It happened shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday along the 2500 block of East Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the scene and found a man who had been stabbed.

Rescue crews rushed the man to Broward Health North where he was pronounced deceased.

Investigators said a suspect was detained, and authorities have since arrested David Edward Rice, 67.

Rice is facing a first-degree murder charge and is being held at the Broward Main Jail on no bond.

Según un informe de arresto, Emely Barberena, de 35 años, enfrenta un cargo de agresión agravada con un arma mortal.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) informaron que respondieron alrededor de las 7:20 a.m. al área del 1125 de East 25th Street, donde encontraron a un hombre con aparentes heridas de arma blanca.

Indicaron que paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lo trasladaron al Hospital Jackson Memorial en condición estable.

Según el informe de arresto, la víctima fue a la estación después de ver a Barberena y a su novio con una bicicleta que, según afirmó, le había sido robada ese mismo día. Los agentes informaron que el robo ya había sido reportado al Departamento de Policía de Hialeah.

Los investigadores indicaron que el novio de Barberena lanzó la bicicleta hacia la víctima, lo que provocó que esta rodara hasta las vías del tren y desencadenara una pelea.

El informe señala que la víctima tomó un palo de escoba y golpeó a Barberena cuando ella se le acercó. Los agentes informaron que Barberena tomó un pedazo roto del palo de escoba y comenzó a golpear a la víctima mientras su novio la golpeaba con los puños.

Según el informe, la víctima empujó a Barberena hacia las vías del tren antes de que el novio de ella empujara a la víctima hacia las vías.

Mientras la víctima estaba desarmada sobre las vías, Barberena presuntamente le provocó un corte en el rostro con un cuchillo, según el informe. Los investigadores indicaron que ella ya lo había apuñalado en el torso y en un brazo antes de que fuera empujado hacia las vías.

El informe señala que Barberena y su novio huyeron después del apuñalamiento. Los agentes informaron que la víctima sufrió una herida de arma blanca en el abdomen, un corte en un brazo, una laceración en la mejilla y otras lesiones producto de la pelea y la caída.

Los agentes informaron que posteriormente encontraron a Barberena en una parada de autobús frente a la estación. Según el informe, fue trasladada al Hospital Hialeah para recibir tratamiento por lesiones menores antes de ser arrestada.

Los investigadores indicaron que las imágenes de las cámaras de vigilancia revisadas durante la investigación corroboraron la versión de la víctima.

También informaron que el novio de Barberena huyó antes de que llegaran los agentes, permanece sin identificar y continúa prófugo.

Cualquier persona con información sobre su paradero debe comunicarse con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

Lawyers representing YouTube filed a notice of appeal Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, less than a week after Meta, which was also a defendant in the case, filed its own notice of appeal. The lawyers are expected to provide their arguments related to the appeal in later court filings.

The case centered on a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health struggles. The jury found that negligence by both Google-owned YouTube and Meta was a substantial factor in causing harm to the young woman, identified in court only by her initials, KGM, and her first name, Kaley.

The jury awarded her $3 million in damages and recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages. Her lead attorney, Mark Lanier, said in a statement last week following Meta's appeal that Kaley's legal team is expecting the appellate court to “continue the careful application of the law to this case, affirming the verdict of the trial court.”

José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said in a statement last week that YouTube was planning to appeal and that “these are standard motions for this case to move forward.”

Meta and Google had each filed post-trial motions seeking a new trial. The trial judge, Carolyn B. Kuhl, denied those motions in early June.

One of YouTube's core arguments during the five-week trial was that its platform, which offers video sharing and streaming, is not a social media platform.

Lawyers for both YouTube and Meta also consistently posed questions throughout the trial about whether the evidence and arguments encroached on legal protections for tech companies around content posted by third parties. Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act shields these companies from legal responsibility for such content. The plaintiff's lawyers instead focused on the design features like autoplay functions that they argued could lead to more long-lasting, less intentional use of the platforms.

Kaley’s case was a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, and the verdict could influence the outcome of thousands of similar lawsuits accusing social media companies of deliberately causing harm. TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. were also initially named as defendants in the case, but each settled for undisclosed sums before the trial began.

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It’s the first area to watch on National Hurrican Center’s Atlantic basin map in over two weeks.

As we’ve detailed in previous newsletters, the area we’re following is an elongated strip of low pressure that’s expected to form this weekend in the elbow of Florida’s Big Bend over the northeastern Gulf.

Unlike most tropical systems whose circulations form first at the surface, this disturbance will initially have spin focused higher up in the atmosphere (at around 20,000 feet) from a mid-level spin that’ll be pinwheeling into the eastern Gulf from the Florida Straits starting on Saturday.

The less conventional setup means that the system will need time to transition down from an initially non-tropical low to a defined surface area of low pressure.

Forecast models are at odds as to whether it’ll eventually do so, and NHC has opened with a low 20% chance of development over the next 7 days, consistent with what model guidance has been advertising this week.

Impediments along the way

As we covered in Tuesday’s newsletter, the atmosphere won’t be in a ripe configuration for quick or significant tropical organization next week.

The main impediment will be moderate to at times strong northerly wind shear from a weakening upper-level low centered over the Florida peninsula late this weekend.

The development window will begin to open up on Sunday and stay largely open through next Tuesday. Models diverge next week as to whether the system slides across northeastern Florida and along the coasts of southeastern Georgia and the Carolinas or peels back westward toward the central Gulf Coast.

It’s the westward path over the northern Gulf that would leave it over record to near-record warm waters and the scenario that would raise the specter of pure tropical development.

A system moving northeastward and up the U.S. east coast would lean toward hybrid-like organization, if at all, aided by jet stream winds next week.

In either case, moderate wind shear and bouts of dry, continental air should pump the brakes on organization.

For now, models continue to advertise only low development odds, but it’s worth checking in on the trends this week, mainly because of the outside westward-moving scenarios that loiter it over the northern Gulf into middle next week.

Signal for heavy rainfall next week regardless

The upshot regardless is the potential for heavy rainfall, starting along the northeastern Gulf and west coast of Florida next week.

It’s too soon to pinpoint any potential flood risk, but soaking rains could be beneficial to drought-stricken parts of Florida if spread out over several days.

Those along the northern Gulf Coast will want to check back in the days ahead as we refine the forecast and get a better sense of where the heaviest totals might land next week.

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According to an arrest report, Emely Barberena, 35, is facing one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said they responded around 7:20 a.m. to the area of 1125 E. 25th St., where they found a man suffering from apparent stab wounds.

They said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

According to the arrest report, the victim went to the station after spotting Barberena and her boyfriend with a bicycle that he claimed had been stolen from him earlier that day. Deputies said that theft had already been reported to the Hialeah Police Department.

Investigators said Barberena’s boyfriend threw the bicycle toward the victim, causing it to roll onto the train tracks which led to a fight.

The report states the victim armed himself with a broomstick and struck Barberena after she approached him. Barberena then grabbed a broken piece of the broomstick and began striking the victim while her boyfriend punched him, deputies said.

According to the report, the victim pushed Barberena onto the train tracks before her boyfriend pushed the victim onto the tracks.

While the victim was unarmed on the tracks, Barberena allegedly slashed him across the face with a knife, according to the report. Investigators said she had already stabbed him in the torso and arm before he was pushed onto the tracks.

The report states Barberena and her boyfriend fled after the stabbing. Deputies said the victim suffered a stab wound to his abdomen, a cut on his arm, a laceration to his cheek and other injuries from the fight and fall.

Deputies said they later found Barberena at a bus stop outside the station. She was taken to Hialeah Hospital for treatment of minor injuries before she was arrested, according to the report.

Investigators said surveillance video reviewed during the investigation corroborated the victim’s account.

They said Barberena’s boyfriend fled before deputies arrived and remains unidentified and at large at this time.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Barberena was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where here bond was listed as “to be set.”

Anyone with information on her boyfriend’s whereabouts is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Los agentes informaron que respondieron poco antes de las 2:30 a.m. del miércoles a un reporte de una balacera en la cuadra 2800 de Northwest Sixth Court, cerca de Fort Lauderdale.

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Las autoridades indicaron que, al llegar al lugar, encontraron a una víctima de la balacera cerca de Northwest Seventh Street y Northwest 29th Terrace.

Según los investigadores, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue trasladó a la víctima a un hospital cercano para recibir tratamiento. El género, la edad, la identidad y el estado de la víctima no fueron divulgados de inmediato.

Un equipo de Local 10 News estuvo el miércoles por la mañana en la escena de la balacera, donde una SUV dorada con las ventanas destrozadas y las puertas abiertas permanecía estacionada a lo largo de Northwest Seventh Street.

Aproximadamente a una cuadra de distancia, en Northwest Sixth Street, los detectives colocaron marcadores de la escena del crimen, fotografiaron evidencias y recolectaron objetos de la vía mientras los agentes acordonaban el área con cinta de la escena del crimen.

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Chris Pitman, quien vive en el vecindario Washington Park con sus tres hijos pequeños, dijo que se despertó por el sonido de los disparos.

“Estaba durmiendo. De repente, mi hijo de 4 años dijo: “Papá, fuegos artificiales”, y luego escuché: “Bang, bang, bang”. Mi hijo de 2 años empezó a llorar, así que esperé un poco, traté de ver qué estaba pasando. Todo estaba acordonado, así que regresé”, dijo.

Pitman describió el vecindario como generalmente tranquilo.

“Más adelante no tanto, pero este lado históricamente ha sido conocido por ser tranquilo. Yo crecí aquí”, agregó.

Dijo que la balacera le afectó de manera personal.

“Antes que nada, siento tristeza. Soy padre antes que cualquier cosa. Me duele escuchar eso. No me sorprende. Este vecindario tiene cosas buenas y malas. No me sorprende, pero eso no hace que duela menos”, expresó Pitman.

Funcionarios de la BSO informaron que la Unidad de Escena del Crimen y Delitos Violentos investiga las circunstancias que rodean la balacera.

Cualquier persona con información debe comunicarse con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477.

The final design for the commemorative coin, being released in the fall, was approved earlier this year by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump. But the finished product unveiled Wednesday differs from that version in a few aspects, including that it is not made of gold but rather has a gold finish.

The coin is intended “to honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X. “Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all."

Trump, a Republican, has a penchant for putting his name and likeness in the historical record, following his renaming of the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships, among other tributes. The move to put his face on the gold coin has drawn criticism in particular because federal law prohibits the depiction of a living president on U.S. currency, though the treasury secretary has the authority to authorize the minting and issuance of coins in some circumstances.

The front of the coin features an image of Trump in a suit and tie and with a stern look on his face. Lettering on the top half of the coin's arc spells “LIBERTY," with the dates 1776-2026 on the bottom half of the arc. The words “IN GOD WE TRUST” are in the middle.

The reverse side depicts the traditional image of the bald eagle in the Great Seal of the U.S., with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” on the top half of the coin and the Latin phrase “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” meaning “Out of many, one,” on the shield emblazoned on the bird's breast.

Among the other differences from the design approved earlier this year is that Trump doesn’t have his fists resting on top of what is supposed to be a desk as he leans forward. The Treasury Department did not specify Wednesday why the final product diverged from the originally approved design.

The Treasury Department announced in March that it would be putting Trump's signature on all new U.S. paper currency.

Traditionally, U.S. paper currency carries the signatures of the treasury secretary and the treasurer, not the president.

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

It's not how far shots are going in the air. It's what happens when they get on the ground. And with links golf, that's not always easy to control, especially this week.

“You can't judge every single bounce perfectly,” Justin Rose said. “But you have to accept the nature of a links golf course. There's going to be some good bounces, bad bounces. Just keep playing with a big of freedom and creativity, especially this week.

“You're going to get a few funny bounces here or there,” he said. “That's all part of it.”

The 154th Open begins Thursday with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. For those who love links golf, there's no greater colors than brown and yellow that indicate crispy conditions in which the fairways can run faster than some of the greens.

Rarely has the forecast been filled with warm sunshine — slightly cooler on the weekend — with a cloudless sky that will be a challenge for the R&A to keep the turf from getting too fast.

Rory McIlroy came to Royal Birkdale a few weeks ago and saw what seemed to be a different course. It was greener. The rough was more lush. It's no longer like that. Yes, it's harder to control shots running along the fairway But the rough, while still having some thick patches in which players are up to their knees in grass, is more burned and wispy.

“I think it’s a double-edged sword,” McIlroy said. "I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week. It’s definitely burnt out a lot.

“The big thing, especially off the tee here, is the fairway bunkers and avoiding those,” he said. “You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play. OK, it might be in the rough, but it’s not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there.”

Every hole seems to have options.

The redesigned fifth plays 321 yards and enough shrubs have been removed that it's no longer a blind shot from the tee. What players see now is a pond — an unusual hazard for links golf, but it's always been there — and a row of pot bunkers leading to the green.

Marcus Plunkett, the U.S. Army veteran playing in his first British Open, arrived Thursday and smashed driver to the edge of the green. Even with that shot, he's planning on a 7-iron off the tee.

The wind is out of a different direction than usual, making the 393-yard 16th hole play downwind and running fast. Most players were hitting no more than 5-iron off the tee to avoid the bunkers. The other option is a driver than can get close to the green.

It's like that all over, and it could lead to brilliance and blunders.

“From what I’ve learned in the past, if you start pulling out drivers in an Open Championship, you can do a good job,” Jon Rahm said. “You can maybe get away with it one round. Over four rounds, you’re going to start finding spots you don’t want to be in, and you’re going to pay the price.”

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion, trying to become the first repeat winner of golf's oldest championship since Padraig Harrington won at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale in 2007 and 2008. The world's No. 1 player has played only five times in the Open, but he probably spoke for many when he said, “This is the first forecast I remember seeing it had no rain in it for the week.”

“If it holds, it should continue to firm up, and we’ve got some warm weather as well,” he said.

It's a different Royal Birkdale from when Jordan Spieth won in 2017, particularly the new look on the fifth and the par-3 seventh, and a brand-new par 3 at the 15th (the old par-3 14th was removed). Scheffler offered a not-so-subtle jab at the chances, even though he hadn't seen the course before.

“The one thing I found interesting is it’s so obvious as to which holes had been redone," he said. “They look like they’re not even on the same golf course.”

Scheffler had to return the claret jug on Tuesday. Someone else takes possession Sunday night when he is introduced as the “Champion Golfer of the Year.” And then it's eight-plus months until the next major at the Masters in April.

The four majors are over quickly.

But it's only fitting the British Open with its unique brand of golf is the last major of the year. It's unlike anything players see all year, especially in dry and firm and fiery conditions like this.

“The ball is just going to run forever,” Scheffler said.

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

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Deputies said they responded shortly before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a shooting in the 2800 block of Northwest Sixth Court, near Fort Lauderdale.

Authorities said they found a shooting victim near Northwest Seventh Street and Northwest 29th Terrace after arriving at the scene.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue took the victim, who is 17 years old, to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to investigators. The victim’s gender, identity and condition were not immediately released.

A Local 10 News crew was at the shooting scene on Wednesday morning, where a gold SUV with shattered windows and its doors open remained parked along Northwest Seventh Street.

About a block away on Northwest Sixth Street, detectives placed crime scene markers, photographed evidence and collected items from the roadway while deputies blocked off the area with crime scene tape.

Chris Pitman, who lives in the Washington Park neighborhood with his three young children, said he was awakened by the sound of gunfire.

“I was sleeping. All of a sudden my 4-year-old was like, ‘Daddy, fireworks,’ and I just heard, ‘Bow, bow, bow.’ My 2-year-old started crying, so I waited a little bit, tried to wait a bit, see what’s going on. Everything was taped off, so I just came back,” he said.

Pitman described the neighborhood as generally quiet.

“Further down not so much, but this side is historically known for being quiet. I grew up here,” he added.

He said the shooting hit close to home.

“First and foremost, sadness. I’m a father first. I hate to hear that. It doesn’t surprise me. This neighborhood has its good and bad. It doesn’t surprise me, but it doesn’t make it hurt less,” Pitman said.

BSO officials said their Crime Scene and Violent Crimes Unit are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Warsh has said since taking office seven weeks ago that he would provide less guidance about the Fed’s next interest rate moves than his predecessors. Yet he has frustrated many Fed-watchers by largely avoiding explanations of how the central bank might respond more generally to potential economic changes.

“I don’t view a one-time change in prices as necessarily being inflationary, because I think there’s a supply response,” he said in response to a question on the impact of massive investment in AI infrastructure. “Will it increase measured prices over the course of the next 12 months? I suspect it will be. Whether that’s inflationary or not, that’s up to the Federal Reserve, and we’re going to have something to say about that.”

In his second day of congressional testimony, Warsh also downplayed positive inflation data released Tuesday and Wednesday that could make his job as Fed chair easier. As inflation fades, it reduces pressure on the Fed to raise its key interest rate to cool borrowing and spending.

The government said earlier Wednesday that wholesale inflation slowed in June, a day after consumer prices were reported to have fallen from May to June for the first time in six years. On a yearly basis, inflation cooled to 3.5% last month from 4.2% in May.

“Any central banker would be happy to have data going in the right direction,” he said, but “these are all imperfect measures of the state of underlying inflation.”

Instead, Warsh said he would look to a task force he has created to study the sources of data the Fed uses.

Questions about whether Warsh has spoken with Trump

Separately, Warsh reiterated that he would act independently as Fed chair and resist any political pressure from Trump, who has often demanded lower interest rates. But he did not directly answer whether he has communicated with Trump since his appointment.

“I don’t want to be in the business of sharing discussions that the president and I have," Warsh said in response to a question from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland.

“I will tell you what I’ve said to the president repeatedly and said to the Treasury secretary: they chose an independent guy to do the job and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” he added.

Trump repeatedly attacked Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not cutting interest rates deeply enough, and his administration even pushed an investigation into brief Senate testimony by Powell on a building renovation by the Fed, raising widespread concerns about the Fed's independence.

Actualmente arden más de 100 incendios forestales en Canadá, y los vientos trasladan el humo hacia el sureste. Las advertencias por aire peligroso e insalubre se extendieron el miércoles desde Minnesota, pasando por Toronto, hasta Nueva York. También se esperaban temperaturas veraniegas inusualmente altas.

El mejor consejo es permanecer en interiores para evitar el humo y el calor extremo, señaló Tyler Hasenstein, meteorólogo del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Chanhassen, Minnesota.

“Que esas dos cosas coincidan no es bueno desde una perspectiva de salud”, afirmó.

Guardabosques intentan evacuar a miles de campistas de una remota zona silvestre de Minnesota

En el extremo noreste de Minnesota, los guardabosques intentaban advertir a la gente que el Área Silvestre de Canoas de Boundary Waters estaba cerrada porque unos 17 incendios provocados por rayos ardían alrededor de esa vasta zona silvestre, a la que se accede principalmente en canoa.

La zona se cerró el martes y los guardabosques calcularon que entre 6.000 y 10.000 personas seguían dentro de la zona silvestre de 445.000 hectáreas (1,1 millones de acres), un área que es casi del tamaño de Delaware, informó Joy VanDrie, portavoz del Bosque Nacional Superior.

“Es un trabajo arduo”, dijo VanDrie, refiriéndose a cómo los guardabosques y los campistas deben remar durante horas o incluso cargar sus embarcaciones por tierra para evacuar:

VanDrie no sabía cuándo podría reabrirse el área. Autoridades de Minnesota dijeron que se permitirá que algunos incendios en Boundary Waters sigan ardiendo indefinidamente, pero serán monitoreados para garantizar que no amenacen a personas ni propiedades.

Incluso la Fuerza Aérea canadiense colaboró rescatando el miércoles a dos grupos de campistas jóvenes que habían cruzado la frontera y parecían estar a salvo, informó el gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz.

La grave sequía y el calor han provocado una intensa temporada de incendios forestales

Dan Westervelt, profesor asociado de la Facultad de Climatología de la Universidad de Columbia, explicó que las condiciones de sequía severa combinadas con el calor en Canadá y Estados Unidos han creado “una tormenta perfecta de condiciones realmente secas que aportan mucho combustible para que estos incendios forestales ardan”. Las investigaciones muestran que el aumento de las temperaturas por la quema de carbón, petróleo y gas provocan que los incendios sean más frecuentes e intensos.

Los altos niveles de partículas finas en el aire provenientes del humo de los incendios forestales pueden ser perjudiciales para grupos sensibles, como los niños y las personas con afecciones cardíacas o pulmonares. Las partículas pueden causar falta de aire, tos, mareos o fatiga, y agravar enfermedades del corazón y los pulmones, así como otros problemas crónicos de salud.

Los expertos sugieren usar una mascarilla N95 si es necesario estar al aire libre y mantener el aire interior más limpio cerrando las ventanas y usando un purificador de aire o el aire acondicionado.

Ha sido una temporada de incendios particularmente intensa y mortal en Estados Unidos. Actualmente arden alrededor de cuatro docenas de grandes incendios en 15 estados, desde Minnesota y Carolina del Norte hasta Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon y California, según el Centro Nacional Interagencial de Incendios.

La sequía prolongada y los niveles récord de baja acumulación de nieve se combinaron para crear condiciones propicias para un rápido crecimiento del fuego. Se han asignado más de 16.800 personas para combatir los incendios en todo el país. El fuego ha quemado más de 9.138 kilómetros cuadrados (5.678 millas cuadradas), más que el tamaño de los parques nacionales de Yellowstone y el Gran Cañón juntos, indicó la agencia.

Autoridades advierten que los incendios podrían arder durante meses

En Minnesota, las autoridades advirtieron que los grandes incendios podrían arder durante meses. En Minneapolis, se prevé que la temperatura máxima del miércoles sea de 36 Celsius (96 grados Fahrenheit) y se preveían temperaturas por encima de 32 °C (90 °F) durante el resto de la semana.

“Bien podría ser que tengamos incendios importantes durante todo el verano hasta que tengamos nieve. La nieve sería algo bueno”, manifestó Patty Thielen, directora del Departamento estatal de Recursos Naturales.

Autoridades en Michigan y Wisconsin advirtieron a los residentes sobre problemas de calidad del aire que podrían durar días, y éstos se extendieron incluso hasta Maine, donde los residentes informaban de un color amarillento y amarronado en el cielo.

El intenso humo podría llegar incluso hasta Washington, D.C., hacia el mediodía del jueves.

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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Susan Montoya Bryan y Jeffrey Collins contribuyeron a este despacho.

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The Associated Press recibe apoyo de la Walton Family Foundation para la cobertura de políticas de agua y medio ambiente. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido.

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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.

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According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Pablo Arrechavaleta, 49, Leonel Ramirez, 47, and Antonio Mesa, 47, broke into a home near the intersection of Southwest 157th Avenue and 181st Terrace while a 14-year-old boy was inside.

Deputies said after unsuccessfully trying to pry open a window, the trio broke into a rear French door using a screwdriver, causing around $1,000 worth of damage.

The men then “ransacked the upstairs master bedroom” and “removed a total of $359,400” before fleeing the scene, according to an arrest report.

The report states that an MDSO helicopter was deployed and kept an eye on the suspects as they fled the home and got into a four-door SUV they said was being driven by Arrechavaleta.

Deputies said they were able to stop the vehicle soon after it left the home and take all three suspects into custody without incident.

After being medically evaluated and cleared, authorities said Arrechavaleta and Mesa gave verbal and written statements that implicated their involvement in the crimes, while Ramirez chose not to answer any questions.

All three suspects are facing multiple felony charges in relation to the burglary.

As of Wednesday afternoon, they are all behind bars at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond listed as “to be set.”

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO), Pablo Arrechavaleta, de 49 años, Leonel Ramírez, de 47, y Antonio Mesa, de 47, irrumpieron en una vivienda cerca de la intersección de Southwest 157th Avenue y Southwest 181st Terrace mientras un adolescente de 14 años se encontraba en el interior.

Los agentes informaron que, tras intentar sin éxito forzar una ventana, los tres hombres ingresaron por una puerta francesa trasera utilizando un destornillador, lo que causó aproximadamente $1,000 USD en daños.

Según el informe de arresto, los hombres “revolvieron el dormitorio principal del segundo piso” y “se llevaron un total de $359,400 USD” antes de huir del lugar.

El informe señala que un helicóptero de la MDSO fue desplegado y siguió a los sospechosos mientras escapaban de la vivienda y abordaban una SUV de cuatro puertas que, según las autoridades, era conducida por Arrechavaleta.

Los agentes informaron que lograron detener el vehículo poco después de que saliera de la vivienda y arrestaron a los tres sospechosos sin incidentes.

Tras ser evaluados médicamente y recibir el alta, las autoridades informaron que Arrechavaleta y Mesa ofrecieron declaraciones verbales y por escrito en las que admitieron su participación en los delitos, mientras que Ramírez decidió no responder preguntas.

Los tres sospechosos enfrentan múltiples cargos por delitos graves relacionados con el robo a la vivienda.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, los tres permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, con la fianza “pendiente de ser fijada”.

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In a 15-page federal criminal complaint, FBI agents said Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, 21, of North Lauderdale, financed and procured the malware and then helped market the infected games, which were distributed on a “popular digital distribution software company.”

That company is not directly named in the complaint, but information contained within strongly suggests that it was the platform Steam, one of the largest of its kind.

Games identified in the complaint ― including BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lunara and PirateFi ― were named in a plea for victim information in a “Steam malware investigation” by agents in FBI’s Seattle office. The case against Wilkins and others involved is being prosecuted in Seattle federal court and Steam’s parent company, Valve Corporation, is based in nearby Bellevue, Washington.

Agents said in the scheme, Wilkins and others “gained unauthorized access to approximately 80 cryptocurrency wallets and stole cryptocurrencies worth at least $220,000″ from May 2024 to this February by “launch(ing) eight games embedded with malware and infect(ing) the devices of approximately 8,000 individual customers.”

According to the complaint, Wilkins and others helped market the games on social media and messaging applications, including Discord, Telegram, X and LinkedIn and encouraged others to download them.

Additionally, agents said the conspirators targeted specific victims, using bots “to identify individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings and send them targeted messages” encouraging them to download the games.

“After their victims downloaded the games, the conspirators used the malware to access and steal private user data and credentials,” the complaint states. “(They) went through the stolen data and identify any information that could be used to access, without authorization, cryptocurrency accounts of others and steal cryptocurrencies from their victims.”

Wilkins, believed to be a student at the University of West Florida, used the handle “Sibel.eth” online, according to the complaint, which he used to communicate with the “primary developer” of the programs.

That person is not identified in the complaint.

Agents said after executing a search warrant on the primary developer’s home and seizing devices, they found chats with “Sibel.eth” on the encrypted messaging platform Signal showing a “high level of collaboration” between the two.

They said that the chats showed that Wilkins bought a “remote access trojan” program for $10,000.

The primary developer and Wilkins also “exchanged messages about a criminal scheme in which they would run ‘draining campaigns’ regarding cryptocurrency wallets” and the two discussed “tricking victims into authorizing transactions that instantly empty their wallets,” according to the complaint.

Authorities said they were to identify “Sibel.eth” as Wilkins by tracing cryptocurrency payments sent from the scheme’s Bitcoin wallet to Bitrefill, an online service which was used to purchase over 150 digital gift cards that were predominantly for Uber Eats.

An FBI subpoena to Uber revealed that those cards were linked to an account that had deliveries at Wilkins’ UWF addresses as well as at Wilkins’ home in South Florida.

Agents said they executed a search warrant at Wilkins’ North Lauderdale home last Wednesday. He “refused to speak with law enforcement,” they said.

According to the complaint, investigators seized multiple devices as well as “three cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases.”

“One of the seed phrases is for a Monero wallet, an anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrency frequently used by criminals that is difficult to trace between source and destination,” an agent wrote in the complaint. “Based on my training and experience, I know that cybercriminals use Monero to enhance anonymity and the difficulty in cryptocurrency transaction attribution for law enforcement.”

A review of Wilkins’ crypto transaction history showed he sent or received $382,000, according to the complaint.

Following his arrest, Wilkins faces a charge of conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain, a charge that could land him in prison for up to a decade.

Federal court records didn’t provide a timeline on Wednesday morning as to if or when Wilkins could be extradited to Washington state.

Those records did show that Wilkins was scheduled to appear in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Wednesday morning.

Local 10 News contacted a spokesperson for Valve Corporation on Wednesday morning seeking comment about the case and Steam’s security measures. As of the publication of this article, we were awaiting a response.

En una denuncia penal federal de 15 páginas, agentes del FBI informaron que Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, de 21 años y residente de North Lauderdale, financió y obtuvo el malware, y luego ayudó a promocionar los videojuegos infectados, que fueron distribuidos en una “popular plataforma de distribución digital de software”.

Esa empresa no es identificada directamente en la denuncia, pero la información contenida en el documento sugiere claramente que se trata de la plataforma Steam, una de las más grandes de su tipo.

Los juegos identificados en la denuncia, entre ellos BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lunara y PirateFi, fueron mencionados en una solicitud de información para víctimas de una “investigación sobre malware en Steam” realizada por agentes de la oficina del FBI en Seattle. El caso contra Wilkins y otros involucrados es procesado en un tribunal federal de Seattle, y la empresa matriz de Steam, Valve Corporation, tiene su sede en la cercana ciudad de Bellevue, Washington.

Los agentes indicaron que, mediante el esquema, Wilkins y otras personas “obtuvieron acceso no autorizado a aproximadamente 80 billeteras de criptomonedas y robaron criptomonedas por un valor de al menos $220,000 USD” entre mayo de 2024 y febrero de este año, al “lanzar ocho videojuegos con malware incorporado e infectar los dispositivos de aproximadamente 8,000 usuarios”.

Según la denuncia, Wilkins y otros ayudaron a promocionar los juegos en redes sociales y aplicaciones de mensajería, incluidas Discord, Telegram, X y LinkedIn, y alentaban a otras personas a descargarlos.

Además, los agentes señalaron que los conspiradores seleccionaban víctimas específicas mediante el uso de bots “para identificar personas con grandes cantidades de criptomonedas y enviarles mensajes dirigidos” con el fin de convencerlas de descargar los videojuegos.

“Después de que las víctimas descargaban los juegos, los conspiradores utilizaban el malware para acceder y robar datos privados y credenciales de los usuarios”, señala la denuncia. “(Los conspiradores) revisaban la información robada e identificaban cualquier dato que pudiera utilizarse para acceder sin autorización a cuentas de criptomonedas de otras personas y robarles sus criptomonedas”.

Según la denuncia, Wilkins, quien se cree que es estudiante de la Universidad del Oeste de Florida (UWF), utilizaba en internet el nombre de usuario “Sibel.eth”, el cual empleaba para comunicarse con el “desarrollador principal” de los programas.

Esa persona no fue identificada en la denuncia.

Los agentes informaron que, tras ejecutar una orden de allanamiento en la vivienda del desarrollador principal e incautar dispositivos electrónicos, encontraron conversaciones con “Sibel.eth” en la plataforma de mensajería cifrada Signal que mostraban “un alto nivel de colaboración” entre ambos.

También señalaron que las conversaciones demostraban que Wilkins compró un programa de tipo “troyano de acceso remoto” por $10,000 USD.

Según la denuncia, el desarrollador principal y Wilkins también “intercambiaron mensajes sobre un esquema delictivo en el que realizarían ‘campañas de vaciado’ de billeteras de criptomonedas”, y discutieron la posibilidad de “engañar a las víctimas para que autorizaran transacciones que vaciaran instantáneamente sus billeteras”.

Las autoridades informaron que lograron identificar a “Sibel.eth” como Wilkins al rastrear pagos en criptomonedas enviados desde la billetera de Bitcoin utilizada en el esquema hacia Bitrefill, un servicio en línea que fue utilizado para comprar más de 150 tarjetas de regalo digitales, principalmente de Uber Eats.

Una citación del FBI a Uber reveló que esas tarjetas estaban vinculadas a una cuenta con entregas realizadas tanto a direcciones de Wilkins en la UWF como a su vivienda en el sur de Florida.

Los agentes informaron que ejecutaron una orden de allanamiento en la vivienda de Wilkins, en North Lauderdale, el miércoles pasado. Según dijeron, él “se negó a hablar con las autoridades”.

De acuerdo con la denuncia, los investigadores incautaron varios dispositivos electrónicos, así como “tres frases semilla de billeteras de criptomonedas”.

“Una de las frases semilla corresponde a una billetera Monero, una criptomoneda con funciones avanzadas de anonimato que es utilizada con frecuencia por delincuentes y cuya trazabilidad entre el origen y el destino es difícil”, escribió un agente en la denuncia. “Con base en mi capacitación y experiencia, sé que los ciberdelincuentes utilizan Monero para aumentar el anonimato y dificultar que las autoridades atribuyan las transacciones de criptomonedas”.

Una revisión del historial de transacciones de criptomonedas de Wilkins mostró que envió o recibió $382,000 USD, según la denuncia.

Tras su arresto, Wilkins enfrenta un cargo de conspiración para obtener información mediante una computadora con fines de lucro económico personal, un delito que podría conllevar una pena de hasta 10 años de prisión.

Los registros del tribunal federal no indicaban hasta la mañana del miércoles si o cuándo Wilkins podría ser extraditado al estado de Washington.

Sin embargo, esos registros sí mostraban que Wilkins tenía previsto comparecer la mañana del miércoles ante un tribunal federal en Fort Lauderdale.

Local 10 News se comunicó la mañana del miércoles con un portavoz de Valve Corporation para solicitar comentarios sobre el caso y las medidas de seguridad de Steam. Hasta el momento de la publicación de este artículo, no se había recibido respuesta.

Buffett told CNBC that Gates' association with Epstein was “distasteful," but the 95-year-old investor suggested that Gates' actions weren't much different from mistakes he himself had made over the years in hiring the wrong person or in choosing friends.

“No one bats a thousand in the business of choosing people," Buffett said on CNBC.

Buffett read up on Gates' ties to Epstein

Buffett said he “read a great deal since Jan. 1 in terms of what happened with Bill and Epstein. And I have read his remarks to Congress given under oath, and I read the cross-examination.” He noted that Gates eventually ended his relationship with Epstein.

Buffett said Gates wasn't surprised by the decision Buffett announced Tuesday to eventually donate all the rest of his $140 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to foundations associated with his family and his three children, Howard, Susie and Peter. Gates flew to Omaha a few weeks ago and spent several hours talking with Buffett. The two hadn't spoken much since before additional details about Gates and Epstein started to come out when the federal government began releasing files from the Epstein investigation.

Gates has said that he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes, and he didn't know about Epstein's ongoing crimes.

Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead at the Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019. His death was later ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.

Buffett said in 2024 that he planned to cut off donations to the Gates Foundation after he died and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune.

In other news from the CNBC interview, Buffett revealed that he recently broke his leg and underwent surgery for it, but he said he is recovering well.

Drastically increasing donations to give away his fortune by 2034

The Gates Foundation didn't immediately respond after Buffett's interview on Wednesday, but a day earlier the foundation thanked Buffett for donating more than $47 billion since 2006. The Gates Foundation plans to close in 2045 after distributing the rest of Gates' fortune.

Buffett said he wants his own money to be distributed even quicker than he has previously indicated: by the end of 2034. To do that, he will have to drastically increase the amount he donates every year, to more than $17 billion annually.

Right now he is giving roughly $6 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the foundations his children run: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Novo Foundation. The majority of that is going to the foundation named in honor of his late wife, which may quickly become one of the world's largest such organizations. Buffett also traditionally gives additional gifts to his family foundations around Thanksgiving each year.

He has said that after his death, a new foundation will be created to distribute the rest of his shares and that his children will have to agree unanimously on where to donate them. He wants his children to be able to make those decisions before they die and his oldest daughter will be nearly 81 in eight years.

Buffett's donations may affect his successor's support

The accelerated pace of Buffett's plan to give away his fortune over the next eight years rather than doing it over the 10 years following his death will mean that his successor at Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel, won't be able to count on the support of Buffett's family as the company's biggest shareholder for as long as he thought.

Nevertheless, Buffett said he believes it's clear that Abel is the right man to lead the conglomerate he built, and “that becomes more evident by the day.”

However, Buffett did note that Berkshire's big investment in Google's parent company, which has grown in value considerably over the past year, is one he initiated and not an investment Abel picked, though Abel did agree on it. Just last month, Berkshire agreed to invest another $10 billion in Alphabet after previously tripling its stake in the company.

More people have favorable views of China than the U.S. in 25 out of the 36 countries and territories that were surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. The poll was conducted from February to May, a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.

In only six countries do people still see the U.S. more positively than China, according to the findings released Wednesday.

Views in 22 out of the 36 countries and territories also are more favorable of Chinese leader Xi Jinping than U.S. President Donald Trump, including in Canada, Mexico and major European powers including France, Germany and the U.K. However, people in many of the countries have low confidence in both men.

It marks the first time in the roughly 20 years Pew has been tracking global opinions that China has been viewed more positively than the U.S., said Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research and one of the researchers on the study. Views of Beijing and Washington have been very similar at some points in the past but have not been significantly more favorable for China until now, she said.

The shift follows the COVID-19 pandemic becoming a distant issue and as global views of the U.S. have soured, Silver said.

“There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the U.S. is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," she said.

Trump's demands to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolás Maduro, and the U.S. handling of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza also have led to low approval in many countries, Silver said.

“The U.S. has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally,” she said.

Aside from benefiting from the fading memory of the pandemic, China appears to have gained from comparison with the U.S., Silver said.

“By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It’s more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability,” the researcher said.

Notably, those in some U.S. allied countries have drastically shifted their views in recent years, such as Canada. In the new survey, only 33% of Canadians have positive views of the U.S., down from 57% in 2023. Over the same period, their favorable opinions of China rose from 14% to 44%.

Trump slapped a barrage of tariffs on Canadian goods last year, and even claimed that Canada could be the “the 51st state.”

Major European countries — including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy — all have switched their opinions toward the world's two largest economies.

People in the U.K., where about 6 in 10 held positive views of the U.S. in 2023, now view China and the U.S. similarly. Three years ago, the spread was 32 percentage points in Washington's favor.

Of the six countries where people have more favorable views of the U.S., Israel leads the way. About 8 in 10 Israelis view the U.S. positively, compared with 19% for China.

The other five countries are Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Poland. Still, even their views of the U.S. have dimmed over recent years.

The U.S. is still ahead of China when it comes to government respect for personal freedoms, though the gap is shrinking, the Pew report says.

While China's standing has improved somewhat, the narrowed divide is “driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the U.S. government respects its people’s personal freedoms” since 2021, when Pew last asked the question.

For the new study, Pew surveyed more than 42,000 people across 35 countries plus the West Bank and east Jerusalem, with margins of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points depending on the country.

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Associated Press journalists Linley Sanders, Emily Swanson and Kevin S. Vineys contributed to this report.

Este miércoles, un juez de Miami-Dade determinó que Precious Bland, de 38 años, no será internada en una institución.

El caso se remonta al verano de 2021, cuando Bland sostuvo que el COVID-19 fue el responsable de sus acciones y que el virus le provocó una psicosis temporal.

Los investigadores informaron que intentaba bautizar a su familia después de escuchar voces en su cabeza que le decían que Jesús regresaba.

Bland permaneció tranquila al salir de la sala del tribunal la mañana del miércoles, mientras su abogado se detuvo para hablar con los medios.

“Fue declarada no culpable de todos los cargos, pero aun así tiene que vivir con el hecho y las circunstancias de algo que estuvo fuera de su control, que convirtió la vida con la que soñaba en una pesadilla, y eso será para siempre”, dijo el abogado defensor Larry Handfield.

Handfield dijo que Bland, quien ya pasó varios años en prisión, está enfocada en reconstruir su vida.

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On Wednesday, a Miami-Dade judge ruled that Precious Bland, 38, will not be institutionalized.

The case dates back to the summer of 2021, when Bland maintained that Covid was to blame for her actions, that the virus caused a temporary psychosis.

Investigators said she was trying to baptize her family after hearing voices in her head telling her Jesus is coming back.

Bland was calm when she left the courtroom Wednesday morning while her attorney stopped to speak to the media.

“She was found not guilty on all counts, but she still has to live with the fact and circumstances of something that happened that was beyond her control, that changed her dream life into a nightmare, and that’s going to be forever,” said defense attorney Larry Handfield.

Bland, who already spent several years behind bars, is focused on rebuilding her life, Handfield said.

Critics have warned that the new panels replacing the ones exhibited since 2010 whitewash the history of slavery. They were installed Wednesday morning in the same area where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said Wednesday. “It was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.”

The original panels were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.

Those panels were updated after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2025 that called for federally owned or controlled historic sites to not display information to “disparage Americans past or living” and to focus on the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

A lower court forced the federal government in February to remove the new panels after they already had been installed earlier this year. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals reversed that and ruled July 3 that the work could continue.

A government website with images of the new panels showed they would still have information on enslaved people who lived in the home. It would also include details on the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution treated slavery, the end of slavery in Pennsylvania and how Washington and his successor, John Adams, viewed and treated slavery, as well as information about the 20th century Civil Rights movement.

However, the replacement panels do not include some of detail in the earlier ones, such as a map of slave trade routes and a timeline on slavery. They also avoid critical headlines such as “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

The city of Philadelphia had sued the federal government over the removal of information previously included in the panels. It argued that the federal government must consult with the city before making changes to the President’s House Site. Justice Department lawyers argued the administration alone can decide what stories are told at National Park Service properties.

Parker said the city intends to seek a rehearing “on serious legal issues” presented in the appeals court decision.

Michael Coard, an attorney and founder of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), said the Philadelphia-based history preservation group continues to work on legal strategies opposing the Trump administration’s changing of the panels.

ATAC joined the city’s lawsuit.

Trump is attempting to rewrite history, Coard told reporters Wednesday near the site.

“What if there’s a president next time who doesn’t like the Liberty Bell because the Liberty Bell was used by abolitionists to support the end of slavery?” he said. “What if there’s a president who doesn’t like the Statue of Liberty because too many immigrants come in? Do we remove the Statue of Liberty?”

The Interior Department told The Associated Press Wednesday in a statement that the new “panels are full of historical context and highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park.”

“They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity,” the statement said.

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Williams reported from Detroit.

Las autoridades informaron que ocurrió en la intersección de Northwest 42nd Avenue y Northwest 135th Street.

Funcionarios de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue informaron que recibieron la llamada como una respuesta de servicio público por reportes de la rotura de una tubería principal de agua. Confirmaron que una unidad de bomberos acudió al lugar.

Las autoridades informaron que no se reportaron personas heridas. También indicaron que la Policía de Opa-locka respondió para ayudar con el control del tráfico y el cierre de la vía.

La causa de la rotura de la tubería principal de agua y el alcance de los daños en la carretera no estuvieron disponibles de inmediato.

Esta historia será actualizada. Vea Local 10 News o actualice la página para obtener la información más reciente.

Los agentes arrestaron a Heihachiro Nakashima, de 33 años, por tres cargos de agresión lasciva y obscena luego de que se entregara voluntariamente el martes. Según la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Miami-Dade (MDSO), Nakashima trabajaba en la Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, una escuela autónoma ubicada en 22655 SW 112th Ave. en el área no incorporada de Princeton del condado.

Según la orden judicial del MDSO, la relación con la niña de 15 años escaló hasta convertirse en encuentros sexuales después de comenzar con mensajes de texto en los que Nakashima “asumió un rol paternal”, diciéndole “frecuentemente” a la víctima “que la amaba”, lo que ella interpretó como algo “platónico” y proveniente de una “figura paterna”.

Según los agentes, esos encuentros tuvieron lugar en el apartamento de Nakashima, cerca del centro comercial Dadeland Mall, y en un momento dado, Nakashima expresó su deseo de tener una relación de “noviazgo” con la adolescente.

El miércoles, la jueza Mindy Glazer del condado de Miami-Dade fijó una fianza de $15,000 USD para Nakashima ante el tribunal. Su abogado argumentó que su cliente no tenía antecedentes penales y no existía riesgo de fuga.

También estará sujeto a arresto domiciliario con GPS y Glazer le ordenó que se mantuviera alejado de la denunciante.

El canal de noticias Local 10 está trabajando para obtener más detalles sobre el caso.

Además, nos pusimos en contacto con un portavoz de la Alianza de Escuelas Chárter de Florida para solicitar comentarios en nombre de Palm Glades.

Los agentes pidieron a cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el caso que llame a Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477.

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Deputies arrested Heihachiro Nakashima, 33, on three counts of lewd and lascivious battery after he self-surrendered on Tuesday. According to MDSO, Nakashima worked at Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, a charter school located at 22655 SW 112th Ave. in the county’s unincorporated Princeton area.

According to the MDSO warrant, the relationship with the 15-year-old girl escalated to sexual encounters after starting as text messages in which Nakashima “assumed a parental role” ― “frequently” telling the victim “he loved her,” which she interpreted as being “platonic” and coming from a “father figure.”

Those encounters happened at Nakashima’s apartment near the Dadeland Mall and Nakashima, at one point, expressed a desire to have a “boyfriend-girlfriend” relationship with the teenager, deputies said.

Appearing in court on Wednesday, Miami-Dade judge Mindy Glazer set a $15,000 bond for Nakashima. His attorney had argued that his client had no prior criminal history and was not a flight risk.

He’ll also be subject to house arrest with GPS and Glazer ordered him to stay away from the accuser.

Local 10 News is working to learn additional details about the case.

Additionally, we contacted a spokesperson for the Florida Charter School Alliance seeking comment on behalf of Palm Glades.

Deputies asked anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

The shipwreck occurred on Tuesday near Bardaa Island, off the coastal city of Tobruk, according to Coast Guard authorities in eastern Libya. They said 10 survivors managed to swim to the island to save themselves. The search for others continues, the Coast Guard said.

It was the latest tragedy off Libya, one of the main departure points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach European shores for a better life there. Last month a shipwreck off eastern Libya left 51 migrants dead or missing.

Even though Libya was plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed its longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, the country has over the years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Smugglers usually pack Europe-bound migrants into small and unsafe boats, with thousands dying during the perilous sea journey.

More than 800 migrants were reported dead or missing in the central Mediterranean route between Jan. 1 and May 16 this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. Last year saw more than 1,300 migrants perish or go missing on that route, it said.

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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.

Messi and Mbappé are tied on eight goals for the tournament. Messi is also the all-time top scorer in World Cups with 21 goals.

Stopping him is the biggest challenge for England in Atlanta.

“It’s just incredible his campaign, this tournament, how he carries that team, it’s just absolutely incredible,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said of Messi. “There are no words ... left for this kind of achievement, the responsibility and the quality that he shows again in this tournament.”

At the age of 39 this could be Messi's last World Cup and he could surpass Argentina great Diego Maradona by winning the trophy for a second time after victory in Qatar in 2022. Maradona led his country to the title in 1986 and was runner-up four years later.

Argentina is aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil in 1958 and 62.

England's star players Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are also in contention for the golden boot with six goals each.

Despite France losing to Spain in the semifinals, Mbappé could still add to his goals tally if he plays in the third-place match against England or Argentina.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The all-Czech final, during which Noskova wasted five match points and a 5-2 lead in the second set before eventually winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday, averaged 1.9 million viewers. That was an increase of 48% compared to last year’s women’s final: Iga Swiatek’s 6-0, 6-0 rout of Amanda Anisimova in 57 minutes.

ESPN began its coverage of Wimbledon in 2003 and has had exclusive rights since 2012.

Jannik Sinner’s four-set victory over Alexander Zverev in the men’s final on Sunday averaged 2.4 million viewers, down 16% from 2025, when Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in four sets.

Overall, it ranked as ESPN’s second most-viewed Wimbledon, with an 18% year-over-year increase, averaging 853,000 viewers per day, the network said. This year’s numbers trailed only the 2019 edition – when Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in a memorable five-set final and Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the women’s trophy.

Also this year, William’s return to Grand Slam tennis after nearly four years away earned ESPN its biggest audience for a Day 2 at Wimbledon, with an average of 1.8 million viewers — despite being played on a Tuesday afternoon in the U.S.

Italian TV

In Italy, where Sinner has become the country’s most popular athlete, the final in which he earned his fifth Grand Slam title was watched by an average of 4.2 million viewers and earned a 33.8% share, Sky Italia said.

Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz last year had an average viewership in Italy of 5.7 million.

The finals started at 11 a.m. ET in the U.S. and 5 p.m. in Italy.

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

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Authorities said it occurred at the intersection of Northwest 42nd Avenue and 135th Street.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said the call was received as a public service response for reports of a water main break. They confirmed that one fire rescue unit responded to the scene.

Officials said there were no reported injuries. They said that by the time Opa-locka police arrived to assist with traffic and the road closure, the semi-truck driver had driven out of the hole.

The cause of the water main break and the extent of the roadway damage were not immediately available.

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Jail records show Tyquane Ramses Hankerson is facing one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

His arrest report states that the crash happened around 1:36 a.m. on June 8 as Hankerson, 19, was driving a black 2019 Tesla Model 3 northbound on Northwest 17th Avenue near loanDepot Park.

Investigators said the victim was riding an Ausom electric stand-up scooter in the same lane in front of the Tesla near Northwest 89th Street when Hankerson allegedly struck the rider from behind.

The report states the impact threw the victim onto the Tesla’s windshield, where he became “partially wedged” into the driver’s side windshield until the vehicle braked.

Deputies said the victim then slid off the front of the Tesla and came to rest in the center turn lane of Northwest 27th Avenue near Northwest 90th Street.

According to the report, Hankerson got out of the Tesla, checked on the victim and called 911 to report the crash.

Investigators said he then returned to the Tesla before fleeing the scene on foot with two unidentified occupants. The report states Hankerson later returned with family members and was detained.

No other arrests were confirmed in connection with the incident.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics responded to the scene and pronounced the victim dead at 1:47 a.m., according to the report. His or her age or identity weren’t immediately released.

After being read his Miranda rights, Hankerson initially told detectives that he had been a passenger in the Tesla and claimed the driver, identified only as “TJ,” ran from the scene, according to the report.

Investigators said surveillance video from a nearby home “clearly captured” Hankerson exiting the driver’s side of the Tesla and running toward the victim after the crash.

The report states Hankerson later gave detectives “a full confession” that was redacted from the publicly released report.

As of Wednesday morning, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed at $5,000. A judge also placed Hankerson on house arrest.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Tyquane Ramses Hankerson enfrenta un cargo de abandonar la escena de un choque con resultado de muerte.

El informe de arresto indica que el choque ocurrió alrededor de la 1:36 a.m. del 8 de junio, cuando Hankerson, de 19 años, conducía un Tesla Model 3 negro, modelo 2019, en dirección norte por Northwest 17th Avenue, cerca de loanDepot Park.

Los investigadores informaron que la víctima conducía un scooter eléctrico de pie marca Ausom por el mismo carril, delante del Tesla, cerca de Northwest 89th Street, cuando presuntamente Hankerson la impactó por detrás.

El informe señala que el impacto lanzó a la víctima contra el parabrisas del Tesla, donde quedó “parcialmente atrapada” en el lado del conductor hasta que el vehículo frenó.

Los agentes informaron que la víctima luego se deslizó por la parte delantera del Tesla y quedó en el carril central de giro de Northwest 27th Avenue, cerca de Northwest 90th Street.

Según el informe, Hankerson salió del Tesla, verificó el estado de la víctima y llamó al 911 para reportar el choque.

Los investigadores indicaron que luego regresó al Tesla antes de huir de la escena a pie junto con dos ocupantes no identificados. El informe señala que Hankerson regresó posteriormente con familiares y fue detenido.

No se confirmaron otros arrestos relacionados con el incidente.

Paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue acudieron al lugar y declararon muerta a la víctima a la 1:47 a.m., según el informe. La edad y la identidad de la víctima no fueron divulgadas de inmediato.

Después de que le leyeran sus derechos Miranda, Hankerson inicialmente dijo a los detectives que él era pasajero del Tesla y afirmó que el conductor, identificado únicamente como “TJ”, huyó de la escena, según el informe.

Los investigadores informaron que un video de vigilancia de una vivienda cercana “captó claramente” a Hankerson saliendo del lado del conductor del Tesla y corriendo hacia la víctima después del choque.

El informe señala que posteriormente Hankerson dio a los detectives “una confesión completa”, la cual fue censurada en la versión del informe divulgada al público.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “pendiente de ser fijada”.

Instead, Les Bleus had no answers in a 2-0 semifinal loss at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday in what is presumably coach Didier Deschamps' final appearance on soccer's biggest stage.

Deschamps, who has said this would be his last World Cup, won a title as a player in 1998 and again as a coach eight years ago in Russia before leading France to the final in 2022 in Qatar. Argentina won that championship in a penalty shootout.

“I’ve been lucky as a player to enjoy happy moments,” Deschamps said through a translator, while also saying it wasn't yet time to discuss his future. “Today is not such a moment. But I think we must accept it without forgetting everything that we’ve experienced so far. But today’s feeling is that I am not happy.”

The disappointment reverberated from Texas across the Atlantic Ocean. A number of clashes reportedly broke out in Paris, with incidents between law enforcement and young people also reported in Lyon.

French media lamented that their team had been unable to reproduce the exhilarating performances it had delivered while never trailing in its first six World Cup matches.

L’Équipe, France’s leading sports newspaper, noted that Deschamps’ players had been outplayed in every aspect of the game, “unable to live up to their dreams and to the hope they had inspired.”

Those players didn't disagree, although Mbappé was quick to defend his coach, and said he would play hard for Deschamps in the third-place match against the Argentina-England loser on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

“Nothing changed about what Didier means to us as a French people. As a manager, as a player, he wrote an amazing story,” said the France captain, who got a quick hug from his coach on the sideline after the final whistle. “There’s one game left for him, so we’re going to try to play the best game for him because he deserves it, and also the fans deserve to have a win and finish third in this World Cup.”

The dangerous playmaking of Mbappé, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise never showed up in what ended up being Spain's sixth clean sheet in seven World Cup appearances this year.

Mbappé's best chance came in the 67th minute when his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went just wide. La Roja already had a two-goal lead at that point.

The 27-year-old Mbappé, who entered the day level with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi for the tournament lead in goals with eight, showed some frustration with a yellow card in the 86th minute. He rushed toward Unai Simón just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Simón to the grass.

“In so many ways, France was missing everything today,” Rayan Cherki said through a translator. “We’ll be back in four years, and we won’t make the same mistakes.”

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Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Waerenskjold finished just ahead of Olav Kooij, Jasper Philipsen and a host of other riders in a sprint finish that seemed inevitable on the relatively short and flat 161.3-kilometer (100.2-mile) route from Vichy to Nevers in central France.

Pogačar, who stretched his lead to more than 3½ minutes with his third stage win of this Tour on Tuesday, finished among a bunch of riders with his main challenger Jonas Vingegaard to maintain his advantage.

For the 26-year-old Waerenskjold, it was his first stage win, and no one seemed more surprised by it than himself.

“It means everything, it’s my biggest win so far and like I said when I came here, I knew that there are two or three guys that are faster than me but if I’m lucky and I have a good sprint like today then it’s possible,” he said.

From last to first

Waerenskjold finished last among the 175 riders after a crash on the hilly stage to Le Lioran the day before. Early on Wednesday's stage, the Uno-X Mobility rider called the race doctor for treatment on his right hand.

“Sometimes I have really good confidence and I believe in myself, but there’s many, many times where I feel super tired and like it’s impossible to win here," Waerenskjold said. "So yeah, it’s crazy that it happened today.”

Fastest stage ever

With an average speed of 50.9 kph (31.6 mph), the riders set a record for a road stage on the Tour.

Mathieu van der Poel and Valentin Paret-Peintre attacked from the off and were reined in before four riders managed to get away – Julian Alaphilippe, Mathis Le Berre, Nelson Oliveira and Anthon Charmig.

They reached Moulins with 100 kilometers to go with a lead of 1 minute, 15 seconds from the peloton.

Alaphilippe fell behind when they reached the category 4 Côte de Billy-Chevannes, a 1.4-kilometer climb at 5%, leaving three leaders with a gap of 45 seconds going into the last 20 kilometers.

That gap shrank to 19 seconds with 10K remaining, the rest of the riders gathered ominously in a huge bunch just behind, and it was no surprise when the leaders were finally caught with 5.5K remaining.

The peloton slowed with the breakaways back on board as the riders positioned themselves among teammates for the looming final sprint.

Waerenskjold was quickest to react when it got going.

“I thought I was too far back and then it opened up on the right side like it usually doesn’t do, but it was a bit same feeling as my first big win in (Belgian race) Omloop het Nieuwsblad,” the Norwegian said. “That was also like I was too far back and suddenly I’m at the front, and then, yeah it’s unbelievable.”

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Yet there he was Wednesday on the range, pounding drives with his athletic 6-foot-5 frame on the final day of practice before his debut in the British Open.

A few spots to his left was Jordan Spieth, a three-time major champion and the last Open champion at Birkdale. Down a ways to his right was two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau with a stationary camera behind him. It was a lot to take in.

“It's awesome,” Plunkett said. “As cool as it gets.”

Plunkett, a 32-year-old from Atlantic Beach, Florida, was among the 20 players who made it through 36-hole qualifying in the U.K. a few weeks ago, holding steady on the last four holes at Dundonald Links to grab the final spot.

He has been all over the world, and not just his Army stops in South Korea and Afghanistan. He made it through Asian Tour Q-school last year and already this year has gone from the Philippines to Malaysia to Singapore and Morocco. He is 20th on the Order of Merit.

Plunkett getting a card anywhere — the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025, the Asian Tour in 2026 — came about when he least expected. All it took was one impromptu round of golf, and the COVID-19 pandemic certainly played a part.

Plunkett finished his college career at Army by helping the Black Knights to the Patriot Conference title with brother Matt a freshman on the team. That would have seemed to be the end of his golf. He was a logistics officer during his five-year Army stint, specializing primarily in convoy maneuvers, either moving personnel or cargo. His golf clubs stayed home.

But one day after he returned to Fort Carson in Colorado, he decided to play golf with his dad.

“I shot 69 and thought I was the best golfer in the world,” Plunkett said. “And I played the next day and probably shot 95. But I stuck with it. My last few months in the Army, COVID was a thing and the DOD (Department of Defense) took it seriously. We had a lot of limited personnel office hours. I had a lot more free time on my hands and played a lot of golf.”

A career as an Army officer was on his mind until he fell back in love with golf.

“It was either time to re-up or go a different way,” Plunkett said. “I was enjoying golf so much that I decided I wanted to give it a go.”

And so he went. Plunkett qualified for a Korn Ferry Tour event each of the next two years after getting out of the Army in 2021, and at the end of 2024, he did well enough in Q-school to earn a Korn Ferry Tour card that guaranteed him eight tournaments. He didn't come close to keeping his card, and then tried his hand in Asia. The next step might be European tour Q-school.

It's a big world in golf, and Plunkett realized it can also be a small world.

He played a practice round Tuesday with Sahith Theegala, who has played on a Presidents Cup team and reached as high as No. 11 in the world ranking.

They were making small talk when Theegala realized one his high school teammates in California, Dean Sakata, also went to West Point and played with Plunkett.

“I didn't realize that until I asked him on the second hole,” Theegala said. “Dean was a super nice guy. Everyone loved him. And they were pretty close at West Point, so that shows me a lot about Marcus' character.”

It was a good day for Plunkett, who could see how a player of Theegala's pedigree approached a practice round at a major. And there was no small appreciation from Theegala.

Military veterans in golf are not new. Billy Hurley, a Naval Academy graduate, spent a decade on the PGA Tour and won once. Kyle Westmoreland became the first Air Force Academy graduate to make the cut in the U.S. Open in 2021. He currently is on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Plunkett would love to be next in line.

“He's been all over,” Theegala said. “It just awesome that he was serving our country and making such a big sacrifice for everyone and is still able to do what he loves. It shows a lot that you have one life to live, and now he's out here grinding. Hopefully, this will be a good week.”

It will be a long day, for sure. Plunkett is in the penultimate group, meaning his first tee shot in his first major will be about 4:10 p.m. local time. But he's at the British Open, a victory in itself at his stage of his second career. Also in the field is Austen Truslow, another American on the Asian Tour.

Asked what he wanted out of the week, Plunkett kept it simple: "Probably giving my mom and dad a hug when I walk off 18 every day.”

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

Amazon, which was founded by Jeff Bezos, said that it would partner with South African internet provider Herotel to launch a new service in the country of 62 million people. Amazon said that it was its first satellite internet agreement on the African continent.

No financial details were initially disclosed.

Amazon's announcement follows Musk's bitter criticism of the government in his country of birth. The world's richest man has said that South African regulations have prevented him from launching Starlink there because he's white, and has accused the government of racism.

He was referring to South Africa's affirmative action policies, which require foreign companies operating in the communications sector to give a minority share of their local entities to Black or other non-white owners in order to acquire a license.

The regulations are meant to provide opportunities that were denied non-white people under the country's previous apartheid system of white minority rule.

The South African government has backed the Amazon deal, with Communications Minister Solly Malatsi joining Amazon and Herotel representatives to announce the agreement.

Amazon launched its first low orbit internet satellites last year and says it has more than 390 currently operational.

Starlink's first operational satellites were launched in 2019 and it now has more than 10,000 in orbit. Starlink's satellite internet has launched in around two dozen other African countries, but Musk has refused to follow South Africa's affirmative action regulations.

Amazon said Wednesday that the South African deal was the start of its effort to roll out across Africa, where it would also partner with Vanu Inc., a Lexington, Massachusetts-based company specializing in mobile internet in developing countries.

There's a large potential market for satellite internet in Africa, a continent of more than 1.5 billion people where many live in rural and other areas without fixed internet connections.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored statuettes of Mozart, which are barely 50 centimeters (less than 20 inches) tall. They were designed by German concept artist Ottmar Hörl.

Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in the Austrian city, where the Mozarteum Foundation offers concerts, maintains Mozart museums and supports research on him.

“I didn’t want to do a monument of Mozart. There are already enough of these. But I wanted to show his human side, that he was a normal human being despite his genius,” Hörl told The Associated Press.

To give the statues a human touch, Hörl depicted the composer with his favorite dog, Pimperl. Mozart and his family were known to take long walks with their dogs in the Mirabell Garden, next to where they lived.

The mini-Mozarts populate not only the garden, but also Mozart’s former living quarters as well as several pavilions. In all, 400 statues were made, but only 300 are on display at present. The rest are being kept in reserve in case of theft.

"Two already got stolen within the last few hours,” Linus Klumpner of the Mozarteum Foundation said. But the statues are meant to attract a broader range of visitors and get them hooked on Mozart’s Music.

“You come here, maybe you see the small golden heads shimmering in the sun on the horizon. And people become curious," Klumpner said. "And then a process begins which is very much in our interest. That is to bring new people in contact with Mozart."

For Hörl, the theft of his artworks in nothing new. At an installation in Bayreuth, Germany, a complete array of statues of Richard Wagner was stolen within 10 days.

“That’s just the nature of public space. That means when you work as an artist in a public space you mustn’t complain about what is happening there," Hörl said. "It ranges from destruction to theft. That’s just how it is.”

The Mozart statues are scheduled to remain on display until Aug. 30. People who would like to own one but would prefer not to steal it can purchase one for 100 euros ($114) – while supplies last.

Hörl is known for his sculptures made from polymer. In 2010 he displayed 10,000 plastic owls in Athens. A “Homage to Dürer” showcased oversized plastic copies of Albrecht Dürer’s hare at the Daegu art museum in South Korea.

In 2009, German prosecutors decided against investigating Hörl over a series of golden garden gnomes doing the Hitler salute, under a law that forbids using insignia forbidden by the German constitution. Hörl himself intended the gnomes as satire against the Nazis' ideology.

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“It’s really a race against time to identify what’s causing the outbreak so that it can be pulled from the shelves,” said Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an infectious disease epidemiologist.

Michigan’s chief medical executive said early findings have identified lettuce as a common food reported by patients during the investigation.

Officials cautioned that no specific type of lettuce, grower or supplier has been identified, and other foods have not been ruled out.

“There are thousands of people who need to be interviewed and to look back in their history and see what they have eaten that could be responsible,” Rivers said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 34 states have reported cases of Cyclospora.

More than 1,600 cases have been confirmed since May 1, when infections typically begin to increase seasonally, while another 5,100 cases remain under further analysis.

Health officials say the parasite can be difficult to trace because symptoms may not appear for up to two weeks after exposure, making it harder for patients to remember what they ate.

They say at least 44 people have been hospitalized in Michigan and at least 46 in Ohio.

“The longer that contaminated products are being sold, being served in restaurants, available to consumers, the more people who will become infected,” Rivers said.

Health officials also said Cyclospora does not usually spread from person to person.

Federal and state officials are also investigating a potential link between the recent cyclosporiasis outbreaks and Taco Bell, according to The Washington Post.

The newspaper reported that two sources familiar with the investigation said authorities are trying to determine whether the fast-food chain is connected to the parasitic foodborne illness, which has infected thousands of people and can cause explosive diarrhea.

Some Taco Bell restaurants have stopped serving certain ingredients since the outbreaks were reported.

Most of the reported cases have been in Michigan, though illnesses have also been identified in New York, Ohio, Colorado and Texas. Officials say the source of the outbreak has not been confirmed.

“Realmente es una carrera contra el tiempo identificar qué está causando el brote para poder retirar el producto de los estantes”, dijo la Dra. Caitlin Rivers, epidemióloga especializada en enfermedades infecciosas.

El principal funcionario médico de Michigan informó que los hallazgos preliminares identificaron la lechuga como un alimento consumido en común por los pacientes durante la investigación.

Las autoridades advirtieron que no se ha identificado un tipo específico de lechuga, productor o proveedor, y que otros alimentos no han sido descartados.

“Hay miles de personas a las que se debe entrevistar y revisar su historial para determinar qué comieron y qué podría ser responsable”, dijo Rivers.

Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) informaron que 34 estados han reportado casos de Cyclospora.

Se han confirmado más de 1,600 casos desde el 1 de mayo, cuando las infecciones suelen comenzar a aumentar por la temporada, mientras que otros 5,100 casos permanecen bajo análisis.

Las autoridades de salud señalaron que el parásito puede ser difícil de rastrear porque los síntomas pueden tardar hasta dos semanas en aparecer después de la exposición, lo que dificulta que los pacientes recuerden qué comieron.

También indicaron que al menos 44 personas han sido hospitalizadas en Michigan y al menos 46 en Ohio.

“Cuanto más tiempo se sigan vendiendo productos contaminados, sirviéndose en restaurantes y estando disponibles para los consumidores, más personas se infectarán”, dijo Rivers.

Las autoridades de salud también señalaron que Cyclospora generalmente no se transmite de persona a persona.

Funcionarios federales y estatales también investigan un posible vínculo entre los recientes brotes de ciclosporiasis y Taco Bell, según informó The Washington Post.

El periódico reportó que dos fuentes familiarizadas con la investigación dijeron que las autoridades intentan determinar si la cadena de comida rápida está relacionada con la enfermedad parasitaria transmitida por alimentos, que ha infectado a miles de personas y puede provocar diarrea intensa.

Algunos restaurantes Taco Bell han dejado de servir ciertos ingredientes desde que se reportaron los brotes.

La mayoría de los casos reportados se han registrado en Michigan, aunque también se han identificado enfermedades en Nueva York, Ohio, Colorado y Texas. Las autoridades afirmaron que el origen del brote aún no ha sido confirmado.

Es la primera zona que se debe vigilar en el mapa de la cuenca del Atlántico del Centro Nacional de Huracanes en más de dos semanas.

Como ya hemos detallado en boletines anteriores, la zona que estamos siguiendo es una franja alargada de baja presión que se espera que se forme este fin de semana en el codo de la Gran Curva de Florida, sobre el noreste del Golfo de México.

A diferencia de la mayoría de los sistemas tropicales, cuyas circulaciones se forman primero en la superficie, esta perturbación tendrá inicialmente un giro concentrado a mayor altitud en la atmósfera (a unos 20.000 pies) a partir de un giro de nivel medio que girará en espiral hacia el este del Golfo desde el Estrecho de Florida a partir del sábado.

Esta configuración menos convencional implica que el sistema necesitará tiempo para pasar de una baja presión inicialmente no tropical a una zona superficial definida de baja presión.

Los modelos de pronóstico discrepan sobre si finalmente ocurrirá, y el NHC ha abierto con una baja probabilidad del 20% de que se produzca en los próximos 7 días, en consonancia con lo que las previsiones de los modelos han estado anunciando esta semana.

Obstáculos en el camino

Como ya comentamos en el boletín del martes, la próxima semana la atmósfera no presentará las condiciones propicias para una organización tropical rápida o significativa.

El principal obstáculo será la cizalladura del viento del norte, de moderada a fuerte en ocasiones, procedente de una baja presión en niveles superiores que se debilitará y que se centrará sobre la península de Florida a finales de este fin de semana.

La ventana de desarrollo comenzará a abrirse el domingo y permanecerá prácticamente abierta hasta el próximo martes. Los modelos discrepan la próxima semana sobre si el sistema se desplazará por el noreste de Florida y a lo largo de las costas del sureste de Georgia y las Carolinas, o si retrocederá hacia el oeste, hacia la costa central del Golfo de México.

Es la trayectoria hacia el oeste sobre el norte del Golfo la que lo dejaría sobre aguas con temperaturas récord o casi récord, y el escenario que plantearía el espectro de un desarrollo puramente tropical.

Un sistema que se desplace hacia el noreste y a lo largo de la costa este de Estados Unidos tendería a organizarse de forma híbrida, si es que lo hace, favorecido por los vientos de la corriente en chorro la próxima semana.

En ambos casos, una cizalladura del viento moderada y episodios de aire continental seco deberían frenar la organización atmosférica.

Por ahora, los modelos siguen anunciando bajas probabilidades de desarrollo, pero vale la pena revisar las tendencias esta semana, principalmente debido a los escenarios externos que se desplazan hacia el oeste y que lo mantienen sobre el norte del Golfo hasta mediados de la próxima semana.

Señal de fuertes lluvias la próxima semana, independientemente de las circunstancias.

En cualquier caso, el resultado es la posibilidad de fuertes lluvias, que comenzarán la próxima semana a lo largo del noreste del Golfo y la costa oeste de Florida.

Todavía es pronto para determinar cualquier riesgo potencial de inundación, pero las lluvias intensas podrían ser beneficiosas para las zonas de Florida afectadas por la sequía si se distribuyen a lo largo de varios días.

Quienes residan en la costa norte del Golfo de México deberán consultar la información en los próximos días, ya que iremos ajustando el pronóstico para tener una mejor idea de dónde podrían caer las mayores cantidades de lluvia la próxima semana.

El Ministerio Público solicitó la pena máxima para todos los acusados y una reparación civil de nueve millones de dólares.

De acuerdo con la acusación fiscal, los pandilleros son señalados de 444 homicidios agravados, extorsión agravada, trata de personas, tráfico ilícito de drogas, tráfico de armas, rebelión y agrupaciones ilícitas, entre otros delitos, cometidos entre 2012 y 2022.

Además, sostiene que en su actividad criminal la MS-13 usó aproximadamente a 1.200 menores, explotó a 638 mujeres y llegó a conformar 32 grupos, dos de ellos con operaciones en el extranjero.

Durante las audiencias el Ministerio Público reprodujo audios de llamadas atribuidas a los principales líderes de la pandilla en las que presuntamente daban instrucciones para cometer homicidios y otros delitos, entre otras pruebas.

Los acusados participaron en el juicio de forma virtual frente a grandes pantallas desde uno de los pabellones del Centro de Confinamiento Contra el Terrorismo (CECOT), la megacárcel construida por el gobierno del presidente Nayib Bukele para recluir a los peligros pandilleros por que más de tres décadas aterrorizaron a los salvadoreños.

Este tipo de procesos colectivos fue posible luego de una reforma del Código Penal aprobada en julio de 2023 que estableció que los detenidos bajo el régimen de excepción, que suspende derechos fundamentales, sean agrupados según sus grupos o territorios.

Desde que entró en vigor el régimen de excepción en marzo de 2022 las autoridades dicen haber capturado más de 92.480 personas acusadas de pertenecer a las pandillas o tener vínculos con esos grupos criminales. Bukele ha dicho que 8.000 personas que eran inocentes han sido liberadas. Organizaciones de derechos humanos, en tanto, aseguran que han registrado más de 6.000 denuncias de violaciones a los derechos humanos y detenciones arbitrarias bajo ese régimen y documentado la muerte de al menos 547 personas que estaban bajo custodia del Estado.

Este es el segundo juicio masivo a integrantes de estos grupos. En noviembre del año pasado fueron condenados 45 miembros de la pandilla Barrio 18 por varios delitos, entre ellos extorsión y homicidio, y se impuso una condena de 397 años de prisión a uno de los cabecillas.

Entre los cabecillas de la MS-13 que están siendo procesados están Dionisio Arístides Umanzor Osorio, alias “El Sirra de Teclas; Borromeo Henríquez Solorzano, alias “Diablito de Hollywood”; Carlos Tiberio Ramírez Valladares, alias “Snayder”, y César Antonio López Larios, alias “Greñas”.

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The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation temporarily closed CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar, located at 701 S. Miami Ave., Suite 401A, on July 14 after inspectors documented 30 violations, including eight high priority violations.

Among the most serious findings, inspectors reported seeing one live rodent on a glue trap inside a cabinet in the upstairs bar. They also found more than 100 dead flies on the floor near an old bar area by the kitchen and two live flies in storage areas.

Inspectors also discovered the upstairs bar dish machine was not sanitizing dishes because it registered zero parts per million of chlorine sanitizer. The report ordered the restaurant to discontinue using the machine for sanitizing until it is repaired and to manually sanitize dishes instead.

Other violations included raw shell eggs stored over cooked peppers, chemicals stored above drinking straws, food stored on the floor, standing water on the cook line, torn refrigerator door gaskets, damaged ceiling tiles, missing floor tiles, exposed insulation inside a cooler, carbon dioxide tanks that were not secured, and expired food safety training certificates for multiple employees.

The closure marks the second time the restaurant has been ordered to stop operations this year.

On May 13, state inspectors also temporarily closed CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar after finding a dead rodent on a trap near the bar area.

That inspection also cited an employee who failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to handle food, a handwashing sink with no soap, a soiled can opener blade, dirty walk-in cooler shelves, standing water in a hand sink and a slow draining sink.

Local 10 News visited the restaurant following the May closure, but management declined to comment.

Restaurants ordered closed by the state are allowed to reopen after correcting the violations and passing a follow-up inspection.

El Departamento de Regulación Comercial y Profesional de Florida ordenó el cierre temporal de CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar, ubicado en el 701 de South Miami Avenue, Suite 401A, el 14 de julio, luego de que los inspectores documentaran 30 infracciones, incluidas ocho de alta prioridad.

Entre los hallazgos más graves, los inspectores informaron haber encontrado un roedor vivo en una trampa adhesiva dentro de un gabinete en el bar del segundo piso. También encontraron más de 100 moscas muertas en el piso cerca de un área antigua del bar junto a la cocina y dos moscas vivas en áreas de almacenamiento.

Los inspectores también descubrieron que la máquina lavavajillas del bar del segundo piso no estaba desinfectando los platos porque registró cero partes por millón de desinfectante de cloro. El informe ordenó al restaurante dejar de usar la máquina para desinfectar hasta que sea reparada y desinfectar los platos manualmente mientras tanto.

Otras infracciones incluyeron huevos crudos con cáscara almacenados sobre pimientos cocidos, productos químicos almacenados sobre pajillas para bebidas, alimentos almacenados en el piso, agua estancada en la línea de cocina, empaques de puertas de refrigeradores rotos, paneles del techo dañados, baldosas del piso faltantes, aislamiento expuesto dentro de un refrigerador, tanques de dióxido de carbono sin asegurar y certificados de capacitación en seguridad alimentaria vencidos para varios empleados.

El cierre marca la segunda ocasión en que el restaurante ha sido obligado a suspender operaciones este año.

El 13 de mayo, inspectores estatales también ordenaron el cierre temporal de CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar tras encontrar un roedor muerto en una trampa cerca del área del bar.

Esa inspección también señaló a un empleado que no se lavó las manos antes de ponerse guantes para manipular alimentos, un lavamanos sin jabón, la cuchilla de un abrelatas sucia, estantes sucios en un refrigerador tipo walk-in, agua estancada en un lavamanos y un fregadero con drenaje lento.

Local 10 News visitó el restaurante tras el cierre de mayo, pero la gerencia declinó hacer comentarios.

Los restaurantes ordenados a cerrar por el estado pueden reabrir una vez que corrijan las infracciones y aprueben una inspección de seguimiento.

England coach Thomas Tuchel called in Morgan Rogers in place of Noni Madueke on the right wing and also handed starts to Reece James and Djed Spence in defense.

Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly were benched.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made just one change, picking Gio Simeone in midfield ahead of Rodrigo De Paul.

The lineups

England: Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Djed Spence; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham; Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane.

Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Gio Simeone, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.

A fierce rivalry

The game sees England and Argentina resume one of the fiercest rivalries in international soccer.

The two teams meet in Atlanta and the winner will play Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.

“I mean the two shirts are just iconic and the historic matches are iconic,” Tuchel said.

The World Cup rivalry between the nations dates back to 1962, but it was England's 1-0 win in the quarterfinals four years later that saw it intensify. Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered match. England went on to win the World Cup for the first, and still the only time, in its history.

Twenty years on in Mexico, Diego Maradona scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal that helped Argentina to a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals on the way to becoming world champion for a second time.

That game also saw Maradona score what many believe to be the greatest World Cup goal ever when he dribbled the ball from the halfway line before beating England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

“That will be forever in our hearts. It was just such a beautiful goal,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “Anybody who loves football will remember that in the best way possible.”

England felt aggrieved again in 1998 when David Beckham was sent off for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone before losing the round-of-16 game on penalties.

Beckham got his revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated at the group stage.

Given the heated rivalry, Tuchel has tried to manage the emotions of his players ahead of the semifinal.

“If a fixture provides so many iconic moments you cannot just say it’s just another football match, but as a coach we do exactly that,” he said. “We don’t speak about the historic events. We don’t speak about the iconic moments.”

Route to the semifinals

Neither team has had a smooth ride to the semifinals.

Argentina survived scares against Cape Verde and Egypt earlier in the knockout rounds and needed extra time to beat 10-man Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

England had to rally for wins against Congo and Norway after going a goal down. It also endured a physically exhausting game played at altitude, and being down to 10 men, to beat co-host Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16.

Messi vs. Kane and Bellingham

The seemingly ageless Lionel Messi has been Argentina's talisman once again, scoring eight goals and also providing crucial assists.

England has relied on its big hitters in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Both have six goals so far, with Bellingham scoring twice in each of England's last two games.

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

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Miami, which had been the ACC's most dominant team during the regular season, wound up being selected for the playoff and went on to reach the national title game, where it fell short to No. 1 Indiana 27-21.

Duke beat No. 20 Virginia in the ACC championship game last year for its first outright ACC title since 1962 but was not selected for the CFP, much to the dismay of Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz.

The new football championship tiebreaker policy will take effect beginning with the 2026 season, reflecting the league’s transition to a nine-game conference schedule and ensuring a fair and equitable process for determining participants in the ACC championship game, the league said.

The updated tiebreaking procedure is built on three guiding principles:

— Head-to-head results always will matter most.

— No team will be overly rewarded or penalized based on the number of conference games it played.

— When head-to-head competition cannot separate tied teams, the team with the strongest overall body of work will earn the opportunity to compete for the ACC championship and the conference’s automatic qualifier to the College Football Playoff.

“Our game will feature the two most deserving teams,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said at ACC Kickoff on Wednesday in Charlotte.

Phillips said the third tier of that tiebreaker will be based on a SportSource Analytics metric used by the CFP.

The updated policy was developed to reward head-to-head results and account for the league’s teams playing an alternate number of conference games while also identifying the two most deserving teams to compete for the ACC championship and the conference’s automatic berth into the CFP.

The conference said the evaluation included more than 10,000 simulated season outcomes to ensure the model fairly addressed a wide range of championship scenarios.

The revised policy was approved following a comprehensive review by the ACC’s athletics directors.

In December, the ACC announced that 12 of its 17 football-playing members would be playing a nine-game football schedule beginning in 2026 while five teams would play eight games. That made the head-to-head tiebreakers even more complicated than in the past.

The policy will operate as a bridge to accommodate conference games already on the books, with the plan to have 16 of 17 teams playing nine football games regularly by 2027.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

For the Florida Panthers, they’ll kick off their home schedule on Oct. 10 when they host the Minnesota Wild at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.

Thanks to the NHL expanding its regular season schedule to 84 games, the league is starting the season a little earlier than usual.

With that being the case, the Panthers are going to be quite busy ahead of their home opener.

First, Florida will be in Raleigh on Sept. 29 for the Carolina Hurricanes home opener, when they will raise their 2026 Stanley Cup Championship banner to the rafters at Lenovo Center.

Puck drop for that matchup is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN as part of their season-opening tripleheader.

The Panthers will then head across the country for not one, not two but three home openers in California.

The fun starts on Oct. 1 when Florida faces the San Jose Sharks, then three nights later on Oct. 4 the Cats will help the Anaheim Ducks open their home schedule.

Two nights later, the Panthers will make the short trip to Los Angeles for the Kings’ home opener on Oct. 6.

After playing four road games and traveling thousands of miles during the first week of the season, it would make sense that Florida would not play again until their home opener.

We wont know for sure until the full schedule is released by the NHL, which is expected to happen on Thursday.

“Hallowed turf,” is how a young, wide-eyed Fleetwood viewed the course in this golf-crazed corner of northwest England that, every few years, would welcome the world’s best players for the British Open.

His dream of making it there himself one day and lifting the claret jug — a scenario which, who knows, might just happen on the 18th green at Birkdale on Sunday evening — began a 10-minute drive down the road in more humble environs.

Southport Municipal, a club that proudly labels itself as England’s oldest municipal links course, staged a junior program on Monday nights and it was there where Fleetwood’s golfing journey launched around the age of 6.

And it’s why Will Burke, a 40-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, pitched up there on Wednesday with his father, Randy. They paid 19 pounds ($25) each to play 18 holes under a gorgeous blue sky.

“We’re here for the golf this week,” Will said, “and we met with some locals who were really complimentary about the place and said it’s right down the street from where we’re staying.

“When you hear the story about Tommy Fleetwood’s origins and how he got started in the Southport area, that’s the cherry on top.”

Nothing inside this muni’s modest club shop, or indeed anywhere at the course, points to Fleetwood being its most famous son. Strangely, there's not a mention of him anywhere.

Look further afield around these parts, though, and it’s clear this popular golfer with distinctive flowing locks and a forever-friendly manner is a hometown hero.

Fleetwood sees huge support as ‘really positive fuel’

There’s a mural of Fleetwood — pumping his fists and wearing his blue Team Europe Ryder Cup uniform — on the wall of Southport & Birkdale Sports Club.

There’s the Tommy Fleetwood Academy at nearby Formby Hall golf club, where he first became a member and won his only club championship as a kid. Youngsters from the academy have lined up for autographs from Fleetwood next to the practice putting green this week.

There's been no bigger buzz during the practice days than when the 35-year-old Fleetwood has been on the course.

“It’s very rare to have an opportunity to play a tournament, let alone the Open, in the town where you grew up in front of fans that were all there to support you,” Fleetwood said.

“To see people emotionally invested in you … I think it’s very special. It definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by me.”

The natural question is, will it heap too much pressure on him?

Fleetwood sees it as “really, really positive fuel.”

“If I just go back to the original me being an 8-year-old kid, the thought of playing in an Open at Birkdale was unbelievably special,” he said. “So if you’re not going to enjoy it, then you’ve kind of let yourself down.”

Fleetwood has already had experience of playing in the Open at Royal Birkdale, in 2017 when he shot a first-round 76 to essentially drop him out of contention. He described a bounce-back 69 to make the cut as “one of the best rounds I ever played” and finished tied for 27th.

Fleetwood was tied for the first-round lead at the 2023 British Open staged nearby at Royal Liverpool, where he also was billed as the home favorite. He faded to a tie for 10th, nine shots back from champion Brian Harman.

Rory knows the feeling

Rory McIlroy knows what Fleetwood is going through. McIlroy was the guy most in the crowd were rooting for when the Open Championship made an emotional return to Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland in 2019 — after an absence of 68 years — and again last year.

McIlroy missed the cut the first time after a nightmarish first-round 79 but said he handled things better the second time, when he tied for seventh.

“You feel like you’re trying to play well for everyone else and not for yourself,” McIlroy said. “I think there’s already enough pressure on anyone in this field to play well for themselves, so to add that extra layer on top of that is always pretty difficult.

“But,” he added, “I feel like Tommy’s more level-headed than I am and won’t fall into that trap like I did in 2019.”

Away from the lofty expectations of the locals in this seaside town, Fleetwood comes back home under pressure to end his wait for a first major title.

Winning the Tour Championship last August was celebrated beyond English shores because it was his first PGA Tour title and he'd come so close so many times, handling each near-miss with dignity and grace.

Now it's time for Fleetwood to capture that elusive major and there'd be no more popular winner on Sunday, especially to the people of Southport, who keep welcoming back with open arms.

“Everybody loves him, everybody respects him, whether they've met him or not. We own a little bit of him,” said Patrick Hodgson, a 71-year-old member at Southport Municipal who has followed Fleetwood's rise from talented local kid to one of the world's best players.

“If he wins, it would be celebrated here for days and months and years.”

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

The 47-page outline, called a budget resolution, is a long-shot undertaking designed to supplement Pentagon funding for the Iran war and address Trump’s top priority of changing voter registration requirements. A more ambitious effort was narrowed to address concerns of conservatives about adding to the deficit. The resolution does not seek any offsets to pay for the new spending.

House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed ahead after meeting with Trump at the White House this week in what will be the Republicans’ calling card to voters this fall heading into the midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake.

“Safeguarding American elections and strengthening our national defense are the most basic responsibilities of Congress,” Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson welcomed the chance to again use a legislative process that will allow Republicans to overpower Democratic objections and eventually approve legislation on a party-line majority vote, saying the Democrats won’t be able to block the GOP priorities “any longer.”

Democrats, however, have argued against the sharply partisan path, particularly for matters of war funding.

The Budget Committee is expected to consider the outline Thursday, ahead of floor action in the House next week.

Billions of dollars for the Iran war

The bulk of the $95 billion would go for the U.S.-led war against Iran, reflecting the White House's request for supplemental spending to rebuild stockpiles and fund classified programs, among other expenses related to Operation Epic Fury.

The resolution calls for the House Armed Services Committee to craft legislation that will not increase deficits through 2036 by more than $60 billion; the Select Committee on Intelligence, $13 billion; the Agriculture Committee, $12 billion; and the House Administration Committee, $10 billion.

The latter funding would be focused on enacting aspects of an election law overhaul that requires those registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship and is a top Trump priority.

Overall, the plan is on par with a request the White House submitted to Congress last month, as the Iran war drags past four months. But it falls far short of the $350 billion increase the White House proposed in its budget request this year to beef up the Defense Department.

Approving extra war funding will be difficult, even among Republicans supporting the Iran effort, as the nation confronts staggering annual deficits reaching nearly $2 trillion this year.

Trump pushes Congress for voting law changes

Both the House and the Senate would have to pass the same budget resolution to launch the crafting of the party-line bill, which is politically difficult in the Congress where Republicans hold only narrow majority control.

Along with the war funds, the package Republicans are pursuing would include $10 billion for the GOP's effort to impose strict citizenship requirements in line with provisions of the SAVE America Act, which has been a top Trump priority.

Trump has insisted that Republicans approve the elections overhaul bill, which has passed the House but does not have the votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. So Republicans are looking to get parts of it through the arduous reconciliation process that allows both chambers to pass a bill with a simple majority.

It's unclear how the budget package would impose or fund voting law changes and if any alterations could be made before the midterm elections, with many state elections processes already underway.

Overall, passage of the package would be a lengthy process, with much of the action taking place after lawmakers return from their August recess and during the heart of election season. House Republicans hope to kick off the effort before they leave town at the end of this month.

Democrats mount opposition to the GOP package

The additional aid for farmers dealing with higher gas and fertilizer prices and retaliatory tariffs has become an election year priority for many lawmakers with large rural constituencies.

But even the addition of that type of farm aid is not likely to be an incentive for Democrats to lend support for what is essentially a Republican-only bill. Democrats are expected to overwhelmingly oppose whatever final product emerges and force Republicans to take votes on scores of difficult amendments.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, the lead Democratic lawmaker on the House Budget Committee, said the GOP’s budget plan would lead to tens of billions of dollars in additional debt to fund what he called the most unpopular war in American history.

“I’m going to fight like hell to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used to lower costs and make life better for American families, not to bankroll Trump’s giveaways to billionaires and endless wars overseas,” Boyle said.

Johnson, of Louisiana, applauded Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and others on the panel for moving swiftly to advance the resolution and unlock what would be Republicans' third reconciliation bill this Congress.

Trump's big tax breaks bill last year and the Homeland Security funding bill this year both passed largely along party lines.

Arrington said several factors contributed to the decision not to offset some of the new spending Republicans will seek. First, the Trump administration’s call for more defense spending was winnowed to just meeting replenishment needs during a time of war. Second, he was concerned that some of the savings generated in last year’s party line bill could be relitigated and stripped out if the Senate Finance Committee had been instructed to find offsets.

Republicans could have tried to work with Democrats to pass more defense spending through the regular appropriations process or through an emergency supplemental spending bill, but that would require bipartisan support to get through the Senate. And Democrats likely would have sought commensurate spending increases for non-defense priorities.

“There’s no doubt that Democrats would exact a big price,” Arrington said. “… We avoided that, so I would say in this moment, with this scenario, that’s a win.”

The man was held on Tuesday on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a member of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police said. He was held overnight and later released on bail.

“I am going to shoot you in the head if you win,” the man allegedly told Farage in a post on X in May, according to the Telegraph newspaper.

The July 8 killing of Widdecombe at her rural home in southwest England shocked the political establishment and the public. The 78-year-old, who was Reform’s immigration and justice spokesperson, was long known for her blunt-spoken socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

Farage said her death showed that “things have become even more dangerous” for people in public life and his party has called for better protection. Other Reform politicians have suggested their party members are at greater risk than other politicians.

Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a tribute to Widdecombe in the House of Commons, said it was “chilling” that three sitting or former MPs had been murdered during his 11 years in Parliament.

“We must do more to defend our democracy” Starmer said.

Security has been tightened in the past decade after Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was fatally shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed to death in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

The alleged threat to Farage came during local and regional elections in May that saw his relatively new anti-immigration party win big and raise its hopes he could become prime minister after the next election, due in 2029. The poll results were so poor for the ruling Labour Party that its members forced Starmer to resign.

Police said the threat was reported May 8, but the arrest only came after they received information they requested from the social media company about the user’s identity.

Farage has recently been embroiled in a scandal over a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) donation he received from an overseas cryptocurrency billionaire that he said helped pay for his private security.

The Reform leader resigned his seat in Parliament this month but is seeking reelection to show he still has voters’ support. Opponents have criticized the move as a ploy to dodge a parliamentary probe.

The investigation into Widdecombe's death is being handled by counterterror police. A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and terror crimes. He remains in custody but was not named because he has not been charged.

Devon and Cornwall Police have been criticized for originally saying the killing was not believed to be a terror-related crime and there was nothing to suggest it was politically motivated.

Widdecombe served in Parliament from 1987 to 2010, and was prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.

She later found fame as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”

She joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. She had recently joined Reform.

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional informó que un tornado tocó tierra en la parte noroeste de San Antonio, cerca de la Interestatal 10. Videos publicados en redes sociales mostraban lo que parecía ser un pequeño tornado. No hubo reportes de heridos.

Mientras tanto, se emitieron advertencias de inundaciones repentinas potencialmente peligrosas en algunas zonas, y el diluvio estaba previsto a continuar hasta la noche del jueves. El servicio meteorológico indicó que podrían caer entre 25 a 50 centímetros (10 y 20 pulgadas) de lluvia en algunas áreas para cuando las tormentas se alejen.

No se han reportado muertes ni lesiones por las inundaciones.

Se emitieron advertencias de inundaciones repentinas la mañana del miércoles para varios condados cerca de la frontera con México, incluidas partes del condado Kerr, donde inundaciones catastróficas a lo largo del río Guadalupe el año pasado causaron la muerte de más de 100 personas. Funcionarios del condado Kerr señalaron que han estado en contacto con campamentos de verano y centros de retiro donde podría ocurrir una crecida del río.

Los mayores acumulados de lluvia hasta ahora se han registrado en el condado Uvalde — hasta 40 centímetros (16 pulgadas) en algunas zonas—, informó el servicio meteorológico.

“Esto se considera un patrón típico de clima tropical de mediados de verano que ocurre en Texas", explicó Monte Oaks, meteorólogo del servicio meteorológico. "Aproximadamente una vez cada cinco años, nos golpea este tipo de lluvia intensa que, por lo general, es producida por un centro de baja presión estancado que no se mueve muy rápido”.

Oaks indicó que la lluvia está siendo alimentada por humedad tropical, principalmente del Golfo de México y algo del Océano Pacífico.

La mayor preocupación por inundaciones era para las zonas al oeste de San Antonio y al norte de la Ruta 90, precisó.

El gobernador de Texas, Greg Abbott, emitió declaraciones de desastre para decenas de condados.

Las autoridades publicaron videos el martes en los que se veía a un equipo de rescate en una embarcación navegando por calles inundadas y a un vehículo siendo arrastrado por las aguas. Cinco personas fueron rescatadas por el Equipo de Rescate de Texas y cuatro fueron rescatadas por un guardabosques local, informó Maggie Berger, portavoz de Parques y Vida Silvestre de Texas.

El servicio meteorológico indicó que la ciudad de Uvalde ha sido la más afectada. Funcionarios allí señalaron que se habían realizado al menos dos docenas de rescates acuáticos, y que un centro local de eventos estaba abierto para cualquiera que hubiera sido desplazado por las inundaciones. En Sabinal, los funcionarios también estaban haciendo planes para un refugio.

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El corresponsal Dave Collins en Hartford, Connecticut, contribuyó con esta nota.

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

One person was pulled from the water but later died, and 16 others were rescued Tuesday afternoon after the boat took on water and capsized in what witnesses described as “rough seas,” San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said. A dog on board also died.

Search teams were using thermal imaging, tide prediction and modeling to guide their efforts, the department said Wednesday. By Tuesday evening, authorities had been searching the open ocean west of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sudden immersion in water under 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) can lead to cold water shock, a condition where people lose dexterity in minutes, which can be dangerous or deadly when trying to escape a sinking watercraft.

Some of the swells on the bay were up to 5 feet (1.5 meters), said Lt. Joseph England of the Richmond Police Department, who responded to the scene.

"The wind was coming underneath the Golden Gate and blowing toward Alcatraz,” England said Wednesday. “If you have a smaller vessel and you don’t know what you’re doing and you’re hitting those swells sideways, it can lead to disaster.”

The vessel was a 50-foot (15-meter) pleasure craft with a cabin and upper deck named Volare, registered out of Stockton, California, said Lt. Mariano Elias, a San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson.

There was no small watercraft advisory at the time, which would warn boaters about weather hazards. Conditions on the bay weren't unusual, with winds around 17 mph (27 kph), said Roger Gass, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

“There weren’t any factors at play as far as the weather goes,” Gass said Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard is leading a search and rescue effort with an 87-foot (26-meter) cutter named the Barracuda, other vessels and a fixed-wing aircraft, said Petty Officer Kenneth Wiese.

Wiese said the Coast Guard has been searching nonstop since Tuesday and hadn’t yet determined how long crews will keep looking before switching to a recovery effort.

“We want to consider every single option,” he said.

England said no one was aboard by the time his department’s marine unit reached the vessel. The crew found the boat nearly submerged, with cushions, chairs and other debris floating nearby.

Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke coming from the boat, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the vessel determined it was steam.

The boat departed at or near the St. Francis Yacht Club, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice and visited Angel Island State Park in the bay before the apparent return trip, according to the ship-tracking website VesselFinder. A person who answered the phone at the yacht club on Tuesday said he had no information. Angel Island is the largest natural island in the bay, with sweeping views of the city.

The maximum-security federal prison at Alcatraz Island, which closed more than 60 years ago, was infamously inescapable due to the chilly waters and strong currents that surround "The Rock.” Designed to hold the nation’s intractable criminals, including Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, it is now a popular tourist attraction. The island is about a mile (1.6 kilometers) off San Francisco.

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Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Ed White in Detroit; and photographer Noah Berger in San Francisco contributed to this story.

Dr. Erica Schwartz told the Senate health committee she "will never betray the science” and pledged to use “radical transparency” in a bid to rebuild public trust in the agency. But several senators questioned how she might handle pressure from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly moved to alter U.S. vaccine and CDC policies. Schwartz repeatedly declined to dissent from some of those actions.

Schwartz, 54, is up for director of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats.

Her career has largely been spent in military uniform, including in a leadership position at the U.S. Coast Guard where she oversaw the organization’s system of 41 clinics and 150 sick bays — as well as policies promoting vaccinations of service members. She later served as deputy surgeon general, where she helped lead uniformed medical and health professionals posted at the CDC and government health agencies that serve the general public.

The CDC long enjoyed a sterling international reputation but has been in turmoil since Trump returned to office last year. Largely due to layoffs and resignations, the agency has lost more than 3,000 employees, or more than a quarter of its workforce. Morale has plummeted as a succession of mostly temporary leaders have come and gone — the front office filled with political appointees, many of them with little or no training in medicine or public health.

“There’s still really good people who work there (at the CDC). They are doing their best to navigate choppy waters,” said Dr. David Margolius, director of Cleveland's health department and a leader in a U.S. coalition of big city health departments. But CDC no longer seems to the authoritative and communicative lead that it was on outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

“Basically everybody’s got to kind of choose their own adventure, as opposed to being led by a national public health department,” Margolius said.

CDC has had several leaders

The agency is overseen by Kennedy, who was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before he was tapped to lead the CDC and other federal health agencies. Kennedy had promised not to change the nation’s vaccination schedule. But shortly after taking office, Kennedy said he was going to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule and went on to attempt a substantial rewrite of vaccine recommendations for kids. Some of those efforts were put on hold earlier this year by a federal judge.

The administration’s first pick to run the CDC was former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon, but his March 2025 Senate confirmation hearing was canceled an hour before it was to begin. Weldon said at the time that he’d been told not enough senators were willing to vote for him.

The White House then moved on to Susan Monarez, who had been serving as the CDC’s acting director. Monarez was confirmed by the Senate, but she was ousted in less than a month. Trump administration officials said she wasn’t aligned with their agenda so they terminated her.

Several key CDC scientific leaders resigned in protest, saying Monarez’s dismissal dashed their hopes that a CDC director would be able to guard against political meddling in the agency’s scientific research and health recommendations.

Since then, there’s been a revolving door in agency leadership, with the short-term role of acting director being passed from one Washington-based HHS official to another. National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya has been overseeing the CDC most recently.

Schwartz said she was unaware of actions that hurt the CDC

On Wednesday, some senators suggested Schwartz should follow Monarez's example, and they asked her about actions Kennedy has taken that have affected CDC.

Schwartz said she was unaware that CDC programs that worked to prevent smoking and promote vaccinations had been curtailed. She declined to commit to taking down a CDC website that suggests there’s a link between childhood vaccines and autism (she said she had not seen it), though she agreed existing medical evidence has not found a link.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, asked if she would — if Kennedy ordered her — suspend promotion of a flu vaccination campaign during a deadly flu season.

“Senator, I don’t speak in hypotheticals,” Schwartz responded.

“It isn’t hypothetical. It happened,” said Hassan, referring to internal CDC emails, released by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders last month, that documented such a directive from Kennedy to CDC staff last year.

Schwartz said she agreed that CDC should prioritize responding to infectious diseases. “I think over time, the CDC has had some mission creep, and it’s trying to be all things to all people,” she said.

But she also agreed to requests from Republican senators to — if confirmed — look into whether AI data centers cause health problems and into the possibility of establishing a World Trade Center Health Program clinical center in Florida.

Senators also heard from nominee overseeing health emergency preparedness

In April, Trump nominated Schwartz, calling her “incredibly talented.” In a congressional hearing in April, Kennedy said he approved of the choice, but refused to commit to supporting whatever vaccine guidance she might issue.

Last month, Schwartz filed letters with the government that address her finances and potential conflicts of interest. She wrote that if confirmed, she will leave her current job with UnitedHealth Group, where she's making about $850,000 in salary and bonus money and cash out her stock options. She also will resign from the board of directors of Butterfly Network Inc., a Massachusetts company that makes ultrasound devices; from the board of Atlanta-based Aveanna Healthcare, a medical home care provider; and from the board of the Florida-based Searching for Solutions Institute.

At Wednesday's hearing, senators also considered the nomination of Sean Kaufman as the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR. That job entails overseeing preparations and response to public health emergencies and disasters.

Last year, the Trump administration announced a plan to bring those responsibilities under CDC, but the dramatic HHS restructuring has not happened.

The assistant secretary's office is involved in decisions about funding next-generation vaccines against pandemic flu or other infectious disease threats. In postings on LinkedIn, Kaufman has made comments cheered by vaccine skeptics, arguing against hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns and saying he served as an expert witness to advocate for people who refused the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Wednesday, Kaufman faced questions about past social media posts, including one in which he expressed hatred for the CDC. He also repeatedly was asked about his support of a Trump administration decision last year to cancel 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology.

Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe, and they credit its development during the first Trump administration with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Future pandemics, they warned, will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA.

Kaufman said he supported mRNA technology and believes COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, but said it made sense to study work that's been done so far before, including learning more about any side effects.

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, said such evaluations are the responsibility of other federal offices — not ASPR. He also said it may slow the nation's ability to respond to emerging new infectious threats.

___

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.

Arison has officially held the title of “governor” since the NBA moved away from using the term “owner”in 2019. The league uses governor and “alternate governor” for controlling stakeholders in its official operations, while some teams use titles such as chairman or managing partner.

Arison will officially take over the role following the league’s Board of Governors meeting in September. He succeeds Toronto Raptors governor Larry Tanenbaum, who has served as chairman since September 2017.

Arison has been the Heat’s governor for 31 years, giving him the second-longest tenure among current NBA team governors.

“I am grateful for Larry’s nearly three decades of stewardship of the Raptors and his commitment to helping guide our league as NBA Board Chairman over the past nine years,” Silver said. “Micky’s long record of service on the Board, his strong relationships with his fellow team owners and his deep understanding of our game and business make him an exceptional choice to assume this important leadership role.”

Arison said he is eager to begin working with the league in his new position.

“I look forward to working closely in this new capacity with Adam, the league office and my fellow team governors to champion our teams and players, ensuring we continue to deliver exciting and unforgettable experiences for our fans,” Arison said.

During Arison’s tenure, the Heat has won three NBA championships and reached the NBA Finals seven times. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.

In addition to leading the Heat, Arison serves as chairman of the board of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company.

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

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

Blanche, according to prepared remarks released before the hearing, is expected to tell lawmakers that he and his team are “restoring trust” in the Justice Department. It’s a nod toward complaints from Democrats that he has weaponized the law enforcement institution by pursuing criminal investigations into Trump’s perceived adversaries.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April. During that time, he has accelerated investigations into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund meant to compensate the Republican president’s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit of news media leaks.

Here's the latest:

Blanche says Justice Department is ‘not targeting reporters’ with subpoenas

The acting attorney general was pressed about subpoenas issued on Friday that seek to force New York Times reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One.

The subpoenas, some of which were delivered to reporters at their homes, were swiftly condemned by free press advocates as an effort to intimidate media organizations and chill news gathering.

Blanche said the Justice Department is “not targeting reporters.”

He said investigators want to question the reporters on “who provided them with classified national security information,” which, he added, “everybody in this body should want to protect.”

“They’re material witnesses, just like a reporter would be a material witness to a car crash,” Blanche said.

Blanche defends Trump’s audit immunity deal

Democrats have repeatedly asked Blanche about part of a deal to resolve Trump’s IRS lawsuit, which granted the president and members of his family protection from tax audits.

While the administration says it has shelved a separate part of the lawsuit deal — a $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the president — Blanche has previously said the audit immunity remains on track. That’s despite outrage over it, even from Republicans.

Blanche defended the immunity deal again during the hearing. He denied that it placed Trump above the law.

Key Republican says he’s still undecided on Blanche

After questioning Blanche, Sen. John Cornyn said he still hasn’t made up his mind over whether he will support his nomination for attorney general. If Cornyn votes against Blanche, it could scuttle his nomination.

Cornyn, who in May lost his primary, pressed Blanche during the hearing about the creation of a fund to compensate the president’s allies and a tax immunity deal for the president. Cornyn told CNN afterward that he continues “to have some concerns” and is not “going to make any decisions at this point.”

Another closely watched Republican senator, Thom Tillis, indicated during questioning that he is likely to support Blanche.

Tillis, a key vote for Blanche, criticizes Democrats in his remarks

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina opened his questioning by telling Blanche he “appeared to be doing very well.”

He then launched into a lengthy criticism of Democrats for not speaking out against what he viewed as politically motivated prosecutions under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“It’s almost as if they weren’t here when the Biden administration did the indictments against President Trump,” Tillis said of Democrats.

Tillis said he wanted “to stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 fund,” referring to the administration’s shelved “anti-weaponization fund.” He pressed Blanche to commit to helping with language to put into law that the fund cannot be resurrected.

Blanche said he “absolutely” would.

Blanche says he hasn’t been ‘celebrating’ Trump’s mass pardons for Capitol rioters

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, told Blanche that it was a “shameful slap in the face” for Trump to pardon supporters who assaulted police officers during a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Coons asked Blanche if he was proud of Trump’s decision.

“I wasn’t celebrating it,” Blanche said. But he added that he believes it was “very generous” for Trump to issue the blanket pardons to Capitol rioters.

Coons asked Blanche if he knew why Trump fired his predecessor, Pam Bondi, in April.

“I have no idea,” Blanche said. “We all serve at the pleasure of President Trump.”

Coons also asked Blanche whether he would resign if the president asked him to do something unethical.

“That would never happen, but yes: If it were to happen, I’m not going to violate my oath to the Constitution,” Blanche replied.

Whitehouse asks how long Blanche will ‘put up with that Kash Patel character’

Enumerating criticism of Director Kash Patel ’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, blurring professional responsibilities with leisure activities, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked if the trips were “a pretext for activities like snorkeling and girlfriends.”

Blanche called the question “extraordinarily obnoxious,” going on to say he has “full faith” in Patel.

“Great, you get to own that,” Whitehouse quipped.

According to government emails obtained by The Associated Press, the FBI took pains to note Patel wasn’t on vacation when he visited Hawaii last summer, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.

Left out of the FBI’s releases was an excursion Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona, an outing coordinated by the military.

‘I’m his lawy

er,’ Blanche says of Trump, before correcting himself

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, asked Blanche a string of questions about the nature of his relationship with Trump, including whether he considered the president a friend. Blanche represented Trump in multiple cases, including the election fraud case in Washington, before joining the Justice Department under Trump’s second term.

Blanche referred to himself as Trump’s attorney in the present tense, saying, “I’m his lawyer” before correcting himself to say that he “was his lawyer.”

Kennedy also asked Blanche if the president had ever asked him to do something illegal. Blanche said Trump had not.

“Would you do it if he asked you?” Kennedy asked.

“Absolutely not,” Blanche said.

Questioned by Cornyn, Blanche says $1.8B weaponization ‘fund is dead’

That came during an exchange with Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is among the Republicans concerned about Blanche’s nomination and who asked about the status of the settlement fund set up by the Trump administration for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.

“I never started. No money went from the Treasury to any other account,” Blanche said. “There’s no commissioners. It’s not moving forward.”

Last month, a federal judge agreed to extend a court-ordered block on the fund indefinitely. Blanche previously told Congress the government was scrapping its plans in the face of fierce bipartisan backlash.

But plaintiffs’ attorneys haven’t been satisfied with Blanche’s assurances that the fund won’t move forward.

As Cornyn questioned that the agreement notes it remains “enforceable,” Blanche said he had discussed with Cornyn and others “about potentially codifying, so there’s no weaponization fund, which is certainly something that could be done.”

Blanche: ‘I don’t question President Trump’s authority’ on Jan. 6 pardons

Blanche didn’t endorse Trump’s move specifically, but said the U.S. Constitution gives presidents “the authority to pardon anybody for any federal crime.”

Just hours after returning to the White House last year, Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the riot.

Durbin took issue with the decision, saying that “someone should have grabbed him by the arm and said, ‘Stop, you can’t release all of those rioters.’”

“For the president to give a blanket pardon to these individuals is something that I don’t think you can explain to the American people,” Durbin added.

Blanche defends the settlement that granted Trump immunity from tax audits

Durbin pressed Blanche over a deal to end Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns. The Justice Department has faced intense scrutiny over part of the settlement that granted the president immunity from tax audits.

Blanche said such an agreement is “typical” in settlements like that one.

“Nobody is above the law,” Blanche told Durbin. “And when we enter the settlements like that … It doesn’t make any of those individuals above the law.”

Blanche says his heart ‘breaks’ for Epstein’s victims

Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who is ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, repeatedly pressed Blanche about whether he would commit to meeting with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.

Durbin noted that 10 victims of Epstein were in the room for Blanche’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

“I appreciate them being here today,” Blanche said. “I have never said I wouldn’t meet with survivors.”

“I hope you would do it immediately, or we’re going to hold you to it,” Durbin said.

Blanche said he would be willing to prosecute “anyone who did any harm to any of these victims.”

“My heart breaks for every survivor,” he said.

Blanche defends DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files

Under questioning from the committee’s Republican chair, Blanche acknowledged that the Justice Department made redaction mistakes when reviewing and releasing millions of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

Blanche said he takes responsibility for the mistakes that were made, but also said department lawyers who reviewed the documents took pains to protect victims and quickly fixed any errors.

The fallout over the department’s handling of the Epstein files continues to plague the Trump administration.

Blanche said the administration has been “extraordinarily transparent” in releasing the files, despite the department agreeing to release more records only after Congress passed a law forcing it to do so.

‘We are restoring trust’ in the Justice Department, Blanche says

Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, alluded in his opening statement to the criminal cases brought against Trump in the last administration.

Blanche said that “in recent years, Americans watched the Justice Department turn against many of you and a former president, and it damaged the public’s faith in justice.”

He added: “We are fixing that.”

While the Trump administration has said it is determined to end the “weaponization” of law enforcement that it said occurred under the Biden administration, critics argue it has instead turned the agency into a tool of retribution against Trump’s political opponents.

The department under Trump has opened investigations or brought prosecutions against numerous foes of the president, including former FBI Director James Comey.

Blanche highlights the Justice Department’s shifting priorities under Trump

In his opening statement, Blanche touted the Trump administration’s efforts to lower violent crime, stem the flow of illicit drugs, prosecute dangerous cartels and take down fraudsters taking advantage of American taxpayers.

The Justice Department under Trump has moved aggressively to prioritize immigration enforcement and turn up the pressure on cartels. It also created a new division dedicated to tackling fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.

Florida senator highlights Blanche’s pre-Trump career

As a counter to Democrats’ narrative portraying Blanche as loyal only to Trump, Sen. Ashley Moody reminded the committee that the acting attorney general began his career at the Department of Justice as a paralegal.

Moody also detailed Blanche’s years with the Southern District of New York, where she said, “He prosecuted drug traffickers and violent criminals.” She also detailed various awards and commendations he received while in that role.

Watch these 2 Republicans on the committee

The stakes are high for Blanche, who needs the support of every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee for his nomination to advance.

Two of those Republicans — Sen. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn — haven’t committed to supporting him.

Tillis has been an outspoken critic of a $1.776 billion fund that the Trump administration created to compensate people who feel unjustly persecuted by the criminal justice system and then quickly withdrew.

Tillis and Cornyn are expected to grill Blanche over a separate element of the settlement that afforded Trump and members of his family protection from tax audits.

Durbin says Blanche still acts like Trump’s personal attorney

In his opening statement, Sen. Dick Durbin railed against actions taken by the Justice Department under Blanche’s watch, including a move to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the president.

The top Democrat on the committee also condemned the purging of Justice Department employees deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump and the department’s handling of millions of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation.

Durbin accused Blanche of still acting like Trump’s personal lawyer, pursuing investigations against the president’s foes while taking steps to aid his allies.

“In less than 18 months at the Department of Justice, you’ve shown you’re still President Trump’s personal attorney,” Durbin said.

Attorney general confirmation hearing getting underway

Blanche is expected to face bipartisan scrutiny as he seeks the chance to serve out the duration of Trump’s term.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April, when Pam Bondi was fired after struggling to bring successful cases against Trump’s political foes.

Since taking the reins at the Justice Department, Blanche has accelerated investigations into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund meant to compensate the president’s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit of news media leaks.

Blanche faces Senate scrutiny, with Republican support key to his confirmation as attorney general

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will confront questions Wednesday about his brief but turbulent tenure atop the Justice Department during a Senate confirmation hearing that will test President Donald Trump’s grip on Republican lawmakers whose support the nominee will need for the job.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April, during which time he’s accelerated investigations into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund meant to compensate the Republican president’s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit of news media leaks.

Those actions will receive fresh scrutiny at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing as Blanche testifies for the opportunity to serve out the duration of Trump’s term.

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According to the FBI, the robbery occurred on Monday at approximately 9:25 a.m. at a Wells Fargo branch located at 15615 NW 67 Ave. in Miami Lakes.

Photos released by the FBI show the robber, who they said entered the bank and demanded money from an employee.

No injuries were reported.

The robbery is being jointly investigated by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the South Florida Violent Crime and Fugitive Task Force and the FBI, the agency said.

Anyone with information is urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov.

Según el FBI, el robo ocurrió el lunes aproximadamente a las 9:25 a.m. en una sucursal de Wells Fargo ubicada en el 15615 de Northwest 67 Avenue, en Miami Lakes.

Las fotografías divulgadas por el FBI muestran al ladrón, quien, según la agencia, entró al banco y exigió dinero a un empleado.

No se reportaron personas heridas.

El robo es investigado de manera conjunta por la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, el Grupo de Trabajo contra Delitos Violentos y Prófugos del Sur de Florida y el FBI, informó la agencia.

Cualquier persona con información debe llamar al 1-800-CALL-FBI o visitar tips.fbi.gov.

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It was February of last year when Tina Sohdi, 51, was found dead in a sauna at the Sabia Wellness House off Flamingo Way in Miami Beach.

According to a lengthy arrest warrant, Lee told officers he was a “licensed medical doctor and an “elder” of the Eternal Life Tribe.”

He was staying at the wellness house to conduct something called a “heart protocol” for two clients.

The report says it is “a treatment, holistic in nature, that consists of the subject administering/ facilitating a GABA agonist, pure MDMA, and Ketamine.”

Treatment benefits include relief from depression, anxiety, addiction and more. Prosecutors say the alternative healing ceremony resulted in Sodhi’s death

According to the Eternal Life Tribe website, there are more than 4,000 members, with membership costing $55 a month.

Sohdi did sign a waiver acknowledging potential side effects and risks, and she had to have a parasite cleanse before the ceremony.

The medical examiners office ruled the sauna and use of MDMA and ketamine caused Sohdi to be severely dehydrated and dropped her sodium levels to dangerously low levels, which caused her death.

An attorney representing the owner of Sabia Wellness House sent Local 10 News a statement which read, in part:

“We are grateful that the police and the state attorneys office saw this case for what it is and what it is not and that my client was not liable in any way for this tragedy. There are some great effective alternatives to western medicine but tragedy unfolds when not performed to the utmost standards.”

-Richard Cooper

Lee has entered a not guilty plea and his medical license in Texas has been temporarily suspended, with a board calling his “practice of medicine a threat to public welfare.”

Fue en febrero del año pasado cuando Tina Sohdi, de 51 años, fue encontrada muerta en un sauna de Sabia Wellness House, ubicado en Flamingo Way, en Miami Beach.

Según una extensa orden de arresto, Lee dijo a los agentes que era un “médico con licencia” y un “anciano” de la Eternal Life Tribe.

Se hospedaba en el centro de bienestar para realizar un procedimiento denominado “heart protocol” para dos pacientes.

El informe señala que se trata de “un tratamiento de naturaleza holística que consiste en que el sujeto administre o facilite un agonista de GABA, MDMA puro y ketamina”.

Entre los beneficios del tratamiento se incluyen alivio para la depresión, la ansiedad, las adicciones y otros problemas. Sin embargo, los fiscales sostienen que la ceremonia de sanación alternativa provocó la muerte de Sohdi.

Según el sitio web de Eternal Life Tribe, la organización cuenta con más de 4,000 miembros y la membresía cuesta $55 USD al mes.

Sohdi firmó un documento de exención de responsabilidad en el que reconocía los posibles efectos secundarios y riesgos, y además tuvo que someterse a una limpieza de parásitos antes de la ceremonia.

La Oficina del Médico Forense determinó que el uso del sauna junto con el consumo de MDMA y ketamina provocó que Sohdi sufriera una deshidratación severa y que sus niveles de sodio descendieran a niveles peligrosamente bajos, lo que causó su muerte.

Un abogado que representa al propietario de Sabia Wellness House envió a Local 10 News un comunicado que, en parte, dice:

“Estamos agradecidos de que la policía y la Fiscalía hayan visto este caso por lo que es y por lo que no es, y de que mi cliente no fuera considerado responsable de ninguna manera por esta tragedia. Existen excelentes alternativas eficaces a la medicina occidental, pero las tragedias ocurren cuando no se realizan bajo los más altos estándares”.

—Richard Cooper

Lee se declaró no culpable y su licencia médica en Texas fue suspendida temporalmente, mientras una junta determinó que su “práctica de la medicina representa una amenaza para el bienestar público”.

The energy is high. You get a warmup, a run and then the real work begins.

The price tag? Zero.

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Head coach Chadwick Tyne says there is no catch. The goal is to simply build community.

That was the idea behind FTL Free Workout, which launched in 2023 as a way for people to burn calories while building connections.

“The main thing is just making sure the community has a place where they can meet a couple of times a week and see familiar faces. Make sure we make a big city feel a little bit smaller,” Tyne said. “It really is weird when you look up at 1,000 different boxes — with people in their own mini boxes — and nobody talks to each other. We know that people need a reason to get out of the house, and free is always a reason to get out of the house.”

The initiative grew out of a group of friends from First Baptist Fort Lauderdale who wanted to branch out and connect with more people in the community.

The first workout drew just a handful of people. Years later, the group has exploded in size.

The workouts include seven stations and several different movements, attracting people from all walks of life.

“It keeps me around people who are rooted and just going in the right direction,” said regular, Audra Bailey.

And to be clear, just because the workouts are free does not mean they are easy.

At FTL Free Workout, organizers say people grow in more ways than one. Every rep helps build something bigger, and everyone is welcome.

“We’ve had six-year-olds doing our ladder drills and we’ve had grandma’s doing our ladder drills. So long as you feel you need community, we are the community for you,” Tyne said.

FTL Free Workout meets three days a week. No registration or advance notice is required. Participants can simply show up and try a workout.

The group is also looking to grow its sponsorships as the initiative continues to expand.

FTL Free Workout is part of a broader lineup of free community events that also includes FTL Free Yoga and FTL Free Movies. Click here if you would like to learn more.

La energía es alta. Hay un calentamiento, una carrera y luego comienza el verdadero trabajo.

¿El costo? Cero.

El entrenador principal Chadwick Tyne asegura que no hay truco. El objetivo es simplemente crear comunidad.

Esa fue la idea detrás de FTL Free Workout, que comenzó en 2023 como una forma de que las personas quemaran calorías mientras creaban conexiones.

“Lo principal es asegurarnos de que la comunidad tenga un lugar donde pueda reunirse un par de veces por semana y ver caras conocidas. Queremos hacer que una gran ciudad se sienta un poco más pequeña”, dijo Tyne. “Realmente es extraño cuando miras hacia arriba y ves 1,000 apartamentos diferentes, con personas en sus propios espacios, y nadie habla con nadie. Sabemos que la gente necesita una razón para salir de casa, y que sea gratis siempre es una razón para salir de casa”.

La iniciativa surgió de un grupo de amigos de First Baptist Fort Lauderdale que quería ampliar su círculo y conectar con más personas de la comunidad.

El primer entrenamiento reunió apenas a un pequeño grupo de personas. Años después, el grupo ha crecido de manera significativa.

Los entrenamientos incluyen siete estaciones y varios tipos de ejercicios, lo que atrae a personas de todos los ámbitos de la vida.

“Me mantiene rodeada de personas con buenos valores y que van por el camino correcto”, dijo Audra Bailey, participante habitual.

Y para que quede claro, que los entrenamientos sean gratuitos no significa que sean fáciles.

En FTL Free Workout, los organizadores aseguran que las personas crecen en más de un sentido. Cada repetición ayuda a construir algo más grande, y todos son bienvenidos.

“Hemos tenido niños de 6 años haciendo nuestros ejercicios de escalera de agilidad y también abuelas haciéndolos. Mientras sientas que necesitas comunidad, nosotros somos la comunidad para ti”, dijo Tyne.

FTL Free Workout se reúne tres días a la semana. No se requiere inscripción ni aviso previo. Los participantes simplemente pueden llegar y probar un entrenamiento.

El grupo también busca aumentar sus patrocinios a medida que la iniciativa continúa expandiéndose.

FTL Free Workout forma parte de una oferta más amplia de eventos comunitarios gratuitos que también incluye FTL Free Yoga y FTL Free Movies. Haga clic aquí si desea obtener más información.

Basabe, republicano de Miami Beach, se representa a sí mismo en un caso presentado por dos ex empleados que acusan al legislador estatal de acoso sexual, agresión y difamación.

Basabe declaró el martes y respondió preguntas sobre su vida personal.

Abogado de los demandantes: “¿Está casado?”

Basabe: “Sí”.

Abogado de los demandantes: “¿Con una mujer?”

Basabe: “Sí”.

Posteriormente, un abogado de los demandantes mostró al jurado una fotografía de Basabe besando a un hombre.

Basabe: “Se llama Renato”.

Abogado de los demandantes: “¿Y vive con usted, correcto?”

Basabe: “No respondo por el lugar de residencia de otras personas”.

Abogado de los demandantes: “¿Es su novio?”

Basabe: “No creo en esas etiquetas”.

El lunes, ambas presuntas víctimas de Basabe testificaron ante el jurado.

Este martes, los miembros del jurado también escucharon el testimonio de la madre de una de las presuntas víctimas, quien acusó a Basabe de darle una bofetada en los glúteos y en el rostro.

“Noté que estaba muy, muy, muy alterado y tenía la cara roja”, dijo Janette Frevola, quien agregó entre lágrimas: “Que nos tratara así sin razón aparente, cuando no le hicimos absolutamente nada”.

El hecho de que Basabe se represente a sí mismo ha generado con frecuencia momentos de confusión durante el proceso.

Además de los testimonios de los testigos, capturas de mensajes de texto y publicaciones antiguas en X están siendo utilizadas como evidencia para intentar convencer al jurado del condado Leon de que Basabe es responsable de los presuntos hechos.

Abogado de los demandantes: “¿Es esta la primera vez que alguien presenta acusaciones de acoso sexual en su contra?”

Basabe: “Hay muchos rumores”.

Se espera que los testimonios continúen el miércoles.

Basabe ha enfrentado otras acusaciones en el pasado.

De hecho, una de ellas fue presentada por un futbolista profesional cuya identidad se mantiene en reserva.

Ese hombre compareció ante el tribunal para preservar su testimonio para un litigio futuro, pero lo hizo fuera de la presencia del jurado.

A continuación puede verse una transmisión de una parte de la audiencia del martes:

Los agentes informaron que respondieron poco antes de la 1 a.m. al área de Northwest 64th Street y Northwest 21st Avenue, en la zona de Gladeview del condado, donde encontraron tres vehículos impactados por disparos, incluido un Hyundai plateado.

“El auto estaba estacionado frente a la residencia con tres menores: la niña y sus dos hermanos estaban al interior del vehículo. La madre se encontraba fuera del vehículo en ese momento, así que el desenlace pudo haber sido muy diferente”, dijo la detective de la MDSO Samantha Choon.

Las autoridades informaron que paramédicos de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladaron a la niña a un hospital cercano en condición estable.

Los familiares identificaron a la niña como Kaylina Anicie.

Un familiar de la víctima dijo a Jackie Pascale, de Local 10, que la niña ya está en casa y se encuentra bien.

Indicaron que ni sus hermanos ni su madre resultaron heridos en la balacera.

Según los investigadores, no se han realizado arrestos y los detectives no han divulgado información sobre algún sospechoso hasta el momento.

La vecina Marie Grimes dijo que quedó conmocionada tras escuchar múltiples disparos.

“Escuché los estruendos, boom, boom, boom, boom, y dije: “Dios mío, ¿qué está pasando?”. Tal vez fueron cinco o seis, porque mire eso ahí mismo. Me alegra que la niña esté bien”, dijo.

Los investigadores pidieron a los vecinos revisar las grabaciones de sus cámaras de vigilancia o cámaras Ring alrededor de la 1 a.m. y comunicarse con las autoridades si tienen alguna información.

Cualquier persona con información sobre la balacera debe comunicarse con Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers al 305-471-8477. Se aceptan denuncias anónimas.

The 84-page report issued jointly Wednesday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union also says men and women held at Camp East Montana, located at the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss in El Paso, recounted being denied necessary medical care, forced to live in filthy conditions and fed inedible meals. Detainees also said they were prevented from contacting their lawyers or family members.

Of the 71 detainees contacted over a five month period, 64 — about 90% of those interviewed — said they had either personally been assaulted by the staff or had seen others physically abused, according to the report.

“ICE’s Camp East Montana is a human rights disaster,” said Angélica César, a fellow at Human Rights Watch and the ACLU who was a lead researcher for the report. “The U.S. government should shut it down, conduct independent investigations into all abuses and deaths in custody, and put an end to mass deportations and mandatory immigration detention.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new accounts of violence and substandard living conditions inside Camp East Montana are consistent with earlier reports by The Associated Press and others. At least three detainees held at the facility since it opened in August have died, including a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who was handcuffed and stopped breathing earlier this year after being held down by guards.

A local medical examiner later ruled that death a homicide and a federal report issued last month said evidence in the case was “missing or destroyed." That report by the Government Accountability Office found mismanagement by the Department of Homeland Security had created unsafe conditions that contributed to detainee deaths and suffering even as millions of wasted tax dollars enriched contractors.

In March, ICE replaced Acquisition Logistics, LLC, the prime contractor that had been awarded a deal last year worth up to $1.3 billion to build and manage the camp. The Virginia company had no prior experience running an ICE detention facility, had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million and lacked a functioning website.

The change came as an internal ICE review documented 49 deficiencies, which it defines as violations of detention standards or policies, in areas including the use of force and restraints, security and medical care.

Despite the change in contractors, interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU as recently as last month found serious problems at the camp have persisted.

Detainees recounted degrading and inhumane living conditions that included bathrooms covered in feces, flooded housing units and no access to soap or other basic hygiene supplies, according to the report. They also reported being held indoors for weeks without meaningful access to recreation, sunlight or fresh air.

People also described receiving spoiled food and inconsistent meal schedules, with delays of up to 12 hours between meals.

The report recounts detainees saying that guards beat detainees in response to hunger strikes, requests for medical attention and complaints regarding detention conditions. Several people said that guards imposed collective punishment, striking or assaulting multiple people after accusing one detainee of violating rules, according to the report.

Researchers found that staff pressured and coerced those held there into abandoning immigration claims and accepting removal to third countries if they could not be sent back to their own country. The detainees said they were threatened with violence, criminal prosecution, and indefinite detention if they refused deportation.

In some cases, the report concluded, the circumstances of ICE detention could amount to enforced disappearances, a potential violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch and the ACLU called on the Trump administration to close Camp East Montana and to allow independent investigations into deaths in custody, excessive force, medical neglect and enforced disappearances.

“The abuses documented at Fort Bliss are the predictable outcome of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, its brutal expansion of immigration detention, and the erosion of federal oversight mechanisms,” said César, the lead researcher. “People at Camp East Montana are human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and protected from harm.”

Yzerman’s transition to an advisory role to owner and CEO Chris Ilitch comes several weeks after captain and No. 1 center Dylan Larkin’s trade request came to light. The Red Wings' decade-long playoff drought is the longest in the storied history of the organization and the longest active drought in the NHL.

The team said its search for a new head of hockey operations has begun and that Yzerman will continue to be in charge on a day-to-day basis until his successor is determined.

“Clearly, we are not where we and our fans expect to be as an organization,” Ilitch said in a statement. “Steve’s lifetime of contributions to the Red Wings has meant more to this franchise than words can truly express, and I have the highest level of respect for his continued commitment to our organization.”

Yzerman spent his entire 22-year Hall of Fame playing career with Detroit from 1983-2006, captaining it to the Stanley Cup three times. He has the three highest-scoring seasons in franchise history and is second only to Gordie Howe on the Red Wings' all-time points list.

“This organization has given me incredible opportunities, from my time as a player to the privilege of returning as general manager,” Yzerman said. “My commitment to the Red Wings and this community will never waver, and I look forward to supporting the organization in whatever role is needed to achieve our collective goals.”

But he did not get hired just for his on-ice performance. Yzerman was an accomplished GM with Tampa Bay, building the core group of players and leadership that eventually won back-to-back championships. He took over in Detroit in 2019, where success on the ice has not materialized.

Yzerman’s moves or lack thereof have contributed to the struggles, including failing to adequately address goaltending. Trading Tyler Bertuzzi to Boston and Filip Hronek to Vancouver for draft picks at the trade deadline in March 2023 and giving up a second-rounder to unload Jake Walman on a deal with San Jose 15 months later are among the questionable decisions.

Larkin also criticized Yzerman for not doing more at the 2024 deadline, and the team struggled down the stretch without reinforcements. Acquiring Justin Faulk and David Perron this past season also was not enough to get the Red Wings into the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Larkin asking to be traded — with Minnesota, Florida and Vegas initially the only teams on his list — threatened the direction of the team at a time when it looked like Yzerman's position was safe. Yzerman last month said he could not guarantee granting Larkin's wish because the player is signed for five more seasons at an average annual salary of $8.7 million.

Figuring out that situation will now be someone else's call, as will improving a roster that has perennially underacheived expectations.

“I’m looking forward to bringing in new leadership to build the championship-caliber organization (Detroit) deserves," Ilitch said.

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

President Gitanas Nausėda said that authorities were monitoring the risk of attacks that could disrupt the country’s energy and transport systems, including facilities supporting Lithuania’s connections with the European electricity grid.

“I cannot deny that we have such information and that it concerns limited kinetic operations likely targeting critical infrastructure,” Nausėda told Lithuania's BNS news agency.

Nausėda said that the intelligence didn't identify a specific location or timing for the potential attacks. He said that such provocations could involve conventional or other means.

Russia dismissed the claim as an excuse to justify NATO’s military buildup in the Baltics.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs similarly warned on Wednesday that, with Ukraine increasingly effective at putting pressure on Russia, Moscow might respond with provocations against NATO’s eastern flank.

“Even without a total Ukrainian victory, Russia may indirectly test Article 5 and response mechanisms at the Alliance and European Union levels,” Rinkēvičs said, referring to NATO's common defense guarantee.

“The next few months, or even the next 12 months, will be crucial for Baltic security,” he said.

The three Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — and Poland, all located on NATO's eastern flank, have strengthened security around key transport and energy infrastructure in recent months in response to the Russian threat.

The countries say they have long been targets of Russian hybrid attacks, a threat that has intensified since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Poland intercepted Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea that, according to the Polish government, were conducting surveillance of Poland’s air defense systems, despite remaining outside Polish territorial waters.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Lithuanian intelligence warning about Russia’s purported plans to launch attacks on infrastructure in the Baltics and elsewhere in Europe.

“It’s a fresh batch of bugaboos intended to continue the brainwashing and prepare the population for further militarization,” Peskov told reporters.

“To do this, they need to create an enemy image on the other side, our side in this case,” he said. “And use it as a pretext to continue moving NATO military infrastructure in all its forms into the Baltic states.”

Poland sent similar warnings

Nauseda's comments echo warnings issued in recent weeks by Polish politicians, following multiple media reports that Russia could carry out a limited military or hybrid provocation against Poland in the near future.

In late June, leading Polish outlet onet.pl reported that U.S. intelligence had warned its Polish counterparts about the possibility of a Russian attack. Citing its own sources, the outlet said that potential scenarios could include attacks on critical infrastructure, incursions by Russian soldiers near border areas and drone operations.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on July 3 that the warnings should be taken seriously and noted that he had been issuing similar alerts for weeks.

“Poland is preparing very intensively for various scenarios,” Tusk said. “I don’t want to scare anyone, but the coming months, also because of the changing nature of the war in Ukraine, could be critical.”

Tusk said that concerns were particularly pronounced in the Baltic states.

“We are not afraid; we are preparing for various scenarios, but we cannot take this lightly,” he said. “We are conscious of the dangers also because of information coming from our allies.”

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Poland had a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: “We know what you are planning. Don’t do it.”

Countries deploy additional troops to protect infrastructure

Gen. Raimundas Vaikšnoras Lithuania's chief of defense, recently confirmed that the military had deployed additional forces to help protect strategic infrastructure in response to concerns over possible Russian provocations.

Vaikšnoras told reporters that Russia’s recent rhetoric targeting the Baltic states and Poland appears to serve a broader purpose, warning that Moscow has long sought to erode public trust in state institutions, the military and the government.

Poland had similarly intensified protection of key infrastructure following a November attack on rail infrastructure blamed on Russia.

On Monday, the European Union said that Russia’s FSB Center 16 had conducted cyberespionage and sabotage against defense industries and critical infrastructure across Europe, including a December attack against a Polish combined heat and power plant supplying heat to almost 500,000 customers.

A recent report from the International Institute of Strategic Studies think tank said that Russia likely used shadow ships to launch drones over Europe that repeatedly disrupted civilian aviation between 2024 and 2026.

The Baltic region is under additional strain from stray Ukrainian drones that have reached Baltic countries as Ukraine ramped up attacks on Baltic Sea ports used for Russian energy exports.

In mid-May, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa resigned over the government’s handling of multiple incidents involving stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine crossing into Latvian territory.

In late May, for the first time in a NATO and European Union capital, Lithuanians were pictured sheltering in underground parking garages in the capital, Vilnius, as authorities warned of unidentified drone activity.

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Claudia Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland.

Consider a used vehicle

One of the simplest ways to stretch your budget is to expand your search beyond brand-new models. Sure, new vehicles offer the latest technology features and are backed by a full warranty, but they also carry disproportionately higher prices.

You’ll find better value in the used market, particularly when shopping for vehicles that are just a few years old. A lightly used vehicle can often offer many of the same features as a new model while avoiding the steepest period of depreciation. According to Edmunds transaction data, the average price of a 3-year-old used vehicle in June 2026 was $32,553, compared to $48,899 for a new vehicle.

Expand your search area and loan options

Limiting your search to nearby dealerships can unnecessarily reduce your options. Shoppers willing to travel farther from home often find a greater selection of inventory and more competitive pricing. Prices can vary considerably from one county to another based on local demand and supply.

Something similar is true for a loan. Don’t wait until you’re in the dealership finance office to think about a loan. Unless you’re getting a promotional interest rate from the automaker’s finance company, there’s a good chance a credit union may offer you a better rate than the banks the dealership has partnered with.

Instead, get a preapproval from your bank, a credit union or an online lender and compare it against the dealer’s best loan offer. Comparison shopping for loans can often save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Get the most trade-in value from your current car

Your current vehicle may be worth more than you think, and maximizing its value can significantly reduce the amount you need to finance. Get multiple trade-in offers before visiting a dealership. Online appraisal tools and used vehicle retailers can provide baseline estimates that help establish a vehicle’s market value. Having several offers in hand can strengthen your negotiating position and help prevent unknowingly accepting a low trade-in value.

It’s also worth considering a private-party sale. While selling a vehicle yourself requires more time and effort, it often generates a higher return than a trade-in. Buyers who choose this route should gather maintenance records, clean the vehicle thoroughly, and address minor cosmetic issues that could affect perceived value.

Focus on total cost, not monthly payment

When a salesperson starts asking about a monthly payment you’d feel comfortable with, it’s easy to miss the big picture. But don’t let that distract you. Adjusting to a lower monthly payment might seem appealing, but it often comes at the cost of a longer loan, leading to more interest charges and a higher total paid over the life of the loan.

It’s best to examine the entire financing package, including your down payment, your trade-in, the interest rate, loan term and the total cost. A shorter loan with a slightly higher monthly payment can save thousands of dollars in interest. Comparing financing offers on this basis rather than on the monthly payment alone provides a clearer picture of the true expense.

Protect yourself from negative equity

Inflated vehicle prices during the pandemic, longer loan terms and impatient shoppers have increased the risk of negative equity, a situation in which a borrower owes more on a vehicle than it is worth.

According to Edmunds’ data, 30.9% of trade-ins toward a new vehicle purchase carried negative equity in the first part of 2026. Moving negative equity into a new loan may make a car purchase possible, but it increases the loan amount and makes it harder to build equity in the replacement vehicle.

A better strategy is to wait until you can make a 10% to 15% down payment, according to Edmunds. If you’re getting the itch for a new car and currently owe more than your car is worth, the smarter move is to keep it longer and pay down the loan balance before trading it in. This patient approach can help prevent a cycle of carrying debt from one vehicle to the next.

Edmunds says

Stretching your car-buying dollars in 2026 requires looking beyond the sticker price. Before signing any paperwork, ask to see a breakdown of all the fees. If you spot any fees or services you aren’t familiar with, be sure to ask the salesperson. Otherwise, you may overlook something that could prove costly in the long run.

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

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in the northwestern part of San Antonio near Interstate 10. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a small twister.

Warnings of potentially dangerous flash flooding were in effect for some areas as the deluge was forecast to continue through Thursday evening. As much as 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain was possible in some areas before the storms move out, the weather service said.

There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the tornado or the flooding.

The highest rainfall totals so far — up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) — have been in Uvalde County, where officials tallied 25 rescues as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, and said more people needed help as river levels rose.

State Rep. Don McLaughlin said that despite a “little lull,” the rainfall wasn't done and waterways could become more dangerous. “The rivers and the creeks are going to be coming up, and they’re going to be coming up again with a vengeance,” McLaughlin said.

Lightning flashed as clouds darkened the landscape across Uvalde, where the typically calm Leona River was swollen and brown water poured over low bridges. The riverbanks were strewn with debris, including branches and grass, plastic bags and a cactus, from a day earlier when the river was several feet higher.

The night had brought booming thunder through a steady rain, swelling the rivers and creeks that ran through or just around the town. The rain would abate, then pummel the small town with heavy drops, before lifting again.

Forecasters warned that hilly terrain in other parts of the region could be especially vulnerable to heavy rain. Flash flood warnings covered parts of Kerr County, where catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River last year killed more than 100 people, Kerr County officials said they have been in contact with summer camps and retreat centers where river flooding could happen.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.

The highest level of concern for potentially dangerous flooding Wednesday was for areas west of San Antonio and north of Route 90, Weather service meteorologist Monte Oaks said.

Authorities posted videos on Tuesday showing a rescue crew in a boat navigating flooded streets and a vehicle being swept away by fast-moving waters. Five people were rescued by the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team and four were rescued by a local game warden, said Maggie Berger, a Texas Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman.

Oaks said the rain is being fueled with tropical moisture, mostly from the Gulf of Mexico and some from the Pacific Ocean.

“This is called a typical mid-summer tropical weather pattern that happens in Texas,” said Oaks. “About once every five years, we’ll get socked in with a daily recurrence of heavy rain chances that’s generally produced by a stagnant kind of a pattern with a low-pressure center that’s just not moving very fast.”

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Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.

In Florida on Tuesday, a third man in roughly a week died during an encounter with immigration officers. The 28-year-old was killed after he was hit by a tractor-trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

Here's the latest:

Prosecutors in Houston are trying to get special visas for eyewitnesses to ICE shooting

Three other men who were also in the van when Lorenzo Araujo Salgado was fatally shot last week are being held at an immigration detention center in Texas.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office told The Associated Press it has signed off on special visa certifications that describe the men as witnesses in local prosecutors’ ongoing investigation into the shooting. The visa applications would still need approval from federal immigration officials.

Attorneys for Daniel Tirado Pantoja, Jose Rojas and Victor Salgado, the victim’s brother, say their clients have disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the July 7 shooting. The temporary visas, known as U visas, are intended to protect from deportation witnesses who are assisting law enforcement.

In May, a federal court temporarily blocked ICE from detaining immigrants with pending U visas.

Maine governor says ICE must be reformed or abolished after shooting

Maine’s governor said Wednesday that ICE should be scrapped as a federal agency, if it can’t be fixed in the wake of a fatal shooting in her state.

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said in a letter to the state’s congressional delegation that Congress must act to “require ICE to respect the rule of law and honor our collective security.”

Mills had criticized ICE before, including in January after a surge of enforcement activity in Maine that she said was marred by “lawless, dangerous conduct” by the agency. She said Wednesday the agency must be fixed “before more families are robbed of a loved one.”

She added: “ICE needs to be fundamentally reformed, and if not, then it is time to abolish it.”

Houston Mayor John Whitmire calls for Texas Rangers to investigate fatal shooting there

“We need DHS to allow independent authorities to investigate,” Whitmire told CNN on Wednesday. “The jurisdiction is federal. They control the evidence. We’re asking them to release that to the Texas Rangers.”

Lorenzo Araujo Salgado, who had no criminal record and had lived in the U.S. for 35 years, was shot last week while driving his construction crew to a job site in Houston. His death sparked protests in Houston and demands for an independent investigation from Democrats and Salgado Araujo’s family.

On Tuesday, Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz, Jr. formally requested that the Texas Department of Public Safety’s investigative agency conduct an independent and transparent probe.

Mayor Whitmire also told CNN the U.S. Department of Homeland Security should pause ICE vehicle stops for 90 days to review its policies.

Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain calls for a permanent ban on ICE traffic stops

In a statement, he also questioned why the ICE officers involved in the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero weren’t wearing body cameras. LaFountain pointed out that his city’s police officers have been equipped with body cameras for nearly a decade.

“The fact that ICE is swimming in billions of taxpayer dollars and can’t perform a basic function like properly equipping their people is a severe indictment,” LaFountain said. “Corrective action is required immediately.”

LaFountain added that the city is offering mental health services to Durán Guerrero’s family and all residents affected by the shooting.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin: ‘If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW’

In response to questions about President Trump’s Wednesday morning social media post, Mullin said in a statement that the department’s “#1 goal” is to keep officers safe and get criminals off the streets.

The department didn’t respond to specific questions about whether ICE officers are now able to do traffic stops but Mullin’s statement said people in the country illegally would be “arrested and deported wherever they are.”

“If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW,” said Mullin. “We remind illegal aliens attempting to evade arrest is dangerous.”

Man fatally shot by an ICE officer in Maine had illegally entered the US, officials said

Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, had illegally entered the U.S. on Sept. 1, 2023, through the southern border, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.

He was killed Monday in Biddesford, Maine, a coastal city roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland.

Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him Monday that ICE officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant but that it was not for the person who was shot.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said agents were surveilling an address for a person with a final order of removal from the country.

When ICE tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone coming from that address, the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said.

There have been at least 10 deaths involving immigration agents since Trump began deportation push

At least four of those deaths involved people in vehicles, including the one last week in Houston, a trend so troubling that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Tuesday that she had urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.”

John Sandweg, who was acting director at ICE, which is part of DHS, during President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, estimated recently that there have been roughly 18 traffic stop shootings during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Questions surround the Maine shooting

Photos showed bullet holes in Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero’s car windshield, but the officers involved in the shooting didn’t have body cameras, leaving many questions. Among them are how close the officer was to the vehicle when shooting, whether officers told Durán Guerrero to stop and why ICE believes he had put the public in danger.

Border czar Tom Homan told reporters Tuesday the investigation needs to play out and that officers will be held accountable if they’re found to have acted inappropriately or illegally.

Maine’s attorney general’s office, which said it is working with federal agencies to investigate, said initial statements suggest the driver was trying to flee in the direction of the officer, whose name hasn’t been released and who was placed on leave.

Fatal shooting during immigration operation angers Maine

Hundreds of people in Maine protested Tuesday over the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national. Advocacy groups said Guerrero, who had a wife and a young daughter, was authorized to work in the United States.

DHS said Monday that an officer, “fearing for public safety,” shot and killed Durán Guerrero while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the U.S. illegally and facing a final order of removal from the country. It said in a post on X that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by someone who came from the home, the person attempted to flee in the vehicle and the officer fired.

In a scathing post on X, outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the shooting a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”

Lindsey Graham’s Senate Judiciary Committee spot draped in black

As the committee convened Wednesday for a confirmation hearing, the late South Carolina Republican’s seat at the rostrum was also marked with a vase of white roses.

Graham had been set to chair the panel in the next Congress. He died over the weekend of a tear in his aorta.

On Tuesday, Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, was sworn in to serve out the remaining months of his term, which expires in January. South Carolina Republicans are standing up a special primary election to pick a new nominee for this fall’s midterms.

High-stakes attorney general confirmation hearing getting underway

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to face bipartisan scrutiny as he seeks the chance to serve out the duration of Trump’s term.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April, when Pam Bondi was fired after struggling to bring successful cases against Trump’s political foes.

Since taking the reins at the Justice Department, Blanche has accelerated investigations into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund meant to compensate the president’s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit of news media leaks.

Senate to hold hearing for Trump’s pick to head intelligence agencies after weekslong delay

Jay Clayton, President Trump’s pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies, will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, weeks after Trump abruptly delayed his nomination.

Republicans and even some Democrats have been eager to quickly confirm Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, as they’ve expressed concerns about Trump’s interim appointee for the intelligence post, Bill Pulte. Pulte, who has been in the job since June 19, is a former housing official with no known intelligence experience and who used his previous administration perch to target perceived adversaries of the president.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, a Republican, expressed frustration when Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination in a social media post last month, allowing Pulte to take office. Cotton said then that Clayton had been instructed not to appear at a scheduled confirmation hearing, but he rescheduled the hearing three weeks later, with apparent approval from the White House.

▶ Read more

Blanche faces Senate scrutiny with Republican support key to his confirmation as attorney general

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will confront questions Wednesday about his brief but turbulent tenure atop the Justice Department during a Senate confirmation hearing that will test President Donald Trump’s grip on Republican lawmakers whose support the nominee will need for the job.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, has run the department on an interim basis since April, during which time he’s accelerated investigations into Trump foes, functioned as the public face of a maligned fund meant to compensate the Republican president’s allies and alarmed press freedom advocates with an aggressive pursuit of news media leaks.

Those actions will receive fresh scrutiny at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing as Blanche testifies for the opportunity to serve out the duration of Trump’s term.

▶ Read more

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — dropped 0.3% from May, biggest decline since April 2025 and a reversal from a 0.6% uptick the month before. Compared to a year earlier, wholesale prices were up 5.5% in June, decelerating from a 6% increase the month before. Gasoline prices plunged 12% in June but are still up nearly 43% from June 2025, pushed higher by the Iran war. Food prices also dipped in June.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices were up 4.7% from June 2025 and 0.2% from May.

The producer price report came out a day after the Labor Department said consumer prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the biggest monthly drop in four years. Compared to a year earlier, they were up 3.5% last month, down from 4.2% in May. The June inflation numbers were much cooler than forecasters had expected, reducing pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. Still, inflation is running above the Fed's 2% target.

In his first appearance before Congress since becoming Fed chair May 22, Kevin Warsh said Tuesday that the central bank has "no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation.''

Energy prices have ratcheted higher since President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas passes. Many Americans are already frustrated with the high cost of living, dimming the prospects of Trump's Republican Party in November's midterm elections.

“There’s no near-term pressure on the Fed, but oil is in the driver’s seat over the longer term,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at the online brokerage TradeStation. "Energy saved the day in June, but that might become ancient history if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t open soon.''

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

Lindell established his national profile from his TV advertising campaign as the MyPillow Guy and has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters, echoing the president’s false claims that his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was fraudulent.

“Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it!” Trump posted Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, referring to Lindell as “the ‘Pillow Man.’”

Trump has hammered outgoing Gov. Tim Walz, Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, as incompetent and accused his administration of allowing rampant fraud in federal spending on childcare. Trump has employed racist rhetoric to target Minnesota’s Somali immigrant population as driving the alleged fraud.

Walz, who ended his bid for a third term earlier this year, disputes the Trump administration’s characterizations. There are ongoing investigations into the state's administration of federally supported childcare programs in the state.

Lindell is part of a crowded Republican field competing in an Aug. 11 primary. The GOP list includes state House Speaker Lisa Demuth. Lindell has attacked Demuth as responsible for federal spending fraud. Demuth has blamed the Democratic administration and executive agency leaders that oversee federal grants to childcare providers.

Longtime U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar headlines the Democratic field for governor.

There are 36 gubernatorial elections this November. There currently are 26 Republican governors and 24 Democratic governors, and Republicans view Minnesota as an opportunity to flip a seat despite a challenging national environment because of Trump’s lagging popularity and voters’ discontent over the economy.

While Trump and Republicans focus on the childcare fraud accusations, Democrats, including Klobuchar, have focused on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that involved federal officers killing two Minnesotans, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the past year. Klobuchar has mostly avoided direct mention of the childcare programs and fraud inquiries that Trump has made a political cudgel.

As he's made endorsements in Republican primaries this year, Trump has remained fixated on his lies about the 2020 election. In Georgia, recently, he made a late endorsement in a hotly contested U.S. Senate primary for Rep. Mike Collins, noting the congressman's stalwart support and referencing passing comments made by his opponent, former football coach Derek Dooley, affirming that Biden was legitimately elected in 2020.

Mientras tanto, bomberos franceses lograron controlar un incendio forestal en la histórica y muy visitada zona de Fontainebleau, al sur de París, mientras partes del continente seguían enfrentando temperaturas extremadamente altas.

Todos salvo uno de los fallecidos en el incendio forestal en España eran ciudadanos extranjeros. Había siete ciudadanos británicos —incluida una mujer de 93 años que murió en el hospital—, tres ciudadanos belgas, una mujer francesa, un ciudadano de Estados Unidos y un ciudadano español, señalaron las autoridades judiciales en un comunicado.

De las 13 víctimas, ocho eran mujeres y cinco eran hombres. Todos eran adultos.

Las autoridades regionales creyeron inicialmente que había 23 personas desaparecidas, pero más tarde indicaron que no quedaban personas por localizar una vez los investigadores identificaron a todas las víctimas del incendio.

El incendio de Los Gallardos afectó unos 70 kilómetros cuadrados (27 millas cuadradas) de bosque y tierras de cultivo. Fue uno de los incendios más mortíferos en años en España, un país propenso a los fuegos.

España está experimentando un calor extremo que, combinado con el viento y las escasas precipitaciones, está creando las condiciones ideales para que pequeños incendios forestales crezcan sin control.

Europa es el continente que se calienta más rápido del mundo, con temperaturas que aumentan al doble de la media mundial desde la década de 1980, según el Servicio de Cambio Climático Copernicus de la Unión Europea.

Controlado el incendio de Fontainebleau en Francia

Las temperaturas se mantuvieron excepcionalmente altas en toda Francia el miércoles, con máximas que alcanzaron los 39 grados Celsius (102 grados Fahrenheit) en algunos lugares.

La agencia meteorológica nacional, Météo-France, advirtió que la combinación de calor extremo y condiciones de suelo seco seguía representando un riesgo significativo de incendios forestales en todo el país.

Las autoridades locales informaron que el incendio que se propagó por el histórico bosque de Fontainebleau, al sur de París, y que obligó a evacuar varias zonas residenciales estaba controlado, aunque los bomberos continuaban combatiendo pequeños focos en las áreas afectadas.

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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.

Notably, more music is being streamed than ever before, both in the U.S. and globally.

In terms of genre: The combination of R&B/hip-hop remains on top in the U.S., but its dominance is being challenged by genre diversification, as other styles experience growth.

Latin and country music are surging thanks to artists like Bad Bunny and Ella Langley. Certain AI-generated tracks are also growing in popularity.

And in film and TV, Netflix continues its command in the U.S. in streams of original content.

In its midyear report, Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, provides insight into changing behaviors across music listenership as well as TV and film viewing behaviors.

Music streaming continues to climb

Music streams continued to grow globally and stateside. Global on-demand audio streams reached 2.8 trillion in the first half of 2026 — up from 2.5 trillion during the same period last year, and 2.29 trillion in 2024.

And in the U.S., on-demand audio song streams grew to 732.7 billion. That's up from 696.6 billion in 2025 and 665.8 billion in 2024.

R&B and hip-hop still rules, but competition nears

A combination of R&B/hip-hop is still the most popular streaming genre in the U.S., accounting for nearly 1 in 4 on-demand audio streams. However, its dominance is being challenged. In the first half of 2026, R&B/hip-hop made up 30% of U.S. album-equivalent consumption, based on analysis of the Billboard 200. Compare that to 41% in 2023, and it shows a decline.

“R&B/Hip-Hop remains a massive commercial force, but its historic dominance is leveling off as the streaming landscape diversifies. The genre was an early adopter of streaming, commanding nearly 30% of U.S. audio consumption by 2022, but the post-pandemic era has seen accelerated … growth from genres like Country and Latin,” wrote Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president of music insights and industry relations in a statement to The Associated Press.

He says R&B/hip-hop's “standalone audio volume has dipped 1.7% so far in 2026 compared to last year. We aren’t seeing a collapse in popularity, but rather a shift toward a more balanced, multi-genre ecosystem where R&B/Hip-Hop’s profound creative influence is also seen in other styles.”

Any concerns about R&B/hip-hop's continued supremacy may be shortsighted. In the first half of 2026, the genres accounted for nearly 180.3 billion streams in the U.S., followed by rock with 137.2 billion, pop with 87.8 billion, country with 63.8 billion and Latin with 63 billion.

Latin and country are drawing more listeners

Latin music continues to grow in popularity in the U.S. That’s evidenced in a few different ways: First, Luminate found that nearly 1 in 10 streams in the U.S. was in Spanish for the first half 2026 — 9.4% of total streams.

Secondly, English-language consumption fell to a new low of 87.1% — still the overwhelming majority but evidence of a diverse listening market.

“Casual U.S. listenership of Latin music has hit an all-time high, with 54% — or more than one in two music listeners — now reporting that they engage with the genre,” said Marconette. “Latin music’s cultural footprint is rapidly widening far beyond its traditional core base into the broader American mainstream.”

And globally, Latin music streams reached a new high — accounting for 363.2 billion streams in the first half of 2026, compared to 335.3 billion the previous year.

Albums may be a good place to see the growth of both Latin and country in the U.S. The top albums of the year, so far, are Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” with 2.035 million album equivalent units, Ella Langley’s “Dandelion” with 1.638 million and Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” with 1.543 million. (Both Wallen and Bad Bunny’s albums released early last year.)

Marconette points to Langley as a prime example of country music's growing audience — she's at the forefront of an increasing group of “younger, streaming-forward” fans.

A small number of AI-generated tracks are spiking

And more may very well be on the way. Chill77, Unjaps and Mikeeysmind’s “Papaoutai (Afro Soul)” had 210.7 million streams in all countries except the U.S. in the first half of 2026. In the U.S., it accounted for 17.6 million streams.

That’s followed by The Second Voice’s “Let Me Be,” which earned 75.6 million streams in all countries expect the U.S.; stateside, it earned 10.1 million streams.

The most-streamed AI-generated song in the U.S. is country act Breaking Rust’s “Livin’ on Borrowed Time,” which accounted for 19 million streams. In all countries except the U.S., it earned 13.4 million streams.

Previously, Breaking Rust had a song called “Walk My Walk” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s country digital song sales chart in November 2025. The vocal phrasing, melodic shape and stylistic DNA came from the Grammy-nominated country artist Blanco Brown, an artist who has worked with Britney Spears, Childish Gambino and Rihanna.

Breaking Rust is an example of the kind of generative AI that has begun upending the music industry, often using models trained on real artists’ voices and styles without their knowledge.

“A small number of breakout tracks at the head of the curve can drive temporary conversational and streaming spikes,” says Marconette. “At this stage, generative tools are actively transforming creative and production workflows, but individual AI-generated tracks have yet to make a profound, long-term impact on consumption behavior.”

Netflix dominates in original film and TV streaming

In the U.S., Netflix accounted for 57% of all original content viewing time, followed by Prime Video (11%), Hulu and Paramount (7% each), Peacock and Apple (5% each), HBO Max (4%) and Disney+ (2%), with 13.6 billion hours streamed in total. Original TV series are most popular, accounting for 11.5 billion hours of that total. Original movies make up the difference, accounting for 2.8 billion hours.

The most streamed original films of 2026 in the U.S., so far, are all courtesy of Netflix: “The Crash” with 39.6 million estimated views, “The Rip” with 39.5 million and “Apex” with 37.3 million.

When it comes to original series in the U.S., there's a bit more competition. HBO Max's “The Pitt” leads with 19.4 billion streams, followed by two Netflix titles: “The Lincoln Lawyer” with 16.9 billion and “Bridgerton” with 14 billion.

Overwhelmingly, however, people in the U.S. are streaming library content (older, preexisting and licensed shows and movies) over original programming. Original TV accounted for 11.5 billion hours streamed in the first half of 2026, and original film raked in 2.1 billion. But library TV totaled 42.2 billion hours, and library film had 10.8 billion, according to Luminate.

Luminate estimates there are nearly 19,000 library titles available on major streaming services compared to just 7,000 originals.

In an unusual twist, two groups working independently detected the cold gas giant a few days apart late last year using different telescopes. It's the dimmest planet ever directly imaged from Earth, scientists reported Wednesday.

A Scottish and German-led team spied the new planet around the star Beta Pictoris using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, then dug through archives to confirm its orbit. The planet had remained hidden in the data all this time, overshadowed by its considerably brighter star and two companion planets.

“It was very much playing hide-and-seek for 11 years,” said the European Southern Observatory’s Markus Bonse, co-leader of the first team.

The California-led team made the discovery with NASA’s Webb Space Telescope. Two observations were all it took with Webb, the biggest and most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Both teams reported their findings in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The find was serendipitous. Each team was studying one of the star’s already identified planets when they spotted a less massive one — 100 times fainter — lurking farther out. They deliberately kept their work from one another so as not to bias the results.

The new planet is slightly bigger than Jupiter and takes 91 years to orbit its star, a little longer than it takes Uranus to orbit our sun. Born into a star system that’s barely 20 million years old — a kid compared to the sun's 4.5 billion-year-old neighborhood — the planet is probably similar to a much younger Jupiter, said the University of California San Diego’s Aidan Gibbs, who led the second team.

“The giant planets have formed, but smaller terrestrial planets could still be forming,” Gibbs said in an email. Beta Pictoris “is probably our best look at a planetary system just after it has formed and is still in the process of stabilizing” from hurtling asteroids and comets.

Beta Pictoris is located in the easel-shaped southern constellation Pictor, or painter, and 63 light-years from Earth. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (more than 9 trillion kilometers).

Fewer than 100 of the more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets — planets around other stars — have been detected through direct imaging, according to NASA. Most were found while passing in front of their star, briefly dimming it.

“We’ve now built a picture of this planet,” the University of Edinburgh's Ben Sutlieff said in an email, “and we are very excited to see what more can be learned about it.”

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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.

It's not clear whether ICE will quickly reverse course and resume most stops, which have been a key tool in Trump's immigration crackdown.

Ending those stops, Trump wrote, would be “playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

“We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote Wednesday on his social media site.

Hours after Trump made his views known, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued his own statement saying people illegally in the country would be “arrested and deported wherever they are.” But Mullin didn't directly say whether ICE officers will be allowed to carry out traffic stops.

ICE's enforcement tactics are coming under renewed criticism after three people died during encounters with federal officers within a week. In Florida, a 28-year-old man was killed Tuesday after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

Before that, two motorists were shot and killed by ICE officers — one in Texas last week and another in Maine on Monday.

After the Maine killing, Trump administration officials told ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops, people familiar with the decision said Tuesday.

Since the immigration crackdown began, federal officers confronting drivers have opened fire several times, saying the drivers’ vehicles had posed a danger. Policing experts have long said that shooting into moving cars presents a danger of its own and should almost always be avoided.

There have been at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched his deportation campaign. At least four of them involved people in vehicles, a trend so troubling that Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine urged Department of Homeland Security leaders “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.”

Two shootings in a week, she said Wednesday, “raise very serious questions” and warrant a halt in that approach for the time being.

ICE has been under pressure to beef up arrest and deportation numbers. It says people being sought are increasingly staying in their homes, and it often blames immigration advocates who advise immigrants to stay in homes unless ICE produces a warrant signed by an independent judge.

ICE officers say that means they’re forced to find other ways to make arrests.

DHS says the man killed in Maine came to the US illegally

More protests are planned for Wednesday, a day after hundreds gathered to remember Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the 25-year-old Colombian national who was shot in his car Monday.

Durán Guerrero illegally entered the U.S. on Sept. 1, 2023, through the southern border, DHS said Wednesday. Advocacy groups said that when he was killed, he was authorized to work in the U.S.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the Homeland Security secretary told him on Monday that ICE officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant but that it wasn't for the person who was shot.

When ICE tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone who came from a home under surveillance, the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said.

It its statement Wednesday, DHS said Guerrero was released into the U.S. after crossing the border.

The department didn't answer questions about the agent who shot him.

Photos showed bullet holes in Durán Guerrero’s car windshield, but the officers involved in the shooting didn’t have body cameras, leaving many questions about what happened.

Maine shooting puts a spotlight on ICE

Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the shooting of Durán Guerrero a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”

In Wednesday’s social media post, Trump told ICE to be “judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.”

Border czar Tom Homan told reporters that the investigation needs to play out and that officers will be held accountable if they are found to have acted inappropriately or illegally.

Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, said ICE should be scrapped as a federal agency if it can’t be fixed.

Mills, who has criticized ICE before, said Wednesday that the agency needs changes “before more families are robbed of a loved one.”

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Whittle reported from Biddeford, Maine. Associated Press reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans, Michael R. Sisak in New York, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Elliot Spagat in Park City, Utah, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

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According to police, Lorent Pion allegedly beat the 22-year-old victim, Nahomi Cittadini, on the side of Interstate 95 near the exit for Ives Dairy Road where she was fatally struck by a vehicle traveling at least 80 mph.

It happened on Dec. 18, 2024.

Authorities said Pion, 30, then led police on a pursuit that spanned both Miami-Dade and Broward counties and ended when he crashed into multiple vehicles at the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Red Road in Miramar.

He was then taken into custody while trying to run, police said.

Investigators said this incident was not the first time Pion was physical with Cittadini.

Video obtained by Local 10 allegedly shows Pion pulling Cittadini by the hair in Miami Beach in March.

At the time, the judge issued a no-contact order.

On Wednesday, three members of a family were killed in central Gaza, Al Aqsa Hospital officials said.

On Tuesday, woman and six police officers were among those killed in an airstrike on a police station in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, hospital officials said. A man died in the bombing of a tent camp in Khan Younis in the south, Nasser Hospital officials said. And Israeli forces shot and killed a child in the Muwasi area outside the southernmost city of Rafah, according to hospital officials.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes in central and southern Gaza. In a statement on the attack in Jabaliya, it claimed that four of the slain police officers were Hamas militants, without providing evidence on how those killed were involved in planning or carrying out attacks.

One of the officers, Col. Mohamad Marwan Salem, was a senior police commander and head of the Jabaliya police station, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said.

Hamas, which ruled Gaza for years, maintains an armed wing as well as civilian police and security services that are overseen by its Interior Ministry. Throughout the war, Israel has targeted local police, including those guarding humanitarian aid convoys.

Israel's military has claimed it considers police stations legitimate targets if they're “being used to advance military activities, or if those present are military operatives involved in advancing terrorist activities.”

It did not say what military activities it believed were taking place at the Jabaliya police station, nor did it provide evidence that attacks were being planned. Hamas says the police force is engaged in maintaining law and order.

Israeli attacks on Gaza’s police have been condemned by the United Nations human rights office, which said last month that police personnel had been attacked at least a dozen times in 2026, including “during ordinary law enforcement operations, including directing traffic and patrolling streets and markets.”

“The pattern of attacks raises concerns that Israeli forces apply no distinction between police personnel and fighters belonging to armed groups in Gaza,” it said in a June 3 statement.

Ofer Guterman, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel’s targeting suggests that it regards parts of Hamas' policing apparatus as closely integrated with its military infrastructure, including through dual-role personnel and the use of facilities for weapons storage, operations and logistics.

The fragile ceasefire deal in October attempted to halt a two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas.

The heaviest fighting has subsided but at least 1,123 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which has been part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and children make up most of the dead.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,264 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. ___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank.

The Penguin Random House imprint Crown has scheduled Brett McGurk's “Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages” for Oct. 6, nearly three years to the day after the deadly Hamas siege that left more than 1,000 people dead and more than 200 taken captive.

McGurk, 53, is a longtime Middle East adviser and diplomat who had already served under three presidents when he was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023 to oversee hostage talks between Israel and Hamas. According to Crown, McGurk will describe his frantic efforts to balance the competing and seemingly intractable demands of the two sides, traveling worldwide in pursuit of an agreement.

“On October 7, Hamas unleashed a devastating war and the largest hostage crisis in modern history,” McGurk said in a statement released Wednesday by Crown. “I wrote ‘Brink’ to bring readers inside the rooms as events unfolded in real time — from the Situation Room with hundreds of missiles in the air, to compounds across the Middle East where diplomacy teetered between breakthrough and collapse.”

According to Crown, McGurk will also disclose details of a near-deal before Oct. 7 that would have normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and will remember his unlikely alliance with President Donald Trump appointee Steve Witkoff as they handled talks during the transition time between the administrations of Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican. The remaining surviving hostages were freed in October 2025.

“'Brink' details the bipartisan front they forged when it mattered most, ultimately securing a deal that would save lives,” the publisher's announcement reads in part.

Blanche insisted that the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which was scrapped after fierce bipartisan backlash, was “not moving forward.” But lawmakers, including Republican Sen. John Cornyn, raised concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and that it could therefore conceivably be resurrected.

“Just to be clear, the president of the United States, who's a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ and there’s no guarantee that he won’t raise it in the future?” Cornyn asked. Blanche replied that Trump has no power over the fund, which was to have been administered by the Justice Department but never launched.

Cornyn's questions were closely watched since Blanche requires the backing of all Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and the Texas senator has not committed his support.

The hearing arrived at a tumultuous time for the Justice Department, with mass firings and resignations hollowing out the workforce and Democrats and other critics raising alarms that Blanche is still functioning as the president's personal lawyer.

He has led the department on an interim basis since April, functioning as the public face of the maligned and later-withdrawn fund and accelerating investigations into perceived Trump adversaries. Even as he said the fund had been shelved, he made clear that immunity from tax audits afforded to Trump this year remained in place.

Those actions, along with the flawed release of files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation, received fresh scrutiny Wednesday.

“You’re in charge of a Department of Justice I don’t recognize, prosecuting the president’s political enemies, firing rank and file prosecutors and FBI agents,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware told Blanche. “These are some actions that in your previous confirmation hearing before us, you said you would not take.”

Blanche, for his part, insisted he has presided over a course correction following Justice Department investigations into Trump during the Biden administration.

“In recent years, we watched the Justice Department turned against many of you and a former president, and it damaged the public’s faith in justice,” Blanche argued. “We are fixing that."

Blanche will need the support of each Republican on the panel

Key to Blanche's confirmation are Cornyn of Texas, who in May lost his primary, and Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who has opted not to seek reelection. Entering the final stretches of their Senate career, both are seen as more likely than before to split from Trump and both have been outspoken critics of the fund the Trump administration created to compensate people who feel unjustly persecuted by the criminal justice system, and then quickly withdrew.

After questioning Blanche about the fund, Cornyn told CNN he continues “to have some concerns” and is not “going to make any decisions at this point.” Tillis, meanwhile, indicated during questioning that he is likely to support Blanche, even as he said he wanted “to stick a fork in this turkey of a 1776 fund."

With the death of South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, there are 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the panel. If even one Republican on the committee votes against Blanche, it could scuttle his nomination.

Blanche insists the fund is dead. Lawmakers aren't so sure

The “Anti-Weaponization Fund" emerged as part of a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns.

Blanche initially defended the fund only to later reveal that it was being scrapped, a retreat that followed fierce bipartisan backlash that flared during a tense closed-door meeting he had with lawmakers.

The judge who presided over the case said in a scathing ruling Monday that Trump and his lawyers had manipulated the court system through the lawsuit and subsequent settlement. The judge, Kathleen Williams, said she was troubled that Blanche had signed the settlement given that he previously represented Trump. She sent a copy of her ruling to the New York Bar Association, where an investigation is pending.

“I very much disagree with the judge's insinuations about me, and we're going to do what we can to make that right,” Blanche said.

Blanche also defended a separate element of the settlement that afforded Trump and members of his family protection from tax audits and that, he has said, remains on track despite outrage over it even from Republicans. Blanche said the deal covers any existing audits but does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.

“Nobody is above the law,” Blanche said. Such a settlement "doesn’t make any of those individuals above the law.”

Epstein files are also under scrutiny

Other testimony focused on Blanche's handling of the Epstein files, especially after his predecessor Pam Bondi told lawmakers after her ouster as attorney general that Blanche was the department’s point person on the release of documents from the sex trafficking case into the late financier.

The staggered release was beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims. Some names, email addresses and other identifying information were either unredacted or not fully obscured. About 1% of the records had redactions that needed to be fixed, he said.

Blanche said while “mistakes were made,” the disclosure of the documents was an exercise in unprecedented transparency, although the Justice Department only released additional files after Trump bowed to bipartisan pressure to sign a law forcing the department to do so.

“I want to make sure that the American people know that this administration, when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, has been more transparent than any administration,” he said.

A former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump's defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, Blanche arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. At one point, under friendly questioning from Republican Sen. John Kennedy about whether he and Trump are friends, Blanche responded: “I’m his lawyer,” before quickly correcting himself to say he “was his lawyer.”

He ascended to the top job in April after Trump ousted Bondi, who had frustrated the White House by struggling to bring successful cases against Trump's political opponents. Blanche has tried to satisfy Trump in that regard, including with an indictment of ex-FBI Director James Comey, another Trump adversary, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.”

Comey has said the numbers were not a call to violence.

Blanche was also pressed on Jan. 6 violence

Tillis, who has said he would not support for attorney general anyone who equivocates on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, denounced the Biden administration Justice Department for what he said were excessive prosecutions and punishments.

Democrats, meanwhile, pressed Blanche on the violence and Trump’s sweeping clemency action benefiting more than 1,500 people, including those convicted of violently attacking police.

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse criticized Blanche for comments at a political conference this year where he appeared to characterize the Jan. 6 pardons as an administration accomplishment. Blanche replied that he has “never said that any sort of violence against law enforcement is appropriate.”

“He has the absolute right to pardon anybody for any reason he sees fit,” Blanche said of the president. “I am not celebrating that. It is a fact.”

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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

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Experts say the technique is different from traditional deep tissue massage. Instead of applying heavy pressure, lymphatic drainage uses gentle movements designed to encourage the body’s natural lymphatic system.

“We are just incentivizing your body to do something that it naturally does 24/7,” said Camila Perez, owner of Mova Lymphatic Drainage.

Perez says the treatment helps move excess fluid produced through normal cellular metabolism back into the circulatory system, where it can be filtered by the liver and kidneys.

“It helps remove excessive fluid and bring it back to the circulatory system,” Perez said.

She says clients often seek lymphatic drainage massages to help with bloating and digestion.

“The lymph nodes that inside of the intestines are in charge of some fat removal, so in terms of digestion, important and specific working on the stomach helps digestion and reduces bloating,” Perez added.

Perez also says the treatment may help support people recovering after surgery by helping redirect fluid while the body heals.

“After an incision, you cut the pathways (and) capillaries that drain the areas,” she said. “(It’s the) right amount of pressure to redirect the fluid until it gets heeled.”

She says improving circulation can also help support a less congested system.

“In circulation in general and a less congested system is not distracted,” Perez said.

Perez says many clients schedule appointments before major events, including weddings, while others seek treatments during or after pregnancy.

“It’s a time where hormones are taking over. It’s safe. I recommend starting after the first trimester and coming back post-pregnancy,” she added.

The treatment is also popular among men, Perez said.

But Perez says one of the biggest misconceptions is that a stronger massage leads to better results.

“I think the biggest misconception is that a deeper, stronger massage will give you more results,” she said.

Instead, she says the technique relies on gentle pressure and slow movements.

“Lymphatic is not releasing fat. It’s not making you skinny, but you can look better and more slim because you’re not carrying too much water,” Perez said.

She says lymphatic drainage can be used for a wide range of clients, but each treatment is adjusted based on individual needs.

“One day I can have a cancer patient, a model, a post-surgery client. Each one, we have a different approach,” she added.

One client, Rudineia Villegas, says she receives regular lymphatic drainage massages while managing lipedema, a condition that can cause swelling, inflammation and fluid retention.

“It’s a condition it can affect your arms, your thighs, (and the) bottom part of your legs. You retain a lot of water, inflammation (and it) makes it look like a lot of cellulite,” Villegas said.

Villegas says she has received lymphatic drainage massages monthly for the past five years.

“It makes my skin feel smoother and I feel a lot lighter also,” she said.

She says the treatments have also helped while she goes through menopause.

”I feel like it helps with the mood swings. It helps regulate my digestion,” Villegas said.

While lymphatic drainage massages are considered safe for many people, Perez says some should avoid the treatment or speak with a doctor first.

“Lymphatic drainage has a few absolute contraindications: kidney failure, heart failure, deep vein thrombosis and other circulatory conditions. If you have an infection, it’s good to avoid (it),” Perez said.

For those looking to reduce swelling or improve how they feel, experts say lymphatic drainage may be an option — but it is important to understand what the treatment can and cannot do.

The organizations say in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that they have been forced to censor their own advocacy work to avoid scrutiny from the White House, which in an executive order last year not only targeted the Hague-based criminal court but prohibited providing or receiving services to or from entities that have been sanctioned.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan against top administration officials by DAWN and Taxpayers Alliance Against Genocide, seeks a court order that would strike down the restrictions on their advocacy and their ability to interact with Palestinian human rights groups and other sanctioned parties.

“The Trump administration is using the blunt instrument of economic sanctions not only to punish human rights defenders but to police the political expressions of millions of Americans,” said Omar Shakir, the executive director of DAWN, a U.S.-based group advocating for democracy and human rights in the Arab world that was founded by Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in 2018.

“The government is violating the constitutional rights of American citizens in order to shield officials of a foreign government who have committed a genocide," he said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.

The Hague-based ICC has been investigating allegations of war crimes in Gaza during the war that began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. A panel of judges issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu has called the warrants “absurd.”

The U.S. and Israel are not among the court’s members, and neither nation recognizes its authority.

In response to the arrest warrants, President Donald Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order last year that accused the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel” and warned of “tangible and significant consequences” on those responsible for the ICC’s “transgressions.”

The U.S. over the last year has slapped sanctions on Palestinian human rights groups, a series of ICC judges and staffers — including the court’s former chief prosecutor — and Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza. Her family sued in February, saying the penalties violated the First Amendment.

Already, the lawsuit says, DAWN has halted work on submissions to the ICC about Israel’s conduct during the war, stopped exchanging evidence and legal analysis with sanctioned non-government organizations and abstained from collaborating with them on advocacy campaigns. It has also been forced to “discontinue its professional engagements with Albanese.”

“The chilling effect on Plaintiffs has been profound,” the lawsuit states. “They now face prison terms and ruinous fines if, in their interactions with the designated parties, they provide or receive anything that Defendants could plausibly characterize as a ‘service’— an extraordinarily capacious term that potentially reaches any act that confers a benefit on its recipient. Fearing liability, Plaintiffs — and countless others like them —have turned to self-censorship.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is among the defendants in the lawsuit, denounced the court as recently as this week, pledging in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that Trump's administration would “dismantle the ICC — brick by brick, if necessary.” He warned that the court's “overreach,” if left unchecked, could subject Border Patrol agents, federal prosecutors and U.S. Marines to the tribunal's jurisdiction.

“The ICC’s interfering with American military and law enforcement operations isn’t only a grave overreach of its purported authorities. It would mean the death of the U.S. as a sovereign and independent nation,” Rubio wrote. “Our decision and our people would be at the mercy of the ICC and its collaborators in the 'international community.' To accept the ICC is to surrender control of our national destiny.”

The State Department said the campaign against the court could include additional sanctions or visa revocations and travel bans for ICC employees as well as “increased scrutiny” of nations that don't reject ICC authority.

The forecast high in Miami is 94 degrees. The record high for July 15 is 96 degrees, so we could come close to tying or breaking that record on Wednesday.

Saharan dust continues to limit rain chances while contributing to hotter temperatures. Looking ahead, rain chances increase Friday as the Saharan dust finally begins to move out of the area, allowing showers and thunderstorms to return.

El Centro Nacional de Huracanes en Miami indicó que el centro del meteoro se encontraba en el mar, a unos 909 kilómetros (565 millas) al sur-suroeste del extremo sur de la península de Baja California, en México, el miércoles.

Elida tenía vientos máximos sostenidos que rondaban los 64 kilómetros/hora (40 mph), de acuerdo con un aviso del centro.

Se espera que la tormenta siga fortaleciéndose hasta convertirse en huracán para la noche del jueves y alcance su máxima intensidad el viernes, dijo el centro de huracanes. No hay alertas ni avisos costeros en vigor.

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

The memoir is scheduled to come out Nov. 17, publisher Little, Brown and Company told The Associated Press. The timing of the book — two weeks after midterm elections in which Democrats seek to regain control of Congress — could raise concerns within Biden's party by putting him back into the spotlight.

Democrats remain divided on Biden’s legacy, with many blaming his ill-fated determination to seek a second term for Republican President Donald Trump's return to the White House. Leaders hope to keep the fall campaign focused on Trump and his record, and any leaks or promotional efforts before votes are cast could draw frustration.

“'Promise Me, America' is about the challenges we faced as a nation. It’s about the decisions I made and why I made them,” Biden said in a video statement accompanying Wednesday's announcement. “It’s about why I chose to run for reelection and why I chose to step aside."

Reports of Biden's book have circulated for more than a year, and the former president himself has referred to it during public remarks, appearing to suggest at one point that it would be released before November's election.

Biden, who will turn 84 three days after the publication of “Promise Me, America," has long presented himself as an upholder of standards and traditions; presidential memoirs are one of them. With a handful of exceptions, modern presidents since Harry Truman in the 1950s have published books about their White House years. Like virtually all of his predecessors, Biden did not work on the book alone but was helped by a “small editorial team,” according to the publisher. Little, Brown declined to release financial details for ”Promise Me, America," although presidents have usually reached deals worth at least seven figures.

The book's title echoes a 2017 memoir by Biden, “Promise Me, Dad,” which centered on the death of his son, Beau Biden.

Vowing as a candidate to “restore the soul” of his country, Biden was sworn into office in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to stop his certification as president. Biden's term was defined by a wide range of conflicts and achievements, from his handling of wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to the passage of ambitious infrastructure and economic aid bills. But many readers will likely want to know more about his health while president, including the disastrous debate in June 2024 against Trump that led to his giving up his reelection bid. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran instead, lost decisively to Trump.

Former first lady Jill Biden wrote in her own book that her husband seemed so weak and disoriented during the debate that she feared he was having a stroke. In “View from the East Wing,” published in June, she noted that the White House had initially said he was suffering from a cold.

“The biggest lesson for us, I think, was that if you don’t explain something well enough then the question won’t go away,” she wrote. “There was never a satisfying enough explanation offered for Joe’s debate performance, and a lot of people never got over it.”

Biden was the oldest man to serve as president and his health was a source of speculation for much of his term; Biden and his White House advisers have faced intense criticism from Democrats and Republicans for allegedly concealing the extent of his problems. A notable book release from 2025, Jake Tapper's and Alex Thompson's “Original Sin,” was subtitled “President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.”

That year, Biden announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Biden's previous books also include “Promises to Keep,” a campaign work published to boost his run for president in 2008, when Barack Obama was the eventual nominee and Biden his running mate. ”Promise Me, America" comes out during a year when nonfiction sales have declined and few political books have caught on, although recent bestsellers have included Vice President JD Vance's “Communion” and an inside account of Trump's second term, by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Regime Change.”

A Little, Brown spokesperson said that Biden plans to tour on behalf of the book and give interviews. In his video announcement, Biden said that many people had been asking him how he was doing.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family. I’m dealing with a cancer diagnosis, been getting treatment, and it’s going really well,” he said. “I want to thank all those who have offered their prayers and support and well-wishes. It’s meant the world to me and to Jill.”

Just 11 days after facing Lionel Messi and Argentina in an epic World Cup round-of-32 game, Cape Verde defender Lopes led the Dublin club to a 5-1 second-leg win over Maltese champion Floriana.

Rovers advanced 5-3 on aggregate score and will now travel to face Ararat-Armenia next week. Rovers must advance through four qualifying rounds to enter the lucrative 36-team main phase starting in September.

The second qualifying round will see former European Cup winner Red Star Belgrade enter the competition against Larne, the champion of Northern Ireland. Larne advanced Tuesday beating Tre Fiori of San Marino 2-1 for a 3-1 aggregate score.

Vikingur of Iceland got a 2-2 draw in Hungary against Győri ETO to advance 3-2 on aggregate and will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the next round.

Vikingur could have to return to Hungary for the second leg on July 28 or 29. Israeli clubs cannot host their home games in UEFA competitions for security reasons, and Hapoel Beer-Sheva chose stadiums in Hungary as a neutral venue in European qualifying matches last season.

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

Over the course of the war, Ukraine has gone from pleading for foreign military support to providing its cutting-edge and battle-tested weapons know-how to Europe, the United States and Middle East countries. But it still needs help expanding its domestic production, especially sophisticated air defenses that can stop Russia’s ballistic missiles.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, attending ceremonies marking Ukraine’s Statehood Day, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a new EU-Ukraine Defense Industrial Partnership.

The move reflects European worries about Russia’s broader intentions on the continent.

“Today, Ukraine’s fight is not only a fight for your own freedom. It is an existential fight for Europe’s freedoms — for its values, its self-determination,” Von der Leyen said in a speech in Kyiv's St. Michaels’ Square, where she received Ukraine's Order of Europe, a state honor.

“You are not only fighting for your own future but for the security of our entire continent,” she told a crowd.

The EU and Ukraine signed a letter of intent that aims to establish joint drone and anti-drone production by the end of this year and joint anti-ballistic missile production by 2028, as well as broader support for defense manufacturing.

Ukraine wants to bolster its security by joining the EU. It has started that process, which could take years to complete.

U.S. President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to build its own Patriot air defense systems, essential to countering ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday he expects Ukraine will have the technical capability to produce the sophisticated missiles by the end of the year, even though experts say it could take years.

Ukraine celebrates its sovereignty amid Russia war

Von der Leyen and other dignitaries, including the presidents of Moldova and Romania, marked Ukraine’s Statehood Day, which celebrates the country’s sovereignty and is a public holiday.

Ukraine has been under threat since Russian forces illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, followed eight years later by the all-out invasion in 2022. Statehood Day, celebrating the country’s self-determination, is a public holiday in Ukraine.

The war has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians, forced millions to flee their homes, reduced some Ukrainian cities to rubble, and has fueled fears the confrontation could slide into an open conflict between Russia and NATO, whose member nations have supported Kyiv. No peace settlement is in sight.

Senior officials from southeastern European countries also were in Kyiv for a gathering focused on Black Sea and regional security. Last year’s meeting in the southern city of Odesa reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zelenskyy has recently won important pledges of further support, including from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations and the so-called Coalition of the Willing countries.

EU official says the ‘tide is turning’ in the war

Von der Leyen said her trip to the Ukrainian capital was her 11th in wartime. The EU has provided billions of euros to Ukraine as well as diplomatic support.

She promised EU help in preparing Ukraine's air defenses for the colder months. That's when Russia, often launching ballistic missiles, usually tries to knock out essential services like electricity and heat in what Kyiv officials call “weaponizing winter.”

"Energy remains an unwavering priority,” Zelenskyy said.

Western officials and analysts say Ukraine’s drone and missile attacks are hitting high-profile targets deep inside Russia, severely disrupting Moscow's supply lines and causing civilian fuel shortages.

“It’s a special moment,” Von der Leyen said on social media. “Ukraine has built a strong military momentum. The tide is turning.”

Washington appeared poised to increase economic pressure on Moscow as a proposed Russia sanctions bill was unveiled in the U.S. Senate following Saturday’s death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of its chief backers.

The bill, which its authors had hoped to pass last summer but was held up by White House reservations, would impose steep tariffs on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports.

Wednesday's official ceremonies came at a delicate political moment for Zelenskyy as he manages a major government reshuffle.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s Moscow-friendly president, Aleksandar Vucic, was taking part in the Southeast Europe Summit in Kyiv. Serbia, which relies almost fully on Russia for its energy supplies, has refused to join Western sanctions on Moscow, although it officially supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Russian attacks kill 9 Ukrainian civilians

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that at least nine civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in Russian aerial attacks.

Russian forces dropped six glide bombs mostly targeting infrastructure in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, killing three people and wounding seven, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional military administration.

Three people were killed and three others wounded in a Russian attack on Odesa, according to Serhii Lysak, the head of the city’s military administration.

In the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, Russian drones killed two people and seriously wounded an 18-year-old, while one person was killed and two injured in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 93 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as well as over Crimea and the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Associated Press reporter Justin Spike in Budapest contributed.

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

Starmer, who leaves office next week, bid farewell to the boisterous weekly Prime Minister’s Questions sessions where he has traded barbs with opposition politicians and defended his government’s record. On Monday, he will step down as prime minister after losing the support of his Labour Party, handing over power to a new Labour leader, Andy Burnham.

“Every prime minister knows when they take up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on,” said Starmer, who has spent six years as leader of the Labour Party and two as prime minister.

“This is the end of my political journey,” he said, though he plans to remain a backbench lawmaker for now.

Britain’s parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change leaders, and thus prime ministers, without the need for a general election. The next national election doesn't have to be held until 2029.

PMQs is a weekly ritual in British politics, where the prime minister answers questions, from opposition party leaders and others, on topics they don’t know in advance. A test of leaders’ ability to think on their feet, it is derided by some as political pantomime that generates more noise than insight.

Starmer's valedictory session was a gentler affair, mixing seriousness and political criticism with personal tributes and jokes about an upcoming special election pitting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage against the comedy candidate Count Binface.

Starmer opened by saying he was “horrified” at the killing last week of the former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe. Counterterrorism police are investigating it as murder.

Starmer called it “chilling” that three serving or former members have been killed during his 11 years in Parliament, and urged politicians to “do more to defend our democracy.”

Instead of mentioning upcoming meetings with ministers, as he has every other week, Starmer said that he had “an important appointment with the television” later when England faces Argentina in a World Cup semifinal.

Kemi Badenoch — the fourth leader of the opposition Conservative Party since 2022 — cautioned Labour that changing leaders is no “silver bullet,” and recalled how Starmer had predicted she wouldn't last a year in charge.

“Life comes at you fast,” Badenoch said.

Starmer went from landslide to ouster in two years

Starmer was elected in a landslide in July 2024, but is quitting after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

He struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. And he was hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to the United States.

After Labour was hammered in May’s local elections, Starmer gave in to mounting pressure from the party and announced that he would step down. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, is the only candidate in the contest to replace him and will be announced as the new Labour leader on Friday.

On Monday, Starmer will go to Buckingham Palace and announce his resignation as prime minister to King Charles III, who will then ask Burnham to take over.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said that he was proud of his government’s domestic policy achievements, including stronger protections for working people, a reduction in child poverty, a law designed to stop official cover-ups after tragedies, and higher defense spending.

“I am proud to leave this country in better shape than I found it,” he said.

He got praise for supporting Ukraine

Starmer has been lauded for his role on the world stage, especially in repairing relations with Britain's European Union neighbors after Brexit and galvanizing international support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.

On Tuesday, Starmer attended Bastille Day celebrations in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, who awarded him the Legion of Honor in recognition of his work with France on European security. The two countries have led efforts to assemble an international coalition to underpin peace in Ukraine if there is a ceasefire.

Ukraine's cause has wide political support in Britain, and Badenoch praised Starmer for inviting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London immediately after the Ukrainian leader was berated by U.S. President Donald Trump and other administration officials in the White House last year.

Starmer recalled how people had gathered at the gates of Downing Street to see Zelenskyy, and “the moment he got out of the car and hugged me, they cheered from the top of their voices, the British people, to tell President Zelenskyy exactly what they thought of him and the way he had been treated” in the Oval Office.

The rambunctious House fell silent as Starmer ended by thanking colleagues, staff, civil servants and all those “who struggle to be seen or heard — you’re the reason I came into politics.”

He said “I love you” to wife Victoria and two teenage children, who were watching from a viewing gallery, before a final: “Goodbye.”

Lawmakers from all sides of the chamber applauded, with many rising for a standing ovation. That drew a reprimand from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who reminded them that cheering is allowed in the House of Commons, but clapping is against the rules.

In its latest attempt to reduce the risks of online harm for children, Britain's Labour government also said that features that can keep users scrolling for longer, such as videos that automatically play one after another, will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.

The planned restrictions come a month after the government unveiled a social media ban for under-16s, which is expected to cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, from next spring.

The measures, which are one of the final acts of the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will have to be legislated upon. It is widely believed that his expected successor Andy Burnham will follow through with the plans.

Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan downplayed talk that teenagers would just turn off optional social media curfews, saying it is a “disservice” to them to suggest they would.

He pointed to a recent pilot program involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the U.K. that saw social media usage drop dramatically overnight as well as helping improve sleep and concentration.

“In October, for example, some platforms introduced these defaults of this sort – 90%-plus teenagers said to us that they’ve maintained those defaults as well,” he told Sky News. “And so the evidence base is clear, the motivation is very clear and I wouldn’t do the disservice to teenagers of saying they’re all going to switch it off.”

Laura Trott, the education spokesperson for the main opposition Conservative Party, said the proposals make “no sense.”

“Either they think 16- and 17-year-olds should be on social media or they don’t, but curfews they can simply switch off won’t achieve anything,” she said.

The NSPCC, the U.K.'s leading children's charity, said the proposals will go some way to improving the experiences of young people on social media but won't be enough on their own.

“Unless they’re followed up with further, stronger measures, they will be a sticking plaster that fails to address the addictive design features which are driving high screentime and undermining children’s wellbeing,” said NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood.

Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said the move was a “positive step” as young people want to try to cut down social media use but find it hard.

“I want to know more about how the policies, such as a curfew, will be delivered and will be watching closely to make sure they are effective,” she said.

The November fire engulfed seven buildings of an apartment complex, killing 168 people and shattering the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban Tai Po district.

Former residents and relatives of the deceased have been waiting for answers from the committee, which was established in December by the Hong Kong city government with an expectation that the work would take nine months.

Lawyers representing residents, the government and the committee are expected to lay out their arguments before the hearings conclude Friday.

The scope of the panel does not include possible legal liabilities for those linked to the fire’s outbreak, which will be handled by law enforcement authorities.

Committee has heard testimony about multiple factors in fire

The three-member committee is led by High Court Judge David Lok and includes Chan Kin-por, a member of the city’s Executive Council, and Rex Auyeung, who serves on the Hospital Authority Board.

When the hearings began in March, committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the evidence showed multiple factors contributed to the disaster, from fire alarms and hose systems being shut off to the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting and covering windows with foam boards.

Lawyer Martin Ho, representing ISS EastPoint Properties, said the property management company's in-house electrician inadvertently switched off the fire alarm system when emptying water tanks.

The mistake was regrettable but could have been avoided if the complex's fire service installation contractor had been present during the process, Ho said.

Another installation contractor later noted the issue but did not follow up properly, Ho said, adding that a director of that contractor pointed to the industry’s mentality of not teaching other companies how to work. The lawyer called it “baffling.”

Aaron Chan, a lawyer for a director of one of the fire service installation contractors, said his client agreed the fire alarm system would help reduce casualties but hoped the committee could consider the window to escape might be very short and other factors.

Judge David Lok, who led the committee, stepped in and asked Chan not to tell him the alarms are useless. Chan quickly denied it but said he wanted to present other factors for consideration.

Residents say responsibility is being avoided

Some Wang Fuk Court residents who listened to Wednesday's arguments said part of those involved in the incident seemed to be trying to deflect responsibility.

Betty Ho was unsure if she could learn the truth, but said she hoped the committee could find justice for the deceased victims.

“I don’t think we’ll get what we hoped for in the end,” she said.

Patrick Liu said he doesn't have much expectation.

“Basically, everyone is just shirking responsibility. There’s no need to even think about it,” Liu said, adding that he learned about what had happened but he still needed to wait for the committee's report and a court trial to fully understand who should be accountable.

Panel also investigating systemic problems

The committee also is examining whether systemic problems such as bid-rigging have occurred in Hong Kong's large-scale building maintenance and renovation works. The panel is expected to give suggestions after reviewing the fire's cause, potential systemic problems and whether existing regulations and penalties are sufficient.

A representative of the Competition Commission, an antitrust organization, on Wednesday said bid-rigging groups existed in the city and in some cases were associated with criminal groups known as triads.

Former residents, government officers and experts have given evidence in previous rounds of hearings. CCTV footage, documents and records of text messages also were used as evidence.

Criminal charges filed over fire

Hong Kong authorities charged seven people and two companies in June with offenses including manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud over the fire.

The companies include Will Power Architects Company, a consultancy, and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co., the main contractor involved in a major renovation project at Wang Fuk Court at the time of the blaze.

Authorities alleged the people in charge of the renovation project and the relevant companies were seriously negligent in monitoring the materials used in the project and the procedures involved.

They also alleged the two companies and some defendants conspired to defraud Wang Fuk Court apartment owners by concealing previous Prestige litigation records and inflating the firm's score in a tender analysis report.

Health workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region's largest medical center, went on strike Wednesday and are the latest group to walk off the job at the epicenter over payment issues. Health professionals and other front-line workers barricaded the entrance to the hospital, claiming they have not received pay despite working under difficult conditions.

The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak.

The Central African nation has been battling the Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus since May 15. A total of 753 patients remain in isolation or in hospitals, while 366 have recovered so far, according to data from Congo’s Ministry of Health.

The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response. At least 80% of new cases are emerging from unknown chains of transmission, the WHO said Tuesday.

A key challenge is that health authorities have yet to identify the outbreak’s patient zero, while displacement from armed conflict and mining-related movements have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals.

The authorities have been able to trace 67% of the contacts of those exposed to confirmed cases, Congo's health ministry said.

Many of the newly reported deaths are of people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility and without receiving care, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the WHO emergencies chief, said Tuesday after returning from Bunia in Ituri, the worst-hit province in the outbreak.

The response is being hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, and mistrust among local communities.

Dozens of healthcare workers at an Ebola virus treatment center in Rwampara, another hard-hit city in the Ituri province, went on strike over unpaid salaries and bonuses on Monday. On Tuesday, they agreed to resume work on condition the government pay them within 72 hours.

Some have told The Associated Press they have not received any payment since they started work at the onset of the outbreak.

Response efforts have also been challenged by the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, unlike the more common Zaire virus for which there is a vaccine and which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Enrollment in a highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments recently started in Ituri.

The lower house of parliament approved the measure in a 291-241 vote, after backing it in three previous readings, completing parliament’s work on the legislation announced by French President Emmanuel Macron more than three years ago.

“In 2022, I committed to opening this path with the French people.” Macron said in a message posted on X. "With seriousness, with humility, and with full respect for our democracy, that commitment has been fulfilled.”

According to various estimates, assisted dying is available to around 300 million people worldwide, with euthanasia legal under certain conditions in some countries and assisted suicide allowed in others and in several U.S. states. France has an increasingly aging population, with growing numbers of patients in the country who require care for chronic illnesses.

France, a traditionally Catholic nation, has grappled with legal, medical, moral and religious questions about end-of-life options, including existing legislation that allows doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated before death, but stops short of allowing assisted suicide and euthanasia.

“The national representation has risen to the occasion during these debates. This has been the longest debate since the 1980s,” said Yael Braun-Pivet, the president of the National Assembly.

Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal. Medically assisted suicide generally involves a patient voluntarily taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor. Euthanasia involves a doctor or other health care professional administering a lethal injection at the patient’s request.

End-of-life options are also being debated in the United Kingdom. A bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales will formally return to Parliament on Sept. 11, five months after it ran out of time in Parliament’s last session.

The bill sets strict conditions

The proposed measure in France primarily provides for medically assisted suicide, by allowing patients to receive and self-administer lethal medication under strict conditions. Only people whose physical condition prevents them from doing so would be allowed to receive assistance from a doctor or a nurse.

Patients seeking to end their lives would have to be at least 18 years old and either French citizens or legal residents of France.

A doctor would first have to consult a team of health care professionals and then confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening. The patient must be in an advanced or terminal stage, experiencing pain that can't be relieved or is unbearable, and seeking lethal medication of their own free will.

Lawmakers specified that psychological suffering alone wouldn't qualify a person for medically assisted dying.

People with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s wouldn't be eligible.

Patients would initiate the request, to be reviewed by health professionals within 15 days, and then confirm it after a period of reflection lasting at least two days.

If approved, they could take the lethal medication at the time and in the place of their choice, including at home or in a health care facility, in the presence of their loved ones if they wish.

On the chosen date, the doctor or nurse would have to verify that the person still wishes to proceed and remain nearby to intervene if complications arise.

France’s national health insurance system would cover all associated costs.

Many French people support the changes

A 2023 report found that most French people are in favor of legalizing end-of-life options, and opinion polls have shown support increasing over the past two decades.

The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said that the law would allow people “to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness.” Its president, Jonathan Denis, said in a statement that “a law that creates a new right never forces anyone to exercise it. It does, however, ensure that every person … can remain at the heart of medical decisions that concern them and have their wishes respected.”

Opponents argue the measure could put pressure on older people and those living with illness or disabilities.

In an open letter to Macron, the anti-euthanasia group Alliance Vita said that “every effort must be made to ensure that people who are suffering have immediate access to palliative care and support. Presenting death as a desirable solution can never be an acceptable response to suffering and is contrary to human dignity.”

The vote caps a lengthy parliamentary process

The Senate, the upper house where conservatives hold a majority, rejected the bill. But under France’s legislative process, the National Assembly has the final say when the two houses of parliament disagree.

Senate President Gérard Larcher and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that they would refer the bill to the Constitutional Council, which will have up to a month to determine whether it complies with the Constitution. The law will only take effect once that review has been completed.

“Extensive debates have taken place in the National Assembly on this bill. However, discussions in the Senate did not allow for such an in-depth examination, in order to produce legislation that addresses both the aspirations of its supporters and the concerns of those who are worried about how it will be implemented,” Lecornu said.

In the U.K., opponents of the bill to legalize assisted dying prevented it from passing in the House of Lords, the upper house, by filing more than 1,200 amendments on a range of concerns, including potential coercion of vulnerable people and a lack of safeguards for those with disabilities.

That was in April, after elected representatives in the House of Commons passed it.

The bill that is expected to be presented again proposes allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. One aim is so people no longer go to other countries, such as Switzerland, for an assisted death.

In Germany, parliament’s lower house, the Bundestag, in 2023 considered two proposals to regulate assisted dying and rejected both of them.

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John Leicester in Paris, Pan Pylas in London and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

“I can see now that he used me and other respectable people to legitimize his standing,” Ruemmler told members of the House Oversight Committee, according to a copy of her opening remarks.

Ruemmler is the latest prominent figure called before the House Oversight Committee as lawmakers investigate the network of powerful people connected with Epstein. The bipartisan inquiry has already included testimony from more than a dozen high-profile witnesses, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former President Bill Clinton, as lawmakers examine how Epstein's wealth and influence may have helped shield him from scrutiny.

Ruemmler served as White House counsel under Obama from 2011 to 2014 and was briefly considered for attorney general. She served as Goldman Sachs’ general counsel for the past six years before announcing in February that she would step down amid backlash over her correspondence with Epstein.

Although she said she would step down on June 30, she remains employed by Goldman Sachs.

Entering Wednesday's hearing, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Ruemmler will provide unique insight as one of the few people who was "very close in the last phase of Jeffrey Epstein’s life.”

“I think some of the emails that are in the files are very concerning about how she communicated with Jeffrey Epstein,” he added.

The two were close years after Epstein's 2008 conviction on sex crimes

While Ruemmler has tried to downplay their relationship in more recent statements, thousands of documents released by the Justice Department showed that Ruemmler and Epstein had an extensive relationship. The files included personal emails, social plans and gifts that extended beyond formal legal work. Documents showed she had called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him.

Ruemmler said in her opening remarks that she first met Epstein in 2014 regarding potentially working with him and Gates “to set up a large donor advised fund.” Soon after, according to Ruemmler, she learned about Epstein’s 2008 conviction on sex crimes, when he became a registered sex offender.

She said Epstein expressed remorse about it, and that he did not know the women were underaged. She said she “relied on the resolution reached by federal and state prosecutors and validated by a judge as being a proportionate and final resolution of his criminal conduct.”

House Oversight Chair James Comer told reporters Wednesday that the “most concerning” part of Ruemmler's communications with Epstein is how she “tried to rehabilitate his image after he was convicted of solicitation of a minor.”

Ruemmler's interview is part of a broader investigation

Comer said Wednesday that Ruemmler is the 18th person to testify as part of their broader investigation.

Billionaire investor Leon Black was subpoenaed last month after lawmakers said he refused to answer some questions about his yearslong relationship with Epstein.

Comer said Wednesday that Black will appear for a formal deposition on Sept. 3 but that he expects to have Black's nondisclosure agreements by “the end of the week.”

The committee has also expressed interest in questioning acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose nomination to permanently lead the Justice Department is pending before the Senate. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi identified Blanche as the department’s point person on the release of the Epstein documents, a process that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny.

“Hopefully Blanche will come in as soon as his confirmation is over,” Comer said.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and was on track for a fourth gain in five days The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 175 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:13 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%.

BlackRock surged 6.5% after the company behind some of the most popular investment funds reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Laurence Fink said its iShares funds topped $6 trillion in assets under management during the quarter, roughly doubling in three years.

Bank of New York Mellon rose 3.7% after adding to the spate of strong earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks a day earlier. Cintas climbed 4.1% after the provider of office uniforms, restroom supplies and other products likewise delivered a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts forecast.

They helped offset a drop for Elevance Health, which fell 8.7% even though it reported stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected.

Several big technology companies fell and checked gains elsewhere. Intel fell 5.5% and Micron Technology slumped 7.4%.

Expectations are high for U.S. companies’ profit growth during the spring. They’ll need to beat them to justify the big moves their stock prices have made, with indexes near their records.

Another report showed inflation slowed last month. This one said inflation at the wholesale level slowed to 5.5% from 6% in May, and it was much better than the acceleration that economists expected.

The day before, a separate report said that inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling was also not as bad as economists expected last month.

Such numbers take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates. Higher rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

Following the inflation report, traders see just a 10% chance that the Fed will raise its main interest rate at its next meeting in a couple weeks. That’s down from the nearly 42% probability they saw on Monday, before the inflation reports, according to data from CME Group.

Also helping to pull down expectations was a speech from John Williams, president of the New York Fed. He said that “there are encouraging reasons to expect that inflation has peaked and should edge down in coming quarters.”

That helped send the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to 4.55% from 4.58% late Tuesday and from 4.62% the day before.

Still, upward pressure on inflation remains because of the war with Iran, which has seen days of back-and-forth strikes by the United States and Iran across the Middle East.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened Wednesday to halt all energy exports from the Middle East because of the U.S. military's blockade to prevent tankers carrying Iranian oil from using the Strait of Hormuz.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” the Revolutionary Guard said.

Oil prices swung near their highest levels in a month because of the war with Iran. The price for a barrel of Brent crude briefly topped $86 in the morning before falling back to $84.33 per barrel, down 0.5% from the day before.

In stock markets abroad, technology stocks helped lead the way as winners of the artificial-intelligence boom gathered more strength following several shaky weeks.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 6.2%. Its market is dominated by two huge tech companies, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and the index has already had drops of 8.9%, 7.9% and 5.3% so far this month.

In Amsterdam, ASML reported stronger revenue growth for the latest quarter than the bellwether of the chipmaking industry had forecast. CEO Christophe Fouquet said continuing progress in the AI boom has customers accelerating their expansions, and the maker of chipmaking machinery gave a forecast for revenue growth in the summer that topped analysts’ expectations.

The strength helped calm some of the worries that have sent AI-related stocks spinning recently. Chief among them is the possibility that their prices shot too high in the euphoria around AI. Worries have been rising that surging demand for AI chips and data centers may fizzle if they don’t produce enough profits and productivity to make all the investments worth it.

In China, stocks rose 1.4% in Hong Kong but fell 0.3% in Shanghai after the government said the world's second-largest economy expanded at a 4.3% annualized pace last quarter, down from the 5% growth rate at the start of the year.

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

Over 100 wildfires currently are burning in Canada and winds are carrying the smoke southeast. Warnings about dangerous, unhealthy air extended Wednesday from Minnesota through Toronto and into New York. Unusually hot summer temperatures were expected too.

The best advice is to stay indoors to avoid both the smoke and the extreme heat, said Tyler Hasenstein, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

“Those two things coinciding with each other is not good from a health perspective,” he said.

Rangers try to get thousands of campers out of remote Minnesota wilderness

In far northeast Minnesota, rangers were trying to warn people that the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was closed because about 17 fires caused by lightning were burning around the vast wilderness accessible primarily by canoe.

The area was closed Tuesday and rangers estimated anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 people were still inside the 1.1-million-acre (445,000-hectare) wilderness, which is almost the size of Delaware, Superior National Forest spokesperson Joy VanDrie said.

“It’s an arduous job,” VanDrie said of rangers and campers having to canoe for hours or even carry their boats over land to evacuate.

VanDrie didn’t know when the area might reopen. Minnesota officials said some fires in the Boundary Waters will be allowed to burn indefinitely but will be monitored to ensure they don’t threaten people or property.

Even the Canadian Air Force pitched in. They were rescuing two groups of youth campers Wednesday who had crossed the border and appeared to be safe, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said.

Severe drought and heat have led to a busy wildfire season

Dan Westervelt, associate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, said severe drought conditions combined with heat in Canada and the U.S. have created “a perfect storm for really dry conditions to provide a lot of fuel for these wildfires to burn.” Research shows warming temperatures from burning coal, oil and gas are making fires more frequent and intense.

High levels of fine particulate matter in the air from wildfire smoke may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as children and people with heart or lung conditions. The particulates can cause shortness of breath, coughing, dizziness or fatigue and aggravate heart and lung diseases and other chronic health issues.

Experts suggest wearing a N95 mask if you have to be outside and keeping your indoor air cleaner by closing windows and running an air purifier or air conditioner.

It's been a particularly busy and deadly fire season in the U.S. About four dozen large fires are currently burning across 15 states, from Minnesota and North Carolina to Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Prolonged drought and record-low snowpack levels combined to make conditions ripe for rapid fire growth. More than 16,800 people are assigned to fighting blazes across the county. The fires have burned over 5,678 square miles (9,138 square kilometers) — more than the size of Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks combined, the agency said.

Smoke spreads as officials warn wildfires could burn for months

In Minnesota, officials warned large fires could burn for months. In Minneapolis, the high Wednesday was expected to be 96 degrees F (36 C) and temperatures above 90 F (32 C) were expected the rest of the week.

“It could well be we’re having significant fires throughout the summer until we have snow. Snow would be a good thing,” said Patty Thielen, director of the state Department of Natural Resources.

Officials in Michigan and Wisconsin warned residents about air quality issues that could last for days and the problems extended even to Maine, where residents were reporting a yellowish and brownish color in the sky.

The most intense smoke could spread as far south as Washington, D.C., by midday Thursday.

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Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan and Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.

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

Democrats asked Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, over and over again whether former President Joe Biden won the election and defeated Trump. Echoing many of Trump's nominees, Clayton said many times that the election was “certified" for Biden, declining to say outright that the Democrat won.

“I'm not going to get into this with you,” Clayton told Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, the last of several Democrats on the committee to grill Clayton on the 2020 election. Clayton appeared frustrated and flustered as Ossoff repeated the question several times. “I've answered it," he said.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who had praised Clayton’s nomination when Trump picked him for the role last month, expressed exasperation with him at the end of the hearing. Democrats say they are concerned that Trump will try to direct intelligence agencies to influence U.S. elections as the president has repeated his false claims that the 2020 contest was stolen.

“I’ve known Mr. Clayton for some time, I worked with him closely when he was at the SEC,” said Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel. “But I am bitterly disappointed.”

While Clayton has broad support among Republicans, the acrimony with Democrats could be a blow to GOP leaders who had hoped to gain their consent for a quick vote to replace temporary intelligence director Bill Pulte, a former housing official with no known intelligence experience and who used his previous administration perch to target perceived adversaries of the president.

Senators in both parties have criticized Pulte, and Republicans had hoped to confirm Clayton immediately after he was nominated in June so Pulte did not take over when Gabbard left office. But Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination, allowing Pulte to take the job temporarily.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the committee will vote on Clayton's nomination next week.

Clayton emphasizes national security experience

Clayton did not mention Pulte in the hearing. But he emphasized his own government and national security experience, attempting to assuage senators in both parties.

“I saw firsthand how a strong national security apparatus depends on decisive judgment, discipline, integrity, and effective communication and cooperation across different branches of the government,” Clayton said in his opening statement. “If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, I will commit to upholding these principles every day.”

Cotton expressed frustration last month when the hearing was delayed. He said in his opening statement Wednesday that Clayton has a reputation for operating with “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous positions and that he hopes his nomination will win bipartisan support.

Democrats press Clayton on Gabbard's election activities

Democrats also pressed Clayton on former National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard's visit to a Georgia election office earlier this year during an FBI search related to the 2020 election. Trump administration officials have given varying explanations for Gabbard's involvement in the search, which appeared to be outside of her intelligence role.

Clayton declined to say whether Gabbard's visit was appropriate or how he would handle the same situation. At one point he said he wasn't aware of Gabbard's visit before this week, then later appeared to backtrack, saying “it wasn't something on my mind” before he started to prepare for the hearing.

Warner said it “strains credibility” that Clayton wasn’t aware of Gabbard’s election activities.

Democrats also asked Clayton about Trump’s announcement that he will deliver a primetime address on Thursday with a focus on elections, after the president suggested he could revisit long-debunked conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat. Clayton said he had has no involvement with that speech.

As US attorney in Manhattan, Clayton oversees vast portfolio

Clayton is currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most prestigious of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices. His cases have ranged from terrorism and espionage cases to security fraud and public corruption.

Democrats pressed Clayton on subpoenas of four New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called the subpoenas “an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country."

Clayton said he was not able to discuss the details of the subpoenas and declined to elaborate on whether he spoke to the White House before they were issued. He said he is “confident in procedures we have in place to protect freedom of press.”

Under Clayton, the office also facilitated the unsealing of thousands of pages of court records from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — documents that were made public as part of the Justice Department’s release of records related to the late sex offender and his longtime confidant.

Clayton has also overseen the prosecution of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, on drug trafficking charges.

Confirmation vote could unlock renewal of surveillance authority

Clayton’s confirmation could potentially clear the way for bipartisan legislation to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which stalled last month when Democrats had said they would not provide the necessary votes to pass the bill unless Pulte’s temporary appointment was withdrawn.

The law, which aims to prevent terrorist attacks by monitoring the communications of targeted foreigners located outside the United States, expired in June.

Even if Democrats relent, it is unclear if Trump would sign the bill. He said in his June social media post delaying Clayton’s nomination that he would not sign the FISA renewal without his legislation to require proof of citizenship for all voters. The voting bill does not have enough support to pass the Senate.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

That information could be reassuring or terrifying, but for now it's a potential tool to speed drug development by helping to identify and enroll high-risk people into studies of possible Alzheimer's treatments or preventive strategies.

Already large clinical trials are testing if certain drugs could prevent or at least delay the disease — and if any of those pan out, doctors will need an easy way to tell who should try them.

The scientists behind the new study stress that it’s too soon for healthy people to seek out the so-called p-tau217 test, which is currently used to help diagnose whether people experiencing cognitive problems have Alzheimer’s or another disorder.

“Wait and get tested when you can potentially do something about it,” stressed Dr. Reisa Sperling of the Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute, the study’s senior author. “At this point it wouldn’t change what I would tell someone to do. I’d still tell them to eat well, sleep well, exercise a lot and stay engaged.”

The new findings showed that symptom-free older adults who harbored very high levels of p-tau217 had a 38% risk of developing cognitive impairment over five years. That risk grew to 78% by 10 years.

The research was published in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London.

It’s not clear exactly what causes Alzheimer’s, but its telltale markers are brain-clogging amyloid plaques and neuron-killing tau tangles. The p-tau217 test measures a form of tau that correlates with how much plaque buildup someone has and gives a hint about tangles, Sperling said.

The Mass General Brigham team analyzed data from 2,684 older adults who were healthy when they’d joined some long-running Alzheimer’s studies, receiving the p-tau217 blood test at enrollment and yearly cognitive checkups. Between the earliest enrollment in 2004 and last year, about 478 had developed cognitive impairment.

Study participants with very low p-tau217 levels likewise had a low risk of developing cognitive impairment over the five- to 10-year period.

There’s a conundrum in predicting Alzheimer’s: Lots of people harbor high levels of amyloid plaques yet never get dementia. A leading theory is that at some point amyloid buildup triggers an abnormal type of tau to form tangles, leading to symptoms.

Sperling said the blood test data offers some new clues. While different intermediate levels of p-tau217 signaled progressive risk, only the very highest level seemed to correlate with other evidence about that tipping point.

“This is a gradual process where amyloid and tau build up in the brain and this blood-based biomarker is telling you how far you are in that process,” she said.

Scientists not involved in the study praised it but also offered some reasons to be cautious. One is that only a small fraction of study participants had been tracked for a full decade, so there's less confidence in the 10-year risk estimate than the five-year risk estimate.

Also, the predictions could be clouded by other factors — older people may be at risk of dying from something else, or have heart-related problems that can cause vascular dementia rather than Alzheimer’s, noted Drs. Suzanne Schindler of Washington University in St. Louis and David Wolk of the University of Pennsylvania in a commentary published in JAMA.

The blood tests “are not yet precise enough to guide individualized prognosis,” wrote Schindler, who also studies p-tau217’s prognostic potential, and Wolk. Still, they said the new work has “provided a crucial piece of the puzzle.”

Already “we have people coming saying, ‘I want this blood test. I have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease,’” said Jessica Langbaum of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, something she strongly discourages — for now.

“These findings are quite strong,” Langbaum added, and a predictive blood test would be “really important” — but only if ongoing studies eventually find a drug that could help people before symptoms begin.

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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 gathering in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is organized by Republican Sen. David McCormick. It has also featured Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Army Secretary Dan Driscoll; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump has been a frequent visitor to the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, including last month, when he went to a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, outside Allentown, hoping to boost Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie's reelection chances.

Trump carried Pennsylvania in 2016 and 2024, and McCormick is not up for reelection this cycle, but Republicans are increasingly concerned about the war and the persistently high cost of living as well as the president's low approval ratings as they look to maintain control of Congress during November's midterm elections.

The White House said the summit is bringing together key leaders in defense and some of the largest global investors to spotlight the importance of national security and identify investment opportunities.

Summit attendees include JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Blackstone President Jon Gray, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, SpaceX director Antonio Gracias and artificial intelligence firm Palantir chief technology officer of analytics Shyam Sankar, McCormick's office said.

Trump spoke at a similar gathering organized by McCormick last year in Pittsburgh that sought to make the city a hot spot for advancement in energy technology and robotics. Then, the senator announced $90 billion in pledged investments in those sectors across Pennsylvania.

This year's summit began on Tuesday. Before Trump's arrival, multi-analytics threat detection leader ZeroEyes, which is based in Conshohocken, outside Philadelphia, announced a planned $10 million investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning research and development.

Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics says it plans to open a new 10,000-square-foot (930-square-meter) manufacturing facility designed to boost integration of robotics into defense manufacturing processes and better expand the nation's defense industrial base.

An analysis released in May found that U.S. military contractors will need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of Tomahawks, which are used to strike targets deep inside enemy territory, as well as Patriot and THAAD interceptors, which defend against incoming missiles and drones.

Stocks have dwindled as the U.S. has repeatedly fired strikes on Iran, adding to concerns that American forces would have limited firepower in any potential future conflict with China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned during Trump's recent visit to Beijing that if Washington mishandles its relations with Taiwan, the U.S. and China could end up clashing or even find themselves in open conflict.

Trump also recently pledged to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air-defense systems, which could be a major development in its war with Russia, though turning the idea into real weapons is also likely to take years.

Trump has sought to correct the shortfall by seeking a historic $1.5 trillion defense budget proposal for 2027. But a package authorizing such spending levels is stalled in Congress, and, even if it eventually moves forward, loads of additional time will still be required to expand production capabilities to accommodate such weapons systems.

Jake Loosararian, co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, said U.S. defense companies have "got to supercharge supply chains” to reduce how long it takes for new technology to be ready for widespread production.

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the waterway crucial to global energy supplies — have shredded the interim deal to end the conflict and the region could tip back into all-out war.

The U.S. first imposed a blockade in April and then lifted it last month after signing the interim deal that paused the fighting and set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues such as Iran’s nuclear program. Those talks have stalled as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz has intensified.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the waterway to shipping traffic — a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations. Those rising prices pose a particular challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November. But Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Wednesday to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” it said.

Both the US and Iran launch attacks as the blockade is reimposed

The U.S. carried out a wave of strikes, hitting dozens of targets overnight, the military’s Central Command said Wednesday, and then resumed striking Iran during daylight — an unusual move that further signaled the increasing tempo of the attacks.

Within 17 hours of reimposing the blockade on Iranian ports, Central Command said U.S. forces had “redirected” two commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade.

“The U.S. military remains vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance,” it said on social media.

Among the U.S. military's targets was Greater Tunb Island, which is viewed as a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command said the attack targeted Iranian defense and missile sites.

Iran took control of three islands — Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb — from what would become the United Arab Emirates in 1971. The UAE has sought to reclaim them.

Some analysts have suggested that if the U.S. seized the islands, they could allow it to control the strait.

The U.S. military said its bombing campaign hit targets along Iran's southern coast in Bandar Abbas, Khormuj, Ahvaz, Qeshm, Bushehr and Kuh-e Stak — a list that includes several coastal towns and another island near the strait.

Another strike targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said the Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and that the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers. A number of troops were wounded.

More than 35 people have been killed and more than 300 wounded by U.S. airstrikes in recent days, said Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for the Iranian Health Ministry. At least 72 people are hospitalized, he added.

Kermanpour did not break down the figures between civilians and combatants.

The announcement marked the first overall toll given by Iranian authorities for this round of fighting. The number of wounded was far larger than for any other recent violence between Iran and the U.S.

The army said it would make “a decisive response to this aggressive action by the American enemy,” according to state TV.

Missile alert warnings sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday as they faced incoming Iranian fire — a daily occurrence in recent days. Jordan said it shot down three incoming Iranian missiles. Iran claimed attacks on the three nations, all of which host U.S. forces.

U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads Central Command, said in a statement that Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf Arab countries.

Trump told the Fox News Channel on Tuesday night that more U.S. strikes against Iran would come over the next two days and that bridges and power plants could be targeted by next week unless negotiations resume. Already, the U.S. has struck at least one bridge.

“You better make a deal, or you’re not going to have anything left,” Trump warned.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticized America’s attacks.

“The U.S. is the aggressor, not the victim,” he wrote to the world body’s leader, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The Strait of Hormuz remains at the heart of the fighting

The latest round of fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade passes during peacetime. How to reopen the strait has bedeviled the U.S. since Iran choked it off in the early days of the war.

During the interim deal, some ships began moving through the passage using a route near Oman overseen by the U.S. military that is outside Tehran’s control.

In recent days, Iran attacked ships using that route — and back-and-forth attacks ensued. The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force — but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops. Imposing the blockade is another way to put pressure on Iran.

But in the meantime, oil prices are rising. The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Wednesday — more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

Analysts with the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday that while a surplus of oil had kept prices low, “much of that room has now been used up.”

“As tensions flare again in the Strait of Hormuz, that room is now smaller and shrinking further as spare capacity has been deployed, demand has compressed, and inventories have been drawn down,” Azim Sadikov and Jean-Marc Natal wrote in a blog post. “Unless inventories are replenished, the world will start from a weaker position when the next shock comes.”

In other developments, the U.S. Treasury said Wednesday that it imposed sanctions on a network of seven people and companies across Iran, Nigeria, Italy and Russia who it accused of helping procure weapons for the Revolutionary Guard.

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Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Fatima Hussein in Washington and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

“I thought before the game about starting with a changeup and I thought it would be funny," he said.

He didn't. And the hitters were not laughing.

Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter that led the American League over the National League 4-0 in Tuesday night's All-Star Game.

Cease fanned Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto and CJ Abrams around a walk in the first inning, when he got six misses among 15 swings. He became just the seventh pitcher to strike out three in an All-Star opening inning after Carl Hubbell (1934), Warren Spahn (1949), Jim Palmer (1977), Dave Stieb (1983), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Brad Penny (2006) — four of them Hall of Famers.

After speaking with Justin Verlander, the senior AL All-Star, Cease gave up the idea of starting with a changeup and instead threw Schwarber a 96.9 mph four-seamer.

“Verlander talked me out of it," Cease said. “So we started with the heater and then I was glad we did.”

Pitchers struck out 27, a record for a nine-inning All-Star Game, 15 of them by AL hurlers.

“That’s the game now. Guys’ stuff is unbelievable,” said AL manager John Schneider, also Cease's skipper in Toronto. “I think the bullpen guys kind fed off of it. They were all excited coming off the mound. It speaks volumes to how good the pitching is, for sure.”

All-Star MVP Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Los Angeles Dodgers' Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game's only extra-base hit. The AL won for the 18th time in 23 games and holds a 49-45-2 advantage overall.

“The pitching was just dominant today,” Bellinger said.

Singles by Soto in the fourth, Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth and Otto Lopez in the ninth were the only hits by the NL, which failed to advance a runner past first.

Parker Messick, Michael Wacha, Joe Ryan, Nick Martinez, Cade Smith, Drew Rasmussen, Jacob Latz, Louis Varland, Aroldis Chapman and Bryan Baker finished the 10th All-Star shutout and first since the AL’s 2-0 win in 2013 at New York’s Citi Field.

Some starting star power was missing, with Jacob Misoriowski, Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani all unavailable. Just six pitches reached 100 mph, the fewest in an All-Star Game since 2021.

Bellinger and Rice both singled on up sinkers from Sánchez, who struggled through a 34-pitch inning that included three hits and two walks.

“It just took me a little time to soak it all in and enjoy it,” Sánchez said through a translator.

Documenting the day

Managers and starters entered through replica Liberty Bells in front of each dugout, walked to home plate and used a feathered quill to sign an oversized lineup card, as if they were Founding Fathers affixing names to the Declaration of Independence. MLB donated the card to the Hall of Fame.

Dirt around the plate was surrounded by 13 stars, one for each of the Colonies.

After the fourth inning, a video was played of kids bicycling to a sandlot game with a narration by Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons. As footage was played of Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful” at Game 2 of the 2001 World Series, the kids biked onto the field and started interacting with the All-Stars as fireworks went off above the ballpark.

“We were all one of those kids," NL manager Dave Roberts of the Dodgers said. "Some of these kids might never get a chance to be on a major league field. So for them to have that opportunity to be — have a conversation with an All-Star is something that they might never get that chance again, right?

Bellinger thought back to his youth.

“We’re all little kids at heart playing this game even though it’s a challenging game," he said. “We’re all still those little kids with big dreams.”

Early exit

Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero was hit on the outside of his left hand by a 97.6 mph sinker from St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien in the third inning and immediately left the game. The 23-year-old, fourth in the major leagues with 28 home runs, stayed down for a few moments before he popped up and ran straight into the clubhouse. X-rays were negative.

Been a while

Mike Trout, a 12-time All-Star who hadn’t played in the game since 2019 because of injuries, went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

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

Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking after the league's Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday night, said he and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum plan to talk to a number of groups interested in owning teams that will play in the new league.

And since many of those interested parties will be heading to the New York area for Sunday's World Cup final, it made sense to take meetings, Silver said.

“We’ve had tremendous interest from multiple cities in Europe, including cities that we didn’t ask for bids from," Silver said. "And we discussed with our board today that we’re in the process of finalizing those bids for an initial group of cities.”

The NBA and FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, announced plans last year to pursue a new European league — ending years of speculation about when or if such a move would happen. The plan remains in place for the new league to launch just over a year.

“Things are where I hope they would be,” Silver said.

NBA hoping Leonard investigation to wrap this summer

The lengthy probe into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented salary cap rules related to an endorsement contract between Kawhi Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based digital bank that touted itself as environmentally friendly remains active, and Silver said he wants it completed sometime this summer.

It is now a thornier issue, given that a trade is in place to send Leonard from the Clippers to the Toronto Raptors. The teams put that trade on hold last week pending the outcome of the probe, and that could take weeks to decide.

The teams made that decision and the issues “were well-known to the teams,” Silver said.

“They chose not to live with that uncertainty,” Silver said.

The NBA enlisted outside counsel — Wachtell Lipton, a New York-based firm — to conduct the investigation and Silver said he gets regular updates from the league's general counsel on certain elements of the probe.

“The investigation needs to run its course,” Silver said.

The probe, as detailed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, could lead to penalties that include a substantial fine, the loss of draft capital — and, potentially, even the voiding of a player contract — if the league finds there was a deliberate circumvention of cap rules.

Seattle, Las Vegas expansion update

The league's process of deciding on whether to expand to Seattle, Las Vegas, either or both continued with multiple conversations this week. Silver reiterated something he's said several times, that he's hopeful a decision will be made by the end of 2026.

A handful of potential ownership groups have declared interest publicly.

"Some groups have been public," Silver said. “The majority of groups have not been public.”

If the league expands, the likely target is for the 2028-29 season.

Silver defends CBA's ‘second apron’

Silver said he believes the collective bargaining agreement is working as intended, and defended the “second apron” — one of the salary-related elements of the deal between the league and its players.

“Every collective bargaining agreement is a result of a series of compromises," Silver said. "And that’s what this one is as well, but certainly from my standpoint, from a competitor’s standpoint, this is working very well.”

The current collective bargaining agreement includes aprons — payroll levels that, if exceeded, seriously limit a team’s options on player movement and acquisition. And they have come under fire in recent days, with newly installed National Basketball Players Association executive director David Kelly saying the union will fight it in the next collective bargaining agreement.

“We are not fans of the second apron,” Kelly said last week. “We did not propose the second apron. We should have done a better job of fighting back against the second apron, and in the future, we will have a much more unified union, and we will do a better of fighting it back against a second apron.”

Kelly was responding to a question surrounding something NBA veteran Kyle Kuzma wrote on social media earlier this month. Kuzma said “the first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on player value, team continuity, and player movement.”

The current CBA is scheduled to remain in place through at least the 2028-29 season. And for the record, not all players are up in arms about how the CBA is working.

“Thank God for second aprons and the first aprons,” Houston star Kevin Durant said during the regular season when asked about the league's run of parity — with eight different franchises having won titles in the last eight seasons.

Miami’s Micky Arison to chair Board of Governors

Miami Heat managing general partner and Basketball Hall of Famer Micky Arison was unanimously elected as the board’s next chairman. Arison will take over the role at the league’s September board meeting.

Arison — who has the second-longest tenure of any current NBA team governor at 31 years and is the longtime chair of the board of directors of Carnival Corporation — is assuming the role that outgoing Toronto governor Larry Tanenbaum has held since September 2017.

“I am grateful for Larry’s nearly three decades of stewardship of the Raptors and his commitment to helping guide our league as NBA Board Chairman over the past nine years,” Silver said. “Micky’s long record of service on the Board, his strong relationships with his fellow team owners and his deep understanding of our game and business make him an exceptional choice to assume this important leadership role.”

Tanenbaum thanked the league’s owners for their support and said he wishes Arison success.

“I look forward to working closely in this new capacity with Adam, the league office and my fellow team governors to champion our teams and players, ensuring we continue to deliver exciting and unforgettable experiences for our fans,” Arison said.

All-Star Game future

Silver said he's hoping to have a decision on the format of the All-Star Game by the start of the regular season.

The league tried a U.S. vs. World mini-tournament this past season, and it generally was well-received. Talks between the league and its players are ongoing on the format and if any potential tweaks are needed. "I think we're off to a good start," Silver said.

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

Simple. A bike, a parking lot and an ice cream.

Tuchel said ahead of England’s World Cup semifinal against Lionel Messi's Argentina that he relaxes by reconnecting with his inner child.

“Sometimes you just go on a bike and then you just need a big parking lot, an ice cream in your hand for 15 minutes on a bike and then you feel like you're 15 years old,” Tuchel said Tuesday. “You enjoy your evening on a warm, summer evening for 15 minutes with the ice cream and you reconnect to the beauty of that feeling that we all have inside of us and that’s sometimes all it needs.”

German coach Tuchel was hired in 2024 and charged with the responsibility of leading England to its first trophy since winning the World Cup in 1966.

He is one win away to leading the team to only its second World Cup final.

England plays defending champion Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday and it would be understandable if Tuchel was feeling the pressure — especially coming up against Messi and resuming one of the fiercest rivals in soccer between the Three Lions and Argentina.

While he said the tournament had been draining due to traveling to Mexico and playing at altitude and also a “roller coaster” due to comeback wins against Congo and Norway, Tuchel also said the experience had been energizing.

“I can tell you that it fuels me and it makes me feel alive,” he said. “I love it so much that it gives me energy every day.”

Tuchel, a serial trophy winner with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, said he was grateful for the opportunity to coach at a World Cup.

As for ending England’s 60-year trophy drought?

“I don’t feel the burden,” he said. “You feel the tension and I will be nervous and of course that is normal. But I feel no burden.”

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

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

For the Tampa Bay Rays slugging third baseman, Caminero considered himself fortunate the hit-by-pitch was more a scare than a season-ender.

“You are thinking the worst and honestly thought something may have been broken,” Caminero said through a translator. “But thank you to God, it’s fine and just a little bit sore. But we’re all good.”

Caminero was struck on the outside of his left hand by St. Louis Cardinals closer Riley O'Brien with the high hard one in the top of the third inning with the American League up 3-0 on Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old Caminero, fourth in the major leagues with 28 home runs, stayed down for a few moments before he popped up and ran straight into the clubhouse.

X-rays were negative.

“Sinker on hands that didn’t hit my bat at all,” Caminero said. “So look, it was a scary moment. But you know right now, we feel really good.”

The Rays resume their season Friday with a doubleheader in Boston.

O'Brien, who has 24 saves this season for the Cardinals, checked in with Caminero in the AL clubhouse.

“I told Ryan I really appreciate the gesture,” Caminero said. “He came into the clubhouse, and he took a few seconds to apologize, but I told him it was part of the game. He was really worried, but I told him look, these things happen. We are here to have fun, and we are here to enjoy the night.”

Caminero was replaced by Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox. Vargas hit a solo homer for the American League in the eighth inning for game's first extra-base hit.

Caminero hit 17 total home runs a night earlier at Citizens Bank Park in the Home Run Derby. He hit 45 home runs with 110 RBIs last season, and this season has led the Rays to the top of the AL East.

He batted fourth on Tuesday and became the first Ray to start an All-Star game in two straight seasons. Caminero grounded out in his first at bat against Phillies' ace and NL starter Cristopher Sánchez.

Caminero — who advanced to the final round of last season's Home Run Derby before losing a close contest to Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh — this season become the youngest player since at least 1900 to homer in six straight games.

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

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Basabe, a Miami Beach Republican, is representing himself in a case against two former staffers who accuse the state lawmaker of sexual harassment, battery and defamation.

Basabe took the stand on Tuesday, answering questions about his personal life.

Plaintiff’s attorney: “You are married?”

Basabe: “Yes.”

Plaintiff’s attorney: “To a woman?”

Basabe: “Yes.”

An attorney for the plaintiffs then showed the jury a photo of Basabe kissing a man.

Basabe: “His name is Renato.”

Plaintiff’s attorney: “And he lives with you correct?”

Basabe: “I don’t answer for people’s residency.”

Plaintiff’s attorney: “Is he your boyfriend?”

Basabe: “I don’t believe in those labels.”

On Monday, both of Basabe’s alleged victims testified in front of the jury.

Jurors on Tuesday also heard from the mother of one of the victims, who accused Basabe of slapping him on the buttocks and the face.

“I noticed that he was very, very, very upset and his face was red,” said Janette Frevola, who added through tears, “For him to treat us like this for no apparent reason, when we did nothing at all to him.”

Basabe representing himself has often added a layer of confusion to the proceedings.

In addition to witness testimony, snapshots of text messages and old tweets are being used as evidence to try to convince the Leon County jury that Basabe is liable for the alleged incidents.

Plaintiff’s attorney: “Is this the first time that anyone has made allegations that you sexually harassed them?”

Basabe: “There’s a lot of gossip.”

Witness testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday.

Basabe has had other accusers in the past.

In fact, one of them is a professional soccer player whose identity is being kept private.

That man addressed the court to preserve his testimony for a future litigation, but it was outside of the presence of the jury.

A stream of a portion of Tuesday’s hearing can be seen below:

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Deputies said they responded just before 1 a.m. to the area of Northwest 64th Street and Northwest 21st Avenue in the county’s Gladeview area, where they found three vehicles struck by gunfire, including a silver Hyundai.

“The car was parked outside of the residence. It was occupied by three juveniles, so it was the girl and her two siblings that were in the vehicle. The mom was outside of the vehicle at the time, so this could have been a very different outcome,” MDSO Detective Samantha Choon said.

Authorities said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue medics transported the girl to a nearby hospital in stable condition.

Family members have identified the girl as Kaylina Anicie.

A family member of Anicie told Local 10’s Jackie Pascale that the girl is now home and doing OK.

They said neither her siblings nor their mother was injured in the shooting.

According to investigators, no arrests have been made, and detectives have not released any suspect information at this time.

Neighbor Marie Grimes said she was shaken after hearing multiple gunshots.

“I heard the booms — boom, boom, boom, boom — and I said, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’” she said. “Maybe five or six, ’cause look at that right there. I’m just glad the little girl is OK.”

Investigators asked neighbors to check their surveillance or Ring camera footage from around 1 a.m. and contact authorities with any information.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477. Anonymous tips are accepted.