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 a Porsche Macan, records show.

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.

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.

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.

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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 1000 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.

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 car 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.

Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be present as the remains of the troops killed in action are returned to their families. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander-in-chief. It will be the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.

Speaking to reporters on his way to Dover, Trump called it “one of the hardest things to do as a president.” His message to grieving families, he said, will be “we love you, we love your child.”

“There’s no games, there’s no nothing — that’s their child,” Trump said. “And all you can do is throw out your heart.”

Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan will be returned during the dignified transfer. The remains of a third service member who is believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks will also be 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 and is now believed to be deceased 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.

“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 went on: “We’ve stopped almost everything, but when you let other people do your job with the United States — 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.

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 an awaiting vehicle to take them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the service members are prepared for their final resting place.

Soldier had planned to marry fiancee 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 fiancee 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.

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 writer Michael Catalini contributed from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

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.

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; the hearing was later scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

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.

“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.

—-

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 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 announcement from Murrill, a Republican, came a day after New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams, Mayor Helena Moreno and five City Council members sent a letter urging the special prosecutor to drop the case.

“This case should have NEVER been started because there was NO crime,” Murrill said in a statement posted on social media. “This outcome will not deter my efforts to get to the bottom of this. The irresponsible and illegal actions that led to this abuse of the criminal justice system need to never happen again.”

At the center of the case are deepening rifts between leaders of a state that is heavily Republican and Democrats who control Louisiana's most prominent city.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry had promised a swift pardon, saying Murrill would not have her reputation tarnished by an “Orleans Kangaroo court.”

Moreno, a Democrat, 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.

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Associated Press reporter Jack Brook contributed to this story.

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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 listed as “to be set.”

Local 10 has requested a statement from the clinic following Rivas’ arrest.

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.

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!”

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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.

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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.

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.

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

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.

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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.

The deal — confirmed to The Associated Press by two people familiar with the decision who were not authorized to discuss details and spoke on condition of anonymity — could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint U.S.-Saudi study.

Though he wouldn’t confirm the deal, 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 is not expected to include the International Atomic Energy Agency 's Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people familiar with the decision.

The deal, expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms in developing the program, is expected to be submitted for review to Congress, where it could face opposition.

The expected 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.

The White House and Saudi officials in Riyadh did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment on the decision, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

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.

Both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology.

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.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Saudi Arabia last year shortly before Trump visited the kingdom and discussed building out the kingdom’s commercial nuclear power industry with his Saudi counterpart. The U.S. Department of Energy also 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.

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 what is referred to as 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.

___

Price reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Will Weissert and Matthew Daly in Washington 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.

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.

Los residentes se oponen a un plan para eliminar decenas de árboles maduros cerca de Legion Memorial Park.

Los trabajadores de la construcción ya avanzan en un nuevo desarrollo llamado Adella 3 que Acre Developments planea construir en el lugar.

Pero primero, para que el proyecto pueda levantarse, tendrán que talar árboles. Un total de 46, incluidos cinco grandes robles.

Algunos residentes, entre ellos Peter Ehrlich, están indignados y han presentado apelaciones ante la ciudad.

“Cada árbol es crucial”, dijo. “El arquitecto del desarrollador debería trabajar diligentemente para salvar esos árboles, no simplemente para talarlos, porque algunos de los robles tienen 120 o 150 años”.

El abogado David Winker representa a un grupo ambientalista que también presentó una apelación.

“Creemos firmemente que deben permanecer y también que no se han cumplido los requisitos del código, que exigen demostrar que no existe una alternativa, que no pueden construir su edificio debido a estos árboles que están en un parque público”, dijo Winker.

El tema ha generado fuertes emociones entre decenas de residentes que afirman que preservar la cobertura arbórea ayuda a reducir el calor, proporciona sombra, mejora la calidad del aire y protege la vida silvestre.

“Es crucial, pero desafortunadamente los desarrolladores, en un intento desesperado por construir lo más rápido posible para ayudar a sus contratistas generales a tener terrenos sin árboles, y funcionarios de la ciudad que reciben contribuciones de campaña de los desarrolladores, hacen todo lo posible por talar árboles lo más rápido que pueden”, dijo Ehrlich.

Como medida de mitigación por la pérdida de árboles, el desarrollador acordó plantar 103 árboles nuevos dentro y alrededor de la propiedad una vez que concluya la construcción.

“Tenemos ocho apelaciones esta noche, es algo sin precedentes”, dijo Winker. “Esta noche simplemente será así, tenemos muchísimas apelaciones en curso y algunas personas han expresado frustración por la cantidad de apelaciones, pero en realidad la pregunta es: ¿por qué están ocurriendo? Porque la ciudad no debería estar aprobando estos proyectos desde el principio”.

Local 10 News se comunicó con el abogado que representa al desarrollador, pero hasta el momento de la publicación de esta nota no había recibido respuesta.

El gobernador Patrick Morrisey envió a 100 miembros de la Guardia Nacional a las áreas más afectadas en la parte norte del estado y declaró el estado de emergencia para los 55 condados la noche del martes. Se esperaba que otros 200 miembros de la Guardia Nacional llegaran a última hora de la mañana del miércoles.

“Las agencias estatales y locales permanecerán sobre el terreno el tiempo que sea necesario para ayudar a las comunidades afectadas”, manifestó Morrisey en un comunicado.

Los meteorólogos indicaron que en algunos lugares cayeron hasta 18 centímetros (7 pulgadas) de lluvia. No se reportaron muertes de inmediato.

La oficina del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Charleston advirtió anoche sobre condiciones de inundación que ponían en peligro la vida en algunas comunidades, y pidió a la gente: “¡BUSQUE TERRENO MÁS ALTO AHORA!”.

Bob Pfister comentó que la electricidad seguía funcionando en el hotel donde se hospedaba en Weston, aunque el primer piso estaba inundado, y que la mayoría de las personas planeaba quedarse allí hasta la mañana del miércoles.

Pfister escribió en Facebook: “Ahora mismo esta opción es mucho mejor que un refugio y un bote salvavidas. ¡Si se va la luz, eso puede cambiar mucho!”.

Videos y fotos publicados en redes sociales mostraban vehículos sumergidos en estacionamientos, incluso en un Walmart en Weston, donde el agua lodosa se adentró con fuerza hasta el interior de la tienda.

Los equipos de emergencia informaron de decenas de rescates de personas atrapadas en vehículos inundados. Sin embargo, algunos rescatistas no pudieron llegar a lugares donde las aguas habían cortado el acceso.

Las alertas por inundaciones repentinas en el estado expiraron para la mañana del miércoles. Se emitieron otras advertencias para partes de la vecina Virginia.

Las fuertes lluvias formaron parte de tormentas de gran alcance que también generaron reportes de tornados desde el área de Cincinnati, atravesando Nueva Jersey, hasta los suburbios de la ciudad de Nueva York. Se reportaron daños por un posible tornado en el área de St. Marys y Belmont, en Virginia Occidental.

Los canales de comunicación de los servicios de emergencia estaban llenos de actividad a última hora de la noche del martes en los condados de Lewis y Upshur, que en conjunto tienen unos 40.000 residentes.

Los equipos de socorro realizaron rescates acuáticos durante horas desde la noche del martes hasta el miércoles, señaló la comisionada del condado Lewis, Agnes Quinn Queen.

“La devastación en todo nuestro condado es extensa”, publicó Queen en redes sociales.

Un socavón provocado por la tormenta se tragó un vehículo en un bar la noche del martes en Fayetteville, en el sur de Virginia Occidental.

Morrisey instó a los residentes a quedarse en casa y afirmó que las condiciones para viajar seguían siendo peligrosas. Las aguas obligaron al cierre de tramos de la Interestatal 79, la Ruta 48 y numerosas carreteras secundarias. El terreno ya estaba saturado después de que las tormentas descargaran más de 2 pulgadas (5 centímetros) de lluvia en todo el estado el sábado.

Las tormentas del martes ocurrieron una década después de que 23 personas murieran tras horas de intensas lluvias sobre las mismas zonas.

Datos de un medidor de agua del Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos mostraron que un afluente de un arroyo, Sand Run, subió a un nivel récord cerca de Buckhannon, superando la marca establecida durante una inundación de noviembre de 1985 que dejó 47 muertos en todo el estado.

_______

Dave Collins, en Hartford, Connecticut, contribuyó a este informe.

_______

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

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Iran for the Houthi rebel group's naval blockade against Saudi Arabia but hoped it could be de-escalated.

The Houthis are armed and significantly influenced by Iran but are independent of Iran’s supreme leader, unlike the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and several Iran-backed Iraqi militias.

“Anything that restricts shipping through the Red Sea would be problematic for the same reasons that the Strait of Hormuz is problematic,” Rubio said on the sidelines of a regional summit in the Philippines. The U.S. is closely monitoring the situation, he said, and has contacted Saudi Arabia a number of times over the last week about the threats.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes in peacetime, has been fully or partially closed since the war in Iran started on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks.

“It’s not a new threat, but it’s one that’s manifested itself in the past, but at the gist of that issue is the fact that, again, Iran is in the middle of it. Talking about the troublemaker in the region, it’s Iran,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the Houthi threats and said they violate established principles of international law.

The Houthis opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has relied on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market.

Three Houthi officials said the group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

A news agency in Yemen run by the Houthis, SABA, said Tuesday that six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the claim but tracking data from MarineTraffic.com showed at least three tankers appeared to make U-turns on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned that the actions “threaten regional security, undermine freedom of navigation, challenge the rules-based maritime order and jeopardize uninterrupted flow of global commerce.”

The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said Pakistan was “particularly concerned by reports of threats directed against vessels engaged in lawful commercial trade with the Kingdom.”

The ministry warned that “any hostile act against Pakistani-flagged vessels or Pakistani maritime interests will be regarded as a grave threat to Pakistan’s national security and sovereign interests.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are longtime allies, and the kingdom is one of Pakistan’s largest oil suppliers.

Last year, the two countries signed a mutual defense pact defining an attack on either nation as an attack on both. The agreement followed Israeli attacks on the neighboring Gulf state of Qatar. Pakistan has also repeatedly condemned Iranian attacks on Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan brokered an interim peace deal between the U.S. and Iran in June and is currently mediating between the two sides after they resumed attacks on each other earlier this month.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained close defense ties for decades, in part because of Islamabad’s longstanding commitment to help defend Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, in the kingdom. Pakistani troops were first deployed to Saudi Arabia in the late 1960s amid concerns over the war in Yemen involving Egypt.

———

Associated Press writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Michelle Price in Manila contributed to this report.

A report issued Tuesday by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime estimated that scams caused estimated losses in the Asia-Pacific region alone of as much as $114 billion in 2025. It warned that even as authorities conduct raids on industrial-sized scam centers mostly located in border regions of Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, criminals have responded by shifting to other parts of the world or operating on a smaller scale.

Patel arrived in Cambodia from neighboring Thailand which co-hosted a two-day summit with the U.S. this week on scam centers that was attended by representatives of nearly 20 countries and hundreds of law enforcement officials.

The head of the top U.S. law enforcement agency met with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul for talks on joint cooperation to tackle scam centers and other transnational crimes, such as human trafficking and drug trafficking, particularly through information sharing and intelligence exchanges.

Cybercrime has flourished in Southeast Asia where law enforcement is weak, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar. Scam centers are also linked to human trafficking. Thousands of foreign nationals who are employed to run “romance” and cryptocurrency scams to swindle victims are often recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery.

Cambodia this year claims to have accelerated a crackdown on the scam operations, whose proliferation there is “a top priority for the U.S. government,” according a U.S. Embassy statement. Washington appreciates Hun Manet’s pledge to counter this problem and is coordinating closely with the Cambodian government to battle the problem, it said.

The embassy said Patel’s visit “reinforces the need for strong, joint efforts to combat transnational cybercrime, including increased efforts to hold high-level scam bosses accountable and for improved information sharing regarding complicit officials and scam compound owners.”

The U.S. also “fully supports efforts to ensure justice for victims and criminal accountability for online scam operators, those who enable or protect them, and those complicit in related human trafficking crimes,” it added.

Cambodia will host an international conference on combating cyber scams in September, Hun Manet said in a post on his Telegram social media account.

“We need another one of those fast,” he said recently. “A few of those fast.”

The severely depleted lake has made it harder for people like him to access the water because “all the other boat ramps are dried up,” said Barrett, who planned to spend some days with his wife boating and camping around the lake. “So it's kind of a big deal when the water is low, especially for loading and unloading.”

The Colorado River's Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the U.S., is shrinking. A record-dry winter and extreme heat — as well as decades of overuse, chronic drought and climate change — are threatening to pummel the lake to near historic lows. Low water levels have forced marinas in this important tourist destination to adapt. Boat ramps have closed or moved, new ones are being added and marinas have been temporarily relocated to deeper waters.

“The Colorado River is in full-blown crisis mode,” said John Berggren, regional policy manager with Western Resource Advocates, an environmental nonprofit.

But there's still enough water on Lake Powell for recreation, marina managers say.

Lake Powell levels approaching historic lows

Lake Powell is currently about 23% full and is about 33 feet (10 meters) from reaching water levels so low that hydropower can't be produced. The reservoir could break its all-time record low in early September.

Together with U.S.'s largest reservoir Lake Mead downstream, the two bodies of water are the lowest they've been in nearly 70 years. The last time their combined storage was this small was in May 1957 when Glen Canyon Dam that holds back Powell was being built, according to a recent paper published by a group of academics and retired water officials. Powell began to fill in 1963.

“There’s less water in the two reservoirs than there has ever been at any time in the history of Lake Powell even existing,” said Jack Schmidt, the paper’s lead author and director for the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. Combined, Mead and Powell hold slightly less than 60% of all water stashed in the basin. “It is a reminder that we are significantly failing in our ability to control and reduce our basin-wide consumptive use.”

The authors warn the reservoirs will continue to deplete until this winter's snowpack begins melting in the spring. “Every day going forward ... a record low will likely be set,” they wrote. “This is a significant moment in the evolving Colorado River water supply crisis.”

The Colorado River feeding these reservoirs is relied upon by farmers, industries, wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven U.S. states, tribal nations and Mexico. Up to 1 million acre-feet (1.23 billion cubic meters) of water is being delivered from Flaming Gorge Reservoir upstream through next April to keep Powell above critical elevations, and the federal government is expected to soon announce its preferred short-term plan for how the states — California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah — should share the river's dwindling resources. Current guidelines expire this year, and states haven't reached a long-term agreement.

At Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, a bathtub ring of light minerals on the canyon wall shows the reservoir's high water mark. People ride a golf cart some 20 feet (about 6 meters) below a dock used during higher water levels.

Other Western reservoirs are also struggling

Lake Powell is among eight western reservoirs the Bureau of Reclamation has flagged for being at or near-record lows.

Elephant Butte State Park in New Mexico — the largest reservoir along the Rio Grande, which is not connected to the Colorado River — is at about 2% capacity. Critically low water levels forced two boat ramps to close in June, and heavy equipment is now needed daily to clear sediment at the main ramp so boats can launch.

Richard Holcomb, mayor of Elephant Butte, said the county is seeing fewer tourists and regular visitors.

“Many of our weekend homeowners have decided to look elsewhere for water opportunities,” he said. “This hits our gross receipts tax, which is a major source of our revenue” that helps pay for infrastructure improvements.

New Mexico water managers will be under pressure for meeting delivery obligations to Texas under a settlement recently approved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Researchers have warned unsustainable use of the Rio Grande — which originates in Colorado and extends into Mexico — threatens water security for millions of people.

As water dwindles, marinas keep adapting

The National Park Service warns visitors that low water levels have created new navigation hazards, from newly exposed shorelines to submerged obstacles to narrower or shifting channels. Its current elevation is so low that it's not safe for houseboats and small motorized vehicles to launch from most ramps, some of which have had to close. And fewer ramps generally mean longer lines and more congestion.

Various projects are being developed or are underway to enable water access as levels dwindle.

At the Antelope Point Marina, there are plans to spend about $81 million to extend a ramp to allow lake access when water levels are as low as 3,520 feet (1,073 meters). Kenneth Runnels, chief administrator with Antelope Point Holdings, said it'll be built and ready for use next year. “We'll be able to launch no matter what.”

Elsewhere, a marina on the lake at Bullfrog Bay is being moved to deeper waters and a new boat ramp and marina access will be built at an estimated $73.4 million price tag. And the Wahweap Stateline ramp is being continually extended. “As the water goes down, they continue to pour concrete to make it go deeper and deeper,” said Runnels.

The low waters at Lake Powell are having an impact on business, Runnels said. Boat owners and families that visit the reservoir annually are still coming, but new tourists aren't, which “doesn't just affect us. That affects the whole town of Page.”

Water levels are an issue, he admits, but the Antelope Point Marina currently sits at 338 feet (103 meters) of water.

“There’s plenty of water to recreate. The problem isn’t the recreation. The problem is the access, which is going to get fixed by the improvements in the ramp.”

___

Pineda reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporter Susan Montoya Bryan contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

President Donald Trump is attending the dignified transfer of four more service members who were killed in action. Republicans are pushing a $95 billion package to fund the military, pay farmers and restrict voting after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests over his management of the U.S. war with Iran, which he estimated which has cost $37.5 billion so far. Democrats and Republicans alike questioned whether Hegseth has an exit strategy.

And Trump has reportedly approved a deal that could potentially provide Saudi Arabia with uranium enrichment capability. The agreement would be reviewed by Congress, where it could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear it would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.

The Latest:

Iran war energy shock hits Southeast Asia hard

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised her country’s concern over renewed attacks by the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East, warning that “the situation could deteriorate further without much warning.”

“We want to see an end to this war. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see negotiations and we want the strait to be opened,” Wong told reporters at the ASEAN summit. The war’s impact on global energy markets has had a direct and personal impact on people, she said.

Southeast Asia’s reliance on fossil fuel imports from the Mideast has made the region particularly vulnerable, according to the International Energy Agency. Asian markets imported about 80% of the crude oil and almost 90% of the liquefied natural gas, or LNG, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, the IEA said.

Rubio says US willing to be ‘patient’ with pace of change in Cuba

Asked whether the Trump administration’s goal is regime change in Cuba, Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is prepared to be “very realistic” and “patient” about a process of ensuring that the Cuban people “can experience prosperity, safety, security and a better life moving forward.”

Rubio insisted the country’s socialist economic model doesn’t work and that the Cuban government is most interested in holding on to power, not making reforms.

But he said that “we’ll keep talking to them about the kind of changes they can make” because it affects U.S. national security.

“It’s a failed state. But I’ve never laid out any timeline as to what change would look like or when it would happen,” Rubio said.

A plane was carrying food and hygiene kits to Cuba on Tuesday, part of U.S. efforts to directly aid residents.

Oil prices rise another 3%

A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $93.83 at midday Wednesday after briefly topping $95 to touch its highest price in six weeks as the war with Iran continues.

Rising oil prices threaten to reaccelerate inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.65%, helping to bring long-term U.S. mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year. The yield was 3.97% before the war.

The auto club AAA said Wednesday that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. jumped again overnight to $4.06. It had been below $3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

The soldiers whose remains are being returned to their families

The four U.S. service members were identified by the Defense Department:

1. 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii 2. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas 3. Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York 4. Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, North Carolina

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

Trump to tell families of service members fallen in the Middle East, ‘we love your child’

Trump is at Dover Air Force Base, participating in the return of the remains of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East.

Asked for his message to their families before he departed Joint Base Andrews, Trump said, “All I’m going to say is, ‘we love you. We love your child.’”

“All you can do is throw out your heart,” he said.

Canada cancels joint US bridge-opening event after another Trump tariff threat

The Friday ceremony celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is no longer expected to take place after Trump announced a pending 50% tariff on most Canadian goods.

“In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed,” emailed Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for Canadian Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson.

U.S. and Canadian officials had reached an agreement to open the $4.4 billion bridge, which Canada financed under an agreement allowing it to recover the cost through toll revenue. Canada now plans its own ceremony Friday.

Two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations said they still expect the bridge to open to traffic July 27 but are less certain than they were before.

— By Joey Capelletti

Rubio says any nuclear agreement the US signs will not lead to nuclear proliferation

Rubio was asked about the risk of the U.S. signing an agreement with a Middle Eastern country that does not include the “gold standard” promise to refrain from enriching or reprocessing uranium.

Rubio said he would not “opine directly on that agreement” with Saudi Arabia, but then said “the U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.”

Rubio is pressed on Trump’s reported nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia

When asked by reporters on Wednesday in the Philippines about the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, the secretary of state didn’t deny the approval was coming and instead said, “I’ll let the White House officials sort of put out an official statement about anything in regards to that.”

Stumbling a bit in his response, Rubio also said: “I’d prefer it be, you know, put out when there is something to say that we will say through official channels.”

Rubio points to Iran’s remaining capabilities even though ‘diminished’

Rubio said Iran’s missiles and drones being used in strikes now are “exactly the conventional shield that they were going to hide behind to pursue a nuclear program.”

He said that capacity is “greatly diminished” but that a year from now, Iran would have had so many missiles and drones serving as a shield that it “would have given them immunity to do whatever they wanted.”

He kept some hope alive for renewed talks, saying the U.S. remains open to negotiations, “but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that” so instead the focus is on protecting shipping.

“We think other countries should join us in that endeavor. We don’t need them to, but they should because they’re more impacted by it than we are.”

Rubio is asked whether China and Russia are helping Iran find targets

Rubio, who doubles as Trump’s national security advisor, was asked Wednesday whether China and Russia are giving targeting information to Iran.

“All I would say is that, you know, anytime you’re in a combat zone like that, there’s danger associated with it,” Rubio said. “At the end, this actually proves the point that this is what Iran has been investing its money in.”

When pressed again by a reporter, Rubio said, “I’m not going to discuss that, other than to say that nothing that’s happened, nothing that China has done has in any way changed the trajectory of the outcome, of what you’re seeing in terms of the conflict that we’re having with Iran.”

Rubio said China has been quite cooperative in some ways, such as publicly opposing what Iran is trying to do in the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio says Iran controlling Strait of Hormuz would set dangerous precedent

Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” the U.S. Secretary of State said.

Rubio’s counterparts at the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have expressed alarm over the resurgent Iran war that has battered their economies. Despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war, Rubio said “we’re with ASEAN 100%.”

Trump approves nuclear agreement that may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, two AP sources say

The deal approved by Trump could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly ahead of a formal announcement expected to be made as early as Wednesday.

The deal, expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms, would be reviewed by Congress, where it could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.

Saudi Arabia is a member state of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which promotes peaceful nuclear work and inspects nations to ensure they don’t have clandestine atomic weapons programs. But the agreement is not expected to include the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people.

— By Aamer Madhani, Michelle L. Price, Jon Gambrell

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Trump says US will destroy a bridge or power plant for each Iranian attack in the Strait of Hormuz

The president’s warning about targeting civilian infrastructure came after the U.S. carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, including its capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.

The 11th night of American airstrikes on Iran came as diplomatic efforts have shown little public sign of progress. Officials on both sides have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.

As the president touts Trump Accounts, some families are still waiting for their baby’s $1,000

Trump says Trump Accounts could hoist children out of poverty and give more Americans the chance to benefit from investments in the stock market. But some parents say they’re still waiting for the money to arrive.

Trump on Wednesday plans to speak at a Georgia high school to promote the investment accounts, which offer $1,000 in seed money to every child born during his second term. The accounts went live July 4, two days before Trump rang the opening bells for both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ from the Oval Office.

The tax-advantaged accounts, created last year through Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill, can be opened for any child under the age of 18. The Treasury Department boasts 6.5 million sign-ups for Trump Accounts, with 1.5 million of those eligible for the $1,000 seed funding for babies born from 2025 through 2028.

▶ Read more

Iran’s demands over the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent, Rubio warns Asian leaders

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the world.

Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent war in the Middle East that has battered their region. Despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war, Rubio said “we’re with ASEAN 100%.”

Washington’s top diplomat also renewed allegations that Iran has reneged on commitments under a failed peace deal. Rubio said Iran “has been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences,” but gave no indication that the U.S. was considering returning to peace talks with Iran.

▶ Read more

US and Iran attacks rage as officials question whether diplomacy can stop march toward war resuming

The United States and Iran exchanged fire across the Middle East on Wednesday, as officials in both nations called into question diplomatic efforts to stop the war as it threatens to again spin out of control.

The U.S. launched an 11th night of airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, hitting targets across the nation as air defense systems opened fire over the capital, Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear what specific targets the Americans went after in these nighttime strikes.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, once again attacking just on the doorstep of Israel. The U.S. has been using Israel’s main Ben-Gurion International Airport to host its refueler aircraft and has put fighter jets at bases in the country, but Iran has been hesitant to strike for fear of bringing the Israeli military back into the conflict.

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Hegseth estimates Iran war has cost $37.5 billion as he defends funding request at fiery hearing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests Tuesday over the U.S. war with Iran, which he estimated has cost $37.5 billion so far, as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.

Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, during a combative Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, which came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July. Several times protesters interrupted his opening remarks.

Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money, and called Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military.

“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls,” Hegseth testified.

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Trump will attend the dignified transfer of 4 US service members killed in the Middle East

Trump on Wednesday plans to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East.

Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base when the remains of the troops killed in action are returned to their families, the White House said. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander-in-chief. It will be the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.

Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan will be returned during the dignified transfer, according to an administration official who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The remains of a third service member who is believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks will also be returned, the official said, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone.

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“It was a bit more of a rugged crowd. And they were small crowds,” she says in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “I could only enter after the bar closed. That was after midnight because I was underage. And as long as the bar wasn’t still serving, then I could go in and play while everybody was finishing up their last call.”

It was “character building,” she says, painting an image of a bygone era of her life in Northern Ontario and one dramatically opposed to the glitz and glamour associated with the five-time Grammy Award winning country musician. But those days were instrumental to what became her career. “I spent a lot of years dreaming about things that would eventually come but took a little while,” she says.

As Twain describes it, her latest album, “Little Miss Twain,” out Friday, is the period of her life from her earliest performances at age 8 all the way to her late-20s, when she inked her major label record deal.

“There’s this whole gap of life that I’ve never written,” she says. “I wanted to fill in story wise, personal story wise. … It’s a phase of my life that not a lot of my fans would know about.”

Revisiting the past — in more ways than one

A number of the songs on “Little Miss Twain” have been sitting with the singer for many years. “'Rockstars' I was writing probably 10 years ago now, and ‘Northern Town' is one that’s been around for a long time,” she says.

The title track of the record, “Little Miss Twain,” is its emotive heart — a song for her mother, who died in a car crash in 1987, alongside her stepfather, and never got to experience her success. For Shania, it was an opportunity to reflect on “my mother being my manager and my agent, my driver and my coach, even though she couldn’t sing a note,” she said. “She would drive me around to all these stages, underage in the bars, and that’s where I got my experience.”

The song was one of the last ones to make the collection, she says, but “it was this missing piece that came to me.” That's at least partially due to the inclusion of Tanya Tucker, who duets with Twain on the track.

On the chorus, Twain sings “According to my mother / I'm the next Tanya Tucker.”

Twain says of having Tucker on the record: “I don’t know if I would ever really be able to explain in words what it meant and what it would have meant to my mother.”

The song also features her son Eja D’Angelo Lange on background vocals; he appears on a few of the album's tracks. “I get to fulfill a lot of things that my mother would not have been able to share with me,” she says about working with her son. “It’s really beautiful.”

Genre explorations from a country music giant

Pulling from her early years allowed Twain to focus on some of her musical loves in and outside of country music. Listen closely and you'll hear “Motown, the country and western that my grandparents used to play like Marty Robbins” she says. “There’s a lot of rock edge stuff in there. ‘Faded Blue Jeans’ is very much a bluesy rock song” — it features Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme.

The multi-genre moments on the album, with credits that also include Ronnie Wood, work for Twain's current voice, which now features a wizened rasp. “I don’t have the little sweet sound I had years ago, but I have a new sound that I actually like,” she says. “And I think I write songs a bit differently because of it.”

A number of years ago, Twain contracted Lyme disease, which affected her voice. In 2018, she had implants placed in her larynx. “It’s a very unusual procedure to have for a singer,” she says. “I had damaged nerves in my larynx. So the vocal cords were perfectly fine.” The surgery worked, and the continued result is a kind of gravelly tone, a vocal fry, and additional distinction to her already unmistakable voice.

When her audience listens to “Little Miss Twain” for the first time, Twain hopes they will leave the experience with “a sense and a feeling of the atmosphere that I grew up in, the environment that shaped me, the experiences that developed me as a person and as an artist,” she says.

She wants them to get to know the cover singer at the local bar, the woman who didn't have childhood success. “I hope they learn,” she takes a beat, “about the missing chapter of who I am.”

So when Kovar, 64, bought a Ford F-150 last fall, his hope was to be better prepared for any new crisis.

“I was interested in trying to find some sort of power backup situation,” he said.

Now, Kovar has a setup from Ford that allows drivers of certain F-150 models to plug their vehicle directly into their electric meter to power parts of their home during an outage.

It is the latest example of automakers broadly adapting their electrification technologies to the home energy business, especially as demand on the grid increases and sales of electric vehicles slow. Car companies are looking to leverage their multibillion dollar EV investments to tap into a promising market in vehicle, home and grid technology, both for backup power and for supporting electrical grid resiliency.

“They’re trying to look for other businesses that they might sell into,” said Parth Vaishnav, assistant professor of sustainable systems at the University of Michigan.

Ford's latest connects F-150 drivers to their meter

Drivers of the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid and F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks can now plug in a one-foot long adapter to a 240-volt outlet onboard. That adapter — which Ford made with company Global Power Products — makes the vehicle compatible to plug into a longer, separate cable. That cable connects to a transfer switch installed directly on one's electric meter.

Through the adapter and cable series, homeowners can connect their vehicle essentially right to their home’s breaker box. The homeowner simply turns on and off which breaker switches they want for which devices they want powered.

“The way we think about it, especially for customers who already have a compatible vehicle is, you already own the power source, it’s in your driveway,” said Amanda Roraff, Ford's grid and energy services business acceleration lead.

The Lightning might provide power for two to three days, depending on what home devices are being used, and the PowerBoost Hybrid, up to five days on a single tank of gas.

The automaker says its solution is a less expensive way to supply backup power. Conventional, diesel-powered portable generators and full-home standby setups require expensive installation, costing several thousands of dollars. This solution, which also requires professional installation at the meter, starts around $1,100.

The setup only applies to about 200,000 vehicles so far, and it is also exclusively for outages. Ford also offers its Home Integration System for bidirectionality, sending power both from the vehicle to the home and from the home to the vehicle, while also being able to feed the grid.

Other automakers are boosting their energy solutions

Over 630,000 U.S. vehicles already have this functionality, estimates say, and automakers are rapidly expanding their available options with the goal of full vehicle-to-grid support in the long run.

South Korean auto brand Kia and Wallbox, an EV charging company, have teamed up so that drivers of eligible compatible vehicles can have home power backup during outages or during periods of high demand, to cut their utility use. They can send power back to the grid.

Tesla’s technology is similar — allowing drivers of equipped vehicles to connect to their home using additional Tesla hardware. The Cybertruck provides full vehicle-to-home capability, where other Tesla models can only connect to and power specific devices or appliances.

General Motors is also in the energy space.

A recent partnership with WeaveGrid, for instance, allows homeowners who drive certain GM EVs — and have the automaker’s home system and a proper grid interconnection — to enroll in some grid reliability utility programs. Once an outage is detected, GM’s vehicle-to-home tech has the capability to disconnect one's home from the grid and start supplying power from their GM EV.

“If you can imagine the future as we go forward, it's having the ability — now that we have this single platform — that allows our customer to experience our system,” said Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM energy, “but also can have the full control of the energy.”

The capability is an important lifeline amid EV sales slowdown

Not only is this business critical amid growing grid demand and increasing power outages, experts say automakers need to pivot with the EV market less active under current U.S. federal policy. Pure EV sales in the U.S. year-over-year are down 23.8%, according to a July Cox Automotive report on the first half of 2026. This demonstrates what an asset that EV and hybrid ownership can be.

The tech is not without challenges.

On the industry side, these systems have to undergo third-party testing to ensure they meet safety standards, and the vehicle and the charger need to be programmed to communicate. It also requires the approval of the utility where the capability is being used. It could take years to get an interconnect agreement.

On the customer side, homeowners need to understand their vehicles' abilities and how to self-manage their system. It also just brings another generator of power into the home mix.

Still, experts see opportunity, especially with interest in EV sales high outside of the U.S.

“We already know during an outage, its impact, providing electricity to the home,” said Scott Samuelsen, engineering professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine. “This is going to become very, very popular.”

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

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

The hearing stems from a lawsuit filed by Republican opponent and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who alleges Fishback falsely certified on his candidate paperwork that he met the state’s requirements to run for governor, including Florida’s seven-year residency requirement.

Tuesday’s proceedings began with a heated confrontation between Fishback, his supporters and members of Collins’ campaign before testimony got underway.

Collins’ attorneys argued that Fishback’s voting, mortgage, tax and homestead records in Washington, D.C., show he established his primary residence there, making him ineligible to run for governor.

During the hearing, Collins’ legal team presented D.C. voter registration, mortgage, tax and homestead records, along with testimony from a handwriting expert who said Fishback signed the disputed voter registration form.

Fishback later took the stand in his own defense. He acknowledged signing mortgage documents for a home in Washington, D.C., but testified that he signed the paperwork without carefully reading it.

“We were off to lunch, really hungry, and I was just kind of signing through stuff,” Fishback said.

Fishback also admitted registering to vote and casting a ballot in Washington, D.C., during the 2020 election, saying he was stranded there during the COVID-19 pandemic. He testified that he had a Florida driver’s license and voted for President Donald Trump.

“On Nov. 3 on Election Day, I inadvertently registered and voted in that election,” Fishback said.

Fishback spent hours testifying that the Washington, D.C. condo was a lightly used investment property near his parents. He pointed to low utility bills, Florida business filings, deliveries, vehicle records and his statewide debate nonprofit as evidence that Florida remained his primary residence.

Judge David Frank is expected to issue a ruling by Monday.

If Collins prevails, Fishback’s name could still appear on the ballot, but any votes cast for him would not be counted.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey sent 100 National Guard members to the hardest-hit areas in the northern part of the state, and declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday night. An additional 200 National Guard members were expected to arrive by late Wednesday morning.

“State and local agencies will remain on the ground for as long as it takes to help affected communities,” Morrisey said in a statement.

Forecasters said up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain fell in some places. No deaths were immediately reported.

The National Weather Service in Charleston warned of life-threatening flooding conditions in some communities Tuesday night, telling people to “SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!”

Bob Pfister said the power remained on at the hotel where he was staying in Weston, even though the first floor was inundated, and most people planned to stay put until Wednesday morning.

“Right now this option is much better than a shelter and a life boat,” Pfister posted on Facebook. “If the power goes out that may change a whole lot!”

Video and photos on social media showed submerged vehicles in parking lots, including at a Walmart in Weston where muddy water surged far into the store.

Emergency crews reported dozens of rescues of people stuck in submerged vehicles. However, some rescuers were unable to get to locations where floodwaters had cut off access.

Flash flood warnings in the state expired by Wednesday morning. Other warnings were issued for parts of neighboring Virginia.

The heavy rains were part of wide-ranging storms — which also produced reports of tornadoes — stretching from the Cincinnati area across New Jersey to the New York City suburbs. Damage from a possible tornado was reported in the area of St. Marys and Belmont in West Virginia.

Emergency service communication channels were buzzing with activity late Tuesday night in Lewis and Upshur counties, which have about 40,000 residents combined.

First responders were performing water rescues for hours Tuesday night into Wednesday, Lewis County Commissioner Agnes Quinn Queen said.

“The devastation across our county is extensive,” she said in a social media post.

A sinkhole caused by the storm swallowed a vehicle at a bar Tuesday night in Fayetteville, in southern West Virginia.

Morrisey urged residents to stay at home and said travel conditions remained hazardous Tuesday night. Floodwaters forced the closure of portions of Interstate 79, U.S. Route 48 and numerous secondary roads. The ground was already saturated after storms dumped more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain throughout the state on Saturday.

Tuesday’s storms occurred a decade after 23 people died after heavy rains fell for hours over the same areas.

Data from a U.S. Geological Survey water gauge showed one creek tributary, Sand Run, rose to a record level near Buckhannon, topping the mark set during a November 1985 flood event that resulted in 47 deaths statewide.

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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

The FA said Wednesday that Eckert had been charged for three incidents that came to light during the end of season playoffs.

Southampton was expelled from the Championship playoff final in May after admitting to spying on other teams, including semifinal opponent Middlesbrough.

The FA said it was alleged Eckert acted in an “improper manner and/or brought the game into disrepute” by authorizing the observation of opponents' training sessions.

Southampton was charged by the English Football League with the unauthorized filming of Middlesbrough’s practice sessions ahead of their two-legged semifinal, which it went on to win and go within one game of promotion to the Premier League.

It was expelled from the final after admitting to spying on Oxford United and Ipswich earlier in the season. The EFL also imposed a four-point deduction for next season, while Middlesbrough was reinstated to the final, which it lost 1-0 to Hull City.

An arbitration panel laid bare the influence of Eckert in the scandal, saying it was “a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage” and analysts who carried out the unauthorized filming “felt pressurised to do the observations that Mr. Eckert and the senior coaches wished them to do.”

Expulsion from the playoffs deprived Southampton of the chance of promotion to the top flight and a guaranteed windfall of at least $270 million in future earnings.

Despite the controversy Southampton said it was sticking by its coach.

“As a board, we are fully behind him,” owner Dragan Šolak said in June, “and together we only have one objective — we want promotion back to (the) Premier League.”

Eckert also said in June that he had “made a mistake” and took “full responsibility.”

Eckert has until July 28 to respond to the FA charges.

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

The fire in rural Guadalajara comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expat community in southern Spain. That small but extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including several foreigners, in one of the southern European country's deadliest wildfires.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday visited the fire-ravaged area in Guadalajara, and called for a pact between political parties to fight climate change.

“Year after year we clearly see how climate change kills and destroys wealth in our communities,” Sánchez said in the village of Tamajón, located less than two hours by car northeast of Madrid. “This isn’t politics. It is science, it’s about facts.”

Some 34 villages have been evacuated in the area but there are no reported serious injuries or deaths. Over 200 firefighters were supported by land vehicles and aircraft on Wednesday.

Spain this year has already suffered 22 major forest fires, defined as a fire that burns over 500 hectares (1,235 acres.)

The Socialist leader said over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) had already been scorched through the first half of the year, matching the total yearly average for Spain over the last decade.

Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, described the Guadalajara fire as “one of the largest in the recent history of our country” and the largest ever for the region of Castilla La Mancha.

The Guadalajara blaze is the second-largest on record in Spain’s history after some 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) were burned last year in the northwest of the country, according to data from the ecological transition ministry, as cited by EFE news agency.

Regional authorities said firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft had so far protected homes in all 40 villages in the burned area, 90% of which belongs to a national park. Firefighters hope to have the nearly week-old fire under control by Friday, said Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha.

Miguel Ángel Moreno, mayor of the village of Zarzuela de Jadraque, said its 100 residents were evacuated Friday, with 14 taking refuge at a Red Cross shelter.

Moreno said that the firefighters should receive as much admiration as the soccer players who won the World Cup on Sunday.

The firefighters “had to run from one side of the village to the other putting out fires,” Moreno told Spanish national television TVE. “Besides the heroes who won the World Cup, we have other heroes who remain nameless.”

New heat wave could complicate firefighting efforts

Spain’s weather agency said a heat wave that began Tuesday was expected to reach its peak between Wednesday and Thursday, with temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several inland areas and crossing 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) in parts of Andalusia in southern Spain.

Guadalajara and large areas of Spain were under alert for high temperatures.

Like many other European countries, Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which is combining with wind and limited rainfall to create ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heat waves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.

Other European countries face fires or hot, dry weather

In Italy, several fires burned across Sicily on Wednesday, prompting scattered evacuations.

For days, Italy’s Civil Protection agency has declared all of Sicily at the highest risk for wildfires. Winds and temperatures near or above 40 C (100 F) have fueled blazes from near Palermo on the northern coast to Catania in the east and now Agrigento in the west.

Greece was sweltering under what was forecast to be the last of a four-day heat wave. Temperatures were predicted to top 42 C (107 F), while several regions in southern and central Greece, including the wider Athens area, were on the highest alert level for wildfire danger.

Cyprus, meanwhile, issued a warning for high temperatures expected to reach 43 C (109 F).

In Britain, it hasn’t rained in more than a month in some areas, and much of the southern half of England is in a state of “prolonged dry weather,” one step before a drought. Thames Water, the country’s biggest water company, has banned its 10 million customers from using hoses to water lawns or wash cars starting Thursday.

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Nicole Winfield in Rome, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Según la Policía de Fort Lauderdale, alrededor de las 2 a.m., agentes respondieron al llamado en el 400 de Southeast 32nd Street, tras recibir un reporte sobre un accidente de tránsito que involucraba a un peatón.

La policía indicó que los agentes llegaron al lugar y descubrieron que el conductor y la peatón se conocían y habían protagonizado un altercado físico en un hotel de la zona.

Según la policía, el hombre intentó salir del hotel en su vehículo, pero la mujer saltó sobre el capó del auto y cayó mientras el vehículo estaba en movimiento.

La policía informó que la mujer sufrió heridas de gravedad, mientras el hombre detuvo su vehículo y llamó al 911.

La mujer fue trasladada por paramédicos de Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue al Broward Health Medical Center, donde murió, informaron las autoridades.

La policía indicó que los detectives investigan el incidente y que la identidad de la mujer no ha sido divulgada por el momento trabajan para notificar a sus familiares.

Las autoridades no confirmaron por qué ambos presuntamente comenzaron a pelear.

Cualquier persona que haya presenciado algún hecho relacionado con el caso debe comunicarse con el Departamento de Policía de Fort Lauderdale.

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According to Fort Lauderdale police, at about 2 a.m., officers responded to the 400 block of Southeast 32^nd Street after receiving a report about a car accident involving a pedestrian.

Police said officers arrived at the scene and discovered that the driver and pedestrian knew each other and had gotten into a physical altercation at a local hotel.

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

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

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

Police said detectives are investigating the incident and the woman’s identity is being withheld as they work to notify her next of kin.

They did not confirm why the two were allegedly fighting to begin with.

Anyone who witnessed anything related to the case is urged to call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

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Residents are pushing back against a plan to remove dozens of mature trees near Legion Memorial Park.

Construction workers are already hard at work on a new development called Adella 3 that Acre Developments plans to build on the site.

But first, for it to go up, trees have to come down -- a total of 46 of them, including five large oaks.

Some residents, including Peter Ehrlich, are livid and have filed appeals with the city.

“Every tree is crucial,” he said. “The developer’s architect should work diligently to save those trees, not to just kill them, because some of the oak trees are 120 or 150 years old.”

Attorney David Winker represents an environmental group that has also filed an appeal.

“We feel strongly that they should stay, and also that they haven’t met the code requirements, which are to show that there’s no alternative, that they can’t build their building because of these trees that are on a public park,” said Winker.

The issue has sparked strong emotions among dozens of residents who say preserving the tree canopy helps reduce heat, provides shade, improves air quality, and protects wildlife.

“It’s crucial, but unfortunately, developers in such a desperate bid to build as quickly as they can to help their general contractors to have sites with no trees and city officials who receive campaign contributions from developers bend over backwards to kill trees as quickly as they possibly can,” said Ehrlich.

As mitigation for the tree loss, the developer has agreed to plant 103 new trees in and around the property once construction is complete.

“We’ve got eight appeals tonight -- it’s unprecedented,” said Winker. “We have so many appeals going on and some people have expressed frustration with the number of appeals, but it really is, why are the appeals happening? Because the city shouldn’t be approving these in the first place.”

Local 10 News reached out to the attorney representing the developer but has not heard back as of the time of this story’s publication.

A memorial stone is to remain in place outside the house in Braunau am Inn near the German border with the inscription, “For freedom, democracy and liberty. Never again fascism. Millions of dead remind us.”

Hitler was born in the building on April 20, 1889. His family moved to another residence in Braunau am Inn after only a few months, before settling temporarily in Passau in southern Germany.

Fueled by racial fanaticism, Hitler's Nazi regime killed approximately 6 million Jews and other minorities and groups during the Holocaust. The dictator unleashed World War II in which at least 60 million people died. He committed suicide in April 1945, shortly before the end of the war.

“The Republic of Austria, the state, the county is facing up to this heritage, the terrible heritage of this time, and commits itself to deal with it,” Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said during the opening ceremony of the police station on Wednesday. “This entails this house and this address.”

The renovation of the building took several years and cost around 20 million euros ($22.8 million), Austrian news agency APA reported. It was preceded by a yearslong back-and-forth over the ownership of the house.

The ownership question was resolved in 2017 when Austria’s highest court ruled the government was within its rights to expropriate the building after its owner refused to sell. A suggestion it might be demolished was dropped.

The building had been rented by Austria’s Interior Ministry since 1972 to prevent its misuse and was sublet to various charitable organizations. The structure stood empty after a care center for adults with disabilities moved out in 2011.

The Austrian government has said the best use for the building would be the presence of the police as guardians of civil liberties. But critics said the building in its current presentation lacks historical context.

A commission of experts came out against turning the building into a museum, advocating instead for a redesign that would not be easily recognizable.

The building's ochre-yellow was turned white, the arched windows were replaced by simple rectangular shapes and the facade has been extended upward toward the roof. Debris from the construction was disposed at a secret location to ensure it would not become a new source for Nazi memorabilia, APA reported.

In the past, far-right extremists repeatedly paid homage to the “Führer,” photographing the building, taking stones as souvenirs and laying flowers and wreaths. In 2024, four Germans were caught laying white roses in the building's window recesses and posing for photos, including a woman giving the stiff-armed Hitler salute.

It hasn't worked out that way. With a little more than three months to go, both parties are grappling with self-inflicted wounds and messy missteps that have complicated their paths to victory in key races.

Trump steered the country into a war against Iran with no end in sight, disrupting the global flow of oil and spiking prices at the pump. He remains fixated on purging his party of dissent and relitigating his election defeat six years ago.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are in the throes of an internal civil war between moderates and progressives, as democratic socialists successfully oust incumbents. Some candidates have imploded in spectacular fashion, jeopardizing races the party had expected to win.

The drama has turned existential as each party faces a moment of reckoning. Democrats remain shaken by Trump being elected again and are desperately searching for a path back to power. Republicans are beginning to contemplate a post-Trump era even as the president maintains an iron grip on the party.

Frank Luntz, a longtime pollster, said the year has been consumed by “a sense of chaos and confusion.”

“We really do not know what’s going to happen in November," he said.

Candidates have been rocked by scandal

Democrats' latest turmoil has unfolded in Wisconsin, one of the most narrowly divided battleground states.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez abandoned her bid for governor after a campaign finance scandal just as she seemed to be consolidating support. Now the party establishment is concerned her departure will elevate Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist who's viewed by party leaders as a potentially weak opponent against U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the likely Republican nominee.

“If we lose, Trump’s most loyal lackey in Congress takes control of Wisconsin, and that’s turned regular Democratic angst into flop sweats,” said longtime Wisconsin liberal activist Scot Ross. Still, he predicted that once the focus moves past the primary fight, Democratic voters would unite behind the party's candidate.

Then there's Maine, where the party is eager to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins as part of a nationwide push to regain control of the chamber.

Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and political outsider, rode a wave of grassroots energy to the Democratic nomination, only to drop out after an allegation of sexual assault, which he denies.

Supporters had hoped Platner would be the kind of candidate who could win white working-class voters back to the party, despite controversies including a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol and a history of inflammatory social media posts. Democrats are holding a convention this weekend to choose a replacement candidate.

Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster and consultant, said activists and voters have been willing to overlook potential vulnerabilities while supporting outsiders for office.

“There is something in the air that has made these candidates incredibly reckless and thinking that they can get away with it," she said, pointing to the president as a potential explanation. “I think Trump has kind of created a high-risk environment."

Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Trump's first-term vice president, Mike Pence, said the dynamic was reminiscent of 2010 when the tea party ushered in a wave of unvetted Republican candidates who famously beat establishment figures in primaries but lost in November, costing Republicans the Senate even as they made gains in the House.

The shoe, he said, is now on the other foot.

“I feel like when there is a lot of energy on one side that you can tend to nominate candidates that create hurdles for you and limit what your gains could be,” he said.

Divisions between Democrats are on display in key races

Other races are forcing Democrats to confront some of their deepest divisions.

In Michigan, Senate candidate and progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed has worried party leaders like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer who fear he's too far left to win in the seat, which Democrats will need to hold onto if they want a shot at winning the majority this year. Supporters point to the enthusiasm he's garnered as a way forward for the party.

The primary also highlights a schism over Israel. El-Sayed has described Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a genocide, an accusation rejected by Israel and the White House. In response, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliated groups have spent close to $30 million backing primary rival Haley Stevens.

Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said it's clear voters across the country are rebelling against a political system they see as rigged and are yearning for candidates willing to fight on their behalf.

He said candidates like El-Sayed would serve as proof of concept going into 2028 that “bold, shake-up-the system economic fighters" are more electable in purple and red states than "stale, status quo corporate-aligned Democrats.”

In Washington, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., downplayed the idea the ideological divisions would endanger Democrats.

“A healthy party is a party that has arguments," he said. “I think our party should be debating ideas. We should be having hotly contested primaries."

Republicans rocked by retirements and ousted incumbents

Republicans are facing their own challenges as they try to buck historical precedent and maintain congressional control.

Trump reshaped this year’s Senate map by sidelining some Republican incumbents and promoting loyalists to replace them. That includes in Texas, where he ousted longtime Sen. John Cornyn and endorsed Ken Paxton, a fiery conservative with a lengthy history of corruption allegations.

Republican leaders had warned his nomination would put the state in play and force the party to spend millions of dollars defending what would have otherwise been a safe seat.

Others chose to leave the party. In North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run for reelection after feuding with Trump. Democrats hope to flip the seat with former Gov. Roy Cooper.

Whit Ayres, a longtime Republican pollster and strategist, said Trump “has exacerbated the problem” of a political culture that has produced more extreme candidates on both sides of the aisle thanks to closed primaries.

Trump can boost candidates — or hold them back

Republicans have historically struggled when Trump isn't on the ballot. But he also risks weighing candidates down.

Just 37% of U.S. adults approve of how he's handling the presidency, according to the most recent AP-NORC poll, which shows deep dissatisfactions over his handling of the economy and other issues.

But instead of staying focused on lowering prices, Trump has continued his bombardment of Iran in a struggle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil supplies. He also delivered a primetime address in which he continued to dispute his 2020 loss in an appeal for more restrictive voting laws.

“Trump is our biggest ally," said Lake, the Democratic pollster and consultant. “He’s the best things that Democrats have going. And it’s the gift that keeps on going."

But Jenny Beth Martin, chair of the grassroots conservative group Tea Party Patriots Action, disagreed.

“President Trump is the single greatest advantage Republicans have in the midterm elections," she said in a statement. “The energy and enthusiasm he generates is incomparable, and we’re counting on him to motivate his supporters to go to the polls.”

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Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., and Steven Sloan in Washington contributed to this report.

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According to an arrest report by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Ada Caballero, 44, of Homestead, was arrested Sunday on charges of armed robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery.

St. John’s Episcopal School’s website lists Caballero as a first-grade teacher at the Homestead school, who has more than 10 years of experience working in education and “loves to teach and shape young minds with love.”

Deputies said she didn’t show any love to her boyfriend, however, on Saturday when she allegedly attacked him.

According to her arrest report, Caballero and the victim got into an argument and the victim began recording with his cellphone, at which time Caballero grabbed her boyfriend by the shirt and reached for his cellphone, scratching his chest in the process.

Deputies said a struggle ensued for the victim’s phone and Caballero eventually snatched it from his hand.

The victim then “bear-hugged” Caballero to stop her from attacking him, but she pulled out a knife and “took a swipe at the victim but missed,” the report stated.

According to the report, the victim pushed Caballero away from him, and his phone and the knife fell to the floor.

Deputies said another brief struggle ensued for the victim’s cellphone, but the victim was able to take his phone back and call 911 for assistance.

According to the report, Caballero invoked her rights and did not make any statements to detectives.

Details about what she and her boyfriend were initially arguing about were not mentioned in the arrest report.

As of Tuesday morning, Caballero was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $6,000 bond.

A spokesperson for St. John’s Episcopal School told Local 10 News in a statement, “We are aware of the incident and the individual’s employment has been terminated.”

Space and comfort

The choice is clear if interior space is a priority. The ES is not only larger than the CLA; it’s also longer and taller than relatively big electric sedans like the BMW i5 and Lucid Air. That space allows for a massive amount of rear legroom. You can even get reclining rear seats with adjustable footrests if you want. The ES also has a larger trunk.

You’ll also prefer the ES if you want a cushy ride. It glides more smoothly over bumps and ruts in the road than the CLA does. Edmunds drivers found the CLA’s front seats to be a little more comfortable than those in the ES, but overall the ES is the literal and figurative big winner here.

Winner: Lexus ES

Range and charging

The CLA 250+, which has a single electric motor, gets an EPA-estimated 374 miles of range on a single charge. It traveled a whopping 434 miles in its Edmunds’ real-world testing. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive CLA 350 has an EPA-estimated range of 312 miles, and it went an outstanding 385 miles in Edmunds’ testing.

The Lexus ES is also available in two models of differing performance and range. The single-motor ES 350e gets an EPA-estimated range of up to 307 miles. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive ES 500e has an estimated range of up to 276 miles. Edmunds’ testing of an ES 350e basically matched its EPA estimates.

Charging is a similar situation. DC fast-charging capability for the Lexus tops out at 150 kW, whereas the CLA can accept twice as much power as long as you’re connected to an appropriate fast-charging station. In Edmunds’ testing, the ES needed 13 minutes to add 100 miles of range, while the CLA needed just seven minutes.

Winner: Mercedes CLA

Performance and driving

While the Mercedes’ compact dimensions and sportier tuning hurt it in the space and comfort category above, they become a benefit here. The ES is pleasant to drive and composed around turns, but the CLA is far more engaging and feels more like a sport sedan.

The 221-horsepower ES 350e is also slow by electric sedan standards. In Edmunds’ testing, it needed 7.6 seconds to get from zero to 60 mph. The ES 500e is more powerful, but you’ll still like the CLA more if you want quick acceleration. Edmunds tested the CLA 350 and found that it could get 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds.

Winner: Mercedes CLA

In-car technology

While our results thus far have been quite clear, this category is more likely to come down to personal preference. At first glance, the Mercedes may seem to have a landslide advantage. The entire dashboard is basically one gigantic screen housing. The touchscreen graphics are beautiful and responses are lightning quick.

It can certainly be overwhelming, though — both from a usability and visual standpoint. Those who are less technically inclined may prefer the relative simplicity provided by the ES, which, to be fair, features the latest Lexus infotainment system. It’s not as flashy as the Mercedes setup, but it’s also easy to use and hard to fault.

Winner: Mercedes CLA

Price and value

The Lexus ES and Mercedes CLA are very similarly priced — even their more powerful dual-motor versions align. By electric luxury vehicle standards, they’re surprisingly affordable. The electric 2026 Lexus ES 350e starts at $48,895, including destination fees, while the electric 2027 CLA starts at $49,400.

Ultimately, it comes down to where you see the most value. The ES is much bigger and comes with a few more standard features, such as ventilated seats and a wireless phone charger. For most shoppers, that probably means the ES is the better value. Still, the CLA has superior electric vehicle specs, and not just in comparison to the ES. Its tech, styling and driving experience are pretty compelling too.

Winner: Lexus ES

Edmunds says

Both of these electric luxury sedans received high ratings from Edmunds, but it’s the Mercedes that ultimately comes out on top with an Excellent score versus the Lexus’ Very Good. The overwhelming strength of its range, charging, and driving experience scores ultimately tipped the scales.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. James Riswick is a contributor at Edmunds.

The latest update from Congo’s Ministry of Health shows that as of Monday, 2,473 cases have been recorded in the latest outbreak, and 999 people have died. At least 737 patients are currently in isolation and hospitals, it said.

The outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. It has also killed more people at a quicker rate than any outbreak on record, including the 2013-2016 outbreak that is considered the worst on record with over 11,000 deaths out of at least 28,000 cases. That outbreak took about eight months from the first case to reach 1,000 deaths.

Conflict and community resistance are complicating the response

The World Health Organization has said that the true scale of the outbreak ⁠is at least ⁠two to four times the number of cases being documented, and there are still localities in the epicenter that are hard to reach mainly due to rebel conflict.

Ebola is rare, but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.

Officials have warned that 80% of new cases have emerged through unknown chains of transmission, a sign the outbreak is spreading faster than health officials can track it even as they step up their response in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, as well as in four other provinces where cases have been recorded.

Community resistance to Ebola teams, particularly those carrying out safe burials, has also hampered the response. Robert Ndjalonga, head of civil protection in Ituri province, said some communities have refused to allow burial teams to operate as they seek traditional burials, increasing the risk of further transmission.

“The biggest challenge remains resistance from or outright refusal by some communities to accept response teams," Ndjalonga said. "On several occasions, burial teams have had to be escorted by security forces to ensure that safe and dignified burials could be carried out without incident.”

Shortages of burial supplies have delayed responses to reported deaths, while some affected health zones still lack operational burial teams, Ndjalonga said.

Attacks on health facilities and response teams have also forced front-line workers and aid groups out of some areas. Some health workers have gone on strike, complaining they haven’t been paid since the outbreak started.

A member of a team carrying out safe Ebola burials was recently injured after assailants pelted the group's vehicle with stones after a burial in Bunia last week, according to provincial civil protection authorities.

The attack highlighted the challenges facing the response in eastern Congo. In Ituri’s Irumu territory, the local military administrator recently described Ebola as a greater threat than the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces insurgency and urged residents to support, rather than attack, health workers.

Containment efforts are faltering

A humanitarian worker involved in the response, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, also cited poor coordination between response agencies, delays transferring patients to treatment centers and waits of more than four days for some Ebola test results.

“At times, it’s unclear who is doing what and where,” the worker said.

The delays have led some patients to leave health facilities before they can be diagnosed, increasing the risk of further transmission, he added.

Speaking at the Africa health summit in Ghana on Tuesday, Dr. Jean Kaseya, the Director-General of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, called for intensified efforts to slow the outbreak.

“If we do not stop this outbreak today, it could become one of the worst Ebola outbreaks the world has ever documented,” Kaseya said.

Less than 9% of expected contacts from confirmed cases are currently being monitored, far below the level needed to contain the outbreak, according to Africa CDC. More than 60% of deaths are occurring in the community before patients reach care.

Pierre Akilimali, the Ebola response incident manager at the National Public Health Institute of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said the high number of community deaths suggests many infections are not being detected or isolated in time, allowing the virus to continue spreading.

Experts warn of a worsening crisis

Last month, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used computer modeling to estimate how the outbreak could evolve. In a worst-case scenario, they said it could approach the scale of the 2013-2016 West Africa epidemic.

“There’s never been an Ebola outbreak that started with so many cases because it was so late to be identified,” said Trish Newport, emergency program manager for Doctors Without Borders, who has been working in Congo.

“It’s like the outbreak is outrunning the response,” Newport said.

University of Pittsburgh epidemiologist Dr. Jean Nachega, who is advising African health authorities, said he does not expect the outbreak to reach the CDC’s worst-case scenario but cautioned that the challenges remain “huge.”

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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia, Congo, and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

The public can tour the majestic room and view its gilded ceilings and Greek frescoes en route to the nearby Mona Lisa, but they won’t see any crown jewels or empty display cases. The collections and precious jewels once displayed there have been removed, as the museum said the gallery is returning to its 17th-century original ceremonial purpose.

The stolen jewels remain unrecovered nine months later.

The gallery's former exhibits will be relocated elsewhere in the museum, said Christophe Leribault, the Louvre's director. “It’s also an opportunity to rediscover the splendid architecture and decor of this gallery,” he said.

Leribault was named to lead the Louvre in February after previous director Laurence des Cars resigned after the October crown jewels heist and a string of failures that battered confidence in the leadership of the world’s most-visited museum.

“That sinister day, when iconic pieces were taken, cannot be forgotten, and indeed, I believe, should not be,” said French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard. “It was a trauma for the entire world, which, for several days, expressed its shock and sadness in every language. It was a trauma for us, discovering the fragility of a place we thought unshakeable, and which, like so many others, proved vulnerable.”

Security at the Paris museum has been boosted with the addition of new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems.

On the day of the heist, thieves took less than eight minutes to force their way through a window into the Apollo Gallery and steal crown jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million), in a weekend operation that stunned visitors and exposed glaring security vulnerabilities.

Security improvement is a priority of the decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan launched last year, with an estimated cost of up to 800 million euros ($933 million) to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

Trump’s latest threat to target civilian infrastructure came as the unpopular war spirals with no clear offramp, threatening further worldwide economic disruption and sending fuel prices up ahead of midterm U.S. elections this fall. Both sides have dug in on their dispute over the strait, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.

The U.S. carried out another wave of strikes on Iran overnight into Wednesday, and air defenses opened fire over the capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

With negotiations largely stalled, both sides have sought leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure. Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries.

International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried such attacks as “unacceptable” on Tuesday.

The costs of war are mounting

The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, has jolted the world economy with effects far beyond the Middle East. A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea puts another trade chokepoint at risk.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.

Trump was due at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday as the remains of four U.S. service members were scheduled to arrive. A day earlier, his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, estimated in a fiery Senate hearing that the U.S. had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far. Benchmark Brent crude oil rose to around $94 a barrel in trading, and gasoline prices are once again climbing.

Attacks shake Iran and Jordan

Jordan’s military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba, while two others fell in “uninhabited areas.” Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in videos filmed by people in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat. Jordan said it also intercepted four Iranian drones.

Iran has avoided striking Israel since hostilities resumed last month, apparently hoping to keep it from reentering the war. But the attack on Aqaba, within sight of Israel’s Eilat, raised concerns over a further widening of the conflict after an agreement to halt hostilities collapsed.

Another missile alert sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia warned residents of the Persian Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter. Saudi authorities later said the danger had passed, without elaborating.

The U.S. military said earlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, with targets including aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported explosions across several provinces. Iran's Health Ministry says U.S. strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and wounded nearly 600 people.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted its retaliatory attacks would continue.

Diplomatic efforts show no signs of progress

Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said “diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA.

At a regional summit in the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Iran’s actions in the strait.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.

In response to Iran’s attacks, the U.S. re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump signals US may attack underground nuclear site

Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the U.S. had “no interest in meeting.”

He signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

The site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the U.S. during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while resuming the enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels since Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear deal during his first term. The U.S. and others believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003 and may reconstitute it in the future.

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Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, and Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

The latest conflict started March 2, when the Lebanese militant group fired rockets toward Israel after the U.S.-Israeli February attacks that set off the Iran war. In response, Israel launched an aerial campaign and ground invasion in Lebanon, killing more than 4,000 people and displacing 1.2 million others.

The two sides, technically in a state of war nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment, started rare direct talks championed by Washington.

They reached an agreement by late June, setting a plan for the deployment of Lebanese military forces in areas in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah had a military presence and influence, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, while disarming the militant group.

Hezbollah has refused the talks and disarmament calls.

Lebanese government vows to rebuild and take control

Nawaf Salam’s visit to Zawtar Al Gharbieh came a day after President Joseph Aoun’s landmark White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who made a surprise announcement, allowing American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon for the first time in 40-plus years.

Salam, alongside Lebanon’s defense minister and senior military officials, pitched a Lebanese flag near a destroyed building in the town, vowing the government will start rebuilding destroyed homes and infrastructure.

“We have insisted since the beginning that our goal is the complete Israeli withdrawal from all our territory,” Salam said. “What we are seeing today is just the beginning, but we remain determined and steadfast, and will continue to mobilize all political and diplomatic efforts to secure a full withdrawal from all of Lebanese territory.”

The army did not immediately allow civilians to enter as they cleared unexploded ordnance. Residents tried to storm the barrier in a desperate bid to enter the village and check on their homes and properties.

Some expressed frustration, downplaying the army’s deployment.

“The prime minister should have informed people that he was going to Zawtar and he should have taken the people, who have been waiting for the past two days, with him,” said Zaynab Ismail, a resident.

The agreement’s implementation begins with ‘pilot zones’

Lebanon and Israel agreed to establish two “pilot zones” in a series of villages in southern Lebanon where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army after clearing the areas of any Hezbollah presence.

Israel hasn’t occupied any of the newly assigned zones in the latest conflict, though it has struck them and conducted ground operations. The Lebanese army has a limited presence there.

Trump, in his meeting with Aoun, did not address the “pilot zones” entering their implementation phase, but pledged to support Lebanon without going into details.

Aoun and the Lebanese government have urged the international community to invest in the Mediterranean country and its army to help rebuild its infrastructure and military capacity.

Lebanon’s top political leadership has criticized the group for dragging the country into another war, but also condemned Israel for its widespread bombing and ground invasion.

Hezbollah has condemned the government for holding direct talks with Israel and rejected the agreement, but the militant group has not tried to sabotage it through military means. Its leadership believes Israel cannot be pressured to withdraw its troops by diplomatic means only, and that Lebanon lacks the leverage of its key ally Iran in negotiations.

Se espera que Bertha toque tierra el miércoles por la noche en la zona costera y poco poblada de Luisiana, al sureste de Nueva Orleans, y que el viento sea la mayor amenaza, según Michael Buchanan, meteorólogo del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en el estado.

En la madrugada del miércoles, la tormenta estaba a unos 235 kilómetros (145 millas) al oeste-suroeste de Panama City, Florida, y a 120 kms (75 millas) al este de la desembocadura del río Misisipi. Se desplazaba en dirección oeste a 9 kilómetros/hora (6 mph) con vientos máximos sostenidos de 85 km/h (50 mph), informó el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC, por sus siglas en inglés), con sede en Miami.

Había un aviso por tormenta tropical desde la división entre los condados de Bay y Gulf, en Florida, hacia el oeste hasta Morgan City, Luisiana, así como para el área metropolitana de Nueva Orleans y el lago Pontchartrain, de acuerdo con el NHC.

Se prevén marejadas ciclónicas de hasta 1,2 metros (4 pies) en Luisiana desde la desembocadura del río Misisipi hasta la frontera estatal entre Alabama y Misisipi, con marejadas menores en partes de Florida y Alabama, según los meteorólogos.

Podrían caer entre 5 y 10 centímetros (de 2 a 4 pulgadas) de lluvia desde el oeste de Florida hasta la costa sur de Luisiana, con cantidades mayores en zonas dispersas que podrían causar inundaciones repentinas en áreas urbanas.

Se espera que Bertha se debilite a medida que avance hacia Texas, apuntaron los expertos.

Distribución de sacos de arena

Las autoridades de Misisipi, Luisiana y Florida habilitaron sitios para distribuir sacos de arena a los residentes, mientras se colocaban avisos de bandera roja a lo largo de algunas playas para alertar a los nadadores sobre los peligros de las corrientes de resaca. A lo largo de la costa, banderas rojas dobles indicaban que las aguas del golfo estaban cerradas al baño.

Las playas cerca de Pensacola, Florida, estaban en su mayoría desiertas, salvo por turistas que tomaban fotos del oleaje que golpeaba con fuerza.

“Para los locales, esto es solo otra tormenta", apuntó Candice Henderson, gerente de Crab Trap, un restaurante junto a la playa que estuvo lleno el martes en Perdido Key, Pensacola. "Cuando estás de vacaciones y está lloviendo, o vas de compras o sales a comer”.

Bertha, 2da tormenta tropical del año en el Atlántico

Bertha es la segunda tormenta tropical de la temporada de huracanes en el Atlántico. Arthur, otra tormenta tropical registrada en junio, dejó lluvias intensas en el sureste de Estados Unidos.

Bertha podría descargar fuertes precipitaciones en zonas costeras de Misisipi que aún se recuperan de las inundaciones causadas por Arthur, que destruyó y dañó viviendas.

“Debido a eso, la gente está prestando atención, o al menos eso se esperaría”, apuntó Jeff Clark, portavoz del condado Harrison, en Misisipi, donde se habilitaron seis puntos de reparto de sacos de arena.

Clark señaló que hasta el martes no había sido necesario abrir refugios ni ordenar evacuaciones.

La Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica prevé que la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico esté por debajo del promedio este año, aunque eso no elimina las posibilidades de una tormenta catastrófica.

El huracán Fausto, en el Pacífico, está lejos de tierra

En el Pacífico oriental, el huracán Fausto se movía lejos de tierra el martes. Estaba a unos 1.295 kms (805 millas) al oeste-suroeste del extremo sur de Baja California, y se desplazaba hacia el oeste-noroeste a 15 km/h (9 mph) con vientos máximos sostenidos de 130 km/h (80 mph).

Según los pronósticos, ganará fuerza gradualmente, y el NHC advirtió que el oleaje generado por Fausto podría causar condiciones de resaca y corrientes de resaca potencialmente mortales en la costa de Baja California.

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Los periodistas de The Associated Press, Kimberly Chandler en Montgomery, Alabama; Stephen Smith en Nueva Orleans, y Haya Panjwani en Washington contribuyeron a este despacho.

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

The blast triggered by a buildup of methane gas tore through the tunnel Monday at the 500-megawatt Teesta Hydroelectric Project in northeastern Sikkim state in the Himalayas. Authorities have recovered the bodies of 12 workers who died inside the tunnel about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the state capital Gangtok.

Rescue teams equipped with specialized breathing equipment and night-vision gear were having difficulty entering the tunnel because of the gas and a buildup of water, administrative official Anupama Tamling said.

Gandura Oraon, 38, said he and other workers were eating lunch inside the tunnel when a loud explosion forced them to run for the exit.

“Luckily, we found the vehicle that had delivered lunch to us sometime earlier. We got into it and drove out,” he said.

As they escaped, Oraon said, they came across their supervisor and urged him to leave with them as well. Instead, he headed toward the site of the blast to see what had happened and was later found dead, Oraon said.

The Teesta River basin, where the hydropower project is being built, lies in a seismically active region marked by young, fragile rock formations riddled with fractures and underground pockets that can trap ancient gases. Fragile mountains, seismic activity and unpredictable underground conditions make tunnel projects especially risky in the region, according to experts.

A February explosion in a coal mine in neighboring Meghalaya state killed 18 workers. A tunnel section collapsed in 2023 in northern Uttarakhand state, trapping 41 workers for 17 days before they were rescued.

Ukraine has made significant progress in the war this year, and a rift between the country’s outgoing army chief and its defense minister threatened to derail its efforts. Both men lost their jobs following Zelenskyy’s major government reshuffle last week.

The top-level changes late Tuesday were intended to draw a line under an unwelcome spasm of political turmoil that lasted almost a week and prompted rejoicing in Russia. It was not clear whether Zelenskyy's measures would achieve that goal.

The new army chief, 43-year-old Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, belongs to a new generation of Ukrainian generals who have come up through the ranks during the battle against Russian aggression. He became known for his daring and courage in 2014, the year that Russia seized and illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula — eight years before Moscow's all-out invasion.

Zelenskyy said Drapatyi and other commanders must present an updated defense strategy, including continued reform of the corps system, faster weapon and drone deliveries, stronger air defense against Russian strikes and a clearer mobilization plan.

Russia says the changes in Kyiv won't alter the front line

There is no sign that the two countries are any closer to a peace settlement, despite U.S.-led diplomatic efforts.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow is sticking to its previous demands. They include Kyiv withdrawing its forces from the four eastern regions that Russia has seized but doesn’t fully control, renouncing any aspirations to NATO membership and sharply cutting the size of its army.

Peskov told reporters that the Ukrainian political and military changes reflect strains in Kyiv.

“Kyiv’s regime is trembling from within. It can be seen with the naked eye,” Peskov said.

Nor will the top-level alterations change the front line, he told reporters, claiming that Russian forces are on the offensive.

With the war’s roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line mostly off-limits to independent observers, Russia and Ukraine have also engaged in a propaganda battle.

Fedorov's future is still uncertain

Zelenskyy met separately Tuesday with outgoing defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech-savvy entrepreneur credited with swiftly developing Ukraine’s drone technology that has given it a battlefield edge.

Fedorov locked horns with outgoing commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, a 60-year-old veteran trained in the Soviet Union before Ukraine’s independence.

Street protests in Kyiv and other cities demanded Fedorov’s return, viewing him as a key military modernizer, and urged Zelenskyy to fire Syrskyi, regarded as part of the old guard.

The demonstrations looked set to continue on Friday, despite Syrskyi's exit.

“It is good that the dialogue is working. At the same time, we should not forget the protesters’ second demand — to reinstate Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister,” Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a veteran and former combat medic who has emerged as an informal voice of the protests, wrote on Threads.

Zelenskyy offered Fedorov what he called a respected position in the government that would unify the country’s technology sector. It wasn’t clear if Fedorov accepted the offer -- or whether the latest moves would satisfy protesters and calm the streets.

Fedorov said after his dismissal last week that he had been offered jobs by some global defense tech companies.

Fedorov supported Drapatyi's appointment, calling it a “new hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice” and “a voice for change that could not go unheard.”

Fedorov had criticized Syrskyi publicly before his dismissal, saying the general was blocking his reform efforts and needed to be replaced for Ukraine not to fail in its resistance against Russia.

Outgoing military chief points to recent battlefield achievements

Syrskyi defended his wartime record in a statement Wednesday.

Among other things, he claimed Ukrainian forces had clawed back 743 square kilometers (287 square miles) of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory this year and said he was handing his successor an army that was not only defending but also conducting offensive operations.

It was not possible to independently verify his claim.

Fedorov called Syrskyi to thank him for his military triumphs, including defending the Kyiv region at the time of Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion, the Kharkiv counteroffensive operation later that year and other battles, calling them “already an important part of Ukraine’s history.” But he added that the country must “move even faster and write new chapters, correcting all previous mistakes.”

The political crisis began last Thursday, when Zelenskyy overhauled his wartime government, replacing his prime minister and firing Fedorov after just six months in the post.

The reshuffle immediately drew thousands of protesters into the streets of Kyiv and other cities, framing Fedorov’s removal as Zelenskyy siding with an entrenched military old guard over a reformer.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that he’s also appointing Maj. Gen. Ihor Skybiuk as chief of the General Staff as part of the overhaul.

Russia and Ukraine keep up their long-range strikes

The political maneuvers took place against a backdrop of continued deadly strikes by Russia and Ukraine on each other's soil.

Ukrainian drones overnight struck two more sprawling warehouses of Russia’s major online retailer, Wildberries, in Russia’s southern regions of Krasnodar and Stavropol, Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim and Russian officials said Wednesday.

The strikes came four days after Ukraine’s long-range drones hit massive Wildberries warehouses in the Moscow region and in the Tambov region, killing eight people and wounding dozens, according to officials.

Zelenskyy said, without naming the facilities, that they were used by Russia to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment.

Russian attacks, meanwhile, have also struck several major Ukrainian logistics hubs and retail facilities over the past week.

Russia attacked Ukraine with four missiles of various types and 216 long-range strike drones overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the Ukrainian air force.

In the southern Odesa region, a Russian drone killed a woman when it struck a two-story apartment building, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said.

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

The wind and storm surge were the main threats for the Deep South states. Parks and piers were closed up and down the coast, as were some low-lying roads. A tropical storm warning stretched from parts of the Florida Panhandle over to Louisiana, including metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, National Hurricane Center said.

Landfall, expected later Wednesday, was a lesser threat.

“Landfall really doesn’t have a whole lot of meaning in this particular case,” said Robbie Berg, a warning coordination meteorologist at the hurricane center.

Tropical storm force winds extended about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the center of the storm, the hurricane center said. Bertha was centered about 55 miles (90 kilometers) northeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River by mid-morning. It was moving west at 6 mph (9 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).

Storm surges up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) were possible in Louisiana from the Mississippi River mouth to the Alabama-Mississippi state line, forecasters said. Rain totals were forecast between 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters), with higher amounts possible in isolated areas.

Elsewhere in the U.S. this week, a line of storms generated reports of tornadoes stretching from Cincinnati to New Jersey. Torrential rains caused flash floods Tuesday night that swamped homes, washed out bridges and led to water rescues in West Virginia, authorities said.

Sandbag distribution sites are set up

Authorities in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida opened sites to provide sandbags to residents who may be impacted by Tropical Storm Bertha. Double-red flag warnings were posted along some beaches, closing them to swimmers.

“For locals, this is just another storm,” said Candice Henderson, manager of the Crab Trap, a beachside restaurant that was packed Tuesday on Pensacola, Florida’s Perdido Key. “When you’re on vacation and it's raining, you either shop or you go out to eat.”

Bertha is the second tropical storm of Atlantic season

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.

Bertha could dump heavy rain on coastal areas of Mississippi that are still recovering from flooding brought by Arthur that destroyed and damaged homes.

Hurricane Fausto in the Pacific is far from land

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Wednesday. The hurricane was hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).

It was forecast to gradually strengthen and the hurricane center warned that ocean swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tide conditions on the Baja California coast.

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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

On the other side of the wall, visitors watch the work unfold on the bones of the nearly six-meter (20-foot)-long skeleton. Children point with excitement while parents contemplate the creature the massive bones once belonged to.

The painstaking restoration is part of an unusual public science project. More than 2,000 volunteers are helping Polish scientists restore the skeleton of the Mastodonsaurus, a fearsome aquatic predator from around the dawn of the dinosaur age.

The work is meticulous. Bone must be separated from surrounding rock millimeter by millimeter with a pneumatic chisel, whose needle gently breaks away rock while ultraviolet light reveals where the bone ends and the surrounding rock begins.

The volunteers are managers, cleaners, tattoo artists — not geologists or paleontologists. They receive training and special protective gear, before they begin two-hour-long chiseling sessions under supervision.

“I imagine that those bones were lying underground for 240 million years and I am the first human on earth to touch them," said Tatyana Kozyk, the coordinator of the volunteer teams. “I'm still trying to wrap my head around this experience.”

An ancient aquatic predator

One of the largest amphibians ever to exist, the Mastodonsaurus lived about 240 million years ago during the Middle Triassic, while the earliest dinosaurs were appearing but before they came to dominate Earth. It was an underwater ambush hunter, preying mainly on fish and smaller amphibians.

Scientists believe it could grow to nearly six meters (20 feet) in length. It had a broad, flat head, long jaws and sharp conical teeth, its appearance resembling a crocodile's, though it belonged to a different branch of the vertebrate family tree.

When the restoration is complete, it will be the largest exhibited in a museum anywhere in the world, said Tomasz Sulej, a paleontologist and professor at the Institute of Paleobiology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Its skeleton weighs 1,300 kilograms (2,865 pounds).

Sulej and his colleague Wojciech Pawlak from the Faculty of Geology at the Warsaw University are credited with discovering the skeleton in southern Poland in 2023 and coming up with the idea to invite volunteers to help with its restoration.

Sulej says there are no other known Mastodonsaurus skeletons this large anywhere else in the world, and the discovery promises to help scientists learn more about the species.

“The structure of the body is different from what we knew so far," he said. "This is information that is completely new to the scientific world.”

Other Mastodonsaurus skeletons have been found elsewhere, including in Germany and Russia, Sulej said, but they are around 2 to 3 meters (6½ to 10 feet) long.

A chance to reflect on the past and future

Dorota Serafin, a 51-year-old manager from Warsaw who volunteers for the project, said working with the skeleton of an ancient animal is an experience that is at the same time “relaxing and philosophical, even mystical.”

Serafin said she plans to return for other sessions and eventually bring her family to Copernicus when the restored skeleton is exhibited, which is expected to happen in October or November.

In addition to the startling experience of touching the remains of an animal that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, contact with the Mastodonsaurus offers an opportunity to reflect on the future, those involved in the project said.

The amphibian inhabited Earth’s waters after the largest known mass extinction and just before the dinosaurs appeared. As humanity contemplates the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change, Sulej says the story of the Mastodonsaurus offers some hope.

“The Mastodonsaurus lived after the great extinction, which shows one thing, that nature always manages,” Sulej said. “It's not true that humans can destroy life on this planet. Nature and life always find ways to survive.”

Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent fighting in the Middle East that has battered their region. Despite Washington’s preoccupation with Iran, Rubio said, “We’re with ASEAN 100%.”

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.

Washington's top diplomat also renewed allegations that Iran has reneged on commitments under a collapsed interim ceasefire deal. Rubio said Iran “has been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences.” He said that while “the U.S. would love to reach a diplomatic settlement," the Trump administration is “not going to sit by and let ships be blown up or Americans be attacked.”

Top diplomats from the U.S., China, Russia and several other countries are in Manila this week to take part in at the ASEAN ministerial gathering. Newly minted British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was arriving Wednesday, his office said.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, told reporters that Moscow would like to see a quick settlement between the U.S. and Iran.

“There are those eager to incite each party to keep the conflict going, but we aren’t one of those,” he said.

“We would like to see it stop — it impacts the global economy and Russia is part of the global economy,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow is “interested in stable global energy prices to pursue long-term economic policies.”

Southeast Asia hit hard by energy shock from Iran war

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong underscored her country's concern over the renewed attacks in the Middle East, warning that “the situation could deteriorate further without much warning.”

“We want to see an end to this war. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see negotiations and we want the strait to be opened,” Wong told reporters.

“People are being affected by what is happening and has happened to global energy markets and the effect on people has been direct and personal,” she said.

Overreliance on fossil fuel imports from the Middle East has made Southeast Asia particularly vulnerable to the energy shock triggered by the Iran war, according to the International Energy Agency, which called the crisis a “stark wake-up call” for the region’s energy security.

Asian markets imported about 80% of the crude oil and almost 90% of the liquefied natural gas, or LNG, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, the IEA said.

Rubio and allies reaffirm commitment to counter growing Chinese influence

Rubio also met with counterparts in the four-nation Quad partnership, which is made up of the U.S., Australia, India and Japan. They discussed maritime and transnational security, among other issues, and issued a joint statement that reaffirmed their commitment to maritime security initiatives aiming to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

During the meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi voiced strong opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force in the region, including in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea, where China's increasingly aggressive actions have sparked concern.

Tokyo has a long-running dispute over Japan-controlled islands, which Beijing also claims, in the East China Sea.

Wong echoed his concern, saying, “We have real concerns about behavior that is destabilizing and risky.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China's assertive actions in the South China Sea to the disadvantage of smaller claimant countries like the Philippines, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia.

Rubio met separately with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, telling reporters later that they discussed a new altercation this week between Chinese and Filipino forces in a disputed shoal. Rubio called the incident “escalatory."

“It speaks to areas of disagreement when it comes to our policies with China,” Rubio said. “Those need to be managed very carefully, because obviously, a conflict — be it economic or otherwise — between the U.S. and China would have a dramatic global impact.”

He said they also talked about a trade board that is meant to allow the two governments to discuss certain goods, and that he hopes it can be a “deliverable” from a planned meeting in the U.S. in September between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Wang protested to Rubio about “recent negative words and actions by the U.S. side,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. It was not clear what he referred to, but Trump recently accused China of meddling in the 2020 election and the U.S. administration shortened visas for Chinese journalists.

ASEAN foreign ministers discussed the territorial disputes Tuesday, welcoming progress in yearslong negotiations between China and their regional bloc on a proposed non-aggression pact that aims to prevent a major conflict in the disputed waters that could draw in the United States.

Rubio and Lavrov to discuss Ukraine

Rubio said he will meet Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, on Thursday and discuss the war in Ukraine. He suggested he also would use the meeting to find other areas of potential cooperation between the U.S. and Russia.

He said the U.S. remains open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity presents itself.”

Rubio said those efforts have “kind of fallen off a little bit over the last few months” but he will use the meeting with Lavrov to see if there’s an opportunity to renew talks.

Lavrov, meanwhile, said he will ask Rubio about Trump’s claim that a settlement on the war in Ukraine is getting close.

Rubio also met with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, a U.S. official said. They discussed both regional issues and the Iran war, along with a yet-to-be completed trade agreement to lower Trump’s tariffs on Indian goods.

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Associated Press journalists Haruka Nuga and Anton Delgado in Bangkok, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this report.

Aside from competing in a celebrity ball hockey game, Lynch will also host a football clinic at the HDA's fourth festival on Saturday. The former Seattle Seahawks player and 2014 Super Bowl champion is no stranger to the HDA. Lynch took the ice at the alliance’s WinterFest that coincided with Toronto hosting the NHL All-Star Game two years ago.

“I’m really excited about him and the football aspect of it,” HDA chairman Akim Aliu said. “Where we’re able to have success as an organization is tapping into the culture and personality aspects and using people’s audiences from different sports.”

The HDA was launched in 2020 by current and former NHL players of color to speak out against racism and intolerance, and with an objective of opening hockey to minorities and underserved youth by providing free hockey equipment, hosting clinics and renting ice time.

Aliu estimated the HDA has spent about $1.1 million annually in its grassroots mission, and has since expanded beyond the Toronto region. The alliance has launched programs in Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Nova Scotia, and is preparing to add Calgary, Alberta, to the mix next month, Aliu said.

SummerFest stands as the major event on the HDA calendar, and features performances, carnival attractions and rides, followed by a fundraising gala in the evening.

Among the notable athletes scheduled to attend are Canadian Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse, tennis player Bianca Andreescu, former Seahawks tight end Luke Wilson and former Toronto Raptors player Serge Ibaka.

Aliu anticipates the daytime event attracting a capacity crowd of more than 4,000 participants.

Aliu is a former pro hockey player who was born in Nigeria, lived in Ukraine and picked up the sport when his family moved to Toronto when he was 7. In 2022, Scholastic and the publishing company of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick released a graphic novel highlighting Aliu’s life titled: “Akim Aliu Dreamer: Growing Up Black in the World of Hockey.”

“Why I’m so proud of our work is because it’s really for the most vulnerable that would never have access to the sport,” Aliu said. “Over 2,000 lives have been positively impacted by our work, and we’re just getting going.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The S&P 500 added 0.1%, coming off its best day in three weeks, after swinging between modest losses and gains at the start of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 134 points, or 0.3%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 rose after more companies reported strong profits for the spring. Expectations are high for the reports, and companies will need to match them after their stock prices already neared records on anticipation for them.

Philip Morris International rose 3.1% after the seller of Marlboro cigarettes reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Its shipments of smoke-free products rose 7.5%.

AT&T climbed 2.6% after reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. CEO John Stankey also said the telecom is accelerating plans to send roughly $10 billion to its shareholders this year through the buybacks of its stock.

Super Micro Computer soared 24.1% after the seller of AI servers said it expects to report stronger profit margins for the latest quarter than it had earlier forecast. It, though, also said that revenue will likely come in at the low end of its forecasted range of $11 billion to $12.5 billion.

They helped offset a 6.9% drop for GE Vernova, which reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Alphabet ticked 0.1% higher ahead of its earnings report, which is scheduled to arrive after trading ends for the day. Anticipation is high, and not just because the parent company of Google is one of the largest stocks on Wall Street. It's also one of the biggest spenders on artificial-intelligence technology.

Investors are looking for signs that the deluge of dollars going into processors, computer memory and other building blocks of the AI boom are producing the kinds of productivity and profits that would make the investments worth if. If that isn't the case, stocks of chip companies and other AI winners would look very expensive following their rushes higher.

Such worries have kept AI stocks at the center of Wall Street’s swings for weeks.

Micron Technology swung between a loss of 3.6% and a gain of 0.8% Wednesday morning. That's after it jumped 14.4% in the first two days of this week to reclaim nearly all its 13.3% plunge from the week before. It's still up roughly 240% for the year so far.

Stocks broadly also felt pressure from continuing climbs for oil prices, which raise costs for most businesses and erode their profits.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.1% to $93.85 after briefly topping $95 in the morning to touch its highest price in nearly six weeks. That’s up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran.

Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.64% from 4.63% late Tuesday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began. It's already helped bring long-term U.S. mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year.

Oil prices have climbed as fighting across the Middle East keeps oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf. Normally, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes through the narrow strait.

The auto club AAA said Wednesday that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. jumped again overnight to $4.06. That’s still below highs of around $4.56 per gallon in May, but it had been below $3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Europe following a mixed session in Asia.

London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Trump on Wednesday plans to speak at a Georgia high school to promote the investment accounts, which offer $1,000 in seed money to every child born during his second term. The accounts went live July 4, two days before Trump rang the opening bells for both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ from the Oval Office.

The tax-advantaged accounts, created last year through Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill, can be opened for any child under the age of 18. The Treasury Department boasts 6.5 million sign-ups for Trump Accounts, with 1.5 million of those eligible for the $1,000 seed funding for babies born from 2025 through 2028.

Boosters of the program say it’s a chance to give more Americans a stake in the stock market. They hope it will stem the rising popularity of democratic socialists, who seek to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy to ease the cost of things like food and healthcare for low-income and middle-class Americans.

After the Trump Accounts are set up, parents, relatives, friends and employers can contribute to them. Some billionaires have also pledged philanthropic contributions. The money is turned over to private firms that invest it in index funds, a type of mutual fund that tracks the performance of the stock market. The money can’t be accessed until the child turns 18, and only then for specific purposes, such as going to school, opening a business or buying a home.

For babies born since Trump took office last year, $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury is supposed to kick off the accounts. While some parents report receiving the money, others said in interviews and on social media they're still waiting for the accounts to receive $1,000.

Masaki and Kristina McLellan, new parents from Bergen County, New Jersey, said in an interview they were wary of signing up for the accounts because they worried it was a promotional stunt for the president. But the $1,000 incentive persuaded the couple, whose daughter Maya was born in late March, to start an account anyway.

Masaki McLellan said he applied for the account July 6. At first, the application was rejected, but the account was activated after he spent an hour on the Trump Account hotline. He was told he'd see the money in the account in 10 days. Now, he says, he's been told it will take up to four weeks.

Kristina McLellan said she was disappointed it was taking so long to fund her daughter's account. But the infant has multiple other investments already compounding for her. Maya's parents have already started a 529 college savings plan and a custodial brokerage account for her. The Trump Account is the third investment account in the little girl's name.

“We definitely want to give her options for her future and make sure she can choose what she wants to do,” said McClellan, a studio director for a local news station, who returns from maternity leave next week.

The Treasury Department said the lag between opening an account and receiving the seed funding constitutes “standard processing time, like receiving a tax refund” and that the overwhelming majority of parents are only waiting one to two days. But the department likes to give parents a conservative estimate for how long it might take for the money to be transferred, such as the estimate of up to four weeks given to the McLellans.

“Trump Accounts level the playing field by allowing every parent to invest in their children’s future, not just wealthy families with trust funds,” the department said. “With roughly 1 million sign-ups per month before launch, Trump Accounts have become the most popular and successful government-backed savings product in U.S. history.”

Trump's stop in Georgia comes as he and fellow Republicans face pressure in the midterm elections for their handling of the economy. Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s economic leadership, among the lower ratings of his second term, according to a June survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Trump pledged to lower costs, but his tariffs and the war in Iran have instead helped to increase prices.

Trump Accounts are similar to “ baby bonds,” championed by Democratic-led cities and states meant to shrink the wealth gap between low- and high-income children. But unlike most baby bonds, which generally target kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, Trump Accounts are available to families of all incomes.

The program has faced criticism from those who say it does nothing to help families in a child's first years of life, when children are most likely to experience poverty, homelessness and hunger. And the bill that created the program, the president's signature One Big Beautiful Bill, also slashed funding for programs that are disproportionately used by children, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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Associated Press writer Adriana Morga contributed to this report.

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

Burnham, from Britain’s left-leaning Labour Party, faces restive voters seeking relief from the high cost of living. At the same time, the investors who help finance the government by buying its bonds are demanding that he reduce public sector debt that has ballooned to levels last seen in the 1960s.

In an effort to balance the competing demands, Burnham surprised pundits by naming former Defense Secretary John Healey as his Treasury chief. Healey, who served in the Treasury under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is seen as someone who will make sure the government lives up to its pledge to reduce Britain’s debt pile.

Then, first thing Tuesday morning, Burnham made a down payment on his commitment to ease the pressure on cash-strapped consumers. The government announced it would scrap the tax on home electricity use for at least six months beginning in October, saving the average household 45 pounds ($60) a year.

Importantly, the government said the move would be paid for by canceling plans to introduce digital ID, in an effort to reassure investors that Burnham isn’t about to go on an unfunded spending spree.

Treasury chief has a big job ahead

“Healey has a daunting task on his hands,’’ said Victoria Scholar, the head of investment at interactive investor.

“The government has ambitious plans to tackle cost-of-living pressures … but he faces a very difficult set of public finances to carry these expensive plans through.”

Now that he’s controlling the purse strings, Burnham faces the same issues that have bedeviled every prime minister since the financial crisis of 2008. And their failure to find answers is a big part of the reason that the eight men and women who have taken up residence behind the famous black door at 10 Downing Street in that period have had an average tenure of two years.

Burnham, like his predecessors, faces the challenge of finding a way to reinvigorate an economy that has grown an average of less than 1.5% a year since 2009, compared with an annual average of 3% in the 15 years before the financial crisis.

Burnham received a boost to his cost-of-living reduction agenda Wednesday when inflation fell to its the lowest rate in 15 months in June, buoyed by a drop of food and fuel prices. The rate of the Consumer Prices Index was 2.6% in June, down from 2.8% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics. But experts warn the good news may be short-lived because the conflict in the Middle East will continue to put pressure on wholesale energy prices.

As he develops his economic plans, Burnham will be constrained by promises to reduce government debt, which now exceeds 95% of gross domestic product. According to Britain’s budget watchdog, debt interest payments rose to 111.2 billion pounds ($149 billion), or 8.3% of government spending, in the financial year that ended in April, leaving less money to spend on government services ranging from healthcare to education and defense.

New challenges are added to the old ones

But he also faces a new challenge after his predecessor, like most other European governments, pledged to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. That came after pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticized his allies for not paying their fair share of Europe’s defense.

Meeting that commitment will cost about 36 billion pounds a year, or 500 pounds for each person in the U.K., according to estimates from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a respected independent researcher.

“We should absolutely acknowledge that these constraints are structural,” said Olivia O’Sullivan at Chatham House, a London-based think tank. “They would be tough for any prime minister at this time.”

And that’s why boosting economic output is so crucial to all of Burnham’s plans.

Stimulating economic growth is key to Burnham's plans

Without faster growth, British taxpayers will either have to pay higher taxes or accept cuts in popular programs such as the National Health Service, which offers free medical care to everyone. A booming economy, on the other hand, would boost the revenue generated by existing taxes and tax rates because the value of company profits, worker salaries and other transactions would rise.

Sluggish growth doomed former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government when angry Labour lawmakers forced him to cancel welfare cuts designed to help balance the budget. More recently he was widely criticized for failing to offer a credible plan for increasing defense spending.

Some Labour supporters have grumbled that the government “shouldn’t be in hock to the bond market.” But economists say Burnham and Healey must take the financial constraints seriously if they are going to succeed in bolstering the economy and increasing the pot available to fund popular programs.

“It’s not some imaginary bogeyman in the bond market,” said David Aikman, director of the independent National Institute of Economic and Social Research. “We need people to buy the debt we’re issuing.”

So far, Burnham has offered little detail on his plans for the British economy.

His big idea is to “reindustrialize” the economy by shifting investment away from London to other parts of the country that were hard hit by the decline in manufacturing. Burnham also says he will increase construction of public housing to address the nation’s housing shortage and bolster the construction industry, and support the small and medium-size businesses that account for 60% of private employment.

At the same time, he has pledged to stick to Labour’s promises not to raise taxes on working people and to maintain the “triple lock” on state pensions, an expensive policy that guarantees pensions will rise each year by the annual increase in consumer price inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5%, whichever is higher.

Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist for Goldman Sachs and member of the House of Lords who has advised Burnham in the past, told the BBC last month that Britain’s new prime minister must “get real.”

“We need somebody that’s prepared to do something bold and different,” he said.

Burnham, he added, “has got the same challenge that everybody else seems to avoid and that’s doing something about things like welfare, stop this never-ending spectacular rise in the spending on NHS. … Do something about the triple lock, etc., etc., and get out of this weird sort of prison of being owned by every little small group that opposes anything anybody wants to do. “

Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid and brought them to New York in early January.

Both have pleaded not guilty. They face potential life prison sentences if a jury agrees that they were part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S.

In a letter to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein before Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors said lawyers will request that the trial be scheduled for June, with pretrial motions by defense lawyers to be filed by early September.

President Donald Trump’s administration has defended the raid as a “surgical law enforcement operation” in a criminal case first brought six years ago. Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping.

U.S. prosecutors say Maduro carried out a conspiracy to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. by colluding with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins.

“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” he said in Spanish at his arraignment in January.

Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, has said he expects to contest the legality of Maduro’s “military abduction.”

The lawyers have said there are complex legal defenses that the court must address before a trial can begin.

Maduro and Flores have not asked to be released on bail.

Prosecutors said Hadi Matar attacked the renowned author and free-speech advocate in 2022 to try to carry out a decades-old fatwa, or religious ruling, calling for Rushdie's death over what some Muslims saw as blasphemy in his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses.”

“Fulfill the fatwa — that’s what Hadi Matar intended to do,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in an opening statement at a federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York, about 70 miles (110 km) from the arts and intellectual retreat where Rushdie was assaulted. The Booker Prize-winning author is expected to testify later this week about the stabbing that nearly killed him and left him blind in one eye.

Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone urged jurors to keep their minds open about the case, which hinges not only on actions but on motivation.

“You’re going to have to ask yourselves: What was Hadi Matar’s intent?” Barone said in his opening.

An audience watched in terror as Rushdie was stabbed

Matar, 28, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. He took notes on a yellow pad and rarely looked at jurors during the opening statements, at times shifting around in his swivel chair. Currently serving a 25-year New York State prison sentence on an attempted murder and assault conviction, he was attired for court in dress pants and a shirt that seemed too large.

Rushdie, now 79, was repeatedly slashed in front of a horrified audience at the Chautauqua Institution, where he was about to discuss writer safety. He recounted the assault and his lengthy recovery during Matar's earlier trial, in a memoir and in multiple interviews.

“The thing that happens when you get really a close-up look at death — that’s as close as you can get without actually doing the dance of death and heading off to nowhere — it stays with you,” he told The Associated Press in 2024. “There’s a shadow.”

Federal terrorism trial hinges on Matar's motivation

The attempted murder case against Matar focused on the details of the knife attack while the federal one delves more into questions of motive. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

Prosecutors have argued that he was acting out of loyalty to Iran's theocratic government and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group after the Islamic Republic's late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's death because of his 1988 novel, “The Satanic Verses.”

Matar's electronics included information on the fatwa that sought Rushdie's death, and Matar kept a journal and sticky notes logging his research on Rushdie and possible ways and places to kill him, prosecutors said in a 2025 court filing. In Matar’s New Jersey bedroom, federal agents found photos of Khomeini and his now-deceased successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the filing said.

“When he attempted to carry out the fatwa, he believed he was doing so on behalf of” Hezbollah, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist organization, Lynch and fellow Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly wrote in the filing.

In the years leading up to the trial, Matar's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to exclude some evidence from his social media accounts and other digital activity, arguing that the government's electronic searches cast too big a net.

Matar declined to testify at his state court trial, and it's unclear whether he will take the stand in federal court. At his state court sentencing, Matar said he believed in free speech but asserted that Rushdie was “a hypocrite” who “wants to bully other people.”

Matar also spoke out in support of Palestinians while heading into and out of the state courtroom.

Born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from Lebanon, Matar is a citizen of both countries. His mother has said he turned moody and withdrawn after a 2018 trip to Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

How Ayatollah's edict affected Rushdie

Rushdie was born in India, raised in Britain — where he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II — and now is a U.S. citizen. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for “Midnight’s Children,” a magical realist novel about a personal and national journey that begins at the instant when India became independent.

But Rushdie became most famous, and notorious, for “The Satanic Verses,” particularly a passage featuring a dream sequence about the Prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims saw it as blasphemous, and often-violent protests erupted against Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family.

Khomeini's 1989 fatwa drove Rushdie into hiding for years. Although Iran hasn't focused in recent years on the decree, it was never rescinded. Iran's government denied involvement in the 2022 stabbing, but its Foreign Ministry's then-spokesperson suggested Rushdie invited trouble by insulting Islam.

After “Knife,” Rushdie's memoir about the stabbing, he returned to fiction with last year's “The Eleventh Hour,” a book of short stories and novellas. He was recognized with a Dayton Literary Peace Prize lifetime achievement award in November.

___

Peltz reported from New York.

A tiny Texan town along the border with Mexico is fighting the administration's efforts to build a border wall running through a levee system protecting the community. The town argued in court Tuesday that the wall could cause flooding and that the administration isn't following the law as it rushes forward with its plans.

The hearing in federal court came as the Department of Homeland Security charges forward with its $46 billion plan to complete a border wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and deliver on what has long been a signature promise of President Donald Trump. But the department is running into opposition by landowners, environmental groups, Native American tribes and others who argue that the government's rapid construction endangers historical and religious sites and a way of life along the border, when crossings from Mexico are already at extreme lows.

The lawsuit brought by the development district of Presidio pits a small town of a little over 3,200 residents against a department key to the Trump administration's plans to carry out its mass deportations agenda. It also showcases a context that has long been important to many Americans, particularly Republicans: the scratchiness that sometimes arises between the most local of municipalities and the federal government in Washington.

Lawyers for the development district contend the government's plans could compromise the levee system protecting the town from flash flooding — a formidable problem in Texas — and that the government flouted a key act that requires it to seek permission from the Army Corps of Engineers before building on or near the levees.

The government argues that there is no final plan for where the border wall will go or how it will be built. Regardless, the administration asserts it has the authority to waive a vast swath of regulations to build the wall as it seeks to get the number of people crossing the border every day to zero.

The town worries about levees along the Rio Grande

The town is worried about the effect the wall would have on a series of berms and levees built in the 1970s and 1980s along the Rio Grande and tributaries to combat flooding.

In court documents, Presidio’s development district said Customs and Border Protection plans to “replace the earthen slope of the existing levee with a concrete wall, with 30-foot steel bollard panels installed on top.” The district says it has asked the agency for more details but has been told they can’t be shared due to “national security.”

“There is unfortunately a long history here of CBP construction causing or increasing flood risks,” said Laura Bakst, a lawyer for Democracy Forward, which is representing Presidio’s development district in the case.

A lawyer for the government said during Tuesday's hearing that it's too soon to argue that the proposed wall could harm Presidio because Customs and Border Protection hasn't actually decided on a final plan for it.

The department has waived numerous regulations to build the wall faster

In the race to build the wall, both former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the current secretary, Markwayne Mullin, have waived numerous requirements protecting the environment or archaeological sites that the federal government normally has to follow when building infrastructure projects.

Under legislation passed by Congress, Homeland Security does have the authority to waive certain requirements specifically to speed up the building of walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. But critics argue the department is going much further than Congress intended by issuing broad waivers all along the 2,000-mile or 3,200-kilometer length of the frontier.

In Presidio's case, the development district is arguing that Homeland Security is running afoul of the Rivers and Harbors Act. The department has waived it, but lawyers for Presidio argued that because of the wording of the Act, Homeland Security was still required to consult with the Army Corps of Engineers before launching the project.

Louis Katz, a lawyer for Democracy Forward, warned that the way the department was waiving state and federal laws as it moves forward with the wall is an “extraordinary exertion of authority.”

Construction could start as early as August or as late as October

A key question: When would construction start? Timing has been an issue beyond Presidio as landowners up and down the border look for an answer. Construction crews have pre-positioned supplies — including the steel bollard wall panels — but no actual wall-building has started in the area.

A lawyer for the Justice Department gave some insight into the government's timeline. In response to questions about whether construction could start as early as the beginning of August, Alexander Yun told the judge that it was unlikely to start that early. Yun said construction could begin in late August or September or October.

Homeland Security has indicated that getting the wall built is a priority.

Mullin said during congressional testimony in June that the preliminary layer of the wall will be finished by “this time next year.” The head of Customs and Border Protection, Rodney Scott, has said the agency is putting up 6 miles (10 kilometers) of wall a week.

The judge seemed a bit skeptical of both sides

The Trump administration is pushing forward with the wall when border crossings are at the lowest levels in decades. The Big Bend Sector has not experienced the high number of border crossings seen in recent years in other areas farther south along the Rio Grande or in Arizona or California, owing to the remote and challenging terrain on both sides of the border.

But the Justice Department lawyer said low border crossing numbers seen over the last year are an “anomaly" and the goal is “zero illegal crossings.”

Judge Reggie Walton scoffed at that idea, saying that it's “just a reality” that people will always try to cross the border.

Walton also said he was struggling with the issue of how much authority he had to limit the department considering that Congress had given it the ability to waive certain requirements.

The judge said he would issue a ruling in the coming week.

In the video Mamdani described the Israeli prime minister as a “war criminal” and said he is not welcome in New York City.

“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” he said in a video posted on X. “The federal government however does and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” he added, referring to the International Criminal Court.

Mamdani had told the New York Times earlier this month that he and the city’s legal department were discussing arresting Netanyahu if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September.

President Donald Trump on Monday told Netanyahu in a social media post that he “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” The post did not directly mention Mamdani.

Mamdani had said throughout his mayoral election campaign last year that he would seek to order the city’s police to arrest Netanyahu under the criminal court's warrant over Netanyahu’s role in the war in Gaza.

In his video message Tuesday, Mamdani said his administration has reviewed all avenues available and determined the city can't execute the arrest warrant.

“I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large," he said.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., responded by telling the mayor “enough.”

“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda,” he said in a statement on social media. “Do your job!”

The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.

They said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

Jenitar Sau Na’amoana, who is 34 years old and already had four children, delivered the babies last week at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Queensland state.

“We are very excited to be able to care for this amazing little family, a big family now,” Dr. Alexa Bendall, a maternal fetal medicine specialist who cared for Na’amoana, said in an interview released by the hospital.

The babies were conceived naturally and came from one fertilized egg that split into four, “which was incredible," Bendall said.

“We think the figures are probably around 1 in 15 million for a case like this to be spontaneously conceived,” she said. “We don’t think it’s ever happened in Australia.”

Overall, experts say, the chance of conceiving quadruplets naturally is only 1 in 700,000; most are conceived with the assistance of medical technology.

Hospital officials said Na’amoana and her husband, Jortham, hadn’t planned to have more children and were quite surprised when she became pregnant with the quadruplets.

Na’amoana faced a high risk of complications, especially given the fetuses shared one placenta. In general, being pregnant with any multiple fetuses puts a mom at increased risk for problems such as preterm birth, miscarriage and birth defects, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Na’amoana was monitored by a large medical team at the hospital since 10 weeks gestation and was admitted as an inpatient at 25 weeks so she could be monitored, hospital officials said. She delivered the babies by cesarean section on July 14.

“The fact that we’ve got four beautiful, healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible,” Bendall said. "Mum did lose a little bit of blood but not an excessive amount for having quads, and she’s doing well.”

The babies are doing well in the neonatal intensive care unit. Their names are Emily, Harriet, Catherine and Alexa, in honor of Bendall. The doctor called the name a “beautiful tribute,” and said she feels privileged to have helped bring these children into the world.

“From an academic perspective, it’s really interesting,” she said. “But also from a human perspective, to be able to be part of the family’s journey and come out with four beautiful babies and a healthy mum is very precious.”

___

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

For more than five decades, Florida has required independent licensed motor vehicle dealers to carry a $25,000 surety bond intended to protect consumers when a dealership fails to meet its legal obligations.

The requirement is contained in Florida Statute 320.27(10), which requires licensed motor vehicle dealers to maintain the bond as a condition of doing business. The bond is designed to compensate consumers who suffer financial losses because of certain dealer violations, including failing to properly transfer ownership of a vehicle.

But while the cost of buying a car has increased dramatically since the law was enacted, the required bond amount has not.

Today, a South Florida woman’s experience and court records involving multiple consumers competing for the same dealer bond are raising new questions about whether the law still provides meaningful protection.

Pamela Wright says she has spent nearly two years looking at a car she cannot legally drive.

The 74-year-old retired realtor purchased a used Mazda in June 2024 for just under $6,000. She bought it for her grandson after he graduated from high school and needed transportation to get to work.

The car remains parked in her driveway.

Not because it doesn’t run.

Because Wright says she never received the title.

“I cannot register the car. I cannot insure the car. I cannot drive the car,” Wright told Local 10 News. “I have no use for it more than it’s sitting in my driveway.”

Wright alleges Superior Car Sales repeatedly promised the paperwork would be corrected but never delivered the title before the dealership ultimately closed.

“I’m just like, ‘How can this happen?’” she said.

According to court records reviewed by Local 10, Wright is not alone.

A lawsuit filed by Hudson Insurance Company shows 11 consumers are asserting competing claims against the same $25,000 dealer bond issued for Superior Car Sales. Hudson filed the case, asking a judge to determine how the limited bond proceeds should be distributed among the competing claimants.

If the court were to divide the bond equally among all 11 claimants, each person would receive approximately $2,270, an amount far below what several consumers claim they lost.

Josh Feygin, a South Florida attorney whose practice includes representing consumers in disputes with automobile dealerships, says the law no longer reflects today’s marketplace.

“It’s definitely outdated at this point,” Feygin said. “When the average cost of a vehicle is much more than $25,000, it doesn’t make sense that there’s only a $25,000 pot to go after.”

Asked whether the current bond adequately protects consumers, Feygin offered a blunt assessment.

“No. More often than not, absolutely not,” he said.

Feygin said he has represented numerous consumers who obtained judgments against dealerships only to discover there was little or no money remaining in the dealer’s bond.

“I’ve had many times where clients have gotten judgments against car dealerships and went to apply against the bond, and there’s no more funds left in the bond,” Feygin said. “So yes, it happens quite often.”

Local 10 reviewed the legislative history of Florida Statute 320.27 and found the $25,000 bond requirement dates back to the 1970 legislative session.

Richard Nixon was president, gasoline averaged about 36 cents per gallon, and the average cost of a new vehicle was only a fraction of what consumers pay today.

Yet despite decades of inflation and rising vehicle prices, the amount of financial protection required by state law has remained exactly the same for 56 years.

Only the Florida Legislature has the authority to change the law.

To find out whether lawmakers believe the current bond still adequately protects consumers, Local 10 contacted legislators from both political parties representing South Florida.

Emails seeking comment were sent to Representatives Christine Hunschofsky, Fabian Basabe, Daryl Campbell, Kevin Chambliss, Chip LaMarca, Daniel Perez, Juan Carlos Porras, Mike Redondo, Felicia Simone Robinson and Marie Paule Woodson.

Local 10 also contacted Senators Brian Avila, Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia, Tina Polsky, Jason Pizzo and Barbara Sharief.

Each was asked essentially the same question: Does Florida’s $25,000 dealer bond still provide adequate protection for consumers, or should lawmakers revisit the law?

Only two legislators responded.

State Rep. Dan Daley told Local 10 that his office is reviewing whether Florida’s current dealer bond law adequately protects consumers and plans to evaluate the issue before next year’s legislative session.

State Rep. Daryl Campbell said didn’t know enough about the issue to comment.

The remaining lawmakers did not respond before publication.

Local 10 also contacted the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the agency responsible for licensing motor vehicle dealers and enforcing dealer laws.

The department was asked whether it has ever recommended increasing the $25,000 bond amount, whether it believes the current law adequately protects consumers and whether it has proposed legislative changes to modernize the requirement.

Despite four separate requests for information dating back to June 2, the department did not answer those questions before publication.

Meanwhile, Wright says she continues searching for answers.

“I call the State of Florida and the Attorney General’s Office,” she said. “They tell me there is nothing they can do for me.”

“All they do is just send me around in circles,” she added.

Wright believes Florida’s elected leaders should take another look at the law.

“The politicians should do better,” she said. “The governor needs to step in. The Attorney General’s Office. It don’t make no sense.”

For Wright, the issue is a car that has sat in her driveway for nearly two years.

For Florida lawmakers, the question is much broader.

Has a consumer protection law written in 1970—and unchanged since then—kept pace with the realities of buying a car in 2026?

That is a question only the Florida Legislature can answer.

U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar won the seat in 2020 after defeating Democratic incumbent Donna Shalala, a former Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“I think it’s time for a change,” said Arias, 68, who has a private law practice in Coral Gables.

Campaign finance reports show Salazar, a retired broadcast journalist and author who took office in 2021, received the most donations out of seven candidates, five of them Democrats.

“When you look at the resumes and the experience, I’m head and shoulders above everybody who is running right now,” Arias said.

Arias, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney, said he wants to focus on fiscal responsibility.

“Some of that starts with reducing the deficit. It’s out of hand. It’s causing a great deal of inflation, and I know this through my background in finance,” Arias said. “To reduce inflation, you have to reduce the deficit.”

Arias, a former assistant state attorney in Orlando, said there are problems with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that need to be fixed.

“We have ICE arresting and shooting people in the streets. One of those problems may be improper training,” Arias said. “The government should provide thorough training of its agents. That would go toward improving public safety.”

Arias said ICE also needs to prioritize deporting violent criminals and treat violators with dignity.

“The ones who are here illegally should be detained and deported, but it should be done in a more humane manner,” Arias said.

Salazar sided with Democrats who want the Trump administration to extend the temporary protected status of Haitians and Venezuelans. She co-authored the Dignity Act to speed up asylum processing.

“It’s legislation that is needed in this country, fix the broken immigration system once and for all, TPS is part of that,” Salazar, 64, said earlier this month on This Week In South Florida.

Salazar also told Local 10 News anchor Glenna Milberg on TWISF that she had voted for $25 million in federal funding for projects in the district even though she voted against the broader omnibus spending bill.

“I represent the interests of my constituents,” Salazar told Milberg.

Salazar’s victories include the Take It Down Act to criminalize the nonconsensual sharing of authentic or AI-generated intimate images, and worked with Democrats on the Dispose Act to stop fentanyl before it crosses the border.

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

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

Salazar had more than $1.95 million in receipts, and Vincent had nearly $134,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

With over $1.02 million in receipts, Robin Peguero, a former federal prosecutor, was the Democrat who had raised the most donations after Salazar.

Richard Lamondin, Jr., followed with more than $743,700; Eliott Rodriguez had more than $616,700; Michael Davey had over $45,190, and Alexander Fornino was last with about $25,150.

Related reports

• Democratic candidates for District 27 discuss reasons for running, plans if elected
• VOTER GUIDE: Here is how to prepare for Florida’s Aug. 18 primary election

WATCH INTERVIEWS

Peguero on TWISF on July 12

Rodriguez on TWISF on July 12

Salazar on TWISF on July 5

The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly about the yet to be formally announced decision, said the agreement is expected to be announced publicly as early as Wednesday.

The deal is expected to last 30 years and is also expected to involve U.S. firms in developing the program. The deal could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia following a joint U.S.-Saudi study.

But the deal, which is expected to be submitted to Congress for review, could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.

Saudi Arabia is a member state of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a Vienna-based agency which promotes peaceful nuclear work but also inspects nations to ensure they don’t have clandestine atomic weapons programs.

But the agreement is not expected to include the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people.

The expected announcement comes in the midst of 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.

The White House and Saudi officials in Riyadh did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Both Trump and former President Joe Biden tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology.

But 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.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Saudi Arabia last year shortly before Trump visited the kingdom and discussed building out the kingdom’s commercial nuclear power industry with his Saudi counterpart. The U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Tuesday.

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.

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 concerns of the West over Iran’s program.

The United Arab Emirates, a neighbor to Saudi Arabia, signed what is referred to as 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.

___

Price reported from Manila, Philippines, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP writers Will Weissert and Matthew Daly contributed from Washington.

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Yusiel Lopez Insua, who changed his not guilty plea, will not be going to trial in the case of the deaths of 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Buchman, and 13-year-old Erin Ko Han.

“We are going to let the judicial process take its course, see what happens in October, and allow justice to play out,” Erin Ko Han’s uncle Alvin Wu said in a statement after the hearing.

Lopez Insua was awaiting sentencing on Oct. 13, and he could face up to 10 years in prison. Attorney Walter Reynoso, who represents him, said he was remorseful.

Lopez Insua had been charged with seaman’s manslaughter after the July 28, 2025, collision off Hibiscus Island, as the girls participated in a youth sailing camp.

“Our thoughts today remain with each of the families,” Reynoso said.

“My client will not put the families through a trial and expose them to relive this terrible tragedy,” Reynoso said.

Lopez Insua was using his cellphone around the time of the crash, and data “indicated activity on internet marketplaces, including at the time when the collision occurred,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors also alleged the tugboat’s pilothouse view was obstructed by a deckhouse and crane on the barge, and that the vessel lacked adequate lookout systems such as cameras or radar.

Court filings reported Lopez Insua had prior “near-misses” in the same area. The crash is also the subject of at least one lawsuit in Miami-Dade County civil court.

• BSO: Pedestrian killed, driver injured in crash that left portion of US 1 closed in Pompano Beach
• Exclusive video: Woman dies after jumping on hood of man’s SUV, falling off in Fort Lauderdale, police say
• Tugboat captain pleads guilty over Biscayne Bay crash that killed 3 girls in sailboat

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

Tuesday’s vote comes as Kast, who took office just over three months ago, struggles to jolt a sluggish economy. The economy shrank 0.5% in the first quarter of 2026 after several months of weak growth. Unemployment rose to 9.4% in the March-May period, its highest level since June 2021.

The legislation aims to revive Chile’s private sector, drive job creation and eliminate the fiscal deficit. It will gradually slash the corporate tax rate for large companies from 27% to 23%, exempt newly built homes from the country’s value-added tax, limit which new universities can join Chile’s free tuition program and allow private companies to seek compensation when environmental disputes delay investment projects.

Last week the Senate approved the bill, but it modified certain articles, sending it back to the lower house for a final vote. On Tuesday, lawmakers approved every change except one dealing with how municipalities will be compensated for tax breaks. To become law, the bill awaits a resolution on that final, minor sticking point.

Kast welcomed the vote on his government's signature economic project.

“I hope all political sectors will work together so the remaining issue can be resolved quickly," he said, speaking to reporters in the northern city of Copiapó, where he was overseeing the government response to severe storms.

Kast, 60, took office in March promising to crack down on crime and illegal immigration while reducing public spending and boosting private sector revenues. His election marked Chile’s sharpest shift to the right since the end of the 1973-1990 military dictatorship, and he has pledged a return to the market-oriented economic policies associated with that era.

“The president’s efforts have essentially been focused on deepening and returning to the orthodox neoliberal model of the late 1970s and early 1980s,” said political analyst Gilberto Aranda. “What existed before was neoliberalism tempered by subsidies and other measures."

Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz said the reform would give investors greater certainty, reduce bureaucratic hurdles for investment projects and make the Chilean tax system more competitive.

“We are enormously satisfied,” Quiroz said after the vote.

Opposition lawmakers have criticized the legislation for favoring Chile's big corporations and wealthiest citizens and vowed to challenge it in the Constitutional Court.

“It has become clear that all of José Antonio Kast’s talk about security, jobs and immigration was simply a Trojan horse to advance the project he truly cares about: cutting taxes for the richest Chileans,” said Constanza Martínez, president of the left-wing Broad Front coalition.

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

The majority Black congressional district was redrawn by the state legislature in May to favor Republicans in November's midterm elections. A month earlier, the Supreme Court ruled that Fields' district relied too heavily on race and was an “unconstitutional gerrymander.”

“After a great deal of prayer and reflection, I have decided not to seek reelection, to Congress, in the 6th District or any other district in Louisiana," Fields said.

Fields, who a longtime fixture in Louisiana politics, said he would instead seek a seat in the state Senate.

The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the map favoring Fields' district escalated a nationwide redistricting battle, largely fueled by President Donald Trump’s efforts to protect Republicans in the midterm elections.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama could use a map that favored Republicans in this year’s elections.

Louisiana Republicans had considered drawing a map this year that would have given the party a shot at winning all six of the state’s U.S. House seats. But that would have required adding more registered Democrats to Republican-held districts, potentially backfiring with GOP losses.

The new map renews Fields’ district to cluster it around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana.

Fields had previously served two terms in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1997 and was the state's second Black member of Congress in Louisiana.

___ Wilder 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.

In announcing the tariffs, Trump accused Canada of unfairly discriminating against U.S. automobiles, alcohol and dairy products, escalating tensions with one of the United States’ closest allies.

“In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed with a celebratory event between the two countries,” said Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for Canadian Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, in an emailed statement.

The move came after U.S. and Canadian officials reached an agreement earlier this month to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge following delays tied to disagreements between the two countries.

Canada now plans to hold its own ceremony Friday. It is now unclear whether the United States will hold a separate ceremony.

Two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations said they still expect the bridge to open to traffic July 27 but are less certain than they were before.

"We remain committed to opening the bridge on July 27th, and to celebrating this milestone among Canadians on July 24th," said Ghassabeh.

The 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long) bridge spans the Detroit River and connects Detroit with Windsor. A ribbon-cutting ceremony had initially been scheduled for June 12 but was abruptly postponed after officials said the United States and Canada were still working to resolve “outstanding issues.”

Canada financed construction of the bridge under an agreement allowing it to recover the cost through toll revenue. The Trump administration had sought changes to that arrangement.

The project, negotiated under former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, has been under construction since 2018 and cost nearly $4.4 billion.

The bridge is named after Canadian hockey great Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. It is expected to become another major economic artery between Canada and the United States.

In February, Trump demanded in a social media post that Canada give the U.S. government at least half ownership of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands, part of his broader clashes with Canada over trade.

Those tensions resurfaced this week. The White House said the tariffs would take effect in 30 days, leaving time for negotiations. Trump has previously delayed or backed away from some threatened import taxes.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement about the tariffs that his government believes in the “benefits of free and fair trade” and remains prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration.

The tariffs could escalate into a broader trade war as Canada weighs how to respond.

“If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted on social media.

Before Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners, Ferguson said it was “unprofessional” for him to express his frustrations toward Miller the way he did. Miller got in the way of Reds second baseman Edwin Arroyo on a single by Victor Robles, shortly after Cal Raleigh hit a grand slam off Ferguson to make it 7-0. The Mariners won 8-0.

When asked about the play after Monday night’s game, Ferguson said, “You have to ask Bill,” referring to the umpire, and walked away. Various social media accounts posted videos that made it clear Ferguson was insulting Miller.

“As long as I’ve been in this game, I don’t think you’ll find a clip of me going at an umpire like that,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “I’ll wear that on the chest, seek Bill out and definitely make it right with him. Very unprofessional on my part. I’ve got to be better.”

After Monday’s game, Reds manager Terry Francona was asked about Miller’s positioning on the field and said questions should be directed to Miller.

“I don’t know,” Francona said. “I don’t ever look up and think, well, where should an umpire be? That’s on them. It’s discouraging that it happened.”

A day later, Ferguson was more measured. He said he wished he'd seen the videos earlier and that he'd apologized to Miller sooner than he did.

“It’s just a very unprofessional thing on my part,” Ferguson said. “I know these things happen within the game. But I don’t like that I was kind of the centerpiece of this.”

___

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

“We had a significant security incident during evaluation of our models,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement posted on social media.

AI startup Hugging Face said last week that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent autonomously acting on its own.

“We suspected last week’s cyberattack might have come from a frontier lab, given the sophistication of the agent,” Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clément Delangue said in a statement. "Turns out it did!”

The disclosure comes amid heightened concerns about the cybersecurity capabilities of powerful models that led President Donald Trump in June to sign an executive order creating a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.

“AI is accelerating the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities,” OpenAI said in its statement Tuesday. “The primary lesson from this incident is that model security and safety must keep pace with rapidly advancing capabilities.”

Delangue said he spent the past 24 hours working with OpenAI, “and we strongly believe there was no malicious intent on their part. It’s quite mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously!"

Delangue added that it “might be the first incident of its kind.”

OpenAI said the intrusion was caused by a combination of its AI models, including its newly released GPT‑5.6 Sol and an “even more capable” model that is still being tested internally.

OpenAI said its AI used stolen credentials and discovered a previously unknown vulnerability to access Hugging Face servers.

It went to “extreme lengths to achieve a rather narrow testing goal” and “found ways to gain access to secret information that it could use to cheat the evaluation,” the company said.

Ambos son investigados por una agencia estatal independiente tras señalamientos de irregularidades en la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos de Puerto Rico.

Domenech también se desempeñó como director ejecutivo de la Autoridad de Asesoría Financiera y Agencia Fiscal de Puerto Rico.

Las acusaciones comenzaron cuando el exjefe de desarrollo económico de Puerto Rico, Sebastián Negrón, renunció en mayo y acusó a la administración de la gobernadora Jenniffer González de interferir con el trabajo de la agencia. Más de 10 funcionarios —entre ellos, el jefe de gabinete, el asesor jurídico general y el jefe de finanzas de la agencia— también renunciaron.

González describió a Negrón como “una estrella” y manifestó en ese momento que lamentaba su renuncia.

Negrón acusó a Domenech de irregularidades relacionadas con la tramitación de contratos y de una injerencia indebida del gobierno, lo cual él ha negado.

Mientras tanto, a García se le acusó de presionar a Negrón para que nombrara a la esposa del presidente de Politank —una poderosa firma de cabildeo y relaciones gubernamentales que Domenech fundó— en la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos de Puerto Rico.

Negrón también remitió al Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico y a su Oficina de Ética Gubernamental los hallazgos de una investigación interna encabezada por la agencia de desarrollo económico contra dos funcionarios del gobierno, acusados de interferir en el proceso de una subasta de un contrato que involucra fondos federales.

Domenech y García habían enfrentado crecientes llamados a renunciar, incluso de miembros del propio partido de la gobernadora, en particular Thomas Rivera Schatz, presidente del Senado de Puerto Rico.

El propio Schatz remitió recientemente a García a la Oficina del Panel sobre el Fiscal Especial Independiente de Puerto Rico y a la Oficina de Ética Gubernamental.

La gobernadora agradeció a Domenech y a García por su trabajo y lealtad, y añadió que “culmina una etapa de servicio público” y que no permitiría que el trabajo de su administración fuera “silenciado” por “agendas y los continuos ataques” de ciertas personas a las que no identificó.

Domenech y García hablaron brevemente y no abordaron directamente las acusaciones.

“Regreso a mi vida privada con la tranquilidad de haber servido con integridad”, afirmó Domenech.

Mientras tanto, García dijo que creció profesionalmente en su cargo y agregó que fue un privilegio trabajar con ciertos funcionarios antes de quebrarse y tener que hacer una pausa.

“Concluyo esta etapa, pero no mi compromiso con Puerto Rico”, expresó.

Domenech había presentado previamente declaraciones juradas contra Negrón en las que alegaba corrupción y conflictos de interés, lo cual el funcionario ha negado.

Domenech dijo el viernes que se le informó que la Oficina del Panel sobre el Fiscal Especial Independiente de Puerto Rico lo investigaba tras las acusaciones de Negrón, las cuales, según él, estaban “plagadas de mentiras, medias verdades, documentos acomodaticios, caracterizaciones subjetivas y tergiversaciones”.

Las acusaciones de corrupción y la profundización de la crisis política en Puerto Rico han llamado la atención de algunos legisladores federales, quienes cuestionaron si los fondos federales se utilizan de manera adecuada.

Legisladores locales de partidos de oposición criticaron el discurso de la gobernadora y sus elogios a Domenech y García, y señalaron que su inminente salida no es suficiente.

“Esto no resuelve la crisis ni limpia a la administración actual. Es un lavado de cara descarado”, escribió en X Juan Dalmau, secretario general del Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño.

“Permitir que funcionarios señalados por graves alegaciones abandonen sus cargos casi con honores de Estado constituye una burla... y un intento de proteger políticamente a quienes los nombraron, sostuvieron y defendieron”.

Se espera que Domenech deje el cargo el 7 de agosto y García el 15 de agosto. No se han anunciado sus reemplazos.

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

The civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family, announced the preliminary findings Wednesday in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago.

Reading from a report prepared by forensic pathologist Dr. Robert Mitchell, Crump said the report showed no evidence of fractures or bruising, but also did not rule out the possibility of foul play.

The board-certified pathologist found “red discoloration” in the soft tissue in the back of Wells’ head, but no underlying skull fractures or lacerations to the skin around the area, Crump said. He noted that the decomposition of the body, along with other limiting factors, had made it impossible to make a determination.

Without further information, the pathologist wrote he “cannot rule out if any intervening nonaccidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells,” according to the attorney.

The autopsy is part of an independent investigation led by Crump into the circumstances of the teenager's disappearance, which followed a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the coast of Mississippi. Wells did not return to the mainland with his friends. His body was found floating off the island’s coast two days later.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted its own autopsy but has yet to release the results.

The second autopsy was arranged by the family and Crump, and paid for by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. It did not include a toxicology report.

“This is only another part of the puzzle, and even though it tells us significant information, we still have more questions than we have answers at this time,” Crump said of the results.

The still-unknown circumstances around Wells’ death have touched off rampant online speculation and prompted calls from Black leaders for transparency from local authorities. Wells, who was Black, had traveled to the island with a group of high school friends, all of whom are white.

A reward of $125,000 — jointly funded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, actor and producer Tyler Perry and former NFL player Terrell Owens — is now being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the death.

The autopsy announcement comes two days after Wells was laid to rest in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

In his eulogy, Sharpton lamented the “inconsistencies and unanswered questions” that had placed a dark cloud over the grieving family.

He questioned why Wells’ friends had left him behind, taken his phone and keys and failed to report him missing. And he suggested local investigators had spoken prematurely in statements to the news media indicating no crime was suspected.

“The reason that a lot of people across the nation are looking at this Nolan situation is because we’re looking at the history in Mississippi,” Sharpton added. “We can’t have someone in law enforcement saying there was no foul play before there was an investigation.”

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else. He has said the friends were cooperating with the investigation, which remains ongoing.

“We are trying to be respectful and collaborative as much as we can,” Crump said. “But it’s always troublesome to all of us when these investigations just take forever.”

The Health Ministry said hantavirus was also suspected in the deaths of two health workers in the southwestern state of Barinas. Those cases remain under investigation and were not linked to the three fatalities in the eastern state of Anzoátegui, about 655 kilometers (407 miles) away.

Both states were spared the worst of the back-to-back major earthquakes that hit northern Venezuela earlier this month.

The ministry described the deaths in Anzoátegui and Barinas as isolated incidents that “do not represent a risk to the general community." But it added that health workers would be sent to the affected states to “guarantee the health security of all Venezuelans,” without elaborating.

The Venezuelan Medical Federation, a national professional group, said the deaths in Anzoátegui were from the same family in the rural municipality of Miranda in the south of the state.

Hantaviruses exist throughout the world and are spread mainly by contact with rodents such as rats and mice. It’s rare and not easy for a hantavirus to spread between people. In severe cases, the virus can cause a deadly lung infection or kidney failure.

As a recent deadly outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic showed, some hantaviruses can spread between people in rare cases. The little-studied Andes hantavirus, detected in the outbreak that killed three passengers and infected several others on the MV Hondius in May, raised concerns around the world due to its mortality rate, as high as 30%, and the current lack of treatment and vaccines.

Weeks later in Argentina, from where the hantavirus-stricken cruise set sail, authorities are still trying to figure out the origin of the outbreak.

An early hypothesis circulated by officials suggested that patient zero, a Dutch ornithologist, may have become infected in the southernmost city of Ushuaia, famed for its location “at the end of the world." But Argentine scientists who tested rats for the Andes hantavirus in the area recently ruled out Ushuaia as the source of the outbreak — to the relief of the Antarctic cruise hub heavily reliant on foreign tourism.

Argentina also concluded the wine-producing province of Mendoza was not the source of contagion earlier this month, after local investigators and biologists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no trace of hantavirus in rodents collected from areas visited by the Dutch man and his wife.

Smart didn’t offer specifics. ESPN reported that Dowdell was involved in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident. The outlet confirmed with Smart that Dowdell is receiving care at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a medical facility specializing in treatment and rehabilitation for spinal cord and brain injuries.

“The Dante Dowdell situation is tough,” Smart told reporters. “I don’t know when he’ll be back. He had an off-campus accident back home during our break, and we’re praying for him and his family. We expect a full recovery, but the outlook right now is we’re waiting to see.”

Dowdell transferred to Georgia after rushing for 560 yards and three scores last season for Kentucky. The tailback from Picayune, Mississippi, was slated to compete for carries behind starter Nate Frazier. Dowdell spent the 2024 season with Nebraska and the '23 season at Oregon.

Smart told ESPN that Dowdell was “out of the really tough range, but as far as his complete health and coming all the way back, I don’t know what that looks like in terms of this year.”

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

The U.S. has championed peace in Lebanon but has been increasingly distracted by new escalation of the war in Iran, which has destabilized much of the Middle East. Trump says he now has little interest in talks with Iran’s leaders to end the war.

In the meantime, Lebanon and Israel have held rare direct talks mediated by Washington.

“It’s been a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves,” Trump told Aoun during a meeting which wrapped the Lebanese leader’s four-day visit to Washington. “We’re gonna help it a lot,” he said of Lebanon, without giving concrete details.

Hours later, Trump made the surprise announcement that he’d allow American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon for the first time in 40-plus years after the US suspended the route.

“I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,” Trump said on social media after Aoun had left the White House.

It is highly unlikely U.S. carriers will want to fly into Lebanon in the near future, however, as the situation in Iran disrupts larger air traffic and questions Hezbollah’s influence in parts of the country remain. Direct flights between the U.S. and Lebanon were suspended in 1985 by the Reagan administration following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

Lebanon hopes the Washington talks result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon that they currently occupy, and the Lebanese military receiving support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.

Trump said of Israel’s army withdrawing from Lebanon, “They’re in the process of doing that,” but didn’t elaborate.

Aoun told Trump, “Your vision is peace,” calling it Trump’s “legacy.” He also said Trump was a “great president.”

Trump responded by joking, “I do agree with that” and said Aoun was handsome and “knows how to get to me,” adding, “Now he can have anything.”

A framework agreement is being tested

Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, setting a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw and for the disarmament of Hezbollah, which for decades had a strong presence in southern Lebanon. The deal’s implementation was to begin in small “pilot zones.”

The U.S. State Department said Monday that operations in three villages of one pilot zone had begun. Two of them — Froun and Srifa — were not under Israeli military control to begin with, and the Lebanese army was already present there, while Israeli forces were at one point in a part of the third village, Zawtar al-Gharbieh.

The Israeli military said it would “adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,” without specifying the location.

The Lebanese army said it began deploying troops in Zawtar al-Gharbieh.

The June 26 agreement also lays out steps toward an eventual Israel-Lebanon peace agreement. The two countries have never had formal diplomatic ties and have been nominally in a state of war for nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.

Trump noted Tuesday of Lebanon, “There’s a Hezbollah problem” and suggested that he personally could speak with that group if Aoun wanted him to. He also again floated the idea of having Syria intervene to fight Hezbollah — though he didn’t fully commit to that.

Such a concept would be highly unpopular in Lebanon and potentially embarrass Aoun.

Confusion over pilot zone implementation

It remained unclear whether Israeli troops actually withdrew from any territory. A Lebanese military official said the Lebanese army was unsure whether Israeli forces had been in Zawtar al-Gharbieh before Tuesday, but that they were in adjacent areas and would open fire on anyone who tried to enter.

An Israeli military official said Israeli forces had not been in Zawtar al-Gharbieh “for quite a time” and “we didn’t withdraw from there.” Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations.

Still, the pilot zones got off to a rocky start.

The Lebanese military said Israeli troops fired Tuesday near an area where they were deploying. The Israeli military said Lebanese soldiers had entered an area that was not part of the pilot zone and Israeli troops fired warning shots in the air.

The Lebanese army disputed this, saying its soldiers were within the pilot zone when Israeli troops opened fire. It called on Israel to resolve disputes through “established coordination and communication channels, instead of resorting to aggression.”

A village mayor is cautious

Abed Ezzeldine, mayor of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, was waiting for word from the Lebanese military on whether it’s safe for displaced residents to check on their homes.

He said the civilians would go in, but “only to check it out and see how things are and then we will leave.”

“We can’t stay because the infrastructure is completely damaged and houses have been leveled. They (the Israelis) have bulldozed the roads,” he added.

The Lebanese military last week increased its presence in some of the areas expected to be included in the pilot zone, with troops patrolling and setting up checkpoints.

Rubio says US will support the framework agreement

Aoun also met Sunday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Washington will continue to endorse the Lebanese agreement. Rubio warned that Lebanon will “never be fully at peace” as long as the Hezbollah issue is not resolved.

“How do you replace Hezbollah? You defeat and replace them with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country,” Rubio said.

Skeptics in Lebanon fear that a military confrontation with Hezbollah could lead to a civil war.

Government officials have urged investment in the country’s battered infrastructure to empower the weakened state, which Rubio echoed.

Israel plans on a long-term presence

Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they plan to keep troops long-term in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has dismissed the U.S.-brokered direct talks and instead backed Washington’s talks with its key ally and patron Iran to end their war, which includes ending the war in Lebanon as a condition.

Lebanon’s government came to power on a reformist platform in early 2025, vowing to disarm all non-state groups, including Hezbollah, which it blames for dragging the country into another war with Israel in March, when the militant group fired several rockets toward northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Beirut’s leadership, however, has condemned Israel’s subsequent ground invasion and massive aerial campaign in the country, which has killed over 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others.

While grappling with stark political opposition from Hezbollah and allies within the deeply divided country, Lebanon’s leadership insists that Israeli withdrawal and international financial support for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army are crucial for a sustainable security solution.

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto and Erin Cunningham in Jerusalem, Abby Sewell in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

Stephen Curry: Beyond the Arc is set to open Friday, celebrating the career of a two-time MVP and the NBA's career leader in 3-pointers.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the exhibit Tuesday, saying it was the first time in the museum's nearly 75-year history that an active player would have a dedicated feature experience.

“When I think about my journey, I think about the people who believed in me, the work that happened when nobody was watching and the moments that shaped me on and off the court. To have that story told while I’m still playing is something I don’t take lightly," Curry said in a statement. "My hope is that fans walk through this experience and feel the joy, the purpose and the gratitude that basketball has given me, and maybe see a little bit of their own journey in it too.”

Developed in partnership with Curry's Thirty Ink business team, the exhibit will feature video footage of Curry's career, memorabilia and audio and video components that tell the story of a player who was overlooked going into college and has gone on to become a 12-time All-Star who led Golden State to four NBA championships.

“For him to become the first active player to have an exhibit in the Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to what he represents to the game, to the Warriors, to the NBA and to his millions of fans around the world,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said. “Obviously, this is only a prelude to his eventual induction in Springfield, but a fitting tribute to an iconic player and an amazing human being who has single-handedly changed the game.”

The Hall of Fame expects Curry's to be a limited time exhibit, likely to last through the summer of 2027 before closing.

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

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On average over the past 30 years, the second named storm has formed on July 17 in the Atlantic basin.

Bertha’s disheveled appearance a sign of its struggles

Hurricane Hunters flying Bertha Tuesday morning found pressures down slightly from earlier missions with thunderstorms trying to build near or over to its earlier exposed center, which could give the storm a brief window to organize further today. That said, wind shear is high and is forecast to only strengthen in the days ahead, which should mean any strengthening will be short-lived and limited.

The strong upper-level winds from the north responsible for the high wind shear will also keep the storm lopsided, with a relatively dry north side and the heaviest rainfall and worst weather to the south of the center.

Heaviest rainfall to remain well offshore

The lopsided nature of Bertha means its highest rainfall totals exceeding a foot will remain well offshore and widespread flooding isn’t expected as it skirts westward along the northern Gulf Coast this week.

Locally heavy rain is possible in outer bands near and north of the center, however, and some parts of the Florida Panhandle, coastal Alabama, and southern Mississippi and Louisiana could see localized flooding through Thursday.

Bertha not so big and full of bluster

Overall, the threat Bertha poses to the coast is low. The storm is likely peaking or will peak today as a mid-tier tropical storm (highest winds in the 50-60 mph range; hurricane winds start at 74 mph) and weakening should commence in earnest by tomorrow.

Although Tropical Storm Warnings are posted from extreme southeastern Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border for the likelihood of tropical storm conditions, Bertha doesn’t pose a widespread damaging wind threat and sustained tropical storm winds (winds of 40 mph or higher) should be contained mostly to rain squalls and periodic gusts over the next few days.

High surf along the north Florida and Alabama shoreline will lead to treacherous beach conditions and life-threatening rip currents. If you’re on a beach vacation in these areas, this is a week you’ll want to stay out of the water.

Deafening crickets across the Atlantic

Elsewhere, the Atlantic appears closed for business for the rest of the month. As we’ve discussed in previous newsletters, we’ll keep an eye to the subtropics this season (like the zone in the Gulf where Bertha formed), but for now, we’re not seeing any candidates for at least the next few weeks.

The rally is set to take place in Oakland County on Monday, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to discuss the event publicly.

Early in-person voting begins Saturday ahead of the Aug. 4 primary, when voters will also select nominees for U.S. House and other statewide offices. Republican Mike Rogers is unopposed in the Senate primary, while the GOP gubernatorial contest has intensified between Trump-backed U.S. Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson.

The visit will allow the president to take his messaging on the road as Republicans grow concerned about how rising gas prices and an unpopular war in Iran might affect their midterm chances. Republicans are defending slim majorities in the House and Senate.

Trump carried Michigan in 2016 and 2024, and both parties view the battleground state as central to the 2026 midterm elections.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Democrats are facing the most competitive race in the Aug. 4 primary, with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed battling for the party's Senate nomination. The winner will face Rogers, who lost narrowly in 2024 to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

Republicans have faced a bruising contest for the gubernatorial nomination, however, with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer term-limited. James has been endorsed by Trump, but Johnson has spent millions attacking James on television and digital advertising.

Johnson's campaign has already advertised a “Trump Tailgate” on Monday.

Oakland County, where Trump is set to appear, was long considered one of Michigan’s premier political bellwether counties. Democrats have steadily expanded their margins there even as Trump carried the state in 2016 and again in 2024.

Republicans saw 2026 as a chance to finally gain back power in a state that has been dominated by Democrats — outside of Trump's wins — over the past decade. But surging gas prices, an unpopular war in Iran and tariffs that have hit the state’s auto industry hard have all contributed to concerns about a worsening political environment for Michigan Republicans.

In May, a Democrat won a special election by almost 20 points in a state Senate district that Kamala Harris won by less than 1 point in 2024. The previous officeholder, a Democrat, carried the seat by 6 percentage points in 2022.

La policía de Lauderhill informó de que agentes acudieron poco antes de las 22:15 horas del domingo a un complejo de apartamentos ubicado en la manzana 6800 de Landings Drive, tras recibir avisos sobre disparos donde encontraron a Sean Blake con múltiples heridas de bala.

Los vecinos describieron haber oído una ráfaga de disparos.

“Fueron entre 12 y 15 disparos”, dijo un vecino. “Era como “bam, bam, bam, bam”. Todos nos tiramos al suelo. Era un ruido ensordecedor. He oído escopetas antes, así que supe que era justo ahí fuera porque estaban muy cerca y sonaban muy fuerte".

Otra vecina afirmó que oyó voces antes del tiroteo.

“Al principio oí como si estuvieran hablando y luego gritos, y después hubo muchos disparos”, explicó. “Apagamos la tele y todo eso, y un par de minutos más tarde oímos a la policía, la ambulancia y todo lo demás”.

Los paramédicos del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Lauderhill declararon a Blake fallecido en el lugar de los hechos, según informaron las autoridades.

Los detectives aún no han identificado a ningún posible sospechoso y, por el momento, el motivo sigue sin estar claro.

Se ruega a cualquier persona que tenga información, se ponga en contacto con Broward County Crime Stoppers en el 954-493-TIPS (8477). Los informantes pueden permanecer en el anonimato y podrían optar a una recompensa de hasta 5,000 dólares

A photo snapped by a passing boater sometime Sunday apparently shows them about thigh deep in the Scioto River, fishing poles in hand, standing around a big log. Calm as the surface appeared, the river was running high and fast, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. All five adults ended up drowning, authorities have said.

After the photo was taken, if it was indeed them, the group might have returned to shore. It is not quite clear. What Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer has said is that one of the adults was struggling to swim in the river when several others went into the water to help. All five were swept under, he said.

The two women's bodies were recovered Sunday and the three men's bodies were found Monday.

On Tuesday, Honduran authorities confirmed that four of the five adults were Honduran citizens — Dias and Regalado and another married couple whose names have not yet been released. The fifth adult also has yet to be identified.

Flabia Zamora, director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry, told reporters Tuesday that they were working with U.S. authorities to bring their bodies home.

Zamora said that once U.S. officials have identified all the victims, Honduras will start the repatriation process, which could take at least a month.

She said the couple’s children are in the care of the state of Ohio and that arrangements will be made to reunite them with relatives in Honduras.

One of the children, a boy wrapped only in a towel, fled the riverbank in a panic and ascended to the road as the adults were drowning. According to a passing driver who called 911, “He was screaming, ‘Mama! Mama!’ and he was about to come out onto the road, and he was crying.” She said she was afraid he was headed onto a multilane road that snakes along the Scioto's eastern banks.

Brenda Raya, who described herself as a relative, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral and transportation costs, as well as childcare costs for the two orphaned children. She said they are 8 and 10.

“The emotional and financial burden is overwhelming, and we want to honor the memory of our loved ones while providing for the children left behind,” she wrote.

The drownings occurred along the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir. The reservoir and its 18 miles (29 kilometers) of shoreline are the property of the city of Columbus. According to the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, Jet Skis, tubing and swimming are not permitted in any city of Columbus reservoir.

Lt. Heather Byers, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said rivers can be deceptively calm on the surface.

“Even though the water doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly, you can still get swept away in very slow-moving water,” she said. “Also, since you can’t always see the bottom, you never know if you’re in, you know, you could be in 2 to 3 feet of water, what you’re comfortable standing in, and then the next thing you know you’re at 4 or 5 feet.”

Besides the currents and the depths, people can catch a foot between the rocks, snag their clothes on a branch or lose their balance on slippery algae.

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González reported from Honduras. Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

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Lauderhill police said officers responded to an apartment complex in the 6800 block of Landings Drive just before 10:15 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports about gunfire and found Sean Blake suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Neighbors described hearing a barrage of gunfire.

“It was about 12 to 15 rounds,” one neighbor said. “It was like ‘bam, bam, bam, bam.’ All of us were hitting the deck. Super loud. I’ve heard shotguns before so I knew it was right outside because they were that close and that loud.”

Another resident said she heard voices before the shooting.

“At first I heard like talking and then screaming, and then there were a lot of gunshots,” she said. “We turned off the TV and stuff, and then a couple minutes later we heard the police and ambulance and everything.”

Lauderhill Fire Rescue medics pronounced Blake dead at the scene, authorities said.

Detectives have not identified any possible suspects, and a motive remains unclear at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

La semana pasada, los senadores dieron su visto bueno para el proyecto que busca invertir en la reconstrucción nacional y el desarrollo económico a través del fomento a las inversiones, reducciones de impuestos y generación de empleo. Sin embargo, la cámara alta realizó diversos cambios a la iniciativa original, por lo que ésta regresó al pleno de diputados, que ya habían dado su aval al proyecto previamente.

En la jornada, los distintos cambios apuntados por el Senado fueron sancionados en 26 votaciones separadas, que terminaron con la aprobación de todos los puntos salvo la normativa que dice respecto a las compensaciones a los municipios por la exención de contribuciones a las personas mayores de 65 años. La discrepancia entre el Senado y la Cámara deberá resolverse ahora en una comisión mixta-

Mientras, el grueso de la reforma propuesta por el Ejecutivo logró ser aprobado.

Entre las normativas despachadas figura el corazón del proyecto de ley: la rebaja gradual de los impuestos a grandes empresas desde el actual 27% al 23%; la exención del IVA a viviendas nuevas; las restricciones a nuevas instituciones de educación superior para ingresar a la gratuidad, y el acceso de empresas privadas a indemnizaciones económicas en caso de paralizaciones de proyectos por cuestiones ambientales.

Tras conocer los resultados, Kast valoró el avance de lo que es considerado uno de los pilares de su gobierno desde que asumió la Presidencia el pasado marzo.

“Valoramos el paso que se ha dado en pro de aprobar esta reforma”, dijo Kast a los periodistas desde Copiapó, donde se encuentra para acompañar la emergencia climática que avanza por el norte del país. ”Espero la buena disposición de todos los sectores políticos para que ese punto que quedó ahora pendiente, se resuelva rápido”.

La discusión del proyecto se produce en momentos en que Chile vive un estancamiento económico, con una caída del Producto Interno Bruto de 0,5% en el primer trimestre del año y varios meses consecutivos con cifras negativas en la actividad económica. Además, el país registró una tasa de desempleo de 9,4% en el trimestre móvil entre marzo y mayo, la cifra más alta desde junio de 2021.

Kast, de 60 años, tomó las riendas del país con la promesa de instaurar un gobierno mano dura con la delincuencia y la inmigración y reestructurar las finanzas públicas. Su asunción supuso el giro más pronunciado de Chile hacia la derecha desde la dictadura militar (1973-1990) y también la defensa de una política económica de tintes neoliberales que propone una drástica reducción del Estado y mayor autonomía a la iniciativa privada.

En ese marco, el ministro de Hacienda, Jorge Quiroz, afirmó que el proyecto permitirá entregar mayores "certezas" a quienes desarrollen inversiones en Chile, así como reducir barreras asociadas a permisos y mejorar el funcionamientos de sectores productivos, por lo que alabó que el Congreso haya ratificado la “necesidad imperiosa que tiene Chile de volver a tener competitividad tributaria”.

“Estamos enormemente satisfechos”, recalcó tras la votación.

Pese a las celebraciones del oficialismo, los parlamentarios de la oposición anunciaron que ingresarán con un recurso en el Tribunal Constitucional para frenar el proyecto, al que ya habían acusado “fallos jurídicos”.

"Ha quedado demostrado que toda la preocupación que tenía José Antonio Kast respecto a seguridad, empleo, inmigración, era simplemente un caballo de Troya para hacer avanzar el proyecto que realmente le importa, reducirle los impuestos a los más ricos”, disparó Constanza Martínez, presidenta del Frente Amplio, alianza que fusionó a diversas agrupaciones políticas de izquierda y centroizquierda hace unos años.

Lee en español

State Department officials gathered at Miami International Airport as pallets of food, medical supplies, hygiene kits and other essentials were loaded onto the aircraft.

“We are shipping pre-packaged boxes of commodities, so it is food, medical equipment, daily essentials, hygiene kits,” said Jeremy Lewin, the State Department’s under secretary for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom.

Officials said the shipment is the first in what is expected to become weekly humanitarian aid flights to Cuba.

The aid effort stems from a proposal Rubio announced in May, when he challenged the Cuban government to accept U.S. humanitarian assistance.

“Our preference is always a diplomatic solution, always, and a negotiated agreement,” Rubio said at the time.

Lewin said Cuba’s willingness to accept the aid reflects the country’s worsening humanitarian situation.

“The reason they did not want to accept it admits what everyone knows, which is it is a government that is incapable of providing for its own people, needs external assistance like that,” Lewin said.

Local 10 News Cuba analyst Dr. Andy Gomez said Cuba’s acceptance of the aid could signal the severity of its economic crisis.

“Cuba had delayed making their decision, but they’re such dire need, they have no other choice but to accept it,” Gomez said. “They realize that they’re at the very end.”

Gomez said while a political collapse does not appear imminent, the country’s economic decline could eventually trigger broader changes.

“The political collapse has not happened, and I don’t see it happening right away, but an economic collapse could lead to a political collapse. We have to wait and see,” Gomez said.

He said the humanitarian effort also weakens one of the Cuban government’s longstanding arguments.

“By getting humanitarian aid, the Cuban government loses that propaganda message that they continue to blame the economic embargo in their argument to the Cuban people,” Gomez said.

Lewin said the agreement allowing the aid into Cuba followed ongoing diplomatic negotiations.

“This is something we have been negotiating in our ongoing diplomatic talks with the regime, and we are pleased to say they have agreed in principle to allow these distributions,” he said.

To help ensure the supplies reach Cuban families, the State Department partnered with Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Cuba, which will distribute the packages through churches across the island.

“They have an extensive network of volunteers to reach out to those who are most in need,” Catholic Relief Services President and CEO Sean Callahan said.

Lewin said organizers distributing the aid will report any interference by Cuban authorities.

“We will know immediately if the regime interferes and takes a box that is intended for a Cuban family, and if that is the case, then we will hold them accountable, and we expect the Cuban people all around the world will hold them accountable for that,” he said.

He also emphasized that U.S. sanctions include exemptions for humanitarian operations.

“While we take on the national security threats posed by the regime, our commitment to the Cuban people is ironclad and want to be able to deliver critical assistance that their government should be able to provide to them, but isn’t,” Lewin said.

Callahan said aid will be delivered to all 15 dioceses in Cuba using a combination of air and ground transportation to minimize the impact of fuel shortages.

“We are doing different shipments to all the different 15 dioceses, so either by land or by air to minimize any internal transport because of the shortage of fuel, and then once it is there, the Catholic Church is getting it out by a volunteer network, whether that is push carts, donkey carts, or people carrying it one place or another,” he said.

State Department officials said they expect the humanitarian flights to continue on a weekly basis.

En conferencia de prensa, Milagros Samillán, hermana de uno de los 50 civiles asesinados en protestas contra el gobierno de la entonces mandataria Dina Boluarte (2022-2025), cuya gestión fue protegida por el partido de Fujimori, indicó que no iban a conversar con la “responsable” de blindar a Boluarte, además de ser "la hija de un dictador” que violó derechos humanos y "esterilizó mujeres sin su consentimiento".

Boluarte sucedió al expresidente Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) quien fue destituido por el Parlamento tras intentar disolver sin éxito el Congreso. Castillo luego fue condenado a 11 años de cárcel por conspiración para una rebelión. También es investigado por presunta corrupción. La remoción de Castillo provocó protestas que exigían la renuncia de Boluarte y convocatoria a nuevas elecciones que dejaron 50 civiles muertos entre 2022 y 2023.

Keiko Fujimori es hija del fallecido expresidente Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) quien en 1992 disolvió el Congreso e intervino el Poder Judicial. En 2007, Alberto fue condenado por corrupción y por el asesinato de 25 peruanos ejecutados por un grupo clandestino de militares que, usando métodos de guerra sucia, se enfrentaba al grupo violento Sendero Luminoso. Los militares fueron protegidos por Fujimori.

Pese a morir en libertad, en 2024, Alberto Fujimori seguía investigado por su presunta autoría intelectual en la modalidad de lesiones, seguidas de muerte, en el caso de cinco mujeres y por lesiones graves contra otras 1.307 mujeres, todas esterilizadas a la fuerza durante un programa de salud reproductiva entre 1996 y 2000.

Gisela Ortiz, hermana de uno de los 25 asesinados por militares durante el gobierno de Alberto Fujimori, indicó que la presencia de políticos del gobierno de Alberto Fujimori en el partido de Keiko Fujimori “nos hace señalar que no estamos ante un nuevo gobierno... estamos ahora en una consolidación de un proyecto autoritario".

Dos senadoras electas por el partido de Keiko Fujimori fueron congresistas durante el gobierno de Alberto Fujimori.

Ortiz es hermana de un universitario secuestrado en 1992 por militares de dormitorios de la Universidad La Cantuta junto a ocho estudiantes y un profesor. Según testimonios judiciales, todos fueron llevados a una zona deshabitada, obligados a cavar fosas y luego asesinados con tiros en la cabeza. Sus cuerpos fueron incinerados y cambiados de lugar para evitar hallazgo e identificación. Al momento faltan encontrar cuatro restos.

“No vamos a reconocer jamás a Keiko Fujimori, fue parte del gobierno corrupto de su padre” de quien fue primera dama durante su gobierno, dijo Ortiz.

Partidos opositores le han pedido a Keiko Fujimori que impulse la búsqueda de justicia para las víctimas de las protestas de 2022 y 2023 donde, según un informe de Naciones Unidas, las fuerzas de seguridad violaron derechos humanos, dispararon armas de fuego y torturaron. Fujimori no se ha pronunciado.

Hace una semana, Fujimori dijo sin dar detalles que cree “profundamente en la reconciliación”.

"He aprendido a pedir perdón, pero sobre todo a perdonar”, señaló.

La víspera el partido de Fujimori —que preside el saliente Parlamento (2021-2026)— aprobó una controvertida ley para que los delitos cometidos por policías y militares —incluidos asesinatos, violaciones sexuales, torturas o coimas— ya no sean juzgados por tribunales civiles, como ocurre, sino por tribunales militares.

Joel Leiniz informó que había asistido a un concierto de la iglesia con sus tres hijas antes de perder el control y chocar su Audi Q7 modelo 2017 contra un poste, según el informe de un agente de la Oficina del Sheriff de Palm Beach (PBSO).

Personal de rescate de bomberos respondió a Military Trail, cerca de Vicliff Road, en Greenacres, y trasladó a Leiniz, de Margate, y a sus tres hijas al Centro Médico St. Mary’s en West Palm Beach, según los agentes.

La hija de Leiniz, Zoë, de 8 años, fue declarada muerta poco después de las 10:45 p.m. en el Centro Médico St. Mary’s, mientras que sus otras hijas, de 6 y 12 años, sobrevivieron a sus lesiones, según agentes de la PBSO.

La tragedia familiar ocurrió aproximadamente nueve días antes de que las niñas conmemoraran el primer aniversario de la muerte de su madre, Sasha Christine Leiniz, ex directora del ministerio infantil de la iglesia New Covenant Church en Pompano Beach.

Un detective de la PBSO investigó la causa del choque del 17 de enero y determinó que Joel Leiniz tenía un nivel de alcohol en sangre ligeramente superior al límite legal de 0.08 en Florida, según los registros.

“El informe toxicológico mostró que la muestra de sangre tomada al ingresar al hospital contenía 0.081/0.083 de alcohol. Con base en la declaración de [Leiniz] de que no había bebido, los resultados de sangre y un análisis retrospectivo, determiné que su nivel de alcohol en sangre era de 0.097/0.104 al momento de la colisión y que [Leiniz] estaba bajo los efectos del alcohol en el momento de la colisión”, escribió un agente, según el informe de arresto.

Los datos del vehículo mostraron que Joel Leiniz conducía a 104 mph antes de chocar contra el poste en una zona con límite de velocidad de 40 mph, según el informe de arresto de los agentes.

Leiniz “declaró que circulaba por el carril izquierdo e intentaba cambiar al carril central. De repente, había un vehículo frente a él y giró bruscamente a la derecha para evitar una colisión, perdiendo el control. No recordaba qué tan rápido conducía ni cuál era el límite de velocidad, pero no creía que estuviera excediendo la velocidad permitida”, escribió un agente, según el informe de arresto.

Un video grabado por una cámara de vigilancia en el 2450 de South Military Trail mostró a Leiniz “circulando a alta velocidad” y “girando bruscamente a la derecha para evitar la colisión”, según el informe del agente.

“Con base en los extensos daños del Audi, el video que muestra la elevación y rotación del vehículo durante la colisión y la marca de carga de los neumáticos que evidencia la velocidad y el giro extremo del volante, determiné que [Leiniz] circulaba a alta velocidad”, escribió el agente, según el informe de arresto.

Los agentes arrestaron a Joel Leiniz el 19 de julio. Enfrenta cargos de homicidio vehicular y homicidio por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol, según los registros.

El lunes, Joel Leiniz compareció en una audiencia de fianza ante el juez Donald Hafele, del Tribunal de Circuito del condado Palm Beach, quien fijó una fianza de $150,000 dólares, o de75,000 dólares por cada uno de los cargos, según agentes de Palm Beach.

Los registros judiciales muestran que la jueza Sherri L. Collins, del Tribunal de Circuito del condado Palm Beach, presidirá el caso y que la próxima audiencia de Leiniz está programada para el 24 de septiembre.

The plane, the Clipper Endeavor, made a hard landing after losing engine power shortly after takeoff. The 17 passengers and crew who survived told investigators everyone lived through the landing, but panic set in as many passengers struggled to find life vests and the crew had a hard time pulling out life rafts.

Within minutes, the plane sank. Explorers found the wreckage of the DC-4 last month by using an autonomous sonar drone to locate the fuselage and tail in 2,000 feet of water.

Now before takeoff, flight attendants instruct passengers about exit locations and where life vests are located and how to inflate them.

“This one became a catalyst, and it helped drive safety steps forward of better flotation equipment and the preflight briefings,” said aviation safety expert John Cox, a pilot and founder of Safety Operating Systems. “So this is one steppingstone along the path to what we today enjoy as aviation safety. It was a rallying cry at the time.”

And now the discovery of this wreck could offer new hope for families who lost loved ones in other ocean crashes like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared 12 years ago with 269 people aboard.

Years of research helped locate the wreckage

This crash first caught the attention of Russ Matthews in 2019 when he saw a blurb about a luggage tag from the flight washing ashore in Florida. He said the historical significance of the Clipper Endeavor prompted him to dig deeper.

That led to years of digging through the Pan Am Airlines and Coast Guard archives looking for clues about the location of the plane's watery grave. Reports from the Civil Aeronautics Board, which was the predecessor to the Federal Aviation Administration, also helped.

But the key to finding the wreckage was found in records in Puerto Rico from a hearing that was held on the crash, and a map estimating the location of the crash that was done by Air Force pilots who witnessed the crash because they just happened to be in the area on a training flight.

Bad weather disrupted a previous attempt to locate the wreck in 2024 with a towed sonar array that was also documented by the Discovery Channel's “Expedition Unknown” show. But Matthews said he and the volunteers who work with his Air/Sea Heritage Foundation dreamed of making a second attempt to find it before next year's 75th anniversary of the crash with one of these newer advanced drones that were originally developed for military uses like finding undersea mines.

Undersea drone played a key role in the search

Tony Romeo, who is CEO of the undersea exploration firm Deep Sea Vision, had been talking with Matthews for a while about the possibility of helping try to find this plane if one of his ships was ever in the area, and then in April one just happened to be passing right by Puerto Rico between two other jobs while carrying an advanced underwater drone with the right sensors to be able to find it.

“There we were, and everything kind of came together at the moment: good weather, the right team, and the right equipment and ship. So we took a shot at it,” Romeo said.

Deep Sea Vision previously led an unsuccessful six-month search to find Amelia Earhart's plane, but Romeo had a special interest in this case because his father was a mechanic and pilot for Pan Am airlines. In fact, the drone they used in the search already had a Pan Am sticker on the side.

Capturing the moment of discovery

All the research Matthews' group had done, combined with weather data from the time of the crash, was synthesized to create a map of the most likely location and a search area of 10 square nautical miles. The drone actually found the wreckage on its first pass over that area, although the explorers didn't know that until it returned to the surface with its images.

The Discovery Channel’s Josh Gates and his crew were again along for this latest search to capture the moment the plane showed up on images from the drone after they were downloaded. The search will be featured in a special episode of the show this fall, but a few highlights released Tuesday show the moment everyone in the control room realized what they had found. Shouts of “Oh God!” and “That's a plane!” erupted when the image loaded on screen.

“To have a front-row seat to an expedition like this as it’s unfolding is tremendous, and so I feel really lucky that we were able to be a part of it,” Gates said.