The call Tuesday night came at the union's request.

Players have been sharing threats and harassment they’ve received on social media over the last few weeks. Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces posted a message from a man that included a racial slur. The man was tracked down and fired from his job at Hilton Grand Vacations.

“The conversation underscored the importance of addressing issues early through proactive communication and strengthening the league-union relationship,” the league said in a statement Wednesday. “The league committed to continuing to enhance security resources and will work with the players’ union to explore collaborations with organizations that share the values of our league and advance our shared priorities.”

There are protocols in place for the league to help players with social media harassment, including a monitoring service that can players can use to filter out hateful comments.

When harassment escalates, the league's security office investigates.

Additional steps that were discussed in the meeting included pursuing accountability from tech companies and having more streamlined conversations between the WNBA and law enforcement.

“The biggest thing was communication,” WNBPA secretary Elizabeth Williams told reporters at shootaround Wednesday before her Chicago team played New York. “Communication from Cathy and the league side being a little more consistent, so we feel more comfortable.”

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

The president saluted as four transfer cases carrying the service members’ remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander in chief. It was the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.

Speaking at an event in Georgia hours later, Trump described the ritual as “the toughest thing I do.”

“I’ve been there many times before,” he said of Dover. “This was, in particular, something very sad.”

Earlier in the day, Trump said his message to families was simple: “We love you. We love your child,” Trump told reporters.

Trump was accompanied at the dignified transfer by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Also present were Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

During the ritual, transfer cases draped with the American flag and holding the remains of the fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that transported them to awaiting vehicles to take them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the service members are prepared for their final resting place.

Fallen troops came from Hawaii, Texas, New York and North Carolina

Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan were returned during the dignified transfer. The remains of a third service member who is believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks were also returned, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone.

The soldiers killed in Jordan were identified by the Defense Department as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. The soldier who disappeared after the Jordan attacks is Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, the Defense Department said.

The soldier killed in Iraq was identified as Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, North Carolina.

Trump said Feehan’s family accepted an invitation to join him on Air Force One on Wednesday as he traveled to an event in Georgia, where the family lives. Speaking at the event in Marietta, Trump described Feehan as a “flawless” person who was “going all the way — he was going to be a general.”

“We will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever, and I just want to thank you,” he told Feehan’s parents during his remarks. “It’s an honor to have you here today.”

Trump previously said the soldiers died while protecting America and other nations from Iran.

“We feel very badly, but you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. He added that the U.S. was striking Iran “in honor” of the fallen troops.

Trump vows to retaliate for each US death

The U.S. has launched multiple retaliatory strikes against Iran as an interim agreement to end the war falls apart. Trump on Monday said that every time Iran kills an American soldier, “they will pay for that killing many times over!”

Since the war began on Feb. 28, 18 U.S. service members have been killed.

Trump on Tuesday said that while almost all the incoming fire in Jordan was stopped, some made it through.

“They did slip something through in Jordan,” he said. “If we had other operators, you know, it would have not happened, unfortunately.” He added that “we let other people do the job — and sometimes it doesn’t work out so well.”

Trump did not elaborate on his comments, and it was not immediately clear who he was saying was responsible for protecting U.S. forces in Jordan.

Trump attended two previous dignified transfers since the outset of the war, most recently in March.

Soldier had planned to marry fiance and attend law school

Feehan, a first lieutenant who was killed Saturday, will be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. He was assigned out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

Feehan’s family said in a statement that their hearts were shattered by his loss. They remembered Feehan, who went by “Tivo,” as someone who “packed in more living” in his 25 years than most do in a lifetime.

“He chased adventure relentlessly,” the statement said. “He believed deeply in the power of military service, especially what it builds in a person: discipline, leadership, character.”

He planned to marry his fiance and attend law school after his deployment. The family said they’re starting a scholarship in his name.

Gonzales, who was killed Friday, was a private with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas, school officials said.

Rampersad, a sergeant who was believed to have been killed in Friday’s attacks, was assigned to the 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany.

In a brief statement, Rampersad’s family called her a “gentle giant” who “stood up for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.”

“She loved her family fiercely and will live on in the hearts of everyone she touched,” the statement said.

Deonne Jinkins, 22, a friend, said Rampersad “loved deeply, cared genuinely, and always made people feel seen and important.”

Swinton, a sergeant who was killed Sunday, will receive a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, and will be promoted to staff sergeant. He enlisted in the Army in 2017 and was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

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Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Catalini in Morrisville, Pa., and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Seven Democrats agree that there is an affordability challenge in the district, which covers communities in northern Miami-Dade and southern Broward.

As of Wednesday, campaign finance records showed retired U.S. Air Force Col. Dr. Rudolph “Rudy” Moise was at the top with over $631,000 in receipts.

The physician, who has a practice in North Miami and also earned a juris doctor and a master of business administration from the University of Miami, said he wants to change the Medicare eligibility age to 55.

“The difficulty that they are experiencing right now, rising, also, costs, groceries, gasoline, medicine, health care,” said Moise, 71, a Haitian American.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert II, a former Miami Gardens mayor, followed with over $524,000 in receipts, according to campaign finance records. Wilson formally endorsed him on June 22.

“Whether you are in District 24 in Florida or District 24 in Texas, you need healthcare, you need food security, you need affordable housing, you need to be able to go to the store if your check didn’t get bigger, but prices got bigger. That’s a problem for real Americans, and I want to help with that,” said Gilbert, 53, who also earned a J.D. from U.M.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava also endorsed Gilbert. A St. Pete Polls survey commissioned by Florida Politics showed Gilbert had the support of 27% of Democrats.

At 29 years old, Kendrick Meek Jr., who also earned a J.D. from U.M., follows Gilbert with more than $486,500, according to campaign finance records.

“I’m the only candidate in this race that has experience working on Capitol Hill and at the White House. I’m very proud of that,” Meek said about his internships at the House Administration Committee in 2015 and the House Judiciary Committee in 2021, and his work as an aide on healthcare policy initiatives under the Biden administration.

Meek said he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father, former U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek, who served Florida’s 17th Congressional District from 2003 to 2011, and his grandmother, the late former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, who served Florida’s 17th Congressional District from 1993 to 2003.

“I know that I’m going to be able to bring resources... on behalf of this community from day one,” Meek said.

Former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson endorsed Meek. A St. Pete Polls survey commissioned by Florida Politics showed Meek had the support of 10% of Democrats.

Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones, who was born in Miami Gardens, follows Meek with over $148,000 in total receipts, according to campaign finance records.

On Wednesday, the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida endorsed Jones, 42, who earned a doctorate in education from Florida Atlantic University.

“You look at the cost of healthcare and people having to choose to pay their rent or even getting their prescription drugs. That is a broken system. That is a government that is working against the people and not for the people,” Jones said.

Broward County Commissioner Alexandra Davis, and former Miami-Dade Commissioners Betty Ferguson and Barbara Jordan endorsed Jones.

A St. Pete Polls survey commissioned by Florida Politics showed Jones had the support of 24% of Democrats.

Jean Monestime, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, follows with more than $57,000 in receipts, according to campaign finance records.

“We can do a lot building people up, instead of pushing people down, and we do so by providing them with an opportunity. I’m a candidate for Congress because these are the opportunities this community gave to me a little over 45 years ago when I arrived here,” said Monestime, 63, a Haitian-American businessman and former real estate broker.

Roderick D. Vereen, a criminal defense attorney who was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1990, had $15,000 in receipts, according to campaign finance records.

“When I look at the other candidates, I think I’m the most qualified. Congress is the lawmaking body of the government, and I’m a lawyer, so I think I have a better grasp of the law,” Vereen, 64, said. “I think I can be a better voice of the people in Washington D.C. This is the right time for me to take that opportunity.”

Marshal L. Davis, Sr., the director of the Marshal L. Davis, Sr. African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Miami’s Liberty City since 1963, had more than $13,000 in receipts, according to campaign finance records.

“We’ve got to look at what we consider to be the problem because with any problem, there is a solution,” Davis, 76, said. “We have to look at our potential and be expansive, and we’ve got to govern ourselves by principles.”

The mail-in ballot request deadline is Aug. 6, the Democratic primary is Aug. 18, and the general election is Nov. 3.

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Weary of Caballero's routine of waiting to acknowledge the pitcher just before the pitch clock reaches eight seconds, MLB told umpires Wednesday his regimen amounted to deception.

Plate umpire Quinn Wolcott charged Caballero with a pitch-clock violation in the sixth inning that led to a strikeout and the ejection of hitting coach James Rowson as New York lost a doubleheader opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in 10 innings.

“I’ve seen other guys do some other things and they don’t call anything on them,” Caballero said. “They’re just picking on me.”

Caballero was acquired from Tampa Bay last July 31 and Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged his thoughts on the utilityman spun 180 degrees with the swap.

“He’s one of those guys I would yell at from the dugout,” Boone said Wednesday morning. “He was a pest and I didn’t like it. Now I like him because he's a good player and he's on our side. But, yeah, we've had a laugh about that.”

During a June 14 game at Toronto, Caballero twice was deliberate in raising his head until eight seconds remained on the pitch clock, leading to a warning by plate umpire Steven Jaschinsk. That prompted a delay of more than two minutes while Caballero, Jaschinski, Boone and crew chief John Tumpane discussed the situation.

Benches and bullpens cleared at the end of the eighth inning during Monday night's series opener when Pirates reliever Dennis Santana yelled at Caballero for taking too long to get ready in the batter’s box. Then on Wednesday, Wolcott charged Caballero with a violation in the sixth inning while the batter faced Carmen Mlodzinski with the Yankees trailing 2-0. After a delay of 2 1/2 minutes, Cabellero took a called third strike that stranded a runner.

“He’s not allowed to do an inordinate amount of time looking down, trying to get the pitcher to cause a violation,” Wolcott told a pool reporter. “There’s no other hitter that gets in the box, takes the amount of the time that Caballero does while looking down, not making eye contact with the pitcher. Obviously it’s caused a lot of problems in the past. It’s not going to be allowed anymore.”

MLB adopted the pitch clock for the 2023 season in an effort to cut game times. It has been 15 seconds with no runners and 18 seconds with runners since 2024.

In cracking down on Caballero, MLB cited a provision in its Pace of Game Procedures that states: “Conduct by batters designed to deceive a pitcher into beginning their windup or coming to the set position in violation of these regulations shall be considered circumvention."

Crew chief Adrian Johnson said the series opener skirmish caused MLB to take action.

“It’s not allowed anymore. It was the cause of a bench-clearing situation on Monday night. Major League Baseball stepped in, and they wanted enforced,” crew chief Adrian Johnson said. “We were instructed not to warn him. We were instructed to violate him.”

Boone said MLB didn't inform the Yankees before the game of the change in stance.

“It's embarrassing,” he said.

Based on previous conversations with MLB, Boone instructed Caballero to “make sure you’re looking up at nine so that you are alert by eight.”

“He actually said that they were making new rules today and it’s on me because I was deceiving or something like that to the pitcher, which doesn’t make sense,” Caballero said. “I don’t know, maybe my English is so bad that I don’t understand, but deceiving kind of means that you’re trying to trick someone and I’m not trying to trick someone because I do the same thing over and over. You can check my last 50 at-bats and see if I do it the same or not, or check maybe 100 at-bats or 150.”

MLB issued a memo in 2023 warning batters not to keep a foot out of the batter's box, which Willson Contreras called “the Willson rule.”

Caballero claims he is being singled out.

“For everyone, it is eight seconds. For me was nine," he said. "But now they just don’t want me to do my routine so it’s kind of like tricky for me because it’s the way that I get settled, the way that I try to approach my at-bats.”

Caballero is concerned about giving pitchers control of the timing of pitches.

“If I get in the box and they have 16, 17 seconds left, they can hold the ball on me all that time and I’d be tied up," he said.

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

The closed-door briefing for committee members comes in the wake of two shootings in which ICE officers shot and killed two immigrants that they were trying to arrest, raising concerns over the agency's tactics at a time that it is ratcheting up its arrests.

The shootings in Maine and Houston over the span of a week have led to fierce criticism that there's not enough oversight of the agency key to President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched the crackdown after retaking office, and in the Maine shooting, family members of the ICE officer who opened fire say he had a history of violent behavior and never should have been given a badge and gun.

Rep. Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said they were told during the briefing that there have been 56 complaints of excessive force against ICE officers; 32 were cleared, and one was referred for disciplinary action. Magaziner said they were told no discipline had yet been handed out. The rest of the incidents are still under investigation, he said.

“It just defies belief that an agency of 20,000 plus officers with all of the chaos that we’ve seen over the last year and a half through the surges and civilians being injured and killed, that no one would be found to have violated use of force with the exception of possibly one person,” Magaziner said.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. Department leadership has promised to hold officers responsible found to have violated department policy. But they've also defended their officers, saying they are operating in a dangerous environment where they're constantly being attacked and doxxed.

The numbers mark an increase since February when then-acting director Todd Lyons said during Senate testimony that ICE had opened 37 investigations for excessive force; 18 of those were closed, 19 were still pending and one referred for “further action,” Lyons said.

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said the ICE officials could not discuss the shootings in Maine or Houston, as those are both open investigations. Thompson, who said he came away with more questions than answers from the briefing, said he wanted to know who investigates use of force incidents: “Sometimes they said the FBI, sometimes they said HSI. Sometimes they said another entity."

The officials said they were going to retrain officers who had gone through a shorter curriculum that was in place last fall, Thompson said. In June, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the agency would be increasing the amount of training for new officers starting this month.

Thompson said he pressed for answers about how many officers had been brought back for retraining and how they're being retrained but couldn't get any clarity.

Thompson said he and the committee chair, Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., will follow up with ICE with a list of questions.

Garbarino said he appreciated ICE briefing the members.

“Today was an important opportunity for Members to receive timely answers on the status of body camera deployment for law enforcement in the field, training and vetting standards and requirements, and current guidance on the use of vehicle stops as part of immigration enforcement," Garbarino said in a statement.

When it comes to vehicle stops, Magaziner said they were told that current guidance to ICE officers is to only do them when there’s no other alternative, and they’re supposed to use lights and sirens. But, Magaziner said, that guidance has only been passed along verbally to the staff as opposed to a written directive.

Both the shootings in Maine and Houston involved shootings of immigrants who were in moving vehicles, raising questions about ICE’s training and policies surrounding how it tries to apprehend people when they’re driving.

After the Maine killing, Trump administration officials told ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops. But the next day, Trump announced on social media that he wanted ICE to keep doing them.

The incident happened last month in Miami Gardens, and when police responded to the scene they said they discovered millions of dollars in drugs and cash.

The hearing was for Anthony Gordon and his girlfriend Danette Young, who have been in jail for more than a month after a reported home invasion robbery at their Miami Gardens home.

Gordon and Young claimed to be the victims on that day, but when police arrived they said they uncovered a record-setting seizure of $1.3 million in cash and illegal drugs with a street value of roughly $5 million.

Attorneys for both argued in court that just because there were drugs present in the home, it did not prove their clients were in possession of the drugs.

The couple is currently being held without bond on a long list of drug related felonies.

Their attorneys tried to convince the court to set a bond and allow for their release, but in the end, the evidence presented – photos of cash, multiple weapons and drugs – may have been overwhelming.

The judge ultimately ruled the couple would remain behind bars on no bond.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox matched that streak from 80 years ago, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the opener of a doubleheader.

“I’ve read some stuff. I know Ted Williams was around back then, so I’m aware of the year and how long it's been,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It’s cool that they’ve accomplished something great.”

When it was over, the Red Sox took a little more time than usual on the field to soak it in as The Standells' song “Dirty Water” played in the background like it does after each victory in Fenway Park.

They also enjoyed the moment in the clubhouse.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely between the staff. We were realizing the guys were going crazy in the locker room — they always do — but even more emphasis right now with what we’re going through,” Tracy said. “Everybody enjoys it for sure.”

Boston club fired manager Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and seemed to be in for a long season under Tracy. The Red Sox were 37-48 and last in the AL East on July 1.

They haven't lost since.

Tracy is the first manager since the 19th century to lead a team to a win streak of 15 games or more who didn't start the season in the job, according to MLB.

Boston took a 4-0 lead over Baltimore in the first inning, and starter Jake Bennett held the Orioles to three runs over 5 2/3 innings.

With a 6-3 lead after six innings, Caleb Durbin, who hit a tiebreaking homer in Monday's win over Baltimore, started thinking about how many outs were left.

“I think in the seventh inning I’m counting them down a little bit,” he said, smiling.

After the final out, left fielder Jarren Duran said he was able to appreciate the cheering crowd when he met with center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and right fielder Wilyer Abreu.

“When I get to go see (them), I take a look around and I get to enjoy that moment, that’s always fun,” he said.

With the organization in its 126th season, the streak has more meaning for some.

“You look back at it and think about where you’re doing it and how long this franchise has existed. It’s been incredible,” Durbin said. “It feels great. One win closer to 16 to break it. I’m just glad we’ve got another one to play today.”

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, who grew up watching the Red Sox about 45 miles away in Fall River, Massachusetts, showed his respect.

“I mean, a 15-game heater is really impressive,” he said. “You know, its tough to win one game in the big leagues and them going 15 straight, it’s really impressive.”

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

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington raised the question Wednesday in an ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops. Reyes noted that Trump's ban says “the Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards ... without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”

Reyes ordered both parties in the lawsuit to address “the similarities and differences in administering TRT, both medically and logistically, for trans men compared to other service members, including cis individuals.” She was using the acronym for testosterone replacement therapy.

The judge also requested information on the Pentagon's “basis for treating trans men and other service members differently between this new policy and the Military Ban.”

Reyes' order comes a week after Hegseth announced that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.”

The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be voluntary.

Other Trump administration officials have begun to advocate for men to have easier access to testosterone replacement therapies, but the messaging from Hegseth and others blends known science on the hormone with broader, and less substantiated, claims.

Testosterone levels in men decline naturally with age and have long been linked to issues like erectile dysfunction, low libido, mood changes and weight gain. But experts have debated for years how to diagnose those problems and whether they should be treated by replacing the hormone.

Reyes, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, is overseeing one of the lawsuits against Trump's ban on transgender troops. Transgender active duty service members and former service members seeking to reenlist sued in late January 2025, shortly after the president returned for his second term in office.

Reyes ruled last year against Trump's executive order to exclude transgender troops. A divided panel of federal appeals court judges sent the case back to Reyes after partially upholding her order, finding that the ban was unlawful and service members who sued could not be kicked out.

Reyes has since given the case class-action status, which means the outcome could expand to all service members.

Trump's transgender military ban remains in effect, however. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Pentagon to enforce it as litigation plays out.

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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

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In a rare public briefing on its protective operations, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the agency is confronting an unprecedented volume of threats against the president.

“We are at a heightened level of a threat environment right now,” Curran said, adding that the scope of threats is unlike anything he has seen in his 24-year career.

The agency’s comments come after multiple security incidents involving Trump over the past two years, including the attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, where a gunman’s bullet grazed Trump’s right ear and one rally attendee was killed.

Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn acknowledged the agency has since reevaluated how it protects former presidents seeking office.

“At that time, a former president wasn’t getting the resources that they potentially should have been getting,” Quinn said.

The Secret Service also pointed to an April incident in which an armed man carrying guns and knives breached a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner before being stopped by law enforcement.

The agency also highlighted the rapidly evolving threat posed by drones, which officials said have become inexpensive, sophisticated weapons seen on modern battlefields and present new security challenges for major public events and protected sites.

The comments came weeks after federal prosecutors charged eight men with terrorism-related offenses for allegedly plotting to attack a UFC event on the White House South Lawn using explosive drones.

Quinn said the Secret Service has deployed new counter-drone technology to protect the president and other dignitaries.

“The threat continues to get tougher and tougher. You’re talking fiberoptic-controlled drones now, dark drones, so it’s a constant challenge to keep up with it, but we’re doing a tremendous job to stay ahead of the threat,” he said.

Beyond physical security, officials said the Secret Service has expanded efforts to identify potential threats earlier by investigating threatening online posts and analyzing behavioral patterns among individuals who make threats against the president.

The agency said it is already implementing security plans for Friday’s rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, with advance teams on site days before the event. Officials said every presidential appearance is planned using the highest level of protective security.

It happened on Sunday afternoon along North Miami Avenue, near Fifth Street, in downtown Miami ― and it was all caught on surveillance camera.

Local 10 News spoke to the victim, Aiden Chappell, who said he met a man who claimed wanted to buy his $4,000 Sony video camera.

“I was meeting this guy off of Facebook Marketplace, he ended up taking my camera, testing it out and while he was testing it out, he ended up running off with it,” said Chappell.

Seconds later, the man sprinted across the street with the camera in hand without paying a dime.

Instead of jumping into a waiting getaway car with a driver behind the wheel, Chappell said the man got into a driverless Waymo.

It’s a twist Chappell said he never saw coming.

“It surprised me,” he said. “It never would be something that I think, ‘hey, I got to be aware of a Waymo in the middle of the street here.’”

Now detectives with the Miami Police Department are actively working to identify the man who committed this theft.

“We have a good communication with Waymo, so we are going to contact them and get information on who this offender was, said Officer Mike Vega, an MPD spokesperson.

As more people buy and sell expensive items online, police say where you meet to conduct transactions can make all the difference.

“Go to your local police station,” said Vega. “We know that the victim lives close to our police station, all he has to do is go there, go to our main lobby, and say I’m just here to sell something to someone from the internet, and we allow them to make their transaction there.”

For Chappell, who is a content creator, the stolen camera wasn’t just an expensive piece of equipment, it’s a tool he depends on to make a living.

“It’s a big part of my livelihood,” he said. “It’s a big loss, which is why I’m trying to do everything can to figure out the situation and kind of get a handle.”

Chappell has created a GoFundMe page in the wake of the theft.

Fabian Izaguirre Cepero, de 26 años, está acusado de merodear fuera de la habitación de una niña de 12 años y de masturbarse frente a una casa en Cutler Bay la noche del lunes. Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade lo detuvieron el martes.

Según los agentes, todo comenzó alrededor de las 3 de la madrugada, cuando la niña corrió hacia su padre tras oír que llamaban a la ventana.

El padre de la niña vio entonces a Izaguirre Cepero exhibiéndose y masturbándose fuera de la ventana de la menor, según consta en el informe policial. Los detectives indicaron que Cepero “regresó a la residencia de la víctima en cinco ocasiones distintas”.

En febrero de 2025, la policía de Miami Beach lo acusó de entrar en la tienda Target ubicada en el número 1045 de la Quinta Calle en South Beach y colocar un teléfono en el suelo de un probador para observar a una mujer mientras se probaba trajes de baño.

En el momento de su última detención, los agentes señalaron que se encontraba en libertad bajo fianza por 17 cargos relacionados con la posesión de material de abuso sexual infantil.

Según un informe del Departamento de Policía de Miami Beach, los investigadores que revisaban su teléfono en busca de pruebas relacionadas con el caso de Target se toparon con más de una docena de imágenes y vídeos de niñas de tan solo “2 a 4 años” que estaban siendo abusadas sexualmente.

En cuanto a su último caso, Izaguirre Cepero debía comparecer ante un juez el miércoles por la mañana acusado de voyeurismo y exhibicionismo; la audiencia se programó posteriormente para la tarde del miércoles.

Los expedientes fueron recopilados durante unos diez años por el Programa Nacional de Resarcimiento (PNR), que nació en 2003 tras la firma de los Acuerdos de Paz en 1996 que pusieron fin a la guerra con el fin de resarcir con proyectos y económicamente a las víctimas. Durante los últimos ocho años —en los gobiernos del expresidente Jimmy Morales 2016-2020 y de Alejandro Giammattei 2020-2024, el programa se inmovilizó, abandonó y se ordenó liquidar, sin resguardar los testimonios allí plasmados.

“Cajas húmedas, amontonadas, expedientes incompletos, rotos” son parte de lo que trabajadores que intentan actualmente salvar el archivo encontraron, aseguró Erick Briones, auxiliar del archivo. Ellos son parte de un proyecto financiado por UNESCO que busca recuperar el archivo del PNR y en un futuro nombrarlo patrimonio documental del mundo para que sea resguardado y accesible a todas las personas que quieran conocer la historia vivida en el país centroamericano en esa época.

Allí están archivos como el de Manuel Botom Uz, uno de los más de 100 expedientes de niñez desaparecida. Sus familiares narraron que en 1982 él tenía 4 años y fue desaparecido. El testimonio dice que el niño junto a sus cuatro hermanos, todos menores de edad, fueron atacados en sus comunidades en Quiché por miembros del ejército y patrulleros de autodefensa civil que ejercían tareas de control y vigilancia para el ejército en sus comunidades.

El expediente de Botom Uz dice que sus hermanos fueron entregados a familiares, pero él desapareció. Veinte años después su cuerpo fue localizado e identificado en una fosa clandestina. Después de exhumarlo fue enterrado por su familia.

“Hubo una intención de los gobiernos de Morales y Giammattei de borrar la memoria colectiva, destruir un patrimonio construido por muchos años con base en los testimonios de las víctimas, por eso es importante recuperar esa memoria y los testimonios de víctimas, resguardarlos y que pasen a ser parte (de) la memoria viva de este país”, explicó Elvin Díaz, comisionado presidencial de Derechos Humanos que ahora mantiene el resguardo de los archivos.

Díaz explicó que el fin del PNR era la ayuda humanitaria y el resarcimiento, sin embargo, aquí “hay información relevante para una investigación penal”.

En cajas de plástico azules, clasificadas por departamento, miles de testimonios cuentan ejecuciones extrajudiciales, asesinatos, abusos sexuales, desapariciones forzadas, reclutamiento forzoso de hombres, mujeres y niños en Guatemala durante la guerra entre el ejército y grupos guerrilleros, que según informes de la memoria dan cuenta que se saldó con 200.000 muertos y unos 45.000 desaparecidos.

En el futuro el proyecto planea digitalizar el archivo para su acceso universal.

En su informe sobre observaciones preliminares del Grupo de Trabajo de las Naciones Unidas sobre Desapariciones Forzadas o Involuntarias, que visitó Guatemala el mes pasado, indicó que “principalmente (en los gobiernos de Morales y Giammattei) operó una política sistemática de desmantelamiento de las instituciones para la paz y la justicia”.

Los expedientes pasarán a formar parte del Plan de Reparación y dignificación de las víctimas del conflicto armado anunciado el mes pasado por el presidente Arévalo, que busca integrar y centralizar la información dispersa en instituciones públicas y en manos de organizaciones de sociedad civil para continuar con el resarcimiento de la víctimas, además en los casos donde sigue la desaparición de una víctima se incluirán en el Mecanismo de Búsqueda Humanitaria de personas desaparecidas durante el conflicto armado interno en Guatemala.

En una inusual conferencia pública sobre sus operaciones de protección, el director del Servicio Secreto, Sean Curran, dijo que la agencia enfrenta un volumen sin precedentes de amenazas contra el presidente.

“En este momento estamos en un nivel elevado de amenazas”, dijo Curran, y añadió que el alcance de las amenazas es distinto a cualquier cosa que haya visto en sus 24 años de carrera.

Los comentarios de la agencia se producen después de múltiples incidentes de seguridad relacionados con Trump durante los últimos dos años, incluido el intento de asesinato durante un mitin de campaña en Butler, Pensilvania, en 2024, donde una bala disparada por un atacante rozó la oreja derecha de Trump y una persona que asistía al evento murió.

El subdirector del Servicio Secreto, Matthew Quinn, reconoció que desde entonces la agencia ha reevaluado la forma en que protege a los ex presidentes que buscan un cargo público.

“En ese momento, un ex presidente no estaba recibiendo los recursos que posiblemente debía estar recibiendo”, dijo Quinn.

El Servicio Secreto también señaló un incidente ocurrido en abril, cuando un hombre armado que portaba armas de fuego y cuchillos atravesó un punto de control de seguridad durante la Cena de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca antes de ser detenido por las autoridades.

La agencia también destacó la amenaza, que evoluciona rápidamente, que representan los drones, los cuales, según los funcionarios, se han convertido en armas sofisticadas y de bajo costo utilizadas en los campos de batalla modernos y representan nuevos desafíos de seguridad para grandes eventos públicos y lugares protegidos.

Los comentarios se producen semanas después de que fiscales federales presentaran cargos relacionados con terrorismo contra ocho hombres acusados de planear un ataque con drones explosivos durante un evento de la UFC en el Jardín Sur de la Casa Blanca.

Quinn dijo que el Servicio Secreto ha desplegado nueva tecnología antidrones para proteger al presidente y a otros dignatarios.

“La amenaza sigue siendo cada vez más difícil. Ahora estamos hablando de drones controlados por fibra óptica, drones oscuros, así que es un desafío constante mantenerse al día, pero estamos haciendo un trabajo extraordinario para adelantarnos a la amenaza”, dijo Quinn.

Más allá de la seguridad física, los funcionarios dijeron que el Servicio Secreto ha ampliado sus esfuerzos para identificar posibles amenazas con mayor anticipación mediante la investigación de publicaciones amenazantes en internet y el análisis de patrones de comportamiento entre las personas que amenazan al presidente.

La agencia informó que ya está implementando los planes de seguridad para la Cena de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca, reprogramada para el viernes en Washington, con equipos desplegados en el lugar varios días antes del evento. Los funcionarios dijeron que cada aparición presidencial se planifica con el más alto nivel de seguridad.

Seattle will be represented by Lauren Jackson and Flau’jae Johnson. Washington will have Elena Delle Donne partnered with Shakira Austin. Dallas, which started out as a franchise in Detroit, will pair Jessica Shepard with Deanna Nolan. Minnesota will have Rebekkah Brunson playing with Courtney Williams.

Each team will also include a standout high school player from Nike EYBL, bringing together three generations of women’s basketball in one competition.

The Nike EYBL participants are Jezelle “GG” Banks, Ryan Carter, Tatianna Griffin and Morghan Reckley. Honorary general managers for the WNBA All-Star Game, Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, will serve as designated passers, with Cooper distributing the ball to two teams and Weatherspoon passing it to the other two teams.

The format is a two-round, timed shooting competition in which teams have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition features shots ranging from a layup to a 3-pointer, with the two teams posting the highest scores in the opening round advancing to the championship round.

The shooting stars winners will get $15,000. Each competitor will receive $7,500.

Last year the winners of the skills contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.

The league announced the participants of the 3-point contest on Tuesday.

___

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

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Fabian Izaguirre Cepero, 26, is accused of lingering outside of the bedroom of a 12-year-old girl and touching himself outside of a home in Cutler Bay overnight on Monday. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies took him into custody on Tuesday.

Deputies said it all started at around 3 a.m., when the girl ran to her father after hearing a knock on the window.

The girl’s father then saw Izaguirre Cepero exposing himself and masturbating outside of the girl’s window, an arrest report states. Detectives said he “returned to the victim’s residence on five separate occasions.”

In February 2025, Miami Beach police accused him of going into the Target at 1045 Fifth St. on South Beach and placing a phone on the floor of a dressing room to watch a woman try on bathing suits.

At the time of his latest arrest, deputies noted that he was out on bond for 17 charges related to the possession of child sexual abuse material.

According to a report from the Miami Beach Police Department, investigators reviewing his phone for evidence related to the Target case stumbled upon more than a dozen images and videos of girls as young as “2 to 4 years old” being sexually abused.

As for his latest case, Izaguirre Cepero was set to face a judge Wednesday morning on charges of voyeurism and indecent exposure; the hearing was later scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

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The incident occurred around 2 a.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of Southeast 32nd Street.

Landers and the driver, with whom she had a prior argument, were acquainted.

According to police, the man attempted to leave the hotel in his vehicle, but Landers jumped on the hood of the SUV and fell off as the vehicle was in motion.

“I can’t even say, but I know she didn’t know that was going to happen to her,” Landers’ cousin, Letizia Robbins, said. “She wasn’t thinking that.”

Police said she was critically injured and the man stopped his car and called 911.

Landers was then transported by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue medics to Broward Health Medical Center, where she died, authorities said.

“I am going to be her voice because she confided in me with a lot of things,” Robbins said. “She wasn’t just my little cousin; she was like my little sister.”

Robbins said she believes, after watching video of the incident, that the man “deliberately ran her over.”

“So he has to pay. He has to go to jail,” she said. “It shows it clear as day. He ran her over. It wasn’t an accident that we thought it was.”

She added, “I don’t know him personally, so I can’t say (who he was). But it was somebody she was dealing with.”

Robbins said the man was a romantic partner.

No charges have been filed in the case, but Landers’ family is now left with questions and pain and feeling they are living a nightmare.

“I’m just thinking it’s all a bad dream,” Robbins said. “It’s not real.”

Fort Lauderdale police said their investigating into the matter is ongoing.

El incidente ocurrió alrededor de las 2:00 a.m. del martes en la cuadra 400 de Southeast 32nd Street.

Landers y el conductor, con quien había tenido una discusión previa, se conocían.

Según la Policía, el hombre intentó salir del hotel en su vehículo, pero Landers se subió al capó de la SUV y cayó mientras el vehículo estaba en movimiento.

“No puedo ni decirlo, pero sé que ella no sabía que eso le iba a pasar”, dijo Letizia Robbins, prima de Landers. “Ella no estaba pensando que eso ocurriría.”

La Policía informó que Landers sufrió heridas de gravedad y que el hombre detuvo el vehículo y llamó al 911.

Las autoridades indicaron que Landers fue trasladada por paramédicos de Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue al Broward Health Medical Center, donde murió.

“Voy a ser su voz porque ella me confiaba muchas cosas”, dijo Robbins. “No era solo mi prima menor, era como mi hermana menor.”

Robbins dijo que, tras ver el video del incidente, cree que el hombre “deliberadamente la atropelló”.

“Así que tiene que pagar. Tiene que ir a la cárcel”, dijo. “Se ve claramente. La atropelló. No fue un accidente como pensábamos.”

Además, dijo: “No lo conozco personalmente, así que no puedo decir quién era. Pero era alguien con quien ella tenía una relación.”

Robbins dijo que el hombre era la pareja sentimental de Landers.

No se han presentado cargos en el caso, pero la familia de Landers ahora enfrenta muchas preguntas, dolor y la sensación de estar viviendo una pesadilla.

“Solo pienso que todo es una pesadilla”, dijo Robbins. “No es real.”

La Policía de Fort Lauderdale informó que la investigación continúa en curso.

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It happened at approximately 1:53 p.m. Wednesday along the 800 block of Northwest 10th Terrace.

According to police, responding officers arrived to the scene and found one man who had been shot.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews rushed the man to Broward Health Medical Center with injuries that were considered to be life-threatening, police said.

Regarding the shooting, investigators said it appeared to be an isolated incident between two people.

Police said that there was nobody in custody, but their investigation remains active and ongoing.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

El incidente ocurrió aproximadamente a la 1:53 p.m. del miércoles en la cuadra 800 de Northwest 10th Terrace.

Según la Policía, los agentes que respondieron al llamado llegaron al lugar y encontraron a un hombre que había recibido un disparo.

Equipos de Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue trasladaron al hombre al Broward Health Medical Center con heridas consideradas de riesgo para su vida, informó la Policía.

Con respecto a la balacera, los investigadores indicaron que aparentemente se trató de un incidente aislado entre dos personas.

La Policía informó que no hay nadie bajo custodia, pero la investigación continúa activa.

Cualquier persona con información sobre la balacera debe llamar a Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

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Although the crash scene has been cleared, damage remained on Wednesday where investigators said the car struck the bus bench before hitting several vehicles and coming to a stop.

Investigators also confirmed that the driver had rear-ended another vehicle moments before the deadly crash.

Authorities released 911 calls made moments after the collision.

“I’m on federal just north of McNab (Road) and there was a really bad car accident,” one caller stated.

Another caller described the aftermath of the crash.

“Just saw a really bad accident happen. A car flipped over. It is now the right side up, but it flipped over,” another caller stated.

According to investigators, the white BMW crashed into two concrete light poles, a tree, several unoccupied vehicles and ripped a covered bus bench from its foundation.

One 911 caller expressed uncertainty about the victims.

“I don’t know if the guy is still in the car or he was ejected or someone he hit at the (expletive) bus stop,” the caller stated.

Deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday identified the driver as 47-year-old Jo Ann Llera. They said she was behind the wheel at the time of the crash and is expected to survive.

Neighbors said they were shocked to learn Llera was involved in the deadly wreck.

Investigators said the crash sequence began just before 1 p.m. in the 500 block of South Federal Highway, where Llera allegedly rear-ended a Honda Accord. Authorities said she then drove around the vehicle and continued for about four blocks before crashing.

Witnesses described the sound of the impact as resembling an explosion.

“It was like dynamite going off we knew something was wrong right away,” one witness said. “It’s horrific I never seen so much damage in one car you feel for the family.”

As Llera recovers from her injuries in the hospital, witnesses are left wondering what caused the chain of crashes that ended with the death of a man who was waiting at the bus stop.

The victim’s identity has not been released by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities have not announced whether Llera will face any charges.

Aunque la escena del choque ya fue despejada, el miércoles aún eran visibles los daños en el lugar donde, según los investigadores, el vehículo impactó la banca de la parada de autobús antes de chocar contra varios vehículos y detenerse.

Los investigadores también confirmaron que la conductora había chocado por alcance contra otro vehículo momentos antes del choque mortal.

Las autoridades divulgaron las llamadas al 911 realizadas minutos después de la colisión.

“Estoy en Federal, justo al norte de McNab Road, y hubo un accidente de tránsito realmente grave”, dijo una persona que llamó.

Otra persona describió lo ocurrido tras el choque.

“Acabo de ver un accidente realmente grave. Un carro se volcó. Ahora está sobre sus ruedas, pero se volcó”, dijo otra persona.

Según los investigadores, el BMW blanco chocó contra dos postes de concreto para alumbrado, un árbol, varios vehículos desocupados y arrancó de su base una banca de parada de autobús con techo.

Una persona que llamó al 911 expresó incertidumbre sobre las víctimas.

“No sé si el hombre sigue dentro del carro, si salió expulsado o si era alguien a quien atropelló en la maldita parada de autobús”, dijo.

Los agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward identificaron el miércoles a la conductora como Jo Ann Llera, de 47 años. Indicaron que ella iba al volante al momento del choque y que se espera que sobreviva.

Vecinos dijeron estar conmocionados al enterarse de que Llera estuvo involucrada en el choque mortal.

Los investigadores dijeron que la secuencia del choque comenzó poco antes de la 1:00 p.m. en la cuadra 500 de South Federal Highway, donde presuntamente Llera chocó por alcance a un Honda Accord. Las autoridades dijeron que luego rodeó ese vehículo y continuó aproximadamente cuatro cuadras antes de chocar.

Testigos describieron el sonido del impacto como una explosión.

“Fue como si explotara dinamita. Supimos de inmediato que algo andaba mal”, dijo un testigo. “Es horrible. Nunca había visto tantos daños en un solo carro. Uno siente mucho por la familia.”

Mientras Llera se recupera de sus heridas en el hospital, los testigos siguen preguntándose qué provocó la cadena de choques que terminó con la muerte de un hombre que esperaba en la parada de autobús.

La Oficina del Sheriff de Broward no ha divulgado la identidad de la víctima.

Las autoridades no han anunciado si Llera enfrentará cargos.

The potential political peril has only grown in recent days, particularly for Republicans facing reelection in November. But while some GOP lawmakers say they want more information from President Donald Trump’s administration on the endgame and the escalating cost, they continue to defend the president’s decision to engage and have voted repeatedly to cede congressional powers to the White House.

“Is anyone out there in the real world happy with gas prices? No,” said Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican who grilled military leaders for more detail at a contentious hearing Tuesday. “But I think they understand why gas prices are as high as they are.”

It’s still unclear, though, if more Republicans — many of whom have been privately questioning the conflict — will speak out publicly as the midterm elections approach. GOP lawmakers in both the House and Senate are expected to face the next test of their loyalty this week as Democrats force new votes on whether Trump should seek congressional approval for military action against Iran.

As Congress considers whether to weigh in, the U.S. has carried out waves of airstrikes in recent days as the two countries clash over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices have spiked again and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at the hearing Tuesday that the U.S. had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far. On Wednesday, Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base for the arrival and dignified transfer of the remains of four U.S. service members.

“I do think the combination of the hearings, plus the fact that we are in this new escalatory phase where Americans have been killed, and Americans are experiencing the rising costs — I think it’s important that people be held accountable,” said Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat who is expected to lead the next war powers vote as soon as Thursday. “And this is a very unpopular war.”

Polls find Americans disapprove of the war

Most Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, according to recent polling. A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in July found that few Americans think the war in Iran has been worth fighting, and most aren’t confident that the U.S. military action in Iran and negotiations to end the war will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Only about two-thirds of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the situation in Iran, according to the Washington Post/Ipsos poll. Most Republicans, about 6 in 10, think the war has been worth fighting and are confident that the military action and ensuing negotiations will prevent Iran from development nuclear weapons, but a sizable share — about one-third — are not convinced.

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who is up for reelection this year, said that he tries to explain to voters that he has seen the intelligence and believes the war was necessary to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. But we need to “finish the job,” Rounds said.

“It’s challenging” to explain it to people back home, Rounds said. “It’s complicated, and a lot of the stuff we know, we can’t talk about, because it’s classified.”

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, another Republican up for reelection, questioned military leaders at Tuesday’s hearing on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“It seems to me that there’s been a different plan almost daily with dealing with this problem,” she told Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

War powers votes have shifted as conflict has dragged on

Opposing the war can have a political cost, as well. Collins was one of four Republicans to side with Democrats when the Senate passed a war powers resolution on Iran for the first time in June. The vote greatly angered Trump, who attended a GOP Senate luncheon the next day and called the four Republicans “losers.”

One of the other Republicans to vote for the war powers resolution was Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who lost his Senate seat in a primary after Trump endorsed one of his opponents.

In the closed-door luncheon, Cassidy told Trump directly that he needed to give more details to the public about the conflict. “This was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months,” he said. “Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

Trump argued back, Cassidy later told reporters, and he told the president that he wouldn’t change his vote until he got a briefing. The White House later relented, giving Cassidy a one-on-one meeting, and the Louisiana Republican changed his vote in a late night do-over vote before the Senate left for a two-week recess.

Cassidy wouldn’t say Wednesday whether recent developments would change his vote when the Senate takes up the next resolution to halt the war.

“I’m not commenting on that,” he said.

House to consider war powers resolution

The House is expected to consider a war powers resolution Thursday after also approving a similar measure in June. It is unclear whether enough Republicans could again vote with Democrats to pass the resolution, led by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has aggressively lobbied his members against the war powers measures. Echoing Trump, Johnson said this week that the U.S. has ensured that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon that “would be a disaster for everybody.”

Still, he said, there is a global understanding that “now we got to wrap it up.”

Asked about the war on Wednesday before his Dover trip, Trump voiced continued confidence in his approach.

“Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they aren’t against the war,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this report.

Some Democrats sided with the Republican majority in the 232-198 vote that came as lawmakers prepared to return home and campaign ahead of the midterm elections, with Republicans working to show action on an issue that has become a symbol of voter distrust.

But the breakthrough was tempered by Republican provisions in the bill that would exempt the president from the trading ban and from the inclusion of an unrelated voter identification requirement, drawing opposition from many Democrats. The bill's passage in the Senate remains uncertain.

“This bill, quite simply, is a sham,” Rep. Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat, said on the House floor ahead of the vote. He called the voter identification provision a “poison pill” designed to sink the legislation.

Supporters nevertheless hailed the bill, known as the Stop Insider Trading Act, as the most significant congressional action yet to restrict stock trades by members of Congress.

“I had legislation that would have required divestiture. I preferred that approach,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. “But you got to build a coalition in a body. And I think this is a giant step forward.”

Rep. Bryan Steil, the Wisconsin Republican who sponsored the legislation, called it “transformational.”

Critics argued the legislation falls well short of a true stock trading ban because it would let lawmakers keep stocks they already own and continue selling them.

Bipartisan support eroded further after Republicans added a requirement that voters present photo identification at the polls, a key element of the SAVE Act, an election measure backed by President Donald Trump that has repeatedly stalled in the Senate.

What is in the Stop Insider Trading Act?

The legislation would prohibit lawmakers, their spouses and dependent children from buying individual stocks while in office. It would let them keep stocks they already own but require public notice at least seven days before selling them. Some investments would be exempt, including interest in a widely held investment fund and certain investments held in a trust.

The bill does not extend to the president or vice president. President Donald Trump disclosed in May that in the first quarter of this year he had made more than 3,600 buy and sell orders, many of them involving companies whose profits have been directly impacted by his decisions as head of the government.

Outside ethics groups said the bill leaves intact the very conflicts it is meant to address by allowing lawmakers to keep existing stock holdings.

The Campaign Legal Center urged Congress to reject the measure, saying it “fails to address the two inherent problems with congressional stock ownership: the appearance of insider trading and members’ ability to profit from their official position.”

Not all Republicans were on board for the stock ban. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who was defeated in a primary earlier this year by a Trump-backed candidate, derided Republicans for inserting the voter identification requirement.

“Republicans added voter-ID in the legislation. Not to get Dems to vote for voter-ID,” Massie wrote in a social media post. “but to get them to vote against the stock trading ban, so they can use it in the Nov. election.”

Stock trading has become a potent campaign issue

Congressional stock trading has become a potent campaign issue as candidates from both parties call for banning the practice. The issue has been a fixture of campaign ads for several years as candidates seek to tap into voters’ distrust of Washington.

Ahead of Wednesday's vote, many Republicans facing tough reelection races lined up to speak in favor of it.

“Banning congressional stock trading is a simple proposition: If you serve the public, you serve only the public,” said New York Rep. Mike Lawler. “You don't get to benefit from the power the people have loaned you. This reform is about fairness.”

Lawmakers have faced ethics scrutiny and, in some cases, criminal investigations over stock trades that critics say benefited from nonpublic information obtained through lawmakers' official duties. Although no broad ban has become law, similar proposals have been introduced for years.

Momentum accelerated last year when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., launched a discharge petition to force a vote on a congressional stock trading ban that bypassed House Republican leaders.

Casemiro joins the club as a free agent and is under contract through the 2027 MLS Sprint Season, with an option to extend the deal through June 2029. The club stated that the move is pending approval of his P-1 Visa.

Midfield, reinforced. Bem-vindo, @Casemiro! 🇧🇷https://t.co/1GW3A40qvD pic.twitter.com/ZmM0IXUXux

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 22, 2026

The 34-year-old midfielder arrives in Miami after a decorated career that includes five UEFA Champions League titles, three LaLiga championships, and multiple international trophies with Real Madrid.

He also spent the past three seasons playing for Manchester United in the English Premier League.

“I’m motivated by winning and continuing to grow,” Casemiro said in the team’s news release on Wednesday. “I can’t wait to get started and give everything I have to repay the trust the club has shown me.”

Inter Miami owners praised the signing, calling Casemiro a player who brings leadership and a winning mentality to the team.

Co-owner David Beckham said he was excited to welcome the midfielder after watching his successful career with Real Madrid and Manchester United.

“I’m very proud to welcome Casemiro and his family to Inter Miami,” he said in part. “He is a person and a player that I have admired for a long time.”

Casemiro is considered one of the top defensive midfielders of his generation and joins Inter Miami as the club continues to build a stronger roster for the present and future.

According to MLS insider Tom Bogert, the league has opened an investigation into possible tampering violations during Casemiro’s signing process.

Bogert said the Los Angeles Galaxy reportedly held Casemiro’s discovery rights, and MLS is reviewing whether any league rules were broken.

His dream is on the cusp of becoming reality.

A little more than a month after the Indianapolis-based team owner died at 65, his oldest son, Derek, announced Dreyer & Reinbold Racing had purchased one of the series' 25 charters from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The transaction paves the way for DRR to run one full-time car next season for the first time since 2012.

Series officials must still approve the move, though that appears to be little more than a formality.

“There are a lot of emotions today,” Derek Reinbold said Wednesday on a conference call. “Let me just start with my dad because he spent years working towards this moment. He believed this team belonged in the IndyCar Series full-time, and he never stopped building toward that goal. He and I were talking through this charter purchase right up until he went into the hospital. Today is bittersweet. I wish he were on this call with us. But I know exactly how he’d feel today because this was his vision, and we’re really proud to finish what he started.”

The late Reinbold became a regular in Gasoline Alley after co-founding the team in 2000, fielding cars, often multiple cars, in each of the past 27 Indianapolis 500s. During that time, DRR employed nearly three dozen drivers though it reached victory lane only one time — when Robbie Buhl won at Walt Disney World Speedway in January 2000.

The team's top finish at Indianapolis came in 2012 when Oriol Servia was fourth. But following that season, DRR came up short on funding and began cutting back its schedule. From 2013-19, DRR's drivers were limited to one race — Indianapolis.

It appeared there may be an opening for DRR when Sage Karam competed in all four events held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the COVID-19 season in 2020. But the team returned to just one-race seasons from 2021 through Reinbodld's death following a battle with cancer last month.

Now, all indications are that DRR will return to full-time action next year.

“The first transfer of an IndyCar charter is an important milestone for the IndyCar charter system and demonstrates that the system is working as intended," said Mark Miles, the president and CEO of IndyCar's parent company Penske Entertainment. “The charter system provides teams with a valuable asset encouraging their continued investment in the long-term growth of the sport while also providing new ownership groups with a clear pathway into the series. It’s another step in strengthening the long-term foundation of IndyCar.”

Bobby Rahal's team received three of the 25 charters when they were first introduced in 2024, but when it decided to scale back from three full-time cars to two next season, the idea of helping Reinbold's team get back in the mix just seemed like the right thing to do.

“I have always had tremendous respect for Dennis Reinbold, both as a fellow team owner and as a fellow automobile dealer," the 1986 Indy winner said in a statement. “His dedication to IndyCar and the legacy he built over many years earned the respect of everyone in the paddock. Dennis had expressed interest in acquiring a charter from the time the charter program was established, and we had several discussions with him before his passing. We’re pleased we were able to complete this transaction, and we can’t think of a more deserving organization to receive the charter.”

Rahal also said in the statement that he believes a two-car team will better position RLL to “maximize” its competition level and focus on the introduction of a new race car in 2028.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing

The first dinner was cut short in April when a gunman, who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate Trump, opened fire at the Washington Hilton. The much smaller rescheduled dinner will take place Friday, with enhanced security precautions, at the capital’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel.

The letter expands on a similar one issued in April, before the first dinner. It notes that since then, “the administration’s attacks on journalists and press freedom have become even more egregious.”

The letter, organized by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and producer Ian Cameron, cites in particular the recent subpoenas by the Justice Department to New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns over the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Additional subpoenas of the journalists’ phone records have included even the mother of one reporter, and two spouses.

They want the association to stand up ‘forcefully’

The letter also cites threats by Trump to revoke licenses of broadcasters “who refuse to acquiesce to his demands.”

“Our message to the White House Correspondents’ Association is now more urgent: forcefully stand up for freedom of the press in front of the President, publicly defend the journalists he attacks, and vow to resist his administration’s concerted effort to undermine the First Amendment,” the letter says.

It notes that the association’s president, Weijia Jiang, has defined the dinner’s purpose as being “to celebrate the First Amendment and the hard daily work of the journalists who defend it.”

“We believe it is hypocritical to celebrate the First Amendment in front of the man who relentlessly attacks it,” the letter says. ”We urge the WHCA to condemn the administration’s actions from the podium and pledge to fight all attempts by his administration to undermine this core pillar of a functioning democracy.”

There are multiple signatories

The groups signing on to the letter are the Society of Professional Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Coalition for Women in Journalism, the Radio Television Digital News Association and the Media and Democracy Project.

There are also about 520 individual signatories, mainly retired journalists. Almost all of them signed the April letter as well.

Trump has said he would be attending Friday’s rescheduled dinner, calling the plan to go ahead with the event “a sign of Strength and Fortitude.”

“This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added that he hadn’t decided whether to give his originally intended speech, in which he was widely expected to attack the press. “I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out,” he wrote. “In any event, it will be a ‘HOT’ ticket!”

Elkhorn coral populations were decimated by a 2023 heat wave and a less severe one in 2024 that left them functionally extinct — meaning remaining colonies are too small and far apart to reproduce in the wild — from Broward County to the Florida Keys, said Diego Lirman, associate professor of marine biology at the University of Miami. Heat causes coral to bleach, which can be fatal if it lasts long enough.

Researchers have been propagating them at coastal nurseries, but decided to bring some ashore now because of indications that 2026 will be “a really bad year” for bleaching — perhaps even worse than 2023, Lirman said. Coral has been showing indications of heat stress as water temperatures rise.

Coral populations are living creatures that form reefs, globally important for seafood production, protecting coastlines from storm surges and tourism. But scientists fear they could be lost because of climate change: Florida coral has experienced four mass bleaching events in the past decade.

“They seem to be blending into each other and corals are not getting time to recover,” Lirman said.

Divers focused Wednesday on collecting genetically diverse coral pieces, wrapping each in wet bubble wrap and placing them in coolers before sanitizing them and putting them in tanks at the hatchery.

The university exchanges coral with other researchers and facilities to preserve as much original genetic diversity as possible in nurseries and in hatcheries, “so if one goes down you don’t lose the last remaining genetic information,” Lirman said.

“You never know: You may have some that are resistant to disease, some that are resistant to temperature, some that are resistant to acidification,” he said. “Once we lose them, then that information is lost.”

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According to Margate police, the crash occurred in the 5400 block of West Atlantic Boulevard.

Police said the suspect crashed his vehicle and then fled the scene.

According to authorities, the suspect was captured a short time later and it was discovered that he had active arrest warrants for narcotics-related charges.

The suspect’s identity was not immediately released and it’s unclear whether the crash only involved the suspect’s vehicle.

The car -- a silver sedan -- has since been towed from the scene.

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Jail records show Leonardo Daniel Rivas, 42, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm.

Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the boy was attending his daily occupational therapy session at Florida Kids Therapy Medley at 13335 SW 124th St. on Thursday when Rivas, who was serving as his occupational therapist, “squeezed the victim’s cheeks together” and repeatedly forced a speech therapy device known as a Whisper Phone into the victim’s mouth, “covering his mouth several times.”

An arrest report states that the boy became upset, after which Rivas “began holding the victim down forcefully to the chair” and “firmly pushed the victim’s legs down.”

Investigators said the boy suffered “numerous abrasions” to both shoulder blades and his chest. According to the report, he was treated for his injuries at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.

Authorities later arrested Rivas, who told investigators he did not want to speak with them without an attorney present, the report states.

As of Wednesday morning, Rivas was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was set at $2,500. A judge ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victim but allowed him to continue practicing while the case is pending.

Florida licensing authorities will determine whether any disciplinary action, including the possible suspension or revocation of his license, is warranted.

The clinic released a statement to Local 10 News following Rivas’ arrest, which you can read here:

"We are deeply saddened by the incident involving one of our contracted therapists and a minor receiving services at our center. The safety, dignity, and well-being of every child in our care are, and always will be, our highest priority.

The conduct observed in this incident is completely contrary to our values, our standards of care, and the way therapy is provided at Florida Kids Therapy Medley. We do not tolerate any form of physical aggression, mistreatment, or abuse toward the children we serve," the statement read.

"As soon as the incident was brought to our attention, we immediately reviewed the available information, removed the therapist from all patient care responsibilities, preserved the relevant evidence, and notified the appropriate authorities. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and all regulatory agencies as the investigation continues.

Out of respect for the minor and because the investigation remains ongoing, we cannot comment further on the specific details of the case at this time.

Our commitment remains to provide a safe, compassionate, and professional environment for every child and family we serve, to cooperate fully with the authorities, and to continue strengthening all necessary measures to ensure the protection and well-being of the children in our care."

“I have no ill will toward Coach Kiffin,” Golding said Wednesday at SEC Media Days.

Golding was the up-and-coming defensive coordinator who was asked to pick up the pieces when his old boss, Lane Kiffin, abruptly left for LSU for a seven-year, $91 million deal just as the Rebels were about to embark on their first trip to the College Football Playoff last season.

Partly thanks to the fact that the coach had two of the game's most explosive players in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, Golding racked up two wins, over Tulane and Georgia, and almost a third.

That made Mississippi's decision to give him a five-year contract right after Kiffin's departure look like a stroke of genius. It also gave Golding a spot at the podium in Tampa, where he opened up and became an early favorite to “win” the 38th version of the SEC's annual preseason football gabfest.

“It’s the ex, right? There’s always going to be the history," said Golding, who is married with three children. "Do you have an ex? Are you married? Well, if you do get married and you have an ex that your wife knows about, like, she doesn’t ever end; she’s never dead. She’s always going to get brought up, and so that’s kind of where it is right now. That’s always going to be there a little bit, which is fun to a certain degree.”

Fun, indeed. And it's no sure thing that Ole Miss is going to take a step back from last year's 13-2 record and its trip to the national semifinals just because its celebrity coach, Kiffin, has moved west. (By the way, Ole Miss hosts LSU on Sept. 19.)

Chambliss is returning off a 3,900-yard, 22-touchdown season and a win in court, where he was granted a sixth year of eligibility. Lacy's 73-yard touchdown run in Mississippi's CFP loss to Miami capped a playoff stretch that identified him as a first-tier threat. The Rebels have launched Heisman Trophy campaigns for both.

“You know they’re really good players,” Golding said. “I’m not going to talk to you about that. Y'all already know that.”

Golding flicks away questions about tampering allegations

Golding was equally colorful about tampering, a topic the Rebels were drawn into this offseason when Clemson's Dabo Sweeney accused Ole Miss of unethically luring linebacker Luke Ferelli, who had barely moved from Cal to Death Valley when he suddenly bailed for Mississippi.

Without getting into details of the Ferelli affair — which served as a rare example of a coach calling out another coach for tampering — Golding pointed to one of the key problems about the transfer portal, saying it's only natural a player would want to know he has a place to go before he leaves his current school. Add agents into the mix, who can easily circumvent rules that prohibit contacting the player, and chaos ensues.

“By design it’s put a lot of people in bad positions,” Golding said. “Let’s not act like recruiting in college football for the last 100 years is the most moral thing.”

Golding is a new homeowner and it's Kiffin's old house

When it comes to ethics and morals, though, the conversation down South seems to funnel back to Ole Miss these days. And Golding and Kiffin.

Kiffin's move, the pundits say, showed college sports' money-grubbing opportunistic side at its worst. The much-debated bill circulating in Congress intended to regulate the industry includes what's known as a “Lane Kiffin Rule" that restricts when coaches can leave for new jobs.

It has made for great headlines. Golding's reaction to it — golden, as well. And in a sign that all may truly be forgiven, ESPN reported that not long after Kiffin bailed for Baton Rouge Golding bought his house in Oxford.

He said he and Kiffin text frequently, and there's a friendship there that goes beyond coaching.

“I can separate the two. Some people can’t,” Golding said. "I probably shouldn’t say this, but I don’t care, all right? Like I told an Ole Miss group the other day, ‘In 2021, if you said you could look in 2025 and you’re about to be 11-1 and go to the playoff, would you take it if your coach was leaving?’ Hell yeah. You would. Everybody won from it. It’s OK.”

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It also would provide for a pay raise next year ranging from 5% to 7% for service members, depending upon their rank.

The National Defense Authorization Act is generally one of the more bipartisan bills that Congress takes up on an annual basis. That's not the case this year. The vote was 216-212.

Democrats took issue with steep spending increases for the Pentagon as Republicans attempted to cut numerous non-defense programs through other bills. They also opposed some of the conservative social policy riders that were included.

For example, the bill includes a prohibition on gender-related medical care under the military health program known as TRICARE. It also eases hurdles for service members to carry a privately owned firearm on base, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's lead on the issue.

Republican leaders' decision to attach Trump's elections overhaul bill to the defense bill upon its passing also amplified the partisan divide. Speaker Mike Johnson is working to accommodate Republican lawmakers who are angry that the Senate won't pass the SAVE America Act and are insisting that it be included in must-pass bills until the Senate relents.

The House bill is testing a normally bipartisan process

Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, emphasized that he knows there were areas of disagreement, but he emphasized that Wednesday's vote was a step in a long process. He promised to work in a bipartisan manner on a final product that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.

Rogers said the United States needs to reverse decades of underinvestment and neglect in the nation's armed forces and defense industrial base.

“This bill will do that and much more,” he said. “It will build the ready, capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and other adversaries.”

Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Armed Services Committee, said the defense spending the administration has asked for this year is approaching $1.6 trillion when including separate efforts to pay for the war in Iran and boost weapons stockpiles.

“The American people are struggling to pay their bills and we're going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It's not a reasonable thing to ask,” Smith said.

Smith also expressed concern about the war with Iran and that in supporting the defense bill, lawmakers are “de facto supporting this war with no end in sight.”

“We are in an incredibly, incredibly dangerous time,” Smith said. “I want to maintain the bipartisan nature of this bill. I do. And I know that the chairman does. But if we're going to do this, we're going to need some Republicans to stand up to the president of the United States and say, ‘No. No, we’re not going to get you $1.6 trillion. No, we're not just going to give you a blank check for a war that is totally out of control."

The White House backs parts of the legislation

The spending increases authorized in the bill would not take effect until Congress follows up with a separate defense appropriations bill. The Senate has not yet approved its version of the defense measure. It's possible a final product won't be ready until after the midterm elections.

The White House applauded the spending levels authorized in the House bill and the Department of War designation that it says recognizes the “willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our nation.”

The president issued an executive order last year renaming the Defense Department, but it's up to Congress to make the change official. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the renaming could cost taxpayers as much as $125 million.

The White House's statement also said that the administration has a number of concerns with certain provisions in the bill and would work with Congress before a final bill is presented to the president. Among those concerns was a section of the bill it said would limit or undermine the president's ability to name military installations and property.

In 2023, during a national reckoning on issues of race in America, seven Army bases’ names were changed because they honored Confederate leaders. Last year, those bases reverted to their original names, but with different namesakes who share Confederate surnames. The Army found other service members with the same last names to honor.

The Austin, Texas, company reported second-quarter net income of $1.11 billion, or 32 cents per share. That is compared to earnings of $1.17 billion, or 33 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding certain charges, earnings were 33 cents per share, down from 40 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. That fell short of the 53 cents per share forecast by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 26% to $28.24 billion, beating analysts’ forecast of $26.42 billion.

Spending on research and development surged about 49% from a year earlier to $2.37 billion — higher than its been going back at least four quarters.

Tesla shares fell 2.7% to $363.98 in after-hours trading shortly after it released its latest results. The stock ended the regular trading session 1.3% lower and is down just under 17% this year.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported that it delivered 480,216 cars in the second quarter, a 25% increase from the same period last year and its second straight quarterly gain. The sales also exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to a FactSet survey.

Tesla’s improving sales this year mark a big turnaround from a year ago, when many Europeans refused to buy the company’s cars because of Musk’s embrace of far-right political candidates in elections there.

The vast majority of the company’s vehicle deliveries last quarter were comprised of its Model Y crossover SUV and Model 3 sedan. Tesla rolled out less expensive versions of both models last year in hopes of boosting sales. It also cut the cost of leasing and loans in Europe.

Sales were also helped by a surge of EV buying in general in Europe as gas and diesel prices have risen due to the Iran war.

Just a few months ago, Tesla reported sales had fallen in 2025 for a second year in a row and it had to yield its crown as the world’s largest EV maker to China’s BYD.

Tesla's EV sales accounted for most of the company’s overall revenue, but the company got a boost from its energy generation and battery storage business, which posted revenue of $3.14 billion, a 13% gain compared to the second quarter last year.

The company also benefited from increased subscriptions for its driver assistance feature, available in the U.S., called Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Among the areas that Tesla has been pouring money into is building out the infrastructure and AI software that underpins its robotaxis and robotics businesses, which Musk has said are the future of the company.

Tesla said it has now rolled out its robotaxi service to seven major metro areas in the U.S., and that it it expects production on its Optimus humanoid robot to begin later this year.

The company has also been investing in building new battery factories and in the infrastructure needed to produce its Tesla Semi and Cybercab.

The company noted that it has begun production of the Cybercab at a factory in Texas, and that the Tesla Semi is on track for production this year at a factory in Nevada.

The Mountain View, California-based company said Wednesday it earned $112.11 billion, or $9.11 per share, in the April-June period. That's up from $28.2 billion, or $2.31 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue grew 24% to $119.8 billion from $96.43 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue of $117.06 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. Google did not disclose an adjusted earnings figure that's comparable to analysts' expectations, which was $2.88 per share. Google saw a net gain of $98 billion, mainly as a result of gains on its equity investments — mostly in SpaceX, which went public in June.

“Our AI investments are redefining what’s possible across every part of our business,” said CEO Sundar Pichai in a statement.

Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott called the results “impressive,” especially in regards to AI.

“On the consumer side, Gemini is now within a whisker of becoming Google’s third different 1 billion-user consumer AI product, alongside AI Overviews and AI Mode,” he said. "On the enterprise side, AI demand is driving enormous growth in the cloud business. And continued strong growth in search advertising backs up Google’s claim that AI is additive to search, not a replacement.”

As usual, digital ads fueled by Google’s dominant search engine propelled the quarter's revenue growth, boosted by World Cup advertising, especially on YouTube.

The tech giant also saw strong growth in its cloud business, boosted by its AI portfolio consisting of chips, models, data, security, and agent platforms.

Alphabet's shares climbed $2.71 to $344.62 in after-hours trading.

But the greenlight comes with certain conditions.

The European Commission — which serves as the EU's antitrust enforcer — said that even with a Paramount-Warner combo, enough competitors would exist across markets like film production and streaming in its 27-nation bloc. Still, when it comes to distributing movies to theaters, the Commission warned of high concentration that could lead to “worse rental and distribution terms for cinema operators, ultimately disadvantaging consumers.”

To address this, the Commission said Skydance-owned Paramount agreed to end its European Economic Area stake in United International Pictures — a longstanding venture with another major studio, Universal, that Paramount has used to distribute films in theaters outside North America. The company must end that partnership within 13 months of closing its Warner acquisition, the Commission said, and not enter any new agreements with Universal for the next 10 years.

Among other terms, current distribution of Warner films must be shifted to the same pipeline Paramount is using in these European countries. The European Commission said its approval was conditional on the company's commitments and that it would monitor their implementation, without expanding further on how that would be enforced.

Paramount welcomed the EU's greenlight, which it said represented “a major milestone” toward completing its acquisition. In a Wednesday statement, the company added that such clearances reflect how a Paramount-Warner combo “will enhance consumer choice” and create a business with a scale “capable of competing with the tech companies that have come to dominate the industry.”

Universal did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment about Paramount's new film distribution commitments in Europe.

A Paramount-Warner combo would mean putting HBO Max, fan favorite titles like “Harry Potter” and even CNN under the same roof with CBS, “Top Gun” and the Paramount+ streaming service. Beyond movies and streaming, both American companies also own a handful of European-based TV assets — including Warner's TVN Group in Poland, as well as localized channels for flagship Paramount brands like MTV and Nickelodeon.

Ongoing challenge from US states

The EU's blessing marks the latest in a chain of regulatory clearances inching the merger closer to becoming a reality, but the deal faces other challenges. In the U.S., a federal judge on Monday ordered the companies to pause their transaction for at least two weeks.

That spans from a lawsuit brought forth by California and 11 other states seeking to block Paramount and Warner's merger altogether — on the grounds such a tie-up would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers in the U.S.

Paramount has called the states’ claims meritless. And the company reiterated that on Wednesday — saying findings from the EU's approval “directly refute key assumptions that underpin the state AGs’ complaint,” particularly when it comes to competition from newer or smaller film studios.

Either way, the deal is set to be halted until at least a preliminary injunction hearing, currently slated for Aug. 3. When granting the temporary restraining order earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said states had made a strong case about a combined Paramount-Warner’s potential to “substantially lessen competition” and that the merger would be “difficult, if not impossible, to unwind” without a pause.

Other regulatory clearances

In contrast to the states' case, the Trump administration's U.S. Justice Department said it wouldn’t block the deal — and instead released a lengthy statement in support, maintaining a Paramount-Warner combo would bring "benefits for American consumers and workers.”

Paramount says it's also received regulatory clearances from countries like Australia, China and Canada. Other reviews remain in progress — including from the U.K., which has separately suggested it may intervene.

The clock is ticking. The company has pledged to start paying Warner shareholders added “ticking fee” compensation amounting to about $7 million per day if the deal isn’t closed by Sept. 30.

Including debt, Paramount’s proposed purchase of Warner is valued at nearly $111 billion based on current outstanding shares.

Beyond central antitrust reviews, regulators in Europe have also effectively approved of the billions of dollars in financial backing Paramount has secured from three Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In regulatory filings, Paramount has maintained that these sovereign funds will not have any voting rights. Still, critics have sounded the alarm about what their money could mean in terms behind the scenes influence.

Ben Rice tied the score with his 30th home run, a three-run drive in the seventh inning off Carmen Mlodzinski.

Triolo and Mangum drove in runs off Cruz (4-4), who allowed two hits and two walks while getting just one out.

Mason Montgomery (3-3) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Gregory Soto got three straight outs for his 13th save in 18 chances.

Cole retired his first 14 batters before allowing Nick Gonzales' single and Jacob Gonzalez's two-run homer. Nick Gonzales added a solo homer in the seventh off Cole, who in his previous start gave up Max Muncy's two-run, eighth-inning homer that lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win.

Cole struck out 11, his most since Aug. 25, 2023, and extended his Yankees record for double-digit strikeouts games with 29. He allowed three runs and four hits with no walks.

Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller gave up three hits in five scoreless innings.

New York went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Yankees hitting coach James Rowson was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing after José Caballero was called for a pitch clock violation for not for engaging Mlodzinski with more than eight seconds remaining. Caballero took an inning-ending called strike and Yankees manager Aaron Boone continued arguing with plate umpire Quinn Wolcott during the break.

Brent Headrick struck out the side in the eighth and extended his home scoreless streak to 35 innings, the longest for the Yankees since Allie Reynolds' 36 innings rom Sept 16, 1953, to June 2, 1954, according to STATS.

Up Next

New York LHP Max Fried (4-3) and Pittsburgh RHP Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.77) were to start the night game.

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Those are the house rules of the 40+ Double Dutch South Florida subclub, where your age is your ticket in.

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The group meets every Thursday in Sunrise — indoors at 7 p.m. at the Village Multipurpose Center, located at 2240 NW 68th Ave., and every Saturday at 9 a.m. at City Park, located at 6600 Sunset Strip.

Growing older gets you access. Growing old is optional. The club is part of an international sisterhood that’s turning a childhood pastime into something much bigger.

“We take care of everyone. We continuously pour out into others,” said South Florida subclub captain Adrienne “Asia” Philpart. “Our kids, our pets, our spouses, our significant others. We need a time and a place where we can get poured back into us.”

“Take that break from adulting and let go of the cares,” she continued.

CLICK HERE to find a subclub near you.

That need is what sparked the global movement in the first place. Women 40 years and older can walk into any group and start jumping right away.

Founder Pamela Robinson launched the 40+ Double Dutch Club in Chicago in 2016 while searching for the woman she was before adulthood took over. She returned to the game she loved as a child — one that reminded her of life before responsibilities consumed it. Nearly a decade later, that personal journey has grown tremendously into an international sisterhood with more than 100 chapters in place.

CLICK HERE to find the 40+ Double Dutch Club on Instagram.

“We have women that are taking care of parents with Alzheimer’s, special needs children,” said Philpart.

Philpart learned of the movement through social media and worked fast to bring that energy to South Florida, launching the subclub in 2019 with a few close friends.

Membership has since grown quickly, jumping rope at community events and getting together twice a week to practice and “play.”

For co-captain Natasha “T Boogie” Hendricks, joining the chapter in 2020 came at exactly the right time.

“There were a lot of times where I just felt I was losing myself,” Hendricks said. “We know exactly who we are when we’re young. When we’re in our 20s. But then we get married and it’s not that we don’t love our families, but we do so much - we’re running here, we’re running there and we never take time out for ourselves.”

While balancing work, family and caring for her nonverbal daughter, Hendricks said the club became an opportunity to make connections while staying sharp and active.

Today, members proudly wear their ages across their backs — the club’s favorite humble brag.

Ages range across all groups from women starting in their 40s and jumping well into their 90s.

Double Dutch may be the draw, but hula hoops, jacks and plenty of laughter are all part of the experience. Philpart said women can simply walk up and join. Before long, they’re part of a sisterhood built on friendship, fitness and fun.

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

Esas son las reglas del Club de Double Dutch del Sur de Florida para mayores de 40 años, donde tu edad es tu boleto de entrada.

El grupo se reúne todos los jueves en Sunrise, bajo techo a las 7:00 p.m. en el Village Multipurpose Center, ubicado en el 2240 de NW 68th Ave., y todos los sábados a las 9:00 a.m. en City Park, ubicado en el 6600 de Sunset Strip.

Cumplir más años te da acceso. Envejecer es opcional. El club forma parte de una hermandad internacional que está convirtiendo un pasatiempo de la infancia en algo mucho más grande.

“Nos encargamos de todos. Constantemente damos de nosotros a los demás”, dijo la capitana del subclub del Sur de Florida, Adrienne “Asia” Philpart. “Nuestros hijos, nuestras mascotas, nuestros cónyuges, nuestras parejas. Necesitamos un momento y un lugar donde también podamos recibir ese apoyo.”

“Tómate un descanso de las responsabilidades de la vida adulta y deja ir las preocupaciones”, continuó.

HAZ CLIC AQUÍ para encontrar un subclub cerca de ti.

Esa necesidad fue lo que dio origen al movimiento mundial. Mujeres de 40 años o más pueden llegar a cualquier grupo y comenzar a saltar de inmediato.

La fundadora Pamela Robinson creó el Club de Double Dutch para mayores de 40 años en Chicago en 2016 mientras buscaba reencontrarse con la mujer que era antes de que la vida adulta se apoderara de todo. Volvió al juego que amaba de niña, uno que le recordaba la vida antes de que las responsabilidades la consumieran. Casi una década después, ese recorrido personal se ha convertido en una hermandad internacional con más de 100 capítulos.

HAZ CLIC AQUÍ para encontrar al Club de Double Dutch para mayores de 40 años en Instagram.

“Tenemos mujeres que cuidan de padres con Alzheimer, de hijos con necesidades especiales”, dijo Philpart.

Philpart conoció el movimiento a través de las redes sociales y rápidamente trabajó para llevar esa energía al Sur de Florida, donde lanzó el subclub en 2019 junto a unas amigas cercanas.

Desde entonces, la membresía ha crecido rápidamente, participando en eventos comunitarios, saltando la cuerda y reuniéndose dos veces por semana para practicar y “jugar”.

Para la co capitana Natasha “T Boogie” Hendricks, unirse al capítulo en 2020 llegó en el momento indicado.

“Hubo muchas veces en las que sentía que me estaba perdiendo a mí misma”, dijo Hendricks. “Sabemos exactamente quiénes somos cuando somos jóvenes, cuando tenemos 20 años. Pero luego nos casamos y no es que no amemos a nuestras familias, sino que hacemos muchísimo, corremos de un lado a otro y nunca nos damos tiempo para nosotras mismas.”

Mientras equilibraba el trabajo, la familia y el cuidado de su hija no verbal, Hendricks dijo que el club se convirtió en una oportunidad para crear vínculos mientras se mantenía activa y ágil.

Hoy, las integrantes llevan con orgullo su edad en la espalda, el detalle favorito del club para presumir con humildad.

Las edades abarcan desde mujeres de 40 años hasta participantes de más de 90 años.

El Double Dutch puede ser el principal atractivo, pero los aros, el juego de las jacks y muchas risas también forman parte de la experiencia. Philpart dijo que las mujeres pueden simplemente acercarse y unirse. En poco tiempo pasan a formar parte de una hermandad basada en la amistad, el ejercicio y la diversión.

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

Luminate, the industry data and analytics company that provides insight into changing behaviors across music listenership, examined streams of each song performed by each musician two days before the final (Friday and Saturday) and compared those figures to the final and the day afterward (Sunday and Monday.)

They found:

1. Global streams of Justin Bieber's “Everything Hallelujah” more than doubled, rising 110% from 592,000 streams to 1.25 million.

2. Global streams of Madonna's “Music” rose 66%, from 193,000 streams to 321,000.

3. BTS' “Dynamite” also grew in terms of global streams, from 2.14 million to 3.05 million for an increase of 43%.

4. And Shakira and Burna Boy's official anthem for the 2026 World Cup, “Dai Dai,” also saw a slight bump for an addition of 3.48 million new global streams. That's a 24% increase, from 14.78 million to 18.27 million. In the U.S. alone, streams of “Dai Dai” rose 52%, from 1.68 million streams to 2.55 million.

Luminate also found that the aforementioned artists only saw considerable jumps in the songs they performed on the field last weekend as opposed to their full catalogs. That phenomenon is more common for Super Bowl halftime performers.

Take Bad Bunny for example: After his record-breaking performance this year, streams of his catalog jumped 175% in the U.S. on the day after the Super Bowl, when compared to the previous Monday.

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A surveillance camera recorded the video of Guillermo Mayorga at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday near Washington Avenue and Eighth Street, according to police.

The video shows Mayorga “forcibly kissed her on the lips” and she “screamed and jumped,” according to the police officer’s report.

Police officers arrested Mayorga at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the parking lot of Duffy’s Sports Grill in North Miami Beach, according to the arrest report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Mayorga at 3:10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, inmate records show.

Mayorga, also known as Guillermo Mayorgaprado, faced a charge of lewd or lascivious conduct on a child under 16, a third-degree felony, court records show.

Mayorga appeared in bond court, and a judge ordered him to stay away from the girl. His bond was $7,500. Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson was set to preside over the case.

Según la policía, una cámara de vigilancia grabó el vídeo de Guillermo Mayorga a las 20:15 del jueves cerca de la intersección de Washington Avenue y Eighth Street.

Según el informe policial, el vídeo muestra cómo Mayorga la “besó a la fuerza en los labios” y ella “gritó y saltó”.

Según el informe policial, los agentes detuvieron a Mayorga a las 22:30 del martes en el aparcamiento del restaurante Duffy’s Sports Grill en North Miami Beach.

Según los registros penitenciarios del condado de Miami-Dade, Mayorga fue ingresado en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight a las 3:10 de la madrugada del miércoles.

Mayorga, también conocido como Guillermo Mayorgaprado, se enfrentó a un cargo de conducta lasciva o indecente con un menor de 16 años, un delito grave de tercer grado, según consta en los registros judiciales.

Mayorga compareció ante el juez para la fijación de la fianza, quien le ordenó mantenerse alejado de la menor. La fianza se fijó en 7.500 dólares. La jueza del circuito del condado de Miami-Dade, Andrea Ricker Wolfson, presidiría el caso.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Isaac Alexander Jiron, de 23 años, fue detenido por la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade después de presentarse en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Los agentes indicaron que el caso se deriva de una investigación sobre robos a vehículos que comenzó alrededor de las 2:00 a.m. del 14 de julio en la cuadra 7700 de Northwest 200 Lane, en el área de Country Club, en el noroeste de Miami-Dade.

El informe indica que Jiron fue captado por cámaras de vigilancia mientras intentaba robar dos vehículos estacionados en una vivienda unifamiliar ocupada al jalar las manijas de las puertas. Los agentes dijeron que los intentos no tuvieron éxito porque los vehículos estaban cerrados con llave.

Indicaron que Jiron luego fue a una vivienda vecina y robó dos vehículos estacionados en esa propiedad. Uno de los vehículos presuntamente contenía alrededor de $14,000 USD que la víctima había guardado dentro de la consola central, según el informe de arresto.

Los agentes dijeron que las víctimas estaban dormidas dentro de su vivienda al momento de los robos.

Los investigadores informaron que detuvieron a Jiron e intentaron entrevistarlo después de leerle sus derechos Miranda. El informe señala que Jiron hizo uso de sus derechos y se negó a hablar con los detectives sin la presencia de un abogado.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que enfrenta dos cargos por robo a vivienda ocupada, dos cargos por robo a vehículo ocupado, dos cargos por intento de robo a vehículo ocupado y dos cargos por ingresar ilegalmente a una estructura o vehículo desocupado. También enfrenta un cargo por hurto mayor en tercer grado en una vivienda o sus alrededores.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Jiron permanecía detenido en TGK, donde su fianza figuraba como “pendiente de establecerse”.

Los registros muestran que fue colocado bajo una orden Nebbia, una disposición judicial que exige al acusado demostrar que el dinero o los bienes utilizados para pagar la fianza provienen de una fuente legítima y legal antes de poder ser liberado.

The 24-year-old Beck looks as if he’ll be part of a three-man quarterback competition when training camp begins on Thursday, facing off against veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. Kedon Slovis is also on the roster. The Cardinals are led by first-year coach Mike LaFleur.

Beck was drafted in the third round out of Miami after leading the Hurricanes to a runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff last season.

The Cardinals have now signed all of the players in their most recent draft class.

Also on Wednesday, the team announced it signed defensive lineman Coziah Izzard and placed rookie defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor on injured reserve. Proctor injured his knee during offseason workouts.

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Jail records show Isaac Alexander Jiron, 23, was taken into custody by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office after he arrived at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Deputies said the case stems from an investigation into vehicle burglaries that began around 2 a.m. on July 14 in the 7700 block of Northwest 200 Lane in the Country Club area of northwest Miami-Dade.

The report states Jiron was captured on surveillance video attempting to burglarize two vehicles parked at an occupied single-family residence by pulling on the door handles. Deputies said the attempts were unsuccessful because the vehicles were locked.

They said Jiron then went to a neighboring residence and burglarized two vehicles parked on that property. One of the vehicles reportedly contained about $14,000 that the victim had secured inside the center console, according to the arrest report.

The victims were inside their home asleep at the time of the burglaries, deputies said.

Investigators said they took Jiron into custody and attempted to interview him after advising him of his Miranda rights. The report states Jiron invoked his rights and declined to speak with detectives without an attorney.

Jail records show he is facing two counts each of burglary of an occupied dwelling, burglary of an occupied conveyance, attempted burglary of an occupied conveyance, and trespassing of an unoccupied structure or conveyance. He is also facing one count of third-degree grand theft of a dwelling or curtilage.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Jiron remained at TGK, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”

Records show he was placed on a Nebbia hold, a court order that requires the defendant to prove that the money or assets used to pay the bond come from a legitimate, lawful source before they can be released.

They equaled the 1946 American League champs, who were led by future Hall of Famer Ted Williams.

Jarren Duran had a two-run triple and a sacrifice fly, and Caleb Durbin — who hit a tiebreaking homer when they posted their 14th straight victory on Monday — chipped in with a two-run single.

Ceddanne Rafaela added a solo home run for Boston in a makeup from Tuesday’s rainout.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a solo homer for Baltimore, his second in two games.

Red Sox rookie left-hander Jake Bennnett (6-3) worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs — one coming on a sun-aided RBI double by Tyler O’Neill — on nine hits.

He took a 102.8 mph liner off the stomach from Taylor Ward in the fifth, but remained in the game after being checked by a trainer, interim manager Chad Tracy and first baseman Willson Contreras, who appeared to make him breath while telling him to lift his arms.

Aroldis Chapman got the final three outs for his 23rd save and 390th of his career, tying Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for ninth all-time.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Dean Kremer (1-3) in the first on Durbin’s line single and Duran’s two-out hit.

Encarnacion-Strand hit his homer into the batter’s eye to make it 5-2 in the fourth but Rafaela hit his over the Green Monster in the bottom half.

Kremer lasted six innings, allowing six runs.

Up next

Orioles: RHP Kyle Bradish (6-9, 3.61 ERA) is set to start the nightcap.

Red Sox: LHP Eduardo Rivera (0-0, 2.89 ) will start the second game.

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WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned the U.N. Security Council that “critical minerals are increasingly viewed as strategic assets, not just commodities, and a major source of interstate competition.”

Major economies are racing to get supplies of the minerals needed for technology from smartphones to fighter jets to use as leverage, she said. That means a real risk that conflicts will rise and developing economies will find themselves locked into the lowest level of production, while “the highest value jobs, technologies and profits go elsewhere,” she said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said competition for lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths has seen armed groups reap the benefits of illegal mining and mineral smuggling in eastern Congo — “and civilians have paid the price of ongoing conflict.”

In Sudan, he told the council, the bitter fight between government and paramilitary forces for political and territorial dominance has been fueled by the exploitation of natural resources, especially gold and gum arabic used in printing, paints, glues, cosmetics and other industries, "leading to atrocities and displacing millions.”

“The minerals beneath Africa or any developing region’s soil should never help to finance the conflicts above it,” Okonjo-Iweala said.

She said a real opportunity exists to create “a more diversified, inclusive, and win-win global economy” where mineral wealth is not just extracted and shaped abroad but is a catalyst for economic transformation.

She proposed three priorities:

1. Resource-rich developing countries should demand more local processing, refining and “value addition.”

2. The international rule of law should be strengthened.

3. Most important, resource-rich countries should work together and use the leverage they have to reverse the export of raw materials and import of finished goods as well as promote investment.

“The world cannot achieve energy security, the green transition or digital transformation without them," Okonjo-Iweala said. “Africa alone has roughly 30% of the world’s critical minerals, and less than half of its mineral reserves have been explored.”

Congo accounts for over 70% of global cobalt production, South Africa holds the world’s largest reserves of platinum and manganese, and Zambia and Congo are major copper producers, she said. Between 10 and 12 African countries have commercially exploitable reserves of lithium, and 15 to 20 have commercially exploitable deposits of rare earths.

Ramírez was activated from the injury list on Wednesday after the seven-time All-Star third baseman missed five weeks following left hand surgery. Cleveland stayed near the top of the AL Central while he was out, a testament to the young club's depth and resolve.

It wasn't easy.

“The last five weeks could have been a lot different, and it wasn’t,” manager Stephen Vogt said. "We kept our heads above water. You can use all the cliches you want, but we did not let the last five weeks determine the rest of our season.

“We had some low points. We had some high points, some in between. But really proud of what this group did over the last five weeks and we’ve got a lot of work left.”

Ramírez had been sidelined since getting hurt against Detroit on June 13 and having an operation to remove the hamate bone in his left hand.

The Guardians managed to stay afloat without Ramírez, going 15-15 and keeping pace with the division leaders. Cleveland entered Wednesday's game against Minnesota in a virtual tie for first place with the Chicago White Sox.

Ramírez is in the starting lineup, batting second and playing third in Wednesday's game.

Ramírez did not go on a minor league rehab assignment before being activated. The Guardians trusted him throughout his recovery. He had a similar injury to his right hand in 2019, the only other time he’s been on the injured list.

“Hosey's about winning,” Vogt said. “He’s not going to come back if he doesn’t believe that he can help us win. So it’s full trust in him, full trust in the medical staff. Everybody is on board with him being back in there today.”

Vogt said he would hold Ramírez back a little at the start.

“There’s going to be some limitations for him at first, but we’re going to be thoughtful about how much he plays, when he plays, things of that nature,” Vogt said. “But he’s done a great job of getting his body ready, which is most important and the wrist is feeling good.”

To make room for Ramírez, the Guardians optioned outfielder Kahlil Watson to Triple-A Columbus.

The 33-year-old Ramírez, who owns numerous offensive club records, was batting .239 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs in 72 games before getting hurt. The Guardians aren't the same without him in the lineup, and his mere presence should help a team that has struggled to score.

Watson played well in his stint with Guardians, batting .239 with one homer and 11 RBIs in 27 games. On Tuesday night, he made a game-ending leaping catch down the right-field line while crashing into the padded wall.

Vogt said Watson's contributions made his demotion a difficult decision.

“Khalil handled it like a true pro,” Vogt said. "He understood clearly. Not happy. No one wants to leave, but just the messaging was you came here when we needed you and you helped us. We saw an unbelievably talented player with Khalil Watson.

“He’s going to help us win a ton of games for a long time. It’s just not his time right now.”

Along with Ramírez, the Guardians could soon have outfielder Angel Martinez back as well. He's been out since June 13 with a non-displaced fracture when he fouled a pitch off his left foot. Martinez is on a rehab assignment at Columbus and appears on the brink of being activated.

Vogt said Martinez will play nine innings on Wednesday and be re-evaluated.

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La medida fue anunciada en un comunicado el martes por la Asamblea Nacional, que está firmemente en manos de Ortega y de su esposa y copresidenta Rosario Murillo. La Asamblea señaló que la más reciente reforma constitucional asegurará "la paz, la seguridad y la estabilidad" del país.

El Legislativo daba seguimiento al anuncio que Ortega hizo el fin de semana de que “aquí no volverá a haber elecciones”, lo que refleja tanto su esfuerzo por prolongar su gobierno de casi 20 años como por eliminar cualquier posibilidad de que la oposición llegue al poder.

Bajo Ortega, el gobierno ha llevado a cabo una amplia represión contra la disidencia tras la violenta sofocación de las protestas de 2018. Las autoridades han encarcelado a políticos opositores, líderes religiosos y otras personas, y también han clausurado miles de organizaciones de la sociedad civil.

La Asamblea Nacional ha modificado repetidamente la Constitución para concentrar el poder en manos de Ortega y eliminar cualquier vestigio de independencia democrática y de disidencia en el país.

Las declaraciones de Ortega el domingo, durante un discurso con motivo del aniversario de la Revolución Sandinista, cancelaron de hecho las próximas elecciones. La votación estaba programada originalmente para noviembre de 2027, después de que la Asamblea Nacional votó en enero de 2025 para ampliar en un año el mandato presidencial de cinco años.

Volker Türk, alto comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los derechos humanos, condenó enérgicamente el miércoles los acontecimientos en Nicaragua y manifestó que “todas las personas, de todas las posturas políticas, deben poder votar y postularse a cargos públicos”.

“Estos últimos acontecimientos profundizan aún más las severas restricciones a las libertades fundamentales, el desmantelamiento del espacio cívico y la erosión constante del Estado de derecho”, expresó Türk en un comunicado.

El gobierno de Nicaragua declinó comentar las críticas y dijo en un comunicado: “Gracias por su interés”.

Marco Rubio, secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, declaró el martes que la medida de Ortega y Murillo “deja al descubierto su verdadera naturaleza autoritaria”.

“Estados Unidos insta a la comunidad internacional a unir fuerzas para demostrarle a la dictadura Murillo-Ortega que no puede mantener relaciones como si nada con otras naciones mientras frustra los principios básicos de nuestro hemisferio democrático”, escribió Rubio en un comunicado.

El gobierno del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump —pese a las duras palabras, las sanciones y las críticas reiteradas— ha tomado pocas medidas importantes contra Managua. En el cercano El Salvador, donde el presidente Nayib Bukele, aliado de Trump, también ha ido debilitando los contrapesos democráticos y ha arremetido contra críticos, Washington en gran medida ha elogiado al mandatario.

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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.

Adams, 25, was charged with possession of a firearm obtained in a crime, possession of a restricted/prohibited firearm, no license while in possession of a loaded firearm and possessing a prohibited device, according to an online release from the Durham Regional Police Service in Ontario.

Adams was one of four people arrested.

“Isaiah is completely innocent in this matter,” Adams’ attorney Adam Weisberg said in a statement. “He had no knowledge of any firearm, and he will be fully exonerated.”

The report says that on Friday, police concluded an investigation into a male believed to be in possession of a firearm and involved in drug trafficking. Two of the other people arrested were charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

The Cardinals are scheduled to have their first practice of training camp on Thursday. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Adams was expected to be in camp Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not commenting on the details of Adams' situation.

“We are aware of the situation involving Isaiah Adams,” the Cardinals said in a statement. “Out of respect for the process, we will refrain from commenting further at this time.”

Adams — who was born in Ajax, Ontario — is a third-year player for the Cardinals and in the mix for a starting job. He was a third-round pick out of Illinois in 2024.

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Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on July 7 while they were driving to work at a construction site.

Araujo Salgado’s killing sparked protests and calls for an independent investigation. Within the next week, a federal immigration officer in Maine fatally shot a Colombian man, and a Mexican man in Florida died after being hit by a truck while fleeing immigration officers.

Rojas Pliego must remain in the Southern District of Texas while his habeas petition is pending, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison wrote in an order on Monday. Rojas Pliego says he is being held unconstitutionally in ICE custody, court records show.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said the agency “will comply with the court order.”

Rojas Pliego had entered the U.S. decades ago and had not gained legal status, according to his stepdaughter, Griselda Silva.

Rojas Pliego and the two other passengers, also currently in ICE custody, have disputed DHS’ account of the shooting, according to their attorneys. DHS has said that Araujo Salgado was attempting to run over an ICE officer. A federal prosecutor in Texas has said that ICE officers were targeting two Guatemalan men who were potentially subject to deportation and driving a van similar to Araujo Salgado’s.

Araujo Salgado, a 52-year-old father of three, had been living in the country for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal status, according to his family, and has no known criminal record.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has said it is helping Araujo Salgado’s three passengers apply for a special visa, known as a U visa, for witnesses who are assisting law enforcement with an investigation. It remains unclear if U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, overseen by DHS, will grant visas for the three men.

One of the other men, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, also filed a habeas petition Monday, according to federal court records.

Araujo Salgado’s brother, Victor Salgado, is scheduled to appear for an immigration hearing later this week, according to his attorney, Ruby Powers. She requested that his habeas petition, which has not yet been filed, remain sealed due to a threat of “retaliation or intimidation” to his family and friends, court records show.

The FBI executed a search warrant to investigate possible illicit substances in Araujo Salgado’s vehicle and alleged that several small bags inside the van were filled with a white substance that appeared to be methamphetamine.

Victor Salgado’s attorney said the white substance was a salt mixture that the men used as electrolytes to stay hydrated while doing manual labor in the grueling Texas heat.

Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, an attorney for Rojas Pliego and Tirado Pantoja, did not respond to a request for comment.

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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.

Rubio said the leaders of the one-party communist state’s priorities were to hold onto power and not to lose control of the people.

“The biggest problem Cuba has is that the regime is a disaster, their economic model doesn’t work, and the people who run the country don’t know what the hell they’re doing,” Rubio said.

Related report: Trump administration accuses Cuba of promoting left-wing terrorism and ‘subversion’

The Trump administration intends to continue talks with Cuban officials, according to Rubio.

“This is a government that has spent, a regime that has spent, the better part of 30, 40, 50 years destabilizing the region in the movements that they’ve supported,” Rubio said.

Related report: American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora hosts forum on island’s ‘transition to Democracy’

The Trump administration is focused on threats by Cuba’s allies and mass migration, according to Rubio.

“We’re prepared to do what we can do to effectuate a positive change in Cuba because it directly impacts our national security,” Rubio said. “Cuba matters to us because it’s 90 miles from our shores.”

Related reports

• House Republicans push $95 billion package for the Iran war and Trump’s priorities
• Trump: ‘A lot of things are going to happen in Cuba’
• US State Department, Catholic Relief Services send 1st humanitarian flight to Cuba from MIA

Analysis: Andy Gomez’s July 21st update

Felipe, the chairman of the museum, co-hosted a forum that focused on “Rebuilding Cuba’s infrastructure as part of the transition to Democracy.”

The list of experts included Sebastián Arcos, of Florida International University’s Institute for Cuban Studies; Helena Solo-Gabriele, an engineer and University of Miami professor; and Jorge Piñón, of the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute.

Felipe is the founder of the Inspire America Foundation, which supports The Initiative for Democratic and Economic Alternatives (IDEAs) for Cuba.

Related reports

• Rubio: ‘We’re prepared to do what we can do to effectuate a positive change in Cuba’
• House Republicans push $95 billion package for the Iran war and Trump’s priorities

“I just remember being taught that area was kind of dangerous, in the sense of there being steep slopes” and a quick drop-off into the river, he told The Associated Press. A few years earlier, Martin had warned a pair of young people playing in the water at that same spot to “be very careful.”

He saw five adults in the water and two children playing on the grassy bank nearby, tracking the description of the group provided by Delaware County authorities after the drownings.

Pastor may have taken ‘the last picture’ of the group

Martin and his family floated away to enjoy a beautiful summer evening. But when they returned past the spot about two hours later and saw the group still wading in the river, Martin thought to snap a photo.

“I don't know what it was. I said, I just need to capture this picture,” he said.

Martin said he knows the area well from 10 years of boating there and considered warning the people of the potential danger. But, unlike when he'd warned the two people earlier, there were two or three boats between him and them and he didn't want to cross between them and cause too many waves in the water.

He's been losing sleep over the decision since news broke of five people drowning that afternoon. It feels “surreal,” he said.

“I believe the picture I took may have been the last picture of them being alive,” he said.

The image didn't catch authorities' initial interest

Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer has said authorities believe one of the adults began struggling to swim and the others successively went to that person's aid. All five were swept under and died. The two women’s bodies were recovered Sunday and the three other bodies a day later.

Neither Balzer's office nor the local EMS agency immediately responded to requests for verification of the photo and those who appear in it.

Martin said he feels certain the group he photographed is of the five people who perished Sunday; it's rare to see people fishing or swimming in that stretch of the river. He said he attempted to share the picture with both law enforcement and a news reporter at the scene the day after the drownings, but no one seemed interested.

Honduran authorities confirmed Tuesday that four of the five adults were Honduran citizens. One was Jose Mario Pineda Dias, 33, another his wife Marina Suyapa Regalado, 28. Pineda was from the department of Lempira and Suyapa from the department of Cortés, according to Flabia Zamora, director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry.

The names of the other couple and the fifth individual would be released once their families could be notified of their deaths, a spokesperson for Balzer said Wednesday.

U.S., Honduras still working to identify victims, help children

A Honduran embassy said the government is in contact with the victims' families and assisting local authorities in verifying their identities. In a statement, it added that Honduras stands ready to repatriate any of the victims should relatives request that — a process that could take six weeks.

An 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, children of one of the couples, were orphaned by the tragedy. A boy shouting for his mother was spotted by a passing driver on the day of the accident and reported to 911.

Scott Varner, a spokesman for Franklin County Children Services, said the youngsters have been in the agency's care since Monday and that they are working with relatives and family friends in Columbus who are providing them with a temporary home. The children were provided with therapy dogs as they coped with the trauma, he said.

The Honduran embassy statement said the consulate has checked in with family members about their well-being and stands ready to help once relatives make a decision on next steps for the children.

Una de las situaciones más graves se registra en el norte del país, en especial en las regiones del Atacama y Coquimbo, donde las intensas lluvias, inundaciones y vientos han generado una crisis sanitaria, con cortes del agua potable y de la energía eléctrica que siguen golpeando a los residentes.

De acuerdo con el último balance del Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres (Senapred), la gran mayoría de las casi 65.000 personas que siguen aisladas a raíz de la emergencia están en estas dos regiones.

Al menos cuatro personas permanecen desaparecidas, otras 3.469 han resultado damnificadas en algún grado por la catástrofe, mientras que 1.552 están refugiadas en albergues debido a las alertas meteorológicas vigentes. Un centenar de viviendas han sido completamente destruidas, al paso que casi 25.000 han sufrido daños de diferentes magnitudes.

Por otro lado, los servicios de búsqueda han localizado y rescatado con vida a tres individuos, dos mujeres y un hombre, que estaban desaparecidos desde el pasado jueves en un rocoso cañón en plena cordillera de los Andes.

Esta semana, el presidente chileno, José Antonio Kast, decretó el estado de excepción en partes del norte del país a fin de acelerar la respuesta a la tragedia. Poco después, el Ministerio de Salud decretó el alerta sanitaria en las mismas áreas para “responder con mayor rapidez a las necesidades de salud de la comunidad afectada”.

Tras registrar lluvias de manera ininterrumpida por casi una semana, las precipitaciones finalmente dieron una tregua el miércoles en las 10 regiones castigadas por los temporales. En el norte, donde los ríos se han desbordado, los cauces empiezan a volver a los niveles de agua habituales.

“Estamos viendo que, gracias a Dios, en el norte ya están bajando un poco los cauces, lo que ha permitido abrir caminos. Esto significa que vamos a poder llegar más prontamente con la ayuda”, afirmó la ministra de Salud, May Chomalí, tras una reunión el miércoles.

La noche del martes, un segundo avión con unas nueve toneladas de ayuda humanitaria aterrizó en la región del Atacama, con lo que ya son más de 150 toneladas de auxilio enviadas al norte chileno desde el inicio de la emergencia climática, precisó por su lado la directora de Senapred, Alicia Cebrián.

El Ministerio de Educación mantuvo las clases suspendidas para la jornada en tres de las 16 regiones del país. Y, mientras que las autoridades apenas comienzan a calcular los estragos, distintos sectores empresariales calculan unas pérdidas por cerca de 400 millones de dólares dejadas por el severo sistema frontal que según pronósticos volverá a golpear con fuerza a partir de mañana y hasta el fin de semana en gran parte de la nación.

The testimony from Benjamin Gregor came on the second day of a preliminary hearing in a Los Angeles court to determine whether there is enough evidence to put D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, on trial on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and mutilation of a body.

“I knew her first name,” Gregor said.

The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, later asked Gregor where he had heard the name Celeste. He said from Rob Morgenroth, D4vd's manager.

“Did he tell you she was his girlfriend?” Silverman asked, but objections prevented an answer.

Burke’s lawyers have said he did not cause Rivas Hernandez’s death, and he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors allege Burke fatally stabbed Rivas Hernandez to prevent her from revealing their relationship and ruining his career.

Hearing got heated as relationship explored

Gregor was one of two witnesses called to discuss Burke’s finances, to indicate how much he had to lose, and whether the killing could have meant financial gain.

But the questioning, which got increasingly heated, swerved into who among the people around Burke knew he was in a sexual relationship with the teen.

Silverman asked Gregor if he knew Burke had taken Rivas Hernandez to London with him, and to Texas to meet his family. He said he had heard about the London trip.

The prosecutor asked if he had heard about Burke taking Rivas Hernandez to nightclubs, with both of them using fake IDs. Burke only recently turned 21.

This drew angry objections from Burke's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski.

“Counsel is testifying!” she said.

Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo, who will decide whether there is probable cause for trial, cut off the line of questioning.

Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Burke, an indie-pop singer whose music and online presence brought him a huge following, met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 and began a sexual relationship with her when she was 13 and he was 18.

They said in a court filing that she had grown jealous of his relationships with other women and threatened to expose him.

Officer details finding girl's passport in area where Burke had been

The court filing said Burke sent a car to pick up Rivas Hernandez on April 23, 2025, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California, some 80 miles (129 km) outside Los Angeles. They exchanged messages until she arrived at his home, after which her phone went dead. Prosecutors say he stabbed her when she arrived.

A California Highway Patrol officer testified Wednesday that a road worker in January had found Rivas Hernandez’s passport in a brushy dirt area in a rural section of Santa Barbara County, about 95 miles (150 km) northwest of Burke’s Hollywood home.

Prosecutors have said Burke made two trips to the area, once in April 2025 immediately after the killing and again about six weeks later, where data shows he was at the spot where the passport was found.

On Tuesday, the lead investigator, Los Angeles police homicide detective Joshua Byers, testified that records showed Burke had ordered a body bag, chain saws, an inflatable pool and a shovel online, and most of the items were found in Burke's garage when a search warrant was served.

Prosecutors say he dismembered her body in the garage, and kept it in the front trunk of his Tesla, where it was found after the car was towed 4 1/2 months later in September.

Byers testified that when he was called to the Hollywood tow yard, a body bag matching the one Burke had ordered contained a head and torso, with arms and legs underneath in garbage bags.

Photos of the body in the open trunk were shown in court as her parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, sat in the audience. The two were back in the courtroom on Wednesday. They are not expected to testify at the hearing.

The defendant, who has been held without bail since his arrest, appeared in court in his orange jail clothes and glasses.

D4vd made millions between 2023 and 2025

The financial witnesses testified that Burke's music had earned him at least $10 million between 2023 and 2025.

Under the name D4vd (pronounced “David”), he began writing and recording songs for YouTube videos he created of the video game Fortnite as a teen.

The music was a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The music made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays.

In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour. Last year, he performed at the Coachella music festival and released a full album that he was on tour promoting when the body was discovered.

House Republicans were divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But Speaker Mike Johnson plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher President Donald Trump's priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate.

The vote tally was 216-214, with two Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in opposition.

“Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.

“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, this week. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”

Congress is at a standstill over the U.S. war against Iran — unable to stop Trump's military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force — and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it. Most Americans disapprove of Trump's Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

The budget battle comes as Trump attended the dignified transfer of four service members killed in the Middle East, bringing the military death toll to 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a fiery hearing this week that the Pentagon is running short of cash, despite a massive $150 billion one-time allotment in last year's big budget bill.

Even as the House action advanced the resolution, Johnson’s strategy faces uncertainty in the Senate.

The package has $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes aligned with the SAVE America Act and proof-of-citizenship requirements that are Trump’s top priority.

A once rare budget tool is now the norm in split Congress

Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which enables approval on a majority vote in Congress, bypassing the Senate's ability to filibuster the measure t o stall or kill it.

Once rare, the reconciliation process is now Johnson's preferred strategy for pushing proposals through Congress. It's the way Republicans approved Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last summer and funded Homeland Security this year over Democrats' refusal to fund Trump's mass deportation agenda.

“No matter how you feel about current events, these funds are necessary to ensure our fighting forces remain ready, our troops are paid and our nation is safe," said Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Republicans have literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans to sustain the Trump war machine.”

Among those opposed was Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, a former Republican turned independent, who said he felt any war funding bill should be bipartisan. He also wanted to ensure Congress had a “much higher level of involvement” in bringing the war to an end, and he said this proposal did not set that process in motion.

Republicans Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio also voted against.

This is the third time GOP leaders have relied on reconciliation, dubbing this version 3.0, and it's a lengthy process. If the House approves the budget resolution, it next goes to the Senate for a round-the-clock session to consider politically tough amendments — something senators would rather avoid in an election year.

The budget resolution sets out instructions for the various committees to draft legislation, which Johnson hopes could be done this summer, with final voting on the package once lawmakers return after the August recess.

Senators pan House's budget and have their own ideas

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been noncommittal on the House package that also divides his own GOP majority, with some Republican senators preferring more money for the military and others demanding the costs be offset with cuts elsewhere.

“We’ll see,” Thune said this week.

Thune's focus, at the moment, is avoiding another government shutdown. He wants the Senate to approve a stopgap funding measure, called a continuing resolution, to provide routine government funding before lawmakers leave for the summer break.

If senators are unable to reach agreement on government funding, Thune has said he may hold onto the House's budget resolution and use it later in the fall as a way to push the resolution through the Senate over objections. He wants to prevent a federal shutdown when current funds expire, Sept. 30.

“It’s a possibility that, if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” Thune said. “I hope that’s not necessary.”

Thune has also clashed with Trump over the president's push for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voting. The measure, while popular among Trump's most ardent supporters, does not have enough support among Senate Republicans for passage.

It's already against the law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and experts warn the proposed new rules could make it more difficult for eligible Americans to cast ballots.

Trump dijo que Venezuela tenía “mucho” petróleo, oro, rubíes y que era mucho más grande que Cuba, que había dependido de la riqueza de Venezuela.

“Van a pasar muchas cosas en Cuba durante los próximos, quizás, dos meses, pero no creo que sea como Venezuela”, dijo el presidente Trump al corresponsal de Fox News Trey Yingst el 14 de julio.

Apagón en Cuba Personas recogen agua de una toma en la calle durante un apagón en La Habana, Cuba, el martes 14 de julio de 2026. (Foto AP/Ramón Espinosa) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. Todos los derechos reservados)

Trump no descartó la posibilidad de una intervención militar en Cuba.

“Podríamos hacer eso con Cuba”, dijo Trump. “No sería difícil para nosotros hacerlo”.

Trump suspendió los envíos de petróleo de Venezuela a Cuba después de que las fuerzas de Estados Unidos capturaran a Nicolás Maduro y a su esposa, Cilia Flores, el 3 de enero en Caracas.

Trump también amenazó con imponer aranceles a cualquier país que venda o suministre petróleo a la isla comunista, donde una crisis energética ha provocado apagones.

Historia relacionada: Cuba sufre un tercer apagón nacional en dos semanas mientras se agotan los suministros de combustible

Publicación relacionada en redes sociales

El presidente Trump habló sobre Cuba durante su entrevista con Fox News.

Presidente Trump: “Van a pasar muchas cosas en Cuba durante los próximos, quizás, dos meses, pero no creo que sea como Venezuela.” https://t.co/E5I3exBsaq

— Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Cuba (@USEmbCuba) 17 de julio de 2026

La medida llegó a poco más de un mes de que comience el estiaje en el territorio ecuatoriano, un fenómeno climático que debido al menor abastecimiento de agua afecta su generación hidroeléctrica. El país vecino afrontó en 2024 una de las peores crisis energéticas en más de seis décadas, lo que provocó apagones de hasta 14 horas diarias.

“Cuando llegan las sequías y el Fenómeno de El Niño, Colombia y Ecuador siempre han tendido la mano del otro lado de la frontera”, escribió en X el ministro de Energía de Colombia, Edwin Palma, al anunciar que “quedó en firme” la resolución que habilita la comercialización.

La transacción internacional de energía se restablecerá en los próximos días, añadió Palma sin precisar una fecha ni un volumen.

“La energía no puede ser un rehén de las diferencias políticas”, aseguró el ministro colombiano, quien puntualizó que la medida se ejecutará “garantizando siempre la soberanía energética y el interés nacional de Colombia”.

The Associated Press solicitó un pronunciamiento al ministerio de Energía de Ecuador, pero no recibió respuesta de inmediato.

Horas más tarde en Quito, el Ministerio de Producción, Comercio Exterior e Inversiones de Ecuador informó que se cerró una negociación “para la exportación a Colombia de 300.000 toneladas de arroz” y precisó que en tres días ese producto empezará a ser enviado tras la habilitación del paso limítrofe binacional de Rumichaca.

El anuncio se produjo después del vencimiento del plazo de 45 días que el gobierno colombiano impuso a la importación del arroz ecuatoriano, como parte de las restricciones comerciales derivadas de la guerra arancelaria entre ambos países.

El gobierno del presidente colombiano Gustavo Petro suspendió en enero la venta de energía a Ecuador en respuesta a la imposición de aranceles de entre el 30% y 75% por parte de su homólogo ecuatoriano Daniel Noboa a las importaciones colombianas.

La denominada tasa de seguridad se fijó alegando una supuesta falta de control de la seguridad fronteriza desde el lado colombiano, lo cual fue rechazado por Bogotá.

Posteriormente, la Comunidad Andina resolvió que los dos países eliminaran dichos aranceles por afectar al comercio bilateral y contradecir la normativa regional. Aunque Ecuador levantó los impuestos, Noboa afirmó que la decisión obedeció a un acuerdo con el presidente electo de Colombia, el conservador Abelardo de la Espriella, quien asumirá el poder el 7 de agosto.

Está previsto que en septiembre comience en Ecuador el período de estiaje que provoca severas sequías en la zona austral disminuyendo los caudales de los ríos que alimentan sus centrales hidroeléctricas.

En ese contexto la compra de energía a Colombia resulta fundamental para suplir la demanda ecuatoriana, que consume por día un promedio de 4.500 megavatios.

__________

Contribuyó con esta nota el periodista de AP en Ecuador Gonzalo Solano

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Victor Jose Tomassoni, 38, is scheduled to appear in Miami federal court for a bond hearing on Wednesday afternoon. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and concealment money laundering.

FBI special agents accuse him of operating as a middleman as part of the global scheme.

Feds: Scheme involved fake identities, shell companies

According to a federal criminal complaint, North Korea, as it seeks to evade sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, “has sponsored various subterfuge schemes to earn money for the regime” ― one of which is dispatching thousands of IT workers “around the world to generate revenue that contributed to North Korea’s weapons programs.”

“These North Korean IT workers posed as non-North Korean foreign and U.S.-based remote workers and surreptitiously obtained contracts for remote IT work from companies around the world, including in the United States,” the complaint states.

FBI investigators said the workers “have their wages paid to shell companies set up by Sri Lankan nationals” and financial records showed that Tomassoni’s companies ― Delfinx Capital LLC and Mightylift Logistics LLC ― received more than $550,000 from the network, with much of the money transferred onward. Prosecutors allege that Tomassoni got a 3% cut on the transactions.

“Given that Delfinx and Mightylift are companies in the construction industry and that (Tomassoni) is a civil engineer, it would be inconsistent with (his) line of work to receive salary payments for IT workers,” the complaint states. “This inconsistency shows probable cause that (Tomassoni) and his companies are involved in layering illicitly earned funds from IT workers.”

Authorities said they initially questioned Tomassoni on July 2 after he arrived at Miami International Airport on a flight from Panama.

Agents said he had traveled to the U.S. to pick up a $30,000 check from a bank that had closed his account due to a transfer he received from one of the co-conspirators. They said Tomassoni claimed he “conducted cryptocurrency trades” on behalf of that co-conspirator, as well as the co-conspirator’s friends.

‘Are they North Korean hackers or what’

Authorities said a search of Tomassoni’s phone last Wednesday revealed several incriminating WhatsApp messages sent between June 20, 2025 and July 1.

They said they showed that he discussed creating contracts and invoices describing transactions as engineering or software work after his bank “ask(ed) about some transactions.”

On Oct. 28, the complaint states that the co-conspirator told Tomassoni his clients were in China, using U.S. identities to join U.S. companies.

Authorities said after the co-conspirator told Tomassoni that there were issues with the names passing “know your customer” requirements, Tomassoni replied, “but why lol ... are they north korean hackers or what.”

According to the complaint, Tomassoni, after learning about the “Chinese” workers using U.S. identities, said “he did not want to be involved in something like that” and that he “would just be limited to providing the service of selling” Tether cryptocurrency to the companies.

Nevertheless, authorities said Tomassoni continued to work on their behalf.

Authorities said the WhatsApp chats also referenced ties to Miami-Dade: A message, they said, referenced a Wyoming-registered LLC with an address at the Toscano at Dadeland condominium complex at 7350 SW 89th St., which they said was “associated with” Tomassoni.

Potentially stiff penalties

Records show Tomassoni was arrested and made an initial appearance in Miami federal court on Monday.

Federal Bureau of Prisons records show he remained behind bars in the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami as of Wednesday morning, ahead of his 2 p.m. scheduled bond hearing.

In an email to Local 10 News on Wednesday, Tomassoni’s Miami-based attorney, Frank Gaviria, said his “office is still reviewing the government’s complaint and conducting our own investigation.”

“These are allegations only, and Mr. Tomassoni will respond at the appropriate time,” he said.

Filings show he’s set to be arraigned on Aug. 3. The two money laundering charges each carry potential two-decade federal prison terms if convicted.

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The speculation began after the Heat’s social media account briefly posted a link to a YouTube livestream titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” scheduled for July 27.

The post was quickly deleted, but not before fans captured screenshots and began sharing them across social media, fueling speculation that James could be headed back to South Beach.

The so-called “mistake post” only added to the growing buzz surrounding one of the biggest names in basketball.

Online betting markets are also reflecting the uncertainty surrounding James’ next move. A chart from Kalshi showed Miami as the current favorite among fans and bettors, with the Heat leading the way at 50 percent.

The “Magic City” has quickly become the fan favorite destination, though James is also believed to be considering a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers or a move to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Heat addressed the situation, telling ESPN that the team’s social media department was preparing for the possibility of James signing with Miami and accidentally published the link.

For Heat fans, the possibility of another James era in Miami brings back memories of one of the most successful stretches in franchise history.

James, 41, first joined the Heat in 2010, creating a championship contender alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

During his four seasons in Miami, the team reached the NBA Finals every year from 2011 through 2014, winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. The Heat became only the third team in NBA history to make four-consecutive Finals appearances.

The 2012 title marked the first championship of James’ career, and the 2013 Heat became one of the league’s most dominant teams, winning 27 consecutive games during the regular season before defeating the San Antonio Spurs in a dramatic seven-game Finals series.

James left Miami in 2014 and returned to Cleveland, where he later delivered the Cavaliers their first NBA championship in 2016.

Now, more than a decade later, even a mistaken social media post has been enough to reignite memories of James’ championship run in South Florida — and Heat Nation is watching closely to see what comes next.

The Heat say the post was accidental. But for fans, the possibility of another James chapter and teaming up with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and company has the entire basketball world paying attention.

And don’t forget, you can watch Miami Heat games on Local 10 next season as WPLG Local 10 and the Heat announced a newly expanded media rights agreement, making Local 10 the home of HEAT basketball across South Florida! CLICK HERE for more information on how to watch!

Heat fans can also call 786-777-4375 for more information on how to purchase tickets for the 2026-2027 season.

Victor Jose Tomassoni, de 38 años, tiene previsto comparecer la tarde del miércoles ante un tribunal federal de Miami para una audiencia de fianza. Enfrenta cargos de conspiración para cometer lavado de dinero y lavado de dinero con ocultamiento.

Agentes especiales del FBI lo acusan de actuar como intermediario dentro del esquema internacional.

Federales: El esquema involucraba identidades falsas y empresas fantasma

Según una denuncia penal federal, Corea del Norte, en un intento por evadir las sanciones relacionadas con su programa de armas nucleares, “ha patrocinado diversos esquemas de engaño para generar dinero para el régimen”, uno de los cuales consistía en enviar a miles de trabajadores de tecnología de la información “por todo el mundo para generar ingresos que contribuyeran a los programas de armas de Corea del Norte”.

“Estos trabajadores de tecnología de la información de Corea del Norte se hacían pasar por trabajadores remotos extranjeros y con sede en Estados Unidos que no eran norcoreanos y obtenían de manera encubierta contratos para trabajos remotos de tecnología de la información con empresas de todo el mundo, incluidas compañías en Estados Unidos”, señala la denuncia.

Los investigadores del FBI informaron que los trabajadores “recibían sus salarios a través de empresas fantasma creadas por ciudadanos de Sri Lanka”, y que los registros financieros mostraban que las empresas de Tomassoni, Delfinx Capital LLC y Mightylift Logistics LLC, recibieron más de $550,000 USD de la red, y gran parte del dinero fue transferido posteriormente a otros destinos. Los fiscales alegan que Tomassoni obtenía una comisión del 3% por las transacciones.

“Dado que Delfinx y Mightylift son empresas del sector de la construcción y que (Tomassoni) es ingeniero civil, sería incompatible con su actividad profesional recibir pagos de salarios para trabajadores de tecnología de la información”, señala la denuncia. “Esa inconsistencia demuestra causa probable de que (Tomassoni) y sus empresas participan en el proceso de ocultamiento de fondos obtenidos ilícitamente por trabajadores de tecnología de la información”.

Las autoridades informaron que inicialmente interrogaron a Tomassoni el 2 de julio, después de que llegara al Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami en un vuelo procedente de Panamá.

Los agentes dijeron que había viajado a Estados Unidos para recoger un cheque por $30,000 USD de un banco que había cerrado su cuenta debido a una transferencia recibida de uno de los co conspiradores. Indicaron que Tomassoni afirmó haber realizado operaciones con criptomonedas en nombre de ese co conspirador y de los amigos de este.

”¿Son hackers norcoreanos o qué?”

Las autoridades informaron que una revisión del teléfono de Tomassoni realizada el miércoles pasado reveló varios mensajes incriminatorios de WhatsApp enviados entre el 20 de junio de 2025 y el 1 de julio.

Indicaron que los mensajes mostraban que discutía la creación de contratos y facturas describiendo las transacciones como trabajos de ingeniería o desarrollo de software después de que su banco “preguntara sobre algunas transacciones”.

El 28 de octubre, según la denuncia, el co conspirador le dijo a Tomassoni que sus clientes estaban en China y utilizaban identidades estadounidenses para incorporarse a empresas de Estados Unidos.

Las autoridades informaron que, después de que el co conspirador le dijera a Tomassoni que había problemas para que los nombres cumplieran con los requisitos de “conozca a su cliente”, Tomassoni respondió: “¿Pero por qué, jaja…? ¿Son hackers norcoreanos o qué?”.

Según la denuncia, después de enterarse de que los trabajadores “chinos” utilizaban identidades estadounidenses, Tomassoni dijo que “no quería involucrarse en algo así” y que “simplemente se limitaría a prestar el servicio de vender” la criptomoneda Tether a las empresas.

No obstante, los fiscales afirman que Tomassoni continuó trabajando en nombre de ellos.

Las autoridades informaron que las conversaciones de WhatsApp también hacían referencia a Miami-Dade. Un mensaje, según dijeron, mencionaba una LLC registrada en Wyoming con una dirección en el complejo de condominios Toscano at Dadeland, ubicado en el 7350 de Southwest 89th Street, que, según las autoridades, estaba “asociada con” Tomassoni.

Posibles penas severas

Los registros muestran que Tomassoni fue arrestado y realizó su comparecencia inicial ante un tribunal federal de Miami el lunes.

Los registros de la Oficina Federal de Prisiones muestran que permanecía detenido en el Centro Federal de Detención, en el centro de Miami, hasta la mañana del miércoles, antes de su audiencia de fianza programada para las 2 p.m.

En un correo electrónico enviado el miércoles a Local 10 News, el abogado de Tomassoni en Miami, Frank Gaviria, dijo que su “oficina aún está revisando la denuncia del gobierno y realizando su propia investigación”.

“Estas son únicamente acusaciones y el señor Tomassoni responderá en el momento apropiado”, afirmó.

Los documentos judiciales muestran que su lectura formal de cargos está programada para el 3 de agosto. Cada uno de los dos cargos de lavado de dinero conlleva una posible pena de hasta 20 años de prisión federal en caso de ser declarado culpable.

The 34-year-old Casemiro — who appeared in all five of Brazil’s matches at this year’s World Cup, scoring one goal — is under contract with Inter Miami through the end of next year’s sprint season, with an extension option through June 2029.

Casemiro’s discovery rights were held by the LA Galaxy, and by league rule that would have prevented Inter Miami from negotiating with him. The teams reached a settlement that allowed Inter Miami to get the long-awaited signing done, but the league is still probing the tampering allegation.

“The league is gathering all relevant information and will refrain from further comment until the review is complete,” MLS said in a statement. “While Inter Miami CF and the LA Galaxy have reached a settlement for the Discovery Priority to sign Casemiro, the terms will be released upon conclusion of the tampering investigation.”

It’s unclear when Casemiro will debut for Inter Miami. The team said he is still waiting on the necessary visa.

Casemiro spent the past four seasons with Manchester United, and the bulk of his professional career prior to that with Real Madrid.

“He is a winner who has achieved so much in the game and after such an incredible career with Real Madrid and Manchester United I’m delighted that he’s decided to make Miami his next home,” Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham said.

___

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

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Detectives estimate Yuman Malpica and Jose Fernandez stole more than $671,175 from Synchrony by exploiting the Connecticut-based bank’s partnership with jewelry retailers for consumer financing, records show.

“They used victim identities to purchase jewelry on credit,” a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy wrote, according to an April 23 report.

During their investigation, deputies followed the duo to their three-bedroom townhouse in the Neovita gated community in Doral, where Fernandez had a Mercedes-Benz and Malpica had a Porsche Macan, records show.

According to the deputies’ arrest reports, the fraudulent transactions were done on the bank’s online merchant portal through five companies registered in Florida: Jasny Jewelry, Kate Jewelry, Lissy Gold Jewelry, and Rocky Jewelry.

The transactions for Lissy Gold and Rocky resulted in over $507,000 in payments from Synchrony to a JPMorgan Chase bank account registered under Fernandez’s Doral-based JM Solutions 97 LLC, according to deputies’ reports.

On Tuesday, deputies arrested Fernandez and Malpica, who were born in Venezuela, and they remained behind bars on Wednesday with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, records show.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Fernandez, also known as Jose Manuel Fernandezmalpica and Jose Fernandez-Malpica, shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to county inmate records.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Malpica, also known as Yuman Coromotomalpica, at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday at the TGKCC, according to inmate records.

Fernandez and Malpica each faced four charges: Organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, fraudulent use of identification, and unlawful possession of five or more identifications. Their bond was $120,000 each.

A judge ordered Fernandez and Malpica to prove that the money or assets used to post bail are not criminal proceeds, records show.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.

Los detectives estiman que Yuman Malpica y Jose Fernandez robaron más de $671,175 USD a Synchrony al explotar la alianza del banco, con sede en Connecticut, con minoristas de joyería para ofrecer financiamiento a consumidores, según los registros.

“Utilizaban las identidades de las víctimas para comprar joyas a crédito”, escribió un agente de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, según un informe del 23 de abril.

Durante la investigación, los agentes siguieron a ambos hasta su casa adosada de tres habitaciones en la comunidad cerrada Neovita, en Doral, donde Fernandez tenía un Mercedes-Benz y Malpica un Porsche Macan, según los registros.

El martes, los agentes arrestaron a Fernandez y Malpica, ambos nacidos en Venezuela, y el miércoles permanecían detenidos con una retención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE), según los registros.

Según los informes de arresto de los agentes, las transacciones fraudulentas se realizaron a través del portal en línea para comerciantes del banco mediante cinco empresas registradas en Florida: Jasny Jewelry, Kate Jewelry, Lissy Gold Jewelry y Rocky Jewelry.

Las transacciones realizadas por Lissy Gold y Rocky generaron más de $507,000 USD en pagos de Synchrony a una cuenta bancaria de JPMorgan Chase registrada a nombre de JM Solutions 97 LLC, empresa de Fernandez con sede en Doral, según los informes de los agentes.

El Departamento Correccional de Miami-Dade registró el ingreso de Fernandez, también conocido como Jose Manuel Fernandezmalpica y Jose Fernandez-Malpica, poco antes de las 4:30 p.m. del martes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según los registros de reclusos del condado.

El Departamento Correccional de Miami-Dade registró el ingreso de Malpica, también conocida como Yuman Coromotomalpica, a las 4:15 p.m. del martes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según los registros de reclusos.

Fernandez y Malpica enfrentan cada uno cuatro cargos: esquema organizado para defraudar, hurto mayor, uso fraudulento de identificación y posesión ilegal de cinco o más identificaciones. A cada uno se le fijó una fianza de $120,000 USD.

Un juez ordenó a Fernandez y Malpica demostrar que el dinero o los bienes utilizados para pagar la fianza no provienen de actividades delictivas, según los registros.

La editora de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Mercedes Cevallos, contribuyó a este informe.

La especulación comenzó después de que la cuenta de redes sociales del Heat publicara brevemente un enlace a una transmisión en vivo de YouTube titulada “Conferencia de prensa de presentación de LeBron James”, programada para el 27 de julio.

La publicación fue eliminada rápidamente, pero no antes de que los aficionados capturaran capturas de pantalla y comenzaran a compartirlas en las redes sociales, alimentando las especulaciones de que James podría regresar a South Beach.

La llamada “publicación por error” solo aumentó el creciente revuelo en torno a uno de los nombres más importantes del baloncesto.

Los mercados de apuestas en línea también reflejan la incertidumbre sobre el próximo paso de James. Un gráfico de Kalshi mostró a Miami como el favorito actual entre aficionados y apostadores, con el Heat encabezando las preferencias con un 50%.

La “Ciudad Mágica” se ha convertido rápidamente en el destino favorito de los aficionados, aunque también se cree que James está considerando un regreso a los Cleveland Cavaliers o un traslado a los Philadelphia 76ers.

El Heat abordó la situación y dijo a ESPN que el departamento de redes sociales del equipo se estaba preparando para la posibilidad de que James firmara con Miami y publicó accidentalmente el enlace.

Para los aficionados del Heat, la posibilidad de otra etapa de James en Miami trae recuerdos de uno de los periodos más exitosos en la historia de la franquicia.

James, de 41 años, llegó por primera vez al Heat en 2010, formando un contendiente al campeonato junto a Dwyane Wade y Chris Bosh.

Durante sus cuatro temporadas en Miami, el equipo llegó a las Finales de la NBA todos los años entre 2011 y 2014, ganando campeonatos consecutivos en 2012 y 2013. El Heat se convirtió en apenas el tercer equipo en la historia de la NBA en disputar cuatro Finales consecutivas.

El título de 2012 marcó el primer campeonato de la carrera de James, y el Heat de 2013 se convirtió en uno de los equipos más dominantes de la liga, al ganar 27 partidos consecutivos durante la temporada regular antes de derrotar a los San Antonio Spurs en una dramática serie final de siete partidos.

James dejó Miami en 2014 y regresó a Cleveland, donde posteriormente le dio a los Cavaliers su primer campeonato de la NBA en 2016.

Ahora, más de una década después, incluso una publicación errónea en redes sociales ha sido suficiente para reavivar los recuerdos de la etapa campeona de James en el sur de Florida, y la Nación Heat observa de cerca qué sucederá después.

El Heat afirma que la publicación fue accidental. Pero para los aficionados, la posibilidad de otro capítulo de James y de formar equipo con Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo y compañía tiene a todo el mundo del baloncesto pendiente.

Funcionarios de la BSO informaron que agentes y paramédicos de Pompano Beach Fire Rescue respondieron a un choque ocurrido poco antes de la 1 p.m. en la cuadra 1000 de la U.S. 1.

Las autoridades informaron que una investigación preliminar determinó que un conductor atropelló a un peatón que se encontraba en una acera. Indicaron que los agentes lo declararon muerto al peatón en el lugar de los hechos, quien por el momento no ha sido identificado.

Testigos dijeron a Roy Ramos, de Local 10, que el conductor perdió el control del vehículo y chocó contra una banca de una parada de autobús donde el peatón estaba sentado.

“De repente llegaron los policías, cerraron la carretera y me hicieron dar la vuelta y conducir cinco millas por otra ruta”, dijo el testigo Bill McKain. “No sé qué tan rápido se puede conducir realmente por esta carretera con semáforos entre un tramo y otro”.

Las autoridades informaron que el conductor del vehículo fue trasladado a un hospital cercano con lesiones.

El choque también dañó otros vehículos en un concesionario de autos cercano y dejó la banca de la parada de autobús destruida sobre la vía.

“Mi corazón está con ellos y con su familia”, dijo McKain. “Ni siquiera puedo imaginar estar allí y que ocurra algo así”.

Indicaron que la Unidad de Homicidios de Tránsito de la BSO investiga las circunstancias del choque.

Según Carey Codd, portavoz de la BSO, los carriles en dirección sur de U.S. 1 entre Southeast Ninth Street y 12th Street permanecieron cerrados mientras continuaba la investigación. Se pidió a los conductores evitar el área.

No se divulgaron de inmediato más detalles sobre el choque.

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According to an arrest report from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the victim’s daughter first noticed that jewelry was missing from her mother’s home on Sept. 18, 2025.

The missing items included:

• A white gold diamond and ruby necklace, worth $3,850
• A diamond heart bracelet, worth $3,000
• A yellow gold Bengal bracelet with rubies and opals, worth $4,000
• A gold and diamond bracelet with heart links, worth $3,000
• A golf chain with a “V” shape attached charm, worth $1,000
• A yellow gold “H-shaped” diamond ring, valued at $2,000

Deputies said the daughter suspected that her mother’s home healthcare aide, Christine Rolle, of Sunrise, had stolen the jewelry and she confronted her in September and October, but Rolle denied taking the items.

According to the report, Rolle’s daily tasks included bathing and dressing the victim and she frequently placed different jewelry on the victim at the victim’s request.

Detectives said they initially didn’t find any local pawn shop transactions conducted by Rolle, however when searching pawn databases at a later date, detectives found a long history of Rolle pawning items, including several items that matched the description of the stolen jewelry.

Authorities said the jewelry had been pawned at Richie’s Pawn Shop in Tamarac.

According to the arrest report, the victim’s mother died during the investigation, however her daughter had obtained power of attorney over her prior to her death and told detectives that she wished to pursue charges against Rolle on behalf of her deceased mother.

Deputies said Rolle was located Tuesday and arrested on charges of grand theft larceny, fraud by providing false owner information to pawn items, exploitation of an elderly person and dealing in stolen property.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Rolle was being held at the Broward County Main Jail on a $12,500 bond.

The arrest report did not state whether any of the stolen jewelry was recovered.

She was scared, sure. But more than that, she was brought to tears.

“I thought I’d be a bit more petrified, but I was enamored. I was in awe. It was witnessing nature,” she says. “You can’t put it into words the emotions and the feelings that you experience.”

Viewers can watch Rei Ami — and hear her sing a new K-pop song inspired by her experience with sharks while off the Korean Peninsula — as Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” kicks off Sunday.

Twenty new, hourlong shows leap deep into the world of the ancient predators, from a record-setting dive attempt into shark-infested waters to trying to find out what triggers giant bull sharks to confront humans.

“Growing up, I always watched ‘Shark Week,’” says Rei Ami. “You see those epic commercials, with the great white jumping out and eating the chum and the tuna. That’s ingrained in my brain forever.”

Actor-comedian Ken Jeong joins her to start the week off with the show “K-Pop Shark Heroes” on Sunday. But while she went on two cage dives and two free dives with hammerheads and reef sharks and bull sharks, he preferred to stay out of the water.

“I’m more of the Christopher Nolan of the shark ‘Odyssey’ — just overseeing it,” Jeong jokes. “Just overlooking everything. High and dry. That’s when I do my best work.”

It’s a shark-a-thon

The seven nights of new shows ends Aug. 1 with a look at how great whites are moving further up the East Coast and an examination of how thresher sharks use their tails to stun and kill prey.

One highlight is watching high diver Molly Carlson leap 50 feet (15 meters) from a helicopter into a Plexiglas cage in the ocean surrounded by circling reef sharks. She's OK with jumping from enormous heights, but sharks terrify her.

“There was zero chances of me ever swimming with sharks. This was just not on my radar,” she says. “That’s always been my thing, and so for me to be invited to be on ‘Shark Week,’ I was like 'Why me?'”

Viewers will see Carlson, who has been frank about her struggles with anxiety, overcome her lifelong fear of sharks. Carlson hopes she can motivate others.

“If I can inspire that next 16-year-old girl who wants to just hide in her room and never come out because she’s scared of so many things, then I’m absolutely going to find a way to do this,” she says. “You’re allowed to be scared and do it anyways. And so I think that was the big purpose behind this project for me.”

This year’s highlights also include an attempt to locate a rumored 15-foot (4-meter) mako off the coast of Southern California, which would make it the largest ever documented.

Marine biologist Kendyl Berna, a “Shark Week” veteran who co-founded the ecology group Beyond the Reef, says her team of scientists were betting on the fact that a marine heat wave has made mako prey in those waters abundant, allowing the sharks to get bigger.

“Sharks are the cockroaches of the sea because they’ve been around for 450 million years. They’re older than dinosaurs, they’re older than trees. Sharks have just been around, but the form that they’re taking constantly changes,” she says.

‘Shark Week’ is fun but also educational

“Shark Week” has become a key part of the summer holiday TV schedule, a place where humans safe on land can see ancient apex predators unnervingly glide into view and snap open their jaws, fueling nightmares.

As always, there is a deep respect for the creatures and strong science beneath the amusing titles, sharky puns, dramatic music and racy titles like “Chum Island: Catching a Killer” and “Sharkzilla Takes New York.”

“While ‘Shark Week’ is very entertaining and thrilling, it is at the core very educational. And I think there’s still so much misinformation regarding sharks and how they behave,” says Rei Ami.

“Through these episodes, people can understand, there’s really no reason to fear them, you know? And I hope that message gets received.”

Discovery’s “Shark Week” has a rival — National Geographic’s “SharkFest,” which also has hours of sharky content. And there's Amazon Studios’ new movie “The Devil’s Mouth,” which has bull sharks terrorizing college students in a flooded cave system.

“Shark Week” also has practical advice about what to do when you find yourself face-to-snout with a shark, a rising concern from Korea to Brooklyn as interactions increase. The advice is clear: Stop splashing.

“It’s even more imperative that humans know how to act and react in a situation when they are in the waters and they see a shark,” says Rei Ami. “It would really, I think, help the public to understand how these apex predators work and behave.”

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward (BSO), la hija de la víctima notó por primera vez que faltaban joyas de la vivienda de su madre el 18 de septiembre de 2025.

Las joyas desaparecidas incluían:

• Un collar de oro blanco con diamantes y rubíes, valorado en $3,850 USD.
• Una pulsera de corazón con diamantes, valorada en $3,000 USD.
• Una pulsera Bengal de oro amarillo con rubíes y ópalos, valorada en $4,000 USD.
• Una pulsera de oro y diamantes con eslabones en forma de corazón, valorada en $3,000 USD.
• Una cadena tipo golf con un dije en forma de “V”, valorada en $1,000 USD.
• Un anillo de oro amarillo con diamantes en forma de “H”, valorado en $2,000 USD.

Los agentes informaron que la hija sospechaba que la asistente de atención médica domiciliaria de su madre, Christine Rolle, de Sunrise, había robado las joyas y la confrontó en septiembre y octubre, pero Rolle negó haber tomado los artículos.

Según el informe, las tareas diarias de Rolle incluían bañar y vestir a la víctima, y con frecuencia le colocaba diferentes joyas a petición de la propia víctima.

Los detectives informaron que inicialmente no encontraron transacciones realizadas por Rolle en casas de empeño locales. Sin embargo, al revisar posteriormente las bases de datos de casas de empeño, encontraron un extenso historial de Rolle empeñando artículos, incluidos varios que coincidían con la descripción de las joyas robadas.

Las autoridades informaron que las joyas fueron empeñadas en Richie’s Pawn Shop, en Tamarac.

Según el informe de arresto, la víctima falleció durante la investigación. Sin embargo, su hija había obtenido un poder legal para representarla antes de su muerte y dijo a los detectives que deseaba presentar cargos contra Rolle en nombre de su madre fallecida.

Los agentes informaron que Rolle fue localizada el martes y arrestada por los cargos de hurto mayor, fraude al proporcionar información falsa sobre el propietario para empeñar artículos, explotación de una persona mayor y tráfico de propiedad robada.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, Rolle permanecía detenida en la cárcel principal del condado Broward con una fianza de $12,500 USD.

El informe de arresto no indica si alguna de las joyas robadas fue recuperada.

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BSO officials said deputies and Pompano Beach Fire Rescue medics responded to a crash that occurred shortly before 1 p.m. in the 500 block of U.S. 1.

Authorities said a preliminary investigation found that a driver struck a pedestrian who was on a sidewalk. They said deputies pronounced the pedestrian, who has not been identified at this time, dead at the scene.

According to detectives, the driver of a 2024 BMW M240i, who they identified as Jo Anne Llera, was traveling southbound on South Federal Highway when she was involved in a rear-end collision with a 2017 Honda Accord.

Investigators said Llera maneuvered around the Honda and continued southbound.

They said the BMW later drifted into the swale along the west side of the roadway in the 900 block of South Federal Highway before crashing into a covered Broward County bus bench where a pedestrian was located.

Authorities said it is unclear whether the pedestrian was sitting on the bench or standing when he was struck. BSO deputies pronounced the pedestrian dead at the scene.

After striking the bus bench, detectives said the BMW continued traveling and hit two light poles, a tree and several unoccupied vehicles at a nearby auto dealership.

Paramedics with Pompano Beach Fire Rescue transported Llera to Broward Health North with injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening.

Authorities said debris from the crash also struck a 2010 Lincoln Town Car traveling southbound on South Federal Highway. They said nine unoccupied vehicles at the dealership were damaged.

Witnesses told Local 10’s Roy Ramos that the driver lost control of the car and crashed into a bench at the bus stop where the pedestrian, who was covered with a yellow tarp at the scene, had been sitting.

“All of a sudden cops flew in, roped off the road and made me turn around and drive five miles the other way,” witness Bill McKain said. “I don’t know how fast you can really get on this road with stop lights in between.”

Authorities said the driver of the vehicle was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries.

The crash also damaged other vehicles at a nearby car dealership and left the destroyed bus bench in the roadway.

“My heart goes out to them and their family,” McKain said. “I couldn’t even image being there and having something like that happen.”

A man named Mark told Local 10’s Jolena Esperto that he was passing through the area with his son when the bus bench was thrown about 100 feet, scattering pieces across the sidewalk.

“We gotta keep an eye on him,” he said. “There’s so many cars going so fast lately the speed limit should be a lot less than it is.”

Amanda Nicholas, who rides the bus and often gets off at that stop, said the incident has made her thankful for life.

“You never know what’s going to happen. You never know, so you just have to be thankful for each day because it could have been me. I come off at this bus stop, and just seeing it this morning, it hit me like, ‘Whoa, that’s my bus stop,’” she said.

Authorities said BSO’s Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash. The BMW involved in the crash was towed away.

They said the southbound lanes of U.S. 1 between Southeast Ninth Street and Southeast 12th Street were temporarily closed during the investigation but have since reopened.

No other details about the crash were immediately released.

Wembanyama is on the cover of the Standard Edition, Clark is on the Deluxe Edition and Rose will appear on the limited-time Ultra Edition.

The Standard Edition launches widely on Sept. 4. Deluxe and Ultra editions launch with early access on Aug. 28.

Wembanyama said being on the cover was “a dream come true,” and Clark said being on a cover "is special because this game reaches fans all over the world.”

Rose was also on the cover of NBA 2K13.

“This is a chance to inspire young athletes to stay obsessed with the game,” Rose said. “To show them that when you put in the countless hours of hard work, it rewards you.”

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

Salud Pública Francia indicó que las regiones afectadas por el calor del 17 de junio al 2 de julio registraron 21.674 muertes por todas las causas. Pero, sin una ola de calor, se habría esperado que esas mismas regiones registraran unos 15.910 decesos, según un modelo estadístico basado en datos de años anteriores, señaló.

Por lo tanto, la diferencia entre las muertes esperadas y las reales —un total de 5.764— se considera “mortalidad excesiva” durante la ola de calor, explicó la agencia.

La entidad precisó que esa mortalidad excesiva, con un 36% más de muertes de las que normalmente se habrían esperado, fue la más alta de cualquier ola de calor desde 2003. Una histórica ola de calor ese año causó un estimado de 15.000 muertes en Francia.

Francia registró sus días más calurosos de la historia el 24 y el 25 de junio de este año —con un promedio nacional de 30 °C (86 °F)—, además de calor récord por la noche y temperaturas máximas que se dispararon muy por encima de los 40 °C (104 °F) en muchos lugares.

La agencia de salud pública señaló que poco más de la mitad de las muertes inesperadas ocurrieron durante y en el inmediato periodo posterior a ese tramo más caluroso, a lo largo de tres días, del 25 al 27 de junio.

“Este episodio sin precedentes, caracterizado por su inicio temprano, intensidad y duración, expuso a casi toda la población a un calor extremo durante un periodo en el que las actividades escolares y laborales aún estaban en pleno apogeo”, señaló la agencia.

En total, en toda Europa, las temperaturas extremas que golpearon de forma excepcionalmente temprana y fuerte este año registraron bastante más de 10.000 muertes más en el punto álgido de la ola de calor de las que normalmente se habrían esperado, según cifras que aún están surgiendo en todo el continente.

En Francia, la región de París parece ser la más afectada, con 1.999 muertes no previstas, casi un 80% más de lo calculado sin una ola de calor, según la agencia de salud francesa.

Directores de servicios funerarios en París dijeron que tuvieron dificultades para encontrar lugares para almacenar cuerpos antes del entierro o la cremación, y algunas morgues dijeron que estaban llenas y que tenían que rechazar cuerpos.

Casi la mitad de las más de 21.600 personas que fallecieron, fue en hospitales, que lidiaron con aumentos de pacientes que sufrían dolencias relacionadas con el calor. Aproximadamente un tercio murió en domicilio y el resto mayormente en residencias de ancianos, según la agencia.

El último saldo estimado de muertes, que la agencia dijo que se actualizará más adelante en el año con datos más completos, fue marcadamente más alto que las cifras iniciales que había dado. Anteriormente había reportado alrededor de 2.000 muertes adicionales por todas las causas para la semana del 22 al 28 de junio, el pico en Francia de la ola de calor que también batió récords de temperatura en muchas otras partes de Europa.

Los expertos advierten que se necesita un tiempo para que surja un panorama completo, y que muchas muertes relacionadas con el calor nunca se registrarán formalmente como tales. Por ejemplo, un ataque al corazón, que puede ser desencadenado por la exposición a un calor extremo, especialmente en personas mayores o con problemas de salud subyacentes, puede figurar en un certificado de defunción simplemente como un paro cardíaco.

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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.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will operate the massive 86-foot-wide curved dome theater and an adjacent 14-theater complex. Alamo's owner, Sony Pictures Entertainment, announced the plan to restore the Dome and reopen it in early 2028.

Alamo's plan will preserve the distinctive Cinerama Dome's geodesic exterior and large logo that have been a Hollywood landmark since the theater opened in 1963. The dome will not have in-theater dining, as is common in other Drafthouse theaters.

“There is no moviegoing destination anywhere in the world that commands the affection, history, and cultural significance of the Cinerama Dome. It represents the kind of singular experience we value and champion,” said Ravi Ahuja, Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann said the dome would be its new West Coast flagship theater.

The dome's massive screen supports 70 mm projection, which is having a moment thanks to Christopher Nolan's “The Odyssey.”

It was commissioned in 1963 by Pacific Theatres founder William R. Forman as a state-of-the-art way to see movies using three projectors for its custom curved screen. When the dome closed in April 2021, it was one of only three theaters in the world with that capability. Its operator, Pacific Theaters, announced the closing was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade group Cinema United, applauded the news.

“The Cinerama Dome has been a treasured and important landmark for movie fans and the entire film community for over six decades,” O’Leary said in a statement. “The timing could not be better with moviegoers making clear this year that they love the unique experience of seeing a movie on the big screen.”

Alamo Drafthouse will also reopen a 14-theater complex next to the dome that used to be operated by ArcLight Cinemas, which also shut down in 2021. Those theaters will have in-theater dining, although the chain has faced backlash recently for its pivot to an in-seat ordering operation that requires use of personal phones.

“The same way that you want to season a steak or a pork chop, you want to add multiple layers. And I think spice does that if you do it the right way," says Turner Greaves, bartender at New York’s Sip and Guzzle.

He makes a tequila highball called Doctor Green which he describes as “super-herbaceous, vegetal, a little bitter. It’s got tomatillo, green apple, shiso, horseradish, and then you can make it spicier with a little serrano pepper on the side.”

Customers get to add more spice with a little spice dropper delivered with their serve.

Cocktail tastes are changing from sweet to savory

James Stevenson, co-founder of Brutes of Mayfair cocktail bar in London, says drinks were very sweet when he started out 20 years ago, and now consumers' tastes have shifted.

“I think there’s a real movement toward savory cocktails," he says. "Every drink we put on the menu that is more savory or has a pickled element or spice element tends to be our bestseller.”

Stevenson makes a mezcal-based Bagheera which he describes as a turbo-spiced margarita.

“We juice (blend) rather than shaking the drink, with fresh chile and coriander," he says. They make a fresh syrup, adding tequila and freshly squeezed lime, and finish off the drink with a house-made tajin salt rim.

Agave spirits are a good match for spicy and savory

It's no coincidence both bartenders picked agave-based spirits — tequila and mezcal — for their spicy offerings.

Stevenson explains that a lot of the flavor profiles you get from agaves are fresher, more vegetal than other spirits. “They’re just very akin to chiles" he says. Noting that tequila pairs well with salt, he adds, "Spice and savory flavors are just a natural kinship.”

Alex Lyoness, bar manager at London’s FlipDog, makes his Late Night cocktail with a hint of an after-hours kebab and pickles. He uses a white tequila and a Raicilla (an agave similar to mezcal). Soy sauce brings a deep flavor, he says, and a homemade chile tincture spices things up.

He then adds an onion and olive brine “like the ultimate dirty martini,” and garnishes with a bright pink pickled turnip.

Looking for a tingly feeling

But chiles aren't the only way to add spice. Lyoness says you're looking to create a “mouthfeel.” He uses Sichuan peppercorns and the Timur berry, which he says has a cool, numbing quality. “What you’re looking for is that tingling across the palate,” he says.

Greaves recommends bringing a little classic cooking into your drinks.

“You can add ginger, you can add garlic cloves, and star anise and fennel into these drinks, and it adds so many different elements of pepper, of spice. Go home and then throw cayenne into a margarita,” he says.

How hot is too hot?

To judge the heat, try to read it on your palate, says Greaves: “If it starts creeping all the way down to your esophagus, I think that’s definitely a spice level that you can loosen up a bit.”

A good spicy drink should “give you the itches on the sides of your mouth” but not overwhelm, he says.

And don’t forget that no two chiles are the same.

“It’s all about tasting, trying and tweaking,” Anderson says.

Adding a spicy rim to your glass is an easy way to get extra kick

For a spicy rim, mix any spices from your cupboard with a good rock salt, says Anderson. (You can freshly grind the spices for a more aromatic and vibrant mix.)

He recommends coriander seed for a more citrusy mix, and black pepper or cardamom powder for a savory feel. You can even try adding fruit powders.

“Something like a freeze-dried strawberry, freeze-dried raspberry, with a little bit of spice. It’s great,” Anderson says.

Then, simply run a lemon or lime wedge along the rim of your glass and gently roll it in a shallow plate of the salt mix.

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Recipes:

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Late Night – from FlipDog London

Ingredients

1 oz. Tapatio blanco (tequila)

34 oz. La Venenosa Costa Raicilla

34 oz. Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino (dry sherry)

0.66 oz. brine mix (onion, olive, sivri pepper)

2 drops chile tincture(asterisk)

Directions: Stir together all the ingredients with ice. Serve in a chilled martini glass. Add a pickled turnip to garnish

(asterisk)Chile tincture: Submerge chiles in a sealed jar with a high-proof neutral alcohol like vodka (approx. 1-2 small chiles per 3.5 oz. of alcohol) and leave to steep for up to two weeks, shaking the jar occasionally. Then strain and transfer the contents into an eyedropper bottle.

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Bagheera - from Brutes of Mayfair, London

Ingredients

1.75 oz. Lost Explorer mezcal

0.75 oz. fresh lime juice

68 oz. Bagheera syrup(asterisk)

Small pinch of salt

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over cracked ice. Rim the glass with Tajin

(asterisk)Bagheera Syrup:

Ingredients

7.5 oz. simple sugar syrup

½ supermarket bunch of fresh cilantro, including stalks

1 small Thai green chile

3 jalapeño chiles

1/4 teaspoon of ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder), to stop the cilantro from turning brown

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom powder

1 thumb-size piece of peeled fresh ginger

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large container or blender. Blend until the coriander and chiles have completely broken down and the mixture is well combined. Strain through a fine mesh strainer bag or muslin cloth. Transfer to a clean container and refrigerate.

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Doctor Green - (Sip & Guzzle, New York)

Ingredients

34 oz. green apple juice

34 oz. tomatillo juice

24 oz. green tequila(asterisk)

6 oz. Sauternes

Directions: Juice tomatillo and green apple and whisk in 2 grams ascorbic powder and 4 grams pectinase powder per liter of juice until dissolved.

Rest at room temperature or in the fridge for at least one to two hours until the juice splits into clear liquid and sediment layers. Combine all ingredients and strain through a fine mesh strainer until clear. Carbonate using a specialist drinks carbonator.

(asterisk)To make the green tequila

68 oz. Patron tequila

0.25 oz. shiso

0.25 oz. fennel

0.25 oz. horseradish

2 pcs star anise

Method: Combine the ingredients and allow to infuse at room temperature for 24 hours.

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5 songs to drink spicy cocktails to:

“Hot Stuff” – Donna Summer

“Hot in Herre”– Nelly

“Spice up your Life” – The Spice Girls

“Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot” – The Merrymen

“Drop it like its Hot” - Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell

The move comes after Pearson was designated for assignment by the Astros on Sunday. He went 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 16 games this season.

The veteran is 10-6 with a 4.99 ERA in 139 career games over six MLB seasons that included stops in Toronto and with the Chicago Cubs.

The 22-year-old Martin is 6-2 with a 2.01 ERA in 26 relief appearances across two levels of Class-A ball this season. The right-hander was a 10th-round pick in the 2025 draft.

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

The case was put on hold almost immediately after the July 2 indictment, when the Louisiana Supreme Court said the local court and special prosecutor did not follow procedures surrounding the indictment. The dismissal by special prosecutor Laurie White came a day after New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams, Democratic Mayor Helena Moreno and five City Council members sent a letter urging her to drop the case.

“What I did was not a crime, it was never a crime,” said Murrill, a Republican. “I think this was a malicious prosecution.”

At the center of the case are deepening rifts between the state's Republican leaders and Democrats who control Louisiana’s most prominent city.

Orleans Parish online court records show White submitted the letters from the elected city officials and the prosecutor to a judge before dismissing each count. The case against Murrill was then ordered “closed.”

In a prepared statement, White said she performed her lawful duty as a special prosecutor and noted that a grand jury brought the indictment.

White also criticized what she described as interference in the case but did not go into detail.

“Extraordinary interference in this situation has been truly unfortunate, and we should all hope that it doesn’t set a precedent,” White said.

Reached by phone later in the day, White declined further comment.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry had promised a swift pardon, saying Murrill would not have her reputation tarnished by an “Orleans Kangaroo court.”

Appearing with Murrill at a news conference on the state's preparations for Tropical Storm Bertha, Landry said he would welcome state and federal investigations into how and why Murrill was indicted.

“I think the feds need to come in,” Landry said.

Moreno was among those who had accused the state’s top law enforcement official in May of making threats against public officials.

The initial 16-count indictment handed up by a New Orleans grand jury accused Murrill, the state’s first female attorney general, of intimidation and malfeasance.

For months, political tensions intensified between Louisiana Republicans and New Orleans officials over a new law that abolished a court clerk office won by an exoneree, Calvin Duncan, who spent nearly three decades in prison. The change consolidated that job with another clerk’s office, which Republican supporters said would make the local judicial system more efficient.

New Orleans leaders opposed the change. In May, the City Council set a special election that would have given Duncan a chance to win the newly combined job. Murrill responded by warning local officials in letters that they could lose their offices for violating state “usurper” laws, which forbid support for an unauthorized officeholder.

The mayor was among those who had accused the state’s top law enforcement official in May of making threats against public officials.

Murrill said she had merely advised city officials of what the law was and that they had broken it. “I didn’t write that law. The Legislature wrote that law. I just explained it to them.”

Murrill called the indictment a threat of extortion and public intimidation, “to put me in jail for telling them that I'm going to carry out my official duties.”

In their Tuesday letter, the mayor and City Council members said they were not intimidated by Murrill's previous letters.

“While the correspondence at issue contained threatening language directed toward public officials, we never believed those threats could lawfully or practically be carried out. We continue serving the people of New Orleans without hesitation,” the mayor and council members wrote.

___

Associated Press reporter Jack Brook contributed to this story.

Public Health France said regions hit by the heat from June 17 to July 2 recorded 21,674 deaths from all causes. But without a heat wave, those same regions would have been expected to have seen far fewer deaths, or 15,910, based on statistical modeling using data from previous years, it said.

The difference between expected and actual deaths — a total of 5,764 — are therefore considered to be “excess” deaths during the heat wave, the agency said.

It said the excess mortality, with 36% more deaths that would normally have been expected, was the highest from any heat wave since 2003. A historic heat wave that year caused an estimated 15,000 deaths in France.

France registered its hottest-ever days on June 24 and June 25 this year — with a national average of 30 C (86 F) — as well as record heat at night and peak temperatures that soared well above 40 C (104 F) in many places.

Just over half of the unexpected deaths occurred during and in the immediate wake of that hottest period, over three days from June 25 to June 27, the public health agency said.

“This unprecedented episode, characterized by its early onset, intensity, and duration, exposed nearly the entire population to extreme heat during a period when school and work activities were still in full swing,” the agency noted.

All told, across Europe, extreme temperatures that hit exceptionally early and hard this year saw well over 10,000 more deaths at the height of the heat wave than would normally have been expected, according to figures that are still emerging across the continent.

In France, the Paris region appears to have been hardest hit, recording 1,999 unexpected deaths — around 80% more than would otherwise have been anticipated without a heat wave, the French health agency said.

Funeral service directors in Paris said they struggled to find places to store bodies before burial or cremation, with some mortuaries saying they were full and having to turn bodies away.

Nearly half of the more than 21,600 people who died passed away in hospitals, which wrestled with surges of patients suffering from heat-related ailments. About a third died at home and the rest were mostly deaths in care homes for older people, the agency said.

The latest estimated death toll, which the agency said will be updated later in the year with more complete data, was sharply higher than initial figures it had given. It had previously reported around 2,000 additional deaths from all causes for the week of June 22 to June 28, the peak in France of the heat wave that also broke temperature records in many other parts of Europe.

Experts caution that it takes a while for a full picture to emerge, and that many heat-related deaths will never formally be recorded as such. For example, a heart attack, which can be triggered by extreme heat exposure, especially in people who are older or have underlying health issues, may be listed on a death certificate simply as a heart attack.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Leonardo Daniel Rivas, de 42 años, fue arrestado el martes por un cargo de abuso infantil sin causar lesiones corporales graves.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade informaron que el niño asistía a su sesión diaria de terapia ocupacional en Florida Kids Therapy Medley, ubicada en el 13335 de Southwest 124th Street, el jueves, cuando Rivas, quien era su terapeuta ocupacional, “apretó las mejillas de la víctima” y le introdujo repetidamente en la boca un dispositivo de terapia del habla conocido como Whisper Phone, “cubriéndole la boca en varias ocasiones”.

Un informe de arresto indica que el niño se alteró, tras lo cual Rivas “comenzó a sujetar a la víctima con fuerza contra la silla” y “empujó firmemente hacia abajo las piernas de la víctima”.

Los investigadores informaron que el niño sufrió “numerosas abrasiones” en ambos omóplatos y en el pecho. Según el informe, fue atendido por sus lesiones en el Hospital de Niños Nicklaus.

Posteriormente, las autoridades arrestaron a Rivas, quien dijo a los investigadores que no quería hablar con ellos sin la presencia de un abogado, señala el informe.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, Rivas permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “pendiente de fijarse”.

Local 10 solicitó una declaración a la clínica tras el arresto de Rivas.

Mathieu van der Poel led his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Philipsen to his first stage victory of this Tour by controlling the pace and containing counterattacks through the last kilometers.

Philipsen finished just ahead of Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij.

The Belgian rider described a “a rollercoaster of emotions” after what had been a disappointing Tour for him personally.

“I prepared very, very well. I was in the shape of my life, I think, and the first stages, the first 12 days were just horrible. I couldn’t find myself, couldn’t find the feeling I was hoping for,” said Philipsen, who thanked his team colleagues.

“I was like an angry bird at the table. I was just disappointed in myself, angry that I couldn’t take (a) stage win, that I didn’t find my feeling. And the team, they had to deal with it, not only the riders, the staff. This one is for them to keep on believing,” Philipsen said.

Pogačar plays it safe

Pogačar, who is chasing a third straight Tour title and fifth overall, maintained his lead of just over 4½ minutes over Remco Evenepoel, the winner of the previous two stages.

But it was a bad day for Pogačar’s UAE Emirates XRG teammate Adam Yates, who struggled and only made it back within the time limit. The British rider slumped over his handlebars, clearly exhausted.

The race ends Sunday in Paris.

Sprinters’ last chance

The relatively flat 174.7-kilometer (108.5-mile) route from Chambery to Voiron was the last favorable stage for sprinters before the Tour takes to the Alps, and it led to a day of attempted breakaways with many riders vying to put themselves in contention.

Van der Poel was among the leaders after Côte de Saint-Jean d’Arvey, the last significant climb, and they were joined by others before Yates’ problems began in the peloton.

Mads Pedersen was next to attack the leaders with 65 kilometers remaining, and the green jersey-holder invigorated the group when he joined them.

More sprinters broke away, swelling the group to 30 riders, before Pedersen, Ben Healy, Michal Kwiatkowski, Felix Engelhardt, Ed Planckaert and Jasper Stuyven struck out 57 kilometers from the finish.

Stuyven attacked on his own 26 kilometers from the line, leaving his five former co-leaders to chase or wait for the main bunch. They were caught. The only question was whether the 34-year-old Stuyven had the stamina to claim his first Tour stage win.

The Belgian rider was caught with less than 4 kilometers remaining, and Van der Poel did the rest for Philipsen.

Race for green jersey heats up

Philipsen's stage win moved him just behind Pedersen in the contest for the green jersey awarded to the rider with the most points.

With four stages remaining, Pedersen of Lidl-Trek had 452 points, followed by Philipsen on 445. Biniam Girmay of Eritrea was next with 361 points.

Doping test concerns

Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, responded to criticism of unannounced anti-doping controls after Pogačar and his main rival Jonas Vingegaard were woken in the early hours of Sunday for tests by the Swiss-based International Testing Agency.

Vingegaard subsequently crashed during Sunday’s stage and had to abandon the race.

The UCI said it acknowledged the night-time testing “can disrupt riders’ rest and recovery” and said it remained an exceptional measure.

“While fully aware of how onerous such a measure is for riders, the UCI nevertheless underscores that these controls serve an overriding interest: the fight against doping,” the body said in a statement.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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The local National Weather Service office in New Orleans may have summed up Bertha best early Wednesday, as one of its meteorologists wrote in its area forecast discussion:

“Abnormal tropical storm conditions is putting it lightly. I for one have never seen a tropical storm warning and a heat advisory/warning for the same time frame in the same area. But here we are.”

Despite a track that takes the center through parts of south Louisiana Wednesday, a sunny start to the day with mostly dry conditions and breaks in the clouds — even as the center of Bertha passes through — will allow temperatures to soar, with feels-like temperatures climbing to nearly 115 degrees for much of southern Louisiana and parts of coastal Mississippi.

As a result, extreme heat warnings are in effect alongside tropical storm warnings on Wednesday.

It’s an unusual paradox but for a very unusual storm. While tropical storm warnings indicate the likelihood of winds exceeding 38 mph, in this case that’ll be mostly in gusts, and areas in South Louisiana under a tropical storm warning will mostly see a breezy day without any consequential rain.

The exception could be areas farther south and along the immediate coast – such as in the long finger of Plaquemines Parish that juts into the Gulf – where minor, localized flooding is possible, especially with higher than usual tides.

The overall impact from Bertha will be minimal at best today and Thursday as it scrapes along the northern Gulf Coast, with its remnants moving inland over eastern Texas later Thursday.

Copious rainfall … over water

Bertha has been a prolific rainmaker, but over water. As we’ve discussed all week (and last), relentless wind shear has blown off all of Bertha’s organized storminess to the south of its center and over the Gulf.

Radar estimates indicate rain totals topping nearly two feet over parts of the northern Gulf, and a marine station atop an oil platform located about 140 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, has reported almost 11 inches of rain since Tuesday morning.

Over land, however, and near and to the north of Bertha’s center, rainfall totals have been unremarkable and manageable, with only a few inches at most reported so far.

This will continue to be the case today and tomorrow, perhaps even more so as wind shear ramps up further and pushes thunderstorms farther offshore.

The National Weather Service forecasts only a low (aka marginal) risk of flash flooding in isolated spots (flash flood threat level 1 of 4) through Thursday for southern Louisiana and areas east, with only spotty bands of showers expected around Bertha’s center.

What are the chances Bertha reforms farther south and strengthens en route to Texas?

Slim to none.

While there’s an outside chance Bertha’s exposed center unravels and reforms farther south, where it might be less affected by the firehose of shear, even in that case it’s unlikely to have the room it’d need to re-strengthen much before moving inland over Texas on Thursday.

The odds of it surviving and making a run as a hurricane is less than 1%, according to Google DeepMind’s 1,000-member ensemble system. In other words, don’t bet the farm on it.

Far and away, the most likely scenario is a gradual weakening as Bertha’s center gradually disassembles Wednesday and Thursday.

Mum’s the word elsewhere through July

Elsewhere, we’re seeing nothing on the horizon across the Atlantic basin through July and into the first week of August.

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These were not first-time licensing inspections, follow-up inspections, callbacks, or complaint investigations—just regular surprise inspections where inspectors found no violations.

We applaud these establishments for making food safety and cleanliness a priority every day, not just when someone is watching.

At Local 10 News, we’re constantly searching state inspection records to recognize restaurants that go above and beyond to protect their customers, and these businesses have earned that recognition.

These are permanent, brick-and-mortar restaurants with customer seating, not mobile vendors, caterers, commissaries, or temporary operations.

*EVERTON MANDEVILLE DELIGHT, 6445 PEMBROKE ROAD, HOLLYWOOD, 7/17

*FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES, 1700 NE 23RD ST., POMPANO BEACH, 7/17

*FIREHOUSE SUBS, 10800 PINES BLVD., PEMBROKE PINES, 7/16

*FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES, 801 SOUTH UNIVERSITY DR., PLANTATION, 7/15

*OAKBERRY ACAI ATLANTIC VILLAGE, 801 NORTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY, HALLANDALE BEACH, 7/13

*G’S KITCHEN & BAR, 4877 COCONUT CREEK PARKWAY, MARGATE, 7/9

*PIZZA HUT, 3396 SW 22ND ST., MIAMI, 7/10

*MCDONALDS, 1400 SW 8TH ST, MIAMI, 7/7

*SALON TROPICAL BANQUET HALL, 5350 WEST 16TH AVE., HIALEAH, 7/1

*KING’S SEAFOOD, 10925 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARATHON, 7/16

*MARY JANE’S CLOSET, 22864 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, CUDJOE KEY, 7/14

*PAUL’S BEACH BAR & GRILL, 84801 SOUTH OLD HIGHWAY, ISLAMORADA, 7/1

No se trataba de inspecciones iniciales para la obtención de licencias, inspecciones de seguimiento, revisiones de casos ni investigaciones de quejas, sino simplemente de inspecciones sorpresa rutinarias en las que los inspectores no encontraron ninguna infracción.

Felicitamos a estos establecimientos por hacer de la seguridad alimentaria y la limpieza una prioridad diaria, no solo cuando alguien los observa.

En Local 10 News, buscamos constantemente en los registros de inspección estatales para reconocer a los restaurantes que se esfuerzan al máximo por proteger a sus clientes, y estos negocios se han ganado ese reconocimiento.

Se trata de restaurantes permanentes, con local físico y mesas para los clientes, no de vendedores ambulantes, empresas de catering, cocinas centrales ni operaciones temporales.

*EVERTON MANDEVILLE DELIGHT, 6445 PEMBROKE ROAD, HOLLYWOOD, 7/17

*FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES, 1700 NE 23RD ST., POMPANO BEACH, 7/17

*FIREHOUSE SUBS, 10800 PINES BLVD., PEMBROKE PINES, 7/16

*FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES, 801 SOUTH UNIVERSITY DR., PLANTATION, 7/15

*OAKBERRY ACAI ATLANTIC VILLAGE, 801 NORTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY, HALLANDALE BEACH, 7/13

*G’S KITCHEN & BAR, 4877 COCONUT CREEK PARKWAY, MARGATE, 7/9

*PIZZA HUT, 3396 SW 22ND ST., MIAMI, 7/10

*MCDONALDS, 1400 SW 8TH ST, MIAMI, 7/7

*SALON TROPICAL BANQUET HALL, 5350 WEST 16TH AVE., HIALEAH, 7/1

*KING’S SEAFOOD, 10925 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARATHON, 7/16

*MARY JANE’S CLOSET, 22864 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, CUDJOE KEY, 7/14

*PAUL’S BEACH BAR & GRILL, 84801 SOUTH OLD HIGHWAY, ISLAMORADA, 7/1

La oficina local del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Nueva Orleans tal vez resumió mejor la situación de Bertha a primera hora del miércoles, como escribió uno de sus meteorólogos en su análisis del pronóstico del área :

Decir que se trata de condiciones de tormenta tropical anormales es quedarse corto. Personalmente, nunca había visto una alerta de tormenta tropical y un aviso/alerta de calor para el mismo período de tiempo en la misma zona. Pero aquí estamos.

A pesar de que la trayectoria de la tormenta llevará el centro a través de partes del sur de Luisiana el miércoles, un comienzo de día soleado con condiciones mayormente secas y claros entre las nubes, incluso mientras el centro de Bertha pasa por la zona, permitirá que las temperaturas se disparen, con una sensación térmica que alcanzará casi los 115 grados en gran parte del sur de Luisiana y partes de la costa de Misisipi.

Como consecuencia, el miércoles estarán vigentes avisos por calor extremo, además de los avisos por tormenta tropical.

Es una paradoja inusual, pero para una tormenta muy inusual. Si bien las alertas de tormenta tropical indican la probabilidad de vientos que superen los 61 km/h, en este caso se tratará principalmente de ráfagas, y las zonas del sur de Luisiana bajo alerta de tormenta tropical experimentarán en su mayoría un día ventoso sin lluvias significativas.

La excepción podrían ser las zonas más al sur y a lo largo de la costa inmediata, como en la larga franja de tierra de la parroquia de Plaquemines que se adentra en el Golfo, donde son posibles inundaciones menores y localizadas, especialmente con mareas más altas de lo habitual.

El impacto general de Bertha será mínimo en el mejor de los casos hoy y el jueves, mientras avanza lentamente a lo largo de la costa norte del Golfo de México, y sus remanentes se desplazan tierra adentro sobre el este de Texas más tarde el jueves.

Abundantes lluvias… sobre el agua

Bertha ha provocado lluvias torrenciales, pero sobre el agua. Como hemos comentado durante toda la semana (y la anterior), la implacable cizalladura del viento ha dispersado toda la actividad tormentosa organizada de Bertha hacia el sur de su centro y sobre el Golfo.

Las estimaciones del radar indican acumulaciones de lluvia que superan casi dos pies en algunas zonas del norte del Golfo, y una estación marítima situada en la cima de una plataforma petrolífera ubicada a unas 140 millas al sur de Grand Isle, Luisiana, ha reportado casi 11 pulgadas de lluvia desde el martes por la mañana.

Sin embargo, en tierra firme, y cerca y al norte del centro de Bertha, las precipitaciones han sido insignificantes y manejables, con apenas unos pocos centímetros registrados hasta el momento.

Esto seguirá siendo así hoy y mañana, e incluso puede que se acentúe aún más a medida que la cizalladura del viento aumente y empuje las tormentas eléctricas mar adentro.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional pronostica un riesgo bajo (o marginal) de inundaciones repentinas en puntos aislados (nivel de amenaza de inundaciones repentinas 1 de 4) hasta el jueves para el sur de Luisiana y las áreas al este, con solo bandas dispersas de chubascos previstas alrededor del centro de Bertha.

¿Qué probabilidades hay de que Bertha se reforme más al sur y se fortalezca en su camino hacia Texas?

Escaso o nulo.

Si bien existe una remota posibilidad de que el centro expuesto de Bertha se deshaga y se reforme más al sur, donde podría verse menos afectado por la intensa fuerza de cizallamiento, incluso en ese caso es improbable que tenga el espacio necesario para reforzarse significativamente antes de adentrarse en el territorio de Texas el jueves.

Según el sistema de predicción de Google DeepMind, compuesto por 1000 miembros, la probabilidad de que sobreviva y se convierta en huracán es inferior al 1%. En otras palabras, no apuestes todo a ello.

Sin duda, el escenario más probable es un debilitamiento gradual a medida que el centro de Bertha se vaya desmoronando poco a poco entre el miércoles y el jueves.

En otros lugares, el silencio se mantiene hasta julio.

En otras zonas, no se vislumbra ningún fenómeno meteorológico en el horizonte de la cuenca atlántica durante el mes de julio y la primera semana de agosto.

Según la Policía de Margate, el choque ocurrió en la cuadra 5400 de West Atlantic Boulevard.

La Policía informó que el sospechoso chocó su vehículo y luego huyó de la escena.

Según las autoridades, el sospechoso fue capturado poco tiempo después y se descubrió que tenía órdenes de arresto activas por cargos relacionados con narcóticos.

La identidad del sospechoso no fue divulgada de inmediato y no está claro si el choque involucró únicamente el vehículo del sospechoso.

El vehículo, un sedán plateado, ya fue remolcado de la escena.

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Authorities said the crash happened just after 5:30 a.m. at the intersection of Northwest 103rd Street and Northwest 17th Avenue in the county’s Westview area.

Deputies arrived to find the vehicle engulfed in flames, authorities said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighters extinguished the fire, but the driver, who was the vehicle’s sole occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to investigators.

Sky 10 flew over the scene around 9:35 a.m., where crime scene tape remained up, a damaged car was covered with a yellow tarp.

Deputies said the crash closed all lanes on Northwest 103rd Street from Northwest 17th Avenue to Northwest 21st Avenue. Drivers are urged to avoid the area, use alternate routes and expect delays.

Authorities have not released the victim’s identity or said what caused the vehicle to crash.

No other details about the crash were immediately released.

Las autoridades informaron que el choque ocurrió poco después de las 5:30 a.m. en la intersección de Northwest 103rd Street y Northwest 17th Avenue, en el área de Westview del condado.

Los agentes llegaron al lugar y encontraron el vehículo envuelto en llamas, informaron las autoridades.

Bomberos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue extinguieron el incendio, pero el conductor, quien era el único ocupante del vehículo, fue declarado muerto en la escena, según los investigadores.

Sky 10 sobrevoló la escena alrededor de las 9:35 a.m., donde la cinta de la escena del crimen permanecía colocada y un vehículo dañado estaba cubierto con una lona amarilla.

Los agentes informaron que el choque obligó al cierre de todos los carriles de Northwest 103rd Street desde Northwest 17th Avenue hasta Northwest 21st Avenue. Se recomienda a los conductores evitar el área, utilizar rutas alternas y prever demoras.

Las autoridades no han divulgado la identidad de la víctima ni han informado qué provocó el choque del vehículo.

No se dieron a conocer de inmediato más detalles sobre el choque.

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More recently though, Bloomberg’s latest dive into the topic cites research claiming for the first time on record, the Miami area is pricier than the Big Apple, saying South Florida’s consumer price index has jumped 36% since 2019.

“Cost of living is going up everywhere and the New Yorkers are coming down here, so I guess it is what it is,” said South Florida resident Robert Nordling. “The cost of living, the cost of anything from sandwiches to gas, it’s up one day, down the next.”

It’s hard not to notice that many things are more expensive now than in 2019, no matter where you live.

“And it’s only gonna keep climbing from here,” said Miami resident Mario Torres.

The Bloomberg piece goes on to say Miami’s private-school tuition, insurance costs and how much people are spending at restaurants are higher now than they were a year ago.

So what does all of this mean? Will people start choosing New York over Miami?

“Always an appeal here -- everybody wants to be in Miami,” said Nordling. “New York and Miami. I guess they’re dancing together now.”

Más recientemente, sin embargo, el más reciente análisis de Bloomberg sobre el tema cita una investigación que afirma que, por primera vez de la que se tenga registro, el área de Miami es más cara que la Gran Manzana, al señalar que el índice de precios al consumidor del sur de Florida ha aumentado un 36% desde 2019.

“El costo de vida está subiendo en todas partes y los neoyorquinos se están mudando aquí, así que supongo que es lo que hay”, dijo Robert Nordling, residente del sur de Florida. “El costo de vida, el precio de todo, desde los sándwiches hasta la gasolina, sube un día y baja al siguiente”.

Es difícil no notar que muchas cosas son más caras ahora que en 2019, sin importar dónde se viva.

“Y solo va a seguir aumentando a partir de ahora”, dijo Mario Torres, residente de Miami.

El artículo de Bloomberg agrega que las matrículas de las escuelas privadas en Miami, los costos de los seguros y el dinero que la gente gasta en restaurantes son ahora más altos que hace un año.

Entonces, ¿qué significa todo esto? ¿La gente comenzará a elegir Nueva York en lugar de Miami?

“Siempre habrá atractivo aquí; todo el mundo quiere estar en Miami”, dijo Nordling. “Nueva York y Miami. Supongo que ahora están bailando juntas”.

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According to deputies, Lissette Morazan Peralta, 52, and Bacilia Peralta Escobar, 85, were last seen at about noon Tuesday, leaving a place in the 1300 block of Northwest 132^nd Street.

Deputies said neither woman has tried to contact relatives and they may be in need of services. Their relation to each other was not released by authorities.

According to deputies, Peralta Escobar was last seen wearing a white and black striped shirt and black leggings, while Morazan Peralta was last seen wearing a black shirt and a beige skirt.

Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to call Deputy A. Madrigal at 305-715-3300 or 305-715-3214. Tipsters may also email u307222@mdso.com or call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).

Según los agentes, Lissette Morazan Peralta, de 52 años, y Bacilia Peralta Escobar, de 85, fueron vistas por última vez alrededor del mediodía del martes, cuando salían de un lugar ubicado en la cuadra 1300 de Northwest 132nd Street.

Los agentes informaron que ninguna de las dos mujeres ha intentado comunicarse con sus familiares y que podrían necesitar asistencia. Las autoridades no divulgaron la relación entre ambas.

Según los agentes, Peralta Escobar fue vista por última vez con una camisa de rayas blancas y negras y leggings negros, mientras que Morazan Peralta fue vista por última vez con una camisa negra y una falda beige.

Cualquier persona que tenga información sobre su paradero debe llamar al agente A. Madrigal al 305-715-3300 o al 305-715-3214. También puede enviar un correo electrónico a u307222@mdso.com o llamar a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-TIPS (8477).

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According to an arrest report from the Coral Springs Police Department, the crash occurred just after 4:45 p.m. Monday at the intersection of West Sample Road and Turtle Run Boulevard.

Police said the suspect, Joseph Adam Callejo, 42, of Margate, was driving his 2017 blue Toyota Tundra pickup truck at a high rate of speed while traveling westbound on West Sample Road before he switched lanes and crashed into the back of a 2022 silver Toyota that was stopped at a red light.

According to the report, an occupant in that car was transported by Coral Springs Fire Rescue medics to Broward Health North, where he or she died a short time later.

Police did not confirm in the report whether the victim was the driver or a passenger.

According to the report, Callejo exited his truck after the crash and was observed by a responding officer to have bloodshot, watery eyes; incoherent speech; was stuttering while talking; was swaying side to side while standing and had an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath.

Police said Callejo refused to speak with officers or perform a field sobriety test.

According to the report, a warrant was obtained to draw Callejo’s blood at the hospital, and the blood samples were later submitted to CSPD’s Evidence Unit.

Callejo was arrested on charges of DUI manslaughter, DUI with damage to property or a person, DUI-first offense, DUI-failure to submit to breath/blood/urine test, vehicular homicide and reckless driving.

Only a few showers are expected the next couple days, but the normal rainy season pattern returns starting this weekend. Spotty afternoon thunderstorms each day could slow down the drought that we are slipping deeper into.

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Coral Springs, el choque ocurrió poco después de las 4:45 p.m. del lunes en la intersección de West Sample Road y Turtle Run Boulevard.

La Policía informó que el sospechoso, Joseph Adam Callejo, de 42 años y residente de Margate, conducía su camioneta Toyota Tundra azul modelo 2017 a alta velocidad mientras circulaba hacia el oeste por West Sample Road, antes de cambiar de carril y chocar contra la parte trasera de un Toyota plateado modelo 2022 que estaba detenido en un semáforo en rojo.

Según el informe, un ocupante de ese vehículo fue trasladado por paramédicos de Coral Springs Fire Rescue al Broward Health North, donde murió poco tiempo después.

La Policía no confirmó en el informe si la víctima era el conductor o un pasajero.

Según el informe, Callejo salió de su camioneta después del choque y un agente que respondió a la escena observó que tenía los ojos enrojecidos y llorosos, hablaba de forma incoherente, tartamudeaba al hablar, se balanceaba de un lado a otro mientras estaba de pie y tenía olor a bebida alcohólica en el aliento.

La Policía informó que Callejo se negó a hablar con los agentes o a realizar una prueba de sobriedad en el lugar.

Según el informe, se obtuvo una orden judicial para extraer una muestra de sangre de Callejo en el hospital, y posteriormente las muestras fueron entregadas a la Unidad de Evidencia del Departamento de Policía de Coral Springs.

Callejo fue arrestado por los cargos de homicidio por conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol, conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol con daños a la propiedad o lesiones a una persona, conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol en una primera infracción, negarse a someterse a una prueba de aliento, sangre u orina, homicidio vehicular y conducción temeraria.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman formally signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a “123 agreement,” alongside what the Trump administration described as a “bilateral safeguards agreement.”

The U.S. administration released scant details of the deal, but the framework paves the way for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint U.S.-Saudi study, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Wright said in a statement. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States.”

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to head off emerging criticism of the decision under questioning by reporters about the risk that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium could lead to new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition in a volatile region.

“The U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation,” said Rubio, who was traveling in the Philippines on Wednesday.

The agreement does not include the International Atomic Energy Agency 's Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to a second person familiar with the decision.

The deal is expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms in developing the program. The Energy Department in a statement said it will be submitted for review to Congress, where it could face opposition.

The oil-rich kingdom's Energy Ministry said the agreement bolsters “efforts to diversify energy sources, advance cutting-edge technologies, and expand opportunities for cooperation and investment in ways that serve the mutual interests of the two friendly countries.”

The announcement comes during the war against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel, in part, to wipe out Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear enrichment program is peaceful.

Ahead of the announcement, Alexander Bollfrass, a nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, called the deal “a revolutionary new approach” to nuclear nonproliferation policy.

“The revolutionary aspect of this agreement is that the United States is not asking Saudi Arabia to abide by the highest possible safeguards, internationally monitored safeguards that are standard and are available today, but instead is willing to at least theoretically transfer highly sensitive technology without the same level of oversight that one would expect,” Bollfrass said.

President Donald Trump, during his first term, and former President Joe Biden tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology.

Enrichment could open the door to weaponization

Nonproliferation experts warn any spinning centrifuges within Saudi Arabia could open the door to a possible weapons program for the kingdom, something its assertive de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has suggested he could pursue if Tehran obtains an atomic bomb.

Wright traveled to Saudi Arabia last year shortly before Trump visited and discussed building out the kingdom’s commercial nuclear power industry with his Saudi counterpart. The U.S. Department of Energy has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Already, Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact after Israel launched an attack on Qatar targeting Hamas officials. Pakistan’s defense minister then said his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed, something seen as a warning for Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.

Some lawmakers are hesitant about giving Saudis enrichment capability

Enrichment isn’t an automatic path to a nuclear weapon — a nation also must master other steps, including the use of synchronized high explosives, for instance. But it does open the door to weaponization, which has fueled the West's concerns over Iran’s program.

The United Arab Emirates, a neighbor to Saudi Arabia, signed a 123 agreement with the U.S. to build its Barakah nuclear power plant with South Korean assistance. But the UAE did so without seeking enrichment, something nonproliferation experts have held up as the “gold standard” for nations wanting atomic power.

Rubio, as a Republican senator representing Florida, backed a bipartisan 2018 proposal that called for requiring Congress to approve any 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia. The bill was reintroduced by a group of Democratic lawmakers in March but has not passed into law.

Typically, 123 agreements — which authorize U.S. companies to sell nuclear technology abroad — go into effect unless veto-proof majorities of Congress pass joint resolutions of disapproval.

Rosemary Kelanic, the Middle East director at Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank, said that uranium enrichment capability could give Saudi Arabia “a potent source of leverage to extract future concessions from Washington, including new security guarantees, by threatening to weaponize its program unless the United States promises enhanced military protection.”

US firms could be winners in expected deal

Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, predicted the deal would benefit U.S. nuclear giant Westinghouse, which builds the large light-water reactors Saudi Arabia is seeking.

The Trump administration said last month it is providing $17.5 billion in loans to speed development of 10 new large nuclear reactors designed by Westinghouse to meet skyrocketing power demand from massive data centers. The new reactors could use the same design, Westinghouse’s AP1000, in the planned Saudi deal.

Sherman said the U.S. military is “bombing Iran because they insist upon enriching and reprocessing” nuclear material.

Now it appears that U.S. officials “are entering into an agreement with Saudi Arabia, giving them the green light to reprocess and to enrich, and the only difference I see here is that Westinghouse stands to make an awful lot of money on this deal, whereas the Iranians were not enriching American companies,” Sherman said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday.

___

Price reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

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It happened just after 4 a.m. Monday near 86th Street and Harding Avenue in Miami Beach.

The collision left gas pipes damaged and forced evacuations in the area.

Two people were taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center due to respiratory problems related to the gas leak, authorities said.

Crews shut down several streets in the area while working to repair the leak.

Ocurrió poco después de las 4 a.m. del lunes, cerca de la calle 86 y Harding Avenue, en Miami Beach.

La colisión dañó tuberías de gas y obligó a realizar evacuaciones en el área.

Dos personas fueron trasladadas al Mount Sinai Medical Center debido a problemas respiratorios relacionados con la fuga de gas, informaron las autoridades.

Las cuadrillas cerraron varias calles del área mientras trabajaban para reparar la fuga.

Según funcionarios de Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, el incendio fue reportado poco antes de las 7 a.m. en un edificio comercial de dos pisos ubicado en la cuadra 3000 de East Las Olas Boulevard.

Los bomberos informaron que las unidades llegaron en menos de cinco minutos y encontraron humo saliendo del área del techo.

“Los bomberos ingresaron a la estructura y encontraron humo llenando el segundo piso”, dijo un portavoz del departamento de bomberos. “Se determinó que el incendio se originaba en un espacio vacío entre el primer y el segundo piso que era utilizado para almacenamiento”.

Funcionarios de FLFR informaron que el incendio fue extinguido en aproximadamente 40 minutos.

No se reportaron personas heridas.

La causa del incendio está bajo investigación.

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According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue officials, the fire was reported just before 7 a.m. at a two-story commercial building along the 3000 block of East Las Olas Boulevard.

Firefighters said crews arrived in under five minutes and found smoke coming from the roof area.

“Firefighters entered the structure to find smoke filling the second floor,” a spokesperson for the fire department said. “The fire was found to be burning in a void space between the first and second stories that was being used for storage.”

FLFR officials said the fire was extinguished in about 40 minutes.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The 32-year-old South Korean singer's second full-length album looks back on a decade of change as she moves from the uncertainty of her early 20s.

“It has seven tracks, and they reflect the emotions and feelings I’ve experienced from my early 20s until now — like a chronicle of my life,” Kim told The Associated Press.

The album, released seven years after her last major project, the 2019 EP “GENERASIAN,” marks a return for an artist who has spent her career shifting between genres and exploring questions of identity, belonging and self-discovery. It arrives 13 years after her debut full-length album, “A Voice.”

When Kim released “GENERASIAN,” she said global interest in South Korea and its music, including K-pop, was still developing. She said the album came from a desire to speak about her own identity and perspective as an Asian woman born in South Korea.

“That was a period when no one had really told that story properly,” she said. “I wanted to show that perspective properly — not through the way it’s usually seen from abroad, but from my own point of view.”

Kim said her new album represents a move away from the broader cultural questions of “GENERASIAN” and toward a more personal reflection.

“After I finished ‘GENERASIAN,’ I thought about my next step for a long time,” she said. “Each album feels like a record of what I was feeling at that time, and then I move on. This time, I wanted to focus more on my own individual story.”

Kim broke through in 2011 as part of South Korean folk-pop duo Togeworl before launching her solo career in 2013. She won two Korean Music Awards in 2020.

The singer said the album’s title reflects the uncertainty she felt during the years it covers — a period she described as moving through a “wasteland” while searching for direction.

The album’s title track, “Never Gonna Be Alone,” begins at a wedding and explores the paradox of feeling most alone when surrounded by a bride and her guests. Kim said that feeling became more familiar as she entered her 30s and attended more weddings. The song’s warm, string-laden sound belies its unsettling lyrical undertone.

“INSA” — the Korean word for “greeting” — features rapper Bree Runway and plays on the formality of everyday exchanges Kim encountered when she entered the music industry. She said she often felt a sense of distance from the people and glamour around her.

“It wasn’t that I felt like one of them, but more this strange sense that I was somehow separate,” she recalled.

Kim said she hopes listeners who are also navigating uncertain futures can find something familiar in her journey. The album draws inspiration from South Korean novelist Yang Gui-ja, American writer Joan Didion and Studio Ghibli film “Spirited Away” — works that similarly explore self-identity and transformation.

Yusiel Lopez Insua no irá a juicio en el caso de las muertes de Mila Yankelevich, de 7 años; Arielle Buchman, de 10 años; y Erin Ko Han, de 13 años.

“Vamos a permitir que el proceso judicial siga su curso, ver qué ocurre en octubre y dejar que la justicia haga su trabajo”, dijo en un comunicado Alvin Wu, tío de Erin Ko Han, tras la audiencia.

Lopez Insua tiene prevista la lectura de su sentencia el 13 de octubre y podría enfrentar hasta 10 años de prisión. Walter Reynoso, abogado que lo representa, dijo que su cliente estaba arrepentido.

Lopez Insua había sido acusado de homicidio involuntario marítimo tras la colisión del 28 de julio de 2025 frente a Hibiscus Island, mientras las niñas participaban en un campamento juvenil de vela.

“Nuestros pensamientos siguen hoy con cada una de las familias”, dijo Reynoso.

“Mi cliente no someterá a las familias a un juicio y las expondrá a revivir esta terrible tragedia”, dijo Reynoso.

Lopez Insua utilizaba su teléfono celular alrededor del momento de la colisión y los datos “indicaron actividad en mercados de internet, incluso en el momento en que ocurrió la colisión”.

Los fiscales también alegaron que la vista desde la cabina del remolcador estaba obstruida por una caseta y una grúa en la barcaza, también que la embarcación carecía de sistemas adecuados de vigilancia, como cámaras o radar.

Documentos judiciales indicaron previamente que Lopez Insua había operado la embarcación durante años y tuvo anteriores “casi accidentes” en la misma zona.

La colisión también es objeto de al al menos una demanda del condado Miami-Dade.