current status of the Kuril Islands “is enshrined in international documents as a reality that arose following the outcome of World War II.”

“But even here, Russia was prepared to seek a solution with the goal of concluding a peace treaty with Japan,” he said.

Putin said that in the past, Moscow “had developed constructive relations with a number of Japanese leaders, including the tragically deceased former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who did much to bring Japan and Russia closer together, to align our positions.”

Japan imposed sanctions on Russia after it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and “listed Russia as a source of primary threats,” a change in that constructive relationship, he added.

Russia remains ready “to cooperate with all its neighbors, including Japan and other states in the region,” Putin said.

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Putin’s visit is “incompatible with the Japanese position on the Northern Territories” and is “absolutely unacceptable.”

She said the visit was a further blow to the already-strained ties between the two countries over Ukraine, and that Moscow should understand the consequences.

“We must say this visit has further hardened Japanese public sentiment toward Russia and has made it more difficult to restore bilateral relations in the medium to long term,” she said. “We hope the Russian side fully understands the seriousness of this.”

One of the reasons Japan has made the effort to maintain ties with Russia is to allow former Japanese residents to return to the islands and pay tribute at their graves as a humanitarian consideration.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and prime minister who now serves as deputy chair of the country's Security Council, responded to Takaichi's remarks on X by saying, “This chatter won't change a thing.”

The Kuril Islands “were, are, and will remain Russian land,” Medvedev, who himself visited the Kuril Islands four times as president and prime minister, wrote. “Anyone who fails to understand this will face the monstrous consequences of their delusion.”

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.

Freeman isn't sure whether he'll play when the Dodgers begin an important four-game series with the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, but he's grateful his freefall to the dugout floor wasn't worse.

“I didn't hit my head, so that was the key part there,” Freeman said. “I am sore. Kneecaps are sore. Shoulder is sore. Hand sore. Wrist sore. I mean, I fell. (But) I'm in good spirits.”

Freeman stayed in the game and finished the top of the eighth, but Tommy Edman pinch hit for him in the bottom of the inning before Los Angeles closed out a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, its fourth in five games.

The right side of Freeman's body took the punishment, but the 2024 World Series MVP apparently didn't break any bones. He'll wait to see how he feels in the morning before he decides whether to play Thursday night when the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers welcome Milwaukee in a reamtch of last year's National League Championship Series.

Freeman said he simply miscalculated the location of the dugout railing while he tracked Isaac Collins' foul pop.

“I went to lean, like I was going to lean against the rail to catch the ball — and obviously there was no rail,” Freeman said with a smile.

Freeman, who turns 37 in one month, said he was fortunate to fall all the way into the dugout, missing the top flight of stairs entirely. That's because when he landed, his head stuck out into the open space above the second flight of stairs that goes down into the visitors' clubhouse instead of banging on the ground.

“Luckily, I was tall, so I missed everything else,” the 6-foot-4 Freeman cracked.

This wasn’t Freeman’s first fielding misadventure: He said he fell into the seats in Arizona roughly a decade ago while he was with the Atlanta Braves.

The Orange County native and childhood Angels fan also said he still remembers the infamous 1999 opening-day dugout fall by Mo Vaughn, who got hurt on the first play of his first game with the Halos.

The Royals rushed to Freeman's side after the fall, urging him to stay on the ground. Freeman decided to get up anyway, and the Dodgers' training staff rushed across the field to check on him.

“I think that we really dodged a bullet,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. “Very scary visually. For right now, he's in good spirits, which I think is a good sign. Just kind of total body soreness.”

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

Janse's farm on the fertile land of the Netherlands' southwestern Zeeland Province is drying out despite his efforts to make it more drought resistant as accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Nino batter fields across Europe.

The drought that is roasting much of Europe this summer is taking a heavy toll on crops across the continent, from potatoes in the Netherlands to corn in Bosnia and grapes in Italy. Even when farmers try to adapt, the extreme weather is hitting their crops and water supplies.

Triodos, a Dutch bank that has a focus on sustainability, published an analysis this week that estimated the heatwaves and drought could reduce gross domestic product across the European Union by 1% for 2026 or around 180 billion euros ($208 billion). Farmers are among the hardest hit, with their crops set to be badly affected by soaring temperatures and lack of water. In large parts of the Netherlands, farmers are no longer allowed to use water from streams and drainage channels to irrigate fields and orchards.

Just add water? Dutch crops suffer from the drought

Another farmer in Zeeland, Hendrik Jan ten Cate, looks at a field full of withered potato plants that are almost all ready for harvest — a month early and with a significantly reduced crop. His potatoes are used to make French fries for companies including McDonald’s, but they’re likely going to be too small this year.

“People want long fries,” he says as he holds one of the potatoes. “That’s going to be tough this year.”

Ten Cate is one of the lucky farmers because he is allowed to irrigate his crops. But, even so, he estimates his harvest this year will be down by about one-third compared to average years.

“It's not just the drought that is the problem,” he says. “It is also the sun, the dry air and especially the hot days we have had this year. The potatoes just can't handle that combination very well.”

Bosnian agriculture, a key driver of the economy, is suffering

In Bosnia, where agriculture contributes roughly 5% of annual GDP and 10% of all employment, grain farmer Slavisa Lukic stood in one of his corn fields as stalks blew limply in the breeze. His crops have been hit by repeated heat waves and drought conditions. He said this year’s corn yield would be very poor, if he manages to harvest one at all.

Lukic remembers when he grew 6 to 7 tons per hectare on his farm. He expects this year’s corn yield will be around 1.5 to 2 tons per hectare.

Pointing to the drought-stricken land in northeastern Bosnia, Lukic said clover fields that once grew abundantly have all but disappeared. “Now they literally do not exist,” he said. “Nothing.”

Czech brewers fear bad hop harvest

The drought is even hitting one of the Czech Republic's most famous products: beer.

Plzeňský Prazdroj, the country’s largest beer producer, expects to incur losses this year due to a stunted hops yield.

Jakub Zaoral, the brewer’s sustainability manager, said that changes in rainfall patterns — characterized by long periods of dryness with occasional heavy storms — mean that when rain does fall, it runs off the dry soil. That results in inconsistent yields and increasingly low groundwater levels.

“There’s no choice but to simply accept the fact that one year will be great and the next won’t be,” he said. “If it were to happen three times in a row, that could very well become an existential problem for hop growers.”

Drought takes a toll across the Danube region

In Romania, some heat and drought-resistant crops like sunflowers have been less affected by the extreme conditions and yields have been plentiful. But the drought is still hitting home with record-low water levels on the Danube River disrupting grain transport, causing chronically congested terminals and an increasing pileup of crops with nowhere to go.

“In a short time, maximum 10 days, we will enter full blast in sunflower harvest, to be followed by corn,” Cezar Gheorghe, founder of grain consultancy firm Agricolumn, told The Associated Press. “Already farmers are in panic mode. They can’t find a place to store the corn and sunflower seeds.”

Cattle grazing plains in Hungary are turning to dust. No rain has fallen on Sándor Molnár's dairy farm since late May and he is having to buy expensive feed for his 130 cows.

“We’re trying to hang in there and hope for the best, hoping next year will be better,” he added. “To be honest, we’ve been saying that for a few years now, but maybe this time it will be.”

Huge UK farm that invested in irrigation is feeling the heat

Elveden Estate, with more than 10,000 acres of farmland on the Suffolk-Norfolk border in eastern England, has built a reservoir that can hold enough water to fill about 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Less than a year after opening, it's almost dry. Another reservoir is at about 20% capacity.

But the farm's water policy is paying off.

“The fact that we’ve invested significantly in reservoir storage and the infrastructure associated with pumping water has meant that we’ve been in a very strong position to continue to irrigate our crops through this growing season,” the farm's managing director, Andrew Blenkiron, said.

But every drop counts.

“We’re very concerned that we haven’t got enough water to see us through this season,” Blenkiron said. “We’ve got probably, if this weather stays as it is, six weeks of watering left to do.”

Diversify and feed the soil

Janse uses no-till farming on his fields — not plowing the soil, planting crops to cover the ground year-round and adding organic matter — to help cope with the whims of the weather as climate change triggers more extremes.

He has also diversified by running a popular campsite on his farm near the picturesque town of Veere. As he tends to his fields, guests walk by toward a lake where yachts and a river cruise ship sail past.

And as dry weather causes an increase in soil salinity in fields, Janse grows samphire, also known as sea asparagus, on a small patch of land. It's a crop that can thrive in salty conditions. But with no rainfall, even that is struggling this year.

“Samphire needs fresh water, and if there is only saltwater it doesn’t grow either,” he said.

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Nadja Lovadinov in London, Mustakim Hasnath in Suffolk, Stanislav Hodina in Prague, Czech Republic, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed to this report.

Once the long days of filming had passed and the fantasy flick had shifted from movie theaters to video cassettes, the farmhouse and ballfield where those idyllic scenes were shot was naturally becoming a tourist attraction.

Rahe lived near the site on the edge of his native small town of Dyersville, with convenient access by way of a back road the Universal Studios crew had made just for the movie shoot. He and his neighbors began showing up to make sure the pitcher's mound and home plate were in place, mingle with the visitors, and play catch.

Then one summer Sunday afternoon in 1990, Rahe persuaded a handful of his friends to put on some old wool uniforms he'd found, walk through the cornfields with him, and see what happened.

The young girl standing nearby sure was surprised.

“Mommy! Daddy! It's the ghost players!” she shrieked as she retreated to her parents in the infield.

After playing catch with and pitching to the tourists for about an hour, Rahe and his pals doffed their caps, waved goodbye and disappeared into the corn. An enterprising newspaper reporter happened to be there, and in the next day's edition of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids there was a headline touting the magical appearance of the “Ghost Players” at the site. Just like in the movie.

The following week, Rahe answered a phone call from Al Ameskamp, the owner of one of the two farms the movie ballfield straddled. He was wondering if they were going to come back and play ball again.

“Well, not really. It was kind of a one-time deal,” Rahe said.

Ameskamp replied, “Well, would you? There are 400 people out here waiting for you.”

Rahe has retold that origin story of the Ghost Players countless times, and now at age 68 he's never been more in demand. His gregarious goodwill band of ballplayers is a recurring feature for the public at the site, which he runs as the executive director of Dyersville Events.

This has been an especially busy summer in this part of northeast Iowa, with the completion of a permanent ballpark next to the filming location that will host a Major League Baseball game on Thursday night between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies. MLB last staged a game at Field of Dreams in 2022, when the Chicago Cubs played the Cincinnati Reds in a temporary facility. The Chicago White Sox faced the New York Yankees in 2021 in the inaugural event.

“The first time it happened, when we got to go into the stadium, I got goosebumps and kind of teared up while walking through that corn,” said Paul Scherrman, another one of the original Ghost Players. “It's just a great place.”

Baseball has a rich history in Iowa

The Ghost Players have visited 28 countries and dozens of states, Rahe said, mostly by paying their own way and using their vacation time. There are currently about 40 members, with half of those making more regular appearances. Earlier this summer, they traveled to Chisholm, Minnesota, for the “Doc Moonlight Graham Days” festival in honor of the film's heroic physician who chose medicine over sport after getting in one major league game.

“A lot of the ghosts are much more loyal than some of the ghosts,” said Scherrman, who had a brief minor league career and had a cameo in the movie. “The ghosts that come to the events that aren't as popular as Major League Baseball games are the harder-working ghosts.”

The Ghost Player experience, which allowed Scherrman to befriend the family of Roberto Clemente on a trip to Puerto Rico, has been decidedly more rewarding than serving as an extra in the film. He and the other locals spent 21 days on the set for 12 hours at a time just waiting to be called into action. During one scene, Scherrman appears for a few seconds as the catcher in a game interrupted by Timothy Busfield, the disbelieving brother-in-law of Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella.

For a state without any major metropolitan areas or a year-round climate favorable to outdoor baseball, Iowa has produced its share of talented players on a list that starts with Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller and his 1936 major league debut at age 17 after training on the family farm in Van Meter. The state is serious enough about the sport to place the high school season in summer to avoid conflicts with spring sports and get better weather.

“I still see all my buddies from that team,” said Cubs pitcher Colin Rea, who's from Cascade, just 15 miles south of Dyersville. “We've loved baseball from the time we started playing, and I think that's how it is for most kids around there.”

Rea, 36, wasn't quite born yet when “Field of Dreams” hit the big screens, but he and his friends regularly watched their area's claim to fame while growing up. The ballfield itself seemed like a fantasy that was impossible to visit.

“Once I got older, I was like, ‘It’s 20 minutes from my house. Why haven't I been there?'” Rea said.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Keaton Winn is from Ollie, in the southeast part of the state. His brother will be at the game, and he knows people on the grounds crew.

“It's really sweet. Iowa's got a lot of baseball fans,” Winn said. “Having the game come there is really special to all of the people.”

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AP Baseball Writers Jay Cohen in Chicago and Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Es una escena habitual en la playa pública de Bolsa Chica y en otras playas populares del sur de California, donde el número de personas picadas por las afiladas y destadas púas caudales que se encuentran en la cola de las rayas ha aumentado de forma significativa respecto a hace un año, a medida que una ola de calor marina atrae a más rayas —y a más gente— hacia la orilla.

Hemann, un turista de 31 años de Nuevo México, contó que estaba aprendiendo a surfear cuando se bajó de la tabla y cayó sobre lo que creyó que era un palo puntiagudo. “Me dolió bastante”, comentó, mientras hundía su pie palpitante en el agua más caliente que podía tolerar para aliviar el dolor. “Se me irradiaba hasta el tobillo”.

En las playas de Bolsa Chica y Huntington se han reportado más de 3.100 incidentes en lo que va del año, el doble que en todo 2025. El tramo de costa de 5,6 kilómetros (3,5 millas) de la ciudad de Huntington Beach registró más de 2.000 incidentes de este tipo en lo que va del año, más que durante todo el año pasado, mientras que en las playas de San Diego hubo más de 900 picaduras durante la primera mitad de 2026, más que en los primeros seis meses de cualquiera de los últimos cinco años, según los datos de los socorristas.

“Definitivamente estamos viendo un aumento”, afirmó Bryan R. Etnyre, superintendente de parques estatales en el norte del condado de Orange. “Gran parte se debe al calentamiento de las temperaturas del océano, que se mantienen de manera constante en los 15,6º Celsius (60º Fahrenheit). No creo que haya habido una semana en todo el invierno en la que bajáramos de 60º este año”.

El agua más cálida atrae a rayas y a gente

Las rayas redondas se encuentran en aguas del océano Pacífico desde Panamá hasta el sur de California y se sabe que se acercan a la orilla cuando baja el oleaje y el agua está caliente.

En los últimos años, muchas especies que se alimentan de rayas, como los tiburones, los leones marinos y la corvina gigante, han visto disminuir sus poblaciones, lo que ha hecho que aumente su número, explicó Chris Lowe, profesor de biología marina y director del Shark Lab en la Universidad Estatal de California, Long Beach.

Se sabe que las rayas prefieren aguas más cálidas, como las lagunas. Las hembras prefieren esas aguas para reproducirse y, durante el verano, los machos tienen un metabolismo más activo que los impulsa a buscar alimento entre los invertebrados a lo largo de la orilla, señaló Lowe.

“En realidad son una especie subtropical que está prosperando en el extremo de su hábitat debido al cambio climático”, agregó.

Según meteorólogos, el océano ya se ha estado calentando por el cambio climático causado por el ser humano.

Este año se han visto aún más rayas debido a una persistente ola de calor marina frente a partes de la Costa Oeste, lo que supone la tercera vez que se registra que un tramo tan grande de aguas costeras se mantiene cálido durante tanto tiempo, de acuerdo con la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos. En junio, las autoridades confirmaron la formación de un fenómeno de El Niño —el calentamiento natural de partes del Pacífico central que altera el clima en todo el mundo— y se espera que alcance una intensidad histórica.

Además, desde la pandemia del coronavirus, más gente acude a las playas en busca de actividades al aire libre. Y cuando el agua está más caliente, es más probable que se metan a nadar.

Cuando se pisa una raya, esta levanta instintivamente la cola y pica con sus púas venenosas. Los salvavidas instan a los bañistas a arrastrar los pies al entrar al agua, ya que ese movimiento suele hacer que los animales se deslicen para apartarse sin picar.

En el sur de California, los socorristas pueden atender unas 10.000 lesiones por picaduras de raya al año, indicó Lowe.

En Seal Beach, una zona atrae a muchas rayas debido a la afluencia de agua cálida procedente de una central eléctrica cercana que se la conoce como “la bahía de las rayas" ("ray bay"), aunque los salvavidas allí no han visto muchos cambios en las picaduras este año.

Con una red de casi 23 metros (75 pies) de largo, investigadores recogieron unos 200 ejemplares —con tamaño similar al de un plato llano— en un tramo de la playa una mañana reciente.

“Puede haber tantas que literalmente alfombran el fondo; no se ve la arena”, explicó Lowe. “Durante los (episodios de) El Niño, nos llegan más desde el sur y se acercan más a la orilla. Así que este año esperamos cifras récord”.

Avisos y botines pueden ayudar

Lowe dijo que está trabajando con televisoras para elaborar un aviso sobre las rayas que ayude a reducir el número de personas que sufren picaduras y el número de animales que son aplastados. Las rayas ayudan a mantener la playa en buen estado al alimentarse de pequeñas almejas y airear el sedimento.

Muchas playas usan una aplicación para avisar a los bañistas cuando se producen múltiples picaduras en un lugar. Por su parte, una empresa ha desarrollado unos botines de surf que, según dice, son resistentes a las púas, aunque se pide a los nadadores que sigan entrando con cuidado para evitar pisar a las rayas.

En Bolsa Chica, bañistas con picaduras en los lados de los pies y en los dedos se sentaron en círculo rellenando sus baldes con agua caliente de una manguera. Algunos llevaban allí más de una hora esperando a que el dolor disminuyera.

En la mayoría de los casos no se necesita atención médica adicional. Si el enrojecimiento y la hinchazón continúan por más de cuatro o cinco días, podría haber una complicación médica como una infección o una púa clavada que puede verse en una radiografía, explicó la doctora Christanne Coffey, que investiga estas picaduras en la Universidad de California, San Diego Health.

Allen Lowry contó que estaba jugando con su nieto de 7 años cuando pisó algo blando. Levantó el pie y vio sangre, así que su esposa lo llevó en auto al puesto de los salvavidas para remojarlo en agua caliente, que es el remedio para las picaduras.

Lowry, de 69 años, dijo que nada tres veces por semana en otra playa, y que sufrir una picadura, aunque sea dolorosa, no lo cambiará. Comentó que a algunas personas de su grupo de natación les ha pasado varias veces.

“Por lo general, una vez que se te va el dolor que sientes, al día siguiente estás bien”, manifestó.

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

Glaciers in Switzerland and around the Alps have been retreating rapidly in recent years, among other changes attributed to the impact of climate change caused by human activity. Snowfall has become less frequent and reliable over recent decades.

That's a big issue for a mid-altitude ski resort like the Adelboden-Lenk area, whose roughly 200 kilometers (125 miles) of slopes span an altitude between 1,000 and 2,300 meters (3,280 and 7,545 feet). These days, an estimated 70% of the snow on its slopes is made artificially.

Snow cannons and lances are the visible part of the snowmaking network. But much of it is out of sight: dozens of kilometers of underground water pipes that could prove useful beyond the winter months as the risk of wildfires grows even in places such as Switzerland’s Adelboden-Lenk ski area.

“We can help firefighters with our infrastructure," said Jürg Klopfenstein, who is responsible for the resort's snowmaking operations. "Not primarily with our snow cannons, which can mainly be used to water the fields or aim them at surrounding infrastructure. But firefighters can use our infrastructure, and helicopters can refill their tanks using our water reservoirs.”

Those reservoirs collect rainfall and melting snow in the warmer months, and the water is used to produce snow during the ski season. The pipes and pumps connect 210 snow cannons and 50 snow lances in the Adelboden-Lenk area. In case of fire, the system could be used to create wet buffer areas, slowing the advance of flames and buying time until emergency services and air support arrive.

So far this year, Switzerland hasn’t experienced large-scale fires, unlike some of its neighbors. But the country is suffering from drought and the authorities assess the risk of wildfires as high across almost the entire nation, including the Bern region where Adelboden is located.

Like many other mountain areas, the Bernese Oberland isn't just a winter destination but attracts many mountain bikers, hikers, runners and paragliders in summer.

Stefan Buchs, the operations manager at the Adelboden-Lenk resort, said that different types of vegetation and different levels of soil humidity mean the large and frequent forest fires seen in southern Europe can't be extrapolated directly into a similar risk in the Alps.

But even so, “widespread wildfires are a likely scenario," he said. “We discussed this with the firefighters, and they recognized it already. They see that humidity is a real problem. It gets really dry even in the spring. Not just in the summer.”

Adelboden Mayor Willy Schranz said that “we must be prepared, because I am sure it won’t be the last summer like this one.”

A climate change expert with environmental group Greenpeace, Nathan Solothurnmann, cautioned against overestimating what putting a snowmaking system to work against wildfires can achieve in the long run and in a wider context.

“This watering system that they’re planning in Adelboden might for sure help for a while," he said. “But of course the changes we're facing (are) much worse. All those types of adaptations, they just help for a while.”

"In most parts of Switzerland, there are no pipes buried underground that we can use when a forest is burning,” he added.

The storytelling, that part was easy. He's a natural at that.

But what Rivers wound up learning during the trial-and-error process of speechwriting was that the words he'll say from a stage in Springfield, Massachusetts aren't going to be about him. They're going to be about everyone else who played a role in him getting to that moment.

“You go through this journey of writing it and you realize it has nothing to do with you in a very good way,” Rivers said. “People are happy for you, and I am happy for them because they got me there. You hear all your life, ‘You don’t do anything alone.' When you get in the Hall of Fame, you really understand that you don’t do anything alone. It's all the coaches in your life, your parents, the players. It's a thankful journey and that’s what the Hall of Fame should be about."

The numbers prove he's among the best

A winner of 1,194 regular season games as an NBA coach — and that'll be all, he insists, saying his retirement is a real one — Rivers ranks sixth in league history. The only others ahead of him: Gregg Popovich, Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan and Pat Riley, all of whom are Hall of Famers, so it was obviously a lock that Rivers would be joining them.

He won a championship with Boston in 2008, won 114 playoff games as a coach, played 13 seasons, was an All-Star once, has been a broadcaster and — if he goes back to work, and his family currently has a pool that he will — he'll be a broadcaster again.

But there's more to life now. The Illinois native and Marquette legend has seven grandchildren, a house on the water and can't play enough golf. He'll still be involved in the game, somehow. It just won't be as a coach. It'll be as a Hall of Famer.

“Doc is a proven, extraordinary leader and communicator during his renowned NBA coaching career,” Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst said when the Bucks hired Rivers in 2024. “As a championship coach, he’s widely respected as an established innovator, and the right coach to lead our experienced and talented team."

He was, until he wasn't.

Injuries derailed every chance the Bucks had at being a winner this past season, and when the season came to its dismal close Rivers was fairly certain it was the end for him as well — after 27 seasons on the sideline, and whole lot of missed moments along the way.

“The one thing that people have no idea about is the toll it takes on you and the family component," Rivers said. "It is rough. You’re never home. You make sacrifices and your family has to make them as well.”

That won't be an issue now.

A hit from the beginning

Rivers won coach of the year in his very first season, taking a team he called “the 301s” in Orlando and leading it to a 41-41 record. On the surface, there's nothing special about going .500. But the Magic were supposed to be bottom dwellers that season and Rivers used a preseason ranking of the league's top 300 players as inspiration — since none of those top 300 were playing for the Magic.

“That season gave me great confidence,” Rivers said.

He has some regrets, of course. Critics have long pointed to the 10 losses that Rivers-coached teams had in Game 7s, by far the most of any coach in NBA history. And his fans will retort by pointing to his 114 playoff wins, fourth-most in NBA history. But the biggest do-over, if Rivers had such an option, would be changing his mind about leaving the Celtics for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013.

Rivers got to the Clippers not long before the end of Donald Sterling's ownership of the team; Sterling made racist comments and wound up getting banned by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

“I underestimated what a great situation I was in, and I took that for granted, like you can just go anywhere and create that," Rivers said. “I messed that one up. But then when I go to the Clippers, the team is pretty damn good. The organization, it was the worst organization in sports with the ownership problem. Within a week there, I remember telling my assistant, ‘We’ve got a lot to do here.'”

The championship with the Celtics in 2008 — Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the stars of that team, will be together again to present their former coach for his Hall enshrinement — was an obvious high point for Rivers' career. There were other moments he's particularly proud of as well, such as delivering on a promise that he made to someone who barely played for him.

Tyronn Lue succeeded Rivers as coach of the Clippers. Lue played 11 games for Rivers in Orlando during the 2003-04 season; that was all the time it took for Rivers to be convinced that Lue would one day be a coach. He told Lue to call him if he ever wanted a job and Lue took him up on it. Rivers wound up going to the Hall of Fame, and few within the game would be surprised if Lue joins him there one day.

“It's the stories like that that you think about,” Rivers said. "Rajon Rondo played for me in Boston. We had a very tumultuous relationship when I coached him and now, I probably talk to Rondo more than probably than any player that I coached.”

It's what the game does, Rivers said. The lucky ones get guided along the way. He played that role with players like Rondo — who coached with Rivers — and Lue, and in Rivers' own case, it was Riley who gave him the push he needed.

Riley and Rivers clashed at times in their player-coach relationship, and their biggest fights came when Riley was telling Rivers that he belonged in coaching.

Riley was right.

“When I was doing TV, he kept writing and sending me these freaking messages about getting into the fray," Rivers said. “He knew it. And here I am, going into the Hall of Fame.”

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

ESPN got a copy of the letter that was sent to LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry and said Daniels’ decision stems from the school’s decision to allow cornerback D.J. Pickett to wear a No. 5 jersey. That’s the number Daniels wore during his two seasons at LSU.

This would mark the first time an LSU player has worn No. 5 since Daniels’ departure, though the school hadn’t retired the jersey.

“Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected,” the statement from Daniels' spokesperson said. “His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU.”

Pickett wore a No. 3 jersey as a freshman last year but is switching to No. 5 this season. The 6-foot-5 cornerback is a former five-star recruit who had three interceptions as a freshman last season.

LSU coach Lane Kiffin said last week that Pickett was promised the opportunity to wear No. 5 when he signed with LSU in December 2024, when Brian Kelly was coaching the Tigers. Kelly was fired in October 2025. and Kiffin was hired at the end of the regular season.

“When a kid’s promised something to come to a school, he should wear it,” Kiffin said during an Aug. 5 media session. “So at that point, I don’t think it’s really my decision. We should honor what he was told.”

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

About 8 million people in the southern African country of 22 million were registered to vote in the one-day election. Voters also were choosing members of Parliament and local government councilors. Results were expected Monday, according to the electoral commission.

Voters bundled in thick jackets against the morning chill began forming long lines before dawn outside polling stations across Lusaka, the capital, some of them huddled around makeshift fires as election officials checked voter lists and prepared polling stations.

Hichilema and his biggest rival — opposition candidate Brian Mundubile, who has pledged to lower costs for average people — later cast their ballots in the capital as their supporters cheered them on.

European Union election observers watched the proceedings at one polling station in the capital. A local election observer said confusion over voter rolls, inadequate directions and poor crowd management at some polling stations caused delays and frustration that could discourage some people from voting.

Mathias Ngoma, in his 70s, said he has voted in every election he could because “it’s the only voice I have.”

“I braved the cold to choose leaders I am hoping will make things better in our constituency,” he said.

Economy dominates the vote

The election is widely seen as a referendum on Hichilema’s handling of the economy. He came to power in 2021 and is seeking a second term. He argues he inherited an economy in crisis and has overseen the restructuring of Zambia’s massive foreign debt, presided over economic growth and courted investors.

Hichilema, who is running against 13 other candidates, cast his ballot shortly after midday in Lusaka’s Kabulonga suburb, accompanied by his wife, Mutinta.

Supporters cheered and chanted his nickname, “Bally,” as the president arrived. He paused to take selfies with supporters before entering the polling station. Speaking afterward, Hichilema said the election was a choice between continuing his government’s reforms or reversing course.

“This election is really about the people of Zambia and their future — progress as opposed to regression,” he told reporters. “We have delivered, but there is a lot more to be done.”

About 9 kilometers (6 miles) away, Mundubile cast his ballot at Olympia Park Secondary School where the main opposition challenger urged Zambians to vote peacefully and told them their “second independence” was coming.

Mundubile, who leads an alliance of opposition parties, has campaigned on promises to lower the cost of living, improve agriculture and restore democratic freedoms while accusing Hichilema’s government of undermining democratic institutions.

“This is a revolution,” Mundubile told reporters during a press briefing at his home after voting. “Zambians have decided. The will of the Zambian people will certainly prevail in this election.”

Many still struggle despite recent economic growth

Many Zambians say they don’t feel the benefits of recent economic growth as unemployment, food prices and an unstable electricity supply continue to strain household budgets.

Meki Mulota, 40, an entrepreneur, said she was looking for a government that would make it easier for businesses to grow despite the rising cost of living.

“The cost of living has been high. Almost everyone is complaining,” she said. “I want to see a government that will create an environment where entrepreneurs can sustain their businesses.”

Christopher Banda said he backed Hichilema because he believed the country was moving in the right direction despite economic hardship.

“I’m voting for stability. I’m voting for continuity,” he said. “There’s been a high cost of living ... but I think we’re heading in the right trajectory.”

A presidential candidate must win more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Zambian copper production draws international interest

The election is being closely watched abroad because Zambia is a major copper producer seeking to sharply increase production of the metal, which is critical to electric vehicles, renewable energy and power grids.

China is Zambia’s largest foreign investor and has extensive mining interests in the country, while the United States has sought a greater role as Washington looks to diversify suppliers of critical minerals and reduce its reliance on China.

Hichilema has courted investment from both China and Western partners, including the U.S., as he seeks to increase annual copper production to 3 million metric tons by 2031.

Security concerns shadow the vote

Security and political tensions rose in the final days of the campaign. Police deployed additional officers and warned against violence, disruptions at polling stations, and the circulation of false results.

Opposition parties and rights groups, including Amnesty International, accused Hichilema’s government of shrinking democratic space and using state institutions to target critics and political rivals, allegations the government rejects.

Hichilema spent four months in jail on treason charges when he was an opposition leader under former President Edgar Lungu, whom he defeated in 2021.

Lungu remained an influential political figure until his death in South Africa last year. A prolonged dispute between his family and the government over his funeral and burial added to tensions ahead of the election.

Zambia has long been regarded as one of southern Africa’s more stable democracies, with a history of largely peaceful transfers of power. Hichilema’s victory in 2021 marked the country’s third transfer of power to an opposition candidate since multiparty democracy was restored in 1991.

Polls are expected to close at 1600 GMT.

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

Ahead of the meeting, the Kennedy Center's management said it would present the board with three approaches for consideration.

The options would include a complete closure or a partial closure that would allow “some continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected” by the work. A third option would “consider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”

In blocking earlier plans for closure, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the board's March 16 vote backing the move appeared “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.” In moving forward, the board, which is largely made up of President Donald Trump's allies, may face pressure to prove they've thoroughly considered their options.

During Trump’s second term, the Kennedy Center has become an unlikely — and highly visible — metaphor of presidential power. While he largely ignored the institution during his first round in Washington, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution’s leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building, a move that Cooper also declared illegal.

Trump’s name came down from the building in June but the area where it once stood is now covered by a massive tarp. Cooper has asked the Kennedy Center for updates on how long the tarp is expected to stay in place.

Trump's push to remake the nation's capital

The Kennedy Center moves are part of Trump's broader push to reshape the physical landscape of the nation's capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place, though an appeals court ruled last week that construction should stop because Congress didn't approve the project. Trump has said he will take the case to the Supreme Court.

His remodel of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has also stumbled after algae returned and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro refuted his claims that a vandal was responsible for the damage.

Meanwhile, Trump is planning extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, which could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery.

Trump has derided the Kennedy Center as “rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested” and threatened to hand the building over to Congress after Cooper rejected the closure and the addition of the president’s name to the building.

The institution’s leadership has argued that it’s in genuine need of repair and updating.

Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and chief operating officer, guided a group of journalists through the building in April, highlighting severe water damage that he said corroded steel in some places as thin as tissue paper. Some pieces of equipment, including several 800-ton chillers that help cool the building, are decades old and in need of replacement.

At the time, Floca said he considered doing the repairs individually but insisted it was his recommendation to Trump to close the building and move forward with the renovation all at once.

“When the president asked: ‘How do you make these projects the best? How do you make them really excellent and deliver them efficiently?’ my recommendation was you close the building and you do everything over a definite period of time, two years,” he said.

More recently, the legal battles became the subject of barbs and jokes as comedian Bill Maher accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in late June. At the start of the program, Pamella Roland DeVos, a Kennedy Center trustee appointed by Trump, described the institution as a “national cultural center open not just for some but for every American patron who wants to experience the greatest art and expression the world has to offer.”

“The responsibility that comes with it is one our board takes very seriously,” she said.

The Met Office said the temperature surpassed this year’s previous high of 38 C (100.4 F), recorded on June 28. It remained below the U.K.’s August record of 38.5 C (101.3 F), set in 2003.

Britain, like France, is experiencing its fifth heat wave of the year.

Temperatures in France, meanwhile, have gone even higher, approaching 41 C (106 F) in several areas, from Aquitaine in the southwest to the Rhone River valley in the east, according to the national weather service.

The most intense heat is forecast to move eastward away from Britain and France on Friday and then recede over the weekend.

Britain and France ill-equipped for this sort of heat

This summer has shown that both Britain and France are ill-equipped to deal with these levels of heat. Air conditioning is a rarity outside of shops and offices, for example.

In Britain, nurses have collapsed from heat exhaustion while working in hospitals, many housed in aging buildings that lack adequate cooling, the Royal College of Nursing said Thursday.

“When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed,” said Nicola Ranger, the college’s chief executive and general secretary.

Unsurprisingly, drought conditions are spreading

Like many parts of Europe, Britain and France are facing widespread drought conditions that have shriveled crops and drained rivers, heaping pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment, and forcing governments and water users to seek both short- and long-term measures to mitigate the effects of human-caused climate change.

Britain’s Southern Water, which oversees supplies in the south of England, has applied for a rare drought order which would ban businesses from nonessential water use, including cleaning cars and filling nondomestic swimming pools, saying an “exceptional” lack of rain is threatening supplies. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.

With temperatures soaring, many people headed to beaches and outdoor pools or found other ways to cool off. In Bordeaux in southwestern France, children and adults sought relief in the city’s iconic “water mirror.” Some frolicked in fountains, splashed their faces and filled up water bottles. Birds too quenched their thirst.

Wildfire fears remain a clear and present danger

With the land parched and no sign of any meaningful rain coming, authorities in Britain and France remain on high alert for wildfires.

In Britain, which is increasingly looking sandy brown rather than its traditional luscious green, firefighters have been out in force this week trying to contain a wildfire in the New Forest in southern England.

Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the same as last year’s record-breaking total.

Though not on the same level as those witnessed in France, Greece and Spain, they provide ample evidence of the need for the U.K. to adjust to a new reality.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will consider imposing a ban on disposable barbecues amid the risk of further wildfires as extreme heat continues to grip parts of the U.K.

“I do believe we need to get the message out loud and clear,” he said. “People should not be using those barbecues outside at this moment in time.”

French firefighters were back in action too after a desperate summer and are threatening to go on strike to demand more staff and resources to cope with increasingly extreme weather events.

One broke out late Wednesday in the northern Pas-de-Calais region, and another in Brittany, far from the hotter, drier and more fire-prone regions in southern France. A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month and pushed a quarter of a million people from their homes.

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Charlton reported from Paris.

But with the major parties refusing to field candidates in the election, voters in a small seaside resort outside London are choosing between a man with eyes on the prime minister’s office and a random assortment of candidates, led by a man wearing a trash can on his head.

Farage triggered the vote last month when he quit his seat in the hope that it would put to bed questions about his finances and result in a resounding victory over his main political rivals from the Labour and Conservative parties. He said he would let voters judge him in a “people versus the establishment” contest.

But his political foes described the move as a stunt and opted not to play ball. Farage is instead facing opponents like Count Binface, a political satirist posing as a comic space alien with a keen interest in earthly matters, including the positioning of a hand dryer in the men’s toilet in a pub in west London.

While Farage is widely expected to win the race, questions about the millions of pounds in donations that he had received will persist.

Record number of candidates standing in Clacton

The election is a novelty with a record 34 candidates, including Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party. They have pounded the streets of Clacton over the past few weeks as they seek to win the support of around 80,000 voters.

Given the numbers standing, Clacton residents will be presented with a ballot paper around 3 feet long (around 1 meter). That's not going to be easy to navigate.

Turnout is widely expected to be low as it often is in special elections. In the July 2024 general election, Farage faced eight rivals and garnered 21,225 votes, or 46.2% of the total. Turnout was 58.7%.

This election is taking place during the summer holidays when thousands of voters will be far away from Clacton. It's also taking place during another U.K. heatwave, which could prompt many to opt against making the trip to the polling station.

Election isn't the one Farage was planning

Farage, who in 2024 was elected to Parliament at his eighth attempt in the strongly Brexit -backing town, has for months been facing what he considers to be unfair scrutiny of his finances.

Parliament’s standards watchdog is investigating an undeclared donation of 5 million pounds ($6.7 million) to Farage in 2024 from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says he didn’t need to declare the money because it was a personal gift he used to fund his security and came before he was elected.

However, newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) received in the previous year if they are related to political activities.

When he stood down on July 7, he described the scrutiny as an “establishment hit job” and a media-driven “witch-hunt.”

His decision to stand down put a pause to the parliamentary investigation, but if he wins on Thursday, as most pollsters expect, it is set to start again.

If he's found to have breached Parliament's rules, then he could face a recall petition in Clacton, which may lead to another special election later this year, costing the British taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds more. The difference is that in that one, the other parties would choose to stand.

Farage's decision came weeks after Andy Burnham returned to Parliament in a special election in the Makerfield constituency near Manchester. That campaign shone a positive spotlight on Burnham, triggering a chain of events that saw him become Britain's prime minister a few weeks later following the resignation of Keir Starmer.

Any hope that Farage had that the Clacton campaign would be similarly positive for him was dashed when the other political parties failed to play ball and he was left standing against the likes of Count Binface.

Binface leads the alternatives

Under Binface’s black cape, trash can and ample body armor that looks straight out of a low-budget sci-fi film, is a middle-aged comedian named Jon Harvey trying to keep his cool during a sweaty summer.

He has been a regular candidate in high-profile elections before, having previously stood against then prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

He says his repeated candidacies are aimed at promoting the beauties of Britain's centuries-old democracy where even the most high-profile politicians are above no one — including someone from his fictional native planet of Sigma IX.

Joke candidates are a long-standing and cherished tradition in British elections so long as they meet the rules and pay the deposit of 500 pounds ($675) required of all those standing. They only get it back if they muster 5% of the votes cast. In his most recent run, against Burnham in Makerfield, the 5,000-year-old Binface got 95 votes, or 0.2% of the total.

There is an expectation that he will do a lot better in Clacton. Many of the voters of the other political parties have been lending him their support, partly in the hope of embarrassing Farage.

Given the numbers standing, the result is not expected until breakfast time Friday.

In the other executions, a Tennessee man faces death for killing a motel maid and an Alabama man will be executed after dropping all his appeals in the killing of a 5-year-old girl he paid her mother to abuse.

Eleven states carried out executions in 2025 in the U.S. If the Tennessee and Alabama deaths take place, six states will have had executions in 2026.

The last time three executions were held on the same day was Jan. 7, 2010, when Louisiana, Ohio and Texas put inmates to death. Three executions were scheduled on the same day in 2018, but only one went forward after a Texas man was granted a reprieve and prison officials in Alabama had problems with the IV line.

Florida executed two men on the same day in July and has put 31 prisoners to death since the start of 2025.

Oklahoma prisoner says he regrets 2003 killing of girlfriend

Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, died by lethal injection at 10:13 a.m CDT at the state’s penitentiary in rural McAlester.

He was the third person put to death this year in Oklahoma and the 20th under Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who leaves office in January after eight years.

Convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend at their Oklahoma City home in 2003, Cuesta-Rodriguez had said he regretted killing Olimpia Fisher and didn’t ask a board for clemency.

Fisher, 43, planned to leave Cuesta-Rodriguez when he shot her in one eye and then waited about eight minutes as she screamed for help before firing the fatal shot into her other eye.

“He made her suffer because she dared to live beyond his control,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told the state’s Pardon and Parole Board on July 14.

Last month, the board voted 3-1 against recommending clemency for Cuesta-Rodriguez. His attorneys had asked the board to recommend he serve life in prison, saying he had a difficult childhood in Cuba and suffered from brain damage, post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression with psychotic episodes.

Tennessee's last scheduled execution was halted after IV problems

Tennessee plans to execute Anthony Darrell Hines for the 1985 murder of Catherine Jean Jenkins.

Hines stabbed Jenkins to death while the 54-year-old was working as a motel maid in Kingston Springs. He was sentenced to death in 1986, won an appeal for a new sentencing hearing and was again sentenced to death in 1989.

Hines' execution date comes just three months after the attempted lethal injection of another man was called off because of a problem inserting an IV.

Hines, 66, appealed unsuccessfully to the governor and the courts, saying that the doctor who oversaw the May execution was unqualified and likely to botch his execution as well. He said his thinness and muscular atrophy after two strokes mean he could face problems with an IV as well.

During the attempted execution of Tony Carruthers, the IV team established a primary line right away but then worked for more than an hour trying to insert a backup line. Carruthers' lawyer witnessed the attempts and said the team tried to insert an IV in Carruthers’ arm, hand and foot before attempting to insert a central line.

In the end, Gov. Bill Lee called off the execution and gave Carruthers a one-year reprieve.

The state has declined to say whether the same doctor will preside over Hines’ execution. Regardless, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Hines had not proven the doctor was unqualified and suggested the problems were an isolated mishap.

Alabama inmate pleaded guilty to rape and killing of girl

Alabama is scheduled to execute Jeremy Williams by lethal injection for the 2021 rape and murder of a 5-year-old Georgia girl.

Williams, who pleaded guilty to killing Kamarie Holland, declined to appeal and asked for his death sentence to be carried out.

Williams, 42, raped and strangled Holland after offering her mother $2,500 for the child to perform a sex act, prosecutors said.

Williams filmed his attack on the girl and kept her body to continue to abuse, prosecutors said.

“To see on video what he did to this baby, what a grown man could do to a child, it’s shocking, it’s horrible, it’s disgusting,” Russell County District Attorney Richard Chancey said. “It’s just a level of evil.”

Williams also was a suspect in the 2005 death of his infant daughter in Alaska but charges were not filed until 2022.

Corey Holland, Kamarie’s father, said his daughter was an exuberant 5-year-old who loved princesses and made people laugh.

“She loved playing dress-up, all her little Halloween costumes and her princess stuff I got her. She liked anything girly,” Corey Holland said.

It will be Alabama’s first execution of the year if it goes forward. A nitrogen gas execution was halted in June after a federal judge ruled the method unconstitutional.

The girl's mother is serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sex trafficking.

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Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins contributed.

U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis had been scheduled to hear arguments from both sides on Thursday before determining if the brothers, who have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, should stay in jail or be released during what could be a monthslong extradition process.

Louis granted a defense request to move the hearing to Aug. 27. Lawyers for the Tates said they needed more time to respond to prosecutors’ arguments.

The Tates have remained in a federal detention center in Miami since making a brief court appearance two days after their July 18 arrest. Their attorneys have argued the Tates’ high profile makes it nearly impossible for them to flee and that they regularly post updates about their locations on social media.

The Tates have become some of the world’s most polarizing internet personalities with their promotion of wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire. The new allegations are the latest in the Tates' long-running international legal saga spanning the U.S., Britain and Romania.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office filing, the Tates should be detained pending their extradition hearing because they cannot overcome the strong presumption against bail in international extradition cases.

The serious pending U.K. charges involving human trafficking and violent rapes and assaults against multiple victims, along with allegations in Romania that the Tates attempted to intimidate witnesses, present a clear public safety concern, prosecutors say.

While prosecutors call the brothers a flight risk, their attorneys said they have proved they are not by complying with all pretrial restrictions in Romania, where they are accused of luring women for sexual exploitation.

The U.K. has until mid-September to provide evidence to the State Department to support extradition, meaning the brothers could spend months in the Federal Detention Center in Miami before the proceedings are resolved, the defense motion says. No date has been set for an extradition hearing. They are being held in a special unit for their own protection.

The Democratic National Committee is expected to vote at its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, on the new order that frontloads states with more diverse populations.

The meeting comes ahead of bitterly contested midterm elections that will decide control of Congress later this year. Democratic voters have delivered mixed messages on the direction they want to see the party go — backing candidates viewed as more left-wing as well as moderates in consequential primaries across several states.

The group also is convening at a time of internal turmoil, with some members calling for DNC Chairman Ken Martin to be replaced. Critics have questioned Martin's leadership decisions and the party's fundraising, which lags well behind Republicans just months before the crucial midterms.

New calendar would cement South Carolina as first primary

The party is expected to give final approval to a calendar that has South Carolina's primary first on Jan. 22, followed by Nevada on Feb. 1. New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia would round out the early states, voting throughout February.

The overhaul shows Democrats’ effort to give greater influence to states reflecting the party’s coalition, particularly Black and Latino voters. It follows years of a calendar led by Iowa and New Hampshire, two states with overwhelmingly white electorates.

The proposed calendar would cement South Carolina at the start of the calendar, reflecting a change former President Joe Biden pushed for after that state revived his struggling 2020 campaign.

South Carolina has long been the first Southern contest and has served as a key test of candidates’ support among Black voters.

2 traditional early states aren't happy

Iowa and New Hampshire officials have expressed disappointment with the decision after the early approval at a committee meeting in July. Rita Hart, the Iowa Democratic Party chair, said it was a sign the party is “out of touch with voters.”

New Hampshire congressional leaders, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, said the decision was wrong for their state and the country. New Hampshire's secretary of state is required by law to schedule its presidential primary at least seven days before any other state holds a similar contest, setting up a potential conflict with the DNC calendar.

The GOP still needs to draw up its calendar. Republicans are expected to stick with their traditional early-state lineup led off by Iowa and New Hampshire.

Questions linger about Democrats' next steps

Democratic primaries already have been testing which direction the party is headed in, through races in states such as Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

While there's been a split between more progressive candidates who buck the party's establishment and those with more moderate views who have backing from party officials, the common thread is that Democratic voters have been looking for change.

Republicans, confronting high prices and the president's sagging approval, have been eager to cast the party as moving too far to the left.

Meanwhile, the DNC's leadership and financial concerns continue.

The gathering also coincides with financial struggles confronting Democrats, including lackluster fundraising and carrying debt. The DNC reported about $16 million cash on hand in its most recent Federal Election Commission filing along with more than $18 million in debt. The GOP, meanwhile, reported nearly $129 million cash on hand in its latest FEC filing.

Martin isn't expected to be replaced before the midterms, as the party has no clear alternative to take over. But members have said the most likely time for a leadership change may be the DNC’s winter meeting after the November contests — and before the 2028 presidential primary process begins in earnest.

Martin, desperate to save his job, has been avoiding media appearances, monitoring his critics’ social media posts and refusing — at least so far — to make any substantive changes at his troubled organization. He said in a recent Substack post the Democratic Party "will be ready to win — everywhere, at every level, in this election and for the decade ahead.”

___ Associated Press writer Steve Peoples in New York contributed to this report.

Shippers including FedEx and UPS that acted as customs brokers for imported packages and received tariff refunds from the U.S. government have started to pass on those refunds to the customers that originally paid the tariffs.

The refunds to consumers are the last step in a monthslong process that kicked off in February when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs implemented by President Donald Trumpin March 2025 under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act on goods from almost every country. The court ordered the government to return the tariffs it collected.

So far, about $100 billion in tariffs have been refunded to companies who paid them under a system set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

That doesn't mean Americans will get anywhere close to what they paid in tariffs, since most were paid indirectly. In 2025, the Trump tariffs amounted to an average tax increase of $1,000 per U.S. household, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., group that studies taxes.

But some consumers are getting some of what they paid directly back from shippers including UPS, DHL and FedEx. The refunds are being rolled out in phases based on what date they were paid. Shippers have said they'll return the refunds on a rolling basis as they receive them.

Tariff refunds from shippers will be directly refunded to credit cards or bank accounts

Most big overseas retailers paid the tariffs themselves and passed them along to retailers with a line item in their invoice that was part of the total bill, or indirectly by raising prices. But some smaller sellers left the tariff to be paid when it reached the U.S. In those cases, shippers paid the bill and charged the recipient of the package.

FedEx said it has begun the process of issuing $800 million in tariff refunds it received from the government back to the customers that paid them. Customers don’t need to apply to receive their refund, but they can enter tracking numbers for purchased items into a portal on the FedEx website to see whether or not they are due a refund.

UPS said in April it had paid $5 billion in tariffs on behalf of clients and would begin the process of applying to the government for refunds. In the first phase, it applied for $500 million in refunds and said customers should get refunds one to three months after it receives reimbursement from the Treasury.

DHL similarly said that it has filed claims for almost all eligible shipments where it served as the importer of record and is returning the refunds it has received.

“The volume and pace of refunds continue to depend on CBP’s processing of claims,” DHL said in a statement.

Major retailers say they could give back some refunds but mostly will use them to lower prices

Unlike shippers who collected tariffs directly from customers, most big retailers passed on tariffs in indirect ways, changing their product lineups or partly absorbing higher costs, making a consumer refund unlikely.

Amazon executives said last week the company received $600 million in tariff refunds in the second quarter.

In a call with investors, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company isn't the importer of record on most of the goods it sells and that it has absorbed some tariff costs. But he said the company has “identified a limited set of circumstances where we can trace that we pass specific import charges on to customers.” In those circumstances, he added, “we will proactively contact affected customers and automatically issue refunds to them.”

Otherwise, he said, Amazon will use tariff refunds to lower prices for customers.

That echoes what other large retailers have said. In May, Cori Barrie, outgoing CEO of Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, said the retailer is an importer of record of only about 2% to 3% of what it sells and that the company would use any refund it gets to “deliver value back to our customers.”

And Costco CEO Ron Vachris said the company planned to return “in some form” the tariffs that were passed on to consumers.

“How much we return and when depends on a variety of factors, including how much refund money we receive and when it arrives as well as developments in the lawsuit filed against the company regarding the return process,” he said in a quarterly earnings call in May.

Dozens of class-action lawsuits have been filed

Some shoppers are suing to get the tariffs they paid in the form of higher prices back from companies. More than 80 class-action lawsuits have been filed by customers across the country against retailers including Costco, Nike, Amazon, Walmart and others.

The lawsuits will face difficulty because plaintiffs will have to prove they paid for price increases that were specifically tied to the tariffs, according to Lori Leskin, partner and co-chair of law firm Arnold & Porter’s Consumer Products Practice Group. None of the lawsuits have yet been certified as class action, which would mean they apply to all customers.

“It’s going to be very hard for anyone to establish that the price increase they paid was due to tariffs and not some other market force,” she said. “Most of them are just talking about price increases, and to be able to trace a price increase due to a single factor is going to be really difficult given the multifactorial approach that most companies take.”

The U.S. concluded a dominant night with a world record in the 4 x 100 mixed medley relay.

Ledecky, a two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500, was under her own world-record pace in the early stages of the 30-lap race, with young fans holding signs at the outdoor pool in Irvine, California, on their feet cheering throughout.

Ledecky touched in 15 minutes, 36.09 seconds. Lani Pallister of Australia gave chase early before Ledecky opened a body-length lead over her closest pursuer. Pallister took silver in a personal best 15:38.62. Moesha Johnson of Australia earned bronze.

“Not quite the time that I wanted, but again, you can't complain with gold and getting my hand on the wall first," Ledecky said. “It's great to be in an environment like this.”

In the mixed medley relay, the American team of Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass won in 3:36.70. They beat the old mark of 3:37.43 set by the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Modglin got it started with backstroke before Mathias took over for the breaststroke leg. Walsh handled butterfly and Douglass brought it home on freestyle.

“As we were sitting back there for two hours waiting for this race to come, we kind of threw out the idea of breaking a world record,” Douglass said. “I love anchoring relays like this. They kind of do all the work for me. I get to just give my all at the end.”

Australia took silver in 3:39.30. Canada earned bronze.

Walsh won the 50 butterfly over Douglass to lead four 1-2 finishes by the United States.

Walsh touched in 24.65 seconds, bettering her time of 24.91 from the morning preliminaries. Douglass became the third woman to break the 25-second barrier in the event with a prelim time of 24.99. In the final, she finished second at 25.06.

Walsh was already in the sub-25 club, with the American record of 24.51 seconds. The other member is Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who holds the world record of 24.43 seconds.

Canada's Taylor Ruck took bronze in 25.23 in the first Pan Pacs held since 2018. It was the first of three bronzes she won Wednesday.

The once-every-four-years event was canceled in 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was moved from Canada to Southern California to give the region a major international meet ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where swimming will be held at SoFi Stadium in front of nearly 40,000 spectators.

Luca Urlando won the 200 butterfly over U.S. teammate Carson Foster. Urlando finished in 1:53.11, breaking the championship record of 1:53.80 set by Michael Phelps at the 2006 Pan Pacs in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Phelps then presented medals to Urlando, Foster and third-place Harrison Turner of Australia.

“That was like a dream come true,” Urlando said.

American teammates Katharine Berkoff and world record holder Regan Smith finished 1-2 in the women's 100 backstroke. Berkoff won in 57.93. Smith was second in 58.11, slower than the time of 57.86 she swam in prelims.

Ruck earned her second bronze in 58.40.

U.S. teammates Luke Hobson and Gabriel Jett finished 1-2 in the men's 200 freestyle.

Hobson touched first in 1:43.85 with a stunned Jett second in a personal-best 1:43.96. Zhang Zhanshuo of China was third.

Pallister won the women's 200 free in a course-record 1:53.67, beating Canada's Summer McIntosh, who was second at 1:53.86. Erika Fairweather of New Zealand was third.

Ben Armbruster of Australia won the men's 50 fly in 22.75 seconds over Van Mathias of the U.S.

The Pan Pacs limit each nation to just two swimmers in every championship final as a way to ensure greater representation among countries. That means swimmers can’t afford to ease through the morning prelims since a full-on effort could be required to make the evening final.

___

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

The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and was on track to top its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 123 points, or 0.2%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Wall Street relaxed after a report showed prices at the U.S. wholesale level were 4.7% higher last month than a year earlier. While that’s still very high, it’s not as bad as June’s 5.5% inflation rate at the wholesale level, and it was slightly better than economists expected.

If inflation continues to trend that way, the Federal Reserve could decide to hold off on hikes to interest rates. Higher rates would help keep a lid on inflation, but they do so by intentionally slowing the economy and making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.

Fed officials are split on whether they should have already begun hiking interest rates. But Thursday’s report, following a similar update on inflation at the U.S. consumer level the day before, has traders now betting on just a 34% chance that the Fed will raise rates at its next meeting in September. That’s down from the roughly 50% probability seen two days ago, according to data from CME Group.

Any increase by the Fed would be the first in more than three years. It also could anger President Donald Trump, who has been lobbying for lower interest rates.

Treasury yields sank in the bond market, which eases pressure on stocks and other investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.64% from 4.68% late Wednesday and from 4.72% on Monday, though it’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran sent oil and gasoline prices surging.

Oil prices eased back on Thursday, helping to limit worries about inflation. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 1.1% to $88.03.

It’s been swinging sharply recently and pinballed between $72 and $102 last month as hopes rose and fell that a deal in the war could allow oil tankers to freely exit the Middle East again and deliver crude worldwide.

On Wall Street, stocks in the real-estate industry helped lead the way. When interest rates are lower and bonds are paying less in yield, the dividends that many real-estate investment trusts pay look more attractive. Lower mortgage rates could also drive more activity in the housing market.

AvalonBay Communities, which owns apartments across the country, rose 2.5%. Builders FirstSource, which sells countertops and other building materials, added 1.3%.

Fossil Group rose 4% after the seller of watches and jewelry became one of the latest companies to report better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Such reports have helped drive Wall Street to its records because stocks tend to track the path of corporate profits over the long term.

They helped offset a drop for Cisco Systems, which fell 8.6% even though the tech giant reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. Analysts said investors may be worried about its profit margins going forward, and its stock has been shaky through the summer amid worries that AI-related stocks in general shot too high.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia. South Korea’s Kospi again had one of the world’s biggest moves and jumped 3.6%. Seoul has been home to the world’s sharpest swings for artificial-intelligence stocks because it’s dominated by two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

Coral, sea turtles, manatees and even whales all play a vital role in our ocean ecosystem. But recent changes at the federal level could erase critical protections these species depend on.

A bedrock environmental law is being dramatically rewritten, and now some of our most beloved and endangered marine life could pay the price.

“The Endangered Species Act will no longer protect the habitat, the home of the species it’s trying to keep from going extinct, which doesn’t make any sense,” said Nora Ives, a marine scientist with Oceana.

The Trump administration is rescinding the definition of “harm” from the Endangered Species Act, a bill that has been the law of the land for more than 50 years.

“These changes take the teeth out of this law, and what is the value of listing a species if you can’t protect its home?” Ives said.

The move strips critical protection of habitats for two of Florida’s most embattled species — green turtles and manatees — both listed as endangered.

The number one driver of extinction is harm to a species’ habitat.

“Before it was listed under the ESA or Endangered Species Act, there were about zero sea turtle nests on the Florida beaches. Since it was listed in 1978, we’re up to over 200,000 sea turtle nests of the green sea turtle species,” Ives said. “So, just another example that this law works and that our coastal economies, our local communities, our nation as a whole benefits from its success.”

Perhaps no species illustrates the devastating effects of habitat loss better than the Florida manatee. Five years ago, a pollution-fueled seagrass die-off triggered a mass mortality event: More than 1,200 manatees died, many starving to death.

“Another big concern is oil coming onshore and destroying seagrass habitat and ..ruining the habitat that manatees have,” said Beth Brady, director of science and conservation at Save the Manatee Club. “Manatees are just an indicator of the health of the ecosystem. And when you have healthy manatees, you have healthy habitat, springs, drinking water.”

Any further threat to the habitat has scientists concerned it could trigger another deadly crisis.

“Right now, I would say that the fluctuations that we’re seeing in both seagrass and manatee numbers really make us think that the balance is very fragile,” said Dr. Jeremy Kiszka, associate professor of biology at FIU.

Signed into law by President Nixon in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been an incredible bipartisan success story.

“It has protected over 99% of the species listed under its care from going extinct. And polling shows that it is a law that our country supports across the political spectrum,” Ives said.

Still, in March, the Trump administration convened the Endangered Species Committee for the first time in more than 30 years.

The powerful panel of senior administration officials, nicknamed the “God Squad,” moved to exempt oil-and-gas exploration from key ESA protections.

Then the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ended automatic protections for future threatened species and eased rules for excluding land from critical habitat.

“If you take away that protection, who knows what the impacts would be for the species and the recovery of the species, so it could be catastrophic,” Ives said.

President Trump defended the moves, posting that the Endangered Species Act is overreach by radical climate activists, stifling production of oil, natural gas and timber.

But conservation groups are fighting back. Earthjustice is filing multiple federal lawsuits, joined by an armada of others around the country, including Oceana.

“There’s no need to dismantle something that has worked for 50 plus years. And additionally, it allows human activity to go forward safely while protecting the species we all rely on for our ecological and our climate health,” Ives said.

Congress is also pushing back, introducing a bipartisan bill into the House late last month that would restore the definition of “harm” in the ESA.

“What is really important is the idea of coexisting. And these species are not to be taken for granted. They’ve been protected in in the US, in Florida for many years. But it doesn’t mean that they’re going to be present in, you know, 30, 40 or 50 years. They’re really fragile,” Kiszka said.

“It’s not just about a manatee, it’s about having a healthy Florida for generations to come,” Brady said.

The fight is also coming to South Florida.

Oceana is partnering with Surfrider and the Endangered Species Coalition for rallies in the Florida Keys at the end of the month to help draw support for endangered marine life.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has 60 days to respond to the federal lawsuits.

It happened on May 13 near Northwest 86th Terrace and Northwest 18th Avenue in Miami-Dade County.

Investigators arrested 29-year-old Ronald Kelly after Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers chased him down and crashed his red Dodge pickup truck by performing a PIT maneuver, causing the truck to overturn.

Authorities quickly took Kelly into custody and safely recovered the victim, who was being held in the bed of the truck.

Kelly is facing charges of kidnapping, aggravated fleeing and eluding causing injury or death, false imprisonment and burglary of an unoccupied structure and third-degree theft from a construction site and petit theft stemming from this case, and he’s also facing charges in another investigation regarding an alleged domestic dispute.

Messi started the second half and received a loud ovation from fans at Miami's Nu Stadium. It was his first match since his father, Jorge, died Saturday at 68. Messi shared a tribute to his father on social media earlier Wednesday, saying he wasn't sure about his playing future.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” the post said in Spanish, shared on Messi’s Instagram. “I don’t know how to keep going. All I ever did was play soccer, and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.”

Jorge Messi played a fundamental role in the soccer star’s career, serving as his agent and managing his business affairs. Messi returned to his native Argentina over the weekend, missing Miami's 2-1 loss to Monterrey on Saturday, but was dressed and on the bench before subbing in for Daniel Pinter at the start of the second half.

Juan Pablo Domínguez also scored for León, which used a three-goal second half to overcome a 1-0 deficit after Pinter put Miami ahead in the 42nd on an assist from Ian Fray. It was the second straight blown second-half lead for Inter Miami.

Arcila scored with a right-footed shot from the center of the box in the 50th, then whipped the go-ahead goal past Óscar García for his fourth goal of the tournament.

Yannick Bright also scored for Inter Miami, which was eliminated after winning the Leagues Cup in 2023 and reaching the final last year.

The Herons' chances of advancing were already bleak after entering the match 12th in the MLS standings following their loss to Monterrey. Only the top four clubs from the MLS standings and the top four from Liga MX will advance to the quarterfinals.

León, after winning its first two matches of the tournament, moved to first in the Liga MX standings.

___

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

Messi came off the bench in the second half after returning from his father’s funeral in Argentina, but Club León scored a late winner to defeat the Herons 3-2 and officially eliminate Miami from the Leagues Cup.

Miami entered the match with a slim path to the next round. Although the Herons were not mathematically eliminated before kickoff, they needed several results elsewhere to go their way. Only the top four teams from each side of the tournament advance to the knockout stage.

The Herons typically open matches with an aggressive, high-tempo attack, but Wednesday’s opening was more measured. Miami patiently moved the ball around the field while León dropped back and focused on limiting the Herons’ chances.

Miami’s first major opportunity came in the 10th minute after earning a dangerous free kick just outside the box. Stand-in captain Rodrigo De Paul sent the ball into the penalty area, but León cleared the danger and conceded the first corner of the match.

The corner produced nothing, and Miami went back to work.

Ian Fray nearly opened the scoring later in the half when he chipped the ball over a León defender before firing a shot just wide of the left post.

León’s defensive approach continued to frustrate Miami. Despite controlling possession, the Herons struggled to create clear chances and had only one shot on target for much of the opening half.

Miami eventually began to find its rhythm, increasing the pressure and forcing several saves from the León goalkeeper.

León, meanwhile, appeared content to sit back and absorb the pressure, waiting for opportunities to attack on the counter.

Miami finally found its breakthrough just before halftime.

Fray delivered a beautiful cross into the center of the box, where Daniel Pinter calmly finished with his left foot to put the Herons ahead 1-0.

Miami carried the lead into halftime.

Then came the moment the crowd had been waiting for.

Messi entered to begin the second half, and the stadium erupted into chants of “Messi, Messi, Messi” as the Miami supporters welcomed their star back onto the field.

But the celebration did not last long.

León quickly punished Miami on the counterattack, finding the equalizer to make it 1-1 and putting another dent in the Herons’ already slim hopes of advancing.

Miami responded immediately.

The Herons won a corner shortly after conceding, and the ensuing pressure resulted in another goal. Yannick Bright reacted first to a rebound and volleyed the ball into the back of the net after the León goalkeeper made the initial save.

Miami was back in front, 2-1.

Rocco Ríos Novo then came up with a massive save to keep the Herons ahead, denying León a potential equalizer.

But León continued to push.

The visitors eventually found the breakthrough they were looking for, leveling the match at 2-2 and setting up a frantic final stretch.

With Messi now on the field, the match had completely changed. The controlled opening had turned into the high-tempo, end-to-end game Miami is accustomed to playing.

León was comfortable with a draw. One point would be enough for the visitors to advance.

Miami had no such option.

The Herons needed a win and pushed forward in search of a late winner. Chance after chance was blocked or cleared, while León continued to threaten whenever it won possession and broke forward.

Then came the decisive moment.

León scored a late goal that was initially ruled offside. After a quick VAR review, however, the decision was overturned and the goal was awarded.

Miami suddenly found itself trailing 3-2 after leading 2-1.

The Herons desperately searched for one final opportunity, but time was running out.

Sergio Reguilón had a chance to equalize, but his attempt lacked the power to trouble the León goalkeeper, who made the save comfortably.

The final whistle confirmed León’s 3-2 victory and officially ended Miami’s Leagues Cup campaign.

For Miami, it was another night of late heartbreak. After finishing as the Leagues Cup runner-up last year, the Herons will not make the knockout stage this time around.

The Herons now turn their attention back to Major League Soccer, with their next match coming Saturday against first-place Nashville SC in Nashville.

El proceso estará enfocado en la reforma de la ley del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ), entre otras, en renovar y ampliar el comité de postulaciones para la designación de todos los magistrados del máximo tribunal, así como conformar un consejo de revisión de credenciales y requisitos de los postulados al TSJ para evitar irregularidades en la designación de los magistrados, dijeron los delegados en un comunicado conjunto al final del encuentro.

Los adversarios del ahora fallecido presidente Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) y de su sucesor, el ahora depuesto presidente Nicolas Maduro (2013-2026), repetidamente han acusado al oficialismo de designar con su abrumadora mayoría a los magistrados entre sus aliados para asegurarse el control del máximo tribunal, que en los últimos 27 años se ha convertido en un actor decisivo en la trama política venezolana con una gran cantidad de sentencias desfavorables a los críticos de los gobiernos socialistas.

El oficialismo, por su parte, ha dicho que los nombramientos de magistrados principales y suplentes se hicieron bajo “estricto cumplimiento” de las leyes.

El primer encuentro se instaló casi siete semanas después de una reunión en Caracas entre el influyente presidente del Legislativo, Jorge Rodríguez —hermano de la presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez—, y la exdiputada Dinorah Figuera, quien regresó entonces brevemente al país luego de casi ocho años en el exilio.

Washington fue el principal impulsor de los diálogos sobre una agenda para fortalecer la democracia y restituir derechos fundamentales tras casi tres décadas de gobiernos socialistas.

Los miembros de la actual Asamblea Nacional, de mayoría oficialista, y un grupo de exlegisladores opositores que en su momento intentaron destituir a Maduro también acordaron concentrar esfuerzos para promover “la recuperación de activos de reserva internacional” depositados en el Banco de Inglaterra para atender a las víctimas de los dos poderosos sismos que azotaron Venezuela el pasado 24 de junio y que dejaron al menos 6.300 fallecidos y unos 17.900 ciudadanos sin viviendas por el colapso de 190 edificios.

Las conversaciones tuvieron como sede un lujoso hotel del este de Caracas.

Pese al fracaso de los cuatro anteriores procesos de diálogo entre 2017 y 2024 realizados todos fuera del país, muchos venezolanos consideran que esta vez sería posible lograr acuerdos mínimos que permitan estabilizar y mejorar la situación de Venezuela en buena medida por la inédita situación política tras la destitución de Maduro, quien otrora acudió a los diálogos ejerciendo un control férreo del poder, y la influencia estadounidense en el gobierno de la presidenta en funciones.

El presidente Donald Trump ha procurado trabajar estrechamente con la mandataria encargada para estabilizar Venezuela tras la salida de Maduro y abrir el país a la inversión de Estados Unidos. La gobernante venezolana, por su parte, ha enviado numerosas señales de cooperación y acercamiento entre la Casa Blanca y su administración.

La influencia de Estados Unidos se profundizó en los últimos meses luego del levantamiento de sanciones contra la presidenta, a quien Trump ha reconocido como la única jefa de Estado de Venezuela. Eso ha allanado el camino para restablecer vínculos con bancos occidentales y obrar con mayor libertad con inversionistas estadounidenses que buscan acceder a las reservas de petróleo venezolanas, las mayores del mundo.

El Departamento de Estado estadounidense ha celebrado los diálogos en Caracas destacando que “representan una oportunidad única", según indicó en un comunicado la semana pasada. Expresó que Washington "mantiene su compromiso de apoyar este proceso liderado por Venezuela, que desempeña un papel fundamental en el plan de tres fases del Presidente para lograr la estabilización, la recuperación económica, la reconciliación política y una transición pacífica”.

The official, who was briefed on the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of presidential travel, said Rubio was aware of the switch and details of the threat behind it but could or would not say why he had stayed on the plane. The official said Bessent was likely aware but did not know for sure.

The official, however, noted that security precautions for the president — especially one who has been the target of several assassination attempts — are more robust than those for even top members of the Cabinet.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the secretaries of State and Treasury follow the vice president and the highest ranking member of each chamber of Congress in the presidential line of succession.

Trump had flown to the annual gathering of NATO country leaders in Ankara, Turkey, in a new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet. But ahead of departing Turkey, he said he would fly partway home on an older-model baby blue Air Force One plane instead.

The president at the time said the new luxury jet was being flown out ahead of his departure from Ankara to give some U.S. troops based in eastern England a chance to check out the new Air Force One.

The Washington Post reported this week that Trump wasn’t on the old Air Force One on the return flight from Turkey and that he instead was smuggled onto another jet via a catering cart to avoid a possible Iranian assassination plot. The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington.

The New York Times and CBS News had reported last month that intelligence officials had raised concerns about a potential attack on the president or his jet, triggering additional precautions and the decision not to use the newly inaugurated aircraft gifted to Trump by Qatar for the first leg of Trump’s trip home from Ankara.

Trump acknowledged the transfer late Tuesday.

“It’s only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military,” the president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it, I do what they say.”

It’s the biggest jackpot so far this year. It comes after the United Kingdom joined most U.S. states in offering the game, adding the to the jackpot pool.

Of course, the $1 billion figure represents a pre-tax sum of annuity payments.

Those opting to take a lump sum cash payout would come away with $433 million before taxes and almost $273 million afterward, according to lottery website USA Mega.

No matter how you slice it, it’s an eye-popping number.

Watch the video above to see how customers at a Hollywood gas station say they’d spend the big haul.

Telfort, the owner of the Jude & Jude tax office at the Hollywood Shopping Plaza, said the same burglar broke into his office at 520 Hallandale Beach Boulevard.

“He is really slim, and he crawled in,” Telfort said, adding that the burglar set off a motion detector.

There were burglaries on July 14 and July 28. During the investigation, Pembroke Park police officers reported recovering a black knife and a blood sample.

“What is he looking for? Because there is no money here,” Telfort said.

On Tuesday, Pembroke Park police officers arrested Lawrence Ganswith, a suspect in the burglaries, who denied having committed any crimes.

“I did go inside the building,” Ganswidth told a detective, according to police.

Corrections booked Ganswidth at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale.

Ganswidth faced charges of criminal mischief of over $1,000 and two counts of burglary of a dwelling with structural damage of more than $1,000.

Records show Ganswidth was arrested last year for loitering and prowling in West Park.

The epicenter was near San José del Palmar, a rainforest town in the impoverished Chocó region. At least 265 died, according to Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management’s report on Wednesday.

“The U.S. Embassy is continuing to respond to reports of affected U.S. citizens, as well as monitor reports of airport and road closures,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson wrote in a statement.

The United Nations reported on Wednesday that severe infrastructure damage and disruptions to transport, communications, and public services were “actively hindering humanitarian relief efforts in hard-hit areas.”

President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office on Friday, declared a national emergency.

The quake damaged some roads, tunnels, and bridges. Some widespread power, cell phone, and internet outages were hindering relief efforts.

The Matecaña International Airport in Pereira was closed. The Guillermo León Valencia Airport in Popayan was closed because of the Purace volcano system’s instability. Commercial flights at the Santa Ana Airport in Cartago were canceled. There were flight delays at other airports.

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At Auburndale Elementary, students picked out free backpacks filled with school supplies, with plenty of colors and styles to choose from.

“I’m feeling excited!” said Keila, a fifth grader.

Second grader Camilla said she chose a purple backpack because it also had pink on it.

The Auburndale event was one of several held across Miami-Dade Public Schools on the eve of the new school year.

Local commissioners partnered with schools to welcome students and their families.

“I went to public school just a few blocks from here. I remember the first day of school. It was scary, intimidating — new kids, new teachers, principal,” said Miami Commissioner Rafael Rosado. “What we’re doing is welcoming them back so they can see our smiles, our excitement and our support for them.”

The events also gave students a chance to get a preview of their classrooms and learn more about the programs they will take part in during the school year.

At Bowman Ashe/Doolin K-8 Academy in southwest Miami-Dade, students and families got a look at the magnet school’s STARTs program, which includes music and robotics.

Teachers were also getting ready to welcome students back.

“Meeting with parents and having that connection ultimately brings students that success,” said Rachel Ruiz, a teacher at Bowman Ashe/Doolin Academy. “I’m beyond excited. The butterflies are good butterflies. I’m ready to teach them.”

For some families, this school year will come with its own personal adjustments.

Temporary Protected Status was recently ended for thousands of Haitian nationals in the U.S.

Miami-Dade school leaders had a message for parents who were impacted.

“Parents should not keep their children at home,” said Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres. “Please bring them to school.”

Work permits also expired for Haitian nationals who worked in the school system, and leaders are adjusting.

“We have to take the appropriate measures, but we try to make sure that we monitor closely TPS impact on our school district,” said Dotres.

School leaders said they are ready to help families who may have anxiety about the current immigration crackdown.

As for employees, officials said they have human services looking at every employee’s status, but everyone’s situation is different.

Several back-to-school events were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, including a school resource fare in South Miami Heights running until 4 p.m., an event at Shenandoah Elementary at 1 p.m. and another at Citrus Grove K-8 at 2:30 p.m.

As students begin returning to classes across South Florida, Local 10 wants to help celebrate the milestone by sharing your favorite back-to-school photos.

A Louisiana grand jury in June declined to indict Christopher Gillum on a state terrorism charge that could have carried up to a 15-year sentence, court records show.

Gillum, who had been held without bond, was released shortly after the grand jury’s decision and is not facing charges in any other jurisdictions, according to his attorney, Dylan Utley. He declined to comment further.

Gillum's release has not previously been reported.

The 45-year-old ex-police officer, who is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, had been arrested in Florida in April with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a handgun while on his way to Louisiana to commit a mass shooting, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation had involved the FBI and authorities across Louisiana, North Carolina and Florida.

Authorities did not name the event Gillum was allegedly targeting, but his arrest came on the eve of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers annually.

Gillum, who is white, had “expressed recent threats to harm ‘Black people’ ”, according to authorities. His family had reported him missing in North Carolina and said he had a history of self-harm.

Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, said in a statement that Gillum’s family had taken him “to a treatment facility out of the state” and that he is not facing additional criminal charges.

Duhe said there were “several jurisdictional issues” that complicated the case after Gillum was extradited to Louisiana following his arrest.

“The threat relayed to a family member actually occurred in North Carolina,” Duhe said. “The defendant never entered the State of Louisiana until after his arrest.”

Gillum had been planning to travel to the Florida Keys “during the same period he would have been suspected to travel to Louisiana,” Duhe added.

Gillum was charged under a Louisiana statute for the crime of “terrorizing,” which requires that “a crime of violence is imminent or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist.”

Jonathan Guidry, the foreperson for the grand jury, declined to comment on the decision to not indict Gillum.

Katherine Schweit, a former Chicago prosecutor and FBI executive who ran the agency’s active shooter program, said that thwarted acts of mass violence do not always lead to indictments, but prosecutors often seek an array of criminal charges when possible.

“It’s very difficult to convince a jury, or to convince a grand jury, that something might have happened,” Schweit told The Associated Press.

Law enforcement authorities in North Carolina, where Louisiana court records list Gillum as residing, told the AP that they were not aware he had been released from custody.

“If we’ve got an individual that was accused of such an action, we would want to know if in fact he did return to Alamance County,” said Byron Tucker, a spokesperson for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, said there are no plans for the state to pursue charges against Gillum.

The office of the Florida Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment about whether Gillum may face additional criminal charges in its jurisdiction. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana also did not return messages seeking comment.

In a statement, the FBI New Orleans office said the decision whether to charge Gillum rested with prosecutors.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival declined to comment.

___

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The Bald Range wildfire erupted Friday near Summerland, a community of about 12,000 in British Columbia’s Okanagan region. By Wednesday, it had grown to about 184 square kilometers (71 square miles) after destroying homes and killing an 80-year-old woman.

"There’s an important set of lessons for us to take about how quickly this moved and that this may be our new normal for fire speed," Premier David Eby said. He said the blaze outpaced wildfire modeling and left some residents with little time to evacuate.

Officials have begun damage assessments, but the area remained unsafe Wednesday and there was no timeline for residents to return.

Crews were clearing vegetation to help slow the fire’s spread as officials warned that thunderstorms could bring erratic winds and increase fire activity. Highway 97, a major route through the area, remained closed.

Eby visited an evacuation reception center in Penticton, where he said he met people devastated by the loss of their homes.

“A lot of emotions in there, obviously,” he told reporters, calling the woman’s death a “tragic loss.”

Summerland pharmacist Jonathan Kiesman said he was worried about displaced patients getting their medications and said seeing the fire approach the community “almost brought tears to my eyes.”

Officials said they were withholding broader details on property losses until residents could be notified directly.

“The last thing that I would want is somebody to have the shock of finding out on social media or on television about their home being lost,” British Columbia Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said.

Eby said the province would review the response, including whether changes are needed to wildfire planning, building standards and vegetation management near communities.

Given the drought and summer heat, he warned, “this is very unlikely to be the last significant fire we see this summer.”

Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes warned that recovery would be long and difficult.

Canada has endured a series of severe wildfire seasons in recent years, with smoke repeatedly drifting into the United States. In record-setting 2023, fires burned more than 14.6 million hectares (36 million acres), an area roughly the size of Illinois.

Canada has warmed faster than the global average in recent decades, while the amount of land burned by wildfires has increased substantially. Much of the country’s forest is remote and dominated by spruce and pine, conditions that can make fires difficult to contain once they become established.

The entrepreneur said the Trump administration’s recent end of Temporary Protected Status for about 300,000 Haitians created a labor shortage, and even though he raised pay to $25 per hour, he is unable to find workers to employ.

“We are losing a lot of money,” said an entrepreneur who operates a palm tree nursery, and has lost half of his staff and tens of thousands of dollars.

The Trump administration also ended TPS for Venezuelans, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans. In southern Miami-Dade, the entrepreneur, who said he voted for Trump, added that he had too many palm trees and not enough hands to care for them.

He added that it isn’t easy to find agricultural workers in South Florida. It’s hard work, he said.

“We are going to have to close,” the entrepreneur said.

Witnesses said Krome Avenue traffic stops to check immigration status are common. Many employers used to pick up day workers and travel in groups to the farms in southern Miami-Dade.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported deporting hundreds of thousands since the start of the second Trump administration, according to the White House. Last year, DHS reported 1.9 million had “self-deported” and 605,000 had been deported.

During the push for deportations, ICE agents and officers have partnered with Florida Highway Patrol troopers and other local law enforcement agencies for traffic stops.

“They surround the car, and everyone goes down,” a witness said in Spanish while recording a video of a detention earlier this year. “They are deporting good workers. It’s abusive. I voted for Trump but I didn’t vote for this.”

Critics of the push for deportations fear that the labor shortages that are hurting businesses will eventually end up driving up consumer prices.

Some Miami-Dade entrepreneurs hope the midterm elections will prompt the Trump administration to stop aggressive actions, so workers can go back to the farms and nurseries, and businesses can recover.

Advocates of undocumented migrants say fear has many in hiding. Congress recently passed a $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package for the Department of Homeland Security, and Trump signed it into law on June 10.

On Monday, DHS published a notice reporting a plan to spend up to $20 million by March on thousands of gloves that will make it easier for ICE officers to deliver painful electric shocks to detainees, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

The DHS plans to purchase the gloves from Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies LLC, which manufactures the “Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter,” or G.L.O.V.E., so an officer is able to press a switch to gain compliance in seconds.

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“There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” a league spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement, hours after an anti-hate task force met virtually and discussed a variety of topics, including social media vitriol and transgender athletes.

The league’s collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it does not include any more specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth. Last Friday, two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women.

The draft isn’t until next April.

There has never been a transgender woman — a person assigned male at birth who transitions to align with their gender identity — on a WNBA roster. There have been players in the league who were assigned female at birth and later came out as transgender or nonbinary.

The anti-hate committee was formed last year to deal with hateful and abusive online comments directed at players and the league.

“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online,” the WNBA statement said. “We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league.”

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo last Friday to team presidents and general managers saying the league would discuss the subject of transgender women in women’s basketball.

“We recognize that this is a complex and nuanced topic, and we will continue to have important conversations with all of you and the Players Association in the weeks and months ahead,” Engelbert said in the memo. “We also plan to convene additional discussions and offer listening sessions for any team leaders who would like to participate. Your perspectives and feedback are invaluable, and I appreciate those who have already reached out to share their thoughts.”

In an ESPN article published last month, Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. Cunningham's comments sparked small rallies and protests in Seattle and Portland when the Fever were on the road last week.

Some WNBA players and coaches have come out in support of transgender athletes, including Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

“We need to protect trans kids,” Reeve said on Aug. 1. “To me, it’s a human rights issue. Every kid has a right to sports.”

Many players have declined to comment on the subject.

___

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

During a meeting of the so-called Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition in Panama, Hegseth said Colombia would also join the “Shield of the Americas” initiative, becoming its 19th member. The initiative emerged from a March summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and Latin American countries that sought to join forces in fighting drug cartels. Colombia’s then-President Gustavo Petro was not invited to that meeting.

“Through the newly inaugurated president, as our president likes to say, President El Tigre, Colombia has already requested that the Department of War join Colombia in its fight against narco-terrorism, authorizing joint military operations to destroy terrorists and terror networks,” Hegseth said.

The government of de la Espriella, who was sworn in last week and is known as “The Tiger” or “El Tigre,” did not immediately comment on the announcement in Panama. But the conservative leader has previously said his administration would join the U.S. initiative.

Separately, Hegseth urged the Latin American countries at the meeting not to recognize the International Criminal Court, or ICC. The U.S. under Trump has carried out military strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the region, which have raised questions about their legality.

Hegseth argued that such efforts “are entirely legal under international humanitarian law.”

It remains unclear from Hegseth’s statements what measures, if any, the international court has taken to hinder U.S. operations in the region.

He urged the nearly 20 countries in attendance to abandon the ICC and reject its attempts to strip their governments and courts of their “sovereignty.” The Trump administration is pushing a campaign to dismantle the international court in retaliation for arrest warrants issued against senior Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

Durante una reunión en Panamá de la Coalición de las Américas contra los Cárteles, Hegseth dijo que el país sudamericano también se sumará a “Escudo de las Américas”, con lo cual se convertirá en el 19no miembro de la iniciativa que surgió de la cumbre realizada por el presidente Donald Trump en marzo con países de América Latina para unir fuerzas en el combate a los cárteles de las drogas. El entonces mandatario progresista Gustavo Petro no fue invitado a ese encuentro.

Hegseth dijo que a través del “recién investido presidente —como le gusta decir a nuestro presidente, ‘el presidente El Tigre’, Colombia ya ha solicitado que el Departamento de Guerra (como el gobierno de Trump denomina a la cartera de Defensa) se una a ella en su lucha contra el narcoterrorismo, autorizando operaciones militares conjuntas para acabar con los terroristas y las redes terroristas”.

The Associated Press formuló un pedido de comentario a la jefe de prensa de De la Espriella y sus portavoces, pero no hubo una respuesta de inmediato. El nuevo líder conservador colombiano ha dicho previamente que su adminstración se unirá a la iniciativa estadounidense.

Por otra parte, Hegseth también instó a los países latinoamericanos en el encuentro a no reconocer a la Corte Penal Internacional (CPI), mientras el ejército estadounidense ataca a presuntos narcotraficantes en la región.

Argumentó que estos esfuerzos “son totalmente legales según el derecho internacional humanitario”. Enfrenta interrogantes en su país sobre la legalidad de llevar a cabo ataques mortales contra pequeñas embarcaciones acusadas de traficar drogas.

No queda claro en las declaraciones de Hegseth qué medidas, si las hay, ha tomado la CPI para obstaculizar las operaciones estadounidenses en la región. Instó a los casi 20 países reunidos a “abandonar la CPI y rechazar sus intentos de arrebatarles la soberanía a sus gobiernos y tribunales”.

La administración Trump impulsa una campaña para “desmantelar” el tribunal mundial en represalia por las órdenes de arresto emitidas por la corte contra altos funcionarios israelíes por la guerra en Gaza y las investigaciones sobre personal estadounidense en Afganistán.

La secretaria de prensa de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, calificó la decisión de abandonar la CPI como una decisión crucial.

Hegseth arribó el miércoles al mediodía y de inmediato se reunió con el presidente de Panama Jose Raúl Mulino en una bilateral para luego ambos participar de la clausura de la reunión.

El secretario de Defensa permanecerá en tierras canaleras hasta el jueves cuando participará de los ejercicios Panamax, las maniobras militares y multinacionales anuales coordinadas por el Comando Sur de Estados Unidos enfocadas en la protección, seguridad y defensa del Canal de Panamá, así como para dar respuesta ante amenazas como el narcoterrorismo o ciberataques.

Mulino defendió la coalición, en la que intervienen militares de Colombia, El Salvador, Estados Unidos y República Dominicana, afirmando que esta “no representa ninguna amenaza a la soberanía nacional de ninguno de nuestros países... Lo que representa una clara amenaza a la soberanía nacional es el narcotráfico”.

El presidente panameño también refirió que en los últimos 18 meses gracias a los acuerdos alcanzados con los Estados Unidos han recibido 174 millones de dólares para aumentar la capacidad tecnológica y logística de las fuerzas de seguridad panameñas.

Esta es la segunda visita de Hegseth a Panamá. La anterior ocurrió en abril de 2025, cuando ambos países firmaron un memorando para ampliar la cooperación en seguridad, con entrenamientos conjuntos y presencia rotativa de personal estadounidense, lo que generó críticas de la oposición política y otros sectores que consideraron que el acuerdo afectaba la soberanía de la nación centroamericana.

Hegseth destacó el miércoles los “avances” que han logrado a lo largo del último año ambos países y que dijo “son un buen ejemplo del tipo de sociedad que buscamos, colaboración que buscamos en el hemisferio”.

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La periodista de la AP, Astrid Suárez, contribuyó con este reporte desde Bogotá.

“That legacy of Fidel is gone,” said Local 10 Cuba analyst Dr. Andy Gomez. “In terms of today’s Cuba, what we’re looking at is a bunch of gangsters as a mafia at the very top living off the Cuban government and sacrificing the Cuban people.”

Gomez was referencing the military-run conglamerate gaesa founded by Castro’s brother Raul, which Gomez described as corrupt.

“When the Soviet Union fell apart, the ideology of the revolution started to disappear, so the legacy of Fidel is the only thing that Raul Castro is holding onto,” said Gomez. “You hear in the streets, they don’t chant Raul Castro, they still shout Fidel. It is not yet a failed state because the military is still very much in support of Raul Castro. Once Raul Castro is gone, then all bets are off.”

In May, the U.S. indicted Raul Castro for his role in the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown that killed four people.

In the vacuum of an in-country capture of the aging leader, paired with concerns from some in America’s Cuban American community about the absence of political change, Gomez said Cuba poses a tough foreign policy challenge for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Because of its geographical location, Cuba becomes a very key part of our national security strategy,” said Gomez. “That is the reason why GITMO (Guantanamo Bay detention camp) needs to remain under the United States control. There’s nothing in Cuba that the United States can benefit from, sadly to say. In Venezuela, of course, there is oil and a lot of minerals, but there’s nothing in Cuba that we can benefit from, and as a Cuban American, it is very difficult for me to say that, but we have to be very open-minded and understand it.”

In a video posted on social media by the U.S. State Department, Rubio reiterated his belief that a prosperous and U.S. aligned Cuba is in America’s national interest.

“Before this administration ends, we will be on an irreversible path towards a much different future,” Rubio said in the video.

Gomez said he has known for a while that a goal like Rubio’s would not be easy to attain.

“People in South Florida, the expectations have been great,” he said. “You just cannot sanction the Cuban government as we have, punish the Cuban people and expect that the Cuban people are going to revolt against a regime that has been in place for almost 68 years.”

Gomez responded to Rubio’s comments, and the secretary’s timeline.

“I was surprised that Secretary Rubio used those words, that it might take two years,” said Gomez. “I think could have been a little bit more, if you will, diplomatic. But it doesn’t surprise me personally. Cuba is not easy unless we take the last option, which is a military strike to try to bring down the regime.”

Gomez said he believes the Cuban government will continue to fight back.

“The regime continues to dig in, they continue to introduce, as we have seen in the last couple of months, economic reforms that are a little bit too late, and they don’t have the infrastructure in Cuba, the government, to be able to implement them,” he said. “The one thing I know is that something’s got to give inside Cuba. The Cuban people cannot continue to live under the circumstances that they’re living today, but I still don’t see them revolting against the Cuban government. Their consequences, as you know, are very dire. You end up in jail for years for basically just protesting.”

En enero, grandes comerciantes de granos se retiraron de la moratoria de la soya, la cual ayudó a reducir la deforestación durante sus casi dos décadas de vigencia, después de que los principales estados productores de soya aprobaran proyectos de ley que revocaban beneficios fiscales para las compañías participantes.

Brasil es el mayor productor de soya del mundo, y representa aproximadamente el 40% de la producción global. Gran parte del cultivo se efectúa en estados del centro y del norte que incluyen partes del bioma amazónico, tales como Mato Grosso, Pará y Rondônia.

La Amazonía, la selva tropical más grande del mundo, desempeña un papel crucial en la regulación del clima mucho más allá de Sudamérica. Algunos científicos advierten que la pérdida de bosque podría acelerar el calentamiento global y alterar la agricultura, incluso en lugares tan lejanos como la región centro-norte de Estados Unidos y partes de Europa.

El país sudamericano produjo 171,5 millones de toneladas métricas de soya en la temporada 2024-25, según el Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos. China fue el principal destino de las exportaciones, de acuerdo con los datos oficiales de comercio de Brasil.

Lanzada en 2006, en respuesta a la presión de grupos ambientalistas y compradores internacionales, la moratoria fue un compromiso voluntario y no una ley. Los principales comerciantes de soya acordaron —y el gobierno brasileño posteriormente respaldó— una prohibición de comprar soya cultivada en tierras amazónicas taladas después de julio de 2008.

Pero los productores de soya alegaron durante mucho tiempo que la moratoria perjudicaba los negocios porque era más estricta que la legislación ambiental brasileña. Según las normas nacionales, los agricultores en la Amazonía deben preservar el 80% de sus tierras y pueden talar legalmente el 20% restante, mientras que la moratoria prohíbe cualquier deforestación, incluso cuando la ley la permite.

La moratoria de la soya ayudó a reducir la deforestación en áreas de riesgo en un 35% durante la primera década desde que entró en vigor en 2006, sin afectar la productividad, según un estudio publicado en julio en la revista Science. El fin del pacto podría derivar en deforestación de hasta 1,4 millones de hectáreas (3,5 millones de acres) en la próxima década, y dejar un área del tamaño de Portugal vulnerable a la deforestación legal, indicó el estudio.

Tras alcanzar niveles récord en las décadas de 1990 y 2000, la deforestación disminuyó hasta el mandato del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro de 2019 a 2022, ampliamente criticado por debilitar las protecciones ambientales. Bajo el gobierno del presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, la deforestación ha vuelto a disminuir, alcanzando sus niveles más bajos en una década.

La coordinadora jurídica de Greenpeace Brasil, Angela Barbarulo, considera que el reconocimiento por parte del Supremo Tribunal Federal de la constitucionalidad de la moratoria es “enormemente importante”, pero señaló que el fallo quedó debilitado por su aval a leyes estatales que penalizan a agricultores y empresas que adoptan estándares ambientales más allá de los exigidos por la ley.

“Hay una aparente contradicción entre reconocer la importancia ambiental de la moratoria de la soya y, al mismo tiempo, validar leyes estatales que pueden debilitar su eficacia", expresó Barbarulo. "Cuando se trata de proteger la Amazonía, no deberíamos permitir que la legislación estatal cree lagunas o incentivos que socaven compromisos ambientales construidos colectivamente”.

La Asociación Brasileña de Industrias de Aceites Vegetales (ABIOVE, por sus siglas en portugués) indicó que el fallo del Supremo Tribunal Federal pone fin a años de incertidumbre jurídica y valida compromisos voluntarios de sostenibilidad adoptados por los comerciantes. Sin embargo, el grupo se refirió a la moratoria en pasado, lo que deja entrever que la decisión del miércoles difícilmente reactivará el pacto.

La ABIOVE también manifestó que esperaba que el fallo “abra una nueva fase de diálogo entre diferentes partes de la cadena de suministro, con un enfoque en la seguridad jurídica, la competitividad y la sostenibilidad”.

La Asociación de Productores de Soya de Mato Grosso, que se opuso a la moratoria, señaló en un comunicado que el fallo reforzó la autoridad de los gobiernos estatales para resistir medidas del sector privado que imponen restricciones ambientales más allá de las exigidas por la ley. También se comprometió a seguir combatiendo cualquier acuerdo futuro que recree las restricciones de la moratoria.

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La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido. Consulte las normas de la AP para trabajar con filantropías, una lista de patrocinadores y las áreas de cobertura financiadas en AP.org.

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

In marquee Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, progressive candidates defeated two members of Congress with significant backing from party leaders. Wisconsin voters narrowly rejected a democratic socialist but still chose a 40-year-old county executive who is seeking to become the state’s first Black governor. And in Connecticut, voters ousted one of the longest-serving Democrats in Congress for a challenger who campaigned on generational change.

The results so far this month deliver no clear ideological mandate. Instead, they add to mounting evidence from this year’s primaries of a Democratic appetite for turnover that is cutting across the party’s traditional divisions.

“The through line between these races isn’t ideology. It’s impatience with this political system that feels disconnected from the urgency voters feel,” said Lis Smith, a national Democratic strategist. “The demand for change is much broader than the demand for socialism.”

The immediate challenge for Democrats is whether they can harness the frustration fueling revolts against their own party and turn it against Republicans in November. Beyond that looms the 2028 presidential race, when a new generation of leaders will compete to shape a changing Democratic Party.

“If leaders in our party don’t recognize that we need to make changes, then the changes are going to come from the ground up,” Luke Bronin, a former mayor who defeated 14-term Connecticut Rep. John Larson in Tuesday’s primary, said in his victory speech. “That’s a message our party needs to hear.”

Progressives are ascendant, but Wisconsin shows their limits

Progressive leaders touted Tuesday’s results as further proof that their message is working after victories in Minnesota and Michigan.

“What we are seeing is that people are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment policies,” Sen. Bernie Sanders told The Associated Press on Wednesday, pointing to a string of progressive victories around the country.

In Wisconsin, Democratic socialist Francesca Hong had hoped to also ride the wave of recent progressive victories to the Democratic nomination for governor. Instead, she narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a more moderate Democrat who had the backing of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers.

Hong’s defeat also came after a number of her past comments resurfaced, including support for defunding the police and a call to cancel Thanksgiving, which she said was a joke. Unlike El-Sayed, Hong didn’t receive the backing of some of the nation’s most prominent progressive leaders, including Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Sanders said Wednesday that he didn’t endorse Hong because his team lacks the resources to “get involved in every single race. Period. And that’s about it.” He nevertheless praised her “very strong grassroots campaign” for getting “a whole lot of people excited.”

The result illustrates a tension for the party’s ascendant left flank. Candidates running on populist economic messages have found growing success with Democratic voters. But some positions associated with the progressive movement’s recent past remain vulnerabilities — particularly among voters worried about electability in November.

“A lot of Democrats are traditionalists on things like culture issues. This is not about culture, it’s about economics. It’s about corruption,” said David Axelrod, who was an adviser to President Barack Obama. “The closer that candidates hew to those issues, the larger the base they’re going to be able to accumulate.”

That tension was evident Tuesday for Sarah Atkins Hoggatt, 61, who said she agreed with Hong on some issues but worried that Hong’s deeply progressive politics and the democratic socialist label would make it harder for her to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany. She voted for Crowley.

“I didn’t vote my heart,” Atkins Hoggatt said.

Progressives scored a much clearer victory in Minnesota, where Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan resoundingly defeated centrist Rep. Angie Craig. Craig had the backing of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other prominent Democrats, while Flanagan was supported by Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Flanagan, similar to El-Sayed in Michigan, highlighted her opponent’s support from wealthy donors while also attacking her vote for a Trump-backed immigration bill that became a liability after immigration agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

As in Michigan, the winning progressive candidate was significantly outspent.

“Super PACs spent over $80 million trying to defeat El-Sayed and Peggy Flanagan,” Sanders said. ”They lost both elections. I think what people are saying is, we’re sick and tired of billionaires and their super PACs buying elections.”

Democrats are hungry for change

Flanagan is 46 years old. Crowley is 40. And El-Sayed is 41. But nowhere was the demand for generational change more explicit Tuesday than in Connecticut.

Bronin, 47, defeated the 78-year-old Larson — who was first elected to Congress in 1998. A central theme of Bronin’s campaign was the need for a new generation of leadership in Washington.

Larson became the seventh Democratic House incumbent to lose a primary this year, many of them to younger challengers. The defeated incumbents and the Democrats replacing them span ideological lines, making the wave of losses difficult to explain simply as a shift to the left.

The push for generational turnover has taken on greater urgency since 2024, when concerns about President Joe Biden’s age ended his reelection campaign and forced Democrats into a reckoning over aging leadership.

That sentiment was evident among voters in Larson’s district. Dan Schnaidt, a 73-year-old Democrat, said he appreciated Larson’s service but believed it was time to move on.

“It’s time for new blood, for new ideas,” Schnaidt said.

The generational divide extends to the electorate

While Hong fell just short in Wisconsin, the strength of her insurgent campaign highlighted another force reshaping Democratic politics: younger voters.

Cody Chandler, a 35-year-old software engineer, voted for Hong and called her “probably the most exciting candidate I’ve seen.” Unlike in elections past, Chandler said, he voted for the candidate he most wanted to win rather than the one he considered most electable.

That support showed up geographically. Hong won Madison, home to the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus, by nearly 7 percentage points, though it wasn’t a big enough of a margin to help her win the nomination.

A similar pattern helped propel El-Sayed to victory a week earlier in Michigan.

El-Sayed won Washtenaw County, home to the University of Michigan, by nearly 25 percentage points and Ingham County, home to Michigan State University, by 23 points. He also won Grand Rapids, with its large population of younger, college-educated voters, by nearly 26 points.

Jordan Snyder, a 20-year-old Michigan voter who supported El-Sayed, said she backed him because of his progressive positions and because she viewed him as someone she could trust, rather than “someone who I feel could be bought and sold.”

“People are feeling like a lot of the people that they’ve trusted that have been in government haven’t really been living up to expectations,” Snyder said.

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Associated Press reporters Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Tim Sullivan in Hudson, Wisconsin and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

Leavitt, 28, called it a “bittersweet decision” in a social media post Wednesday shortly after President Donald Trump announced she would be stepping down. She recently returned to the White House podium after the birth of her second child, a daughter named Viviana, in May. She also has a 2-year-old son.

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life,” Leavitt wrote.

Trump did not outline plans for who might replace her in the high-profile role. He said in a social media post of his own that her decision to leave is one “I totally understand and respect!” and indicated she would continue to play a role in his orbit.

“Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections,” the president wrote.

Leavitt worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing the general election to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.

During Trump’s first term in office, Leavitt worked as an aide in the White House press office. She then became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Leavitt briefed from the White House press room less frequently than some of her recent predecessors. Trump, who regularly engages with reporters during White House events and during his travels, primarily deployed Leavitt to Fox News and other conservative news outlets to trumpet his agenda and take shots at Democrats and the mainstream media.

Trump’s first-term press secretaries included Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who were known for quarreling with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the press briefing room.

Thursday will bring more of the same: sunshine, scattered clouds and hot, humid conditions. Temperatures are forecast to reach the low 90s with the heat index topping 100°F. Spotty storms could “pop” during the afternoon, particularly inland.

As the father of an 8-year-old boy remained hospitalized on Wednesday at the Broward Health Medical Center, Wray said 80% of his brain was dead.

“May have to make a decision to pull the plug,” Wray said through tears.

Surveillance video shows Lawrence Edmonson walking to his parked car to retrieve a knife on Aug. 6 before he allegedly stabbed the man at the popular bar at 2432 East Sunrise Boulevard, according to police officers.

“I want see Justice for my son,” Wray. said. “He don’t bother nobody. He would take the last out of his pocket and give to you.”

Edmonson, 52, fled, but officers used a tag reader to track him and a grappler device to stop him, according to police.

Wray had questions for Edmonson: “Why? Why did you do that? He is my baby, my son, he was the one who was taking care of me. I don’t have that no more.”

Edmonson faced a charge of premeditated attempted murder and was at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale without bond, according to court and inmate records. Edmonson’s sister told a bond court judge that he is a father of four.

Now the former prosecutor and state attorney general is looking to fill the role permanently, if elected by voters.

“We’ve delivered for the space coast and private investment, we’ve rolled back regulations to help one of our number one industries which is the Florida orange, we have brought in billions of dollars in disaster relief we’d been waiting on for many, many years because we got in there, got to the work, and that isn’t party related,” said Moody.

But three other Republicans are vying for the same senate seat.

Among them is Chris Gleason, a U.S. Army veteran and data forensics expert.

“I have a long and demonstrated history of trying to do the right thing and exposing corruption and fraud wherever I see it on both sides of the aisle,” said Gleason.

Candidate Dr. Neelam Taneja Perry is currently in a legal battle. She is accused by the state of writing prescriptions for people she never met.

“For me it’s not just politics, it’s my mission,” she said.

Perry said she decided to run after hitting a snag of her own when accessing treatment for a prior health scare.

“I stand for the people,” she said. “I am fighting for the rights of the people, not just in healthcare, but there’s corruption at every level and every field. My opponent works for special interests.”

Pastor Ernie Rivera believes his background in finance and as a licensed housing manager could help curb South Florida’s affordability problems.

“Our campaign is based on faith, family and Florida first,” said Rivera. “I think that describes exactly why people would be interested. We worked with the Trump administration, the first Trump administration. We served in many areas helping the communities.”

The winner in the Aug. 18 primary will to head-to-head with the prevailing Democrat during the main election in November.

While it is an exhibition game, it marks another milestone for the venerated wide receiver on his homecoming tour. Coach John Harbaugh expects Beckham to play in the team's preseason opener against Minnesota at home on Saturday.

"I’m looking forward to seeing him play," Harbaugh said Wednesday. “He’s looked good. He’s in shape. He’s taking every rep he’s supposed to take in practice. He’s getting stronger. I feel like he’s getting stronger every day. He’s in a good place.”

Beckham at 33 is in a very different place than he was in December 2018, when he was nearing the end of his rookie contract after surpassing 1,000 yards receiving in four of his first five NFL seasons.

Now, after serving a six-game suspension for failing a performance-enhancing drug test and not playing at all in 2025, he is attempting to show he still belongs in the league. His last game was Dec. 8, 2024, with Miami.

“I kind of had two years off,” Beckham told reporters in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, earlier this month. “Spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically — whatever it was — I got time to heal, so, I feel good.”

Beckham has shown flashes of his younger self at training camp, including a catch in the back of the end zone from Jameis Winston during the opening week. Behind Malik Nabers ( when healthy ), Darius Slayton and others on the depth chart and with plenty of competition from fellow free agent additions Calvin Austin and Darnell Mooney and rookie Malachi Fields, there is no guarantee Beckham makes the initial 53-man roster.

Games and practices provide an opportunity for him to earn a spot. It is not clear yet who might be throwing him the ball, as Harbaugh dodged a question about whether franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart and the rest of the expected starters will play against the Vikings.

No matter who he's catching passes from, Beckham has the chance to steal the summer spotlight as a returning crowd favorite.

“I can’t wait to hear the fans yell when he run out there and catches a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in MetLife Stadium,” Winston said. “I think that is going to be one of the loudest roars. ... I just cannot even imagine just the anticipation that our fans have.”

Harbaugh explains the Giants bringing in Terrion Arnold for a visit

After Terrion Arnold worked out with the Giants, Harbaugh did not rule out them signing the free agent cornerback, who is facing eight felony charges, before the legal process runs its course.

“The legal process could take years, so then his career is gone,” Harbaugh said. “I think you have to decide: ‘Where does the legal process stand? What are we really talking about here? What does it look like?’ And you have to make a judgment along those lines.”

Arnold, 23, was charged in June with counts of kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy after allegations he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men in February. He became a free agent when the Detroit Lions released him a few days after the charges were levied.

New York is the third team to bring in Arnold for a visit this week alone, after New Orleans and defending champion Seattle. Harbaugh explained the reasoning as wanting to be aggressive, while acknowledging there's a risk-reward proposition to the possibility.

“There’s things to be gained and things to be lost, and you just kind of got to balance it out and try to make a decision that’s two-fold,” Harbaugh said. “One aspect is what’s best for your football team. The other aspect is what’s best for your organization and your people and doing the right thing.”

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After crowded fields in November left multiple races without a clear majority winner, the top candidates faced off one-on-one.

Miami Mayor

• Eileen Higgins defeats Emilio González

In the first round of voting, Eileen Higgins emerged as the top vote-getter with roughly 36 percent of ballots cast, but she fell short of the more than 50 percent threshold required to win outright.

Following her was Emilio González, with approximately 19 percent of the vote.

Higgins received 59 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Miami Commissioner – District 3

• Rolando Escalona defeats Frank Carollo

Rolando Escalona, a political newcomer, defeated Frank Carollo in Tuesday’s runoff, receiving 53 percent of the ballots cast.

Miami Beach Commissioner – Group 1

• Monica Matteo-Salinas defeats Monique Pardo Pope

Miami Beach voters chose between two candidates hoping to address tourism impacts, public safety and storm-preparedness.

They ultimately selected Monica Matteo-Salinas, who received 71 percent of the ballots cast in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Hialeah Councilmember – Group III

• Gelien Perez defeats Jessica Castillo

Galien Perez received 80 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Hialeah Councilmember – Group IV

• William “Willy” Marrero defeats Javier Morejo

Willy Marrero received 71 percent of the ballots cast in Tuesday’s runoff election.

The Rays swept three-game series at Colorado and Seattle before scoring 30 runs in their three wins over the Athletics. Tampa Bay joins the Boston Red Sox, who did it in 1977, as the only teams to go 9-0 out West. The Rays became the 13th team since 1900 to go 9-0 on any trip, and they matched the longest road winning streak in franchise history.

The Red Sox also had an unbeaten nine-game trip this year that began with a series at the Los Angeles Angels.

Rasmussen (12-5) saw his scoreless streak end at 22 2/3 innings when he gave up a two-run double to Carlos Cortes in the third, but he completed an efficient five innings to win his fifth straight start.

Hicks went 3 for 5. His 16th homer capped a four-run fourth against Athletics rookie Jack Perkins (2-9).

Jonny DeLuca also had three hits as Tampa Bay (74-46) improved to 33-28 on the road.

Zack Gelof hit his 13th homer and Lawrence Butler added his ninth for the Athletics, who have lost three straight and 9 of 11.

Richie Palacios had an RBI single in the Rays' two-run second. Cedric Mullins made it 3-0 in the third with a two-out RBI double.

Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero had consecutive two-out singles in the fourth to make it 4-2. Díaz added an RBI single in the eighth.

Perkins gave up seven runs — six earned — on 12 hits in five innings. The right-hander is 0-7 in 11 starts.

Up nex

t

The Rays open a four-game series against visiting Baltimore beginning Friday, while the Athletics host Texas for three games starting Friday.

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After all ballots were cast, it was Eileen Higgins who came out on top, defeating Emilio Gonzalez after receiving approximately 59 percent of the votes.

Higgins celebrated with family and friends at the Miami Women’s Club, which was appropriate as she made history on Tuesday.

Higgins now becomes the first woman to serve as the city’s mayor.

“It’s very exciting to be the first woman to serve the city of Miami,” Higgins said. “It’s hard to think of it that way because we always know Miami was founded by a woman, but I hope this sends a message to any girls or teenagers out there that of course you can be a mayor, of course you can be an engineer. You can be anything you want.”

For González, he accepted defeat with positivity. He and his supporters were toasting to new beginnings and breaking plates, an old Greek custom, after news of the loss came in.

“We’re celebrating democracy, we’re celebrating our city,” said González. “Every day for me was a different adventure. I was talking to different people, visiting different neighborhoods and organizations, and I just had a blast. I really did. I enjoyed every minute of it, and by the way, if you’re not going to enjoy it, you shouldn’t do this.”

In the first round of voting, Higgins emerged as the top vote-getter with roughly 36 percent of ballots cast, but she fell short of the more than 50 percent threshold required to win outright.

Following her was González, with approximately 19 percent of the vote.

If either candidate had not secured more than half the votes in the runoff, the city might have required another follow-up to determine a winner.

Now we know that won’t be necessary.

The Dec. 9 runoff marked the first time since 2001 that Miami has required a second round to select its mayor.

The polarizing quarterback will start Cleveland's exhibition opener at Chicago on Saturday — his first game action since 2024 — and Shedeur Sanders will play in the second half as the Browns' QB competition creeps toward a conclusion.

First-year coach Todd Monken informed Watson and Sanders of his plans for the first two preseason games following Wednesday's practice.

The QBs have been battling for Cleveland's starting job throughout training camp, with every throw, incompletion and interception scrutinized by media and fans — both in person and online.

Monken intends to play his starter for the first half against the Bears and hopefully get him a two-minute drill. The second QB will play the third quarter.

The roles will be flipped against Buffalo on Aug. 22 in Cleveland.

“We’re going to see both of them,” said Monken, who disclosed his plans for the Chicago matchup without offering any explanations behind his rationale for them. "One’s going to start this week and one’s going to start next week.”

The Browns will practice against the Bills on Aug. 20 before their preseason game.

Cleveland opens the regular season against Jacksonville on Sept. 13. Monken hopes to have his No. 1 QB in place well in advance of Week 1. Time is running out.

Watson and Sanders are at different ends of their respective career spectrums.

The 30-year-old Watson's tenure with the Browns has been mired by injuries and turmoil. Cleveland acquired him in 2022 and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023 and came back the next season only to twice rupture his Achilles tendon.

He was also suspended 11 games by the NFL in 2022 after being accused of sexual assault and misconduct by two dozen massage therapists while playing in Houston.

When he goes behind center Saturday, it will be Watson's first snaps in a game since Oct. 20, 2024, a span of 22 months.

“I’m super excited,” Watson said before practice. “All the hard work that I put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous. I’m super excited for those opportunities and can’t wait for it.”

After a terrible start in this camp, Watson has made steady improvement. He's been more decisive, accurate and shown glimpses of the Pro Bowl-level player he was with the Texans — the one who enticed the Browns to make a monumental investment.

Watson knows he can't retrieve lost time. He'll never be the same QB. The guy from his days in Houston is long gone.

“I’m different, man,” he said. “Ever since I’ve been here early on, bringing up Houston was cool. But I’m 30 now. I had some injuries and things like that. So my game has definitely changed, but the mentality in how I play and how I approach it doesn’t.”

While others have varying expectations about Watson can do, he's realistic about his current abilities. He's also proud of his resiliency.

“I have a clear vision,” he said. “I have a clear mind. The world knows what I went through."

Monken has seen enough positives from Watson to believe he might be able to recapture his old form. The only way to find out is on the field.

Monken believes Watson can be special again. He wants him to feel that way, too.

“I would never put limitations on a player,” he said. “I’d hate that he would do that. Why can’t he play like that? I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet. I’m not going to say he can’t until I see it, until we see it. I’ve seen a lot of really good things over the course of the four or five months I’ve been here. I’m not going to put that on him. If he thinks he can’t play like that, that’s on him.”

Sanders showed promise while starting seven games as a rookie in 2025. The immensely popular fifth-round pick said he's made strides in Monken's offense, but knows he's an unfinished product.

He needs to improve in everything.

“It’s like a chart within myself and seeing, OK, if I got 10 different areas to improve, let’s improve each area every day until it gets to max threshold," he said. "Max threshold, that’ll take some time. That’s going to take a couple years, max threshold. But I think I’m improving in every area overall.”

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