Robin Comfort said he drove his car through the flooded streets and quickly realized he shouldn’t have.

“Well, I drove my car down the street and I shouldn’t have. There was too much water in it and (it) just went into the engine, I guess,” Comfort said.

Comfort had been waiting for assistance for a few hours.

He said he had been living in Pompano Beach and that it was barely raining when he left.

For some drivers, the flooding became an unexpected problem.

“You have this constant issue. Why hasn’t something happened about the flooding? Like you guys are aware of it,” one woman said as she waited for roadside assistance.

Resident Allie Scholey said she had never seen flooding like this before.

“Like I’ve never seen flooding like this, and it’ll be here for hours, so I guess I’m stuck inside,” Scholey said.

The flooding also caused problems for people traveling to and from work in the Victoria Park area.

And while some people were stuck, one man appeared to embrace the conditions, riding his motorcycle through the flooded streets while another man decided to ride a wave.

Leer en español

The report is beginning to fill in gaps about what happened when the plane overshot the runway at MIA, killing five people.

The NTSB identified several factors leading up to the crash. One was that the plane’s thrust reversers did not deploy, while the speed brakes were also stowed when the pilot attempted to land.

Thrust reversers are critical for helping an airplane slow down and decelerate. The NTSB found they were not activated during the landing attempt, but it remains unconfirmed whether that was caused by a mechanical failure or pilot error.

The speed brakes were also retracted and locked in their stored position, meaning they were not deployed.

The pilot manually deployed the plane’s wheel brakes at a ground speed of about 168 mph, the report stated.

According to the report, about eight seconds later, the pilot attempted a go-around maneuver in an effort to get the plane back into the air and land again. At that point, the report says the airplane had only about 930 feet of runway remaining.

When the pilot attempted to reapply the wheel brakes, the plane had about 415 feet of runway left, the report stated. The aircraft eventually overshot the runway while traveling about 130 mph, hitting and killing five people who were parked nearby, officials said.

Another detail in the report involves the flight crew’s experience. According to the report, the captain earned his airline transport certificate in May, just a few months before the crash. He still had thousands of hours of flight experience.

The first officer earned his certificate in April of last year.

It remains to be confirmed whether the crash was completely the result of a mechanical failure or whether pilot error played a role.

The preliminary report also includes details about whether weather may have affected the crash, as well as more information from the wreckage scene.

The investigation is ongoing, and the NTSB is continuing to examine what happened that day.

Lago, who has served three terms as mayor, says he has focused on keeping the city’s streets safe and clean.

“I gotta prepare myself to work on your potholes and public safety and make sure your trash is picked up,” Lago said.

Lago also points to the city’s bond rating and says he has been a good watchdog for taxpayer dollars. On housing affordability, he says there are opportunities in North Gables for residents to move into smaller apartments and homes that are less costly than those in the central and southern parts of the city.

Cancio says he has spent decades in Coral Gables and believes his experience as an attorney would be helpful when negotiating with city commissioners. He says helping residents connect to sewers could also help reduce costs.

“That would be a great help because, again, everyone is rich, but they are not,” Cancio said. “You have to maintain your house and it costs a lot of money.”

Cancio says he is a problem solver who tackles issues head-on.

Holmes, a Coral Gables native, describes himself as the outsider in the race. His top issue is the high cost of living in the city, which he says is personal.

“A member of my family is on the verge of homelessness because of affordability. Well, if there was ever a time to support housing, this is it,” Holmes said.

Lago says keeping a lid on property taxes would remain a focus.

“We’ve been very good stewards of the residents’ money while having the second-lowest millage rates of a full-service city in Miami-Dade County,” Lago said.

Cancio says he believes he could do a better job leading the city.

“There are a lot of people living in the Gables that could do a better job, and I’m one of them,” Cancio said. “I can do a better job than what they do.”

Holmes also says immigration reform is a top priority on his agenda.

“It’s painful. There are consequences, but we don’t want to really help ICE arrest the wrong people,” Holmes said.

Temperatures will be mild, right around 70°, but showers at kickoff are expected to grow steadier during the game.

Field conditions could become a bit sloppy, but hopefully the Canes can overcome these conditions and come home still undefeated at 5-0.

CLICK HERE for the latest forecast updates in South Florida from Local 10’s Weather Authority.

Divers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department found the victim's body Thursday in the wreckage of the helicopter after searching more than 156 square miles (404 square kilometers) over 23 hours, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Relatives of the missing person told ABC7 that the woman was being transported from Catalina Island to the mainland for medical care after having an allergic reaction. They also said her 20-year-old son went with her in the helicopter to help translate.

The helicopter with five people aboard went down shortly after takeoff and hit the water not far from the island, officials said. The cause is not clear and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

First responders pulled four people from the water on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that authorities were not yet identifying the victims by name. But he described the two people who died as the male pilot and a female nurse. He also said another medic and a fourth person, a man, were hospitalized.

Luna said the helicopter wreckage was about 200 feet (60 meters) deep in the water.

The helicopter’s operator, REACH Air Medical Services of Sacramento, confirmed that two of its crew members died and a third was recovering at a hospital. The company declined to provide more details.

“In the days ahead, our focus will remain on caring for our people, supporting their families and honoring the lives and service of those we have lost,” REACH said in a statement.

A memorial service was held on the island to honor the victims.

The crash came 11 days after a firefighting helicopter went down, killing two pilots in Yosemite National Park in California, and two weeks after a news helicopter crashed in Los Angeles, killing two people.

Emergency personnel were called to the Catalina crash shortly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, and two, in stable condition, were brought to hospitals on the mainland, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The helicopter landed on the island shortly after 7 p.m., following a 24-minute flight from an airport in Oceanside, according to the flight tracking service Flightradar24.

The NTSB identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter EC-135-P2 and said it would be brought to a secure facility for evaluation, a board spokesperson said.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the crash a terrible tragedy.

“The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes,” she said in a social media post.

More than 75 bars are participating this year, ranging from neighborhood dives to high-end restaurants.

“It’s 31 days of October and during the 31 days we celebrate all the incredible beverage programs across Miami,” ¡Salud! Miami founder Joshua Wagner said. “Every participating account has a discounted cocktail menu until 10 p.m. And then on top of that, we offer a ton of unique hospitality experiences across the whole city.”

The idea is to give locals a more affordable way to explore Miami’s cocktail scene while encouraging them to try something new.

At American Social in Brickell, bar manager Drew Minson said the restaurant is featuring three cocktails as part of the celebration: the classic Aperol Spritz, the Americano Social and a Sardi Spritz.

“Starting with the Sardi, it’s light, it’s passion fruit, it’s watermelon,” Minson said.

The featured cocktails normally range from $14 to $16 on the regular menu, according to Minson. During ¡Salud! Miami, they are available for $10 throughout October.

The month-long event also comes as South Florida moves beyond its slower summer season, giving people another reason to head back out to Miami’s bars and restaurants.

This year, visitors can also pair their cocktails with Miami Spice, which has expanded into October for the first time in its 25-year history, according to Wagner.

¡Salud! Miami is also planning special events and hospitality experiences throughout the month.

“Every day we will have something going on,” Wagner said. “So follow us on Salud and let us give you a reason to get off your couch, go out and to sip, socialize and Salud.”

Click here for more information about ¡Salud! Miami and its participating locations.

“Just about every week, I dial up Georgia mayors and pastors and farmers to find out how I can help,” Ossoff said at a recent campaign rally for his reelection bid against Republican Rep. Mike Collins.

Up the Eastern Seaboard, Maine Sen. Susan Collins keeps a regular itinerary of local events, including ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings for projects she helped finance as Senate Appropriations Committee chair.

“There’s not a community in Maine that can’t say Susan helped us,” intones the voiceover in a campaign ad for Collins, a five-term senator who is facing Democratic former state legislative leader Troy Jackson in November.

The two senators — Ossoff the Democrat, Collins the Republican — began this election cycle widely viewed as their respective parties’ most vulnerable members. But as Republican Donald Trump's second presidency and partisan fights on Capitol Hill dominate national political conversation, the senators' campaigns have played out differently than expected in part because of the more mundane part of their jobs: helping the people back home.

“We in the political world tend to think about the strength of incumbency through the lens of fundraising and national media attention, and those do matter,” said Republican Chris Hartline, once a top adviser at the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. “But the ability to help the local communities you actually represent still matters.”

For Ossoff, it means attracting endorsements from Republican officials, including Valdosta Mayor Scott James Patterson, that have made it harder for Mike Collins to land attacks claiming that the liberal first-term senator from Atlanta doesn’t represent Georgia. For Susan Collins, it means a go-to buffer argument as she runs with the weight of Trump’s lagging popularity and her support for various parts of his agenda.

A month from Election Day, Ossoff has gone from a top GOP target to a widely perceived favorite to defend a seat that Democrats cannot afford to lose as they try to regain a Senate majority. And as Republican incumbents like Ohio Sen. Jon Husted are increasingly viewed as underdogs, strategists in both parties still view Susan Collins’ race as a tossup.

Ossoff draws begrudging respect from Republicans

Ossoff and his aides say the senator tries to deliver on every aspect of what Washington calls “constituent services.”

That could mean federal appropriations, disaster assistance or nuts-and-bolts matters like assisting a voter who is seeking Social Security disability benefits or a missing Social Security check. It includes surprise notes of congratulations or condolences to constituents — something Ossoff sends even to aides of Republican elected officials.

Endorsing Ossoff earlier this year, Patterson, the Valdosta mayor, described himself as a lifelong conservative. But he praised Ossoff for his Helene response. The senator recalled “going block by block” with the mayor and serving “hot meals to folks who had just lost their homes.”

Ossoff points to money secured for a dialysis center in nearby Tifton, Georgia. Mayor Julie Smith, another Republican, has endorsed Ossoff, too, explaining that “he’s been very good for south Georgia.”

Courtney Eskew, whose husband, Joshua, was injured during an Army tour in Afghanistan, pointed to Ossoff’s work for veterans’ care. The couple both grew up in Republican households but said they were volunteering for Ossoff’s campaign.

“Senator Ossoff has been passionately vocal about VA funding, and any time we’ve needed to call to advocate or to ask a question about benefits, his office has done everything we needed,” Eskew said after the couple attended an Ossoff event.

Eskew said it’s a powerful counter to opponent Mike Collins’ attacks that Ossoff is too liberal for the historically conservative state.

Ossoff “doesn’t vote the way I want him to vote” on contentious issues, added Chan Jones, who chairs the Georgia Republican Party’s 8th Congressional District committee. “But as far as the office and the way they’ve carried themselves and handled other aspects of the job, I can’t knock that.”

Jones has his own example as a member of the Bleckley County Recreation Board.

“We were having some trouble with a federal grant,” he said, adding that one call to the senator’s office fixed the issue.

Mainers must decide the value of seniority

Susan Collins is relentless in promoting money she’s steered to Maine — for community colleges and hospital expansions or hyperlocal examples like a program to control the spruce budworm, a threat to the state’s forests and timber industry.

“That will go away with a freshman senator,” she said at a Maine manufacturing conference earlier this year. “It took me years to climb the ladder of seniority.”

No project is too small for her argument. In late August, she attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the rehabilitation of St. Croix Apartments in Calais, a city of about 3,000 residents on the Canadian border, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Portland. It’s in a conservative part of the state where GOP candidates need heavy turnout to win statewide.

Collins was there to highlight $3 million she secured to restore 26 affordable housing units for low-income seniors.

“The renovated St. Croix Apartments will provide seniors with safe and affordable homes close to the family, friends and community they love,” Collins said.

The amount is a pittance within appropriations bills measured in the billions. But it’s the kind of work many Maine residents associate with the veteran lawmaker.

In the same campaign stretch, Collins visited a child development center in Bangor to highlight Head Start funding. In the summer, she walked in the Casco Days Grand Parade to raise money for the local fire association and stopped by the dedication of a new fire station in the town of Sweden, population 400.

At the same time, Collins has maintained a stretch in Washington of more than 10,000 consecutive votes — a streak she connects to those results back home.

Collins and Ossoff are following an old script

There are recent examples of candidates succeeding by doing what Collins and Ossoff are trying.

The late Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, another powerful committee chairman, withstood a fierce Republican primary challenge to win his final election in 2014 by coaxing Democratic crossover voters in part because of his decades of appropriating money.

Hartline, who worked for Senate Republicans in 2022, pointed to Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson as a bright spot in an otherwise tough cycle for the party.

“Johnson knew every corner of Wisconsin because he’d been there,” Hartline said.

Collins, especially, needs that dynamic to outweigh national circumstances.

Democrats, Jackson included, have hammered her for not having done enough to shield Maine from Trump’s tariffs — which she has criticized — and for backing the Iran war, which has raised fuel prices.

But even Jackson supporters recognize Collins’ ability to win five elections when Maine has opted for Democrats in every presidential contest.

Warsame Dualeh, a 45-year-old Jackson supporter, mused about weak opponents — though Collins has drawn aggressive Democratic opposition over the years. And then he acknowledged that the federal money pipeline “very well could be” the reason for Collins’ durability.

___

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

Leer en español

• ‘I am totally innocent:’ Rapper Rick Ross released from jail after being accused of beating, choking ex-girlfriend in Miami Beach
• Police: Video shows baby and 3 kids home alone in North Miami Beach while mother was on cruise ship
• R&B singer Jacquees arrested in Hollywood after being found passed out in vehicle, police say
• Carnegie Mellon announces new Miami campus after historic $3 billion gift from Ken Griffin
• Teen and mother talk about attack involving 7 at Broward school football game
• Father says he called police after finding 4 children alone while mother was on cruise
• Suspect arrested in hit-and-run that killed 10-year-old girl, injured her brother in northwest Miami-Dade
• Feds accuse Miami-Dade corrections officer in organized jail drug-smuggling, gambling operation
• South Florida siblings’ Subway bribery scheme cost franchisees $80 million, feds say
• New Florida laws take effect, bringing changes for drivers, renters and criminal penalties

The effort to get Israeli passengers home comes as authorities in Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond are grappling with the fallout from the incident on board the FlyDubai flight Wednesday that has raised questions about the state of aviation security and further unsettled a Middle East already shaken by the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.

Nothing is publicly known about the motive of the copilot who came close to crashing the aircraft, which had departed from Dubai earlier Wednesday, and killing all 182 aboard. A regional investigation is underway.

The UAE has canceled all flights to Israel, complicating travel for hundreds of passengers who fly between the countries on a typical day.

Israel and the UAE agreed on the repatriation flights, beginning on Friday, according to an Israeli official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Earlier, the national carrier El Al had said the UAE was holding up the necessary landing permits to allow them to fly into Dubai.

The Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv listed carriers Arkia and Israir with flights scheduled to arrive from Dubai late Friday and early Saturday. El Al was expected to fly passengers from Dubai to Israel on Sunday.

Dubai has been a popular destination for Israelis since Israel and the United Arab Emirates established ties in 2020 as part of the Trump administration's Abraham Accords to normalize ties between Israel and Arab countries.

Trump says he'll hit Iran ‘very hard’ if it had a hand in the attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Thursday that the copilot, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani citizen, had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” but provided no evidence to back the assertion.

Similarly, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that early information he's received suggests there are links between the attack and Tehran but did not elaborate.

Trump also said that if it is determined that Iranian agents were behind the attack, the United States will “hit them very hard.”

Israeli investigators are involved in the probe but the Emiratis are in the lead, according to an official who wasn’t authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. It’s unclear if the attacker was part of a group, said the official, adding that there is currently no evidence of a link with Iran.

The FlyDubai flight plummeted to 15,000 feet

Details of the harrowing flight, which made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, continue to emerge.

Smit Machchhar, the wounded captain who has been hailed as one of the heroes of the flight, and the copilot were transferred on Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, the kingdom said.

Machchhar is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital. He spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call Friday, describing the terror he faced after being attacked in the closed cockpit by his copilot.

“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and breaking into sobs. “I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives."

A wounded Machchhar still managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 — with 174 passengers and eight crew members — descended sharply.

For the passengers on board, most of them Israelis, the first signs of trouble came more than two hours into the flight when the aircraft suddenly dropped down to 16,600 feet — the sharpest drop in altitude recorded by data tracking platforms.

Seconds later, it ascended to 21,725 feet before soon dropping back to 15,000 feet, which it maintained until safely landing more than an hour later.

Soon after leveling off, the plane dispatched its first distress signal, Squawk 7700, a code for general emergency, while flying along the Saudi-Jordanian border. It then sent a second distress signal, 7500, for “unlawful interference,” indicating something more serious like a hijacking attempt or an attack. It lasted for nearly an hour.

About 15 minutes after the second distress call, the aircraft turned west, briefly entering Jordanian airspace, then made a 180-degree turn and headed southwest to Tabuk, where it eventually landed, nearly four hours after taking off from Dubai.

Possible implications for US-Iran war negotiations

Trump's suggestion that there could be an Iranian link adds a new layer of uncertainty to the on-and-off diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing an end to the seven-month war in Iran.

Iranian officials said Wednesday they received an official U.S. response to Tehran’s latest proposal to end the conflict, which Trump had publicly rejected just days earlier. The officials did not say what the response contained and whether it was a rejection.

The U.S. is meanwhile dispatching roughly 9,000 more troops on ships to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Thursday — a move that could further complicate the political climate in the U.S., with looming midterm elections.

The ships include the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which recently deployed with the cruiser USS Chosin, and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes the USS John P. Murtha and USS Anchorage amphibious landing ships.

That could mean there would be three carriers in the region as early as the end of October, according to the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The move would bring the U.S. naval presence in the Middle East to an unusually high number of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines, as well as hundreds of aircraft. The Navy previously had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East in April for the first time since 2003.

Trump has threatened that a post-election escalation remains possible despite his initial promises to Americans of a campaign that would last a matter of weeks.

___

Madhani reported from Jerusalem. AP writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed reporting.

“I’ve never said it’s going to be easy,” Hilton said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s obviously an uphill battle. I still see this as a winnable race.”

With mail ballots scheduled to arrive at homes in early October, the former Fox News commentator is angling to pull off what would be one of the great upsets in California record books against Democrat Xavier Becerra. Aligned against him in the heavily Democratic state are the weight of recent history, a national electorate that has soured on President Donald Trump and, perhaps inescapably, basic math.

Any Republican starts at a disadvantage. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a staggering 4.6 million voters, a margin approaching 2-to-1 statewide. Trump — who has endorsed Hilton’s candidacy — is widely loathed outside his conservative base in a state the president often depicts as representing all that is wrong in America.

“I like Steve a lot, but the math is very hard,” says GOP consultant Mike Murphy, who advised the last Republican to hold the office, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was elected to his second term in 2006.

“I think the most relevant equation is how many cases of beer you have to drink to be drunk enough to think it’s doable in this election cycle with the Trump dynamic and the registration advantage the Democrats have,” Murphy wrote in an email. “My model starts at four cases.”

A Democratic reckoning that has never come

For years, Republicans envisioned that one day the state’s Democratic ribs would crack, as voters faithful to the brand grew weary of wallet-sapping taxes, the nation’s top gas prices, an unchecked homeless crisis and home prices and rents that drain family budgets.

“We will win because the argument for change is irresistible,” the Britain-born Hilton says.

To defeat Becerra, Hilton will need to upend what has become a familiar pattern in California general elections. Frequently, Democratic statewide candidates pull in roughly 60% of the vote on Election Day. Rival Republicans, around 40%.

Part of Hilton's challenge is overcoming the baked-in notion that California's political DNA is immutable.

“We just need to overcome the sense that after 20 years of one party running everything, it is actually possible to get change. That’s the biggest thing I think we’re fighting against,” Hilton said.

He repeated that message again during a Wednesday debate on CNN, the only television matchup scheduled for the general election.

In his pursuit of a breakthrough, Hilton has anchored his campaign to making California more affordable, including bringing gas prices down to $3 a gallon. Yet he doesn’t appear to be gaining the traction he needs to catch the Democrat. A September poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Governmental Studies found that Becerra had a sizable lead over Hilton.

Some of his proposals are clearly crafted to snag voters’ attention, even if it is not clear how some would clear a Democratic-controlled legislature or other regulatory hurdles. Among them: cut in half residents’ utility bills, now among the nation’s highest; eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings; and abolish the much-maligned Department of Motor Vehicles.

He believes about a quarter of the vote is up for grabs, including people who have voted for Democrats but aren't rigidly faithful to the party — largely working-class voters and those without a college education. He sees room to pick up more votes among Latinos and women, too. And he will need a heroic turnout from Republicans.

At the same time, he has been campaigning in the Los Angeles area — the state’s Democratic nucleus, where statewide elections can be won or lost depending on turnout.

Becerra argues that Hilton will be little more than another loyalist for the Trump administration, imposing the president's conservative agenda in California.

Fewer competitive races in a polarized nation

The number of truly competitive races nationwide has dwindled as many states veer to the political left or right. Up until the late 1980s, California was for many years a reliable win for the GOP in presidential elections. But a growing immigrant population and a shifting economy — including the collapse of the defense industry and the rise of Silicon Valley — transformed the state and its voting patterns.

Bedrock issues that define the California electorate — including widespread support for abortion rights and environmental protection — could make it difficult for some voters to consider backing a GOP candidate, especially in the Trump era.

After months of turmoil with a large field in the June primary election, the contest to succeed the outgoing Newsom has settled into a stolid affair. With numbers on his side, Becerra’s low-key campaign is an acknowledgment that if he avoids mistakes, he is likely to get the job.

Still, polling conducted in early September by the Public Policy Institute of California found about half of voters think the state is moving in the wrong direction while a majority think economic conditions will be bad over the next year.

California — where Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the legislature — has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates. Its gas prices are the highest in the nation, and its utility prices near the top nationally. Home prices often soar into the seven digits. After decades of meteoric growth, the population has essentially flatlined, with California expected to lose a congressional seat as states like Florida and Texas grow at a faster pace.

One Republican who got close in recent years is Lanhee Chen, who picked up nearly 45% of the vote in his 2022 race for state controller. For Hilton to be successful “he has to turn it into a referendum on one-party governance,” Chen said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top diplomat said officials have received separate proposals for a partial truce with Russia from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt. The proposals envision halting attacks on energy infrastructure, which have caused fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine, and on Black Sea shipping needed to get vital grain exports to world markets.

The Russian strikes forcing the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges caused traffic logjams and appeared to be a new tactic in its campaign to torment the city’s residents. Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, gas stations and data centers, among other targets, in an escalation of attacks.

Civilians “are bearing the brunt of this war,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said in Geneva on Friday.

“The war in Ukraine is a human rights catastrophe that is growing and intensifying by the week, causing unfathomable pain to civilians,” he said. “Across Ukraine, people are living in constant dread.”

While the aerial war has intensified in recent months, fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked. Russia invaded its neighbor more than 4 ½ years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible.

However, Ukraine has this year made some progress against Russia’s bigger army, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Russian forces lost control over almost 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of Ukraine between March and September, the Washington-based think tank said in a report late Thursday. Also, it said that the Russian military suffered over 46,000 casualties in September, the highest monthly number this year. It did not say how many Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded.

Zelenskyy says sanctions can stop Russian drones and missiles

Russia fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight, striking Kyiv and eight other regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Almost half of the drones were the jet-powered type that are especially hard to stop, he said.

A drone hit a high-rise apartment block in Kyiv, killing one person, he said. At least four people were reported wounded elsewhere.

Zelenskyy repeated his appeal for foreign countries to close loopholes in international sanctions on Russia and to add more restrictions on its trade. He said Russia's drones and missiles are “critically dependent” on foreign components.

“Every Russian drone can actually be stopped right at the production line,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Ukraine has also bombarded Russia with the long-range drones and missiles it now produces, aiming at military manufacturing plants and oil refineries.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that its air defenses overnight downed 646 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, occupied Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

One person was wounded in Russia’s southwestern Volgograd region, Gov. Andrei Bocharov said. The attack targeted “industrial infrastructure,” he said, without providing details.

Ukraine is ready for a truce on energy strikes and the Black Sea

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the partial truce proposals presented to Kyiv by four countries were the first time India has offered to play a role.

India is trying to balance its ties with Russia against its growing partnerships with the United States and other Western powers. A new U.S. sanctions package on Russia could impose up to 100% tariffs on New Delhi as a major importer of Russian oil.

Sybiha said Kyiv is ready to accept a ceasefire if it stops Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid — as well as Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries — and on cargo vessels exporting grain and other farm products through the Black Sea.

“We are ready for an energy and Black Sea ceasefire, but only in that combination. Energy and a ceasefire in the Black Sea,” Sybiha told reporters Thursday, in comments embargoed until Friday.

He repeated Ukraine’s offer of an unconditional ceasefire on the front line. But Moscow has rejected a ceasefire, saying a comprehensive peace deal must be agreed rather than a temporary truce.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that Ukraine attacked four Russian oil refineries overnight, but air defenses fended off the attacks and key equipment wasn’t damaged.

The government and companies have worked hard to improve protection of refineries, he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed in August that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them or rebuild them after Ukrainian strikes.

It wasn't possible to verify either side's claims.

Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles, Ukraine says

Sybiha said Ukraine is requesting some 300 Patriot missiles from partner countries because intelligence services estimate that Russia is holding 600 ballistic missiles in reserve and can produce up to 140 ballistic missiles per month.

The U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems can effectively defend against ballistic missiles, which fly fast and drop steeply, but they are in short supply due to the Iran war.

Ukraine needs more funding and quickly, foreign minister says

Ukraine urgently needs funding in order to contract future drone production, so there are no gaps in supply at the beginning of next year, Sybiha said.

Kyiv faces a projected budget deficit of roughly $27 billion this year, although the European Union has promised to help meet its financial requirements.

The European Commission announced Friday it had disbursed €2.9 billion ($3.3 billion) to Ukraine in its latest batch of financing. Zelenskyy said the amount would help Ukraine’s financial stability and strengthen its defense.

Russia is also facing economic and financial challenges due to high military spending and debt.

___

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

___

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

Medical experts urge getting a flu vaccination soon, before influenza starts spreading widely — and to get up to date on protection against other fall respiratory viruses, too. Updated COVID-19 shots are available now, plus shots for people especially vulnerable to another winter risk called RSV.

While these infections make many people feel miserable for a few days before they recover, every year flu alone causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations in the U.S. and kills tens of thousands.

Vaccination isn’t “a guarantee that we’re going to prevent illness. But just like the seat belt in your car, it decreases risk” of the worst outcomes, said Dr. Ryan Stanton of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Fall vaccine advice usually comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its independent advisory panel. But this year that panel, which influences state and insurance vaccine policies, is caught in a court battle and the CDC hasn't updated its advice.

Now doctors’ groups are filling the gap: the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have posted vaccination guidelines for their patient populations plus the scientific evidence behind them.

Here's what to know:

Just about everyone should get vaccinated against flu

Just about everybody starting at age 6 months needs flu vaccination, the medical societies agree. But flu is particularly dangerous for people 65 and older, pregnant women, young children and people of any age who have chronic health problems, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and weak immune systems. The last two flu seasons brought unusually high numbers of child deaths, the vast majority of them in unvaccinated kids.

The vaccines don't block all flu infections, but they do help prevent the worst outcomes, decreasing older adults' hospitalizations by 31% last year, according to the Vaccine Integrity Project, a public health group based at the University of Minnesota.

Here's how to pick from the multiple flu vaccine options

Three “enhanced” flu vaccines are designed to better protect seniors. The American Academy of Family Physicians urges them to choose one — “but do not delay your vaccination if that one’s not available,” said AAFP’s Dr. Sarah Nosal.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new choice for people ages 50 and older, the first flu vaccine made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. One study found Moderna's mFlusiva was 27% more effective against symptomatic illness among 50- to 64-year-olds than a standard shot.

The shot-averse could choose a nasal spray, FluMist, if they're ages 2 to 49 and meet other health criteria.

The latest on COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19 shots once were recommended for just about everyone by federal health agencies, but like last year, the FDA has only formally approved them for higher-risk people — those ages 65 and older or younger people with at least one health condition that increases their risk.

Still, the family physicians recommend all adults get a COVID-19 vaccination, especially seniors and those with other risk factors. Adults 65 and older should get a fall dose and then a second dose six months later, as immunity wanes over time, Nosal said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a COVID-19 shot for all children ages 6 months to 23 months, and for older kids with high-risk conditions. It also supports vaccination for any child whose parent wishes it.

With millions of shots administered, there’s no evidence that coronavirus vaccination during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage or other problems, “so please get the vaccine,” said ACOG’s Dr. Christina Davidson.

Depending on age, people can choose a shot from Moderna, Pfizer, or the only non-mRNA version from Novavax and Sanofi.

Just like with flu vaccines, these shots are better at preventing severe disease than mild cases. The Vaccine Integrity Project said last fall’s COVID-19 shots cut the risk of hospitalization by 53% in seniors and slashed emergency room visits for very young children.

Common side effects for flu and COVID-19 vaccines are mild and temporary, such as sore arms, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, and mild fever. They occurred somewhat more often with the new mFlusiva than with standard flu shots.

Here's where you can get vaccinated

While pediatricians and some clinics offer both flu and coronavirus shots, they're most common in pharmacies.

For COVID-19 shots, states have more pharmacy rules. For example, Walgreens says it offers those shots without a prescription in all but two states, Arizona and Oregon, but can provide doses for children as young as 3 in some states while others have higher age limits.

Medicare covers the fall shots and most private health insurers say they plan to continue doing so through 2027. If you want to choose mFlusiva, the new Moderna flu option, make sure to double check that your insurance covers it.

When to get vaccinated

Flu experts say October is best, although vaccinations will remain available through the fall — just remember it can take two weeks for protection to kick in. COVID-19 cases rose in the late summer and usually do again around the winter holidays. Some experts say it's also OK to time the coronavirus shot a few weeks ahead of an event you wouldn’t want to miss because of illness, like a special trip or get-together.

RSV is a nuisance for many, but it can be deadly for some

RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, typically is a cold-like nuisance during the fall, winter and early spring. But it can be severe, even life-threatening, for infants and older adults.

The family physicians recommend a one-time vaccination for adults 75 and older, people 50 to 74 who are at increased risk, or younger people with weak immune systems.

It’s also recommended during late pregnancy to protect infants born during RSV season. Separately, the pediatricians recommend a vaccine-like medication for those infants whose moms weren't vaccinated and some other high-risk babies.

___

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

But earlier this year, the Navy reservist and his friend shoveled a six-carat diamond from a field in Arkansas where he's found over 300 gems so far. And this one was like nothing he's dug up before — Pearadin claims collectors have told him it could be worth over $1 million.

At least one experienced appraiser told The Associated Press that a diamond of such size and quality could be worth a fourth of that — still an impressive find.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Pearadin said as he livestreamed the discovery on TikTok. “Holy crap, we got a big one!” he yelled after rinsing gravel from a bucket and then flipping the pile onto a table to expose the shiny facets of a 6.03-carat diamond.

Roughly the size of a fingernail, it’s the largest diamond found this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park. More than 37,000 diamonds have been discovered since the former open-pit diamond mine became part of a state park in 1972.

The largest diamond found at the park, 'Uncle Sam,’ weighed 40 carats

The park charges a $15 entry fee to fill a 5-gallon bucket with rocks, and people can keep any gemstones they find. Most are small and worth maybe a few hundred dollars. The largest diamond ever unearthed in the United States, a 40.23-carat stone called the Uncle Sam, was found at the park in 1924.

Pearadin, originally from Missouri, has been trying his luck at the park since 2013, even moving to nearby Murfreesboro to support his hobby — “I love it that much,” he told The Associated Press. He's sold most of his diamonds online.

Most of the 400 to 800 diamonds found at the park annually weigh about a quarter of a carat, according to park interpreter Sarah Bivens. But there have been some bigger ones, said park assistant superintendent Waymon Cox: In 2020 a 9-carat diamond was found by an Arkansas bank manager, and in 2024 a French man unearthed a 7-carat diamond.

Diamonds are found in few places in the US

Diamonds are crystallized under tremendous pressure and heat deep inside the Earth and then thrust to the surface through volcanic activity before they’re scattered by water or wind. These natural diamonds are often cloudy and oddly shaped, and lose about 25% of their weight as they're cut and polished into what a jeweler would sell, according to Nathan Renfro, senior manager at the Gemological Institute of America.

Renfro said the U.S. has only two known primary deposits of diamonds — places where columns of once-molten volcanic rock have reached the surface — Crater of Diamonds and Colorado’s Kelsey Lake, where the land was reclaimed after a commercial mining operation went out of business years ago.

Today, that leaves the Arkansas park as one of the only places in the world where anyone can hunt for diamonds and take their finds with them.

“It’s a pretty remarkable operation that that’s available to the public,” Renfro said. “Most diamond mines are super high security.”

So can Jack finally get a big payday?

A typical .17-carat diamond from the park can sell for around $700, said certified gem appraiser Laura Stanley in Little Rock. But a high-quality six-carat yellow diamond from the park can sell for about $250,000, she said, partly because of their origin.

“They are their own entity,” Stanley said. “It’s the only place in America where you can go find your own diamond and you can’t compare that to a diamond from anywhere else.”

The Uncle Sam crystal was cut and polished into a 12.42-carat diamond gifted to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where it's on view in the “Great American Diamonds” exhibit.

Pearadin named his latest and biggest find the “American Dream.”

“It’s just this massive, gorgeous yellow diamond,” Pearadin said. He plans to split the profits with fellow gem hunter Michael Schumacher of Wisconsin, who helped dig the gravel that produced the stone, and open his own crystal mine.

___

Turbay is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian citizen who was running in Israel’s upcoming election is withdrawing his candidacy following comments over Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Full coverage is available here.

Wounded captain says he had to get back on feet to save passengers

The FlyDubai captain told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he knew he had to regain control to save everyone on board, after he was stabbed by his copilot and the aircraft plunged into a steep descent.

“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” Capt. Smit Machchhar said in the video call that was broadcast live from a hospital in Abu Dhabi. “I was fighting for my life. At one point I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives.”

Machchhar was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said.

The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with 182 people on board, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Israel was set to begin repatriation flights to bring back passengers stranded in the United Arab Emirates after commercial travel between the two countries was suspended following the attack.

— More coverage on the attempt to crash the plane is available here.

Palestinian running in Israel’s upcoming election withdraws candidacy

Sami Abou Shehadeh, the chairman of the left-wing Balad party, said he would withdraw from Israel’s upcoming election after the country’s Supreme Court president said a majority of justices were prepared to uphold his disqualification.

Abou Shehadeh’s candidacy was challenged over an editorial he wrote in the newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The article did not condemn Hamas and argued that, given conditions in Gaza, it was surprising violence hadn’t erupted earlier.

In a subsequent article, Abou Shehadeh, a former member of Israel’s Knesset, called Hamas’ attack both unacceptable and a crime. He said he hadn’t known the scale of the violence when he wrote the first.

The court weighed whether his remarks violated an Israeli law barring candidates who reject Israel’s existence, incite racism or support armed struggle against Israel. His lawyers said that barring him would reinterpret the law and create a new threshold.

For Abou Shehadeh, who was running on the Arab parties’ Joint List, withdrawing avoids a court precedent that could be used to disqualify Palestinian candidates in future Israeli elections, his party said.

About 20% of Israel's citizens are of Palestinian descent.

Egypt expels Ethiopian diplomat in tit-for-tat move

Egypt has expelled a diplomat from the Ethiopian Embassy in Cairo in a reciprocal move after Addis Ababa declared an Egyptian diplomat there unwelcome, Egyptian state media reported, marking a further escalation in tensions between the two countries.

Egypt’s al-Qahera News said Egypt declared a councilor at the Ethiopian Embassy persona non grata, giving him 48 hours to leave the country. On Thursday, Ethiopia ordered an Egyptian Embassy staff to leave the country, according to al-Qahera.

Tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt have recently intensified after Ethiopia accused Egypt of supporting rebel forces in renewed fighting in the Tigray region. At the heart of their longstanding tensions is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, which aims to double Ethiopia’s electricity-generating capacity. However, Egypt fears it could significantly reduce Nile water flows.

__

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

“The club’s firm position,” read a short statement from City, “is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.”

City has protested its innocence throughout the long-running case, which dates back to 2018 and reached a milestone Tuesday, when the Premier League published a verdict saying the Abu Dhabi-controlled club was “guilty of all charges related to serious breaches” of the competition’s financial rules from 2009-18.

City has yet to receive a punishment. According to the Premier League, potential sanctions could be a reprimand, fine, points deduction or, in the worst case, expulsion from the competition. No team has ever been expelled from English soccer’s top flight.

City officials said they would lodge an appeal and that was filed on Thursday evening, the club said, ahead of Friday’s deadline.

“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case,” City said, using language from previous statements on the case.

The appeal hearing should be over within 12 weeks

Premier League regulations state that the chair of the three-person disciplinary commission that found against City now has to appoint a new appeal board. That also will consist of three people, one of whom “shall have held judicial office,” the league’s rules state.

The appeal board will then schedule a hearing that should finish within 12 weeks after the appeal is filed, and cannot exceed five consecutive days.

That will be addressed in a separate, confidential hearing with the commission and there has been no word whether sanctions can be imposed before the decision of the appeal is reached.

The Premier League has only said its intention is that the process is concluded “as soon as possible.”

City’s $1B rule-breaking using ‘sham’ commercial deals, according to commission

City was found to have systematically broken the Premier League’s financial rules for nearly a decade in what the competition’s chief executive, Richard Masters, described as the most significant disciplinary case in the league’s history.

The investigatory panel found that City artificially inflated its revenue — using what the league has called “sham” commercial deals — by more than $1 billion from 2009-18 to circumvent financial fair-play rules that restricted rival clubs, and allowing City to buy some of the best players in the world.

That was the foundation of a long and unprecedented period of success in which City changed the landscape of the world’s most popular soccer league, with the northwest club winning eight league titles from 2012-24.

City committed almost all of the 115-plus violations, the commission found: 80 from 2009-18 for alleged financial misdeeds and another 35 from 2018-23 for allegedly not cooperating with the investigation.

Source of sponsorship could be focus in appeal

City is likely to focus part of its appeal around the issue of how its Abu Dhabi-based sponsorship deals were funded.

The commission found that sponsors in Abu Dhabi only paid 119.25 million pounds ($158.4 million) of the 949.94 million pounds ($1.26 billion) stated in club accounts, with the remaining 830.69 million pounds ($1.1 billion) being paid by the Abu Dhabi United Group, the private company of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan that bought City in 2008.

Sheikh Mansour is a member of the United Arab Emirates’ ruling family.

City contended that “no part” of the deals were funded by the ADUG and that, instead, the Abu Dhabi government — which owned the sponsors — had helped to fund the deals “from time to time.” And so in City’s opinion, that source of extra funding was misunderstood, the commission wrote.

The panel rejected that explanation by City as untrue, concluding it was “concocted well after the event” to disguise the source of funding.

In an internal video to City staff — obtained by broadcaster Sky News — City chief executive Ferran Soriano said: “The whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation: that the owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is just not true.”

English soccer's governing body makes first comments in case

On Friday, the Football Association — the governing body of soccer in England — expressed concern that the “integrity” of the game had been affected by the scandal.

In its first reaction to the case, the FA said: “The independent commission’s decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game. We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.”

The FA added that it would “continue to monitor developments closely” and would not comment further because proceedings were ongoing.

Britain’s tax authority urged to weigh in as Burnham clarifies comments

The City case is currently a soccer disciplinary proceeding, not a criminal investigation. On Thursday, a cross-party committee of lawmakers called on Britain’s tax authority to assess the case.

The chair of the Treasury Committee, Dame Meg Hillier, wrote to the permanent secretary of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), saying: “While I acknowledge that taxpayer confidentiality may inhibit what you can disclose, I would welcome reassurance from HMRC that you are seized of the importance of these issues and the public interest in the case.”

In another example of the widespread impact of the scandal involving City, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been repeatedly asked his view on the issue.

On Wednesday, Burnham said he would be “really concerned” to lose City’s ownership from English soccer, saying they had been a “huge partner in the building of modern Manchester” and of City as a global force, while also saying he was not getting involved in the process.

Burnham was formerly the mayor of Manchester.

On Thursday, Downing Street sought to clarify that the prime minister viewed the ruling as “serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules.”

“If wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences,” Burnham’s office said in a statement, which stressed that the independent process was ongoing.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The Catalan separatist party Junts — essential for the approval of the two government decrees — said in a statement Friday morning that it will vote against them. That appears to have doomed the measures when combined with the “No" from the center-right Popular Party and far-right Vox.

The likely defeat sparked speculation in Spanish media that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez could consider bringing forward elections from next year. Sánchez didn’t speak when he arrived at the chamber in downtown Madrid. His office did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press regarding a possible snap election.

The government decrees were intended to quell a public uproar following the televised eviction of an 87-year-old woman last week in Madrid that sparked protests and a camp-in that has occupied Madrid’s most important square ever since. Barring a surprise, the progressive coalition of Sánchez will suffer a costly legislative defeat that will likely fan the flames of the protests.

Outside the parliament, protesters held up homemade signs with images of vultures on them, denouncing the real estate speculators they blame for driving up prices.

Protester Carla Cremonte, a 34-year-old office worker, lamented that the right-wing parties had united to “vote against the interests of the majority of people who are here, of the workers of Spain.”

“I don’t know what might happen, whether elections will be called, but in the streets, we will continue fighting and the atmosphere is one of a general strike,” she said.

The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the past 10 years. The average price per square meter has risen from 8.20 euros in 2016 to 15.1 euros ($17.15) this year, according to the real estate website Idealista.

The elderly woman whose eviction sparked the protests, Maricarmen Abascal, has become a symbol for the fight for lower housing costs in the southern European country, where many people are priced out of buying a home and are being squeezed by a small rental market.

The company that evicted her finally caved under immense public and political pressure this week and said that she can return to the apartment. Abascal is currently in a hospital since being removed from her home on a stretcher, but her lawyer said she is happy to know she will be going home.

The decrees were designed to give more protection to renters

Spain's 350-seat Parliament started its session at 11 a.m.

The first decree is meant to stop evictions of vulnerable people like Abascal, make real estate speculation harder, impose tighter restrictions on short-term leases and provide tax incentives to encourage renting and the construction of housing.

The second decree is more controversial. It proposes to make leases automatically renew when they are set to expire, essentially making them indefinite. A property owner would have to pay a tenant 12 months of rent to break the contract.

Catalan separatists scuttle housing decrees

Junts is one of a group of small parties that Sánchez needed to woo when he formed a new government in 2023 and has proven to be a prickly political partner ever since. Its leader, the separatist Carles Puigdemont, has resided in Belgium since fleeing Spain after leading a failed bid to make northeastern Catalonia an independent nation in 2017.

Spain’s Housing Minister, Isabel Rodríguez, made a last-gasp appeal to Junts from the lectern, saying that her ministry had “incorporated 90% of your proposals. Vote for the decrees or at least abstain.”

But Míriam Nogueras of Junts said that the decrees would only lead to owners removing their properties from the rental market, and thus driving up prices even further.

“These decrees still allow speculators to buy property and to evict people,” Nogueras said.

Junts urged the government to negotiate amendments. The government refused.

___

Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

The latest figures released by the Health Ministry on Thursday showed that 4,018 people have died, making up nearly half of the 8,300 confirmed cases, in what has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.

Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine.

Some health workers gathered in Bunia, the capital of northeastern Ituri province, the heart of the outbreak. They were demanding payment for wages owed but were quickly dispersed by officials. The protesting workers included surveillance team members, who identify people exposed to infected patients. They waved placards saying, “No money, no data!” and “No payment for months.”

Front-line workers have gone on strike several times since the outbreak began, further hampering efforts to contain the disease.

A senior U.N. official said that an Ebola-hit camp housing a transit center for infected patients was burned by soldiers earlier this week as they were looking for weapons in Kigonze, on the outskirts of Bunia, forcing 19,000 people in the camp to flee.

“The enormous challenge of halting the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) just became even harder after a key transit center for patients requiring treatment burned down in Ituri province,” the United Nations said.

Julien Harneis, the U.N. senior Ebola coordinator, said creating Ebola transit and treatment centers has been a struggle, requiring money and staff, all of which are in short supply.

“When we lose a center, that means we lose capacity, we lose investment, and we have to start again. And above all, it means that people do not get access to the care that they really need,” Harneis said.

Infected aid worker evacuated to Netherlands

An aid worker with Médecins Sans Frontières, known in English as Doctors Without Borders, was infected with Ebola while working in Congo, the group said in a statement.

The worker arrived late Thursday night after being flown to the Netherlands on a special medical flight and was transferred to a high-level isolation unit, the Leiden University Medical Center said in a statement.

“The human cost of this crisis is unprecedented in the DRC, with communities facing the largest Ebola disease outbreak ever recorded in the country,” MSF said.

More than 50 health workers have died after contracting the virus.

Insecurity and community resistance are hampering containment efforts

The World Health Organization has recently raised the alarm about the virus’ rapid spread into new health zones, stretching limited resources.

Africa CDC said in its latest news conference that the number of newly confirmed cases is falling, but that could be attributed to insecurity and challenges in getting communities to cooperate in some of the hot spots. While the spread of the disease has slowed down in some areas, it has accelerated in others, creating what experts see as a delicate situation.

Confirmed cases have slowed in recent weeks, from around 850 cases and 470 deaths a week in mid-July to an average of 490 cases and 230 deaths in September. Overall, the outbreak also saw a similar jump of 33% in both confirmed cases and deaths through September.

A Congolese politician was attacked and beaten to death earlier this week for defending government measures in dealing with the outbreak, highlighting tensions that have stretched both the health community and local resources.

The attack on Marie-Célestin Karondwa, a local official with Congo’s ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress party, took place on Sunday at his home in Butembo, an Ebola hot spot in eastern North Kivu province. His house was set on fire afterward, and he died at a hospital from his injuries.

Widespread mistrust of health workers and the authorities has hampered efforts to slow the Central African nation's 17th Ebola outbreak.

Authorities last month launched a village-centered approach, but those efforts face resistance from residents who dismiss Ebola as a hoax. There is also deep distrust in the country’s government for reasons ranging from how it’s managed past Ebola outbreaks to chronic corruption.

—-

Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria

Capt. Smit Machchhar, recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save his passengers.

“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.

“I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives,” he told Modi.

Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said. He has been hailed as a hero, with world leaders saying he helped avert a disaster.

The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Modi told Machchhar his “courage, patience, and presence of mind” saved many lives.

Machchhar said his flying experience allowed him to sense the plane’s steep descent even after he was knocked down by the attacker.

“I have been flying planes for 17 years and serving as a captain for the last 11 years. I can sense exactly what is happening with the aircraft even with my eyes closed. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting,” he said.

Machchhar said that during those difficult moments, he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, and traditionally recited as a prayer for strength and courage.

“Lord Hanuman gave me courage,” he told Modi.

Machchhar, who is married and has two children, has worked for FlyDubai for about four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before joining the airline, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain. He logged more than 9,750 flying hours with SpiceJet.

Philip Kean, CEO of Mainland Air, the New Zealand flight school where Machchhar trained, said pilots are taught how to take over if a fellow crew member becomes incapacitated. But the training does not typically prepare them for a stabbing attack by a colleague, he told The Associated Press on Friday.

“I don’t think there’s much in the handbook for being stabbed,” Kean said.

“You’re friends and you’re flying together,” he said. “Nobody would expect … a person to have a go at you like that.”

___

Associated Press journalist Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

The blues great was celebrated Thursday night with a sold-out show at Radio City Music Hall in New York, where a lineup of guest musicians and a house band led by Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan had the audience on its feet for much of the three-hour-plus “Buddy's Got the Blues” concert.

Guy himself was only on stage part of the time, but his name was heard throughout, and his spirit always present. One of the last of the Chicago bluesmen who thrived in the mid-20th century, Guy has become so much the ideal of the genre that musicians didn't need to perform his songs to summon his legend.

John Mayer, with an ache in his voice on Otis Redding’s “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” and Eric Gales and Joe Bonamassa jamming on the Jimmy Reed standard “Baby What You Want Me to Do,” seemed as fitting as Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks reviving an old Guy-Junior Wells favorite, “Messin’ with the Kid.”

But no one was going to top the guest of honor. Guy, wearing a dark cap, dark pants and a polka dot shirt, opened the show with a long, raunchy acoustic workout of John Lee Hooker's “I'm in the Mood” and only seemed to get friskier after bringing out his electric guitar.

He leered and joked with longtime friend Shemekia Copeland on a duet of “Rock Me Baby,” left no doubt about the meaning of “to buzz all night long” in Slim Harpo's “I'm a King Bee” and carried on a lot more when joined by one of his few contemporaries, Bobby Rush, just a month away from his 93rd birthday. Everyone came on at the end for an all-out, self-fulfilling “Got My Mojo Workin.'”

Guy is still making plans. His team announced this week that he has a new album out next year, produced by Jordan and featuring multi-instrumentalist Ivan Neville, bassist Willie Weeks and others who played at Radio City Music Hall.

Guy didn't seem at first to have a lot on his mind Thursday besides the next double entendre or the next profanity. “Help me f—k up this song,” he liked to call out. But the tributes offered by the younger performers and the presence of Rush, who testified that he would have walked from Mississippi just to be here, left him moved and near tears.

“I didn’t think this many people would be coming out for a 90 year old man,” Guy said, after confiding he didn't have the strength to blow out that many “f—kin' candles” on the cakes brought out at the end. “This is the greatest day I ever had in my life.”

Clark was in the middle of the action this time, but the result was the same after Las Vegas eliminated Indiana 94-83 in Game 3 of the first round Thursday night.

“I'm just proud of this group," Clark said. “We weathered a lot. There's always so much outside noise, a microscope on how we perform every single day. A lot of really good moments. A lot of tough moments, too, where we felt we probably gave a lot of opportunities away. It's what hurts a little bit. We could've put ourselves in a better spot going into the postseason.”

The Fever had the chance to possibly get home-court advantage in the first round, but went 4-4 to end the season and entered the playoffs with the sixth seed. That put them up against the third-seeded Aces, who have won three of the past four WNBA championships.

Even Las Vegas isn't scrutinized as much as Indiana, mostly because of Clark's presence. To many, she is the face of the league, even though the Aces' A'ja Wilson likely will extend her record for MVPs to five.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver referred to Clark as a “political football” in July, and many of her fans claim she gets officiated differently than other players, that opponents are free to be more physical with her.

Those fans could cite what happened in the fourth quarter as such an example when Clark suffered a bloody mouth after taking a shot to her face. She pleaded her case to the officials, but no foul was called, and Clark fiddled with what appeared to be a loose tooth in the postgame news conference.

“Your guess would be as good as mine,” Clark said on why there was no foul.

Now she and Fever head into the offseason.

Clark spoke before the game that expectations are for them to win the championship at some point, and she said she believed the Fever have the talent to accomplish that. She spoke afterward of the parity in the league and said any team in the playoffs can win the title.

The Fever came close to beating Las Vegas and maybe making a run at it, twice cutting the deficit to two points in the fourth quarter.

But after the Fever scored 31 points in the first quarter, they didn't have more than 18 in any of the three remaining periods.

Clark scored 11 points in the opening quarter, making 4 of 7 shots that included 3 of 6 from 3-point range. After that period, she scored seven points while making 2 of 11 baskets and missing all six 3-point attempts.

“They made it difficult, but we've made a lot of those shots throughout the year, too,” Clark said. “At the same time, we were right there despite some of the poor shooting.”

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

The annual guessing game about who will win the prize, often called the most prestigious award on the planet, is revving up ahead of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's Oct. 9 announcement of the winner in Oslo.

Predicting the outcome is inherently speculative. Some surprising and controversial choices have appeared over the years. The committee received 287 candidates for this year’s prize, and just over a quarter of them are organizations.

Experts say the committee, in its process of awarding the prize, typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.

International Space Station a symbol of global cooperation

Haakon Gjerløw, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, is considered a top forecaster. He says the ISS — well, the organization behind it — is a rare symbol of global cooperation in a quest toward the heavens at a time when multilateralism is crumbling and many countries have retreated into narrower national interests on Earth.

The institute's annual watch list is one of the sources that most informs pundits and punters about the top contenders.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to win the prize, and has been nominated again, but could be viewed as a controversial choice after the U.S., along with Israel, launched an ongoing war on Iran in February.

Trump and Canada's Carney are both candidates

Canada's Carney has made a mark internationally this year, in large part by standing up to Trump on issues like U.S. tariffs.

Gjerløw's list this year also features Ukrainian children’s advocate Mykola Kuleba and Save the Children; Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a grassroots relief network; and the Committee to Protect Journalists after the deadliest two years for reporters since record-keeping began nearly 45 years ago.

The International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, jointly, also got a nod. The ICC has faced criticism and controversy among some, and respect from others, over its arrest warrants against leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump has long criticized the ICC, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July announced a campaign to “dismantle the threat … posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.” Later that month, the ICC's chief prosecutor was removed from office over sexual misconduct allegations.

Gjerløw said the committee’s choice is complicated by recent turmoil after 2025 laureate María Corina Machado of Venezuela, in a symbolic gesture, presented her prize to Trump days after U.S. forces removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Conflicts and wars mark this year's prize

This year's peace prize comes in an era marked by the most war and conflict in decades, including in Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, Iran and the Middle East.

Shawn Davies, a senior analyst at the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, which monitors conflicts, cited “increased international tensions and changes in the global security order” that he linked to an erosion of U.S. willingness to enforce international rules. Washington has gone from guarantor of the postwar order to a violator of it in some cases, he said.

“I don’t even think his own base would believe” Trump could win the prize now, “given how he’s stuck in what looks like a forever war in Iran,” Davies said.

Jody Williams, who won the 1997 Peace Prize jointly with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, says she hopes for a continued trend toward awarding the prize to women. Only 20 of the prize’s 112 individual laureates have been women in its 125-year history.

In the past 15 years, eight women have won the prize individually, compared to just six men.

Among names of the women circulating in prediction markets this year are Gaza surgeon Sara al-Saqqa and Yulia Navalnaya, the Russian opposition figure and widow of Alexei Navalny.

Nobels start with prize for medicine

Nobel week kicks off Monday with the announcement of the medicine prize, followed by the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. After Friday’s peace prize is awarded, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Oct. 12.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, small group of laureates or organization.

When it comes to the peace prize selection, expect political fallout no matter who wins.

“Trump will be unhappy whoever gets the Nobel,” said Nelson Wiseman, a University of Toronto professor emeritus. “If Carney got it, it would make relations with Canada rockier than they are.”

The bottom line for the Philadelphia Phillies is they came up short in the postseason again.

“You’re here to do business. You’re here to win games, and we didn’t do that,” Harper said in a subdued Phillies clubhouse Thursday night following their 6-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves in the deciding Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series.

There would be no excuses coming from the All-Star slugger about a September swoon that prevented the Phillies from lining up their pitching against Atlanta because it took until Game 162 to clinch a playoff spot.

Philadelphia forced Game 3 against the Braves with three dramatic solo home runs late in Game 2. But in the end, the Phillies fell into an early hole Thursday and were eliminated from the postseason for the fifth consecutive year as they chase their first World Series title since 2008.

“You’d love to be able to set your pitching up and them be rested and all that kind of stuff,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “But that’s not the way it went. We had to fight to get ourselves in, and to do what we had to do to get in, we had to do what we had to do basically every game in the series.”

The Phillies' core of Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have made five straight playoff appearances and averaged 91 wins per year during that stretch. They have yet to win a championship and have been eliminated further and further from that goal each season since reaching the 2022 World Series.

The following season, Philadelphia exited in the National League Championship Series, and the next two years saw losses in the Division Series. A wild-card exit this season marks another step in the wrong direction.

“Obviously, we'd love to win a World Series with these guys. We’ve been together quite a while, and we've got a good clubhouse, and you know, good characters on this team,” Nola said. “We know what type of guys are in here. We know what type of players we have, and what we’re capable of. (We need to) kind of play good at the right time.”

The five-year run included two playoff series wins over the Braves. Philadelphia eliminated Atlanta in 2022 and 2023 despite the Braves winning the NL East in both seasons. That scenario was set up again this year, with the Braves earning home-field advantage in this series by virtue of another NL East title.

This time, however, Atlanta managed to get the big hits and the clutch pitching when it mattered most. Ray Kerr, in just his 10th appearance this year and first career postseason appearance, played the role of opener to perfection. He went 3 1/3 innings, giving up no runs, one walk and one hit to set up bulk reliever Grant Holmes.

Michael Harris II belted a three-run homer off Nola in the first, and the Phillies were looking up the rest of the night.

The Phillies were looking up at the rest of their division in April, but eventually righted the ship. Mattingly took over when Rob Thomson was fired on April 28 after a 9-18 start. The Phillies won eight of their next nine and reached .500 on May 16. A red-hot August put them in playoff position, but a postseason berth was not secured until the final game of the regular season.

Mattingly deflected questions about his future after the game.

“It’s not the time to talk about it. I’m comfortable with whatever they want to do,” he said. “Again, I want the best for the Phillies. I loved being in Philly this year. I actually like playing in that environment. I like the environment. It’s a rough environment, but it’s good. Again, I think you let the organization evaluate, talk about what they think moving forward, what they should do, and that dictates a lot of different things.”

As the clubhouse emptied out for the final time this season, Wheeler reflected on the journey the Phillies went on and the disappointing ending it delivered.

“It is tough. We spent a lot of time together. We see everybody’s ups and downs,” he said. “We see the good times and bad times people have throughout the season. We’re all brothers here, and we love to compete. So something like this happens, it’s tough.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, which is leading the search, said rescuers dug through snow on Mount Himlung to find eight bodies in tents at the base camp, where one person remains missing.

“Due to continuing mountain hazards, recovery efforts have been temporarily concluded,” the association said. “Further efforts may be possible when conditions allow.”

Experienced mountain guides from the association took advantage of good weather and worked through the week to dig through the snow that covered the base camp.

Rescuers located 10 other climbers who were part of the group on Mount Himlung, a 7,126-meter (23,380-foot) peak in north-central Nepal, which is home to eight of the 14 tallest mountain peaks in the world including Mount Everest.

The avalanche is considered one of the worst disasters in Nepal mountaineering history.

Every year hundreds of foreign climbers come to Nepal to attempt climb the highest mountain peaks. Many of them have lost their lives trying to reach the summits in harsh weather conditions.

All those killed or missing this week were Nepali nationals preparing for foreign clients to arrive for the Autumn climbing season that began this month.

Nepal is still recovering from devastating flooding in August that swept away several villages, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and nearly 6,000 missing.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose 0.5% on Friday. Nasdaq futures gained 0.7%.

Oil prices declined as the U.S. pressures Europe to release diesel reserves. On Thursday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on social media platform X that the U.S.'s European partners should make deliveries of existing commitments faster and make additional supplies immediately available.

“American farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage,” he wrote. “America is doing its part. We look to our allies to match their commitments with action.”

The push on Europe comes as the U.S. sent another aircraft carrier and more troops to the Middle East, and as President Donald Trump threatened more possible escalations against Iran.

The U.S. military is deploying thousands of troops aboard a group of ships, including a third aircraft carrier, to the Middle East, according to a U.S. official on Thursday, after Trump on Wednesday threatened to “blow them up” or make a deal, referring to Iran, in an exchange with reporters.

Brent crude, the international standard, lost 2.4% to below $100 a barrel, at $99.88, after advancing on Thursday. That’s still well above the approximately $72 per barrel level in late February before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude declined 3.7% to $89.47 a barrel.

Investors and traders are monitoring closely the U.S. monthly jobs report for September to be released on Friday, as the data could provide more insight into the likelihood of an October interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, after the Fed raised rates in September for the first time in three years.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury was at around 5.22%, after it reached 5.34% on Thursday, the highest since 2002. It crossed the 5% mark last month, as inflationary pressure from the global energy shock driven by the Iran war and rising U.S. government debt pushed investors to demand higher returns.

The 5% level on the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has been an “important psychological threshold” for investors, David Clewell, a portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, said in commentary this week.

Factoring in the U.S.'s resilient economic growth, there is a “credible” likelihood that the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield can rise toward 5.5% to 6%, Clewell suggested. Ballooning bond yields have been putting downward pressure on stock markets, as higher borrowing costs can undercut stock returns.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.3%. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX was up 1.2%. That came a day after Europe’s benchmark stock indexes fell sharply as government bond yields shot up.

Asian markets were mostly lower. Markets in mainland China were closed for a holiday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday she appointed the office of Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the investigation, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.

The investigation had initially been closed without charges in 2024.

Last month, the woman filed a lawsuit and Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation. He has since been bombarded by criticism that he abandoned the original investigation too quickly.

The attorney general will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury, Hochul said.

“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” she said in a statement Thursday.

Messages left for Van Houten were not immediately returned late Thursday.

The case has roiled the Ivy League campus and raised questions about its response and the larger issue of how sexual assaults are handled on college campuses.

The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, told campus police in November of 2024 that she was assaulted, then discussed it with the university’s internal investigators as part of Cornell’s disciplinary process.

The lawsuit against seven fraternity brothers, the university, the Chi Phi fraternity and others alleges that she was plied with drugs and alcohol, then subjected to sex acts by a group of men while she was partially or entirely incapacitated. One of the men sent a social media message to other fraternity members alerting them to what was happening, and inviting people to take part, according to the lawsuit.

Lawyers for two of the men she is suing have denied they participated in a sexual assault. One said his client hadn’t touched the woman. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful.

The copilot allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit before passengers intervened aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 after taking off from Dubai, UAE, with 182 people including eight crew members flying to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday.

The airplane made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and the incident is under investigation by Saudi, Emirati and Israeli authorities, with the United States and Oman assisting efforts to determine a motive.

“Until this event, the possibility of a threat originating from a pilot or crew member was not considered a likely scenario. Security efforts have traditionally focused much more heavily on passengers and their luggage,” said Eyal Hulata, Israel’s former national security adviser. “That will probably change now and crew members will be subject to heavier screening.”

Israel's security protocols focus heavily on Israeli airlines and departing flights from Ben-Gurion International Airport. A potential Achilles’ heel lies overseas, where procedures for Israel-bound flights vary and are harder for Israeli authorities to oversee.

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic, has built some of its appeal around a reputation for safety in a volatile region, said Philip Baum, a visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University in England.

“They are very conscious of the fact, a little bit like Israel in many respects, that they cannot afford to have a terrorist attack happening on a flight out of there,” he said.

Pilot vetting and preflight screening aren't uniform worldwide

Investigators have not publicly identified the object used to stab the flight's captain or said whether it was carried onto the plane or came from inside the aircraft.

Preflight screening of flight crews should generally “mirror very closely what a passenger goes through,” although security procedures vary around the world, said Dave Komendat, a senior security adviser at risk management firm International SOS and former chief security officer for Boeing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has long-standing agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

Israeli authorities have described the FlyDubai copilot as Omani. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations, raising questions about how the suspect ended up on the Tel Aviv-bound flight.

“Obviously, there was a loophole here. And we’re taking care of that,” Netanyahu said Thursday during an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends.”

Israel will increase security precautions on flights coming into the country whether or not they are operated by Israel. Pilots flying into Israel will be vetted and Israel will know their identities, prime minister’s office spokesperson Doron Spielman told The Associated Press.

There were no Israeli air marshals on the FlyDubai flight and the people who helped were civilians, Spielman added.

The International Civil Aviation Organization sets baseline pilot-vetting and licensing standards, while national regulators and airlines can impose additional requirements.

Aviation security expert Menachem Bachrach said Israel relies largely on foreign governments and airlines to vet their own crew members, and Wednesday’s incident may point to a compliance lapse rather than a flaw in the procedures.

“Before we’re jumping to tighten security, I would just say it’s likely that somebody didn’t follow the protocols,” Bachrach said.

Investigators to look for red flags and review distress call handling

Israeli flag carrier El Al periodically assesses its pilots’ fitness to fly, while other airlines may do so less often, said Arik Arad, chairman of the aviation cybersecurity consultancy CYVIATION and El Al’s former head of security at Ben Gurion Airport.

Investigators will want to know whether colleagues previously reported concerns about the copilot and, if so, how the airline responded, Komendat said.

Investigators in the UAE and Israel also are likely to review responses to the distress signals that came from the FlyDubai plane after a steep drop in altitude.

A person who heard the FlyDubai flight’s air traffic control communications said a crew member reported a hijacking and requested ambulances. Authorities in Saudi Arabia and Jordan initially refused to clear the aircraft for landing, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The crew member eventually persuaded Saudi authorities to allow the plane to set down at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in the city of Tabuk.

International aviation standards call for countries to give aircraft facing hijacking or other “unlawful interference” maximum assistance and priority. But the underlying 1944 treaty, the Convention on International Civil Aviation, only requires a country to provide assistance “as it may find practicable,” making it a “relatively soft obligation,” said Vincent Correia, co-director of McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law.

Standard practice in a serious emergency is to get an aircraft on the ground as quickly as possible at the nearest suitable runway, “regardless of nationality, flight plan or politics,” said John Gradek, who manages McGill’s Aviation Management Program.

Gradek stressed it’s still not clear why the FlyDubai plane took a 180-degree turn as it crossed into Jordanian airspace before heading southwest to Tabuk. It’s not unusual for flight crews to bypass the nearest airport in favor of one better-equipped to meet a plane’s needs, he said.

Locked cockpits have been central to flight security for 25 years

Netanyahu said the flight's injured captain saved the aircraft and everyone on it by resisting the copilot's attacks long enough to open the 737's cockpit door, enabling passengers to subdue the suspect and other FlyDubai crew members to take the controls and land the plane.

Cockpit doors worldwide were reinforced and locked after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to keep intruders out. The FlyDubai incident, and past crashes caused by pilots who wanted to take their own lives, highlight the risk when a threat comes from inside the cockpit.

“The industry itself needs to recognize that flight deck door — whilst installed for very understandable reasons to prevent a suicidal hijacking by a passenger — has also created a fortress into which the good guys cannot gain access to a rogue individual, be it a hijacker or a rogue crew member,” Baum said.

Airline personnel know more about aviation security weaknesses and can gain the trust of security workers they regularly encounter, Osprey Flight Solutions Chief Intelligence Officer Matthew Borie, whose company advises airlines on flight threats, said.

“Unfortunately, if an insider with nefarious intent wants to carry out something like this, they may actually be best placed to know where the most vulnerable points are and how to breach them,” Borie said.

___

Yamat reported from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Marcel from New York. Jill Lawless in London, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

The Grammy-nominated rapper is moving forward with fatherhood, healing and a sense of purpose. Now a father to a daughter, he says that growth is at the heart of his new album "QRÖMELIFE,” out Friday. The 14-track offering is executive produced by Pharrell Williams, who Quavo says helped him tune out the noise and return to the melodic instincts that made him a defining voice with the rap group Migos.

The album features appearances from Justin Timberlake, Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky, Future and Lil Baby. It also reunites Quavo with Offset after the two repaired their relationship following a public falling out in 2022 and grew closer in the years since the death of Quavo’s nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff.

“QRÖMELIFE” arrives as Quavo and Takeoff's 2022 ”Hotel Lobby" performance fuels a flood of AI-generated videos featuring everyone from Barack and Michelle Obama and Spider-Man to soccer stars Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham — even dogs and cats.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Quavo spoke about the meaning behind “QRÖMELIFE,” how Pharrell helped him tune out the algorithm, the viral resurgence of “Hotel Lobby” and a new Migos project.

Remarks have been edited for brevity.

AP: What does "QRÖMELIFE” mean to you? What does that actually look like as a lifestyle?

QUAVO: When it comes to a lifestyle, it’s a way of life. When you get up, got to go to work every day, and something happened in your life, but you still have to go hit that nine-to-five, you come in qrome. That’s your qrome state.

I feel like God put you through those states to make you qrome. It’s in your chromosomes. … Everybody go through ups and downs, but what’s gonna make you come out strong? What’s gonna make you come out qrome?

AP: You talked about becoming a father changing “the motive to the mission.” How has fatherhood changed you?

QUAVO: You got mouths to feed. You got little people of yours that look up to you. What you gonna do to add or take away from what you didn’t learn from your parents, or what you didn’t have?

For instance, I didn’t have a dad. So me being a father, it’s important to me because my dad died when I was 4 … I just want to be there the whole step of the way.

AP: What did Pharrell bring out of you while making this album?

QUAVO: Just to challenge my versatility. The “Stir Fry” Quavo, the “Congratulations” Quavo, the “Apeshit” Quavo.

You master that with one of the greatest producers of all time. … Sometimes the student passes the mentor. But in this case, it’s still light-years. I gotta catch up to him from a business standpoint.

AP: “Hotel Lobby” has become this huge AI phenomenon. Did you ever imagine you and Takeoff standing in that orange room, sharing one microphone, would become this viral moment four years later?

QUAVO: I just look at it as God. Losing (Takeoff), I just know that he's in a better place. And then coming through it at a time like this, the week before I’m rolling out my album. ... Then this hit.

It just let me know like, “Bro, I’m here. I’m here with you. I got you.”

The viralness of it made me feel like it was something bigger than just a click of a button or internet sensation. Everybody just started doing it, man. From the corporate of the corporate down to the streets.

I’m proud of it. I thank you for keeping my brother and his name alive.

AP: Some fans love the videos. Others feel uncomfortable seeing AI manipulate Takeoff’s image after his death. Where is the line for you between celebrating his legacy and going too far?

QUAVO: You can’t control it. I can’t spend all day trying to find someone that got a phone in their hand or sitting behind a desk. It don’t help me mentally. Don’t help me emotionally.

When I see it, I just say, “All right,” and go by it. You just got to be strong to be able to look at stuff and move on.

AP: You’ve talked about eventually doing one final Migos project. What would another Migos album mean to you now?

QUAVO: It means the world to me. Obviously, we miss one, and it won’t be the same without him.

I’ve been honored to be his uncle since the age of 3. So just having that relationship with him and knowing how he move and think, I kind of feel like he's in my body.

I talk to him about it. Be like, “I don’t want to do it if you ain’t got the vision for it.”

I know I can take the music that he got and get the Migos album ready. It just depends on how we want to honor the legacy. Because I want this music to benefit us and the estate.

AP: When you and Offset work on Migos music now, how do you make something that still feels like all three of you?

QUAVO: We’re cooking right now, and the chemistry is always gonna be there. We always learned to do four, five, six songs dolo and bring them to each other. But right now, we're just dumping the bags and seeing what we can put together.

AP: Has the work you’ve done through the Rocket Foundation helped you process your own grief?

QUAVO: It helped me just realize that this could happen to anyone. You would feel some type of way, but you don’t feel it till it hit home.

And when it hit home, I thought when it got to me everybody is gonna stop. But it still kept going.

You can go into a hole and not do nothing, or you can stand up and try to change and do something.

Seeing other families go through what I go through, I feel like I’m turning into this superhero to be a therapist to a family where I need a therapist.

The 37-year-old, first-time actor was in Mustang to film “Four Rivers Six Ranges,” a historical drama about resistance fighters who helped the Dalai Lama escape Tibet in 1959. A year later, Phurpatsang's own grandfather, Yeshi Wangyal, had returned to Tibet after CIA training to lead a separate guerrilla mission. He was killed fighting Chinese forces.

Born in exile in India, Phurpatsang is now a New York model. As he filmed firefight scenes in the mountains, a world away from his life, he thought of his family’s past.

“Wow, is that what my grandfather went through?” he asked himself.

Questions like this and others about Tibet's history, how it's remembered and who gets to tell it, are what Phurpatsang and director Shenpenn Khymsar hope “Four Rivers Six Ranges” will provoke at a moment when Tibet receives less sustained international attention than it once did.

The film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam last year, before its Indian theatrical release on Sept. 18, a debut delayed as Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India.

The 91-year-old Dalai Lama’s succession plan looms over Tibet’s future and that of Tibetans who have sought to preserve their identity during China’s tight control. The world also has shifted, with China more powerful, the U.S. pulling back from its role as the world’s policeman and India and Beijing cautiously repairing ties.

Chinese state media has accused the film of promoting separatism, reiterating China’s position that Tibet has always been part of the country and saying the film rewrites history.

Khymsar insists it is rooted in history and that it is important for Tibetans to tell their own story. Phurpatsang too believes it is vital for younger Tibetans to know the history of the resistance they inherited.

“When you don't talk about it, these stories … they become lost,” Phurpatsang said.

Movie was filmed as a ‘covert operation’ in Nepal

Khymsar grew up watching films like “Seven Years in Tibet,” starring Brad Pitt, and Martin Scorsese’s “Kundun,” both released in 1997 and focused on the Dalai Lama's early life. But he wanted to tell the story of the ordinary Tibetans who formed the resistance group Chushi Gangdruk (“the land of four rivers and six ranges”).

The fighters regrouped among the wind-carved cliffs of Mustang, where they waged a 13-year guerrilla campaign against Chinese forces with U.S. support before disbanding in 1974, when U.S.-China relations improved. Khymsar said he wanted to shoot scenes in those mountains as his “tribute.”

But with Chinese surveillance and pressure in Nepal stifling the Tibetan community, he knew he wouldn't be able to secure the needed permits. He wrote and submitted what he described as a “dummy screenplay,” titled “The Himalayan Robin Hood,” and cut production from more than 45 days to just 19.

“The entire shoot was a covert operation,” Khymsar said.

There were other logistical hurdles. Much of the cast had never acted before, so Khymsar handpicked people, including social-media followers, and trained them in voice modulation and action. Some had never ridden horses and the production could not afford an action director or stunt team.

“I feel like the spirits of those warriors were there, helping me,” Khymsar said.

There have been no major Hollywood films about Tibet in recent decades, as studios sought increased access to the lucrative Chinese market, noted Carole McGranahan, an anthropologist and professor specializing in Tibet at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Indeed, Khymsar said he was struggling to secure international distribution.

“Four Rivers Six Ranges” matters, McGranahan said, because it is a “Tibetan telling of the history of Tibet.”

Another forthcoming film, “Tenzing,” about the late mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, could bring Tibetan history to a wider audience, she said. Norgay, a Sherpa, was born in Nepal to Tibetan parents and moved to Darjeeling, India, as a child, he said in a 1985 interview with India’s national broadcaster.

He and Edmund Hillary were the first two people confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in 1953. The biopic, starring Genden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe, opens in select theaters Oct. 9 and premieres globally a week later on Apple TV.

“It’s not just a film about Everest, or about Nepal or India. It’s also about Tibet,” McGranahan said.

Tibet looms over India-China efforts to repair ties

“Four Rivers Six Ranges” was supposed to release in India on Sept. 11, a day before Xi's arrival for the BRICS summit and meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the rival neighbors sought to repair ties strained by a deadly border clash six years earlier.

Before Xi’s arrival, Khymsar received a call from PVR INOX, India’s largest multiplex cinema operator, saying the release would have to be postponed a week.

“They said we cannot release it (yet). They got some pressure,” he recounted.

Asked whether PVR INOX had received government pressure, Deepa Menon, senior vice president for corporate communications, said she had no specific information to share. The Indian government did not immediately respond to questions about the delay.

India and China have economic incentives to deepen ties but competing strategic interests, said Manoj Kewalramani, a geopolitics expert at the Takshashila Institution in Bengaluru.

India wants China’s manufacturing expertise without becoming overly dependent on it, while Beijing wants access to India’s vast market but worries about enabling competition. Chinese companies also remain wary of investing in India if relations deteriorate, Kewalramani said.

Developments in Tibet could affect India’s territorial integrity because of competing claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which India considers a state in its northeast, Kewalramani said. Beijing claims it as part of China and calls it Zangnan, or “Southern Tibet.”

India officially recognizes Tibet as part of China, while also hosting the world’s largest Tibetan exile community, numbering about 70,000. It also is the seat of power for the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, and shares deep cultural and religious ties with Tibet.

In 2011, the Dalai Lama formally ended his governance role in the Central Tibetan Administration, but he remains the Tibetan community's most prominent global figure.

“Because of the succession period looming, it becomes a bit of a powder keg,” Kewalramani said.

Kewalramani said Modi assured Xi, according to China’s readout of the meeting, that India would not allow “anti-China activities” on its soil, a reference Kewalramani interpreted as directly related to Tibet. The statement did not appear in India’s readout of the meeting, he said.

The period between the Dalai Lama’s death and the coming of age of his successor could be especially uncertain for Tibetans, McGranahan said.

This could mean years of leadership by a regent, following a centuries-old tradition. The Dalai Lama has said his successor should be identified according to Buddhist tradition, signaling China should stay out of the process.

China, meanwhile, has asserted its sole authority to approve the next religious leader and insists the reincarnation must be found in its Tibetan areas.

It is against this backdrop that McGranahan said the film could bring Tibet’s story to a mass audience.

“There is something about a story, told through a feature film, that can reach more people and touch them, in public and, hopefully, powerful ways,” she said.

President Donald Trump announced the plant Monday alongside Iowa elected officials, heralding the project as a major economic and national security investment.

Five weeks before the midterm elections, Republicans seized on the promise of good-paying jobs and a central role for the heartland in the push for American steel manufacturing. It's celebrated as an opportunity for southeast Iowa, an area along the Mississippi River that once thrived as a hub for industry but has since suffered from shuttered facilities and dwindled populations. Still, the deal and the tax abatements it could carry have also been met with some skepticism in rural Iowa and Des Moines alike.

And while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the “deal is done,” state action and local officials in the days since suggest otherwise.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday called lawmakers back for the special session, saying “reasonable and limited updates” to the state's economic development program were needed to advance the project proposed by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota company owned by the India-based conglomerate Essar Group.

The terms of an agreement between the state and Mesabi Metallics have been outlined in a memorandum of understanding; neither provided a copy when asked for one.

While the specific location remains undisclosed, elected officials have indicated the project is set for Lee County. Still, the chair of the county board of supervisors said this week that the company has not yet committed to the project site.

Mesabi Metallics “looks forward to breaking ground in the near future,” Jesse Harris, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement Tuesday. He said the company is “optimistic” that changes to the law will be enacted based on conversations with legislators and elected officials.

The White House said Thursday that the Iowa project is only possible because of the president's policies.

“President Trump has a proven record of securing historic investments, creating high-paying jobs, and bringing manufacturing back to the United States," spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

The pivot to Iowa seems to have moved quickly

Iowa state Rep. Matthew Rinker said he joined conversations on a potential project in his district several months ago.

Still, as recently as July, job listings on Mesabi’s website for the steel plant were based in Paducah, Kentucky, according to a version saved in the web archive. Jobs are now listed for Iowa, though the job responsibilities for a government relations manager still include interfacing with Kentucky's economic development team.

While the company had been in discussion with Kentucky officials, the scale of the project “more than doubled over the negotiation period,” spokesperson Brandon Mattingly said in an email.

Iowa "did get kind of into the mix late,” said Rinker, a Republican. “I think once they got here, they realized this is where they needed to be.”

First, though, changes in state law are necessary for Iowa to compete against other states for the project, Reynolds said in her proclamation. She is asking lawmakers to modify the economic development program so that tax credits on eligible projects can be worth up to 10% of investments, an increase from the current 5%, and paid out over 10 years instead of five.

For a $15 billion project, that could mean up to $1.5 billion in kickbacks payable over 10 years once the plant is running and contingent on jobs.

A major investment opportunity could carry risks for local communities

Lee County does not have any zoning or permitting ordinances that would be required for the project itself. The company would need a permit for hauling on the county’s secondary roads.

The scale of an investment such as this one is asymmetrical with the legal and administrative capacity of a small, rural community, said Anthony Pipa, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies development and policy in rural areas.

While there’s a lot of potential upside to a project of this scale, that asymmetry also leaves those communities vulnerable and without significant leverage, he said. Pipa also pointed to examples of massive proposed investments that didn’t come to fruition.

In neighboring Wisconsin, for example, Trump announced a Foxconn Technology Group display screen manufacturing facility and its promise of 13,000 jobs, saying it would be the “eighth wonder of the world.” The state Legislature, at the urging of then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker, approved up to $3 billion in state tax breaks for the Taiwanese manufacturing company if it hit employment and investment benchmarks, though those were significantly scaled back by Walker’s successor, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Foxconn has since dramatically reduced the scope of the project and now says it will employ about 2,600 people by the end of 2029.

Wisconsin Democrat Gordon Hintz, a leading opponent of the Foxconn project when he was a state lawmaker, said he sees parallels with what’s promised in Iowa.

“The idea of having domestic production in an Upper Midwest, post-industrial economy has a lot of appeal,” said Hintz, who is now a county executive. “The devil’s in the details.”

The Lee County Economic Development Board, which Rinker said was pivotal in bringing the Mesabi project to Iowa, said the plant brings “extraordinary opportunity,” while acknowledging the ongoing questions that need to be addressed “about workforce, infrastructure, housing, and community services.”

“We take both seriously,” board CEO and President Emily Benjamin said in a statement. “Our job is to help make sure growth like this benefits the people who live and work here.”

But the backup plan also failed, and Thursday — 24 hours later — Pike was still alive but in critical condition at a Tennessee hospital, though her prognosis remained uncertain. It's not yet clear what went wrong.

Twenty-seven states have capital punishment, and they vary widely in how they administer the death penalty and just how much of that lethal process they keep hidden from public view, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, a clearinghouse for information on U.S. executions.

Some states have extensive backup plans. Others don’t

Tennessee falls somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to contingency plans, with two redundancies built into its execution process.

First, inmates are supposed to have two intravenous lines placed. Thus, if the first IV site fails, the execution team can switch to the second one. A physician on the execution team can even insert a central line — which typically involves making an incision in a major blood vessel in the groin, neck or armpit in order to thread a catheter into the body to a spot near the heart — if needed.

Intravenous lines can fail for several reasons, like a needle and catheter not being properly placed in a vein or wiggling out of place — or a vein rupturing and letting blood and IV fluid leak into tissue surrounding the IV site.

Tennessee also allows for a second 100 mg dose of pentobarbital to be administered if the condemned person is still alive five minutes after the first dose was given.

Tennessee prison officials gave Pike a second dose, but it’s not clear if they used the primary IV site or the backup site to do so.

Little backup in Alabama, a lot in Idaho

Alabama has a three-drug lethal injection protocol. It allows for a backup dose of the first drug, the sedative midazolam, to be given if the inmate isn’t unconscious from the first dose. But the protocol doesn’t include additional instructions for what to do if the condemned person is still alive after the first dose of the next two drugs, rocuronium bromide and potassium chloride.

Idaho, meanwhile, has contingency plans for nearly every step of the execution process, with backup IV sites, allowances for administering a central IV line, and up to three full doses of any of the state’s four approved lethal injection drug cocktails.

Idaho recently made firing squad its primary execution method, though it has yet to kill someone by that method. Still, the state’s firing squad protocol also has a backup plan, with the prison director able to order a second volley of shots within a two-minute time span if she determines it is necessary to complete the execution.

Despite contingency plans, executions are still botched at times

Idaho called off the execution of Thomas Eugene Creech in 2024 after execution team members could not place a viable IV after eight attempts.

Tennessee also called off an execution earlier this year after failing to find a suitable vein for a secondary IV line.

In 2014, Arizona executioners injected Joseph Rudolph Wood with a lethal combination of drugs 15 times during the nearly two hours it took him to die. He gasped more than 600 times while he lay on the table.

Witnesses keep the public informed when executions succeed or fail

In many ways, executions are shrouded in secrecy. The identity of execution team members, the details about where and how lethal drugs are procured, and in some states even what happens in the death chamber is hidden from public view.

But executions, like all criminal sentences, are conducted by the state on behalf of its citizens, so it’s critical that members of the public understand exactly how that ultimate punishment is carried out.

Most death penalty states allow a few members of the media to witness executions on behalf of the public. Once the execution is over, those news representatives typically take part in a news conference, sharing exactly what they saw and heard with the rest of the world.

Access to executions varies by state, and limitations often lead to court battles

Only two states, Indiana and Wyoming, explicitly ban members of the press from witnessing executions. Wyoming, with no one currently on death row, hasn’t carried out an execution since 1992, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

A coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press sued Indiana last year for a seat in the witness room, but in June a federal appellate court upheld the state’s law barring media access.

In Idaho, media witnesses are allowed to watch as a condemned person is placed on a gurney, has IVs inserted and is put to death. Yet AP and other news organizations have sued for increased access. The news organizations asked a judge to allow them to watch via closed-circuit monitors as the drugs are pushed into the IV lines, which is currently shielded from public view in a private room beside the death chamber.

A federal judge ordered the state to provide that access, citing a 9th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that said the public should be able to view all critical parts of an execution via the press. But the state appealed, and the appellate court hasn’t yet ruled on the matter.

Media witnesses provided crucial details about Pike’s failed execution

When Pike’s first lethal injection dose failed to end her life, officials closed the curtains and administered a second dose of pentobarbital.

When the curtains reopened, Pike was making snoring sounds and was clearly alive, according to AP reporter Kim Chandler, who was one of the witnesses. Eventually the curtain was closed again and the microphone in the room was turned off, but Pike could still be heard making gasping or snoring sounds.

Nearly two hours after the execution began, media witnesses were escorted out, and Pike was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Many states, including Tennessee, keep the IV insertion hidden from public view, but allow witnesses to watch through a viewing window as the condemned person dies.

AP was part of a media coalition that previously sued Tennessee to see the IV insertion and to keep the viewing room curtains open until the pronouncement of death. But in April the Tennessee Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s order that would have allowed for increased access.

One of Pike’s attorneys, Steve Ferrell, said Pike feared that there could be complications because of a lifelong blood disorder that made it tough to get needles into her veins. Ferrell said it was possible that the IV did not enter Pike’s vein properly, and the drug may have filled her arm instead of entering her bloodstream.

He announced in a speech Wednesday that the office will help offer “first-class religious support” and will report directly to him.

“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual,” he said.

Hegseth has infused his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon, hosting Christian worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation.

The Office of Religious Affairs, or ORA, will advocate for military chaplains and religious support “at the highest level of the Department,” according to a Pentagon statement. It will not “compel religious participation, favor one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.”

Some criticism of the initiative surfaced quickly.

The Pentagon “owes it to the nation’s service members to defend religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church, which has sued the Pentagon over its worship services. “Hegseth’s latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping U.S. military policy.”

Other federal agencies have had religious or faith-based offices, which were established under President George W. Bush and were continued in different forms under the Obama and Biden administrations. President Donald Trump established a White House Faith Office and had a similar effort during his first term.

Shaun Casey, a religion scholar, led the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs during the Obama administration. The office did not promote religion or spiritual well-being, he said. “It was there to understand what were the political implications of lived religion in the various hot spots around the world.”

The leader of the new office has not been named. A Pentagon memo said the religious affairs director will coordinate spiritual resources, including “faith-based homeschool support for military families.” Hegseth has also pushed the military school system to introduce more coursework that draws from conservative and Christian influences.

The memo mentions “faith-based initiatives supporting Department-wide suicide reduction.” In recent years, the military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains to help address the growing numbers of troops in mental health distress. Hegseth has said he wants chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care.”

The secretary has pushed other changes within the military’s chaplain corps, which provides spiritual care to troops. He ordered chaplains, who are commissioned officers, to no longer wear their rank on their uniform but instead be identified by religious insignia.

The Defense Department also slashed the number of religious affiliations it officially recognizes, down to 31 from more than 200 previously recognized traditions. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans.

Hegseth spoke directly to chaplains in his address Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. Using Christian-inflected language, he said: “Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach truth. Minister to the flock.”

He then quoted from the Bible: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The Energy Innovation analysis found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040. In five states, households will pay roughly $9,000 more: Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.

The California-based think tank said there will be more demand for natural gas for electricity because the administration is canceling new clean energy projects and there will be more demand for gasoline for transportation because Trump and Congress are revoking policies that encouraged or created incentives for more efficient and lower-emissions vehicles. Higher demand drives prices up.

Electricity bills are already rising faster than inflation in much of the U.S., which is being blamed in some areas on demand from data centers. The Iran war has sent oil and gasoline prices sharply higher, too.

Contrarily, Trump has said his administration's energy policies will make bills more affordable for families and businesses. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Wednesday that lowering electricity prices remains a top priority and Trump is unleashing reliable energy like coal and natural gas to reverse the “catastrophic damage” Democrats did to the power grid by ramping up clean energy. A 2025 Department of Energy report, mandated by Trump, warned of increasing blackouts if the U.S. continued closing coal and natural gas plants.

“Joe Biden created a grid crisis; President Trump is fixing it,” Rogers wrote in an email. “If the Democrats had their way, these costly and unreliable renewable energy projects would still be failing our grid and our communities.”

The Republican president prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity, unlike Biden, who saw clean energy as a climate solution.

Analysis examined impact on states solely from federal policy changes

It focused on the sweeping package of tax breaks that slashed funding for clean energy tax credits, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump signed; environmental rollbacks, including clean air and power plant rules and the revocation of a scientific finding that underpinned the U.S. fight against climate change; the loosening of fuel economy standards and blocking of California’s novel rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035; and federal actions to stop wind, solar and hydrogen projects.

These changes will result in annual household energy costs rising in every state in the contiguous U.S., plus job losses in 47 of 48 states and losses to the gross domestic product in 46 states, Energy Innovation said. It's projecting 37,000 additional premature deaths from air pollution, $72 billion in additional healthcare costs and more than 9 billion tons of additional carbon pollution because of the environmental rollbacks. The analysis did not include Alaska or Hawaii because key federal data is not available for those two states, said Robbie Orvis, senior director for modeling and analysis.

Looking at the metrics, Orvis was hard-pressed to find a silver lining.

“Across pretty much every state, things are worse. The outlook now is worse for states and the affordability crisis will be worse because of the combined set of policies,” he said.

Climate Justice Alliance legislative director Mar Zepeda said her Washington, D.C., electric bill increased $200 in the past month. Zepeda said electricity demands from data centers are increasing energy rates, and federal “affordability” policies only exacerbate this.

“They may call it affordability, but affordable for whom and at what cost? Not for regular people,” Zepeda said in an email.

White House says the think tank is partisan

Rogers said it is “irresponsible” to classify Energy Innovation as nonpartisan because its employees have donated to Democrats and worked with Democrats on climate policy.

Spokesman Silvio Marcacci said they work with policymakers who want to cut emissions and lower bills, regardless of party. He said multiple states led by Republicans have used their tool designed to model policies affecting energy use and emissions. Much of their data comes from government sources, including the Energy Information Administration.

Rogers also said states led by Democrats that have embraced aggressive renewable mandates see higher energy costs, notably California and New York. She said this proves Republican policies are working. The conservative think tank, Institute for Energy Research, said in December that blue states have high rates.

However, in the Energy Innovation analysis, three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors, and states that voted for Trump in 2024 will pay an average of $7,000 more in energy spending cumulatively per household, versus $5,800 on average per household in states that voted for Kamala Harris. Its research has found that states with high levels of wind and solar generation, including Republican-led Iowa and Oklahoma, have experienced the lowest rate increases.

The average price residential customers pay for electricity increased over the course of Biden's term and has continued to rise since Trump returned to office, according to EIA data. Customers paid an average of about 12.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in January 2021 when Biden took office. In January 2025, when Trump returned to office, that price stood at nearly 16 cents per kilowatt-hour. It was 17.45 cents in January 2026 and 18.31 cents in July.

Oregon households’ annual energy spending slated to increase the most

The modeling projects federal policy changes will increase annual energy spending in Oregon by $840 per household in 2035 and $1,200 per household in 2040, with a cumulative $9,300 increase from 2026 to 2040 — the highest of any state.

The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board advocates for residential utility customers. Executive Director Bob Jenks called those numbers “frightening” because Oregon already has an energy affordability problem. He cited steep rate increases as utilities make upgrades and data centers use more power.

As costs rise, Jenks expects utilities to disconnect more households because people won't be able to afford their bills.

Jenks said wind and solar are essential for affordable electricity in Oregon, and he wants the federal government to partner with states to develop the energy they need.

“We're trying to optimize among the resource options we have, and they’re trying to take things away and raise the costs,” he said.

___

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

Department of Homeland Security officials say they don't plan to send immigration enforcement officers en masse to patrol the polls and dismissed concerns that they plan to do so as “fearmongering." Election legal experts say federal law clearly prevents the government from deploying any armed troops, agents or officers to election sites except to “repel armed enemies of the United States,” a high bar to clear.

But organizations who represent Latino, Black and Asian American voters say the rhetoric and ICE's own activity make them worried at a time the number of immigration arrests is soaring as President Donald Trump carries out his mass deportation agenda.

Feds say ICE won't ‘patrol’ the polls, but don't rule out going entirely

During congressional testimony earlier this year, the then-acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, and the head of Customs and Border Protection, Rodney Scott, said they had no plans to send officers to the polls. Lyons has since left the position.

A Department of Homeland Security official also told state election administrators that immigration agents will not be stationed at the polls for the midterms.

In September, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused Democrats of “fearmongering” in raising concerns over ICE officers going to polling places. He said officers won't go to patrol or monitor polling places broadly, but could go for specific reasons such as arresting someone if they have a warrant or are responding to a threat.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was then the deputy attorney general, also weighed in on the issue, saying: “Why are there objections to sending ICE officers to polling places? Illegals can't vote.”

Trump, who has repeatedly raised the specter of widespread illegal noncitizen voting even as research and investigations show it is incredibly rare, hasn't said he would direct ICE officers to be at polling places but also hasn't ruled it out. When asked in May if he would send the National Guard or ICE to voting locations in November, he said: “I’d do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections. We have to have honest elections.”

In a Time magazine interview published Thursday, Trump responded, “Haven't thought of it,” when asked if he planned to dispatch ICE agents to polling places.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement to The Associated Press, said people in the country legally have “nothing to fear" and that: “ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations. ICE conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement, and if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location, they may be arrested as a result of that targeted enforcement action.”

The Department also said they are "laser focused on prosecuting and removing aliens who vote and preventing the dilution of the votes of U.S. citizens.”

Deploying armed officials at polling places

is against the law

Federal law dating to the Civil War prohibits “troops or armed men” from being deployed to places where elections are being held “unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.”

“It is completely and obviously illegal,” said David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department attorney who leads the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research. “As soon as there is an armed individual at a polling place, there will be a court action; jurisdictions are preparing for it.”

Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships at the Washington-based nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, said his group interprets the law to include anywhere voting occurs, including polling places, early voting centers, drop boxes and election offices where ballots are delivered.

He thinks even the narrow scenarios Mullin laid out, such as ICE officers pursuing an individual warrant at the polls, are legally dubious.

“The statute does not carve out exceptions for routine law enforcement,” he said.

If ICE officers are near, but not at, the polls, it would raise legal questions that have not yet been considered, Diaz said. But there are several other federal and state statutes barring voter intimidation that could apply.

Local election officials addressed the possibility of federal agents showing up at the polls during a gathering this week in the nation's capital and said they had been preparing for it.

Dean Logan, who oversees Los Angeles County's elections, said while he welcomes people monitoring the election process, he does not want distractions for voters trying to cast their ballots.

“We’re going to make sure that we have boots on the ground to make sure the voter is not disrupted in that process,” he said during the meeting of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions.

Democrats, Latino activists are concerned

Trump administration critics point to the president’s comments saying he thinks Republicans should “take over the voting in at least 15 places.” They also note some longtime Trump allies, including right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon, welcoming an ICE presence at the polls.

Dan Freeman, litigation director for the Democratic National Committee, agrees there is a low likelihood of immigration agents at voting locations, but his team is prepared to go to court should the administration try.

“President Trump is not willing to rule it out. Secretary Mullin is not willing to rule it out. And so we have to be ready," Freeman said.

Activists who have filed lawsuits to prevent any ICE presence at polling locations say the rhetoric from the administration and its allies coupled with months of immigration enforcement activities have left Latino, Asian American, Black and other voters concerned.

Activists say many Latinos, even U.S. citizens, already limit everyday activities because they are worried about ICE. They say it doesn't take a lot to spread fear on Election Day.

Juan Proaño who heads the League of United Latin American Citizens, said ICE doesn't have to show up in force at numerous sites. Information spreading quickly on social media about one polling place could easily cause voters in other areas to stay away, he said.

“Just the mere presence of them in and around polling locations is enough of a deterrent for our community,” he said. “The threats that we’re getting now, that we are hearing today, are impacting the decisions that folks will make on Election Day.”

Community groups mobilize to reassure hesitant voters

Activists point to an incident in Syracuse, New York, over the summer in which agents from Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of ICE that has largely taken the lead on investigating alleged voter fraud, went to a polling place to serve a written notice to a woman who they accused of publicly posting personal information about federal officers.

Despite the concerns, they are encouraging members of their communities to vote, reminding them of their rights and are stepping up efforts to assist voters with legal help.

Thu Nguyen, who heads OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, said the group is recruiting monitors to observe the election process in response to fears they've been hearing. Nguyen said their U.S. citizen members are concerned in part because ICE has detained Americans during past operations or because they might be related to someone without immigration status and fearful of drawing attention to them.

A nonpartisan coalition of Trump administration opponents said it is planning a program in areas with large minority voting populations — Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio — to boost voter confidence that they can cast a ballot safely. Those states also have competitive U.S. Senate races this year.

The program, called VoteSafe, includes recruiting trusted community leaders to help address voter hesitation associated with fears around armed agents at the polls, said Mary Corcoran, executive director of the Save America Movement and a leader in the effort.

“Our job is to overcome it,” she said.

___

Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writers Gary Fields in Washington and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

Watson led a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter for the third straight week as he moved the Browns into position for Andre Szmyt's career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining that gave Cleveland a 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.

“I knew it was money. He told me the landmark, so he was just lining it up and we see it all the time,” Watson said about Szmyt’s second field goal, which gave the Browns a 3-1 record for the first time since 2001.

The Browns had a 21-7 lead late in the first half before the Steelers rallied to tie it at 24-all. Aaron Rodgers threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth with 1:44 remaining and Rodgers sneaked in for the 2-point conversion.

Watson went 4 for 5 for 46 yards on the winning drive, including two completions to Jerry Jeudy for 27 yards. The 10-year veteran was sacked for a 4-yard loss with 19 seconds left, which put the ball on the Steelers 38, but it ended up not mattering as Szmyt drilled the kick down the middle to extend his streak of made field goals to 22.

"I honestly said, ‘I’ll hit it from anywhere,"' but I told him ‘let’s get to the 42, maybe a 60-yard field goal,' He got me a couple extra yards, so kudos to him," said Szmyt, who had his third field goal in the final 15 seconds since joining the Browns last season.

Cleveland has won eight straight Thursday night games, the longest active streak and fourth longest in NFL history. Four have come against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh (2-2) is 0-10 on the road against AFC North rivals on Thursdays.

Watson completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards with a touchdown and interception. He passed for 181 yards in the first half, his most since being traded by Houston to Cleveland in 2022.

“Happy for Deshaun. Not happy about the sack there at the end, but three straight fourth-quarter comebacks really cool for him and our team,” Browns coach Todd Monken said.

Rodgers, who was 22 of 40 for 299 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, had one final chance to get the Steelers in field goal range, but he was picked off by Grant Delpit at the Browns 18 on a Hail Mary throw with 1 second left.

Pittsburgh's Jaylen Warren rushed for 93 yards on 17 carries and DK Metcalf had five catches for 115 yards.

“I wouldn't say it was our cleanest game all the way around,” Rodgers said. “They were getting after us on some of the long yardage stuff that we weren't winning a bunch. I missed some throws I usually hit.”

The Browns defense got consistent pressure on Rodgers with five sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

“We had some protection challenges. It was a five-man pressure, man-to-man game. They established that right from the beginning,” Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think it was an aggressive game plan by them. I kind of expected some of it, and we were one play short.”

Big second quarter by Browns

Pittsburgh controlled the first 15 minutes and took a 7-0 lead when Roman Wilson took a shovel pass 12 yards around left end on a jet sweep.

Momentum shifted on the second play of the second quarter after Denzel Ward picked off Rodgers’ pass intended for Michael Pittman Jr. at the Browns 44.

The rest of the first half was all Browns. It was the first time since Week 13 of the 2020 season against Tennessee that the Browns scored at least 21 points in the second quarter.

“Denzel flipped it, and then we kind of got things going a little bit, got in a good rhythm,” Monken said.

Jaleel McLaughlin tied it at 7 with 12:14 remaining in the first half on a 28-yard run around right end. The fourth-year running back broke a pair of tackles at the 22 and went through a narrow opening at the 15 before scoring.

Cleveland took a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter on Quinshon Judkins’ 2-yard run off right guard. The touchdown came three plays after Watson found Denzel Boston for a 60-yard completion to the Steelers 14 on the first play of the drive.

Harold Fannin Jr. then hauled in his third touchdown in two games on a 2-yard pass from Watson on third-and-goal with 1:22 remaining.

The Steelers got within 21-10 on Boswell’s 31-yard field goal with 8 seconds left before halftime.

Rodgers rolled right and connected with Washington for a 21-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to bring Pittsburgh within 21-16. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.

Injuries

Steelers: DT Derrick Harmon (foot) was carted to the locker room during the second quarter and did not return. CB Jamel Dean (ankle) went out late in the second quarter and did not return.

Browns: DT Mason Graham (left knee) was injured in the first quarter and did not return. DT Mike Hall Jr. (right ankle) went out late in the second quarter but came back in the third.

Up next

Steelers: Host Indianapolis on Oct. 11.

Browns: At the New York Jets on Oct. 11.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The four-time WNBA MVP, who had a verbal encounter with a Fever fan in Indiana two nights earlier, scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to a 94-83 victory in the deciding Game 3 of the first round.

“I have my moments because I'm human,” Wilson said. “But after a while, I understood I didn't want that to be a distraction to myself and my team, and I knew what we had to do coming into tonight. So I put it behind me. I prayed a lot. I cried a lot.”

The third-seeded Aces, who have won three of the past four titles, moved on to play the winner of the Golden State-Dallas series, which will be decided Friday night in San Francisco.

This is the second year in a row Las Vegas has ended the season for the Fever, who were seeded sixth. The teams met in the semifinals a year ago, with the Aces pulling out an overtime victory in the finale of the five-game series that Caitlin Clark missed because of injury.

“We've got to give credit to the Aces,” Clark said. “I thought they played well. I thought they were ready to go. That's what championship teams do.”

Wilson book ended this series with sensational performances in Games 1 and 3, making her sure verbal confrontation with a Fever fan wouldn't be the enduring memory. The league did not punish Wilson, who opened the series with 38 points and 16 rebounds, followed up in this game by scoring 21 points in the first half and making 11 of 18 shots overall.

Teammate Chelsea Gray added 23 points and Jackie Young had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Clark scored 11 points in the first quarter, but was held to seven the rest of the game. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 23 points but shot 7 for 23. Aliyah Boston had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Tensions ran high again Thursday, both teams bringing the physical play expected when each season is on the line in a game that had the intensity of a WNBA Finals.

Clark and Las Vegas' Brianna Turner each picked up a technical foul just more than three minutes into Game 3. The Fever were huddling on the court when Turner worked her way into the group only to be shoved out by Clark.

Early in the second quarter, Indiana coach Stephanie White was called for a technical, arguing that Turner brought down Lexie Hull, who instead picked up the foul.

Clark took a shot to her mouth in the fourth quarter and had to be attended to because of the blood.

The Aces threatened to run away from Indiana in the third quarter, taking a 67-55 before going cold over the final 4:32 and making just one shot. The Fever twice cut their deficit to two points in the fourth to make Las Vegas sweat out the ending.

Aces forward Stephanie Talbot, who started all but one game this season, did not play because of a leg injury and was replaced by Jewell Loyd, who scored 11 points. Talbot averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in the first two games of this series.

Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said she didn't know what Talbot's status would be going forward.

“She was a game-time decision,” Hammon said. “I just told her, ‘You’ve got to do what's best for your body.' Her assignment in this particular game is such a huge one if she's not at 100%, I need to see somebody at 100%. I know she was heartbroken she couldn't get out there and physically get it done.”

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon met with Haitians in South Florida as deportations and immigration enforcement dominated the discussion.

“My main message to them is that they have someone who is going to advocate for them when I become the next United States senator. And right now they are living in terror,” Nixon said.

Harry Jean Louis of the Miami-Dade Haitian American Democratic Club said many Haitians feel they are being treated unfairly.

“We feel that this is very unfair because Haitians are hard-working people,” Jean Louis said.

He added that Haitian immigrants contribute to the economy and tax base.

“We contribute to the tax base, we are not freeloaders, so we feel that we should get all the support that we can get,” he said.

Nixon, who has called for Temporary Protected Status for Haitians to be restored, outlined what she would do in Washington if elected.

“We’re going to work on passing things like SB 4814 to extend TPS status, but then we’re also going to work to create a clear and compassionate pathway to citizenship,” Nixon said.

Meanwhile, in Broward County, Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly was also meeting with Haitian-American voters in North Lauderdale.

A big concern there was the rising cost of property insurance.

Jolly pushed back on an ad from his Republican opponent claiming his hurricane fund plan would increase costs even more.

“We have a hurricane fund right now that has about $12 billion in it, that Byron wants to use to continue to bail out insurance companies,” Jolly said. “That’s what we use it for. Suppose we use that money to bail out homeowners to reduce homeowners insurance.”

Two campaigns and two different races are making their pitches directly to South Florida voters as Election Day draws closer.

Un debate organizado por TV Globo, la emisora más popular del país, estaba programado para el jueves y ofrecía la última oportunidad para que los dos principales aspirantes a la presidencia se midieran antes de que abran las urnas el domingo.

Es la primera vez en 20 años que los principales candidatos de Brasil han rechazado cualquier confrontación pública. Otras empresas de medios y grupos empresariales han organizado debates con otros candidatos desde el 23 de agosto.

Lula indicó el miércoles que no asistiría al debate de TV Globo, que habría de incluir a Bolsonaro y a otros dos candidatos. Horas antes de que el evento comenzara en Río de Janeiro, Bolsonaro, hijo del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro, también se retiró.

La televisora manifestó en un comunicado que el debate se canceló porque dos fallos, uno del tribunal electoral del país y otro del Supremo Tribunal Federal de Brasil, habían creado “incertidumbre jurídica” sobre el evento.

La primera decisión ordenó a TV Globo retirar una silla vacía que estaba reservada para Lula, quien habría sido objeto de preguntas de sus rivales presentes. El segundo fallo obligó a la emisora a invitar al candidato Renan Santos, crítico del presidente y principal candidato de la oposición.

Analistas señalan que Lula y Bolsonaro han seguido una estrategia de evitar confrontaciones directas en el escenario antes de la primera vuelta de votación. Aun así, es previsible que choquen en las tres semanas previas a la segunda vuelta del 25 de octubre, si la hay.

Encuestas recientes muestran que ambos son los únicos candidatos con una posibilidad real de llegar a la segunda vuelta o de lograr una victoria en primera vuelta. Ambos candidatos realizaron transmisiones en línea al mismo tiempo que estaba programado el debate.

Carlos Melo, profesor de ciencias políticas en la universidad Insper en Sao Paulo, sostuvo que el desaire de los favoritos y la cancelación de un debate que antes tenía mucho en juego muestran lo turbulentas que son estas elecciones.

“Los otros candidatos masacrarían a Lula y a Flávio. Ya no hay un debate real sobre ideas y proyectos. Es una pelea a puñetazos, está creciendo la falta de respeto”, manifestó Melo. “Flávio provocó a Lula para que fuera al debate, donde Lula tendría a cuatro en su contra. Al final, Flávio vio que esto también podía ser malo para él”.

“Asistir a debates se ha convertido en parte de un cálculo en Brasil. Para quienes tienen más posibilidades de estar en la segunda vuelta, faltar a un gran debate es evitar tropezar y ceder terreno”, añadió.

Lula reiteró el miércoles el argumento que ha utilizado para no asistir a otros debates antes de la votación de primera vuelta.

“No se puede llevar a alguien que tiene 49% (en las encuestas) a debatir con alguien que tiene 1%”, expresó.

Durante una transmisión en vivo el jueves en sus canales de redes sociales, Bolsonaro dijo que su cancelación de último minuto se debió a la “censura impuesta por el tribunal electoral”, en referencia a la decisión que impidió que la emisora mantuviera en el escenario la silla vacía de Lula.

“Te llamé a debatir, Lula, más de dos veces. Te escapaste. Queremos debatir contigo, restregarte la verdad en la cara”, declaró Bolsonaro.

___

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

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, had appeared in court in a wheelchair on Wednesday, wearing a sling on his arm. He remains in custody on charges that he assaulted an officer while trying to evade arrest.

Garces Perez struck an officer with his side mirror on Sept. 20 while trying to drive away, authorities said. The federal officer who shot Garces Perez, and who allegedly was hit by the side mirror of Garces Perez’s car, wasn’t wearing a body camera.

Garces Perez faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the assault charge.

The bullet was successfully removed during surgery, and Garces Perez is recovering in the custody of the U.S. Marshalls, said Fabiana Melendez Ruiz, a spokesperson for his legal team.

His case has sparked outrage and protests in the Texas capital city against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, including agents' conduct.

Garces Perez said he was struck by a law enforcement SUV and spun around before he was shot. Federal officers told investigators, however, that Garces Perez attempted to strike an officer with his car at the end of the chase before the officer fired his weapon.

Footage provided Wednesday in court shows officers pulling over Garces Perez in Austin, where he was delivering food for DoorDash.

The Explorers jumped on the Eagles early and often. Kai Moore connected with Ajavion Willis for a 17-yard touchdown, putting Columbus up 21-0 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, after a safety, Columbus star Amir Sears fielded the kick and took off for a 75-yard touchdown return. Sears is a Miami Hurricanes recruit.

Columbus rolled to a 53-0 win, improving to 6-1.

At Traz Powell Stadium, American and Northwestern faced off.

The Bulls trailed 13-0 before rallying in the second half. Amos Leggett faked the handoff, kept the ball and weaved his way into the end zone to put Northwestern on the board, 13-7.

Then Leggett aired it out to Avian Darien, who beat his defender for the touchdown.

Northwestern completed the comeback with a 17-13 win and improved to 5-2.

Duren accepted the deal shortly before a midnight deadline on a one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Pistons had yet to announce the signing.

ESPN, The Athletic and The Detroit News, among others, were first to report the agreement.

It brings an end to an odd saga, one where it seemed as if Duren — who made $6.5 million on his way to being an All-Star last season for the first time — might actually pass on the $200 million offer. He was not on Detroit's initial training camp roster while the contract talks continued; the Pistons, like most NBA teams, have been on the practice court since Tuesday.

Duren averaged a career-high 19.5 points last season, along with 10.5 rebounds per game on 65% shooting. He made the All-NBA third team but struggled in the playoffs, averaging 10.2 points as the top-seeded Pistons failed to get out of the second round.

Duren has averaged 13.5 points in his first four NBA seasons, all with Detroit.

___

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

A debate organized by TV Globo, the country’s most popular broadcaster, was set for Thursday and offered the final opportunity for the two presidential front-runners to face off before polls open on Sunday.

The cancellation marks the first time in 20 years that Brazil's leading candidates have rejected any public confrontation. Other media companies and business groups have organized debates with other candidates since Aug. 23.

Lula said Wednesday he would not attend the TV Globo debate that was scheduled to include Bolsonaro and two other candidates. Hours before the event was set to begin in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, also bowed out.

The broadcaster said in a statement that the debate was canceled because two rulings, one from the country’s electoral court and the other from Brazil’s Supreme Court, had created “legal uncertainty” about the event.

The first decision ordered TV Globo to remove an empty seat that was reserved for Lula, who would have been the focus of questions from his rivals in attendance. The latter ruling forced the broadcaster to invite candidate Renan Santos, a critic of the president and the top opposition candidate.

Analysts say Lula and Bolsonaro have both conducted a strategy of avoiding direct confrontations on stage before the first round of voting. They are still likely to clash in the three weeks before the Oct. 25 runoff if there is one.

Recent polls show the two men as the only candidates with a real chance of reaching the second round or scoring an outright win. Both candidates made online broadcasts at the same time as the debate was scheduled.

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper university in Sao Paulo, said the snub from the front-runners and the cancellation of a once high-stakes debate show how turbulent these elections are.

“Lula and Flávio would be massacred by the other candidates. There's no real debate on ideas and projects anymore. It is a fist fight, it is getting disrespect,” Melo said. “Flávio teased Lula into going to the debate, where Lula would have four against him. At the end, Flávio saw this could be bad for him too.”

“Going to debates has become a part of a calculation in Brazil. For those who have a better chance of being in the runoff, to miss a big debate is to avoid tripping and giving ground away,” he added.

Lula on Wednesday repeated the argument he has used to reject attending other debates prior to first-round voting.

“You cannot bring someone who has 49% (in the polls) to debate with someone who has 1%,” he said.

Bolsonaro, during a live broadcast Thursday on his social medial channels, said his last-minute cancellation was about “censorship imposed by the electoral court,” in a reference to the decision that stopped the broadcaster from keeping Lula's empty seat on stage.

“I called you to debate, Lula, more than twice. You ran away. We want to debate with you, shove the truth on you face,” Bolsonaro said.

___

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

“La deportación masiva es una realidad”, dijo Homan. “Creo que septiembre va a ser el mes con más deportaciones en toda la historia de ICE”.

Homan presentó como logros la lucha contra el fentanilo, la trata de personas y el posible terrorismo, con un número récord de arrestos cada mes desde junio.

Solo en julio, la oficina de ICE en Miami hizo más de 7,500 arrestos.

La mitad de los detenidos no tenía antecedentes penales, un tema difícil de abordar durante el evento.

“En cierto modo, son daños colaterales”, dijo Alfonso Aguilar, del America First Policy Institute. “O sea, odio decirlo así. Mucha gente inocente está pagando por las políticas de la administración anterior”.

A diez cuadras del evento, celebrado en el club de golf Trump National Doral Miami, un vecindario de Doral lidiaba con la caída de las ventas, tiendas vacías y estacionamientos donde han aparecido agentes de ICE.

“No es justo cómo están tratando a la gente”, dijo José Ramírez, dueño de un restaurante en Doral.

Las mismas personas que ayudaron a elegir al presidente Donald Trump ahora enfrentan las consecuencias. Una de ellas es el defensor de inmigrantes Fabio Andrade, quien logró acercarse a Homan después de su discurso.

“Le pedí que, por favor, tenga en cuenta a quienes cambian de estatus y solicitan una visa profesional o de inversión. A esas personas también las están deteniendo, y eso hay que revisarlo”, dijo Andrade.

Andrade se fue convencido de que lo escucharon. Homan, por su parte, se mostró seguro de que el programa de deportaciones masivas va por buen camino.

“Estamos deportando y arrestando a más personas que nunca en la historia de esta nación”, dijo Homan. “Esperen a ver lo que hacemos el próximo año”.

Leer en español

“Mass deportation is happening,” Homan said. “I think September is going to be the highest deportations of any month in the history of ICE.”

Homan framed success as stopping fentanyl, human trafficking and potential terrorism, with a record number of arrests recorded each month since June.

In July alone, the Miami field office made more than 7,500 ICE arrests.

Half the people detained had no criminal record, making for a difficult conversation at the event.

“In a way, it is collateral damage,” Alfonso Aguilar, with the America First Policy Institute said. “I mean, I hate to to put in those terms. A lot of people are paying for innocent people for the policies of the previous administration.”

Ten blocks from the event at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club, a Doral neighborhood was grappling with slow business, empty stores and parking lots where ICE agents appeared.

“They are not fair, how they are treating people,” said Doral restaurant owner Jose Ramirez.

The very people who helped elect President Donald Trump are now grappling with the fallout. One is immigrant advocate Fabio Andrade, who was able to get in front of Homan after his speech.

“I asked him, please be sure when someone changes status and apply for professional or visa that has to do with investments. They are also being picked up and that needs to be checked,” Andrade said.

Andrade was confident he was heard. Homan was confident the mass deportation program was on track.

“We are removing and arresting more people right now than we ever have in the history of this nation,” Homan said. “Wait until you see what we do next year.”

El informe empieza a llenar los vacíos sobre lo que pasó cuando el avión se salió de la pista en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami, en un accidente que dejó cinco muertos.

La NTSB identificó varios factores que llevaron al accidente. Uno de ellos es que los reversores de empuje del avión no se activaron y que los frenos aerodinámicos estaban recogidos cuando el piloto intentó aterrizar.

Los reversores de empuje son clave para que un avión reduzca la velocidad. La NTSB determinó que no se activaron durante el intento de aterrizaje, pero aún no se ha confirmado si eso se debió a una falla mecánica o a un error del piloto.

Los frenos aerodinámicos también estaban retraídos y bloqueados en su posición de reposo, es decir, no se desplegaron.

El piloto activó manualmente los frenos de las ruedas cuando el avión iba a unas 168 millas por hora sobre la pista.

Unos ocho segundos después, el piloto intentó abortar el aterrizaje para volver a elevar el avión e intentarlo de nuevo. En ese momento, según el informe, al avión solo le quedaban unos 930 pies de pista.

Cuando el piloto trató de volver a frenar, quedaban unos 415 pies de pista. Finalmente, el avión se salió de la pista a unas 130 millas por hora y arrolló a cinco personas que estaban en vehículos estacionados cerca, quienes murieron.

Otro detalle del informe tiene que ver con la experiencia de la tripulación. El capitán obtuvo su certificado de piloto de transporte de línea aérea en mayo, apenas unos meses antes del accidente, aunque acumulaba miles de horas de vuelo.

El primer oficial obtuvo su certificado en abril del año pasado.

Aún falta confirmar si el accidente se debió por completo a una falla mecánica o si un error del piloto influyó.

El informe preliminar también incluye detalles sobre si el clima pudo haber influido en el accidente, además de más información sobre el lugar donde quedaron los restos del avión.

La investigación sigue en curso, y la NTSB continúa analizando lo que ocurrió ese día.

Coach Stormy Wellington, a social media influencer who currently has over 1.6 million followers on her Instagram page, says six items — five Hermès handbags and a Chanel water bottle — were taken from her home back in August.

“I bought them over six years (ago) and all of them mean a lot to me,” Wellington told Local 10’s Rosh Lowe on Thursday. “So, if anybody has my bags or knows whereabouts of my bags, I will pay a reward to get my bags returned.”

Miramar police arrested a 31-year-old fashion stylist and accused him of first-degree grand theft involving property valued at more than $100,000.

But police Chief Delrish Moss said Thursday night that officers arrested the wrong man.

Moss said the suspect accused of stealing Wellington’s belongings and the man who was arrested have the same first name.

According to an arrest report, Wellington told police she discovered the items were missing before leaving for a business trip. She later reported the theft to police.

Wellington told investigators she had asked the culprit to take one of her handbags to be professionally cleaned. She said six items were ultimately missing.

The items were valued at $271,938.60, according to the arrest report.

Police said the handbags were later located at a business in Aventura that resells authentic designer handbags and other luxury goods. According to the arrest report, the man had brought the items to the business as a loan.

Wellington said she initially felt relieved when she learned an arrest had been made. But then she saw the suspect’s mugshot.

“That is not the gentleman that stole my bag,” Wellington said. “So now I got to go to the state attorney’s office and say, ‘Hey, you guys arrested the wrong guy,’”

Moss said the mix-up stemmed from information provided to authorities in September.

“There was a statement taken from a victim back in September,” Moss said. “As a result of that, a not-in-custody, which is kind of like a warrant, was issued in this name rather than the name of the person who should have been arrested.”

Moss said the person who allegedly stole Wellington’s belongings remains at large.

“The issue is the not-in-custody that is issued, which is issued from the State Attorney’s Office, has the name of the person who is in custody,” Moss said. “The name should have been another person’s last name.”

Moss said Miramar police contacted the Broward State Attorney’s Office and the jail after discovering the error and worked to have the man released.

“The most important thing was we got in contact with the State Attorney’s Office and the jail, and we’re working to immediately release him,” Moss said. “The minute we find out, we’re obliged to take the steps to make that person whole.”

The Broward State Attorney’s Office told Local 10 Thursday night that Miramar police notified prosecutors that the wrong person had been arrested. Prosecutors then worked to dismiss the case and expedite the man’s release from jail.

The man walked out of jail and declined to comment. His attorney told the court that his client did not know anything about the case.

Wellington said the person she believes is responsible was someone she once trusted and considered a friend and family member.

“Someone who I paid seven figures as an employee stole my bag and still telling people he’s going to bring them back,” she said.

Wellington said she has not recovered the items.

“I’m very frustrated because honestly, for me to have worked so hard and to be going through this, the best thing for me right now is to feel justice,” she said.

The person Wellington identifies as the suspected thief has not been arrested in connection with the case, according to police.

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

“I didn’t see the puck land,” Shesterkin said, “so I didn’t know can I celebrate or not.”

It landed perfectly and bounced into the net with 2:34 left on the clock. The crowd went crazy and his New York Rangers teammates mobbed him in celebration as Shesterkin became the 18th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal and first to do it for the Rangers.

“I feel like probably a dozen times I’ve been on the bench thinking, ’OK, this one goes in,' and he barely misses,” longest-tenured Rangers player Mika Zibanejad said after Shesterkin's goal capped off a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday night in the home opener at Madison Square Garden. “Just seeing this one go in, the way he played today and obviously the amount of chances that he’s had to do that and now finally get it, it was great.”

The first goal of his career is the 21st by an NHL goalie, counting the playoffs. After trying often over his first seven seasons, he thought he would celebrate differently, but getting screened made him hesitate.

“I was just a little bit shy and didn’t know what I can do,” Shesterkin said. “Maybe next time. I will keep trying to score one more time.”

Serenaded by chants of “Igor! Igor!” from fans delighted to see him finally cash in, Shesterkin got to lead the parade of players skating to the bench to fist-bump smiling teammates.

“It’s pretty nice,” Shesterkin said. “I never did it before, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Two games into the season, Shesterkin is tied with Zibanejad, Gabriel Perreault and newcomers Pavel Dorofeyev and Eeli Tolvanen for the team lead in goals.

“He’s not just a great goalie — he’s a great goal-scorer right now,” Dorofeyev said. “I have a serious competitor right now, so got to keep an eye on him.”

Shesterkin had the opportunity because Lightning coach Jon Cooper pulled Andrei Vasilevskiy off and on the ice during the third period for an extra attacker. The goal was the first by a goalie since friend and fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders got credit last season when he was the last to touch the puck before it went into Nashville's net.

“Yeah, this one counts,” said Shesterkin, who was also terrific at the other end, stopping 24 of 25 Lightning shots.

Hall of Fame Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on social media called him “Igor the goal scorer” and said, “It was just a matter of time.”

Coach Mike Sullivan knew the shot had a chance to go in by the time it was at center ice. He's glad Shesterkin finally accomplished the feat.

“Obviously one of his strengths is his ability to handle the puck,” Sullivan said. “When those moments occur for a team, they are great moments. You can see the raw emotion on the players on the bench. Shesty, he’s such a great goalie. He makes so many timely saves for us. When he has a moment like that, I think the guys, they get pretty fired up about it. It was a lot of fun.”

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

A year after failing to score in their first three home games last season, the Rangers wasted little time preventing a repeat performance, getting a goal from Mika Zibanejad less than six minutes into their Madison Square Garden opener.

Pavel Dorofeyev and Eeli Tolvanen each scored his first goal with his new team, and top prospect-turned-important contributor Gabe Perreault deflected in a shot by No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox.

Shesterkin scored with 2:34 remaining, becoming the 18th goalie in NHL history with a goal. The first of his career was the 21st by a player at the position, counting the playoffs.

It was a far cry from the nightmare start at MSG in October 2025, when the Rangers went nearly 181 minutes before setting off the goal horn there. They became the first team in league history to get shut out in the first three home games of a season.

The crowd at this home opener didn't even have much of a chance to get nervous. Coming off getting blanked 3-0 on the road Tuesday night at Boston, New York was the aggressor early. Drawing a penalty paved the way for Zibanejad to score on the power play.

The offensive outburst allowed the Rangers to put up four goals on 24 shots against two-time Vezina Trophy- and Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. In a matchup of two of the best at the position in the world, Shesterkin stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced, leading to chants of “Igor's better!”

The only goal Shesterkin gave up was to Nikita Kucherov, the reigning MVP who banked the puck in off the right skate of Rangers center Noah Laba.

More “Igor!” chants followed his goal.

Up next

Lightning: Host Washington in their home opener Saturday night.

Rangers: With backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo injured, Dylan Garand appears in line to start Friday night at Detroit.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

They're trying to become the first team since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000 to win three consecutive World Series championships, and the first National League club to ever do it.

They'll leave the sky-high expectations to everyone else.

“It's not something we're really focused on,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “When you talk about three-peating, you're putting that extra pressure on it that doesn't need to be there. Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is.”

The Dodgers played a simulated game Thursday with the deciding game of the NL Wild Card Series between Philadelphia and Atlanta shown on the stadium video boards. The Braves beat the Phillies 6-2 and will play at Los Angeles in Game 1 of the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday, when the temperature is forecast to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) for the day game.

“You’re facing a team that’s already been through the fire and they’ve faced the emotion,” Muncy said.

The Dodgers have spent the bye week getting healthy while mixing in live batting practice, hitting in the cage and simulated games in a mostly silent stadium. Other than walk-up songs, the only sounds were the crack of the bat, guys hooting from the dugouts and outfielders yelling to signal they'd handle a fly ball.

Freeman used the down time to focus on getting his swing mechanics right while managing a right knee issue. The 37-year-old first baseman's plan included taking 400 swings “hopefully to kick out the bad habits,” he said.

Freeman doubled against Tyler Glasnow leading off Thursday's simulated game.

“I truly feel good right now physically and it's on me right now to figure out the mechanics of the swing,” he said. “I have no pain in my knee right now.”

Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani has struggled with nagging right biceps and left knee issues for weeks. His knee shut him down from pitching and his arm recently landed him on the injured list for the first time with the Dodgers. He returned in time to play in five games at the end of the season.

Which version of Ohtani the Dodgers get in the NLDS remains to be seen; however, Roberts said he's “feeling great physically. His swings are overall in a great place.”

The Dodgers' lineup of position players is the oldest in the majors, led by 37-year-old infielder Miguel Rojas, Freeman and 35-year-old Muncy. Ohtani is 32. Reliever Blake Treinen is 38, but will miss the postseason after getting hurt last weekend.

“I think experience is going to be huge,” Freeman said. “We know what it takes.”

At the same time, the Dodgers can't afford to get ahead of themselves.

“If you think big picture in this moment, you’re going to lose sight of things,” Freeman said.

___

https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Peet, 54, was diagnosed with Stage I while both of her parents were in hospice in August, according to “My Season Of Ativan,” a personal essay The New Yorker published on March 21.

On Thursday, she told Savannah Guthrie on the “Today” show that there were red flags months before her diagnosis.

“I was in my closet, I was probably putting something on, and I felt a weird — it just didn’t feel like normal skin,” she told Guthrie. “But, it wasn’t the frozen pea that everybody talks about.”

Peet wrote that an ultrasound and an MRI helped to find the cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy, surgery to remove tissue, and radiation therapy, the use of high-energy rays to kill cells.

PROACTIVELY PINK: Retired nurse says negative mammogram didn’t explain pain; it was lobular breast cancer

Here are some possible ILC symptoms:

• Hardened or thickened area inside the breast or underarm
• Dimpling, dent, or puckering of the skin of a breast
• Change in the size or shape of a breast
• Changes to the nipple, including inversion or pulling to one side
• A new area of fullness or swelling in the breast
• Unexplained and persistent bone pain, especially in the back, ribs, or thighs
• Unusual pelvic bleeding
• Abdominal pain, distention and/or bloating
• Difficulty eating or digesting food
• Unexplained weight loss
• Unexplained shortness of breath or painful breathing
• Frequent headaches, dizziness, or impaired cognitive function
• Swelling or lumps in the chest, armpit, neck, or groin
• Changes in skin color, lasting rash, or firm nodules on the skin
• New difficulty seeing

Sources: Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance

Related stories

• Breast cancer patient ‘Mari’ got diagnosed at 22
• Mom To Mom: Mother’s breast cancer survival inspires teen’s activism in Broward
• Breast cancer survivor turns personal struggle into lifeline for hundreds of South Florida families

Since she retired, Trimble, 68, has had more time to work on her quilting hobby and on making costumes for her three granddaughters, who are 3, 5, and 7.

About 12 years ago, Trimble survived ovarian cancer and was treated at Broward Health Imperial Point. About two years ago, she faced a type of breast cancer that often goes undiagnosed.

“I had been getting routine mammograms, but I had started getting a little pain at the left breast,” Trimble said. “It wasn’t horrible, and it wasn’t constant, but it was enough that I took it as an indication that there was something going on.”

Trimble’s mammogram came back negative, but she wasn’t convinced. Trimble’s sister had survived breast cancer. She decided to push for a second opinion. It was a proactive move that likely saved her life.

Dr. Nicholas Tranakas, a surgical oncologist, scheduled a biopsy. Her breast had Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, also known as lobular breast cancer. It had started in the lobules, the milk-producing glands, and it was growing in thin, single fine lines — instead of a hard lump.

“That sums it up: Proactive. You have to be actively seeking what’s best for you,” Trimble said.

Mammography and ultrasound, the standard breast imaging tools, are less reliable for early detection of ILC. Dr. Mehmet Hepgur, a hematologist and medical oncologist at Broward Health, said it’s because tumors form “like flat sheets.”

ILC accounts for about 10% to 15% of all breast cancer cases. It is the second most common type of breast cancer after Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, which begins in the milk ducts, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Since ILC has a high rate of recurrence, Trimble decided to undergo a bilateral mastectomy, surgery to remove both breasts, at Broward Health Imperial Point.

“I feel really good today. I tell everyone I am in pretty good shape for the shape I am in,” Trimble said.

Here are some possible ILC symptoms:

• Hardened or thickened area inside the breast or underarm
• Dimpling, dent, or puckering of the skin of a breast
• Change in the size or shape of a breast
• Changes to the nipple, including inversion or pulling to one side
• A new area of fullness or swelling in the breast
• Unexplained and persistent bone pain, especially in the back, ribs, or thighs
• Unusual pelvic bleeding
• Abdominal pain, distention and/or bloating
• Difficulty eating or digesting food
• Unexplained weight loss
• Unexplained shortness of breath or painful breathing
• Frequent headaches, dizziness, or impaired cognitive function
• Swelling or lumps in the chest, armpit, neck, or groin
• Changes in skin color, lasting rash, or firm nodules on the skin
• New difficulty seeing

Sources: Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance

Related stories

• Breast cancer patient ‘Mari’ got diagnosed at 22
• Breast cancer survivor Amanda Peet describes ‘weird’ symptom
• Mom To Mom: Mother’s breast cancer survival inspires teen’s activism in Broward
• Breast cancer survivor turns personal struggle into lifeline for hundreds of South Florida families

The lawsuit contends that the Department of Defense made the change by declaring an emergency, which allowed it to eliminate a specific box on the form. That box is typically checked by potential voters who acknowledge they are U.S. citizens but who have never lived in the United States.

They are usually the children of U.S. citizens, and 38 states allow them to cast ballots provided they have close family connections. Since 2013, the box has appeared on postcards sent to overseas voters.

Republicans have filed lawsuits in multiple states trying to prevent those voters, who typically support Democrats, from casting ballots. Thursday's lawsuit contends that the administration simply made the change on its own without giving proper notice.

“These American citizens pay U.S. federal and state taxes, but now a years-old plan has culminated in a manufactured ‘emergency’ to justify impeding their right to vote in American elections and potentially disenfranchising them entirely,” the lawsuit states.

The Department of Defense, which administers the form, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The number of Americans overseas who have never lived in the United States yet cast ballots in the country was estimated at about 11,500 in 2016. The lawsuit contends the number has likely grown.

Some are already registered and are due to receive ballots for November. Others can opt to check other boxes saying they're citizens who either intend to return to the U.S. or do not intend to return in order to receive ballots.

The move follows Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth urging members of the military to cast ballots en masse, implying they could out-vote Democratic jurisdictions, such as Detroit, if they all cast ballots. The same federal law that lets members of the military who live overseas cast ballots also requires that civilians who live overseas be given the same opportunity.

But as Democratic-leaning civilians overseas have out-voted Republican-leaning members of the military in recent years, the GOP hasstarted to target the law, known as the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA. Republicans were able to win a court case forbidding the votes of overseas citizens who have never lived in North Carolina from being counted there, but have not yet succeeded in lawsuits in other states, including swing state Michigan.

Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat is a U.S. citizen in Munich whose 28-year-old daughter also is a U.S. citizen who has never resided in the country but votes regularly. She said the administration’s move was alarming.

“If this works in slicing off a piece of the electorate,” said Dzieduszycka-Suinat, who is president of the U.S. Vote Foundation, "wait until the next emergency.”

___ Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred sent a letter Thursday to Teton County Commissioner Chair Mark Newcomb, Jackson Mayor Arne Jorgensen and Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce President Rick Howe, who wrote to Manfred voicing objections on Monday following a report in The Washington Post that Grand Teton was under consideration.

Manfred sent a similar letter to U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

“MLB has no formal plan to play a game in Grand Teton National Park,” Manfred wrote. “Our team was conducting initial due diligence on many potential sites when this story was reported and we had made no decision of the feasibility of staging a game in Grand Teton National Park. We also had not reached the stage in our due diligence in which we evaluated the environmental impact or spoke to members of the community to solicit their views — steps that would have certainly been a part of any process should it have moved forward.”

Manfred then said Grand Teton wouldn't remain under consideration.

“Since the story was reported, it has become clear the local community does not want us to continue evaluating Grand Teton National Park as a potential site,” Manfred wrote. “We obviously would not bring a game to a community that has concerns about the venue and will not continue to evaluate Grand Teton National Park as a potential site."

MLB and the players’ association have played a handful of regular-season games away from the 30 big league ballparks in recent years, including in the Iowa cornfields made famous by the movie “Field of Dreams.”

Grand Teton includes a commercial airport — the busiest in Wyoming — and a vast expanse of Jackson Hole bottomlands with spectacular views of the Teton Range.

“We are grateful that Major League Baseball heard the roar of the crowd and rightfully recognized that Grand Teton is already a field of dreams, filled with mountains, forests, wild nature and wildlife that attracts millions of dedicated fans each year," Allison Michalski, Grand Teton senior program manager for National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement. “The bases were loaded with opposition, and this news is a grand slam for Teton county communities and the enduring legacy of Grand Teton National Park.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

La visita busca avances en temas de interés común, como el intercambio comercial, entre otras ramas. Guatemala y Belice son los únicos aliados de Taiwán en Centroamérica y figuran entre los 12 estados latinoamericanos y caribeños que mantienen lazos con la isla.

El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Guatemala, Carlos Martínez, se reunió con Lin y resaltó en conferencia de prensa la importancia de la relación bilateral. “La delegación empresarial que acompaña al canciller es una muestra del dinámico ecosistema industrial, tecnológico y comercial de Taiwan. Sin duda este intercambio permitirá abrir nuevas oportunidades de colaboración”, resaltó.

Por su parte, Li afirmó que este intercambio permite evaluar los acuerdos a los que se llegó durante la visita realizada por el presidente guatemalteco, Bernardo Arévalo, a Taiwán en 2025. “Gracias a los esfuerzos de ambas partes los acuerdos se han ido implementando y han producido frutos concretos, demostrando la amistad entre ambos países”, señaló.

El presidente de Taiwán Lai Ching-te dijo durante esa visita de Arévalo que los dos países “fortalecerán los intercambios y la cooperación, así como los programas de becas para jóvenes, proporcionarán capacitación para talentos en tecnología de punta e información y comunicación, con el fin de impulsar la prosperidad y el desarrollo”.

Arévalo, por su parte, identificó la salud pública, la educación, la agricultura, la tecnología y la infraestructura como áreas clave donde Guatemala busca aumentar su capacidad.

Li y la delegación que lo acompaña visitarán el terreno donde se construye el hospital especializado contra el cáncer en Ciudad de Guatemala y el Centro de Monitoreo para Operaciones de Emergencia y Control de Incidentes en el Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora, ambos proyectos cuentan con la cooperación y asistencia de Taiwán. El canciller visitante y su comitiva también celebrarán reuniones con el sector empresarial guatemalteco.

La asistencia a los aliados es clave mientras Taipei intenta mantener la línea contra los avances de China, que típicamente ofrece grandes proyectos como carreteras, ferrocarriles y estadios para atraer a los socios de la isla, a menudo esperando el reembolso a tasas de mercado. Taiwán es una isla autogobernada que Beijing reclama como su propio territorio.

Friday will offer a mix of clouds and sun, with southeast winds sustained at 5 to 10 mph. Showers and storms will be possible, particularly during the early part of the day in Miami-Dade and Broward. Storms will tend to migrate westward and may be mostly west of the metro area by late afternoon. Temperatures are forecast to reach the upper 80s.

The ads had been hitting TV screens across the country for more than a week, including during popular programs such as NFL football. They were paid for with taxpayer dollars and heavily featured President Donald Trump and some of his core messages.

Trump claims the ads are “for the spirit of our country.”

Democrats say they’re propaganda.

“’Love me’ ads on television because he’s so insecure about his low popularity,” U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said.

That sparked backlash from Democrats, who accused the commander in chief of tapping into public funds to run campaign commercials ahead of the midterms.

“It is the ethics of government 101 that you don’t use taxpayer dollars for political campaigning,” U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, said.

The White House had reportedly redirected $20 million from the Department of Homeland Security for the ads. Media tracking group AdImpact estimated the Trump administration had paid more than $2.5 million to put them on the air.

The White House said they were public service announcements, while Republican lawmakers compared the spots to other public messaging campaigns under previous presidents.

“Barack Obama promoted Obamacare. Joe Biden ran PSAs on vaccinations,” U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, said.

One of the videos was nearly identical to a commercial that Trump’s campaign ran in 2024, swapping out the campaign logo for U.S. government text.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, an ally of Trump, said the ads did not raise any legal concerns.

“They’ve explained that these are just normal-course public service announcements, PSAs that you see all the time,” Carr said.

Republican senators this week blocked a Democratic-led effort to call on the White House to pull the ads. Democrats then launched a new push to pass a bill that would strip $20 million from Trump’s federal budget any time his administration violated federal laws prohibiting the use of public money for propaganda.

There were also new developments in Trump’s attempts to ban some media outlets from the White House. CNN was removed from the press pool for the second time since a federal judge ordered those outlets to be allowed back onto the White House grounds.

The White House removed CNN from its press pool assignment. The press pool is the small group of networks that rotate responsibility for covering events such as the president’s Oval Office meetings.

The president’s original ban the previous month also included MS NOW and Politico and was temporarily blocked by a federal judge. A court date was set for the following week to determine whether to keep the block in place while the legal case moved forward.

Incumbent Mayor Samson Borgelin, who was elected in 2022, said responsible budgeting and keeping costs down for residents remain priorities.

“We want to look at the budget responsibly, make sure we can save the resident as much as we can,” Borgelin said.

Borgelin also pointed to efforts aimed at helping homeowners address code violations and liens that can threaten homeownership.

“We create the lean clemency program for residents, for qualified homeowners. In this case we spent about, we already spent both rounds, over $3.8 million,” he said.

Mayoral candidate Willnae Lacroix, an attorney who has lived in North Lauderdale for 23 years, said the city should take a closer look at how it spends taxpayer money.

“We need to go through our budget line by line, audit every single department, and wherever we can cut waste, we cut waste,” Lacroix said.

Lacroix said controlling spending could help the city address infrastructure needs while protecting property values.

“If our infrastructure looks a mess, how can our property values go up?” she said.

“How can our residents see, you know, I’ve got this asset and it’s actually a good asset instead of it constantly depreciating,” she added.

Candidate Tosha Chambers is making education and youth investment central to her campaign.

“We need to invest in the youth, in the young people,” Chambers said.

Chambers said she wants to create pathways for young residents to pursue college or vocational training after high school.

“I plan to set a pipeline where they can go from high school to university. Or if not university, high school to training certificates, where they trade certificates, whether it’s welding or plumbing, something that they’re making livable wages and can care for themselves.”

The State Department said Thursday that Rubio had signed off on the waiver “in the interest of U.S. national security.”

"The Secretary’s determination reflects the importance of Egypt to U.S. national security interests, and the concrete security cooperation Egypt provides to the United States,” the department said.

In a letter sent to lawmakers whose contents were shared with The Associated Press, Rubio cited, in particular, Egypt’s “helpful role” in the war with Iran. Egypt has been a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran in the efforts to wind down the more than seven-month-long conflict.

The State Department maintained that the Trump administration would continue to raise human rights matters as part of its dialogue with Egypt “on the full range of issues in our bilateral relationship.”

“The waiver determination recognizes the importance of maintaining security cooperation with Egypt at a time of significant regional security challenges,” the department said.

The $320 million is part of an annual U.S. contribution of $1.3 billion in economic and military assistance to Egypt. Specifically, it is for foreign military financing, which provides money for recipient nations to purchase U.S.-produced weaponry.

Congress inserted the requirement over concerns about Egypt’s human rights record, which many experts regard as problematic. The State Department itself in recent years has pointed to credible reports of torture, arbitrary arrest, child labor and restrictions on expression.

But granting a waiver to Egypt has become routine for both Republican and Democratic administrations.

The Biden administration, for example, last issued a waiver in September 2024, citing Egypt’s assistance in U.S. efforts to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Good’s partner, Becca Good, and her brother Brent Ganger on behalf of her larger family, accused the government and Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot into her SUV and killed her, of unjustified and excessive use of force.

The Jan. 7 shooting, captured on bystander video, was “the predictable and intended product” of the Trump administration’s crackdown on Somali and other immigrants in Minnesota dubbed Operation Metro Surge, according to one of the two lawsuits.

“She was the love of my life,” Becca Good said at a news conference announcing the lawsuits. “I’m here today because last January, the whole world had to watch as our entire universe was destroyed — as the sunshine who was my amazing Renee was robbed from us, from her children, and from her community.”

The lack of accountability stuns Good’s family

The killings of Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, and another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis just weeks later sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration officers during Trump’s second term.

The crackdown, a pillar of Trump’s second term, has prompted a slew of lawsuits filed by everyone from Chicago-area pastors to more than a dozen states and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested, but few have been convicted of any crimes.

“What happened to Renee was completely senseless,” Ganger said. “And the fact that there’s been no accountability, no investigation, no expression of condolence, no change in policy is completely mind blowing.”

The lawsuits — one against the government, the other against Ross and officials including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan — seek unspecified damages for wrongful death, conspiracy and other violations.

“Our government has become a grave and mortal threat to its own citizens,” the family’s lawyer, Antonio Romanucci, told reporters.

The Justice Department has not responded to an email seeking comment.

Ross shot Good as she turned her car away from him

Renee Good was killed while driving with Becca on a street where masked federal immigration officers were conducting an enforcement operation. They had just dropped their 6-year-old son at school. Renee stopped their red SUV in the street and honked her horn to warn people about the operation while Becca got out and started recording video with her cellphone.

Bystander video shows Renee Good in the driver’s seat, her car blocking part of the road, as she repeatedly honks the horn. Two immigration officers get out of a truck, their faces covered, and one orders Good to get out of the car. She reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel as an officer again demands: “Get out of the car.”

Almost simultaneously, Becca Good, standing in the street, shouts: “Drive, baby, drive!”

The officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and fires into the windshield. He lurches back as the car turns away from him. The officer, by then very close to the open window on the driver’s side, fires two more times, fatally shooting Renee Good, according to an analysis of the videos by The Associated Press and others.

Federal officials at the time said the officer acted in self-defense and that Good had engaged in “an act of domestic terrorism.”

Becca and Renee Good were not legally married, according to a family lawyer, but referred to one another as wives. They had only recently relocated to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Missouri.

“I don’t hate the people that took Renee from us,” Becca Good said.

“But what I want them to understand: Every single day they get to look at their children and their wives and their sisters and know what they took from our family. They took a mother away from her children. They know that. And they will carry it forever.”

Government tried to hide the truth, lawsuit says

The wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government seeks damages for “the immense suffering” Good endured in her final moments and her family’s “profound and permanent” loss.

The other lawsuit, against Ross and top federal immigration officials, paints Operation Metro Surge as a conspiracy to trample the civil rights of immigrants, and accuses the administration of targeting Becca instead of thoroughly investigating Good’s killing.

The government sought to hide evidence of what happened, it said, and officials worried that pursuing a civil rights investigation would undermine Trump’s claims that Good had tried to kill an officer.

The operation, the conspiracy lawsuit said, was a “carefully planned, coordinated effort” to make Somali and Hispanic immigrants “the object of aggression and abduction.” The crackdown used violence and the threat of arrest to intimidate neighbors and allies “who observed, documented and warned.”

Other defendants include: Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign manager who also served as one of Noem’s advisers; former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons; former U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino; and 10 unnamed federal agents.

The news conference announcing the lawsuits was held in the atrium of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and dozens of law students looked on as the family and lawyers spoke.

“The time is absolutely now for accountability for the deep damage done by ICE and others,” Ganger said. “We will not be quiet. We will not go away.”

Lawsuits are ‘uphill battles’

Good’s lawyers acknowledged the complexity of the cases, and legal scholars said they could be challenging to win.

“They’re going to face significant uphill battles,” said Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas law school. “These are both complicated types of lawsuits, and so I can’t predict how they will play out. But I’m sure the government will have many, many types of responses to why the lawsuits should not go forward.”

But she noted the conspiracy lawsuit, in particular, could reveal many unknown details about the crackdown, including the involvement of some of the country’s top officials.

“Yes, ICE agents on the ground acted problematically, but that was at the behest, in many ways, of people very high up in the administration,” she said.

___

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

In an ad, the campaign of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate, accused David Jolly, a former U.S. representative and the Democratic candidate, of wanting “government to take over hurricane insurance.”

The ad, first released on Sept. 8, defined “Jolly’s Hurricane Tax” as $1,000 per family annually.

On Thursday, in North Lauderdale, Jolly defended his policy, which includes converting the state’s hurricane catastrophe fund into Florida’s primary insurer for wind coverage to soften consumer impact.

Jolly said Donalds cited a Florida State University study that considered a 2024 Florida House proposal to have Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer, take over wind coverage.

The study also considered that Florida law would prompt an annual fee to bail out Citizens if it failed.

“There’s a $1,000 tax currently in the law. He is saying he will continue the law. The irony here is that Byron Donald is actually supporting a $1,000 hurricane tax by supporting the current law,” Jolly said.

Florida has the highest home insurance rate in the country after Oklahoma and Texas, according to Insurify. Availability and affordability remain a challenge. Jolly said he wants to cut bills by 60% to 70% by excluding hurricane and wind risk from policies.

“My model would fully replace the current law. My model would repeal a hurricane tax,” Jolly said. “That’s a level of dishonesty. A catastrophic fund is the most fiscally responsible way to deal with natural disasters because you prefund against the big storms.”

Donalds was campaigning on a “Bring down The Bill” plan, which promises to cut premiums by 20% and includes more tort reform and more hurricane-resistant construction.

Jolly said Donalds also had an ad falsely claiming he supports drilling in the Gulf, so he is releasing a new ad on Friday disputing that claim.

Related report

Leer en español

According to records, Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 6:10 a.m. on a battery by strangulation charge.

The 50-year-old’s arrest comes days after his now ex-girlfriend, Jazzma Kendrick, took to Instagram to publicly accuse him of physically abusing her.

Last weekend, Kendrick posted an Instagram Story, sharing a DM from a fan who told her, “I’m seeing what Rick is seeing your (sic) so gorgeous.”

Kendrick responded, “He saw a punching bag.”

An arrest report from the Miami Beach Police Department names the victim in the case only by the initials J.K.

According to the report, the victim went to the police department Tuesday to report a domestic violence incident that she said occurred on the morning of Aug. 28.

Police said the victim and Ross had been in a relationship for about a year and lived together at the time of the incident.

According to the report, the victim claimed that she was awakened by Ross on Aug. 28, as he was enraged that she had been tagged in a photo on Instagram.

Police said Ross questioned the victim, accused her of lying to him and then slapped her in the face.

The rapper then accused the victim of being involved with a man she claimed she was only friends with, authorities said.

According to the report, Ross followed the victim around as he questioned her and struck her each time she denied the accusations.

Police said Ross also struck the victim several times in the chest and choked her to the point that she couldn’t breathe by grabbing the collar of her hoodie and twisting it.

Authorities said the rapper then grabbed the victim by her ponytail and slammed her into a wall before striking her in the face as she was bent over, leaving her with a “busted lip.”

According to the report, Ross then pushed the victim to the floor of a bathroom, grabbed the shower head and tried to spray her with water.

The victim was able to escape from the bathroom and leave the home, authorities said.

According to the report, the victim returned to the property and waited for Ross to leave before she gathered her belongings and left again.

Police said the victim called a friend to pick her up, but surveillance video shows that the friend was turned away from the property.

According to the report, Ross surrendered himself at the police station Thursday morning and did not provide a statement about the incident.

He appeared in bond court later in the morning, where his attorney, Bradley Horenstein, asked for his release to be expediated because Ross is a “celebrity.”

“Mr. Roberts is a celebrity,” Horenstein told Judge Mindy Glazer.

“So what does that mean?” Glazer asked.

“I don’t know to whatever degree your honor can, but I’d ask that his release be expediated,” Horenstein said. “He’s in a red jumpsuit and for purposes of his safety. I don’t know what your honor can do.”

Glazer appeared to be less than impressed, saying she didn’t know who the rapper was but that he would “be treated fairly just like everybody else here.”

She ultimately granted him a $5,000 bond and he was released from jail shortly after. Glazer ordered him to stay away from the victim.

After posting bond, Ross addressed reporters outside TGK shortly after noon, saying he is “totally innocent” and plans to vacation to Dubai and Paris this weekend.

“First and foremost, I am totally innocent of these fabricated allegations made against me,” Ross said. “Now, I have an amazing team, such an amazing team … what my weekend looks like, I’ll be in Dubai tomorrow, Paris Saturday and I plan on having a bowl of rigatoni with heavy marinara Sunday."

Ross also denied the allegation when Local 10’s Jeff Derderian repeatedly asked him if he strangled the woman.

While Ross is originally from Mississippi, he grew up in Miami-Dade’s Carol City and has homes in Atlanta and Miami Beach’s Star Island.

He has had numerous hit songs over his career, including “Aston Martin Music” and “Hustlin’.”

Ross’ attorneys, Steve Sadow and Bradley Horenstein, released a statement Thursday evening on his behalf, saying he was being “wrongfully accused” and asking the public not to “prejudge” the case.

“William Roberts II, professionally known as Rick Ross, is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear,” the statement read. “The ex did not even file a police report until a month after the claimed incident allegedly took place. Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges. He respectfully requests that his friends, fans and the general public not prejudge the situation and allow the judicial process to run its course.”

But Shevchenko pulled out nearly a month ago because of back and shoulder injuries and vacated the title to force a quick and major change of plans.

Now Silva will try to capture the title when as the top-ranked challenger the Brazilian faces No. 8 Wang Cong of China.

“We were preparing for Valentina strategically," Silva said through a Portuguese interpreter. "Sparring was based on Valentina. They were emulating Valentina and everything was focused on her, and I got the news that it wasn’t her. At that point, I was like, ‘Damn, that’s the fight that I’ve always wanted. That’s what I worked for. That’s what I was envisioning.’

"But at that moment, coaches just pivoted. Our entire strategy shifted and we right away started preparing. It was about early September, so about 30 days I had to prepare, and we started preparing for my current opponent.”

Silva (20-5-1) is a -205 or -210 favorite depending on the sportsbook to capture the championship over the 34-year-old Cong (10-1), who is relatively new to MMA.

Though the 29-year-old Silva has dreamed of owning the name atop a numbered UFC event, this is far from the type of leading matchup many fans wanted to see. How Cong was given the spot over higher-ranked challengers has drawn some criticism.

Cong defeated Shevchenko in a kickboxing event in 2015, and if no else believes in her ability to win Saturday, she is ready to make a statement. If Cong beats Silva, maybe that will lead to what she really wants — a shot at Shevchenko in the octagon. In that way, she and Silva are aligned.

“This fight is definitely going to be exciting," Cong said through an interpreter. "We’re going to use this performance to shut (the critics) up.”

Silva will take an exciting fight as long as she comes out the victor.

Before the exit of Shevchenko, regarded by many as the greatest ever in her weight class, Silva was the underdog taking on a decorated champion.

Now Silva is the first name on this card, and she doesn't take it for granted. Maybe this wasn't the way she played it out in her mind, but Silva isn't about to walk away from this opportunity.

“As soon as the fight announced it was not her, (Shevchenko) became a nonfactor for me," Silva said. "I have my eyes on Cong. She is the one I have to focus on.

"As far as having my name on the poster, being in the main event, it's incredible because that's what I've worked for. That's what I've always dreamed. That's what I envisioned throughout my life. Just to see and sign a poster with my face on it ... that's a dream becoming true. I'm absolutely ecstatic over it.

In the co-main event, bantamweight ninth-ranked challenger Deiveson Figueiredo (25-7-1) of Brazil faces No. 12 Payton Talbott (11-1), a Las Vegas native who fights out of Reno, Nevada.

___

See AP’s full sports coverage here

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested Thursday and is due to make his first court appearance Friday. Court records do not list an attorney available to speak on his behalf.

The FBI says Ellaboudy had a goal of helping the Houthis improve their communications capabilities and traveled last September to Yemen, where the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces are now engaged in renewed violence that has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands. The conflict began in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebels took over the capital, Sanaa, forcing the country’s government to settle into exile in Saudi Arabia.

Upon his return to the United States, authorities say, Ellaboudy told Customs and Border Protection officials that he was traveling back from Oman on a work trip and was part of a U.S. government mission to inspect missile defense systems. But investigators interviewed Ellaboudy's supervisor, who reported having no knowledge of any international travel or of an Energy Department missile inspection program that Ellaboudy would have been assigned to, an FBI affidavit said.

Ellaboudy himself was recorded telling FBI informants, whom officials had introduced into the investigation, that he had to be smuggled into and out of Yemen and that he had hoped to reach the country's capital to make government-level connections, the affidavit says. He was ultimately unable to make it to Sanaa, the FBI said.

The FBI says investigators began looking into Ellaboudy after learning that he had purchased precursor chemicals commonly involved in the construction of homemade explosive devices, including acetone and sodium bisulfate, as well as parts used for drones.

During the course of the investigation, the FBI says, he communicated with multiple informants — including one who purported to be a Houthi colonel — and provided advice and assistance on communications equipment.

Ellaboudy is charged under a law that makes it a crime to provide material support to a group designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, of which the Houthis are one.

“These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination,” John Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, emerging from the gathering, said talks were constructive despite not reaching consensus on the issue, which is known as “excess capacity.”

“Nearly all countries agreed that this is an issue that required action. And nearly all countries agreed that our current system of trade remedies and responses is inadequate to solve this problem,” Greer said.

The White House has accused trading partners of producing a gamut of goods in quantities surpassing demand, claiming it sends prices downward and unfairly skews competition. The Trump administration views China as the leading offender, but has opened investigations into countries from Norway to Bangladesh.

Besides Chinese-made steel, the administration has claimed industries including autos, batteries, paper and semiconductors have been plagued by overproduction, causing the U.S. to lose ground to competitors.

The gathering in Milwaukee of representatives from the G20, which includes both the biggest industrialized countries and some emerging markets, bore no signs of a breakthrough on the biggest trade dispute of the moment, between the U.S. and Canada.

Animosity between the two countries have been growing since the summer, when President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, leading Canada to promptly counterpunch with tariffs of its own. It further devolved this week, with Trump banning nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.

“The reality is there are a handful of outstanding issues that are quite difficult to resolve,” Greer said Thursday.

Canada is a seemingly unlikely target of Trump’s trade war. No country buys more from the United States than its northern neighbor, an ally long considered so close that the countries share an unprotected border.

Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu, pleaded for cooperation, saying: “You’re facing some of the same challenges that we’re facing. Let’s help each other and let’s work through something."

In other discussions at the meeting, trade leaders also failed to reach a deal on forced labor, an issue the Trump administration has used as a justification for double-digit tariffs on more than 60 countries. The breadth of the levies, which cover 99% of U.S. imports, suggests another motivation: replacing worldwide tariffs that Trump imposed last year only to see them struck down by the Supreme Court in February.

“Believe it or not, we have countries in the G20 that do not want to commit to having a prohibition on the import of goods made with forced labor,” Greer said. “At the end of the day, we all know forced labor is wrong, and it will distort our markets, and we won’t have it." ___

Sedensky reported from New York.

The Bears said in August that the franchise's “sole focus” for the construction of a new stadium and mixed-use development was on Hammond, Indiana. But the public confirmation of the conversation between Goodell and Pritzker indicates that Illinois remains in the mix.

The Bears also had been considering Arlington Heights — about 30 miles northwest of Chicago — as a potential location for an enclosed stadium.

Illinois Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, state Sen. Bill Cunningham and state Rep. Kam Buckner joined Pritzker at the meeting. As the president pro tempore of the Illinois Senate, Cunningham frequently serves as the body's presiding officer, and Buckner's district includes Soldier Field — the current home for the Bears.

Pat Ryan, a billionaire minority investor in the Bears and a member of the team's board of directors, also attended.

“The Governor’s Office has remained in conversation with the Bears about their plans in Illinois throughout the summer,” Pritzker's office said in a statement.

“The Governor and General Assembly leadership were glad to participate in a productive meeting focused on keeping the Bears in Illinois and protecting taxpayers.”

The NFL said in a release that it appreciated the opportunity to meet with Pritzker and the state legislators.

“Timely action is essential as the Bears work to find a long-term stadium solution for the club and their fans,” the league said.

A message was left by The Associated Press seeking comment from the team.

The Bears, a charter NFL franchise, have played in Illinois since the team’s founding in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys. They moved to Chicago in 1921 and called Wrigley Field home before they started playing at Soldier Field in September 1971.

The Bears’ lease runs through 2033, but they can pay a fee to break the lease early. Soldier Field is about 40 miles south of Halas Hall — the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois — and Hammond is about 20 miles south of the team’s lakefront stadium.

The Bears ramped up their focus on Indiana after a proposal to provide financial incentives for the team to build its new home in Illinois stalled in the state legislature. A committee in the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill in February that established a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a stadium.

The Illinois Senate passed a bill that would have cleared the way for Arlington Heights and Chicago to create local stadium authorities, creating a pathway for the Bears to avoid paying property taxes on a new stadium. But the House adjourned without taking up the measure on the last day of the state’s spring legislative session.

The Bears have been pursuing a new home for years, but the process has been hampered by repeated twists and turns.

The team announced in September 2021 that it had signed a purchase agreement for 326 acres of land in Arlington Heights. The $197 million deal with Churchill Downs Inc. was finalized in 2023.

In September 2022, the team unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that called for an enclosed stadium that could host Super Bowls and Final Fours. The conceptual illustrations also provided for a year-round entertainment district with restaurants and shopping.

But the Bears shifted their focus toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Kevin Warren was hired as team president in January 2023. The plan to transform Chicago’s Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Mayor Brandon Johnson but a tepid reception from Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.

The team switched gears again in May 2025, announcing it had made “significant progress” with local leaders in Arlington Heights.

Amid lingering efforts to secure tax incentives in Illinois, along with as much as $855 million in public money for infrastructure at the Arlington Heights site, the Bears began to take a closer look at possible options in northwest Indiana.

Warren said in August that the team was “in regular, almost daily communication with the state of Indiana working on” the project. He called it “an excellent deal, a win-win partnership together.”

___

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Juan Carlos Chaidez, a detective with what was then the Miami-Dade Police Department who led the investigation, testified that his homicide team was first in the rotation to respond when the killings were reported on Nov. 13, 2012.

Chaidez told jurors the bodies of Gladys Machado, 29, and her daughters, 6-year-old Julia Padrino and 3-year-old Daniella Padrino, were found on the tiled floor of a walk-in closet in the master bedroom.

He described the smell inside the room as a combination of “bleach and the beginning of a decomposing body.”

The detective said investigators initially did not know what had happened to Machado’s 5-year-old son, Michael, who was not among the children found in the closet. Machado was the mother of three children, Chaidez testified. Investigators later learned Michael was safe and was with another family member when the killings occurred.

Among the evidence investigators found was a handmade family tree project belonging to Michael. Chaidez testified that the item was found in the trash next to an empty bottle of bleach.

The detective also testified that Machado was found nude and that her clothing had been discarded in the bedroom.

Prosecutors showed jurors a purple T-shirt identified as Machado’s. Chaidez testified that the shirt appeared to have been cut.

Chaidez also described what Alberto Sierra, then 28, told investigators when he was first brought in for questioning.

According to the detective, Sierra said he knew Machado had been seeing another man during their separation, which began in September. Sierra told him he had forgiven her and understood the circumstances, Chaidez testified, saying the separation was related to financial problems.

Sierra was unemployed at the time and told the detective he was unable to support the family financially, Chaidez testified. He said Sierra acknowledged selling street narcotics while looking for legal employment and hoped improving his financial situation would help bring his children back.

Under questioning, Chaidez said Sierra did not tell him he was unable to keep a job or that a brain injury prevented him from holding one.

The testimony also focused on Sierra’s demeanor while discussing the victims. Chaidez testified that Sierra remained calm when talking about his dead wife and did not become emotional when discussing his dead stepchildren.

At another point, the lead prosecutor asked whether Sierra had described himself as having a “broke brain” or “broken brain.” Chaidez testified that he had not.

The testimony adds to the evidence prosecutors are presenting as they seek to persuade jurors that the killings were especially “heinous, atrocious and cruel,” one of the factors relevant to the death penalty. Prosecutors also have argued the murders were committed in a “cold and calculated manner.”

Sierra, now 42, has pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and three counts of kidnapping in the killings. Prosecutors say Sierra suffocated Machado and her daughters with yellow plastic shopping bags.

Sierra also has admitted to cutting Machado’s clothing with a knife, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors have alleged that he sexually assaulted Machado and Julia after their deaths.

The penalty phase follows Sierra’s guilty pleas and will determine whether he receives a life sentence or the death penalty. The jury will hear evidence from both sides before making a recommendation on his sentence.

The new testimony came as the defense sought to give jurors a different context for Sierra’s behavior and cognitive functioning. Defense attorneys are asking jurors to consider the effects of a severe childhood brain injury on their client.

Defense attorneys, who are seeking a life sentence, have described Sierra’s mother as an immigrant from Cuba and said Sierra suffered a severe brain injury after being hit by a car at age 12, causing lasting changes to his personality and executive functioning.

Authorities say the man contacted Katie Miller at least 40 times over the course of several weeks, sometimes leaving disturbing voicemails and text messages about her and her husband, Stephen Miller, who serves as White House deputy chief of staff. He also sent messages to phone numbers for her parents, according to prosecutors.

John Anthony Proia III, 41, is charged with one count of cyberstalking. An attorney listed for him didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Thursday.

The court documents do not identify the victim by name, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed that it is Katie Miller. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss non-public parts of the investigation.

“Those who use technology to harass, intimidate or torment others should understand that attempts to anonymize their criminal conduct will not shield them from prosecution,” Leah Foley, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said in an emailed statement. “We will find you, and we will hold you accountable.”

In a social media post Thursday, Katie Miller thanked Justice Department and FBI officials for keeping her and her family safe.

“Good to see a Boston grand jury indict this man,” she wrote.

The investigation contributed to upheaval inside the FBI’s Washington field office, where two top counterterrorism supervisors were recently reassigned by the office’s leader in part because of dissatisfaction over their handling of and approach to the Miller probe, according to multiple people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public personnel changes.

Darren Cox, the assistant director in charge of the Washington office, said in a statement that the reassignments were not ordered by Director Kash Patel and that the moves were a personnel decision “based on our constant evaluation of mission needs. Any suggestion otherwise is false.”

Deputies arrested David Armeda at 2:25 p.m. on Wednesday at Macy’s at Dadeland Mall, at 7303 North Kendall Drive, according to a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

“He had in his possession multiple stolen credit cards with several different names,” a deputy wrote, adding that Armeda was “under the effects of methamphetamine,” according to the arrest report.

Surveillance videos showed Armeda stealing from mailboxes on July 31, at 9150 and 9120 Fontainebleau Boulevard, according to the MDSO arrest report. The U.S. Postal Service estimated Armeda caused damage to a mailbox valued at about $28,125.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Armeda at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Armeda faced three criminal charges in two new cases. He also had a warrant case while out on felony bond for attempted tampering with physical evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use.

In the July case, he faced charges of criminal mischief of a $1,000 or more and knowingly removing or taking mail from a mail depository.

In the Wednesday case, he faced a charge of criminal use of personal identification information.

Avin Seetaram, also known as “Smalls,” was accused, along with 32-year-old HVAC business owner Somjeet Christopher Singh, also known as “Lil Chris,” in the November 2023 killing of airplane mechanic Suren Seetal, 36, of Miami.

Prosecutors alleged that outside of their day jobs, Singh and Seetal were both in the business of buying and selling fireworks. Singh, then 29, owed Seetal about $315,000 in relation to the fireworks business and the latter was starting to collect, so Singh sought out a hitman to kill Seetal, authorities said.

Prosecutors allege that Singh, of Coral Springs, gave Seetaram, then 24, $5,000 in cash and forgave $10,000 worth of his debt in order to hire a hitman to kill Seetal.

Seetaram would then turn around and pay Gavin Hunter, then 18, $5,000 to kill him, authorities said.

A July 2023 ambush attempt outside Seetal’s home failed, authorities said, leading the suspects to hatch a second plot, authorities said.

Court documents stated that on Nov. 4, Seetaram lured Seetal to the Dr. HVAC warehouse, located at 5441 NW 15th St. in Margate, by sending him a text of a key inside of a drawer. That’s where prosecutors said Hunter shot and killed him.

Cellphone and toll records from Nov. 4 placed Singh’s work van along Alligator Alley and Snake Road on the Big Cypress Indian Reservation in far western Broward County, prosecutors allege. Authorities would find Seetal’s body on the Seminole reservation Nov. 21, according to prosecutors.

Seetaram was convicted of several federal charges, including murder-for-hire conspiracy. Singh previously pleaded guilty to that charge, as well as other charges, including kidnapping and stalking resulting in death, getting a life sentence.

“This was not a spontaneous act of violence. It was a deliberate, persistent, and cold-blooded murder-for-hire scheme,” U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones said in a news release. “The defendants tracked Suren Seetal, sent armed men to kill him, tried again after the first attempt failed, and ultimately had him ambushed and murdered. They then paid the gunman and helped dispose of Seetal’s body in the Everglades.”

Federal court records show that Hunter, now 21, is set to go to trial on Jan. 4.

Officials said the incident happened at 1441 South Miami Road.

They said fire rescue crews responded to the scene, and one person was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.

No other information about the incident was immediately available.

The 17 active and senior judges in the Western District of Washington unanimously named Roger Rogoff, a former judge and veteran prosecutor, U.S. attorney in July, after Trump failed to fill the post with a nominee confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The president fired Rogoff less than an hour later. Rogoff sued, and in a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian found the termination unlawful and reinstated him.

Bastian noted that when presidents fail to fill a U.S. attorney post with a nominee confirmed by the Senate, federal law authorizes the judges of that district to appoint someone “until the vacancy is filled.”

“It does not say ‘until the president fires the person selected,’” Bastian said.

He concluded: “Mr. Roger Rogoff is the United States attorney for the Western District of Washington and has been the rightful holder of that office since July 15, 2026, when he took the oath of office.”

The Justice Department said in a written statement it disagreed with the decision and would appeal.

Rogoff is the latest in a series of judicially appointed U.S. attorneys to be ousted by the Trump administration, and he is believed to be the first to sue over the removal, setting up a direct legal battle over the issue.

Presidents normally appoint U.S. attorneys, the top federal prosecutor in each judicial district. The positions require Senate confirmation, except in temporary appointments, which can last up to 120 days. When temporary appointments expire before a nominee is confirmed, the judges in a judicial district can name a U.S. attorney.

But under Trump, the Justice Department has sought to leave unconfirmed prosecutors in their positions indefinitely, often through novel personnel maneuvers. Trump named Charles Neil Floyd, who previously served as an immigration judge, interim U.S. attorney in Seattle in October 2025 but never forwarded his nomination to the Senate.

When Floyd’s time as interim U.S. attorney expired, Trump simply shifted his title, a tactic the administration has also tried in other federal judicial districts: It named him first assistant U.S. attorney, while leaving the top post empty.

Trump last month nominated Pete Serrano, the first assistant U.S. attorney in eastern Washington, to be the U.S. attorney in Seattle. But Serrano has not been confirmed, and his nomination is opposed by Washington's senior Democratic senator, Patty Murray.

"Today’s ruling is an important victory for the rule of law and the people in Western Washington who deserve a U.S. attorney that answers to the law, not Donald Trump,” Murray said in a written statement Thursday.

Bastian is the chief judge in eastern Washington. He heard the case because the judges in western Washington were recused.

In December, Alina Habbaresigned as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey after an appeals court said she had been serving in the post unlawfully.

Lindsey Halligan, who pursued indictments against a pair of Trump’s adversaries, left her position as an acting U.S. attorney in Virginia after a judge concluded her appointment was unlawful and that indictments she brought against James and former FBI Director James Comey must be dismissed.

The judges there named James Hundley, who had handled criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, but the administration fired him. It also fired a court-appointed U.S. attorney in northern New York.

But he no longer claims to be an underdog.

“It would be so disingenuous to say you’re an underdog, ‘as he said from his penthouse,’” Stallone said during a recent interview, on a high floor of a luxury Manhattan hotel. ”Yeah. Come on. I am a lucky dog.”

Stallone, who turned 80 in July, is among the most successful movie stars and filmmakers in history. He has generated billions of dollars through such blockbuster franchises as “Rocky,” “Rambo” and “The Expendables” and portrayed some of the most memorable film characters. And he is still working, starring as mobster Dwight “The General” Manfredi in the Paramount+ series “Tulsa King.”

By choice and otherwise, Stallone has been reliving his early years as a struggling actor-writer who somehow convinced United Artists to back his modest story of a journeyman boxer’s shot at the heavyweight championship, and even allow him to play the lead despite having little acting experience. His memoir “Steps,” published Tuesday, arrives less than two months before a fictionalized and semi-authorized version of his story, Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky,” arrives in theaters, with Anthony Ippolito in the starring role. (Farrelly spoke about the film with Stallone, who was otherwise uninvolved.)

“Rocky,” which beat out “Taxi Driver” and “All the President Men’s” among others to win the best picture Oscar, is one of those classic movies that only seem to benefit from the back story; Stallone’s own journey from the streets of Philadelphia to the Oscars stage echoes so well his character’s improbable rise.

As he writes in “Steps,” he was a hard-luck case, an unplanned and unwanted child who seemed to face endless discouragement right through the production of “Rocky,” when he feared every day on the set might be his last.

Stallone was in Manhattan to promote his book, but spends much of his time at the Palm Beach, Florida estate he shares with his wife, Jennifer Flavin. Even when — especially when — he’s talking about his rare fortune, Stallone speaks in a warm, rumbly, offhand manner, a kind of private street talk that suggests he doesn’t believe it all.

Last year, he was a Kennedy Center honoree, his award presented to him by President Donald Trump, who had previously named Stallone, Jon Voight and Mel Gibson his “ambassadors” from an otherwise liberal Hollywood. Stallone has called Trump “the second George Washington,” but he has contributed to both Republicans and Democrats and broken with conservatives by calling for stronger gun control laws. He also condemns war, including the Iran War, as a story of sending people into a “meat grinder while the military complex is making zillions of dollars.”

“I do believe that you have to defend yourself. But to go on the offensive?” he says, adding that he would prefer not to be known as a ”political figure."

“I love the common architecture of trying to just survive. That’s noble,” he says. ”To be a politician, that’s a different animal.”

During his interview, he also talked about fate, insecurity and why he was probably better off for his unhappy childhood.

Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

AP: Why write this book?

STALLONE: I was approached a few times (over the years) and the one thing I didn’t want to write about is my life. It’s this ambivalent roller coaster ride. It’s not always the most pleasurable ride. And I thought, ‘What am I known for?’ Pulling off this minor miracle in 1976, which falls under the heading of inspiration. That’s what I want to do. Because the character was an inspiration, I wanted to tell the people how it all came to be.

AP: How hard was it to relive some of those early memories?

STALLONE: It was very hard because I spent 50 years burying that stuff. And it’s like you come across a lost city, and you start to become your own spiritual archaeologist, digging down. And it’s not pretty. But I didn’t want this to be, ‘Oh, woe is me.’ Everyone has issues and a lot worse than me. I just wanted to touch on the essence because I still have this conundrum. If everything was really nice, maybe I wouldn’t be here, you know what I mean? If I didn’t have that insecurity which drives us. You know, insecurity is a great motivator.

AP: For people at your level of success, do you find they all have that sense of insecurity, that drive?

STALLONE: I think so — especially the ones that are desperate to do better and constantly pushing it. For example, I don’t have to do my dialogue for another month before we start “Tulsa King.” I’m up every morning at 5:00 o’clock, studying until literally it’s like breathing. Now, that’s probably insecurity, but that’s the way I approach it.

AP: When was the last time you actually watched “Rocky” in its entirety? Did you look at it while working on the book?

STALLONE: No, I didn’t. You know what I see. You’re sitting there and going through messages and somebody who’s 18 has put it on the internet or on TikTok. And how would this person relate to an 80-year-old guy? They’re not, though. They’re not relating to me. It’s that character.

AP: Young people know about Rocky.

STALLONE: In retrospect, that to me is the greatest gift. You know, you write something — I’m just trying to get some footage on myself. I’m just trying to write something really simple. I didn’t ever expect it to be in more than one or two theaters. So all this is a tsunami of good luck. It (‘Rocky’) tapped into something that I cannot take credit for.

AP: Writers talk a lot about how they learn how they think through the act of writing. Did you experience some of that while working on this book?

STALLONE: A lot of it, yeah.

AP: Like what?

STALLONE: I was thinking while I was working (on the book). “You were really at the end of your rope.” Nothing was working. I was 29 years old. And I had this epiphany, like in the backyard, pounding the soil, asking for spiritual help. I had always avoided it. And I had thought, you know, “To each his own.” I don’t want to rely upon some idol, god, symbol, anything. But maybe we need something that makes us believe in the invisible — faith. I had no faith. I was agnostic, and then it came literally back that night.

And that’s why I pay homage in the “Rocky” movie. The first scene is, you know, at “The Resurrection” (gym). It’s amazing we found that place. A boxing club called “The Resurrection.”

AP: You’ve described how the priests in Catholic school said it was necessary to suffer for your faith, and how you turned away from that. But look at what you put yourself through to make a movie.

STALLONE: It’s the way I’m built, I think. There are no free lunches. I’ve had back operations, neck surgeries, both shoulders, heart — you name it. And it’s all because ... you do it yourself. There was a necessity to feel it. You’re not going to be like the other guys. You’re going to do it, which is completely wrong (laughs).

AP: And now you have a movie about you, “I Play Rocky,” coming out.

STALLONE: How strange is this? A movie about me being in a movie.

AP: What did you think of it?

STALLONE: It’s fantastic. And the kid (Ippolito) did a great job. This is so odd. They usually do this when you’re dead and gone. It’s 50 years almost to the day when it came out and if he gets nominated ... It’s so surreal. I have to give Peter Farrelly, the director (credit). I never in a million years had any confidence this would work. But he said that to the everyday person, this is kind of a fantastic journey. Rocky is fiction, this is real. And that’s what people are holding on to.

Pike, sentenced to die for torturing and killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, said as her scheduled lethal injection began that she was at peace.

Strapped to a gurney around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Pike, who was allowed to give a final statement, said she was leaving the world with love.

“I’m ready to be free,” she said. "This is a happy day.”

Leaving prison in an ambulance, not a hearse

Pike, now 50, was 18 when she committed the murder and would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.

But instead she survived two doses of the pentobarbital meant to kill her. She left the prison in an ambulance instead of a hearse.

The Associated Press was among those who witnessed her failed execution. She was already strapped to the gurney, with IV inserted in her arm, when prison officials raised the curtain to the execution room at 7:27 p.m.

Her spiritual adviser was standing beside the gurney near her head. He spoke to her. They sang a song. The lyrics were not audible, but included repeating the phrase — "I love you.” The spiritual adviser stroked her forehead.

Minutes ticked by. She raised her head and looked around; she smiled. Then she said her arm was hurting and asked a prison official in the room if it was supposed to feel that way.

Ten minutes in, at 7:37 p.m., she sighed, the IV in her arm fed from a control room adjacent to the death chamber, separated by a ledge. At 7:41 p.m., a rock or paper weight about the size of a golf ball was placed on the ledge. Prison officials have not confirmed what it means, but its placement appeared to coincide with a direction in the protocol that says after the drugs are administered, a five-minute countdown begins until the curtain is closed.

At 7:46 p.m., officials closed the curtain, blocking the witnesses’ view of the death chamber. Pike’s spiritual adviser left the chamber and sat briefly with her attorney in the media witness room.

The curtain rose again three minutes later. The Tennessee lethal injection protocol calls for a second round of pentobarbital if the inmate is not deceased after the first round.

An hour-plus of what sounded like snoring

Her spiritual adviser returned to the chamber and stood beside Pike with his hands folded. Pike appeared to begin to lose consciousness at some point and started making a sound like snoring. She continued to do so for the next hour, a sign that she was alive long after she was expected to be dead.

Her head raised slightly off the gurney and turned to the side at about 7:56 p.m. She kept breathing.

Officials closed the curtain again at 8:06 p.m.

For the next 40 minutes, Pike could be heard from behind the curtain. She sounded like she was snoring, a rhythmic, regular breathing pattern.

Inside the prison, Pike's attorney, Randy Spivey, later told the media that at about 8:22 p.m. he demanded access to a telephone to contact other lawyers on the team. He said he demanded the execution be halted and that life-saving medical care be given to Pike. He said he received confirmation at about 8:50 p.m. that an ambulance was on the way.

At 8:53 p.m., an announcement came: “Will witnesses please exit the area.” The media was escorted out, and a prison spokesperson said she had no information to provide about what had happened.

Fire trucks and ambulances arrived in front of the prison at around 9:14 p.m. Pike’s attorneys later issued a statement that she had been taken to a hospital and was being treated, though they did not know the specifics of her condition. On Thursday afternoon, they said she was in critical condition receiving medical care.

Governor orders a review

The Tennessee Department of Correction issued a statement saying the department followed protocol.

“The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening,” the agency wrote. “Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility.”

The agency has not said what went wrong. It was the second time this year that Tennessee has been unable to complete an execution, though in the other case, officials couldn’t find a suitable vein for an IV line so the drugs weren’t administered.

Gov. Bill Lee ordered a review and postponed another execution scheduled for later this year, calling what happened in the death chamber “deeply disturbing.”

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, had traveled to Nashville to see the sentence carried out.

"I didn’t get justice for my daughter,” Martinez told the AP by telephone.

“I watched the whole thing. She was awake," Martinez said. "She was moving her head, moving her feet. She was trying to sit up. Didn’t work the first time they gave her a shot. It didn’t work the second time so she’s in the hospital and alive.”

“This isn’t justice for Colleen.”

Florian Wirtz starred as Germany defeated Serbia 2-0 in Munich for Klopp’s first win at the third attempt — staving off an unwanted record.

The 59-year-old Klopp was on the verge of becoming the first Germany coach not to win any of his first three games after opening with a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands last week before Sunday’s shock 1-0 defeat to Greece.

But his team produced a disciplined and intensive game against Serbia, illustrating the high-pressure soccer Klopp wants to instill.

“That’s going in my archive. We’ll make a video out of it now," Klopp said. “That's how we want to play.”

Derry Scherhant, Nick Woltemade and Serge Gnabry all missed good chances for Germany before Tom Bischof broke the deadlock in the 39th on the rebound after Wirtz struck the post.

Klopp sent on Cologne star Said El Mala for his debut after the break. Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig and Freiburg forward Scherhant were already making their Germany debuts.

But it was Wirtz who made it 2-0 from Maximilian Mittelstädt’s cross, taking it past a defender with his first touch and sending it inside the right post with his next.

“It was important to win again, just for the spirit in the team, and to send a signal out that we're good football players and also a good football nation," Wirtz said. “Definitely a step in the right direction.”

Dutch leave it late again

Tijjani Reijnders scored late as the Netherlands fought back to draw 2-2 with Greece in the other Group A2 match — in Thessaloniki.

Fotis Ioannidis scored one goal and set up the other for Greece. Virgil van Dijk netted before the hour mark and Reijnders equalized in the 89th.

The Netherlands also needed a late equalizer against Germany.

Greece remains the surprise leader of Group A2 after away victories over Serbia and Germany.

Portugal moves on from Ronaldo

João Félix sealed Portugal’s 4-2 win over Denmark in Copenhagen, where the visitors were without Ronaldo after he walked out on the team the day before after an apparent rift with coach Jorge Jesus. It has fueled speculation it may be the end for the veteran star.

Gonçalo Ramos, who has taken the 41-year-old forward’s place, set up João Cancelo’s opener, then responded with Portugal’s second goal two minutes after Mikkel Damsgaard equalized in the 23rd.

Rasmus Højlund drew Denmark level again in the 53rd, only for Vitinha to restore Portugal’s lead with a near-post header to Bruno Fernandes’ free kick in the 67th.

Félix made sure of the win in the 87th.

Wales downs Norway

For once, Erling Haaland didn’t score as Wales defeated 10-man Norway 2-1 for its first win in Group A4.

Haaland failed to score for only the second time in his last 18 competitive appearances for his country. He has 65 goals in 58 appearances.

Oscar Bobb got the opener for the visitors in Cardiff, but Daniel James equalized before the break and Norway defender Torbjørn Heggem was sent off for fouling him, before Neco Williams made it 2-1 from the resultant free kick.

Tennis ball protest in Dublin

Protestors calling for Ireland to boycott its upcoming second game against Israel on Sunday interrupted the team's match against Austria by throwing tennis balls with Palestinian flags onto the field during the first half.

One man with a Palestinian flag tried running onto the field before he was tackled by stewards.

Troy Parrott scored two goals — including a brilliant solo opener — only for Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch to respond in the second half for Austria.

Israel and Kosovo drew 0-0 in the other Group B3 game.

Also, visiting Liechtenstein held Azerbaijan 0-0 earlier in Group D2.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Shili Chen and her husband Shouyong Zhang, both 77, appeared in court briefly to ask the judge for more time before entering formal pleas. They were both charged Wednesday with murder after authorities say they both shot their son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, to death Saturday in a public park. The killing came days before he and the couple’s daughter were set for a hearing in a bitter divorce and custody case.

Curtis Briggs, a court-appointed attorney assigned Thursday to Chen’s defense, said the court documents he has reviewed raised concerns that McKinsey was rageful and could not control his temper.

“Court documents show Mr. McKinsey was extremely violent and dangerous to his family,” he said.

Jennie Otis, a public defender representing Zhang, asked the judge on Thursday that he be medically evaluated, though she did not say for what. Otis declined to comment.

Both required Mandarin interpreters in the courtroom.

McKinsey, a 40-year-old gaming engineer for The New York Times, was killed in the parking lot of a sports complex in Dublin, a city east of San Francisco. A police sergeant was driving nearby and saw him on the ground as witnesses began calling 911 and pointing out the couple in their vehicle, who were still near the scene, Dublin Police Services said in a news release.

Police detained the couple as they were driving away in the parking lot and found a gun in Chen’s possession. Prosecutors said Zhang admitted to shooting McKinsey during a later interview, and another firearm was found in the car that he admitted to using during the crime. Prosecutors also said surveillance video was recovered showing both Chen and Zhang shooting the victim.

Court records show McKinsey’s killing came during a contentious divorce with his wife, Candice Jang, and a custody battle over the couple’s three young children. In petitions for restraining orders filed last year, the couple accused each other of physical, emotional and psychological abuse going back more than a decade. McKinsey, who is transgender, alleged that both Jang and her parents were verbally and physically abusive regarding a gender transition he underwent years ago.

McKinsey was arrested last October and charged with misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly hitting their oldest son. Police said he acknowledged having slapped the child. Prosecutors also charged him with endangering their youngest child after deputies responded to the family’s home to talk with him and found their 2-year-old had been left home alone, according to court documents.

McKinsey pleaded not guilty to the charges and alleged in court records that he had been set up by his wife, who had left the house without telling him the child was sleeping in a crib upstairs. He was released from jail on the condition that he complete 12 parenting classes. At the time of his killing, McKinsey was out on bail and had been trying to enter a mental health diversion program.

It was also in October that Jang obtained a domestic violence protection order against McKinsey.

Jang wrote a long list of alleged abuse by McKinsey in her filing, including an instance in 2010 when McKinsey allegedly had grabbed her by the forearms during an argument and caused her to hit the corner of a coffee table, fracturing a vertebra in her upper back. She also said that in 2023 she called the police to their home after McKinsey pushed their oldest son hard on the head. Jang also accused McKinsey of emotionally abusing her mother.

The Associated Press has been unable to reach Jang for comment.

Manager Stephen Vogt also announced on Thursday that Gavin Williams will get the start for Game 2 on Monday.

“They’ve been our two best pitchers. They’ve earned it and then some,” Vogt said before the Guardians held a workout and simulated game. “Just with how the last week went, how the rotation’s kind of set up, it puts them in the best positions for success.”

Ryan Merritt was the last Cleveland rookie pitcher to get a postseason start. He threw 4 1/3 shutout innings in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series against Toronto a decade ago.

Messick went 12-9 in 32 regular-season starts. His 2.56 ERA is the lowest by a rookie pitcher in a single season with a minimum of 30 starts since the Mets' Jon Matlack posted a 2.32 ERA in 1972 when he won NL Rookie of the Year.

It is also the lowest ERA by a Cleveland left-hander since Cliff Lee's 2.54 in 2008.

The 25-year old leads MLB qualified rookies in innings pitched (183 1/3), was second in strikeouts (191), tied for second in wins and ERA and fourth in opponent batting average (.212).

Vogt pointed to Messick's consistency as the most significant reason for starting the series opener.

“He’s taken the ball every time and given us a chance to win. Just the way he pitches, it just felt right to go with Parker,” he said.

This will be the fifth time Messick goes against the White Sox this season. He is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has won his last two starts.

Messick's most recent outing against the White Sox was on Sept. 16, when he went six innings and allowed three runs in a 6-3 victory that sent the Guardians into first place in the AL Central.

Williams went 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA to lead the American League. He was second in the majors with 248 strikeouts.

The right-hander held opposing hitters to a .213 batting average, tied for seventh best in the majors.

“We saw Gavin respond really well with some extra days of rest. So all of that stuff kind of went into play (for the Game 1 and Game 2 decisions),” Vogt said.

With Chicago dispatching Houston in two games, the Guardians got a jump on preparing for their AL Central rival. The White Sox went 7-6 in the season series after Cleveland took 11 of 13 last season.

“What the White Sox have done this year has been really special. I give (general manager) Chris Getz and (manager) Will Venable a ton of credit for what they’ve done. It’s been fun to watch,” Vogt said. “I share this with Will all the time. We enjoy playing each other. They can pound the baseball and they’ve got some really good arms and their defense is good and their roster is very deep. They match up well. So we got our work cut out for us.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The announcement follows a similar finding against the university's medical school and comes as President Donald Trump's administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges' processes for selecting students. The administration also has accused the UC Berkeley Law School and the medical school at the University of California, San Diego, of illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants.

The UCLA School of Law said in a statement that it was committed to making admissions decisions in compliance with all applicable laws.

“Students are admitted through a comprehensive, merit-based review process that considers each applicant’s achievements and experiences,” the statement said. "We are confident in our process.”

Affirmative action in college admissions has been illegal since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling forbade it. The same ruling said colleges could continue to assess how applicants’ backgrounds might speak to broader characteristics, but Trump has accused colleges of using applicants’ personal statements and other proxies to consider race in admissions — which conservatives view as illegal discrimination.

The Justice Department's investigation found UCLA's law school discriminated against white and Asian American students by favoring Black and Hispanic applicants in its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes. Its analysis found the mean LSAT score was lower for admitted Black applicants than for admitted white applicants.

The department also said admissions staff at the law school instructed applicants during recruitment efforts, including one called the “Diversity Admissions Open House,” how to reveal their race in essays.

“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School runs a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance shifts up or down depending on the color of your skin,” said Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department’s Civil Rights Division, in a news release.

California voters ended affirmative action in college admissions in a 1997 ballot measure. In a brief filed in the Supreme Court case, the UC system said the change led to a precipitous drop in underrepresented minorities, especially at the system’s most selective campuses. The brief said UC went on to implement a range of race-neutral measures to increase diversity.

The Trump administration also has sued over the main UCLA campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment. The administration's latest finding sets the stage for a voluntary resolution to bring UCLA into compliance with the Justice Department’s legal interpretation or, if none can be reached, potential legal action.

___

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

In an amended federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, Steve Bray, an Orange County businessperson and Christian philanthropist, accused Feucht of soliciting a $250,000 donation for a 2023 concert tour that had already been fully financed by the late Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA. A federal judge on Sept. 9 had dismissed the original lawsuit Bray brought, citing a lack of specific details and lack of evidence to support the fraud allegations. But he left a door open by giving the plaintiff 20 days to file an amended complaint with more specifics and proof.

According to court documents, Feucht met with Bray in his Anaheim office on March 6, 2023, seeking a donation for his Kingdom to the Capitol Tour, which he planned to take to all 50 states. Bray said in the complaint that he agreed to fund five tour stops for a total of $250,000, but later discovered that Feucht’s entire concert tour had been fully funded.

In a statement issued via his spokesperson, Feucht said he “looks forward to this case being dismissed, just as the last one was.”

“Every dollar given to the Kingdom to the Capitol Tour was used for exactly that purpose – as we completed the historic effort of bringing LET US WORSHIP to all 50 U.S. state capitols throughout 2023-2024. We stand by the work, the mission, and the stewardship behind it. We’re grateful to all the donors who made this historic tour possible.”

On social media, he had celebrated the judge’s Sept. 9 dismissal as “a day of vindication.”

“Case Dismissed! Praise God!” Feucht wrote. “The TRUTH always prevails!”

Bray told The Associated Press on Thursday that he gave Feucht an opportunity to explain how he had used the $250,000 before serving him with the lawsuit. He said Feucht didn’t respond.

“I hate being in legal battles, but this was the last resort,” he said.

Bray said Feucht was persuasive during their meeting in 2023.

“Sean was leading worship and bringing people to the Lord and taking the church to the public square,” he said. “We thought if he’s out there, doing this, let’s help him. That’s how he represented his work and that’s what I believed the money was going for.”

Warren Cole Smith, president of MinistryWatch, a nonprofit accountability watchdog of the nation’s 1,000 largest Christian ministries, said Sean Feucht Ministries triggered red flags when it stopped filing Form 990s after 2020, at a time when its earnings skyrocketed — from $243,000 to $5 million over one year.

The tax forms, which are public record, describe how a nonprofit allocates its money. But religious organizations are not legally required to file Form 990s, and it is legal for pastors to take housing allowances to buy a home or pay rent.

Over the last year, Christian watchdog groups and several former associates have questioned the ministry amassing more than $7 million in real estate and whether ministry funds were mismanaged. These acquisitions ranged from upscale homes in Southern California and hunting properties in Montana to hundreds of acres in a scenic region known as the “Swiss Alps of Texas.”

Some former associates have also alleged that Feucht abused them emotionally and spiritually. Feucht has dismissed those accusations as being made by “disgruntled former volunteers.” He has also said recently that his ministry will continue acquiring real estate across the country.

Smith said he doesn’t believe that the lawsuit’s dismissal vindicates Feucht in any way.

“All our concerns about his ministry and the lack of accountability still stand,” he said.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Just four minutes before clearing the plane for landing, an air traffic controller had provided a wind advisory to a different flight, noting gusts of up to 25 mph (40 kph) from the south. But the controller “did not issue information about the wind” to the pilots of the Amazon cargo plane, the report said.

According to federal regulations, “both wind direction and velocity were required to be stated when authorizing use of a runway when a tail wind component exists,” the NTSB report said.

The preliminary report did not list a cause of the crash. The ongoing investigation could take more than a year to complete.

The airplane, carrying packages of contact lenses for Amazon, came in fast after a flight from Puerto Rico and barreled roughly 1,200 feet (366 meters) past the end of the runway at Miami International Airport on Sept. 6. It smashed into a van carrying workers for a company that cleans airplanes. Five people who were in the van died. Two others in the van sustained serious injuries, as did the driver of a car that was hit by the plane. The two pilots had minor injuries.

Tail winds can make landing a plane harder

Experts said it appears the weather played at least some role in the accident. Tail winds can make it harder to slow a plane and push it past an ideal landing spot on a runway.

“When you’ve got winds like that, it is your responsibility as a controller to issue that to a pilot, especially on landing and especially when you have gusts,” said Tony Mello, a former Federal Aviation Administration official who oversaw air traffic control services in the central U.S.

Landing with a gusting tail wind “requires more concentration on the part of the pilot” but is not impossible, said former NTSB member John Goglia.

Failing to share the wind conditions “was a significant omission but, in and of itself, would not have caused a crash,” Goglia said. “Every crash is a chain of events. That’s just one event.”

The plane had little runway left when it touched down

A summary of cockpit voice recordings previously released by the NTSB said one of the pilots repeatedly warned his counterpart that they were going too fast as they approached for landing and after touchdown. But the fellow pilot never gave “a consistent verbal response” to the warnings, the NTSB said. The two pilots had flown together for the first time just earlier that day, according to the preliminary NTSB report.

The cockpit audio recordings also captured a series of automated warnings from the plane about the speed of descent and the approaching terrain.

When it touched down, the plane was traveling at 184 mph (296 kph) and was already about three-quarters of a mile past the start of the runway, the NTSB report said.

The pilots may have tried too late to abort the landing. Data from the plane show its wheel brakes were applied, then released as the engines throttled to “go-around” thrust values before the brakes again were applied with about 415 feet (126 meters) of runway remaining.

The plane ran off the pavement while still traveling at 130 mph (209 kph), then struck some airport equipment and the cleaning crew’s van before crashing through a perimeter fence, hitting a car on a public road and coming to rest with its nose in a parking lot fence, the preliminary report said.

Plane's operator says it is focused on safety

After the crash, Amazon suspended its partnership with 21 Air, which operated the plane. The North Carolina carrier had flown packages for Amazon since 2024. The Boeing 767 that crashed was 32 years old and originally built to carry passengers. It was converted to a cargo plane in June 2016, the preliminary NTSB report said.

The plane’s operator, 21 Air, said in a written statement Thursday that safety is “a core focus” of its organization.

“We are reviewing the information in the NTSB preliminary report closely, alongside our own internal safety and operational protocols, and we will take all appropriate action to improve our safety based on the facts as they are established,” the company said.

The Miami crash came less than a year after a UPS cargo plane crashed at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport after losing its engine while accelerating down the runway. That crash killed all three pilots and 12 people on the ground. Twenty-three more were injured.

___

Associated Press transportation writer Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska.

Her mother had breast cancer in 2022, so she got in the habit of doing self-exams. Last year, “Mari” pressed down with her fingers in the shower when she felt the lump that changed her life.

“I felt a small lump the size of about a marble on my left breast,” she said as TikTok user “MariXXaran.”

Mari said her health insurance company didn’t make it easy for her to schedule a mammogram after her primary care physician decided the lump she had found required one.

“We need to advocate for more screenings, for earlier screenings,” she said on TikTok.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which influences how insurers define coverage, recommends routine average-risk screening starting at age 40, but historically recommended starting at 50.

“Following a mammogram and ultrasound, there was obviously something found in both imaging, which is when my doctor decided that I needed to do a biopsy,” she said on TikTok.

“Mari” said the tumor in her left breast was larger than 2 inches, or about 6 centimeters. Healthcare providers took a tissue sample and examined it under a microscope.

She had felt the lump in mid-July 2025. Her diagnosis on Sept. 3, 2025: Triple-negative, an invasive type with cancerous cells that lack estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 protein receptors.

She said she dropped out of her graduate program after meeting with an oncologist.

“The first thing they will tell you is that your fertility could be affected. That was the toughest pill to swallow for me. I don’t remember crying much for the cancer, but it did hit me pretty hard when my doctor told me that I needed to look into options and that I needed to act quickly,” she said on TikTok.

Since cancer treatment can damage the ovaries, reduce egg counts, or induce early menopause, “Mari” started fertility treatment on Sept. 5, 2025. With the help of ovarian stimulation medications, her doctor was able to retrieve 13 unfertilized mature eggs and freeze them for future use.

“I am so grateful I was able to do that because my dream has always been to start a family,” she said on TikTok.

On Thursday, at 23, her treatment plan, so far, has included chemotherapy, surgery to remove both breasts, radiation, and immunotherapy, according to U-Health.

“I just hope that next year, in my second year since being diagnosed, my life is a lot different because right now I am really going through it,” she said on TikTok.

Breast cancer awareness: Facts to know

• Breast cancers in women under 40 are more likely to have features that can contribute to poorer prognoses and outcomes: larger tumor size, advanced tumor stage, negative hormone receptor status,
• The breast cancer incidence rate in women under 50 has been rising faster than in women over 50
• Rates of metastatic breast cancer in women under 40 have risen
• Women under 50 are now nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer compared to men of the same ages

Source: The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

The National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday advanced the proposal for the screening facility, which the administration has said would be an improvement over temporary structures long used for security, such as tents and bicycle racks fashioned into barriers. The White House wants it open by July 2028, six months before President Donald Trump would finish out his second term.

The administration says the permanent facility, which it wants open by July 2028, will replace a series of temporary tents that have been used for years, improve security on the White House complex and enhance the experience for visitors.

The project — a collaboration of the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Secret Service and the National Park Service, which manages the White House grounds — comes as security for Trump is a top concern. He has been the target of multiple assassination attempts, including two during the 2024 campaign and a third this past April as he attended a Washington dinner with White House journalists.

Those concerns were heightened in May after U.S. Secret Service officers fatally shot a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.

The 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) facility, which will provide security screening for public tour participants, guests attending large events, staff and contractors going to the White House, would be built beneath Sherman Park, located southeast of the White House and directly south of the Treasury building.

The park had long been the place where White House tourists and guests lined up for security checks before clearing a series of trailer-like structures and walking to the East Wing entrance.

After Trump tore down the East Wing last fall to build a ballroom, visitors have been lining up near Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. An architect for the screening facility said Thursday that some of the design had been tweaked to match elements of the massive White House ballroom currently under construction where the East Wing used to stand.

The panel, which has oversight over the design of construction on federal land in Washington, granted initial approval for the facility's revised design earlier this year. Commission member Evan Cash suggested a tour of the site, to which other members agreed.

Part of that tour, members said, could include the White House ballroom site, where construction has been allowed to continue as lawsuits over it play out, under a ruling a month ago by a divided Supreme Court.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

During Clancy's first trial, which ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury, her defense argued that she was not criminally responsible because of a mental disease, specifically a rare condition called postpartum psychosis. As such, the defense didn’t dispute that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse carried out the killings at her family's Massachusetts home in 2023.

However, in a hearing earlier this week, Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington tried to persuade the judge that prosecutors had not offered any proof that Clancy did it. Prosecutors argued there was plenty of evidence, calling Reddington’s claim “laughable.”

___

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

___

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether they will put the case in front of a jury for a second time. They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or seek to try her only on lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case entirely.

In his ruling Thursday, Judge William Sullivan noted that for the purposes of his decision, he was required to analyze the evidence in the light most favorable to prosecutors — and that it was up to the jury, not the judge, to decide whether to believe expert witnesses for the defense who testified that Clancy was not responsible for her actions because of mental illness.

“There was evidence introduced, both physical and circumstantial, that would permit a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the charge of murder,” Sullivan wrote.

At the first trial, prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had mental health problems that included months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital, but argued that she knew what she was doing when she strangled the children — the youngest just 8 months old — then tried to kill herself.

Sullivan had declared a mistrial with the jury split 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting Clancy of murder charges.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Reddington suggested the entire case “was based on speculation” and listed shortcomings in the prosecution's case. There was almost no police investigation, he claimed, and significant questions revolving around Clancy’s condition outside the night of the killings and her lack of memory of what happened.

At the trial, jurors heard testimony that Clancy said she heard voices instructing her to kill 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy. Her DNA was found on exercise bands used to strangle them. Before the trial, Reddington himself filed a motion in which he said Clancy was willing to stipulate, in writing, to her involvement in the children’s deaths.

“For the first time, the defendant is arguing that there is no evidence she did this,” Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham told the judge. “I’d suggest to you the entire record is voluminous as to information supporting the fact that she did this.”

Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

Clancy could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder. If acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.

Her former husband, Patrick Clancy, who discovered the children's bodies, has said in interviews that he forgives her. The livestreamed trial generated intense public interest and drew attention to maternal mental health after childbirth.

The software vulnerability does not allow votes to be changed or cast doubt on election results, but it could let someone see how others voted. That's important because ballot secrecy is a fundamental right under the state constitution and violations could create an opening for legal challenges.

A lack of ballot secrecy also can increase the danger of coercion to vote a certain way by family members or employers.

Last week, the Georgia Republican Party and Republican National Committee asked the election board to require county election officials to collect and shuffle ballots at polling sites before they are cast. That would prevent anyone from linking voters to their ballots by determining the time their vote was cast, the two groups said.

Janelle King, one of four Republicans on the five-member board, said during a meeting Thursday that such a requirement would impose new burdens on county election officials, including possibly having to hire additional poll workers. She also raised concerns about ballots falling out during the shuffling process and then going uncounted.

“I just have some major concerns about whether or not we are creating more problems while we are trying to address a problem that is an important issue,” she said.

Carolyn Roddy, who was appointed to the election board by the Republican Party, said she had previously opposed a similar proposal and did not see any reason to change her position.

She called the risk of coercion by family members or bosses a “small thing” that she didn’t think would affect the outcome of an election. The RNC proposal “does more harm than good,” she said, noting it would go into effect just days before early voting was set to begin.

Georgia is a presidential battleground state with one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. Senate races this year. Early voting starts Oct. 13.

“I’m not saying that ballot secrecy is not important, but I think, ‘Cause no harm,’ is a great motto to take in this,” Roddy said.

Despite her criticism of the RNC's plan, Roddy said she also remains concerned that the software flaw has not been fixed.

Earlier this week, she and other Republican board members voted separately for a resolution that urges Georgia's secretary of state to upgrade voting software to address it and other vulnerabilities. The resolution also called on the board's executive director to seek help for the effort from the Trump administration.

The board's lone Democrat, Sara Ghazal, said it was too close to the midterm elections for a software update and that she opposed federal intervention in state elections. An election security expert, Ben Adida, told the board Thursday the state had already taken steps to reduce risks to the voting system and that a software update days ahead of a major election could cause bigger problems.

The ballot secrecy flaw in Georgia's voting system has received increased attention as Election Day has drawn closer. Under the state's system, ballots that display voters' choices and electronic ballot images created by the scanners that read them are randomized. But the equipment's software flaw allows them to be put back in the order they were cast, according to a report by researchers who discovered it in 2022.

With the use of other publicly available data, someone could determine the order in which people voted and then match them to the specific ballots they cast. Use of artificial intelligence could accelerate the process.

The board adjourned Thursday without taking a vote on the proposal by the RNC and the Georgia Republican Party, both of which did not immediately return requests for comment.

In remarks at a foreign policy forum, Putin accused the West and Europe of escalating tensions by talking about preparing for a war with Moscow in the coming years, conducting military drills in the Baltic Sea, and seizing Russian vessels.

His remarks followed Moscow's warning to NATO that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad should any members of the military alliance try to cut off the Baltic exclave from the rest of Russia.

Several Russian embassies in Europe this week issued statements that said Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and (the) Kaliningrad region.”

They accused European leaders of “playing a dangerous game” by saying Russia might attack another country or ramp up a campaign of destabilizing attacks with drones and sabotage. Moscow has called the allegations absurd.

“There should be no mistake — Russia would be ready to use all its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate (the) Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country,” the Russian Embassy in Ireland said in its statement on Tuesday.

Asked at the Valdai Club forum Thursday whether Russia was on the cusp of a war with NATO or whether both were trying to intimidate each other, Putin said: “It's not intimidation, it’s a response to an attempt to intimidate us.”

Putin said that “everything is written correctly” in the earlier warning to NATO.

“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation — in this case we mean Kaliningrad, or maybe some other territories — of course, inevitably and immediately the question of Russian Federation using all weapons at the disposal of our country will appear on the agenda,” he said.

Putin didn’t specify whether Moscow would use nuclear weapons but said it has arms that “no one else has” and would determine which to use in case of an attack.

NATO pushed back against Russian nuclear rhetoric

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed Wednesday that Russia had sent a written message to the U.S.-led military alliance. “We strongly denounce the threat of force, including any irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” she said in a statement.

Hart insisted NATO is not targeting Kaliningrad and had sent a reply noting that “NATO is a defensive alliance and none of our activities or exercises pose a risk to any part of Russia.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday the bloc's response to the message was “short and concise."

“Basically what we said is, ‘Hey, listen, we are defensive alliance, and stop the nuclear threat. This is absolutely not called for and not helpful,’” Rutte told Euronews.

NATO's response also urged Russia to stop its “unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine,” now in its fifth year.

The Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad sits between NATO members Poland and Lithuania. It is home to Russia’s main Baltic navy base and other military assets, and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles are deployed there.

Western military officers have said that key military installations in Kaliningrad would be a likely first target should Russia ever attack any NATO ally.

NATO allies have conducted military exercises in the Baltic Sea region in recent months. More are planned in October. It launched Operation Baltic Sentry there last year to protect communication cables and pipelines.

On Aug. 18, NATO held an exercise over northern Poland and the Baltic region involving several aircraft, including an EA-37B Compass Call — a sophisticated American plane that can jam communications and radar, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe said.

Defense analysts believe the unannounced, large-scale exercise would not have been welcomed by the Kremlin.

Rutte urges continued focus on supporting Ukraine

European leaders and intelligence services have warned that Russia could be ready to strike at another country within a few years, especially if it wins its war on Ukraine.

Rutte told Euronews that Russia is trying “to divide us and lose the focus” on defending Ukraine.

“We will not,” he said, adding that the best way to respond is to provide Kyiv with more support.

“That’s the message. Calm, carry on, keep the support for Ukraine going. That’s how we deal with it," Rutte said.

——

Associated Press reporter Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.

Leer en español

Authorities said the case against Renel Troutman, 24, came amid an investigation into a “criminal organization” operating within the MDCR system.

“The organization relied upon incarcerated participants, outside organizers, narcotics suppliers, couriers, financial intermediaries, bettors and compromised correctional employees to acquire, transport, introduce, distribute, and finance narcotics and contraband within MDCR facilities,” a federal criminal complaint states.

Troutman was one of those “compromised” jailers, authorities said.

‘5-8 of them thangs’: Jailer helped smuggle drug-laced paper, authorities say

According to the complaint, Troutman worked with an unnamed “principal outside organizer who coordinated narcotics quantities, pricing, deliveries, payments, wagers, and outstanding balances with inmates and outside associates, while communicating with correctional personnel concerning institutional access, timing, inmate movement, and concealment.”

Authorities said Troutman used his knowledge and access to help smuggle in narcotics-laced paper containing the synthetic cannabinoid K2.

They said text message evidence showed Troutman communicating with the organizer and messages “repeatedly referred to ‘papers,’ ‘sheets,’ ‘big s---s,’ “drops,’ ‘scrolls,’ quantities such as ‘5–8 of them thangs’ and ’16 for 35,’ and difficulty ‘fitting 3 in a glove.’”

At one point, authorities said Troutman discussed concealing a shipment within a Panda Express delivery after telling the organizer that his colleagues were “unlikely to open a plate of food.”

They said electronic payment records also tied the individual to Troutman and said the “communications occurred against the backdrop of laboratory-confirmed seizures of synthetic-cannabinoid-laced paper from” the group.

Two seizures mentioned in the complaint, on Feb. 26, 2025 and Aug. 7, 2025, netted sheets of narcotics-laced paper, each representing thousands of individual doses.

The complaint also states Troutman discussed keeping his “face clean” and instructed that messages be deleted after use.

‘Madden’ and ‘Fool’: Allegations include ties to inmate gambling operation

Authorities said he also participated in the organization’s “gambling and related financial operation involving incarcerated bettors” and evidence showed that he communicated with the organizer “concerning wagers, balances, payments, and collection activity.”

Agents said evidence showed Troutman sending the organizer “an accounting identifying outstanding balances of $300 associated with ‘Madden,’ $300 associated with ‘Fool,’ and $2,400 associated with another inmate.” Agents said the organizer sent information on “Fool,” an inmate, including “housing location, psychiatric classification, telephone access, and anticipated movement within MDCR,” in order to help Troutman find him in the jail.

Communications also showed that the two “continued placing and discussing new wagers, including Hard Rock Bet wagers, sports selections, wager amounts, live betting, profit targets, and recurring wagering profits,” according to the complaint.

‘Put a switch on that s---’: Texts show gun discussions, agents say

According to the complaint, messages also tied Troutman to “firearms activity,” including discussions about machine-gun-conversion devices referred to as “switches.”

In one instance, messages showed Troutman explaining that he had a “plug” for switches ― a source capable of supplying them.

“Investigators separately identified an exchange in which (Troutman) told (the organizer), ‘You know why I’m hitting your phone,’ followed by a communication referring to ‘guns,’” the complaint states.

In the complaint, investigators included a text message transcript in which they said Troutman texted the individual, “How imma be looking if a n---a play and try to come in the crib,” followed by three laughing emojis and a photo of Troutman holding a shotgun.

“Put a switch on that s---,” agents said the organizer replied.

According to the complaint, Troutman said he had a “plug” for handguns but “(I don’t know) one for shotguns.”

‘You’ve seen the picture’: What agents say C.O. told them

Authorities said they conducted a search warrant on Troutman’s home on Wednesday and took him into custody.

They said he admitted to learning about the organizer “through an inmate approximately a year and a half earlier and acknowledged using the Hard Rock Bet gambling platform” and “acknowledged his operational role in the Enterprise’s gambling activity.”

Troutman, agents said, “initially attempted to limit his explanation to ‘the bookie,’ but ultimately explained, ‘You can’t put a slip in or anything and you can’t bet without me,’” going on to admit that the organizer’s “Hard Rock account was unusable and that (he) could not wager without (Troutman), including when an inmate associate directed (Troutman) to have (the organizer) ‘put a ticket in.’”

They said Troutman’s explanation for communicating with said “inmate associate” was, “I talk to a lot of people while at work,” saying he did so “to pass the time.”

Authorities said when questioning him about the drugs, however, he tried to claim that messages referring to “sheets” pertained to betting slips.

However, agents said they confronted Troutman with messages regarding “the physical preparation of the ‘papers’ and ‘sheets,’” which “discussed whether the material was the correct size, whether it was too large or too small, its physical thickness, folding it smaller, and physically compressing it.”

“Among other statements, the communications included: ‘That’s good size,’ ‘(t)o(o) big or too small,’ ‘it’s hard to get this s--- real small these s---s kinda thick,’ ‘I can prolly go run it over a few times,’ and ‘Ima try to fold it one more time and go run it over,’” the complaint states.

Troutman then replied by saying the organizer was “trying to make it more than betting” and that he “tried to make (Troutman) ‘do things he doesn’t need to be doing.’”

“When investigators asked what kinds of things (the organizer) was trying to make him do, (Troutman) responded, ‘you’ve seen the picture,’” the complaint states.

Authorities said he departed from his betting explanation after being shown a text message from the organizer stating, “I can’t make that s--- no smaller bro the papers don’t bend that small.”

“I don’t think I should go into detail,” Troutman is accused of telling agents.

Agents concluded that Troutman’s “own admissions and explanations are consistent with the narcotics evidence developed during the investigation.”

Charges could lead to hefty prison term

He now faces federal charges of conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right, conspiracy and racketeering promotion.

He could face decades in prison if convicted.

Troutman was initially booked into the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, but no longer appeared in BSO inmate records as of Thursday afternoon.

Records show his case is being prosecuted in Miami federal court. The federal court docket did not immediately list any upcoming appearances as of Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, an MDCR spokesperson confirmed Troutman’s arrest and said he “has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation.”

“MDCR takes matters involving employee conduct very seriously and remains committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining the public’s trust,” the statement read. “The matter is currently under active investigation by the FBI and administrative review by MDCR. To protect the integrity of the investigation, MDCR is unable to provide additional details at this time.”

The agency spokesperson directed any further inquiries to the FBI.

Golden State's Gabby Williams finished second with 20 votes and Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson was third. Wilson won the award in 2022 and 2023 and shared the honor with Minnesota's Alanna Smith last year.

Reese, a three-time All-Star, helped the Dream advance to the WNBA playoff semifinals for the first time since 2018 in her first year with the franchise.

Atlanta will host Game 1 of the semifinals on Sunday against New York, which swept Minnesota to become the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league’s 30-year history.

The 24-year-old Reese grabbed a league-high 12.1 rebounds a game, ranked third in the league with 1.8 steals a game in her third season and helped the Dream have the third-best defensive rating in the WNBA. The 6-foot-4 forward broke single-season league records with 521 rebounds and 206 offensive rebounds and set a WNBA record with 26 rebounds in a game.

Reese spent the first two years of her career in Chicago before going to the Dream in an offseason trade. She flourished in her new surroundings, once again leading the league in rebounding and emerging as one of the top defenders in the WNBA.

The Dream acquired her in a trade with the Sky in April for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028.

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

He didn't have to wait long.

Harris hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Chris Sale came out of the bullpen on one day of rest to get the final four outs and the Braves beat the Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night in the decisive Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series.

Surprise starter Ray Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings for Atlanta, and Ozzie Albies launched a two-run homer in the fourth. Matt Olson added a solo shot in the seventh as the Braves advanced to a best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I told our guys, `Man, all year long when the stakes have been the highest, when the challenges have been the toughest, we’ve been at our absolute best.' So it doesn’t surprise me that we played the way we did tonight,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said.

Harris has hit .426 with two homers and five RBIs in his first eight career postseason games, but he wanted to move past the two double plays in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss in 10 innings that forced Thursday night’s game.

“Just found one pitch to put my best swing on and hopefully we got some runs out of it, and we did,” said Harris, who connected off Aaron Nola.

The Braves took a postseason series for the first time since winning the 2021 World Series and earned their first playoff series win against the Phillies. Philadelphia beat Atlanta in the 1993 NL Championship Series and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.

“Definitely feels amazing to win against the Phillies because they were the ones that sent us home previous years, and especially at home,” Albies said.

After winning the NL East by six games over Philadelphia this year, the Braves came out on top in their postseason matchup, too.

“Those guys kind of went start to finish in this division,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Over the course of the 162 (games), they were the best team in our division.”

Nola was pulled after allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings. He walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Olson with one out in the first before giving up the homer to Harris,

Kerr made his postseason debut in only his fourth career start. Weiss wanted a left-hander to face Phillies left-handed hitters Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at least once.

Mattingly acknowledged that Kerr pitching long enough to face Schwarber and Harper twice was a perfect script for a Braves win.

“Obviously, it’s nice,” Mattingly said. “When you’re in that situation where you can run through your lefties again at the top is probably the best-case scenario, and he was able to do that.”

Kerr allowed only one hit — to Schwarber in the first — and one walk — to Schwarber in the fourth. Right-hander Grant Holmes followed Kerr and allowed one run in two innings to earn the win.

Kerr left to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd and acknowledged the cheers by lifting up his arm as he approached the dugout.

“Hopefully, Ray Kerr became a bit of a household name tonight,” Weiss said. “He deserves it.”

The 37-year-old Sale, who started Atlanta's 5-3 win in Tuesday's series opener, struck out Harper to end the eighth and closed out the series in the ninth by striking out Bryan De La Cruz and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp.

The ace left-hander threw 95 pitches over 6 1/3 innings Tuesday. Two days later, he threw 21 pitches in his first relief appearance of the year.

Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, the winning pitcher in Sunday's 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay that clinched the wild-card spot, walked Austin Riley in the fourth before giving up Albies' homer to right field that gave Atlanta a 5-0 lead. Wheeler allowed two runs in four innings. Jonathan Bowlan, Philadelphia's fourth pitcher, gave up Olson's homer to center field.

Kerr, 32, flourished in the postseason spotlight. He pitched in only nine games after being recalled by Atlanta on Aug. 16. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024 and didn’t pitch in 2025.

Kerr said he was told Wednesday he would start on Thursday.

“It was fun. It was a journey," Kerr said of his path back to the majors. “I’ve dreamed about stuff like this. For it to actually happen, I still haven’t even processed yet.”

Philadelphia's 2022 World Series loss to Houston began a streak of five straight postseason appearances with progressively quicker exits — the NL Championship Series, two NLDS exits and now the Wild Card Series loss.

“If you don’t win the last game, it’s a crash landing no matter what. It doesn’t matter where it is,” Mattingly said.

Night game brings quick sellout

The game drew a sellout of 41,731 after the Braves fell short of sellouts in the first two games of the series, with school and work conflicting with the 2:15 p.m. first pitch for many fans. Afternoon starts also hurt attendance in other Wild Card Series games this week.

The announced attendance at Truist Park was 30,127 on Tuesday and 37,150 on Wednesday.

Injury update

Edmundo Sosa remained in the Phillies' starting lineup at third base after he appeared to aggravate a groin injury running to first base and left Wednesday's game in the ninth inning. Weiss said Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle, who allowed only one run in seven innings on Wednesday despite feeling an abdominal pull in pregame warmups, was “feeling pretty good” on Thursday.

Up next

The Braves will play at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in the opening game of their Division Series against the two-time defending World Series champions.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

In an interview, Moore, a Democrat, criticized President Donald Trump's meeting with AI executives at the White House this week as a “billionaire boys club." He was also critical of Congress for leaving Washington until after next month's midterms without addressing the rapidly evolving technology.

“The federal government has a unique leadership role that they have to play and that includes both the White House and Congress,” Moore said after speaking at an innovation conference in Baltimore. “In the absence of that, the governors cannot just sit on our hands.”

Moore is the chair of the National Governors Association this year and said his co-chair, Republican Gov. Mike Braun of Indiana, would partner with him in developing an AI framework. Other governors from both parties are planning to participate, Moore said.

Increasingly dire warnings from tech executives that AI could pose an existential threat to humanity have tested the ability of governments at all levels to respond nimbly to fast-moving developments. So far, states have been more active than the federal government, but their power is limited when it comes to dealing with a technology that spans the country and the globe.

In the past month, governors in Maryland, California, Illinois, Oregon and Virginia have issued executive orders or taken other steps intended to create some standards for the technology. Republicans have been among those taking action at the state level with governors including Spencer Cox of Utah and Greg Abbott of Texas cracking down on data center development.

However, the action has been much slower in Washington. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hosted a briefing with lawmakers and experts last month and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has launched an investigation into OpenAI. There has been little agreement, however, on a legislative response.

At the White House, Trump has dismissed AI fears as a “hoax” and emphasized the need to remain competitive with technology developed in China. He is one of the few prominent leaders who continues to boost data centers.

Trump and tech leaders signed a voluntary accord this week that he called “morally binding” and will include internal and external reviews. After meeting with the leaders, the president praised the industry for engaging in “tremendous self-policing.”

“Who in the room was advocating for more transparency or more regulatory guardrails?” Moore said of the White House meeting. “What the president did in no way, shape or form made me feel like what the governors are now doing was now unnecessary.”

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The debate over responding to artificial intelligence could play an important role in the early stages of the next presidential campaign. Moore has said he's not running for president and is focused on this year's midterms, when he is on the ballot for reelection in Maryland.

Whoever enters the field could face scrutiny for past moves including support for data centers, which were once seen as economic booms for states but have since become broadly unpopular. Moore is among the governors who has become more critical of data centers, signing an executive order last month establishing new rules to govern them.

He has also called on state lawmakers to repeal a tax exemption that was passed before he took office.

In the interview, Moore acknowledged the “speed of this technology that is moving at such a rapid clip.” He said that elements of an AI executive order he signed in 2024 are “antiquated now.”

“The operations might move,” he said. “But my values will never move.”

The church's owner — a nonprofit formed by Roman Catholic priests — claims the Kentucky Supreme Court misconstrued a federal law and erroneously ruled against its plan to build a shrine on a residential plot that it bought for the project.

The nation's highest court will hear arguments in the coming months in its latest case involving religious rights.

The petitioners, Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, argue that they have a right to build the shrine behind their church as part of their "religious mission." They say a federal law can, under certain circumstances, bar governments from implementing land use regulations that impose a “substantial burden” on religious expression.

The state's highest court concluded last December that a zoning board in Park Hills, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, lacked the authority to grant a variance allowing the church's owner to build the shrine on a residential tract.

The church group argues that the Kentucky Supreme Court's decision conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and other appellate rulings.

“The conflict among lower courts is deeply entrenched and widely acknowledged,” the group's lawyers wrote.

A neighborhood family, concerned that the project would exacerbate traffic problems, successfully challenged the zoning board's decision in state court. The family also opposed the group's Supreme Court petition, arguing there is no basis for the nation's highest court to intervene in the local zoning dispute.

The opponents say the church group knew that zoning ordinances barred it from building the shrine on neighboring residential land when it acquired the property. The opponents also argue that the group hasn't demonstrated why it couldn't build the shrine on church land.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

Rachel, que estaba a unos 380 kilómetros (235 millas) del extremo sur de la península de Baja California, continuaba avanzando en dirección oeste-noroeste a 6 kilómetros/hora (3 mph), y se espera que gane fuerza el viernes antes de empezar a debilitarse el fin de semana, apuntó el NHC.

Los vientos máximos sostenidos del meteoro eran de 193 km/h (120 mph) el viernes por la tarde. Según la previsión, Rachel dejará oleaje y corrientes de resaca potencialmente letales frente a la costa de México, advirtió el NHC.

Las autoridades mexicanas dijeron el jueves que se mantienen en alerta debido a los pronósticos de lluvias muy intensas en los estados de Baja California Sur, Sinaloa y Jalisco, y la posibilidad de deslaves, aumento del nivel de los ríos, desbordamientos e inundaciones en zonas bajas.

La embajada de Estados Unidos en México advirtió el miércoles por la noche a sus ciudadanos en Cabos San Lucas, un popular destino vacacional, sobre cierres de playas y puertos y corrientes de resaca mortales.

El Pacífico ha registrado una temporada de huracanes inusualmente activa que los expertos han atribuido al fenómeno climático de El Niño, que ha alimentado sequías devastadoras en México y Centroamérica e inundaciones en otras partes de la región. En el Pacífico, ha calentado las aguas y provocado patrones de viento que sirven de combustible para los huracanes.

La tormenta tropical Nolo continuaba avanzando hacia el noroeste el jueves, alejándose de Hawai, aunque el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional dijo que podría ganar fuerza hasta convertirse en huracán para el fin de semana.

El norte de México aún se recupera de Polo

Zonas del norte de México seguían recuperándose de las inundaciones y la destrucción causada por Polo. Cientos de personas seguían desplazadas o tenían sus viviendas destruidas, y al menos 13 municipios seguían anegados el jueves por la noche, de acuerdo con las autoridades locales.

Lucía Vegas, quien vive en el pequeño poblado de Bacabachi, en el estado fronterizo de Sonora, dijo que fue un milagro que sobreviviera a las graves inundaciones que arrasaron su comunidad. Ella, su esposo y tres hijos se quedaron sin hogar.

La familia logró sobrevivir gracias a su perro, agregó. En mitad de la noche, mientras el nivel del agua subía, el perro la despertó sacudiéndose el agua, lo que dio a la familia tiempo suficiente para subir por una escalera hasta el tejado de la vivienda unos minutos antes de que quedara completamente inundada.

Los remanentes de Polo empapan el centro de EEUU

Partes de Texas, Nebraska, Iowa y Missouri seguían bajo alerta por inundaciones el jueves por la tarde, mientras los remanentes de la tormenta continuaban azotando la región, anegando calles y vecindarios y motivando rescates acuáticos.

El miércoles fue el día más lluvioso registrado en Lincoln, Nebraska, con 15,4 centímetros (6,1 pulgadas) de agua, según la Oficina del Clima de la Universidad de Nebraska-Lincoln.

En Omaha, donde se registraron 11,9 cms (4,7 pulgadas) de lluvia el miércoles, el departamento de bomberos dijo que respondió a 80 rescates acuáticos durante un periodo de tres horas hasta la madrugada del jueves. En algunos puntos, la crecida tenía una profundidad de 2,4 metros (8 pies). Las escuelas permanecieron abiertas. Pero muchos autobuses no pudieron salir de estacionamientos anegados, lo que llevó a las autoridades a pedir a los padres que llevaran a sus hijos a los centros.

San Antonio, Texas, que estaba bajo aviso de inundaciones repentinas hasta la tarde del jueves, instó a los residentes a evitar desplazamientos innecesarios durante episodios de lluvia intensa. Más de 19.000 residentes en todo el estado estaban sin electricidad a última hora del día, indicó PowerOutage.us. Videos publicados en redes sociales mostraban inundaciones en Texas creando olas a lo largo de la Interestatal 35 en Denton.

En Chicago, una empresa de servicios públicos de tratamiento de aguas residuales y gestión de aguas pluviales instó a los residentes a controlar el consumo de agua para evitar inundaciones y el reflujo de aguas pluviales.

“Los animamos a conservar agua cuando sea posible para crear más capacidad en nuestros sistemas”, manifestó la presidenta de la empresa de servicios públicos, Kari K. Steele, en un comunicado el miércoles.

En Kansas, la gobernadora, Laura Kelly, emitió una declaración de emergencia el miércoles antes de las tormentas para permitir la movilización de recursos estatales para ayudar a los socorristas en las comunidades más afectadas.

___

Raza informó desde Sioux Falls, Dakota del Sur, y Castellón desde Bacabachi, México. El periodista de The Associated Press John Raby en Cross Lanes, Virginia Occidental, contribuyó a este despacho.

___

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

Leer en español

Video obtained by Local 10 News shows North Miami Beach police entering an apartment and finding four children home alone while their mother was away on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas, according to investigators.

Nathalie Belizaire, 29, was arrested Monday after returning to PortMiami from a cruise to the Bahamas. She faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, jail records show.

Belizaire told reporters after leaving jail Tuesday night that arrangements had been made for someone to care for the children. She also accused the father of her youngest child of setting her up.

The father, speaking to Local 10 News by phone through a translator, gave a different account.

He said Belizaire contacted him Thursday and asked whether he could watch their 2-month-old daughter. He said he told her he could not and understood that she planned to ask her mother to care for the children.

The children have different fathers, according to police.

The father said he later contacted the grandmother and learned she did not have the children. He then went to the family’s apartment in the area of Northeast 15th Avenue and 170th Street.

He said he did not have a key but could see the children inside the apartment. Video he provided to Local 10 News shows the children apparently watching television inside.

Concerned about his infant daughter, he called police.

North Miami Beach police said officers responded Saturday and forced their way into the apartment. Officers reported finding four children, including the 2-month-old, inside. Some of the children were found “hiding” in a bathroom, according to the arrest report.

Police said Belizaire had left Friday and was expected to return Monday.

The mother was aboard the Carnival Conquest, a cruise ship that sailed from Miami to the Bahamas, according to authorities. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies waited for her at PortMiami when the ship returned Monday, the arrest report states.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection held Belizaire before North Miami Beach police took her into custody, according to the report.

Belizaire’s public defender told a judge Tuesday that she denied the allegations.

During a hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer questioned why the four children had been left alone.

“The poor kids were home alone,” Glazer said.

Glazer issued four stay-away orders and set Belizaire’s bond at $10,000. Miami-Dade County jail records show she was booked Monday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

The father said he did not intend to set Belizaire up and contacted police because he was concerned about his daughter.

He said he did not know who was caring for the other children after learning that their grandmother did not have them.

The case has since spread widely across social media, with questions about the circumstances surrounding the police call and Belizaire’s claim that someone was supposed to be watching the children.

Local 10 News reached out to Belizaire for comment Wednesday, but she declined to speak.

The troop movement, which includes a third aircraft carrier, underscores the rapidly evolving dynamic of Trump's war against Iran as he ponders his next move, with midterm elections in the United States looming large and new signs that the nature of the conflict may be becoming more complex.

Trump has threatened that a post-midterm election escalation — despite his initial promises to Americans of a campaign that would last a matter of weeks — remains a viable option. Further complicating matters, Trump told reporters Thursday that early indications suggest that Iran is linked to the FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday.

In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump raised the connection when asked by a reporter if there were any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran.

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is ‘yes,’ but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said, without offering details.

Trump added that if the link to Iran is established, the United States would retaliate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a Fox News interview earlier Thursday that investigators believe the FlyDubai suspect underwent “Islamist, radical indoctrination” but did not provide further details.

“Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry," Trump said. “You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”

Thousands of US sailors and Marines head to the Middle East

Meanwhile, the group of ships now en route to the Middle East together carry over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines.

It includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which recently deployed with the cruiser USS Chosin, and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes the USS John P. Murtha and USS Anchorage amphibious landing ships.

It could mean that three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October, according to the U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Given the personnel already in place in the Middle East, the move would bring the U.S. naval presence to an unusually high number of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines as well as hundreds of aircraft. The Navy previously had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East in April for the first time since 2003.

The carriers USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington are in the region now, along with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group. The Washington is typically deployed to the Pacific Ocean, but it was moved to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose arduous deployment resulted in the crew being at sea for more than 260 days straight.

Trump explains why he rejected Iran's latest truce proposal

Trump, in a Time magazine interview published Thursday, also raised the prospects of new strikes, saying it is “possible” that he will ramp up bombing in Iran after the Nov. 3 elections in the United States.

When pressed, Trump said he could not go into further detail about his strategy.

“I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?” Trump said.

He said in the interview, conducted Monday, that he rejected the latest ceasefire proposal from Iran because “things that I wouldn’t have approved a year ago I wouldn’t have today.”

Trump cited as an example an offer from Iran to “open up" the Strait of Hormuz, the key energy shipping corridor, but said the overall proposal was “not good enough.”

The war shows signs of getting more complicated

Asked if the increasingly unpopular war would threaten Republican Party chances in November, Trump at first responded, “It’s possible.” But then he added, “It should help, because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”

The president said “100% of the people” oppose Iran having nuclear attack capabilities “including worldwide.”

“So, when you say it that way, it would help,” Trump added. “If you don’t say that, it could hurt.”

Yet, there's also growing concern that Tehran might be turning to asymmetrical tactics following the FlyDubai attack and another suspicious incident in the U.K.

Authorities believe that Iran might be looking to shift strategy just as the U.S. finds greater success in loosening Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz and getting Gulf allies' oil to market, while a Navy blockade is shutting down Iran’s own oil exports.

British authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of a dual U.K.-Iranian national on suspicion of plotting a terror attack following a security incident at a U.S.-run military air base in England that British authorities have linked to Tehran.

The arrest of the 27-year-old man in Central London came after U.K. authorities arrested five men, all British nationals in their 20s and from London, in the early hours of Sunday on suspicion of explosives and terror offenses close to the RAF Fairford air base

The base has been used by American bombers to strike Iran. The suspects have since been released on bail.

___

Madhani reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

Leer en español

All eastbound lanes of the Dolphin Expressway will close at Northwest 17th Avenue beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, and are expected to remain closed until 10 a.m. Saturday.

The closure will allow crews to safely place a reinforcing steel cage for a bridge support structure over the roadway.

Eastbound drivers will be directed to exit at Northwest 17th Avenue and continue south across Northwest Seventh Street. From there, drivers can turn left onto Southwest First Street, travel east and turn right onto South Miami Avenue before accessing ramps for northbound or southbound Interstate 95.

Drivers heading toward Biscayne Boulevard or the MacArthur Causeway can remain on Southwest First Street before turning left onto Biscayne Boulevard and connecting with the MacArthur Causeway entrance ramp at Northeast 11th Terrace.

Drivers traveling on Northwest 12th Avenue who want to reach the Dolphin Expressway eastbound, I-95, Biscayne Boulevard or the MacArthur Causeway can continue south on Northwest 12th Avenue before turning left onto Southwest First Street and following the designated detours.

Westbound lanes on the Dolphin Expressway also closing

Westbound SR 836 will also be affected Friday night.

Two westbound lanes will close beginning at 10 p.m., followed by a full closure of all westbound lanes between Northwest 12th and Northwest 17th avenues at 11 p.m.

The westbound closure is scheduled to remain in place until 8 a.m. Saturday.

Drivers will be directed to exit using the Northwest 12th Avenue ramp and turn left onto Northwest 12th Avenue. They can then turn right onto Northwest Seventh Street, followed by a right onto Northwest 17th Avenue, where they can continue north to reconnect with the Dolphin Expressway westbound lanes.

Drawbridge schedules temporarily changing

The construction will also result in a temporary change to the operating schedules for the Southwest First Street and West Flagler Street bridges over the Miami River.

On Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., both bridges will open on the hour and half-hour.

Outside of that four-hour period, the bridges will follow their normal operating schedules.

Public vessels of the United States, tugs and tugs with tow, as well as vessels in distress, will be allowed to pass at any time.

The temporary bridge schedule change is being made in support of the Dolphin Expressway closure. The U.S. Coast Guard will also announce the change through its notices to mariners.

According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the work is part of the I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project, which is intended to add capacity, improve traffic flow and safety, and improve access along the three highways.

Leer en español

Trevor Jay Johnston, 39, of Landis, North Carolina, was arrested on Tuesday after arriving at FLL on a JetBlue flight from Punta Cana, according to court documents made public on Thursday.

Authorities said customs officers pulled Johnston aside for a border search of his belongings and devices and a search of his Samsung Galaxy cellphone revealed “numerous” disturbing files and chats on messaging app Telegram, along with “numerous payments” made by Johnston for the illicit content.

According to a federal criminal complaint, he also had a GIF of child sexual abuse material, as well as screenshots of advertisements offering images and videos for purchase, in his phone’s gallery.

The complaint states that Johnston admitted to “receiving and purchasing files” and said “he did it numerous times because of the ‘rush.’”

Johnston now faces two federal charges related to the possession and transportation of child sexual abuse material.

As of Thursday morning, he was being held in the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail facility on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Leer en español

One of the changes involves license plate frames. Drivers could be pulled over if a frame covers the registration decal in the upper-right corner of the license plate or blocks the plate number.

Another new law strengthens penalties in certain animal cruelty cases. It is now a third-degree felony for an adult to commit aggravated animal cruelty in the presence of a minor or force a minor to commit an act of aggravated animal cruelty.

School safety and criminal penalties

A new school safety law makes it a second-degree felony to fire a weapon or firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.

House Bill 397 also creates a new criminal offense involving suspects who have been arrested and are released from custody before trial. The law applies when a suspect violates an order prohibiting contact with the alleged victim.

Changes for crashes and rental applications

Drivers involved in crashes will also see a change in the amount of estimated property damage that requires law enforcement involvement.

That threshold has increased from $500 to $2,000.

Another new law targets false information on rental applications.

It is now a third-degree felony to make a false statement about a person’s identity on a rental application, present counterfeit documents to a landlord or impersonate another person.

A memo sent to officers in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division and obtained by The Associated Press warned they are not authorized to chase vehicles that fail to pull over under any circumstances. Instead, officers should take down the vehicles’ information for further investigation, according to the memo signed by ICE’s executive associate director Marcos D. Charles and dated Wednesday.

The new guidance comes after ICE-initiated vehicle stops have repeatedly escalated when drivers have refused to cooperate or tried to flee. ICE agents have fired their guns during more than a dozen such encounters since last year, killing at least four people and wounding several others.

President Donald Trump's administration has faced internal tension over how to handle traffic stops, which are seen as particularly high-risk encounters.

After fatal shootings of drivers in Maine and Texas in July, ICE officers were directed to temporarily pause most vehicle stops. But the next day, Trump went on social media to direct the agency to continue traffic stops, calling them “one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.”

ICE has faced intense pressure from the White House to deport more people who are in the country illegally, and its arrests have reached record numbers. At the same time, the agency's rapid hiring spree last year resulted in some poorly vetted and trained officers hitting the streets.

In a statement, ICE downplayed the significance of the memo, which said the new guidance was intended to replace and amend prior directives issued earlier this year, last year and in 2018.

“Occasionally, ICE leadership issues guidance reminders to law enforcement officers,” the statement said. “Vehicle stops and arrests of illegal aliens continue.”

The new memo outlines steps intended to improve the safety of vehicle stops for ICE officers, drivers they are targeting, their passengers and the public.

The memo told ICE’s field office directors that they must ensure vehicles used for traffic stops have lights and sirens that let the public know they are law enforcement vehicles when activated. All officers on the scenes of vehicle stops must wear and activate their body cameras, under the guidance.

In addition, only officers who have completed one of five specific agency training courses can conduct vehicle stops. Officers who have not completed the training courses can only participate in vehicle stops “in a support capacity” as passengers and cannot be the drivers of any of the vehicles involved.

The guidance says ICE officers can continue to use a controversial technique known as pinning, which is defined as “using a vehicle or physical barrier to trap or stop a car,” but only if they have received special training. Similarly, only trained officers can use spike strips that deflate tires to prevent drivers from fleeing.

The memo came the day that courtroom testimony highlighted ways in which two ICE officers involved in a vehicle stop, pursuit and shooting that wounded a delivery driver in Austin last month would not have complied with the new guidance.

During a bond hearing for Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, testimony showed that the officer who shot him wasn’t wearing a body-worn camera. The ICE officer who did have a camera was driving in a separate car and turned it off during the pursuit.

Prosecutors presented surveillance video that showed an ICE agent chasing Garces Perez at high speeds through residential streets after he fled an initial traffic stop.

Garces Perez faces federal assault charges after investigators say he struck an ICE officer with his driver’s side mirror. That officer then shot into Perez's vehicle, lodging a bullet in his back, officials say.

Attorneys for Garces Perez have called the charges against him “retaliation” and have argued that the camera footage was inconclusive because it didn’t fully capture the moment when he allegedly tried to flee.

___

Associated Press reporter Anna Wilder contributed to this report from Austin, Texas.

Leer en español

Inspectors found more than 30 live flies in various areas, along with food-contact areas in need of cleaning and improperly hot-held rice.

The Chipotle at 6290 S. Dixie Highway in Miami was ordered shut Sept. 29 and was allowed to re-open following a cleanup and re-inspection.

Records show the Chicken Guy in Davie was also ordered shut due to a flying insect issue.

**CHIPOTLE

6290 SOUTH DIXIE HIGHWAY

SOUTH MIAMI

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 9/29

5 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Live, small flying insects found. Observed 15+ live flies on single service items and soda syrup dispensers in kitchen outside of walk in cooler. Observed 1 live fly on wall in ware wash area. Observed 2 live flies at front counter area above POS system next to cold line. Observed 8 live flies in men & women’s restroom. Observed 1 live fly in women's restroom. Observed 6 live flies above and under soda fountain located in lobby.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed interior soiled prep across walk in.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed at front counter: white rice (125F - Hot Holding). As per operator, less than 2 hours.”

**CHICKEN GUY

4301 SOUTH UNIVERSITY DR.

DAVIE

ORDERED SHUT 9/30

9 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition. Presence of insects, rodents, or other pests. Observed approximately 10 ants crawling on and in a container of honey in the prep area. Operator disposed of the container of honey.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Observed approximately 6 small flying insects near the dishwashing area landing on clean dishes and walls. Observed approximately 20 small flying insects in the dry storage area landing in sealed packages of cereal and boxes of single service items. Observed approximately 15 small flying insects in the prep area landing on containers of spices, walls and tables. Observed approximately 5 small flying insects in the mop sink area landing on walls. Observed approximately 15 small flying insects at the front counter landing on registers, containers of ice cream toppings and boxes with bread.”

“Presence of insects, rodents, or other pests. Observed approximately 10 ants crawling on and in a container of honey in the prep area. Operator disposed of the container of honey.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed raw ground beef stored over ready to eat pepperoni and salami in the walk in cooler.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed walls by the triple sink and mop sink soiled.”

Leer en español

Authorities said the case centers around Janet Risi Field, 66, of Pinecrest, the former CEO of Independent Purchasing Cooperative, a company based near Miami International Airport at 701 Waterford Way, and her brother Steven Louis Risi, 70, of Coral Gables. The two were indicted on Thursday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

IPC, founded in part by Risi Field in 1996 and which she led until she was fired in December 2021, is the “the purchasing and services cooperative” for Subway franchisees and “managed the chain’s North American supply chain and negotiated with vendors to establish the prices franchisees paid for food, supplies and services,” authorities said.

Risi Field took advantage of this, according to the DOJ, “by entering into a secret arrangement with co-conspirators who acted as brokers for IPC vendors who supplied franchisees with goods and services, including deli meats, cheeses and cookies.”

“Under the arrangement, the brokers allegedly shared a portion of the fees generated from vendor contracts with Risi Field and members of her family,” a DOJ news release states. “Risi Field, her brother, and other family members allegedly used shell companies to conceal more than $60 million in illegal bribe and kickback payments.”

The whole thing cost franchisees more than $80 million, a DOJ news release states.

Authorities accuse Risi Field of using the ill-gotten funds to make investments, remodel homes in Florida and North Carolina, buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and pay for private club memberships, among other things.

Risi Field, prosecutors said, “caused a co-conspirator to fund a multimillion-dollar slush fund used to enrich herself and members of her family, including more than $420,000 paid to a Risi family personal assistant and more than $150,000 to Risi Field’s housekeeper and handyman.”

Additionally, authorities said Risi Field had a co-conspirator pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit from an ex-IPC contractor who had alleged that she maintained an inappropriate financial relationship with vendors and then hid the allegations and settlement from the IPC board.

Prosecutors accuse her and her brother of laundering millions through shell companies and controlled bank accounts, including $3.4 million used for her credit card bills and $1 million deposited into a joint account. Risi Field is accused of causing about $25 million in slush-fund payments, mainly benefiting herself and other co-conspirators.

Authorities said even after she was fired in 2021, IPC’s directors and Subway franchisees remained unaware of the scheme and Risi Field pocketed a $6 million severance payment.

Prosecutors said the siblings are both charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

Risi Field also faces several counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The two are now facing the possibility of decades in federal prison. Court documents were not immediately available online in the federal docket.

Additionally, the two did not appear in federal, Miami-Dade or Broward jail records.

It was the third day of trial on eight charges for Sanon, 67, who was born in Haiti, was a University Eugenio Maria de Hostos medical student in the Dominican Republic, and went on to serve in the Florida Baptist Convention.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. McLaughlin called an FBI special agent, who responded to Moïse’s private residence in Pétion-Ville after the deadly raid that involved dozens of mercenaries during the early hours of July 7, 2021.

Martine Moïse, the then-first lady, was shot in the arm. She testified on Tuesday that she heard the mercenaries speaking Spanish. Most of them were former soldiers who had served in the Colombian military.

“I thought everything was over. That I lost everyone. When I saw my children, I regained strength,” Martine Moïse said in court through tears.

On July 11, 2021, Haitian Police Chief Léon Charles announced the arrest of Sanon, who had arrived in a private plane with private security in June at Port-au-Prince.

In May, Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages were convicted of the charges related to their role in recruiting the mercenaries. Eight co-conspirators pleaded guilty to related charges, including six who testified.

Pretel Ortiz, who was born in Colombia, and Intriago, who was born in Venezuela, co-owned Counter Terrorist Federal Academy, or CTFA, and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, or CTU Security, both based in Doral, according to prosecutors.

FBI Miami and HSI Miami investigated the cases, with assistance from the Department of State; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement; and the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Related stories

• What to know as trials over the assassination of Haiti’s president resume in Miami

Leer en español

Jail records show Brandon Marquez Flint, 33, is facing six new charges, including human trafficking involving a person younger than 18, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, sexual battery of a minor by an adult, sexual battery of a person ages 12 to 17 involving coercion or threats, delivering drug paraphernalia to a minor and contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child.

According to a North Miami police, the new charges are tied to information provided to investigators by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force.

On Sept. 18, police said they were notified that a woman involved in a July 9 incident was being reported as a victim of human trafficking in North Miami.

The woman told investigators about a “planned home invasion robbery” that occurred July 9 at a rental home in the 800 block of Northeast 121st Street, according to the report.

Police initially responded to the home after a 911 call reporting a robbery. A woman who was at the home was identified as the caller and interviewed by investigators, according to the report.

The woman told police she had gone to the rental home to meet the victim of the July home invasion for a date.

According to the report, the woman later told investigators she did not know a robbery was going to take place.

Police said the victim of the home invasion robbery was a man who was paralyzed from the waist down and used a motorized scooter. According to an earlier arrest report, those involved in the robbery knew he was paralyzed and considered him an “easy lick,” which police said meant an easy robbery.

The victim said the co-defendant, whom police identified as Marianna Rocio Davila Luna, 26, drove to the rental home to collect money from the paralyzed man who was on the date with her. During the payment transaction, Davila Luna allegedly saw drugs and cash inside the residence and called Flint to tell him what she had seen, according to the report.

Police said Flint and Davila Luna then interrupted the date as the woman was leaving the home, and the planned robbery was carried out.

After leaving the scene and speaking with police, the woman later reunited with Flint and Davila Luna and saw the unidentified man who had participated in the robbery, according to the report. She told investigators she was called “stupid” and a “snitch” and was insulted for contacting police, the report states.

The woman also told investigators that she later learned the robbery had been planned, according to police.

Police said the woman described her relationship with Flint and Davila Luna as one involving “control, force, fear and coercion.” The woman alleged she had been forced to have sex with multiple men in exchange for cash payments or Cash App payments at a “trap house,” according to the report.

The same July 9 incident was the subject of an earlier arrest involving Flint and Jamarcus Brooks.

According to Brooks’ arrest report, investigators said the victim of the robbery was paralyzed from the waist down and used a motorized scooter. Police said Brooks entered the apartment while an armed man was present, forcibly removed the victim from the scooter, tied his hands with a white USB charging cable and dragged him into a bedroom.

Brooks was accused of stealing a bank bag containing about $2,000 before fleeing the residence.

Investigators later identified Flint, who police said goes by the nickname “Twin Twin,” as someone allegedly involved in planning the robbery. According to the earlier report, Brooks told investigators that the victim was known to have money and marijuana and that those involved knew he was paralyzed.

Investigators said they found communications between Brooks and a contact saved as “Twin Twin.” Police said the phone number was linked to Flint.

At about 3:17 a.m. on July 9, shortly before the robbery, Brooks sent Flint a message asking, “Let me know when she coming out?” according to the report. Police said Flint responded with a thumbs-up emoji at about 3:27 a.m.

The robbery occurred moments later as the woman was leaving the residence, according to police.

Later that day, Brooks sent Flint the address of the residence and another message referring to a person with “6ft long dreads” and a “mouth full of golds,” the report states.

Police said Brooks also told investigators that Flint and Flint’s girlfriend later picked him up after he fled the area because of the police response.

Records show Flint was arrested July 12 on charges of home invasion robbery and domestic battery in connection with the robbery that occurred earlier that month.

As of Thursday, Flint and Brooks remained held without bond at the Metrowest Detention Center. Davila Luna’s charges and bond information wasn’t immediately available.