The team traveled with Tampa Fire Rescue personnel on Friday to help victims of the devastating 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck late Wednesday.

“We’re setting conditions for maritime operations, air operations, urban rescue operations, and humanitarian aid operations as we focus on search and rescue, evacuating American citizens, and bringing in as much aid as possible,” a spokesperson for the nonprofit wrote on X late Friday night.

Bryan Stern, who served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, founded the nonprofit organization in 2024 and helped María Corina Machado leave Venezuela so she could accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.

“Whole neighborhoods are flattened and pancaked,” Stern told CNN on Friday night.

During the interview, Stern asked the public to donate to his foundation. He said there were “a lot” of people trapped in the rubble.

“There’s probably more buildings pancaked than Venezuela has firefighters,” Stern told CNN.

For more information on how to contribute to Stern’s foundation, visit this page.

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

SHARE THIS & GET THE WORD OUT: The Grey Bull Rescue team is forward deployed in response to the back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela with Tampa Fire Rescue SAR.

We’re setting conditions for maritime operations, air operations, urban rescue operations, and humanitarian aid… pic.twitter.com/KMcIfSC3Lu

— Grey Bull Rescue (@greybullrescue) June 27, 2026

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Miami search-and-rescue team prepares to deploy
• Centro Comunitario AFE hosts collection drive in Miami-Dade
• Weston-based charity partners with local pharmacy

• Veteran-led Project DYNAMO delivers 20,000 pounds of aid in 1st 48 hours
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort
• Salvadoran rescuers work to free 15-year-old survivor in Caraballeda

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations
• Miramar to keep 6 aid drop-off locations open 24/7
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

But the charismatic Burnham may have difficulty — at least initially — distancing himself from policies set in motion by his predecessor.

Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester who was sworn into Parliament hours after Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, will be constrained by the platform the center-left Labour Party was elected on that decisively ended 14 years of Conservative rule in 2024.

It's not entirely clear how he'll navigate those limits and bring his unique brand of politics to the revolving-door post that would make him the 7th prime minister in a decade. He’ll lay out his economic vision in a speech next week.

“At the moment, Andy Burnham is being almost hailed and held up as a folk hero that will save British politics,” said Matthew Flinders, politics professor at University of Sheffield. “The tide is changing and the big issue for Andy Burnham is that when the world suddenly moves against him and he becomes a folk devil, will he sustain the pressure?”

Next PM will seek to boost a sluggish economy and ease cost of living

Burnham is currently the only contestant for the job of leading the Labour Party and the country, and will likely take over July 17 if no one else enters the race. His return to the House of Commons follows a decade leading the region around the U.K.’s third-largest city, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, which has enjoyed an economic revival during his tenure.

His main challenge will be to overcome Starmer's inability to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living.

Burnham highlighted those issues — along with housing and creating opportunities for young people — in a post on social media after Starmer said he was quitting.

“The country expects stability, seriousness and a continued focus on the issues that matter most and that is what it will get,” he said on X.

Burnham, who is widely regarded as sitting to the left of Starmer in the party, has said he'll revive a sluggish economy without going beyond the current government’s spending and borrowing plans. That pledge has helped reassure markets traumatized in 2022 after Prime Minister Liz Truss announced unfunded tax cuts and then withdrew them, leading to her 49-day record as Britain's shortest-serving leader.

“If you are a Labour prime minster from the soft left of the party, the markets don’t need that much invitation to panic,” said Mark Goodwin, a politics lecturer at Coventry University. “They will start from a position of skepticism. So he’d have to be very, very careful."

He said Burnham will face a challenge “to convince people that this is something different, without the markets reading that as ‘This is too different.’"

Burnham faces big questions over budget priorities

Burnham promotes what has been called “Manchesterism,” a business-friendly socialist approach that involves harnessing private investment for major projects and decentralizing government to give communities more control of housing, utilities, transportation and education.

In a possible preview of how he would move power from the capital, he is reportedly planning to move some of the prime minister’s operation closer to home, about 200 miles north of 10 Downing St., the London office and home of the U.K.’s leader.

He has said he would not raise taxes on workers — sticking to a Starmer pledge — and suggested policies that include easing the tax burden on businesses, and possibly reversing an increase in a tax employers pay to fund pensions, public health care and welfare.

The big question is how he will fund programs, if he'll scrap existing priorities, and how he'll meet demands for higher defense spending, said Jill Rutter, senior fellow at the Institute for Government think tank.

Starmer's government pledged to meet a NATO target of spending 3.5% of GDP on the military by 2035. But John Healey stepped down as defense secretary this month after complaining that Starmer was not moving fast enough to meet the target.

Burnham more comfortable with domestic issues

Burnham's lack of experience on the world stage could present a challenge improving the so-called special relationship with the U.S. after President Donald Trump turned on Starmer.

Trump described Burnham this week as a “town” mayor and said he heard he was “extremely liberal” and probably wouldn't expand North Sea oil drilling — one of his frequent gripes about Starmer.

Starmer made a priority of forging cordial ties with Trump despite their political differences, and was rewarded with a U.S.-U.K. trade deal. But it came at the cost of angering some in Labour's liberal voter base, and the president soured on Starmer after the British leader criticized his designs on Greenland and declined to enter the Iran war.

Burnham has not always said nice things about Trump. After Trump's followers stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Burnham posted on X that "any politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.”

Starmer won praise from many for his international role, especially in bolstering European support for Ukraine. But he was criticized by some for being distracted by foreign affairs, Rutter said. She doesn't expect the same from Burnham and he could farm out some of those duties by choosing an experienced hand as foreign secretary, the U.K.'s top diplomat.

"I don’t think Andy Burnham will want to be ‘never-here Andy’ in succession to ‘never-here Keir,’” Rutter said in reference to Starmer's globetrotting moniker.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Wednesday that she spoke with Burnham about policy issues and said “he’s 100% behind our unwavering support for Ukraine” and ”is a fundamental believer in NATO and in our shared deterrence and in the multilateral partnerships that we have."

Playing it safe at first could allow radical reshaping

An early priority for Burnham will be something Starmer struggled with: crafting a clear and convincing narrative that people understand about the direction he wants to take the country, Flinders said.

That plays to Burnham's communications skills and the popularity he has achieved by presenting himself as an amiable northern everyman who favors T-shirts over suits and ties, plays soccer for kicks and is known for spinning 1990s tunes during DJ battles.

So far, he has played it safe and tried not to raise public expectations too high. But if he can prove himself to be a competent leader and win public support to survive the remaining three years before a general election must be held, he can lay out a bolder vision for another term in his own manifesto.

Burnham has spoken of reshaping the political system, such as replacing the House of Lords with an elected senate and introducing proportional representation in voting. He also said he'd like to see the U.K. rejoin the European Union in his lifetime, though he backed away from that during his campaign in a constituency that voted 2-to-1 in favor of Brexit.

“My sense is that he will take some time, sensibly, to build up his team, his narrative, his story and his connections in order to then try to secure a public mandate and the next general election to then approach the more radical phase that he wants to deliver, which is exactly what Margaret Thatcher did in the '80s,” Flinders said.

Birds, especially, are crucial to ecosystems across the globe, providing services like pollinating flowers, controlling pests naturally, dispersing seeds and even serving as early warning systems.

Experts said there are ways to respond if people see a bird in need in the heat, and how to react to other wildlife. Here's what to know.

What happens to birds in high heat?

Birds are very diverse, and often well adapted to dealing with prolonged periods of heat, said David Bird, McGill University emeritus professor of wildlife biology.

They also have a higher body temperature than mammals, with some birds around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or even slightly higher.

They may adjust their feathers in certain ways, or increase airflow across a complex series of air sacs, to help keep cool. They also adapt to heat behaviorally.

But birds have a maximum level of heat they can withstand, just like humans, said Aimee Van Tatenhove, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“This level differs by species, and as you can imagine, species that live closer to the poles are often much more susceptible to heat than species that live closer to the equator,” Van Tatenhove said. “Prolonged intense heat like Europe is experiencing right now is likely pushing many species toward their maximum heat tolerances, putting them at risk of heat illness or death.”

Birds don’t sweat like humans and some other mammals do, but they have other ways to naturally beat the heat, experts say.

Some species, including backyard birds, will “gape,” opening their beaks and panting, not unlike a dog. Others will also flutter the pouch skin on their necks to cool off. This behavior is known as “gular fluttering."

Birds also often seek out shade, and dip in birdbaths, fountains and shallow ponds to lower their body temperatures.

What should people do if they see birds out i

n the heat?

It's difficult to fully protect birds that are also experiencing the ongoing heat wave, but experts offered a few tips.

In the short term, people could set up shallow water sources — in spots that are safe from harm, like predators — though experts caution it's important to keep these baths clean.

People can also fill bird feeders, providing an easy food source for birds that might be avoiding foraging for their next meal in the hot sun. Insect populations are also dramatically down, in part due to climate change and pollution, impacting a major natural food source for birds.

Over the long term, people who are able to can provide shaded areas around their yard, including layered vegetation such as small shrubs and taller trees, Bird noted.

If passive approaches aren't possible, it might be best to leave them be, said Jack Kottwitz, assistant professor at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “These birds know better than what we do about what is comfortable for them.”

Birds often seek out cooling temperatures, by finding lower places to perch or even fans.

What about other wildlife that might be seen and found?

As far as other wildlife, it might also not be the best choice to try to intervene by giving an animal foreign food or water or attempting to bring it indoors, experts say.

Local wildlife rehabilitators are the best resource to contact if a sick or injured animal is found, as signs of extreme heat stress can also be similar to those of diseases that wild animals may carry. Experts know best how to help wildlife and provide needed care.

“The best thing for wildlife is to let them be wild," said Lisa Duke, sanctuary grounds manager at the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, also affiliated with Michigan State. "They know what to do with their bodies.”

___

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

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

___

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.

That's right: There's a beef about beef between two of the top cattle-raising areas of the world, where steak is deeply ingrained in diet and culture. Texas ranks No. 1 in the United States in beef production and the U.S. is second only to Brazil globally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Argentina ranks sixth.

It's a high-steaks question: Who does do it best?

The case for Argentine beef

“Argentine beef is simply unbeatable. The savory texture, the style of the cut — there is no competing with it,” said Carlos Eduardo Barahona, 64, an Argentine chef who's lived in Texas since 1998.

From the cheapest cuts to the most expensive, Argentina is tops, asserts Barahona, who has worked in restaurants across Argentina, Uruguay, and Texas.

“You can make an (Argentine) asado with the cheapest cut in our country and you will enjoy it. Here, you can use the best meat, like tenderloin, and depending on its source, it can turn out tough, inedible or tender. But our beef has a completely different flavor profile,” Barahona said.

Argentine beef cattle is mostly grass-fed on open pastures, taking longer to reach the point it is ready for market. The result is leaner meat with intense earthy flavors.

The case for Texan beef

Predominantly grain-fed beef in Texas and the U.S. will have more marbling — the streaks of intramuscular fat that act as internal baster and make the meat juicy and tender — and a sweeter flavor.

“There’s no better beef than U.S. beef, particularly Texas beef,” said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

But Argentine beef is very good too, Miller said. Thanks to Texas.

Miller said his agency opened a marketing office more than a decade ago to connect Texas' cattle raisers with ranchers in South America, notably in Argentina.

“I don’t want to disparage our friends in Argentina, but we have helped them improve,” he said.

“Their genetics were lacking. We do have them up to pretty high quality. We sold them a lot of semen, embryos, and breeding stock,” Miller added.

Miller congratulated Argentine farmers on improving the quality of their cows.

“Their herds have American genetics in them, so they should be good,” Miller said.

The verdict is in the eye of the beefholder

Argentine fan Gonzalo Herrera browsed packaged meat at a Walmart in Arlington, Texas, after watching Messi score two goals in a win over Austria. He shrugged at the whose-beef-is-better debate.

“Honestly, I don’t see a massive difference,” Herrera said as he packed four T-bone steaks into his shopping cart.

“The key is knowing exactly which cuts to buy and finding the equivalent of what we eat in Argentina,” he said, shaking his head at the $45 price.

“Prices are higher here,” Herrera said.

The beef banter just as easily boils down to recipes and preferences in style and thickness of cuts. It's a matter of taste, quite literally, when it comes to seasoning, searing, smoking, butter, pepper, sauces and so forth.

At Corrientes 348 Argentinian Steakhouse in Dallas, steaks are prepared with just salt and mesquite charcoal, said assistant manager Emmanuel Tobon.

“There's a big difference. Texans use a lot of pepper, they use butter, they use a little barbecue (sauce),” Tobon said. “(Argentines) like to bring all the flavor of the steak by only using salt.”

Argentina still has at least one more match to play in Dallas, on Saturday. Fans of the Albiceleste have been packing the restaurant, seeking a quick taste of home during the World Cup.

“They have been enjoying the Texas culture,” Tobon said. “(But) it has been a great pleasure to have all of them, to make them feel like home.”

Argentines are fiercely proud of their steak culture, recipes that have been passed down for generations, and the “sacred” work of the grill master at large family meals, he said.

For Fernando Garcia Morillo, an Argentine from Buenos Aires who now lives near Miami, the meat from both countries is great. But he longs for the traditions of home whenever he orders steak in the U.S.

“I order just salt, no pepper, just plain,” Morillo said. “Sometimes they use a lot of sauce.”

He dismissed any notion of a beef between the U.S and Argentina.

“Maybe there's a rivalry as usual against Brazil, our neighbor,” he said. “I love the U.S. meat.”

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

After more than 130 years, the once grand Aqueduct track is set to run its last live races this weekend. The final race, appropriately titled, “It Was a Good Run,” is posted for Sunday at 5:44 p.m.

The track, located next to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, will remain open for betting on televised races — known as simulcasting — through Sept. 7.

“There’s a lot of history here. Just so many good horses,” said David Donk, a veteran horse trainer, in between afternoon races at Aqueduct earlier this month. “It’s had its use. But, you know, times change. Everything changes in life.”

Racing is a contracting industry

The end of the “Big A” comes amid increased competition for gambling dollars. Slot parlors, casinos, state lotteries and, more recently, legalized online and sports betting have all steadily eroded the allure of what once was dubbed the “sport of kings.”

There are roughly 75 thoroughbred tracks nationwide, compared to the more than 300 facilities offering some form of horse racing during the sport’s Gilded Age peak in the late 1800s, according to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, an industry trade group.

Among the other major tracks that have closed in recent years are Arlington Park in Illinois, which was purchased by NFL’s Chicago Bears for a potential new stadium, and Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“For over 100 years, thoroughbred racing was one of very few sports outlets you could legally bet on,” said Tom Rooney, the association’s president. “With the expansion of sports gambling, our sport will naturally condense and coalesce around a more pragmatic number of marquee tracks and locations, similar to other sports.”

Indeed, a large chunk of Aqueduct’s hulking site, where a crowd of 75,000 celebrated Mass with Pope John Paul II in 1995, has for years been home to a Resorts World casino. The gambling hall began offering live table games like blackjack, poker and craps earlier this year after winning a lucrative state license to operate a Las Vegas-style resort, and has plans for a glitzy, multibillion dollar expansion.

Some 9 miles (14 kilometers) east, just over the city line on suburban Long Island, the famed Belmont Park racetrack — home to the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes — is set to reopen in September after a roughly $550 million renovation. State funding for that project was contingent on the New York Racing Association, which operates the tracks, returning Aqueduct’s more than 100 acres (40 hectares) to the state for future redevelopment and consolidating thoroughbred races at Belmont and Saratoga Race Course upstate.

“We couldn’t have gotten the money to rebuild Belmont and continue to race at Aqueduct. You have to make these choices,” said Andy Serling, the track's longtime television analyst and race handicapper. “I don’t think you’ll find anybody here that’s not gonna tell you they’re gonna miss Aqueduct, but we’re also incredibly excited to be opening this beautiful new building at Belmont.”

Aqueduct had humble beginnings

Originally opened in 1894, Aqueduct took its name from an old aqueduct running through the property that brought fresh water from Long Island to New York City.

It was a relatively modest operation until a dramatic reinvestment in 1959, which brought a dedicated subway stop, air-conditioned restaurants and lounges along with a roughly 35,000-seat grandstand complete with escalators, elevators and other amenities. The Associated Press, at the time, declared the transformed track “the world’s most modern and luxurious horse plant.”

Legendary Triple Crown winner Secretariat won the first race of his storied career at the track in 1972, then trotted out for a final farewell the following year.

Seattle Slew’s big win at Aqueduct in 1977 served as the final tuneup en route to sweeping the Triple Crown later that year. And in 1994, Cigar launched his historic, 16-race winning streak at Aqueduct.

Top jockey remembers track fondly

Taking a break between races on a recent Friday afternoon, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez recalled how his decorated career began at Aqueduct.

The 54-year-old native of Puerto Rico said it took weeks going up against some of the top horse riders of the time for him to win his first career race. Velazquez has since notched more than 6,700 victories and holds the most purse earnings of any jockey in North America.

“This is where I developed my craft, where I learned everything that I know,” Velazquez said after winning his first race of the day. “The years that I spent here made me the jockey that I am today.”

Inside the cavernous grandstand, longtime gambler Roy Brown reminisced how he tried getting into the business himself after one big win at the track.

The 68-year-old retiree from Queens said he hauled in around $60,000 on a “pick-six” in the late 1980s — a difficult bet in which a gambler has to pick the winning horse for six straight races.

The native of Jamaica, who had no experience in the industry outside of gambling, used some of his profits to buy two horses. But he and the thoroughbreds ended up having brief racing careers.

“It’s best to bet on them, not own them,” Brown said with a laugh. “If you’re really passionate about it, it’s your best two minutes. Nothing's sweeter than seeing your horse coming down the stretch or coming from behind and at the wire, knowing you got it.”

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also met with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel, who were also packing for deployment.

“This is something that is important work. We have one of the most well-trained, committed teams in the United States,” Higgins said, according to a video the city released on Friday night.

The U.S. State Department activated Florida Task Force 2, or FL-TF2, an urban search-and-rescue team of about 230, including physicians, structural engineers, hazardous material technicians, and K-9 handlers.

“It’s devastating what happened in Venezuela, so we are making sure that they have the support that they need, and we are going to send a team of 80 people,” Miami Commissioner Rolando Escalona said, according to the city’s video published on X.

The State Department also activated Florida Task Force 1, MDFR Chief Raied “Ray” Jadallah’s team, which has experience working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

After the devastating 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck late Wednesday, the Trump administration first announced the deployment of search-and-rescue teams from California and Virginia.

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

Today, City of Miami leadership stood alongside Miami Fire Rescue personnel designated for deployment to Venezuela following a series of devastating earthquakes. The City reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to humanitarian relief as the federal government’s activation of USAR… pic.twitter.com/C2ul3VEOiT

— City of Miami (@CityofMiami) June 27, 2026

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Centro Comunitario AFE hosts collection drive in Miami-Dade
• Weston-based charity partners with local pharmacy
• Veteran-led Project DYNAMO delivers 20,000 pounds of aid in 1st 48 hours
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort
• Salvadoran rescuers work to free 15-year-old survivor in Caraballeda

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations
• Miramar to keep 6 aid drop-off locations open 24/7
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews’ ruling overturns a June 15 decision by Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher to disqualify the challenger and keep him off the primary ballot. Matthews’ ruling can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Attorneys for the state have said Tuesday is the deadline for a final ruling so that ballots for the Aug. 18 primary can be printed.

Attorneys for the state and the challenger Sullivan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday's ruling.

The judge ruled that the Division’s decision to exclude Dan J. Sullivan because his candidacy was not “in good faith” was not based on the Constitution, Alaska law or the Division’s own regulations. The retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg filed to challenge the incumbent.

“Instead, the decision was based upon a new, previously unstated, ‘good faith’ criteria,” the judge wrote.

The controversy over the two Dan Sullivans has underscored the stakes involved in the incumbent’s reelection campaign. The Alaska race is one of about a half dozen U.S. Senate races that are expected to be highly competitive in the fall, and the seat is one Democrats are trying to flip in their efforts to try to regain the majority.

The senator and allies including the National Republican Senatorial Committee have condemned the challenger’s efforts to join the race, arguing his presence could confuse voters. Under Alaska’s election system, the top four candidates from the primary, regardless of party, move on to the ranked choice November general election.

The senator has accused the challenger Sullivan of working with Democrats and the campaign of Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola — who is considered the senator’s main opponent — to cause confusion and boost Peltola’s chances. Peltola’s campaign and state Democrats have denied the allegation, as has the challenger.

Sen. Sullivan and Peltola are the highest-profile candidates in the crowded race and the only ones to report raising any money.

Beecher has said she determined the challenger Sullivan is not eligible to run because his candidacy was not filed in good faith and instead was done with an intent to confuse voters. She said he had registered to vote as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and in conjunction with his candidacy changed his party affiliation to Republican. She also cited similarities between his campaign website and the senator’s, and his work with a consultant whose clients have included some Democrats. She did not mention finding any evidence of alleged coordination.

In arguing to keep the challenger disqualified, attorneys for the state pushed back on suggestions the ballot could be designed in a way to reduce voter confusion over two candidates with the same name and party running for the same office.

“The Constitution does not require States to place a sham candidate on the ballot and then attempt to mitigate the damage through design choices,” attorney Rachel Witty, with the Alaska Department of Law, and outside attorneys Christopher Murray and Michael Francisco wrote in court filings.

Attorneys for the challenger Sullivan argued that the Constitution lays out three exclusive qualifications for the Senate, addressing only age, citizenship and residency. They said Beecher lacked the legal authority to boot their client off the ballot.

The challenger Sullivan has said that sharing a name and party affiliation with the incumbent gave him “an instant megaphone.” But the retired teacher and former U.S. Forest Service employee, who is 69, said he had considered a run for some time and had grown frustrated with the senator.

He initially was certified on the state’s candidate list as Dan J. Sullivan, with the senator listed as Dan S. Sullivan and identified as the incumbent.

Authorities announced Friday night that they would block access to La Guaira, the epicenter of the destruction, as chaos and traffic began to hamper search efforts. Officials said anyone who wants to enter would now have to seek official permits, but provided few details of who would be allowed in.

Venezuelans took the search for missing loved ones into their own hands, citing a scarcity of government rescuers, as the human toll of Wednesday's quakes climbed to at least 920 dead and more than 51,000 missing. People reported seeing few state rescue teams in the hardest-hit areas, despite authorities projecting an image of a robust government response.

Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours to be a crucial time frame to retrieve people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water.

“Each person saved is a miracle,” said Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly. “We are not going to hide absolutely anything about the magnitude of this tragedy."

Anxious families wait to see if relatives survived

In the state of La Guaira, just north of the capital, Caracas, Nazareth Jimenez sobbed into a loved one's shoulder as she watched neighbors use hammers and power tools to try to cut through slabs of concrete in a building reduced to a mountain of debris. She was wracked with anxiety as she waited to see if her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends would emerge alive.

“My God, how are we going to get them out of there?” Jimenez murmured.

“We're making a call for help to the government and countries across the world,” she said, pleading for machinery capable of moving collapsed structures. “There are still people alive in there.”

Government forces distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira, and acting President Delcy Rodríguez said her government was mounting a full response during these “critical hours for rescuing people alive.”

She welcomed the arrival of international rescuers and humanitarian aid. She said La Guaira had been militarized and more help was on the way, even as residents said it was just a fraction of what they needed.

The disaster poses a huge challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the United States. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.

The number of dead was expected to climb, and people reported tens of thousands of missing on independent digital databases. Those figures likely included people who have been incommunicado due to the lack of cellphone signals, and some reports may be duplicates.

The number of injured was more than 3,300 as of midday Friday, and authorities said they rescued 243.

Millions of people reeling

The International Organization for Migration said up to 6.76 million people could be affected, some 2 million of them in Caracas alone. The destruction was amplified by the quick succession of shallow quakes, experts said.

Loyce Pace, the International Red Cross’ regional director for the Americas, said “people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes.”

Indeed, many continued to sleep on the street.

Omar Reyes said around 20 family members died.

“I’ve been left alone in this life,” Reyes said, walking through the rubble where two of his children were buried.

In the city of Maiquetia, people lined up outside stores and pharmacies that served them one by one behind closed doors. At one point a woman in a crowd threw herself to the ground to protect a package of diapers with her body, desperate to keep it.

Traffic and throngs of motorcyclists at times disrupted search efforts. Mexican soldiers and volunteers repeatedly asked for silence to try to hear signs of life under the rubble, but bikers — civilian and uniformed — continued to honk horns and rev engines to the first responders' frustration.

Some people began to carry off basic goods such as toilet paper and food from stores in Catia La Mar, adjacent to the country’s main airport. Others swarmed a civilian pickup truck that was giving out bread and water, until a soldier intervened. The parking lot of a pharmacy turned into a makeshift shelter with tarps, hammocks and tents.

A few miles away, Yuleidy Cadenas, 28, stood across the street from a collapsed public housing building, hoping her son, mother and brother would be pulled out alive.

She fled barefoot from another building as it collapsed Wednesday and found her mother’s 12-floor apartment tower had pancaked.

“I got on top of the rubble and told them to yell back, and nobody did, not my brother, nor my son or my mother,” Cadenas said.

International aid on the way

Venezuelan authorities said Friday that 861 volunteers from Mexico, the U.S., El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia and beyond were in the country, and more were coming from elsewhere.

Acting President Rodríguez said she spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday and they reaffirmed their commitment to send rescue teams and aid equipment.

___

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed.

Some of those companies, called pharmacy benefit managers, also own pharmacies, and one of them, CVS, has spent millions of dollars fighting the regulations.

Affordability is a key issue ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Legislators in at least a dozen states passed laws this year to limit compensation to the companies, set minimum payments from the companies to pharmacists and require the companies to disclose more information to their clients, states and the public.

A Tennessee law will bar pharmacy benefit managers from operating retail pharmacies as of July 1, 2028, though CVS Health Corp. has filed a federal lawsuit to avoid having to close its 136 pharmacies there.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults said in a poll conducted earlier this year by healthcare research nonprofit KFF that they were at least somewhat worried about being able to afford their prescriptions. About 4 in 10 said costs had led them not to take medications as prescribed within the previous year, either by taking less than the prescribed dose, using over-the-counter substitutes or not filling prescriptions.

Dozens of proposals emerge across the US

Pharmacy benefit managers, particularly CVS and two other large companies, handle most U.S. prescriptions.

Lawmakers in at least 26 states introduced more than 120 bills this year on PBMs, according to an Associated Press search using the bill-tracking software Plural, with about a quarter of the bills clearing at least one chamber.

The companies manage pharmacy claims for health insurers and negotiate with manufacturers over drug prices and what medications will be covered. Critics concede that the size of the top companies gives them leverage that health plans wouldn't have on their own.

The benefit managers argue that they're the only player in the drug supply chain created to help push drug costs down and they claim credit for an increased used of less-expensive generic drugs, now 90% of U.S. prescriptions.

“If PBMs already didn’t exist, you’d need to invent one,” Prem Shaw, president of the CVS Health group overseeing its pharmacy and PBM operations, said in a recent interview. “Blaming PBMs for high drug prices is like blaming umbrellas for the rain.”

CVS fights restrictions in Tennessee

Drug companies, PBMs and their allies have spent at least $24 million on opposing broadcast and digital advertising since the start of 2025 to influence public opinion, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. CVS spent $4 million this year on ads opposing Tennessee's new law.

CVS sued Arkansas last year after it enacted similar legislation, and a federal judge blocked its law. CVS also settled three lawsuits in which Louisiana accused it of unfair trade and deceptive practices in lobbying against legislation there last year, agreeing to pay $45 million without acknowledging wrongdoing.

The CVS lawsuit in Tennessee alleges that the company, which operates 9,000 pharmacies nationwide, is facing “naked protectionism” from lawmakers who operate independent pharmacies — including the law's main sponsor, state Sen. Bobby Harshbarger, and co-sponsor Sen. Shane Reeves.

Independent pharmacies say they're being squeezed

In Knoxville, Seth White, who manages a CVS pharmacy, will have to find a new job if the Tennessee law stands, and he's also worried about hundreds of its customers having to go elsewhere for their medications.

Some 900 miles (1,400 kilometers) away in Coldwater, Kansas, Lisa Gales is on the opposite side of the debate. She and her husband operate the Main Street Pharmacy, and she said they rely heavily on sales of non-pharmacy items to offset low reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers.

Gales calculates she lost money on 86% of the prescriptions she filled last year. A new Kansas law will require PBMs to pay a $10.50 dispensing fee per prescription. Gales called it a “great win,” even though, “It’s still way under what it’s costing us.”

A new Louisiana law imposes an $11.81 dispensing fee. Another says PBMs must operate for the benefit of their health-insurer clients and people enrolled in health plans.

Critics deride each mandatory dispensing fee as an extra “pill tax” that will drive up consumers' costs. Backers dispute that, saying the laws also limit what PBMs charge health plans for the cost of medications themselves — so that it's often well below wholesale prices.

Pharmacy benefit managers push drugmakers to give big discounts on those wholesale prices but face criticism for keeping any portion of them. Some states now require PBMs to pass along all discounts.

Patients are watching the debate

It all worries consumers, particularly in small towns, who fear it could become harder to get their medications if PBMs squeeze independent pharmacies on reimbursements to the point of endangering their businesses.

In southeastern Kansas, Faith Sanders, a 79-year-old retired nursing home administrator, said the pharmacy in her hometown of Cedar Vale is important because without it people would have to drive 35 miles (56 kilometers) “to go out of town to get anything.”

For her many elderly neighbors, she said, “We get to the point where it’s hard for us to get out of town.”

Meanwhile, even some PBM critics question whether states can effectively regulate them. In Tennessee, state Rep. Robert Stevens, a Nashville-area Republican, told colleagues during a debate that cracking down on PBMs “needs to be done by Congress and not by us.”

Congress did pass new PBM regulations in February. One law will prevent PBMs from keeping any rebates they’ve negotiated on drug prices for health plans that supplement federal Medicare coverage for Americans over 64.

U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by Trump, and state Treasurer John Fleming are competing in the runoff. The two finished ahead of Sen. Bill Cassidy in the May 16 primary after Trump denounced the two-term senator, who voted to convict him following his 2021 impeachment.

A Letlow victory would cap Trump's primary efforts to unseat Republicans who have not been in lockstep with him. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and five Indiana state senators all lost reelection bids last month to challengers he backed.

Letlow was elected to the House in 2021 after her husband, Luke Letlow, won the same seat but died before taking office. She received Trump’s backing before entering the primary race in January.

She finished first in the primary with nearly 45% of the vote, compared with about 28% for Fleming and nearly 25% for Cassidy.

“We have a chance to send a clear message that Louisiana stands with President Trump,” Letlow said Thursday in an online rally with the president. “He endorsed me because he knows I will stand with him.”

Letlow has big advantages

Letlow's success on May 16, campaign spending on her behalf and support from prominent Republicans have her well positioned in the runoff. She was also endorsed by Gov. Jeff Landry, who consulted with Trump last year about her running for Senate, and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Last month Letlow won in parishes from the state's rural north to the New Orleans area in the southeast. She carried six of the 13 parishes that Fleming formerly represented in the U.S. House, including Caddo Parish, which includes Shreveport.

Fleming, a founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus while in Congress, later worked in Trump's first administration. He has reminded voters that he did not resign after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

He has appealed to those who identify with the president's “Make America Great Again” movement, saying his voting record is more conservative than Letlow's. His campaign ads describe him as MAGA “long before it was cool.”

Fleming has told voters he was blocked from reaching Trump to seek his endorsement by White House allies of Landry. Fleming says he finally got on the phone with Trump and reminded the president who he was.

“I said nobody has been more loyal to you than me,” Fleming recounted during a June campaign stop. “He said, 'You’re fantastic! Why didn't you call?'”

Mary Patricia Wray, a Louisiana political consultant who advises Republican and Democratic candidates, said she expects Fleming to perform well in rural areas but Letlow has the upper hand.

“Higher-information voters in more populous areas are going to fall into that Letlow camp,” Wray said. “She is the more institutional-looking candidate.”

The two campaigns have spent comparably on advertising, roughly $1 million each. But a super PAC that supports Letlow has led all spending, accounting for $4 million since the primary, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Fleming attacked Letlow on DEI, and she criticized him over an AI video

Fleming has ads highlighting Letlow's previous public support for diversity, equity and inclusion policy, which Trump has tried to eliminate. Letlow, a former college administrator, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of the University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020, but said this year she opposes it.

Fleming reposted an AI-generated video on the social platform X this month that purported to show Letlow saying she supported DEI because she “didn't know any better.” The fake image of Letlow also referenced her husband, who died from complications of COVID-19.

Fleming said he did not create the video “but it’s getting passed around Louisiana for a reason.”

Letlow condemned the sharing of the video as “disgraceful and indefensible,” chiefly for its mention of her husband.

Letlow has emphasized key priorities for social conservatives, notably her support for national legislation barring transgender women and girls from competing in school sports.

Fleming staked much of his campaign on opposition to carbon capture and sequestration, the process for injecting carbon dioxide waste underground to reduce industrial pollution. The technology’s build-out, included planned pipelines, has sparked backlash in rural Louisiana communities and divided the state GOP.

Fleming said such projects infringe on private property rights and federal government subsidies for the technology are wasteful.

Voters are also choosing a Democratic Senate nominee

In the Democratic primary, Jamie Davis, a northeast Louisiana crop farmer, faces Gary Crockett, a Navy veteran and business executive. Both have promoted addressing the cost of living and protecting social safety nets.

The state is heavily Republican. Trump carried Louisiana by 22 percentage points in 2024.

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

Firefighters are facing more challenges on the ground from what fire managers and experts call unprecedented conditions.

Air tankers and helicopters were grounded Friday as winds picked up on the Cottonwood Fire, the largest blaze currently burning in the U.S. Gusts were clocked at 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) and humidity levels were in the single digits, leaving crews with few options for slowing the flames, especially as they raced through the treetops.

“We are not expecting the weather to be kind to us for the next couple of days,” said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire. "We are seeing extreme fire behavior out there with some crown runs and definitely some spotting.”

Burning in a sparsely populated area of southern Utah, the Cottonwood Fire ballooned Friday to more than 112 square miles (290 square kilometers). One of several large wildfires burning in Utah, it severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County and forced evacuations. In the community of Marysvale, the smoke blocked out the sun Friday as ash rained down.

“We’re looking at a full 48 hours of critical weather that we have not seen in Utah in the last five years,” meteorologist Jason Straub told a community meeting in Beaver County Friday evening.

A cold front on Sunday will bring winds that could push the fire in new directions before the weather starts stabilizing next week, he said.

The smoke pushed mostly east, meaning air quality at popular vacation spots like Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks — located far south of the flames — hasn’t been significantly affected beyond some haze in the Bryce area.

Still, the plume was visible from miles away, even as far as Colorado.

It's like nothing seen in recent memory, Utah state forester Jamie Barnes said earlier this week. She acknowledged that fires are spreading farther and faster “under conditions that defy historical expectations.”

Nationally, nearly 3 million acres have burned since the start of the year, pushing the U.S. ahead of the 10-year average. The National Interagency Fire Center said firefighters are making progress on containing fires from Alaska to Florida.

Red flag warnings cover the West

Conditions including low humidity and strong winds have triggered red flag warnings across a wide swatch stretching from Idaho to southern Arizona and New Mexico. Some of the forecasts predicted winds of 25 to 35 miles an hour (40 km/h to 56 km/h), with the worst conditions expected from northern Arizona into central and southern Utah.

At Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, officials were preparing for a power outage on Saturday. The utility that serves the area had warned that it would likely initiate a safety outage in hopes of lessening the risk of wildfire in the area.

Visitors will be able to purchase park passes at entrance stations as long as backup power systems remain operational, but park officials said visitors should come prepared. That means downloading maps and other important information before arriving and ensuring that phones and other electronic devices are fully charged.

Power shutoffs have become more common in the West as wildfire risk has expanded. It's usually a last resort after utility forecasters weigh factors like sustained wind and gust speeds, available fuels and topography.

With extreme fire conditions persisting, Rocky Mountain Power has issued a public safety power shutoff watch/warning for areas of central, southern and eastern Utah through the weekend.

As long as it's hot and dry, the risk will be high

Tim Brown, a research professor and director of the Western Regional Climate Center, said the potential for extreme fire behavior will remain as long as it’s hot, dry and windy. He pointed to parts of the West that have been mired by persistent drought, including Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

“I would not be surprised to see a lot of restrictions come out as we get closer to the July Fourth weekend,” he said. “People really need to be aware of their surroundings if they’re going to be out in the forested campground areas and grassland areas.”

Gov. Spencer Cox set the temporary fireworks restrictions through July 5 as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, saying “this year is different.”

While the Cottonwood Fire's cause was unknown, the governor’s order noted that humans have been the cause of most fires in the state so far this year.

Even in Florida, where there have been multiple brush fires, authorities are urging people to skip the personal fireworks and instead leave the pyrotechnics to professionals putting on carefully planned shows.

Back fire camp, Mason talked about Utah's snowpack and steam flows peaking early in March, resulting in what she called extreme dryness. Then came the wind storms like never seen before, she said.

“If anything happens out there, any kind of spark hits fuels," she said, "it is more than likely going to start a fire and more than likely going get pretty big pretty quick.”

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele deployed the first search-and-rescue teams and paramedics on Thursday to work in the disaster zones in northern Venezuela’s state of La Guaira.

On Friday morning, Bukele shared an update on social media that kept the country and his followers in suspense. It was from a Salvadoran team working in the town of Caraballeda.

“We have found Camila Sofía Medina Rivas alive,” Bukele wrote, as Venezuela’s official death toll had increased to more than 920.

Camila had been “trapped along with her pet on the ninth floor” of a building in the Bahía Mar apartment complex at the Caribe neighborhood, according to Bukele and Salvadoran authorities.

“Her mother is waiting for her downstairs with part of our team,” Bukele wrote on X. “We still need to break through several walls to reach her, so our teams have brought more tools.”

On Friday afternoon, Bukele shared an audio of the communication in Spanish between Camila and a Grupo USAR-El Salvador rescuer, who asked her to make noise and keep her spirits high.

“I can only move my legs, stretch them,” Camila said, according to the audio that the president shared on X. The girl later added, “Thank you!”

As of 11:30 p.m., Bukele, who nicknamed the girl “Cami” during his updates, had not reported if the rescuers had freed her.

Bukele did announce that a Salvadoran nurse had found 39-year-old survivor, Nayarit Colmenares, on Friday and she was trapped in the rubble of another building in Caraballeda.

After seven hours of work, the nurse, Heidy Aguilar, helped to pull Colmenares out of the rubble on the sixth floor of a building in the Palmar Este neighborhood, according to Bukele.

“Her health condition is very delicate, but she is still alive. Our teams have already managed to insert an IV line to administer fluids to her while we continue the rescue efforts,” Bukele wrote. “God willing, we will manage to get her out alive and stabilize her, once she is out of the rubble.”

Salvadoran officials reported that Bukele deployed about 300 rescuers with some 150 tons of equipment and machinery — in less than 35 hours.

¡Ya casi Cami! 🇸🇻🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/ne8mUco6Hd

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 26, 2026

Hemos encontrado con vida a Camila Sofía Medina Rivas, una niña de 15 años atrapada junto a su mascota en el noveno piso de un edificio colapsado.

Su madre la está esperando abajo con parte de nuestro equipo.

Aún debemos romper varias paredes para llegar hasta ella, por lo que… pic.twitter.com/SFw04pnXJY

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 26, 2026

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Centro Comunitario AFE hosts collection drive in Miami-Dade
• Weston-based charity partners with local pharmacy
• Veteran-led Project DYNAMO delivers 20,000 pounds of aid in 1st 48 hours
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations
• Miramar to keep 6 aid drop-off locations open 24/7
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Burbank police said they were called to a home around 5:30 a.m. after someone dialed 911 reporting a woman screaming.

When they arrived, they found 24-year-old Wade and a woman with lacerations on her face and body, police said.

The woman was not taken to a hospital after paramedics checked on her at the scene.

A handgun was also removed from the home following the arrest. Police issued an emergency protective order for the woman.

Wade played high school basketball at Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California, where he received several scholarship offers — but he turned them down to go pro.

He played one year for the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League and spent a couple seasons overseas, playing in South Africa and Macau.

Pero en medio de una ola de calor histórica que convierte las buhardillas como la suya en un riesgo potencial para la salud, esta joven de 23 años, recién graduada, no se siente tan afortunada.

“Ha sido la peor semana que hemos vivido en este apartamento”, se lamentó en estos días en los que la capital y otras partes de Europa sufren un calor abrasador. “Hace un calor insoportable toda la tarde y es imposible tener un respiro”.

Muchos de los edificios de París, que se ven tan pintorescos desde el exterior, se convierten en lugares hostiles —incluso peligrosos— para la salud durante el implacable calor, que ha batido récords y que transforma los largos días de verano y las cortas y sofocantes noches en verdaderas batallas.

Esto es especialmente cierto para quienes viven directamente bajo los tejados de París, que a menudo no pueden permitirse apartamentos más grandes en plantas bajas, los cuales están menos expuestos al sol directo.

El calor extremo puede convertir los áticos en sitios mortales. Un estudio sobre la ola de calor sin precedentes de 2003, la cual causó 15.000 muertes, reveló que vivir en una buhardilla parisina directamente bajo el tejado aumentaba el riesgo de muerte en más del cuádruple, según un informe que la agencia de salud pública de Francia publicó el año pasado.

Además, investigadores que estudiaron muertes relacionadas con el calor en ciudades europeas para una investigación publicada en la revista científica The Lancet Planetary Health, en 2023, encontraron que París presentaba el mayor riesgo de muerte por calor entre las 30 capitales europeas analizadas.

Aproximadamente tres cuartas partes de los techos de París utilizan láminas de zinc como revestimiento, lo que crea las magníficas vistas grises de la ciudad que durante mucho tiempo han inspirado a artistas y cineastas. La UNESCO ha reconocido la técnica de los techadores de zinc, a la que considera un valioso patrimonio cultural de la humanidad. El zinc es resistente a la intemperie, maleable y puede ser reciclado. Pero al ser un metal, también absorbe y conduce el calor.

“La gente encuentra encantadores los techos de París. Existe la imagen de la buhardilla. Pero en realidad, si observas quién vive en esos apartamentos, suelen ser estudiantes que pagan mucho dinero por una habitación pequeña”, observó Maider Olivier, de la Fondation pour le Logement des Défavorisés (Fundación para la Vivienda de los Desfavorecidos).

“No sólo están extremadamente expuestos al calor, sino que también es imposible crear ventilación cruzada para disipar el calor por la noche”, agregó.

En el apartamento sin ascensor del sexto piso que Kenney comparte con su pareja, Francesca Pilia, también de 23 años, han acomodado un escritorio, una cama doble y un pequeño piano eléctrico. La única ventana del apartamento, que sobresale del techo de zinc, da al oeste, por lo que recibe sol directo desde el mediodía hasta el anochecer. Se dividen el pago de un alquiler de 735 euros (835 dólares) al mes.

“Era el lugar más barato para vivir”, expresó Kenney. “Me gusta que dé a la plaza. Puedo ver bodas casi todos los sábados por la mañana”.

“Pero ahora pienso que, si pudiera gastar más dinero para vivir en otro sitio, lo haría”, apuntó.

Aunque los edificios de oficinas, los centros comerciales, los cines y otros lugares modernos donde se reúne la gente suelen tener aire acondicionado, los apartamentos privados rara vez cuentan con él, especialmente en el densamente poblado centro de París, con sus edificios clásicos de estilo Haussmann. Estos reciben su nombre del urbanista del siglo XIX que transformó la ciudad y le dio sus amplias avenidas arboladas y gran parte de su aspecto arquitectónico.

Olivier, la activista por la vivienda, manifestó que las normas de urbanización destinadas a preservar el carácter de París —incluidos sus tejados característicos— dificultan los empeños para adaptar las viviendas al calor extremo.

“Hay personas que no pueden aislar sus techos, ni instalar contraventanas para bloquear el sol y evitar que sus casas se sobrecalienten, debido a las normativas de protección de los techos”, expuso. “Pero esas normativas que protegen los tejados de París no protegen a las personas que viven debajo de dichos techos”.

Kenney, originaria de Australia, y Pilia, de Italia, están acostumbradas al calor. Pero las temperaturas en París —con máximas récord para junio que superaron los 40 grados Celsius (104 grados Farenheit) durante el día y 25 ºC (77 ºF) por la noche— han sido insoportables.

Compraron un pequeño ventilador eléctrico, se duchan con agua fría, se refrescan con un trapo húmedo, se hidratan y se debaten entre dejar o no la ventana abierta.

“Me despierto y decido: ‘Hace demasiado calor; tengo que abrir la ventana’”, explicó Kenney. “Una hora después, me despierto y digo: ‘Hay demasiado ruido, tengo que cerrar la ventana’”.

“Es un ciclo muy, muy kafkiano”, concluyó.

The nonprofit organization, founded in 2009, plans to welcome the public’s drop-off donations from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at 6090 NW 84th Ave., north of Doral and south of Medley.

The nonprofit plans to hand the donations to the Doral-based Global Empowerment Mission, a nonprofit organization committed to delivering disaster relief to those in need in northern Venezuela.

The volunteers will not be accepting clothing, shoes, or linens. They welcome nonperishable food, bottled water, emergency supplies such as batteries and first aid kits, personal hygiene products, diapers, protective gear such as gloves and KN95 masks, tarps, industrial trash bags, and shovels.

For more information about how to volunteer or donate, visit this page or call 305-602-4466.

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Weston-based charity partners with local pharmacy
• Veteran-led Project DYNAMO delivers 20,000 pounds of aid in 1st 48 hours
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations
• Miramar to keep 6 aid drop-off locations open 24/7
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

They will not be accepting clothing, shoes, or linens. They welcome nonperishable food, bottled water, emergency supplies such as batteries and first aid kits, personal hygiene products, diapers, protective gear such as gloves and KN95 masks, tarps, industrial trash bags, and shovels.

Miramar officials have committed to delivering the donations to the local nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission’s warehouse in Doral. In turn, GEM’s leaders have committed to making sure that the donations make it to those in need in northern Venezuela.

Here is the list of the locations, which officials say will be open 24 hours a day to accept the donations:

Miramar Police Headquarters at 11765 City Hall Promenade

Fire Station 19 at 6700 Miramar Parkway

Fire Station 70 at 9001 Miramar Parkway

Fire Station 107 at 11811 Miramar Parkway

Fire Station 84 at 14801 SW 27th St.

Fire Station 100 at 2800 SW 184th Ave.

For more information about the effort, visit this page.

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Weston-based charity partners with local pharmacy
• Veteran-led Project DYNAMO delivers 20,000 pounds of aid in 1st 48 hours
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

“We are small,” he said. “But we have big hearts and we are fighters.”

Cape Verde completed an improbable run through the group stage with a third straight World Cup draw, a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Friday night to advance in the tournament.

The small island nation off the western coast of Africa, which is making its debut on soccer’s grandest stage, already held 2010 champion Spain to a 0-0 draw and then came from behind to get a 2-2 result against Uruguay.

“The team was very eager to show this to the whole world,” Cape Verde coach Bubista said while draped in his country's flag. “We are proud of having arrived at this stage. We have shown that we are a small country, but that we fight for the things that we want to achieve.”

Cape Verde’s three points put the team in second place behind Spain, which beat Uruguay on Friday night and won the group.

Cape Verde will play reigning World Cup champion Argentina in Miami on July 3.

Drawing all three group matches doesn't guarantee advancement at major soccer tournaments. But several teams have done it in the past, including Wales in 1958, Ireland and the Netherlands in 1990, and Chile in 1998. New Zealand, however, also got three draws at the 2010 World Cup and was eliminated.

On the eve of the match, Bubista mused, “everyone is entitled to dream and nothing is impossible.”

The Blue Sharks proved him right, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds as this country of just more than 500,000 reached the round of 32.

A woman, her face painted with a flag of the archipelago, held a sign that read: “Small Islands, Big Dreams.”

A dream that these underdogs have made reality as they continue their charmed run on the world stage.

They did it with another strong game from Vozinha, whose tournament success has helped him amass more than 16 million Instagram followers.

He had a save in first half stoppage time, grabbing a header from Mohamed Kanno to keep Saudi Arabia scoreless. Another save came in the 66th minute when he leaped to deflect a shot from Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat.

A third came in the 92nd minute when he stopped a shot by Abdullah Al-Hamdan.

“There is a lot of quality in our national team,” Vozinha said. “Maybe for many of you, you think the Cape Verdean player is not good enough. But we came here to show that we have a lot of quality and we are here to compete and our players can play everywhere in the big competition, in the big leagues.”

A group of shirtless men in the crowd each painted one letter of his name on their chests as they cheered Cape Verde.

But Vozinha had a much bigger fan among the crowd of 68,278 as his mother Ana Candida Evora watched from a luxury suite, waving a tiny Cape Verde flag. It was her second match of the tournament after missing Vozinha’s epic seven-save performance against Spain because of visa issues.

Cape Verde had a chance to score in the 50th minute, but Kevin Pina's shot from distance was just above the crossbar. Another chance came in the 74th minute when Laros Duarte’s shot from the middle of the box was stopped by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais.

A last chance to score came in the final seconds when Nuno da Costa sent a shot from the middle of the box wide left.

But it didn’t matter because a couple of minutes after the final whistle, Spain completed its victory over Uruguay and set off a joyous celebration among Cape Verde's players and fans, many of whom cried as they rejoiced.

Having led his squad to new heights, Bubista was asked if he could have imagined such a run entering the tournament.

“I’ve always said that sooner or later Cape Verde would be on such a stage,” he said. “Of course it’s hard to have such a forecast, but I always knew.”

Saudi Arabia was eliminated after finishing with two points in the group stage.

“We were very poor in terms of creating things, controlling the game and creating actions,” coach Georgios Donis said. “And one cannot win a game this way. It would be very difficult.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Uruguay, a two-time champion, will go home without any victories in its three Group H games. Spain, the European champion, won the group with seven points and will face the second-place team from Group J — either Austria or Algeria — on Thursday in Inglewood, California.

Álex Baena scored in the 42nd minute after Muslera couldn’t fully swat away his shot from inside the area. It was the third blunder of the tournament by the 40-year-old Muslera, who asked coach Marcelo Bielsa to substitute him at halftime. Sergio Rochet came in to start the second half.

“He is the one who decided to leave,” Bielsa said.

The veteran Argentine coach said he feels like Uruguay deserved better luck considering its performances, and should have earned seven points instead of two from its group matches. But he took full responsibility for the team's failure.

“No one wants to listen to explanations now,” Bielsa said. “The blame is on me, I’m the one responsible for the disappointing work that I did. I had a group of quality players.”

At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.

“Every match is different and you have to win every type of match,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “This was a game with maximum difficulty.”

De la Fuente said midfielder Yéremy Pino likely suffered a broken collarbone that would sideline him for the rest of the tournament. Pino, who entered the match in the 66th minute, stayed on until the end despite the injury because Spain had already made all five substitutions.

Cape Verde, which played Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw in the other group game on Friday, finished second in the group with three points, one more than both Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Uruguay finished third but without enough points to be among the best eight third-place teams that will advance.

A few Uruguay players cried on the field after the final whistle. Many fans booed the team as it left.

The match was one of the most anticipated of the group stage, but it featured few significant scoring chances by either team.

“I'm very proud of all the work that we have done,” Baena said. “We competed very well.”

Uruguay players loudly advocated for a penalty in the final minutes after Federico Viñas went down inside the area.

There was some tension near the end. Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio was sent off in stoppage time for a tackle on Spain defender Paul Cubarsi. His teammates had to escort him off the field, and after the final whistle he returned to try to talk to the referee.

Uruguay, the World Cup winner in 1930 and 1950, came into the final group match in turmoil after draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Uruguayan media said there were reports of players not being happy with Bielsa.

Spain, seeking its second World Cup title, opened with a shocking 0-0 draw against Cape Verde but was coming off a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. La Roja haven’t made it past the round of 16 since winning their lone title in 2010.

Spain striker Lamine Yamal, who entered the tournament nursing a left hamstring injury, had a lackluster outing and again didn’t play the entire match, being replaced by Ferran Torres in the 76th minute. The 18-year-old Yamal was replaced at halftime against Saudi Arabia and came off the bench in the second half against Cape Verde.

Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte had to replaced because of an apparent knee injury near the end of the first half. He was on the ground seeking medical assistance when Spain opened the scoring, and was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher.

King Felipe VI of Spain was among the crowd of 45,065 at Estadio Akron.

A moment of silence was observed before the match in memory of those who died when back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela late Wednesday.

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Associated Press writer Maria Verza contributed to this report.

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Marisol Dieguez, a Venezuelan-American who founded the organization in 2014, developed a partnership with Locatel, a pharmacy and medical equipment supplier founded in 1979.

Locatel was accepting cash donations for the team effort in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

In Hallandale Beach, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday at 1715 East Hallandale Beach Boulevard.

In Miami Gardens, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, at 2440 Northeast Miami Gardens Drive.

To understand what motivates the leaders and volunteers, the nonprofit, which has three stars on Charity Navigator, shared a documentary.

In 2020, Dieguez’s grassroots effort was the focus of “5ta RUTA,” a documentary in Spanish that was later made available on YouTube.

For more information about how to contribute to the effort, visit this page.

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Veteran-led Project DYNAMO delivers 20,000 pounds of aid in 1st 48 hours
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort
• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations - Clone
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

On Friday, Mario Duarte, the nonprofit’s president and chief executive officer, said the team had already delivered food, water, and medicine to survivors — and there was more on its way.

During the first 48 hours, the nonprofit’s leadership estimated that the team in Venezuela had delivered about 20,000 pounds of aid to survivors in Caracas and neighboring areas.

“They are also still trying to get to their loved ones who are unfortunately still under all that rubble,” said Duarte, who served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves.

The veteran-led and donor-funded nonprofit organization, founded during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, has volunteers in Venezuela who have collection and distribution channels.

Victor Palazzi, a volunteer for the nonprofit in Venezuela, said the survivors who were displaced and those who are trying to help them are dealing with “very difficult conditions” and “the resources are limited.”

The nonprofit is ready to deploy experts in search-and-rescue efforts, field medicine, and humanitarian logistics, as soon as the country’s airports reopen to commercial or private humanitarian flights.

“The most difficult part is just to make it to the region because all the air strips are now closed and they are only allowing military traffic in,” said Duarte, the former security manager for the Houston Airport Authority.

Duarte, a Guatemalan American with experience in intelligence in the public and private sectors, said the disaster relief aid needs to keep flowing.

“People are going to be needing it for months to come,” Duarte said.

For more information about the nonprofit and how to donate to their efforts, visit this page.

Useful list: Aid drop-off locations in South Florida

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Weston-based charity partners with local pharmacy
• Altruism at El Arepazo feeds Global Empowerment Mission’s team effort
• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team

• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations - Clone
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Yoon, who shot a record 63 in the first round at Hazeltine National Golf Club, had two bogeys with one birdie on the back nine to reach 12 under. The 23-year-old is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory.

“The remaining two days will obviously be nerve-racking, but being nervous is human nature, and I think I want to embrace that and focus on what I can in my shots,” said Yoon, who missed the cut at the U.S. Women's Open this month after tying for fourth at the first major of the season at The Chevron Championship.

Nasa Hataoka, Brooke Henderson, A Lin Kim and Hae Ran Ryu were tied for second. Ryu shot a 64 for the best score of the day, three strokes better than Hataoka. Henderson finished with three straight birdies for a 68. Kim shot a 70. They all left the course in good spirits, yet trying to figure out how to make up five strokes.

“It’s halfway done. She had a great first half, so hopefully I can just have a great second half to try to make up the difference,” said Henderson, the Canadian who won the Women's PGA Championship at age 18 in 2016 at Sahalee Country Club in Washington. “I feel like overall the way I’ve been playing the course has been really solid, so just hopefully I make a few more birdies and climb the board.”

LPGA Tour leader Nelly Korda, who opened her bid for a third straight major title this year with a quiet 70, had a 68 to climb into a tie for sixth place with Dongeun Lee at 6 under.

After rallying from a slow start to win the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Korda put herself in a viable position.

“It is hard to have a big lead going into the weekend. I was there at Chevron and you do feel a little bit more pressure, like everyone is hunting you down. I’m just going to focus on, as boring as it is, one shot at a time and see where that takes me,” Korda said. “I know the wind will be higher this weekend so it’s going to play probably a little bit more difficult, and I’m sure that the pins will be tricked up.”

Yoon, Kim, Ryu and Lee gave South Korean four of the top seven at the midpoint of a tournament that has so far enjoyed calm, dry and comfortable conditions with high temperatures in the mid-70s. The 36-hole average score is the lowest for this event since 2008 at Bulle Rock in Maryland.

“I think I like this kind of grass, and the course fit my eye as well," Yoon said. “Yeah, I think I like this course.”

Yoon became the fourth player in the history of the Women's PGA Championship, which dates to 1955, to lead by five or more strokes through 36 holes, following Mickey Wright (eight, 1958), In Gee Chun (six, 2022) and Cristie Kerr (five, 2010).

Korda again had hundreds of fans following her every shot, streaming from hole to hole as she traversed the lengthy 6,700-yard course in suburban Minneapolis.

After birdies on four of her first nine holes, Korda faded a bit down the stretch and finished with six straight pars as she fought a hook with her tee shots. She hit into the rough along the treeline to begin her back nine before two-putting for bogey on the first hole.

Projecting confidence and humility as the sport's most dominant and popular player at the moment, Korda couldn't help but laugh with caddie Jason McDede at the difference in layouts from the last major to this one.

“At Riv it’s a dead right and now it’s left,” Korda said. “I would’ve killed for this shot at Riv. But, yeah, it’s just golf. It’s funny, right? It always kind of humbles you, and you’re always kind of scratching your head a little bit in some ways.”

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AP GLF: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Video of the series of events was released Friday by a state judge in Hartford overseeing Jones’ family’s lawsuit against eight officers and a prison nurse, following a yearslong legal battle and after both sides agreed to certain redactions.

The Department of Correction had sought to keep it sealed since 2019, saying in part that its release could present security problems because it shows the physical layout of the prison and staffing patterns. But Jones’ family, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and local NAACP officials called for publicly releasing the video, saying transparency was needed in Jones’ death.

“The events in the video are as disturbing as the events in the video of George Floyd’s death,” Ron Murphy, a lawyer for Jones’ family, wrote in a court document, referring to the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. “But in some ways, the video of J’Allen’s death is worse.”

Jones, 31, from Atlanta, was serving a 10-year sentence for robbery at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of New Haven when he died on March 25, 2018. Correction officers had been trying to take him to a medical unit in the prison at the time to get treatment for his mental illness.

Handcuffed inmate appeared in crisis as officers struck him

Portions of the 52-minute video show Jones handcuffed behind his back — and later with his legs shackled — as officers hit his legs and torso with their knees and fists, after he refused a strip search. At one point, an officer pins him down on a bed with a knee on his back while others hold him down.

Jones — who was having a schizophrenic episode, according to court documents — is heard yelling at this point, much of it unintelligible. He repeatedly shouts, “In the blood of Jesus Christ!” At one point, he tells officers, “I command you ... to uncuff me now!”

Officers, meanwhile, tell Jones numerous times to stop resisting and to calm down. One officer tells Jones they're just trying to help him.

About 17 minutes into the video, Jones appears to start having trouble breathing after the spit bag was placed over his head and he was pepper sprayed. Nearly five minutes later, Jones appears to be unconscious as officers struggle to hold him up and put him in a wheelchair. At around the 24-minute mark, an officer requests a nurse to evaluate Jones.

“Right now he's just being dead weight, and I just want to make sure he's OK,” the officer says, talking to the video camera held by another officer.

Minutes go by before life-saving measures are started

About 28 minutes into the video, a nurse starts performing CPR and an officer orders someone over the radio to call 911. An ambulance crew doesn't arrive until more than 43 minutes into the video. Jones was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Hours after Jones' death, the Department of Correction put out a brief statement saying that Jones had become “non-compliant and combative with staff and then became non-responsive.” It did not say anything about officers striking Jones but noted that there were no immediate indications that excessive force was used. It said life-saving measures were performed and he was brought to a hospital.

The medical examiner’s office determined that the cause of Jones’ death was “sudden death during struggle and restraint with chest compression and pepper spray exposure in person with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.” It ruled his death a homicide, although that designation does not necessarily mean a crime was committed.

In January 2019, a state prosecutor investigating Jones’ death determined that no crimes were committed.

An internal Correction Department investigation found that excessive force was not used. But the eight officers and nurse violated policy by not recognizing for more than seven minutes that Jones was in medical distress — although not intentionally, the investigation report said.

Punishment of one-day suspensions without pay were handed down to the nine staff members, Correction Department records show.

The correctional officers' union did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Family lawyer hopes video release spurs calls for reforms

Allen was Black, and his lawyer says eight of the nine defendants are white. One is Black. In court papers seeking release of the video, Murphy said it’s important that the public sees the footage and can consider “whether his race or schizophrenia played any role in how his cries for help and gasps for air were perceived and handled.”

“I hope everyone who chooses to watch the video does so with an open heart, remembering that J’Allen Jones was a father and a son and that his family grieves every day,” Murphy said in a statement Friday afternoon, adding that he hoped the video leads to prison system improvements.

He added, "I found the video very difficult to watch as it depicts the painful death of another human being. So please take care of yourself while watching and if you experience overwhelming feelings, consider taking a break or reaching out to someone for support. Thank you.”

Responding to a series of questions from The Associated Press about the video and how officers dealt with Jones, the Correction Department's interim commissioner Sharonda Carlos, said in a statement that the agency is continually focused on improving the services it offers to inmates experiencing mental health problems.

“Any loss of life in our facilities is a tragedy that we feel deeply, and our sympathy remains with Mr. Jones’ family and loved ones," she said.

Carlos said she appointed a psychiatrist to lead the department's inmate medical services in May, and the agency is rolling out major improvements to its mental health training for staff.

“Behind every individual in our care is a family hoping for their well-being, and we do not take that responsibility lightly,” she said.

The Bogotá, Colombia, native saw the scary scene two years ago during the Copa America final as thousands of ticketless fans breached the security gates at Hard Rock Stadium to watch Colombia face Argentina.

Colombia's soccer team will play Portugal on Saturday in a World Cup group stage match, returning to the stadium for the first time since that incident — this time with heightened security and multiple checkpoints.

“Now that we’re here, I feel a little pressure just to show myself better and like to show a better country to the world," said Nicolas, who said he was not at the match in 2024. "Colombia is new now. Colombia has new stuff to give to the world. We’re a different country, so now we have to show that.”

The crowd trouble began hours before the July 2024 match. Supporters — many of them wearing Colombia’s yellow and red colors — rushed the gates at the home stadium of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, leaving fans terrified and bloodied as security struggled to contain the rush.

Screams could be heard in the background of many videos circling social media, and posts showed some fans trying to climb through air vents to gain entry.

Questions were sparked on how to handle two more years of major soccer tournaments in the United States — the Club World Cup last year and this year's World Cup.

There was increased security last summer at the Club World Cup matches held in Miami, which served as a preview of the ticket-screening measures to expect on Saturday.

Fans must pass through three separate checkpoints that enclose the entire campus before getting close to the stadium, and parking passes are checked well before entry. Steel fencing is also set up around the perimeter.

“It’s been a layered approach that people have to go through,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of President Donald Trump’s World Cup task force, which is overseeing the tournament's multiagency security effort.

“We’re going to make sure that everybody is on their guard ready to go that day in particular,” Giuliani added, “just making sure that there are no issues. ... We’re leaning in on the 27th to make sure we can talk about the action that happened (on the pitch)."

Giuliani said there will be a “strong federal presence” both around the stadium and city on Saturday, declining to answer if that includes more than a typical match day. There have been three World Cup group matches in Miami so far. Each has seen a heavy police presence.

“I think we like showing up for our team, and some people take it a little bit too far," said Lucas Gaviria, a native of Manizales, Colombia, who attends Florida Atlantic University. “That has to do with our culture. We care about it too much, we have a ‘any means necessary’ type of thinking. ‘I need to see this game, even though I know I don’t have the money for it.’”

Saturday's match has been in high demand, both because of South Florida's large Colombian community and the draw of Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo. Tickets on the resale site StubHub were listed from around $3,000 to more than $5,000.

“If you don’t have tickets, you shouldn’t be on site here,” Giuliani said in January, when he and other members of the task force visited the stadium during the College Football Playoff national championship. “It’s not like an American football game where there’s tailgating. This is very different. We want to make sure the security resources are here for those ticketed fans. If you’re not ticketed, you have fan festivals. You have other events in the Miami area where you can go and enjoy and be safe.”

Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Stadium is its name during the World Cup because of FIFA’s policies about sponsorship — has not commented because of its ongoing involvement in multiple lawsuits related to the Copa America final.

Those lawsuits, which list multiple defendants, claim — among other things — that the stadium and soccer officials didn’t have enough security present to handle such a crowd, lacked proper numbers of Spanish-speaking personnel working at the event and didn’t protect legitimate ticket holders “from foreseeable criminal activity.”

Ahead of Saturday's match, Colombia supporters said they hope that moment doesn't define them.

"There are a lot of great things that Colombia stands for," said Nadia Rodriguez, a Bogota, Colombia, native living in Miami. “Great coffee, beautiful landscapes, amazing songs, the soccer team. The darkness is in the past.”

___

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

___

Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Plantation police responded to the 4400 block of NW 10th Court, where they found a person suffering from injuries. The person was transported to the hospital and a suspect was taken into custody.

Authorities say the incident appears to be isolated with no danger to the public. Detectives are asking residents to stay clear of the area while they investigate.

Someone alerted authorities about the trailer in August 2022 after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped Samuel Bateman's vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time. The trailer was enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs.

In the federal case, Bateman was convicted of coercing girls as young as 9 to submit to sex acts with him and other young adults, and for scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody, the story of which is the focus of a Netflix series, “Trust Me: The False Prophet.”

Bateman previously claimed to have more than 20 "spiritual wives," including 10 girls under the age of 18. He testified in his own defense in the state case, telling jurors he would never harm the people he loves. He acknowledged during cross-examination that he knew the girls were in a hot trailer for hours and the ventilation wasn't good, but downplayed the conditions.

“I just trusted myself as a driver,” he said. “I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle.”

He claimed he thought the girls had gotten out when they stopped. He said he was as “shocked as could possibly be” when he learned that they were still inside when he was pulled over.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors, “It’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation."

Jurors in the state case weren't supposed to hear about Bateman's conviction in federal court. The judge barred the evidence from being introduced. But Bateman brought it up several times as he represented himself, leading the judge to strike the comments from the record.

The jury delivered the verdict Friday in about 40 minutes, convicting him on all three counts of child abuse. . Each count carries a mandatory sentence, between four and eight years. The judge has discretion to run the counts consecutively or concurrently. A sentencing hearing is scheduled Aug. 25.

The Associated Press left a voice mail and email messages Friday for Bateman’s appointed advisory counsel.

Federal authorities said Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet, traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska as he built an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.

He and his followers practiced polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.

Bateman was one of the trusted followers of Warren Jeffs, who previously led the sect and is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of children.

The influence of the polygamous sect has waned significantly over time in the towns where the sect has historically been based. In 2017, a court order placed the towns under supervision, excising the church from their governments and shared police department.

But the area has since transformed so quickly that they were released from court-ordered supervision last summer, almost two years earlier than expected. Practicing sect members are now believed to account for only a small percentage of the towns’ populations.

Trout expects to return from the injury in plenty of time to play in the July 14 All-Star Game, but it will likely prevent the Los Angeles Angels center fielder from the home run competition the night before in Citizen’s Bank Park.

“They asked me when we were in Sacramento (last weekend), but I probably won’t do it,” Trout, 34, said before the Angels' game against the Athletics. “It would have been cool to do it, but the injury kind of threw things off.”

Trout, a three-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star, has turned down numerous invitations to participate in the derby because he felt the high volume of maximum-effort swings the event requires would throw him off at the plate.

He always maintained that he would take part in the derby at least once before he retires, and this seemed to be the year to do it, with All-Star Game festivities in Citizens Bank Park about 45 miles north of his hometown of Millville, New Jersey.

Trout fueled more speculation that he would participate in the derby last weekend when he told USA Today that he was “considering” participating in the event.

But Trout, who was hitting .234 with 17 homers and 36 RBIs in 74 games when he was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 18, had a change of heart over the past week.

“When it came out that the All-Star Game was in Philly, I thought it definitely would have been cool to do,” said Trout, who ranks second behind Aaron Judge in All-Star voting for AL outfielders. “Then I hurt my leg, so I’m leaning toward not doing it.”

___

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

James Dale, who filed a complaint in a New York City federal court Thursday, alleges that both sides have provided conflicting answers, while the Pentagon is refusing to release a copy of its agreement with the organization.

The Pentagon made a deal with Scouting America in February that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said would refocus the organization away from diversity initiatives and other “woke” policies. Hegseth threatened to cease the military's longtime support of the organization if it failed to comply in six months, which would be in late August.

Hegseth put heavy emphasis on Scouting America’s acceptance of transgender youth, saying the organization will require members to use their “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.”

But Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, said then that the agreement did not change existing policies regarding transgender youth and that they are welcome.

“We have transgender people in our program and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press in February.

In his complaint seeking the agreement, Dale states that both accounts “cannot be true, and the stakes are of profound public importance."

Hegseth had pledged in February to “vigorously review” the changes Scouting America has made, threatening to withdraw support.

“We hope that doesn’t happen, but it could,” Hegseth said at the time. “Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men. Maybe someday.”

The scouts and the military have had longtime ties, including the military providing logistical support for the National Boy Scout Jamboree and scouts meeting on or near bases. The military also has maintained a strong relationship with the Eagle Scouts, whose members often enlist.

Dale had filed a Freedom of Information Act request in late March to get the memorandum of understanding between Scouting America and the Pentagon regarding the changes.

“The Department has invoked no exemption, produced no record, and missed every deadline,” his complaint stated. "Mr. Dale brings this action to enforce the public’s right to know, before the Department’s August deadline expires.

When asked for comment on Dale's lawsuit, the Pentagon said in a statement that it wouldn't comment on ongoing litigation and referred to the video Hegseth released in February that outlined the changes he said the organization was making. Scouting America did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Dale raised another question in his complaint about the government's ability to require the organization to accept or deny certain members.

In 1990, the Boy Scouts of America expelled Dale, then an Eagle Scout who had become an assistant scoutmaster, after discovering he was co-president of Rutgers University’s gay and lesbian organization. He sued in 1992, accusing the Boy Scouts of discrimination, and lost at the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the organization could maintain membership and leadership criteria that excluded homosexuals.

“Here, if the Department’s account is true, the federal government has now obtained by contract what the Court once held it could not command by law,” Dales lawsuit states. “And if it is not, then the Department has misled the public about what Scouting America has agreed to do."

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Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.

Leer en español

It was the bloody end to the brothers’ long-running feud. Leyva, 49, rode a scooter and arrived shortly after 12:20 p.m. on April 24, 2025, at Priced Rights Motors, Inc., a used car dealership that Rivero, 35, had inherited, records show.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Deputies Alfredo Perez and Dea Harris fired at Leyva shortly before 1 p.m. at 7321 SW 45 St., in a warehouse area at the Glenvar Heights neighborhood, just west of South Miami, records show.

“Leyva shot at the officers at least one time prior to either officer using deadly force,” Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Sara Imm wrote, according to the closing memo that Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle also signed.

Before the deputies responded with a ballistic shield, Armando Yadro told a 911 dispatcher that Leyva had shot him and he was pretending to be dead because he was in the business, records show.

Imm described how Leyva also “directed” a “perceived explosive,” a smoke bomb that appeared to be a grenade, before Perez “discharged his firearm,” according to the closing memo that Fernandez Rundle approved on Thursday, records show.

“It is reasonable to conclude that both Deputy Harris and Deputy Perez believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves and/or the other two civilians, Imm wrote, according to the memo.

Videos showed children running for cover outside before deputies arrived. People hiding at nearby businesses heard the gunshots. A SWAT team arrived and evacuated the area, which included a warehouse with kids in a cheerleading practice.

The deputies weren’t injured, and neither were civilians in the area. Yadro, 35, suffered a wound to the clavicle and survived. Rivero was shot in the side of the head, and a doctor pronounced him dead at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital. Leyva was shot in the head.

“Doctors were not able to remove the projectile lodged in his brain,” the prosecutor wrote, according to the memo.

After suffering from “complications” from the gunshot wound he suffered when deputies fired, Leyva was hospitalized and died on Feb. 14, records show.

The MDSAO reported receiving the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s report on May 22.

Read the closing memo

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Friday, two days after Messi's 39th birthday, that the team's captain will begin the match on the bench, but also indicated through an interpreter that he “will come in a little bit later.”

Scaloni didn't say when Messi might substitute in to the game, or what his lineup would be against first-time World Cup participant Jordan, which lost its first two matches.

Messi scored all five goals for Argentina in the first two group matches, and now has 18 goals overall in his six World Cups. He had his first-ever hat trick in the tournament in a 3-0 win over Algeria to tie the career scoring record at 16 goals that had been held by Miroslav Klose of Germany. He broke that mark with the goals in a 2-0 win over Austria on Monday at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys — where the group finale will be played.

Klose played in 24 World Cup matches for Germany, which wrapped up his fourth tournament by winning the 2014 final 1-0 in extra time over Messi and Argentina. Kylian Mbappé matched Klose at 16 with two goals in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq later Monday. Mbappé, who has four goals in the tournament, didn't score in a 4-1 win over Norway on Friday in his final group match.

Considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, Messi has made 201 international appearances for Argentina, including a FIFA-record 28 World Cup matches. He has scored in six consecutive World Cup games, joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do that.

Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami of Major League Soccer that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup.

While there have been no indications of any issues since, Argentina has a lot of games left if it is going to get to another World Cup final. The knockout round for La Albiceleste begins next Friday in South Florida, and in this expanded 48-team tournament that would be the first of five matches in 17 days if they make it to the final on July 19.

Even with Argentina trying to go undefeated in group play for the fifth time, and first since 2014, Messi isn't the only starter expected to get a break.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez could be the only regular starter in a lineup that could feature several new faces. Nicolás Paz, who made his World Cup debut subbing in for Messi late in the opener against Algeria, is now expected to start in his place.

“The hope is that the team will play the same way. That’s what we’re going to try to do,” Scaloni said. “Jordan is a good opponent, and we’re not taking anything for granted. We’ll try to tweak some aspects of the last match, but with the same intention of controlling the ball and dominating the opponent.”

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Associated Press writer Débora Rey contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The company said Friday that the new entity will be called Exemplar Luxury Group, and with an improved balance sheet, including a nearly 75% debt reduction and $500 million in extra financing. Its CEO, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, said the New York-based company is ready for its next chapter after navigating several tumultuous years.

“Today is really a brand new day for the organization and a new day where these three iconic banners have the right funding, the right equity and a bright future ahead of them,” van Raemdonck told The Associated Press on Friday during a phone interview.

Van Raemdonck said that the new name signifies the company's focus on having an exemplary shopping experience — the best merchandise, and better personalized service with customers, with help from its sales associates and the treasure trove of data it has on its customers. The company employs more than 1,500 sales associates who have sold more than $1 million of goods each, he said.

Saks Global had filed for bankruptcy protection in January of this year, buffeted by rising competition and the massive debt it took on to buy its rival in the luxury sector, Neiman Marcus, in July 2024.

Before the bankruptcy, there were 33 Saks stores and 36 Neiman Marcus locations, according to the company, as well as its Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue and roughly 70 Saks Off 5th discount stores.

Now, there are a total of 49 stores — 15 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 33 Neiman Marcus stores and its Bergdorf Goodman store. The company shuttered most of its Saks Off Fifth discount stores, and it now has 12 outlets, the company said.

Exemplar Luxury Group said it has been teaming up with Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital throughout its restructuring process. Both firms will have two representatives on the seven-person board. In addition, van Raemdonck as well as former Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell and Philippe Schaus, who most recently served as Global CEO of Moët Hennessy, will serve on the board, the company said.

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Brito, who was doing her part to push a flow of aid from South Florida to the disaster zone, couldn’t stop thinking about her uncle Roberto Brito and aunt Kairol Piñero, who vanished on Wednesday in La Guaira.

Brito, who had a flyer with pictures of them and Norelys Marrero, hopes they may still be alive and waiting for help under the rubble. Volunteers were searching, but they lacked machinery and tools.

“We are trying to find resources to help lift the concrete that collapsed on top of them,” said Brito at El Arepazo in Doral.

The Venezuelan restaurant, open 24 hours, seven days a week, at the Chevron gas station, at 10191 NW 58th St., was among the drop-off locations collecting aid to be delivered to the local nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission’s warehouse in Doral.

“I haven’t stopped crying since the earthquake,” said Susanna Taddei, a Venezuelan-American LGBTQ+ rights activist who was dropping off aid at El Arepazo.

Taddei said the civilians, who were trying to rescue survivors from the rubble, were in desperate need of equipment, tools, and parts such as grinding wheels to cut through metal.

Some used markers to write messages in Spanish on the cardboard boxes that were piling up with donations. One donor wrote, “Fuerza Venezuela,” or “Stay Strong, Venezuela,” and drew a few hearts.

Related list: Drop-off locations in South Florida

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• U.S. Southern Command focuses on airport damage
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team
• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations - Clone
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

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According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Dennis Michael Millwood, 55, of Miramar, was arrested Thursday following a weeks-long investigation conducted by UPS investigators and MDSO’s Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Squad.

The report states that UPS investigators began looking into a series of thefts involving packages whose contents disappeared while in transit through the company’s Hialeah distribution center at 6001 E. Eighth Ave.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video and alleged that Millwood routinely arrived before his scheduled shift and removed packages from the “Lakes Box Bottom Slide,” an area containing packages that were not assigned to his delivery route. Those packages were then loaded into his assigned UPS truck, investigators said.

Authorities said packages assigned to Millwood’s route were normally loaded from a different conveyor system, making his actions outside the scope of his job responsibilities.

Rolex reported missing

The investigation focused in part on a package containing a Rolex watch valued at approximately $55,000.

According to the report, surveillance video from June 9 showed Millwood loading the package into his truck. Tracking data later confirmed the package remained inside his vehicle, authorities said.

Millwood later told UPS the package had been mistakenly loaded onto his truck and transferred to another driver responsible for rerouting misdirected deliveries, according to detectives.

Detectives said the package ultimately reached its intended recipient, but investigators said the recipient discovered the Rolex watch was missing when the box was opened.

UPS investigators said “RFID” (Radio Frequency Identification) data confirmed the package had been inside Millwood’s truck before it was delivered.

Investigators also alleged that on Wednesday, Millwood selected four additional packages that were not assigned to his route. One of those packages was later found to have been opened and resealed, authorities said.

Sting operation leads to arrest

On Thursday, investigators conducted a controlled operation using two packages containing Samsung cellphones, GPS tracking devices and a hidden security dye pack designed to activate if the packages were opened without authorization, the arrest report stated.

According to the report, investigators watched live surveillance footage as Millwood loaded four packages from the same conveyor, including the two bait packages, into his UPS truck before beginning his delivery route.

Authorities followed Millwood and said he stopped near Northeast 132nd Terrace, where he allegedly opened one of the controlled packages.

Investigators said the security dye pack activated when the package was opened, covering Millwood’s hands in red dye.

An MDSO sergeant reported seeing Millwood frantically attempting to wash the dye off his hands using a towel, paper towels and water before continuing his route.

Detectives arrested Millwood a short time later while he was making another delivery near Northeast 127th Street, authorities said.

A search of the UPS truck uncovered the opened package, which investigators said had been resealed and placed back on a package rack. The Samsung phones and GPS tracker were recovered from another area inside the truck, according to the report.

Investigators said the two phones had a combined value of approximately $2,399.

Investigators say driver admitted opening packages

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Millwood initially denied opening or taking any packages, according to the report.

Investigators said that after being shown surveillance video, Millwood admitted to tampering with and opening one of the controlled packages.

When questioned about the missing Rolex, investigators said Millwood first denied taking the watch. He later allegedly told detectives he had given it to a friend named “Chris” after keeping it for about a week, the report stated.

According to the report, Millwood refused to identify the friend or provide any additional information, saying he did not want to get him into trouble. Investigators said he also offered to retrieve the watch if he were released.

The report states that when asked why he repeatedly selected packages that were not assigned to his route, Millwood responded that he “does that all the time.”

Millwood was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Court records show he faces a charge of second-degree grand theft.

As of Friday afternoon, Millwood remained held at TGK on a $5,000 bond.

Local 10 News has reached out to UPS for comment and is awaiting a response.

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The fire rescue personnel with the Urban Search and Rescue, or USAR, and Florida Task Force 1, or FLTF1, which includes 80 specialists, will support search and rescue operations.

“We know that many people in our community have family, friends, and loved ones in Venezuela, which makes this mission especially meaningful to us,” a MDFR spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We deploy with a single purpose: to provide hope and assist those who have been affected during this difficult time.”

The FLTF1 “Type I” team also includes six canine teams and experts in 19 areas, including command and control, technical search, structural evaluation and stabilization, planning and technical information, advanced medical care, hazardous materials mitigation, tactical communications, logistics, safety, and technical rescue.

The highly trained teams have responded to disasters around the world, including hurricanes, explosions and major earthquakes. Members of Task Force 1 were among the rescuers who searched through rubble following the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010.

At the Air Force Reserve base in Homestead, crews were loading pallets with water purification systems, generators and other equipment needed for the mission. The task forces are designed to be self-sufficient while operating in disaster zones.

The State Department had already deployed two urban search and rescue teams from Los Angeles and Fairfax, Virginia, that had worked together in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa.

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Some civilians are also lining up to help.

Ramon Centeno, who was seen fleeing his Caracas apartment building on video, says it’s about solidarity.

“We are supporting each other, there is incredible solidarity, brother,” Centeno said.

The former political prisoner who spent four years in jail says he saw the face of death once again.

“In prison I saw the face of death, and in the earthquake I saw the face of death again,” he said.

Now he says he’s focused on collecting non-perishable supplies — scenes playing out around the world and at home.

Others, like Evelyn Batatino, are trying to figure out where to live. Her Caracas apartment was left with cracks, and she’s not sure if it’s safe.

“We are very scared,” Batatino said.

Some are now sleeping on the streets in tents, worried their buildings may be unsafe. Batatino says she needs to know another aftershock won’t come and affect the building.

“We need them to give us security, because the building is in very bad shape,” she said.

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

South Florida is home to the largest Haitian community in the U.S.

Community leaders, immigration advocates and Haitian families gathered in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood on Friday decrying the end to TPS for Haitians.

But TPS holder Farah Larrieux said she can’t allow herself to be sad.

“It takes courage and determination to fight evil,” she said.

Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa asked, “You think that decision from the Supreme Court was evil?”

“Yes. It is evil,” Larrieux replied.

Many are also fearing the potential hit to the area’s economy.

TPS Haitians are known for working in industries like hospitality and long-term care for seniors.

“They are our working men and women,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference on Friday. “They are our business owners. They create jobs. They are fueling our basic industries.”

According to some estimates, their economic impact in the US is $6 billion ― $1 billion in Miami.

“They can’t afford to lose their workforce, the hospitality industry, the agriculture industry, all these places,” ” business owner Dinah Escarment said. “Everyone who’s going to these hotels, when your room is not ready on time, when you don’t have someone to cater to you in the different restaurants in this different industries, trust me, you’re gonna feel it.”

Administration officials called the TPS ruling “a very straightforward legal issue.”

“The ‘T’ in TPS stands for temporary,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival said on Fox News.

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Overall tropical activity from the Gulf and Caribbean to the wider Atlantic is the lowest to-date in 12 years.

Of course, even though we’re already through about 16% of the hurricane season based on the calendar, historically 98% of tropical activity occurs after June.

And as we’ve discussed extensively in newsletters in previous seasons, early season activity (either high or low) isn’t a meaningful predictor for what could happen later in the season.

Only once we get into late July and August does activity to-date start to provide any meaningful clues about what the peak months of the season could hold.

Nevertheless, the paltry start to the Atlantic hurricane season is in line with what we would expect with a much earlier arriving and historically strong El Niño across the eastern Pacific.

The subtropical jet stream has been relentless through the tropical belt of the Atlantic this month — including into parts of the Gulf and Caribbean — and will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.

Watching off the southeast to start July

As we detailed in Thursday’s newsletter, some of our forecast models – namely Google’s machine learning-based DeepMind hurricane model – are hinting at a small development window off the southeastern U.S. for the middle part of next week.

Odds remain low for now (10% or less), but best chances will come from next Tuesday to Thursday if anything tries to spin up.

The catalyst for what we’ll be watching next week will be a dying front draped over the warm waters off the southeast U.S.

Some models are hinting at a Mesoscale Convective System or MCS — a large cluster of thunderstorms — forming inland, diving off the coast, and getting tangled up on the frontal boundary, which could promote some development.

We won’t know the exact details for a few days, but regardless the odds are low enough that NHC hasn’t added it to its outlook just yet. Given lighter upper-level winds east of Florida along with near-record warmth in the waters for the time of year, it’s worth monitoring the trends.

Interestingly a similar setup (old front with an embedded MCS) is what spawned Hurricane Arthur in 2014, the last hurricane season to start as quietly as 2026.

Even the handful of models that do suggest development don’t point to significant development or a strong system, however, so for now it’s not anything to worry about.

In the meantime, enjoy the quiet weekend and quiet end to June.

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Police said Roxanabel Medina Leon, 31, would leave the boy alone with little to no food in their dirty apartment while she was at her boyfriend’s apartment.

Authorities said the boy told police that not only was he left alone with little food, “he shares his food with the family dog because there is no dog food available in the residence.”

According to the Doral Police Department, a building employee called officers to the building, the name and address of which are redacted from an arrest report, at around 3 a.m., after seeing the boy walking alone in the garage. According to the report, he told the boy to go back to his own apartment and remain there until police arrived.

According to the DPD report, that employee told investigators that the boy had come to the building’s lobby at around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday “and asked him if he had any food or water.”

Police said the employee gave Medina’s son popcorn, Biscoff cookies and water.

According to police, the boy told investigators that he “frequently goes to his mother’s boyfriend’s apartment to obtain food” and that he had gone to the front desk that morning because his mother hadn’t answered the door, saying “the only food available (in the apartment) was expired macaroni and cheese” which he didn’t eat “because he believed it would make him sick.”

He told police that he “often has to wake his mother” because his 4-month-old baby brother is crying and she doesn’t hear him. According to the report, he said he was in the parking garage trying to find his mother’s vehicle “in an effort to find her and obtain food because he was hungry.”

In the report, a Doral police officer described the conditions in the apartment:

“Upon entering the residence, I observed the apartment to be in disarray. The floors were sticky to the touch and there was a strong odor consistent with urine and feces throughout the residence. I proceeded to the juvenile victim’s bedroom, where I observed a mattress positioned directly on the floor without a bed frame. I then entered the bathroom adjacent to the juvenile victim’s bedroom and observed a dog cage containing two bowls. Both bowls were empty and did not contain food or water. While in the kitchen, I observed two knives on the countertop. The knives were unsecured and appeared readily accessible to the juvenile victim. I then entered the defendant’s bedroom, where I observed a baby bassinet. The bassinet appeared soiled and did not contain a clean fitted sheet or bedding.”

DPD report

Additionally, police said there was “little to no food” inside the unit.

According to the report, the boy told investigators that “there have been occasions when he became so hungry that he ate Gerber baby rice cereal mixed with water because there was no milk available in the apartment and added that the family dog had not eaten regular dog food for approximately three months.”

Authorities said they went to Medina’s boyfriend’s apartment and found her and the 4-month-old there.

According to the report, she claimed she cleaned the apartment “last Tuesday” and said her “son is constantly fed when she either cooks or orders food.”

“She stated that she left her dog food last night and doesn’t know why the dog was found with no food,” the report states.

Both of her children were checked out at the hospital, police said.

Police arrested Medina on two felony counts of child neglect and one misdemeanor animal cruelty charge.

In court on Friday morning, Medina rolled her eyes as an interpreter spoke. She cried soon after.

As of Friday evening, she was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,500 bond.

Spotty showers cannot be ruled out for Miami-Dade and Broward counties late-Friday night into Saturday morning.

Otherwise, Saharan dust moves over the region, bringing hazy conditions through the weekend.

As east-southeast winds stir Saturday, temperatures will make a run for the low 90s -- it will feel like the triple digits. Afternoon showers and storms will tend to favor inland areas.

There may be some spotty showers or storms in the mix Sunday morning, especially early. Afternoon storms will tend to set-up inland and migrate westward. Temperatures are forecast to reach the low 90s with heat indices peaking over 100°F.

In the state of La Guaira, there was destruction at Simón Bolívar International Airport, also known as “Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía,” CCS, or SVMI.

Jarrard arrived at Caracas on Thursday evening and met with Venezuelan Chief of Defense Gen. Gustavo González López on Friday.

The purpose of the meeting at the airport was “to conduct an assessment,” according to SOUTHCOM.

The primary runway, known as 10R or 18L, was closed due to cracks and won’t reopen until July, according to Venezuelan aviation authorities. Humanitarian aid flights were using the Rampa 4 terminal.

Jarrard is coordinating the U.S. military’s response, which includes moving response personnel, equipment, and humanitarian assistance, according to SOUTHCOM.

There was structural damage. Videos showed a ceiling collapsing inside the terminal. American Airlines had started flights to CCS on April 30, and the airline reported a suspension until at least July 3.

The U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III landed at the Base Aérea el Libertador, or BAEL, a Venezuelan military base in central Venezuela’s area of Maracay, on Friday with a 79-person, 6-dog heavy urban search-and-rescue team from Virginia.

Así está ahora mismo el aeropuerto internacional de Maiquetía.
Aeropuerto principal de Venezuela a una hora de Caracas
Desconozco quien lo grabó y agradezco su trabajo pic.twitter.com/JYpPdgqfbK

— David Iglesias (@DavidRIglesiasS) June 24, 2026

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team
• Miami Beach opens 4 new aid drop-off locations - Clone
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Alvarado declined his player option and is working with the NBA champions on a three-year deal, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet finalized. ESPN first reported the plan, saying Alvarado would make more than $14 million with the new deal.

The guard was acquired from New Orleans during the season and had a player option for $4.5 million for next season.

“I'm home,” Alvarado wrote on X, ending his post with a series of orange and blue hearts.

Alvarado indeed came home on Feb. 5 when the Knicks acquired the Brooklyn native who attended Christ the King High School. He was primarily a backup behind Jalen Brunson but was on the floor with the All-Star for most of the fourth quarter of the Knicks' 107-106 victory over San Antonio in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, when they made a record comeback from a 29-point deficit. Alvarado had eight points and three assists in the period.

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

A three-judge panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal unanimously issued the decision, saying his trial judge did not violate the former movie magnate's constitutional rights.

“We reject his attempts to disturb the jury’s guilty verdicts,” the judges wrote in their opinion.

Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said in an email that “We are disappointed by today’s decision and respectfully disagree with the Court of Appeal’s conclusions regarding the fairness of Mr. Weinstein’s trial. At the same time, the court correctly recognized that his sentence cannot stand.”

The decision came a day after prosecutors in New York decided Weinstein would not face a fourth trial there, dropping the #MeToo-era case after the accuser said she could not bear to testify again.

The California panel said that resentencing was necessary because the judge that sentenced him considered New York convictions that were later thrown out as an aggravating factor. California's attorney general agreed.

Weinstein, 74, still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York, and he remains behind bars awaiting a September sentencing there. Prosecutors there are seeking a 20-year prison term.

In California, Weinstein was convicted in December 2022 of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against an Italian model and actor known during the trial as Jane Doe 1. He would serve his new sentence there only after his New York term is complete.

After the trial, Jane Doe 1 came forward under her name, Evgeniya Chernyshova, when she sued Weinstein in civil court.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Chernyshova did. Her attorney also said she consented to being named.

Chernyshova testified that Weinstein arrived uninvited to her hotel room during the 2013 LA Italia Film Festival and assaulted her.

Weinstein’s defense argued that Weinstein deserved a new trial because Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench wrongly prevented his trial lawyers from asking about Facebook messages between Chernyshova and festival head Pascal Vicedomini that would have shown they had a sexual relationship.

The questioning would have demonstrated that she perjured herself when she said she and Vicedomini were just friends and colleagues, the defense said. And the lawyers argued it would have bolstered their assertion that she was not even in her room on the night of the alleged assault.

“The lower court all but gutted Mr. Weinstein’s defense,” attorney Jennifer Bonjean told the appeals judges at April 23 oral arguments.

But the appeals court said in its ruling that Weinstein did make the arguments he wanted during the trial based on other evidence, including another set of Facebook messages that Lench allowed.

“Thus, there was no denial of Weinstein’s constitutional right to present a defense,” the panel wrote in its opinion.

The three judges also found that Weinstein's lawyers failed to adhere to California's rape shield law prohibiting evidence of an accuser's sexual history when they tried to introduce the messages. Weinstein's lawyers had argued that the shield law was not pertinent because they wanted to use the messages only to impeach the witness's credibility.

And the appeals judges said testimony from accusers describing sexual assaults Weinstein was not charged with was appropriate, and allowed under state law.

Before his sentencing, Weinstein told the judge that this was a “made-up story” from a woman he had never met.

The Los Angeles jury acquitted Weinstein of the sexual battery of a massage therapist and failed to reach verdicts on counts involving two other women.

“This is not the end of the appellate process,” Engelmayer said in his email Friday. “We intend to seek review in the California Supreme Court because we continue to believe significant legal errors affected the proceedings and warrant further review.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not have comment on the decision until the office reviewed it.

Chernyshova’s lawyer David Ring said in an email Friday that she “has persevered for years to reach this point against the man who raped her” and thanks the prosecutors and appellate lawyers “for putting Harvey Weinstein away for good.”

Investigators said Don Janea Smith, 22, is charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in connection with the death of 68-year-old Shelley Lewis.

During Smith’s first court appearance Friday, prosecutors requested a $100,000 bond.

“As to count one leaving the scene of a crash involving death, I would ask for a $100,000 bond, no driving, a passport surrender,” a prosecutor said in court.

According to Fort Lauderdale police, the crash happened at about 6:40 a.m. Thursday in the 2000 block of Southeast 17th Street.

Investigators said Lewis was riding her bicycle in the eastbound lanes when she was struck by a dark-colored vehicle whose driver fled the scene.

They said Lewis was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where she died.

According to an arrest report, Smith abandoned the vehicle after the crash, then returned to remove items from it before leaving the area in an Uber. Police later located the Uber and took Smith into custody.

Family members, who declined an on-camera interview Friday, described Lewis as an avid bicyclist who stayed active and regularly enjoyed bicycling, tennis, golf, pickleball and ping-pong.

According to her niece, Veronica Haines, Lewis spent her career in education, serving as head of special education at Mirror Lake Elementary School in Plantation after previously working at Sawgrass Elementary School in Sunrise.

After retiring, Haines said, Lewis often pet-sat for family and friends.

Lewis lived near the bridge and frequently rode her bicycle over it to the beach while wearing a helmet, according to her family.

Haines said family was everything to her aunt.

The first dog is Dozer. His handler is Sgt. Ifante. He’s friendly — but when it’s time to work, he’ll work.

At the department’s K-9 training facility, 15 officer-and-dog teams wear badges and learn to trust each other without hesitation.

“They can detect explosives — our EOD dogs — we have narcotics dogs, we also have money dogs and gun dogs,” said Sgt. John Marin, training supervisor for the Miami PD K-9 unit.

It’s not all German Shepherds. The unit also works with Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherds.

Not every dog makes it. Not every officer does either.

Right now, the dogs are being deployed for World Cup security. Officer Andy Magliano is the newest member of the unit. The partnership doesn’t end when the day does — handlers and dogs are together 24/7.

“We have to instill trust in the canine,” Magliano said. “And we have to have the same amount of trust in the canine and us.”

Local 10 News reporter Jeff Derderian suited up in the 15-to-20-pound bite suit — something that’s apparently never been done on camera with Miami PD before. When the command was given, the dog locked on.

On average, a K-9 stays on the job for eight years before it retires. The handler gets first shot at the dog. And they’re not rewarded with steak — they’re rewarded with toys. That’s what they love most.

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Xavier Tyson is one of three boys charged in connection with the alleged attack, which police say occurred in June 2025 at The Green Haven Project at 1160 NW Second Ave. in the city’s Overtown neighborhood.

According to investigators with the Miami Police Department, 13-year-old Nelson Nunez was accused of raping the victim while Tyson, then 14, and 13-year-old Jusiah Jones held her down. Officers testified the girl had rocks placed in her mouth to keep her quiet during what police say was a 30-minute assault.

“She was begging for them to stop and then they put rocks in her mouth and said if you keep yelling we’ll put more rocks in your mouth,” MPD Detective Louis Joseph testified on Friday.

Police described the rocks as small, beige and pebble-like.

Tyson’s attorney called multiple witnesses in an effort to secure his release, including his aunt and legal guardian, who described him as respectful and non-violent.

“He would never do anything like that,” said Amadonne Gabriel, Tyson’s Aunt. “He’s a respectful child. Loving caring. I have other kids. He plays well. Not violent.”

The co-founder of the community garden, Jorge Palacios, also testified, saying Tyson had become a familiar and well-regarded presence at the program.

“He became a known face at the garden — the main child you would interact with,” Palacios said. “People would come looking for him.”

Miami-Dade Judge Richard Hersch was unconvinced, citing the severity of Tyson’s alleged role.

“Your client held the child down while his friends raped her,” he said. “I’m uncomfortable with the degree of culpability. He will remain detained.”

Tyson’s attorney pushed back on the ruling, arguing the inconsistencies in witness accounts were too significant to dismiss.

Xavier Tyson es uno de los tres jóvenes acusados ​​en relación con el presunto ataque, que según la policía ocurrió en junio de 2025 en The Green Haven Project, ubicado en 1160 NW Second Ave., en el barrio Overtown de la ciudad.

Según los investigadores del Departamento de Policía de Miami, Nelson Núñez, de 13 años, fue acusado de violar a la víctima mientras Tyson, de 14 años en ese entonces, y Jusiah Jones, de 13 años, la sujetaban. Los agentes testificaron que le pusieron piedras en la boca a la niña para que guardara silencio durante lo que la policía describe como una agresión de 30 minutos.

“Ella les suplicaba que pararan, y entonces le metieron piedras en la boca y le dijeron que si seguía gritando le meterían más piedras”, declaró el viernes el detective Louis Joseph del Departamento de Policía Metropolitana.

La policía describió las rocas como pequeñas, de color beige y parecidas a guijarros.

El abogado de Tyson llamó a declarar a varios testigos en un intento por conseguir su liberación, entre ellos su tía y su tutor legal, quienes lo describieron como una persona respetuosa y no violenta.

«Él jamás haría algo así», dijo Amadone Gabriel, tía de Tyson. «Es un niño respetuoso, cariñoso y atento. Tengo otros hijos. Juega bien. No es violento».

Jorge Palacios, cofundador del huerto comunitario, también testificó, afirmando que Tyson se había convertido en una presencia familiar y muy respetada en el programa.

“Se convirtió en un rostro conocido en el jardín; era el niño con el que más se interactuaba”, dijo Palacios. “La gente venía a buscarlo”.

El juez de Miami-Dade, Richard Hersch, no se mostró convencido, citando la gravedad del papel que se le atribuía a Tyson.

“Su cliente sujetó a la niña mientras sus amigos la violaban”, dijo. “Me preocupa el grado de culpabilidad. Permanecerá detenido”.

El abogado de Tyson rebatió el fallo, argumentando que las inconsistencias en las declaraciones de los testigos eran demasiado significativas como para desestimarlas.

Paigelynne Gonyea said the confrontation happened Tuesday while she was working at a polling place in Syracuse. Two officers gave Gonyea a written notice stating that she might be in violation of federal laws that prevent publicly posting personal information about federal officers, she said.

Gonyea said the warning stemmed from a post she made on social media in January in which she posted a picture of Jonathan Ross, an ICE officer who shot and killed Good in Minneapolis during anti-ICE demonstrations that month. In the post, Gonyea wrote: “I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted.”

Gonyea's post — which she made after Ross had already been identified by the news media — is still up. She said she has no intention of taking it down.

“I plan on using this experience to defend and support our First Amendment right,” Gonyea said. “Our first amendment rights definitely need to be protected now more than ever.”

Homeland Security considered post ‘doxxing’

Gonyea “committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online” and “if you doxx our officers, we will investigate you, and you will be brought to justice," said Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland security, in a statement.

Bis shared a different social media post from the same one of Gonyea's accounts in which she said Gonyea shared Ross's address. Part of the post was redacted.

“Doxxing federal law enforcement officers is a federal crime that puts their lives and their families in serious danger,” the statement said. “This danger is not hypothetical. Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting terrorists, gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists.”

Fellow poll worker recorded encounter

Another worker at the polls Tuesday recorded the encounter on her phone. The video shows two uniformed people coming into the polling place and talking briefly with Gonyea, who refuses to sign a warning letter.

Gonyea later posted the letter on social media. The unsigned letter states that it's from ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility, whose primary mission is investigating allegations of misconduct by ICE personnel and contractors.

The poll worker who shot the video, Sheilia Milledge, said workers were shaken by the incident. No voters were present at the time of the confrontation, Gonyea said.

“I felt like it was a scare tactic that they were using,” Milledge said.

Attorney General's Office is reviewing

A representative for the New York Attorney General's Office said the office is aware of the situation and is reviewing it, while a representative for the governor's office said the office had not heard of other similar incidents in the state.

The incident “did not disrupt voting and was not related to the election process,” said Kathleen McGrath, a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections. Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said he responded to the polling place shortly after the incident, spoke with poll workers, made sure voting wasn't disrupted and "connected Paige to resources."

Gonyea said she initially missed a call from officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE, who wanted to meet with her.

A DHS agent left a voicemail saying they were calling “in reference to a post that we believe you made on Instagram where you doxxed an ICE agent back in January,” according a recording of the message she shared on social media.

"We just wanted to talk to you about it. You’re not in any type of trouble,” the agent said, according to a recording provided by Gonyea.

Gonyea said she returned the call to ask the officers to come into the polling place because she felt it would be safer to meet with them inside.

Advocates consider encounter intimidating

It appears to be incidental that the federal officers served Gonyea with the warning while she was working at the polling place, but their presence could still be intimidating to voters and poll workers, said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights and elections program at Brennan Center for Justice, a left-leaning public policy institute.

Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said if officers are giving residents "a formal complaint about their protected speech, we’re in trouble.”

Rep. John Mannion, a Democrat who represents the area in Congress, also sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin calling for the department to review the incident and “put a stop to any ICE activities that target protected speech."

“ICE should not be broadly targeting online speech or actively monitoring social media accounts without cause and without proper judicial protections,” Mannion's letter stated.

___

This story has been corrected to say that the Homeland Security official used the word agent, not officer, in the voicemail to Gonyea.

___

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in New York City and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report.

The extraordinary inquiry comes less than a week after The Associated Press reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025.

Current and former DEA agents, including whistleblower David Howell, told AP the strategy amounted to a gamble with public safety and may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public.

The fentanyl went unseized amid the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history and as the DEA led a public awareness campaign — “One Pill Can Kill" — emphasizing that even a few milligrams of the substance can be lethal.

The criminal investigation turns a debate over enforcement tactics into a question of whether federal agents crossed legal lines while pursuing larger trafficking organizations.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, said federal agents “are not above the law,” but they enjoy substantial legal protections when carrying out official duties.

Still, Torrez said he would start “demanding documents and information about the DEA's conduct, in New Mexico and nationally, to determine whether what occurred here reflects a broader pattern of reckless or unlawful behavior.”

“If those allegations are accurate, the consequences for New Mexicans were not abstract. They were fatal,” Torrez wrote in a letter to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who earlier this week called for the inquiry.

“New Mexico already ranks among the states hardest hit by fentanyl overdose deaths," he added, "and the families who have lost children, siblings and parents to this crisis deserve a full accounting of what the federal government knew, what it did and what it failed to do."

The DEA initially denied Howell's allegations in a statement to AP. But the agency later called upon the Justice Department's independent watchdog to conduct its own investigation.

“Should that review identify areas of improvement, the DEA will of course implement changes to better their practices,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “We welcome a partnership with Governor Lujan Grisham, as well as New Mexico state and local leaders, to fight the scourge of fentanyl and keep her constituents safe.”

A growing number of local and state leaders in New Mexico have expressed outrage in the wake of Howell's allegations. But those sentiments are not widely held by family members of overdose victims, said Paul E. Martin, founder of United Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit organization fighting the epidemic that represents 5,000 family members of victims.

“Law enforcement makes mistakes," Martin said. “But the DEA are the men and women putting their lives on the line. Their entire business is the removal of illegal and toxic drugs from our streets.”

The CFL said Friday it won’t allow the 22-year-old to sign with any of its teams or be placed on their negotiation lists.

Sorsby admitted to placing thousands of bets totaling nearly $90,000 over his collegiate career, including at least 40 on Indiana football while he was a freshman there in 2022, although none was on games in which he played for the Hoosiers that year.

After being ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA, Sorsby attempted to join the NFL’s supplemental draft, but the league told him on Tuesday it wouldn’t hold one this year.

Instead, the NFL told Sorsby to focus on preparing for possible entry into the league via its regular draft in 2027, according to a letter from the league telling Sorsby of its decision that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The NFL hasn’t held a supplemental draft since 2023.

“Upholding the integrity of the league and ensuring fair competition are paramount to the CFL,” the CFL said in a statement. “The allegations involving Brendan Sorsby are serious and concerning.

“At this time, the CFL will not register a contract for him, and no team will be permitted to add him to its negotiation list.”

Sorsby had planned to work out for NFL teams on July 10. He was banished from competition by the NCAA for the gambling activity after transferring earlier this year from Cincinnati to Texas Tech.

After spending a month in a residential treatment program for a diagnosed addiction that led to thousands of bets, Sorsby sued the NCAA and gained a court-ordered reinstatement that prompted nationwide backlash toward Texas Tech. The controversy led Sorsby to try to play professional football instead.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

El gobierno y las fuerzas armadas venezolanas han dado la bienvenida a los equipos de rescate y a los esfuerzos de ayuda humanitaria procedentes de todo el mundo.

Aquí hay lugares en el sur de Florida que están aceptando donaciones para las labores de ayuda.

CONDADO DE BROWARD

Arroyo de coco:

Food For The Poor, ubicado en 6401 Lyons Road.

Se aceptan donaciones de lunes a viernes de 8:00 a 17:00 y los sábados de 8:00 a 12:00.

Se aceptan donaciones:

• Frutas: Melocotones en conserva, piña, mango, peras y variedades similares.

• Verduras: Tomates enlatados, zanahorias, patatas, judías verdes, espinacas y verduras mixtas.

• Proteínas: Pollo, pavo, ternera, pescado o carne deshidratada enlatados.

• Granos secos: arroz, frijoles, lentejas y guisantes

• Cereales: Trigo, harina de maíz, avena y pasta

• Frutos secos, semillas y mantequillas de frutos secos: mantequilla de cacahuete, mantequilla de almendras, mantequilla de semillas de girasol.

• Aceite vegetal: Aceite de cocina (vegetal, de canola o de girasol)

• Productos lácteos: Leche envasada o en polvo, alternativas fortificadas (de larga duración).

• Aperitivos listos para consumir: galletas nutritivas, barritas energéticas o aperitivos enriquecidos.

• Artículos de higiene personal, como jabón, desodorante y toallas pequeñas.

• Lonas

• Linternas solares

• Mantas

• Pañales para niños y adultos

• Productos de higiene femenina

• Libros de actividades y juegos para niños

Miramar:

Comisaría de Policía de Miramar, 11765 City Hall Promenade

Estación de bomberos 19, 6700 Miramar Parkway

Estación de bomberos 70, 9001 Miramar Parkway

Estación de bomberos 107, 11811 Miramar Parkway

Estación de bomberos 84, 14801 SW 27th St.

Estación de bomberos 100, 2800 SW 184th Ave.

Las donaciones necesarias incluyen alimentos no perecederos, agua, pilas, desinfectante de manos, botiquines de primeros auxilios profesionales, guantes, mascarillas, artículos para mascotas, mantas nuevas, lonas, bolsas de basura, etc.

(No se aceptan prendas de vestir, zapatos, ropa de cama ni artículos similares)

CONDADO DE MIAMI-DADE

Aquí está la lista de los lugares de entrega de ayuda que el recaudador de impuestos de Miami-Dade tiene abiertos de 8 a. m. a 5 p. m. de lunes a viernes y de 8 a. m. a 1 p. m. los sábados:

MIAMI BEACH: 100 16 St.

CORAL GABLES: 224 Avenida Menorca.

CENTRO DE MIAMI: 200 NW 2nd Ave.

KENDALL: 11735 SW 147 Ave.

MIAMI CENTRAL: 3721 NW 7th St.

MIAMI GARDENS: 18326 NW 7 Ave.

LADO NORTE: 7900 NW 27 Ave.

MIDWAY CROSSINGS: 7795 West Flagler St. #82c

CORAL REEF: 14652 SW 122 Ave.

CIUDAD DE FLORIDA: 1448 North Krome Ave.

JARDINES DE HIALEAH: 11093 NW 138 St.

Playa de Miami

Aquí está la lista de las ubicaciones de Miami Beach Fire Rescue que estarán abiertas de 8 am a 6 pm del 29 de junio al 2 de julio:

SOUTH BEACH: Estación de bomberos número 1 en 1051 Jefferson Ave.

BAYSHORE: Estación de bomberos 2 en 2300 Pine Tree Drive

MID BEACH: Estación de bomberos número 3 en 5303 Collins Ave.

NORTH BEACH: Estación de bomberos 4 en 6880 Indian Creek Drive

Doral:

• La sede de GEM está abierta de 9:00 a 16:00, de lunes a viernes, en 1850 NW 84th Ave.
• El vestíbulo de la Oficina del Supervisor de Elecciones del Condado de Miami-Dade está abierto de 8:00 a 17:00, de lunes a viernes, en 2700 NW 87th Ave.
• El centro comunitario Doral Legacy Park está abierto de 17:00 a 21:00 de lunes a viernes, y de 8:00 a 17:00 los sábados y domingos en 11400 NW 82 St.
• El Arepazo está abierto las 24 horas de lunes a domingo en 10191 NW 58th St.

Entre las donaciones necesarias se incluyen artículos de emergencia, como linternas, baterías de alta capacidad, cargadores solares para teléfonos y guantes de trabajo; y artículos para el cuidado del bebé, como pañales.

Más cobertura de HELPING VENEZUELA

• Food For The Poor incluye en sus kits de ayuda humanitaria notas escritas a mano con mensajes de esperanza.
• El Departamento de Estado despliega un equipo de búsqueda y rescate en Miami-Dade.
• El recaudador de impuestos de Miami-Dade abre 11 puntos de entrega.
• Doral abre 4 puntos de entrega de ayuda.
• Se abre un punto de entrega de ayuda en Homestead.
• Starlink ofrece servicio gratuito hasta el 25 de julio, pero un kit cuesta 470 dólares.
• International Medical Corps despliega personal y necesita donaciones.
• Save The Children solicita donaciones para su fondo de emergencia.
• Samaritan’s Purse se centra en los “hospitales de campaña de emergencia”.
• La Cruz Roja solicita donaciones para su Fondo de Emergencia para la Respuesta ante Desastres.
• La ONU solicita donaciones para un programa infantil que carece de fondos suficientes.
• World Vision solicita donaciones para su “fondo de ayuda en casos de desastre”.
• World Central Kitchen solicita donaciones para comidas frescas.
• United Way Miami lanza la ‘Operación Manos Amigas’.

She's only the second WNBA coach to enter the Hall of Fame, joining former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, who was inducted in 2001.

“(I appreciate) the magnitude of this recognition of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the great work that has gone into this institution,” Reeve said. “To walk around and see the history of how much has been done years before I could ever have this opportunity to coach. Grateful to the WNBA because I think there was some consideration given schedule wise.”

Reeve will be joined by WNBA greats Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne in this year's class. Parker and Delle Donne also will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. Other inductees include ESPN broadcaster Doris Burke, Kirkwood Community College coach Kim Muhl, Spanish star Amaya Valdemoro, French great Isabelle Fijalkowski and Clemson's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.

Parker and Delle Donne were shocked to learn that Reeve was only the second WNBA coach to be honored.

“When you look at Cheryl’s career and what she’s done and all the winning and all the Hall of Famers she’s coached and then you look at her and she’s not ancient, like, that’s rare,” Delle Donne said. “That’s just how good she is and how long she’s been winning and doing it at a young age. Cheryl’s phenomenal. She made life really hard when we were playing against her.”

Reeve has won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx, whom she has coached since 2010. She also led the U.S. women's Olympic team to an eighth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games. Reeve has 378 victories and is one win behind Mike Thibault for the most all-time in WNBA history.

She has a chance to match Thibault on Sunday when the Lynx play the Dallas Wings.

Parker won three titles in the WNBA playing with three different teams: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She is the only player in league history to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season (2008).

She also won two titles while playing in college for Tennessee under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, plus two Olympic gold medals and a second WNBA MVP award (2013).

“I'm super humbled to be going in with Elena and with the other inductees in the 2026 class,” Parker said.

Delle Donne won two league MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot more than 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the foul line.

Burke has covered basketball for ESPN since 1991 and in 2024 became the first woman to call the NBA Finals as a TV analyst. She was also the lead voice for the network in women's college basketball for many years. Burke played college basketball at Providence, scoring 1,372 points.

Valdemoro starred for the Spanish national team while playing on the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams. She also was a member of the Houston Comets, winning three WNBA titles with the organization.

Muhl won 1,108 games and nine national titles at Kirkwood Community College in New Jersey. He had 37 consecutive 20-win seasons before retiring this past April.

Fijalkowski was a five-time French League champion and two-time EuroLeague winner. She was the French national team's all-time leading scorer with 2,562 points in 204 games.

Kennedy-Dixon had 3,113 points and 1,252 rebounds for Clemson. She was one of just eight players to have at least 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds since the NCAA began sponsoring women's sports. Kennedy-Dixon died in 2018.

___

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

Miami Beach Fire Rescue personnel will receive the donations until July 2 and deliver the boxes to the Global Empowerment Mission’s warehouse in Doral.

MBFR personnel will not be accepting clothing or linens. They will be accepting new tarps, tents, bottled water, flashlights, sleeping bags, batteries, large trash bags, work gloves, canned goods with expiration dates of a year or more, solar-powered lights, hygiene products, solar power banks, baby diapers, and first aid kits.

Here is the list of the locations that will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through July 2:

SOUTH BEACH: Fire Station 1 at 1051 Jefferson Ave.

BAYSHORE: Fire Station 2 at 2300 Pine Tree Drive

MID BEACH: Fire Station 3 at 5303 Collins Ave.

NORTH BEACH: Fire Station 4 at 6880 Indian Creek Drive

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

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The Venezuelan government and military have welcomed rescue crews and relief efforts from all over the world.

Here are locations in South Florida that are accepting donations for relief efforts.

BROWARD COUNTY

Coconut Creek:

Food For The Poor, located at 6401 Lyons Road.

Donations are being accepted weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Donations being accepted:

• Fruits: Canned peaches, pineapple, mango, pears, and similar varieties

• Vegetables: Canned tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, green beans, spinach, and mixed vegetables

• Protein: Canned chicken, turkey, beef, fish, or dehydrated meat

• Dry Grains: Rice, beans, lentils, and peas

• Cereals: Wheat, cornmeal, oats, and pasta

• Nuts, Seeds, and Nut Butters: Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter

• Vegetable Oil: Cooking oil (vegetable, canola, or sunflower)

• Milk Products: Boxed or powdered milk, fortified alternatives (shelf-stable)

• Ready-to-Eat Snacks: Nutritional biscuits, energy bars, or fortified snacks

• Hygiene supplies, such as soap, deodorant, and wash cloths

• Tarps

• Solar lanterns

• Blankets

• Diapers for children and adults

• Feminine hygiene products

• Children’s activity books and games

Miramar:

Miramar Police Headquarters, 11765 City Hall Promenade

Fire Station 19, 6700 Miramar Parkway

Fire Station 70, 9001 Miramar Parkway

Fire Station 107, 11811 Miramar Parkway

Fire Station 84, 14801 SW 27th St.

Fire Station 100, 2800 SW 184th Ave.

Donations needed include non-perishables, water, batteries, hand sanitizer, professional first-aid kits, gloves, masks, pet supplies, new blankets, tarps, trash bags, etc.

(Not accepting clothing, shoes, linens, or similar items)

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

Here is the list of the aid drop-off locations that the Miami-Dade tax collector has open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday:

MIAMI BEACH: 100 16 St.

CORAL GABLES: 224 Minorca Ave.

DOWNTOWN MIAMI: 200 NW 2nd Ave.

KENDALL: 11735 SW 147 Ave.

MIAMI CENTRAL: 3721 NW 7 St.

MIAMI GARDENS: 18326 NW 7 Ave.

NORTHSIDE: 7900 NW 27 Ave.

MIDWAY CROSSINGS: 7795 West Flagler St. #82c

CORAL REEF: 14652 SW 122 Ave.

FLORIDA CITY: 1448 North Krome Ave.

HIALEAH GARDENS: 11093 NW 138 St.

MIAMI BEACH

Here is the list of the Miami Beach Fire Rescue locations that will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from June 29 to July 2:

SOUTH BEACH: Fire Station 1 at 1051 Jefferson Ave.

BAYSHORE: Fire Station 2 at 2300 Pine Tree Drive

MID BEACH: Fire Station 3 at 5303 Collins Ave.

NORTH BEACH: Fire Station 4 at 6880 Indian Creek Drive

Doral:

• GEM headquarters is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, at 1850 NW 84th Ave.
• Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office lobby is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Monday to Friday, at 2700 NW 87th Ave.
• Doral Legacy Park Community Center is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., from Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at 11400 NW 82 St.
• El Arepazo is open 24 hours from Monday to Sunday at 10191 NW 58th St.

Donations that are needed include emergency gear, such as flashlights, heavy-duty batteries, solar phone chargers and work gloves; and baby care items, such as diapers.

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Starlink offers free service through July 25, but a kit is $470
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Francisco Quintero reservó los asientos de su pequeño y maltrecho automóvil para sus hijos, y el maletero es ahora el hogar de Paquito, su periquito verde y rojo, y de un puñado de tortugas mascota.

Quintero, músico, comentó que él y otros adultos de la familia buscan cada noche un lugar para dormir cerca del auto “hasta que nos den una respuesta de qué podrían hacer con nosotros”.

Los sismos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 que sacudieron Venezuela el miércoles por la noche con apenas 39 segundos de diferencia derribaron edificios en Caracas y más allá, con cientos de viviendas dañadas. Se espera que el número de muertos confirmados —ya de varios cientos— aumente a medida que continúan las frenéticas misiones de búsqueda y rescate.

Miles de venezolanos que quedaron de repente sin hogar se han volcado desde entonces a parques, plazas e incluso a los márgenes de autopistas bloqueadas, en busca de un lugar donde recostar la cabeza. La crisis más reciente en esta nación de unos 30 millones de habitantes llega tras décadas de dificultades económicas. Más de la mitad de la población vive en pobreza extrema y casi 8 millones ya necesitaban ayuda humanitaria antes que golpearan los sismos.

En Guaira —el estado más afectado, justo al norte de Caracas— las familias colocaron sábanas sobre un polvoriento campo de béisbol para marcar su espacio, con sus pertenencias metidas en bolsas de plástico. Otros buscaron refugio bajo palmeras. Entre ellos estaba Alexandra Martínez, de 35 años, y sus dos hijos.

“El apartamento está totalmente roto”, afirmó Martínez mientras se secaba las lágrimas. “Destruidas las paredes, la cocina, todo. Se abrió por la mitad”

Los venezolanos que viven a la intemperie se preguntan por cuánto tiempo

Escenas similares se repitieron en toda Caracas.

“No tenemos adónde vivir”, expresó Desiré Gil. “Esta es la única opción que tenemos por el momento”.

La mujer de 37 años, madre de cuatro hijos —incluida una que tiene seis meses de embarazo—, ahora vive con su familia sobre una pequeña plaza cubierta de césped.

Cerca de allí, la gente usaba mochilas como almohadas y abría coloridas sombrillas de playa para darse sombra cuando helicópteros zumbaban sobre sus cabezas.

La vivienda de Gil no se derrumbó, pero algunas partes se están desmoronando y ella se niega a regresar: “El temor que nosotros tenemos es que nos vaya a caer encima el edificio”.

Como muchos otros, espera a que la agencia de protección civil de Venezuela inspeccione los edificios agrietados y deteriorados y determine si todavía es seguro vivir en ellos.

Pero no está claro cuándo podrían comenzar esas inspecciones. El gobierno sigue concentrado en salvar vidas, con miles de personas que se cree están desaparecidas en la región norte de Venezuela, donde los sismos han matado al menos a 920 personas y han herido a más de 3.300.

Gil, que se gana la vida vendiendo mangos y otros productos, contó que su hija embarazada tuvo contracciones y fue al hospital el jueves, pero la rechazaron. Una parte de la sala de maternidad se había derrumbado, y el hospital ya estaba desbordado de pacientes enviados por otras instituciones.

El Ministerio de Educación indicó que algunos edificios escolares se usarían como refugios, pero no estaba claro cuántos. Por ahora, Gil señaló que ella y su familia vivirán sobre el montículo de césped hasta que el gobierno les dé una respuesta”.

Más de la mitad de Caracas se construyó bajo antiguo código de construcción

Expertos han dicho que no les sorprenden los edificios colapsados.

José Rangel, ingeniero civil y profesor universitario, señaló que más del 50% de Caracas se construyó antes de 1982, el año en que el gobierno aprobó un nuevo código de construcción para zonas sísmicas.

Rangel explicó que él y otros ingenieros estaban trabajando en planes de reforzamiento sísmico y priorizando la evaluación de escuelas, hospitales, puentes y otra infraestructura antes de que ocurrieran los terremotos.

Instó al gobierno a reconstruir con mayor solidez y a aplicar las recomendaciones existentes, y advirtió que podría tomar semanas evaluar los edificios y determinar si son seguros.

“Es un proceso que viene ahora”, resaltó Rangel. “Ahora mismo, lo más importante es el tema del rescate”.

Instó a ingenieros, arquitectos y otros a sumarse a los próximos esfuerzos de inspección.

“Hay que determinar las causas del colapso”, sostuvo. “Es la manera de aprender las lecciones después de un terremoto”.

Magaly Noguera y su familia están entre los venezolanos que esperan una inspección. Viven en un edificio alto que resultó dañado, y Noguera recordó cómo ella y su hijo, junto con la esposa de él y su hijo de 3 años, se abrazaron bajo el marco de la puerta de la cocina hasta que pudieron bajar corriendo a un lugar más seguro.

Ahora duermen afuera, cerca de un edificio gubernamental, rodeados de otras personas en la misma situación.

Al otro lado de la calle, un hombre cargaba un colchón sobre el hombro izquierdo al tiempo que su pareja llevaba varias almohadas bajo el brazo derecho. Entre ambos, acurrucado, iba un niño pequeño cuando caminaban hacia destino desconocido.

___

Coto reportó desde San Juan, Puerto Rico.

___

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

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel is a setback for the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda and its repeated efforts to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit leaves intact, for now, a tighter standard set in 2024 on pollution from coal-fired power plants, factories and other industrial sources.

The EPA under President Donald Trump asked the appeals court last year to invalidate the Biden-era rule, arguing that the agency under previous leaders had exceeded its statutory authority and acted unreasonably by failing to consider costs to businesses affected by the rule.

The court denied the Trump administration's request, saying in a decision written by Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg that the agency's arguments “lack merit."

The ruling leaves in place an annual ⁠limit of 9 micrograms of fine particle pollution — often called soot — per cubic meter of air, down from 12 micrograms established more than a decade ago. The EPA rule sets an air quality level that states and counties must achieve in the coming years to reduce particle pollution from power plants, vehicles, industrial sites and wildfires.

The EPA's bid to walk away from the Biden-era rule came in response to a lawsuit by 25 Republican-led states and a host of business groups that attempted to block the 2024 rule in court. A suit led by attorneys general from Kentucky and West Virginia argued the EPA rule would raise costs for manufacturers, utilities and families and could block new manufacturing plants.

The EPA under Biden had said the tighter limits would avoid more than 800,000 ‌cases ⁠of asthma symptoms, 2,000 hospital visits and 4,500 premature deaths.

An EPA spokeswoman said in November that the 2024 rule would cost “hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to American citizens" and ​was not based on ​a full ⁠review of available science.

The EPA said Friday it was reviewing the court decision.

Environmental groups hailed the ruling as a victory for public health and a rebuke of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“Clean air is not a luxury. The 2024 soot standard is a critical advancement for public health, projected to save thousands of lives every year,'' said Patrice Simms, vice president of healthy communities at Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. “Lee Zeldin’s EPA must stop catering to polluters and must instead fulfill its mission to protect public health," Simms added.

The ⁠Natural Resources Defense Council, another environmental group, said the delay in implementing the 2024 rule has meant millions of Americans continue to breathe unhealthy levels of soot.

"The science has long been clear, and now the law is too. The EPA must stop stalling and deliver the clean air the Clean Air Act requires,'' said Vijay Limaye, a climate and health scientist for the NRDC.

The standard Starlink hardware kit costs about $470 in Venezuela, where there are only three authorized dealers: Daka, Multimax, and Soytechno. The residential plan starts at $55 monthly.

The satellite internet company operated by SpaceX announced that new customers in Venezuela’s impacted areas have to reach out to support after purchase to receive the free service through July 25.

Also, Venezuelan Starlink accounts are limited to one kit, and the subscription is restricted to a fixed residential service address.

The designated disaster zones qualify for free or heavily discounted disaster-recovery service credits. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez thanked Elon Musk and his Starlink team on Thursday.

“Every connection counts at a time like this,” Rodríguez said.

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Food For The Poor packs disaster relief kits with ‘hopeful’ hand-written notes
• State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team
• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

The giraffe was spotted about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) south of her enclosure during an aerial search in the Texas Hill Country, according to Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson. He said Gracie's owner, Vick Jones, contacted a veterinarian and began putting together a team to bring the giraffe safely back to the ranch.

“She’s in good shape,” Jones said. “She’s standing there, swishing her tail.”

Gracie, who is about 3 years old and weighs at least 1,200 pounds, was found within a half-mile of a pond and creek and had plenty of vegetation to feed on, said Jones, adding that she appeared to have been in that area for about a week.

Getting the 10-foot-tall giraffe home to the Cedar Hollow Ranch, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of San Antonio, was taking some work.

Veterinarians needed time to sedate Gracie and put a hood over her eyes, Jones said. From there, Gracie will be moved with an open-pasture trailer to a taller, enclosed trailer made for giraffes for the trip back to the ranch.

Parts of the remote area cannot be reached by car, which prompted the search by helicopter. While Real County's 2,700 residents were urged to keep an eye out for her, Gracie was found on private property where no one lives, Jones said.

“We didn't bother her,” Jones said of the sighting. “She's got water. She looked in really good shape.”

The Texas Hill Country has one of the largest concentrations of exotic captive animals in the U.S.

Johnson said this week he’s had reports of missing wildebeests, water buffalo, zebras and monkeys, though never a giraffe previously.

The area has a mild climate and rugged terrain — and plenty of vegetation for Gracie to eat. In Africa, giraffes thrive best in dry and semidry savannahs and grasslands.

Jones believes that Gracie, who arrived at the ranch in May, didn't mean to leave it. She had been wandering up to a rocky area to feed on trees growing out of the rock and had always come back to the ranch's giraffe enclosure.

Jones said Gracie wandered into the rocky area, fed, and came down on the wrong side of the gate. At that point, he said, it was easier for her to keep walking in the same direction than to try to go back.

The area wasn't fenced because giraffes had not been going there until Gracie did — and building a fence requires jackhammering through rock to put up the posts. But Jones said he plans to have a fence put up now, and Gracie will stay in the ranch's giraffe enclosure until it's ready.

Despite Gracie's size, she wouldn't have harmed a person who encountered her off the ranch, Jones said.

“If you move toward her, she's taking off,” he said.

“Me, personally, I don’t agree,” said Chambliss, who was coached by Kiffin last season. “I don’t think that what he said was truthful. ... The Oxford community is nothing but love and they care about their people no matter what they look like: brown, black, purple, yellow — you know what I mean?”

Kiffin, who is white, coached at Ole Miss from 2020 to 2025. He oversaw the Rebels' 11-1 regular season in 2025 but left for LSU before the College Football Playoff in a move that has since brought much scrutiny to college football’s recruiting calendar.

In May, Kiffin was featured in a Vanity Fair magazine article in which he described prospective Ole Miss recruits telling him: "Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.”

“That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana," Kiffin added in his comments to Vanity Fair.

Kiffin wanted to coach the Rebels in the CFP, but Ole Miss wouldn’t allow it because Kiffin also would have been simultaneously recruiting for LSU. Without Kiffin at the helm, Chambliss nonetheless led the Rebels into the national finals with a scintillating CFP quarterfinal performance against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Chambliss, who is participating this weekend in the Manning Passing Academy as a counselor, said he still thinks highly of Kiffin, will always appreciate the opportunity Kiffin gave him at Ole Miss and does not harbor hard feelings about the way Kiffin left the program.

However, Chambliss sounded eager to point out that his experience in Oxford did not match Kiffin's comments to the magazine.

“The people in Mississippi and Oxford showed me nothing but love,” Chambless said of a visit he made before deciding to transfer to Ole Miss from Ferris State.

“One thing that I can really take away from my visit and the reason why I did commit to Ole Miss is I asked my family what they genuinely thought about the visit, what they thought about the people, if they trusted what they were actually saying, if they’re gonna be true to their word,” Chambliss added.

“They said, ‘I feel like this is the right place.' And my mom’s super religious, too, and she just had a good feeling,” Chambliss said. “We prayed on it, and that was the main thing. ... So, I felt like Oxford is home and it’s a great place.”

Kiffin will be back in Ole Miss' Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — but on the visitor's sideline — on Sept. 19 when LSU visits the Rebels. Pete Golding, who had been a defensive coordinator on Kiffin’s staff, took over at Ole Miss.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Dembélé scored a first-half hat trick, including one off a feed from Mbappé, to help France beat Norway 4-1 at the World Cup on Friday.

Dembélé's goals came in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes. It was the first first-half hat trick at the World Cup since Russia forward Oleg Salenko scored three of his five goals in the opening 45 minutes against Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

“It is a unique moment,” Dembélé said. “But the most important was to finish first of the group in the group stage, and we are focused on the round of 32, which is the most important.”

France, which won the World Cup in 2018 and lost in the final four years ago, had already secured its place in the knockout round before Friday’s match. Norway was also assured of a spot in the round of 32 and ended up in second place in the group.

Désiré Doué scored France's final goal in second-half injury time.

Dembélé said changing their approach in the final group match was never a consideration. France has 10 goals through three games.

“We want to win all our matches, but we remain focused,” Dembélé said.

The fastest World Cup hat trick took only 7 minutes, 42 seconds. Hungary striker Laszlo Kiss, who had come on as a substitute, managed that feat late in the match against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

The quickest World Cup hat trick from the start of the match occurred at the 1954 tournament in Switzerland when Austria striker Erich Probst scored his three goals in the opening 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia.

Dembélé, who won Ballon d’Or as Europe’s top player in 2025 and has now scored four goals at this year's World Cup, left the game in the 65th minute. He was replaced by Bradley Barcola.

Thelo Aasgaard got Norway on the scoreboard after Dembélé’s second goal, finding the back of the net only 14 seconds after the restart. But Dembélé added his third goal less than nine minutes later to push the lead back to two.

Dembélé increased his international goal total to eight while Mbappe now has 16 goals and four assists in 17 World Cup matches. He scored two goals in each of France’s wins over Senegal and Iraq.

Erling Haaland was among 10 regular starters absent from Norway’s starting lineup, presumably to rest. The wholesale changes included Egil Selvik starting in goal in place of Orjan Nyland.

Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said resting so many players was an easy decision for him.

“The break that we had from the last game to this game was the shortest of any team. ... So it's a no-brainer,” he said. “The fans around Norway and also in the arena would have like to see Erling. But that is not really the issue. We want to proceed as long as we can in the tournament.”

The Norwegians will next face Ivory Coast in the round of 32 on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. France will play the same day against one of the eight best third-place finishers in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Mbappé nearly got France on the scoreboard only 21 seconds into the game. He sprinted up the right side and sent a hard shot that hit the crossbar beyond the outstretched arm of Selvik.

Dembélé was operating in space for his first goal when he took took a pass from Mbappé and blasted a right-footed shot across Selvik.

On the Paris Saint-Germain player’s second goal, Dembélé found space between three defenders at the top of the box and fired in a left-footer beyond Selvik’s diving save attempt.

Norway had a chance to close the gap back to one goal in the 49th when France defender Theo Hernandez was whistled for tripping Oscar Bobb in the box. But Jorgen Strand Larsen’s penalty shot toward the right corner was batted away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Before the game, French fans in attendance displayed a banner reading “AVEC TOI DIDIER” (With you Didier), acknowledging France coach Didier Deschamps' mother, Ginette Deschamps, who died this week. The coach missed the match against Norway on Friday because he was in France with family, leaving assistant Guy Stéphan in charge.

Stéphan said Deschamps would rejoin the team for its next training session on Saturday.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

According to Buttigieg, a Michigan State Police officer and a child protective services worker came to his home in Traverse City after they received an anonymous report alleging he posed a danger to his children. Authorities arranged forensic interviews for his twins and instructed him not to be alone with them until the interviews were complete.

Buttigieg described the 24-hour ordeal in a Substack post as "among the darkest hours of my life.”

Michigan State Police said in a statement to The Associated Press they received an “anonymous report” and that they and child protective services “responded and determined the report was false.”

Buttigieg said investigators told him the anonymous caller claimed he had confessed years earlier to violent crimes during a chance meeting in Alabama. Buttigieg said he had never been to the town where the meeting allegedly occurred.

He said police told him the allegation would not be referred to prosecutors and that they believed it to be politically motivated, while Child Protective Services found nothing to substantiate the report.

“I cannot describe the mix of rage and sadness that I feel at the idea that someone brought our children into this," writes Buttigieg. “They are four years old. Four. They do not know or care what a Democrat or a Republican is.”

Buttigieg, who is widely viewed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, has long been the target of anti-LGBTQ attacks.

In recent years, conservative activists and some Republican officials have opposed efforts to portray same-sex parents as ordinary families in schools and public life. June — widely recognized as Pride Month — is Strong Families Month in Alabama, intended to coincide with Father’s Day. Gov. Kay Ivey’s proclamation says fathers are “the head of the household” and “homes led by a father and mother provide children with the structure and discipline necessary to succeed throughout life.”

Buttigieg wrote that the incident occurred soon after he shared photos of his family online for Father’s Day.

Buttigieg drew criticism from some Republicans for taking paternity leave after he and his husband, Chasten, adopted their twins while he was serving in the Biden administration. Buttigieg also wrote that he has faced death threats during his career.

“But this is the ugliest thing that has happened to me since my career in service began,” he wrote.

Public officials from across the political spectrum have increasingly been targeted by swatting, which is the act of making a false call to emergency services to prompt a response at a particular address. The goal is to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to show up. Law enforcement agencies have warned that the incidents divert resources from other pressing tasks and pose risks to both law enforcement and the victims.

Buttigieg said the incident reflected a broader escalation in political attacks.

“Everyone knows politics is ugly these days,” he wrote. “It’s always been ugly, but now it feels more and more like bloodsport."

“Even so, this is different.”

Leer en español

According to arrest reports, officers identified the suspects as Terrance Beron Sills, 22, Jayden Cereus, 18, both of Fort Lauderdale, and Kevin Peeples, 18, of Miami.

Police said officers were on patrol around 11:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving a be-on-the lookout alert for a gray Honda Accord that had been linked to multiple smash-and-grab burglaries in Pinecrest and repeatedly detected by automated license plate reader cameras throughout the village.

According to the reports, an officer spotted the vehicle near Southwest 122nd Street and Southwest 67th Avenue.

Investigators said the driver was wearing a black ski mask over the lower half of his face before pulling it down. They also confirmed that the driver, Cereus, turned off the car’s headlights and began reversing after noticing a marked police vehicle.

Officers said they stopped the Honda and detained all three occupants without incident.

According to the reports, officers found three automotive window punch tools, multiple pairs of gloves and black ski masks in plain view inside the car. Police said the tools are commonly used to quickly shatter vehicle windows during burglaries.

After being advised of their Miranda rights, the three suspects gave conflicting explanations about why they were in Pinecrest, according to the reports.

Police said Peeples told investigators the group was “staying at a hotel far from here,” and were looking for an Airbnb to rent in Pinecrest, but officers later contacted the homeowner at the address on his phone, who said they were not expecting anyone and did not know the suspects.

According to the reports, Sills, who told officers the Honda belonged to him, admitted the window punch tools were his but claimed he kept them in case he locked his keys inside the car.

Police said Sills also stated the group had driven from Fort Lauderdale “to look for cars” before refusing to answer additional questions.

Investigators said Cereus told officers the group had been driving around Pinecrest for about 30 minutes but also claimed the hotel where they were staying was about an hour away.

They said based on the car’s connection to previous burglaries, repeated license plate reader alerts, the items recovered from the car and the suspects’ conflicting statements, officers arrested all three men.

Police have not disclosed how many valuables or how much property was stolen in the burglaries linked to the thefts.

Jail records show Sills, Cereus and Peeples each face one count of possession of burglary tools and one count of loitering or prowling.

As of Friday, all three suspects are being held on a $5,100 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

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

Según los informes de arresto, los sospechosos fueron identificados como Terrance Beron Sills, de 22 años; Jayden Cereus, de 18, ambos de Fort Lauderdale; y Kevin Peeples, de 18, de Miami.

La Policía indicó que los agentes patrullaban alrededor de las 11:30 p.m. del jueves después de recibir una alerta para localizar un Honda Accord gris que había sido vinculado a múltiples robos a vehículos tras romper sus ventanas en Pinecrest y que había sido detectado repetidamente por cámaras automatizadas de lectura de matrículas en toda la localidad.

Según los informes, un agente localizó el vehículo cerca de la calle 122 SW y la avenida 67 SW.

Los investigadores dijeron que el conductor llevaba una máscara negra de esquí cubriéndole la parte inferior del rostro antes de bajársela. También confirmaron que el conductor, Cereus, apagó las luces del vehículo y comenzó a retroceder después de notar una patrulla policial identificada.

Los agentes dijeron que detuvieron el Honda y arrestaron a los tres ocupantes sin incidentes.

Según los informes, los agentes encontraron a simple vista dentro del vehículo tres herramientas para romper ventanas de automóviles, varios pares de guantes y máscaras negras de esquí. La Policía indicó que estas herramientas son utilizadas comúnmente para romper rápidamente las ventanas de los vehículos durante los robos.

Después de ser informados de sus derechos Miranda, los tres sospechosos dieron explicaciones contradictorias sobre por qué estaban en Pinecrest, según los informes.

La Policía indicó que Peeples dijo a los investigadores que el grupo “se hospedaba en un hotel lejos de aquí” y que buscaban un Airbnb para alquilar en Pinecrest, pero posteriormente los agentes contactaron al propietario de la dirección que aparecía en su teléfono, quien dijo que no esperaba a nadie y que no conocía a los sospechosos.

Según los informes, Sills, quien dijo a los agentes que el Honda le pertenecía, admitió que las herramientas para romper ventanas eran suyas, pero afirmó que las llevaba por si dejaba las llaves dentro del vehículo.

La Policía indicó que Sills también declaró que el grupo había viajado desde Fort Lauderdale “para buscar vehículos” antes de negarse a responder más preguntas.

Los investigadores dijeron que Cereus informó a los agentes que el grupo había estado conduciendo por Pinecrest durante unos 30 minutos, pero también afirmó que el hotel donde se hospedaban estaba aproximadamente a una hora de distancia.

Indicaron que, con base en la vinculación del vehículo con robos anteriores, las repetidas alertas de los lectores de matrículas, los objetos recuperados del automóvil y las declaraciones contradictorias de los sospechosos, los agentes arrestaron a los tres hombres.

La Policía no ha revelado cuántos objetos de valor ni qué cantidad de bienes fueron robados en los casos vinculados.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Sills, Cereus y Peeples enfrentan cada uno un cargo de posesión de herramientas para robo y un cargo de merodear o deambular con fines delictivos.

Hasta el viernes, los tres sospechosos permanecían detenidos con una fianza de $5,100 USD cada uno en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

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

El personal de bomberos y rescate de Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) y de Florida Task Force 1 (FLTF1), que incluye a 80 especialistas, apoyará las operaciones de búsqueda y rescate.

“Sabemos que muchas personas de nuestra comunidad tienen familiares, amigos y seres queridos en Venezuela, lo que hace que esta misión sea especialmente significativa para nosotros”, escribió un portavoz de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) en un comunicado. “Nos desplegamos con un solo propósito: brindar esperanza y ayudar a quienes se han visto afectados durante este difícil momento”.

El equipo FLTF1 de “Tipo I” también incluye seis equipos caninos y expertos en 19 áreas, entre ellas mando y control, búsqueda técnica, evaluación y estabilización estructural, planificación e información técnica, atención médica avanzada, mitigación de materiales peligrosos, comunicaciones tácticas, logística, seguridad y rescate técnico.

El Departamento de Estado ya había desplegado dos equipos urbanos de búsqueda y rescate desde Los Ángeles y Fairfax, Virginia.

Más cobertura de AYUDA A VENEZUELA

• Food For The Poor incluye en sus kits de ayuda humanitaria notas escritas a mano con mensajes de esperanza.
• El recaudador de impuestos de Miami-Dade abre 11 puntos de entrega.
• Doral abre 4 puntos de entrega de ayuda.
• Se abre un punto de entrega de ayuda en Homestead.
• International Medical Corps despliega personal y necesita donaciones.
• Save The Children solicita donaciones para su fondo de emergencia.
• Samaritan’s Purse se centra en los “hospitales de campaña de emergencia”.
• La Cruz Roja solicita donaciones para su Fondo de Emergencia para la Respuesta ante Desastres.
• La ONU solicita donaciones para un programa infantil que carece de fondos suficientes.
• World Vision solicita donaciones para su “fondo de ayuda en casos de desastre”.
• World Central Kitchen solicita donaciones para comidas frescas.
• United Way Miami lanza la ‘Operación Manos Amigas’.

Fue el sangriento desenlace de una larga disputa entre los hermanos. Leyva, de 49 años, llegó en un scooter poco después de las 12:20 p.m. del 24 de abril de 2025 a Priced Rights Motors, Inc., negocio que Rivero, de 35 años, había heredado, según muestran los registros.

Los agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, Alfredo Pérez y Dea Harris, dispararon contra Leyva poco antes de la 1 p.m. en el 7321 de la calle 45 SW, en el vecindario de Glenvar Heights, al oeste de South Miami, según muestran los registros.

“Leyva disparó contra los agentes al menos una vez antes de que cualquiera de ellos utilizara fuerza letal”, escribió la fiscal adjunta del estado de Miami-Dade, Sara Imm, según el memorando de cierre que también firmó la fiscal estatal de Miami-Dade, Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

Antes de que los agentes respondieran con un escudo balístico, Armando Yadro le dijo a un operador del 911 que Leyva le había disparado y que estaba fingiendo estar muerto porque se encontraba dentro del negocio, según muestran los registros.

Imm describió cómo Leyva también “dirigió” un “aparente explosivo”, una bomba de humo que parecía ser una granada, antes de que Pérez “disparara su arma de fuego”, según el memorando de cierre aprobado el jueves por Fernández Rundle, de acuerdo con los registros.

“Es razonable concluir que tanto el agente Harris como el agente Pérez creían que el uso de fuerza letal era necesario para evitar una muerte inminente o causar un gran daño corporal a ellos mismos y/o a los otros dos civiles”, escribió Imm, según el memorando.

Los videos mostraban a niños corriendo para ponerse a salvo en el exterior y a personas refugiándose en negocios cercanos. Un equipo SWAT llegó al lugar y evacuó el área, que incluía un almacén donde había niños en una práctica de porristas.

Yadro, de 35 años, sufrió una herida en la clavícula y sobrevivió. Rivero recibió un disparo en un costado de la cabeza, y un médico lo declaró muerto en el Hospital HCA Florida Kendall. Leyva recibió un disparo en la cabeza.

“Los médicos no pudieron extraer el proyectil alojado en su cerebro”, escribió la fiscal, según el memorando.

Tras sufrir “complicaciones” por la herida de bala, Leyva permaneció hospitalizado y murió el 14 de febrero, según muestran los registros.

La Fiscalía Estatal de Miami-Dade (MSAO) informó que recibió el informe del Departamento de Cumplimiento de la Ley de Florida (FDLE) el 22 de mayo.

Lea el memorando de cierre

Scheffler had to settle for a 10-under 60 on the soft TPC River Highlands course, setting an early target atop the scoreboard on a day of extreme low scoring at the final signature event of the regular season.

“Going out yesterday in the afternoon, when the greens get firm out here and the wind starts to blow, it can get tricky pretty quickly,” Scheffler said. “Going out this morning, you definitely had a feeling the conditions were going to be easier, so you need to go out there and try and take advantage of it.”

Scheffler was at 16-under 124, two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland.

“At the end of the day, I was very focused on just my execution out there,” Scheffler said. “Who knows what the lead is going to be after today. I’ve put myself in position now this week. Go home, get some rest, and get ready for tomorrow.”

Playing three groups in front of Scheffler, Hovland needed to birdie the final two holes for a 59. He settled for a pair of pars and a 61, matching his career best on tour.

“Certainly it was more gettable today than it was even yesterday,” Hovland said.

Akshay Bhatia had a 62 to match first-round leader Eric Cole at 12 under.

“I know how this golf course can play,” Bhatia said. “You got to kind of keep making birdies and try and limit mistakes.”

Cole parred the final eight holes in a 65.

“Maybe just being tired or something and making some tired swings,” Cole said.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Bud Cauley and Ben Griffin were tied for fifth at 10 under, each shooting 66.

Scheffler shot 59 in his rookie season in 2020 in the second round of The Northern Trust at the TPC Boston, another rain-softened course that featured low scoring. Dustin Johnson was 11 under through 11 holes that day and had to settle for a 60.

“Some days they’re kind of hanging on the edge and not quite going in, and then other days they’re finding the bottom of the cup,” Scheffler said. “Today was a day definitely in which most of them were finding the bottom of the cup.”

Furyk shot his first sub-60 round in the second round of the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms outside Chicago, a 59 that included a bogey on his card. Three years later, he set the PGA Tour record at the Travelers Championship with a 58 in the final round.

Furyk did not win either tournament.

“It was like, `It would be cool to shoot 59, but somebody has already shot 58 here, so it’s not even the course record,’” Scheffler said.

Scheffler, who won the Travelers Championship two years ago, is coming off a tie for fourth in the U.S. Open when he played in the final round. His last victory was The American Express in the California desert, his first start of the year.

Scheffler bogeyed the par-4 second, leaving a wedge from the fairway well short and missing an 8-foot par try.

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

After entering as a substitute for Germany, Undav scored three goals and set up two more, putting him just behind top-scoring superstars such as Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé of France and Vinicius Jr. of Brazil on the leaderboard.

Undav, who identifies as a Kurdish Yazidi, is the son of Yazidi refugees. His success is being celebrated by a small, insular community that has endured decades of oppression and violence, notably a 2014 onslaught in which thousands of Yazidis in Iraq’s Sinjar region were killed or abducted by militants from the Islamic State group who considered them to be heretics.

Responding to a question at a news conference Wednesday, the German-born Undav said he hoped his performance would inspire fans everywhere, especially within the Yazidi community.

“I always get the news from my parents how they view me, how they see me and it’s making me proud, you know, that we finally have somebody,” he said.

Undav has fans across Syria, Germany and Iraq

In the village of Khirbet al-Ghazal in northeastern Syria, a small group of Yazidis gathered Thursday night to watch the Germany-Ecuador match at the home of community leader Ismail Dalaf. Many residents are related to Undav’s mother, who is from a now-deserted nearby village whose residents left for economic reasons or fled during Syria’s long civil war that began in 2011.

Dalaf said Undav’s World Cup performance has made him “a symbol that shows Yazidis can reach a higher position and be seen with respect.”

“When people see a Yazidi entering the field, scoring goals and changing the result of matches, it changes public perception,” he said. “It tells the world that Yazidis have a role in the world.”

The Kurds are among the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world, with roughly 30 million living as minorities in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority mostly found in Syria, Iraq and Turkey. There are around 235,000 Yazidis living in Germany today, according to Irfan Ortac, chair of the Central Council of Yazidis in Germany. Many arrived after the 2014 onslaught.

“Until now, we have mostly been known as victims of violence,” Ortac said. “Whenever we spoke about Yazidis, we always had to talk about genocide, discrimination, and displacement. It makes us very proud and happy to be able to talk about something positive.”

In Iraq — home to the largest concentration of Yazidis in the world and the location of their most holy site, the Lalish temple — members of the community also have embraced Undav’s success.

“It makes me very happy to see a Yazidi bringing our name to the World Cup and playing in front of the whole world,” said Luqman Sleiman, spokesperson for the temple.

Diyar Bakir, 29, a Yazidi from Sinjar, hopes to travel to Germany one day to see Undav play.

His family “came from a place where his ethnicity and religion were not appreciated, yet he is now recognized and valued by a great team like Germany,” Bakir said. “He emerged from the womb of suffering, and we wish him every success.”

Undav has faced abuse for his heritage, but his popularity surges

At times, Undav has faced abuse over his heritage from spectators and on social media.

When his club team Stuttgart played in Turkey at Fenerbahce last year, German media reported the outbreak of obscene chants about his mother. Two Kurdish anti-discrimination groups said social media insults were part of a growing campaign of “racist and ethnically motivated hostility.”

Undav’s decision to represent Germany and not Turkey, as other eligible German-born players have done in the past, also resulted in some online hostility from Turkish fans. But now, his popularity is surging.

Düzen Tekkal, a German documentary filmmaker and author of Kurdish Yazidi heritage, is from northwestern Germany, like Undav. She is the co-founder of Scoring Girls(asterisk), a nonprofit offering free soccer classes for girls from diverse backgrounds.

“There definitely is a Deniz Undav effect and it’s very important,” she said, referencing children who can celebrate their heritage and feel they belong in Germany at a time when migration is often treated as a political problem.

“It is no coincidence that he plays with this lightness and freedom,” Tekkal added. “People are asking how come he’s so good under pressure or he can cope with so much pressure? Because he doesn’t know it any other way. That is the DNA, that is the resilience. ... That’s how he scores these goals because what is that pressure compared to being Kurdish or Yazidi?”

When Undav scored one of those goals, against Curacao, he broke into a Yazidi-inspired jig with his hands clasped behind his back. He was joined by Antonio Rüdiger, a Black German soccer star who has faced racist and anti-Muslim abuse during his career, in what Tekkal called “one of the highlights, no matter how this World Cup goes from here.”

“Dancing is a form of expressing resistance for us,” Tekkal emphasized. “We dance on the graves of our dead. Our mantra is that resistance is life. He’s dancing there for his forefathers who were oppressed.”

Mahmoud Kanabi, a Kurd from Irbil, moved to Berlin in 2020 and works in a Kurdish restaurant. Because of Undav, he purchased a Germany jersey.

“Unfortunately, for us Kurds, we don’t have a team because we don’t have a country,” he said. “Now, when a Kurdish player is in a team, we have to be fans of it. It doesn’t matter what team it is.”

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Martany reported from Irbil, Iraq; Fahey from Berlin and Ellingworth from Duesseldorf, Germany. AP Sports Writer Ron Blum in East Rutherford, New Jersey, contributed reporting.

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

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Her sound, anyway.

Speakers inside the interview room at the stadium started blaring some of Lipa’s songs for a few minutes in the middle of Martínez’s availability session. It wasn’t totally clear why — some wires got crossed, evidently, during a rehearsal happening inside the stadium — but nobody seemed to mind that it happened.

Martinez even swayed a little in his chair while workers tried to find a way to silence the music.

“Dua Lipa’s supporting Portugal, I believe,” he said.

Lipa — the three-time Grammy-winning, London-born, British Albanian singing powerhouse — is a huge soccer fan and has been at countless major events in recent years. And when Martinez was asked later in his news conference about the balance of his midfield play so far in the tournament, he couldn’t resist bringing the talk back to the music.

“Balance and Dua Lipa, those were the two main topics,” Martínez said.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The space rock — 1997 NC1 — makes its closest approach Saturday morning, coming within 1.6 million miles (2.6 million kilometers), according to the European Space Agency.

Discovered nearly three decades ago by an asteroid-tracking system in Hawaii, the asteroid is between 2,461 feet (0.75 kilometer) to 5,413 feet (1.65 kilometers) wide — roughly the size of two to four Empire State Buildings.

Skygazers with binoculars and small telescopes may be able to spot the asteroid as a small point of light passing harmlessly through the sky. It won't greet Earth from such a distance again until 2133, according to NASA.

The last time an asteroid similar in size passed safely by Earth from an even closer distance was in 2022, when a space rock called 1994 PC1 made its approach.

NASA, ESA and other space agencies track the paths of asteroids and other space junk so they can keep Earth safe from any possible collisions. Last year, astronomers tracked a smaller asteroid resembling a spinning hockey puck and said there's no chance of it hitting Earth or the moon.

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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 assertion — challenging a longstanding concept in American law — comes amid a raft of recommendations in a draft report of the Religious Liberty Commission, released Friday afternoon.

The advisory body was created by President Donald Trump last year and filled almost entirely by conservative Christians. The 224-page draft report — part policy document, part philosophical argument — echoes members' support for a stronger role for religion and religious expression in government, schools and the public square.

The report applauds recent Supreme Court decisions expanding rights to religious expression in public settings, such as creating opt-outs for religious objections to school lessons.

The report recommends eliminating the “ Johnson Amendment ” that forbids political activities by tax-exempt religious groups — a longstanding goal of Trump. It calls for compensating military service members who were discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines.

It calls in general for allowing more religious expression in the public square, greater access to public money for faith-based agencies and broader exemptions for those claiming conscientious objections to policies ranging from vaccine mandates to pronoun usage to classroom lessons.

It recommends that federal agencies publish “Know Your Rights” posters for various settings and establish hotlines to receive complaints about religious liberty violations.

The draft report also calls for the creation of new honors — a Presidential Medal of Religious Liberty and First Freedom Hero Awards. And it calls for exhibits and markers at historic sites paying tribute to the role of religion in American history.

It calls for combatting antisemitism through various legal tools. It also recommends requiring any public official who says an employee engaged in improper religious expression to provide a written explanation.

At a news conference in the Oval Office, commissioners said witnesses who appeared at their hearings had suffered “persecution” at work and elsewhere.

The draft report is now available for public comment over the next 15 days. It is sure to draw opposition.

Some other groups defend the separation of church and state

Critics have said the commission has failed adequately to address issues like anti-Muslim efforts in some states and that, while its hearings spotlighted left-wing antisemitism, it gave less attention to similar right-wing movements.

Some groups, including the progressive Interfaith Alliance, have a pending lawsuit saying the commission lacks ideological diversity as required of federal advisory panels.

The Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president of Interfaith Alliance, said the report represents “a wishlist of divisive, unpopular ideas far-right religious groups have pushed for years,” such as expanding vouchers for religious schools and repealing the Johnson amendment.

At the same time, Raushenbush said in a statement, the commission “couldn’t bring itself to acknowledge the growing threat of Islamophobia” nor Trump’s own criticisms of Pope Leo XIV, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, and other religious critics of “his administration’s inhumane policies.”

The report comes as conservative states such as Texas have worked to incorporate more religion into public spaces such as classrooms, including Bible lessons and Ten Commandments displays.

Trump, speaking to supporters at a Faith & Freedom Coalition gathering in Washington on Friday, touted the newly released report.

“We saved religion, it was going down,” he boasted.

Trump contended that the administration of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, had carried out a “reign of persecution.”

While the commission report downplays the separation of church and state, the commission didn't go so far as to call it a “lie,” as the commission chairman, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, did in April.

But it largely took the stance that the idea is misapplied.

“To be clear, this does not involve or require advocating ‘theocracy’ or even the total elimination of any separation between church and state,” the report says. Rather, it calls for honoring a “tension between the relevant clauses of the First Amendment” that guarantee religious freedom but forbid any government-established church.

Still, Patrick pressed the issue at the news conference, saying the phrase separation of church and state was used to “batter and hammer people of faith” for decades.

Americans "cannot be attacked by that phrase any longer,” Patrick said.

Supreme Court rulings on church/state issues have evolved

The phrase, “a wall of separation between church and state” does not appear in the Constitution, but it’s embodied in Supreme Court precedent. Thomas Jefferson used that expression in a letter to Baptists, supporting them in opposing official churches in U.S. states, a practice that soon ended.

Twentieth-century decisions by the high court invoked the “separation” phrase to extend the First Amendment’s prohibition on federal church establishment to state and local governments, citing the 14th Amendment’s ban on states denying citizens’ rights.

That led to bans on official prayers and Ten Commandments displays in public schools. The Supreme Court in recent years has steered a different course, permitting such things as a public school coach's on-field prayers and a religious opt-out for parents objecting to a lesson on transgender issues.

The draft report contends that even Jefferson didn’t believe in completely banishing religion from public life, but rather in keeping church and state in a kind of balance.

“In reality, the church and state strengthen and support one another,” it says.

The report touts the value of religion to society in terms of providing humanitarian work, anchoring families and acting as “conscience” monitoring government.

“In many cases the law protects the religious expression of Americans, but government officials and employers often use fear tactics to silence individuals into believing that they don’t have the right to publicly express their faith,” it argues.

It argues — citing one of its own members, Catholic media figure Bishop Robert Barron — that notions of strict church-state separation can be traced to a “God is dead” ideology that originated in Europe and saw traditional religion as an opponent to individual autonomy.

“This way of thinking made its way … into the American culture and courtroom,” the report said.

Little recognition for non-religious Americans

The report, while touting the value of religion, appears to give little emphasis on the large population of Americans with no religious affiliation. A key argument of many atheists and secular humanists is that one can be “good without God” — that religion doesn't have a monopoly on virtue and can do harm as well as good.

The lawsuit challenging the commission alleges that commissioners have asserted that America is specifically a Judeo-Christian or Christian nation, showing a lack of ideological diversity.

The Republican administration is asking a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit.

This draft report comes two months after another entity created by Trump — the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias — issued its own report. It claimed that Christians faced discrimination under the Biden administration. Progressive critics said that the report amounted to advocacy rather than an investigation.

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

The agreement does not include Hezbollah and prompted one of the group's officials in Lebanon to warn of civil war. The U.S. State Department said the framework establishes a process for dismantling Hezbollah and for Lebanon to regain territory that was taken by Israeli forces as they battled the militant group.

The U.S. will facilitate a newly created “Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” to implement the framework, the State Department said, while committing $100 million in humanitarian assistance.

“For Lebanon, this Framework provides a genuine pathway out of a long crisis,” the State Department said. “For Israel, it creates a verifiable path to removing the persistent threat on its northern border.”

Friday's agreement was signed in front of Rubio in Washington by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, the Lebanese ambassador to the United States.

Leiter said the final destination of the framework is peace between the two countries.

“Our language is we want to embrace Lebanon," he said. "Our language is we want to get in our car in Tel Aviv and take a drive up to Beirut, and we want Beirut to come down and take a drive to Tel Aviv. That’s where we’re going. That’s where we want to go.”

Leiter said that will depend on Hezbollah being disarmed and dismantled, which will allow Israel to withdraw and Lebanon to “regain its full sovereignty.”

“So it really depends on the Lebanese army,” Leiter said. “It depends on the support the Lebanese army gets from the U.S. And we think it’s going to be solid.”

Moawad said the framework “is a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities, enabling our people to go back to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security and prosperity.”

Hezbollah official says group won't give up weapons

The latest conflict began when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel days after Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran on Feb. 28. Israel invaded Lebanon and has expanded its control.

More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March. At least 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting.

Lebanese officials have said that securing a withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon is a top priority for them in the negotiations, while Israeli officials have prioritized the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The talks between Israel and Lebanon were separate from the interim deal that was signed last week by the leaders of the U.S. and Iran to end the fighting in the Islamic Republic. That agreement set a 60-day period for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Tehran’s nuclear program amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim the country denies.

The Lebanese government had been wary of having Iran negotiate on its behalf, and Lebanon launched its own direct negotiations with Israel after the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. Hezbollah was not part of the talks, which resulted in several ceasefire agreements that were never implemented on the ground.

Hezbollah is unlikely to agree to any plan that would include its disarmament throughout the country. The group has maintained that it is only required by previous agreements and U.N. resolutions to disarm in the area south of the Litani River, near Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, reiterated the group’s stance on Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV that it rejects Lebanon’s direct negotiations with Israel and that it will not give up its weapons.

Fadlallah said Lebanese authorities “will not be able to enforce the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war.” He also called the agreement in Washington “an attempt to derail the Islamabad process,” referring to the U.S.-Iran negotiations.

Israel establishes 'pilot zones' for Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a statement that the agreement “aims to achieve an Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, restore state sovereignty over it, and facilitate the return of its citizens” and that under it Lebanon is obligated to “extend the authority of the Lebanese state, through its armed forces, over all its territory.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had told a visiting British parliamentary delegation on Wednesday that a proposal for “pilot zones” where the Lebanese army is supposed to take exclusive control of the territory as Israeli troops will withdraw was “under discussion pending approval from the Israeli side.”

Israel’s direct negotiations with Lebanon include discussions about the redeployment of Israeli forces after southern Lebanon is cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure and Hezbollah has disarmed, said an Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video on Friday that the framework is a “great achievement” for Israel.

“The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” he said. “This is a major achievement, and we will maintain it as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed and as long as it continues to pose a threat to the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu said that Israel is allowing the Lebanese army to begin preparing to take control of territory, while the Israeli military is establishing two pilot zones.

“A small part of it is within the expanded security zone that we secured over the past two weeks and which, the IDF has made absolutely clear, it does not need,” Netanyahu said. “In other words, we are maintaining the original security zone at all times, outside the range of anti-tank missiles."

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This story has been corrected to include Nada Hamadeh Moawad's full name. It's Nada Hamadeh Moawad, not Nada Hamadeh.

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Sewell reported from Beirut. Lidman reported from Tel Aviv. Associated Press writers Koral Saeed in Herzliya, Israel, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

She felt like she needed to prepare for death — in case she gets deported back to Haiti, a country she fled at 9 years old.

After the Supreme Court decided Thursday to allow the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disasters in Haiti and Syria, fear ricocheted through those communities across the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people now face the prospect of deportation.

“I have been living with this internal fear, it’s like preparing for a funeral, just in case I die when going to another country,” said the nurse, who asked not to be identified for fear of being targeted for deportation.

She is among about 350,000 Haitians granted Temporary Protected Status, many of whom have legally lived and worked in the U.S. for decades and have children who are U.S. citizens. Thursday’s decision, which is expected to take effect July 27, also applied to around 6,000 Syrians. It could also open the door to the administration unwinding protections for 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

Temporary Protected Status allows people to live and work in the US

Congress created Temporary Protected Status in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries deemed dangerous, because of disasters, civil war or other violence or instability. It permits people to work legally in the U.S. but does not provide a path to citizenship. It can be renewed in increments of up to 18 months if the homeland security secretary deems conditions unsafe for return.

The Biden administration roughly doubled the number of people covered by TPS. The Trump administration ended those protections, insisting it was meant to be temporary, the countries are now safe and that President Joe Biden’s administration expanded the destination and poorly vetted its recipients.

TPS beneficiaries have, by definition, been living in limbo and their futures have been especially precarious under President Donald Trump, but the Supreme Court ruling delivered what could be a crushing blow to living and working legally in the United States.

Haitians in Ohio have been in the spotlight before

The Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, became a particular target of the administration during the 2024 campaign, when Trump spread fictional rumors that Haitians there were eating people’s cats and dogs. There is no evidence to support those claims.

Still, the community has been under intense pressure ever since, said Viles Dorsainvil, the executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield.

Thursday’s ruling added to the panic and chaos. People don’t know if they should withdraw all their money from the bank, Dorsainvil said. They don’t know if they can work, if their kids can go to school. Many are making preparations to leave their children who are U.S. citizens behind if they are sent away.

“As a Haitian, I always say that life has not been easy for us, nothing has been easy for us and this is another chapter in our life. And we’ve been in that type of situation since after the presidential campaign when they came up with that type of conspiracy theory of us eating cats and dogs,” he said. “We’ve been targeted. We’ve been in the spotlight for their political agenda.”

Dorsainvil said he’s focused on trying to keep people calm, telling them not to panic, not to feel hopeless or make desperate decisions that could further jeopardize them and their children.

Many TPS holders work in caregiving roles

On Thursday morning, a Haitian mother of a 17-month-old baby boy who lives in Florida woke up to the news.

“I was reading it and I just for a moment there I just felt like I couldn’t breathe, like as if something was just sitting on my chest, like my lungs couldn’t extend,” the 37-year-old said, her voice breaking.

She asked not to be identified for fears of being detained and deported.

“I did not expect this. It is so hard to accept. Maybe I am in denial but I think this can’t be real,” she said. “I had so much hope.”

She arrived in the U.S. in 1995 when she was 7 years old and graduated from high school here. But she could not go to college because she did not have legal status.

But in 2010 everything changed, when the U.S. granted Haitians protection after a catastrophic earthquake. The U.S. repeatedly extended that amid the gang violence that has consumed the country and displaced more than a million people.

The Florida woman applied, and she was able to go to school and become a nurse.

She was supposed to begin a new job in two weeks. Now she doesn’t know if she’s authorized to work.

TPS holders are overrepresented in caregiving roles, and the long-term care industry, like nursing homes and facilities for disabled people, industry groups said, could be hit particularly hard as fear and uncertainty ripples across America.

The nurse in Kentucky said she’s trying to focus on her work taking care of disabled people. But it’s hard to not think of the worst-case scenario, imagining being separated from her children, who are ages 13, 12, 8, and 2, and being sent to her home country that she left more than two decades ago. She reads in the news that there are gang wars, kidnappings, killings.

“I don’t want to go there. I am very Americanized,” she said. “It’s like someone saying, hey, do you want to go live in a horror movie? Like, you know, no, I don’t.”

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Aftoora-Orsagos reported from Springfield, Ohio, and Galofaro contributed from Louisville, Kentucky.

The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium will grant $350,000 to two dozen Southern community organizations working in thirteen states. The grants will fund organizations that address acute challenges facing underserved Black women and girls, like maternal health, gender-based violence prevention and educational support.

The funding and tour come at a moment when organizations focused on supporting underserved communities face funding crunches following the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The administration has invoked civil rights laws traditionally understood to have protected the rights of marginalized communities to investigate or prosecute instances of “anti-white racism” and “illegal DEI” in companies, non-profits and government agencies.

“We’ve seen this retrenchment in philanthropy, and people are not putting resources on the ground,” said Chanceé Lundy, Southern Black Girls’ executive director. “Organizations are struggling, and we want to make sure that people know that we see them. We value the work that we’re doing, and we want to be able to help fill some of the gaps that they are experiencing.”

The grants coincide with the organization’s summer “Joy and Justice” tour, which convenes community building activities, resource drives and festivals in nine cities. Most of the tour stops take place at schools and community centers in majority-Black neighborhoods. One rally will take place at the Virginia Capitol alongside agency leaders promoting diversity in the state's government.

Southern Black Girls has maintained funding from some major corporations and foundations, though Lundy described the efforts to maintain those relationships as “extremely difficult” for most groups in the current political climate, where supporting race and gender conscious organizations may prompt backlash from the federal government.

“We’re being punished for who we are,” said LaTosha Brown, a voting rights activist and co-founder of the organization.

President Donald Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman presidential nominee of a major party. About 9 in 10 Black women backed Harris for the presidency, according to a survey of voters by AP VoteCast. Brown said that Black women’s longstanding participation in liberal politics made them a “target” in the current political climate.

“We have always been anchored, particularly in the social justice movements of this country, and I don’t think that that’s any different now. I think in many ways it has been exacerbated, just given the environment,” said Brown.

Both Brown and Lundy noted that Black women have always faced discrimination and marginalization in the South despite being integral to the region's economy and culture. Lundy recalled stories of past generations of Black women who raised the children of white families that upheld Jim Crow policies that underfunded schools, restricted voting and enabled political violence against Black communities.

“You have to have a deep, deep sense of humanity to be able to do that,” said Lundy. She said that the tour was part of promoting Black women's place in the country's history and future as the U.S. prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary. “We've kept our humanity intact through it all, and I think this moment requires that.”

Lundy said she hoped the tour and grants would enable Black girls to reach their full potential.

“You matter now in this moment,” Lundy said was her “joyful” message to young Black girls. “And you’re not a victim. You are actually the solution, that you are the antidote to what is happening right now.”

According to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, Humberto Exposito was making a delivery to Sedano’s supermarket in the 10300 block of Pines Boulevard Wednesday morning when he allegedly threw the dog, Nico, several feet from the back of a box truck.

Police said Exposito returned to the truck after completing the delivery while Nico remained on the ground and made no effort to help it.

They said Nico was left without food, water, shelter or protection.

Nico is now in the care of Broward County Animal Care, where it is receiving medical evaluation and treatment, according to investigators.

A BCAC spokesperson told Local 10 News that Nico arrived at their shelter malnourished, has matted hair and appears to have advanced hip dysplasia.

A staff member said Nico is “in poor condition, has cancer, is unable to walk, and isn’t doing well.”

Detectives later located Exposito, who they say was arrested and faces one count each of aggravated animal cruelty, abandonment of an animal and confinement of an animal without sufficient air exchange.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing.

Exposito appeared in a Broward County courtroom Friday, where a judge set his bond at $12,000 and prohibited him from possessing any animal.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO), Dennis Michael Millwood, de 55 años y residente de Miramar, fue arrestado el jueves tras una investigación de varias semanas realizada por investigadores de UPS y la Unidad de Delitos Organizados contra el Comercio Minorista (ORC) del MDSO.

El informe señala que los investigadores de UPS comenzaron a indagar una serie de robos de paquetes cuyo contenido desaparecía mientras estaban en tránsito por el centro de distribución de la empresa en Hialeah, ubicado en 6001 E. Eighth Ave.

Los investigadores revisaron videos de vigilancia y alegan que Millwood llegaba habitualmente antes del inicio de su turno y retiraba paquetes del “Lakes Box Bottom Slide”, un área donde se colocan paquetes que no estaban asignados a su ruta de entrega. Según los investigadores, esos paquetes eran cargados posteriormente en el camión de UPS asignado a Millwood.

Las autoridades dijeron que los paquetes correspondientes a la ruta de Millwood normalmente se cargaban desde un sistema de bandas transportadoras diferente, por lo que sus acciones estaban fuera del alcance de sus funciones laborales.

Rolex reportado como desaparecido

La investigación se centró, en parte, en un paquete que contenía un reloj Rolex valorado en aproximadamente $55,000 USD.

Según el informe, un video de vigilancia del 9 de junio mostró a Millwood cargando el paquete en su camión. Posteriormente, los datos de rastreo confirmaron que el paquete permaneció dentro del vehículo, informaron las autoridades.

Según los detectives, Millwood le dijo más tarde a UPS que el paquete había sido cargado por error en su camión y que lo transfirió a otro conductor encargado de redirigir entregas enviadas por equivocación.

Los detectives dijeron que el paquete finalmente llegó a su destinatario previsto, pero los investigadores indicaron que el destinatario descubrió que el reloj Rolex había desaparecido cuando abrió la caja.

Los investigadores de UPS dijeron que los datos de identificación por radiofrecuencia (RFID) confirmaron que el paquete había estado dentro del camión de Millwood antes de ser entregado.

Los investigadores también alegan que el miércoles Millwood seleccionó otros cuatro paquetes que no estaban asignados a su ruta. Las autoridades dijeron que posteriormente se descubrió que uno de esos paquetes había sido abierto y vuelto a sellar.

Operativo encubierto termina con un arresto

El jueves, los investigadores realizaron un operativo controlado utilizando dos paquetes que contenían teléfonos celulares Samsung, dispositivos de rastreo GPS y un paquete oculto con tinta de seguridad diseñado para activarse si los paquetes eran abiertos sin autorización, según el informe de arresto.

De acuerdo con el informe, los investigadores observaron en tiempo real las imágenes de vigilancia mientras Millwood cargaba cuatro paquetes de la misma banda transportadora, incluidos los dos paquetes señuelo, en su camión de UPS antes de comenzar su ruta de entregas.

Las autoridades siguieron a Millwood y dijeron que este se detuvo cerca de Northeast 132nd Terrace, donde presuntamente abrió uno de los paquetes controlados.

Los investigadores informaron que el paquete de tinta de seguridad se activó cuando el paquete fue abierto, cubriendo las manos de Millwood con tinta roja.

Un sargento del MDSO informó haber visto a Millwood intentando desesperadamente quitarse la tinta de las manos usando una toalla, toallas de papel y agua antes de continuar con su ruta.

Los detectives arrestaron a Millwood poco tiempo después mientras realizaba otra entrega cerca de Northeast 127th Street, informaron las autoridades.

Un registro del camión de UPS permitió encontrar el paquete abierto, que, según los investigadores, había sido vuelto a sellar y colocado nuevamente en un estante para paquetes. De acuerdo con el informe, los teléfonos Samsung y el dispositivo GPS fueron recuperados en otra parte del camión.

Los investigadores dijeron que los dos teléfonos tenían un valor combinado de aproximadamente $2,399 USD.

Investigadores dicen que el conductor admitió haber abierto paquetes

Después de ser informado de sus derechos Miranda, Millwood inicialmente negó haber abierto o tomado algún paquete, según el informe.

Los investigadores dijeron que, después de mostrarle el video de vigilancia, Millwood admitió haber manipulado y abierto uno de los paquetes controlados.

Cuando fue interrogado sobre el Rolex desaparecido, los investigadores dijeron que Millwood primero negó haber tomado el reloj. Posteriormente, presuntamente les dijo a los detectives que se lo había entregado a un amigo llamado “Chris” después de conservarlo durante aproximadamente una semana, señala el informe.

Según el informe, Millwood se negó a identificar al amigo o proporcionar información adicional porque no quería meterlo en problemas. Los investigadores dijeron que también ofreció recuperar el reloj si era puesto en libertad.

El informe indica que, cuando le preguntaron por qué seleccionaba repetidamente paquetes que no estaban asignados a su ruta, Millwood respondió que “lo hace todo el tiempo”.

Millwood fue arrestado y trasladado al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Los registros judiciales muestran que enfrenta un cargo de robo mayor en segundo grado.

Hasta la tarde del viernes, Millwood permanecía detenido en el TGK con una fianza de $7,500 USD.

Local 10 News solicitó comentarios a UPS y está a la espera de una respuesta.

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The ceremony featured the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, American flags and applause as the new citizens took the oath and officially joined the nation.

Among them was Fabiola Perez, who immigrated from Mexico with her son, Juan Pablo.

“I said this is the best city in the U.S. I said if I live in (the) U.S., I want to live in Miami,” Perez said.

Her son said he hopes to become a U.S. citizen next year and already has plans for his future.

“I really would love to live the American dream in the sense of getting into society, contributing and working,” a man named Juan Pablo said.

Coco Wachli Banks, originally from Kenya and now a high school French teacher in Miami, said becoming a citizen during the nation’s 250th anniversary made the moment even more meaningful.

“To commemorate the 250th anniversary of this country, I can’t explain it, but I’m filled with pride,” Banks said. “I’m going to be the proudest American when it happens.”

Martha Garcia, originally from the Dominican Republic, also became a U.S. citizen Friday. Garcia, a preschool teacher in North Miami, reflected on achieving a longtime goal.

“I’ve earned my goal here working as a teacher. It’s so exciting to help the development of children. They are definitely the future. I don’t know why they picked me, but when they told me, I said, ‘Why me?’ I don’t know what purpose he has with this opportunity for me. It’s so unique and I’m so thankful,” Garcia said.

Although they came from different parts of the world and have different backgrounds, the new citizens shared a common theme throughout the ceremony — gratitude for the opportunity to become Americans and optimism about pursuing the American dream.

La ceremonia incluyó la interpretación del himno nacional de Estados Unidos, el Juramento a la Bandera, banderas estadounidenses y aplausos mientras los nuevos ciudadanos prestaban juramento y se incorporaban oficialmente a la nación.

Entre ellos estaba Fabiola Pérez, quien inmigró desde México junto con su hijo, Juan Pablo.

“Me dije: esta es la mejor ciudad de Estados Unidos. Si voy a vivir en Estados Unidos, quiero vivir en Miami”, dijo Pérez.

Su hijo afirmó que espera convertirse en ciudadano estadounidense el próximo año y que ya tiene planes para su futuro.

“Realmente me encantaría vivir el sueño americano en el sentido de integrarme a la sociedad, contribuir y trabajar”, dijo Juan Pablo.

Coco Wachli Banks, originaria de Kenia y actualmente profesora de francés en una escuela secundaria de Miami, dijo que convertirse en ciudadana durante el 250.º aniversario del país hizo que el momento fuera aún más significativo.

“Conmemorar el 250.º aniversario de este país… no puedo explicarlo, pero me llena de orgullo”, dijo Banks. “Voy a ser la estadounidense más orgullosa cuando suceda”.

Martha García, originaria de República Dominicana, también se convirtió el viernes en ciudadana estadounidense. García, maestra de preescolar en North Miami, reflexionó sobre el logro de una meta de muchos años.

“He alcanzado mi meta aquí trabajando como maestra. Es muy emocionante ayudar al desarrollo de los niños. Ellos definitivamente son el futuro. No sé por qué me eligieron, pero cuando me lo dijeron pensé: “¿Por qué yo?”. No sé qué propósito tiene Dios con esta oportunidad para mí. Es algo muy especial y estoy muy agradecida”, dijo García.

Aunque llegaron de diferentes partes del mundo y tienen distintos antecedentes, los nuevos ciudadanos compartieron un sentimiento común durante toda la ceremonia: gratitud por la oportunidad de convertirse en estadounidenses y optimismo por alcanzar el sueño americano.

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According to an arrest report, officers responded around 3 a.m. to the Aura Apartments, located at 17071 W. Dixie Highway, after receiving a report of a burglary in progress.

The report states officers entered the building’s mailroom using a law enforcement access code and found Brandon Maurice Pritchett, 40, hiding behind a wall. Police said after repeatedly ordering him to come out, Pritchett exited the mailroom.

According to the report, Pritchett told officers he did not live at the complex but said a friend who lived there had allowed him to have a pair of shoes delivered to the building.

Officers said during a pat-down search of Pritchett, they found a flathead screwdriver in his pocket.

Police said Pritchett initially identified himself as “Robert J. Jones” after being detained.

They said while searching the mailroom, they also found a black BB gun with its orange tip painted black and equipped with a laser in an apparent effort to make it resemble a real gun.

The report states the BB gun was found on top of a black bag containing nine packages that did not belong to Pritchett, a makeshift smoking device, another screwdriver, a bank card belonging to another person and a white mask.

According to the report, officers also found four bank cards belonging to other people, a fake Georgia identification card and a forged check on Pritchett.

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Pritchett told officers he had followed an unknown female resident into the building to gain access to the mailroom, according to the report.

Jail records show Pritchett is facing multiple charges, including burglary of an unoccupied dwelling while masked, possession of burglary tools, possession of a weapon while committing an offense, possession of forged or counterfeit notes, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of four or fewer identification cards, and possession of a simulated driver’s license.

As of Friday afternoon, he was being held on a $17,500 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Según un informe de arresto, los agentes respondieron alrededor de las 3 a.m. a los apartamentos Aura, ubicados en 17071 W. Dixie Highway, tras recibir un reporte de un allanamiento en curso.

El informe indica que los agentes ingresaron a la sala de correo del edificio utilizando un código de acceso para las fuerzas del orden y encontraron a Brandon Maurice Pritchett, de 40 años, escondido detrás de una pared. La Policía dijo que, después de ordenarle repetidamente que saliera, Pritchett salió de la sala de correo.

Según el informe, Pritchett les dijo a los agentes que no vivía en el complejo, pero aseguró que un amigo que sí reside allí le había permitido recibir un par de zapatos en el edificio.

Los agentes informaron que, durante un registro corporal, encontraron un destornillador de cabeza plana en uno de los bolsillos de Pritchett.

La Policía dijo que Pritchett inicialmente se identificó como “Robert J. Jones” después de ser detenido.

También indicaron que, mientras registraban la sala de correo, encontraron una pistola de balines negra con la punta naranja pintada de negro y equipada con un láser, aparentemente para hacerla parecer un arma de fuego real.

El informe señala que la pistola de balines fue encontrada sobre un bolso negro que contenía nueve paquetes que no pertenecían a Pritchett, un dispositivo improvisado para fumar, otro destornillador, una tarjeta bancaria perteneciente a otra persona y una máscara blanca.

Según el informe, los agentes también encontraron en poder de Pritchett cuatro tarjetas bancarias pertenecientes a otras personas, una identificación falsa del estado de Georgia y un cheque falsificado.

Después de ser informado de sus derechos Miranda, Pritchett les dijo a los agentes que siguió a una residente desconocida para ingresar al edificio y así obtener acceso a la sala de correo, según el informe.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Pritchett enfrenta múltiples cargos, entre ellos allanamiento de una vivienda desocupada mientras llevaba una máscara, posesión de herramientas de allanamiento, posesión de un arma durante la comisión de un delito, posesión de documentos falsificados o falsos, posesión de parafernalia de drogas, posesión ilegal de cuatro o menos tarjetas de identificación y posesión de una licencia de conducir simulada.

Hasta la tarde del viernes, permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $17,500 USD.

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According to the Miami Police Department, the stabbing happened at around 11:50 p.m. on Sunday in the city’s Coral Gate neighborhood. Officers found the suspect, Leisnier Mauri Garcia, on Thursday and took him into custody.

An MPD arrest report states that the victim told investigators that she had been in a “generally good” relationship with Garcia since December, but “there were occasions” in which the 40-year-old “would become aggressive toward her.”

Authorities said while on the way to a restaurant, Garcia noticed that his girlfriend received a text message from the father of her child, sparking an argument which led the victim to tell Garcia that she wanted to break up.

Police said the two had gone to an Airbnb to collect their belongings. According to the report, Garcia said he needed to go back inside the Airbnb to retrieve a forgotten item.

Officers said when he got back in the vehicle, he “insisted on sitting in the rear passenger seat,” which the victim found “unusual,” because he normally sat up front.

According to police, the attack happened in the 3400 block of Southwest 16th Terrace, at the same address listed as Garcia’s home on the arrest report.

“Without warning, (Garcia) produced a knife from the rear seat and began stabbing her multiple times from behind,” the report states. “The victim stated she immediately opened the driver’s side door in an attempt to escape the attack. The victim exited the vehicle while pleading with (Garcia) to stop.”

According to the arrest report, the victim suffered the nearly three dozen stab wounds all over her upper body, including 10 on the neck.

Doctors treated her at Jackson Memorial Hospital, police said.

“The victim stated this was not the first incident of violence during their relationship,” the report states. “(She said) that during a previous breakup, which lasted approximately two months, (Garcia) attempted to assault her.”

Police said they found Garcia just before 2 p.m. on Thursday in the area of Northwest Fourth Terrace and 36th Court in the Little Havana neighborhood.

After being taken to JMH himself for “lacerations to his hands,” police said he declined to speak with investigators.

As of Friday afternoon, Garcia was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bond listed as “to be set” in Miami-Dade jail records.

Según el Departamento de Policía de Miami, el apuñalamiento ocurrió alrededor de las 11:50 p.m. del domingo en el vecindario Coral Gate de la ciudad. Los agentes localizaron al sospechoso, Leisnier Mauri García, el jueves y lo arrestaron.

Un informe de arresto del MPD señala que la víctima les dijo a los investigadores que había mantenido una relación “generalmente buena” con García desde diciembre, pero que “hubo ocasiones” en las que el hombre, de 40 años, “se volvía agresivo con ella”.

Las autoridades dijeron que, mientras iban camino a un restaurante, García notó que su novia recibió un mensaje de texto del padre de su hijo, lo que provocó una discusión que llevó a la víctima a decirle que quería terminar la relación.

La Policía indicó que ambos fueron a un Airbnb para recoger sus pertenencias. Según el informe, García dijo que necesitaba volver a entrar al Airbnb para recoger un objeto que había olvidado.

Los agentes dijeron que, cuando regresó al vehículo, “insistió en sentarse en el asiento trasero del lado del pasajero”, algo que la víctima consideró “inusual”, ya que normalmente se sentaba en el asiento delantero.

Según la Policía, el ataque ocurrió en la cuadra 3400 de Southwest 16th Terrace, la misma dirección que figura como el domicilio de García en el informe de arresto.

“Sin previo aviso, (García) sacó un cuchillo desde el asiento trasero y comenzó a apuñalarla repetidamente por la espalda”, señala el informe. “La víctima dijo que de inmediato abrió la puerta del lado del conductor en un intento por escapar del ataque. La víctima salió del vehículo mientras le suplicaba a (García) que se detuviera”.

Según el informe de arresto, la víctima sufrió casi tres docenas de heridas de arma blanca en la parte superior del cuerpo, incluidas 10 en el cuello.

La Policía informó que los médicos la atendieron en el Hospital Jackson Memorial.

“La víctima declaró que este no era el primer incidente de violencia durante la relación”, indica el informe. “(Ella dijo) que durante una ruptura anterior, que duró aproximadamente dos meses, (García) intentó agredirla”.

La Policía dijo que encontró a García poco antes de las 2 p.m. del jueves en el área de Northwest Fourth Terrace y 36th Court, en el vecindario de La Pequeña Habana.

Después de ser trasladado también al Hospital Jackson Memorial por “laceraciones en las manos”, la Policía indicó que se negó a hablar con los investigadores.

Hasta la tarde del viernes, García permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight y, según los registros de la cárcel de Miami-Dade, su fianza aún estaba pendiente de ser fijada.

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At a workshop on Friday morning in Broward County, volunteers said they were working to pack hundreds of “disaster relief kits” that included “hopeful” handwritten notes.

Cesar Guevara, the FFTP’s director of strategic partnerships, said the nonprofit had relationships with Venezuelan non-governmental organizations “that are going to be distributing our donations.”

“Venezuela was in a state of emergency prior to the crisis,” Guevara said. “The hospitals are collapsed. There are no medical supplies. People have to bring their own stuff when they have a medical emergency.”

Guevara said his team was preparing for a long-term effort with the community’s support and asked the public for cash donations to support it.

“We’re opening the channels for us to send containers,” Guevara said.

The organization was also accepting drop-off donations of nonperishable food and hygiene products at the warehouse at 6401 Lyons Road in Coconut Creek.

For more information about how to support the efforts and make a donation, visit this page.

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead

• Caritas charity calls for ‘merciful love’ to reach families in need
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations

• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

En un taller celebrado el viernes por la mañana en el condado de Broward, los voluntarios dijeron que estaban trabajando para empaquetar cientos de “kits de ayuda para desastres” que incluían notas manuscritas llenas de esperanza.

César Guevara, director de alianzas estratégicas de la FFTP, dijo que la organización sin fines de lucro tiene relaciones con organizaciones no gubernamentales venezolanas “que van a distribuir nuestras donaciones”.

“Venezuela ya se encontraba en estado de emergencia antes de la crisis”, declaró Guevara. “Los hospitales están colapsados. No hay suministros médicos. La gente tiene que llevar sus propios artículos cuando tiene una emergencia médica”.

Guevara afirmó que su equipo se estaba preparando para un esfuerzo a largo plazo con el apoyo de la comunidad y pidió al público donaciones en efectivo para respaldarlo.

“Estamos abriendo los canales para que podamos enviar contenedores”, dijo Guevara.

La organización también aceptaba donaciones de alimentos no perecederos y productos de higiene en el almacén ubicado en 6401 Lyons Road en Coconut Creek.

Para obtener más información sobre cómo apoyar estos esfuerzos y realizar una donación, visite esta página .

Más cobertura de HELPING VENEZUELA

• El recaudador de impuestos de Miami-Dade abre 11 puntos de entrega.
• Doral abre 4 puntos de entrega de ayuda.
• Se abre un punto de entrega de ayuda en Homestead.

• La organización benéfica Caritas hace un llamamiento al “amor misericordioso” para llegar a las familias necesitadas.
• International Medical Corps despliega personal y necesita donaciones.
• Save The Children solicita donaciones para su fondo de emergencia.

• Samaritan’s Purse se centra en los “hospitales de campaña de emergencia”.
• La Cruz Roja solicita donaciones para su Fondo de Emergencia para la Respuesta ante Desastres.
• La ONU solicita donaciones para un programa infantil que carece de fondos suficientes.

• World Vision solicita donaciones para su “fondo de ayuda en casos de desastre”.
• World Central Kitchen solicita donaciones para comidas frescas.
• United Way Miami lanza la ‘Operación Manos Amigas’.

Its chief rival, Anthropic, announced hours later that the Trump administration has approved a limited release of its strongest cybersecurity model, two weeks after the U.S. Commerce Department effectively banned it.

Both companies said their newest models would be available to small groups of trusted partners. OpenAI said its new AI product, called GPT-5.6 Sol, would be accessible only to customers approved by the Trump administration.

“We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” OpenAI said in a statement. The company said it viewed the testing period as a temporary step on the “path to broader availability in the coming weeks.”

OpenAI's staggered release of a powerful new AI system follows actions the government took earlier this month against Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot. Anthropic took offline two new AI models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, just days after unveiling them to comply with a Trump directive blocking their use by foreign nationals. The government on Friday lifted restrictions on one of those models, Mythos 5, enabling it to be “redeployed to a small group of cyber defenders and infrastructure providers,” Anthropic said.

The White House said Friday it continues to collaborate with frontier AI labs on addressing the challenges of scaling the fast-growing technology.

Officials have grown increasingly concerned since Anthropic warned earlier this year that its Mythos model was adept at finding software flaws in a way that could be weaponized by malicious hackers and threaten critical computer networks around the world.

New, powerful AI models have drawn White House scrutiny

Trump earlier in June signed an executive order on AI oversight that established a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to 30 days before their public release. The order described participation by AI developers as voluntary but the framework has not yet been fully developed.

Some of Trump’s allies have laid blame on San Francisco-based Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei for the need for heightened government scrutiny.

“Dario came to Washington a few months ago, back in April, and basically said that he had created a cyber weapon called Mythos,” said investor David Sacks, who co-leads Trump’s council of technology and science advisers, on a recent podcast. “And he spiked the cortisol level, got everyone really worried. And there was some truth to it in terms of the sense that this model had advanced cyber capabilities.”

OpenAI, also based in San Francisco, said its new Sol model (pronounced ‘SOHL’ like the Spanish word for sun) “is better at helping people find and fix vulnerabilities” than it is at carrying out cyberattacks and does not cross the company’s own risk threshold. But it acknowledged there could be unforeseen risks especially if its model is combined with other tools.

“That uncertainty, along with the model’s broader step change in capabilities, is why we are pairing the model’s increased capabilities with stronger safeguards and a phased release,” the company said Friday.

OpenAI hasn't named any of the roughly 20 customers that have been approved to use the new model so far.

Critics warn that unpredictable government intervention can hold back US companies

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, a Massachusetts Democrat and co-author of a bipartisan bill that would regulate AI, said in a statement that she is concerned “the Trump administration is deciding company by company who gets access to the newest AI model. No law. No process. No oversight. Just appointees in Washington deciding who’s in and who’s out.”

A broad group of technology experts has also criticized the government's actions that led Anthropic to shut down Fable, which the company had pitched as a safer version of Mythos. It's now been unavailable for two weeks, even after the government lifted restrictions Friday on the more powerful Mythos.

“I just want to say that pretty much nobody in the cybersecurity industry believes that there’s any factual basis for this action,” Stanford University cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos said on a call with reporters earlier this week.

Stamos, the chief product officer at AI security company Corridor and a former chief security officer at Facebook parent Meta, said he reviewed an analysis of research on Fable by Anthropic's primary cloud computing backer, Amazon, and didn't find any risks that aren't present with other publicly available AI models, including those made in China.

"If the administration is honest about wanting the United States to beat China in this race, then this is about the dumbest thing they could possibly do,” Stamos said.

Oversight ramps up as the AI companies move toward IPOs

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the model release Wednesday, part of a series of negotiations in recent weeks between AI industry executives and Trump officials.

Anthropic has also been part of those talks, but Amodei has had a more contentious relationship with the Trump administration. The Pentagon designated Anthropic as a national security risk for raising ethical and safety concerns about AI usage in war, and Trump himself ordered federal agencies to stop using Claude. Anthropic responded with a lawsuit that is still working its way through federal courts.

Anthropic said Friday it was “pleased” by the partial release of Mythos late Friday and will “continue to work with the government to expand access” and make Fable available again to general users. Lutnick told Anthropic in a letter dated Friday that its work to address the government's concerns “yielded significant progress.”

The government's heightened AI oversight adds another complication to exploratory moves by OpenAI as well as Anthropic to take their companies public on Wall Street, following SpaceX’s record-setting June 12 initial public offering.

Trump has floated the possibility of the U.S. government owning a stake in leading AI companies, describing a concept where “pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies.”

—-

Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.

A court filing late Thursday says the plaintiff, Sam O'Hara, will drop his lawsuit's claims against the district and four Metropolitan Police Department officers within three business days of receiving the settlement payment. The filing doesn't specify a dollar amount for the deal between the district and O'Hara, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia.

In an email on Friday, an ACLU spokesperson referred to the settlement's financial terms as “a significant amount" that O’Hara "is pleased with” but said they aren't disclosing the dollar figure to protect his privacy. A spokesperson for D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb's office declined to comment on the settlement.

O'Hara's agreement with the district doesn't resolve his related claims against an Ohio National Guard member. Attorneys for the Guard member, Sgt. Devon Beck, has asked a judge to dismiss O’Hara’s claims against him.

“He was there because that was his assigned duty,” Beck’s lawyers wrote. “This was not an accidental encounter or a one-time disagreement on a public sidewalk.”

An earlier court filing, in February, said O'Hara had reached a settlement agreement “in principle” with the district. In response, a judge agreed to suspend the case while they negotiated terms.

“The government’s efforts to silence me ultimately backfired and brought more attention to the unjust deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C.,” O’Hara said in a statement. “This settlement serves as a reminder that constitutional freedoms are worth defending, especially when those in power would prefer we stay quiet.”

O'Hara sued the district last October, claiming police officers violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force.

The ominous orchestral music of “The Imperial March” from the Star Wars movies was the soundtrack for O'Hara's peaceful protests against President Donald Trump’s ongoing deployment of Guard members in Washington. Millions of TikTok users have viewed O’Hara’s videos of his interactions with troops, according to his lawsuit.

O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, says he didn’t interfere with the Guard troops during their Sept. 11, 2025, encounter on a public street. One of the troops summoned Metropolitan Police Department officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.

“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests,” the suit says.

Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington last August. Within weeks, hundreds of Guard troops and federal agents were helping police patrol the city. The surge inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. Hundreds of Guard members remain deployed in the district nearly a year later, with no clear end in sight.

In a post on social media, Trump took aim at European countries that he said are discussing “imminent” implementation of taxes on American companies. The U.S. president has repeatedly sought to use tariffs as way to deter such taxes, but many countries are looking for revenues as their economies increasingly operate in digital realms that are dominated by American companies.

“Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump wrote.

He added that the new tax would supersede any previously negotiated trade deals. Trump said the penalty would apply to any country that moves forward with such a tax, but he singled out European nations in his post.

The move could lead to a larger showdown that could increase prices and hinder economic growth, possibly setting off a larger trade war if the 27-member European Union was compelled to retaliate.

“Unilateral measures targeting such legitimate policies are unjustified. If pursued, the EU will respond swiftly and decisively to defend its rights and regulatory autonomy,” said Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission on Friday.

He defended taxation on technology companies as “non-discriminatory” and applied equally to “all large companies, regardless of their origin.”

Trump has repeatedly pushed against foreign efforts to tax or regulate American tech giants. Last year, he threatened new tariffs on any country that moved to do so. A post from last August said that digital taxes and regulation “are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology.”

The threat comes ahead of Trump's July 4 deadline for the European Union and the United States to start implementing a tariff deal that caps tariffs on most EU exports at 15%.

The European Union in May finalized a trade deal with the United States that caps most tariffs on EU exports at 15%. The deal followed months of debate within the EU after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen tentatively struck the deal last year while visiting Trump’s golf course in Scotland.

Digital taxes were not part of the agreement and have remained a sticking point between the U.S. and the European bloc.

The U.S. government has previously conducted tariff investigations into digital services taxes under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. But it was unclear how Trump would carry out his threat and whether he would apply the tariffs broadly or initially target certain nations.

Britain, which is no longer part of the EU, has since 2020 levied a 2% digital services tax on revenues earned by search engines, social media sites and online marketplaces that “derive value” from U.K. users.

The British government said in a policy document at the time that corporate tax rules for digital businesses had “led to a misalignment between the place where profits are taxed and the place where value is created.”

The U.K. tax includes thresholds, so mainly large international companies will pay it. The tax was designed to “ensure the large multinational businesses in-scope make a fair contribution to supporting vital public services,” the document said.

___

AP reporters Sam McNeil in Brussels and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.

“Es un gran paso y una respuesta que la comunidad universitaria del país estaba esperando”, dijo a The Associated Press Franco Bartolacci, rector de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario.

El fallo de la víspera obliga al gobierno a cumplir con dos artículos de la ley de financiamiento universitario que establecen actualizaciones salariales retroactivas a 2023 y un aumento de los fondos destinados a becas.

La norma fue aprobada por el Congreso en 2024 y ratificada en 2025 luego de que Milei la vetara. Pero el gobierno suspendió su aplicación mediante un decreto al sostener que no especifica de dónde provendrían los recursos para financiar las medidas que contempla.

“La comunidad universitaria del país ha hecho a lo largo de este tiempo un enorme esfuerzo para sostener todo en condiciones muy precarias”, afirmó Bartolacci.

Según representantes universitarios, las transferencias del gobierno a las universidades nacionales registraron una caída de 45,6% entre 2023 y 2026.

“Fue un camino largo y difícil”, escribió en X Emiliano Yacobitti, vicerrector de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. “Gracias a una sociedad que nunca renunció a la defensa de la universidad pública como principal motor de movilidad social y herramienta central para el desarrollo del país”.

La comunidad universitaria protagonizó varias movilizaciones masivas en distintos puntos del país desde 2024 para reclamar mayor financiamiento y denunciar el deterioro del sistema por la reducción de fondos aplicada por el gobierno de Milei como parte de su política de ajuste destinada a preservar el superávit fiscal.

En la práctica, el fallo de la Corte dejó firmes algunos aspectos acordados por el gobierno y sectores universitarios en junio que incluyeron un aumento salarial de en torno del 24% y un incremento de fondos para el funcionamiento de las casas de estudio.

Los representantes de las universidades no quisieron, sin embargo, desistir de su reclamo judicial para lograr el cumplimiento total de la ley, que contempla un incremento salarial mayor y una actualización de las becas para estudiantes que están congeladas.

Milei no se ha pronunciado sobre el fallo de la Corte.

La Policía dijo que Roxanabel Medina Leon, de 31 años, dejaba al niño solo con poca o ninguna comida en el sucio apartamento donde viven mientras ella estaba en el apartamento de su novio.

Las autoridades dijeron que el niño le contó a la Policía que no solo lo dejaban solo con muy poca comida, sino que “comparte su comida con el perro de la familia porque no hay alimento para perros disponible en la vivienda”.

Según el Departamento de Policía de Doral, un empleado del edificio, cuyo nombre y dirección fueron omitidos del informe de arresto, llamó a los agentes alrededor de las 3 a.m. después de ver al niño caminando solo por el estacionamiento. De acuerdo con el informe, el empleado le dijo al menor que regresara a su apartamento y permaneciera allí hasta que llegara la Policía.

Según el informe del DPD, ese empleado les dijo a los investigadores que el niño había acudido al vestíbulo del edificio alrededor de las 8:30 a.m. del miércoles “y le preguntó si tenía algo de comida o agua”.

La Policía informó que el empleado le dio al hijo de Medina palomitas de maíz, galletas Biscoff y agua.

Según la Policía, el niño les dijo a los investigadores que “con frecuencia va al apartamento del novio de su madre para conseguir comida” y que esa mañana había ido al área de recepción porque su madre no respondió la puerta, explicando que “la única comida disponible (en el apartamento) era macarrones con queso vencidos”, los cuales no comió “porque creía que le harían daño”.

También les dijo a los agentes que “con frecuencia tiene que despertar a su madre” porque su hermanito de cuatro meses está llorando y ella no lo escucha. Según el informe, el niño dijo que estaba en el estacionamiento buscando el vehículo de su madre “con el fin de encontrarla y conseguir comida porque tenía hambre”.

En el informe, un agente de la Policía de Doral describió las condiciones del apartamento:

“Al ingresar a la vivienda, observé que el apartamento estaba en completo desorden. Los pisos estaban pegajosos al tacto y había un fuerte olor compatible con orina y heces en toda la vivienda. Luego me dirigí a la habitación de la víctima menor de edad, donde observé un colchón colocado directamente sobre el piso, sin base de cama. Después entré al baño contiguo a la habitación del menor y observé una jaula para perro que contenía dos recipientes. Ambos estaban vacíos y no tenían comida ni agua. Mientras estaba en la cocina, observé dos cuchillos sobre el mostrador. Los cuchillos no estaban asegurados y parecían estar fácilmente al alcance del menor. Luego entré a la habitación de la acusada, donde observé un moisés para bebé. El moisés parecía estar sucio y no tenía una sábana ajustable limpia ni ropa de cama.”

Informe del DPD.

Además, la Policía informó que había “poca o ninguna comida” dentro de la vivienda.

Según el informe, el niño les dijo a los investigadores que “ha habido ocasiones en las que tuvo tanta hambre que comió cereal de arroz Gerber para bebés mezclado con agua porque no había leche disponible en el apartamento”, y agregó que el perro de la familia no había comido alimento para perros de forma regular durante aproximadamente tres meses.

Las autoridades dijeron que fueron al apartamento del novio de Medina y la encontraron allí junto con el bebé de cuatro meses.

Según el informe, Medina afirmó que limpió el apartamento “el martes pasado” y dijo que “su hijo siempre come cuando ella cocina o pide comida”.

“Ella manifestó que la noche anterior le había dejado comida al perro y que no sabe por qué el perro fue encontrado sin alimento”, señala el informe.

La Policía arrestó a Medina por dos cargos graves de negligencia infantil y un cargo menor de crueldad animal.

Hasta la mañana del viernes, permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $5,500 USD.

Ten of the 12 jurors insisted Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is innocent. Judge Anne Hwang quickly set an Oct. 19 retrial date and ordered him jailed until then.

Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty to starting one of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and feels encouraged that so many of the jurors “resoundingly found that the government’s case was not strong, and they did not have enough evidence to convict him,” defense attorney Steve Haney said.

But First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said they have strong evidence and will seek a guilty verdict in a new trial.

Prosecutors said Rinderknecht used a barbecue lighter on Jan. 1, 2025 to spark a blaze that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up Jan. 7 and killing 12 people as it incinerated entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Malibu. Only 17 rebuilt homes in Pacific Palisades have been certified for occupancy since then.

Prosecutors never provided direct evidence that Rinderknecht started the earlier blaze. They showed jurors he was in the area when it began and presented a digital trail to indicate he was motivated by a desire to take revenge on society.

His defense said fireworks were the likely cause and that investigators had zeroed in too quickly on Rinderknecht without clear proof.

“This is a big victory, and it feels so unfair that, given the circumstances, the government maintains my son in jail,” said his father, Joel Rinderknecht.

The new trial will begin as voters decide whether to re-elect Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has faced criticism over the city's preparation and response. Meanwhile, the aftermath of the Palisades Fire and another wildfire that ravaged the community of Altadena continues to reshape the metropolitan area, with thousands of uprooted fire victims seeking insurance payouts and court judgments.

“The state and the city have tried for the past year and a half to distract from their own shortcomings in their own liability,” civil attorney Alexander Robertson said.

Digital records revealed Rinderknecht’s state of mind

The trial featured a trove of digital records and eight days of testimony from investigators, experts and witnesses.

Security camera recordings helped determine where the Jan. 1 fire is believed to have started: a mountainside spot off a trail in a neighborhood familiar to Rinderknecht. He dropped off his last Uber passenger in the same neighborhood, shortly before midnight, and later called 911 more than a dozen times. His phone’s geolocation data showed him at the clearing and walking down the trail as he reported the fire.

Jurors saw records from his phone, email, Uber, social media accounts and OpenAI. Thousands of comments showed he regularly consulted ChatGPT.

“Why am I so angry all the time?” he said in one exchange.

He vented over wealth inequality and global warming

Rinderknecht inquired about Luigi Mangione, who was charged with the murder of United Healthcare’s CEO, and on Reddit he searched “lets kill all the billionaires.”

He also vented about being rejected by a woman he contacted to see if she had New Year’s Eve plans, and sent her angry and vile messages from another phone.

Rinderknecht also recorded videos of firefighters battling the blaze, pausing to ask ChatGPT if someone would be responsible for a fire accidentally started by a cigarette. And he screen-recorded both the 911 calls and his ChatGPT prompt, which prosecutors said showed he was trying to mislead investigators.

On Jan. 6, a day before powerful Santa Ana winds rekindled smoldering roots into a conflagration, he recorded a selfie video saying he was having a mental breakdown.

Investigators interviewed him weeks after fire

Rinderknecht also spoke for roughly eight hours with a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent in late January, before he was a suspect.

ATF agent Matthew Beals drove with him to the site, so that Rinderknecht could identify his movements as the fire started — an account that conflicted with the place and time of his 911 calls, the agent testified.

Rinderknecht became “agitated” when asked for details and speculated that someone frustrated by inequality might hypothetically target the wealthy neighborhood, the agent said.

All such behavior is consistent with that of a “societal revenge motivated” arsonist, testified Kevin Kelm, an expert in arsonist behavior.

His defense suggested a rush to judgment

Haney said investigators never found any searches about arson, the best way to start a fire, or purchases of fire-starting materials. And while his DNA was found on a barbecue lighter in his car, they couldn’t prove a lighter sparked the blaze — only that it began with an “open flame,” he said.

Fireworks were the most likely cause that New Year’s Eve, the defense argued. One firefighter recalled hearing fireworks in the area shortly before and after midnight. And two residents and a security guard testified they either saw flashes of light or heard fireworks. Two saw a group of teenagers running down the trail afterward.

Former LA fire investigator Ed Nordskog accused the investigators of confirmation bias, noting that he often responded to dozens of fires on New Year’s Eve, most of them started by fireworks.

“They’re choosing to look at information in a very sinister way when they should be a little more open about it,” Nordskog said.

Defense witnesses also noted that the fire scene could have been compromised because access was not closed off until Jan. 14, nearly two weeks after the first blaze started.

“Can you convict a man based on a crime scene that was destroyed? Stripped of all evidence? Evidence that could’ve proved his innocence?” Haney asked jurors during closing arguments.

Juror explains why she voted against conviction

Juror No. 4, who identified herself as Syrena and wouldn’t share her last name, said she voted not-guilty.

“There’s just not enough proof,” she said. And even if he did start the Jan. 1 fire, she said he shouldn’t be considered responsible for the entire disaster given the negligence of other parties.

“Shouldn’t the firemen, shouldn’t they have known?” she said.

Rinderknecht’s attorney wanted to argue that the Los Angeles Fire Department had been negligent, but the judge ruled he couldn’t make that case in court.

Juror No. 4 said there wasn’t enough evidence to make her believe the prosecution’s assertion that Rinderknecht was alone in the area before it started.

As for his use of ChatGPT, she said he was “just being human” that she talks to ChatGPT frequently as well.

“It made me angry that they were putting his character down,” she said.

___

Associated Press reporter Safiyah Riddle contributed to this report.

The nonprofit is working with the support of the U.S. State Department and through a long-term partnership with Caritas Venezuela, a nonprofit founded in 1997, to respond to La Guaira.

The team’s list of goals includes providing food assistance to children under 5 and pregnant and nursing women; prioritizing water, sanitation, and “hygiene support;” and distributing “voucher‑based" cash aid to families in need.

A spokesperson for Caritas released a statement in Spanish with the organization’s wish: “May peace and consolation from merciful love reach every Venezuelan family.”

Caracas Archbishop Raúl Biord Castillo also released a statement in Spanish.

“It is time to reach out to our neighbors, to take special care of our elderly, young people, and children, and to demonstrate that faith translates into fraternal love,” Castillo wrote. He also called for Venezuelans to “set aside differences and unite as one people.”

For more information about how to support CRF’s efforts, visit this page. For more information about how to support Caritas Venezuela, visit this page.

More HELPING VENEZUELA coverage

• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Samaritan’s Purse focuses on ‘emergency field hospital’
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Blyth died Wednesday of “natural causes” at her home in Rancho Santa Fe, California, according to her daughter, Eileen McNulty. Blyth's family was at her side.

One of the last surviving actors from the Hollywood studio system, Blyth appeared in youth movies as well as dramas such as "Another Part of the Forest," and her co-stars included Bing Crosby, Power, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. Blyth had stopped appearing in films by the end of the 1950s when she chose to spend more time with her children. But she would work in TV musicals and dramas and tour in concerts and musicals from "Show Boat" to "The Sound of Music."

She was acting and singing from an early age and her first big break came at 13 when she was cast as Paul Lukas's daughter in Lillian Hellman's anti-Nazi play, "Watch on the Rhine," which also starred Bette Davis. She stayed with the play for almost a year on Broadway and a year on the road.

When "Watch on the Rhine" appeared in Los Angeles, Universal Studio signed her to a term contract starting at $175 a week. A dark-haired actor with a melodic singing voice, she appeared with a young Donald O'Connor in low-budget musicals such as "Chip Off the Old Block" and "Bowery to Broadway." The loan-out to Warner Bros. for "Mildred Pierce" elevated Blyth's career and led to grown-up roles.

Good at being bad

Like "Double Indemnity," adapted for the screen by Billy Wilder in 1944, "Mildred Pierce" was a James M. Cain thriller about vengeance and calculation. Crawford won the 1945 Oscar as a waitress who rises to own a string of Los Angeles restaurants. Blyth was nominated in the supporting role as Mildred's spoiled daughter, Veda, who seduces her mother's second husband (Zachary Scott), then riddles him with bullets in a jealous rage.

Directed by Michael Curtiz of “Casablanca” fame, "Mildred Pierce" was a memorable piece of film noir that took place mostly at night. For Blyth it was a major change from the cheery musicals she had been known for. It was also a stretch for an actor who was the subject of magazine articles entitled "Incorruptible!", "Angelic Annie" and "Ann Blyth: Success Without an Enemy."

In 1946, Blyth broke her back in a toboggan accident, and it appeared her career might be over. She spent seven months in a body cast and another seven months in a wheelchair, relying on her Roman Catholic faith for courage.

"The busy, exciting world I had known faded away, and my life slowed down to little things," she later told The Associated Press. "But even here I found myself blessed, for a new sense of prayer began to unfold to me."

Once recovered, she appeared as the love interest for Sonny Tufts in "Swell Guy," Howard Duff in "Brute Force" and Mickey Rooney in a prizefight movie, "Killer McCoy." She displayed her dramatic skill as the young woman in love with a suspected wife-killer, Charles Boyer, in "A Woman's Vengeance."

Her strongest role after "Mildred Pierce" came with "Another Part of the Forest," Hellman's prequel to her stage and film drama "The Little Foxes." Blythe appeared as the young Regina Hubbard, created as an adult on Broadway by Tallulah Bankhead and in the film by Bette Davis.

Add a little music

Blyth's career made a turn in 1951 when she starred with Mario Lanza in "The Great Caruso." Her lilting soprano made an ideal match for his tenor, and they were cast in "The Student Prince." But the temperamental Lanza dropped out after recording his songs, and British actor Edmund Purdom acted his role and mouthed the songs. Blyth co-starred with Howard Keel in "Rose Marie" and "Kismet."

Her other films included "Top o' the Morning" with Crosby, "The World in His Arms" (Peck) and a reunion with O'Connor, "The Buster Keaton Story." Her last film was in 1957, “The Helen Morgan Story,” which co-starred Paul Newman.

Born in 1928 in Mount Kisco, New York, to an Irish mother and English valet father, she grew up in New York City. After the father left the family, Nan Blyth supported herself and two daughters by washing clothes and working in beauty parlors.

She had high hopes for daughter Ann's future as an actress, and at 5 the girl began appearing on a New York radio show. She continued as a radio performer and spent three years studying and performing with the San Carlo Opera Company.

After becoming a movie star, Blyth admitted of her early career: "I'd become blue and despondent when I failed to get a job, and my mother's encouraging words made me want to try again." Before the actress's breakout performance in "Mildred Pierce," her mother died of cancer.

In 1953, Blyth married Dr. James McNulty, brother of tenor-comedian Dennis Day. They had five children and remained married until McNulty’s death, in 2007. A few weeks before son Timothy was born in 1954, she made television history of a sort performing the song "Secret Love" at the Oscars — visibly pregnant as she sang, "Once I had a secret love ... and my secret love's no secret anymore."

_____

Thomas, a former Associated Press Hollywood correspondent who died in 2014, was the primary writer of this obituary.

A whistleblower who said she was fired without due process spoke to Local 10 News this week about what happened regarding City Manager Darvin Williams, who was previously fired by the city of Opa-locka for similar complaints.

Kerlyn McHenry said several staff members are working in fear.

She had served as interim director of Public Works for the city of North Miami Beach, where she was known as process-driven, methodical, and, according to a letter of recommendation, “innovative and results-driven” and “highly respected,” which is why she says she was stunned when she was suddenly demoted, then fired, after flagging a series of procurement and accounting concerns for Williams.

“It alluded to capital funds being misappropriated, which is not a true statement at all, and so once I forwarded that to the manager, of course within hours police officers as well as HR was at my door,” she said. “I was pretty scared. I didn’t think that it was warranted.”

Michael Pizzi is McHenry’s attorney who, on Monday, sent the city a notice of their intent to sue.

“A violation of the Florida Whistleblower Statute, abuse of power, and a variety of other violations of federal, state, and local statutes,” said Pizzi. “Right now, the city of North Miami Beach, Ms. McHenry, and other employees are really being terrorized by the new administration.”

Court records show Williams is named a defendant in other suits, including a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a former North Miami Beach employee who claims she was terminated without due process.

“It is a fear zone,” said McHenry. “Everyone’s afraid of Darwin Williams in the city of North Miami Beach.”

Williams hasn’t been with the city very long, formally installed in February.

Before that, he was with the city of Opa-locka.

In early-February, two days before he was formally sworn-in, Opa-locka’s Commissioner Natasha Ervin spoke in front of the North Miami Beach commission.

“After giving Darvin Williams a contract, everything went awry,” said Ervin. “Darvin terminated employees without due process. He even terminated one employee while he was away fulfilling his duty as an Army reservist. After firing Darvin Williams, it was discovered that he opened 17 bank accounts in the city’s name at a financial institution that we don’t do business with.”

In a memo dated on June 17, Williams told the mayor and city commission that in March, he assumed “additional responsibilities of interim chief financial officer.”

In May, Ervin filed a defamation suit against Williams, claiming he was falsely accused of a crime when she moved to hold him accountable. She is also represented by Pizzi.

“If the city of North Miami Beach commissioners had simply done a Google search, they would have known that this is what was going to happen,” said Pizzi.

Local 10 News reached out to Williams for comment but he had not replied as of the time of this story’s publication.

North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph, who was the only “no” vote against hiring Williams, released a statement to Local 10 News. No other members of the city commission responded to Local 10’s request for comment.

“The city commission faces a decision to stop Mr. Williams’ disruptive management decisions or remain silent and complicit while we continue to loose good and qualified employees. I was the only No vote against Mr. Williams’ hiring as City Manager because he publicly stated that he did not meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Despite my strong objections, the City Commission decided to allow Mr. Williams to prove himself or prove that my objections were correct and that his previous employer was right to fire him.”

North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph

MCHENRY NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE:

Claiming wrongful demotion and wrongful termination, the notice states: “Our client contends these actions were not isolated events but were part of a coordinated effort to remove her from employment in retaliation for her protected complaints and whistleblower activity while treating her differently than similarly situated male employees.”

FROM THE FEDERAL LAWSUIT:

“Plaintiff, Marline Monestime, brings this civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 to obtain legal recourse against the Defendants for the deprivation of her constitutionally protected property interest in her continued employment with the City of North Miami Beach without due process, in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

“WHEREFORE Plaintiff, Marline Monestime, demands the entry of a judgment in her favor and against Defendant, City of North Miami Beach, after trial by jury, declaring and determining that it violated her due process rights, reinstating her employment to the position she would have held, with all attendant wages and benefits, awarding her damages, lost past and future wages and employment-related benefits, mental anguish and emotional distress damages, awarding her attorney’s fees, costs, and all interest allowed by law, and such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.”

The Spanish-American humanitarian started his nonprofit to feed communities in times of crisis after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

WCK teams helped Venezuelans affected by Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and Hurricane Julia in 2022. On Thursday, WCK announced there was a team on its way.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to help the team in Venezuela, visit this page.

Related story: Aid starts to flow into El Arepazo in Doral

More ways to help

• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

Fernandez, Miami-Dade County’s tax collector, announced that his office opened drop-off locations for donations that GEM is committed to delivering aid.

“People of Venezuela you are not alone,” Fernandez said at the warehouse.

GEM started operations at the warehouse after two 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck on Wednesday causing devastation in northern Venezuela.

Here is the list of the aid drop-off locations that open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday:

MIAMI BEACH: 100 16 St.

CORAL GABLES: 224 Minorca Ave.

DOWNTOWN MIAMI: 200 NW 2nd Ave.

KENDALL: 11735 SW 147 Ave.

MIAMI CENTRAL: 3721 NW 7 St.

MIAMI GARDENS: 18326 NW 7 Ave.

NORTHSIDE: 7900 NW 27 Ave.

MIDWAY CROSSINGS: 7795 West Flagler St. #82c

CORAL REEF: 14652 SW 122 Ave.

FLORIDA CITY: 1448 North Krome Ave.

HIALEAH GARDENS: 11093 NW 138 St.

For more information about the tax collector’s efforts, visit this page.

Related story: South Florida donation drop-off locations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes

More ways to help

• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals

Related report:

After the earthquakes on Wednesday, the healthcare-focused nonprofit organization announced that a team was working with partners on the ground.

The organization has experience with health, nutrition, mental health support, child protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in Venezuela.

For more information about their efforts and to make a donation, visit this page.

Related story: South Florida donation drop-off locations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes

More ways to help

• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Related report:

The century-old nonprofit organization announced that “100% of the funds raised will be allocated to purchasing relief supplies and services through nonprofit organizations actively providing assistance on the ground.”

For more information about the nonprofit and experience in Miami-Dade County, visit this page.

Related story: South Florida donation drop-off locations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes

More ways to help

• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals

Related report:

The Christian nonprofit, working with the support of the U.S. State Department, plans to “airlift an Emergency Field Hospital, as well as shelter tarp, solar lights, blankets, and water filters.”

Franklin Graham, the nonprofit’s president, released a statement on Facebook: “Pray for rescue and recovery operations, first responders, and all who are injured or grieving lost loved ones.”

For more information about how to support the organization’s efforts, visit this page.

More ways to help

• Miami-Dade’s tax collector opens 11 drop-off locations
• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• International Medical Corps deploys staff, needs donations
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• United Way Miami launches ‘Operation Helping Hands’

Congo accused Rwanda of breaching international conventions on genocide, racial discrimination, discrimination against women and torture. It said civilians in the east have suffered massacres, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and ethnic and gender-based discrimination since the 1990s.

Mineral-rich eastern Congo has been battered by decades of conflict as government forces and allied militias fight more than 100 armed groups, the most potent of them the Rwandan-backed M23. Its fighters made major advances early last year, seizing Goma and other key cities as they quickly expanded their presence.

The U.N. has called the conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”

The violence goes back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when Hutu fighters responsible for the killings fled across the border into eastern Congo. Rwanda has repeatedly sent troops or backed armed groups there in the years since, saying it was acting to neutralize Hutu fighters and protect its security. Congo and the U.S. government have accused Rwanda of using the rebels as a pretext to gain access to the region’s mineral wealth.

Congo named a string of Rwandan-backed rebel groups it blames for the violence over the years, including M23.

It asked the ICJ to declare Rwanda internationally responsible for the conflict, order it to halt its activities in Congo, demand guarantees they won’t be repeated, and award reparations to Congo and civilian victims.

The court said in a statement that Congo had filed an application instituting proceedings. It did not say whether it had determined if it has jurisdiction to hear the case.

Rwanda’s government did not immediately respond publicly to the filing of the case. It has consistently denied backing armed groups in Congo, though U.N. experts have said they found evidence that Rwandan troops have fought alongside and directed M23.

This is Congo’s third attempt to bring Rwanda before the ICJ, the United Nations’ highest court for disputes between states. Congolese authorities withdrew an earlier case in 2001, and the court dismissed a second in 2006 for lack of jurisdiction, finding Rwanda had not signed or had entered reservations to some of the treaties Congo cited, or that other conditions for a case weren’t met.

The new filing comes as separate, U.S.- and Qatar-mediated peace talks between Congo and Rwanda have struggled to produce a lasting deal.

On Thursday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a Rwanda -based gold refinery, describing it as being part of “a network working in coordination” with M23 in eastern Congo. It said the sanctions against Gasabo Gold Refinery were in support of the U.S. and Qatari peace efforts.

——

Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda contributed to this report.

Son algunas de las imágenes publicadas por familiares dentro de Venezuela y en el extranjero que buscan desesperadamente a sus seres queridos desaparecidos tras dos potentes sismos consecutivos el miércoles por la noche.

Cientos han muerto y miles han resultado heridos. Se espera que el número de víctimas aumente a causa de los sismos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5, que dejaron daños generalizados y estuvieron entre los más fuertes que han azotado a Venezuela en más de un siglo.

Con las comunicaciones intermitentes, las redes sociales y los registros en línea se han convertido en una herramienta crucial para muchos venezolanos que buscan información y recursos más allá de las escasas estadísticas del gobierno. Un registro independiente en línea documentó 51.000 personas desaparecidas, y otro enumeró 24.000 personas cuyo paradero se desconoce, lo que refleja la falta de datos oficiales o de información sobre los desaparecidos.

Cuando algunos se apresuraban a buscar bajo los escombros de edificios derrumbados, otros crearon volantes digitales en WhatsApp, Facebook y X con los datos de sus familiares.

Búsqueda de familiares

Entre ellos estaba Vanesa Marcano, de 31 años, quien publicó fotos desde Madrid de su tío y su tía, que viven en el estado La Guaira, al norte de la capital, Caracas, que sufrió algunos de los peores daños y el número de víctimas más elevados.

Marcano publicó las imágenes con la esperanza de que simplemente no pudieran ser contactados debido a líneas de comunicación dañadas. La hija de su tío y su nieto de 7 años estaban de visita desde Estados Unidos y también están desaparecidos.

“Se siente impotencia e inseguridad”, afirmó Marcano por teléfono. “Yo ya sé que hay que mantener la calma y concentrarse en las acciones que puedas tomar, pero es que es muy fácil caer en la desesperación”.

Jhoyser Concalves, un venezolano de la ciudad costera norteña de Catia La Mar, hablaba con su pareja y la hija de ella apenas unos minutos antes del temblor. Fue lo último que supo de ambas.

Cuando el sismo se detuvo, Concalves salió corriendo de su casa hacia el edificio de apartamentos donde vivían, en el sexto piso. Sólo había escombros y gente intentando desesperadamente rescatar a vecinos de entre los restos.

Concalves publicó un volante que decía “DESAPARECIDAS” en X y Facebook en un intento desesperado por encontrarlas.

“Hoy estan sacando gente del edificio con vida. Entonces tengo la esperanza que todavia estan ahi con vida”, declaró.

ONU pide se restablezca acceso a redes sociales

La búsqueda se complicó por las restricciones del país a las redes sociales y a las plataformas de mensajería.

La misión de derechos humanos de la ONU en Venezuela emitió un comunicado el jueves en el que pidió al gobierno levantar las restricciones locales a las redes sociales y señaló que el acceso oportuno a información confiable puede salvar vidas.

Sitios como X y la aplicación de mensajería Signal fueron bloqueados en agosto de 2024 por el entonces presidente Nicolás Maduro en un intento de suprimir la comunicación entre quienes rechazaban su proclamación de victoria en las elecciones presidenciales. La exvicepresidenta Delcy Rodríguez se convirtió en presidenta encargada en enero luego que Estados Unidos capturara y sacara a Maduro del poder.

Poco después de la solicitud de la ONU el jueves, los venezolanos dentro del país pudieron acceder a X.

Búsqueda desde el extranjero

Fuera del país, esos sitios se han vuelto aún más importantes para muchos de los 8 millones de personas que han migrado de Venezuela en los últimos años y no pudieron verificar cómo estaban sus seres queridos.

El padre de Elibel Tovar, de 70 años, se mudó a Brasil hace más de 20 años, pero estaba en La Guaira por negocios. Félix Ramón Tovar Hernández planeaba viajar el viernes a Chile para su primer reencuentro con su hijo en más de una década. Pero Tovar, de 38 años, contó que no ha sabido nada de su padre.

“Siento impotencia porque no sé cómo esto le afecta, el shock, la decisiones, si está bien físicamente o básicamente vivo”, expresó Tovar, quien registró a su padre en el sitio web de personas desaparecidas.

“Estando en Chile es muy difícil acceder a información y todo lo que vemos se siente confuso”, comentó por WhatsApp.

En Madrid, Marcano dijo que intentaba mantener la calma por el bien de su hija de un año.

“Esperas a ver si alguien hace alguna recolecta, si puedes ayudar de alguna manera”, señaló Marcano. “Pero es que desde lejos es muy poco lo que puedes hacer”.

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Hughes reportó desde Río de Janeiro.

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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.

“He was looking at me and I kind of was thinking, maybe,” McKenna said with a laugh. “Crazy. Just crazy what’s going on right now.”

With most of Yukon watching and a loud presence of Maple Leafs fans in the stands, Toronto chose the Penn State left winger, validating longstanding projections of McKenna being his age group’s top prospect. The 18-year-old from Yukon’s capital of Whitehorse has been a prolific scorer on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

And if Bieber’s appearance and taking the stage to the artist's song “Yukon” wasn’t enough, McKenna was welcomed to the Maple Leafs with a video message from Toronto captain Auston Matthews.

“Obviously he’s on the first line. I’m going to have to prove myself to be able to play with a player like that. But that’s my goal,” McKenna said of Matthews, who was chosen No. 1 by Toronto in the 2016 draft, which also happened to be held in Buffalo. “My game’s obviously a playmaker, he’s a shooter, so I think we could complement each other pretty well.”

McKenna represents a major plank in the Maple Leafs' rebuilding process of a team in transition under new general manager John Chayka. Toronto finished last in the Atlantic Division last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since Matthews’ arrival.

Canucks select coach's son, Caleb Malhotra

The draft featured dueling cheers — and boos — between large contingents of Maple Leafs and Sabres fans, several surprises, nine trades and a poignant father-son moment when Vancouver selected center Caleb Malhotra with the No. 3 pick, joining a team coached by dad Manny Malhotra.

“I hugged him right after, and we were happy,” said Caleb, who is from British Columbia and finished second among OHL rookies with 84 points with Brantford last season. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I’ve never felt anything like this. And that embrace was so comforting, and I’m so glad he’s here with me as dad.”

Malhotra said his dad was not aware of the Canucks’ draft plans. And he now has bragging rights on his father in being selected four spots higher, after Manny went No. 7 to the New York Rangers in 1998.

Run on defensemen

After forwards went with the first three picks, including Sweden’s Ivar Stenberg second to San Jose, the expected run on defensemen began with five selected over the next six picks, and 10 overall.

Buffalo selected Prince Albert blue-liner Daxon Rudolph at No. 4, followed by Latvia’s Alberts Smits going fifth to the Rangers. Chase Reid, who is from Michigan, was part of that run, going seventh to Seattle as the first American-born player selected.

Smits split last season playing professionally in Finland and Germany, while also representing Latvia at the Milan Cortina Olympics. He became the highest drafted Latvian, ahead of Buffalo selecting Zemgus Girgensons 14th in 2012.

Trades and more trades

This was a much more active first round with picks traded for NHL players than the previous couple of years. The Rangers got Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas for picks 26 and 92, and a 2028 first-rounder. Boston acquired JJ Peterka from Utah for a pair of first-rounders. And St. Louis traded two of its picks Friday night to Anaheim for Mason McTavish.

The selections featured an international flavor with 10 Canadians, seven Swedes and six Americans chosen. The first round ended with Ottawa selecting forward Jaxon Cover, who was born in Miami, raised on Grand Cayman where he played roller hockey, and developed his hockey skills in Toronto.

Rudolph was wowed watching his good friend McKenna being welcomed to the stage.

“To see him be selected first and with Justin Bieber and everything, it was amazing,” Rudolph said. “I just remember talking to my mom and saying. ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ as I’m sitting there on the couch waiting to be picked.”

McKenna accustomed to the spotlight

McKenna is accustomed to the spotlight, splashing on the scene by combining for 79 goals and 244 points in 133 games with Medicine Hat in the WHL. He made the jump to the NCAA last summer in a bid to challenge himself against older and more physical competition. He finished with 51 points, tied for fourth in the nation.

He became just the fifth NCAA player to go first, and third in six years, since Michigan defenseman Owen Power went No. 1 to Buffalo in 2021.

McKenna also became the fifth Yukon-born player to be selected in the draft, and the highest pick after Ottawa’s Dylan Cozens went No. 7 to Buffalo in 2019. He now heads to a metropolis that is nearly 100 times larger than Whitehorse’s population of about 39,000.

This was the NHL’s second straight decentralized draft, with teams making selections from their respective headquarters.

Decentralized draft Part II

Lacking in the new format is each draft pick joining his new team’s front office on stage. Last year, the NHL attempted to rectify that by having teams welcome their prospects by video conference call on stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The interviews were widely panned for being awkward and glitchy, and contributing to the draft lasting nearly 4 1/2 hours.

This year the NHL had the top prospects seated with their families in what resembled a lounge area, featuring plush couches, directly in front of the stage. After being selected, each player was interviewed on a couch on stage, with the backdrop representing the team in a first round that took about four hours to complete.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP freelance writer Denis Gorman contributed to this report.

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

The Rangers acquired Dorofeyev from Vegas for the Nos. 26 and 92 picks this year, plus a conditional first-rounder in 2028. The 25-year-old is coming off scoring 12 goals on the Golden Knights' run to the Stanley Cup Final.

On their way there, they defeated the Utah Mammoth, who also made a big subtraction by sending a winger to the Eastern Conference. JJ Peterka is going to the Boston Bruins for the No. 23 pick and Florida's top-10-protected '28 first-rounder.

Peterka is changing places for a second consecutive offseason following his move from Buffalo just over a year to the day ago. The 24-year-old from Germany now gets to play for the league's only German coach, Marco Sturm.

“I would like to thank JJ for his commitment to our organization,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “JJ is a great person and will be a dynamic player for Boston.”

Midway through the first round, the St. Louis Blues acquired forward Mason McTavish from Anaheim for the Nos. 15 and 29 picks, getting a player entering his prime at 23 who's signed through 2031 at a salary cap hit of $7 million.

The Mammoth flipped the 23rd pick to Detroit for 23-year-old restricted free agent goaltender Sebastian Cossa.

Pre-draft trades aplenty

Getting Dorofeyev was New York GM Chris Drury 's second move of the day after sending forward Brett Berard to Montreal for defenseman William Trudeau, who has been in the minors and is still awaiting his NHL debut.

Also Friday, Buffalo got defenseman Olen Zellweger, who also needs a new contract, from Anaheim for the 45th pick and forward prospect Anton Wahlberg. Zellweger, who turns 23 in September, replenishes depth for the Sabres after they traded Bowen Byram to Chicago earlier in the week.

Chicago sent winger Andre Burakovsky to Ottawa for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Burakovsky joins the Senators more than three decades since his dad, Robert, played 23 games for them in the 1993-94 season.

The Blackhawks clear his $5.5 million salary cap hit off the books for next season, while the Senators get a 31-year-old winger who has twice won the Stanley Cup.

General manager Steve Staios said the Senators were happy to add a player of Burakovsky’s pedigree because he “adds skill and playmaking ability to our forward group.”

Staios was busy in the hours before adding Burakovsky, acquiring the rights to goaltender Samuel Ersson and re-signing another pending restricted free agent, defenseman Jordan Spence. Ottawa sent a 2027 fifth-rounder to rival Toronto for Ersson, whom the Maple Leafs got along with Emil Andrae in a cap space-clearing trade with Philadelphia for Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit.

Spence, 25, signed a four-year, $20 million contract. He was a big part of the team enduring injuries at the position and still making the playoffs, scoring a career-high seven goals and finishing with 31 points while skating an average of nearly 19 minutes over 73 games.

“Jordan was an excellent addition to our hockey club and proved to be a valuable asset on our blue line and stepped up when it counted last season,” Staios said. “We’re excited to have him as part of our core group.”

Teams take care of in-house business

Colorado re-signed defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Kulak, fresh off winning the Presidents’ Trophy and losing in the conference final to Vegas.

Burns, 41, signed for next season, his 23rd in the league, at the veteran minimum of $850,000 and can make up to $3 million in incentives, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not disclosed.

Burns has skated in 1,007 consecutive regular-season games and is 58 away from passing Phil Kessel for the longest ironman streak in NHL history.

Kulak got a five-year contract from the Avalanche worth a reported $22.5 million. President of hockey operations and franchise great Joe Sakic is reshaping the roster after reclaiming GM duties when Chris MacFarland left for Nashville.

The Islanders re-signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a two-year contract worth $9 million. He will count $4.5 million against the salary cap through the 2027-28 season.

DeAngelo, 30, is returning to the Islanders for a second full season after joining them upon returning to the NHL from a stint in the Russia-based KHL in January 2025.

“Tony has been great since he’s been here," GM Mathieu Darche said on a video call with reporters after the draft. “It’s tough to find puck-moving defensemen, never mind a right-shot puck-moving defenseman, so Tony’s a big part of our team. We’re excited to have him back.”

Los Angeles re-signed defenseman Brandt Clarke for $37 million over the next five years.

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

Maria Andreina Pernalete, a World Vision communications manager in Caracas, was homeless and sought refuge at a nearby convent.

“There have been many after shocks,” Pernalete said, according to the organization’s update.

Luis Colmenares, a World Vision communications specialist in Barquisimeto, reported witnessing injuries during a panicked evacuation.

On Friday, the organization reported having “over 200 staff and existing operational capacity” to respond.

The nonprofit is working with the support of the U.S. State Department.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to the organization’s fund, visit this page.

When a 'double double' crisis hits a country where systems have already broken down, you can expect that responding will be a challenge.

We're already in place in Venezuela, with over 200 staff and existing operational capacity to respond. Since 2019, we've reached over 2… pic.twitter.com/ChXXnON95R

— World Vision (@WorldVision) June 26, 2026

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