As a teen growing up in Miami’s Liberty City, records show arrests for a school bus stop shooting, stolen guns, a restaurant burglary, and a park robbery.

“The court system has failed my son. I begged for help, that my son is incompetent,” Crystal Morales said during a court hearing in 2022 after the school bus stop shooting. “He is unstable, and I begged for help, and nobody has offered me any help.”

According to inmate records, Morales has been in the custody of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department since he was 16 years old at the Juvenile Assessment Center.

According to court records, Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Cristina Miranda has been presiding over his cases. Some have been pending since September 2022.

Earlier this year, Miranda signed a court order directing a qualified mental health professional to determine if Morales was mentally capable of standing trial after a public defender’s motion.

On Wednesday, as a 19-year-old inmate, he faced new accusations of repeated violence — some involving makeshift weapons — at the Pre-Trial Detention Center.

Violence at PTDC

On Tuesday, Morales waited for his cellmate to be in handcuffs to use a “makeshift shank” to cause his cellmate “a superficial cut to the back of his neck,” according to a M-DSO deputy’s report.

A Miami-Dade corrections officer reported using a self-defense spray to subdue Morales during the attack shortly before 12:15 a.m. Tuesday at PTDC’s 10th floor, according to the deputy’s report.

Miami-Dade prosecutors filed the case on Wednesday, and he faced a new charge of aggravated battery by a prisoner. His bond was $15,000.

Gang-related violence at PTDC

On March 20, Morales and four other inmates attacked a victim after corrections placed him in their cell, and there was an argument about “The Blood gang,” according to a deputy’s report.

“Surveillance cameras depict the victim standing in the dayroom when suddenly all of the cameras within the cell were covered by unknown inmates,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.

The victim suffered “several puncture wounds to the back, neck, and hand” and was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, according to the deputy’s report.

Corrections searched the cell and found two more “shanks,” according to the deputy’s incident report. Morales faced a charge of aggravated battery by a prisoner. His arraignment is on April 24.

More violence at PTDC

On Feb. 19, Morales got into a fight with an inmate in a cell while “other inmates in the cell covered all cameras,” according to a deputy’s report.

Prosecutors filed the battery by detainee on detainee case on Feb. 20, and the case was dropped on March 23, according to court records.

On Nov. 10, Morales and another inmate used paper to cover a surveillance camera in a cell before two other inmates got into a fight, according to a deputy’s report.

Prosecutors filed the case on Nov. 11, and the case was closed on Dec. 19, according to court records.

School bus stop shooting

Shortly after 7:55 a.m., on Sept. 8, 2022, Morales, then 16 years old, used a black firearm with an extended magazine to shoot and wound two students while trying to rob them of their phones, according to a deputy’s report.

Miami-Dade deputies responded to the shooting at the boys’ school bus stop at Northwest 10 Avenue and 109 Street in the Pinewood neighborhood, according to the deputy’s report.

The two wounded boys survived, Morales ran away, and when Miami Shores police officers arrested him, they found him in possession of three stolen firearms, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

Morales had a Glock 26 that had been reported stolen in Miami in his waistband; an Olympic Arms K23B that had been reported stolen in Miami-Dade in his backpack; and a Glock 23, 40 Smith & Wesson caliber, that he had been accused of stealing in Miami, also in his backpack, according to the police report.

Prosecutors filed the case on Sept. 30, 2022. He faced 19 charges: Three counts of attempted murder with a firearm, three counts of possession of a firearm by a minor, three counts of using a weapon to commit a felony, three counts of carrying a concealed firearm, two counts of armed robbery, armed burglary, aggravated assault with a firearm, possession of a short-barrel gun, third-degree grand theft of a vehicle, and resisting arrest without violence.

The case remained pending on Wednesday afternoon, according to court records.

Stealing a gun

On July 19, 2022, Morales stole the G23 40 S&W caliber from a black GMC SUV that a driver he knew had parked by a gas pump at the Marathon station at Northwest 12th Avenue and 54 Street, according to police.

“The victim stated that he has known the defendant for many years, as he went to high school with the defendant’s mother,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

The victim heard his car alarm, saw Morales, then 16 years old, running away with the G23, and he drove to Morales’s house to talk to his mother and call the police for help, according to the report.

Prosecutors filed the case on Oct. 30 on charges of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, third-degree grand theft of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and possession of a firearm by a minor. His arraignment was on Oct. 6, 2022. The case remains pending.

Park robbery

On Feb. 27, 2022, Morales, then 15 years old, took a man’s sports bag and stole AirPods at the Charles Hadley Park in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, according to a police report.

Morales faced a charge of third-degree grand theft. Prosecutors filed the case on Oct. 3, 2022, and it remained pending on Wednesday afternoon, according to court records. His next hearing is June 15.

Restaurant burglary

On Jan. 16, 2022, surveillance video showed Morales, then 15, stealing $450 in cash and three cash registers from a Church’s Chicken in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, according to police.

Morales faced charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure, petit theft, and criminal mischief. Records show he was at JAC when prosecutors filed the case on Sept. 30, 2022. It remained pending on Wednesday.

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

Related story: Prosecutors plan to charge teen accused of shooting 2 Miami-Dade students as adult

The Lufthansa Group said the cancellation of less profitable routes, focused largely on its hub airports in the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich, would save the equivalent of approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.

The company last week shut down one of its regional subsidiaries, CityLine, to cut costs. It said a “planned consolidation” within its European network also would involve Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS and ITA Airways, and hubs in Brussels, Rome, Vienna and Zurich.

The price of jet fuel has more than doubled in some markets since late February, when the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Airlines are particularly vulnerable to fuel price shocks because jet fuel typically accounts for one of their largest operating expenses.

For travelers, that is already translating into fewer flight options on some routes and higher fees and fares heading into the peak summer season, with many airlines raising checked bag fees or adding fuel surcharges.

Fighting around the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway off Iran's coast where a fifth of the world's oil typically passes, has disrupted fuel prices and supplies around the world.

The head of the International Energy Agency estimated on April 16 that Europe had about 6 weeks' worth of jet fuel remaining and said airlines would start to cut routes from their schedules without more.

Lufthansa said it secured enough jet fuel “for the coming weeks” and was “pursuing a range of measures” to keep its fuel supply stable for the summer, “including the physical procurement of jet fuel.”

The airline is not alone in scaling back operations.

All but one of the world’s 20 largest airlines have canceled scheduled May flights spanning every major region, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Besides Lufthansa, the carriers include Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air China, British Airways and Air France-KLM, Cirium said.

Last week, Switzerland-based carrier Edelweiss Air announced it is dropping service to Denver and Seattle this summer and reducing flights to Las Vegas through the early autumn.

Air New Zealand is consolidating about 4% of its schedule in May and June.

“Like airlines globally, we're experiencing jet fuel prices that are more than double what they would usually be,” the carrier said.

The global price of jet fuel increased from about $99 per barrel at the end of February to as high as $209 a barrel at the beginning of April.

But for Wall Street, everything eventually comes back to a different, basic question: How much money are companies making? And at the moment, they're earning so much that investors are willing to pay higher prices than ever for a piece of ownership of U.S. companies.

It's been a jarring ride for investors, many of whom may have felt the urge to dump their stock investments last month when the S&P 500 fell nearly 10% below its prior record. But as it has every time so far in its history, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts rewarded investors who remained patient by not only recovering all its losses but also forging to new heights. On Wednesday, the index closed at a record 7,137.90.

Here's a look at what's been behind the market's surprising strength:

What sets a stock's price

Stock prices flitter up and down every second for myriad reasons, many of which no one can explain. But at its heart, and over the long term, a stock's price depends on two things: how much money a company is making and how much an investor is willing to pay for each $1 of that.

More fear

The latter part of that formula tends to swing up and down with interest rates and how much greed investors are feeling versus fear.

When fear prevailed in the early days of the war, stock prices dove. The worry was that a long-term surge for oil prices because of the war could send a debilitating wave of inflation crashing into the global economy.

Interest rates also rose, further undercutting stock prices, as investors worried the threat of high inflation would prevent the Federal Reserve and other central banks worldwide from cutting the short-term interest rates they control. While lower interest rates can give the economy a boost, they can also worsen inflation.

Less fear

Since late March, expectations have built that the United States and Iran will avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy. It would be in both countries' economic interests to do so, and for Iran's leadership, an end to the war would also likely mean survival.

The ceasefire that the two sides agreed to earlier this month is still holding, though it's tenuous.

The market's shift away from abject fear has also shown itself in oil prices. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, went from roughly $70 before the war to $119 when worries reached their heights. It has since pulled back and was bouncing around $100 on Wednesday.

Much of the focus has been on the Strait of Hormuz, which oil tankers use to exit the Persian Gulf. If Iran keeps the strait closed, and if the U.S. Navy continues to blockade Iranian ships, everyone will get hurt. Customers worldwide will not get oil, and Iran will not get revenue from selling its own crude.

“By denying Iran its oil-related revenue, traders may be thinking that the economic war may be more effective in getting concessions from Iran’s regime than was the kinetic war only, and that this will end the war sooner, rather than later,” according to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie Group.

Traders on Wall Street are also betting again on a chance that the Fed could resume its cuts to interest rates later this year. They see a much lower probability than they did before the war, according to data from CME Group. But they're no longer worried about the possibility of hikes to rates.

Profit strength

As fear has eased, investors have been able to turn their focus more to the first part of the equation making up stock prices: profits. And those have been coming in strong.

A little more than 15% of S&P 500 companies have already reported how much profit they made during the first three months of 2026, and the vast majority have topped analysts' expectations. That includes everyone from Citigroup to J.B. Hunt Transport Services to UnitedHealth Group.

If the rest of the companies in the index just match analysts' estimates, earnings for S&P 500 companies will end up being roughly 14% higher than a year earlier, according to FactSet.

Those results include a month of wartime, and while companies say they're still wary about potential risks because of the fighting, they're not showing many signs of it hurting their earnings.

Bank of America's chief executive officer, Brian Moynihan, said last week that “we saw healthy client activity, including solid consumer spending and stable asset quality, indicating a resilient American economy.”

That's even though many U.S. households are feeling nervous about more expensive gasoline and higher prices broadly due to tariffs, as shown in recent surveys.

Expectations for more

Analysts have actually raised their expectations for upcoming profits for S&P 500 companies since the war began. They're forecasting growth for S&P 500 profits to accelerate to 20% in the second quarter, and companies aren't giving them many reasons to reconsider.

Delta Air Lines said earlier this month that it's seeing strong demand from people flying both for business and for vacations. PepsiCo last week stuck by its forecast for profit over 2026, which it initially gave before the Iran war began, and CEO Ramon Laguarta said he's encouraged by how resilient its international business has been. GE Vernova on Wednesday said demand is soaring for power from AI data centers, and it raised its revenue forecast for the year.

All is still not clear

Of course, the U.S. stock market can easily return to falling. Wall Street's mood could swing quickly back to fear if U.S.-Iran talks break down and the oil market looks to be facing shortages.

And if oil prices stay high for long enough, it would erode some of those profits for companies. Not only would it raise costs for businesses, it would also weaken the spending power for U.S. households and other customers.

Scott Nelson Nida, de 55 años, de Pompano Beach, fue arrestado el martes y enfrenta cargos que incluyen privación ilegal de la libertad, robo sin arma de fuego o arma, agresión doméstica y robo mayor de auto, según los registros de la cárcel.

Los agentes dijeron que poco antes de las 9:30 a.m. del martes respondieron a la intersección de Southeast 54th Street y 19th Terrace en Pompano Beach después de que un testigo llamara al 911 reportando que Nida había agredido a la víctima y tomado su vehículo.

Cuando los agentes llegaron, hablaron con la víctima, quien “parecía tener el rostro ensangrentado y con moretones, y no llevaba zapatos,” según el informe.

El informe indica que la víctima dijo a los agentes que quería presentar cargos contra Nida.

Los investigadores dijeron que la víctima y Nida han tenido una relación durante unos 16 años y anteriormente vivían juntos. No tienen hijos en común.

Según los agentes, el incidente comenzó más temprano esa mañana cuando la víctima llevó a su hija a la escuela en Boca Ratón.

Antes de salir, dijeron que ella hablaba con Nida, quien le había pedido imprimir un documento de manutención infantil relacionado con un hijo de otra relación. Ella aceptó y planeó reunirse con él después de dejar a su hija en la escuela.

Durante el trayecto, los agentes dijeron que la víctima recibió múltiples llamadas de Nida exigiendo saber su ubicación.

Cuando giró cerca de la casa de él en Pompano Beach, lo vio de pie cerca y luego se detuvo tras decirle que estaba hablando por teléfono con su padre, según el informe.

Una vez dentro del vehículo, Nida se volvió “muy alterado” y le indicó que condujera hasta su casa, señala el informe.

Después de que ella le entregó los documentos, los agentes dijeron que él comenzó a cuestionarla sobre la noche anterior y la acusó de infidelidad.

Mientras la víctima conducía hacia el oeste por Southeast 15th Street, los agentes dijeron que Nida “la agarró por la parte posterior de la cabeza y comenzó a golpearla en el rostro y la cabeza múltiples veces.”

La víctima tocó la bocina en un intento de llamar la atención e intentó escapar, pero los agentes dijeron que Nida agarró el volante e intentó quitarle el teléfono.

Poco después, dijeron que Nida la jaló de nuevo hacia el vehículo y continuó la agresión.

La víctima finalmente logró escapar, corrió por Southeast 54th Street y detuvo a un conductor que pasaba, quien llamó al 911 tras ver a Nida irse en su vehículo con sus pertenencias y teléfono dentro, según el informe.

Las autoridades dijeron que Nida no tenía permiso para llevarse el vehículo. La víctima luego dijo a los agentes que estaba “extremadamente asustada” de Nida y temía por su vida, indica el informe.

Tras el arresto del martes, los agentes dijeron que Nida admitió que ocurrió un incidente de violencia doméstica dentro del vehículo, pero negó haber golpeado a la víctima, afirmando que ella estaba “errática.”

Reconoció que ella estaba sangrando, pero no pudo explicar cómo sufrió las lesiones. También negó haber tomado su teléfono o vehículo, aunque los agentes dijeron que admitió haberse ido conduciendo el auto de la víctima y haberla escuchado pedir ayuda.

En un arresto previo en enero, Nida enfrentó cargos de agresión doméstica por estrangulamiento y privación ilegal de la libertad después de que los agentes dijeron que atacó a la misma víctima durante una discusión por infidelidad.

Según los agentes, la víctima dijo que Nida la agarró por el cuello y el rostro, la empujó al suelo, la arrastró por el césped y la obligó a subir a un vehículo antes de irse conduciendo.

La víctima posteriormente retiró la acusación y la orden de no contacto fue desestimada. Dijo a los investigadores que “se sintió coaccionada para retirar los cargos” porque Nida presuntamente dijo que “perdería su trabajo y pensión.”

El sheriff del condado Broward, Gregory Tony, emitió una declaración a Local 10 News en enero sobre el primer arresto de Nida.

“La violencia doméstica es inaceptable, especialmente de alguien que ha jurado hacer cumplir la ley,” escribió Tony en ese momento. “Cuando un miembro juramentado es acusado de este tipo de delito, se le aplican los mismos estándares que a cualquier miembro del público.”

Las autoridades dijeron que Nida fue contratado por BSO el 18 de enero de 2005. Luego fue colocado en licencia administrativa investigativa sin sueldo.

Un portavoz de BSO respondió al arresto más reciente de Nida en un comunicado a Local 10 News el miércoles.

“El sargento Scott Nida se encuentra actualmente en licencia administrativa investigativa con sueldo, y fue colocado por primera vez en licencia administrativa tras su arresto el 7 de enero de 2026. La investigación interna de BSO continúa. Fue contratado el 18 de enero de 2005,” indica el comunicado.

Hasta el miércoles, permanecía detenido con una fianza de $47,500 USD en la cárcel principal del condado Broward. También se le ordenó usar un monitor GPS, no tener contacto con la víctima, mantenerse alejado de los lugares que ella frecuenta, no poseer armas ni municiones, y entregar cualquier arma a un tercero dentro de 24 horas tras su liberación.

Las víctimas de violencia doméstica pueden contactar a BSO Victim Services al 954-321-4200, Women in Distress al 954-761-1133 o la línea directa de violencia doméstica de Florida al 1-800-500-1119.

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Scott Nelson Nida, 55, of Pompano Beach, was arrested Tuesday and is facing charges including false imprisonment of a person, robbery without a firearm or weapon, domestic violence battery and grand theft auto, according to jail records.

Deputies said just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, they responded to the intersection of Southeast 54th Street and 19th Terrace in Pompano Beach after a bystander called 911 reporting that Nida had battered the victim and taken her vehicle.

When deputies arrived, they spoke with the victim, who “appeared to have a bloody and bruised face, and was not wearing any shoes,” according to the report.

The report states that the victim told deputies she wanted to press charges against Nida.

Investigators said the victim and Nida have been in a relationship for about 16 years and previously lived together. They have no children in common.

According to deputies, the incident began earlier that morning when the victim took her daughter to school in Boca Raton.

Before leaving, they said she was speaking with Nida, who had asked her to print a child support document related to a child from another relationship. She agreed and planned to meet him after the school drop-off.

During the drive, deputies said the victim received multiple calls from Nida demanding to know her location.

As she turned near his Pompano Beach home, she saw Nida standing nearby, then pulled over after telling him she was on the phone with her father, according to the report.

Once inside the vehicle, Nida became “very agitated” and instructed her to drive to his home, the report states.

After she provided the documents, deputies said he began questioning her about the previous night and accused her of infidelity.

While the victim was driving westbound on Southeast 15th Street, deputies said Nida “forcibly grabbed the back of her head and began to punch her face and head multiple times.”

The victim then honked the horn in an attempt to get attention and tried to escape, but deputies said Nida grabbed the steering wheel and tried to take her phone.

Shortly after, they said Nida then pulled her back into the vehicle and continued the attack.

The victim eventually escaped, ran down Southeast 54th Street and flagged down a passerby, who called 911 after seeing Nida drive away in her vehicle with her belongings and cellphone inside, according to the report.

Authorities said Nida did not have permission to take the vehicle. The victim later told deputies she was “extremely in fear” of Nida and feared for her life, the report states.

After Tuesday’s arrest, deputies said Nida admitted that a domestic violence incident occurred inside the vehicle but denied striking the victim, claiming she was “erratic.”

He acknowledged she was bleeding but could not explain how she sustained her injuries. He also denied taking her phone or vehicle, though deputies said he admitted driving away in the victim’s car and hearing her call for help.

In a prior January arrest, Nida faced charges of domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment after deputies said he attacked the same victim during an argument over infidelity.

According to deputies, the victim said Nida grabbed her by the neck and face, pushed her to the ground, dragged her across a lawn and forced her into a vehicle before driving away.

The victim later waived prosecution, and the no-contact order was dismissed. She told investigators she “felt coerced into dropping the charges” because Nida allegedly said he would “lose his job and pension.”

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony released a statement to Local 10 News back in January in regard to Nida’s first arrest.

“Domestic violence is unacceptable especially from someone who is sworn to uphold the law,” Tony wrote at the time. “When a sworn member is accused of this type of crime, they are held to the same standards as any member of the public.”

Authorities said Nida was hired by BSO on Jan. 18, 2005. He was then placed on administrative investigative leave without pay.

A BSO spokesperson responded to Nida latest arrest in a statement to Local 10 News on Wednesday.

“Sgt. Scott Nida is currently on administrative investigative leave with pay, and he was first placed on administrative leave following his arrest on Jan. 7, 2026. The BSO internal investigation is ongoing. He was hired on Jan. 18, 2005,” the statement read.

As of Wednesday, he was being held on a $47,500 bond at the Broward County Main Jail. He was also ordered to wear a GPS monitor, have no victim contact, must stay away from anywhere the victim frequents, no firearms, weapons, or ammunition, and must have a third party surrender any guns within 24 hours of release.

Domestic violence victims can contact BSO Victim Services at 954-321-4200, Women in Distress at 954-761-1133 or the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-500-1119.

The Buenos Aires Sports Security Committee issued a “preventive” ban on the use of confetti in stadiums in the district on Wednesday, following the fire that broke out during last Sunday's match between River Plate and Boca Juniors at the Monumental Stadium.

Firefighters had to intervene to extinguish the flames that damaged several stadium seats and caused spectators to flee.

City authorities said that “even though the home club had previously approved contingency protocols and the necessary resources for their implementation, an incident occurred that clearly demonstrates the potential ignition risk that these materials pose in contexts with high concentrations of people.”

The day before the game, River Plate’s supporters’ subcommittee called on the fans to cut thousands of confetti pieces to give the “Millionaires” a colorful welcome. Boca won 1-0 with a penalty by Leandro Paredes.

The tradition of throwing confetti from the stands became popular during the 1978 World Cup hosted by Argentina and was later imitated by fans around the globe.

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

The incident occurred just before 3:30 p.m. at a Publix located at 15771 SW 152nd St. in the county’s Country Walk area, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said the suspect, Julio Rodriguez, is accused of accelerating his vehicle toward a man who was attempting to cross the parking lot to retrieve a shopping cart, nearly striking him.

The victim, David Guzman told Local 10’s Rosh Lowe that a verbal argument followed, during which Rodriguez reached into his vehicle’s center console, retrieved a bottle of pepper spray, exited the car and sprayed Guzman, Guzman’s wife and uncle.

Deputies said Rodriguez then got back into his vehicle and fled the scene.

Guzman was able to provide officers with a photo of the vehicle’s license plate, according to the report.

“He sprayed my wife and me again, and maced my uncle and my wife,” Guzman said. “Never in my life has this happened to me.”

Local 10 News also obtained video in which Guzman’s wife can be heard complaining about the pepper spray in her eyes.

Authorities later located Rodriguez, who lives near the Publix where the incident occurred, and took him into custody without further incident, the report states.

Deputies said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported Rodriguez to Jackson South Medical Center before he was taken to jail.

Jail records show he is facing one count of aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older and two counts of battery.

As of Wednesday, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed at $3,000. He was also ordered to stay away from the victims.

For the Kennedy Center’s new leadership, it’s a gargantuan structure corroded by water damage so severe that steel in some places is tissue-thin.

Away from the political controversy that has consumed the iconic performing arts venue for the better part of Trump’s second term, Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s new executive director and chief operating officer, guided a group of journalists through the building Wednesday. They viewed the outdoor terrace overlooking the Potomac River along with parking decks, loading docks, an electrical vault and the Opera House stage.

A theme emerged at virtually every stop: the water damage was real, apparent in some places through discoloration and pooling. Some equipment, including several 800-ton chillers that help cool the building, is decades old and in need of replacement.

And the building is so massive — sprawling across more than 1.5 million square feet — that repairs will require time to finish.

Two years of time, in fact.

Trump plans to shutter the building for a massive renovation slated to begin in July, supported by nearly $257 million provided by Congress to fund repairs. The institution is expected to turn to private donors to help support refurbishing some of the building's more exclusive areas, such as lounges.

The Kennedy Center is hardly the first fixture of the Washington skyline to undergo lengthy renovations. The Smithsonian Castle, one of the most recognizable buildings along the National Mall, has been closed for renovations since 2023. The Washington Monument was shrouded in scaffolding from 1998 to 2001 and covered again at points in 2013 and 2014 to repair earthquake damage.

None of those changes, however, were guided so closely by a sitting president.

Trump, who is also trying to build a ballroom on the grounds of the former East Wing of the White House and is pushing for the construction of a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery, is deeply involved in the Kennedy Center plans. That's in line with the far more hands-on approach he's taken to the institution during his second term, ousting its previous leadership and replacing it with a handpicked board that named him chairman.

His name is now bolted to the building's facade along with that of John F. Kennedy, the slain president that the venue memorializes.

“It’s a public building, and I completely acknowledge that, but the president is really great at this, and I think his input is invaluable,” Floca said. “He’s in the details, and it’s amazing. I really respect the input he’s given.”

As Trump tightened his grip on the building, artists abandoned the institution in droves, prompting concern that the closure is more of an effort to cover for plunging sales. The Kennedy Center hasn't released sales figures.

Still, the tour offers the institution something of a reset opportunity after more than a year of tumult, demonstrating the need for repairs while easing some fears. A bipartisan group of lawmakers and their staff, along with representatives for Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and some corporate and individual donors, have received a similar walk-through.

For example, there will be scaffolding around the building but the construction won't be so dramatic that someone could see through the building. That's notable considering Trump has suggested the steel supporting the structure could be “ fully exposed.”

It's not entirely clear how much change will be apparent to the general public once the Kennedy Center reopens. Much of the structural repairs, which will unfold during the renovation's first year, will happen in the building's private core.

The venue's more public elements, including the red-on-red decor of the Opera House, are expected to be maintained, though with some updating. There aren't plans at the moment to change the presidential boxes.

Quotes attributed to Kennedy will stay on the building's walls and the famous bust of the former president that sits outside the Opera House will be there again when the building reopens.

“I can’t think of any JFK changes,” Floca said.

It’s unclear, however, whether additional tributes to Trump, who will by then be in the final months of his presidency, when the public can return to the building, will join Kennedy.

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The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect in an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday as 47-year-old Thomas Christopher Ball, of Coral Springs.

Deputies said the investigation began on March 10 after receiving a harassment complaint that involved AI-generated images.

The report states the victim, a 17-year-old girl, told deputies Ball contacted her through Instagram months earlier and their conversations escalated into inappropriate messages.

Investigators said Ball allegedly made sexual comments during a phone call while intoxicated and offered her money in exchange for oral sex.

According to the report, the victim later distanced herself, prompting Ball to send repeated messages questioning why she stopped speaking with him.

On March 8, 2026, Ball allegedly sent multiple messages, including one offering money and asking her to continue communicating with him, the report states.

Deputies said Ball then sent an AI-altered image depicting the victim nude, which was created using a prior social media post. According to the report, he threatened to “expose her if she did not resume being friendly with him.”

The report states Ball acknowledged the victim was a minor and continued messaging her, including statements investigators described as “grooming tactics,” such as offering money, expressing affection and attempting to manipulate her.

After the victim blocked him, deputies said Ball contacted her from another phone number asking if she had called police.

Investigators said they reviewed messages, images and financial transactions from the victim’s phone as evidence. The report states the AI-generated image showed the victim’s face on a nude adult body without her consent.

The victim later provided a sworn statement confirming her account and identifying Ball as the suspect, according to deputies. She told investigators the incident caused her significant fear and emotional distress.

According to the report, investigators also reviewed a separate incident in which a third party told police Ball had made threats while intoxicated, including statements about wanting to harm the girl. The report states Ball denied making those comments.

Deputies said a review of the victim’s phone showed messages in which Ball attempted to “groom” the minor, including offering money, making emotional appeals and continuing to contact her after being told to stop.

The report states detectives also documented AI-generated images and message exchanges, along with financial transactions sent by Ball.

Based on the victim’s sworn statement and the evidence collected, investigators said they established probable cause for arrest.

Jail records show Ball is facing one count each of transmission of harmful material to a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and altered sexual depiction.

As of Wednesday, he was not listed as an inmate in Palm Beach County jail records after posting a $75,000 bond.

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It’s not clear whether he knew that Jarmane Samuel Bradwell Jr. was wearing it after getting probation for a violent armed carjacking, but it apparently did not dissuade him from traveling to Bradwell’s street in the city’s Wynwood neighborhood to try to seal the deal Tuesday afternoon.

According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, things did not end well for the would-be seller.

Police said the victim had listed the diamond-encrusted Cartier watch on Facebook Marketplace for $1 to receive inquiries. Authorities said the victim agreed to sell Bradwell the watch for $2,700: $1,000 in cash and $1,700 by Zelle.

Authorities said Bradwell sent the seller an address on Northwest 31st Street, near Third Avenue ― a few houses down from where Bradwell lives.

“The victim asked (Bradwell) if he was able to meet him closer to which (Bradwell) sent thew victim a photograph of a leg with an ankle monitor on it and stated he wasn’t able to,” an MPD detective wrote in the report.

According to court records, Bradwell was donning the less-than-stylish leg accessory because he took part in a 2023 armed carjacking in North Miami Beach when he was 16. He was charged as an adult, but ultimately got classified as a “youthful offender” and received community control, probation and withheld adjudication.

Records show he’s also been accused in various criminal cases in North Miami, Miami Shores and Miami.

On Tuesday, police said the victim in the latest case pulled up at the location just before 3 p.m. and set up his cellphone to record the transaction.

The two communicated through Google Translate as the victim allowed Bradwell to try on the watch and view additional links that came with it, police said.

“The victim then asked (Bradwell) to remove the watch until he paid for it. While the victim was holding onto the watch, (Bradwell) lifted his shirt and brandished a black object, which appeared to be a weapon according to the victim,” the report states. “(Bradwell) then said something to the victim and snatched the watch from (his) hand and (left).”

Police said the victim called 911 and an officer saw Bradwell and tried to stop him, but he ran.

Authorities said they were able to identify the suspect as Bradwell and went to his house to detain him.

The MPD report said officers serving a search warrant at his home ultimately found the links, though it doesn’t state whether they found the watch itself.

Bradwell is now back in jail on an armed robbery charge with a bond listed as “to be set.” His Miami-Dade jail roster listing also includes several additional other charges related to those varying past cases.

No está claro si sabía que Jarmane Samuel Bradwell Jr. lo llevaba tras recibir libertad condicional por un violento robo de auto a mano armada, pero aparentemente eso no lo disuadió de viajar hasta la calle de Bradwell en el vecindario Wynwood para concretar la venta el martes por la tarde.

Según un informe de arresto del Departamento de Policía de Miami, las cosas no terminaron bien para el vendedor.

La policía dijo que la víctima había publicado el reloj Cartier con diamantes en Facebook Marketplace por $1 USD para recibir consultas. Las autoridades indicaron que la víctima acordó venderle el reloj a Bradwell por $2,700 USD: $1,000 USD en efectivo y $1,700 USD por Zelle.

Las autoridades dijeron que Bradwell envió al vendedor una dirección en Northwest 31st Street, cerca de Third Avenue, a pocas casas de donde vive.

“La víctima le preguntó si podía encontrarse más cerca, a lo que Bradwell envió una fotografía de una pierna con un monitor de tobillo y dijo que no podía,” escribió un detective en el informe.

Según registros judiciales, Bradwell llevaba ese dispositivo debido a que participó en un robo de auto a mano armada en 2023 en North Miami Beach cuando tenía 16 años. Fue acusado como adulto, pero finalmente fue clasificado como “infractor juvenil” y recibió control comunitario, libertad condicional y adjudicación retenida.

Los registros muestran que también ha sido acusado en varios casos criminales en North Miami, Miami Shores y Miami.

El martes, la policía dijo que la víctima llegó al lugar poco antes de las 3 p.m. y colocó su teléfono celular para grabar la transacción.

Ambos se comunicaron a través de Google Translate mientras la víctima permitió que Bradwell se probara el reloj y revisara eslabones adicionales incluidos, dijo la policía.

“La víctima luego le pidió que se quitara el reloj hasta que lo pagara. Mientras la víctima sostenía el reloj, Bradwell levantó su camisa y mostró un objeto negro que parecía un arma, según la víctima,” indica el informe. “Bradwell luego dijo algo a la víctima, le arrebató el reloj de la mano y se fue.”

La policía dijo que la víctima llamó al 911 y un agente vio a Bradwell e intentó detenerlo, pero este huyó.

Las autoridades dijeron que pudieron identificar al sospechoso como Bradwell y acudieron a su casa para detenerlo.

El informe indica que los agentes que ejecutaron una orden de registro en su vivienda encontraron los eslabones del reloj, aunque no especifica si recuperaron el reloj.

Bradwell está nuevamente en la cárcel enfrentando un cargo de robo a mano armada con fianza “por establecer”. Su registro en la cárcel de Miami-Dade también incluye varios cargos adicionales relacionados con casos anteriores.

Según la policía, Annette Saddler fue vista por última vez el 3 de abril en el vecindario Little Haiti de la ciudad.

La policía describió a Saddler como una mujer afroamericana de 5 pies 5 pulgadas de estatura y aproximadamente 175 libras de peso. Tiene cabello negro y ojos marrones.

Cualquier persona con información sobre su paradero debe llamar al Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de Miami al 305-603-6300 o enviar un correo electrónico a SVU@Miami-Police.org.

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According to police, Annette Saddler was last seen April 3 in the city’s Little Haiti neighborhood.

Police described Saddler as a Black female who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the City of Miami Police Department at 305-603-6300 or email SVU@Miami-Police.org.

Her death was ruled a homicide in the report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office that had been blocked from release for months.

A judge had ordered the report sealed in November at the request of law enforcement after the girl's dismembered and decomposed body was found in a pair of bags in the trunk of a Tesla parked in the Hollywood Hills in September. But prosecutors agreed this week to allow its release.

The 21-year-old alt-pop singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged in the killing Monday. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a dead body. Burke’s attorneys said he did not cause Rivas Hernandez’s death and they will vigorously defend his innocence.

Prosecutors allege he killed the girl because she threatened to report they had a sexual relationship that began when she was 13 years old and he feared it would ruin his rising career.

A criminal complaint alleges he killed her with a sharp object and dismembered the body about two weeks later.

According to the autopsy, she had significant wounds to her torso, likely caused by a sharp object. Her body had so degraded that examiners couldn't even determine her eye color. She had braces at the time of her death, and a tattoo that read “Shhh....” on the inside of a finger, according to the report. Two other fingers were missing — as were parts of her arms and legs.

LA County's Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey C. Ukpo has sought to emphasize his agency's independence from law enforcement and to make its work as public as possible since he took over the job three years ago. He has said he does not believe sealing reports of his office's work helps investigations and has said he would only put holds on releasing the reports if compelled by a court order.

“After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss,” Ukpo said in a statement Wednesday. “It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter.”

D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among young fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He released his debut EP “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals,” in 2023.

His debut full-length album, “Withered,” was released one year ago, two days after the date prosecutors estimate that Rivas Hernandez was killed.

The Virginia Supreme Court will now decide whether Democratic lawmakers violated procedural rules when they referred a constitutional amendment to the ballot authorizing the new U.S. House districts that could help Democrats win as many as four additional seats in the state. If so, that could invalidate the map voters narrowly approved Tuesday.

What happens next in Florida also will matter.

The state's Republican-controlled Legislature is to meet in a special session next week that GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis called in part to draw a new map to expand the party's congressional majority there. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue an opinion by the end of June in a Louisiana case that could overturn a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and lead to redrawn political maps across the South, though almost all of those could not happen until 2028.

After voters passed the Virginia amendment, Democrats could tentatively claim that they netted 10 seats nationally from the mid-decade redistricting, compared with the nine that Republicans claim. Even if things swing again in the GOP's favor, the net result of Trump's campaign would be at best an incremental increase in the number of GOP-leaning House seats at a time when his approval rating is dropping and Republican anxiety over losing control of Congress in November is rising.

“We have successfully blunted Trump’s attempt to completely hijack the midterms," said John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Many Republicans agreed.

“The GOP will now lose net seats across the country. If you’re going to pick a fight, at least win it,” Ari Fleischer, who was a spokesman for President George W. Bush, posted on the social media site X after the Virginia vote. “All this was foreseeable and avoidable. We should not have started this fight.”

Adam Kincaid, executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, argued that it is too soon to declare one party a victor.

“It's an ongoing process with many legal challenges pending, and it's far too early for sweeping statements on the final outcome,” he said.

Trump on Wednesday tried to undermine the Virginia result by leveling groundless accusations of fraud similar to ones he made after losing the 2020 presidential election. He called the Virginia vote “RIGGED” and “Crooked” in a post on his social media site and added: “Let’s see if the Courts will fix this travesty of 'Justice.'”

Redistricting spread from Texas to other states

Redistricting is typically done every 10 years after each census, unless ordered by a court. But last summer, Trump pushed a redrawing in Texas, prodding the state's Republican-controlled Legislature to add up to five winnable House seats for his party. Trump then began pressuring other Republican-run states to follow. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have since created more GOP-leaning seats in addition to Texas.

Democrats began to fight back, even though they were more constrained because several Democratic-controlled states had maps drawn by independent commissions rather than lawmakers and governors.

To counter Texas, California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, pushed the Democratic-controlled Legislature to place a redistricting initiative on last fall's ballot. After voters overwhelmingly approved it, the measure will replace a commission-approved map with one that could gain Democrats five seats.

Democrats reclaimed the Legislature and governor's office in November in Virginia and swiftly moved to replicate California's move with an even more aggressive redistricting plan. It replaces a congressional map imposed by a court after the last census that had resulted in a 6-5 edge for Democrats with one that could allow Democrats to win as many 10 seats.

“We are not going to let anyone tilt the system without a response,” state Senate President L. Louise Lucas said at a news conference Wednesday.

Courts could still have a say on redistricting

In Washington, U.S. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York warned Florida Republicans, who have been openly nervous about redrawing their district boundaries and potentially spreading their core voters too thin before an election that appears to be trending against them.

“Our message to Florida Republicans right now is, ‘F around and find out,’” Jeffries said.

House Majority Forward, the nonprofit arm of the super political action committee aligned with House Democrats, has spent nearly $60 million to push back against Republicans' redistricting efforts. Some $40 million of that was on the Virginia campaign.

Another obstacle in Florida is an anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment that was approved by state voters in 2010. It is likely that any new Florida map would trigger significant litigation, although six of the state Supreme Court's seven justices were appointed by Republicans.

Nicholas Stephanopolous, a Harvard law professor, said a challenge for DeSantis is that the Florida amendment forbids drawing lines for purely partisan purposes, so he has to find some other excuse for revising the map. “Even with that sort of acquiescent state supreme court, I don't think it's a done deal,” Stephanopolous said.

The Virginia move comes with its own legal issues. Republicans have challenged the process that Democrats used to place the measure on the ballot and the state Supreme Court opted to wait for the vote before even scheduling arguments in the case. It is unclear when a ruling could come.

“The ballot box was never the final word here,” Terry Kilgore, the Virginia House Republican leader, said in a statement after Tuesday's vote. “Serious legal questions remain about both the wording of this referendum and the process used to put it before voters.”

The biggest legal wild card is held by the U.S. Supreme Court. Its conservative majority could throw out a requirement under the Voting Rights Act that in areas with a large minority population, mapmakers draw districts that are more favorable to the election of minority candidates.

That provision has led to the creation of several majority-minority congressional seats, especially in the South. Without it, Republicans in conservative states could shrink the number of U.S. House seats winnable by Democrats even further.

But it's unlikely that any state other than Louisiana, which brought the lawsuit the high court will rule on, would be able to adjust its congressional lines in time for November even if the court eliminates that provision, known as Section Two. That's because the November election is already officially underway in most states and candidate filing deadlines — and, in some cases, primary elections — have already passed.

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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Leah Askarinam in Washington contributed to this report.

Suicide deaths among 15- to 23-year-olds were 11% lower than what researchers expected between July 2022 — when the lifeline launched — and December 2024, researchers wrote in a study published Wednesday in JAMA.

“The 988 program is one of the largest federal investments in suicide prevention in U.S. history — roughly $1.5 billion cumulative — and our findings suggest that investment has translated into measurable reductions in young adult suicide deaths,” said Dr. Vishal Patel, a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and the paper's lead author.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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The researchers used nationwide death certificate records from 1999 to 2022 to model what the suicide mortality would have been had the 988 line not launched. They then compared the estimates to the actual number of deaths.

The researchers can't say for certain that 988 was the sole cause of the decline, and the U.S. suicide rate is down overall. But they ran several other comparisons to “gut check” their overall findings, Patel said.

They found the 10 states that had the largest increases in call volumes following the launch of 988 also saw significantly larger gaps in expected vs. actual suicide deaths. The reductions were also greater in younger people than people older than 65, who are less likely to use the lifeline. And they saw no similar changes when looking at suicide deaths in England, where no comparable lifeline existed during the study period.

The results are in line with previous research.

“Studies show that after speaking with a trained crisis counselor, most people who contact the 988 Lifeline are significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed and more hopeful,” a spokesperson for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funds the hotline, said in response to the study.

Research results 'very heartening,' expert says

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, who leads the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's research program and was not involved in the study, said the results were “very heartening and very positive." She wants to see more research replicating the results, but she said the authors did a “great deal of work” to weed out other possible factors for the decline.

The entire mental health system is key to lowering suicide rates, Harkavy-Friedman said. 988's power to navigate that system, helping callers make safety plans, connecting them to local crisis intervention teams and referring people to longer-term care, has led to “extraordinary” impact, she said. And simply having someone to call in a moment of crisis can also be lifesaving.

“That is the strength of the crisis line," Harkavy-Friedman said. "When you call, it de-escalates the crisis so the person has greater capacity to address whatever it is that's driving their emotions at the moment."

Experts say the overall patchwork of federal and state funding for call centers remains insufficient to meet the true level of need.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s federal budget request maintains stable 988 funding at $534.6 million for fiscal year 2027, in anticipation of 11 million contacts next year.

The hotline “is not a panacea for preventing suicide death,” but the number of lives it has saved "is a really big deal and underscores the need for sustained investment in 988 from federal, and especially state, lawmakers,” said Jonathan Purtle, a New York University mental health policy researcher.

Specialized line for LGBTQ+ youth

In a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin pressed Kennedy to follow through on a “legal requirement” to restore 988's specialized line for LGBTQ+ youth. The administration abruptly cut the program last summer, despite evidence that the population faces disproportionately high suicide rates.

“Yes, we are working on getting it up now,” Kennedy told the Wisconsin Democrat. Spokespeople for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately provide The Associated Press with any timeline or details of that restoration.

Patel said the specialized services for high-risk groups — including the LGBTQ+ line — are part of what makes the program work.

“Our findings should be read as evidence that this is a program worth preserving and expanding, not one to scale back,” he said.

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

The leak occurred at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute as workers were preparing to shut down at least part of the facility, Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said.

A chemical gas reaction occurred at the plant involving nitric acid and another substance, Sigman said, speaking at a news briefing. He added that there was "a violent reaction of the chemicals and it instantaneously overreacted.”

“Starting or ending a chemical reaction are the most dangerous times,” Sigman said.

Among the injured were seven ambulance workers responding to the leak, officials said.

Other people were taken to the hospitals in private cars or even in one case a garbage truck, Sigman said.

One person was in critical condition, Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango said.

Vandalia Health Charleston Area Medical Center, one of several hospitals in the area, was treating multiple patients, some brought by ambulance, while members of the community were arriving Wednesday afternoon asking to be checked, hospital spokesman Dale Witte said.

Witte said patients were experiencing respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and itchy eyes. They were being evaluated in the emergency room.

A shelter in place order was issued for the surrounding area and lifted more than five hours later. Officials said all the deaths and injuries occurred on the plant site.

“You had to get really close to the facility to smell it,” Sigman said.

The leak required a large scale decontamination operation in which people had to remove all their clothes and be sprayed down, authorities said.

Catalyst Refiners works to remove silver from what remains of chemical processes and can find thousands of dollars of the precious metal just by vacuuming the floors in a plant's offices, Sigmon said.

Ames Goldsmith Corp., the owner of Catalyst Refiners, said it is saddened by the deaths and its thoughts were with all those impacted and their families.

“This is an unfathomably difficult time,” said the company statement released at the news briefing. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and their families."

Ames Goldsmith promised to work with local, state and federal officials as they investigate what happened.

The plant is located near Institute, a community about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Charleston, the state capital.

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Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report from Columbia, South Carolina.

Pickens hasn't signed the one-year deal worth $27.3 million, which means the 25-year-old would face no financial penalties if he didn't report to mandatory minicamp in June. The rest of the offseason program, which starts Monday, is voluntary.

“We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George play under the franchise tag, which won’t be a first for us,” Stephen Jones said. “So there won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal. But that’s certainly not a first for this organization and certainly won’t be a first in the league in terms of this decision as we move forward.”

Stephen Jones said he hasn't talked to Pickens recently, but said owner Jerry Jones and coach Brian Schottenheimer met with him recently.

“It was good,” Schottenheimer said during the Cowboys' news conference leading into the NFL draft, which starts Thursday night. “The thing that George knows about Jerry and myself is we’re very upfront and we’re honest. We had great conversation. We informed him. We think that’s important because that’s the way we handle all of our players and coaches.”

David Mulugheta, Pickens' agent, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pickens, acquired last offseason in a trade with Pittsburgh, had career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) for one of the best offenses in the NFL last season. Dallas had one of the worst defenses in the league and finished 7-9-1, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

The 2022 second-round pick out of Georgia thrived alongside CeeDee Lamb, who is going into the second year of a $136 million, four-year contract that currently ranks him third among NFL receivers with an average annual value of $34 million.

Lamb missed the entire offseason and training camp in 2024 holding out for the deal he signed about two weeks before the season opener.

The Cowboys couldn’t use the tag on Lamb because he was going into the fifth year of his rookie contract. The fifth year is a team option that goes with all deals for first-round picks. Second-rounders have four-year deals, and Pickens earned $6.8 million on his rookie contract.

Pickens’ talent was on display during three seasons with the Steelers, but so were enough instances of petulant or indifferent behavior for then-coach Mike Tomlin to question his maturity.

Schottenheimer never took issue with Pickens publicly in his first season as a head coach after a quarter-century as an NFL assistant. But Pickens and Lamb were benched for the first series in Las Vegas after missing curfew following a casino visit the night before the game.

“There’s a lot of things that go into that,” Stephen Jones said of the decision not to go forward on a long-term deal this offseason. “Let’s start with the fact that it’s not easy having two receivers being paid top of the market. A quarterback that’s been here, being the highest-paid player in this league for many years now.”

“The other thing is the newness of George being here,” Stephen Jones said. “I think George has just done an amazing job. I mean he’s exceeded all expectations. And a lot of those things, they make their way toward a long-term deal, but that’s the biggest part of it — between the business and newness of it, I think that’s a big part of it.”

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The attacks unfolded just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Islamic Republic said it fired on three outbound ships and seized two, calling it retaliation for the American naval blockade of Iranian ports and for the U.S. firing on and seizing an Iranian ship that did not stop when hailed by a vessel enforcing the blockade.

Attacks on shipping dwindled starting in mid-March as Iran imposed effective control over the strait. The mere risk of attack was enough to deter ships from trying to get through, while a few ships used an Iranian-approved lane near the coast. Iran demanded details on cargo, ownership and crew and, on at least some occasions, imposed a $1 per barrel tax on oil and oil products — or $2 million for a large tanker.

Here is a look at what’s known, and not known, about the situation in the strait:

After a pause, attacks on shipping have resumed

Iran’s semiofficial news agencies reported that the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard attacked a third ship Wednesday in the strait. Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, without elaborating. The Guard seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.

That incident followed two ship attacks on Saturday that ended a lull that began in mid-March.

The seized ships were the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas and the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, both container ships. It was not clear under what terms the ships were trying to pass the strait. The MSC shipping company did not answer an email asking about the vessel.

The attacks follow a sudden reversal in the Iranian stance over the weekend, as the Iranian foreign minister announced Friday that the strait was open, only to be contradicted the next day by the Revolutionary Guard. Six cruise ships stuck in the Persian Gulf since late February took advantage of the narrow window and slipped through the strait. But since then, traffic has dried up.

The resumption of attacks reflects in part “genuine confusion ... about when passage is permitted," said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

Conflicting statements emerged from Trump about a full reopening and from the Iranian foreign minister about a limited reopening. Then things “shifted very quickly” Saturday when the Guard said the strait was closed.

Additionally, Soltvedt said, it's in Iran's interest to keep insurance premiums high with sporadic attacks. “Their main leverage in negotiations with the U.S. is being able to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and insurance is a big part of that.”

Some vessels have passed the Iranian vetting system, and some have relied on diplomatic requests from home governments. But hundreds of ships and thousands of crew members are still stuck.

The US is enforcing a blockade, but some Iranian oil gets through

The U.S. Navy boarded and seized a large tanker carrying Iranian oil south of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, some 2,000 miles from the strait. That underlined the U.S. power to seize vessels that violate the blockade well after they have left the vicinity of the strait.

The U.S. military, which is enforcing the blockade in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, well way from Iranian drones and speedboats, says it has turned around 20 Iran-linked vessels.

However, shipping intelligence companies say that a number of ships carrying Iranian oil have passed the blockade. Lloyd’s List Intelligence says “a steady flow of shadow fleet traffic” has passed in and out of the gulf, including 11 tankers with Iranian cargo that have left the gulf outside the strait since April 13.

“The dilemma for the U.S. is: The tighter the blockade, the greater the pain is in the global oil market, so there are conflicting priorities there, and it seems there is a policy of not intercepting every single shipment of Iranian oil,” Soltvedt said.

Additionally, almost all that oil is going to China, and the U.S. has to manage that relationship as well, with Trump planning to visit from May 14 to 15.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command, confirmed Wednesday that the military blockade is against all Iranian ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. However, he said humanitarian shipments, including food, medical supplies and other goods essential for civilians, are being permitted subject to inspection.

Hawkins pushed back on outside reports of ships getting past the U.S. dragnet and pointed to remarks by the head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, who claimed Friday that “no ship has evaded U.S. forces.”

Reopening the strait will take time

Ship owners and insurers will need more than a simple announcement of a peace deal to venture through the strait as they did before the war.

Even when the war ends, analytical and data firm Rystad Energy says, it will take six to eight weeks just to reposition the world’s tanker network. Ship owners and insurer would need two to five weeks to get comfortable with a new operating environment and to resume normal activity.

Ship owners will want “something that's a bit more concrete than what we have now,” Soltvedt said. “What is needed is something more comprehensive” than an informal truce with the two sides far apart on key issues such as Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

“Even then, shipping companies will have the long-term threat hanging over them" given Iran's missile and drone capabilities, he said. “They can play this card again in the future."

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Associated Press Writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

“Are you 21 yet?” George turned and asked Edgecombe on the dais during their postgame news conference.

“No, 20,” Edgecombe responded with a smirk.

Nobody’s laughing about the elite company that the 76ers’ third overall pick in last June’s draft put himself into during just his second career playoff game.

“I just try not to overthink it,” Edgecombe said. “I try not to put pressure on myself. Everybody’s already putting pressure on us to perform. ... Plus, I’m around a great group of guys. That also helps me. Just keep instilling confidence in me. Just to keep going, keep going. Regardless of who’s on the floor, who’s not on the floor.”

Edgecombe finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds to become the first rookie to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Tim Duncan on May 5, 1998.

He also became the first rookie in NBA history to post five 3-pointers and 10 rebounds in a playoff game. It was a bounce-back performance after a Game 1 in which he finished with just 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

George said it’s the culmination of something they first saw glimpses of in the Bahamas native when Edgecombe scored 34 points in his first pro game in Philadelphia’s one-point opening night win in Boston.

“When you think about it how he started his first NBA game in this building, I’m sure he was in a small percentage or small group of players that what he did on that opening night,” George said.

Edgecombe’s opening-night performance was the third-most points for an NBA player in his first game. Wilt Chamberlain scored 43 points in his debut in 1959 for the Philadelphia Warriors and also had 28 rebounds that night against New York. Frank Selvy scored 35 points for the Milwaukee Hawks against Boston in 1954.

Allen Iverson held the Sixers’ record with 30 points in his debut in 1996.

Edgecombe’s 14 first-quarter points on opening night were also the most ever for a player’s first NBA quarter. That record had been set by LeBron James in 2003.

Edgecombe finished the regular season averaging 16.0 points in 75 games.

And he’s done it with a flair that is in some ways reminiscent of the fun-loving style that Iverson exuded during his 76ers’ tenure.

In Tuesday’s win, after knocking down his final basket of the night — a deep 3-pointer over Payton Pritchard to put Philadelphia in front 105-92 after Boston had gotten within 91-89 — Edgecombe winked at the camera as he jogged back down the court.

George said it’s just a taste of what's to come from Edgecombe.

“To put a whole season together and get to a point where he’s showcasing who he is and his abilities. I’ve been saying all year long he’s far past a rookie,” George said. “It’s just impressive, man. (Edgecombe had) 30 and 10, but it’s just what we needed in the moments throughout the game when he took over, and kind of just put us at ease.”

Tuesday wasn’t all fun for Edgecombe, though. He did take a hard fall on his back early in the game that resulted in him limping to the locker room in both the first and third quarters.

But Edgecombe shrugged off any notion that his fall will hinder him going forward in this series.

“I just landed on my back, but I’m good. I was able to finish the game so I’m good,” he said. “That’s all I’ve got for you. I’m good, ain’t nothing wrong with me. I’m good.”

___

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

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According to Miami Beach police, officers responded to the 1400 block of Ocean Drive at about 9:14 p.m. Tuesday where the driver dropped off the suspects.

The suspects have been identified as Ashton Montanez, 22, of Orlando, and Jefferson Mesidor, 25, of Miami.

According to Montanez’s arrest report, he is an influencer who is currently living on the streets of Miami.

Police said the driver told them that he is a Lyft driver who was picking up a fare Tuesday night on Bay Harbor Terrace in Bay Harbor Islands when he noticed a large police presence.

He said he then saw two men running toward his car and then opening the door to his vehicle.

According to the report, Montanez and Mesidor laid down in the vehicle in an attempt to conceal themselves before Montanez passed what the driver believed was a gun to Mesidor.

Police said the duo then forced the victim to drive them to Miami Beach.

The victim told police that he considered jumping out of his moving car at one point, but was scared they would shoot him.

According to the report, both suspects exited the vehicle in the 1400 block of Ocean Drive and entered a residential building.

Witnesses told Local 10 that the building is filled with short-term rentals, including Airbnbs.

“We come back around 1 o’clock and the whole road is blocked off, tons of cops. They kept saying, ‘Oh, it’ll be another 40 minutes,’” Andrew Galizia, who is visiting from Boston, said. “They said that like four times and then we waited. There was a lot of action going on down here, so we moved to this side, and then all of a sudden you see the SWAT team fully armed, dogs, and infrared googles ... I was like, ‘Damn, what is really going on?’”

Authorities said Mesidor then exited the building and was quickly located by police in the 1500 block of Ocean Drive while Montanez remained barricaded inside.

One person staying in one of the rental units said he spent hours waiting in the lobby of a nearby hotel.

“We were staying at an Airbnb and I think there were a lot of people in Airbnbs there, so it was an inconvenience for a lot of people,” he said.

Montanez was eventually taken into custody at about 1:08 a.m. Wednesday, police confirmed.

Families staying at the building said they were caught off guard by the police presence.

“They didn’t get too close to the building, but they had surrounded the building, and then all of a sudden, they had gotten in here and came in, and then they were knocking on the door, saying we had to evacuate,” Tierra Esquerre said.

Detectives were seen collecting evidence, trying to piece together exactly what led up to the driver being held at gunpoint.

“I was pretty scared,” Esquerre said. “I called my grandfather. I cried because when they pulled up with the guys in the truck, that was pretty intense, so it was scary.”

Miami Beach police said the investigation remains ongoing and is being led by the Bay Harbor Islands Police Department.

“MBPD will continue to support BHPD as needed,” a MBPD spokesman said in an email to Local 10 News.

Both Montanez and Mesidor face kidnapping charges.

As of Wednesday afternoon, both were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed their bond as “to bet set.”

“This behavior is unacceptable, and we are grateful that the driver is safe,” a Lyft spokesperson said in a statement to Local 10 News. “The rider involved has been permanently removed from the Lyft platform, and we have been in touch with the driver to provide support. We stand ready to assist law enforcement.”

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Police said Deauna Wooley was last seen at approximately 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and was wearing a white shirt and pink shorts.

The girl’s family explained that this is the first time she has run away, as there was no disturbance in the home.

Police immediately issued a be-on-the lookout alert for Wooley.

Officers said they spoke with a witness who stated that he saw Wooley with a male subject wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, talking at McTyre Park, located at 3501 SW 56th Ave., in West Park.

Police said witnesses indicated they later saw them walking northbound on Southwest 56th Avenue.

They said the park was searched again, with assistance from Broward Sheriff’s Office District personnel, but Wooley was not located.

Investigators said the area was continuously canvassed, including local plazas, stores, parks, and gas stations, with negative results.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 or the Pembroke Park Police Department at 954-374-8639.

La policía indicó que la menor, cuya identidad no fue revelada, fue vista por última vez aproximadamente a las 7:30 p.m. del martes y vestía una camisa blanca y pantalones cortos rosados.

La familia de la niña explicó que esta es la primera vez que se escapa, ya que no hubo ningún disturbio en el hogar.

La policía emitió de inmediato una alerta BOLO para la menor.

Los agentes dijeron que hablaron con un testigo que afirmó haber visto a la niña con un sujeto masculino que vestía una sudadera roja con capucha, conversando en McTyre Park, ubicado en 3501 SW 56th Ave., en West Park.

La policía indicó que testigos señalaron que luego los vieron caminando hacia el norte por Southwest 56th Avenue.

Dijeron que el parque fue revisado nuevamente, con la ayuda de personal del distrito de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, pero la niña no fue localizada.

Los investigadores indicaron que el área fue recorrida continuamente, incluyendo plazas locales, tiendas, parques y gasolineras, sin resultados.

Cualquier persona con información debe llamar a Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477 o al Departamento de Policía de Pembroke Park al 954-374-8639.

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The police dog named Appie remained under veterinary care on Wednesday afternoon after undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone on Tuesday in Broward County.

“He is expected to make a full recovery,” Dr. Sagen Woolery, the emergency medicine vet caring for Appie, told Local 10 News.

Woolery said luck was on Appie’s side since the bullet that wounded him on Saturday night could have caused more damage than it did.

“We are excited to help him get back on his feet and back working again,” Woolery said.

On Monday, police officers identified the burglary suspect accused of shooting Appie in Lauderdale Manors as Christian Q. Bouie.

Appie’s K9 colleague helped police officers arrest Bouie, 30, after the shooting, and Bouie remained at the Broward County Main Jail on Wednesday.

Bouie faced four charges: Use of a deadly weapon on a police animal, interfering with law enforcement with violence, possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, and resisting arrest without violence.

Related stories

• Burglary suspect accused of shooting police dog faces charges in Broward
• Police: Burglary suspect shoots police dog during pursuit in Fort Lauderdale

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El perro policía llamado Appie permanecía bajo cuidado veterinario la tarde del miércoles después de someterse a una cirugía para reparar un hueso roto el martes en el condado Broward.

“Se espera que tenga una recuperación completa,” dijo a Local 10 News el Dr. Sagen Woolery, veterinario de medicina de emergencia que atiende a Appie.

Woolery dijo que la suerte estuvo del lado de Appie, ya que la bala que lo hirió el sábado por la noche pudo haber causado más daño del que provocó.

“Estamos emocionados de ayudarlo a volver a ponerse de pie y regresar a trabajar,” dijo Woolery.

El lunes, los agentes identificaron al sospechoso de robo acusado de dispararle a Appie en Lauderdale Manors como Christian Q. Bouie.

Un compañero K-9 de Appie ayudó a los agentes a arrestar a Bouie, de 30 años, después del tiroteo, y Bouie permanecía en la cárcel principal del condado Broward el miércoles.

Bouie enfrenta cuatro cargos: uso de un arma mortal contra un animal policial, interferencia con la aplicación de la ley con violencia, posesión de arma o municiones por un delincuente convicto y resistencia al arresto sin violencia.

Historias relacionadas

• Acusan a sospechoso de robo por disparar a perro policía en Broward
• Policía: Sospechoso de robo dispara a perro policía durante persecución en Fort Lauderdale

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Researchers at the University of Alabama used 16 different factors including the geographic hazards, the population and infrastructure exposed and the vulnerability of people living there. They then brought in past damages from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's database and applied three different artificial intelligence tools to figure out flood risks from Texas to Maine, calculating that 17.5 million people were at “very high” risk and an additional 17 million were at “high" risk, the next level.

The authors looked at all sizes of flooding and examined separately what FEMA considers the most extreme, which are the top 1% of events. The study found 4.3 million people along the coasts to be at the highest level of risk of extreme flooding, but 20.5 million to be at high risk, the second highest level.

They found a lot of vulnerability, highlighting eight different cities from Houston, which flooded in 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, to New York, which was inundated in 2012’s Superstorm Sandy.

Wednesday's study in the journal Science Advances found that New York City has 4.75 million people at the two highest risk levels for all flooding, with more than 200,000 buildings likely to be damaged.

And while the number of people at risk in New Orleans is far lower, about 380,000, it involves 99% of the city's population. That doesn't mean 99% of the people will be affected in the next hurricane or nontropical flood, but that they might be depending on the storm's individual path and rain pattern, said study co-author Wanyun Shao, a climate scientist at the University of Alabama.

“Just look at the magnitude,” Shao said. “Those numbers are shocking, are alarming.”

The elderly and poor are most at risk

“When the next big storm hits New York City, when the next Hurricane Katrina -like hurricane makes landfall in New Orleans, people will get hurt, especially those socially vulnerable populations,” Shao said referring to the poor, the elderly, children and the uneducated.

Shao and outside experts said the numbers stunned them even though they were familiar with the worsening effects of climate change.

“New York is known to be susceptible to floods and it has the largest population. But the fact that New York has nearly an order of magnitude more flood-exposed population than any other city is surprising,” said Alex de Sherbinin, a geographer who directs Columbia University’s Center for Integrated Earth System Information. He wasn’t part of the study.

Flood problems are becoming more frequent in New York and New Orleans because of human-caused climate change, the study said.

Other cities are also threatened

Jacksonville has 679,000 people at high or very high risk of flooding, while Houston is just behind at just under 600,000. Other cities highlighted include Miami, Norfolk, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina, Mobile, Alabama.

Shao and outside experts said what separates her study from others is the sheer comprehensiveness of all the factors it considers, including sinking land and pavement that doesn't allow water to seep into the ground, as well as incorporating human social vulnerability such as poverty and age.

“This could be applied to other places in the world, such as Manila,” said University of Virginia engineering professor Venkataraman Lakshmi, who heads the hydrology section of the American Geophysical Union, referring to the capital of the Philippines. He wasn't part of the study, but said the flooding problems it highlights will get more frequent and intense due to human-caused climate change.

Columbia University's Marco Tedesco, who wasn't part of the study, said "it reinforces the crucial concept that future flood disasters are not just about water—they are about where people live, how cities are built, and who is least protected.”

Actions can lessen the risk

De Sherbinin said, "the analysis of the flood risk factors is important for local planners, emergency managers, and even highway crews and utility providers. We all know that low lying areas are more flood prone, but the data they have assembled provide more insights into flood risk, particularly for flash floods.”

Study lead author Hemal Dey, a geospatial scientist, said he hopes local officials look at not just building more dams and levees, but more natural infrastructure such as wetlands, grasslands, rain gardens and estuaries.

“The research is solid confirmation of what emergency managers have been saying for years. Realtors will hate it,'' said Craig Fugate, a former FEMA director who wasn't part of the study. "The harder question is what we’re actually going to do about it."

___

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 Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the law, arguing that it would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing, and violence and that it violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction pending appeal Wednesday. It had already granted a temporary administrative injunction to block the implementation of the law.

At a hearing March 3, Justice Department lawyers argued that the California law sought to regulate the federal government, violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.

The appeals court agreed unanimously, saying the law “attempts to directly regulate the United States in its performance of governmental functions,” in an opinion written by Judge Mark J. Bennett. The panel was composed of two Trump appointees, Bennett and Daniel P. Collins, and Obama appointee Jacqueline H. Nguyen.

California lawyers argued that the law applied equally to all law enforcement officers without discriminating against the U.S. government, and that states could apply “generally applicable” laws federal agents. They also argued that the law was important to address public safety concerns.

People are more likely to attack officers in self-defense if there's no visible identification letting the public know they are law enforcement, California lawyers said in a brief opposing the injunction.

“This confusion has resulted in federal law enforcement officials being mistaken for criminals and vice versa, creating serious risk of harm to peace officers and members of the public,” they wrote.

The appeals court judges said they did not consider the public safety factors because the federal government has demonstrate its constitutional rights would be violated by the legislation, and “all citizens have a stake in upholding the Constitution,” it ruled, quoting previous case law.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called it a “huge legal victory” in a post on X.

The California Attorney General's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial lawsuit also addressed another California measure signed into law last year that would have banned most law enforcement officers from wearing masks, neck gaiters, and other facial coverings. It was blocked by a federal judge in February.

The legislation did not apply to state law enforcement and made exceptions for undercover agents, protective equipment like N95 respirators or tactical gear, and other situations where not wearing a mask would jeopardize the operation.

The Padres announced a one-year deal for Giolito on Wednesday with a mutual option for 2027. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

The 31-year-old Giolito is a Southern California native who went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts last year for the Boston Red Sox, bouncing back solidly after missing the entire 2024 season because his right ulnar collateral ligament was repaired with an internal brace that March.

Giolito has played parts of nine seasons in the majors for Washington, the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland, going 71-66, with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

He has been durable and dependable for most of his career while earning an All-Star selection in 2019 and throwing a no-hitter in 2020. Despite missing a season because of injury, he ranks in the top five among AL pitchers from 2018-25 in innings pitched (1,092), strikeouts (1,153), wins (68) and complete games (5).

But Giolito remained on the free agent market nearly one month into the regular season before landing with the Padres, who are pitching superbly this season despite major upheaval and injury problems in their rotation.

Opening day starter Nick Pivetta went on the injured list last week with a right elbow flexor strain that could keep him out for months, while Joe Musgrove has yet to make his season debut after a slower-than-expected return from Tommy John surgery. Yu Darvish already is out for the season with an elbow injury, and Dylan Cease left last fall for a $210 million free-agent deal with Toronto.

Yet the Padres' team ERA is the second lowest in the majors at 3.22 after they beat Colorado 1-0 on Tuesday night for their 11th victory in 12 games. San Diego (16-7) is even with the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors.

General manager A.J. Preller figured out a way to fit Giolito under his budget even while his team is in ownership transition. The family of late Padres owner Peter Seidler is nearing a sale of the team to billionaire Jose E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones.

Giolito will slot immediately into a rotation that currently includes Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Germán Márquez and former Dodgers star Walker Buehler. Right-hander Matt Waldron took a start last week after Pivetta's injury but struggled in a loss to the Angels.

Giolito agreed to a $38.5 million, two-year contract with Boston in January 2024. He will attempt to build on his strong work with the Red Sox in 2025, when he went 9-1 with a 2.26 ERA in 15 starts from June 10 to Aug. 31 after a slower start to the season. Opponents hit .194 (25 for 129) against his changeup and .200 (3 for 15) against his curveball.

He was left off Boston’s postseason roster after experiencing some elbow discomfort in mid-September, but there was no structural damage — something he said was “a small relief in a very unfortunate situation.”

“As it was described to me in layman’s terms, my flexor is very irritated and at this point it’s hard for me to describe,” Giolito said after Game 1 of Boston’s AL Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees. “It’s like weird stuff going on with my bone. It’s one of those things I was told you got to stop throwing and let it calm down.”

Giolito hasn't pitched in the postseason since 2021, when he made his second career playoff appearance for the White Sox.

San Diego transferred right-hander Bryan Hoeing to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Giolito on the 40-man roster.

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AP Baseball Writer Jay Cohen contributed to this report.

___

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

Microsoft founder Bill Gates reportedly spoke “candidly” about his relationship to Epstein in a February town hall meeting of the influential foundation he started with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates. But the external probe marks the nonprofit's plainest attempt yet to address associations that have cast a pall over its concentrated efforts to end preventable maternal/child deaths and control key infectious diseases.

"In March, with the support of our chair, Bill Gates, and our independent Governing Board members, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman commissioned an external review to assess past foundation engagement with Epstein, and our current policies for vetting and developing new philanthropic partnerships,” the Gates Foundation said in a statement. The Wall Street journal first reported news of the staff memo detailing the review.

The philanthropic giant has already undergone a period of change. The Gates Foundation shared plans in January to cap operating costs and incrementally cut as many as 500 positions, or about 20% of its staff, by 2030. The move follows last year’s announcement that the foundation would close in 2045, earlier than previously expected.

The Justice Department's files include email correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects, calendar entries documenting dates they held meetings and photos of Gates at events attended by the two men. Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing regarding their connection, denies knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claims they met only to discuss philanthropy.

The foundation acknowledged that “a small number” of employees met with Epstein based on his “claims that he could mobilize significant philanthropic resources for global health and development” in a February statement. They never created a fund together and the foundation made no financial payments to Epstein, according to the previous release.

“The foundation regrets having any employees interact with Epstein in any way,” the statement read.

The files' disclosures are being closely followed by one of the Gates Foundation's earliest and most ardent supporters. Investor Warren Buffett, who donates a portion of his annual Berkshire Hathaway shares to the nonprofit, told CNBC's “Squawk Box” last month that it's clear “there was a lot I didn't know."

Buffett, who resigned as the foundation's trustee in 2021, has completed his donation every year around the end of June. But he said he will “wait and see what unfolds” in the Justice Department's documents and congressional hearings on their contents. He noted the foundation is “sitting” on a large endowment, which totals $86 billion, and said Gates has “plenty of his own money.”

“So, in any event, I’ll just wait and see. And there’s three and a half million, or whatever it is pages – I mean, it is astounding,” Buffett said of the Epstein files.

A Gates Foundation spokesperson described Buffett as “an extraordinarily generous partner” for nearly two decades in a statement Wednesday to the Associated Press.

“We are deeply grateful for his support, which has enabled us to accelerate progress on some of the world’s toughest challenges that would not otherwise have been possible,” the spokesperson said.

The Gates Foundation expects its board and management will receive an update on the Epstein review this summer. The third-party investigators have not been publicly named.

___

The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce and statehouses from Melinda French Gates’ organization, Pivotal Ventures. ___

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

La Guardia Nacional se unió al Servicio Forestal de Florida y a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue en el combate del fuego.

“Esto es los Everglades, es algo difícil de operar, tienes que mantenerte en los diques … Estamos haciendo lo mejor que podemos,” dijo Kevin MacEwen, gerente del distrito Everglades del FFS y supervisor del área forestal.

Las cuadrillas habían contenido alrededor del 50% del incendio el miércoles, según el Servicio Forestal de Florida. El viento está alejando el humo del condado Broward.

El incendio masivo ocurre mientras una sequía histórica tiene al Servicio Forestal de Florida combatiendo más incendios forestales de lo habitual en todo el estado.

Weather Authority a las 12 p.m.

Historia relacionada: Incendios forestales se unen cerca de la autopista U.S. 27 en Broward

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The National Guard joined the Florida Forest Service and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue in the firefight.

“This is the Everglades, it’s kind of hard to operate in, you have to stay on the levees ... We are doing the best we can,” said Kevin MacEwen, the FFS Everglades District manager and forest area supervisor.

The crews had contained about 50% of the fire on Wednesday, according to the Florida Forest Service. The wind is blowing the smoke away from Broward County.

The massive fire comes as a historic drought has the Florida Forest Service fighting more brush fires than usual statewide.

Weather Authority at 12 p.m.

Related story: Brush fires join near U.S. Highway 27 in Broward

El presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, está acelerando su apuesta por la reelección a los 80 años al mostrarse fornido en entrenamientos que, según sus críticos, son más populares que el propio mandatario.

Mientras los brasileños están divididos sobre si debería postularse para un cuarto mandato no consecutivo, existe un inusual consenso respecto de su compromiso de correr en una cinta todos los días.

“Es un poco mayor para hacer campaña otra vez. Sería mejor que se postulara otra persona. Pero sus entrenamientos sí son un buen ejemplo para gente como yo”, comentó Marcela Peres, de 63 años, mientras se ejercitaba en el gimnasio de un hotel en Brasilia el miércoles.

El intento de Lula de mostrarse lleno de energía ha llevado a su principal rival, el senador Flávio Bolsonaro, hijo del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro, a exhibir también sus movimientos.

Algunos votantes han expresado preocupación de que Lula pudiera seguir el camino del expresidente de Estados Unidos Joe Biden, quien se retiró de la contienda de 2024 por dudas sobre su salud y su edad. Pero Lula está ejercitando los músculos para desafiar a sus simpatizantes a que vuelvan a acompañarlo.

“Uno de estos idiotas dijo que no era yo, que era un clon”, declaró Lula en marzo, días después de que su esposa, Rosângela da Silva, publicó un video de su rutina de entrenamiento. “Vayan al gimnasio. Prepárense. Beban menos y trabajen para ver qué pasa. Quiero vivir 120 años”.

Su principal rival tiene casi la mitad de su edad

El presidente jugó fútbol con frecuencia durante sus dos primeros mandatos, mantuvo una rutina de ejercicios durante sus 580 días en prisión y ha defendido el ejercicio desde que se postuló en 2022 para derrotar al entonces presidente Bolsonaro, un excapitán del Ejército con mala salud.

Si Lula gana en octubre, superará su propio récord como el hombre de mayor edad en ser elegido presidente de Brasil.

Su principal rival tiene casi la mitad de su edad.

Bolsonaro, el hijo de 45 años del expresidente, se burló recientemente de Lula al compararlo con un viejo Chevrolet Opala que está “todo al revés” y “bebe mucho (combustible)”.

Lula, que ha aparecido en casi todas las boletas presidenciales desde el fin de la dictadura militar en 1985, restó importancia al insulto al describirse, en cambio, como un “auto turbo”.

“Está haciendo esto para alejarse del efecto Joe Biden”, señaló Carlos Melo, profesor de ciencia política en la universidad Insper, en Sao Paulo. “Flávio Bolsonaro intenta decir que en realidad él es el joven. Esto es un juego de imagen”.

La población votante de Brasil está envejeciendo

Bolsonaro hijo también está dando señales de que está en buena forma al compartir videos de él corriendo distancias cortas hacia reuniones y bailando en el escenario.

Este lado de su personalidad se hizo evidente recién en diciembre, cuando su padre lo ungió como candidato presidencial desde la cárcel en la capital, Brasilia, donde cumplía una condena de 27 años por liderar un intento de golpe de Estado antes de pasar a arresto domiciliario.

El consultor Felipe Soutello, quien dirigió varias campañas para políticos en Brasil, afirmó que hoy las postulaciones a cargos públicos deben mostrar a los candidatos en movimiento, sin importar la edad.

“La oposición usará cierto edadismo, un poco de prejuicio contra las generaciones mayores, como herramienta para perjudicar el desempeño del presidente”, manifestó Soutello.

Pero señaló que Brasil atraviesa un cambio demográfico, en el que los votantes mayores de 60 años representan una cuarta parte del electorado. “Ellos tienen más peso político que los jóvenes”, sostuvo.

La cantidad de brasileños mayores de 60 años habilitados para votar creció de 20,8 millones en 2010 a 36,2 millones en marzo de este año, según el investigador Nexus, que citó cifras del máximo tribunal electoral de Brasil.

El músico Antonio Moreira, de 50 años, ama entrenar en la playa en Rio de Janeiro, luciendo sus músculos, su bronceado y sus tatuajes. Forma parte de un grupo pequeño e influyente que podría decidir la elección: los votantes que aún no se comprometen ni con Lula ni con Bolsonaro.

En la última elección, Lula ganó con apenas el 50,9% de los votos, el margen más estrecho en la historia del país.

“Nadie quiere votar por un presidente que va tropezando”, dijo Moreira, y añadió que los entrenamientos de Lula también animan a las personas mayores a mantenerse activas.

Sobre los movimientos de Bolsonaro, Moreira afirmó que “un pequeño baile puede definir toda una carrera política” en Brasil. Pero eso no alcanza.

“Está bien hacerlo como lo hacen para buscar votos, pero para llegar a otro tipo de votante tiene que haber propuestas más reales, ¿no?”.

________

Lucas Dumphreys contribuyó a este reportaje desde Río de Janeiro.

________

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

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Hudson, of Titusville, is charged federally as an adult in the death of Anna Kepner, 18.

Her body was found under a bed in a Carnival Horizon room that she was sharing with him and another teen during a family trip in November. The ship was in international waters and bound for Miami.

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined the the cause of her Nov. 6 death to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or force stops someone from breathing.

Hudson is charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse. He has been free in the care of an uncle since his arrest in February, though prosecutors now want a judge to lock him up while the case unfolds. That issue is unsettled.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Lopez said, “Sorry. No comment. You can call our public affairs officer,” when asked about the case.

Records and hearings in the case were closed to the public for weeks because Hudson was initially charged as a minor. But U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom granted the government’s request to have him prosecuted as an adult. The case was unsealed on April 10.

Hudson, as of Wednesday, was in the custody of his uncle. Prosecutors have said that they’d like to see him behind bars, but that matter was not addressed in court.

Hudson, de Titusville, enfrenta cargos federales como adulto por la muerte de Anna Kepner, de 18 años.

Su cuerpo fue encontrado debajo de una cama en una habitación del Carnival Horizon que compartía con él y otro adolescente durante un viaje familiar en noviembre. El barco estaba en aguas internacionales y se dirigía a Miami.

La Oficina del Médico Forense de Miami-Dade determinó que la causa de su muerte el 6 de noviembre fue asfixia mecánica, lo que ocurre cuando un objeto o fuerza impide que alguien respire.

Hudson enfrenta cargos de asesinato y abuso sexual agravado. Ha permanecido en libertad bajo el cuidado de un tío desde su arresto en febrero, aunque los fiscales ahora quieren que un juez ordene su detención mientras avanza el caso. Ese asunto sigue sin resolverse.

La fiscal federal adjunta Alejandra Lopez dijo: “Lo siento. Sin comentarios. Puede llamar a nuestro oficial de asuntos públicos,” cuando se le preguntó sobre el caso.

Los registros y audiencias del caso estuvieron cerrados al público durante semanas porque Hudson fue acusado inicialmente como menor. Pero la jueza federal Beth Bloom aprobó la solicitud del gobierno para que fuera procesado como adulto. El caso fue desclasificado el 10 de abril.

Hasta el miércoles, Hudson permanecía bajo la custodia de su tío. Los fiscales han dicho que desean verlo tras las rejas, pero ese tema no fue abordado en el tribunal.

Según la policía de Miami Beach, los agentes respondieron a la cuadra 1400 de Ocean Drive alrededor de las 9:14 p.m. del martes, donde el conductor dejó a los sospechosos.

Los sospechosos han sido identificados como Ashton Montanez, de 22 años, de Orlando, y Jefferson Mesidor, de 25 años, de Miami.

Según el informe de arresto de Montanez, es un influencer que actualmente vive en las calles de Miami.

La policía dijo que el conductor les indicó que es conductor de Lyft y que recogía un viaje el martes por la noche en Bay Harbor Terrace, en Bay Harbor Islands, cuando notó una gran presencia policial.

Dijo que luego vio a dos hombres corriendo hacia su vehículo y abriendo la puerta.

Según el informe, Montanez y Mesidor se recostaron dentro del vehículo en un intento de ocultarse antes de que Montanez le pasara lo que el conductor creía que era un arma a Mesidor.

La policía dijo que el dúo obligó a la víctima a conducirlos hasta Miami Beach.

La víctima dijo a la policía que en un momento consideró saltar del vehículo en movimiento, pero temía que le dispararan.

Según el informe, ambos sospechosos salieron del vehículo en la cuadra 1400 de Ocean Drive y entraron a un edificio residencial.

Testigos dijeron a Local 10 que el edificio está lleno de alquileres a corto plazo, incluidos Airbnbs.

“Regresamos alrededor de la 1 en punto y toda la calle estaba bloqueada, muchos policías. Seguían diciendo: ‘Oh, serán otros 40 minutos,’” dijo Andrew Galizia, quien visita desde Boston. “Dijeron eso como cuatro veces y luego esperamos. Había mucha acción aquí, así que nos movimos a este lado, y de repente ves al equipo SWAT completamente armado, perros y gafas infrarrojas … yo estaba como, ‘¿Qué está pasando realmente?’”

Las autoridades dijeron que Mesidor salió del edificio y fue localizado rápidamente por la policía en la cuadra 1500 de Ocean Drive, mientras Montanez permanecía atrincherado dentro.

Una persona que se hospedaba en una de las unidades de alquiler dijo que pasó horas esperando en el vestíbulo de un hotel cercano.

“Nos hospedábamos en un Airbnb y creo que había muchas personas en Airbnbs allí, así que fue una inconveniencia para mucha gente,” dijo.

Montanez fue finalmente detenido alrededor de la 1:08 a.m. del miércoles, confirmó la policía.

Familias que se hospedaban en el edificio dijeron que fueron tomadas por sorpresa por la presencia policial.

“No se acercaron demasiado al edificio, pero lo habían rodeado, y de repente entraron aquí y comenzaron a tocar las puertas diciendo que teníamos que evacuar,” dijo Tierra Esquerre.

Detectives fueron vistos recolectando evidencia, tratando de reconstruir exactamente qué llevó a que el conductor fuera amenazado con un arma.

“Estaba bastante asustada,” dijo Esquerre. “Llamé a mi abuelo. Lloré porque cuando llegaron con los hombres en la camioneta, eso fue bastante intenso, así que fue aterrador.”

La policía de Miami Beach dijo que la investigación continúa y está siendo liderada por el Departamento de Policía de Bay Harbor Islands.

“MBPD continuará apoyando a BHPD según sea necesario,” dijo un portavoz de MBPD en un correo electrónico a Local 10 News.

Tanto Montanez como Mesidor enfrentan cargos de secuestro.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, ambos permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Los registros en línea de la cárcel indicaban que su fianza estaba “por establecer.”

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In the video, the suspect, Eduardo Rivero, is seen ramming a police car and then taking off in a vehicle with children inside.

The incident happened in October of last year.

Miami police said they noticed a driver in a car they had been searching for.

When police tried to pull him over, they noticed a woman and two children inside.

That’s when they say Rivero placed the car in reverse and intentionally rammed a detective in an unmarked police unit.

Police said Rivero then put the car in drive and hit two other police vehicles multiple times.

But when he couldn’t get the vehicle out of the area, he got out and started running, authorities said.

Police said when officers searched his car, they found two guns and a stolen license plate with Velcro on the back in order to quickly attach or remove it from different vehicles.

The video also shows the woman, who was in the car with her kids, talking to police.

Police said Rivero was identified as a sex offender and was already on probation until 2029 after being convicted of sexually battering a victim under the age of 12.

Because of that conviction, he’s not supposed to be within 1,000 feet of children.

Police said Rivero’s driver’s license had also been expired since 2023.

He faces numerous charges, including battery against a law enforcement officer and child abuse.

En el video, el sospechoso, Eduardo Rivero, es visto chocando contra una patrulla y luego huyendo en un vehículo con niños dentro.

El incidente ocurrió en octubre del año pasado.

La policía de Miami dijo que detectaron a un conductor en un vehículo que estaban buscando.

Cuando los agentes intentaron detenerlo, notaron que había una mujer y dos niños dentro.

En ese momento, según la policía, Rivero puso el vehículo en reversa y embistió intencionalmente a un detective en una unidad policial sin identificar.

La policía dijo que luego Rivero puso el vehículo en marcha y chocó contra otros dos vehículos policiales múltiples veces.

Pero cuando no pudo sacar el vehículo del área, se bajó y comenzó a correr, dijeron las autoridades.

La policía indicó que al revisar el vehículo encontraron dos armas y una placa robada con velcro en la parte trasera para poder colocarla o quitarla rápidamente de diferentes vehículos.

El video también muestra a la mujer, que estaba en el auto con sus hijos, hablando con la policía.

La policía dijo que Rivero fue identificado como agresor sexual y ya estaba en libertad condicional hasta 2029 tras ser condenado por agresión sexual contra una víctima menor de 12 años.

Debido a esa condena, no puede estar a menos de 1,000 pies de niños.

La policía dijo que la licencia de conducir de Rivero también estaba vencida desde 2023.

Enfrenta múltiples cargos, incluyendo agresión contra un agente del orden y abuso infantil.

El imputado fue identificado como Brayan Ferney Cruz Castillo, quien quedó detenido a disposición de un juzgado federal que intervendrá en el proceso de extradición, informó el miércoles Ministerio Público Fiscal de Argentina en un comunicado.

Cruz Castillo tenía una notificación roja de Interpol y un pedido de captura internacional emitido por Colombia por su presunta colaboración “en aspectos logísticos” del crimen del senador colombiano. Fue arrestado la víspera en la capital argentina por agentes de la división de investigación federal de fugitivos y extradiciones.

Uribe Turbay fue baleado en junio de 2025 cuando daba un discurso en un parque de Bogotá y falleció casi dos meses después a causa de las heridas. Tenía 39 años.

El ataque, que quedó grabado en video, conmocionó a un país que recordó las oscuras épocas en las que candidatos presidenciales y figuras de alto nivel eran secuestrados o asesinados por cárteles del narcotráfico y grupos insurgentes en las décadas de 1980 y 1990.

La justicia colombiana determinó que el magnicidio del senador fue ordenado por miembros de la Segunda Marquetalia, una disidencia de la antigua guerrilla Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), y perpetuado en complicidad con una red delictiva urbana.

La fiscalía a cargo del caso sostuvo que el asesinato de Uribe Turbay estuvo orientado a “generar un impacto sobre la democracia y los procesos políticos del país”.

Una decena de personas fueron capturadas, incluido el tirador que aceptó los delitos y que, por ser menor de edad, recibió una sanción en un centro especial, además de presuntos cómplices que ayudaron en la logística y la planeación.

Según la Dirección Nacional de Migraciones de Argentina, Cruz Castillo se encontraba en situación irregular en el país y tenía una orden de expulsión vigente por haber estado implicado en una causa por robo en la capital argentina.

Según un informe de arresto, Vanessa Caridad-Rodriguez fue detenida el martes tras una investigación sobre entregas desaparecidas entre el 16 y el 23 de febrero en el complejo Quantum on the Bay, ubicado en 1900 N. Bayshore Dr., en el vecindario Edgewater de Miami.

Los residentes comenzaron a reportar paquetes desaparecidos del cuarto de paquetes del edificio, lo que llevó al supervisor a revisar las cámaras de vigilancia tras múltiples quejas, indica el informe.

Los investigadores dijeron que el video del 16 de febrero muestra bolsas naranjas de entrega de Amazon dejadas fuera del cuarto de paquetes porque estaba “lleno” y colocadas cerca de una puerta trasera de carga que estaba defectuosa y no asegurada correctamente.

Según el informe, las cámaras de vigilancia muestran una camioneta pickup Ford blanca entrando al área de carga.

Una mujer, posteriormente identificada por la policía de Miami como Caridad-Rodriguez, salió del lado del conductor, mientras un pasajero masculino, identificado luego como Jose Luis Perez, salió del vehículo.

El informe indica que Perez, de 50 años, abrió una puerta de acceso trasera y retiró una bolsa de entrega naranja que contenía paquetes, colocándola en la caja de la camioneta, mientras Caridad-Rodriguez retiraba paquetes adicionales. Ambos luego abandonaron el lugar en la camioneta.

La administración del edificio informó a los investigadores que ninguno de los sospechosos tenía permiso para tomar los paquetes.

Caridad-Rodriguez fue identificada después de que los investigadores vincularan el vehículo a una parada de tráfico ese mismo día en West Miami, donde fue arrestada por conducir sin una licencia válida y la camioneta fue incautada, según el informe. La policía indicó que Perez era el pasajero durante esa parada.

Posteriormente, los investigadores recuperaron una peluca rubia del vehículo durante un registro, la cual, según dijeron, era “consistente con la peluca utilizada por la sospechosa durante el incidente.”

Un análisis de huellas latentes también vinculó a Caridad-Rodriguez con una huella recuperada de una caja de Grey Goose encontrada dentro del vehículo, según su informe de arresto.

Perez, quien fue arrestado anteriormente en la investigación, admitió tras Miranda que él y Caridad-Rodriguez ingresaron a la propiedad y retiraron paquetes “sin permiso,” según el informe.

También la identificó como su novia en ese momento y dijo que ella estaba familiarizada con la distribución del edificio debido a un empleo previo en un consultorio dental en ese mismo complejo.

Caridad-Rodriguez enfrenta cargos que incluyen robo a una estructura desocupada y hurto menor entre $150 y $750 USD, según los registros de la cárcel.

Hasta el miércoles, permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por establecer,” mientras que Perez permanecía detenido en el Centro de Detención Metrowest con una fianza de $10,100 USD.

Scott, who was seeking his 13th term in Congress despite challenges from within his party, was once a leading voice for Democrats on issues related to farm aid policy and food aid for consumers and a prominent Black member of the party’s moderate Blue Dog caucus. But he faced criticism and concerns in recent years because of declining health, enduring a primary challenge in 2024 and facing another one at the time of his death.

Democrats on Capitol Hill praised the longtime lawmaker.

“The news of Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday.

“David Scott was a trailblazer who served the district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House Ag Committee,” Jeffries said. “He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed.”

News of Scott’s death came during the Congressional Black Caucus’ weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill. The Black Caucus’ chair, Rep. Yvette Clarke, told lawmakers at the outset of the meeting.

The White House lowered its flags to half-staff after Scott’s death.

Death creates another vacancy

Scott’s death slightly widens Republicans’ narrow House majority going into the thick of this midterm election year The GOP began the current Congress with a 220-215 advantage, but the margin has fluctuated. Scott is the fourth House Democrat to die in office during this Congress.

Scott had been mostly absent from the campaign trail in 2024 and 2026 and had become a noted example of Democrats' aging leadership targeted by younger generations of the left. He dodged questions from reporters when he qualified for another term in March, but he earlier dismissed pressure to retire.

“Thank God I’m in good health, moving and doing the people’s work,” the congressman said in 2024.

His wife and campaign adviser Alfredia Scott was even more direct. “When the congressman decides to leave, he won’t be pushed out,” she said in 2024. “He will bow out.”

State officials will have to schedule a special election to fill out the rest of Scott’s term, which could overlap with elections to choose a representative for the next two-year term. Early in-person voting starts Monday for May 19 party primaries for the next full term.

Scott was a pioneering Black lawmaker

David Albert Scott was born in rural Aynor, South Carolina, on June 27, 1945, in the era of Jim Crow segregation. He spent part of his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, along with stints New York and Florida. Scott graduated from Florida A&M University, one of the nation's largest historically Black college campuses — and in office he was an outspoken advocate for federal support of HBCUs. Scott also earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1969.

He settled in Atlanta, opened his own advertising business and got his start in politics as a staffer on Andrew Young's 1972 congressional campaign. Young would go on to be Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador under President Jimmy Carter, another Georgian.

The support of Young and baseball legend Henry “Hank” Aaron, who was the older brother of Scott's wife, helped launch Scott into Congress in 2002, said Democratic state Sen. Emanuel Jones. He was opposing Scott in the May 19 primary, although he called Scott "a good friend."

Scott was one of a pioneering generation of Black state lawmakers in Georgia, winning election to the state House in 1974 and the state Senate in 1982 before being elected to Congress. Once identifying as a moderate "Blue Dog" — Scott had sponsored a law mandating a moment of silent school prayer in the state Senate — he evolved into a more mainstream liberal.

An advocate for historically Black schools

Scott served decades in Congress while living outside his district after maps were redrawn. He maintained support, focusing intently on constituent service including hosting job and health fairs.

Among his notable achievements on Capitol Hill, Scott secured $80 million for historically Black land-grant schools as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The money was steered to agriculture-related scholarships at 19 campuses. He helped author various housing and mortgage aid measures, and he pushed for better health care and other benefits for veterans and their families. On foreign policy, Scott was an outspoken advocate for NATO and post-World War II American alliances.

Scott's fellow Democrats ousted him from his post as ranking minority member on the Agriculture Committee in 2024 amid concerns about his age and health.

Scott is survived by Alfredia Scott, the couple's two adult daughters and grandchildren.

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Brown reported from Washington.

State-funded preschool enrollment in the U.S. rose to 1.8 million kids, reaching 37% of 4-year-olds and about 10% of 3-year-olds, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the National Institute of Early Education Research. In total, states added 44,000 students to their preschool enrollment. But the report's authors noted that the gains were smaller than the year prior and said preschool access remains wildly uneven from state to state. Some states even lost ground.

“If providing high-quality preschool education to all 3- and 4-year-olds were a race,” the authors wrote, “some states are nearing the finish line, others have stumbled and fallen behind, and a few have yet to leave the starting line.”

Free preschool has expanded in California

More than half the nation's public preschool enrollment gain — some 25,000 students — came in California, which this year made every 4-year-old eligible for its “ transitional kindergarten ” program, or “TK.” The rapid rollout has had its tradeoffs. The national institute outlines 10 quality benchmarks for preschools, related to teacher training, class size and curriculum. California met just two of them last school year. And private preschool owners say the rush of 4-year-olds joining public schools threatens to cripple their businesses.

“Universal TK ... is a real win, but it’s also just the start of the work and not the end of it,” said Jessica Sawko of Children Now, which advocates on early childhood issues in California. She noted that the state will hit two more quality benchmarks in next year's report, by lowering its student-teacher ratio to 10-to-1 and by requiring lead teachers to have early education training.

The report illustrates some of the difficult tradeoffs states face when they scale up programs quickly or have limited funding. Hawaii is one of six states that meet all the institute's benchmarks. Its state preschool program also only serves 10% of 4-year-olds.

Evidence is mounting that the impact of high-quality preschool can follow children into adulthood, making them better prepared for kindergarten, more likely to graduate high school and more likely to find work. And it is increasingly seen as essential for success in kindergarten and beyond. Educators now also expect youngsters to start their first year of school already equipped to navigate kindergarten.

“We have a lot of kids who still do not fulfill their potential,” said Steven Barnett, founder and director of the early education institute. “We have evidence — very strong evidence — that preschool programs substantially improved the foundation for later success.”

Some states also recognize that free prekindergarten can make a difference for the wider economy, allowing parents to return to work at a time when private child care is becoming less affordable.

Preschool means confident kindergartners

Heather Sufuentes witnessed the impact of preschool when she was principal of Parkview Elementary in Chico, California, as it began its transitional kindergarten program. She said students who attended the program, which has a play-based curriculum and runs the length of a workday, arrived with more confidence and often volunteered to be class leaders.

“They're well prepared to transition into that big elementary school setting,” said Sufuentes, now director of elementary education for Chico Unified School District. Chico has more than doubled the number of TK seats it offers since 2022.

Marisol Márquez, a secretary who works for the state, sends her daughter to transitional kindergarten at 1st Street Elementary in Los Angeles. She had been sending her for free to a learning center underwritten by COVID-19 relief funding. But she would have had to start paying tuition this year, and she's not sure how she and her husband, a UPS driver, would have made it work. She was elated to hear 1st Street Elementary was offering free transitional kindergarten.

Educators there quickly discovered her daughter was bright and began sending her to kindergarten for math and reading lessons.

“If it hadn’t been for this program, we would have never found that out," Márquez said.

In some states, preschool is expensive. In others, it's free

Despite the raised expectations for 5-year-olds, no state mandates that children attend preschool, and only some cities and states make it accessible to every 4-year-old. Preschool offerings differ vastly. A family living in Wyoming, which has no state-funded preschool, could move to Colorado, where every parent can send their 4-year-old to part-time preschool without paying a dime in tuition. In the District of Columbia, even affluent families have access to two full years of prekindergarten, while neighboring Virginia has a far less robust program.

The uneven access across states can exacerbate disparities. Wealthier families can often afford private preschool tuition, regardless of what their state offers. In 2024, private child care centers, which often use preschool curriculum, averaged annual tuition of more than $12,000 for 4-year-olds, according to Child Care Aware of America.

For families that can't afford preschool tuition, the options can be limited. State-funded preschool programs often have waitlists.

If a family's earnings are low enough, they can qualify for programs like Head Start, which provides early education for the neediest Americans. But the number of children in Head Start is falling, in part due to staff shortages. Lower-income families may also qualify for state or federal child care subsidies that can help with private preschool, but those have growing waitlists, too.

Trump says states should pay

Federal support for expanding early education funding is sparse and shrinking. Recently, President Donald Trump said the federal government couldn’t afford to support child care while it was waging a war with Iran.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care,” Trump said. States, he added, “should pay for it. ... They’ll have to raise their taxes.”

The map of states that offer the highest-quality public preschool programs would surprise some partisans. Republican-led states have pioneered universal prekindergarten, with Oklahoma introducing it in the late 1990s. Alabama and West Virginia also have preschool-for-all programs that receive top marks. Wealthier, Democratic-led states have lagged behind, even as many blue-leaning cities have moved ahead with their own initiatives. New York state lost enrollment last school year, even as New York City, which already has universal prekindergarten, is charging ahead with a plan to make all child care free for younger children.

And Georgia, another state with Republican leadership, is the first to have a universal preschool program that meets all quality benchmarks set by the National Institute of Early Education Research.

Rebecca Ellis's son John Patrick, 5, attends the private Capitol Hill Child Enrichment Center in Atlanta free of charge, thanks to the state's preschool-for-all program. She said it saved her family a huge amount of money, and she is impressed by how much her son has grown socially and emotionally.

“They focus so much on just helping kids learn how to calm down, to make friends, to regulate their feelings, to solve problems,” Ellis said.

John Patrick and her older son, who attended the same preschool, have even given their parents advice. When they become agitated, the children urge them to take deep breaths.

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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.

Mario Bustamante Leiva did not recognize Noem when he grabbed her Gucci handbag from the floor of a restaurant where she was eating with her family in April 2025, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Noem’s purse had credit cards and about $3,000 in cash. Police recovered it from Leiva's motel room.

Bustamante Leiva, a 50-year-old native of Chile, is facing deportation after his sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden.

“Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the district,” said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in a statement. “His pattern of theft ends here.”

Noem, who is identified only by her initials in court filings, acknowledged the incident in a statement last year that referred to Bustamante Leiva as a “a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.”

He pleaded guilty in November to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft. He was charged and convicted of robbing two other people and charging fraudulent purchases to their credit cards.

Bustamante Leiva was charged along with a second suspect, Cristian Montecino-Sananza, who was sentenced in March to 13 months of incarceration for his role in one of the other thefts.

Investigators said they identified Bustamante Leiva as a suspect in the thefts after he used a stolen gift card to make a purchase.

Event organizers said the five-day camps focus on skill development, teamwork and leadership.

Campers will also receive giveaways and have opportunities to meet Heat players and team alumni.

Locations include SLAM Miami High School, Cooper City High School, the Kaseya Center, Nova Southeastern University and a new site at Deerfield Beach’s Pick-A-Ball Sports Complex.

Camp prices start at $520, with an early-bird rate of $420 available through April 24. More information is available at HEAT.com/JrHEAT.

Read the full summer schedule here:

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According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies responding to the crash at Northwest 72nd Avenue and 47th Street around 6 a.m. on Dec 30, 2025, found Martin “unsteady on his feet, with (bloodshot) watery eyes and slurred speech” and detected the odor of alcohol.

Local 10 obtained video that shows MDSO deputies arriving to the crash scene.

A garbage truck can be seen pushed off to the side of the road following the collision.

Ahead of it is Martin’s truck, with visible front-end damage as investigators work to determine what led up to the crash.

In the video, deputies can be seen speaking with Martin, 45, and asking if he is OK. He then informs them he is a Hialeah police officer.

The next video shows an interaction between a witness and investigators, who ask whether the witness saw Martin driving the truck.

Another clip shows Martin in handcuffs as he is placed into the back of an MDSO patrol car.

Authorities said Martin had been involved in a crash with a trash truck and was later handcuffed after becoming “belligerent” toward fellow law enforcement officers.

Deputies said medics transported Martin to Jackson West Medical Center, where a DUI investigator attempted to interview him.

According to the report, Martin was “uncooperative” and repeatedly responded “I don’t know” when asked basic questions, including whether he knew what was going on or if he had been in a crash.

Deputies said he refused field sobriety tests and also declined a blood draw, prompting investigators to seize his driver’s license under Florida’s implied consent law.

Martin had been placed on administrative leave following the crash.

A Hialeah Police Department spokesperson on Wednesday told Local 10 News that he “remains on administrative duties.”

Sheinbaum's comments came after days of contradictions by authorities following the death of two U.S. officials in a vehicle crash over the weekend as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico. The CIA’s involvement was confirmed Tuesday to The Associated Press by a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

“There cannot be agents from any U.S. government institution operating in the Mexican field,” Sheinbaum said during her morning news briefing. She said that such activities aren't part of the current security protocols or the formal understanding between Mexico and the United States.

Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups. There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened U.S. involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.

Sheinbaum acknowledged Wednesday that the Mexican army participated in the operation — as its mandate includes supporting individual states. However, she emphasized that the federal government was unaware of the U.S. agents’ presence.

Sheinbaum ruled out the possibility that the incident constitutes a new strategy by the Trump administration, which has demanded greater action from Mexico in the fight against drug cartels.

Later in the day, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said at a news conference that while Mexico's federal government constantly exchanges information with the U.S., foreign “agents have never been in the field with us."

Sheinbaum said that she sent a letter to the U.S. ambassador requesting that he provide all available information regarding the incident. She also said that she plans to speak with Chihuahua Gov. María Eugenia Campos.

“It is very important that something like this not be allowed to go unaddressed,” she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed to take action on Mexican cartels — an intervention that Sheinbaum has said is “unnecessary.”

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David Klepper and Aamer Madhani in Washington, and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City, contributed to this report.

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

Royals owner John Sherman was joined by Hallmark chairman Don Hall Jr., Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, along with other local and state dignitaries, in making the announcement Wednesday near Hallmark headquarters.

While the finalized master plan has yet to be complete, Sherman said the $1.9 billion stadium would break ground next year in the middle of Crown Center as part of the first phase of an 85-acre project. Two-thirds of the funding will come from private sources and the remaining one-third from public partners, including money earmarked by the state for stadium projects.

“This is a partnership between two treasured Kansas City institutions,” Sherman said. “We are committed to creating a vision which honors our history, the rich past of both organizations, while reinvigorating and reimagining what our future can be together.”

The announcement came about a week after Kansas City officials passed an ordinance authorizing City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a $600 million deal to help the Royals move downtown. Most believed the stadium would sit on Washington Square Park, which is next to Union Station, but it will instead be located just south of it, with the park featured in the development.

Hallmark intends to build a new headquarters in the area, which is connected by a streetcar to the Power & Light District, where the T-Mobile Center serves as its anchor. That part of downtown Kansas City will provide the backdrop beyond the outfield fence.

Officials touted the availability of public parking already in the area and convenient traffic flow from nearby highways.

Missouri's contribution comes from a law enacted last year that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums in the state, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.

“We think it's a great investment for our Missouri taxpayers, because this does not affect existing programs,” Kehoe said. “The ripple effect from this facility will truly be far-reaching into rural Missouri and other parts of the state.”

The Royals have insisted they would leave Kauffman Stadium when their lease expires at the Truman Sports Complex in 2031, and the intention of Sherman ever since purchasing the club in 2019 was to build a downtown ballpark as its replacement.

Yet reaching Wednesday's announcement did not come without plenty of pitfalls.

The biggest stumbling block came in April 2024, when the Chiefs joined the Royals in a plan to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and replace Kauffman Stadium. The plan hinged on the extension of a sales tax that had been paying for stadium upkeep, and voters in Jackson County, Missouri, overwhelmingly rejected the proposal, forcing the franchises to go their own way.

The legislature in neighboring Kansas aggressively pursued the Chiefs, committing last December to issuing $2.4 billion in bonds to cover 60% of the cost of a new $3 billion domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. The NFL franchise ultimately decided to move across the state line, where it also will build a new training facility in the nearby suburb of Olathe, Kansas.

Officials in Kansas briefly pursued the Royals, too, but their interest in the MLB franchise had always been lukewarm.

The Royals had been weighing several options in recent months. But they ultimately rejected an option in the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and allowed a deadline to pass for a site north of downtown and across the Missouri River in Clay County, Missouri.

Economists have long concluded that subsidizing stadiums isn’t worth the cost for communities because the venues pull economic activity away from other parts of the area, rather than expanding the overall economy. Yet states and cities continually provide money to renovate stadiums or build new ones — 49 of the 60 used by MLB or NFL teams are publicly owned or sit on public land.

One of the stadiums that Sherman has cited as an example of what's possible in Kansas City is Truist Park in Atlanta.

The stadium was a public-private partnership in which the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority issued up to $397 million in bonds, the county raised millions more from transportation taxes and businesses added millions in cash. The Braves contributed the remaining money for the park and The Battery, a mixed-used development, with a total cost of more than $1.1 billion.

“There are many great ballpark neighborhoods in Major League Baseball,” Sherman said, “but this is a bigger project with more land in downtown and in the heart of the city. We are bringing a modern, state-of-the-art ballpark experience to our fans, closer to our public transportation and where more people work and live.”

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

Chelsea confirmed his departure on Wednesday, less than four months into the job and just four days before it plays in an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley.

Assistant Calum McFarlane will take charge on an interim basis until the end of the season.

“This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season,” Chelsea said in a statement.

The team that won the Club World Cup last year now looks likely to miss out on next season’s Champions League. That would mean a huge financial hit for a club that has spent billions of dollars under U.S. owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly.

The five-game losing streak is its worst since 1912 — the same year the Titanic sank.

Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton proved the last straw for Rosenior, an inexperienced coach at the highest level who was hired from Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg in January. It was a seventh loss in eight games in all competitions.

Chelsea has won one of its last nine in the league, is seventh in the standings and seven points adrift of the top five, who all qualify for the Champions League.

Rosenior, 41, turned on his players following the Brighton match, saying the performance was “indefensible” and that “something needs to change drastically.”

The club’s hierarchy clearly agreed, despite saying Rosenior had “always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism”.

Rosenior replaced Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Maresca in January and only took charge of 23 games.

He started impressively with a run of six wins in seven games, but things unravelled quickly in recent weeks, including elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

His tenure was brought to an end despite Chelsea preparing for its FA Cup semifinal against Leeds on Sunday.

Rosenior becomes the fifth permanent manager to lose his job since Clearlake and Boehly bought one of English soccer’s most storied clubs in 2022. Now the search is on for a sixth to try to bring sustained success.

“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea said.

Rosenior’s departure comes after fans of the two-time Champions League winner and six-time English champion began to protest against the U.S. owners.

While there have been trophies, the Club World Cup and Europa Conference League last season, this could be the third campaign out of four in which it has failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Under former owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea was one of the most dominant teams in Europe, winning a full set of trophies, including two Champions Leagues and five Premier League titles.

It last won the Champions League in 2021, the year before Abramovich was forced to sell the club after being sanctioned by the British government in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

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

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

The shooting happened on Feb. 18 in the area of Southwest 76th Street and 152nd Avenue.

Dashcam video released by officials shows a black Honda Civic that investigators said contained then-16-year-old Adrian Negron Vega and 17-year-old Camilo Buritica.

The video shows two other teens outside of the vehicle, and detectives said there was some kind of argument between the suspects and the victims.

As the two teenagers turned to walk away, a gun is seen sticking out of the passenger window and authorities said several shots were fired.

They said one of the teens was struck in the shoulder and ankle, and remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The alleged shooter, Negron Vega, is being charged as an adult with attempted murder.

Investigators said Buritica was behind the wheel of that Honda Civic.

He faced a judge on Wednesday at the Miami-Dade Children’s Courthouse and pled guilty to a felony charge of accessory after the fact.

Buritica faces up to 15 years in a state prison.

Bearman was traveling at around 190 mph (306 kph) when he veered off track and slammed into the barrier while trying to avoid Franco Colapinto's slower-moving car at last month's Japanese Grand Prix.

The difference in speed between the two was around 30 mph (50 kph) because of key features of the 2026 cars. Bearman was using his “boost” mode for extra electrical power while Colapinto was low on electrical charge.

“We’ve got sometimes cases when one car is deploying too little power because it’s charging up its batteries and another one is trying to overtake and approaching at quite a fast speed. That has been obviously a safety topic and we’ve been discussing how to resolve it,” Nikolas Tombazis, who's overseen the development and changes to the 2026 rules as single-seater director at the FIA, said in a video statement Wednesday.

Restricting the impact of the boost mode and cutting the maximum allowed electrical power on “specific parts of the circuits maybe where we have corners or where they’re a bit more twisty” could prevent a repeat, Tombazis argued. Bearman had been using the boost on a curved section as he approached Colapinto.

“So, in that respect, it means that the sort of problem we saw with Ollie Bearman’s crash in Suzuka should basically be avoided from the next race onwards.”

Bearman said on the “Up To Speed” podcast last week that the big difference in speed between him and Colapinto was an “unfortunate result of these regulations”, and that the Argentine driver should have left him more space because of that.

“I was lucky not to hit him. It would have been much, much worse if I did,” said the British driver.

Tombazis said the FIA would see how upcoming races go and push for more changes if needed. That usually needs the agreement of teams and engine manufacturers, but the FIA can intervene on its own on urgent safety grounds.

“It’s not now job done, we can all go on holiday," Tombazis said. "We will keep monitoring. We’ll keep reviewing and analyzing and so on. And, if there’s any further interventions needed, of course we won’t hesitate to take them.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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According to an arrest report, Vanessa Caridad-Rodriguez was taken into custody on Tuesday following an investigation into missing deliveries between Feb. 16 and Feb. 23 at the Quantum on the Bay condominium complex, located at 1900 N. Bayshore Dr., in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.

Residents began reporting missing packages from the building’s package room, prompting the supervisor to review surveillance footage after multiple complaints, the report states.

Investigators said video from Feb. 16 shows orange Amazon delivery bags left outside the package room because it was “full” and placed near a rear loading dock door that was malfunctioning and not properly secured.

According to the report, surveillance footage shows a white Ford pickup truck entering the loading dock area.

A woman, who Miami police later identified as Caridad-Rodriguez, exited the driver’s side while a male passenger, later identified as Jose Luis Perez, got out of the vehicle.

The report states Perez, 50, opened a rear access door and removed an orange delivery bag containing packages, placing it in the truck bed, while Caridad-Rodriguez removed additional packages. Both then left the scene in the pickup truck.

Building management told investigators neither suspect had permission to take the packages.

Caridad-Rodriguez was identified after investigators linked the vehicle to a traffic stop the same day in West Miami, where she was arrested for driving without a valid license and the truck was impounded, according to the report. Police listed Perez as the passenger during that stop.

Investigators later recovered a blonde wig from the vehicle during a search, which they said was “consistent with the wig used by the female suspect during the incident.”

A latent print analysis also matched Caridad-Rodriguez to a print recovered from a Grey Goose box found inside the vehicle, according to her arrest report.

Perez, who was arrested earlier in the investigation, admitted post-Miranda that he and Caridad-Rodriguez entered the property and removed packages “without permission,” according to the report.

He also identified her as his girlfriend at the time and said she was familiar with the building layout due to prior employment at a dental office in that same complex.

Caridad-Rodriguez is facing charges including burglary of an unoccupied structure and petit theft between $150 and $750, jail records show.

As of Wednesday, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set,” while Perez was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center on a $10,100 bond.

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Authorities said the suspect, Mauricio Jimenez, conducted at least 4,500 separate unauthorized orders totaling around $55 million worth of merchandise.

According to an arrest form, Jimenez, 48, of Hialeah, worked as a manager at the Home Depot located at 7899 W Flagler St. in west Miami-Dade and previously worked as a manager at the Home Depot located at 13895 W. Okeechobee Road in Hialeah Gardens.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said that Jimenez, over 28 months, “engaged in a deliberate, systematic and ongoing scheme to defraud Home Depot” by “applying unauthorized markdowns to merchandize, significantly reducing retail prices beyond permissible limits.”

According to deputies, the Home Depot Assurance & Advisory Management Program was alerted to orders by Jimenez, prompting an investigation in December.

It was then revealed that Jimenez had several sales in which “highly excessive markdowns” were “conducted to repeated customers,” according to official documents.

Further investigation by Home Depot Central Investigations found that Jimenez only provided the discounts to “a core of accounts” and that the “high markdown activity” at his old store stopped once he left, and “took a dramatic upturn” at his new store once he arrived, according to an arrest form.

Investigators also determined that “the merchandise was of the quantity and nature of that typically purchased by re-seller accounts” and that Jimenez placed and structured the orders in a deceptive way in order to try and conceal his actions.

In addition, deputies said Jimenez was “creating, registering or otherwise utilizing additional business entitles, shell companies or aliases to place orders and receive discounted merchandise,” according to his arrest form.

Authorities said Jimenez was spoken to by a regional vice president and district manager and told “to no longer sell to seven of his affiliated business” while he was “questioned about these types of sales and how they were not to be made,” but authorities said he “continued to conduct said fraudulent transactions after receiving said warnings.”

Of the $55 million in gross sales that Jimenez discounted, authorities said the net sales were around $30 million following markdowns of approximately $24 million, leading to a negative sales margin for Home Depot of $4.3 million.

According to an arrest form, “not only was no money made on these sales, but it cost the Home Depot over $4 million dollars to sell to these accounts.”

Jimenez was taken into custody on Tuesday at the Home Depot location on Flagler Street in Miami.

He is facing charges of organized fraud of $50,000 or more and first-degree grand theft.

As of Wednesday morning, Jimenez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $15,000 bond.

Las autoridades dijeron que el sospechoso, Mauricio Jimenez, realizó al menos 4,500 órdenes no autorizadas por un total de alrededor de $55,000,000 USD en mercancía.

Según un informe de arresto, Jimenez, de 48 años, de Hialeah, trabajaba como gerente en el Home Depot ubicado en 7899 W Flagler St. en el oeste de Miami-Dade y anteriormente trabajó como gerente en el Home Depot ubicado en 13895 W. Okeechobee Road en Hialeah Gardens.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade dijeron que Jimenez, durante 28 meses, “participó en un esquema deliberado, sistemático y continuo para defraudar a Home Depot” mediante la “aplicación de descuentos no autorizados a la mercancía, reduciendo significativamente los precios minoristas más allá de los límites permitidos.”

Según los agentes, el programa Home Depot Assurance & Advisory Management fue alertado sobre las órdenes de Jimenez, lo que provocó una investigación en diciembre.

Luego se reveló que Jimenez tenía varias ventas en las que “descuentos altamente excesivos” fueron “realizados a clientes recurrentes,” según documentos oficiales.

Una investigación adicional de Home Depot Central Investigations encontró que Jimenez solo proporcionaba los descuentos a “un grupo central de cuentas” y que la “alta actividad de descuentos” en su antigua tienda se detuvo una vez que se fue, y “tuvo un aumento dramático” en su nueva tienda cuando llegó, según el informe de arresto.

Los investigadores también determinaron que “la mercancía era de la cantidad y naturaleza típicamente comprada por cuentas revendedoras” y que Jimenez organizaba y estructuraba las órdenes de manera engañosa para intentar ocultar sus acciones.

Además, los agentes dijeron que Jimenez estaba “creando, registrando o utilizando entidades comerciales adicionales, compañías ficticias o alias para realizar órdenes y recibir mercancía con descuento,” según el informe de arresto.

Las autoridades dijeron que Jimenez fue advertido por un vicepresidente regional y un gerente de distrito y se le indicó “que no vendiera más a siete de sus negocios afiliados” mientras era “cuestionado sobre este tipo de ventas y cómo no debían realizarse,” pero las autoridades dijeron que “continuó realizando dichas transacciones fraudulentas después de recibir esas advertencias.”

De los $55,000,000 USD en ventas brutas que Jimenez descontó, las autoridades dijeron que las ventas netas fueron de alrededor de $30,000,000 USD tras descuentos de aproximadamente $24,000,000 USD, lo que resultó en un margen de ventas negativo para Home Depot de $4,300,000 USD.

Según el informe de arresto, “no solo no se obtuvo ninguna ganancia en estas ventas, sino que le costó a Home Depot más de $4 millones USD vender a estas cuentas.”

Jimenez fue detenido el martes en la tienda Home Depot en Flagler Street en Miami.

Enfrenta cargos de fraude organizado de $50,000 USD o más y hurto mayor en primer grado.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, Jimenez permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $15,000 USD.

Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.

State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.

“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. "That's very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches."

It's not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state's 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.

Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.

Legislation seeking to move up Delaware's primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.

“No puede haber agentes de alguna institución del gobierno de Estados Unidos operando en campo” mexicano, dijo el miércoles la mandataria durante su conferencia de prensa matutina. “Esto no es parte del protocolo de seguridad que hemos acordado, del entendimiento que tenemos con ellos”, agregó.

Los agentes de la CIA murieron el domingo cuando su camioneta supuestamente derrapó y cayó por un barranco al regresar de un operativo antidrogas en el que había participado el ejército. En el accidente también fallecieron dos funcionarios de la fiscalía de Chihuahua.

La confirmación de su participación llegó tras varios días de declaraciones cruzadas y contradicciones por parte de distintas autoridades sobre el papel que habían desempeñado los estadounidenses.

La presidenta reconoció el miércoles que la Secretaría de Defensa participó en el operativo, pero dijo que nadie del gobierno federal sabía de la presencia de los agentes estadounidenses, algo que sólo el Poder Ejecutivo puede autorizar.

“Defensa no sabía que había personas que estaban participando que no eran ciudadanos mexicanos y que no eran parte de las agencias de seguridad del estado de Chihuahua”, afirmó. “Cualquier relación que haya con el gobierno de los Estados Unidos en cualquier materia, y particularmente en la materia de seguridad, tiene que pasar necesariamente por el gobierno federal”.

Sheinbaum descartó que se trate de una nueva estrategia de la administración de Donald Trump —que ha reclamado más acción a México en el combate al narcotráfico—. No obstante, dijo que envió una carta al embajador estadounidense para que dé toda la información disponible sobre el evento y que prevé hablar con la gobernadora de Chihuahua, Maru Campos. “Es muy importante que no se deje pasar algo así”, sostuvo.

El hecho reabrió el debate sobre hasta dónde llega la actuación de Estados Unidos en territorio mexicano. Trump ha adoptado una postura más agresiva hacia América Latina que cualquier líder en la historia reciente de Estados Unidos, capturando al presidente de Venezuela, bloqueando envíos de petróleo a Cuba y lanzando operaciones militares conjuntas en Ecuador, un país también marcado por la violencia criminal.

Photos and video posted to social media Wednesday showed ice sitting inside living rooms after it busted through windows and doors. Homes, garages and sheds could also be seen surrounded by several feet of muddy, brown river and lake water.

Spring rains and winter snowmelt have swelled rivers and lakes, forcing torrents of water through Cheboygan County communities on its way to Lake Huron.

“Black Lake, Black River, Cheboygan River, Burt Lake, Mullett Lake, the Sturgeon River — and nearly every waterway in the county — have overflowed beyond their banks, swallowing docks, roads, yards, and in far too many cases, homes,” the Cheboygan County sheriff’s office told residents last week on its Facebook page. “What should be familiar shorelines are now unrecognizable expanses of water.”

Homes along Black Lake's west side were evacuated over the weekend, according to the sheriff's office.

“These are ice sheets. They’re massive,” said Christopher Narsesian, who took photos and video of the damage. “They’re mini glaciers, if you will. They just run down everything in their path. Nothing can stop that kind of weight.”

State and county officials are working to keep debris and ice from clogging the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex to allow water to flow on to Lake Huron.

If water levels were normal, lake ice would just break up in place as it melts, according to Patrick Bak, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord, Michigan.

The ice on Black Lake, more than likely, was pushed ashore by the wind, he added.

“The fact that the water was so high, the ice ... had more room to travel,” Bak said.

Ice chunks were also moving through nearby Mullett Lake. Both lakes feed into the Cheboygan River, with water flowing through the Cheboygan Dam.

“We've managed a little bit of ice issues on Mullett Lake,” said Patrick Ertel, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Incident Management Team.

Last week, crews added pumps, and power was restored to an old hydroelectric station to increase water flow through the dam. Cranes also were used to remove gates that hold back water.

A large chunk of ice snapped the safety cable at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on April 9, forcing the natural resources department to close access points upstream and downstream of the dam.

“We can't have large chunks of ice flowing down blocking up the gates,” Ertel said. “Two marine vessels are kind of breaking up the chunks … on the Cheboygan River. The more water we can safely pass at the Cheboygan Dam, the faster we can bring relief to Mullet Lake. It's going as fast as it can. It is purely driven by gravity.”

The smaller Alverno Dam is between Black Lake and the Cheboygan River.

“Ice from Black Lake is not going to make it down to the Cheboygan River. It will be held up,” Ertel said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency in Cheboygan and more than 30 other Michigan counties due to flooding and other severe weather this month.

Narsesian lives near Cheboygan and grew up along Black Lake.

Slabs of ice, which he described as a “several-mile-wide sheet,” continue to float in the lake. He said the ice is “smashing into homes and taking them out, just leveling them.” He said some ice was pushed as high as rooftops.

“We’ve never seen it that high,” Narsesian said. “Typically, the ice would just come over the break walls in front of houses, like a couple of feet. People’s homes don’t typically flood. The ice just melts.”

Water is receding, but Narsesian said levels are still high and the ice still is out there.

“As long as the wind doesn’t pick up and move that around again, we should be OK,” he said. “If that ice does come back, it’s going to do more damage.”

It’s the aftermath that concerns him most for the community where it’s “all friends and family” and “everybody knows everyone,” Narsesian said.

“Most people don’t have any help — coverage,” he added. “ Flood insurance was never necessary. No one’s ever seen this here. It’s a lot.”

La Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Palm Beach identificó al sospechoso en un informe de arresto obtenido por Local 10 News el miércoles como Thomas Christopher Ball, de 47 años y residente de Coral Springs.

Los agentes indicaron que la investigación comenzó el 10 de marzo tras recibir una denuncia por acoso relacionada con imágenes generadas por inteligencia artificial.

El informe indica que la víctima, una joven de 17 años, declaró a los agentes que Ball la contactó a través de Instagram meses antes y que sus conversaciones derivaron en mensajes inapropiados.

Según los investigadores, Ball presuntamente hizo comentarios sexuales durante una llamada telefónica mientras estaba ebrio y le ofreció dinero a cambio de sexo oral.

Según el informe, la víctima se distanció posteriormente, lo que llevó a Ball a enviarle repetidos mensajes preguntándole por qué había dejado de hablarle.

Según el informe, el 8 de marzo de 2026, Ball supuestamente envió varios mensajes, incluyendo uno en el que le ofrecía dinero y le pedía que siguiera comunicándose con él.

Según los agentes, Ball envió una imagen manipulada con inteligencia artificial en la que aparecía la víctima desnuda, creada a partir de una publicación previa en redes sociales. De acuerdo con el informe, la amenazó con “exponerla si no volvía a ser amigable con él”.

El informe indica que Ball reconoció que la víctima era menor de edad y continuó enviándole mensajes, incluyendo declaraciones que los investigadores describieron como “tácticas de manipulación”, como ofrecerle dinero, expresarle afecto e intentar manipularla.

Después de que la víctima lo bloqueara, los agentes dijeron que Ball la contactó desde otro número de teléfono preguntándole si había llamado a la policía.

Los investigadores indicaron que revisaron mensajes, imágenes y transacciones financieras del teléfono de la víctima como prueba. El informe señala que la imagen generada por IA mostraba el rostro de la víctima sobre el cuerpo desnudo de una adulta sin su consentimiento.

Según los agentes, la víctima prestó posteriormente una declaración jurada confirmando su versión de los hechos e identificando a Ball como el sospechoso. Declaró a los investigadores que el incidente le causó un gran temor y angustia emocional.

Según el informe, los investigadores también revisaron un incidente aparte en el que un tercero declaró a la policía que Ball había proferido amenazas estando ebrio, incluyendo declaraciones sobre su deseo de hacerle daño a la niña. El informe indica que Ball negó haber hecho esos comentarios.

Los agentes dijeron que una revisión del teléfono de la víctima mostró mensajes en los que Ball intentó “manipular” a la menor, incluyendo ofrecerle dinero, hacerle apelaciones emocionales y continuar contactándola después de que se le dijera que se detuviera.

El informe indica que los detectives también documentaron imágenes generadas por inteligencia artificial e intercambios de mensajes, junto con transacciones financieras enviadas por Ball.

Basándose en la declaración jurada de la víctima y en las pruebas recabadas, los investigadores afirmaron que existían motivos suficientes para la detención.

Los registros penitenciarios muestran que Ball enfrenta un cargo por cada uno de los siguientes delitos: transmisión de material dañino a un menor, uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación bidireccional y alteración de una representación sexual.

Hasta el miércoles, no figuraba como recluso en los registros de la cárcel del condado de Palm Beach tras pagar una fianza de 75.000 dólares.

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Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies said George Henry Balboni, 61, hatched a plan to kill his roommate, whom he described as a “parasite,” after the 69-year-old “went through his trash” and “found vodka” two days prior to the Sept. 16 murder attempt in the 700 block of Largo Road.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that he pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree murder.

Investigators said Balboni “formulated a plan in advance and used a false medical complaint to lure the victim into a vehicle before carrying out the attack.”

“Once the victim was seated in the vehicle, Balboni fired a crossbow bolt at close range, striking the victim near the ear,” prosecutors said in a news release. “The victim sustained a head injury but survived the attack.”

The victim was able to disarm Balboni.

In the release, Monroe County Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield called the attack a “calculated and premeditated attempt to execute another person using a crossbow, carried out through deception and aimed directly at the victim’s head.”

“The only reason we are not discussing a homicide is because the defendant failed in his attempt and the victim fought back,” Mansfield said.

Balboni received a 78-month sentence with credit for 213 days served.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff del condado Monroe dijeron que George Henry Balboni, de 61 años, ideó un plan para matar a su compañero de cuarto, a quien describió como un “parásito”, después de que el hombre de 69 años “revisó su basura” y “encontró vodka” dos días antes del intento de asesinato el 16 de septiembre en la cuadra 700 de Largo Road.

Los fiscales informaron el miércoles que se declaró no culpable mediante acuerdo (no contest) de intento de asesinato en primer grado.

Los investigadores dijeron que Balboni “formuló un plan con anticipación y utilizó una falsa queja médica para atraer a la víctima a un vehículo antes de llevar a cabo el ataque”.

“Una vez que la víctima estaba sentada en el vehículo, Balboni disparó un perno de ballesta a corta distancia, impactando a la víctima cerca de la oreja”, dijeron los fiscales en un comunicado. “La víctima sufrió una lesión en la cabeza, pero sobrevivió al ataque”.

La víctima logró desarmar a Balboni.

En el comunicado, el fiscal estatal adjunto principal del condado Monroe, Joseph Mansfield, calificó el ataque como “un intento calculado y premeditado de ejecutar a otra persona utilizando una ballesta, llevado a cabo mediante engaño y dirigido directamente a la cabeza de la víctima”.

“La única razón por la que no estamos hablando de un homicidio es porque el acusado falló en su intento y la víctima se defendió”, dijo Mansfield.

Balboni recibió una sentencia de 78 meses con crédito por 213 días cumplidos.

Balcázar había declarado a medios locales que decidió postergar la operación porque al ser presidente interino no tenía “legitimidad” para endeudar a la próxima gestión, que asumirá a fines de julio, por 3.500 millones de dólares.

En desacuerdo con esa decisión, Carlos Díaz renunció al Ministerio de Defensa y Hugo de Zela al de Relaciones Exteriores. Y en una nueva muestra de la inestabilidad institucional en Perú, Díaz afirmó el miércoles en conferencia de prensa que pese a la negativa del presidente, el lunes militares dependendientes de la cartera de Defensa firmaron el contrato de compra.

Los detalles del acuerdo no se conocen porque son secreto militar, acotó Díaz. Ninguno de los dos dio más detalles sobre cómo se efectuó la compra y qué podría ocurrir a continuación.

El ahora exministro Díaz indicó que la compra es “estratégica” y que fue una decisión política de Estado tomada durante el breve mandato de cuatro meses de José Jerí (2025-2026), destituido en febrero luego de que la prensa revelara reuniones no registradas con empresarios chinos. Balcázar sucedió a Jerí el 18 de febrero.

Tras las declaraciones del presidente interino sobre la postergación, el embajador estadounidense en Perú, Bernie Navarro, publicó en su cuenta de X que “si negocian de mala fe con Estados Unidos y socavan los intereses estadounidenses, tengan la certeza de que como representante de la administración Trump utilizaré todas las herramientas disponibles para proteger y promover la prosperidad y la seguridad de nuestro país y la región”.

En 2024, durante la gestión de la impopular presidenta Dina Boluarte (2022-2025), se anunció que Perú había decidido destinar 3.500 millones de dólares a la compra de los aviones de combate mediante un “endeudamiento interno” de 2.000 millones de dólares en 2025 y 1.500 millones de dólares en 2026. Entre las compañías que presentaron ofertas estaban, además de Lockheed Martin, la sueca Saab y la francesa Dassault Aviation.

Tres candidatos presidenciales se disputan el pase a la segunda vuelta programada para el 7 de junio. El conteo de las actas de la primera vuelta presidencial muestra primera a la conservadora Keiko Fujimori, seguida del progresista Roberto Sánchez y el ultraconservador Rafael López Aliaga.

Tanto Fujimori como López Aliaga se han mostrado de acuerdo con la compra de los aviones. Sánchez no ha opinado sobre el tema.

Las compras precedentes de aviones de caza en la década de 1980 y 1990 estuvieron manchadas por escándalos de corrupción por los que fueron sancionados funcionarios y militares.

His death was confirmed by Mason's publicist Melissa Dragich. A cause was not immediately revealed. He had canceled his remaining tour dates last summer and announced his retirement months later, citing health issues stemming from an infection for “closing the curtain on 60 remarkable years of rock n’ roll.”

Mason was born May 10, 1946, in Worcester, England, and founded Traffic in 1967 with singer/multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood, drummer Jim Capaldi and keyboardist/saxophonist Chris Wood. The psychedelic band became celebrated for its pioneering and inventive spirit, along with Mason's songwriting and intricate guitar solos.

Mason wrote and performed many of Traffic's biggest singles. And even though “Feelin' Alright?” was not an immediate hit, it became one thereafter, covered by the likes of Joe Cocker, the Jackson 5, Gladys Knight, Paul Weller and Grand Funk Railroad.

Mason's relationship with the band was tenuous; he left and returned multiple times. In 1969, he launched a solo career that resulted in three albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (1970’s “Alone Together,” which produced his hit "Only You Know and I Know," 1974’s “Dave Mason” and 1978’s “Mariposa de Oro”) as well as one platinum title: 1977’s “Let It Flow.”

In addition, Mason played on a number of all-star sessions, The Rolling Stones’ “Beggars Banquet,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Venus and Mars" and Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” among them.

Mason was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work with Traffic. His old bandmate shared a tribute to him Wednesday.

“Dave was part of Traffic during its earliest chapter, and played an important role in shaping the band’s sound and identity during that time," Winwood wrote on Instagram. "His songwriting, musicianship and distinctive spirit helped create music that has lasted far beyond its era, and continues to mean so much to listeners around the world.”

"Those years remain a special part of the band’s story, and Dave’s contribution to them is not forgotten. His place in that history will always be remembered, and through the music, his presence endures. At this sad time, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and all those who loved him and his music,” Winwood wrote.

Survivors include his wife Winifred Wilson, daughter Danielle, nephew John Leonard, niece Michelle Leonard and his brothers in law, Sloan Wilson and Walton Wilson.

SpaceX said that, alternatively, it could pay $10 billion to “work together” with Cursor.

SpaceX announced the deal Tuesday on the social platform X, which along with the AI chatbot Grok is part of a constellation of properties that Musk has merged into his rocket company.

Cursor, made by San Francisco startup Anysphere, is a popular AI coding assistant. What SpaceX describes as Cursor's wide “distribution to expert software engineers” is likely part of what makes it attractive to Musk's company, giving it access to a new customer base.

Cursor said its new partnership with SpaceX subsidiary xAI will enable it to build future AI products using xAI's massive AI data center complex Colossus, based in Memphis, Tennessee.

“We’ve wanted to push our training efforts much further, but we’ve been bottlenecked by compute,” Cursor said in a statement on X, which didn't mention the possibility of being acquired. “With this partnership, our team will leverage xAI’s Colossus infrastructure to dramatically scale up the intelligence of our models.”

Cursor, which started in 2022, helped sparked a trend called “vibe coding” as AI coding assistants have become increasingly capable of doing the work of computer programming.

Cursor competes with other coding tools like Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex but also has relied heavily on partnerships with those larger AI research companies for the foundations of its technology.

It was Cursor’s Composer, combined with Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet, that a prominent AI researcher was playing with for weekend projects when he coined the phrase “vibe coding" in early 2025.

Japanese electronics giant Sony built the robotic arm it calls Ace and pitted it against professional athletes. Ace proved a worthy adversary, though one with some non-human attributes: nine camera eyes positioned around the court and an uncanny ability to follow the ball's logo to measure its spin.

The robot learned how to play the sport using the AI method known as reinforcement learning.

“There’s no way to program a robot by hand to play table tennis. You have to learn how to play from experience,” said Sony AI researcher Peter Dürr, co-author of the study published Wednesday in the science journal Nature.

To conduct the experiments, Sony built an Olympic-sized table tennis court at its headquarters in Tokyo to give professional and other highly skilled athletes a “level playing field” with the robot, Dürr said in an interview with The Associated Press. Some of the athletes said they were surprised by Ace's prowess.

Sony calls it a first for a common competitive sport

Sony says it is the “first time a robot has achieved human, expert-level play in a commonly played competitive sport in the physical world — a longstanding milestone for AI and robotics research.”

The custom-built robot has eight joints that direct its movements, or degrees of freedom, enabling it to position the racket, execute shots and swiftly respond to its opponent's rallies.

“Speed is really one of the fundamental issues in robotics today, especially in scenarios or environments that are not fixed," said Michael Spranger, president of Sony AI, in an interview.

“We see a lot of robots that are in factories that are very, very fast,” Spranger said. “But they’re doing the same trajectory over and over again. With this technology, we show that it’s actually possible to train robots to be very adaptive and competitive and fast in uncertain environments that constantly change.”

Spranger said such technology could play a role in manufacturing and other industries. It's also not hard to imagine how such high-speed and highly perceptive hardware could be used in war.

Building parity with humans is a challenge

A humanoid robot ran faster than the human world record in a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday, but getting a machine to interact and compete at split-second speeds with skilled human athletes is in some ways a more difficult challenge.

Spranger said it was important for researchers to not give the robot too unfair of an advantage and make its speed, arm’s reach and performance comparable to a skilled athlete who trains at least 20 hours a week. It plays by official table tennis rules on a typically sized court.

“It’s very easy to build a superhuman table tennis robot,” Spranger said. “You build a machine that sucks in the ball and shoots it out much faster than a human can return it. But that’s not the goal here. The goal is to have some level of comparability, some level of fairness to the human, and win really at the level of AI and the level of decision-making and tactics and, to some extent, skill.”

That means, he said, that “the robot cannot just win by hitting the ball faster than any human ever could, but it has to win by actually playing the game.″

AI researchers have long used board games like chess as benchmarks for a computer’s capabilities. They later moved into more open-ended video game worlds. But moving AI from simulated environments to the physical world has long been the gold standard for robot makers.

The past year has marked a ″kind of ChatGPT moment for robotics,” Spranger said, with new, AI-driven approaches to teach robots about their real-world environments and task them with physically demanding activities, like backflips.

‘Ace’ pulled off shots pros thought were impossible

Sony is hardly the first to tackle robots in table tennis. John Billingsley helped pioneer such contests in 1983 in a paper titled “Robot Ping-Pong.” More recently, Google's AI research division DeepMind has also tackled the sport.

And while impressive, Billingsley said Sony’s all-seeing computer vision and motion detection capabilities make it hard for a two-eyed human to stand a chance.

“I would not want to belittle the achievement, but they have gone at the task mob-handed, and used sledgehammer techniques,” Billingsley, a retired mechatronics professor at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, said in an email to the AP.

He added, however, that it adds to the lesson that “true progress comes out of contests, whether they involve hitting a ball or setting foot on Mars.”

Japanese professional players Minami Ando and Kakeru Sone were among those who competed against Sony's robot. Two umpires from the Japanese Table Tennis Association judged the games.

After submitting the paper to peer review ahead of its publication in Nature, Sony researchers kept experimenting and said Ace accelerated its shot speeds and rallies and played even more aggressively and closer to the table edge. Competing against four high-skill players, Sony said Ace defeated all but one of them in December.

Another expert player, Kinjiro Nakamura, who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, told researchers after observing Ace play a shot that “no one else would have been able to do that. I didn’t think it was possible.”

But the robot now having done it “means that there is a possibility that a human could do it too,” he said, in remarks published in the Nature paper.

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AP journalists Yuri Kageyama and Javier Arciga contributed to this report.

Some of the biggest blazes were near Georgia’s coast while others were popping up in northern Florida, a state facing one of its worst fire seasons in decades.

It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but the bottom half of Georgia is perilously dry and the conditions prompted the state's forestry commission to issue a burn ban for the first time in its history. Southeastern Georgia has seen just 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain since the beginning of September — almost 15 inches (38 centimeters) below normal, the National Weather Service said.

The fires spread so quickly in southern Georgia that residents received no warnings or alerts.

“I wish that I had knew something more,” said Brianna Elliott, who left home Tuesday only to find her route back blocked by the fires 90 minutes later. “I would have turned around in that moment and gone home and got my animals before anything.”

She now fears that her home and her dogs are gone.

Georgia’s two biggest wildfires together have burned more than 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), and at least four other smaller fires have been reported in the state.

Dry timber feeds Georgia fires

The fast-moving Brantley County fire was threatening roughly 1,000 homes Wednesday after destroying almost 50 a day earlier.

That fire grew in size by roughly six times in just a half day Tuesday, said Joey Cason, the county manager. There were fires erupting “in the backyard and people taking off in the front yard,” he said Wednesday.

So far, no major injuries have been reported, Cason said.

The rural county is roughly midway between Georgia's coastal beaches and the Okefenokee Swamp and is dotted with livestock and fruit farms as well as thick stands of planted pines grown for timber.

Crews were working to create fire breaks and stop flames from reaching populated areas. The biggest concern was the gusting winds that could easily spread embers.

Authorities said rain was desperately needed. The area with the worst fires is in exceptional or extreme drought, the most dire levels, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“If you could start praying for that right now, we’d be grateful,” Cason said.

Pine and hardwood forests in the region are helping charge the fires, said Seth Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Georgia Forestry Commission. Swampy lowlands with thick layers of leaves and woody debris are “super flammable” when they dry out, he said.

The commission's 30-day burn ban is for the southern part of the state.

More residents are told to evacuate

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Wednesday for more than half of the state's counties.

Brantley County Sheriff Len Davis warned residents to be ready to evacuate because the winds could shift rapidly and unexpectedly.

More people were told to evacuate Wednesday afternoon, on top of the 800 evacuations that had already taken place in the county. Five shelters have opened, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

A large fire that started in Clinch County also prompted evacuations.

Florida's sees its worst wildfire season in decades

In Florida, firefighters were battling 131 wildfires that had burned 34 square miles (88 square kilometers), mostly in the state’s northern half.

“Florida has got one of the worst fire seasons in maybe the last 30 or 40 years or it’s turning out to be that way,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said. “We’ve been in drought for 18 months now all across the state.”

A wildfire disrupted Amtrak train service Monday in the northeast part of the state. Service was back to normal Wednesday, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll.

Wildfire smoke blows into Atlanta and Jacksonville

A dangerous combination of low humidity and breezy winds will keep the fire danger elevated Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

Smoke drifted to Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The air quality in parts of south Georgia declined to the unhealthy category Wednesday, meaning all residents might feel health effects.

Smoky conditions were expected to linger throughout the Atlanta area on Wednesday, according to the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. The worst fires were burning more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of the city.

The high fire risk was expected to continue each afternoon through Friday due to the very dry conditions, the weather service said.

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Martin reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy and Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous court that the Enbridge energy company waited too long to try to move the case to federal court.

The case is part of a messy legal dispute about a pipeline that has moved crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued in state court in June 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows Enbridge to operate a 4.5-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Nessel, a Democrat, won a restraining order shutting down the pipeline from Ingham County Judge James Jamo in June 2020, although Enbridge was allowed to continue operations after meeting safety requirements.

Enbridge moved the lawsuit into federal court in 2021, arguing it affects U.S. and Canadian trade. But a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to Jamo in June 2024, finding that the company missed a 30-day deadline to change jurisdictions.

The pipeline at issue is called Line 5. Concerns over the section beneath the straits rupturing and causing a catastrophic spill have been growing since 2017, when Enbridge engineers revealed they had known about gaps in the section’s protective coating since 2014. A boat anchor damaged the section in 2018, intensifying fears of a spill.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revoked the straits easement for Line 5 in 2020. Enbridge filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the revocation.

Enbridge won a ruling from a federal judge blocking the move, but Whitmer, a Democrat, has appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In March, the Supreme Court rejected Whitmer’s appeal claiming that she couldn't be sued in federal court.

It was unclear how the federal ruling blocking Whitmer’s revocation attempt would affect Nessel’s case in state court. The company said in a statement that the judge in the Whitmer case has already decided federal regulators, not the state, are responsible for Line 5 safety and they have found no issues that would warrant shutting it down.

But Nessel said the case is far from over. “This unanimous ruling from the United States Supreme Court makes emphatically clear that our lawsuit against Enbridge belongs before the state court, where we’ve argued since 2019 that Line 5 does not have a legal right to the Straits bottomlands,” she said in a statement.

Enbridge also is seeking permits to encase the section of pipeline beneath the straits in a protective tunnel. The Michigan Public Service Commission granted the relevant permits in 2023, but a coalition of environmental groups and Michigan tribes has filed a lawsuit seeking to void state permits for the tunnel. The state Supreme Court is weighing that case.

Enbridge also needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

The pipeline is at the center of a separate legal dispute in Wisconsin as well. A federal judge in Madison last summer gave Enbridge three years to shut down part of Line 5 that runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation. The company has appealed the shutdown order to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but it started work in February to reroute the line around the reservation.

The Bad River and environmental groups have filed a state lawsuit seeking to halt the work, arguing regulators have underestimated the damage the reroute construction will cause. That case also is pending.

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Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin.

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Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

“We don’t really get to experience this kind of energy and fandom in person very often,” Tierney told The Associated Press just after their joint appearance, a highlight of the weekend gathering of (mostly) young book fans. “It’s been a bit more of an amorphous online thing.”

Since the first episode of “Heated Rivalry” dropped last November, Tierney's adaptation of Reid's “Game Changer” series featuring star-crossed hockey greats Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov has become a phenomenon that boosted the sport's popularity, made Reid a leader of the thriving genre of sports romance fiction and made Olympic torchbearers out of lead actors Hudson Williams (Shane) and Connor Storrie (Ilya). Tierney expects to begin filming the second season this summer, based in part on the second of Reid's novels about Shane and Ilya, “The Long Game.” The author, meanwhile, is working on a third Shane and Ilya book, “Unrivaled.” Both are scheduled for 2027 releases.

“Heated Rivalry” fans know well the story of how the HBO Max show was born, and of Reid's jarring swing from despair to exhilaration. In August 2023, she learned that she had early onset Parkinson's disease. Days later, she received an Instagram message from a man she had never met, but would soon change her life in a very different way: Tierney.

The 46-year-old Tierney is a Montreal native, former child star and award-winning filmmaker whose credits include the TV series “Letterkenny.” In October, Little, Brown and Company will release a collection of Tierney's annotated scripts, “I'll Believe in Anything: The Making of Heated Rivalry Season 1.”

Reid, 44, is a longtime hockey fan. Born Rachel Goguen in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she chose her pen name for the practical reason that it's easier to pronounce and remember. She's been open about the impact of fame and her health, posting an Instagram announcement in February that she was pushing back the release date of “Unrivaled” from this fall to next summer. Onstage, she acknowledged it had been “tricky” to write since the series took off.

“I'm in a place where the whole world seems to care about what happens next to these characters,” she said. “I'm still determined to stick to what I've always done when I was writing, just kind of pretend I'm writing for me and I hope other people like it.”

During their AP interview, Reid and Tierney spoke of the joy of sex on the page and screen and how Shane and Ilya just won't leave them alone. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Writers talk about writing the books they want to read, and filmmakers making the movies they want to see. With these books, it comes out of that?

REID: I really like a forbidden romance. I really like the rivals-to-lovers element. I just also like a queer love story with a happy ending. And I really like hockey, so I think there’s just a lot of elements in it that are just very much what I personally would like. I think if this show had come out and had nothing to do with me, I would be obsessed with it still.

TIERNEY: I did not grow up with stories like this. We don’t as gay men, as queer people. We do not get to have happy endings in media very often. I would definitely have watched it (even if he didn't direct it), that’s for sure. I’m sure I would have had notes. I'm a little picky.

AP: At what point for either of you did you realize that you had something big here?

TIERNEY: It was a kind of a series of increasingly surreal and overwhelming moments. And by the time the sixth episode aired, it really did feel like we were kind of at the center of a strange maelstrom. But I also was like, “Am I making this up? Is this actually happening?”

REID: I did a bookstore event the day after the trailer came out. They showed the trailer at the event, and everybody in the audience knew every word of the trailer and was saying it along with the trailer. So that was when I was like, “OK, this is going to be nuts.”

AP: Writers and filmmakers have talked about the difficulty of writing or filming sex scenes. Was that a challenge for either of you?

REID: Honestly, I love writing them and I’ve never found that to be the difficult part. I think it might be the easiest part for me. I actually really enjoy it. Not to praise myself too much, but I think maybe that’s why people like the scenes. They weren’t hard for me. It’s not a scary thing. It’s not the part that I have to close my eyes and write or anything. It's my favorite part.

TIERNEY: Sex is a language in this show, sex is a way that we watch this couple evolve over the course of a fairly long amount of time in terms of the story, eight years. And so the sex is different every time, a way of watching them evolve both separately and together. I think sex reveals a lot about yourself that you don’t even intend to reveal. And I find that quite fascinating as a storyteller.

AP: How real are Ilya and Shane for you? Do they live on in your heads?

REID: Yeah. That’s why I keep writing books about them, because they just keep talking. With other characters, I’ve written the books and they’ve left. But these guys just stick around.

AP: What is it about them that makes it that way?

REID: They're fun to write. I love it.

AP: You've talked about your struggles with getting the next book done. Any updates on that?

TIERNEY: It's a coloring book now.

REID: It’s 20 pages.

TIERNEY: Don’t tell the truth.

REID: The thing that hasn’t changed is how much fun they are to write. I find their voices very easy to put on the page. More than any other characters I’ve created, they arrived fully formed. They kind of just appeared one day.

AP: Were they based on anybody, at least loosely, who you know?

REID: There’s a lot of myself in Ilya, for sure. There’s a lot of, kind of hockey player archetypes — the flashy, cocky European superstar, that’s definitely a type. The uptight, very serious good boy-captain. And there’s been plenty of NHL players from decades of hockey. And I’ve been a fan for decades. And obviously there have been some really great rivalries. And we’re getting probably to the end of the (Sidney) Crosby-(Alex) Ovechkin rivalry right now. But that rivalry at its peak was so fun.

AP: What do you see of yourself in Ilya?

REID: A sense of humor, mostly. It's a little bit mean. I also kind of like to use humor to cover up emotions, you know, things like that. I think I also notice things about people a bit, but maybe stay quiet about it.

AP: I've heard a lot of writers talk about writing a book that gets made into a film. And the actors are just so good that when the writer comes back to writing about those characters, they’re seeing those actors in their head. Is it going that way for you?

REID: I told Jacob I wish I had never met them. (Laughing) It is challenge writing without thinking about somebody having to actually say or do what I’m writing, for sure. I’m trying to just block that out. I just need to pretend it definitely will never happen, because I think that’s the only way I can do it.

AP: And you still hope to have the next book out at some point next year?

RR: Yeah. That book will come out June 1. Hell or high water, it's coming out.

The court ruled 6-3 in favor of former Army Spc. Winston Hencely, who was wounded when he stopped a man on his way to detonate an explosive vest at a Veterans Day weekend 5K race at Bagram Airfield in 2016.

Ahmad Nayeb instead blew himself up when he was confronted, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, according to court documents.

The projectiles fractured Hencely's skull and tore through his brain, leaving him without the full use of much of the left side of his body. He also has abnormal brainwaves, seizures and traumatic brain injury, his lawyers wrote.

An Army investigation faulted the company’s failure to supervise Nayeb, an Afghan employee who built the vest on the job site inside the base, court documents say.

Hencely sued Fluor Corporation in South Carolina, where two of its subsidiaries are based, and made claims under the state's law for negligent supervision, negligent entrustment of tools and negligent retention of an employee.

The Irving, Texas-based engineering construction company argued that it could not be sued because it was working during wartime for the federal government, which is generally immune to lawsuits.

The high court disagreed. The majority said companies are protected when they are fulfilling government contracts, but that Fluor allegedly failed to carry out its duties in supervising Nayeb.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh dissented. Alito wrote that Hencely's lawsuit may intrude on the government's wartime powers and decisions, including a policy requiring contractors to maximize employment of Afghans.

Kevin MacEwen, gerente del Distrito Everglades y supervisor de área forestal del Servicio Forestal de Florida, dijo que había tres equipos todoterreno trabajando en el terreno. Señaló que los equipos y un helicóptero estaban trabajando para mantener el fuego alejado del tráfico en los carriles en dirección norte y sur de la autopista U.S. 27. “Afortunadamente, el viento sopla hacia el este y está empujando el fuego lejos de nosotros”, dijo MacEwen, y agregó que las ráfagas superaban las 20 mph en medio de una “sequía histórica”.

Un helicóptero de Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue respondió para arrojar agua sobre puntos calientes remotos al oeste de Weston, según el jefe de batallón Michael B. Kane.

BSFR solicitó asistencia del Servicio Forestal de Florida mientras las llamas ardían bajo líneas eléctricas al oeste de la autopista 27 y la milla 45, según Kane.

Florida ha estado enfrentando una de las peores sequías en 15 años, por lo que el Servicio Forestal de Florida ha tenido que lidiar con más incendios forestales de lo habitual.

“Probablemente todavía tengamos entre seis y nueve semanas más de esto”, dijo MacEwen.

Esta es una historia en desarrollo. El editor de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Carson Merlo, contribuyó a este informe.

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On Tuesday, commissioners were set to vote on whether to sign an interim agreement with the developer behind their proposed new building.

Ultimately, commissioners deferred the item until a meeting scheduled for June 2.

The reason why is because the project’s developer came up with a futuristic design that came with a hefty price tag.

The big question for city leaders is whether to spend $268 million on new construction or spend less on an older existing building in the city.

Commissioner Ben Sorensen told Local 10’s Aaron Maybin that the new building will cost taxpayers $24 million a year, adding up to around $724 million over the next three decades.

He wanted to delay Tuesday’s vote to find other options.

Commissioner Steven Glassman, meanwhile, said he supports building a new City Hall.

“The choice tonight is really whether or not we are going to move forward with something that meets our needs, and we have them really buttoned down,” said Glassman. “Or are we just going to go into the future and guess what those costs are going to be? I’m not one to guess on what the future might bring us on this structure. I want to make sure that we know exactly what is going to happen.”

El martes, los comisionados tenían previsto votar si firmaban un acuerdo provisional con el desarrollador detrás del nuevo edificio propuesto.

Finalmente, los comisionados pospusieron el tema hasta una reunión programada para el 2 de junio.

La razón es que el desarrollador del proyecto presentó un diseño futurista que conlleva un alto costo.

La gran pregunta para los líderes de la ciudad es si gastar $268,000,000 USD en una nueva construcción o gastar menos en un edificio existente más antiguo en la ciudad.

El comisionado Ben Sorensen dijo a Aaron Maybin de Local 10 que el nuevo edificio costará a los contribuyentes $24,000,000 USD al año, sumando alrededor de $724,000,000 USD en las próximas tres décadas.

Él quería retrasar la votación del martes para encontrar otras opciones.

El comisionado Steven Glassman, por su parte, dijo que apoya la construcción de un nuevo ayuntamiento.

“La decisión esta noche es realmente si vamos a avanzar con algo que satisfaga nuestras necesidades, y las tenemos bien definidas,” dijo Glassman. “¿O simplemente vamos a avanzar hacia el futuro y adivinar cuáles serán esos costos? Yo no soy de adivinar lo que el futuro podría traernos con esta estructura. Quiero asegurarme de que sepamos exactamente qué va a suceder.”

“The end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain — it’s inevitable,” Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said after a decades-long campaign in favor of legislation approved Tuesday.

Children born after Dec. 31, 2008 will be banned from ever buying cigarettes under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

The legislation that needs approval by King Charles III — a formality — before taking effect will also allow the government to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including flavors and packaging.

It is currently illegal to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or vapes to people under 18. But most youths today will continue to face a ban their entire life as the minimum age to buy cigarettes rises each year.

The passage gives the U.K. one of the toughest antismoking measures in the world. The law is similar to one New Zealand lawmakers passed in 2022 but that was then repealed by a subsequent government.

The number of people who smoke in Britain has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people — or about 13% of the population — still smoke, according to official figures.

Authorities say smoking causes some 80,000 deaths a year in the U.K, and remains the number one preventable cause of death, disability and poor health.

“Children in the U.K. will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.

Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins said the company failed to uphold its commitment and should be held accountable.

“We welcome you to our community and Miami-Dade County,” Higgins said, addressing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “If you enter into a contract with us, we are going to hold you to account.”

Higgins said the county expects Amazon to honor an agreement requiring a minimum of 325 full-time jobs at the South Dade facility for at least 17 years.

“Honor your contractual obligations, Mr. Bezos — the ask is not an extraordinary one,” she said.

According to Higgins, the closure comes just two years into the agreement.

“We hear, ‘Oh just kidding — we are going to lay off 1,000 hardworking South Florida residents,’ and they said it in a cavalier way,” she said.

But an Amazon spokesperson said in an email to Local 10 News that the company is not “laying off 1,000 employees.”

“The WARN filing itself is even reflective of that (~616 affected roles). Beyond that, more than 300 employees have already accepted transfers, and our teams are working daily with the remaining employees at this facility to find them suitable transfers,” the spokesperson said.

The commission unanimously approved Higgins’ sponsored resolution directing county administrators to take all necessary steps to enforce the agreement, including potential legal action.

“Listen, this was a no-bid contract. They acquired this land without competition under certain terms and conditions,” Higgins said. “They have to honor those obligations.”

Higgins added, “The county attorneys agree the language is clear — 325 minimum at $32,000 a year. That is their obligation contractually to Miami-Dade, and quite frankly for Amazon, as we know, that is less than a drop in a bucket for them financially. They need to honor their obligations to us.”

In a statement, Amazon said the closure is tied to planned renovations and that employees have the option to transfer.

“Our team is working closely with Miami-Dade County and its attorneys, and we’re hopeful we can find a cooperative path forward,” wrote Amazon spokesperson Amber Plunkett. “More than 300 employees from our facility in Homestead have already accepted transfers to stay with Amazon at other facilities, most of which are based in Miami-Dade County.”

The company said employees will be invited to return when the facility reopens in mid-to-late 2028.

“I think the best indicator of the future is the past,” Higgins said. “If you are not able to honor your contractual obligations that are written and negotiated, it is very hard to honor your verbal representations at this point — the best way for us to have faith in Amazon is to honor your obligations.”

The resolution also requires a report back to the commission within 30 days outlining the status of enforcement efforts.

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But behind the high-energy music and the electric moves known as “The LeBounce Experience,” the fitness coach is currently being lifted up by the very people he’s inspired for years.

“It’s nothing like it -- it is one-of-a-kind. It sets itself apart by simply the experience of being up on a trampoline,” Kendall Roach said.

In South Florida, Roach is the undisputed “Tramp King.” He teaches at Club Studio in downtown Miami, along with Ingraham Park in Coral Gables and South Pointe Park in Miami Beach.

Roach doesn’t just teach bounce classes, he creates an experience driven by pure energy.

“The music, the co-movement, the hype and the energy that comes with the territory of moving in sync in that way is really something that sets itself apart by nature,” he said.

“I had never met someone with such high energy all the time. The focus is always on, like, how other people feel,” Hanna Calvo, the regional studio coordinator for Club Studio, said.

And that focus on others meant Coach Kendall was constantly on the move, trucking his trampolines from Coral Gables, to Miami Beach, to downtown Miami, and as far north as West Palm Beach.

“I get in a truck, I stack up my tramps, and I get around,” Roach said.

But on March 1, Roach crashed full force into a concrete pole on the Don Shula Expressway after a long day.

His trampolines were left mangled on the ground.

“On the way home, I unfortunately fell asleep on the wheel. And I remember instances prior to the moment when it happened. I could feel myself getting tired on the road, and that moment when your eyes close for a little bit of a too long of a blink,” Roach explained.

That “too-long blink” nearly cost him his life.

Roach was pulled from his car and rushed to Jackson South Medical Center.

“I had this thought that I was done,” he said.

“He’s super lucky to be alive,” Dr. Steven Kalandiak said. “I assume you are going to show pictures of his crash, but the destruction of his vehicle is incredible and to think that he walked away is really remarkable.”

But he didn’t walk away uninjured.

Aside from a fractured clavicle, he also fractured his sternum and foot, and also sustained lung and hip contusions, bruising and other injuries.

“I think for somebody who makes his living off of physical activity, it’s going to be a long time before he can get doing what he was doing before,” Kalandiak said.

And for Roach, that road has been just as mental as it is physical.

“Being patient, being still, being in one place for so long,” he said.

For someone who lives in motion, stillness has been the real test.

“All the things that help me stay regulated, stay balanced, so without it, things get topsy turvy and I felt timeless in this phase where days just seem to last forever,” Roach said.

But the community he built never left!

The same people he lifted up are now lifting him.

And even now, his spirit still finds a way!

On the day we visited, he couldn’t help it -- he hopped on a trampoline for just a minute! A small step toward everything he’s working to get back!

“He’s just such a valuable human, and that’s very hard to find in any industry, someone that cares so much about what they do,” Calvo said.

After coming so close to losing his life, there’s one thing he wants people to understand.

“Driving tired is as bad as being under the influence,” Roach said. “In a moment, everything can really just change for you. It’s just not worth the risk.”

“If he had been 2 feet to the right, if his truck had been 2 feet to the right when he got hit, he wouldn’t be here,” Kalandiak said.

Coach Kendall has been a fitness instructor for 10 years, and while his recovery is far from over, he says he’s determined to get back to doing what he loves.

And his students say they’ll be right there waiting for him when he does.

Roach says he is also lucky to have his parents nearby living in Princeton, and during this recovery time, he has been staying with them.

If you’d like to help with his mounting medical bills, click here.

Pero detrás de la música de alta energía y los movimientos eléctricos conocidos como “The LeBounce Experience”, el entrenador fitness ahora está siendo apoyado por las mismas personas a las que ha inspirado durante años.

“No hay nada igual – es único. Se distingue simplemente por la experiencia de estar sobre un trampolín,” dijo Kendall Roach.

En el sur de Florida, Roach es el indiscutible “Tramp King”. Da clases en Club Studio en el centro de Miami, junto con Ingraham Park en Coral Gables y South Pointe Park en Miami Beach.

Roach no solo da clases de bounce, crea una experiencia impulsada por pura energía.

“La música, el movimiento conjunto, la emoción y la energía que vienen con moverse en sincronía de esa manera es realmente algo que se distingue por naturaleza,” dijo.

“Nunca había conocido a alguien con tanta energía todo el tiempo. El enfoque siempre está en cómo se sienten los demás,” dijo Hanna Calvo, coordinadora regional de estudio para Club Studio.

Y ese enfoque en los demás significaba que el entrenador Kendall estaba constantemente en movimiento, transportando sus trampolines desde Coral Gables, a Miami Beach, al centro de Miami, y tan al norte como West Palm Beach.

“Me subo a una camioneta, apilo mis trampolines y me muevo,” dijo Roach.

Pero el 1 de marzo, Roach se estrelló de lleno contra un poste de concreto en la autopista Don Shula después de un largo día.

Sus trampolines quedaron destrozados en el suelo.

“De camino a casa, lamentablemente me quedé dormido al volante. Y recuerdo momentos previos a cuando ocurrió. Podía sentir que me estaba cansando en la carretera, y ese momento cuando tus ojos se cierran por un parpadeo un poco demasiado largo,” explicó Roach.

Ese “parpadeo demasiado largo” casi le cuesta la vida.

Roach fue sacado de su vehículo y trasladado de urgencia al Jackson South Medical Center.

“Tuve ese pensamiento de que había terminado,” dijo.

“Es muy afortunado de estar vivo,” dijo el doctor Steven Kalandiak. “Supongo que van a mostrar fotos del choque, pero la destrucción de su vehículo es increíble y pensar que salió caminando es realmente notable.”

Pero no salió sin lesiones.

Además de una clavícula fracturada, también sufrió fracturas en el esternón y el pie, además de contusiones en los pulmones y la cadera, moretones y otras lesiones.

“Creo que para alguien que vive de la actividad física, va a pasar mucho tiempo antes de que pueda volver a hacer lo que hacía antes,” dijo Kalandiak.

Y para Roach, ese camino ha sido tanto mental como físico.

“Ser paciente, estar quieto, permanecer en un solo lugar por tanto tiempo,” dijo.

Para alguien que vive en movimiento, la quietud ha sido la verdadera prueba.

“Todas las cosas que me ayudan a mantenerme regulado, equilibrado, sin ellas, todo se desordena y sentí que el tiempo no pasaba en esta etapa donde los días parecían durar para siempre,” dijo Roach.

Pero la comunidad que construyó nunca lo dejó.

Las mismas personas a las que él impulsó ahora lo están apoyando.

¡Y aun ahora, su espíritu encuentra la manera!

El día que lo visitamos, no pudo evitarlo – se subió a un trampolín por solo un minuto. ¡Un pequeño paso hacia todo lo que está trabajando por recuperar!

“Es una persona muy valiosa, y eso es muy difícil de encontrar en cualquier industria, alguien que se preocupe tanto por lo que hace,” dijo Calvo.

Después de estar tan cerca de perder la vida, hay algo que quiere que la gente entienda.

“Conducir cansado es tan malo como estar bajo la influencia,” dijo Roach. “En un momento, todo puede cambiar. Simplemente no vale el riesgo.”

“Si hubiera estado 2 pies más a la derecha, si su camioneta hubiera estado 2 pies más a la derecha cuando chocó, no estaría aquí,” dijo Kalandiak.

El entrenador Kendall ha sido instructor de fitness durante 10 años, y aunque su recuperación está lejos de terminar, dice que está decidido a volver a hacer lo que ama.

Y sus estudiantes dicen que estarán allí esperándolo cuando lo haga.

Roach dice que también tiene la suerte de tener a sus padres viviendo cerca en Princeton, y durante este tiempo de recuperación ha estado viviendo con ellos.

Si desea ayudar con sus crecientes facturas médicas, haga clic aquí.

The writer, who lives in France, announced on X that the verdict was delivered on Tuesday. He said that he was also fined 5 million Algerian dinars ($38,000).

“Houris” (Virgins, in English) focuses of the victims of what Algerians call the “black decade,” when tens of thousands of people were killed as the army fought an Islamist insurgency. The conflict erupted in 1991 after Islamists won a first round of legislative elections, prompting the military-backed government to cancel the second round of voting.

It was awarded the Goncourt Prize, France's top literary award, in 2024.

Daoud said that he was convicted under what is known as the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, a text adopted by referendum in 2005 that offered widespread pardons to both armed Islamists and security forces.

“The text punishes any public mention of the civil war,” Daoud said. “Ten years of war, nearly 200,000 dead according to estimates, thousands of terrorists granted amnesty … and only one guilty party: a writer.”

In addition to the legal action brought by the court in the Algerian city of Oran, Daoud is the target of two international arrest warrants issued by Algeria in May 2025 and is also under threat of being stripped of his Algerian nationality.

Another French-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, has faced similar problems.

The author — whose works have been critical of Islam, colonialism and contemporary Algerian leaders — was convicted of undermining national unity and insulting public institutions and was sentenced to five years in prison under Algeria’s anti-terrorism laws.

He was granted a humanitarian pardon in Algeria after an appeal by Germany's president, and returned to France last year after serving a year in prison.

Daoud's book “Houris” tells the story of Aube, a young girl who miraculously survives a nighttime terrorist attack in her village of Had Chekala in western Algeria, despite having her throat slit. Following the novel’s publication, an Algerian woman, Saâda Arbane, accused Daoud of “stealing” her story and using it as the basis for his book.

Arbane previously had been treated by Aicha Dahdouh, Daoud’s wife, a psychiatrist at Oran University Hospital and a specialist in trauma linked to violence during the civil war.

“Kamel Daoud and his wife asked for my permission to use my story, and I refused every time,” she said during several appearances on Algerian television, adding that it constituted “an invasion of her privacy.”

A collective of lawyers was subsequently formed in solidarity to defend Arbane, invoking provisions of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which prohibits even the mere mention of this painful period in Algeria’s history.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, los agentes que respondieron al choque en Northwest 72nd Avenue y 47th Street alrededor de las 6 a.m. del 30 de diciembre de 2025 encontraron a Martin “inestable sobre sus pies, con ojos rojos y llorosos y habla arrastrada” y detectaron olor a alcohol.

Local 10 obtuvo video que muestra a agentes de MDSO llegando a la escena del choque.

Se puede ver un camión de basura desplazado hacia un lado de la carretera tras la colisión.

Delante se encuentra la camioneta de Martin, con daños visibles en la parte frontal mientras los investigadores trabajan para determinar qué llevó al choque.

En el video, se puede ver a los agentes hablando con Martin, de 45 años, y preguntándole si está bien. Luego les informa que es policía de Hialeah.

El siguiente video muestra una interacción entre un testigo y los investigadores, quienes preguntan si el testigo vio a Martin conduciendo la camioneta.

Otro clip muestra a Martin esposado mientras es colocado en la parte trasera de una patrulla de MDSO.

Las autoridades dijeron que Martin estuvo involucrado en un choque con un camión de basura y luego fue esposado después de volverse “beligerante” con otros agentes del orden.

Los agentes dijeron que paramédicos trasladaron a Martin al Jackson West Medical Center, donde un investigador de DUI intentó entrevistarlo.

Según el informe, Martin fue “poco cooperador” y respondió repetidamente “no sé” cuando se le hicieron preguntas básicas, incluyendo si sabía lo que estaba ocurriendo o si había estado en un choque.

Los agentes dijeron que se negó a realizar pruebas de sobriedad en el lugar y también rechazó una prueba de sangre, lo que llevó a los investigadores a confiscar su licencia de conducir bajo la ley de consentimiento implícito de Florida.

Martin había sido puesto en licencia administrativa tras el choque.

Local 10 News trabaja para confirmar su estado laboral actual con el Departamento de Policía de Hialeah.

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The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office released the footage captured on the afternoon of Feb. 18 in the area of Southwest 152nd Avenue and 76th Street.

Authorities said the video was taken from inside a vehicle behind a black Honda Civic that the gunfire originated from.

Investigators say then-16-year-old Adrian Negron Vega and 17-year-old Camilo Buritica were in that sedan and arguing with two young men outside the vehicle.

Video shows the two juveniles walking away when police said Negron Vega pointed a black gun out of the passenger window and opened fire on the two before the car sped away.

Deputies said the 15-year-old victim was shot in the right shoulder and left ankle.

Negron Vega was ultimately arrested and charged as an adult with attempted murder.

Investigators said Negron Vega claimed he was home at the time of the shooting, but that Buritica confessed to driving the Civic and admitted that Negron Vega fired the shots.

La Fiscalía Estatal de Miami-Dade publicó las imágenes captadas la tarde del 18 de febrero en el área de Southwest 152nd Avenue y 76th Street.

Las autoridades indicaron que el video fue grabado desde el interior de un vehículo detrás de un Honda Civic negro desde el cual se originaron los disparos.

Los investigadores dijeron que el entonces joven de 16 años Adrian Negron Vega y el joven de 17 años Camilo Buritica estaban en ese sedán y discutiendo con dos jóvenes fuera del vehículo.

El video muestra a los dos menores alejándose cuando, según la policía, Negron Vega sacó un arma negra por la ventana del pasajero y abrió fuego contra ellos antes de que el vehículo huyera a toda velocidad.

Los agentes indicaron que la víctima de 15 años recibió disparos en el hombro derecho y el tobillo izquierdo.

Negron Vega fue finalmente arrestado y acusado como adulto de intento de asesinato.

Los investigadores dijeron que Negron Vega afirmó que estaba en su casa al momento de la balacera, pero que Buritica confesó que conducía el Civic y admitió que Negron Vega realizó los disparos.

El incidente ocurrió durante un evento de limpieza Baynanza en Haulover Park el 11 de abril, donde cientos de personas se reunieron para limpiar la playa y la bahía.

Weinsier intentaba cuestionar a la alcaldesa del condado Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, sobre más de $60,000,000 USD en fondos de contribuyentes gastados en autobuses eléctricos que fueron retirados de servicio.

Durante semanas, el equipo de comunicaciones de la alcaldesa rechazó solicitudes de entrevista, afirmando que no concedería entrevistas sobre el tema. Cuando la alcaldesa apareció en el evento público y completó una entrevista con el canal de televisión del condado, Local 10 News se acercó para hacer preguntas.

El video muestra a un hombre con chaqueta negra, posteriormente identificado como el agente de MDSO Lester Aguilar, interviniendo cuando Weinsier se acercó con un micrófono. Aguilar formaba parte del equipo de seguridad de la alcaldesa vestido de civil.

Durante la interacción, Aguilar no se identificó verbalmente como agente del orden ni tenía una placa o credenciales visibles. En ningún momento indicó quién era ni qué autoridad tenía.

Weinsier: “Alcaldesa, ¿nos dará cinco minutos por favor y abordar el teme de los autobuses Proterra? Es un gran tema para los contribuyentes.”

Aguilar: “Necesita retroceder.”

Weinsier: “No, no necesito hacerlo. No me empuje. No me empuje.”

Aguilar: “Sí, lo necesita, todos necesitan hacerlo. ¿Quiere ir a la cárcel?”

Weinsier: “¿Por qué? ¿Por estar de pie e intentar entrevistar a la alcaldesa?”

El video del encuentro muestra a Aguilar empujando físicamente a Weinsier. A pesar de decir que todos debían retroceder, el contacto parece dirigido únicamente a él.

El abogado de la Primera Enmienda Thomas Julin revisó el video y expresó preocupaciones tanto por la conducta como por la falta de identificación.

“Veo que usted simplemente está allí con el micrófono haciendo una pregunta,” dijo Julin. “No estaba amenazando a la alcaldesa de ninguna manera. Simplemente estaba haciendo una pregunta.

“No lleva ninguna indicación de que sea un agente del orden. Usted no sabe quién es esta persona,” continuó Julin. “Tiene a una persona desconocida empujándolo literalmente fuera del camino. No sabe con quién está tratando y luego es amenazado con arresto. Esa es una situación muy mala.”

Julin dijo que el encuentro plantea dos cuestiones clave relacionadas con posible agresión e interferencia con derechos constitucionales.

“Es una violación de sus derechos de la Primera Enmienda hacerle una pregunta a un funcionario público,” dijo Julin. “No está haciendo nada que justifique un arresto, por lo que amenazar con arrestarlo presenta muchos problemas.”

Durante el enfrentamiento, Aguilar acusó a Weinsier de hacer contacto.

Aguilar: “La próxima vez que me ponga la mano encima irá a la cárcel. Solo estaba tratando de hacer mi trabajo.”

Weinsier: “Y yo también.”

Julin abordó esa afirmación tras revisar el video.

“No atacó al hombre. Usted dijo: ‘No me ponga las manos encima.’ No sé qué más realmente puede hacer,” dijo.

Las prácticas estándar de las fuerzas del orden generalmente requieren que los agentes de civil se identifiquen y muestren credenciales al interactuar con el público. En este caso, no hubo identificación visible ni verbal durante el encuentro inicial.

La Oficina de Cumplimiento Profesional de MDSO ha abierto una investigación interna sobre el incidente.

Local 10 News ha solicitado información sobre las políticas y procedimientos de la agencia para agentes de civil y está a la espera de una respuesta. La oficina del sheriff indicó que no puede comentar más debido a la investigación interna en curso.

El enfrentamiento ocurrió después de semanas de preguntas sin respuesta sobre el programa de autobuses eléctricos. Los autobuses, comprados con fondos de contribuyentes, han sido retirados de servicio, con muchos ubicados en la Base de Reserva Aérea de Homestead.

Tras el incidente en Haulover Park, Levine Cava accedió a responder preguntas sobre los autobuses.

La investigación sobre el uso de fondos públicos y las circunstancias del enfrentamiento continúa.

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The incident happened during a Baynanza cleanup event at Haulover Park on April 11, where hundreds gathered for a public beach and bay cleanup.

Weinsier was attempting to question Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava about more than $60 million in taxpayer funds spent on electric buses that were taken out of service.

For weeks, the mayor’s communications staff declined interview requests, stating she would not do an interview on the issue. When the mayor appeared at the public event and completed an interview with the county’s own television channel, Local 10 News approached to ask questions.

Video shows a man in a black jacket, later identified as MDSO Deputy Lester Aguilar, stepping in as Weinsier approached with a microphone. Aguilar was part of the mayor’s plainclothes security detail.

During the interaction, Aguilar did not verbally identify himself as a law enforcement officer and had no visible badge or credentials. At no point did he indicate who he was or what authority he had.

Weinsier: “Mayor, will you give us five minutes please and just address the Proterra buses? It’s a huge taxpayer issue.”

Aguilar: “You need to back away.”

Weinsier: “No, I don’t need to. Don’t push me. Don’t push me.”

Aguilar: “Yes, you do, everyone needs to. You want to go to jail?”

Weinsier: “For what? Standing and trying to interview the mayor?”

Video of the encounter shows Aguilar physically pushing Weinsier. Despite saying everyone needed to move back, the contact appears directed only at him.

First Amendment attorney Thomas Julin reviewed the video and raised concerns about both the conduct and the lack of identification.

“I see you’re just standing there with the microphone asking a question,” Julin said. “You weren’t threatening the mayor in any way. You were simply asking a question.

“He’s not wearing any indications that he is a law enforcement officer. You don’t know who this guy is,” Julin continued. “You have an unknown person pushing you literally out of the way. You don’t know who you’re dealing with and then you’re threatened with arrest. That’s a very bad situation.”

Julin said the encounter raises two key issues involving potential assault and interference with constitutional rights.

“It’s an infringement of your First Amendment rights to ask a public official a question,” Julin said. “You’re not doing anything that warrants an arrest, so his threatening to arrest you has a lot of problems.”

During the confrontation, Aguilar accused Weinsier of making contact.

Aguilar: “The next time you put your hand on me you go to jail. I was just trying to do my job.”

Weinsier: “And I as well.”

Julin addressed that claim after reviewing the footage.

“You didn’t attack the guy. You said, ‘Don’t put your hands on me.’ I don’t know what else you really can do,” he said.

Standard law enforcement practices generally require plainclothes officers to identify themselves and display credentials when engaging with members of the public. In this case, no such identification was visible or stated during the initial encounter.

MDSO’s Professional Compliance Bureau has opened an internal affairs investigation into the incident.

Local 10 News has requested information regarding the agency’s policies and procedures for plainclothes officers and is awaiting a response. The sheriff’s office says it cannot comment further due to the ongoing internal affairs investigation.

The confrontation followed weeks of unanswered questions about the electric bus program. The buses, purchased with taxpayer funds, have been taken out of service, with many located at the Homestead Air Reserve Base.

Following the incident at Haulover Park, Levine Cava did agree to answer questions regarding the buses.

The investigation into the use of taxpayer funds and the circumstances surrounding the confrontation is ongoing.

A continuación se muestra una lista de restaurantes que acumularon 30 o más infracciones en una inspección reciente.

Cuando los empleados no se lavan las manos, cuando los alimentos se almacenan de forma inadecuada, cuando se ignora la higiene, esos son riesgos que pueden afectar directamente a su salud.

Treinta o más infracciones no deberían ser normales. Indica que la cocina ha perdido el control de sus propios estándares. Esto no solo es decepcionante, sino inaceptable. Deben mejorar.

Los establecimientos que se ordenaron cerrar y que se detallan a continuación pudieron reabrir tras una limpieza ordenada y una posterior reinspección.

**COCINA DEL SEGUNDO PISO DEL CLUB NÁUTICO KEY BISCAYNE

1800 HARBOR DRIVE

KEY BISCAYNE

FECHA DE INSPECCIÓN 17/4

Se detectaron 31 infracciones.

“Alimentos cocinados/calentados que requieren control de tiempo/temperatura para su seguridad, no enfriados de 135 grados Fahrenheit a 41 grados Fahrenheit en 6 horas. Sopa de cebolla francesa dentro de una cámara frigorífica, enfriada desde el día anterior a 56 °F. Sopa de cangrejo dentro de una cámara frigorífica, enfriada desde el día anterior a 56 °F.”

“El lavavajillas no desinfecta correctamente. Suspenda el uso del lavavajillas para desinfectar y realice la desinfección manual hasta que el lavavajillas sea reparado y desinfecte correctamente. Se observó cloro en el lavavajillas con una solución de cloro de 0 ppm.”

“El empleado no se lavó las manos antes de ponerse los guantes para comenzar una tarea que implicaba manipular alimentos. Se observó que el empleado se puso los guantes sin lavarse las manos en el área de la barra.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding), crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding) inside walk in cooler in main kitchen area. As per chef was prepared the day before.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed in different unit throughout the kitchen(49F - Cold Holding); grouper (46F - Cold Holding); white fish (44F - Cold Holding); Mac and cheese (42F - Cold Holding); octopus (42F - Cold Holding); French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding); conch chowder (44F - Cold Holding); crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding); raw beef (44F - Cold Holding); raw chicken (42F - Cold Holding); liquid egg (47F - Cold Holding) second walk in cooler-butter (33F - Cold Holding); shredded cheese (42F - Cold Holding); Cuban sandwich (42F - Cold Holding); lettuce (48F - Cold Holding) mahi (42F - Cold Holding); shrimp (175F - Cooking); skirt steak (159F - Cooking); lettuce (62F - Cold Holding); cut tomato (52F - Cold Holding); pineapple pickles (52F - Cold Holding); cabbage (51F); lobster (137F - Hot Holding); garlic in oil (77F - Cold Holding); butter (69F - Cold Holding); breaded steak (42F - Cold Holding) risotto (62F - Cold Holding) on top of prep table in 3 floor.”

“Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Observed hose Bibb in main kitchen wall behind grill station no vacuum breaker.”

“Food being cooled by nonapproved method as evidenced by inadequate rate of cooling during time of inspection. Food products under the cooling process covered inside the walk in cooler.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed knives that was soiled was stored inside holster in cook line.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed a Bain Mary inside hand washing sink located next to walk in cooler in the kitchen located in second floor.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed no paper towel in handwashing sink located in bar area- second floor.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no handwashing washing sign in second floor at handwashing sink at bar area, coffee area and 3 floor kitchen.”

“Water treatment device has not been inspected or serviced according to manufacturer’s instructions. Ice machine water filter with a 2023 replacement date.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed both ice machine with the interior soiled with mold like substance. Observed ice integrated ice buckets in the bar area with mold like substance.”

“Accumulation of debris on exterior of ware washing machine. Observed top of dishwasher machine soiled with dust.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a single used container used as a scoop inside sea salt container.”

“Clean equipment/utensils not stored at least 6 inches above the floor. Observed several cutting boards stored on the floor on main kitchen.”

“Clean ice scoop stored on a wall holster that was soiled.”

“Clean utensils or equipment stored in dirty drawer or rack. Observed pizza peel stored on top of pizza oven.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed yellow cutting boards stored with cut marks and is no longer cleanable across salad station.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed employee drink container stored on top of prep table next to salad station.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed employee personal phone stored on top of prep table across cook line.”

“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside. Observed a gap on exit kitchen door in main kitchen area.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed bag of flour on the kitchen area floor.”

“In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. Observed knives store between two prep table across cooking line.”

“In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed tongs on oven handles in kitchen area.”

“In-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed throughout kitchen area utensils in standing water 79F.”

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

“No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees. Observed no handwashing sign at handwashing sink in second floor kitchen bar area, and 3 floor kitchen area.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed the top of pizza oven, and kitchen oven-soiled with dust.”

“Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses. Observed wet wiping clothes throughout entire kitchen not stored in sanitizer solution.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Container with Flour no labels.”

**CALUSA RESTAURANT-BAKER’S CAY RESORT KEY LARGO

97000 S. OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

KEY LARGO

INSPECTION DATE 4/8

32 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Dented/rusted cans present. See stop sale. Observed a dented can of tomato sauce.”

“Dish machine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed high temperature at dishwasher was 154.7°F Operator was advised to discontinue the use of dishwasher and set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee removed bracelets and then engaged in food preparation without washing hands. Employee was coached and washed hands.”

“Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed temperature at dishwasher aching reached 154°F . Operator was advised to discontinue the use of the dishwasher until it reach 160°F-180°F. The will set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Live, small flying insects found . Observed 5 live flies flying around the storage of the sodas by the ice machine.”

“Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed cooked octopus stored u dear raw shrimp inside the walk in cooler. Chef placed octopus on top.”

“Shell eggs in use or stored with cracks or broken shells. See stop sale. Observed 3 shell eggs with cracks stored inside the walk in cooler.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Clam/mussel/oyster tags not maintained in chronological order according to the last date they were served in the establishment.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed can opener soiled by the production area. Repeat Violation.”

“Manager or person in charge lacking proof of food manager certification. Observed Eddie Hernandez (2 months) did nit provided manger certificate.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“No plan review submitted and approved - bar area added. Must submit plans and plan review application to DBPR H and R Plan Review office... Observed a coffee station was added to this license... They have a small truck with not hand wash sink serving coffees and 2 tables, one with a hot box serving empanadas and a reach in cooler with fruit salad and yogurt. Operator needs to add this location to plans review.”

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

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a plastic container used as scoop inside the flour.”

“Carbon dioxide/helium tanks not adequately secured. Observed carbon dioxide tank not secured next to the ice machine. Employee removed it.”

“Ceiling tile missing. Observed 1 ceiling tile missing above mop sink.. Repeat Violation.”

“Cold holding equipment not maintained in good repair. Do not store time/temperature control for safety food in this unit until the unit is repaired. Observed reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line is not working properly. Ambient thermometer was at 56°F.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board no longer cleanable across from the grill at the front line.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed 2 employee beverages on preparation tables.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed 2 employee lunch bags stored above preparation tables in the kitchen.”

“Employee wearing jewelry other than a plain ring on their hands/arms while preparing food. Observed employee wearing multiple bracelets.”

“Equipment and utensils not properly air-dried - wet nesting. Observed metal containers not properly air-dried - wet nesting stored on shelf by production area.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor soiled with accumulation of grease behind the grill at the cook line.”

“Ice buildup in walk-in freezer.”

“In-use wet wiping cloth/towel used under cutting board. Observed a wiping cloth under green cutting board at production area.”

“No conspicuously located ambient air temperature thermometer in holding unit. Observed no ambient thermometer in reach in coolers at the front line.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed reach in cooler door gaskets soiled. Also observed hood filters soiled.”

“Utensils in poor condition. Observed reach in cooler door gasket torn at the cook line.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall behind grill at cook line soiled with accumulated grease.”

**DON CAMARON GRILL & MARKET

501 NW 37TH AVE

MIAMI

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 4/16

33 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Seafood prep area: 2 live roaches crawling on the floor by the prep sink and underneath a table by the prep sink.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Seafood prep area: 2 dead roaches on the floor: Back area cookline: 1 dead roach on the floor. By the large mixer nearby the walk in cooler: 1 dead roach on the floor behind the large mixer Prep table in front of the main cookline: 1 dead roach by on the table by a container without wrapped utensils. Small cook area: 1 dead fly inside the reach in cooler with bottled sodas and water bottles.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Dining room: 2 live flies landed on tables. Ceviche area, by the glass display: approximately 4 live flies on flying throughout the area and 1 on the glass display case. Seafood prep area: 4 live flies resting on the prep table and 2 live flies on the prep sink. Main kitchen: 2 live flies flying throughout the ware wash and cook line area.”

“Employee has not received adequate training related to their assigned duties as evidenced by lack of general knowledge in performing their assigned duties. Observed employee by the cookline touch raw fish place on the flat top grill and grabbed a plate put a container in the plate to hold tortillas for soft tacos without removing gloves and washing hands. Observed employee scraping a pot at the three compartment sink and then pick up strainer to take out cooked pasta noodles without removing gloves and washing hands.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. All food storage containers soiled, dry storage area. Cutting boards on the flip-top reach in cooler soiled.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Throughout the prep kitchen.

Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Back area by the dry goods storage container outside."

“Raw in-shell clams/mussels/oysters received at greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Delivery, left in the kitchen: oysters (57-58F - Cold Holding), as per operator, received 30 minutes before the inspection, Operator placed inside the walk cooler, second temperature 20 minutes later, oysters (49-51F - Cooling).”

“Outer openings not protected during operation and vermin and/or environmental cross contamination present. Observed the bay doors by the small cookline/seating area at the seafood market open during operation. Advised the manager to keep the doors closed, observed fans in the outside, not on.”

**CASAVANA CUBAN CUISINE

13600 SW 152ND ST.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI DADE

INSPECTION DATE 4/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Date marked combined ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food not consumed/sold within 7 days of preparing/opening the earliest ready-to-eat time/temperature for safety ingredient. See stop sale. Observed container of cheese label with date mark 4/02/2026 at meat walk in cooler.”

“Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Observed food employee began preparing coffee. No handwash.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed food employee put on gloves to prepare fries no handwash. Observed food employee put on gloves and then began preparing tortillas eggs.

“Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employees at cook line.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employee touched soiled reach in cooler door handle. And then began preparing eggs. No handwash.”

“Alimentos colocados en recipientes/equipos sucios. Se observó harina almacenada en un recipiente sucio con restos de comida junto a las verduras en la cámara frigorífica.”

“El operador no cumple con los procedimientos establecidos en la exención de procesos o el plan HACCP aprobado por la División de Hoteles y Restaurantes. Se observó que el establecimiento no etiquetaba los productos (carne cocida, carne cruda, pollo marinado crudo) en la línea de cocción, todos en envases ROP, después de haber sido retirados de las cajas etiquetadas. Se observó que el registro de temperatura del establecimiento no estaba completo para enero de 2026. Se observó que el establecimiento no cortaba las bolsas al colocar los productos para descongelar en el refrigerador de la línea de cocción.”

“Alimento listo para consumir, que requiere control de tiempo/temperatura para su seguridad, con fecha de caducidad superior a 7 días después de su apertura/preparación. Se observó un envase de queso con la fecha 4/02/2026 en la cámara frigorífica de carne. “Infracción reiterada.”

“Control de tiempo/temperatura para alimentos seguros, excepto asado de carne entera, mantenido caliente a menos de 135 grados Fahrenheit. Se observaron cebollas cocidas (112 °F - Mantenimiento en caliente) en la línea de cocción. Según el cocinero, durante menos de 2 horas. Se le indicó al cocinero que recalentara el producto. Infracción reiterada.”

“El empleado se lavó las manos en un lavabo que no era uno de los autorizados. Se observó que el lavabo del mostrador principal no estaba en uso.”

“Superficie en contacto con alimentos sucia con restos de comida, una sustancia parecida al moho o una sustancia viscosa. Se observó que el abrelatas estaba sucio.”

“El lavamanos se usa para fines distintos al lavado de manos. Se observó que el lavamanos del mostrador principal se usaba para tirar café.”

“No se proporcionan toallas de papel ni secadores de manos mecánicos en el lavamanos. Observado en el lavamanos del mostrador principal.”

“No hay jabón en el lavamanos. Se observó en el lavamanos del mostrador principal.”

“Óxido superficial no corrosivo en equipos en contacto con alimentos.”

“Alimentos envasados ​​con oxígeno reducido sin texto en negrita sobre fondo contrastante u otra información requerida. Se observó carne de res cocida, carne de res cruda y pollo marinado crudo en la línea de cocción, todos envasados ​​con oxígeno reducido.”

“Acumulación de una sustancia negra/verdosa similar al moho en el interior de la máquina/contenedor de hielo. Se observó que el interior del contenedor de hielo, al abrir la tapa, estaba sucio con una sustancia similar al moho.”

“Recipiente sin asa utilizado para servir alimentos. Se observó un recipiente sin asa en el contenedor de harina cerca de la cámara frigorífica.”

“Acumulación de restos de comida/residuos de tierra en las manijas de las puertas de los equipos. Se observó manipulación de las manijas de las puertas de los refrigeradores en la línea de cocción. Infracción reiterada.”

“El cartón utilizado en el suelo como medida antideslizante no se reemplaza a diario ni cuando está muy sucio, lo que ocurra primero. Observado en la línea de cocción y en la cámara frigorífica de carne.”

“Se observó un recipiente de bebida de un empleado sobre una mesa de preparación de alimentos o encima/junto a equipos/utensilios limpios. También se observó un vaso de agua de un empleado almacenado en una mesa de preparación al otro lado de la línea de cocción.”

“Equipos y utensilios no secados al aire adecuadamente: apilados húmedos. Se observaron recipientes metálicos en los estantes cerca del fregadero para fregar.”

“Utensilio en uso almacenado en agua estancada a menos de 57 grados Celsius (135 grados Fahrenheit). Se observó el utensilio en agua estancada junto al lavamanos en la línea de cocción a 19 grados Celsius (67 grados Fahrenheit). Se le indicó al empleado que desechara el agua.”

“El interior del horno/microondas presenta acumulación de una sustancia negra/grasa/restos de comida. Se observó que el interior del microondas estaba sucio a lo largo de la línea de cocción con restos de comida vieja.”

“No hay cartel de ‘no se debe lavarse las manos’ en el lavamanos utilizado por los empleados de la cocina. Observado en el lavamanos del mostrador principal.”

“Se observó que el abrelatas estaba oxidado. Se observó que el imán del cuchillo estaba oxidado.”

“Se utilizó un paño de limpieza seco y sucio. Observado en la línea de cocción.”

“Agua estancada en el fondo del refrigerador. Se observó agua estancada en el refrigerador debajo de la máquina de café en las estaciones de servicio de camareros.”

“Se observó helado sin tapar en el congelador cerca de la estación de camareros. Se observó tomates cortados sin tapar en la cámara frigorífica de verduras. Infracción reiterada.”

**CAFÉ DE SUSHI

7917 CALLE 2 NO

WESTCHESTER

ORDEN DE CIERRE 15/4

Se detectaron 31 infracciones.

Se detectó actividad de roedores, como lo demuestran los excrementos encontrados. Se observaron aproximadamente 35 excrementos de roedores a lo largo de la pared debajo del mostrador de sushi, junto a, detrás y entre los refrigeradores en el área del bar de sushi.

“Se detectó actividad de cucarachas, como lo demuestra el hallazgo de cucarachas vivas. Se observó una cucaracha viva arrastrándose debajo del refrigerador ubicado frente a la línea de cocción.”

“Cucarachas muertas en el local. Se observaron 8 cucarachas muertas debajo del mostrador de la barra de sushi. Infracción reiterada.”

“Acumulación de aves, insectos, roedores u otras plagas muertas o atrapadas en los dispositivos de control. Se observaron cucarachas muertas pegadas a una trampa adhesiva debajo de la barra de sushi.”

“Se encontró en el establecimiento un pesticida/insecticida etiquetado para uso doméstico únicamente. Se observó una lata de pesticida doméstico almacenada debajo de un estante en la barra de sushi.”

“Acumulación de una sustancia negra/verdosa similar al moho en el interior de la máquina/contenedor de hielo. Infracción reiterada.”

“Acumulación de restos de comida/residuos de tierra en las manijas de las puertas de los equipos. Se observó que todas las manijas de los refrigeradores estaban sucias.”

“El techo/las baldosas del techo presentan daños o están en mal estado. Se observó que el techo estaba en mal estado encima de la cámara frigorífica.”

“El suelo está sucio y tiene acumulación de residuos. Se observó que el suelo estaba muy sucio con restos de comida vieja en las juntas de las baldosas y debajo de la línea de cocción/freidora.”

“El interior del horno/microondas presenta acumulación de una sustancia negra/grasa/restos de comida. Se observó suciedad en el interior del horno y del microondas en la barra de sushi. Infracción reiterada.”

Superficie que no entra en contacto con alimentos sucia de grasa, restos de comida, suciedad, lodo o polvo. Se observaron todas las juntas del refrigerador sucias. Se observó una gran acumulación de grasa entre la freidora y la parrilla en la línea de cocción.

“El interior y los estantes de los refrigeradores presentan acumulación de residuos de tierra. Se observó que el interior de todos los refrigeradores estaba muy sucio con restos de comida vieja. Infracción reiterada.”

Pared sucia con grasa acumulada, restos de comida y/o polvo. Se observó una pared muy sucia de grasa en la barra de sushi, debajo del mostrador y del lavamanos. Se observó una pared muy polvorienta en la cocina, junto a la campana extractora.

“El desinfectante de cloro del lavavajillas no tiene la concentración mínima adecuada. Suspenda el uso del lavavajillas para desinfectar y realice la desinfección manual hasta que el lavavajillas sea reparado y desinfecte correctamente. Se observó en el lavavajillas (cloro 0 ppm).”

“La superficie en contacto con los alimentos estaba sucia con restos de comida, una sustancia parecida al moho o una sustancia viscosa. Se observó la cuchilla de la cortadora de fiambres muy sucia con restos de comida vieja frente al área de lavado.”

“El empleado no se lavó las manos antes de ponerse los guantes para comenzar una tarea que implicaba el manejo de alimentos. Se observó que el empleado se cambió de guantes y comenzó a manipular equipos limpios y alimentos sin lavarse las manos entretanto.”

Hitting 30 or more violations in a single inspection isn’t a minor slip or a busy shift gone wrong. It’s a pattern. It’s breakdown after breakdown in the most basic food safety practices.

Leer en español

Below is a list of restaurants that racked up 30 or more violations on a recent inspection.

When employees aren’t washing their hands, when food is stored improperly, when sanitation is ignored, those are risks that can directly impact your health.

Thirty violations or more should never be normal. It signals a kitchen that has lost control of its own standards. That’s not just disappointing, it’s unacceptable. Do better.

The places ordered shut below were allowed to re-open following an ordered cleanup and then a re-inspection.

**KEY BISCAYNE YACHT CLUB 2ND FLOOR KITCHEN

1800 HARBOR DRIVE

KEY BISCAYNE

INSPECTION DATE 4/17

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. French onion soup inside walk in cooler cooling from the previous day at 56°F. Crab chowder soup inside walking cooler from the previous day at 56°F.”

“Dish machine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed chlorine Dishwasher machine no with o ppm chlorine solution.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed employee put on gloves no handwashing on bar area.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding), crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding) inside walk in cooler in main kitchen area. As per chef was prepared the day before.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed in different unit throughout the kitchen(49F - Cold Holding); grouper (46F - Cold Holding); white fish (44F - Cold Holding); Mac and cheese (42F - Cold Holding); octopus (42F - Cold Holding); French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding); conch chowder (44F - Cold Holding); crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding); raw beef (44F - Cold Holding); raw chicken (42F - Cold Holding); liquid egg (47F - Cold Holding) second walk in cooler-butter (33F - Cold Holding); shredded cheese (42F - Cold Holding); Cuban sandwich (42F - Cold Holding); lettuce (48F - Cold Holding) mahi (42F - Cold Holding); shrimp (175F - Cooking); skirt steak (159F - Cooking); lettuce (62F - Cold Holding); cut tomato (52F - Cold Holding); pineapple pickles (52F - Cold Holding); cabbage (51F); lobster (137F - Hot Holding); garlic in oil (77F - Cold Holding); butter (69F - Cold Holding); breaded steak (42F - Cold Holding) risotto (62F - Cold Holding) on top of prep table in 3 floor.”

“Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Observed hose Bibb in main kitchen wall behind grill station no vacuum breaker.”

“Food being cooled by nonapproved method as evidenced by inadequate rate of cooling during time of inspection. Food products under the cooling process covered inside the walk in cooler.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed knives that was soiled was stored inside holster in cook line.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed a Bain Mary inside hand washing sink located next to walk in cooler in the kitchen located in second floor.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed no paper towel in handwashing sink located in bar area- second floor.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no handwashing washing sign in second floor at handwashing sink at bar area, coffee area and 3 floor kitchen.”

“Water treatment device has not been inspected or serviced according to manufacturer’s instructions. Ice machine water filter with a 2023 replacement date.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed both ice machine with the interior soiled with mold like substance. Observed ice integrated ice buckets in the bar area with mold like substance.”

“Accumulation of debris on exterior of ware washing machine. Observed top of dishwasher machine soiled with dust.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a single used container used as a scoop inside sea salt container.”

“Clean equipment/utensils not stored at least 6 inches above the floor. Observed several cutting boards stored on the floor on main kitchen.”

“Clean ice scoop stored on a wall holster that was soiled.”

“Clean utensils or equipment stored in dirty drawer or rack. Observed pizza peel stored on top of pizza oven.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed yellow cutting boards stored with cut marks and is no longer cleanable across salad station.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed employee drink container stored on top of prep table next to salad station.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed employee personal phone stored on top of prep table across cook line.”

“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside. Observed a gap on exit kitchen door in main kitchen area.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed bag of flour on the kitchen area floor.”

“In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. Observed knives store between two prep table across cooking line.”

“In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed tongs on oven handles in kitchen area.”

“In-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed throughout kitchen area utensils in standing water 79F.”

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

“No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees. Observed no handwashing sign at handwashing sink in second floor kitchen bar area, and 3 floor kitchen area.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed the top of pizza oven, and kitchen oven-soiled with dust.”

“Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses. Observed wet wiping clothes throughout entire kitchen not stored in sanitizer solution.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Container with Flour no labels.”

**CALUSA RESTAURANT-BAKER’S CAY RESORT KEY LARGO

97000 S. OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

KEY LARGO

INSPECTION DATE 4/8

32 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Dented/rusted cans present. See stop sale. Observed a dented can of tomato sauce.”

“Dish machine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed high temperature at dishwasher was 154.7°F Operator was advised to discontinue the use of dishwasher and set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee removed bracelets and then engaged in food preparation without washing hands. Employee was coached and washed hands.”

“Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed temperature at dishwasher aching reached 154°F . Operator was advised to discontinue the use of the dishwasher until it reach 160°F-180°F. The will set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Live, small flying insects found . Observed 5 live flies flying around the storage of the sodas by the ice machine.”

“Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed cooked octopus stored u dear raw shrimp inside the walk in cooler. Chef placed octopus on top.”

“Shell eggs in use or stored with cracks or broken shells. See stop sale. Observed 3 shell eggs with cracks stored inside the walk in cooler.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Clam/mussel/oyster tags not maintained in chronological order according to the last date they were served in the establishment.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed can opener soiled by the production area. Repeat Violation.”

“Manager or person in charge lacking proof of food manager certification. Observed Eddie Hernandez (2 months) did nit provided manger certificate.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“No plan review submitted and approved - bar area added. Must submit plans and plan review application to DBPR H and R Plan Review office... Observed a coffee station was added to this license... They have a small truck with not hand wash sink serving coffees and 2 tables, one with a hot box serving empanadas and a reach in cooler with fruit salad and yogurt. Operator needs to add this location to plans review.”

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

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a plastic container used as scoop inside the flour.”

“Carbon dioxide/helium tanks not adequately secured. Observed carbon dioxide tank not secured next to the ice machine. Employee removed it.”

“Ceiling tile missing. Observed 1 ceiling tile missing above mop sink.. Repeat Violation.”

“Cold holding equipment not maintained in good repair. Do not store time/temperature control for safety food in this unit until the unit is repaired. Observed reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line is not working properly. Ambient thermometer was at 56°F.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board no longer cleanable across from the grill at the front line.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed 2 employee beverages on preparation tables.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed 2 employee lunch bags stored above preparation tables in the kitchen.”

“Employee wearing jewelry other than a plain ring on their hands/arms while preparing food. Observed employee wearing multiple bracelets.”

“Equipment and utensils not properly air-dried - wet nesting. Observed metal containers not properly air-dried - wet nesting stored on shelf by production area.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor soiled with accumulation of grease behind the grill at the cook line.”

“Ice buildup in walk-in freezer.”

“In-use wet wiping cloth/towel used under cutting board. Observed a wiping cloth under green cutting board at production area.”

“No conspicuously located ambient air temperature thermometer in holding unit. Observed no ambient thermometer in reach in coolers at the front line.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed reach in cooler door gaskets soiled. Also observed hood filters soiled.”

“Utensils in poor condition. Observed reach in cooler door gasket torn at the cook line.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall behind grill at cook line soiled with accumulated grease.”

**DON CAMARON GRILL & MARKET

501 NW 37TH AVE

MIAMI

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 4/16

33 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Seafood prep area: 2 live roaches crawling on the floor by the prep sink and underneath a table by the prep sink.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Seafood prep area: 2 dead roaches on the floor: Back area cookline: 1 dead roach on the floor. By the large mixer nearby the walk in cooler: 1 dead roach on the floor behind the large mixer Prep table in front of the main cookline: 1 dead roach by on the table by a container without wrapped utensils. Small cook area: 1 dead fly inside the reach in cooler with bottled sodas and water bottles.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Dining room: 2 live flies landed on tables. Ceviche area, by the glass display: approximately 4 live flies on flying throughout the area and 1 on the glass display case. Seafood prep area: 4 live flies resting on the prep table and 2 live flies on the prep sink. Main kitchen: 2 live flies flying throughout the ware wash and cook line area.”

“Employee has not received adequate training related to their assigned duties as evidenced by lack of general knowledge in performing their assigned duties. Observed employee by the cookline touch raw fish place on the flat top grill and grabbed a plate put a container in the plate to hold tortillas for soft tacos without removing gloves and washing hands. Observed employee scraping a pot at the three compartment sink and then pick up strainer to take out cooked pasta noodles without removing gloves and washing hands.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. All food storage containers soiled, dry storage area. Cutting boards on the flip-top reach in cooler soiled.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Throughout the prep kitchen.

Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Back area by the dry goods storage container outside."

“Raw in-shell clams/mussels/oysters received at greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Delivery, left in the kitchen: oysters (57-58F - Cold Holding), as per operator, received 30 minutes before the inspection, Operator placed inside the walk cooler, second temperature 20 minutes later, oysters (49-51F - Cooling).”

“Outer openings not protected during operation and vermin and/or environmental cross contamination present. Observed the bay doors by the small cookline/seating area at the seafood market open during operation. Advised the manager to keep the doors closed, observed fans in the outside, not on.”

**CASAVANA CUBAN CUISINE

13600 SW 152ND ST.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI DADE

INSPECTION DATE 4/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Date marked combined ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food not consumed/sold within 7 days of preparing/opening the earliest ready-to-eat time/temperature for safety ingredient. See stop sale. Observed container of cheese label with date mark 4/02/2026 at meat walk in cooler.”

“Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Observed food employee began preparing coffee. No handwash.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed food employee put on gloves to prepare fries no handwash. Observed food employee put on gloves and then began preparing tortillas eggs.

“Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employees at cook line.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employee touched soiled reach in cooler door handle. And then began preparing eggs. No handwash.”

“Food placed in soiled container/equipment. Observed flour stored in soiled container with food residue next to vegetables walk in cooler.”

“Operator not complying with the procedures stated in the Process Waiver or HACCP plan approved by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. Observed establishment not labeling products cook beef, raw beef, raw marinaded chicken at cook line all in ROP. after being removed from labeled boxes. Observed establishment temperature log not completed for January, 2026. Observed establishment not cutting the bags while putting the products to thaw at reach in cooler in the cook line.”

“Ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food marked with a date that exceeds 7 days after opening/preparation. Observed container of cheese label with date mark 4/02/2026 at meat walk in cooler. “Repeat Violation.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cooked onions (112F - Hot Holding) at cook line. As per cook for less than 2 hours. Advised cook to reheat product. Repeat Violation.”

“Employee washed hands in a sink other than an approved handwash sink. Observed handwash sink at front counter not in used.”

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

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed handwash sink at front counter used to dump coffee.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed at front counter handwash sink.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed at front counter handwash sink.”

“Non-pitting surface rust on food-contact equipment.”

“Reduced oxygen packaged food lacking bold type on contrasting background, or other required information. Observed cook beef, raw beef, raw marinaded chicken at cook line all in ROP.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed interior of ice bin when open the top soiled with mold like substance.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed bowl with no handle at flour bin near the walk in cooler.”

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed reach in cooler door handles at cook line. Repeat Violation.”

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

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed employee cup of water stored at prep table across cook line.”

“Equipment and utensils not properly air-dried - wet nesting. Observed metal containers at shelves near mop sink.”

“In-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed utensil in standing water next to handwash sink at cook line 67F. Advised employee to discard water.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris. Observed interior of microwaves soiled across cook line with old food debris.”

“No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees. Observed at front counter handwash sink.”

“Observed can opener rusted. Observed knife magnet rusted.”

“Soiled dry wiping cloth in use. Observed at cook line.”

“Standing water in bottom of reach-in-cooler. Observed standing water at reach in cooler under coffee machine at waitress stations.”

“Observed ice cream not covered at reach in freezer near waitress station. Observed cut tomatoes not cover at vegetables walk in cooler. Repeat Violation.”

**SUSHI CAFE

7917 NW 2ND STREET

WESTCHESTER

ORDERED SHUT 4/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 35+ rodent droppings along wall underneath sushi counter next to, behind, and in between reach in coolers in sushi bar area.”

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed 1 live roach crawling underneath reach in cooler across from cook line.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed 8 dead roaches under sushi bar counter. Repeat Violation.”

“Accumulation of dead or trapped birds, insects, rodents, or other pests, in control devices. Observed dead roaches stuck on glue trap under sushi bar.”

“Pesticide/insecticide labeled for household use only present in establishment. Observed can of household pesticide stored under shelf in sushi bar.”

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

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed all reach in cooler handles soiled.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tile shows damage or is in disrepair. Observed ceiling in disrepair above walk in cooler.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor heavily soiled with old food debris inside of tile grouts and underneath cook line/fryer.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris. Observed interior of oven and microwave soiled at sushi bar. Repeat Violation.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed all reach in cooler gaskets soiled. Observed heavy grease buildup in between fryer and grill on cook line.”

“Reach-in cooler interior/shelves have accumulation of soil residues. Observed interior of all reach in coolers heavily soiled with old food debris. Repeat Violation.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall heavily soiled with grease in sushi bar underneath counter and hand sink. Observed wall heavily dusted in kitchen next to hood.”

“Dish machine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed Dishwasher (Chlorine 0ppm).”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed deli slicer blade heavily soiled with old food debris across from dish area.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed employee changed pair of gloves and began to handle clean equipment and food without washing hands in between.”

Ahora es una mujer trans pero al nacer fue identificada como varón en San Pedro Jicayán, una comunidad indígena del sur de México donde es mal visto que un hombre quiera tejer.

Merino tendría que haber cuidado del ganado o trabajado la tierra, pero su abuela desafió esas estrictas normas de género para enseñarle a usar el telar de cintura.

“Ella me comienza compartir del saber del telar de forma oculta,” dijo Merino. “Me enseñó a hacer el hilo desde cero, a sentir las texturas y respetar a la naturaleza.”

El linaje materno de Merino proviene del pueblo mixteco, donde relatos preservados en códices rastrean el nacimiento de dioses y dinastías a paisajes sagrados. Su ascendencia paterna es zapoteca, donde la vida religiosa sigue entretejida en lo cotidiano, desde la cosecha hasta el matrimonio y la muerte.

Una de las lecciones más valiosas que aprendió de su abuela fue devolver a la tierra lo que tomes de ella. Los tejedores de su comunidad, dijo Merino, hacen herramientas para tejer con el árbol de tamarindo pero encuentran modos de retribuir lo prestado.

“Dentro de nuestra cosmovisión está siempre tener respeto a la tierra”, señaló Merino. “Porque es la que nos brinda todo lo que tenemos”.

Tanto su legado ancestral como su identidad de género hoy juegan un papel decisivo en su vida.

Además de identificarse como una mujer trans, Merino también se reconoce como “muxe”. El término está arraigado en la cultura zapoteca y se refiere a personas indígenas nacidas con sexo masculino que asumen roles femeninos. También puede considerarse un tercer género.

Merino dedica la mayor parte de su tiempo a la confección de textiles y a ofrecer talleres que no sólo enseñan a tejer, sino a emplear el telar como acto de resistencia.

“Todas las personas somos capaces de aprender a tejer y no solamente se trata de crear una pieza, sino de tejer nuestras propias historias,” dijo Merino durante un taller que ofreció recientemente en Ciudad de México para personas LGBTQ+. “También en el telar nos conocemos.”

El precio de desafiar las normas

Hubo un tiempo en que Merino fue castigada por tejer. Tenía unos 15 años cuando algunos vecinos la sorprendieron frente a su telar mientras iban de camino a una fiesta patronal.

El resto del a tarde siguió como si nada. Los devotos rezaron y compartieron alimentos. Pero al día siguiente, en los altavoces dispersos por la comunidad, una voz llamó a los hombres a reunirse para discutir un asunto serio y urgente: un chico se había atrevido a tejer.

Los hombres hicieron un círculo y ordenaron a Merino que se quedara en medio. Junto a ella estaban su madre y abuela.

Alguien preguntó a esta última por qué le estaba enseñando a tejer si no era una actividad propia de los varones. “¿Qué le estás enseñando a las demás infancias?”, siguió.

Merino recuerda que la respuesta de su abuela fue simple: Lo que hizo no tenía nada de malo. Simplemente le enseñó cómo ser una persona creativa y mantener su cultura viva a través del vestido.

Un distanciamiento

El castigo de Merino por su atrevimiento fue barrer la iglesia local. Después de eso siguió tejiendo de manera ocasional a escondidas, pero la experiencia le dejó un mal sabor de boca y la distanció de su telar.

“Me surgió un resentimiento muy fuerte con el textil y con los usos y costumbres,” dijo Merino. “Tener la habilidad de crear y que no se te permita hacerlo era como tener ojos y me los quitaran. Ya no podía ver.”

Se reconcilió con los hilos unos cuatro años después, cuando se mudó a Ciudad de México para estudiar la universidad.

Ahí cursó la carrera de Comunicación, donde abordó materias como gestión cultural, estudios textiles y enfoques poscoloniales sobre la resistencia de los pueblos originarios.

“Me ayudó a hacerme entender que podía ocupar mi realidad para un bien”, dijo Merino. “Y para mí el telar fue un método de sanación”.

Lecciones del telar

Durante su último taller, una alumna que ya había tomado clase con Merino contó a sus compañeros que el telar es un espejo de su tejedor. La dicha y la calma — al igual que el enojo y la angustia — se transmiten a los hilos al tejer.

“Me gusta mucho la manera de enseñar de Xan porque es muy relajada, muy humana y nos va enseñando con paciencia”, dijo más tarde Emilia Freire, una mujer trans al igual que Merino, a The Associated Press. “Me hizo ver que todas las cosas que yo traía de mi semana, el día que llegaba el taller podía sacarlas”.

Otro estudiante, Kristhian Cravioto, explicó que era su primer taller de telar de cintura. Celebró que existiera un espacio seguro para personas LGBTQ+ interesadas en textiles y que Merino desafiara los prejuicios de que los hombres no deben tejer.

“Es muy importante para las disidencias”, dijo Cravioto, un diseñador que se siente fascinado por las artes indígenas de México. “Saber que como disidencia, sin importar si eres hombre o si eres mujer, sirves de algo”.

El telar como legado

Un telar de cintura tradicional está compuesto por cuerdas, hilos y varas de madera ensambladas en una estructura portátil. Las mujeres suelen trabajar sentadas en el suelo, con un extremo del telar atado a un árbol o poste y el otro sujeto a su cintura.

Inclinándose hacia atrás y hacia adelante, controlan la tensión de los hilos con el cuerpo, convirtiendo el movimiento en un ritmo constante de tejido.

Terminar cada pieza toma tiempo. Merino suele tejer por más de un mes, unas ocho horas al día, sólo para terminar un “huipil” corto, como se denomina a una túnica tradicional que usan las mujeres Indígenas de México.

Algunos tejedores que migraron de sus pueblos a las ciudades usan hilos y madera disponible en sus nuevos hogares. Merino, en cambio, viaja de vuelta a casa para traer su materia prima. Entre esos recursos destaca un tinte púrpura obtenido de un caracol que habita en la costa, un recurso que se ha vuelto cada vez más difícil de recolectar a medida que la especie disminuye.

La nostalgia por su comunidad nunca se apaga, pero Merino se siente confortada por el hecho de que, siguiendo su ejemplo, miembros más jóvenes de la comunidad LGBTQ+ de San Pedro Jicayán se han atrevido a tejer.

“Hay otras cinco mujeres trans y dos hombres tejiendo”, dijo Merino. “Ya estamos siendo visibles a partir del tejido y para eso ha sido esta lucha”.

___

La cobertura religiosa de The Associated Press recibe apoyo a través de una colaboración con The Conversation US, con fondos del Lilly Endowment Inc. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido.

American authors take four of the six places on the shortlist for the 30,000 pounds ($40,000) prize, announced Wednesday by a judging panel led by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Among them are bestselling writer Lily King’s campus-set romance “Heart the Lover” and Susan Choi’s twisty family saga “Flashlight,” a finalist for last year’s Booker Prize.

First novels making the list include U.S. writer Virginia Evans’ “The Correspondent,” a novel told in letters with an older woman as protagonist that became a slow-burn hit after its release in 2025; and Addie E. Citchens’ “Dominion,” a story of power and patriarchy centered on a Black church in Mississippi.

Rounding out the list are two debut novels by British writers: Marcia Hutchinson’s “The Mercy Step,” a girl’s coming-of-age story set in northern England, and Rozie Kelly’s tale of love and grief, “Kingfisher.”

Gillard, who was Australia’s leader between 2010 and 2013, said the books are all page-turners with intriguing characters that explore “power — where it lies, where it doesn’t lie. How you find the ability to chart your own life course, what it means to potentially have others that are pushing you in different directions as you try and chart that life course.”

The number of debut novelists doesn’t mean the authors lack experience. Hutchinson is a former lawyer in her 60s, while Evans wrote seven unpublished novels before finding international success with “The Correspondent.”

“I think the way the publishing industry is working now, there are quite a number of authors coming to the fore for whom being a fiction author is well and truly a second act in a life that has brought other careers,” said Gillard.

“I’m delighted to see that,” Gillard told The Associated Press — though she is not in a rush to join them. While former leaders including Bill Clinton in the U.S. and Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland have written or co-written political thrillers, Gillard says she is not working on a novel.

“Never say never, but I’m not sure about that,” said Gillard, who has written a memoir and nonfiction books about women and leadership. “But I’m a fiction lover, a fiction reader, and it’s been just fantastic to have this experience” as a Women’s Prize judge.

Next, the five judges will meet to choose a winner. Previous winners of the fiction prize, founded in 1996, include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and Barbara Kingsolver. A sister prize for nonfiction was founded in 2024.

Winners of both prizes will be announced June 11 at a ceremony in London.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun are visiting Cambodia to hold talks with their counterparts, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Defense Minister Tea Seiha.

These talks are an initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit in April last year, aimed at boosting relations and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. China has worked to increase its sphere of influence in Southeast Asia, and initiated the ministerial-level “2+2” dialogue format with Indonesia last year.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that Wang Yi will also visit Thailand and Myanmar following his stop in Cambodia.

While in Cambodia, both Chinese ministers are also to hold separate meetings with Senate President Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet. Following the joint “2+2” meeting, Wang Yi on Thursday is scheduled to have in-depth discussions with Prak Sokhonn to discuss the implementation of existing cooperation frameworks and contributions to regional peace, security and stability.

No details of any of the meetings were immediately available from Cambodian officials.

China is the largest investor and aid donor for Cambodia, which stands as Beijing’s closest political partner in Southeast Asia. Their bilateral trade reached $19.73 billion last year, overwhelmingly in China’s favor.

The close relations fuel suspicions among analysts and the U.S. government that a Chinese-funded project to upgrade Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base will be used as a strategic military outpost by China. Construction at the base, located on the Gulf of Thailand, last year saw the completion of a new pier to accommodate larger ships, a dry dock for repairs and other features.

Washington has publicly expressed the concern that Beijing has been secretly granted exclusive privileges to use the base, though Cambodian officials have repeatedly denied the accusations. At the opening of the base expansion in April last year, Prime Minister Hun Manet specifically denied these allegations, declaring that the expansion wasn't hidden from other countries.

Three months ago, the USS Cincinnati, with a crew of about 100, became the first U.S. Navy warship to dock at the facility since its Chinese-funded renovation was completed.

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That bill is now on the desk of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, awaiting his signature before it becomes law.

When you’re rung up at the register and pay with cash, if your total ends in 1 or 2 cents, they’ll round down to zero, and 3 or 4 cents will get rounded up to a nickel.

Florida’s change would mostly affect businesses like convenience stores that often deal in cash.

Mario, a cashier at a Shell gas station in Hollywood, says he only sees maybe a few pennies an entire day; it’s pretty rare, so he’s not surprised.

“Lots of people don’t have pennies,” he said. “When I give back the pennies, they leave it here for some other customer who needs it. No there’s no more pennies anymore.”

A customer who said he understands the change, gave his two cents on the matter.

“I got the silver pennies, I got the wheat pennies, regular pennies, and Indian heads,” said customer Dara. “I kinda saw it coming. Things are getting more expensive and pennies are gonna be useless soon.”

Last year, the U.S. Mint officially stopped making new pennies because they cost more to make than they’re worth at this point.

Albert Williams is an economics professor at Nova Southeastern University’s Huizenga School of Business.

He said it costs almost 4 cents to make a single penny.

“We’re gonna make transactions a little bit easier, I think,” he said. “It’s kinda a no-brainer. Why would you want to make something that’s worth one penny that’s costing nearly four pennies to make?”

Now a transgender woman, she was identified at birth as a boy in San Pedro Jicayán, an Indigenous community in southern Mexico where men are largely barred from becoming weavers.

Merino was expected to tend cattle or work in the fields. Yet her grandmother defied those rigid gender norms, passing on to her the ancestral practice of the backstrap loom — an ancient, portable device operated using a strap secured around the weaver’s waist.

“She began sharing her knowledge with me in secret,” said Merino, who used to hide in her grandmother’s adobe home to weave at age 13. “She taught me how to make the thread from scratch, to feel the textures and respect nature.”

Merino’s maternal lineage comes from the Mixtec people, where origin stories trace the birth of gods and dynasties to sacred landscapes. Her paternal ancestry is Zapotec, where religious life remains woven into everyday moments, from harvest to marriage and death.

Giving back to the land

One of her grandmother’s most cherished lessons was to give back to the land whatever you take from it. Weavers in her community, Merino said, make the rods that they use to control thread tension out of branches from tamarind trees and find ways to restore what they borrow.

“To care for nature is part of our worldview,” Merino said. “Because it provides us with what we need to walk this world.”

Both her ancestral legacy and her gender identity now play a decisive role in her life. In addition to being a trans woman, Merino identifies as a “muxe.” The term is rooted in Zapotec culture and refers to Indigenous people identified at birth as male who take on women’s roles. It can also be regarded as a third gender.

Merino makes a living as a weaver and instructor, hosting workshops on how the backstrap loom can serve as a craft and an act of resistance.

“Everyone is capable of learning how to weave, and it’s not just about creating a piece,” she said during a recent class she led in Mexico City for LGBTQ+ people. “It’s also about weaving our own stories, as we can come to know ourselves through the loom.”

Defiance bears a cost

Merino was once punished for weaving. She was around 15 when neighbors spotted her kneeling, threads in her hands, on their way to a patron saint feast.

That afternoon went by without incident. Parishioners prayed, laughed and shared a meal. But the following morning, through loudspeakers across the community, a voice called on all men to gather and discuss an urgent matter: There was a boy who dared to weave.

The men sat in a circle while Merino was commanded to stand in the middle, next to her mother and her grandmother.

As Merino recalls, one of the men asked her grandmother, “Why would you allow him to weave, if it’s not something boys are supposed to do? Do you realize what kind of example you’re setting for other children?”

Merino said that her grandmother’s answer was simple: She was merely teaching a child how to be creative, to find a path to keep her culture alive through clothing.

A punishment that lingered

Merino’s punishment for her defiance was sweeping the local church. She occasionally wove in hiding after that. But the experience cast a shadow over her craft and she practically abandoned her loom.

“I developed a deep resentment toward textiles and the customs around them,” Merino said. “Having the ability to create and not being allowed to use it was like having eyes and having them taken away — I could no longer see.”

Reconciliation came a few years later, when she moved from her hometown to Mexico City for college. She majored in communications; her coursework included cultural management, textile studies and postcolonial perspectives on Indigenous resistance.

“That made me see how I could use my reality for a greater good,” she said. “My loom became a means to healing.”

A space to be seen

During her latest workshop, one of Merino’s students who had previously taken another course with her told her classmates that a loom mirrors oneself. The joy and the calmness — as much as the anger and stress, she said — are passed on to the threads.

“I love Xan’s way of teaching because she is very human and patient,” Emilia Freire, a trans woman like Merino, told The Associated Press. “She made me realize that once I had my weaving set up and began to work, everything I carried with me through the week would come out.”

Another student, Kristhian Cravioto, said that this was his first backstrap loom workshop. He celebrated finding a safe space for LGBTQ+ people interested in crafts, and also Merino’s defiance against the preconception that men shouldn't weave.

“This is very important for us dissidents,” said Cravioto, a designer and enthusiast of Mexico’s Indigenous crafts. “To know that no matter whether you are a man or a woman, what you do matters.”

Threads that endure

A traditional backstrap loom is made up of cords, threads and wooden rods assembled into a portable frame. Women often work seated on the ground, with one end of the loom tied to a tree or post and the other secured around their waist. Leaning back and forward, they control the tension of the threads with their bodies, turning movement into a steady rhythm of weaving.

Crafting each piece takes time. Merino often weaves for about a month, eight hours a day, to finish a short “huipil,” a tunic traditionally worn by Indigenous women in Mexico.

Weavers who migrated from their hometowns often employ threads and wood available in the cities where they relocate. But Merino travels back home to procure her raw materials. Among them is a purple dye drawn from a sea snail found along the coast, a resource that has become increasingly difficult to gather as the species declines.

The nostalgia for her hometown never leaves her, but Merino takes comfort in the fact that younger LGBTQ+ people in her community have followed her example and become weavers in San Pedro Jicayán.

“At least five trans women and two men are weaving,” she said. “We have gained visibility through the loom and that’s what this fight has been about.”

___

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

A majority on the three-judge panel from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the Florida-run facility wasn’t under federal control and didn’t need to comply with federal law requiring an environmental impact review.

“Florida, not federal, officials constructed the facility,” a majority of the judges wrote. “They control the land and ‘entirely’ built the facility at state expense.”

At the time of U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ preliminary injunction, Florida had received no federal reimbursement, the appellate majority wrote. Williams concluded that a reimbursement decision already had been made.

The appeals court paused Williams’ order just days after she issued it last August, pending a hearing. The hearing was held earlier this month in Miami.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, two of the environmental groups that had brought the lawsuit, said they would continue fighting as the case returns to the district court for further litigation.

“This fight is far from over,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Alligator Alcatraz was hastily erected in one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country without the most basic environmental review, at immense human and ecological cost.”

State officials opened the Everglades detention center last summer to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Earlier this month, a lawyer for two people detained there said in court papers that guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed detainees.

In a dissent to the appellate panel’s ruling, Judge Nancy Abudu wrote that immigration is a federal responsibility, and just because Florida built an immigration detention facility, it doesn’t allow the federal government to abdicate its authority.

“The facility would not, and could not, have been built and used as an immigration detention center without the federal defendants’ request,” Abudu said. “The evidence of federal control perhaps is most apparent when we acknowledge that immigration remains uniquely and exclusively within the federal government’s domain.”

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

Calling his father and uncle gusanos — or worms, a Spanish-language term coined by Castro to denigrate those fleeing the island — the agent seized the bank and in an instant dispossessed a family that arrived from Spain in the 16th century.

“They told them this was now the people’s bank,” said Valdes-Fauli, an attorney and former mayor of the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. “They couldn’t even take family pictures off the walls of their office.”

Seven decades later such traumatic episodes are resurfacing with urgency, as President Donald Trump’s threats of military intervention, backed by a naval blockade of fuel shipments that has brought the island’s already-anemic economy to its knees, have spawned negotiations between Washington and Havana. Many Cuban Americans are convinced that 2026 could — finally — be the year of regime change on the communist-run island.

But that cautious optimism among exiles is tempered by concern they could be cut out. Their nightmare scenario: a repeat of what happened recently in Venezuela, where Trump ousted Nicolás Maduro only to join forces with his former allies in a partnership where demands for democracy are taking a back seat to oil industry dealmaking.

“I hope that he doesn’t do what he did in Venezuela, which is keep the thieves in power,” said Valdes-Fauli, who married a Venezuelan.

An emotional element of the talks, and one of the toughest to resolve, is the potential for hundreds of thousands of legal claims by Cuban Americans whose homes, businesses and land were seized after Castro took power in 1959.

New hope for getting compensation

Nick Gutiérrez’s home is full of fading land titles, black-and-white photographs and obscure books including one torn-apart tome — “The Owners of Cuba, 1958” — that describes the 550 biggest fortunes taken over by the revolution.

As president of the National Association of Cuban Landowners in Exile, Gutiérrez advises Cuban exile families on how to seek compensation for the forced collectivism. For decades that was a lonely mission relegated to the legal fringes, because there was never any hope of getting Cuba to pay.

“A lot of it just fell on deaf ears,” Gutiérrez said.

But with rising speculation about possible regime change, real interest in the issue has exploded among those who previously saw costly litigation as a fool’s errand, as well as younger Cuban American entrepreneurs eager to help rebuild a country they barely know but whose heritage they proudly carry.

“Now we’re talking about the existential issue of whether the Cuban dictatorship will survive until next month,” said Gutiérrez, whose parents fled the island two years before he was born.

Resolving the claims

Untangling property claims in Cuba is akin to battling a multiheaded hydra, said Robert Muse, a Washington attorney who specializes in U.S. laws relating to Cuba.

In the hierarchy of property losses, those with the strongest standing under U.S. law are the 5,913 claims certified by the Justice Department in 1972 for $1.9 billion. They include corporations like ExxonMobil and Marriott International whose assets were seized as part of Castro’s nationalization drive of everything from oil refineries and the telephone system to hair salons and shoeshine stands.

Under U.S. law those claims — worth $10 billion today — must be resolved for a full restoration of economic and diplomatic relations. In practice, however, the executive branch is authorized to assume control of private losses for a lump-sum payment and fold the dispute into any settlement with Havana.

In a break from the past, Cuba has signaled a willingness to discuss the claims — as part of a broader conversation over its demand for compensation for damages wrought by the U.S. trade embargo, enacted in 1962.

A thornier issue is Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. The law allows exiles to sue any company deemed to be “trafficking” in property confiscated by Cuba.

All past U.S. presidents suspended Title III because of objections from U.S. allies doing business in Cuba. Similarly, many exiles viewed the legislation as an empty threat because of the remote prospect of ever collecting from a bankrupt government.

But Trump lifted the suspension in 2019, and about 50 lawsuits have since been filed. The floodgates to more claims could open soon depending on two cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this year.

One of the cases, brought by Exxon, seeks $1 billion from Cuban state-owned entities. The other was filed by the Delaware-based company, Havana Docks, against four cruise liners that paid Cuba’s government to disembark nearly 1 million tourists at a port it once operated after President Barack Obama reestablished diplomatic relations.

Will Trump strike a deal?

Muse likened the legal risks of doing business in Cuba to a “stalactite” formed over several decades, deterring investment and political compromise.

“You can’t have a restitution remedy for hundreds of thousands of claimants,” Muse said. “It’s unworkable.”

However if Havana’s stated aim to attract foreign capital is sincere, it has incentives to cut deals with Cuban Americans willing to invest in the country, Gutiérrez said. A model for that would be the former Communist states in Eastern Europe that compensated for property seizures at the conclusion of the Cold War, helping their economies surge ahead.

Trump, Muse said, may have the right mix of business sense, impatience with convention and political freedom as a second-term president to work through the complex mess. A signal that he is unlikely to be bogged down by legal haggling, Muse added, was when he hosted oil executives at the White House following Maduro’s ouster and told them they would have to write off any unpaid claims from asset seizures in Venezuela.

Gutiérrez worries that Trump’s eagerness for a trophy that has evaded 12 Democratic and Republican presidents could get the better of him. But he is reassured by the president’s longstanding friendship with Cuban Americans who are among his most ardent supporters.

“Trump doesn’t have moral qualms of doing business with bad guys,” Gutiérrez said. “But he knows how important this is to us, and that gives us some comfort he won’t sell us out.”

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The fire is about 25 percent contained.

Kevin MacEwen, the Florida Forest Service’s Everglades District manager and forest area supervisor, said there were three crews in all-terrain carriers on the ground.

“It has got a tank with 500 gallons of water on it,” MacEwen said. “It has got wide tracks, it’s a fairly light vehicle, and it’s made to go within the Everglades.”

MacEwen said the crews and a helicopter were working to keep the fire away from the traffic on the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 27.

“Fortunately, the wind is flowing east, and it’s pushing the fire away from us,” MacEwen said, adding the wind was gusting over 20 mph amid a “historical drought.”

A Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue helicopter responded to drop water over remote hot spots west of Weston, according to BSFR Battalion Chief Michael B. Kane.

BSFR requested assistance from the Florida Forest Service, as flames burned under power lines west of Highway 27 and mile marker 45, according to Kane.

Local 10 News Weather Authority meteorologist Brandon Orr warned drivers that the fire’s smoke could impact visibility on Alligator Alley.

Florida has been enduring one of the worst droughts in 15 years, so the Florida Forest Service has had to deal with more wildfires than usual.

“We probably still have another six to nine weeks of this,” MacEwen said.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

Afternoon reports

Weather Authority report

They were activists meeting to figure out how to better fight against worsening climate change, a cause usually associated with failure, sacrifice and doom.

Across the world, groups of activists, teachers and psychologists are tackling one of the planet's most daunting problems with laughter, dancing, hugs and most especially joy. With a heavy emphasis on what works psychologically, seminars, books and college classes are trying to change how people approach climate change, by talking more about community and happiness than sacrifice. Earth Day, founded in 1970, has become a day of both protest and celebration, its founders say.

“I believe that joy is all the more necessary and maybe all the more holy in difficult times,” said Katharine Wilkinson, an activist who led the Hudson Valley seminar that got the other groups' notice. “Joy is like, how do we take part in the shimmy and the shimmer even as the world lurches?”

People like Wilkinson want to harness happiness to power those fighting to curb the burning of coal, oil and gas and the heat-trapping gases they emit, causing Earth to warm. In a recent speech at American University, Wilkinson called power and joy “a really potent portal to the gifts that we want to offer in this time of immense trouble and yet also immense possibility.”

Some psychologists call such thinking healthy and helpful.

“Joy is what made our species survive in the first place,” said Jiaying Zhao, a professor of psychology and sustainability at the University of British Columbia. “If we’re rewarded, reinforced by it, then we continue doing it. We spill over. We become contagious. We get others on board.”

Often that's with a laugh.

“Laughter is really one of the best strategies for coping with stress,” said Julia Kim-Cohen, a clinical psychology professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “So there are physiological benefits to laughter. The science shows that it reduces blood pressure and relaxes people’s nervous systems. And so when we’re relaxed through laughter, I think that helps us feel our hearts open to one another. Sharing laughter I think is this ancient, evolutionarily wired thing that humans do to connect.”

First, face some hard realities

But reality is still key, said Christiana Figueres.

Figueres was the United Nations climate chief in 2015 when she helped shepherd the groundbreaking Paris climate deal that sought to limit Earth's warming. At that summit, Figueres said she felt she succeeded because she listened to everyone “deeply with an open heart and an open mind to what people are saying and especially what they're not saying” to find some common ground. And at night she and her staff danced to feel joy.

Figueres later founded Global Optimism, an activist group that put its mindset in its name, and she also runs seminars across the globe that involve joy, dancing and reality.

“We cannot turn our back to the suffering and the grief and the eco-anxiety and all that family of emotions because they are very there,” Figueres said. “Not to deny reality, not to deny the challenges that we have — that's step No. 1.

Figueres said the trick is “to anchor ourselves precisely in the pain and the suffering, embrace the pain, and the suffer” and then turn it into something good. She likened it to converting nasty kitchen waste into compost and fertilizer for a beautiful garden.

In this case it's accepting these emotions and converting them to “a sense of agency” so people can try to the change the world, she said.

Wilkinson, who runs seminars called Climate Wayfinding and a has an upcoming book of the same name, said she invites the darker emotions into her seminars because “when those come in then we also open space for the pendulum to go to the other side.”

And that's where laughter, joke-telling, hugging and dancing happen.

Joy is a message that works better than sacrifice

For years, governments and activists have talked about consuming less — such as energy and meat — to save the planet.

“If we have to win the fight against climate change by getting people to give up the things they enjoy, I don’t think we’re going to win the fight,” said University of British Columbia psychology professor Elizabeth Dunn.

Emphasizing sacrifice “is counterproductive,” said Zhao, who teamed with Dunn to write the book “Leave the Lights On.”

“Instead of asking people to sacrifice the things that bring them joy, our book is making the exact opposite claim: Do more of the stuff that brings you pleasure but also have a low carbon footprint,” she said.

“We’re actually trying to get people to change their behaviors. And joy is the missing ingredient here,” Zhao said. “All we’re saying is give this a shot.”

Dunn, using biking to work as an example, said, “If we enjoy doing something, it is a lot easier to stick with it.”

From ‘eco-pooper’ to making students happy talking about climate disasters

Even though she teaches psychology, including a class on the psychology of climate change, Kim-Cohen said she used to approach fighting climate change all wrong.

“I was that person at the cocktail party bringing up, you know, have you have you heard about the latest wildfire? Have you seen the flood in Spain?” Kim-Cohen said. “It was such a downer. I was such a pooper. There’s actually a term called ‘eco pooper.’ I was that person. And it didn’t work. People would just shut down.”

After a few years she burned out and got angry, Kim-Cohen said. But then Wilkinson's seminar changed that: “I came out with my heart filled with love.”

Senior Leah Glaser said she signed up for Kim-Cohen's class this semester thinking it would be a downer. It isn't.

“I leave every class feeling empowered to do something,” Glaser said. “I definitely leave with a smile on my face. It just really uplifts me in ways that other classes really don't.”

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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.

While there are gonzo versions of full-size trucks available, your best bet for maximizing value and capability is a midsize truck. Edmunds’ auto experts have identified the five best off-roading midsize trucks right now. They all tackle off-roading a little differently, but each delivers a blend of trail-readiness and everyday usability that makes them easy to recommend. All of the following pricing includes destination fees.

Chevy Colorado ZR2

The Chevy Colorado ZR2 is the stoic overachiever of this group. When the terrain gets technical — think rocks, ruts and tight trails — it feels right at home. A big reason for that is its specialized suspension system that provides precise damping control coupled with a simple, durable design. A 3-inch suspension lift over the standard Colorado, lockable front and rear differentials, and big all-terrain tires give the ZR2 obstacle-clearing talents.

But it also strikes a usable balance between off-road capability and daily comfort. Its ride is not as harsh as some rivals, allowing you to drive it to work during the week and hit the dirt on weekends. With 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, it offers solid towing capability, too. This is the truck for someone who wants serious off-road ability without sacrificing drivability.

2026 Colorado ZR2 starting price: $52,795

GMC Canyon AT4X

The GMC Canyon is a close relative of the Chevy Colorado. The two share mechanical underpinnings, including their powertrains and most fundamental off-road hardware. But the Canyon leans into luxury and comfort more than the Colorado. It also costs a bit more.

Inside, the Canyon looks and feels different. Standard multi-color leather front seats include heating and ventilation functions. And the leather theme continues on the dash and doors with red stitching and other highlights. You also get more standard features such as a premium Bose sound system and a surround-view camera system. Think of the Canyon as the luxury-like off-roader of the group.

2026 Canyon AT4X starting price: $59,395

Ford Ranger Raptor

If the Colorado ZR2 is about precision, the Ford Ranger Raptor is about speed. With electronically controlled suspension dampers, the Raptor is designed for high-speed off-roading on sandy washes and wide-open terrain. The Raptor also gets an engine upgrade over other Rangers thanks to a turbocharged V6 that produces 405 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. Despite its desert-shredding ability, it remains comfortable and surprisingly refined for everyday driving.

That dual personality — fast and fun off-road, calm on-road — makes it an impressively capable pickup. If your idea of off-roading includes covering ground quickly, this Raptor is the truck for you.

2026 Ranger Raptor starting price: $58,965

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon

The Jeep Gladiator Rubicon is different. While the others are trucks first, the Gladiator is related to the iconic Jeep Wrangler, and that shows in how it performs off-road. Features like front and rear locking differentials and a disconnecting front stabilizer bar help the truck crawl over obstacles that would challenge most pickups. For now, the Gladiator is only available with a 285-horsepower V6, but rumors suggest Jeep will introduce a V8-powered Gladiator soon.

The Gladiator also offers something none of the others do — an open-air driving experience. You can remove the doors and roof, which makes the experience much more immersive. The trade-off is less on-road refinement. It’s not as smooth or quiet as the others, but that’s part of its character. If you prioritize trail capability above all else, the Gladiator Rubicon can’t be beat.

2026 Gladiator Rubicon starting price: $54,515

Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

The Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro has long been a go-to choice for off-road buyers, and today’s Tacoma pushes that reputation even further. Its standard hybrid powertrain delivers 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. It also features a specialized suspension and shock-absorbing front seats that help smooth out rough trails. The Tacoma may be the most well-rounded off-roader here. It doesn’t limit itself to any single off-road category.

Beyond capability, the Tacoma stands out for its usability. It boasts easy-to-use controls, plenty of technology features, and a reputation for reliability that continues to attract buyers. It is, however, the priciest truck in our group.

2026 Tacoma TRD Pro starting price: $66,045

Edmunds says

All five of these trucks are exceptionally capable, but they cater to slightly different buyers. There isn’t a single best option — just the one that best matches how you plan to use it.

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

Buzos de la Fuerza Aérea de Estados Unidos “utilizaron un dron submarino operado a distancia para registrar el interior de la embarcación” y recuperaron el cuerpo el martes, informó la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos en un comunicado de prensa.

Otros buzos de la Guardia Costera de Japón inspeccionaron más a fondo el carguero. No encontraron a ningún otro tripulante, indicó la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos.

“Las tripulaciones aéreas de la Guardia Costera continúan buscando a los cinco tripulantes desaparecidos y una balsa salvavidas naranja para 12 personas en las inmediaciones de la Mancomunidad de las Islas Marianas del Norte”, añadió el comunicado.

La tripulación del barco, llamado el Mariana, notificó a la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos el 15 de abril que la embarcación, de 145 pies (44 metros) y registrada en Estados Unidos, perdió el motor de estribor durante el supertifón Sinlaku y necesitaba asistencia. La Guardia Costera indicó que perdió contacto con el barco al día siguiente.

“Nuestros corazones están con las familias de los tripulantes del Mariana y con las comunidades afectadas por este trágico incidente. Seguimos buscando en estrecha coordinación con nuestros socios, utilizando todos los recursos disponibles para apoyar la respuesta en curso”, dijo en un comunicado el comandante Preston Hieb, coordinador de la misión de búsqueda y rescate del Distrito Oceanía de la Guardia Costera.

El fuerte viento dificultó los esfuerzos iniciales de búsqueda, pero finalmente se avistó el barco volcado el sábado a unos 64 kilómetros (40 millas) al noreste de Pagan, una de las islas que conforman las Marianas del Norte, que es un territorio de Estados Unidos.

La Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos informó el lunes que se habían desplegado embarcaciones y buzos y que intentarían usar un dron submarino para registrar el barco volcado. Se avistaron escombros, incluida una balsa salvavidas inflable parcialmente sumergida, a unos 177 kilómetros (110 millas) del barco.

El supertifón Sinlaku azotó las Islas Marianas del Norte, causando daños por el viento e inundaciones.

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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 bunker emerged in the Trump administration's court fight against the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is challenging the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom project in Washington. A federal appeals court last week permitted the president to continue with construction of the project at the site of the former East Wing, which was demolished last fall.

That ruling put on hold a lower-court judge's order blocking aboveground construction but exempted work to ensure the safety and security of the White House. The Republican administration’s appeal cited materials that would be installed to make a “heavily fortified” facility, including adding bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom.

The bunker’s role in presidential history

The history of a bunker beneath the East Wing dates to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, when an underground bomb shelter was installed in 1942 after the United States had entered World War II. Beyond that, detail is obscured by secrecy resulting from concerns about presidential safety.

Garrett Graff, a historian and national security author, said the Presidential Emergency Operations Center beneath the East Wing was always intended to be for short-term use.

“The whole point of the sort of presidential evacuation and continuity of the presidency is you want to get the president out of the place where everyone knows that he is and get him into a place where people don’t know where he is,” Graff said.

High-profile flights to an underground bunker at the White House include Vice President Dick Cheney being taken there because of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

A Secret Service agent burst into the West Wing room, grabbed Cheney by the belt and shoulder and led him to a bunker underneath the White House. “He didn’t say, ‘Shall we go?’” Cheney told NBC News years later. “He wasn’t polite about it.”

More recently, Trump was rushed to a White House bunker in 2020 amid protests stemming from the death of George Floyd. At the time, there were chants from protesters at Lafayette Park that could be heard in the building, and Secret Service and law enforcement officers struggled to control the crowds.

Why a ballroom matters to a bunker

Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service, wrote in court filings that it's important for the ballroom project to go forward for security at the White House.

“An above-ground slab and topping structure is needed to ensure that key underground structures with a security purpose are properly protected and strengthened,” Quinn wrote.

He added: “Leaving the project site unfinished imperils the ability of the Secret Service to meet its statutory mission to protect the President.”

Trump last month offered a list of what’s being done to enhance security while the ballroom is built.

“The roof is droneproof. We have secure air-handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air if you have bad people,” the president said. “We have biodefense all over. We have secure telecommunications and communications all over. We have bomb shelters that we’re building. We have a hospital and very major medical facilities that we’re building.”

The president took to social media to criticize the lower-court ruling and said the underground portion wouldn’t work without the aboveground facility as well.

What's next in the legal battle over the ballroom

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has argued that Trump overstepped his authority by moving forward with the project without getting approval from key federal agencies and Congress.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in favor of the nonprofit group at the end of March but put his decision on hold briefly while allowing underground work to continue. The administration appealed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has a hearing for June 5 to review the case.

Taxpayer dollars will pay for the security aspects of the project, though Trump has said the ballroom costs will be covered by donations from wealthy people and corporations. He's said it's a long-overdue addition to the White House complex.

“The underground portion is wedded to, and serves, the upper portion,” the president said in a social media post.

What that means in practice is unclear and hinges in part on the outcome of litigation.

U.S. Air Force divers used an underwater drone on Tuesday to search inside the overturned ship, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. Divers from Japan's coast guard further examined the ship, called the Mariana, but didn't find the other five, it said.

“Coast Guard aircrews continue to search for the five missing crewmen and an orange 12-person life raft in the vicinity of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” the news release said.

The National Weather Service said Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the strongest tropical cyclone this year, was packing sustained winds of up to 150 mph (241 kph) when it made landfall last week in the Northern Mariana Islands, which, like Guam to the south, are a U.S. territory.

The Coast Guard and agencies from Guam, Japan and New Zealand have covered more than 99,000 square miles (256,000 square kilometers) in their search for the crew, the guard said this week. That's an area roughly the size of Oregon.

The ship notified the U.S. Coast Guard on April 15 that the U.S.-registered vessel lost its starboard engine during the typhoon and needed assistance. The guard said it lost contact with the ship the next day.

“Our hearts are with the families of the Mariana crew members and the communities impacted by this tragic incident,” Cmdr. Preston Hieb, the search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard Oceania District, said in the statement.

Heavy wind hindered initial search efforts, but the overturned ship was eventually spotted Saturday about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Pagan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The Coast Guard said Monday that debris including a partially submerged inflatable life raft was spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the ship.

While specific safety requirements for the 145-foot (44-meter) ship were not known, federal and international codes call for cargo ships to have life rafts stocked with food and water. The rafts have to be able to withstand exposure for 30 days, according to a code put out by the International Maritime Organization.

Aaron Davenport, a retired Coast Guard officer with search and rescue experience who isn't involved in the current operation, said it would have been very difficult to deploy a raft during the typhoon.

“If they didn’t hook it somewhere and they just deployed it into the water, it would probably blow away,” he said.

Davenport wondered if searchers spotted any more safety equipment aboard the overturned ship.

“That would determine how long they need to search. Because if they have safety gear, if they’re in another life raft or if they’re in a survival suit or if they even have a life jacket — that tells me that they’re going to survive longer, probably," he said.

Davenport also questioned whether the partially submerged raft that was found came from the Mariana.

“So if there’s another ship that was affected by the weather there, they could have a life raft get washed off the top,” Davenport said.

Sinlaku battered the Northern Mariana Islands, causing wind damage and flooding. Island ports reopened to commercial traffic this week, and the Coast Guard delivered pallets of water and supplies to areas that had been cut off.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russia struck a residential building, killing a woman and a child, Russian officials said Wednesday.

Kyiv has asked Turkey to help facilitate top-level talks and has reached out to other capitals as potential hosts, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that Ukraine would consider any venue outside Russia and Belarus.

“We are … advocating for a (summit) meeting now to bring new momentum to diplomacy,” Sybiha told reporters on Tuesday. His remarks were embargoed until Wednesday.

U.S.-mediated talks over the past year between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv have made little or no headway on key issues, such as the future of four Ukrainian regions Moscow is trying to capture but doesn’t fully control. With Washington’s attention now gripped by the Iran war, the talks are on ice.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Putin has refused. Putin thinks that time is on his side, that Western military and financial support will fade and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse, analysts say.

Meanwhile, a grim war of attrition continues along the about 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line that snakes along eastern and southern areas of Ukraine. Western officials and analysts claim Russia is suffering several tens of thousands of battlefield casualties each month, drawing comparisons to the carnage of World War I.

Independent verification of battlefield casualties and which side has the upper hand is not possible.

Ukraine has developed a domestic arms industry which is increasingly producing long-range drones and missiles capable of striking deep inside Russia. It has taken aim at Russia’s oil production and manufacturing plants that supply the Russian military.

In Syzran, a city in Russia’s Samara region that is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the border with Ukraine, a drone attack caused the collapse of a section of a residential building, local authorities said.

The bodies of a woman and a child were pulled out from under the rubble and 12 others were injured, local officials said.

Images from the scene showed a part of a four-story building reduced to a massive pile of rubble, with emergency workers on top of it.

Russian media reports said a Rosneft oil refinery — a frequent target of Ukrainian drone attacks — is located on the same street as the damaged building.

Ukraine’s aerial attacks on Russia increased by nearly four times last year, from 6,200 in 2024 to more than 23,000 in 2025, Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said last month.

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

The operator of the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine, Ukrtransnaft, told the two countries that Russian oil was on its way and should arrive early on Thursday. Unlike most of the rest of the EU, Hungary and Slovakia still depend on Russia for their energy needs.

EU envoys, meanwhile, launched a political procedure to endorse the loan. National governments have 24 hours to raise objections in writing, and if none of the 27 member nations do, the loan could be approved by Thursday afternoon, just as EU leaders are gathering for a summit in Cyprus.

A new raft of sanctions against Russia could also be approved on Thursday.

Money runs short in Ukraine

Ukraine desperately needs the 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan package, originally agreed in December, to prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay for the next two years.

Hungary has insisted that it must start receiving the oil again before it will unblock the funds, while Slovakia refused to endorse new sanctions.

For months, the two countries have accused Ukraine of failing to repair the pipeline. Ukraine and most of its European backers oppose imports of Russian oil which have helped to fund President Vladimir Putin’s war, now in its fifth year.

In a post on social media on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations” and that “we expect that the European side will also deliver.”

He welcomed movement on the loan, saying that “the unblocking is the right signal under the current circumstances. Russia must end its war. And the incentives for that can arise only when both support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia are sufficient.”

Cautious optimism after months of delay

The 27-nation EU had originally intended to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for the loan. But that option was blocked by Belgium, where the bulk of the frozen assets are held.

In December, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia agreed not to stop their EU partners from borrowing the money on international markets as long as the three countries did not have to take part in the scheme.

But Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has repeatedly blocked EU aid to Ukraine, angered the other 24 countries by later reneging on that deal over the pipeline dispute and as campaigning heated up ahead of an April 12 election that he lost in a landslide.

New sanctions on Russia

The EU has also been trying since February to push through a new raft of sanctions against Russia, which Hungary and Slovakia have blocked. The EU envoys also set in train a procedure to have them approved on Thursday.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico repeated on Wednesday that his government would not approve the new EU measures “unless the Druzhba oil pipeline is really reopened.” Fico said that “trust between Slovakia and Ukraine has been badly damaged” by the dispute.

But Economy Minister Denisa Saková confirmed that Slovakia expects oil supplies to resume early on Thursday. Saková said Ukrtransnaft had informed the government that oil began entering the Druzhba pipeline again on Wednesday.

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Associated Press journalists Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

The pathways are located nearly 9,700 kilometers (6,000 miles) apart but share a notable feature: they were designed for visitors to use without wearing socks or shoes.

Barefoot trails exist around the world, inviting people to get closer to nature through sounds and sensations. Feeling cool mud squish between toes, stepping on pine needles and exploring meditation caves, scent stations and dark rooms transform a routine walk into an immersive experience.

Walking shoeless on varied surfaces also may contribute to emotional well-being and overall foot health, according to podiatrists and barefoot enthusiasts.

Below, more about where and why some people are bringing themselves down to earth one step at a time.

Barefoot trails as an environmental and health movement

Theories about the benefits of going barefoot have gained popularity among runners and other athletes in recent decades, as well as with environmentalists and as an alternative mental health treatment, but the idea has been around for well over a century.

Sebastian Kneipp, a 19th century German Catholic priest and early pioneer of naturopathy, promoted nature exposure, water therapy and barefoot walking as exercise and a way to stimulate circulation and support overall health, including immune function. He recommended walking barefoot over “dew-wet grass” or snow and is said to have called shoes “foot-bending machinery.”

His philosophy inspired trails and paths across Europe, where they are sometimes known as Kneipp paths, and to a lesser extent in the United States. In Asia, reflexology trails made of stones, pebbles and grass are intended to stimulate acupressure points on the soles of the feet, a concept linked to traditional medical therapies.

Germany's Park mit allen Sinnen, which in English translates to “park with all senses,” reflects a broader focus on wellness tourism in the Black Forest, which covers more than 6,000 square kilometers (2,317 square miles) and where visitors can breath mountain air, soak in thermal baths and visit spas offering treatments that incorporate local plants and herbs.

The park charges an admission fee. Its website says that meandering barefoot over the 2 kilometer-long (1-mile-long) trail's different surfaces "is ideal for exercising your back and spine, and at the same time, it’s a perfect foot reflexology massage in the fresh air.”

Leah Williams, the owner of The Barefoot Trail park near Flagstaff, Arizona, opened a manicured trail of the same length near Route 66 two years ago after a family trip in Europe. Tickets are required, though Williams operates the park as a nonprofit charitable foundation.

Williams said her mother, who is from Germany, encouraged her to go barefoot as a child climbing trees and playing in the forests and creeks around Seattle — a practice Williams carried into adulthood and passed on to her own children. While living in the Netherlands, her family visited a barefoot trail in Belgium.

“I loved everything about it. I saw all ages, and I loved seeing older people at the park because you don’t see that here in the United States," Williams said. "I thought, ‘Wow, when I get back to the United States, I’m going to build one of these parks myself.'”

She offers educational materials for schools, summer programs and camps to children who visit the park.

“Being good stewards of nature is really our job as human beings, and we have taken 13 acres (5 hectares) of land at our park for our community enjoyment, ... for local, statewide and regional enjoyment,” Williams said, her eyes moist with emotion.

A sensory experience

Most people don't walk outside barefoot regularly, and exposing their tender feet to different textures, temperatures and types of contact can take getting used to.

“You should see people’s faces when they start walking,” Williams said, chuckling at the thought.

While many parks with barefoot trails encourage users to walk the paths sans shoes, naked feet are not required. Guests with neuropathy, diabetes or other foot conditions are welcome to keep their shoes on at the parks in Arizona and Germany.

Some barefoot trails are designed to engage multiple senses.

At Park mit allen Sinnen, a sign that reads “Please be quiet” in German identifies a spot described as a meditation cave. Inside, a long bench faces tall windows overlooking the forest, and soft music plays through hidden speakers.

Elsewhere at the park, visitors can squeeze red bulbs to release the scent of papaya or apricots, or place their hands inside a box filled with wild boar fur.

Ditching the shoes step by step around the world

Austria, Denmark, France, Hungary, Switzerland and the U.K. are among other European countries with barefoot trails. Some are meant for local residents and not tourists, so finding them can prove difficult. Searching the terms “barefoot” or “barefoot paths” in the local language might help.

In Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, some public parks have pebble trails, which are walkways with smooth stones cemented into place that can be used for reflexology and foot massage.

Similarly, there are so-called wellness parks and informal barefoot hikes on regular trails in the United States. But because of how rare they are in the U.S., Williams plans to expand the The Barefoot Trail concept elsewhere.

The foundation recently received about 8 hectares (20 acres) of land in a commercial and residential area of college town Lawrence, Kansas, to develop a park similar to the one she opened in Arizona.

“The park will be one of the components of a larger commercial space being developed,” Williams said. “It’s about integrating those natural environments into people’s daily lives and providing those safe spaces for people to enjoy.”

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Mumphrey reported from Flagstaff, Arizona.

Researchers have spent decades developing potatoes for chip makers that can grow in all kinds of climates, avoid diseases and pests, sit in storage for months and still deliver a satisfying crunch. They've also kept an eye on consumer trends; a shift to snack-size portions has increased the demand for smaller chipping potatoes, for example.

“The potato industry is dynamic," said David Douches, a Michigan State University professor who leads the school’s Potato Breeding and Genetics Program. “The needs change, the costs, the pressures that they have, and the markets change. So we have to adapt to that with our varieties.”

Douches has developed five new potato varieties for chips in the the last 15 years. His latest breakthrough is a bioengineered potato that can maintain a proper sugar balance when stored at colder temperatures, which can help keep potatoes from rotting. He is currently growing seeds for commercial testing of the potato, which is not yet on the market.

Douches' work helps fight world hunger; he has developed disease-resistant varieties for farmers in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Bangladesh. But he's also helping U.S. chip makers, grateful snackers and Michigan's $2.5 billion potato industry. While Idaho leads the U.S. in potato production, Michigan is the top producer of potatoes for chips.

There are around 50 unique potato varieties grown for chips in the U.S. right now, according to the National Chip Program, a cooperative that brings together Michigan State and 11 other university breeding programs with growers, companies that make chips, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Efforts to improve those varieties are constant. The National Chip Program evaluates around 225 new potato varieties each year and selects 100 for further trials, said Tim Rendall, the director of production research at Potatoes USA, a trade group that oversees the chip program.

The close partnership between researchers, farmers and potato chip companies is unusual in the food industry, said Phil Gusmano, the vice president of purchasing at Better Made Snack Foods, which has produced potato chips in Detroit since 1930. Better Made worked closely with Douches when he was developing two of the varieties the company uses now, Gusmano said.

“We were able talk about size profile and different needs that make a really good chip,” Gusmano said. “And the great thing is, they’re willing to listen to what we have to say, because if they put together a potato that doesn’t really meet the needs for the end processor, it doesn’t do them any good.”

Breeding a new type of potato can take up to 15 years, Douches said. The simple potato has a surprisingly complicated genetic structure, with four chromosomes in each cell compared to two in most species, including humans. That makes it harder to predict which traits that cross-bred plants will inherit, he said.

“We’re never able to fix a trait and carry that over to the next generation, so it’s very difficult to find a potato that has all the traits that we want,” Douches said.

Douches became fascinated with potato breeding and genetics while in graduate school. At Michigan State, he focuses on chipping potatoes, since Michigan is a leading producer. Around 70% of the state’s potato crop is destined for chip processing, according to the Michigan Ag Council. The trade group estimates that one of every four bags of potato chips produced in the U.S. contains Michigan potatoes.

Breeding potatoes that can sit in storage for nearly a year has been one of the biggest challenges in Douches' 40-year career. Historically, farmers harvested potatoes and then stored them in huge piles at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Temperatures any colder cause sugar levels to rise in the root vegetables, and higher sugar content leads to darker potato chips. But warmer storage conditions can lead to rot.

“You think they’re just these inanimate objects, but they actually are respiring and breathing,” Douches said. “When you do that to them, you’ve got, like, a two- to three-day window where they’re happy.”

His Manistee variety, which was released in 2013, can be safely stored until July at 45 F (7.2 C) degrees. His new bioengineered potato can be stored at 40 F (4.4 C).

Gusmano said Better Made used to source potatoes from outside of Michigan for half the year because the Michigan potatoes it harvested in the fall only could be stored until February. The company now uses newer varieties, like Douches' Mackinaw potato, which can be stored until July and is resistant to several common diseases.

“We’re not shipping potatoes from all over the country to be fried here in Michigan,” Gusmano said. “Instead, they’re being shipped from an hour and a half away all year long.”